#the intrepid heroes do NOT trust him

[feelingtheaster99]

Murph going to roll that D10 and Sibohan just yelling “I’ve got it, I’ve got it!” 🤣

[autistichalsin]

All dialogue options for Halsin's request for a story for the children in the epilogue

There are generic options, unique options for Durges, each Origin, and even for Origin paths (I.E. Justiciar Shadowheart vs Selune path Shadowheart) so I thought I'd collect them all here! There are some nice characterization moments here, and I love Halsin's reactions to some of these. (Also, I had no idea Gale could still ascend to godhood as a mindflayer? Or at least there's dialogue for it here...) I hope you guys enjoys these!

All characters/Tav:

Regale Halsin with tales of your past six months.

Halsin: You have kept yourself busy - I expected no less, in truth. I shall be able to keep the children enthralled for a few more nights yet, thanks to you. And should you wish to retell of your exploits in person? Well, I shall not object to a night off.

All characters/Tav:

The truth may be a little flat. Spice it up a little. (This triggers a skill roll for deception)

If the roll succeeds:

Halsin: You are truly incapable of disappointing. The children shall be rapt - and have no fear; all due credit shall be given to the tale's originator.

If the roll fails:

Halsin: Hmm, do I detect a certain... exaggeration? You could give Master Geddarm a run for his gold - though I suppose he has little need for it now, Oak Father bless him. In any case, my audience will favour a good tale over veracity any day - I thank you for your offering.

Any character who accompanied Karlach to Avernus:

Halsin: I am glad you and Karlach have an enduring friendship - it shall serve as a strong lesson for the children, as well as a stirring tale.

Any player who became a mindflayer:

My exploits have been limited by my new form. I live as a pariah, feared by most.

Halsin: Yet not by me. I shall tell the children of your heroism and sacrifice. They shall know what they owe to you, trust me.

Mindflayer characters who have plans with the Emperor:

I have been dwelling far from the public eye. Yet the Emperor and I have grand plans in motion - that I cannot speak of.

Halsin: Too murky for a children's tale, I fear. Perhaps I should focus on the hero you were, and the sacrifice you made. But thank you for sharing, nonetheless.

Mind flayer characters who are allied with the Emperor:

My new form demands discretion. I have been amassing power in the shadows with my ally, the emperor.

Halsin: I see. Perhaps the children can learn something from your ambition in the face of adversity. Thank you.

Mindflayer characters who killed the Emperor:

My exploits have been limited by my new form. I live as a pariah, feared by most.

Halsin: And with an appetite for the grey ambrosia that dwells within every skull, I presume? Perhaps I shall remind the children of your heroism and self-sacrifice... and skip over the brain-eating until they are older.

Dragonborn Dark Urge:

How about a ghost story? A spectral dragon who will haunt the little ones' dreams, if they don't behave.,

Halsin: Most enthralling - though perhaps it may lead to some sleepless nights for the younger ones. I can make something palatable with a little showmanship and creative licence - thank you.

Any Dark Urge:

Tell Halsin a detective story, where in the end, the intrepid Fist discovers they had been committing the murders all along.

Halsin: A touch bleak perhaps, but considering the amount of orphans in my audience, I am sure they shall manage. I can make something palatable with a little showmanship and creative licence - thank you.

God Gale:

Recall the parable of the Yearning Orphan, your youngest follower and already a great prophet spreading your doctrine...

Halsin: You are truly incapable of disappointing. The children shall be rapt - and have no fear; all due credit shall be given to the tale's originator.

Also God Gale:

Tell him of the tribulations of godhood. The politics, the bureaucracy, the endless prayers to answer...

Halsin: Well luckily for you, mortals have a habit of embellishing their run-ins with gods... I am sure I can muster something to captivate the children from what I can glean of you.

God Gale:

Well, I have developed a taste for togas, for one thing.

Halsin: I am glad you have kept yourself occupied. No doubt I will be able to spin a few yarns from the children from this. Thank you.

Mindflayer God Gale:

Well, I've been doing my best to not frighten my followers. I'd hate to be one of those gods.

Halsin: I am glad you have kept yourself occupied. No doubt I will be able to spin a few yarns from the children from this. Thank you.

Non-god Gale who went back to Waterdeep:

I've been researching the tale of the first Blackstaff, Khelben Arunsun. My abridged notes would make for a fascinating bedtime story.

Halsin: I see... well I trust your sources, of course. Perhaps the historical record can survive an embellishment or two, for the sake of the children. In any case, you have my gratitude.

Non-god Gale who didn't return to Waterdeep:

What haven't I done? Delved into dungeons, read secret tomes, taken out a rogue shadow mage or two. Enough magic and mystery for a treasury of tales.

Halsin: Why, Master Dekarios, I had no idea you would continue to stoke the fires of adventure. I commend you - as shall the children, once they hear of your exploits. Thank you.

Dark Justiciar Shadowheart:

Tell Halsin of how you consolidated your power over Lady Shar's church, purging the disloyal with bloody vigor.

Halsin: My. Perhaps a tale for the older children, once I trim off a few of the... less savoury details. But thank you, all the same.

Also Dark Justiciar Shadowheart:

I have been continuing to serve Lady Shar however I can.

Halsin: You are stalwart, even in service of darkness. There will be a lesson there for me to impart to the children... with a few details glossed over, perhaps. Thank you.

Selune path Shadowheart who killed her parents:

Tell Halsin of how you've roamed far and wide, now that you are free of Shar.

Halsin: The shadows were concealing a true adventurer's heart then. Thank you - the children shall be rapt.

Shadowheart whose parents are alive, whether Selune path or Dark Justiciar:

Regale Halsin with tales of your tranquil life with your family and coterie of animals.

Halsin: Yes, I thought I caught the scent of a wolf upon the wind... the children shall love this, but be warned - they may insist upon a visit.

Selune path Shadowheart:

I have been forging my own path, away from Shar's influence.

Halsin: I shall be honoured to speak of you to the children. To embrace change as you have shall make for a stirring example. Thank you.

Any path Shadowheart:

I've been at something of a loose end - roaming and adventuring as I see fit.

Halsin: Countless tales have begun with a roaming adventurer - I am sure I shall keep the children enthralled for years to come with your exploits. Thank you.

Orpheus path Lae'zel:

I have ridden a red dragon to battle as a Warrior of the Comet. The lich queen Vlaakith will fall by my hand.

Halsin: Oak Father preserve you - I hope you have a tight hold on the beast. But this shall make for a most stirring tale for the children. I may even have to tone down the details, for fear they get too excited...

Lae'zel who stayed in Faerun:

I have travelled the harshest lands of the Sword Coast, piercing the hearts of the lich queen's countless assassins.

Halsin: Ha! I think some of the more bloodthirsty children will relish this, thank you.

Wyll who became a Grand Duke and made an eternal pact with Mizora:

I embraced my hellish side and dedicated my life to rebuilding the grand city of Baldur's Gate.

Halsin: The makings of the multi-night epic. The children shall rush to their bunks in order to hear the next chapter, thank you.

Wyll who became a Grand Duke but didn't continue his pact with Mizora:

I turned from my hellish past and dedicated my life to rebuilding the grand city of Baldur's Gate.

Halsin: A noble calling. Your tale shall inspire a whole generation. Thank you.

Wyll who stayed the Blade of Frontiers and made an eternal pact with Mizora:

The Sword Coast is safe as ever thanks to the Blade and his infernal powers.

Halsin: The classic tale of the Blade, but with a twist? This shall go down very well with the children, I sense. Thank you.

Wyll who stayed the Blade of Frontiers and ended his pact with Mizora:

The Blade of Frontiers is back on the hunt. The Sword Coast is safe as ever.

Halsin: Many of the children have already heard of you, as it were - do you know some of them scarcely even believe this old bear could be acquainted with such a hero? But the authentic sense that your recollections bring to the tale shall win them over, no doubt. Thank you.

Wyll who became the Blade of Avernus and made an eternal pact with Mizora:

No hellbeast is safe from the Blade of Avernus and his infernal powers.

Halsin: Thank you, the children shall be agog. I do believe some of them use the number of beastly fangs and claws present in a tale as the yardstick for its quality - which puts yours right at the top of the heap.

Wyll who became the Blade of Avernus and but ended his pact with Mizora:

The Blade of Avernus is on the hunt. The Hells shudder at the very mention of his name.

Halsin: A classic tale. I expect it shall inspire more than a few of the children to start practising their ripostes with wooden sticks.

Wyll who became the Blade of Avernus, made an eternal pact with Mizora, and went to Avernus with Karlach:

The Blade of Avernus and his companion are on the hunt. No hellbeast is safe from his infernal powers.

Halsin: A formidable duo. I am glad that you and Karlach have each other - it shall serve as a strong lesson for the children, as well as a stirring tale.

Wyll who became the Blade of Avernus, did not make an eternal pact with Mizora, and went to Avernus with Karlach:

The Blade of Avernus and his companion are on the hunt. The Hells shudder at the very mention of his name.

Halsin: I am glad you and Karlach have an enduring friendship - it shall serve as a strong lesson for the children, as well as a stirring tale.

Astarion who didn't ascend, but defeated Cazador:

I've been revelling in my freedom, rediscovering the joys of the night.

Halsin: Sanguine joys, no doubt? Perhaps I shall smoothen out some of those details - the children do not need to know the full truth of your diet. But they shall be rapt all the same, thank you.

Astarion who didn't defeat Cazador:

Halsin, I've been hiding in sewers and eating rats. It's not a glorious tale.

Halsin: Ah, but the glory can be found in the telling. The children love tales of underdogs, facing odds most unlikely. They shall appreciate your story, trust me.

Astarion who didn't defeat Cazador and became a mindflayer:

Halsin, I've been hiding in sewers and eating rats' brains. It's not a glorious tale.

Halsin: Ah, but the glory can be found in the telling. The children love tales of underdogs, facing odds most unlikely. They shall appreciate your story, trust me.

Ascended Astarion:

My tales are a little heavy on murder and sex. But if the children want to hear them...

Halsin: Hmm. Perhaps I can substitute the bloodlust and... eh, general lust for cuddles and animals in the retelling. The children may be confused, but no matter - they will soon be asleep. Even with a few little white lies, rest assured that they shall be engrossed. Thank you.

Ascended Astarion who became a mindflayer:

My tales are a little heavy on murder, sex, and tentacles. But if the children want to hear them...

Halsin: Hmm. Perhaps I can substitute the bloodlust and... eh, general lust for cuddles and animals in the retelling. The children may be confused, but no matter - they will soon be asleep. Even with a few little white lies, rest assured that they shall be engrossed. Thank you.

Karlach who went to Avernus alone:

Tell him of how you lost your horn.

Halsin: Truly? I never would have guessed that is what happened. And to think I believed I had the measure of you... but I am glad to be wrong - the children shall be captivated.

[isit-allover]

The Intrepid Heroes And How They’d Do On Taskmaster

Brennan

Big Ed Gamble energy. This man comes in with a lust for victory and nothing to lose

The de facto leader in team tasks, barring any mutiny from his team members

Often wins tasks because of an exploited loophole

Might win the series, except if Greg and Alex decide to torture him (very likely)

Lou

Will cause problems on purpose to get things done

Creates the iconic melodrama of the series (a la Oh No My Baby and Took)

Loses at least one task because his is so committed to a bit

If he and Brennan are a team, they are unstoppable. If he and Brennan are with one other person, he may stray and create some James Acaster/Phil Wang/Rod Gilbert-esque shenanigans

Ally

Best task outfit 100%

Makes Alex do something that absolutely ruins his day at least once

Always commits, rarely succeeds (would definitely try to hide aubergines by eating them)

Finds loopholes where there are none

Siobhan

The competent woman that gets ignored in team tasks

You know that compilation of Mel Giedroyc every time she says ‘brilliant’? That but ‘fuck’

If you give her a puzzle task she is out of the room in 5 minutes

She an Emily have the best studio fits (they would def both wear tuxes to the finale like Rose Matafeo and it would similarly destroy me)

Murph

The pathetic man of the season (affectionate)

Put together for the first few tasks and then something in him snaps

Alex Horne is the enemy and is not to be trusted

Injures himself at least once

Zac

Quietly brilliant

Casually finds the hidden easy solutions like it’s nothing

Will occasionally derail his own success just for fun and/or to annoy Brennan if they’re on the same team

Done with Alex’s bullshit at all times

Emily

Just there to have fun

The best person to have on your team in team tasks

Given a secret task to break her down a la Mel Giedroyc, it does not work

Finds solutions to the tasks that nobody considered, the bane of Alex’s existence

[thecelestial-art]

2 things from Fantasy High: Sophomore Year and these last few Episodes that I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention but does feel like a big puzzle piece to me,

When telling the Bad Kids about Kalina, Ragh mentions that it was because he saw Jace StarDiamond talking to Adaine’s Mom and another invisible person (Kalina). Afterwards, Jace and Porter came and did a “healing” on Ragh, after which Ragh saw Kalina for the first time. A couple episodes later we hear about a Slyvian healer working in Fallinel being fired(?) because they were casting spells on their patients which, if I remember correctly, was implied to be how the Kalina Plague spread. So for whatever reason Jace and Porter were either intentionally or accidentally doing some light "bringing the end of the world" last year. I think that because of that, Jace most definitely can’t be trusted, especially since he’s assumed the role of Vice Principal (which I believe Goldenhoard stated as being mainly about non-academic student issues very early in S1). I’m not sure what his fucking end goal is yet but I don’t think he’s inconsequential.

Based on how Molman from the Soil Club reacted to being given the soil from where the Bad Kids found Lucy Frostblades body and how Rueban talked about Lucy and how Shitterlily seemed very protective of Oisin and keeping him out of her schemes in ep 10, I don’t think that Rat Grinders killed Lucy on purpose. Molman was kind of nerdy and quiet when we first met him, but after sniffing the infected soil became filled with rage. So maybe the Rat grinders are trying to infect Elmville with rage to possibly bring back this god OR that soil was already infected and when the Rat Grinders saw Lucy out there resurrecting rats, they were filled with an unexplained rage that wasn’t even accurate to how they were feeling and killed her. Which feels very in line with some past themes in other intrepid heroes campaigns, like losing control and hurting the people you love (Barry Battalion, Ylfa, etc).

Idfk if it’s worth anything but these two thoughts have been circling in my brain for like a few weeks.

[nancywheeeler]

‘Eddie Munson should have died at the hands of the government instead of the Upside Down’ please expound on this your ideas are intriguing to me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

okay, i am finally gonna release from the vault a text post i had drafted months ago about how reductive and bland i find eddie munson's "heroism" arc.

from a characterization standpoint, i totally understand why eddie declares himself a coward for running after witnessing chrissy (and later, patrick) die. his image of himself as a proud outcast willing to brandish a middle finger at societal norms, bolstered by playing a "satanic" game about misfits coming together to bravely face great evils, is completely shattered. however, from our viewpoint as an audience, eddie does what just about any of us would have done after watching someone die in a horrific, unexplainable manner and not knowing if what happened to them is about to happen to us.

...except the show then does this weird thing where it agrees with eddie's warped, guilty view of his actions. eddie is a coward for running. he should have...what? stayed, again not knowing if he would be killed next, tried to explain everything to hawkins pd, and gotten arrested? (which would have derailed the rest of the hawkins plot because, unless dustin & company staged a jailbreak, eddie then would have been in custody during fred and patrick's murders.) the plot demands he run, but to wring any sort of emotional catharsis out of his death, the writers want us to think "look! he's redeemed himself! this time he ran into the danger!" it equates self-preservation with selfishness and cowardice, which certainly isn't a new thing in media but it's boring and doesn't reflect reality.

and when you parallel eddie's death with billy's (and what i imagine steve's death would have been had they gone through with killing him in season one), it paints this uncomfortable picture that redemption can only be found through extreme self-sacrifice and ultimately death. boring! very boring! and again, why are we redeeming a character who doesn't need redemption?

i appreciate (and really like actually!) that the narrative dooms eddie from the beginning. there wouldn't have been a satisfying way to write him out of a triple homicide rap had he lived. that being said, i would have loved to see eddie survive the upside down, get arrested for the murders, and, while our intrepid heroes are expecting owens and his shadowy government contacts to swoop in, be killed by those same shadowy government contacts as a cover-up.

because that is all owens has been doing for the past three seasons: covering things up to save a fringe organization's ass. it's just been convenient for our gang that the cover-ups align with their interests, too, to the point they are over-reliant on owens stepping in with forged birth certificates and mall fires. only, in season four's case, eddie is the most convenient cover story. with owens left for dead in a bunker in the middle of the desert, what loyalty does the rest of this strange government operation have to the gang and to eddie that they would exert any additional effort concocting a more outlandish story than the easy one the town of hawkins has already bought into?

it would have been a great way to add additional stakes going into season five because the gang would have had absolutely no one to rely on or trust but themselves. no more clean-up crew to plant fake stories and file the paperwork. the government has never actually been on their side. it's hawkins against the upside down and the world, baby.

wow, this is so long and i am so sorry. i still have a lot of feelings about this apparently, even after all this time.

[fillingthescrapbook]

Let's Talk About: Fantasy High Junior Year and Not All Who Wanda Are Lost

This is the first time I'm watching a Fantasy High season as it airs, instead of binging it--and I hate it! I am itching to see what happens next. Itching. Like I can't focus on anything else without having that itch scratched.

Also: two things right off the bat:

One. The bitch is back. This is not a drill. THE BITCH IS BACK.

Two. GORGUG AND ZELDA REALLY ARE BROKEN UP? GOSH DARN IT!

Okay, now that I've calmed down somewhat. The episode is also a bit of a breather after the high-octane and high-emotions of the first two episodes. We do get some answers to some questions, like: yeah, Gorgug and Zelda are indeed broken up. Cathilda is at Leviathan, which is why Fabian is all alone at the Seacaster Manor.

And, yes, the projections are very much alive. Which I love.

There's an energy surrounding the Intrepid Heroes that really makes their seasons engaging even when their characters are doing bits I don't agree with. I guess because we've seen them play the most in Dimension 20, we trust that we know where they are going. And that's really the main part of why their seasons work, isn't it? We trust them. Even when they make mistakes or flub a deception that Brennan can then use against them, we trust that they mean well. That they have a story to tell.

That's one of the reasons why I've held on judgment with what seemed to be a repeating storyline for Kristen in the first two episodes. Now that we've seen the third episode, it does make sense for Kristen to enter a cycle. It does make sense for her to treat Cassandra the way she treated YES!. And, of course, Brennan is going to use this to fuck with the Bad Kids.

And Brennan is setting up so many villains, and maybe some red herrings… But it's hard not to panic. It's hard not to go into a worry. Because, yeah, I am going into a worry.

I guess, though, this season's biggest villain is real life. Not real-real life. But real life for our bad kids. Reality isn't cut-and-dry. We don't defeat monsters and then get to live happily ever after. Because life continues. And consequences matter. So of course Gorgug doesn't get an approval to multi-class as an artificer. Because of course it doesn't make sense.

We got a taste of the financial villainy last episode when Sklonda and Riz discussed how good grades might not be enough for him to get into a good college. And now Adaine is facing the reality of what being a wizard with no rich parents means. While, on the opposite side of the spectrum, Fabian is realizing how having money might get you perks but it still doesn't shield you from getting bombarded with other problems.

And then there's Fig. Our beloved wild child whose past actions are now, quite literally, chasing after her. And the poetry of Ally setting up a Hilda Hilda callback just as Brennan reveals an investigation about a missing person's case at 22 Hilda Boulevard.

If you're reading up to here, you probably understand my reason for hating having to watch an episode at a time, right? Because I am itching to find out what happens next. For each Bad Kid.

Especially after that revelation in the end.

…

One last thing: I laughed way too much at Riz using the term "constituents" when referring to the student body of Aguefort Academy.

Also: is Brennan intentionally letting the Intrepid Heroes go off tangent so he could get his almonds in?

I guess that's last two things. Oops.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s1 episode 17 thoughts

i enjoyed this episode and was deeply excited for my nightly scully and mulder time. these two factors led to me taking a lot of notes tonight, even by my standards!

the first thing i wrote was "okay i read the synopsis... are they going to get CANCELLED" (thankfully this did not happen!)

the title screen reading "present day" did not predict me watching this in 2024 but i love to prove ppl wrong!!

the trucker pulled his shotgun out and fired at a spaceship which was a bold move. we need to praise him for his courage if nothing else.

then our intrepid heroes jump to tennessee!! and mulder unpacks all his little gadgets to check for aliens... aww it's endearing to me

in the interrogation room they were talking to the trucker and this man really WAS lounging about in a whorish manner like that famous post said!!!!! i was shocked!!! no decorum, not even at an interrogation!!

okay they're talking about "gulf war syndrome". i need to look something up real quick -> good lord i thought they made that up for the show but it's real and that is horrific. wow. that will be the next research rabbit hole i dive down.

(she opens her mouth to say something) (he holds his finger up) "not-not here" argument SUCCESSFULLY POSTPONED!

some background character asked scully for a pen and she gave it to her and i KNEW it was a sneaky trick... my guess was that she was going to use her fingerprints for something but in actuality it had a tracking device in there!!!!

THEY TOOK A BUS!!! new mode of transportation unlocked for our duo!!!!!!! you can tell this is fiction because it involves the US having functional public transport!!!!

mulder takes scully to his latest collection of freaks and conspirators. he says that barney is the world's most evil agent which once again raises the question: what did barney do to deserve all this?

one of the ufo nerds says "she's hot" right in front of scully which she graciously ignores. but then she says the us government is incompetent and the guy says "she IS hot" louder this time and mulder tells him to SETTLE DOWN!!!! he said that is my FRIEND and you will be RESPECTFUL!!!

(scully gives her $20 bill to a strange man) (he rips it up) she says, in the most indignant scully voice you have ever heard, heyyyy >:(

she says those guys were the weirdest people with the most outlandish theories she had ever met and mulder responds with "you think it's remotely plausible that someone might think you're hot?"

(A STUNNED SILENCE FILLS THE ROOM. MANY WANT TO KNOW WHY HE SAID THIS AND NO ANSWERS HAVE BEEN ACHIEVED. HELLO???? WHAT WAS THE LOGIC HERE???? is he flirting. is this is twisted humor. scully, once again, GRACIOUSLY says nothing)

she's all mad at how self important those guys were being- "they probably think they're being tracked wherever they go!" (cut to tracking device in pen reveal) oh these silly geese!!!!!!!

mulder at home reveal!!! we haven't gotten much of this before. he promptly fell asleep on his couch lmao what a guy.

a deep throat return!!! he hands mulder a package from under his coat like they do in all the good spy media!!! shoutout to that weird old man!!

scully thinks it's weird that mulder is trusting some guy and says a line that will certainly haunt me forever: "mulder, you're the only one i trust" "then you're gonna have to trust me" (immediately proceeds to get betrayed by trusting that guy. lol. lmao, even)

he says they'll meet up at her place and reassures her with a shoulder grab and lean in that was entirely unnecessary but it brought me great pleasure

scully uses her sleuthing skills (eyeballs) to realize the alien photo deep throat gave them is very fake. she is a detective!!! but he is very angry that she won't go with him to chase this new lead!

(wait i wrote all of this next part down i loved it so much)

"i have never met anyone so passionate and dedicated to a belief as you. it's so intense, sometimes it's blinding. but there are others who are watching you, who know what i know, and whereas i can respect and admire your passion, they will use it against you. mulder, the truth is out there, but so are lies." <- banger monologue that really pissed off the man it was directed towards (even though she said she admires him!!!!!!)

when he realizes the photo is indeed a fake, he menacingly leans in towards scully and says "we're alone on this one. there's no one we can trust" and yeah it was scary but i was looking at scully's freckles. sorry (it WILL happen again)

mulder meets deep throat in an aquarium!!!! need to see him in an aquarium for recreational purposes. get him a little shark keychain in the gift shop.

but now he's MAD at deep throat for lying to him and denying the world the truth: that aliens exist! shh keep your voice down you might scare the sharks!!

deep throat says "a lie is most convincingly hidden between two truths" to which i wrote, "ooo good line"

deep throat knows mulder is being listened to electronically which made me think that if i knew i was being wiretapped, i would blast the most insufferable hyperpop i know over and over again. hello welcome to the 10 hour 100 gecs livestream in my living room, feds. i give you 20 minutes tops before you give up.

(cutscene to mulder ripping apart all of his furniture in his apartment) <- me when i get that Cleaning Urge at 3 am

ohhh the little finger hand signal means someone is listening to us !!! the intimacy of being able to communicate with someone with just a motion!

scully hails a cab which is so nostalgic for me, because i have never hailed a cab in my life and only see it happen in tv shows or movies. now we just call an uber which is like kinda the same thing but taxis popped off with the bright yellow design. sad i've never experienced that.

sometimes while i'm watching the show it will randomly go to like vhs level quality and it did that here while scully was buying a plane ticket lol

next thing i wrote was "there are only 15 minutes left they are NOT gonna solve this one boys"

mulder fell asleep in the car with his mouth wide open... that is my cringefail loser princess

the alien got away! (jk it was a trap... but i was momentarily happy for the alien)

scully was scared by this turn of events! "god mulder, i can't stop shaking"... oh, an episode 1 parallel?? (she still gets scared by these things!!! just not often!!! which makes it more impactful when it happens!!)

then they crashed a random party in the woods which i can only imagine is very good for your health, especially if its a ufo welcoming party

they very briefly got aliases to break into the government facility and i LOVE a good alias but it didn't really go anywhere. sad!

a guard is stalking them breaking into a place they Should Not Be and scully gives up and turns herself in, but mulder makes a break for it!!! "oh this isn't gonna end well," i wrote, "why does he keep doing this?"

but we meet DEEP THROAT at the scene!!! who reveals that post ww2 there was an ULTRA SECRET WORLD POWER conference during which they agreed to kill any aliens that landed on earth and that HE was one of the 3 people on earth to kill an alien!! which he did when one crashed in vietnam...

and that the innocence on the alien's face still haunts him, which is why he helps mulder out, to give him a chance to atone for his sins... a LOT to unpack there

mulder says he is trying to figure out which of these things he said is a lie and my money is on the super-secret conference. you think people had nukes but drew the lines at aliens being a safety threat to bring them all together? bffr.

but there is no resolution as to if mulder is mad at scully for throwing them under the bus as the episode ends! they just watch deep throat fade into the distance together which hopefully means it's water under the bridge.

overall i really liked this episode! it was fast-paced, involved a roadtrip, had the leads both fighting and comforting each other, confessions of admiration, secret hand signals, an aquarium, a peek into mulder's living space, him calling up some weird guys he knows... what more could you really want?

[velvetvexations]

since you’re very publicly a huge fan of brennan while also really despising the way klck was treated to the point of condemning the IH’s morality, what do you think of his own treatment of her? he frames her as entitled and clearly thinks very poorly of her, so i guess i just don’t understand why you’re not also criticizing HIM for this

Okay, first of all, I have never "condemned the IH's morality". They're perfectly fine people. As I keep saying, I've been a fan of Emily (and Murph!) since before some D20 fans were born.

Secondly, I have been criticizing Brennan! Constantly! In like every single post I've explicitly criticized one or more of the Intrepid Heroes, I say that even if something didn't start with him it's entirely on Brennan because he's the referee-slash-director, he bare minimum allowed everything I don't like about the season. And I don't think that's a small complaint because like, how could I blame the IHs more than him? Soccer players need a ref, movies need directors, TTRPGs need game masters. I would never expect six players to just pull a narratively-cohesive and emotionally complex story out of their ass. I explicitly compared him to Aabria and how she often reigns her players in and gives them reminders that their characters actually live in a world where people generally act like they do in real IRL life.

I think the most I said about the Intrepid Heroes without mentioning Brennan explicitly was the post where I blamed the Kalina retcon on them not paying attention. But the thing them not paying attention apparently resulted in was a completely unnecessary move by Brennan, even if they didn't pay attention he's the one that seems to have said "yeah we'll just go with that". Players are going to miss things, that's natural, that's part of the reason a GM is there. I was a little emotional with the Intrepid Heroes in that post for dropping the ball but even still I recognize that a GM's job is to provide a consistent world that doesn't radically alter based on an easily corrected misconception by tired and harried players.

And like, this was the post I made before the "couldn't pay attention" one:

So even that post was already in the context of me having just explicitly namedropped Brennan as having been the one most to blame for it.

I haven't mentioned the interview because I don't like apparently having been wrong that there was ever meant to be a sympathetic angle to the Rat Grinders but I have been liking posts about it. If you want my opinion, it sucks, man. I said I'd been burned before on trusting something was good enough that it wouldn't go down a particular road but the way he talks about her and the other Rat Grinders truly surprised and flabbergasts me.

To sum up, I like the Intrepid Heroes a lot. I'm borderline in love with Brennan. This wasn't a great season and that's fine. No one makes every shot.

[pico-digital-studios]

👋 ^_^

So, since I can ask you any questions, here’s mine! ^^

Who is your favourite & least favourite character from:

Cartoon

Anime

Video Game

Comic/Manga

Etc

And why? ^^

OMT!Mina: Looks like we got our first question! Considering how obscure our stories seem to be compared to most, I'm honestly quite surprised.

CU!Sonic: Okay, let's see... @btnfstudios asks "Who is your favourite & least favourite character from cartoons, anime, video games, comics, etc., and why?"

OMT!Tails: Since there weren't any tags, I thought we'd take the question first to start things off. Sorry in advance that Antho, Brian and Devy couldn't be here for the question. They had some errands to attend to.

Nitro: That's fine. At least Smol Devy managed to get here!

Smol Devy: Hewwo! ^v^

OMT!Tails: Well, as it happens, aside from me idolising Benjamin, my favourite video game character's gotta be Alex Kidd. I really admire the effort he goes to to ensure his dad's safe from harm.

Nitro: Man, I really admire him for being able to do that, even when I couldn't...

OMT!Tails: (comfortingly) Solidarity, buddy.

Nitro: Anyway, if I was to pick between cartoon characters, I'd say I really admire Fluttershy's gentle and all-loving nature, even in the midst of danger. Trust me, you don't wanna be on the wrong end of her bad temper if she gets into one.

D-Sides Mighty: You know, I really dig Spider-Punk and his refusal to abide by society's perceptions and ideals. Reminds me of how my dimension's refusing to stick to a consistent "canon".

BK!Amy: If it's from my favourite anime, I've gotta go with Tohru Honda. I really enjoyed seeing her know that all bad things have to come to an end someday as well.

CR!Sonia: I don't really see much appeal in the cartoon characters that are solely girly and not much else.

CU!Sonia: Ditto. It's why I admire tomboy female characters from cartoons like Lana Loud, who's less enamoured with dresses and prefers activities the guys get up to like skateboarding.

Nitro: Heh, I remember she looks up to Ronnie-Anne a lot back home.

CU!Sonia: Wait, you used to live in the same town she did?

Nitro: Long story. I'll tell you later, if you'd like.

CU!Sonia: Of course!

CU!Sonic: You know, if a character in any of those media is in a healthy relationship with their loved ones, that's all I need to like for them. That, and good character development, of course.

Mr. Needlemouse: Favourite cartoon character? I am a cartoon character! (smug) What more needs to be said about me?

CR!Sonic: To be fair, you did end up on the list of "Top Worst-Behaved Cartoon Characters" recently.

Mr. NM: That again?! Remind me what I did again?

CR!Sonic: Well, blowing stuff up for the heck of it, you and Beeman being as bad as each other, hello?

EX!Alice: You know, I've really found an admiration for Blue Beetle, in a way. Seeing Batman go out of his way to see if he has what it takes to be a hero is such an honour not a lot of people get to experience.

OMT!Mina: I'd say Sam Sharp's my favourite. Rock and roll!

CR!Sonic: My personal favourite game character to this day? It's gotta be Mario! Dude's just saving the day just outta the goodness of his heart, you know?

Mini Sonic: Hmm, let's see... I'll opt for Green Lantern. I mean, come on! He can build anything just with that ring of his!

Wacky: You know, I've found Tintin to be quite the intrepid adventurer in his comics and film, especially when alongside his dog, Snowy.

Hog: What about Cuphead? Does he count?

Wacky: Well, he started as a video game, not a cartoon, though the similarities are there. Plus, he got his own TV show!

Hog: Cool! Where can I see it?

Wacky: Let's see... Ah, bummer. It's behind a Netflix subscription.

Hog: Hmph! If only there was a way to pirate that so I could watch it.

Nitro: I'm sure Lucia will figure out a way later.

Nine: My favourite in anime's definitely that guy from Fist of the North Star. I mean, he's almost unstoppable with those rapid-fire punches and hitting weak points. Omae wa mou shindeiru!

CR!Manik: I'm... gonna pretend I don't know what that means. Dad has really been getting me and Sonia into Wind in the Willows, one of those older British stop-motion cartoons. I particularly find Mr. Toad really hilarious to watch, haha! Poop-poop! The poetry of motion! What about you, Smol Devy?

Smol Devy: Me really likes Ana and Kat! They awesome ninja fwiends!

Trip: Hehe! Glad you're getting on well with them, little guy. I haven't seen a lot of that media before meeting my Team Sonic, but there's something I found appealing about Gromit, Wallace's dog; he's often the one to save the day when all those inventions Wallace makes either go awry or are vandalised by villains.

OMT!Tails: He really is an admirable character, even if he doesn't talk. And there you have it! Thanks for the question, Brendan!

Footnote

Nitro: Pst! I just wanted to throw in my part for the second half of that question for you, Brendan. For the "least favourite character" concerning cartoons for me, under the Looney Tunes lot, that title's absolutely going to Pepé Le Pew. His whole schtick is absolutely inappropriate by today's standards, and I'm glad I haven't seen him around Toontopia. As Vincent Alexander once put it, "If there's any moral to the cartoons, it's that if you act like Pepé, you stink." Well, thanks for the question, dude!

[chungledown-bimothy]

Okay! I am yet to actually watch crown of candy and i know it’s supposed to be good and i know i can just google things but i wanna ask why you like it n get hyped from your review! All i know is that its like game of thrones-y and zac’s character seems to be rlly cool? :D

definitely do not google crown of candy lol trust me you do NOT want anything spoiled for you. i made that mistake and Regretted it i think that what i love most about it is the character dynamics. with every other intrepid heroes season, there's at least one of the dynamics that's just not super compelling. (ricky and kingston, for example, or fig and kristen. great characters, of course, but not much that's narratively interesting between them)

that's not the case in crown of candy. every single pair of characters has a dynamic that is deep and narratively powerful and allows for truly incredible moments. it's still a funny as fuck show, don't get me wrong, but the dynamics allow all of them to flex their dramatic improv chops as well. (especially lou and emily. they all crush it- every single one of them made me cry at some point or another, but lou and emily... it's really beyond description)

and not to downplay any of the other campaigns, but the stakes feel so much higher to me. it's a much more... personal set of stakes, i guess? it's game of thrones-esque, with all of the potential lethality that that implies. there's not a moment where the foot's not on the gas and shit could catastrophically hit the fan at any given moment.

it also has the best combats by a solid margin, i think. in design, in how the characters play them out, all of it. one of my favorite youtube videos is a compilation of all of them just completely wrecking brennan's shit at different points.

plus it has some of my absolute favorite npcs. as a whole, i think it's tied only with fantasy high season 2 in terms of best cast of npcs.

as for lapin, zac's character... if i get started talking about him, i will not shut up, and i will not be able to avoid spoilers, so i'm just gonna leave it at i love him an unreasonable amount he is my favorite pc of all time (although pib is quickly approaching challenging that)

[rubylarkspur22]

You wanna know one head canon I don't understand with Demon Slayer? The Blue Spider Lily Soup head canon. What is this head canon? It's the head canon that Tanjirou and Nezuko are immune to sunlight as demons because their mother(Kie, who knew the location of the Blue Spider Lily on Mount Kumotori) fed them and their siblings a soup made from the Blue Spider Lily.

I have one question. Uh, where did this come from?

Because nothing in canon indicates this to even be remotely true. It is stated nowhere on the wiki for the blue spider lily, there's nothing in the manga, and I feel like someone would have mentioned if it was in the fanbooks or any other official material. It only says that Kie and Tanjirou are the only people who knew where the Blue Spider Lily bloomed, that the Blue Spider Lily was a key ingredient in what turned Muzan into a demon, and that Muzan seeks the flower to(supposedly , but we're gonna come back to that) conquer the sun.

What about this told fans, "Yep, Kie made this rare flower into a soup she fed to her kids!".

Aren't spider lilies poisonous?! The blue ones probably are, too, if you don't process them right! Even if the Blue Spider Lily wasn't poisonous... What reason would Kie have to even pick them? Much less use them for soup? Especially with the knowledge that regular spider lilies are poisonous. Why would Kie take that risk with her own children?

Not to mention that whole "Turned a Dude Into an Immortal, Man-Eating Monster Back in the Heian Era" thing. We don't know what exactly was in Muzan's medicine aside from the Blue Spider Lily, but we can assume it was all organic materials because I'm 99% sure antibiotics didn't exist in the pre-1000's Muzan was born in. Hell, it may have just been the flower, processed a certain way if it was poisonous, and crushed into a powder to be consumed. That's another reason why the theory falls apart. With the Blue Spider Lily being such a key component in turning Muzan, if Kie gave her kids the Blue Spider Lily Soup, why doesn't Kie have a bunch of accidental demon children running amok?!

And then we come back to Muzan wanting the Blue Spider Lily to supposedly conquer the sun. Plain and simple, and correct me if I'm wrong, we don't have concrete knowledge that the Blue Spider Lily would actually do that. Only Muzan's word, and I am not trusting that guy as far as I can throw him(Which isn't far. I am not a strong human, what makes you think I'm yeeting Muzan?). So without being certain of its effects, aside from turning a person into a demon progenitor, we can't guarantee that's why Nezuko and Tanjirou conquered the sun.

But you know what we do have, canonically, that could allow our intrepid heroes to conquer the sun?

Oh, I don't know, maybe Sun Breathing?!

Because Nezuko may not canonically be a practitioner of the techniques. But she is descended from a long line of them. And Tanjirou is a practitioner, and he conquered the sun about 30 seconds into his time as a demon!

Not to mention, Muzan specifically mentioned that he was sure Tanjirou would conquer the sun because Tanjirou and Nezuko are of the same blood.

In my opinion, this makes more sense than Blue Spider Lily Soup. It's simple, it makes sense, and I'm doing a lot less mental backflips to figure out how it works. Nezuko and Tanjirou have direct biological relation to a long line of(albeit unknowing) Sun Breathers. That's bound to influence the genetics at some point. Easy as that.

That's the one problem I have with this fandom. Some of the head canons are great, and I love them. It's when fans start acting like their head canon is canon to the point they ignore the actual canon that I get frustrated. It makes it confusing as to what is canon and what is not.

Of course, if there is an official source for this, key word official, I am all ears and eyes.

And this isn't to say headcanons are bad, per se. Just that pushing your headcanon as official canon, and accepting nothing else, is not good. Please keep that in mind. I have a few headcanons of my own, and mine to do with as I please, but I simply share them, and will note if they're headcanons. Or at least try to.

[canonicallyanxious]

[d20 neverafter episode 4 spoilers]

some more random thoughts:

man brennan hinted at there being so many secrets about the pcs that weren't revealed in the first ep and he was fucking RIGHT and i'm sure this is just scratching the surface of all the lore potential of this season!!! my mind is racing at the thought that all these secrets and motivations and opposing factions got revealed in this episode and because it was one on one the pcs don't KNOW about each other's secrets and the forces that are compelling them like the POTENTIAL FOR DRAMATIC IRONY AND TENSION i am READYYYYY

the book as a "very safe waiting room"... not an endgame or a solution but a stopgap [albeit perhaps a very effective one] so the pcs can figure out "what" to do with all the people in the book... also the book as an entity in its own right with motivations that are still entirely unclear to us... not an actively malevolent force but still terrifying especially because no one can explain it... hm... hm........

The fairies want Gerard to bring them the glass shard... but they seem not to know that the intrepid heroes have the book, and thus it's probably safe to say they don't know the book wants the glass shard too... i mean as a general statement it's so fun that there are SO many factions at play here and with such different relationships to all the pcs i am really looking forward to seeing how that all plays out!!!

out of all them pinnochio's transition into the new world felt the most forced/violent... like iirc [which is absolutely not a guarantee honestly i just watched the ep but my brain is still mush] most of them brennan just described as, like, waking up or coming into awareness in their body [kind of an implication of their consciousnesses merging with the new consciousness i think?] but with pinnochio he was being actively PUSHED into the new world by the stepmother as the pinnochio he was "replacing" was sucked violently away... i don't remember if brennan described him as having two memories of a similar life but regardless he's done a fantastic job at building the stepmother into a figure that strikes a lot of genuine fear in my heart skdjfnskdjfns

speaking of which what IS she. she seems opposed to the other fairies, and also very motivated to keep Rosamund away from the other princesses [at least I think that's who she's trying to hide Rosamund from?], and the way Cinderella talked about witches painted them as more of a neutral [at least for now] force than what the stepmother feels like. what is her endgame! girl what is your DAMAGE what do you WANT i'm SCARED

brennan don't think i didn't clock Cinderella saying that witches can't be trusted but still clearly delineating them as a separate faction from the fairies and then calling Timothy a witch in his own scene... what does it mean what does it all mean... [ALL the witches are awoken to the multiverse potential versus SOME of the fairies and SOME of the princesses...?]

[sun-lit-roses]

Brief Candle

I’m back! The holidays kinda took me out of the mood to watch new things rather than binge Star Trek for the eleven billionth time, but new year, new Stargate episodes! Booyah! Here we go, Season 1, Episode 9:

Okay I’m thinking Greek this time?

Yay, so is Daniel! I feel so smart.

Well, childbirth is something new for the series, sure.

Love everyone automatically looking at Sam. Just because she has the same parts doesn’t mean she knows what the hell to do 😂 Same, Sam.

I’ve missed the intro music 💗

Of course Daniel knows what to do! He’s our hero!

Well. Theoretically, he knows what to do. But they aren’t going to kill off a baby in the first ten minutes of the show, so I have high hopes.

Jack and Teal’c have noped out of that situation. Mood.

Aw, a baby! That is clearly not a newborn. But a baby!

Everyone is young and pretty - what is this, a teen drama?

Wow, this lady is not subtle at all.

And yet Jack is somehow startled by ‘the cake is only for you.’

Sam is definitely not surprised. Is laughing at your CO against regulations?

Also, all I can think of is ‘the cake is a lie.’ Wrong decade. But still.

Ma’am, you’re supposed to wait until your crush can’t see you before you trade high fives with your besties.

Oh good, the time honored tradition of tormenting your teammates is alive and well in Stargate. Always my favorite part 😁

Okay, judging by that last look Jack gave Sam for giggling, laughing at your CO might not be against regulations, but it is definitely not recommended if you want to stay out of the dog house. Or KP duty. Whatever.

Oh no, his vision’s going all fuzzy! WAS THE CAKE A LIE

She drugged him and is now... dancing for him? Oh and now dragging him away, that’s a little more what I expected.

Um, shouldn’t the team be fighting a little harder to intervene? This seems out of character? He just got dragged off by an alien stranger?

So the roofie wore off, Jack has no idea what happened, and he may have killed a woman with sex? This episode took a left.

Oh, everyone is just asleep. But then why does Jack look so freaked out? I mean, other than the roofie thing.

Ooooo awkward.

Bet there’s not training in ‘how to greet your team while wearing a sheet.’ I also bet that Jack wishes there was.

I can’t tell if Sam is accusatory or concerned.

Well, definitely concern all around now. Passing out will do that. What all is up with that cake?? Roofie *and* universe’s best sleeping medication?

 Poor Jack. He is not having a good time.

Wait, the other people aren’t hungover. So is it not the cake that makes them pass out?

T’ealc’s ‘You never before inquired’ when Daniel asks why he didn’t tell him he knew what the temple symbols meant. He’s not wrong. 😂

Teal’c just casually opening up the statue while Daniel rambles. King.

That is a *really* cool tablet.

Aha! That’s why they made a big deal out of the birth mark! So we could identify this kid who’s growing up WAY too fast.

Wait, the original dude. He said 100 days of celebration or something. What if it’s not a festival, but some kind of sped up time thing? Sped up lives? Or is the planet sped up, and our intrepid heros are going to return home and find a year passed or something?

Looks like the former! So does each day equal one year for these people?

I’d make a joke about cradle robbing, but since Jack was drugged and not consenting, I’ll refrain. Also, if it’s 1 day = 1 year, then 31 years seems respectable.

A virus?

Oh no, that means Jack only has 100 days to live?! Or less, maybe? Not sure how that translates if they start out older. He was growing on me!

Whoa that sunset came on fast.

Yay, it’s the Cool Doc again! I’m glad she came back. She better not die like Kowalsky did after two episodes. I’ve got trust issues with this show now.

Floppy disks. Now there’s a throwback.

OH great, starting out older sounds like it accelerates this? So how much time does he have??

Holy receding hairline, Batman.

TWO WEEKS?!

I mean, he’s right to send them away, best to be on the safe side and they can make trips for info that they need. I’m glad their disease protocols are improving! Although considering they let Carter traipse back and forth... still not great.

Nanotech? Will that be easier to destroy than a normal virus? Just wave a big EMP in Jack’s direction, see what happens?

Pretty sure arguing with the statue isn’t a *great* use of your time, Jack, but I can’t really blame you.

MARRIAGE cake?

I’m not sure yelling at the woman about the only culture she’s ever known is really going to help matters here.

How does their aging work anyway - everyone looks young. Where are the people who are 70 or 80 days old? Or do they not visibly age after a certain point? But they don’t seem surprised by Jack’s appearance, so that doesn’t make sense.

Also, is there just like a *massive* graveyard somewhere if people are dying off so quickly?

I really need to stop trying to figure out the internal logic of a planet that, based on how the show has gone so far, we’re never going to see again.

How does Jack know that there isn’t like a forcefield or laser grid to keep the Chosen from leaving? I guess they probably scanned the area for things like that.

This is... possibly very sweet? I know Kynthia is trying to be nice, but sex really can’t solve everything, honey.

Also, are they going to have sex right in front of the Stargate? What if someone comes through. All ‘We have a cure!... OH.’

Could we have a Jack episode that *doesn’t* make me want to cry? Please?

Well, that’s taking de-throning a god very seriously.

Okay, this has been bugging me the whole time, WHERE do I know the blonde female alien from? The actress, I mean. I’m going to have to look her up after the episode, aren’t I.

They’re going to run into some sort of forcefield by leaving the village aren’t they?

There is some sort of... something? They’re awake? Jack isn’t younger, though.

The statue! Has a blinky thing!

Our team to the rescue!

They fixed everyone and Jack gets to live. Love a happy ending.

Aw. Maybe Kynthia can fall for someone new with all the years she has now. Maybe without drugging them first this time.

[eclipsecrowned]

tiny bg3 au concepts for muses that have clear ideas. 5/??

hel: tief (of maternal goliath descent) grave cleric/bard. potential party member. traveling songstress turns out to be on the run from a nobleman. personal questline involves either hel refusing to stoop to the level of said nobleman who ruined her life and reclaiming the family she lost and potentially counting the pc as part of such... or her losing her family more permanently through player choices/quest outcomes and striking back twice as hard, hardening her character and introducing a villain arc. chronically ill with visible physical deformities, her con stat is a thing of horror. i just think she and ast*rion would be hilarious as buddies given her class vs their overlapping autonomy trauma.

hoid/wit: just a normal human bard. recurring npc. just a silly goofy dude who gets everywhere. royal advisor, court jester, beggar, coachman, he plays every role to perfection, a jack of all trades. roll high enough in perception and you realize he's a big fat liar. knows a little too much about history from an objective perspective than anyone should be comfortable with. may be a legendary figure who killed a god? it's a blur. don't think about it too hard, just let the silly white haired anime man give you an uplifting story that recontextualizes your problems and helps you grow as a person. is working against a vague shadow organization ran by his ex, don't worry about it. he just wants to stop the apocalypse.

evi: wife, mother, drow cleric. npc bc lbr it'd be her eldest son and his squad as recruitable party members. fled the underdark decades ago at great personal risk, bringing with her armor and weapons of great power. was never truly safe until she married a warlord and settled into a... fraught... marriage. has kept her head high and her heart open, however, especially with her two sons in the mix. is key to one potential outcome for the kh*lin fam questline in which you expose that a long history using her as a pretense to go to war was false and she was actually attacked by friendly fire. will heal party no problem and is genuinely a good egg to players, regardless of race, alignment, or class. if one of her sons or their associates are recruited she's trusting you with her baby and them with you so you all get to come back safe🥺

melisande: non-human magic user (exact class tbd) who is traveling with her dragon companion. not much of a fighter, but has a number of neat spells and status effects up her sleeve. first one to cast speak with animals in the wilds. was raised by a master wizard and wants to do him proud. i think rather than the big boy seen in the movie her dragon gorbash is still just a little guy nipping at her heels. a gentle chaotic good type, too beautiful to truly be the human she claims to be. but it's rude to stare and conjecture exactly what her lineage truly is, seeing as how she was happily adopted as a child. i see her as the npc type with gorbash acting as basically a scaly overgrown housecat of precious few braincells.

lena: same general story beats, half-elf bard and rich girl out on her own for the first time. her attempt at a business trip is cut short by current events and she ends up in the party's orbit. will sugar mommy their silly little tasks because i mean. world's fucked. might as well live deliciously with the time we have left, especially if you're one of the intrepid heroes seeking to stop the apocalypse in its tracks.

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

Two Scandals and a Scot by Tracy Sumner

The Duchess Society #5

 Splendid, scintillating, sensual story that was a joy to read! Slipping back into the Leighton Cluster, seeing how the couples are doing, and joining in vicariously as the family closer than one based on blood manages to continue to thrive was the perfect way to spend the day.

 What I liked: * Theodosia “Theo” Astley: raised in poverty, taken in by a sister that was unaware of her, trained by The Duchess Society, intelligent, dreams of having an education and teaching, tries to be what is expected – but is not, doesn’t trust easily

* Dashiel “Dash” M. Campbell: Scottish, difficult backstory, intelligent, lived by his wits, taken in by Macauley, beautiful, chick-magnet, doesn’t share or trust easily, true to the Leighton Cluster, an author, a bit of a surprise to himself and others

* The way Dash came to Theo’s rescue after what must have been a fiasco of an engagement party

* The kiss that changed the lives of Dash and Theo

* The strong bond between all in the Leighton Cluster

* The sizzle and steam leaping off the page when Dash and Theo are together

* That quiet Theodosia is not as quiet as most think she is – she might even surprise herself

* The way it all works out in the end – loved every moment of the reading of this story

* Looking forward to Jasper Noble’s story in book six of the series

* All of it except…

 What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* Thinking about ton expectations and people trying to live up to them

* Thinking of the way the poor must have lived in this time and wishing it wasn’t so

 Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Definitely

 Thank you to Wolf Publishing and the author for the ARC – this is my honest review.

 5 Stars

     BLURB

 Step into a world of scandal, romance, and unexpected love! With witty banter, sizzling love scenes, and a twist on the classic marriage of convenience theme, Two Scandals and a Scot is a must-read for fans of the Duchess Society series by USA Today bestselling author Tracy Sumner!

 Scandal number one. A runaway bride.

 Scandal number two. The kiss.

 When Theodosia Astley’s shocking engagement ball sets society ablaze, she finds herself in need of a hero. Can she help it if her savior comes in the form of her intrepid former student, Dash Campbell, a captivating gambler with a heart of gold?

 The carriage was empty. And parked in her brother’s drive. She had no idea it was his.

 With a bookish wallflower’s assistance, Scottish ruffian Dash wrote a novel that made him famous. When he finds himself presented with the opportunity to pay his erstwhile teacher back, how can he refuse? Even if Theo’s sharp wit fearfully fascinates him. It’s a dangerous wager for a Scottish gutter rat to think of falling for the sheltered sister of a duke.

 When Dash proposes marriage to salvage her reputation, Theo suggests her own twist on the age-old agreement. They marry—but remain friends who do not fall in love.

 What could go wrong?

 Set against a backdrop of faithful wagers and sizzling desire, Two Scandals and a Scot is a thrilling tale of forbidden romance, with affection and passion pitted against societal expectations and personal demons. Follow Dash and Theo as they navigate their way through the high stakes world of love as they discover whether theirs can withstand the tests of time and circumstance.

The Duchess Society Series #1 The Brazen Bluestocking #2 The Scandalous Vixen #3 The Wicked Wallflower #4 One Wedding and an Earl #5 Two Scandals and a Scot More to follow! Prequel: The Ice Duchess Christmas novella: The Governess Gamble

[tailsrevane]

[webseries review] dimension 20: the unsleeping city (2019)

did i miss the fantasy high setting/characters? yes. obviously. but what this proved to me was that the real magic was always brennan lee mulligan dming for the incredibly talented cast of players known as the intrepid heroes.

the stakes this time are theoretically much higher, and some epic shit does happen over the course of this campaign, but i gotta be real with y’all, the stakes didn’t really feel higher to me? because i just wasn’t as attached to these characters as i was to the fantasy high characters.

the tone is darker, the stakes often feel more dire, but it’s not grimdark. and i just really trust everyone involved in this as storytellers so the altered tone felt, idk… safe? if that makes sense? like, this isn’t the sort of story i often go looking for, but in their hands i’m more than willing to go along for the ride.

i do need to mention as an aside that while the first season gave us “laws are threats” & “the police are basically an occupying army,” this season gave us… uhhhh… a truly embarrassing like uninterrupted five minutes of everyone expressing profuse love for a fucking supreme court justice??? like, i don’t wanna overstate this or anything, it was just a bit of a bummer/heavy eyeroll moment, that’s all.

ally is still my favorite player because i’ve just been a huge fan of theirs ever since i saw their first few appearances on dropout’s “um actually…” and lou is probably a close second, but i gotta say i think zac’s character ricky matsui was far & away my favorite in this season. he’s another himbo, but a completely different himbo than gorgug? i just got such a kick out of him lapsing into superhero/firefighter safety cadence at the slightest provocation. fucking incredible.

also, out of the three seasons of dimension 20 i’ve seen so far (this & the two fantasy high seasons), towards the end of the season brennan oftentimes likes to put his players in a position of having to make difficult choices immediately before (or in this case during) the final confrontation with the season’s big bad. this season had the extra dramatic step of him actually having the other players physically leave the room while he talked to each player in turn, and i really loved the way this ratcheted up the drama but also how true each character’s response felt to the journey their characters had been on throughout the season. (or, in ricky’s case, he hadn’t really been on a journey at all, he was just consistently the most extremely goodest boy, and appropriately enough his response radiated good boy energy.)

it’s nice to know that even when the broad strokes of the story don’t interest me as much, i still really love watching these wonderful people play dungeons & dragons and weave stories together. and i still have so many more seasons to watch! fuck, guys, i’m so happy my mate introduced us to this show.