#and because ya'll as so creative and could be funny place

[elysiium]

& 𝐑𝐄.  OPEN  /  @dihstarters​​​

❪   location   ➔    utp   ❫

THE  LIGHT  WAKES  HER  —  red  behind  her  closed  lids  ,  the  slight  burn  of  it  making  her  squeeze  them  together  .  one  small  tear  leaks  from  the  corner  of  her  eye  before  they  open  ,  blinking  back  the  blinding  light  as  mismatched  orbs  adjust  to  her  surroundings  ...  the  nephilim  slowly  sits  up  ,  confusion  (  and  a  small  amount  of  fear  )  upon  realizing  that  this  is  NOT  HOME  .  not  her  bedroom  or  the  dorm  or  julian’s  room  .  no  ...  this  is  not  where  she  fell  asleep  at  all  .  perhaps  she  should  be  more  panicked  ,  but  drowsiness  submerges  her  into  a  dull-like  state  until  she  realizes  she  is  not  alone  . ❛  who’s  there  ?  ❜  her  hoarse  voice  calls  out  ,  head  turning  towards  the  sound  that  alerted  her  to  the  stranger’s  presence  .

[ejoym]

What is the backstory of Frankenfoot? Now I'm curious.

The short, spoiler free answer:

I thought it would look cute on her! So, I decided that she lost her foot during the final events of The Dark Urge’s storyline. I think it’s a fitting way to symbolically represent what she lost/gained to overcome her haunted past. And very sweetly, Astarion helped her stitch the corpse foot in place (which I might draw in the future)!

I also just like this dumb joke that she now has “one foot in the grave.” 

The longer, Dark Urge plot spoiler heavy answer:

Devlin doesn’t have many scars. As The Dark Urge she was a child of Bhaal and also his most loyal cleric. He granted her power over life and death so she could always cure wounds before any rigid scar could mar her sacred flesh. 

It is her bloodkin Orin though who leaves her with the greatest physical scar–the loss of her foot. In the climax of Durge’s story, Orin challenges Devlin to a final duel. Orin transforms into the slayer and immediately chomps Devlin’s foot clean off during this fight. Devlin, in excruciating pain, barely manages to kick Orin’s face in. (As the player, I had to get so creative because OMG ORIN HITS FUCKING HARD IN THIS FIGHT. I barely got by with strategically timed uses of Sanctuary, Hold Monster, Spirit Guardians, and Harm. It was brutal.) Through ingenuity and sheer luck, Devlin buys herself enough time to land the final spell that ultimately ends Orin the Red.

Orin melts into a puddle of her own flesh…and takes Devlin’s foot to the grave with her. 

Devlin had little time to process this before Bhaal appeared with his ultimatum. She rejects his offer and is punished by death.  Granddaddy Withers shows up and does the ol’ cleave body to soul thing for Devlin, resurrecting her to her almost former glory...sans foot! As a funny note: it's now granddaddy Withers who is lending his divine favor to Devlin but he refuses to answer any of her questions, so she's functionally an agnostic cleric now. Since she was killed by Bhaal after her foot was already lost, it became a permanent feature even upon Withers’ resurrection. But, with her cleric powers still intact, she has the bright idea to franken-foot a replacement! She scoured the temple of Bhaal to find a comparably sized foot (which did not take long, let’s be real). She painstakingly stitched the dead foot on with a little help from the nimble hands of her embroiderer boyfriend. She sealed the suture with her highest level healing spell and used a little necromancy magic to reanimate it! Thanks for the asks! I just posted that line about franken-foot for the lols but I actually appreciate the genuine curiosity from ya'll. 🖤

[lewis-winters]

please please PLEASE tell us what you think the easy boys' dnd classes would be! i agree with dick being a paladin and nix being a rogue 100% but i'd love to know what your take would be for everyone else!

Caveat: I'm not as well-versed at DND classes just yet (mostly because I haven't actually encountered a lot of them, and I've only ever played in 5E) so these are probably not the most creative of builds but I did my best! Also! These are classes, not DND races! Just assume everyone's a variant human... and also that everyone has the Soldier's background... Also don't come for me about which edition rules or game source I'm going by, we're playing it fast and loose, everyone.

I did say Dick was an Oath of Redemption Paladin-- mostly as a joke, because of the whole healing-Blythe's-combat-blindness thing. But now that I think about it, it doesn't really fit him very well. Something about Dick could drive him to be very vindictive, I think. He's definitely very petty. Story-wise, since he's so young in-show you can explain this away as a young Paladin picking a path and learning the ways and the discipline that comes with it... But he can also very well be Oath of Devotion Paladin, since Dick is very big on honor and duty. I also see him being Oath of Glory, mostly because something about Dick always strives to be the best, and that man has a lot of self-discipline.

You know who else is a Paladin? Ronald Speirs.

Listen. I know people would automatically think: oh, Ronald is a Rogue. And while that's what I think Ron would like to think of himself as (and maybe he multiclasses-- though I have no idea how that'd work), this bitch is a fucking Paladin through and through. Oath of Vengeance? maybe, but not quite. Oath of Conquest? oh, yes, that fits very well. Listen, a Paladin does not garner divine power from their Faith in their god-- that's a cleric. No, no, a Paladin garners divine power from their devotion. Try and look me in the eye and tell me Ronald Fucking Speirs wouldn't have the ability to divine smite someone simply because he has strong opinions about something. You can't. Did ya'll just forget *points at the interrogation scene in episode 10.* GIRL. He can multiclass, of course, but I feel like he's like. Locked the fuck in, ya know?

Or if you really wanna lean into the strange-and-off-putting vibe, we could borrow from Critical Role and he could definitely be a Blood Hunter. Ronald would be the kind to become a Blood Hunter. Order of the Lycan, because he's from DOG company, and I like to think I'm funny, but also that'd play excellently with both the almost animal-like way he moves and thinks + his care for easy as a whole (pack).

Ron could also be a monk. But I like him better when he has a weapon in his hands.

Lewis is a rogue though, and mostly because he's an Intelligence Officer, but also knowing his family background, it fits. I do love the idea of him being an Arcane Trickster, mostly because in my mind he could definitely multiclass as a Shadow Sorcerer (because let's be real, New Jersey would be the type of place to house a Shadow Sorcerer bloodline) because of his Nixon name + Charisma, which he has in spades. But only until like... level 3 or 4 because Lew would be the type to forgo magic-- since it's not something he can precisely control + it's his bloodline, so it's not like he worked for it-- to opt for something he can control and work toward perfecting. But another subclass he could fall under is Inquisitor Rogue. That's literally his job description.

Or Lew could be a College of Whispers Bard! That'd be fun, too, especially since Nix doesn't do much combat, but he would have a ton of Bardic Inspiration.

Wouldn't it be so funny if tiny Harry Welsh was a Path of Wild Magic Barbarian? I think it would be funny. Idk if it would fit, mostly because I think he's a Fighter, but it would be so funny.

David Webster, this bitch would be a College of Lore Bard for sure. But I did think for a bit that he might've been a School of Evocation or Order of Scribes Wizard (who multiclassed Bard), just for the high intelligence, low wisdom joke. It would be so funny if he was School of Evocation though-- can he cast spells? Yes? Gracefully and subtly and with finesse? Oh, gods no. He's a mess.

Web and George Luz are probably the only Bards in the whole company. George could be either College of Eloquence or College of Swords........ but if you want to up the angst potential, how about College of Spirits Bard? Oh, he watched his friends die in front of him? Let's make his survivor's guilt WORSE by making him have the ability to talk to ghosts!!

Shifty Powers, obvious. Ranger, of course, and in numerous subclasses, too. Though I did toy with the idea of him multiclassing as Arcane Archer, but then I figured that's more for Earl McClung, ya know (because, historically, he was a better shot than Shifty-- even Shifty says this)? The class in itself is fairly weak though, so I imagine Earl'd multiclass Arcane Archer (Fighter subclass) with a Ranger, though what kind of subclass is still up in the air for me, too. Truthfully, much like Shifty, he could be any, so take your pick. I'm partial to Horizon Stalker; but Hunter/Monster Hunter would be good, too. Also? Just imagine casting Arcane Shot on a gun instead of a bow-&-arrow. Magnificent.

Shifty and McClung could also be Circle of Land Druids, but then they wouldn't be as proficient in combat, so we'll stick with Ranger.

Eugene Roe could be a Life Domain Cleric, of course. But I feel like that's a bit too obvious. Grave Domain Cleric, maybe? Way of Mercy Monk sounds more appropriate for his character, since he's easily the kind of character to strive for inner spiritual balance, the way monks do-- let's just pretend he focuses more on healing than he does combat. Though both these classes do have the abilities to go on the offensive.

Ralph Spina strikes me as a non-magic user healer, though, so I think he'd be a Thief Rogue with a focus on the medicine skills + an extensive Healer's Kit, since thief rogues have like... more object interaction (I think?) per turn than anyone else. Though that would also fit Eugene, too, if you want non-magic user!Eugene, since he's often described as having a sixth-sense for when people need him, then appearing outta nowhere + the whole scissors thing. And the looting for supplies.

Carwood Lipton could go like... 3 ways. Fighter, Cleric, or Monk. I'm partial to him being a Light Domain Cleric, though, since that's the first thing that popped into my head. He could multiclass as Bard too, for the Bardic Inspiration, but idk, there are other subclasses that have the Suggestion spell in their back pocket, and he would use that extensively in Bastogne to keep morale up.

Malarkey is a Wild Magic Sorcerer. Mostly for the angst potential. Can you imagine him losing control of his magic when Skip and Penkala die? I know I shouldn't torture this man, but alas, it's just too good.

I also think Joe Liebgott would be a Divine Soul Sorcerer, though. That literally popped into my head first thing the second I saw this ask. He'd have some Healing Word by Level 2, and I think that works best for scenes like the one where Tab gets stabbed and also the one where he's comforting Tipper.

I can't shake the image of Artillerist Artificer Pat Christenson, Skip Muck, and Alex Penkala out of my head. They're on machine guns and the mortar rounds, respectively, so it fits for me.

......... an evil part of me wants Buck to be some sort of Warlock, he just hides it very well? But, again, that's mostly for angst potential. Realistically, he'd be a Fighter and/or a Barbarian. But a Warlock in the Military, though, wouldn't that be something? Of course the military would never allow it, because the Patron would take precedence above all else, but who says he can't hide that by claiming to multiclass as a Wizard? Idk how that would help in any way the plot, but the vibes are immaculate.

Everybody else, though, to me are either Artificers, Fighters, Barbarians, Clerics, or Monks, of course with multiclassing in between!

......... uh. yeah! that's it!

[p---leia]

Need a better user name

I don't have a clue what I'm supposed to write here, so, as a creative writer, I'll do my best. I am currently working on a rom/com. One of my supporting characters is an American Manga writer who happens to be popular in Japan. I know. It's a stretch. But I'm new to Manga, and IT IS CREATIVE FICTION. Her Manga pen name is LOVEY DOVEY, so I chose that as my pen name. ROFC -- sob sob. It is already chosen. See. In my magnificent brain, I am unique. How can anyone want to use the same name that I just created. LOL Anyway, I just changed the spelling. Lovie Dovie. whut? it's taken, too.... My uniquieness doesn't seem so unique. See Self Esteem slowly going down the drain.... BUT, I quickly came up with a 'doofer'. "p---leia" Can anyone guess who that really is? I know you figured it out before I asked. But, it's irrelevant as it is a 'doofer'. What do ya'll think of Quackenbush? ShiShi? M'Wani? Dautha? Ring-around-a-rose? (I like this one as a potential 'title') Too much? Too little? I don't know if there's a word limit. I can write all night. But it's been a busy day. And I'm ready to go to sleep. I missed my nap today. LOL Something I never did until I turned oldish.

Seveny-one is looming just ahead. I still have a good thirty years ahead of me, so I have time to complete those 80+ novels and short stories on my comuter. If I could just top coming up with ideas for something new, different, fresh, and wicked funny.

Is this a place to make good friends? I am currently a fan of Korean and Chinese drama and rom/com. I fell in love with King Tut when I was 14 -- (1964); and Pharoah Hatshepsut was my role model as a woman, also when I was 14. In fact, during that time I knew more about Ancient Egyptian history, their gods, and their death rituals. At least I knew this based on what was available in a small town high school library. No computers in those days. But the Librarian liked me, and helped me find books.

I also enjoy science fiction, but mostly from before the 1960s. Venus isn't the jungle it was back then. And Mars doesn't have bi-pedal quasi-intelligent life forms. It can still be written thusly, but will it sell? I hope so because one of my earlier, set aside, novels has a thriving culture, but it's like during our age of dinosaurs. Pretty sure it can work then, but it's written with a 1950s style.

While I don't believe in UFOs and ET, I do enjoy a good sci-fi read. Good movies -- has anyone watched one lately?

I don't believe in ghosts either, but I write about them. Well, they are such interesting topics. And you can do anything with them.

I do enjoy music. I grew up with those old Southern ballads like My Darling Clementine. But I never really learned the words because the music is just so 'inviting'. For almost 70 years I listened to that song, ignored the lyrics, and totally spaced on the melody. I prefer it played soft and low on a violin in a Waltz time. But, as research for a rom/com I'm working on, I pulled it up with lyrics on youtube. That made it easier to concentrate on the words. Oh My Goodness!!! I always thought it was a sad song, but it ended with me almost literally rolling on the floor in tear filled laughter. I'm not telling ya'll. You just have to listen for yourself. If you don't hear it, then your sense of humor is more stable than mine.

Like I said, I'm almost seventy-one, so I have to watch how and where I walk. My cat and dog both think they are in the will, and I swear they intentionally wrap themselves around my feet, in an attempt to make me fall down the steps. Then there's those old shoes I won't throw away. There's nothing wrong with them except the sole is broken, and the heel catches on the grass in my yard. And sometimes when I bend over to pull weeds from the flower bed, I don't stop 'going down', and have nearly kissed the potting soil more than once. smh And that old saying "take two steps forward and three steps back" now has clear meaning to me. BUT .... just let me hear a tune from my childhood (1950s rock n roll is the best dance music). I can get up and rock n roll through a complete song without stumbling. Then there's Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov and his Flight of the BumbleBee or the Song of Scheherazade to dance a ballet with. I don't leap like I used to as a kid, but I can still do some smooth moves. When my grandkids visit, they hurry through whatever room I'm in when the music is playing.

Well, this is just a small part of what p---leia is like.

Is there anyone out there who might strike up a conversation just for a few minutes? Like I said, I'm new to this. I'm used to FB. But that is so boring. I don't think any of my friends want to learn a new language, hear a new old tune, or want to play jokes on their doctor and refuse to take their meds. (just kidding -- I'm being good -- sort of)

Oh, before I go: I am currently working on a rom/com that went all dark and scarey. So I scrapped it and started again, keeping only the romance and comedy. Wondering if anyone would care to advise if my first page/ first paragraph/ first sentence is a hook? (When I go fishing, I never catch anything with a hook. The last time I did catch a fish, I was 8 mos. pregnant with my son, (1977) and was trying to help an old lady pull her fish in from the water. I had the net and leaned over to get it, slipped in the mud and fell into the water, and caught a totally different fish!!!) So, hooks don't always work. I just need some advice on which way to go. I have Gypsy blood, and just can't always settle on one location/direction. LOL Bedtime! Goodnight, and hoping to hear from someone.

[eevees-on-thin-ice]

How is the idol life treating you? What do ya'll do on a vacation?

Alexei: Oh, thank you so much for asking! 

Viacheslav: If Sunset wasn’t so goddamn slow, we definitely would’ve answered a lot sooner. 

Aleksandr: Slava, at least she’s doing her best. But anyways, as for idol life... it’s kind of funny you call it ‘idol’ life because here at Creative Mind, we’re called artists, not idols. 

Boris: That’s because, whereas idols are simply handed their songs, artists have a lot more say in producing and writing their songs as well as choreographing the dances. 

Aleksandr: It’s alright if you got that wrong, you may not have known. 

Boris: We work with a music producer when producing our songs, we have a lot of say in the creative direction and such but our producer guides us along the way and often produces the actual musical track herself once we’ve all generated enough ideas. 

Sergei: It’s actually kinda similar with our dances. Mostly we work with a dance choreographer who helps us create and put together the choreography. 

Viacheslav: Obviously, a lot goes into creating our songs and the dances that go with them, so Manager Sunset has us work on it for, what, nine hours a day? We start at 9:30 in the morning, after breakfast, and we finish at 7 in the evening to go to dinner, then afterward we have the rest of the evening to ourselves. Well, that would be nine and a half hours, but we get breaks every now and then, and 20 minutes to have lunch. So that’s around nine hours. A long time, I know, but it’s all spent on what we’re passionate about so it’s all worth it. 

Vasili: Exactly! Our days aren’t as tiring as they sound, because as long as we’re spending that time on projects we love and really want to see succeed, we could keep going for hours! It’s more than worth it! 

Alexei: As for what we do on vacations... well, when we have days off, a lot of times we’ll head out to town, or to another place not too far away! 

Vladimir: It’s really fun! Sometimes we just walk around and take pictures and videos, sometimes we go shopping, a lot of times we also get something to eat on the way! 

Valeri: And what about the festivals, markets, and carnivals? We love to go to those whenever we come across one, it’s very interesting to see and do everything going on. 

Alexei: The festivals! Oh, I almost forgot about those! I always have so much fun at those, especially when my friends are too! 

Boris: It can be quite hectic for Manager Sunset and myself to keep track of all the others, plus Volodya and Yuna, but in the end they’re having fun, as are we, and that’s what matters most.