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lionleonora · 4 months ago

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Reddie Fics for the Despairing It: Chapter Two Enjoyer

part of my unnamed "recommending non-classic fics for dead fandoms" series! this is a list of less well-known fics in the ITCH2 fandom, centered around reddie fics. these are all fics that i am passionate about, but you won't find them on the first three pages of ao3. if you're ready for something other than the classics, this is the list for you! organized in order of hits from least to most.

Revivified Death by ezlebe - something about me is that i love vampire fics, and vampire eddie. this features vampire eddie AND vampire richie—a treat! it's rated E, has some fun worldbuilding, and way fewer hits than i would expect (only 3,300!). some mentions of blood, but no crazy gore.

inertia and other properties of matter by skeilig - a “it’s always sunny in philadelphia” au, but not necessary at all to be familiar with the show! (i sure ain’t!) cool and seamless au worldbuilding, and some good mutual pining. plus, the gang is together and remembers each other! rated E.

your lips feel retro by kaspbrak_kid - the only T fic on here, but also teeth-achingly sweet! *stefon voice* this fic has everything—fake relationship, richie speaking at length about how much he loves eddie, multiple kiss scenes...plus some self-actualization + confidence boosts for eddie as he goes to his high school reunion!

push you out (pull you back in) by Anonymous - short, sweet, and sexy little one-shot! i don't usually go for established relationships, but i DO go for established relationships where each person has new and hidden depths of horniness that they have yet to reveal. enter this fic! rated E, and if you want more by this author, i'm preeeety sure i know who they are, but of course i'm just speculating.

the study of pathology by crescentluce - this is a sequel to crescentluce's fandom classic, the anatomy of a joke. this sequel is fantastic though! not as many people have read it, but it's absolutely worth it. told from eddie's perspective as he very quickly falls very hard in love with richie (though they've been dating for like, what. 30 minutes?). incredibly heartwarming and also super funny.

give a shape to this ache I have for you by youabird (nevulon) - i have a few all-time favorite fics that span multiple fandoms - this is one. this is a fic that i would take with me on a desert island. if this is the last reddie fic i could ever reread, it would be this one. featuring an eddie who is deeply unaware of his desires and desperately in love with richie. please please read this.

Health Improvement Planning for Dummies by glorious_spoon - a multi-chapter fic with a comparatively low hit count. dumbass for dumbass relationship, but also really hot. rated E!

hysteria when you're near by tempestbreak - this fic is fucking crazy, and i mean that in the best way. sex pollen is not common in this fandom (understandably - the worldbuilding is difficult) but this fic does it seamlessly and to great effect. an E-rated oneshot. this will literally change you.

Do you need anybody? by remusjohn - i am of the firm opinion that this should be a fandom classic. it's not quite there yet, but getting there! this is one of the first fandom fics i truly fell in love with, and also one of the only fics i've ever followed as it was posted! one of my favorite tropes is mutual pining WHILE they're having sex, and boy does this fic deliver. rated E. beautiful and fantastic.

Bonus: Author Recommendations!

organized in order of most to least fics written in fandom!

skeilig has a solid number of fics and a really interesting repertoire of AUs! as a purveyor of niche aus (REFERENCE TO MY BLOG??) i am very fond of the way they reimagine richie and eddie in a grounded, three-dimensional way.

glorious_spoon technically has fewer fics than skeilig, but they have a bunch more written anonymously for a kinkmeme event (i believe. something of that nature!). they write fantastically kinky, funny, and sweet stuff. if you're looking for something quick and satisfying (ayyyy) look through their library!

ezlebe is another in the ranks of "cool niche au authors." if you like supernatural creature reddie, or even just normal reddie, definitely look through their stuff! they have a unique voice and should be way more famous in the fandom imo.

remusjohn has the fewest amount of works in this list, but every one of them hits like a goddamn truck. they've written classics, they've written unknown fics—they've done it all! definitely check out their stuff for emotional smut and mutual pining!

thanks for sticking around this long! reddie is quite dead, but it will always be very close to my heart. reddie matters to me. i'm glad it and its writers matter to you too!

#reddie #richie tozier #eddie kaspbrak #fanfiction #fic rec #ao3 #glorious_spoon #skeilig #ezlebe #remusjohn #it chapter 2

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thefirstknife · 6 months ago

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Stuff about Nezarec from the TWID:

CLASSIFICATION - Disciple of the Witness - Dread - Prime Tormentor - Resonant - Unknown origin species - Other names: (The) Purest Light, Darkest Hour, Whispering Nightmare

Unknown origin species! Prime Tormentor!

INTEL - Created from Rhulk’s blueprint, Nezarec was the first Tormentor from which all others owe their lineage. Nezarec relishes in sowing fear and pain, feeding off the terror of sentient beings. He can induce nightmares across entire worlds. - Nezarec—in possession of the Veil—lead the Black Fleet as it assaulted Earth during the Collapse but was betrayed and killed by Savathûn. She separated, cursed, and entombed his Lunar Pyramid within the Moon and stole away the Veil. Guardians uncovered the Lunar Pyramid when the Vanguard mobilized to assault the Scarlet Keep, and they uncovered the Veil when they made contact with Neomuna on Neptune. - For centuries, Nezarec remained buried. Then his disembodied head, held aboard the Witness’s Pyramid, was struck by a terraforming beam fired by the Traveler. It revitalized him as it reshaped the Pyramid, where an undaunted fireteam cut him down once more. - Much that is known about Nezarec is derived from anecdotal experiences, engaged fireteam raids, and a tome recovered from the Golden Age that was entitled "Of Hated Nezarec.”

Really interesting implications in the first paragraph. Created from "Rhulk's blueprint." What does it mean Bungie. Is he a result of Rhulk's experimentations? Or is this in the sense of the Witness using Rhulk's base biology to create something new? Or to corrupt some "unknown species"? What does it all mean.

OF NOTE - An old Psion Exotic relic known colloquially as “Nezarec’s Sin” has long found its home among Warlock operatives. The helmet has known many owners throughout the years, all of whom have perished under mysterious circumstances, been rendered comatose, or have since relinquished their possession of the helm to another owner. This helm is currently believed to be in possession of the Guardian, [NAME REDACTED], a hero of few words. - Mithrax, Kell of House Light, is currently afflicted with Nezarec’s curse despite Nezarec being destroyed. This occurred when the Kell led an effort to recover Nezarec’s scattered remains. He wants to distill Nezarec's essence into a mentally revivifying elixir while siphoning the corruptive elements into himself. Attempts to dispel or cure this curse are ongoing. CHA-319 was assigned to monitor it and report back any changes. - Legends from the Dark Age speak of Lightbearers and non-bearers alike suffering night terrors when the Moon is at perigee. The legends detail rituals with the nearly extinct Earth-plant lavender, long thought to hold protective, calming, and cleansing properties. Furthermore, there are later legends detailing victims of these night terrors smelling lavender after waking, as if the nightmare mocked their attempts at protection. This led to a subsequent switch to a myriad of other panaceas.

PSION MENTION!!!!!!! Nezarec's Sin is a Psion relic! Super cool information about it. Basically confirms that there's only one in existence and the YW has it.

Mithrax????????? Man. I was hoping that plot point turned not as terrifying as it originally sounded but nope. Apparently this is an active investigation into his wellbeing. Please. Don't do this. CHA-319 is Chalco Yong!

Love the silliness with lavender though. Incredible.

#destiny 2 #nezarec

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chaoticbardlady99 · 11 months ago

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She’s My Religion- Part 4: Makes You Believe in Something Above (Astarion x F! Reader)

Synopsis- Shadowheart, Isobel, Halsin, and Dame Aylin work to heal you. No one is certain you’ll willingly come back from the land of the Dead. Astarion begs for you to come back to him and he wants to spend forever with you.

CW: mentions of gore, violent themes, mentions of SA, mentions of attempted SA, mentions of grief

*not my pic* reach out if it is yours so I can give you credit!

This is barely edited- my mental health has been ❤️🙈✨horrific ✨🙈❤️

The last thing you remember was hearing Astarion screaming and crying- it broke your heart to hear his painful transformation.

Giving up has been the easiest feeling in the whole world- you didn’t know if you were dreaming or in the Heavens, but being embraced by your mother and father as you let the warm glow of their love sink into your non-existent bones, you didn’t know if you cared.

Your father was still your father and your mother was your mother again. They were both still madly in love with one another, but they miss you terribly.

You asked if you were temporarily here. Your mother smiled and said, “only for now, my Heart.”

You broke down in front of both of them- told them your fears and how scared you are to return to Astarion. You don’t want to be forced into vampirism and you certainly don’t want to be a consort.

Your parents told you that fate is a fickle thing and it’s better to embrace it than run from it- they won’t allow you to give up.

You were so angry- they let you be. You lit fires in the Heavenly grass and you screamed until you couldn’t scream anymore. Both of your parents held you as you sobbed- telling you that you’ll be okay.

After, you decided you weren’t going to squander your last little bit of freedom and time with your parents for Gods knows how long. You will not continue being angry over something you have no control over. You will figure it out- you will be okay.

You laughed, cried, hugged, and talked together for what was probably seconds in the mortal world, but hours in this beautiful space.

Your soul feels broken and healed all at the same time when your consciousness hits you like a wagon and you are still in the Szarr palace. Except you aren’t lying on the ground anymore (you think); the air smells of Astarion and the aroma is intoxicating. At least he still smells the same, but you thought you would be far more blood thirsty for waking up as a Spawn and that Astarion would be a lot less hysterical.

Your body hurts- being only halfway between death and life is a painful balance. All of your muscles are taught, but also loose and heavy at the same time. Your skin is numb, but also still stings with every single mark Cazador had cut into you.

Astarion is holding you up against him while Shadowheart is working to heal you and Gale finishes reading the Revivify Scroll. Astarion’s silent tears are falling into your hair and trailing down your face.

“Don’t leave me here alone,” he whispers pleadingly for only your ears to hear, “I didn’t do it- I didn’t Ascend. You were right- you were right the whole time. I dislike you for it, but it’s true.”

You hear him take a shaky, choked breath- your body still not quite awake enough to show any sign of real change in your condition.

You are in complete shock. He didn’t Ascend? It is all he had been talking about for the last three weeks! It’s what he had wanted so why didn’t he do it.

“I’m so so sorry, my Love, ” he continues to beg quietly, “I want you to come back. I need you to come back to me. I don’t want to be in this world without you.”

He pauses for a second and gently kisses your cheek- exhaling unevenly.

“And then have you beat the shit out of me when I decide to come join you because ‘that absolutely is not what I wanted you to do!’”

His soft impression of you, the broken laugh, and the words themselves make your heart feel like it’s going to shatter. You are fighting to make your breaths more noticeable or move your arm- something to tell Astarion I’m here! I didn’t leave you! You aren’t connected enough to your body right now to use the tadpole so that’s not even an option.

Your body is still so weak- Shadowheart is struggling to find out which poison it is and then you hear the voice of Isobel and the sound of Karlach’s clunky armor in the air as Isobel begins to talk to Shadowheart and Halsin about what they have done so far- what has worked? What hasn’t? How long have you been down? Do you have a reason to refuse to come back?

Everyone responds with a resounding no, but you hear Astarion interject.

“Yes,” Astarion’s voice cracks, “she does have a reason to refuse to come back.

“She didn’t want me to Ascend,” he says solemnly, “and we fought about it and I told her it was over. I was coming back to talk to her about it- try to make her see the reasons I needed to Ascend. To try to explain to her that I was doing it for her too.

“I never would have thought Cazador would hurt her like this. He was always so protective,” he manages to choke out after a long pause, “she’s lost her whole family and now she thinks her life is at risk because of me and my obsession with power. Why would she want to come back?”

“Fangs…”

“No,” he screams, the sound echoing through your body, “don’t try to tell me how much she loves me, how she wouldn’t just leave me! I broke her heart. Tav’s family is dead, gone, no more. It’s not even guaranteed some of us will still be alive at the end of this thing and if I thought my best bet of being free was dying because I thought my EX-boyfriend became a power hungry Demi-God Vampire Hybrid- I WOULD CHOOSE STAYING DEAD TOO!”

At least he gets it, but it’s not his fault though. You had made a conscious decision and you knew it was likely you wouldn’t come back. You had been so certain that you had done the right thing this time- you let him go to be what he wanted to be and to find a consort that better suited what he wanted out of life. You were going to be Tadpole free and happily reunited with the people you care for.

You are hoping that he doesn’t resent you- what if you forced him to make a decision? Did he go into your mind? Was he aware that you had chosen to give up and Gods you hope that isn’t the reason he chose not to Ascend because you could not live with yourself if your selfish decision made him deny himself what he wants.

As you try to connect to your tadpole again, you hear Isobel ask for your arm and then feel her stab you with a needle before the world goes dark.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Astarion clings to you in your shared bed as you sleep peacefully in his arms. Isobel had told everyone she had figured out it was Topor- how? Astarion had no damn clue, but you began to look better immediately after she gave you the injection and you’ve been sleeping since.

Astarion had been worried about you sleeping for so long- Isobel, Shadowheart, Halsin and Gale had to come together to convince him that you are entirely okay, but your body had just been through significant trauma- emotionally, mentally, and physically.

Dalyria told him that Cazador had attempted to force himself on you, but you fought him so hard and for so long (even going as far as escaping for a brief moment) that Cazador gave up- resigning to waiting until you were a compliant spawn. So he gave you the Topor to kick start your agonizingly slow and painful death. Isobel said you maybe only had about an hour and a half left when she had arrived- praising Karlach for getting to her so quickly.

Astarion had actually hugged the tiefling (and for a very long time too) after Dame Aylin took you away to help Isobel clean up and stitch your deeper wounds before attempting to heal them. Karlach had been thrilled, but she also told Astarion that she is really proud of him for not ascending and for releasing the spawn into the Underdark. Oh and no hard feelings for the outburst.

Actually- that had been everyone’s words to him today. No one wanted him to Ascend and maybe he would have been miffed prior to today, but Astarion has finally discovered what all those writers have been saying- love and companionship are the most powerful forces across the planes. Astarion could never have killed Cazador or saved you if he hadn’t met any of his companions.

Everyone wanted to know what changed and he would just shrug- said it didn’t feel right. The actual reason is far more private.

Astarion didn’t change his mind because you had ultimately given up- he knew Ascending meant he could bring you back as his Spawn. The hungry, lustful power offered by Mephistopheles had been entirely too tempting and he is grateful he had disrespected your mental privacy in that moment.

Astarion has been told by Cazador for two hundred years how genuinely unlikeable and weak he is. The lure of the ritual had tried to push him to show Cazador ‘just how weak he truly is’- it was practically begging him to complete it.

Astarion could not be more grateful that Shadowheart announced your possible impending death. He wouldn’t have taken the time to cross your boundaries and explore your mind- just resorting to turning you into something you didn’t want to be because that bloodthirsty Ascension would allow him to have power and you wouldn’t be able to leave him. You would have been unhappy at first, but he would keep you safe- that had been the Magic’s justification.

The love you feel towards him is even more all consuming than any evil power would ever be. Your thoughts- even in your grief- were full of warmth, love, and happiness for him despite how gut wrenching it was to hear your mental distress at the idea of him Ascending.

Astarion realized that he would not be able to feel that with you again if he ascended. He would never truly know what it feels like to be loved ever again- he’d be too busy wanting more power and possessing your entire being like Cazador had wanted to do.

If Cazador could do this much damage to you- what would he be capable of? Astarion would have you physically, but eventually, you would turn into a ghost of yourself- abused and empty. Just like Sebastian and the other unfortunate individuals who had been unlucky enough to cross his path.

Or you’ll be like him and eventually find a way to kill him so you can be free. Either way he ends up losing you.

Astarion thought that he would feel relief and happiness when he finally killed Cazador, but he actually felt heartbroken when the man dropped to the floor. It pisses him off even now, but Halsin had said something to him afterwards that had somehow been beneficial.

“It’s okay to grieve your chains after you have spent so long learning to love them- to survive them.”

So he sits here and grieves the last shitty 200 years while holding your sleeping form because you make him feel steady and you keep him on the ground. The hint of your perfume and the clean linens is soothing. You are softly snoring and the sound fills his heart with glee.

You are here and you are alive. He doesn’t have to grieve you or himself and that’s all that matters to him at the end of the day.

There is a quiet knock on the door as Isobel, Dame Aylin, and Shadowheart walk in. They tell him they are going to do a group healing prayer over you that should help you feel better and stronger much faster than if they continue to heal you individually.

It was clear it was a ceremony that was “need to know” and Astarion was promptly kicked out of the room. Realistically the whole thing took about 10 minutes, but Astarion felt like he had to wait for hours for them to be done.

When they are finally done- he races back into the room and makes sure not a single hair is out of place. Astarion worries that he’ll be a nervous wreck if you are out of his sight for a while and he hopes you understand.

Astarion tidies up your stuff in the corner of your shared room (the couples were finally told they need to get their own lodgings) when he hears you gasp for air before you frantically look around the room as quickly as your exhausted body can from where you are- your limbs and neck figuratively glued to the bed.

You haven’t seen Astarion just yet, but he wants to assume he might be the one you are looking for and he’s right. Your eyes land on him and your lip is trembling as you look at him- tears drenching your cheeks instantaneously.

Astarion drops your armor, hastily gets into the bed, and holds you while leaving gentle kisses on your hairline. You hold onto him like you are afraid you may never see him again. Your hands are weakly twisted into his shirt and he can just barely hear you begging him not to leave you between heavy sobs.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispers, “unfortunately for you- I’m never allowing you to leave my sight again, Darling.”

Your laughter comes out as a painful wheeze and Astarion runs circles into your back as you ride out the pain. You snuggle into Astarion’s chest and a sigh of relief escapes your lips. Astarion thinks you may go back to sleep, but then you tense up ever so slightly and he almost misses what you say to him next.

“You didn’t give up on what you wanted for me- did you?” Your voice is small and troubled, “I don’t want to be the thing that kept you from having what you wanted.”

“Yes and no, but not in a bad way,” Astarion says, not wanting you to worry any longer, “I realized that Ascending meant losing myself and you- even if I did bring you back to life as a Spawn, you would have been miserable and unhappy.

“I also realized that my love for you and your love for me is far more valuable to me than all the power in the world. If he could do all of those horrible things to you- what would I be capable of? It just clicked. I realized to Ascend would be to destroy what we have and I wouldn’t be keeping you or me safe- I’d be keeping us captive by selling my soul to Mephistopheles.”

You are so quiet that Astarion thinks you fell asleep, but then he feels your tears begin to stain the fabric of his sleeve.

“I wa- I-,” you are struggling through your tears, “I was so sure I was losing you forever or I was going to be stuck with him forever. I never thought this would be the end result.”

“I, for one, am much happier with this result.”

“Me too,” you smile brightly at him, your voice sounding less retired and rough.

Astarion just takes in your face looking at him, tracing your features with his hands. You are only in your undergarments and lots of medical wrappings due to the amount wounds Cazador had inflicted upon your body.

They must have just cleaned and changed all the wrappings though because the scars that were more superficial are no longer wrapped- just bright red ish purple scars.

The deeper ones on your sides are the ones that had worried Isobel. She had to heal, stitch, heal, and then stitch again before the wound itself finally stayed close. Halsin had been able to cast something to prevent you from waking up during the process and Shadowheart had poured something into your mouth so you wouldn’t feel the pain.

Dame Aylin had shook her head and looked at him.

“After a century or five, it stops weighing on your soul so much- the torture and the pain,” she slowly looks at you, her eyes sad and empathetic, “but that first time? You will never forget that.”

Astarion is probably the only one who knows your Step-dad is a horrible pig, but Astarion had already taken care of that. He also can’t deny that Cazador’s torture is a thousand times worse than anything Bridil could do.

You begin to trace Astarion’s features with your fingers and it jolts him out of his thoughts. Astarion leans in and begins to kiss your lips slowly- taking his time to breathe you in.

There is a question on Astarion’s tongue, but he isn’t sure if he should ask just yet. He wants you to know that he is asking out of readiness and not from a “I thought I almost lost you forever”. Not that he doesn’t want to- he just wants to make sure it’s perfect and not rushed. Astarion has been thinking about this question for a long while now- you are his partner, his best friend, his family.

Astarion has waited for what feels like a lifetime to find someone like you and he wants to spend a whole eternity more with you. He just hopes you’ll say “I do” because Tav Ancunín has a very lovely ring to it.

#baldurs gate 3 #astarion #astarion x reader #baldurs gate astarion #astarion x you #bg3 spoilers #astarion romance #astarion x tav #karlach #bg3 #astarion x female reader #astarion ancunin #astarion x f! reader #bg3 astarion

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blorbologist · 4 months ago

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everyone: reeling over the lore about the gods, about Aeor, about the Calamity

me watching an aeormaton marry an elven woman: so wedding rings were a thing in the Age of Arcanum, because Loquatious mentions not having one when he and Laerryn get re-married right before dying, and apparently wedding rings with diamonds are also a thing 100 years later in a different flying city, and Vex explicitly has a wedding ring with a diamond used to revivify Lieve'tel, so there must be some ancestral root belief causing all these cultures to use wedding rings and for the practice to be maintained over such long periods of time -

#critical role spoilers #cr spoilers #critical role #look ik its probably an out-of-universe lil thing but WEDDING RINGS ARE NOT UNIVERSAL. THERE ARE IMPLICATIONS ON THE WORLDBUILDING-#cr downfall

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astarionslittlejuicebox · 1 year ago

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On Borrowed Time

Author: @astarionslittlejuicebox

Imagine: While the party traverses the Underdark, a fight takes an unexpected turn as Y/N falls during combat. How does the party react and feel when they realize their favorite traveling companion’s heart stops?

Pairing: Astarion x F!Drow!Reader

Trigger warnings: Fluff, minor spoilers, suggestive themes, partying, language, mentions of death, mentions of fighting, blood, potentially graphic content

Word Count: 2280

Side Notes: Y/N = your name

The day had started off just fine as the entire party had been fortunate enough to navigate through the Underdark’s chaos and confusing tunnels just fine with the help of my knowledge from growing up in the Underdark. We had encountered a few exploding spores and some hook horrors, but the party was able to quickly handle all of the challenges. The party had done fairly well up until they were tasked to combat the duergar in the abandoned city by the myconid leader. Y/N, who had taken some damage during the battle with the hook horrors, told everyone they’d be fine after a short rest.

Perhaps the chaos that ensued next could be blamed on too many people: Astarion was a bit trigger-happy, Karlach’s allergies made her sneeze at the most inopportune moment, Shadowheart was still positioning herself, and Y/N had (unknowingly) picked the wrong spot to be in. The second Astarion’s arrow released the same time Karlach’s sneeze alerted the duergar and the undead servants they had with them. As luck would have it, Y/N was the first face they saw, and the first person they targeted. Poor Y/N couldn’t get her bearings fast enough before they surrounded her. The rest of the party tried their best to get the attention off of their favorite wizard, but their attempts were futile as the duergar and undead laid attack after brutal attack. The duergar’s war hammers laid blow after merciless blow into the drow as the dead's claws ripped and tore at the young dark elf’s flesh. Astarion felt his heart stop as she called out his name before another relentless claw struck the drow and her body crumbled to the ground. While Astarion couldn’t see the blood, he could smell the sweet metallic aroma as it began to quickly fill the air. The vampire spawn would never admit it aloud, but the thought of Y/N not smiling at him or teasing him made Astarion feel a bit panicked as he barked at Shadowheart to get to the drow as he released another arrow into the eye of duergar who was posed to strike the fallen drow.

“I’ve got the duergar!” Karlach yelled before she dashed towards the group of enemies, and Shadowheart moved to try and get Y/N some healing.

“Astarion, we have to get her out of there! If I heal her now, they’re just going to keep hitting her.” Shadowheart’s voice sounded as distressed as the group felt with their favorite party member down.

“I’m working on it.” Astarion growled back as Karlach slashed and killed two of the three duergar, clearing a path for Astarion to be able to reach Y/N. However, the group had not anticipated one of the undead deciding against attacking the fire-engulfed barbarian and opting for landing the killing blow to their drow instead. For a moment, the world moved in slow motion for the party as Karlach took a blow to the flank by the last remaining duergar and Astarion hesitated as his hearing had confirmed one of his worst fears: Y/N’s heart wasn’t rhythmically beating within her rib cage. The edges of Astarion’s vision turned red as he ran to slash at the undead who ended her life, but both of his attacks missed as tears blurred his vision. The vampire spawn cursed as frustration grew in his mind. Why had they not been more careful? The high elf thought to himself.

Thankfully, the other two party members were not as distracted as Astarion was at the moment because the flaming tiefling single-handedly finished the last duergar and the two undead servants, and Shadowheart pulled out her scroll of Revivify.

“Heads up, Astarion, she’s going to need you.” Shadowheart said as bright yellow light engulfed the drow’s body before Y/N suddenly appeared next to him, gasping for air and about to fall over. Astarion’s reflexes were faster as he caught her in his arms. He quickly gave her a look over, but the world seemed to stop when her ruby eyes met his gaze.

“Judging…” She started softly. “…by the look on your face…” The drow took another pained breath. “…and how I feel…” A grimace had graced the drow’s face before she could finish her sentence.

“Hush now, darling. We can talk more once we are at camp.” Astarion’s reassuring voice came out ever-so-quietly. “Do you think you can walk?” He asked as Karlach and Shadowheart approached the pair.

“You gave us quite the scare there, Y/N.” Karlach’s voice was not its usually chipper tone. “I’d offer to carry you, but I’m afraid it would hurt worse than the duergar.” This comment brought a small smile to the drow’s face.

“I should be able to do so.” Y/N shuffled on her feet, but her knees gave out. Astarion was quick to support her weight.

“Hasa-Evo.” Shadowheart said as she laid a hand on the drow’s bloody arm. Another rush of bright light surrounded the dark elf as some of the wounds magically closed. Some color had returned to the drow’s face as she straightened herself to stand on her own two feet. She gave the cleric a small smile.

“Thank you. I should be able to make it to camp now.” Even though the drow had appeared better, Astarion was still hesitant to remove his hand from her back or very far from reaching her. Turns out his instincts were right as the drow went to take a step and stumbled, and Astarion wrapped her in his embrace.

“I shall assist you, my dear. I’d rather not see you get any more injuries.” Astarion’s low voice made Y/N look him in the eyes before she whispered to him.

“Careful, Astarion, people might start to think you actually care about me.” Unbeknownst to Y/N, Astarion’s keen ears picked up the sound as her heart raced in her chest as she held his intense gaze. An unfamiliar emotion to Astarion had taken hold in the ruby eyes staring at him, but he shifted her in his arms to support her.

“Let’s get you to camp.” Shadowheart said as she looked between the two elves then shared a knowing look with Karlach as the party set their course for camp.

The air at camp hung heavy with nothing but the sounds of the Underdark that night as Y/N tended to her wounds in her tent. Astarion, who had helped her to her tent, had retreated to his tent shortly afterward and had not come out since. This had left the rest of the party to sit quietly as Shadowheart and Karlach recalled the events for those fortunate enough to not be present during the combat. Everyone worried about their drow companion, but some people were worried about how their vampire spawn companion was coping with today’s events. Astarion thought he was smart and cunning—that no one could tell he was falling for their drow companion; however, Shadowheart and Karlach saw how he practically shattered when Y/N fell to the ground. As much as the traveling party wanted to intervene, they knew that Y/N and Astarion would have to deal with the situation themselves.

Y/N did not leave her tent for most of the night, nor did many of her traveling companions bother her. Shadowheart had stopped by with a plate of warm food to check on how the drow’s wounds were doing. Although the cleric didn’t stay long, Y/N was grateful that they had stopped by, but the drow was worried about another one of her companions: Astarion. She just couldn’t shake the image of his heartbroken face when she came too, and it broke her heart. The wizard had high hopes that Astarion would come to see her tonight for his nightly taste, and she hoped to talk to him then about the whole situation. She cared deeply for the elf, but she had no idea how he felt about her. Only time would tell if he was coming to see her, so Y/N grabbed her newest novel and started reading.

The rest of the evening passed by quietly and uneventfully for the entire camp. After everyone had gone to bed for the night, Astarion emerged from his tent. The vampire spawn had been trying to distract himself from the entire situation and now was his time to emerge to a quiet camp, where no one could ask him any questions about how he felt regarding the day’s events. He did, however, want to check on his favorite traveling companion. As he neared Y/N’s tent though, he noticed the lights of her lanterns still flickering in her tent. Astarion ever-so-slightly lifted the corner of her tent cover and found his drow companion asleep with a book still in her hand as though she fell asleep while reading it. A small smile found its place on Astarion’s lips at the sight of her.

Could it be that she was trying to stay awake for me? He thought to himself, but movement from inside the tent caught his attention. Y/N’s limbs were jerking as if she was having a bad dream, and Astarion was about to take his leave when she jerked awake with panic evident on her face as she clutched her chest.

“No!” She yelled before she opened her eyes and looked around frantically as if she expected a fight to be happening. Instead, she found the white-haired vampire at her tent flap. Astarion could see as the drow’s muscles physically relaxed, but he could hear how fast the organ in her chest was moving the blood in her veins. “Oh, Astarion, you scared me.” Judging by the look on the high elf’s face, he had been standing there long enough to know that was a lie. “Did you come to feed on me?”

“Yes, but I—“ Astarion’s gaze shifted slightly and he looked into the drow’s eyes. “—I also wanted to check on you and make sure that you were okay.” His words were spoken so softly that the drow’s ears almost missed the last half of his sentence.

“I must’ve given you quite the scare today.” Y/N’s voice sounded remorseful, which made Astarion stare at her in disbelief. “I should’ve been more careful. I should’ve known they would go for that spot; I could’ve gone to the ledge—“ The pale elf’s lips on hers stopped the rambling coming from Y/N. A gentle hand moved some hair out of her face when he pulled back.

“You couldn’t have known what was going to happen today.” His words were soft and reassuring as he stared intensely into her eyes. “The important thing is that you are still here. We still have to find the Grymforge and kill Nere, but you’re still here to do that. I would have a hard time finding another pet as dear as you.” Astarion watched Y/N’s worry melt off her face as a look of admiration settled on her face, and a small smile graced her lips.

“You’re right. I am still here.” Her eyes danced as they looked over Astarion’s face. “So are you. We’ve still got a lot of work ahead of us too, but I—“ The drow’s eyes paused their search as they landed on his lips before she looked back into his eyes. “—I am glad to have you by my side.” The vampire spawn felt his cheeks grow warm under her intense gaze.

“I am glad to be here. Almost dying with you beats living with Cazador any day.” A lighthearted chuckle erupted from the drow and made the high elf smile. He was growing quite fond of the sound of her laughter.

“I’m sure it does.” She smiled at him. “Thank you for coming to see me.”

“Of course. I had to make sure my pet was faring okay.” Astarion smiled back at her as he gently brushed a strand of hair from her face. “I shall let you rest tonight, my dearest. But do me a favor? Try to keep your blood inside your body; it is harder to feed when it is outside where it belongs.” The ruby eyes of his drow companion rolled in their socket at his comment, but he was truly glad that she was okay. “I shall let you sleep tonight. You’ll need all your strength for tomorrow.” He went to stand up, but the drow gently grabbed his hand.

“Can you…stay with me tonight?” She gingerly asked. “If you’re comfortable staying. I don’t want to—“

“How sweet. Of course I’ll stay with you, pet.” The smile the vampire spawn gave her made her heart do a somersault in her chest. Neither of them wanted to admit how nice it was to be in the presence of the other, but if how fast Y/N fell asleep told Astarion anything—it was that he himself was in serious trouble. He had planned to stay with her long enough for her to fall asleep, but he changed his mind the moment she snuggled into his side. Red eyes studied the sleeping drow with wariness. Could it be that the vampire’s plan to seduce the drow was working? He thought to himself. It certainly appears so, then why doesn’t he just leave? He was only going to stay till she was asleep, but here she is cuddled into his side and all he feels is…peace…. Perhaps, while he was free of Cazador, he could enjoy the time he has with her. After all, isn’t everyone on borrowed time? With his mind made up, Astarion made himself comfortable and relished in the warmth that the woman next to him brought him—both in body heat and to his heart.

#astarion imagine #astarion x reader #baldursgate3 #astarion fluff #baldursgate3imagine

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song-of-baldy-ron · 3 months ago

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Ok but let’s talk about it! So (assuming this is all true) the gods essentially invented their own afterlives to keep the “power” they get from their followers’ belief permanently. They’re taken out of the natural cycle of rebirth.

What happened to the followers of Sarenrae that got destroyed in the calamity? The way they speak of it makes me think those souls were destroyed permanently and not returned to the cycle.

Where does the Luxon fit into all this?

Is this how the afterlife still works on Ruidus? Matt mentioned revivify magic worked on the moon because it has its own system.

#critical role #critical role spoilers #bells hells #cr spoilers #exandria

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stone-stars · 10 months ago

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a while ago i made a post about naddpod music and @metamagic-adept brought up kingshammer in the replies. and yeah, i can't resist. so. kingshammer essay, let's do this.

first of all: huge, huge thanks to @operationslipperypuppet for helping me with this; she found a bunch of uses (esp for c3) and contributed truly so much to the analysis as well.

now, the use of kingshammer differs by campaign. so! really quickly. here is every use of kingshammer in naddpod.*

*as of c3e53. obligatory spoiler warning for every naddpod episode up to that point.

(continued under the cut as i was not kidding about this being an essay-- i will leave a tl;dr of sorts towards the end)

c1e45: The Kings protect the Boobs from the avalanche (except Hardwon)

c1e54: Hardwon's death*

c1e54: Hardwon's visions while he's dead*

c1e54: Hardwon is revivified*

c1e55: Hardwon's dreamless sleep after dying*

c1e65: JV and Rosa in the fog, when he gives her his lantern*

c1e65: JV, the Duskmother, and Moradin*

c1e69: Hardwon seeing the day his father died while in Galad's sword

c1e75: Hardwon speaking up in the astral council: "You don't broker a deal with someone who calls themself a God"

c1e80: Hardwon's flashback in Hell: "Looks like a Dwarf to me"

c1e81: Hardwon fuses the Bronzebeard and Coldain hammers

c1e86: Hardwon throws King Coldain the Kingshammer in the Tarrasque fight

c1e86: Coldain returns the Kingshammer to Hardwon in the Tarrasque fight

c1e87: Hardwon and King Coldain talk about succession of the throne

c1e90: Hardwon dreams of Grimthor MacGannis in the fall of Irondeep

c1e91: Hardwon notices that the debris from Irondeep collapsing is gone

c1e93: Hardwon and King MacGannis talk about the Godshammer / MacGannis offers Hardwon the MacGannis Kingshammer

c1e98: Pestilence sends Bev and Bubbles to a Maze

c1e98: Bev in the maze, following Bubbles (instead of Erlin)

c1e99: Bev Sr. possesses Balnor so he can bless Bev's sword

c2e2: Fia and Zirk talk about their mentors and their books

c2e14: Jabari sees the past and is controlled to need to protect the King

c2e14: Jabari (still mind controlled) attacks Corbeau

c2e20: Bathilda retells the betrayal of the Blades / Cain and Moxora's attack on the Blades meeting

c2e21: Losgrar explains the Crux, and the cave in that killed hundreds

c2e22: The Third Mates plead with the Scrappers and Grez / The Scrappers and Grez stand off in the basement

c2e28: The Third Mates get through to Walder Lachnamoore (using Kenley's map and Remove Curse)

c2e40: The start of the ritual with the crown and Irina (that is ultimately corrupted by Moxora)

c2e41: Henry removing the crown

c3e21: Callie approaches and soothes the Silver Serpent

c3e27: Big Bev and Callie go down in the High King fight, the King tries to escape, Calder fails to finish him

c3e34: Murph talks about Moradin, the Kingshammer itself, and the blessings people seek at his statue

c3e38: Callie tries to soothe the Bronze Serpent (first attempt)

c3e38: Callie tries to soothe the Bronze Serpent (second attempt)

c3e39: Callie tries to soothe the Bronze Serpent (final attempt, after bean rat, which succeeds)

c3e45: Callie enters the helm ("I'm coming Calder")

c3e45: Hardwon summons the spirit guardians

(note: uses in c1 marked as a * are credited instead as "A Sight For Sore Eyes", and i'd also like to mention that i didn't exclude side campaigns or oneshots from this list. kingshammer just... isn't used outside of the main campaigns.)

now, looking at this list, there's something that's immediately obvious: you can't talk about kingshammer without talking about hardwon surefoot.

... and i say that, but i'm going to immediately do the opposite of that and talk about non-hardwon uses in c1 and c3, as well as all uses in c2. also, keep in mind that not every use 100% fits these categories, sometimes kingshammer is just the right song for the moment, and that's fine. let's get into it!

first: moradin. the man who created the hammer, so of course it would be used for him. i would place both of JV's scenes here (the first scene, though not featuring moradin directly, is tied to JV's afterlife), as well as the c3e34 moradin statue scene. (i also wouldn't be surprised if the JV scenes get kingshammer partially because of its link to jake like. on a meta level. but i digress)

second: once the godshammer is created in episode 93 (put a pin in that), kingshammer is no longer used for hardwon or the weapon itself. in the first campaign, the song shows up a few more times, all for beverly: when he's in the maze during the pestilence fight, and when bev sr. possesses balnor to speak to bev. these fall in line, to me, with the early uses of kingshammer for hardwon (post his death in ep54). being beyond the planes of the living, being trapped. hardwon sees lydia there and has to leave her behind for his friends; beverly sees erlin and does the same.

third: in eldermourne, kingshammer is largely used for rituals and betrayals, and is especially tied to the cycle of mistrust and betrayal that surrounds the children of the trickster; the final use being when henry goes to remove the crown from irina in the finale. it's seeded with the introduction of the guardians of the grove books in ep 2, and continues throughout. i'm not going to touch on every use here, some fit more obviously, but i want to call out a few things: 1. re; the use in e28, walder lachnamoore was specifically involved in the downfall of the summer and autumn children of the trickster after they had been manipulated by moxora/heredecia and 2. every other use comes in a pair (the use in 2 sets up bathilda's story in 28 / the two uses in 14 are both jabari getting controlled / 21 and 22 are the ghost dragon / 40 and 41 are both the crown)

fourth, i'm just going to quote emily on the c3e27 short rest: "kingshammer in [campaign 3] i'm trying to put under dragons and serpents, 'cause they're the weapons of this campaign." this covers the uses in eps 21, 27, 38, and 39. the use in 34 is for moradin, and the only other c3 use left is the one in episode 45. put a pin in that.

and with that we've covered all the other kingshammer uses. so, finally, let's talk about hardwon and kingshammer.

hardwon is definitely the strongest association the song has. especially in campaign 1, where it's almost exclusively used for hardwon and the kingshammer (the weapon, not the song) until the godshammer is created in episode 93.

i want to break these uses up real quick; first, let's look at the first handful of uses in campaign 1: 45, 54 (all of them), 55, 69. here, the song comes in as things get dire. the mountain collapses, and it looks like even as the kings save his friends hardwon is going to die. then, he dies and sees that lydia is trapped. he watches his father's last stand. kingshammer isn't a heroic theme for hardwon here, it's a theme he struggles against. it's not prompted by his actions, it's prompted by something happening to him. it's the weapon he wields, but in 69 it's even actively rejected him due to his vampiric nature.

and then, well, a few things happen. he's reborn, for one (literally). and then in episode 75, for the first time, hardwon prompts the song. he speaks up in the astral council, and says "you don't broker a deal with someone who calls herself a god." and his friends and allies stand with him.

after this, the uses in episodes 80-93 (keep that pin in episode 93) are pretty obviously tied to the weapon itself. the kingshammer. as it gets stronger, so does hardwon. the "looks like a dwarf to me" flashback is the first time he wields it. every other use concerns the hammers and the dwarven kings. the kingshammer isn't what makes hardwon a hero, not by a long shot. but the thing that's interesting to me is the turn here. it's no longer a song that happens to hardwon, not really. it's often a song prompted by hardwon's action, and it's more hopeful now. it represents the weapon and its legacy, which is a thing hardwon is coming to embrace.

now, about that pin. in episode 93, hardwon and macgannis talk about the godshammer. when macgannis offers hardwon his own hammer, hardwon says: "i don't necessarily have to be the guy, you know, if you wanna swing it--" and the song cuts off. they wrestle for the hammer, hardwon wins, and the godshammer is restored.

after this point, kingshammer is not used for hardwon again until campaign 3 episode 45, when he summons the spirit guardians at the 11th hour of the lord ultrus fight.

i just want to emphasize that; hardwon tells macgannis that he doesn't have to be the one who wields the kingshammer, and the song doesn't get used for him again until he accepts it back in campaign 3. when he says "hey boys, i think we have a friend to avenge," stands against ultrus, and his friends and allies stand with him. when he accepts himself as the wielder of the kingshammer again, and what that means to him (being a hero).

do you see-- i am talking directly to you, the single person who read this far-- do you see why the song use in this podcast is insane?? like! did murph know, back in the first campaign, that hardwon would return, be retired, and have given up the kingshammer? definitely not. does the use of kingshammer for hardwon mirror his arc in an insane way? yes.

so that's an overview of hardwon and kingshammer. however, we're not done. let's look at it all together: moradin, the kingshammer (the weapon), the uses for bev and jv in c1, betrayals and rituals in eldermourne, the serpents and dragons of c3, and hardwon's relationship to the hammer and the song.

kingshammer is a song for weapons. emily says it, when talking about campaign 3. and that is 100% a common theme here. but, going a bit further, it's also a song about the interaction of mortals and divine/otherworldly power.

often, it's mortals wielding that power. the kingshammer (the weapon) is a divine gift, given by moradin to the dwarven kings. a huge chunk of the uses, especially in c1, are directly tied to the weapon and hardwon's wielding of it. the spirit guardians is a huge example of this as well, as hardwon and his allies are touched by the kingshammer's magic and able to stand against ultrus. and also; bev sr uses the power of the shadowfell to bless bev's sword. and the serpents are oberon's weapon against the destruction of nature; glen uses the silver serpent for his own gains, gromdal does the same to the bronze. callie, meanwhile, doesn't use the serpents, not like glen or gromdal-- instead, kingshammer comes in when she attempts to soothe them. because ultimately, that's the way she wields their power. through connection.

sometimes, they're being pulled at by its influence instead. positively, or negatively. JV, when he's beyond death, meeting the gods. hardwon after his death, torn between lydia (who was put in this position by a god) and his friends. beverly, trapped by an avatar of thiala's magic, being guided by the ghost of erdan. the souls of irondeep being pulled from the prime material by lydia, the lord of shadowfell. callie, entering the helm where ultrus was trapped to save calder.

in eldermourne, this is less tangible. however; the betrayals and the children of the trickster. this cycle of betrayal is the biggest divine influence that remains in eldermourne. the blades are tied up in it, due to their ties to cerenysus and the betrayal by the blades who sided with moxora. walder is tied up in it, as i mentioned before, and he remains in his undead form because of the influence of moxora. jabari is influenced by the prophet-ed king into betraying his friends. the ghost dragon, an otherworldly being, is created by pain caused by mortal actions. and then the crown ritual, at the very end. when moxora, disguised, betrays them and shows irina the third mates "betraying" their ideals, out of context. and the last use, with henry, is as he steps up to end the cycle, one that he had been a part of before.

it's all mortals and the otherworldly, and the places they meet. it's hardwon and his mortal allies, standing together on the premise that you don't broker a deal with someone who says they're a god. and, at the same time, it's hardwon and his allies finding strength in the kingshammer's magic to stand against the avatar of one. it's the ways the two influence each other. an intervention by one onto the other. sometimes they draw strength from each other, other times they're opposed. it's a song that is dire, and also hopeful. oftentimes, which of those is the case is determined while the song is playing.

tl;dr: kingshammer has a lot of uses, but it's very consistently used to represent (divine) weapons, and the interactions between mortals and the divine/otherworldly. when applied to hardwon specifically, it has a lot to do with his journey as a hero and accepting that that's what he is.

(also, since i'm writing this before either happens: don't be surprised if it's used for the ice knife (the weapon) and/or the final serpent whenever we meet it. both of these have a high chance of getting kingshammer applied to them considering everything that's been set up about the ice knife and also, y'know, serpents.)

in conclusion: you can pay careful attention to the music in naddpod, but watch out. you might accidentally write 2.5 thousand words about a song. thank you for reading.

and go listen to kingshammer-- aside from all the meaning it also just kicks ass.

notes, disclaimers, etc:

for the purposes of this, if the song loops, it's part of the same use. if it is used later in the same episode, it's noted separately.

this is mentioned above, but not every use fits 100%. murph and emily very deliberately use music throughout the story to inform it, and also sometimes kingshammer is just the right song for a moment. both are true.

as a follow up to that, i'm not claiming that all of this was the specific intention. i'm just saying that when you look at kingshammer's uses as a song, there are some pretty strong themes, and it's fun to examine those.

i am not perfect. this is for fun. if i missed one, i'm sorry, feel free to point it out, and also i'll edit this post if that's the case

i would once again like to call out alli operationslipperypuppet for her help. she pointed out the divine connection first, and in general helped immensely. and, if naddpod music interests you, she's another person who often goes insane about it.

i am not above doing this for other songs, if you're interested let me know (few songs are as prolific as kingshammer, however)

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mallevsmaleficarum · 1 year ago

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a summary of events that merit further dissection after relistening to campaign one of Naddpod re: the Feywild arc:

Hardwon dies fighting the Hounds and Bev has to revivify him

Hardwon hears Gemma, his mom, and his dad calling to him from three different afterlives (only Gemma tells him its not his time btw) and he has a choice to go with any of them or come back to life

Up until this point, his guilt over not preventing Gemma’s death has manifested in him feeling pretty bad about himself and also not really pursuing anything with anyone (being very awkward and not shooting his shot with the Tris’s (played for laughs)

Hardwon is revivified and says to Gemma that he’s still a bit of a fuckboi, followed by “Heeyy Moonshine and Bev”

various non-serious flirting happens for a couple episodes (Emily makes a point to say Moonshine was holding Hardown when he came back (Bev also grabs his hand))

While fighting Ezra the unseelie queen Hardwon kisses Moonshine after she’s attacked by the eye stalks and becomes frozen

Moonshine doesn’t seem to reciprocate for a couple rounds because she just learned she’s part High-elf and then Hardwon learns that when he killed Galad (sp?) he damned his mother to the Shadowfell and made her Galad’s prisoner again- he begins to think everyone he loves or has anything to do with dies because of him

Moonshine makes her saving throw- overcoming Ezra’s magic, and kisses Hardwon back (later Balnor comments that they were making out during the fight- they both seem a bit uncomfortable and play it off now that the fight’s over)

after the fight everyone is depressed about what they learned, Hardwon seems especially so, he and Moonshine get fucked up together

Hardwon also is pointedly awkward when Moonshine brings up Gemma in the next episode!!!

they go to the shadowfell, with Moonshine using her spores to bring Hardwon below five hp so they can planeshift and we know how she usually spores people to death

this is where I’m caught up to on my rewatch, but knowing what is to come in Shadowfell, I think its pretty clear Hardwon is aware of his romantic feelings for Moonshine at this point, got the courage to make a move, and was immediately punished (in his mind) for it by learning that his choices have hurt the people he loves (despite the fact he had no way of knowing any of these things would happen)

que vampire Hardwon and naked resurrection ritual (and ooooh do you remember that scene- thats a whole other post!!)

“I’ve been a half elf ever since I met you,” etc.

Basically they both keep getting closer to each other and discovering what they mean to each other but also get FURTHER away from making any declarative statements about it! the more they progress the more they have to loose and the more afraid they become of saying anything about it! (Also important to mention here that Moonshine is pretty much against monogamy- which adds another layer to this BUT doesn’t cheapen any of the feelings they have for one another).

Therefore: if Hardwon hadn’t learned about his mom he might have made a move by their last night before they fought Thiala instead of sleeping with a dwarf from New Zealand (and someone remind me-did Moonshine cast foresight (9th level) so that Hardwon would be good on his first time??)

I literally cannot wait for the next episode of Ba2umia and their hopeful reunion

Note: theres no right or wrong way things should’ve happened btw, all of the players had the agency to make their own character choices and i respect the hell outta all of them all as players- the are THE characters of all time and they each had such amazing character arcs!!! i love the whole cast (very much including Caldwell and Murph!)

i had to subscribe to the patreon i gotta know what theyre saying in the short rests!!!!

#JAKE HURWITZ I AM IN YOUR WALLS #not to be parasocial but what the fuck man #naddpod #hardshine #Emily Axford i wish to study your mind #hardwon surefoot #moonshine cybin

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rollforfelicity · 6 months ago

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release your takesssss

(spoilers for tonight's episode)

personally kinda upset alongside emily that everything she did regarding ruben had no real impact despite all the threads around his regret, and how that seems to communicate that there's no point in talking things out with maryann. holding out hope that after defeating porter and jace they can revivify the ratgrinders in the finale and find some kind of peace. also if lucy and yolanda aren't rezzed i riot

what were your thoughts?

My answer will also have spoilers for FHJY so avert your eyes, all ye who have not watched the penultimate episode yet!

I'm hesitant to answer because I truly think people will not like my take on this, but I think this is my first ever anon ask and I've had time to think more on my opinion and solidify it. This is all with the caveat that of course the final episode isn't out yet, so anything I say about what I think of the narrative of the show is incomplete information.

The first thing is that some people are really upset about the Rat Grinders getting killed in combat when there's a lot we don't know about them, and to some degree they may be acting under duress from Porter and Ankarna. Some people are really mad that the Bad Kids are just rushing into battle to kill them off without taking the time to try to understand them. I have a couple of reasons why (although I understand the frustration) I don't agree with this criticism. The first is an in-world reason, and the second is a TTRPG reason.

The in-world reason I don't think a "redemption" arc would be satisfying for the Rat Grinders is because these are the last two episodes. None of the Rat Grinders have done anything to show that they desire or are working toward redemption. Yes, they're teens. We don't know how completely they're acting under their own volition. BUT they are actively trying to kill not only the Bad Kids, but everyone who was at Fabian's party (essentially the entire school) and everyone in Elmville. If the Rat Grinders are doing this because of Ankarna/Porter, The Bad Kids don't know of a way other than killing everyone to stop this from happening. Maybe if the Bad Kids had spent more time trying to get to know the Rat Grinders I would feel differently.

There have also been criticisms that The Bad Kids are bullies and taking pleasure in killing off the Rat Grinders, and that it feels fucked up. I think The Bad Kids are bullies! I think they've been little assholes since the beginning of the show. They frequently bully each other. They're literally called The Bad Kids. I think something fun about playing a game in a high school setting is that high schoolers aren't mature and have less impulse control than adults do, so they make bad decisions. Sometimes they do really fucked up things. Fig sending Reuben to hell is pretty fucked up, but it's also pretty funny, and it's also what a teenage devil of rebellion would do to somebody they're mad at. (I could also get into a whole thing about how Dimension 20 is a comedy show and that hyperbole is funny, but then I have to give my hot take about other moments of Dimension 20 that people generally don't like and I can only do so much here.)

So that's the in-narrative reason why I don't think a redemption arc would be satisfying. But there's also TTRPG/medium reasons I think it wouldn't be satisfying! Dimension 20 is, for better or worse, primarily a D&D show. (They've also played Kids on Bikes which they have generally ran in the same way they run D&D but I have a whole other blog post about my irritations with that. Also obligatory Shriek Week mention.) D&D is primarily a combat game. You can do other things in it, but the majority of people's spells and abilities come down to fighting. That's why the finales are always combat episodes. In D&D, you solve problems with violence. That's the game. Having played 50+ other game systems at this point, I have a lot of critiques of D&D! I would LOVE if Dimension 20 played other things. That being said...

If they ARE playing D&D, I find myself much less frustrated when they play D&D as D&D, and not trying to get it to be something it isn't. So if one of the Bad Kids in the finale decides "I want to spend my turn trying to reason with Kipperlily," and it comes down to a roll because the situation is tense and combat is happening, that would make more sense to me than a two part finale where every member of the party tries to reason with the Rat Grinders and if they fail the roll they just have another person say the same sentiment worded differently so they can spam Persuasion checks.

There are other games where a dialogue works as a final confrontation. Good Society (my beloved) has all kinds of rules to navigate social intrigue, use people's reputations against them, or appeal to their good qualities. Justicar is a courtroom drama game where people have moves that let them introduce evidence or find a flaw in someone's testimony. Vampire The Masquerade has rules for "social combat." D&D doesn't really have that. The best approximation it has is the DM deciding on a number that needs to be rolled on a die to convince someone of something. That's it. It's not even an opposed check, because what do you roll against Persuasion? Mayyyyybe Insight in some circumstances. Maybe a Saving throw of some kind? But there isn't much support in the rules for that kind of finale.

The last thing I'll say is that MOST seasons of Dimension 20, people say the ending was anti-climactic or not narratively interesting. That's a fair critique, and I honestly agree! That being said, Dimension 20 is essentially long form improv. That's not the medium I personally go to for a satisfying narrative conclusion. If I want a story with a solid, satisfying ending, I read a book or watch a movie: finite works that are planned out, edited many times, and that have a carefully crafted narrative structure. Sorry, anon, for such a long and probably uninteresting answer! Also for the record, I think if the Rat Grinders are rezzed after the fight and released from their rage stars that would be a good end, and I too want Lucy and Yolanda brought back. So I agree with you on that! The take has been released!

#fhjy spoilers #dimension 20

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vigilskeep · 1 year ago

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what was your fucked up gale fic idea 👀👀

i forgot i mentioned that in the tags earlier so i thought you were just seeing into my brain.

anyway i’m obsessed with the insane implications of a) the apparent relative ease of access and lack of material consequences to the revivify spell, b) the raw mechanics of magical training and what happens when it goes wrong, and c) what it must have been like being someone who cared about gale while All That was happening when he was young. so the idea was a little scene from the pov of his mother, who only finds out when elminster arrives on her doorstep, sent by mystra with a scroll of revivify, that gale pushed himself too far with a spell he was taught, and her boy is dead upstairs. minutes have passed; she didn’t even know, it was that quiet. he always tries to keep it down until he has something to show off. mystra did nothing herself because she isn’t permitted to interfere, and it did not occur to her to inform gale’s mother before elminster; what could she possiby do about it? gale comes back without a hitch, apologetic for getting the spell wrong, laughing over his mistake, determined to get it right next time. there isn’t even a mark of the injury, just a little cut where he hit his head falling. nothing has changed. everything has changed. the dinner she was making is burning downstairs

idk obviously i would require more knowledge to even begin with that and it could easily be wrong already it was just a Vision that sprung into my head as i was playing you know. in any fictional situation where people can be revived i wonder when it happened to them first and how it felt

#not tagging this its Silly

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thatwitchrevan · 6 months ago

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I have so many questions about the pwk being meant for Merilwen and ofc I'd like to hear the in game reasoning for that but I think Luke was right at least in part about it being a strike for the strongest threat (and most likely to be able to bring someone back)

But what was the DM thought process. Because Johnny didn't give away how serious it was until Corazon got hit instead of Merilwen. Which makes me wonder if they expected Merilwen to evade or dispel it somehow? Or were they genuinely prepared to outright kill Merilwen? And if that had happened what are the chances that she could be brought back? People have mentioned Egbert having Revivify but I have no idea if that's confirmed.

I think going for Merilwen makes a lot of sense but the prospect of it actually killing her is terrifying for multiple reasons. I like. I love all the Oxventurers pretty equally and I was definitely upset that Corazon took the hit, especially cause he was low on the list of who I was prepared to see individually killed off (I pretty much was prepared to lose Dob or Liliana or Egbert).

BUT I think him doing the heroic jump and joking about it took the edge off a bit (which is one of the best examples of why I love this series and how everyone plays together so much. Andy rambling about his hit points while the table grapples with the revelation that he's been killed is just peak Oxventure.)

If Merilwen dies outright I think everyone would have just been in numb shock for a second and I would have had to pause the episode and go outside to scream for like an hour. And then beat Liliana to death with one of her own arms.

But Corazon's play was a twofold rescue of Corazon absorbing the attack to protect Merilwen, turning a painful and senseless death into a still tragic but also heartfelt moment showing their bond and his character growth, and Andy salvaging some hope and cutting the tension with jokes.

Also, Merilwen's immediate response shows why she's essential to the team in this moment, because everyone else was frozen in shock and unable to immediately act to protect themselves or provide catharsis, and while I think Prudence or possibly Dob would have attacked Liliana if Merilwen was dead I think Merilwen's outpouring of rage perfect and a great culmination of her character, and I'm kind of biased towards her as the enactor of righteous fury and all that.

Any of them dying was a huge shock given the hilariously light stakes of most of the series but it being the squishy human pirate definitely had a different impact than it being Merilwen, the eldest with hella strong magic. And then there's the rest of the party's guilt that they wouldn't have been quick enough to protect her.

I think I would have been really sad if Corazon stayed deas though, because again I love all of them a lot and because he is a squishy human (well. Was a squishy human) and because he's had so much growth and was so keen on continuing to live and grow and yet he risked himself blindly, selfishly, automatically for his friend, yeah I'd be real torn up if he was gone for good.

#oxventure #it's also worth mentioning that dob and prudence's hilarious fighting over corazon's corpse was also great at cutting the tension #and responding to a character death in a way that's tonally in line with this series #i like that in the other series they're more serious and grave and grounded with major incidents like character death #like the immediate response to nate's death was great #but in the original oxventure we expect oddball morbid jokes and they delivered

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wetcatspellcaster · 2 months ago

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The ascension gate conversation was amazing, especially how you tied it to the kidnapping. This is a wonderfully thoughtful exploration of both their characters and I'm loving reading and rereading it xx

Thank you lovely anon!

This is actually the reason I chose the Orin plot arc! At one point in early drafting, I was going to have Rosalie die and get revivified, like what's mentioned in Party Favours. But then I realised it was just retreading all the same ground and character beats as the Ethel confrontation, not really doing anything new. Getting kidnapped by Orin instead did so much work for both characters and tied all the development of both together so well that I knew it was the best thing for the story!

So happy you enjoyed the chapter xxxx

#asks #anons #wip: an honest lie

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atsadi-shenanigans · 6 months ago

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Feeding Alligators 61 - It Compels You Though

You remember what happened and learn some things.

On AO3.

And you immediately flop back down as the continent gives a whirl beneath you. Shadowheart sighs. Something rustles as you squeeze your eyelids shut and try to stay awake. A stopper squeaks, and then Shadowheart’s cool hand slips around the back of your neck. She urges you up at a much more sedate—and sensible—pace. And the taste of dirt and fire flood your mouth.

“Fuck shit that stuff is so nasty!” you say.

“It doesn’t smell pleasant, either,” she says. “Now lay back down before you break your spine again.”

Again? The fuck?

You ease down. Wiggle your toes. And them fuckers move. The surge of relief almost takes you out again.

“Do I wanna know?” you say.

Dark smears hang beneath her eyes. Her lips press thin. Then, “Suffice to say, you nearly died. I managed to piece you together, but barely. You need to take it easy for several days, no exceptions. It took a lot out of you.” And her, judging by the slump of her shoulders and the sheer exhaustion painted over her posture. “Your bones and flesh had to knit back together. You’ll be tired for some time.”

“Something exploded,” you say.

She nods. “One of the goblins was some kind of mage. Sent a sparkpowder barrel back towards the pillar holding our section of the rafters. I managed to catch myself, but you…it was chaos below. It took all of us some time to find you.”

Laying on your back, coughing up blood. Ruptured insides, bleeding out into your own body with your spine shattered. There was a beam on you. You were too far gone to lift it. But your memory is hazy. Pain and smoke and screaming. Something pale. Red…?

Where’s Astarion?

Y’all look clear of the goblin camp. Set up in a patch of woods that don’t smell of burnt hair or blood or piss, so that’s nice. Karlach has her tent set up, with Wyll’s beside hers. She’s on her side, passed out and curled around Clive. Gale’s voice murmurs, and something scrapes across metal—Lae’zel tending to her gear.

“Everybody else okay?” you say. You scan for white and don’t find it.

“In one piece, yes,” Shadowheart says. “A few bruises, burns, and Gale has a concussion. You were the worst off.”

She don’t mention Astarion. His tent ain’t in the usual spot…oh. Oh, it’s not in his usual spot. There’s a clear area next to Karlach, where your tent would habitually go if your body wasn’t “knitting” its own bones back together. But the red fabric of Astarion’s tent ain’t next to yours. It’s next to Gale. On the other side of camp.

Something about that twinges in your chest.

But you don’t got time to study that at all, because something rasps behind you and the voice of the devil says, “Thou must take care to protect thy flesh.”

Motherfucker!

Injuries be damned, you’re up and backing into Shadowheart, clutching at her as your legs almost spill out from under you as the dizziness blasts through your vision.

Withers stands there, arms at his sides, rotten and dried out face peering at you with his nasty, shriveled eyes. Fucker just appeared behind you. You just looked around and that fucker wasn’t nowhere around.

“What does that mean?” Shadowheart says for you, and it’d be rude to kiss her on the cheek without asking.

“Thy soul is bound to a vessel, and thy name is not written within this realm.”

Which means fuck all to you.

“Her soul is here,” Shadowheart says. “Couldn’t she pay your price as the rest of us can?”

But Jerky shakes his head. “Nay. To restore thy flesh to life, thy soul must inhabit it. Should thy flesh die, thy soul will remain bound to its vessel, trapped.”

Now you frown. Turn to Shadowheart, who’s gone pale. “What’s he saying?”

Cause you got a suspicion that if you go and kick the bucket, you’ll be the first poltergeist Faerun has ever seen wandering the wilds hollering, “It’s Britney, bitch!”

Shadowheart takes a breath—to compose herself, you think—and says, “He can’t revivify you if you die, anymore. You’d…you’d become a lich.”

“A what?”

A fucking ringwraith, is what she describes. Which don’t that just sound de-fucking-lightful.

“And this ‘vessel’ containing her soul,” Shadowheart says to Jerky. “There’s no permanent solution? A better way?”

Jerky holds up a hand. Ignores Shadowheart completely. “Thou is not of this realm. The divine powers do not recognize thee. Take care of thy mortal flesh. I shall say no more.”

“Wait,” Shadowheart says.

Jerky only walks off into the shadows. Gone off to lurk, like usual.

Shadowheart’s jaw clenches a couple of times. Something flashes over her features, it looks like worry, if you’d be so bold to assume. Then she stuffs her emotions into a mental jar (like your soul), and gives you a once-over.

“You need to lie back down,” she says. “And we’re going to have to seriously reconsider this for any…future plans of yours.”

You got enough bullshit going on, that becoming a ringwraith ain’t even in the top five list of Shit to Deal With. The fact that these people can just be, like, brought back from being dead is enough of a mind boggle. It only makes you feel even more vulnerable in comparison. Makes you feel coddled.

You are always gonna have to stand back, now. Always let all of them deal with everything and do all the work of whatever bullshit your brain throws at the wall. Because the big druid is gone, and he ain’t gonna help y’all, so now y’all will have to go to Lae’zel’s people and that just…just seems like such a fun time.

You’re starting to wonder if that demon fuckhead was onto something. All y’all’s leads are closing off. Y’all are stuck with the memory of Not-Sasha and whatever the fuck she’s going to ask for because that bitch has a reason for shielding you, she just don’t want to spill it right now which means it’s a lot and it’s probably very, very bad.

Jesus lord.

You need sleep. Your body feels ragged, like you ain’t slept in a week and the only thing keeping unconsciousness at bay is a couple a shots of espresso and you got the shakes and you are three long blinks short of a hard-crash pass-out.

So of course that’s when Lae’zel decides to pick a fight with Shadowheart. And of course Shadowheart does the smart thing, and waits until Lae’zel falls asleep before almost slitting her throat.

These fucking people.

When you do pass out again, you don’t even remember lying down.

***

You wake to both the owlbear cub and a dog in your camp the next morning. Gale is nice enough to lend you an animal speaking potion, and the owlbear is the most adorable little murder machine you ever met. The dog says his owner died on the road, and that Volo guy took him in, but the Volo guy lost him (or ditched him, you ain’t really sure) so he followed the people smell back to y’all.

You ain’t never had a pet dog. There were a couple of dogs on the farmstead, but they wasn’t for playing with. You kinda always wanted one; living in an apartment nixed that idea, though.

“You’re not going to seriously let two animals follow us around, surely?” Shadowheart says.

You look from her, to the dog, and back to her.

“But he’s such a good boy,” you say.

And if that dog’s tail don’t give a fucking wag at that.

So now y’all have an owlbear cub and a dog. Add two more members to the brainworm crew.

Gale says he’ll jump all y’all back to the grove with them magic rocks. After breakfast (“the mind requires nutrition as well”), and that means letting him snack on a magic necklace as he cooks breakfast.

It’s something Wyll found in the temple, casts magic lights that turn invisible people back to visible (…that’s a thing you don’t like at all). He forks it over without complaint. And after Gale disintegrates it, he looks at y’all, sighs, and explains what the fuck.

When he’s done, you quietly add Mystra to your “people to kill???” mental list. Lean to Shadowheart to whisper, “Can somebody fistfight a goddess?”

And the look she gives you damn near regresses you back to childhood.

“I would highly discourage any attempt,” she says, drier than Withers’ ass.

So Gale’s cursed by a goddess (and his ex???). Only he don’t call it cursed, but she certainly left him out to die, didn’t she?

Nice to see gods here are a bunch of useless fucks, too.

Which you kinda, maybe, accidentally mutter too loud. Because Astarion—freshly emerged from his tent after what appears to’ve been a great night of sleep—says, “On that, we can agree.”

You accidentally meet his gaze. Jerk yours away. (fuck).

But that just jiggles something loose in your head. Red eyes peering down at you. A beam crushing your legs.

You were trapped. Astarion. Astarion was there.

“When you found me,” you say to Shadowheart, “was I under rubble?”

She hums. “You were actually very lucky. You just missed it when you landed.”

You remember. Couldn’t breathe. Aching exhaustion. The weight of all that crushing you, and a pair of red eyes staring down out of the smoke.

“Right,” you say. “Good thing.”

She goes off to gather her things as everybody packs up—Karlach insists on taking your pack, cause Shadowheart glares at anybody who tries to hand you anything heavier than a plate of scrambled eggs.

You said to keep distance. You said it was for the best. No more misunderstandings, no chance to be hurt. People do the most damage when you let them in, and the safest thing right now, especially right now, is to clam up tight.

But you remember that asshole. And so your feet carry you over to the pale elf as he finishes stuffing his tent into his magic pack. The rampage yesterday left a pink tinge to his skin, a bit of color to his lips and the tips of his ears. He looks quite a bit more, well, alive than usual out in the sunlight.

For a long moment, you look at him. It don’t make sense. He ain’t the type to help somebody; he’s the exact type to advocate for you to break a man’s kneecaps for fun and profit. And even if he did, if something possessed him to do something nice for somebody else, he’d brag about it to every living soul to score brownie points.

Maybe you’re wrong. You cracked your head; whole thing could’a been a hallucination, easy-peasy.

But then why him? Why would your brain conjure this bastard, instead of Sasha or Uncle Randy or, or anyone else?

“Is there something in my teeth, or did the cleric not heal your brain injury?” Astarion says.

There’s no fucking way he helped you.

Still.

You ain’t sure how to phrase the question. It sounds so stupid in your head. He stands there, unnaturally still, hardly blinking as he looks at you. And frowns at you.

“Brain injury it is,” he says and starts to slip by.

It makes no damn sense. The man himself don’t make no damn sense and that’s on a good day. He’s snarky, a bitch, and steals from refugees. He likes killing people, he’s vain as fuck, and…and he had absolutely no idea what to do with your apology. You’d caught it on his face. And the way he perked up when you flattered him, that night you talked about your Kahga plan.

There’s your opening.

“Just wanted to thank you,” you say, all casual.

For a second, you think it ain’t gonna work. His back is to you as he saunters over to where Gale gathers all the gear for the portal. He wasn’t there, and you really did hallucinate that douchebag because human brains are fucking weird.

But then he stops. Turns, to give you the most unimpressed glare. “Excuse me?”

And oh. Oh, he almost sells it. He’s real good at obfuscation. Man would make a helluva street magician, all “look here and not at my left hand”. But there’s a flicker. The tiniest goddamn thing. So fast and so subtle—the barest twitch to his eyelids—that you ain’t even one hundred percent sure you see it.

So you jab at him again. “Thank you. For what you did at the goblin camp.”

“Murdering goblins?” he says, slowly raising one eyebrow. “It was hardly a challenge. By all means, I ought to be thanking you.”

You stare. He stares back.

You didn’t hallucinate. He was there when you landed. He fucking killed the goblin trying to knife you, and he must’a moved that big fucking beam.

The both of you square off, shields up, waiting for the other to blink first.

“Right, everyone ready?” Gale says.

The fuck game is he playing?

One you ain’t gonna win by brute-forcing it. So you change tack.

“Not a fan of gods then, huh?” you say.

And that shithead changes tack right alongside you. “Never saw much use. Most of them don’t care for undead. Which I heard is a new little problem for you?”

Die and become a ringwraith. Awesome.

Gale opens the portal. Lae’zel charges through first, Wyll following along behind her. The both of you shuffle along as Karlach steps through, then Shadowheart. Until it’s your turn.

You pause at the edge of the glowing, purple swirl. Turn to give one, last shot.

“You did real good back there,” you say. You ain’t friends or whatever, but that don’t mean you can’t include people, and he did do a damn good job.

Again, that hairline crack in his mask. Something beneath it…

But then he’s all liquid smarm again. “My limited talents remain at your disposal, darling.”

Gale clears his throat, because he’s holding this damn thing open, and you give him an apologetic nod before stepping into the crackling swirl of magic.

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#feeding alligators fic #these two shitheads #astarion #astarion x tav #tavstarion #putting the slow in 150k burn #demisexual tav #plus size tav #it's an isekai #oh shit those look like feelings #the disclosure arc

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