#the way he cares for the 141 only further convinces me | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ghouljams · 10 months

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Price never saying no to goose for anything. Even questionably dangerous or reckless things he’d just do them with her because god damn if she didn’t have everything she wanted.

It's like you have a direct line to my brain. Price is such a pushover for his little girl, and Goose is truly a daddy's girl because of it. He was there for every tea party, and every dance recital. But he also taught her how to shoot, took her on mechanical bulls, and put a mattress under the hayloft when she said she wanted to jump off of it.

Anyway here's some Price family fluff with baby Goose.

You really didn't know what to expect when you told Price you were pregnant. It wasn't like it was great timing. You were both in school, looking forward to careers with little room for little ones. You were barely married for crying out loud, only having signed the documents to get your boy- your husband out of the barracks.

The way his eyes light up when he spots the positive pregnancy test, the way he holds your face and tells you he wants it, "No matter how hard it is, we'll make it work." You believe him, without question you believe in the conviction behind his words. You've never known John Price to be a dishonest man, and you hardly think this is where he'd start lying to you.

"What about the RMAS? Med School? Maybe we should wait." You grip his wrists, both of you searching the others eyes. The fear and excitement, the absolute trust in each other, you may not have been married long but you've known since you met him that Price won't let you fall if he isn't there to catch you.

"What do you want to do?" He asks you so gently you think it might be easier if he was shouting at you. You think of how hard it'll be. You think of the sleepless nights, struggling to care for a baby and study for exams. You think of Price getting deployed and being away for long periods, leaving you alone with a baby. You think of your parents, and how they never would have traded you for anything in the world.

Months later you sit in the hospital with an anatomy textbook open and your husband rocking the sweetest baby you've ever seen, and you think you can absolutely do this.

You're home for the summer with a toddler and a very jetlagged husband on leave from special forces. Price and your daughter squint in the Texas sun as you pat sunscreen onto both of them. You mom yells to you from the house and you give very clear instructions to both of your flight risks to stay where they are while you go see what she needs.

When you come back you brother is handing your baby up to Price. Settling her in front of him on the saddle before taking off. You nearly faint watching your daughter bounce excitedly as the horse gallops across the pasture. You swear loud enough for your brother to hear and don't bother censoring yourself while giving him a piece of your mind. He graciously offers his horse for you to go make sure nothing happens to them.

You find Price holding your daughter up to pet down the nose of one of the cows in the paddock. Her tiny fingers, scrunching in the hair on top of its head before Price can coax her to let go. She smiles at you so brightly you almost forget to be mad about the unexpected field trip.

Price adjusts Goose's grip on the rifle, the gun dwarfing her little hands. She presses her cheek against the body of it to look down the sight at the target. The strap is wrapped tight around her arm just like he'd showed her, and you think you should really be used to this by now. It's harder to be calm about this sort of thing when it's your kid. Still, you can't think of a better teacher than your husband.

"Deep breaths," Price tells her, his hand braces her shoulder where the butt of the gun rests, "don't rush yourself if you're not sure."

"I know daddy." Goose tells him, you've never known a more confident kid. It's all Price's fault for encouraging her. Not that you mind, you'd rather your kid be self assured and friendly than the alternative. You'd be worried more about Goose favoring her father if she didn't follow you like a shadow.

The shot that rings through the air is followed immediately by Price's praise. His grin over his shoulder at you to make sure you're watching as he ruffles your daughter's hair melts your heart.

You think Price is better suited for life on the ranch than you'd first thought. Your summers in the states are starting to almost feel more like home than your flat back in England. Especially when Price grabs you passing by the barn and pulls you inside. An arm hooked around your waist as you laugh and push at his chest, his lips catching yours with a smile.

It's slow and indulgent. Just the two of you enjoying each other's affection. He smells warm from the sun, must've just come in from the pasture. It makes you a little giddy that his first thought was to grab you as soon as he could. Giddy enough to hold his face and pull him close in the middle of the barn. He lets a pleased noise hum against your lips, hands sliding into the back pockets of your jeans.

Just when his tongue slides against your lips do you hear your child go, "Ewww, gross."

Her gap toothed smile grins down at you from the hayloft. The little straw cowboy hat your mom get for her really finishes off her look of too big overalls and pink cowboy boots. Price let's you go to stand under the overhang. He gestures with his hands and Goose scrambles to stand.

"Alright baby, don't wanna worry your momma, come on down." Price calls up, and you shake your head, knowing full well what your troublemakers are going to do. Goose backs up to take a running start before jumping off the loft, and landing with a flurry of giggles in your husband's arms.

Worry is such a strong word. Since you met Price you don't think you've worried about anything. At least not anything important, not about your safety or your future. How could you with him here?

It's different when he's deployed, when you can only talk to him on the phone, and even then only at certain times. But you've never worried when he told you he'd be home. He wouldn't leave you or Goose for the world, not if he can help it.

"Didn't know you were married," Soap tells Price as he hands him his papers.

"And I'd prefer we keep it that way," Price nods, "You know how this job goes. The less people know the better." Soap nods, looks over the boarding passes, flips through the leave notices.

"All the way in America, eh?" Soap grins, "Didn't know you were into stars and stripes."

"Don't make me regret trusting you MacTavish," Price's tone is deadly, serious enough to make the dead stand at attention, "If I ever hear you blabbing about them."

"I'm not gonna be babysitting any rugrats while I'm there, am I?"

"Just the one," Price smiles a little despite himself, "You'll like her."

"Feel like I don't even know you anymore," Soap jokes with a shake of his head, "Anything else I should know?"

"Just," Price takes a breath, eyes somewhere far away, "tell 'em I'm sorry I couldn't be there myself, and be on your best behavior. Those girls are the best thing to ever happen to me and I'll be damned if I gotta hear about you doing something stupid like-" He fishes for something plausible but ridiculous, "-like burning down the barn."

"I'll keep away from the explosives, Sir."

#captain john price #captain price x reader #captain price x oc #john price x oc #oc: duck #oc: Goose #Price is a family man nothing can convince me otherwise #the way he cares for the 141 only further convinces me #john soap mactavish #johnny soap mactavish #and then Soap does almost burn down the barn pretty immediately #I should write more Price and Duck because they're just tooth rotting #cowboy!Price

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celestialprincesse · 3 months

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✨blurb/imagine request✨

i hardly ever see any plus sized reader x 141 men (specifically simon / könig / price) fics, blurbs, or even imagines. If you’re interested i’d love to see what you’d do with it! 💕

(nsfw is more than okay🤭)

Of course I can! I def think Simon looves having a girl w/ some curves! Smt about the softness and femininity of it all drives him feral.

Warnings: afab reader, nsfw (was feeling slutty today 😃)

Simon loves the way you look when you're baking. Loves the way you bop about the kitchen to the quiet sound of your playlist, swaying your hips to the beat of every song. You get in the zone, and he gets a show that has his dick getting hard in his pants.

He'd no idea what you were concocting today. Something French by the sound of it. Admittedly, he cared more about the way the plush flesh of your ass jiggled as you leant over the counter to roll out the pastry than whatever fancy dessert you'd come up with today. The sight of you vaguely reminds him of a painting he'd seen in secondary school once. Something about Venus. To him you're so much more though - you're Venus and Saturn, Mars and Jupiter. You are his entire universe.

There's something about the softness and warmth of you that drives him insane. Of course, he thinks that lots of women are beautiful, muscular, slim, tall or small. There's something about you, though, something about every soft dip and curve of your body. You're the picture of health, soft with every hearty, home cooked meal and sweet dessert made and perfected with hours of practise, concentration and love.

When the already short material of your skirt rides up? He's a goner. Thick arms looping around your waist have you giggling, leaning your head back into the crook of Simon's neck, inhaling the residual scent of yesterday's cologne and that deliciously clean, post shower smell. "What y'making?" Soft muscle and warm skin reverberate against your back as he speaks low in your ear, peppering kisses down the column of your neck whilst his hands find their way up your shirt. The way your back arches against him, pressing your ass into his crotch as he grabs a handful of your tits and squeezes softly, he's convinced there's no better feeling in the world. "Mille Feuille." You mumble breathily back as Simon nudges your lower back so that you're leaning a little further over the counter, leaving prints of your boobs in the flour you'd sprinkled on the counter so your dough didn't get sticky. "Mille Feuille." He rumbles back, lips brushing your ear as his free hand travels down your stomach, between the soft warmth of your thighs, thumb brushing teasingly over your panties.

You inadvertently clench your thighs around Simon's hand, body stuck between whether or not it likes the intrusion, and from the wet lace of your panties, you're pretty sure it's trying to keep him there. The audible squelch of your panties when Simon pushes his middle and ring finger up against your folds has you blushing, trying to escape where he's got you pinned at the hips over the counter, only receiving a tsk from Simon as he ruts his cock against your ass. "Bend over proper for me baby, yeah?" He coos, gently pushing you down by the back of your neck so that your cheek presses against the cool marble of the countertop. "Tha's it. So, so pretty f'me. So good, yeah?" Is what accompanies the back of your skirt being flipped up, your ruined underwear pushed dismissively to the side.

A whimper gets lost amongst the sound of Simon's belt being unbuckled, with one hand at that, seeing as the other is running his fingers through your folds, collecting the glossy slick that's already leaking from your hole. The way your pussy flutters around nothing just from the thought of his actions behind you is shameful, but Simon likes it. When Simon's cock juts carefully between your thighs, his hips bumping against your ass, you go completely blank, a fucked out look on your face without him even having gone inside yet. "You like that baby? Yeah?" His tone has you nodding dumbly, your hand not supporting your head coming to rub impatiently at your clit, mewling softly as you buck your hips up against him. "So needy f'me already." Accompanies the sound of a breathless moan, like you've had all the air punched out of you when Simon notches the weeping head of his cock up into you. The angle has you gasping, hands gripping at the unyielding counter as you attempt to steady yourself against his gradually roughening thrusts. "Fuck, Si." You cry out as his dick pushes against your cervix, his dark gaze probing, fiercely intense as you pant and whine. "Thaaaats it." Is groaned gently into your ear as you take the entirety of his length with a weak cry.

Simon's pace is punishing, more so that he can watch the way your ass jiggles with every hard snap of his hips than because he means anything by it. The way you whine and mewl is only an added extra. He knows when you're about to cum, by the way you grow breathless, eyes rolling back and pussy practically sucking his cock up, greedy thing. With a few last thrusts, and a slap of your butt for good measure, you keen out, Simon's own eyes rolling back when he feels the warm wash of your cum around his cock. It doest take long for him to ride out his own orgasm, pressing his chest down against your back, his head into the crook of your neck as he spurts thick, hot cum right up into the plug of your womb.

˖⁺‧₊˚ ♡ ˚₊‧⁺˖

Not proof read at all !! Trying to get a lil better at writing smut 🫠 N e ways!! Enjoy!!

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nrdmssgs · 8 months

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TF 141 + Nikolai taking you home from hospital after minor injury

Masterlist

Fluff, comfort and romance.

Kyle Gaz Garrick

First of all, you are getting a plushie. Even if you are older than him, and that mature, grown up, always very serious type, you are getting a plushie!

The moment he enters your room - the whole space becomes illuminated with his happiest, bright smile. Because Kyle is your personal portable sunshine.

Prior to picking you up, Gaz spent a few hours, coming up with a nice joke, to immediately make you laugh, when he meets you. Might even have tested it on Soap to make sure, it works just as he wants it too.

Overall princess treatment. He has your comfort playlist + movie + treats ready at home. He wants you to forget about time spent in the hospital as soon as possible.

If you convince him, you are not in pain, and he can't hurt you - you won't see the end of that favorite movie of yours.

Johnny Soap MacTavish

As soon, as he helps you sit comfortable in his car - you are inundated with news about everything: from world politics to the latest stories from the life of Johnny’s family.

Talks more than usual, because he was worried sick all the time, that you spent in a hospital. Even if Johnny knew, it was nothing serious, he still hates it, when you are far from him, and he is left to wait, till they let you out.

Asks you if he should stop talking and let you rest in silence, but cant keep quiet for more than ten minutes. (you don't mind though, since you missed his voice so much)

Carries you from the car to the house. Accepts no objections.

"Johnny? You know, I'm fine and can walk on my own?" "Aye. Still a little help won't hurt?" "You'll make up any excuse just to carry me around, won't you?" "... weesht."

Captain John Price

Giving care and attention is in his very nature, so buckle up. When he enters to pick you up - he already has a full list of meds, that you'll need to fully heal.

You can feel, how tense he is, when Price approaches you. "Hey, lovely, docs say, you're doing well here, yeah?" He gives you a big warm hug, but you feel, how unusually careful he is.

John hates seeing you hurt. Mentally, he takes responsibility for everything bad, that happens to you. He should have been there, should have prevented whatever caused your injury, should have, should have, should have...

So he makes it his №1 priority to make sure you heal fast and easy. Price may forget to eat, to sleep, but he never forgets to remind you to take your meds, or go for a little walk, or have a glass of water.

Many forehead kisses. To make you feel better, to lull you to sleep, to feel you close to him finally.

Simon Ghost Riley

Pretends, It's nothing special, and he definitely hasn't been waiting for a minute, he can at last take you home. Is very calm and collected with medical personnel, but makes sure to thank every single person, who helped you.

Doesn't show any signs of extra care. But when you sit in his car, you feel something unusually soft under your back.

"Sim- Ehm, this looks, like my blanket." "It is. Your favorite one." "You brought my best blanket, just to make me cozy on our way home? That's actually sweet."

Will deny it so hard, but actually he did want to make you feel safe and cozy.

Back at home, he will sit you on a couch, sit on the floor before you and study your features in a dead silence. He needs to know if anything still bothers you, but Ghost can be sure only if he sees the answer in your eyes and in your posture.

Will trace invisible lines on your skin, not daring to lean closer and kiss it. Simon will make sure, you are alright before going any further with his touch.

Nikolai

"Nu privet, tridtzat` tri neshyastia.*" While kneeling down to meet your eye level.

He will not limit himself to a simple “how are you?”. Nikolai must know all the details. Does it hurt when you walk? And when he presses here, doesn’t it hurt? And now? Are you absolutely sure?

Won't listen to you, even if you swear, you already have all the necessary medical prescriptions on hands. He must find your doctor and talk to him personally.

When he is calmed down and convinced, that you are going to be fine - Nikolai finally takes you home.

Makes sure, you're cozy and comfortable on your first night home (ideally in his hands, so that he can wake up any minute and help you if it hurts).

Will try to hide the fact behind a thousand jokes, but he missed you so much. Don't mind him hugging you to sleep and pressing your body against his so strongly, taking in the feeling of you in his hands.

*Nu privet, 33 neshyastia - well hello 33 misfortunes

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rodolfoparras · 6 months

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Alec I'm so severely unwell over that drabble you wrote, I'm like super emotional about it please-

I wanted to make Nik into catty asshole who is trying to push your buttons and make you jealous maliciously but like...the idea of him just teasing both you and John is better almost.

Like sure part of him is jealous and he can't help but to be little petty but for the most part he is just pushing your buttons for the sake of riling you up. Even better if he sees that you and John are in love with each other but neither you or John see it. And he's little hurt sure, he doesn't exactly see why John would pick some punk ass rookie over him but as long as John is happy...

And he knows John most likely won't make the first move because John is probably all types of upset because he fell for someone he took under his wing to keep safe and take care of so Nik does everything he can to make you jealous (he totally plays into your hot-headed nature) so you'll finally confess.

At some point absolutely everyone is aware it and is just waiting for something to happen because holy fuck can Captain and rookie just fuck already? Why do they keep dreamily staring into each other's eyes while we're trying to have mission briefing?

For extra angst, imagine you finally finally deciding to confess, probably after drinking and getting all hyped up and you come to John's office and you're about to know but... John is there with Nikolai and maybe they're fucking, maybe they're just having sweet moment, maybe it's just misunderstanding on your part. Whatever it is, it doesn't mean anything but to you it does because it just reaffirms that John isn't yours.

I imagine it's not until everyone gets hammered or near death situation that confession finally happens tbh.

-🔮

Okay hear me out

Nikolai wasn’t stupid. He was aware that Price likes you, not because he had told him so, because the Russian is sure that the other man would rather die than answer honestly to that question

But he could see the way price acted around you, the way he talked to you, the way he behaved nothing like when Nik and him were together.

Price and Nik had met in their early teens, Price thought Nik was his first and last love Nik, simple put, didn’t feel the same.

Sure he loved Price, dont get it wrong, but there was so much to the world than being bound to one person for the rest of your life.

So they decided to break up, only ever hooked up for the sake of old times or the surge of adrenaline that came after a mission.

Price was so hung up over Nik, the Russian never though he’d get over him but one day the rookie became all he talked about, most of their hm-meetings got called off because he needed to be with rookie for the night.

Nikolai was sure Price would fess up any time soon but Price didn’t, instead he played stupid every time he got asked about it.

So he tried another approach, targeting you by making you jealous in hopes of that being enough to make you fess up but instead it pushed you further away.

Nik almost pulled his hair out, flying a plane was much easier than getting two people together so he gave up, let universe handle it instead.

In the meantime 141 was up your ass about it, telling you that it’s so clear that the captain reciprocates your feelings.

For one second you had allowed yourself to believe it. With one too many drinks in your system you had stumbled over to Price’s office in an attempt to confess your feelings.

However what you saw had shattered your heart.

Stupid, stupid so stupid you think to yourself tears trickling down your cheeks as you sprint to you room, far away from Price’s office.

Of course Price didn’t return your feelings he was busy getting fucked by the man he was actually in love with.

Yet you had allowed yourself to be persuaded, had let 141 convince you that Price reciprocated your feelings.

However what you don’t see is Price’s attempt to run after you only for Nik to stop him.

“What is he going to think? Fuck!” Price says kicking the trash can laying around in his office, still half naked.

“John cal-“ Nik tries to say but gets interrupted by the older man.

“Don’t Nikolai just please leave, please? I would like to be alone for a moment”

Nik wants to argue but instead he lets out a sigh and picks up his clothes off of the floor, quickly dressing himself before walking out through the door.

“You should tell him you know?” Nik says with a smile on his face. Price doesn’t even get to spit out an impromptus lie about how he doesn’t like you in that way before Nik is walking away.

The opportunity to talk doesn’t come around. His days are filled with missions and his nights are filled with paper work that just seem to be piling up and when the two of you have some sort of interaction Price doesn’t even know what to say because it’s not like the two of you are anything in the first place.

He did nothing wrong by fucking Nik he was just lonely and tired of pining for the man who doesn’t even seem to noice him. But then that very same man walked in at the wrong moment and everything came crashing down on him.

Stupid stupid so stupid, Price thinks to himself as he sulks in silence.

Weeks have passed after that incident, the two of you are distant as ever.Price thinks that maybe it’s meant to be this way, you weren’t even anything in the first place.

But just as the thought pops up in his head there’s blood - your blood splashing across his face and you’re falling to the ground while he rushes towards your bleeding body

You’re muttering i love you’s while he’s carrying you to the emergency room and Price is repeatedly saying that he won’t say it back not yet because this isn’t a goodbye and if you’re going to confess your love for him you have to ask him out on dinner first, you have to be alive and well when you do it, goddammit!

Spitball w/ me?

#alec answers #🔮 anon #call of duty #john price #john price x reader #john price x male reader #captain john price #captain john price x male reader #captain john price x reader #x male reader #male reader

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theregoesmylurkerstatus · 3 years

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So... I have a lot of thoughts on the finale. I've deliberately kept my mouth shut, more or less, on the campaign overall because I'm a firm believer that you can't pass judgement -- at least not complete judgement -- on stories until they're over and done with.

Well, it's done! Kind of crazy. I've been watching Critical Role with almost insane consistency, viewing almost every single episode live, with maybe five-ish exceptions, since episode 19, and I've been blogging it for, what, two and a half years?

It's a weird feeling. It's been such a constant thing for me that I'm always gonna have love for it and remember with a lot of fondness.

...Which is in spite of the fact that I can now comfortably say I'm pretty eh on the ending. I know not being positive about something most of us have loved a lot for a very long time can sting a bit, but I personally think it also stings when people relentlessly crow over how good they think it is or want it to be, to the point where you feel you can't voice your absolutely valid upsets or dissatisfactions. So, here goes, if anyone's interested! I'd be curious to see other opinions, too!

I actually drafted a post talking about my overall frustrations with the campaign a whole two weeks ago, and then scrapped most of it when 140 blew me out of the water. I was really touched, and really happy. I hadn't expected it, but it shockingly felt right, you know?

Unfortunately 141 robbed me of most of that satisfaction and brought me right back to neutral.

The blanket statement you have to make, of course, is that you can’t criticise this as a DnD game, and you can’t be mad at the cast for playing it in a way they think is best for them. They’re the players, Matt’s the DM, and in the end it makes no sense for them to try to make themselves act how they think the audience wants them to, and I’m sure most of the audience wouldn’t like the result anyway.

That said, there is an audience. And that’s where I see this clash coming in. As a DnD game, as long as the players and DM have all enjoyed it and been satisfied, it’s a successful game! But for us, it’s not a DnD game. For us, we’re watching a story be written in real time through the medium of an RPG. And while as a DnD game you can’t fault it, as a piece of media, I completely get why the way things have gone has sat weirdly for a lot of people.

It's not satisfying to see so many character hooks dealt with so quickly or left as an offscreen "and then you do it." If they don't want to keep playing to dive into it, absolutely, but for us who have been watching this as a story with all these character elements get so built up, it's a huge anti-climax.

Which is a lot of what this campaign has been, really.

Oh, Nott’s cursed! But through a really cool character moment that problem is completely taken care of with no consequences we see. Yay, I want her to be Veth and that was an iconic move from Jester! Still, it kind of feels like this was built up to be a big problem and at the first success it was let go... Caleb's got a really intense frightening past he tries to hide, I wonder how the Mighty Nein will respond? Oh, they found out, but it's not a difficult revelation for anyone. Looks like it's easy for them to move past it and forgive. Yeah, that's healthiest for the characters, but huh, kinda undercuts it as a storyline or point of interest. Oooh, Avantika’s back! Ah, they’ve killed her and grabbed the eye again. I mean I don’t want them to die or for Uk’otoa to be free, but I’m starting to feel like that’s not much of a threat anyway. The Traveler’s been kidnapped! Nah he hasn’t, he tried to save Jester so he was let go with no further issue, and also he wasn’t actually in any danger anyway. Oh... Cool. So... Why should I care or be worried?

And these are just the biggest ones I remember being kind of let down by. I wanted to see them STRUGGLE for the successes to have meaning. To my view, threats of failure -- real failure -- really decreased the more the campaign went on, with a few exceptions.

Because don't get me wrong, we've definitely had struggles, and those have made for some of the best moments! Molly’s death, Yasha’s kidnapping, Yeza’s imprisonment. When failures that were threatened are allowed to occur, it’s far more gratifying when it’s followed by success, because you understand that that success was actually necessary. It shows us that what they do really means something.

Honestly, that's why the final battle really shut me up, because nothing makes you quite feel stakes and failure like having two PCs die, and having a resurrection ritual fail -- AND knowing that failure would be delivered on, had it not been for a seemingly miraculous roll of the dice to turn it around. One of the greatest failure's -- Molly's death -- made the success of his resurrection put a lot of my other issues to rest immediately, because to be honest? Molly's resurrection was the biggest success of the campaign, exactly because it was originally the biggest failure.

But this episode, we got to see the other side of making threats and successes feel disappointing -- when you get the impression that success was robbed from you. Again, their characters, their choices, but to have them roll an intervention to get Molly's soul, to convince Molly to come back with his own possessions they've so loved, after so long and so many struggles... only to apparently not get Molly at all?

Changed, of course. Memories, maybe he'd never get them back, though that seems inconsistent to how the initial resurrection was played and Matt's hints. It even makes sense that not having his memories and being a bit different, he might forge a new identity, but insisting Molly was a different person entirely after such a supposed hard won success to get Molly back, especially after what his death meant to the audience and potentially healing that old wound? It robs the narrative of a LOT of catharsis, at least for me and I know many others.

Trent, too, I'm very up and down on. He was so built up -- and what fun that build up had -- and I very much disagreed with the idea that the best story would be dealing with him offscreen.

It's true that you don’t need to explicitly address, confront, or explore every big aspect of character's story hooks and background ties for PCs to move past them and grow healthily. But that does not make it a satisfying viewing experience. People quietly healing in real life is healthy. People quietly healing in an explosive fantasy setting is frustrating for the audience.

What on earth is the point of a story if you don’t get to SEE THE ESTABLISHED CONFLICTS go anywhere? A lot of the characters got distant, quiet resolutions, if that, to everything we wanted to see.

Except, we did get to see Trent. It was a really fun, inventive battle, from opening to conclusion, but much like Travelercon, much like Nott's/Veth's problem with the hag, these were things that the audience in general wanted to see be really dug into and explored, and every single one of them got, in my opinion, quickly tidied up instead. Trent got beaten in the first and only proper battle they had with him, which, after all his build up, is pretty disappointing for a villain many of us wanted to see be a big deal. It really just felt like they were trying to tidy up to get on with the epilogue, which is not what a lot of us were looking for with Trent especially.

And that's how most of their endings felt to me. It didn't feel like any of them had reached a comfortable conclusion. Literally all of them, bar Veth and Caduceus, continued on their character journey threads, without each other and very quickly. Meeting Yasha's tribe and Vandran, Caleb finally openly debating changing time for his parents, Trent and Zeenoth's trials and the changing of the guard at the Assembly... All were things it would have been so fun to have all the PCs react to and explore together, and instead they were fleeting encounters in the latter half of a seven hour finale.

Is all this, from Molly not really coming back to Trent being a finale side plot to the Nein continuing on their individual journeys, potentially realistic to how these fantastical things might go down in real life? Sure! But that's not necessarily a good thing.

Stories THRIVE on conflict and resolution. That’s what makes them FUN! Conflict isn’t nearly so fun in real life and resolutions are often frustrating question marks, so no, past a certain point I don’t WANT stories to be realistic. I want stories to be SATISFYING.

And campaign 2 has fallen far short of the mark.

I haven’t spoken... Basically a word of this for most of the campaign, because as I said I’m a firm believer that you can’t necessarily judge something until it’s over, and because I ALSO firmly believe that being negative WHILE trying to enjoy something is counterproductive. I have had no interest in spoiling or naysaying the fun of the campaign for anyone, least of all myself.

But it's done now, and all I can say is... I really have had fun. I love the characters. I love their relationships. I’m pretty okay with where they’ve ended up. I’m not mad, really, and I’m still going to think of this campaign with a lot of affection. But it hasn’t been a satisfying story, even though for a week following episode 140 I thought, despite all the brushed over story threads, it might be.

So... to try and reclaim some of that satisfaction for myself, I might ignore some aspects of the finale proper. Namely Kingsley specifically. Taliesin's choice -- but to me, it's pretty clear that who we saw at the end of 140 was Molly, and the tags on my posts will reflect that, just as my 141 tags will be for both Kingsley and Molly, for clarity's sake. I personally want to believe Molly did come back, however others might want to interpret it. The victory in 140 that meant so much to me is hollow otherwise, and it just kind of hurts that we would lose Molly after everything. I was okay with him being dead -- I'm not so okay with his resurrection being stolen.

Kingsley will always be canon, but Molly is what I choose to acknowledge. I get if you don't like that take, and that's okay! I didn't care for canon's in the end. That's the good thing about storytelling, is that no one can stop you from making your own versions.

For the people who are hopefully hyped for campaign 3, heck yeah have fun! I’m on the fence. My investment, which... I think I can objectively say was pretty substantive as this blog will attest, doesn't feel rewarded, so I’m not convinced I can faithfully keep up for over three years all over again with a strong possibility that I will once again be left disappointed. It's been a huge chunk of my life, and... yeah!

I’ll take a break, probably, view (and liveblog, if people want!) campaign 1 when I’ve had a mental stretch and vacation, and then... I might start campaign 3. I definitely won’t be able to put the same time in it I did campaign 2 (my first love no matter what), knowing that it’s likely to not be so vindicated, in the end.

I swear I’m actually writing this in fairly good humour, but I totally get its always disappointing when the people you come to for fandom enjoyment just aren't sharing your fun. Honestly I’m half tempted to write all those frigging AUs I have sitting around! But I wanted to say my piece, and try and logically outline why this ending has been lacklustre for so many people, ultimately myself included.

Episode 140 felt right because it felt like a natural conclusion -- these disparate people coming together and finally being whole, finally soothing the hurt that MADE them so long ago. Episode 141 spat on that sentiment -- they all scattered to the winds, not as happy people to live out their dreams, but as confused people chasing up loose threads towards an unknown future, with the friend they thought returned still lost to them, ultimately.

It doesn't feel like the ending we should have gotten for the Mighty Nine, who were finally, finally all together. Until they weren't. So to me? I choose to acknowledge that they were, even if I have to force it to happen post-epilogue in my head.

#critical role #cr spoilers #c2e141 #c2e140 #ramblings #long post #first time i've used that tag but i figure people should be able to block this if they want to!#molly #kingsley #trent ikithon #the mighty nein

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fluorescentlightbulboftruth · 7 years

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*Rhetoric as Narrative*

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In this entry, I will examine the critical questions: What narrative does this artifact tell? Is the speaker using their rhetoric to lead or speak the views of the demos? What are the benefits and disadvantages of doing so?

To investigate these questions, I examined an episode of Parks and Recreation (season 7, episode 9: Pie-Mary) as my rhetorical artifact. During this season, Ben Wyatt is running for Congress. During this episode, his wife, Leslie, refuses to participate in a pie baking contest that all the candidates’ wives traditionally par take in. This causes a lot of backlash from the community because Leslie is refusing to conform to the gender role that wives must be domestic, including having good baking skills. Some of the “men’s rights” activists (self-proclaimed “male men”) even go as far as to claim Ben is being oppressed by his wife’s refusal to conform. In the attached clip, Ben gives his wife a platform to speak about her feelings towards the backlash. Leslie states, “I’m sorry that the spotlight is on me, and not Ben, because he is going to make a great congressman.” Leslie points out that a lot of the questions the media are asking about the campaign are pointless and have nothing to do with what matters – Ben’s political stances and policy ideas. She does so by asking and answering all the questions she thinks the media will ask to her over the election cycle: “‘Why did you change your hairstyle?’ I don’t know, I just thought it would look better, or my kids got gum in it. ‘Are you trying to have it all?’ That question makes no sense… ‘Do you miss your kids when you’re at work?’ Yes, of course I do. Everybody does. And ya know, sometimes I don’t.” Ben chimes in, pointing out how sexist the questions that women get are, considering nobody has ever asked them to him. When Leslie is done giving her speech, she is met with half cheers and half boos.

Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch (2012) define narratives as a story. They state that narratives are a form of rhetoric, and they are everywhere, always informing all aspects of the world in which we live. Consequentially, narratives are a way for people to make sense of their lives. Oftentimes there are narratives that an entire community shares, and these stories have the purpose of teaching cultural values. In the Parks and Recreation episode, the narrative of the Pawnee pie baking contest represents the values of the community, and this is why so many people get upset with Leslie when she declines to participate. By not entering the contest, Leslie is refusing to perpetuate the narrative that wives must be domestic, which is a strong belief upheld by most of the people in her small hometown. In addition, Leslie’s speech indicates a different narrative – that it does not actually matter what she is doing, because the people are voting for her husband, and not her. However, as can be seen by the crowd’s reaction, this is not a cultural value supported by the majority, and she is therefore not using rhetoric to speak the views of the demos. Instead, Leslie is hoping to convince the people that there are more important matters than baking, and that the election should be focused on the candidates instead of their spouses.

In addition to beliefs held by smaller communities, narratives often convey cultural beliefs perceived to be held by the country as whole. For instance, Palczewski, Ice, and Fritch (2012) discuss the narrative of the American Dream, which places value on hard work and tells citizens that if they are determined enough, they can accomplish anything. Iversen (2014) further expands upon this idea by analyzing a speech by President Obama. In his 2009 address on health care, Obama retold “Ted Kennedy’s experience of children suffering from cancer with a larger narrative of what constitutes the American character in order to persuade his audience to act in favor of the proposed reform.” In this address, Obama is appealing to a value, the “American character,” that he already knows the United States citizens care about. Public speakers are generally expected to align their rhetoric with what the demos want to hear and what will make them feel good about themselves. Speakers do this by incorporating the beliefs of the demos into their speeches, and by avoiding ideas that conflict with preexisting values of the community (Kunde 2017). However, as can be seen by Leslie’s speech, this does not always happen.

There are advantages and disadvantages of politicians and public servants like Leslie being blunt about how citizens can improve. One obvious disadvantage is that there can be serious political consequences. In Ancient Greece, if someone chose to sue someone, the equivalent of the plaintiff could be fined or even sentenced to death if the public disagreed with them (Ober 2000). Similarly, in the case of Ben Wyatt’s campaign, his wife’s disapproving speech could have resulted in his loss. Another disadvantage is that people in power are not always representing the people, and therefore the democracy of the community may be called into question. In the case of Ben Wyatt’s campaign, he is not yet elected, and therefore he does not have much influence over many changes in the community. However, if he or Leslie were in office, they could make the decision to put their personal beliefs in front of the beliefs of the majority, possibly getting rid of the pie baking contest altogether. Of course, this lack of democracy is not necessarily a bad thing. One danger of blindly following the wishes of the people in order to have a representative democracy is that the majority can be (and oftentimes is) wrong. Therefore, one advantage of speaking out against the demos is that positive change can come about when people in power question the status quo. If rhetoric is done effectively, it has the power to change people’s opinions of reality (i.e. “maybe focusing on Leslie’s pie baking skills is not really a productive civic duty”), and as a result, it can also change people’s behaviors (i.e. “maybe I should consider Ben’s platform instead of his wife’s domestic life when deciding who to vote for”). Rhetoric is not only a reflection of reality – it has the power to change reality in and of itself (Booth 2004).

In summary, the narrative of the Pawnee pie baking contest upholds the community’s value of placing women in domestic areas, and therefore Leslie’s refusal to participate in it is seen as rejection of Pawnee values. For this reason, many people were upset with Leslie. However, Leslie spoke up for herself by disagreeing with public opinion. Leslie was honest and upfront about how Pawnee Indianans could be better citizens. Of course, there should be a balance between telling people the truth and out right criticizing all of their beliefs. Although a lot of the audience probably did not change their minds after Leslie’s speech, there nevertheless needs to be someone who forces us to question the status quo, and there needs to be more people like Leslie who tell everyone what they need to hear instead of trying to appeal to them for political and personal gain.

References

Booth, W. (2004). How many rhetorics? In The rhetoric of rhetoric (pp. 3-22). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Iversen, S. (2014). Narratives in rhetorical discourse. In: The living handbook of narratology. Hamburg: Hamburg University.

Kunde, M. (2017). Democracy and rhetoric in Athens [Powerpoint]. Retrieved from Moodle: http://moodle.augustana.edu/mod/folder/view.php?id=208894.

Ober, J. (2000). The orators. In C. Rowe and M. Schofield (Eds.), The Cambridge history of the Greek and Roman political thought (pp. 130-141). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Palczewski, C. H., Ice, R., Fritch, J. (2012). Narratives: In Rhetoric in civic life (pp. 117-146). State College, PA: Strata Publishing, Inc.

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