#duncan lore go crazy

[vitiligoduncan]

Duncan being genuinely happy because this man has been through EVERYTHING for some reason

[jesterjaxx]

Halloween AU lore dump!!!

❗️WARNING❗️

so much infodumping world buidling and headcannons

DJ- Robot

Originally built to be a robo cop type deal. But when given free will refused to hurt anyone and got scrapped

Was found and repurposed by "Momma" to be a son

Really fuckin loves animals. Nature in general but mostly animals.

They get spooked by him a lot though

Hes kinda sad about this but gets it.

Momma is a scraper/engineer and outfitted him with everything a "good human boy" would need, like touch receptors and an ability to taste

Nothing to be done about majorly changing how he looks tho

The ability to feel is a bit too much sometimes

Sometimes all he can feel is cold

Goes to Duncan to see if he can do something about helping communicate to animals that he is a friend. Ala magic.

Machinery and Magic don't mix well typically, you gotta be crazy specific, which isn't really Duncan's styel

Duncan likes DJ tho, and proceeds to steal some of Harolds spellbooks

Side plot of them being wayyyy to hard for him to read, in both way too high level and shitty handwritten chickenscratch that fucks with his dyslexia, so he has to ask Harold for help

Maybe they learn to better understand eachother idk

Maybe they kill eachother

Harold and Duncan team up 6 dead 9 injured every single person is fucking baffled

Anyways DJ is like iron giant up in this bitch

His Momma is kinda worried that one day he'll learn enough mechanics to fix himself up and wont need her anymore

Tyler - Harpy

Ok the chicken fear makes sense now

He gets the uncanny valley feeling looking at chickens

I would too

He would fly into a window

Can he fly?

Hes like a turkey

Or a seagull

Wait im an idiot hes a chicken

Duh

Eva - Gargoyle

Her carver loved buff women thank god almighty for that

Punches like a brick wall

Living Stone

lion paws for feet

Did you guys know sound resonates the best through solids??

Her music listening experience is legit i just know it

Noah - The Blob/ slime monster

Oh god that poor guy

Hes gonna get slime all over his books

Harold - Witch

He's the type of witch to have seperate waters for different kinds of spells

A pretty dorky Witch, even by witch standards

Wears proper witch PPE (robes and hat)

Has his sheldon Big Bang Theory style shirts on underneath tho

Uses incantations and written spells in magical languages mainly

Uses the starlight, paper, ink, historical artifacts and an assortment of magical ingredients as fuels

Has a large collection of quality spellbooks for references

Not those shitty amazon spellbooks that are just a list of pre written spells, these ones were written by some old hag 80 years ago and through flowery rambleing language tell you how write spells yourself. They go into spell syntax.

Harolds books for writing incantations and spells are spiral notebooks

If he uses smbols will typically craft a custom sygil for it

Uses alot of number magic and latin

Uses his confidence in his skills with writing spells to harness magic

Is better at doing spells for other people, when doing spells for himself he tends to overcomplicate things

Actually went to magic camps and magic summer schools

"I was trained for this!" and it's Mostly true

Can make the most specific fucking spell work for him

I cannot stress he is good at this type of casting.

Duncan's way of doing magic pisses him off. Both are convinced their way is better

Harold to Duncan ->"What the fuck do you mean you increased your strength with a posca marker, bare knuckles and a dream. How are you not dead yet >:[ "

He has a lot of respect for magic itself, Duncan's almost disrespectful way of using magic makes him mad.

Whats worse is that it works.

How Harold casts a spell

Writes down a goal -> outlines different methods to achieve it (incantations, scrolls, potions) -> writes out the spelleork with alot of detail accounting for almost every outcome -> it takes very long -> outwardly or inwardly recites writes spell to activate it -> profit

Alejandro - Siren

(I give up with organization here no more bullet points)

Mermaids and Sirens are almost identical, with few overt physical differences

Sirens will typically have colored iris', 2 finned gills, longer tounges, boned ears and uniformly sharp teeth

Mermaids have colored scalera, 3 smooth gills, finned ears and sharp canines

This isn't a rule, and in modern times there are few families of sirens or mermaids that havent mixed with other monsters at some point

Both species have shape-shifting abilities.

Mermaids have two forms, and can switch between them at will, though the process takes hours and the mermaid will have to stay in either aquatic or land form for a couple weeks before changing again. though this wait time can be speed up with tailsmen, it's can cause health problems.

Siren can shift their features at will, including shifting from aquatic to non aquatic with no wait time, some families of Siren encourage "good breeding" and fostering shifting abilities to the point of shifting bone structure, hair, colors and gender at will. This level of shifting controll is a very desirable trait, and cannot be learned.

Alejandro is one of these few families who try to stay purely Siren

Hes a 100% Siren, but unlike his brothers he lacks any shape-shifting abilities, a flaw that has brought him great shame (this is just a genetic fluke, it's like a birth defect)

but he has both a very powerful ability to enchant his words and natural charisma. Dangerous combo.

Because of the well known knowledge that Sirens can manipulate people with ease, Alejandro semi pretends that he is a Mermaid, using his long hair to obscure his gills

He more just lets people assume hes a Mermaid and does not correct them rather than actually lying

He lies about many things but outright lying about species is a bit much

Siren Speech doesn't work as good if someone's also using magic at the same time or knows what's up about it

It doesn't work that great on Heather, Duncan or Harold point blank, or Lindsay, Beth Trent and Justin if they're shifting or shifted

Good thing hes manipulative on his own!

Beth - Mermaid

Yeah sure why not

I don't know enough about Beth yet i need a moot whose obsessed with her

Ezekiel - Ghost

Lmao hes invisible

Poor dude probably gets looked over all the time

Hes just clothes and a transparent person

Justin - Werewolf

The twilight girls would go crazy over him i know it

Cody - Puppet

Oh poor dude

Itll look cool tho

Hed make knock on wood jokes all the time

Trent - Werecat

The trustin girls would go crazy over this i know it

But real like hes chillin

Would use claws as a pick

Geoff - Frankenstein

A man of the people

Literally

Looses limbs easily

Wakes up after a party like "wheres my leg lmao"

Heather - Zombie

Oh this is good

Shes vegan

Would insult people like "i can tell you have a brain why the hell don't you use it"

Very concerned over phsyical appearance

Uses so so many products

Pretty alive looking for a zombie cuz of it

It's kinda creepy

Her eyes got no eyeshine tho

Like a shark.

Gwen - Skeleton/Ghost

Ok this was an accidental double Gwen got both Skeleton and ghost

Since Ezekiel is already a ghost i'm Gonna lean into the Skeleton bit more but throw a transparent silhouette over all of her for the ghost bit

Ghost vs Zombie rivalry

She'd do all sorts of cool drawings and markings on her bones

Gwen, drawing a bat on her femur with sharpie: tattoo moment

Her eyeliner is also sharpie

Who the fuck cares about skincare when you don't have skin

Lindsay: you shouldn't put permanent marker on your face! It can hurt you 🥺

Gwen, floating bones:

LeShawna - Chimera

YES I LOVE MONSTER COMBOS

LIKE COMBINATIONS OF MULTIPLE ANIMALS

lets do classic chimera but with one head

Lean into the Lioness bit cuz Leshawna is a boss bitch and Lionesses are so fucking cool

I might give her a scorpion tail

Duncan - Witch

Another double whoops lol

He's a "fuck it we ball" typa witch

lmao he and Harold are beefing like crazy i know it Harold has 12 spellbooks hes memorized with their specific ways of casting and Duncan is writing runes on his knuckles with sharpie

Duncan to Harold ->"Why are you using 2 pages of latin for a fire spell??"

"Because i need only this bit of wood to light on fire a little bit and nothing else and if i dont i could loose control of it or blow it up or it might not even start"

*stares in did finger guns at a branch and cremated it for fun*

Harold to Duncan ->"Why are you writing runes on your nailpolish??"

"i'm tired of being the only scary bitch here without claws"

*stares in once accidentally rubbed spell notes off of his spellbook and onto his face while passed out on his desk and gave himself acid burns for 3 weeks"

They go crazy they go stupid

Hes self taught

The Duncan and Harold bullying arc turned Street smart vs actually Smart but make it witches

Mostly just picking shit up as he goes

"Stole" (it was free) a pamphlet on different types of magical symbols and has managed to make the symbols illustrated in it work for almost every spell he wants

Fueled by raw unrelenting audacity

Real lore tho- magic is created with belief and harnessed with confidence, you can either go the intellectual route and control every variable and have trust in your control of those variables to harness the magic like Harold, or like Duncan, have enough semi-unearned confidence in yourself to harness magic with little need for more than a few variables.

Basically as a general rule, it has as much meaning as you truthfully believe it does

Doesn't explain what hes casting or how hes doing it

"Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"what are you a cop?"

(learned from illustrations, word of mouth, and other witches on the street)

Has a couple stick n poke magical symbols, several other scribbled on symbols that are temporary

Biggest one is a glyph for fire on his hand, he doens most of his spells using it

Has burns around his glyph tattoos from spells backfiring cuz he got distracted

Uses sharpies, spraypaint, eyeliner and the insides of firecrackers for drawing symbols

If he needs a magical material he'll typically substitute whatever he has on him, belief goes a long way.

"Pure Holy Silver?... this earring looks silver enough

This doesn't work for potions cuz potions are only a little left to normal chemistry.

Has alot of talisman he wears

Carries extra ingredients on him ala accessories cuz fuck it it looks cool

Mains his spells with symbols, uses potions or material fuels if he cant make a good connection between what he wants and one of 10 symbols he remembers at any given time

Uses moonlight, bones, rocks, and personal artifacts as fuels

How duncan casts a spell

Draws glyph -> creates a mental connection between what the glyph means and what he wants to do (this is mostly subconscious with Duncan he doenst know what hes doing he just knows he does it well)-> activates glyph physically (ie hitting, tapping, lighting, punching, tracing with finger)

Example: draws fire glyph on Chris's camper -> wants to set it on fire but not the surrounding grass and trees -> smacks the side of the camper that has the glyph on it -> profit

Duncan, to Harold: You make magic math, i make magic my bitch

Bridgette - Alien

Aww she could be so cute

Surfer girl from planet nine

Owen - Plant Monster

This could visually look really cool

Big carnivorous plant

Izzy - Angel

kaleidoscope = biblically accurate form, cuz she "Looks like a kaleidoscope! Duh!"

Lindsay - Selkie

If you steal her coat ill fucking kill you

Sadie - Vampire

Ough thats cute

I'm Gonna make her pigtails batwings

Katie - Zombie

undead girlfriends

Sadie thinks Katie is so pretty it doesn't matter her eye just fell out

Courtney - Demon

Oh this bitch looooves contracts

Is also upset about Duncan but she just doesn't like witches in general

Whats the point of making deals with humans for magical powers of some humans give themselves magical powers

Demon of what?? Pride maybe?? Or envy??

Shes a sweetheart tho

[soulyohmoons]

MAD POST

HOW DARE HE SAY MY BOYS/ SONS ARE LAME AND HE HATES THEM!

BRODY

BRICK

GEOFF

SCOTT

DUNCAN

THEY AREN'T THE SAME.

BRODY:

He legit was just born to be the ultimate bro to Geoff but to me he is so much more. I legit think it's fun and funny how Brightful, down to earth, and surfer chillax groove to the place aka my fanfics and my heart.

BRICK:

HE NAME IS BRICK THAT'S SO FUCKING COOL WHAT ELSE IS THERE! He was based off a crazy WWII army person in real life I guess, but he is respectful, loves his mother, loves taking orders, and loves strong women! I don't care he piss on himself, clumsy, wants to go to fashion school and is like only thinking in army code and lingo. I love him still.

GEOFF:

He is just golden boy dog wonder energy but he has some flaws he legit got Courtney to think on live TV that GWEN AND DUNCAN THING WAS ALREADY HAPPENING! Sir can be trickster if he wanted to be! Give him more friendships and more than I must be with Bridgette to be something good in my life. Bridgette fucked him up with Alejandro... give me Geoff angsty party tearing all the pictures off my wall about us and setting Alejandro's cars on fire with Noah and Courtney helping him do it energy! Slow burn romance of Geoff just being like you still wanted kissed him BRIDGETTE! More Courtney and Geoff friendship blossoming and understanding!

SCOTT:

I think he is so perfect. So maddening to evil to disgusting piece fury shit that I would do like him too if meant winning in season 4! HE HAS RANGE UNLIKE SOME OTHER CARTOONS UN IN HERE! SMELLS LIKE A LIL BITCH IN HERE! LET HIM BE FARMER REN NECK EATING DIRT I LOVE HIM AND DIRT. MOSTLY MUD I LIKE, then chef's kiss of the himbo and down bad for Courtney was so hot and made me realize I also like to think I want man stuttering after me as child and then as got other when I intimidate my lovers, I was like ah so you like this?

DUNCAN:

I LOVE SOOOOO MUCH THIS BITCH SEVEN LAYER DIP OF LORE AND SO MUCH MORE! FIRE MAN HIM SELF AND SHIT!!

MUSH MUAH KISSES ON HIS FOREHEAD THEN I TRY DROWN A BIT BUT I STILL LOVE HIM.

That's it folks.

[sxyphen]

soooo I made some morphology's and outfits for td charcters, here’s what I have so far (warning, this is gonna be long)

Gwen: outfit (Female Pearlcatcher; teal Jupiter, obsidian Basic, and emerald Basic) This is one of my personal favorites, it's simple but it works really well, but you'll see the morphologies and outfits get more complicated soooo

Courtney: outfit (Female Coatl; sand Cherub, camo Constellation, and wisteria Basic) Another favorite, she just looks pretty :3

Duncan: outfit (Male Bogsneak, eldritch Cinder, fern Blaze, and flaxen Basic) Silly little eepy guy, I feel like this is probably the most accurate dragon of any td character i've made. not much to say about him tho

Alejandro: outfit (Male Imperial; coral Python, maroon Shimmer, and blood Smoke) This is actually a dragon that I have, you can check him out here, but it actually took a couple tries to get an outfit that I think works with him lol

Bridgette: outfit (Female Skydancer; caribbean Lionfish, sanddollar Shimmer, and cobalt Okapi) nothing much to say other than, pretty :3

Geoff: outfit (Male Pearlcatcher; magenta Clown, ivory Butterfly, and strawberry Spines) same with Bridgette, I wanted them to be matching, cause, y'know. they kiss :<, but I honestly prefer this one over Bridgette (the outfit, not the morphology)

Harold: outfit (Male Ridgeback; periwinkle Skink, orange Hex, and fern Stained) I'm really happy with how this came out, even if it took a couple redos lol, and the steampunk apparel works with Harold's, vibe

ok for some stupid reason I can't put the pictures of Beth, Justin, Katie and Sadie [im on pc], so I'm just going to link the morphologies here: Beth (Female Aether; ivory Candy, magenta Butterfly, and shamrock Wish), Justin (Male Aether; bronze Boa, hunter Daub, and overcast Flutter), Katie and Sadie (Female Aberration; brown Pinstripe, ivory Flair, and cottoncandy Koi)

Ezekiel: outfit (Male Wildclaw; algae Pinstripe, soil Patchwork, and stonewash Veined) My favorite tbh, can't really explain why it just, ✨does✨

Feral Ezekiel: outfit (Male Mirror; fern Stiched, camo Patchwork, and cobalt Ghost) yeah, i made the eepy. i changed the breed cause 1) it reflects how ezekiel changed after his mutation, and 2) Male Wildclaw's position(?) isn't creaturey enough

Leshawna: outfit (Female Obelisk; ginger Falcon, obsidian Rosette, and cerise Contour) Nothing much to say about this one tbh, she looks real pretty tho :D

Owen: outfit (Male Snapper; metals Ground, marigold Safari, and teal Koi) I like this one, it's simple but unfortunately i couldn't find anything to represent his maple leaf :(

Cody: outfit (Male Coatl; gold Swirl, twilight Fissure, and copper Contour) i'm honestly not happy with this one, specifically the outfit. might redo this one later, and remove all the autumn stuff

DJ: outfit (Male Tundra; camo Python, brown Constellation, and dust Runes) lookie, is my boy :3333333333

Izzy: outfit (Female Mirror; sunshine Clown, pear Eye Spots, and avocado Gembond) really happy with this one, it fits her well and gives off her craziness :>

Sierra: outfit (Female Spiral; jade Clown, mulberry Hypnotic, and blackberry Opal) i'm very lucky to have found the apparel that i did for her, cause if i didn't, i have no idea what outfit to have given her ;-; but yeah she pretty

Eva: outfit (Female Snapper; cobalt Falcon, sapphire Peregrine, and obsidian Spines) big buff lady :D

Tyler: outfit (Male Ridgeback; cherry Jupiter, sable Eel, and white Basic) A fan of this one, and the Love's Herald was a gift from Lindsay. and now thinking about it, i might wanna make some lore for this. it's a big maybe though

Lindsay: outfit (Female Fae; garnet Flaunt, honey Jester, and cornflower Scales) i don't know how to feel abt this one, not a fan of it. and also will probably redo the outfit. the morphology i can live with.

Noah: outfit (Male Nocturne; brown Jupiter, pthalo Safari, and crimson Underbelly) another favorite, it gives off very Noah vibes lol (and i just realized that he shares a gene with Owen. so do with that information as you will)

Trent: outfit (Male Skydancer; algae Viperia, forest Eel, and obsidian Koi) I love this one, gives off very bard/guitarist kinda vibes. and if there was lore, i imagine trent would be a nomad entertainer, playing in small towns and cities, and maybe at a bar or two

Chris: outfit (Male Fae; forest Falcon, teal Myrid, and obsidian Smoke) look, it's him, the guy!!!!/j but in all seriousness, this is literally just him. entitled little short king who slays (i also have one for Chef, but it's yucky :,<)

i had one for Heather, but I deleted the outfit for her, which was of a dragon that i already sold, soooooooo i'm just gonna make a new one for her :3 also thank you for reading this long ass post (if you actually did), it means a lot to me :3

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

I don't know if they're the question in here or I'm just here ramble, so I apologize in advance. I'm thinking a lot about Hogwarts Mystery.

I think that jam city really messed up by trying to create so many classmates for MC. if they had focused on the original four or so they could have done something really interesting with parallel arcs to what happened during Jacob's years.

for example we have MC dealing with this constant worry that maybe Jacob wasn't as good as they thought. or the idea that maybe he went crazy maybe he isn't who we thought he was. we also have the MC consistently dealing with visions and people not trusting them. they could grapple with this concept of can they even trust themself. and are they going to turn out like their brother.

Then we have Ben & Rowan and Duncan and Olivia.

Rowan dying in story was very bizarre because it didn't feel well set up in a lot of ways. the idea of them dying is interesting because they have such clear goals but in story it didn't work cuz where did they come from etc etc. but I think it could have worked in a thematic sense especially if we played into the parallel between Duncan and Rowan. If I'm remembering the lore correctly. Duncan and Jacob were best friends looking for the cursed vaults, they also probably got sucked into it a little bit too much at least Jacob did and Duncan must have gone along with it to some extent. Obsession seems to be a family trait and Roman deeply cared for MC. So them dying could play into this concept of history repeating itself.

It also could play into the concept of MC doubting themselves because their best friend is dead.

Moreover it would be even more thematic if Rowan were to come back as a ghost. in canon they didn't finish their goals and they died young, a perfect candidate. I love the idea that maybe there could be an extended arc where MC tries to make it up to Rowan or grapples with the fact that they cause them the state they're in. but we can also have a breaking of the cycle by allowing the MC and Ben a chance to reconcile with Rowan.

I don't know if any of this made sense if you're reading this thank you.

Rambling is quite literally the name of the game on this blog, dear anon. You are always welcome here with questions, comments, ideas, or anything else.

I sort of agree and disagree. I think the large ensemble of creative and interesting characters this game has given us is easily it’s greatest strength. However, there are too many. There are simply too many, more than the game knows what to do with. The developers keep adding more, rather than focusing on the existing cast. They add new characters even after a point where they’d have nothing to do. Victor and Alanza are perhaps the greatest victims of this phenomenon. They could have been cut. It would have changed very little. Honestly, I believe the game could handle far more than four characters, that it was doing just fine for a while with the cast it had, especially during the first half of Year 6 when it seemed like they were done adding brand new characters…but it wasn’t to be. Nonetheless, I’d be interested to see your version of events, where the game focuses on four core characters.

MC’s relationship with Jacob and how they feel about him was a major story development that affected everything about their character and the game’s mystery. Was. Everything about Jacob, including his moral ambiguity, seemed to fade away once he was rescued. He did nothing after that point, apart from a few obligatory appearances that didn’t live up to their full potential. He was there in the Sunken Vault, why did he get no rematch with Rakepick? Or even dialogue with her? Jacob would have served the story a lot better if…and this is going to sound cruel…if he had been the one to die in the Forbidden Forest. Because you’re right, Rowan’s death was weirdly dealt with. MC had barely interacted with them since Year 2.

But I think you’re right. There’s definitely an echo to be found here, between Duncan and Rowan. If Rowan had been present throughout the game’s story, it could have had more impact. I mean, their death was foreshadowed. Under the Imperius Curse, Rowan forced MC to choose between themself and Ben to die. Then there was the priceless line, “I’ll miss you when Madam Rakepick kills you.” The one thing I have to disagree with you on is Rowan coming back as a ghost. If this game wasn’t a prequel and it was possible for them to return and succeed Professor Binns, I suppose that would be one thing. But part of Rowan’s goal is the dramatic irony behind it. From the start, they wanted to be the youngest Professor in Hogwarts history, but we all knew that would never happen. Because we read the books, and Rowan wasn’t there. Beyond that…returning as a ghost is well established in this universe to be something most people don’t do. That it’s only an imitation of existence that people choose because they fear death, and thus never get to know the afterlife. They don’t get to board a train. I don’t think Rowan would do that, and that point is made in the Head Kid TLSQ, my all time favorite quest.

[the-type-a]

Okay but listen: Axel

I haven’t seen the new season, so I don’t know all the lore, but I’ve just recently seen that she has four brothers, and now I can’t get this idea out of my head.

Axel is obviously Duncney’s child. Courtney gets the daughter she wanted right off the bat, but it turns out their daughter is a total daddy’s girl, which naturally drives Courtney insane, because she wanted to raise her perfect mini-me, but Duncan absolutely loves having a little shadow. This explains why Axel is so hardcore and hands-on, and almost not like her mother at all. I’m guessing Duncan and Axel bonded a lot over cheesy horror movies, and this is why Axel feels so strongly about zombie apocalypses.

But now I’m thinking, obviously they can’t all be rebellious like their dad, so one of their four sons is almost a spitting image of his mother: polite, intelligent, hot-headed, and just a little bossy, and can totally hold his own in the household. He’s probably number three out of four boys, and child number four out of five. After Axel, who is their firstborn, Courtney is holding out for another girl, this time more tame, but ends up with a boy, and he also takes after his father. Child number three comes along and Courtney is crossing her fingers again. Maybe this time? Nope. Another wild boy! When she gets pregnant with number four, she thinks there’s no hope, but finally gets her wish for a perfect mini-me, who just happens to be a little boy. With number five, Courtney thinks maybe she can get a soft, precocious little daughter, finally, but no. Another wild boy. After that she just gives up and says no more. 🤣

Taking inspiration from my own family: the other three boys are just as wild and crazy as their father, but after having dealt with it for so long, it doesn’t even phase Courtney anymore, and she learns to just go with the flow where her family is involved. (All props to my aunt, I don’t know how the heck she managed with three wild boys and a husband that loved to encourage them. 🤣)

This is actually pretty cute and funny to think about lmao

I normally just joke around about the whole Axel and Duncney thing because hello her color palette is just too spot on. But this?? I can see it 😂

Though I do think Duncan would be the ultimate girl dad — this is also something I can see for Duncney since he has a bunch of brothers too. 100% their first child is going to be on Duncan’s hip. That’s a mini Duncan through and through.

Also all these Duncney children? Accidents lmao. I don’t think there’s a universe where they plan any of them out.

[crookedcasket]

Haha lol going to talk about Yogs for a minute

Because I absolutely love reading and listening to people's interpretations of the Yogscast timeline. And I'm talking about the Minecraft shit here, as in that whole beautiful scripted era of videos they did in the past.

The main storyline I watched was the Flux Buddies story. I watched the Jaffa Factory POV when it came to Tekkit, and even further before that, SoI. I've never watched, say, any of Lomadiah's old Minecraft content, and sadly I have never watched Blackrock (although it is on my watch list.)

But even though I haven't seen anything like the SipsCo videos, or Martyn's old Minecraft videos that loosely fitted with this universe, I love to learn about them. I love reading about how people think things went down. And by this I mean the fuckin detail that some people go into when they refer to their own ideas for the timelines of events.

For example, Xephos as a character. I love it when people link him to Israphel, and I love watching people show his descent into madness from that bright eyed shipwrecked spaceman into the cold unfeeling CEO of Yoglabs. I love reading about the horrors he put his friends through, and how some part of him surely must know that it was wrong, and feel remorse.

My favourite character throughout everything is Lalna, or Duncan. I think Duncan himself is funny and entertaining in real life, but the absolute detail that has been built up over the years in terms of his Minecraft counterpart? Chefs kiss

I live for the posts people make trying to decipher the cloning issue surrounding Lalna! Some people theorise that Lalnable is a future version of Lalna that went batshit crazy and came back for revenge, whilst some people think he's a previous version of Lalna that lost his morals in Yoglabs and had to be locked away. There are too many Lalnae across too many timelines of events, and some of them overlap and meet one another in confusing events such as the Flux Buddies/Magic Police crossover, which I find hilarious every time I think about how confused both parties were.

That in itself is just baffling, because do Lalnae know there are others? They can't, right? Since both Lalnae here weren't aware of each other until they met. But Lalna is aware of Lalnable, so how is that different?

Outside of Lalnae, there's lore that I love in characters such as Rythian. I've not watched Blackrock to date, but I know enough about him from his fans that I love his character without seeing him in game. I am obsessed with his design as a whole, the fan headcannons on his enderman similarities and stuff. And his mask! God damn the amount of different sketchings and interpretations on what's under his mask!

What I'm saying is I love everyone who posts these drawings and theories and opinions on the scripted world that the Yogs built back then. And please never stop theorising.

[zaph1337]

Monster Hunter Rating 21: Khezu, the Blank Stare

When I reviewed Basarios, I made a joke about how the devs likely gave it human teeth over sharp teeth because the latter might not give children nightmares, but I don’t actually think that the devs ever intended Basarios to be more terrifying than any other monster in the game. This monster, however, is literally the stuff of nightmares, and I’m not misusing “literally” here. This may be the longest review I’ve written yet, so buckle up. Time to get spooky with Khezu!

(How it appears in Monster Hunter 1)

(How it appears in Monster Hunter Rise)

Appearance: I think there’s been a mistake here; last I checked, Capcom wasn’t making Silent Hill games. Seriously, this thing would fit right into that series, and not just ‘cause its phallic neck lends itself well to metaphors. The pale, veiny skin, the leech-like mouth, the complete lack of eyes...Khezu’s unlike any other monster in the series because it’s the only monster that’s meant to be horrifying to look at. It’s got flabby, tattered wings and gecko-like feet, but its main characteristic (other than the head) is its tail, the tip of which can open up into a suction cup that allows Khezu to stick to ceilings.

Obviously, Khezu’s an abomination that came from a really dark place in someone’s mind, but that’s just it: Khezu is a monster that appeared in an MH developer’s nightmare either before or during the production of the first Monster Hunter game, and said developer (I don’t actually remember who) decided to put it in the game. I learned of this from the Twitch streams of a streamer called DuncanCan’tDie, who’s a huge MH fan that’s on great terms with Capcom. Unfortunately, I can’t find any other sources for this claim, but I don’t think he’s lying for a few reasons; firstly, like I said, he’s on great terms with Capcom. He’s friends with some people who work there, and he even has a tattoo designed by someone on the MH team he called “Kaname-san” (who didn’t actually give him the tattoo, but drew the design that a tattoo artist used) and the only person who could go by that name is Kaname Fujioka, the man who literally directed several MH games, including the first one, and who was the art director for Monster Hunter World. So yeah. Duncan and Capcom get along great, and if he was spreading false rumors, they’d probably know about it.

The second reason I believe Duncan about Khezu’s origin is that someone once came into one of his streams (and I was there at the time) and started spouting “lore” about two monsters that looked like they could be related, but actually weren’t. Duncan flat out told this person that what they were claiming wasn’t mentioned anywhere and asked for sources...which the loregiver did not provide. In fact, after Duncan started getting on their case, I don’t think they said a word for the rest of the stream. Duncan believes that this person was just making stuff up to sound like they knew a lot about MH and weren’t aware that he was an MH expert, and I doubt that someone who would call someone out on that would do the same thing, especially if he had a reputation to uphold.

I apologize if I spent a lot of time talking about that, but I didn’t want people getting on my case because they couldn’t find anything to support my claims. But in conclusion, I believe that Khezu truly was born of a nightmare, and that’s awesome. It makes the Silent Hill comparison even more fitting since the enemies in those games are basically projections of the protagonists’ psyches. Disturbing enemies are much more effective if they scare(d) the people who created them, and Khezu is certainly disturbing. Because of that, as well as its ominous origin, I’m giving it a 9/10.

Behavior: Khezu mostly inhabit caves, jungles, and swamps due to the need for their skin to be moisturized, though they usually only leave caves to hunt, which they don’t have to do very often due to the plentiful fat beneath their skin, which also keeps them warm. Their favorite hunting strategy is to ambush their prey from a location usually concealed by darkness, which is made easier by their extendable necks. However, their reliance on darkness, as well as their preference to dwell in caves, has made them completely blind and reliant on their other senses; despite not having visible nostrils or ears, Khezu have great hearing and a very good sense of smell. Back to hunting, while they need to subdue larger prey, smaller ones, like Kelbi, are slowly swallowed whole...which is apparently something you can actually witness in the games, according to TV Tropes (I normally stick to the wiki and what I already know for resources, but I went to the “Monster Hunter / Nightmare Fuel” page while searching for another source for Khezu’s origin as a nightmare). As if this thing needed to be more disturbing, it doesn’t always kill its prey before it tries to swallow it, so the Kelbi you can see it eat is constantly struggling as the Khezu swallows it bottom-first. That’s...that’s messed up. But it gets worse.

Practically every monster in this series isn’t any more intelligent than what we consider a normal animal to be. Aside from Lynians, which are people, the smartest monster I’ve talked about is the Velociprey, which might not be as smart as, say, an irl crow, which is very intelligent by the standards of nonhuman animals. What I’m getting at here is that most of the monsters in this series don’t really take any sadistic pleasure in killing and eating prey; they just do it to survive. But Khezu is different. In several MH games, including Rise, the first time you go on a quest to kill a specific monster, the gameplay is preceded by a cutscene that shows off how powerful or intimidating that monster is (and in Rise’s case, you also get a poem). Here’s Khezu’s intro, and I want you to pay attention to what Khezu does from 0:24-0:30:

That’s right: this thing “looked” right at the monster it was going to eat, and smiled. That isn’t just me anthropomorphizing it, either; I’ve seen what Khezu looks like outside of that cutscene, and even with its mouth closed it has a neutral expression, so it smiling actually means something, and considering the context, it’s obvious what the devs wanted us to take from it: Khezu likes killing. It enjoyed the prospect of swallowing that monster whole while it was still alive and struggling, which means that this is the first monster I’ve talked about that we can definitively say is evil rather than just an animal. Rather fitting for a living nightmare, I would say. And if you thought all that was disturbing, I have some...unfortunate news. I hope you aren’t eating anything right now, ‘cause this next part is just gross.

Y’know how some wasps lay their eggs inside other bugs so the eggs have incubation they can eat when they hatch? Well, uh...Khezu do that, too. And they’re hermaphrodites that, from what I can gather, don’t need to mate, so any adult Khezu is capable of injecting another monster with its “whelps” (not saying that Khezu are always “pregnant,” just saying that any of them can be). And you know the really crazy part? After everything I said about Khezu, there are still people in the MH world that tame them and keep them as pets. Why would you want to have a slimy, flabby, sadistic, parasitoid, 14-to-40-foot abomination as a pet!? God, people are so freaking weird.

EDIT (05/07/2021): My older brother reminded me that I forgot about one of the odder aspects of Khezu; when you enter a fight with a Main Monster, its battle theme plays (don’t know if every monster has a unique theme, but several do, to my knowledge), but Khezu has no theme to speak of. I don’t know if this is true in every game, or even if it was intentional at first, but it’s still both funny and eerie at the same time. There’s no background music until you get in a fight, so if you somehow tick off a Khezu without seeing it, then it can sneak up on you. “But Zaph, the moment a monster enters ‘fight mode,’ it roars! So the Khezu will give away its position!” See, you’d be right about that if it wasn’t for the fact that, according to TV Tropes at least, Khezu’s roar sounds just like wind--howling wind, yes, but wind all the same. I don’t know if there’s any howling wind SFX in the areas where Khezu live, so for all I know you’ll still be able to identify it in a hurry, but just imagine what that’s like in-universe! Imagine that you’re walking around in the Frost Islands or something and hear a chilling wind from out of nowhere. Unless you’re an experienced hunter, you’d likely have no idea if that was a Khezu or not, so you wouldn’t know if it’s too late to run or not, or even if you should run at all. Going back out of universe, the details I just described are very nice touches to a monster that was already horrifying in behavior, so I’m bumping the score here up from the 7 I initially gave it to 8/10.

Abilities: All of the “Flying Wyverns” I’ve talked about so far have had a lot of trouble with the whole “flying” part, and Khezu are no exception; they’re better at it than Diablos and Gravios, but they still need to flap really frantically to stay in the air. They’re great at jumping, though, and their gecko-like feet allow them to scale walls and stick to ceilings, something that their tails also allow them to do. Khezu are Thunder-element monsters capable of discharging electricity in a manner of ways, including shooting balls of it from their mouths and emitting it all around their bodies. Since Khezu like to spend time around water, their attacks are even more dangerous, as everything near them will likely be wet and therefore more conductive. This also applies to Khezu themselves, which may be why they stick their tails onto the ground before discharging electricity; they ground themselves so that they don’t shock themselves. Finally, Khezu saliva is very dangerous; we don’t know if it’s electric or acidic, but anything that gives off smoke when it touches something probably isn’t good for your health, which is why owning a pet Khezu is so dangerous; their drool can literally kill you. 7/10.

Equipment: Most Khezu weapons are as interesting as you’d expect them to be, considering the monster they’re made from. Most of them have a horror aesthetic, like this Great Sword called the Khezu Shock Sword:

I just noticed that the skin is actually stretched over the blade, rather than being what the blade’s attached to. Gross, but I never expected Khezu weapons to look pretty. There are also weapons which emphasize the monster’s electric aspect, like this Gunlance called the Full Voltage:

It still has Silent Hill vibes due to its “rusty hospital” aesthetic, and looking at it long enough reveals little details it inherited from Khezu. Speaking of hospitals, there are a couple of weapons based off of syringes, such as the Khezu Syringe, which is a Light Bowgun, and a Lance from MHFG that’s literally a giant hypodermic needle, but I didn’t want to show those off in case they triggered anyone with needle phobia. The last weapon I’m gonna show will be very familiar to those of us who’ve played the Rise demo a lot: the Insect Glaive known as the Bolt Chamber!

I like the green tube running from the sac between the blade and the shaft of the glaive; according to the Bolt Chamber’s in-game description, it uses that “pulsating device” to steal energy from its targets. If you mentioned that to me before I grabbed its image for this review, I probably would have asked how it did that. If you then pointed out the mouth at the glaive’s end, I would have thanked you for cursing me with the knowledge of its existence. Seriously, I’ve used this thing probably more than 20 times, and until I saw this render, I never noticed that. As for the armor, here’s the Blademaster Khezu Armor from MHGU:

The male armor here is almost identical to the one from Rise--which sadly doesn’t have any pictures on the wiki yet--and yes, it does look like the main character from Assassin’s Creed. The female armor, on the other hand, looks almost like a nurse’s outfit, especially with that metal thing on the woman’s head with the cross. The more I look at this equipment, the more I feel like they wanted people to think of Silent Hill, and if so, that’s pretty cool. I’ve got another armor set to show you; the Gunner version of the Khezu R Armor from MHGU:

Jesus, is this an armor set or a medical emergency? I can’t imagine bandages are very effective at protecting your body from physical damage, but thankfully it looks like most of them are just covering actual armor...meaning that the people who designed this stuff in-universe wanted the people wearing it to look like they were in an accident. Not sure I get why, but I’m not here to--actually, I am here to judge, so never mind; it’s gross. Also the female set has Khezu mouths as arm coverings, which is someone’s fetish, I’m sure. The equipment as a whole is macabrely interesting (TIL that macabrely is a real word) and calls to mind a fascinating horror game franchise, so 8/10.

Final Thoughts and Tally: I figured that Khezu was gonna be interesting, but I didn’t know how far the devs would take the horror theming. Everything about this monster is creepy; it looks disturbing, it acts even worse, and its equipment makes me feel like I need a tetanus shot just from looking at it. But that’s not at all a bad thing...unless you’re really squeamish, in which case you were likely cringing this whole review. I’d apologize, but you made the choice to stick through ‘till the end. 8/10.

[missnight0wl]

On the topic of Olivia and Jacob, (im not the same anon) I will loooooove a sq (or write it into the damn story) about the "fallen trio" (what their dynamic was like, how they got into the vaults, what the fuck happened to olivia, anything). They literally got MC into this mess and we know next to nothing about them. Duncan's been overlooked for forever, and Olivia's even worse off. We're in the end game now, so where are they? Also, ur a good writer, so what would you think happens in their sq?

Oh man, I’d absolutely go crazy about something like that! And I agree that it should be a part of the main story, not just a side quest. Though if it had to be a side quest, at least make it a regular one, not time-limited (I strongly believe that no information crucial for the main story should go in TLSQs).

But yeah, you’re totally right that it’s ridiculous how the Fallen Trio is being ignored (personally, I usually call them the Forgotten Trio). But that’s also partially a reason why I like the idea of Olivia being our secret Metamophmagus. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still not really an excuse to not even mention her name since Y5. However, I can also see Jam City omitting that information for the sake of pulling a plot twist. Like, it’s a really bad way of writing a plot twist, but hey, at least it’d be some explanation (also, it’d still be a better plot twist than MC’s father being the leader of R or whatever – and sadly, I’m afraid it’s possible they’re gonna do something like that…).

As for Duncan though? That one is way harder to forgive, in my opinion. Sure, I do believe that he keeps some information from us intentionally, but still – he’s so underused. Which really is a shame because I think he’s such an interesting character and his dynamic with MC is always entertaining. Also, the fact that we didn’t even mention Duncan when we met Jacob right after Rowan’s death? Now, that’s a REAL CRIME. I’m honestly still upset about it.

And what could happen in their “side quest”? Hm, that’s a tough question, considering how little we know about them. All the unknowns you mentioned are very intriguing, and I’d definitely like to know answers to them. I also think that the “side quest” could involve a Pensieve. That’s one of the elements from the universe which wasn’t used yet, and we know how Jam City likes to take inspiration from the books. For once, it could actually be useful, instead of being just empty fanservice. And as they say, it’s better to show than to tell. Imagine seeing Duncan being alive, meeting Olivia etc. I could spend several chapters in this setting, similar to how it happened recently with the Ministry.

As for the plot, I’d love it if it involved more of the Cursed Vaults lore. For example, we could go back to the plot of House sigils (I talked more about that quest HERE). I know that the Nearly Headless Nick SQ is currently removed from the game, but as I’m always saying: Jam City keeps including information from those removed quests in new content, so it’s not like they’re pretending it didn’t happen, so… You know. It could be used. Admittedly, it’d make more sense to return to this plot BEFORE the Sunken Vaults, but they still can develop it and add something more which would be relevant for the future. Also, NHN SQ mentioned the existence of a secret group of teachers and students who wanted to find the Vaults. It’d be interesting to dive deeper into this, too. Was that where R originated from, for example? Of course, at the same time, we’d have an opportunity to observe the dynamic between the Trio.

Also, thank you so much for saying I’m a good writer! I’m really flattered :D Although, I feel like I didn’t live up to that with my proposition here… The thing is that – as I said – we know so little that my ideas are quite headcanon-based. And I tried to take a more general approach here to “what could happen”. 

In my personal story, Jacob knew about R a long time before Duncan and Olivia, for example, and he was kind of forced to involve them as well. And so, the side quest could take it into account, with MC seeing how Jacob hides some information from his friends. That, on the other hand, would make MC wonder why Jacob did it – did he have some secret motivation, or was he protecting them? Another thing I headcanon is that the relationship between Duncan and Olivia wasn’t good at all, so the side quest would probably include some of their quarrels.

Anywaaay… Please, give us the Fallen Trio content, Jam City. Pretty please?

[gracereadstoomanybooks]

answering questions I’ve been asked on TikTok✨

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QUESTION: how did you get into reading?

So, when I was in middle school (many moons ago) we had this thing called AR Testing. Basically, you read a book and take a test on it—the questions were things that happened in the book, it was really simple. If you got a good grade, you got points. The more points you earned, the more eligible you were for the reading party at the end of each semester. Me, being the nerd I am, got top of my class because I went through 8th grade level books like it was nothing. The librarian at my school brought me books from the high school to read since everything was easy for me, and alas, my addiction began. And now that I have adult money, it’s a true addiction. Also, telling my father “I’m bored” and his response being, “go read a book or something” so thanks dad.

QUESTION: what’s one book you ALWAYS recommend to people?

This one is tough because I’ve read THOUSANDS of books, but if I had to choose one, it would probably be Confess by Colleen Hoover. I fell in love with her work in high school when I first read Ugly Love, but Confess is the type of book that pulls at your heart strings, y’all. It has everything people love: humor, sexual tension, drama, love. GO BUY THE DAMN BOOK. Or honestly any book by Colleen Hoover—she’s a fucking amazing author.

QUESTION: outside of making TikToks, what do you do for a living?

I currently work at a restaurant and hate every second of it. If anyone tells you to become a server, DONT. It’s not worth the hassle, I promise you. Sure, you can make decent money but the amount of rude customers and shitty tips you receive each shift is very disheartening. If you really need a job, do anything BUT work in the food industry.

QUESTION: what’s your wattpad story about?

First question: which one? I have about 30 drafts sitting there waiting to be posted. But, I’m going to assume you’re talking about the Harry Styles fan fiction I’ve been working on for the past 4 years and haven’t had the courage to post. I’ll tell you a little about it: Elaine Aldridge is forced into a betrothal to a man she’s never met & loathes. She goes to his court and realizes things aren’t what they truly seem. And the guard her future husband sticks on her??? None other than Mr. Harry Styles. Add in some magic & deaths and you’ve got my story— The First Prince. (Honestly, that’s an extremely shitty description so if you wanna check it out go to my wattpad account)

QUESTION: how old are you?

Ahem. . . twenty-one.

QUESTION: what is your dream career?

Being a published author and having people rave about my books. That’s all. Or, an editor for a publishing company. Imagine reading all day and being paid for it🤩

QUESTION: what was your least favorite read of 2020?

I already KNOW I’m gonna get shit for this but....... the wicked king. YALL I LITERALLY COULDNT GET THROUGH IT IM SO SORRY, I STILL HAVENT FINISHED IT

QUESTION: current favorite author?

Sarah. J. Maas. I don’t know what it is about her writing style, but it’s addicting. Throne of Glass is hands down the best series I’ve ever read. A Court of Thorns and Roses is the first book I’ve EVER reread. Her stories truly suck you in and hold onto you—you get lost so easily in her writing and it’s like once you’re done with a series, nothing will compare. Or, at least that’s how I felt after finishing Kingdom of Ash. Honorable mentions: Jennifer L. Armentrout, Penelope Douglas, L.J Shen, Elle Kennedy and Kennedy Fox.

QUESTION: any recommendations/tips to give to a new reader?

I’ve always given this advice to people who want to get into reading: find what you like and start with that. If you like romance, I’ve got a list for you to choose from. Mystery? Another list. Sci-fi? I GOT YOU. Fantasy? Yes! Sports fiction? It might take me a second but I’ll find you a book. Nonfiction? I’m zero help in that category, honestly. The point of the matter is that you’re never going to enjoy a book if you aren’t interested in the underlying topics.

QUESTION: do you ever find yourself comparing your life to fictional life?

Yes. All the time. I daydream about being apart of the Inner Circle and living in Terrasen with Aelin and Rowan. I think about what it would be like to have real powers and a mate. It drives my boyfriend crazy—but he loves me anyway.

QUESTION: what are your most anticipated books of 2021?

Here’s a list:

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

The Crown of Gilded Bones by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Gods and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin

Crescent City 2 (Untitled) by Sarah J. Maas

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer (I just ordered this one & it arrives tomorrow)

Blessed Monsters by Emily A. Duncan

QUESTION: why did you start a Tumblr?

Honestly, I used to love tumblr when I was in grade school (way too young to be on here then but what else is new). I like having an extra space to get my questions and comments out without having to compress it into a 60 second video for TikTok to see. Tumblr is a good place to blog & post things like this.

QUESTION: what’s your favorite song right now?

I’ve listened to Carry You by Novo Amor every day for the past two months and I cry each time.

QUESTION: why write Harry Styles fan fiction?

Simple: I love Harry Styles. I’ve been a fan of him and One Direction since they were on X FACTOR. Read that again. X. Factor. I used to watch their performances on YouTube before WMYB even came out. Of course, I love all of the 1D boys but I was always a Harry gal. And I look up to him in a way—I’ve read things about people wishing they knew him personally and honestly? I would never want to meet him. I like the version of him I’ve cooked up in my brain over the past 10 years. I like the symbiotic relationship I have with his music. Fine Line is a ✨masterpiece✨. HS1 is a ✨work of art✨.

now, some topics I’ve been asked way too many times and want to finally get to:

QUESTION: political views?

the saying “anyone but trump” has been in my brain for the past four years. No, I’m not a republican. No, I’m not a democrat. I like to think of myself as a progressive (ahem, liberal) Did I vote for a democratic candidate? Yes, and I’d do it again and again until the US isn’t one of the worst countries—I’m sorry, businesses— to be apart of. I wanted Bernie but got Biden, and I’m alright with that. And my girl Kamala🥳

QUESTION: how did you feel about the BLM protests?

I went to multiple BLM protests and donated a lot of funds to BLM & other organizations. It’s 2021, people... stop being fucking RACIST. And don’t be afraid to call racist people out! Black Lives Matter, even if no one is posting about it anymore.

QUESTION: thoughts on abortion?

your body your choice, queen! not my uterus, not my problem.

QUESTION: there was a comment on an old video of yours talking about r*pe, why did you delete the comment?

I made a video when I first started my account on TikTok about reading in public and feeling “turned on” by it. Go watch it if you don’t know what I’m talking about. BUT, some ignorant male decided to comment and say “this is how girls get r*ped”. Whew. So. I deleted the comment because ....

I am a victim of sexual assault. Along with a lot of other women. 1 in 5 women have been victims of sexual assault. Talking about being r*ped isn’t funny.

No one else needed to see his comment. I reported it immediately and his account was shut down.

I never got justice for what happened to me, and the fact that some random male—who had never even met me or seen me before my video showed up on his FYP—had the nerve to comment that? Unacceptable.

this question isn’t as controversial but

QUESTION: what’s the best way to get out of a toxic relationship?

okay, let me just start off by saying that the people around you who love and support you are going to be your backbone. Leaving a toxic situation is hard, and every situation is different, but my best piece of advice to offer you is don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your loved ones are going to be there for you when you need them, even if you don’t believe they will. If you explain what’s happening, someone you know and love will drop whatever it is their doing to make sure you get out safely. good luck my babes.

now, back to our regularly scheduled program:

QUESTION: any tips on making tiktoks?

Literally none. I post what I think is funny and relatable and if anyone agrees, I’m satisfied. Even if it’s one view, it’s good enough for me. So I guess my one tip is to not base your life off of an app and followers.

QUESTION: favorite Harry Styles fanfic?

DONT MAKE ME CHOOSE. Duplicity is up there, along with Stall 1&2, and Kiwi. After? Absolutely not.

QUESTION: favorite WEBTOON?

y’all already KNOW. LORE OLYMPUS BY USEDBANDAID. Rachel is a genius and I have reread the series a million times. Hades is my soulmate and Apollo can rot in the fiery pits of the Underworld. also, if we’re talking about other webcomics, reading Walk on Water on mangadex...🤫

QUESTION: favorite movie?

Howls Moving Castle. I will be getting my “a heart is a heavy burden” tattoo very very soon.

QUESTION: I read your Elain theory on tumblr, can you explain a little more?

I thought I was pretty straightforward but I’ll say it again: she is always the “good” one and it’s too suspicious. SJM has already given one Archeron sister a happy ending, Nesta’s is obviously inevitable, but Elain? She has too many options for a happy ending. Lucien, who is her “mate”. Azriel, who is intrigued by her slightly. Her human guy—I don’t remember his name—who is disgusted that she’s not human anymore. Or, alone, planting flowers all day. BUT! My point is that she’s not truly happy. She was forced into the Cauldron just like Nesta. She was ripped away from the life she loved so dearly and didn’t want to give up. The man she was going to marry now hates her guts because she’s a High Fae. She has the perfect set up for a villain plot line and I’m all here for it.

well, that’s all I feel like doing tonight. hope you enjoyed my little q&a! be kind, and talk to you later! byeeee!

[roninkairi]

Thoughts on "Masters of The Universe: Revelation, Part 1" (SPOILER ALERT)

There is a point in the 3rd episode of the series where Teela and Evil-Lyn hold a conversation concerning their respective male counterparts, He-Man and Skeletor. Eventually Evil-Lyn tells Teela that He-Man was too much of a "glorified goody-goody" and the real threat of all of the Masters was not him but Man-At Arms, something she reminded all of the Snake Mountain soldiers. It was an admission like this that made me more interested in her to be frank, and it led me to wonder what else she thought about others. And that's precisely one of the things I enjoyed about Revelations so far, the focus on everyone else.

Billed as a sequel to the original series that aired in the 80s, the show starts off simple enough; Teela is promoted to the rank of "Man At Arms" by King Randor while at the same time, Skeletor once again leads an attack on Castle Grayskull. And as expected He-Man, along with the orginal Man-At Arms and the other Masters, go to thwart him and his army. But this time though, things do not turn out how you would think they normally would.

Before the show premiered on Netflix, when watching the trailers, I had a bad feeling, that same feeling of dread I had when the original commercials for the Transformers movie came out; I knew someone important was going to die. I watched this trailer and said to myself "They're going to kill off the Sorceress, aren't they?"

OH DEAR GOD WAS I SO WRONG.

It was one thing to kill off Moss Man in the 'final' battle between He-Man and Skeletor. But then to have He-Man stab Skeletor with his sword...and then KILL BOTH THE MAN HERO AND VILLAIN OFF?

WTF indeed. Which brings me to my alternate title for episode 1: Suppose Teela and King Randor Find Out He-Man's Secret At The WORST POSSIBLE TIME.

The fallout from this event is the main drive of Revelations: Teela and the others are left with the urgent task of reforging the Sword of Power and restoring magic to Eternia or the whole universe dies alongside the planet. And for many folks, this is the cardinal sin that the show commits; daring to have an adventure where neither He-Man or his arch nemesis is the focus. To be honest with you though, He-Man is there, just not in the way you expected him to be. The sacrifice he made and the repercussions from said sacrifice are felt by everyone in one fashion or another and we see just how much he meant to Teela via flashbacks or conversations with others, and it's important as its these memories that spur her on. Unlike the original cartoon, we get to see what the adventures are like for the other members of the cast (I mean seriously, the show is called "Masters of The Universe" so at some point you should really expect to learn more about everyone else) and some of them have more surprising depth than their original portrayals.

That's another thing I wanted to pointed out; there are certain things from the original show that has been somehow changed for more dramatic results. While Evil-Lyn was a scheming magic wielder who was loyal to Skeletor in order to eventually usurp him, here she reveals it was more like a one sided romance with him. And, oddly enough, out of all the characters to bond wth, it's Orko the comic relief of the show. Only he has some serious confidence issues. It can't be helped though, as he is slowly dying from the lack of magic. He does his best to cope as he tells Andra to keep a diary of all of her adventures, something he wishes he did as his memories are now just a blur. His somewhat out of nowhere bonding with Evil Lyn is jarring as she relates to him concerning his struggles to be of some use to his friends despite his magic going haywire since she too had to fight for respect herself even after she joined with Skeletor and the loss of her powers ever since that incident. It makes what happens at the end of episode 4 bittersweet; even she mourns his apparent death as she lays her helmet at his tombstone (and makes her defection back to Skeletor when he and Adam return even more painful)

The show does a good job of addressing many of the things about the original show that made it stand out in my mind, like the questionable choices that these people made and while it's slightly darker in tone (I mean they are dealing with the Apocalypse essentially) it does not lose its humor. There are quite a few nods to the lore of the MOTU canon, both animated and comic plus the action is WAY better than the original show. But the main draw are the characters that are enduring this crazy point in time and for right now, these first 5 episodes set a very interesting tone. I suspect that now that Adam is back (albeit incredibly wounded) he's going to have to deal with the ramifications of his dual life and figure out how to not only get his power back, but face his own father eventually (and I can only imagine just how PISSED he will be when he finds out what King Randor did to Duncan and Orko when he died)

Part 2 can't come soon enough.

...what? You were expecting a "Prince Adam is Hard Gay" joke?

Come on. I'm not that predictable.

[siremasterlawrence]

The Real Super Soldier Part 2.

“I know the perfect way Master at the precinct there are three more cops that would be perfect. If I go to the meeting an except that job back as detective. I can help you enslave them forever like me an we can catch him. His real name is David the king of the western coats. He owns the western sea board.” He says to me.

I love how enthusiastically he has left to go the meeting an he has taken his job back. He calls me to a meeting with his other two cops to meet him. I walk into the bar as he waves me down as he quickly grabs my hand. As he looks at me happily he tells me about both of his friends. Kyle walks in as he sits at the table not sure about what happens.

“So what’s this about Steve? Is this guy with the detail on the king of the west coast?” He ask Steve who just shakes his head as I am staring at Kyle. He turns to me as he freezes completely an my eyes bare into his mind. I collect all of his thoughts into my mind as I warp his brain. His mind goes blank as I rewire it into my only slave.

“Will you join me my slave at my feet with Steve?” I ask Kyle as he kneels at my feet. Steve was already at my feet as he kisses my feet. He takes my hand as he looks into my eyes. “Yes Master I live to serve you for all eternity and I will serve you completely in all ways.” He says to me. He looks in my eyes tenderly as he holds onto my other hand.

All I can see is how they look evilly at each other. I sit on my seat as they held me tightly an they looks into my eyes again. I kiss Steve on his lips as he holds my face an kisses me back. I pull Kyle up as we also make out an he pulls me closer. The two of us rush to the bathroom as we make out like crazy.

“ I need you to lore your other cop friend to my place promise him all the food he can eat. Give him all that he wants no questions asked an don’t let him leave. I am the one who you live to please me forever let’s begin.” I say to Steve as he kisses me one more time as he walks out. He looks at my Slave Kyle one last time.

“Kyle, you need to follow me back to my place as we will make out as we waits.” I say. Kyle smiles as he takes my had an I lead him out of the bar. We walk up the staircase as we make out and we fall deep in love. As we move into my own apartment I lock the door an he pulls me into a kiss. He wraps his hands around me as we make out more.

Steve walks in the apartment with Duncan who scoffs at me and my appearance. Steve gives him a can of beer dropping it into his hands. I roll my eyes as I stare at him so much forcing his eyes to turn to me. “Now Duncan join us be my third slave at my feet and give me all that you want. I am all that matters to you now my king”I say to him.I am watch as he drops to his knee in service of me as we kiss an he apologizes to me.

The end.

[gotgifsandmusings]

A Wedding in Sunspear: Dany IV gifcap

Tumblr filters think they can censor this work of art?! Welllll it’s back, along with my original intro from 2018, starting below!

Before I attempt to gifcap the latest beautiful, heart-stopping, breathtaking, life-changing chapter of A Wedding in Sunspear, Julia’s thematically deep and dramatically satisfying pre-canon canon-compliant ASOIAF fic Austen meets Martin in Dorne and has a culture clash baby... I need to Martell shame myself. She posted it at the end of May, and it’s a goddamn Dany Gargalen chapter! What the hell, me?? A job and adjustment in a new city is no excuse!!

However, she celebrated a birthday the other day, so between that and a very Canadian harvest celebration that occurred today, I can post this gifcap without it feeling too arbitrary! Hopefully you find it entertaining, though please be sure to read the darn thing first!

Where we last left Dany...

Yup, she and Maron in their half-fucking state were discovered by Loree, setting off a chain if events wherein Olenna ate pie, the groom threw a shit fit over not marrying a virgin, Loree had to pull rank on her husband-to-be which includes but is not limited to an order not to give him any more alcohol across all of Dorne, Maron fucked a sex worker because he was so upset about his commitment to Dany not being taken seriously, and Ormond got pocket-vetoed by his friend with benefits.

That takes us to the night before the wedding, where Dany is crammed into a bed with with six other ladies.

Shockingly, she wakes up a bit before morning. Even more shockingly, Loree is already up and staring out the window.

It’s the FREAKING TITULAR WEDDING, GUYS!

Dany wants to go talk to Loree, but freezes for a second. You see, she had spent a whole day mad at her cousin, and in 15-year-old language, that’s basically a decade.

However, cooler heads have prevailed. You know, heads belonging to Joleta and Maron of all people. And they both think as long as Dany holds her ground, Loree will give in.

So Dany decides to confront Loree, where she’ll be ~firm~ and not emotional. Loree will clearly give in.

She subtly lets Loree know she’s there

Loree tells her she should still be asleep, which is pretty rich considering she’s all:

Apparently it was quality time for herself. Dany realizes it’s a hint for her to leave, but she’s just so thrilled to have caught her alone that she’s sure this is a good time to press the Maron issue.

She tells Loree she gets why she said what she did, and Loree is pretty impressed.

Dany’s a bit miffed by that reaction, but tells her cousin eventually she’ll see how serious she and Maron are about each other, and that this wasn’t just a young flight of fancy.

But Loree’s all

Dany takes this with much aplomb.

She insists that they’re in love and she wants his babies. Loree tells her that’s not how this goes.  

So Dany’s like

And Loree’s basically, “yeah. We’re in the same boat.”

Dany really has no come back to this, so she points out how shitty Eliott’s been, and how Loree shouldn’t be fine marrying this dude.

But Loree won’t raise her hand, because duty. Instead she’s points out he has some positives...somewhere...

Dany’s like, “you’re just not into him because of HENRICK.”

Also that she was happy. Loree isn’t sold.

She calls it a mistake, and when Dany presses the matter more, Loree says that indulging her feelings was the mistake, since she knew it was a weakness from the start.

Dany tells her it would have been brave to stay with Henrick, just like Prince Duncan was.

Sadly, there’s a great counter example in the shape of Prince Daeron that’s been hanging around this whole time.

Dany maintains that they will sing songs about Jenny for years, but Loree’s just like, “yeah those aren’t the songs I want sung about me, and I hope you feel the same.” Dany’s brain is just kinda

But there’s no real comeback. So she just says Loree hates herself and is trying to bully Dany into agreeing to feel better. Which mildly breaks her cousin.

Trystana fortunately comes bursting into the room, yelling about how they didn’t sleep, and there’s tons to do, and they both need to get ready.

Dany is pushed into the fastest bath ever along with the other ladies, and barely dressed before it’s time for breakfast.

Of course Loree’s already there with her hair perfectly done, since she gets a bit of priority.

But Dany’s just fuming because she can tell Loree is faking all her wedding-day happiness.

She tries to make best of this inane chatter, though Lysanne Manwoody talks about how excited she is to see the Reachmen react to Loree’s not 100% chaste dress. All the women then talk about how nice their packages look.

Trystana kind of fakes outrage at this, and points out that she “felt the solemnity” of her wedding.

Loree immediately stops smiling, while her mom is just like, “Yeah, that’s our gregarious Loree.”

However Dany sees this as a great opportunity to push her point more, and is like, “Yeah it’s so serious and holy and should be 100% what someone wants or else they’re lying to the GODS.”

Loree just responds with, “Oh I agree and I’ve never been more serious in my life.”

She goes off to get ready with that, as does everyone else.

And of course, Loree is totally understated when all is said and done.

Though she has a moment where it looks like she’s about to cry, so Lenelle orders everyone else out.

Joleta’s just like, “yeah obviously she’s panicking..” So everyone has to sit outside the door and pretend this isn’t a very transparent thing that’s happening.

However, finally Loree calls out that she’s ready.

Elda and Genna spread the train out, and all six women need to help lift the stupid thing, like they spent hours practicing.

Though somehow Trystana still feels the need to remind Dany not to let it touch the ground.

Of course stairs are the worst bit of it all

They all pause in front of the Tower of the Sun, because of course the stupid thing needs minute adjustments, but Loree puts a stop to it after a point.

So they head through for even more stairs leading to the courtyard, where a crazy amount of people are there to catch a glimpse.

It’s very quiet, which oddly reminds Dany of her Grandma Dany’s funeral. It’s almost like giant spectacles have similar levels of stress and no actual enjoyment for those involved...

The smallfolk are into it though, chucking flowers at Loree as they all make their way down the path towards Nymeria’s Sept.

When they get there, there was so much incense that Dany can barely make out the altars.

Other great ladies are there to pray with Loree, including Olenna and Friend Besto

Eliott’s mom Serra is there, a reader favorite after her wonderful “how to make marital rape pleasant” speech!

She tells Loree she looks “As lovely as the Maid Herself.”

It’s time for everyone to pray, so Dany of course decides to pray for the most important thing she can think of:

And apparently they pray for like..an hour? Even Rhona seems restless, of all people.

After a certain point...maybe another hour...Loree even seems to be nodding off (or passing out from the overwhelming incense).

So Lenelle calls over a septon, who proclaims a blessing, mercifully putting a stop to it all. They all get up, with everyone’s legs having lost circulation.

What a romantic affair!

They head out of the sept to the courtyard again, though most smallfolk left to line the streets. However here comes the real hurtle: get Loree and her giant dress into the litter. So Elda and Genna just scrunch it up and throw it in.

Everyone else has to cram in as well.

Trystana tries to get Loree to eat, but she just gives it all to Dany.

Aaand they move, and are soon on the streets where, you guessed it: even more people are waiting to call Loree’s name and greet her. So she pulls back the curtain so everyone can see how happy she is.

NOW IT’S OVER!

[mojav]

okay dragon age followers this is some sage lore just for you

ok i posted this on twitter earlier actuallly but only like 4 of my friends care abt dragone age so... i just want to tell u abt this fanfic i might never finish writing but i still want to share it

when i was like 16 or whatever and writing fanfiction i started this dragon age bachelor au (which the idea? the concept? iconic... very good.... the execution? terrible i was not a great writer then) and the plot i had started off so corny. 

basically my mary sue cousland noble girl (named cassandra/cass) didnt want to be in the competition for cailan’s bride. she wanted to fight and be epic and rebellious... she’s so sassy and doesn’t even have to try cailan just loves her because she’s so cool and great... but actually she falls in love with his younger brother alistair... and during the competition the two of them have an affair but she doesn’t purposefully lose bc that means she’d have to go back home and she couldn’t see alistair anymore + her family would be disappointed.

so she actually stays for awhile but then shit gets really serious and cailan starts liking her a little too much and gets possessive. so she and alistair actually plan to run away together and they have everything ready to go but cailan surprises everybody by picking his bride earlier than he was supposed to and he announces it to everyone. So there’s a few chapters where she’s kind of stuck waiting to be coronated or married idk the proper term im spitballing here.. giving up on the idea of running away but kind of scared of having a life w cailan because he keeps a close eye and tight grip on her. but alistair doesn’t want to give up and says he’d relinquish his right to the throne to be with her. and they talk abt all the places they could go together etc. and decide to try to run away again

so they run away but cailan catches on pretty fast and sends men after them which they suspected he might but not so soon so they aren’t really prepared. and alistair gets caught to be executed but cass gets chased further into a grey warden patrol and before the guards can reach her duncan, who knows who she is, has her throw on a disguise and when the guards  question whether he’s seen her come this way he denies it. they get super sus and ask who cass in disguise is and he lies and says one of his new recruits, a servant sentenced to death or smthing like that. basically cass gets away but is desperate to save alistair

and duncan says he can’t afford to challenge the king directly because it would destroy the grey wardens’ neutrality and that he shouldn’t have even risked saving her. he asks her to explain what’s going on and when she does he gives her a choice to find her own way and risk getting caught again or become a grey warden to stay out of Cailan’s reach. she’s uncertain but duncan explains that he can sense a blight is coming and he shows her the plight of the sparse order in ferelden. she sleeps on it and says she’ll become a warden but asks that duncan bring them close to denerim on their way south to the wilds. he agrees that they have to go that way along the roads to trade but makes her promise not to do anything rash that would get the wardens into trouble/like revealing her identity so soon

at this point i considered having cass get discovered somehow in the city and to draw her out cailan announces alistair’s execution, which of course gets the people in an uproar because they love alistair he’s their golden prince of the common people but at this point cailan’s a little crazy having his king complex undermined by the woman he wanted 2 control and the brother who he thinks of as lesser than him.

but if i were to continue the fic would i really want alistair to die???? it’s so angsty.... but saving him would probably be very corny and it would be impossible to invoke the rite of conscription bc the wardens at that point can absolutely not afford to anger the crown again esp w a blight incoming and cailan would know that. ohhh but its such a fun idea..... i have to keep thinking on this... 

anyways my original plan was to have alistair executed right in front of cass and cailan gets off on it and then tries to capture her but she gets away and groups up w the wardens again. then bc the events get carried out differently in this fic the blight actually lasts for years and in this time cass changes her identity within the wardens to keep her life a secret from everyone, even some of her fellow recruits/the ones who weren’t there when she joined. and towards the end when they finally get their chance to face the archdemon the final scene was just going to be a couple of new recruits whispering about the rumors they’ve heard of her and she’s tells them a vague thing abt love and loss or whatever the fuck then sacrifices herself to slay the archdemon but i also want her to kill cailan somehow..... so many threads 2 weave into this.... im sure if i started writing it again i’d find a way but... ugh for now it’ll just be my imaginary masterpiece

[bestfriendforhire]

Entry 325

 As the doors to my home opened, party favors exploded, sending confetti and streamers everywhere.  Jarod was using his custom party gun again.  The “welcome home” died partly after “welcome” though as people realized we had an extra guest.

 “Maxine?” asked Jarod.

 “You brought <i>her</i> here?” inquired Mai.

 “Do we get to keep her?” asked Ai with a wicked grin.

 “Have you and Portentia been hanging out, Ai?  That’s precisely what she had asked.” I stated.

 “You’re Ai?  You said you were Mai!” complained Deyanira, who apparently had shown up for the party.

 “Never trust the twins.” muttered Brandon.

 “She obviously just had me confused with my sister.” replied Ai.

 Grabbing her sister’s hand, Mai then pouted and said, “I can’t believe you were hanging out with Portentia and not telling me.”

 “Who’s Maxine?” asked Kayla.

 “Her, obviously.” stated Jemal as he nodded toward Maxine.

 “Yes, but who is she!?” exclaimed Kayla with a grin.

 “What does she... like to eat?” inquired Marco.

 “Who’s she?” asked Portentia, pointing to Iris.

 “Hi!  I’m Iris.” replied Iris with a wave.  “I started part-time here while you were away.”

 I raised my hands and motioned for everyone to be quiet.  “Due to unfortunate circumstances, Maxine will be staying with us indefinitely, so there will be plenty of time for questions later.  Let’s just get on with the party for now.” I suggested.

 Aaliyah was smiling at me excitedly.  Breaking the momentary quiet, she said, “Boss-man, sir, we should have Maxine sign her tenant’s agreement before the party.”

 “I don’t sign anything without my lawyer.” stated Maxine warily.

 Placing her hand on Maxine’s shoulder, Alma said, “I’ll go over the terms with you if you wish, but I can already assure you that there won’t be room for debate.”

 “Fine, but I want to go through every detail.” insisted Maxine.

 Seeing Aaliyah’s grin widen, I said, “No, you really don’t.  That would probably take years.”  I almost stopped mid-sentence when I felt magic off to my left, but my little fairy friend simply removed the spell concealing her.

 I heard Maxine gasp as my little friend started showing us what I had missed in her day.  What was this like for her?  I doubted her tech had allowed her vision to match that of my little friend, and now she got to see a vibrant world with all the wonder of a fairy.  I managed to cut my little friend off at the point she entered the house, uncertain of how much I wanted Maxine to see.

 “Boss-man, sir!  She hadn’t gotten to finding the cake yet!” complained Aaliyah.

 “Yes, well, we don’t need spoilers.” I argued.

 “But it’d be like eating cake without the calories.” insisted Aaliyah.

 “I like the sound of that.” agreed Brenna.

 Nodding, Deyanira said, “Me too.  Marco, your cooking’s too good.  I had to start working out more since I started dating Brandon.”

 “Brandon has a girlfriend?” asked Maxine incredulously.

 “You know me?” he inquired.  “Wait.  Were you interested?”

 “Hey now!” exclaimed Deyanira as she grabbed his arm.

 I sighed as Emma started encouraging my little fairy friend to relay what she was seeing to Maxine.

 “Maxine does not need help.” I stated.

 Maxine sounded curious as she said, “I’m not opposed.  There was something different in the image that time.  How are you doing this?  What is it I’m seeing?”

 “You don’t know?” teased Portentia.

 “I wanted to see if you could have a seeing-eye fairy!” exclaimed Emma.

 “A what?” she asked.

 Emma projected what she was seeing into all of our heads as she watched the little fairy.  Then she said, “I’m getting better, but I can’t keep this up for too long.”

 “Sight through magic?  Camila would be most interested in learning that as well.” commented Maxine.

 “I love your hair.  It’s so fluffy!” exclaimed Kayla, who had wondered closer to Maxine.

 I was trying to decide how to warn Jemal that Kayla probably shouldn’t spend time with Maxine when Kayla was suddenly repositioned back by her brother.

 “Sh-she’s… d-dangerous.” warned Raine, who was standing by them now.

 “Wow!” exclaimed Kayla.  “Can we do that again?”

 “Dangerous!?” exclaimed Jemal, eyeing Maxine as he hugged Kayla.  “How so?”

 “I’m not surprised.  Everyone here is dangerous.”  stated Dejon.

 “But when has Raine ever called someone dangerous?” argued Jemal.

 “Fair point.” he agreed.

 I quickly told them “Maxine has a nefarious background, so you should be wary of her motives, but I doubt she’d try to harm anyone here.  She’s like Portentia in that she heals instantly, but she can’t utilize any sort of magic.”  Looking to Portentia, I then asked “Can she fight?”

 Portentia grinned and said, “Not really.  She needs her gizmos.”

 “Do I get extra meals?” teased Cosette, who had been quietly observing everyone.

 “No!” exclaimed Portentia.  “There’s something weird about how she heals.”

 “No.  You’re the weird one.” argued Maxine.  “Don’t think I missed the strange shadows that follow you.”

 “Sh-she’s like… l-like… Ariadne’s m-magic.” muttered Raine.  “I feel it.”

 “Really?” inquired Alma.  “What do you feel from Portentia then?”

 “M-myself.” replied Raine.

 “Oh!” I exclaimed as realization hit me.  “Raine, would you mind doing a few hundred laps around the city for me?”

 She shrugged as Mila opened the doors behind me.  Raine was gone too quick for even my eyes, and I confirmed my suspicions. For a while now, I had felt something from Portentia, not just when she healed.  I never knew what I was feeling till now.  When Raine moved, some sort of energy inside Portentia moved as well.  Perhaps, the energy just moved more than normal.  The difference was very faint, but I could tell if I was focusing on it.

 “B-back.” stated Raine, stopping by me.

 Sighing, Maxine said, “Ha ha.  Trying to prank the blind girl?”

 “No.  Raine is that fast.” stated Alma.  “Let’s be off and take care of your tenant agreement before I’m late for the party.”

 “If we must.” replied Maxine.

 “Oh, we must!  I’m not missing the cake twice in one day!” insisted Aaliyah.

 Seeming to sense Aaliyah’s plight, the little fairy projected her experience when stealing some cake earlier.  The taste was exquisite as expected when Marco was involved.

 “James, can we talk for a bit?” asked Jarod.

  I nodded and followed him out, down a hall, and into one of the side rooms.  “What’s up?” I asked when we arrived.

 “Are you sure having Maxine here is a good idea?” he inquired.

 Shrugging, I said, “No, but I don’t want to cover her in iron and bury her somewhere either.  I doubt a jail would survive her even if they tried keeping her in solitary confinement.  Here, Mila will keep tabs on her, and plenty of us can easily overpower her physically if necessary, though I very much doubt she could get around Mila.”

 “I understand that, but… I suppose you’re right.” he admitted, obviously thinking things through.

 “You might even enjoy chatting with her, given her expertise.” I suggested.

 “Yes, I’m sure Ai and Mai will love that idea.  I will admit that Maxine’s brilliant.  I’m surprised you’re okay with this.” he told me.

 Shrugging, I said, “I assure you that I’ll be considering other options and will gladly take any from you as well.  Portentia didn’t give us warning before bringing Maxine home, but I can understand why when she didn’t feel comfortable leaving Maxine to the police.”

 “James, there’s a supervillain in your home.” stated Jarod with a straight face that quickly became an ear-to-ear grin.

 I nodded.  “Crazy to think how much has changed in a year.  I keep thinking about it and still find myself amazed.” I admitted.

 “I know.  Dude, I’m married already!  You’re going to be married soon.  We haven’t even been out of high school for a year.  We could have kids in another year.  Ever think about that?  Some little baby with superhuman powers wanting your attention.  How do you even go out with kids like we could have?  Imagine one throwing a tantrum in public.  Did you know they might not have their parents’ abilities?” he asked, rambling away.

 “Hold on.  What’s that about their abilities?” I asked.

 “So the Slayer family has some crazy lore, but Duncan can control air while Ai and Mai control water.  That’s not because of their parents, it’s apparently random.  The twins showed me some books discussing the abilities from different lines of the family.” he explained.

 “I wonder what the limits are.  Alma seemed interested in Jamal, Kayla, and Dejon’s abilities.” I commented.

 “Yeah, but those are from fey magic.  People descended from the Slayer family and fey typically get one or the other for magic, not both, but having that fey ancestry gives a high probability for the magic to reoccur.” he replied.

 “Lovely.  I wonder if my magic can be passed along.” I pondered, hoping for my children to be protected.

 “No idea, but having a kid who’s impervious to magic might be a bit of a pain if he or she also has Alma’s knack for magic.” warned Jarod as if he was reading my mind.

 “I can’t imagine that I’ll have kids for quite some time yet, so I’ll worry more about it after I see yours.” I told him.

 “Ever talk with Alma about it?” he questioned.

 “Well, no, but I don’t really think we need to yet.” I replied.

 “If you start thinking about something, you probably should start discussing it.  Seriously, man.  Better to find out if they’re ready to discuss something than to make assumptions and have it bite you.” he insisted, rubbing his arm.

 I nodded and smiled, wondering what Jarod had gotten himself into this time.  Things with Alma would probably progress more slowly on the kid front, but we would get there eventually.  What if she already had started planning baby names?  There was only one sure way to find out.

[obspogon]

Tldr; I listen to way too many podcasts. Skip to the very bottom of this long-ass post to see my top recommendations. Titles are links (this subreddit's css, doesn't make that obvious)I have loved podcasts for about 10 years, but for the last 3, due to my job, I have become a 40+ hour a week, power-listener. In that time my lists and recommendations have been very well-received on this sub, and since I'm leaving that job next month, I decided it was time to come up with a master list of my top recommendations across all categories.First of all: These are just my opinions. If your favorite show didn't make this list, don't get mad at me, just go ahead and shout it out in the comments. I put a lot of thought into the ranking, but if you ask me next week I'll probably have changed my mind on a lot of it.I have no qualifications to review podcasts except for the fact that I listen to way too many of them. Actually, the real reason I wanted to make this list was because I think the lists I've seen written by qualified reviewers are usually really bad, imo. I always feel like the reviewer has listened to like 60 podcasts, and is listing their top 50. I have no idea how many podcasts I've listened to but it's got to be in the thousands, and there are soooo many great shows out there, so I thought it's my duty to share.100 shows is actually only a subset of the shows I like. At first this list grew to over 200 and I was still thinking of more. So I decided to cut it at my favorite 100 and I added three criteria to help cull it down:It must be active: Some day I'll make a list of my favorite dead podcasts, but none are on this list.It must have at least 10 episodes: I think 10 episodes in is a decent trial period. If I've listened to less than that I don't feel comfortable recommending it. Also there's a trend right now of shows putting out one 8-10 episode season, and then just never renewing to a second season. So, if it has more than 10 episodes, I feel like it has staying power.It must be interesting for general audiences: Podcasts tend to be topical. That makes it a little tough to recommend them if I don't know you, because you might not be into the topic of the show. So I have only included shows that I think you don't need too much specific knowledge to enjoy (either because the topic is general, or because it's fun even for the non-initiated.)I'm sure at some point I screwed up on those rules, but they were the guidelines I was working from.Honorable Mentions: First here are some smaller podcasts that didn't quite make it into my top 100 but I still think you should check out:This is why you're single, Doughboys, Do By Friday, Hopefully We Don't Break-Up, Roundtable of Gentlemen, Mental Illness Happy Hour, Sleepycast, James O'Brien's Mystery Hour, Nocturne Podcast, Quirks and Quarks, Put Your Hands Together, Book Shambles, Sex & Other Human Activities, Singing Bones, A Taste of the Past, We Fact Up, The Bridge, Step By Stapp, Return Home, Movie Sign with the Mads, Save it for the Show, The F Plus, Next Picture Show, Be Here For a While, Code Breaker, GoosebudsOk, with no further ado . . .The List: In reverse order100. I Tell My Husband the News, A news-reporter reads current headlines to her husband, who is a comedian. Not exactly cutting edge satire, but I love this show for the hosts' chemistry. They are super in love and incredibly cute together. They just make me happy. And their banter is usually legitimately funny.99. You Must Remember This, True stories from old hollywood narrated over lush, old-fashioned movie music. The stories are great and give you a window into the crazy world of movies in the black and white era.98. 8-Bit Book Club, Three funny nerds read through old novelizations of video games. The books are ridiculous and the hosts make fun of them mercilessly. Great host chemistry. Tons of fun.97. Lore, Solo podcast exploring the stories and legends all around us. A tightly written and moodily produced show focused on the tall tales woven into our history.96. Longform, Long conversations with writers of non-fiction. Good host and really interesting conversations. A bit slow compared to most of my other podcasts, but satisfying.95. Superego, Very strange, slightly off-putting, free-association improv comedy. When it's bad it's just weird, when it's good it's magical.94. Our Fake History, Single host show exploring misconceptions and pseudo-history. Like a Hardcore History for things that didn't actually happen. Host is great and topics are usually very interesting.93. I Was There Too, Interviews with non-famous people who in some way worked on iconic scenes in famous movies. Fascinating if, like me, you have a love for pop-culture arcana.92. Shut Up and Sit Down, Four British comedians talk about and occasionally play board games. Lot of fun, and a lot of goofballery. I don't play a lot of boardgames, but I've bought several because these guys made them sound fun.91. I Saw That Years Ago, Two witty guys talk about movies they don't quite remember. The concept doesn't actually do much, this show is all about the chemistry between the hosts which is fantastic.90. Duncan Trussel Family Hour, Comedian Duncan Trussel invites guests on for long rambling conversations. Stands out for Duncan's odd choice of guests and the unique, weird nature of the conversations he engages them in.89. The Adventure Zone, Goofy brothers play Dungeons & Dragons. Took me several tries to get into this show (beginning's a little rough and I don't play D&D.) But I kept giving it chances because of some strong recommendations, and it does blossom into some really unique storytelling.88. Planet Money, Very NPR show about money and our world and the interplay between economics and our daily life. Fun and listenable in spite of the dreary subject matter. Has some really great education about dollars and cents that we really should all be listening to.87. Giant Bombcast, The crew of a gaming magazine get together and shoot the shit about games, life and everything in a long and rambling discussion.86. Burnt Toast, Conversations and researched features on food, food culture, and it's relationship to daily life. Lovingly produced and charmingly performed. An absoulte delight.85. Fireside Mystery Theatre, Storytelling and variety show done in front of a live audience. The stories are usually a lot of fun, and the theatre atmosphere adds a fun unique quality to it.84. Opening Arguments, A lawyer and a comedian chat about the law. Sort of like Star Talk, but for legal questions. The hosts perfectly hit the balance of informative and engaging. Law affects all our daily lives and it's something that most people know bupkis about, and I love that this show does a great job of making it accessible.83. Comedy Bang! Bang!, One of the old staples of podcasting. Loose format comedy show usually involving interviews followed by some light improv. Still a great show after all these years.82. The Black Tapes, Ghost stories, but in the form of a "non-fiction" journalistic podcast. Really well-told with a dark and brooding tone. A weaker second season has dropped it in my esteem but still great.81. Never Not Funny, Comedian plus celbrity guest ramble on about nothing in particular. Jimmy Pardo is a great host and has a wonderfully cutting sense of humor. One of the longest running big podcasts. Very rarely not funny.80. Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, Comedian Richard Herring does one-on-one interviews with comedians in which he asks them stupid and ridiculous questions. Throws out the formal interview format and just has fun. Having a big live audience elevates it.79. Rocket, A few tech journalists run a show about general geek topics, with an emphasis on tech. Perfect balance of smart informational chat and good host chemistry.78. We're Alive, Audiodrama about a Zombie infestation. Very good writing and acting and probably the best-produced serial scripted story podcast. Great use of tension throughout.77. Greg Proops Film Club, I've always loved Greg Proops' wacky smart-guy comedy, but his main podcast doesn't work for me as well as this one, where the theme of chatting about movies and geekery keeps him more on task. And through all the joking, he has a lot more interesting stuff to say than most of the serious movie podcasts.76. Harmontown, Comedy writer Dan Harmon plus friends talk nonsense and generally have fun. Mostly funny with occasional seriousness. Harmon is a great lovable asshole and the podcast format is perfect for him. Does fun and interesting things with the basic talk-show format.75. Smash Cut, Storytelling via dialogue collage. Wonderfully unique show that ranges from gripping to tragic to avant-guard. May be too weird for some, but hits a sweetspot for me.74. Desert Island Discs, Celebrities are interviewed with the same question: If you were stuck on a desert island, what five albums would you want to have with you. Mostly a conversation about music, but it expands into a bigger conversation about the guest's life and influences.73. No Such Thing As a Fish, The writers of a British trivia show go into depth on the obscure knowledge they've been researching and ramble on about arcane knowledge. Smart people chatting casually about smart things. Usually very interesting to listen to.72. Blank Check, Movie discussion pod that perfectly hits the balance between smart discussion and levity. The premise is talking about director's who get license to do whatever they want (the titular blank check), but it's really a pretty freewheeling conversation. Phenomenal chemistry between the hosts.71. The Future of Everything, Wall Street Journal's interesting impecabbly researched radio-style features on technologies and ideas that are pushing our world into an uncertain future.70. The Memory Palace, Bite sized stories from 18th - 20th century history, told with interest and pathos. Focusing on the human story behind the story of our recent past.69. The Orbiting Human Circus of the Air, Silly absurdist storytelling about a radio show that records in the Eiffel Tower. This show is not for everyone, but if it hooks you it is delightful and charming and always a joy to listen to.68. Imaginary Worlds, Serious discussions exploring the quirky little details of the worlds of popular fantasy and sci-fi franchises. Done as a host monologue, interspersed with interviews of experts and fans. I love the way he parses out interesting aspects of those worlds and tries to envision how they would really work.67. Hello From the Magic Tavern, Improv comedy set in a fantasy world with a diverse cast of funny improvisers playing far-out fantastical characters. Solidly funny and always fun to disappear into their goofy mythical world.66. The Joe Rogan Experience, Interview show with all types of guests. One of the most succesful podcasts in the world. It's a bit love-it-or-hate-it, and while I mostly love it, it can get on my nerves at times. Very hard for me to rank this one for that reason. But I must say Joe Rogan is a great interviewer and everyone should give it a try for themselves and find out which side they fall on.65. In Our Time, Big, heavy intellectual discussions of very serious topics in history, art and culture. This one might be a bit too smart for me, tbh, but I try and when I can hook into a topic it's immensely satisfying.64. Hello Internet, Two internet smart guys chat casually about smart and obscure subjects. There's actually not that much to this show, but the hosts are great and they have a very unique chemistry.63. The Infinite Monkey Cage, British-style panel show where a couple comedians and a couple scientists get together an tackle a difficult science topic and try to find answer. Unlike a lot of science shows, they don't shy away from talking actual science, but the chemistry of the hosts keeps the show always entertaining.62. Wolf 359, Narrative sci-fi podcast. Intriguing space travel story with a quirky sense of humor and good sound design to create a solid sense of atmosphere. Starts simple and blossoms into an awesome story.61. The Thrilling Adventure Hour, Comedians do a parody of an old-fashioned radio play in front of a live audience. So much fun. Best moments are when it breaks down. Was dead for a long time but there have been recent occasional releases so I'm considering it alive and putting it on this list.60. Doug Loves Movies, Comedian Doug Benson has several celebrity guests on each episode to talk movies and play games. The quintessential podcast for me. Slightly too lose and quirky to ever have worked as a radio show. Usually funny and always fun.59. a16z, Science and Tech podcast with interviews of actual scientists doing cutting edge work. Can be a bit dry, but I love how in depth it is, and that it doesn't dumb it down to a grade school level like a lot of similar shows.58. The Football Ramble, Four dudes with amazing chemistry talking bullshit and football (soccer) and just generally mocking each other and having a blast while doing it. I listen to a lot of sports podcasts but few are so good (and general-audience friendly enough) that I would recommend them to all podcast listeners. But this one is just tons of fun.57. Theory of Everything, Loose think-pieceish conversations about life and technology and the connections between things. Really interesting and well thought-out.56. The Truth, Short non-serial audio dramas. Stories range from serious to silly, often strange and off-kilter. Very well produced and performed, but the best part is the writing, which is awesomely creative and interesting.55. Reply All, One of many thinkpiece shows on this list. This one sets itself apart by focusing on internet-related stories. There's a whimsical nature to the hosts which gives the show a unique sort of charm.54. Spontaneanation, Paul F Tompkins has an interview with a famous person and then leads a long-form improv scene. Usually very funny simply because Tompkins is so funny.53. Candidate Confessionals, Interviews with losing candidates (or people who worked on losing campaigns) done as sort-of autobiographies telling the story of how a campaign fails. Fascinating deconstruction of politics from a new angle. Refreshingly honest at times.52. Mouth Time!, Absurdist show that parodies the vapid beauty mag culture but taken to the extreme. Part way between absurdism, improv comedy, and an actual pop cultuer podcast.51. The Black List Table Read, Audio performances of industry movie scripts that haven't gotten made. The concept is fabulous and the actors do a great job. Unique storytelling podcast with wonderful production. Some of the scripts are really great. Held back a bit by the fact that movie scripts aren't always written to be read out loud.50. 2 Dope Queens, Two sassy ladies host a comedy podcast with guests that chat with them or do their stand-up acts. Love the energy of the hosts. Generally great when the guests are good.49. Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, Two divinity professors use their techniques of scholarly bibilcal analysis on the Harry Potter books. Silly concept but they take it completely seriously. The result is part deep textual dive into the Potter-verse, and part reflection/conversation on life in general. Wonderfully introspective. Somehow both heavy and light at the same time.48. Monday Morning Podcast, Weekly show of the ramblings of comedian Bill Burr. Zero production or planning, just unfiltered Bill, who delivers the entire show in his trademark angry monologue. Usually funny, but that's not the reason it made this list: What makes this show stand out for me is its personal and honest nature. If you can get past Burr's abrassiveness, definitely worth a listen.47. The Adam Buxton Podcast, Comedian interviews celebrities. It's hard to stand out in this crowded genre, but this show does due to the host's magnetism and energy, and the quirkiness of the show's production, with little songs throughout (including the ads), and lots of silly digressions. And at it's heart, Adam is an excelent interviewer who gets a lot out of his guest.46. Anxious Machine, Introspective think-pieces about the human mind and how it works in human society. Usually done through interview intersperced with host commentary. The stories sit in a sweetspot between the personal and the general in a unique way.45. The Flop House, Three guys watch a bad movie and talk about it. The real joy, though, is in the constant flights of fancy when they say something dumb or misspeak that cascade into jokes that they follow to their logical conclusion. At its best it’s a top 10 podcast, but I feel like its lost some of its fastball lately, so its fallen on my list.44. Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast, I think Gottfried is one of the funniest guys in show business. This is his interview show, where he talks mostly to comedians, mostly about comedy. If you can handle his voice, it's a really wonderful show.43. Laser Time, Friends shooting the shit is probably the most common podcast genre, and one that I listen to a lot of, but not a lot of those made this list because while they may be listenable, they are rarely notable. Laser Time is a major exception in that the chemisty of the hosts and the odd specificity of the pop culture arcana they talk about makes the show consistently fun and fascinating.42. How did this get Made?, Three comedians and a guest review bad films. This show might be lost among the sea of decent/good comedy podcasts if not for the work of Jason Mantzoukas, who is imo the funniest man in podcasting.41. This Feels Terrible, Comedienne interviews other comedians about dating and love and relationships. Host has a lovely easy style that is good for getting people talking about really personal stuff. Has great chemistry with most guests.40. Beef and Dairy Network Podcast, Comedy podcast pretending (with a completely straight face) to be an actual beef and dairy specialty pod. The result is very high-quality absurdist comedy.39. Here's The Thing, Alec Baldwin interviews celebrities. The tone is very NPR but Baldwin keeps it a bit tighter than your average radio show. TBH, most of the time when a famous person decides they want a podcast the show ends up sucking hard, but Baldwin is a charming and natural host and consitently gets great guests. I know some people hate this show but I find it consistently great.38. My Favorite Murder, Two entertaining women talk through and dissect the details of a real-life grisly murder and generally try and figure out whodunit. Keep it pretty light considering how serious the subject matter is but it works because of how fun and interesting the hosts are. (Though it is guilty of my biggest podcast pet-peeve: Taking forever to start the show.)37. The Bugle, News and Politics satire with an absurdist twist. Three years ago this was a top-5 podcast for me and then they went on a long hiatus and lost John Oliver. Still great and slowly working its way back up the ranks.36. Guys We Fucked, Filthy comedy show that's secretly a positive look at serious issues relating to sexuality. The hosts have a good time and keep it light. Their chemistry makes the show great.35. Common Sense, Very heady current events discussion from an outside-the-box perspective. The host is a provocateur who tries to challenge your preconceptions about government and society. I don't always agree with him but he always opens my eyes at the gaps in my own thinking.34. Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell's odd little examinations of historical events from a new perspective are fantastic. The first season was very well-thought out, although still finding it's voice. I was very glad that it returned in time to have enough episodes to make itself elligible for this list.33. Love + Radio, Interesting people tell their stories in extended, tightly edited interviews. The people are usually non-famous people who have done remarkable things in their lives. Good production and good stories.32. 99% Invisible, Little think pieces about design and it's role in our everyday life. Impecably researched and always interesting, with a wonderfully charming delivery from its host.31. The Hilarious World of Depression, Comedian interviews comedians about depression and how it shapes their lives. Genius concept that perfectly hits the sweetspot of using humor to enlighten dark subjects. Fairly new and still finding its feet, but already one of my favorite shows.30. Radiolab, Reporters explore fascinating and mysterious stories usually in the realm of science and nature and wind their way to answers in a series of tightly cut together interviews. Really tightly produced (sometimes too much so) and very well researched, this show is one of the most iconic podcasts in the medium.29. Death, Sex & Money, Very personal stories about the big decisions in everyday people's lives, done in interviews in a journalistic style. Very heavy sometimes, but really great. Really digs into the real stuff in people's lives.28. You Made it Weird, Very long in-depth celebrity interviews with comedian Pete Holmes as host. A mirror-universe version of WTF, with a young-happy host rather than an angry older one. This doesn't have the same bite as WTF, but it replaces it with a wonderful sense of joy. Both hosts have mastered the art of the long interview.27. Reveal, Serious journalism, but with a slightly more of a conversational tone and more production to make it a more entertaining version of a news show. Nevertheless, the subject matter is heavy, and often deadly serious.26. Overdue, A couple funny dudes talk through great classic novels while riffing and making jokes. Spot-on chemistry and a perfect combination of high-brow art and low-brow comedy.25. Relic Radio, I love that podcasts are bringing back the audiodrama, an artform basically dead for forty years. But few of the new ones can match the originals, back when there was a big industry of daily and weekly shows and hundreds of professional actors and writers churning them out. Relic Radio lovingly curates from over 30 years of successful but forgotten shows to present them to a modern audience. The stories, while old-fashioned, are amazing, well-performed and fully produced with original music.24. Savage Lovecast, Call-in advice show about love, sex and life. Whet sets it apart is the kind and charismatic host, who has a gift for cutting to the heart of complex questions. Advice shows are a bit overdone, but he manages to elevate the format with his frankness and his ability to connect the problems we have in our loves, to larger questions we have about our selves.23. Crimetown, In depth audio documentary on organized crime in a big city (season 1 was on Providence.) Really well told story that feels tight and informative, while staying entertaining, mostly because the stories themselves are so engaging.22. Modern Love, Essays and stories about love in the modern world, read by famous actors. The pieces themselves are incredible, both joyful and heart-wrending. They often interview the author after, which sometimes makes me wish they would just have the author read it (due to the personal nature of the stories.)21. Wooden Overcoats, Scripted comedic audiodrama about competing funeral homes on a small British island. Very witty. Wonderfully funny and charming. Has probably the best character voice acting in scripted podcasts.20. Invisibilia, This podcast describes itself somewhat grandly as exploring the invisible things that shape everyday life. What it is, is a damn good radio-style interview think-piece show, with an emphasis on the patterns of human behavior. I love the light touch that the hosts give to the show. With a penchant for giving more questions than answers (in a good way).19. The Best Show with Tom Scharpling, Cult show that started in radio over a decade ago and slowly got weirder as it went. It's an ironic impersonation of a radio call-in show. This is definitely not for everyone; many of you will hate this show. But if you like it you will likely end up loving it. The host is a mad genius of twisting the radio format without ever totally breaking it. Best known for insulting and abusing his call-in listeners.18. WTF, An angry old comedian interviews famous people in great depth. Marc Maron's gift is in getting people speaking from the heart, and in breaching personal subjects that don't usually get talked about in interviews. WTF is often funny, usually fascinating and occasionally heartbreaking.17. Alice Isn't Dead, Weird, creepy, wonderfully produced and performed fictional story about a woman on a journey to find someone she lost. Uniquely moody and moving. Poetic to the point that it might be considered self-indulgent, so it might not be for everyone. But if you dive in, it's an incredible journey.16. The Moth, Personal stories told by a wide set of writers in front of a live audience. Usually funny and often touching in a smart-NewYorker-piece sort of way. Curated from a larger set of stories, and it shows: The stories are more consistently good than most of these types of shows.15. The Church of What's Happening Now, Comedian Joey Coco Diaz plus guest (usually comedians) trade life-stories. Diaz is really funny, as are most of his guests, but what stands out is Diaz's unique comedic voice and how he can talk about the really heavy stuff in his life in a funny way. And he is just overflowing with stories. He has had a crazy life.14. Strangers, Tough, beautiful personal stories examined in interviews with leather-voiced Lea Thau (I mean that in a good way: love her voice, it's like a smoked Nina Simone). It's like little audio documentaries about everyday people who have been through extraordinary personal turmoil. Beautiful stories, beautifully told.13. The Mortified Podcast, Grown-ups read their childhood journals to a live audience along with embarassing stories and memories about being kids. On one level it's really funny to hear their skewed childhood perceptions but also there's something amazingly cathartic about sharing in the embarassment. At least for me, being able to laugh at it makes me feel better about my own messed up childhood, and realize that all the stuff I was trying to hide, is the exact same stuff that everyone else was feeling as well.12. Snap Judgment, Great true-stories told by the people who lived through them, over some sick beats and tight riffs, all pulled together by my favorite host in podcasting.11. Here Be Monsters, Wonderful stories about suffering and hate and love and all the crazy things that are going on in the human soul. Told mostly through solo interviews with lightly intersperced music and production. The show is very heavy, but very listenable and very real.10. The Film Reroll, Rotating crew of actors and comedians pick a famous movie and improvise a new version of it with license that anything can happen. Hilarity ensues. The new movies are sublime and ridiculous and often better than the original. They use a dice system to run their stories like a game so they can't decide in advance what will happen. Brilliant concept, perfectly executed. Probably the most pure fun in podcasting.9. This American Life, Pastiche of stories about the American experience, told in a jounalistic style through interviews. Sometimes sad, sometimes joyful, always interesting. Many smarter things have been said about this show than I can say. Many of the podcasts on this list are in response to or immitation of This American Life, but the original continues to be one of the best examples of the format.8. Risk!, Similar to the Moth, people come on to tell their personal stories. I go back and forth between the two of them as to which I like more. Where the Moth has stories that are more cleverly written, this show feels more real and visceral. The storytellers are less likely to be writers, so we get less polished stories. But this show ultimately gets the nod for me with going to dark places of profound personal drama. Varies greatly in tone from episode to episode, but has been consistently great for a long time now.7. My Dad Wrote a Porno, A host and his two friends go chapter-by-chapter through his dad's erotic novel, constantly disecting and laughing about the bizarre and terrible writing. This might honestly be the funniest show in podcasting right now. And while it's mostly light-hearted humor, there's something very compelling about the bizarre view into a man's relationship with his father that comes out from the show's premise.6. Beautiful/Anonymous, Long phone conversations with anonymous callers who tell personal stories about their lives. The host is a comedian, but he doesn't try to be funny most of the time, keeping a balance between respecting the story and injecting levity when needed. Brilliantly simple yet unique concept and executed perfectly.5. Welcome to Nightvale, Bizarre, absurdist poeetry, delivered hypnotically in the form of a local radio bulletin, mixed with wonderful music for ambience and as breaks in the main show. Welcome to Nightvale is honestly pretty hard to describe. It's funny and dark and compelling and weird all at once. It's completely unique, and it's definitely not for everyone, but if it's for you, it's can be transformative.4. Song Exploder, Musicians break down the making of their songs, pulling out and explaining individual tracks and showing you how the song works piece by piece and ultimately how they work. Lovely and unique podcast for music lovers and noobies alike.3. PRI's the World, You could argue this is the best show in podcasting and it's basically a news show, but not your typical cable news fare. Reporters go around the globe and go in depth with local topics and how they affect the world and what they mean to all of us. These are all human stories, with all the pathos and weight of great fiction, but done in interview with real people. Heavy show but very listenable in spite of the seriousness.2. Criminal, Stories at the extremes of the human experience, told through interviews in a semi-journalistic style. Perfect blend of story-telling and introspection. Captures these wonderfully twisted stories with a matter-of-fact style that succeeds in putting you in the shoes of the people in the stories, and make you reconsider your preconceptions about the topic. Love the pacing and music on this show as well. Perfectly produced.1. Hardcore History, Powerful stories from the past, told passionately and intelligently. Dan Carlin has a gift for the dramatic, keeping the narrative human and personal while still showing you the great sweep of history. At its heart it's just great epic storytelling, you could easily forget that it's technically learning. But then he'll make some point that makes you realize these were real people with real feelings, and these stories created the world as we live in it. This show awakened in me a totally new understanding of our world. In spite of how many podcasts I listen to, it was pretty easy to choose which one I feel is the best. Warning: very long episodes.EDIT: Formatting via /r/podcasts