SO DON’T TELL ME WHAT TO FEAR IN THE DARKNESS OF THIS ATMOSPHERE!

[ID: A digital painting of Devo La Main from TAZ Ethersea and a male betta fish in an extremely dark setting, almost reminiscent of an aquarium tank in the dark.

Devo is a young half-elf man with brown skin, dark hair in a partial bun and blue eyes. From his neck, two purple gill covers and frills are shown in a flared position, extending outward. The scales from the frills extend up to his jawline and his cheeks. He is wearing a leather jacket with scale-like patterns.

The betta fish is the same color as Devo’s frills, but with a darker head and lighter fins and tail. Like Devo, his gills are also flared out in aggression.

Both are coldly staring down at the viewer, though Devo looks particularly furious with his eyes widened. There are light blue highlights accenting his figure. End description]

taz ethersea is really just like. hey listen. this story is about grief. it’s about anger. it’s about mourning the things you had to leave, but if you hadn’t left you would not have survived them. it’s about hating where you came from but knowing deep down you can never, will never be from anywhere else. it’s about the need to become better than a past you still wish you could go back to. it’s about “we celebrate the burial of the architects of our unjust world” and “I do not want to be only resentment but when I see your face resentment is all that I am” and “I just wanted you to see it once.” it’s about finding a way to become something new in spite of every weeping ache torn into you by the past. it’s about the stubborn and deliberate persistence of life in the face of a hostile environment. ethersea says this story is about hope. it’s about consequences. it’s about effort. most importantly it’s about how nermal’s pile has a sale going on right now don’t miss out on this week’s deals

I feel like I always fall into this trap with taz where I underestimate Travis's role playing/character creation skills

Like--and bear with me here--I tend to find his characters a little irritating at first, probably bc he usually plays brash, impulsive characters who charge in or speak their mind without thinking, which I find frustrating when it's so clear the right move is to hang back or be subtle about it

But THEN he has a moment that completely redefines the character for me, where they realize that their actions hurt themselves or others, and it makes you understand why they act the way they do, and then they go in some unexpected direction that shows that they're trying to change and do better and take care of themselves and others!!!

Like Magnus taking rogue lessons bc he realized he was going to get himself killed, and you realize that was kind of what he wanted, but he's learned and changed and found (and rediscovered) people he cares about enough to keep fighting for, and to want to be around for them

Or Aubrey being kind of impulsive, and then she asks Janelle to take her magic away, and you realize that she thinks about things a lot more than you thought, and she's gone through so much loss already, and she's so young and she's trying to help but she's so afraid of hurting her friends, and she learns to have a whole different relationship with magic because of that conversation with Janelle

AND STILL when I started ethersea I thought, well okay, I guess I'm just gonna be a little irritated by Devo bc he can't stop going off on people, but then after the bar fight in the marshlands he realizes that throwing his anger around indiscriminately isn't working, even though it's very clear he has a lot to be angry about and he's also just really young and still trying to figure out how to live in a world outside the church. and I just got to the end of The Menagerie arc and his speech to the auctioneer feels like he's learning to channel his anger towards something, into speaking up for himself and other people who get hurt when those in power are so sure they know what's best, and I'm so excited to see how that plays out over the rest of the season

In conclusion I'm sorry Travis I shouldn't have doubted you, truly out here making some of thee characters of all time

I’m trying to just see if there’s any of her in there.

First image is of Amber Gris and Oksana Kodeira. They are sitting casually at the shoreline of a sandy beach at sunset. On the left is Amber Gris, a short, stocky einarr woman. She has tan skin and scars on her arms and right side of her face. She is wearing an orange and dark teal wetsuit with the top part tied around her waist, An orange harness wraps around her waist and thighs. Her dark, greying hair, is braided to one side, revealing an undercut with a wavy pattern. Oksana is a taller, slimmer einarr woman. She has brown skin and long, curly, salt and pepper hair. She is wearing a blue captain's jacket, over a white blouse and tan breeches. They both look a little beat up, Oksana especially. Oksana looks over at Amber and says, "I think we're in charge."

The second image is of the pair, now viewed from some distance away. More of the ocean is visible, and the surface is illuminated with the lights of tens of tiny blink sharks, swirling around each other. The sky is warm with bright yellows and deep purples. Amber stares at the water in front of her and says, "Oh shit!"

What if we faced the first sunset of a new world, and we came to the dawning realization that we were the gods of that world, and we were childhood best friends?

No but the way Brother Seldom’s like “you can’t be so angry at the past it destroys you, but you have to be at least a little angry, because that’s how we create something better” in what’s framed in universe as one of his broadcasts,

AND THEN Devo left the parish in part because of the ideas he was exposed to on Seldom’s broadcasts, and his whole arc is ABOUT being angry at his past, and he has to learn how to channel that anger into the right places so he can actually use it for good. His whole entire character is summed up in that monologue at the start that we KNOW he would’ve heard.

(Which ALSO makes Seldom’s betrayal that much more heartbreaking for Devo; he’s only just unlearning his black and white view of morality, and now the man he’s leaned on to create his own sense of self was a double agent and he’s suddenly doubting everything he knows all over again…)

OF COURSE Amber, after Koda attempted to manipulate her, made the least productive and most violent choice with a smile on her face, but only before her friends were safe.

OF COURSE Devo would psychically battle Orlean, win by tearing his brain apart (thus killing him) and still add "Take your family with you" to the call. Changing history and risking the security of a whole timeline, just to ensure the worst man in his life got a chance to be better in another life.

OF COURSE Zoox, when given near unlimited access to all the beings he's ever connected to, chose to use his newfound power to create a staircase for Devo and a trapdoor for Amber. Simple things to help them. "What do you want?" "To save my friends."

I just love how this season, the main trio don't always do the right, moral, or even most practical thing, but they always are themselves, and that comes with protecting each other.

All of this to say, I'm not ready for the last episode.

I just realized that a lot of people forgot something really important lore-wise and that’s why people are confused about parts of the finale.

Hominine assassins are called Whispers.

“Great Orators Seldom Whisper.”

“Great Orators Seldom Whisper.”

Orleen did try to warn Guidance. He literally told her Seldom was a trained assassin.

Absolutely loving the direction taz ethersea is taking wherein the young man with magic powers is not central to a prophesy about the end of the world, but the middle aged butch conspiracy theorist lady is

I love you underwater sci fi I love you griffin’s storytelling i love you stories that are a flat circle but also a spiral I love you characters that accidentally become a god I love you characters who dive headfirst into new chapters of life I love you characters who change the very way the universe functions and I love you TAZ Ethersea

Image description: the buff handshake meme. one of the arms is labeled “magnus,” the other is labeled “zoox,” and their hands are labeled “getting yeeted out of your body and accidentally replacing it with a way, way weirder body”. End description.

i’m so sorry, devo

even if amber and oksana weren’t romantically involved at any point on the shoreside community, their story still makes me fucking insane

just. someone you’ve known for years and have grown up beside and have survived the literal apocalypse with is suddenly told she’s the chosen one and is forced to abide by the whims of some asshole god who just takes more and more away from her with every breath she takes

and you just watch as this god pulls her this way and that and before you know it it’s been months since you’ve spoken and years since you’ve recognized her as the same person you used to know, and she’s the fucking commander of the military with the weight of the world on her shoulders but no one’s even asked her if that’s what she wants

Devo's to-do list

If they do end up doing another season of Ethersea, I think Travis GMing would be so fun. I would be pumped no matter who it was, but I want to see his creativity and GM skills come into play in this world. Because he has a very developed way of building up the world, and I think the world of Ethersea is perfect for him to take the reins of. Especially with where we left off last season, Devo is in the perfect role to function as an NPC, and we could stay in Founder's Wake or explore any of the other 3 societies! Especially if we took a trip to Hominine, with the interest he showed during the campaign for the kingdom, I would love to see Travis's take on it, especially when it comes to playing those NPCs and Benevolence. Speking of the different kingdoms, the fact that there are 4 separate civilizations in this world means there are 4 different campaigns waiting to happen… why not give each McElroy a turn at one?

It tracks that Justin said it’s easier for him to memorize everything about his character, compared to the world lore. Meanwhile Travis has an easier time remembering the world lore, compared to the actions of his character in the moment.

The fact that Clint kept a “zoox log” just to remember things like character names and jokes, which inadvertently led to him having the tightest hold on ethersea’s world building, does not surprise me at all.