#(but other places is still 7th of may so maybe i can cheat a bit i guess lmaooooooo)

[gxtzeizm]

okay serious tak tipu, tak kisah laaa berapa banyak jenis lagu aku selalu dengar (ye aku tahu aku random sangat) tapi bila pasang je lagu jiwang rock kapak 90an, fuhhhhh dia punya rasa memang lain macam <33

[tigerkirby215]

5e Seraphine, the Starry-Eyed Songstress build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Jennifer Wuestling. Made for Riot Games.)

I mean I’m going to have to build her eventually, right? Honestly Tasha’s Cauldron comes out tomorrow so I may as well take a bit of a cheat day and make a build for the new champ. I mean I still have to and pick out a bunch of spells so at least I’m doing that?

Samira build is going to come out sometime in the year 3587 lol.

GOALS

Lookin' for a song in everything I meet! - Seraphine is a stage performer, rallying the whole crowd into song to make it loud and proud!

You're all breathtaking! - Seraphine can unite everyone around her with shields and heals. COUGH SONA COUGH.

Sing it with me! - When the time comes Seraphine can bring the whole world closer together! Good thing she isn’t mute.

RACE

I would really love to do a funny joke and say that Seraphine is a Tiefling or an Orc or something but no: she’s a Human. I can’t even justify any of the Eberron races so we’ll just be going for good ol’ Variant Human.

As a human you can increase two ability scores of your choice: pump up your Charisma and Dexterity to keep fit and beautiful. You can also learn a skill of your choice and for hearing so strong you can hear the voices of a dying nation inside your special necklace take Perception proficiency. You can also take any language of your choice so I’d suggest one that fits with your group, or whichever one you think is Korean. Actually I think Seraphine sung in Chinese which also made people mad? Man Riot can’t stop making her controversial, huhn?

But of course the main appeal of Variant Human is the free feat at level 1. I think Alert is pretty good for mimicking super sensitive hearing. Along with a +5 bonus to initiative you can’t be surprised nor can you be snuck up on. Being able to hear everyone has its perks, huhn?

ABILITY SCORES

15; CHARISMA - If you’re gonna get the crowd to adore you you’ve gotta look the part.

14; CONSTITUTION - I don’t care if Seraphine is a squishy midlane mage we simply don’t need anything else more. Feel free to swap this out with a different stat if you want better roleplay but worse health.

13; DEXTERITY - You need to be able to keep your balance on a moving platform as well as be able to dance along with the K/DA crew.

12; WISDOM - Seraphine’s big thing is being able to hear the emotions of everyone. Knowing what makes people tick is Insight, which is a Wisdom skill.

10; INTELLIGENCE - Seraphine is just your average, everyday girl. Ditzy and a little clueless.

8; STRENGTH - Seraphine can best be described as “petite.” Muscles in the chest hurt your nice soprano.

BACKGROUND

Now you may not know this but Seraphine is a singer, which is a type of Entertainer. As an Entertainer you get proficiency in Performance (obviously) and Acrobatics as well as a music instrument of your choice (Indie Seraphine plays guitar so grab a Lute) and a Disguise Kit, so maybe you can disguise the fact that you’re a copy of So...

Being the premier superstar of Piltover means that you get to tour around a lot By Popular Demand. You can perform in exchange for a place to stay, and doing so will get people to notice you! "Music helps you keep your head up."

(Artist unknown. Blame LoL Wiki. Artwork made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - BARD 1

YOU MAY BE SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT SERAPHINE IS A BARD. As a Bard you get proficiency in three skills as well as three instruments! Choose whatever instruments you want (you mostly sing, and the majority of magical instruments are Lutes anyways which you’re already proficient in) (my secret advice? Pan Flutes and Horns have a few magic instruments) but for your skills take Insight to hear the crowd, Persuasion to rally the crowd, and Arcana to learn why your magic crystal is screaming.

You also get Bardic Inspiration! Seraphine talks about being inspired so she can inspire others, and you can inspire your allies with a d6 to add to Attack Rolls, Saving Throws, and Skill Checks!

But of course Bards are spellcasters with Spellcasting too! You can learn two cantrips from the Bard list: Prestidigitation will let you get some special effects on stage and Vicious Mockery doesn’t have to be mockery... It would just be a lot cooler if it was.

You also learn four spells from the Bard list: Comprehend Languages will let you understand everyone’s song, and Faerie Fire will let you light up their life. On the more unnerving end Dissonant Whispers will let folk listen to your crystal, and Detect Magic will let you tell exactly what kind of magic you’re hearing. That’s weird: why is the Hextech crystal radiating Necromancy?

LEVEL 2 - BARD 2

Second level Bards are Jack of All Trades, being able to add half their proficiency bonus to any skill check. Because you see the rhythm in everything! Additionally you get Song of Rest, helping your friends take a break and recover more health during short rests.

But most importantly you get another spell! Another way to cheer someone up is to give them a good laugh, and Tasha’s Hideous Laughter will make them do just that! Maybe they’re laughing about the fact that Riot keeps insisting your not a copy of Sona? Oh don’t worry the jabs at Seraphine as a character are just gonna keep coming.

LEVEL 3 - BARD 3

Third level Bards get Expertise in two skills: choose Insight to hear the souls of both cities, and Performance because... yeah duh. You don’t become famous in a day.

But much more importantly you get your choice of Bard College, and for the rich and fabulous the College of Glamour will make sure everyone loves you! You can now officially captivate the whole audience (up to your Charisma modifier) with your Enthralling Performance, charming them and making them idolize you and defend you on Twitter. To both shield your allies and speed them up with Surround Sound Mantle of Inspiration takes a Bonus Action to give them Temporary Hitpoints and let them take a reaction to move out of danger. Yeah this was pretty much on a silver platter for me so I figured I’d take it.

You can also learn another spell and for an effective Beat Drop take Hold Person, rooting them in place for long enough that your ADC can do their magic.

LEVEL 4 - BARD 4

4th level comes with your first Ability Score Improvement. Charisma is pretty much everything for us now so pumping that up would be helpful!

You can also learn another spell and another cantrip! For your cantrip Dancing Lights will let you light up your stage and also pulls double duty by letting your dumb human eyes see in the dark. As for leveled spells Suggestion is a more direct form of emotional manipulation, suggesting actions for the other person to take. These actions can’t be directly harmful or against what the character would normally do, but “you should buy my $30 release skin” is a fairly ordinary request, right?

(Picture from Seraphine’s Twitter. Yup Seraphine is definitely real.)

LEVEL 5 - BARD 5

5th level Bards get Font of Inspiration, allowing their Bardic Inspiration to come back on a Short rest instead of a Long rest. This is great because your Bardic Inspiration die also increases to a d8, increasing your Mantle of Inspiration Temp HP too!

You can also learn third level spells but the keyword here is can because I’m actually going to stick at second to take spells like Calm Emotions. Man you’ll never guess what this spell does.

While Calm Emotions is a nice spell feel free to deviate from my builds as you see fit. Like seriously a temporary ceasefire is nice but so is a huge Fear cone.

LEVEL 6 - BARD 6

6th level Glamour Bards can make people dance like they have a magical instrument from Ionia. Mantle of Majesty lets you Concentrate on a not-spell once per Long Rest and get the ability to cast the Command actual-spell as a Bonus Action for one minute. Command lets you make one word commands at your enemy as long as they can understand you and you aren’t asking them to do something harmful to themselves. So commands like “Dance!” “Sing!” and “Cheer!” are all viable (though perhaps not effective in a teamfight.)

You can also add another spell to your spell list but again the third level Bard spells aren’t too enticing to me, so take Enthrall to make sure they concentrate on you and you alone.

Oh and you get Countercharm, letting you use an action to give allies against Frightening and Charming effects. Or they could buy some Tenacity. Or you could get a Paladin.

LEVEL 7 - BARD 7

7th level Bards get 4th level spells and Confusion will get the crowd mixed up in the noise, resulting in a cacophony that would sound like unbearable noise to most. Because it is unbearable noise. But at least your friends can fight them in the madness.

LEVEL 8 - BARD 8

8th level Bards get another Ability Score Improvement. Do you know what’s helpful for a class based entirely on Charisma? Maxed out Charisma!

You know what else is helpful? Charm Monster, so you can talk to any crystal scorpions that might be looking for their family. I mean, assuming the Brackern speak human.

(Picture from Seraphine’s Twitter. Yup Seraphine is definitely real.)

LEVEL 9 - BARD 9

9th level sees your Song of Rest increase to a d8. Does this ability scale really poorly? Yeah kinda.

At least you get 5th level spells now. If you want some high notes that’ll dance around you Animate Objects will let you make a bunch of tiny objects to hit your foes! Honestly at this point all the Enchantment spells become uhhh... evil? So we have to go for a different school if we want “good” spells.

LEVEL 10 - BARD 10

10th level Bards get Expertise in two more skills: Persuasion will help you shift the hearts of a nation. Take whatever skill you want as your secondary one since it honestly doesn’t matter too much. (I personally opted for Perception.)

But more importantly it’s Magical Secrets time! This will let you get any spell from any class’ spell list and add it to your own! Most of the time when you get this feature you want to grab some stuff at the max level you can cast but I’m actually going to go down to third level for some support and buffs! For a healing aura around you take Aura of Vitality from the Paladin spell list. To quickly charm a crowd Incite Greed will force everyone to be charmed by you as they want to see your 50 dollar Brackern Corpse... I mean Hextech crystal.

Along with your two Magical Secrets you also get another cantrip. Message is always good to keep plans in team chat.

LEVEL 11 - BARD 11

11th level Bards get 6th level spells like Otto's Irresistible Dance, which forces everyone to get into the rhythm! It’s much harder to fight when you’re dancing: it’s like being stunned! Good thing only you can force a stunning dance on enemies.

LEVEL 12 - BARD 12

12th level Bards get an Ability Score Improvement but now that your Charisma is maxed you can grab Inspiring Leader to rally everyone together for an awesome performance!

(Artist unknown. Blame LoL Wiki. Artwork made for Riot Games.)

LEVEL 13 - BARD 13

13th level Bards see their Song of Rest increase to a d10, and this is the point where I make a joke about Song of Rest scaling poorly.

You at least get 7th level spells, and because none of these really fit Seraphine I’m going to suggest Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion for a K/DA stage. But again I need to remind people that I’m picking options for RP and you’re welcome to build the character however you want. Take what you think will be useful and make your own song!

LEVEL 14 - BARD 14

14th level Eloquence Bards have Unbreakable Majesty! As a Bonus Action you can put on your Ultimate Skin to force enemies to make Charisma saves if they try to attack you. If they fail, they’ll target someone else! This is a great way to keep the damage off you since you don’t exactly have great HP or AC. Do remember that it only lasts for a minute though, but you can get it back at the end of a Short or Long rest.

Additionally you get two more Magical Secrets! If you want to sing to enemies far and long (but maybe not Wide) Gravity Fissure is a Dunamancy spell that forces everyone in a line to take a massive amount of damage and be pulled to the center of the spell.

Now that you got your ultimate the world is honestly your oyster. My recommendation to get a crowd to put their hands up would be Chain Lightning, but that’s more because the spell is good than because it fits Sera.

LEVEL 15 - BARD 15

15th levels get their maximum Bardic Inspiration die of a d12! This also means that your Mantle of Inspiration will now give everyone 15 temporary hitpoints! "Harmonize!"

LoL Wiki doesn’t let me link to voice lines anymore and that’s a true crime.

And hey; 8th level spells! If you want to make some Gamers™ mad about your “cash grab” Twitter account just inflict them with Feeblemind so they can spam pictures of Skarner like the marketing department gets to choose what the champion designers make. Because remember: even if Seraphine isn’t real the people pretending to be her are, so don’t be an ass please!

LEVEL 16 - BARD 16

Who likes ASIs? We haven’t used our hyper-sensitive hearing enough so take the Observant feat for a +1 to Wisdom and a +5 to passive Perception and Investigation. And the ability to pick up on lyrics by reading people’s lips!

Are there more useful feats? Yeah, but we build for character here. If you want a powerbuild check out Reddit.

(Picture from Seraphine’s Twitter. Yup Seraphine is definitely real.)

LEVEL 17 - BARD 17

17th level Bards get to pretend that Song of Rest is a good ability! It’s a d12 now so I’m sure it’s useful now that your party all have around 100 HP!

But you finally get access to your mythical 9th level spells! Honestly all the options are great for a girl who has everything, but I’m going to go for the fun Music Video option of True Polymorph. Turn Akali into a dragon! Turn Evelynn into a demon! Turn Skarner into a battery! The possibilities are endless! (Unlike the #BrackernRights memes.)

LEVEL 18 - BARD 18

18th level Bards get their last two Magical Secrets. This is also the last two spells you’ll be getting so better make them count! Of course the best way to make a spell count is to Wish for anything. With this you can finally unite Piltover and Zaun, as long as you believe enough! Or you can bring back Skarner’s family...

For something a little more in-character and a lot more immediately practical: Mass Heal is the perfect Catch-22 to negate any burst. A burst of 700 HP to everyone is never not useful for a bit of Redemption.

LEVEL 19 - BARD 19

19th level Bards get their last Ability Score Improvement: we have an uneven Wisdom score thanks to our last Feat so eh. May as well take Resilient Wisdom for better saving throws and even scores.

LEVEL 20 - BARD 20

20th level Bards have Superior Inspiration! When you roll initiative and have no uses of Bardic Inspiration left, you regain one use. That is literally how the ability is worded. I mean, okaaaaay? At least you can spam Mantle of Inspiration a little more?

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Whole world hears me now! - You’re a full caster with no multiclassing! 9th level spells: no strings attached! You’ve even got a nice spread between Concentration spells and Non-Concentration spells, as well as both utility and combat spells.

Everyone fights to be heard; I'll fight to listen - Being a Bard means you’re good at just about everything, and particularly good at a select few things. 29 Passive Perception? +17 to Persuasion?

We've only just met and I'm already inspired - Who would’ve guessed that a Support class built to support well would be a good support? You’ve got charms, heals, and CC a plenty along with Inspiring Leader to bolster everyone before a battle and Mantle of Inspiration to keep everyone moving with the music!

CONS

Stage fright? Never heard of it - A lot of your BADDEST™ toys are locked behind big spell slots. You’ve only got two 6th level slots, and just one 9th level slot despite having three different 9th level spells to choose from. Again feel free to build your spell list however you want as I just picked what fit in character.

Pretend it's a big rehearsal - Your DEX is meh, your CON is meh. 140 HP isn’t godawful but it isn’t great when you’ll likely have 14 AC at best with Studded Leather. You know what’s really hot right now? Tattoos. See if your DM’s a cool dude who’ll pass you a Rare Barrier Tattoo from Tasha’s to essentially get Medium Armor! Elven Chain is also nice and pretty.

Joy's too quiet without sorrow on the downbeat - I don’t want to make two points related to your stats but they’re the only thing that’s really hurting in this build. Your only good stat is Charisma: and everything else ranges from meh (+2 in DEX / WIS / CON) to bad (0 in INT, -1 in STR.) While you’ll still be able to roleplay with Jack of All Trades skills your Saving Throws hurt. Your concentration is bad and anything heavy will break your petite spine in two. Luckily INT saves aren’t common but anything Strength or Constitution based will quickly put an end to your performance.

Uniting the world in song isn’t easy, but if anyone can do it it’s you. Harmonize, move with the rhythm, and unite everyone through song. There’s nothing you can’t do, and no one can bring you down down down down down down. Well, except perhaps an angry crystal scorpion monster and his army of Twitter followers.

(Artist unknown. Blame LoL Wiki. Artwork made for Riot Games.)

[friendshipcampaign]

Session Recap 8/31/19: Gathering Eyes

Deveron looked around before opening his mouth and saying, in Quest’s voice thanks to his kenku mimicry, “This is a beautiful sword here, but I think that someone may have been a little naughty. Can you tell me which way to the Zizisvoynis’?”

Voski thanked him and turned to go, giving him a piece of gold, but Deveron reached out and grabbed her sleeve, pulling out a candle stub. He spoke a word that seemed to be a magical cue, causing the wax to melt in his hand and form a figurine of Eckjeth Siek. He held up a talon and spoke in her voice now, recounting her asking him some questions about whether he’d seen Quest. He then pointed and held up a second finger, pantomiming as if casting a spell, and spoke again. The voice still sounded like Eckjeth’s, but was definitely not her usual tone. There was a strange edge to it.

“The tiefling Quest told you nothing when she came here into the Guild House on the night of Blomhath the 7th. She looked at Truthseeker, was satisfied, and left. Do you understand?”

Deveron stowed the wax away in his pocket. Voski gave him a nod and another piece of gold. He looked scared. She thanked him, sounding cheerful, for answering her questions about guild operations, before turning to the others and saying they should be on their way.

As the party made their way to their next destination, they shared what they had learned with each other -- both about Quest and Eckjeth (and whatever may have happened to her), and about the figures Kriv and Erwyn had seen watching the party. As they talked about the connection to the Zizisvoynis, Ditto asked if anyone else had felt like Lomik was as interested in learning stuff about them as they were learning information from them. As they talked about it, Erwyn spoke up and said he’d just had a concerning thought. He explained that the symptoms of Lomik’s mysterious illness reminded him somewhat of what he’d gone through when he started learning Abyssal. Their refusal of Kriv’s offer of healing, which he knew from experience wouldn’t work, might have been meant to disguise that fact.

The group swung by the DPL’s temporary headquarters again and this time were greeted by the cleric Thodri, who looked fairly haggard but waved as they walked in. After some small talk, Kriv explained that Erwyn had something he wanted to speak with her about. She asked, trying to provide an excuse to speak more privately, if they had a pile of bones for her to look at outside. Kriv said they didn’t but Voski, catching her drift, immediately added that she had a feather from one of the pigeons that might be worth seeing in the lamplight outdoors.

Once they’d stepped outside, Erwyn nervously explained that he was hoping to find out if Creed was alright or still with the organization. Thodri’s face fell when he mentioned Creed’s name. She said that he had come to Veritas with the rest. She’d been with him underneath the city investigating some of the subterranean tunnels the demons were hiding in, when they were ambushed by a large number of them. Apparently he’d been grabbed by a demon with some adhesive quality, then pushed her out of the way before the struggle brought the roof of the tunnel down. They’d checked with the Stormcrows, who said he was still alive, but after what she’d seen she was doubtful. Though it was clear that Thodri was legitimately upset, Erwyn got the impression that she was maybe not telling the entire story. He didn’t choose to pry, however.

“Any luck with that feather?” Thodri said after a pause.

“You know, it’s the darnedest thing; I think this is one of my own quills,” Voski said. “Would you like it?”

The party left Thodri to her work and headed to their next destination. When they arrived at the Pig’s Eye tavern, Ditto approached the bar and asked for something large and full of alcohol. Kriv said he wanted the same -- but sized for him, not Ditto, he added. Voski handed Frileg a lime she’d plucked off the tree now growing in the floor of the Fox & Hellhound, and asked if she could do anything interesting with it in a cocktail. When asked when he wanted, Erwyn stammered for a moment before asking if he could have a glass of milk. Frileg gave him an odd look at the request, but nonetheless obliged.

After ordering some food, Ditto spotted Nilo and Clarity at a nearby table and sat down to talk with them. Nilo asked her if she was still doing her little sparks and magic and stuff and she laughed, saying she dabbled. She then conjured a really fancy hat and placed it on his head. When Clarity commented that it was pretty, Ditto dismissed the hat to conjure a different one to give to her. Nilo then leaned in and told her that he was potentially looking into a “venture” that might require someone with some magical expertise. He added that he’d originally written it off, but had learned some things that might help, and that he was sort of hoping it would allow him to get himself and Clarity out of town for good.

Ditto sent Nilo a Message asking if he could clarify more if they spoke via the spell -- which impressed him greatly. He told her that when the breach happened, a store in the arcane district called Mystic Maggie’s had gone under along with some of the other shops now stuck in the exclusion zone. It had carried a stock of arcane-grade gemstones worth a great amount of money. Nilo had met up the other day with a gnome named Polly, Maggie’s former assistant, who’d given him some tips on getting inside the shop and the key she’d always used to get inside.

Ditto expressed some reservations about the idea, but asked Nilo if he knew anything about who was looking to buy that sort of thing. He mentioned hearing word of a couple of folks from out of town who were asking around for that kind of thing -- a half-elf man who didn’t give any affiliations, and a dwarven woman who didn’t give her name but who wore a pin bearing the symbol of a rat with a knotted tail. Ditto told him she was still nervous, due to her own experiences with bad things happening with magic items. However, for the same reason she also didn’t want them ending up in the hands of someone bad, so she would consider the idea.

“Would it be you, me, and Clarity?” she asked. “‘Cause I’m thinking about my friends, and I know one of them who would definitely be in, one who definitely wouldn’t be, another who probably wouldn’t, and the other is constantly a mystery to me.”

Nilo said they might have another friend along, although it would help if they had someone who could heal. She said she needed some time to think, but that she’d talk it over with her friends, and that she was pretty sure she wanted in somehow. She also impressed on him that he probably wanted to warn any of his tiefling friends in the city to be really careful to avoid encounters with law enforcement for the time being.

At the bar, Voski casually inquired if she could hop up on stage and play some music, despite her lack of guild membership. With Frileg’s stoic approval, she took a seat and began to play. She went through a variety of songs, from local favorites to an old Umedashi drinking tune to even a few show tunes -- which Crispian Hue sang along to over at his table, badly and somewhat weepily. Amaranth, sitting with the boys at the bar, excitedly shouted to anyone who would listen that it was her friend up onstage.

The orc Amaranth had been talking with the other night was playing a game with another patron over in the corner, but eventually walked over to Amaranth and asked if she was going to go for that second Magma Mephit this time around. Amaranth asked her name this time and the orc told her that around these parts she went by Sparrow, as she was the little bird who told people things. When Amaranth laughed and said it was a cute name, Kriv snorted.

After chatting for a bit, Amaranth slipped into Thieves’ Cant to ask Sparrow if she knew anything about missing tieflings in the city. Sparrow replied that all she was aware of was to warn people to stay away from the workhouse, though she knew of many individuals who’d gone missing. Apparently the official word from the guards was always that they’d been transferred, but no one ever saw them getting moved elsewhere. Sparrow asked if she’d reached out to the Obsidian Shard. Amaranth said they had some concerns about whose pockets they might be in, though Sparrow assured her she’d never heard any evidence they had anything other than individual clients. She told her she’d let her know if she learned anything more about the tieflings.

Amaranth announced, in Common once more, that she was going to order another of the Magma Mephits. She asked Kriv if he wanted in and he agreed reluctantly. Erwyn, still next to them and sipping his milk, looked concerned as they and Sparrow drank the spicy drinks. This time, Amaranth took the heat pretty well, impressing Sparrow a little. Kriv commented that he was fine as well, but probably wouldn’t order it again. When he mentioned “cheating” via Bahamut as he was protected from poison, Sparrow seemed amused -- particularly when he elaborated that he could also sober himself up immediately when needed. Erwyn was incredulous over the whole situation but Kriv assured him it would come in handy someday.

“I’m not criticizing your abilities, I’m criticizing the… your…” Erwyn said.

“You okay there? Your eyes are looking a little…” Kriv said, commenting on the fact that the elf’s eyes were watering just from being near the drinks.

“Exactly!” Erwyn said.

Around the same time, Voski bought a little board of bread and cheese and a weak ale and carried them over to the table where Crispian was sitting. (She nodded politely at his construct guard, Paragon, who didn’t seem to object.) Crispian drunkenly told her that her music was beautiful, with which she agreed. She commented that it seemed like, despite his station, he was spending his time in this commoner’s tavern without irony, which he confirmed miserably.

She asked him about his family, claiming only to have a vague idea that they were involved with the guilds. He said they made constructs, but that the reason they were so successful at it was because they had a “jerk armadillo thing” (a carbuncle, most likely), which created arcane-grade gems and gifted them to the family. However, it was incredibly mean to him. When Voski asked how so, he explained that the “bastard armadillo” (a phrase that he repeated quite often during this conversation) would insult his interests and call him useless, but he wasn’t allowed to say anything that might upset it.

Crispian went on to say that  things had gotten even worse lately, though, because some new people in town were selling even bigger high-quality gems, both threatening their livelihood and making the “bastard armadillo” feel self-conscious. Apparently the creature had said that this was his fault, and his parents (who Crispian was pretty sure liked it more than him, as they’d befriended it when they were young adventurers) seemed to believe it.

“Your voice is really pretty,” he sadly commented to her, after sharing everything.

“It is,” Voski affirmed. “Can I offer you some advice?”

He nodded glumly, and Voski explained that she’d had a friend once who’d theorized there were two essential types of happiness: being generally happy with one’s life and situation, and being happy with oneself. She pointed at Kriv.

“That fellow over there? The broad-shouldered one? He’ll never be happy. It’s written all over him. But he could be happy with himself, and that solves a lot of his problems.”

Crispian asked if she could do that with everyone, pointing at Erwyn. Voski changed the subject.

She told Crispian that no matter his situation, he could still find peace with who he was, and things like his interests or presentation, which could help him gain the confidence that might be the key to interacting with the carbuncle. He asked Voski if she was making fun of him, and seemed surprised when she told him no. She could tell he was in a terrible position right now.

She asked him how serious the threat to his family’s business really was. Crispian elaborated that the newcomers were selling gems that could be used for arcane purposes, which was comparitively rare and put them in direct competition with his family. Her next suggestion was that the carbuncle might also be working through some insecurities, and that he might want to try working with it from that perspective. Crispian just insisted that it hated him.

When Voski changed tactics and asked him what it was that the carbuncle wanted and needed, he elaborated: it wanted a pretty place and nice food and to make fun of him. Ignoring the last part, Voski said she knew someone in town who was both an accomplished interior decorator and the one who’d given her that advice on happiness, who might have some thoughts that could help him improve his situation. She wrote down the name of Tress’ shop for him.

Voski commented that she saw two paths before him. Crispian immediately asked if one of them was dying miserable and alone, and she gently said that wasn’t one she’d been thinking of. She saw two paths: one where he resolved the situation and his family’s business continued running as it had under his parents, and another where he got to forge a new path for himself.

“That’s the terrifying thing about ending a relationship of any kind, personal or professional, that you’ve come to rely on,” she said, “You’re left with yourself. And you sort of have to figure out, with the remains of what you had, where you go.”

After their conversation resolved and Crispian got up to go, thanking her profusely for the conversation, Voski stayed sitting at the table, finishing the leftover cheese. After a little while another bard came in, an orc with a buzzcut and a bass they used as a lute.

Ditto continued chatting with Nilo and asked him if Korrin, who she described as a half-elf with some scales, the watch member she’d known when she lived in the city before, was still a member of the guard and if he felt like they were still a decent person. He noted that they were, and that they seemed decent. After that she walked over to the other three at the bar. Cautiously, she tasted the remains of Amaranth’s drink and felt her tongue tingling unpleasantly enough that she followed Erwyn’s example and ordered a milk.

As it started to get late, the drow woman from the other night stopped by and ordered something complicated at the bar before taking her seat in the far corner again. Noting this, Ditto tried casting Detect Thoughts again and heard her thinking about how boring it was sitting in the warehouse all the time, and that she was again waiting for someone to show up. She then directed the spell towards a particularly nervous-looking man several members of the party had noted throughout the evening. From him she mostly got paranoid rambling, wondering if any more people had been “replaced by doppelgängers” as part of a “conspiracy to cover up the High Temple.”

Voski wandered over to the drow woman, sat down uninvited, and commented that whoever she was waiting on must be really amazing for her to come back again after being stood up. This startled the drow, and her form seemed almost to wobble a little in response. She snapped that Voski had no reason to poke into her business, but Voski commented that she simply liked to watch out for “others” -- which seemed to cautiously pique the other woman’s interest. Voski then carefully pulled away a small piece of her armor on her right arm, near the elbow, to reveal a small, gold coin-sized patch of her scales that was discolored an ugly green.

“You should sometimes be careful about who you put that much trust in, even if you’re thrilled to have it at the time,” she said.

Voski asked the drow who or what she was waiting for here, but got only cryptic answers. The dragonborn cautioned that something would find her if she spent too long in Veritas, before saying that her complicated drink looked good. The drow said it was an attempt to mimic some of the flavors of the Underdark and offered to give her the recipe. She said she’d love that. As they parted, Voski told the other woman that she hoped she wouldn’t see her in the Pig’s Eye again.

Noticing this conversation was happening, Ditto cast another Detect Thoughts at the drow while Voski spoke with her. She mostly got the impression that she was intrigued by the dragonborn -- and approved of her clothing and make-up -- but was a little too distrustful to disclose anything of importance to her. After Voski rejoined the rest of the group, Ditto then slipped away to Send a message to Deveron asking if they were okay or if they needed help, and if the party should meet them somewhere or stay away.

“Stay away,” she got back, and then in two other voices: “Everything’s mostly fine, you know?” and “Doesn’t it look a little ominous out there?”

As the party headed out, Nilo waved at Ditto and said he’d see her tomorrow. There were a few demon pigeons outside, flocking and keeping pace a little behind the party -- who had all donned their protective masks -- as they walked. Voski started playing a Countercharm as they walked. When they arrived at the Fox & Hellhound, the entire roof of the inn was covered with a flock of the pigeon-like quasits. As the party stepped inside, all of them raised their wings to reveal many, watching eyes hidden below.

Jerik, who was at the front desk, looked at the group suspiciously as they walked in, whispering among themselves about the situation. Kriv commented that the pigeons outside were just unnerving, and Jerik pointed out they weren’t doing this to all the other inns on the street. He kept his eyes on the group as they headed upstairs.

As the others made their way to the boys’ room, Amaranth ducked into the other one briefly to check on Tenny, who had curled up sleepily with Tiktik and startled awake when she poked her head in to say hello. The girl told her she was okay and she went to talk with the others. Telepathically, Ditto asked Tiktik if anything had happened while they were gone and they had nothing to report. Once everyone was all together in the other room, Amaranth commented that she had a bad feeling she knew what the demons were interested in, looking meaningfully at Erwyn. Kriv commented they should probably think about moving locations, and specifically that they should drop Tenny off somewhere else, using the demiplane to move her secretly.

Ditto tried a Sending to Nilo to ask if he knew of anywhere that might be a safe place to hide Tenny while the party explored their own options.

“Do you know a safe, secure, private place for a child to stay that’s not The Fox & Hellhound or the Slumbering Grell?” she asked him.

“Wow! Hey Ditto! How are you doing that?” she got back after a moment, “I guess you can’t talk back, huh? Well, I know a few places like that here, there’s--”

The reply cut off. Ditto sighed and cast Sending again.

“Should have said, you only have twenty-five words, and I can’t do this again tonight. Please say a name?”

There was some hesitation, but she got back: “Well, it ain’t very traditional, but Grankhul’s Rest has some real good staff there. There’s also the Thirsty Sage.”

She let the other’s know what she’d heard, commenting that Grankhul’s Rest actually seemed like a pretty good idea, seeing as they now knew the people who ran it. The rest of the group agreed it sounded like a decent plan. Voski asked Ditto about Nilo’s comment about seeing her tomorrow, and she explained a little about the job he’d described to her. When the others started to ask a bit more about it, however, and she brought up the potential buyers in town that Nilo had mentioned, both Amaranth and Erwyn seemed distressed -- especially Amaranth, who paled dramatically at the mention of the symbol of the rat with the knotted tail.

[ohsomanylovelywords]

(Neville/Hannah) Something More - Chapter 3: Not as Planned

A/N: The long-awaited (mostly just by me) third chapter is finally here. It has literally been almost 7 years (!) since I updated this story. I'm unfortunately plagued with two of the worst writer qualities: I'm a huge procrastinator and a total perfectionist. But I'm trying to get back into writing, so I can move on to the next chapter (of this fanfic and the next chapter in my writing).

I also want to extend a special thank you to whoever wrote my first passive-aggressive comment on FF.net (or at least that's what I like to call it) back in 2013 and in response to your question: I'm not stopping yet. This was the first fanfic I ever wrote and I'm still incredibly proud of it.

I think the unfinished business of it all was keeping me from moving forward, but I still have so many more words I want to write. For July NaNoWriMo, I'm trying to finish and post some of my drafts and write some new stories, too.

You could probably read this chapter as the beginning of the story because this is where the conflict starts, but I also wrote two chapters before this, which could serve as a prologue, introducing you to the minds of the two main characters and the personalities of the side characters.

Ideally, I would love to write at least 3 more chapters spanning from 4th to 7th year, one more for 4th, one combining 5th and 6th, and then one for 7th, but maybe an epilogue, too.

As always, I'm incredibly grateful for every read, favorite, kudos, review, and follow.

Disclaimer: Definitely not J.K. Rowling. I am merely borrowing her characters for my own enjoyment (and hopefully yours).

Link: Read the story from the beginning on Ao3.

---

Hannah was seated on the other side of the greenhouse, her chair edged up against the window and her face illuminated by the morning light.

Neville started at the sound of his name. "Mr. Longbottom." Scanning her list again, Professor Sprout smiled before adding, "and Miss Abbott." Extending an appreciative nod toward her top two students, she continued down the list of partners.

Neville's eyes instinctively returned to Hannah's seat by the window. Catching his eye, she grinned and raised her hand, quill in tow. He only managed a quick nod in response before her attention shifted elsewhere (or more specifically, to Ernie Macmillan). Shaking his head, to dispel wandering thoughts, and wandering eyes, Neville attended to his practically nonexistent notes by hastily copying the instructions from the board.

"Working with Hannah, huh?" Seamus commented, with a meaningful nudge in his side. Neville's ears burned at the reminder of his crush. Admitting he fancied Hannah Abbott may have been a mistake.

Dean, sitting close enough to overhear, rolled his eyes at Seamus' waggling eyebrows. Regardless, he grinned and slapped Neville on the back, offering whispered words of encouragement: "Go get her, Neville."

Neville only gulped in response. He was still working on getting her smile out of his system. After four years, they had yet to have a proper conversation.

In his short-lived fame their first year, Hannah had congratulated him on winning the final ten House points, pushing Gryffindor past Slytherin in the House Cup for the first time in years. In his haste, he stuttered out, "You're wel—thanks, um." Hannah just smiled. Then, she ran off to join the other students who had whooped and cheered when Dumbledore awarded Neville. Beyond offering her a quill or confirming an assignment due date, he hadn't actually talked with her since first year.

Neville distractedly collected his materials while searching his mind for conversation topics. Herbology? He definitely knew a thing or two about plants, but that might be a bit redundant. Quidditch? Though, to be honest, he didn't follow the sport all too closely. The Triwizard Tournament? Or maybe—

He looked up from his plant to see Hannah smiling down at him. The words hitched in his throat.

Instinctively, he pulled the plant a few inches closer. Just a little more oxygen. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Hey, partner," she offered, unperturbed by his shyness.

"H-hey," he managed.

As she sat down, he racked his brain for something more substantial. "So, uh, the Triwizard Tournament. Should be exciting, yeah?"

Hannah tensed. Oblivious to her discomfort, Neville continued. "The two other schools seem interesting, to say the least. Durmstrang are a right bit intimidating, especially that Viktor Krum. And the Beauxbaton lot are quite good-loo— er, graceful."

He coughed awkwardly, not catching her eye. Though, her mind was elsewhere. "And then, of course, there's Harry being in it and all. Poor bloke."

Hannah's silence finally broke.

---

Harry Potter. The fourth champion.

The would-be applause was replaced by stunned silence, the spell unbroken until Dumbledore spoke.

"Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?"*

Every eye followed Dumbledore's calm gaze. Harry, no longer hidden by Ron Weasley's lanky frame, rose to his feet. Seemingly in a daze, he walked forward. Incessant muttering followed him.

Colin Creevey attempted a late slow-clap but was quickly silenced by Ron and Hermione. The latter, frantically shaking her head and the former, glaring.

Ravenclaw rationalized Harry was either extraordinarily intelligent or dangerously stupid.

Slytherin had already written off the Triwizard Tournament. None of their house had been chosen after all.

Gryffindor was shocked. And mostly divided.

Their initial jubilation marred, Hufflepuff stubbornly refused to welcome the additional Hogwarts champion.

---

"Poor bloke?" Hannah echoed hollowly.

Neville faltered. "Well, yeah, I mean, who'd want to be in a tournament likely to cause their premature death?"

"Hmph. Well, it's certainly convenient. Not the first time he's risked death to play the hero."

Neville only stared. He had never heard Hannah talk badly of Harry—or anyone else, for that matter.

"That's an— interesting take on it," Neville acquiesced.

"What's interesting is Harry Potter, of all people, found a way into the Triwizard Tournament." She calmly pulled on her gloves as she said this, as if it were a completely natural statement, an undeniable frustration.

Hannah's voice never grew above a whisper, but with each new word, she became increasingly agitated. "It's incredibly interesting the "Boy Who Lived" couldn't stand to let someone else have the glory for once in his life—and Cedric worked his arse off for seven years to deserve a place in the tournament but Harry manages to cheat his way in an—"

"Wait, what? You can't really think that, can you?" Neville remarked incredulously, and loudly.

Sensing a possible commotion, Professor Sprout shot them a puzzled look, quietly cautioning them to get back to work. Neville nodded apologetically.

He wanted to shoot Hannah an equally perplexed look, but she was decidedly ignoring him, pretending to pore over her notes. Taking her lead, he focused on the familiar lavender flowers sprouting from the plant in front of them. Aconite, more commonly referred to as wolfsbane.

Neville's mind automatically returned to that first day of Defence Against the Dark Arts last year. His professor's warm smile. And the hearty laughter that had escaped from his own lips. That day Professor Lupin had awoken his then-dormant self-esteem.

His "unfortunate condition" revealed, Lupin was forced to resign. Neville found himself trying a little harder than usual in Potions. Maybe he could find a way to use this plant's properties to make a stronger, more effective potion. If only he could help Lupin conquer his fears the way the professor had helped Neville conquer his.

The boggart in the cupboard. Even before it took shape, Neville knew what it would be, who it would be. Professor Snape had taunted and abused him mercilessly over the years. According to Snape, he was a pathetic imbecile, barely playing at being a wizard.

"Riddikulus!" With a snap, Snape stumbled across the room in Gran's clothes, the oversized vulture hat teetering on his head. The whole classroom erupted with laughter. And Lupin's warm smile lit up his face, and for the first time, he looked young again. For once, Neville was able to make Snape look stupid, instead of the other way around. For one brilliant moment, Neville was in control.

Pulling himself back to the task at hand, Neville realized he needed to face his fears again. "Riddikulus," he whispered.

"What?" Hannah remarked sharply.

"Oh, no, that was just—," but Neville surprised them both when he said, "Ridiculous. What you said. Harry would never do that. Did you get all that from Ernie Macmillan?"

Hannah's cheeks turned a brilliant shade of red, whether from raw anger or embarrassment that Neville had called her out for her close relationship with Ernie Macmillan, though Neville vaguely hoped for the former.

---

"I just don't get why people think Harry is so great," Ernie continued. "He's always trying to be the hero and we all have to suffer for it. He literally almost caused Justin to die when the Chamber of Secrets opened our second year."

"Ernie," Susan warned him gently, glancing at Justin.

Justin shrugged off the concern. "I'm fine. It's not like Harry personally petrified me. It wasn't really his fault that time."

"Yeah, whatever. My point remains; he always needs to be the center of attention. Right, Hannah?"

Her mouth stuffed with food, Hannah nodded aggressively in support of her best friend.

"See? This is why Hannah's the perfect girl. She's always loyal, a Hufflepuff through and through." Ernie directed a bright smile at Hannah before returning to his food.

Turning sharply to face her, Megan's nose ring glinted even brighter in the Great Hall's candlelight.

Hannah had first glimpsed it in the sports section of the Daily Prophet. The photo showed her sister, Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies, triumphantly raising the team's trophy from a summer tournament win. Similarly, Megan lifted her head to show off her shiny, new trophy of rebellion, their mother smiling tensely at her side.

"Forget to mention something?" The short line of parchment was delivered via owl, alongside the article clipping, ripped from that day's Daily Prophet.

Megan responded only a few hours later:

Thanks for the note, Han. Hope you're having a nice summer, too. Mine's been simply lovely. I'm spending lots of quality time with my family.

Just kidding, I'll get to the point. (It actually has been pretty all right, though.) Basically, I woke up one morning, decided to explore Muggle London, walked past a tattoo shop, and you can probably figure out the rest. (Disclaimer: I did not get a tattoo. Yet. I wanted something a bit more immediately visible.) What can I say? Impulsive decisions are kind of my thing, you know? Regrets? None.

By the way, your reaction was significantly less harsh than Susan's. She sent me a Howler, shocked surprise followed by mostly compliments, but still.

Unsurprisingly, mum threw a fit. I'm pretty sure she was close to bribing me into never leaving my room, but dad reminded her that similar threats had never stopped me before.

Promise to tell you more soon! See you in Diagon Alley in a few days (that is if I'm ever allowed out of the house again)

P.S. Mum is currently arguing with a reporter in the fireplace. Apparently, she is willing to pay a very large sum of money to prevent Witches Weekly from releasing an exclusive statement from her clearly unwell daughter ("Fuck Quidditch.")

Hannah knew her mother's tight-lipped smile came with an air of practiced grace. "She's just going through a phase," she assured herself and anyone else who cared to listen (or more likely, happened to make a passing remark about her youngest daughter). If that were the case, Megan had been going through a phase for quite some time, at least since she had arrived at Hogwarts.

P.P.S. I expect to hear more news about you two love birds once we can finally talk in-person.

Now, Megan gave her a meaningful look. She had been teasing her mercilessly since Hannah told her Ernie almost kissed her goodbye before leaving for his family holiday. In the moment, she hugged him, instead. They parted awkwardly after that. She still wasn't sure what to think about it. Neither acknowledged it when they reunited on the train, and they immediately returned to their typical, friendly banter. It had been more than 2 months since the almost-kiss, and they still hadn't talked about it. Hannah was admittedly relieved by that fact.

Refusing to answer Neville's question, Hannah fumed silently, attacking the wolfsbane with her shears and hacking off whole chunks of the stem in her frustration.

"Miss Abbott!" Professor Sprout let out in a shocked cry. Yet again, she was surprised to see the seemingly perfect partnership failing so miserably. "What in heavens do you think you are doing to that poor plant? The stems are the most valuable part!"

Hannah stared at the mess before her and shrugged sheepishly. Professor Sprout hummed her disapproval and shifted to observe Neville's work.

"Miss Abbott, I suggest you ask your partner," she emphasized the word with a pointed look at both students, "how to shear wolfsbane properly—Good work, Mr. Longbottom, but this should be a team effort."

Neville nodded twice, glancing at his partner with a wary expression. Setting her own plant down, Hannah begrudgingly observed Neville's technique.

Grasping the flower firmly with one gloved hand, he gently peeled away the branches, his hands gliding effortlessly across the plant's stem. She had to admit it was impressive and strangely soothing to watch.

Hannah started when Neville looked up. His eyes barely catching hers, she immediately turned away with a haughty, "Hmph." He sighed and continued working. She attempted to replicate his work, but once again, caught herself staring at his hands. They were more calloused than she would have imagined.

Professor Sprout asked Neville and Hannah to stay after class. She offered them the usually vague rebukes, then reminded them to at least review each other's notes before the next class. However, as soon as the professor walked away, Hannah quickly turned to leave.

Neville ran after her. Grabbing her arm with a loose, yet surprisingly firm, hold, Neville entreated her to wait. Not daring to look him in the face, she instead kept her gaze on his hand.

Lowering his voice, Neville insisted, "Harry would never willingly join the tournament. He'd have to be positively out of his mind."

The possible truth behind that statement pulled at the corners of her mind, but Hannah pursed her lips and ignored it. She was a Hufflepuff through and through, loyal to her house and to her friends. Cedric deserved this. And Harry had taken it away from him. Neville couldn't possibly understand.

Shaking her head, Hannah released her arm from Neville's loose grasp. She walked out of the classroom without another word.

---

Out of breath by the encounter, Neville sighed, releasing the breath he was unaware he had been holding. That did not go as planned.

[timeagainreviews]

The Eve of the Thirteenth

Recently I watched "An Unearthly Child," in preparation to write the first official article of Time and Time Again (TATA? Ok, I love that). But then it hit me that it’s a rather auspicious time to talk about the First Doctor’s first episode. With this being the eve of the first female Doctor’s first episode, it seems so appropriate. So I’m going to wait until after "The Woman Who Fell to Earth," drops.  See what I did there?

I know this blog is meant to be about revisiting episodes, but the timing is just too good. Besides, it is my blog. However, this being said, I suppose I should share my hopes and expectations for series eleven. 

Jodie Whittaker as "The Doctor"

Not since maybe Eccleston has anyone had as difficult a regeneration to overcome. While every actor new to the role feels a pressure to keep the show going, I’d say some feel it harder than others. Davison had to follow up an endearing seven-year run from Tom Baker. McGann had the pressure of trying to reestablish the show, as did Eccleston. Many people even said nobody could replace David Tennant. But the one I am reminded of the most is Patrick Troughton. Troughton was really one of those "make it or break it," Doctors. The concept of regeneration was far from established lore, it was rather a gamble.

Jodie Whittaker has a very similar weight on her shoulders. It’s another one of those "make it or break it" moments. The beauty is, I think she knows it. Everyone involved knows it. However, as much as I’ve emphasised on the pressures involved, I’m confident they chose the right woman for the job. She looks like a children’s show presenter in her costume, which is wonderfully coupled with her mad energy. For me, it’s never been about "We need a woman in the TARDIS," we need the right person in the role, and she’s perfect.

Doctor Who is the ideal show to change the gender or race of its lead. On a science fiction level, it makes total sense that the Doctor is able to change these things with ease. It’s almost laughable that it’s taken this long. It’s almost poetic. The Doctor- a man who has experienced thousands of years worth of exploration and change, still has something new to experience- womanhood. It is, as they say, about time.

The Companions

Honestly, I’m not that fussed over these companions. That’s not to say I’m disinterested or even upset with their casting. I feel confident they’ll all shine in their own ways, and live up to the show’s standard of companions. I think it’s cool that the Doctor’s friends this time around, are rather diverse. As a fan of older companions such as Wilf, or Evelyn Smythe, I am rather looking forward to Bradley Walsh as "Graham." Tamsin and Ryan both seem like they’re going to have some cute banter between the two of them. It seems pretty solid.

Many may say "That’s a pretty crowded TARDIS," but I like the bigger TARDIS crews at times, as they can be a nice way to add a new dynamic. The thing that would have actually excited me would have been a companion from the future, or past. Or even an alien companion. Not since Captain Jack, have we had anyone riding in the TARDIS who wasn’t from the present-day UK.  We got teased with it in "Asylum of the Daleks," with Oswin, and again in "The Snowmen," but then we ended up with modern day Clara Oswald. I had even hoped for Bill to be from the 80’s or 90’s. Where are the highlander companions? The Keepers of Traken? I guess Nardol sort of counts, but come on.

Chris Chibnall

Mr Chibnall is probably my biggest worry for the series. As a writer, I’ve never been all that big a fan of his episodes. "The Power of Three," was one I found particularly dreadful. When the Doctor saved the day by pointing his sonic at a screen, I felt cheated. The little cubes amounted to nothing, really. It’s not that he’s a bad writer, he’s just a bit dull. He managed to make “Dinosaurs on a Spaceship,” less exciting than the name implies. That’s probably impressive on some planets.

Overall, I think he’ll do fine, I’m just worried he’ll be a bit boring. I hadn’t worried much until he said that no old baddies would return in series eleven. Which, is fine I guess, but why not? While the Daleks and Cybermen can be really overdone (especially the Cybermen as of late), there is a wealth of villains to draw from the Doctor’s rogues' gallery. One group I’d like to see her face off against are the Axons. Whittaker’s "Godspell" evoking threads call for retro baddies!

So long as Chibnall doesn’t get too dark like he did with Torchwood (which literally felt like a little boy excited over getting to say the F-word), I’d say he’ll do fine. Parts of Torchwood were a bit "lizard brain," to its credit. Doctor Who should always have a touch of the surreal. The first episode had it. An indestructible police box, bigger on the inside, that travels anywhere in time and space? It seems normal now, but even to this day, there’s nothing quite like it. Keep the energy up, and keep it weird, you’ll do fine, Chris. It’s not like you’ll get the series cancelled again.

The New Writing Staff and Production Crew

I’ll be honest, I don’t know much anything about the writers. I’ve looked them up and read about some of their stuff, but that’s about as far as I’ve taken it. I will say however, it’s nice to see so much new blood. Men, women, people of colour, many perspectives. Doctor Who thrives on being shaken up. I’m all for it.

As for the new production crew, it’s even more of the same- happy to see someone new. I know a few people were growing tired of the whimsical look of much of the Moffat era. And at times, I kind of miss the tacky trash TV look of the RTD era. From what I’ve seen of the series 11 trailer, we’re in for something a little more grounded in reality. The cinematography looks rather simple, the sets seem plausible, if not a little dull. I’m hoping they’re hiding the big knock you on your ass sets and cinematography for the actual episodes. I would not be averse to having a show that looked as colourful as the promotional artwork we’ve been seeing. It’s gorgeous. A feast for the eyes. If the leaked TARDIS console pictures are anything to go off, I’d say they’ve kept some rather exciting secrets from us.

Segun Akinola replacing Murray Gold

Music is such an important part of Doctor Who. The theme song is both haunting and exciting: portentous of the tale about to unfold. The Radiophonic Workshop, with geniuses of sound like Delia Derbyshire and Ron Grainer, pushed not only the atmosphere of the show to greater heights but music as well. In the same vein as musique concrète, they were pioneers of electronic sound.

Upon the reveal of Akinola’s appointment as music director, I promptly sought out his SoundCloud and spent an entire afternoon listening to his stuff. I was heartened to hear he was both melodic and ambient at different times. His music is minimalist, and percussive as well. One of my biggest criticisms of Murray Gold was that he was too safe a choice. For me, he never really felt strange enough for Doctor Who.

Perhaps I am an odd duck, but I miss the days of the Third Doctor driving his bizarre car to a soundtrack of muddy synthesisers that sounded as if they wanted to murder you. The closest Gold ever came to that level of greatness was the aforementioned "Asylum of the Daleks." The music matched the tone of the episode exquisitely. I had hoped to hear more of that experimentation from him, but he never really did. Akinola seems the kind of guy who just might take us to strange places.

As we all know though, the true test will be in his imagining of the theme tune. I was never a huge fan of the Capaldi era theme. It didn’t really, slap as they say. From what I’ve heard of Akinola’s work, I’m very curious how he’s going to approach it.

Well, friends, that’s it for now. We’ve got nowt to do at this moment but wait. The next time you hear from me, it will have already happened! I hope you’re just as excited as I am! Doctor Who series 11 premieres tomorrow, the 7th of October at 6:45 pm on BBC 1!

[petrifact]

A Premature Postmortem

So, midnight December 8 PST was the deadline for completion of the adventure for the Write Your First Adventure Workshop—or rather for submission for the workshop bundle. And how did I do?

Well, the good news is I finished writing my adventure just before the the midnight deadline.

The bad news is that means I didn't finish editing, doing the layout, adding art, etc. So... yeah, I guess my adventure isn't going to be in the bundle.

(So if the deadline was December 8, why am I only posting about it now, four days later? Well, I guess because I needed a bit of a break; I've been working every day since the 8th, but have been tired enough I basically went to bed right after getting home from work each day. No doubt much of the reason I was so tired is because I pulled an all-nighter on the 7th, having the ill-advised notion that if I could get done with the writing I could quickly toss it into a file with no art or formatting and get it up on DriveThruRPG in time to submit it to the bundle, and then add art and clean up the formatting later before the bundle went public. This was a very stupid idea, and I fortunately came to my senses and realized that before I carried it out.)

What went wrong? Well, in my first post here I already covered what I thought would be the three biggest things standing in my way... and yes, they all played a part. The least important was probably the late start; yes, I started on November 1 not realizing there were onboarding activities and so had to catch up with those, but that set me back... maybe a week. It wasn't really a deciding factor.

The other two, yeah, I think they played much more significant roles. Choosing to write my first published adventure for a system I wasn't previously familiar with was... unwise. That meant I spent a lot of time reading up on the system and the gameworld and researching particular details that I could otherwise have spent, well, writing my adventure. If I'd decided to write, say, a D&D 5E adventure instead, it would have gone much faster. (I just wasn't as interested in writing a D&D 5E adventure...)

But an even larger factor may have been, well, getting carried away and letting my ambitions run away with me. The workshop suggested shooting for a simple 3500-word adventure. I can, and did, fairly easily write 3500 words in one day. But my adventure was far longer than 3500 words. In fact, let me do a quick word count (the adventure's split into separate Word files, so I have to do a word count for each file and add them together)... okay, it looks like the total word count is, uh, 28,933 words. So, you know, I only overshot the recommended word count by 25,000 words or so.

It was going to be even longer, because I was also going to include a detailed description of the village of Marshedge where the adventure takes place. I eventually decided to split that into a separate product to be released later, and focus on the adventure for now. All those details on the village aren't really necessary to run the adventure; I think the adventure and the description of the village work fine as separate products. In fact, even before I'd decided to split them up, I'd already written in my introduction that the two halves of the adventure—the description of the village, and the scenario itself—could be used separately.

So, yeah, that cut my workload in half, and was something I really should have done a lot sooner. But clearly it still wasn't enough to get it done. It didn't help that despite having Thanksgiving weekend off I got very little done then, though even if I had focused on the adventure those four days it probably wouldn't have been enough to make a difference—maybe it would have given me enough time to get the formatting done, but definitely not the art.

(And, to tell the truth, even saying that I'm done with the writing is a bit of a cheat; there are a few bits I wrote very hastily the night of the 8th just so I could say I had it all written before the deadline, but that will definitely need to be rewritten and expanded a bit before publication.)

I titled this post "A Premature Postmortem", though, because, well... it's not over. I missed the deadline for the bundle, but that doesn't mean I have to stop working on the adventure. I don't want to burn myself out, though, so I'm going to just work on it a bit each day and take my time. And now that I'm not in a huge rush anyway, I may as well go ahead and wait till I've finished the village description too and release them together.

Now, one of the next steps I'm going to take, as in I'm going to go ahead and do it as soon as I've finished this post, is to make a spreadsheet to help me with statting up characters, where I can enter their statistics and it will automatically show their hit points, strike ranks, damage bonus, and I guess spirit combat damage for those characters for which that's likely to matter. Back in the days of D&D 3.5E, I set up spreadsheets to help me stat up 3.5E NPCs and creatures, and while RuneQuest characters aren't nearly as complicated and mathy to set up as D&D 3.5E characters, constantly looking up the tables to figure out the hit points and strike ranks and damage bonuses got tedious enough that I think it's definitely worth automating it.

There are, for what it's worth, a total of 32 stat blocks in the adventure, though about half of them are spirits, animals, or monsters that don't have stat blocks as complicated as full NPCs. While all those stat blocks are finished (well, I'm going to go over them and may make some changes, but they're at least tentatively finished), if I'm going to be writing the description of the village of Marshedge, that's probably going to include a comparable number of stat blocks too, so it's still worth making the spreadsheet. Well, that, plus it'll be handy for making more RuneQuest content later.

So anyway, I'm still going to keep updating this blog, and I guess I'll keep backdating the posts corresponding to specific days of the workshop, because whether or not that was a good idea I may as well stick to it. For now, I'm going to go ahead and make that character-building spreadsheet and, eh, maybe I'll go ahead and make a start on the Marshedge village description...

Oh. Although I missed the deadline for inclusion in the bundle, I guess I should probably set some new deadline for myself so I don't just keep delaying indefinitely. Hm... the end of the year is a tempting deadline, but maybe a bit unrealistic. I think I'll aim for the end of January, for both the adventure and the village description.

And in the meantime, I ought to get started on some of the art for the adventure...

[toxoiddiamond]

T H E B A S I C S Given Name: Nam Jihun Nicknames: Julian, Jules Age: 32 Birthday: June 7th Zodiac Sign: Gemini Birthplace: Aurora, Colorado Current Location: Grand Island, Nebraska Speaks: English, Korean (he is fluent in Korean and always spoke it at home with his parents, but he doesn't speak it much anymore) Dominant Hand: Right Education: He has his Associates Degree in Automotive Technology. Occupation: Before his life got turned upside-down, he was a mechanic, a job he genuinely liked. Now that he's in a new city and planning on staying for a while, he is hoping to find a job in another garage. Vehicle: He doesn't have a car anymore, but has enough money saved up that he could get one off of Craigslist or something if he really needed to. But for now, taking buses and trains has been working out fine for him. Worldly Possessions: He left most of his possessions behind when he went on the run. Now he just has a couple changes of clothes, along with a few other necessities. Pet(s): He has never had a pet before, but always wanted one.

A P P E A R A N C E Height: 5'9" Hair: Slightly wavy and unruly, just long enough that it gets in his eyes/face if he doesn't push it back. Facial Hair: Usually has at least some facial hair, though he occasionally shaves it all off. Eye Colour: A lovely shade of brown. Skin Tone: His skin tone tends to change slightly with the seasons-- darker in the summer, paler in the winter, though he is never pasty or anything. Clothing: At the moment, he doesn't have much. A couple of t-shirts, a couple of flannels, and two pairs of jeans. He has a worn-out pair of combat boots that he wears most of the time, and a pair of even more worn-out tennis shoes in his bag as a "just in case" sort of thing. He also has a sherpa-lined denim jacket, though he doesn't often need it. Distinguishing Marks: A bunch of scars here and there on his body, most of them fairly recent, because for some mysterious reason he has found himself in a lot of fights lately~ Face Claim: Steven Yeun

H E A L T H Physical Health: He's always been in good health, but since he became a werewolf, it's been excellent. He has seemingly endless endurance and stamina, never really gets sick, and is twice as strong as he used to be. The only downside is that he doesn't sleep as well now, though he at least seems to need less sleep than before. Still, he hasn't felt fully rested since his transformation. He's also noticed that his appetite has increased, which doesn't help his food budget, but isn't too much of a problem. Physical Abilities/Limitations: Thanks to his werewolf blood, Julian is almost always warm, and does well even in very cold weather. He is also surprisingly strong, and is fast with good reflexes. However, in hot weather, he tends to slow down and be very lethargic. Addictions: He smoked as a teenager, but had managed to quit in his twenties. Of course, now that he has all these stressful things going on in his life, he has taken it up again. Allergies: No allergies, lucky for him. Mental Health: He's definitely going through some shit right now, what with being recently turned into a werewolf and dealing with all the ramifications of that. He misses his old life, and feels very isolated and lonely.

H I S T O R Y Job History: His first job was working at his dad's used car lot, helping to fix up cars and get them ready for sale, and also helping with some of the office work. After becoming a certified mechanic, he took a job in a small but reputable auto repair shop/garage. Fondest Memories: A family trip to Korea when he was a teenager. A spring break trip he went on with his friends in his freshman year of college. Various memories with his two best friends. Worst Experiences: Being attacked by a werewolf. His first transformation into a werewolf-- he doesn't remember much of it, but he remembers it was painful and he was terrified. And after his transformation, realizing that he had put everyone in his town in danger, and that he had actually killed someone.

C O M M U N I C A T I O N Speech Pace/Style: He's usually a bit soft-spoken, unless the situation calls for him to speak up. He's not exactly a smooth talker, but he doesn't stutter or stumble over his words much either. Accent: American. Even when he speaks Korean, he has a little bit of an American accent. Usual Curse Words: He doesn't curse a whole lot, but he does have a fondness for saying "Jesus Christ" or "fucking Christ" if he's frustrated.

P E R S O N A L I T Y, M I N D S E T, A N D B E L I E F S Personality Type: INFP-T Sense of Humor: Julian is pretty easily entertained. Chances are, if someone tells a joke, even if it's really bad, Julian will at least crack a smile. Habits: Laughs when he's nervous or uncomfortable. Has a hard time making eye contact, so he usually just looks at the floor or off to the side when he talks to someone, or he might focus on the other person's chin/mouth so it at least seems like he's looking at them. Quirks: He has a tendency to arrange things in order of color, or in alphabetical order. Also, there is a certain spot on the back of his neck that he has always really liked to have touched/stroked/massaged, and that has only intensified since he became a werewolf. That is definitely the best way to calm him down or help him relax~ Fears/Phobias: Public speaking-- he freezes up if he has to speak in front of more than a few people, and he absolutely hates being the center of attention. He also hates crowds/being in a crowd, and gets really tense and anxious anytime he's forced to be somewhere crowded. Strengths: Although Julian is usually a bit of a loner, he is very loyal and protective over anyone he does get close to. He would do anything for his friends and family (and let's be real here, he would do anything for Cybil as well). Julian is very level-headed, and often acts as a voice of reason. He is able to take a step back and look at things from a logical standpoint most of the time, and because of that, he gives excellent advice (though he doesn't always make the wisest decisions himself). He's a very honest person, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. Though that is sometimes a weakness for him, it can also work in his favor-- he doesn't lie, and he doesn't play games or try to hide how he feels about anyone. Flaws: Julian tends to freeze up when he's in stressful situations, or if he has to make any difficult decisions. He does not do well under pressure, and always prefers having more time to think through any decisions he may have to make. If he gets really stressed out or anxious for whatever reason, he may completely shut down, not really hearing/responding to anyone, sort of having a deer in the headlights look. It didn't used to happen much, but now that he has significantly more stress in his life, it's been happening more often. Julian kind of has a tendency to blame himself for a lot of things, even if they're not really his fault. This also leads to him being quite a pushover, and forgiving other people way more easily than he should, even if they really hurt him. He's ended up in more than one relationship where he kept getting hurt, but still kept coming back for more. Hopes/Desires: He used to have really simple hopes and desires. Like, he wanted to have his own garage someday, get married, maybe raise a couple of kids. Now, he has no idea what he wants, and is having a hard time accepting that a lot of what he wanted may not be possible anymore. Self-Esteem: At the moment, not so great. He accidentally killed a person, so he doesn't like himself much. It's pretty much all he can think about. Religion: He was raised Christian, but stopped going to church as soon as he moved out of his parent's place. The only time he goes now is on Christmas, just for nostalgic reasons.

R A N D O M Sleeping Position: He hasn't been sleeping well lately, so he kind of tosses and turns, trying to sleep in various positions and get comfortable. Boxers or Briefs?: Boxer-briefs. Day or Night?: He's kind of torn. He used to like nighttime the best, but now he always feels uneasy at night, like someone-- or something-- is watching him. Top or Bottom?: Usually bottom. Partying or Relaxing?: Parties freak him out, so he'd take relaxing anytime.

R E L A T I O N S H I P S Closest Friend: Julian had a wide circle of friends back home, and his closest friends were a couple of his coworkers at the garage, Allan and Isabelle (Izzy). He left without much of a goodbye to either of them, and doesn't plan on ever talking to them again, even though he misses them. Relationship History: His relationships have all been on-again-off-again sort of things, for various reasons. He was taken advantage of a lot and put up with a lot of shit he shouldn't have, because he's a sucker and gives out infinite second chances. One of his boyfriends cheated on him, and Julian still took him back when he came begging, even though he swore to himself he wouldn't do it. So, yeah. Not the best relationship history. Sexual Partners: He's had three boyfriends over the years that he's slept with, and one very awkward one night stand when he was lonely after a break-up. Thoughts About Sex: He loves it, and has kind of a high sex drive. He's usually been the one initiating sex in all his relationships-- not that any of his partners have minded that.

P A R E N T S Name(s): Nam Jinho and Nam Minji Age(s): 60 and 57 Occupation(s): His father owned a used car lot for a long time, but is now retired. His mother buys beat-up furniture and refurbishes it, mostly as a hobby, but she actually makes quite a bit of money from selling her pieces. Religion: Christian Quality of Relationship With Their Child: It was kind of rough for a while after Julian came out-- they told him what he was doing was wrong, that it was a sin, etc. But they've somewhat changed their minds. It still makes them uncomfortable that Julian is gay, but they've done their best to accept him for who he is, and have even asked him about his boyfriends although it's very awkward for them. But they love him, and just want him to be happy, whatever that means for him. Living/Deceased: Both alive~

D A I L Y L I F E Living Arrangements: Julian recently went on the run, and is now trying to settle down and live a low-key life in Grand Island. He's managed to find a small studio apartment for himself, fully furnished, but hasn't yet left any sort of personal mark on the place-- it's very plain.

[sharifs]

The Real Reason Successful People Also Read A Lot #GoDeep [Transcript Update]

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Audio

Transcript

Hi everybody out there in cyberspace this is Sharif and today I’m going to be talking about something a little bit more intellectual. That’s why I’m gonna keep my glasses on… Actually, to be honest, I actually hate intellectualism on some level so I don’t want to pretend to be pompous and pretentious and somehow smarter or somehow more right in the subjects I talk about or in the way I speak or whatever, but anyway I’m just kidding around about that part. I just thought that the glasses would be more of the theme. I was talking about how a lot of successful people as you may have noticed are very much into reading and of course usually in their field or whatever is useful to them, you know, studying, kind of being book nerds, bookworms and not just for anything, but things that are relevant to, their overall mission because, as we know, positive people think about what they want and how they’re going to get it; and oftentimes reading is going to help them to figure out how.

Also the other thing I wanted to say was I kind of had this insight this morning about more of why I mean there’s obviously all the obvious reasons; “knowledge is power,” education, studying, you know to help you build your strategy and so on and so there’s so many things that could be said about why reading is good and why that’s obvious you know because becoming smarter and just more educated, obviously, and where what you can do with that in terms of leveraging it that’s clear… but what I really understood which was at least to me not so clear was a much deeper and less superficial reason. You know, not just for getting ahead or having some kind of certification or being having completed some scholarly achievement, it’s actually something much much much deeper and much less superficial.

You ever notice how a lot of the most successful people are always saying it’s not about money in the end? You always wanted to say “Okay I’m sure they really mean that but …I’m not into money so how come I’m not like on a huge stack of gold?” you know what I mean? But the reason is because there’s actually a deeper message there. I found out that through reading this can be achieved and that is kind of unlocking who you really are. It’s not just a matter of unlocking the opportunities for you to be able to do what you want to do but for you to be able to unlock who you really are in the first place in every single facet and respect and therefore having a better grip on what it is you really want. You might learn that you want something that you didn’t even know that you wanted or that you are something or someone that you didn’t even know you were because you are able to process that information.

Of course you could get the similar experience just in your regular life experience, something that happened out in the wild or, you know, just in your ordinary life or in your close relationships or other things that you’re into, but the book, the format, the ancient format is still so relevant today. You’re reading text is an extremely dense way to take in information so if it’s very high quality and very valuable information that is integral to your path to you and you really believe in or who you really see yourself as ultimately, then that’s going to be a very efficient way to basically explore not only what’s out there in the world much more quickly and easily, of course, which is why it has always been so popular but also to be able to explore within yourself. A lot of readers have experienced this to some degree but if you’re just like to say reading fantasy or fiction it could be a little bit distant or indirect I mean it still will unlock some emotions and sometimes very deeply, and sometimes it can even be life-changing as well, but when you’re on a mission when you have a strategy where you have a vision, when you have a direction that you’re going, when you’re in charge, when you’re proactive, when you’re making the choices of where you want to go in your life, like most successful people are, and then you’re reading about something that is relevant, not just to some goal or for some status or position or fame or something like that, but something fulfilling, completely fulfilling as a human being, as part of the human experience.

When you read those books it’s unlocking those things you’re really looking for, what you really want, the real process you need that goes beyond just some superficial work regimen, though those things are very important don’t get me wrong, it’s unlocking your real goal and your real origin, who you really are and what you really believe in, what your stances and understanding are, what you truly want beyond the limitations of what you’ve already experienced or thought was reality or true. Kind of opening up what reality even is to you and seeing things in a new light. Learning about yourself more deeply and more richly and that’s where real riches are and real successes are is finding the riches within your own heart, you know, your own soul that’s, you know, the point really. It’s not it’s not about what level, because anyone who works at something hard and smart, focused enough, concentrated enough, consistently enough, is creative enough, it’s doing putting everything that they regard to its going to do well in it. That’s not something as special as everybody makes it seem. It just could stands out, it shines. That’s why people like it. People like shiny things but anyone can achieve that and that’s such a positive a wonderful message, but it’s not for that, it’s not for the image, it’s not for other people to look at you because you’re shining. It’s free to be who you should be and reach your true potential and for other people not to just adore you and praise you or idolize you, but for them to see that that they can do that too, so they can be their ultimate selves. That they can always improve who they are right now, to be someone that they didn’t even know that they could be. Achieve even beyond your conception as to how good and amazing in some cases you already are [but] maybe not realizing it, or could be if you’re not on as much of a positive path. That’s so important, much more important than any of those superficial things.

It’s quite ironic because you come to realize when you learn about more rich and successful people that in fact these people are quite deep, a lot of them, of course a lot of them are still human and make a lot of mistakes and because they have there’s a lot more stakes to what they do a lot more money a slight human vice or flaw is going to appear like a huge evil plot to hurt people, but I mean at least a lot of where the success seems to come from, I wouldn’t say is in the corruption or the bad ways, which is perhaps a small percentage of the really rich people, you know, it’s maybe some of them might be very rich, but it’s not even real riches and most truly successful and rich people, they made it because of they really believed in what they were doing. Most of them didn’t even care if they were going to fail, that’s not even the point, like I said, it’s they’re seeking something much deeper than what can ever be manifested in this world.

So on that note this has been Sharif. I hope this provided some insight, some consciousness… This is going to be on the blog of course and I’ll catch you next time. Take care. Much love. Peace.

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