#TRAVIS LORE ALERT

[laura-bailey-enjoyer]

THE COBALT SOUL RESEARCHER IN WOODSET AUDITORS UTHODURN RESEARCHING RUIDUS OH FUCK OH SHIT FUCK SHIT SHIT TRAVIS LORE ALARMS TRAVIS LORE ALARMS RUINS OF MOLAYASMYR OF FUCKOH SHIT ARCHIVIST DEMID SUNLASH SHIT

[starhvney]

𝐑��𝐀𝐃𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: garroth, laurance, travis, dante, zane, katelyn, & nana

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: what i think they'd be like on a roadtrip!

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒: fluff, slice of life

𝐂𝐖: none!

𝐀/𝐍: i miss going on roadtrips i haven't been on one in so long

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

𝐆𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇

☆ calls shotgun immediately and insists it’s his spot for the rest of the trip (oldest sibling syndrome)

☆ always buys something at every rest stop, whether it’s an icee, chips, or some stupid trinket

☆ bought a key chain one time that flashed the words “bad boy” on it because he thought it was so funny. he was devastated when it stopped working one day

☆ likes being the gps guy because sometimes he’ll find a cool place to stop and check out on the way (to make the most of the trip, of course)

☆ talks about town lore when you pass through somewhere interesting

𝐋𝐀𝐔𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄

☆ he has the best road trip playlist and made sure to plan out how long it was depending on how far you’re traveling

☆ honestly he’s probably the one driving for most of the trip if not all of it, he finds driving relaxing and also doesn’t trust other people to drive safely

☆ likes to play fun talking games like never have i ever or would you rather, or just talking about life

☆ will play the license plate game or i spy to stay alert

☆ if he’s not talking he’s really enjoying the playlist

☆ if the road trip is super long he’ll agree to switch out of driving for a bit to take a nap

𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐈𝐒

☆ is really invested in the license plate game

☆ he’s always cracking jokes and is definitely the type of guy to look in other people’s windows on the road and guess their life story

☆ gets invested when a car sticks with yours for a long time and gets dramatic when they finally split away

☆ plays multiplayer games on his phone with whoever wants to play or sends memes to the group chat (you guys are literally in the same car)

☆ will suddenly start discussing conspiracy theories or will tell ghost stories about the towns you pass through

𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐄 

☆ he’s either talking the whole time or passed tf out no in between

☆ says “i could go for some fast fast food right now” literally anytime you guys pass a fast food restaurant

☆ also cracks jokes and will add on to travis’s guesses on the lives of oblivious travelers

☆ makes really exaggerated and out of place guesses because he thinks it’s funny

☆ it’ll be a grandma driving in her old chrysler and he goes “how much you wanna bet she’s got a pound of weed in her trunk”

☆ like man what the hell are you talking about

𝐙𝐀𝐍𝐄

☆ irritated if people are talking too much (dante and travis)

☆ puts on noise canceling headphones and only tunes back in if food or a rest stop is involved (he’s busy listening to my little pony infection au lore/j)

☆ has a pillow, blanket, and hoodie on at all times for maximum comfort

☆ another sleeper. surprisingly doesn’t mind if you use him as a pillow or ask to share his blanket, he’s really comfy with all those layers on

☆ will lightly shove you away if you start moving too much, though

𝐊𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘𝐍

☆ pretty chill the whole time as usual

☆ sits in the very back and mostly will watch the scenery

☆ she brings a book or watches a movie, and doesn’t mind sharing her headphones with you to watch it together 

☆ unless you’re traveling in a car with tv screens installed, then she has a small travel case with a ton of burned cds (if you know you know) and everyone can join in

☆ if she gets tired of socializing with everyone she puts in some earbuds and takes a nap

𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐀

☆ packs a whole bag of snacks and homemade sweets for everyone

☆ checks pretty often if anyone wants to take a break at a rest stop and stretch their legs (she’s pretty jittery and doesn’t want to be the only one constantly asking to stop the car)

☆ also participates in the license plate game, but also likes to play the slug bug and yellow car game

☆ made the mistake of slug bugging katelyn and got punched back in the arm

☆ gets really addicted to cute cat games on her phone and accidentally spends a bunch of money on passes

☆ she brings some sort of craft or sketchbook for the trip. you notice she’s been quiet for a while before looking over and seeing she’s already crocheted half of a scarf and a hat

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

[anggloria]

LOVE BEYOND SHADOWS | EPISODE 4: EN FLAGRANT DÉLIT

Disponible sur TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeRFAbkM/

Durée : 00:04:36

⚠️SPOILER ALERT⚠️:

Histoire écrite:

Chioma a discrètement lu les messages entre Uber Eats et Travis. Sous le choc elle ne sait pas quoi faire donc elle décide de ne pas réagir directement par peur d’être frappée une deuxième fois par Travis.

Le lendemain arrive et la nuit a porté conseil a Chioma: elle décide d’attendre Loree pour tout lui expliquer et de faire comme si de rien était avec Travis. Elle lui prepare un bon petit déjeuné avant qu’il aille travailler afin qu’il ne soupçonne aucun comportement étrange venant de Chioma.

Dès qu’il est sorti de la maison, Chioma appelle directement Loree pour TOUT lui expliquer. Furieuse et intelligente, Loree lui dit qu’il faut trouver qui pourrait être Uber Eats. Ni Instagram ni Facebook n’ont aidé… « Il faut fouiller ses mails! » dit Loree. Chioma fouille dans ses mails et y trouve une ancienne réservation dans un hôtel. Dans le mail il y a écrit:

« Nous vous remercions pour votre réservation, Monsieur TRAVIS et Madame BECKY »

Elle s��appelle donc Becky …

En voyant a quel point Chioma est dévastée, Loree lui propose de prendre de l’air et de faire un tour au centre commercial, puis d’aller au coffee shop boire un cappuccino.

Au coffee shop, un homme plutôt séduisant regarde Chioma avec insistance. Il est beau mais Chioma ne le calcule pas plus que ca. Quand Loree et Chioma sont assis a leurs table, elles discutent de leurs découverte. Loree a l’excellente idée d’aller suivre Travis dès qu’il part faire son jogging.

(dans l’episode 2 Chioma doutait d’ou Travis était réellement allé même si il prétendait être aller faire son jogging)

Même si Chioma a peur de se qui pourrait se passer, elle accepte de le suivre le jour ou il fera son jogging.

2j plus tard…

Nathan, le meilleur ami de Travis, rend visite a Travis et Chioma. Ils se comportent comme des enfants malgré leur âge mais cela fait plaisir a Chioma d’avoir de la visite. La journée se passe très bien et après le départ de Nathan, le moment tant attendu arrive… Travis se prépare pour faire son jogging!

Chioma tente de lui tirer les vers du nez mais Travis ne donne aucune réponse, just un petit bisous sur la joue et… il est parti.

Chioma se précipite sur iMessage pour prévenir Loree:

Chioma: ca y est… je crois qu’il part voir Becky…

Loree: on continue mon plan?

Chioma: pas le choix…

Loree: ma belle courage, tu mérites beaucoup mieux! Prépare toi, on y va!!!!

Quelque minutes plus tard…

Chioma et Loree sont cachées derrière un buisson et ont Travis en vue. Il entre dans une petite maison…

Les filles vont devant la fenêtre de la maisonnette et Loree se précipite de prendre son iPhone pour tout filmer. Ce qu’elles y voient est choquant…

Travis qui embrasse… Becky.

FIN D’ÉPISODE

[laurancezvahlslefteyebrow]

I feel like info dumping about my MCD OC and her family lore etc

Quick pronunciations: Eserty (es-er-it) Yrva (ear-vuh) Björn (byorn or byern) Aerdna (air-d-nuh) Lihcem (lie-chem) Zerimar (zair-i-mar)

Ok so her FULL name is Eseryt Yrva Björndotter of Barton. She is the long lost bio sister of Cadenza. They were separated when Zerimar was attacked, and they stayed that way for 13 years, until Eseryt was guided by the sentient forest to Phoenix Drop. Eseryt is a siren (though she doesn’t know until later) who’s name means ‘to perceive.’ She is able to read people like a book, but is practically impossible to read herself. If you manage to get a good read on her, it’s either because she let you or because its how she wants you to see her.

Cadenza’s full name started as Cadenza Yrva, but became Cadenza Yrva Zvahl when she was adopted by Jo and Hayden. Cadenza is a siren who’s name means ‘beautiful voice’. Her given magicks is an advanced version of her siren abilities. Not only is her voice literally beautiful, but she also has a way of making other do as she says, without needing to sing.

Their parent’s names were Aerdna and Lihcem Yrva, mother and father respectively.

Aerdna was a siren who’s given magicks was her beauty (I know how original, she didn’t pick it), and she was a teacher and nurse. She was a kind and loving person, though sensitive and self sacrificing.

Lihcem was Second in Command Guard of Zerimar, who’s name meant power. His given magicks was his great strength: physical, mental, and emotional. He was a strong and smart man, but selfish and arrogant.

Björn is a turned werewolf who found Eseryt the night Zerimar was attacked, just after she’d lost Cadenza. He took her to Barton and adopted her as his own. He had just lost his wife and son, and had she not been there he might have lost himself. His wife Amelia, had always wanted a daughter. He felt like he was meant to protect her, that he’d found Eseryt for a reason. She was with him from ages 5-18, never allowed to leave Barton for her own safety. Björn tried to explain to her that the rest of the world wasn’t as peaceful and loving as Barton, but Eseryt felt pulled towards the forest and has the need to explore and wander.

One night she waited for him to fall asleep and left into the forest, where she was guided to Phoenix Drop and reunited with her sister. Es didn’t return for nearly 20 years, 15 of those years not being of her own choice, seeing as she was quite literally in another dimension. When she did return, she was different, Björn could tell. She was a shadow night, and in danger.

In my rewrite’s conclusion, the Island of the Phoenix Alliance becomes comprised, so Eseryt takes everyone to Barton for refuge. Shad eventually tracks them there and that’s where to final battle is: Just outside the village.

Now this is where it gets extra angsty and whumpy:

Travis, who is in love with Eseryt and vice versa, is injured pretty badly during the battle. Eseryt stops what she’s doing to get him to the village so he can be treated. After the battle is won, and Shad is killed once and for all, Es goes to see Travis. He’s barely conscious, mostly from blood loss. She steps outside to talk to Lucinda, who’s taken over his treatment as well as most of the other injured people. As she’s telling Es that he’ll be fine, Eseryt suddenly collapses. Absolutely no sign she was going to whatsoever. She’s freezing cold, more so than a shadow night should be. She goes to alert the others only to find them panicking because Laurance and Vylad have also suddenly collapsed, at the exact same time no less. Everything had been fine moments before, they were laughing and celebrating.

They’re all brought to the inn, the one that Björn runs. It’s determined that this is bc Shad is dead, and he was somehow keeping them alive. It’s hard to live with only half a soul, so they’re bodies shut down. When Travis is finally healed enough to be conscious, he asks for Es, and is informed by none other than Björn of what’s happened.

Oooookay that’s enough of that

I could talk about my OCs for literal hours but that’s not what you’re here for

I just had to let some out before I exploded… just like Aaron… hehe

[drdone]

I love how eight years in Travis still does the Lore Alert Alarm

[critgoblin]

y’all want some post-ep.14 orym/liam meta? b/c i've got a whole lot of it. 

has anyone else noticed that orym is off the beaten path for liam? not completely out of his wheelhouse (*slaps orym’s tiny forehead* this little halfling can fit SO much trauma in him) but the way orym plays is not what i would’ve anticipated from liam. because liam is a character-driven player. by that, i mean he is one of those d&d players who is mostly in it for the inter-character role-playing. if travis is at one end of the spectrum with characters designed to drive the plot and the party forward, liam is at the other, with characters who would be content to spend an entire campaign in one setting developing relationships with the party and digging deep into the history and lore. 

it makes a lot of sense then, that liam’s previous pcs would serve as emotional catalysts for their campaigns. caleb and vax were reactive characters. they felt things, and those feelings drove them to make rash and impulsive decisions. vax had a habit of thinking only with his heart. he did what his instincts told him was right, and even when he got the literal and metaphorical shit beaten out of him for it, he never wavered in his dedication to his own (dubious) moral compass. caleb reacted on a hair-trigger instinct built out of a life of suffering and trauma. someone with that kind of damage can only ever respond with gut feeling--he made choices in self-defense, in fear, and in vengeance. his motivation was never from a sense of right and wrong, only what he saw needed to be done to keep himself and his teammates safe. 

they caused their respective parties a whole lot of trouble and grief. impulse draws consequence, and the choices they made in those snap decisions caused lasting aftershocks on both their individual character arcs and on the campaign as a whole. they developed complicated and emotionally-charged relationships with every member of their party, and in fact, entered the campaign already deeply entrenched with another pc--a bond that would define much of their character arc and growth. everything vax did usually came back to keeping vex safe--he died for her, he committed to a god he hated for her, he gave up control of his fate and his life and his purpose all for her, for his sister. and caleb... caleb built himself back up on the foundations veth laid for him. everything he became was in the image of what she wanted him to be, what she believed he already was. caleb remade himself into a better man for veth, even when that meant giving up everything he’d sacrificed for, because she knew he could. 

caleb and vax were created to fuck up constantly and to be taught to be better by the people who loved them. they were built so liam could dig deep into emotional turmoil to tell stories about death and grief and rebuilding. they were messy, invested, broken characters who were made whole again by their loved ones, who defined themselves through their connections, and who were made all the better for their mistakes and convictions. 

orym is not like either vax or caleb. orym isn’t a reactive character. he was built to be a support character, to exist on the outskirts of the party and provide protection and defense when asked. where caleb and vax were messy creatures of instinct and gut reaction, and whose active participation in their environment provoked fate and pushed the narrative along, orym is a study in control. you can see it in the way liam holds himself when he’s playing orym--tense. alert. hyper-vigilance disguised as poise and grace. matt summed it up pretty well in episode 14: “orym is doing the thing that he’s been doing for most of the night, which is paying attention.” orym is a soldier, and he is very, very good at it. he knows what his duty is. to watch. to observe. to get involved when there is blood on the line, to take the hits when it is expected of him, and to die at his teammates’ feet. he does not engage actively with the party unless specifically called upon, and he does not reveal personal information about himself ever. he checks in on his teammates, he prioritizes their health and wellbeing, he offers advice and comfort, he speaks softly and takes them seriously. but he does not engage. there is a boundary that he has set up between himself and the rest of the world, and he tends to it carefully. everything stays inside that line where it belongs, and he does not step over it. 

the truth is, we don’t know what happened in zephra. we have theories based off a tweet from almost five years ago, but we don’t know anything for sure because orym hasn’t told us. hasn’t told anyone. he hasn’t breathed a word about the attack other than to explain exactly what happened when prompted. clinical. rehearsed. a soldier reading a report, he says almost the exact same thing every single time. this is a pretty far cry from vax, who told his sister - and therefore, the audience - everything, and caleb, who revealed pretty early on that he had murdered his family and even earlier revealed that he was a tortured soul convinced of his own damnation. liam is not playing orym as a character seeking connection and rebirth, he is not playing a character intending to invest himself in other people. yes, it’s still early on in the campaign, but the other pcs have come pretty clean about their pasts. the details might be vague (looking at fcg/sam here) but we’ve got at least the scope of everyone’s backstories. we don’t know anything about orym except that his home was attacked six years ago, and that there is something deep and painful lurking inside of him. i have so many questions about his past, about what he’s been doing for the six years since the attack, about what happened to him, but i don’t see any end in sight to this purposeful obfuscation. because it’s not a matter of trust, or respect, or friendship. orym does trust his team. he likes them, and he’s certainly willing to die for them. and if he’s not waiting for trust, then i don’t know what else he’d be waiting for, unless he isn’t waiting for anything and he’s planning on walking right into his own grave with all of himself still wrapped up inside. 

the one exception to that rule, i think, might have been dorian. dorian was different. i don’t know if we’ll ever know why, but orym was different around dorian. not because he opened up to him, but because it seemed like he wanted to. like there were all these things that he was inches from blurting out. there was an element of engagement orym took with dorian that he hasn’t taken with anyone else. it was still filtered through that barrier of his, but between the flower and the sending stone and that goodbye - for the company -  it’s the most of orym we’ve ever gotten. little pieces of what orym might look like if he did talk about himself. if he did reach out. if he wasn’t such a good soldier. if he wasn’t so obviously soaked in grief and guilt and duty, if he wasn’t so fixed on whatever it is his goal is--vengeance, maybe? justice? death? 

i am heartbroken over losing dorian and losing robbie, and i am afraid of where it has left orym. our little murder halfling, with so much contained violence strung up inside of him. who is really just a walking, talking tragedy, so intent on going to his own destruction utterly alone. there was so much potential between them for something real and meaningful. for maybe the first real connection orym has had in six years. and orym wanted it, you can tell orym wanted it so badly. he was distraught over dorian’s departure, the heartbreak was all over his face. and now that dorian is gone, the one connection orym’s tried to foster in six years, what happens? we don’t know what’s waiting at the end of the road for orym, but it’s probably not a warm hearth. probably not connection. probably not a family. it probably looks a whole lot like an empty grave. like a waiting stillness. like a promise of an end to the agony he carries around like a live grenade in his chest. and why would orym bother, then? why would he build something new? why would he nurse a connection to life, if all he’s banking on is oblivion? 

the thing is, we don’t know anything about orym. but we do know liam. we know his themes, and we know the kind of characters he plays. and maybe orym isn’t like vax or caleb because he doesn’t reach out for connection and purpose. but they’re alike enough, and liam doesn’t do anything by accident. 

will the halfling live? or will the halfling die?

[teddy-boar]

wait what ashton slowly changed into rocks when they were 10-ish? i thought they fell from jiana's place when they were a teen and had rocks put into them by milo to stabilize them. apparently not?

*cue travis' 🚨🚨Lore Alert🚨🚨*

[crispysnake]

I keep accidently doing imogens accent in random conversations and doing travis 'lore alert' hands (please someone tell me they know what im talking about) when I get excited about something send help

[glindathegolden]

You guys I love so many little things about the residuum/Caleb reveal scene

Caleb gets a blank stare and scratches his arms the instant the residuum is revealed

When Matt says it's familiar we get multiple little thinks I adore.

Taliesin full on snapping into Percy for a second with his 'what?!'

Travis snaps his head up, looks to Laura, and then does his little hand circle/lore alert thing

Marisha just sitting forward with a little grin (clearly having figured this out already and now confirmed)

Laura and Sam freaking out

Sam not understanding Laura's initial statement and panic

Laura explaining

The sheer choas

And through it all Liam staying in character

[dungeonsanddragonsfifthedition]

the caduceus lore dumps (with an extra boy, to boot!), transcribed

on the scrying question, his quest, and his wants--twitch VOD 1:48:18

BEAU: Hey, Caduceus. CADUCEUS: Yeah? BEAU: While we’re gettin’ real and shit… why have you never wanted to scry on any of your siblings? You’re separated from ‘em, they went off lookin’ for these… things.

CADUCEUS: [silence] BEAU: Why not check in? [...Caduceus and Jester talk briefly about their mutual sobriety after Cad calls himself the token sober person--to editorialize, was he trying to deflect?] CADUCEUS: Uh... I don’t know. It’s… y’know, if you had asked me that a... month ago, I would’ve said, “‘cuz I don’t need to.”  BEAU: Why? CADUCEUS: ‘Cuz I’m on this path. It’s the right path. Uh. JESTER: But we’re asking you now. CADUCEUS: [sighs] I think I’m on this path. And I do think it’s the right path. Maybe I’m afraid? BEAU: Afraid somethin’ happened to ‘em? CADUCEUS: Afraid that if something did happen to them, what would it mean? I ha--uh. I don’t want to open the envelope, so to say, before it’s time, and be… hurt before I’m there. I’d rather trust and try to… process the fear. Fear is kind of new. Uh, I… for the record, I--my home is dying. Slowly. Up north. ESSEK: I’m sorry to hear that. CADUCEUS: I have been on a… quest. Sent by my goddess to… fix my home. To, um, bring it back to life, to replenish it. My family, all of my family had already begun this quest. Without me. And I do not know if they are alive or dead. But. This is the quest, and I was given these people, and I have done my best to support them as they’ve blossomed into heroes and… I thought that I was going to save my home and regain my family, and that would be my reward, and now I’m--this world has changed me. I don’t know anymore. I don’t know what is going to happen. Uh, not because I think that I’ve been lied to or been given the--I don’t necessarily believe that I understand what it is I’ve been asked to do, yet. And I don’t understand what it is I want, anymore. And that has… shaken me. But, this is a very big world. [laughs] It’s been a lot. It’s been nice to be useful. CALEB: It is good to be useful. CADUCEUS: These are good people, despite themselves. [laughs, smiles] [...i will be honest and say that i could not understand essek’s next line but basically it boils down to “i have no use for faith.” cad understands…] ESSEK: I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for. CADUCEUS: Thank you. I’ll find something. In the end, at least, it’ll be whatever I was looking for.

on what comes next, the third family, and a beautiful coincidence (or is it fate?)--twitch VOD 2:07:12

FJORD: Caduceus, I--I was moved by what you said about your family and your quest and--I want to help you with that! BEAU: Yeah, same! FJORD: I don’t know if I quite understood the urgency before about your home and it dying and-- you need to reinstate that? YASHA: How will you grow your home again? CADUCEUS: Well. [pulling out the residuum] I don’t know, I don’t know, but I think this has something to do with it. [...The residuum looks like purple rock candy. Jester licks the residuum. It’s salty...] YASHA: Are you supposed to plant it? FJORD: We can ask the… [...Caduceus and Jester are distracted by Jester’s analysis of the taste...] FJORD: What is… that, and what is its purpose; you’re saying--I’m sure you’ve told us, I just… never listen. To anything. [the Nein laughs] CADUCEUS: I don’t entirely know; it came… it came out of the Forge. I think that I have to go to this… uh, this garden. The Menagerie. And, uh, find some way of taking something from it to bring back to--to my garden. YASHA: So is it like a seed? CADUCEUS: Hopefully! FJORD: We should do that! JESTER: Yeah, let’s do it on that way! BEAU: Why didn’t you tell us sooner? CADUCEUS: I mean, I did-- FJORD: You kinda did. BEAU: You did, but every time we brought it up you were like, “It can wait!” [Yasha takes the residuum] FJORD: [to Beau] He’s selfless to a fault, maybe? BEAU: Maybe. CADUCEUS: ...Perhaps fear. Perhaps I uh, I’m afraid of what I’ll find? I don’t know. But. I knew that I was heading that way, and I knew that I would get there. So. I was letting the urgency of what had to be done take precedence, I guess, and I’m glad we did! We--we needed to do what was done. And I would’ve hated to have gotten in the way of that. But. The next step is to go and find the next sacred site, and hopefully find my family, hopefully find--or at least. Some sign that they’ve been there. And find the next thing I’m supposed to do! FJORD: Fuck yes! [...Fjord, a bit winedrunk, gets very excited about helping Caduceus and nearly passes out...] CADUCEUS: [smiling] ...find the, uh, the family of Stone.  FJORD: [internal Metal Gear alert sound] CADUCEUS: [reciting] “The Family of Stone shall take the limbs of this Hero and walk the plains until they find an Oasis at the mouth of a red and gold-veined cave. Thereupon they should feed these limbs to Beasts that walk there…” FJORD: [surprised Pikachu] CADUCEUS: “...so that they may hold My mark, and to this site you shall build a Menagerie whose Beasts shall be my Gift to the Changebringer, to remind her that nature is infinite.” BEAU: [to Fjord, who is still surprised Pikachu-ing] Did you get all that? FJORD: ...no, I--I got that. The family of St--Stone? CADUCEUS: The family of Stone. Dust, Clay, and Stone. Three families. JESTER: What, do you know something? What? FJORD: Uhhh, I mean--I mean. Yes? No? [laughs] BEAU: What? FJORD: I find it ironic. NOTT: What? CADUCEUS: [I AM LOOKING DIRECTLY AT IT DOT JPEG] FJORD: Uh. When you’re at an orphanage, they give you a--they give you a shit last name. Mine was Stone. CADUCEUS: [laughs] FJORD: I never used it because it’s not--it’s not my name, it was given to me-- CADUCEUS: [insight checks, because of course he does. Fjord is telling the truth.] ...Wow! NOTT: They gave you the name Stone?! FJORD: Yes, but--orphans can have any kind of bland, ordinary last name. JESTER: But you got Stone! FJORD: Yes, it’s--it’s very strange. But I think it’s only-- CADUCEUS: A sacred family of the Wildmother. BEAU: Who you now follow. NOTT: What a tough name. JESTER: Wow! FJORD: It’s just fuckin’ Stone, I…. aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. CADUCEUS: ...I’m not a believer in coincidences. FJORD: thethhehthhaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. [the full table makes siren noises, because Travis and Taliesin are losing their minds. Mostly Travis.] CALEB: Wouldn’t be the first one in this group. CADUCEUS: [trying to be cool about this] Nope. Family of Stone, though. It’s one of the three, the three families. FJORD: gfsjhfmfb JESTER: Woooow! CADUCEUS: I’ve never met any of them..... JESTER: Maybe you have! FJORD: Either way. I’m very interested in going. CADUCEUS: I’m somehow even more interested than I was a minute ago! Maybe there’ll be something else for you, here, you certainly found something at the last… [beams]  NOTT: This is exciting. FJORD: I always wondered who my parents were, and what my real name might be, I never… cared for that name. I just found it… CADUCEUS: Well. I will say, as part of what I do… and part of what we do at the garden. We, uh… names have a funny way of sneaking up on you. And the people we put into our garden, their names are… their names have quite the effect. So. Yeah. Look at that. All the way back around. FJORD: [smiles] Alright. I need ice water. I’m going to bed.

[istusknits]

TAZ:G Live Reactions

“SPOILERS OBVS

I AM HYPERVENTILATING 

THESE C H A R A C T E R S 

BOYS

I CAN’T 

FITZROY

ARGO

J U S T I N

THIS VOICE

THIS

V O I C E

ORVATZ???

TRAVIS CALLING OUT JKR

I blacked out there for a second I am never going to be over this character voice of Justin’s and Clint’s fucking water genasi and Griffin doing the MOST with Fitzroy like JEsuS.

“This guy’s huge and this guy has a mustache”

GROUNDSY THE GROUNDSKEEPER

new favorite npc alert?

SIR FANCY LAD

oh is Fitzroy a fighter?

Bud is totes a druid huh?

And Argo is a rogue with some sort of pirate background?

Hernandez is already interesting. 

OH NO I’M ALREADY SAD THANKS TRAVIS THANKS JUSTIN

OH BACKSTORY ALREADY?

IS THIS A GOODBERRY? ifjerfvruieagrjegjiraghger;ghrljgrh

god so many NAMES

fantasy names EVERYWHERE

Knight School. Knight School. 

Argo is soooooooooooooooooo happy to be a sidekick

OH NO BUD OH NO DON’T THINK LIKE THAT NO BUD YOU’RE ALREADY MY FAVORITE

Travis just RIGHT OUT THE BAT brings out a canonically disabled character with a bitchin’ mobility aid huh

Oh the lore here is so interesting. Travis your mind

TRAVIS IS DOING THE MONEY ZONE AYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

I am so emotional already Travis thanking all the DM’s he loves and including Griffin <3

“WELCOME TO THE SCHOOL, IF YOU NEED HELP, PLEASE DON’T. hesitate to ask.”

Griffin being so supportive of Travis is just so sweet and good and I love. 

Oh and now he’s being a lil shit again. 

WHAT THE HELL CLASS IS FITZROY THO? 

“Are we happy with Bud?”

Okay so Bud? Fitzroy-but-not-a-sir? Is a druid! I was right!

“she does this weird thing with squirrels? It’s “““cute”“““ but deeply disturbing”

“That would put me off lemons and I need those for scurvy”

I see that Galavant reference Travis I see u

And more taking the piss outta Harry Potter

“Bartholomus, the owl that Tumblr wants to have sex with”

“Germaine, Victoria, and Rattles.”

The McElroy’s are putting me to shame by actually being able to pronounce Shillegihlay or whatever it is I just call it big stick energry

heRTHA

DnDads ruined me. Justin was asking what the d8 looked liked and Griffin said “Two pyramids” but there was no “ass to ass” after it :(

Argo said he’s dying to be a sidekick but I am scared of what that means. 

“OOoooh I want to talk to you.”

“It is not mutual.” god what an ICON

SO INTO this forest mystery, so GOOD I am so hooked already I love Travis I love the boys I am INTO THIS

[darkelfshadow]

Session Summary - 76

AKA “The Light Of Truesilver Comes”

Adventures in Taggeriell

Session 76  (Date: 10th January 2020)

Players Present:

- Rob (Known as “Varis”) Elf Male.

- Bob (Known as “Sir Krondor) Dwarf Male.

- Paul (Known as “Labarett”) Elf Male.

- Arthur (Known as “Gim”) Dwarf Male.

- Travis (Known as “Trenchant”) Human Male.

- John (Known as “Ragnar”) Dwarf Male. <New Player>

Absent Players

Nil

NPC

- (Known as “Naillae”) Elf Female. <Controlled by Travis>

Summary

- Toilday, 9th Pharast in the year 815 (Second Era). Spring.

- The party begin this session, mid evening, in the dark forbidding corridors of the Yuan-ti Nest Complex, having just finished dispatching a small patrol of Yuan-ti at the end of last session.

- The black great sword in Gim’s hand, Hazirawn, speaks to Gim, “Fool Dwarf! You have taken me into the heart of the cursed Yuan-ti. I will not fall into their hands, I can not control their minds. Leave now Dwarf! Leave your friends behind and whilst the Yuan-ti kill and torture them you may yet be able to escape these lands.” Gim struggles to resist the control and does so, but the strength of the great sword is growing.

- The smell of mouldy food alerts the party and they check their backpacks to find that all their food is soiled and their water skins are empty. The party recall that that is one of the effects of entering into the lair of a Mummy Lord, which Diderius must be. They are now two and half days away from civilisation, in a inhospitable land, with no food or water.

- From down a nearby corridor, from behind a steel door, comes the faint sound of a male Dwarf voice shouting, “Berronar! Akyth offrumm tha ghoran!”  Varis, who is the only one in the party standing in that corridor hears the voice but does not understand the Dwarvish words.

- Nedumlin, the ancient Dwarvish symbol of the Knight Anvil speaks in a frantic voice to Sir Krondor, “Did you not hear that call for help?!”  Sir Krondor, standing away from the corridor shakes his head, “Heard what?”

- Nedumlin hurriedly replies, “A Dwarf calls out for Berronar Truesilver to send aid! That could be a Clan Peace Keeper, Cleric of Truesilver, in dire need of aid. We must go now!”

- Sir Krondor and Gim look at each other and nod and begin to run towards the steel door. Varis shouts as they run past him, “It could be trap! The Yuan-ti can put suggestions into your mind!”  Just then, a female voice, can be faintly heard from the door. She sounds as if in great pain.

- Trenchant yells, “Wait! That sounds very suspicious!”

- As the two Dwarf cousins run towards the door, Sir Krondor bellows, “We don’t have time to discuss this!”

- Gim reaches the door first and bursts through with a kick with Sir Krondor just behind him. They see a rectangular prison chamber with multiple prison cells comprised of black metal bars. The cells are filled with many people, all wearing just loin clothes or under clothes. By the look of their distinctive tattoos, most of the cells contain Cultists, about seventeen with two of them wearing black metal collars around their necks. One cell has an elderly male Elf, trying to get out to stop a Yuan-ti guard striking an elderly female Elf who is crouching on the floor with a bloody face.

- In one cell by himself is a male Dwarf, he too has one of the strange black collars around his neck. He looks over at the two nearly arrived Dwarves, and in Dwarvish speaks, “Praise Berronar! Quickly!”

- The party rush in and engage the Yuan-ti. They pull their blows, trying to avoid killing the creature, when one of the Cultists wearing the metal collar tells them they need the creature alive to unlock the collars. The party force the Yuan-ti back towards the bars, with Gim holding him against the cell, whislt the Dwarf stranger in the cell grabs the hands of the Yuan-ti and places them onto his metal collar which immediately unlocks and opens with a click.

- Quickly the party knock the Yuan-ti unconscious. In a corner of the chamber is a large metal cupboard with multiple drawers with the belongings of the prisoners all stored within. The party learn that the two elderly Elves, Dalern and his wife Elona, are travelling herbalist, historians and map makers. They had been wandering the Serpent Hills recording animal and plant life when they were captured by the Yuan-ti and brought here. A day later the Cultists were also captured in brought here.

- The lone Dwarf is called Ragnar Krakhammer, Cleric of Berronar Truesilver, Priest of the Light, and Clan Peace Keeper. He came to the Tomb Of Diderius looking for an ancient book that might be able to help him find an ancient relic, the Sun Blade.

- He was captured by Yuan-ti early today, just before sunrise, and brought here too, having slept most of the day thanks to the poisoned arrows used to capture him. Ragnar takes back his gear from the metal cupboard and gets back into his clothing and armour.

- He walks over to the unconscious Yuan-ti and raises his silver war hammer high, then smashes it into the creature’s face killing it, green blood splattering on the floor.

- Trenchant reels, “I thought you said he was a Peace Keeper. That doesn’t seem very peaceful.”

- Ragnar wipes the green blood of his weapon as he replies, “I am a Clan Peace Keeper for the Dwarves. Through the guidance of the Revered Mother, Berrnoar Truesilver, it is my duty to keep the culture, lore, traditions and family histories of the Dwarves alive. The existence of that evil creature is an insult to the Light that I serve.”

- The Cult prisoners beg for their release too but when they refuse to renounce their worship of Tiamat the party leave them in their cells but free the Elf couple, Dalern and Elona. The party move over to a stone door, that one of the Cultists tells them is the throne room of the Yuan-ti and also where Varram The White is being held captive.

- They open the stone door and are invited inside by a large female Yuan-ti who commands a large group of Yuan-ti, the Nest Mother.

- The party enter the large chamber, lit by green flames that erupt from numerous statues along the walls. A stone altar sits upon a raised platform.

- Initially the party are trying to negotiate with the Nest Mother, who stands next to the prone figure of Varram The White, who appears injured and confused but alive. The negotiations turn bad however and the party find themselves in battle.

- The party are fighting the Yuan-ti forces in the throne room with more Yuan-ti appearing from the rear corridor. The party concentrate their attacks on the Nest Mother and quickly force her to flee, badly injured. Trenchant goes back to the Cult prisoners and releases them, telling them to armour up and get out. The Cultists do that and as they run out of the Nest they encounter a Yuan-ti Abomination coming from the rear and engage it in combat.

- Shadow, Varis’s animal companion, is killed when he leaps towards on coming Yuan-ti trying to slow them down. The battle is hard, but one by one the Yuan-ti are dropped until only the party remain, though badly injured. Varis and Ragnar take the time to cast healing spells to give some much needed healing to the party.

- The bodies and area are searched. The outline of a secret door is found and after examining one of the statues, it is turned toward the stone altar to open the secret door. Within is found a large pile of treasure which the party then divide amongst themselves.

- Taking Varram and the elderly Elf couple with them, they then move back towards the circular chamber they found earlier, but did not enter, with the many holes visible in the floor. Entering this room, they discover that it has an anti-magic field enveloping it to protect barrels of food and water from the effects of the Mummy Lord’s corrupting influence. They take the opportunity to have a short rest, eating and drinking.

- Moving onwards, they check out a few other doors, until the decision is made that the book that Ragnar wants to find must be in the Tomb complex and not the Yuan-ti nest. They make their way back to the secret door that leads into the Tomb Of Diderius, Mummy Lord.

<And as the party prepare themselves to re-enter the Tomb complex in search of the ancient book, that is the end of the session.>

XP Allocation

Group - Combined (This is equally divided by the number of players who were involved)

Quests (Only quests that are completed or rendered undoable, during this session, are shown here)

- “We don’t have time to discuss this with the committee!” Save Elona (Elf Prisoner) In Time = 500 XP

- “Eyes up here buddy!” Force the Nest Mother to leave = 500 XP

- “Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge” Release Cultist Prisoners = 500 XP

- “I see many things. I see plans within plans” Learn the Zhentarim have the White Dragon Mask = 1000 XP

Creatures Overcome

- Yuan-ti Malisons (Type 1) = 2800 XP

- Yuan-ti Malisons (Type 3) = 2800 XP

- Yuan-ti Abomination = 2900 XP

- Yuan-ti Abomination = 131 XP (Shared with 15 Cultists)

Individual (This is only given to that person and is not divided amongst all players)

Special Bonus (Outstanding Role Playing)

Nil

XP Levels and Player Allocations

Player : Start +  Received = Total  (Notes)

Rob : 89420 + 1702 = 91122

Arthur : 70786 + 1702 = 72488

John : 64000 + 1702 = 65702

Travis : 81241 + 1702 = 82943

Paul : 70117 + 1702 = 71819

Bob : 76545 + 1702 = 78247

NPC (Naillae) : + (851)

[rhys-ravenfeather]

So...it’s really been five years, huh? Five years of Five Nights at Freddy’s...it’s pretty crazy to think about. And even more crazy to think that a simple horror game could have influenced me as much as it did--it’s funny to think that a game chock-full of jump scares and complicated lore hooked me and even helped to inspire some of my own characters for my own original stories; both current and upcoming. 

This is actually something I’ve wanted to do for a little while...some of you may or may not know that some of the characters from Myth City (i.e. Maverick and Parker) are actually retooled versions of my FNAF characters...despite how I may feel about the FNAF games and other material (i.e. the books) beyond FNAF 3, I can safely say that those characters would probably not have existed if it weren’t for the Five Nights at Freddy’s series; and spoiler alert, the Myth City characters aren’t going to be the only ones retooled from my FNAF AU/fanfic. 

So I figured it would be a nice tribute to FNAF’s fifth anniversary to have my present and future characters look back on their past selves, and see how far they’ve come. From top to bottom: Maverick/Mike Schmidt, Parker Stillwell/Travis Greene (my Bonnie kid), Tricia Greene (my Freddy kid), Melody Huang (my Marionette kid), Nita Connors/Ian Connors (my Foxy kid), and Hope Caldwell/Polek (my Chica kid). The first three are from Myth City, the last three from Weird World, if anyone was curious. At some point in the future, I should make proper character sheets for the Weird World characters...

Scott Cawthon, thank you for giving us the Five Nights at Freddy’s series. Whatever you have planned for the future, I hope you continue to succeed, and have fun doing it. 

Reblogs>Likes

[eponymous-rose]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role Highlights C2E33 (September 11, 2018)

Tonight’s guests are Taliesin Jaffe and Liam O’Brien!

Announcements:

Support the RavenRook Kickstarter! Brian used one of their notebooks to take notes in his own home campaign. (”I was the Marisha.”)

The NYC live show on Thursday, October 4 still has tickets available! (Liam: ”It’s like the inside of Gilmore’s mind, that theater.”)

There’s a new State of the Role video on YouTube and the website!

Between the Sheets, CR’s new show, premieres on Monday, September 17 at 7 PM Pacific on CR’s Twitch channel, and then on YouTube about 36 hours later. The first episode features Taliesin Jaffe and is over an hour long. Brian: “Taliesin is like an endless well of darkness and love and joy. So many bad things.”

All Work No Play is returning! Premieres on the Twitch channel (also later windowed to YouTube) on Friday, September 28 at 7 PM Pacific. A dire warning from Brian: “Have liquid nowhere near your mouth.” Liam: “We’ve seen some things.”

CR is raising money for the Pablove Foundation!

@critrolestats for this episode:

This is the first episode of campaign 2 to have no crits.

There were 16 spells cast this week. Ten of them were Disguise Self, six of those by Jester. Taliesin: “Sometimes you don’t want to be the guy who’s nine feet tall in the theater.”

Of the eight Sending messages Jester has sent this campaign, only her last one to the Gentleman was under the 25-word limit.

Liam: “I feel so sad that Laura can’t be here tonight, because I, personally, wanted to know what Laura thought about what happened in the last episode. I share your disappointment that I’m not Laura Bailey.” Taliesin: “He’s making a suit. It will eventually be okay.”

Caleb’s feelings about the ocean were tied up in finally being out of the Empire. “It was just a rare moment where all the things that weigh on him heavily receded for a bit.” Seeing Crownsguard in town did ramp up the worry again.

Taliesin hadn’t actually seen snowfall until he was a teenager, so the first time that happened was “an intense experience”. Caduceus has spent a lot of time thinking about how large the universe is, but having this confirmation was a really wonderful thing for him. He’s on a delighted high right now, and they’re going to have a hard time getting him away from the ocean.

Everyone talks briefly about their respective Tumblr Aesthetics. As you do.

Caleb’s thoughts on the ocean and the dodecahedron: “Confirming to himself that the universe is wide and vast and complicated, and there’s a hidden logic to it all. It was like seeing his heart’s desire splayed into an abstract form in front of him.”

Brian reminisces about some time they spent on the beach together. Liam was a sea monster. Ashley was attacked by a bug. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the police got involved.

Taliesin confirms that Caduceus really likes the group. “I mean, he doesn’t have a lot of people to compare them to.” He feels like he “really gets” Jester; she seems like the easiest book to read. Taliesin: “He knows what he knows. He knows he doesn’t know a lot, but he knows it doesn’t matter.”

Caleb didn’t assume that Jester’s mom was evil, it just didn’t sound like a great childhood. Caleb still feels sad that Jester had to go through that. “Nobody’s evil, it’s just that life is life and hard. He sees that Jester’s mother obviously loves her very much and is like, ‘I wish she got to see more of her.’” Brian points out that Caleb’s thoughts about other people are always much kinder than his thoughts about himself. Caleb’s constantly thinking, “Ah, this is what life would be like if I wasn’t terrible.” Taliesin points out that it is, by definition, what his life is like, but he’s not there yet. He feels detached.

Caduceus doesn’t understand “the entire nature” of the relationship between Beau and Jester and their pets. “I think if we had another person in the party, he would have the same-- ‘Cool, another.’ This is just three more living things to communicate with.” He likes the owl best so far.

Caduceus doesn’t really get what’s going on with Jester and the Gentleman. Taliesin: “That’s cool, man, get to know your dad!” Liam: “Caleb thinks that all of the Nein, except for Jester, are kind of fucked up and kind of problematic in their own ways... and then Jester’s one of us, more so.” 

Caduceus has a pretty positive relationship with his family. He’s 50-ish, which is the equivalent of early 20s. “He’s literally grown up in a monastery, so his early 20s is not necessarily other people’s early 20s.”

Gif of the Week: Travis’s Lore Alert.

The show gets derailed by Brian’s Dune-blue eyes. “Are you spicing?”

Part of Caleb being more watchful over Jester is being out of the Empire. “He sees chances to help people---he’s irredeemable, but he’d like to be helpful if he can. From his point of view, he’s got things that he’s going to do.”

Brian asks if Taliesin and Liam think there’s such a thing as an irredeemable character. Taliesin on Percy: “I tried to make an irredeemable character and failed.” As long as they’re not a caricature, it’s hard to pull that off. Taliesin: “As long as you have a character who’s trying to move toward something.” Liam: “I definitely intend Caleb to have some chance for redemption.” He doesn’t know where his story will go, but he wouldn’t play him otherwise. Taliesin: “He’s a villain only in his head, which is really the hardest fight of all.”

Dani points out that the Gentleman clearly wanted to keep his relationship with the Ruby on the down-low, and Jester bringing it up could backfire badly.

Marisha’s off-screen trying to catch a fly. Liam: “It’s Vecna. He’s immortal. He’s just been flying around the studio for months.”

Caduceus was looking for a particular kind of information, and “the lighthouse called to him. The lighthouse was his mission. If he’s focused on something like that, he’s focused. It’s very hard to distract him.” He didn’t get as much out of it as he wanted, and badly wants to know more.

Taliesin wrote a segment about the Wildmother in the upcoming artbook, some of which wound up bleeding through to Caduceus. Liam and Brian discuss Taliesin’s amazing writing.

Liam and Marisha get into an argument about the tower. Marisha: “Sometimes it’s just fun to hop the fence to say that you could! I’m not in this episode! Stop talking about me!”

Fanart of the Week: the Ruby of the Sea by ZomgDae!

An extremely deserved shout-out to Rachel Romero for everything she does!

Taliesin is asked if Caduceus has trained himself not to show anger, sadness, or fear. Taliesin points out that Caduceus hasn’t had a lot of reason to be angry, sad, or afraid yet. “He has a lot of very quiet and very personal delight. He’s not a creature of heavy desire. He’s not missing a lot. If something hadn’t gone wrong in his home, he never would have left it. He’s seen violence, and he’s very comfortable with the nature of violence.” Liam: “In the National Geographic sense.” Taliesin’s excited to see what happens if he or his companions are put in a place of real peril.

Liam was entertained that nobody playing the game picked up on Marisha, Matt, and Taliesin’s alter egos in the werewolf one-shot. Laura’s going to be up next in the DM chair at some point, and Taliesin has a fun idea as well.

Fast Times At Talks Machina: After Dark High:

Taliesin thinks Molly and Caduceus would get along pretty well; they had a lot in common. Taliesin was finishing up Molly’s playlist this week, and all the songs he cut wound up finding their way into Caduceus’s playlist.

Taliesin owns a book about presidential beards (because of course he does) and wants to take Brian through that journey. Brian actually grew his beard in the first place because Laura made a comment about him not looking good without one in an early episode of TM.

What would they use the dodecahedron for in real life? Job interviews, auditions, dates...

Dani asks about Frumpkin. Caleb specifically summoned Frumpkin as a cat because he’s a cat person, based on his experience with his childhood cat. Liam’s cat named Frumpkin was actually a siamese, not a bengal like in-game Frumpkin.

Taliesin: “All of our characters should have pets like Strawberry Shortcake.”

We leave you with this image:

[gamebrocorey-blog]

Nintendo Direct 3.8.18 Review!

   The other day, Nintendo graced us with a new Nintendo Direct, featuring a look at some new games coming out this spring and summer. Nintendo announced this Direct two days prior to it's airing, stating that it would mainly focus on new 3DS and Switch titles, as well as a focus on Mario Tennis ACES . With this news, I think many of us thought that there wasn't going to be anything REAL BIG during the Direct, just a few remakes and release dates. But BOY OH BOY was no one ready for the surprise announcement of Smash at then end?! Not to mention Splatoon 2 getting a pretty neat new expansion, the Direct really brought that surprise factor that Nintendo is known for. Surprises aside, I feel like this wasn't the best Direct of all time, mainly because not that much was new content. Not to mention, I'm just DONE with 3DS and really don't understand why Nintendo continues to support it. I guess Nintendo still see's a business there considering the amount of systems still in flotation. Not to mention the 3DS is a cheaper console that is better suited for children, which is one of Nintendo's biggest markets. I just want the true dream of the Switch to be a thing. Nintendo's handheld and console dev teams, working together to make wonderful projects! Nintendo is still working their butts off to make some amazing projects and I for one give them my highest praises. For now, let's get into the full breakdown of the March 8th, 2018 Direct!

   The presentation started off with a small showcase of the new titles coming to the 3DS. Something interesting to point out is that the 3DS titles weren't just only for the spring/summer time. All of the 3DS titles shown arel the new titles coming out the rest of this year and into 2019. The titles didn't really impress me either. As much as I'd like to see a new WarioWare or Dillon game on the Switch, the versions being produced on the 3DS seem like low-budget games. I think it's cool Nintendo is remastering the Mario and Luigi series on the 3DS, but again, I'd much prefer one on the Switch. And COME ON WITH THAT REMASTER OF LUIGI'S MANSION! I've never played any of the Luigi's Mansion games so this one hurt me. But it does make sense, Nintendo already has all the assets of Luigi's Mansion from Dark Moon, so this shouldn’t cost that much to make either. And even though all these titles are pretty low cost form Nintendo, they do still retain the Nintendo quality and charm... for someone out there. I'm sure the Switch will eventually get these titles in all the glory they deserve, but for now I'll stay salty about the 3DS.

   Nintendo did have a good plethora of new titles coming to the Switch as well as a few updates on earlier announced titles. I mainly wanna talk about the new announcements here. I do like hearing about more updates for Kirby, but I wanna focus on all the  NEW stuff announced. Okami HD is coming to the Switch this summer. One word, YES! When Okami HD was released last year, I was so baffled at the fact that it wasn't on the Switch. The title is so old at this point that it surprised me that Capcom didn't put in the work straight from the get-go. Okami was on the Wii for crying-out-loud! Well, it's here now, and I'll finally be able to play as the dog goddess herself, fleas and all. Octopath Traveler revealed two new characters playable in the story, as well as the release date! This was great news to me, considering Octopath Traveler was absent from the Direct Mini in January. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is the only new Wii U title announced, and I’m actually excited for this. Captain Toad came at a time where I wasn’t really interested in my Wii U anymore, not to mention there will be some new Super Mario Odyssey content in the game. A lot of cool games coming to Switch that they revealed include Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, Little Nightmares, and Undertale! I’m glad the Switch is actually getting some more recent titles added to it’s gamelog, such as Crash and South Park. And I know for a fact Undertale will do absolutely incredible on the system! Mario Tennis ACES shown of their interesting, complex style of tennis gameplay, and I’m kind of into it! They also revealed the majority of the playable characters and I think it’s hilarious to see Chain Chomp playing Tennis! Crossing my fingers we will get Pauline added in the future. I also wanna say how happy I am to see not only a new amiibo, but an amiibo for Dark Souls! Praise the sun boys, I love Solaire and the Dark Souls series! Before we get into the big news, I just wanna briefly talk about Travis Strikes Back: No More Heroes. I am a big No More Heroes fan, and I was excited to see a new gameplay trailer and a release coming later this year. I do have one problem with the game, I didn’t want this type of game. The over-head style beat-em ups are a fine genre, but I LOVED the old style of No More Heroes. I’m sure the game will be fun, maybe it’s just me being a cranky old grandpa not wanting change. I’m still gonna enjoy the hell out of this game. The zany characters and story, Suda 51, and bashing dudes with a beam katana sold me already! I also do think it’s cool that the game has local co-op and seems to have multiple different styles of gameplay. No More Heroes games always have a certain style, like the next game I wanna talk about, Splatoon 2!

   Splatoon 2 got a lot of love in this direct with a content update as well as a new expansion. The content update basically showcased all the new content coming FOR FREE in the upcoming months. This content includes new weapons, new maps, Callie returning to the campaign mode, and a new “Rank X” level for you pro-splatters. The other content drop is the Octo Expansion, coming later this summer and will cost you $20. This expansion will feature a brand new single player mode that let’s you play as an Octoling and explore the vivid world of Splatoon 2. This content will also include some special Octoling gear for multiplayer, as well as allowing players the option to play as an Octoling in multiplayer. The Octoling has no benefits to the Inklings, it’s simply a cosmetic change. I honestly didn’t see this content coming, but it seems pretty cool and might get me back into Splatoon 2! I actually really enjoyed the campaign mode, and would love to see more of the lore that Splatoon 2 offers. The beautiful levels and new characters reasons to go back!(deja vu right?) Whelp, that’s it guys and gals! It’s been a good Nintendo Direct! We got a few new games, some release dates, and some cool new content for Splatoon 2! Alright, see you guys at E3!

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Oh! And we have ONE more thing to show you guys! *snap*

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   SMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH BROS FOR SWITCH! OOOOOOOOH MYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOOOD! Who would have saw this coming, in this random March Direct?!? Nintendo, you sneaky dogs you! Needless to say, I was screaming and crying when I saw this announcement. I am happy that this is a thing, and that Smash 5 is a new game, not a port of Smash 4. I’ve talked about what I want to see from this game in another blog, so I’ll keep my thoughts short. Inklings look cool, but we know almost nothing about how they will play. A mysterious character roster is shown, from what I assume is all returning characters. Mario is there, and so is BREATH OF THE WILD LINK?!?! I hope this is a totally new character, but some speculate this might just be his design now. What a bombshell moment to end on, Nintendo just sold this Direct to me. I was honestly falling asleep throughout most of the presentation, but the Splatoon bits and the Smash reveal awoke me. Not to mention my hype for the next Smash has now awoken too! Time for me to go watch the one-minute long reveal trailer a million times to speculate everything I can from it... spoiler alert, there’s not much.

[drdone]

‘kay but Travis’ “LORE ALERT” sirens are my favorite thing