#gren is great

[sillyzombiedelusion]

jon x sam isn’t more popular bc fandom are cowards but i suffer from no such affliction

[fierykitten2]

I’m just gonna say it: the Galar starters have really cool shinies

[ruthari-preacher]

Random shit about season 6:

Runaan was shirtless and it was great

Sick Soren was not what I was expecting

Damien looks hot

That was his name right

Aaravos's backstory was amazing and was NOT expecting him to have a daughter

VIRENS FUCKING DEAD

Refuse to believe it

Runaan

Those mushroom things were adorable

Gren was so adorable 🥰

THEYRE MARRIED AÀAAAAAAAAA

Aaravos said the word daddy

Claudia pulled a motherfucking Izzy Hands

I'm sorry but we needed more Terry

Their mum was honestly right to leave and I will stand by that. What happened with Viren must of been terrifying for her

I can't remember names but I really liked the future elf dudes sister

Shirtless

Soren and Corvus were such cute little buddies

Stella and sneezles are such fucking match makers

I was honestly kinda half expecting the frozen ship to be a ghost ship just because of the fact that door kept swinging closed again

It was wishful thinking

Runaan taught Rayla that lullaby and you can't convince me otherwise

Shirtless Runaan

The mushrooms to me were the equivalent of the seaslug and those pompom stick together things

This season really rolling out the angst isn't it

Loved Viren from the first episode

Ruthari even though they weren't even on screen together apart from the flashback of them smoochies

I'm done for now

[betterwithbooksthanwithpeople]

“The Great Bookery” is truly THE Dragon Prince episode of all time. the main plot is going to a cursed library. Gren actually on screen for more than a few seconds. super booknerd Kazi. Bait both being used as a paperweight and thrown like a football in the same episode. Amaya’s apology and advice to Rayla that leads into tHE ARC ONE RAYLLUM MONTAGE. Rayla telling Callum about her parents?! Amaya picking Callum up when he won’t stop reading and Callum interpreting for Amaya. fighting shadow monsters. “I hope you know-” “I know”?! Zubea saving the day. “GO”?!? CORVUS SIGNING. so much season six setup. it even has Karim being an idiot. what’s not to love

[zofi-persson-quotes]

Red: Hey, Green, are you free on Friday? Like around eight?

Green: Yeah.

Red: And you, Purp?

Purple: Umm... yes?

Red, already getting out of the room: Great! Because I'm not. You two go out without me. Enjoy your date!

Gren, bewildered: Did he just-

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

The season is kind of a blur for me at the moment, and I'm sure I'll have a lot more to talk about as I rewatch it more slowly and with less hysteria, but here are my current overall thoughts! Under the cut for spoilers

Beginning with the things I liked, because there were many of them:

The voice acting was phenomenal. Everything with Claudia? Soren's tirade at Viren? Every single speech of Janai's? Top tier. I've rarely been moved by a performance as much as I was this season

Additionally: the music was on another level, especially in the final episodes. It made already-breathtaking scenes absolutely haunting, and I'm praying they do another soundtrack release soon

I adored everything about the janaya wedding. Their outfits were so good, their expressions were so full of love, and their speeches were absolutely adorable. I also loved Kasi and Gren as officiants, Gren's little "what are they going to do? Come with an army?" joke made me cackle. (Also: hearing "and her wife, Queen Amaya" made me cheer so loudly my throat still hurts a day later)

I've been a passive sorvus shipper since season 4, but episode 2 ratcheted that up about ten levels. Every one of their interactions was so good, I love how they have the stoic/silly dynamic but also establish that Soren understands Corvus's sense of duty and Corvus has just as much of a ridiculous streak as Soren. They have to get together next season, please please please

Rayla and Callum! Back together at last!! And we have (hopefully) a full season of them being together to look forward to after this. It was really nice to see them fully on the same page at last, and the mix of ease and nervousness in their affection felt really cute and authentic

Speaking of things I've been waiting for forever: RUNAAN IS FINALLY FREE. I'm so happy that plotline was finally resolved, and I'm very intrigued about where he's going to go from here in regards to his relationships with Ethari, Rayla, and Callum. I really like that they addressed how he treated Rayla during their last encounter and established how deeply he regrets it

In general, I really liked how many loose ends we came back to this season. It was great to get the whole story of Viren, Lissa, Soren, and Kpp'Ar, especially for people who haven't read the comics or novelizations. I was thrilled to see Aanya again and loved her prowess in battle and her friendship with Ezran

I love that Claudia's hair actually looks like it got cut by a knife. No magically even cut for her. Somehow she really pulls it off, though, so good for her

Things I wasn't as much of a fan of:

I wish we had gotten to see Callum and Rayla actually talk the whole leaving-for-two-years thing out. Callum seems to think he was in the wrong for giving Rayla the cold shoulder when she first came back, but in my eyes he did have a right to be upset, and I wish they would acknowledge that. I was thrilled when they got back together, but I think it would have landed a little better for me if I felt like their "breakup" had been fully resolved

Has Sol Regem's mate ever been brought up before? It felt like a weird thing to pull up in the middle of the climax. His scene with Aaravos was written and presented very powerfully, but I didn't really feel the impact of it because I was busy going "where did this come from?"

And finally, this is really just a nitpick, but if you wear a blindfold for your entire life, you will not be able to suddenly see when you take it off because your brain doesn't know how to translate the shapes and light around you into cognitive images. I know I can suspend my disbelief, it just kind of bugged me

Overall, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and I think it was the most completely engrossed by a season so far. I'm begging and pleading for season 7 to be released sooner rather than later, because I need more and I need it now

[blnova180]

The Bad Sandwiches 2

This story contains: multiple sick characters, male and female, with descriptive belly rumbles, vomit, scat and diarrhea!!!

Sci-fi setting: In a world where humans and robots are at war with each other, during a rare moment of armistice, the base comes under attack by a bad case of food poisoning.

(Different characters from last time, and yet, my naming skills still suck -- read part 1 for more context.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Private Vez left the canteen in a hurry, throwing her empty tray to the ground. She couldn't stand Gren and her stupid group of friends, especially Nares. He was always tripping over himself trying to impress her.

Vez wiped her eyes, heading for the bathroom. Back at the academy, she wanted nothing more than to be Gren's friend, to just breath the same air as her; now she hated being stuck in the same unit. If it wasn't for Commander Spree, she would've sent in a request to be transfer a long time ago.

Sniffing, she pulled a couple paper towels out of the dispenser, getting them damp before running them through her hair. It was twenty minutes before she got the worst of the tuna chunks out. Her eyes burned with shame. Vez didn't know why she let them walk all over her, why everyone always seemed to be on Gren's side.

Prefect, stupid, beautiful Gren. Vez sighed, knowing all too well, no matter how hard she wished, Gren would never see her as more than a stepping stood, a target. A stray tear dripped down her cheek, the sound of hushed laughs echoing in her ears. Vex wiped it away, a long with the memory of Nares tripping her, making her fall into her stupid tuna sandwich.

Taking a few breaths, Vez left the bathroom in a rush, surprised when she realized she'd bumped into Spree.

"Commander! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you."

Spree looked down at her, eyes narrowed.

"Private. You smell like tuna," she commented.

Vez bit her lip. "Yes. Sorry, I- There was an accident in the canteen."

Spree raised her eyebrows. "The canteen... You just came out of the bathroom, are you sick?"

"No? I don't think so..." Vez looked at her curiously. "Why, is something going on?"

"We've got a bit of a situation," Spree sighed. "The tuna sandwiches they served today were expired. I'm checking on our unit, a few people have already turned up sick at the med-bay. Did you..?"

"I didn't eat it," Vez said quickly, suddenly very glad she dodged that bullet.

"Good," Spree said. "I need you help me check up on the others. I already took Warin, Standin and Jet, down. Have you seen lieutenants Fleck and Hade?"

"Um... They might've gone to the training room," Vez said. "Who should I look for?"

"Find Gren and Nares," Spree called out over her shoulder, already walking down the hall. "If you find anyone else who's sick, make sure they get to the med-bay!"

Vez gave a salute and turned on her heels.

She really didn't want to look for Gren and Nares, but her commander had given her an order. She could only hope they hadn't eaten any tuna sandwiches.

An hour later, after directing a couple people she found throwing up in the hall to the med-bay, assuring them as best she could that it happening to others; Vez finally located Gren and Nares in one of the private study halls. They were watching an old tape from one of the early Robot Wars, sitting on bean-bag.

The foul smell that hit her when she opened the door, alerted Vez what she worried about was true. It didn't seem the other two had noticed their own gas, though Gren was subtlety rubbing her stomach.

"Oh great, just what I needed," Gren said when she noticed Vez. "What do you want?"

"Commander Spree, uh, um, well, she said..." Vez shuffled her feet.

Nares roles his eyes. "What? Spree said what? Get on with it already, can't you see we're busy?"

Vez took a deep breath. "The tuna sandwiches were expired, if you ate it, you have to report to the med-bay."

Gren and Nares stared at her incredulously.

"You're kidding," Gren said, her hand freezing on her belly.

"No, I ran into some sick people on my way here," Vez said. "Spree told me to look for you guys."

Nares placed his hand on his own stomach, giving Gren a worried look.

Gren groaned. "Oh, fine, let's go. It's probably nothing anyway. Come on."

Vez trailed awkwardly behind them has they made their way down to the med-bay. She knew they probably didn't want her there, but Spree told her to escort them, so she had to.

Gren and Nares' stomachs were starting to make more audible noises the further they went, gurgling and burbling unpleasantly. Vez tried to ignore it, because they were acting like nothing was happing anyway. That was, until Gren suddenly stopped, putting a covering her mouth as she burped wetly.

"Uuuurrrrppp~ Bathroom," was all she said, making a b-line for the nearest one.

Vez, followed her in, Nares just behind her, clutching his own gut.

"Gren... can't you hold it in?" he begged, "If you puke, I think I'm gonna-"

It was too late, Gren slumped over the nearest sink and heaved.

"Bleeaaargh! cough- cough Bleargghhh~"

As soon as she started to vomit, Nares shot into a stall, and Vez saw him shiver, before projectile vomiting onto the toilet.

"Urp-hic- bleaaaarrrhghhhhh!"

Ignoring his predicament, Vez got a scrunchy out her pocket and tied Gren's hair back.

"Bleeagghhh~"

Gren groaned, running her hands up and down her tummy.

"Hic- oh, God, that hurts," she complained. She pulled up her shirt. "Ugh, my stomach is killing me... do I look bloated to you?"

Vez looked down, noticing her stomach did look rather distended.

"Yeah, kind of. Uh, do you want to rest for a bit before we keep going?"

Gren wiped some sweat from her face. "Yes. Just give me a second to catch my breath..."

She went to the stall next to Nares', sitting down on the toilet.

"Bleegh- ugh-uuurrrp-blaaarrrrrrrrrhhhgh!"

From the other stall, Vex could hear Nares still throwing up, and she could see he was kneeling on the floor now.

Grrrrll. Gwwwwup.

Gren moaned as her stomach gurgled boisterously. She rubbed her belly harder with big circles.

Braaappp. Brrrt. Pfff~

"No- no, I can't- I can't hold it!"

Vez and Gren shared a look as Nares farted wetly. He hadn't moved from his spot on the floor, and Vez could hear it when his farts started pushing out something more than just gas.

Ksshhhh. Prrrrtttt. Brap. BRAAAAPPPP. BlllRRRRppp!

Based on his grunts and sobs, not to mention the smell, it became obvious his poor belly hadn't been able to hold back any more, and Nares was sick from his other end too. Which, unfortunately, was ending up in his pants.

Clearly not wanting something similar to happen to her, Gren rushed to loosen her belt and drop her pants. Her tummy growled warningly.

And Vez was left to stare in shock, as perfect Gren's bloated stomach shuddered, before a monster fart escaped her.

BRAAAAPPPPPPP!

It barely had time to echo in the toilet, before chunks of soft and watery poop were forcing their way out of her too.

"Uuugghh..." She skewered her eyes shut, farting again.

Pooot~

"Go, check on Nares," Gren panted.

Feeling like she'd probably already witnessed the worst of it, Vez walked into the next stall. Nares had managed to get his pants down to his knees, but it wasn't any help, because there was still a trickle of brown liquid dripping from the back of his stained underwear.

"I don't feel so good," he whispered weakly.

Phhwwrrraaghh~

His tummy roared and he shot up to puke again.

"Bleeaagh- uuurp- BLEAARRRGHHHH~"

Gingerly, Vez made her way over to him, patting his back.

"It's alright, just get it out. You're fine, it'll be okay," Vez said sympathetically, noticing he was crying.

She handed him some toilet pater to wipe his face.

"I really don't feel good," he panted when it was over.

"I know," Vez said. "We're going to the med-bay, come on."

Swallowing, Nares pulled up his pants, trying not to look down.

"I need another minute," Gren grunted from her stall. "I've got the runs."

Sprrtttt, brrrrllt, BRAPP.

After another minute, she emerged and they started making their way to the med-bay again. They walked in relative silence until they reached the med-bay doors.

"Hey, uh," Gren glanced at Nares, then Vez. "We're, well, sorry about earlier. Thanks, for helping us."

"Sorry," Nares echoed, holding his aching belly.

"Yeah, well I'm pretty glad I didn't each lunch now," Vez said.

The doors opened and Spree came out, glancing over at them.

"Oh, Private Vez, I see you brought them here. Well done." Spree patted Gren and Nares' shoulders as she passed. "You two head on in, Fleck and Hade got sick too. Take care. I expect to see you all Friday morning."

"Aye..."

"Thanks, Commander..."

Gren and Nares both saluted her weakly before heading inside.

Spree waited for the doors to close before laying an arm around Vez's shoulders and leading her away.

"I swear, if something like this ever happens again, I'll be quitting so fast, Command will have to triple my pay before I ever agree to come back. Robots could blow up half the base, and I'd still say no until they agree to pay me more." She winked at Vez. "Don't tell anyone I said that."

"I won't," Vez assured her. "If I could, I would too."

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Spree said. "You're tough. You'll make it soon enough. Keep up the good work."

"Aye!"

Vez saluted her. With one last glance over her shoulder, she followed her commander.

[goldenwing57]

Ok, so since it's looking like there MIGHT be a POSSIBILITY that Leola actually gets revived, there are 2 things I must discuss. The first one is that everyone adopts her. Both the Magefam (Claudia and Terry don't really have a choice, she's literally Aaravos's daughter, but they have no complaints) and Dragang + allies. That leads to the second thing: who falls victim to Leola’s adoraburr eyes?

Let's start with the Magefam:

Aaravos - He's her dad, so he has experience, meaning he should be immune, right? Wrong. It turns out that one's immunity fades when they go for centuries without exposure. He's strong, but he goes down.

Claudia and Terry - They love cute things, and that includes Leola. They go down easy.

Soren - grew up with Claudia, who often used them on Viren. Unfortunately, that doesn't help him.

On to the Moonfam:

Rayla - May as well have invented that look. She has perfected it and it doesn't faze her in the slightest. If anyone needs backup to help them stand firm, they bring her in.

Runaan- Stoic and strong, he managed to survive Rayla and rarely gave in. Leola is no different.

Ethari - Doesn't stand a chance. As soon as she starts the little head tilt, he's down.

The Broyals:

Neither Callum nor Ezran have any experience, therefore, they have no immunity. Callum develops some, but it takes a while. Ezran crumbles like a leaf.

Everyone else:

Corvus - Like Runaan, stoic and strong. He's not falling for it.

Opeli - Caves once in a while, but not really. It wasn't long ago that Ezran went through that phase.

Barius - I headcanon him as a dad to adult children, one of whom is a daughter with a small daughter of her own. He was once immune, but that has faded slightly.

Zubeia - Zym was at his smallest and cutest just about a year ago and all it took to get him in line was a Look. The Look can cross species.

Janaya - They're both strong, but once in a great while, the Adoraburr Eyes are stronger.

Kazi and Gren are not strong.

Aanya falls and learns that they can be quite effective. She now uses them on some of her older advisors.

[baatarthefirst]

There's something here I don't think we've talked about.

Now this is not a discussion of who was right or wrong. Their situations were different and they both handled it to the best of their abilities/means.

What we haven't talked about is helping people against their will.

Callum's brother/friends were willing to lose a hand to prevent Callum from using dark magic. Rayla specifically told him not to do it again. Does that make him wrong to do it? Well, he didn't have many great options or time, being trapped on a ship with a coldblooded pirate who's using Rayla for bait at that very moment.

Amaya was not willing to give up the sun seed because she knew Janai valued it more than her own life. But since Karim was not right there and Janai was still a bargaining chip, there was time to formulate a plan before he even knew something was wrong.

The question is what would they do in each other's situations?

If Callum had time to plan a daring escape, would he still use dark magic? If Amaya was put in a split second decision between Janai's life or the seed, would she still keep it? The short answer is, we don't know.

I think we can safely assume that Callum would try for the rescue. And we would naturally assume that Amaya would not hand over the seed due to Janai's wishes/the greater good. BUT, we don't know know that for sure.

We've seen Amaya put the greater good above her family before when she left for the Breach instead of going after her nephews...but she didn't have to write them off, either. We've never seen her back against the wall when deciding the fate of her loved ones, there's always been that third option. Let the invaders in or give up on nephews? Naw, Corvus is tracking them and Gren can lead a rescue team. Lose Janai or keep the sun seed/future of the Sunfire? Nope, go in disguise and rescue her.

So now I'm curious if Amaya would make a decision closer to Callum's? Would she help Janai against her will, breaking her heart by loosing the future of her people, if she had two options like her nephew had?

[bleach-is-yummy]

Okay was it just me or was the wedding between Amaya & Janai done really badly.

Firstly, I just like to say I’m not deaf but over the last couple years I’ve been trying to learn ASL, through college courses and personal research, as I think it’s a really important language for a lot of people to learn. I haven’t been the greatest at it but I’ve been learning more and more steadily as well as learning a lot about the culture through both my deaf professors and some firsthand experiences from other deaf people. 

Having said this watching Amaya and Janai’s wedding this season had me absolutely stunned by how terribly they did my girl Amaya. Don’t get me wrong Ive hardcore shipped both of them since they’ve met but the accessibly of that wedding was just awful. It was so bad I had to go back to Amayas Wikipedia page to make sure I didn’t misunderstand and she was just mute as it would have been impossible for her to have understood anything that was evening said throughout that entire wedding.

No one was signing to her! At first I thought maybe Gren was in her line of sight signing from the background, but then we saw him step out from behind her meaning no one was signing or interpreting for her that entire time! That’s not even to mention that her wife, the person that she is going to swear herself to didn’t even bother to sign her vows meaning that she had to lipread the entire time! I have learned from firsthand accounts that lip reading is an incredibly inconvenient and inaccurate way to have a conversation with people who cannot hear! For God sake, her own interpreter didn’t even sign his speech!! he even had to read out her speech to her wife meaning not only does Janai not speak sign language the primary language her wife uses, but also cannot read it for the most part as well.

Now I probably cannot sign or understand sign that much better than Janai can but then again I am not marrying someone who is deaf! Why did the show runners not have her at least get a rudimentary grasp on the language her wife speaks. If it was an issue with the audience understanding what was being said then why didn’t she just sign along with her speech? I’m am in absolute awe because they usually handled Amaya’s deafness really well but for this wedding it was handled so poorly. She was even facing away from most of the people that were talking making it impossible for her to have gleaned any amount of information from anyone. She had people talking in front of her and she had people talking to her while their mouths were covered or while they were looking down. 

I don’t know if I’m blowing this out of proportion or misunderstanding things, but I feel like this wedding could’ve been done so much better if they made it accessible for both parties involved. To me it didn’t feel romantic. It felt like something they put in because the audience wanted these two to get married. It wasn’t something that I was awing at despite shipping these two for so long I really wanted this wedding to be something great and beautiful but the whole time I was just yelling at the screen because how could this be romantic for Amaya, she probably couldn’t even make out most of the things being said. No steps were taken to make this feel like an accessible wedding and it just ruins that whole scene for me. 

[thesiltverses]

have you done/will you ever do liveshows? and if you have, where can one find recordings?

We did one liveshow rendition of Chapter 4 back in 2021 at the London Podcast Festival (a host's recording of which can be found on our Patreon, although I don't know how good the quality is).

Méabh very kindly flew over to play Carpenter. Ella Watts of Doctor Who: Redacted and Camlann fame was organising the festival and very kindly recommended two fantastic actors for Charity and Gareth - Gryph, who we went on to work with as Shrue, and Pip, who played Hayward's unfortunate friend Gren in Season 2 Episode 3.

It was great fun, although it's not something we've done more of - for the obvious reason that we and our core cast are split between the UK, Ireland, and all across the USA so it's not particularly easy to arrange and we're not quite at the selling-out-stadiums stage of our popularity!

[a-very-sparkly-nerd]

TDPtober

Day 2: Love

Let the record state that Rayla had done the impossible many times before. She’d start listing, but that would take hours.

She could probably take on the Katolian soldiers armed with every kind of weapon under the sun surrounding her, especially with Runaan’s help–despite his newly-awakened pacifist side, which she couldn’t really blame him for–but that really wouldn’t look good, not when she’d been arrested before and Runaan was the elf who’d killed their king.

“When I give the signal, we’ll run,” she whispered to Runaan. She could change the plan; get him to the Silvergrove, and by the time she got back, Callum would surely be here, able to order the Crownguard to stand the hell down.

“What’s the signal?”

“Me screaming really loud.”

“Good signal.”

“Thanks.”

Rayla crouched, readying her already-unsheathed blades and stepping in front of Runaan. The soldiers closest, wielding swords, began to rush her, and she leapt into the air. More started to rush a newly-exposed Runaan, and Rayla opened her mouth to give the signal despite the wind being knocked out of her lungs, when a trumpeting horn and galloping hooves cut her off.

“Stand down,” a familiar masculine voice boomed. The troops parted for General Amaya in all her shiny-armored, muscular glory, her face set as she signed furiously while dismounting Aegis. Commander Gren stood to her side, watching and interpreting. “If anyone touches a hair on this elf's head, answering to me will be the least of your worries.”

Bows were hastily un-notched, swords sheathed, and postures at ease.

Rayla stumbled back to shield Runaan, but then held still as Amaya and Gren approached her, trying not to look suspicious regarding Runaan. Y’know, because he'd killed their king and all.

That wouldn't be a great icebreaker.

“Callum’s back in Katolis,” she started, too uncomfortable with the silence. “He went there and I came here. We, um- we agreed.” If you ever hurt my nephew Callum again, I will kill you.

“King Ezran went back, too,” Gren informed her, glancing back to Amaya's racing hands. “They'll likely have met up. We have to assume the best.”

“I thought it was ‘assume the worst’?”

She cracked a smile.

“Optimism is necessary, too, Rayla.”

“Listen,” she started. “I'm doing my best to keep him safe. I'd never-”

General Amaya crouched down to make eye contact, gripping her shoulders in a way that was probably gentle to her, but objectively the exact opposite. Rayla stiffened, bracing for her to make good on her promise. But-

“Are you alright?”

She blinked and would've stumbled back in surprise if not for the death-grip. “What?”

“Are you alright?” Her signing was careful and delicate, at least to Rayla’s untrained eyes, and Gren’s voice equally soft and soothing.

She forced herself to look into those dark brown eyes, holding so much love and patience and concern. The way Ezran and Callum looked at her.

Rayla looked away, suddenly choked up, and wiped at her face with her arm. “Yes. I- I’m okay.”

“Good.”

She looked back, just not at the general. Just at the very interesting grass between her steel-toed boots. “You're really not…” Mad? Furious? Disappointed? Upset?

But the latest queen of New Aurea didn't punch her, didn't sign-yell at her, didn't anything other than shake her head and promise, “There's been way too much fighting and anger lately. You're my niece and I love you, and I'm so glad you're okay.”

That… It wasn't what she'd been expecting. For Callum or Ezran, definitely, but for Rayla…?

But, yeah, it was on-brand. One word she'd use to describe Callum's entire family was loving, and it never seemed to stop extending to her.

She sniffed, reaching a tentative hand out. “May I…?”

The response she got was being lifted off the ground in big muscular arms, warm and hard but soft at the same time, scooped off her feet and held tight.

She sniffed into the crook of a soft padded tunic not covered by gleaming armor, burying her face in that little pocket and fruitlessly trying to glue that dam back together.

Amaya gently settled Rayla back on her feet, but didn't stop hugging her tightly, beginning to sob, too, not at all hindering her iron hold.

“I love you, too,” she whispered, and cried some more.

[m4rs-ex3]

DREAMER'S NIGHTMARE! THOUGHTS!!!!!!

spoilers ahead obviously

callum. that's it. that's it that's the post. like this little fucking goober baby nerd freak pretty baby boy i would kill anything and everything in the world for this child

long haired gren i can't breathe

"GREAT STONY TOADSTOOLS"

"wait. that's a jelly tart and you're not destroying it. are you sure you're ezran?"

callum: magic is in the air? wrong. gas leak.

"a rogue elf. i wonder what would have to happen for an elf to go rogue..." wouldn't you like to know callum

bro thinks he's a diplomat

it kills me the way this kid is just a walking list of sarai quotes

i'm choosing to blame harrow for the way this stupidly dedicated boy turned out

"couldn't have anything happen to the future king" rip my heart out why don't you

all of the callum / harrow stuff oh my god it hurts so good i'm in tears like "your dad" AUUUAUGHHGHGHGH

"milords" fucking tears no they are not

*facepalms in the background*

"begone"

despite the fact that in present day he is plenty tall callum being referred to as "the taller one" does not sit right with me

"stronger together" // "safer together"

gren was family guy death posing idfc

i can't go to the club bc i'll start talking like kusa

THATS MY KING!!!!13131!@!@!#!!!

"my big brother is super smart" 😭🩷

half this book is just callum in 3x06 when he was mothering ez and i love it

"I THOUGHT MAYBE HE WOULD BE PROUD OF ME" FUCK

"i know you'll do everything you can to protect me" you don't, actually. you have no idea

"all right, clues. looking for clues. reading for clues."

moonshadow child jumpscare

NO NO NO NO NO NO ON O NO NO NO NO ON ONONONONOONONNOONN

NO

WHAT

HELLO

YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME

why do i kinda wanna see this depressive episode though

a) i hope this comes back for the possession arc b) this explains a lot about s4 don't worry i'll get to that

i love how they show harrow being the most amazing, sweetest, bestest dad ever while also showing his flaws in the form of his bias. also everyone else's casual racism. average tdp w

STOP HES SO SOKKA

im goanna throw up

maybe it's just my biases but why was this the book that fucking broke me. like bloodmoon huntress was a bit sad bc rayla is just like that. puzzle house was sad because motherless child behavior and also hindsight. this novel is just fucking depressing front to back because callum's entire life has been so fucked sometimes i forget this. also my biases

[raayllum]

I think one of the reasons the "TDP is too focused on Rayllum and/or I want to see Callum and Rayla interact more with other characters" critique (complaint?) falls flat to me is 1) Callum is the main character and Rayla is his deuteragonist, 2) the show justifies their journeys together because they're most relevant to what needs to be happening (Rayla needed to go home in S3 just as Ezran needed to turn back; they have to go to the Great Bookery and Starscraper bc the info and items there is most relevant to her and Callum's arcs), 3) nobody ever has the same complaints about Terry/Claudia or Janai/Amaya even though those relationships actually Are the embodiment of said complaint.

Amaya has not had a plot line at all left unaffected by Janai since S1; 90% of her scenes are with Janai with brief intervals of her and Gren or her and Karim in S4, and her and Rayla with one scene in S5. Terry is a great character, but he is there to flesh out Viren (S4) and Claudia (S5) in tandem, having all of his relevant scenes with either one or the other; we've yet to see Terry actually interact with literally anyone else.

Conversely, throughout S4 we get to see Callum interact with Corvus (4x01), Ezran, Soren, and various other characters we meet along the way (Rex Igenous, N'than). We also get a decent amount of Ezran and Rayla interaction and Rayla and Soren interaction in particular in S4, and she's the only one of the main trio to interact with Terry or Claudia; Callum likewise gets Opeli, Archmage Akiyu, and Finnegrin in S5. Meanwhile in S5 we get to see how Rayla interacts with Janai and Amaya in addition to her own view(s) of her family, and more smaller Ez&Rayla and Rayla and Soren dynamics.

So what the complaint boils down to is usually "I'm bored of Rayla and Callum's romance (because I feel like it got restarted in S4)" when even if they weren't having to work things out, they'd be getting these plotlines in S5 and S6 (the seasons apparently they spend the most one-on-one time in anyway) regardless because Plot Relevance. It also reads as boredom with Rayla's arc (to me) because learning 1) leaving has consequences (s4) and 2) to accept grace and support (s5) are all things she absolutely needed to have happen. Idk about you but I'd prefer that one of the main character's arcs and core conflict isn't resolved in 1-2 episodes max leaving her to just stagnate for two seasons, and that means letting her take up time and space in the narrative making good choices and bad

It also feels like people are misremembering earlier seasons because they've always primarily driven each other's conflict and growth even in S1 (1x03-1x06 is about their inter-group conflict) and pushed each other to new places and epiphanies (S2) while offering support (S2, S3).

Like to be clear — think and feel whatever you think and feel, I nor anyone else can necessarily change your mind let alone stop you. But if it's Only a critique levied towards them and not towards any other plot centralized dynamic in the show, you might wanna think about whether it's just because they're the two of the three Main Characters and you're tired of seeing them more than characters & dynamics that aren't as consistently featured bc they're not The Main Characters > the characters you want to see more of that aren't as relevant to core plotlines. Because if you're going to have a critique / complaint about something Structurally, you wanna make sure you're being consistent about said structural complaint, tbh

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Gray 15

First / Previous / Next

It was odd. Spyglass was a full five kilometers long, but they were being hired - at more money than Fen had ever seen at once - to bring one single K'laxi home. Normally, Fen would be busy helping the stevedores with their cargo, showing them where to put it, and getting things ready to cast off, but now she just stood outside the airlock at the dock, her rifle slung casually behind her, leaning against a wall.

This was a Sefigan station, and the whole place was decorated in desert colors and textures. Even though they were a shorter, furry race, the Sefigans came from a a world that had more deserts than Earth did, and had evolved to prefer that kind of climate. It was dry too. Every time Fen breathed in, she felt like her nose was drying out.

Sefigans and humans had a decent enough relationship. They tended to keep clear of the Empire and felt that most humans were entirely too rough for them, but they did help out against the Gren right after Contact, so most Sefs had humans defaulted to "they're all right, but don't lend them any money" levels of friendship. As Fen leaned against the wall near the airlock the Sefigans went about their day, and only the kids would look at her. Every time one of them caught her eye, she'd wink. Their eyes would widen and the braver ones would laugh and gesture hello.

After an hour, the K'laxi came. Fen saw her pierced ears, shining in the artificial light before the rest of her. She - Fen knew enough anatomy to make a relatively educated guess that she was female was tall for her race, with reddish brown fur, and her ears were heavily pierced. She practically jangled as she walked.

She was also armed. Weapons were not unusual out here, but most sapients tended to avoid chemical operated slug throwers. They'd stick with energy weapons or blades. Humans were the unique ones in that they carried their projectile throwers everywhere. This K'laxi was carrying a human made pistol, modified for her grip.

"Fenchurch Whitehorse?" Her voice was low and smooth. She was also speaking Colonic, she didn't even ask if she could use their original tongue.

"Call me Fen please." She clicked her heels together and gestured toward the airlock. "Welcome to Spyglass. Please come aboard."

"Right you are Fen. I'm Nalenni Bightiarr by the way, but please call me Nal."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Nal. This way." Fen led her aboard and gave an abbreviated tour. Nal was their only cargo this trip, but there was no reason to give her the run of the ship. Spy and Fen had set up access protocols when they learned they were going to have a passenger, Nal could get to her cabin, the lounge and - with permission - the command deck. That was about it.

After the tour, Fen brought Nal to the Command Deck and Gord was sitting in his chair, going over things with Spy. Gord, Spy and Fen had decided to not let Nal know that Spy (or Gord for that matter) was an AI, but they also were not going to hide it. Fen and Gord could talk to Spy and Spy would answer as best as she could, but maybe just a little more... shiplike for now.

Gord looked up. "Ah, Nal is it?" He stuck out his hand. Nal took it and shook it vigorously, perfectly executing the ancient human gesture. Gord accepted the handshake and got three quarters of the way through it before he realized was was happening and almost yanked his hand back in surprise.

Nal smiled. "I had heard you were old fashioned, Gord. The fact that you were willing to honor a favor made by my great grandmother was proof enough of that. Your own relative must have made the deal right?"

Gord chuckled and tuned away quickly. "Something like that. Nal, have you ever used a wormhole link before?"

Nal's ears flicked. "No, I've only ever used the Gates and the FlashWarp drive. Are you talking about the-"

"The sometimes some people die thing, yeah. I was wondering if you knew if you were effected."

"Nope, I don't know. I guess we'll all learn together. Honestly, I'm a little excited to find out. I would love to see my ancestors and ask them things."

Gord reached up and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I hear you don't normally get information that concrete. It doesn't happen to me, so I can't say for sure. Anyway, we're going to cast off in about an hour, and then eat. It's nearly time for the evening meal, ships time. Would you like to join us?"

"Sure, it's midday meal for me, but the meals line up well enough. I'd love to." Her tail flicked.

It was Fen's turn to cook. When they first started out, Fen thought she would be doing all the cooking as she was the only biological person, but it turned out that Gord knew how to cook. "You think this is the first time I've hosted a BI before?"

"BI?"

"Yeah, Biological Intelligence. You call us AIs, we call you BIs."

Fen couldn't let Gord do all the cooking, so she insisted that they take turns, once a week. This was Fen's week and she made dinner. The food was simple, but safe for K'laxi - Fen may not have known many recipes, but she knew how to cook for K'laxi - and there was plenty of it. They ate with gusto.

Even Gord had some. He didn't need to eat, but he did on occasion "so that I can remember my table manners" but Fen also wondered if Gord did it to help keep one foot into humanity. He has been around so long that she wasn't sure just how human he thought of himself.

Fen brought out tea for everyone and was clearing plates after the meal. Dishes were easy since it was only the three of them. Nal jumped up to help.

"No, Nal, I've got this. It's your first meal aboard, the least I can do is be a good host. You can wash up tomorrow." Fen smiled but gestured for Nal to sit.

Nal's tail flicked and she smiled. "Okay Fen, tomorrow." She sat back down, and turned to Gord. "So, it's just the two of you running this operation?"

Gord nodded and sipped his tea. "For the most part, yes. We've been at it a few years taking jobs here and there, building up a reputation."

"I'll say. You two already have a rep of taking huge cargos far away, fast. I don't think there are too many human cargo haulers over on this side of the galaxy, you all tend to stay near your own corner of space. I don't know what it is about your wormhole generator and why hardly anyone else uses it, but in your hands it seems better than just about any other FTL option they have out here."

Fen burned to ask Nal why she was way out here, and why she needed a ride home ASAP, but she knew better than to ask. What the cargo was doing was their business. Hers and Gord's business was to get her to her destination quickly and professionally. Curiosity would have to take a back seat.

After chores, they stayed up and chatted about nothing for a while, and then Nal retired to her cabin. A moment after the door clicked shut Spy called out. "She locked her door and I turned off the speakers in her room, she can't hear us."

Gord shrugged. "She seems fine. Keeps things close to her chest, but otherwise model cargo. Probably a spy."

Fen blinked. Nal? A Spy? "What makes you say that, Gord?"

"It's the little things. How she carries herself. She's confident around two humans - well what she thinks are two humans - and breezy but never actually admits to anything. She watches all the time. She practically was glued to your back while you were cooking, Fen. She's also very aware. K'laxi have excellent hearing and I could see her ears swivel at every noise that Spy made. She's skilled at gathering information."

Gord tossed back the rest of his tea. "Also, why else would a K'laxi be willing to pay the fuck off price to hire an entire Starjumper to bring them back to K'lax on a moment's notice. Something came up and she needed to get home asap. I bet if we weren't around she would have called for one of their frigates to pick her up."

"Now I know you're taking the waste." Fen shook her head. "You're just spinning tales. Why would a K'laxi frigate come out to Sefigan space just to pick up one person."

"Back me up Spy. Would the K'laxi send a warship to collect a single person if they felt that person was important enough?"

Spyglass chuckled. "Ancestors know we've done it plenty of times. You, specifically have done it too, haven't you Gord?"

Gord waved his hands, dismissively. "Once or twice Spy, once or twice. That was a long time ago though. My point is, it's not unreasonable for a government to go and collect one of their own, especially if they think that what they know is valuable."

Fen crossed her legs and leaned sideways in her chair. She never was able to get comfortable in Spyglass' chairs, she always had to lounge or lay sideways or contort herself to stop fidgeting. "Okay then, what does she know?"

"Hah!" Gord's laugh was a single bark. "If I knew that, for one, I wouldn't tell anyone, and for two, I wouldn't be nearly the last human built AI still up and mobile." He stood. "Go get some rest Fen. Spy and I are going to plot our last few links. We'll time them to get to K'lax tomorrow morning."

Fen shrugged and got up. It was getting late, ship's time and she was pretty tired. "Okay Gord. Night Spy."

"Good Night Fen."

Fen went to her cabin and after locking the door took off her clothes, took a boiling hot shower - one underappreciated luxury aboard was the nearly unlimited hot water - she was too used to lukewarm showers back home. After, she dried off and climbed into bed. Without realizing it, she had scooted over to the far side of the bed to give Ma-ren room to climb in with her. When she realized what she did, she sighed and moved to the middle.

She laid on her back in the dark, staring at the ceiling a long time. These were the times when it was hardest to be without Ma. She would come home after her shift, take a shower and clean the smell of the restaurant off her as best as she could, and then could climb into bed with Fen, and they'd just lay in the dark, holding each other. Some nights they transitioned into sex, but that was the exception. Both of them normally preferred to just hold each other and cuddle until Ma fell asleep. Fen smiled at the memory that Ma always fell asleep first.

Fen let the tears flow until they stopped, and then, eventually, sleep came for her as well.

Well after Fen was asleep, Gord went deep into the ship. Past the reactor room, past the med bay, past the rifle range and into a small room that was built next to one of the matter printers. He stopped and touched the pad with his palm and concentrated. The door hissed open, and he checked on his work.

Sitting on a long, high table was a body. Female shaped, with long legs and arms and silvery white hair. Her chest was open, and two of the printer arms were inside whirring away as they printed new muscles and laced bone. "How is it going?" he asked, without looking up.

"We're taking it slow, just like you wanted Gord. We're about 80% finished with the gross motor function. The brain is going to take some doing, like you thought. We might be able to get some high resolution print heads from the K'laxi, but they're going to ask why we want them."

Gord held up a finger. "Correction: They're going to ask why we want them if they catch us buying them."

"And you just happen to have ten shell companies to wash a purchase like that in your back pocket." You could hear Spyglass crossing her arms when she was speaking to Gord.

"I never said anything about buying them, Spy."

"This again. Gord, you can't just go stealing everything you need when it gets inconvenient to buy it."

"And why the fuck not, Spy? They never thought about our feelings as we were captured and shackled. They can take the hit. If it brings us closer to our goal, it's worth it."

"What about Fen? She'll get caught in the crossfire. If the Empire catches-"

"The Empire is lightyears from here Spy. Fen is fine. She's a crack shot now, she's got her own nest-egg. She could sign on to any merc group that is looking for a human. We've trained her well."

"So you're still going ahead with your plan to dump her somewhere."

Gord stared at the body being printed. They were so close. "It's... still an option Spy, that's all."

[youruinedmylifebynotbeingreal]

The Corvus Birthday Party Spectacular: Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Summary: Soren plans a surprise party for Corvus.

Corvus does not like surprises.

Note: Happy Sorvus Week!!

I initially concocted this idea for Corvus's birthday earlier this month. But of course, the idea did not come to me until the evening of his birthday, and I cannot write that quickly, haha. So I figured I'd wait and just post it for Sorvus Week!

I'm posting it on Day 2: Crownguard because I felt like it matched that prompt the closest (even if it is a bit of a stretch).

…

Soren realized Corvus had been a Crownguard for over a year and the man hadn’t once mentioned his birthday.

Everybody knew Soren’s - he usually made sure of it. His first birthday after King Harrow had been killed was obviously a different case. He didn’t feel right reminding everybody he passed that his birthday was coming up, not when most people took the week as a chance to officially mourn, since they were initially robbed of that opportunity. And, of course, everything was different in Soren’s life. It felt… wrong, celebrating without Claudia. Without her pancakes. It even felt weird without Viren. Ezran and Callum still remembered and helped him celebrate with their new little family. But it was different.

Basically, Soren loved birthdays. Who doesn’t want a whole day to celebrate their existence? And get gifts! And Corvus had given Soren so much - like agreeing to join the Crownguard. And he was so thoughtful. After hearing Soren lament the lack of pancakes the morning of his birthday, Corvus had taken it upon himself to commandeer Barius’s kitchen and surprise him with some that evening.

So Soren made it his mission to find out Corvus’s birthday. Somebody had to know, even if Soren had to start digging through records.

After enough pestering of Amaya and Gren on one of their summer visits, he got the necessary information. Gren eventually relented because he thought a celebration might do Corvus some good; Amaya refused to partake in anything and did not want Corvus to know she was involved in any way.

“He hates surprises,” she warned. But who didn’t love a surprise party?! Especially one thrown by Soren!

Soren had a few months to plan The Corvus Birthday Party Spectacular, but it was still all hands on deck. He tasked Barius with making all of the baked goods for the party. He told Callum to start researching fun party tricks to entertain guests. Opeli sighed but agreed to help with decorations and general party planning; nobody else was organized enough to keep track of everything. And Ezran had the most important job of all - keeping Corvus busy and getting the birthday man to the actual surprise party. As a Crownguard, it wasn’t unusual for Ezran to need Corvus around, so it made the most sense. Soren was sad he couldn’t be the one hanging out with Corvus all day, but he’d be needed in the party area to supervise all of the last-minute party details.

Finally, the day had arrived. Soren had kept bringing up the topic of birthdays, and Corvus never said anything - not even the day before! Soren began to be a little concerned, but it was too late to back out now. Corvus deserved a party!

Soren, Opeli, and Barius surveyed the party room. Callum was magically placing one last streamer in a high corner with his air magic.

“Soren, this is great!” Barius said clapping him on the back.

“I must agree,” Opeli said with a smile tugging at her lips. “Somehow, we all actually made it happen.”

Soren grinned, feeling accomplished. Party guests were beginning to trickle in. Not too many people - he did know Corvus, after all - but he’d invited some of the guards and townsfolk he saw Corvus talking with often. And, of course, people like Amaya and Gren from the Standing Battalion (Gren did eventually get Amaya to agree to attend, even if just to see the aftermath of what would happen).

Then came the waiting.

…

Corvus and Ezran (and Bait) made their way down the hallway. Ezran was practically skipping with Bait in his arms while Corvus meandered a few steps behind them, hands folded behind his back. Ezran had been in a good mood all day - a suspiciously good mood. Actually, the whole day had been suspicious.

Ezran had specifically requested Corvus be his guard that day. Soren and Ezran had sworn that Corvus was imperative to Ezran’s safety and that only Corvus could be trusted with him. He’d assumed Ezran had meetings with important dignitaries or royals from other kingdoms, but all they’d done was go shopping in the marketplace and have a picnic in the woods.

Corvus was glad for a calm day and for Ezran to have some fun - everybody knew he deserved to act like an actual kid every once in a while - but Corvus had been scheduled into the evening and the King’s events for the day seemed to be coming to an end.

“Remind me, my King, what’s on the agenda this evening?”

Ezran giggled and Bait let out a croak.

“I know, I know,” Ezran whispered to the Glow Toad. Ezran cleared his throat and stood up straight, face serious. “I… cannot tell you.”

Corvus folded his arms and raised an eyebrow.

“But don’t worry - it’ll be fun!” Ezran added. The statement did little to ease Corvus’s worries, but if Ezran wasn’t concerned, then neither was he.

Ezran raced down the hall before stopping in front of one of the meeting rooms. The boy was bouncing on his toes and Bait’s skin turned orange - and he was smiling. It was slightly unnerving.

“Corvus, would you mind opening this door for me?”

Corvus nodded and grabbed the handle. He heard whispers and giggles coming from the other side of the door, which made him be on guard. He slowly opened the door and looked around, not noticing anything too amiss - just… A birthday party? And a banner saying “The Corvus Birthday Party Spectacular!”

Corvus’s eyes widened in understanding when suddenly -

“SURPRISE!”

It was like the whole room exploded with noise and people and sound. Soren popped up in front of him with a party hat in hand.

Corvus couldn’t help it. Rationally, he knew he wasn’t in danger. But his instincts took over, thinking he and Ezran were under attack. His fist was flying before he could form a thought.

He punched Soren in the face.