Had a bit of a scare with my hard drive in the last couple days; my computer keeps forgetting where it put my HDD, which I keep all my stories and games on (including SWTOR). I managed to save a copy of this story to my SSD first, so I kept writing. Apparently the HDD is wearing out and needs to be replaced. But it’s within warranty, so that’s good! But I have to pause here for a bit until it’s fixed. I know it’s not a very satisfying place to stop, but hopefully it’ll be fixed soon.

Murlesson listens to death metal! (optional listening with swear words) I don’t care for it personally, (symphonic/power metal for me!) but I respect his choices. (Ashara probably listens to, like, J-pop or something. I know the Republic has got a more Classic Rock/Country feel going on, but she doesn’t strike me as either of those, personally. Or maybe I just like J-pop.)

You know what, Khem reminds me of Sten from Dragon Age Origins. >.> Big, grumpy, honourable-combat-obsessed warrior with an oversized sword. Or maybe that’s just how I wrote both of them, oops.

Part 20: Convalescence

Part 21: Venom Rising

He was getting better physically every day, though he was still far too tired and his appetite was still low. But though the ache persisted – an ache he now knew was linked to his body falling apart, as his headache was linked to his parasites nibbling at his mind – he could bear it enough to move around as normal.

Which led to Ashara bouncing into his room after a few more days, and poking him with both index fingers in the shoulder. “Hey. Hey hey hey. Let’s spar today. Stop with the screaming noises and spar with me.” Continue reading →

Trigger warning for discussion of depression, which will continue until those ghosts get exorcised. Possible discussion of suicide in upcoming chapters, just so you’re not caught unawares.

I hit 50K for NaNoWriMo today!

Nightmare music. Depression music.

Part 19: Conflagration

Part 20: Convalescence

He couldn’t see, he couldn’t move. Dread filled him, a mindless, all-encompassing terror that would have paralyzed him if half of it didn’t come from being paralyzed to begin with. He wasn’t bound or tied down, he simply could not command his body to move. Continue reading →

And so ends Act 2. (announcer voice): RELEASE THE DRAMA-LLAMAS

Thanaton fight soundtrack whoohoo

In retrospect, I haven’t done as well by Thanaton as I had wished to (narratively speaking; in actual fact I hate his guts, the arrogant snot). He was really not a very scary villain in the game, just kind of being annoying and antagonist-y without being very effective, and I had wanted to change that. I’ve made some effort to make him more active (Leppo, the useless Hoth assassins) but it’s really not enough, isn’t it? I’ll try again once I get to the final showdown, but Act 2 could probably use a rewrite to make it even more mastermind vs. mastermind, rather than mastermind doing his own thing vs. some distant vague threatening… guy.

I do have at least one idea to improve him, but it would involve taking Hoth apart and then putting it back together again and I think I’d rather see the story through to the end first before going back, since I might get other ideas!

Part 18: Dance with the Devil

Part 19: Conflagration

Dromund Kaas was just as he remembered it. The humidity, the thunderstorms, the sinister thrumming of the Dark Side. It was… not bad to be back, surprisingly. It wasn’t home to him the way Nar Shaddaa had become, but it was familiar, and familiar was comforting. The only thing that really bothered him was his companions. He ordered them to stay behind, and when he arrived at the gate to the Sith Sanctum, they were getting out of the taxi speeder behind his.

“You are the worst minions,” he growled at them under his breath, trying not to attract attention. Continue reading →

Hey are you ready for some tooth-rotting fluffy fluff? I’m ready for some tooth-rotting fluffy fluff! : D Does it count as dancing with the devil if the devil can’t dance?

I made a picture using the Rinmaru couple’s dollmaker of their date outfits, lol. (Had to photoshop it a little to get the colours right.) I mean, I was kind of thinking more like this in red for Ashara’s top, but close enough, right?

Date night soundtrack!! Someone put the lyrics in the comments somewhere and they’re weirdly appropriate! <3

EDIT: Ashara was weirdly okay with murder in the previous version of this chapter, so I changed that.

Part 17: Apogee

Part 18: Dance with the Devil in the Pale Moonlight

He found himself nervous as the time they’d set to go out drew nearer, and he had no idea why. It wasn’t logical, he’d watched all of Lightning Strikes My Heart and half a dozen other holodramas that had at least a romantic subplot, he knew what to do and how to act. And it was Ashara, who… was actually intimidating in her mysterious femininity, or feminine mysteriousness, or something, was that the problem? He knew how women in holodramas acted, he knew how Ashara acted, but he didn’t know how Ashara-as-a-woman acted. And… he… wanted things to go ‘well’, whatever that meant. He guessed it meant Ashara enjoying herself, and him successfully carrying off the role. Continue reading →

Lots of game dialogue in this one; Hoth actually isn’t so terrible, story-wise, and there’s really only two complaints I have about it. One is that there aren’t enough dialogue options that let the Inquisitor look smart, and the other is just that the planet is so long and empty.

Also, did you know Zabrak have two hearts? I did not until I was doing research a couple days ago, so I guess I have to go back and see if I need to edit earlier chapters now!

Random soundtrack of the day: Joe Hisaishi’s Sonatine seems somehow fitting for Hoth (used for traveling to the Star of Coruscant), even if it’s not quite the usual mood for Murlesson (would probably work better for Coerthas, come to think of it). (also a relevant track from Corpse Party, used for exploring tombs and being grouchy)

Part 16: Out of the Cooler and Into the Freezer

Part 17: Apogee

Days passed, and no sign of the Starrunner appeared. He even went back to visit the Ortolan clan that Horak-Mul had used to speak to him, but the ghost refused to talk to him, and any evidence they’d recovered from the beacon was gone, probably destroyed. And Thanaton was sending out another apprentice or three on an ‘unknown mission’… but surely his paranoia on hearing it was justified. Thanaton sent out apprentices all the time, on random mysterious missions, but not three at once. He had another week and a half before the fastest ship could get to Hoth, but after that it would be a race for survival. It already was a race for survival. Continue reading →

Murlesson works in Celcius because the Empire uses metric. And hey, I managed to recycle something from Tatooine (even though I replayed that months ago so I don’t have any of the actual dialogue). I just thought it would be more interesting to do it this way than to blandly exposit ‘rumours’.

Next chapter is slowly taking shape but it’s still taking some time to sand the less-good corners off everything.

Part 15: Insignificant Haircut

Part 16: Out of the Cooler and Into the Freezer

Belsavis was the weirdest planet he’d been on yet. As Revel had described to him, massive three-to-four-hundred-metres-high glaciers blanketed most of the planet, thanks to its orbit on the outer side of its star’s habitable zone. But the planet’s huge, hot core had, via volcanic activity, melted giant gaps in the ice, leaving them free to be filled with rich, thermal-powered jungles. From space, the planet looked like it had green acne. Charming. Continue reading →

Gave Murlesson some nice loot from that side-quest. Might mean I ramble less about logistics and base management. A little bit. Yes, we are going to Belsavis next. It won’t take long, I’m starting to get impatient about Hoth.

For anyone wondering what Murlesson looks like in-game, I believe his appearance is:
Body Type 2
Head 2
Scars 1 (none)
Complexion ??? (probably 1?)
Eye colour 1
Tattoos 3 (although I’m not sure how canonical that is; supposedly the facial markings are applied at a coming-of-age ceremony, but given how he’s been a slave all his life, how could he have a coming-of-age ceremony? There’s a strong chance he doesn’t have tattoos, and I’m not sure how important he would consider them to get them just to match his character model) (EDIT: he got them in Part 4)
Horns and Hair 2 (15 before it grows out)
Hair colour 5
Skin colour 2
Before the above-mentioned Insignificant Haircut, his hair probably looks something like this. But with Zabrak horns of course. Although, that’s probably too much hair – he’s only had a few months to grow it out – but you get the idea. Continue reading →