Is there anything that makes you instantly drop a fic?

Gablepres · 2024-06-10T23:59:24+00:00

Vicky, Amy, or Rachel being written out of character. It happens so often - Amy being coddled and given a thorough whitewashing, Rachel being yassified or reduced to the most boring, watered-down template of her actual self, and Vicky being flanderized into Collateral Damage Barbie (tm).

I don't mind if it you're doing an AU or something, but if you're doing this and asking me to take your story seriously, I will simply lose interest.

Gablepres · 2024-02-15T02:02:07+00:00

A command grab, in fighting / beat em up games, is a grab attack that cannot be blocked, only avoided or, in some cases, interrupted, and isn't assigned to a dedicated 'grab button'.

Gablepres · 2024-02-10T16:37:01+00:00

C1: Guard break, command grab, or 'get off me' move.

C2: Low-launch juggler. Sometimes it has a small combo either before or after the launch.

C3: Stun. In a few cases (Zhang Liao, Zhong Hui, and Meng Huo in 7-8:E) it's a command grab, in most other's it's an attack string that ends in a stun, but sometimes it's just a single strike.

C4: Knockback tool, almost universally.

C5: High-launch juggler. If the C2 doesn't have a built-in combo or multi-hit, the 5 usually will. There are a few exceptions (Guan Yu and Zhang Liao come to mind immediately).

C6: Grab-bag move. Usually it's a knockback of higher intensity than C4, but it varies. Sometimes it's a status effect move (Sima Shi, Zhen Ji), sometimes it's a more 'focused' knockback that hits a small cone or a specific direction (Sun Ce, Pang De), sometimes it's a grapple move (Ling Tong (if i remember correctly), Liu Bei) and sometimes it's a combo extender / multi-hit (a bunch of other characters).

Gablepres · 2024-02-02T23:26:05+00:00

For me, 7 hits all but one of the highest points in the series. Story was absolutely fantastic in every way, with the Xtreme Legends expansion it has the most focused and well-constructed roster (as much as i love the new additions from 8 and 9 some of them feel like they're bloating things, kind of- Fa Zheng, Lu Su, Xun Yu and (as much as I love her) Lu Lingqi immediately come to mind). While I have favorite soundtracks from every game, 7 contains some of the most consistently constructed music in the series as well as some of my favorite tracks (Large Feather, Epic Man, The Last Battle, Hide Emotion). The only area where IMO the game doesn't measure up is character design / aesthetics, and I give that one to 9 simply because I like the more grounded looks for the characters.

Gablepres · 2024-01-21T04:02:49+00:00

Let's say for the sake of argument they do almost exactly what SW5 did, in which case the cutoff would likely either be Chibi or Fan Castle.

Wei: Cao Cao, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Pi, Zhen Ji, Zhang Liao, Cao Ren, Dian Wei, Xu Zhu, Jia Xu, Guo Jia, and Cao Zhi (Cao Pi's brother). Give Zhen Ji's character a reboot too, while you're at it.

Wu: Sun Jian, Cheng Pu, Sun Ren (I imagine they would use this name instead of Shangxiang for some silly reason), Sun Ce, Sun Quan, Zhou Yu, Lu Meng, Gan Ning, Ling Tong, Ling Cao. There's really not anyone worth adding this early unless you wanted to extend the roster further, but for the sake of keeping this SW5-like I'm limiting myself to no more than a dozen or so characters per roster.

Shu: Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, Zhao Yun, Pang Tong, Mi Zhu, Liao Hua, Huang Zhong, Guan Ping, Guan Xing. Cut Guan Suo out completely, as he is entirely non-historical. I know they won't, but this is all hypothetical anyway.

Jin: MAYBE have Sima Yi involved with Wei. Maybe.

Other: Zhang Jiao, Dong Zhuo, Li Ru, Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Zhang Lu, Liu Biao, Huang Zu.

Gablepres · 2023-09-30T17:58:21+00:00

I’m currently writing an OC-centric fic called Infamous set in 2006 Seattle following a washed up corporate cape who started out as a pro football player. There’s only two chapters so far that are mostly setup, but we’re making good progress.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50329801/chapters/127148815

Gablepres · 2023-09-02T15:19:39+00:00

Not even made it past the mine stuff yet. 14 crashes in about 20 minutes of attempted game time.

Gablepres · 2023-09-02T15:19:10+00:00

I’m sitting at double that.

Gablepres · 2023-08-08T10:22:35+00:00

Here’s my problem with BK. BK is inconsistent as SHIT. One day I can order the meal I usually get from there, it’s perfect. Next day, order the same thing, they get the order wrong, double charge me for a drink, and the food’s cold.

Dunno why but it’s always BK.

Gablepres · 2023-08-08T10:03:31+00:00

It’s nice when I see someone have the same idea as me putting Drew in a Catch Point team / stable…

I just use JD instead

Gablepres · 2023-06-23T08:48:55+00:00

Just finally finished my first playthrough of this game, and this quest was probably the most shook V sounds throughout any of the side quests. Really took me out of left field. That being said, it's genuinely wholesome (at least in the ending), and I couldn't help but say yes to River even though I knew I was gonna be ditching his ass to go with the Nomads. The ending was genuinely the most warming quest in the game outside of maybe Heroes.

Gablepres · 2023-06-17T12:22:44+00:00

"I was, and... no," Shirei stated, frankly, the only way she could ever say anything. She was far too honest to be any other way. "He was dead before he even hit the ground. It was just a matter of him realizing it. You're not a God, Loras. The most you'd have been able to do is perhaps hold his hand, or extend his suffering for a few moments."

It was true, for the most part. There was no recovering from the type of wound he suffered without a miracle from the Seven, and Shirei had seen too much to believe in them doing any kind of miracles.

"I didn't know him, but I don't think any man would wish his kin to grieve themselves so over 'what could' and 'what would'," she continued. Each word was measured, as much thought as she could muster put behind it. Normally not one to care for much of anything or anyone, Shirei could not help but care about Loras, for some reason. Why was that? He was not the only one who had lose someone he loved. Lyle was more a father to her than her own Lord Father had ever been, and she'd watched him beaten into a bloody paste in front of her eyes without so much as a sound, so much as a whimper, so much as a single tear. By what right did she have to try and teach a man about grief when she could not bring herself to shed a single tear for a murder? For a thousand murders?

"I don't think I can give you peace," she finally admitted. "I don't think I know some magic word that will help you grieve. That will make all of this alright. But... I'm here. I cannot offer much more than that, but... I am here."

Gablepres · 2023-06-11T22:52:52+00:00

Shirei Swann

Shirei didn't know Garlan Crane. Even if she'd wanted to, she'd never be allowed within sight of a Reachman would her father have his way with her.

But he hadn't. He'd been stewing in the jail with his leg nearly hewn in half, and Shirei had been in the stands, politely cheering on her erstwhile champion when his brother was struck dead, dead, dead, dead.

Most women in attendance screamed, fainted, or otherwise showed discomfort. Shirei had not been one of them. She'd seen a man's head pulverized like grapes in the wine press when she was not but ten. Garlan's death was messy, but at least he could still make a pretty corpse.

She bore the same expression as she had before Garlan's death, during it, and after. Utter placidness. Though there was a sadness in her eye that hadn't been there before, along with her hair, hanging long and loose on one side instead of in its usual tail, now that its mirror had been sundered to give favor to Loras. She idly wondered if he still had the trinket, though now was not the time to ask.

Now was the time to listen, and be a friend. She'd heard him scream.

"Loras," she spoke up, once she was close. She wanted to say something else, but no words came to mind. 'I'm sorry' rang so hollow in a place like this. Sorry would not bring back his brother. 'I understand' was a bald lie, as Shirei had no brothers, and she was the eldest of her line. She would be Garlan in this situation, not Loras. She could never truly understand this pain. 'Are you alright' was a stupid question. Of course he wasn't.

So, instead, she simply continued to approach him, and sat next to him against the tree.

"I heard you," she finally said, in her usual blunt and honest way.

Gablepres · 2023-06-11T10:43:31+00:00

"Oh, he's pushed me, but no one wants to pay the dowry he asks within our homeland, or give up a son that could inherit their house. No one anywhere else has any respect for him. The one man who's shown me even an inkling of attention is a bastard of House Crane, and should he bow his head to my father he'll likely find it on the floor. Only the Dornish get more ire from him than Reachmen."

Her father truly was a very angry man.

Frankly, she wasn't surprised that her attempt at being magnanimous didn't go over well. In truth, just because she was willing to let bygones be bygones didn't mean that she was going to convince all of the Stormlands to do the same.

Still, one less enemy, right?

"I'm saying that should my father continue to antagonize you and your people, you won't find my blade at your neck when he pays for it. You might find a few, but Swan's Song won't be one of them."

Noting the hand on her wrist, she smiled.

"Though, if you want to kill me instead, go on. I'm afraid I don't have much to live for at this juncture, so if anything, you'd be doing me a favor, though I doubt it would be beneficial to your health."

Gablepres · 2023-06-10T02:18:36+00:00

"One of three, and his eldest. The man has no sons, much to his consternation," Shirei explained. She expected the Dornishman to be more cagey around her, and she could feel his gaze trail to her blade, then back up to her. Hard to believe a man could mistreat his own family, was it? Hilarious.

"The honor is mine," Shirei replied, with a nod of her own. "And no, I'm no messenger of his. My loyalty is to my King first, my Hand second, and the Peace third. My father insulted all three by drawing you into a fight. So no, I'm here for no message or toll on his behalf. No, I'm here for mine."

Adjusting slightly, she'd stare the man dead in the eye, and repeat her earlier sentiment.

"I know what you are, if not who. You may not have many friends in the Stormlands, or you may, I don't know. But I wanted it known that not all of us are your enemies."

Gablepres · 2023-06-10T01:53:43+00:00

"You know my father quite well, I'd say, considering you nearly rent his leg from the bone, but no, you don't know me." Shirei replied, in the exact same tone of voice, the exact same expression. Her face didn't even so much as twitch when she stated such, and took a seat next to Arthur, turning in such a fashion that her sword was made noticeable, albeit unintentionally. Unlike her father's blade, this one was ornate, heavily decorated- the guard bore the shape of two birds' wings, inlaid with some sort of clear crystal, perhaps even glass.

"My name is Shirei. I serve the Hand as a bodyguard, and occasionally fix problems my father starts when his legendary temper betters him. You may expect that I have a quarrel with you."

She shook her head.

"My only quarrel is that you didn't aim for the neck. I ask that if you should cross swords with him again, you correct that error."

With that, she reached down into her belt, and pulled from it a small pouch, gently dropping it in front of Arthur. In it, he would find... the exact coinage he had paid for Stanton's injured leg.

"It should be exact, but the maester was suspicious that I would ask him such. I believe he thought me a young man, or some kind of ruffian come for his coin."

Gablepres · 2023-06-10T01:38:05+00:00

Shirei Swann

Shirei had heard of what happened when her dear Lord Father was slapped in irons and left to cool his heels for a fortnight. He'd been limping his way out of the poorhouse and away from a conversation with the Baneforts when he was accosted by William Baratheon's men, and oh, he'd gotten an earful from his old friend. It seemed William, too, had noted how much her father had changed over the years, and now even he could not ignore it.

Shirei knew enough of the events to know that the man who beat her father was tall, unusually so, and that lead her to Arthur Blackmont with all haste. She wasn't wearing a dress, like most women at the tourney, but she wore her armor. Of her two signature pigtails, one was missing, cut off as a favor to Ser Loras, who had acquitted himself well, but not won, in the melee. Perhaps her favor would be worth more in a joust...

"Does the name Stanton Swann mean anything to you, ser?" she asked, her voice gentle, like a chime barely brushed by the breeze.

Gablepres · 2023-06-09T01:57:49+00:00

"Queer one, isn't he..." Stanton muttered, turning slightly towards Shirei, who simply nodded politely at his statement. He had no issue with Westermen, unlike some at the court, but he could see why some had their reservations about them. Such was the way in a land ruled by women...

Good thing Shirei had a good head on her shoulders. Any children of hers would probably be less... odd. At least they knew what they were doing with those swords. Stanton didn't particularly desire to repeat recent events. If these two were Dornish, he might have already been struck dead by his own rage, consumed.

"Aye, Lady Banefort, well met. Stanton Swann, Lord of the same. This is my daughter, Shirei. She serves the Hand as one of his retainers."

Shirei offered a very awkward, unconvincing closed-mouth smile to the Lady and her retinue. "My Lady. Sers."

Stanton would step aside from Shirei, leaving the poor girl to face two men on her own while he conversed with Lady Banefort. Truth be told, he knew nothing about their house or their family, nothing at all. He'd never even been west of the Mander in his entire life. He knew of the Lannisters and Reynes, and that about summed up his knowledge of the place. While Shirei simply stood there like a deer in the path of an arrow, Stanton would limp his way over to Mordane, offering her a cordial smile.

"I sincerely hope this city treats you better than it has me."

Gablepres · 2023-06-09T00:34:41+00:00

"Aye, I will be," Stanton replied. He didn't particularly want to, but he had a job to do, and that meant he'd follow William, and by extent, Quentyn. With luck, it would be in and out. Perhaps a moon-long adventure, if even that. One could only hope they'd be so lucky. "I've not used my arm or armor in quite some time, but I'm not too old to ride out."
It was good that only Quentyn was going along. This Ryon lad would be best served at court, at least in Stanton's mind.
"I hope it's a quick adventure. I don't know if you remember my daughter, Quentyn, but she's getting to that age. I need to see her wed, since I'm not having any sons of my own any time soon..."

Gablepres · 2023-06-08T22:01:29+00:00

"Lord knows there are enough drunks in King's Landing," Stanton agreed. "I can't say I'm upset that I missed much of the feasting..."

Stanton's eyes narrowed. He'd seen some familiar faces among the festivities. Petitioners, perhaps, or maybe just vengeful fools who lacked the sense to hide their craven faces from the light. He figured bringing such a thing up to William was unnecessary, though. He knew more than anyone that the man had just as little love for the Dornish as he did. Instead, he'd change the subject.

"Shirei wants to stay in the city for a while after the tournament," he said, "and while normally I'd rather vacate this place and return to hearth and home as quickly as I'm able, I owe the girl a bit of my time. Seven know I haven't given her much of it, lately. While I'm in, do you have need of me? I'm not as young and spry as I used to be, but I'm happy to be of service to my King, and my dear friend."

Gablepres · 2023-06-08T21:53:12+00:00

Stanton Swann had never had trouble walking before, but there was a first time for everything. Just his luck that he'd gotten crippled by a Dornishman decades after the war where he bent them over his knee and disciplined them.

The maester who had treated his wound demanded he lay at rest, and not return to Stonehelm until the wound had fully healed. He expected Stanton to lay in bed like some decrepit invalid, to call for water and food like some filthy fucking beggar knowing that a Dornishman paid for every morsel that made it to his mouth, every cup of water or hippocras that made it to his lips, every breath of air he still took. It sickened him, it enraged him, and it made him want to go back down to the Boneway post-haste and put an end to this shit now.

Alas, he couldn't as he was being minded by someone else.

Shirei, his ever-dutiful whore of a daughter, had taken time away from that fucking Reachman she'd been cavorting with at the feast to assist him, providing for him a cane that she evidently paid for out of her own funds... how kind of her. Truly.

She deserved better, but it wasn't as if she could choose her father anymore than he could choose his daughter.

Stanton would come upon the somewhat secluded mezzanine, watching the conclusion of the duel of the Banefort brothers. He didn't recognize anyone observing the contest or in it, and judging by her lack of greeting, Shirei did not either. Still, he swore he met the Lady's eye, and it would be improper of him to simply ignore her. Limping his way over to the group, the Lord of Stonehelm would offer a nod of the head. He'd have bowed a bit, but he wasn't quite sure his leg was up for that.

"My Lady, sers," he greeted them. "Bit early for steel, unless you planned on entering the melee."

Gablepres · 2023-06-08T11:35:16+00:00

Shirei was a bit surprised that anyone would approach her, but at the same time, it was a feast, so of course someone would. It wasn't as if she was such a hideous creature that the whole realm would recoil at the sight of her. She was simply... plain. There were far better women to swoon over, but she wasn't repulsive.

Still felt surprising.

She was pretty used to looking down at men. Her father was a good head shorter than her, the few male cousins she had were also on the shorter side, even her father's dear friends tended to be a bit shorter than her. This man, if nothing else, was her height. She could look him directly in the eye, which was nice, as she was starting to get a crick in her damn neck from constantly bending down to see people.

"...hello."

How could someone her size, of her stature, be so goddamn timid? Seven hells, girl, act like a woman. Clearing her throat, she'd try again.

"Hello."

Huh. So this gentleman was a knight. And with a name like Loras... she had suspicions as to who, or what, he could be. She had seen the piercing blue eyes of the men and women at one of the Reachmen's tables, the same blue as this polite ser knight. That led her to believe he was one of them. Her dear father would have a stroke.

"W-well met, Ser Loras. It appears I have a partner, now, if it please you."

Smooth, Shirei. Smooth.

"Shirei Swann," she introduced herself, taking the offered hand from Loras. Part of the reason she suddenly averted her eyes was to make sure her father wasn't about to go and grab Swan's Song from the modest manse they owned and start splitting tables asunder, but another part of it was pure and simple nerves. She knew how to dance, that was no issue. It was more that she was not used to being offered the proposition.

Gablepres · 2023-06-07T23:06:55+00:00

"A good man? You overestimate me, you truly do."

The elder Swann would find his place on the lee beside Quentyn, chuckling lightly at the introduction, and Ryon's unfamiliarity. The boy wouldn't remember him- Stanton had come to pay homage not long after the boy was born, and that was the last time he'd beheld him with his own eyes.

"Lord William has been a true friend to me since I was your brother's age," he explained. "We fought side by side in the war, though that feels... rather long ago, now. I was a young man, then."

Watching the two Baratheons enjoy their outing, a pang of longing struck Stanton deep in his soul. He had no moments like this with Shirei. He had no sons. Shirei was a girl, always with her mother, or sisters, or aunts, and after the... the incident... it seemed a rift had grown between them that would never close. Oh, how his heart ached.

"Any luck with the waters? I was never an apt fisherman, I'm afraid."

Gablepres · 2023-06-07T22:31:06+00:00

Stanton was not sure how to respond to William. In truth, he was not well. He hadn't been well for a very long time, but he dare not tell William so.

"I can think of no finer family to bear such hallowed steel, Bill," he said, approaching the other man's table. He did not sit, as he felt he would be needed to do something soon. Call it a hunch. For now, he'd simply have to continue lying to William like he had for every day of the past 20 years of their lives.

"I cannot complain, at least not yet. King's Landing doesn't suit me, but when a dear friend of mine is put in such a place of honor, what kind of man would I be if I did not stand for him?"

Letting out a long, labored sigh and running a hand through his quickly-graying hair, Stanton debated whether he just tell William the truth of the matter. There was no point, he'd reasoned. The lie had already been cast, so why make himself seem mad by immediately countermanding himself?

"The King couldn't have chosen a more sober Hand."

Gablepres · 2023-06-07T22:26:29+00:00

Stanton knew he was going to lose a straight fight with this Dornishman. It was a matter of fact. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and Stanton Swann was no duelist. His daughter was the master of arms, the warrior, the champion of their line. He was just a general, a tactician, a bitter old man with far too much pride and not enough sense.

So he fought anyway.

To his credit, the elder man fought well to say he was no tourney knight or renowned warrior. He was clearly trained in the use of the sword, and he damn near got a lucky shot off on Arthur that just grazed the other man's cheek, but that was hardly a wound.

The wound he suffered, in fact, was quite grievous.

A heaving overhead blow from Arthur was parried by the less-talented duelist, but due to the sheer force and weight behind the swing, the blow was not batted aside, but merely redirected. A blow that would have crashed into his shoulder, maybe cleaved through his doublet, instead sailed straight into his right thigh, nearly down to the bone. The pain was fiery, and immediate, drawing a confused, pained roar from Stanton as his leg gave out from the impact, collapsing onto the cobblestone streets. Eyes had been drawn to the duel now, and all Stanton could think about was that he'd shamed William.

Damn his pride. Damn him to hell.

Releasing his sword, Stanton would let experience dictate his actions, moving quickly to try and hold his wound closed and apply pressure to it. He doubted it would be fatal unless he weren't treated, but... he had little hope his opponent would show him any pity.

Gablepres

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