#like I love all the campaigns and they’re all my favorites for different reasons

[precambrian-sea-pancake]

Gonna infodump about my D&D character

(Sadly forced to keep things confidential because my party members follow me on tumblr…you know who you are 👁️👁️)

I’ve only had Gawain for a short time but OH MY GOODNESS I FUCKING ADORE THIS SILLY GUY!!

Also kinda shocked that the moodboard I made for him got that many notes. That’s a first…

Also please enjoy the drawing @hootbon made for me. I will never shut up about their art.

So…for what CAN post publicly…

Gawain is your token Lawful Good Paladin TM. Bonus points for being a protector aasimar I guess. (Though I might multiclass into a bard depending on how things go. It would fit him well. They’re my favorite spell caster.)

His personality is gonna be SO fun to play. Before I explain that, I should mention that he’s actually the youngest of the group at 24. The second youngest is the Kobold (Maran) who’s 37. So he’s a lot more naive and still understanding himself and the world around him. People often dismiss him due to that unfortunately. But, you know, imagine a dumb collage age boy and you get somewhat of an idea.

He’s a very sweet and compassionate guy, extremely extroverted and fun loving…maybe a bit flirty at times. Definitely cracks witty comments and one liners in battles ranging from something clever to “suck my dick” or something dumb like that. That doesn’t mean he can’t be serious, he absolutely knows when he should. Ironically he’s the most “normal” of the group, often being the straight man. Overall heart of gold and just wants to help people.

He has a bit of a rebellious and impulsiveness to him. As clever as he is, he’s mostly driven by his emotions. It’s always a “do what feels right in the moment” rather than logic. In general he’s just very emotional and struggles with hyper empathy. This also causes him to question a lot of the authority around him.

I’d also say he has that Disney Princess syndrome. Gawain is convinced that he has some grand destiny and is meant for more. He’s always wanted to explore and learn more about the world, meet new people and cultures, live a life of glory and adventure. Maybe he’s in over his head or maybe he’s not…we’ll see.

However, another big reason for doing all this is that he wants to understand who he is…more accurately WHAT he is. He was born to humans, raised by humans, and grew up in a mostly all human kingdom. So he grew up thinking he was one despite some strong differences between him and the others. Aasimar are VERY rare, and more like myths to most people, and others don’t even know they exist. So people either assumed he was blessed or cursed, some treated him like the messiah, and others thought he was a freak and dangerous. So yeah, he never felt like he belonged and wants to learn about himself.

Somewhere in his life he ended up becoming a squire and completed his training just before the start of the campaign…

And that’s all the backstory information I can post because my friends will see this.

I guess I can do a bit of trivia:

It’s still D&D lore, but the world itself is homebrew. Humans are actually not the majority race, far from it. Most humans live in a large archipelago with various human nations. I remember the DM said the estimated population of humans was 20,000 to 30,000. The two mainland continents are one dominated by dwarves and the other by elves, along with other races being far more common on the mainland. Not really about my character but I LOVE that detail. It’s somewhat relevant I guess since I said Gawain grew up in a human society.

The god he venerates most is Ilmatar.

His eyes reflect his emotions and power. When using any of his abilities or when under intense emotions (both positive and negative), his eyes will turn a solid gold color.

Prior to his training, he was a courier. His parents ran his town’s postal service and that’s one of the things that got him into the idea of adventuring.

He’s more of a cat person than a dog person. He likes both, but I feel like he’d go for the cat.

The first weapon he ever used was a bow rather than a sword. The specific sword he uses is an arming sword.

He is a wonderful singer, his voice is almost ethereal in when he sings (little aasimar headcanon of mine).

His favorite study is anthropology, but also really likes history and geography. He’s always collecting little souvenirs and trinkets from everywhere he visits.

He keeps a diary and loves to write stories and sketch things. A lot of story inspiration comes from his dreams, which are often very vivid…and he remembers them super well.

Neither of his parents have blonde hair, nor is it a recessive trait they had. It’s actually part of his aasimar traits.

He talks in his sleep because I think it’s funny.

If this wasn’t a medieval fantasy world, he’d definitely use Gen Z slang. Maybe even tell someone “L + Ratio” or “Skill issue” after besting them in battle. In that same hypothetical reality, his favorite band would be Starset and The Score.

He takes good care of his appearance and health, so he does enjoy certain beauty products. A spa day is his ideal day off.

He hates salmon. He thinks it tastes bad and prefers catfish. I don’t know why I even thought of that fact but it’s there.

[centaurianthropology]

Wow, tonight’s 4-Sided Dive was INTENSE.  There were so many character revelations, so many interesting thoughts about the most recent episodes, but I think my favorite recurring theme tonight was getting to see what Ashton actually thinks of so many different things, how wildly different their take is on a situation from anyone else’s, and how that informs their thoughts and actions.  Their thoughts on Laudna being aggressive projection to hide their jealousy over Laudna’s death ("It’s just proof that they love you and they don’t love me” oof) but at the same time being fiercely protective of her so it never has to happen again.  Caring so much about his new friends, but hating it because everything will leave the second he cares (so many of Ashton’s odd gestures of friendship like the breakfast sandwiches seem like an unconscious attempt to buy love because they don’t think they can get it genuinely).  Immediately jumping to the conclusion that the locket on the guard Orym killed was of a dead child, because the only reason anyone would want to kill the gods is because they got a raw deal (harkening back to his earlier discussion of the notion that if the gods are interventionist then they have decreed that some people just don’t get to be winners).  Being more afraid of FCG’s self-sacrificial tendencies than their ability to go killbot on everyone (they’re going to throw themselves into the fire and we’re all going to go after them and burn, essentially).

Just ... wow.  I am so fascinated by what goes on in Ashton’s head, because it’s so different to what I was thinking.  

Folk were saying that Ashton was just Tal getting to play Molly 2.0, when that couldn’t be further from the truth.  Molly embraced life and was a hedonist at heart.  Ashton almost resents living, and is convinced that they both deserve nothing good and are intensely jealous that other people get good things.  They think they deserve someone like Jiana Hexum.  They are both jealous of their friends and love them so much.  There is so much self-loathing packed into Ashton that they keep tightly hidden under a tough exterior.

Ashton isn’t the Molly of this campaign.  Ashton is the Beau of this campaign.

[the-backspin-alchemist]

where are you at in worlds beyond number?

After today’s commute, I am at the very beginning of Episode 11 and things are *T E N S E*

Love the show, though. I’m currently bouncing back and forth between this and Murder She Rolled, and they’re both very different actual-plays in terms of setting and style and vibe, but in both instances the players and DMs bring the whole thing alive in a very fun and engaging way where it’s both sitting at the table while these people all have a ton of fun playing DND, and also a very immersive story that you get attached to very quickly.

Sorry I’ve been flipped into Gush About Stuff I’m Listening To Mode, I’m gonna ramble and gush about these podcasts for a bit now.

Alan Seawright in MSR is great at bouncing off of everyone at the table and flipping the switch between being the action hero in a serious way and an action hero in a comedic way, and basically everyone else at the table has picked up on that seemingly from the beginning, and it’s great. If you like…dark comedy and eldritch horror, it’s very fun.

Now.

Worlds Beyond Number is four heavyweight DND champions (both in actual-play settings and in terms of DND advice and design and generally being people present in the culture).

First off. @quiddie is a genius. Because she did something I now desperately want to try in the future, which is create inter-party tension by creating Suvi as a character that is intensely devoted to both her friends/adoptive family, but also to this place that she has now been raised and shaped by for the majority of her formative years that is set in opposition to what sort of ways Ame and Eursulon come from.

Second off, Erika Ishii as Ame is amazing, and a very fun way of playing…what I think is a Druid with some tweaks? It’s such a fun way of approaching what feels like the same class set but from a direction I absolutely would never have thought of and it’s amazing, I wanna try it now in a future game if I get the chance. Also Erika’s great, they’re amazing at interacting with everyone and keeping the lighthearted stuff lighthearted but also being able to drop into drama when needed (as has happened in the last few episodes quick specifically).

Lou Wilson as Eursulon is the sleeper hit of the show. For sure. And I am astounded by how well Lou managed to make it happen naturally. Because early on the episodes focus more on Suvi and Ame finding each other and going to find him with a quest focused on Ame and a lot of tension from Suvi’s background coming into play and being utilized to get things rolling, and then…Port Talon happens. And you realize he’s not been playing this dude that’s seemingly hit rock bottom and is ashamed of being taken advantage of as the new guy in town one too many times despite trying to live up to this *impossible* ideal, and he pulls out all these great character moments that build right to where I’m at where he’s been shamed by this great spirit for what he wanted to be and leaving his old world behind, and having finally clawed back what he could to reach what they set out to do he has to make a *choice* now, and he’s clearly struggling with what that choice is in the face of his friends’ lives being in danger and his old ideals coming back to give him pause about what he’s been doing and just…*gods* he’s possibly going to be my favorite at this rate? He’s playing a very similar character arc to what I wanted Jace to have when I played him in the campaign I played in with @charlezarrd, only…*way* more, and it’s amazing.

Also BLeeM’gan is an insanely good GM, this probably doesn’t need saying given his reputation, but it bears mentioning anyways. He’s crafted an insanely deep world that’s immersive and feels alive in a way that is…not easily describable.

And also him as the Fox is the best. The Fox is my other favorite character. He’s so good.

(Also Will Gallows might be my new favorite criminal mastermind, TBQH)

Anyways yeah Worlds Beyond Number is great! The only reason I’m not fully caught up up yet is because Murder She Rolled is also great!

(TBQH I would love to see Alan Seawright and the e rest do the MSR crew get thrown at the WBN crew, because I think it would be total chaos in the best way)

[babyfairy]

hello…life updates lol

i saw the little mermaid with my mom and my niece (we went on my mom’s birthday 💌) and i loved it??!? i think halle was the perfect choice for ariel!! i was so enchanted by her mannerisms the entire film. she’s got such an otherworldly beauty so paired with her voice she REALLY looks and feels like a disney princess…loved her so much. no comment on awkwafina’s unfortunate addition to the film

we’re restarting one of our long running dnd campaigns and i’m pretty sad about it ❤️‍🩹 it’s the best choice because the setting was made by our DM a long time ago and she wants a reset because she’s improved her narration/lore/etc since its creation but it’s still sad and hard to let go. i’m really excited to relive some of my favorite moments with some new twists and i have a deeper understanding of my character now so i think i’ll only end up loving her more as i replay her. dnd with my friends is truly one of my favorite hobbies and it’s so important to me! there have been so many changes throughout the years i’ve played but i’m so glad to still be playing despite it because it’s very fun and therapeutic lol

i got a raise at work 🫨 not that it makes much of a difference LMFAO but i was seriously considering leaving my job before my raise so it’s nice to be making a little more money. the cost of living in washington is so insane that i feel really unsure of my future lol but it’s seriously my dream to own my own house. just a little one story house that i can call my own. i know it seems like a small dream lol but it’s literally my number one motivation and i’m always daydreaming about how i’d decorate my own home inside and out!!

i finally bought tears of the kingdom and i’ve been obsessed with it!!! not surprised because i loved breath of the wild lol. i love link so much he’s such a cool protagonist. always wanted to be like him when i was a kid LMAOO either him or sheik! i would say i’m more like a deku scrub…💀 like look at this fella…

like….???!!!! THATS ME…the lil angry face. love these guys. anyways i love the game LMAO i hit about 50 hours and realized i should maybe try tackling my first dungeon 💀 it’s just so much fun to run around and collect ingredients and koroks…plus i have a little pack of zelda amiibo cards so every day i hop on and scan them all so i can open treasure chests as a little treat…love it!!! i can’t wait to see king sidon again btw. that’s the light of my life

ever since my OCD diagnosis i’ve been avoiding my therapist (L) and struggling to really understand why but i think it’s because i feel guilty about being diagnosed LMAO…i have like this weird fixation on unknowingly manipulating/lying to others and my brain keeps trying to convince me i manipulated her into a diagnosis. i don’t feel like i have “real” OCD if that makes sense. and i feel this weird sense of guilt about making light of it or like taking resources from people with real, severe OCD. it’s frustrating because i know that’s definitely a symptom of OCD but i also feel like none of my symptoms are legitimate and they’re just delusions. it’s incessant. which like logically is that probably just a symptom of the OCD? yeah but i also am having trouble admitting that to myself for some reason lol. at least not without guilt or shame attached and i really try to avoid feeling that way if i can. anyways it’s a real pain in the ass and i finally sucked it up and made an appointment for tomorrow so i can try to talk through some of this with her

i’m up and down a lot, it’s been the worst year of my life i think lol but somehow i’m still chugging along 💀 every day i put the rainbow clown wig back on and march thru my day despite it all though so it’s whatever i guess. definitely going thru my saturn return and ngl so far it sucks and i definitely hate it but you know! my 20s have been Not Great so maybe my 30s will be better for it. hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. let me know what you’re up to in my inbox if you want! i always like when people message me their life updates lol. it’s sweet when people think of me as someone they want to update ❣️

[finalskies]

Heir’s favorite posts of 2022

It’s that time of year again: the end. So I get to talk about my favorite things I posted. It’s funny, I feel like I really didn’t draw that much more than last year, and I certainly didn’t get any better. If anything, I’ve probably regressed. But even then, in these past few months I’ve probably felt more joy about drawing than I have in a long time. In a way, it feels like I’ve removed all my expectations for myself and I just... I just get to draw whatever I want, and it doesn’t matter if it looks sucky to me. “Face didn’t come out right? That’s fine, it still looks cute. It doesn’t look as good as it used to? No worries, you’ve done it before and you’ll do it once more. And even if you don’t, you can still have fun with it and make people happy.”

Maybe I’m just finally done with being mean to myself about my drawings. Maybe I just wanna draw cute/silly stuff for my friends. Because, as I’ve said before, you don’t have to be great and powerful to make something that makes a great and powerful difference in someone’s day. Anyway...

Ol’ Reliable Applejack. This is one of the first drawings I made with my new tablet, and the first one that made me think “Okay... I can still do this.” Even before my bestest most favorite tablet broke, I hadn’t been feeling the whole “drawing” thing in awhile. As simple as this looks, it felt like a real turning point.

.

Internet Fuzz Queens. As a very young child, I had this idea in my head that all my favorite cartoon characters lived in a community together and they would hang out and stuff. This is was an extremely self-indulgent comic that required specific knowledge of four different fandoms, and I want to do more like it. I love my blorbos and I want to see them hang out together.

.

Angel Byrd. My OC turned space kangaroo in my Scum and Villainy campaign. I’m glad I got to give her a little more pizzazz. I forgot to mention it in the original post, but the reason her dress has a tummy window is because she’s planning on smuggling museum artifacts in her pouch lol. We’re actually doing the second part of the heist tomorrow, wish us luck!

.

Kaysee Cadet! A character I made for a dnd Humblewood campaign. I really love how this came out. Ultimately I did settle on the orange fur, but maybe I’ll do something with that black fur design at some point. Gawd I’ve grown really attached to this character. They’re autistic, and they’re not native to the setting of the campaign, so “common” isn’t their first language. It’s been really difficult for them to navigate the world, and some people have been quite cruel to her, including her own family. All she wants is love, and they try SO HARD to help people despite everything, and we’re getting to the part in the campaign where the party transitions from “ragtag group of weirdos forced together” to “found family.” But tragedy struck in the last session of the year, and now it’s more of a “darkest hour” moment. And I’m just... I love my blorbos, especially the ones I made up ;_;

.

Give Trans Girls Swords. Winter is this lovely artist’s sheep fursona. I’d been wanting to draw them for awhile, she has such an appealing design. This was so fun to draw, I love making things for friends and also giving trans girls swords.

I really want to make my own fursona one of these days...

.

 Miss Pie’s Monsters. It was... so nice to see the monster gang again. MPM is absolutely one of those projects that I never stopped thinking about, never lost hope that I could finish it one day, even those it’s been years since its last real update. I’m happy with myself for sticking to the update schedule I promised, even if I was calling it close sometimes lol. I hope people liked seeing them again. And to the people that I know liked seeing them again: first, I love u, I hope I can continue to update it in the coming year. I can’t wait to reveal who the Captain of the guard really is.

Stay fantastic, I hope we all have a better 2023. Or at the very least, make it through it together. <3

[danikatze]

How about B, I, K, M, N, O, U for the alphabet ask thing?

Alphabet Asks

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

hahah well TJ.. as you know you've been very influential when it comes to ships - especially for Naruto. First one that comes to mind is KakaGai, but there's also YamaSai and KankuSai and ShikaCho. All of them I still love <3 Also, thanks to you I shipped GaraShir before I even watched the show. And there are just countless ships from other fandoms that I'm not (really) a part of that I have a soft spot for, because you sell them so well :))

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Errr I guess you could say HP? But that's not Tumblr's fault - all it did was share the messed up things Rowling said and did and gradully all of the moments HP got tiny kid me through rough and lonely times started feeling like a very big lie and I can't even think of it fondly anymore.

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

Oh gosh, so many, but let's go for Fjord from Critical Role. All the little and big steps he takes towards learning to accept himself throughout the campaign and the way they don't come all at once but are spread out over like a hundred plus episodes, including inevitable steps backward. The strength it took for him to walk away from the one who gave him conditional power and to accept unconditional love that is extended by his friends and the Wildmother. His arc just makes me so emotional and happy every time I think about it. I love him and I love his journey and I cannot wait to see it animated.

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

Yamato from Naruto seems like a perfect friend. He's kind and loyal and usually a reasonable, level headed person who can calm you down in stressed situations. But he's also someone you can have fun with!

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

For Saraiya Goyou: 1) anyone other than me making stuff for it lol. Usually I don't mind it so much, but sometimes I almost desperately wish I would see the tag update and it's not something I made. 2) drawings and fics from the past are mostly for Yaichi and Masa. I'd love more art and writing for other characters and pairings (romantic or otherwise) 3) sneakily shared fan translations of the prequels and spin-offs would be great lol. They're never going to be translated officially, but scans are taken down immediately as well. I bought Futagashira but I have no way of reading it unless I learn to read Japanese myself ^^;

O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

Shuffle produced Pulling Teeth by Green Day. "I'm all busted up, broken bones and nasty cuts, accidents will happen, but this time I can't get up." That's definitely Meg and Zagreus from Hades. They beat each other up on a regular basis lol and I was so bad at this game in the beginning I got Zag killed by her a lot (sorry Zag..) Not top 10 ship for me, but I like them well enough!

U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

1) Matsu from Saraiya Goyou: during my first reread the manga, after I learned that he loved Yaichi, I fell in love with him through his subtle and heartbreaking expressions. That's when I really got to know and understand him more. I love that he's charming as can be for his job, but doesn't know how to behave around his friends. He's so skilled and he knows it, yet has such a low self esteem. He's just a highly skilled, very pathetic little grumpy guy that deserves all the love in the world. And I give him as much as I can. 2) Caduceus from Critical Role: perfect, big, chill cow man who has the best advice and calming words for others, but can't recognise his own problems, let alone how to deal with them. He's so dumb and wise and I love him. 3) Gerry from the Magnus Archives: he's one of those people that seems to be full of contradictions. He's so bitter and stubborn and impatient and crude, but in a way that feels friendly? His life was so full of grief and horror from the moment he was born and he just wants a break from it all, but at the same time he can't stop himself from helping people who are about to fall - or have already fallen - victim to the horrors. The fear and defiance he lived (and died) with is heartbreaking and admirable.

[inkofamethyst]

November 6, 2022

[two nights ago] So it’s currently 2am and I’m in a... a state.  Not like a bad one, I’m not having an anxious episode (I do got the nerves runnin through me though!  that hasn’t changed!), but I’ve been stressed all week because of exams and other things and I suddenly feel just a little bit freer.  I mean, I was in bed most of the day after my morning exam as a result of lady pains (it would be really convenient to have, like, ADS accommodations specifically for my First Days (though I think the exam went fine actually, possibly better than my other two despite the limited studying)), so I am suddenly filled with energy and I randomly decided to work on the One More Soul to the Call string quartet test arrangement (because even though Paradise is my top priority for next semester, transcribing it is a horrible experience (and even though Love Psalm is probably my second priority, it would involve transcribing drums which I don’t feel like doing (in other words, I needed a win tonight))), and I’m kind of in love with it???  I’ll send it to my cello-friend to see if it actually has potential or if it just sounds like noise, but it’s really coming along, I think.

[today] So I finished the first draft after a total worktime of about six hours.  I made some (a lot of) creative liberties, and I’ve handed it off to be scrutinized (by a friend bc I’m not all that confident in it).  It’s not super vocally interesting.. all the notes are within the range of a single octave, there’s no major jumps or anything, I sort of just wanted to see if I could do the adaptation.  Love Psalm is (seemingly) more vocally interesting, but a string quartet adaptation might be harder, so I may try a straight transcription for it later.

Critical Role episodes 36-38 have been fantastic.  36, total fanservice, was grinning the whole time.  37, a dungeon crawl, but I was fully engaged throughout, even in the battle (there have been some really interesting battles this campaign) which doesn’t always happen.  38, joy followed by a harrowing twist.  C3 is really really good.  I don’t want to pick a favorite of the campaigns because I love them all for different reasons, but this one is really strong.  It might be partly because it’s drawing on aspects of the world that longtime fans recognize (from C1 and C2 and mini-campaigns).  It feels like a major culmination, and I think we’re leading into something big (that’s one thing about the end of C2--the final boss battle was fine, the ending was good, but the stakes did not seem very high because the threat was so isolated, unlike the VM end battles which affected the world).

Speaking of podcasts and culminations, WtNV feels like it’s doing that really slow build thing again which I love.  Where they slowly incorporate more and more storyline into the episodes to culminate in an epic climax.  No spoilers, but Salmon Burger was a good episode.  AGH I love Night Vale so much.

Today I’m thankful for a good weekend.  I went to the chamber concert for the orchestra with my photo-friend, and my cello-friend’s group was so so good.  Easily the best performance there.  We went out for dinner after which was nice.  Today, rehearsal went well, and I made a really solid beef stroganoff for the first time ever.  Lastly, I’ve mentioned before that I like watching the little WB animated DC movies because they’re relatively quick movies and easily digestible.  Most of them are just okay (like Superman vs The Elite which tried too hard and missed the mark on its social commentary, or Injustice: Gods Among Us which had so much potential to be good but the climax fell flat), some are pretty bad, and every once in a while you come across one that’s a bit of a gem.  I’ve watched two this weekend, and I think Superman: Unbound was one of those gems.  I just really like the Clark/Lois dynamic.  Superman as a hero just makes me happy :) wholesome lil farm boy :)

I have a lot to do tomorrow.  I have to catch up on a few assignments for ecoanth, send out a bunch of emails, and start on those applications.  My next exam isn’t for about a month, but I really don’t want to wait until the last minute again, especially since that one will determine whether I need to take the final for that class or not.

But for now, an “early” bedtime.  Goodnight :)

[kindledoeswhatever]

Via am*zon (I censored it different this time~)

The first two Final Fantasy games remastered for the GameBoy and SLAPPED onto one cartridge! I bought this game used from GameStop on a trip with my mom for my 11th birthday. She let me buy three used games so I bought this, Final Fantasy XII (never finished…) and a Naruto Shippuden game for the PS2 (I have barely seen any Naruto I was just Really into ninjas as most kids were). Unfortunately this means I don’t have the original box. (If you can’t tell from my blog I like game cases (or at least their cover art))

Final Fantasy I sets most of the conventions of the series. Elemental crystals of water, fire, earth and air, a world in disarray, turn based combat and classes which became the staple of the series: Warrior, Monk, Thief, Black Mage, Red Mage and White Mage. At the start of the game you can choose four of these and Can Not change them later. It was an agonizing experience. As a kid I eventually choose Warrior, Thief, White Mage and Red Mage. Because I didn’t know what a Monk was and the Black Mage scared me for some reason

Via static cookie

It was stuff of baby me’s nightmares I guess? Idk.

Anyway I got pretty far in the first game and then just… couldn’t progress. At all. So I gave up, and tried Final Fantasy II.

This game has a set party of three, with a fourth slot hosting a guest character that’ll leave your party at a certain point.

Firion- the leader and “all arounder” of the team, Maria- the archer/magician, and Guy who is more of a bruiser. However through Incredibly tedious grinding, every character can be optimized in Anything. There are no classes so if Firion is made to use fire magic a million times and gets hit while having a shield a million times, those stats will increase. I kinda like it? But also it takes Forever to make any progress.

There is a much clearer story in this one, with character arcs and detailed motivations. While FFI Does have a story, it is largely context clues and background to the game play.

Just like the first game, I became frustrated and stopped playing. Years later I dusted it off, and smashed my way through FF1. Using the same party as my child self, I far surpassed the point I became stuck, blazing all the way to the end. FF2 was next, and Wow it is a Lot Darker than I remember, and upon beating it I was given a gift, a post game campaign where (spoilers) all the guest characters who had died in game fight their way through the afterlife to kill the big bad Again. Double death.

Anyway! Sorry I just wanted to gush about a game/pair of games that no one I have ever met has played which stinks because they’re the start of a popular franchise and Really kinda good.

However the cover is kinda boring. I do always love the icons representing games, the blue knight representing 1 and the pink emperor representing 2, but I don’t really understand their selection. For 2 it’s the big bad, but for 1 idk who that guy is. The crystal art is nice though. The artist for a lot of the early Final Fantasy games has this style that, while not my favorite, is very technically impressive. Thin lines and water colors, complex and delicate in a way with high stylization.

[jstarwriter85]

Fictober22 - Day 28: “We All Have Our Reasons.”

Category: Original Fiction Author’s Note: This is a small character piece for an upcoming D&D homebrew campaign that a friend of mine is building. Throughout Fictober, I’ll be using the prompts to tell different pieces of his story. But, fair warning—they’re not going to be in any kind of story/chronological order.

Calex swam with his mother by his side through the corridors of the cleric’s temple. Doing temple work was his least favorite thing, but he’d agreed to join his mother to avoid spending any more time with his father than he absolutely had to.

“Mother,” Calex said, “Why is it that most of our people find it so odd that I crave exploration above the surface of the water? Why haven’t more people from our community had the same curiosities?”

Tanalan smiled. “Always my little seeker of knowledge.” She replied softly. “We all have our reasons.”

“What kind of answer is that? Have you explored beyond the surface of the ocean, mother?”

“I have been to a small village not too far inland. Your father was ill once, and our healers had done all they could. I feared he might pass from this world, so I went and received a healing tonic from an apothecary owner in the village.”

Calex frowned, wondering how she’d known it was there. It bugged him that she hadn’t said.

“Well, that means that there have been others, then. Otherwise, how would you have known that the apothecary was there?”

She shook her head. “Your curiosities are getting the best of you, my son. But yes, there have been others like you—with a wild mind for exploration.”

That she had always supported him in his desire to explore the world made Calex love his mother that much more.

“Tell me more. I want to know these people, mother.”

[catchingbutter]

God the unsleeping city really is just *chef’s kiss*

[marbleheavy]

here are some of my Nico headcanons that nobody asked for!!

He collects things. Not just Mythomagic stuff like he did as a kid, but cool shells, and rocks, and weird glass figurines that everyone else thinks are terrifying, and books. He’s got them in jars or lined up on shelves and he just has so many things (Because for so long he had so few things that actually belonged to him that didn’t have to serve a very clear purpose, so now he just wants to keep whatever he’d like)

He reads SO much as an adult. A lot of it is nonfiction because he’s trying to catch up on what happened in the world while he was pulled out of it, but a lot of fiction too (not really fantasy though, that’s too close to home) and a lot of poetry. He can recite poems from memory and will just randomly quote them sometimes and it should be pretentious but it isn’t and his friends think it’s amazing (cue dramatically saying "till love and fame to nothingness do sink" anytime he's told he has to wait) (Also, he will rant about why Ted Hughes sucks at any point in time)

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again!! He is a Dungeon Master! He’s got a binder for all the notes for his current campaign and a notebook for ideas and special highlighters and pens that he only uses for D&D. Also, dice are definitely one of the things he collects and he keeps them in those clear, plastic bead containers with dividers and they’re sorted by number of faces and also ~vibes~ (for example, do a backflip D20 and life or death D20)

leather jacket Nico di Angelo? seen, respected, and appreciated. CARDIGAN Nico di Angelo? underrated! He has a couple oversized cardigans with buttons and big pockets that he adores. The first one he ever had he definitely stole from Will but now, whenever he comes across another similar one, he buys it. The pockets are filled with rocks and worn, mass-market paperbacks and pens. (Basically, I’m leaning hard into English Major Nico with his annotated books and glasses and cardigans) (Also, cardigan Nico and flannel Will but sometimes they swap)

He definitely cuts his own hair in the bathroom and he's gotten very good at it. He's had a range of haircuts, from long hair to a mullet to the shaved sides and fluffy top, but he always ends up back with a shaggy mop that Hazel likes to put little braids in (or sometimes pull the very back of it into two little pigtails) and with bangs that always end up in his eyes.

Sorry to reiterate the same point that's been made forever, but his wardrobe is pretty dark-toned. Obviously black, but he does like a good jewel tone, perhaps a maroon or an emerald. Anything really bright was either a gift or belongs to Will someone else. Also, gendered clothing means nothing to him. He wears what he wants to wear and he thinks it's cool as hell when he's wearing a skirt while sparring and it flares out dramatically as he twirls.

He's kind of picked up modern slang but he also uses a lot of slang from pretty much every decade he missed. It's also a 50/50 chance he's using it incorrectly. (examples include: 1) Leo says something that is definitely supposed to be funny and Nico stares at him, utterly emotionless, and says "Gag me with a spoon" in an alarmingly monotone voice, and 2) Anytime he says something snarky to Jason or Percy he starts it with "hey bestie..." and honestly, they're both just touched Nico called them "bestie" at all)

He adores Studio Ghibli movies and can be found humming the Ponyo theme song anytime he goes swimming (Will standing on the shore, looking around for Nico and he eventually spots him in the water. He wades out to Nico, all sunglasses that shouldn't look so cool and golden hair and chest, and just greets him with "Hey there, Neeks, how's my fishie in the sea?" and Nico can't decide if he wants to drown himself or kiss Will on his stupid mouth)

Speaking of movies, shortly after the Giant War, all of his friends (the Seven, Reyna, Will, probably Lou Ellen and Cecil, too) showed up at his cabin with blankets and snacks. They each brought their favorite movie or movies they think he needs to see to catch him up on the modern age. At first, he acts disgruntled that they're all there but he very quickly settles into the blanket fort Annabeth constructs and is quietly very grateful and excited that they cared enough to do this for him. They're all holed up in his cabin for a full day until they've finished every movie. (Percy brought Finding Nemo, Annabeth brought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Piper brought Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Jason brought Captain America: The First Avenger (and Nico definitely says "that's gay" when Steve and Bucky say there "Until the end of the line" shit and everybody absolutely loses their minds), Hazel also is behind on movies but she brought either a very scary movie or Moana, Frank brought A New Hope (though he considered Brother Bear), Will brought Spirited Away, Cecil brought Back to the Future, and Lou Ellen brought The Princess Bride)

He can play the piano! He gets a piano for the Hades cabin and on nights where he can't sleep and the nightmares are really bad, he plays piano.

He will cry if he hears I Will by Mitski or Wasteland, Baby by Hozier, for different reasons but also kind of not (he wants to be loved)

Also, Nico and Dionysus being buddies! Nico jokingly says he'll host a bacchanal if Dionysus excuses him from certain camp activities and that's how Nico and friends end up wearing togas around a campfire, all very hesitantly holding cups of wine they aren't actually going to drink. It is definitely not a bacchanal, it's just a bad toga party (barely) but Dionysus accepts it and decides Nico is a Good One.

(Yes I did very badly make this stupid meme that somebody has definitely made a variation of before)

This is definitely not a complete list of headcanons but it's what I've got so far!

[ambassadorquark]

let’s see if i can rate the naddpod seasons’ accessibility for new listeners bc i’ve been asked a few times and i keep changing my mind as to which one would be the best to start with:

OG bahumia: pre eldermourne i really was like i feel like you can just go into this season from ep 1 if you want to try naddpod and it’s good so i’m sure you’ll enjoy it. now i think there are shorter/ongoing seasons enough that you can try a quicker to get through one first and then come back to it, it’s 100 episodes but they are fairly short for actual play. in terms of just the plot if that’s what you are using to determine which sounds most interesting to listen to first, the premise is that a party of three adventurers has recently saved the world and slain the evil demon god Asmodeus, but all three of them have sort of gone mysteriously missing and even though the world was technically saved there’s still a lot that still needs to be fixed or actually got worse. so the PCs almost need to pick up where the other party left off. it’s so good you guys. in my opinion it really pops off in like, the late teens to twenties episodes but is still very entertaining before that. however it is a little shaky at first just BC they hadn’t gotten into the groove yet so you may want to try a later season first in order to approach the slightly janky first few eps with more goodwill

trinyvale: a short season, 20some episodes. i can’t imagine starting with this one. here’s the thing about trinyvale: I genuinely think it’s one of the funniest podcasts ever recorded, but the run-up of the first few episodes is like, eh. it’s okay. it takes a minute to get really great. there is a different DM than the long form seasons, caldwell, so maybe if you’re familiar with his oeuvre and liked his work DMing drawga you would be able to get right into it but his style is quite different from murph’s. it has no relation world wise to the first season. it concerns three deeply unpleasant people who have been tasked by the shadowy organization they work for with retrieving various Crystals Of Significance from around the world. it’s very silly and most of the humor comes from the pcs being unbelievably awful. i love it but i don’t think i would recommend it as a first season unless you have some very specific interests re: wanting to hear Brian Murphy roleplaying as a bitchy gold digging stripper

hot boy summer/the mavrus chronicles: actually technically a spin-off from Bahumia DMed by emily and starring breakout guest character Mavrus, portrayed by zac oyama, who of course plays d&d with murph and emily on d20. same setting as season 1 but only like, 1.5 overlapping characters who aren’t even main pcs and a totally unrelated story. only 7 episodes! i saw people saying this is a good season to start with and i was like no way but it actually… might be?! zac isn’t a regular player and emily isn’t the regular dm but they’re both very good and if you just want to see what the hype around campaign 1 is about in a very quick, digestible format this season ain’t bad. it’s another short comedy season and is about what a guest character who appears several times in bahumia does when he hangs out with his boys. formatted basically like Dude, Where’s My Car? the reason i was dubious about it as a first season is bc it’s pretty different from the main ones but it is very funny, very short, and a good time had by all so why not

eldermourne: slightly divisive… it was plagued by scheduling issues during a turbulent time for the recording of the podcast and you can see it in the structure, but the PCs and world are probably my personal favorites overall. it’s only 40something episodes and set in a different, slightly more gothic setting than the previous season. the finale is somewhat open-ended due to its brevity so i believe they will be coming back to it in some capacity someday, i dunno. the premise is that three very sad people get involved with an ancient order of monster hunters in a world plagued by undead creatures and must find a mysterious demigod who the order is sworn to protect. i think this season has a really different feeling to it, it’s smaller and more melancholy. i recommend it as a first season just BC it’s pretty short, avoids the growing pains in the early eps of season 1 by simply being a well established podcast already and the characters are just so so good (henry is like my favorite NADDPod character full stop), plus i think you can listen to it, get endeared to the hosts and their chemistry, and then when you listen to the extended bit about dragon genitalia in the first episode of campaign 1 you’ll already like them and will simply find it funny. but if you’re looking more for an accessible “in” to the WORLD of the 100-ep season everyone talks about it may not be what you’re looking for bc it has nothing to do with it, haha. you will want to try hbs or perhaps even…

c3, or as i like to call it, ba2mia: THE NEW ONE… only has like 4 episodes so far… you can get in while the iron’s hot…! i think this one is starting to look like a great place to start and/or simply sample the vibe before committing to a huge archive binge… it’s set in the same setting at the first campaign but 200 years later and will not involve many actual NPCs and so forth from c1, but has already had some very fun references and developments from stuff that was introduced in the original campaign; it’s all explained in such a way that you could go into it with no context for any of it though. there’s even a stated goal that if you should listen to this one first you can listen to c1 as a “prequel”. it’s about three shitty defect supersoldiers at the bottom rung in the hierarchy of knights who protect a scientifically advanced magical city run by a shady corporation. I’ve really been enjoying it… and you can too

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 18, second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Hey OP where’s the funny header gif for this post? Sorry, it was murdered by an angst demon and the framing of these shots.

My Found Family Came to Find Me

Continuing our flashback from last time, we see Baby Wei Ying up a tree, refusing to come down because he's afraid there are dogs. Eventually he falls out of the tree, like a dumbass a child, and Yanli tries but fails to catch him. 

Unlike his grownup counterpart, Baby Wei Ying doesn't pretend he's unhurt when he is hurt. I'd like to put the change at Yu Ziyuan's door, but actually he admits to being hurt during his Gusu summer - he mimics Lan Zhan's stoicism when they're getting beaten, but it doesn't come naturally to him, and he whines a lot afterwards. 

By the time of the Animatronic Dog incident, however, he's laughing off obvious injuries that have secret trauma behind them. By the time he comes back, coreless, from the burial mounds, he won't confide in anyone about his hurts any more, except possibly Wen Qing.

Yanli carries Wei Ying, in a sequence that will be echoed much later in his life when Lan Zhan carries him (gifset here). While they head back, she tells him that Jiang Cheng has a bad temper and to ignore whatever mean things he says. This will also be echoed in the future, when Wei Wuxian says it to Lan Zhan after their argument with Jiang Cheng in the shrine.

Yanli also explains that Jiang Cheng loved his dogs and that he's been very sad since Jiang Fengmian sent them away, demonstrating once again that Jiang Fengmian is a terrible father. Yanli says that Jiang Cheng will be happy to have a friend with him, though. This kind of makes Wei Wuxian's role in Jiang Cheng's life "replacement dog."

Jiang Cheng, after getting over this particular snit, got worried about Wei Wuxian and woke up Yanli to find him, and then went wandering around in the dark like a dumbass a child, and is banged up and crying when the other two find him. Yanli encourages him to apologize to Wei Wuxian and he does, which will not happen again until the very end of the show.  

They all smile and laugh together, as Wei Ying looks to Yanli to guide him through the insanity that his life has suddenly become. 

(more behind the cut!)

They head back to Lotus Pier in a sweet montage of walking and smiling together, with Jiang Cheng carrying the world's most beautiful candle holder with the world's most wind-resistant candle in it, to light their way back. Back in the present day for a brief moment, Jiang Cheng pretends to sleep and listens to his sister insisting that the three of them should always stay together, while a single tear rolls down the side of his face.

Soup is Love, Chapter 1 of 1000

Then we head to the past again. In Jiang Cheng & Wei Ying's now-shared room, Wei Ying sits on the bed trying to figure out how to deal with his grumpy new roommate.

Wei Ying is unsure what to do when confronted with pajama game this strong. Tiny Jiang Cheng is already a fashion king. 

Then he tells Jiang Cheng he's not going to narc him out to the clan leader, since it was his own fault that he hurt his leg. This is all Jiang Cheng needs to hear to decide Wei Ying is all right, and he says that he will help Wei Ying chase away dogs in the future.  In fact, Wei Wuxian will protect Jiang Cheng from punishment basically forever, while Jiang Cheng will continue to threaten Wei Wuxian with dogs...forever.

They shake hands on their new understanding and then jump up and down laughing, Wei Ying's leg being all better now, apparently.  When Yanli arrives (carrying a tray of...can you guess? I'll let you guess), they stop jumping. Wei Ying dives in to give Jiang Cheng a little tickle/embrace in an adorable moment that would have me saying "oh, my ovaries!" if I hadn't surgically sent my ovaries to hell a few years ago.

Yanli introduces Wei Ying to the emotional and gustatorial miracle that is her lotus and ribs soup. He hesitates a long time before tucking in because he's so unused to being fed.

Consent? I Don’t Even Know Her

The flashback wraps up with Yanli conked out on the table from the drugs in the incense burner, while Wei Wuxian, who is somehow unaffected despite sitting almost as close to the smoke as she was, checks on her. Jiang Cheng and his Uggs period-appropriate sock thingies get out of bed to come stand with Wei Wuxian, and have feelings about sending Yanli away after she JUST said she doesn't want to be parted from them.

Wei Wuxian: If she didn't want us to do this, she shouldn't have signed that blanket consent-to-medical-treatment form.   Jiang Cheng: Wen Qing made me sign one of those plus a durable power of attorney, is that bad?

This episode is all about people overriding each others' agency and making massively important decisions without the consent of the people who will be affected. But in a feudal context, it's not a violation, no matter how it feels to the person being controlled. In feudal life, your body belongs to your lord -- your sect leader, in the world of CQL. Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng's choices are overridden by their clan leader's final command to Wei Wuxian.  Wei Wuxian's core is arguably Jiang Fengmian's property--Wei Wuxian certainly sees it that way, just as his hand was Yu Ziyuan's to take if she wished.  

The brothers tenderly tuck Yanli into bed in the rolly cart and hand her off to Song Lan. They talk about how important it is to get her to Lanling and that she's probably going to be mad, as they thank Song Lan for helping them. 

Yanli listens while she sleeps and, in what is becoming a trademark Jiang move, lets a single tear roll down the side of her face. Jiang Cheng points out that Yanli never gets mad at Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is like, true dat.

How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?

Song Lan is always so emotional about every damn thing, I love him. Here he's like OH GOD NO DON'T FORMALLY THANK ME! STOP!!!

Then he starts to ask Wei Wuxian to pass a message to Song Xingchen for him, but then decides not to say anything, making it super obvious that they fought and aren't together. 

Wei Wuxian reacts to this with confusion and distress, probably because he doesn't want to imagine ever having a breakup with his own soulmate. Which he soon will be having.  But possibly he's just upset that his OTP broke up.

After Song Lan takes off, Jiang Cheng gives Wen Qing a rude & perfunctory thank-you bow, turning away before she can return it. Wei Wuxian tells her not to take it to heart - basically everyone who deals with Jiang Cheng gets a version of the "ignore what he says" speech. She says she understands and that in his place she would have behaved worse, which is so totally not true.  

Then she asks Wei Wuxian if he's sure about the core transfer (not in so many words, because the script is being kind of being vague about it, without actually hiding what's happening). His reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.

Then he and Jiang Cheng walk off, with Jiang Cheng giving us a rear view that had me googling Wang Zhuocheng's fashion shoots to determine if that wagon he's draggin’ is really as delightful as this belt makes it look. Alas, there is not a wealth of photographic evidence for this research, as compared to, for example, photos of Xiao Zhan's outstanding ass.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning see them off, with Wen Qing wishing they valued their lives more. Although, what she and Wen Ning are doing is massive treason, so their lives will be pretty much forfeit if they're caught, so...

The Sunshot Campaign of Like 60 Dudes

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng walk up the mountain for the whole beginning of the Sunshot campaign, which...okay. Maybe it's like Dunkirk or The Witcher where they intercut stuff that is happening in different timeframes, which is one of my least favorite new film style thingies.

You know, for a guy Wei Wuxian constantly calls "peacock," Jin Ziyuan really doesn't wear a lot of adornment; just some subtle metalwork on his belt with no dangly bits at all, and a single reasonably-sized hair crown. Compared to the extremely fancy Lan Wangji he's almost plain. We already know that Wei Wuxian is a massive hypocrite when it comes to his idea of a perfect boy, however.

So, this is the Lanling Jin army, which consists of literally 60 guys, including the ones on the stairs and Jin Zixuan and Douchebag Dad. How are they going to fight a war with this tiny group? Why do they have such a big plaza? Hasn't anybody on this production learned CGI cloning?

That’s better.

Nie Mingjue and his best bitch Baxia make quick work of the 4 Wen guys who were assigned to hold the Unclean Realm. 

Hello, Daddy Da-Ge!

Squeeee, it's Lan Wangji! He's taking back Cloud Recesses! Ooooohhh we've missed you Lan Wangji.

Look guys he's here! Look how beautiful he is. He's looking at the gate of cloud recesses and thinking thoughts that Lan Xichen or Wei Wuxian could probably see in his bewitching eyes if they were here to see him, which they aren't. But at least he is here!

....and now he's gone again. *cries*

Hares On The Mountains

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian continue roaming prettily around this pretty mountainside. The locations in this show are such eye candy. 

Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains  Young laddies they run like hares on the mountains  If I was a young lass I’d soon go a hunting

Jiang Cheng starts to have doubts about the whole Baoshan Sanren thing. Wei Wuxian's reply pretty much encapsulates the whole Wei Wuxian experience.  

Then we have just the tenderest blindfolding scene, (more gifs here), which is fodder for your ChengXian dreams, if you have those.

Here's a good place for a sidebar about what is and isn't incest. Whee! In the CDrama context, relationships tend to be more clearly defined than in western media. The mechanism of confession & acceptance means that people either are or are not in a romantic relationship, with few grey areas. So a character can literally say "we grew up as brother and sister, but now we are dating" and when someone looks startled they just say "there's no blood relation" and everyone is like "cool cool" and that's the new definition of the relationship.

For a strong example of this, the extremely wonderful Go Ahead is about a contemporary family in which a girl and two boys, who are not blood relatives, are all raised together, and call each other brother and sister. When they become adults, they and everyone around them expect the girl (now a woman) to marry one of the two men who have been her brothers, while whichever one she doesn't choose will carry on as her sibling. It's treated as the most natural, logical thing in the world; the only question is whether she wants to make that transition, and with whom.

Looked at through this lens, Wei Wuxian's relationships with his adoptive siblings have just as much potential to turn into romances as his relationships with his friends do, and there's nothing creepy about it. As such you can expect my meta to always get into ChengXian moments without treating it as a wrong or forbidden love. Hopeless, of course, because Jiang Cheng is such a prick the power of WangXian is stronger, but that's a different matter.

What is wrong is wearing this fantastic hat & veil combination when the most fashionable person on the mountain is blindfolded and can't see it.

In the course of this blindfolded encounter with Wen Qing, Jiang Cheng gets to kneel before a powerful woman, be led along by a length of silk that's placed in his hand, and then knocked the fuck out and operated on. He'll wake up in a hotel room in a tub full of ice with "we took your kidney" written on the mirror in lipstick, and he'll love every minute of it.  

Soundtrack: 1. Still Fighting it, by Ben Folds 2. Hares on the Mountain, by Steeleye Span

Writing Prompt: The NEXT time somebody blindfolds Jiang Cheng

[captainsspnanon]

C3E09 liveblog reaction

Did they have the Matrix-esque NordVPN background last time?  I can’t remember, but I am highly entertained by it.

...early episode suspicions, but maybe the whole dire wolf story is fake?  Like, the initial reaction after Fearne’s bluff made me think they were going to say ‘what dire wolf?’

Double nat ones, yes!!!

I LOVE ASHLEY

Gurge = werewolf is confirmed.  Now how are we on the Chetney = werewolf speculation???

I LOVE ASHLEY SO MUCH OH MY GOD

Also SAM is the one to say that accepting sponsorships is selling out OF COURSE HE IS

Dammit, for almost an hour the stream was mostly fine, though I had to watch at 720p instead of 1080p, and now it’s freezing constantly.  I hate my internet.  I kinda wish I could just wait until the youtube upload on Monday, but I’d have to avoid too much internet for too long for me to be willing to do that.  XD

Matt has created a council with secret members.  WHO’S ON THE CHANDEI QUOROM COUNCIL (i’m sure that joke’s already been made a billion times he totally did it on purpose I’m super sure)

I know Liam is wanting to play a character less prominent in the story, so to speak. I wonder if Orym’s backstory tie-in is going to get resolved or mostly resolved fairly early on, allowing him to ride.  Somewhat similar to Fjord, I would think, where most of the Uk’otoa stuff was early on, and the later development for Fjord was heckin’ tons of character growth and change.

With Chetney lying as smoothly as he does, I’m wondering if the whole woodworker bit that Gurge was supposed to help with was false and that it’s he was supposed to help Chetney get in contact with other werewolves?   ….ugh, I feel like I need to stop speculating and just enjoy the ride.  I have mixed feelings about watching this live!!  I’ve heard the rumors about rampant speculation over Caleb being a werewolf, and I’ve already made a fool of myself during the first episode with my fear over a West Marches campaign due to fan speculation.  I also don’t want to get invested in a theory and then be disappointed when it turns out not to be true…

For the record, I now find Ashton to be an utter delight and I am greatly looking forwards to seeing how their story and plot progresses.  Oddly, still the lowest on my ranking though?  Well, tied with FCG.  Which I think is a VERY fucking good sign, because this is me like M9 after Cad, I like ‘em all!!  Looking forwards to reaching the loving them all stage, not there yet.  Will probably need about another ten episodes or so to reach that stage XD

YO CHETNEY WENT INVISIBLE!!!  magic item for being level 4, I’m assuming.  Love the immediate walk-back on hitting Dorian in the face because it would lose the invisibility

The Meal.  Not only it is just a funny bit, but it’s a great deconstruction of Matt’s typically verbose descriptions.

I honestly can’t tell if it’s Sam or FCG who doesn’t understand what was meant by bottle trick.  I feel like it’s Sam?

PRETTY!!!!!  I don’t care if it’s the truth, I’m headcanoning it’s Buddy who renamed himself.  MY HEART  ...there’s GOT to be fan art of this dude, yeah???  TELL ME THERE IS FAN ART

IT’S THE SERVING CART oh god Travis’s reaction MAKES THIS

I both love and hate that Chetney is quickly becoming one of my favorites????  It’s so odd, in C2 I didn’t necessarily vibe so much with Nott’s whole comedic aspect to her and I loved Jester more during her not as over the top moments, but I guess C3 is the comedy campaign for me???  I’m LOVING Chetney and Fearne and Laudna and EVERYONE just feels on the top of their game when they’re cracking jokes.  It’s such a different vibe and I AM HERE FOR IT

PRETTY DESERVES THIS GROUP DATE, OMG

Also, Orym and Ashton work so well as the straight man to this group.  They’re both a bit absurd in their own ways, but they way they straight face so much...I LOVE IT

I didn’t mention it earlier, but is there a REASON that Sam is dressed as the “hello fellow kids” meme??

“Excuse me, ma’am?” oh I feel like it’s been too long since Liam has been a little shit like this.  I love it when he does it!  He just opens the floor for Matt to show off and it’s glorious.

Okay but maple ginger cookies ACTUALLY sound delicious

Once again there’s no real ‘leader’ to the team, which is a constant through all the campaigns and I really enjoy, but I enjoy how much Ashton is really helping move things along.  Not quite leadership, but definitely a leading aspect.  TWO THUMBS UP.

Ashton’s actually be fairly quiet this episode, but the stuff they’ve been doing? Like, I’m REALLY enjoying Ashton now!

….so everyone’s just ignoring Chetney dropping that he was being hunted in some way? Okay.

All this moon lore. Looking forwards to watching What the Sheet and having them freak out about the MOONS.

(not that anyone cares, but my CR ‘aftershows’ are What the Sheet (on Nico Neilson’s channel), The Pixelists, and The Dungeon Coach)

What are these NPCs this episode, I love them so much!!!

RAIN EFFECTS RAIN EFFECTS I LOVE IT SO MUCH

Ehhh...not liking this Taliesin.  Ashton successfully pickpocketed her, but now you’re arguing because you don’t like what she told you you got, and you’re going ‘oh let’s roll, it’s random’ but you’re just going ‘no that’s not good enough I want something better’.  I don’t really like that attitude.  Granted, I’m not that much a fan of the interparty stealing anyway, but that was clearly enjoyed by the table.   This?  Dislike.

Good, I’m glad he gets the chamberpot still.  “it’s only fair” my ass.  Sorry Taliesin, you should have accepted what she said to begin with.  (yes yes, not my table, they’re all cool with it, etc. etc.  My table? Would have told him to stick with the pot because that’s what Ashley said.)

I ADORE how Ashton is just SO DONE with furniture now.  Like, even though they’re probably just playing up the bit with the books, it still feels half true because of how much they are DONE with inanimate objects coming to life.

FIRST MAP FIRST MAP

Chetney MVP this episode???  maybe, but they’ve all been really on point this episode.  The most ‘background’ PCs have been Laudna and Dorian.

As much as I love Nott, I also love a rogue who actually wants to do rogue shit.  XD

NIGHTMARE KING. Yup, I feel like we’re moving past the ‘starting quests’ of a campaign and starting to move into MEAT.

OH MAN WHAT A FUCKING END

@suicidallyreckless

[tiamat-zx]

(Love)birds of a feather, Generations Apart: A Parallel between Vaxleth and Beauyasha (SPOILERS for C1E65 and C2E126)

So... as the title suggests, I've realized upon several rewatches of Beau and Yasha’s amazing first date that it actually has unintentional parallels to the moment where Keyleth confessed her feelings to Vax. Bear with me as I take the time to share as many of the parallels as I can recall off the top of my head.

#1: Taking place in the midst of THE first big world-changing arc of the campaign, full of so many things at stake.

The Chroma Conclave arc.

vs.

The Somnovem arc.

#2: Still in mourning over the loss of a friend.

Vax and Keyleth mourning the death of Tiberius.

vs.

Beau and Yasha still mourning the loss of Mollymauk.

#3: Mutual wingmen supporting them in their coming together.

Keyleth: "I had an interesting talk with Pike here recently, and she said something that really stood out to me, and that was that some people just have more of themselves to give."

vs.

Beau: "I told Caleb, since I wanted to start over, I wanted to start over. So my request was a little bit of a walkthrough of places we’ve been and some of our favorite hiding spots."

#4: Grateful for any reason to be together... but even so, a declaration leading to a love confession. A declaration that has that feeling of, "Yeah, I know. You said your piece, now let me say mine because I'm done hiding."

Vax: "It doesn't matter to me what this is. What we call it. If you are willing to spend some time, any time, with me, then I will simply count myself lucky to have it. You're very dear to me."

Keyleth: "You're talking too much".

vs.

Beau: "I just want you to know, just before we continue this... whatever this night is, that I have no expectations and... at the end of all this, if it just... you have the reassurance of knowing that I'm somebody that you can come and talk to, if you need to, and that's... that's enough for me."

Yasha: "I feel the same way... but at the same time..."

#5: Regrets about being distant... and no more hiding.

Vax: "I know with all that's happened, between my new patron and my sister pretending to gag literally every time we attempt to share a word together, and mostly my own being fucked up in the head for weeks now, that I've pushed all of you away. You most of all. Because I've been afraid you would-- I'm sorry. And you didn't deserve any of that."

Keyleth: "For the longest time, I was terrified that I was going to lose you. First to death and then to the Raven Queen, which is still kind of like death, and then ultimately to yourself. [Then the aforementioned recollection of Pike.] And I realized this whole time that I was afraid of losing you to a future that ultimately has not yet been written, which is stupid."

vs.

Beau: "When I was in Kamordah, that fear of losing this family? I almost sabotaged it. Just so I wouldn't have to deal with the angst and the anguish of wondering if and when and how this family will fall apart. Like ripping off a band-aid that was never there, or I guess over a wound that was never there. Just trying to rip it off for the pain and nothing else."

Yasha: "I've been trying to keep my distance from you when I found out that he was listening and they were watching, but... I've had a lot of people in my head and I don't want to give them you. I don't want them to know that I care about you, because I don't know if they're going to use that in some way. But... fuck it, I guess."

#6: Confessions that catch the other off-guard, or even the one confessing is taken aback, and then the mutual reciprocation that acts as a balm of relief.

Liam actually answered in an AMA that he was taken by surprise but in-character and out when Keyleth confessed to Vax. Keyleth, however, was very much done with hiding. Vax’s response happens when the dust settles and he fully processes what he had just heard:

Keyleth: “But you're ultimately right. We have nothing to lose. I love you, Vax. And I'm sorry for being me, that it took me this long to say it.“

Vax: “(laughs) I’m sorry.

Keyleth: ”Yeah. Me too.”

Vax: “I love you. That's pretty fucking great.”

Keyleth: “That is pretty great, yeah!”

vs.

Yasha surprises HERSELF as she blurts out when she fell in love with Beau, who is also a little taken aback. And Yasha didn't intend to let it all out like that.

Beau’s response happens long after the (glittering) dust settles and they’re in the hot tub:

Yasha: “Things really changed for me when we went to Kamordah. And I saw you with your family and I got a glimpse into how your world was growing up and... (sigh) I fell in love with you in Kamordah.”

(later on, in the Steam’s Respite recreation)

Beau: “Hey.”

Yasha: “Hey.”

Beau: “I love you, too.”

Yasha: “That’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.”

#7: Wings, of course. Also... Liam, Ashley, and Marisha: all three of them having an effect on both pairings.

Vax has wings. Yasha has wings.

And both are love interests of Marisha's PCs.

Pike through her everlit heart and empathy helping Keyleth and Vax overcome their fears and eventually come together.

vs.

Caleb through his love language of magic helping Beau and Yasha find a moment of happiness and safety so they can overcome their fears and eventually come together.

#8: A mutual embrace of love that transitions to the end of a scene.

Vax tackles Keyleth onto his bed, they no doubt cuddle well into the night among other things to cement their newfound bond as lovers... and the "pan to the fireplace".

vs.

Beau holds Yasha close, they enjoy the show of fireworks before later "reflecting" on their newfound bond as lovers... and the steam covering the camera.

Even if the characters are different... some things somehow remain the same, even campaigns apart... even unintentionally. And it is these coincidences that I love about Critical Role and just... role-playing as a whole.

[essayofthoughts]

2020 Creator Wrap: Favourite Works

Tagged by @tobermoriansass​ - I’m so sorry - TWO DAMN YEARS AGO. This is why I am where tag games go to die.

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite  works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link  them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world  in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original)  so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

I repeat, I am tagging no one because I am where tag games go to die.

I know this is two years late, but I’ll still limit this to whatever I wrote in 2020 - which isn’t as much as I thought. Makes sense tho, that was when I was shifting from Maximoff twins to Campaign 1 of Critical Role.

Favourite five of those would be...

--

That balance may return - Critical Role, Percy Whump, 34k - AO3 Link

You know when you have an idea and start writing it, realise it’s going to be longer than you thought, stall in a panic because you don’t write longfic and then manage to finish it anyway and have it be (what you think is) a pretty good study of trauma recovery? Yeah. That’s this. I’m incredibly proud of this fic, possibly because I used this fic a lot for my own processing of a few things; rereading this fic I don’t really recognise the person I was when I wrote it, which is interesting!

“Believe it or not,” Anna Ripley says, peeling off a bloodstained glove, “I rather like you alive, Percival.”

She smiles down at him and, with the light behind her, her hair is like a dark halo.

“Chin up,” she says, patting his cheek with metal fingers. “I’ll take good care of you.”

The premise is pretty simple - at some point after the Briarwoods Arc and with no dragons to cause Chroma Conclave Trouble, Ripley captures Percy and proceeds to fuck with him for a while (tw: being creepy, boundaries being crossed, persistent trauma-induced bad headspace, rape) but gets found and Percy freed by the end of the first chapter.

The whole rest of the fic is Percy recovering from that.

Ripley’s Assistant - Critical Role, VM AU, 58k - AO3 Link

Gods, I’m desperately proud of this fic. Proper fucking longfic! The chapter lengths are all over the show (still proud as all fuck of the Anders chapter though, thank you so much to @chamerionwrites​ for helping me find the right angle to approach it from). Just as with balance this fic is me processing certain things just from a very different angle.

“Percy,” Ripley says. Her hand is tight on his shoulder.

“They’re going to kill them,” he says.

“Yes,” she says. “And they’ll kill you too if you’re not careful. Come with me. Your family will listen to you. Talk to you. Maybe if they tell you what they know and you tell us, they might just live.”

This fic is an AU of canon where instead of Anders as Percy’s tutor, it’s Ripley. Things go a bit differently as a consequence. There’s two more arcs as follow-up, because the healing process is complicated, as well as side fics.

Gods, I’m proud of this fic.

needs not be spoken - Critical Role, Cassandra & Desmond, 1.6k - AO3 Link

A present for the wonderful chamerionwrites, sometimes you have a Thought when a friend mentions characters of interest and you proceed to write something with far more meat to it than you expected. I love the parallels you can make between Cass and Desmond - both shown kindness and cruelty by the Briarwoods, both with reasons to hate or resent Percy, both around the same age (Desmond is said to be around 18, like Cassandra) and Desmond’s fate is kind of left open, though the wiki states he lives. 

Some think it strange, that Cassandra, as a Lady, is waited on by a manservant and not a lady’s maid.

So in this AU, Desmond returns to Whitestone with the Emon refugees with a maimed hand and a letter to ensure employment. Cassandra looks at this, realises Percy’s responsible and decides that if a de Rolo wronged Desmond then a de Rolo has to set it right.

And goddamnit, Percy, she’s going to set it right. It’s a character and relationship study from the two, when they’re still new to working with each other, and it’s just lovely and quiet and platonic.

kindness to cruelty - D&D, OCs, Hurt/Comfort, 20k - AO3 Link

So this is what I started to write for an exchange before I realised it had got vastly out of hand, wrote a shorter thing with similar bones to submit for the exchange, and then finished this because why not at that point. It starts with some pretty hefty hurt, the comfort is more slow and emotional than anything else - though there is some actual healing - and there’s some poking about the nature and stances of drow culture and the kind of indoctrination that’d go on from that.

If they keep their word then - perhaps - he can convince them he will keep his.

An adventuring company in the Underdark gets attacked by drow, they take one prisoner because the party member who took them down isn’t down with coldblooded murder, and they all slowly get to know each other. Also, there’s a language barrier.

finds and shall find me unafraid - Critical Role, Percy Whump, 9.7k - AO3 Link

@sparxwrites has an incredibly mean little oneshot called comprehension, and lack thereof where Ripley rapes a Feebleminded Percy where Vex can see. The concept of the aftermath of this didn’t leave me, especially given there’s no way Vex, furious as she would be, would just let it stand.

So I wrote aftermath.

It says something, Vex thinks, that even after the sickly green magic of Ripley’s wand of Feeblemind, after the cells and what Ripley did, after so many things that could so easily leave someone curled in a corner and avoiding all contact, Percy still so clearly trusts her.

The first chapter is them breaking out of the dungeons, Vex cajoling the still feebleminded Percy into helping her. The next chapter is Vex killing Ripley and getting in contact with the others. The chapter after is Keyleth restorationing Percy and Vex gently keeping Percy company. Chapter four is questionably healthy smut and chapter five is after-aftermath.