#XAN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS ONE TIME

[caffeiiine]

@xansnacks I FOUND THE ANTHOLOGY RAWS THROUGH REDDIT

[queenpiranhadon]

ꗃ ⎸⎸ 𝐇𝐢𝐬 ⎸⎸ ꗃ

A/N: Lmao this was directly copied and pasted from a text rant w/ the tolerable @labaguetteisdabest 🤪 Here's my masterlist! Dividers made by @cafekitsune

Warning(s): Depression, mentions of adoption, PJO x Inheritance Games crossover AU

Pairing(s): None :)

Okay okay hear me out- Grayson as a demigod.

Grayson Hawthorne is minding his business, being his imperial stoic self when he uncovers something interesting in Avery’s/ Tobias’s office.

He finds adoption papers. With his name under it.

And he starts freaking out- he’s clearly distraught- that meant he was never a Hawthorne in the first place, is that why Tobias made Avery heir??

And then he comes to the cold realization that if he’s adopted- then his family isn’t even his real family at all.

And his broken by this- coming to the realization that nothing is fully his, Nash, Jamie, Xan, Gigi, Sav- they’ve all only been half siblings- never biological siblings- and now they’re not even his siblings at all.

And so he ices out the world- isolating himself away from everyone, bunkering down in a five star hotel room that he hates with every fiber in his being because he doesn’t deserve it, it’s not his, it never was, he doesn’t belong.

And then he hears a knock on the door.

He opens it warily, only to see Gigi standing there, out of breath and clearly stressed.

“GRAY!” she says, her face flush and relieved, and he notices a clearly confused Savannah behind her.

“Can we come in? Please? We don’t have a lot of time.” Gigi says hurriedly, and barges her way into the room without asking permission, leaving both Gray and Sav extremely confused.

She huffs and sinks down onto the bed and opens her mouth to say something but then shuts it.

They stare at her for a few minutes, waiting for her to continue.

“So uh I have no idea how to tell you this but uh” she starts, fidgeting nervously, setting off all concern alarms in her siblings’ minds.

“So…I haven’t been very honest with the two of you…but Gray, Skye isn’t your real mom. Sav, Acacia isn’t either…” Gigi says, wincing at Sav’s horrified expression, but startles when she sees Gray’s normal one.

“…You already knew, didn’t you.” Gigi whispers, heart breaking as Gray nods without emotion. He wasn’t supposed to find out this way.

The man in question chuckles sourly, and nods “I found adoption papers in the old man’s office. Looks like I was never your brother to begin with.” he says his eyes turning watery for the first time in what seems years.

He scolds himself- Hawthornes don’t cry, they don’t show weakness. And then he remembered he wasn’t a Hawthorne anymore.

Gigi rushes to his side frantically, holding him by his shoulders and forcing him to look into his eyes. “We ARE related Gray- I said Skye wasn’t your mother, not that we don’t share a dad.”

Gray stares at Gigi dumbfounded, and then another question comes to light. “If Skye isn’t my mom, who is?”

Gigi glances at Savannah, who’s still reeling from the shock of the previously delivered news, and the former grabs her hand and squeezes it.

“You guys share one.” Gigi starts off, speaking slowly, treating them like glass. 

“Have you guys…ever heard of the Greek gods?”

Gray and Sav nod slowly, unsure of where she’s going with this.

“They’re real.”

Sav recovers first, and chuckles nervously. “Geegs, if you’re religious that’s great- but I don’t see what that has to do with-“

“Sav you’re not listening.” Gigi cuts in. “Your mother is one of the gods.”

Gray and Sav stay still, unsure of what to say. They were people of science, they didn’t believe in God, or anything like that. But the look in Gigi’s eyes said that she knew what she was talking about.

For the first time in forever, Grayson Not-Hawthorne-But-Still-A-Hawthorne-Because-We-Call-Toby-A-Hawthorne was speechless.

No strategic silence- just simply shocked.

And then Gigi chuckles nervously. “And I’m part goat.”

[lyrakanefanaticwriting]

may i request a oneshot of brotherly bonding between our fav pookie hawthorne brothers as children?

maybe with some angst between jamie and gray and sad xander and mother hen nash?

pls and tyyyyyy <33333

SUREE!!! 🩷

It was brother game board night, and the game that Xander had chosen was Monopoly. The longest game to ever exist, yet still a family favourite. Taking the board game from the cabinet in which it was stored in, Xander walks over to the library, where the rest of his brothers were. Nash was leaning back in his chair, and Grayson and Jameson were sitting at opposite ends of the table. But something felt off.

“What is it?” Xander asks, placing the board game on the table. Nash looks oddly at Jameson and Grayson, before looking back at Xander.

“Xan, if your father were to visit….. would you want to see him?” Nash asks, his voice gentle. Xander’s eyebrows raised. His father had never really been in his life, but still, he had always wanted to see him.

“Sure. I would want to!” He said, glancing at his other brothers. Jameson and Grayson looked at each other, a silent conversation filtering through their eyes. Now something was really up.

“Why? Did one of our fathers want to see us?” He asks. No response. Then Grayson sighs.

“Did you really have to get Xander involved in this, Nash? He’s only 11.” He says, matter-of-factly. Xander frowns, not wanting to show how badly that statement hurt. Jameson turned to him.

“Xan, you do know that our dads left because they don’t want us, right? They wouldn’t want us to visit them.” Jameson says. Then he turned to Grayson.

“Should we go ask the old man now? About Xander’s..” He trailed off, but Grayson nodded.

“You guys go. I’ll stay here with him.” Nash said. Xander hated how they talked about him like he wasn’t even there, just because he was younger.

“What are you guys talking about?” Xander asks. Jameson, Grayson, and Nash all look at him, but Nash is the one to answer.

“Nothing. Jameson and Grayson are just gonna be chattin’ with the old man for a bit, and then they’ll be back. But it’s nothing Xan.” He says, his eyes kind. Xander couldn’t help the way his chest tightened at the feeling of being left out. Again.

“It’s not nothing.” He says, suddenly. His brothers turned to look at him, a bit surprised, but Xander keeps going. “I’m not a kid. I know this has something to do with my dad, and I wanna know. It’s not fair that you guys get to do all this stuff but I don’t.” Xander knew he sounded childish, but he didn’t care. He was left out of everything and anything, all because he was a year younger. And he wanted to know about his dad, even if his dad didn’t want Xander. Graysons brows furrowed.

“Xander…” He says, trailing off. “I don’t think you need to know about this. It’s really not important.” Xander only got madder, which was surprising because he was never mad at his brothers. But he just couldn’t take being left out all the time!

“It is important. Just what I don’t understand is why you won’t tell me!” He said, and in a fit of anger, stormed off. On his way to his room, he sees the old man. Xander pauses, before walking over to him.

“Grandfather!” He says. Tobias looks up and smiles when he sees Xander.

“Hello, Xander. What is it?” He asks. Xander presses his lips in a thin line before speaking.

“Did my father ask to visit? Or did Jameson and Grayson say anything related to that?” Xander presses. Instantly, Tobias’ face changes from kindness, to anger.

“Your brothers told you about how they have been poking around, looking for their fathers online, haven’t they? Well, I don’t want you getting worried about your father, Xander. He left. Do you understand me?” Tobias says, his voice no longer gentle. Xander frowned, his eyebrows burrowing.

“But-“ Before Xander could say anything, Tobias interrupts him.

“Xander. Your father never cared for you, just like how your brothers’ fathers never cared for them either. Now, do you understand me?” Tobias urges. Xander’s eyes go wide as he fights back the urge to cry. All he’d ever wanted was, well, to be wanted. And here was his grandfather, telling him that his father would never care for him, and had never cared for him. Not allowing himself to speak in case he starts crying, Xander nods. Tobias’ face turns softer as he nods back before walking away. As tears started crowding his eyes, Xander turns his head down the hall, and there, he could see his three brothers, watching him with concern and guilt on their faces. Not wanting to have to cry in front of them, Xander aggressively wipes his tears with his fists, before turning and running to his room.

——————————————————————————

OKAY I KNOW THIS IS REALLY LATE IM SORRY BUT I WAS PUTTING IT OFF BC I DIDNT HAVE ANY IDEAS UNTIL NOW 😭😭😭 also it needs to be talked about more how often xander is left out bc it’s acc so sad 😢

[xzhdjsj]

xanthus x reader

xanthus comforts you!

ANOTHA ONE! and ofc its xanny again what can i sayyy i love my pookie- this was meant to be more wholesome butttt i chopped off an entire part that just didn't flow with everything

alsooo finals season is starting and ill be busy suffering for the next two weeks sooo i may complete one more fic later this week then disappear for a while

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“You're in the wind, I'm in the water Nobody's son, nobody's daughter”

You’re not one to sulk, throughout your life you’ve learnt that pointless worrying will never prove to be an advantage and overthinking weighs you down like a heavy burden. Although sometimes you can’t help but think of home especially now when your life is thrown on the line all over again. The home you once knew and loved isn’t your home anymore. The home you abandoned to pursue a better life. Ironically, that peace was short-lived and danger seems to follow you everywhere you go; it seeps into the cracks of your life, it follows you to every crevice of the earth.

Sometimes you wonder about your parent and if they think of you too. It would be funny to explain the course your life has taken to them. It would be nice to introduce Xanthus to them. Would that be possible? Are they even alive still? Nothing is guaranteed, nothing at all. Maybe someday you could track them down. Someday you could see them again and hug them but would they even remember you? Have they already moved on and forgotten about you?

That’s impossible, right?

Dontis’ home has a spectacular view of the city, his balcony was a perfect to observe the city’s rich culture but that wasn’t your reason for gazing down at the lights and colours that illuminated the streets. You wished to clear your mind, avoid your thoughts of home and your parents but the families that hurried excitedly through the streets together did not help you whatsoever. If anything, it made your current predicament worst.

Teardrops fall onto your hand, the wet stream cooling in the nigh time breeze as it rolls down your cheeks leaving a glistening trail in their wake. Shit, you didn’t mean to cry not when Xanthus can feel what you feel.

“Love, are you out there?” his soothing voice calls from behind you.

Crap it’s too late now.

“Yeah, uh I’m here” your hands quickly drag against your cheeks wiping away any sign of tears before you head inside.

He stood by the glass doors, waiting for you. You don’t say a word. You walk straight to him pressing resting your forehead against. His hands immediately wrap around your body and he placed a kiss on the crown of your head.

“What’s the matter my love?” his voice is so gentle, so patient.

It makes you break down all over again. Your lips quiver, and you squeeze your eyes shut as you sob into him. Xanthus is so sooo patient with you. He stays with you silently rubbing small circles on your back and resting his face against your hair.

You don’t know how long you’ve been standing there with him but it was long enough for you to calm down. Hiccups leaving your throat as you pull back from him.

“’m sorry” you mumble

“You don’t have to be love” he cradles your face in his palms.

“I ruined your shirt” you eye the wet splotch on the front of his shirt but Xanthus only lets out a short chuckled.

“That’s the last thing on my mind right now” he kisses your forehead. “Come on, let’s get you comfortable”

He walks you to the plush sofa and drapes a soft blanket over your shoulders before disappearing into the kitchen. Within seconds he’s back by your side with water and he takes a seat next to you.

“Thank you Xan” you take a sip of your water.

“I promised to take care of you didn’t I? Now, do you want to talk about it?” concern is evident in his voice and his eyes.

“I don’t know, lately I’ve been thinking about my parents and I guess it makes me sad. I think during my time away from them I’ve romanticized a relationship that’s far better the one we actually had.” A deep sigh heaves from your chest “Truth be told, I’m not even sure they’d remember me. It’s been so long and I still somehow miss them and the relationship we could have had if I stayed”

“That’s alright love, it’s understandable” he lays on the sofa pulling you close to him. “Sometimes I feel it too.”

“Really?” you perk up like a puppy, only slowly like a rather sick puppy given how miserable you feel.

“Yeah” he looks down at you “It’s been 400 years but sometimes I think of a fond memory and I long for their presence again too.” The sadness doesn’t get lost in his voice and its clear Xanthus understands exactly how you feel.

“It’s mostly memories of my brother and my mother but it’s enough to make me miss them in my life.” He continued.

“I’m sorry” you weren’t sure how to reply, it felt most natural to let your actions say what your words couldn’t. You close your eyes and hugged him tighter.

“Don’t be, it’s not something we can change.” He smiles. “And we may not have families but we have each other don’t we?”

You look up at him to find his piercing eyes already looking for yours.

“We do.”

You smile at him and he pulls your body onto his chest. His lips fit perfectly against yours slowly savouring the feeling and taste. Your hands grip his shirt and his slips under the thick blanket to hold onto your waist. He pulls away slowly, reluctantly.

“And we’ll always have each other”

“Always” you parrot and he places a kiss on your forehead.

There's a glimmer in his eyes then he speaks again. “I have an idea, come here” he gets up, pulling you to follow him.

For the rest of the night Xanthus stays cuddled up with you in Dontis’ balcony, sharing fond memories, tracing patterns in the stars and eventually you fall asleep in his arms.

Life has definitely taken a turn through another dangerous path, but you aren’t complaining. You don’t bother yourself with such a mediocre thing either, because through every hardship, every conflict, you aren’t alone. Xanthus has been here from the start and there’s no doubt in your mind that he’ll be here until the very end. You can feel it when he holds you close, when he kisses you, and especially when he looks you in the eyes and tells you how much he loves you.

The guarantee of a future is unknown but you’d die and do it all over again if it meant Xanthus was by your side.

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[sovonight]

since it's come up a couple times, i thought i'd just make a post about it! here we go:

i keep seeing you talk about this xan guy, but who is he?

xan is a potential companion in baldur's gate, the first game in the baldur's gate series. in the vanilla game, he has basic voice lines that play in reaction to commands, other companions, and the locations you're in. in fact, all of his voice lines can be viewed in the "quotes" section on the wiki; that's the extent of the content he has.

wait, i thought he was a full-fledged companion with friendship and romance paths? also, isn't he in baldur's gate 2?

he is, but only with the use of mods!

BG1NPC adds xan's banter, commentary, and romance path to bg1 (alongside a lot of other things, take a look at the readme!)

Xan's friendship path adds xan's friendship path to bg1

Xan BG2 NPC adds xan to bg2, as well as 2 romance paths, a friendship path, and a new soundset

Alternate Xan Soundset for BG2 restores xan's bg1 soundset to him in bg2, because nothing beats the original

if you want to romance him, make sure to play as an elf, unless you're ready for a bit of heartbreak ;( non-elves can romance him for a bit in bg1, but at one point you'll be forced to break it off.

i'm interested in playing the series, but where should i start?

i've broken it down here!

do you have any other mod recs?

i still play with the original (non-ee) games, so a lot of my mods are just widescreen fixes & bug fixes that are already covered in the ee games. but one list i have on hand is glittergear's bg2 mod recs!

why don't you like xan in bg2?

spoilers ahead, but:

i don't agree with his characterization and the execution of his romance paths as a whole

his bonded bg2 romance is worse than his bg1 romance, and intimacy with him almost always involves sex now, when it didn't before

he's been made ridiculously old

he's out of character, and many of his reactions are just odd

i don't agree with his death, and here's more paragraphs why

bonded xan is too ready to serve goddess!charname, when based on past behavior i'd think he would have a firm stance against it

his player-initiated dialogue options are poorly thought out

he was altered to have proficiency in darts instead of slings. darts fucking suck, why would you do this to him

his behavior would hurt radri, a lot

the list goes on

why are you still drawing/writing about him in bg2, then?

i love xan and radri together, i can't just write him out of bg2

😔 i can fix him 😔

but you think xan in bg1 is perfect, right?

not totally, i've always felt like his romance was biased in favor of one personality type

he is SO ace-coded to me, but his author clearly had a different vision for him

there's more, but they're all minor nitpicks compared to my complaints about him in bg2

you've complained a lot about him, so what do you even like about xan??

he's just so ridiculous, in the best ways

he can be snippy and dramatic, but also so kind

i love his romance in bg1

i enjoy his habit of carrying charname for romantic gestures, even though radri is like 200 lbs with light armor, and he's, what, 130 lbs sopping wet? i know, he was probably written with an elven waif of a charname in mind, but it's almost sweeter to think of him going out of his way to make it happen

you keep mentioning radri, but who is she?

my gorion's ward, my bhaalspawn, my charname, my beloved protagonist

she's like the kicked puppy to xan's pathetic kitten

here's an introduction, but honestly, it's easier just to read about them

why do you like the series, but not baldur's gate 3?

baldur's gate 3 has next to nothing to do with the series and should've been named something else

i was disappointed by it when i did play it

there's a sexual overtone over the entirety of the game

i'm tired of romances that put sex first

it's impossible for me to relax and enjoy the game

again, it's a really horny game

i'm just way too ace for it

bg3 overtakes all search results when trying to search for information on bg1 (which, being titled baldur's gate, doesn't get the benefit of a number to set it apart from the other games). sure, filters exist, but that doesn't change the fact that an era of easy information retrieval is over

what do you think about the references to xan in baldur's gate 3?

i want to die

i would rather kill xan myself than let bg3 touch him

it's a small mercy that he wasn't cursed with an actual cameo

[blocked-zombieartist]

Duct Tape and Disharmony

A request from @hathorneheiress Enjoy, superstar!

 “That’s it.” I muttered under my breath. I had been listening to my three baby brothers arguing for two and a half hours now. They were sixteen, fifteen, and fourteen, respectively. They should know how to settle a dispute peaceably by now. Key word: should. 

 Shockingly, no matter where in this huge-ass house I went, they always ended up near enough to drive me insane. If they weren’t gonna settle their differences peacefully by themselves, it was time for me to get involved. I stormed off to my room and rummaged through my beat up tool box. 

 “Little idiots…” I drawled quietly. I could still hear their raised voices, even now. Were they getting in a physical spat now? I sighed. I was about to put the fear of God and of a Hawthorne in them like our Grandfather never had. Finally, I found what I was looking for. I pulled it out and pocketed it. Now came the hard part. How to pick them off, one by one?

 Hoping this will work, I first text Xander. I feel a little guilty about having to dupe them all, but they’ve left me with no choice. I’ll make it up to each of them. I text him, asking if he wants to decompress from their argument and come to his workshop and show me his new-fangled contraptions like he’s been wanting to for a while now. He responded with a robot emoji and and excited emoji. I knew he was on his way. I stood behind the doorway and laid in wait. He burst in the room.

 “Big brother! I’m here! Are you ready for a full crash course of robotics history and my incredible robotics history-in-the-making?” He looked around for me. I lunged. It was a struggle, but after a few minutes of tussling, I got him pinned on the floor, face down. I wrangle the item of the hour out of my pocket. 

 “Hey! Don’t-ow! Sit still, dammit!” I cursed as Xander almost escaped my grip. I forced his arms back behind him and managed to duct tape his hands together. After that, it was easier to duct tape his feet, and to ensure no one found and helped him, I finally slapped a piece over his mouth, silencing his loud protests. “Sorry baby brother. You’ll see. This is for your own good. And your brothers too.”

 I stashed him in one of the many hidden rooms in the House and went off to wrangle another stubborn mule Jameson. I send a member of the staff to tell him that the car he ordered arrived. Another lie, but I had to do it. As predicted, he dropped his pissing match with Gray and came to the garages. Also predictably, he came through the secret passage. I quietly chuckled and mentally patted myself on the back. I knew my brothers so well. I quietly followed Jameson, ducking behind cars here and there as he searched for what he thought was the new arrival. I finally saw my change and pounced on it. And on Jameson. 

  Another scuffle later, this one a much closer call and with much more trash talking and cursing, and Jameson was on the ground, glaring up at me. He was effectively duct taped on the arms, legs, and mouth, just like Xander. We were both still breathing heavily from said scuffle, and we both had a couple bruises. I was still the stronger one, but damn, if Jamie wasn’t growing up and giving me a run for my money.

 “Sorry little brother. Had to be done,” I grunted as I hoisted him up and carried him to where I was keeping Xan. It was times like these that the secret passages all throughout the House were very helpful. I deposited Jamie with Xan and left to find Grayson.

  I went through the House in search of him. Finally, I found my oldest baby brother in the center Grandfather’s maze. He was practicing his sword sparing. I came up with my alibi.

 “Gray!” I panted. “Jamie… he’s trying to drive inebriated again. I tried to stop him from running off the garage, but got my ass handed to me.” 

 Like the ever dutiful big brother he was, Grayson immediately put down his sword and started heading to the garage to intercept Jameson. I followed him, not wanting to take him down out here and have to carry him all the way back to the holding room. I walked with him for a ways. I took note of his still present frustration. No words were exchanged, a result of his irritation with his brothers and thinking Jamie was going to be reckless again. 

  When we got near the passageway, I took advantage of his absent-mindedness and tackled him to the floor from behind. Since he was caught off guard, I was able to make quick work of duct taping his hands together behind his back. Despite his crocodile-style body roll in an attempt to get free and the uncharacteristic(though not unprovoked) slew of cursing he spat at me, I got the tape fastened securely around his ankles too. 

 “Love you, Gray, but watch your mouth. And your back next time.” I put a piece of tape over his mouth and hoisted him over my shoulder. I carried him to the room where his brothers were still bound and silent. I set Grayson down. 

 “Alright boys. You have been driving the entire House bat-shit crazy with your pointless arguments today.” I walked around the room and took the tape off their mouths. “I will be coming to check on you three in about an hour to see if you’ve resolved your disputes. If not, another hour. I’ll bring food and water when I come back in case you’ll be in here longer. See y’all.” I shut and locked the door, silencing their loud protests. 

 I returned with the water and food like promised, and somehow, they were still arguing. I ultimately forced some water and a little food down their throats and wordlessly left the room, locking it once again. I got a text half an hour later from Xander. “How the hell?” I muttered. He shouldn’t be able to text. His hands were bound. The text was a picture. It was the three of them, free, and taking a selfie. While I was a little surprised, their escape was not completely unexpected. They were Hawthornes, after all. Another text came through, this time from Grayson.

 “You’re next. -Your “baby” brothers”

 This was gonna be a long week.

[spacemonkeysalsa]

God of Ambivalence

A tiefling Artificer splits a large stone on a beach to discover a one handed-wizard inside.

Pairing - OC/Gale & Shadowheart/Lae'zel but there will be more as it goes on.

Read Chapter One on Ao3

Read Chapter Two on Ao3

Read Chapter Three on Ao3

Read Chapter Four on Ao3

Read Chapter Five on Ao3

Read Chapter Six on Ao3

Read Chapter Seven on Ao3

Read Chapter Eight on Ao3

Read Chapter Nine on Ao3

or read Chapter Nine, below

Gale discovers that during the hundred years he was inside of that stone, Mystra found at least one new chosen: a tiefling named Rolan who might be able to help.

Elion’s assignment to get food from the larder grew more involved as Master Faydor and the stranger, called Erakis, got to talking and hit it off. In another hour Erakis was cooking up a meal for them, using the blacksmith’s forge in a very unconventional way, as he listened to Master Faydor’s stories and laughed so loudly it echoed around the courtyard. Shadowheart and Lae’zel emerged from their conversation as the sun got high. Master Faydor suggested they make their announcements with the meal.

Gale looked like a new person after a bath and a change of clothes. He had Elion knot the end of his sleeve for now, after applying fresh bandages to the stump. The wizard hadn’t exaggerated. He did clean up nicely. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I can gain your respect back after all that?”

“Why wouldn’t I respect you any longer?” Elion asked, genuinely concerned, but more than anything, distracted. There was a pink hue to Gale’s skin that looked rather nice on him. He tried not to dwell too much on any implications. Blushing was a collection of blood under the skin and it was a good sign, more than anything, because Gale’s skin had so recently been bloodless and gray. That was all.

Arabella was deep in conversation with Shadowheart’s direwolf, and the clowder of cats. She dismissed Shadowheart with a wave of her hand when the cleric tried to summon her over.

“She’s not hungry,” Shadowheart informed Master Faydor.

“Nonsense!” Master Faydor protested, “even inscrutable weave-touched waifs need protein. Mr. Erakis certainly knows his way around a cookstove… forge.”

Lae’zel and Xan hung back near the entrance of the sanctum. Their conversation looked tensed, though perhaps not as involved as that of Arabella and her council of nocturnal predators. Elion watched them without reading a single word that fell from their lips, but he thought he knew the conversation well. It was one he’d had with his own parents a few hundred times.

“I disapprove of the things you do,” Lae’zel might say.

“I know and I do care but it will not change the things I do,” Xan would probably respond.

“Then suffer my disapproval.”

“I will.”

As Elion watched their exchanges grew faster and more heated, then they cooled and slowed. Then they finally stopped. Xan stooped down and kissed his mother quickly on the forehead, clearly enjoying how very annoyed she looked in response. The two of them finally came to join the rest of the group, as Master Faydor had everyone prepare a plate.

They ate in silence, gathering clouds overheard darkening the land, though the forge still had an ember glow to keep them warm and undulate a bright shimmer against their faces.

Shadowheart wasn’t eating much. Elion caught her passing more than a few pieces of meat to the cats that had abandoned Arabella. That particularly lovely white one lounged under her chair, stalking.

“We have an idea,” Elion decided that he might as well broach the subject, if no one else was going to say anything, “About, what to do for Gale.”

“What to do with Gale,” Lae’zel qualified.

“Rolan, of Ramazith’s Tower,” Elion shot Gale a glance, but the wizard seemed just fine to let him speak. He wasn’t eating much either. “We thought maybe, given his expertise…”

Again, Shadowheart and Lae’zel responded by looking at each other.

“Oh Gods,” Lae’zel sighed.

Xan was grinning, he looked up and snagged Elion’s eye, “he’s an old friend, and I’m sure my mothers are quite embarrassed that they didn’t think of him.”

“We hadn’t really gotten around to discussing how we might help,” Shadowheart admitted, “we were still rather mired in the question of whether we ought to or not.”

“I’d sooner say that we’ve done enough already and leave you to pursue your future without further interference." Lae’zel looked directly at Gale, but in spite of her harsh words, her face had softened somewhat. “Whether or not we bear any responsibility towards you, Rolan isn’t a wholly terrible option.” She looked rather displeased with herself as she admitted this. “We could perhaps make an introduction, in twenty-five words or less.”

“Why yes,” Shadowheart seemed pleased that Lae’zel had suggested it, “that would hardly be any trouble at all.”

“Ramazith’s Tower?” Erakis spoke up from his perch. He’d settled himself comfortably on one side of the forge, lying on his side and propping his head up with one hand, while he fed himself with the other. Elion hadn’t really gotten a very good look at him up close before, so he hadn’t appreciated just how large the man was. It wasn’t just his considerably stature or his broad shoulders. His features all seemed wide. It wasn’t unattractive in the least, but it was noticeable. Even his eyes seemed a touch too far apart, his mouth broad, his fingers twice the girth that would have seemed normal.

There was also something strangely familiar about him, but Elion couldn’t quite place it.

“That means you’ll be headed to Baldur’s Gate then?” he swirled his wine before he downed it.

“Seems the best heading,” Gale nodded. “I can't very well linger here,” the way he said it made Elion think he wanted to add something about not being welcome, but was too polite to just come out and say it.

“You should join me,” Erakis pushed the rest of his plate towards the white cat, who was approaching with a curious sniff. “I’m meant to meet up with a friend in the mountain pass. A tiefling ranger who said I could use a portal to get into the city. It should shorten the journey by a tenday or so.”

“A portal? Out here?” Elion balked. If he’d known he could have portaled to or from the city that would have made coming out here for the apprenticeship a lot easier.

“Not well known, and she usually charges a small fortune. But she likes me, and she owes me a favor. She’ll be more than fair.” Erakis tentatively reached out to pet the cat, but the creature darted away, startled by his sudden movement.

“Sounds promising,” said Shadowheart, “I’ll tell Rolan to expect you.”

“You won’t accompany them?” Xan asked, keeping his voice low enough that Elion was sure he’d only meant for his mothers to hear him.

“Lae’zel is right,” Shadowheart told Xan firmly, “we’re not as young as we used to be, we need to pick our pursuits more carefully. I’ve already got this sanctum to see to, and besides—we’ve done enough.” She didn’t sound entirely convinced or convincing, but Xan didn’t try to argue with her, only watched her with a slight frown.

“Chk,” Lae’zel furrowed her brow at her wife, “I didn’t say anything about our irrelevant ages!”

“You want to go with them to see Rolan?” Shadowheart challenged.

“Absolutely not,” Lae’zel hissed, “he’s been insufferable ever since Mystra made him her Chosen.”

“So just these last hundred years or so?” Shadowheart asked playfully.

“Precisely,” said Lae’zel with a snarl.

Gale curled into himself, setting his food down. His face had gone very peaked, very fast.

“Are you alright?” murmured Elion.

In response, Gale lifted his arms to his face, in a gesture that appeared entirely instinctual and futile, like he’d meant to cover his face with both hands, only to remember there was only one left. He looked like he might be ill.

“Shadowheart—I think he—”

“No,” Gale snapped. “I’m fine,” he softened, “I’m fine. It’s nothing.” He exhaled slow, and even, eyes closed. Then he picked up the bottle of Waterdeep whiskey that Elion had found for him in the kitchens and took a generous swig. 

At least he finally had something in his stomach.

[transmutationisms]

(Very genuine in asking this) Do you or any of your followers know how much Xanax (daily frequency?) it takes to get addicted? Haven’t been able to find any reliable anecdotes online (a ton of ‘this is evil scary drug w lethal withdrawal potential absolutely never ever take it!!!’). I’ve got a ‘legal’ prescription from my doc that I take as needed but my worsening material conditions is making it incredibly difficult to stay afloat rn so I’ve been taking it more often. Probably don’t want to add future terrible withdrawal to the mix but I need to find a way to make it through at least the next two weeks and want to make a somewhat informed choice on how to cope. Asking here since I think it’s the least likely place where someone will say ‘have you tried mindfulness? talk to your therapist/psychiatrist and risk going to brain jail that will just make everything 100x worse!’

well this isn't really something where there's going to be a singular numerical answer, though i would say the chances of developing a new physical dependence within the next two weeks are p low just because that's not a very long period of time. benzo withdrawal (discontinuation syndrome) pretty much sucks and my understanding is that in general, it becomes more likely the longer you've been taking the drug, and can still occur even if you were taking a relatively low amount. taking breaks of a couple days is a p reliable way to check whether that's something you need to prepare for down the line, though obviously if the drug is what's getting you through your day then that might not be the move. again though, i would say developing a new dependence within the next 14 days is pretty unlikely regardless of how much you take, so this probably depends more on how long you've already been using it.

when we talk about a more 'classic' 'substance abuse' presentation (escalating and compulsive use &c), that's something you can be on the lookout for in your own behaviour, but just taking a higher amount isn't inherently a problem in this respect. it kind of depends more on how you're managing your own drug use. like, there's not a biological switch that's going to flip without you knowing and take over your brain; that sort of presentation is usually more contextual and involves the physical dependency in addition to issues like insecure supply, intolerable conditions of life, shame cycles about your usage, &c. in any case, again, there's not a magic number in terms of daily usage amount where you're going to flip from a 'non-addicted' state to an 'addicted' one because it's really more about all of that context shaping your particular pattern of usage, and how it helps or hurts you in your life.

iirc the medical recommendation with xans in particular is not to exceed 4mg/day, but that's more a safety guideline and most clinicians will just sort of vaguely try to keep you on the lowest possible amount that accomplishes whatever psychological effect they're prescribing for. anecdotally i have definitely known people who have taken p high amounts daily for extended periods of time and then tapered off, but everybody's different.

[adarkrainbow]

I already evoked what the "images d'Epinal" were in this post ; here is another example of a typical fairytale "image d'Epinal" - some sort of prototype cheap comic-book, here retelling in one page the story of Bluebeard. With the slight twist that this is one of those "image d'Epinal" in name, but not actually from Epinal - it is part of the Delhalt imagery, produced in Metz at the end of the 19th century.

I found this post on a French BD review website that briefly evoked the Bluebeard fairytale - though in very broad lines, and mostly through comparisons. It highlighted for example how the theme of women's curiosity punished or unleashing evil made this fairytale similar to other tales such as the myths of Pandora or Eve ; it evoked several of the candidates for the "historical" Bluebeard, from King Henry VIII of England to the comte Conomor in the 6th century Bretagne passing by Gilles de Rais - before concluding with the "modern" Bluebeards, these dreadful criminals cases that make the myth live on, such as Jack the Ripper, or Landru.

The website notably used as an example, when talking of how Gilles de Rais became deeply associated with Bluebeard, this volume of the Jhen BD called "Bluebeard":

For those of you who do not know of it, "Jhen" is a Franco-Belgian BD of the 80s-90s originally published under the title "Xan" in the Journal de Tintin. It is an historical series depicting the life of Jhen Roque, a 15th century young sculptor and painter who wanders through the post-Hundred Years War France. Due to the time period, the story deals at one point with a failed attempt at rescuing Jeanne d'Arc - and as such Gilles de Rais becomes one of the important secondary characters of the story. In fact, Jhen is depicted as one of the only (if not THE only) friend of Gilles de Rais, who tries to prevent him from falling into madness... But like Jeanne d'Arc's rescue, Jhen's attempts are doomed to fail and Gilles de Rais becomes the monster we know today. The "Bluebeard" of the title.

In a more recent fashion, the website also name-dropped another BD about Gilles de Rais invoking the Bluebeard myth. 2010's Le Saigneur de Tiffauges by Corbeyran and Horne. The tagline is even "The true story of Blue Beard, the first serial killer":

[sirius-bus1ness]

Hello tumblr I just woke up and feel insane :)))

Monkey D. Luffy and Being Aromantic: An Essay Plea

One Piece, in general, is a story about freedom and prioritizing your happiness over societal norms that bounds you in one place. Luffy, the main character, had said multiple times that he only cares abt meat, his freedom, and his friends. The author himself had said that One Piece wont have a romance, that its focus is on the journey of the characters and all that.

But were bot here about One Piece. We are here for Luffy, and so Im here to talk about him and WHY he should win the @aroswagshowdown

First of all, in multiple, spaced out cases, Luffy had not shown any interest in the women and men around him. After seeing Boa Hancock's - said to be the most beautiful woman in their world - gave him no reaction. Oda had never shied away from sexual humour, so the lack of it here is a stark contrast from how he had handled most scenes like this.

Ofcourse, we can look at the Nami Happinness Punch scene and say that maybe hes just attracted to Nami and no one else, as he did had a nosebleed from her. Except that Oda had clarified that this is only becaues Usopp - the one Luffy is closest to age to - is there and he was simply copying the other. I could make a case abt this and amatonormativity, but i wont bc this is already too long for a propaganda.

Secondly: Luffy and friendship. Luffys relations focus heavily in familial ones, being involved in at leats three instances of found family - his brotthers, Shanks, and his crew. If being The Found Family guy isnt aro vibes, i dont know what to tell you mate. Sure ppl who are not aro xan be found family, but well. Are they Monkey 'Adventure Is The Story' D. Luffy?

Lastly. Ive run out of points. Mans aro swag made me realize im aro(ace, but thats another topic). He literally is head enpty only freedom friends and food. There is no space for romance in his brain. He is one of the closest thing we have for aroace representation in popular media.

If this doesnt convince you IM WILLING TO BRIBE BTW !!! im not the greatest artist or writer in this site but im willing to dish out fanart/drabble of ur own blorbo for every proof u voted monkey d luffy.

Thank u for ur time and sorry for rambling LMAO. peace and love on planet earth

[voidendron]

I'm sorry I lied when I said I wouldn't leave

Whumptober 2023 Day 10: "Can't you see that you're lost without me?" Broken Phone | Stranded | "You said you'd never leave." Star Wars: The Old Republic Warnings: Major Character Injury, Minor Blood Characters: Xandosc Tsill (Sith Warrior, he/him, Cathar), Vette

For once, he should have listened to his apprentice when they told him not to do something.

It had been a trap—just like Veira said it would be—and he’d walked right into it.

Now, as he lay curled behind a damn shipping crate to hide from the pirates, as he held a hand to the bloody hole in his gut and bit his tongue to the point it bled so they wouldn’t hear him whimper, he had to wonder if he’d be getting out of this one. Maybe his luck had finally run dry.

Xandosc swallowed, reaching slowly—far too agonizingly slowly—for his comm. Every movement hurt.

The voice to meet his ear was just the one he’d hoped to hear.

“Xan!” the Twi’lek chirped on the other end of the line. He could imagine the way her face lit up, her eyes creasing as she leaned over the comm system of The Executor.

“Hello, love,” he murmured, all the while keeping his free ear metaphorically pricked for any sign of nearby pirates.

“What’s up? We need to catch up!”

“Mm, we do, don’t we?” He bit back a cough as he laid his head back against the cold metal of the shipping crate.

It was with that, that he heard the instant change in her tone. “...Xan? Are you okay?” He could so vividly see the way she glared at the comm, hands finding her hips ready to give him a scolding for not taking care of himself and getting sick. Such a fearless little spitfire she was, to speak to a Sith in such a way. He loved her for it.

He realized, then, that his breathing was heavy, and that each grimace was accompanied with grinding teeth. He was certain she could hear it. “I can’t lie… I’m unwell, love.” Far, far, out all on his own. He didn’t expect rescue; not in time, at least. Expected to bleed to death where he sat, if the pirates didn’t find him first and put a blaster bolt between his eyes.

Call him a sap, but he’d just wanted her hear her voice one last time.

“Xan? Xan where the hell are you? What’s wrong?!”

He’d have smiled a little if he didn’t hurt so much. “I… May have gone in over my head. I—”

He barely stifled the coughing fit when it started—and barely held back his grimace when he heard Vette pound a fist on the comm.

“Where are you? We’ll come help you!”

“I’m…afraid that doesn’t seem a possibility.” He swallowed, nearly gagging at the iron tang of his own blood in his throat. “I h-have information, that may be of use to Lord Azan.”

“I don’t care about your information, where are you?!”

He closed his eyes as he pressed his hand more firmly over his gut. He could feel the blood clinging to his fur, caking under his claws. With a weak twitch at the end of his tail, he reached up again, fiddling with his comm until he successfully hit the right buttons to send his coordinates to The Executor. “There’s pirates. Watch the dart traps.” And he rambled off the codes he’d discovered to unlock various computer systems, deeper within the facility.

“No, no. Stop talking like you’re dying!” He could almost hear the tears in her eyes, and he hated his own selfishness for putting them there. “You said we could be together, that—that you wouldn’t leave. Please.”

“I’m sorry, love.”

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 23 - Team and Family Building

Luckily, Hector and the kids need little convincing and arrive at The Roll With It Bowling Alley around the same time as the Laurents' employees. Let's put on those goofy shoes and get rolling!

I go to a cool new place, I make my Sims pose for pictures. It's what I do.

I love the BFFs, but I made these guys, so they're all like my babies.

Drew is really good at the guitar, but really bad at bowling. Don't worry, The Laurents were too busy chatting to notice! Too bad their friends notice.

Xander: HA!

Drew: Shut up!

It's Ophelia's turn!

Xander: Too bad Hil couldn't convince Hector to hire Lemon as the singer and axe Tiff.

Moses: Don't remind me, Drew and I are the ones who will have to perform with her.

At least they didn't see Ophelia totally flop. She wonders what they're talking about.

Hector's a pro!

Greta: Way to go, Dad! You're the best! Tell those pins who's boss!

Drew: You trying to get a raise in your allowance?

Greta: No! I'm trying to get my curfew extended.

Drew: Classic.

Xander: Come on, what's that third trait of yours? We've got Ambitious and Music-Lover. Is it one of the lame ones like Lactose Intolerant? I'd be embarrassed to tell people too if a third of my personality was pooping myself if I eat too much pizza!

Ophelia: Not telling!

Xander: I know it's not Evil 'cause you've never cackled maniacally. Or Hates Children 'cause my nephew is existing over there and you're not having a meltdown over it.

Moses: She doesn't want to tell us, ease up.

Xander: Fine, keep your secrets, Lemon Tart.

I didn't know that if a kid is bowling, they put bumpers up on the bowling lane. Fun feature!

Jace still manages to get a gutter ball somehow.

Hilary: It's okay, honey. Practice makes perfect!

My man Jace looks like he really wants to use some forbidden words right now.

Obligatory post about Ophelia getting a strike because she's the Main Character.

Xander and Greta have their turns at the same time so of course he has to be a good uncle and show her how it's done.

Xander: Just like that and... Strike, baby! You see that, G?

Greta: Yeah yeah, no one likes a bragger, Uncle Xan.

Ophelia: Your family's pretty close, huh?

Xander: Sure. We're stuck together, we might as well like each other. Probably helps that most people don't get paid to hang out with their brother-in-law.

Hector: O-ho, you're lucky you're a good bartender, Alexander.

Ophelia: You go to Copperdale High, huh? It's so weird, every Sim I've ever talked to also went to Copperdale High.

Greta: Yeah, weird, right? Small world.

Xander: Sorry for bugging you about your third trait earlier. You seem cool. I'm sure you have your reasons for keeping it to yourself. If Hilary trusts you, you gotta be a pretty good person.

Ophelia: ...You know what, you got me. It's lactose intolerant.

Xander: I knew it!

Oh Hector. You poor oaf.

Greta: OMW Dad totally beefed it.

Moses: Is it bad to laugh at the man that gives me my livelihood?

Greta: He's the man that gave me life and I'm still laughing.

Hilary: It's okay, darling, we're just playing for fun.

Hector: Winning IS fun.

Everyone's hunger bars are looking a little yellow, so The Laurents treat everyone to a hummus and pita platter.

The way Hector and Hilary talk about their kids and how proud they are of how they're growing up, it makes Ophelia... uncomfortable. Parents can be like this?

Xander takes the opportunity to bond with his niece and nephew.

Jace: Wisp is the best Voidcritter! It can phase in and out of dimensions!

Xander: You're dreaming, kid! Pleuro's the best! It shoots water jets!

Greta: You guys are dorks... But Jace is right, Wisp is the best.

Ophelia steps outside for some fresh air. Later on, Drew joins her.

Drew: Doing okay? Nobody could find you.

Ophelia: Yeah, sorry. I'm not used to being around families that like each other. It's weird.

Drew: Tell me about it. My older brother still calls me a boogerhead.

Drew: Look, I don't know your deal. It's probably worse than being called a boogerhead. Either way, you're an honorary part of the Let Them Eat Cake family now. Moses and I are your new dads.

Ophelia: Aren't there gender neutral parent names?

Drew: Yeah, but Dad feels right.

Ophelia comes back in to play some arcade games with Xander and the kids. It's boys vs. girls!

Xander: Eat our intergalactic dust!

Jace: Go, Uncle Xander!

Ophelia: Aw, come on! This game's rigged!

Greta: Maybe you just suck.

Ophelia: I should introduce you to my friend Summer.

Greta: Ah! We're in the lead!

Xander: We can still beat them, J!

Ophelia: Oh no you don't!

Despite their rough start, Greta and Ophelia blast the boys to bits.

Xander: What?! Maybe this game IS rigged!

Greta: Hell yeah!

Ophelia: Double hell yeah!

[softersinned-arc]

✧. get to know the author !

name : marianne (ani or mari!) pronouns : she / her. preference of communication : discord! most active muse(s) : astoria, always. right now i'm also really feeling constanta and alix. experience / how many years : overall, and with astoria, about 11-12 years. best experience : meeting the friends that i've had for the last several years. i've met some of my favorite people in the world through this medium - kate back in 2015, mara and luca in 2020, xan in 2022. i've developed incredible friendships with people i love so much, and am so proud to know. rp pet peeves : i get very frustrated with the way a lot of people treat each other on here. i think it's true of any medium, so i wouldn't say tumblr is worse than anywhere else, but i think there's a lot of hypocrisy, a lot of guilting, and not a lot of respect for boundaries. too often, someone sets a boundary only to see it treated like a personal affront, and i cannot begin to tell you how many times i've seen people weaponize social justice language to try and force their way through perfectly reasonable boundaries. plots or memes : i like using memes to start interactions, and plotting from there! this way we can start by tossing our characters together and letting them interact organically, and then we can build from there. but i love plotting at any stage. one of my favorite things is to just hang out talking endlessly about our characters and tossing a million ideas at each other. are you like your muse(s) : some, yes. astoria and i are very different, but she (like alix) was born from a period of intense trauma, and trying to find a way through it, so there is a lot of me in many of my characters. in terms of morality, i'm a lot more like alix than astoria. i like to imagine i have clary's sense of justice and willingness to fight. i hope i have vex's capacity for love, rowan's cleverness, saskia's capacity for compassion. i don't think there's really any way to fully distance myself from a lot of these characters, but i don't think i'm 100% any of them.

tagged by: @mysteriae an angel a dream tagging: @inkpromise @ecopoison @riselazarus @dernhelmalso @saintsdawn

[slutwithagut]

Post #2

The amount of cigarettes I’m smoking is insane for someone with no income! It’s time to ration. It would be cheaper to roll my own… but I don’t know how to roll. Maybe now is the time to finally learn? I digress. We will worry about that at a later time n date.

I have a close friend who employs me to give him rides home from work. Usually every Monday he needs a ride home from work around 8:10 pm because he goes in at 8 something the next day. Occasionally he asks for rides from the local trolley stop that’s about a 10 minute drive from my house.

I bring this up because my weekly income is about $28 on a good week.

So I need to chill on the tobacco.

Things were easier when I smoked spliff bowls (mole bowls, moke bowls, party bowls, whatever u wanna call them) which is cannabis mixed with tobacco. I’ve purchased a great many bags of bugler tobacco. It’s much more cost effective then buying a pack of cigs. The bugler pouch is roughly good for about 30 cigs versus the 20 you find pre rolled. It costs $7/$8 while a pack of cigs is $10/$11

I had purchased a joint rolling machine and filters earlier this year to roll my own. I found it just didn’t hit the same. I also proceeded to break the joint roller. A common theme in my life. Breaking useful objects due to carelessness and or intoxication. If only y’all knew me when I did XANAX and drank heavily while popping. I broke so many things… three lovely bongs, a babyliss hair straightener, bottles, and endured countless bruises and scratches. I also strained some of my personal relationships as you don’t give a single solitary FUCK when your xanned out.

So moral of the story is I am going to start rationing out my cigarettes.

I might buy a vape but I have to go on the black market for one and it seems like such a hassle.

Smoking cigarettes may seem glamorous and look cool. It feeds my oral fixation. But it makes you stink. I literally need to buy gum, scented hand sanitizer, and a small bottle of body spray so I don’t smell bad.

Wish my luck my loves! It ain’t easy trying to kick my vices.

It’s also 12:19 a.m. while I write this. My brain is tired but my body is on high alert. I do suffer from insomnia and weed helps that a lot.

It’s tough to learn how to live my life with out mind altering substances. I also find myself becoming more irritable. I might need to up the dosage on my medicine. I also kind of want to ask my doctor for sleeping pills… but it seems wrong? Since they have a potential for abuse. It would be nice to actually be able to fall asleep around the same time every night. I’ll probably be up until 2 or 3.

If I fall asleep before that I usually wake between 3 and 4 to pee. Then toss and turn till 6 or 7. Get up, smoke a cigarette and if I’m lucky fall back a sleep for a bit. I awake groggy and feeling worse than when I first woke. But still I nap after waking up. It’s a vicious cycle.

I’m going to start wearing my FitBit smart watch to bed again so I can track my sleep. It lets you know how many times you wake up, how deep your sleep was, etc. and it gives you a sleep score for the night. I want to see if my sleep is truly fucked up enough to constitute medicine. The less pills I’m on the better. But sleep is important and staying up late with my thoughts is not the most pleasant experience.

At least now I have you guys to talk and write to, to pass the time.

Restlessly,

D

[sovonight]

notes on xan's near-death event in radri's canon bc i'm never going to write the scenes themselves:

before bg2:

radri & xan don't get premonitions/dreams about his death at bodhi's hands, they're not forewarned at all

xan does quit the greycloaks, but he still knows about the vampire coven bc he'd been told about it before he quit

before spellhold:

xan doesn't consider the vampires a significantly greater threat than all the other threats that they face; yes he finds the threat of undeath particularly abhorrent, but he knows that his moonblade would sooner kill him than let him turn, so his fate there would just be death like normal. (radri doesn't know that his moonblade would just autokill him, and xan doesn't think to tell her)

radri notices that his moonblade has grown dim, and xan admits it worries him--maybe it's mad at him for choosing her over evereska--but he's already made his choice, and it's not like he could ever abandon her. they talk a bit about consequences, xan cautiously mentions that maybe there's a way for her to save him if his moonblade grows so unhappy with him that it smites him, and radri is immediately on board. he warns her that it's risky, asks her if she's sure, etc etc, but radri would do anything for him, especially to not lose him. he needs a few days to work out how to do it (he's really just trying to confirm that it won't kill her), then they do it--radri is now partially tied to his moonblade, and can share its punishments with him. like in the mod, radri can choose whether or not to take the damage for him; unlike in the mod, xan can't choose whether or not to give her the chance to choose to take the damage in the first place (because i think he should relinquish some control and be a little vulnerable)

spellhold:

even though bodhi hints that she might try to turn xan into a vampire, neither xan nor radri really register this as foreshadowing until later. i'm just gonna say they had other things to worry about at the time

unlike in the mod, xan doesn't start secretly giving his life essence (or whatever the specific phrase was, i'm too sleepy to open the mod script) to radri while she's without her soul. not only bc in my version of events he doesn't expect to die soon, but also bc i think he would've asked her permission first (as in he would've suggested it expecting her to accept it, only for her be horrified and refuse… i've written a scrap of a script for it >->o)

graveyard confrontation:

just like the mod, in a very quick sequence of events, bodhi tries to turn xan, xan's moonblade attempts to kill him & foils bodhi's attempt in the process, radri who doesn't have any time to physically react only feels with her whole being that she would do anything to save xan, and the connection they created pre-spellhold kicks in to split the damage between them so that the moonblade's blow isn't fatal. honestly, i prefer to think of this as happening so fast that xan only puts together what happened after the fact, and as he muses on it out loud later radri is silently struck by terror like, so if we never had that conversation weeks ago xan would have died today???

i don't think xan would make a big deal out of this near-death experience (especially since it hasn't been built up in this version). i do think he'd be shaken, definitely, because he hasn't directly faced the possibility of his moonblade killing him since the moment he first let it judge him worthy, but he wouldn't be grateful to the extent that he is in the mod. in his mind, they already nearly die every day; he could've easily died like five times this week. this was a really close one, but other than that, it's not really remarkable in his book.

meanwhile, radri is super shaken by this. and it's not just that he came so close to death, it's that she's been in the mindset of like, i won't let anything happen to him. if i'm there with him, nothing can happen to him. but in front of bodhi, she couldn't do anything. it doesn't matter that logically, she had no time to physically act; what freaks her out is how utterly helpless she felt in the moment--like she was back in candlekeep again frozen before her first would-be assassin, like all the time that passed and the experience she'd gained meant nothing when it really came down to it (i have a short script for this too lol)

the bath:

i'm honestly unsure whether or not to keep this in radri's canon, partially due to the fact that i already wrote them sharing a bath days after they killed sarevok. i fully knew that the mod has them share a bath after killing bodhi, so like, what was i doing. creating a tradition for them? they share hot baths after boss battles?? anyway--

they go back at the copper coronet to rest, and normally xan & radri spend time apart before bed, but radri's so affected by xan's near death experience that she doesn't want to let him out of her sight. on xan's end, he's worried about how radri's reacted to today, and in the back of his head he's also still worried about radri's near-breakdown not so long ago--so, he suggests the bath. they are covered in crypt dust and cobwebs, but he mainly suggests it in hopes that it'll help her relax, correctly thinking that she needs another break from all this.

xan's focused on taking care of her (as in, wash off the battle, relax and get rest) and radri's preoccupied by how she's been taking his life/presence for granted, and this presents itself as radri being completely distracted by thoughts/guilt/staring at xan to reassure herself that he's still alive, while xan's just. gently trying to guide her through her routine & take her mind off death

[aurorabay-communitygardenclub]

— WHAT IS IT?

It is as it sounds! A plot of land cultivated by some of Aurora Bay's residents either collectively or individually. With a generous donation from the Levins and approval from the town government body, an empty patch located near Ocean Crest has been approved for the use of gardening.

It is open to members for a one time $100 entry fee (to cover supply costs), it is non-profit and done as a project to build a sense of community among the residents. There people can find a sense of purpose, peace, and even learn a new trade of planting and growing is a new skill they wish to tackle.

As schedules permit, there are plans to hold small dinner parties for the members to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of their labor.

— WHAT CAN BE GROWN?

Anything within season, from various produce and herbs to just flowers. Each member is given their own plot to do with as they please, and if they join with friends that can combine their plots.

— GUIDELINES (in game, this is for writing purposes, of course, whether your muse tries to break rules or not is up to you)

Each member is required to pay a one time $100.00 entry fee (SUBJECT TO CHANGE), just to cover initial costs, and after that they are in. If the initial cost is too much, a payment plan can be worked out.

Each member is responsible for their own yield and production, but of course if someone is away on vacation it is neighborly to look after their plants.

You are to communicate with Lorna about selected herbs and crops so it can be determined where the best spot to plant them is - this avoids planting crops that don't grow well next to each other in neighboring plots, and avoids waste by determining the soil, need for a shade box, and when they are in season.

While it isn't a requirement and not a rule, it is expected somewhere along the line every member takes their turn at a Farmer's Market to sell and earn money to support the garden.

Respect one another, don't destroy other's plots.

We understand if this project is no longer something you can commit to, we just expect you to effectively communicate if you are leaving it. If absent without notice for two weeks, we reserve the right to allocate your plot to another member.

Follow the law. This is a community project, therefore anything does that does not uphold community expectations or stays within the general law can put the use of this property at risk.

Pets cannot enter the garden. Service animals are permitted.

Only members are permitted to enter, non-members must be accompanied by a current member.

No smoking in the garden.

— CURRENT MEMBERS

Samuel Kane (@samucl-kane) - lead of project & funds management

Lorna Dilane (@dilcne) - co-lead & organizer/supply management

Cricket Campbell (@cricketcampbell) - co-lead & dinner party head

Ann Thompson (@annthcmpscn)

Angel Rojas (@firefighterrojas)

Camille Reese (@ithinkitscami)

Cassidy Cooke (@cassidyxcooke)

Emerson Cassidy (@emersonxcassidy)

Gwendolyn Moreno (@gwenxmoreno)

Maura Cortes (@maura-cortes)

Sola Adisa (@solaadisa)

Valentina De Luca (@valentinahq)

Vanessa Gable (@vanessagable)

William Meyers (@willxmeyers)

(if i talked to you and missed your muse, yell at me. if you would like your muse to join just message xan, dani, or kell!)

— Submissions and what not

If you would like to make insta posts for me to post on this blog, just submit them in the submit box! It's all for fun, and an idea to build a cute connection with some residents who otherwise might not cross paths or give each other a second glance.