#int -> roland.

[rhysdasiorarchive]

closed starter for @councillor-roland

Rhys visited Le Clair de Lune only on occasion – most commonly for the sake of the peace and quiet it offered alongside a drink selection that reminded him of the swanky overpriced restaurants just like it back in London in both menu contents and price. Finn’s trial had concluded in what Rhys considered to be the most jarring way imaginable. With Eros being attacked on the way to Finn’s execution, everything went straight back to square one and Rhys couldn’t shake the feeling that things were only going to worsen with each passing day; more so than before. Needless to say, a little overindulgence was a mandatory requirement consequently. He had to numb the jagged wound of shock with old pastimes and clinging to normality as he once knew it would likely do the trick. Whilst being a witch held many benefits, he found consistently heightened emotions to be a notable downside.

Offering a brief wave to the maître d' as he strolled through the doors, Rhys knew he wouldn’t have to say a word. Heading out onto the rooftop to overlook the castle grounds, he leaned against the railings and inhaled slowly, closing his eyes to let the events of the day roll over him in an all-encompassing wave. As his usual order of an old fashioned cocktail was gently placed beside him by one of the waiters, Rhys slowly opened his eyes and exhaled the stressors of the trial into the breeze. He took the glass with one hand and reached into the breast pocket of his blazer for his cigarette case with the other. If he would have known what kind of circumstances were awaiting him within Krovs, the witch wasn’t so sure he would have accepted the position he held now quite so readily. 

Rhys took a tentative sip from the glass and clenched his jaw as the familiar burn of the bourbon begin to wash away the woe of the day’s events – his investigations conducted in Portugal and Spain with Seth had uncovered more information than they’d started with, that was something, but it hadn’t been enough. The attacks were still occurring and an innocent familiar was almost murdered because of a collective miscalculation that he had actively played a part in. Before his mind attempted to torture him any further, Rhys flicked open the case and nudged a cigarette out to rest between his lips, soon slipping the case back inside the safety of his blazer. He wouldn’t allow himself to wallow in disillusionment and self-pity for long: it wasn’t productive to do so but for a short while, it was still relatively acceptable. Digging out a lighter from another pocket, Rhys silently cursed his significant lack of skill with fire magic and inhaled sharply. Any form of distraction from his thoughts was welcomed, even in the form of acrid smoke and the false warmth of whiskey. 

A distraction he hadn’t counted on, however, came in the form of Belgium’s councilman. Rhys had been so consumed by his own mind and emotions that he hadn’t even registered Roland’s presence as he’d practically stormed out onto the rooftop. It wasn’t until he took a step back from the edge and settled his focus in the immediate present that he sensed the unmistakable sensation of being observed. Turning his attention to the source, Rhys offered as genuine a smile as he could muster in his current state. “Mr de Rochefort. What a pleasant surprise. You’ll have to forgive me, I didn’t know you were here,” he neatened his posture before continuing – appearing unkempt before a councilman wasn’t quite the reputation he was willing to adopt just yet. “Can I get you anything? Something to take the edge off of that circus act of a trial, perhaps?”

[nahimarchive]

out of all the faces to properly acquaint himself with, there was one in particular that nahim placed significant importance on. he’d crossed paths with roland long ago, dragged by marcellino to some pointlessly extravagant soirée he’d had no desire to attend. frustratingly, it had been a mandatory requirement for his reintegration into society and he'd weathered it to the best of his ability at the time. with all the years that had come to pass since then, nahim could now recognise that his socialisation skills hadn’t been at their sharpest, but the way alix’s darling had spoken to him had irked him beyond belief and a grudge had formed in its wake. they’d even managed to move past it whilst in conversation, but such a fact did little to change nahim’s feelings on the matter. now that they would be expected to exist alongside each other in a much closer capacity, nahim saw no reason not to get the pleasantries out of the way before something of a more professional nature drew them together instead.

having dedicated far too much time to learning the castle’s layout in the weeks that had followed his arrival, wandering to roland’s suite from rhys' office felt as natural as wandering the palazzo back home. he knocked softly against the doors so as not to startle belgium’s councilman in any way – on the off-chance he’d be interrupting something, he’d rather approach delicately. despite the need to uphold some civility, it was far too tempting to let himself in but given how poorly roland had taken nahim’s interruption the last time they'd spoken, the last thing he wanted was a repeat of such a displeasing series of events. “roland? are you available for ten minutes?”

@councillor-roland

[rhysdasior]

closed starter for @councillor-roland

Their last face to face exchange hadn’t been… pleasant. Rhys had mulled tirelessly over how poorly he’d managed to suggest the (quite frankly ridiculous, in hindsight,) notion of a break between the two of them whilst he settled matters back in London. In his mind at the time, it had made perfect sense. Rhys barely knew what he’d be walking back into once he was on unfortunately familiar ground again; he couldn’t comprehend the notion of having to be emotionally present for another when he knew he’d barely be able to allocate any time to taking care of himself. Communication between them both had been limited – entirely due to Rhys’ continued negligence. It hadn’t been a conscious decision; simply an unfortunate byproduct of a deeply unfortunate and chaotic time. It was with immense relief – and, if he was willing to be honest with himself, excitement – that just under a month later, Rhys was finally able to tell Roland that he’d be back full-time and that everything could go back to how it should be.

With a text sent to have Roland meet him by the greenhouses once the stars were sufficiently littering the sky above (with a little magical influence to make the spectacle all the more breathtaking), Rhys made his way to the favoured meeting spot a few minutes early, taking in the familiar surroundings with a fondness he hadn’t known himself to possess previously. Laughably, a small part of him felt nervous to stand before Roland again. Rhys knew he had a fair few questions to answer, had explanations to provide for such appalling handling of the demand for such sudden separation – foolishly though, he hoped the lovesick pining he’d endured by his own doing had been equally felt by Roland. For a moment, at least, he needed the affection and reassurance that only Roland’s presence was able to provide. For the time being he kept his head down, tried to keep his breathing and his thoughts level, and waited as patiently as he could will himself to.

[caoimheart]

Orlo had to chat with his aunt at the ball in today’s session and he was...apprehensive

[classiqals]

{thomas doherty, 27, cismale, he/him} we are so glad to see you safe, KING ROLAND STUART of SCOTLAND! it’s dangerous out in the world these days, but i hear that you are RECKLESS and LOYAL TO A FAULT enough to handle it. just don’t let your DEMANDING NATURE bring you down! stay on your guard, because with your secret being at risk for exposure, you wouldn’t want everyone to find out YOU THINK YOU ARE BEING HAUNTED BY A GHOST AND IT'S GIVEN YOU INSOMNIA.

BASICS;

nicknames: ro

sexuality:  bisexual

relationship: devoutly single

date of birth:  july 22nd

zodiac sign:  cancer/leo cusp baby

moral alignment: chaotic good (?)

hobbies: gardening, writing, hiking, camping under the stars, horse riding, fishing, swimming, anything to do with the outdoors, archery, storytelling, folklore.

dislikes: ghosts, witchcraft, conflict, excessive rain, broken promises.

politics/loyalty: he was not raised to think as a leader, for a nation... so instead, his loyalty, politics, and decisions are most guided by his heart. he is loyal to his loved ones above all else.

inspirations: tba

DETAILS;

as a child, roland clung to his mother's leg and listened to her tales of dark fantasy with wide, dreaming eyes - taking to the moors before lessons, and never able to sit through a full reading. he would take to his journals, inspired by the folklore of the highlands, creating new tales from his own mind, and dabbling in a world of gruesome fantasy.

he was able to get away with such whimsy for a spell; the youngest of four, when was he to ever lead a kingdom? it was not by his parent's urging, but that of his peers, to finally grow up into a young man rather than a boy with his head in the clouds.

so he did; he grew, becoming a fine rider, a fine hunter, a fine dancer. a son that the stuart's were proud of, even if his habit of journaling fantastical thoughts && stories never quite left him. stolen afternoons up a tree could be kept secret, scribbling away in a world far from his own.

there was much to be said for the childhood he lived; he was not unlike his siblings in any way, each one as full of life as he, and he aspired to be like each one of them in different ways. always he felt close to their mother, her beautiful mind, and would trust anything she told him.

even if it involved the mythical. maybe she believed her stories more than she let on - she taught roland of special herbs, of ways to prepare them, secrets for curing illnesses and heartache. she taught him songs to recite when he was afraid, shapes to draw in the dirt for protection. he never told a soul. it was their secret, something for the two of them to have alone.

but now - she is gone, and he is king. it was never meant to go this way; he was never meant to find a seat of power, and he was not trained for this. his mother taught him love, and love oh, how it was a fearful concept now. love could tear apart everything his parents had built; it could be their downfall, but he cannot help it. if the siblings choose to make a vow against love, then he would honor it, for them.

for their safety, roland would do anything. he did not ask for this life, nor did he want it; but he rose to claim it. a promise was made to his mother, and he intends to keep it.... keep them together, roland, no matter what. in this world, all you have is your family. if they work together, everything will be fine. but can they work together?

since his mother's passing, with the sudden pressure of the duties of a king, roland has taken to sleepless nights and sleeping potions when desperate. dreams haunt him; he sees shadows in the corners of rooms; it feels he is watched from afar. his mother taught him to believe in spirits; and now, roland fears they dabbled too deeply in the mythical. perhaps he was being haunted - or hunted - by something int he beyond? perhaps the promises he gave when their hands were in the soil, meant more than he knew.

[thecreaturecodex]

Dogai

Image © @chimeride, accessed at their tumblr here

[The dogai are the archetypal monster in the lore of the Torres Straits. Unfortunately, they have a lot of Google camouflage. The assassin devil from D&D 3.5 and 4e is also called the "dogai". I have no idea if this is an intentional reference, or if it's a coincidence due to how many short combinations of syllables sound good. Like a lot of good ogres, they vacillate between dangerous and stupid, so I didn't want them to be super powerful. The appearance of the image comes from Oceanic Mythology by Roland Dixon, which refers to dogai as having the face of a flying fox.]

Dogai CR 4 CE Monstrous Humanoid This creature is a bestial humanoid, with a furry body and spindly, scaled arms and legs. Its face has a long muzzle and staring eyes, and its ears are as large as its body, wrapped around it like a shawl.

The dogai are bestial hags native to tropical islands. They are of low intelligence—few of them can speak Common, and they are rather foolish and easily tricked. Still, they are malicious and dangerous as any hag, and engage in much the same behavior as other hags, such as seducing people in disguise and kidnapping children in order to eat them.

A dogai often attacks from ambush, assuming the form of a beautiful woman or a harmless animal in order to get close enough to strike. These disguises are supplemented with mimicked vocalizations, including short snatches of intelligible speech. Once in combat, they rarely use tactics more creative than full attacks, but if they have a hard time clawing or biting a foe, may lash out with magic. Dogai are cowardly, and usually try to flee if they are losing a fight.

Dogai tend to live on remote islands uninhabited by other humanoids, and then travel to wreak havoc using magic. They usually wind walk at night, and their cloudy forms look something like humanoid constellations in the dark sky. Dogai can join and make covens as other hags can. Without a more intelligent hag to act as guidance, these covens can be especially destructive, but unfocused and disorganized.

Dogai    CR 4 XP 1,200 CE Medium monstrous humanoid (shapechanger) Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +5, scent Defense AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 13 (+3 Dex, +3 natural) hp 39 (6d10+6) Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +3 DR 5/cold iron Offense Speed 30 ft. Melee 2 claws +8 (1d4+2), bite +8 (1d6+2) Spell-like Abilities CL 4th, concentration +6 3/day—charm person (DC 13), meld with stone, pox pustules (DC 14) 1/day—wind walk (self only) Statistics Str 15, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 15 Base Atk +6; CMB +8; CMD 21 Feats Athletic,Deceitful, Great Fortitude Skills Bluff +10, Climb +8, Disguise +10, Fly +8, Perception +5, Stealth +7, Survival +5, Swim +8; Racial Modifiers +4 Bluff, +4 Disguise, +4 Fly Languages Aklo SQ change shape (animal or humanoid, polymorph), immense ears, snap shape, sound mimicry (animal calls, voices) Ecology Environment warm forests or coastal Organization solitary, pair or coven (1-3 plus 0-2 other hags) Treasure standard Special Abilities Immense Ears (Ex) Although a dogai cannot fly naturally, its immense ears act as windfoils and grant it a +4 racial bonus on Fly checks. They can be wrapped around the dogai as per a heavy blanket, and prevent falling damage from the first 30 feet of falling by acting like parachutes. Snap Shape (Su) A dogai can resume its natural form as a move action when using change shape. When it does so, it gains a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls and melee damage rolls for 1 round.

[krimsonkatt]

Ryuuta Satori (Final Apocolyptis Ver)

The main protagonist of Chronicles IV: The Last Dragon's Elegy and arguably the most important character in the entire Chronicles of Chronicles series. And yes, he is a guy. Ryuuta is biologically intersex and possesses both male and female anatomy, but identifies as male.

Ryuuta is a hybrid, being 58% dragonkin, 36% alfar, and 8% human. His mother was Makoto Satori, another hybrid who herself was 50% alfar, 25% human, and 25% dragonkin. Ryuuta's father was Yazna Dragonheart, king of the fire dragons who was 100% dragonkin. Makoto's father was Koros Satori, a half-human half-dragon, and Zenith Von Zerithia who was 100% alfar. So Ryuuta's genetic history is... complicated to say the least.

Ryuuta's mother Makoto died soon after he was born, so instead he was raised by the ex-archbishop of the Eternian Church, Astos Von Eternia. Astos wanted to create a village where humans and dragonkin could live in peace, as during Ryuuta's era dragonkin and humans were in conflict due to dracorage virus (basically dragon rabies that causes dragons to go mad and turn into monsters) evolving to become able to infect dragonkin who possess enough negative emotion.

Dragonkin began to be treated as second class citizens by humans, forced to wear "happiness collars" in human-run cities that administered drugs to them constantly that made them happy, zombie-like, and a little bit tipsy. Dragonkin obviously didn't like this so they self-segregated into their own dragonkin-only villages so they wouldn't have to suffer discrimination from humans. Astos wanted to create a city where humans and dragons could live in harmony free from all this discrimination, so he founded Neo Arcadia in Nabes Desert to address this issue.

Ryuuta was raised in this new city alongside his two friends, a human named Roland Von Nostra and a 1800-year-old dragonkin woman of the divine tribe named Idun Appleseed. There was a ritual all dragonkin did around this time once they hit maturity: the ritual of the holy flame. Young dragonkin would be split into teams and would have to accomplish some sort of task. Succeed and they could obtain their first dragonstone, a special stone holding a dragon's true potential, allowing them to temporarily change form into their true draconic forms.

However on this very important day disaster struck, as the forces of Devon Hartmut, King of the Devonvil Empire, a kingdom of dragon-hating human supremacists, were able to invade Arcadia, burn it to the ground, and kill Astos. Ryuuta, consumed with rage, transforms into a new dragon form never seen before, and ends up destroying the entire village, killing the few who remained except for Idun, Koros' guardian Owain, and Roland, who seemingly escaped to parts unknown.

Ryuuta calmed down thanks to Idun's song, leaving Arcadia and Nabes desert forever. He then settled down in the neutral city of Nostra alongside Owain while Idun left for the divine tribe city of Dragalia located in the northern mountains. Two years pass with Ryuuta and Owain making their money with simple mercenary work, until one day Koros learns that Dragalia is under attack by the forces of the fire dragon king, Yazna Dragonheart. Thus, Koros sets out to rescue Idun, and eventually save the entire world from the evil machinations of Devon, Yazna, and a mysterious third party manipulating things behind the scenes...

In gameplay Ryuuta is a well-balanced character, wielding a good selection of bladed weapons with varied attributes. His gameplay mainly revolves around striking elemental weaknesses with fast, focused strikes with good range. His Talent, which works differently in this game and can be triggered at will, is "Spirit Blade", changing Ryuuta's elemental affinity to either fire, water, thunder, force, light, or dark. Ryuuta's S-Talent is unique as it is not a screen-clearing attack like every other character in this game. Instead, it is a transformation, changing Ryuuta temporarily into one of his "dragon drive" forms, Valor Form, Wisdom Form, Instinct Form, or Ultima Form. These dragon forms are a manifestation of Ryuuta's mixed heritage as both an alfar and a dragonkin, fusing both races powers of fairy and dragon transformation into one combined form unique to him.

Koros' ultimate weapons include the Zalarok and Brignis, Solaris Tetra, Entropic End, and THE END. This is the final version of Ryuuta that will likely be made, which is why it's called the "final apocolyptis version." Ryuuta also appears in the game The End of Chronicles as a major character. Ryuuta is also a very central character to the lore for various reasons, but revealing those reasons would be MASSIVE spoilers. Let's just say that Ryuuta is the key to both the beginning AND end of the Chronicles series, okay? As such was prophesised in the Chronicles of Chronicles:

"And so a child shall be born to a woman of many bloods and a man of burning status. This child will bring disaster upon the world, the ruin of all. But also be this child a hero of light, bringing hope to a desolate future. He shall be the embodiment of the Original Presence, that ancient dragon of shining brilliance, and bring unity and peace to the dying tree. But he shall also beckon forth it's end, the rotting of the roots and the decaying of flesh. For this child will be of two destinies, one fated and one forlorn. A path of destruction leading to roads once walked, and a path of rebirth leading ever forward into a new day. Thus has been prophesised."

~Chronicles of Chronicles: Chapter VII, Verse 1:14-22

[betamax65]

@Roland Häder Moin Roland. Wenn man nun eine API Sektion in der config hat, dann wäre es doch praktisch diese Zeile: $this->max_toot_chars = (int)$config->get('config', 'api_import_size', $config->get('config', 'max_import_size'));

aus der Instances.php auch gleich mit abzuändern. Ich nutze z.B. den Wert api_import_size dazu, meinen Mastodon-Client mitzuteilen, das nur Beiträge mit max. 500 Zeichen erlaubt sind. Friendica prüft zwar nicht, aber die Mastodon-Clients nutzen dann den Wert um das Zeichenlimit zu setzen. Der Wert api_import_size ist allerdings nirgends so richtig weiter erwähnt, auch nicht in defaults.config.php. Der Wert max_import_size ist mit 200000 vorbelegt. Den habe ich dazu dann halt nicht genutzt, weil mir die Kenntnis fehlt ob es da nicht dann ungewünschte Nebeneffekte gibt.

Eine Veränderung auf $this->max_toot_chars = (int)$config->get('api', 'import_size', $config->get('config', 'max_import_size')); würde das dann erledigen. Ob man max_import_size einfach so verlegen kann, oder dann noch andere Stellen im Quelltext verändern müsste, wäre dann von jemanden zu schauen der mehr Sachkunde hat :-D

[hartatroll]

inget godkännande och ingen omprövningsrätt till gruvan i Fäbodliden så jävla trevligt när bra saker händer för en gångs skull

Roland gnäller över att vi inte får ett nytt Blaiken i vår kommun så klart, men jag tycker nog att all miljöförstöring mitt i ett viktigt källflöde till öreån och livskvalitetsförsämring i byarna däat som den gruvan skulle orsaka inte riktigt är värt några år av några extra jobb tills den går i konkurs och lämnar saneringen till skattebetalarna

[rhysdasiorarchive]

The suit is wrapped in an elegant box and both are delivered to Rhys’ office. A card tucked into the peonies reads: “You are more beautiful than any flower and the suit will only enhance what is already there. If it were in my power to give you the stars and take away all your sorrows I would. These will have to suffice as poor substitutes but I hope you enjoy them. Happy Valentine’s Day, cheri. Je t’aime. Yours, Roland”

Even if significant work is still to be done to repair the damage inflicted upon their relationship given the lengthy absence Roland had taken from it, the gifts bring a genuine smile to Rhys’ face for the first time in a while. After a few moments spent in silent admiration, the suit is carefully placed back into its box to be taken back to his suite later, the peonies placed on his desk and the card tucked away in his wallet for safekeeping. It’s a small step forward to rebuilding their bond and it’s one the witch is unsurprisingly grateful for. If there’s enough time left in the day, he’ll stop by Roland’s suite to offer a verbal thanks, but he’s determined not to fold and let him back in entirely just yet.

[itsthegrowth]

Reecie Colbert ...

In trying to choose a social media persona with presence - I wanted to avoid the famed twitter “blue check”. While being Twitter verified is a stamp of approval, it also means you've been somewhat vetted for authenticity - hence defeating the purpose of the assignment. I chose a woman whose videos I am familiar with and whose take on politics is one that I tend to agree with. Reecie Colbert - known online as @ blackwomenviews , is an Enclyclopedia on Vice President Kamala Harris. She is known for her sharp videos explaining any number of topics relating to politics, with a focus on Black female voters. The first step in my personal vetting journey was simply to read her Twitter bio. This would give me some basic info and see if there were any organizations or companies who could give me insight int Colbert’s online credibility. 

Jackpot! From her bio, I was able to learn that she is a contributor to the Roland Martin Show, as well as the Clay Cane show on Sirius XM. A quick google search gave me IMDB account which featured several photos of her on these and other shows as a commentator. This made me think that I should go back to Twitter and see if there were any additional photos that were not featured on IMDB that would tell me other organizations / companies she had done work for. It did not take long before scrolling through her timeline when I find video of her appearing on the MSNBC show “Symone” and phots taken at the Vice- Presidential residence! Colbert also has articles published on The Grio, a well- known online publication and a recent Amazon bestseller about the midterm elections.  I am not sure why none of these appearances merit an official twitter blue check ... but they confirmed my hypothesis that Colbert is a reliable, verifiable media source. Just for information’s sake, I dug a little further - appearances at the Congressional Black Caucus even and several other media / political events solidified my belief. 

https://thegrio.com/author/reecie-colbert/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm11823704/

[parasite-core]

It’s fun comparing my PCs stats using the ability score descriptions Paizo gave for Pathfinder 1e. Especially throwing Draven into the mix with her mythic powerhouse stats…despite her not always managing to live up to her stats due to her less than stellar luck (in universe and in meta).

Roland and Draven are both wiser than a Great Wyrm golden dragon, with Draven being *so* maxxed out in wisdom that she’s literally off the charts at 40 (even if we took away her status as Iomedae’s herald she’d still be off the charts at 36). Ileark follows them up at less wise than a Great Wyrm but still “basically prescient” at 26. My least wise character on the other hand, Sai, comes in at an 8 “forgets or fails to consider options”. Considering her go-to plans are “do what Hayden does”, “hex someone”, or “befriend the fuzzy animal”…yeah.

Strength is another fun one, because I forget who has absolute superhuman strength sometimes. Obviously Umbrolus at 24 without rage and 32 with rage. On the chart he goes from “pinnacle of brawn, able to out-lift several people” to “amongst the strongest creatures to have ever lives” just by getting a little feisty. Draven, however, always surprises me by also having a 24 base strength, and her spell Mighty Strength can get her up to 32 also, so she’s basically Umbrolus with high AC at that point. Roland having 20 strength feels like it should be surprising since he uses mostly ranged options, but remembering I originally built him as a mercenary sword fighter and he ended up fighting as a ranged spell caster organically over time as he grew into his cleric role is why his strength has gone mostly unused. That and low HP. He’s just really squishy. None of my characters in play are truly low strength. I have a bunch of 12 strength characters (Sai, Kiyo, Ileark), but nothing currently below that. Unless we go really far back to my first generation Pathfinder characters, in which case Jeffry and Jack had a 10 strength, although Jack beefed up his strength with mutagens.

Constitution would in theory be fun, but in action you can’t dump constitution without making a frail character who will go down in two hits *not naming any names, Rich* so none of my characters dip low enough in constitution to be noticeable, except again Jeffry and Jack because they were some of my first characters and Jeffry was supposed to be sickly so I made his constitution low without realizing it would affect his HP going forward for the rest of the game.

Like constitution, dex is often hard to justify dumping because it affects AC. I have a dhampir paladin I built with 8 dex who I imagine has a limp from an old injury, but I haven’t played her and honestly since my metamour played Berin a dhampir Paladin’s been done now so I probably won’t play her because it’ll feel like a rehash. Ironically even though Roland relies on ranged attacks his dex is his lowest stat at 14. He just relies on the fact he’s using touch attacks to get past AC.

Intelligence can be dumped, especially since it’s so much fun to play an absolute idiot. Enter Lucien, who started with 8 intelligence. He has 10 now because of a headband the party felt he *really* should wear, to which he immediately realized he’d made some very poor decisions after putting it on. As for my smartest character…well by a landslide it’s Jack with a 35 because he’s a super genius and also cheated by reading a book that made him smarter. But of my more recent characters it’s actually Sai at 23. Let’s hear it for high int low on wis. According to the chart she is as smart as a Great Wyrm Red Dragon, while Jack is just off the chart past a Great Wyrm Golden Dragon. Everyone wants to measure themselves against dragons these days…

Also Draven managed to get an 18 “genius level intelligence” by doing absolutely nothing. Friggin lazy mythic heroes.

Then there’s charisma. This is Draven’s lowest stat which is still really good for a regular person (16: popular, receives greetings and conversations on the street). That scans, she is a big damn hero, of course she’d be popular. Now…I don’t really play charisma casters or the face generally. I have a face/charisma caster lined up for Reign of Winter. He’s just starting out at level 1 with 18 base charisma, more than mythic Draven has already and equal to Ileark currently. He would be “immediately likeable by many people, subject of favorable talk”…whether that ends up true in action or not, we’ll see. He’s a bit of a manipulative bastard. As for lowest charisma…well Draven had an 8 for the longest time but I guess we can’t count former ability scores when she ended up at a 16 by the end between headbands and mythic boosts. Unfortunately Kiyo has an 11 which is something I’m trying to fix for their Blackjack persona. Umbrolus has a 9 charisma. He’s just a poor clueless puppy, he doesn’t know what social cues are or what he’s supposed to be adding to most conversations.

[asha-mage]

It's crazy to me how the story demonstrates that not only does Frani underestimate both his siblings, it ultimate proves that his beliefs about them are the complete inverse of reality

Frani believes Roland to be an irresponsible wastrel who dosen't value his duty or family enough, and in the end the story shows that Roland values his duty and his family to the point of near self destruction, being willing to give up his crown for the well being of his people, risk the chance of victory for the safety of his sister, and his life for vengeance on Frani's killer. Meanwhile Frani calls Cordelia a spoiled brat and clearly regards her as the weak link in the family, but under pressure she shows incredible strength of character and will, and an insight for politics that far outstrips the rest of her family, winning over unlikely allies and preparing to launch a counter coup against Gustadolph without any aid from Wolffort.

Anyways, I'm starting to like the head canon that after the Wolfforts run off to Centralia in Frederica's ending, that Cordelia succeeds in ending the age Salt and Blood, conquering Norzelia with Avlora's help and becoming its Empress.

[quickdrawy-blog]

@rclandwest liked

Arkansas sucks. This is the conclusion Tim has reached after being here less than an hour. He’s trying to be objective about it, but there’s only so much objectivity he can stomach before he starts to hate the sound of his own annoyingly hopeful inner monologue. Flights are boring enough as it is, but flying on prisoner transport is a special kind of eventless hell. The prisoner he’s currently shucking along goes by the name Crunch and he’s, as Tim very quickly discovered, partial to a monologue, in the way that only people from Kentucky seem to be.

On top of the flight there was an hour-long drive from the airport, during which Crunch described, shot-for-shot, his favourite episodes of Storage Wars. Even that would have been moderately interesting if Crunch hadn’t had a penchant for speaking in a low monotone that put Tim’s own carefully curated flatness to shame. He’s only too happy to finally be rid of him, watching the back of his patchily-shaved head disappearing down the corridor. There’s a certain sense of vindication that comes with hearing Crunch’s awful Appalachian drawl echoing back as he’s being tugged along to his new cell: y’all ever watch Storage Wars?

Tim huffs out a breath and turns abruptly, almost knocking into the only other guy on the corridor who isn’t working here. “Hey. ‘’Scuse me. Sorry. Where’s the nearest place to get a drink around here?”

[lovedirges-blog]

           how many times have they sat, that time has misshapen or forgotten, that turns of the wheel have taken from roland? how long in the tooth are they both now. the horn hangs at his hip, where it belongs, and in the dusty golgotha he has caught up to the man in black for the first, second, hundredth, thousandth time. that he no longer yaws on the spot and just shakes off that passing sensation of starting over is something considerable, all by itself.

( going in an elliptical orbit round and round can only teach roland so much, mind you. )

“ do you know? did you always? ”

@stageless / starter call.

[whitewaterpaper]

Månadens Filmer: April 2021.

Några dagar sent, men ändock så kommer här månadens skörd av filmer.

Arsenik och Gamla Spetsar (2012). 👍

Fredriksdalare som tillfälligt låg uppe på Eva Rydbergs YouTube-kanal. Trevlig liten fars om två systrar med en dödlig hobby.

Assassins (2020). 👍

Dokumentär om mordet på Kim Jong-nam, eller kanske framför allt det som framkom i utredningen efteråt och om hur två unga kvinnor blev en bricka i Nordkoreas maktspel.

East, the (2013). 👍

Thriller från den utomordentligt kompetenta duon Zal Batmanglij och Brit Marling. En privar säkerhetsfirma tar sig an att infiltrera en anarkistisk grupp och agenten som får uppdraget känner hur världen mellan gruppen och verkligheten blir allt mer otydlig.

Fantasy Island (2020).

Förväntade mig blodig splatter-skräck men fick en väldigt väl berättad skräckis. Har en fullständigt onödig twist på slutet men är bättre än recensionerna gör gällande.

Final Target ¤ Ava (2020). 👎 📺 🆓

Finns att se gratis på Viddla för oss med samverkande bibliotek.

Dramaaction om en lönnmördare som börjar tvivla på sitt jobb. Vill inte riktigt lyfta -- trots en skicklig Jessica Chastain i huvudrollen.

Gudarna Måste Vara Tokiga ¤ The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980).

Klassisk komedi som fortfarande kan vara rätt rolig. Tror inte jag sett den tidigare.

Kassören i Auschwitz ¤ Accountant of Auschwitz, the (2018). 👍

Dokumentär om fallet Oscar Gröning som en av de sista levande SS-medlemmarna ställdes inför rätta för medhjälp till mord på 300 000 personer. Dokumentären centrerar sig mycket kring den etiska debatten och Tysklands kämpande med att gå vidare.

Love and Monsters (2020).

Postapokalyptiskt drama med lätta stråk av teenegeangst. Avgjort bättre än väntat och jag gillar att monstren faktiskt inte är invanderade rymdvarelser.

Moon 44 (1990).

Inte så pjåkigt action-mysterium signerat Roland Emmerich.

Mord på Ljusa Dagen ¤ Evil Under the Sun (1982).

Mer Agatha Christie! Mer Hercule Poirot! Och som alltid när det gäller den sistnämnda är det en väldigt avancerad förklaring till vem mördaren är och hur det hela gått till.

Once Upon a Mattress (2005).

Förra månadens “Sicken Ärta!” följs upp med spelfilmsversionen av samma pjäs. Inte fullt lika vass som fredriksdals version, men ändock underhållande.

Robin Hood (1991). 👍

📜 Jag säger en del av vad som är värt att säga här.

Thunder Force (2021). 👍

Ack så skicklig Vivian Falcone är som en yngre upplaga av mamma  Melissa McCarthys rollfigur. En superhjälte film vars största behållning (förutom huvudrollsinnehaverskorna) är att det är en superhjältefilm utanför MCU och DCEU.

Tom i bollen ¤ Caddyshack (1980). 👎 🔁

Är det bara jag eller är Chevy Chase rätt överksattad? Rodney Dangerfield är nog den enda som är genuint rolig. Har sett den tidigare och mindes typ ingeting på förhand, förutom golftemat.

Troy: The Odyssey (2017). 👎

The Asylum ger sig på klassiska Odyssén i vad som bara kan kallas gisten Eka med segel.

Vita frun (1962). 👍

Intressant story, och ungefär lika bra som de övriga filmerna i Arne Mattsons filmserie. Lite besviken dock att enfaldige Freddy hängde med in i den här filmen men inte fru Hillman.

Wheels of Fire (1985). 👎

Post-apokalyptisk bilåkaraction. Vill mycket men stannar vid “Casha in i kölvattnet på Mad Max”-nivån.

Skall ni bara plocka en film ur den här listan, rekommenderas den politiska thrillern “The East” eller “Kassören från Auschwitz”.