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thefirstknife · 9 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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sorceresssundries · 1 month ago

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Revivify

So, I have not touched my long fic since July. For a number of reasons.

But, miraculously, a few people mentioned it on their recommendations for 2024, a couple of people left comments on it, and people voted to see more of it - which brought me such joy and gratitude that i've picked it back up again.

So, I am bringing Revivify back from the dead.

If you ever question whether you should comment on something, because it's been to long since an update or you don't want to be a bother. Just, do it. It's magic, truly.

Thank you so much to everyone who loves, or has loved, this fic.

It is the first fic I ever started, what brought me to AO3 and made me join Tumblr.

Here are the sentences from the WIP tag from a few weeks ago.

We're back for 2025 babyyyyyy!

As you dress, the thought lingers: will you have the courage to ask for his forgiveness? And even more daunting, will he even accept it?

Stepping out of your tent, the early dawn silence greets you. You’re the first to rise, the camp still cloaked in quiet and shadows. Your eyes flick instinctively toward Gale’s tent. The thought tempts you, insistent and sweet: slipping inside while he’s still lost in sleep, brushing the hair from his face, kissing him softly. You imagine stealing his dreams from his lips, of being the first thing he sees when he wakes.

You ache for him.

But you know better. Apologies made too quickly—before the anger has settled and the wounds have started to close—can do more harm than good. So, with no small effort, you leave him be.

Today, you will spend your time apart. Let him think. Let yourself think. Hope to all the Gods worth praying to that he realises the lure of the crown is too dangerous for him to get close to. You will come back later, and talk properly over a campfire with the best wine and words you can find. There will be another way forward, for both of you. There always is.

Karlach needs you today. Facing Gortash will take all the strength she has, and you need to be there to hold her hand. To wipe her tears, should they fall. Whatever she needs, you’ll be there to give it.

Fuck Gortash. Fuck the man who took Karlach’s trusting, open heart and traded it like a trinket to the highest bidder.

She could have his in return. Rotted and anemic as it is. She could have it, still beating. Not as a trade, or as a gift, or an offering. It wasn’t valuable enough. She could have it to feed to the rats of the city he was ruining, if even they would want it.

Today, you would give her anything she asked for.

And tonight, you would come back to Gale.

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale fanfic #gale bg3 #bg3

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chaoticbardlady99 · 1 year 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 · 7 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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thisisnotthenerd · 13 days ago

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Hey there! Saw your FH statistics back in Ao3, particularly the level progressions, and found it very neat! I just wanted to ask since you've mentioned somewhere how campaigns that start at level 1 have a lot more deaths/downs compared to campaigns that don't (for obvious reasons), do you have a list of pc character deaths and/or downs? I believe that all the deaths were due to failed death saving throws, but were there any killed outright deaths? If not, that's completely alright.

And I do want you to know that your stats are very useful for a bunch of people!! A friend of mine and I write fanfic, and having these at an arms reach is super useful, so I just wanted to appreciate your hard work on it! Thank you for making our researching lives easier!

EDIT 1/20: sorry this took so long to answer; i got busy with the start of my semester and only just got to finish this round of stats.

thank you! i’m so glad they’re useful.

as for the deaths, i don’t have a current list, but you’ve inspired one, so here goes:

dimension 20 deaths

this one’s a doozy, so we’ll be splitting it up based on a few things: season, character, and death v. down. i’m not going precisely by episode because it’s easier to summarize like this, but heavier death episodes will be noted.

a down means the character goes unconscious through depletion of hp (not sleep or stun conditions). this doesn’t necessarily mean they have death saves, as sometimes they are brought up before they have to roll them. a death means three failed saves or more than double damage. not necessarily permadeath—the characters may be revivified or resurrected through other means. permanent deaths are counted separately, as they mean new character introductions.

i did this by reviewing the episode transcripts; if there are any inaccuracies, let me know. i'm just covering the core cast seasons for now, as doing the sidequests in the same post would make this incredibly long to read. plus, once those are done i'll have spreadsheet data for all of them.

core seasons

fantasy high: most of the deaths are concentrated into 3 episodes: clash of the corn cuties, the sisterly showdown, and prompocalypse. in all three cases, the fight was above the bad kids' weight class, and they also dealt with hazards that could have been avoided, i.e. jumping on tables, climbing the roof, flying over the battlefield, etc.

at this point, brennan was still rolling death saves for most of the enemies, so over the course of the season, the bad kids saw doreen, ragh, coach daybreak, and biz glitterdew die through death saves. the tiefling greasers all died on impact, so no death saves for them.

fig faeth: 2 downs, 0 deaths

gorgug thistlespring: 2 downs, 1 death (3 failed death saves)

adaine abernant: 3 downs, 0 deaths

fabian aramais seacaster: 1 down, 0 deaths

kristen applebees: 2 downs, 1 death (3 failed death saves)

riz gukgak: 2 downs, 0 deaths

total: 12 downs, 2 deaths

fantasy high sophomore year (including all fh oneshots): fewer downs/deaths this time, though they were still concentrated into a couple of episodes: the row and the ruction, the forest of the nightmare king, and spring break! i believe in you! (part 2). the bad kids dealt with some additional hazards in these fights, including fabian's deleveling, the mindflayer stun effect, the great unicorn, killian, kalina, and arianwen abernant.

if we count gilear, then the count is nearly doubled. gilear went unconscious 2 times, (3 if we count getting caught in the wheelwell of the van), and fully died 3 times (demons at the hotel cavalier, bill seacaster, armor of pride).

fig faeth: 0 downs, 0 deaths

gorgug thistlespring: 1 down, 0 deaths

adaine abernant: 0 downs, 1 death (oneshot by the unicorn)

fabian aramais seacaster: 1 down, 0 deaths

kristen applebees: 1 down, 1 death (oneshot by the unicorn)

riz gukgak: 2 downs, 1 death (knocked unconscious then killed by killian)

total: 5 downs, 3 deaths (8 downs, 6 deaths counting gilear)

fantasy high junior year: the down count comes back up, though there were no deaths at all this season. most of these came just from the ragenarok fight, as the melee fighters all got repetitively knocked out by porter and brought back up by the kristens.

fig faeth: 2 downs, 0 deaths

gorgug thistlespring: 5 downs, all within the last 3 episodes, 0 deaths

adaine abernant: 5 downs, 0 deaths

fabian aramais seacaster: 4 downs, 0 deaths

kristen applebees: 2 downs, 0 deaths

riz gukgak: 0 downs, 0 deaths

total: 18 downs, 0 deaths

fantasy high totals: 35 downs, 5 deaths (not including gilear. it's 38;8 with him).

fig faeth: 4 downs, 0 deaths

gorgug thistlespring: 8 downs, 1 death

adaine abernant: 8 downs, 1 death

fabian aramais seacaster: 6 downs, 0 deaths

kristen applebees: 5 downs, 2 deaths

riz gukgak: 4 downs, 1 death

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the unsleeping city: another finale concentration, with most of the deaths happening in the last couple of episodes. fewer downs than deaths this go around.

ricky matsui: 0 downs, 1 death (questing blade sacrifice)

sofia lee: 0 downs, 1 death (oneshot by american dream)

kingston brown: 1 down, 0 deaths

misty moore / rowan berry: 0 downs, 0 deaths, 0.5 permanent deaths by virtue of the reincarnation ritual (misty died, rowan born)

kugrash: 1 down, 1 permanent death (bagel of all things)

pete conlan: 0 downs, 1 death (power word kill from robert moses)

total: 1 downs, 3 deaths, 1.5 permanent deaths

the unsleeping city chapter ii: the downs/deaths were all either null or tony simos, with the exception of cody.

ricky matsui: 1 down, 0 deaths

sofia lee: 1 down, 0 deaths

kingston brown: 0 downs, 0 deaths

iga lisowski: 2 downs, 1 death (quasi-death; she did not technically die but was held in a place beyond the realm of the living in a state of near-death)

misty moore / rowan berry: 0 downs, 0 deaths

cody walsh: 3 downs, 0 deaths

pete conlan: 0 downs, 0 deaths

total: 7 downs, 1 death

the unsleeping city totals: 9 downs, 4 deaths, 1.5 permanent deaths. cody, despite only being in 1 of 2 tuc seasons, makes up for a third of the downs.

ricky matsui: 1 down, 1 death

sofia lee: 1 down, 1 death

kingston brown: 1 down, 0 deaths

misty moore / rowan berry: 0.5 permanent deaths (reincarnation ritual)

iga lisowski: 2 downs, 1 death

kugrash: 1 down, 1 permanent death

cody walsh: 3 downs, 0 deaths

pete conlan: 0 downs, 1 death

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a crown of candy: a crown of candy gets a lot of flack for being a deadlier season, but that is really concentrated to the first half, because the party just stops going down after a while. they have the most permanent deaths, but only by a small margin.

liam wilhelmina: 0 downs, 0 deaths

theobald gumbar: 0 downs, 0 deaths

jet rocks: 1 down, 1 permanent death

saccharina frostwhip: 0 downs, 0 deaths

ruby rocks: 1 down, 0 deaths

amethar rocks: 3 downs, 0 deaths

lapin cadbury: 1 down, 1 permanent death

cumulous rocks: 1 down, 0 deaths

total: 7 downs, 2 permanent deaths (3 if you count peppermint preston)

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a starstruck odyssey: given the nature of this season, we did not see any deaths, but lots of the crew going down and back up. aurora nebbins goes in this count because she was an active combatant for a significant number of battles. this season breaks from the trend of beginning/finale concentrated downs, with the majority happening during the battle of the brands.

gunnie miggles-rashbax: 0 downs

riva: 2 downs

norman "skip" takamori: 2 downs

margaret encino: 2 downs

sundry sidney: 3 downs

aurora nebbins: 3 downs

big barry syx: 1 down

total: 13 downs, 0 deaths

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neverafter: the extremely deadly season. tpk in the first battle, multiple moments of the party going down and coming up by the grace of goodberries. no permanent deaths, but many transformative deaths. the most downs/deaths for a single season. outnumbers the other single seasons combined.

rosamund du prix: 4 downs, 2 deaths

mother timothy goose: 2 downs, 1 death

pinocchio: 2 downs, 1 death

puss in boots: 3 downs, 1 death

gerard of greenleigh: 3 downs, 2 deaths

ylfa snorgelsson: 2 downs, 1 death

total: 16 downs, 8 deaths

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let me know what you think!

#dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers #fantasy high #fantasy high sophomore year #fantasy high junior year #the unsleeping city #the unsleeping city chapter ii #a crown of candy #a starstruck odyssey #neverafter #dimension 20 meta #thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats #dimension 20 statistics #dimension 20 deaths

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justinspoliticalcorner · 4 days ago

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Noah Berlatsky at Public Notice:

Donald Trump spent the first week of his second term using the presidency to glorify political violence and weaponize the threat of it against anyone who might consider criticizing him. Trump pulled the security detail from former chief White House medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is an enemy of MAGA thanks to his efforts to fight covid. He also ended security details for his former National Security Advisor John Bolton and his former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both of whom have been targeted by Iran because they worked to advance Trump’s hard-line policies during his first term. Bolton of course is an outspoken Trump critic, but Pompeo campaigned for his former boss just last fall. Trump repaid him by using mobster logic to justify endangering his wellbeing, cold-bloodedly telling reporters who asked him last week about the decision to pull the security detail that “there’s risks to everything.” Trump claims that the withdrawal of security is a cost saving measure, but we know better. (He’s giving back pay to troops discharged over the covid vax, after all.) He’s settling scores and letting everyone within the government, past and present, know that the price of protection is loyalty to him. This is a not a new tactic for Trump, who has often used implicit or explicit threats against his opponents. Democracies are democracies in large part because they forswear violence; political parties and actors are supposed to settle their conflicts at the ballot box. Authoritarians, by contrast, address political disagreement through terror. The US has not always behaved as a democracy. During Jim Crow, vigilante groups like the KKK colluded with state authorities in lynchings, bombings, and other violent methods designed to terrorize Black people. Trump is attempting to revivify this American tradition by frightening his critics into silence.

Putting a target on Dems (but not just Dems)

Trump’s moves against Fauci and company last week were overshadowed by his pardons of about around 1,500 people convicted of crimes in connection with the January 6 insurrection, including some who brutally beat cops. Trump also commuted the sentences of individuals associated with violent rightwing groups and convicted of seditious conspiracy related to their involvement in the attack on the Capitol, including Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio, who had been sentenced to 22 years, and Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was sentenced to 18 years. Sen. Chris Murphy denounced the pardons on the Senate floor in a speech highlighting the danger of Trump taking the country down this road. “If you are engaged in violence to further Donald Trump’s political career, then you face no consequences,” Murphy said. “What happened this week is that political violence got mainstreamed in America … if they attack Democratic officials, and they’re doing it to support Donald Trump, they are likely immune … I’m just going to say it: it puts Democrats’ lives in jeopardy in particular.”

[...] The language of violence infuses Trump’s vocabulary more than ever. For instance, asked about Adam Schiff during a press event last week, Trump daydreamed about him being brutally assaulted, saying “I saw him last night on television. It looks like he got hit by a baseball bat or something. What happened to him? It look like he got beat around." [...] Openly smirking about violence against political rivals in this way is an open signal to Trump’s fans. His base hears him loud and clear. Trump would no doubt argue that his remarks about Schiff are just an innocent joke, and that he released J6 protestors in the name of justice, not as a threat. But excuses and deflections are not very convincing given his history.

[...] The examples here are so ubiquitous it’s impossible to mention all of them in one piece. But to cite just a few cases: In 2015, Trump expressed support for white attackers who kicked and punched a Black protestor at one of his rallies. In 2019, he fired off an inflammatory tweet falsely and despicably linking Rep. Ilhan Omar (a Muslim) to the 9/11 terror attacks; she started receiving daily, horrific death threats. In 2022, Trump suggested that Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, had it coming when he was attacked by a man wielding a hammer — a man who was a Trump supporter inspired in part by Trump’s demonization of his wife.

The most obvious past example of Trumpist terror, of course, is the January 6 coup attempt. On that date in 2021, Trump used his social media platforms and speech to incite a mob to storm the Capitol. There, they assaulted police officers and threatened the lives of lawmakers. As many as nine people died in the violence and its aftermath. In particular, Trump incited rioters to attack his vice president, Mike Pence, who refused to aid in illegally overthrowing the election. In private with his staff, Trump signaled support for insurrectionists who said they wanted to murder Pence.

The MAGA Cult is a violent fascist mob, gainfully incited by its leader Donald Trump and the right-wing media propaganda machine backing him.

#MAGA Cult #Right Wing Violence #Right Wing Extremism #Donald Trump #John Bolton #Mike Pompeo #Dr. Anthony Fauci #Chris Murphy #Adam Schiff #Ilhan Omar #Paul Pelosi

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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 · 6 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 · 1 year 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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rollforfelicity · 9 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 · 9 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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