#or even just a shot of doty

[alittlesliceofcucumber]

I am DESPERATELY hoping for a Taryon tease next week

[critter-genfic-events]

Doty! Take this down. We have six excellent fics today- all chronically the wondrous adventures of one Taryon Darrington! Check them out under the cut, and of course - comment and kudos if you like them!

Love Letters of Convenience by elissanerdwriter (1103,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Taryon Darrington & Lady Kima of Vord

Kima and Taryon run into each other at a bar. They help each other out.

Reccer says: This is a pairing I would have never expected or thought of but the wlw and mlm solidarity vibes are immaculate. They should hang out!

i'll know my song well by actualflower (1149,General) Warnings: None Pairings: Taryon Darrington & Cassandra de Rolo

A short conversation between Cassandra and Tary

Reccer says: I love outsider pov and the clarity about the world it brings, and this little bit of bonding between these two

Out of Favor by mythomaticallydelicious (5551,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Taryon Darrington/Percival de Rolo

An AU where Taryon fails his persuasion roll against his father.

Reccer says: It's not completed, but it delves into the details of Taryon's relationship with his father and features heart-to-heart conversations with Vax and Percival.

this antique’s rustic eulogy by Princex_N (5213,General) Warnings: Pairings: Taryon Darrington & Doty

He wants Doty. He wants Doty and instead all he has is the gaping empty space at his side where he's supposed to be and the intrusive images of him being pulled to pieces in the nine hells where he is and Tary hates it.

Reccer says: I liked it

Arranged marriages and families of choice by multifandom damnation (1570,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Taryon Darrington & Vox Machina

He learns two things during that meeting with his father, Howaardt falling apart before him and Vox Machina a steady presence against his back; firstly, they're improvised, and secondly, he has always been nothing but a pawn in his father's games.

Reccer says: Amazing look into what it might have been like for Tary to have Vox Machina at his back during the confrontation with his father

And two recs for:

Where We're From and Where We're Bound to Go by CitizenMocha (3318,Teen) Warnings: None Pairings: Taryon Darrington & Vex'ahlia

In what will likely be a less physically-demanding expedition but still harrowing and fraught with emotional turmoil like all the best adventure stories are, the heroes make their way through bleak countryside framed by the distant snowcapped mountains to confront the father of their beloved and full-fledged member Taryon Darrington, who is… Not doing so hot at the moment, to be perfectly honest.

Reccer #1 says: The friendships between Tary and the rest if Vox Machina is very sweet, even when they are joking around. It's also got some great character introspection for Taryon as he sits down and they talk about this thoughts. Reccer #2 says: Just the right amount of humor (poorly) covering some angst and feelings, and great voices all around

This is one of our weekly communally-generated gen rec lists. Every week we announce a new theme and allow anyone to submit a fic recommendation. Please note that the summary and content notes are provided by the reccer, and may be different than what the author has provided. Please assume good intentions all around. <3

And hey, anyone includes you!

October 15th, it'll be time for Alternate Meetings - followed by Beau, One shots, and then Imogen!

Any fics coming to mind? Well, then use this form to submit! If you're looking for some more, check out some fics written in the critter genfic bingo tag, or the older rec lists! Or you can request your own card and join in on the fun!

[odettecarotte]

Louise Glück, NYT

Louise Glück, photo by Charles S. Hertz

b. 1943

The Nobel-winning poet was pitiless to herself, yet fiercely generous toward her students.

By Amy X. Wang The New York Times

She stood barely five feet tall — slight, unassuming, you had to stoop low to kiss her cheek — but whenever Louise Glück stepped into a classroom, she shot a current through it. Students stiffened their spines, though what they feared was not wrath but her searing rigor: Even in her late 70s, after she won the Pulitzer and the National Humanities Medal and the Nobel, she always spoke to young writers with complete seriousness, as if they were her equals. “My first poem, she ripped apart,” says Sun Paik, who took Glück’s poetry class as a Stanford undergraduate. “She’s the first person whom I ever received such a brutal critique from.” Mark Doty, a National Book Award-winning poet who studied under Glück in the 1970s at Goddard College, felt that she “represented total authenticity and complete honesty.” This, he recalls, “pretty much scared me half to death.”

Spare, merciless, laser-precise: Glück’s signature style as a writer. It was there from an early age. Born in 1943 to a New York family of tactile pragmatists (her father helped invent the X-Acto knife), Glück, a preternaturally self-competitive child, was constantly trying to whittle away at her own perceived shortcomings. When she was a teenager, she developed anorexia — that pulverizing, paradoxical battle with both helplessness and self-control — and dropped to 75 pounds at 16. The disorder prevented her from completing a college degree. Many of the poems Glück wrote in her early 20s flog her own obsessions with, and failures in, control and exactitude. Her narrators are habitués of a kind of limitless wanting; her language, a study in ruthless austerity. (A piano-wire-taut line tucked in her 1968 debut, “Firstborn”: “Today my meatman turns his trained knife/On veal, your favorite. I pay with my life.”) In her late 20s, Glück grew frustrated with writing and was prepared to renounce it entirely.

So she took, in 1971, a teaching job at Goddard College. To her astonishment, being a teacher unwrapped the world — it bloomed anew with possibility. “The minute I started teaching — the minute I had obligations in the world — I started to write again,” Glück would confess in a 2014 interview. Working with young minds quickly became a sort of nourishment. “She was profoundly interested in people,” says Anita Sokolsky, a friend and colleague from Williams College, where Glück began teaching in 1984. “She had a vivid and unstinting interest in others’ lives that teaching helped focus for her. Teaching was very generative to her writing, but it was also a kind of counter to the intensity and isolation of her writing.”

Glück’s own poems became funnier and more colloquial, marrying the control she earlier perfected with a new, unexpected levity (in her 1996 poem “Parable of the Hostages”: “What if war/is just a male version of dressing up”), and it is her later books, like the lauded “The Wild Iris” from 1992, that made her a landmark literary figure. Teaching also coaxed out a new facet in Glück herself: that of a devoutly unselfish mentor, a tutor of unbridled kindness.

A less fastidious writer and thinker may have made their teaching duties rote — proffering uniformly encouraging feedback or reheating a syllabus year after year. Glück, though, threw herself into guiding pupils with the same care and intimacy she gave to her own verses. “There was just this voraciousness, this generosity,” says Sally Ball, who met Glück while studying with her at Williams and remained close with her for the three decades until her death. “Every time I moved, she put me in touch with people in that new place. She enjoyed bringing people to know each other and sharing the things she loved.” And as a teacher, Ball says, “Louise was really clear that you have to make yourself change. You can’t just keep doing the same things over and over again.” In that spirit of boundless self-advancement, Glück also taught herself to love cooking and eating. She once hand-annotated a Marcella Hazan recipe and mailed it to Ball, with sprawling commentary on how best to prepare rosemary. “She’s very beautiful and elegant, right,” Ball says, but “we’d go to Chez Panisse and sit down and she eats with gusto. It’s messy, she’s mopping her hands around on the plate.”

Paik recalls spending hours each week decoding Glück’s dense, cursive comments on her work. “I was 19 or 20,” she says, “writing these scrappy, honestly pretty bad poems, and to have them be received with such care and detail — it pushed me to become a better writer because it set a standard of respect.”

“She was 78, and whenever she talked about poetry, it felt like the first time she’d encountered poetry,” says Shangyang Fang, who met Glück when he was at Stanford on a writing fellowship. Glück offered to edit his first poetry collection, and the pair became close friends. “She would talk about a single word in my poem for 10 minutes with me,” Fang says. Evenings would go late. They cooked for each other sometimes, spending hours talking vegetables and spices, poetry and idle gossip. “By the end, I couldn’t thank her enough, and she said: ‘Stop thanking me! I am a predator, feeding on your brain!’”

[crystfractals]

Dotie was quick to dodge out the way of wayward spells and tempered iron. The music made it easy for her to step in time with the rhythm of the song to deal apt attacks towards the soldiers. She will admit, she was rusty... So the usual one shot hits weren't always a crit, but at least someone else would get the final blow.

While Araceli's backup singers did their part, Oddette side stepped behind Janne to cover his back with her guns. "You know, after all this time, I always thought you were a better dancer than me."

She shot down a few more soldiers who advanced towards them with ease; however, she a mage was in her blind spot. She was hit with a rogue lightning spell but she managed to hold her ground to shot the mage back.

---

As the soldiers charged in 300 style, James stayed knelt down next to Mona and handed her a small wooden charm that depicted a bear. He stayed eye level to give her his instruction, "Take this. If you need any more help and no one is around to give it to you: squeeze that figure in your hand. It'll call forth the spirit of the bear that I have in there- she agreed to be in there, by the way. I promise. Ursine will be your aid until she sustains a heavy blow or if the figure snaps. Got it??"

James stayed with Mona even as the archers took their positions in the back. He didn't want to leave her until she gave him the indication she understood what he explained to her. This wasn't, at all, a question to her listening skills. James simply just didn't want to leave immediately into battle after giving her Ursine's figure.

[ Yew Finds a Wild Janne and Geist! ]

[blorbologist]

Do you think it was in character for Percy to give/make a gun for Mister? Even if Matt said he’d made toy ones for his kids, when you consider Taliesin saying he was content to never make a weapon again, what do you think? I mean unless, Matt talked it over with Taliesin, then… *shrug* I guess that works out.

Hi anon!

So, first of all - I have a lot of faith and trust in Matt to want his friends to be happy. They wanted to go go Whitestone to see their past PCs and the new de Rolos, so he went along with that. He's a good DM and facilitates telling the stories they want - and part of that would include having a good grasp on the characters.

He also likely had a good idea of a few things that might come up. I mean, we as a fandom certainly did: potentially seeing the quarter elves (Gwen included) and their ages, Percy and Vex's reactions to Delilah and Laudna, how Percy might be curious about an aeormaton... and, yeah, the gun angle was pretty obvious too!

I'm certain he either checked in with them on character sticking points, reread his notes for the Tal’Dorei Reborn campaign guide (I doubt what we got in the book is ALL he was given for the PCs) or reviewed important episodes (I noticed a lot of his behavior was similar to Percy's interactions with Syldor, his reaction to 'the Meatman'/Scanlan trying to get a gun from him, how he broke the news to Cass that Delilah was at a ziggurat). Probably some combination of all three!

And the difficulty lies in the fact these characters are *complicated* (said in the tone of Percy in the Search for Grog)! They don't have many hard, fast lines because they're all human (well, mortal) and their responses change with context. It's been thirty plus years - guns are everywhere, and ones so terrible he likely stays up at night fearing what they can do. A little toy gun - not even something he'd personally use, no improvement on existing designs - hardly means much at all in this modern Exandria. If Fearne had opened asking for a gun? Fuck no, goodbye, get out. If she had tried to steal one and Vex 'passive perception better than a dragon' 'ahlia saw? Likewise, big trouble. But Fearne just contributed to dealing another solid blow to Delilah. She proved she abd her friends could be trusted and were here out of genuine love for their friend. His kids are safe, his wife is safe, there’s a dead rat named after him. Sure, why not, tweaking a child's toy he made some time ago sounds reasonable right about now.

(Because he's not making a new gun from scratch - he's tweaking a pop gun intended for the use of his children. I'm sure Percy had enough sense to design them in ways to minimize the 'MOTHER, FATHER, WOLFE SHOT ME IN THE EYYYYEEE' 'FATHER HE SHOT ME IN THE BUTT ALL DAY IT WAS AN ACCIDENT BUT HE DESERVES IT' *general wailing from the younger two that the game dissolved into chaos*)

And, see, the thing is: Matt hasn't been afraid to say 'no, you're not getting this, it would be out of character' before! Travis (playing a Charisma caster and the Nein's face!) rolled a natural twenty to ask for Holy Avenger from Kima. On a meta level it would have been fitting and fun for him to have the sword, especially given Grog gave it to her in C1.

Kima scoffs at him! And gives the sword to Yasha instead, because lesbian wavelengths or something and it was *incredible*. Point being - if he/Tal thought it would be absolutely against Percy's wishes, he would have made that 21 a 'no, but he can do this for you instead'.

Also, Percy has a powerful 'little shit' instinct. He made a sodium teakettle bomb just to win a contest, and "if they have something nice that makes you feel inferior, we can just take it", and gave Grog a sword he knew was cursed. Though guns are a touchier subject, he's made these pop guns for his kids, added some to Doty and trained the Riflemen on how to make more and their ammo.

Frankly, I think the idea was too facinating and chaotic to pass up.

(And flaming monkey shit is likely far, far less dangerous than a bullet.)

[harfanfare]

Snow White and Juliet

trigger warning: suicide and just whatever happened in Romeo and Juliet & Snow White but darker.

People tend to define different things with the same word.

According to some, the lack of life is simply death. Others include there people who do nothing but work. They have no love, no passion. Those who remain unmoved by the suffering of others. Heartless ones.

For one poison vendor, "lifeless" meant being unable to move, drink, eat, but think. Think for eternity about nothing, what is described harsher than real death.

◆◆◆

„Test 103 was accomplished with success.”

There is confusion in the experiment hall. Researchers run from monitor to monitor, all comparing unexpected, but desired results.

No errors in documentation. No lapses in research. No difference in subsequent attempts.

The team of researchers was cheering in awe: the antidote for one of the biggest poisons in Twisted Wonderland, the "Poisoned Apple", has been found.

It's time to wake Neige Leblanche up.

◆◆◆

The Leblanche Tragedy happened almost two years ago when many haters got to harras Neige and his fiancée, [Name], who just announced their relationship. You were meeting already for quite a time, and knowing each other even longer. It wasn't easy to break any of you by hate.

But it wasn't also easy to live with people, who despised you with all their heart.

"It's alright," Neige whispered, his fingers combing the hair of his beloved. His voice was tranquil and soothing as always, almost by itself vanishing every bad experience. "It will be alright. I will make sure it will be."

"I know. And I am always thankful for that," you replied, cuddling him even more. Neige scent was another thing that hadn't changed over years; it was still the same aroma of wild, but soft flowers and heartwarming sunrays. Another wonderful feature. "I love you, Neige."

"I love you too."

That was the last discussion you had before the disaster happened.

And it started from no one else than Vil Schoenheit, who wasn't even aware how his actions will take a completely another turn than everyone expected.

◆◆◆

"Will it solve it? The sleeping potion?" you asked, turning the vial in your hands. It was no bigger than your little finger, and the potion there was taking only half of the space.

Not so long ago, around an hour, you found yourself invited by Vil to a tea party. You couldn't figure if he had been struck by your "help me" aura or was searching for a company, but you ended up in gardens, staring at the porcelain pot in which the tea was brewing.

It favoured the first meeting you two had: the tableware with the same, old-fashioned flowery pattern and the rich aroma of tea leaves of Vil's choice. Only a plate with sweets and fruits was something new—it was hard to convince Vil to bring anything sugary and even harder to make him try it. He finally ate a small (microscopical, in your opinion) piece of hand-made shortcake, but that was all you could do to let him appreciate the sweet energy shot.

"I cannot guarantee anything," Vil replied, watching you examine the bottle's content. "But it may work. With an emphasis on 'may'," he added, tearing his gaze away. Vil was your dear friend, and even if he didn't approve of your taste in men, especially your pick for a future husband, you were close enough to have him help you come up with a solution. "Use it as a last resort. I... am sure you will be able to find a better, safer way. For example, dumping your fiancé."

You giggled, but both of you knew his proposition was impossible. You could never leave Neige.

"Thank you, no thank you," you answered with a smile. The only thing that didn't let it last longer, were your problems. "Again, I am indebted to you. Thank you for being the best and the best prettiest in my life."

Vil puts the tea away, its taste suddenly feeling bitter and hard to swallow.

"...Well then. [Name], don't be reckless."

"I will try my best not to. I promise."

◆◆◆

You found a solution.

If you were the reason which made people attack Neige on social media and not only, why wouldn't you just disappear?

Not for eternity. Only for a month, maybe a few weeks, until the turmoil would silence. You and Neige could get married this way, inviting no one else than the closest of the closest people for the ceremony. Announcing your marriage and fake death wouldn't be that much of a shock as many could assume. There is a field called effective business, and everything can happen under that name.

I know how reckless is that, you were writing your thoughts on a paper. Once the dwarfs you invited to yourself saw the letter, they would give it to Neige. And you two would no longer have anyone who could undo anything. But think about it, Neige! If we may finally be together, isn't it a great chance?

You reassured him in the letter that you would wake up after few days. You also highlighted that he doesn't have to use your plan and let you two fight against the darker side of Wonderland together. He could just let you have week-long beauty sleep and with a fresh mind, try to solve your problems by less drastic measures: the press or announcements.

Maybe you were only overthinking and complicating the situation too much.

Your most loving fan, [Name]

You signed yourself and closed the envelope.

Your gaze returned to the sleeping potion. I am exaggerating, you thought. Your plans could fit into a script of a good film but in real life? What you were about to do felt... irrational and foolish.

Maybe you would change your mind if not the rush.

Once you heard footsteps on the floor and your friends, dwarfs, calling your name, you knew it is time to make a decision.

You quickly unscrewed the bottle and put it in your mouth. The sweet, sleepy fragrance with a hint of rosemary sent you to a sleep that devotedly resembled a death. The crash and sound of breaking glass as you fell to the ground immediately alerted everyone in the mansion. You couldn't hear the accelerated footsteps, screams, cries and commotion that was going on over you.

Before anyone could think to do something other than trying to wake you up and calling the hospital, the letter with your plan flew outside the window.

That night you broke two things: the promise you made to Vil and a heart of Neige.

◆◆◆

The death of [Name], the fiancée of the most adored man in the world.

Marriage cancelled? The mystery behind the death of [Name] [Surname].

A Dead bride.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

Neige scrolled through the media, each article made his heart ache. He ignored a great count of calls and didn't manage to appear at your funeral in time.

He was a broken toy, who just lost its batteries. He was a wrack of what he was before. Beautiful on the outside, blank on the inside.

Wearing a dark, a bit too oversized suit, he laid against one of the roadside trees. He closed his eyes, trying not to focus on any people, buildings or sounds except his breath. It was slow and steady until he remembered why he tries to calm down; then he would choke on his breath, tears falling from his eyes and trying to not lose balance.

"Would you like an apple?"

Neige wiped his tears in a sleeve and slowly turned around to see an old lady behind a stall. It was ruined and seemed unattended for years. The counter was doty, wood softened and tore off in big pieces by the wind and rain. Between beautifully decorated shops and cafes, this stall seemed to be a remnant that no one ever wanted to touch.

"Thank you, but I am fine." Neige replied in his polite tone, but the smile he sent her looked like nothing near 'fine'. "I am not allowed to take anything from strangers, but that is really kind of you!"

"Not just a bite?" the lady continued, putting an apple on the counter. It was brown, slightly green, and Neige would never guess it was an apple. Maybe more like a rotten apple, but no one would say that this apple was unfresh. Adversely, it contained freshness, but not of the common kind. "Wouldn't you like to join your lover?"

Neige held his breath.

"You mean... to die?"

"What I mean has no value. You will understand it the other way, even if I tried to explain," she replied. Her voice was squeaky as she repeated the question the same enigmatic way she did the first time. "So, would you like an apple?"

"No, thank you..." Neige bowed slightly. He hesitated, before trying his best to speak up. "I- I think [Name] would hate me dying. Only if she could understand this too..."

"Maybe she did" the lady replied. There was conviction in her voice, and Neige couldn't help but take her words seriously. "Or maybe not."

Neige hoped you did. How he loved you and how your death changed him from the happiest man in the world, the saddest one. He didn't know why you took your life and why he didn't notice anything before. He regretted spending not as much time with you as he wanted to.

But nothing could be done to change the past.

"I will get going," Neige said. He glanced towards the old lady, who smiled at him and showed some of her lacking teeth. "And... could you fetch me this apple, please?"

◆◆◆

Once Neige's gaze settled on your figure, the world was immediately forgotten.

He could hear his pulse pounding in his ears much more than silence who was your only companion.

No flowers, candles and golden ornaments of the church could divide Neige's attention, as his pace fastened with every step he made towards you. He didn't hesitate to lock his fingers with yours. He squeezed them, wishing his warmth could reach you.

"[Name]..." he whispered, getting his face closer to your sleeping face. He gently removed the lost strands of hair from your face, not believing that you won't wake up anymore. As much as he wanted to, no mage in Twisted Wonderland could bring the dead back to life. At least not in human's form. "I love you so much. T-too much, I think. How can I live without... my life?"

He gave you one last 'farewell' kiss on the lips, his body next to yours. "See you soon, [Name]."

His expression is the softest one he ever wore, as he reaches for an apple.

He bit it.

And then 'died'.

No sooner than the poison completely took control of his body, you woke up.

"Neige...?" you murmured, bringing your hand to his cheek. The anxiety mingled with your thoughts once you look around yourself. "We are... in a coffin?" You sat. It required effort, after not using muscles for a whole week. By the time, you took a break, you conjectured what happened. You jerked your head around and let your hands cup your lover's face. "Ple-please, please, Neige, don't do this to me. Please."

He didn't respond and the bitterness you tasted when you kissed his still warm lips confirmed that he didn't use Vil's potion. He was poisoned, and the amount left on his lips wasn't enough to take you to the same place as him. "Why didn't left anything for me? Neige..."

Your eye caught the glimmer. You went closer to notice the dagger, resting on the floor. It wasn't that visible as the weapon would be, and until you were a step from it, you could see how thin the blade was. As edge as sturdy.

The fear paralyzed you, as you came back to the coffin. But the remorse and the sight of your lover's dead body were stronger. Your whole body was shivering, a tremor affecting you more than you could ever imagine, making you go mad. Insane.

With one sharp move, you dug the blade into your chest, scared and closing your eyes.

"I am a fool."

By the time anyone arrives, it is too late to rescue you or stop the poison coursing through Neige's veins.

◆◆◆

In the morning sun rises, and everyone in Wonderland wakes up.

It is also the first time in two years since Neige fell asleep.

He can't feel anything. He can't sense the flaxen shirt the doctors changed him in. He can't get his mind through the haze, that has been floating around his thoughts just after he drank the poison. He can't answer the calls of the doctors and his friends, dwarfs, who are gathering around his bed.

But he can open his eyes.

And once he does, the silence is overcoming. When the fact finally sinks in everyone's heart, a great cheer flies across the room. Some of the gathered give Neige comforting touch or reassuringly squeeze his hand.

It takes him some time to realize what is happening, why is he in the hospital room, why people are crying around him and why you aren't the first one he sees once he wakes up. His habit of kicking you while sleeping was something you complained and teased him about. Even if he didn't wake you in his sleep, when he was getting up, his knee would always hit your arm or stomach, waking you up and having you buck him off the bed as revenge.

What he also can do, except for trying to stay awake and catching things his visitors chatter around him, is to try to remember. He didn't lose his memories! It just needs some effort to get them back from the darkest recesses of his mind! And then to regret it.

A whole wave of memories hits him like a tsunami, not leaving him space to breathe and see anything else than chaos, now replaced by the memories of you two.

The kisses. The promises. The vowes. The proposal. The struggles. The tenacity to get over your problems. The plan. The dead body of yours.

He doesn't have to turn around to know that you aren't in a hospital bed beside him. He remembered some of the talks of his friends when he was sleeping. Now everyone is waiting for him to return.

"Neige! You've finally woke up, huh!" Che'nya chippers, his voice cracking at last words. He is relieved about the news and only bad Neige's condition stops him from throwing himself at his arms and spreading the revelation to everyone... No, not even Neige himself can stop him from the latter.

Neige wasn't going to stop him. His mind still replayed the "finally woke up" part, as if the film stopped at the most painful scene, then broke and started to replay the scene once again. And again.

He turned his head on the side, letting the tears run down his cheeks.

He really can't feel anything.

"That," Neige manages to whisper under his breath. It is the first time he tries to say anything, and grievously struggles to put his words together. "is- is... so cruel." Everyone stared at him in silence, the same way they did when Neige and his dead lover were found. His cry brings tears to everyone's eyes, having many people bow under the weight of sorrow and put a hand over their lips to not let themself break again. "I didn't want to wake up..!"

[angelsndragons]

so, quick thoughts on a potential round 2 of VM vs MN:

it's still going to be level 15 but for balance matt is going to place a lot of items that can end yasha and grog's rages at range throughout the battlefield.

unlike this first fight, the nein are probably going to have to control that crystal. if vex has trinket and tary has doty even they can't stand up that kind of swarming, especially without veth's sneak attacks.

speaking of vex, i'm giving her the dark horse status of this fight. she's percy without a misfire score. she doesn't get as many attacks per round as he does but she's doing relatively similar damage. and again, she's not going to lose attacks or bonus actions to fixing a gun. she has grog, trinket, and probably keyleth from whom she can get sneak attack regardless of her hide status. while she doesn't have her brother's movement, she makes up for it with a larger health pool and a higher level spell pool for things like entanglement and cure wounds.

speaking of health pools, the edge actually goes to vm here health wise. not a single member has fewer than 110; on the nein's side, both veth and caleb are hurting in that department. furthermore, keyleth has access to multiple hit point sacks via wild shape and polymorph. this vm also has spread their healing out, vex can heal herself, grog don't care, keyleth is a druid and druids are great healers, and tary is a battle smith artificer, a subclass that is basically built to be an emt with arcane jolts, cure wounds, and some really good support spells. so, yeah, veth's sneaks are going to be huge factors for the nein's survival.

the big decision on vm's side is how to run keyleth. do they have her go toe to toe with caleb and risk those counterspells or do they take that factor off the field by having her wild shape? do they have her start in wild shape and bet on vex being able to take caleb out pretty quickly? thankfully for the nein, keyleth can't cast while transformed yet, otherwise they would be in real trouble. keyleth has access to her eighth level spells, the most dangerous of which to the nein will be her feeblemind. caduceus cannot make that save, period, at level 15 with a -1 int score. i know, i know, nat 20 but if you're counting on nat 20s to carry you to victory, you are in trouble. keyleth has a whole host of nasty control spells on her side; caleb's going to have to position himself really well to keep her magical input to a minimum.

smaller things that will turn the tide if people aren't careful: grog has mobile, which specifically counters sentinel. he can make one attack, leave yasha's melee, and go 50ft to the nearest mn squishy, which will probably be caduceus, given he has to be within 30ft of his party to effectively shield them from nat 20s or to use a lot of his support spells. vm in general is more mobile than the nein, which makes controlling the crystal all the more important. yasha's charisma save is worse than grog's, the nein better watch out for a planeshift play by marisha. she also has two bites at this apple if she decides to try with her eighth level spell too. yasha's radiant damage from radiant soul does full damage to grog every turn. fifteen points a round adds up quickly when combined with the rest of her attacks. caleb's save is high enough that he can probably get grog and vex both if he goes for a slow spell, which will fuck both of them up.

while i shouldn't call caduceus a smaller thing, the fact that no one has seen him play in an all out brawl with only two/three teammates can and will fuck vm if they underestimate what he's capable of because they are used to him "just" buffing the nein. grave clerics have nasty domain spells like blindness, bestow curse, and banishment. they also do max healing to an unconscious creature. from what taliesin said during the wrap up, caduceus has been specifically carrying divine word for months now, which is a bonus action spell that does work on weakened opponents. grog may have a ridiculous con save but he's not resistant to necrotic damage. caduceus also has access to sanctuary, the spell that fucked grog over in the battle royale with tary, and it specifically stays up through him healing and buffing his allies.

bottom line, both groups are going to have to play this super smart, especially the nein. it will be a lot tougher for them to just steamroll over this group. once again, it's probably going to come down to whether vm can kill a member of the nein within the first two rounds and keep them that way; they just have a much better shot at it given caleb and veth's lower hit points and their own tag team capabilities.

[pagerunner-j]

There’s a post in the main tag where someone’s jokingly speculating about which members of VM would be vaccinated. I’ll let the OP run with their headcanons on that one, but here’s basically what went through my head about the idea:

1. All of them, for heaven’s sake.

2. But here’s how it would go:

Vax and Vex: Insist on going in for their shots together. Both of them spend the entire next week poking at each other about who’s doing better with the side effects. Vax is more fatigued than he wants to let on, and Vex would be giving him way more shit about that if she also didn’t just want to take a damn nap.

Scanlan: Entertains everyone in line, jokes with the nurses, flirts with the nurses, signs his vaccination card afterward like he’s giving an autograph and presents it when necessary with exactly the same sort of dramatic flourish. ‘Cause oh, boy, is he not about to miss the opportunity to perform again.

Keyleth: Have you seen how many tattoos that girl has? She’s got no fear of needles. She is, however, probably the most prone to going into hypochondriac mode afterward about every little symptom, no matter how insignificant. (“Does this look swollen to you?”)

Pike: No fear, no fuss, no problems. Walks out of the clinic flexing to show off her bandage.

Percy: Is a man of SCIENCE. Believes the most wholeheartedly in the vaccine, and does the most to herd everyone else in to get theirs done. Just his luck, though, he’s the one to get the annoying skin rash out of it, and feels a wee bit betrayed.

Grog: Turns out to be afraid of needles. Pike sits with him the whole time and holds his hand. In the end he barely even feels the shot, and then he starts confidently declaring that it was no big deal at all…until he finds out he has to come back in for the booster. (“You mean I have to do this AGAIN?!” “I’ll come in with you, Grog, if you want.” “Well…okay. So long as you’re here.” “Always, buddy.”)

Tary: Faints in the chair. Will forever after pretend that he didn’t. Doty will never tell.

[bigheartedsky]

Next Life

Pairings: idol!Yoongi x fan!Reader

Genre: Angst, Fluff; one shot

Word Count: 5.6k+

Warnings: none that I can think of..?

Summary: When a stranger in a bookstore starts talking to you about book recommendations and slips you his number, you finally feel like you found the one. Even though you could only see his eyes, the rest of his face covered by a cap and mask, it was like lightning went through your body. But will it really work out or does your little love story have more surprises for you than you thought?

a/n: this is one story I had in my head for years actually since I’ve always wondered what it would be like to meet them randomly. I’m a realist so in my eyes it wouldn’t go that smoothly so here you have a very angsty, but also fluffy story~ thanks to my lovely beta reader @yeontanismypresident​ for proof reading again! You’re a huge help since English isn’t my first language and I’m always glad to hear feedback!! 

Masterlist

“We still have an hour before boarding starts.” Your best friend checked her watch while you came to a halt in the middle of the waiting area.

“Do you want to grab something to eat or drink? I’m actually really craving a coffee.” She added while looking around, but your focus was already on a quite different place that had nothing to do with food. Alex followed your eyes before sighing and chuckling. The chuckle brought your attention to her and you remembered that she had just asked you something.

“Sorry. Food sounds good. Would you mind if I-“

“Went to the bookstore before?” your friend grinned, finishing your sentence and you gave her a sheepish smile, apologizing with your eyes. “Sure, go ahead. I’ll save you a place at the Starbucks over there. I know you can’t keep away from books anyways so no surprise there. No wonder you work at a bookstore.”

You followed with your eyes where she was pointing at before nodding and smiling. That same smile on your lips, you entered the bookstore, taking in the familiar smell of new books and magazines.

Which one of you should I add to my collection this time…? I need something to read on the flight anyways.

You let your fingers gently stroke the top of the books while walking past them until one of them caught your interest. Reading through the description on the back, you didn’t notice how someone was slowly approaching you.

“That one is boring.” A male voice said right next to you - although it seemed more like he mumbled it to himself rather than actually directing it at you. You looked around confused, making sure you were the one he meant. He stood right next to you, skimming the books you both were standing in front of, and grabbing one of them to check it before laying it back on the pile.

“Excuse me?” he looked at you for a second, eyes meeting yours, and you felt for a second as if the whole world stood still. It was like a lightning that went through your whole body to find home right where your heart is. You never felt like this before in your life.

Is that what love at first sight feels like? you wondered while still staring at him. You’ve always been a romantic, but very realistic person, which made you like that thought, but at the same time shake it off immediately.

This was so weird.

He held your gaze for a second, before looking back to the book in your hands and tapping on it. He was wearing all black and his face was barely visible due to a cap and mask – both black as well. His hands were really pretty, you noticed while he tapped the book in your hands for a moment, with slender, long fingers, making you wonder what it would feel like to hold them.

What the hell is happening to me? I haven’t said three words to him yet I’m fantasising about holding his hands?? I need to read less romantic novels.

“This one is boring.” His words pulled you back into reality.

“It’s well written but the plot is not well thought out and the ending is very unsatisfying. The character development is underwhelming as well. There are better things to choose.” He explained in such a nonchalant way, it almost made you smile. Cocking your head to the side curiously, you stared at him for a second before putting the book back.

“Okay. Suggest one to me then.” His eyes met yours again after saying that. He looked surprised but it only lasted a second before he started looking around.

Somehow, I feel really comfortable with him. He seems so familiar the way he’s speaking. As if I’ve known him for years.

You got pulled back into reality when he suddenly started walking towards one of the shelfs, taking one book and reaching it out to give to you without a word. Looking down you read the title out loud.

“The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I’m impressed.” You looked up at him grinning. “That’s a really good choice. A classic and to your luck I haven’t read this one yet.”

Was that a smile coming up to his eyes? It’s hard to see through the mask, but I think it was. Cute…

He cleared his throat before looking around again and then back at you.

“What about you?” he suddenly asked, ears glowing red. You looked at him confused for a moment until he added almost impatiently. “A book you would recommend me.”

“Oh! Uhm… let me think.” Your eyes start roaming all the books in the store. It was your job but still, sometimes it took quite some time for you to recommend books to people you just met. But then one book caught your eye that never failed to make you smile. You weren’t sure if it was his style, but because your own experience reading it was so special, you chose to recommend it anyways.

“Here, Into the Magic Shop by Dr. James Doty. I don’t know if this is the kind you like to read, but personally it helped me a lot when I was feeling down so… yea.” You slowly felt yourself blush and grow nervous the more you tried to explain to him why you recommend it.

“Someone once recommended it to me telling me that it holds the key to creating your life the way you want it to be without dying due to stress or overthinking. It made me change my perspective on work and life itself and rethink my life choices a lot.” He looked at the book nodding. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw you chose this one at first but when you finished explaining he forgot all his worries and just accepted the offer. His eyes darted to the price tags of both books you had chosen for each other and after a moment of thought he gave you “Into the Magic Shop”.

“Pay this for me.” He said shortly before turning to go to the register to pay for the book he had chosen for you. You stood there dumbfounded for a second before quickly following him to pay too. After he finished paying, he stood at the other end of the register and did something you couldn’t quite see with the book while waiting for you to finish too. After you finished, he held out the book for you with one hand, and his free hand to receive the one for himself. You traded the books and you couldn’t help the smile on your face, especially as his fingers lingered on yours for the briefest moment while trading them, electricity and warmth running through your body and making you blush. You hoped with everything in you that he felt the same things you did.

“Thank you.” You said smiling from ear to ear. Your heart was beating a little faster and you felt like a teenager crushing hard on a stranger right now. The smile was tugging on his eyes again and you could see that he was fighting it a little.

Should I ask for his number? I don’t think I can live without seeing him again. I would definitely regret it. Okay here I go!

But just as you were about to ask him for his contacts, his voice cut off your attempt before it even began.

“Keep it safe for me, okay? See you.” And with that he turned and walked out of your view before you could say anything further. At first you felt regret but then another feeling spread throughout your body instead - confusion and hope.

See you?

Somehow the promise of these two words made you smile even more. You looked down at the book, noticing now that this one was way more expensive than the one you paid. Your eyes darted to the place you had last seen him but he was already gone.

He took the more expensive one on purpose... You started feeling all warm and fuzzy thinking about this small gesture.

Packing the book in a safe spot in your bag, you started making your way to the Starbucks. Of course, Alex started complaining a little about you taking way longer than normal, but that made her have an excuse to get another one of her favorite Frappuccino’s, which she definitely wasn’t angry about. You still don’t know why but you didn’t immediately start telling her about the handsome bookstore stranger. Well, you thought he was handsome due to his eyes being on show – and very pretty – but you weren’t really sure what he looked like. You didn’t even know his name and still here you were daydreaming about that moment over and over again while somewhat listening to your best friend talking about her favorite TV show at the moment.

“Good afternoon passengers. This is the pre-boarding announcement for flight 713B to London. We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time. Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes time. Thank you.”

Hearing the announcement, you slowly started packing up your stuff to leave for your gate, knowing it is still quite a walk.

“Wouldn’t it be crazy to meet one of the BTS members randomly at the airport today?”

“It would be. But it would also be highly unlikely.” You laughed at your friend’s enthusiasm for that imagine.

“I mean, it’s not that unlikely! Think about it. They had concerts here on Monday and Tuesday. Today is Friday and tomorrow will be their concert in London.” Alex paused for a second to calm herself down from knowing she would see them live in less than 48 hours from now. “It’s not that unlikely for them to fly to London today!”

“But it’s unlikely for them to wait here with all the normal passengers for their private jet.” You scoffed but still you found yourself wondering what it would be like to actually run into them.

I just hope I would treat them normally. Best thing would be if I don’t even recognize it’s them until later. Don’t wanna scare them away...

You laughed a little at your own thought while taking out your boarding pass and passport.

You waited for the plane to be all the way up in traveling height before you took out the book the stranger bought you. You couldn’t help the smile on your face while looking at it, thanking god for distracting your friend with the on-board movie program so she didn’t notice. Opening it you flicked through it with your finger sliding over the side of the pages. You loved the feeling and sound it made when you flicked through all the pages of a book. Used to seeing the photobooks of K-pop albums stop at a specific page, with a photocard in between, you weren’t surprised at first when it happened with this book too, but when it hit you that this shouldn’t happen with a normal book your heart rate immediately picked up. You took out the piece of paper stuck between the pages to unfold it.

[When I saw you today, I felt like I walked into my Magic Shop. Tell me if you like the book.

+82 36 XXXX YYYY

-       Min]

So, his name was Min?

You smiled to yourself when suddenly your best friend exclaimed.

“Someone snuck you their number????” you blushed and shushed her, looking around apologetically to the people around you. Sometime while you were reading the message, she must’ve looked at you and seen the message. Not being able to hide anything anymore, you start telling her about everything that happened, and even though you were the one with a huge crush, she seemed more excited than you. You had to promise her to message him right after you guys landed, which you didn’t mind since the relief you felt knowing you can contact him anytime now made you all giddy and impatient for the plane to finally arrive at its destination.

“Who knows where this guy is from! You said he had a Korean accent, but does he really live in Korea? You never know where people live even if they have an accent. Our world is so globalized that you can basically live in Italy as a Chinese person and have half Swedish parents! Anything is possible.” Alex was at this since you finished telling her the story.

“I don’t know. But I hope I’ll find out.” You simply said before you started to dive into the world of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

[12:56 AM – Y/N]

[Hey Min! This is the girl from the Bookstore. I started reading The Alchemist on my flight to London and so far, I really like it. Thank you for the recommendation.]

[01:34 PM – Min]

[I’m glad you like it. How was your flight? And I need your name so that I can save you.]

[01:35PM – Y/N]

[My name is Y/N and my flight was good. How was yours? Or are you still waiting for the boarding?]

[01:36PM - Min]

[We arrived a few minutes ago, too. Your book is not bad as well, btw.]

[…]

“Are you still texting with Min?” Alex asked grabbing herself a plate at the breakfast buffet of your hotel.

“Yea. We’ve been talking all night about music and books and somehow lost track of time. We have a lot in common and I honestly feel good about this. Everything is so easy and just falls into place.” You blush, telling your friend about the things you talked about.

“And you won’t believe it, but he’s actually in London as well. Says he has some work to do here before flying somewhere else. And he asked if I want to meet up the day after tomorrow with him.”

“But our flight back leaves tomorrow.” Alex frowns at you, unhappy with how your love story isn’t exactly like the fairytales, where everything turns out perfectly.

“I know. I told him that as well so he asked me to meet tonight after he’s done working…”

“Oh my god!! You have to go! Please tell me you’re going.” You sighed.

“Honestly, I really really want to. But our plane leaves so early we have to get back to the hotel immediately after the concert to start packing and leave for the airport. You know that our schedule is too tight for extra trips.”

Your friend was suddenly very quiet, making you look up from the buffet in front of you and at her. She looked deep in thought, looking at the eggs as if her life depended on the decision between boiled or scrambled egg. Then all of a sudden Alex exclaimed, making you almost drop your plate in surprise.

“How about we pack everything now and I’ll ask the taxi driver to pick you up at the spot where your lover boy wants to meet you! You could spend some time with him then and I’ll get our luggage and pick you up with the taxi later. It’s perfect! You just have to pick a spot that’s not too far away from Wembley.” You thought about her words for a long time, running the numbers if it was really possible to do or not.

“Okay. I’ll ask where he wants to meet.” You started smiling while typing the question in your message bar.

The BTS concert that evening was far more than just amazing. It was wonderful. You were absolutely stunned with how good they actually were live, having only seen them on screens or listen to their songs digitally. You were so excited and talkative after the concert that you almost forgot your date with Min for a second. You quickly made your way to the bathrooms, changing into something that wasn’t drenched in sweat and putting your other clothes in a bag for Alex to take with her. You checked yourself in the mirror one last time before jogging out to Alex.

“If we hurry up, we can see them leave the hall before you have your date. I heard that they leave while everyone is busy looking at the fireworks and my friend – who works here – told me where the exit for the stars is.”

You didn’t really want to be one of the fans who stalked their idols but you thought that just watching them leave the building from far away wouldn’t hurt, since many fans did this. And just as you wondered if others knew about the exit too, you were greeted by a crowd of people on the stairs in front of you. They were all waiting for someone coming out of the one exit in view to say a final goodbye. Instead of squeezing yourself on the stairs with the others, Alex pulled you over to the other side where a small balcony-like structure, that was somewhat hidden if you looked in its direction from the stairs, had an even better view on the exit.

And then they came out. You could see them all clearly, being not too far away but also not too close to them. Two huge black vans pulled over for the members to get in. You were excited to see them one last time until one person came into view.

All in black with a black cap and a black mask, holding a book in his hand that you could even identify from where you were standing at. Your thoughts were racing.

Min…? Min… No way…

You pulled out your phone as quickly as you could, dialing his number with shaking hands and waiting for him to pick up. You prayed it wasn’t the man in front of your eyes, knowing exactly what that would mean for your growing relationship with him. But there he was, pulling out his phone and greeting you while making his way to the car, about to get in.

“Sorry, I’m running a little late. Are you already there-?” he stopped when he heard your quiet and breathy response.

“Min…Yoongi…?” his head shot up, meeting your eyes immediately. Tears were swelling in your eyes.

No… why… why does it have to be you?

You turned and just ran, ending the call - a faint call of your name ringing in your ear - and putting it back in your bag. Alex needed a second before she realized what was happening. She waited until Yoongi got in the car – hesitating and staring after you for quite a while – before she tried to catch up with you. Which she did since Alex has always been the sporty one while you were the bookworm in your friendship.

“Y/N! Whoa whoa whoa, stop!!” your friend ran around you, making you stop by standing right in front of you and grabbing your arms gently. “What just happened there?”

“It’s him! M-Min is- He is-“

“Min Yoongi…? Wow, didn’t see that one coming.” Alex replied quietly, almost to herself.

“But what the hell are you doing, running away instead of going to the place you guys are supposed to meet??” she stared at you intently trying to get some sense into you.

“He’s an idol, Alex! And I’m his fan. This can’t work out. The entertainment, the fans, the members… they won’t just sit there and watch us become a couple.” you were panicking completely.

“Okay you have a point there, but you still have to talk to him about this. You can’t just run away from this without giving him a chance at all. Please, Y/N. Go to your meeting spot.” You looked into the eyes of your best friend, unsure of what to do. You felt insecure. Every single flaw that you saw in yourself was suddenly even more obvious than before.

“What if he doesn’t show up?” you asked timidly.

“Then he’s an asshole that doesn’t deserve you.” You smiled a little at that, especially since you knew he was Alex’s bias and she would never actually think of him as an asshole.

You weren’t far away from the bridge he wanted to meet on. With every step you took, your heart started beating faster and louder. Your whole body was shaking, wondering if he was going to show up or not. You turned around the corner, the bridge coming into view, slowly making your way on top of it. It was a bridge only for pedestrians and it wasn’t surprising to see it almost empty due to it being past midnight. As soon as you arrived the beginning of the bridge on your side of the small river, you could make out a person standing in the middle of it, leaning on the railing with his head resting in his hands. He looked distressed.

Your heart was beating like crazy and when you were just a few steps away he suddenly looked at you. You both paused and your rapid heartbeat slowed down immediately. His presence had a calming effect on you, which you would have never expected in this situation. He was still wearing his cap but he took off the mask, holding it tightly in his fist.

Silence.

You stared at each other both weighing what would be the best thing to say. You could see his struggle with the right words so instead of letting him suffer more, you started.

“Sorry for calling you with such a bad timing.” You smiled sadly, walking up to him and joining him in leaning your hands on the railing too. You left a small space in between just to make sure he wasn’t getting uncomfortable.

“So, you’re an ARMY?” he asked simply, not letting any emotions show.

“Yea, I am.” You could see him nod.

“Did you know it was me?” his jaw clenched at the thought of you maybe knowing and not telling him.

“Do you really think I would’ve reacted this way today if I knew?” you looked at him questioning if he even thought about his words before asking this. It made you angry that he actually thought you could do something like this. But then again you knew each other for a little more than a day so you couldn’t really judge him for it.

“I had to ask.”

“Sorry. Of course, you would be leery of someone you barely know.” You apologized after considering his point of view.

Silence again.

A shiver was running down your body. It got really cold now compared to the warm weather during daytime and you wished you had kept on your BTS jacket instead of giving it to Alex to take to the hotel with her. A shirt and skirt really weren’t appropriate for weather like this. You suddenly felt something heavy on your shoulders and immediately warmth spread throughout your body. You grabbed at the fabric of the long black coat Yoongi was just wearing seconds ago, that was now placed on your shoulders to warm you instead.

“Won’t you feel cold? If you get sick everyone will be sad.” You quickly told him wanting to give the jacket back.

“I rarely get sick and was feeling warm anyways. Also…” he pauses to look at you for a moment before looking in the distance again. “if you get sick, I’ll be sad.”

You blushing would be an understatement. You were completely speechless just simply staring at his side profile. He was avoiding to look at you at any cost.

“I mean, you are our fan after all. And ARMYs are everything to us.”

“Ah… right.” A bittersweet feeling spread in you. You were glad he was kind to you, but sad because he was now only seeing you as a fan and not as a woman anymore. Biting your lower lip, you assembled all your confidence to finally say the words tormenting you.

“If it’s uncomfortable for you we can stop talking. I’m not gonna stalk you or spread your number. If you want, I’ll delete everything and throw away the note right here.”

Please say no please say no please say no

“I think that’s the best for both of us.” A sharp pain hit your heart right when you heard him say those words. You just nod and take out your phone with shaking hands. Tears gather in your eyes and you can’t see anything on your screen, nor can you type anything. His hand suddenly wraps around yours, phone still inside. You look up at him and – are those tears in his eyes?

“But I don’t want to do it.” He added to his last statement.

“Yoongi…” you turn to face him. “Just think about it. This can’t work. You work in Korea as an idol and I’m a simple bookshop worker here. You’re on watch 24/7 and I don’t want to be the cause of your first scandal. I don’t want to be the reason you get a bad image and have to struggle with bad comments. I don’t want you to get hurt because of –“

He pulled you to his chest, not caring that his coat fell off your shoulders in the process and just held you there.

“Me too.” he whispered into your shoulder. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Wrapping your hands around him you cried into his chest, knowing that the guy you felt like could finally be the one, is the only one you could actually never call your own.

You stayed like this until you calmed down and after a long time of talking you both decided that, if you want the other to stay safe, the best thing would be to stop this before it even begins. You deleted his number in front of his eyes, including all messages and took out the piece of paper that started all of this.

“I can’t throw this out. Can you please just take it with you? It’s too precious to me.” You put it in his hand, closing it around the piece of paper. He nodded and you smiled sadly while a taxi pulled up at the end of the bridge honking. You both looked at the cab in question.

“That’s me.” You looked back at him taking off his coat, that was wrapped around your shoulders again and put it around his’ instead. You gave him a shy kiss on his cheek while you leaned in looking at him sadly one last time.

“Maybe if we’ll meet again in our next life it will work out… us meeting as equals.”  he held your hand tightly while you said that. He didn’t want to let you go and he was wishing right then and there that you could just come with him and be his little secret. But he knew that it was selfish so instead he did the only thing that made him feel somewhat better about everything.

You heard another honk from the taxi, followed by your friend calling your name because the time was running out.

“I have to go.” You told him wanting to let go of his hand but he held you in place now fiddling with one of his silver bracelets he was wearing. It was a simple bracelet on the chunkier side, more of a design made for male customers. He put it on your wrist quickly as if it was a promise.

“Until next life.” He said to underline the wordless promise he just gave to you. You started tearing up again before finally making your way to the cab quickly. You practically ran to prevent losing yourself in your feelings completely.

As soon as you got in the car it started driving. You stared out the window, vaguely able to make out Yoongis form as he put the silver ring you always wore on his pinky finger. You slipped it into his hand as soon as he finished putting the bracelet on your wrist. As his figure became blurred with increasing distance, your heart started aching more and more. By the time you arrived at the airport you were breaking apart – your friend’s arms were the only thing holding you together.

The last months were pure torture. You never experienced such a bad heartbreak before, and you didn’t even understand why you felt such a deep connection with someone you actually only talked to for roughly two days. He was the one, and you knew you wouldn’t find anyone that could take his place. He was perfect for you, but you let him go. It was better that way. At least that’s what you were trying to tell yourself.

“Y/N!!!!” you jumped, almost falling down the stairs of the small staircase you used to reach the higher shelves. Alex came storming into the bookstore you worked at with her phone in her hand, something playing on the screen. You’ve been daydreaming a lot ever since you came back from London, making you jump way more than usual when your best friend came in, yelling like this.

“What’s wrong, Alex?? Is someone hurt?” you looked at her in worry since normally she would never barge into your workplace like this.

“No one is hurt. Or actually I think someone is very badly hurt. Look.” She shoved her phone in your hand, and you couldn’t help the pain you felt when you saw what was playing on the screen. It was a live stream on Vapp and greeting you there was none other than Yoongi.

He looks so tired… Does he sleep well?

“Why are you showing this to me?” you asked her, feeling the sharp pain in your heart again.

“Listen to what he’s saying! I’m not sure if I understood everything correctly but I think he’s talking about you!”

You looked around unsure of what to do before you took the headphone from your best friend and started listening intently to what he was saying in korean. Your Korean was actually quite good, having spent way too much time to learn more of it as a distraction over the last 2 months.

“…yes, so as said that person, I met her at the airport and she recommended this book to me. She told me it helped her a lot with stressing less in life and made her rethink her choices in life. And, well, it honestly has the same effect on me now. I’ve been wondering what is the most important thing in my life right now and I’m thankful to her for giving me such a good life lesson.” He started playing with a silver ring on his pinky.

My ring… Your hand went to the bracelet around your wrist immediately.

“I came to the conclusion that if I keep pushing things that I want to do to a different time, it’s no good. And damn, ‘next life’ is so far away.”

Your heart rate picked up immediately. You couldn’t believe what you heard. Everyone was confused to what he exactly meant by that statement but he didn’t answer any of the questions. Instead he just stared blankly, thinking hard, for a moment.

“Sorry for this abrupt ending but I’m going to end the vlive here. I have something to do. Don’t skip your meals, it can weaken your immune system. Don’t catch a cold. Thank you, everyone and see you later.” And with that the vlive suddenly ended.

“What happened?” your best friend asked when you gave her the phone back.

“He said he had something to do and suddenly ended the live. But before that he said that I quote: ‘next life is so far away’” you looked at Alex with big eyes. Having explained to her what went down on the bridge two months ago, she immediately knew what that meant.

“You don’t think he meant-“ She stopped talking as soon as you both heard your phone start ringing. Your heart was beating like crazy and even though you tried to tell yourself not to get excited or have any expectations, you did either way. Looking at your mobile phone screen you saw a number that wasn’t saved in your phone. A Korean mobile phone number.

You answered the phone with a simple greeting because you knew immediately who was on the other end.

“I can’t wait until fucking next life.”

His voice was calm but you could hear the desperation and pure exhaustion in it. Tears started gathering in your eyes, not even sparing a second before rolling down your face. You couldn’t help the sob that left your mouth.

“You were supposed to delete my number! Calls from overseas are expensive!” you sobbed into your phone.

“I don’t care. I’m going to pay the bill for you. Just tell me – honestly – if you feel the same way.” You sobbed again. Alex looked at you with a compassionate smile, knowing exactly why you reacted the way you did. It pained him to hear you cry so much, and it made him tear up himself. Even if he wasn’t the type to cry easily, hearing you cry just had that effect on him.

“Please, don’t cry, Y/N. I’m not going to call again, just please stop crying.”

“N-NO! I’m so glad you called… I-I’m sorry for crying. I’m just s-so happy…” you tried sounding as normal as possible, but you just couldn’t avoid the hiccups here and there. “I was hoping every day that you would call. I was so stupid back then. Please forgive me, I can’t wait until next life either!”

The next things you hear are just a big exhale, a chuckle and sniffles.

Is he crying, too? You wondered, hearing him speak a second later.

“Okay, now that that’s settled. Who is going to visit who first?”

Masterlist

a/n: I hope you enjoyed reading!! If you liked this story don’t be shy and just tell me! If you guys liked it I would be willing to write a second part. But only if you insist... (jk I would be thrilled if you wanted a second part). You can also check out my other stories if you like~

[theindependentconservative]

I've never seen BLM support homophobia. On their website they talk about our trans brothers and sisters too. (if you have evidence please show it). I also can't find where they support segregation. (But if you have evidence I'd like to see it). I found evidence of deaths but I'm not sure how these people died, do you know (for instance it's not uncommon for people to be trampled in large crowds). -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miOycJQ3IW4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHqCo5nIsPQ

There’s more if you YouTube it. I mean - if you hear what they’re saying in the videos....it’s not good stuff.  They only support people who agree with them, check out what twitter had to say about the black women who didn’t support the BLM murals.  I haven’t seen such racially charged language in quite some time, I’m not even comfortable saying what was shouted.

Remember when this guy tried to stop them from mugging a trans woman and they tried to beat him to death: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60cqUPxYThY

(BLM disrupting LGBT issues isn’t new - they’ve been doing it for years)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rd1diUhix0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIurSqlfACc

As for demanding black only spaces.... 1, 2, 3, .....just about every clip covering the Evergreen college fiasco from a few years ago. Close to every BLM college chapters that are demanding black only dorms and spaces.  You know what, look up your local university, see how many racial (not cultural) groups there are.

DAVID DORN WAS SHOT FOR A TV.  In the same riots that BLM organizers called reparations.  Chris Beaty was attempted to stop a mugging on two women when he was shot/killed.  Italia Marie Kelly, killed trying to get out of the area.  Secoriea Turner was an 8 year old girl.  She was killed by “protestors” who were “protesting” near the Wendy’s were Brooks lost his life.  BLM is all there for the drunken parole violator who was passed out behind the wheel but bupkis for an innocent kid. Jessica Doty Whitaker, she replied to a BLM chant with ALM and was (allegedly) later killed by people in the BLM group that had confronted her.  Look up their names and see if BLM is anywhere for any of those victims.  They won’t be.  They won’t be there for the 2467 people that have been shot in Chicago this year.  Go look them up.

[queermediastudies]

Call Me By Your Name: A new attempt for queer movies

Call me by your name is a queer film directed by Luca Guadagnino, starring Timothy Chalamet, Amy Hammer, and Michael Stuba, in January 2017 It was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in the United States on the 22nd. The film is adapted from the novel of the same name by Andre Acimon, and tells the story of a 24-year-old American doctoral student Oliver who met 17-year-old Elio in Italy, and the two developed an ambiguous relationship. In November 2017, the film won the Best Picture of the 27th Gotham Independent Film Awards; on November 29 of the same year, it was selected as the top ten films of 2017 by the British "Empire" magazine; in December of the same year, it was awarded the 2017 Tenth Film Institute Best video. On February 12, 2018, the film won the American Screenwriter Guild Award for Best Screenplay in the category of film; on March 5 of the same year, it won the 90th Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay. The story takes place on the Italian Riviera in the 1980s. The sudden love is like a wild beast running out of the forest, grabbing the body and mind of 17-year-old Elio. He fell in love with Oliver, an American doctoral student who was 6 years older than him and came to Italy to travel. The two were fascinated, hesitant, and tempted towards each other, allowing their passions to burst out, and they achieved a first love that lasted only six weeks. This beautiful summer love left an indelible mark on the hearts of the two. The performance that really stood out in the film came from 21-year-old Chalamet. He played Elio has many "firsts" in the film. He doesn't have too many lines, but Chalamé uses his own facial and body language to transform this character into a character that everyone can understand at a glance. people. The last few minutes of the film without a line of dialogue is a rare close-up shot of Elio in the film. This shot is very attractive. The chemical reaction between the men is obvious, but more importantly, the two actors can convey the complex feelings, expectations, and ideas between the characters without opening their mouths. This movie is one of my favorite movies all the time. After learning some queer theory and LGBTQ knowledge, I think I can analyze and deconstruct this movie from a more professional perspective.

After watching this movie, the first thing I thought of was the intersection of culture and queer issues. Sexuality does not exist alone. It is integrated with society, culture, religion, education, etc. It involves different content of knowledge and social factors. Intersectionality helps us understand the diversity and complexity of identities, and allows us to examine issues more comprehensively. Just like Ahmed mentioned in 2006: "After all, both queer studies and phenomenology involve diverse intellectual and political histories" (p.5). Although the whole film does not describe how homosexuals are discriminated against, Struggling with one's own sexual orientation, there is no race, and the shackles and constraints of the social system need to be broken, but the cultural background that the director vaguely expresses through the lens language is differently ignored. One of the most direct is that Oliver wears a six-pointed star pendant around his neck: a symbol of Jews. Here, the freedom from the United States collides with the conservativeness of Italy. As we have shown, the queer problem is impossible to put aside everything that exists independently, even without political and social factors. In addition, the film also incorporates the question of queer into the discussion of the family framework. In the film, Elio has a pair of enlightened parents. The mother's understanding and father's enlightenment made this ignorant and beautiful relationship not a shadow in Elio's heart, but a treasure in his life. I like his father’s words at the end of the film the most: "How you live your life is your business, Just remember our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once." Elliot is happy, and his mother knows what he wants, What he likes, his father knows his inner struggle and suffering, and he lives in an open family. In the previous class, I remembered that in the video Mia showed us, it was mentioned that many queer groups lived carefully in the last century and did not dare to let friends or family members know their "secrets". From this point, we can compare the importance of family in the queer problem, which is an issue about understanding and tolerance.

Another point I want to focus on is not the content of the movie itself, but the market and audience that the movie faces. "However, within television, audiences matter – a lot. In particular, the imagination of audiences matters because demographics determine which advertisers might be interested in shilling their wares in the spaces between the narrative" (Alfre & Martin, 2018, p.1) The film is a sophisticated work. The director has mastered his own high-speed editing and eye-catching close-up style. The rhythm of the film is very suitable for the hot Italian summer in the film. The details of the film are very special. The trust and power of the characters in the film will make ordinary audiences who are not familiar with it feel very rich. It is this kind of film craftsmanship that will let people know that the film can create resonance from an almost spiritual perspective. According to Doty (1993), "Queer" is a practiced mass culture, which is accepted and shared by different audiences to varying degrees (p.2). This film is not limited to LGBTQ groups, it is more like a movie of the same kind A new attempt to allow a more diverse audience to find a microcosm of their own life from the emotional development of the protagonist to the regretful ending. It is not only that the audience group is not defined, it is a diversified process from production to presentation. "'Queer'" can be used to describe an authorial voice, a character, a mode of textual production, and/or various types of representation practice. Filmmakers, forms, and audiences-not necessarily identified as gay or lesbian-can rather be understood as queer" (Benshoff & Griffin, 2004, p.2). As this sentence says, this movie is no longer a queer main movie in its own sense. What it wants to present to the audience is just a paragraph A beautiful and slightly regretful love story.

And in the following part, I would like to share some of my personal views and comments on the film.Before I saw this film, I only felt that the title of this film was very sentimental. Although I knew it was a story about the same sex and had won numerous awards, I was not particularly interested this time because I was disappointed in Carol first. I thought, alas, maybe another film won the award by relying on the same sex stunt.But after watching the movie, my heart was calm for a long time.Should this relationship in the movie be called sweet or regrettable?It's sweet because you have a wonderful and romantic time together.Sadly, it was clear that the relationship was not going to last, as Oliver's holiday was over and the couple were likely to be separated for the rest of their lives.Alas, sad romance ah.In the scene at the train station, the director handles it with great restraint. The two men don't even speak, just a deep hug. Then Elio smiles and watches Oliver get on the train.Elio struggled, and his grief manifested itself when he finally called home, crying and asking his mother to come pick him up.Seeing this paragraph, I already shed tears.People in love generally hope to be together all the time, but separation, often bring is tore heart crack lung pain.In the film, Elio's pain was also restrained. Maybe in front of his mother, Elio had to restrain his emotion, but because of the pain of separation, he could not cry, but could only twist his face into a lump. I have to say that the director showed the character's emotion perfectly.I want to say, Elio was still very happy, he came back home, my father said to him the meaning of a passage, it is the world 90% of the parents could not have said, he told Elio, do you have a wonderful friendship, perhaps more than friendship, you may now pain, sad, but don't let this feeling disappear, not to mention there have been happy.What a waste it is for us not to feel in order not to feel.I think it was a great comfort to Elio that their relationship was validated, that it was real, and that even though they weren't together, the joy they had would make this summer memorable.This reminds me of a sentence we learned at that time: "Het Culture think of itself as the elemental form of human Association, as the very model of inter-gender relations, as the indivisible basis of all community,And as the means of reproduction without which society wouldn't exist "(Warner, 1993, p.21).This film shows us that the beauty and simplicity of relationships should not be mixed into the so-called mission of reproduction.Love this abstract thing is unrelated to gender, just a warm attraction between two people.

"Do you mean what I think you mean?" The tone of the whole film is like these dialogues, full of ambiguity, whether day or night. Two shy people fell in love and started a classic couple life. However, there was no banquet that would never end. Oliver had to go. The night before parting, Elio saw Oliver dancing with the stranger on the road, squatting down and vomiting violently. Vomit is not only because he is unable to drink, but also because he is about to part with you. He sings and dances with strangers to his heart's content. You are like an outsider. The person you love deeply, like Mount Fuji, doesn't belong to you, and then the miserable heart quickly vomites out. The next day, the platform whistle, two people smile goodbye, the train left, take away your favorite person, you finally can't help but wipe a tear, crying in the place he can't see. At this time, he called his mother to pick her up. His mother comforted him in the car. When he got home, his father boiled chicken soup for him to drink. He felt sorry for his parents. Father's several bowls of chicken soup, the child immediately stopped crying, and even lit up hope, the professor is really not a fuel-efficient lamp. Two years later, on Hanukkah, it was winter in the small town. Frozen ponds, withered fruit trees, and heavy snow all implied the tragic fate of the hero. Elio received a phone call from Oliver, like an old friend, "I'm going to get married." then there was a classic blessing. I was numb to see. I didn't know that the screenwriter even asked Elio to say "Elio" six times. I admit that A few words almost tears, and then Oliver's soft call "Oliver", I knew the story began to point. There was a light in the eyes of the boy by the fire, but I believe he was happy at that moment because I felt the same. "Queerness is not so much a stable, clearly defined sexual orientation as it is a way of seeing and experiencing the world" (Ruberg&Phillps, 2018). This film gives me a totally different way of experiencing and seeing events. If Jack in Brokeback Mountain is warm and cheerful, and Ennis is is silent, two people forced by life fall in love on Brokeback Mountain, and eventually Yin and yang are separated. This is the real world. Then Call Me By Your Name is more like a hazy poem in the sunshine. It is a new attempt to integrate queer and the film industry. It makes people ignore the cruelty of reality and social system, and only devote themselves to the beautiful world brought by movies.

References:

1. Ahmed, S. (2006). Queer phenomenology: Orientations, objects, others. Duke University Press.

2. Doty, A. (1993). Making things perfectly queer: Interpreting mass culture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

3. Alfred, L. & Martin, Jr. (2018). Pose(r): Ryan Murphy, Trans and Queer of Color Labor, and the Politics of Representation. LA Review of Books. URL: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/poser-ryan-murphy-trans-queer-color-labor-politics-representation/

4. Benshoff, H. M., & Griffin, S. (Eds.). (2004). Queer cinema: The film reader. Psychology Press.

5. Warner, M., & Social Text Collective. (1993). Fear of a queer planet: Queer politics and social theory. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

6. Ruberg, B., Phillips, A., Pozo, T., Stone, K., & Youngblood, J. (2018). -Queerness and Video Games Not Gay as in Happy: Queer Resistance and Video Games (Introduction). Game Studies, 18(3).

[trinket-buddy]

For the Cr ask : 7, 27, 37 and 47 ? (i feel like 17 is quite invasive so i skipped it but if you want to answer it too, feel free !)

7. Do you have any official CR merch?

Yes I do, I have: Dagger dagger dagger t-shirt, Glorious Goods t-shirt, Mighty Nein t-shirt, Don’t forget to love each other t-shirt, Dalen’s closet t-shirt, Keyfish t-shirt, Tal’dorei republic hat, the first Vox Machina art book (I was broke when the second came out), the M9 art book has been ordered, the Explorer’s guide to Wildemount, the Tal’Dorei campaign setting, Vox Machina origins comic, Vox Machina d20s, M9 crest pin, both sets of miniatures, cobalt journal (my cat killed this and I cried). I backed their kickstarter as well - so that stuff when it comes.

This has just highlighted to me I have way more than I thought I did, I have spent so much money on their store! Shit.

17. Has CR helped you get through any tough times (loss of a loved one, quarantine, etc.) - I will answer this, though I appreciate the offer to skip it 💜

CR has done a lot for me if I’m being honest, CR and the community helped solidify me being comfortable in the fact I was gay. I am more free in my expression because of CR. I binged all of CR1 at a time when I felt I didn’t have a lot of real world support, and I feel like I came out of that stronger for it. More recently I’ve had a lot of issues with depression, and family stuff, and CR is where I turn to for escape.

27. What’s your favorite “How do you want to do this?” moment?

I feel like these always go back to VM, but they’re the things I’ve watched over and over. So I’m going to mention three here - because I suck at choosing a favourite.

The VM group HDYWTDT on Ripley because if that wasn’t one of the best moments hands down I don’t know what is.

Vex’s HDYWTDT on Sylas Briarwood in the wedding one shot. Matt let their creativity flow that episode with Pike creating a spiritual bow for Vex to use. The imagery of Vex glowing like the sun at a radius of 120ft yelling out “Sylas, Delilah Briarwood was a bitch”. Then with a golden bow calmly walking towards him, shooting him, and finishing him off. Perfection.

Caleb’s HDYWTDT on Lorenzo - this is less because Caleb got it, and more on the whole fight tbh. This was one of the early fights of consequence in the new campaign. They had their first ever PC death and half the party had been captured. Beau’s stunning strike was HUGE in getting an edge, Keg being locked in with Lorenzo so close in that final moment giving zero fucks. Plus it being a live show meant everything was dialed up to 1000 was fantastic.

37. What’s your favorite CR magic item?

This is a three way tie for me, and they are all CR1.

Boots of Haste - this was a crazy broken carry over item from when they first started live streaming. But it brought about so many fun interactions between Vex and Vax.

Flying Carpet - it’s demise early CR1 was hilarious and devastating

Fenthras - The whole fight to get the vestige was a roller coaster ride to watch.

*Special mention to both the Deck of Many Things and the Dust of Deliciousness though* 

47. Who’s your favorite CR companion (Doty, Frumpkin, etc.)?

This one is easily Trinket. For a number of reasons really, for what he meant to really both Vex and Vax. Even though Trinket is obviously a bear he gives off the big loyal lovable dog vibes - and I’m a dog person at heart. Plus all the interaction.

[hufflepirate]

Darrington Brigade - Pretty

Thought of another one. This was supposed to be a headcanon post but I guess it’s a ficlet now. I’m not gonna bother switching it all over into past tense though.

*******

When Buddy decides, very seriously, that he wants a tattoo, Tary floats the idea of matching DB tattoos and is immediately shot down because it doesn’t fit with half his members’ existing aesthetics.

It takes him a long time to decide on a tattoo. Decisions are hard.

Damian, Farriwen, and Mac all help, patiently spending hours sprawled across the floor in the boys’ room drawing things and looking at pictures together.

He’s finally happy when Damian presents him with an abstract pattern pieced together from the many things they’d drawn and discussed and drawn again and set aside. He jumps up and down, shaking the whole room, and Damian’s smirk is so big it almost passes for a smile.

Buddy waits breathlessly for Mac’s approval, watching him look the paper over, and then Mac starts whooping and hollaring, a smile breaking out only after he’s exclaimed that it’s perfect. Buddy’s answering smile is slower still, waiting to be sure, but Farriwen wishes she could draw, too, just to capture the joy in it. Maybe she ought to talk to Hazel about that.

Hazel wants to record the actual tattooing for posterity, but when the needle actually starts, Buddy whines in the back of his throat, a pained, betrayed sound even though the others had told him it might hurt. He’s tough, and they know it, and he doesn’t scream or cry out, but the little grumphing sounds of discomfort aren’t something Hazel wants to remember, after all, so she slides the cylinder out of the audiomatic and switches to playing a recording Buddy likes of a story Larry told them about him and Tary bringing the dogs home.

It’s the only recording they have that doesn’t completely set Tary off to advantage, but she recorded it live from Larry as he told it, and the fondness in his voice when he says his husband’s name makes up for it.

Buddy’s upper back, shoulders, and upper arms are a lot of real estate, so he isn’t done when the story ends. He asks her to tell the one about them all meeting, and she does, without a recording this time, holding one hand while Farriwen holds the other and blows a cool breeze gently across his forehead. Damian interrupts the request from her seat on a counter a few feet away, to tell him he’s doing great, and Mac agrees from where he’s been scrambling up and down off of furniture behind the tattoo artist, trying to get a good eye on the process.

The tattooist bandages Buddy up as soon and fast as he can, to keep everything covered and clean, and nobody gets a good look at the full thing until the bandages come off that evening.

Lionel and The Owlbear help him take the bandages off, and everybody else stands behind him and stares.

“Am I - pretty?” he asks, his voice quieter than usual.

“Buddy,” Mac announces, flinging his arms out, “You are beautiful.”

“Yeah,” Damian agrees, “It came out great.”

“Now that’s a sight to record for posterity,” Hazel said, “Doty, have you got that? I only do sound.”

Farriwen floats into the air and kisses him on the cheek, and he’s still blushing over it when Lionel tells him he was always pretty, but the tattoo looks real nice, too, and he has to cover his face.

The Owlbear’s eyes dart to one side and the other and he sidles up to Buddy’s ear to ask him if he wants him to hide him. He doesn’t, but it’s a nice thought.

Tary asks if he can use the design as part of the cover for his next book.

Buddy doesn’t stop covering his face until Mac drags over a table and then a chair and climbs from one to the other to peel Buddy’s hands forcibly away from his eyes. He leans in so Buddy can’t look away and says, “Hey, listen. We came here for friends. It’s ok to let them like you.”

“I’m pretty,” Buddy answers, voice half wonder and half disbelief.

Mac pulls back and slugs Buddy in the sternum, dead centered on his heart, but not hard enough to hurt. “You always were, big guy. Now come on, let’s go show Mrs. Darrington your new ink. She’s always so nice, getting us extra food.”

Buddy’s face spreads into a slow smile. “Yeah. Ok.”

Once Mac’s down off the table and on the floor, leading Buddy by the hand is pretty awkward, but they’ve done it before, and Buddy follows obediently, Farrowin hovering lightly in the air behind him as she continues to take in the intricacies of the design, which weren’t made any simpler once they were transferred from Damian to the artist.

The others trail after them, and Hazel nudges Damian’s hip with her elbow. “Hey, here’s looking at you! The artwork’s gorgeous.”

Damian’s eyebrows contract and she looks away, something Hazel recognizes as a relatively rare show of embarrassment. “Oh, well, you see, he did most of it. He thought of it, I mean. I just put the pieces together. ‘Cause he’s - you know, beautiful on the inside or whatever. I was just tryna get it out to the outside.”

“Well, you did so admirably,” Hazel answers.

In the back, The Owlbear pronounces, “Evil quakes this day, as it must always do in the face of the just, the true, and the beautiful.”

Nobody laughs, but Damian’s smile slides a little sideways as she says “Yeah, alright, I guess he’s pretty good.”

She’s right.

[utilitycaster]

14. How do you cope with high tension in CR (stress-snacks, screaming into the chat void, skipping it, etc.)? 43. What’s your favorite Sam ad? 47. Who’s your favorite CR companion (Doty, Frumpkin, etc.)?

14. Being a messy bitch who loves drama...tic tension. If I’m watching live I just power through but also usually I like the high tension if it’s combat or intra-party RP stuff. I do often pause high-tension diplomatic conversations if I’m not watching live since those genuinely are harrowing, but because I am so spoiler-averse I usually don’t realize that I’m going into a scene like that until it’s too late and I just ride it out. I do snack if I’m watching the next day (I’m on the U.S. East Coast and have a job with normal hours, so I’m not snacking at 10 pm to midnight generally) but like, that’s just because I love snacks; I am far too much of a completist to skip anything during my initial watch through, plus, as mentioned, I am typically unspoiled so I wouldn’t even know when to do it (I will skip things on a rewatch though); and I never have the chat open except to type in the magic wyrmword because it goes too fast and is distracting.

43. The goth one (C2 e78), and here’s why:

The line “Before we figure out this episode we have to figure out why Sam is the way he is,” which can be interpreted in an immediate “why is Sam dressed as a goth” why but also “Why is he always fucking like this”

Sam immediately breaking character when the goth music comes in to genuinely thank the crew for it

Taliesin’s soul immediately departs his body. Unlike many ads, his head is only in his hands for a moment or two after which point he goes into “well this may as well happen” mode

Laura making fun of Sam’s inexplicable hand positioning, and Sam immediately breaking when he realizes that he’s doing it, but still doing weird hand positioning and gesturing throughout the rest of the ad

Sam’s inability to say the phrase “infernal god Baal”

Sam’s wig gets in his mouth as he’s trying to say the promo code

Sam immediately says he’s never met a goth person, backtracks, calls Taliesin not a real goth person, continues to say the wrong thing, meanwhile Taliesin is like “oh a real goth would leave wherever the fuck your poser ass was” and all the best ads involve Sam being roasted (see also the one where Matt made fun of his teeth)

“I really only do two voices, Laura. You guys are all really talented voice actors, and I just do me and slightly younger me” which I think about every time Sam does an accent (I should note: Sam does many voices and is a very talented voice actor, but he’s not an accent actor)

then he lost a ring in a flask, and Matt yet again had to apologize to D&D Beyond. I hope one day the CR cast does a political intrigue one shot in which they must apologize to a benefactor one of the party has been taunting for years.

47. I think Doty because his one word manages to say so very much and also because various incarnations of him have apparently gone full rogue AI which I think is hilarious.

With all that said it is my deepest desire that Frumpkin’s true fey form owes Artagan like, 50 gold, or even better, Artagan owes Frumpkin’s true fey form 50 gold, and if that happens Frumpkin will become my favorite.

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E73 (Aug. 6, 2019)

Gooooooood evening good evening good evening all! @eponymous-rose is off packing for a cross-country move (as if THAT’S an excuse), so here I am isntead to lay waste to all you love. 

Tonight’s preroll: Sam’s costume from the liveshow getting dunked in acid.

Tonight’s guests: Laura Bailey & Sam Riegel, in a fully human and normal tshirt and jeans. Everyone oohs and ahs over Laura’s adorable live show outfit; Sam waits eagerly for equal attention. And waits, and waits...

Tonight’s announcements: Huge thanks to everyone who came out to the live show in Indy last weekend (I was there! It was great!). Laura talks about everyone singing the theme on the intro. Sam sent his entire costume back with Dani so he wouldn’t get stopped in the airport. Poor Dani! Season 3 of Between the Sheets, featuring Amanda Palmer, is up for Twitch subs now and will be up on YT on Wednesday. CR is headed to Austin, TX, for a live show on Sept. 23! Everyone talks about how Doty will definitely, definitely be in this show: The Adventures of the Darrington Brigade, ft. the return of Sam as Taryon. Sam says he already has something in mind for his costume; everyone else will be playing new characters. Laura’s got an idea for a backup character for Jester, but BWF advises her not to use this for the live show since Jester will def be dead in less than 20 episodes. Go to critrole.com/events for more.

Episode 73: Uthodurn, which is not spelled at all like I thought

CR Stats! Nott dealt 124 damage this episode, only 23 of which was friendly fire. Sam: “You know, he just needs to get out of the fucking way.” Nott rolled her 50th nat 20, resulting in a 43 stealth check. Laura and Sam quietly talk about Sam’s tendency to touch everyone else’s dice as opposed to his “playing fairly.” Sam also laments he’s lost his dustbuster in the studio somewhere after the last bit. Jester is tied with Beau at 9 for the most HDYWTDTs. Jester also played her 50th prank this episode: creating the ballpeen hammer as an offering to the Allhammer.

Laura thinks part of Jester’s new anger in battle is part of losing Yasha, especially when she disappeared right in front of her and Jester wasn’t able to help her at all. “Jester mammoth-raged.” Laura raves about being a mammoth & talks about needing to work on her elephant noise. Both Laura and Sam fail miserably at making the noise.

Sam slowly drinks a shot. It’s... a thing.

We have a close-up of Sam’s nail polish, which was done for the live show. He doesn’t own nail polish remover, it turns out.

Nott will talk to Cad about the explosive arrow whenever Cad brings it up. First, Cad was invisible & therefore at fault because he couldn’t be seen; the second part of the blame goes to Laura Bailey, who leaned over and told Sam right before his turn he had to kill this thing right now. The explosive arrow was the best thing he had; Sam accepts one part of the blame for forgetting it would be fire. Sam & Laura agree the bolt should have had some thunder/force damage associated with it because of the concussive blast. (Hilariously, my father presented this precise argument to me with GREAT VIGOR right after this episode aired.)

Jester’s call to the Traveler was just in the heat of the moment. All of her power comes from him, so Jester calls out to him (and Laura thinks it cool) when she gets a big oomph. Sam wonders aloud if her powers genuinely come from the Traveler or not. Laura: “I mean...as far as she knows.” Sam’s also distracted that the question card had a straight-up name on it rather than a username.

Sam considers the outcome of the election a win, since he’s one of the bi-Presidents of D&D Beyond until further notice. “It doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you get there.” Laura asks if he thinks about it being a hollow win when he goes to sleep. Sam: “Do I look like the kind of person to have thoughts as I’m falling asleep?”

Nott’s usage of the pistol’s single shot was pure pettiness. Sam thought Nott had a shot because she’s acrobatic & fast & has some tricks, and he just didn’t want Beau to win. Making loud noises & drawing attention didn’t even cross my mind.

Jester was very proud of Fjord making those strength checks, but she wasn’t surprised. “He’s very strong, even though he looks like he’s not.” Laura thinks it’s funny and poetic that Travis rolled so well after ditching his sword/powers.

Travis has three sets of dice. Liam has a bunch of sets, but they’re all red (says Laura, offended). Laura only used purple dice at the live show because of how she was dressed.

Cosplay of the Week: a great Scanlan cosplay with Ioun’s third eye by @cxptaingrayson.

Sam realizes something that’s been holding back the Nott-Fjord relationship is that Nott has always been a little suspicious of Fjord. Now that he’s “talking like a real weirdo” and is still brave, braver than before, she can trust him more.

Laura’s asked about Jester’s conflict between healing & DPS. Laura: “Do you think Jester asked to be a fucking healer?” When they were deciding their characters, Laura was originally going to be a warlock with the Traveler as her patron; then Travis was like, warlock! What a cool class! Can I have it? And Laura said sure, she’ll be a cleric, that sounds cool. “And now he got rid of his fucking patron! Who knows if he’s going to be a warlock anymore? What a waste of a warlock!” She likes being a cleric--but even from Jester’s very first inception she’s always been a healer who hates healing. Brian: “She’s a battle Mercy.” She’s not regretful she healed Beau; the reason Laura didn’t immediately heal her is that she thought from Matt’s face that the remorhaz was very close to death, closer than it actually was. She confirms Jester is Chaotic Neutral.

Brian tells Laura he texted Travis to tell him Laura accused him of stealing the warlock class. Laura: “YOU DID NOT!” Brian: “You said it on the air!!”

Travis, via text to BWF, apparently in all caps: “I WAS CHANGING RONIN. YES I STOLE WARLOCK.”

Nott’s teasing of a powerless Fjord is 100% just because she thinks it’s funny. Sam: “There’s not really a deep reason to it. They tease each other all the time. Why would that change just because he tossed his sword in the lava?”

Laura needs to do research on other animals she can become since she enjoyed the mammoth (and giant eagle) so much. Sam keeps a list of flying creatures Laura can turn into because Laura struggles looking it up and often keys it into her D&D Beyond app before she’s even started. BWF: “This is uncharacteristically unselfish.” Sam: “Well, Laura is--I love her. Laura is pure harp music and I would do anything for her.”

Their environments are just getting better and better for Nott in terms of how goblins are seen. She’s given up the mask now, but it’s nice to have people look and not scream.

Both Sam & Laura pause to fan over the design of Uthodurn. It’s way cooler than either the Empire or Dynasty to them right now.

Laura points out that Nott has been fairly outgoing lately; it’s been a while since anyone said “you’re a goblin, stone her!” She’s beginning to come out of her shell as she gets used to her body (not that she likes it in any way), but it’s a development from Veth’s original shyness. She’s also drunk a lot; Sam says this will continue until he gets more Laura Bailey speeches.

BWF still has Laura’s copy of Game of Thrones, which he borrowed in 2011. Laura doesn’t listen to books on tape because she likes the inflections in her own head.

Fanart of the Week: a cool grouping of portraits of the M9 by @dylanbydoodles.

They apparently threw an election party after the D&D Beyond President reveal. Sam talks about convincing the Lyft driver on the way back that it was a swinger’s party in the most ridiculous way possible. Poor Indianapolis.

Nott & Veth’s relationship is getting very complicated. Sam says they’re beginning to blend a little together, but he’s now coming to realize there’s a part of Nott deep down that is deeply scared of going back to Veth & losing her rogue abilities, her adventuring; she wants to be herself again for sure, since her body is definitely wrong, but she’s beginning to fear the loss of some of what Nott is now.

BWF sincerely thanks Sam for the effort and thought he puts into his character. Sam sincerely thanks him. It’s a lovely moment.

Jester’s slip about Fjord’s powers was deliberate on Laura’s part but accidental on Jester’s. Everyone’s a little worried about Fjord without powers, even though he proved himself in the remorhaz fight. She thinks the slipup happened because Jester wasn’t on guard--because Fjord had done so well in the fight, she’d forgotten.

So far, Nott’s choice to leave the family behind in Nicodranus is worth it; no one’s died and they’re making headway on their goals.

BWF: “The Mighty Nein: no one’s died-ish.”

Apparently Matt owns the building they’re filming in? I missed part of this and genuinely can’t tell if it’s a joke.

BWF talks about how Liam, Matt, & Travis have all been genuinely mad at him before. Matt and Travis were mad; Liam was just disappointed.

How did Sam lose the election? He doesn’t think it’s because of him or anything he did. He thinks there’s a demographic shift in America; the electoral college hurt him; both he and Liam ran the campaigns they wanted. Liam’s was serious issues & serious passion, while Sam farted around for three months. BWF asked Adam Bradford at D&D Beyond, who’s the General Manager, about the results; apparently the pie chart was VASTLY in favor of Liam with only the tiniest sliver for Sam. Laura thinks it’s because Sam’s done nothing but troll Sam for five years and this was their chance to troll him back. Sam: “To that I say: good job.”

Dani & Max both voted for Sam. Laura didn’t vote. BWF voted for Liam. Chris forgot there was a vote. Zach voted for Liam.

Sam talks about the game they play, the app for D&D Beyond, and how the whole campaign allowed him to shine a spotlight on himself. “I didn’t get as many votes as Liam, but I got a lot of attention.”

Everyone loved this last live show. Laura legit loved wearing her dress; Travis & Liam looked great. Tal looked normal. Brian marvels at his own tattoos. He and Tal went through a lot of ideas before they committed to the bag situation--he sent it to Jaimie Alexander before the show happened so she could vet it. Ha! “Her response was 25 crying emojis and ‘please send this to my boyfriend.’“

Reminder: Mica Burton, Overwatch League host (and daughter of Levar Burton), will be guest-starring on Critical Role this coming Thursday.

And we’re out! Is it Thursday yet?

[rnufharose]

Blood, Sweat, and Tears - Chapter 4

Words: 1.5k

Trigger Warnings: Violence and death.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing in this chapter is meant to start fanwars or point fingers at other artists. I am a multistan and I love many groups.

︻デ═一 ♥

The Magic Shop was teeming with life, the patrons sipping their drinks as the lights danced around the club. Inspired by the neurosurgeon James R. Doty, it is a place that exchanges fear with something positive. It was a paradise in the heart of Seoul's violence, where the citizens could escape and have a good time, and the owners wanted them here, safe and sound where they could smile their worries away.

Their hosts were seven of the kindest men in the city: a band of brothers who embraced the path of Dionysus and the Muses. They wanted nothing to do with the mob wars that plagued the city, offering what they believed to be the best modern take on the 1950s Hollywood.

The walls were lined with gold lights, the neon signs etched in cursive with the dance floor painted a shimmering red. The stage was occupied by backup dancers, an electric guitar sounding along with a bass, drums and scratching vinyl. The seven males came out, wearing himation robes over their suits as they broke into song.

[Taehyung, J-Hope/Suga]

Drink it up

Shot glasses (sippin') Link arms (tippin')

One-shot

Thyrsus (grippin') Grape (eatin')

Drink it up

Vibes (Keep it) D style (rip it)

One-shot

Here (Kill it) let's steal it

The illest!

[RM]

Just get drunk like Dionysus

Drink in one hand, Thyrsus on the other

Art splashing inside this clear crystal cup

Art is alcohol too, if you can drink it, you'll get drunk fool

You dunno you dunno

You dunno what to do with

I'll show you I recommend you something different

From my mic made of ivy and rough wood

There is never a sound that comes out in one breath

[Jungkook, J-Hope]

Until the sun comes up, where the party at?!

Until we fall asleep, where the party at?!

Sing it, sing it again

Drink it, drink it again

We're born again

[Jin, J-Hope]

Drink it up (the pain of creation)

One-shot (the scolding of this era)

Drink it up (Talking with myself)

One-shot (Okay now I'm ready fo sho)

[V, Jimin/J-Hope]

Drink, drink, drink, drink up my glass, ay

Everyone all, fall, fall into this crazy artist

One drink (one shot), two drinks (two shots)

Get drunk on art and say onghaeya

[Jungkook, Jimin/J-Hope]

Drink, drink, drink, drink up my glass, ay

Everyone fall, fall, fall into this crazy artist

One drink (one shot), two drinks (two shots)

Hit the gong and say onghaeya

[Suga/V]

Shot glasses (sippin'), linked arms (tippin')

Thyrsus (grippin'), Grape (eatin')

Vibes (Keep it) D style (rip it)

Here (Kill it) let's steal it

The illest!

The silver-haired female had finished pouring a martini for one of the customers at the counter, flashing a smile toward the boys, specifically the male with blue hair. He harbored a heart-shaped face with big eyes and small lips that would spread into a big, genuine smile. Arabella listened to the patrons cry out with excitement at their powerful vocals and difficult choreography, which they executed effortlessly. She knew that if this city was much cleaner, these boys would have been a famous musical group that would take over the world.

"They're having a lot of fun," another voice spoke, and Bella turned to look at the older woman, whose black hair fell past her shoulders. She had soft features that also appeared striking, and she possessed a fondness in her eyes. She looked at her younger brother, who shared her similar features, but they appeared more distinct under the bright lights. "I knew their clothes would go well for tonight's show," Dawon commented confidently.

"You never disappoint with your creations, Unnie," Bella stated, and she watched the boys end their song, seated on chairs with legs crossed as they posed, smirking and catching their breaths as the patrons gave them a standing ovation.

"Yah," the male with pink hair and soft cheeks took a seat at the counter, and Bella handed him a water bottle. "that felt great."

"You did so well," Dawon hugged her younger brother and he towered over her, squeezing her tightly but not so much that he would hurt her.

"Gomawo, Noona," Hoseok's smile was like sunshine.

"Have you talked to Haneul?" she questioned, and the male with black hair and button nose shook his head.

"We haven't gotten a hold of her," Jungkook frowned. "We've been meaning to visit her and pay our respects to her Halmeoni but..."

"We've been pretty busy with the shop," the tall blonde male with full lips and a sultry gaze—Namjoon—finished. "We still feel terrible that we couldn't go to Icheon..."

The male with blue hair--Taehyung--wrapped an arm around Bella's small shoulders and pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose, "We'll give her our condolences, and we'll also help her get settled. She's our baby sister after all, and we can't have her living alone."

"We have to keep her away from the danger too," the male with sleepy eyes—Yoongi—added. "If anything happens to her because of the crimes outside, Halmeoni won't forgive us..."

"We head for Icheon tomorrow morning to pick her up," the tall male with broad shoulders and black hair—Jin—said. "If it's alright with you, Noona, we'd like for her to share a room with you back at the apartment?"

"That's more than alright," Dawon responded graciously. "And with me and Bella with her, she won't always have to be surrounded by men, not that that's a bad thing."

The boys laughed and Bella looked toward the older woman, nodding in agreement, "We can set her up with a job here too."

"Definitely," Namjoon smiled. "If there's one thing Haneul loves, it's performing."

︻デ═一 ♥

Sehun watched the man topple to the group, his face battered and bruised, blood dribbling down one of his nostrils. He towered over the man, eyes full of apathy as Kai continued to kick the man in the ribs.

"Heh," The third male, with his soft face, slicked hair and deep voice, named Chanyeol, smirked as he watched the younger male beat the injured male. "You really thought you could take our imports, huh?"

The man on the ground coughed, blood staining his teeth as he spat, "Y-You know that wasn't my intention...! W-We formed an alliance!"

"An alliance you chose to break!" Kai growled, crushing his foot onto the man's face, listening to him cry painfully. He lifted his chin, eyes narrow with a devious smirk on his lips. "Funny... I had a lot of respect for BIGBANG... wouldn't want to start a war with G-Dragon but..." he trailed off, looking over his shoulder at Chanyeol and Sehun.

Sehun's dark eyes shifted slowly from the man on the ground to Kai. He crouched, lips pressed into a tight line when he grabbed the man's face.

"S-Sehun," the man begged. "Y-You understand me, don't you?! I would never take your imports! No one even thinks of messing with EXO!"

He contemplated his next move, releasing his face from his grip before huffing, taking a stand and furrowing his thick brows, "Mianhe, Seungri... but this isn't the first time you've done wrong... G-Dragon will think we've done him a favor..."

Seungri watched the raven-headed male take a step back, turning to walk away, eyes widening with terror when he heard those two words fall from his lips.

Sehun came to a stop, ticking his hands into the pockets of his slacks, not once looking over his shoulder, "Kill him."

He ignored his cries, blocking out the sound of anguish in his voice as he made his way toward the car. In his thoughts, he did this city and BIGBANG's leader a huge favor by eliminating a piece of dirt. That was one less piece of scum tainting this world, and who knows if he planned on turning against his own.

Sehun opened the car door, taking the driver's seat and leaning back as he listened to gunfire, and Seungri's pleas ceased for good. He could see Chanyeol and Kai standing over his corpse, eyes lifeless and blood oozing from beneath him. The two of them walked away, taking care to get rid of any evidence that would incriminate them, and joined Sehun in the car.

"Looks like our imports are safe... for now," Chanyeol said as he called shotgun. Kai took the backseat.

"Tell Junmyeon hyung we're arranging a meeting with G-Dragon," Sehun got the car's engine running. "The sooner we tell him what we did, the better..."

He pulled away from the curb, driving onto the street before the cops could come, gripping the wheel as he stared out the windshield with a hardened expression.

Once this meeting was settled, he could go back to focusing on protecting that girl. He just had to find the person responsible for her grandmother's death, and Sehun had a feeling she would appear very soon.