#a lot of this also fits really well into dnd and the paladin implications for his arc

[chirpsythismorning]

It's okay! It's extremely likely this is going to be an early s5 plot twist to pay homage to s1. Though it obviously can't be identical to s1 with Mike dead/presumed dead/missing/injured throughout the entire season, otherwise that would be too repetitive. I think if anything it will be a 1-2 episode ordeal, with this having been foreshadowed quite a bit.

I do think that this arc for Mike in s5 could likely resemble his Paladin-hood and him presumably winding up needing to seek penance from a cleric (Will). Hence the upside down imagery with Mike going first and Will following:

Tapestry behind Jonathan's bed in s1-3

Tapestry behind Jonathan's bed in s4 (Upside down)

Upside down couch at Hopper's cabin

But most importantly, if we're indeed circling back to s1, Mike's first line could actually be giving us a hint for the beginning of s5...

You know what this reminds me of?

Dude is literally breaking the fourth wall to say this...

'How am I gonna survive a whole week without you guys?'??? When the week in question is not technically over yet? And s5 is opening right where we left off...

Especially considering the timeline for the s4 finale landed us on Saturday, March 29th aka one day before Easter. Meaning we're about to hit the resurrection of Jesus Christ...

And we already have someone in that role arguably...

But here's the thing... Will is also in danger. And I'm not even talking about the very in text indications he's in danger, I'm talking about similar subtextual coding we've got throughout the series, with the iron rod imagery...

I think it's possible we could see both Mike and Will meet an ill-fate. NOT PERMANENT! Just want to make that clear. It could honesty come off as one of them going missing and/or being presumed dead. I do think that Mike could likely go first bc it would match withthe foreshadowing of that Karen lookalike in front of the missing person's board at the end of s4...

It's possible they could pull what appears to be a bury your gays right at the start, only to subvert it just as quickly.

I think it's likely Will is going to be framed as being in danger a lot. It's the most obvious assumption everyone has. But if you think about it, if they're fine with us all thinking this and even insisting it... with Will's importance in s5 being one of the very few things they're even disclosing about s5, then that probably means there's more to it... And I think s5 will likely start with Will being in danger (with birthdaygate implications), and with Mike pulling a Kate Bush to save Will, only for Will to follow right after him...

I do have a theory for when this could take place...

Either as early as season 5 opener early OR more likely 5x02...

This shot could be hinting at not only something happening to Mike and/or Will by the 5x02, but it also could be hinting at lettergate arguably...

We know they kind of used Suzie at times in place of Mike, just like they did with a few of the other characters in those hectic Easter egg filled scenes at the Bingham residence. And within the context of this scene with 5:02 on the clock, it seems like they are hinting at the guilt Mike could have in store with the the newfound knowledge since returning to Hawkins that his monologue did not work...

This could also explain the filming rumors rn... Which are just rumors but within the context of something like this going down, with them being isolated from everyone for a bit early in s5...

What even is that thing behind Mike an ancient fan??? What the heck is up with all of these fans everywhere in the show

[rui-drawsbox]

Okay obligatory DnD person as per the Dungon Meshi post(dnd/fantasy au + our life is amazing and I love it) but also I just wanted to say that there is a subclass of elves in dnd called aquatic elves that are kind of a happy mix between a mermaid and a, well, normal elf. I stick more towards spooky rather than nautical campaigns myself, so I’m not too familiar, but if I remember correctly they’re amphibious but with two legs rather than full mermaid.

Also obviously please ignore if you have different ideas but based off of what people have written about battle roles I could absolutely see some subclasses for the four!

Derek I could absolutely see as a Paladin(subclass possibly being oath of devotion or glory) basically the more defensive tank guys bound by an oath they make to themselves or someone important to them, which gives them a little spellcasting as well as actual auras that buff their allies later on.

Baxter I could see being a Bard (College of Swords), or what I kind of think of as a sort of battledancer. It would be a little less of a full spellcaster, but you can do special flourishes when fighting with a rapier which I always imagine as pseudo-dancing, plus he’d still get all the flashy bard spells. And to top it off, Bards actually use their charm(charisma stat) to cast spells which just screams Baxter to me.

Cove is a little harder but if you were going with him having a fish/animal companion while still being a melee fighter a Ranger(Beastmaster or Swarmkeeper) would be a good fit IMO, obviously with the Cove Creater he’s harder to pin than Baxter or Derek, but Ranger is pretty flexible. You basically get to choose a companion that’s from the land, air, or sea; and they can help you out in battle and follow you around, or as Swarmkeeper he could have his swarm be a school of fish.

Ruri is obviously a bit harder because you know your OC best, but if you really wanted to lean into more into the familiar/animal buddy route. Druid(circle of the shepherd) is always a fun choice! It’s kind of like the more spellcaster version of rangers’ Swarmkeeper where you can summon a lot of critters while still having some super strong elemental spells.

But anyway! I hope this wasn’t too long, I saw some (kinda) DnD our life content and I couldn’t resist! But thank you again for the adorable art of the main boys(and your lovely OC!) in a fantasy setting!

Second ask from dnd anon:

Oh! DnD anon part two!

But basically the theoretical party composition would look like:

Derek = Tank/Damage

Cove = Weapon Damage/Companion(s)

Baxter = Spells/Weapon Damage

and Ruri = Healing/Spells.

Also one last note about Druid is while druids have a lot of elemental spells (create water, spike growth, etc.), they also have the ability to do something called wildshape, where they can shapeshift into an animal for either out of battle(wildshape into a mouse to get under the crack in a door, then returning to normal and unlocking it) or battle (at later levels imagine fighting a spellcasting bear or even dragon) but also has more silly implications like wild shaping into a songbird to sing with Baxter, or a cat or sloth to ride on Cove’s shoulder.

got these asks a few days ago but i let them marinate in my brain hope you dont mind anon KJDSAUH

anyways AQUATIC ELF THATS PERFECT i tried to stick to what i knew about dumenshi rules in that post but for my first fantasy AU ideas i was going to do Cove a half mermaid (Cliff human x mermaid Kyra or elf Kyra [shes just so pretty its insane] x mermaid Cliff) that lived in a house right on the beach lmao, im happy that actually makes sense somewhere in dnd

i tried to look at the aquatic elves wiki from the forgotten realms fandom and omg so much text in the main page

also paladin Derek canon‼‼ imagine he does his oath to his brothers right after something dangerous happens to them when they were kids (im not saying his parents should die but im not saying they shouldnt--)

and bam!! tragic backstory 10x worse than his canon that is already bad enough :DD (try to make him feel less responsable now i wanna see that)

baxter turn rn. DO YOU THINK HE WOULD PLAY VIOLIN? I WANNA SEE THAT (<-this person didnt thought about drawing him with an instrument until it was time to write her thoughts) anyway it would def be a fancy instrument, daddy and mommy wanted to keep appearances i bet

one his spells makes his sword and moves shine and when hes under the sun his enemies become fucking blind

everything about him screams I HAVE MONEY but everytime people try to rob him he just rolls a nat20 in persuasion and they end up giving him money

and omg just imagine Cove's school of fish are all his pet fishes from the game JGASDFJK

im also. not discussing roles when the most i know about dnd is bg3 and i just finished 2 playthroughs. if you say ruri is a druid she's a druid, she makes super artsy flower fields and decorates every tree she sees with organical paint or smth jkfhds

Ruri's forest has a tree that connects with the ocean and they both just hangout sometimes (as if theyre not together 60% of the time already)

DRUID RURI THAT LIKES TO BRAID COVE'S HAIR WITH LITTLE POPPIES‼‼‼

MERMAID COVE THAT LETS RURI (otter form!!) RIDE HIS BACK WHILE HE SWIMS‼‼‼‼

mermaid cove humming a song and ruri falling to the river in trance/j

anyways anon i agree with everything tbh, there's so many ways to do a fantasy AU and i adore the dnd version (id kill for a dnd group or smth in my city)

i also have another fantasy au more vanilla but not-really. basically isekai baxter LMAO mostly an excuse to make ruri and baxter being domestic but before baxter developed any real domestic skill JHASFD

[lake-cosay]

i've made numerous posts like this before, but god why is jesse cosay So Hard to put into an rpg class

i know what you're thinking. "he's a bard obviously." yes, BUT. did we consider the other options?

the reason i don't want to make him a bard is because it feels too obvious. like we're not really looking at the rest of his character. people just see an extrovert who likes to sing and they go "bard" and never think more about it.

it might just be that i have my own complicated relationship with bards that's getting in my way

anyways, i've said before i thought warlock was interesting, and i still think it could be, but atm i'm trying to put him in a system that has witches instead of warlocks (think dnd 5e's pact of the chain warlock with some paganism flavoring, it's from pathfinder 2e). my thought is i could make him a charisma-based witch whose patron and familiar is just alan dracula. alas, doing that in pathfinder would require lots of homebrewing, but it might be my best option.

i'm tempted to say something along the lines of druid but i really really don't want to boil him down to "native person likes animals and nature" because he is so much more complex than that, but man that boy clearly loves animals and swimming and being outside. which doesn't really equal a druid. but it keeps popping back into my head

another odd idea i had? champion (pathfinder 2e's version of paladin). they're good at support, i like the idea of auras, of protecting your allies, etc. but i don't see jesse being a heavily armored/tanky class, or a religious one (although plenty of people including myself have played paladins without the religious aspect really being relevant)

vaguely throwing around the idea of sorcerer, especially with a water related bloodline, but mostly ignoring that idea bc my self insert is a water sorcerer lmao. jesse could also have a fey bloodline, i think the combination of enchantments and nature spells could fit

i think part of my issue is it's hard to imagine what he'd do in combat. from the show we can infer he'd most likely be a support class or healer, but even then, i can't literally imagine various different techniques like i can with lake.

i also think one of the things that feels weird to me about bards is the general implication that all of their spellcasting happens by performing. it works well for some characters, but for others it just feels. i don't know. odd. i desperately want a bard or a class like a bard that really captures the idea of a storyteller with immense faith in their allies and the power of love, without having to be a Performer. but maybe that's already there in bards and i just don't see it

i think i will probably end up with some combination of bard and witch but please please please tell me your thoughts. i love jesse sm i don't wanna do him dirty

[deathvalleyqueen]

I'm about to go off on some Drow Lore questions I have about BG3.

Genuinely wondering - Was the Drow Durge raised in Menzoberranzan? Really... among Lolth's people. The Spider Queen honestly I don't know if she would allow that. Particularly that particular child of Bhaal - living in her city more or less? Nah. Or do they assume they were there? Was the family that takes in Drow Durge a family in the Underdark? How was baby Durge found then... I have too many questions about Lolthsworn Drow Durge...

Also, the fact that Minthara is a Baenre is not talked about enough. FOR REAL. They are probably the most powerful house in all of Drow society. Notorious for being devoted to Lolth. They are legit the first house of Menzoberranzan in the lore. They basically own the Black Claw Trading company, and have a long and storied history with the Do'orden family as well...which you can't just drop an NPC from this house and not tie all this in. Not give me answers to these questions.

The fact a would-be HEIR of LOLTH'S FAVORED HOUSE - is swayed to false god... Y'all... Y'all the implications. Add in that Minthara was likely a Paladin of Lolth - fits the fact she is a Vengence Paladin very well - probably would be the Oath that any Paladins of Lolth would take. SO not only did they sway a child of her favorite house but also... one of her devoted Paladins.

WHY didn't Lolth get involved with the Absolute plot? Yeah, she probably doesn't care but she is a vengeful god in DnD - I play many Drow in DnD and Lolth is honestly scary af when you think about it. So why would she stay silent while she has basically been made a fool by the chosen of some fairly new gods in Faerun? Upstarts if you would.

I only have gotten Minthara in my party once so maybe I am missing a lot of the Lolth stuff but I was thinking about this while making dinner and had to put it someplace because Drow lore is probably my favorite to dig into because there is just so much in the world of the Forgotten Realms but I always just end up with more questions about BG3's little plot threads that were never really finished. (rip what act 3 was supposed to be)