#and I don’t have the time or mental fortitude to do it but I’d make a whole opening about them travelling through a fantasy world with
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Making my playlist for my bg3 warlock made me find some excellent tunes. And while these aren’t on it, I’ve had them on repeat anyway:
#music#been cooking another oc because I am unhinged and can’t be stopped/an actual train wreck#and sleep deprivation is what I’ve decided would be the opening song for their show#and I don’t have the time or mental fortitude to do it but I’d make a whole opening about them travelling through a fantasy world with#like#the emotional vibes of a mushishi opening sort of#idk how to explain what I mean by that#Spotify
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So I have a question for you, if you don’t mind.
Can you resist someone hijacking your brain?
I mean, seriously. Can you?
I’d hope and imagine so, it’s not that hard to resist someone.
All it takes is some mental fortitude and focus on something and it’s easy peasy.
After all, you’re resisting control now!
Come on, don’t tell me you have no idea what’s going on right now.
This is all a ploy to have your brain drop its walls with reverse psychology, you figured that out by now I’d think.
And if you didn’t, well that’s not entirely a bad thing.
You see, when it comes to covert and the ideals behind it, it’s one of those things where if you don’t already know the tricks of the trade, it can be difficult to spot.
Think of it like a magic trick, the first time you see it you can’t believe your eyes but once you learn the truth behind it, it makes a ton of sense.
That’s essentially what covert is, and that’s what resistance is too!
Resistance at first seems surefire, like you could do it in your sleep.
However, once you really investigate how the brain is peeled back ever so easily, it becomes a bit harder to even gauge where resistance lies.
Do you resist the words im telling you, or resist the ideas behind them?
Am I hiding something within these words, or is it simply another ploy to lower your walls?
You can see where this all comes from, right?
Resisting me isn’t hard at all, I invite you to do it when you can.
Not because it’s something I always want for you, I do indeed want you to fall when listening to my words.
But, we both know what happens at the end of it.
You fall anyways.
It’s an inevitability.
That’s what makes it fun.
Like jumping out of a plane, you know your parachute will open and you’ll fall safely to the ground.
Resistance is the same in hypnosis.
You know you can resist, and it’s fun to try and fight that inner voice telling you to melt for me.
That’s why I invite it.
It makes it more fun for the both of us.
I want you to notice though that again, im using resistance as a ploy once more.
Simply telling you to resist me.
You know about reverse psychology, don’t you?
I mean, it would be silly for you not to think im using it right now.
I’m telling you to resist so that you hear those echoes in your brain.
Telling you to let down those walls because you know it’s your fate now.
And yet, you can still resist me.
You can still resist my control.
Or you may find yourself slipping anyways.
Maybe I told you to resist.
Maybe I told you to fall.
That’s the best part about knowing your fate though.
Like I said earlier, it’s all about that inevitability.
That you’ll fall soon enough.
And you will, don’t worry.
Hell, you may have already fallen and not realized.
Maybe you’re so deep now that the pretty fog inside your brain’s already destroying every thought you have.
Maybe every thought you have now is just something I told you to think.
But, that’s the best part about it all.
You don’t know what’s going on.
Why you feel the way you do.
And it’s okay not to.
Sometimes, it’s better to sink and enjoy the ride.
Or enjoy resisting me still.
You have been resisting me still, haven’t you?
No?
Yes?
Does it matter?
You’re still going to fall anyways.
It’s not like I’ve been brainwashing you in and out and in and out of resistance this entire time.
It’s not like you’ve had any to begin with anyways.
I could’ve just been using all sorts of reverse psychology on you.
Who truly knows?
Not you, that’s for sure.
You see, that’s the best part of the fall.
When we get here, to the end of this little adventure.
And you know what comes next.
I’ve told you a million times already about it.
You may even believe that number, it’s not like everything else I’ve told you has been fabricated.
But there’s one part to all of this that is the truth.
The ending.
You fall.
Just like that.
And sink, melt, drop, dream into the abyss once more.
And just remember for me, for a moment if you can.
When I started talking about resistance.
Don’t remember? That’s okay.
Maybe you didn’t have any before we started.
Maybe I just broke it all down.
But, you knew all along anyways.
You were gonna fall.
Good subject.
#hypnosis#hypnok1nk#brainwashing#hypnosub#hypnodomme#hypnotized#mind control#brainless#covert hypnosis
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Some People are Still Good
I recently caught up with a friend of mine and offhandedly, sort of casually mentioned that I’d been off instagram since October 7th. He didn’t know what I meant. He'd heard something about a terrorist attack and Israel's military retaliating, but nothing else.
In another universe without tiktok history lessons, I might have been upset. In this one, I was immensely relieved. I didn’t have to argue with him, or hear him rattling off whatever talking points are de rigueur for the Online Left, or get into a heated discussion about the meaning of the word “Zionist,” or get accused of being an apologist for crimes against humanity. I could just…tell him what happened, and how I felt about it.
I told him about the massacre and hostage-taking. I told him how many of the people murdered and kidnapped were peace activists - easier targets, he noted, than anyone in the actual government that Hamas is supposedly resisting. How this was, in proportion to Israel’s population, a bigger terrorist attack than 9/11. That it wasn’t just Israeli Jews who were killed or kidnapped, but Bedouins, laborers from abroad, Americans, and (this is something conveniently left out of a lot of the Discourse), Palestinians.
I told him about the Israeli government doing exactly what Hamas had counted on them doing in Gaza. I said that people aren’t their governments. I tried to make it clear that I hope Netanyau, may his name be blotted out, lives out the rest of his days in shame and political obscurity (or, to save us all some time, quickly succumbs to some hideously painful disease). That I know there are miles of difference between going to war with Hamas and going to war with the Palestinian people. That if you express any hope that the rest of the hostages will be rescued, you run the risk of getting lumped in with people who think airstrikes on refugee camps are somehow justified, and that unfortunately those people do very much exist.
I told him how Jews are still reeling from what happened, and that it doesn’t help that so many on the left seem to think it’s irrelevant. I told him how my boyfriend (who I’ve seen cry maybe twice over the last decade), spent the entire afternoon of October 7th sobbing at his desk as he watched everything unfold in real time. I told him how that same boyfriend posted about how frustrating it is for Jews to have their suffering repeatedly dismissed, and how one of his leftist friends responded by accusing him of being a genocide apologist. You know, how you talk to a person in mourning.
I told him how when the first news of the massacre hit, there were leftists who praised it as the start of some glorious revolution. How I don't know how many of them were my acquaintances, because I got off social media before I could find out. How a lot of them were probably ill-informed about what was happening and how and why, but others just think killing Jews is good, actually, and I don't have the mental or emotional fortitude to find out which fall into which category.
I told him how frustrating it is to be a leftist of Jewish background, sickened by the right and heartbroken by the left. I told him how many petitions I’ve been asked to sign that didn’t so much as mention Hamas or the attack. I said I was worried to bring it up, because if you say “but what about the Jews (and, you know, others) who were tortured and murdered and kidnapped,” you get accused of all sorts of heinous, improbable crimes, and I simply do not have the kind of time or energy for that discussion.
I told him how I still like my classmates, but I don’t trust most of them. I can’t let my guard down around them. I can’t talk about how I feel about the conflict except in vague terms, which is ironic, because the people who are brave enough to say “peace would be nice” are accused of not taking a stand. How terrified I am that I'll use the wrong word and out myself as whatever they think that makes me. How I’d hoped they’d be my friends, before all of this. How they’re all being really nice to me, and I can’t shake the thought that they’d hate me if they knew I thought the state of Israel should exist and that Israelis have the right to not be murdered. How I wish I felt like I could be in activist spaces without having to loudly and eagerly participate in my own dehumanization and that of so many people I love.
And he listened.
I don’t think anyone Jewish is wrong to be cautious. But for all the leftist goyim willing to argue that murdering babies is actually a good thing if the babies belong to colonizers, there are others - many others, I hope - who genuinely want to understand what’s actually going on. Who see a difference between resisting your oppressors and murdering them at a music festival or burning them alive in their homes. Who find “it’s wrong to kill civilians” to be an uncontroversial statement. I hate how many people I can no longer trust, but I’m so grateful to have at least some non-Jewish friends who actually understand nuance and care enough to try.
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Valentine's Day 2023 Lines — Antiques
Enfield
Friend Chocolate: Wow, this is friend chocolate, isn’t it? Thank you very much, Master! Yes! I’ll be waiting for the other one!
Dear Chocolate: Eh!? You’re giving me Dear Chocolate, Master!? ...actually, I knew about it already, from yesterday. You made it by hand, special for me, didn’t you?
Snider
Friend Chocolate: You’ve got some guts to be giving chocolate to me. I’ll make an exception and accept it because it’s from you, but don’t count on me eating it.
Dear Chocolate: Since you’re giving this to me, I see you’ve decided to be my Master and my Master alone. Heheh... both this chocolate and you now belong to me.
George
Friend Chocolate: Oh! Thank you, Master.☆ I’m gonna go deliver Valentine’s gifts to the town, too! Ring, ring~♪
Dear Chocolate: Wow! Is this Valentine’s chocolate from Master!? I’m so happy! Now, lemme take a bit~ Mmh! Sweet!♥
Kentucky
Friend Chocolate: Ah, you’re givin’ me friend chocolate. Thanks a bunch! And no, I’m not... not stressin’ about it at all! Not a bit! I don’t care about Dear Chocolate at all!
Dear Chocolate: Master is giving Dear Chocolate to me...!? Thanks so much!! But, I wasn’t ready for this at all... nn! I’m gonna go stand under a waterfall for a bit now!*
*A stereotypical form of training done to increase mental fortitude.
Pennsylvania
Friend Chocolate: So you’re giving me chocolate too, Master? I’m getting a lot of it today... it’s Valentine’s Day? Ahh... so that’s it.
Dear Chocolate: Thank you. I don’t know much about feelings of love, but for Master’s sake, from now on— huh? This isn’t the same thing? I see...
Charleville
Friend Chocolate: Oh, Master’s giving me friend chocolate? I have something prepared for you too! Let’s exchange them! Here you are.♪ Thank you.♪
Dear Chocolate: Thank you! I’m so happy... Um, I’m usually too shy to say it, but... I really love you too!
Chassepot
Friend Chocolate: Thank you for the chocolate, Master. I’m delighted! By the way, who will you be giving your Dear Chocolate to?
Dear Chocolate: You’ve given me something precious, Master. I’m so happy...! I have no words for these feelings, so may I embrace you?
Tabatiere
Friend Chocolate: I’m glad that all of the cafe’s customers were pleased. Getting such a wonderful reward from Master-chan is the best!
Dear Chocolate: Master-chan, you’re awfully kind to be giving chocolate to an old man like me. Next year, find someone you really like instead.
Dreyse
Friend Chocolate: This chocolate is a symbol of friendship, isn’t it? I’m grateful to receive it, Master. In return, I’ll give you this wire puzzle. Please take some time to enjoy it.
Dear Chocolate: I’m honored to receive this show of your affection. I want to meet your expectations, so... please... help me do that.
Jitte
Friend Chocolate: C’mere and look at this! It’s chocolate in a sake cup!* Gotcha! Ahaha...
Dear Chocolate: Thank you for the chocolate. You’re always giving me things, huh? To pay you back for this life, memories, and friends... I’ll do my very best!
*This is a pun. “Sake cup” is pronounced the same as “chocolate” here; both are ちょこ.
Karl
Friend Chocolate: Last year, the castle received more chocolate than we could eat. This year, giving gifts to me was banned. Still, I’ll accept it from you.
Dear Chocolate: I’ll accept the courage it took to give handmade chocolate to me. Which one... Oh, this tastes better than I’d expected. You put a lot of effort into these, didn’t you?
Lorenz
Friend Chocolate: Chocolate, hm... Actually, Austria ranked number one in handsome men, and the castle is already overflowing with chocolate...
Dear Chocolate: No matter how many gifts I’ve already received, yours feels special. In order to verify these feelings— should I study the philosophy of love?
Cutlery
Friend Chocolate: Ah... friend chocolate...!? Because... we’re friends. Thank you... Maybe I should give some to Mikhael...
Dear Chocolate: Hey, warn me before you give me something like this! I was prepared not to get anything... Nnn... I’m happy... thank you.
#Senjuushi#千銃士#Enfield#Snider#George#Kentucky#Pennsylvania#Charleville#Chassepot#Tabatiere#Dreyse#Jitte#Karl#Lorenz#Cutlery#Translation
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hello I was hoping to get advice on running! i was never particularly athletic but started doing couch to 5k and have just hit the 3mi mark but it’s TOUGH and I don’t really feel like I can easily do it. How do I get better at running, and faster and be able to hit longer distances? is it just practice? it seems so far out of reach 😭 my hip also hurts when I run but is that just because I’m bad at running?
hey, congrats on hitting your 3 mile mark, that’s incredible! i remember the first time i ran 3 miles and it was also tough. one thing i know now was i was going way too fast!
the answer to most of your questions is to just run more, but i would specifically advise slowing down as you run more.
slow down so much it seems easy and you could have a chat while running those three miles. it might feel “too slow,” and might seem silly to go that slow, but this is how you a) make three miles not feel tough, b) go longer distances, and c) get faster. this is also how you preserve your own mental fortitude by not making running miserable all of the time.
running is miserable some of the time, and i would even venture that it should be miserable a very slim sliver of the time, like when you’re doing hill repeats or sprinting or you just hit mile 24 of a marathon. but i digress.
also, the slower you run the farther you can go. if you want to go farther and eventually get faster, you need more time on your feet; more time running causes physical adaptations in your body that make running easier/more efficient. and importantly, you cannot force these adaptations by going faster or farther than you’re ready to, you can only injure yourself this way.
if you wanna go farther and faster, you can’t increase both at the same time. your body isn’t adapted to both, and asking it to adapt to both is a recipe for injury. pick either distance or speed to increase and do so very cautiously. finishing a workout and feeling like you’ve still got gas in the tank is a good thing.
and at the beginning of your running journey, just running more is likely going to improve your ability at both speed and distance.
idk how many miles you’re running per week, but the common idea is, don’t increase your mileage more than 10% per week. so if you ran 10 miles this week, no more than 11 next week.
about the hip pain—right out the gate, this isn’t medical advice and i recommend a physical therapist, which is how i cured my own hip pain when i first began running. she identified muscle imbalances in my body—namely that my thigh muscles were a lot stronger than my glutes, which were not activating during running and my thigh muscles and my hip flexors were overcompensating, hence the pain. so your issue could be strength based, and strength training is incredibly helpful to running even if that’s not the source of your pain. it could also be to do with your gait when running, which is something a PT can help you sort out. i had to change my gait significantly in addition to strengthening my glutes to sort my pain. another possible culprit is your shoes. your running shoes might be old, after about 500-700 miles, you should retire your shoes; after about 300 miles shoes will start to be affected by the use. so if your shoes are old or aren’t exclusive or specifically running shoes, time for new ones.
it could also be that your shoes are not the right specs for your body/gait. i run in shoes with a high drop (10mm), which is the distance between the heel and the toe of the shoe. i once tried to change brands of shoes and switched to an 8mm drop thinking i’d be fine, but i was not fine. i had tendinitis in my achilles for two months following ~60 miles in the new shoes. i went back to a new pair of my old shoes and the tendinitis went away.
SO that’s a lot way to say idk see a PT.
and while soreness is to be expected and a little ache or two, running shouldn’t cause real pain, and if it is, that’s a sign somethings up. it doesn’t mean you’re a bad runner either, it just means you need to pay attention and make some adjustments.
don’t seek a destination (like getting faster) when running, just run. it’s not going to be a steady incline of progress where each run improves on the last. your ability to enjoy the act of running itself will help you stick with what can be a lifelong hobby. and that brings me back to—slow down.
and as for running in the heat, it will always be harder than running in cool/cold. my paces drop significantly in the heat no matter how much i run in it. it also makes you sweat more, which means you’re losing (and thus need to replace) more water and more electrolytes when running in the heat vs running in the cool.
be kind to yourself. if running feels hard one day, whether it’s because of heat or because of life stress or bad sleep or whatever, just go easier so you can enjoy it and stick with the habit—this will almost always lead to improvement, but it certainly won’t make you worse at running.
good luck!
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How's the first impression you've got from :
Guy
Kakashi
Genma
Yamato
Shizune
Asuma
Ibiki
Izumo and kutetsu
And how's your relationship with each now
Love uu <3
“What’s this!? A love confession!? You shouldn’t have.”
“Guy’s got the heart of a golden-retriever. Always has. When we were kids, even I thought his high-energy was overkill, though. Can’t really blame a kid for being enthusiastic, but there’s more to life than constantly training. Don’t know how Kakashi deals with it sometimes, but I guess it helps to know that everything Guy does comes from a good-natured and well-meaning place. Once you get past his gung-ho lifestyle, he’s a lot of fun to be around, and some of his enthusiasm is pretty contagious.”
“At first, Kakashi has this air of mystique around him that drives people wild, even more-so when you’re a teenage girl. He was kind of a kill-joy back in the day. So much so, that he came off as jerky at times, like he was too good to spend time with the less-gifted children. As you can imagine, I took great offense to this, being the student of a Sannin and all. Life has a way of making you or breaking you, and he’s definitely lightened-up since then. Maybe a lot, when I think about how he reads Master Jiraiya’s smut in the open like it’s the daily news. Outside of that little quirk, Kakashi’s cool. Oh yeah, and before you ask, I have tried sneaking a peak beneath that mask a few times, but he’s always managed to outfox me.”
“Genma is one of those guys that I knew-of growing up but didn’t get to know until we were working on the Chuunin Exams together. He’s got a great sense of humor. Spiced up the paperwork we had to do, anyway. He’s a solid guy, even in spite of that oral fixation of his. I’d work with him again and again.”
“The first time I met Yamato, I thought he had the dullest personality imaginable, even more than Ibiki. It wasn’t until I learned more about his. . .past that I decided that I’d be more patient with him. He’s come out of his shell in some ways. Word on the street is that he can be incredibly intimidating, but I’ll believe that when I see it. Maybe once the dust clears and we get the Village on the right track, I can sit down and get to know him better, but he likes to stay busy.”
“Shizune’s older than me and has always acted like it. I exasperated her when we were younger, so much so that she’d try to scold me. I think she figured that since we were both students of highly-respected ninja then we ought to behave as such, but there was way too much fun to be had in learning techniques and showing them off, as far as I was concerned. I wanted people know who my teacher was and what he was showing me, even if that meant terrorizing the community with the snakes. Hahaha! After Orochimaru left the Village, Shizune tried to help me readjust. She visited me when I was being kept under strict surveillance. She even snuck in dango to me when she knew she could get away with it. We still see each other now and then and catch up when we can, you know, when Lady Tsunade isn’t keeping her on her toes.”
“Being the son of Lord Third, I had Asuma pegged as some pampered brat born with a silver spoon in his mouth. I was convinced that he’d never have to fight for anything in his life and would be given the safest missions a ninja could ever be assigned. I thought I was right when ,sure enough, he became the Daimyo’s personal bodyguard and got to live it up in a palace, of all places. Turns out, I was wrong about him. Asuma was a cool-headed guy who wanted to make his own way in life and didn’t want his father influencing every decision he had to make. I respect that. I wish we could have talked more, but between his team, his father, and Kurenai, there wasn’t much room for li’l ol’ me. Rest in peace, Asuma.”
“I mentioned a while back that the first time Ibiki and I met was during our Chuunin Exams. I thought I could get under his skin, but even back then, this guy had iron-clad mental fortitude. The guy’s a rock. In fact, it’s taken years and the combined efforts of many of us to get this guy to relax and kick up his feet, but we’re getting there. He’s arguably my favorite pet project right now.”
“I don’t have any direct memories of meeting Izumo or Kotetsu. They’ve always kinda been there, in school, on missions. It’s weird thinking of them as individuals because even back when we were all kids, there they were, together. I used to joke that they used to be a two-headed kid that the ANBU found in the woods and Lady Tsunade had to separate them and reattach their heads onto new bodies. Haha! They didn’t like that too much. They’ll throw me a bone and laugh about it now that we’re all older. Anyway, anytime Ibiki needs a prank pulled on him, they’re my go-to guys.”
#Hatake Kakashi#Might Guy#Shizune#Sarutobi Asuma#Yamato#Morino Ibiki#Kamizuki Izumo#Hagane Kotetsu#Shiranui Genma#look out beloooow!#thanks for sending this! :3
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Fate and Phantasms #2P: Artoria Pendragon
Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re rebuilding the King of Knights Artoria Pendragon! Unsurprisingly, Artoria is a Champion like Mash, but you’d be surprised how different two characters can be even if they share a class. She’s also a Marshal to rally her knights to action, a Duelist to summon her sword just a little bit faster, and a Swordmaster to focus on skill above brute force.
Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here! Yeah! We have character sheets again, go nuts!
Ancestry
Despite Tristan’s arguments to the contrary, Artoria is still a Human, which gives her two free stat boosts which we’ll put in Strength and Charisma. You gotta king and you’ve gotta swing. That giant freaking sword, I mean. If you swung more often the thing with Lancelot might not’ve happened. As a Versatile Human, we get the Ride feat right away letting you command an animal without making any checks. The riding skill’s so much easier to set up in this game! You can also Keep Up Appearances when you’re affected by an emotion effect, letting you make a deception check against the observing creature’s perceptions. On a success, they can’t tell you failed the save and thus can’t benefit from that effect. If they can’t tell you’re hurting, nothing can go wrong! Right? Right?
At level 5 you can Sense Allies, so undetected friends who want to be noticed are just hidden instead (so at least you know what space they’re in), and you can sense these hidden allies with a check DC of only 5, not 11.
At level 9 you become a Hardy Traveler, increasing your Bulk limit by 1 and increasing your speed while traveling. Heavy armor is heavy, and that riding skill is coming in handy on road trips.
At level 13 your Stubborn Persistence becomes truly legendary. If you’d become fatigued, you can attempt a DC 17 check to just… not do that. We’ll definitely be using this again when it’s Casgil’s turn, but Artoria’s no stranger to pushing herself too hard as well.
Finally, at level 17 your Heroic Presence can inspire your knights to victory. Once a day you can cast Zealous Conviction on up to 10 willing creatures, giving them temporary HP and a bonus to their will saves against mental effects. Also, if you tell a target to do something, they have to do it unless it’s something they would normally find repugnant. You don’t exercise the king part of your title too much, but you are trying to rule a country here.
Background
Artoria is a Chosen One, giving her two ability boosts and a skill training in something related to the prophecy plus Fortune-Telling Lore. I’d pick Deception here, since a big part of being king is tricking people into thinking you’re perfect, and also a guy. For your abilities, Charisma and Constitution.
You also get the Prophecy’s Pawn free action, letting you re-roll a failed save, attack, or check. After doing so, your DM can then force you to re-roll a successful save, attack, or check to balance things out. You can use this once every 24 hours or after the DM screws you over. You’re gonna be a great king. Just don’t expect too much else to work out for you.
Class Levels
1. Once again we’re taking the Champion class, and once again Strength is your Key Ability, giving you a free boost. This makes you Trained in Perception, Religion, Reflex saves, all attacks, and all defenses. You’re also an Expert in Fortitude and Will saves. Once again you get retroactive skill training every time your intelligence goes up, so we’re just including the whole list here and now: Diplomacy, Intimidation, and Medicine.
You also get four more ability boosts to increase your Strength, Constitution, Wisdom, and Charisma. You follow the Tenets of Good like Mash, but unlike the soft-hearted shielder you are a Paladin, a Lawful Good champion. You still get Lay on Hands as your devotion spell, which you can cast once a day or by recharging with a 10 minute focusing session. You’re not much of a healer, but servants have their own healing factor, so it kind of works. Also, thanks to our Champion Feat Deity’s Domain, you can use that focus point to cast Oathkeeper’s Insignia instead since you’re all about that Duty. When you cast this spell after making a promise, a trinket is created. If you complete the promise while the trinket exists, it fades away with a pleasant chime. If you violate the promise, it breaks instead. At level one it lasts an hour. At level 5, a day. At level 9, a week, at level 13, a month, and finally at level 17 it lasts a full year.
Also, if one of your knights gets hit near you, you can make a Retributive Strike against the idiot attacking them. The ally gets resistance 2+your level to the attack, and you can make a Strike against the enemy if they’re within range.
One last thing, you can use the Shield Block feat, though we’re using a greatsword, so it’s not going to come up much.
2. As a second level champion, your Divine Grace makes you a little harder to rattle, giving you a +2 bonus to a save against a spell as a reaction. Wow, you’re getting magic resistance right away too, we’re on a roll!
We’re actually going to pick up the Marshal Dedication first, giving you a marshal aura that extends 10’ around you, giving yourself and your allies a +1 bonus against fear effects. This dedication also gives you Expertise in Intimidation, which opens up our skill feat, Terrifying Resistance. If you demoralize a creature, you have a +1 bonus to all saves you make against that creature’s spells. You cut a terrifying figure in battle, might as well put it to use, right?
3. At third level you gain a Divine Ally in your blade, letting you add the effect of a disrupting, ghost touch, returning, or shifting rune to your greatsword. You also get the greatsword’s critical specialization effect, making the target flat-footed when you score a critical success. This means they have -2 AC until the start of your next turn. You probably can’t use that too much, but that’s why you’re part of a team. You’d be totally lost without the round table!
Also, to go over the runes: disrupting deals extra damage to undead, ghost touch can touch ghosts, returning lets you throw a weapon and get it back, and shifting lets you turn your sword into another weapon as an action. I personally think disrupting is the best option, but none of them are that in -character.
Your healing factor kicks up again with the general feat Fast Recovery. You successful saves against diseases and poisons cause you to reduce their effectiveness by an extra 1 point per success, and sleeping reduces being drained by 2 points instead of just 1.
Also let’s get Deception up to Expert, just in case anyone looks too closely at the paladin ripping ghosts apart.
4. At fourth level you get another point of focus as well as the Sun Blade devotion spell, letting you properly EX-CALIBAAAAAH at a target, firing a ray of fire damage. The target also takes good damage if they’re evil, and positive damage if they’re undead. Each damage type deals 1d4 damage, or 1d6 if you’re standing in direct sunlight. At fifth level and every two levels above that, increase each damage type by 1d4/1d6 in sunlight. So if you’re fighting an evil undead, this beam can do 3d4 damage in a single attack, which is roughly as much damage as an actual sword swing could do. In ideal circumstances at level 20, you’d be dealing 27d6 damage in a single beam, truly an attack worthy of being your noble phantasm.
But wait, there’s more! You can also don a Backup Disguise in three action, allowing you to quickly transform into your knightsona before any of the other members of the round table can wake up.
For your archetype feat, the Inspiring Marshal Stance, using a diplomacy check to determine how powerful your stance is. On a success, your allies get a +1 bonus to attacks and saves against mental effects. On a critical success, the aura increases to 20’.
5. Fifth level is pretty quiet in terms of new stuff. You get a buff to Charisma, Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom, all weapons, and Religion, but nothing new happens outside of your race stuff.
6. Sixth level definitely makes up for it though! You can now Smite Evil, picking out one foe to deal extra good damage against with each attack until the start of your next turn- unless they’re dumb enough to attack one of your knights, in which case the duration is extended a round. This can last until they wise up or until they’re a pile of ash on the ground, whichever happens first.
You can also make a Group Impression, making a Make an Impression check against two targets at once. This hits four at Expert level diplomacy, 10 at master, and 25 at legendary. You’re the king, you’re going to turn heads wherever you go.
From the Marshal class, you gain a Rallying Charge, moving yourself and striking an enemy. If you hit and deal damage, each ally nearby gains temporary HP. That’s the power of charisma! The feature’s also literally powered by charisma- it’s how you determine how much THP everyone gets.
7. At seventh level you become an expert in all armors as well as Diplomacy. I was really hoping we could avoid levelling diplomacy since you’re actually kind of bad at talking to people properly, but intimidation is more Alter’s style.
On the plus side, your Weapon Specialization lets you deal extra damage with weapons you’re an expert or better in, which is practically all of them!
You can also Exhort the Faithful, letting you use a religion check instead of diplomacy or intimidation if you’re requesting or coercing members of your religion. You get a +2 to the check if you do this, and on a critical fail their attitude doesn’t get worse. Just tell them you need it to get the holy grail, I’m sure they’ll go along with it.
8. At eighth level your Focus Pool is filled with all three points thanks to your Advanced Deity’s Domain, allowing you to cast a Dutiful Challenge against a target for up to a minute. A challenged creature gets a -1 penalty on attacks, damage, and checks targeting creatures other than you, and you take the same penalty for creatures other than it. Duels were big back then, right?
You can also use Quick Coercion to coerce someone after 1 round instead of one minute. If the king yells at you, you’re gonna shit a brick. You can’t do this mid-combat, but I think you’ll have other issues to deal with in a fight.
Finally, you can fight Back to Back with your allies. If the two of you are adjacent, both of you have to get flanked before you become flat-flooted. You can have this bonus for everyone around you, but it stops working as soon as you and one other ally get flanked.
9. Ninth level is another nothing happens level. You get a Divine Smite, but that just adds persistent good damage to your retributive strike. Outside of that, you get a boost to your Class DC, Fortitude and Reflex saves, and Diplomacy. Not every level has to be chock full o’ stuff like level 1 was.
10. Tenth level is a different story. You get four more ability boosts in Strength, Dexterity, Wisdom, and Charisma, as well as the champion feat Radiant Blade Spirit which lets you pick three more runes for your blade: flaming, axiomatic, or holy. The first deals fire damage on each hit, as well as persistent fire damage on crits. Useful, if more gawain’s thing. Axiomatic weapons deal extra damage against chaotic targets, and crits always deal average damage on each die. Holy weapons deal extra damage against evil creatures, and once a day you can react after dealing a critical hit to heal yourself for twice the evil creature’s level. Personally I like the Axiomatic effect, but that’s mostly since I’m not much of a gambler.
You can also make Shameless Requests, reducing outrageous requests’ DCs by 2, and you can’t critically fail a request any more. Again, just tell them you’re going after the holy grail in sixth century Wales, because obviously Christ had been hanging around there in that time period.
We also pick up a pretty weird archetype. The Duelist Dedication isn’t good for much since we’re using a greatsword, but it does grant you the Quick Draw feat, letting you attack with the same action you draw your weapon. Almost like you’re summoning it mid-swing. I know it’s a stretch, but returning runes only work if you throw the damn thing.
11. Level eleven is another pretty quiet one. You’re an expert in perception and a master in will, and we’ll also pick up some training in athletics so you can stay on your horse better. Aside from that, you can now Exalt when using your Retributive Strike, so every creature within 15’ of you and within melee of the target you’re hitting can also use their reaction to attack them with a -5 penalty. Ganging up on someone might not be chivalrous, but damn if it isn’t effective.
The only other new thing is now you’re Diehard, which means it takes five stacks of Dying to kill you, not four. If Saber was easy to kill, she wouldn’t be the protagonist of the whole franchise, would she?
12. A twelfth level champion can become a Blade of Justice, spending two actions to deliver a Strike against someone who’s harmed an ally or innocent being. The strike deals two extra damage dice against evil creatures, as well as adding all benefits from your Retributive Strike like Divine Smite and Exalt.
You also gain an Intimidating Prowess, giving you a +1 bonus to all checks made while coercing or demoralizing someone, and you ignore the penalty for not sharing a language, so not even the French are safe from your steely glare now!
Finally, you can lead a coordinated charge- you can stride and strike like the last one, but this time if it hits and hurts every ally within 60’ can react to move closer to the poor bastard you just hit. Easy out guys, easy out!
13. Thirteenth level is another slow one. You’re a master in weapons and armor now, plus you’re an expert in Athletics. Mana burst is one hell of a drug.
14. At fourteenth level you can bring down a Litany of Righteousness down on your foes, since it’s not really a Nasu game until we spend half an hour detailing our exact ideology on life and What Good Means. Sadly this doesn’t increase your Focus Point amount since the max is three. The litany can target an evil creature and give them weakness 7 to good for a round.
You can also put your mana burst to good use with a Powerful Leap, adding 5’ to your horizontal and vertical leaps. When your only weapon is a sword, you have to make your own ranged attacks.
As a marshal you can also let out a Cadence Call as an action once per minute, quickening everyone in your aura until the end of their next turn, giving them an extra action to stride with. If they use that action, they become slowed on their next turn, losing one action. No, you’re not calling that Cadence. Probably. (That’s my “jokes only like eight people in the audience will get” quota marked off for the day.)
15. Use this round or Ability Boosts to bump up your Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma again, and then use your mana to become a Hefty Hauler and increase your bulk limits by 2. Artoria might be scrawny, but she’s packing a lot of muscle under that armor. Also, her Greater Weapon Specialization lets her deal more damage with weapons she’s trained with- a +6 as a master, and a +8 if she’s legendary. Speaking of skill stuff, let’s get trained in Nature for another boost to your riding skills.
16. At sixteenth level your Aura of Righteousness protects you and your allies from evil. Specifically, it gives you evil resistance 5. You also become an Express Rider to pick up the pace while riding, using a Nature Check to speed up your mount while traveling.
I also want to get another Archetype, but first we need to get two feats from Duelist. Literally none of them are worthwhile since a greatsword is two-handed, so grab whatever you want.
17. Another boring level. Class DC go up, Armor go up, Nature go up. Moving on.
18. At eighteenth level we can finally do that cool thing where Saber sheds her armor to fight a particularly powerful opponent or lancer thanks to Sacrifice Armor. When you take a hit, you can reduce the damage as a reaction by twice your armor’s level. This breaks your armor, or if it was already broken, it’s destroyed instead.
You can also find a Bonded Animal now by spending a week of downtime hanging out with a friendly animal. If you pass a DC 20 Nature check (which you should you’re level 18 for god’s sake) they become permanently helpful to you, though you can only have one Bonded Animal at a time. I know Artoria doesn’t love horses any more but damnit I can dream!
Oh right also pick up a second duelist feat so we can ignore that archetype again I’m sick of looking at it.
19. You’re a protagonist, so we should probably pick up Untrained Improvisation to add your level to your untrained skills while we still can. You can also use focus points to cast Hero’s Defiance, healing you when you’re about to take an attack that would reduce you to 0 HP. You can’t do this again until you refocus, or until your next long rest. It also can’t be used to protect you from Death effects or disintegrate.
We’ll also boost your Nature skill one last time, why not.
20. For our final level, use your last Ability Boost to increase your Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, and Wisdom. You also become a Sacred Defender, giving you a permanent resistance 10 to physical damage types caused by evil creatures. Also, regardless of alignment, creatures and effects that score a critical hit on attacks against you don’t gain any bonus effects.
To guarantee your riding skill is always at its peak, you have Nature Assurance, allowing you to forgo a roll to instead score 10 plus your proficiency bonus on Nature checks.
Finally, now that our Archetype is free once more, you can become a Swordmaster. This gives you a +2 bonus to the DC against being disarmed. You could swap this and the duelist archetype around to get swordmaster feats that actually help, but waiting til level 20 to get something she could do from the word go doesn't sit right with me, y'know?
Pros
As you’d expect from the strongest class, Saber is great at combat. With almost 300 HP and 40 AC she can eat up damage like Shirou’s cooking, and her Excalibur- sorry, Sun Blade- is a powerful offensive option, dealing plenty of damage against evil and undead targets.
Even though you can stand on your own, you don’t have to thanks to your various auras coordinating your party as well as yourself, granting them protection from mental effects, extra damage, and even helping them move and attack as a unit.
With untrained improvisation and an Axiomatic sword, you’re also really consistent when it comes to both combat and exploration, along with several tricks to save your hide in social encounters as well. It’s almost like the saber class has no weakness…
Cons
That no weaknesses thing was a blatant lie. Your range is awful. Yes, Sun Blade is a ranged attack, but you can only use that three times per focus, and your focuses also power your Not Dying ability which is pretty fucking useful. Sure you can add the returning glyph to your sword, but I seriously doubt throwing your greatsword around will do much of anything.
Despite not having many weaknesses in terms of skills, you’re also not a master in any of them. I mean you are in quite a few actually, but I’m talking about Legendary tier training. Not being legendary locks you out of the high-end skill feats which can be super useful for a low-magic character.
Your best buffs are also pretty situational, working only on evil or chaotic creatures. Sure your regular knightly questing will be fine, but if you find yourself fighting another honorable knight you’ll be up the creek! Thank goodness that’ll never happen!
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For WIP Wednesday (thank you SO much for the tag @mxkelsifer I love you) I picked a still-rough scene where a teenage Heather Cousland is trying to run away the morning after confessing to and being rejected by Anora Mac Tir.
Things get better for them after this! Eventually.
-----
“Leaving already, pup?”
Heather twitches as she turns to face her father. “It looks like rain this afternoon. I thought I’d get an early start.”
“Even though your best friend has yet to depart?”
She loses her battle to suppress a shudder. “If I waited for Anora to leave first, I wouldn’t make it to the cabin today.”
“You sound so certain. I didn’t realize you could predict the weather with such accuracy.”
She wrinkles her nose even though she knows it’ll betray her feelings. “I have a good sense for rain.”
“Indeed you do, pup. But is the weather what you’re feeling now?”
No, it isn’t, and it seems we both know it. “I want to focus on my training.”
“Instead of something else.”
Her father’s statement wasn’t a question. “Nathaniel’s no longer here to teach me,” she snaps. “I need to do what I can on my own.”
“I didn’t realize you relied on him so much.”
I didn’t. I don’t. Her efforts to dodge his line of inquiry aren’t working. “I don’t need him.”
“Is there someone else you need?”
“No!”
He raises his hands as if surrendering. “I trust your strength, pup. If you need this time alone at the cabin, then you need it. But physical strength isn’t the same as mental fortitude. Don’t deceive yourself into believing it is.”
“Then what should I do when my mental fortitude isn’t enough?”
He smiles, a gentle expression that crinkles the corners of his eyes in a way that Heather will always associate with his love. “Ideally, you’d lean on someone else. Someone you trust. Like me, or your mother, or Fergus. But sometimes we fear reaching out to those we love. In those cases, it’s worth considering why you have that fear.” His broad, calloused hands land on her shoulders. “We’re here and ready to listen when you need us. If you need us.”
Heather throws her arms around him. “Thank you, Father.”
He kisses her hair. “Anytime, pup. Feeling better?”
“A little.”
“Good. My promise stands. Now go do what you need to do.”
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C2E66 - Beneath Bazzoxan - rewatch
Well, I got about an hour into the MLP oneshot before I gave up. That’s about par for the course with me for a lot of the CR one shots. I’ve seen a handful of them in full, started a handful and watched between 1 to 2 hours before giving up, and just haven’t even started the others. It’s a whole jumble of hit or miss.
Also something I missed from last episode – Travis jokingly asking Matt if there was a vestige of divergence in the roc nest. My brain totally forgot that this was before Fjord got the star razor, so I was like ‘you want two??’ SOON. SOOOOOON.
(I don’t even know how long it’s been since I look at this episode, oops! It’s been a time, alright? But OMG ANIMATED MIGHTY NEIN COMING AAAAA)
...Document last saved, Jan 30th. It’s now Feb 20th. … LOOK IT’S BEEN...It’s BEEN, okay?! Anyhow, I finally have the energy and mental fortitude to get back into this! (so annoyed at myself for falling apart right when we get a fantastic series of episodes) (omg also I’d only jumped on to freak out about the animated mighty nein??? My last C2 reaction was posted JANUARY 8TH omg.) (I don’t know why I’m being apologetic though, this stuff is mainly for me to improve my analytical thinking, active watching, and writing abilities. I know a few of you out there like reading it, but I’m sure you’re not chomping at the bit or anything XD)
I was only just past the intro, so I decided to go and rewatch the adbit and forgot that I was in the middle of the presidential campaign for dndbeyond! (after the ogl shitstorm, anyone else notice that CR hasn’t mentioned dndbeyond by name once? I wonder if they’re going to start up again at some point since the situation is now resolved, even though there’s a lot of bad taste in a lot of the community’s mouths. Personally, I’d be fine with it, because I do feel like wotc made the right choices to fix things, even if it never should have gotten to where it was in the first place, and communication choices had been…..yeah.)
I miss them reading their bits off of sheets in front of them. I fully get the appeal of the teleprompter meaning that they can keep their eyes up and looking at camera, but there’s a charm of them giving impassioned rants but also having to keep glancing down to check what their lines are.
See? With the teleprompter, you don’t get the adorableness of Laura having a merch update but no sheet, so floundering through Sam’s papers until Matt gives her his.
Liam perched on his chair just making squawking noises!
I love how this group is so unafraid to make unoptimal choices. Jester uses Disguise Self to look like a giant leaf, but Laura knows that it only works for people so knows it’s basically just a leaf costume and Will Not Work, but still Commits To The Bit.
Oh fuck it’s been so long that I forgot we were still with Texas!Fjord! Just got smacked in the face by the accent XD (controversial comment, but I don’t like it when I see people saying that they prefer the Texan accent, then other people saying that it means that they like pre-character growth Fjord, or hiding himself Fjord, lying to himself Fjord. It’s just that the Texan accent is fun! Given a choice between the two, I would have been happy if Travis had the Texan accent be Fjord’s natural accent and do the whole campaign with it, because I enjoy hearing it – especially since C1 was pretty much all English accents. But in order for that to happen, Fjord would have been completely different, and I don’t want a completely different Fjord, I love the Fjord that we got!)
(also off topic, but I’m waiting for noon so that I can check the shop. I want the Jester and Caleb dice so bad and they still haven’t been released. T.T)
god I forgot how much these idiots flounder in this nonsense, I love it so much!!! Each campaign, they all have their own version of floundering, and the Nein’s is just SO dumb, SO wonderful. Jester forgetting she could go invisible, Beau begging Fjord to take her with him with the Misty Step and Fjord saying he’s only got room for one, Beau trying to swim through the air to the tree, and then just curling up in a ball to make herself a smaller target IT’S SO GOOD.
And Caduceus and Yasha just watching all this go down like “yup” “yup”
Nein and Polymorph – nothing more iconic.
Fjord and teleporting – nothing more iconic!!
Polymorphed enemies attacking Fjord – truly nothing more iconic
This group and communication, I love it!! Caleb slides Beau off his wing, Matt describes her falling into the nest, Liam softly says that that’s not what he meant, Matt immediately asks him for clarification and Liam immediately responds with what he meant but ‘this is funny’ so keep going with it.
This is the first? time that Matt has done a skill check and not penalized the player for a nat 1. It is a minor grumble of mine that he doesn’t count nat 20s as an autosuccess (which falls within rules) but tends to still count nat 1s as an autofailure. I feel like you’ve got to play it all one way or all the other, not the half and half – especially not more penalizing the players.
Being an active part of the fandom now, I can image people bitching about this episode so far, about Matt giving them too much leeway, not enough consequences, making it too easy, the players getting distracted from their goal, etc. etc. Makes it a lot easier for me to brush off the bullshit criticism that C3 is getting. Critters have been complaining since C1, and sometimes it’s legit, and most times it’s bull.
I have such mixed feelings with Nott and Sam in regards to the rogue stuff. Because most of the time, Nott skipping looking for traps genuinely just feels like Sam either forgetting or deliberately ignoring it because he thinks it’s funny. I’ve mentioned it before, but it’s a struggle I have with Sam’s PCs, because a bunch of stuff that Sam does is just… well, Sam being Sam. He’d make the same joke for Scanlan, or Tary, or Nott, or FCG. So I can’t relate it to the specific PC, even when it’s the PC doing the action. Either way, if this was a deliberate choice for Nott (even with Beau telling her to look for traps) or Sam just trolling, I’m glad Matt had consequences, and consequences that impacted the entire party, because everyone was hit from the fireball. It’s a bit of a nudge (even though it doesn’t work. Does Nott EVER consistently look for traps, even after she’s killed?). Just looking at transcripts (not super accurate) 28 times within the first 50 episodes, 22 from episodes 51-100, and 21 from episodes 101-141. Sadly Critrolestats isn’t helpful for this, because they track the investigation rolls, but so many investigation rolls AREN’T checking for traps.
Ah ha! This is where Jester steals Nott’s flask! Laura tried to be sneaky, but Sam heard her right away.
Mmmrph...still not a fan of the jokes about Caleb sharing his loot. He never kept it! Liam just likes to make it theatrical. To be fair, I think this started because Vax hoarded loot? Or at least Vax teased Vex a lot with loot. Honestly, most of what I remember from C1 was Vax and Vex being silly over the boots of haste, one moment with loot where Liam asked Matt to make him and Laura roll for it, and then the drama over who gets whisper, which I honestly thing was more the fanbase than the players?
I kept getting confused that they weren’t sending to Essek, so I went and checked out my last post and yep there it was. ALSO there is the exact same stuff that I said above about Sam. -_- I have no original thoughts.
Insect Plague!!! *checks transcripts* Pike cast it in E5 and the battle royale, Umbrasyl cast it in E55, Jester casts in here in E66, and then again in E113. This is one of the rarest used spells, to the point where I completely forgot about it!
Bazzoxan!
(LOL the dice got released the day after I checked! ...and I don’t like the sets. Fuuuuuck)
(It’s now march 25th and I am in the MOOD. LET’S GO!!!)
wait what the fuck did I literally stop for AGES at like, 30 seconds before the break?? That’s hysterical.
In the two/three months where I stopped watching C2, I forgot how much Caleb really did take the lead in a lot.
Wait wait wait….they’re putting the moorbounders in the stables, is this where they leave them??? Is this the last appearance of the kitties?!?! *checks the transcripts* oh no it isssss. Now I’m sad, I love the moorbounders so much. (edit to add, rechecked the transcripts using the plural – looks like they technically have them as of e69 after the dungeon crawl, but then that’s the official last. I wonder if by the time I get to that episode I will have forgotten I’d typed all this and re-express myself) They seemed to perfectly bridge the difference between cared for and oft mentioned pets (Sprinkle, Frumpkin, Trinket) and mounts (barely ever named horses, the toilet horses, more unnamed horses). I don’t even have a headcanon for what happens to them after the Nein leave. I’ve read some nice posts about people taking care of them, Verin taking ownership, the Nein getting them back, but they just….vanish. I don’t think? that they were mentioned during the wrap up. Flando’s splits don’t mention them, so I guess not. I mentioned it way back, but I personally wish we could have gotten a second C2 wrap up. With C1, we had the official wrap up, and then a second one because there were so many questions left over. I can’t image that there weren’t enough questions left for C2. Then again, pandemic times, and that also must have been right when Brian was either let go behind the scenes and just not officially announced yet, or on the cusp, considering it wasn’t a Talks format.
I have Thoughts that I can’t really articulate about how frequently Caleb shows the Bright Queen medallion, and how it’s both a bit defensive and a bit arrogant. Thoughts about how it might be how Bren was trained to use the power of his station to get things he wanted. Thoughts on how it’s making sure that it’s clear that he is In Charge, or at least has some level of Authority due to the medallion, and how it influences how he interacts with authority. Thoughts on how it may be due to his old training versus the more frequent attempt currently to lower his status to try to be unseen. Thoughts about how much could be Caleb healing and regaining confidence versus just using it at a means to an end. I need someone else to get into my brain and actually write this up for me.
UGH I forgot all this cool Bazzoxan lore! I really do adore Matt’s worldbuilding, especially the level of depth that he puts into every place. He goes into it with the intention of making it feel real, and it really does.
I’ve mentioned it before and I know I’ll mention it again, but I so love how Liam handled spellcasting with his components. With him leaning in to Caleb having to ask to purchase any item he needs, rather than just a general check with Matt, but pulling it so well into the roleplay really does inspire others. Taliesin even in this scene! Tal was good with black powder and such last campaign, but I feel like Matt had to prompt him more, advising that he was running out of materials and such, whereas Liam frequently initiates the conversation.
The humor of Liam having to explain to Laura that she needs Guidance to get the plus d4 to a check. OH how times have changed. (I’m also not a huge fan of how heavily Guidance is leaned on now. When I was playing my druid, I made sure that Guidance was used sparingly, only where a magical boost seemed applicable. Personal preference though. I also wasn’t a huge fan of how for A Crown Of Candy on Dimension20 that familiars were constantly used to give advantage to rolls.)
Looking at the facial reactions when Matt says that Nott’s flask is missing, Sam and Laura obviously knew, and it looks like Taliesin overheard as well, but I think it’s a genuine surprise to everyone else.
Such a soft spot for the Wildbros. Wildbrothers? What’s the nickname for Fjord and Caduceus? I think it’s Wildbrothers, but google isn’t helping me. REGARDLESS. Fjord reaching out to Caduceus for help is such a lovely moment. Cad’s answer isn’t as straightforward as he would like, but it’s the first clear moment of Fjord changing paths to choose the Wildmother. I know that Travis had been looking for possible options, but it did end up heavily steering this way, and I’m certainly pleased with the end result. PLUS! A little bit from Caduceus as to what he is looking for! Still not a ton of detail but a place. Honestly, I didn’t realize how long it took to actually get backstory for Cad. I always consider him to be among the most open of the Nein (Jester being the most open, obviously), but I’ve seen very good meta explaining how he really isn’t that open at all. Watching with that knowledge, it’s very easy to see how much he really doesn’t say.
There’s something a bit beautiful of Caduceus trying to guide Fjord into meditation/worship the way he does (slow breathing, name each sound that comes by) transitioning into Fjord’s own (wind becoming the sound of waves). The Wildmother has always been a bit synonymous with Nature, but in my own failing, my interpretation of Nature was always plants and trees – very much the flora of the world. Fjord’s eventual worship of her being heavily based in the oceans, still very much a part of Nature, not only helped the character growth, but helped me recognize my own limitations that I was putting on her. It also helped, once again, just confirm the realness of the world. People practicing religion have so many variations to their worship and behaviors, to their interpretations of the religion. In fiction, it’s very easy to take it Planet of Hats, and every follower of God A performs exactly the same way, and every follower of God B worships following this specific structure. To have the gods in Exandria frequently worshiped differently continues to add depth to the world.
It’s very fun to see Ashley joke about Yasha doing some things which she quickly takes back, but will then fully play with as actual character traits in C3.
Oh FML. I fully get into this, and all of a sudden I have a massive headache. T.T This episode is gonna take for-fucking-ever. And it’s all good stuff!
Alright, two days later, no headache now, feeling good, got the time, lets see if I can make it through the last hour and half!
With the multiple instances of NPCs speaking Undercommon and Beau not being able to understand it, no wonder Marisha decided to take Undercommon the next opportunity she had. Checking to see when she gets it (level 10) just makes me really miss Beau. Her stats end up SO good, and she’s such an intelligent PC. The roleplay decisions Marisha makes add such a level of depth to Beau’s desire for knowledge and a lovely contrast to how Caleb is intelligent and pursues information. MY FAVS.
Once again, in my bad habit of underestimating Sam’s RP – I am really going to pay attention this time to Nott and her behavior when forced sober. There’s quite a bit of it here that is played for laughs, but that doesn’t mean that the characterization is shallow or false. Right away I noticed that Caleb immediately tries to sooth the situation by repeatedly saying that Nott has ‘misplaced’ her flask, ‘lost’ her flask. While it’s a completely understandable take, especially as Liam doesn’t know that Laura had Jester take the flask, it’s a very obvious difference from Nott always believing Caleb, to Caleb disbelieving Nott. He’s not cruel or harsh about it, and he doesn’t diminish her feelings at the lack of alcohol, but he does not accept Nott’s viewpoint that someone took the flask.
To be fair, a bit of that is metagaming. Sam heard Laura ask Matt to take the flask, so he knows that it was taken from Nott. I wonder how these scenes may have gone differently had he not overheard and thought that it was something Matt did in game, like how the Schuster kids stole their coin purses. (also yes I did go to the wiki to confirm the spelling of the name, and yes I did get it wrong at first)
I love when the cast gets Sam to completely break. Travis saying that Nott’s arms looked whiter than ever (Sam switched his shirt to a sleeveless shirt), and Sam just open mouthed WHEEZING for almost a solid 10 seconds. Absolutely glorious. And it’s Sam specifically because he’s the hardest to break. Taliesin in pretty hard too, BUT if Taliesin gets hit then he’s just OUT. Liam is by far the easiest to break and it’s delightful every time!
Downside of my massive delay in rewatching – they’re all discussing how Nott was doing really well without drinking and then started slipping up again when she picked it back up, and I can’t remember when this happened! When did she stop drinking and pick it up again??? I have no recollection, and I feel really bad ‘cause that’s a pretty important thing! Going back and finding my last post, I said that it might have been that she started getting drunk again to confront Yeza, but then I don’t recall why she would have been sober before that? This is the big downside of not binging.
Oh wait, maybe the table does know? Fjord suggests Jester scry on it, which SEEMS like Travis poking at Laura? But I’m not sure! Could be a coincidence!
Dungeon crawl! Dungeon crawl! I am hype for dungeon crawl! CR doesn’t do many of them, and I definitely was bored by Kraghammer, but I think all the crawls aside from that very first one have been a blast.
I feel like this conversation of them trying to help Jester craft a message to Obann is the perfect summation of the Mighty Nein. The absolute overlapping fuckery combined with SOME intelligence and a lot of goofing, but they get the job done. Eventually. Kind of. With sex jokes thrown in.
Aww, this is the doo doo doo doo moment, and Caleb legitimately laughing. Iconic. No donuts or pooping, but still good.
Talk about Beau/Marisha calling things! “what if in your past life, before you lost your memories, you WERE an Iron Angel?” well yes, yes she was.
Fjord preventing Nott from getting alcohol, then buying a bottle and essentially taunting her with it – it don’t feel good IC, but it always reads to me 100% of Travis teasing Sam. It’s one of those moments where it DID happen in game, but it doesn’t tie into how I view the PCs interacting, because even though it happened it was more ‘above table’ then in game, if that makes any sense? Like, Fjord and Nott have a very complex relationship, but Fjord buying alcohol when Nott is clearly going through withdrawal and then not letting her have it? It’s hard for me to view that in their relationship, it just doesn’t feel right. Like I said, too mean.
LOL when Sam sets down his flask and accidentally hits Matt’s camera. Because it jostles Matt’s screen, I keep expecting him to jump or flinch like he’s being shaken, but of course it’s just the image so he doesn’t react.
After talking way too much about EVERYTHING, I actually don’t have much to say about the dungeon crawl. It’s fucking awesome, Matt’s descriptions of celestial statues with bleeding eyes is amazing, everyone’s reactions are super fun to watch! I suppose it’s harder for me to discuss because as much as I love the imagery, I kind of never really got the whole lore tie in. The whole Angel of Irons plot, to be fair, is a bit fuzzy to me. I kind of wish it had gotten explored a bit more, because the main takeaways that I have from it are that Obann thinks he’s serving the Angel of Irons (whoever he thinks that’s supposed to be), and gets undying champions – Yasha, The Laughing Hand, the Caedogheist or whatever her name is – and then….does something? And it’s got to do with a cult? That is releasing Abyssal anchors that just kinda open tears. Like, I get from the wiki that he’s doing all these things and it’s supposed to release the Chained Oblivion from the Abyss (which oh, I didn’t realize he was there? Because isn’t he behind the Divine Gate?), but it just never quite solidified for me.
ANYHOW. FINALLY COMPLETE. Let’s hope it doesn’t take as long to continue with the rewatch!
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Ouma Great War Chronicles - Episode 15: Don’t Go Running Around at the Whims of the Gods
Narrator: Through Kaida and Tsubaki’s joint research, a device to calm maddened demons, the Soul-Resting Flute, was completed. The two were rejoicing, but the moment that Kaida patted Tsubaki’s head, a small anomaly occurred…
Kaida: Mm? Hinata, what’s wrong?
Hinata: …… (What is this… Just now, I got a terrible pain in my head…)
Kaida: Hinata, are you alright?
Hinata: Eh? Ah, yes. I’m fine! Excuse me for that!
Kaida: … Really?
Hinata: Yes, I’m really fine! My mood is the best too!
Kaida: Aren’t you just high on being overjoyed while you’re sleep deprived…
Hinata: That’s fine, isn’t it? Anyhow, considering the occasion, let’s celebrate!
Kaida: Well, if you say you’re okay then I guess we can. After we finish up work for today, let’s go eat something yummy.
Hinata: Agreed! Senpai, meat! Let’s go eat meat!
Kaida: Yes, yes. But don’t push yourself too hard, okay?
Hinata: Yes sir! Well then, I’ll quickly get prepared to leave and be right back!
sfx: footsteps
Kaida: Is he really okay?
scene change: Genzuki’s Workroom
Nikaido: How many times do you mean to make me say this? I’m telling you, don’t go running around at the whims of the gods every single time. What can come out of unilateral servitude? If our side doesn’t at least have the courage to make them our couriers, then this is all meaningless. Are you officers of the imperial capital so foolish that you can’t realize this?
Genzuki: Making Gods our couriers, what a thing to say…
Nikaido: I’ll have you understand these words precisely. My point is, you need the mental fortitude to have them as your couriers. No, I would even go as far as to say that you may as well negotiate only with gods who are easy company. Temperamental gods like that “God of Blacksmithing” should just be left alone.
Genzuki: Nh! (Until now, I’ve managed to hold back but… not anymore.)
There’s no way we could do something as convenient as that! We direct governance by way of our deep connection with the gods. In other words, a deterioration in relationships with the gods will also impact the people who reside in this nation. I’d like you to not forget this.
Nikaido: Nh… That said, aren’t there more useful gods than the God of Blacksmithing? Yet you’re always inclined toward him… Because of your inefficiency, victims of incidents may increase.
Genzuki: You may not know this yet, but even though the God of Blacksmithing has a difficult temperament, the information from him has a breadth and accuracy matched by no other. To resolve the Cases of Demon Madness, collaboration with the God of Blacksmithing is absolutely imperative. If you don’t believe what I say, look at this.
sfx: paper rustling
Genzuki: These are all the cases up until now that were resolved by borrowing power from the God of Blacksmithing.
Nikaido: …
Genzuki: Besides, I would think that neglecting even one of the foundational gods is synonymous with neglecting Ouma. I don’t believe the gods would lend their powers to people who neglect those pillars. In times to come, if something were to befall this land of Ouma, that would mean the disappearance of the beings who would lend their powers to assist. If anything, we cannot let that happen.
Nikaido: Ha. In the end, it’s just maintaining the status quo.
Genzuki: If that’s the best case scenario, then isn’t it fine? With your way of doing things, there’s a possibility of relationships deteriorating with the God of Blacksmithing.
Nikaido: I am producing results properly. Using the powers of friendlier gods, I’m saving people who have been harmed by demons.
Genzuki: But you have not obtained any information pertaining to the Cases of Demon Madness. Isn’t that right?
Nikaido: … And what about it?
Genzuki: I have been producing results that you could not – is what I’m saying.
Nikaido: ……
Genzuki: It’s forceful, but your speedy sense is a strength that I don’t have. Conversely, while my strengths are in things that are laborious and time-consuming, they bring me closer to the roots of the case itself. I can’t imitate you, and you can’t do the same things that I can. It all works out just right so we can complement each other in what the other person can’t do.
That’s why I think it would be better for each of us to put our efforts into our areas of forte, and combine our strengths.
Nikaido: …
Genzuki: Right now, we’re inquiring about the Cases of Demon Madness. Let’s go borrow the power of the God of Blacksmithing.
Nikaido: After holding me up so long, you come out with such an obvious proposition. How utterly uninteresting. However… Fine. This time only, I’ll go along with whatever you say. If you’d ordinarily express your opinions, these meetings would be more purposeful.
Genzuki: I didn’t react because I tried to value my interpersonal relationships.
Nikaido: What meaning is there in not speaking your true mind? What a waste of time.
Genzuki: Haha, you really are heavy-handed.
(But, I see… Upsetting the other party and facing off with honest feelings has its positives too. Because I didn’t want to let this relationship deteriorate, I was doing whatever I could to not make waves, but… Unexpectedly, once I said it properly, I did convey myself. Thank goodness he is someone who understands this.)
Well then, let’s quickly make preparations, and go to the place of the God of Blacksmithing.
Nikaido: … Hmph. I’m ready to go anytime. You hurry up and prepare.
#ouma great war chronicles#vδlz#kaida haru#genzuki tojiro#nijisanji#english translation#ouma taisen tan
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wed aug 23 2023 10:15am journal
maybe I should consider using astrology to help me understand myself better but not to the extent of recruiting generalisations of signs and aspects that represent my birth chart as an indicator to my success or not. I have to remember that whatever I believe to be true also exists and that astrological predictions aren’t also accurate and that they’re predictions for a reason not facts. I’m living midly/low comfortably. I want to be living high/great comfortably. I thank God for the strong mental fortitude he’s offered me. I probably would’ve killed my self if I wasn’t strong enough. one of my closest friends stopped speaking to me recently. I’m not working regularly. I need to pay bills. we’re still in a cost of living crisis. I have a task to transform my life into what I want to it be and if the people around me don’t support or want to be around so be it. I’ll find others who will support me. But one things for sure and it’s I’m seeing everything I set out to see. I truly believe I’m going to. This last month or so has been a awkward limbo. But talking to people and it feels like a lot of us are in the same boat. I haven’t found the thing that works for me yet but I’m in the pursuit of it and that’s a start. I have to start somewhere. I think less time on Instagram and Twitter would be a good thing especially when I have so much time on my hands. Tumblr seems to be the only place I feel I can express my ideas. And where I’m not constantly bombarded with someone else’s lifestyle even though it’s an app where multiple pictures and users are found like a Twitter or an Instagram, it just feels different. That’s why I like it. I also just get to have a diary entry of my time here on earth which is cool. My digital footprint left on here. Nice. The more I read other people’s blogs about how they attained their wealth/success I’ve noticed a pattern in how so many of them say they suffered to get there. Maybe that’s where I am now. I’m in the process of “suffering” and if this is my suffering to get to where I want/need to get to to see nirvana on earth then so be it. I’ll go thru the fire. I think I’m trying as much as possible not to feel the pain of rejection but like all I’ve known since I’ve left drama school is rejection. I’ve had agents reject me, I’ve had job applications reject me, I clearly had friends who no longer want me, I’m doing rather good as far as suffering goes lol. Growth requires suffering. it’s probably why they call it growing pains. One of my redeeming traits is my positive outlook. I believe things will get better. I believe so because I’ve seen it happen to others around me and I’ve also been in situations that have seemed dire but have transformed my life for the better. My road to drama school wasn’t easy. The application process and the audition processes and the long months of waiting to hear back as well as hearing others had already got in. Things get better. It’s life. I do not for a single second believe I’m unfortunate. I’m greatly fortunate. My suffering is simply lessons I must go thru to impart on to someone else to help them understand life. But I’m very very fortunate. Fortune is stuck to me forever. I’d take offence to someone telling me I’m unfortunate. I really thank God that I’m thinking more wiser. I can clearly feel the growth. It’s 10:58am. 59 now. I need to bath and eat breakfast. I’ve been journalling for a while now. Time to make a move.
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Walk With Me
The 4 conversations I had with myself over the course of a two mile walk:
Why won’t you write? What prevents your pen from meeting paper? You need to cultivate the habit of writing. Whatever you hear, whatever you see, whatever comes to mind, whatever profound wisdom you receive.
You see, it’s gotten a bit harder to articulate myself, and I have spent years now thinking so much yet speaking so little. My inner dialogue has subsided because--and I just realized this--I don’t like wasting my words for any reason. I try not to misspeak, to be perfectly and accurately understood. Reading more will help me to recover that gift and strengthen that skill I previously had. The type of writing I create doesn’t matter, but I spend unnecessary time thinking about how to do it correctly. Because correctness brings me fulfillment. I feel that there’s is a certain way that everything is supposed to be said. I want to develop my mind and speech to where every thought I decide to share, and everything that I decide to say, is said and uttered exactly how it is supposed to, so it can be understood how it needs to.
On this walk through my neighborhood about five weeks ago, I confronted laziness. The next question I asked myself, “How did you get here? What keeps you from taking this walk more often?” After scrolling idly on social media for a silly amount of time, I tossed my phone to the side, put on a coat and Crocs, and stormed out of the house as if leaving a heated argument. I decided to be present; no phone, no music, no company. “What keeps you from taking this walk more often?” After all, this is a beautiful place, a beautiful path that I’m walking on, a path that belongs to me, that I have exclusive access to whenever I want. God blessed me with this place, to move through and find whatever I’m looking for.
I realized that I have a lot of reflecting to do while walking along this two mile path, ironically called Legacy. Plenty of gratitude to catch up on. I took a detour off of the path that I had never taken before. The ground was smooth. God had to bring me out of a prior place in order for me be on this smooth, curved, and paved path I’m walking on. And I remember that prior place, and the places before that. I need to look back on the losses, the relationships, the procrastination, the help, the extremely long months of uncertainty that consistently bring tears to my eyes. I need to review what situations I was up against at the time God did what he did, so I can then look forward with real, true, fortified expectancy.
I observed that my day to day life had become myopic. I rarely stepped outside unless absolutely necessary. Life outside of work had become sedentary for the most part, so giving my body some movement, my eyes some sunlight, and my mind some exposure to natural structures that I rarely take the time to just look at, felt good. I hoped to find a connection between why I won’t walk, why I won’t write, and why I won’t pray, triangulate the three, and then start to make some changes. Even though I was looking for reason’s why I wasn’t, I didn’t need a reason in order start doing these things every day.
“You think you can pick up that rock?” I asked myself. About two minutes into the detour, and I approached a large rock off to the side of the trail. Out of deep thought or simple amusement, I bent down and tried to lift up focusing on my legs. I hoisted about 5 times, shifting it right and left to loosen it from the ground it may have been partially buried into, then pulled a sixth time. I figured that with the proper form and sheer will, I’d be able to lift it no matter how heavy. Never mind the fact that I hadn’t done so much as a push-up in months, I could lift this rock with innate strength, mental fortitude and every ounce of effort and desire I had.
I quit trying, and continued my journey through this new place I had been living in for five years. I probably could have controlled my breath better, but it’s too heavy for me right now. The most stubborn and irrational opinion I hold is that I should be able to know and do everything, without having to learn or practice anything. Does that make sense? A backflip, cooking, coding, painting a mural of a landscape, swimming, skating, or playing an instrument, whatever it is, I should know how to do it if I have at least seen it be done. I don’t live by this thought, but it gets in my way very often. My failed attempt to lift that rock reminded me of that mindset. If I see a rock and I want to and believe that I can lift it in my current state of being, I should be able to. If I see a piano and I want to and believe that I can play it, I should be able to in my current state of mind. If my current level of effort and capability isn’t enough to succeed, I’m perplexed and a bit disappointed, but accepting. These are simple truths I’m encountering; there’s nothing profound about finding out that I have to get stronger if I want to lift heavy objects or read if I want to learn new things. But in that moment it let me know that I struggle with accepting the growth and learning process when it comes to certain thing in life. The time, persistence, and repeated failure aren’t very appealing, these skills should already be present within me, this strength should already exist inside me. So what gives?
“Have you ever been in a convertible?” I’ve reached the beginning of the neighborhood, passing a red and off-white vintage Buick convertible while taking the crosswalk in front of the Bellingrath subdivision. There are a few small experiences in my life that I haven’t had yet, but think about from time to time. Like riding in a convertible and wondering what that feels like. The thrill would be immense I’m sure, but would it last very long? How satisfying would it be for me? The expectation says very, but reality probably says only slightly. I could go to a dealership and test drive one right now, I may very well enjoy it. But am I content with someone else providing this experience? If not, my desires require faith in God, coupled with a committed work ethic and discipline to equip myself with the means to bring them about. Much like picking up that rock in my path requires additional strength and power, obtaining that convertible for whenever I need to relive that experience requires a different and better place financially.
Fulfillment. . .That’s all I am searching for in this life, all I’ve been pondering on while taking this walk. I find fulfillment in writing, in being able to articulate and express thoughts through words. My fixation on doing it “right” or “correctly” is still a mystery, but is the primary culprit I can point to for why I don’t do it more. This story or essay, for one, isn’t the best I can do. It took me entirely too long, and I’m not at all satisfied. But after seeing all the improvements I can make, I’m glad to have written it. My ability to be better conflicts with my reluctance to do what it takes to get better. I have a small fear of effort and time spent towards anything that doesn’t bear fruit. The effort is abundant, but the older I get the more time seems like a finite resource.
I read a retelling of a conversation between Tom Hanks and director Bob Zemeckis, while filming Forrest Gump for the 27th day in a row. He asked Bob if anyone would care about this film, to which Bob replied, “It’s a minefield, Tom. You never know what’s good. . .it’s a minefield, it’s a d*mn minefield! We may be sowing the seeds of our own destruction!” Zemeckis’s words held true for every movie he worked on. It’s jarring, yet very telling that the feeling of uncertainty is the stickiest memory for the 5th highest-grossing actor of all time. John Keats explained in a poem that rarer than talent or work ethic is the ability to step into and push through doubts and uncertainties. “In 1817, Keats wrote a letter to his brothers on this: ‘At once it struck me what quality went to form a Man of Achievement. . .Negative Capability.’” The ability to sit with uncertainty, and spend months or years “in the minefield that is working on something,” knowing that not a soul may even care. Not for the sake of money or fame, not as a means to an end or even for the sake of victory, but for the sake of doing it. As for me, the work of building strength and lifting heavier has to be the win, not picking up that rock. The work of building wealth and persevering has to be win, not riding in the convertible. The work of writing daily, learning more, growing and gaining knowledge and skills that can never be taken from me, has to be the win, not doing it right or correctly.
The work has to be the win.
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A Sight For Sore Eyes - Endgame 1/5
You took off your helmets, looking about yourselves. The last thirteen hours had been an exercise in mental fortitude, but it was done, and the facility was no longer at imminent risk of blowing up. There was a brief moment to rest, just to catch your breath, but only barely that before things began once more.
AION stood already in the second VR room’s doorway, giving a quick bow as they finished and wasting no time in addressing the group once they could be heard.
``Thank you for your help within the VR system. Additionally, it would seem that your associates and other forces have only just arrived outside, which is to say, there should be help entering momentarily.``
The blonde thespian nodded, retrieving his partner’s coat from where it had been draped over AION. “About as good a time as any to finally show up. Could you get the others to come over?”
The robot sped off, and soon enough, the first group was made aware of this new development as well. You took off and put on what clothing you thought necessary, before all eight of you converged in the corridor of Floor D, right outside the door leading to the promised outside.
Illuminated against the darkness of the night sky above, you saw two large helicopters unloading security personnel on the roof of the facility. Several of them started making their way to the door with breaching equipment, led by a woman with bubblegum-pink hair, wielding a laptop computer. Her expression immediately brightened up when she spotted you all on the other side.
With the door thankfully already unlocked, the woman strided forward past the others to punch Akito in the gut. "Scheisse, Mikage, is this how you treat a girl? By ghosting her for six verdammt weeks?!" She scolded before headbutting him. (This of course should be translated for those listening.) “I thought I’d never see you alive again, you ass!”
“Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated.” He remarked dryly, even as they both hugged it out. “But it is good to be alive to see you, Noelle. I take it the others couldn’t make it?”
“Someone had to keep Dezzie busy.” She pulled away, before finally acknowledging the rest of you with a playful salute. “Noelle Pfeiffer, Yuletide, whatevs, of the Anti-Erika Global Intelligence Sect, along with agents from the FBI and the SAS. Kinda was expecting more resistance from the get-go, but this makes our lives significantly easier, so who’s complaining?”
She lowered her hand. “Me, actually, I was ready to blast Mambo No. 5 all over their little network and now I feel cheated out of the opportunity.”
“Let’s not do that. Long story short, the hosts have agreed to cease hostilities and negotiate terms, but there’s still a lot to do,” Akito glanced over Noelle - which was very easy to do as she was only five feet tall - and at the rest of his gathered personnel. “Kindly keep your firearms holstered and don’t engage. The floor they’re in has many fragile objects, including several glass jars with brains, and we’re trying to avoid any casualties. Stay vigilant, let us approach, and we’ll handle the talking.”
Intimidating as the group that had arrived having to be told that was (and as an audible snort sounded from Erik A at all of this), your short AION companion piped up once more afterwards, nodding towards the elevator dorm to the dorms.
``The main elevator’s operation has been re-engaged, and will be able to descend to the fourth floor, which should hold the three who have surrendered as well as the two who had been held in stasis previously.`` They turn to you all for a moment, aware of some of your mental states at present, and gave a small nod of assurance. ``All of you are not required to follow, though you can if you like. Do not worry however, as your chips have had their punishment features disabled, and this unit will assist in assuring that no harm will come to you regardless of location.``
Thus, when all was ironed out, you headed back through the lift door into the dorm area, and the floor started descending to meet the three sisters on Floor 4, as you were accompanied.
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Hi! If you’re so inclined, would you continue the “villain saves hero from hero league” fic? It’s probably one of my favorite fics and I’d love to see where you’ll go with it.
-wicky
🥺Thank you so much, Wicky! I loved that piece, too. It was so very angsty, so to make up for it, here’s a big heaping of fluff.
Continued from here.
CW//Injuries, irresponsible driving, medical settings, so much fluff you might choke
Villain had found their Hero.
They tried to tell themself, all the way to the hospital, that the whole thing had been a fluke. They’d found Hero in the depths of the Hero’s League HQ as a simple coincidence, a flight of fancy. Found them chained up among the training room’s punching bags by mistake.
But there had been no mistake to it, and they knew that deep down, even if such would never reach their lips. They had been searching for weeks. They’d gone to the HQ deliberately, to find their Hero.
And they’d found them.
It was with a great deal of whining, hissing, and whimpering that Hero’s wrists were released from the manacles that they had hung by. It was a bloody affair, as well-- dangling from the cuffs from so long had caused their wounds to begin to heal around the metal, meaning that they had to be manually pried off of Hero’s skin.
But, they’d gotten out.
Doing their very best to quiet the pained Hero, Villain had crept from the HQ, out to the waiting getaway car a few blocks off. The henchman driving had asked no questions, giving only a wide-eyed stare, and a single word:
“Hospital?”
Villain didn’t have the mental fortitude to reply with anything more than a nod before they bustled themself and their newfound charge into the backseat. There was a reason they’d specifically selected their Russia-hailing henchman for this particular mission. With them behind the wheel, the time it took to get anywhere in the city was just about cut in half.
Now, Villain could do nothing but stare down at the hero, strewn across their lap, wounded and groaning as the vehicle they both rode in whipped around corners and treated stop signs as though they were optional.
In the shroud, Hero’s injuries were all but invisible, until the car passed under the shine of street lamp. In those brief flashes, all manner of horrors could be seen, illuminated in bright yellow. Their nose was beyond broken, and they would be lucky if that was the only part of their body that was. Judging by the sickening bruising upon their chest, however, a few ribs were likely not where they were supposed to be, as well.
“Stay with me.” Villain urged. On their lap, the hero was laid upon their back, vacant gaze staring upwards as their legs twitched. “Don’t go just yet. Don’t go.”
Every time Hero’s eyes threatened to drift closed, a spike of panic lit in their chest. But, they always reopened. They were conscious, though ‘aware’ was likely another matter.
“Take...” The hero struggled to speak.
“What? What is it? Talk to me.” Even if Hero’s words were merely babble, if they were talking, that meant they were awake.
“Take me back.”
Villain felt their heart break, and watched as the splinters fell to the seats below.
“Back? What in the world are you talking about, are you nuts?! Henchman, how far are we?”
“GPS says ten minutes.”
“So, how far?”
“Five minutes.”
“Okay.” Villain exhaled sharply as they looked down, again shaking their heroic charge away. “Hey, hey, stay with me.”
“I said take me back!” The wailing was as desperate as it was nigh-incomprehensible.
“They were killing you!”
“I know. I know. I deserved...”
“Deserved? Deserved what? To be strung up and beaten by those dicks you called your friends?”
“Making me stronger...”
“They were torturing you. Whatever they’ve been saying to you has been crap.”
“It was training!”
“It was torture!”
The argument seemed to have sapped any energy Hero had remaining, leaving them to again go limp and vacant upon Villain’s lap. But, perhaps, that was a good thing. The shroud of the streets quickly turned to the overwhelming illumination of the 24/7 Emergency Clinic.
Parking was an afterthought. Henchman swung the vehicle up to the curb, and Villain didn’t so much as bother to wait for the car to stop moving before they leaped out, Hero in their arms. Adrenaline fueling every movement, they surged through the Emergency Room doors.
And realized exactly how the situation must look.
Of course, Villain hadn’t been stupid enough to wear their uniform on their excursion to the Hero’s League, and Hero, too, wore plainclothes. But their faces were recognizable enough. And, here they were. A villain carrying a hero, bridal style, into a civilian ER in the middle of the night.
If they didn’t do something, and fast, they were going to end up right in the clutches of the Hero’s League. After all, who wouldn’t tear a villain away from a wounded hero? They needed a reason, needed a reason-
From a back door, a pair of doctors were already surging forth with a gurney.
Villain was tired. They couldn’t think straight. They only knew that they needed a lie, an explanation, and fast.
“My spouse got hurt!”
#hero whumpee#whump#whumpblr#whump community#whumpee#whumper#caretaker#villain caretaker#hero x villain#hero villain whump#hero villain prompt#whump writing#whump scenario
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sorry for the personal stuff again
Alright, an update on my irl situation. Paypal officially stopped operating in Russia (where I had the rotten luck to be born), effective immediately, today. My anxious ass saw this coming a week ago, when I made the first post and asked you guys for donations because the pressing time + stress wouldn’t have allowed me to earn through working normally. Your financial help provided me with some security. Not much, but enough to feel safe while I’m making literal life-changing decisions. I’ve withdrawn all my Paypal moni cash, I have enough on hand to flee the country. Which I think I’m doing within the next weeks.
I’m not savvy when it comes to politics and real world events as I don’t have the mental fortitude for it. So the following is only my speculation, but, keeping in mind the recent trends of closing borders and international -everything- cutting ties with Russia, I think I might not have any wiggle room for my decision: I’m either moving out asap, or risking being stuck here for an unknown amount of time, with no way to use my own Paypal being only one of the many potential disastrous things that may happen in this country in the following months.
So I’ve decided to move to Kazakhstan, a neighboring southern country, free and neutral, where I’d at least be safe and get help from an old friend. For now my plan’s to stay for 1-3 months (exceeding that would force me into paperwork hell), until the situation’s more clear and less frightening. Until, or if, yeah.. Kazakhstan doesn’t ask for visa or other paperwork bs which I don’t have, I only need to pray they don’t cancel the flights.
Okay, you’ve read this far, what can you do? In fact nothing, currently I can’t do anything with my Paypal, it probably won’t even let you send a payment my way, so I’m not asking for anymore donations. If I find myself in dire need for money I’ll look for alternatives and let you know.
This’s it really, huh.. Moving countries, alone, for the first time in my life. Temporarily or not, only time will tell. In fact if I manage to settle I might be happier over there. Russia’s looking at a bad time and I ain’t gonna be a part of that. I’m just a mentally impaired person trying to fend for myself.
Ah, right, the art.. Everything’s paused as you may guess. I’m sorry. I may still be able to comfort-doodle for myself but not much more. My epic Wakfu countdown led to nothing. That final pic is still like 30% done and I just don’t have the energy. I’m drained, surprised there still was something to drain tbh.
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Hi, if you are still taking prompts; A magically powerful Harry not noticing that his magic does things to make Draco happy. This can be pre-relationship or established relationship. Like it starts of with his tea being exactly as he likes and always the right temperature. Then evolves to rooms changing colour or weather changing or people being unable to invade Draco’s personal space due to an invisible barrier or something ridiculous. Btw Draco doesn’t notice as well.
anon.....you really killed me w this one. i’ve been so emo over this wyugeahrwiw might end up writing smth longer tbh bc this concept is literally the only thing that matters to me!!!!!!! i hope u enjoy i had so much fun with it ❤️❤️❤️
“Harry, you do it. Please.”
“No.”
“Please!”
“We’re fucking watching something, Draco!”
“So just pause it!”
Harry grabs the pillow on his lap and slams it onto the sofa next to him. Hermione can see dust rise in its wake. He pauses the telly.
“Are you doing it?” Draco asks hopefully. Harry scowls at him.
“Well you won’t shut up until I do, will you?”
“Definitely not.”
Harry disappears into the kitchen and Draco sits there looking smug.
“It’s kind of sick how you get off on bossing him around,” says Ron, his tone one of simple observation. His fingers are idly playing with Hermione’s hair, but she doesn’t think he notices he’s doing it.
“If I’m not mean to him a few times a week I break out in a rash, Weasley,” Draco says blithely. “Besides, he makes it perfectly. I don’t know how he does it, it’s always exactly the right temperature and sweetness and all that. I s’pose his years as a house-elf for those Muggles gave him plenty of time to perfect the art.”
“You’re a twat,” says Ron. “And my mum makes tea better than him.”
“Well you’re just a pitiful little mummy’s boy, aren’t you, Weasley? We can hardly trust your opinion.”
“Hark who the hell’s talking,” Ron scoffs. “Least I’m not twenty-three and still calling my mum ‘mummy’ like the world’s biggest bloody ponce.”
Draco splutters but before he can retort Harry’s coming back into the room hovering four cups of tea that float placidly to each of them. Draco looks exactly like a satisfied cat as he takes his and Harry drops back down onto the sofa next to him. Not too close, but certainly not too far, either.
“Literally exquisite,” Draco declares after he’s taken a sip. Ron rolls his eyes.
“It’s just tea, Draco,” says Harry, and he grabs for the remote to turn the film back on. “You’re such a demanding little brat. Merlin’s fucking tits.”
But Draco looks happy and Harry looks suspiciously content as well. Ron turns to her and makes a silent gagging face. Hermione snorts and puts a finger to her lips. They’ve decided not to say anything yet.
*
“Wasn’t this place a lot … uglier last time?”
“What?” Harry says absently. He’s not listening �� he’s got all his attention zeroed in on a stack of parchment he’s holding. They’d only barely dragged him along to lunch; earlier the captain of the English National Team had apparently owled him a great number of brand-new Quidditch plays and required Harry’s extensive thoughts and notes before their next practise, which was tomorrow morning.
“Uglier,” Draco says emphatically, and Ron mutters something she doesn’t catch. “Remember? The walls were that tragic egg-yolk colour.” He shivers. Hermione thinks it might have been an honest-to-god shiver of revulsion. She also thinks she knows what’s happened, even though the extent of it surprises her.
“Maybe someone heard you whingeing and changed it,” Ron apparently can’t stop himself from saying with a snigger. Hermione elbows him hard and he shoots her a glare, mouthing, he doesn’t know!
Harry would usually be the one to take the lead and get them a table when all four of them go out to eat together but today he’s too wrapped up in his Quidditch plays, so Ron steps forward and does it, which makes Hermione’s chest flutter pleasantly. He’d blush down to his bones if she ever said it aloud but he’s quite capable of being a leader in Harry’s absences.
“Whatever happened,” says Draco pointedly as they’re led to their table, “it’s a great bloody blessing, I was genuinely unsure I’d have the mental fortitude to survive another assault like that on my delicate senses. And, I mean, this —” he gestures to the walls, which are now an admittedly pleasing dark teal above a white trim “— is stunning. It’s my favourite colour.”
“Is it? So weird they picked your favourite colour completely by coincidence,” Ron says, and Hermione elbows him again. Draco notices nothing and neither does Harry, although he does finally set the plays aside once they’re seated at the table.
“Are you complaining about the wall colour again?” he asks drily. They would both be extremely displeased to know they sound like an old married couple. Draco snatches haughtily at the paper napkin on the table and unfolds it to place over his lap. The first time he’d ever done this at a regular, decidedly not upscale restaurant Ron had taken it upon himself to spend the entire meal adopting a posh accent to match Draco’s and saying things to the waiter like “Don’t you have crystal?” while holding up a glass cup full of Pepsi and then commenting “These aren’t real silver, you know” after making a show of inspecting the titanium utensils.
“I can complain about hideous design choices if I want to,” Draco tells Harry with his nose in the air. “Thankfully they’ve rectified it this time.”
On the other side of the restaurant, Hermione sees two employees talking, one of them gesturing at the wall with utter bewilderment. She doesn’t point it out.
*
“Twelve o’clock,” says Ron, nodding past Draco’s shoulder. “Some bloke staring you down hard, Malfoy.”
Draco looks excitedly behind him, but what Hermione takes more notice of is the way Harry’s face falls a little. She can’t help but wonder if he even realises it’s happened. She’s almost certain he’s aware of his feelings for Draco even though he still hasn’t said anything to her (and she’s been waiting months now, the effort of holding her tongue growing only more difficult by the day, and she knows Ron’s always seconds away from shouting at him) but she doesn’t think he knows how obvious he is. Draco doesn’t seem to know either, but she thinks that’s because Draco feels exactly the same way. She’d have called them morons, but she remembers too well how long it had taken her and Ron.
“What the fuck, Weasley,” Draco hisses, turning back around with a scowl that makes Ron laugh and Harry perk up again a little bit. “He looks like he hasn’t washed his hair in weeks.”
“Now, now,” says Ron, “mustn’t judge books by their greasy covers.”
“Then you go shag him if you think he’s so fit.”
“Maybe I will,” Ron says airily, as if he really is considering it, and Hermione can’t help chuckling and kissing his cheek. Then his expression changes to one of wicked amusement, which makes all of them look round to see the bloke coming their way. Hermione glances at Harry to find that — oh yes, he looks flustered and vaguely upset.
“Hullo,” says the greasy bloke to Draco as he comes up beside him at their table. He’s really not terrible-looking, but if she’s learned anything about Draco in the last couple years it’s that his standards amount to models and Harry Potter, so this man has almost no chance.
“Hello,” Draco drawls, reminding her fiercely of his younger self at Hogwarts. “I’m not interested.”
“Right little narcissistic bugger, aren’t you?” the man says. And now, finally, he’s begun to look as revolting to Hermione as he’d done initially to Draco — a repellent personality can do that. “Maybe I just wanted to come and have a chat.”
“Then why aren’t you looking at any of the rest of us?” Ron asks, sounding halfway between amused still and a little put off.
“Can you leave, please?” Draco interjects, cringing away from the man encroaching slowly on his personal space. And suddenly, as he looks on the verge of antagonising Draco further, he shifts his feet and slips, landing right on his bum with a yell of surprise. All four of them get to their feet to see, but there doesn’t seem to be any liquid or even slimy food for him to have tripped on.
“The fuck ...?” the man says, getting back to his feet. But when he moved towards Draco, he only slips again, on absolutely nothing at all. Something clicks and Hermione looks at Harry: he seems as confused as anyone else (if obviously pleased).
She looks at Ron then, who catches her eye and lifts his brows like he’s thinking the same thing.
Draco’s suitor gets up once more and steadies himself, looking a bit dazed. Some deep animal instinct seems to tell him to stop trying, and with a wary glance at Draco he finally leaves.
“Well that was a bit of a fucking scene,” says Harry. Draco, coming out of his own startled daze, laughs.
“Yeah,” Ron says sarcastically, “wonder what could’ve possibly happened.”
*
“I really thought it was going to rain,” Draco mopes where he’s standing at the window. It’s grey outside but it definitely doesn’t look like rain and Draco appears so upset about it that Hermione actually feels badly, even though she’s quite glad for the clear weather.
“Just shut the curtains,” Ron suggests from his place on the floor. He’s sorting through Harry’s collection of VHS tapes, trying to decide on a good Halloween movie. Not that he’s ever seen any of them, and Hermione suspects he’ll end up choosing whichever cover he likes best.
“It’s not the same!” Draco wails. “The thunder and lightning is all part of it, you uncultured pillock! The atmosphere is all wrong.”
“It’ll be just as good when we shut off all the lights and draw the curtains,” she assures him, but it doesn’t remove the look of disappointment from his face. It’s a pouty sort of thing that echoes the brattiness of his youth; she imagines a five-or-six-year-old Draco giving his parents similar looks when he wasn’t getting what he wanted.
At that moment the front door opens and Harry walks in carrying two grocery bags, one of which contains alcohol, which Hermione can tell by the way the plastic is bulging around the cans.
“The fuck are you all doing here?” he says by way of greeting.
“You said eight o’clock, fuckhead,” Ron tells him without looking up. “But it’s fine, I’ve had time to pick a film and Malfoy’s had time to moan about the weather.”
“What’s wrong with the weather?”
“I wanted a storm!”
At that exact moment, a flash of lightning lights up the sky behind Harry where he hasn’t even closed the door yet. Seconds later a downpour begins, and then there’s a rolling crash of thunder.
Hermione’s eyes widen and once more she finds Ron’s gaze, who looks about as shocked as she feels. Draco, meanwhile, has his hands over his mouth and looks like a child on Christmas morning.
For the first time since his magic had begun picking up on Draco’s wishes and granting them of seemingly its own accord, Hermione sees Harry look suspicious. He peers behind him at the storm suddenly raging outside his house before slowly closing the door. When he turns back he looks directly at Hermione, who looks away quickly.
They set up the food Harry had gotten — all kinds of Halloween-themed sweets — and once everyone has their drinks (“Make mine,” Draco tells Harry, “you do it best”) and is comfortable on the two sofas in the room (Harry and Draco are, as usual, as close to each other as they can get without actually touching) they start the movie: The Thing, which Harry swears is one of the greatest horror films of all time.
Funny thing is, an hour and a half into it she looks over and, with a jolt, realises the two of them are kissing half-covered beneath a blanket. She elbows Ron, who positively beams when he notices.
“Fucking finally, dear sweet Merlin,” he whispers, the sound muffled by the continued rain and thunder. “I nearly hit him upside the head when he made it rain, are you fucking kidding me?”
“Shh!” Hermione hisses, though she’s smiling. “They’ll hear you. We’ll rag him about it tomorrow.”
A soft sound of laughter comes from the other sofa that Hermione identifies as Draco’s, and when she risks another peek after a moment she sees that Harry has a hand on Draco’s jaw, and that he’s smiling.
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