#ashton isn't letting that go

[pikopiikko]

i am getting barraged CONSTANTLY on all sides by STUFF THAT SHORT CIRCUITS MY BRAIN THIS EPISODE

[pocketgalaxies]

I've got my eye on you. I'm still here.

[grayintogreen]

Respectfully, but a character can be and SHOULD BE allowed to be more than one thing without it being considered "contradictory", "retconning," or "negative character development."

[wolf-king-art]

actually i do something more to say! everyone lost their minds about how amazing ashton's "the gods can ask me for help" speech was and you know why he even got to that point, instead of abstaining, instead of deflecting, instead saying nothing? because FCG pushed that whole conversation to that point! because they didn't just drop it and respectfully back off, and go "oh sorry for bothering you".

he's not your shitty family or annoying friend, he's a pretend robot. they're fictional characters, they have to push each other! that's how the character growth happens! if he's not over-earnest to the point of annoying the other characters you don't GET that good moment for another character.

hell go way way earlier. FCG says something rude and dismissive about a drunk guy and ashton pushes back and gets another good speech where they get to lay out some of their personal beliefs and stuff. (followed by a week of hot takes about how FCG is judgemental and terrible and needs to be put in his place and isn't ashton the best, the kindest, the most moral) he's been doing this the whole entire time and everyone has hated him for it all along

like everytime i see a hot take about how annoying FCG is, how rude, how he's actually not good at therapy or helping people or being religious and boy, i sure hope someone corrects him! i sure hope another character (lets be real, Ashton) gives him a lecture! i sure hope he changes his ways and learns to be better! and i'm like. yeah, he probably will. that's where his fucking character arc is going. i know nobody cares about FCG's arc or believes they have one because they're just a bunch of unfunny bits in a trench coat to them, but it's been "FCG learns to be a person" this whole time

[cloudprincesslady]

i'm sure a million people have already said this sorta thing but goddamn this is the most frustrating hour of critical role i've ever watched

[chaosgenasi]

thinking about. potential leader of the "death-obsessed cult" within paragon's call / inferred worshipper of the duskmaven, otohan thull, using poison that seals souls behind one of the divine gates and prevents resurrection. there's also an interesting piece of dialogue from treshi, who, in relation to the ruidus superstitions of those within paragon's call, said: "i've seen enough interesting, weird things in my life to know that most nothing makes much sense, so you get what you can with the time you are given. and when your time is up, it's up." also, it's very out there, but if the poison is less about preventing resurrection and moreso about redirecting the souls elsewhere if possible -- say, behind a different gate -- there's this interesting piece of lore from c2:

"there is a prominent belief, superstitious as it is largely considered, that most of these meteors that do come through in meteor showers themselves are parts of ruidus, the distant moon, breaking apart and making their way towards the planet. some believe because it's decaying and just showering its decay upon the planet in clumps, others believe it's supposedly distant warriors' spirits that themselves are returning to the planet after being lost on the battlefield."

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

Nobody asked me for my opinion on the controversy that dropped today when the Sonic Movie cast pay rate was revealed, which is fair ig since I try to stay positive on this blog. But in case you're wondering, yeah as a certified AFAB™ I'm pissed, but not really specifically at the Sonic crew. Actor pay rates are usually negotiated between agents and the production companies so just like all the other problems with the Sonic movies, this is most likely an issue with Paramount and their patented dumbfuckery. Disclaimer that obviously it could very well be a Sonic crew issue as well, obviously I don't know the inner workings of the entire film production.

Also, if you're mad about this: please be mad about the pay gap that has been going on as long as Hollywood has been alive. This isn't a problem unique to the SCU. I know the phrase "pay gap" is thrown around a whole lot but do you guys actually know how big an issue it is?

Recent percentages are that male and female actors have "a wage difference of about 25 percent," with an estimated difference of $1-2million between star-power men and star-power women.[x][x] Basic Instinct star Sharon Stone said she made $500k to Michael Douglas's $14mil– and when she was asked to be lead in a film being made in ~2022, the lead male, who was "new", was going to be paid $8-9mil, with her salary still at $500k. Last December, Biggest Monopoly In The World Disney was sued by 9,000 women over their pay gap.

This article is from 2019 but brings up some big fucking pay gaps between leads– for instance, Gillian Anderson was offered half of what David Duchovny was for the X-Files reboot as one of the two main fucking characters, Amanda Seyfried has disclosed she made 10% of what her male co-star made on an undisclosed film, Natalie Portman made 1/3 of the salary of Ashton Kutcher in No Strings Attached, and Ellen Pompeo, the titular character of Grey's Anatomy, was paid less than the actor playing her love interest, Patrick Dempsey. In fact, Dempsey was being paid almost double what she was.

However, BIG issue with the 2019 article: it only focuses on what White actors are being paid. Research shows that Black actresses make 57 cents to every dollar white actors make on a good day. Viola Davis, one of the most popular and talented actresses of our generation, has said that black women "get probably a tenth of what a Caucasian woman gets. And I'm number one on the call sheet." Octavia Spencer had to collaborate with Jessica Chastain to make sure they both got paid the same amount of money on a film they both worked on, and revealed that her new salary increased 500% afterwards.

At the end of last year, while promo-ing The Color Purple, Taraji P. Henson broke into tears while talking about how little she's being paid when compared to her white and male contemporaries. And when she talked about the gap, I find it so fucking frustrating that the general audience response was to immediately blame the only Black female producer on the film. I have a million gripes with Oprah Winfrey but TCP cast has said that she herself managed to fix a lot of the problems on set and was nothing but supportive to them. Oh, and there were a lot of problems on set, including a lack of food and dressing space for the main actors. And this is all from celebrity women. Just think about how Hollywood is treating women who don't have the star power to speak up.

Of course this isn't even a problem solo to Hollywood, let alone Paramount, let alone just one movie. And honestly it was probably really sad that when I saw the pay rate for the Sonic 3 cast, I wasn't even surprised, because I've seen worse on bigger projects.

[utilitycaster]

The thing about Ashton saying "WHAT DO YOU WANT" is that I really do understand that they are coming from a place of great pain and a genuinely awful life (and the Arch Heart doesn't really give a good answer either, which is similarly frustrating) but we keep getting this answer throughout the campaign, if not for the Arch Heart at least for other deities, and it's that most simple and also frustrating of answers: consistent effort.

Why did FCG catch the eye of the Changebringer? consistent, repeated prayer, even if it wasn't perfect and could get kind of silly or even annoying to others. Orym is not a worshiper of the Wildmother, but he still repeatedly has reached out and tried to talk to her in good faith (pun unintended). And looking back at others from past campaigns, we learn of their ongoing service - in the cases of those who are introduced as already faithful, often from a young age (Pike, Caduceus, Jester though her deity is not one of the Prime/Betrayer pantheons). Both Vax and Fjord made considerable sacrifices of their own without promises from the gods first, in addition to smaller, regular moments of worship in the course of their stories.

I've never loved the line about there being no atheists in foxholes, because frankly I think it's unfair to atheists and paints them as selfish, fickle, and spineless when many atheists are none of those things. But I do think that a lot of the anti-god arguments fit into that sort of philosophy, that the gods are only to be paid attention to in the moment of great and desperate need and neglected otherwise, and we've seen the attendants of temples repeatedly say that isn't how it works; it takes time. The gods don't necessarily answer a single yell off the cliffs of Zephrah or a single visit, but they do see the repetition and respond to that.

I think everyone in the fandom, regardless of how they feel about the gods, understands there's not going to be a quick easy painless fix to this mess once Ludinus set it in motion, but I do think a lot of people expect there to be a lot of quick fixes to other things (in the story, in fandom, and in real life). And yeah, it does suck that Ashton, having a terrible time, might have had more luck had they prayed or gone to the same temple regularly for a while without necessarily seeing results...but it's also very real. You do have to take your stupid mental health walks regularly for a while (let alone your meds) before there's a payoff. you do still need to do the dishes while you're depressed or sick lest they pile up and make things worse. consistent effort that doesn't always have immediate satisfying results is extremely unglamorous and also it's how you have to do basically everything in life. Even in a time of crisis you need to avert the crisis and then get back to the slow and consistent work of fixing it and improving things in the aftermath.

[blackmosscupcakes]

While I'm on the subject of Bells Hells' reactions to the events of last episode, I'm extremely interested in what's going to happen with Ashton. After all, only DAYS ago in-game, Ashton had their own mishap that resulted in the whole party being furious with them to varying degrees. And C3E78, their apology tour for that event, came with plenty of statements and promises on their part that have an awful lot of relevance to current events.

Ashton has always shown a high degree of awareness that this is a group teetering on the edge of darkness at any given time. His apologies in episode 78 tend to be loaded with assurances that he will forgive the others when it's their turn to make mistakes just as he hopes they will forgive him. Here's what he said to Chetney:

TALIESIN: Well, I'm glad you stopped. And I don't know, I'm processing a lot right now, but if I do stay, if you let me stay, the day something happens and it goes bad for you and you hurt a lot of people because, for any reason somebody gets in your head, something bad happens, something pushes you over the edge, something just fucking stupid. Stay or go, I promise that I will stick around, help clean it up. You will get no shit from me. None.

And here's what they said specifically to Laudna when she confronted them:

TALIESIN: I will, no matter what we do, no matter what mistakes we make, no matter what we have, I will stay and I will be there and I will not-- I will not walk away. I don't know what love is, but I'm going with this.

And they seem to be sticking to that promise! At the end of last episode they were very strongly by her side. He clearly sees (understandably, given his past) the act of sticking with someone no matter what to be one of the highest expressions of love. But sticking by someone doesn't mean signing off on all of their behaviour unchallenged, either. I also think it's relevant to look at what was in his mind when Imogen tried to read it:

TALIESIN: I think I've seen a pattern in my life and I've-- I'm going to just describe it instead of-- Just the realization of hubris and temptation and blame and this sudden realization of this epiphany of violent levels of projecting responsibility. Just this very wide thought of so many moments in life of not being responsible for what happened and suddenly going through that one by one of just, it took one week of vaguely knowing where I came from, and the only thing I really knew about these people was that they fucked up in this very particular way and it took me one week to do the exact fucking same thing. Because I was so desperate to have it and so desperate to have something that I lost so that I could be mad at someone for taking it.

They immediately took a step back and saw their responsibility for the way in which they hurt their friends, and so they expressed regret and apologies for that. He also saw how his actions were a way of reflecting his hurt back out into the world in the same way he was hurt. His father failed him, and his pain and trauma led him down the path of making a very similar mistake. I suspect all of this was on his mind in that moment where he took Laudna by the shoulder and whispered to her that she should start with an apology. They were hoping she would respond to it with that same introspection, but unfortunately a few things--not the least of which being Delilah--are in the way of that.

The question is what does he do next? He made a promise to walk beside, but (as I said above) that isn't necessarily a promise to unilaterally co-sign all of someone's actions, and I'd like to see a step forward in which Ashton uses their experience with the shard and what happened after to perhaps try and further encourage Laudna to make amends and communicate and come into the fold of the group instead of isolating herself. But I wonder if perhaps they do not feel that they have the right to say anything negative to her at all only days after the shard incident. But how does one reconcile that with a group member who risks becoming genuinely dangerous to your other loved ones if she continues down the path she's on?

[kerosene-in-a-blender]

One thing about Orym saying that he can't put down the lens he sees the world with is that he's completely correct, he's always going to be viewing the moon plot and the conflict with the Ruby Vanguard from the perspective of "a guy whose husband and father were murdered by the Vanguard", but the same could be said about the rest of the party. They all have pre-existing experiences and attitudes that have shaped their perspective on things. Orym isn't uniquely biased in this sense.

The most obvious one is of course Imogen, as her long-absent mother is a Vanguard general. She heard Liliana's voice in her Ruidusborn nightmares telling her to run as long as she had those nightmares, and she came to associate that with her mother trying to protect her from whatever the red storm was. It resulted in Imogen giving a lot of grace to Liliana once she found out she was alive and with the Vanguard, a grace that more recent experiences are now making Imogen start to believe was misplaced, but a grace that was born over what she considered her mother's voice to be for years.

Fearne was raised in relative isolation in the Feywild by Nana Morri, and as result her approach to a lot of the events she's now embroiled in has an oddly naive slant to it. The whole would is new to her and she's approaching it like someone who is new to it; there's a lack of understanding of implications that she has that goes beyond her simply being fey. This is best seen in how she's grappling with the reveal that Sorrowlord Zathuda is her biological father. She's aware that Zathuda is terrible and that the circumstances that led up to her birth are dubious but there's also a large part of her that desires a connection with him as her parent and feels like they could have a relationship. She's naive to what exactly she is to him, and also influenced by having grown up longing for the parents that left her with Morri.

Ashton lost their parents and found themself blown halfway across the world after a cult ritual went wrong, and had a spectacularly shitty life that he often found himself begging the gods to fix without answer, and as a result he's very down on the idea of gods and even more down on the idea of letting a cult do whatever they want in order to achieve the perfect world that is just beyond reach by whatever means they must. Especially after the entire shard debacle in which Ashton learned that their parents were definitely wrong to do what they did and there were no good ends for the means that they engaged in he's fallen even harder onto the line of, as he said himself, "I hope her ends are fucking great because these means are just not forgivable."

Laudna's sole experience with anything resembling a higher power for much of her 50-odd-years of life has been Delilah Briarwood, the woman who had her horrifically murdered and is still rather explicitly using her as a means to some unknowable-to-Laudna end. This has both made her one of the members of Bells Hells most open to the idea of there being no gods (no more puppet masters) but also the most broadly sympathetic towards Liliana's view of the Ruidusborn (that they are creations of Predathos with no choice but to be slaves to his whims). Her ardent belief that her lift ended on the Sun Tree thirty years ago also means that she often refuses to advocate for herself or her own needs, resulting in moments where she openly wonders if it's Imogen's destiny to join the Vanguard, despite having herself been at one point brutally murdered by a Vanguard general.

FCG made it his mission in life to help people; that desire drove a lot of what he did up to and including his final act of sacrifice for the Hells. They saw the people struggling against the Vanguard and with the world that the Vanguard created and chose to do what they could to help them. Their desire to help even extended towards the gods, as one of the first things they asked of the Changbringer upon gaining the ability to cast Commune was, "Do you need help?". FCG was also a character driven by a desperate desire to find purpose and to understand the "why" of their own existence, a desire that ultimately drove them towards religion as a means of shaping the meaning of his life, and made him the most openly religious member of the group up to the moment of his death.

Chetney, while the most able to look beyond his own biases by virtue of being the oldest and most emotionally mature member of the party, still carries with him the perspective of having been someone who ultimately made little impact on the world up until, in his twilight years, random chance granted him the power to affect change. He gained lycanthrophy, he met other adventurers in the Hells, and got caught up in an end of the world plot and is finally making a true difference in the world. It's made him, arguably, the most enthusiastic adventurer in the party because he views that adventure itself as a gift, and as a way to create a legacy. The desire of legacy is also the reason he made the bargain that he did with Nana Morri; to secure a legacy as a famous toymaker that would persist after he is gone.

Orym's right that he's biased, but it's fallacious to assume that an unbiased perspective exists, because everyone in the story has their lens through which they view the world that they can't put down, not just Orym.

[ozbian]

the roleplay after Ashton shattered, underneath the math and the yelling:-

Imogen gently grabbing Orym's arm, "We should get out of this bubble,"

Laudna vehemently, "I agree,"

Imogen focusing on Orym, who isn't responding, shaking his arm, voice thick, "Orym, we need to get out,"

Orym saying, softly disbelieving, "No, no, no, no, why..."

Imogen telling Orym, "If that happens for real, we're all dead," then letting go of his arm

Orym, softly, "Why? Why did he..."

FCG whispering, "It's his destiny,"

Laudna grabbing Imogen and Chetney and pulling them back with her, leaving Orym and the healers

Orym starting to back away, slowly, 'probably not fast enough'

[dnd-shows-have-my-soul]

Bells Hells Level 14

It is very likely that after the three-episode special that is Downfall, we are going to see the Hells level up to 14 (considering that Sam is joining with a level 14 character.)

Because of that, I figured that I would post this update now as a taste for what lies ahead. 

All in all, Level 14 is a kind of a mixed bag in terms of what people get. To start with our non-multiclassers, 3 out 4 of them get subclass-based features, two of which we are completely aware of. 

Imogen, as a level 14 Aberrant Mind Sorcerer, gets the Revelation in Flesh feature. Basically, as a bonus action, she can spend a sorcery point to receive one of the following features. 

Can see any invisible creature within 60 feet of her, provided it isn't behind total cover.

Gain a flying speed equal to her walking speed (30 ft)

Gain a swim speed equal to twice her walking speed (60ft), and she can breathe underwater

Move through any space as narrow as 1 inch without squeezing, and is able to spend 5 feet of movement to escape from nonmagical restraints or being grappled.

Each feature lasts for 10 minutes, but there is no limit to how many times she can do this or how many features she can have active at once. So long as she has the available sorcery points, Imogen can do this. 

Dorian also gets a new College of Swords feature, Master's Flourish. Now, whenever he uses one of his Blade Flourishes, he can roll a d6 and use it instead of expending a Bardic Inspiration die (currently a d10). The overall roll might be lower, but he can use bardic inspiration without having to worry about his flourishes. 

Finally, Ashton receives his 14th-level subclass feature, but because it is a homebrew we don’t know exactly what it is. What we do know from CR cooldown, is that 14th level is “Where everything goes crazy.” So that’s fun. In all seriousness, if I had to guess, the feature could be similar to the Wild Magic’s Barb 14th level feature, where instead of simply rolling for a specific build, Tal could instead roll two d4 and choose which one he wants. But knowing Tal, its probably something far more complicated. 

Orym, as our final non-multiclasser, gets another ASI with this level up. There are a lot of roads for him to choose from. Choosing to boast his Con is a likely option, but they are also a number of feats that are very much on the table. Sentinel, Mage Slayer, Bountiful Luck, Martial Adept are all feats I could see Orym going for. Hell, I could even see him mutliclassing depending on what Downfall shows us. 

Speaking of multiclassers, let's look at the final three Hells. Two of the remaining folks, I am pretty certain I know their direction. 

To start, Fearne has a very simple level-up. She will likely be grabbing another druid level, bringing her to level 11, and granting her access to 6th level spells. To note, because of her Arcane Trickster multiclass, Fearne spell slots are kinda weird. Before she already had access to her 6th level spell slot, but could not prepare 6th level spells until now. This doesn’t affect this level up, but in the future it will be something to be aware of. Some notable druid spells Fearne can now prepare are: Heal, Heroes’ Feast, Sunbeam, Transport via Plants, and Wind Walk.

Chetney is another very easy one. Likely grabbing another level in Blood Hunter, Chetney will get his Brand of Tethering feature. When using his Brand of Castigation, branded creatures are now unable to take the Dash action, and if they attempt to teleport or to leave their current plane, the creature will take 4d6 psychic damage and must make a Wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the attempt to teleport or leave the plane fails. Additionally, with this level up, Chetney can use his Blood Maledict three times between rests and he learns another Blood Curse.

And finally, on the biggest variable, Laudna. Before the sword incident, I was very certain that Laudna would be sticking with Sorcerer throughout level-ups. Mechanically, choosing Sorcerer would be the better option, as it would grant her 6th-level spells and a 6th-level spell slot (notable spells include: Arcane Gate, Circle of Death, Disintegrate, Globe of Invulnerability, Mass Suggestion, and Scatter.) But storywise, I could very much see Marisha leaning back into Warlock for narrative reasons. If she chooses this, Laudna would gain her 4th level in Warlock, granting her an ASI or New Feat. Based on her stats, Launda would likely choose a Feat. In that, I could see her grabbing War Caster, Mystic Conflux, Metamagic Adept, or even Skill Expert. Personally, I want to see her take another level in Sorcerer, but either way, I’m excited.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble, and see yall soon!

[pocketgalaxies]

the truth is that bells hells can talk all they want about being on the same page and sacrificing themselves for this greater cause but they haven't even figured out that they're all part of this cause for different reasons. and orym choosing to go on this mission because he lost his family to these people and he believes this group is the only one who can help save the world and his leader is asking him to is very different from imogen choosing to go on this mission because she eventually realized she could never, ever hope to outrun something that has been haunting and chasing her her entire life.

orym is asking for her to be ready to face the worst case scenario head-on because this is war, but for orym the worst case scenario is failure. for imogen the worst case scenario is far beyond that – it's giving up her soul to this entity and becoming complicit if not an active participant in the methodical destruction of the world. and it's betraying the warnings her mother has given her for years, and it's living but completely losing herself in the process, all in an attempt to protect a world that has been nothing but cruel to her and a pantheon of gods that has never loved her.

and how would she face the fact that she's spent so much time and energy trying to convince herself that her mother can't be saved and her mother is the enemy, with this external pressure from both the party and the most powerful people in the world that she has to be ready to kill her? what do you do when you've forced yourself to hate your own mother and end up becoming just like her anyway? and how can you possibly risk giving in when giving in would mean that you hated your mother for nothing?

and ashton says let's not pretend this isn't going to happen one way or another. when imogen has been desperately clinging to the hope that she can resist this and that she has a future, a life after this where she can live in a cottage with the love of her life and she can have peace. when imogen has believed with her whole being that losing laudna to delilah isn't an inevitability, and all she wants is the rest of the party to do the same for her and predathos, and they just won't. and then wonder why she is so terrified of facing predathos when he tempts her with the rarest, simplest pleasures of belonging, of being understood, of being believed in.

[lizzaneia-elizalde]

curious for all the student/university/studying yans: jock damon, ex bf lee, delinquent liam, bully uno and college student alpheus..

if darling got a scholarship outside the country and they accept it, how would these yans react? can they handle a ldr? would they come along? or would they prevent darling from leaving?

(minus bimbo/himbo darling from twinkie ashtons fic jadkshdkdg sorry </3)

Yandere students and their scholarship earning darling

aww this is kind of sad actually. Of course, all of them would be devastated but let's see.

YAN! JOCK

Damon will be a wreck inside.

"Oh shit... Really? Uh, congrats!"

He'll be happy for you of course. His little nerd is actually getting a scholarship? That's huge! But then... What do you mean you have to get out of the country? He can feel his resolve crack, and it's going to be the first time you see his real side. Staring at you with a blank, all devouring stare.

Thinking of the worst, he will sabotage your scholarship. Don't get him wrong, he will feel guilty about it since you worked hard on that scholarship. But out of the country? No fucking way. He's quite selfish too, so he didn't even think of applying for a scholarship there too because the University he's in has given him so much opportunities to pass on.

You'll just be surprised one day that your scholarship was canceled due to a "mismatch" of interest. Don't worry, he'll be there with you to comfort you. Oh! Will you look at that! This University both of you are attending gave you a full scholarship! How amazing and coincidental it is, right?

YAN! EX-BOYFRIEND

He just got you back.

And now you're leaving him again?

"Babe, what the fuck?"

He will be extremely hurt. Have you never thought of him at all? You two just fixed your relationship again and here you are, telling him that you got to move to another country just to do this damn scholarship. He went through grief, and now he's gonna go through another one.

You know the drill. This man isn't letting you go. But rather than hiding his disdain like Damon, he'll cling to you and cry, exclaiming to not go or else he'll kidnap you again. Well, that shut you up and gave up scholarship. He's also very selfish as you can see.

If you did refuse to do so, then another trip (locked inside) to his bedroom once more until you relent and give up that scholarship :( He'll be happy as a bee, and he will be extra clingy so you would just forgive him in what he did.

YAN! DELINQUENT

Liam is the rare one in this.

He'll be happy to let you go to the scholarship that you got!

After all, you got that damn scholarship just for yourself. If it made you happy, why won't he let you? He's gonna be the asshole in this situation if he didn't let you. He's more than happy to let you go (for now) and let you pursue what you want.

What you don't know is other than the tracking device on your phone, him learning how to hack and monitor you from your phone camera due to some shady connections, he's the one to manipulate the University you're going to go in giving you the scholarship. Mind you, he didn't exactly threaten them, but when he has close connections to... Let's say, Hades' mafia clan, it's not that hard to do :) (OOOH NEW LORE CONNECTION OH MY LORD)

After all, he's just working student! And if his father and mother are high ranking members in Hades' clan, he will use that connection for your happiness <3

YAN! BULLY

Uno would scoff and roll his eyes.

"Of course you would be the type to get a scholarship outside of our University."

As if mocking you, he at first teased you about it. Saying that you're such a nerd and he will be sad if you actually went away. In reality, he's seething inside. He already knows beforehand that you got that scholarship. He's too invested (he's stalking you) on you to not know the things you're up to. And the fact that he's also having a hard time manipulating the inside of the University you're going in is irking him to the bones.

But, once he's got you in the airport and is already on boarding, he'll be next to you, whistling like the dog he is. If you ask him, he'll smirk and show you his phone. He also got in. Oopsies, it seems that you have to be with him even in the new University. Now, how will the both of you terrorize this new place?

YAN! COLLEGE STUDENT

Another day, another emotion/feeling for this man.

"C-congrats... Babe..."

Oh, you don't like the look he has in his face. You know another problem is going to arise.

The few days after that was calm. It seems that he's okay with it, amazingly. Until one day you just found yourself cuffed to his bedpost. You swore you were just hanging out with Alpheus in his house, waiting to eat the food he's cooking, drinking the iced tea... Okay that was too obvious and you still fell for it.

But you pity the guy. He's dealing with what's akin to grief. It was the first time he felt this pit he seem to can't get out off, and it's suffocating him raw. You'll see tears for the first time, and you have to comfort him. With his face buried on your stomach as he knelt by the bed, with you sitting on the edge and stroking his hair, you had to explain to him what that feeling is.

Then when he gets better, surprise surprise, he also got a scholarship (rigged) at the same University as you! How delightful.

[thegoldencontracts]

What's In A Bird: The Topsy-Turvy Ceremony

Many folks say that the freshmen of Night Raven College grow odder and odder by the year. And, of course, in this year, Riddle Rosehearts, Ruggie Bucchi, Azul Ashengrotto, Jade Leech, Floyd Leech, Jamil Viper, Silver, and one transfer student soon to arrive from Royal Sword Academy - Kalim Al Asim - will prove this notion correct for yet another year.

Length: 2.4k words

Notes: A fic of the sophomores in freshman year like I promised, at last! Here's to hoping this doesn't completely flop. Let me know if you'd like to be tagged!

This also serves as a kind of 400 follower special (not really though), I'm very grateful to everyone who's supported my fics, and feel free to send in any requests for this series! Anyways, on with the fic.

It was a known fact among the students and staff of Night Raven College that every single year of freshmen was odder than the last. For the one-hundred years or so that Dire Crowley had been headmage, he had never once been proven wrong.

And it seemed as if the headmage would be proven right once more.

This year's freshmen were all an odd bunch, it seemed. Divus looked over them scrutinizingly.

"Have any of them caught your attention?" Mozus asked. "I for one find the notion that you've deigned to pay attention to the ceremony and ensure no mishaps occur for once much too good to be true."

Divus merely sighed.

"The ceremony's going wrong either way, no need to be so uptight about 'supervision', or whatnot. The pups'll turn out just fine."

Mozus scoffed.

"Even some of our incoming freshmen have more responsibility than you, it seems," he said.

"Like that one redhead?"

It was so odd how - despite red being a common hair color - they immediately knew which boy Divus was referring to. Oh, Dire was so magnanimous for putting up with all these peculiar students!

"All of you, get in line at once, or it shall be Off With Your Head!" said the redhead boy in question. Threatening to- chop people's heads off? How odd.

Dire knew his name; like the kind and attentive headmage he was, he always cared for his students!

Yes - Puzzle Flowershape. Something like that.

"Riddle Rosehearts, no?" Mozus said. Close enough! "He's a rather good student from what I've seen."

Come to think of it, why were so many of the freshmen wearing clunky looking collars? That was a horrible fashion choice, was it not?

Oh, well. Dire would put up with that terrible fashion choice. The things he did for his students!

"Those things around their neck'll really get in the way of their exercise!" Ashton scoffed. "It looks like I'll have to teach these kids the proper way to dress for maximum power!"

"It looks like those kids have no magical aura! The collar's a curse, now isn't that tragic?" Sam said. "I'll be there if those poor kids need any help undoing that curse of theirs."

"I do hope you'll provide the aid for free?"

"No promises!" Sam said, before looking at the students in curiosity.

A few seconds later, Sam pointed to two of the students in the crowd.

"Those two seem smart," he said, pointing first to a hyena beastman, then to a grey-haired boy. By sharp, of course, Sam was referring to business-smart. There was quite a difference between that, and academic prowess. The hyena boy only seemed to possess the second with those wide eyes of his, and the grey-haired boy, hiding behind two identical twins, seemed to possess neither.

Of course, Dire was a kind man. He'd give Sam a chance to explain his reasoning.

"Are you certain?" Dire asked. Sam merely nodded with a chuckle.

"Clever hawks hide their talons, you know," he said. That was true.

And, come to think of it, the boy's behavior still required observing.

"Hey there," said the boy to the Pomefiore Housewarden. "I got you that makeup you wanted."

How exactly had he acquired that brand? Dire vaguely recalled some talk of how difficult it was to acquire. Truly, he was such a good headmage, always listening to his students!

"Thanks," said the Pomefiore Housewarden in turn, handing the hyena boy a massive wad of cash. How- How had the boy already acquired that much money?

"Those wide, shrunken eyes are likely a product of a lack of access to food," Sam said. Come to think of it, the boy was, well, a hyena. Did that not mean he was from the slums? And, considering the ingenuity required to survive in the slums as a mage, well-

"You're quite right!" he said with a laugh. "But what of the other boy?"

Of an average, unremarkable height, and a frail stature, the grey-haired boy had lodged himself between two twins.

"We should be looking at those two!" Ashton said, pointing to the tall, muscular twin boys. "They'd be great for the basketball team with those athletic reflexes of theirs!"

It would be best to observe first before coming to judgments,

"Dude," said one of the twins, practically shoving the phone into the grey-haired boy's face. "Check out this rare pepe."

The grey-haired boy scoffed, pushing the phone away with a scowl.

"The only thing I'll be 'checking out' is the socials of our peers," he said. "And the picture of the dearest headmage looking at cat photos while a student is attempting to get his attention," said the other twin.

How- How had they even seen that? Dire would have to do whatever it took to ensure that photo for the sake of avoiding bad PR- er, avoiding the entirely false notion that he was anything less than a kind-hearted and diligent headmage who would never ignore his students!

"I think you understand what I mean now," Sam said.

"Indeed," said Dire. "To think, he'd so viciously use photoshop to make it seem as if I'd ever do such a thing!"

"You would," Mozus said. "I find myself more concerned with how exactly they attained that picture."

However, before any further discussion could occur, a shriek was heard.

"Ugh!" said one of the twin boys - the droopy-eyed one. "This is boring."

That was never a good sign. 'This is boring' was the last thing said before the ceremony had gone wrong ten years ago, or twenty-three years ago, or thiry-five years ago, or fourty-two years ago, or fifty-two years ago, or during one of those ceremonies over sixty years ago that Dire had forgetten about.

Out of all the phrases said before ceremonies had gone wrong, 'This is boring' was - by far - the most common.

"Hey!" the droopy-eyed boy said, eyes on that one redhead who was surrounded by students in collars. "You look interesting, Goldfishie."

"My name is Riddle Rosehearts, not 'Goldfishie'," said the redheaded boy, Riddle. "And you'd do well to return to your place in the line."

"Nah," said the droopy-eyed boy, flicking his pen and causing a vine to settle itself on the ground. "Hey, this stuff's pretty cool!"

"I will not stand for this insolence! Off With Your Head!"

A collar wrapped itself around the droopy-eyed boy's neck.

"H-Huh?" he said, pulling at it in confusion. Riddle smirked.

"I warned you," he said. So that was what he meant by 'off with your head'. "You've broken the rules, and now you must-"

And then the fire-bolt was hurled.

It was a terrible, terrible thing, catching fire on the conjured vine and spreading further from there, sending students fleeing.

"Holy shit, dude!" the droopy-eyed boy said, eyes sparkling with glee. "You really are interesting, Goldfishie!"

Riddle had been the one to send the fire-bolt? This whole thing was simply growing more and more absurd!

"I didn't send that!" Cried Riddle.

...T-Then who had?

"Dire," Divus said through grit teeth. "Our top priority right now is ensuring no one gets burned. We can figure out which naughty pup did this later."

That was true. There was a bit of panicking, to say the least.

Which was to say that every student was in a frenzy.

"We're all gonna die!"

"I'm too young for this, Lord Hades! Spare me!"

"Take him instead!"

"H-Hey, don't take me, take him!"

"Are you going to put out the fire, or what?" Divus said, tapping his foot impatiently. Dire could somewhat hear him over the sound of screams.

"What have you done, Floyd?" said the grey-haired boy. "From now on we'll all be labelled as delinquents!" "Hey!" The droopy-eyed boy - Floyd - said. "Don't blame me for that thing, Azul!"

Azul just sighed.

"Jade, was this your doing?"

The other twin - Jade - shook his head.

"I do look forward to seeing the face of the man who disrupted the ceremony in such a manner," he said with a laugh.

Those three were odd. But even odder was the raven-haired boy who seemed entirely calm in the midst of the mess, merely putting out the fire gathering around him.

"Hello there," he said without so much as a glance as the hyena-beastman approached him.

"Heeeyyyy there, bud!" The hyena boy said. "You seem- not freaked out."

"My name is Jamil Viper," said the raven-haired boy - Jamil - almost robotically. "Please do not concern yourself with my affairs. I am but a humble se-"

And all of a sudden, Jamil snapped out of his robotic little monologue, looking down at his hands in shock.

"Nevermind," he said, mumbling a smug "I'm free for now" underneath his breath. The hyena boy blinked in confusion.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Jamil said. "What's your name?"

"Ruggie," Ruggie answered hastily. "And what's got you so calm? Isn't the school on fire or something? Don't tell me-"

Ruggie flashed a conspiratorial grin.

"Did you start it?" He asked. Jamil shook his head.

"I didn't," he said. "This just isn't all that severe an emergency. We'll put out the fire with ease."

With ease? By himself? Was Jamil not a mere freshman? He knew naught but basic magic, certainly not enough to put out a fire as big as this one!

"Uh, putting it out ourselves?" Ruggie said. "Don't you wanna get like, the headmage or something- Oh, hey there, headmage!" Ruggie shouted in an attempt to be heard through the screams of other students.

Ruggie had finally noticed him, it seemed.

"Hello, esteemed students!" Dire said. "My name is Dire Crowley, headmage of Night Raven College, a-"

"Can you put out the fire?" Ruggie shouted. Why did no one wish to hear about his extremely important information?

"Yes, yes, of course," Dire said. "I will put out the fire."

But he didn't have to. Divus was already there, getting the students attention with the crack of his whip.

"Pups!" he said. "No need to panic. The fire will be put out shortly. Next time any such emergency occurs, I expect you all to follow the procedure constantly taught to you during fire drills instead of flailing around like blind chihuahuas."

A thin sheet of water was summoned upon the floor, Divus flicked his magic-pen. The fire was put out. Phew.

Floyd raised his hand.

"Yes?" Divus asked.

"What's a fire drill?"

"Keep quiet, Floyd," Azul hissed to him in what he likely thought was so quiet no one could hear. However, on top of immense magnanimity and diligence, Dire also had impeccable hearing. One of the many blessings of being a fae, before turning to the Octavinelle housewarden. "I apologize for any inconvenience you've been caused."

He knew he was going to be sorted into Octavinelle, didn't he? Azul was most likely correct about that. However, it would be rather comedic if he was sorted somewhere else.

"You'd do well to apologize to everyone, er- Floyd," said Riddle. "I shall take off the collar if you can prove you've thoroughly repented."

"Uh," Floyd paused, before going completely off-topic. "I think the guppy that's under the chair next to me leg should wake up."

Riddle looked at him incredulously.

"What in the name of the Seven are you blathering on about-" A glance underneath the chair next to Floyd's leg revealed a silver-haired boy, a thin shield of water conjured around him.

Smart.

He'd fallen asleep though.

Ruggie creeped over towards the silver-haired boy, shaking his shoulders awkwardly.

"You good?" Jamil motioned for him to stop.

"He likely has some underlying condition," he said. "I'd wager it's magically induced narcolepsy."

All the oddest freshmen, gathered in one place while the others celebrated the fact that they weren't dead. How- quaint.

A few seconds later, the silver-haired boy's eyes fluttered open, as he took a second to process his surroundings.

"H-Huh?" he said, before realizing what had happened. "E-Er, apologies."

"Please prepare yourself for sorting," Riddle said, voice much less snippy than it ordinarily was. "You've managed to wake up just in time."

"T-Thank you," said the silver-haired boy. The quiet sort, it seemed.

"You really ought to get back in line yourself, dearest Riddle!" said Azul, bearing a saccharine grin.

"The same would go for you, I believe," said Jade with a grin even more sickly sweet. Azul groaned.

"Tell Floyd that."

"Yeah, yeah," Floyd said. "I'm gettin' in line."

Azul glared at him. "And I'm sorry," he said, despite the fact that he clearly didn't want to. Azul looked at Riddle expectantly. Riddle merely sighed.

"I wouldn't call this thorough repenting," he said.

"Please remove the collar from my business partner's neck." Business partners? Was that was kids these days callhed their friends? Dire had clearly fallen behind on trends.

Riddle scoffed.

"Have him apologize to me personally first," he said. Floyd rolled his eyes.

"Stop talking' about me like I'm not here."

"I do believe that collar restricts your magic, dearest brother." And all of a sudden, Floyd had become the most positively contrite person to ever grace Twisted Wonderland.

"I'm so, so sorry," he said through sniffles. "I'll never do it again, honest!"

It was only when Floyd conjured a ukelele that Riddle finally backed down, removing the collar.

"T-That's more than enough!" he said. "I do hope you've learned from this."

But Floyd wasn't listening.

"Whoo!" he said, all contriteness gone from sight. Floyd was quite the good actor, thought Dire idly.

"Get back in line quickly, pups," said Divus with the crack of a whip. The students scrambled to fall in line.

Well then, at least the chaotic part of the ceremony was over.

--------

A few hours later, the sorting was over. And frankly, Dire was most interested in the positions of seven particular students.

"The Rosehearts boy was placed in Heartslabyul," Mozus said in the break-room, sipping on a cup of tea.

"No one was shocked by that," said Divus. "The sortings were quite obvious. Bucchi in Savannaclaw, Viper in Scarabia, Ashengrotto and Leech in Octavinelle, and Silver in Diasomnia. And that means-" he turned to Dire. Curses. "I won all the bets. Pay up."

His poor wallet was aching, crying out in pain!

"Fine, fine," said Dire, forced to cruelly rip those precious thaumarks from their home in his wallet. "Here you are."

Mozus sighed.

"This school is known as Night Raven College," he said. "I was under the impression that - despite their mischievousness, ravens are smart. Not foolish enough to start fires before the first day."

Dire merely laughed.

"Well, Mozus," he said. "Do recall the old adage 'What's in a name'? The name of the school won't change the intellect of our students!"

"Yes, yes."

"So tell me," he continued.

"What's in a bird?"

[readerofdragons]

Let's go there.

Liam has been very clear in verbal statements and looks as to who Orym checks out and finds physically attractive. In EXU prime (plus a call-back to Deni$e), that was Dariax. In C3, that has very repeatedly been Ashton (who has reciprocated in kind).

He's also been pretty clear (especially in C92) about who Orym wants as his emotional support, and despite Ashton's multiple offers, that's Dorian.

Which, if either, Orym is romantically interested in, I'm not sure. I'm not convinced Orym is ready to be romantically involved with anyone who isn't Will yet.

As for the two Genasi, I think Ashton is definitely interested in Orym. (It would not surprise me for Liam or Tal to let slip they've been FWB for awhile.) Dorian is certainly emotionally attached to Orym. I need to rewatch the second half of 92 when I'm more awake to decide more than that.