#she doesn’t do anything since she’s a wyrmling

[ranger-danger]

Man dnd hurt my voice today. Basically we’re criminals on the run, one of the other party members who was lying about their identity got found out (and then tried & failed to reveal Kane). Kane’s adopted son (other party member) is turning back to normal.

[thephantasmalmaze]

The anxiety has taken my brain so take some fix Au Mira with magic fluff . (Sorry siron I’ll get to you soon, I’m just not satisfied with it yet)

Percy is adamant. Rusty keeps Mira as far away from his, as Percy calls it, “dragon shit”. This last maybe 3-5 months at best. Rusty is a traveler at heart, a cowboy who always needs new roads under his feet and stars over head. Percy is used to this, the love of his life is a wandering man, but a child deserves some solid roots under foot of even for a little while.

So they compromise, staying within a small town for a year or two, for Rusty to do his research and by the time that year it’s done it’s time to move for Rusty but also for Percy as he knows to stay in a place too long is a death sentence for being found out.

Rusty honestly tried to keep to what Percy wanted and keep Mira as far away from the dragons as possible but life had other plans. Dragons, as anyone trained in the field can tell you, are fountains of magical energy that over flow from them to the world around them. Rusty is used to it, he’s been living and breathing in that magic since he can remember so he forgets that even towns miles out from a dragon still feel its effects. He also forgets that Percy warned him Mira is most likely more susceptible to magic, as she grew up in such a magically rich place and she’s already showing warning signs of potentially having magical capabilities. All of these factors culminate into a period of time Percy and rusty refer to as “the week”, the week where all these factors came together and create the perfect little magical storm.

They’re on a small “vacation” a period of weeks where they just travel wherever before finding a new place to settle down for a little while. Mira loves these trips, her wanderlust never left her, and as far as Percy can tell she just loves being out in nature with the flowers and the animal around her. Rusty insists on visiting a nearby town he knows, pearl peak, a small town nestled in the valley of two evergreen mountains. Near the peak of one of these mountains lives a moonstone dragon Rusty has known for many years, and who is kind and whose hoard is the town below his lair and the fairytales he collects. Rusty makes it a point to collect any all obscure fairytales he can find to add to the dragon hoard, and anything deemed unworth of the hoard is brought and passed out to the children in town. Adhara has been a constant in Percy’s life, as he is kind and playful with children they were Rusty’s first dragon and he intends for them to be Mira’s as well. Well the one thing Rusty doesn’t take into account, and really how was he to know, is how much fae magic Adharas lands exude and how much that would effect his little Wyrmling.

Upon reaching pearlpeak, a Mira who has been dozing against Percy as in the back of the small hay wagon they use to move between towns immediately stirs and runs the railing of the cart to look around. Pearl peak similar to its dragon guardian is unlike anywhere else on the material plane, it’s a place where the wilds and the ethereal bleed into the material. The colors are more saturated, the stars literally dance across the night sky, and the wind in the trees seems to make a music that lulls the willing into sleep. It’s beautiful and magical dream of a town, and Mira perking up like that should really have clued rusty into what was to come.

The first day they show Mira around the town and the edge of the woods, and rusty swears she hasn’t had this much energy in the last week but it brings him joy rather ringing the warning bells it should have. And when Mira almost walked into one the the dragons portals hidden in a small burrow, or when she walked right up to a tree and stared at the glass protection charms in it put there by Adhara, or Mira walking ahead of him and Percy with no fear as they head to the dragons lair should have all been give aways to Rusty but he over looked them as Mira has always had her quirks. The meeting goes quite well Adhara is enamored with Rusty’s small child and it helps that everyone can speak Sylvan so Rusty doesn’t have to play translator. Mira is gifted with a small necklace, before which they assure the small family it is simply a gift between friends, that is a small fairy clutching a dragon egg caved out of adamantine.

It’s maybe two night after this Percy awakens with a start to a miracle standing at the edge of the edge of his and Rusty’s bed, not unusual as the small girl is prone to night mares, but it’s her eyes that startle him. Unlike anytime before her eyes are basically glowing in the dim room, reflecting like like any predator animal does. Confused and slightly on edge he reaches out for his daughter while nudging his husband with his other hand praying he wakes up.

“What’s wrong pixie? Did you have another nightmare?”, he asks in Sylvan. But Mira makes no movement toward him, just continues to stand and stare at him from the edge of the bed. Well and truly concerned now Percy begins to stand up from the edge of the bed and prompts her again “Mira, sweetheart what’s wrong?”

It's at the mention of her name she seems to finally actually be looking him and her eyes blink back to normal loosing that preadator gaze. But whatever it is she says to her papa is damn near unintelligible and honestly if Percy wasn't so sleep deprived he would think what she said wasn't even Sylvan.

This trend continues for a couple more days, eventually they decide mira must be coming down with something which is worrying for the two dads who have yet to deal with a sick mira. She complains of a sore throat and rusty has noticed some small rashes in random small patches. Percy is no good with healing magic, and rusty frankly only knows emergency wound care not how to help a sick child. So they do what they think is best and take her with them to see Adhara again, maybe the older dragon knows a way to treat whatever this is. And thankfully they do, Adhara shares a speciality tea and a balm made of somethign that looks oddly like the night sky for the rashes.

That night is when all hell breaks loose, the two husbands too worried abou mira haven't gone to bed yet despite the hour and mearly stay in the living room of the small cottage they are borrowing at the edge of town. It's nearing midnight and the music of the crickets and the breeze are all that can be heard, until the percing cry of a child breaks through the calm night. They rush to open her door and her room is lit up brighter then a christmas tree, fae fire dancing along the outlines of the rooms highlighting the light sliver scales peaking out from her shirt neckline and her now shockingly serpentine eyes. Her head whips around to look at her fathers, the fear in her eyes impossible to miss.

Percy hesitates he doesnt know what to do in this situation, but Rusty wastes no time calming mira down and putting her back to sleep with an old dragons lullaby. *takes off hat and bows* im shit at endings take this, this uh much too long and got away from me bye o/

[aldryrththerainbowheart]

Place for The Weary

So I have a lot of good pieces stuck in google docs file for me to write in whenever inspiration strucks or I want to read something I made. I don’t know where to go with most of these pieces of text but like hell I’ll let them stay in that file for another year. And since it’s Mental Health Month on Tumblr, I’ve picked three particular oneshots that fits the theme.

Take care of yourself wyrmlings and remember, it’s not a weakness to lean on somebody every once in a while.

Yours

 - Aldryrth (Al) The Chromatic Dragon

(art does not belong to me)

Warnings: angst, comfort

Fandom: Devil May Cry

Characters: Dante, Vergil, Nero, V, Beatrice (OC)

Note:  This is written with an OC, I know this is not everyone’s thing but she’s a nice gal. I’m sure you’ll like her.

As Bea watched the two women running excitedly towards the tree, she started to walk in the same direction when she noticed Dante hadn't moved, watching the tree silently with the pensive expression. 

Before she could say anything, Dante started to walk slowly towards the entrance. She knew something was wrong, she saw Dante this serious only a few times over the long time they knew each other. Whatever was waiting for them behind this gate, it was bigger, much bigger than anything they normally faced. 

Before she realized what she was doing, she quietly reached for lapels on the back of his coat and gave them a soft tug. Dante stopped, heaving a tired sigh before he turned to her, eyes silently asking for a reason they were still standing here. Beatrice opened her mouth, mind scrambling for something to say but couldn’t come up with anything. What was she supposed to say? That it’s going to be fine, that she’s sorry that his life, their lives,  is such a marginal clusterfuck, that whatever it is, he can talk to her? All those things sounded either like a shortsighted foolishness or things that were already repeated in the past, only for both of them to know that one just doesn’t just start to resolve years of trauma, grief, physical and mental battle. And Beatrice learned the hard way that she cannot save everyone, cannot help everyone. Only thing she can do is offer her strength and support. And that’s exactly what she did.

“Whatever it is behind this gate, we get through this together. You don’t have to handle everything by yourself. I know you can, but... you don’t have to.”

She put an arm on his shoulder, felt his warmth even through the thick, worn down leather of his coat, and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Dante stared at her for a while, his expression unreadable. She started to worry she might have offended him somehow, or what’s more common, stuffed her nose in things that don't concern her, thinking she’s being helpful.

The last thing she expected was for Dante to envelop her in a tight embrace. He moved so fast, Bea hadn't fully processed what was happening until his strong arms squeezed her, almost painfully. She hasn't felt any warmth or good-natured humor from his stance, only a silent and sad need for comfort. Before she could react the moment was over. Dante untangled himself from her and immediately marched towards the Urizen tree.

Beatrice didn’t like the flash of determined but pained look on his face. It was the look she knew almost too well. 

It was the look of a person who is about to commit atrocity in the name of duty.

“Dammit, Vergil, did you see the size of that thing?!” Beatrice turned to him excitedly, wildly gesticulating with her hands.

Vergil watched her with barely contained amusement, already used to her antics.

“You were so amazing!” She beamed at this and wrapped her arms around him in the heat of a moment, squeezing him tightly.

Vergil froze. He couldn’t remember when he’s been held like this, touched without murderous intention. For those brief seconds he couldn’t bring himself to react, to push her away, stab her, scold her or, lord forbid, return the embrace.

Beatrice loosened her arm around him when she noticed how stiff he was. “Verge? Are you alright? You know I’m not gonna hurt you, so no need to stab me.” She tried to joke her way out of it, but when Vergil kept silent she slowly, as if not to alert him, started to let go.

“It’s not that.” He blurted, his mind scrambling for words, he didn’t know why he bothered to explain himself, but there was something about her, something that allowed him to let his guard down just a little bit.

“It’s just that...it has been a long time since I...I’ve been touched in this...casual manner.” Vergil cleared his throat, hoping she didn’t notice the slight tremor in his voice.

Wishful thinking, she looked at him with sympathetic eyes, eyebrows scrunched with pity and Vergil wished to be anywhere but there. He didn’t want her sympathy nor anyone else's. He doesn’t need her, doesn’t…

“Oh, Vergil…” She whispered and enveloped him in her arms again.

For a while, they just stood there. Beatrice hugging him tenderly and him awkwardly staring at her shoulder. Vergil felt her warmth, smelled the sweet scent of her hair, despite both of them being covered in grime and demon gore, and her arms, still as strong in their hold as before, as if she’s willing to just stand in this dark, grimm void as the time passed around them for all eternity, until she was certain he had enough of her warmth. 

Beatrice didn’t hear him pull yamato out of its sheath, which was a good sign, but she also didn’t feel him move or say anything which...she didn’t know how to decipher. Vergil was bloody hard to talk to, she still couldn’t believe that he consented for them to travel together. Maybe he really doesn’t like to be touched. Not everyone is so starved for affection and protection as she is…

Is what she thought until she felt Vergil slowly pressing his forehead to her shoulder. The arm is still holding the yamato, placing itself on her waist. Beatrice smiled to herself as the blue devil little by little pressed himself closer, closer still until they were both squeezing the grief and loneliness out of each other.

And for the first time in her life, Beatrice felt the alien feeling of content settle in her heart.

“That bastard called me a deadweight!!!” An angry roar echoed around piles of rubble. Nero paced furiously from one side to the other. One hand clenching in a tight fist while the other one was running through his hair. Beatrice watched him quietly from the sideways hands folded on her chest. He needed a time to vent first before he was able to listen to anyones words, that much haven’t changed since his younger years. She understood why he was angry. It wasn’t just the words that got to him. Despite his words, Nero respected and admired Dante, even moreso than her, so being cast away like this was painful kick to the heart. Not to mention Nero’s sensitivity to rejection, something he haven’t got rid off since his earlier years in orphanage. Damn you, Dante. She knew why he did this. It was the same situation like all those years back with her. He wanted to push him away to protect him, to make Nero hate him so if something happened he wouldn’t blame himself. A shitty technique Dante used everytime someone got too close to him. It didn’t even solve anything for anyone, just made things worse. She learned that the hard way. It was only because she recognized Dante’s true intentions and then stubbornly refused to leave him, that the two of them stayed together for this long. The woman let out annoyed sigh. Dante was a mess when it came to his relatives, but what could one want from a man whose life was mostly marked by blood, steel and gunpowder. Nero wasn’t much better. The only reason why he was still stomping around here and not towards the demonic tree was because he knew she would drag him back until he’s calmed down. V’s eyes nervously danced from her to Nero. From the piece of concrete she sat him on, he looked worse then ever. Heavy, labored breaths raked his narrow ribcage and his entire body trembled. He looked like he was about to pass out. She knew they don’t have much time, but sending her devil-boy like this into fray would do more harm then good. V opened his mouth to speak, possibly to calm Nero, but Bice raised her hand in sign for him to be quiet and walked towards the agitated Sparda. Nero was still pacing angrily, his body language growing more aggresive by the second. When she finally caught up with him she caught the words like “dead to me” and “worthless piece of-”, she wasn’t sure if those words were adressed to him or Dante. Bice placed her hand on the boy’s arm when suddenly, a fist flew past her face. The only reason she didn’t get punched in the face was thanks to her quick reflexes. When Nero realized what he had done, a horror flashed in his eyes. “fuck, I-I didn’t mean to…” Nero took a step back, scared and lost, all the emotions laying bare on his face. Beatrice could see it all. “I…c-can’t do anything right!” Head bowed, both hands now clenched so furiously they were trembling and face scrunched in a pained grimace. Beatrice knew Nero was tried to process all of these overwhelming emotions by himself and was slowly losing the battle. “I’m so sorry.” “I’m so…so sorry!” All the turnmoil in his face accumulated in his eyes as they started dangerously glisten. A small involuntarily sob escaped him and Nero buried his face in his hands shame and anger. Curled up like this, he looked just like that little boy clinging to her shirt when the kids in school called him a freak, when Fortuna Defense Forces repeatedly rejected his application or when Credo died. He put on a brave face for everybody, but once he was alone… Nero felt gentle but firm hands clasping his wrists away from his face. He still kept his head down though, too ashamed to show Beatrice, of all people, just how weak he was. But she didn’t let him, she never allowed sadness to cloud his mind and helplessness to weigh on his back. She lifted his head by the finger under his chin and looked in his face. Slowly, he peeled his eyes open, too embarassed to look her in the eyes. He was met with warm golden gaze of his guardian. No judgement in  them, never in those eyes. Her hands framed his face, thumbs wiping away few stray tears that escaped his eyes. At that moment, Nero felt like those palms are the only things that hold him together. “Feeling sad, lonely or frustrated doesn’t make you weak.” He stared at Bice as she gave him a gentle smile. “It makes you human.” Nero let her arms wrap around as his face buried in her collarbone. As he listened to her steady heartbeat, he felt the strong pair of arms squeezed him strongly, as if trying to wring out the stress out of him. As they stood there together, a pair of intense green eyes watched them curiously. There was something about this woman that felt familiar, it burned in the back of his mind but as soon as he tried to chase the memory, it disappeared. A human, hm?

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 6

Bitches Be Shopping

What is up y’all. A little late but let’s jump in with episode six of The Seven where our girls have just received a LOT of information, Sam most of all who got put into a little vision coma that she’s just now waking up from.

She explains the vision to her friends (as she interprets it, the other Eidolons didn’t die, just became part of the natural forces of the world) and then the bear that Penny made on a whim last episode (who is Russian, named Koda, and somehow a trained circus bear) gets into a fight with Katja with their friends buffing the two to make things more interesting because these are still idiot teens, life or death situation or no. Yelle decides to be the adult and tells them to knock it off and get back on mission.

That means Katja needs to call her dad since he’s knows the guy who’s the best lead to getting to TK ( Talcidimir Tallbreeze who I’ll call Tal). She actually manages to get her dad this time who is inside a giant snake on his hell mission. Katja asks what he knows about TK and he says she’s a sorcerer but also has a spell book so maybe she’s multiclassed. Sam and Ant desperately want to know if they boned and Katja absolutely is not interested in that knowledge. Yelle decides to just ask which makes her dad a little annoyed since he’s kind of in the middle of something (literally) and that annoys Ant, Ost, and Sam who--respectively, accuse him of gaslighting Kat, cast Command on him, and cast Bane on him to aid the Command spell. 

Mr. Cleaver fails the save and Ost commands him to tell Katja the truth. He admits that he did hook up with TK and he regrets it (note: it wasn’t like he cheated. It was just a casual hookup that wasn’t fulfilling it seems). Ost demands he apologize for not being there for Kat and Sam berates him for being at the top of the world and not lifting up his daughter too. For his part, Kat’s dad seems genuinely apologetic and promises to do better. 

“You don’t need to be the best father, you just need to be there,” Katja says, making her dad break down crying. 

Yelle, who has no daddy issues, is a bit less aggro and says that everyone makes mistakes and he can start making it up right now by helping with the Tal situation. She also gives them the tip that a cold spell will probably get them out of the snake lickety split.  She is on the money with the snake tip and Mr. Cleaver gets them all invites to a masquerade ball Tal is hosting. It’s being held on the Rumbosa which is this city-sized leisure ship. Mr. Cleaver says he’ll be back as soon as he can and, in the meantime, she should take care of her friends, “even the first 2 that were terrifying to me.”

The girls give Katja the axe they took as a birthday present (it was apparently her birthday the day before which Rekha just decided and Ost/Izzy refuses to accept without a fight because she *knows* Kat’s bday) which is identified as the Axe of Sundering (it can shatter objects, people, and sometimes concepts like halving movement). The two unnamed potions Yelle found are also ID’d as a Potion of Fly and a Potion of Gaseous Form. She distributes the Heath Potions to people without heals. Ant’s new arrows bypass some resistances and let her treat whatever she hits with the first one like it’s her favored enemy. 

According to their invites, the ship they need is docking in the city of Gravalvia soon (a very old city in the Baronies) so they need to figure out a plan. They have some downtime, during which:

Zelda tries to hype up the team.

Zelda tries to see if Ost is OK wrt dad stuff and Ost has a Full Breakdown after badly pretending she’s fine. 

While Zelda, Ost, and Penny are being Emotional and Sam is trying to literally cool them down with her powers, Ant and Yelle keep watch and experience emotional stability as the Adults Of The Party 

Anyway, after a night of rest, they head to the golden city of Gravalvia which is this very cool, very pretty city with mosaics and fountains and I assume columns. They get there and there’s a dramatic fight happening in the square which is halted when one of the fighters realizes that the country he’s fighting for doesn’t exist anymore. And now, it’s time for what we’ve all been waiting for. Shopping Montage! Let’s go girl by girl.

Katja and Ost

Kat asks for help from Ost with getting fancy for this gala since she’s never really done anything dressy before (and she had no mom to help--Kaaaat) and Ost is happy to oblige, dressing them both like “Jersey trash”. Kat, of course, still wears her Khakis underneath.

Antiope

Ant decides to get a vibe for what people here wear and picks something that will blend in but be forgettable so she can be stealthy. Classy blue dress and mask.

Penny

Penny...OK, I absolutely cannot describe what happens here in any way that will do justice to the scene. I am going to tell you what matters to the plot. You have to watch this yourself if you want to see the entire table have a collective breakdown. 

While looking for a costume, Penny runs into a halfling who is a member of the Society of Shadows--Laertes. He wants to know why she hasn’t responded to their invitation yet. She says she’s really eager to join, she just wasn’t sure how to respond (and also, she’s kind of in the middle of something). He says she can join by just messaging back and then her loved ones just have to sign waivers to have their memories wiped of her and she’s good to go. Say what now? asks Penny. She didn’t realize this was like a full Men in Black situation. 

He says it’s ultimately her decision and leaves.

Of course, I left out the parts where he ate a handful of Candy Heart’s remains, became violently ill, almost projectile vomited into Penny’s mouth, and she tried to kiss him despite him being a full adult. It’s A Lot, ok?

Also, we don’t find out until later but Penny picks a sexy duck costume for reasons that make more sense if you watch the scene but not *much* more sense. She also burns one of the healing potions on this dude as he is bar

Danielle

Danielle tries to get some info on the guests at the party and gets the names Lawrence LaDuc, Princess Autumn, and Duston who is the playboy cousin of Tal. She also hears some dude saying some colonize and plunder the earth BS and casts Heat Metal on him, fully mercing the dude. Ice cold. 

She tries to play it off like it’s the Curse of the Forest and when that doesn’t work and people start coming for her, she wildshapes into a dragon wyrmling and starts roasting people, killing 1 and dropping 2 to zero. 

Unfortunately, one of her party members is a known dragon hater and uses her new arrows to snipe her right out of the sky. Ant is horrified once she realizes what she’s done but Yelle says it’s all good. It’s NOT all good, says Ant, I STABBED YOU. You’re allowed to be mad! Yelle says she’s just really good at compartmentalizing but what Ant’s getting here is that Yelle doesn’t really believe that her feelings matter which echo the fears of her moms. 

Sam

Sam uses a combination of Mantle of Inspiration, glamour magic, performance, and good old flirting to get herself some killer clothes and also start a spontaneous musical number Giselle style.  

Brennan says she looks resplendent and, honestly, when does she not?

They reconvene, Zelda in a classic hoop skirt. Yelle realizes she never got a costume and just whips out a Met Gala level, autumn themed, Queen Mab-esque costume with Druidcraft which she could have done this whole time so I guess that’s why she was cool spending her shopping time getting gossip and playing Poison Ivy. 

They get to the ship and the way this works, everyone has to make an entrance and the really rich people (including Tal) are on a dais up top watching everyone come in. They all have to give fake names for the night since it’s a masquerade and they have to do Performance or Persuasion checks to see how impressive they look going in. 

Before they go in, they plan a little. Penny wants to look for TK. Sam wants to find Dunston. Ost wants to talk to the bouncers. Yelle wants to see if there are plants she can manipulate (there are btw) and for any exits. 

A quick rundown of how these all go:

Katja aka Mere (which means both mom and horse): 16 

Ant aka Midnight Huntress: 18 

Penny aka Penny Duckstone: 13

Zelda aka Madame Goodparty: 2 (Poor Zelda)

Sam aka Songbird: 22 (but she takes a hit to entrance save Zelda from totally flaming out)

Ost aka Stanley Gucci: 13

And Danielle, who never hogs the spotlight and is embarrassed to admit that maybe she does want to be the center of attention for once in her life with a Natural 20, gets a 29, absolutely bringing down the house as Empress Anima. As she walks forward she feels a voice say to her, “You got this. I love the name. You wear it well.”

Tal seems very impressed by her and a lady in a rabbit mask (Coeliabranca who I’ll call Coel if she comes up more) comes down to bring her up to the top with the high rollers. As she leaves, Sam casts Fly on her, just in case and holds the Concentration. 

Ost and Kat go talk to the bouncers and Kat decides to pretend to be her mom to get access to the area Yelle is. She rolls low and is told, “Hey, aren’t you already up there?” Kat is like, fuck and Ost saves her by using her charm earrings to get an entourage of guards who will let them through and do what she says. Once up there, Kat doesn’t see her mom which I can imagine she has mixed feelings about. 

Sam finds Dunston who is talking about Fantasy Bitcoin and seems like a real “Step on me mommy” type you know? Like, I feel like he’s into findom. Anyway, Sam charms him and his hangers on and learns about a procedure called a Phlebectomy that involves something going into their nose and then they feel better. Sam is rightfully horrified because, as I said, she is Most Likely To Survive A Horror Movie and can sense BS when she sees is. It’s apparently all the rage with the rich people here which is, como de dice, concerning seeing as they’re surrounded by them but we’ll get to that. Sam takes advantage of Dunston’s proclivities and gets him alone, knocks him out, steals him clothes, and pretends to be him (a *very* good scene by Sephie). 

Penny sees a gnome gnome boy (Lysander Higgins) shining shoes and finds out from him that there is a copper earth genasi woman here. In a very Cinderella move, she asks what shoes she was wearing. Then, she makes out with him which like, sure. At least it’s not a grown adult man this time. Before she gets her kisses in, she does tell the group what she learned. 

Up with the rich people, Yelle is introduced to Tal’s friend who is into Eidolons because of the name she chose. Between the shoes and her knowledge, they confirm that it’s TK! Yelle asks what she knows about Eidolons and she says that 7 is a very powerful number.

We cut to Ant who is patrolling the room as the sun sets and she suddenly hears a little beeping. It’s coming from a small crystal that was in Preston’s shirt (which she still has on her because???). Guests start dripping goo from their noses and transforming into monsters. Ant realizes that some kind of spell is happening triggered by midnight and this beeping. Hope these costumes are battle ready cause it’s fight time baybee!

Superlatives 

Danielle: Most Likely to Be on The News for Murdering Fantasy Jeff Bezos

I cannot imagine what was running through Yelle’s head when she decided that, having just rolled into a foreign country, her next move was to start using lethal force on anti-environmentalist colonizing capitalists. Like, she’s not *wrong* per se but she is wild--in all senses of the word.  

Random Thoughts

Kat keeps saying yesterday was her birthday which Ost/Izzy (and the rest of the group to a less vocal degree) are simply not having because maybe her dad would forget her birthday but her girls absolutely would not.

“You’re great because you stayed,” is the other killshot Kat line to her dad.

At a certain point Sam says, “This is so unhealthy,” to I think Yelle and like, if SAM is telling you your coping mechanisms are unhealthy, get thee to therapy.

OK, so someone, presumably Anima’s spirit, talks to Yelle as she makes her grand entrance which seems like info they should get to Talura ASAP, right? Cause that’s evidence they’re not dead-dead, just changed in form. But also Anima, girl. Don’t talk to Yelle. Talk to your rampaging sister!

"That's my secret, I stay in initiative."

Just a process note, notes are taken for the next ep and I am working on getting that recap up ASAP. As a battle ep, it will be in the abbreviated style that I did for last battle ep. 

In this episode, Penny rolls a Nat 1 (which she rerolls) and one of Brennan’s NPCs rolls a Nat 1. Ant rolls 2 Nat 20s, Yelle rolls 1, and Brennan says that one of his NPCs gets a 20 which sweeps him entirely into Sam’s dance number. 

[transmogrified-in-the-void]

Tariel remembers when the Soul Marked child came into the Sanctuary. He was crying and screaming, yelling about his sister and demanding to be taken home. Tariel swooped up the child and told the guards to get someone to prepare warm milk with honey. He took the child to his room, and sat the child upon his bed. He gave the child some blankets to hide in, and sat in a chair opposite from the crying boy. 

Tariel was furious. How much had changed since he was taken to the sanctuary? Had the boy not been told what was happening by anyone? Had he just been taken? From his demeanor, it sure seemed like it.

The milk came, and Tariel took it. He went to the child, who was curled up in the blankets.

“My name is Tariel.” He had started. “I know this must be very scary for you, but I have something for you that might help you feel more calm.”

The child peeked out from the blankets, dark eyes still red and shiny from tears, and cautiously held out his hands for the glass. He drained the glass in less than a minute, and partially retreated back into his cove of warmth.

Tariel kneeled before the bed, watching the child carefully. “May I ask your name, young one?”

The child pulled the blankets close around him. “Mathieu.” He whispered, his voice trembling. “I want my sister.”

“And what is your sister’s name?” Tariel asked.

“Marie.” Mathieu looked down. “She’s my best friend. I was gonna dance with her when she turned twelve.”

Tariel looked away. He wasn’t going to lie to Mathieu, tell him that maybe he could. The Sanctuary would not let him leave until he turned 19. However . . .

“Maybe you could still dance when she turns twelve. Not with her, the Sanctuary won’t let you leave, but for her.” Tariel offered gently.

Mathieu tears up. “It’s not the same.” He whispered.

Tariel nodded. “I know.”

Mathieu was quiet. Tariel waited, he knew that the child was thinking. 

“I’d like to do it for Marie.” He said eventually. “I don’t wanna forget her.”

Tariel nodded, rising and sitting next to Mathieu. “I promise that you won’t.”

-

Tariel looked after Mathieu like a son after that. The child was on edge all the time after being so horrifically taken away, he needed someone he could trust. Tariel would protect Mathieu from further harm, at least for now. He knew that he couldn’t keep Mathieu from growing up, but he could keep him from breaking into pieces for the first few years.

Mikhal made it difficult at first. He had been gone for the first month that Mathieu had been at the Sanctuary, due to his own duties as the Death Marked.

The first thing he told Mathieu was how, where, and when he was going to die. Tariel had gotten upset and confronted Mikhal alone. Mikhal made it obvious that he wasn’t going to sugar-coat anything, it wasn’t something he could do. He had been so desensitized to death and the fear surrounding it over the years, he saw no reason to lie. 

They agreed to have him not speak when Mathieu was around, at least, until Mathieu was old enough to understand why Mikhal was how he was.

Mathieu asked Mikhal about the day he saw his lover die when he was eight.

-

The day Mathieu came home with a baby Black Dragon, Tariel cried. He had never bonded with a Dragon, he never wanted to, but he knew how badly Mathieu did. The small wyrmling was barely the size of Tariel’s arm, but still deadly. 

The Black Wyrmling looked like any Black Dragon, more serpent-like with pure black eyes, and no wings. It didn’t take long for the Wyrmling, Enurrag, to bring Tariel into the circle. Mathieu had explained that Black Dragons building a bond only let those close to their Bonded into their circle. 

Later that night, when Mathieu had fallen asleep, Tariel thanked Enurrag for choosing his boy. 

-

Tariel watched as Mathieu evaded the warriors attacking him, eyes flashing between brown and black as he used Enurrag’s sight to see the attacks. Occasionally he would gently touch a warrior, who would drop their weapon in a daze.

He got to the center of the arena, touching the crown. He finally beat the final trial of Soul. He was free.

-

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Tariel asks Mathieu, who’s standing beside a much larger Enurrag. The dragon has many bags attached to them, Mathieu holding his own. “I’m afraid that Adruil might have disappeared over 12 years, I don’t want you to be disheartened.” It hurts to confess, but it’s true. Mathieu’s sister might not even be there.

Mathieu nods, though. “Even if she’s not there, at least I know she went to better places.” He looks up at the blue sky. “I want to be able to dance on her birthday.”

Tariel smiles at Mathieu. “I’ll miss you.”

Mathieu turns to Tariel, looking a little confused. “You say that as if I’ll never see you again. I may be going to find my sister, but that doesn’t mean you are pushed out of the circle. You’re my father, the only good one I’ve ever had. I’ll be damned if I give that up.”

The young man hugs the older one, who returns the embrace with a bittersweet smile.

“Dance with her, Mathieu.” He whispers. “Find her and dance with her.”

Mathieu nods into Tariel’s shoulder. “I will.”

[jennifercrowart]

D&D Diary - The Yawning Rodent, 6

Refresher: Our adventurers Lugs (grung barbarian), Lurk (grung rogue), Aelia (tiefling cleric), Valas (drow sorcerer), and tagalongs Meepo (kobold) and Deku (ratfolk cleric) were suddenly pounced on by Calcryx, the white dragon wyrmling who they'd been searching for! The battle was fierce, especially when Calcryx noticed Meepo and started furiously going after him out of revenge for his poor treatment of her. Meepo was caught and killed, before Calcryx was knocked out by the rest of the party soon after. Deku was able to rush in and use his Channel Divinity ability Spare the Dying to stabilise him, though he's still unconscious. The party wrapped up Calcryx in a rug so they can take her with them, and unlock the next door.

Sunless Citadel spoilers!

Lurk peers out into the hallway, though it's difficult to see through the violet haze produced by the sconces. It doesn't seem to be harmful. Suddenly, he notices the edge of a bow peeking out from behind a pillar, aimed at him - before it can shoot, he ducks into the room and behind the nearest pillar, motioning to Aelia back in Calcryx's room that there's someone else in here. He quickly whips out his own shortbow and takes the hiding goblin out before he can even react to Lurk's repositioning.

Meanwhile, Deku is watching over an unconscious Meepo in the hallway, when two more goblins round the corner with their bows drawn and open fire. Deku yelps as an arrow deflects off his comically large armour, and hides inside the breastplate like a turtle, while Lugs - although badly wounded - is able to drag Meepo back inside Calcryx's room and around the side of the door.

One of the goblins yells out, "What have you done with Calcryx??" to no answer.

One of the arrows embeds itself in Deku's shoulder before he can escape, and he falls unconscious on the ground while the others scramble to position themselves in time. The Rat King holy symbol amulet around his neck starts to glow with the same soft, radiant light from before, when he saved Meepo, and it begins to float above him despite being tethered to the cord around his neck. It sparks a pillar of light that beams from his body all the way to the ceiling. Around him, a spiked ring of light stretches across the floor like a crown, and small beings of light - shaped like ratfolk holding hands, rings of whiskers around their heads like halos - begin to dance around the circle and Deku. From the pillar of light stretch out two large, incorporeal, feathered wings, and with three beats, they envelope the whole ritual. The light magic suddenly dissipates, leaving nothing behind; Deku has disappeared into thin air.

Lugs runs back out, yelling in Grung that the goblins "killed the little boy". One of the goblins desperately dodges a clubbing from Lugs, and stabs him with his shortsword. Lugs, unable to take any more injuries, falls, the lid falling off the barrel strapped to his back and letting the water wash over the stone floor. Aelia reaches him, and yells at the goblins in frustration that if they kill him, she won't be repaid for the bedroll he broke in Clara's Commodities, and fires off a Burning Hands spell. One of the goblins is killed by the flames, and the other is badly burnt but is able to turn tail and escape back through the training room they came through earlier.

Aelia and Valas follow him as he tries to hide in the dungeon where they found Deku and the kobolds, shutting the door after him. Aelia gets there before Valas, slamming the door back open. The goblin cowers in the corner, begging her to spare him, but she says coldly that it's too late for that, as they've come between her and her cash reward for returning Deku to Big Oak. She holds out her holy symbol (a $100 bill with a hole punched into it so it can be worn on a necklace), and casts Toll the Dead to finish him off.

Valas runs over to Aelia and gives her the scroll of Cure Wounds level 2 that they'd found in the troll's sarcophagus so she can heal Lugs; she just says, "nice", and pockets it, then roots around Lugs' bag to find his potion of healing and feed it to him, bringing him back to consciousness and mending some of the deeper wounds. Dismayed, they wonder where Deku has disappeared to, and are worried for his wellbeing. Aelia also worries that Big Oak is going to be super mad at them for losing him. Upon waking up, Lugs realises that all the water from his barrel has spilled out, and he clutches his head with both hands and starts spinning around, yelling in despair.

Meanwhile, Lurk stalks out the hazy hallway, but finds no more goblins trying to ambush him. Several doors line this room, and through the one at the end he's able to hear hushed voices. He inspects the door and finds that it's not trapped, sets up his steel tooth trap in front of it, and gives it a knock before hiding behind a pillar. He waits for a short while, but no one answers, and the voices went silent as soon as he knocked. Eventually, he packs up his trap again and regroups with the rest of the party. When he, too, sees the spilled water, he starts screaming and rolling around on the wet stone.

The party, with Lugs and Aelia carrying Calcryx and Meepo tucked into Lugs' dry barrel, begin backtracking through the citadel towards the Kobold Gang's territory, still trying to decide what they should do with the dragon wyrmling.

They pass through the room where they came across the locked door carved with skeletal dragons and the Draconic words "rebuke the dead, open the way", and realise they didn't explore it earlier. Now that Aelia has Turn Undead, she tries it, sending out the beam of holy energy from her body. When it hits the door, the carvings flash with a white light, and the door opens. Inside it is a long room with five sarcophagi standing on end along the walls, each one decorated with carvings of an elf-like humanoid, smaller versions of what they saw in the troll's tomb but without the clasps keeping them locked shut. At the end of the room is an altar with several small artefacts on top, including a candle burning with the same green flame that lights Valas' torch - the flame that gives light but not warmth, and doesn't seem to extinguish easily.

Lurk and Aelia move to inspect the artefacts first, with Lurk not even hesitating before picking up a crystal whistle from the altar and blowing it. Suddenly, the doors of the sarcophagi all crack open, small clouds of dust rising into the air from the movement. Out step five skeletons, armed with a shortbow and scimitar each, dressed in the same fine robes the troll wore. Lurk and Aelia leap into action, and with help from Valas and Lugs from outside the door (Lugs helping by throwing javelins, while keeping his distance so as not to get knocked out again) they're easily able to dispatch them.

Aelia inspects the coffins, but doesn't find anything more than the old robes that seem to resemble religious garb and reminding her that a cult once lived here, and apart from the whistle and candle, there are just small trinkets like jade statues of dragons on the altar. Valas reads the Dwarven runes on the side of the whistle, spelling out its name: Night Caller. Lurk eagerly pockets it.

Calcryx's body stirs while the party sits down and discusses again what they should do with her. Should they take her back to the Kobold Gang, where they might abuse her again, and she'll be hostile and dangerous? Should they take her back to the Rat's Nest, where the ratfolk could potentially nurture her properly, or release her in the valley or mountains back on the surface? Should they return her to the Kobold Gang, but kill all of the kobolds before she wakes up, to show her a sign of the party's goodwill? Should they return her to the Kobold Gang but with the condition that they treat her right and, should they not, only kill them then? As a growl gurgles in her throat while she begins to wake up, Lugs knocks her out again.

Now deciding that they'll try taking her back to the Rat's Nest - especially since the adventurers would appreciate a good rest and refuel themselves before continuing through the citadel - they begin carrying her along again. As they'll have to go through the room where they met Meepo to get back to the entrance to the building, Valas and Lurk go on ahead to make sure no kobolds will see Calcryx. As they enter the room, they hear the kobold's guard room door click, and the guards step out to greet them.

They ask about how the dragon search is going, and Valas and Lurk tell them that they've gone through a bit of the Goblin Gang's territory, but haven't found Calcryx yet. Wounded and exhausted, they're planning on going to the Rat's Nest for a rest before continuing. The guards agree about the goblins being frustrating to fight, and complain about their hobgoblin boss, who's much stronger. They offer for the party to stay in one of the gang's spare rooms, but Lurk and Valas politely decline. As the conversation continues, Valas asks if the guards know much about the surface. One of the guards says "yes, of course! I wasn't born in these dank caves!" and Valas coolly replies, "Well, I was". Even one of the other guards taps the first one on the shoulder, and says that he was born in the Underdark caves, too. He sheepishly apologises for any offence with his remark.

Valas then asks if they know about the Rat's Nest, then, and they have heard of it. It comes up that the Kobold Gang - like the Goblin Gang - are a gang of bandits, and they often make a bit of money mugging some of the tourists and adventurers that pass through there. They mention that it would be great if they could hold a ratfolk for ransom someday, as the Rat's Nest would surely pay a lot of money because they love each other so much. Valas gawks incredulously, as the party didn't know that the Kobold Gang were also engaged in such similar business to the Goblin Gang until now.

When asked if they're going to check in with Yusdrayl about their current progress before they leave, they ask if the guards could do that for them. They agree to have one of the guards - Billy - pass the message onto Yusdrayl, and he heads down the hallway, yelling the password "ticklecorn" as Meepo had done to not alarm the other guardrooms. Valas realises with a start that, had they remembered, they probably could've done that as well and not run into this situation. The other two guards bid them farewell, eager to get back to their card game.

[contagious-addiction]

For the DnD ask meme: Vias 34, Sadija 41 (she's hot), Julius 29 (HE'S HOT), and Elias 33

Ooo Anon you have Very Good taste. Let’s go down the number line shall we? 

#29- JULIUS

Who would they save? Who would they be saved by?

Julius is the type that would, for all intents and purposes: can and will go out of his way to save people he sympathizes with. Which is a fairly large pool of people - though he mostly sympathizes with low income families or people who’ve had equally as shitty lives as him. He absolutely HATES abuses of power - especially over people who have very little control over fighting back against tyrants. As for who would save him... That’s a complicated question to answer since he’d insist he’s already been saved. The trauma he endured for the younger years of his life weighs heavily on him still. In general though, someone who’s patient and willing to let him open up to them at his own pace... Are good for him and might help him truly heal from his past.

#33- ELIAS

What makes them cry?

Oooof... Hm. Well, mostly the idea of his bronze dragon wyrmling Rosana  Starling getting hurt or dying. He’s part of a group who’s job right now is to revive the long dead race of dragons (it’s a homebrew game but takes place in the Forgotten Realms setting, where giants have wiped out all dragons in the world)

He loves his mother dearly since she’s who he aspires to be some day, but the idea of his little girl dying so young terrifies him. It would most definitely make him cry.

#34- VIAS

Which party member do they go to in a crisis?

Oh gosh what a question! Well, there’s quite a collection of people Vias trusts for this now but the answer is an unlikely one since they actually didn’t get along for at least 14 sessions (4 of which we have recorded since i started recording our tal’dorei sessions around session 10 so we can take notes easier)

But his answer would be Susanna Crow - our resident ginger human Gunslinger of the party of 8! She was actually really awful to Vias for days in game and was absolutely insufferable and rude to him... But after the group experienced a strange bout with an extradimensional space and some weird shit, they kind of gained respect for each other and called a truce. After that, they had some trauma bonding in a strange time-temple thing and... The rest is history.

They’re not “uwu soft” friends, but the type to banter and throw quips and just eat that shit up about each other and Vias trusts her to tell him straight if he’s overreacting or in general, give him a vibe check. She’s not the most stable person to bounce his ideas off of since she can be pretty snarky at times, but she reminds him of his younger sister and she brings him peace of mind.

My other answer for this is Diona - our pugilist genasi Diona. She’s only 19, but she’s kind of become the party rock. She’s level headed and provides a really soothing and rational sort of feedback which is well loved to Vias. He cares about her deeply and trusts her if he needs help with legit anything.

#41- SADIJA

What are they attracted to in other people?

Oh i’m SO glad you chose to ask this Anon. I have Ideas.

Sadija is demisexual. but homoromantic. So she’s mostly interested in romantic female partners but can and has slept with people she feels comfortable with and knows. 

However she has... A very strange set of factors that cause her to be attracted to her romantic/sexual partners.

First, they need to be more powerful that her. If they’re able to hoist her up over their shoulders without issue... That’s attractive as fuck. If they’re someone powerful magic wise... That’s attractive as fuck. (she had a century where she was inlove with Titania, queen of the fairies. she’s powerful as fuck and pretty so obviously she fell for her - sadija was also the warlock of her for that grip of time, but she dropped that because of Family Drama because Titania ended up actually being her great great grandmother which Really fucked Sadiija up to find out since Titania had lied to her and... Yeah)

In general though, she very much needs to know they’re worthy otherwise she just thinks it’s boring and she doesn’t feel any spark at all XD

Second, she really does like someone who’s got a good soul. Just, someone willing to do good just for the sake that it’s the right thing to do and doesn’t expect anything in return. A little banter maybe, some playfulness, willing to match her and be delighted with her... In general, Sadija just wants a partner to spend her very very long life with as a fey mutt (her father is a were-lynx woodelf and her mom’s a nymph so her bloodline is pretty Fucked)

She already has a pretty obvious crush on one of her party members (she’s strong, human, a warlock of a god of justice, and is fucking Hot) but she doesn’t wanna make a move on her since she isn’t quite sure if Charlie’s reciprocated her flirting yet. It’s very much the lesbian panic of “oh man i can’t tell if she’s just really friendly or if she’s flirting” when it’s obviously flirting... V.V

She’d go to hell and back and to heaven too, if it meant being with the person she loves. And she wants that loyalty too some day, if she’s lucky enough to get it :,3

[mcousland]

2, 4, 5, 10, 14, 15 and 19 for leva'lyn and lara!

2. What is your character’s relationship with their family? Family is a word which here refers to biological relatives, close companions, and/or the individual(s) who raised them.

Leva’lyn at this point only has 5 minutes worth of memories of her mother, and nothing of her father. From what she’s gather she was close with her mother and was taught the ways of being a wizard by her, but beyond that she cannot begin to imagine her relationship with either of them those years ago. (And she’s terrified to think of what her father would think of her if she does find him now.)Her adoptive father though, Karl Vornludwig, she has fifty-five~ years of memories with and has a relationship just as complicated. She’s only just recently read a letter from him describing that the only reason he saved her from wandering the Rut'Theran shore alone was because of the future described to him by a shapeshifting mage. A mage who told Karl that he would need to raise her, teach her all he knew but accept he could not help her forever—which, Leva’lyn gathers, is why he refused to get as close as a true father would, why he denied affection and treated her like any other criminal in the Guild. Since the moment I saw you enveloped by what looked like moonlight, he writes, I’ve loved you as much as though you were my own flesh and blood—but she was never taught how to forgive and accept, so the words only lead to further frustration and numerous scrapped letters written out of anger that she’ll never send. Leva’lyn struggles each day with trying to understand, move on, forgive- but she’s just not at that point yet, and she wonders if she’ll be able to talk to Karl again about these thoughts or if he’ll meet his death while away like his final letter to her implies.

Lara is close with her father, at a very young age she grabbed at the weapons he smithed and pleaded for lessons. After her mother passed and with her brother often gone they only got closer, being the only two left in the house they refused to let it drive them apart. The duo share a sense of humor, empathy and the same beaming smile. Lara writes him letters about her adventures while she’s away so he knows she’s okay, and so he can brag about his daughter being a dragon slayer. Her mother was a jeweler, and from sitting beside her when she worked, Lara learned the worth of gems and what they represented to various cultures and people. Being a Pelorian, her mother would often share the myth of The Shards of the Sun, famed relics of Pelor that she firmly believed were gem shards hidden throughout the world. After her passing, those conversations are what Lara remembers most clearly. The gleam in her mother’s eyes, the small smile on her lips and the conspiratorial whisper she would sometimes drop to so that no one could steal their idea of hunting for these Shards. Lara’s brother left for the first time when she was two years old, he was seventeen and running off to join an army. He returns home on occasion, and they spend that time together trading stories or training in combat. When she was old enough to understand it, Lara was awed by her brother’s being a paladin of Pelor and this became one of the driving forces to her becoming fully devoted to the Dawnfather when she took comfort in his Temple over the years. Lara from time to time entertains her sadness over him leaving, wishing that she’d been able to grow up with a brother at her side every day—but she does not live in the past, and she can be thankful for the time that they do spend together.

4. What were the conditions surrounding their formative years?

Leva’lyn was living inside an underground Thieves Guild run by Karl, mingling and learning from thieves, assassins and other petty criminals that ran through. She would spend countless hours training, pushing herself to exhaustion in attempts to earn compliments and praise from Karl that came rarely. She was brought along to few missions that formed her “eh, it’s just a job” outlook on contracts, both assassinations and robberies. She spent a fair amount of her free time spying on the “fancy parties” and people, allowed on some occasions to sneak into those events or be given funds to buy herself clothes to match their aesthetic. (Leva’lyn has one good memory of Karl sneaking into her room to gift her with a ball gown, knowing she was enraptured by them but unable to present it to her in the public eye.)Lara’s formative years would’ve been around the time of her mother’s death, when she spent hours every day trying to get more information out of neighbors and people who survived the bandit attack about what happened, when it happened, why did no one help. The answers were never satisfactory, they only deepened the ache, all she saw were people who got to live except for her mother. But she found Pelor’s temple more comforting during those days, and the Prophetess Sylvaris took to sitting with Lara for long conversations. Those people she was angry with? They lost family too, friends and loved ones—she should not be persecuting them, she should be mourning with them. Weeks spent with Slyvaris heightened Lara’s empathy beyond its original level, she spent more time talking with her father and brother about how it all felt, she cast her first Light spell while helping a man repair his broken wagon. These years formed her empathy, selfishness, nurturing and healing ways.

5. What creature would they like to have as a pet?

This is actually a funny one, because of the Baby Bestiary I’ve been talking about this very thing with another player, so for the fun of it I’m going to answer from the list in the book.

Leva’lyn would sell her step-father for a dragon wyrmling. She’d adore the creature and have an absolute blast helping it build its first hoard. And just the thought alone that I have as her player of Leva’lyn lounging across the back of a chest filled with gold, twirling her hair while conversing with her brass dragon because those fools love to talk and she needs someone to talk to.Lara would just explode after seeing a blink puppy. They’re cute AND they can poof around everywhere?? She wouldn’t be able to handle the adorable.

10. How old is this character?

Answered for Leva’lyn here!Lara is in her early 20s at the beginning of her adventures.

14. What is their favorite holiday?

Leva’lyn enjoys any holiday that calls for an event or party where she can ignore her problems and spend the night drinking, dancing and listening to strangers gossip about each other.Lara celebrates each of Pelor’s holidays among the others, but her favorite is a tie between Breadgiving Day and The Feast of Edoira. Almost every time without fail she will suddenly shout mid-day, realizing one of the days is a week away and she’ll take off to prepare. Breadgiving Day is where clerics of Pelor and Rao distribute food to the poor, while The Feast is when Pelorians and Raoans come together to celebrate their faith. She favors Breadgiving Day for the charity that spreads around, and the smiles on people’s faces, and then The Feast for time spent with people who usually share her ideals.

15. What is the best gift they could receive?

Leva’lyn enjoys anything expensive, doesn’t really matter what it is. Lara will be excited just by the mention of a gift that she didn’t expect, and spend the next week thanking the person no matter what it was. (Anything to do with Pelor or the color yellow is a god tier gift.)

19. What are their guilty pleasures?

Answered for Leva’lyn here!Lara: one too many sweet rolls, jewelry (people call her greedy, but it reminds her of her mother), spending time with Anna when she should be studying, staying in her pajamas for far too long, taking breakfast in bed so she can read by the window.