#queen cumulous

[heart-star]

Have you wondered what was the respective skylander's relationship with their kind when we saw those in the games? I thought that besides being known as a great fighter, Lighting Rod actually was Queen Cumulous' husband but they became a split up couple in the games, feel sorry for him though.

[chalkbird]

crown of candy moments that deeply changed me as a person:

you know what i've always hated about you, amethar?

"if you thought the adventure was gonna end, it's not." — "well, if you thought the adventurer was gonna die, she definitely fucking wasn't."

i wonder if they'll still call you the unfallen after this

where is your bulb now?

i can't help but wonder if you died thinking that i did not love you

et tu, frute?

i cast knock on the door

they're gonna eat you alive, annabelle!

i'm gonna be as casual about this as i can *proceeds to take out a scroll and loudly announce all of amethar's titles*

my third wish is for you to come home

i am a strong woman, i don't need a man

what's the last part of my title?

it was good. what you took away from me, it was good.

every single time swifty opens his mouth

do you know how many things would have to have gone wrong in order for this to matter?

i hate having my shit fucked

[juanitasupreme]

MY WIFE GOT MARRIED

WHAT

[chungledown-bimothy]

I have so many Thoughts about the ACOC backup charaters, especially in relation to the player's primary one.

Zac: Lapin and Cumulous are both socially reticent guys just on the periphery of the family. They both serve a higher power that is not the Bulb. Lapin was tricked into it, while Cumulous was created for it. Lapin hides it, Cumulous basks in it. Different perspectives on Fuck The Bulbian Church.

Emily: Neither Jet nor Saccharina wanted to rule. Jet would have envied Saccharina's freedom even more than she did Annabelle's, and Jet had everything Saccharina wanted most. Essays could be written about these two, so I'm gonna leave it there and move on.

Lou: We know very little about his backup character, but we do know that his name is Murdo Brer, and he's a necromancer (wizard) who lives way out in the far reaches of Candia. His extreme interest in the dark side of magic turned him into an oozing, slimy, legless molasses man. The exact opposite of Amethar, the illiterate pillar of a rock candy barbarian/fighter whose life is the center of everything.

Ally: Liam is an outsider, he doesn't really belong there. But Caramelinda went out of her way to check in with him about his well-being and suggest a way out of the castle, if he wanted one. He's the only person she was nothing but warm and kind to. (of course. her husband and daughters certainly didn't help that) And then Ally's backup character is Sir Amanda Maillard. The s'mores paladin having an affair with the queen. She belongs in the castle even less, and, of course, her relationship with Caramelinda is very, very close. These two spots of warmth and kindness in Caramelinda's otherwise extremely stressful and challenging life.

Murph: Saying that Theo loved Lazuli and that he is who he is because of her is an understatement. All we know about his backup character is that it was a Bubblegum Monster construct created by Lazuli. That obvious parallel aside, there's something there in the chewiness of gummy bears and bubblegum. It's candy that takes a wile and some effort to finish. They've got staying power. We see that in Swirlwarden's ability and really everything about Theo, and I think it's safe to assume that a construct that looks like that is also not easy to take down.

And then there's Siobhan. Where this started, for me.

Her backup character was Bitternight Darknibs, a warlock made of sugarless chocolate. She said that, if she were to have played her, she would have been Rococoa, having come back from the dead as a revenant to get revenge on Calroy.

Rococoa's need to avenge her murdered family being so strong it brought her back from the dead vs Ruby feeling like part of her died when Jet did and revenge being the only thing keeping her going. Jet being the one connected to Rococoa. If Ruby had died, Amethar would have lost his daughter and gotten back his sister, kind of.

We don't know how aware of her past Bitternight is, maybe it's just, like, a thing we know and will devastate Amethar to learn later, or if there is a more immediate recognition/reunion sort of thing. But no matter what, it would have been absolutely devastating.

[mamwieleimion]

I have this new take on Elrond and his looks/connection to his ancestry/how he's precived.

This is something of a cumulation of posts I have read that talked about things like:

How people see Elrond as physically most a like to people they want to see at first

How Elrond accidentally became a Patron of Unions/Marriage

How Men think he's incredibly Elven and Elves think he looks a lot like a Men

How no matter how he dressed in Valinor his always gonna turn heads and concerned questions (specially from the Noldor)

And of him being more Maia/Eldritch

Him being a Feanorian (I don't really know if that's relevant but I see him as one so that might affect how I write about him below 👇)

(some of these can be found on my profile/in my posts if anyone interested)

Alright, having said all that, I can now being.

So, men don't really have great memory of times past. But! Let's assume that some kind of knowledge of Doriath had survived long enough into the Second Age, that when Men generally knew about Rivendell they had accidentally between generations lost the distinction between Doriath and Rivendell.

Let's be honest, if the common folk have such stories, then somethings must get lost between generations. And the nobles also at some point might have for some time lost the distinction, I would totally believe that.

Anyways, and so, there is this legend/myth going around Men that the Hidden Elven City is and always was Rivendell (they might get a little fussed up with Gondolin but less so than Doriath I think). And they all agree that the Realm/City is ruled by a powerful being/spirit (they don't remember maiar anymore, but if they did, it would be a Maia ruling the Hidden Elven City/Realm).

So sometimes, when an injured man stumbles his way into Rivendell, and maybe they make the connection with our lovely Valley and their myths/legends. And then they are introduced to the healer who brought them back from the brink of death (Lord of the Valley Elrond). The men is pretty sure it was a woman ruling the Hidden Elven City, but it also could've meant Lord Elrond's wife (she probably passed away, the men mused later to justify his own thoughts. Because the death of a spouse isn't something new to men), or really, the Lord is beautiful enough to pass for a woman. The men doesn't say anything, he stays respectful. And when he leaves, he talks about the spirit who brought him back from the dead, saved him with a miracle from the heavens, of his kindness and beauty. The myth grows.

And maybe, along the way this belief becomes so strong something in Elrond awakens. After all, the blood of Ainur is strong, was strong in Luthien, almost overwhelming her elven nature. Was visible in Dior as all who looked at him found themselves failing to their knees in awe, feeling the fulfilment of their search for beauty. It had became stronger in Elwing, who used the Silmaril as the only light in her life, who as a small girl-queen only had this one thing left of her family. Elwing who unknowingly became stronger from this exposure, who feed her Ainur blood with light and strengthened herself until when she fell all Ulmo had to do to change her form was to give her a push in the right direction.

And it all came down to Elrond. Elrond who as a child, a newborn, was exposed to the light of the Silmaril, who after his kidnapping/impromptu adoption was nurtured by two powerful Elves of Valinor, by Eldest Sons of Feanor the Fire Spirit, who despite what some would like to forget had the blood of Finwë running in his veins alongs side the blood of Melian and Thingol. Elrond who held a Ring of Power and stood straight under its weight, who created a sanctuary in the darkness. The Lord of Rivendell who, knowingly or not, had created the only thing that could rival the Griddle of Doriath and even surpass it with it's complexity.

Elrond had became something more along the way. Even though many saw a man in him, others an elf. Elrond lived up to his ancestors and became more as they have. The Lord of Rivendell became a legend, a myth, a figure and an idea. And you can't kill ideas. So what if, he was something more? It didn't really matter at the end, because it was Elrond, kind as summer and wise as a wizard. And he protected his people.

So, when he sailed to Valinor, the only people who were suprised by his power/presence he had were those who never met him before. If a few Maiar were watching invisibly to elves as he arrived and he saw them then what? No one will call him out.

And even if he had became more elf than men, and then more Maia than elf along his long journey of life. It doesn't change anything at the end. Because the Lord of Rivendell was still the same.

[thisisnotthenerd]

and now the best battles of the intrepid heroes go head to head

feel free to give reasoning/propaganda as you like!

the sidequest poll

quick episode descriptions:

arcade ambush: fighting biz in the arcade. the failed perception checks. getting sucked in and out of the games. riz in the palimpsest. beating a nat 20 in the box of doom. shooting off biz's fingers on the count of three.

broadway brawl: the show must go on. misty having the performance of a lifetime. queen titania. i may be little but i am fierce. esther in the rafters. don confetti. ricky, naked, bodyrolling on misty. stephen sondheim riding a bear. subduing titania with a waist trainer.

blast from the passed: after the trial for gorthalax. completely indecipherable battle. bill seacaster kills gilear. johnny spells can't get a word in edgewise. statistically i have just a good a chance at rolling good as any of you. toxic masculinity is dead, i dance now! riz is blasted off the ship into the iron city of dis.

boys' night (Roll20Con): just the lads, going to a party, where they are supremely uncool. extorting gilear for alcohol [uncle pappy's dag nasty rocket hooch] emergency poem for ragh and corey. stealth mode down the highway. chungledown bim is back. fabian falling under the car with the liquor. warping space time and going to the lan party.

deep bleu sea: peppermint batman is invisible in the darkness. primsy is attacked. jet sends stilton to the bottom of the ocean. shenanigan time. the boats sinking and shifting. cumulous appears. throwing the cheese marauders to induce a dexterity check. can i use swirlwarden to get back into the boat. annabelle in the yogurt

treachery at gramercy: fighting around the umbral engine. ricky's bat counterspell. pete surges twice. cody is a mounted combatant who read dante's inferno. tony simos is a crazy level 20 open hand monk. pete has subtle spell. ricky says tony get fucked and does 90 damage. kingston's spirits of the city. sofia stunning everyone. cody meets lucifer and makes a new contract. sofia pulls dale out of the past and into the present.

battle of the brands: the gang buys truly so much stuff. you are required to do a certain amount of drugs. barry is the angel of mercy. the sisters of the cosmic veil having a bikini party. taking kublacaine. we are the ball. barry taking brutus to the finals on a nat 20. nat 20 death save from aurora nebbins. margaret speaks to the plinth and then is down to 1 hit point. skip crits on the plinth. free teleportation shenanigans are not allowed. gunnie casts explosion. barry rapid shots the plinth and does product placement. operation slippery puppet. am i getting ocean's'd 11'd on my own fucking show? what the fuck is happening? a real son of a bitch is no more. sundry sidney has saved the dog!

terror on toy island: a soft little touch. mer-king's insect plague. no daddy. pib getting the little guys. i'm so fucking scared! the water surges around the mer-king. the terrible dogfish is here. daddy-meter is spinning. pinocchio crits to figure it out. pinocchio screaming to wake the dead. it has asthma! and another thing, with the eyes! you were about to instantly die. gerard is wearing full chain mail in the ocean.. rosamund & ylfa are swallowed. the sea witch shows up. murph causes a nat 20. call of destiny. rosamund gets the eye with a seven. i'm a lion in the water. pib's acrobatic crit. one v. one.

[eezdalf]

Individual houses were typically in use for between fifty and 100 years, after which they were carefully dismantled and filled in to make foundations for superseding houses. Clay wall went up on clay wall, in the same location, for century after century, over periods reaching up to a full millennium. Still more astounding, smaller features such as mud-built hearths, ovens, storage bins and platforms often follow the same repetitive patterns of construction, over similarly long periods. Even particular images and ritual installations come back, again and again, in different renderings but the same locations, often widely separated in time.... as individual houses built up histories, they also appear to have acquired a degree of cumulative prestige. This is reflected in a certain density of hunting trophies, burial platforms and obsidian - a dark volcanic glass, obtained from sources in the highlands of Cappadocia, some 125 miles north. The authority of long-lived houses seems consistent with the idea that elders, and perhaps elder women in particular, held positions of influence. But the more prestigious households are distributed among the less, and do not appear to coalesce into elite neighborhoods.

a description of Çatalhöyük, a neolithic city from 7,400 bc. from the dawn of everything, by davids: graeber and wengrow.

this city remained settled for 1,500 years - "roughly the same period of time that separates us from amalafrida, queen of the vandals in .. ad 523"

[fant-asm4]

someone on twitter (@/pr3cipitation) asked for d20 fancasts, but you can only use people who have also been in dropout shows. it ate away at my brain for so long i did all of the Intrepid Hero PCs with the added challenge of not assigning any of the IH in the casting and i’m so proud of my thoughts i’m sharing them here too:

Fantasy High

Fabian Aramais Seacaster - Oscar Montoya

Kristen Applebees - Carolyn Page

Adaine Abernant - Surena Marie

Gorgug Thistlespring - Omar Najam

Riz Gukgak - Brian David Gilbert

Fig Faeth - Jasmine Bhullar

The Unsleeping City

Pete “the Plug” Conlan - E. R. Fightmaster

Sofia Bicicleta Lee - Christine Medrano

Ricky Matsui - Desmond Chiam

Kingston Brown - B Dave Walter

Kugrash - Josh Ruben

Misty Moore/Rowan Berry - Elaine Carroll

Cody Walsh - Ross Bryant

Iga Lizowski - Izzy Roland

A Crown of Candy

King Amethar - Ify Nwadiwe

Sir Theobald Gumbar - Mike Trapp

Chancellor Lapin Cadbury - Grant O’Brien

Princess Jet - Krystina Arielle

Princess Ruby - Aabria Iyengar

Liam Wilhelmina - Alex Song-Xia

Cumulous Rocks - Connie Chang

Queen Saccharina - Sephie Valentine

A Starstruck Odyssey

Norman Takamori/Skip - Freddie Wong

Riva - Lily Du

Big Barry 6 - Jon Gabrus

Sundry Sydney - Jess Ross

Margaret Encino - Vic Michaelis

Gunnie Miggles-Rashbax - Raphael Chestang

Neverafter

Rosamund du Prix - Becca Scott

Gerard of Greenleigh - Tao Yang

Mother Timothy Goose - Sam Reich

Ylfa Snorggleson - Rekha Shankar

PiB - Erika Ishii

Pinocchio - Jaquis Neal

[cobrakaisb]

finals week; platonic!umich

youruser

liked by lucafantilli, adamfantilli, and others

youruser 🚨WEEKLY UPDATE🚨 1. i was grinding out in the library because i have a CUMULATIVE chemistry final (literally criminal) so i needed to lock in (photo creds @/steve) 2 & 3. went to see tbosbas with some of the guys as a reward for studying, that movie was SO GOOD had me crying, laughing, and raging all at once. 4 & 5 me listening to MY QUEEN tate mcrae’s sophomore album!! it was so slay, anybody know @/colesillinger’s addy 🤨?? 6. me with the hockey team 😚

view top comments

steveholtz time to lock in 🔐

↪️ youruser academic weapon for real 🙌🏻

markestapa she was actually giggling and kicking her feet over that movie

↪️ youruser we saw the shower scene 🤭

edwards73 imagine losing to a guy named coriolanus

↪️ dylanduke snow lands on top ↪️ youruser EXACTLY ❄️❄️🔝

adamfantilli anyone else bothered by the cole tag?

↪️ youruser no, fuck that guy ↪️ lucafantilli fuck that guy ↪️ mackie.samo fuck that guy ↪️ rutgermcgroarty fuck that guy

franknazar who are the barbies?

↪️ youruser me and brookie bear 😚 ↪️ brookie 😳

author's note: should i make this an au??? let me know in the comments section

[flame-shadow]

Bug Fables NPC Collab - Cumulative Post

Hi, all! Below the cut are ALL of the collab pieces in one post. Credits for the contributors can be found on the individual posts accessed via hyperlinks. IDs in the alt texts. Enjoy!

Queens and Kings:

Explorer's Association:

Ant Kingdom Palace:

Ant Kingdom Square:

Ant Mines:

Bugaria Pier:

Underground Tavern:

Traveling Caravan:

Golden Settlement:

Defiant Root:

Bee Kingdom:

Honey Factory:

Bandit Hideout:

Far Grasslands:

Wasp Kingdom:

Forsaken Lands:

Termite Capitol:

Metal Island:

Spy Cards Tournament Arena:

Giant's Lair Roach Village:

Roach Lab:

Cave of Trials:

Sophie Flower Area:

Aaaaaand... that's it! Thanks for following along, and huge thanks to all artists who contributed.

[monstersdownthepath]

So I have an infernal Duke I wanna try and make a bit more focused because a lot of his stuff a bit all over the place.

In life he was the court wizard of a queen and also a master poison maker. An expert in poisoning food and drink getting away with it. As a Duke I was thinking some of his abilities allow him to conjure poisoned food, with a special toxin that begins to make people more receptive to him and his abilities. Like imposing a cumulative -1 penalty to Will saves.

He's also a ratfolk,a fancy looking one too. Making him look harmless and easy to trust. Give off a noble fancy rat vibe.

Is this all too weird?

------

Nope! Poisoned food works well as a power set--one I've also been thinking about, too! An Infernal Duke would make for a good poisoner, but you may also want to consider a Malebranche, the demigods of Hell in charge of conquering whole worlds, as such a power set is suitable for slowly overtaking a planet's leadership. But if you're going to leave him as a Duke, you'll also have to give him the ability to pierce poison immunity, as other devils are immune to poison! AND the power to either hypnotize or trick people into eating it, since such a powerset really only ever works against someone once.

[caliburn-the-sword]

i think one of the biggest let downs for me in ouat was the daily mirror (honestly my own fault for thinking too hard). i'm sure that this has been said a hundred times but i feel so much about it.

not to be captain of the obvious, but within the very first few episodes of season 1 the major power structures in storybrooke are established: mayor's office, sheriff's station, mr gold's shop, and the daily mirror. prior to emma's arrival as the saviour, all of these uphold regina's reign.

then over the course of the first season (with exception), you see the figureheads of these establishments lose their position some way or the other. graham dies early in the series, sidney glass loses his job and then gets arrested, and this all cumulates in the finale of season 1 and the beginning of season 2, where everyone's got their memories back and regina, while not formally losing her position as mayor, but does face the backlash of the entire town. gold is a notable exception to this since the writers always intended for him to be a major player, but it only takes him til season 3 to no longer own his shop cause he died, and then again in season 4 when he's banished.

but beyond this, everyone regina had in her pocket was replaced by someone on emma's side. emma herself takes over the role of sheriff when graham dies and that's where we see the first crack in the foundation of regina's authority. belle becomes the owner of the shop both times gold is indisposed. i'd like to reiterate for regina that while she never formally loses the role, david acts as a stand in during early season 2 to fill in that leadership role over the general town, and then in season 3 we see snow become mayor in title for a time (whatever happened to that plot...?)

circling back to the start, the only one that is never replaced is sidney in the daily mirror, which arguably should be the most important role to fill post breaking the curse since meta wise, the magic mirror is the evil queen's most iconic henchman, more than the huntsman ever was. additionally, i'm a very big fan of free press. it's SO influential and could have played a much bigger role in storybrooke. sidney had clearly been replaced, given we still see newspapers throughout the seasons, but i just wish something more could have been done with it.

my number one nomination AND expectation was that this was gonna be a slowburn of sorts to build up henry as he grew up over the series. not only would it be perfect for the obvious reason of henry's subsequent author storyline, but there would be something delicious about regina's most loyal confidant eventually being replaced by her own son. something it being some kind of foil, where instead of the loyalty being built upon obsession and coercion and control, it's built on mutual respect and love and trust. which would then ALSO tie in very nicely to the ending of season 6 when regina becomes mayor again, and of course her and emma are allies.

i assumed that this was pretty much confirmed during the whole author storyline, and that the second he became working age in the usa (forgive me idk what it is) he would start an internship at the daily mirror and eventually work his way up to becoming the most high profile journalist in storybrooke. season 5 touched on the author plotline nicely tho i wish we could have gotten a little something more. season 6 came and went, and if it touched on anything, it was so minor that i don't remember it.

this is probably what makes it most painful to me that SEASON 7 of all seasons was the closest (and yet simultaneously also the furthest) from achieving this. yes, his journey through the realms is important, but arguably defining his writing ability in season 7 to a novel of what he thought was completely imagined, serves almost the same purpose as the storybook from seasons 1-6, but undermines him and does a disservice to him. the whole podcast subplot was close but because this was seattle and not storybrooke, and so it's not a one for one replacement of sidney with henry.

[ladykailitha]

Just a little continuation of this AU idea. I'll be using their show names for ease of understanding but in the story they would be called what I called them in the previous post.

It all cumulates toward a masquerade ball where everyone is dressed as mythical creatures.

Newly crowned King Steven dresses as the Stratford Lyon. A beast that is that of a red lion with large antlers and tusks, but known for its impressive and wild mane (you know Steve would latch on that like lightning). He dressed all in red with his hair flowing to his shoulders, his mask is red, too. It's a full face mask that is a lion face with tusks and the antlers coming off the top of the mask gracefully blending into his hair.

Eddie is beguiling dressed as Mephistopheles. He's dressed all in black. His mask dark rust red covering his upper lip and horns curling from the top of his mask, like Steve's antlers but his are rams' horns.

Robin is dressed as a Nachtkrapp. She was born in Germany and married off to a French Marquis (multilingual like whoa) so she grew up hearing about the night raven. She wanted to go scary and masculine. She succeeds. :D

Chrissy is an angel, to play up on the queen thinking Steve should pick her and Steve wanting to pick Eddie. Her mask is silver, only covering her eyes. She wears a circlet on her piled up hair making it look like a halo. She wears pure white dress. And she is the only one at the ball who knows that Mephisto is Eddie.

Steve's other candidates for marriage are dressed as Titania, a mermaid, and a Valkyrie, Nancy, Vickie, and Tammy respectively.

The Party is all dressed as mythical creatures. Dustin is a griffin, Will is a unicorn, and Mike is dragon. And is completely pissed when Lucas shows up a wyvern. Lucas points out his wings are his forearms which completely different from the four legged, back-winged dragon Mike is. Dustin wanted to be a griffin because it was like Steve's Stratford Lyon without completely giving it away who is under the mask.

The queen is royally pissed when Jonathan turns up as Oberon signalling that Nancy and he are an item, completely removing her from candidacy.

Eddie dressed up in secret for the ball because as he was stripped of his titles he wasn't allowed to go. But an advisor of Steve's and long time friend of the Munsons, lets Eddie go in his place. Chrissy helps him get clothes and things and stores them in her room. Which he sneaks into after the ball has started and changes.

Hopper helps him sneak around front to go through the front gates as though he's arriving.

Steve is drawn to Eddie, even though he doesn't know it's him. The queen is chewing glass. This was NOT how it was supposed to go.

Eddie tries to sneak back to Chrissy's before the unmasking at midnight, but Steve chases him. He finds out the man he was so attracted to is also the one that makes him laugh, makes him think, makes him a better person.

And they kiss about it.

[eris-snow]

𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠

Tags: Revelation (Deku's birthday series 2024), izuku x fem!reader,apology kinda?, reconciling, reaching out, plot plot plot plot-

Masterlist

10th July. Waiting. Lurking

---

The shittiest thing about summer, is how the sun rises at 5 in the fucking morning. Morning runs aren’t uncommon, and you have the habit of waking up that early on Wednesdays because Izuku and you used to run in the evening together. Now, he runs alone. 

On the plus side, the morning air is colder.

The sun inches upward at snail’s pace, rays dipped in gold slowly but surely coating everything around in the same hues of yellow. Colour seeps back into your world. Gradually, but inevitably. Izuku is a wrecking ball of vibrancy. You should expect nothing less of the future Symbol of Peace, but you know Izuku would still be like this even Quirkless.

That’s just who Izuku has grown up to be, a cumulation of failures and nail-biting victories. 

He’d always bring colour to your world, even when nothing but grey tones exist.

“Earth to Starlight!”

You snap out of your thoughts the second you bump face-first into someone’s chest. You look up, and you still see grey.

Spikey hair, sharp eyes.

Kacchan.

You turn away, lip jutting out. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“You’re going to have to eventually,” Katsuki says. Little puffs are exhaled. Standing there in a sweaty tank top and sweats, he looks too innocent for the betrayal you felt.

Right reasons, wrong actions.

Good consequences, bad with feelings.

“Izuku’s gonna remember,” Katsuki says, and if that isn’t a ‘I told you’ so wrapped up in different words, you don’t know what is.

“Why can’t you admit that you did something wrong?” You say, folding your arms. He’s twice your size and you’re clad in nothing but old, ratty workout clothes that are soaked with sweat. You don’t need a uniform for this. “Why can’t you ever apologise?”

“Why can’t you admit I was right?” Katsuki counters. “Izuku got somewhere, didn’t he? He found something.”

“At what cost?” You fire back. “Hospital bills? Who’s going to pay for that? Auntie Inko?”

“You can’t keep treating Izuku like he’s made out of glass.” Katsuki whispers, voice dropping a few decibels. His features soften, like he’s trying to understand. “You can’t play chess without any sacrifices. Sometimes you need to forfeit your queen so that your pawn can promote and win. Sometimes, you need to take risks and feel pain, because that’s the only way you’ll get anywhere.”

You’re not entirely amenable to his way of thinking. Of course you aren’t. As a hero, aren’t you supposed to resolve this in the best way possible? How is the best decision the one causing the one you love suffering?

But so far, this is all you’ve got. It got you somewhere, didn’t it?

“I get it, your way of thinking.” You whisper, eyes cloudy, lip bit in frustration. “I understand it works, even though I don’t like it.”

But…

“My apology,” You say, standing straight and tall. “When the time is right, when it comes the time you mean it, I want a heartfelt apology from you.”

A sigh from Katsuki, mouth opened in protest, in confusion, but you stop midway.

It’s okay to want things. It’s okay to ask. It’s Kacchan, he’ll understand.

“Your intentions are always for the best, but don’t tell me how I’m supposed to feel Kacchan.” You say calmly, eyes flickering to his face. “You took my property and you gave it to someone else. You hid things from me like I was an extra you’d just met a week prior. You doubted me, and that hurt.” You say, letting yourself feel.

It’s okay to hurt, and it’s okay not to be okay with this.

Waves of guilt wash over his face. Not regret, God knows he’d still do it again if he were given 10 thousand tries over. When the time is right, say that you’re sorry.

A crooked smile edges its way on your face as the sun laps your face.

“I deserve that much, Kacchan.”

—

There have been sightings of victims nearing U.A. It’s what greets you in the morning (at a decent time) when you’re catching up on the news while you’re walking to school. For all you know, it might be remnants of the League, even though you’re sure the remaining heroes and the up-and-coming heroes have purged most of them from society. Victims pooled in blood, but never fully killed.

“Victims supposedly wake up unable to feel joy, which is a very peculiar Quirk to be working with. So far, no one knows if that’s the extent of his Quirk, but the police have been working tirelessly to catch him…”

Your blood runs cold, and you’re bolting to class.

Uh oh.

—

“Sensei—!”

“I know, problem child. I know,” Aizawa takes a long sip of his coffee, and looks at you. “The heroes in that sector are looking into it, and they’re right on his trail. With any luck, they’d catch Chisuke in less than a week.”

“He’s targeting Izuku, we need to—”

“No, L/n.” Aizawa cuts you off, looking at you with eyes rimmed with permanent eye bags. He’s a shell of who he was at his prime, but Aizawa’s gaze is strong enough to cause people to cower. It’s a shadow of All Might’s presence, but surviving the war as a hero means something around here. Your homeroom teacher speaks with his eyes, and it’s more than words could ever say.

“They need to. I’d highly prefer you to graduate before dealing with this case.”

“But as heroes, we’re supposed to—”

“You’re related to the investigation. I’d like you to stay far far away from the man, preferably here, in the safety of the school.”

You have to bite back humourless laughter. “If people want to break into here, they would.”

Aizawa gives you a loaded gaze, and your mouth slams shut.

“I mean it, L/n. Focus on your studies and mental health. This case,” He takes another sip of coffee, “is off limits to you.”

There’s a droop in your eyes and a tremble of your lips. 3 years with the same class has him growing a strange parental affinity. ‘I’ll update you on the case if necessary. Now if you excuse me, I have students to fail.” He looks down at the papers, contemplating, before he looks up again at you. 

“On another note, could you please tell Mineta to stop associating circles with breasts? I’d take it out of the test paper, but it’s part of the syllabus. I have no qualms about expelling him right before graduation.”

No answer, no reply.

That’s all it seems like you’re getting these days.

—

“A clearing?”

Your heart plummets, Katsuki snorts, and Izuku’s serious, oh God, he’s serious.

A tucked away haven littered with blue Forget-Me-Nots and a beautiful willow tree you love to climb. Somewhere you go where it’s always illuminated with light, be it the sun in the sky or the moon and fireflies at night.

He knows.

“Take me there.” He breathes, eyes blown wide with determination. Shamrock green pupils and freckles littered across like stars. Features a little more defined, but still soft at the edges; Izuku’s growing up, and seeing him in colour makes you fall in love with him all over again.

Take me, where the grass is always green, where the water always runs clear. Take me, back to our past, to where your memories remain frozen in time.

 Show me who you really are.

The words rest on your tongue. You’re afraid of what may happen if you do, what pain may lie ahead for Izuku if the footholds you give Izuku break off and send him plummeting.

You can tell from one glance that Izuku is still recovering. The way he cradles his head in class and how he’s slower in class. It’s minute, but it’s there.

In your peripheral, Kacchan nods. He knows Izuku’s limits the best more than anyone else in the world, so he thinks it’s safe.

Sometimes you need to forfeit your queen so that your pawn can promote and win.

“I’m free Friday after school.”

The smile Izuku gives you is fairy dust. You float, higher and higher. There’s no way down.

“Deal.”

[vyragosa]

"i shot that bitch when i got the chance"

should amelie strand from death stranding be regarded exclusively with hatred?

or was it the very goal on kojima's part to make a human being bear the unthinkable load of functioning as a system ending a natural cycle dictated by the arbritrary cosmos while retaining human sentimentality and sentience? life is made to perservere and survive and even the extinction bringer would rail against the inevitable a little longer.

"to make sense of everything you need time, you need perspective, and i'm not a line, i'm a single dot."

a very popular sentiment even on the official reddit of death stranding, you would see it fairly enough to assume it the general reaction toward amelie as a character, very little space if offered for discussion and understanding of the character's purpose

cumulate it with the fact that her dialogues comes off as "haughty" when kojima intended the original text to merely give her the "unattainable princess" archetype which is how she comes across in japanese more naturally, she is embodying the sun queen burdened with visions, a role with a deeper meaning that does not translate either to the worldwide audience but is ultimately the key to the story

her sins are not accepted by sam nor anyone else from the cast, she is shot at just as bridget, the body without a soul (important) was the one to order cliff to be shot, the absence of being able to transmit feelings in the manner of a human being made of flesh and warmth is what amelie represents, bridget's inability to act as a mother and connect with sam is also reminiscent of this fact, the sheer inability to feel and connect as a human being when you are not only unable to touch anything but ultimately only "living" like the dead, in a different reality than anyone else

the feeling strikes a very particular chord with anyone who has felt this type of alienation, which is why the character of higgs was so willing to be by her side and his inclination to follow her plans and be tricked by her as well due to his own need for control (which is another topic)

the novel also introduces the fact that she saw herself as a child already plagued by visions of the world ending in painful vivid details in a painting of mary holding jesus weeping, knowing she would never be able to avert the death of jesus, only to be here, to witness, amelie had not gave into madness and instead, attempt to prepare the world to fight against it as bridget

the root of hatred lies in the fact that bridget "has a body, but no soul"

her heart is stuck on the beach in the form of amelie, which made her actions to be devoid of any "heart", in shooting cliff, in the BB experiments, in raising sam at all, in not connecting with him after his wife's death, she is not capable of it by virtue of being, she inevitably becomes a ruthless politician and people like john admired her for her capacity to act upon those goals, the goal of making humanity survive. the person who wants humanity to survive, is the part of amelie that has no heart

which is where amelie enters the scene, as the warmth that sam remembers, and the bringer of extinction, "the hunter's merciful kill"

the interplay of personalities between higgs and amelie is beyond blatant, even more so with a second game, but it also introduces the quiet implication that amelie might have wanted sam to join her side and watch the world end in a "mercy" that if sam was to be by her side, which instead she focused on higgs for this role which directly pit one another in the final waltz (fight)

ultimately, she obtained sam's understanding and had no use for the masquerade to continue by enabling higgs' destructive tendencies any longer, in the end, she shut herself out to preserve the world because it has sam in it willing to go against her, instead of joining her into the void

as long as humanity would not accept "mercy killing" which the homo demens represent, the total loss of belief in the future

amelie was willing deny her own humanity that remains in the possibility of "connecting" by shutting the world out of closing her beach, she essentially "killed" herself so that the world could fight against a natural cycle for a little longer

she made the choice to be crucified as mary, she made the choice to take her son's place, so that he could know love from others instead of her.

the ultimate sacrifice one could do, to leave with love

stranded with love.

[thisisnotthenerd]

guess who's back! that's right, it's another edition of thisisnotthenerd's d20 stats. this time we're talking level progression.

a few disclaimers: this is only inclusive of initial and final levels. i may go through each season to find the exact points of change and the full progression at some point, but not right now. i don't have the time for that. this is already incredibly long with just initial and final levels. anyways:

level progressions

these are sorted into a couple of categories: major level progressions, minor level progressions, nonprogression seasons, and nonleveled seasons (which basically just means they are non dnd seasons).

to start we have:

major level progression seasons

this includes most of the intrepid heroes' seasons, plus a couple of sidequests that had or are in the process of having major level changes. major level changes means the party levels up two or more levels during the season. without further ado:

fantasy high freshman year: this season had a fairly standard progression; everyone starting from level one, milestone leveling with each battle until they hit level 8 for the finale.

fig faeth:

initial level: bard 1

final level: whispers bard 8

gorgug thistlespring:

initial level: barbarian 1

final level: berserker barbarian 1

adaine abernant:

initial level: wizard 1

final level: divination wizard 8

fabian seacaster:

initial level: fighter 1

final level: champion fighter 8

kristen applebees:

initial level: life cleric 1

final level: life cleric 8

riz gukgak:

initial level: rogue 1

final level: inquisitive rogue 8

the unsleeping city: this season follows a similar progression to fantasy high--the characters just start at level 3 instead of level 1. this let them start with subclasses and a more features that let them swing harder in battle earlier.

ricky matsui:

initial level: devotion paladin 3

final level: devotion paladin 10

sofia lee:

initial level: drunken master monk 3

final level: drunken master monk 8 | hexblade warlock 2

kingston brown:

initial level: city cleric 3

final level: city cleric 10

misty moore/rowan berry:

initial level: lore bard 3

final level: lore bard 10

kugrash:

initial level: shepherd druid 3

final level: shepherd druid 10

pete conlan:

initial level: wild magic sorcerer 3

final level: wild magic sorcerer 10

a crown of candy: this season was a little different because of the initial party composition--the adults started at level 3, while liam and the twins started at levels 2 and 1 respectively. the entry points of cumulous and saccharina obviously affected their starting levels, since they had to match the party at the point of entry. there was also more multiclassing and subclass switches for story reasons this season. just a bit more complexity as d20 itself got more complex.

liam wilhelmina: the most effective subclass switch i think ever. he became a war guy.

initial level: ranger 2 (took beastmaster after 1st battle)

final level: gloomstalker ranger 6 | assassin rogue 4

theobald gumbar:

initial level: eldritch knight 3

final level: eldritch knight 10

jet rocks: she started in rogue with martial adept to match ruby, multiclassed into fighter and dropped her rogue level before she died.

initial level: rogue 1

final level: battlemaster fighter 7

ruby rocks:

initial level: rogue 1

final level: arcane trickster rogue 9 | shadow sorcerer 1

amethar rocks:

initial level: storm herald barbarian 3

final level: storm herald barbarian 5 | battlemaster fighter 5

lapin cadbury:

initial level: celestial warlock 3

final level: celestial warlock 5

cumulous rocks: came in as a cloud, cried over magic, killed chickens for temp hp

initial level: long death monk 6

final level: long death monk 10

saccharina frostwhip: a powerful queen

initial level: storm sorcerer 6 | tempest cleric 2

final level: storm sorcerer 8 | tempest cleric 2

the unsleeping city chapter 2: only a couple of subclass switches this season, but more new characters that played in the multiclass space.

ricky matsui:

initial level: redemption paladin 12

final level: redemption paladin 10

sofia lee:

initial level: shadow monk 8 | hexblade warlock 2

final level: shadow monk 10 | hexblade warlock 2

kingston brown:

initial level: city cleric 10

final level: city cleric 12

iga lisowski: she comes in statted with the party, but it tracks because she's been the steward of a magic Polish dragon box for decades.

initial level: genie warlock 10

final level: genie warlock 10 | draconic sorcerer 2

rowan berry: she comes in late and so only really has the opportunity to start at level 12

initial level: lore bard 12

final level: lore bard 12

cody walsh: can you imagine your intro to magic being selling your soul to a lesser devil and instantly jumping to level 10. he's so bad at everything that it balances. the athletics checks? insane. absolute loser of a mall goth sword guy. a time capsule of the year 2003.

initial level: oathbreaker paladin 10

final level: oathbreaker paladin 12

pete conlan:

initial level: wild magic sorcerer 10

final level: wild magic sorcerer 12

a starstruck odyssey: this season isn't precisely DND and so works a little differently. the party started with level differences: all nonhumans started at level 3, the humans started at level 2, and gunnie was level 1. i think this was indicative of the fact that a) takamori leveled up by getting brain slugged, b) margaret leveled up by undergoing a quarter-life crisis, and c) gunnie probably joined the ship more recently. they also have ship deployments that they take levels in to be able to competently run a ship. deployments are indicated in [brackets] like so.

gunnie miggles-rashbax:

initial level: engineer 1 [mechanic 1]

final level: engineer 6 [mechanic 3]

riva:

initial level: suggestion consular 3 [coordinator 1]

final level: suggestion consular 6 [coordinator 3]

norman 'skip' takamori

initial level: operative 2 [pilot 1]

final level: lethality operative 6 [pilot 3]

margaret encino:

initial level: scholar 2 [operator 1]

final level: politician pursuit scholar 6 [operator 3]

sundry sidney:

initial level: corsair sentinel 3 [gunner 1]

final level: corsair sentinel 6 [gunner 3]

big barry syx:

initial level: ballistic berserker 3 [gunner 1]

final level: ballistic berserker 6 [gunner 3]

neverafter: this season marks the first level 1 party since fantasy high, and also follows a similar level progression pattern. however, they got episode 3'd, and so skipped levels 2 & 3. they woke up with subclasses. the baba yaga also helped them skip from level 6 to level 8 iirc.

rosamund du prix

initial level: ranger 1

final level: swarmkeeper ranger 5 | stars druid 2 | fighter 1

mother timothy goose:

initial level: bard 1

final level: lore bard 8

pinocchio:

initial level: archfey warlock 1

final level: destiny (homebrew) warlock 8

puss in boots (pib):

initial level: rogue 1

final level: mastermind rogue 8

gerard of greenleigh:

initial level: fighter 1

final level: battlemaster fighter 8

ylfa snorgelsson:

initial level: barbarian 1

final level: bear totem barbarian 6 | moon druid 2

the ravening war: here's where the distinction between 'leveled up two or more times' and leveled up two or more levels' has to be made. technically there's really only one major change during the season, but they go from level 4-5 to level 9, so it's counted as a significant jump.

delissandro katzon: this is the second time lou wilson has played a fighter barbarian in calorum. truly i would have two nickels. also the second time he's played a champion fighter that switched to battlemaster and multiclassed. really starting to collect nickels here.

initial level: champion fighter 5

final level: battlemaster fighter 8 | barbarian 1

raphaniel charlock: i don't feel like tracking his titles. also he has so many feats. dear god.

initial level: eloquence bard 4 | rogue 1

final level: eloquence bard 6 | rogue 3

karna solara: the third triple multiclass in d20 history. the only characters that i can think of that are of equivalent assassin vibes are liam, gangie, and skip.

initial level: whispers bard 3 | great old one warlock 2

final level: phantom rogue 4 | whispers bard 3 | great old one warlock 2

colin provolone: oh what a guy. a traditional mercenary if you ever saw one

initial level: battlemaster fighter 3 | rogue 2

final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | swashbuckler rogue 3

lady amangeaux epiceé du peche: she starts lower level than the rest of the party because she's more naive and less prepared for the intrigue and assassination plots. she's the only to not multiclass in this season. the only one.

initial level: arcane trickster rogue 4

final level: arcane trickster rogue 9

burrow's end: i know that it's the ongoing season, but evidenced by the fact that they double leveled up in episode 2, i have a feeling this is going to be a major leveling season. i'm anticipating level 10 as a stopping point, but who knows where they go from here.

tula: stoat mom as a feat is all i'm going to say

initial level: redemption paladin 4

final level: ?

jaysohn: adhd karate boy, or all stoats in a nutshell

initial level: astral self monk 4

final level: ?

viola: the embryonic diapause storyline is going to kill me, i can feel it.

initial level: devotion paladin 4

final level: ?

thorn vale: anxious wife guy cult leader is something i didn't know i needed until now, but i'm so glad that that's where jasper went with him.

initial level: fey wanderer ranger 4

final level: ?

ava: if generational trauma was a stoat. the commitment to the werther's? phenomenal.

initial level: ancestral guardians barbarian 3 | fighter

final level: ?

lila: i'm living for izzy as a stoat that can sneak attack people and read???

initial level: inquisitive rogue 4

final level: ?

and that's all of the major progression seasons. with that concluded, we move into:

minor level progression seasons

as stated earlier, these seasons really only have one major level change as opposed to the progressive milestones of the major leveling seasons. i think that comes down to a couple of things: 1) they all start as midlevel characters who are reasonably powerful 2) two of these are 10 episode seasons that had less time to do progressive leveling than most of the intrepid heroes' seasons, and 3) the timeline of the level ups really only makes sense for one level change, especially since they start out of the low levels that shift easily. fhfy is like a week and a half in universe, t7 and acofaf are each like a week. anyways, here it is:

fantasy high sophomore year: mostly carried over from fhfy to start, with one major level but we really got into multiclassing and subclass switches for story here, i think in part because running live sessions is inherently a little more spontaneous than a pre-recorded season.

fig faeth:

initial level: whispers bard 6 | hexblade warlock 2

final level: lore bard 6 | hexblade warlock 3

gorgug thistlespring:

initial level: berserker barbarian 8

final level: berserker barbarian 8 | artificer 1

adaine abernant:

initial level: divination wizard 8

final level: divination wizard 9

fabian seacaster:

initial level: champion fighter 8

final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | swords bard 3

kristen applebees:

initial level: life cleric 8

final level: twilight cleric 9

riz gukgak:

initial level: inquisitive rogue 8

final level: inquisitive rogue 9

the seven: the ladies are here! they start at the level 9 baseline set by the end of fhsy and hit level 10 in like a week. granted the second half of the season is almost all encounters--three double episode battles total, with two in the back half.

antiope jones: the reluctant leader, not that kind of ranger. a choice aabria character. sometimes i think about the fact that both of aabria's spyre characters could conceivably meet, and it's not even that contrived. myrtle is sam's cousin.

initial level: arcane archer fighter 6 | monster slayer ranger 3

final level: arcane archer fighter 6 | monster slayer ranger 4

katja cleaver: half horse girl, half childhood neglect and abandonment, half rekha shankar's brand of ttrpg decisions.

initial level: battlemaster fighter 9

final level: battlemaster fighter 9 | barbarian 1

penny luckstone: eldest daughter syndrome to the max. deeply funny. an incredible rogue, even if she feeds old men horse meat candy hearts.

initial level: arcane trickster rogue 9

final level: arcane trickster rogue 10

danielle barkstock: actually erika ishii's second shepherd druid. they really like summoning geese, spiders, pixies, and various creatures that can absolutely ruin brennan's day. with a side of no self-care.

initial level: shepherd druid 9

final level: shepherd druid 10

ostentatia wallace: she lives up to the name. the forge cleric i want to be when i grow up.

initial level: forge cleric 9

final level: forge cleric 10

sam nightingale: a masterwork in character building, from a mechanical and story standpoint. i love the use of eldritch adept to maintain the build and keep with the story during their level up.

initial level: storm sorcerer 6 | glamour bard 3

final level: storm sorcerer 6 | glamour bard 4

zelda donovan: my girl! the other fighter barb of the group, but built in the opposite direction. also 55 movement speed? by god she can hustle.

initial level: eagle totem barbarian 8 | fighter 1

final level: eagle totem barbarian 8 | fighter 2

a court of fey and flowers: this season starts in a similar place to the seven with midlevel characters and levels up mostly for story reasons. it's a little more important to track reputation by episode, but i don't have the time for that at the moment.

andhera: hot, but built mid according to omar. an ace he/they king. never actually levels up, probably because they avoid conflict by beign a slippery pillar boy in wet cotton pants.

initial level: devotion paladin 8

final level: devotion paladin 8

k.p. hob: triple multiclass, builds on brennan's theme of self-sacrificial characters who don't think love can find them.

initial level: battlemaster fighter 6 | rogue 1 | barbarian 1

final level: battlemaster fighter 6 | rogue 2 | barbarian 1

lady chirp featherfowl: an assassin wizard with bird puns, a wife and daughter, and no regard for her reputation.

initial level: bladesinger wizard 8

final level: bladesinger wizard 9

lord squak airavis: the sluttiest bird you'll ever meet. the author of the green hunter. they got renner.

initial level: lore bard 8

final level: lore bard 9

delloso de la rue: made me cry when i watched them come out. the outfits. the pizzazz. the 'i love him'. the miscommunications. an icon. doesn't use subclass features, so we'll never know.

initial level: bard 8

final level: bard 9

binx choppley: another fantastic reveal. a single mom who works two jobs, but she's a warlock patron and trying to revive her dead court while masquerading as her friend while said friend dates her warlock on the material plane. truly who is doing it like them.

initial level: arcane trickster rogue 8

final level: arcane trickster rogue 9

now that we're through with the minor progression seasons, let's look at the single-level seasons.

nonprogression seasons

there's variance in these--there's not really a consistent start level. they go low level when they need to and high level when they need to. the lack of progression here also indicates timeline and season length: most of these are 4-6 episodes, and all of these seasons happen over the span of about a day or two in-game.

escape from the bloodkeep: d20's highest level season to date. unbelievable shenanigans, deeply funny. it's also fun for me to note that d20 and cr both have their morally dubious seasons that start and end at level 14 (eftbk and exu calamity) but they end up in literal opposite ends of the comedy/tragedy scale.

maggie (magfelda):

level: berserker barbarian 14

leiland (kraz-thun):

level: hexblade warlock 14

efink murderdeath:

level: grave cleric 14

sokhbarr:

level: beastmaster ranger 14

lilith:

level: shepherd druid 14

markus st. vincent

level: swashbuckler rogue 14

tiny heist:

rick diggins: the most charisma rogue i think you can get. negative dex and strength? grifter

level: mastermind rogue 4

boomer coleoptera: his subclass is unknown--it's never really mentioned during the season. it's theorized that he may be a battlemaster. the muscle

level: fighter 4

agnes: she also doesn't use any subclass specific features during the season. the other grifter

level: bard 4

ti-83: what a little fount of violence. the techie/explosive specialist

level: artillerist artificer 4

bean: the grease with a bone to pick

level: shadow monk 4

car-go jones: the mastermind, even though he's not a mastermind rogue. the danny ocean.

level: inquisitive rogue 4

pirates of leviathan: this entire season happens pretty much in the course of 24 hours. a good chunk of that time is just spent having a spa night at the gold gardens. who is doing it like them. everyone in this party can do magic.

sunny biscotto:

level: devotion paladin 5

bob (barbarella sarsaparilla gainglynn):

level: lore bard 3 | city cleric 2

cheese:

level: necromancy wizard 5

myrtle (the bitch):

level: tempest cleric 5

jack brakkow:

level: ancestral guardians barbarian 5

marcid the typhoon:

level: gloomstalker ranger 5

mice & murder: the oops all rogues season. for a low level season there are some astronomical dcs here. it really does a lot to show off the range of subclasses. all of them have dramatically different abilities, when they're not competing.

gangie green:

level: thief rogue 3

buckster $ boyd:

level: mastermind rogue 3

daisy d'umpstaire:

level: assassin rogue 3

vicar ian prescott:

level: eloquence bard 3

lars vandenchomp:

level: battlemaster fighter 3

sylvester cross:

level: inquisitive rogue 3

coffin run: this season is actually another one with mixed leveling--maybe to indicate time spent with dracula, maybe to level out powers on from a spellcasting level

aleksandr astrovsky:

level: alchemist artificer 7

squing:

level: undead warlock 8

wetzel:

level: mastermind rogue 7

may wong:

level: shadow sorcerer 6

dungeons and drag queens: i'm fairly sure they filmed this season in one shot. a great intro to dnd and the mechanics of level 5 characters.

troyánn:

level: arcane archer fighter 5

princess foehammer:

level: berserker barbarian 5

gertrude:

level: shadow sorcerer 5

twyla:

level: gloomstalker ranger 5

fantasy high oneshots: this is just the one-off characters from the fh oneshots. both of these characters show up in between freshman and sophomore year and so land at level 8.

hargis:

level: brute fighter 8

ficus:

level: dreams druid 8

and last but not least, we have the non-DnD seasons that have no level progressions:

misfits and magic

shriek week

mentopolis

and that's all folks! this one got so long. as always the spreadsheet is open to perusal. i hope you like it!