#((I wanted to include more powers but Travis just has... so many...))

[milfygerard]

it feels a little callous but i cant help but find this whole brittany mahomes thing kind of extremely funny because like. Ok so taylor has very valid reason to not speak out on this upcoming election at all considering she just narrowly avoided a terrorist attack from a different far right extremist group and america has guns and a decent population of people who thought shed use the superbowl to brainwash people into getting gay biden vaccines and im positive many of those people were the cops who would be in charge of investigating that terrorist threat but ALSO none of this wouldve happened if she didnt feel a deep need to be liked and so felt compelled to befriend her boyfriends coworkers wife except her boyfriend is a linebacktightendwhatever for the nfl so of course his coworkers wife (as well as a number of his coworkers) is a conservative white lady who obviously voted trump on the dl and so are most of her friends folding taylor into a circle that even at her most politically mum she never wanted to be involved in. Taylor swift is also of course a known coward who took 10 years and a movie to even just declare that shes a democrat which she obviously was and also obviously hid for marketing reasons (which was heavily encouraged by her team and her dad who is in her team) while taking advantage of the 2015 aesthetic pop politics to say that she likes gay people and respects women, which left a bad taste in peoples mouths once popular politics left its frothy naiivete behind in 2016 and she fell off the face of the earth in a valiant effort to not kill herself which allowed for the co-opting of her extremely white image from the growing reactionary movement that she eventually had to do way more work to cut down bc she didnt nip it in the bud fast enough which has left a long standing bad taste in peoples mouths and a negative association in their minds

but anyway this all leads back to the bizarre mean girl politics of 78 year old high schooler donald trump whose still mad that taylor called him a fascist because i guess he liked her music and who has spent the last few months trying to tie himself to her because she is currently God of the Monoculture and any mention of her brings attention which is mr celebrity apprentices only desire and the reason he even ran for president but now HIS star is falling as the republican party has finally found a good excuse to kick him to the curb because they have a far less embarassing woman who is popular enough that you can publicly support her and only leftists will be disgusted but fascist enough to work directly with you to continue funding and supporting the brutal racist border policies we hold with mexico and the insanse christian zionist genocide happening in palestine and definitely wont do anything to stop the transphobia culture war that you have rolling which will keep you in legislative and representative power for as long as you want BUT i digress. donald trump found out probably from understandably angry swifties that some WAG who liked posts supporting him is ALSO publicly associated with taylor swift and is considered a friend in her circles and so the DAY BEFORE hr boyfriends first game where she generally sits in the WAG group with families and partners including her new bestie brittany he makes a very public post announcing how he just SOOO APPRECIATES brittany mahomes and her PUBLIC SUPPORT and how its SO IMPORTANT TO HIM which sets a trap specifically made to torture taylor swift of choosing between publicly rejecting and admonishing brittany mahomes and her support which will not just piss off brittany and patrick burning a personal AND professional bridge, but also a large chunk of the extremely conservative NFL and could potentially have a negative impact on travis' career going forward considering how petty sports drama can be OR she can say nothing and trigger headline after headline of TAYLOR SWIFT FRIENDS WITHWOMAN PUBLICLY THANKED BY DONALD TRUMP FOR SUPPORT which isnt only a pr nightmare but also gets trump his one actual desire which is being paid attention to and discussed OR she can go to the game but show in some way that she endorses Harris/Walz which will cause a similar shitstorm but in this one the likeliness of major conspiracy thoeries and terrorist threats and plots based on those theories rises exponentially less than a month after the last terrorist plot (discussed earlier in the post) that led her to cancel a 4 show stay that I imagine wasnt great for her anxiety and paranoia

and the funniest part is this is 10000% entirely her fault for failing to pick a side on the public about politics vs just a singer and artist debate and constantly going back and forth as her morals, her business instincts, her cowardice, and her self conscious need to be liked all go to war with each other because she just had to be friends with her boyfriends coworkers wife without ever assuming that this wildly wealthy white woman may possibly be a conservative because all the wildly wealthy white women she hangs out with are DEMOCRATS! or at least PRETEND to be! and THIS is why you dont date guys who work in the NFL!

[gumbootillustrations]

day 18 - headcanon

i had too many so no drawing today. instead, i offer a list.

bogan laurance. or, more specifically, bogan meteli. like cmonnn u Cannot tell me that meteli (esp old meteli) is just a standin for small-town new zealand/australia. anyway, they all have aussie/nz accents. laurs is the most obvious bc i think its funny. @shadowqnights @abxolotl this one goes out for you guys <3

on that note, ru'aun's environment is basically new zealand's. especially the sacred forest - it has major nz bush vibes. like.

cmon u Cannot tell me that these were taken in the sacred forest of ru'aun.

anyway. travis gets kept up at night by kiwi screaming at each other (seriously. take a listen.)

also, tu'la is inspired by the roman empire. ill probs elaborate on this in the future.

necromancer cadenza! i've spoken abt this before here if u want to see a bit more :3

irene's cathedral/dimension/whatever is less cathedral and more eldritch labyrinth. specifically, i envision it to be a lot like the theatre of domination from honkai impact 3rd.

garroth gardens in his free time! it's how he grows all the flowers for his flower crowns.

meif'wa are werecats; they can 'tuck in' their ears and tails like werewolves can (but it's generally super uncomfortable, no matter the species), and have a sort of hybrid cat-human form that they can also shift into.

melissa is the first ultima - i sort of got into it in this post, but essentially after mel comes back to find falconclaw destroyed and her siblings, aaron and lilly, dead (to the best of her knowledge - aaron is still alive, however), she strikes a deal with a goat-eyed being to bring them back, but because the fine print was specifically worded to fuck her over, her soul ends up getting fused with the wolf that she sacrifices for the ritual and she gets ultima'd.

also, lilly is now aaron and mel's younger sister. she's a ghost.

juror relics! i hate hate Hate how the jurors never get fleshed out in canon, so i gave them a bit more backstory in ashes, ashes. their powers originally came from smaller, less powerful relics that xavier carved off of his own, but after they get lost, they become figureheads for a long time until about 20-25 years prior to the start of ashes, ashes. there's a bit more on this in my day 20 post, pinky promise.

the generals of the shadow lord's army are called "death knells", and although they lead their own units/squadrons/whatever, their primary purpose is to oppose the divine warriors; including the shadow lord (who opposes irene), there are only ever seven death knells at one time. an example of a death knell is gene, who is intended to oppose kul'zak.

zianna is a witch, although, for most of her life, her abilities were passed off as her having prophetic magicks; these 'magicks' are why she was married off to garte, as the ro'meave line wanted to introduce these magicks into the family. unfortunately, the heir, garroth, didn't inherit his mother's abilities, but her two other children, zane/zuwellyn and vylad, did.

nicole is a half elf from her mum's side; her mum is matilda's sister, making her and levin first cousins. this is based on matilda lowkey looking really similar to nicole. idk i just think its fun.

garte sells out o'khasis to tu'la for more power during s2, thus transferring the jury of nine into the control of the king. it's a whole mess, and in the process, he essentially scapegoats zianna by faking his death.

however, this does make zianna lord of o'khasis. we love a girlboss.

the relics have different effects on their wielders; for example, esmund's relic makes its wielders a lot more physically dense, meaning that they'll sink into softer surfaces like sand and mud. xavier's relic turns its wielders hair red.

consequently, zane has red roots. he dyes his hair black (its natural colour) to hide them.

katelyn has the moniker of "the dragon of o'khasis". the phoenix drop gang mostly assumes that it's because she's ruthless on the battlefield... until she decides that the best course of action is to breathe fire at an opponent uncle iroh-style.

katelyn is also Stupidly superstitious. like. she fully believes in the sweater curse and will Refuse to walk under a ladder even if theres no other available path.

mys!nicole gets forever potioned. this has Consequences for the home gang during the events of s5-s6.

speaking of mys!nicole, her and dante are queerplatonic coparents to dmitri. they had him when they were in uni after a brief fling. he's the street's baby.

anyway i think thats abt it. lmk if u have any questions :3

(ps two days until day 20)

[440mxs-wife]

The Country Doctor, Chapter 1: A Fresh Start

Pairing: Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy x F!Reader (eventual). Other Characters are the usual suspects: Jim Kirk, Nyota Uhura. Spock, Montgomery Scott, Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov (to be introduced in later chapters.) OMC's Travis Myers and Miles Cooper.

Word Count: 4530

Warnings: Divorce, break-up, ruthless businessmen, mentions of infidelity, but mostly fluffy (for now)

Summary: Fresh off of his divorce, Dr. McCoy receives word that he has inherited a 5,000-acre farm and home in Logan, Montana. Finally, he has an opportunity for a clean slate and to start his own clinic out west and leave his ex-wife behind. Along the way, he'll meet a cast of unique characters, each with a place in his new small-town life. But there could be trouble ahead in the form of a powerful CEO hell-bent on acquiring Leonard's property by any means necessary.

A/N: This idea was posted by @hailbop1701, with a specific list of plot points/dialog to be included. I won't put the list here, because it'll give away too much. Not sure how many parts there'll be, but I hope you like where I take the story.

A/N 2: If you’ve been tagged here, it’s because you’ve interacted one or more times on a McCoy story of mine, or we’re moots. Whether you like or reblog, I am eternally grateful for your support. If anyone else would like to be tagged on any future Karl Urban character postings, or would rather leave the Crazy Train, please let me know. Thank you, and enjoy the show!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Court is adjourned."

That was the declaration eight weeks ago, when Dr. Leonard H. McCoy sat at a table with his attorney in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia. The Honorable Judge Michael Simmons had just pounded his gavel on the bench to signify an end to the McCoy v. McCoy divorce proceedings. Unfortunately, his now-ex-wife, Jocelyn, had the better attorney, which resulted in a somewhat less-than-equitable division of their assets.

At least Leonard was able to keep his vintage pickup truck and the 4-bedroom, 2 bath, ranch-style home he had lived in with Jocelyn. She basically got everything else in the settlement, though, including most of the furniture. She didn't technically need the furniture, since she was moving in with her new boyfriend. However, he had a rental property that needed furnishings, so that's where they went.

Two weeks after the divorce was finalized, Leonard received correspondence from a law firm in Montana, with a request for his presence. The letter did not specify the reason for the request, and when he called the law office, no one was authorized to divulge any information. He didn't want to find himself on the wrong side of the law and besides, he was more than a little curious. Luckily, the law firm had a satellite office in Atlanta, so that's where he attended the meeting.

An hour or so after the meeting ended, a slightly dazed Leonard walked out of the attorney's office with a file folder and a property deed in his hand. The meeting was for the reading of the will for his distant uncle, Walter McCoy. Around 5,000 acres of land in Montana along with an old craftsman-style farmhouse were bequeathed to him to do with as he pleased. There were also various outbuildings on the property, such as a machine shed, a barn with a hay loft, and horse stables.

He had options. There was an Eastern conglomerate, NorthStar Corp, that was willing to pay a more than fair price to buy it from him, lock, stock, and barrel. With what they were offering, Leonard wouldn't have to worry about money for the foreseeable future, if ever. Or, he could make the break from Georgia and his ex-wife with her boy-toy to make a go of it in Logan, Montana. Although Leonard wanted to stay near his mother, Eleanora, he had to consider that this was his chance to start over somewhere else.

When he told his best friend, James T. Kirk, about his inheritance, Jim could hardly contain his excitement. He considered it to be the start to a great adventure and was more than willing to accompany Leonard.

Jim had no family ties to speak of, preferring to live a sort of nomadic existence. He even offered to take turns driving the moving truck the 1,900 or so miles to Montana. "Good music, good snacks, and good company are all we need to get us to our destination, Bones," Kirk told him with a wide grin.

The more Leonard thought about it, the more he warmed up to the idea of starting somewhere new. A place where he wouldn't have to worry about running into someone who knew about the divorce and wouldn't hesitate to share an opinion about it. So, with Jim's help, he cleared his house out of any remaining items, put them in storage, then contacted a realtor to list it for sale.

After only a few showings, a deal was quickly closed, with a $30,000.00 profit in his bank account to show for it. Leonard and Jim loaded up his remaining possessions into the moving van, hooked up a car trailer with Leonard's pickup truck on it, and headed west to Montana. The pair made a few stops along the way, renting a hotel room to rest for the night before hitting the road again the next morning.

The more miles Leonard put behind him, the more comfortable and free he felt with his decision. He wasn't too keen on leaving his mother behind, but she assured him that she would be fine, even encouraged him to take this leap. He made a note to send her a plane ticket so she could visit once he got settled.

Nearly four days and more than 1,900 miles later, Leonard turned into the gravel driveway that led to his new home. It was a charcoal gray with white trim craftsman-style farmhouse with a tall, red brick chimney on one side. The wooden wrap-around porch was accented with white, tapered columns, set on top of the slotted railing framing the area. He appreciated the large windows, which would bring in a good amount of natural light, as well as soft breezes on lazy summer days.

"Well? Is it everything you expected?" Jim asked.

"I didn't exactly know what to expect, Jim. I don't even remember either of my parents ever mentioning an 'Uncle Walter McCoy'. He isn't someone I knew well enough for him to leave me something like this, but I'll do my best to make the most of it. From what I've seen so far, though, at least the outside looks fine," Leonard replied.

"That's the spirit, Bones! Let's go have a look at the grounds, then inside the house. After that, we can start unloading your stuff," Jim grinned as he scrambled out of the truck.

Leonard stepped down from the driver's seat and closed the door. "Sure, Jim. Why not," he muttered to himself. He fished the house keys out of his pocket on his way up the porch steps. The front door was made of solid oak with a dark finish and leaded glass panels arranged in a geometric design. He inserted the key into the lock and tilted his head back. "Here goes nothin', I guess," he murmured, pushing the door open.

***

At just after 2:00pm, you stopped by the post office to retrieve your mail that had piled up over the last couple of days. Before you left, you strolled up to the counter to chat with your best friend, Nyota Uhura. Her shift was almost over, so she suggested the two of you meet for coffee and a snack at the Java Station Café on Main Street.

While you waited for her at the café, you thought about how you met her and what brought you back to Logan, Montana. Your now-ex-boyfriend, Travis Myers, had convinced you to move with him from Logan to Bozeman. He'd landed a lucrative position as in-house counsel for a large and powerful corporation. You found work at a tech company doing data entry work for a medical office. Not too terribly taxing nor was it what you wanted for a career, but it paid well.

Around the six-month mark of living together in the big city, Travis started coming home later and later in the evening. Missed date nights and other outings were becoming more frequent, with him coming to bed late and leaving before you woke up. Whenever you tried to talk to him about it, he always chalked it up to working late on a big case or project, so you let it go.

The last straw was when the two of you were supposed to meet a few of your friends for dinner. Since he was late picking you up from home, you asked one of them to drive you to the restaurant. From the lobby, you called Travis and told him to meet you there.

Just before you said your goodbyes, you heard, "Come back to bed, baby, I'm cold" in a woman's voice. You were furious, demanding to know who the woman was and how long he had been seeing her. After first denying everything, he ultimately confessed it was his assistant and it had been going on for about six weeks. You felt your world collapsing around you at his admission. Dinner was forgotten while your friends drove you back to the apartment to pack up your belongings.

You couch-surfed for about a month before finding an apartment back in Logan, where you had previously lived with your parents. Because Travis paid for most of the expenses such as rent and utilities, you were able to save up quite a nest egg to cover your new living situation. However, you weren't sure how much longer your savings would hold out, so you decided to look for a job to make ends meet.

The bell above the door tinkled, and Nyota rushed over to your table. After a brief hug, you both sat down and waited for your server to appear and take your order. Uhura was practically vibrating with energy, which meant she had something exciting to share. A few minutes later, with your order submitted, she spilled her secret.

"You'll never guess what happened today!" she exclaimed. "Two men came in today to file a change of address card."

You snorted. "That sounds like something that happens every day around here, Nyota, not that interesting. You're nearly jumping out of your skin about this. What is so compelling about them that has you barely able to sit still long enough to tell me?"

Uhura made a face at you to show her displeasure. "If you can keep from insulting me, I'll tell you," she pouted. You held up your hands in surrender as her cue to continue. "They moved here from Georgia, and one of them has the most tantalizing Southern accent. They were both tall, one blond hair with striking blue eyes, and the other dark hair and hazel eyes. He seemed a little grumpy at first, but Blue Eyes was the more charming of the two," she explained.

"Did you get a look at their new address, the one here?" you asked.

"The one with dark hair listed his name as Dr. Leonard H. McCoy, and his address matched the one for Walter McCoy's place," she replied.

Now she had your attention. Every so often, you drove by the farm, wishing you lived there instead of your small, one-bedroom apartment. You had thoughts about what it would be like to buy the place one day so you could fix it up and return it to some of its old glory. You'd heard through the grapevine that the owner passed away a few months back. It was also mentioned that ownership would pass to his only other living relative.

"I've always thought about that place, what it looks like inside, how I would spruce it up. Wait a minute, did you say Doctor McCoy?" you squeaked.

"And her brain has finally caught up with her mouth," Uhura joked. "I was wondering when you'd catch on to that tidbit of information. That house has a separate office space, ideal for treating patients. Word travels fast in this town, and once folks get to know there's a doctor in town again, Dr. McCoy is bound to need help. You know, with paperwork or coordinating treatment of his patients. Know anyone with those kind of skills?" she grinned.

In addition to your data entry job, you had acquired some basic medical training. The town had a couple of paramedics within the Volunteer Fire Department for the more serious cases. For now, it was enough, but it would be nice for the vacancy to be filled, especially by a handsome doctor. "Hmm. Maybe I should head out that way, introduce myself, see if he needs any help." Beg him for a job, you silently added.

"That's the spirit! If you're done with your coffee, we should drive out there and check things out. You in?" she held out her hand for you to shake.

After draining the last of your cappuccino, you nodded and shook her hand. "I'm all in," you declared.

***

Leonard and Jim wandered the property, taking in the condition and contents of the outbuildings. Many of the machines and tools were left behind. They noted which items were and were not still functional, to determine what could be easily returned to service or sold for parts. The good news was, the buildings themselves were structurally sound, although at least in need of a new outer coat of paint.

As for the house itself, Leonard was pleased to find a side entrance that led to an office, set apart from the main house. It was perfect for starting his clinic, with a small area that could function as a waiting room, and enough space for a reception desk. He made a note to check in town for a secondhand store to pick up a desk, some chairs and other furnishings.

Jim joked and told him that all he needed now was a pretty receptionist who could also perform nursing duties. Leonard glared at him in response, reminding him that after the way divorce went, he wasn't at all interested in dating. "Just doctorin'," he affirmed. "Maybe fishin', if the winds are just right," he added with a smirk.

A tour of the home's interior revealed hardwood flooring in the bedrooms and living room, while ceramic tiles covered the floor in the eat-in kitchen. There was a separate dining room space between the kitchen and living room. The centerpiece of the living room was a fireplace made with gray bricks and had a dark wooden mantle above it.

Before his arrival, Leonard contacted the utilities and asked for them to be turned on and transferred into his name. That gave Leonard and Jim a chance to determine what worked and what needed repaired. For the most part, the electrical system was in good working order, except for a few outlets that may need replaced or updated.

The water situation was another story. At first, when Jim turned on the high-arching faucet in the kitchen, the white farmhouse sink reflected a light brownish tint to the water. The pedestal sink and clawfoot tub in the main bathroom, plus the sinks in the half-baths were the same shade of brown. However, the more they let the water run, the clearer it became, which helped ease their minds a bit.

Leonard walked back out to the porch to make a mental list of what he'd need to bring the old house back to life and working order. The hardwood floors were in good condition, though they could use a bit of polish applied to them. There were a few non-working electrical outlets that would need an electrician's expertise to chase down the problem. In the bedrooms, there were spots where the wallpaper was peeling away from the wall. Not exactly a fan of wallpaper, Leonard decided it would be better to tear it all down and paint instead.

Overall, the pluses outweighed the minuses, such as the updated appliances in the kitchen and quartz countertops. Leonard could definitely see himself cooking up a Sunday dinner of his mother's chicken and dumplings with a peach cobbler. As an avid reader, he also loved the built-in bookshelves to showcase his personal library of classics. And the side-door entrance to the office space provided a break between his professional life and his personal life.

Jim joined him out on the porch and gazed out over the mature trees that dotted the property. "So now that you've taken the grand tour, what do you think, Bones?"

Leonard thought for a moment before answering. "Think I'm gonna like it here. Let's start unloading the truck," he directed. "Good thing we hit those consignment shops on the way here, or you wouldn't have a bed to sleep in," he jested.

Jim was about to unlatch the door on the moving truck when he noticed a car turning into the driveway. "Welcoming Committee?" he wondered. Leonard shook his head and rolled his eyes while he walked over to stand next to Jim. They both watched as the car rolled to a stop near the front of the truck.

***

The drive to the McCoy place only took about twenty minutes, which you spent silently reviewing your qualifications. Uhura could tell you were worried about making a good impression, which she was sure you would. She told you not to worry about it, that you were the best candidate for the job, if Dr. McCoy was hiring. "What if he's not hiring, though?" you asked.

"Then we'll have to convince him that he'll need your help, being the only doc in town. There really is no way around it, he will require an assistant," she reasoned. Her response sounded logical, so you accepted it and kept driving out to meet your prospective employer.

Soon your car was pulling into the driveway, where a large moving truck was parked. Upon seeing the two men standing to one side, you had to admit that Uhura was right. They were both strikingly handsome men. The dark-aired man carried a stern look on his face and his arms were crossed over his chest. The blond seemed a little more easygoing, self-assured, bordering on cocky, as if he knew what a good-looking man he was.

As you exited your vehicle, the men had started walking in your direction. "You ladies lost or somethin'?" the dark-haired man drawled. Ohhhh, that accent was enough to make you weak in the knees, you thought. You held on to your open door for balance.

"Yeah, can we help you?" the blond man wondered with a smirk.

When your brain finally rebooted, you responded, "Actually, we were hoping to be of assistance to you, since you're new in town." At this, you introduced the two of you and learned that the blond was James T. Kirk, or "Jim" he offered with a waggle of his eyebrows. His grumpy companion with the dark hair was the Dr. Leonard H. McCoy who now owned the property.

"I think we can manage fine with just the two of us. Good day, la--" Leonard was interrupted by Jim, who pulled him aside.

"Wait a minute, Bones, let's not be too hasty. I mean, these are a couple of gorgeous women who showed up out of nowhere to see us," Jim pointed out. "It wouldn't hurt to hear what they had to say, now would it?"

Leonard pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in exasperation. He was here to be a physician, to take care of people who need help, not dip a toe in the dating pool. When he looked up, he noticed that Jim had left his side and was talking to Uhura, while you had stepped up in his place.

"Excuse me, Dr. McCoy? I understand that my friend and I just turned up unannounced on your doorstep, and you don't know anything about us. But this is a pretty small town, and I should tell you, it won't take long for people to learn that we have a new physician to replace old Doc Thomas. Therefore, I'm offering you my services. I have some basic medical training, and I used to do data entry for a medical company back in Bozeman," you explained.

"Bozeman? Why on earth would you ever leave there to live here? Not to say that what I've seen so far of Logan isn't simply charming," Leonard added with more than a hint of sarcasm.

"I'll be glad to share that little tidbit of information once we've gotten used to working together," you shot back. "By hiring me, you'll have a well-organized appointment calendar, along with accurate patient files. You'll also have someone who knows how to take and record vitals, which leaves you free to do the doctorin'. So, do we have a deal?" you asked, your hand outstretched.

Leonard took a moment to consider your offer, bold though it was. He had to concede that in a town of this size, word would get around about a new physician and spread like wildfire. He'd probably end up with a huge influx of patients. Even if it was only at first, he might become easily overwhelmed. Patient care was of the utmost importance to him, and if you could make things easier for him, who was he to reject such a proposition?

His lack of response translated to you as a decline of your offer of assistance. As you started to withdraw your hand, he quickly grabbed it and clasped it between his own. "Whoa, hold on there just a minute. All right, you have a deal, but we'll do this as a trial run. A three-month probationary period, take it or leave it," he bartered, fighting the urge to smile.

"Thank you, Dr. McCoy! Three months? That'll be more than enough time for you to decide you can't live without me! In-in the office, I mean," you clarified.

Leonard couldn't help but smile at your blunder. "All right, now that we have that settled, I hope you'll excuse me and Casanova over there with your friend. We have a lot to unload, and I'd like to sleep in my own bed tonight rather than the couch," he stated.

"We can help, if that's okay with you? With four sets of hands, we can be done in no time. Besides, I've always been kind of curious about what the inside of your house looks like," you admitted.

You are one interesting woman, Leonard thought to himself. "Okay, let's get started then. Once we get everything out of the truck, I'll take you on the nickel tour," he winked. He whistled to get Jim's and Uhura's attention, then opened up the back of the truck.

***

"There, I think that's the last of it," Leonard declared after he removed the final box from the moving truck and placed it on the lawn. He jumped up to grab the leather strap, then pulled down the rolling door until it was flush with the deck. He latched and locked the door, picked up the box, and brought it into his new home.

 Jim and Uhura had taken your car into town to pick up something for dinner, which left you alone with Leonard. During the unloading, you didn't get much of a chance to stop and look around. But now that most of the heavy lifting was done, you seized the opportunity to take in your surroundings.

You were so caught up in admiring the home's features that you didn't hear Dr. McCoy slide up next to you. "If you have your nickel, I'm ready to start the tour," he grinned. You dug in your pocket, which luckily contained the right coin for the price of your ticket. "Ready when you are, Dr. McCoy," you replied, handing over the 5 cents.

***

Video Conference Call -- Bozeman, Montana

Travis checked his watch to see that he had another ten minutes before his conference call was scheduled to start. He opened the blue file folder in front of him, which was sent from his employer regarding a property they wanted to acquire in Logan, Montana. He sat back in his chair as he thought about how you'd moved there after breaking up with him. Before he could stroll any further down Memory Lane, his alarm beeped to let him know it was time to start the call.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Travis greeted. He could see the CEO, Miles Cooper, at the head of the table, surrounded by other members of NorthStar Corp's Board of Executives.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Myers. I see you have the file in front of you, so let's begin. We understand that the principal owner of the McCoy property has passed away. As such, we want to move forward and make the new owner an offer to purchase the parcel of land and whatever's on it. The house, barn, stables--everything, down to the last shingle," Mr. Cooper explained.

"My source tells me that the new owner drove all the way from Atlanta, Georgia to check out the property. He is also a doctor, and the town has been without one since the last one died. In my opinion, this could present a problem. He may decide to stay and 'hang out his shingle', as it were," Travis pointed out.

Mr. Cooper leaned back in his chair and rested his steepled index fingers on his chin as he contemplated his next move. As he considered this new development, conversation buzzed around him among the other executives. According to one of the scientific reports he received, there were plenty of reasons for encouraging the good doctor to sell.

The report mentioned the discovery of several veins of copper and silver running beneath the surface. The financial gains from mining those resources would more than cover the initial investment paid to acquire the property. Whether the new owner was aware of these precious metals was unknown, but Cooper needed to act fast before the doctor learned of their existence.

With a wave of his hand, silence returned to the board room as Mr. Cooper had made a decision. "Mr. Myers, I suggest you do your best to convince Dr. McCoy to sell the property to us. I will have a new purchase offer drawn up that's more than fair, and you should strongly encourage him to accept it."

Travis carefully considered Mr. Cooper's words that carried the barest hint of a threat behind them. "Sir, I will present your offer; however, we should be prepared for him to turn it down and decide to become the town's doctor."

"You worry about getting a signature on that purchase agreement, Myers, and I will worry about whether or not a contingency plan will be needed. Before the previous owner's death, this was a working farm, right? Lots of tools, machinery? Farming is considered to be one of the most dangerous professions, you know. Accidents can and do happen. It would be unfortunate if an accident should befall the good Dr. McCoy," Mr. Cooper replied darkly.

There was no mistake in Mr. Cooper's intent this time. "Absolutely, sir. I will find a way to present your offer that will make it difficult if not impossible to decline it."

Mr. Cooper's eyes brightened and a smile graced his face. "Excellent, Myers, I knew I could count on you. I'll send that new offer over to you as soon as I have it and we'll go from there," he stated. "I appreciate your cooperation, Myers, I certainly won't forget it."

"And thank you, Sir. I welcome this opportunity, and I will not let you down," Travis concluded.

"Let us hope not, Myers. I'd hate for you to experience any....negative fallout, should you be unable to close this deal," Mr. Cooper remarked ominously before disconnecting the call.

Travis relaxed in his chair and began to formulate a plan in his mind. A sly grin crept across his face as he thought of the perfect way to get an inside look into the doctor's life.

Of course, it involved a trip to Logan and should he happen to run into you, so much the better. For him, anyway. Though there was a near 100% chance that you would want nothing to do with him. If that was the case, his plan may be a bust before it even gets started.

Especially after the way things ended between you discovering his infidelity. For that reason alone, it was likely your walls of protection against him and his crap were nearly guaranteed to be sky-high. But it was a chance he was willing to take, because he did not want to disappoint his client. Something told him that with a failure of this magnitude, Mr. Cooper was capable of making his life a living hell.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tags: @marvelouslytrekking @spacedancer1701 @anna-phora @hailbop1701 @writercole @lassie-bird @never--doubt @phoenixisred @wayward-dreamer @erindiggory @strangesgirls @dumpsterhippie @genevablog26 @lokis-deares @medicatemedrmccoy @rooweighton @mamamercurymist @d-doki-doki @malmeansbad @imamotherfuckingstar-lord @ghosttrekkie @noforkingclue @bellestalesoffiction

[xerith-42]

Minecraft Diaries Stoner Headcanons

Part 2 in the Aphverse Stoner Series!

Disclaimer: I haven't watched Season 3! I mean, I have, but I don't remember any of it other than that Blaze was in it-- And I just checked the wiki and he's a villain? Uhm. No, he isn't. Hatsune help me I'm going to have to make a whole post about that now... anyways, pretend Blaze is just like another guard Irena gathered because she just collects them like they're pokemon.

Blaze our beloved to start us off. Uh, pipe weed is really common in Ru'aun, it's actually a primary export. And well, Blaze is a pretty big fan of it. Once when he's smoking weed with his friend, he comes to a realization.

"Listen, listen. We use earth with the plant, fire by lighting it, and air to inhale it. What we're missing is water." I am saying that Blaze made the first bong in the MCD universe. Or that he at least came up with it and was credited for the original idea. These two are very proud of their idea and want to spread it everywhere.

Pipe weed is not allowed at the guard academy, and guards are expected to remain sober, even though alcohol is okay?? Doesn't really make sense to a lot of new cadets, including Laurance, who's able to smuggle it in, and hide it from Garroth.

Vylad does actually smoke pipe weed, particularly while on his own during those 15 years. It helps relax their muscles, and causes a sort of numbness that helps keep the calling quiet.

When he tells Laurance of this, both of them share it together at some point.

Dante used to smoke weed with Laurance on slow nights in Phoenix Drop, and even smoked it with Nicole a few times. He quit when he found out Nana was pregnant.

The number one smoker is Travis. His mom had a stock pile of it he found, enough to last years, and it's one of the main things he brings with him to Ru'aun.

When Travis and Blaze meet, they are instant friends. I don't know what happens in Season 3, but this is all that matters to me. They would be BESTIES!!

Despite being banned by the church, Zane is in a position of power so the rules don't apply to him. He never does it when he has something serious going on, but when Zane has some downtime, he'll light up a bowl to take the strain out of his shoulders.

A downside of being a Shadow Knight is that your lungs are much more used to inhaling smoke and dealing with heat thanks to the Nether, so they have some insane tolerance. Like, Vylad was smoking so much, and Laurance is never not frustrated at how much he has to go through in a single sitting just to feel something.

And Aaron? When he was a father? And a Lord?? Of course he was smoking. He was very careful about it, and kept it away from Jacob. And as he traveled with the rest of the cast, he was always careful to hide it from the kids. He didn't quite mind if anyone else saw, as long as they were smart enough not to ask for it.

Travis is not smart enough.

Also Aaron likes wearing the bandana when he accidentally gets a little too high so no one can see how bloodshot his eyes are. Irena can tell by the way he stumbles a little more than usual.

Zoey? Pot head. She's literally an immortal elf, she has tried every drug Ru'aun has ever had and then some. She stops smoking it as much when she's taking care of the kids, but after the group is gone for a few years and she spends more nights searching for a way to bring them back, she picks it back up to try and seem less stressed when people talk to her.

I feel like all Lords smoke just a little. Like, it's such a stressful job. You're constantly having to care for so many people, be a master of subjects you might not have studied, and who knows when one day you wake up to the news that you have to ready yourself for war. People need a way to relieve the stress.

Except Irena. She tried it once when she caught Aaron smoking and it tasted so bad and she did not enjoy the feeling at all. When she becomes friends with Blaze he tries to coax her into it, but she never caves, and he backs off.

LUCINDA on the other hand!! She's a witch! She's a bit of an herbalist! Does she know the perfect growing conditions for the plant of origin and how to cultivate it's harvest for maximum output?? You bet your ass she does!

Blaze x Lucinda x Travis polycule when?

The first time Lucinda and Blaze meet each other he tells her about his innovation of using glass devices to create water vapor that you can smoke, and Lucinda very eagerly drags him into her brewing room and just proudly goes "I have a cauldron!! >:)" And Blaze gets so excited!! He's already trying to figure out what he would have to custom order to work with this, but he needs to try it.

Wait why is that adorable I need to write that now.

[wlwlibrary]

my exact feelings about arcane and yellowjackets

like there are so many deaths in arcane and they all feel meaningful, silco dying has so many narrative consequences, not only on jinx's character development, but also the entire underground movement, Isha's death has such a big emotional impact, I was crying so damn hard while watching, and it also serves as a catalyst for jinx character development, jinx arc being completed by breaking the cycle and sacrificing herself for her sister is a good ending, don't get me wrong I love the mentally ill character being able to heal narrative just as much as I love a tragic ending, it all depends on the tone of the story and the build up to the final moment, there's also a bunch of minor characters dying in the final battle and it just felt so real and tragic, like yes this is war, people will die, and it makes it so real because there are very few super-powered characters that seem to be able to take more damage than any human could survive and there is also no bringing people back from the dead, which makes the stakes insanely high because there are actual consequences, in arcane every death has an emotional AND narrative impact

now in yellowjackets the deaths in the teen timeline are kind of expected because cannibalism is literally part of the premise and it's about surviving the wilds, it would be very unrealistic if nobody died, however that doesn't make them any less emotionally impactful, Laura Lee's death is very symbolic and meaningful as it squashes the last bit of hope of getting rescued, her character being very religious is also a symbolism of innocence and the others continually lost their innocence following her death, Jackie's death literally haunts the narrative and Shauna well into season 3, it also starts them on the cannibalism path, Javi's death was arguably one of the most tragic ones because he was innocent and he didn't have to die, they could have saved him but they didn't which made me truly despise every single one of the teens, Javi's death also impacts Natalie's character development, I don't have a lot to say about Crystal's death other than that it still has narrative impact, Coach Ben's death again very emotionally loaded because it brings up the question, is it more humane to end someone's suffering by killing them if they wish to? which is strongly correlated to personal autonomy and agency over one's life including the right to die at one's chosen time and manner, the scientist's (Edwin) death is pretty much for shock value, but it also has narrative consequences because it complicates rescue as there are now outsiders who are witnesses of their atrocities, Cody's death again shock value with narrative consequences even bigger than Edwin's death because his death means squashing any hopes of rescue yet again, Mari being pit girl is a nice full circle reveal and she's also a martyr because she died to help them all get rescued

now the deaths in the present timeline are even more fascinating to me, I truly believe that all te survivors dying one after the other until there's only one woman left is the best way to conclude the story (my bet is on Misty because she's the most resilient one out of them all and it would be poetic to see her, the girl who always wanted to feel included and liked by others, be the last one standing), i will admit Travis' death was rushed and was mostly to drive along the plot but the other deaths are really impactful (I mean his death was emotionally impactful to Nat and it definitely furthered her character arc), Nat's death is another full circle moment because she finally has the chance to do what she should have done with Javi and save an innocent bystander (Lisa), she felt so guilty for not helping Javi and this way she can make up for that, it also makes sense in that moment because she was starting to heal at Lottie's compound and finally saw clearly, the plane scenes are fucking amazing and it kind of hints that there might be a place where all the souls/spirits of the people that died in the wilderness end up, but that's the beauty of the show, there's so much symbolism and different ways to interpret what is said or portrayed (supernatural vs. logical explanations) that you as the audience have to really examine it and come to your own conclusion, the ambiguity makes it so good and I do hope we never get a clear answer from the writers/creators

Not a popular opinion on tumblr I know but I would argue character death is good for stories, actually, and often a death with long narrative consequences is much better use of a character than having them linger with no more important plot beats to hit.

Character death isn’t writers being mean to viewers or something characters don’t “deserve,” it’s an important part of narrative and plotting to give stories stakes and emotional beats. The work making you have an emotion is in fact the point, not something to avoid.

[katgametable]

TAZ Abnimals Episode 17 Figging Around

Written 19 Feb 2025, shortly after listening, before listening to Ep18.

I don’t know why they called this episode Figging Around. There were no figs the fruit, and as far as I’m aware the only verb “to fig” is not suitable for young ears. Anyway.

The boys and their new criminal cohorts head to The Dryeria, the laundromat Herr Dryer is opening that only dries clothes. They spent way too long talking about what a ridiculous concept that is. Luckily for Travis, he doesn’t have to manage too many NPCs, because they decide to leave most of them in the van, and only take Artie Ficial with them.

Herr Dryer doesn’t have any qualms about giving them Clamgela’s contact details, partly because he’s going straight and partly because she’s only a go-between anyway. So they have an email address, argue extensively about what to do with it, Lyle disguises himself as a plant-man to try to pretend to be an ornamental plant so he can hang out in Herr Dryer’s office and spy on him, and in the end Roger emails Clamgela pretending to be one of a new group of high-quality goons looking for a job.

Also, Navy gets some phone calls. He talks to his dad about dobbing them in; Golden Seal denies it and says he merely got carried away making a business deal with Walter Russell – Russell will fund the construction of more Royal Seal stations in exchange for part-ownership. They also argue about how Golden isn’t really king of the seals, he’s just given himself that title, and Golden’s response is basically “I’m more powerful than you, so shut up and do what I say.” Jerkface.

The other phone call is from Professor Barker, who wants an update on the search for Carver. He has mixed feelings about the boys now working with his creation Artie, but Navy is very cagey and sparing of information.

Roger’s email gets a response. Clamgela is interested in meeting them. But more importantly, they get Artie to trace the IP address she used to River City First Bank. Which comes back to Walter Russell again.

They leave Herr Dryer’s, and Travis reminds Griffin that Professor Barker was the cover name used by Loveless, another former Greenback Guardian. So Navy calls back, gets Artie to make sure the line is secure, and fills in Barker/Loveless more thoroughly. He asks about the video, the pilot for a documentary about the real origins of the Greenback Guardians, and asks if there’s something someone would want to prevent being seen, or to see themselves. Barker/Loveless explains that it was a pet project of…one of the other Guardians, I can’t remember the names of the two that haven’t shown up yet, but one of them. It was incredibly detailed and completely accurate. The Guardians had originally just been trained turtles in a lab, until there was a chemical accident while the guy who owned them was microwaving a burrito (I’m sure that detail will be relevant later). The documentary includes the exact formula of the chemicals that mutated them. Cue “I can’t believe you put something that sensitive in a documentary!” “Well there’s a reason it never aired.” Which, fair. Also, Griffin and Navy have definitely twigged that Russell is sus, but Barker/Loveless doesn’t have anything to share.

Off to the bank!

It’s been over a week since I last listened to some Abnimals, but I’m getting back into the swing of it easy enough. Travis is building up a rich, intriguing world, with plenty of detail (albeit rather haphazard), and I do definitely like it. But, once again, there’s an element of too big too soon. If there’d been a few less significant missions before the museum heist threw our heroes into the deep end, I feel like that would’ve worked better. But I guess that’s just how TAZ goes.

It's not like it’s gonna stop me listening or anything.

[phoenixplayzgamez]

Aphmau OCs

Okay, all of my non-existent followers need context for this because this man has literally just been existing in my story, my head, and in the yaps I do to my friends.

Prepare for a text wall. Farren is a character I created for Minecraft Diaries and Mystreet. He was originally just a Mystreet character, and then I started writing the MCD fanfic and had an idea, so I reworked his design and plopped him in both universes.

In the image above, Farren is on the right, and his adoptive sister, Alesia, is on the left. In MCD, he doesn't have the ears and tail. He's half Meif'wa in both universes, but in MCD, he doesn't inherit the ears and tail from his father. This was mostly so that I could differentiate between the two of them. Both Farren and Alesia are French. In MCD, that just means they're from Tu'la cause I refuse to believe both MCD and Mystreet are in the same universe. These are the similarities and differences between MCD and Mystreet Farren and Alesia. MCD Farren: Sorcerer, 200+, 5'8, dual wields swords, gay and aceflux, best friends with Laurance, holds Kul'zak's relic and has done so since he was 5, fairly reserved and prefers to work in the shadows, severe trust issues, lost his parents and siblings at age 8, was taken in by lesbian grandmas who cursed him with immortality once he hit 21, dying shortly afterwards, has catlike pupils and fangs, acts a lot like a Meif'wa even if he isn't one visually, one of the strongest magicks and magic users currently, has a dumpy and big tiddies/arms because genetics, is friends with a god who literally has power over fate, his magic is all over the place because Kul'zak was a jack of all trades. (Anything about Kul'zak in this are personal headcanons). He's also pursuing Lo and has kissed several familiar men including Laurance, Garroth and Aaron. He also has an intense rivalry with Gene. MCD Alesia: Also a sorcerer (healer specifically), transfem lesbian, is dating Cadenza, wears dresses but can still kick ass, 5'7, wields a bow and a sword, friends with Kawaii~Chan, Aphmau and Lucinda, is extremely done with her brother throwing himself into life or death situations, was dragged out of an abusive family by Farren, she still finds herself flinching when people get angry and raise their arms. (lord help me I need to build her character more). Mystreet Farren: Half Meif'wa but with the ears and tail, sorcerer and a necromancer, 5'8, gay and aceflux, also has a dumpy and big tiddies/arms, (bigger than his MCD counterpart because I said so), lost parents at age 5, was adopted by lesbian grandmas who died at age 15, adopted again by an abusive foster family where he found Alesia and began to protect her, accidentally killed his foster parents in a house fire, a gymnast with many years of experience, including winning a silver medal at Nationals, became best friends with Laurance, made friends with several other people (Travis, Dante, Ein, Kai, Vylad, Gene and Lucinda) dated Gene for two years before mysteriously vanishing for a year and reappearing with no memory of what happened, one of the more powerful sorcerers, not the most powerful. He is currently pursuing Ein, dated Laurance and Guy~de. Mystreet Alesia: Sorcerer, healer-focused, 5'7, transfem ace lesbian, dating Teony, is fully ace because of certain things, met Teony at Love~Love Paradise and ended up taking her to France, could be as strong as her brother but doesn't want to, could've been a wrestler but decided against it, one of the few people who can calm Farren down, and struggles with her own self-image cause she's never sure if she looks 'feminine' enough. (again I need to build on her character more) There's a lot more, but most of it is in the fanfic and my head, and this is already really long. So! If you have any questions whatsoever I will attempt to answer them in my next couple of posts.

[lyndonriggall]

Why I’m Performing in The Pillowman in Five Days

Time moves quickly. I think it was only a moment ago that we had months ahead of us to rehearse, and yet that expanse of time has receded as swiftly as waves on the shore. Somehow, I have very quickly reached a point where I have only five days before I will be acting on-stage at Launceston’s Earl Arts Centre, for the first time in fifteen years. I am playing the part of Katurian the writer (originated by David Tennant in the 2003 premiere of the play, and most recently in 2023 by Lily Allen) in Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman, directed by Mitchell Langley for the Launceston Players, which also stars Travis Hennessy as Tupolski, Lauchy Hansen as Ariel, Jesse Apted as Michal, and Renee Bakker, Michael Mason and Eva Cetti in various roles. As the play begins, my character is dragged in for questioning by the police. He writes powerful—but very disturbing—short stories, and it seems that someone is bringing those short stories to life.

Wouldn’t it make sense that he has something to do with it?

It all sounds pretty grim (and in many ways it is), but if you are at all familiar with McDonagh’s writing then you’ll know that he can be relied upon to strike an electrifying balance between horror and comedy. His works include The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001), A Behanding in Spokane (2010) and Hangmen (2015) for the stage, while more recently he has made his name as the Academy Award-winning writer and director of In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) and The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). While The Pillowman is undoubtedly one of the darkest plays I’ve ever come across, it is also one of the funniest.

A year ago, I probably would have considered it unlikely that I would find myself here. In fact, I find it pretty unlikely even now, just days away from opening night. So why did I want to be part of The Pillowman? Aside from the obvious strengths of the team behind the project (who have taught me so much, whilst also giving me the delightful and terrifying challenge of trying to prove my right to share the same stage as them), this is a play that is very close to my heart. In 2008, in my Year 12 Theatre class, my teacher Nicole assigned me Tupolski’s famous railroad tracks monologue as my assessment piece, which I also later performed at a college academic awards night.  Ambitious creature that I was, I wouldn’t dare perform something like that without first having its context in the whole work. She lent me a copy of the play—the first time I had seen one of those strange slim paperbacks with no picture on the cover (this one was orange, as is the copy I am learning my lines from now). I went home and read it. I was laughing, I was shocked, and I was moved, all in equal measure. Oh, of course there’s something special about a work of literature that finds you on the cusp of a new phase of life, and most of my favourite books are books that I found (or that found me) that year. But aside from Shakespeare’s Hamlet (which I also discovered just before finishing school, and found myself falling into, and have since found it very hard to clamber back out of), The Pillowman swiftly became my favourite play, and Martin McDonagh my favourite living playwright. There have been a number of times on this blog where I have talked about the challenge of balance, how we prioritise and choose what to spend our precious limited time and our creative resources on. For me, the only thing worse than having the burden of auditioning for The Pillowman, being offered a part in it, and rehearsing and performing it, was the horrifying thought that someone else might get to do it in my place.

And so, here I am.

In my teaching of English, one of the most important concepts that I discuss with students is that of an “invited reading.” What I mean by this is not merely what the author (or even a character) says, but what the audience is supposed to take away as its meaning. Bad things happen in literature, but the existence of evil as a narrative element is not necessarily an endorsement of it, even if it might be tempting and easy to think so. In our inattentive world of click-bait headlines, out-of-context soundbites and addiction to outrage, it can be very easy to mistake a single puzzle piece for the whole picture, and while it happens constantly, it happens at our own peril. This is the very essence of what The Pillowman is asking us to consider: what stories are we allowed to tell? How do we shape the audience’s understanding of what we are trying to say? Can we shape the audience’s understanding of what we are trying to say? Should we be expected to? In the end, is it even fair to say that stories mean anything at all?

In a prescient update relating to the show’s themes, on World Poetry Day last month, PEN International released “War, Censorship, and Persecution,” an international case list for 2023/2024, highlighting the latest challenges for writers in global conflicts and emphasising the need to safeguard freedom of expression, especially in war-torn regions. The report documents 122 cases of writers facing harassment, arrest, violence and death worldwide. This is why the tale of Katurian still matters: because we do not yet live in a world where you can be sure that a story will not cost you your life.

A few days out from opening night, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was a little scared. There is never a moment where I am not on-stage in the play. Playing Katurian as a return to performance is the theatrical equivalent of “having another go at swimming” by throwing myself into the churning waters of the Atlantic.

But that’s the point, isn’t it? I’m scared. Oh yes, I’m scared. But I have a story that needs telling.

The Launceston Players Production of The Pillowman, directed by Mitchell Langley, is on-stage at the Earl Arts Centre Wednesday 24th April at 7:30pm, Thursday 25th April at 4:30pm, Friday 26th April at 7:30pm, and Saturday 27th April at 2:00pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are still available at Theatre North.

[ange-de-la-mort]

I have five more minutes, I'm waiting for my train, and since I did it for Josh/Chris, I'll recap Erin/Du'Met for the peeps who haven't played TDIM.

Erin is part of Charlie Lonnit's film crew that specializes in True Crime. Du'Met lured them to his murder castle under the guise of having just what they need to get their show back on track.

Basically five minutes after arriving, she is French kissing with Jamie, therefore establishing our lesbian couple in this game (you even get a trophy if they kiss!)

Erin is the first one Du'Met fucks with, probably because he knows she's the youngest and most easily scared. He traps her in the blacked-out room (screenshot above in OP) and scares the crap out of her, causing her to have an asthma attack. He offers her her inhaler - if she decides to attack him, he will kill her here. If she takes her inhaler, he will pin her to the wall and cut a lock of her hair as a trophy (the game is so dark, the first time I saw that I thought he cut part of her ear to take an earring or smth).

She manages to describe the encounter in the most fumbling way possible, leading the rest of the crew to believe she was just scared and seeing things in the dark that don't exist.

He manages to isolate her from the crew again, and in this encounter most people will probably get her killed on their first play through because the "hide or not" decision is super stupid. Anyway, if he kills her, the crew will find her later horribly mangled with her chest cut open so they can see her still beating heart kept alive by machines (that are turned off the second the crew finds her).

IF she survives this encounter, they…… don't really interact any more except for the cast trying to survive and him trying to kill everyone. She can throw a lamp at him? I think that's it?

If you ship them, you're probably one of two types:

1) "I can fix him" where you hope your fav's love will make the evil man less evil, which, all the power to you. 2) You just want to see your blorbo wrecked. Raped, tortured, dead, the whole mile. The Dove isn't Dead, it's ROTTEN at that point. Which, all the power to you, they're just pixels to play with, go wild!

Fun trivia:

Du'Met and Travis are the same age (57 in 2022, with Travis being younger by a month)

Both are / used to be law enforcement with Travis as the town's sheriff and Du'Met a former FBI agent

Both are abused by their parents (with Travis, it's seen more implicitly in the way he behaves around them, with Du'Met we literally have audio records and medical documents of severe physical and verbal abuse during his childhood, including beatings, starvation, and rope burns from being tied down for long periods of time)

Both have a moment where they snap and become irredeemable (optional for Travis, if Laura shoots him earlier and he kills her in a fit of rage; canonical for Du'Met after a serial killer taunts him once to many and he starts beating the shit out of him which leads him to the path of killing people, with his mother as his first victim.) I'm not saying they should be murder husbands, but they COULD be murder husbands

Depending how old you headcanon Laura to be, she and Erin can be around the same age, too (Erin is 24 in 2022), but that's where the similarities end, I think, as Erin is meek, shy and has self-esteem issues while Laura will fuck you up if she decides to do so.

This poll is not a part of the tournament! I just have a scientific interest

 Granthem Du'Met x Erin Keenan 1. black-out room.. don't ask (once again - no romantising, it's fully abuse) 2. once again adding this mostly as a test... I'd like to see how many votes and how far this gets.

Laura Kearney x Travis Hackett (Hackearney) 1. they have a cool dynamic. they could be a battle couple!

[chasingpj]

𝕩𝕖𝕟𝕚'𝕤 𝟙𝕜 𝕔𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕓𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟☺

Thank you so much for the support all of you have given me since the beginning of my blog. It’s been so crazy experiencing this account grow and knowing my writing has been enjoyed by so many of you. I put off this celebration because I was debating if I should do one but I miss interacting with you guys and you all deserve it! You guys are the best and I'm excited for the fun we'll have! ♡♡

this celebration will go on from Friday, 3/24th to Sunday, 3/26th

🎁 personalized letter from your favorite character (you can tell me about yourself and/or a situation and i'll write a short love letter for you from your favorite character. things to include: preferred pronouns, name, cabin, hobby, interests, personality, scenario, and who you want the letter to be written by!)

🏹 tell me anything about yourself (be sure to include your preferred name/pronouns, cabin, preferred weapon, your powers, personality type, your favorite characters in the series: romantically and platonically, literally any aspect of yourself or your personal ocs), and I'll give you a brief summary of what your years at CHB look like.

⭐️ send me a personal headcanon (it can be about a character, a concept/au, pjo as a whole, or my fic yg and i'll add on to it!)

✒️ ask for a blurb: (send me one of the prompts provided or an idea and i'll make short headcanons or write a 200ish-word blurb)

🎬 ask for a director's cut (ask me about anything I've posted! what inspired me? i can elaborate on a headcanon or one-shot, give sneak peeks, and answer questions about young god)

🍄 get to know me more! (feel free to ask me anything)

don’t know what to request? here are 30+ prompts you can use!

disclaimer & reminder: i will cross out the quotes that have already been requested so just check back before sending it in. I will add more if i get lots of requests. i write romantically for percy, leo, jason, connor, and travis and platonically for annabeth and nico.

Dialogue Prompts

"If we lose this-" "It's just a game of Capture the Flag honey, it's not that serious-" "If we lose this, I'm divorcing you."

“I feel like I’ve stepped back in time.”

“Please tell me that we’re not stuck out here in your piece of shit car.”

"We can't take care of a baby."

“Don't even talk to me about this because I won't remember.”

“What is worse than death?”

“In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”

With time to kill and entertainment to have, you lay your hand on his and the new waltz commences.

“Tell me, what will you do when this is all over?”

“Do you ever think about what life would be like for us if things were different?”

“C’mon, we don’t really need to get up yet.”

“Can you remember how you died?”

“Act natural.”

“Is that blood?” “No?”

“Mom says if you blow up the house, she’s gonna put you up for adoption.”

“how is it that you always manage to look so handsome, even in [insert not-handsome looking clothes?”

“Excuse you, I am great at being a third wheel.”

“Apologize. Right now.”

“Don’t let this one go. he’s perfect for you."

“Pass the binoculars. Hurry!”

“Why did i have to end up partnered with you of all people?”

"Why are you wearing my skirt?"

"You're not getting sea sick, are you?"

"We're way too drunk for this."

"Watch how a professional does this."

Lyric Prompts

Photo album on the counter; Your cheeks were turning red. You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed and your mother's telling stories 'bout you on the tee-ball team /// All Too Well by Taylor Swift

I've been watching' you for some time. Can't stop staring' at those ocean eyes. Burning cities and napalm skies, fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes. Your ocean eyes. /// Ocean Eyes by Billie Eilish

What if I told you none of it was accidental and the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me? I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork the dominoes cascaded in a line. /// Mastermind by Taylor Swift

Then you're drivin' me home and I don't wanna leave but I have to go. You kiss me in your car and it feels like the start of a movie I've seen before /// Ceilings by Lizzy McAlpine

I'm playing hooky with the best of the best. Pull my heart out my chest, so that you can see it too. I'm walking the long road, watching the sky fall. The lace in your dress tangles my neck, how do I live? /// Death of a Bachelor by Panic! At The Disco

Recount the night that I first met your mother and on the drive back to my house, I told you that, I told you that I loved ya /// Still into You by Paramore

In the car, I just can't wait to pick you up on our very first date. Is it cool if I hold your hand? Is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance? Do you like my stupid hair? Would you guess that I didn't know what to wear? I'm just scared of what you think. You make me nervous so I really can't eat. /// First Date by Blink-182

Remember when you hit the brakes too soon? Twenty stitches in a hospital room. When you started crying, baby, I did too but when the sun came up, I was looking at you. /// Out of the Woods by Taylor Swift

And if you have a minute, why don't we go talk about it somewhere only we know? This could be the end of everything so why don't we go somewhere only we know? /// Somewhere Only We Know by Keane

I have kissed honey lips, felt the healing in her fingertips. It burned like fire, this burning desire. I have spoken with the tongue of angels. I have held the hand of a devil. It was warm in the night. I was cold as a stone but I still haven't found what I'm looking for. /// I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2

[glossolali]

TLOVM Watch Party EP 3 Summary

- De Rolo Daddy was played by Taliesin

- Matt: so weird they use his original design for the VM Emon keep

- Playfulness and rivalries between characters were important to establish, dick tap and ball tag were essential (lol)

- Foreign dubs for this show are incredible

- The evening wear is SO good and Phil Bourassa made multiple options for the ladies

- Another Matt Mercer NPC sighting!

- Scanlan's rainbow crotch piece was Sam's choice, of course

- Briarwoods' design is pretty dead on as Matt imagined, even Laura and Travis's Halloween cosplay of them (except for the sunglasses)

- Allura and Kima are such a cute couple with their coordinated outfits!

- Keyleth's reactions are perfect and adorable

- Vex has a fan! Of course, she wants to show off that she's money

- The Vax ponytail is choice, chef's kiss

- Simon!

- Silas' eye color shift is supposed to be subtle

- Grey Griffin, Delilah's VA is brilliant and great at voicing her, she thanked them for giving her a fun role

- Everybody wants the Briarwood's cool chest, and also the pie

- Percy's anime fishbowl lens and the glasses reflection is so good!

- The Vax and Briarwoods scene is burned into their minds, and was so cool to see on screen, every beat is perfect

- Vax is so cute, he's a hottie (yes, glad we all agree)

- Sam's Brother-In-Law and him did Scanlan's Beads of Love and worked on a lot of the music, sending voice notes back and forth

- Everyone talks about how hot the Briarwoods and Vax scene is

- The fight with the Briarwoods is very well done and all the sounds and effects make it amazing, and it's so well-directed

- They love how badly this fight goes for Vox Machina, it's real stakes

- The camera work in the fight feels visceral and real, and it was not easy to do

- Keyleth is the most powerful one (nature magic users are broken!) but she still doesn't know how to use her magic

- Percy is hot and sexy, the gun reload animation is hot too

- Don't make Keyleth cry!

- Scanlan is a little douchebag and he's covered in whipped cream, they hope.

Q&A:

Q: The Vax and Briarwood scene, first - how dare you, second - what the fuck, third - what was it like creating and voicing this iconic character?

Matt: Loves the Briarwoods and had to vie for the role of Sylas (Sam: it was a given that Matt would voice him) We wanted Sylas to be like a feral beast of the night, so he got to be more muscled and powerful, wolf-like almost

Q: The Briarwood fight scene!

Brandon: The board artists killed it, we barely had to change anything

Sam: Most of the storyboard team have mostly worked in children's animation, so the characters were just getting bumped or falling over but we were like "HURT US! Make it look really bad" and by the time episode 3 came around they were like "You want us to fuck up your characters? Okay, we'll fuck up your characters"

We watch the first draft animatic of the "Your soul is forfeit" scene (sorry didn't have screen record prepped!)

Matt: Working on this is a homecoming because I grew up wanting to be an animator

Q: How did you condense all that important info into a 22 minute episode?

Matt: Carefully

Travis: We had to condense The Briarwoods Arc from 35 to 40 hours to 6 hours, so we decided on what are the important things we need to keep for future storylines and episodes

Matt: What are the favorite beats that show essence of the things not included are still carried forward? That's what we focused on

Q: Favorite easter eggs?

Everyone: Matt's NPCs, and there are many Doors throughout the season

We can't wait for everyone to watch the next 3 episodes, this batch is the best one, Ep 4 is a favorite

Q: What was it like to see your characters animated for the first time?

Travis: Watching even the initial chicken scratch animatics was great, we were freaking out and being emotional after together, it was very special, a dream come true

Q: Let's talk more about the music, and Sam's songs!

Sam: Lots of demos of weird rhymes and gross stuff and fun that I hope to share with everyone one day, the VM song was too long at first but they loved it

Sam sings Beads of Love live!!!

[blorbologist]

Do you think it was in character for Percy to give/make a gun for Mister? Even if Matt said he’d made toy ones for his kids, when you consider Taliesin saying he was content to never make a weapon again, what do you think? I mean unless, Matt talked it over with Taliesin, then… *shrug* I guess that works out.

Hi anon!

So, first of all - I have a lot of faith and trust in Matt to want his friends to be happy. They wanted to go go Whitestone to see their past PCs and the new de Rolos, so he went along with that. He's a good DM and facilitates telling the stories they want - and part of that would include having a good grasp on the characters.

He also likely had a good idea of a few things that might come up. I mean, we as a fandom certainly did: potentially seeing the quarter elves (Gwen included) and their ages, Percy and Vex's reactions to Delilah and Laudna, how Percy might be curious about an aeormaton... and, yeah, the gun angle was pretty obvious too!

I'm certain he either checked in with them on character sticking points, reread his notes for the Tal’Dorei Reborn campaign guide (I doubt what we got in the book is ALL he was given for the PCs) or reviewed important episodes (I noticed a lot of his behavior was similar to Percy's interactions with Syldor, his reaction to 'the Meatman'/Scanlan trying to get a gun from him, how he broke the news to Cass that Delilah was at a ziggurat). Probably some combination of all three!

And the difficulty lies in the fact these characters are *complicated* (said in the tone of Percy in the Search for Grog)! They don't have many hard, fast lines because they're all human (well, mortal) and their responses change with context. It's been thirty plus years - guns are everywhere, and ones so terrible he likely stays up at night fearing what they can do. A little toy gun - not even something he'd personally use, no improvement on existing designs - hardly means much at all in this modern Exandria. If Fearne had opened asking for a gun? Fuck no, goodbye, get out. If she had tried to steal one and Vex 'passive perception better than a dragon' 'ahlia saw? Likewise, big trouble. But Fearne just contributed to dealing another solid blow to Delilah. She proved she abd her friends could be trusted and were here out of genuine love for their friend. His kids are safe, his wife is safe, there’s a dead rat named after him. Sure, why not, tweaking a child's toy he made some time ago sounds reasonable right about now.

(Because he's not making a new gun from scratch - he's tweaking a pop gun intended for the use of his children. I'm sure Percy had enough sense to design them in ways to minimize the 'MOTHER, FATHER, WOLFE SHOT ME IN THE EYYYYEEE' 'FATHER HE SHOT ME IN THE BUTT ALL DAY IT WAS AN ACCIDENT BUT HE DESERVES IT' *general wailing from the younger two that the game dissolved into chaos*)

And, see, the thing is: Matt hasn't been afraid to say 'no, you're not getting this, it would be out of character' before! Travis (playing a Charisma caster and the Nein's face!) rolled a natural twenty to ask for Holy Avenger from Kima. On a meta level it would have been fitting and fun for him to have the sword, especially given Grog gave it to her in C1.

Kima scoffs at him! And gives the sword to Yasha instead, because lesbian wavelengths or something and it was *incredible*. Point being - if he/Tal thought it would be absolutely against Percy's wishes, he would have made that 21 a 'no, but he can do this for you instead'.

Also, Percy has a powerful 'little shit' instinct. He made a sodium teakettle bomb just to win a contest, and "if they have something nice that makes you feel inferior, we can just take it", and gave Grog a sword he knew was cursed. Though guns are a touchier subject, he's made these pop guns for his kids, added some to Doty and trained the Riflemen on how to make more and their ammo.

Frankly, I think the idea was too facinating and chaotic to pass up.

(And flaming monkey shit is likely far, far less dangerous than a bullet.)

[noelanik-art]

Campaign 3 thoughts really quickly (and yes there are spoilers):

1. I love F.C.G. and that will always remain true. Bless Liam and Sam.

2. I am very happy to see EXU babies returning. I understand there are mixed feelings, but I personally loved them, and am very happy for a return. I think there should be more quiet characters in D&D, and therefore the power of Fearne and Orym is undeniable. I also personally would be fine with Robbie remaining as a regular. I know it’s a lot of players, but I think he would bring an interesting energy to the table, and I would love to see Orym, Fearne, and Dorian develop. I’ve heard people thinking Fearne and Orym are temporary, and I honestly don’t like that. I don’t think that would be a strong beginning to the campaign, especially as I am more inclined to think that Travis’s character is temporary, and four temporary characters in the first episode is a whole lot that I wouldn’t want to unpack later.

3. Reminder that each member of the cast is fully allowed to make decisions that you don’t agree with and that includes playing characters that you don’t like. This is their home game that has become a production, but it still really is a game of D&D.

4. As above, I think quiet characters are hugely important, and therefore, I am fascinated by Imogen. I think she has the potential to become one of the most interesting characters in campaign 3. I’m excited by the idea of her interacting with Orym, and honestly everyone else.

5. Am I afraid of Marisha’s character? Yes, but I love it. I’m excited to see where she goes with this.

6. Love the gender representation. And also, just everyone should love Taliesin Jaffe. Ashton is very interesting, and since F.C.G has my heart already, I’m looking forward to Taliesin making me feel things again.

7. Do I like Bertrand? No. Do I think he could be interesting as a long term character? Yes. Do I want that? It doesn’t matter, because whatever they choose to do is what will happen, and I’m okay with that.

8. I’m hoping they make actual announcements about plans with Robbie, because I am not fond of theorizing and what it does to fandoms. Knowing if he’s just a temporary guest will make a big difference in my expectations for this campaign, as would knowing he’s a permanent fixture.

9. Re-expectations: yes, I also have expectations, and things I would prefer, but if those things don’t happen, then I’m gonna live with that and keep watching anyways.

10. Have I mentioned I love F.C.G.?

11. Bertrand is the poster child for why lying is bad.

12. This party is going to be a predominantly pastel mess, and I’m here for it.

13. All in all, the energy of this campaign and this table is worlds different from either of the other campaigns, and as much of an adjustment as that is going to be, I’m really excited for it. The cast looked so refreshed in this episode. They needed the break, and they needed something new. It might be hard to get into, and some people may not get into it at all, but I’m really and truly excited to see where it goes, even if there are things that bother me.

14. I want to see Essek Theyless in campaign 3. Every npc is the shadowhand until proven otherwise.

15. I’m fascinated to see relationships of all kinds form amongst this party.

16. Also, I love Orym. I think the possibilities for his character are fascinating.

Anyways! Those are just some of my many thoughts. My friend and I were literally on the edge of our seats the whole time, and I’m probably going to be sore tomorrow, but that’s okay. I look forward to seeing exactly what this campaign will continue to look like.

It’s bound to be different.

[angelsndragons]

fjord’s feelings for caduceus changed in episodes 98-99

by which i mean, fjord finally realized how special and important he is to caduceus, which in turn set the tone of their relationship for the rest of the campaign. buckle up, this is a long one.

not when fjord threw away his sword and went to caduceus instead of jester. or when caduceus presented him with the star razor. or after the citadel fight when caduceus gave him his holy symbol. i think things changed for fjord in episode 98-99, when caduceus saved his life and removed the orb.

this is going to require some context.

because here’s the thing: fjord’s always looking for the price, waiting for the catch or other shoe to drop. people caring for him because of him with no strings attached is unprecedented. vandren and the world taught fjord that love is conditional, that only if you hide what others would find ugly and make yourself useful to them will they deign to give you a scrap of affection. i don’t think vandren did this maliciously, mind you, it was just part of his worldview and fjord’s life up to and beyond that point supported it. we can see that right up to the end of the show, where fjord is terrified that vandren didn’t remember him or that he didn’t mean nearly as much to the man as vandren did to him.

so we have fjord, who learned to don masks and hide his truest self, including his best and worst aspects. while fjord made the nein into a coherent group, into a force, a crew, a family, even, he still waited for that other shoe to drop. waited for the day that they would reject him because he was no longer useful or because he pushed them too far. you can see this waiting all over the early campaign; he’s not looking for an excuse like caleb to cut and run but he anticipates nearly all the moments that almost fractured the nein, in spite of that low wisdom score. while jester carried the guilt of not being able to save molly, fjord carried the guilt of not protecting the group in that crucial moment. travis confirmed on talks that fjord’s biggest fear when he lost his powers the first time was that he would no longer be useful and be kicked out of the group. 

that’s why fjord damn near broke down at the end of 72. the nein, no questions asked, with their standard level of snark, accepted that he was going to be a liability and kept him around anyway. armed him anyway. declared that he was no liability and that they would help him along until he could help himself and them again. this unconditional acceptance caught fjord completely off guard. it always does, really. because caduceus had said for months, an out of game half a year, that he was looking to reforge the sword as a gift for fjord. he said this to fjord’s face. he did not change course when he learned that the sword was a legendary blade forged by acolytes of the wildmother and moonweaver. the blade was still meant for fjord, even if fjord was still chained to uk’otoa. fjord extends his love and protection to the nein but is still not convinced the reverse is true. he was starting to believe it but he wasn’t quite there yet.

caduceus has a high enough wisdom to understand that’s fjord’s hang up even if he doesn’t quite understand the reasoning behind it. that’s why he pulls fjord aside in ep 75 and tells him that he doesn’t have to choose the wildmother, that there are other gods and other ideas out there looking for a champion. fjord, who at this point considers wildmom his only option (travis says she’s the only one who’s shown the slightest interest in fjord and that’s why he’s gunning for her), is befuddled by caduceus and this whole talk, so much so the pair end up talking past each other for the next several episodes.

after fjord officially becomes a paladin, things between him and caduceus become fairly...unsettled compared to their previous interactions. they talk past each other more, they aren’t in sync enough to double team those social interactions they were just starting to get good at. things are just weird for a while. to me, that’s fjord waiting for the catch, waiting for caduceus to call in some favor or something like it. and he keeps getting confused when caduceus doesn’t. so he tries once or twice to follow in caduceus’ footsteps and do as he would instead. and it just makes things weirder. these two don’t have a moment together that doesn’t leave one of them confused or unsatisfied until ep 87, when caduceus gives fjord the holy symbol and inadvertently kicks off the next phase of their relationship. because here, caduceus tries to put them back on equal footing and fjord recognizes it. caduceus rejects framing their relationship as mentor/student and tells fjord he doesn’t need caduceus to give him answers. fjord is “well on his way.”

by defining what they aren’t, mentor/student, our two boys inadvertently ask the question, “so what are we?” honestly, it’s a question that the entire group grapples with in the 90s as they reintegrate yasha, as veth struggles with the question of changing back and whether she can stay with the nein, as beau tries to sacrifice herself for veth, as jester learns some uncomfortable truths about the traveler, as caduceus finds his family again. fjord and caduceus can easily define what they aren’t - not mentor/student, not brothers or cousins- but what they actually are stumps both of them.

their relationship doesn't look like any of their relationships with the others: beau is fjord's bro and first mate, caleb is fjord's complicated mirror and admiree, jester his crush and first person he learned to be vulnerable with, veth his antagonistic sibling. on caduceus' side, caleb is the one he looks to for a fellow project nerd and clear, unvarnished goals, beau and jester are the sisters caduceus misses, yasha the quiet beloved barbarian he understands better than the rest, and veth a mess he wants to help but can't. but fjord and caduceus' relationship is highly undefined at this point. notably undefined, beyond their newly shared connection to melora. at the dinner with essek, we get the stone bomb. and travis and fjord panic. like no, seriously, they spend the next four episodes low key panicking over this revelation. this ties back to fjord waiting for those other shoes to drop but it’s also more than that.

when it comes to destiny, fjord has always been the answer, the self made man, to both caduceus and caleb’s questions about destiny. he makes choices about who he is, who he wants to be, and takes actions towards those goals. he is one of those rare people who can wear many different masks, take on many different roles, while still maintaining his sense of self and becoming a fuller version of who he is. when I say fjord is the answer to destiny, what i mean is that he is what ioun said way back in c1 about Fate: mortals make choices and through those choices, destiny is fulfilled. he is the answer to caduceus' own growth from passive instrument waiting for someone to play him to active communicator in this conversation between gods and mortals. in this sense, fjord is what caduceus learns to be (this is exactly why caduceus rejects a mentor role; he has as much to learn from fjord as vice versa).

so for this coincidence to pop up, this idea that maybe fjord only had the illusion of choice to extend his service to the wildmother, that maybe somehow he was manipulated again, that there was some grand destiny pushing things and fjord had no say in it, yeah, i can see why fjord was low-key terrified. so is this what fjord and caduceus are: just some predestined grand fairy tale partnership neither of them have that much say in? episode 96 resoundingly rejects that label too. for one thing, none of the stones or clays treat fjord's last name as anything amazing or spectacular. for another, this string of episodes gives us caduceus at his most human. the terror of not knowing what happened to his family, the uncertainty of his homecoming, the relief of saving his family and home, the irritation at the way the chaos crew treats the temple, the playful attitude caduceus cultivates after, it's all on display. caduceus drops much of his placid exterior and willingly allows the nein to see sheer depth of emotion he has.

which leads me back to episode 98-99. uk’otoa’s agents come for fjord. and caduceus is pissed. travis and ashley both said on talks that they hadn’t really seen taliesin that pissed, that it was like someone had threatened an actual loved one of his. fjord dies. and comes back to an exhausted, still pissed off firbolg who is five seconds away from snapping archmage vess derogna’s head off for interrupting his prayer of healing. taliesin doesn’t even begin to relax until they start interrogating the dead fish people the next day. once caduceus confirms the ball is still in fjord, notably caduceus and caleb were the two who remembered, fjord starts asking for a way to remove it. he asks caduceus to start a commune with wildmom in tandem with jester’s commune with the traveler. caleb tells fjord that caduceus fought “very hard for you while you were down, i don’t know if he’s up to it.” having heard that, caduceus still tries, with his first divine intervention attempt of the campaign. and when jester figures out that greater restoration will work, caduceus pushes through his exhaustion, takes charge, and goes through a truly terrifying greater restoration with fjord to remove the ball. convulsing, seizing, shuddering, collapsing, etc.

in those moments, and in the quiet after when fjord confirms that he still has his powers, it finally hits him that yes, people can protect, fight, and love him for who he is alone. there is no chain or other shoe waiting to be dropped here. the wildmother is no uk’otoa, to punish or take power at a whim. caduceus will fight with everything he has and then some for fjord because he loves him (not for nothing does fjord only realizes the depths of jester’s feelings when she uses heal on him). who are caduceus and fjord to each other? they are people who will fight for one another and the others as far as they can. fjord says over and over again that he wants to protect the nein and look out for them because he cares for them. he demonstrates it over and over again as well. caduceus says basically the same thing; he wants everyone safe and happily on their way and will stay until they are. he demonstrates this all the time as well. this is, i think, the first time that he demonstrates his dedication so unequivocally, free of the artifice of duty, fully committed through love. fjord recognizes this in caduceus and caduceus does in fjord.

i say this is a turning point because, while they don’t really have another super in depth conversation alone together, these two start clocking each other and openly help and look out for each other. there’s an ease and intimacy to the relationship after this. fjord watching caduceus swim near vokodo’s lair, fjord being ready to hand over his armor to caduceus when it looks like his won’t be ready, fjord, caduceus, and beau plotting behind jester’s back to keep her safe from the traveler, the absolute offense fjord takes to eadwulf after he spoke to caduceus like that, fjord levels up in paladin after caduceus tells him he’s proud to know him, all the way to the end of the show when fjord shelters the clerics and tells them to finish lucien, we get little moments like these from both of them. hell, caduceus is the first person in the campaign to tell fjord directly that he loves him.

[ryttu3k]

End of the year book asks! Which I'm just... going to fill out. Original post here.

1. How many books did you read this year?

As of posting this on December 15th, it's 36, with a note that I am including zines over 100 pages. Will update at the end of the year! Edit: 38!

2. Did you reread anything? What?

Reread Gideon and Harrow the Ninth in preparation for Nona's release!

3. What were your top five books of the year?

Okay. I am going to categorise.

Favourite novel: Tamsyn Muir - Nona the Ninth

Favourite novella: Becky Chambers - A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

Favourite series: Seanan McGuire - Wayward Children

Favourite anthology: Xenocultivars - Stories of Queer Growth

Favourite zine: Archive of the Odd (available here, only read issue 1 so far but I have issue 2 purchased and ready to go!)

Favourite unexpected addition to my reading list: Bram Stoker - Dracula

Other favourites of note: Travis Baldree - Legends & Lattes, RoAnna Sylver - Stake Sauce 2 and Life Within Parole vol 2, Freydis Moon - Exodus 20:3

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Read the Wayward Children series, would be quite happy to look into more of Seanan McGuire's writing!

5. What genre did you read the most of?

I am sitting comfortably in my SFF hole, thank you.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

*laughs in excessively long TBR*

7. What was your average Goodreads Storygraph rating? Does it seem accurate?

4.32, which seems pretty solid!

8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?

I did, averaging three new reads a month!

9. Did you get into any new genres?

Is 'gothic horror that is actually all about The Power Of Friendship' a genre?

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

Nona the Ninth Nona the Ninth I cannot reiterate how much I goddamn adore Nona the Ninth. Sob.

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Dracula has been out for. A while lmao

12. Any books that disappointed you? 13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

Mm. I don't like naming names because I can totally see people enjoying it, but there was one novel in particular that I felt didn't quite stick the landing. I gave it a 6/10 rating.

14. What books do you want to finish before the year is over?

I'd like to get in Where The Drowned Girls Go (the last Wayward Children book currently out, the next one is due in January!), which will be easy enough because it's a novella, and probably one other. Edit, 16th December: Done!

15. Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year? What did you think of them?

I got into the Wayward Children series, most of those either won or were nominated for the Best Novella nebulas, and which won this year's Best Series. This Is How You Lose The Time War won that category for the Hugos, Nebulas, and Locus in 2020; Binti: Home and Night Masquerade were also nominated for Hugos.

Also I feel Dracula's probably won a few awards. Probably.

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Oh, hm! I don't know, most felt like a suitable level of hype.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Dracula. Dracula. I expected to read it as like, a pivotal vampire/horror novel that I felt lowkey obligated to get through but I fucking loved it. At least part of that was the Dracula Daily experience but damn, I really liked that book.

18. How many books did you buy?

.......significantly more than I actually read. Awkward laughter at my Kobo account.

19. Did you use your library?

I did!

20. What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?

Nona the Ninth, and it absolutely did. I knew I would be goddamn deceased after it and I very much!! was!!

21. Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?

No drama here!

22. What's the longest book you read?

The Harrow reread is the only one that tops 500 pages, although both the Gideon reread and Nona are in the 400s.

23. What's the fastest time it took you to read a book?

I mean I can knock out a novella in an hour?

24. Did you DNF anything? Why?

Nope!

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

Read more novels. I read a lot of novellas and anthologies this year!

[captainsspnanon]

C2E46 - A Storm of Memories - rewatch reaction

I’m 100% okay with episodes being pre-recorded, it has never bothered me in the slightest and I tend not to feel like it being live actually adds anything to it.  But there is a bit of charm of Laura coming in late, demanding to know if she’s got a doughnut, eating her dinner ‘sneakily’...so I guess I do get it a little bit.  

If I remember correctly, we only get a little bit of sad!Caleb this episode, but I think I need it. I’ve had a rough few days and I need the emotional catharsis of feeling my feels by my heart breaking for my sad boi.   Then I can be cheered up by Hello Bees!

Nott offering to stay, Caduceus giving a book, Fjord asking about paper, they all care about him and he’s starting to see it and it’s making him SO uncomfortable and I love it all so much.

Jester’s insistence that Fjord left them, making it sound more voluntary than it was, it breaking my heart.  It feels very similar to when she feels abandoned by the Traveler, except this time it’s a person she’s traveling with, not a god floating about on their whims.

I cannot tell if Travis is just being a dick with the whole ‘you didn’t immediately come after me?’ schtick, or if Fjord is genuinely feeling a little betrayed and abandoned.  I’m supposing it’s probably a 75/25 split with Travis trolling hard.  Just because it’s trolling doesn’t mean that it might not come from a secret insecurity of Fjord though.  Belonging is always something that’s been hard for him to accept as much as he desperately wants it.  Think of how quickly he was willing to accept that the group would abandon him when he lost his powers (both involuntarily and when he broke the patron bond).  He’d been with the group for months at that point, probably over half a year at least, and still was expecting to be kicked to the curb, though he would never suggest kicking anyone else.  It applies for many of the PCs in C2, but he’s definitely a ‘but not me though’ type person.  “It’s okay for everyone to struggle with this!  ...but not me though.”  “It’s okay for someone to feel overwhelmed at times.  ...but not me though.”  (I personally feel like Caleb, Nott, Beau, and Yasha also fall into this group frequently.  Jester and Cad do at times, but I feel like to a lesser extent, Jester more than Cad though.)

I barely put together the fact that Caleb was feeling really bad ALSO because he was the one who was fiddling with the sphere only a minute or two before he said it himself.

Nott’s gasp as realizing that Felderwin was attacked (and Sam’s wide eyes at realizing that his story’s up next XD)

Didn’t Travis already pay out the 130 to Marius?  And now another 225?  I wouldn’t be so concerned if this were VM, but M9 is poor AF for an adventuring party!  They are so dnd!poor!  130 gold is a LOT!

I didn’t realize this was the first mention of Caduceus’s veganism.  I could have sworn it came up before!  Maybe it had just been Taliesin making a joke about the Conjure Food and Water making tofu-like food in the sense of ‘not very good’ rather than ‘vegan’.  (tofu is fucking amazing by the way.  You don’t need to be a vegan to find that shit absolutely delicious.  Just gotta find a good brand, and unfortunately the grocery store that I go to now has two TERRIBLE brands which taste awful.  I miss my old grocery store)

All the fucking kudos to Ashley, my god.  I’ve mentioned this before, but I really didn’t feel much of Yasha’s character at all until Ashley was back full time, mainly because I wasn’t used to Ashley yet and couldn’t tell the difference between her and Yasha a lot.  But now??  HOLY SHIT, this quiet pain that she’s presenting as Yasha, her desire to just go with the flow and not ask for things of her own, MY HEART.  This is so much more poignant than Jester or Fjord’s feelings of abandonment, as legitimate as they are.  With such a nomadic character too, Yasha leaves people on HER terms.  But this time they left her, and with no notice at all.  Include the fact that Yasha’s not super close to any of them yet (much more due to Blindspot than anything within game itself), this definitely shook her badly.  I’m having so many Yasha feels right now.  (also this is one point where watching C1 first would have had it’s benefits, because Pike is SO different from Yasha, and having had time to see Ashley riff with Sam and Travis would have added a clear distinction between her and Yasha.  I got there eventually.  I’m not sure if it was during the Xhorhas stretch or if it was after Obann that I really began feeling her, but I know that it came.)

Just checked the attendance, this is the last one-off with Ashley! They’ll still be jaegering her for the next chunk of episodes, but then she’s there for 12, is taken by Obann, then back for good! I’m SOOOOOOO fucking ecstatic that we have her for all of C3, unless she ends up picking up another role, which I highly doubt she intends to.

Oh the whiplash from Sam/Nott shouting indignant about not having a funeral when everybody else did to Yasha admitting that she thought that they didn’t want her to be part of the group, and then immediately trying to cover it up.  MY HEAAART

The blacksmith who just wants a hug from Caduceus is ADORABLE.  

I’ve tried honey comb before, but I just prefer honey.  Much easier to deal with.  Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, I haven’t been able to stock up on my good honey supply from a farmers market that I go to during a festival in [location redacted] and [time of year redacted] and [way too much personal information that I shouldn’t put in the internet redacted].  I tried a different vendor a few years ago which was absolutely lovely, bu the honey crystalized pretty quickly, and has been very difficult to fully decrystalize. I’ll get it mostly smooth again, but the bits that remain lead the honey to have a slightly off flavor.  And of course I don’t want to microwave the jar so long that it risks breaking, and having it sit in a pot of hot water works but take aaages, and still has the same issues.  So I just need to wait until [information redacted] to see if we’ll be able to go again in [information redacted].

UGH Caleb feeeeeeels.  Also, the foreshadowing!  Corrupted plant life?  Caduceus!  Debate records for both Xhorhas and Cognouza stuff! And then book number three is Eiselcross.  MATT YOU FRICKEN GENIUS. Seriously!  On a rewatch, you can see things that he is dropping in which become HUGE later on!  And I’m just referring to the ones that he deliberately plans, not the ones which due to the nature of the improv show end up being much more important than expected (nine, anyone?).

Out of the three, the Mistake, the Balleater, and the Nein Heroz, I think I like the Mistake the most.  It feels most appropriate for the Nein.  The Balleater is a dirty joke that a few of the PCs weren’t too fond of, and the Nein Heroz just feels too grand a name for this group XD.  The Mistake is juuuust right.

Dammit now I have Beau feels!  She’s right smack dab in the midst of her character growth, and this episode is hitting so many beats for her.  She’s taking on leadership aspects while still respecting a hierarchy (first mate to captain), she’s caring about people (making sure the crew is okay, checking in with Jester emotionally), she’s opening up instead of bringing up walls (sharing her childhood, expression admiration for Jester, saying ‘love you’), UGH I LOVE BEAU SO MUCH.  There is a REASON that she is only a hair away from being my favorite C2 PC (Caleb then Beau) (then Fjord, Jester, and Caduceus tied.  Then Nott and Yasha tied, and I’m expecting the rewatch to bump Nott and Yasha up to tying with everyone else).  Marisha is just fucking awesome.  Even when I didn’t like Keyleth, I appreciated what Marisha was doing with her, and Beau and C3 PC were just insta-hits with me from the start.

(also Jester feels that are there but hidden by the BEAU FEELS on top of it)

Ashley’s instant recognition of Zuala before her name is even said, with her hand over her mouth and eyes closing.  UGH and the rest of the cast not recognizing how big this moment is!!  Those are some of the best moments to me in a rewatch, seeing a PC react to something huge and no one else seeing it, and then they find out later and it’s the retroactive realization.

WAIT OBANN IS IN THE FLASHBACK AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH (also Orphan Maker name drop) (also also I think this is flashing back to her slaughtering a number of her tribe, at least the leader, which we never really find out even happens until the finale, and even then it’s not super clear.)

Do I go into my Orphan Maker ramble here?  SURE, why not.  I don’t get it.  Like, it’s a fucking badass name, and Yasha is metal as FUCK and Ashley picked Orphan Maker (I’m 99% sure on that, I don’t think it was Matt) buuuuuut.  Why Orphan Maker??  Had Yasha shown herself to be bloodthirsty in any way before?  As per her telling, she enjoyed fighting but she also enjoyed more peaceful aspects.  The level of fighting seemed to just be what was needed in her tribe.  So as much as I love the name Orphan Maker, I am super confused as to why that ended up being her tribe name.  Especially since Zuala is always referred to as Zuala and not any other title.  In fact, we don’t hear any others aside from the Skyspear.  So are they all super hardcore and violent sounding names?  Orphan Maker, Bone Crusher (nope that’s the name of the sword, isn’t it?), Skull Splitter, Torture McKillkill.  I honestly wish we had at least one or two other names for context.  If they were all like that, I think I’d be more comfortable with Yasha getting Orphan Maker, rather than feeling that it’s off in some way.  (I have no clue if other names are covered in the origins comic)  (oh, it isn’t be published for a few months, no wonder I didn’t know! XD  I knew it’s been announced ages ago, hadn’t realized that the pandemic pushed comic released back)

(completely off topic, but I don’t know how canon I consider the comics.  Jester’s had multiple contradictions to her campaign situation, including not having seen the Traveler’s face, having him show up around the same age as her since she was a child and growing up with her, him never having called himself a god but Jester deciding he was one, all things that are different in the comic. *shrugs* I don’t particularly care either way, because I do consider the campaigns to be the main canon regardless, but every once in a while it will bug me.)

The thunder sound effect is cool but distracting, and the lighting effect is barely noticeable.  Though it does make me really excited to see if/how a thunderstorm will be handled in C3.  C2 does a LOT right, but this is one of the instances where it misses more than succeeds.  Maybe if the thunder sound was about half as loud.

I do feel bad for Ashley when she’s only back for one episode and the spotlight AND combat is thrust upon her.  I get it’s to keep her involved in the story, both her and the PC, but OH BOY that instant pressure and stress, when you haven’t been thinking of dnd in AGES.  POP QUIZ remember your combat mechanics when you last played like, three months ago???  At least???  (i’m not bothering to look up the attendance again to count the actual episodes) It’s ROUGH

Narratively, I’m not sure what purpose this fight serves.  The Stormlord was just speaking to her about how the pain from loss can cause her to push people away and she shouldn’t do it, but then the fight is clearly meant to be a one on one, with her getting penalized for it when Jester gets involved.  Sure, she’s a barbarian, and sure, one of the Stormlord’s aspects is about combat and challenging oneself, but I dunno.  Oddly, it never seemed to fit with Yasha.  I don’t think I can consider a different class for her, but she’s not your typical barbarian, and I always felt like her trials by combat just didn’t mesh well.  I think a highlight of that is her purposely losing in the fighting ring, THAT felt so true to Yasha.  A reluctant fighter, in many senses.  I feel like had more of her background with her tribe been explored during the campaign, we may have seen more of this reluctant fighter aspect.

I both appreciate and feel bad about Travis giving her hints for the combat.  Appreciate it because of the reasons given above with JUST GOT BACK, but feel bad because it’s a bit of “let her play!”, a sense of ‘she’s playing wrong so must correct her’.  And OBVIOUSLY we know Travis isn’t thinking the latter and is just trying to assist, but there’s that little feeling there anyway.

I am surprised that she won, because I absolutely remember her losing.  But I think that’s because Ashley had miscounted damage and SHOULD have lost, which doesn’t bother me but I remember reading a bunch of comments about it, and the animated recap shows her losing.  Whether it’s via comment cleanup, or just comments getting up/down voted, the comments don’t even mention it during this viewing.  (similar to how when I watched C1, there was Marisha hate, but it did seem like a lot of the worst of it had gotten cleaned up)

Huh, did we ever find out if Molly knew about Zuala?  Because Ashley and Taliesin knew that they knew parts of each other’s backstories.

Caduceus asking to see Yasha’s sword….was Taliesin originally considering the broken sword to go to her??  Once he gave it to Fjord, it seemed as if it had always been planned that way.  I wonder if this is the sign of a different path.  (Or maybe just Tal forgot that Yasha had picked up her sword again and thought it was still on the deck)

I am having so many Yasha feels right now.  ILU YASHAAAAAAAAA

Ooooo, Yasha saying that there’s months she can’t account for, and she woke up months later, and then during the wrap up we find out it was actually more like 1-2 YEARS and Ashley’s like THAT’S SO MUCH LONGER THAN I THOUGHT

Nott and Fjord bickery is the best bickery.  “this fucker” I LOVE IT SO MUCH

lolling at Sam trying to get spell info from Liam NEVER GONNA HAPPEN but then immediately followed by Caleb saying that because he was getting closer and caring more for the group, he was forgetting him and Nott, and I am genuinely surprised by how much that actually hurt to hear it.  It’s hard to imagine because of how close they are, but it’s true, there’s been less one on one interactions between the two of them.  Not so much that Caleb is forgetting about Nott, but more that Caleb is now caring for the group and counting Nott as part of the group, rather than holding her to a more special standard.  This is also really interesting because (which I could be wrong) I think that Veth ends up being a bit less close with Caleb? More that she considers him the same level of the group, rather than to a higher standard.  I’m looking forwards to seeing if that’s accurate or not, I admit that because it’s been so long I’m influenced by what I see online and read, which doesn’t necessarily mean it’s canon.  I do remember Caleb being a bit jealous of Yeza due to him taking Nott’s attention away, but also a lot of Veth specific stuff tends to escape me.  I think of the character as a whole, Nott/Veth, but it’s also easier for me to remember Nott specific things because of the rewatching.  I look forwards to relearning the Veth specific things.

WHAT ARE THESE HORRIBLE ROLLS omg I’m laughing so hard

Oh shit!  Accursed Spector number 2!  (and last, I think)  I forgot about this one!  Doesn’t he use it as like a forward person? MEMORY = shot  *checks stats* Yup, only twice!  Also lol marine layer is only four times???  I feel like it was so much more than that, considering how heavily it was heckled until it was actually badass

@suicidallyreckless