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ladykailitha · 1 month

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Icarus Part 5

And here we arrive at the second post today. I'm just trying to move through my backlog so that I'm down to my preferred three ahead. Glitters is at the rut, so only a chapter or two left to write, so that's almost done. Soulmates is to filling the gaps in the "In Media Res" scene and is nearing its end, too. Which means with any luck, I'll be down to just three WIP at the end of the month: Moonlight, Boy w/a Bat, and this one.

In this chapter, we have Eddie being a menace and giving Steve and Robin the fright of their lives. And because my Steddie never take anything slow, they kiss about it.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

****

The last spot on The Fallen’s American tour was Pasadena just to flip Dustin’s shit now that he was in Hawkin’s, Eddie was sure.

Eddie bought nose bleed seats because he didn’t want to throw Steve off of his playing. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass him and take the spotlight off their music.

He tucked his signature locks under a hat, removed his face piercings, and made sure all his tattoos were covered. He wore an Abbadon hoodie over his regular clothes and got into place in his seat.

He watched the whole show with great enthusiasm, banging along to his favorite songs.

Eddie was most of the way through the show when the twelve year old boy next to him clocked him for who he really is.

He put his finger up to his lips and winked. The boy nodded solemnly and he turned back to spectacle in front of them, like he hadn’t seen the frontman for the biggest metal band in the world sitting in the nose bleed seats for The Fallen.

Eddie lucked out on that one. Boys that age were of two schools of thought regarding secrets, either everyone knew or no one did. He stumbled on the latter.

Thank god!

He really didn’t want this to blow up on him before he got a chance to surprise Steve.

The concert was even more amazing than the one in Indy and Eddie’s skin was just thrumming with excitement as he paid off a member of stadium staff to send the flowers to the dressing room.

They let him wait in the wings without telling anyone who he was. He wasn’t sure how long it would take for Steve to get his flowers. But he wasn’t bored. He watched the roadies and techs scramble about breaking down the set pieces.

He saw two of them carrying Astraeus’s wings and they were even cooler close up. He could that they weren’t just glittery blue, but actual galaxies and constellations.

He was about to ask if he could touch them when a woman in a stylish, black pant suit and sunglasses came storming over to him in a panic.

“Eddie Munson?” she hissed. “Come with me, now!”

Eddie grinned. “Right with you, darlin’.”

He followed her all the way to the dressing room, hands in his back pockets and a skip in his step.

****

Steve was tired. Fuck he was so tired. He scrubbed his face trying to get the sweat off.

The dressing room was heavily guarded so that he could get out his getup to shower and get the patina of being on stage off of his skin.

He would get back into Abbadon before he walked out, but he just needed to be him for a moment.

He stepped out of the shower and looked around at the gifts from fans. The management had put in the ones they thought he would want to see the most.

In the pile was the most striking blue roses he had ever seen. They were almost a midnight blue. His favorite color and his favorite flower. He walked over to them slowly as he dried himself off with the towel.

There was a simple note.

“I know your secret, sweetheart.

But don’t worry, it’s safe with me.”

Steve’s hand shook as he read the note over and over again. He made a dive for his phone, towel forgotten on the floor.

He sent off a quick text to Robin.

-Find Eddie Munson, now!

He got a message back with just one word.

-How!

He replied.

-He’s here

Steve dressed and then sat down on the sofa, settling in to wait. Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door and he put the mask up to his face while the door was open, intending to lower it again. But seeing Eddie standing there with a feral grin on his face.

He wavered, unsure.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Eddie said, his grin never leaving his face. “Did you like the flowers?”

The woman looked back and forth between them in confusion. “What’s going on?”

Eddie turned to her. “You see, Robin, I figured out that Stevie here is the lead singer of an up and coming metal band. And that you two have been keeping secrets.”

Steve dropped the mask in shock, revealing his face. “How?”

Robin took off her sunglasses. “Who told? Who the fuck do I have to sue?”

Eddie smirked. “No one.”

“You’re trying to tell me,” she said with a scoff, “that Mr Double Super Senior figured out something that had been so closely guarded for the last couple of years?”

“Yup!”

Steve stood up and threw the mask on the sofa. He walked carefully over to the man he closely regarded as his best friend, the high heels of his costume clicking on the wood floor.

“How’d you do it, Eds?” he whispered when he got close enough. “How did you figure it out before the press, before our friends who are literal geniuses, before my own fucking parents?”

Eddie lifted up Steve’s jaw up with his fingers and then tapped on the two moles on the side of his neck. The ones Eddie always thought of as love bites.

“My moles?” Steve asked, unsure.

“I noticed them when I went to the concert with Dustin in Indy,” Eddie said softly. “That’s how I knew it was you.”

“Have you got some obsession with moles or something?” Robin sneered.

He shook his head. “Just Stevie.”

Steve gasped. “Oh.”

“Oh,” Robin repeated. “I’m still going to have to make you sign an NDA. I’m sorry. I know you won’t tell, but I have to be sure.”

Eddie nodded. “Send it to my lawyers.”

She nodded and slipped out of the door, barely opening it wide enough for her to exit. She put the glasses back on and decided she needed a drink. A big one. Maybe three.

****

“Sit down, sweetheart,” Eddie cooed. “I know how exhausting shows can be and you did it in high heels.”

Steve let out a watery chuckle but did as he was told.

“I never thought that someone would figure it out,” he said shakily. “I’m so scared right now.”

Eddie wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. “Oh, Stevie. I didn’t think it would frighten you, otherwise I would have just kept my mouth shut.”

Steve looked him in the eyes. “I’m not frightened of you or that you would tell. It’s just that old adage of if you want to keep a secret between two people–”

“You kill one,” Eddie finished grimly. “I know, baby.”

After a few months of silence Steve whispered, “So you’re obsessed with me?”

Eddie burst out laughing. “Yeah. Have been for years.”

“How long?” Steve asked biting his lip and playing with the sleeve of his hooded coat. He looked away not sure he really wanted the answer. Was this new, because he was in a metal band? Was it recent, with Steve not being as readily available as he was before?

“Since high school.”

Steve’s head snapped up and he looked at up at him in awe. “Holy shit, Eds, that’s forever.”

A soft, fond smile spread out over Eddie’s face, his dimples deepening to sharp lines on his cheeks.

It was Steve’s favorite smile of his. And one he was learning might just be for him and him alone.

“Yeah, yeah,” Eddie breathed, “I know.”

They were so close, their breath mingled together, their noses brushed and Steve’s eyelashes fanned out, almost touching Eddie’s cheek.

Steve let out a gasp and Eddie closed the distance. Their lips met and Steve would swear for years to come that there were god damned fireworks. There had to be. Nothing and no one had ever felt like this. It was warm and soft and hot and sexy and bright and dark all at once. Every nerve ending lit up where just their lips touched.

And then Eddie cupped the back of his head and whatever thoughts that were in Steve’s head flew out the window. Every fear, every anxiety, every doubt went running for the hills. All he needed in this very moment was Eddie.

Until the end of time.

“Wow,” Eddie breathed when he finally managed to pull away.

Steve could only agree. “Um...can you meet me at my hotel?”

Eddie licked his lips. He wanted to take Stevie apart right then right there. But it would put Steve in danger of being discovered.

And that could not happen.

Now that he knew Steve’s secret, now that Steve was letting him in. Like all the way in, he would do anything to protect him.

“Yeah, baby,” he agreed. “I’ll meet you there. Message Celeste,” he winked, “and let her know to sneak me in.”

Steve relaxed that final increment. He kissed him fiercely. “Thanks for understanding, Eds. I love you so much.”

Eddie blushed, shoving a strand of hair into his mouth to hide his face. “Ah, sweetheart. There’s nothing to thank me for. I’d burn the world down for you if you asked.”

Steve kissed him again. “I think it’s best if I go out first and then message you when the coast is clear.”

Eddie nodded.

He was still in disguise. Only four people knew who he was. The kid, Robin and Steve, and the dude he paid to get the flowers in Steve’s dressing room.

Which Eddie would send his own team of lawyers to make sure the man didn’t so much as breathe the wrong direction.

He would then, of course meet with “Celeste” and “Abbadon” to construct the perfect cover story for Steve being on the tour with Corroded Coffin. Provided Steve said yes.

Twenty minutes later, Eddie emerged from the dressing room to see only a couple of roadies still milling around.

He blinked at one of them for a moment, but then the guy disappeared around a corner and he couldn’t be sure.

He would swear later it looked like Simon Olsen. Steve’s friend. But that couldn’t be right? Couldn’t it?

He shook himself off. He had a hotel to get to and paparazzi to dodge.

Eddie slipped into his old middle school persona. The one from before he moved in with his uncle, Wayne. The one where he could shrink in on himself.

Become... not invisible, per se. Not important enough to be worth a look at.

He removed the hoodie and handed it to fan lingering outside. He roughed up his hair, untied the shoelaces on his boots, rubbed dirt on his knees and hands.

Once his new disguise was in place, he shambled down the street and people moved right through him as if he wasn’t there.

Eddie had to fight down a grin. People were eaten up with curiosity on how he could avoid getting papped no matter where he went. And this right here was his secret. Appear homeless and no one would give a damn.

He got into position and texted ‘Celeste’ he had arrived. He took the time to smooth out his hair and stretch out his spine. Walking hunched over like that hurt as he kicked and screamed into his late twenties. Something he never thought he would reach.

He texted Jeff to let him know he wouldn’t be back to night and settled in to wait.

Soon enough he was led up through the back way and then into Steve’s hotel room.

As soon as the door closed, Steve was on him.

“Are you okay? Did anyone see you?” And then, “Why are you so dirty?”

Eddie burst out laughing. “Just a little thing I learned from dear ole dad about walking about unseen. So just let me clean up a bit and I’m all yours.”

Steve bit his lip and nodded nervously.

Eddie chuckled. “Unless you wanted to join me in the shower?” he said over his shoulder.

Steve perked right up and followed Eddie into the en suite bathroom, kicking the door closed with a grin.

****

Part 6 Part 7 Part 8

Tag List: @papergrenade @cryptid-system @counting-dollars-counting-stars @spectrum-spectre @estrellami-1 @zerokrox-blog @gregre369 @a-little-unsteddie @chaosgremlinmunson @messrs-weasley @danili666 @chaoticlovingdreamer @maya-custodios-dionach @val-from-lawrence @goodolefashionedloverboi @i-must-potato @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog @justforthedead89 @vecnuthy @irregular-child @yikes-a-bee @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @anne-bennett-cosplayer @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @y4r3luv @dragonmama76 @scheodingers-muppet @ellietheasexylibrarian @thedragonsaunt @useless-nb-bisexual @disrespectedgoatman @eyehartart @dawners @thespaceantwhowrites @tinyplanet95 @iamthehybrid @croatoan-like-its-hot

#my writing #stranger things #steddie #ladykailtiha writes #rockstar steve harrington #rockstar eddie munson #rockstar au

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gracekb-art · 2 years

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4-frighted dive with Laudna and Imogen

#critical role #critical role campaign 3 #laudna #imogen temult #4 sided dive #cr3 #fanart #my art

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entomolog-t · 7 months

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INSTAЯ (3)

Multi Prompt Post; Mirror, Forlorn, Hush

Who else has ever thought, "You know what charades is missing? Angst."

In case the remark above wasn't clear, this chapter deals with some decent angst- you have been warned.

- - - -

Previous Chapter: Chapter 2

Next Chapter: Chapter 4

Word count: 2755

CW: Mild body horror, Panic/angst, Unintentional dehumanization, Adult language

I gasp as the weight in my hand thrashes- jerking up and scrambling back in my open palm.

It- it’s alive?!

As if I’d been given a handful of burning coals, instinct yanks my hands back and the… thing clatter onto the floor with an audible clink.

What the fuck is -

Before my brain can follow, a not quite human form stumbles to its feet and bolts away and at an unnerving speed. Within a matter of seconds the kitchen erupts into chaos. Honey’s barking reverberates against the walls as she follows suit- bounding after it as if it were one of the numerous elusive squirrels frequenting the property. Mouth open, she lunges, in an attempt to grab it but the creature dives out of the way, letting out a strained noise- a high pitched wail followed by a series of clicks as it darts under the kitchen table. Like a bull in a China shop, Honey continues her pursuit, carelessly shoving chairs aside without a second thought as she gives chase to … to what?? Its almost as if my brain stutters, stumbling over dots it’s struggling to connect.

The creature- as fast as it was- was no match for Honey, especially in the open expanse of the kitchen. Their frantic chase lasts all of 10 seconds before Honey has it cornered.

The creature squeaks- crying out as Honey pounces from side to side, yipping at it as she urges it to play in her very one sided game of chase- daring it to run. I stare blankly, having barely moved since my initial fright.

I couldn't quite see the creature from my vantage point behind Honey, but the glimpses I had gotten were telling; the iridescent sheen, the strange limbs…

There was no way…

The strained chittering from the corner jolts me out of my thoughts. Honey playfully nips at the creature not unlike the way she used to annoy the neighbors barn cat, blissfully unaware she was just torturing the poor thing… until he had swiped at her- The thought sends a chill through me. Would it bite her? Memories of its horrific mouth and those clawed finger tips are pulled from my mind… Sure, it was small, but that certainly didn’t mean that thing wasn’t dangerous- especially now that she had it cornered.

My mind was racing, searching desperately for some sort of plan of action. What was I supposed to do? There was no way I was letting that thing escape somewhere in my house- but its not like I could just let Honey maul some… Alien..? Monster? I still had no clue what that thing was, and there was absolutely no way I was going to be touching that thing myself. I shuddered as my brain conjured up various gore filled movie scenes of parasitic aliens burrowing themselves into a host. Was that what it was? Some juvenile alien looking for a host?? My eyes hastily dart around the kitchen, looking for some kind of solution- and then I see it.

A whiskey glass.

On the counter I spot one of the fancy glasses Clyde had insisted on bringing over the last time we drank. At the time I thought he was being pretentious, but at this moment I’m filled with nothing but thanks.

I take a wary step forward and watch as both Honey and the creature’s head are on me in an instant. I give a sharp whistle.

"Off." Honey tilts her head, reluctant to give up her new plaything, but upon making a noise of disapproval, she relents, trotting over behind me as she would when out hunting. I quickly take her spot- not letting the creature leave the corner.

There's an audible squeak from the creature as I kneel down. It chitters frantically, all four of its arms raised up in between us as it takes a step back.

Its antennae twitch in a way that almost seems ... nervous. It’s tail- I furrow my brow- it had a tail? Aside from the drastic change in size, the creature looked slightly different than it had before. For one- it had a tail; whip-like and bristly, almost like a porcupine with its spines folded back. It’s antennae seemed thicker, club-like near the tip, and its shell, no longer an inky black, had taken on a deep bluish green tone. It stares up at me, eyes wide and unblinking as it continues to chitter, head turning to look at the glass and back to me.

I raise the glass over its head and the creature stumbles, falling backwards in a much too human-like motion- a fearful little action that nearly makes me feel guilty. As the glass comes down over it, the creature ducks its head forward, clambering to its hands and knees- the whiskey glass too shallow even with it sitting.

For a moment, we both stare at each other, until the reality of the situation seems to settle in; I had caught some tiny creature maybe-alien in a whiskey glass.

Just what the Hell was I supposed to do now? Should I call some? Who would I even call??

I caught myself right before starting to chew on my thumb, trading in the old habit for occupying my hands with fidgeting instead. My eyes scan the countertops for my phone, finding it in its usual place at the corner opposite to me, right between my notepad and truck keys.

I hesitate- not too keen on the idea of leaving the creature unattended even for a brief moment, lest that thing get loose in my house. Wracking my brain for any sort of plan, I start taking a mental inventory of anything I could possibly use within arms reach.

Cleaning supplies, baking supplies, paper towels, paper plates-

I pause.

That could work.

Opening the cupboard to my left, I pull out a paper plate. Tipping the glass up ever so slightly, I slip the plate underneath, frantically trying to convince myself this is no different from catching a wasp.

It’s face turns up to lock eyes with me, muffled chittering escaping from through the glass. It seemed to stare daggers at me, squinting at me as if it were… insulted?

Questions of its intelligence resurface once again. There was no doubt in my mind that it was thinking, analyzing my actions as it scrutinized me… It had known how to lock the doors- Just how smart was this thing? More importantly - what was this thing?

As I shimmy the plate underneath the glass, the creature reluctantly crawls onto it, its glare never once relenting. I stand, placing the trapped monstrosity on the countertop near my phone. With a deep breath, I pick up my phone and stare at the screen- my mind once again racing at the bizarre logistics- just who the Hell I was supposed to call about a potential alien I had trapped like some kind of weird bug? Should I call Clyde? The police? They’d think I was crazy, right? Should I lie, or -

Tink.

A sharp clinking interrupts my thoughts. The creature bangs on the glass and I instinctively recoil

“Fat chance I’m letting you out-” I mutter, but my words die in my mouth the moment my eyes are on it. I watch in horrified fascination as the creature gestures frantically pointing to the notepad.

I freeze- heart beating wildly in my ears.

Did… Did it want to write?

An uneasy feeling creeps at the edge of my consciousness, making my skin prickle. As soon as I pick up the notepad it nods vigorously. That simple gesture made my skin crawl. It was communicating…

I feel as the blood drains from my face- a noticeable sinking feeling in my gut at the brief glimpse of this…this being’s intelligence.

I blanche, staring at the being, dumbfounded. Its mouthparts twitch under my gaze, as it continues pointing insistently at the notepad and then to the pen, looking all too human in its frustration.

It’s as though I’m underwater, my movements delayed as I pull up a chair and sit down. Carefully, I tilt the glass, a not insignificant part of my brain expecting the creature to dart off… but it doesn’t. Ever so slowly, it gets to its feet, tail swishing nervously as its multitude of eyes stay locked on my own.

It chitters, raising up its first set of arms, gesturing impatiently for me to hand it the pen. I comply, placing the pen in their outstretched arms, taking note of just how massive the pen looks in their strange grasp; The being no bigger than the pen itself- if that.

I flip the notepad open to a blank page and place it down in front of them. They awkwardly jostle the pen around, trying to figure out how best to hold it before figuring out a relatively steady grasp- the sight would be comical if it weren’t so bizarre… so real. In a motion almost akin to sweeping, bit by bit shaky letters begin to form.

H…E…L…P

I gasp- eyes wide as I read the word… the English word.

“H-help?” The creature flattens its antennae at the sound of my voice, but nods, “How-” I shake my head, wanting my own answers, “What are you?”

Again, it awkwardly dances with the pen as it answers,

H…U…M…A…N

It stares at the word before it moves, standing on the “HU” portion, and gesturing to the remaining letters.

M… A… N

My skin tingles with the pricking sensation of goosebumps as I read the word over again, mouth agape. A nervous laugh escapes me as the apparent not-so-human human points to the word and back to itself- himself. I grimace.

“I got news for you, buddy.”

The least human looking man I’d ever laid eyes on chitters an aggravated series of clicks as he begins to write again, almost as if muttering to himself.

W…A…N…T

My mind reels trying to figure out what he would need.

L … O…O…K

As he finishes his second word he then points to himself.

My mouth goes dry. Were they really human? Worse yet, if he was … what happened to him?

My voice feels hollow as I speak,

“You want to look…? At yourself??”

He makes a chirping sound, responding with an emphatic nod. An uncomfortable thought crosses my mind, Had he not seen what happened to him? I chew my lip, my thigh bouncing wildly beneath me.

“You know, it would have been faster to write mirror.” I quip, trying to relieve some of the tension I felt boiling under the surface.

He chitters in what I assume to be annoyance, sounding oddly similar to a treed squirrel. I hear the jingle of Honey’s collar as she perks up- clearly all too familiar with that sound.

I shoot Honey a stern look,

“Stay.” Turning back to the little being I add, “That goes for you too,” as I get up to grab my purse from the coat rack. He tosses his hands up in an exaggerated gesture of exasperation.

It’s as though I’m in a daze, my brain on autopilot as I navigate my way around the carnage of the night prior. The newfound context of the incident with the creature twisting a knot in my stomach. It’s- no, his hands raised in a placating gesture between Honey and himself… pleading to me… looking for help. I exhale- my breath coming out shaky. There were still so many questions- and it seemed like he had questions of his own as well.

I return to the kitchen with my purse, finding him sitting down on the countertop, staring blankly at his hands. Upon my approach his antennae perk up, and he stands to meet me. I can’t help but stare. He looks so small. I rummage through the mishmash contents of my purse, pulling out a compact with a mirror. Part of me wants to warn him- but what was I supposed to say? Heads up, you’re fucking horrifying? Surely he would have some understanding about his situation. It’s not like they couldn’t see their own body… Or my reaction to him last night. Without saying a word, I pop the compact open, placing it in front of him.

At the sight of his reflection, he stumbles back- his strange mouth hanging agape. That is, until he catches sight of his mouth- his hands flying up rapidly to cover it from view. For a moment, everything is still. He stands frozen in front of his reflection, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Soft chittering fills trinkles into the silence. In an agonizingly slow motion, his first pair of limbs reaches upwards, while his second remains wrapped around his waist, as if covering himself. His hands move across the hard surface of his face. He grazes clawed fingertips around each eye, hands trembling as they come up to feel the horn like protrusions at his crown.

He drops his hands, gaze falling to stare at them, before returning to his reflection once more. His movements at first slow and timid, increase in speed. He grabs at his face, twisting his head left and right before trembling hands grope at the gaps in his exoskeleton- frantically gripping and tugging at the edges. The groping becomes more violent- almost mauling- as he starts to pull at the edges of his shell as if wanting to rip it from his body. My hand twitches, ready to intervene. He chitters, and his attention gets pulled to his mouthparts. Motions far too violent, he yanks at the insectoid appendages covering his mouth, peeling back the appendages to stare at the horrific expanse of his oral cavity. I flinch at the pained squeak they make as he sees the grotesque sight of his inhuman maw. His chittering grows frantic- pained even.

Hands shaking, he scrapes at the hard shell of his face with clawed fingers, reefing on any gaps in his armor while making a strange shrill sound, like a bird simultaneously whistling and hyperventilating. The sound came forth rapidly and without rhythm, hitching and catching at random intervals as his chest heaved-

Oh.

He was sobbing.

My heart aches at the sight, and without thinking I reach my hand out in an attempt to break him from his panic. He flinches back staring up at me with too many wide wet eyes. I hesitate- hand hovering just before him, my heart wrenching in my chest.

Ever so carefully, I curl my fingers around him. He stiffens, freezing in place. I brush my thumb across his cheek, gently wiping away a trail of tears dripping down the too hard and too smooth surface of his face. He goes rigid under my touch, but doesn't pull away- instead he looks away, turning his head to avoid my gaze.

I will my hand steady as I hook my finger under his chin, softly guiding his face back to meet mine.

"Shh." I hush, "I.. I don't know what's happening, but I'm here to help, okay?"

As I speak, clawed hands grip onto my finger as his tiny form hunches forward, burying his face against my hand. My skin crawls as I feel his second set of arms unfurl, gripping onto my fingers. The sensation of the far too insect-like texture of their shell and two too many limbs against my skin made me wince- both disgusted with the sensation, but more so with myself for having the disgust cross my mind at all.

What the fuck is wrong with you?

Almost as if to spite my own thoughts, I wrap my hands around him, in the closest approximation comfort I can think to provide- resenting the way I suppress a cringe as he returns the embrace.

Muffled chirps spill from between my fingers, his body trembling under my touch. My throat constricts- thigh still rapidly bouncing against the chair. What was I supposed to do? How on Earth was I supposed to offer any comfort? I stroke his side with my thumb, ashamed that fidgeting action was more to comfort myself. I told them I would help them… What am I supposed to do? Is there even anything I can do? My heart wrenches. Fucking useless. In my hands I held a pitiful sight, and there was nothing I could do, no words I could say, no solution I could offer.

All I could offer were hands to hold him.

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loquaciousquark · 2 years

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4-Sided Dive Highlights - Critical Role C3 up to E35 (Oct. 4, 2022)

Good evening, spooks and ghouls! It's a Halloween edition of 4-Frighted-Dive, and Matthew, Marisha, Laura, and most excellently Travis bring us into the season in the very dramatic costumes promised by the cast last episode. Travis wins host for the first time and his plastic fangs make him almost entirely unintelligible. There's an enormous coffin set up at the front of the heavily decorated Halloween set, and while pondering whether we should celebrate Halloween without her, we all ask What Would Laudna Do? Pate arrives at the set door with a delivery: a letter read by Travis in a cockney accent telling them to go on and do the show.

What the Fuck Is Up With That? The Otohan fight was complicated by unexpectedly struggling with the gate/crawler and accidentally getting Otohan's attention. When Laudna went spiderclimbing up the wall, she was not at all anticipating finding Otohan right on the balcony at the top. They all agree the darkness was clutch. I'm so distracted by how Matt's head barely pokes out of his robot box.

The attacking force was not actually intended to break into the fort, just to be a distraction.

If BH had managed to escape more quickly & cleanly, it wouldn't have been a fight at all. (There would have been a bounty on the unknown perpetrators, though.) The slow and cumbersome exit, the getting of her attention, and the leap to combat all triggered her deciding to directly intervene.

Matt thinks the infiltration on the first half was done really well. Getting Treshi was very smooth and the crates were a great idea.

Everyone speculates on if they could make a dunamantic fig tree. Matt has no idea what would happen if they tried to graft Possibility into a tree.

Travis says the Secret Word (Tempest) and must draw from the recently reassembled Tower of Inquiry. #41: How do cast members sent out of a scene avoid seeing spoilers on Twitter? They actively avoid social media! Episodes are still pre-taped, so they know when to avoid episodes & remind each other not to watch protected moments from the show. Great question!

Travis thinks Otohan knows who Imogen's mom is. Laura has deliberately not tried to cast Sending on her mom. Everyone does think she is alive; that Imogen has a memory of her being alive when she was about a year old & other people saw her twelve years ago when she'd originally been told she died in childbirth--surely she must still be around. Everyone wonders how Imogen's explosion managed to spare her friends yet destroy buildings. Did they go to the moon briefly? Matt descends turtle-like into his robot shell to avoid answering.

Marisha watched the last episode by herself. ;-; It was very weird.

Everyone peppers Matt with questions about the moon. "Answer, Robot!" Matt: "I'm thirsty." Marisha VERY clumsily tips a water bottle to his mouth and just about waterboards him. Her raptor hand gloves are too big, oh no!

When Orym, Laudna, Chetney, and Fearne all went down, everyone was convinced that was it--total party TPK. Travis is always looking at Matt's fidget energy when stuff goes down, trying to read his face for lifelines and hints, and he noted that Matt was unusually stoic and calm. Matt knew Otohan was powerful and important; he needed to honor that. When he built the encounter, he did build in escape routes, including the idea of a hostage held to draw the others back. The group did a huge chunk of damage to her and a lot of her resources were tapped by the end of the fight; she did have a damage threshold where she'd leave, and they were close to that. They all wanted to run but couldn't get away. The moment she did the 80-foot jump really scared them all. The fight reminded Travis of the Chroma Conclave attack in C1 where a 19 missed and took their breath away.

Laura says it scarily reminded them so much of Molly in C2--the villain was way beyond their means and the smart move was to get away. They just couldn't execute it cleanly. Matt suggests the conversation could have continued, but the party choices were too scattered: run, hide, fight, talk.

Otohan was more interested in information rather than murder at the start, but when she recognized Imogen & realized her personal connection to the party, she wanted to push Imogen instead & was willing to be ruthless in the process.

Travis loved the brush with total hopelessness. For as large as their party is, it's very rare to do the "advanced chess" and see no way out. They don't get to experience that risk of TPK often.

Matt has to constantly adjust encounters to keep them from becoming a slog while still making them hard. He thinks the party is really smart & have found ways to decimate encounters he'd thought would be hard in the past, and he knows this party likes the challenge and the risk of real danger, so he built this to be very challenging. Marisha says everyone at the table was completely okay with the way everything went down at the table. This is still a safe space for them as players and they are okay with the possibility of loss.

They all had a stairstep of expected outcomes in the following episode, starting with Laudna's die roll. Travis looked over to see the natural 1 and literally couldn't believe it. She has so many ways to get back up, but the Ruidus die refused to cooperate. Travis lauds Matt for the choice of Otohan striking an unconscious Laudna rather than moving on; it was realistic and terrifying.

They had planned for the possibility of everyone getting back up: Laudna rolling well, FCG bringing back Fearne to bring back Orym. Then Laudna rolled a 1 and FCG barely scraped the DC for Fearne coming back, and everything got a lot dicier.

The trouble with the death spiral is that when people start going down, people have to spend their turns bringing back other people rather than attacking. With this many healers & revivifiers in the party, Matt has to really push threat to make encounters hard.

Marisha had a bad feeling the entire break between the episodes. She did not think Laudna was going to make it out. She whispered to Travis at one point that they should rez Orym. The moment Ashley flipped the Changebringer coin and told Laudna they'd find a way to bring her back, it was like a punch in the gut and fatalistically accepting at the same time.

Laura, on the other hand, had convinced herself Marisha would roll her way out of it, so her failing was totally devastating. She was convinced they'd be able to persuade Delilah to heal Laudna through the rock. Matt acknowledges that they didn't expect Delilah to be so powerless.

Travis thinks Delilah was trying to take over Laudna's body, which is what Gentle Repose interrupted. Matt refuses to answer.

If resurrection magic were readily available, death would be meaningless. Matt relegates it to powerful casters, heroes, and noble classes that can afford it.

Everyone agrees it must have been so painful for Orym to ask Keyleth to heal Laudna when he knows she couldn't save his husband. Matt reminds us she tried to rez Will but couldn't.

Marisha keeps imagining VM burying Delilah in an iron box & throwing it in the ocean, just for BH to somehow recover it and open it right back up.

Matt knew with this campaign's characters' histories that there was a higher risk of crossing over with VM, and he was nervous about doing it justice while still avoiding the Essek free-taxi situation. More than that, he NEVER expected Keyleth to show up as a means of taking the whole party to Whitestone. Matt tells us Pike is likely in Whitestone too, possibly Grog. Marisha is so excited to see Matt talk to himself as all their old characters for an hour. Matt is STOKED to be able to revisit old PCs down the line--he's always wanted to explore this idea but has never had groups persist long enough in the same world.

Everyone got incredibly emotional seeing Keyleth & Whitestone.

Favorite scary movies? Laura: The Descent (we just watched this in movie night!). Marisha: Amityville Horror. Matt: Hereditary or the original Poltergeist. Travis: The Exorcist & The Thing, which he watched in increments because they were too scary to watch all at once. He also hilariously apparently bailed out of a theater during Jurassic Park & Neverending Story, haha! A concession stand worker gave him pity Reese's Pieces, bless his heart. Laura bailed once out of her grandma trying to show her Poltergeist when she was like six. Matt bailed out of the Ghostbusters. Marisha has never left a theater. Me either, Marisha! I paid for this ticket, I'm seeing the show.

I've hit that block limit again! Come on, tumblr.

Tower of Inquiry, Redux: minor character superpowers. Imogen never has to change a lightbulb. Chetney has super strong fingernails and doesn't need tools. Laudna wilts flowers when she walks by and would probably be a good crash test dummy. Eshteross always bakes the perfect cookies. Marisha is directed to pull from the tower with her enormous raptor gloves, which she does with tremendous aplomb. Who in TV and film would complement your character well? Chetney + Bilbo Baggins. Laudna + John Constantine (Matt suggests Elvira). Imogen + Jean Grey/Scarlet Witch.

Deep Dive! Matt can't reach his tumbler with both hands and it's honestly just sending me. He's loved introducing C2 elements into this campaign; he's been thinking about threads from the start of C2 and even into C1 that he's now able to bring into the world.

Marisha: What is it like to see Keyleth back without being at the table? It's like going into a fugue state. She thought Matt did a great job mimicking her more staccato mannerisms. "It was cute. It was good! Now do Vex." Matt descends again into his box.

Travis didn't recognize either name Matt dropped during the white out: Diana & Frenella Deanna and Frudell, I guessed VERY wrong on those names, sorry! He's going to see if he can meditate and ring a bell. Imogen might deep dive into him herself if he wants.

Laura struggled with the gnarlrock situation & Laudna. She would have kept the rock on her if they hadn't needed to move the body. She was going to leave it at Joe's then didn't; she was going to throw it off the airship then didn't. The draw of power the first rock gave her is such a background thought now with everything else.

Matt has the same conversation with every player about what happens when a character dies. His purpose is to have the players enjoying the game, and if a character dies prematurely, he is willing to open avenues for the party to pursue to bring them back. He also offers the chance to make a completely new character, a new character with strong ties to the old to continue the story, etc.

"With Taliesin, I asked him that question, and he said, 'No, Molly's not coming back. I intentionally made Molly as a character that if he died, he's not coming back, he's gone.' [...]He said, 'No, I'm going to start working on my new character,' and that's where Caduceus came from. And that's an example of character death being a very harrowing but important shift in story tone and character bonding & intense buy-in into a narrative. And then out of that, a great character like Caduceus that no one realized how badly the Mighty Nein needed him until he was there."

When Matt asked the current three what they wanted right after the Otohan fight, Ashley & Liam both started talking to him about their next characters (Liam sent a whole email of his secondary character right away), but Marisha didn't. Marisha wants to pursue Laudna's story but isn't necessarily invested in her coming back exactly the same. She's interested in what Pandora's box they're about to open in Whitestone and expects there will be consequences. Matt is excited to give her new character choices.

The art team asked for Marisha's backup to get character art going and she said no. She'll sit out as long as she needs to and will not play another character in the meantime.

"That shit's fucked up" that Laudna is being brought back to Whitestone to get resurrected. She has no idea how this will go.

Chetney is a sleuth because Travis played an idiot for his first character. He's learned so much from watching the rest of the table play over seven years. The detection of Yu happened because he was watching a spy show where assassins are texted a picture of the target, and he realized while on a treadmill: "Oh!" Calamity wrecked Travis in a beautiful way; he watched everyone else scheming and wanted to be part of that.

Matt laughed that this little trinket Fearne has been carrying for years as part of her backstory was immediately smashed by Ashton.

Imogen does not feel like a superhero; she feels dangerous and guilty. Marisha lauds Laura's roleplaying in the aftermath. Laura suggests that Imogen IS the moon.

Tower of Inquiry, Re-redux! Before the campaign, everyone shared classes & affirmed they didn't want to be as secretive as C2. Marisha & Laura both wanted to be sorcerers, so they paired up. Fearne & Orym were linked from ExU & Ashton & FCG matched up naturally. Laura's original character had Feywild & hag connections and changed it to not overlap with Fearne. Travis originally had someone else drafted but wanted to get away from the buttoned-up captaincy of Fjord.

Oh NO, hahahah! Travis goes to pull a block and someone in a black cloak and long claws creeps up on him behind to alarm him. It's hilarious and yet he manages to avoid toppling the tower.

Where did your character's names come from? Chutney is not Chetney; Pock O'Pea is a sound Ronin was making when he first started talking, adorable! Marisha had a long list of possible names for Laudna and liked the reference to laudanum; she wanted something weird and hazy that messes with your head. Travis is still on guard after the scare, poor thing. Laura just likes the name Imogen; she wanted something soft and flowy.

Five Nights at Freddy's in the OCULUS??? They want to kill this man, don't they? He dies immediately on the first night before the announcement even finishes. I will say that Laura's response to going second makes Travis look positively stoic. The editors also keep editing in a picture of Sam flickering in the shadows, and it's hilarious. Marisha accidentally picks the sequel to play and dies on night 2 IMMEDIATELY. Matt picks Dark Rooms, the sequel where you're in a house & have to play Red Light, Green Light with a monster coming towards you down the hall & by far handles the game the best. Travis gives a couple tries to the Vent Repair game and gets three of four lights on before being stymied by Simon Says. Good for him! The episode ends with the crew trick or treating and TPing the set. Adorable.

Great episode! Is it Thursday yet?

#critical role #critical role spoilers #4 sided dive #4 sided dive spoilers #long post for ts #very long post for ts #talks machina

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kerosene-in-a-blender · 7 months

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Love that this episode of 4 Frighted Dive is opening with Moppo telling the audience all about his master plan and murder of Broomy

#loving this episode already #critical role #4 sided dive

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77words · 2 years

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Finally watched 4-Frighted Dive, and someone mentioned Orym having some dark past because he couldn't possibly be as wholesome as he is.

Which has me wondering, what did Orym get up to in those years between when he left Zephrah and when he met the Crown Keepers? For the most part, all of Crown Keepers and Bells Hells have either explained their lives up to this point, or are just flat out a mystery in general. But Orym is one we know for certain has a very recent chunk of time that he has said very little about.

I don't think Liam has mentioned anything about it at all. Did he leave Zephrah right away (I'm not sure if Liam/Orym has said or not)? If it was 6 years ago, then it's a long time to just not have been doing anything. However, based on the fact that he used to be a part of the Tempest's guard up to the point of the attack and when we met him in EXU he was low level and getting back into learning how to fight, I would assume that he didn't spend all those years fighting and killing.

How long was he wandering, alone? If he did leave Zephrah straight away, what could he have possibly been up to for all those years?

#cr campaign 3 #orym of the air ashari #critical role #exu #bell's hells #orym #crown keepers

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big-moon-little-moon · 7 months

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it's been like 5 minutes since the halloween episode of 4-sided dive has started and taliesin already got possesed by the googly-eyed mop and a haunted santa wants to fuck liam 😭

#nobody does it like them #not the 4sd lore we wanted but the one we needed #4sd #4 sided dive #4 frighted dive #4sd ep17 #4sd spoilers #taliesin jaffe #liam o'brien #dani carr #critical role

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nerdy-the-artist · 1 year

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Dread it… run from it… destiny arrives all the same. Or rather, lesbians, bird people, and pirates. The series kinda just grabbed onto me out of seemingly nowhere at the beginning of March. Resisted the urge at first as a whole lot of series have disappointed me but, man, this fits all the niches for me. Great female protagonist, lost civilization tropes, pirates, galactic politics, galaxy threatening parasites. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t dive in sooner. To speak about the learning Chozo bit, it’s a slow process for me. Spring break is coming up, so I might take that opportunity to expedite the process then.

Mostly, however, I’m gonna share some more token details from my Metroid AU. Granted, I may be jumping the gun, as I haven’t gotten an opportunity to actually play a Metroid game, so perhaps I’m not the best gal to write a story on the matter. But the world building is fun. Without further ado, I will now proceed to rant about actual tidbits from the AU.

1. Ala the manga, Samus does have a slight telepathic bond between her two Chozo blood donors, Grey Voice and Raven Beak. However, due to hardly ever seeing Raven Beak, she does not recognize him. He appears in dreams though, in which she describes him as “the man with the broken face”. Yes, I’m going with his beak being a prosthetic. In any case, in the rare few times Samus dreams of this man with the broken face, he simply tells her to come find him. With time, however, Samus writes the dreams off as just that, dreams.

2. Ridley’s moniker of The Cunning God of Death is taken to another level. While he is well aware that he has no supernatural power or dominion, he styles himself as a god. In his speeches to his underlings, he proclaims the masses they will slaughter as “the mortals”, with his personal kill squad being known as The Revenants. His propensity to survive the unsurvivable helps cement this image in both the eyes of the pirates he controls, and the enemies who hear tales of his crimes.

3. While this may be controversial, the whole term of Space Pirates will be vastly expanded upon. As opposed to one great monolith of a faction, there will be many factions and sub factions jockeying for power in the lawless regions of space. Ridley and (upon the invasion of Zebes) Mother Brain’s faction are known as the Glaxamore. Additionally, membership into these various Space Pirate factions is not particularly restricted by race. There are a great many human and elfan pirates, in Glaxamore and beyond. One such human pirate will be a ship captain in the fleet surrounding Zebes, post invasion.

4. Back during Samus’s teenage years on Zebes, she and Old Bird would play pranks on Grey Voice. One such instance that I am itching to write, if for no other reason than my own entertainment, is when the snuck an Iono Feria (peaceful creature, once again, from the Manga), into Grey Voice’s personal study in the middle of the night, much to his fright and frustration when he woke up the next morning.

5. To speak more about Samus in particular, I wanted to dip more into the character-at-rest portion of her personality. While she is still a loner, she does make use of that time to improve herself beyond her ability to fight and survive. For one thing, she meditates. She tries a variety of different techniques, both human and Chozo, in order to commune with nature. This pursuit was one Old Bird passed onto her. Another thing she inherited from the Chozo is an accent! Samus and the Chozo speak English with a very distinct accent, which is slightly comparable to Greek or Spanish. I may pitch in some voice acting to show what I mean at some point, but not yet. Lastly, in addition to power suit and zero suit, another staple of her wardrobe is a Chozo poncho, with ornate patterning and a very earthy color palette. She often wears it during meditation sessions or when she simply wants to chill.

And that will be all for now. If you guys are interested in hearing more tidbits of this AU, I would be happy to post more. For now, however, I will leave it at this.

#metroid #samus aran #ridley metroid #mother brain #old bird #chozo #raven beak #k2-l might not have been the first time Ridley returned form the dead #Old Bird and Uncle Iroh would get along so well #Metroid AU #mawkin #Zebes #half life cats #I may have jumped the gun on making an AU #but i don’t care #I only just realized the first part of the video looks like a literal Metroid is attempting to consume my life force

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littlebosslady7 · 7 months

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Taliesin possibly being the Tavern Keeper for 4-Frighted-Dive feels right.

#taliesin jaffe #liam o’brien #ashley johnson #sam riegel #cr3 #4 sided dive

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vethbrenatto · 2 years

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The 4-frighted dive ad was so funny they didn’t need to do all that

#cr liveblog

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susan-gampre · 6 months

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Forewarning: This is a very old ask of which I felt was a good way to reintroduce old characters, and fulfill a friends ask request which I had been sitting on much too long:

💚 - friendship ~

There are just so many possibilities for this one, alot of characters of mine have the potential to make decent friends on their own, but when applying it to this scenario of plotting I’ll go ahead and give you the ships I think would work out the best (based on personality traits I know of your characters in order of most likely to sortta likely ➡)

Verzatea(@whatadarkbitch ) / Ana-Juli( @anajuli-mirkstone )/ Haela Balcyan (@haela-balcyan )) + Korrinth (dark powerful babe squad)

Susan / Rickie (@rickiedevron )Camille (drop out student turned painter with magic as her median (@camille-craft)) + Kiro (Degens make the best of friends)

Araebe(@little-araebe (a mermaid))/ Rickie / Amian ( divinity inclined noble soldier turned wayward paladin (@amian-delvrox))/ Esme @esme-erynn ) + Soira (Free spirits with good vibes often attract one another)

Elebreth Baelfy ( a hirable guard for nobility, a fellow rendorei) + Anne

💙 - kinship ( blood or symbolic familial bond ) ~

To me, symbolic familia is so much deeper than blood relative, because not all blood relatives get along but chosen family is more special. But I do have some Sindorei who could be blood related to any of yours (Maybe even Anne?) especially since I haven’t expanded on their family history for this very reason:

Blood -

Possibility 1: Galiera Baelfy (@galiera-baelfy) is the daughter of a well-to-do though humble family, and is currently in school so that once deemed worthy, she might join the courts and become a lawmaker. Shes anything but humble, and quite frankly can come off as rude and uptight.

Possibility 2: Verzatea Duskflame is the daughter to a noble house of published authors (with writings revolving around the Dark arts, which she perfected and utilizes in her current position as Confessor in the House of the Nine (@the-house-of-the-nine)).

Possibility 3: Elebereth Baelfy lost her mother, father and siblings to illness when she was already an adult, while she studied the ways of the courts with her cousin Galiera. Once she lost them, she lost anything worth living for and dived into combat training to hone her body as a tool for preserving the life of those worthy (she’ll not protect a corrupt being, no matter how much they pay her).

Possibility 4: Haela Balcyan. More on that later, but the gist is her family of monster hunters more or less fell off the face of the map when confirmed deaths of the household heads rolled around the newspaper. Haela specifically endured a frightful change of lifestyle which to this day marred the girl she was once.

Symbolic -

This is an open opportunity, for any number of characters.

- Susan adopts lost souls left and right - Rickie considers all of her friends people she trusts and would lay her life down for

-Lysandra Vanburen ( @lysandra-vanburen)) is a closeted witch surviving midst the Drustvar witch trials

-Haela, despite being a monster herself, is a monster hunter and oft goes out on hunts. She will protect Innocents, even if it's a loathed act that they were in the way to begin with - Araebe considers anyone who cleans, protects or loves the ocean a member of her kin and she will give you goodies from the depths for honorable acts - Amian loves literally anyone and everyone, she shall protect you in the face of any adversary - Camille was disowned by her widowed father for dropping out of school and thus craves parental bonds. A few options, but we can discuss any other possibility! 🤷

💔 - past relationship ~

Again, this is an open opportunity. We just have to discuss who to consider for the roles and we can work of the rest of the details! The most likely candidates for the running and why:

Susan - Obviously, she's the most unlikely of them all to hold down a stable relationship. The first sign of serious vibes and she bolts, feigning that shes unprepared or doesn't love the person when in actuality she is notorious for sabotaging her happiness.

Lysandra Vanburen- She would have been a sordid partner of affairs, able to get away with such unladylike happenings in her youth for the sole fact of who her family is. Low caste or high, if they were good company and beautiful enough she may have dabbled in discreet relationships .. but it would all come to an end at a certain age when she started taking being a representative to the Vanburen name much more seriously.

Rickie - She's a drifter. Can't stay in one place long before feeling the literal call of the wild, she will always come back to town for a fling or a few months of playing house before deucing with her dogs to get back to traveling the world.

Araebe - She's not for the land, always feeling the ocean drag her back in. The open waters are her home and life, this she is rarely able to commit for the sake of her loved one.. for the ocean is her greatest love of all and she will not turn her back on it to live a fruitless life on land pretending to be human.

Haela - Monster hunters make for terrible dates, she would leave anyone on read at the chance of a monster in the area for her to flex her skills on. Plus she's kinda freaky as an individual, a psychopath in all respects.

💜 - hateship ( they hate each other but can’t stay away ) ~

Lysandra loathes the Horde. Her history in military has left her with scars and horror stories that haunt her to this day, things she vowed to spend a life time repaying the faction for. They are all a kill on sight for her. It is a possibility where anyone she ships with she constantly runs into and will happily engage in a fight with without hesitation. Or, if on neutral territory, she will harass and mean mug you to death.

Galiera can make shit hard to swallow, and will clash/argue with anyone who responds poorly to her often shitty attitude.

Susan and Rickie don't hate people easily, but crossing either one earns a lifetime of headaches from sly/aggressive quips from the Madam or straight up shitty remarks from Rickie when around them. But its also just as acceptable for them to become frenemies with anyone. 🤙

Amian is a devout woman of the Light. She will never quietly accept the atrocities of how people destroy their bodies to house dark magic. Demon hunters, warlocks, good elves and in general people of the dark arts are susceptible to her passive aggressiveness.

As for your add on question regarding --

💟 - friends with benefits ~

I’ll go ahead and give you (and anyone curious) a list of potential candidates who would be open to such tom foolery:

Rickie, Esme, Verzatea, Araebe, Camille, Haela. Everyone else is a possibility but there's too many variables that could ignite or snuff out such a potential friendship that itd require some forethought.

@unabashedrebel sorry this took literal years!🌻

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