Altered Tundra

Iquenos: In Nomine Domini

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• The Eoldysseus - Top Deck, Ifrise Forest, Sovereignty of Dryadalis •
_{@Lemons @Kal-El}

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And in that moment - that long, silent moment - Zestasia heard what he said roll back in his head, repeating over and over again until he realized exactly what had flown by the common sense part of his brain: I actually bad-mouthed the Inquisitors with my words and voice. I didn’t do it in hushed whispers. No, I had said it out loud, allowing any passing guard or passenger to hear.

But did they? That was the question Zestasia’s eyes were asking as they scanned the area. Those curious, blue-as-the-sea eyes had oh-so-carefully gazed from left to right, hoping to the gods above that the wrong person wasn’t doing just as Zes had done and was eavesdropping on an obviously-private conversation between three people who were hopefully on the same team. Admittedly, Zestasia had jumped the gun and that was on him.

Sure enough, as he was about his love for the warm sun, Zestasia saw it - well them. The onlookers who had a mixture of wary glances at the heresy that had come from his mouth and down-right awe at how brazen and daring Zestasia proved to be once his mouth had opened. And quite frankly, those two significantly different looks that he received from those who obviously heard him were justified. There wasn’t a cell in his body that was justifying Zestasia’s choice of actions. They only hoped that, with the right explanation and a little luck, that they - yes, because Zestasia was with someone other than his idiotic self, it was more than his ass on the line - could get out of this without being burned at the stake for treason.

Maybe use some of my charm? That could work, right? Or maybe offer myself up as the sacrifice. It was me who spoke those treasonous words, so it’s not like they’re guilty.

Zestasia had spent the next moment or so going over a few ideas. Some seemed likely to work, but it wouldn’t end well for him. Nothing about this would result in him getting the better end of the stick. His only saving grace was for someone to offer up a better solution. Maybe a nice escape route or some sort of distraction that would be just enough to get the three of them out of harm's way. Anything would do. Just, please, let there be a sign.

And just as Zestasia had put the word out there in the known universe, it, in return, sent him a guardian angel, though he wasn’t sure if this was a joke or the universe’s way of having fun at his expense. Oh, very funny. I fuck up and you send me a shrimp for a guardian angel. Real clever. Zestasia wasn’t really laughing at the fact that he bore witness to this crimson-haired, tiny little girl showing how people shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. No, he was more finding that he made a royal fuck up and this person was one of two people that would save the ass of someone who didn’t deserve it.

The second came in the form of one of the two people who had given him such a ‘really dude’ look. This one, to Zestasia’s surprise, had not only been a user of magic just like he was but specialized in ventus.

This day just keeps getting better and better.

Zestasia not only got that distraction he so desperately hoped for and a definite escape route but -- wait, no, that’s not right. “But you’re a--”

Too late. Zestasia, whether he consented or not, was forced to follow the elder blonde woman. Okay, not exactly forced. He could decline, but was that really wise? The short moment that passed after she had used magic and was seen talking to him, he didn’t necessarily have a lot of options. He either stayed and faced the wrath of the tiny, yet scary, a guardian angel that had no qualms of threatening some innocent passengers or he followed and met whatever cruel fate waited for him upstairs.

Time to make a decision, you idiot. Or do you want her to make it for you?

Zestasia looked around. The people who weren’t terrified were certainly doing their best to make their impression of the heretic known.

Well, Zestasia always did want to see what it was like riding on a barge with the wind in his face and the sun on his skin.

His hesitation waned and Zestasia flew up the stairs in a matter of second. When motivated, he ran like the wind that the blonde lady had at her disposal. And when he made it to the top, the first things he noticed was the beautiful view. With the blueness of the sky and the white clouds spread throughout, the forest the barge was riding through had a majestic, almost surreal glow.

Even though he shouldn’t, Zestasia took a moment to breathe in the sights. “You know, sometimes you have to enjoy the little things.”

Zestasia took in a deep breath, letting the natural scent of the forest overtake him as he closed his eyes. Once he exhaled, he slowly opened them up, turning around to face the wind mage. He had meant to say something clever about the outfit that she was wearing. He knew it looked suspiciously familiar, but his eyes were distracted by someone else. Though the person he saw didn’t ring any bells, there was something familiar about the sword on the man’s back.

When Zestasia was still a young boy, before the war took his home, his father often read stories of about a sword that was said to be a thing of beauty. It was known as the Durandal. It never resonated with Zestasia, but his brothers seemed to take a liking to the story. Maybe it was the morals of the story or how blood was often shed with it. Zestasia never could remember exactly, but he was pretty sure both of those things resonated with Pagonia and Ouranós respectively. Somehow, both embodied the good and evil of Hellion and somehow, when hell broke loose, true colors were shown

“It was on that day..” Zestasia murmured lowly, finding himself walking closer to the sight of that sword and further away from the wind mage.

As he moved another three paces, Zestasia grew closer and closer to the person, their visage resonating with what ZEstasia remembered. Hair that seemed to reflect a stormy sky and a sword that somehow glimmered in that muddy gray. The gold that was spread throughout the silver and shined brilliantly when drawn. It was of legend and yet, as Zestasia was just one foot away from it, arm extended and hand was feeling the texture, he knew it right away. There was this sixth sense that came to Zestasia. The air around him was all-too-familar. This was the Durandal, the famed sword that he vaguely recalled from his childhood.

But which one was it? Was this Ouranós, the brother who left him with Master Anatoli or was this Pagonia, the brother that had never been seen since that day where all of their lives had been altered and with no way of going back to the way it was.

“This sword..” Zestasia finally spoke after just standing there for a few, long moments. “There’s only one person who would dare brandish that sword,” Zestasia spoke loud enough so the swordsman in front of him would hear him. “Isn’t that right?” That was the last thing Zestasia said before his left fist would absorb the faintest amount of sunlight to give it a faint, golden aura. As soon as he would see this man turn around, the first and only thing he’d find instead of a warm smile that Zestasia wished he could provide, there would be the strongest of left, straight punches aimed at his jaw.

Iquenos: In Nomine Domini

@Inkarnate So you mean there's a bigger idiot than Zes? What a relief. Guess he won't be needing that will he totally didn't did draft hastily.

Iquenos: In Nomine Domini

I'd just like to clarify that Zestasia, contrary to the element he controls, is not a very bright man. So, if for any reason the enemy come after the group, the logical choice is to volunteer him as tribute. Unless, of course, someone would like to stick their neck out for him.. :3

What Are You Listening To?

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Maybe Grant was right and the Gods truly loved to test him when he had thought he was done with their trials. Or perhaps this was just a spree of bad luck that seemed never-ending. Regardless if it was both or neither, Wesley didn’t believe in such things.

He knew Grant was one of those men that focused on the negative. Sulking in his own despair and what happens to him. While that was good for him, Wesley wasn’t such a man. There were times to feel sorry and times to stand up on your own two feet with your back straight, weapon in hand, and face your opposition. Any man who did that could get anything done. Wesley believed that and as the multiple Ren’s came at them, his resolve would shine much like his mist along his blade was doing.

“Don’t be like that. Perhaps you just need to look at things from a different perspective,” Wesley said, encouraging Grant.

When Grant’s bullets flared, piercing through one of the Rens, Wesley gathered mist at the soles of his feet, propelling him upward. Though it was only temporary, it had provided him with enough leverage over them to twirl his body in the air, twisting and contorting to where he had shot off various rays of magick down at the Rens, though, they were only meant to be a distraction. While they focused on deflecting those, creating somewhat of a smokescreen in the process Wesley used that covering to sneak behind them, his sword raised high, shining with bright light.

Whether or not they saw this wouldn’t matter, for as his blade came down in a single, vertical strike, an excess of his mist unleashed its wrath upon the Rens.

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Jaakuna had understood exactly what that meant. He was all too familiar with how halucinations worked and what they did to the psyche...well, probably not first hand, but his mother had suffered from them due to abuse of foreign substances that were all the range back then, but he certainly knew. They made you see things that weren’t actually there and made you do things that you wouldn’t normally do. For his mother, it was running around the house naked, claiming to be a bird, flying through the skies. Only thing it did was bring a great amount of discomfort for both Jaakuna and his brother.

At least for Savayna, it was just seeing him as her enemy. Not ideal, but a lot better than being scarred by seeing your mother’s nude form running around every inch of where you were born.

He shook his head, regaining his focus on Savayna. She had a crazed look in her eyes. It was both one of blinded, misguided rage and a loneliness that he had known she had feared for so long. Whatever it was about this Zodiac Spear and why Shion would put such a powerful series of traps within it, he’d never understand, but one thing that Jaakuna knew was that time was on his side. All he had to do was survive the incoming onslaught that he knew was coming his way from Savayna’s enraged state. If he did that and allowed Nadeline the time to find the right spell and execute it like he knew only she could, this could end up being not so bad.

And in the time that he took to regain his focus, Jaakuna spawned his own tornado that met the one that Savayna had attempted to launch at them. It was a literal snap of his finger. As soon as his index, middle, and thumb fingers snapped, traces of red and orange mist had flowed from it in a very thin, almost invisible string of magick and then, in the blink of an eye, expanded into a veil that hovered over both Jaakuna and Nadeline.

As soon as Savayna’s tornado had made contact, steam immediately covered the area due to the cancellation natures of fire and ice. The cold from Savayna’s element and the hot from Jaakuna’s made a sizzling sound, then came to a complete stop, both attacks fizzled after one minute passed of it being at a deadlock.

“No! Noo!!” Savayna roared, charging at Jaakuna at full speed.

She sent a flurry of erratic sword strikes at Jaakuna. Most of them were dodged. Jaakuna’s speed was inhuman. No matter how many times she went to thrust, strike, and stab, Jaakuna evaded them with little effort. At some point, they had been moving at such blinding speeds that, to outside observers, they were like two dashes of red and blue.

As they came to a stop about twenty paces away from where Nadeline was, Savayna snarled at Jaakuna. “Stop running away!” Savayna roared, sending a wave of Blizzaga towards Jaakuna’s direction.

Smirking, Jaakuna held his hand out. It began to emit a fiery glow and a wave of fire met Savayna’s chilly blast. For a moment, it seemed like it was evenly matched. The two opposing elements once again created a cloud of steam, but then Jaakuna chuckled to himself. In that moment, he saw Savayna’s widened gaze as the fire consumed her attack and, at the last second, she rolled forward, ducking underneath the overwhelming hellfire. Jaakuna had surmised that she saw it would’ve killed her had she not done what she just did.

After one moment, he ceased the blast and Savayna rose from the heated smoke, her body twirling as her heel came for Jaakuna right cheek. He had seen it coming a mile away, so he simply raised his corresponding hand to block the kick. Furious, Savayna went on the melee offensive. Her legs and arms delivering kick and punch after kick and punch, to which were all blocked and evaded by Jaakuna.

All of his efforts made Savayna reach the point past her boiling point and something in her eyes flared. Her eyes went completely solid - or so it appeared as such. They were like literal crystals of ice and before Jaakuna had a chance to react, Savayna had his throat gripped by her hand, transferring absolute zero temperatures into his body and slowly, the fire that resisted the cold was fading. At some point, Jaakuna had felt all of his limbs going numb as if they were frozen and any access to his fire magick was severed.

Even his voice was being slipped away.

“If you will not leave me alone, I will force you to!” She yelled in his face.

Though he couldn’t move, use any magick/mist, or speak, Jaakuna, surprisingly, had all access to his senses, so her words didn’t fall on deaf ears. I sure hope you're ready, Nadeline...

What Are You Listening To?

Discussion: Microtransactions in Games

@Monacho I don't think I would consider DLC packages part of the trend of microtransaction. In my experience, microtransactions have been utilized for things as simple as items that help you increase your stats. DLC has always seemed like additional portions of the game. Sure, some DLC hasn't always been the greatest for certain games, but to some, it's been worth it.

Discussion: Microtransactions in Games

Certain games tend to have these kinds of systems to where real life cash give you in-game currency and that it's the focus of the game. As in, you wouldn't be able to play the game effectively if you didn't have copious amounts of the green stuff. Now, as someone who has played his fair share of free-to-play games that utilize microtransactions(Naruto Online, Mobius: Final Fantasy, and Forge of Empires, just to name of few), I can say with absolute certainty that each treats this system different.

Let me start with the worst of the bunch: Naruto Online.

This is a game that is rigged from the start. Be it from the pseudo-gambling "treasures" within this game or refinement runes that are needed to up certain attributes, this is a game that hardly offers anything useful in the long term for those who prefer the free-to-play(using time to increase your overall stats) as compared to going the pay-to-win route, which, as you could probably guess, is using your money to shortcut your way through it. Even when you do use irl cash, you hardly get anything unless you throw in thousands of dollars.

And this is all because the company that runs the NA servers, Oasis, are pretty much on the same level as EA: all they care about is the cash-money. The players will doubtless express their concerns about how they [Oasis] run the game, but at the end of the day, they don't care. Even after being outed by one of their former admins, they continue to utilize the same practices. PEople still play the game because it's quite the addiction, but less and fewer people go for it in the long-run.

Forge of Empires, however, isn't so shady. Same with Mobius. Both games, though they utilize microtransactions, offer plenty of events and chances for the free-to-play players a chance to grow in power with the other players in the game who use the cashmoney to get ahead.

And now we arrive at my point.

I don't like microtransactions and I loathe how they hinder the jinder in all of us. I hate how we won't be able to fully enjoy the game because I lack the irl cash to give me the in-game currency, but I can also see how it's necessary for certain games. At the end of the day, it really is about how each gaming company manages the game. If they offer you chances to get the IGC without having to use the change out of your wallet, then it's not so bad, but if it's utilized in games you've already paid full-price for, then that makes you the lowest of the low.

Book Game

Up on the top of the hill and around the corner, and Maxi's house would be the fourth one on the right.

Broken Time by Maggy Thomas

Naruto: Revival

^{Konohagakure | Chunin | NinTai-nin}

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^{TIME: Present Day - Morning | LOCATION: Kohonagakure - Training Field | INTERACTION: Hokage Clone, Cloudy Eyes: The Sequel @Ladyinink, Light the Way @Grey Sama Gonna Build that Wall @BladeX Little Miss Impatichiha @Eis Yui-a bitch @GlitchyBugger}

Jaakuna had to admit that it was a clever plan. One, the fact that there had been some fakes spread throughout the very innocent civilians of Kumo made it nigh impossible for Jaakuna nor his teammates to forsake everything and kill this person before they could do anything. The fact that some plants were within the group of hostages was, in some regard, making Jaakuna and the others on the team hostages themselves. To make matters worse, their choice was easy. They were given specific indicators, but the actual action of resolving the issue of the fakes would prove to be more complicated than it needed to be.

“So, if we strike, they might explode.” Jaakuna mused aloud. His emerald eyes seemed to be going from the hostages to Yui every other moment. He was gauging every expression from all of them. Truthfully, Jaakuna wasn’t the type for this kind of thinking(or any for that matter), but the situation called for a different approach and he could be thoughtful when the situation demanded it.

As Jaakuna thought long and hard about what their captor had said as well as what Kiku had asked the group, he did like the idea of separating them. And, as it was noted beforehand, finding the fakes wasn’t the real issue - it was what’ll happen once they acted that made this complicated. Of course, what if they were given false information? Goddamn it, Jaakuna really wasn’t made for this kind of overthinking.

He scratched his hair out of frustration, looking directly to Yui. Part of him wanted to believe this was false information, but there simply wasn’t enough of the facts to convince him. “Let’s just do what you said, Kiku. Our choices are limited as is. The innocents are more important that weighing the odds are.”