#Her Vengeance

[ruushes]

companions re-classed pt 1 - karlach 🔥❤️‍🔥💪

[mustbebunnys]

The trio is back! ↳ Wynonna Earp // Wynonna Earp: Vengeance

[blorbologist]

Y'know, I think I figured out why the Hells still feel like a new low-level party to me, even though they're level 13 and almost 100 episodes in.

I don't quite think it's the lack of conversations, or the fact half the party's plot hooks are big ties to past campaigns - though that definitely plays a part.

... Bell's Hells still primarily rely on quest givers.

Most of their goals are given to them and do not feel organic to the party, and constantly remind us that the Hells are pretty much never the most powerful people in the room. Which is usually something you see with a low-level party.

NPCs offering jobs is not a bad thing; it's a very common plot hook. Matt has been extremely skilled with using NPC quest givers in those two campaigns. Not only do they provide an obvious plot thread, but they can put the party in the path of others (say, the Nein running into the Iron Shepherds while doing a job for the Gentleman and everything that came of that). And the Hells had a solid start with it too - Eshteross was an excellent quest giver!

The problem is that Bell's Hells have never really not had a quest giver.

Maybe it's a byproduct of the more plot-heavy structure of this campaign? But while prior parties have felt like they decided on their course of action and what they prioritized, Bell's Hells feels less like level 13 (13! Level 13!) experienced adventurers and more like an MMO group clicking on the exclamation point over an NPC's head. Where does the plot demand we go next? Who do we report back to?

They're level 13.

At level 13, Vox Machina had just defeated a necromantic city-state to clear their name and Percy's conscience. And, you know, the Conclave just destroyed Emon. No one was explicitly telling the group to gather Vestiges and save the world (though Matt guided them there), and they were usually among the most powerful people in the room. They chose which Vestiges to prioritize, which dragons to tackle when, even if the over-all plot was pretty clear.

At level 13, the Mighty Nein were celebrating Traveler Con (another PC goal, I'll note) after brokering peace between two nations, accidentally becoming pirates and heroes of the Dynasty. The Nein regularly chose what to do based on personal goals, not grand ones. Though definitely smaller fish than Vox Machina at this level, they were very independent and gaining solid political clout.

While we're at it: level 13 is one level lower than the Ring of Brass, who had a huge amount of sway over Avalir. They ended the world, and also saved it, while in the grand scheme of things being only a smidge more powerful than Bell's Hells are now.

Can you really see the Hells wielding that amount of influence, when they're constantly being told what to do next?

The god-eater might be unleashed, so Bell's Hells have no time to do anything but what is asked of them. No time for therapy unless stolen from Feywild time, no travel on foot and late-night watches. They haven't even had time to grieve FCG. Percy was grieved in the middle of the Conclave arc. Molly was grieved when half the party was still in irons.

Matt is in the very unfortunate spot of not being able to give the Hells the same agency as the other two parties. Not only because of the world-ending plot introduced so early on; they are surrounded by characters they know (and the cast knows) are stronger and wiser than them - the familiarity of the past PCs and NPCs is to their disadvantage.

Why would the party reasonably ignore Keyleth's task that will help save the world and go off on a romp? Why would the cast when they know well Keyleth has to be sensible and with the best intentions in mind? The stakes are just too high.

It means that the Hells still feel like they're running errands instead of pursuing their own destiny. Their accomplishments are diminished as just being parts of a to-do list, and any stakes feel padded by several level 20 PCs/NPCs standing 5 steps away ready to catch them.

This isn't Bell's Hell's fault, nor is it Matt's. It could be amended, I think, if the Hells are really left to their own devices for a long period of time without support and shortcuts (like during the party split)... which would be really tricky to pull off at this point in the campaign.

They're level 13. They're big fish, but they're stuck in a pond full of friendly sharks, so they don't feel big at all.

[bonefall]

When Frecklewish followed Mapleshade and her kittens out of that camp, I like to think it wasn't on orders. She just followed, quietly.

If you asked her why, she wouldn't be able to tell you. She was burning with fury, and the cold didn't douse it. The rain washed the blood off her claws, but not the itch in her quicks. She hated Mapleshade. She hated the kits. She hated what they did to her.

The fierce warrior would make sure they leave-- by force, if necessary.

Yet, when little Petalkit tripped and scraped herself, Frecklewish's heart luched. She had to prevent her body from springing out.

She let go of the tension in her muscles and her chest, and continued stalking them through the undergrowth. All the way to the riverbank.

When Mapleshade ushered the kits into the swollen river, Frecklewish didn't stop them. Just watched. RiverClan kits can swim, they were doing just fine, even with the current being so strong. ThunderClan kittens would have been swept away by now.

If they float they're RiverClan. If they sink they're ThunderClan. She's assured in her feelings-- until the rumble of the upcoming wave floods her thoughts.

Those kits were swept away in the blink of an eye, under the froth and debris, screams drowning under the roar of the river and the rain. If she knew about the patrol on the other side of the river, she HAD to have chased them.

But why bother? If she didn't care at all? And more importantly, why didn't she stay?

I think when the "halfclan mistakes" were washed off the stones, she heard the children she raised crying for help. The phrase "love is stronger than hate" downplays its sharp agony; reality is colder than malice. All her "justifications" shattered like ice, for that brief, painful moment.

She didn't stay because she couldn't. Her heart knew the only thing that they were going to pull out of the water was corpses... but as long as she didn't see it, her brain could believe that there was a chance they survived.

She loved those kits and told herself she hated them. Lied to herself that this was okay, that it was going to turn out all right. Saw them marching right into their watery graves, and convinced herself she wasn't part of the procession.

[whatimdoing-here]

drunk shenanigans

Bonus:

[clanborn]

sketched up some designs i need for something

[lunarwednesday]

[ The Living Flame ]

[amamozarte]

messy early smtv vengeance thoughts

[ya-kiri]

The Demon Haunt has given me a new appreciation for Lilim.😊

[sunny12th]

obsessed with the futility of vengeance in dany's story. your family is murdered, you're exiled, your home is taken in every sense of the word, and you have just hatched three dragons so you *should* be more than capable of enacting some righteous vengeance. except your family's killers are all dead before you can ever get near them and the last one left is a one-handed broken thing with graying hair and ptsd. what the fuck are you supposed to do with that? kill him? he'd probably thank you. dany's family is a haunting him more than her. what can she do but tell him to let them go, that rhaegar is gone, his children are gone, let them go. what can she do but let them go herself.

[andi-o-geyser]

all my favourite characters are just me seeing them and going "damn you sure do clean up well but I'd much rather see you grinning with blood between your teeth"

[carolofthebell]

My latest obsession:

@rubydianarts animatic of Get in the Water from Epic: the Musical with Hama!

It’s perfection

[eye-of-the-hawk]

“Yes. Stole my own hypothesis and turned it against me.”

“Fascinating. I’d love to meet her.”

“… Ah. So you’re just like her here, aren’t you?”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“*Sigh…* unfortunately, you’ve already made it quite obvious.”

[u-so-silly]

Vengeance Mercy but with big overcoat

[bonefall]

I've never understood why people wholly blame Maple for making the clan think her kits were Birchface's. I mean, I'll admit it's been AGES since I read MV (or any actual WC book lmao) but I swear she did nothing to start it? Frecklewish just Assumed they were Birchface's for whatever reason and Mapleshade just didn't confirm or deny. A lie by omission, if still a big one. But people act like its some vile, actively manupulative lie from Maple alone??? like yeah its manipulative but A. who cares let her girlboss and B. it entirely started with Frecklewish assuming??? it wasn't even Mapleshade's idea in the first place???????

You're correct; it was a lie of omission, completely suggested by Frecklewish. Mapleshade didn't fabricate this lie.

In fact, something often left out of discussions about Mapleshade's Vengeance is that it decided she was VERY pious. In the early half of MV, she believes that it's StarClan that's providing all these opportunities for her.

She thinks she's special, that her kittens are destined to bring peace to their two halves, and that the code applies more loosely to her because she so strongly believes she's right and that her love is beautiful. I think it's meant to come across as Mapleshade being "delusional" and disconnected with reality, but I can't help but feel like a fair amount of it is naivety.

Mapleshade is quiet, and Frecklewish rolls into a long, earnest monologue, thanking her for giving her hope with her brother's kittens. It reads to me like Frecki was in a depression after Birchface's death, and being able to help raise her nespring is like being given a new purpose in life.

It's gutwrenching on both ends, for me. Mapleshade is actually super uncomfortable several times around her "in-laws" during these lies, like she knows that she's in a dangerous position, and never really wanted them around to begin with. She clearly doesn't like Frecklewish very much and is actively intimidated by Oakstar. She doesn't WANT to have to lie forever, she eventually wants it to be known they're halfclan.

(and... why shouldn't she want that? This law SUCKS and it SHOULD be challenged. I'll go to bat for Silverstream and I'll go to bat for Mapleshade too.)

But meanwhile, Frecklewish in particular is being mislead. This means everything to her, it gave her a purpose when her brother had been taken from her, she thinks Birchface is living on and that Mapleshade shares in her grief. But it's a lie, Mapleshade doesn't want her anywhere near her children, and at the end of the day her love of these kittens is being exploited for their safety.

So... yes. It is manipulative, but the alternative was to actively tell Frecklewish NO and open up more questions about who the possible father was. Mapleshade is in a dangerous situation and she interpreted the opportunity as StarClan providing a way for her kittens to become accepted by their Clanmates.

I just find this situation is compelling. And they're both neat

[aeroplaneblues]

Quick Thief💠✨

To explain Haitham used this keqing like blink-and-you-miss skill to steal a kiss from cyno :D Cyno being all shy about PDA is as canon as jp livestream performances are😳 and hthm exploiting that? my personal flair🤭