#but UHHHH WE MIGHT. HAVE BIGGER. FISH. TO FRY.

[blorbologist]

hey uh

this whole ‘magic methods of imprisonment are failing’ thing...

what about the primordials almost unleashed by Avalir’s fall?

what does this mean for the Rites of Prime Banishment? 

Pelor was involved in both occasions the Rites were used (direct architect and fighter for one, provided the basic insight and one bead of divinity for the other), and we know from Deanna that his influence is... shaky, compared to usual. Let alone the influence of the Allhammer and Ioun. 

Are the chains that bind Tharizdun and Vecna weakened?

Are we facing down a situation where the over-arching villains of the last two campaigns might either be the first things devoured by Predathos, or play a hand in weakening him if they lash out first? 

Which is worse?

[anyroads]

Listen, I'm already tired of the discourse and it hasn't even started yet and if it were up to me this whole Harry Potter HBO show would get canned before the first script is even finished, but uhhhh

I keep seeing posts that are like, "they're going to cast 12 year olds and then use the criticism we throw at them to say that we [who's we? people who support trans folk? the left? anyone against anti-semitism?] are clearly terrible people because we go after children so we can't do it" and "they're going to cast a little black girl as Hermione o get diversity points and throw her to the wolves who are mad at the reboot so listen we're not gonna be mad at the kids..."

Like, listen. Listen y'all. If you feel you have to point out to people that they shouldn't go after literal children, you have bigger fish to fry than a problematic tv show. If there's genuine worry on posts hitting 30, 40, 50K notes that this community, whatever it is, might drag a handful of 12 year olds, some shit needs to be re-evaluated. Maybe the first one might be why not one of the posts I've seen has even said, "remember the people responsible are the producers and writers and directors" or why every post that I have seen has framed not going after child actors as a tactical move on behalf of a political statement and not once as the basic, decent thing to do. You've already objectified children who haven't even been cast yet, can y'all maybe not?

[ardaaman]

The Trident’s Return

Novel Prep Tag

FIRST LOOK

1. Describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch)

Petryn Alenyath, disgraced former governor of the island nation Azmarin, suspects her political successor in the theft of the island’s greatest treasure, a powerful enchanted trident once belonging to Petryn’s ancestor. The only hope she has of reclaiming the governor’s seat lies in recovering the trident and proving her rival’s guilt... but, as every Azmarin native knows, there is always something lurking just below the water’s surface.

2. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

Political intrigue layered with high adventure on the high seas. Pirates and merfolk and magic and creatures from the darkest depths of the ocean.

3. What other stories inspire your novel?

As with The Alchemist’s Curse, everything here originated in D&D. Petryn was a PC in one campaign, then another, then a major NPC in another, and finally she landed here. Arda’aman and its history originated as a campaign setting. Even the plot was modified from a campaign idea I had. Despite all appearances, in a story so rooted in D&D and elemental magic, Princes of the Apocalypse had very little influence on this project, since I’ve never played that module. 

The Hobbit, specifically Lake Town, influenced the look and feel of Azmarin’s Serenity District.

Surprisingly enough, I’m also drawing some inspiration from the Princess Diaries movies, since I realized the dynamic I was aiming for with Petryn and Galen was very close to what Queen Clarisse and Joe had. So I bought both movies on Amazon. For research purposes. 

4. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel

(x) (x) (x)

MAIN CHARACTER

5. Who is your protagonist?

Petryn Alenyath, descendant of one of Arda’aman’s greatest heroes and disgraced former governor of the island city-state, Azmarin.

6. Who is their closest ally?

Galen Glaucus, the son of a dock worker and an undine—an elemental spirit from the plane of water—and the current druidmaster of Azmarin.

7. What do they want more than anything?

She wants to live up to the Alenyath name, to the legacy that carries with it. She wants to do right by her people. 

8. Why can’t they have it?

She did have it. For exactly eight years. Then Remora beat her out in the polls and destroyed her reputation, and Petryn... This was Petryn’s whole life, the governorship. She wants it back, and the only way to do that without stooping to Remora’s level is to prove Remora stole the Namoros Trident. 

The trouble is, Remora didn’t.

9. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

In her original incarnation as a PC (and again as a muse on this blog), she wrongly believed that fencing and swordfighting were interchangeable skills, and she still believes that in The Trident’s Return. She’s a champion fencer, and her first instinct after Remora “ousts” her is to run away to someplace where she never has to face the shame of failure and become a wandering adventurer. 

She loved adventure stories growing up, and the archetypal action hero in any D&D-based story is a wandering adventurer. The problem being, “real” wandering adventurers tend to be trigger-happy bounty hunters who think they’re above the law and take every available opportunity to abuse it. In short, murder-hobos. 

Petryn is not a murder-hobo. Nor is she a swordsman. 

10. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

What, you think I can write and draw? No way. Credit: (x)

PLOT POINTS

11. What is the internal conflict?

There’s the whole “the only reason she’s still on her feet after Remora beats her is her conviction that Remora stole the trident and the subsequent burning hope that she can regain her career and exact revenge all at once, when the truth of the matter is that Remora had nothing to do with the theft, the real culprits are trying to undo everything Petryn’s ancestor worked to achieve, and Petryn has to come to terms with the fact that she’ll never get the governorship back, nor can she ever return to that time in her life, and she now has the daunting task of rebuilding herself from the ground up.” But I don’t know how to word that succinctly at the moment. 

Then there’s Duty vs Desire: Petryn has a duty to her family name, her ancestor, her city, and... herself? Nah, that sounds fake. Basically she always puts duty—her work obligations—before her own desires—in this case, Galen—and that doesn’t change just because she didn’t get reelected. Before, Galen was her adviser and subordinate, and a workplace relationship of that nature would be inappropriate, and now, with her reputation the lowest it’s ever been (thanks Remora!), she can’t afford the barest hint of a scandal if she’s to have any hope of winning the revote she’s trying to force. 

On the other hand, he’s sexy and compassionate, and she’s madly in love with him.

12. What is the external conflict?

There’s the rivalry between Petryn and Remora. They’re both cunning and relentless, but where Petryn holds herself and her people to a high moral standard no exceptions, Remora readily takes advantage of more, shall we say, underhanded tactics. So basically Man vs Foil

There’s also the massive, underground religious cult bent on bringing about a second apocalypse to keep everyone on their toes. That counts as Man vs Nature, right?

13. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist?

Uhhhhhh pretty much someone stealing the closely guarded weapon that her family has kept safe for generations and using its magical powers to open a rift to the Water Plane to unleash the angry genocidal monster that her ancestor personally imprisoned. No biggie.

14. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

Yeah, Remora’s not the bad guy here. Sorry Petryn, you’ve got bigger fish to fry. You probably should have seen that coming.

15. Do you know how it ends?

It’s kind of a bittersweet ending, because on the one hand, she fails in her personal goal to get her job back. On the other hand, she saves the world! On the other hand, there’s still three more chapters of this cult trying to destroy the world. On the other hand, at least she’s knows they exist now and can’t be blindsided again! On the other hand, they also know she exists now.

On the other hand, she and Galen finally get together!

BITS AND BOBS

16. What is the theme?

Uhhhh something about... legacy, and... you can’t always get what you want.. and........... but if you try sometimes you just might find you get what you need oh yeah.

It’s a lot easier to spot themes once the story’s already written.

17. Where is the story set? (Share a description!)

The Sovereign City of Azmarin, the Floating City, home of Port Serenity. Situated smack dab in the middle of the Marized Ocean, halfway between Sylanta and Haolong. The great cultural salad bowl of Arda’aman. 

18. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?

It’s near the beginning. Petryn is slumped in a seat in the Rat ‘N a Barrel Pub and Lodgings with a brandy in hand. All around her, sailors are singing off-key shanties and celebrating their brief stint on solid ground, while Petryn quietly drinks herself into oblivion. As she nears the end of her third brandy, Galen slides into the seat next to her. 

19. What excited you about this story?

It’s a swashbuckling adventure full of magic and fun worldbuilding!

20. Tell us about your usual writing method!

Outline first, put on a playlist that fits the mood, then start writing.

Tagged by: no one, I just wanted to do it Tagging: Everyone who reads this all the way to the end!

[survivor-kalymnos]

Ep. 10 - “I need ice cream. I need a quesadilla. I need a hug.” - Lenny

Frank

I swear I have a heart. I end up getting caught in so many fights in orgs nowadays and honestly it’s not something I enjoy but I’m also not just going to sit back while I’m being attacked. What hurts the most is reading about not holding a conversation. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard it in orgs and not even the first time I’ve heard it in life and it hurts and sucks. I’m like on the verge of tears because of shit like that, I’m a person I have feelings and I try to be good at speaking to people but I fall short so many times. It’s one of my biggest fears, losing people because of my social ineptness (don’t think that’s a word but here we are). What I can do is move on and move forward with the people who seem to enjoy talking to me and have actually not just left me on read and put effort into getting to know a person and how they communicate. And them worm is just sitting here doing absolutely nothing but nobody is calling them out on it so fuck me i guess. I’m gonna be sad about it for a little bit but it’s not like I feel like it was a personal attack since truly it wasn’t. 

lenny

eliza went home. SO MUCH DRAMA! I am just watching rn. new alliance chat formed called "invisibles". makes me feel very superhero like. 

lenny

People are yelling. People are fighting. People are calling each other snakes and rats. I just want to munch. I need ice cream. I need a quesadilla. I need a hug. 

Frank

Me to Franco: that's why i just said ok, at least i read messages, wanted to let you know you've been heard....not listened to, but heard Michele Learned to see the game from an outside. No longer taking everything personally. Excited to leap back into this, but might try to hide around for a few rounds and let them take out bigger threats.

Frank

So it’s like 2am and I have some thoughts. It’s been a roller coaster tonight in this game and I’m actually really proud of how I handled things. I’m in an actual alliance now which is calming and amazing since it’s a majority and I feel I can trust some of these people. That tribal definitely drew some lines in the sand but I’m pretty happy about it. Like I said in my last confessionals, I don’t always like to fight, but it happened. I think I defended myself well. Nothing really got solved but I saw how Rain feels about me. I didn’t even know they had a problem with me because they just never responded to my messages. Why they decided to join the fight is anyone’s guess since it didn’t involve them nor did it need to. I didn’t have a problem with Rain, but I guess I do now. I guess moving forward I need to become a better speaker in one on one conversations but that’s a bigger issue. Who knew dusty would be my closest ally now but here we are. Dusty and Sasha, but like I doubt I can take dusty to f3 but who knows what will happen in the future, f3 is so far away.

Michele

I’m mostly certain that my brother is Frank and wow I could have taken him out for bragging rights but tbh starting to trust him so he might need to stay. Really starting to watch out for Dusty tho👀

Franco

Day 1 of missing Eliza. I'm SO PISSED. I knew eliza giving her idol would bite us in the ass, I wish I could have done something to stop it. If I had known eliza was the target i would have played my idol on her in a HEARTBEAT. Im kicking myself because theres so much we could've done. We shouldn't have tried to split last minute. If I kept my vote on Frank, he would have left. Michele is a rat. Dusty is a snake. Frank is basically a nonentity in this game but somehow also is the biggest annoyance in the game. I want them all gone. I need to reevaluate my game. Hopefully they move onto other targets now that my number 1 is gone, but I dont trust that enough. Dusty is now in control of 2 idols, and I wasted my own. I don't know how to come back from this, but there is a fire under my ass and renewed rage, and I am going to do EVERYTHING i can to win this fucking game

Michele

After talking to other people I don’t think I’m going to win immunity. It’s probably better for my game anyway given the fact that I won the last 2 public comps. I hope I can fly under the radar at tribal and send franco packing but the tables have turned and once again there might be bigger fish to fry. Unfortunately that fish might be me...

Franco

Day 2 of missing Eliza God this is actually.... So depressing.  5 out of the 7 people left in this game left me on read yesterday when I was trying to talk game to them.  Multiple people flat out told me I was on the bottom and Im probably going next.   Yesterday I said I had a fire under my ass and I was ready to take back this game but today that is... Gone. Like I feel so defeated. I feel like I'm putting in so much effort to talk to everyone and figure out what to do but I'm just hitting brick walls. This challenge is easy and I can easily win with effort, but that is effort I dont have the capacity to put in right now. And even though I have hundreds of pictures, I have a feeling someone is just going to come in and blow that out of the water. I don't see a path to the end. Im going to put in as much work as I can for the rest of this round, hoping I find one. But right now theres nothing. I really hope that changes. 

lenny

I am so exhausted from this challenge. I worked really hard at it and my mom got upset with me for dojng it because I should be doing work for class lol. I'd really like to win this challenge. For me, winning is more than immunity. It shows that I am a strong competitor and deserve to be here. I know I am not the loudest person in the tribe or the sneakiest, but, I am still here and that means something right?

Sasha

uhhhh I'm going to make this as comprehensive as possible  but also my brain is fried so I'm gonna see how it goes last round: bunch of us voted out eliza, which really only worked because she and franco were had turned on some people to blindside cranjes before. also the 5 of us who did that have a chat now, called "the invisibles" (it's dusty, lenny, michele, frank, and I) we're planning on going for franco this round, assuming he doesn't in this challenge (I don't think he will) speaking of franco, he approached me yesterday to have a convo about the game so far. he basically explained his involvement in a bunch of stuff to me and was saying that even though people perceived him to be running the game, he felt as though he'd been floundering these past few rounds. he also said that he respected my game and I was like "lol what game" then he asked how likely it was that he'd go this round and I said fairly. he also asked if I'd consider not voting for him. I said maybe. I probably will; I'm actually in an alliance and I'd like to stick with it asdfgknj also this challenge? I have a good feeling about. I've taken so many pictures that my brain hurts. also I knew I'd have a good edge since I own about 300 books so that's a good chunk of pictures right there.

Rain

I’m defeated. I’m angry. Literally nobody but franco and Lenny is putting in the effort to speak to me. It’s fucking painful. I’d rather go home this round than see Franco leave. Franco deserves to be here. You know who doesn’t? Frank. Frank continues to be on borrowed time hiding underneath allies that play better than him. My cat has a better social game than frank and she hisses at anyone who comes close to her. I’m pissed. We could have the numbers to stay but Lenny won’t keep franco. What the fuck. Take me to jury. I’m done with these “only speak to my allies” shit players. 

Franco

I don't know what to do. 

Michele

When I first started this game I did it for the sole purpose of beating my brother. My mindset has changed as I’ve gotten so far. I *really* want to win now!! It’s going to be really rough but I think I can do it?

Sashah

i im still bitter 3 hours later that I went ham on this challenge, fried my brain, and got second

Franco

Day 3 of missing Eliza I AM ABSOLUTELY SHITTING MYSELF. GOD MY DEVELOPMENT ARC FOR THIS ROUND IS SO CRAZY. I know I'm probably the target tonight, yesterday I was so sad all day and literally just felt like giving up. But TODAY. I found???? Idol????? AGAIN???? That fire has been RE LIT SIS. My ass ain't going anywhere tonight

Michele

Getting the invisibles to come to a decision is almost as frustrating as when I tried with og nera. Lack of communication is why I am almost a free agent. Trying to BB17 Steve my way to the top.

Frank

I’m hoping it’s an easy round and we just get rid of Franco. This alliance was made after the vote last time so it would be really dumb and sad if we can’t even vote together once.

Michele

I think of all tribals in the game so far tonights will be the most impactful to my game personally. As far as I know it seems like my vote is the deciding factor. I’m down between rain and frank, but I don’t personally want frank gone. I’m weighing the pros and cons going forward and its so even.

MicheleJ

ust a rat looking for her Linguini

Dusty

Alright!!!!! Now this vote would appear simple, take out Franco, who's all alone and blown up his game. Worm and Rain were working with him before but they’ve both expressed to me that they would vote of Franco if it were to help further there game. And of course this is a smart decision but my my brain gets on caffeine I just get to thinking!! If I were to give my idol to Franco, then he uses the idol and gets to decide who goes home. Now ultimately this is a mess because he could decide to vote of someone that I don’t want to go home. So as much as it sounds fun and dramatic I don’t really think that’s a smart move. Now back to Rain and Worm...they’ve both presented me with an opportunity. At this point in he game I think whoever goes into final 7 tribal with the power will really have influence over the rest of the game. If I stick with this alliance of 5 (Sasha, Frank, Lenny, Michele, and myself) then we go into 7 with majority, but it also creates a situation where Sasha and Frank are a duo and then Lenny, Michele, and I are more than individuals but less than a trio and at this point in the game that’s not a solid ground to stand on. Talking to Worm they saw Michele and I were a tight duo, and while talking to Rain they saw Lenny and I as a tight duo. Now this was NEWS to me because I always thought Michele was close to Worm, and same with Lenny and Rain. This gives me the opportunity next round to decide who i want to work with and hopefully stick with that group until the end. Obviously things could happen very differently, I’m unsure if I will go to Michele or Lenny to propose sticking together until the end, but who knows what could happen in this game. 

Worm

This game is with out a doubt the wildest ride I have ever been on in an org. I have changed my path to the end so many times, and I feel like a majority of that is because of how chaotic some of the other people are playing. So with everything going on I just need to keep my head down and make sure  that no matter how many people I betray, I need to make sure I still have that bridge built to work with them. I'm putting a lot of faith this round in Michele because its all up to her to vote for Frank. I don't why Im trusting Franco to take the reins with this vote, especially after HE TOLD MICHELLE ABOUT HIS IDOL. Like I'm flabbergasted. What is this cast problem with not telling every living soul about them having an idol. i'm just hoping everything work out because if it doesn't, then I'm not too sure of my chances of staying are. I wounder if people would go after larger targets or someone else. There is too many questions right now that I can't answer. So until then I will focus on what I can try and control. So the plan for the rest of this game will hopefully go as follows: this round we flush dusty's idol and get rid of frank. After that i would like to either get rid of Rain. I think out of everyone left they are the most likely to win. They are well-spoken, smart, and has a great relationship with everyone. I think if they make it to the end then they would have the best chances of winning. I think my best bet would be to work with Michele, Dusty, and maybe Lenny. That third person is kind of a mystery to me but if I can get Michele and Dusty on board then I think we can pull in a third. Maybe if Franco doesn't find another idol and he thinks that his back is against the wall then maybe he would flip. Only time would tell. After that at final 6 I would like to target Sasha. She seems like a wild card and I'm not sure where her head sits in this game. I also know that her and Franco are getting closer so that could leave Franco with no allies. I think after that, Dusty would be the best person to target. I think he also as a very high chance of winning and having someone so close with such a good chance of winning is a big threat. At final 4 I would want either Michele or Lenny out. Preferably Lenny because I think she has better social bonds and with Michele becoming more and more quiet it seems that will be my choice. I think Franco is one person I want in the end because even though he is making "big moves", many of  them seem erratic and without logic to me. I don't think he has the foresight to see what consequences have occurred from his decisions. I know this isn't how the game is gonna go but I sure hope it does lol

Franco

OKAY so i spent a LOT of today mulling over options and plans and votes and allies. This might be the last chance i have to make a HUGE move with an idol so I have to make it work. Not gonna lie, I got messy. I slipped and told Michele, Rain, and Worm about my idol. But i don't think it blew up in my face, surprisingly. I'm lying to almost everyone. There are four different plans going on but only one is true. The plan is to get Dusty to use an idol AND ensure someone I don't trust goes home. I know Dusty, Lenny, and Frank are voting me, but my idol will ensure it does not matter. Rain, Worm and I are voting Dusty. He needs to have the most votes so he's forced to use the super idol and we don't have to worry about it anymore. I really trust Sasha. Like Rain and Sasha are my biggest allies right now, but unfortunately I had to lie to Sasha to ensure there weren't any leaks. I told her that the vote was going to Michele. So that's who she should be voting for. Michele knows about the plan to use my idol and flush Dustys, so she is going to vote Frank. SO if all goes according to plan, it will be a tie between Michele and Frank and it will go to a revote. Michele is an absolute rat and a snake and I can't trust her anymore. I want her GONE. After the first vote im going to campaign my ass off in those couple minutes to get her to go. SO YEAH. Me and all of my allies should be safe. FrancoAlso. Can i just say how SHOOK I am at this game? This round has been a rollercoaster, and this vote is so intense. There are so many intricacies and internal connections and ideas going on that is all cohesive in the grand scheme of whats actually going on. This is why I love Survivor and I love this game. Truly i think this is the most I've ever played from a strategic standpoint. 

Sasha

in a twist of events, I'm voting with franco rather than for him why? well, bold of you to assume /I/ understand my own actions serious answer: because I realized that I talk the most to him and I'm closer to him than anyone else as a result. not even just game talk. just vibing and chatting about stuff, like shouting about the witcher for instance also I'm just vibing and not caring about Game(tm) so what do I have to lose by turning on the invisibles anyway rain was telling me that they were thinking of voting for franco and I was like "ok but first consider this new information: I'm not voting for him" and so they said that they won't vote for him franco decided to target michele instead, because she keeps flipping around to whatever benefits her, which makes sense. I guess I'm just chilling until the vote since, in theory, the invisibles decided to vote franco (I didn't try to convince them to vote for someone else just in case, because it would look highkey sus if I started to try to get the vote off franco after trying to vote for him three goddamn times)

Frank

It’s very quite and that makes me concerned for some reason bc I just don’t do well with quiet anymore I guess. I know survivor is on and I’m watching it too but like it’s been quiet for most of the day. I just hope that’s because it’s an easy round, but obviously I’m never going to feel comfortable.

Sasha

This is the second time I'm voting with someone who's engaging in a last ditch effort to save themselves. Hopefully it goes better this time

Sasha

WAIT FRANCO JUST USED AN IDOL SDFGHJK

Sasha

this tribal, man franco and I assume worm and rain, voted dusty to flush his super idol so then it was a tie between michele and frank I got 3 dms, one from michele just saying "please!!!" which is the only thing that kept me from confirming my vote for her immediately one from franco elaborating on the plan to flush the idol and one from dusty asking if I wanted to keep frank. I said yes and he confirmed. That was a surprise

Sasha

FUCK IT'S ROCKS BETWEEN ME, WORM, AND RAIN

Sasha

well shit