#I love fantasy stories as much as the next guy but god I kinda despise fantasy clothing

[honkceasar]

When I get caught up on prime defenders it’s so over for y’all dude. Right now I don’t really have a clue what these losers look like but once I do I’m going to draw them in silly little outfits and pretend they haven’t experienced The Horrors

[astroellipse]

writing *ranting about ffxiv while I wait for a queue to pop

I was so sad man... I’m just trying to do the Hildebrand questline- it popped in the middle of writing that oh my god.

What I was going to say is that I thought this queue for the quest line’s third trial was going to be 15 minutes like the last two but saw it was instead “more than 30 minutes”, and given the last time I queued for a trial that said that it took two hours, I was a little concerned. To my surprise it popped initially just seven minutes in... until someone backed out. Then I started writing this. Then it popped, I waited half a minute, and someone withdrew again. And a third time immediately after. On the fourth time I actually got in. That was ridiculous. I’ll still continue writing though, since finishing the first Hildibrand saga is a good breaking point.

That was, to be expected, hilarious. A lot of it, anyhow. Some of it just sort of hurt. The funniest moment wasn’t even during the questline, it was during the first trial with Gilgamesh. Both me and the bard were inflicted with confusion and just started blasting each other. Him knocking arrows and all but stabbing them into my forehead, and me casting ruin directly into his eyes at point blank range. That and the getting turned into a frog and getting chased by chickens. Literally nothing can top that encounter for me.

I straight up did not care about the mystery/plot the majority of the time, but I guess I should expect by now that I’ll always enjoy the characters more than whatever mediocre plot they’re tangled in. Just. The Coliseum quests specifically mostly pissed me off. The pervy tentacle monster. The needless racism. The whole thing with painting a poor person wanting to find an easy way to not be poor as undeniably evil which the game KEEPS doing makes me so fucking mad, in combination with stewing about these other themes in JRPGs especially with being all “boo-hoo, won’t anyone thing about how hard it is being rich and noble, all the responsibility, how dare these dirty poors even think about getting revenge on the very people that keep them down.

Why aren’t they just happy with what they do have? They should just put in more work if they want to eat a warm meal, even though we’ve already established there’s no work to be had. Like jesus christ I’d swear some of the shit in this game and others was being written by some 17 year old medieval lordling with too much free time between tutoring sessions. What is these peoples’ obsessions with nobility? Like I get it makes for good fantasy content but have at least a little bit of self consciousness.

I feel like I always see these games acknowledge some kind of class structure and how it negatively effects those in its lowest rungs then shrug it off as “there’s nothing anyone can do about it” and paint the impoverished as villains for being upset with the people that do have the power to change it. Sort of a tangent but this specifically is why I despised and kind of relationship between Dorothea and Ferdinand in Three Houses. She calls him out and rightfully so in the first support, then he makes a batch of pastries completely from scratch one time and this apparently makes her think that all nobles aren’t so bad? Going from straight up not wanting nobles to exist to thinking hey, they’re people too :). I hate that. I hated that FE3H characters were mostly nobles or come from notable/rich families or whatever.

Similarly I hate that FFXIV has such a huge focus on the upper crust and just completely discards and lower-class person. Like, there was a mission where I had to check on some scared refugees and they attacked me in self defense and it made me kill them? And I reported back to the guy who asked me to check on them and he just went “Ah well, what can you do.” Like what the fuck is wrong with these writers sometimes???

I was about to say this was more of an issue with ARR but remembered how the people of the Brume were treated in HW, like a mob of bumbling idiots in desperate need of guidance. What drove me insane the most on that front was when the people were on the brink of revolt after that one girl basically martyred herself, and to remedy this Aymeric decided his order and the grand companies would have their little sparring mach, because nothing sparks patriotism more like sports. Even though this left the city with significantly less protection. And that it was held in an area where not a single citizen could see it. Also, the group the people were supposed to be rooting for was the order of knights and their lapdogs (Hilda’s group) which. just. none of it made sense. It was stupid. This kinda shit makes me afraid to eventually get to Stormblood and into the thick of the Ala Mhigo stuff which they have handled TERRIBLY so far like it boils my blood to think about it. This game is so racist it’s unreal.

but. god. I was talking about the Hildibrand questline. The bit on Costa del Sol was probably the closest I came to caring about the plot, plus it had some pretty good bits. Wasn’t a fan of the big “man in a dress” at the end, though it did make me think that men should be allowed to wear dresses in this game like it would’ve looked fine without the goofy hair and makeup :/ And I completely checked out on whatever that last bit of story was no I do not care that that one girl we’ve been traveling with was the thief all along I have never liked her. Also she played into that class issue I just ranted about. The reveal of her sister was also cheap and stupid. The elezen inspector professing his love for her was also weird? My first thought during that was “jesus christ man she was trying to commit mass mur-” and then I remembered that I/my WoL was crushing on Ysale before she got axed which comes in at #2 for funniest moment in this questline. Him doing that still came out of nowhere save one or two short scenes in separate quests to me.

But I’m exhausted of this now. I might go and start the next saga but I’ll probably go to sleep early... if anything has made me rethink playing past the free trial it’s the shit above but I’ll be honest I am pretty darn likely to cave. I can only hope the writers sorted at least some of their shit out between expansions.

[laughing-with-god]

BTS as Yandere (Based on their Venus and Mars Signs)

(We don’t know BTS’s exact birthtime and location so the placements are just general predictions and not precise.  Astrology is something I think reveals a lot about a person but I am in no way saying that all the members are like this)

Seokjin-

Venus in Capricorn.

Takes a long time for it to develop yandere habits/mindset.  But once he gets there, there is no turning back.  

Probably fell for you bc he can see a future with you. He’s very strategic and attracted to accomplished individuals so your career, work ethic or lifestyle probably drew his attention.  You had to impress him in some way.

Fan of older partners.  it’s okay if you’re younger but you still have to be mature.  Childish behavior really pisses him off.  

Capricorn is about control, once he has you he wants to be in charge of the smallest things about you.  Your diet, what products you use, what shows you watch, the music you listen to and the friends you spend time with. 

Public image is very important to him, so he will not deal with any disobedience esp if you guys are out in public.  Wants the world to think you two are the perfect couple.   

Not that romantic, but very traditional.  Obsessed with planning for the future with you.  Looks at houses, talks about the schools nearby for your future kids.  While a venus in Pisces might write poetry for you and get you flowers, venus in Capricorn would ask to sign up for a joint bank account.  That’s romance to them.

Venus in Capricorn apparently like bigger butts, thighs and even duskier complexion.  Tall partners too.

Venus in Capricorn likes to take their time.  Even though he’s yandere, he still wants to progress slowly with you to savor the buildup and think about the story he will tell his kids about how he got with their mother.  No kisses on the first few dates, probably took months for you guys to fuck.  

Mars in Cancer

very protective of you.

He will have a family with you.  That’s not up for discussion.

Although his venus in cap makes him attracted to ambitious women, his mars in cancer makes it so that after being together for a while, he would ask you to be a stay at home sweetheart while he works and provides for you.

loves being depended on.  His cap and cancer both agree on this.  

Very lenient on punishment.  His cap will try to set harsh ground rules, but if you were to break them, just give him some teary eyes and he would fold completely.  he tends to settle on lectures instead of physical punishment. 

“Darling, it’s never to early to start shaping our future.  We need to figure out what private school to send our kids to and that would dictate where we live next.”

Yoongi-

Venus in Aries.

While other members would despise a partner who fights back all the time and gets mouthy, Yoongi would adore it.  

The sassier and more outspoken you are, the more Yoongi loves you.

One of the few members to not mind if you are independent, in fact it turns him on to know how capable you are on your own.  

He likes tension and fighting, bc it keeps the spark alive and he thinks you’re the sexiest when you are fiery and livid.  

Likes the chase.  Will def play your game.  If you give into him too easily, he’ll loose interest very fast,

Tends to like more tomboyish partners, laidback and straighforward.  Don’t be too sensitive or feminine, it will only anger him.

Likes for the relationship to move fast.  Will fuck you on the fist date if you let him.  He doesn’t understand the concept of waiting when you set his heart on fire like it’s nothing.  

Do. Not. Undermine. Him.  

If you say something, esp about his masculinity, he will flip shit and prob go out to kill some ppl just to prove that he is no bitch.  aries are sensitive to their assertiveness being tested.  Very competitive as well.  

Quick tempered at times, but not the type to hold a grudge.  

Any competitors for your affection will be dealt with.  utmost violence as well.  

Not the type to take you out for dinner and a movie every time you guys go out on dates, wants to have exciting dates with you.

Enjoys the company of younger partners, a youthful energy is needed to keep up with him.

Mars in Cancer.

protective as hell.

He will be violent, but never at you. The type to hurt people around you rather than you.  Just enough to get his point across.

“Thanks to your bitchy behavior, (friend) can expect a broken arm tomorrow.  Hope you’re happy.”  

possessive over you.  

Needs to be told you love him.  Just for reassurance.

A family would be nice, but he would be happy with just one kid or some pets.  

Your guys’ shared home is sacred to him.  People can’t just come over.

“Doll face, I’m bored.  Let’s fight.  We can have hot makeup sex afterwards.”

Namjoon-

Venus in Scorpio.

Shit.  

Run bitch.

High key, venus in Scorpio is one of the most yandere placements to exist.  

Obsession is his middle name.

The moment he met you, he knew he had to have you.  His mindset is almost scary.  

He could barely know you but he already is experiencing a need to consume your entire mind, soul and body like no other.  

The deepest desire which taints his mind until he cannot think of anything else.  

Convinced you two are soulmates.  

Attracted to partners that are sexy, mysterious, able to enchant him whilst barely trying.  Darker and more sensual clothes are preferred on his lovers.  For girls, something very womanly and grown.  For a guy, something manly and appealing to your form.  

Possessive.  An unquenchable thirst to dominate his lover.  He loves the idea of completely taking over someone so magnetizing.  

You have to be very intelligent, he needs stimulating conversation.  You can’t just be sexy without a brain.  

really likes your scent.  Not the perfume you wear or the shampoo you use, but your actual natural scent.  Might sniff your used clothes to get it.  Doesn’t mind if you haven’t showered in a couple days.  (weird but I read this somewhere and I can totally see it so hop off)

Doesn’t take things slow.  why should he when he knows that you two are going to end up together either way?  would fucking marry you after knowing you for two months.  

Not above mind games in order to get you to stay.

Very romantic, but some of the things he says raises red flags.

“I would kill for you, (Y/n).”

Mars in Cancer.

This only enhances some of his venus in scorpio.  

VERY protective.  VERY possessive.

Way more likely to end up with a younger partner, this would also aid his venus in scorpio’s need to dominate and consume his partner.  

Unlike the other mars in cancers, I think he would physically punish you at times.  (more sexually themed punishments though) never enough to actually seriously harm you.  A light spanking here and there that feeds his need to be the dominant one.  

very smart with getting rid of people in your life.  It happens over time and they would always be labelled missing.  

Wants to be the only person you need, will provide for you too.  Idk if he would want a fam bc venus in scorpio is very tunnel vision and kids may fuck with that.  

“We’re soulmates baby.  Don't kid yourself.  No one on this god green earth will understand you or care for you as much as I do.”

Hoseok-

Venus in Pisces.  

Attracted to softer and sweeter partners.  He wants to be slapped into a dreamy state when he sees you.

Very romantic.  Poems, songs, flowers, chocolates, five-star dining ect.  

eager to please you in any way.  Type to leave his house at 4 am and hit up your place to deliver ice cream just bc you ran out.

very emotional with you.  Your phone could die and you can’t answer his text, therefore 30 minutes later Hoseok would be sobbing and begging at your doorstep to not leave him.  

Very self-pitying.  Hard to explain but have you ever been mad at someone and instead of defending themselves, they just kinda say stuff like; “You’re right.  I’m the worst kind of person.  I should just die already.”  

He’s like that whenever you’re mad at him.  He likes to play the guilt card a lot.  

Enjoys smaller lovers, or petite people.  Likes feeling bigger than his partner.  (don't come for me guys, I literally just read this and it kinda made sense to me. Pisces are depicted as more elfish figures so he probably finds it attractive.)

Cuddling is so vital to him.  it’s as if he charges himself up or something because he can literally experience withdrawls.

Loves it if you’re really sweet and charitable. also if you are into arts or occult themes, Hoseok would be so intrigued and want to learn from you

Works himself into obsessive fantasies, Pisces love escapism and he tends to day dream about you 24/7.  

Least likely among the members to be violent to you or anyone else for that matter.

He would hurt himself before anyone else.  He likes acting very depressed or gloomy (in extreme cases, getting himself bruised and bloody) in order to get your affection and worry.  

Mars In Aquarius.

Still stands true that he wouldn’t hurt other people.  He’s very logical despite being yandere and he knows that you’re not sleeping with the waiter who lingered too long.  

Aquarius is very logical, so he could be very calculating with his emotional manipulating.  Like tell you his dad just got diagnosed with cancer and induldge in your cuddles and coddling, but little did you know his dad has had it for years.  

Punishment is very aloof.  You just loose privilages.  

Least likely to have an age preference out of the members.

Into some really kinky or odd/taboo things in the bedroom.  At the very least, he’s very willing to experiment.  

“Sugarplum~!  Aren’t you so sad for me right now?  Please, give me cuddles.  Those always make me feel better.”

Jimin-

Venus in Scorpio

Very desperate to know every little thing he can about you.  

You haunt his mind even if it was just a brief encounter that you had with him.  

also wants to consume your very mind, body and soul.  

Attracted to sexy over cute.  Curves, dark and sensual clothes, alluring mannerisms and husky voice.  He wants to be magnetized by you, unable to forget you even if he tried.

Obsessive, mind consuming, passionate love for you which depths kind of terrify you.  

loyal and dedicated.  Your enemies are his enemies now.  (This includes anyone who happened to give you a less than warm glance).  

Sex is very important to a venus in scorpio, he feels like it’s the only way to properly express his love through mind-numbing pleasure he can give to you.  

He moves fast once he’s with you.  he doesn’t want to go through the fluffy bullshit of waiting so long to kiss, fuck or move in together when he’s 100% convinced you are his soulmate.  

Jealous.  No one should be able to look at you the way he does.  He’ll loose it.  

Wants to control you.  it’s the end-game.  

Doesn’t mind if you are younger or older but he will be the one in charge.  

A partner who has the appearance of dominance but will be very submissive to him is what he craves.

Likes marking his territory.  Leaves bruises, hickies or makes you wear couple clothes, his clothes or a necklace or something to make him feel the thrill of ownership.  

will write his name on you if you let him.  Just a permanent markered ‘Park Jimin’ on your forearm or something.  

But he would be so happy if you did the same to him as well.

You belong to him just as much as he belongs to you.

Mars in Scorpio.

Protective, possessive.  you know the drill.  

Punishments with you are sexual.  

Power play with him in charge is also a big factor in your sex life.  

Can and will murder anyone he deems a threat.  

Even your family and friends have to keep their distance.  

“Jagi, my name is beginning to fade off your arm.  Let’s touch it up, yeah?”

Taehyung-

Venus in Aquarius.

Attracted to someone very different and unique. 

It can be your looks, your ethnicity, personality, career or interests but for whatever reason; you stood out.  

Big age gaps are seen here.  Doesn’t matter if you are younger or older but chances are, it’s by ALOT.

Doesn’t follow dating normalities.  Couldn't give less of a shit about dating or courting. if he wants you, he is going to get you.  

Turned on by taboo relationships and sex.  Like if it’s forbidden for you two to be together, it’ll only spur him on more.  

Teacher/student, boss/worker, affairs, age gaps.  Anything society might look at with an eyebrow raise.  

Very kinky in the sheets, wants to try everything at least once.  

Aquarius is very cold and aloof sometimes, so Tae wouldn’t get jealous.  He has mastered the mask of indifference.  If someone tries talking to you in effort to get with you, Tae would just laugh bc it’s almost funny how they thought they had a chance with you.  

You must be very interesting intellectually, he wants a partner he can learn from.  

His yandere habits come out when you try to block him out from your life, or try to lessen his control over you.  

He craves authority over you, this is only added to bc his mars is in Capricorn. 

Wants to make small changes about you, then eventually big ones.  

Like it’s really subtle too, he’ll say something like “Oh, I really like that style, you should wear it more.”  And then a month later, he’s in control of your wardrobe. 

His methods are very sly.  He doesn’t threaten you or make a big show of putting you into submission, he much rather just plant a seed in your mind and wait for nature to take it’s coarse.  

Loves surprising you and playing games.  Will stop talking to you for like a week and then theres a knock on your door and damn, he sent you Gucci.

Doesn’t want you to be able to figure him out.  Always thinking of the next unpredictable thing he could do to keep you one your toes.  

Mars in Capricorn.  

After the push and pull game is over and he has put you into a submissive state for him, he wants to begin a more traditional life.  House, kids, you became a stay at home lover.    

Just bc he becomes a family man doesn’t mean that the freaky sex has to stop.

Possessive of you and your future kids.  

The type to teach his future kids on yandere and how they should make sure ‘mommy never tries to leave daddy’.  

Punishments are physical, and very harsh.  He’s all about that discipline and will not be talked down when he thinks you broke one of his rules. 

“Why is it wrong for me to make choices for you?  I know what best after all.  Have I ever failed you?  Even when people told me to break up with you because our relationship wasn’t cookie-cutter.”

Jungkook

Venus in Libra. 

The opposite of Yoongi. He wants someone who is very feminie and ‘girly.’

Dresses, pastel colors, nice perfume, charming, docile manners and sweet sounding voice.  

Wants very bad to prove himself to you.  Virgos and Libras are people pleasers so the fact that his sun and venus are these two signs just tells me that he desperately will try to get you to like him.  

Will change his style, his hair, his voice whatever he has to do to get you to pay him attention.  

Very romantic.  Thinks you deserve the best so that will always reflect in the dates he takes you on or the gifts he gives you.  

Libra is ruled by venus so love is something that he simply cannot live without.  He fantasizes about marriage and furture plans with you.  

Will call you ‘wifey’ if you let him.  

He adores you.  

Worships the ground you walk on.  

Which is why his yandere tendencies will have to walk around your desires.  

Like you tell him to stop looking through your bedroom windows at night,  he can’t bring himself to do it anymore bc that would be going against you directly.  

BUT you didn’t say he couldn’t install cameras.

King of loopholes.  

Like a mechivous kid who loves his mom and doesn’t want to get scolded, but he still wants to sneak in some cookies from the jar.  

He isn’t the punisher of the relationship, YOU are.  

If he does something that angers you, just don’t talk to him for literally an hour or so and he’d go crazy.  

the fear of losing you is too great.  

Another one who really enjoys your scent.  It’s like crack to him.  

Prone to stealing a small thing froom you, like a scarf or a blanket that has your scent on it.  

If you were to be away from him for a while, he would just steal your perfume and spray it on his hoodie so he could feel like you were hugging him.  

Might even buy your perfume for himself.....

Mars in Scorpio.

Very protective of you and cannot handle the possibility of anyone being with you the way he is.  

He will get very brutal with anyone he considers a threat, no one is safe.  You can literally walk an old man across the street and Jungkook would still think the fucker was trying to cup a feel. 

very sexual, switches between being dominant and submissive.  It’s mainly focused on pleasing you bc of libra and virgo but mars is the planet of sex and with that in scorpio means he can be a dom.

Jungkook is (and I say this with all my heart) a switch with sub preference.

Wants to know you like no one else ever has.  You know how the members with scorpio venus are so intense? Jungkook has that side to him too.    

….it’s just hidden behind the sweeter venus libra.

“Princess, please stop ignoring me.  You’re my goddess, I can’t handle not being acknowledged by you.  Just tell me what to do to make it better.”

[autumnsidhe]

Answer all the things

D&D Ask Meme

ah fuck. i can’t believe you’ve done this.everything’s going under a read more b/c it’s gonna be long as all fuck

2. Your favorite character that someone else has played.ollie……….. little shit idiot i love him? he and james are both anarchist dumbass but in different ways. brothers in arms.

3. Your favorite side quest.oh christ. there’s no real particular side quests but my fave side plot in general is what i’ll summarise as “alora is a rat bastard.”

alora met a hot rich socialite guy who seemed really into her and she decided she was gonna play the long con on him b/c he might be useful

she and james both agreed to side w/ king clockwork, but when the king actually mentioned it alora gave james a Look™ and he was mad as fuck. he’s still kinda mad as fuck

she decided to be pals w/ a main antagonist (gluto) and didn’t tell us until days after it happened that he’d talked to her in his dreams

alora was told to not tell anyone abt the repugnant’s secret organisation. she immediately spilled the info to everyone

she was told to not mention the organisation’s meeting or anything that went on there. she immediately spilled the info to the motley and literally sent us a photo of the repugnant on his throne speaking to everyone

she was told to keep a specific person away from castle repugnant. she let him waltz right up to the castle w/ everyone else and seemed confused when they said he couldn’t go in

she broke into somewhere w/ gluto and then left him in a room full of very important documents b/c she somehow didn’t think taking him there to begin w/ wouldn’t backfire

the last thing james said to her was literally “i take it back, you’re a stupid shit idiot and i hate you”

4. Your current campaign.random sideplots get to go here this time! most of them are james or ollie b/c we interact the most w/ npcs

james and galant romance sideplot and the sheer amount of wild scenes that have happened as a result (the date, le fway showing up, addy’s dating advice, “ollie, you’re pretty ignorant”, “so you killed your boyfriend”)

ash coaches a baseball team

ollie tries to handle pink drugs, fails to provide any evidence that he’s not the cause

alora helps the repugnant, always immediately regrets it b/c he’s a little bastard man

the gang trying to figure out what’s going on w/ the repugnant’s amnesia

james accidentally making friends w/ a black spiral dancer and being heavily in denial abt why cylus probably got so attached to begin w/ (hint: it’s the anarchy and the horrid rebellious streak)

james nearly sides w/ the main antagonist b/c he’s got the right idea but his methods are fucked

ollie goes to fairy prison, makes friends w/ a vampire and some old sidhe, is currently in the middle of trying to break out

5. Favorite NPC.unfortunately it might be cylus? cylus is like 6 levels of batshit at any given moment and was introduced to us as a nameless dangerous prisoner that galant was holding for some sort of treaty? and james and addy were told to not listen to him for any reason and to not let him free. and of course james let him free. he shifted into a giant 9ft-ish tall war form and then james realised he was really in over his head. upside: he went back in his cell afterwards. downside: he got attached to james. also downside: james didn’t actually get warned that he was a dangerous war criminal until after all this went downthen cylus literally showed up in james’ dream to tell him a few things and warn him that he was planning to escape? and there was nothing james could do b/c “i heard it in a dream” isn’t exactly a solid claim esp when he doesn’t have any sort of future sight. and of course cylus broke outthen james ran into him in the dreaming and james was losing his mind the entire time b/c cylus is an absolute freak and james was stuck walking w/ him for like 2 hours. then like an hour after they parted ways james got flung into a ditch on the edge of town (in the real world) and cylus carried an unconscious james like a sack of potatoes into waffle house and just let him sleep on the table for a bit. then like 3 days later cylus broke into his apartment and made him breakfast.and then james got flung out into the middle of nowhere again for reasons and cylus was there and james had the choice of dealing w/ cylus or being horribly lost in the woods so he chose the first one. and he nearly got caught in the middle of a big werewolf fight that cylus orchestrated. and also nearly got caught in some extremely violent family drama.throughout all of this cylus is acting like he’s james’ best friend and last time they spoke cylus really wanted to do buddy cop stuff! they’re pals! totally! and james wants absolutely none of it but he can’t explode on him b/c he’s a skinny little twink and cylus could snap him like a twig w/ no effort

to summarise:

6. Favorite death (monster, player character, NPC, etc).we actually haven’t had many deaths! the only ones i can think of in game that aren’t random monsters were the old bastard and nor nan, which. were both interesting in their own ways, but nor nan’s was mostly tragic and i don’t wanna get feelsy so i’ll just use the old bastard here.to set the scene: we’re at a fancy party. ash and marike (an npc, he’s an unseelie lord and overall a hell of a time) are off on their own trying to catch chimerical creatures that stole their weapons. marike curbstomps one, meanwhile the other has climbed up onto a curtain rod. the place has really high ceilings. his solution? pick up ash and toss him at the creature. ollie and the old bastard (who owns the house) walk in just as this is happening, and the old bastard sees ash tear down the curtain rod for no damn reason. of course he demands answers. ash tries to bullshit a story abt an entire family of raccoons they were trying to chase outthen the old bastard gets shot in the head. ollie and marike are splattered w/ blood. he hits the ground, ash makes a joke abt “telling his wife the bad news”then he notices his wife is the one who just shot him

7. Your favorite downtime activity.the entire arc’s taken place over the course of 15 days in-game, including downtime. we haven’t had any specific downtime activities per say, but the best moment we’ve had during downtime was when ollie broke into james’ apartment and now he refuses to let ollie anywhere near his apartment complex

8. Your favorite fight/encounter.i’ll stick to generally hostile meetings for this since we’ve only a small handful of solid fights? but it’s either “james nearly dies” or “ollie is a good distraction”

to set the scene for the first one: the hospital chimerically burnt down, so the motley decided to investigate and sneaked in as janitors. james ended up alone down in the morgue after finding a body covered in chimerical burns getting wheeled down there. he checks it out, takes a couple photos on his phone. then the door opens.james starts cleaning and stuff, but it turns out the person who came in (gluto!) was also a changeling and very easily noticed the fact that he’s got really noticeable pointy ears in his fae mien. and of course he starts threatening james. and after he pulls out a massive scythe. james sends everyone an sos but they all get stuck in the elevator. so james pulls a gun in a fucking hospital. and he gets called on the bluff but before he can put it away, in bursts galantgalant starts kicking a bit of ass, and then gluto ripped the (already weak from the fire) chimerical ceiling down on top of them! galant did some shit to lift the rubble off them with little to no effort and james was kinda like “oh no he’s hot” for a second before galant kicked a bit more ass and gluto ran like hell!then he next night galant literally died for james (it’s okay, he got better) and confessed that james is his true love and just. man.

for the second one: there’s 3 assassins after galant. he fucked off to lovescreek in order to avoid them, but when ollie found him, one of the assassins had found him! so ollie joins the fray against this troll (who are like 8′ at the shortest), and after a short bit gluto joined in as well to distract ollie from the main fight! so what did ollie do? start loudly singing “i’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts” for a chicanery bunk to turn galant invisible. and of course both assassins turned on him and he ended up having to run like hell but when he lost them galant reappeared and was like “well that was fun”

9. Your favorite thing about D&D tabletop RPGs.i’ll keep it real, i’ve disliked every dnd system i’ve experimented w/ and i’m not a fan of most fantasy so it’s unlikely i’ll every actually play a proper dnd game but god… tabletop stuff is just so much fun? mostly the story and the fact that joe is absolutely godly

10. Your favorite enemy and the enemy you hate the most.cylus may be my fav npc but my fav antagonist is definitely king clockwork? ic my very first encounter with him led into him and james talking about their beliefs and ideals for like 2 hours straight and when he was getting ready to leave james was ecstatic that he’d finally met someone who fully understood his mindset. then the bomb dropped that he was the boss of the other antagonists and james was hit w/ this utter horror. and then james considered siding w/ him for a long ass time before eventually trying to kill him to put a stop to everything. yeah. yeahmy fav enemy/antagonist is absolutely gluto b/c he’s creepy as shit. during anyone’s first encounter w/ him i was completely solo and it was horribly unsettling and i simultaneously love and despise him

11. How often do you play and how often would you ideally like to play?we meet once a week! what game we run varies but recently it’s been changeling every week since we’re still waiting on player characters to start hunter the reckoning lmao

12. Your in game inside jokes/memes/catchphrases and where they came from.we have a bunch of them but uhhhhh random ones off the top of my head

“it’s always sunny in coolville” b/c i realised early on that we were going to be up to a lot of dumb shenanigans and it was easy to make it’s always sunny title cards based on each session

#saveduke b/c there was a whole thing at one point where we had to keep him from getting kidnapped. spun off from that are #SaveDukeFromHimself, #SaveGalantFromJamesStupidity and #SaveDukeAgain?

“appearance 4, captivating” b/c dom said it regularly for multiple sessions until his character dirty danced with a hot guy at a party, after which he decided that alora was a lesbian

“does [insert art] let me throw fireballs?” b/c dom wanting to throw fireballs down the street is a running joke but also he unironically asked if primal 2 would let him throw fireballs

“james got norted” b/c he nearly joined the main antagonist, which devolved into “[insert random character] got norted” at the most random times

james and galant touching tips b/c at one point while they were casually talking ollie just started going 👉👈 in the background and james got really mad and flustered abt it so everyone started doing it

“ultra instinct ash” b/c he’s our shaggy and also has done like fuck all nothing productive in game so him going fucking super saiyan to kill the final boss is hilarious

“i got two hands!” b/c people regularly ask why ollie dual wields broadwords

#OllieOllieOxenFREE b/c ollie got himself sent to fairy jail

“i did [stupid thing], can i buy [half related skill]?” like “i attempted murder, can i get chronos 2?” or “i was an assassin in a past life, can i get melee 3?”

“people, let me tell you bout my best friend!” abt james and cylus b/c boy does james have bad taste in friends

14. Introduce any other parties you have played in or DM-ed.uhhh exalted is the only one i’ve been a part of that’s been solidly active, but we’ve got characters for scion for when 2e drops, and i’ve got characters set up for chaos reigns when joe starts the next arc b/c i didn’t wanna peter parker myself into the finale. i don’t remember the rest of the scion crew well enough but i love them

15. Do you have snacks during game times?we almost always grab food on the way there and eat before we properly start

16. Do you play online or in person? Which do you prefer?in person! it’s the only way i’ve ever done it but i’m 🙏 that maricopa gets running online b/c……….. vampire good………..

17. What are some house rules that your group has?the big house rule for changeling is “ run things fast and loose.” joe knows the characters well and what’s on their sheets so we don’t do too much dice rolling except for arts. joe also takes some artistic liberties w/ some things, mainly wayfare and the inanimae, b/c his main goal is to make a good story and he’s sure as fuck succeeding

18. Does your party keep any pets?do addy and duke count? they’re a white rabbit and a beagle. beyond that, addy’s got pet rabbits, and ollie might be feeding a stray cat

19. Do you or your party have any dice superstitions?not really. dom claims that dice rollers hate him but he also keeps using his dice roller rather than pulling out physical dice

20. How did you get into D&D? How long have you been playing?i got into tabletop years ago when harley introduced me to the dystopia rising larp and i decided to check out the tabletop version for more lore. the current tabletop system sucks but onyx path is handling 2e and i’m so hyped for it. at some point a bit later i played vampire the masquerade bloodlines, and it got me into the world of darkness and well. i still love it.as for how long i’ve been playing, uh. around a year i think? i forget when we started exalted the borderlands-ing. i’d been sitting in on the group for around a year before that, mostly getting a feel for things and also we were trying to figure out a good jumping in point for me and i wish i could’ve started earlier but it let me mesh w/ everyone a bit easier and also have an outsider’s viewpoint when it came to certain issues

21. Have you ever regretted something your character has done?oh absolutely, “i fucked up” is the semi-catchphrase for james for a reason. he theoretically has common sense b/c i usually say “this is gonna be stupid/bad” either ic or ooc before i do some shit and well. yeah it doesn’t usually go well but we have fun

23. Do you use premade modules or original campaigns?i think the only thing not original we’ve run since i moved up is strange aeons and maybe a coc scenario? everything else has been original campaigns

24. How much planning/preparation do you do for a game?not too much, really. i sometimes plan out a little of what i’m going to do, but half the time i never actually have the chance b/c stuff moves in a different direction than i was expecting. however i also write the summaries of the shit we’ve gotten up to every session so there’s that

25. What have your players done that you never could have planned for?i’m not a dm but i’m answering this for joe b/c he flat-out admitted that he couldn’t predict what was going to happen in at least half of changeling b/c we’re an unpredictable mess but everything’s come together to make a really interesting finale

30. Are your players diplomatic or murder hobos?answering this one too even tho it’s still a dm question b/c the players themselves are half diplomatic (me, mal, joe depending on game) and half murder hobos (fredy, dom). dom’s been going more diplomatic w/ alora but also she’s so bad at it and it’s wonderful

31. What is your favorite class? Favorite race?classes aren’t a thing in changeling but out of the kiths ouuuuuuuugh i love sidhe a lot. like they’re honestly cool as hell and i fucking love the house lore? i’ll also do houses b/c fuck it, my fav house is beaumayn b/c they have no chill and every bit of house lore they have is brutal as hell

32. What role do you like to play the most? (Tank/healer/etc?)just looking at my trends of characters i’ve got currently (re)built, i have:- the face (james, rex, val)- support (henri, caoimhe, river kinda?)- the antisocial son of a bitch (nomi, neil)- “i’m going to wreck anything you point me at” (hound, oliver, elliot but not by his own choice)- pure chaos (nora, glitch mage)gemma is kinda hard to put into any category b/c she’s babey?

33. How do you write your backstory, or do you even write a backstory?it depends on the character? some characters don’t have backstories (caoimhe, nora), some i’ve fleshed out heavily (james). it’s usually assembled from a bunch of random snippets written over the course of however long. some of it’s heavily thought out, other parts are just kinda arbitrary. i also tend to run some more important chunks past joe or mal just to see how they feel? james being from house gwydion was originally arbitrary and wasn’t really gonna matter (joe himself said it would just be a bit of flavour) then he figured out how to fold it into plot and i’m thriving b/c le fway is wild

34. Do you tend pick weapons/spells for being useful or for flavor?flavour, though use is also a bonus? artswise james currently has naming/chronos/contract, which are all useful in their own ways but also reflect his past lives / him as a person

35. How much roleplay do you like to do?yes. if i’m not able to embrace the character i’m playing is it really that fun? is it really? no b/c when that happens to this group we get the dumbed down version of chaos reigns and i go fucking batshit b/c of the fact that combat takes way too long

[doubled-helix]

book thoughts: the hearts we sold (spoilers)

the hearts we sold, emily lloyd-jones

(disclaimer: all of this is my opinion because i decided it’s better for my own writing to reflect upon books i read (thanks college profs). in fact, i’m not even putting it in the main tags so no one should be reading this except future me anyways)

overarching conflict: all books should have one of these. usually it’s to defeat the big bad, which doesn’t quite fit this novel since there wasn’t one defined big bad. i mean, there were the burrowers, which were pretty creepy, but i’m personally fond of the classic puppetmaster villain, who pulls the strings and monologues and bemoans the state of the world or whatnot. think the mage in carry on or luke/kronos in the pjo series. call me old-fashioned. 

my prof told us that books, especially sci-fi/fantasy ones, should have a looming threat that’s constantly hanging over the heroes even as they defeat or are defeated by many smaller threats. like harry facing quirrel, tom riddle/the basilisk, the dementors/sirius black/peter pettigrew (the “one true baddie” was a bit more vague in thisone) - all the while knowing that voldemort’s the final boss. 

in this book, i guess you could say the final big void was the ultimate baddie, but considering neither our main gal nor us knew about this until three quarters of the way through the book, it wasn’t exactly a looming threat, even as the characters did close many smaller voids (the in-between threats books have - the ones between the exposition and climax). i say a bit more about this later, but i think the lack of a dominant big bad may be one of the reasons the book felt stagnant for a good portion of the first half. this, combined with the lack of strong motive dee had - well. it certainly slowed things down. 

things that didn’t work: 1. the “team”: i’m a sucker for a tight-knit group of people who’d kill to protect each other, who poke fun and laugh and joke around à la avatar the last airbender. i’m even more of a sucker for found families, also like avatar the last airbender. but this book’s “team” absolutely did not work for me, and the most probable cause i can think of is that the author just didn’t let us spend enough time with them. 

the main dude james had been with cal and cora for almost two years, and i got none of that from the way he talked about them. in fact, main gal dee actually says that she’s glad james and her have a closer bond than the other two - which, sure, romance, i get it, but if you want to make a dream team you can’t throw half of its members into the wind. 

when cal died, that evoked nothing in me as a reader because i cared about him as much as dee did, and she maybe shared 20 lines total with the guy. similarly, she barely interacted with cora, who was supposed to be the leader, but other than the author telling us that she was the “leader,” there was nothing showing her fulfilling that role. i absolutely hate saying this because it���s the most cliche advice one can offer but “show not tell.” if you want to show a fall from grace, from cool and collected cora to frantic and panicking cora, you gotta show us the grace first. 

riley: don’t get me wrong, i fucking love riley, but she didn’t show up until 70% of the way through the book. and there was a sort of insta-friendship between her, james, and dee. at one point towards the end, she says something like “if we die tonight, i’m glad i met you two” which would be very nice if they hadn’t met 20 pages ago. (i feel like i should note, a few weeks did pass world-wise, but that really doesn’t do much for the reader, who didn’t get to feel any of that time)

it would have been fantastic to have riley with us from the very beginning. her relationship with james and dee felt like it actually had the potential to blossom into that dream team/found family thing. cal and cora felt like they had their own separate lives, which is fantastic in reality because no one should spend all their time with a single group of people, but the thing about stories in my experience is that to be effective, everything - every interaction or desire or situation - should be Too Much. 

also, riley seemed a little too cool with everything that was happening. it took dee at least a few weeks to accept the whole voids and homunculus and world-ending thing, but riley was like “fantastic, let’s do this, i can blow things up” which was a bit sudden. 

cora: i mentioned already how she was the “leader” but didn’t really do anything to show that, but also - i felt like we were supposed to feel sorry for her, or at least understand her motives, but i got absolutely none of that. she killed cal, who i didn’t feel much for, but it was still fairly unforgivable, and she never had an act of redemption. i’ll talk about this later, but i feel like james’s sacrifice at the end should have been hers. she wanted “everyone to live,” that was her motive. sacrificing herself would have been the loop to close her character arc, instead of her just dropping out of the story completely. and speaking of motive...

2. the motive: oh boy, i don’t even think i have authority to talk about this because “motive” is a biggie. they have entire writing courses dedicated to character motives. i read a post a while back that said something to the like of “every character should want something and should want it to the point of obsession.” 

going on my avatar the last airbender comparison (that show’s story is literally my baseline for everything else i read or watch), every character in that show wants something desperately. aang’s is easy - he wants to learn the other three elements and save the world. katara, at least in the first season, is completely focused on mastering waterbending. zuko - capture the avatar, regain his honor (and this one’s definitely an obsession). my point is, if your characters don’t want something desperately, there is no story.

now applying that to this story is a bit tricky because the premise is that these people did want something strongly, strong enough to sell their hearts for it. dee wanted money for boarding school, wanted to get out of her awful home situation. and the daemon gives it to her - the first thing, at least. and then for at least 100 pages, it was like she was just being pulled along with anything that happened, without any intense desire of her own. i felt this most strongly when she was out collecting rocks with james. i understand it was a bonding scene, etc. but goddamn. rocks? it just felt a bit shoehorned in, like there needed to be a good reason for the two to start hanging out that was at least semi-work related.

for a moment, i thought dee’s motive would become trying to break out of the deal, to join cora and end it all - it certainly seemed like she was freaked out enough to do it. but something magical healing romance-esque happened and afterwards, she seemed cool with accepting that she had no other choice. i understand she wasn’t a voluntary hero, but it still feels a bit stale when the savior of humankind is doing it not even to save her own skin or that of her friends, but out of sheer obligation. (however, i will give it to her, there was a nice little scene on the bus towards the end where dee was people-watching, and the part at the very end where she said that she did believe that people were inherently good, what a great development from beginning of the book dee)

things that kinda worked 1. the romance: okay, i understand that “kinda worked” doesn’t sound like the most glowing review for a romance, but from me, it’s practically a declaration of adoration. more often than not, romance in young adult novels just do not work for me, whether because it’s instalove or some love triangle’s at play or the  premise is just problematic. but this one? ehhh, i can’t say i hate it.

james, thank god, is not the dark, angsty, “why are you even speaking to me” male love interest (four, i’m describing four from divergent) that i feel like i see too much. he’s funny, a bit dorky, super big on consent, and basically a sweetheart. the author obviously took some care in building up their relationship a bit before taking it to a romance - though in the process, i think she had to give up a lot of development dee could have had with cora and cal. 

their little fairy tale research road trip was actually one of my favorite parts of the book (i’ll talk about this more later). i did, however, groan every time dee became hyperfocused about the oh-so-scandalous fact of being in a car with a boy, sleeping in the same hotel room as a boy, blah blah with a boy. and i facepalmed quite a bit at the extended hesitancy dee had about calling james her boyfriend. i understand why she hesitated (trust issues, negative body image), but it doesn’t mean i have to like it. which leads me to this next thing.

2. character’s response to abuse: let me preface this by saying that i absolutely despise child abuse as a plot device. this is a personal opinion,  i’m not going to get on any high horse and preach about moral quandaries. 90% of the time, i just don’t like it. a lot of this is because i feel most of the time, the character never gets to confront their abuse - never gets the chance to recognize “oh, what happened to me wasn’t right, and a lot of the negative thoughts i have about myself stem from this abuse, and i should not let it define me.” and more often than i like in ya novels, especially for female victims of child abuse, it’s their male love interest who runs in and beats up their abuser/yells at them about how they were a horrible person, which really doesn’t grant the victim any catharsis at all, and i hate how often that is portrayed as “romantic” or a good way to deal with abusers. 

this book, well. let me just say that dee finally standing up to her father about his alcoholism and telling her parents that when THEY finally decided to change, they knew where to find her - that was some good shit. there was a bit when james came running in that i covered my face and went “oh no, here it goes” but to my pleasant surprise, all he did was support dee and didn’t try to insert himself into the situation at all, which was, you know, fantastic. and gremma casually pulling a fire ax out of her purse in front of dee’s parents? lesbian solidarity.

the thing i disliked the most would have to be dee’s image of herself due to the abuse. i understand you don’t need to overcome trauma solo, but i do wish that she could have realized that she didn’t need to be thin or that she wasn’t broken without james telling her so. also, there was that one line where she tried to minimize her abuse - which i know is a common thing for victims of abuse but once again, i don’t have to like it - and james had to talk her out of it that made me groan. i just generally dont think dealing with the effects of abuse should be anywhere near romance, let alone hand in hand like so many books like to treat it. 

3. the sacrifice: i pride myself on not being easily surprised by books anymore, but i did not expect james to die. and i definitely felt something when that package of harry potter books and dee’s picture and the ct scan of the brain tumor arrived in the penultimate chapter. and i hate to be that person, but...

james got his heart back before the final void opened. he could have not been there, like cora. which means the daemon would have still needed him. why didn’t he just sell his heart once more in exchange for the daemon removing his tumor? sure, this way, i have no idea how they would have gotten out of the manual timer thing - then again, who knows if they would have been so targeted if james had not been carrying the heart into the void in the first place, but i still think the sacrifice should have belonged to cora, who definitely required some sort of redemption act if we wanted her to matter to the story in any way. it could’ve been a nice scene -  a “i couldn’t save cal but hell if i’m going to let you two die” act of closure. really, i keep going back to my grievance over how utterly insignifigant cal and cora felt to the story, especially compared to riley, who only jumped in near the end. 

things that worked 1. diversity: can i get a fucking hell yeah?? i’m so goddamn happy that more and more ya novels are recognizing that the world isn’t full of beautiful white straight people. our main gal dee is half-latino, we have a badass lesbian lady who carries axes in her purse, a fucking awesome trans girl who blows shit up (the fact that she doesn’t show up until near the end is a travesty), and our latter two ladies have a cute as hell romance that i wish we saw more of. side character romance is always more awesome because it doesn’t have the kind of baggage that really kills the vibe of main character romances. 

just - diversity.

2. the research road trip scenes: okay, this is very specific. but i’ve watched far too much supernatural for it to be healthy, and james and dee’s little road trip where they ate bad diner food and spent time at the library reading about old fairy tales and old gods and speculated about angels - i just got such a strong supernatural feeling from it. more specifically, the parts where they have no idea what monster they’re hunting and are flipping through old books to figure it out. it had some really calming good vibes, i loved all the speculation and discussion of how people in the past processed magic. no fancy analysis here, it just really resonated with me. 

final rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

note: it would have been 2.5, but the ending surprising me and making me Feel Things really bumped it up. also, writing this ridiculously long review made me feel more invested and charitable.