#kash ✦ starter

[thestoriesincoffeestains]

Seated Sarcasm [Kash]

“Turns out sarcasm is a really great way to hide some seriously deep-seated anger.” Kash mumbled the words before dropping into her seat, her body tense and head pounding. Everything was setting her off lately, but she wasn’t going to apology for the sarcasm that poisoned her tongue. “Look, I’m not in the mood. Can we skip this?”

[liseligreen]

who: closed starter for @kincaidhollis, @dashforkash Location: Matacuna Feeders

If there were a few particular scents Liseli had come to associate with her return home, one was certainly the aroma of dried cow manure and hay. The scent would breeze through the rolled-down window of her AC-less truck in summer, even from more than a mile away. But even on colder days like today, when her glove-covered hands gripped the steering wheel tightly as she navigated the dirt road, there was no mistaking that she had almost reached her destination. Two more turns along endless fields of cows would lead her right to the headquarters of Matacuna Feeders, a hideaway from the town bustle and high-society nonsense. It was her personal detox, far removed from the ‘sanctuary’ that was Sage Studio. Here, nobody would disturb her as she watched the cows munch on their feed from a window, wrapped in the blanket she always brought along. The few people who did approach were just looking for a simple chat or honest conversation, rather than spiritual guidance. It was a haven her brother had generously granted her access to.

Sounding a cheerful, loud whistle, the Paxton native hopped out of her truck. She observed her surroundings with curious, bright eyes, searching for signs of life from beings that walked on two legs instead of four. There was a real chance she would be alone for a couple of hours before anyone showed up, all of the hands busy with tasks around the farm—which was fine by her. A chilly gust of wind wrapped around her, teasing her curls in the process, and a shiver ran down her spine. If anyone was around, they would eventually appear after hearing her noise. In the meantime, she could get busy unpacking the few things she brought and head inside. The yoga attire she wore to work was great for working inside a warm studio, but did little to shield her from the Arizona winter breeze.

[tearfest]

ㅤㅤcherry's night had been rough, to say the least. she usually enjoyed her job, getting paid to taunt men with what they wanted but couldn't have; and she usually knew what to expect, getting an equal amount of regulars and tourists in the club. and the security was plentiful, enough to keep some level of peace in sin city, but — once in a blue moon — something went awry. hence why she was sat at the mirror of her vanity, far too busy wiping away at the blood that'd spilt form her nose whilst her makeup hid the freshly bruised skin just below prettily made-up eyes.

ㅤㅤshe barely paid attention to the sound of the dressing room door opening, assuming it was one of the girls, still dabbing the tissue at her bloodied nose. features illuminated in the mirror when she caught takashi in the reflection, quick to brush the bunched up and bloodied tissues into the trash can by her table as her body spun around to face him — hoping that her careless cleaning would suffice. " kash, baby! " heels clinked as she got to her feet, arms quick to lift and wrap around her boyfriend's broad shoulders in a pretty good attempt at distracting him from what he might've seen. " you're early. " or was she late? she'd lost track of time... she kissed him on the cheek before pulling away, arms still twined as she beamed up at him; unaware of the carelessly cleaned stain that'd dripped down her face and onto her bosom. " i was just about to get changed. i think i'd freeze on the spot if i left in just this. let me grab my coat. " more distractions in the form of silly small talk, peeling herself away from him to turn on her heels, skimpily clad frame fumbling around to grab her long, ankle-length parka.

closed starter for @sturmboe.

[vacantgodling]

🖊️ adunni and kashmira for the oc ask game pls

valennnnn thank youuuu 💛💛

a lot of the reason adunni is never home is because she maintains several connections with covens strewn across the globe and has a near permanent sense of wanderlust embedded into her bones (a notion that jenna shares just perhaps not as intensely). so usually she’s traveling doing that, however she and kash (and jenna) call each other pretty much every night through connecting crystal balls like a very cute, very witchy zoom call LOL. even if jenna doesn’t see adunni much in person it’s not as though she was never there! plus when jenna was younger she went on a few adventures with adunni <3

kashmira was the one (with her foresight—as an aside, all witches in this universe have an innate “natural magic” that comes very easy to them. they can learn others but this one is just In The Bones. comes free with the witch starter kit… which is meeting the witch king cough) who saw that they would have jenna as a child, which led her to provide the childbearing spell to jenna’s birth parents. i don’t think i’ve talked about it explicitly on this blog but yknow how there’s those fairytales that are like oh a couple who can’t conceive go to a witch and ask for help and the witch asks for the firstborn in return. well… that’s literally jenna. LMAO. that’s literally how she came into being. technically speaking the reason kash asked for jenna (aside from just wanting a child) was also because jenna was literally a child borne from kash’s magic inside her birth mother; and kash knew that jenna would be a magic baby. after the magic baby, all the other kids that jenna’s birth parents had were all normal but that’s a lot of the reason why jenna has the innate magic of manifestation; cuz of her birth. kash did feel bad that her spell did cause a rift between jenna’s parents (spells have prices yknow? and aside from the firstborn the drawback of this spell is every time they had sex unless mom was pregnant already she would get pregnant so… they quickly drifted apart from the strain of it all unfortunately; kash feels bad it keeps her up at night, even though she told them this would happen). but yeah!

[oflowtides]

closed starter for @urbnlgnds (Wren) location: Traveling to Spirit Halloween (London)

Sabrina knew that Wren would never pass up an opportunity to go visit the nearest Spirit Halloween once they opened - which is why she immediately tracked down the dark haired girl before traveling to London to go shopping.

"Okay, so," once she got comfy on the subway, she shifted to face Wren. "Some news. Kash and I finally pulled our heads out of our asses. I'm still matching Sally for Halloween, of course, but I thought you'd want to know."

[frcmbelow]

location: the underworld

closed starter for: @hiddenxrituals (sabrina)

kash liked to create a bubble around himself and sabrina, sticking as close to the wild redhead as he could in any space they occupied. but they had both been growing restless at kash's place, and his suggestion to go to the underworld had been met with what he could only describe as 'excitement'. they were both reckless and excitable, and as kash grabbed two drinks from the bartender, he couldn't help but smirk wickedly.

"m'lady," he teased, handing one drink over to sabrina as he slid in closer to her. "something sweet and fruity with a bite, just like you."

[dashforkash]

ABOUT

Name: Kaden "Kash" Daniels Age: 37 Gender & Pronouns: Cismale & he/him Occupation: Day Hand at Matacuna Feeders Affiliation and Position: Neutral

Quote: “When the misery is bad enough, tomorrow is rarely factored into decisions.”

BIOGRAPHY

Triggers: child loss mention, death mention, drug abuse mention

Born in Tennessee Kaden Daniels was raised along the banks of the Mississippi mud, never given a chance to be anything but the down-home country boy, which had always suited Kaden just fine. His daddy was a colt starter and former rodeo champion, having won national titles for roping and reining. From the moment Kaden could waddle he was following his daddy around everywhere, at first just watching as his father worked and as he got older helping with the chores himself. He found that spending time tending to the many horses was cathartic and volunteered for just about any chore that would get him around them. Never once did he need to be asked to pitch in to do what was needed at the family ranch, from picking vegetables in the garden for his mama to helping his daddy check the cattle fences. As far as most childhoods go, his was pretty perfect. Sure, sometimes his dad drank too much and sometimes his mom just would not stop fussing over him, but he had no cause to complain.

His father, seeing his boy take an interest in horses at such a young age decided to help Kaden begin to follow in his footsteps. As a kid he enrolled Kaden in the pee-wee portion of rodeos where his wife would take pictures of the young boy struggling to stay on the back of a wildly running sheep, but in the end, he stayed on. He almost always did. With natural talent like that his father was quick to get his son started on the path to becoming a bull-rider. His mama threw fits and got into fights with his daddy, it was too dangerous, he could be hurt, killed even, but as he got older and started to have a mind of his own there was nothing that he wanted to do more. So he practiced, and practiced. By sixteen he was competing on broncs, a safer alternative to the bull, and was cleaning up at junior rodeos, his room becoming full of belt buckles, the tack room full of all the special made trophy tack he had won. But being bucked was far from his only talent. At age ten he broke his very first colt and at twelve he was winning local roping competitions. He even became adept at helping his dad sort and catch cattle, something he was never fond of but did anyways as it was expected of him. Despite how it sounds, his childhood wasn’t all work. While never the best in school he managed to get passing marks and had a group of boys he roughhoused and fucked around with who were constantly getting him into trouble as a teenager.

Fast forward a few years and he was one of the hottest young bull riders to hit the circuit. But his career as a rider didn’t last as long as anyone would have hoped. The reason? He fell in love. Some would have called the pretty woman he fell in love with a buckle bunny, what with her affinity of dating all the big rodeo stars, but when him and her spent one night together the rest was history. Now twenty-two and married with a baby on the way, Kaden knew he could not be as pell mell as he had been for the past few years. He now had a family to think about; and so, he quit bull riding and switched exclusively to broncs. It was still dangerous, but the risks less than if he was on the back of a bull. Life went on and for the most part the little family was happy, until tragedy struck. On the night of his twenty-eighth birthday, with his wife and little girl in the stands, he overtightened the strap around his hand. At first everything seemed to be going well, he had one of his best times, but as he threw himself off the bucking bronco his hand caught. It was an instant disaster. The animal began to panic, bucking harder and higher, with Kaden hanging on for dear life. His only blessing was that the first hoof to his head knocked him out cold. He was rammed into the side of the fence and drug for minutes before those in charge of wrangling the horse were finally able to calm it down. In the midst of the chaos, his wife, fretting over her husband, had not noticed her daughter slip down through the stands calling out for her daddy. No one noticed her presence in the ring until it was too late. All it took was one wrong move from the frightened animal and the sunshine of Kaden’s life was no more.

The blow to Kaden’s own head had been so severe that he was kept in a medically induced coma for two-weeks, giving the wounded flesh time to heal. When he awoke, his whole world was shattered. He grieved, and as he did his grief turned to anger. Anger at the situation, anger at the long arduous healing process, and anger at himself. But all that anger had to go somewhere, and with the only person around during his recovery being his wife, she took the brunt of it. It took him a little over a year to fully heal physically, and during that time he began to develop a dependency on his pain medication. He spent his days sitting in front of the tv drinking beer after beer on top of the opiates as his wife worked in a small diner to try and keep the roof over their heads. One day, a year and half after the tragic accident, the woman had decided that she had had enough. She gave Kaden an ultimatum, get help or she was gone. It led to the largest fight yet, a massive blowout that made it clear where Kaden stood. Two months later Kaden was arrested for possesion with intent to distribute and spent two years in jail. 

When he was released he was nearing twenty-nine and with nowhere else to go moved back in with his parents. His father though older now was still tough as nails and no patience for his son’s pansiness as he called it. He put Kaden to work. Sober or not he was expected to help, and if he didn’t, God help him. At first he railed, his rage boiling over and eclipsing everything. Rather than argue with his son, the elder Daniels simply gave him a new task. It would be his only job- start the colts. It was something Kaden had used to excel at, but his anger and rage at the horse’s mis compliance made things difficult. The gentle animals became scared of him and began to lash out. One colt in particular, a beautiful bay, resented Kaden more than any of the others, and he let him know it. That was Kaden’s wake up call. He ended up forming a bond with that colt that pulled him out of his stupor and set him back on track. His special relationship with that animal also earned him a nickname, Kash, because wherever Kash went, Johnny followed, drawn to the dolcent songs Kaden would always croon to Johnny. Hence: Johnny and Kash aka the country singer Johnny Cash. It was a clever nickname that soon became a permanent moniker. The pair competed in countless roping and reining competitions, and for the next years, Kash allowed himself to feel the happiness that had come into his life. 

A part of that happiness came in the form of another cowboy type, JD Culpepper. With Kash’s travel all over the countryside, picking up odd jobs here and there, it was a slow romance. At first neither party really admitted to the other how they felt. There was heat, passion, and then somewhere along the way the beginnings of love. It scared Kash to no end, being on the verge of the first real relationship he had been in since the divorce from his wife. Things were moving steadily, until they weren’t. JD vanished, ghosting him one day when they had been scheduled to meet in the same town. Kash waited for a week before deciding it was time to move on. The rejection hurt, ripping him open in a way he hadn’t expected and refused to acknowledge. Two months after his partner vanished was when Johnny came up lame with an injury too bad to fix, leaving Kash the tough choice of having to put his beloved companion down.  

Without the man who had become his support system the loss of his friend sent Kaden ass-first back into the destructive patterns of his life, drugs and alcohol once more waging war inside his body. Only this time he wasn’t a young man, and the substances were taking a heavy toll on his health, not that he cared. His parents, unable to reach him, packed his things and kicked him out. Kash’s father, unable to completely give up on his son, reached out to an old friend who owned a cattle ranch in Texas. For over a year Kash lived there, forced to claw his way back to sobriety through back-breaking labor. The option was always there for him to quit the job, fend for himself, but the company of the horses and being the source of looking after their well-being brought him back from the brink much like it had the last time. A year and a half later he was completely back on the wagon, though he can be known to slip with the drinking whenever the subject of his daughter is brought to the forefront of his mind, mainly around birthdays, his and hers, as well as holidays. 

Wanting more independence Kash turned in his resignation, thanking his father’s friend for getting him back on his feet. With a firm grasp on his addiction, Kaden set back out onto the rodeo circuit. He continued to travel and compete. Picking up odd-jobs along the way to keep his simple lifestyle afloat. Until he started working at a feedlot called Matacuna Feeders. He’d intended to just pick up some day work while competing in the rodeo at the local arena when he saw him. JD. Out inspecting some of the livestock. His heart fluttered and desire turned to anger burning deep in his chest. He has yet to confront him, but the day is fast approaching.

PLOT ARC.

Kash is currently neutral. As the son of a farmer, he doesn’t care for big business, and is naturally against corporations like Obsidian Holdings. That doesn’t mean he’s going to take action against them, just that he doesn’t agree with what they do, how they do it, or their ideals. There is a chance he could be swayed to the Cowboy Mafia. It will be largely dependent on how things go with his ex, who’s a top hand. If their reunion ends well, Kash could find himself being dragged into more Cowboy business. For now he’s content using his skills to be a simple day hand at the feed lot and competing in local rodeos. 

[merrock]

CHARACTER INFORMATION

face claim: Luke Grimes

full name: Kaden Daniels

nickname(s) / goes by: Kash

pronouns & gender: cis man & he/him

sexuality: bi-sexual

birth date: January 25, 1986.

birth place: Vicksburg, Mississippi

arrival to merrock: Two weeks ago

housing: Currently an apartment in Historic Downtown. Looking to purchase a farm house in the Rural Countryside. 

occupation: Ranger

work place: Merrock State Park

family: Lucie Newman, mother of his unborn child

relationship status: Single

PERSONALITY

Positive Traits: Hard-working, Compassionate, Humble, Steady

Negative Traits: Guilt-Ridden, Blunt, Secretive, Withdrawn

Kaden was raised a proper country boy. His mother engrained manners into him from an early age. Yes ma’am and no sir. His childhood taught him the value of hardwork and when to find time for fun. It inspired his intense love for animals and enabled him to do the work that he does. He was once a hard-working family man and aspires to be that again someday. Someday being now as he has a baby on the way. Most would describe him as calm and stoic, the temperament needed to break a colt. Bravery and determination also describe him. Both were necessary to get on the back of a bucking horse. He is still much that same man even after his accident. The only difference is the anger. It was touch and go for a while but eventually he learned how to gain a hold of a temper he never before had to deal with. Along with a lot of guilt. The only real way to rile him up anymore is to make mention of his past: accident, addiction, or daughter. 

WRITTEN BY: Bird (she/her), cst.

BACKGROUND / BIO

triggering / sensitive content: tags: death tw, child death tw, drugs tw, injury tw

Born in Tennessee Kaden Daniels was raised along the banks of the Mississippi mud, never given a chance to be anything but the down-home country boy, which had always suited Kaden just fine. His daddy was a colt starter and former rodeo champion, having won national titles for roping and reining. From the moment Kaden could waddle he was following his daddy around everywhere, at first just watching as his father worked and as he got older helping with the chores himself. He found that spending time tending to the many horses was cathartic and volunteered for just about any chore that would get him around them. Never once did he need to be asked to pitch in to do what was needed at the family ranch, from picking vegetables in the garden for his mama to helping his daddy check the cattle fences. As far as most childhoods go, his was pretty perfect. Sure, sometimes his dad drank too much and sometimes his mom just would not stop fussing over him, but he had no cause to complain.

His father, seeing his boy take an interest in horses at such a young age decided to help Kaden begin to follow in his footsteps. As a kid he enrolled Kaden in the pee-wee portion of rodeos where his wife would take pictures of the young boy struggling to stay on the back of a wildly running sheep, but in the end, he stayed on. He almost always did. With natural talent like that his father was quick to get his son started on the path to becoming a bull-rider. His mama threw fits and got into fights with his daddy, it was too dangerous, he could be hurt, killed even, but as he got older and started to have a mind of his own there was nothing that he wanted to do more. So he practiced, and practiced. By sixteen he was competing on broncs, a safer alternative to the bull, and was cleaning up at junior rodeos, his room becoming full of belt buckles, the tack room full of all the special made trophy tack he had won. But being bucked was far from his only talent. At age ten he had broke his very first colt and at twelve he was winning local roping competitions. He even became adept at helping his dad sort and catch cattle, something he was never fond of but did anyways as it was expected of him. Despite how it sounds, his childhood wasn’t all work. While never the best in school he managed to get passing marks and had a group of boys he roughhoused and fucked around with who were constantly getting him into trouble as a teenager.

Fast forward a few years and he was one of the hottest young bull riders to hit the circuit. But his career as a rider didn’t last as long as anyone would have hoped. The reason? He fell in love. Some would have called the pretty woman he fell in love with a buckle bunny, what with her affinity of dating all the big rodeo stars, but when him and her spent one night together the rest was history. Now twenty-two and married with a baby on the way, Kaden knew he could not be as pell mell as he had been for the past few years. He now had a family to think about; and so, he quit bull riding and switched exclusively to broncs. It was still dangerous, but the risks less than if he was on the back of a bull. Life went on and for the most part the little family was happy, until tragedy struck. On the night of his twenty-eighth birthday, with his wife and little girl in the stands, he overtightened the strap around his hand. At first everything seemed to be going well, he had one of his best times, but as he threw himself off the bucking bronco his hand caught. It was an instant disaster. The animal began to panic, bucking harder and higher, with Kaden hanging on for dear life. His only blessing was that the first hoof to his head knocked him out cold. He was rammed into the side of the fence and drug for minutes before those in charge of wrangling the horse were finally able to calm it down. In the midst of the chaos, his wife, fretting over her husband, had not noticed her daughter slip down through the stands calling out for her daddy. No one noticed her presence in the ring until it was too late. All it took was one wrong move from the frightened animal and the sunshine of Kaden’s life was no more.

The blow to Kaden’s own head had been so severe that he was kept in a medically induced coma for two-weeks, giving the wounded flesh time to heal. When he awoke, his whole world was shattered. He grieved, and as he did his grief turned to anger. Anger at the situation, anger at the long arduous healing process, and anger at himself. But all that anger had to go somewhere, and with the only person around during his recovery being his wife, she took the brunt of it. It took him a little over a year to fully heal physically, and during that time he began to develop a dependency on his pain medication. He spent his days sitting in front of the tv drinking beer after beer on top of the opiates as his wife worked in a small diner to try and keep the roof over their heads. One day, a year and half after the tragic accident, the woman had decided that she had had enough. She gave Kaden an ultimatum, get help or she was gone. It led to largest fight yet, a massive blowout that made it clear where Kaden stood. Two months later Kaden was arrested for possesion with intent to distribute and spent two years in jail. 

When he was released he was nearing thirty-two and with nowhere else to go moved back in with his parents. His father though older now was still tough as nails and no patience for his son’s pansiness as he called it. He put Kaden to work. Sober or not he was expected to help, and if he didn’t, God help him. At first he railed, his rage boiling over and eclipsing everything. Rather than argue with his son, the elder Daniels simply gave him a new task. It would be his only job- start the colts. It was something Kaden had used to excel at, but his anger and rage at the horse’s mis compliance made things difficult. The gentle animals became scared of him and began to lash out. One colt in particular, a beautiful bay, resented Kaden more than any of the others, and he let him know it. That was Kaden’s wake up call. He ended up forming a bond with that colt that pulled him out of his stupor and set him back on track. His special relationship with that animal also earned him a nickname, Kash, because wherever Kash went, Johnny followed, drawn to the dolcent songs Kaden would always croon to Johnny. Hence: Johnny and Kash aka the country singer Johnny Cash. It was a clever nickname that soon became a permanent moniker. The pair competed in countless roping and reining competitions, and for the next years, Kash allowed himself to feel the happiness that had come into his life. The two traveled all over the countryside, with Kash picking up odd jobs such as stable hand or working cowboy. Until one competition where in the middle Buzz came up lame with an injury too bad to fix, leaving Kash the tough choice of having to put his beloved companion down. 

The loss of his friend sent Kaden ass-first back into the destructive patterns of his life, drugs and alcohol once more waging war inside his body. Only this time he wasn’t a young man, and the substances were taking a heavy toll on his health, not that he cared. His parents, unable to reach him, packed his things and kicked him out. Kash’s father, unable to completely give up on his son, reached out to an old friend who owned a dude ranch an hour outside of LA. For over a year Kash lived there, forced to claw his way back to sobriety through back-breaking labor. The option was always there for him to quit the job, fend for himself, but the company of the horses and being the source of looking after their well-being brought him back from the brink much like it had the last time. A year and a half later he was completely back on the wagon, though he can be known to slip with the drinking whenever the subject of his daughter is brought to the forefront of his mind, mainly around birthdays, his and hers, as well as holidays. 

Wanting more independence Kash turned in his resignation, thanking his father’s friend for getting him back on his feet. With a new horse and a firm grasp on his addiction, Kaden set back out onto the rodeo circuit. That’s when he met Lucie. Their mutual need for freedom drew them together quickly and soon they were officially an item. Things were good, though sometimes the mutual distance made it difficult. Lucie was someone Kaden could see himself choosing to settle down with a few years down the road when the time was right. Maybe even start another family. But then came the argument. It had started out trivially enough but a jab from Lucie about his past sent him over the edge. The fact that she had not only dug up his past, but used it to fling mud at him during an argument caused him to lose control of his temper. Tthe rage that spilled out put a nail in the coffin of their relationship. 

Since then he’s continued to travel and compete. Picking up odd-jobs along the way to keep his simple lifestyle afloat. He likely would have remained like that for the rest of his working years had he not stumble across Lucie on instagram one night. A very pregnant Lucie. Quick math told him the timeline made sense and before he could think better of it he was on his way to Merrock. There was no question, never a doubt in his mind that Merrock was where he needed to be. Despite his flaws he had been raised to place family above all else and the child on the way made Lucie and him family, whether she likes it or not. 

[paradox-gaming-network]

Do Flying Mounts and Fast Travel BREAK IMMERSION in Persistent World Games? Coming off of my YouTube video about optimizing the fun out of MMORPGs, someone asked me to do a video on Do Flying Mounts and Fast Travel break the immersion in Persistent World Games? The poll is here if anyone hasn’t added their vote or you want to add in some more feedback: https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxX1p7V6lRotjeHrp2ubDkOTmgbfXM5M6f

One of the biggest problems with persistent world (MMORPG) worlds as we know them now is that there isn’t any danger from the environment/world. As it is now the only real danger in most of these games are the few zones that happen to be “max level” zones or from PVPers in games where non-consensual PVP is allowed. Some games that are due out in the future like Throne and Liberty basically operate on a zone-level concept where you know if the mobs in the area are going to be a threat. This has been repeated in other games like FFXI, FFXIV, WoW, Archeage, Eve Online (security system) and most other games. I am still hopefully for Ashes of Creation, because one of the biggest selling points is their node system, which doesn’t create zone that have a fixed level content in them, but instead creates a world where there is a range of content from starter content to a maximum level as determined by the level of the Node.

Still I think another game in development, Eternal Tombs, is taking this risk or threat of an open world to a new level. Eternal Tombs plans on having events run by live staff so that you aren’t ever really sure if you are safe since an event can spawn off anywhere. If you’ve not seen this topic, I did a video on it here: https://youtu.be/Dx_B6RNP4LM

I would agree with most of the respondents to the poll that Flying Mounts and Fast Travel do break the immersion of persistent world games, however, from the Massively OP article that started this optimization discussion, Sam Kash wrote “as if the fun was in screwing around for an hour waiting for the actual game you want to play to begin.” If you’ve not had a chance to check out that article you can do so here: https://massivelyop.com/2024/03/07/massively-overthinking-are-we-optimizing-the-fun-out-of-mmos/

I would argue that Sam is right. Players, the average players not the college students or high school students on summer break, have on average about 3 hours per night for play sessions and more on the weekends. A player who only has 3 hours doesn’t necessarily want to trek 90 minutes to do content, especially if the content is going to take an unknown amount of time. As much as I hate to say it, I think gone are the days of 6 hour power gaming sessions on a nightly basis, so unfortunately that is where fast travel comes in unless you make the trip meaningful.

If you either have meaningful events pre-planned into the trek, or the dungeon can only be done as part of a story chain and not just on farm, or if you have random world events that can spawn at any time (which also have to be of a risk/reward. Content for the sake of content isn’t good, neither are cheesy rewards for the rewards.

This will lead into the next question, what kind of open world content is good?

[nazali]

sundae young: would prefer fairy, normal & grass types. starter would be eevee (eventually evolving into sylveon) or piplup.

freyja nilsson: would prefer ice, fighting, normal & ground types. starter would be tottodile.

kash taylor: would prefer fighting, fire, dark & dragon types. starter would be litten.

miguel ramos: would prefer fairy, electric, normal & bug types. starter would be pikachu, torchic or tepig.

jamie evans: would prefer ghost, poison & dark types. starter would be quaxly.

alright folks, here’s the real question: which starter pokemon would your twc detective have? (bonus points if you create a team)

[haloedhunter]

❝  — no matter how mundane the beginning of FEBRUARY 2, 2021 may have been, it unravels towards a befittingly bruised sky, or so astrid feels, waiting in the aftermath of bedlam, caged in a WAR SAFEHOUSE with her fellow angel. her heart in her roiling stomach, when @kashvis​​ enters, bloody trails crusting her chin. ❞

For someone who does not privately subscribe to organised religion in lieu of faith, it is laughable that her abrupt reaction upon being confronted by the sight of a bloodied Kashvi Singh is, “Jesus fucking Christ.” It is rare form, for Astrid Hunter to exclaim so thoughtlessly: rare enough for her to exclaim at all, rarer still for that exclamation to be a curse. Neither slip is typical to her, not for a woman for whom integrity is tethered so stringently to control – a control that finds itself viciously whittled down to a gruesome, fragile stub. The remnant dregs are no real insulator against the jolting shock that strikes Astrid like a physical blow to the midsection.

She sanctions the minute drop of chin to chest, disguised in the immediate dig through the first-aid kit splayed open in front of her in preparation – as if such a circumstance, no matter how entirely within the realm of possibilities, could be prepared for. As if it would translate to a molotov cocktail of expectation and anticipation aflame with precisional protection against being burned by the outcome. It certainly has not braced Astrid with a coldness that can keep her from reacting in response to the sight of a woman that she knows to be flawless in countenance to be bloodstained and battered. She may not care for Kashvi Singh for many conundrum reasons – and still, it is not the same as not caring about her. Apparently, she does; not in any personal, tender-hearted manner, of course, and this Astrid is wont to maintain to her last bloody dying breath, but from a place of genuine, involuntary compassion that is as ingrained in her nature as it has been nurtured by those from whom she is bred. 

Fucking damn it, she thinks with a huff of a sigh, as her palm pets the stool in front of her. “I’ll trade you a recap of bedlam for returning your nose to its glory,” Astrid quips, already ripping open a fresh package of alcohol swabs to get the wounds cleaned to unveil fissures to be treated. Yet the lightness of her words lacks something. The quirked corner of her mouth is mordant.

[mxgicum]

plot: just some cute ddlb shit probably. kash is the big daddy vamp with a soft spot for his baby. honestly hes fucking whipped but dont tell him! lunch turns to shopping as an apology for leaving so long yada yada yada. open for males who bottom, other supernatural creatures welcome, as well as littles! 

"Hm, do you really think I would leave you and not come home with a present?” Kash knew better than to travel and not get something for his sweet little plaything. Usually, it was a sweet treat or snack, something they would enjoy after a homecoming meal. He chuckled as he watched that sweet little pout form on his lovers lips. “After lunch you can have it, go get dressed little one.” 

[whomadewaffles]

I have a feeling this was about my post and your right about there not necessarily being a great time for a lore dump which I will admit to maybe being a bit impatient. But I still say it would have helped it even more as an adaption (which it is still a amazing one dont get me wrong. This was just the only minior gripe I personly had with it..which is a testament to how good it is). But hopefuly let me clarify my thoughts.

Mat's lore for the world is cool and It kinda a bit of a shame to ask a new veiwer to wait 3 seasons to get a hint at it. Considering this adaption isn't contained to just the main characters viewpoints points (during their first ever kick-starter stream it was one of the things they were most excited to explore) it was realy after they talked to osysa where I just felt like I wished they had at least gone into alittle bit more detail, not indepth ofcourse cos as you pointed out exu calamity hadn't happend yet, but things like telling us the devine gate is a thing or during the sunken tomb maybe have kash explain the difference between a betrayer god vs a prime deity to the non-relegious of the group, that sort of thing. I just don't see much point in holding everything but the barest basics back is all. I just worry for new people they like the characters and the main plot but I can see someone feeling the worldbuilding has maybe been a bit vague and mcguffin-y so far having not watched the campaign to see how Mat built up the worldbuilding peice by peice to the point where I don't think anyone who does have prevous knowalge of the world would call mat's worldbuilding bad, But that's a huge campaign and this is a tv show they have to move differently and you are gonna have people who know nothing about the world. So why not be more forthcoming with that stuff

so to sum it up I do think this is a good a point as any to get into it. I am mainly just happy they are getting into it at all and did wish more small details of worldbuilding had been included already as feel like it could have realy fleshed for new peeps out the world before diving fully into it now we have full context thanks to calamity. Hope I explained my thoughts better.

(P.s. i somehow stumbled upon the pikelan supercut and that made me want to start watching. It was when dalen's closet had just happend I didn't know campaign 2 had already started so I began CI instead of doing the easy thing and starting campaign with less to catch up on lol. Currently C1 is the only one of the 3 campaigns I've watched fully)

Still genuinely baffled by a comment I saw about Legend of Vox Machina not really dealing with the Calamity in the first 2 seasons

I can only assume it’s from someone who didn’t watch the first campaign, or wasn’t aware of the timeline, because the only thing we knew about the Calamity for most of Vox Machina’s campaign was “well shit that sounded bad, made the divine gate, got cool items tho”

The Raven Queen not being one of the original gods basically didn’t come up until it was Final Boss time, and she was the most present deity in the campaign (it was a real big deal that she threw in for VM and tbh no one appreciated it the way we will now that Downfall is out)

ExU: Calamity didn’t happen until after the first season had already aired

They. Literally couldn’t have referenced it. It didn’t exist.

And given animation schedules, and that there was only about 6 months between ExU: Calamity happening at all and the season release, the scripts were definitely already finalized by the time Brennan picked up the DM screen

They really are bringing it up at the first possible opportunity, and frankly way earlier than Vox Machina really should.

Minor timeline spoilers ahead:

We’re still in the Chroma Conclave arc, the concept of the Vestiges was still brand new and they were pretty focused on how they’d be useful against the Big Fuck Off Dragons Attacking Everything

They didn’t even go to the Hells until after Keyleth finished her DruidQuest, Scanlan didn’t even go it was a Taryon adventure

(Poor Noelle Stevenson had to come back to try and guest again a week later because they got side tracked it was amazing)

(Also anyone who enjoyed the Honey Heists and wondered where Tova came from that’s her they met her in Hell)

Matt had the concept of the Calamity prepared well in advance of the campaign even airing and the reason it didn’t come up much in campaign 1 is the same reason we didn’t get even just hefty lore drops in the first 2 seasons - never mind that they couldn’t possibly have included events from a mini campaign that hadn’t happened:

It wasn’t all that relevant

The animated show isn’t just for Critters who already know all about the world and Vox Machina and they really are squeezing as much extra juice into it for us as they can

But it’s also a starting off point for people who’ve never heard of Critical Role, and has pretty faithfully followed the campaign so far

There’s really not a good place in the Briarwood arc to stop and talk about ancient history older than the gotdang vampire, Vecna has to wait his turn

And then there’s literal dragons everywhere wrecking shop and they have 20 minutes to get through multiple 3-4 hour long episodes

Matt’s wiggling as much in there as fast as he can, pretty sure the first two seasons already had more Calamity lore than the VM campaign

But

But

Can you even imagine

Animated ExU: Calamity 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

[oflowtides]

closed starter for @urbnlgnds (kash) location: kash's place

Things didn't really feel much different ever since Kash and Sabrina kissed, but every time she saw him, she felt like dissolving into a fit of giggles. They didn't exactly say verbatim that they were dating now, but of course they were - the moonlit confession was just as good as any 'official' conversation. Nothing had changed too much - the pair often spent time quietly together, but this time she could get up and walk over to kiss him whenever she wanted - so when he opened the door, that's exactly what she did - threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Hi," she breathed, a large grin on her face. "Did you wanna hang out? I brought coffee - I just set it down before doing that I didn't want to dump it on you."

[flyingupward]

       ❝ you know, if i didn’t know any better, i’d think zahra’s actually starting to make you RESPECTABLE. ❞ it’s nice, she has to admit, now that they’re finally getting over whatever that...awkwardness was between them. keyleth knows it was her fault, that she was bad at just talking, but now, seeing him content ( and dare she say, even SMILING ), she feels like maybe she can stop beating herself up for it. at least a little bit. ❝ it’s a good look on you, kash. ❞

@greymoralities​ // liked for a thing

[hfkarchives-blog]

drop a like for me to come to you about plotting   /   a starter from my supernatural muses   !   please either have a few muses of your own or my own in mind when i come to you   !