goldtiger16

[swan2swan]

She's fifteen or sixteen years old and she Did Not Need This.

[iu-xo]

"Like we've always hated each other"

Sinner Adam.

Intro part 1 part 2 part 3

I have never published my writing before, I hope i keep this for at least three parts, this is really the introduction, not part one, it is an adamsapple fic to clarify!

Before, before the bite, before the fall, back in the Eden, before the mistake, or mistakes.

No one really knows everything that happened there before the original sin was conceived, the story they know is the same, the human was tempted, the apple was bitten, the angel fell.

There really isn't nothing more, but nothing is really black and white. right?

The warm sunlight hit the grass that covered the floor like a velvet carpet, despite the natural freshness of the plants it felt warm, as if everything in that place was made to be perfect, that whole garden made to be an ethereal, divine, holy, beautiful.

And those expectations were the same for the first creature that was left to its fate in the green that infinitely covered every inch of the ground at a perfect temperature.

Adam.

There was no comparison, there was no starting point, he would not know what to do to fulfill his role here even if that was the intention he had, and yet, even without being able to compare him to anyone else his expectations were... infinite.

A unique creature, a perfect creature, created in the likeness of the true and only deity in existence, a creature made not to suffer, a race with a population of one for the purpose that it would know no pain, very high hopes for someone who was born yesterday right?

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

His eyes were closed, refusing to see the light behind his eyelids, refusing to see a light that in fact was not even there anymore, but that was something he did not know, Brown hair tousled by the violent winds that could only be covered by those reddish buildings and that wall in deplorable state that separated him from the hustle and bustle that could be heard meters away, screams, splashes, pain... bad smells.

Connecting all this, he opened his eyes suddenly, desperately searching with his eyes, looking for what? He didn't know exactly, maybe that this were all a dream, or that his senses were betraying him and at any moment he would be on a cloud, playing chords and shouting lyrics to the air in the comfort of heaven, maybe he was looking for Lute, but maybe, just maybe the only thing he was looking for was that what he knew to be true was'nt true.

He was in hell.

Nothing made sense to him, why would he be there in the first place? After getting up aggressively in desperation he stumbled awkwardly with his own feet, or so he thought until instead of his feet what he saw when he looked down was two big fuzzy hooves where his feet should be, something that he did not take calmly, he jumped back to the floor hitting the opposite wall, but to his surprise before his head hit the wall something did it before him. Disorientated he directed both of his hands to his head, he found a base, he followed the path with his fingers until he reached the tip of a pair of horns of pure bone, frightened again he released them abruptly bringing his hands back to himself only to see the black color of them, the slightest change of all he had seen so far... but not the least shocking anyway, all this was too much, he was so used to not worry about situations, to not worry about anything actually, he was made to have everything handed to him on a silver platter and never in his life had he had to suffer a single consequence to his actions, he sat there for what first were seconds, then minutes, maybe a couple of hours... probably longer.

Once tired of being in a state of shock, two lamb's hooves looked for a way to find the balance for the whole body they were carrying, while in Adam's mind only noisy and incomprehensible thoughts were passing by, starting to walk with his new limbs helped him to familiarize himself in the new environment, why? How? What had happened before that? He was trying to remember what had brought him to this outcome, everything after going down to hell with his troops felt blurry, confusing, but he did remember kicking some red guy's ass... throwing the princess over the edge of the fucking hotel and.... Lucifer.

The last thing he remembered didn't leave him wanting to remember anymore, so after getting used to walking he examined what other change there was he might not have noticed, he inspected with his hands in detail every part of him, most of him was there, legs, mostly.. arms, although different, his head was fine, except for his newly acquired horns.. then moved on to his face, he couldn't see it so he approached a puddle next to a dumpster with mostly bags of questionable powders, he could see his teeth in the reflection of the puddle and noticed how sharp his pearly whites were, not too white anymore tough, his eyes giving off an unnatural demonic glow, he simply snapped back and with a scream and a mule kick to the dumpster he waited for a response, but there was none...of course, from who would it be.

This made Adam feel obliged to keep recapitulating what had brought him here, what he had been left in.. a. Yes. When lucifer kicked his ass. Then.. splitting the hotel in two.. ending up on the floor and.

Oh, rigth.

His death. How could he forget such a small little detail. The advanced extermination had concluded with the fucking death of the self-proclaimed "dick master" something he had barely managed to connect in his brain, but having died did not explain to him how he was here now.. why here and not in heaven? Why his wings were numb? and had a burnt appearance? Why the fuck instead of an angel it looked like a nasty, disgusting, fetid demon-!

...

Shit.

[hoodoo12]

i just went and saw beetlejuice again, honestly hearing about how much u enjoyed seeing the tour multiple times rlly influenced me to go again. you’re so right about them being more comfortable interacting with each other. i loved seeing the little things that have changed! justin added some super funny bits during the scene with the sandworm and the maitlands just seemed extra goofy that night it was wonderful :)

(i do have to add a horny bit for u tho - tour juice really does use his tongue more than the other juices huh)

Hell YEAH

I love hearing about other people's experiences seeing the show. It is definitely something to try and see more than once if possible because there is always so much going on that it is easy to miss the interactions between characters while focused on the main action of a scene. It is so much fun to see Justin's interpretation of the titular character: a little more feral, a little more creature, a less put together, a lot more tongue. He gives me delicious vibes and I like it. Much more monster than sympathetic . . . (all my opinion, of course!). Allow me a moment to reflect and give my opinions on the different Juices, including opinions on the way they're played. This will be below a cut so feel free to scroll on by.

With so many people playing Beetlejuice, differences are inevitable, especially since the character breaks the fourth wall and interacts with the audience. I've seen Alex, Will, Andrew, Elliott, and Justin in the role (alas, I've not yet seen Matthew or Lee!) and some observations: To me it is clear that the actors with an improv background have more freedom with the character. They're much more willing to take a chance with something and much more comfortable with 'rolling with it.' The two that have less of an improv performance background are very good from a technical standpoint, but aren't as 'loose' (for lack of a better term). They have a script and they stick to it without much straying from it. That's not a bad thing! Just different and much more 'classical' than the others.

However, that ability to go with the flow allows for more spontaneity and can make those audience interactions or playing to the audience extra special. The actors that know how long to stretch a bit, when to move on, how to handle audience interruptions and whatnot with ease and command just make the character and show that much better. We've all heard of Alex shushing adults. Andrew rolled with it when the audience spontaneously shouted back "We see you, we appreciate you, we fear for our lives around you" during his speech, going off script and dismissing us with, "Nope. Didn't work," before continuing. Justin has stretched the whole "look Lydia, now we both have dead moms!" bit to the point of uncomfortable hilariousness. All of them are pros at that sort of thing, and make the live theater experience that much more memorable.

I love how Will and Elliott play the character. It's fun and it's on brand; the best thing about Beetlejuice is there is no one right way to be Beetlejuice. Brightjuice is iconic. Blumjuice is softer, more in need of cuddles. Koberjuice is big and has lots of 'daddy' vibes. Mattoxjuice leans towards Blumjuice, but a little more playful. Collettejuice is more on the creepy, dangerous side. Basically, what ever flavor Juice you want, it's there. And with the musical opening in Brazil, Japan(??, plus other countries, hopefully!), and the cruise, there'll be lots more to love!

[awellboiledicicle]

Fido is good at pretending to be normal but one of these days they're going to deadpan to Astarion that they're going to bite him and he'll need a second to determine if they're fucking with him.

"Pardon?" "You're giving me cute aggression and i will bite you." "Explain literally all of that?" "You keep making this little scrunchy face and its adorable. Which makes me so mad i want to bite you." Their deadpan has not wavered in the least. "It's a earth thing." Well now he was just curious, ignoring the comment about his face--though adorable wasn't in the list of compliments he usually ignored. "So you'd just bite each other if you thought something was cute?" "No it's like... have you ever seen a cat that was just... so fluffy your whole body says pet it? And you can't because you don't know the cat and the cat might not be cool with it, so you just hold the feeling inside until it feels like you're going to burst?" "You are... a strange person." A pause. "Are you saying you view me as.. a fluffy cat?" "No, i'm saying i get the overwhelming urge to give you physical affection and you don't seem like you'd want that, so i just settle for saying i'm gonna bite you." They waved their hands with a frown. "I'd give you so many hugs if you didn't give off the vibe that you'd kill me for it." A much, much longer pause. "I.. you're right. I don't know if i'd be quite prepared for that." He shifted his weight from foot to foot and momentarily thanked the universe for blushing not being an option. He did, however, let the soft smile come across his face at the idea of such things. "But that isn't to say i'd dislike it." They blinked for a moment before holding open their arms. "Hug?" "Really?" He scoffed, eying them for a second. "Just like that?" "Just like that." To his credit, he did try to remember how to hug someone without it feeling like he was just tackling them or embracing them for other purposes. He mostly succeeded, arms going tentatively around their sides before their arms snaked around him and pulled him close. It felt oddly warm, their hands settling on his back and giving him a light squeeze. He tentatively mirrored the action and dared rest his chin on their shoulder. It was... nice. It came to an end shortly after, as hugs can only last so long he supposed. Another moment he was happy blood likely couldn't rush to his face, as they grinned another innocently happy smile at him. "That was..." He opened his mouth and closed it. He blinked wetly at as he realized something. "I don't think anyone's hugged me before." Fido's ability to keep their pity off their face was admirable. If they'd pitied him in that moment, the magic would have been gone. Instead their smile softened and they dared a gentle pat on his arm. "There's more where that came from, Astarion. You just need to ask." He must have nodded because they mirrored the action. "Friends are allowed to do that." He almost choked on the idea as a chuckle clawed its way out in disbelief. He found himself wrapping his arms around his middle and just.. studying them for a moment. "You know, for 200 years... I've had countless lovers. Countless... victims." He worried at his lower lip for a moment, finding words. "But i don't think i've ever had a proper friend." "Well you do now." They glanced around camp, to where the others were doing their own things. Scratch and the owlbear running around. This time a grin lit their features and he almost felt like mirroring it. "And everyone here... they might not always get along, but we've all got your back. All of us. And whenever you doubt that, you can count on me." "You are such a strange, strange creature."

[everything-i-couldnt-tell-u]

the problem is that i have a version of you stored inside my head that constantly drives me paranoid. it's not the real and current you but it's based on the words and actions you've told me before. recently, it's been becoming more vivid in my hallucinations in the headspace which is why it's hard for me to know which are the real things you said and not.

it's the same creature in my head who took the form of people i loved before that has done stuff that hurt me in the past. i don't know why it constantly wants to scare me away, probably because it doesn't want me to trust anyone. before you, it formerly took the form of my mom and my friends and never stopped making me feel like shit.

that version/hallucination of you in my head constantly criticizes me, curses me, and threatens me that she will leave me. i swear i've been trying my best not to believe her, but once she decides to fuck me up, my pov will always be distorted - i'll become sensitive to every little thing, take in every word you say as criticisms/threats/signs that you don't want me. not being in touch with you for a while? it suddenly looks like a sign that i've been abandoned. you commenting on something i do even if it's not negative? suddenly looks like a threat that you've seen something i said/did and it might be used against me/you're secretly judging and laughing at me for it

yesterday, i couldn't control myself and gave into the the urge she created inside me. i spent a whole ass thirty minutes stalking your interactions with other people, backreading your happy convos with arveil, backreading and reliving all the times when you said you don't want me anymore. then after seeing all those, my hallucination will ask me — "so after all the evidence we've collected, do you still not see that i obviously hate you?" "diba arveil was always something while you're just some annoying bitch she has to put up with"

and you know after that, i had another fuckass nightmare where i was happily telling you something but you straight up ignored me and showed my face that you're only interested in talking to people who will listen to you talk about yourself without complaining. the hallucination implied that she, the hallucination of you, lost interest in me the moment i craved to have you listen back to me.

it's hard to act normal whenever this happens and it's unfair cause none of those are real. but even though they're not real, i can all feel it so much. i feel sick and dying whenever my hallucination of you abandons me in my head/nightmares. i sometimes end up avoiding you cause in my head, my hallucination of you told me to fuck off and just move on already.

but before you, that hallucination took the form of my mom. she would also criticize the fuck out of me all the time and ruined the way i see mom. she made mom look like some kind of monster to me to the point that i always pushed mom away and snapped at her too. i couldn't differentiate her true intentions from the harmful intentions that my hallucination says it has.

but after identifying this, i don't feel as paranoid as usual. yeah i am still paranoid and i do feel sick, but i'm starting to get a little numb to how it hurts. i just hope i figure out how to make that hallucination stop fucking me up less if it's really impossible for it to ever leave me alone

[i-love-side-characters]

this took me so long to write wtf

oh it's about racism in the lost cities <3 (this is a whole ramble with with things we already know i just kinda wanted to write it)

tl;dr: elves discriminate against characters in the books based on their race, abilities, and social standing, mirroring our own human world. in this specific post i talk about racism.

let's just start out with the definition of racism. according to the merriam-webster dictionary, racism is defined as "a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race" (link here)

sound familiar? that's because it was outright said by fintan in lodestar.

"simply put: [elves] are better, on every level. smarter. more powerful. with talents and skills none of you can even comprehend." (page 623, lodestar)

unfortunately my quote-finding skills are less that satisfactory right now because i'm very tired and i'm in canada so my hands are fucking freezing so i can't show as much evidence as i'd like!! so bear with me please <3

throughout the series, we interact with every race that exists in the lost cities, and through each encounter we've seen them through the eyes of the elves, as well as the added opinion of the goblins. and with each interaction, disparities in how one race is treated over the other.

in this specific post i want to talk about the different treatment of ogres compared to goblins, trolls, and any other race. you can argue that there is a good reason―ogres have always been hostile towards elves―but even ogres that are explicitly allies to council in the books are treated as the enemy.

i want to pull your attention to this short interaction in nightfall. i believe that it perfectly illustrates the stigma that is deeply rooted in elven culture. for context, this is shortly before magnate leto reveals the name of the escaped prisoner to be "vespera".

"shayda adel happens to be the daughter of two important emisarries."

"so? i'm a princess?" ro pointed to the tattoos on her forehead.

"i'm aware. but royalty or not, you'll still have to face consequences for your actions―and not just the detention i'm going to make you both serve through the end of the school year. the adels will insist the council issue their own punishment."

"what about the punishment for her assault on me?" ro countered. "she was trying to knock me into that ugly jeweled dragon statue in the atrium―and if you think that i'm going to let some scrawny elf make a fool out of me―"

"miss adel's punishment will be the days of bed rest she now requires while her bones heal." magnate leto interrupted. [...] "i understand that some of my prodigies have been far from welcoming―and i'm working to correct that. but in the meantime.... play nice."

― conversation between magnate leto and ro (page 606-607, nightfall)

now i understand that ro escalated the situation to unnecessary lengths, but there are a few things that truly bother me about this interaction.

my main issue is leto. he completely ignores any kind of punishment for shayda, saying that her punishment is "the days of bed rest she now requires while her bones heal," completely ignoring that ro is in fact ogrish royalty and ms. adel assaulted her physically could be considered a violation of a treaty, not the mention the assault of a known and "welcome" guest of the council. leto's protection of shayda continues as he says "and i'm working to correct that. but in the meantime.... play nice." once again he completely discounts ro in this scenario, originally implying that ro should remain quiet should she face any kind of anger at her presence.

i'm getting very tired so i'm going to try and end this soon. but this is not an uncommon occurrence in the series. ogres are time and time again mocked and hated for their race, even when they have done nothing wrong. they are often described as "ugly", "monstrous", and "evil". elves readily assume that they are brutes and dumb creatures. they are also constantly diminishing their intelligence and the value of ogre lives.

in neverseen, sophie comes up with the plan to flood the city of ravagog in order to save the lives of her friends. in the aftermath of the flooding, it is revealed that hundreds of ogres were killed. and yet, no bats an eye. the deaths of hundreds isn't mentioned until nightfall, and even then it is only one sentence. when the council visits havenfield towards the end of neverseen, they discuss what happen. this was councillor emery's reaction: "'we've seen the damage.' he didn't sound furious. he sounded impressed." (page 631, neverseen). he sounded impressed that the capital was flooding and destroyed so badly that it was in need of horribly major repairs?

in lodestar, sophie, our main character, states that "the dimitar that was speaking in the circle wasn't the bloodthirsty beast she'd come to expect. he was articulate. logical. clearly concerned for his people. much more like the king lady cadence described." (page 633, lodestar). with reason you could assume that dimitar was evil, but to mentally diminish his intelligence to a point where you are surprised by his intellect is wrong.

and if you'll notice, nobody ever seems to doubt the intelligence of the neverseen.

[bylertruther]

17, 37, 48 ❣️ (biting you tho.)

seventeen. do you think will is going to have powers?

going to have?! he already has them and i hope that when the upside down swallows hawkins whole that it makes them even stronger and gives him back his electricity manipulation or whatever the hell it was that made him able to contact joyce from the upside down<3 i need tht true sight dialed up to 100%. i also think it'd be supremely sexy if he mastered the art of spying and was able to fight back like tht. or if he became like a walking radar and used his "now memories" to be able to pinpoint where things are exactly and thus was directly in the monster fighting mix bc of it. smth smth abt taking this reminder of his trauma and using it to fight back, taking control of it instead of letting it take control of him. i also think it'd be cool if he used vecna's tricks against him. if maybe the puppet can become the puppet master or smth. maybe even use vecna's power to release the demo-creatures from their possession, leaving the general without his soldiers. but it'd only go tht far bc will would never make another creature do something they don't want to do. it'd jus be to kill tht clown, u kno? no more than tht.

thirty seven. if byler is something you believe thats going to happen, how do you think they’ll handle it?

oh my goshhhhhh do Not ask me this. i don't even want to think abt it bc i don't want to get my hopes up. i am a byler truther through and through but i am also a very cute and fluffy scared hamster. my hope in general is already killing me i won't survive if i add any byler hope to the mix bdjhsbf. 😭 BUT REGARDLESS... i know tht will is going to cry. and tht noah is going to steal the scene srry bt it's tru. it's going to happen and their gay love for each other will literally actually save the world and each other. i just don't know how.

forty eight. do you think hopper would be a good father to jonathan and will if he comes back and him and joyce get together?

i think so. he's had a lot of time to reflect on himself, his trauma, and his actions. if that sticks, then i have no doubt that he would be a good father. he and will have saved each others lives countless of times. hopper especially has put himself in danger multiple times for will. i remember that he accompanied them to his appointments with dr owens, too. hopper clearly cares about the byers and wants them all to be safe and feel safe. the only thing that would give me pause is if his short temper reemerged. i don't think that will and jonathan would react well to the aggression we've seen him display in previous seasons—even with all the good he's done their family, i'm sure it'd remind them too much of lonnie. "if you're raised with an angry man in your house, there will always be an angry man in your house." :/ but we know that he cares about them. we know that he is capable of being sweet once he's let his guard down. we know that he feels things. jonathan and will are both sensitive, he'd have to adjust to that i think, but we've seen him do it with them before. will would probably be more receptive to hopper considering everything he's done for him, and jonathan would probably take more time to adjust to having another man in the house and no longer having to don the patriarchal role, but he would get there, too. he wants his family to be happy and safe, and them all having someone to support them would give him the space to live his own life, too. so long story short !!!!! yes, i do think hopper would be a good father now that he's come out of his cave again and stepped into the light. :)

[levithestripper]

Hello My Old Heart

a/n: I felt it was only right to commemorate the final chapter of Attack on Titan with an angst fic about the last chapter. listen to Hello My Old Heart by The Oh Hellos while reading for the full experience!

✩ warnings: chapter 139 spoilers, talk of character death. ✩

✩ taglist: @myglitteringstardust @alicchi @sleepysnk @waywardsongbird3 ✩

✩ If you want to be added to a taglist, fill this out! ✩

Hello, my old heart, how have you been?

Footsteps clacked against the stone ground. The steam cleared, showing off Mikasa gently cradling Eren’s severed head. Mikasa was disturbingly calm. As if the trauma of it all desensitized her to the realities of Eren’s death. That she’s never going to be able to see that cute kid he was again. Or hear the determined sound of his voice, like when he finally mastered his broken ODM Gear. Or hear his laughter after pulling a prank on Jean. It’s like she still thought he was here. Eren did everything in his power to keep her safe, to keep her alive. To keep them all alive.

Eren told her that he wants her to forget about him when he dies. Wanted her to throw away that old red scarf of hers, to truly leave him behind. Leave him behind, dead and cold in his grave. To forget about him and move on with her life. To find someone so much better, someone so much better for her than he could ever be. Eren loved her with all of his heart. Loved her more than himself at some points. He built up walls around her to keep her safe, to keep her safe from anyone that tried to hurt her.

Are you still there inside my chest?

Armin crumbled to the floor in front of her, sobs wracking his body. His brother was dead. His brother was dead. His brother was dead. His decapitated head was sitting right in front of him. His head should still be on his body! Eren should still be here! He has to still be alive, what is he going to do without him? Eren needs to be here, he needs his brother! Eren was always there to pick him up, to push him forwards, gave him confidence when he was bullied and made fun of. What was he going to do without him now? Eren was the whole reason why he pursued that stupid, stupid dream of his. Armin clutched his brother's head against his chest, hunched over as he wailed. Thick tears streamed down his face, dripping down his chin, some even getting in his mouth. His blond hair stuck to his forehead, matted down with sweat and dirt. Why does all of his family leave him alone? Why is he always alone in this world?

I've been so worried, you've been so still

Barely beating at all

Eren used to sit under that tree and talk with Armin for hours, just as long as they were both back home before dinnertime. Armin would bring his book and read to him, talking all about the oceans full of sand, water so salty that no merchant could collect it all. Sometimes, Eren would bring the action figures his father bought for him when he went on trips to the Capitol. They’d run around and laugh till the sunset, dreaming of the day that they both could see the pictures in Armin’s book for real.

When the Survey Corps finally made it to the sea was the last good memory they all collectively had together. Back when everyone was still alive. Back when Sasha and Hange were around before Levi was injured. Before Eren became the monster he ended up as. Armin often found himself looking back at it, remembering when he sat in the shallow water, laughing with Mikasa and freaking out over sea creatures with Eren. He remembered Jean and Connie dunking each other under the waves, gasping when they swallowed some and found out how salty it was. How Levi was still looking after and protecting Hange from injuring herself again. Oh, if he could only go back to those days. He missed those days, seeing Sasha always smiling so brightly, listening to Hange frantically going on and on about a theory they had.

He thinks back to their days in training, how young they all were still. How young and naive they were to the things ahead of them. When Jean was still an asshole when Marco was still alive. Before Reiner, Annie, and Bertolt were all out as traitors. They were so, so ignorant to the world around them, to what was going on. But he wouldn’t have had it any other way. If given the chance, he wouldn’t have done anything differently.

Oh, don't leave me here alone

Don't tell me that we've grown

After Eren’s funeral, Jean had pulled Armin off to the side, wanting to reminisce about the old days.

“Do you remember that one time in our third year of training, right before we graduated, the prank Marco pulled on me?” Jean asked with a chuckle. They were sitting where the Yeager household used to be. It was still in shambles, the roof was still caved in, cobblestone porch crumbling as they walked on it. They sat on the edge of it, feet dangling, soles of their shoes scraping the dirt. “He filled my pillowcase with and bed sheets with itching powder, so when I got up in the morning I’d itch myself raw from how much he used. When we had to line up for roll call that morning, I couldn’t stop moving so Shadis made me run until I passed out.”

Armin nodded, rolling a pebble around in the palm of his hands. “That was a fun day. I’ve never seen someone strip that fast before. You came back and were practically throwing your uniform off as you ran to the pond right outside of camp.” He looked up at him, the smallest of smiles on his face. They were both dressed in suits, white dress shirts, and black ties, with matching shiny back dress shoes. Jean’s hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, a little tuft of fluffy hair on the back of his head. He had shaved his undercut again, looking a little bit like his old fifteen-year-old self again. Jean had shaved Armin’s undercut as well, helping him clean up his look a bit.

“Oh! Or that time when I dared Eren to get Captain Levi to crack a raw egg on his own head?” Armin laughed softly, smiling up at Jean as he spoke. “Eren-Eren he walked up to him and handed him the egg, you know? And said ‘Hey, Captain Levi! I need you to hold out your hand for me! Now close your eyes!’ And Captain actually did it! Then Eren positioned his hand above his head and told him to let go!” Jean had a huge grin spread across his face, one that Armin hadn’t seen in a while. He missed it. It was nice to finally hear Jean laughing again. It was nice seeing the little crinkles that form in the corner of his eyes when he smiles too hard. Little lines were coming in around his mouth now too. He seemed so much older than he used to.

“Remember right before graduation, the night before the Trost attack, when we all snuck into the girls' barracks and had a sleepover? You tried so hard to sleep the closest to Mikasa’s bunk.” Armin laughed this time, his eyes shining again if you looked real hard. “To think that was the last normal night we had before everything changed. The last night we still had everyone around. Before Marco died.” Jean looked down at his lap, playing with his right hand. “I know he was cremated, but did you ever make a memorial of sorts somewhere for him?”

He shook his head solemnly. “I didn’t have the chance. I thought about it, but no place was good enough. Marco deserved so much more than I could give him, I couldn’t find a place that deserved his presence.” He looked up again, turning to face Armin. “His mother made one in her backyard, I might do the same, now that I'm back home."

"I miss him, Jean." Armin wiped at his cheek, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to spill over. "I miss Sasha, I miss Hange, I miss Erwin!" The tears started readily flowing now, dripping off his chin and onto the stone below him. He hiccuped and sniffled, voice wobbly. "I miss my brother, Jean. I want my brother back. Why did they take him from me! I still need him, I-I can-can't do this without him!"

Jean pulled Armin close to his side by his shoulder, rubbing the top of his back, slowly moving up and down to soothe him. "Shhh, shhh. It's okay, it's okay. Let it all out, alright?" Jean rubbed his arm, going back and forth from his arm to his back. "I know, Armin. I miss him too. I miss him too. But it's going to get better. I promise you, it's going to get better. Here, look at me." He placed his index finger under Armin's chin, tilting his head so he's forced to look him in the eyes. "Eren might be gone from this world, but it doesn't mean he left completely. He's still alive here." He pressed his palm to Armin's chest, right over his heart. "He trusted you with saving humanity. He knows he can trust you to keep his memory alive. You'll see them all again when it's your turn to leave. They'll all be there waiting for you. Eren will be right there, holding out his hand for you to take like he did when you were little."

Armin had managed to keep his composure throughout the funeral. He stood up straight, looked forward, and participated without any hesitation. Although if you looked at his face, you could see the cracks in his mask. Could see the tears looming in the distance, how his straight face wanted to fade into a shaky frown. You could see how hard he wanted to break down and cry. How he wanted to collapse onto his knees and beg for whoever was up above to bring Eren back to him. Mikasa, on the other hand, was a mess. She had her scarf wrapped up around her face, covering her mouth. Her tears made the fabric discolored and soppy.

“Tha-Thank you, Jean. You alwa-always know what to say to make me feel better.” He chuckled sadly. “You’re too good at making me feel better. I shouldn’t be falling apart like this.” His hiccuping started to stop, tears slowing as well. Armin took Jean’s hands in his own, rubbing his thumbs against the meat of his palms. “Thank you for always being here for me.” He smiled up at him the best he could.

Jean enveloped Armin’s hands in his own, completely dwarfing his. “Don’t ever apologize to me about your emotions. Ever. They’re expected to happen in times like this, okay? It’s okay for you to cry even when the seems to be no reason to.” He stroked his thumbs over the backs of Armin’s hands. “I’ll always be here for you, okay? No matter what. Call me and I’ll come running.”

For having loved a little while

Oh, I don't wanna be alone, I wanna find a home

And I wanna share it with you

After a while, Jean and Armin went back to where the funeral had taken place. Mikasa was still there, waiting for them to return. From there, they and the rest of their family walked behind the trio, up to the tree on that hill Eren loved so much. It was sunny out, just like how it was when they were little. Accept this time, there wasn’t a giant wall blocking Eren’s view anymore.

Reiner and Jean dug Eren’s grave. His casket was deep mahogany, the wood polished and shiny. Although, it was smaller than a normal casket should be. Eren’s head was the only thing they could bury so it was more like a small box. Mikasa was the one to lower Eren into the ground, setting him down gently in the almost six-foot hole. When they filled the dirt back in, it seemed like there was too much dirt to fit the hole they had dug. A large mound of it was piled on top of the grave, too large to put the headstone on yet. Everyone went home after that, heading off to their respective homes to leave Mikasa to grieve in peace.

She remembers the cabin in the woods from her dream with Eren. Remembers how happy they seemed to be together. She wishes that they really could just run away still, run away and live together forever, maybe have a couple of kids too. Eren never talked about having children, but she hoped that he would give her some anyways. Eren would’ve been a good father, better than Grisha, at least.

Mikasa pulled the scarf off from around her neck, clutching it in her hands. All she seemed to be able to do was stare at it, hoping something good would come from it. She stroked the fabric with her dirty thumb, pressing it to her face. It’s almost like she could feel Eren wrapping it around her for the first time again. Could feel him taking her hand as he walked her back to his house for the first time. When she first met Armin, she was holding Eren’s hand too. Seems like he always had a thing for protecting her, even if it was just from possibly walking too far out into the street, huh?

Hello, my old heart

Mikasa stared up at the sky. The sun was out and a few clouds were here and there. These were the kinds of days that Eren loved the most, especially when he was little. When his mother called him inside for dinner, he’d beg to eat outside, or at least if he and Mikasa could eat outside. More often than not, he was forced inside to sit at the table with the rest of his family. That kid could never be contained, always wanted to be running somewhere, exploring something, finding something new, it didn’t matter what it was. Just mattered that he had Mikasa with him.

It's been so long

At this point, she barely remembered her parents. Her earliest memory was when Eren came and saved her, sweeping her off her feet in the most ten-year-old boy way possible. She remembers that rush of power standing in that house. Thinking to herself, why is my body moving on my own like this? Why, why does my head hurt so suddenly? Where’s mom and dad? Why’d they have to leave so soon? Then after that, all that's there is Eren. Ten-year-old Eren, twelve-year-old Eren, fifteen-year-old Eren, nineteen-year-old Eren. All with a shining light behind him. A proud look on his face, a determined expression. A face that tells you everything is going to be okay, that he’s going to fix everything for you to keep you safe.

Since I've given you away

There was no more Yeager family anymore. All of them were gone. She doesn’t know if she can even consider herself a Yeager. Carla always said she was her daughter, but she never really embraced it. But if the Yeager’s aren’t here to tell their stories, who will?

After all, he became the devil so she could become an angel. And what kind of angel would she be if she didn’t live? She fought, she won, now she can live. She doesn’t have to be strong anymore. She sniffled softly, hands coming up to her face, covering her eyes. Tears came soon after, pooling in the palms of her hands and pulling out from the sides. Her body shook slightly from her sobs, her back quivered and her shoulders shuddered from the intensity of them. Her knees got pulled up to her chest, her head moving to rest on them. “…I can’t believe you’re gone for real this time, Eren… You said you’d wrap this scarf around me every time I asked, now how will you?”

And every day, I add another stone, to the walls I built around you

To keep you safe

Squawking of birds could be heard from above. A group of Arctic Jaeger’s were circling the tree, crying out their songs for one another. One of them flew down closer to Mikasa, landing on top of Eren’s grave. It looked over at her, chattering softly. The bird hopped up and down the best it could, trying to get her attention. It flapped its wings, moving over to sit on the crest of her knee. Its beak nudged her hand, making Mikasa look at it. The bird tilted its head back and forth at her, seemingly trying to smile. The bird bobbed its head, leaning in to press the side of its head to her cheek. It seemed like it wanted to wipe her tears away, but unable to since it didn’t have hands to cup her face with, or thumbs to stroke the apples of her cheeks. Mikasa held the bird close, carefully stoking its wings and back. “Thank you for wrapping this scarf around me, Eren.”

The bird wiggled around until Mikasa let it go, watching it fly off to meet up with its friends in the sky. It chirped a sweet goodbye to her, waiting until Mikasa waved before leaving completely.

Nothing lasts forever

Some things aren't meant to be

But you'll never find the answers

Until you set your old heart free

“Thank you, Eren, for everything.”

[nerdythebard]

#9: Sypha Belnades [Castlevania]

Happy Castlevania Day, everyone!

We continue our little special with everybody's favourite Speaker, a self-proclaimed enemy of God, and all-around nerd – Sypha Belnades. Wielding magic, knowledge, and somehow keeping Trevor and Alucard in check, it's going to be fun to have her in your D&D game.

Next Time: ...I mean, y'all know who is left. The Cool Whip Man cometh!

So, what do we need to start shooting some spells (besides a lovely Spanish accent)?

Big Brain Time: Sypha is a Speaker, a collector of knowledge, and a walking library with expertise ranging from magic, history, and probably anything you can think of. And even more, because "we know all the words".

A Song of Ice & Fire: These two seems to be Sypha's weapons of choice. We've seen her do other feats of sorcery, but it's usually fire bolts or ice walls we see the most.

Limber! Loose! Rubber Goose!: Sypha doesn't wear any armour and is able to keep up with Trevor and Alucard, both obviously Dexterity-based fighters. If we can't give her some Hit Points, we'll make sure she can avoid danger.

---

Sypha is a Human (hooray, our first Human!) and her magic prowess gives us a good excuse to make her a Variant Human. We get a +1 to two abilities of our choice, let's pick Intelligence and Constitution. We also know Common and one other language, and we get to pick one skill proficiency, let's get Investigation. Variant Humans can also get one feat from the start; War Caster is a great idea for any spellcaster who finds themselves in the heat of battle. We have an advantage on Constitution saving throw to maintain our concentration, we can use somatic components of the spell with just one hand, and when we get to make an attack of opportunity, we can cast a spell instead of making a melee attack.

For Sypha's background, I don't think we can do anything but Sage. We're smart, we've been studying history and arcane arts our entire life, and therefore we get proficiency with Arcana and History. We get to learn two languages of our choice, and we get the Researcher feature; we have a rough idea where a piece of information we're looking for could be located, whether it's a library, archive, or somebody's residence.

ABILITY SCORES

It goes without saying that Intelligence goes first here, we need the smarts for the spells. Next up is Dexterity, we are good enough to keep up with both Trevor and Alucard, and not get easily surprised by night creatures. Constitution is next, every spellcaster needs those precious Hit Points.

Wisdom is next, we're much more the book-smart type, but we've certainly picked up some street-smarts while travelling with our whole clan. Follow that up with Charisma, it's a little lower than I would like it to be, but we occasionally get to make Trevor do what we want to. Finally, we'll be dumping Strength.

CLASS

I think nobody will be surprised if I say this is a pure build. We're going Wizard start-to-finish.

Wizards are the squishiest of squishy bois in D&D, as their Hit Dice is a d6. We start with [6 + our Constitution modifier] Hit Points and no proficiencies with any armour type. We are, however, proficient with daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, and light crossbows. Our saving throws are, of course, Intelligence and Wisdom, and we get to pick two class skills; let's get Insight (to better spot shady activities in towns we visit) and Religion (God may hate us, but you know what they say - know thy enemy).

Level 1 - We start with Arcane Recovery, which is a useful trick to recover spell slots. Once per day, when we finish a short rest, we can refill our expended spell slots. The combined level of the spell slots must be equal to or less than half of our Wizard level... which means for a while we'll be only recovering 1st-level spells...

Since we're a Wizard, we start off with Spellcasting. We know cantrips, ritual casting, and regular spells. Intelligence is our spellcasting ability, and we learn two new spells each time we level up. We start this arcane jamboree with three cantrips:

Fire Bolt lets us hurl a mote of fire at one target. Simple. Effective. On a successful hit, the enemy takes 1d10 fire damage (damage increases as we level up).

Ray of Frost is similar, the basic ice spell. On a successful hit, the target takes 1d8 cold damage (scales with level), and its speed is reduced by 10 feet until the start of our next turn.

Shocking Grasp sends a jolt of electricity through one target we touch. If a target wears armour made of metal, we make the attack roll with advantage. On a successful hit, the target takes 1d8 lightning damage (scales with level) and cannot take reactions until the start of its next turn.

Wizards start with two 1st-level spell slots and six 1st-level spells:

Burning Hands creates a 15-foot cone of fire. All creatures within range have to make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 3d6 fire damage (half damage on a successful save).

Detect Magic lasts for 10 minutes (concentration) and shows us all magical effects within 30 feet of us. We see the magic as colourful aura around objects or people, and we can distinguish which type of magic the effect belongs to (we cannot identify the spell itself).

Frost Fingers creates blasts of cold coming from our fingertips. Each creature within a 15-foot cone must make a Constitution saving throw, or take 2d8 cold damage (half damage on a successful save).

Ice Knife creates a shard of ice that we can throw at one target, dealing 1d10 cold damage on a successful hit. Hit or miss, the shard then explodes, forcing every creature within 5 feet of it to make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 2d6 cold damage.

Mage Armour makes our defence better. Touching a willing creature (or ourselves), we create a layer of magical protection that makes the AC [13 + Dexterity modifier] for 8 hours.

Shield is used as a reaction when we're being hit. The spell adds +5 to our AC until the start of our next turn.

Level 2 - It is here that we pick our subclass, our Arcane Tradition, and since Sypha is such a powerful necromancer, I think it's only natural to–

Yeah, we're obviously picking School of Evocation, as it's the one focusing on the elements. Everything that burns, freezes, and shocks are here, and we need all of it.

We start this subclass with Evocation Savant, which halves our time and gold needed to copy evocation-type spells into our spellbook. I know Speakers don't believe in the written word, but Sypha always valued books, so she would probably have one in D&D.

Sculpt Spells lets us protect our allies from our own spells if they happen to be in their range. When we cast an evocation spell, we can select a number of creatures we can see equal to [1 + the spell's level], make them automatically succeed on a saving throw (if required), and take no damage at all.

For this level's spells:

Feather Fall protects us and our allies from taking fall damage. We choose up to five creatures within 60 feet of us and slow down their descent rate to 60 feet per round for 1 minute. If the creature lands before the spell end, it takes no damage.

Jump triples the jump distance of a creature we touch for 1 minute.

Level 3 - At this level, we get no new class features, but we do unlock 2nd-level spell slots:

Agnazzar's Scorcher creates a 30 feet long and 5 feet wide line of fire, emanating from us in the direction we choose. Each creature within the line must make a Dexterity saving throw or take 3d8 fire damage (half damage on a successful one).

Gust of Wind makes a strong line of wind (60 feet long, 10 feet wide) blast from us in the direction we choose. Creatures that start their turn in the line must make a Strength saving throw or be pushed 15 feet away from us. As a bonus action, on each of our turns, we can change the direction of the wind.

Level 4 - We get our first Ability Score Improvement. Rule of thumb for any Wizard player: maxing out your Intelligence should be your priority, therefore we're putting +2 to our Intelligence now.

We also get a new cantrip: Dancing Lights create up to four globules of light, floating in the air. We can move them around, and they last up to 1 minute (concentration). The lights can also combine into a Medium-sized glowing humanoid, for purposes of distraction.

We get two more spells:

Scorching Ray creates three bolts of fire, which we can hurl at up to three targets. We make an attack roll for each bolt. On a hit, the target takes 2d6 fire damage.

Snilloc's Snowball Swarm forms a flurry of snowball-like projectiles in a point of our choice within 90 feet from us. Each creature within a 5-foot-radius sphere from the point must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 3d6 cold damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 5 - We don't get any new class features here, but we do unlock 3rd-level spells:

Dispel Magic ends any spell of 3rd-level or lower. If a spell is of 4th-level or higher, we must roll a check for our casting ability (DC = 10 + the spell's level). If we use a spell slot of 4th-level or higher, the spell ends automatically, provided the spell slot's level matches or is greater than the spell's.

Fireball is a no-brainer, we had to pick it. Select a point within 150 feet from us. Each creature in a 20-foot-radius sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 8d6 fire damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 6 - We get our first subclass upgrade, Potent Cantrip. If a creature makes a saving throw against our cantrips, they instead take half of the damage. Unfortunately, it's not helpful to us yet. Let's take some more spells:

Fly gives a willing creature flying speed of 60 feet for the duration (10 minutes, concentration). When the spell ends, the target starts falling. We can target more than one creature if we use spell slots of 4th-level or higher.

Lightning Bolt fires off a bolt of electricity in a 100 feet long and 5 feet wide line. Each creature in the line must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 8d6 lightning damage (half as much on a successful save).

Level 7 - Time to unlock 4th-level spell slots:

Control Water lets us manipulate a body of water within 300 feet of us. The spell lasts for 10 minutes (concentration) and we get to select from four different effects (Flood, Part Water, Redirect Flow, and Whirlpool); we can use our action on our turn to change the effect or repeat it.

Wall of Fire creates, well... a wall of fire within 120 feet from us. The wall can be up to 60 feet long, 20 feet high, and 1 foot thick. It lasts for 1 minute (concentration). We can select which way the heat from the fire is facing. When the wall is forming, creatures in its way must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 5d8 fire damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 8 - Time for another ASI. As per the rule of thumb, we need to cap our Intelligence ASAP. So, let's put +2 into it right now. As for our spells at this level:

Dimension Door creates a small spatial opening, which teleports us up to 500 feet in a direction of our choice we can visualize or describe. We can carry objects with us, as long as they don't go over our carrying capacity, and we can bring one willing creature with us.

Ice Storm creates a localized hailstorm in a 20-foot-radius, 40-foot-high cylinder at a point within 300 feet of us. Each creature in the cylinder must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 2d8 bludgeoning damage and 4d6 cold damage (half damage on a successful save). Hailstones turn the area into difficult terrain until the end of our next turn.

Level 9 - Nothing new class-wise. We unlock 5th-level spells:

Cone of Cold creates a 60-foot cone of biting cold. Each creature within its range must make a Constitution saving throw, or take 8d8 cold damage (half damage on a successful save). Creatures killed by this spell become frozen statues.

Hold Monster forces a Wisdom saving throw on one non-humanoid creature within 90 feet of us, and inflicts paralysis on a failed save. It lasts for 1 minute (concentration), but the held creature can keep making saving throws at the end of each of its turn to shake off the effect.

Level 10 - Halfway through the build, and we get another subclass upgrade. Empowered Evocation lets us add our Intelligence modifier to one damage roll of every evocation spell we cast. Since most of our repertoire is evocation-type spells, we now have a huge damage boost. For spells that create multiple projectiles (e.g. Scorching Ray), we add our Intelligence modifier only to one projectile.

We also get our final cantrip of this build: Frostbite makes numbing cold appear on one target's skin; they have to make a Constitution saving throw, or suffer 1d6 cold damage and have a disadvantage on the next weapon roll they make before the end of their next turn. Because of our Potent Cantrip feature, this spell always deals damage.

For this level's spells:

Counterspell... yes, I know it's 3rd-level, but we really do need it. Sypha is powerful enough to shut down Dracula's magic. It works similarly to Dispel Magic, but this time it's a reaction to somebody casting a spell, instead of a pre-established magical effect.

Immolation chooses one target within 90 feet of us and deals 8d6 fire damage, provided they fail their Dexterity saving throw (half damage on a successful save). On a failed save, the target is also set on fire for the spell's duration (1 minute, concentration). They shed bright light in a 30-foot radius and must keep making Dexterity saving throws at the end of each of their turns, or take 4d6 fire damage. On a successful save, the spell ends. The fire is magical and cannot be extinguished by non-magical means.

Level 11 - We unlock 6th-level spells here:

Chain Lightning creates an arc of electricity, which hits one target within 150 feet from us. It then splits into three bolts, which hit three closest creatures within 30 feet of the original target. All targets must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d8 lightning damage (half damage on a successful save).

Disintegrate works in a similar manner to Dispel Magic or Counterspell... except it's much more lethal. The spell targets a creature, an object, or a magical effect (such as a barrier made via the Wall of Force spell). A targeted creature must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d6+40 force damage. If their Hit Points are reduced to 0, the target is disintegrated to dust and cannot be brought back, unless via the True Resurrection or Wish spells.

Level 12 - Time for another ASI! Since our Intelligence is already maxed out, let's get our two points into Constitution, for those Hit Points we desperately need.

We get two more 6th-level spells:

Otiluke's Freezing Sphere is basically the ice version of Fireball. It creates a small ice ball in a point within 300 feet from us, which then explodes in a 60-feet-radius sphere. Each creature within the area must make a Constitution saving throw, or take 10d6 cold damage (half damage on a successful save). We can also use the ice ball to freeze a body of water up to 6 feet deep and 30 feet square.

Wall of Ice does exactly what it says on the packaging. It creates ten 10x10 ice panels, which we can shape as we wish as long as the panels touch one another. Each panel as the AC of 12 and 30 Hit Points, and even if they're destroyed, they leave freezing air in their place. Creatures moving through the air must make a Constitution saving throw, or take 5d6 cold damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 13 - Once again, we get no class features, but we do unlock 7th-level spells:

Delayed Blast Fireball is the hand grenade option we need. We can select a point within 150 feet from us and plant a Fireball spell to be activated after 1 minute or if our concentration is broken. The spell creates a fiery explosion within a 20-feet-radius sphere, with the base damage of 12d6 fire. If by the end of our turn, the spell is not detonated, the damage increases by 1d6 each turn.

Prismatic Spray creates eight colourful lights and sends them out in a 60-foot cone. Each creature within range must make a Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, we roll a 1d8 and decide which colour hits the creature. We have a choice between 10d6 elemental damage, blindness, paralysis, or two effects at once.

Level 14 - Here we get our final subclass upgrade, Overchannel. Once per long rest, when we cast a spell of level 1 through 5, we can decide to deal the maximum amount of damage that spell allows. If we choose to use this feature again before finishing a long rest, we suffer 2d12 necrotic damage per every level of the spell. Each time we use it after the second, the necrotic damage increases by 1d12.

We continue with 7th-level spells:

Teleport instantly teleports us and up to eight willing creatures (or one object) to any location we specify, depending on the degree of familiarity we have with it. The certain success is if there is a permanent Teleportation Circle in the location we want to appear, or if we have something associated with the location.

Whirlwind creates a violent wind storm in a point we can see within 300 feet of us. The whirlwind is a 10-foot-radius, 30-foot-high cylinder. Until the spell ends (1 minute, concentration), we can use our Action to move the whirlwind up to 30 feet in any direction. Creatures that begin their turn in a whirlwind must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d6 bludgeoning damage (half damage on a successful save). In addition, a Large or smaller creature must make a Strength saving throw or be restrained inside the vortex.

Level 15 - Time for 8th-level spells:

Antipathy/Sympathy works as a repellent or... whatever the... opposite of a repellent... is. Attractor? It draws or pushes from us creatures of our specification for 10 days.

Control Weather changes weather patterns in 5 mile radius from us for up to 8 hours (concentration). We must be outdoors when performing the spell, and we can select precipitation, temperature, and the state of winds.

Level 16 - For this ASI this time, we'll put two points into Dexterity.

As for this level's spells:

Incendiary Cloud creates a 20-foot-radius sphere of smoke and embers in a point within 150 feet of us. When the cloud appears, creatures inside it must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 10d8 fire damage (half damage on a successful save). The same saving throw must be made by a creature who enters the cloud, or who ends its turn there.

Power Word: Stun work on creatures with 150 Hit Points of fewer and stuns them instantly. All those months of travel with Trevor turned us into quite a sailor-mouth, even night creatures are shocked.

Level 17 - Since Wizards are the Apex of the Arcane, we unlock the most powerful spells in the game right here!

Foresight gives a creature we touch a limited ability to see into the future for 8 hours. For that duration, the target cannot be surprised, and has an advantage on all rolls (attack, skill checks, and saving throws). Additionally, other creatures have a disadvantage against the target on all rolls for the duration.

Imprisonment requires a lot of materials, but it creates a permanent magical confinement that holds a one creature that fails its Wisdom saving throw. The imprisoned creature is being kept in suspended animation, and no Divination-type spell can locate it.

Level 18 - Here we get the Spell Mastery feature. It lets us choose one 1st-level spell and one 2nd-level spell, and cast them at will, without the need to burn a spell slot. Shield and Scorching Ray would be my picks.

Meanwhile, in the 9th-level spell section:

Gate is a portal spell, which creates two linked portals; one in front of us (within 60 feet), other in a location on another plane of existence. It lasts for 1 minute (concentration). We could also name a creature we know is on another plane, and yank it through the portal to our current location (for example, a certain Vampire Lord from Hell).

Meteor Swarm makes it rain fire from above. Choosing a spot within 1 mile, lets us cover a 40-foot-radius sphere in Goodness Gracious Great Balls of Fire! Each creature within the sphere must make a Dexterity saving throw, or take 20d6 fire damage and 20d6 bludgeoning damage (half damage on a successful save).

Level 19 - For our final ASI, we increase our Constitution.

As for the spells:

Prismatic Wall creates an opaque wall 90 feet long, 30 feet high, and 1 inch thick. The wall sheds bright light for 100 feet and a dim light for additional 100. Creatures within 20 feet of the wall must make a Constitution saving throw, or be blinded for 1 minute. The wall is composed of seven layers, each with different properties that affect creatures attempting to pass through it (see: Prismatic Spray for comparison).

Invulnerability makes you immune to all damage for 10 minutes (concentration).

Level 20 - Our capstone is the Signature Spell feature. We choose two 3rd-level spells, and make it so we always have them prepared. We can cast them once per short or long rest without burning a spell slot. Fireball is an obvious choice, and let's add either Dispel Magic or Counterspell. Both provide good support.

For our final spells:

Blade of Disaster creates a planar rift shaped like a blade. When we summon it, we can make two melee attacks on creatures or objects within 5 feet of the blade. On a successful hit, the target takes 4d12 force damage. This spell scores a critical hit when rolling 18, 19, or 20. On a critical hit, the blade deals extra 8d12 force damage. Think of the weird glass-like blades from Doctor Strange

Wish... Yes, we're getting Wish. Why wouldn't you get Wish? If used safely, it's the ultimate spell. It replicates the effect of any spell of 8th-level or lower, no need for material components or class affiliation. Alternatively, it can do... well, anything you desire, but keep in mind if it's used for something else than replicating a spell effect, there is a 33% you'll never cast it again.

---

And that is it. Sypha Belnades, the Avatar Speaker Magician. Let's see what we've got:

First of all, we've got damage. Damage on top of damage on top of more damage. We're very battlefield-oriented spellcaster. Unfortunately, most of our spells are fire and cold, two very common resistances or immunities. We have a lot of concentration spells, so we need to pick what we want to do. With 131 Hit Points on average, we're also squishy. Luckily, with Shield as our at will spell, we do have a pretty good AC.

---

And that is it! Join me next time, for the last member of the Castlevania OT3!

- Nerdy out!

[the-trashy-phoenix]

Supernatural season 1 review (part 1, with a little summary)

Link to part 2:

As Carly just said, some weeks ago she finished to watch the last season of Supernatural (if you've never seen or heard about this TV series, I'm sorry to inform you that it has 15 seasons, yeah, crazy) and for some reason she wanted to rewatch every single episode from the beginning, with me. I'm not really into TV series and I haven't watched many, but I accepted because I thought I couldn't leave my teen years without making this thrilling experience.

We've just finished the first season (I don't wanna know when we'll finish the whole show, I'll probably spend the next two or three years on this) and I collected some opinions about it.

I was informed about the storyline and the contents, nevertheless the very beginning of the first episode quite shocked me. For those who don't know, the first scene is about the murder of a woman by a supernatural creature, which gives start to the narration because from then on her husband and their two sons, Sam and Dean, dedicate their life to hunting that demon and all kinds of supernatural creatures they find on the way, so that every episode is devoted to a different "hunt", as they call it. The background storyline, in the first half of the season, is the search for Sam and Dean's father, who is somewhere missing hunting that demon that killed his wife, while in the second and final part the family gathers in order to be stronger to eventually fight it.

Of course the supernatural creatures they hunt are different every time, and I appreciated that the authors had a great fantasy to invent or desume them from local traditions and myths: Sam and Dean fight all kinds of demons, ghosts, animals and even people and, being the first season, you learn how to defeat them with the protagonists and feel deeply involved in their job. What they're doing, freeing the world from evil, feels so right that you can even easily understand and excuse their continuous breaking the law and lying, also because every episode has a happy ending and all the people involved end up trusting and thanking them. Moreover, the general skepticism they meet really contributes in making the story realistic and believable, making unbelievable, but still true, everything the brothers find on their way and making us feel like we know something secret to most of other people.

I've just said "job" ... Well, they call it job but in fact they never get paid and I wondered many times how they can live or travel all around the USA on a beatiful car without any money, but, you know, that's just fiction. By the way, they really travel a lot to catch supernatural events, it could probably be interesting to draw a map of their journey...

The only aspect I have to criticize is that the episodes are not so linked by a sort of "fil rouge", but Carly reassured me that the next seasons will be much better also under this point of view.

Talking about her, I highly recommend to watch this show with someone, and better when you're not home alone, if you get frightened easily like me, because some scenes are quite scary.

It's of course a thriller/horror series, and other themes, such as love, are touched, as far as I can say at this point, just to contribute to the characterization of the protagonists. I can never tell what is my "favourite thing" out of a group, so I won't say what's my favourite episode because I couldn't choose, but I'll make an effort and confess my favourite character so far is Sam.

He's the younger brother, and he's always been an outsider in his family: while his father and Dean thought hunting supernatural creatures was their duty and activity for life, he decided to leave them to have a "normal life" studying at University. This dream vanishes when Dean convinces him to come back with the family because their father is missing, but Sam never really quits thinking about studying. Also because the "hunting life" means never settling down, never building strong relationships (while before leaving he had a girlfriend), and Dean, apparently convinced they must dedicate their life to hunting, seems to underestimate the choice he forces Sam into. Of course it's not Dean's fault, but maybe he should've been more comprehensive about what his brother was going through. So, Sam often seems to be more sensitive and wise than his brother, and I say "seems" because I also think Dean hides much more of his personality and feelings which I hope will emerge in the next seasons. I feel like he experienced somehow similar struggles, but he knew how to make hunting fun, and he is able to show Sam that their life could be much better than he expected. Together they make an amazing team, always supporting and taking care of each other, because they are so different that they find help in the other one every time.

Family is certainly the main motive of the first season: Dean gathers Sam and eventually their father together, but it's not that simple as he had imagined. Every family has some hidden issues, and when the Winchesters start hunting together Sam can't stand John's domineering attitude, to which Dean is completely used, because his only desire is to emancipate from him and show him his worth. That's the power of the last episodes: you can fully understand Sam wanting to create his own future but also willing to follow his family and do the job he's destined to. But you can also understand Dean (or maybe you'd want him as a friend since he's so fun!) who loves his brother and father so much he has to be strong to support them. You will even understand some of John's actions, because at the end he made all his choices in the name of the love for Sam and Dean, even if not without mistakes.

So, if you haven't watched Supernatural already, go and do it because you'll grow with these two boys and you will slowly grow fond of them (or at least you'll know how to defeat a demon speaking Latin, which could always come in handy).

Can't wait to see what's happening next…

- Irene 💕

[sandyferal]

Poisonous-Last one standing part 2

“Violet are you feeling ok?” Asked Cal. “You haven't told me to ‘be more serious’ the whole time we've been here.”

“I've been preoccupied,” said Violet.

“Never stopped you before,” Cal grumbled.

Once Gina and Dan came back the group took a minute to rest. Andrea moved so she was next to Gina and motioned for them to get away from the group.

“Violet has been acting a bit… off,” said Andrea. “I think we should check her out before we finish this job.”

“You mean she's weirder than normal?” Gina said, giving Andrea a sly smile.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Andrea’s face was starting to heat up.

“Look Ann, I don't get robots like you do. They're always a bit odd to me,” Gina explained patiently. “We’ll look at her after we're done the job.”

“But-”

“No buts Ann. Work comes first. Besides I thought she was the one who was always worried not you.”

“I’m not worried!” Andrea said. “I mean I am but it's for a legit reason, not her little fussy ‘oh Ann you’re dirty, you’ll get germs’ stuff.”

“Look, if you want I’ll have her hang back with Dan so she won't have to do as much work. But if I do that you gotta work twice as hard.”

“I guess that's fair.” Andrea groaned.

The two rejoined the group. Dan and Cal were both eyeing Violet at a distance.

“You two talking about Violet?” Asked Cal.

“Can she hear us?” Gina whispered.

‘No’ signed Dan. ‘She is installing updates’

“Updates?” Andrea asked.

“Is that not normal?” Gina seemed to be growing more wary.

“I've never seen her do it,” Andrea said. “Unless she does it at night.”

‘Maybe she is fixing the problems you saw’ Dan signed.

“Oh my goodness I'm filthy!” Violet’s voice came from behind them.

The group turned to see Violet standing, fingers fidgeting mid-air. The glowing parts of her body had changed from red-purple to light blue.

“Violet what's going on?” Gina asked.

“I-I don't know.” Violet said. Her voice was stuttering slightly, and her eyes clicked as she looked around. “I think my system had a bug. Hopefully it's gone.”

Andrea approached Violet and hugged her.

“That's better!” Andrea said.

“Um…” Violet stood still for a moment before stroking Andrea's hair tentatively. “Ann, are you ok?”

Andrea detached herself from Violet.

“Yeah I'm fine,” she said.

“Good. Now we should probably get you cleaned up.”

Violet pulled out a piece of cloth and started wiping the blood from Andrea's face.

“Get a room you too,” Cal said with a chuckle.

“We have one,” Violet said sounding slightly annoyed. “and I hardly believe cleaning her off warrants that phrase.”

Cal smirked. Dan sighed and Gina nodded.

“It looks like you're doing better,” said Gina. “But just to be safe, Violet you’re going to need to stay near Dan in the back. You can handle that right Dan?”

Dan nodded.

“Ok, lets go.” Gina said.

The five moved through the next four sections efficiently. After clearing each section Andrea checked on Violet. Violet fussed over Andrea, scolded Cal, and was decently talkative.

Nice to have her back to normal. Andrea thought to herself.

“So,” Gina looked at Violet. “how many of them are left?”

“Thirty-nine left.” Violet said.

The group stood at the door to the next section. Gina counted down again, then they burst in.

But there was definitely more than thirty nine.

It was more like three hundred.

The group leapt into action. Even with the unexpected numbers, the Kickney did not completely overwhelm them at first, but it didn’t take too long for them to begin to get tired.

Somehow Andrea had been slightly separated from the group. The creatures seemed especially eager to climb on top of her. Their slimy under bellies leaving grime on her clothes and skin as they crawled over her arms and legs.

Though the panic clouding most of her brain she couldn’t think of much except: Violet was right, she was right! I hate this, these things are disgusting!

Suddenly there was a cry, and Andrea turned around. The creatures were all over Dan’s body, his movements restricted by the mass of small bodies swarming him. As Gina watched them crawl over him, her face slowly twisted from a calm, professional mask, to a look of horror.

“Dan!” Cal cried, dropping his guard for a moment.

Suddenly there was a streak of light, and Cal’s head dropped off his neck. Violet stood next to him, her arm covered in human blood.

“Violet!” Andrea screamed, but nothing more came out, her mouth moving silently a second before a more feeble cry of, “Violet?” came out.

Violet turned to Andrea for a moment, then turned her attention back to Gina.

Not losing any time, Gina turned her gun on Violet and fired. Violet’s speed prevented the shot from hitting anything vital, but part of her torso was caught by the bullets. Finding her gun empty Gina quickly reloaded and shot at Violet again.

The creatures at Gina’s feet swarmed, causing her to turn her attention back to them. As soon as Gina’s attention was no longer on her, Violet launched herself forward and slashed at Gina’s midsection. Blood poured from the wound, and for a second Gina slowed. Then she was swallowed by the hoard.

Andrea had been watching all of this in horror, transfixed by the bloody murder of her companions. She barely noticed that the swarm had backed off from her, leaving her to watch.

“V-Violet?” Andrea choked out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

This can’t be happening, this isn’t possible!

Violet walked calmly to Andrea and picked her up. The gun in Andrea’s hand felt useless, she couldn't use it. Not on Violet.

Violet wouldn’t hurt them, she wouldn’t hurt me, she couldn’t have, she couldn’t have!

“You're lucky,” Violet said. Her voice was devoid of the usual inflections her AI created to give the illusion of human speech. “We still need you.”

“Need me?” Andrea barely choked out. “Who-”

“You wouldn't recognize us,” Violet continued. “This form is a lot bigger than the ones you destroy.”

“I-”

“Open your mouth.”

Andrea's mouth shut tightly. Violet's body cocked its head. Something sharp, almost knife-like was shoved into Andrea’s mouth. Her upper lip split, and blood filled her mouth. Andrea tried to scream, but nothing came out. Her mouth hung open.

Andrea closed her eyes tightly. Tears were spilling out, and the taste of blood wouldn't go away. And the taste of something worse, something familiar, filled her mouth. All that Andrea could hear was her own thoughts, screaming at her. That was until Violet said;

“There. Now it's time to-”

And Andrea shot her.

…

Andrea dragged the bag of parts through the halls of the laboratory.

“Where the hell is that robotic lab?” Andrea mumbled feebly.

She opened a door and dragged the sack through it. With a grunt she hoisted it onto her shoulders and placed it onto a table. Then she cautiously opened the bag.

Blood-spattered robot parts lay on table. Andrea picked up a wipe and began to clean the parts. She stopped mid-way through cleaning off an arm. Tears swam in her eyes.

“Oh Violet,” she sobbed.

She picked up the robots head and looked into its eyes.
 “It was-wasn’t you I know. They did this to you. I’ll fix you.”

Andrea continued her work, wiping tears from her eyes as she went.


 It took a half hour to fix Violet. Her casing was beat up and there were some parts to re-attach, but she could still function. Andrea took a deep breath. She wiped the tears off her face and made a straight face. Then she pressed a button on the back of Violet’s head.
 “Violet?” Andrea said quietly.
 Violet’s eyes lit up. She blinked.

“Ann what happened?” Violet said, panicked.

“You…” Andrea look at the blood on Violet’s casing, then at her concerned face.

“You got damaged,” Andrea finished, “then we were overwhelmed. The others didn’t-”
 Andrea choked on her words. She couldn’t have finished the sentence if she wanted to.
 “They’re g-gone?” Violet said, her voice high-pitched and stuttering slightly. “Oh, Ann…”

Violet wrapped her arms around Andrea. There was no crying. Andrea couldn’t muster any more tears. She was numb. The arms around me are the same arms that killed my closest friends. Andrea thought. But Violet can’t know. Ever. It would break her heart.

“Should we bury them?” Violet asked.

“We can’t,” Andrea said. Think of something, quick. Anything.

“There’s nothing left,” she finished.

“Oh no…” Violet said

“Let’s just go.” Andrea said, her jaw tightening, not looking at Violet.

“Ok,” Violet said. She tapped her fingers on her casing for a moment. “Is the job done?”

“Yes.”

For a few minutes Andrea worked in silence until Violet could once again walk. Then she took the bag of Violet’s loose pieces and walked out. She made sure to leave by a route that was as far away from the bodies as possible.

Once outside, the man in the lab coat rushed to the two.

“Are they gone? Where are the others?” The man asked.

“They’re gone. Them and the others,” Andrea said coldly.

“Now where the f*** is my money?” She said as she took out a gun and pointed it at the man’s chest.

“H-here!” the man said, pulling out a roll of money.

Andrea snatched the money from the man.

“Have fun cleaning up,” She said bitterly. “And next time, don’t take aliens into you lab before you kill them.”

With that Andrea walked off. Violet stared for a moment before following her.

[geek-gem]

Transformers Dark Of The Moon

I've finally seen the movie again after these years. Let me warn you, spoilers and I have a lot to say.

Their is really a lot to say about this movie. But I'm glad I finally got my to do list of watching the first three Bayformers now.

Another thing I'll be honest about I was gonna play the Dark Of The Moon game on PS3 but it requires more MB's to clear out but I decided fuck it I don't care. Especially it's a short game but I'm not doing that shit. I just wanna watch this film especially remembering this is a long film.

But back to the movie. I'll be honest and I'm not critic and my opinion may be invalid because lots of people hate Bayformers. We have a new continuity with the Bumblebee movie which I think is the best decision this franchise has done.

To me this movie while I like the first film from 2007.

After watching this and I'm still having some feelings after being it. But I feel this is my favorite out of the Bayformers saga. This is basically where it should of ended and should of let the Bayformers end with dignity. Or at least until a new director came along like Travis Knight or others.

Especially like I remember a movie guy named Cure4 on DeviantArt but he's gone from that shit. I agree with him and I'm thinking this is the sequel the 2007 film should of had.

I'm pissed and I hate that Age Of Extinction was the follow up to this film. Despite how people feel about this film, my God Bay tried to redeem himself after Revenge Of The Fallen a film that is like some sort of weird parody there the video game tie in's I see as the best version especially the PS3/Xbox 360/PC versions and even the Wii/PS2 versions.

Another thing I wanna reveal when I saw this film for the first time in theaters I actually used this.

I seriously wore that and it worked and it was awesome. It was a experience despite I felt nervous. I was young but what the hell it's gonna be 8 years since the movie was released. Especially the 3D was awesome when I saw it in theaters.

But back to the movie again I'm sorry. I'm not gonna make this a full review I don't wanna waste anyone's time.

When I think about it Sam is a lot better in this film. While I do feel some moments could be worked on. He should of apologized to Bee after he meets him I know Sam's angry. Especially this development of Sam wants to matter. This is much better then what we had in Revenge Of The Fallen.

Carly I honestly find more likable then Mikaela. Seriously I do especially that moment where she literally tells Megatron that he will basically be Sentinel's bitch if he doesn't do anything. She basically treats Sam with a bit more respect and well I like the relationship more then what Sam and Mikaela had.

Lennox and Epps were always great. Especially Epps during the scenes in Chicago. Simmons is seriously entertaining in this and Dutch is a blessing.

Let me just talk about Dylan Gould. This guy he's been on my mind. I made two joke posts him deleted the first one of he's been waiting for that betrayal towards Sam.

Patrick Dempsey honestly and his portrayal of Dylan is a performance that left an impression on me. Because I was actually surprised by his reveal of who he actually was. But seriously this man is a dick and in a way I like him. Despite seeing in the film him talking about making tough choices and him being on the winning side. Yet over the course of the film he starts to take it a bit personal.

While I kept thinking before seeing the film he was enjoying it maybe. But my view on it changed. I just think Patrick Dempsey kind of owns the role.

Yes we should talk about the robots and let me be honest. What I love about this film it's basically the Decepticons strike back. They are basically winning in this film. I love the Chicago invasion scene.

I do feel like the entire Bayformers series yes their should of been more Transformers screen time. Especially the Decepticons in this case. While I feel in Revenge Of The Fallen I can tell Starscream feels like he's a little snarky in some parts. While I know he's kissing up to Megatron to cover his ass. I would of liked some what....I don't know more snarky shit or something Starscream would say or do. Maybe even during his confrontation with Sam he mentioning after the Decepticons win that he would overthrow Megatron and become the winner.

I remember when I was young when I saw this for the first time. For Starscream I had hoped he would betray Megatron yet that would be so much for one film. Because that's Starscream from G1, Animated, and other continuities. At least one last hurrah before he dies.

Especially I remember when I was young I wanted Skids and Mudflap, along with Leo to come back....I was young and I enjoyed Revenge Of The Fallen a lot more okay. Wouldn't mind Leo but their seems to be a bit much but what the hell I wanted Dinobots in this film.(well it's said Skids and Mudflap are shown as cars but they were supposed to die....they did die by Sentinel in the movie comic)

I dig Soundwave in this film. Even Laserbeak these guys are douches but would of liked to seen more Soundwave. Especially I like this little dynamic between Dylan and Soundwave I know that's weird of me to say. Would of liked to seen more.

Shockwave in this film seriously I was hyped for him when I was young and playing the prequel game. I feel it's stupid he's not as important. He should of had more lines and more interactions. I even agree with a comment on YouTube he should of been in the Africa scene.

While he is badass it's stupid how he goes out but give him a better send off and a fight with Optimus Prime. I wanted to see more Shockwave and I think it would of been better if he was voiced by Mark Ryan. Frank Welker didn't do a bad job and he actually had two lines spoken in English.

At least his driller creature is cool. But seriously after all the hype and I want to just put some promotional stuff.

Whatever if this one is official or not. It's just in Shockwave's own words......logical. Or my own words fucking logical.

The reason I'm saying Mark Ryan because of his English accent and I want to be reminded of Corey Burton. Sorry for sounding weird.

Let me say I feel Sentinel Prime is probably the best antagonist actually we've had in a Transformers live action film especially in the Bayformers. Characters like Shatter and Dropkick are great. Even Lockdown was nice. But I liked Sentinel. I'll be honest I was actually surprised when I witnessed his betrayal when I was young. I thought the Decepticons were gonna force him to use the Pillars maybe even Shockwave but what we got was something else.

Also I really liked the scenes with Optimus and Sentinel. I do feel we should of gotten more and had them be longer. Especially I like Optimus in this. I do see their was this father and son or brother like relationship that Bay talked about. But would of liked to seen more.

The other Autobots are alright cool. I do feel the whole Que/Wheeljack thing was just seriously stupid. Especially now before Bumblebee a Wheeljack design that was more accurate. Tragic about the way he died.

Looking back at the film theirs not a lot of Cybertronian scenes but they leave an impact.

Also I really wanna talk about the ending with Optimus, Sentinel, and Megatron. We should of gotten more Megatron I agree.

But the scene where leading up to Optimus killing Sentinel seeing it in action after going through the movie. It is awkward in a way.

Yet I'll be honest Sentinel basically deserved it. In fact of the Decepticons, and Dylan fucking deserved what they got. Because after everything they did their to me was not a way shit would end peacefully or something. Including your hearing this from a Steven Universe fan a show that deals with pacifism and other shit.

I do feel and I've talked about this before but I might delete it now because I'm gonna mention it here. But I feel if the scene went like it was Megatron who kills Sentinel or this dark idea of Sentinel killing himself or even himself dying from wounds. Especially giving Megatron and Optimus more of a fight even with Optimus haven't one arm.

Or hell seriously Bay should of gone with the original that was kept in the novel that Megatron teamed up with Optimus to kill Sentinel and Megatron would stop what he's doing. Also hearing that it would of explored Megatron more. That ending would have his look in The Last Knight make sense that he went to Cybertron after Dark Of The Moon and over time he decided to go back leading the Decepticons. Instead they had to kill him off and the whole Galvatron thing. Even though Megatron got what was coming to him.

Gonna be honest the Starscream death while I like the idea of Sam having the courage to take on Starscream and even killing him. But I do feel Starscream should of died a more I guess epic death.

Especially I weirdly wanted Sam to be all Cade Yeager shooting Decepticons and some how killing them. I mean you Sam jumping on cars and even sliding under them.

Gonna say before seeing the movie I kept thinking Dylan in his fight with Sam should of died a more brutal death. Such as Sam telling him to shut up after the messager comment and beating him to death. But Dylan's death is perfect. Seriously he gets hit in the face with some sort of pole thing and dies by the pillar.

Listen I'm sorry for rambling a lot. This became more of some review or reaction. The action was seriously nice and the special effects, score was always excellent.

Gonna be honest while I wasn't emotional much throughout the movie. Did feel emotional over the, "The fight will be your own" scene and felt a little at the, "No Prisoners Only Trophies" scene....that should of had more weight. I'll be honest when I was young I was expecting Sam for some reason come out of hiding yelling no in slow motion, surprising everyone then the Decepticon drop ship gets hijacked.

Gonna say did enjoy Wheelie and Brains I like them. Glad they we're still around in later films.

I think I've talked too much. Basically I think this is the best Bayformers sequel, this is what we should got gotten as a sequel to the 2007 film. It's better then Revenge Of The Fallen, Age Of Extinction, and The Last Knight.

My only weird complaint that isn't towards the movie.....Dinobots could of been in this some how.....during the battle of Chicago. We should of gotten Dinobots vs the Driller. Grimlock voiced by Vin Diesel or whatever I've had that weird casting idea I think for years. Or even Devastator in this because it's a huge open battle with so many opportunities. While I understand Michael Bay didn't wanna go larger like he did with Revenge Of The Fallen. I'm just disappointed that the next film we got after this was Age Of Extinction.

Tags dealt with sorry that got wrong, their was a lot to talk about. Glad I could talk about this and again I finished my to do list of rewatching the original trilogy. Bring on the new cinematic universe in the Knightverse that started out with Travis Knight's Bumblebee I'm ready for more excellent films.