#hot take: healing is necromancy

[traggalicious]

OKAY i’m sick of reblogging the same post (also idk if that actually works well as a format) so here i am jus makin a new post! If any of y’all want more of Ceridwen I think posts with her are tagged as such (#ceridwen), or you can check out the tag #Traggy’s OCs. Should prolly make an intro post or smth but anyway.

(My darling Ceridwen <333)

Post Beginning RealTm Under the Cut:

Ceridwen is from an elven community known for being accepting of drow (and other) refugees, leading to a population with a good amount of mixed blood and an affinity for darker magic. This also led to this settlement being a fairly common target for vengeful drow, for a multitude of reasons. Lost servants, traitors, runaway sacrifices, or even just as a regular-ass target bc ‘aur naur, fuckin Elves and non-Lolth drow’, and all that.

But anywayyy this settlement ends up utilizing skills such as necromancy and all that, due to the fact that if they’re just gonna have people *sent* to them they might as well avail themselves of the resources, it won’t do just to let their bodies sit there. So those drow attackers become soldiers for the community, or labourers!! Those used in the community are stripped of flesh and all that to minimize spread of disease. The Lolth-sworn can have the bio-warfare but us? No thank uuuu.

Anyway this also leads to a sort of militia/standing army vibe w/ the citizens — all are trained in rudimentary medicine and combat before continuing in a specialized path of either. Ofc you can make the choice to specialize in necromancy but Ceri was like hey can i do. Everything. I’m kidding but she graduated the Medic shit (which is why she has the scars—those scars are a mark of a skilled medic, with a steady hand and eye for detail that allows for well-healed and cool-ass scarring) and then focused on necromancy bc MAN.

Reasons for the Necromancy specialization: One: she’s afraid of death. Not the process and shit, but of being dead, of what comes after. She’s terrified of the uncertainty of it, and of the very real philosophical and moral dilemmas that come w/ the existence of soul-based magic and deities that actively partake in regular life. Oh, and Lolth. She’s her own brand of fucked up. And TWO: She’s interested in biology, and anatomy n shit, and plus she wanted to do more than just healing. Don’t get her wrong, healing’s good and useful, but she’s got all this magical power that needs using and in a community where necromancers are kinda like… the necessary job nobody really likes, she’s goin for it. Like YAY, magic, science, don’t have to interact to much with people! Also she is very much interested in the tales the dead have to tell. Especially when those tales involve plans to harm the community.

Anyway that stuff aside, for a good while after graduating, Ceri apprentices under a Necromancer in the community, fucks around, finds out, experiences a couple semi-traumatizing events, and adopts a fucked-up animal? And then! Valinid shows up! Around then he’s still pretty young, fresh from escape. This is like, the tenth place he’s been to and gods does he hope the drow here mean safety and not hurt. He’s been run out of towns, actually attacked, and begrudgingly accepted after fending off attackers. But this place accepts him. Val joins the community as a general handy-man, training with the younger ones and teaching newer techniques, providing insight into current events in the Underdark.

Ceri finds him fascinating, from his looks to his past to just *him* as a person. It’s not like he’s some experiment, of course not. But he’s interesting, and she likes him, and he listens and entertains and matches her energy (which is pretty lowkey, generally). And on a deeper level, he gets her fear of death, of divine retribution, of being wrong and paying dearly for it. They grow together, eventually forming a QPR, bonding over desires to learn and grow outside of their environment of origin—though motivations beyond that vary.

This is where he grows into his Paladin ways, seeing what could’ve been and what could be, where he develops his moral code and establishes himself as a real actual Paladin, protecting the weak and all. And eventually, he goes on his first adventure, and Ceri of course tags along. He wants to protect and save and make amends. Ceridwen wants to expand her magical and medical repertoire, experiencing and observing new things for the sake of Knowing. Love her for that. On this kinda random and barely-planned ATLA style adventure, they meet new people, form a party of nerds, Val gets a boyfriend, Ceri loses an eye, lotsa shit happens.

Eventually, they come across the Shadow-Cursed Lands, but like. Before it’s Shadow-Cursed. This is when it’s in later stages of conflict but it’s not been cursed yet. Val stays because he sees people in need (and there is drow presence in the growing cult of the Absolute), and Ceri stays because Val stays,,, and she totally isn’t crushing on Isobel or Jaheira from afar. Val fights, she studies and heals. They have a casual alliance w/ the Harpers. Then the Curse hits, Val retreats until Absolute shit starts happening Worse, so he goes there. Ceridwen stays near the edge of the Shadow-Cursed Lands, studying it and its inhabitants. She often stays at the Last Light Inn.

Aaaand then. She’s kidnapped and tadpoled. Whoopsies. Val is off on an adventure, having just recently visited. So. Once again! Oops. This is where the story begins, and this long-ass backstory ends. Love y’all, especially those who read thru this whole thing lmao <333

[mediumgayitalian]

“Woah, hey, I wanna try.”

Nico startles at the voice, tiny bone falling from his hand and sinking back into the dirt.

“Aw.” Beat-up flip-flops slow to a stop right next to him, and Will plops himself down. He shoots a bright, too-wide smile in his direction, eyes crinkling. “Hi!”

“Hi,” Nico says warily, subtly inching away. Will, either oblivious or uncaring to his intention, just leans in closer, blue eyes watching him intently. “…What are you doing here?”

“Hanging out with you. Duh. How did you do that?” He points to Nico’s hands.

Confused, Nico re-summons to the squirrel femur, dragging up the rest of the skeleton too. It chitters to life, nosing at the sliver of bare knee out from Nico’s ripped jeans, before bounding over to Will. He doesn’t even flinch, laughing as the little thing scampers up his arm and rests in his hair. Nico’s mouth twitches.

“I don’t actually know? I guess I can do it the same way you can heal. It kind of just happens, I can’t really teach you.” He pauses, squinting. “Unless…necromancy is healing, technically. Can you do necromancy?”

Will shakes his head, wincing as one of the squirrel’s ribs gets catches a curl of his hair, tugging it as it moves. “No, the other thing. The spinny thing.” He gestures towards Nico’s hands, wiggling his own in explanation. “With the — bone.”

“Oh! Oh, that.”

Closing his eyes, Nico lays his palm flat on the packed dirt, feeling around under it. He can’t see it, exactly, but he can feel buried things the same way you might feel the air shift when someone comes in an empty room. Things take up space, and there’s a record of that you can feel. Nico’s ability just extends underground, and bones, especially, are like someone entering a room loudly. He’s directed to them almost automatically.

He feels around until he gets pulled towards another buried dead. A mouse, this time, or at least a part of its skeleton. Nico leaves it. The bones are too small for his purposes.

He keeps searching until he finds a raccoon’s ulna — perfect. He drags it up, patient as it worms its way around rocks and through clay and even, notably, a snake’s burrow, and finally breaks through the surface, right up into his waiting palm. He taps it twice on the ground, shaking off the excess dirt, then poises it deftly in between his right middle and pointer figure.

Then, aware of Will’s intense gaze on him, he starts to fiddle with it.

So fast the movement looks fluid, he passes the thin bone along his deft fingers; in, out, in, out. He bends it under his hand back into the looped curve of his pointer finger when it reaches his pinky, starting the cycle all over again. The bone makes tiny swishing sounds as cuts through the air.

“Woah,” Will breathes, eyes wide, pupils wider. “That’s so cool.”

Nico shrugs, embarrassed. “It’s just — twirling. It’s not hard.”

“It’s like the bone is moving itself, though! That’s so sick!”

Nico has never had anyone look so — delighted at him, before, at his magic. Not that this even counts — he did this with sticks, when he was a kid, with pencils. It’s just a fidget, but Will grins at him like Nico’s turning straw into gold.

“I can — show you, if you like.”

Will cheers, scooting somehow closer. Their knees touch, and Nico has to bite down a gasp; somehow, even that touch is hot, even through his jeans he feels like he’s been shocked. His hands, too, under Will’s intensive, determined scrutiny, start to tingle.

“Extend your middle finger up, a little, like you’re trying to cross it over your pointer. No, don’t actually cross it, just — here. Let me.”

He grabs Will’s hands before he can think about it, and he regrets it; the contact makes it suddenly hard to breathe. He forces himself through it, breathing through gritted teeth, and places Will’s fingers the right way.

“Your heart rate’s way off,” Will comments. “You’re also producing an excessive amount of adrenaline and cortisol. You okay?”

Nico bites back a curse. Damn vitakinesis.

“I’m fine,” he grits out.

“If you say so.”

He rushes through the end of his explanation, practically flinging the bone in Will’s direction and throwing himself away, making sure there’s a healthy stretch of space between them when he sits back down.

“You try.”

Will shifts, eyes narrowed on the poised bone. His tongue peeks out of the corner of his mouth in focus, just barely, and Nico has to beat back his thoughts with a mental battering ram. The squirrel skeleton, still sitting on Will’s head, rattles as if laughing at him.

I’ll give myself a lobotomy. I will. Do not test me.

“I got it!”

He glances back down at Will’s cry, accidentally meeting his eyes — blue, blue, gods, they’re so blue, is that an Apollo thing? First the sunrise-coloured hair, then sky-eyes? Apollo’s eyes are brown, usually. Blue only when he feels like it. Why are Will’s so identical to the heavens, then? Why do they seem to take up half his face, they’re so constantly wide, constantly watching? Attention everywhere, all the time, like everything is worth looking at, committing to memory. They go near black, when the sun sets, they get so dark. Mirrors of the night sky. That can't be mortal.

Sure enough, the ulna weaves through Will's fingers — clumsy, stuttering, not as fluid as Nico, but the foundations are there — successfully.

"Good job."

The answering smile could light up the Earth in an eclipse. Nico feels sunburnt.

"I gotta go show off to Kayla and Austin!" Ulna tucked in his ear like a pencil, he reaches up a hand, waiting for the squirrel, despite not having an olfactory system, to sniff his palm, deem it safe, and crawl in. "Come on, Sammy. Thanks, Nico! You're the best!"

"Sure," Nico mumbles. He watches him run off, cradling the little squirrel skeleton carefully. "No problem."

A small smile pulls at his face.

[esoteric-chaos]

Hekate's Blessing Deity Oil

"HEKATE (Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy." - Theoi

I work with Mother Hekate to heal generational trauma, dream work, introspection, and my clairsenses. I venerate her on Saturdays as the planetary correspondences of Saturn fit her well.

She's been with me for over a decade, since the start of my practice. She took on the mother figure role when I personally did not have anyone.

This blog is actually dedicated to her for helping others learn about witchcraft and the occult.

She's a stern teacher, who will take off your training wheels on your bike and push you. However, she'll help you up when you fall. She's kind and nurturing when you need it.

I made an oil for her to call upon her. I use it to carry her with me, to wear for certain purposes and as a candle-dressing. It helps me with my intuition, clairsenses, protection, spiritual communication and divination.

You will need

A clean and cleansed jar

Myrrh - The moon, introspection, protection, spiritual connection, she just loves myrrh (UPG)

Cypress - Historical herb, strength, protection, enhances spirit connection, grief

Lavender - Dreamwork, enhances spirit connections, peace

Thyme - Clairsenses

Carrier Olive Oil - Traditional offering

You can either do the folk method or the hot method. You can find my post on infused oils here to learn how to make infused spell oils. I suggest if you are an animist or someone who wants more power from your oils. Speak to the herbs kindly, treat them less like an ingredient and ask them respectfully for their aid and the purpose they'll have in your oil. Use intention. The same goes for the Olive oil.

You can sub any of these, however, Cypress is historical for her. So is Olive Oil among the Greeks. Try to keep within the theme of the underworld, death, spiritual connection and psychic work.

Blessings!

Looking for all of my posts in one place? Check out the Masterpost

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

Sexiest Podcast Character — Unscripted Bracket — Round 5

Propaganda

Gable (Campaign: Skyjacks):

7ft tall silver-haired thembo of a fallen angel. was the literal sword of god until they killed him! reasons slightly unclear but probably sure to forbidden queer love! super caring for their friends. has one friend they have known for hundreds of years who they HATE but are bound to by the red string of fate. their sword is a part of them, they can sheathe it into a tattoo. they start out indistinct at the edges but as they have continued on through the campaign they have become more and more distinct. they became a flaming engine of justice to kill their friends shitheaded older brother who was following him. they have learned enough necromancy to allow other fallen angels to die, even though they typically cannot. they fly giant birds in to battle.

7ft tall beefcake wielding a sword as tall as they are. vengeful sweetheart

Imagine now: a fallen angel with beautiful gray hair and very big muscles. Now imagine them with a 9 ft sword. Now imagine them as a helmsperson of a pirate ship in a flowy deep-v pirate shirt. Now imagine they're dumb as a fucking rock. And finally, imagine that they killed god. Here, you have made Gable Skyjacks: sexiest podcast character of all time.

7ft tall nonbinary/genderfluid thembo fallen angel sky pirate who wields a buster sword. silvergrey hair with black/gold streaks as they regain feathers/memories of before their fall. back is covered in tattoos that hide the scars of their shredded off wings. killed God. toxic exes with lucifer. they are the keeper of several giant war birds who occasionally crave human flesh. they enjoy getting rowdy/smoking rope with their boys. they collect rocks that they think are neat. When anyone admits they are attracted to them, Gable trips over their words and absolutely swaglessly ends up sounding stupider and sexier by the end of the conversation; the will they/won't they and teasing they dish out to these (un?)lucky few is palpable. Sometimes the buster sword is on fire. They are immortal, they are cringe, they are trying to atone because they believe they are the reason the world is ruined.

Okay so aside from all of the above (giant with a matching giant flaming sword, killed god, extreme dumbass), here's some more propaganda for Gable the Godkiller.

They've escaped death multiple times with their partner in... crime? Like literally they were about to be executed in the most brutal way possible and just. Escaped and killed all their captors in the snowy wastelands.

They are the helmsperson of the Uhuru and take this job very seriously and definitely haven't left it to Bowser (you know, like from Mario) multiple times. Can steer that flying ship in horrible weather and still make it to port safely.

Healed an entire fucking hospital by cutting their hair for someone they had the hots for who was also in the hospital. Imagine being on that level of myth making in some random port city because of a hair cut.

Giant bird caretaker and also took the giant birds out on their friend's bachelor party (this was like. his Xth polyamorous marriage at this point btw) and had a fucking blast getting high on some rope and fucking around. They've also flown these birds into combat and looked cool as hell doing it (see: killing their friend's shithead of an older brother in a joust).

Had a relationship with Lucifer the Morning Star before they fell as an angel and killed God. Literally the reason the stars fell was their love for each other. The world would not look the same without Gable and they are, at the very least indirectly responsible for the creation of the Church of the Slain God and everything it represents (fantasy Catholicism).

And also yeah they are regularly tripping over themself and saying very silly things. 10/10 character we love Liz Anderson and Gable in this house

I am seeing people say that this Nicky fellow is basically trans! That's very cool! Gable is actually trans. Pronouns they/them/any presentation whatever they feel like.

Gable held a bachelor party for a BFF where the attendees hunted from their sky birds, wore dresses, and still managed to keep their eyeliner on point!

Gable killed God because he wouldn't let them be queer. They should rightfully crush anyone in their path.

We are finally going up against a character I know. I can confidently say all sexy moments with Gable are much sexier than TAZ's largely off-screen romances. Mod Note: This was written during the poll versus Killian Fangbattle.

Nicky Close (Dungeons & Daddies):

One armed half-demon man with a sword (also a Dedicated, Involved, Loving Father). (Specifically campaign 2, where he is an adult)

Transmasc bisexual (or at least so widely accepted as such it's basically canon) dilf half-demon let's start with the basics

And by half-demon I mean the literal prince of Hell

But also simultaneously is Saint Nicolas get you a man who can do both specifically this man

Missing an arm cause his ex-friends tragically betrayed him and shot it off but he doesn't need two arms to show you a good time wink wink ;)

The betrayal in question forced him to be seperated from his also hot milf voice actress wife and their son which is sad but in like a way that makes him sexier

Uses his one hand to wield a flaming katana that he used to rescue his son from the FBI

Protects his family with his life very literally which is hot as hell

Big himbo energy couldn't come up with a good plan if he used 100% of his brain

When he does fail at things it's pretty cute honestly

Definitely played a variety of musical instruments before the whole arm thing happened! Maybe he still does idk he's a sexy mystery

2 in 1 deal! This man was born from the merging of two timelines! Kinda sick!!! Also two dads = twice the daddy issues

You'd think the whole being forcibly split from his family thing would mean he isn't very close with his son but nope! His son adores him! They get along great!!!

His mom is simultaneously alive and dead

His mom bagged fucking two different dudes (one of whom FOUND HER DEAD in a different timeline, both of which are demons)

HIS MOMS NAME IS MORGAN FREEMAN, HIS DAD’S NAME IS GLENN CLOSE, AND HIS OTHER DAD’S NAME IS JODIE FOSTER, AND HIS GREAT SOMETHING GRANDFATHER’S NAME IS MERYL STREEP

HIS SONS NAME IS TAYLOR SWIFT

Lifelong pot smoker 👍 (plus drug flower user!!)

CANONICALLY BOTH A POLO WEARER (and yes, has all the stereotypes of that attached with it — a nerd, which is hot) AND A LEATHER JACKET WEARER (which also has all the stereotypes attached with it — a rebel dude person, which is also hot) [<- all widely accepted as canon by the fandom even as he’s older]

A part of the SECOND BIGGEST ship of season two, (Nark) despite the two characters only having one-two canon interactions (one of which JUST happened last episode)

Man’s a himbo what’s hotter than that

So many fucking names. You try to tag him in anything and he takes up half the space. That’s probably hot. For someone out there

This was already mentioned but so very very trans. Like. It’s basically canon

Rock and roll(er)

Joined a group of thieves called the watermice when he was like 13

for a few minutes had a guitar called the Battle Axe of Hatred

definitely had an frienimies with benefits relationship with his childhood friend Lark (sorry ppl that don’t ship nark lol) (it’s canon after ep 44 hah)

I feel like the audio of the entire Nick-breaking-into-the-FBI scene should be propaganda, but I'm copying select bits from the transcript:

Anthony: Yeah, it kind of echoes up through the vent, like the beginning of Metal Gear Solid. You hear a voice that strikes you as ever so slightly familiar, Taylor. Saying—  ??: [a deep voice] [echoing in the vent] Where is he?  Anthony: You hear—  Will: Uh-oh, he’s hot.  Anthony: —a bunch of shouting voices.  [giggles]  Beth: Uh-oh! Anthony: You hear a bunch of shouting voices and people shouting for him to get down on the ground to turn off his flame. To fucking get his hands behind his back. You hear this rhythmic stepping forward— because his footsteps don't sound like anybody else's because it's almost like… y’know when you toss a little bit of water onto a really hot pan and it just sizzles like that? It's like every footstep he's taking, you can hear that— Freddie: Cool  Anthony: — and you can feel some of that heat coming up in this vent, even though you can't see him at this point. And he goes—  ??: [echoing] Where. Is. My. Boy? Anthony: You hear the FBI agent—the FBI in quotation marks agent—in the back going like—  Agent: [echoing] He's safe for now. If you want to go ahead and make sure that he stays that way, you feel free to go ahead and step inside the suite that we've prepared for you, my boy. Anthony: And you hear the hot guy voice saying—  [chuckles]  The Hot Guy: [echoing] I don't think that's going to happen.

...

[a powerful rush of air builds] Anthony: You hear—  [gunfire, and the air rush culminates in a burst of flame; from underneath the fire, metal music starts playing] Anthony: —plumes of flame exploding.  [a person’s pained shout, gunfire and bursts of flame continue]  Anthony: You can feel the heat radiating through this metal vent and it's actually beginning to hurt and burn your hands.

...

Anthony: And you hear blood—  [sizzling]  Anthony: —hitting the fucking ground and you hear sizzling and things boiling and burning. Taylor: That could just be coffee! That could just be coffee. Link, let's go. Anthony: And you are getting closer and closer to the elevator. And you hear that same hot voice say—  The Hot Guy: [echoing] Where the hell is Taylor?

Gable and Nicky Together:

We are on a joint ticket now! This is a truly unbeatable combo. Not even god can nerf it because Gable killed him. Vote for us. Nicky Close will watch your stuff and play with your cats while Gable gives you the night of your life.

Gable and Nicky can literally be yuor angle or ur bevil.

Kravitz (The Adventure Zone: Balance):

Grim Reaper. So hot he managed to date Taako from TV

gotta be krav

Art of Gable and Nicky from @slightlyhopefulromantic.

[scourgeblooms]

wanted to do a physical timeline for my commander and highlight how he’s changed through the years. this is mostly for my own entertainment BUT I do enjoy seeing the same thing from other folks so I’m posting it here in the hopes that other people share my sentiment. 

(I was ALSO totally inspired by @/manasurge’s hair timeline. it kicks ass. go look at it.) 

elaboration/rambling below the cut!

Personal Story, LW1-2: Popped out of the pod blunt, solicitous, and already maybe a little too paranoid for someone who was born yesterday, but all those traits made him uniquely qualified for a position in military leadership.  Healthy and floral, soft aspen-bark-like skin, delicate petals. black anthers produce pollen. undergoes more fashion changes than physical transformations during this time. gets a little banged up here and there (and maybe has some lasting respiratory effects from the toxic alliance era) but overall feelin a-okay. 

Heart of Thorns: it’s all gone to shit. took a spectacular headdive in both a physical and mental sense with breakneck speed. never “officially” answered mordremoth’s call, but anyone who spent time around him would notice a distinct lack of self control and logical thinking. took on a more sickly pallor, stress caused leaves to shrivel, rot, and decay. lost his lil flower top notch and ability to produce pollen. pupils narrowed to take on a more animalistic look, and enamel growth resulted in sharper, larger teeth. fingers also elongated into claws. never fully physically and mentally recovered from the hell jungle. 

LW3: chopped off most of his leaves to encourage fresh growth. lots of physical healing during this time, though it takes quite a while for his complexion to fully recover. takes on the role of aurene’s champion with gusto. relatively unaffected by bloodstone, but feels the effects of mordremoth’s loose/uncontrolled magic deeply. continues to hear mordremoth’s “voice” and is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. 

Path of Fire: still healing from HoT. continues to grow out his leaves. glow returns, as well as some of his eye color. likes the crystal desert, but finds the harsh, dry climate to be particularly challenging; he’s definitely more of a ‘temperate’ sylvari. does not handle dying well. death only adds to his paranoia and psychosis. has an increasingly hard time picking apart what is real and what is…. not. 

LW4: let’s get ready to kill an undead lich!!!! absorbs even more magic after the death of joko and kralkatorrik, and it starts to show in a there-and-gone shimmery aura that takes on a similar appearance to ley lines. starts to suffer from migraine auras. flower top notch grows back, but stays closed and dormant. picks up a few nifty necromancy tricks from the elonians, and the tips of his fingers start to show signs of necrotic decay; all that death magic can’t be good for the complexion, can it? 

Icebrood Saga: having another dragon in his head does not help his mental health in the slightest. braided leaves (courtesy of braham <3) to protect against frostbite. his ley “aura” gets more intense, hard to miss, and is a near constant. flower topnotch remains closed due to the cold weather conditions. after being shot by bangar, his wound is covered/healed by aurene’s brand. migraines increase in frequency, makes it difficult for him to focus. a bone deep exhaustion starts to set in, and more often than not, he catches himself thinking that a nice long nap underneath a blanket of snow doesn’t sound so terrible….

End of Dragons: back in a more agreeable climate, his topnotch finally blooms, but does not grow anthers or produce pollen. easily physically corrupted by void magic, and he feels soo-won’s pain and struggle deeply. the void corruption eventually shows up in the form of darkening leaves, and seeping out of his eyes/tearducts (it’s fine. don’t worry about it.). starts to incorporate chaos magic into his own necromancy practices. has a fucking terrible time in gyala delve. has a fucking terrible time saying goodbye to aurene. 

Secrets of the Obscure: nothing feels entirely real to him anymore. still willing to help, to fight, but it’s done on autopilot at this point. this magical, floating palace in the sky looks and feels like a dream, with the kryptis acting as the encroaching, inevitable turn to a real, living nightmare. still uses a bit of leftover void in his magical practices, but most of the corruption has left his system. that respiratory illness he picked up back in kessex hills comes back to bite him in nayos. finally grows back his anthers, but instead of producing pollen, it's an outlet for void/magic energy.

[succubusdaydream]

By The Grace of The Moon || Astarion x Werewolf!Selunite!Tav || PT4

AN: Finally! I've been stuck on how to write this part for days now. This chapter does feel rushed and I wanted to right more but was unsure how to keep it flowing nicely so this is mostly a filler. Enjoy my loves <3

Masterlist || Word count: 2440

PT1 || PT2 || PT3 ||

---

                “Sorry to disappoint you, Darling.” Your body whipped around, and your eyes met Astarion’s red ones. You were certain the whole camp could hear your heartbeat as he stepped out of the tree line. There were specks of blood on the color of his shirt, and you could smell it from where you were standing. A smile spread across your face as you stepped forward.

                “Astarion! You’re alright.” Your eyes went to his arm, where you grabbed him the other night to fight him off. “Y-you are alright, yes? You’re not hurt, are you?” You wanted to go to him. To check him over for any injuries that you may have caused. But you couldn’t move any closer after just a step.

                He scoffed and joined the three of you where you were standing. “Oh please. I’m fine. I think your bark is worse than your bite.” He chuckled before crossing his arms. “And you owe me a new shirt. Your blood soaked my other one last night.” My blood soaked his shirt? “I carried you back here after finding you laying in a pool of your own blood.”

                He carried me back? He... he held me? Wait. If he found me after our… run in together, does that mean- “Astarion… did you carry me back to camp naked?” Your face felt hot and you’re sure that it was a bright red.

                Astarion simply nodded. “Yes, but don’t worry. I was more worried about the gushing wound you had rather than your nakedness. And I do apologize for the whole ‘gushing wound’ thing.” He pointed to your stomach as he spoke before changing the subject. “Now that you’re all better, what’s out next step on our little adventure.”

                Shadowheart speaks up, a reminder that both her and Gale are still there. “Well, we promised Zevlor and his people a party, so I think we’ll be continuing our journey either tomorrow or within the next few days. And although your wound is healed, I think it’s to make sure we’re all well rested and replenished before we continue.” You nodded to her words. Your wound was closed but you could still feel the sting of it.

                “That settles it then. We’ll pack up the non-essentials and move out within a few days. Until then, we recover and look for more supplies. There is that village near the Grove that we haven’t fully checked out. We’ll take a look around before tonight.” With that, your group changed and made their way to the main part of the Grove. You spoke to Zevlor and informed him that the party was still on for that night.

                Using the gold you had looted from all those goblins; you were also able to buy better gear and camp supplies. And with better gear, you and the others made your way to the abandoned village nearby. There were only a few goblins left that you quickly took out, rescuing a deepgnome, Barcus, that they had tied to windmill. He offered his pack, even after you told him you didn’t want anything in return, and ran off, stating he had set out to save a friend of his.

                The rest of the village had a few more thing you had found. A cave full of spiders that held a large hole in the middle. A beautiful amethyst stone was also found near a skeleton. In another home, you found a cellar with a hidden work room. And behind a cell door was a book. The Necromancy of Thay. The cover looked like a stretched face and the mouth was wide open. Shadowheart had urged you not to open the ‘creepy book.’ The stone you had found in the spider cave seemed to fit in the mouth hole and with a word from Astarion, you handed the book over to him for ‘save keeping.’ Much to Gale’s distaste.

---

                With your packs full of more loot and supplies, you made your way back to camp to settle before Zevlor and the rest of the Tieflings arrived. You had decided to help Gale make a larger pot of food in hopes that everyone would be able to eat at this party. With the meat and herbs you found, the scent of it filled the camp as it slowly simmered. Although as you nearly drooled over the thought of eating, another thought crossed your mind. What would Astarion eat tonight?

                Standing up after a few minutes, you glanced in his direction before walking over. Your footsteps caught his attention as you approached, and a smirk crossed his face. “It’s always a pleasure to see you sauntering over.” His words turned your face red, and you nearly choked on your spit as you tried to speak.

                You stuttered before taking a breath and clearing your throat. “Ahem. I just wanted to ask, or talk about, your umm…vampirism.” You help wrung your fingers together, nervous that you would upset him by asking. “I umm, I just want to know how we’ll keep you fed and up in the future.”  That all seemed to get his full attention.

                “I can assure you; I will not be feeding on any of you without permission. There’s plenty of wildlife out there to keep me up. And maybe if we come across some rude bandits… well, I’m sure no one will miss them.”  He glanced at your eyes before stepping closer, “Was there something else? You have a look in your eyes that says you have more to say.”

                With his closer to you, you averted your eyes as you felt your face heat up even more. “I-I mean, I don’t mind you… feeding off me, but I can’t promise that I’ll taste good. I’m sure I’ll taste like dog and that doesn’t really sound good.” You chuckled and stepped back to give yourself some air. “If you really do need more energy than an animal provides, let me know and I’ll try my best to help.”

                He once again smirked and waved his hand around. “Quite the contrary, you smell rather sweet. I’m sure you’d taste just as good. The others, maybe not as nice. But if you are so generous to offer, I will gladly take you up on it.” His voice was low and sultry, you’re sure by now your face was like an apple with how hot it felt. “Now, was there anything else?”

                “Yea actually. And you don’t have to answer, but… how did you become a vampire? I haven’t heard much about them other than rumors in my village.” His face immediately fell, and you were quick to repeat that he didn’t have to tell you.

                “No. No you deserve to know. I had overheard your story so; I suppose it’s only fair I tell you mine.” He took a deep breath and his tone changed to a serious one. “Cazador Szarr is a vampire lord in Baldur’s Gate. He’s the one that turned me. The patriarch of his coven and a monster obsessed with power. Not political power or military power- I mean power over people. The power to control them completely.”

                His story made your blood boil, and you wanted nothing more than to rip Cazador’s head off. He talked about being a puppet. How his master would torture him and other spawns or have them torture themselves. How he was found after a gang of thugs attacked him, angry about a ruling he made a magistrate. He hadn’t realized how much ‘eternity’ was when Cazador offered to save him with ‘eternal life.’

                You stepped forward again and reached for his hand, holding it in between yours. “Astarion, I promise to watch your back and help you take back your freedom when we reach the city. You’re free from Cazador and I won’t let him, or his spawns, hurt you again.” Your voice was determined, and your eyes pierced his.

                He chuckled and nodded. “What more could I ask? Now, what that all?” You nodded back and stepped away, dropping his hand before walking back to the fire and sat next to Gale continuing to help with the food until it was time to unwind.

---

                The party was in full swing. Tieflings filled your camp, and the smell of alcohol accompanied the sound of banter and music. Zevlor had once again thanked you and was happy to finally relax, encouraging you to do the same. You had spoken to almost all the refugees, joining in song with the few bards that had grouped up, clapping as a wizard, Rolan, showed his siblings a simple spell, and downed wine with anyone else who asked to share a drink with you.

                After a few rounds, you decided to check on your friends. Shadowheart didn’t have much to say other than she was happy to have a night to chill with just a bottle of wine. Gale, however, had more to walk about. As you approached him, he smiled and set down a book he was holding.

                “Ahh, there you are. I trust you’re enjoying your evening. You definitely deserve it after everything you’ve done to help these people.” He cleared his throat before moving on to ask you questions about Lycanthropy. Can you only shift on full moons? Can you bite others and give them the curse as well? How much did it turn your senses up? And finally, “What about mates? I’ve read that some Lycans have soulmates. Have you met yours yet?”

     ��          It caught you off guard and you stuttered over your words again. “Oh. Uh, well. Some Lycans have mates. Those who have been blessed by Selune and choose to worship with her moon are gifted one by her. Most of the times it’s other Lycans, mainly if they’re in the same pack.” Your eyes glanced over at Astarion, only for a second before looking back at Gale. “And no. I haven’t found my mate yet. I was never in a pack. The one that bit me was chased off before he could take me, so I grew up alone. It’s easier for us to find our mates when with other Lycans.”

                “I see. I’m sure you’ll find them on this journey. Afterall, we have a long road ahead of us, who knows who we’ll meet on it.” He nodded before bidding you goodnight and returned to his book. You smiled and turned away, looking towards Astarion who had glanced your way. A goblet of wine was held in his hands as his gaze flittered between you and Gale.

                Giving him a small wave, you once again approached him. “Evening Astarion. Enjoying your wine?”

                He scoffed. “I’ve had better. Enjoy your little conversation with Gale?” His brow raised as he took another sip from his cup. You glanced back at Gale who’s face was still lost in his book.

                “I suppose. He wanted to know a bit more about Lycanthropy.”

                “So I heard.” He was listening? I’m glad I told Gale I hadn’t met my mate. I don’t think I can tell him yet. “You know. I never picture myself as a hero. Never thought I’d be the one they toast got saving so many lives. And, now that I’m here” Another sip, “I hate it. It’s awful”

                You cocked your head to the side and raised your own brow. “Really? Saving lives is awful? I’m quite glad we helped. These people deserve to live their lives without fear.”

                “Please. We killed some goblins to save some Tieflings. The tally of lives doesn’t change much.” He waves his hands around. “But what do I get for all my hard work? A pat on the head and some vinegar for wine. Pff.”

                You softly chuckled and crossed your arms. “Yea. I’m sure the goblins would have thrown a much wilder party.” If he had heard your joking tone, he didn’t say anything of it.

                “All I want is a little fun. Is that so much to ask?” His voice was husk like earlier as his eyes properly met yours.

                Your face, once again, began to heat up. “Oh? And what exactly is your definition of a little fun?” You leaned in, raising your brow. Might as well take my chance. It’s not necessarily lying to him if I never told him he’s my mate, right?

                He scoffs once again, shaking his head. “By the hells. Sex, my dear. A night of passion. Why don’t we… wait until things quiet down. Once the others are asleep, we’ll find each other.” He downed the rest of his goblet and grabbed a fresh bottle of wine before retreating to the woods.

                Your breath hitched as you walked away. Oh gods. This is happening. Am I truly spending the night with my mate?  Your thoughts ran wild as the party continued. You kept yourself busy with the others, drinking to try and get your nerves under control. Slowly, the refugees started making their way back to the grove. Some had fallen asleep in your camp, but you didn’t mind much. And finally, when everyone was gone or asleep, you followed your mate’s scent through the woods.

---

                It was dark, the only light coming from the freshly waning moon and stars through the tree branches. The scent of your mate led you a ways away from camp. Away from any leering eyes. The spot his scent was heaviest was a clearing in the trees. Looking around, footsteps caught your attention as Astarion stepped out form behind a large tree, his shirt nowhere to be found. Gods he's beautiful.

                “There you are. I’ve been waiting. Waiting since the moment I first set eyes on you. Waiting to have you.” His voice was like honey to your ears as he stepped ever closer. From the moment he first set eyes on me? So has he felt the pull? He’s wanted me for that long? You didn’t speak. You couldn’t find the words and just let him kiss you. His hands found place on your hips and he dragged you back, lifting you up against the three he had appeared from.

                Your legs situated around his waist and arms around his neck. He tasted like wine and his already beautiful scent was mixed with lust. You had trusted him. You just wanted to be close to your mate. Besides, the bond wouldn’t form unless he accepted you as a mate so he wouldn’t find out about that till then. For now, you trusted your vampire mate not to bite you and let yourself enjoy a night in shared ecstasy. After all, everyone had been saying you deserved it.  

---

Masterlist

PT1 || PT2 || PT3

Taglist: @saturns-angel || @bdudette || @simon-e-mallory || @caskyywrites || @emo-with-headphones || @ophelias-flowerss || @sarawithasword || @stonedstargazer666 ||

[paradoxcase]

Chapter 15 of Nona the Ninth

I wonder just how literal this actually is

I don't know that someone watching you like that necessarily means you're being protected in this city. So if this is about the Angel, what does Hot Sauce think Nona pretending to talk into a radio had to do with it?

I wonder if something has happened to Camilla and Pyrrha, like BOE didn't actually take them back to the apartment, or something? I would think that with Corona there nothing bad would happen, but who knows

Things Nona likes to eat:

Sand

Leaves

Ice cubes

Pencils

I'm not really seeing a pattern here with organic/inorganic or any kind of consistent textures she likes, but so far her likes do seem to be mainly texture-based rather than taste-based or something like that

I would think they were burning them because of some superstition that that was how they had to be killed, but I guess it's just because they want them to suffer? And even though burning is how they dispose of all bodies now, there are people who think necromancers can't be killed that way? At any rate, it seems unlikely that anyone will suspect Pyrrha's real reason.

It's interesting, when I read this back in Chapter 11:

I didn't initially get that Pyrrha had killed them, it was only when I reread the chapter again to do the writeup that I realized it. And at the time I was like, man, I'm glad I reread the chapter, because I'm super dumb and wouldn't have figured this out otherwise, but now I see that we're probably not meant to realize that Pyrrha killed them until right now in Chapter 15. Doing this as a liveblog and not letting myself read ahead until I've written something about the previous chapter has really had this effect where I figure out so many more things than if I were just reading it normally by myself. I don't know how much engagement I'd get if it were some other book that's less tumblr-famous, but honestly, this seems like a great way to read books to me

So I think Nona is definitely translating people's names automatically, and they must be using a language here that is different from whatever language Born in the Morning's name is actually in. The names Nona has used that don't seem to be translations so far are, if I've kept track right, are Camilla, Palamedes, Pyrrha, Judith, Kevin, and Joli. Presumably the main characters' names remain the same regardless so that the book is not completely confusing, but also I don't think these characters who only speak House would know the original languages that their names are in, and as I stated earlier, presumably Kevin doesn't know Irish. I wonder what Joli is supposed to mean, in what language? But I do note here that Hot Sauce doesn't correct her about Honesty's name, so Honesty's name may actually be in the language they are currently speaking. I don't think it was ever established what language they primarily speak at the school? Obviously the teachers have to be speaking to Camilla and Corona in House, but I somehow doubt that Honesty's name would be a House word

Right, I think someone told me this earlier, but this is where it's actually revealed in the text

I wonder if Nona fully realizes that Hot Sauce and Pash and the other people who hate the "zombies" consider Palamedes and Pyrrha part of that group? It seems like she should, but then she also says things like this

So I guess this is why they check to see if Camilla and Pyrrha and Nona are alive, because they are worried that they might put them in the car and then some off-screen necromancer explodes their bodies?

You know, I know the Nine Houses aren't great, but I think that might be a war crime, actually

So I would have thought that the Secret was going to be Nona's secret healing abilities, which she's talked about having to keep secret multiple times now, but this seems to be something else, something related to not having some organ? Obviously not a life-critical one, or Hot Sauce would assume there was some necromancy going on. But what non-life-critical organ could Harrow be missing, or did it go missing when she was revived by Pyrrha? It is true that Lyctors can't regrow organs

[lucrezianoin]

okay... i am... trying something :'D if you stumble upon this and would like to read a tav/astarion snippet from wyll's pov I was wondering... does Tav seem too harsh? a bit harsh? this is an experiment with something

Shadowheart heals their wounds as they walk and limp their way out of the spiders' lair. Wyll is exhausted, nursing what he is sure is a dislocated wrist. He does not want to inconvenience Shadowheart more than she can offer.

"Was it really necessary?" she complains, eyeing the dark amethyst that Tav is still holding in his hand. Gale, even limping and grunting with fatigue, allows himself to a long winded explanation on how the persuit of knowledge is always worth some pain; how the gem could maybe unlock the book they found at the necromancer's basement, a book that surely held more than a few secrets. Wyll is pretty sure 'dangerous lair of spiders' and 'necromancer's book full of secrets' are definitely not words he would have happily encouraged in the past. But apparently travelling with such a mismatched group has given more than ample opportunities to pick his battles.

"I'm going to give the book to Astarion," Tav says, putting the amethyst away in his satchel

To his credit, Gale falter just for a second, quickly recovering from his surprise. "You are going to give the mysterious powerful probably dangerous book on necromancy to Astarion. He doesn't even practice magic!"

"Let's just destroy the book, and everyone will be happy," Shadowheart deadpans, and Wyll nods to himself. That is really the ideal solution, isn't it? But he saw how impossible of a reality it was going to be the moment Astarion and Gale started bickering about the tome.

Tav chuckles, patting Gale's shoulder amicably. "Unfortunately he is much more convincing than you."

That makes Gale sputter and flaunder, because they all know what Tav means. The elven druid and the vampire have made no secret of their relationship. Wyll has not tried to pry, but it has been impossible to miss the longing gazes, the sneaking out, the way Tav's decisions so often swayed in the favor of Astarion. Just like now.

Once they are back at camp, Gale hides to sulk in his tent. Wyll has learnt to pick and choose his battles - or he is trying to learn - so he simply sits at the fire, gladly accepting the tea Karlach has prepared for them. She is currently enjoying trying all the herbs the Grove has to offer, tastes and smells she has not had for too many years. Wyll sips at his hot cup, recognizing a trace of lemon balm and mint.

"Darling, you look like death," Astarion's voice pipes up. He is reading in front of his tent, legs crossed onto a carpet that definitely was not there that morning. He jumps onto his feet when he sees the other elf get a book and a violet gem out of his pack. "You didn't! May I?" The vampire takes a step closer, but Wyll cannot hear what Tav replies. It must be a yes, because a grin spreads through Astarion's face.

Wyll immediately averts his eyes when Astarion, instead of grabbing the book, closes his fingers around the leather strap keeping Tav's druiduing symbol anchored to his chest to pull him onto the tent behind them.

Karlach sighs. "Man, I also want to get laid, this is so unfair."

Wyll shakes his head, but he is smiling. He still cannot believe this is Karlach. This young tiefling woman who is far too kind for someone who has been forced to fight in the Hells, someone who more often than not is ready to align herself with Wyll's need to help others. All things considered, letting Tav spoil his new lover is a little price to pay after he has convinced Wyll to see the right path. He does not even want to imagine what could have happened to him and Karlach if Tav has not been there.

Tav sometimes has unconventional methods, but he has not failed them yet. And Wyll might not know much of love, but he understands crushes and the need to impress. He has stolen more than a few flowers in his teenager years.

They were back at the Grove and selling some of the items Tav and Karlach had found along the way, when Tav announced: "We should tell Astarion."

Wyll pauses, boots covered in mud and the blood of the escaped hag still caked under his fingers. At least they had managed to save the girl. "Why? That Gandrel is not going to be able to make any deals with the hag, and we often move camps. He is not going to find us again."

"He has a right to know," Tav insists, pocketing the few coins they had earned with their barter.

"You're gonna ask him about the kids? The monster hunter said he stole some kids," Karlach demands, the words falling out of her as if they had been simmering at the surface.

Wyll had no doubt the man they had met in the swamp had been honest. While he was less likely to trust his own intuition these days, Wyll could recognize a fellow monster hunter easily enough. And no monster hunter needed a story, or needed to invent a bunch of kids being kidnapped in the night - the monster being a monster was usually enough of a convincing tale.

"And when you tell him this man is after him? Mark my words, Astarion will want him dead. We are not going to kill an innocent man."

"He said he wants to bring him back to Baldur's Gate. Have you thought that maybe his master sent him?"

[the-whumpening]

The Caged Tiger | Part 2

Prev | Masterpost | Next

CW: violence, forced nudity, minor character “death,” dehumanization, medical whump, noncon bathing, blood, restraints, humiliation

-----------------------------

Sweat drips from Ash's brow, burning as it glides down his eyelids and into his tear ducts. His breath is staggered and rough; he stumbles to his hands and knees, a dribble of saliva and blood trailing out of his mouth. Owen's torn, limp body lays before him, sword still in hand.

"You're still holding back, aren't you?" Ozmund asks as he enters the dingy pit. With an easy wave of his hand, Owen's wounds stitch together, and he gasps back to life. Ash, too, is healed of his injuries; he can feel his energy and strength returning in an instant.

“Man!” Owen groans, “That never stops hurting! How many more times do we have to do this today, Oz? Personally, I think three deaths in one day is a lot.”

Although Ash is no stranger to death, killing Owen again and again, watching him being revived each time, is unnerving in ways he never imagined. Necromancy never sat quite right with him to begin with, but this . . . He can feel it in himself already—a hollowness that grows each time he’s healed and set upon his prey once more. It isn’t a cold detachment, blind to the pain they both experience, but rather a desolate ache. Something gets left behind, though he’s not quite sure what.

Ozmund glares at Owen, then consults the notebook he always carries with him. Snapping it shut, he sighs, “I suppose this will work for a baseline. Fine. Make yourself useful and start some tea, then. I’ll be in the lab for a while. Oh, and send down Faye—I’ll need her assistance.”

A shimmer of magic binds Ash’s hands, and an invisible force holds the chain around his neck, leading him like a dog behind Ozmund. He silently follows the winding halls, his head hung low and hair still matted with sweat. Each quiet fall of his bare feet thuds in his ears and keeps rhythm with his racing pulse.

Entering the lab, Ash is ushered against a wall, where his chain is latched to a ring mounted high in the stone. Unable to sit, he continues to stare holes into the floor, pulling his shoulders into himself as if to hide from view. Meanwhile, he can hear Ozmund bustling around the room, inspecting cabinets and drawers to pull out a few tools and arrange them on a stone slab table. Ash's anxiety builds as each piece is carefully lined up along the rest; his mind races wondering what Ozmund is planning.

He flinches as a timid knock on the door shatters the silence.

"Enter," Ozmund calls, still engrossed in his preparations.

Ash hesitantly glances up, finding a small, delicate elf carrying a tin wash basin filled with cleaning supplies. Although his pulse slows slightly seeing she's not a threat, a wave of humiliation takes its place as he realizes why she's there.

"Clean him up, please, Faye," Oz orders absently as he flips through pages in his notes. "Then we'll get measurements and vitals—the usual."

"Right away, sir," Faye replies. She smiles warmly at Ash, and he drops his gaze in response, his cheeks burning fiercely. Does she not know what he's up to? Does she just not care? Or maybe, Ash wonders as he notes the oak leaf pendant around her neck, she doesn't have a choice.

With deft efficiency, she empties her supplies from the tub and swiftly removes Ash's soiled clothes. His face reddens—even the tips of his ears flush bright pink. A distant instinct wants to cover himself with his tail, but he remembers with mounting shame that it's no longer there. Faye places the basin at his feet, and he steps in.

He could have lived with the humiliation of being stripped and bathed by a stranger, naked and shivering in the dungeon-like laboratory—embarrassed, certainly, but he could have dealt with that indignity. But to his dismay, Ozmund looks up from his notes at just that moment. Hot stinging tears burn at the corners of Ash's eyes; he tucks his chin deep in his shoulder to hide his face as Ozmund steps closer, arms folded, to observe.

“So,” Ozmund’s voice, clinical and clear, echoes through the room. Ash grits his teeth. “It seems a lot has changed since we last met. No stripes, no tail, no cat ears—I’d hardly call you a tiger at all. That eye is new as well.”

The creature dwelling behind Ash’s eye stirs, watching Ozmund with intense curiosity and whispering indecipherably. You’re still here? Ash reaches out mentally. Although it doesn’t reply, he can feel a kind of confirmation. Somehow, Hsa’s presence makes him feel a little less alone.

Impatient, Ozmund huffs. “Pardon the phrasing—that was a question. How exactly did this happen?”

Ash says nothing.

“Some magical transaction? Or is this a part of your life cycle?”

Still, Ash remains silent, his lips pressed in a tight line.

“Not that you’d understand, but this is important data,” Ozmund snipes. “Your dear sister and brother both exhibited transformations like this. It’s truly a shame I haven’t been able to study your eldest brother . . . yet, anyway. Still, three out of four isn’t bad.”

His stomach churns and bile rises in his throat—he’s done this to Kitara and Nino as well? I remembered her mentioning something about him, but . . . He’s grateful at the moment for Faye, who stands on a stool to clean his face and hair, blocking Ozmund’s view. An errant tear slips out of his eye, and she gives a pitying smile as she wipes it away. His shivering muscles feel suddenly on fire, shaking from white-hot rage. He clenches his jaw even tighter against the bitter, acidic taste on his tongue; don’t do this—don’t let him get to you.

“Fine, then. I’ll find out one way or another.” He wanders to the table, grabbing his book and supplies. “I like you better silent, anyway.”

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #297: Caster of Limbo

today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re making the challenger to Astolfo’s “enby that makes everyone feel a little funny” throne, caster of limbo! they’re mostly a Necromancy Wizard to take control of the living dead (i.e. servants), make extra bodies, and curse the bajeepers out of people, but we’ll also pop into the Rune Knight Fighter a touch to turn into a giant ghost and stick some neat tricks into those cards they like to throw.

check out their build breakdown here, or their character sheet below the cut!

next up: coconut head

Race and Background

limbo was a human, but they shoved a bunch of gods in there and now it’s all funky. that’s a Custom Lineage if ever I heard one, so you’ll get +2 Intelligence, proficiency in Arcana for those funky curses, and the Tough feat for an extra 2 HP every level. you spend most of them in wizard, you’re going to need every point you can get.

for your background, limbo left society for a good bit and came back with a new, evil perspective, so that’s a Hermit, which gives you proficiency in Medicine and Religion. but evil religion.

Ability Scores

we need Intelligence as high as possible for the most spells and to make it harder for the heroic spirit swordmasters to break your control. yeah, most high-level summons can make saves against helping you. it’s not great, but we’ll do what we can. after that comes Strength. that thing’s got abs for days, and they can rip people apart with their bare hands. admittedly every servant can do that, but I think they could do it before ascending? hardcore. third up is Constitution. it’s not particularly notable, but it’s gotta be high to make up for Being a Wizard. if you die, you’ll probably just come back anyway. so that means your Dexterity isn’t great, even though you fight shirtless. fun. we’ll also lower your Wisdom a bit since you left the monking behind in your backstory, and finally we dump Charisma. being hot and being charismatic are separate things, as limbo proves. I mean he did persuade Arjuna Alter, but… it’s Arjuna Alter. that’s not saying much.

Class Levels

1. Fighter 1: we’re starting off as a Fighter, mostly for the extra HP again and the proficiency in Constitution saves. most players won’t get far enough for a concentration-free curse, so it’s a good idea to make those saves as good as we can. you’re also proficient in Strength saves, and you can use your Insight to target a person’s weaknesses to exploit, and your Intimidation to hide out in their rafters.

you also get a Fighting Style, and if you’re going to tear people in two, you’ll need the unarmed fighting style. you can punch people for a d6 of damage or a d8 with both hands free, and you’ll deal some bonus damage while grappling people. you’ll also need your hands free for spells, so that all works out pretty dang well if I say so myself.

you can also use a Second Wind as a bonus action for a little extra healing. your boss fight didn’t give you self-healing, but there’s nothing wrong with an upgrade here or there.

2. Fighter 2: I admit we’re mostly here for levels 1 and 3, but Action Surge is nothing to sneeze at either. This gives you a no-strings-attached extra action once a short rest. You can attack twice, or even pump out two leveled spells no worries. er, you’ll be able to do that after we get spells. speaking of which…

3. Wizard 1: okay now you can cast Spells, using your Intelligence to cast and prepare them from your spellbook. you recharge spell slots each long rest, unless you’re using your Arcane Recovery once a day, letting you pick up a couple spell slots when you take a short rest instead! that’ll be verry useful later on, but for now let’s just talk spells!

wizards get a lotta spells, but instead of spending all day talking about all of them, we’re just going over the important ones here. the full list is in his character sheet, and the bold ones are important to the character. the rest are like “he is a caster”.

he is a caster though, so first we gotta get mage armor and magic missile for fighting shirtless and with paper things. you could use daggers as thrown weapons for this, but we’re not getting any extra attacks here, so you probably shouldn’t. you also get the cantrips chill touch for some ghostly spookiness from the get-go, and infestation and poison spray for quick and easy poisonings. finally, grab silvery barbs. it ends up on a lot of builds because it’s really good, especially here. we’ll get into why we need it in this build when it pops up, but making someone re-roll a save or attack is never a bad move.

4. Wizard 2: at level 2 of wizardry you become a Necromancer, which also makes you a Necromancy Savant for half the time and gold spent copying necromantic spells. I’ve said it before, but it’s weird how your very first ability dissuades you from picking spells you’d think you’d want to focus on.

why would you want to focus on them? because of your Grim Harvest. once a turn, you can turn a spell that finishes off an enemy into sweet sweet HP, up to 2x the spell’s level, or 3x if it’s a necromancy spell. this doesn’t work on constructs or undead though, so get out there and butcher some civilians!

5. Wizard 3: third level wizards get second level spells like Spider Climb to help you climb up your master’s rafters. yes that’s a vital part of the build, keep up. since we aren’t really buffing your charisma that much, you should also pick up either Gift of Gab for a verbal backspace or Enhance Ability to really help you trick a god into smiting your enemies. or your friends. really smiting is it’s own reward, when you think about it.

6. Wizard 4: now that you finally get your first Ability Score Improvement, round up your Intelligence for stronger spells, and your Constitution to hold onto them long. and for the extra HP, I guess. it’s a retroactive boost, so now you have 6 more HP, not just one.

7. Wizard 5: at fifth level this build really gets off the ground with the combination of Bestow Curse and Animate Undead. curses are limbo’s thing, and the zombies and skeletons will be your first foray into controlling servants. it’s a start, at least.

8. Wizard 6: of course a necromancer’s Undead Thralls are a little better than most people’s. you can create an extra zombie (or skeleton) with animate dead, and that creature has extra hp and deals extra damage with each hit. those bonuses work for any undead you create with a necromancy spell, so feel free to get creative! even if green isn’t a creative color…

and speaking of undead, let’s grab some ghostly goodies with Blink and Spirit Shroud. the former lets you blink out of existence when your turn is over. mostly. and the latter gives all your attacks a ghostly flair of extra damage, slows enemies, and prevents them from healing. just like the real limbo bossfight! we’re a long way away from turning into a giant ghost, but it’s important to get some practice in- you only die once, after all.

9. Wizard 7: seventh level wizards get fourth level spells, and if you want a god to listen to you there’s no better option than Charm Monster. this is like charm person, but it works for non-humanoids too! it lasts up to an hour if your target fails its wisdom save, or until you inevitably stab them in the back. maybe don’t do that?

10. Wizard 8: it’s time for another ASI, and we have to get the Poisoner feat at some point. this lets you poison a weapon as a bonus action, and you can use your new poisoner’s kit proficiency to make Proficiency Bonus poisons over the course of an hour. so now you do have a reason to use a physical card instead of magic missiles. or maybe not, since you now ignore resistance to poison damage on all your attack rolls, not just the physical ones.

you also get your first taste controlling a heroic spirit swordmaster this level when you take one of the Summon spells. Use Summon Greater Demon for an oni, Summon Elemental for Archer of Inferno, or Summon Construct for a ninja doll. Summon Aberration is more of an endgoal than a spell you should get halfway through the build, but foreigners are in rn, so maybe you’re just following trends.

11. Wizard 9: you get fifth level spells. there’s not really any we need to be a good limbo, but they are fun like, in general.

12. Wizard 10: at tenth level you become Inured to Undeath, giving you resistance to necrotic damage, and your max HP can’t be reduced. your body’s probably a spare anyway, so it won’t have the same biology as a normal human’s. that’s a good excuse, right?

13. Wizard 11: sixth level spells are good though. use Create Undead to make more powerful spirit swordmasters, and Investiture of Wind for extra-powerful ghostliness. for up to ten minutes after casting, ranged attacks will have disadvantage against you, and you get a flying speed of 60’. you can also spend your actions on an aoe attack, a 15’ cube of air that deals bludgeoning damage to creatures that fail their constitution save, also pushing them around if they fail.

14. Wizard 12: knock that Intelligence up as high as it can go, for the best damage and the hardest to beat saves. we’ll need that in just a second.

15. Wizard 13: seventh level spell time! power word pain is definitely on-brand, but we’re mostly here for Planeshift so you can run off with your tail between your legs when that lostbelt king you’ve been manipulating finally figures out what’s going on.

16. Wizard 14: we have finally reached your last goodie from being a necromancer, and it’s why we came all this way in the first place. a curse that will truly turn any heroic spirit into your own mindless killing machine, Command Undead. spend an action force a charisma save on an undead within 60’ of you. if they fail, they’re friendly to you until you use this feature again.

it does come with caveats though. any undead with an 8 or higher has advantage on the save, and any with an intelligence of 12 or higher can make the save again every hour until they break free. once an undead passes their save, you can’t use this on them a second time.

the good news though is there’s a shitload of undead with bad charisma and intelligence scores for you to use and abuse. for example, a Nightwalker is a huge undead of CR 20, but it’s intelligence is a 6 and its charisma is an 8, making it the perfect target to turn into your thrall for a heroic spirit swordmaster. and as long as you don’t try to control two at once, this control lasts forever, or as long as the undead does.

and it’s finally time to bring up Silvery Barbs again! with your maxed out intelligence and a way to kindasorta force disadvantage on a roll, you have your pick of spirits to choose from. (and in cases like that nightwalker, you’re almost guaranteed to succeed against any creature with a negative modifier.)

17. Fighter 3: now we’ve finally almost got Shimousa covered, we just need to turn you into that giant ghost I’ve been promising. and that’s why we’re finally back in Rune Knight for some Giant Might. as a bonus action you can make yourself large for 1 minute, giving you advantage on strength saves and checks, and dealing extra damage with your physical attacks once per turn. you can do this Proficiency times per long rest.

you’re also a Rune Carver, letting you stick some goodies on your cards for a passive benefit, or an invoked benefit you can use once per short rest. grab the Cloud Rune for advantage on Sleight of Hand and Deception checks, plus an invoked reaction to redirect an attack aimed at you or another creature within 30’ of you. now there’s no way Altjuna ignores you! also, grab the Stone Rune for advantage on Insight checks and 120’ of darkvision, plus the ability to stun a creature as a reaction once per short rest for up to 1 minute. it can make a wisdom save to avoid the effect entirely, as well as at the end of each of its turns.

18. Wizard 15: we’re all set for LB 4, but first we’ll grab some eighth level spells just in case. you couldn’t leave home without a Clone or two as a backup body, right? use a bit of your flesh, wait like a month or so, and then you basically have an extra life. You’ll have to pick up all your stuff again, but that’s barely an inconvenience, right?

19. Wizard 16: with our final ASI we can bump up your Strength at long last for some more accurate unarmed and weapon attacks. sorry it took so long, this build’s got a lot in it.

if you’re playing a campaign with another servant player and want them as your lead heroic spirit swordmaster, check out Dominate Monster! force a wisdom save on them, or they’re charmed for up to an hour. while charmed you can talk to them telepathically and give them commands without spending an action. you can even use your action to take them over completely! however, this spell isn’t the best for combat, seeing as they can repeat the save every time they take damage.

20. Wizard 17: ninth level spell slots! yeah, sorry to end on an anticlimax, but that’s really all we’re here for. with these bad boys, you can upcast a Bestow Curse to last indefinitely- very spicy.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

you’re surprisingly beefy for a caster, with a semi-decent amount of HP and ways to heal yourself via murder, you’re tougher to take down than most wizards we’ve seen.

it also helps that you have a lot of bodies on the field thanks to anime dead, create undead, control undead, and a summoning spell of your choice giving you a pretty sizable army of completely loyal minions. you’ll probably stab them in the back anyway, but it’ll be nice to have them in the meantime!

I will say this over and over again, a fighter dip for any caster is a godsend. you have more options when your slots run out, you have a bit of emergency healing, you get proficiency in concentration saves, and most importantly you get Action Surge, letting you cast two spells in one turn, and that’s huge. that’s a boost to your damage, or your utility, or even just your ability to run the hell away if the fight goes south.

Cons:

your AC’s really bad, and you turn into a giant ghost which really just makes you a bigger target. you’re going to have to murderize people left and right if you want to keep your HP up. huh, I wonder if that’s why you’re so backstab-happy…    yeah, probably not.

Poisoner is flavorful (literally), and it’s a nice boost to your poison spells, but if we’re being serious, it’s the weak link of your ASIs. you could’ve gotten more HP with constitution, or AC with dexterity, or even just better concentration with the War Caster feat. Plus you can’t use this feature in conjunction with your zombies or controlled minions, so it’s a lot less useful than you’d think.

the vast majority of your zombie army is at or under CR 3, so Fireballs can chew through your entire brigade pretty damn fast. another reason not to fight Altjuna, as if you needed one.

[lapetitechatonne]

dp/dc ship week 2023 ideas

so, with ship week coming up i'm sure a lot of us are stumped on what ships we want to write. i know for me, i wanted to use it as an excuse to write ships i haven't gotten around to yet, or that have taken me by the throat. as the Batpham Server's Patron Saint of w|w and poly ships, i bring to you some rare pairs and ideas for ship week. these can be platonic or romantic!!!

First/Last

Jazz Fenton/Dick Grayson (Nightbirds) - you could play off how they're the first sibling, and if you want to make it angsty, how they're the last ones in their family to die.

Arranged Marriage AU

Danny Fenton/Duke Thomas (Will-o-Whisps) - Duke reads off of an artifact he found in the unused part of the manor and accidentally gives himself in marriage to the ghost king. after they figure it out, Danny decides he's pretty cute and asks him to coffee.

Holding Hands/Kiss

Dani Phantom/Lian Harper (Trick Shot) - it's hard to hold your girlfriend's hand when she makes you so nervous you turn into goo.

Soulmate AU

Valerie Gray/Kara Zor-El (Valkyrie) - for so long, when Valerie would write on her arm, no one would respond. when she decides that soulmates are a scam and she had bigger things to worry about, like keeping a roof over their heads, she finally gets a message in an unknown language.

Family/Friends

Dan Phantom/Tim Drake (Bad Ending) - with all their friends and family dead, a young Dan and Tim find themselves drawn together. with Dan's power and Tim's brain, nothing can stand in the way of this Bonnie and Clyde retelling.

Coffee Shop AU

Dani Phantom/Tim Drake (Travel Photos) - Tim didn't expect to find a girl on top of his favorite coffee shop when he snuck up to take photos of Batman and Robin. he gets her to trust him enough to go downstairs for a late-night hot chocolate and muffin.

Promise/Conflict

Jazz Fenton/Cassandra Cain (Speech Therapy) - Jazz promised Danny she would keep living after his death but she doesn't know how. Cass promised herself she'd never kill again, but if she isn't a killer what else is she? broken and conflicted, they meet each other.

Wings AU

Paulina Sanchez/Kara Zor-El (Star Struck) - Dragon!Paulina (whether she just kept some of the powers or was given the necklace by Dorathea) is flying around the midwest when she's spotted by another flying girl. naturally, they hit it off.

Secret Identity/Danger

Danny Fenton/Sam Manson/Tucker Foley/Tim Drake (Everlasting Insomniacs) - Tim is visited by a time god and given a mission to stop the catalyst of the end of the world. it starts with tutoring.

Friends to Lovers AU

Dani Phantom/Irey West (Short Circuit) - it's not abnormal to see a speedster in the Zone, in fact, you could even call it a normal occurrence. Dani's favorite visits are from a cute, sassy, redhead.

Fight/Heal

Sam Manson/Zatanna Zatara (Black Rabbit) - Zatanna didn't mess with necromancy. there were just some things magic shouldn't meddle in, and she knew that, so when the Justice League called her to interrogate a known necromancer, she's weary. Sam is at the same time exactly what Zatanna expected, and nothing like she thought. (fills the prompt because necromancy is the opposite of healing, which insinuates necromancy can heal too.)

Enemies to Lovers AU

Tucker Foley/Tim Drake (Techno Geek) - Tim is constantly trying to stop Hacktavist TooFine from breaking into the Wayne servers. it becomes something of a game, and Tim finds himself enthralled in the puzzle.

Royalty/Servitude

Jazz Fenton/Jason Todd/Roy Harper (Street Smarts) - Jason and Roy find themselves getting sacrificed by a cult to the Ghost King as his eternal servants. they weren't expecting Queen Regent Jazz to decline their offer.

No Capes AU

Danny Fenton/Clark Kent (Last Suns) - Danny always believed in aliens. it was part of the reason he became an astronaut. he never expected to actually meet one. he also never expected them to be a farmer.

this post has been such fun to make, i love a good rare pair and these prompts are killer. i won't be doing any of these, i have mine planned out already, but let me know if you'd like a sneak peek ;) or if you'd like more variations on the prompts. happy creating!!!

[rainbowxocs]

Name: Immanuel Ansley.

Special Titles: Lord Immanuel.

Age: 23

Pronouns: They/Them

Sexuality: Asexual, Panromantic.

Gender: Nonbinary.

Species: Hybrid (Christ)

Disorders: Compulsive Lying OCD, CPTSD, Autism, Anxiety.

Religion: Atheist.

Job: None.

Lives in: West Virginia, America, 2034.

Languages: English, Heavenly. + Most Languages.

Height: 5’2”

Race: Middle Eastern.

Ethnicity: Heavenly, Jewish.

Accent: Slightly Off, Cheery.

Animal Form: Sparkly Ferret

Powers: Shapeshifting, Zero Gravity, Teleporting, Healing, Walking on Water, Exorcisms, Necromancy, Summoning, Changing Objects, Controlling Plants/Nature, Controlling the Weather, Dimension Creation, Flight, Hypnosis,

Weapons: Holy Knife.

Alignment: Chaotic Good.

Text Color: Black, Blue when Lying.

Main Animal: Ferret.

Main Hobbies: Sculpting, Foraging, Mycology, Playing Pretend, Kalimba, Piano, Flowers.

Diet: Carnivorous.

Favorite Drinks: Apple Juice, Hot Chocolate, Peppermint Tea.

Favorite Meals: Octopus Hotdogs, Pizza, Burritos, Tuna Eyeballs, Sushi, Breadsticks, Lucky Charms, Chicken Nuggets.

Favorite Candy: Lollipops, Pixie Sticks.

Favorite Desserts: Gingerbread Cookies, Cherry Bonemarrow Icecream.

Favorite Flower: Butterwort, Dandelions.

Scent: Rain, Moss, Vanilla.

Birthday: October 31st 2009. (Scorpio.)

Theme:

Playlist:

Fun Facts: They know how to kill a wide variety of species. :)

Special Interests: Mushrooms, Minecraft, Sculpting.

Stims: Spinning, Dancing, Singing, Handflapping, Pressure Stims, Acupressure Rings, Soft Things.

Stimboard: LINK

Moodboard: LINK

Fashionboard: LINK

Comfort Objects: Old Teddy Bear.

Family:

God. (Creator.)

Lucifer Morningstar, The Traveler. (Estranged Siblings.)

Alexander Leverett (Adoptive Brother.)

Michael Ansley (Adoptive Brother, Nephew Technically.)

Samuel Coleman (Adoptive Uncle.)

Micah Coleman (Adoptive Uncle.)

Pets:

Mycena Amicta (Ferret)

Breadstick (Ferret)

Brief Personality: It’s hard to fully pinpoint Immanuel’s personality, when they don’t know someone they will change their personality on a whim, becoming whatever the other person wants them to be. However once you get closer to them you can start to see the true them underneath all of that. A creative, socially awkward, dork.

Brief Backstory: Immanuel was born to kill. That is their purpose according to heaven. Their goal from the moment they were made was to kill the Antichrist by any means necessary. And Immanuel became a perfect killing machine, cold, calculating, being able to manipulate anyone who got in their way. They were punished and trained relentlessly throughout their entire childhood.

However, Heaven didn’t take into account what would happen when Immanuel was able to step out into the world and see what it’s really like. Less destruction at every corner and more beautiful. And when Immanuel met Michael it was even more of a shock to him that Michael was not a soul sucking evil monster but just, a guy.

Immanuel was able to escape from heavens grasp and began to heal and grow with their new family.

[banthacakes]

friday morning fic recs

sup my little pademelons. life is a lot, so i'm gonna do a weekly ish rec list of things i have read and loved. mostly it will be fic, but it might also be articles, like the one about the cows (see end of post).

Game of Thrones

Great Golden Fool, by Aviss - Post going to see Stoneheart, Jaime is a jerk with growth. Jaime/Brienne

breath and bone, by jencat - Modern AU full of GRIEF and beautiful landscapes and going home and *clenches fist*. Please have feelings here immediately. Jaime/Brienne

Succession

cashmere, cologne and hot sunshine, by allandmore99 - there's something so lyrical about this tiny story, about Gerri and Roman after Italy.

Batfam

Like a Hinge, Like a Wing, by Ultrageekatlarge - I can't describe this, hangon: The problem is that Tim’s spent the past month or so slowly getting murdered. An excellent take on the way Tim joins the batfam.

The Next Life, by spqr. In which Tim tracks down Constantine, and learns Necromancy. This one has been sitting with me for a while.

Star Trek

24 x 22 cm, by leupagus and rageprufrock. So old (2012)! A very silly AOS academy shenanigan. Comforting.

The 1000 hour sleep, by spqr. This is SNW Kirk but gave me a lot of AOS vibes. Kirk/Spock (which, despite these two recs, is not usually my jam!)

Star Wars

The Size of the Soul, also by spqr, yes I was reading their back catalogue, shit I hope I remembered to comment on everything. Full modern AU, Obiwan accidentally kills Sheev and then tries to cover it up. Ultimately Obiwan/Anakin/Padme.

Not fiction!

‘These cows saved my life’: the Queensland farm offering healing cattle cuddles

okay havagoodone

[sexiestpodcastcharacter]

Sexiest Podcast Character — Unscripted Bracket — Round 4

Propaganda

Gable (Campaign: Skyjacks):

7ft tall silver-haired thembo of a fallen angel. was the literal sword of god until they killed him! reasons slightly unclear but probably sure to forbidden queer love! super caring for their friends. has one friend they have known for hundreds of years who they HATE but are bound to by the red string of fate. their sword is a part of them, they can sheathe it into a tattoo. they start out indistinct at the edges but as they have continued on through the campaign they have become more and more distinct. they became a flaming engine of justice to kill their friends shitheaded older brother who was following him. they have learned enough necromancy to allow other fallen angels to die, even though they typically cannot. they fly giant birds in to battle.

7ft tall beefcake wielding a sword as tall as they are. vengeful sweetheart

Imagine now: a fallen angel with beautiful gray hair and very big muscles. Now imagine them with a 9 ft sword. Now imagine them as a helmsperson of a pirate ship in a flowy deep-v pirate shirt. Now imagine they're dumb as a fucking rock. And finally, imagine that they killed god. Here, you have made Gable Skyjacks: sexiest podcast character of all time.

7ft tall nonbinary/genderfluid thembo fallen angel sky pirate who wields a buster sword. silvergrey hair with black/gold streaks as they regain feathers/memories of before their fall. back is covered in tattoos that hide the scars of their shredded off wings. killed God. toxic exes with lucifer. they are the keeper of several giant war birds who occasionally crave human flesh. they enjoy getting rowdy/smoking rope with their boys. they collect rocks that they think are neat. When anyone admits they are attracted to them, Gable trips over their words and absolutely swaglessly ends up sounding stupider and sexier by the end of the conversation; the will they/won't they and teasing they dish out to these (un?)lucky few is palpable. Sometimes the buster sword is on fire. They are immortal, they are cringe, they are trying to atone because they believe they are the reason the world is ruined.

Okay so aside from all of the above (giant with a matching giant flaming sword, killed god, extreme dumbass), here's some more propaganda for Gable the Godkiller.

They've escaped death multiple times with their partner in... crime? Like literally they were about to be executed in the most brutal way possible and just. Escaped and killed all their captors in the snowy wastelands.

They are the helmsperson of the Uhuru and take this job very seriously and definitely haven't left it to Bowser (you know, like from Mario) multiple times. Can steer that flying ship in horrible weather and still make it to port safely.

Healed an entire fucking hospital by cutting their hair for someone they had the hots for who was also in the hospital. Imagine being on that level of myth making in some random port city because of a hair cut.

Giant bird caretaker and also took the giant birds out on their friend's bachelor party (this was like. his Xth polyamorous marriage at this point btw) and had a fucking blast getting high on some rope and fucking around. They've also flown these birds into combat and looked cool as hell doing it (see: killing their friend's shithead of an older brother in a joust).

Had a relationship with Lucifer the Morning Star before they fell as an angel and killed God. Literally the reason the stars fell was their love for each other. The world would not look the same without Gable and they are, at the very least indirectly responsible for the creation of the Church of the Slain God and everything it represents (fantasy Catholicism).

And also yeah they are regularly tripping over themself and saying very silly things. 10/10 character we love Liz Anderson and Gable in this house

I am seeing people say that this Nicky fellow is basically trans! That's very cool! Gable is actually trans. Pronouns they/them/any presentation whatever they feel like.

Gable held a bachelor party for a BFF where the attendees hunted from their sky birds, wore dresses, and still managed to keep their eyeliner on point!

Gable killed God because he wouldn't let them be queer. They should rightfully crush anyone in their path.

Nicky Close (Dungeons & Daddies):

One armed half-demon man with a sword (also a Dedicated, Involved, Loving Father). (Specifically campaign 2, where he is an adult)

Transmasc bisexual (or at least so widely accepted as such it's basically canon) dilf half-demon let's start with the basics

And by half-demon I mean the literal prince of Hell

But also simultaneously is Saint Nicolas get you a man who can do both specifically this man

Missing an arm cause his ex-friends tragically betrayed him and shot it off but he doesn't need two arms to show you a good time wink wink ;)

The betrayal in question forced him to be seperated from his also hot milf voice actress wife and their son which is sad but in like a way that makes him sexier

Uses his one hand to wield a flaming katana that he used to rescue his son from the FBI

Protects his family with his life very literally which is hot as hell

Big himbo energy couldn't come up with a good plan if he used 100% of his brain

When he does fail at things it's pretty cute honestly

Definitely played a variety of musical instruments before the whole arm thing happened! Maybe he still does idk he's a sexy mystery

2 in 1 deal! This man was born from the merging of two timelines! Kinda sick!!! Also two dads = twice the daddy issues

You'd think the whole being forcibly split from his family thing would mean he isn't very close with his son but nope! His son adores him! They get along great!!!

His mom is simultaneously alive and dead

His mom bagged fucking two different dudes (one of whom FOUND HER DEAD in a different timeline, both of which are demons)

HIS MOMS NAME IS MORGAN FREEMAN, HIS DAD’S NAME IS GLENN CLOSE, AND HIS OTHER DAD’S NAME IS JODIE FOSTER, AND HIS GREAT SOMETHING GRANDFATHER’S NAME IS MERYL STREEP

HIS SONS NAME IS TAYLOR SWIFT

Lifelong pot smoker 👍 (plus drug flower user!!)

CANONICALLY BOTH A POLO WEARER (and yes, has all the stereotypes of that attached with it — a nerd, which is hot) AND A LEATHER JACKET WEARER (which also has all the stereotypes attached with it — a rebel dude person, which is also hot) [<- all widely accepted as canon by the fandom even as he’s older]

A part of the SECOND BIGGEST ship of season two, (Nark) despite the two characters only having one-two canon interactions (one of which JUST happened last episode)

Man’s a himbo what’s hotter than that

So many fucking names. You try to tag him in anything and he takes up half the space. That’s probably hot. For someone out there

This was already mentioned but so very very trans. Like. It’s basically canon

Rock and roll(er)

Joined a group of thieves called the watermice when he was like 13

for a few minutes had a guitar called the Battle Axe of Hatred

definitely had an frienimies with benefits relationship with his childhood friend Lark (sorry ppl that don’t ship nark lol) (it’s canon after ep 44 hah)

I feel like the audio of the entire Nick-breaking-into-the-FBI scene should be propaganda, but I'm copying select bits from the transcript:

Anthony: Yeah, it kind of echoes up through the vent, like the beginning of Metal Gear Solid. You hear a voice that strikes you as ever so slightly familiar, Taylor. Saying—  ??: [a deep voice] [echoing in the vent] Where is he?  Anthony: You hear—  Will: Uh-oh, he’s hot.  Anthony: —a bunch of shouting voices.  [giggles]  Beth: Uh-oh! Anthony: You hear a bunch of shouting voices and people shouting for him to get down on the ground to turn off his flame. To fucking get his hands behind his back. You hear this rhythmic stepping forward— because his footsteps don't sound like anybody else's because it's almost like… y’know when you toss a little bit of water onto a really hot pan and it just sizzles like that? It's like every footstep he's taking, you can hear that— Freddie: Cool  Anthony: — and you can feel some of that heat coming up in this vent, even though you can't see him at this point. And he goes—  ??: [echoing] Where. Is. My. Boy? Anthony: You hear the FBI agent—the FBI in quotation marks agent—in the back going like—  Agent: [echoing] He's safe for now. If you want to go ahead and make sure that he stays that way, you feel free to go ahead and step inside the suite that we've prepared for you, my boy. Anthony: And you hear the hot guy voice saying—  [chuckles]  The Hot Guy: [echoing] I don't think that's going to happen.

...

[a powerful rush of air builds] Anthony: You hear—  [gunfire, and the air rush culminates in a burst of flame; from underneath the fire, metal music starts playing] Anthony: —plumes of flame exploding.  [a person’s pained shout, gunfire and bursts of flame continue]  Anthony: You can feel the heat radiating through this metal vent and it's actually beginning to hurt and burn your hands.

...

Anthony: And you hear blood—  [sizzling]  Anthony: —hitting the fucking ground and you hear sizzling and things boiling and burning. Taylor: That could just be coffee! That could just be coffee. Link, let's go. Anthony: And you are getting closer and closer to the elevator. And you hear that same hot voice say—  The Hot Guy: [echoing] Where the hell is Taylor?

Gable and Nicky Together:

We are on a joint ticket now! This is a truly unbeatable combo. Not even god can nerf it because Gable killed him. Vote for us. Nicky Close will watch your stuff and play with your cats while Gable gives you the night of your life.

Killian Fangbattle (The Adventure Zone: Balance):

she's an orc! she's really fuckin strong! she's a butch lesbian! she has a short fuse, loves to joke, and loves to threaten! and she is very soft and loves ducks + her lizard wife.

I don't even think I need to say anything here, we were all smitten the moment Griffin said "orc woman"

Art of Nicky by @llumimoon.

[kurt-wagner-official]

Post #113: UXM issues 230-231

Finally, we get to slow down and see Ororo rejoicing in her powers as she flies over Australia. Down below, Maddie is regaining her own agency in a nice parallel as she explores the Reavers' sophisticated computers. She's getting the hang of it and is proud to finally have a way to contribute to the X-Men, although tragically it comes much to late to heal the X-Men-related rift between her and Scott. Using the computers, she guides the X-Men through a sparring session, which goes very well. The team has finally learned to trust each other, and with Ororo back, they finally have a good leader (no offense Logan, but that is not your strong suit). One X-Man didn't show up though- Longshot's psychometry powers are drawing him to the Reavers' vault of stolen money and treasure. Some of the stolen objects have absorbed the psychic energy of their own violent history and have manifested as lonely spirits, which overwhelm Longshot and render him comatose. While he sleeps off the mental overload, Ororo cleans their base of operations, which is under a ghost town, and Anna brings a picnic basket of food to Gateway. It's a nice beat for her; other than maybe Logan, she's the loneliest X-Man, and unlike him, she's not content to wallow in loneliness, so it makes sense that she'd reach out. Longshot wakes up and tells everyone how much residual tragedy the Reavers left in their wake, and they decide to fix as much as they can by returning all of the treasure. After Longshot and Betsy have read and sorted every piece of loot, Gateway sends the X-Men all around the world returning the items in secret. Ororo's errands bring her to New York, where she sees the New Mutants miserable in a snowstorm mourning their mentors who abandoned them. Ororo gives their spirits a little boost by clearing up the weather enough for them to keep caroling. When the deliveries are finally done, the X-Men realize that, by coincidence or fate, they delivered all that stuff on Christmas Eve. As everyone relaxes and enjoys the good feeling, Anna takes some cake and a wooden recorder to Gateway as a Christmas present. He still doesn't say anything, but he motions for her to sit with him and plays her a song. This was my favorite issue in a while, and one of the sweetest ones. It was cool to see Longshot center stage in a dramatic role, and he was probably the one who got the most catharsis out of helping lost spirits. And the whole team got a reminder that no matter how dark their world has become, they don't have to stay edgy; they can spread joy just as well as justice. And Anna and Gateway is such a sweet friendship. This is the kind of one-off story Claremont was writing at his peek, and even though he's gotten a little too excited about plots and X-mythology lately, he can still write some really lovely character moments and a totally sappy Christmas story.

We open with a short scene of Illyana, dressed in fancy clothes and in a trance, being prepared to be eaten by a mysterious villain. Elsewhere and else when, Peter is letting off some steam by smashing Australian rocks. He's still unable to revert to human form, and he doesn't realize just how hot his steel skin gets in the sun until he picks up his sketchbook and it catches fire. He starts sobbing, until Ororo comes to cool him down literally and emotionally. He tells her how worried about his sister he's been, and how he can't concentrate enough to control his strength. Ororo doesn't think it's a good idea for him to break their cover with a visit, but the choice is taken out of her hands when Gateway offers Peter a portal. It turns out he sensed Illyana casting a necromancy spell from Limbo, trying to bring Peter to life, so he sends Peter there. He finds her battling S'ym for control of Limbo. Between the T/O virus from Magus and the army of rebel demons and enslaved Right members Illyana sent him, S'ym is approaching Illyana in power, and seeks to dethrone her. Peter attacks him, impervious to both his T/O and magic powers, but Illyana calls him back; this isn't why she brought him here. Earlier today, she was reading some Russian literature when some of the characters appeared in real life and kidnapped her to bring her before Baba Yaga, the Russian witch that eats kids. Illyana escaped, but Baba Yaga has cut off the mansion from magic, so she needed Peter to go save her team. He does so, beating up evil witch minions and destroying things left and right. To reach the kids, he has to use all his will to return to human form and squeeze through a gap, before reverting back to destroy Baba Yaga, whose weakness is metal. Illyana cures her friends of the precooking spells on them, and Peter compliments her on a good plan well executed. She says she doesn't deserve that, because she's evil and she only did this because she wanted to, and he tells her that's all good people ever do. She thanks him and releases him as Gateway takes him back. She thinks about resurrecting him again, but thinks about what he said and decides not to, knowing such a spell could corrupt her into Darkchilde forever. She goes back to the mansion, and S'ym monologues evilly about how Baba Yaga was one of his minions, sent to either kill or corrupt Illyana. It didn't work, but he'll only need to succeed once to take over Limbo. I liked this issue. It made me realize something; Ororo, in her attempt to become the leader and hero mutantkind needs, has placed herself above human emotion. She still loves and cares as deeply as ever, but it's a little aloof and detached, like a guardian angel rather than a mother. And of course, Logan has always separated himself from his emotions. But Peter refuses to feel any less deeply and humanly, despite being cut off from his human form. If the X-Men followed his lead- if they didn't cut themselves off from the New Mutants and X-Factor- Inferno would have been prevented. But of course, they don't know what's coming, and trying to live outside of the world has made them all the more blind to it.

[orelmoralton]

Orel Puppington

EDIT

-"The Lord's Greatest Gift"

Gender Male

Hair Brown"

• 12 until end of season 3

• 13 by the end of the show

• 4 in "Beforel Orel: Trust"

Orel Puppington is the protagonist and titular character of the series. He is Clay and Bloberta Puppington's son, as weIl as Shapey's older maternal half brother.

PersonalityTRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS

Orel is patient, curious and unconditionally nice, all rare traits in Moralton. He tends to wear his big heart proudly on his sleeve, like when he exclaims "Golly!" or "Hot dog!" when excited. Orel's ultimate goals are to follow God's will and do the right thing, although these may clash at times or lead to catastrophic results. Nevertheless, his good nature rubs o on characters like Reverend Putty and Stephanie.

For most of the show, his dening fault is naivete. Many episodes are fueled by him being manipulated or misled by his elders, most apparent when he tries to apply Reverend Putty's sermons to comical extremes (such as raising the dead because they're "wasting" God's gift of life). While he eventually learns why everyone is miserable in his town and to not take everything at face value, he still tries to be the best person he can.

It takes a lot for someone to get on Orel's bad side; Clay only manages to after two seasons' worth of abuse, culminating in him shooting Orel in the leg.

Orel has his fair share of hobbies. One of his favorites is stop motion animation: at the end of most episodes, Orel makes a short lm that reects what he learned starring Biblical heroes. He was also one of Coach Stopframe's best runners, a star prayer for his elementary school, accomplished in multiple other sports, and a Pious Scout. In addition to these skills, Orel possesses several unusual ones as the plot demands, such as necromancy, hand-to-hand combat prociency, package delivery and running businesses.

History

When he was a toddler, Orel had blind trust in everyone and everything. While his grandfather tried to raise him as a rational young lad for a bit, Ms. Censordoll tried to "scare Orel sacred" into blindly following God. Both of these approaches worked to some extent: Orel grew into a devout Christian, but he would try to apply rational thinking to what he learned at church. As the show progressed, Orel's beliefs expanded past the town's rigid doctrine; in "Praying," he practices Buddhist meditation, and in "Holy Visage," he goes against what he thinks is God's will for the sake of healing Dr. Chosenberg.

Orel's actions had a ripple eect on many characters. Reverend Putty, for example, was selsh and desperate for love until Orel taught him how to be grateful for what he had. When Orel

TRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS

bonded with Coach Stopframe in "Honor," the man realized that he was better o without Clay.

At rst, Orel either couldn't fully comprehend why the adults of Moralton would do horrible things to him (such as putting down his dog, or taking Christina away from him for minute dierences in faith) or believed any justication Clay left him. After a disastrous hunting trip, wherein he severely damaged his leg and limped for the rest of his life because of Clay, he started to understand why his father and the rest of town acts like they do.

It's implied in the series nale that Orel lives as a happy and mature parent, married to Christina, without ditching his religion. He also stays in Moralton in order to make it a better place.

During his childhood, Orel sang a hit song from Crooning Jesus and made a short lm.

Orel as an adult

Relationships

Clay Puppington

Orel used to consider his father as a wise and noble man. In reality, Clay ignored Orel until he caused trouble, where he would spank and lecture the kid to correct his behavior. These spiels were often contradictory or cynical, such as when he tells Orel that all love eventually fades. Even though Orel still respected Clay before the hunting trip, he was well-aware of his rampant drinking and the beatings endured in his study.

Orel's respect for his old man shattered in "Nature," as he realized that Clay was a miserable and selsh bully. The two wouldn't talk to each other much for six months afterward. Still, Orel felt guilty that he couldn't honor Clay during Christmas. After a fun-lled Christmas with Coach Stopframe, he taught Orel that Clay made who he is, and that was worth honoring in a way. A picture of him on Orel's wall at the end of the series implies that he acknowledges Clay in some capacity.

Bloberta Puppington

Bloberta and Orel have little in common. Most of Blobs' interactions with him stem from her

TRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS desire to look like a good mother rather than any interest in her son. Outside of that, she's indierent to whatever Orel does or what others do to him. While Orel respects her, he knows that she's unhappy with her family, including him.

After Bloberta learned what happened on the hunting trip, she gave Orel a bit more attention. The most genuine concern she showed about Orel was in "Honor," where she thought Orel should be in the family choir. It's implied that Orel still remembers her in the episode's ashforward.

Shapey Puppington

Although Shapey can get on his nerves, Orel still loves him and wants him to be safe (a hard task when his parents give Shapey an abundance of power tools). When they were very young, Orel almost sacriced Shapey at an altar, thinking that God would intervene. In "The Best Christmas Ever," he thought Shapey was the second coming of Christ and treated him as such. Orel eventually gave his gurines and stop motion camera to Shapey and Block for Christmas in "Honor," and it's implied that he still cares about him years later.

Arthur Puppington

Arthur is Orel's paternal grandfather and one of Orel's few good inuences. He taught Orel about rational thinking when the kid was suddenly dropped o at his house, both to counteract Moralton's aggro brainwashing and atone for how he raised Clay. After Orel told everyone about nature and questioned the existence of God, he was forbidden from seeing his grandpa.

If the show continued, Arthur would have stayed at the Puppington residence to ride out a terminal illness. He would give advice to Orel until his death, which would deeply upset the kid.

Block Posabule

When the Posabules moved away in "The Lord's Prayer", they accidentally left Block with the Puppingtons. Orel treated Block as he would Shapey, and is the only person who can tell them apart other than his father (who simply doesn't care). "Honor" implies that he still cared about the guy.

Christina Posabule

Christina is Orel's childhood crush and eventual wife. They were initially forbidden from seeing

TRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS each other because they said their prayers dierently, but this didn't stop them from going to the Arm's Length Dance during the events of "Closeface." In "Honor," they would have 2 children and a pet dog.

Coach Stopframe

Coach Stopframe considered Orel one of his best runners. Sometimes, he used Orel as a way to check up on Clay, or in "Satan," as a sacricial lamb to win Clay's heart. Orel didn't understand why he did these things until "Honor," where the two bond during Christmas while dealing with their feelings about Clay.

Doughy Latchkey

Doughy is Orel's best friend, usually accompanying Orel in his misadventures no matter how scared he gets. Although Doughy's usually content and carefree, Orel is the only person who notices Doughy's rocky relationship with his parents. Doughy's need for good parents can sometimes end up hurting his buddy, as he manipulates him in "Trigger."

Reverend Putty

He delivers sermons at Orel's church. Orel respects him dearly, paying close attention to his sermons and always willing to meet him after hours. Despite Putty getting annoyed by him at times, Orel helps him see the bright side of things and do his best for the congregation.

Stephanie Foamwire-Putty

Stephanie is one of few characters that tries to guide Orel in the right direction. In most of her episodes, she's seen giving advice to Orel and letting him clean up her shop. Orel looks up to her because she's unconditionally nice to him, viewing her as a maternal gure

Joe Secondopinionson

Despite Joe picking on or hitting him, Orel considers Joe a friend and pities him. He spent time with Joe during "Maturity" committing crimes in a misguided sense of loyalty.

Appearances

Season One

TRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS

• All episodes

Season Two

• All episodes

Season Three

• All episodes, to varying degrees

◦ In "Alone," Orel's voice is heard and he appears on a newspaper trimming.

Other

• "Beforel Orel: Trust"

• He appears in four promos for "Beforel Orel: Trust."

◦ Orel makes a surprise appearance during a Mary Shelley's Frankenhole marathon to announce the special.

◦ He pretends that he's a washed-up actor, riding out the rest of his life after losing his job.

◦ Young Orel asks what two goats are doing to each other.

◦ The "lost episode" promo reuses several shots of him.

• He talks before and after the "Rev. Putty Sermons" shorts and raises his hand in "Necrophilia."

• "Abstinence:" He talks to Doughy throughout the episode.

• "Raped:" Orel delivers Ms. Sculptham's ring at her wedding.

• "Narcissism:" Orel and Stephanie help Rev. Putty talk to Florence.

Trivia

This section contains speculation. Please keep this in mind as you read it.

• Orel's must be 13 at the end of the series, as he celebrates his 12th birthday in "Maturity," followed by the two Christmas episodes (implying a full year has passed during this stretch).

• Orel's name means "light of God" in Hebrew.

TRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS

◦

• According to Dino Stamatopoulos, Orel wears blue throughout the series to symbolize his innocence. A blue crane follows him in "Nature" to similar eect.

• Some episode synopses on Adult Swim and Amazon erroneously referred to him as "Moral."

Gallery

LC #17: Thou shalt adorn Articles with images of fair quality.

One or more images in this gallery do not meet our image standards. Please update or remove these images, then remove this message.

Orel in church, waving to the people walking in or sitting Orel making friends with Missing Link down

Orel and Doughy on a Pious Scout trip

Orel listening to the radio with his family

Orel Puppington | Moral Orel Wiki | Fandom

TRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS

Orel at four-el

His appearance in "Abstinence"

MORE INFORMATION

Orel Puppington | Moral Orel Wiki | Fandom

Top Contributors

TRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS

Categories

Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.

EXPLORE PROPERTIES

Fandom Fanatical

Muthead

FOLLOW US

OVERVIEW

What is Fandom? Terms of Use

About Privacy Policy

Careers Global Sitemap

Press Local Sitemap

Contact

COMMUNITY

Community Central Help

Support Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Orel Puppington | Moral Orel Wiki | Fandom

ADVERTISE

Media Kit TRY FANCENTRALGAMESMOVIESTVVIDEOWIKIS

Contact

FANDOM APPS

Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat.

Moral Orel Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community.

VIEW FULL SITE