#dude's a half orc by the way

[zoethehead]

this exactly happened to Darius last session, dude got some debris through his shoulder, some broken ribs, and a broken tibia

Injury Prompt #1135

Wound on shoulder

[pinkyjulien]

ALRIGHT TIME TO ROLEPLAY THOSE FUCKS

[residentinsomniacartist]

wait wait wait guys have you ever thought about how the Mighty Nein are everything they shouldn’t be upon first glance

no no guys guys listen to me they’re all the antithesis of what they’re meant to be and that’s why they’re such amazing and heartfelt characters

like, Caleb is a wizard who’s afraid of his own fire magic. his own power causes him to falter in battle. his strongest spells are his most dangerous to himself. wizards are supposed to be prideful of their magic, but Caleb’s is the reason he hates himself

Beau is a monk who never wanted to be. her job is one that people normally associate with being calm and collected and Beau was a wild rebellious kid who got dragged into this line of work against her will. she never wanted to be this!! but now she is and she’s gotta deal with it!!

Fjord is a warlock who never wanted power from his pact, which is why you’d think a warlock would make their pact at all. but no. Fjord made his pact because he wanted to live, not because he wanted power. he was a scared orphan who hated his tusks, not a buff, muscled, angry half-orc like people assumed

Nott is NOT, that’s the whole crux of her narrative! she wasn’t pretty, like a halfling girl was supposed to be. she wasn’t a goblin, she was just transformed into one. and not only that, but despite being a three-foot-tall alcoholic kleptomaniac, she’s the mom of the group!

Jester is a Cleric whose god isn’t actually a god and who would much rather bash bad guys over the head with her lollipop than have to stop and heal her friends!! she’s a bubbly, optimistic ray-of-sunshine, but you know when she says she’s gonna change the world with friendship she means it as a threat

Mollymauk is an amnesiac, but he doesn’t want to remember who he was. if you ask him, that wasn’t him! he might be a flirtatious hedonistic carnie, but he’s also single-mindedly devoted to making the world a better and more loved place than it was when he found it. he’s a liar, but he means well. he’s an arrogant fool, yes, but he’s right! he did it! he left it better!

Caduceus seems like he’d be creepy and grim from growing up in a graveyard, but he’s actually the most chill out of the entire Nein by far. he’s calm, he’s sweet, and he’s comforting, more than anything else. you’d think he’d be amazed by seeing the outside world for the first time, but he spends the whole time knowing that one day he’ll return home, that he wasn’t supposed to be the one to leave

Yasha is a barbarian with skeletal wings and a dramatic, monochromatic look, but she’s a complete sweetheart. she’s Molly’s best friend, she was a carnival bouncer, she’s a lesbian disaster who collects pressed flowers in a book out of love for the wife she lost. those black wings were actually hiding soft white feathers

Essek was born straight into the den of politics, he was a spymaster, he literally started a war for his own gain, and yet. he’s sounds irredeemable on paper, but. he’s not!! sure, the Nein kind of have to drag his alignment kicking and screaming into neutral, but they manage it. Essek learns and grows and he overcomes his nature. he becomes good, against all odds

guys guys guys don’t you see it!! look at them!!they’re such compelling characters!! they’re everything they’re not supposed to be!! dude y’all how didn’t I realize this earlier!! they subvert their narratives in the most interesting ways ever and I justhshsbhshshsjnsmshsnhsfn!!

[notrapsplease]

Werebear Halsin Headcanon

I have seen a couple other posts going around about werebear Halsin and wanted to make my own with some of my thoughts/evidence because I have been a werebear truther since I first saw the beefy elf daddy.

This doesn't really have spoilers in it, but I do touch on a couple plot points from the game. Fair warning! I also pull a lot from D&D itself, specifically 5th edition since that's what BG3 is built on.

This ended up being long, so I split it into a few different categories, they are in no particular order:

Quite large for an elf

We all know, Halsin is big. Large even. In D&D, elves are described as being slender and slight. Even if they are athletic they are not muscular and are lighter than other races of the same size (as in a 5'5" human will weigh more than a 5'5" elf). They are a little shorter than humans on average.

This puts Halsin well outside the usual elf physiology. When this is addressed in game, Halsin says perhaps he has some orc ancestry or "conventional wisdom is too narrow about what someone can or cannot be" (beautiful sentiment Halsin, you're still big).

Being a werebear offers a simple explanation for his unusual size. Werebear in D&D are described as being large and muscular, even in their humanoid form.

It's a "Wildshape"

Sure buddy.

Halsin's bear form is explained away as one of his druid wildshapes, but there are a couple things that don't line up.

First is the UI itself. Halsin’s bear form is separate from wildshape. It’s in the general abilities section not the class features. This might be just for programming reasons, but I still think it’s interesting.

Second and more incriminating, Halsin stays in bear form for too long. ACT 1 Spoilers: When you find Halsin in the Goblin Camp, the Goblins don't know he's a dude, they just think he's a bear. Even if in the stories timeline you're supposed to reach him the same day as when he was kidnapped, that's still a long time to maintain a wildshape. As per DND 5e rules: "You can stay in a beast shape for a number of hours equal to half your druid level (rounded down)."

So even if Halsin is STARTING as a max BG3 level druid at level 12, he should only maintain wildshape for 6 hours. Even as a Circle of the Moon druid, the time doesn't increase.

"I...lost the run of myself"

Related to the idea that Halsin's bear form is a wildshape, I need to touch on the parts of the game that indicate Halsin can lose control of his bear form.

My main piece of evidence here is that wildshape in D&D has no indication that you lose any control of your impulses. In fact, wildshape describes the opposite: "Your game statistics are replaced by the statistics of the beast, but you retain your alignment, personality, and Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma scores."

The fact you retain your mental stats mean you are in total control. There is no mental difference between a druid in wildshape and a druid in their humanoid form. To be in wildshape is a CHOICE the druid makes.

This is in contrast to spells like Polymorph which indicate that you lose your mental stats AS WELL as your physical ones: "The target's game statistics, including mental ability scores, are replaced by the statistics of the chosen beast. It retains its alignment and personality."

I bring that up just to showcase that D&D does have that distinction, if wildshape was meant to be something that you could lose control of, or let the beast take over, they would have written it that way.

ACT 3 spoilers: This idea that he can be made to lose control is also hinted at if Orin kidnaps him from your camp. Orin's dialogue from the kidnapped victim usually indicates a deep-seated fear the victim has, or their worst case scenario. Having kidnapped Halsin describe himself losing control indicates to me that it's his biggest fear. Which makes sense as a werebear, as a druid…not so much.

In contrast to wildshape, which is a voluntary choice the druid makes, being a werebear is a curse. Halsin is obviously in good control of his werebear self (I discuss this later on), but it is still a curse and can affect him negatively, especially in impulse and instinct.

Alignment: Neutral Good

Now I've got to talk about the werebear curse a little more. And D&D lycanthropy in general.

When someone is afflicted with the curse and resists it, they maintain their normal alignment but struggle to contain the beast. If an afflicted person chooses to accept the beast they gain more control over their bestial form, but lose their alignment to the alignment of the kind of lycanthrope they are.

Both Halsin and the canon D&D werebear are Neutral Good. Which means Werebear Halsin is in alignment with his bestial side, offering some manner of control over his transformations.

Only you can prevent shadow curses.

Werebear are described as being lone hermits who guard their territories fiercely, protecting their habitat, and the flora and the fauna from any threat. Sounds like a werebear might get really obsessive trying to rid his territory of, say, a Shadow curse.

Halsin and Thaniel's relationship makes a lot more sense if Halsin is a werebear. They met when Halsin was a child, so Halsin wouldn't have been a druid yet. In D&D druids are a learned class, more like clerics. Certainly Halsin could been a child in touch with nature, but why did Thaniel single him out?

If Halsin was a werebear though, he would have already had a natural desire to protect the land, the land being personified as Thaniel.

The werebear curse is described in D&D as usually being passed on voluntarily, as in a werebear chooses who they want to bite, either a companion or an apprentice. Werefolk curses also pass through bloodlines (as in you can be born a werefolk). The general consensus is if you are born a werefolk you will naturally align with the curse's alignment so you will innately be in more control then a bitten werefolk. We already know Halsin is Neutral Good, like werebears usually are.

This is a more headcanon-y part, but I think Halsin’s family were probably all werebear, or at least one of his parents was and from a lineage that had a history protecting the land Halsin grew up on. Knowing that Halsin's family all passed away, this could also indicate why Thaniel singled him out, maybe Halsin was the last in the werebear lineage that had chosen to defend the land Thaniel personified.

Either way, Halsin and the werebear align in the desire to protect natural spaces, and Halsin's obsession with the shadow curse could stem from that innate desire.

This isn't my first time recruiting a werefolk druid

This is meta evidence, but I'm including it. In BG2 there is a druid named Cernd and he’s a werewolf! What does this have to do with Halsin? Not a lot, but it shows that having a companion who is a werewolf is established in the universe. Cernd also establishes that being a druid helps to control a werecreature curse. Cernd isn’t feral and has greater control over his werewolfism because of his abilities as a druid. Also Cernd has magic items that are from High Forest. If that sounds familiar, it's where Halsin says his family is buried. idk the connection but it's interesting.

Final thoughts

I think that's all?? I also want to talk about why I think the Werebear curse wasn't brought up in game.

One of the other posts I saw suggested that the reason it’s not brought up in game is Halsin doesn’t know he's a werebear. I get that, I can totally see that, but I don’t think that does Halsin justice. Halsin may be a beefy boy, but he isn't oblivious. There is no way Halsin has lived for 350 years and hasn’t realized he’s a werebear. 350 years is a long time not to bite anyone.

I think the more likely explanation in game is simply that it never comes up. Halsin is in control (mostly) and not worried about it. He is also not used to having people who care for him (this is a huge part of his characterization in game), and probably has had to keep the fact that he is a werebear relatively secret throughout his life.

From a meta perspective, I think it was cut for time and content. We KNOW that a lot of his content was cut already (Sorrow, anyone?). There is also the fact that originally one of the other origin characters was going to be a werewolf, so they may have decided to ease back on Halsin being a werebear so she would be more unique. Then she ceased to exist anyway. Personally I think they should have included some dialogue about it somewhere, especially after deciding not to have the werewolf companion. I genuinely can’t FATHOM that werebear Halsin wasn’t the plan all along, regardless of if they decided to cut it. Alright I'm done. Werebear believers unite!

[ozzgin]

Dude, I'm just gonna shameless say it but, we need bisexual reader that did they whole orc family. It's not just some love (or sex) triangle with the step-dad and step-brother, it's a love trapezium pyramid prism. We're making our way through the entire family!!!

The orc women need some loving too! Sharing is caring! ❤️

[Referring to the Orc Stepbrother saga]

I find it a little funny, because I had gotten another similar ask earlier and I had to do a little backtracking to figure out the source of confusion. When I said "half the family", I thought, "well, there's obviously some orc kids in there, plus some disabled, one-foot-in-the-grave elderly, so we should probably leave those out". Hence my use of words.

That is to say, the orc women were never not an option! Shag to your heart's content.

If you're looking for a bisexual reader tapping both orc genders, I have the orc siblings story here! Otherwise the stepfamily is always open.

[bongwaterbunny]

i need less lanky gorgug. dude is a half-orc barbarian who swings a 120lb greataxe with no problem. he eats raw meat in bulk and is over 6'4" in freshman year. even with his baggy hoodie and the way he hunches, he is BIG. his legs and arms are thick and muscular from working out (read: raging out). he most likely helps his parents to garden and with other household tasks. obviously im not saying hes a bodybuilder but my guy is not skinny. i want gorgug with no thigh gap and a big tummy, i want gorgug with pudgy fingers and double chins and i want chubby gorgug. give me chubby gorgug.

[dullgecko]

Riz faints in a martial fighting practicum one day. he doesn't know if it's from lack of food (the budget's been tight lately and he's been sneaking the bigger portions on his mom's plate,) dehydration (he switched from drip coffee to espresso for speed of consumption recently and it means much less liquid intake during his day,) or tiredness (when is there time for sleep in junior year?) fabian and gorgug are in class that day and don't take it well/don't let riz downplay things

Riz generally tried not to get involved in up-close fights while in actual combat situation but that didn't mean he never would. There was also no guarentee that he wouldn't be fighting someone outside his size class. In order to make sure everyone was well rounded his martial fighting class, usually only full of halflings and gnomes beside himself, had been combined with one for larger adventurers.

He'd been looking forward to it. Sure, Riz sparred with Gorgug and Fabian informally all the time but there was something a little different about doing it at school. They'd been halfway through warmups when he started feeling a little off, lagging behind slightly as they ran laps around the gym before moving into stretching so no one would hurt themselves. He pushed past it though, usually if he ignored feelings like this they'd pass eventually.

It didn't pass though, his movements feeling sluggish as he sparred with his first partner. It was bad enough that he took a few hard hits from the wooden sparing swords, the halfling he'd been fighting actually giving him a concerned look as she dropped out of fighting stance after knocking the goblin on his ass for the third time.

"Dude are you okay? You've gone... gray? Your face is gray." She waved a hand at her own face, Riz blinking at her in confusion as he shifted to stand back up.

"Yeah sorry, bit off my game today. I think I'm a bit tir-" He felt like someone had stuffed his ears with cotton when he pushed himself back to his feet, vision tuneling before reducing to a pinprick as a wave of nausea rushed over him. He had a brief moment to think that he was glad his stomach was empty before he felt his knees buckle under him, the goblin landing on the padded mat with a muffled thump like a puppet with cut strings.

He was a bit confused when he opened his eyes again, suddenly finding himself a lot more supine than he'd been several seconds ago. A heavy weight on his chest as one of the paladins in Fabian and Gorgugs class knelt over him with a hand resting on his sternum. They must have cast lay on hands because he couldn't feel any of the bruises from sparing anymore, though he still felt fucking awful.

"He still looks pretty gray."

"He's in your party yeah? Think you can handle him while we continue the lesson?"

"Yeah we've got this." Riz heard Gorgug say from somewhere behind his head, the goblin giving the paladins wrist a pat to indicate they could stop as he tried to sit up.

"I'm okay. Just... gimme a second. I think my blood sugar went a bit loopy." He had to cross his legs and lean forwards when even that bit of movement made his head spin a bit, the goblin trying to take measured breaths to try and stave off the tunnel vision so he wouldn't just flop back over again.

"Fabian went to grab you a sports drink from the vending machine." Gorgug crouched in front of Riz when the paladin got out of the way, his party member giving them a pat on the shoulder by way of thanks. "Gods you look horrible dude. You scared the shit out of your sparing partner she thought she killed you."

"Sorry. Didn't have breakfast today." Or dinner last night, though he wasn't going to say that to Gorgug. He'd get worried looks... more worried looks than he was getting now anyway. "Was in a hurry."

"I don't think this is a case of skipping one meal man. You didn't even look this bad after the whole nightmare forest thing." The half orc wiggled his fingers, glancing up at the sound of running footsteps as Fabian sprinted back across the gym.

"Oh, good, he's awake I got-" He juggled a good half-dozen sports drinks in his arms, dropping two of them to the floor before shoving a bright purple bottle into Riz's lap.

"Thanks?" Riz pulled open the cap and took a sip, very nearly draining half the bottle when he suddenly realised how thirsty he was. He would have finished the whole thing if Gorgug hadn't tipped it away from him after a few seconds.

"Dude slow down, you'll make yourself sick. We know you're dehydrated as hell given you're not even sweating after all that working out but you need to pace yourself."

Riz just sighed at that and flicked his ears in irritation, waiting a few more seconds before taking a small sip of his overly sweet drink. "I'm fine. You don't need to... hover. You should go back to sparing."

"Nope. Once you're done with that you're coming down to the nurses office." Fabian jabbed a finger at him, handing him a second sports drink when the goblin finished draining the first one.

"But I'm-"

"You're dehydrated, you probably didn't eat breakfast..." Fabian turned to Gorgug who nodded in affirmation, the fighter rolling his eye in response. "...definitely didn't eat breakfast, and the bags under your eyes need their own postal code. When was the last time you slept?"

"Last night?"

"Sorry, rephrasing, more than two hours?"

Riz's eyes darted to one side as he thought, the rogue pausing long enough that Fabian made an annoyed noise at him and flicked his ear hard enough to make him flinch.

"Ow! Fuck!"

"Nurses office. You're not arguing your way out of this one... or should we call Sklonda to come pick you up?"

Riz just hissed in response to that, getting another ear flick for his efforts which made him flinch and cover them with his hands.

"Don't call my mom." She couldn't afford to leave work early, not with their budget as tight as it was this month. His case load had been pretty sparse so he wasn't able to help with the bills.

"So you'll come down to the nurses office?" "Okay."

"And stay there until they give you the all clear?" Gorgug added, catching the subtle squint to Riz's eyes that usually meant he was looking for loopholes.

"Ffffffine. I'll stay until they let me leave."

"Good."

[mini-minish]

m9 pirate + essek joins earlier + speedrun any% au 🏝

disclaimer these are just sillies for fun bc i wanted more pirate times please don't think too much about plot divergences; feel free to add your own ideas in the mix!

spoilers for the mighty nein

• fjord becomes a captain earlier

• caleb escapes the prision earlier

• while on the run and covered in tears and mud, he meets beauregard in one of her many cobalt soul escapes

• a lone half-orc captain with a cursed sword but no ship or crew walks into a bar, sees two anxious looking humans in the corner: a scrawny woman with a grumpy face and a scrawnier ginger with a towel to his recently broken nose

• seems easy enough.

• girls night!!! they steal their first boat

• rule #1 of stealing methods of transportation is that you should watch out for blue tieflings stowaways trying to get as far away from a recent problem as possible

• back on land they loose beau (got got by the soul ☝️😔), caleb gets locked up in a shady storage while looking for her and there he meets nott the brave

• fjord's first response upon seeing a goblin following his navigator is to pull the sword on it

• nott's first response upon seeing some green dude shove a sword in her face is to pull her crossbow at him

• they look up and down for beau, but she finds her way back to them eventually

• still, they'll need more hands if they want to keep their totally legally owned ship afloat

• still on land, The Circus Plot happens and they acquire two more crew members 🎉

• molly loves the ocean, yasha likes the wind

• all of them like to go up to the crow's nest and bother caleb, nott more than the others; eventually he stops hiding up there so much

• yasha starts getting anxious about her unfinished business at the same time jester stars getting anxious about their clothes not being pirate-y enough

• they lose their first ship (of pristine papers as long as you don't look at them in the light) and have to travel on land until they manage to borrow a new one without asking it's owner and with promises of never returning it

• they also lose molly :(

• but they get caduceus :) who's not very keen on being in a boat for long periods of time but he'll adjust

• one thing he'll have in common with the cat

• fjord has a problem: The Voices in his head telling him to get back on the water

• jester has a conundrum: they got all of these nice, proper pirate outfits but now they have no ship

• love wins

• she did get frumpkin his very own little coat

• in the night, as the mighty nein crew wispers around two pushed together inn tables, a cloaked figure approaches upon hearing they are in need of help

• dezran, or dez, for short, for friends, an inconspicuous sun elf from, you know, around these parts, who is in dire need of work and oh would your captain be so kind to-

• insight checks fly around the pushed together inn tables

• but all of them know each of them is running from something or someone, and not all of them have a destination in mind, so really it's not like they're going to ask.

• plus nott thinks she saw a really nice boat on the dock with it's lights all out

• welcome aboard!

• cue the guy running from stealing things having to steal things

• cue a disguised drow's inventory slots full of the strongest sunscreen balm he could find this side of the continent

• maybe caduceus or jester finds out first, around when ess- dez, for friends, got a little too reckless and a little too hurt some time or other

• but the wildmother shows caduceus a lonely star when he asks, and artagan hasn't been paying attention, and anyways that's dez, that's right, their friend who has been nothing but helpful and fun, if a little skittish depending on the weather, and who always tries jester's pastries

• besides, far from him being the only person with a fake identity at the function. he's not that special.

• when fjord and beau find out, they're suspicious, but they won't make him walk the plank. there's protocol for that.

• yasha is not one to question someone running from their past

• when nott the brave finds out, she doesn't ask what he really looks like

• when caleb widogast finds out, during a siege on the ship, he grabs essek's arm and sees the drow underneath the disguise, and wants to know who are you, but circumstances are that later, they'll talk about this later.

[flameunquenched]

this is an 'on break at work' ramble so if it doesn't make a lot of sense, well, that's why

but we rewatched s2e1 last night and i paid close attention to the reactions of sauron/halbrand as he was being initially questioned by adar and then beaten multiple times by waldreg. i want to discuss that a little bit.

i've commented on this to @silmarillisms several times now about how i love how stoic he is in the face of this man beating him with a club. there's no reaction to the blows other than slight winces and grunts that we get more off-screen than anything else. in addition, the way that he treats with adar in the initial scene of them is fascinating to me.

he plays the king caring for his people incredibly well. i saw a post on the dash, i don't remember now from who (sorry!), about how him going back and doing the whole moses 'let my people go' bit is him trying to keep his word to galadriel and tbh i do love that. i do think that sauron does care for the peoples of middle-earth as a whole, even if at times he is not sure exactly how to show that. with adar, sauron plays it as their being equals. adar is the 'king' of the uruks, so to speak, and 'halbrand' is the king of the southlands. so there's no bowing or scraping. it is an even exchange of information: the freedom of the southlanders for information on sauron.

that 'halbrand' himself is sauron himself is just cherry on top for sauron and his manipulations.

others have said better than i that it is poetic that waldreg was beating on the very being he spent so long worshipping and i think that's funny and accurate. being quite honest, waldreg is probably my least favorite character so him dying was very satisfying for me personally, lol. but what i did love about those scenes was sauron's totally stoic nature and how wildly juxtaposed it was when compared to the sauron in forodwaith who was very obviously nervous.

we know that several hundred years pass between the forodwaith scene and sauron reforming in the halbrand guise, so he clearly must have had time to sort of 're-center' himself against the pain and humiliation that scene must have caused. i suppose after getting stabbed to death in a humiliating manner by a fuckload of orcs, having a single old dude whaling on you really isn't much to write home about.

one last thing...

there's another really small moment in s2e1 that i absolutely adore and it's the moment where sauron just stops walking in the chain-line of people. with the camera on him, you see the person in front of him get stopped by it and it is just an incredible little display of his strength. it's a fantastic reminder to the broader audience that he is not a man, not a mortal. just sauron himself stopping stops the entire line of people in front of him. i don't have a gif on hand but it's probably at least 10 people that he forces to stop simply because he stops. it's a callback to the scene in s1e8 where he catches galadriel's attempt to stab him, which is yet another reminder of his being Other to everyone around him.

my back hurts and i wrote this order the course of like an hour and a half so if there's typos i am sorry

[3liza]

anime club, dude, just rep your work we like a super-sayan stuffed in a checkered shirt all you motherfuckers wanna try and test the verse? listen up -- here them players that'll get ya hurt GLOMP ME! yo, i'm chillin' here with mah friendses got that driftwood chain and transition lenses straight shinin', ya'll, forehead gots to gleam all them TLO cats call me 'oxyclean' well, i'm Baby Fillipe, girls call me "Surprise" cuz when I'm layin' pipe, lasers come outta my eyes known to flip like Freeza when i'm enraged got a level 20 half-orc fire mage Mr. Casual Khakis -- Sweaters-From-Moms got a rap attack that blasts cats better than bombs i'm all history and learnin', not them sports n' crap check out my basement! i'm workin' on a torture rack! (in a deep voice ala that annoying fucker from jurassic 5) Big Red in the back with so much soul Make snacks and operate the remote control Ya'll ain't gotta hate on the way I roll If you wanna pick the movie, just vote in the poll ay yo - fuck the system; The Man is ghey gonna smoke five blunts and watch anime Skeez, the TLO hook-up, ya'll bitches jock me Keep it locked down, slangin' that wet n' pocky step back, boys, i roll with the TLO so think twice 'fore you roll up and say hello Margaret, ya'll, my steez keep 'em duckin' for cover deviantart style -- animes fuckin' each other call me Celph-Satisfyde, i'm the mastermind mix up your manga titles and your ass is mine frontin' on me? that's a crime when i'm in the room with bitches, yo, it's sexual harassment time FRANKLIN -- here i come, devastatin' the track drankin' a forty, got a dozen shorties waitin' in back hey, ya'll! there's some empty seats near da TV i got a six of Dew, ya'll can watch Akira with me (beatbox solo) PHOOOM doom PHWAAAACK ka (heee-uh hee-uh) PHWAAACK eeeeer-wicka-a-a-ANIME CLUB who the heck are these people? haven't asked 'em yet i guess i joined an anime club by accident i'ma slide out the door 'fore these dudes assume they're legit cuz there's a real asian in the room yeah, nine mc's and one dj we be gettin' down with no delay fuck you, mom and dad, we're here to say:

japan is better than the USA

[404-brainrot]

do you think dungeon meshi has people who innately think that a half-foot can't be in a romantic relationship with another, longer lived or larger race? like. they look like children, and I can imagine with how rare half foots can be in certain areas of the world there are tall-men and otherwise that (similar to senshi) have never seen a half foot in real life. or even know what they are. imagine if you were just at a restaurant or something and across the way you see an adult man and a girl half his size making out. or your daughter tells you she's gonna introduce you to her boyfriend and in comes someone who - looks like - they are at most 13 years old.

it is just looks!! but we've seen from the way the larger population reacts to kobolds, orcs, mountain men, etc, that looks and first impressions are of utmost importance when meeting a New Race for the first time. I can only imagine the hell it would be to convince your farmer dad that this dude is actually 29, effectively in his 30s or 40s due to life span differences, and is actually perfectly fine to be in a relationship with. y'know?

[imakemywings]

Pressing on to the Children of Hurin novel, and highlighting some more favorite quotes:

"Ever in the forefront of that battle went Gwindor and the folk of Nargothrond, and even now they could not be restrained; and they burst through the outer gates and slew the guards within the very courts of Angband; and Morgoth trembled upon his deep throne, hearing them beat upon his doors." (The Battle of Unnumbered Tears)

FUCK YES. Gwindor sure does suffer for his impulsivity but before that he made Melkor quake in his fucking boots hearing the troops of Nargothrond at his door. I think it's key to Melkor's characterization to remember that he is, at heart, a massive fucking coward. Any time the odds are not firmly in his favor he gets flighty, as when he wants to refuse Fingolfin's challenge, and here, and in how he refuses to come forth from Angband but sends his troops out instead and directs them from his fortress only.

"In the morning came hope, for the horns of Turgon were heard, as he marched up with the main host of Gondolin; for Turgon had been stationed southward guarding the passes of Sirion, and he had restrained most of his folk from the rash onslaught."

Just interesting that the Gondolindrim alone are singled out as having been held back from Gwindor's early charge.

"Now the phalanx of the guard of the King broke through the ranks of the Orcs, and Turgon hewed his way to the side of his brother. And it is said that the meeting of Turgon with Hurin who stood beside Fingon was glad in the midst of the battle."

Everything's about to go to shit but at least Turgon and Hurin get to have a little reunion + the last moments Turgon will ever speak with Fingon :')

"'Not long now can Gondolin remain hidden, and being discovered it must fall,' said Turgon. 'Yet if it stands only a little while,' said Huor, 'then out of your house shall come the hope of Elves and Men. This I say to you, lord, with the eyes of death: though we part here for ever, and I shall not look on your white walls again, from you and from me a new star shall arise. Farewell!' Maeglin, Turgon's sister-son, who stood by, heard these words and did not forget them.

This whole exchange is sooo interesting..foresight moment for Huor? Maeglin guessing Huor refers to Turgon's grandchild (with the implication they will be half-Man)?

"Great was the triumph of Morgoth, though all the purposes of his malice were not yet accomplished. One thought troubled him deeply and marred his victory with unquiet: Turgon had escaped his net, of all his foes the one whom he had most desired to take or destroy."

Melkor's obsession with Turgon is always interesting and must be related to some foresight or foreboding on Melkor's part about Earendil and the role he'll play in Melkor's overthrow. It would seem odd to everyone else, I think, for Melkor's fixation to be not on Fingon, who was the high king going into the battle, but on his younger brother who no one's seen in years.

"For Turgon of the great House of Fingolfin was now by right King of all the Noldor; and Melkor feared and hated the House of Fingolfin, because they had scorned him in Valinor and had the friendship of Ulmo his foe; and because of the wounds that Fingolfin gave him in battle. And most of all Morgoth feared Turgon, for of old in Valinor his eye had lighted on him, and whenver he drew near a dark shadow had fallen on his spirit, foreboding that in some time that yet lay hidden in doom, from Turgon ruin should come to him."

What do we think Elf-friends, is the house of Fingolfin rejecting Melkor even in Valinor meant to stand in opposition to perhaps the house of Feanor's take? I do think it's interesting that nowhere in the Nirnaeth does Melkor seem especially interested in the Feanorians, except in how he can use them to effect his victory in this one battle.

Also, cackling at the idea of Melkor not wanting to hang around Turgon because his vibes are just too bad. Melkor saying "that dude has rancid vibes" like agjkjkgb

Ruin is coming you big loser.

"But when they bade Turin turn and look back upon the house of his father, then the anguish of parting smote him like a sword, and he cried: 'Morwen, Morwen, when shall I see you again?' But Morwen standing on her threshold heard the echo of that cry in the wooded hills, and she clutched the post of the door so that her fingers were torn." (The Departure of Turin)

This is one of those Morwen quotes that just lives with me. She's often blunt and cold with her son Turin and does not seem possessed of much loving maternal energy, and she pretty abruptly sends him away once she decides it's the best thing to do, but watching Turin ride away she grips the door frame so hard she tears skin on her fingers. Clearly, this is not someone unaffected by having to say goodbye to her child, nor someone unafraid about what may be coming for them. It's such a subtle but deep indication of how much Morwen actually feels vs. how little she shows.

And of course everything about Thingol's fostering of Turin:

"...and Thingol received them kindly, and set Turin upon his knee in honour of Hurin, mightiest of Men, and of Beren his kinsman. And those that saw this marvelled, for it was a sign that Thingol took Turin as his foster-son; and that was not at that time done by kings, nor ever again by Elf-lord to a Man. Then Thingol said to him: 'Here, son of Hurin, shall your home be; and in all your life you shall be held as my son, Man though you be. Wisdom shall be given you beyond the measure of mortal Men, and the weapons of Elves shall be set in your hands. Perhaps the time may come when you shall regain the lands of your father in Hithlum; but dwell now here in love.'"

The only time a Man was ever fostered by a lord of the Elves! Dwell now hear in love! You shall be held as my son! I'm going insane.

"Now Thingol had in Menegroth deep armouries filled with great wealth of weapons...Yet Thingol handled the Helm of Hador as though his hoard were scanty, and he spoke courteous words, saying 'Proud were the head that bore this helm, which the sires of Hurin bore.'"

Morwen sends the Helm to Thingol in response to his lavish gifts to her and invitation to come and join Turin in Doriath, but Thingol turns it immediately over to Turin and tells him Morwen sent it to Turin as a gift of the family heirlooms.

Especially in comparison with Silm where characters often feel more like sketches than people, the characterizations in CoH are so rich and deep it feels so much like these are real people. It has been such an interesting read so far, eager to get to more.

[crystalelemental]

We have finished the Dungeon Meshi anime. I'll type out thoughts, but I feel like I can easily summarize as "It's really good, you should watch it." I was also asked to talk about favorite characters so like. Get ready for that one.

As a whole, Dungeon Meshi is excellent. My wife has an anecdote she likes to tell about it, where before we even watched it, I told her about the general premise and that people were talking about it and it sounded neat and I wanted to pick it up if she'd like to watch. And as happens sometimes, I get the response of "I'll probably look at my phone and just watch it in the background," which is usually "I'm not too interested but put on what you want to put on." And after the first episode she was completely invested. The show is really charming really fast.

Thing is, for as fun adventure as it starts, it does a lot seriously that lands spectacularly well. The first instance of "oh wow, this show is for real" is the well-documented living armor bit. The biology that goes into these monsters is amazing. My personal favorite is still the treasure bugs and mimics interaction, which is just incredible to me, but every time they talk about monster biology and their function it's a treat.

Exploration stuff is also really cool. There's another great post that went around talking about how this party really is more of an old-school dungeon crawler party, where skills for survival like Chilchuck's are essentially the most valuable, rather than combat ability. It does really have that feel, and it's great. I also just love how some of the magic works. Things like mana sickness are cool, but resurrection is my personal favorite. They make a big deal about the black magic kind being forbidden, but watching it in action, it functions just like the stuff that's on the level; blood pools and congeals back in the body, the black magic just involved reconstructing flesh. Marcille's point about black magic not being inherently bad is fair; it doesn't seem all that different. But perceptions are really different regarding it.

They haven't delved too far into it yet, but there are tensions between the fantasy races, and plenty of biases going around. Some are a bit more obvious, like Marcille really not trusting the orcs, while others are more like Shuro's one party member who just refers to the dwarves as just "dwarf," even as she's praising Senshi's cooking. Kabru's got his own hangups regarding how the elves handle things with the dungeons, and openly admits to the imbalance in power between races and how that negatively impacts everyone. I imagine this starts to be more prominent in the second half now that all the establishing stuff is done.

As for cast...they're really strong. Laios' group is all great, I loved them all. Marcille is my favorite, personally, because of course she is. From silly magic elf girl, to oh she's actually super smart, to oh she's super smart in ancient criminal magic fuck yeah girl. Marcille's a delight. Chilchuck was the easy least favorite of the group starting out, but he's really grown on me. Izutsumi is peak cat. Laios is really interesting as a protagonist, I like him a lot. I think the conflicts he gets into are...very real, in a way. Like, he has amazing strengths that make him great at what he's doing, but the flaws in his character inform what struggles they encounter in a really believable way. I like him a lot. Senshi is cool. Falin needs more time, and you have no idea how bummed I am that the season ended with a little snapshot that Chimera Falin and Thistle are having hijinks off-screen, I need that spinoff.

The other groups are less developed, but I'm sure Aera will be happy to hear this: god damn do I love Kabru. This dude rules. I saw people talk about him on Tumblr so I recognized him the instant he showed up, but his first "proper" introduction is stupendous, showing his general people-reading and ability to gather information, and his adherence to a sense of justice that's just as much about meting out punishment as anything else. Him killing those dudes was great, loved that. And the barely concealed excitement over black magic is hilarious. Then he gets to show off that he's basically an assassin class, knowing where to strike for instant kills, has a whole chat with Shuro about recognizing the racial discrepancy in the world at large, and tries to play an entire room full of elves. I dunno, like the guy a lot. He's shrewd, and he's got moxie. I do admit that, while I get the fandom is really attached to Laios and Kabru as a ship, I...have no strong feelings about it. I do, oddly, like him and Rin. Their dynamic in the show was fairly cute, and admittedly some supplemental material I saw posted really got me invested in her. The rest of his party...I have no particular feelings about. It's just him and Rin to me for now.

Shuro's party is even less interesting. I do like Shuro, I think he's a really neat character. But his group hasn't done anything all that interesting to me yet. They kinda showed up to get bodied by Chimera Falin and drive tension as the group that first knows about black magic.

Similar deal with Namari's group? If anything I think the old gnome dude is in the running for general least favorite character. I don't hate the guy, but he's done nothing to endear himself. I have no strong perspectives yet.

For characters that need more time in the oven, there is the question of the Canaries. I've seen a tidbit about them, but my general assumption of them is the whole "Canary in the coalmine," they're the frontliners for dungeons that are sent in and risk death to assess the threat level. Which is neat, would like to know what that deal is. But #1 most invested in learning more about is Thistle. Love that design, love the general vibe he puts out, but also the reveal that he was hired as the court jester who happened to also become the most powerful mage of the kingdom is really, really good. That's both hilarious and awesome. I don't even know this guy and I think he's the shit.

I am wildly invested in season 2, and if it weren't for me working for a school and going through summer months unpaid, I'd probably be buying the entire manga like right now. As it stands I'll have to wait a bit for that, but it's probably happening. I've seen plenty of commentary about things the anime couldn't fit in that are hilarious or interesting, and it feels like one I'd like to read as well, even if I plan to fully go through the anime. Huge fan, glad we got an immediate announcement of season 2, really looking forward to more.

[sevendeadlyheadcanons]

I may get into the ask box or I may disappear for another 4 years.

but for now

The Seven Deadly Dungeons and Dragons

I don’t play DND but my girlfriend does and she’s sitting next to me so let’s go

-In this AU they’re all normal humans who just get together and play DND sometimes.

-Merlin is the DM.

-Merlin sits for hours writing all sorts of lore and intricate backstories only for them to commit their classic chaotic shenanigans and screw with all her plans. Luckily, she’s good at thinking on the fly.

-Meliodas plays as a halfling paladin from a noble background. His character’s goal is to get information and find his brother.

-Diane plays as a half elf barbarian (my gf thinks this is contradictory but in a fun way) (“she’s too pretty to be a half orc 🥺”)

-Her goal is to find her sisters murderer and bring them to justice.

-Ban would play a tiefling rogue. His goal is to revive his dead lover (Elaine is alive but she thinks DND is ‘nerd shit’ so she just stays at their home. sometimes she’ll come and watch them though)

-King would play a gnome cleric. He is from the fae realm however it recently got raided and he is seeking revenge from the perpetrators.

-Gowther would play as an automaton wizard. His goal is to find out what happened to his creator and gain a heart.

-Escanor would play as a half orc barbarian (when he rages it’s like his daytime form when he’s normal it’s his nightform)

-His goal is simply to find friends who don’t think he’s strange and he simply goes along with the gang because he feels accepted.

-Elizabeth would play as a aasimar cleric. Her character writes stories and is going on the adventure simply to find inspiration.

-They all gather together and play in Escanor’s basement. He makes a little food spread. They don’t appreciate him enough honestly.

-Escanor and King are chronic note takers. They have notebooks full of the lore.

-Diane also writes notes but she writes them aesthetically like

Liones is the country we live in

and highlights it in pastel. She never writes down useful information and spells everything wrong. King usually helps her with his notes.

-Ban forgets everything lore wise and all of his abilities. He never knows when he can use sneak attack and keeps getting in trouble for trying to pick pocket his party.

-“I just think it’d be funny if he wasn’t actually a good rogue because he’s so big”

-Gowther would keep getting the party in trouble by using dunamancy on random NPCs. Merlin is sick of his shit and having to rewrite the plot of her campaigns.

-Meliodas always has weirdly good roles. They have investigated whether his dice are rigged and they’re not he’s just crazy lucky.

-Elizabeth would put a lot of thought into her characters backstory and motives. She would have a very thought out lore.

-Hawk is Escanor’s cat that they all loved so much that they put him in the game as a pig that can eat ranged attacks if a 20 is rolled and also is immune to poison

-Gowther tries to romance every npc. He rolls nat 20 for every persuasion check and Merlin has to let him have the most rizz in game.

-The party all met in the Boar Hat and decided to help each other reach their goals.

-In this canon the Boar Hat can also move. Meliodas has a spell that can create the Boar Hat to be constructed infront of him.

-They all met in real life because Merlin works with Escanor and they got talking about it and she was like “Hold up let me bring my friend Gowther” and then Gowther invited Meliodas who then invited his girlfriend Elizabeth and best friend Ban and then Ban was like “Hold up we need this dude too” and invited King and King’s girlfriend was like “Omg i wanna join” yeah

-King would paint a lot of miniatures

-Elizabeth would be a dice fiend. She would have so many dice and a cute bag for them.

-Meliodas and Ban both use the same pair of black dice that have chipped paint. They just pull these crusty dice from their pockets. The numbers are barely legible anymore.

-Merlin makes her own dice out of resin and sells them on etsy.

[topbanana-art]

Finally making an OC info post- by no means is this all of them, just ones that are most active and/or live in my head rent free.

First up- Rhys (DnD 5e - Rime of the Frostmaiden)

20 years Old, Half Orc, Half Elf (sweet baby angel) , He/Him

Fighter- Echo Knight

Absolute Ray of Sunshine; Rhys is from Icewind Dale; more specifically the Nomadic Reghed Tribe of the Elk.

He's unfamiliar with the outside world and even includes settlements in his own country

He's a Himbo basically a big dog.

This campaign lead him to leaving his tribe for the first time after an unfortunate accident which turned him into a small 'painted child' and searching for his missing sister. (both these are sorted now!)

*Rhys found an old oil painting of this child, blacked out and next thing he knew he was that small elf child. Her skin and clothing having the texture of painted canvas, and bleeds paint.

For a good chunk of the campaign he was just a totally normal elf- whose shadow didn't match with the body

---

Dhalas (DnD 5e Annalor)

36 Years Old, They/Him, Triton

Drunken Master Monk

Chill surfer dude vibes

Part of a travelling circus, They're a balancing act

Extremely laid back, Dhalas talks like they fight- dancing around, seemingly without rhyme or reason and occasionally clumsy.

---

Foxglove (BG3)

138 Years old (tweaked her age a lil), She/They, Drow

Arcane Trickster Rogue

Guild Artisan Background- Locksmith & Apprentice Finesmith

Chill and sassy, that Tav who talks their way out of shit.

Skews Towards Chaotic Good

Presents Androgynous most of the time

Must lockpick everything- she's not actually super interested what's inside, she just wants to see the workmanship of the locks and trashtalk how bad they are.

Yeah she's smooching the vampire. (and Halsin)

Naturally cares for others, even at the cost of her own wellbeing.

Has a Phobia of anything touching/going near her eyes- so the start of the game is A Time for Fox.

---

Arslan Dhoro (FFXIV)

21 Years Old (as of ARR), He/Them

Xaela AuRa

Dragoon - White Mage Main (All healer classes tbh)

Stoic, Resting Angry Face Himbo

He struggles to show emotion but he's just pretty shy and cautious about opening up to others.

From the Azim Steppe, he left in his early teens with his father after the death of his mother, to explore the world beyond the Steppe.

His Father Died in his late teens, attacked in Coerthas thinking he and Arslan were Dravanians.

He's extremely soft and protective for the Scions/his friends

---

Shiv (DnD 5e Saltmarsh- campaign completed)

Awful, terrible lesbian

68 years old, She/Her, Halfling

Celestial Warlock - Unicorn Patron w/ a Baby Phoenix familiar, Toby

A piece of shit. Is an absolute asshole and wont let you know she cares.

Lowkey magical girl

Ex-smuggler, who's patron is literally 'I can fix her', 'she can be a better person'. Part of the 'Beyond Skeletons' Pirate crew, she's the medic of the crew.

---

Pymmyr Tathnel (DnD 5e)

Pym

85 Years Old, He/They, Drow

Gloomstalker Ranger

Emotional Support Blink Dog, Princess Liquorice

This boy is scared all the time

Doesn't talk much, but speaks in a soft voice

Has disordered 'Sleeping' and Eating :)

His plague mask has tinted lenses to help ease the strain with how bright the surface is

I wont tell too much about them as a lot of their info is spoilers to other players. But this sad Drow just rocks up in my head on the regular.

---

Erebus (Anima Beyond Fantasy)

AKA- My first TTRPG character! circa 2011-2 I think???

Real name Sho Yoshimitsu

22 Years Old, He/Him

Duk'Zarist Nephilim

Assassin

Textbook 'strong silent and intimidating hot man'

But basically a big soft boy if you break past the mile thick ice

Tragic backstory™ , used to using his body for the job

He really enjoys cooking!

Also hopelessly in love with a small soft summoner, Caelum (the one hugging him), They're RedxBlue gays

---

I think I'll leave it there for now!

I may add more later, I hope it was interesting?? and I'm still pretty shy with yelling this much about my characters haha.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! 💜

[blackseafoam]

Cleanse Your Worry

previous . next

Arturo is still struggling, Elleh is worried, Nicco deals with the consequences of playing dodgeball with a deranged half-orc. WC: 1129

whumptober 2024. day 13. team as a family l familial curse l multiple shumpees l "death will do us part"

The Red Lantern Inn glowed with soft warm light. The only patrons were a small group of traveling monks, and a pair whose look made their dubious line of work quite apparent. The staff were down to two tonight, and they had no fresh meat, so they prepped a simple vegetable stew to serve. 

“Arturo, you need to go to bed.” The gnome scolded as she stood on her stool at the kitchen hearth, carefully stirring the stew in a huge iron pot suspended over the flame. 

“‘M fine.” Arturo braced himself on the counter nearby, riding out a sickening wave of dizziness, waiting for the inevitable headache to set in. “Almost done.” He spoke through gritted teeth. Squinting down at the half chopped zucchini before him. 

“Nicco’s gonna be back any second, I don’t need your help.” She raised the pot on its chain to simmer, wincing a bit as the scar tissue in her arm pulled. “Come on.” She tutted at him as she pulled at his apron. “Dude, you look like garbage, go upstairs right now.” Tough love was going to be the only thing that was going to work in this scenario.

“Okay…” The dizziness lessened and Arturo straightened, fatigue setting in. Elleh escorted him to his bedroom. He leaned on the wall the entire way. 

The hunter sat down on his bed unsteadily. “I only just woke up like three hours ago.” He complained, wiping a palm over his face. Elleh poured him a mug of water from the pitcher and handed it to him, hopping up on the bed next to him with a sigh. 

“Well somebody used your head as a church bell, it’s going to take time to heal. You’re not doing yourself any favors by overdoing it.” She patted his elbow as he took a drink. “Remember how frustrating it was for us when Nicco would refuse to rest after his accident? Please don’t make me go through that again... I can’t take it.” She sniffed. 

Arturo glanced down at her, lowering the mug. Elleh wiped a tear away from her cheek. “I’m sorry.” His hand found her shoulder. 

“Please, help us by being patient with yourself. Please.” She swiped at another tear like it was a bothersome gnat, then leaned into Arturo’s side with another sigh. “These past few months sure have sucked.” She flexed her wrist, the scar tissue creaking in her skin. 

“Hasn’t been all bad.” Turo hummed. A savory aroma had wafted up the stairs, down the hallway, and into the room.

“I guess so.” Elleh straightened. “I better go serve that stew. I’ll bring you a bowl.” 

Arturo laid down gingerly, pinching at his forehead, as Elleh trotted out the door.  “El?”

“Yeah?”

“Just, leave the door open please.”

“Sure.”

Arturo breathed through his throbbing headache, the humming voices echoing up from the common area distracted him enough to finally fall asleep.

Nicco entered the inn as Elleh doled out wooden bowls to the patrons. He calmly greeted his guests, then caught the gnome’s gaze and nodded toward the kitchen. 

Elleh rushed behind the bar. “Did you find anything?” She wasted no time with pleasantries. 

“I did. Um…” Nicco had to gather his thoughts. “There’s a… woman living in the ravine. She’s very hungry, and very aggressive.” He unpinned his cloak and rolled his shoulder, wincing. “Beaned me with a rock pretty good."

Elleh made a face, she gestured to the chair that had become Nicco’s sit-down prep station. The half-elf obeyed and sat down, pulling down the shoulder of his deel. 

“So do you think she’s like, a substance user or something?” Elleh pulled the fabric down and looked at Nicco’s shoulder. 

Nicco shook his head. “No, she… she just seemed scared. I don't know how much longer she's going to last down there.

“Where did she come from? How have we never seen her before?”

“Maybe we leave some food down there tomorrow. But we should all stay away from that area for the time being. Even in her state, she’s strong as hell, you should’ve seen the way she threw those rocks.” He winced and looked at his shoulder. He could already tell that it was going to be a nasty bruise. “It’s fine, I can move my arm, it just hurts like a bitch.” 

“Well, you probably shouldn’t move it then.”

“Thank you Dr. Harfvestii.” 

“You’re welcome.” She tilted her head in mock haughtiness. “I’m serious though. Actually I’m so serious that I’m going to make you wear this.”

She went to the table linens and pulled out a woven runner, tying it over Nicco’s uninjured shoulder as a makeshift sling. “Since I know you’re not going to rest yet, you’re going to wear that. That’s our compromise.” 

“Doesn’t compromise usually mean the other party gets a say in it?”

“Not when the compromiser already knows what the compromisee is thinking.” Elleh asserted. 

Nicco emerged from the kitchen to see one of the monks sitting at the bar, an odd sight. He was a young human, no more than 17 years old, with a shaved head and blue woolen robes. “Need something?” Nicco quickly settled into his customer service persona.

“I sense something’s wrong, is everything alright?” He glanced at the innkeeper’s immobilized arm.

The mercenaries nearby cast a glance over, but kept their hushed conversation going. 

Nicco let out an amused huff. “You must be the perceptive one.” He crossed his arms.  “My staff and I have had a rough go of it lately.”

“How so?”

“Well, it started during the High Plains race, and just went downhill from there.” Nicco continued on for a while, sharing way more than his character usually allowed. Something about this young man put him at ease. He covered his heatstroke, the fight with the Dragonborn (while leaving out any mention of a magical well), and all the way up to Arturo’s episode

“Bad things will pass. Good things will pass. What’s important is that these things are behind you, and you have each other.” 

Nicco nodded, huffing in agreement while looking at the floor. 

“Bad luck is one thing, but the worst thing you can do in this situation is let the anxiety ferment. You must cleanse your worry as often as you can. If you don’t, it will become a curse.”

Nicco nodded in agreement, but with a slightly confused look behind his eyes. 

The group of monks got up to retire to their rooms, and the young monk got up and followed them without another word.

Cleanse my worry? What does that even mean? Nicco shook his head and went back to the kitchen to help Elleh clean.