#squid pro quo

[silenthillmutual]

I wanna give you Clara from pathologic if you don't mind!!..

how i feel about this character: she has so many problems and issues, she needs to be put in a place where she is cared for and loved and god damn if she doesn't feel like the way i did as a teenage girl

romantic ships: i think her & grace is cute. first crush and all that! but i think you could make a case for her & capella as well.

platonic relationships: i looooove the idea of daniil kind of adopting her but not in a traditional sense, in that i don't think he'd be her dad but like her annoying uncle or something who makes sure she takes care of herself. especially in the post-game where they're both kind of outcasts in the town for their own reasons.

unpopular opinion: she is MEAN sometimes! i don't say this in any condemning way it's just kind of annoying to see her in fics where she never has any bite to her.

one thing i wish would happen: oooo ipl you want to give her quests that aren't epic burakhovsky divorce related so badly ooooo you want her to be able to convert npcs for real so badly OOOOOOOO

[krautjunker]

quid pro quo

[wyntereyez]

There.  It’s DONE.  FINALLY.  You fucker.

[platocrawfordofficial]

ur username is cool :)

thank you! i really gotta get back to watching movies so i can use this blog more.

[officialgleamstar]

i WILL catch up on oxventure today. i WILL

[corrucyst]

a cephalopod girl lawyer would be like “we can make a squid pro quo agreement”

[writersstareoutwindows]

top ten favorite Oxventure episodes because I feel like it let’s go. og Oxventure only otherwise you know Lampblack Wedding would be top of my list, followed by whoever’s first to make a Victoria McClary supercut.

Heist Society: Fancy party is my be-all end-all favorite ttrpg trope. I have watched this one so many times I have portions of it memorized. It’s the first episode I ever showed to my partner. I enacted Bear Down Protocol in my own campaign.

Bride or Die: (gestures to all of my oxventure tag) Do I need to explain.

Watch Out!: Very long and very silly. Love to watch Luke go, and the others playing along. Love that Luke based it on a museum he knows and loves. Love just the entire concept of Hengist. and. Merilwen’s Microwave :)

Dine Hard: World’s wildest plan goes off without a hitch when that plan didn’t even have a defined goal. Luke and Jane roleplaying at the absolute top of their game. and. Liliana hot. I know she doesn’t melt a man til start of next episode but extra points for that anyway.

Squid Pro Quo: I Was There, Gandalf. The spiraling insanity of Dob’s social engineering feels like he’s the one succumbing to eldritch madness and absolutely nothing could be funnier. Peak shenanigans that not even the players are in control of.

Wedded Redemption: Who would’ve thought Aubrey the tabaxi would be so endearing! Hilarious to learn that Harry McEntire ended up there because the only request he’d ever made of his agent was to do a D&D show! Despite what Andy says I think the title pun is great! And guess what! This one’s also a fancy party!

Court in the Act: I will never be over the fact that Corazon egoed his way into being arrested. It was only supposed to be Dob, it was very explicitly supposed to be Dob, but Corazon made a bit of drawing attention away from Dob and Johnny immediately adapted the setting to accommodate. The bit about replacing their nooses with pasta makes me crave udon to an unreasonable degree.

A Fête Worse Than Death: Body!!! Swap!!! Johnny summed up the feeling with, “That’s right folks, we’re doing it!” Also, Corazon holding the Seal Gaiman plushie to ransom, and then just holding it, 10/10.

Exhibition Impossible: Can you believe it, another fancy party! Corazon does cool pirate shit and looks cool doing it. Dob briefly attempts PvP before straight up walking away from a man begging for his life. Egbert brains an old man with almost no prompting. Seal Gaiman is born.

Tower Rangers: Liliana :) The different levels of the tower, the different kinds of Clonebert, and the plan to create infighting are all interesting and entertaining. I love the inventive circumnavigation of all Johnny’s expectations and I love that they do it all just to avoid Liliana as much as possible, because she’s that fucking scary. Cloud of Daggers :)

[wundrousarts]

I was going to save this until I reread Hollowpox, but that last ask reminded me that I should share this here, so I present:

Musings on Maud: Why is she considered so powerful, how does this affect her dynamic with Squall, and why is he so scared of her?

(Bonus: How can I connect it to Silverborn?)

Two disclaimers: I haven't reread Hollowpox in ages, so if there's anything that could prove or disprove stuff in this post, send it my way. Honestly send any discussion my way. I love discussing theories. Second, this was originally a reply to a Reddit comment on a post, to which you can find here. The comment discussed Maud being a signatory for a Squall safeguard, so since this comment is copied verbatim, it references that.

---

If it’s not outright stated, it’s at least heavily implied that Squall helped create/build up the Republic. It’s only existed for about 90 years, and Squall has been exiled for about 100. He mentions in Hollowpox how he knows that Maud’s plan is to take over Nevermoor/The Free State, because the Republic took over the other states in the realm and he “helped them do it.” However, unless Maud is immortal and also 100 years old, she is not the one who started the Republic from the side of the Republic. Also, no clue how long it’s been around, but Squall Industries has likely been around for awhile as well (this is how he gets his connections and power in the Republic), with Squall just constantly grandfathering himself in with the vampire trick or something.

Interestingly, Squall says two things in this scene (Chapter 34 of Hollowpox) that stick out to me:

“I made the so-called Hollowpox,” he raised his voice above hers, “because I was asked to. Because I was compensated handsomely for it. And because when the most powerful person in the realm asks for a favour, even I don’t refuse.

And

“But you’re a Wundersmith.” Morrigan was utterly baffled. “Why can’t you just stop them if they’re such a problem? I don’t understand!” “Do you THINK I HAVEN’T—“ Squall shouted, then cut himself off abruptly.

He also mentions how the Hollowpox was initially meant for the Republic, but Maud snuck in an infected otter across the border into Nevermoor— “That was never part of our deal.”

There’s definitely a business relationship between the two of them of likely consistent deals, one favor for another, quid pro quo. However, we also see that Squall can’t really go against her, something he seems to have tried before. Two chapters before this scene (Chapter 32), has this moment:

“Yes, shush. Maud said the Wintersea Party might help if there was a squid crow po.” “Quid pro quo?” “Right, one of those. She said they won’t do something for nothing, but if we could convince Prime Minister Steed to meet with her, just to have a conversation, then she would try to convince her party to share their cure.”

While it could be easily explained as part of her job, Maud seems to get most of her power and do things by extracting deals from other people. Maybe she’s knackless, or maybe she has some sort of connection to Puppeteering or a knack related to that. Not Mesmerism, but something that allows her to be persuasive, manipulative, convince people of things, and get them to do what she wants. A sort of parallel or companion to Squall’s connection with Puppeteering that we see in Wundersmith.

It’s interesting that when we first meet Maud, there is this exchange directly after she tells Mog that the Wintersea Republic would only agree to help the Free State if there was some sort of deal:

“But they’re your party,” Morrigan pointed out. “Aren’t you the one with the power? Maud stiffened slightly and cast her a wary, calculating look.

And then soon later she says this:

“Even if I could persuade my party to do the right thing – and I’m not saying I won’t try – there’s no guarantee Steed and his government would come to the table.”

The whole exchange seems very manipulative, like, “oh, I’d LOVE to talk and get this figured out, but I can’t…” There’s a big focus on conversation. Maud is wary when Mog mentions power— she thinks she means a magical power, something secret that gives her an advantage, when really she just means politically— so I wonder if she was worried for a moment that Mog realized she had some sort of coercive power.

I wonder what exactly her power is that makes Squall so scared of her, and why it possibly makes it so that he can’t fight make and overthrow her. Aside from their business relationship, which allows Squall access to Wunder and being a Wundersmith, there’s this other layer as well.

As for safeguard: I don’t know if Maud would be a signatory for a Squall safeguard, as that seems to just be for Wunsoc students, but I think that whatever their deal is and whatever her power is allows her to keep him in check. Jess said that we will learn more about safeguards in Silverborn, and I think it would be interesting if Mog learns more about them from Squall instead of Jupiter— and maybe it does end up being similar to whatever he has going on with Maud, who knows! I don’t really have any safeguard theories myself, but I will keep an eye out for what you add to your comment.

A Silverborn “silver” side note: A “silver tongue” means that someone is persuasive when they speak….. perhaps this idea, theme, power, etc. will be expanded upon in the future 🤔

[kmomof4]

Anon Ask That Tumblr Wouldn't Let Me Post

Ohhhhhhh my, nonnie!!!! As all the other respondents to this ask have said before me, this was HARD!!!!

My top three fics- that I reread the most, at least once a year- those were easy...

Dark Hook Comes to Storybrooke by @hollyethecurious and @winterbaby89

Fairytales by @kymbersmith-90

And the Swan-Jones Trio Unlocked series, and now in addition to the SJT, I've added the Swan-Jones Family fic, Cross Every Line by @totheendoftheworldortime

But beyond these fics, there are SO MANY that I LOVE SO MUCH, it is LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE to narrow it down.

So instead of trying, I'm gonna go down my list of authors I read the most and give you my favorite of their fics... Ready?

@artistic-writer Alii Dimidium Lunam, but only because she wrote it for me, I dreamt about it before it was written, and it was a big part of the inspiration for the CSSNS way back in '17...

@jrob64 Sowing Seeds of Trust

@snowbellewells for Marta, I truly could not choose, so I'm going with her latest fic, Deluge written for this years CSSNS

@whimsicallyenchantedrose Taking Back Neverland

@zaharadessert After much waffling and indecisive hand wringing, I think I'm gonna have to go with Halloween Gambit...

@motherkatereloyshipper Lost Girl: Found

@nachocheese-itsmycheese Darkness Will Be Rewritten

@cosette141 Begin Again series

@deckerstarblanche A Twist of Fate

@the-darkdragonfly The Ripple Effect series

@donteattheappleshook More

@elizabeethan Never Nothing series

@goforlaunchcee Waning Moon

@caught-in-the-filter Sharing the Joy

@thepirateandhisson Once Upon a Mama Mia

@xarandomdreamx The Curse of Misthaven Manor

@ohmakemeahercules I Knew I Loved You

@jonesfandomfanatic Meeting Your Needs

@teamhook The Wolf and the Savior

@mie779 Fragmented Lies

@sailtoafarawayland Fallen and Wanting series

@cs-rylie Irish Betrothal

@spartanguard Even Death Won't Part Us Now

@hookedonapirate Tangled Up in Blue

@iamstartraveller776 The Nightwalker Chronicles

@undercaffinatednightmare Once Upon a Shapeshifter

@booksteaandtoomuchtv Have to go with her brand new one for this year's CSSNS, Witchy Woman, because even though there's only one ch so far, I know it will be checking every single one of my boxes, so... there it is...

@searchingwardrobes Hope Is the Thing With Feathers

@grimmswan Orchid Island

@stahlop Making a Memory

@shireness-says A Fate Woven in Thread and Ink

@exhaustedpirate post mortem

@wyntereyez Squid Pro Quo

@eddisfargo Not a Day Will Go By

@kazoosandfannypacks Window Seat

@kazoo5480 Breaking Down

@anmylica Something About December

@veryverynotgoodwrites Perilous Harbor

@beckettj The Huntsman

@athenascarlet It's Complicated

@myfearless-love Untie My Silhouette

@ohmightydevviepuu (if I fall asleep) the shadows win

@killiansprincss A Court of Vines and Shadow

@hufflepuffinstorybrooke If You're Lucky, Love Leaves Scars

Those above are all at least still semi-involved in fandom, on Tumblr or on discord, even if they haven't necessarily written or updated anything in a while. Tumblr is being ornery, so I'm going to have to cut a few fics from this list and the fics from authors that have either moved on from CS fandom or RL has taken over. So I'll put those on another post in a few minutes... hopefully.

Update- Well, it did work, but just so all the recs can be found on the same post,

Here

Is the link to the Tumblr post with the rest of the recs!!!

[lopjh]

In all my time reading Oxventure fanfiction Dob X Prudence has been the one ship I haven't seen any content for that wasn't "Prudence does it in order to make Corazón jealous/angry" which is fair since they don't have as many interactions as Corazón and Prudence or Dob and Merilwen or even Corazón and Merilwen, but it's still an interesting dynamic that has not been explored.

I think they'd work well for each other. Prudence is smart enough to ground Dob, and Dob goes 100% in anything he does for his friends, even if he disagreed morally(He ruined an entire town sowed infighting in Cthulu's name just so Prudence would keep her warlock powers) so it would be a very dangerous pairing.

(Okay but seriously Dob in Squid Pro Quo was great at being evil, and if he we think about his acting as Vocatus being MORE intimidating and persuasive than the actual devil it makes you wonder how powerful a full - fledged Evil Dob could be if let loose.)

[furthernoir]

If a squidgirl were an office manager she would tell you how everything in business is "squid pro quo".

[silenthillmutual]

Uhhh. Top 5 video essays. Top 5 horror movies. Top five shades of yellow

top 5 video essays

Women Are Meat (a video essay i watched recently on Silence of the Lambs. it's primarily about how Clarice is viewed and treated in the film, but the essayist does touch a little on Buffalo Bill's treatment)

I'm So Sorry That You Have to Have a Body (a video essay on the film version of Annihilation)

The Nostalgia Critic and the Wall (did you know that the Nostalgia Critic did his own parody of Pink Floyd's The Wall? now you do. this is a critique of how badly he fucked up.)

Horror Has An Ugliness Problem (on the shorter side but i really love this youtuber's stuff overall, they also did a video on saw!)

Vaccines and Autism: A Measured Response (personally i think these kinds of videos are hbomb's strong suits though i will say i do still enjoy Sherlock is Garbage, and Here's Why)

top 5 horror movies

The Wicker Man (1973)

The Thing (1982)

Get Out (2017)

Re-Animator (1985)

Saw (2004)

top 5 shades of yellow

idk what kind of official names shades of yellow have so i just kinda googled it?

Lemon Chiffon

Mellow Yellow

Shortbread

Egg Nog

Peach Cream

[tyredsauce]

My Oxventure fanaticism is slightly getting out of hand

It really is becoming more ever present.

I have made my own Top Trumps set of the D&D series consisting of all these characters with these stats:

And this ain't even all I've done relating to Oxventure.

I've burned CDs, DVDs, regularly monitor and update the wiki. There is a reason that there's a difference between the playlist and Episode Guide about 2023 Specials and it is me.

In fact, I need to update my CD and DVD collection to include Extinction, Play Fight and Squid Pro Quo. And I need to finish off my DVD collection for Season 2.

And now I'm just thinking about making an RPG for Oxventure. Now I just want to find someone to make the art for it and use RPG Maker XP for it.

Goodbye for now as I go find someone.

[wyntereyez]

Sooooo...

Remember that "Squid Pro Quo" sequel I want to do that's set in the Haunted Mansion and has Killian as a ghostly squid?

I just watched "Muppets Haunted Mansion." It had a ghostly squid.

Even Disney is trying to motivate me to write.

[dailyproblemsleuth]

Problem Sleuth, page 1,405

Next.

The barkeep wonders if the man is sure about that, and ventures that perhaps he's had enough tonight. The man assures him of the contrary with a redfaced rebuttal. The HATLESS MAN obtains the INK OF SQUID PRO QUO.

[stickthisbig]

Ship meme thoughts on Dob x Prudence and Edie x Silas?

Dob/Prudence: Prudence would think that they were friends with benefits and Dob would say "oh yeah, totally" and be absolutely lying through his teeth. Then again I'm pretty sure that Prudence genuinely thinks they're really married, so. Also what's up with the stuff he kept saying about her during Squid Pro Quo? Inquiring minds want to know.

Edie/Silas: I didn't mean for this to happen but here we are. I love them a lot and I want everyone to come on this ride with me.

(I still hold out hope for some good Edie/Garnet content, but they've yet to see each other since the premiere. Do I hear a V relationship calling my name? I think maybe I do)