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prettymuchdeadalready · 5 years ago

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100 Important Character Questions

Here’s looking at you kid, @wexarethewalkingxdead !! XD They’ll be below the cut due to length. {{ I despise ‘read mores’ except that it’s so fucking long! XD }}

1OO IMPORTANT CHARACTER QUESTIONS

taken from beth kinderman and nikki walker’s the 100 most important things to know about your character. a good list to help develop a character’s background, personality, and general aspects.

PART 1: THE BASICS

· What is your full name? :: Bobby Autumn Monroe

· Where and when were you born? :: Atlanta, Georgia at Grace Memorial at 4am on a Sunday.

· Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) :: Maryann JoMarie Monroe (nee Tippins) and Franklin Roosevelt Monroe ;; mama was a stay at home mother who became an addict to opiates and papa was a worker at the mill in Powder Springs, which was a HUGE (in his mind because he always resented it) drive from where they lived on the outskirts of Atlanta in a little cabin home one a sparce patch of land just outside a trailer park beside the woods. Mama was a strong woman who grew weak after nears of being beaten and bloodied by her drunk mean husband; having 3 kids kept her strong to a degree, however, for as long as she could be, trying to keep his attention on her and away from her kids. When she died (Bobby who was the eldest of them by 15 minutes) that all changed; Michael trying to draw the majority of the brutality because he was the boy and his father always was trying to beat on the girls when given little to no reason at all, even.

· Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? :: Michael Henry Monroe and Katherine Emberlynn Monroe, in chronological order of birth after Bobby. Michael is an EMT on staff with New York Presbyterian Hospital, which is also Columbia University’s training hospital. Katherine is an aspiring actress in the LA area of California.

· Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. :: Bobby has never left Georgia. The only time she does is when the group moves on after season 4. She doesn’t know why she’s never left before, not even to visit her siblings that left her behind, but she always feels like, as the big sister, it’s her job to maintain a home for them to come back to, should they ever need it.

· What is your occupation? :: Bobby is an ER nurse with Grace Fulton Memorial Hospital and regularly assists with trauma cases.

· Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. :: Height is 5’4. (Smol but mighty!) Weight fluctuates from 115 to 120 pounds depending on the time of year and stressors in her life; okay, maybe 124, but not an ounce more! She swears. Bobby is Caucasian American. Hair is an auburn brunet. Eyes are chocolate brown; when she is angry they appear almost amber in tone, and when sexually aroused they usually darken to an almost black. Her fashion sense is usually tomboy, wearing jeans and tee shirts; sometimes a little sporty with tight running pants, spandex or loose shorts, and tank tops. Bobby only has one tattoo that transcends any and all verses she might have: a black rose with three drips of blood on the petals, one at the end nearly ready to drop off, at the small of her back which reminds her of the fragility of life and death and the ever presence of the latter, the pain and struggle symbolized by the blood droplets on the petals. She has a long scar that runs the length of the space between where the band on her bra would rest down to her love handle, on the edge where her side meets her back – given to her by an abusive ex that was just like her father when drunk, only worse because he was legitimately a highly functioning and violently brutal psychopath and burn marks on her upper back/right shoulder blade and left outer thigh from where her father and her ex had their fun using her as an ashtray.

· To which social class do you belong? :: Middle class. Working class.

· Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? :: Maryanne had carpal tunnel and severe arthritis in her left arm from it being broken a couple times by her lovely husband. After her mother died Bobby was cooking dinner one night and her father, who had been drinking all evening from end of work until right that moment, picked up his hammer and hit Bobby in the upper left arm twice, hard. She had to wear a cast for two months (part of that time an extension after being thrown against the wall another separate night that shattered the first incarnation of the cast) to heal the broken bone. Thus, sometimes when its too cold she has bouts where her left arm is weak, not able to carry heavy things, and there was minimal nerve damage in the hand as a result which means she can’t always feel too hot, or too cold. This does not impair her job as she isn’t responsible for surgery where the steadiest of hands are needed; thankfully Bobby’s aid in the field is at most a needle and thread for mending/stitches, of which she can do with her dominant hand.

· Are you right- or left-handed? :: Right handed.

· What does your voice sound like? :: Natalie Portman.

· What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? :: Y’all. Jesus Harold Christ on crooked crutches. Jiminy Christmas. Calm down there Satan.

· What do you have in your pockets? :: A pocket knife with combination of other fold out tools. Mini canister of mace. Car and house keys in some verses. Apocalypse verses she sometimes carries car keys.

· Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? :: Bobby doesn’t consider anything she does as strange or annoying but just ask one of the people she considers family and he would say she talks too damn much. At least the other man in her life appreciates that she knows how to turn out the lights…

PART 2: GROWING UP

· How would you describe your childhood in general? :: Stressful. Her days were constantly spent fearing what would happen when daddy got home, what mood would he be in, what would he do, would he just hurt mama or would he come after her and her siblings too…? Bobby grew up worrying about things no child should ever have to worry about or fear.

· What is your earliest memory? :: Bobby doesn’t know for sure if this is a memory or some part of her subconscious trying to bring her peace, but in the quiet moments when she closes her eyes she can hear her mother’s voice softly singing to her as she’s being held, cradled in safe arms with worn delicate hands gently rubbing her back. “Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night and wouldn’t you love to love her…? Takes to the sky like a bird in flight and…who will be her lover? All your life you’ve never seen a woman…taken by the wind…”

· How much schooling have you had? :: Bobby went through two years of high school before she was forced to drop out to care for her other siblings and make sure they got the best lives possible. It wasn’t perfect anyway, but she tried. She went back and got her GED when she turned 21. Immediately upon her father dying ( when she turned 19 ) she began putting some money away toward furthering her own education, enrolling in community college once her GED came through. She got a bachelor’s degree in science and biology, and earned certification and licensure as an EMT and trauma nurse.

· Did you enjoy school? :: Bobby loved school. It was the only thing she could do outside the house that was usually constant and unbreakable, a schedule that the state decided for children and one her father couldn’t stop. This was she could be free of the worries and fears that usually plagued her days and simultaneously learn things about the world at large, all around her and beyond. It was refreshing and awe inspiring.

· Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? :: Anything she didn’t learn from her mother and her father ( positive or not ) she learned from school and the teachers and children in that environment.

· While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. :: The only role model Bobby had growing up was her mother, Maryanne. Mama taught her the strength and the tenacity she needed to make it in the world, both in her father’s house, and later.

· While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? :: Bobby and her mother started as adult to child relationship and then at the end when her mother was dying Bobby became an almost equal to her mother, taking care of her and herself and the siblings she had. Likewise, with her siblings, it was mostly a jovial peer to peer relationship ( and what sibling relationship was complete without the occasional fight and attempted murder ), which eventually merged into a motherly feeling over them, protective of them when their mother passed. Her relationship with her father was always strained, always wary and tumultuous and it only worsened when Maryanne died. He became more possessive of the kids and Bobby feared being raped or sexually abused by him after a time ( she looked more like her mother than Kath did ) as he would get drunk and beat her, yelling things like ‘how dare you leave me’ and ‘I’ll show you something to cry about you weak whore.’ That relationship was strained and haunted until the day he died.

· As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? :: She wanted to be an astronaut or a pirate. Anything that could take her far far away from where she was and keep her safe, eventually far enough to make her happy in life.

· As a child, what were your favorite activities? :: Anything Bobby could do outside the house. She spent AGES outside in the woods, roaming with nowhere in her mind to go in particular; she could sit on a stump deep in the sea of green and just space out, let her mind wander for hours. She would try to fish. She made friends with small woodland creatures like something out of a Disney film. She sometimes sat alone out there all night, looking up into the moon under a blanket of stars and a bed made of fallen leaves and long grass.

· As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? :: As a child, Bobby was pretty devoid of personality; at least when she was at home. At home and when she was alone she was quiet, too quiet. A mousy brown haired brown eyed little girl with nothing to say and who would lay low on purpose, anything not to catch her father’s attention. Outside of the house she often put on a brave face, smiling and laughing and acting like nothing was wrong. Sometimes she could even forget that she was a victim of domestic violence and forget her usual invisible act, coming out of herself and being herself, talkative ( almost too much talking for some ) and bright. Her light shines bright from within her and her strength and perseverance really show in her eyes.

· As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? :: Bobby was not a popular kid at school. She often sat alone or with her siblings. Even the losers didn’t want to sit with them because everyone knew what the Monroe home life was like and who their father was, what he did to them and their mother. No one would claim them as friends, at least not outwardly or in public.

· When and with whom was your first kiss? :: Daniel Dunn was her first kiss in most all her verses. He was a messed up kid, a psychopath that was highly functioning and much too sadistic, even as far as most psychopaths are concerned. He used her and abused her for most of her young adult years, as her father had her mother. ( What was it they said about emulating what you saw as a child and being doomed to repeat it…? ) In one of her verses she has known Daryl Dixon all of her life and he is her first kiss…her first everything.

· Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? :: Same as the question above to be honest. Most of her verses features Daniel Dunn in that role, as fucked up and cruel as that is, and in the one it’s Daryl Dixon.

· If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. :: Bobby was definitely informed by her childhood and her mother’s and father’s relationship as far as what kind of person she wanted to become. She would consciously always pick a path that led her to be her mother, kind and sweet and a pure heart with passion despite being regularly beaten down and broken by outside influences because of her goodness. She was also inspired to become a trauma nurse thanks to all the times she had to help fix up her mom, her siblings and herself over the years, some of the things she’d come into schooling being self-taught after a bad couple of nights.

PART 3: PAST INFLUENCES

· What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? :: The night Dan almost killed her and she survived, barely, to be present and the star witness at the trial that would send him to prison for at least 20 years for attempted premeditated murder. And every so many years when probation is brought before the review board, release for good behavior, she makes sure she’s available to speak. She even takes the day off work to make sure she can go down and make herself and her story with him heard.

· Who has had the most influence on you? :: Mama.

· What do you consider your greatest achievement? :: Bouncing back from being a high school dropout ( even though her reasoning was perfectly acceptable and understandable ), getting her GED and her degrees. Putting herself first. Finally.

· What is your greatest regret? :: Bobby blames herself for her mother’s death. Obviously her mother became addicted to opioids and died of an aortic rupture, which were things no little girl could have realistically been able to help or prevent. Nonetheless she thinks, and has believed all her life that maybe she wasn’t strong enough to help her mother through the worst of their lives, to survive past it and watch her babies grow up and succeed in the way their mama had always wanted and hoped.

· What is the most evil thing you have ever done? :: Bobby pulled the wings off a fly once. Another time she pulled the back legs off of a grasshopper. It was, in her mind ( at least as a pretense ) all for science, but some psychologists and therapists might think otherwise.

· Do you have a criminal record of any kind? :: Bobby has gotten arrested a couple times, all for misdemeanor things like stealing a candy bar from a convenience store and for indecent exposure in her small town when she was caught with her pants down around the bend, side of the road, peeing in the brush while drunk.

· When was the time you were the most frightened? :: Bobby was frightened to the same extent twice in her life. The first when her mother was being beaten for the last time ( which was also the night she died ) and when Bobby herself was being beaten and broken and nearly killed by Dan.

· What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? :: When she was 15 ( which is not a legal age of consent and no, I do not condone anything happening to minors, this is just FICTION ) she was being diddled by Dan in the back seat of his car ( he was older than she was by 2 years as well ) when she opened her eyes to find the window down and a couple of Dan’s older friends jerking themselves off to what Dan was doing to her, turning her on and playing with her. She immediately wanted to stop and thankfully there were other people walking by when she started screaming or she most likely would have been forced to continue against her will. It was both embarrassing for her and equally as dangerous and twisted a situation.

· If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? :: Bobby often wishes she was older and stronger than she was when her mother died. She wants to be able to go back and take her siblings out of that environment altogether. She wants to have been able to maybe even save her mother.

· What is your best memory? :: The ones alone in the woods. Anything where the woodlands creatures accepted her as a part of their world, knowing inherently she wouldn’t hurt them.

· What is your worst memory? :: The way her mother died, in her arms, at home. There were no police and no ambulance until it was too late to save her, much too late.

PART 4: BELIEFS & OPINIONS

· Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? :: Optimistic.

· What is your greatest fear? :: Being powerless and out of control of her own life.

· What are your religious views? :: She’s spiritual but does not ascribe to any one particular religious sect or view. She tends to take a little of this and a little of that from various religions, whatever she feels she can identify with in the moment and incorporate into her lifestyle.

· What are your political views? :: Progressive Liberal Independent.

· What are your views on sex? :: The more the better. Well, provided it’s the right person and it’s consensual. Also, sometimes a little kinky if she trusts the person she’s with implicitly.

· Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? :: In any verses where the apocalypse doesn’t exist ( or not yet ) she could only kill if it was someone threatening her life or the lives of her family/spouse/kids. In the apocalypse, she begins just as they all did, saying they would never kill the living, then only if she had to, and progressing until doing it regularly because she had to and there were rarely other options. Not to say there are moments when she should kill and doesn’t, for one reason or another, but she makes sure to weigh the call. Taking a life, being a healer as she is and continues to be, isn’t an easy call to make.

· In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? :: To abuse physically, emotionally, mentally, and/or sexually a child. To Bobby that is the most reprehensible crime.

· Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? :: Yes.

· What do you believe makes a successful life? :: The impact one has on the world around them, whoever or whatever they touch/influence. What a person leaves behind, their legacy.

· How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? :: Bobby is pretty honest about her feelings now, almost to a detriment. She’s brutally honest about thoughts and feelings and has been pretty intense in all aspects of her life since her father died and set her free from the binds of her past.

· Do you have any biases or prejudices? :: Bobby has biases against rapists and child molesters, child abusers and domestic violence offenders. Really, she feels as though anyone who breaks the law for more than stealing some food ( if a person is desperate to eat or feed their family ) they should do the time applicable to the crime.

· Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? :: Bobby doesn’t like to lie. She won’t do it. If asked to lie she will retreat from the conflict altogether, saying nothing to either party. If asked for the truth, therefore, she would have to tell the truth. Her replies at being asked to lie always include some formulation of ‘if you want to propagate lies and slander then do it in your name.’ Her refusal stems from years of her mother and her family lying to the authorities, to medical professionals, to the world about what they went through at her father’s hands. ( Whether they knew or not otherwise wasn’t the point. )

· Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? :: Family and friends that have become family. Her spouse, her partner, the person she’s chosen to spend the rest of her life with. Her children, adopted or natural, blood or not.

PART 5: RELATIONSHIPS W/OTHERS

· In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? :: Bobby is always guided by the other person. She will usually begin friendly and polite, if a bit wary and gruff depending on the circumstances. It always depends on the first impression and expression of the other person how she reacts and treats them from there, forward. Sometimes a rude or dislike situation can be changed over time if both parties work toward making it positive or a catalyst turns the dynamic around. Likewise, if someone starts off friendly with her it can turn to dislike and even hatred if given the right cataclysm. She read this quote once that she lives by : ‘if you feel it necessary to judge me by my past, don’t be surprised when I put you in it.’ Most often, however, if a person is able to get past all the walls she’s built over time against being hurt viscerally by someone intimately, they’re in her heart and they’re usually there for good.

· Who is the most important person in your life, and why? :: It depends on the verse. Sometimes all she has left are her brother and sister. Other verses are dependent on her family/attachments/spouses/significant others. Rick, Shane, Daryl, Charley, etc. Family is important to Bobby, especially at the end of the world. Her children are first and foremost the most important people in her life in the verses in which she has them.

· Who is the person you respect the most, and why? :: Carol. No matter what verse is concerned, this holds true. She sees a lot of her mother in Carol. A lot of the same strengths and hopes and dreams that have been tramped down by a man with a heavy hand and an awfully small constitution. Of all the people Bobby has the pleasure to meet in all her travels and all her realities, Carol is the one person she loves and supports and looks up to the most.

· Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. :: Bobby has very few friends in the real world. As stated before she was never a popular kid growing up and only got any recognition for her beauty by boys or girls with one thing on the mind. The only people she considers as true friends she made after the world as she knew it already ended. Carol. Daryl. Rick. Shane. Maggie. Glenn. Enid. King Ezekiel. Jerry. Jesus. Aaron. Etc. The only exception to this is the verse where she’s known Daryl all her life; in that case she’s always had him. He is her best friend. And her cat, Patches, a gray and white tabby cat with darker gray almost black ears, definitely constitutes as a best friend.

· Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. :: Daryl – nickname Tracker; annoyed and frustrated with how much she talks but loves her for it anyway and finds it kind of endearing despite himself; afraid of intimacy in the same way that she is and was and what makes them a good fit is their willingness now to grow together solely with one another; can’t live with her and can’t live without her; hillbilly grump with the most honest, pure, innocent heart of anyone she knows. Shane – nickname Deputy; knows who the real boss of the house is; is probably afraid of Bobby…maybe…like a lot; strong willed, passionate, and has an easy anger reflex; they fight a lot about the silliest things but it always come back to love; the thing he probably loves the most about her is that she knows how to turn the damn lights off. Rick – no nickname as yet; he really stepped into the leader role over the time they’ve known each other; Bobby never expected to follow him as closely as she does now; they don’t always agree but they rarely actually fight; he’s the epitome of calm and problem solving in dire situations; he’d walk through Hell and all its fire for her and his kids and probably everyone else he cares for and that’s the one thing she loves the most above all else about him. Mac – nickname Cupcake; strictly a fanfiction/headcanon ship at this point; used to ship this pairing exclusively with macxtheanimal way back when; a meth head, rapist, murderer, criminal, muscle and enforcer for his father’s crystal meth operation; he’s a villain that makes no apologies for his actions but she can see the broken little boy in him, abandoned by his mother so long ago to his father’s lifestyle; kept her hostage as a sex slave for a long time until they had an intimate exchange one night and she whispered to him that she just wanted to be free to make the choice; he let her go, saying she was free and he knew she’d always leave because they all did if given a chance; she stayed. {{ All are subject to change based on verse or partner writing this with us. Mostly these listings as spouses or SO’s are exclusive right now to wexarethewalkingxdead and macxtheanimal. }}

· Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. :: She’s only been in love a couple times in her life. ( Verse dependent. ) It almost always ends in pain and suffering for her, be it physically or emotionally, but there are a few over the verses/years that she’s found true happiness with.

· What do you look for in a potential lover? :: Connection. Chemistry. Sexy/pretty eyes. Rough pads of their hands and they have to be steady and firm. Stable.

· How close are you to your family? :: Bobby and her siblings are VERY close, even though they don’t live in the same place anymore. Sometimes herself and her sister Kath haven’t always been as close as they should have been. Those moments are almost always based on imagined slights of some kind because Bobby is and always has been an outspoken person; she never sugar coats things that should be communicated. It follows in the same vein as her always being truthful. Hence, sometimes hurt feelings. Bobby and the people she’s come to think of as family are likewise, VERY close with these same issues of hurt feelings now and again, resulting mostly in a short time of silence or avoidance between the parties.

· Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? :: This is dependent on her verses. In some she does make a family with someone special. In others she hasn’t, whether because she hasn’t found that someone yet or because she’s afraid of finding a man like her father and subjecting herself to the same life her mother lived prior to her death – not to mention subjecting any children they might have to that lifestyle.

· Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? :: Bobby would turn to her siblings first, provided it was something they could solve realistically. If they aren’t available or they can’t fix it because they live out of state, etc, the next stop would be her chosen family, friends she’s made along the way that would go the extra mile for her, and she for them.

· Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? :: Very few people and they have to prove themselves to her with their deeds, not just words and promises coming off lips and tongues that have lied so many times they probably don’t even know they’re doing it anymore.

· If you died or went missing, who would miss you? :: Her family ( her brother and sister ) have been living in different states from her for quite a few years now but that doesn’t mean they’ve become distant. They would definitely miss her. Also any of the family she’s made in the apocalypse. Obviously this is verse dependent.

· Who is the person you despise the most, and why? :: Actually, I think Bobby despises her mother the most of anyone she’s ever known in her life. It’s a very complicated relationship. Bobby still loves her mother; while she was alive she was the only kindness Bobby and her siblings knew. She was strong and endured a lot but that same strength could also be considered weakness. Why couldn’t she have left their father? Why couldn’t she have taken them away and made a go of it on their own? Maybe she’d be alive today. Maybe a lot of things. So Bobby is constantly fighting with love and hate for the woman that bore her.

· Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? :: Bobby has a good sense for whatever a situation calls for, usually. In most circumstances she will listen and hear someone out before saying her piece. But she is southern and strong willed, a stiff backbone, and sometimes the outrage comes dripping off her teeth like venom before she can stave them off. In moments when she can’t be smart and hold her tongue, and even when she does, Bobby is a woman who is definitely not afraid of conflict if she feels the situation calls for it.

· Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? :: Bobby is strong enough to take the weight of the world on her shoulders. It certainly depends on what the situation is, but in the case of her primary verse – in the Walker apocalypse – she doesn’t hold back. As a healer, a nurse, she will absolutely take on a leadership role if one is needed. If another leader is present, and she respects that person, they will only gain support from her; likewise, if they do not have her respect, all they will get it push-back until they either utilize her and her ideas to their potential or she potentially replaces them as the leader. She’s very strong but she is versatile. She knows when to step back and let things shake loose.

· Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? :: Bobby has always been a little bit of a loner. She’d personable but she also likes her alone time. As previously discussed, there wasn’t a lot of silent time in her home and she much rather would have been somewhere alone with her thoughts instead of lined up ready to catch a beating. Large crowds do tend to make her a little anxious. She’d much rather only deal with a few people at a time.

· Do you care what others think of you? :: Bobby does care what other people thing of her, to an extent. She doesn’t dwell on it, however, and if there are ever opinions that are misconstrued or wrong she will make sure not to ever think on those things again. The only thing that usually can get to Bobby is when people she loves and is devoted to make comments to her that can be considered derogatory or hurtful, judging.

PART 6: LIKES & DISLIKES

· What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? :: Hiking and taking walks in the lush green forests. Photography. Reading. Her grandma taught her mother how to sew and thus, taught Bobby enough to get by; those nursing lessons on stitching wounds up didn’t hurt either.

· What is your most treasured possession? :: Patches. He is a grey and white tabby cat with dubious bloodline origin with black ears. She’s had him with her for a long time and she’d walk through fire for him if she had to.

· What is your favorite color? :: Blue.

· What is your favorite food? :: Seafood boil.

· What, if anything, do you like to read? :: Bobby is an always will be a fan of anything she can get her hands on. She does go through moods, however, devoted to certain genres over the others. Predominantly she reads works of fiction about murder and crime, who done its and thrillers. Horror novels are a must as well. A favorite series of hers is the By The Numbers novels about Stephanie Plum and her life fumble bumbling through the Bounty Hunter business by Janet Evanovich. Romance novels, unless well written with a predominant plot encompassing one of the aforementioned genres, can go suck lemons!

· What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? :: Bobby is mostly a music person. Movies are fine and television can captivate her attention if its done well but there’s nothing better than putting in a CD, or plugging her headphones into her phone’s jack and playing some tunes on the digital frequency. It sets the mood, no matter what that mood is, 100% of the time.

· Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? :: Bobby used to smoke. It was something to do with her hands and a nervous tick that she adopted mostly in crowded groups of people to help calm her nerves in those situations. Social smoking. Whether or not she still does it verse dependent. Bobby also drinks alcoholic beverages but within reason and rarely ever to excess.

· How do you spend a typical Saturday night? :: In the apocalypse there is a lot to do, all of the time. There’s never a dull moment. Saturdays are usually reserved for whatever needs doing that wasn’t done the day before, as well as making time for family and friends trying to reclaim what was stolen from them by the world as it exists now. In the other verses where the world is normal, Saturdays are usually reserved for family time, the park, the zoo, barbecues with family and friends, etc. On the rare occasion work comes calling – she is an emergency room nurse – she will sometimes go in. And sometimes not.

· What makes you laugh? :: Stupid jokes, dad jokes, horrible puns. Her husband. Her kids. New airings and reruns of America’s Funniest Home Videos.

· What, if anything, shocks or offends you? :: Racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, slurs and swear words used in conjunction with said slurs and behavior, etc. Anything that could be considered along the same vein by small minded people who are afraid of anything they don’t know and haven’t bothered to become educated about/in.

· What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? :: Insomnia does sometimes strike. It happens in those moments when something exceptionally traumatic happens at work or there happens to be a scare with her husband, kids, or siblings/family, those moments when she’s in the dark of the night, sometimes alone, with her own thoughts and fears. Sometimes there is no amusing herself. Sometimes she has to talk herself down off a very high ledge. Sometimes she has to wake up her significant other ( if present ) just to know they’re there, they’re alive. Sometimes the heartbeat and the steady breathing isn’t enough.

· How do you deal with stress? :: Bobby reads. She keeps her hands busy cooking, cleaning, and caring for her family. Killing Walkers in the apocalypse, keeping a tight perimeter. Yoga and pilates in the verses where the world hasn’t changed.

· Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? :: Bobby is usually a very plan oriented person. She’s learned over the years that the only way to be is concerned, vigilant, if a bit controlling. That isn’t to say that she’s a control freak, but she does have strong opinions and will be heard on them. She wishes she was more spontaneous and sometimes makes attempts to purposely exit her comfort zone in certain situations she deems it appropriate, such as her sex life, dates, etc.

· What are your pet peeves? :: People who can’t follow directions or laws of an ordered society. People who lie or steal unless circumstances are such that would overwrite the negative or somehow make an allowance for it. People who judge others or presume to tell other people their business when they don’t even have their lives together.

PART 7: SELF IMAGES & OTHER

· Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? :: Regardless of what her work schedule works like ( days or evenings ) Bobby gets up around 5 a.m. daily. She makes coffee through the slits of her eyelids. She then returns to the bathroom where she showers and brushes her teeth. By that time she usually is ready to start breakfast for herself and whoever else is present. Morning shifts she works until 3 p.m. She will usually run any errands she has to do at that time before coming home and making dinner. Night shifts she works until 11 p.m. doing the errands and prepping dinner before leaving for the night for her shift. If her routine happens to be interrupted or subverted in any way, she usually gets a little perturbed, might make a dramatic comment about everything being a mess, and carrying on with things as best as she can.

· What is your greatest strength as a person? :: Her heart and her generosity. It helped her overcome a lot of odds that were stacked against her from the beginning.

· What is your greatest weakness? :: Her heart. Sometimes she’s loyal to a fault even though the people she let inside of it use her and abuse her. Also her stubborn as a mule attitude and her stiff backbone. When she’s made up her mind there’s very precious little that can change it.

· If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? :: How her past shaped her to be numb and emotionless in certain situations that require feeling. She doesn’t always respond in the right ways to tragedy or loss. Sometimes not responding at all. It’s a more calloused wounded part of herself she wished she didn’t have.

· Are you generally introverted or extroverted? :: Generally extroverted but in small doses. Large gatherings or venues kept to a minimum.

· Are you generally organized or messy? :: Organized.

· Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. :: Good – 1) Problem solving, 2) Nursing/healing, 3) Being a wife and mother. Bad – 1) Spontaneity, 2) Letting go, 3) Cleaning vomit.

· Do you like yourself? :: Yes. For the most part.

· What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons…) :: It’s a choice you make. When things get difficult, what kind of person would you want to be? If a child cries in the dark, scared, alone; would you help them? Or would you turn away? Tell yourself it’s not your concern. If a mother and father are fighting for their child’s life as the child is being physically removed from their arms, wounded, killed before them. Would you intervene if you could? Or turn your back? Would you do everything you could because you have the ability, because you have the choice or do you do nothing, make the choice not to, and perhaps blood be on your hands…? It’s a choice she makes every day to do better, to be someone she could be proud of, that her family would remember and be proud of long after she was gone. Her sacrifice, if needed, would not be in vane.

· What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? :: Leave the world a little better than she found it.

· Where do you see yourself in 5 years? :: She can’t say. She hopes to be alive and well, actually living a life and happy within its confines. But she knows that may never come. Not even tomorrow is guaranteed…

· If you could choose, how would you want to die? :: Old and grey in her sleep. In the apocalypse, if she could choose and she was bitten/injured beyond the ability to be healed, she would want to shoot herself in the head before changing. She wouldn’t want to leave it for any of her loved ones to do; she doesn’t want that burden to be on their soul.

· If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. :: 1) Write little notes or letters to those she loved who would miss her and feel her loss the most. 2) Love on and spend a lot of time with the children, 3) Clean, load, cock and ready her gun and wait.

· What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? :: Her kindness. How many people she helped. How far out of her way she sometimes went to make that happen.

· What three words best describe your personality? :: Brave, Generous, and Loyal

· What three words would others probably use to describe you? :: Bold, Daring, and Realistic

· If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice…) :: Bobby. You are without a doubt the biggest pain in my ass, second only to Shane and Daryl. You are the most generous, kind, loyal person I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. You’re also one of the most stubborn. A word of advice might be you think too much. You plan and you organize and you get shit done. I get it. But sometimes, you’re a little too extra. Learn what it’s like to be a girl. Let your hair down more. Unscrew the dick sometimes. It’s fun being a girl. And I know that you know that but you’re too afraid to lose control because you think if you do you’ll lose everything good you ever had. And I know it’s because you don’t think you deserve all the good you have received over the years. You’re beauty. You’re grace. You’re the kind of person I wish I could be sometimes; but you need to be a little less afraid of what you could lose and more willing to risk it all. A man in my life asked me once if a moment of happiness was worth a lifetime of anything else. And the answer is yes.

#ic #about Bobby #• you got some beach ball sized lady nuts on you • { bobby monroe }#character development

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the-prince-and-the-thief · 5 years ago

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Come at me with the lore, fam, after making my own overly complicated fanfic for almost more than a decade with its own magic system nothing surprises me

//OH BOY YOU’RE IN FOR A TREAT

I’m putting it under a cut to save your dash.

TW: A lot of stuff. Rape, sexual abuse, abortion, murder... just... just prepare for the worst.

//Okay, so, Blazblue AU.

Key characters here are: Kagura Mutsuki, Ragna the Bloodedge, Celica A. Mercury, my OC Riku Akasaka, and of course Ren and Goro.

First off, in the BB world, there is a one-world government police state that’s currently been having a bunch of in-fighting and schisms since... forever. They had a civil war (the good guys in this fight lost 8( ), and Kagura has been trying to fix shit for uh... a long time. He’s got the true heir to the throne (Homura Amanohosaka, I think? Their name is long.)

This is an alternate canon where Kokonoe decided to bring her dead aunt back to life like, 3 games early. So it diverges during Calamity Trigger, or The Only Game I Understood (tm). Celica has this power to absorb seithr, or magic energy that can also kill you. The main villain’s body is kind of MADE of seithr. The main villain, Terumi, had a plan to merge with his host and make himself unkillable by linking his life to Noel Vermillion’s. But because Celica decided to show up and cling to Ragna, plans did not go through, but the time loop didn’t restart. Ragna’s plans are at a standstill as well, and he gets attached to Celica, and... it’s complicated.

To sum up Ragna’s story super quick because it’s side information-- He falls for Celica, they have twins, Ragna realizes that his soul-eating grimoire could kill said kids, gets Jubei to cut it off of him, and they live mostly happily for a while until Celica starts dying of seithr poisoning. Then Terumi decides to finally pay back for having his plans ruined, kills Celica, burns Ragna’s house down AGAIN (you know, for extra trauma), and kidnaps one of his kids. The other had a power like her mother so she didn’t get taken because being near her made Terumi sick. Ragna nearly died in all of this, spent years trying to make a decent life for his daughter, got arrested, and then after basically making prison hell for everyone else with his anger and violence, was basically given a plea deal by Kagura of “Look my dude, get on my side in this government coup I’m doing and we’ll basically give you your daughter back, a job, and a steady income. We cool bro?” Aaaand by the time Akechi is around he’s a parent with 7 kids, 2 who are the same age as Akechi and grew up being his friends.

Kagura is the part where it gets relevant to Akechi. Kagura hears about this scandal with the Fumizuki family (long story short Shido is a Fumizuki in this case because it’s a Duodecim family they haven’t used yet, and it means “month of erudition” so I figured a focus on intelligence above all else would be fitting...) involving a bastard kid whos mom just died. Now the whole family is looking to basically throw this kid as far away from them as possible.

Kagura, at this point, is a walking scandal magnet and has stopped giving a fuck. He married a woman literally nobody in his family liked, started a government coup, gave Ragna the Bloodedge the sweetheart deal of a lifetime and more. His wife is my character Riku, who uh...

Goddamnit, another character break. You see why I said this would take a year and a half? XD Anyway, Riku. Riku is one of the last Japanese people in this setting. Japan got magic nuked in Blazblue, to put it bluntly. A giant world-ending monster decided to appear there first. Japan is *still* not inhabitable centuries later. The Japanese people are very few and far between, and Riku’s family is one of the last families that can boast a 100% Japanese heritage. Y’know. Except for Riku. Because her mom went and married an outsider without her family’s permission. Her mom doesn’t give a single solitary fuck what others think and does what she wants. So she’s actually only half Japanese, and her family treats her and her older brother like shit for it. They’re basically only cared about if they’re “useful”. Her brother went into the military academy to basically gain info for the family (they like to hoarde grimoires as well so the NOL and the Akasaka family kind of hate each other), but he “mysteriously went MIA”. I.e. was violently murdered and had his grimoire stolen. Riku went to the academy after to figure out what happened to her beloved onii-chan. It... did not go well for her. TW sexual abuse- she was raped in her freshman year, ended up pregnant, and when she went home in her third trimester, the head of her family forced her into an abortion that caused serious damage. They cut her hair off and basically sent her back to school traumatized and miserable. And now everyone in school treats her like a whore. She decides fuck it, if they’re gonna treat her like that, she’s going to use being a “whore” to her advantage. She slept her way to status, and, using her own special abilities, gathered a bunch of blackmail on literally everyone in the NOL. Nobody can mess with her, but she also has no one she can rely on.

She was initially trying to use Kagura as well (trying to get put in intelligence so she could ruin the people who made her life hell), but Kagura noticed she didn’t actually seem to enjoy sex. He helped her get surgery to correct the damage done to her (he only convinced her to go along with this by saying it was for his own benefit. She did not trust him. He said basically he wanted to be the first person to make her enjoy sex.) She eventually began to open up to him and trust him when she realized they were very much alike. They both were isolated from their families for not following tradition, both had many enemies, and both genuinely wanted to destroy the government around them and create a better world. She joined him in the whole government coup thing, using her intelligence-gathering skills. They’re newlyweds when Akechi is a kiddo.

Understandably, considering all of this, Riku doesn’t really want kids... the trauma of it all is a bit too raw. So Kagura wasn’t really planning to adopt him? He figured he’d give him temporary housing, then send him off to Ragna. Ragna would gladly adopt the kid after all. But he and Riku found out they were very attached to this sad little kid who didn’t understand why everyone looked down on him. Riku, in particular, could relate to his problems.

So Akechi gets a nice, (mostly) stable family! He meets Ren in middle school. Ren outed a pedo teacher that was very well-liked by most of the students and staff, getting him fired and arrested. So, he was something of an outcast. Akechi, upon hearing this, decides that Ren is a hero. (And Ren p much instantly had a crush on him after that). The two grow up as childhood friends. They’re pretty inseparable. Ren doesn’t really like being at home with his family (they’re very much the type that says nothing to avoid being a target for potential assassination. The NOL has been legit very dangerous their entire lives, after all. So their outspoken, determined child causes them no shortage of headaches), so he’s always hanging out at Akechi’s place.

You can probably guess that, actually knowing Akechi’s life story, Ren *actually* assaulted Shido when he saw the dude trying to assault another woman. He was genuinely enraged and just kinda lost it. >>; Thankfully connections save Ren. Kagura basically goes “Ok so enjoy going to the military academy as a reform school. Also you need someone to keep an eye on you. ....My son can do that.” Really... he just wanted Ren to look out for his son.

See, Akechi in this verse is still very concerned with status? He feels that he owes it to his mother and father to live up to his family name, because they’ve done so much for him. He wants to be accepted by the Duodecim as a whole. Riku and Kagura tried their very best to keep him the hell away from all of that political bullshit, but the kid decided to go into the military anyway. He’s not physically the strongest, and he’s pretty naive and childish, deep down. His parents are pretty damned sure that Goro will be eaten alive if left on his own there. (The military academy is, for the record, it’s own massive city. So they wouldn’t exactly be able to keep an eye on him.) So, Renren gets asked to protect his friend.

They also get chosen by two grimoires while there. These are the Rebel’s Grimoire and the Hero’s Grimoire. Grimoires are basically... to put it bluntly, training wheels for magic. Most people suck at magic by nature. Hell, most people don’t even USE grimoires. They use the even bigger training wheels that are Ars Magus. Grimoires usually specialize in a particular ability. They have their own rules, conditions for use, and often choose their hosts. People fuse with their grimoires over time. If the two become completely synchronized it’s called a Remix Heart. (This is the only important lore information from Remix Heart btw, I saved you from reading a crappy fanservice manga, you’re welcome.)

The Hero’s Grimoire picks a host with a strong sense of justice. The Rebel’s Grimoire picks a host with a very rebellious spirit. The catch is, they always pick their hosts at the same time, and the hosts are always very connected souls, two sides of the same coin. The Rebel’s grimoire also likes to do this *wonderful* thing where it latches on your face and only accepts you if you rip it off. If you don’t, it kills you! Fun times. Goro turned around to look at Ren when this happened, and the Hero’s Grimoire embedded itself into his spine. (Ren’s looks like a pair of glasses when not in use, Akechi’s looks like a crow tattoo with a weird growth between his shoulder blades.)

The two grimoires are sentient and talk to their owners while giving them similar but contrasting powers. Ren can use his Third Eye ability from the games, destroy barriers, teleport through shadows, and has very little presence-- almost nobody notices him around unless he’s pointed out or makes himself known. Goro has the same third eye ability, can create barriers/obstructions, can obscure his movements in bright light (either dazzling people or simply teleporting in light), and has a glamour that attracts others to him. (Ren uses this to basically cling to Akechi at all times while nobody notices him. He loves it. Akechi hates it, because PLEASE STOP HITTING ON ME I HAVE A BOYFRIEND HE’S RIGHT. HERE. )

The phantom thieves also still exist in this AU! They have a different MO but similar intents and goals. Basically, they steal back what the NOL has taken from others. Or, if said thing can’t be replaced (like, say, innocence, trust, etc) then they’ll take what they consider a karmic equivalent (status, power, etc). It actually all started because Ren wanted to get Riku’s grimoire back (Akechi was still vERY upset that the government had it, how dare they do that to his family). So Akechi is on the team from the beginning. Whether he wants to be or not.

There’s a lot more but this is just the basics... @_@ I told ya it was a lot.

#ooc #honestly i'm scratching the surface here #Masked Shadow

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neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years ago

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619: "Running Wild! Invincible General Franky!"

Pirate King, eh?

You know what? I’m almost apprehensive to leave Punk Hazard behind.

It was such a fun arc and ticked lots of my personal boxes (Caesar is absolutely awful and a treasure of a villain, I have decided). This apprehension is only because I don’t know what’s coming next. Judging by the plot threads Oda has set up so far, it’s fingers crossed I’ll enjoy Dressrosa as much as Punk Hazard.

This episode seemed to be split in two: the fond farewell to the arc and looking forward to the next. In one particular scene, both merged very effectively.

And Now, We Wait.

The Strawhats waiting for Usopp, Chopper and Brook was definitely a tying up of loose ends. The final piece of the puzzle of Punk Hazard is complete. Now, they only need to escape.

I love this shot. While the others were clambering onto Law’s truck, desperate to escape the lab caving in about them, Luffy and the other Strawhats calmly sat facing the door, unwilling to give up hope until all hope was lost. Because Luffy waited, they all stood by him and did the same. ;_;

The Strawhats definitely have Usopp to thank for guiding Chopper and Brook to safety. “50 meters to go! The Gate is closing. Slide in!” The gas really was gaining at that point but Brook kept everyone’s spirits up. “It’s only over when you give up.”

Chopper, Mocha and the G5 guys burst through first, followed by a very narrow scrape through by Brook and (frozen) Kinemon! Luffy was relieved. You could see the sweat beads on his forehead. But he never gave up hope and his faith in his crew paid off. (But it always helps to have someone like Usopp around, so credit where it is due.)

Another clue that the Strawhats might actually capture Caesar is that Usopp retrieved the cuffs from the Minions. They were so grateful for what Usopp had done for them that they fought to hand over their cuffs.

The only slightly bad thing was that Brook accidentally let slip that Kinemon had been caught by the gas right in front of his kid.

Don’t think Momonosuke will be happy his dad is dead.

Is he dead, though? The other minions and G5 guys were left behind but why would Brook bother to bring Kinemon, if he couldn’t be revived? Unless it’ll be an honourable samurai funeral situation... ;_;

Actual Knife Energy

Meanwhile, outside at the Sunny, the Mega Mecha Air Battle between Franky and the Baby 5/Buffalo team was definitely looking to the future (specifically, the future battles and rivalries between Doflamingo and the Strawhat pirates).

As Baby 5 and Buffalo retreated from Franky’s firestorm of laser bullets, they hovered at a safe distance and had a “wtf is that?” moment. An old kung-fu movie style sequence of increasing close ups followed (I laughed). Then, without warning, Franky unleashed a General Left.

Baby 5 and Buffalo were sent reeling again. It was interesting they recognised Franky’s “pacifista” weapons straight away, and that they briefly considered Franky was one of Caesar’s inventions before realising Caesar has no interest in “human” weapons. I guess Caesar’s more a biochem kind of guy.

Well, whatever Franky was, Baby 5 said, if it wanted a fight...

She fired a ton of bullets in Franky’s general direction and thought she’d got him until the smoke cleared and a flash of glowing yellow cyborg eyes said, “Nope. Not even close.”

Then Franky injected a bit of humour into the firefight. Dat General Shield that was way too small. Dat Boomerang! xD

His dumb delaying tactics annoyed Baby 5 into changing form. Now, I am guessing Baby 5 and Buffalo have eaten those types of fruits that let you transform into objects (kind of the opposite of Funkfreed). Would those be Zoan fruits, or something else?

At any rate, their teamwork is pretty good. Buffalo knows how to support Baby 5 and set up her attacks. She transformed into a blade first (Espada Girl), then a missile (Missile Girl). It’s just a shame they’re up against Franky because he is armed to the teeth. Literally. Like, I would not be surprised if Franky has weaponised his teeth.

What probably threw Baby 5 and Buffalo was when they accused Franky of not letting them recover Caesar. Buffalo reminded Baby 5 that Doflamingo said “immediately” regarding Caesar’s recovery. (That itself is interesting. It shows Doflamingo’s orders are not to be defied.) Baby 5 transformed into a missile and yelled, “We’ll take Caesar with us!” and Franky was like, “Wtf are you talking about Caesar?”

I had an “uh oh” moment. Franky just wants to defend Sunny. Baby 5 and Buffalo want to recover Caesar. There is a tiny danger that all three will have a chat and agree to let everyone get what they want with no further conflict. Then Caesar will have escaped. Franky knows what Caesar did to the Strawhats, so I don’t think it’ll happen. But there is always a chance!

And speaking of Caesar...

The Centre of Alllllll the Trouble

I wonder if this guy knows just how much trouble he’s caused? I wonder if he knows his knowledge alone can turn the OPverse upside down? That Doflamingo sent two members of his team to retrieve him and was willing to sacrifice Monet and Vergo to do so makes it blindingly obvious.

Considering how egotistical Caesar is, he probably knows fine well and absolutely loves it.

Well, I say that. As of 619, he has no idea Doflamingo has sent anyone to rescue him. He’s currently flat out and convinced he’s going to die.

But, Caesar cannot stop being Caesar. He felt about in his coat pockets, found Smoker’s heart in a box and decided to enact some scorched earth, nuclear revenge. I mean, if he’s gonna die, right?

The scary thing about Caesar is the sheer glee he feels whenever he does something awful. “I’ll take Smoker to hell with me!” he whispered. “It’s a shame I can’t watch him die. He’ll open his eyes, vomit blood and suffocate in no time. I’m excited just imagining it!”

Okay, Caesar. You do you.

He’s also the kind of guy who keeps shanks on his person. Holding it above the heart, he grinned and said, “It’ll cause fear and panic in all those he’s with.”

That’s Caesar in a nutshell. He develops biochem weapons. He’s a serial killer. He loves causing fear and panic. Punk Hazard really was a paradise for him and he manipulated everyone else around him into believing it too.

I don’t think Smoker will die. Mostly because Law is around and he might be able to fix any heart-stabbin’ antics with his Room Plus Medical Powers.

Still, I wonder what will be next for Caesar? If he goes back to Doflamingo, it’ll be business as usual, I guess. If Luffy and Law succeed... what the hell will they do with him? Luffy hates him. Will Law take him on?

I have no idea. It could go any way, really. I suppose it depends on how devoted Caesar is to Doflamingo. Whether Caesar is willing to go down with Doflamingo (I’m assuming this’ll happen because Doflamingo is a villain and Whole Cake Island comes after Dressrosa.)

RIP, Monet and Vergo

This sequence of scenes was very cool. Lots of beautiful art too. The most interesting thing here was Monet and Vergo’s devotion to Doflamingo. That they were willing to die to help accomplish his goals. Doflamingo must either have some hellish power, hellish charisma or a hellish combination of both.

The action briefly cut to Dressrosa, where Doflamingo was taking a call from Monet. He couldn’t believe she was alive. (Neither could I. How she recovered from being halved is still a mystery.) She told him Vergo had been beaten. Caesar too. Doflamingo said not to worry. Baby 5 and Buffalo had been sent to retrieve Caesar.

Notice the lack of “and also retrieve you and Vergo.” Monet did notice... and she was fine with it.

“Oh, that’s good to hear,” she said.

Doflamingo apologised. “It’s all because of my misjudgement. I feel bad for you all but I want to make sure to wipe out all those squirts now.”

Translated: I feel bad that you and Vergo are gonna die but I need this thing done.

He wanted Monet to push Caesar’s Big Red Button, the Big Damned Bomb that was also responsible for leveling Punk Hazard. “With just the push of a button, there will be only one survivor on that island and that is Caesar.”

Jeez. That’s harsh. He just straight up told her.

“You don’t have to say anything, Joker,” Monet answered. “I was just going to do that, anyway. I’m right in front of the triggering device. The explosion will ruin the tanker. You’re gonna lose a tanker. Is that okay?”

“I need you to perish along with everything else.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

What the actual? Monet, this is your LIFE and you are worried about this guy’s TANKER? Doflamingo has crazy control over these people. The scariest thing is that it is not just fear. These people admire him as much as the Strawhats admire Luffy.

And the weirdest thing? Doflamingo seems to want to claim the Pirate King title.

That’s only Monet’s word, but why would she lie about something like that?

I always thought Doflamingo was dismissive about all the Old/New Era stuff. Now I’m wondering what his deal is.

Doflamingo at least had the grace to call Vergo for one last chat. Vergo was still in bits strung along the railing (it’s kinda gruesome, when you think about it.) He apologised to Vergo, said he had known him for the longest time and thanked him for all his work. Vergo smiled (in fractions). Like Monet, he was totally fine about dying, as long as Doflamingo said the right words.

Then, just before the island went KABOOM, Toei inserted a quick series of flashbacks. The G5 guys who sacrificed themselves with the thumbs up, the kids, the minions, Vergo, Monet, all the Strawhats, Law, Smoker, Tashigi, even Doflamingo perched on his window seat in Dressrosa pinching the bridge of his nose like, “Gawd this was a disaster...”

Now I think about it, it really was. Punk Hazard was a proper death-fest. Caesar gleefully murdered minions left, right and centre, he experimented on kids and nuked an entire island. Doflamingo is asking people to die for him. G5s sacrificed themselves. Though no one on the level of Whitebeard and Ace died, a lot of people bit the big one on Punk Hazard and it was worse in a way because at least in Marineford, they were all fighting for something. In Punk Hazard, people just died because Caesar/Doflamingo’s business.

Everyone’s fighting to survive right now.

Except Luffy. He’s riding a truck through a rapidly collapsing tunnel.

That’s his idea of a great day out.

Bye, Punk Hazard! It’s been an absolute pleasure.

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lycorogue · 6 years ago

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So I FINALLY watched Oblivio... and I have thoughts....

First of all.... just... EEEEEEEEEEEE! I mean, I know that the whole episode was basically voided out by the end because of the Miraculous Ladybugs, but still.... EEEEEEEE

Also... this ended up getting pretty long, and I don’t like flooding people’s dashes with long posts if I can help it. The TL;DR version is that I love the caliber of writing used in this episode, and I hope the writers keep up with this standard. Yes, people may be salty because it’s a tease, and the events basically null out at the end, and the reason for Oblivio to be akumatized is kind of lame, especially considering it’s DJWifi, but all-in-all, this was by far one of my favorite episodes of the series.

For all of my thoughts and reasons why I loved this episode, check below the break.

Marinette is so badass in this episode, and I love how much it showcases her strategic mind. Adrien was determined to kill me before the episode was through. Plagg is a bit of a self-centered coward, but he’s also further proving why he’s my favorite. Tikki has some of the most agency showcased all series. DJWifi is terrifyingly adorable. The comradery of the class is so heart-warming. Finally, amnesia episodes are fun “what if” scenarios if done well, and I think this one was.

“Looks like you and I were at the same costume party.” “We must shop at the same jewelry store!” Adrien, sweety, honey, darling, you are just too precious! XD

Marinette again calling Tikki a “bug mouse” and Adrien again calling Plagg a “genie” was beautiful! <3 I love the call-back! I also love how Marinette again cowered with a very “WTF” mindset, while Adrien once more cupped Plagg in his hands; perfectly calm and excited to see the kwamis. <3 <3 <3

So, I get it that the “phone -> turtle” drawing was supposed to mean “Call Fu”, but did anyone else get that it was also a nod to who Oblivio was? Alya being the phone and Nino also being the turtle.

I LOOOOVE the unity of DJWifi, even if it was a joint-akuma. It just shows how in sync they are. Plus, even their banter was equally true regardless of who said it, such as “You remember your BFF, Oblivio, don’t you?” I mean, I know they don’t realize how true that statement is, because they don’t know who LB and CN are, but... still... perfect.

“I’m not convinced this monster is really our best friend.” XD Adrien... Adrien stop. Please stop. Holy crap, stop! XDDDD

The fact that Adrien, without any memories, is still an instinctive protector... I <3 this kid so much!

Adrien bowing when he “meets” Marinette, and her return curtsy was just too cute. I love these dorks! And I love how we get to see how they would actually be around each other if they just got out of their own way. I mean, that blush when their hands touch as they both try to lock the bathroom stall? Precious. The way Adrien was BEAMING as he complimented Marinette as being “someone who always has the right idea at the right time.” Adorable. How Adrien moved to help Marinette out of the air duct just as she leaps out, and she topples him, and they both jump back in mild embarrassment after snuggling on the floor for a second or two? Magical!

Plagg justifying everything he does around the Camembert! XD He likes to make sure he’s my favorite character, doesn’t he?

Marinette, sweety, how is it NOW is when you come up with the idea of breathing on Adrien’s phone to figure out how to unlock it? Where was that ingenuity back during Copycat? XDDD

Can we talk about the fact that Adrien has his bodyguard listed in his phone as simply “G.” ???? XDDDD Holy crap, you guys! Also... going back to the episode Copycat, we know Adrien had Gabriel listed as “Father” (technically, it was “Pere”)... sooooo, did Adrien downgrade his father? Did he become so disconnected that he changed the listing to “Gabriel Agreste”? Also.... no one else has their last name listed, so why is he using his FATHER’S last name in the listing? To be fair, Marinette doesn’t have her parents listed as “Mom” and “Dad/Papa” either. So maybe they learned to put their parents’ names into their phone in case someone else has to call them during an emergency? I know that’s why my own mother is listed by her name with ICE after it (In Case of Emergency).

While it was strongly implied with episodes like Anansi, I love that this episode confirmed that Adrien and Marinette did indeed exchange phone numbers since Copycat. <3

The call-back to the ML anime PV being a canonical feature-length film about the duo was fantastic, and the fact that Marinette recognized the costumes and was able to piece together instantly that it’s her and Adrien was brilliant!

The fact that Marinette having a glamour shot of Adrien as her phone backdrop, and Adrien having dozens of pictures of Ladybug in his phone gallery had them believe they’re dating is hilarious! Like, seriously, kiddos! Also.... why didn’t they find it weird that Adrien ONLY had pictures of Ladybug and NOT Marinette? A bit odd if they’re dating, no? (Alternatively, you could argue the same about Marinette not having CN photos, but you could write that off as her not wanting to accidentally reveal that her boyfriend is a superhero...)

“Then we must have told each other everything. I couldn’t hide my identity from the girl I love.” Adrien, you are going to kill me. You are attempting to murder me. Why? WHYYYYYYYY!?!??!?! Also, it’s adorable that you already figured out again that you love her. I mean... <3 <3 <3 Also also.... coming on a BIT strong there, Romeo! You JUST figured out “you’re dating” and you drop the L-word on poor Marinette? If she could remember that moment she would also die.

Just.... just Adrien’s beaming pride that he gets to be around Marinette this whole episode, and all of his soft looks. The kid may lay it on a bit thick, but holy crow, if she didn’t realize her love for him like Adrien did for her, HOW COULD SHE NOT FALL FOR HIM AGAIN DURING THIS EPISODE!? Like, geeeeeeez!

I love how Marinette had her normal “Ladybug Vision” shots to figure out the phone decoy, but the items just didn’t light up in the traditional red and black spots since she was out of costume. Instead, they were gray with pink dots, to match her coat! Beautiful! Brilliant! This further confirms that this is just Marinette being brilliant instead of a side-effect of the super powers. (Yes, she used the “LB Vision” when her powers were nullified in Sandboy, but still... further and definitive proof)

Also... the jackass picture drawn on the post-it note! Savage!

GUYS! ADRIEN HAD “LB Vision” TOO! He had “Adrien Vision”! AND IT WAS AMAZING!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Okay... Adrien’s cardboard box Chat Noir costume!? How friggen precious was that!? And the fact that he EVEN MADE A FRIGGEN TAIL AND BELL!? How extra can this boy be!? If/when I have a child, I hope to god they’re just like Adrien! <3 You precious, over-the-top, nerd of a child!

Speaking of his cardboard costume.... HOW QUICKLY DID HE THROW THAT COSTUME TOGETHER!? LIKE, WHAT!?!?!?! Granted, no one actually adheres to proper 5-minute countdown timing in this show, considering LB zipped away from the building nearly SEVEN minutes after accidentally triggering her Lucky Charm, and she HAD to have taken at least a minute to run up to the roof in the first place, but still.... HOW THE HELL DID HE COVER HIMSELF IN TAPE, CUT OUT CAT EARS, DRAW ON THE FRIGGEN POCKETS AND CENTER ZIPPER TO DECORATE THE DAMN THING, MAKE A FRIGGEN TAIL AND PAPER-BALL BELL, PUT THE COSTUME ON, AND MAKE IT TO THE ROOF IN TIME TO SAVE LB? That was like... 15 seconds of screen time!

Backtracking to the “Marinette Vision” solution to avoid Oblivio until they figured out how to transform again, how brilliant was Marinette to give Tikki the mug? First of all, she could create that coffee trail, secondly, since Tikki was holding something she’d have to remain tangible while opening the door to the floor below. This, in particular, seemed quite a brilliant move, since Tikki accidentally phased through the elevator doors before. It is quite possible that either (a) Tikki doesn’t remember how to remain solid when pushing against something, (b) Marinette doesn’t realize Tikki can control it, or (c) a happy combination of both. Regardless of WHY Marinette did it, the fact that she trusted that Tikki holding an object would HAVE to keep her tangible, and therefore could press the lever to open the door, was so clever! A+

“Thanks, but I don’t feel like a superhero at all.” “You’ve already proven that you are one, with or without costume.” Adrien, you precious, darling child! <3

THERE ARE FRIGGEN EMERGENCY USERS GUIDES!? LIKE, WHAT!? Okay, that was a bit Deus ex Machina, but it works...

Marinette’s freak-out over the accidental activation of her Lucky Charm was fantastic!

MARINETTE, YOU IDIOT, YOU MISSED HIS LIPS AGAIN! WHAT IS IT WITH YOU KISSING HIS LEFT CHEEK INSTEAD!?!?!?! (Also, how great would it have been if that somehow jogged his memory by reminding him of Mari kissing him at the end of Mayura?)

I LOVE THAT SHE’S HAVING FUN BEING A SUPERHERO THIS TIME! She was so timid and unsure of herself in Origins, it’s fantastic to see this confident girl (thanks in part to Adrien) trying out her powers for “the first time” and having fun with them!

Plagg being utterly confused as to what’s happening to him as Adrien calls out “Plagg, Claws Out!” is amazing and beautiful and makes me love Plagg even more! Poor dear! <3

Adrien still calling Marinette “M’lady” simply because he was trying to cover up accidentally calling her by her actual name. So great!

“Okay, I’ve got no idea what the Hakuna Matata is, but I trust you.” Adrien! Stooooooop! I’m dying!!!!!!

Guys! Guys! Guys! People can be merged together to create an akumatized villain!!!! I know I touched upon this above when I mentioned how in sync DJWifi were, but this is amazing! I wouldn’t have thought as much, especially since Alya’s twin sisters, arguing over ONE item, were EACH turned into a Sapotis, and they couldn’t have been more unified. Alya’s twin sisters basically have Hive Mind. So the fact that they were EACH a copy of the akumatized supervillain sharing the same akumatized object, and yet DJWifi MERGED.... like... I could write a whole post just talking about THAT!

THE KISSSSSSSSS! THE FRIGGEN LADYNOIR KISS! AND THERE WAS NO “BREAKING A SPELL” ELEMENT, AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. AND THEIR HANDS SLOWLY TIGHTENING AS THEY KISSED; NOT WANTING TO LET GO OF THE OTHER. AND THE KISS WAS LIKE 15 SECONDS LONG! IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT AND WONDERFUL AND THE FACT THAT ALYA IMMORTALIZED IT MADE THIS WHOLE EPISODE WORTH WHILE, AND EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

Alya: “Uh, Ladybug? Cat Noir?” CN (unblinking that DJWifi are alone with them on the roof): “Guys! You haven’t seen a supervillain named Oblivio, have you?” Nino: “You’ve defeated it already, dude.” Alya: “Actually, he was... us.” LB & CN (in unison and completely accepting of that fact): “Oh. Okay. Pound it? Pound it!” These dorks!

THE LOOK ON LADYNOIR’S FACES WHEN THEY SAW ALYA’S PICTURE!!!!!! <3 <3 <3

Alya: “Remember when we visited Montparnasse Tower?” Oh.... you mean the tower YOU GUYS ARE STILL VISITING!? Nooooo.... >_> They don’t remember it at all. Thanks, Oblivio.... -_-

Okay, can we talk about the reason DJWifi became Oblivio? Because... WHAT!? First of all, they are on a field trip and decided to sneak off to a walk-in closet to.... play a game on one of their tablets? Seriously? And they were caught just before they kissed.... I mean, I know it’s a children’s show, and we saw a flashback still of them playing the game, but are we SUUUUUURE they weren’t about to play “Seven Minutes in Heaven” in there????? Secondly, Nino says “You guys make fun of us for playing that game, saying it wasn’t our age and all.” But then a bunch of kids in their class confess to either playing it or wanting to start playing it. Including Mylene, who tells them “everyone loves that game.” Sooooooo.... two things here: (1) were they REALLY being made fun of for playing that game like Nino claimed, and (2) why was Gentle Giant Ivan part of the flashback shot of classmates laughing at the discovered couple? He doesn’t seem to be the one to tease and bully, plus his girlfriend likes the game. Since it’s established as a great game for couples because you have to find “the right partner” (and Rose backs this idea up by saying she plays with Juleka), it’s a decent guess that Ivan plays with Mylene. So.... what is going on with Nino’s recollection of what happened???? Third, it doesn’t seem like them to sneak off from the class simply to play a game... again, I’m thinking more was going on there (get on that, other fanfic writers). Finally, they got jointly akumatized because they were embarrassed that their classmates found out they play a “kid’s game”? Really? REALLY!? Nino and Alya were each akumatized for much more devastating reasons originally. Do they really care THAT MUCH!? I call foul on this akumatization, as much as I love the rest of the episode.

Adrien finally showcases more of his EQUAL FOOTING with Marinette (ya know, as a partner; not a sidekick), by leading her to the bathroom in the first place, coming up with them trying to signal for help from an empty office suite, coming up with the plan of creating the diversion so they could sneak out using the emergency stairs, helping LB figure out that her Lucky Charms are just HINTS at how to stop the akuma, and making sure his identity is hidden via his cardboard box costume so Ladybug wasn’t fighting alone. Basically, if he stopped using his time to either try to woo ML or protect her like a shield, he could prove himself as more than just a “sidekick-like” superhero. He could truly be more of a partner. He has potential he hasn’t tapped into, or potential Marinette hasn’t allowed him to utilize due to CN “screwing around” a lot of the time. Heck, even in the footage of them getting hit, he clearly joked about them being a couple again.

Marinette: “I can’t believe it! I. Actually. Kissed. Cat. Noir! How could this have happened?” Tikki: “Who knows? Maybe you still have some things to learn about him.” Tikki, you sly bitch! XD You know full well that CN and Adrien are the same guy! I love you, even when you infuriate me. XDDDD

Adrien moping for all of 3seconds about LB “finally falling in love” with him, only for him to forget the experience, and her forgetting her feelings. Plagg’s mocking about how unlucky he is (because I love snarky Plagg). And finally, Adrien, the silver-lining sunshine boy that he is, noting that he now has hope. If she could fall for him once, she could possibly do so again. These kids are going to kill me.

I love this episode sooooooooo much! We got to see so much potential in this episode. We got hints of so many new factors to this universe. And there is a sort of souvenir of the episode, so it isn’t ENTIRELY for nothing. (I can’t wait for some sort of call-back to that kiss!) For me, a fanfic writer, this episode is GREAT for fodder. I can use it as a reference point of how these two morons would act if they just got over their nerves and acted as a true couple. <3

9/10!

#ML #Miraculous Ladybug #ML season 3 #Oblivio #My thoughts #LycoRogue thoughts #ML spoilers #Miraculous Ladybug spoilers #ML season 3 spoilers #Oblivio spoilers #LycoRogue original

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atopearth · 6 years ago

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Shall We Date? Ninja Shadow Part 7 - Kagura Route

Can see why everyone is surprised that Kagura will be watching over the heroine since he changes into a completely different person when he’s fighting. Most of the time, Kagura is very nice though. Let’s see how he came to be like this… Aww Kagura caught her when she fell off her ladder or whatever, I love how instead of the usual cliche where they would notice how close they are and immediately get off each other, Kagura instead tells her that’s it’s okay and she can take her time (getting off him) just in case she’s still hurt or shocked I guess lol. He’s considerate! Wow though, does Kagura take care of the whole Meiko Salon himself in terms of customer service, bookkeeping, ordering stuff etc?! Does he even sleep..?

It’s difficult for Kagura to warn the heroine about how crazy he gets when he takes off his eye patch, so I really felt that the other guys should have warned her, I mean it’s a sudden change and that Kagura even said that her being backup for Kagura meant having to stop him from going on a rampage once he changes, so I think the heroine should have been prepared about that. Especially since that Kagura nearly killed her. It felt kinda terrible to see Kagura go back to normal and blame himself for having done such a thing to the heroine though… Nice of the heroine to offer Kagura her lap so he can sleep better😊 Hmm so some kind of mission nearly broke Kagura mentally and that’s what brought about his second personality “Homura” who now takes care of all the killing and violent things that the normal Kagura can’t, so really, Homura is there to protect Kagura’s fragile heart that can’t take all that. I’m so glad the heroine scolded him for giving his life away so easily when Suetsugu wanted to kill them for being rude, Kagura needs to learn to treasure himself more! I’m so glad she stopped him before Kagura killed himself because he felt like he deserved to die since he can’t keep Homura at bay anymore and he thinks that he’s done too many bad things to ever be forgiven. I don’t know what Kagura is talking about, but just as the heroine said, she was already so torn over her brother’s death, she definitely doesn’t want to see others she cares about die ever again. Also, she’s right, Homura is just protecting Kagura, he may be a bit crazy and eccentric but that doesn’t mean he is a bad “person”.

It’s difficult to see Kagura and Homura changing between each other haphazardly since it shows how unstable Kagura is, does that mean Kagura destroyed Wakasa’s village or something? Homura is actually kinda amusing though, he’s very laidback but definitely genuinely cares for Kagura. It’s hard for the heroine to refute Homura on how they should be living to atone rather than yearning for death when her brother was killed by Suetsugu and she’ll never forgive Suetsugu for that. As someone who destroyed a whole village, how could Kagura bear the burden of all those lives and how it had tormented Wakasa to this day? How could Wakasa ever forgive him, whatever the reason was? It seems that Wakasa is more okay with it than I thought as long as he gets to know why. I guess that makes it even harder for Kagura to take it.

Not surprised that Homura waving around the dagger trying to hurt the heroine eventually made them realise she’s a woman when they slashed open her kimono, luckily Makoto came in time to protect her, but now Kagura is confined to his room. At least the heroine visits him every day giving him food and a daily update on what’s going on, maybe he’ll calm down a bit more and understand the heroine’s feelings better this way. She would never want to hurt Kagura. So, he was a part of the legion of ninja sent to destroy Wakasa’s village and he was one of the key ninjas… Glad Makoto picked him up when he was dying on the road, but I guess we should be glad for Homura’s existence because at that time Kagura told Makoto and them to kill him, so he was planning to leave him but when Kagura’s different coloured eye had tears and his hand clung to Makoto’s coat, how could he not save Kagura? I just never realised that Kagura went through rehabilitation and mostly worked at the Meiko Salon, he didn’t join the vigilante until just a bit before the heroine joined.

So, Wakasa was the first that went into a frenzy and killed Kagura’s subordinates slowly and cruelly with his drugs. Who wouldn’t if they had to see their village being destroyed? And the reason why Kagura was so injured that he needed Makoto to save him was because the Iga Ninjas ( Kagura’s clan) were fighting over the reward money and killed each other over it. Kagura didn’t want to be a part of it since he doesn’t care about money but they wouldn’t let him leave, and so Kagura ended up being the only survivor. I’m kinda disappointed that the heroine plans to go along with Toru in order to receive medicine from him that will merge Kagura and Homura. It’s not that I don’t understand her concern considering how unstable they are, but I feel like merging them would be cruel to both. They’re independent personalities that care for each other now…

It’s nice that Homura told the heroine of Kagura’s feelings but I guess that only made her resolve more firm to getting the medicine…not that I approve. Well, I’m not surprised that Toru gave the heroine to Willem to sell her as a test subject for medicine, I’m just kinda surprised that the heroine is shocked when they’re obviously not good people.. She could have escaped if they weren’t on a ship :( Luckily she acted so suspiciously in front of Kagura, it would be surprising if they didn’t follow and chase after her lol. Glad Wakasa and them knew to come along too! I’m glad Kagura could finally face Wakasa and sort things out, it’s impossible to forgive it, but considering the burden and guilt Kagura bore all these years and with Makoto asking Wakasa to forgive Kagura as well, things ended up fine.

It’s kinda funny to see Homura tease Kagura since he’s like teasing himself about him liking the heroine, especially when Homura tries to move closer to the heroine but Kagura gets so embarrassed about it hahaha. It felt really heartwarming to see them kiss tbh, just because it felt like they had to go through so many things to get to this point and I guess, the heroine really opened him up and saved him! XD Although it felt pretty anticlimactic in terms of how everything resolved, but I think it kinda shows that what’s important isn’t how it’s resolved or even whether it can be resolved, but instead the fact that you face the problem and try to resolve it. Facing it is the hardest part and it took Kagura many years to do that since he always tried to escape from it with death, with the existence of Homura and by hiding himself. It was especially great to see Kagura truly smile with such happiness!

It was so funny when Suetsugu’s assassination went well and Kagura went to Makoto apologising for the trouble he had caused, and so he said Kagura’s punishment would be increased workload at the Meiko Salon, and lmao that Kagura was grateful for the punishment whereas Homura was shocked that they had to do even more work hahaha. Otherwise though, it was pretty cool to see both Kagura and Homura interchangeably fight with their particular strengths. Hahaha omg when Kagura said he only takes off his eye patch and looks at his prey with both his eyes and the heroine thought he was going to punish her hahaha. It’s so cute how Kagura and Homura are so honest with their feelings now, so honest to the point that it’s too much since he does it in front of all the guys too hahahah.

Hahahah I love how Homura and Kagura are arguing about whose number one to the heroine and flirting with her in front of Makoto’s room😂 It’s nice to see Wakasa and Kagura hope to become friends from now on. Anyway, I quite liked this route, it’s not my favourite but I think it was very interesting to see the overlap with Ninja Assassin and have Wakasa be quite an integral part of the story. I just finished Wakasa’s route recently so I feel like Kagura’s route helped to round things up better with the background to Wakasa’s village. Considering the split personality, it was natural that it would be the main focus of the route but I also feel like there wasn’t enough romantic moments for me to think that they matched together. However, I do like how cute it is that both Kagura and Homura are so attached to the heroine lol.

#ninja shadow

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bards-witcher · 6 years ago

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I couldn’t leave you all hanging after the last one so here you go. It’ll probably be a few days before I post the next part as I’m pretty sure my body is screaming at me to take a break XD

As always hope you enjoy :D

Part 1, 2, 3, 4

It’s just before sunrise when he leaves the roof, not having heard a single thing except the birds in the trees and the occasional car. Once again he manoeuvred his way through the streets, not even thinking about where he was going, instead trusting that his legs would take him where he needed to be.

After Luke had vanished and the cold stone of the roof had made his legs numb he returned to his bag, hugging it tight to try and derive any sort of comfort as he forced himself to relive the worst moment of his life. No matter how many times he played it through, no matter how painful it was he could only see one thing and it involved blood splattered glass and the man who was larger than life crumple to the floor.

He’s not sure what ‘Luke’ had meant last night, or why his mind was suddenly creating cryptic messages, the sound of a car horn brought him back to attention though. He went to gesture a sorry to the driver when he noticed who it was, Marcel and Scotty. As with Tyler they simply stared at each, as if trying to feel the other out, when in a split-second Ryan made a dash for it, hopping over a parked car as he darted down the pavement.

He could hear the car following behind him as he dipped through an alley, emerging and taking off in the other direction as they passed by him. He heard them turning, not looking back he kept sprinting as he made his way to the local park. He could hear gunfire behind him, quickly ducking his head in an attempt to shield it but not slowing down.

When he reached the park, the front gate was locked, being before dawn meant that it was closed to keep people out during the night. He leapt as he got close to the gate, making it about halfway up before climbing the rest. A brief look behind him showed that another car had joined Marcel and Scotty’s, it was in front of theirs and he could see Marcel hanging out the passenger window and shooting at it.

He didn’t have time to question why as he saw a gun emerge from the other car that was aimed towards him. He barely managed to scramble and fall to the other side of the gate before shots were being fired. He turned left, heading towards the small amount of tree cover as the first car crashed through the gate, swiftly followed by Scotty and Marcel. They managed to steer the front of their car into the others rear end, turning the car away from him. He didn’t look much longer; the sounds of gunfire tore through the quiet of morning as he climbed over the fence surrounding the park before he carried on running.

He came across a subway station, jumping over the railing and just about managing to land on the stairs before finishing the descent. He walked through the opened gate, sitting down on the nearest bench as he caught his breath.

If he didn’t know any better he’d say that Scotty and Marcel had saved him from who he assumed were a couple of goons from G’s gang sent to kill him. Yes, they’d saved him, but they had found him first, probably eager instead to get rid of the competition before taking him down. It was eerily quiet in the station, almost too quiet for his liking but he strangely felt at ease, he didn’t feel that twinge of dread he normally did when danger was around.

It wasn’t long before a train pulled up, he didn’t know where it went, hell he didn’t even know where he was going, he just collapsed into the nearest chair and felt all the energy drain out of him. He closed his eyes for a moment, just enjoying the peace at that moment, the gentle swaying of the carriage almost sending him to sleep before he heard a voice beside him that sent ice through his veins.

“So, figure it out yet?”

Ryan opened his eyes to see ‘Luke’ sitting casually beside him, a playful smile on his face.

“I’m really not in the mood for this right now so can you just say what you’re gonna say and go, I’ve got enough shit to deal with right now” He turned to face the man beside him noticing how his face turned into a playful pout.

“I thought you liked talkin’ to me” Ryan couldn’t help but scoff, yes he did like talking with Luke, but this Luke was nothing more than a poor carbon copy compared to the real thing. “How about I give you another hint then?”

As sarcastically as he could he replied “Go on then”

“Mind over body”

Ryan’s brows furrowed in confusion, he turned to ask ‘Luke’ what the hell he was talking about, but he was gone. Ryan stared in the space he had been sitting not a second ago before he rubbed his eyes in an attempt to clear his mind.

He got off the train at the next stop, he could see the sky starting to lighten up as he left the station on what looked to be the other side of town, a quick glance around him showed that apart from the odd early morning commuter, he was alone.

He carried on walking till he reached the edge of town, ducking under the nearby bridge to try and get what little sleep he could.

He was standing over the rooftops watching the sunset, although he was more out in the open up here, not many had the skills to get up and manoeuvre across the uneven roofs where he now stood. In the distance, he could barely make out the small warehouse where he used to live, where he knew the members of BBS would be in. He wished he could go to them, yes they were a gang, but they were also his friends, his friends who he missed a bit more each day, the only people to know what Luke’s’ death truly meant to him.

He kept watch of it until it faded into shadow at the dying sun, and even then he still watched, wondering if he’d ever return there.

He sat on the edge of the roof, legs dangling over the edge as he thought back to Lukes’ words, still having no idea what was meant by mind over body. Just as he thought it, he felt a presence beside him, and sure enough, a cold hand clasped over his own.

“It’s pretty up here ain’t it?”

Ryan simply hummed, still looking out at the hub of life before him, watching the lights start to light up the town.

“You’re so smart you know that?” Ryan could only turn to ‘Luke’ in confusion, wondering where the hell that had come from. “When you were working for G I had some of the guys tailing you for weeks and you never knew. Now though, you always know when something ain’t quite right and it’s because of that wonderful, beautiful mind you got”

Ryan wasn’t too sure how to answer that, could only keep staring at the man in front of him, waiting for him to continue. They kept staring at each other, ‘Luke’ appeared to be waiting for him to say something and when nothing came he sighed, grabbing one of Ryans’ legs and lifting it over the edge so that they were facing one another and straddling the edge.

Cold hands clasped his face and as much as he wanted to pull away, to push the other man away and tell him never to come back he simply couldn’t, Luke had always been his weakness and he decided this time he would indulge.

“When you were with G you had no control of your body right, only your mind” Ryan simply nodded, closing his eyes as he let himself be comforted by the thumbs now rubbing his cheeks. “Well your eyes are a part of your body aren’t they, meanin’ maybe they were somewhat obscured.”

Ryan opened his eyes at this, staring into Lukes dark brown eyes as he thought over those last few words.

“But your mind saw everythin’, even if you don’t remember, you just need to think”

Thoughts were passing through his mind a mile a minute, but no matter how hard he tried to imagine something else happen, he only saw Lukes’ death.

“How ‘bout this then, you didn’t seem surprised when I said I had guys tailing you for weeks, that’s because deep down you knew. Your mind will remember, you just need to think Ryan”

Ryan closed his eyes again, thinking through some of the last few memories he had of when he was little more than a machine.

He remembered entering a warehouse where they were going to be given weapons for a raid on another gang. At first, he saw nothing, simply replaying the same scene over and over again, however, despite seeing nothing new he couldn’t help but feel a small niggle in his mind that something should be there. It was the next time he replayed the scene that his eye caught sight of a figure across the street as he entered the warehouse, it was Kryoz, hood up in the shadows as he watched Ryan slip through the door.

Then the scenery changed, he was with the two henchmen who he’d killed a couple days prior, they were supposed to get some money from a guy who owed them, a man who one of the henchmen later killed because he couldn’t cough up the money. They’d met him at some run-down bar where they later paid the manager to take the guy out back to deal with. As before, the scene played over in his mind, he tried to see some of the patrons, but their faces just seemed to blur and merge together, and no matter how hard he thought the scene wouldn’t change.

‘Luke’ seemed to sense his distress, moving his hands to his shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze, their coolness sending a shiver down Ryan’s spine.

The scene started again, he walked in and looked to the left, except this time he saw Brock and Brian sitting at a booth, drinks in hand whilst their heads were low in deep discussion. When he looked to the bar he saw Tyler sitting there, hunched over as he nursed his drink. As the scenario played out, he noticed Tyler cast his eyes on him every now and then, watching him. Finally, as they dragged the guy through the back door he looked back, seeing Brian somewhat restrain Tyler in the corner of his eye until he passed through the door.

Next, he was back on the rooftop, gun in hand as he waited for Lukes’ car to pull up. The scene plays out, he remembers trying to fight tooth and nail to knock his aim but still, the bullet was shot, and Luke collapsed.

He’s not sure how many times the scene played out, doesn’t even know he’d started crying until Lukes’ cold hand returned to his face, thumbs wiping them away. The next thing he felt cold lips touch his forehead “You can do this Ry, you’re almost there” he then felt ‘Luke’ pull him close, almost as if he was acting like his shield before once again the scene started.

He was fighting just as aggressively before, but he still feels his finger pull the trigger, watches the bullet chase its target. Only this time there seemed to be a delay, he saw the bullet break through the window, but it was a split second later he saw blood, and before he turned away he swears he sees Lukes’ hand twitch, almost as if he quickly grabbed something that was on the floor beside him.

Ryan quickly opened his eyes, taking in a deep breath as if it’s his first one in weeks, his heart pumping a mile a minute in his chest. He notices that ‘Luke’ is no longer in front of him, instead, he was standing a bit further along the roof, smiling softly at Ryan.

Ryan hopped off of the edge and ran towards ‘Luke’ almost bouncing from excitement, he was breathless, the sudden realisation that somehow Luke was alive being all he could comprehend.

“You’re alive, no, Luke’s alive, he faked his death didn’t he”

“You did good, also helped that you missed your shot”

“What?” He’d expected some sage advice his mind could conjure up, not some sort of insult.

Luke simply smiled at him, raising his hands to once again cup Ryans’ face. “For the first time in your life you missed, and I couldn’t be happier or more proud about it”

Ryan could only stare at the man before him, confused about the entire situation until he truly felt the hands on his face, felt their warmth seep into his skin and drive away the cold that had made its home there. He kept staring into Lukes’ eyes as he raised his hands to grasp Lukes’ wrists, they were warm and more importantly he felt a pulse, it was strong against his fingertips, leaving little doubt about the man that was in front of him.

“Luke?” His voice cracked, hating how he sounded like a lost little child as he once again felt tears start to fall down his face.

Luke gave him a soft smile, he noticed the tears falling down his face as the grip on his face got tighter as if Luke couldn’t believe he was there either.

“Hey Ry”

They crashed together, arms curling tight around the other as if no force on earth could tear them apart, faces pressed into the other's neck as tears streamed down their faces. All they could do was hold onto each other, the thought running through both their heads that they were safe and they were home.

#ohmtoonz #ohmwrecker #cartoonz #gang au #see I said things would get better #and they can only go up #kinda

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littlemissgeek8 · 6 years ago

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Okay I just wanted to say I love your dnd art like so much!! It’s amazing!!! If you don’t mind me asking, can you summarize what you’ve done in your campaign with Jemima Appleblossom so far? She’s so cute and I would literally die for your PC

Aww!! Thanks! It’s always a joy to run into people who likemy characters! :3 I can totally give you a summary of our campaign thoughunfortunately it is 30 episodes atthe time of writing, with 31 going up later today, and I was unable to shrinkit to a reasonable size. I’ll put it under a cut to save on people’s dashspace, and I’ll also put links here for the youtube playlists in case there’sanyone who’d like to watch it instead of just reading about it. XD And for anyone interested in the series, this recap will catch you up in time for today’s episode to go out!

For those not wanting to read through all 8,930 words ofthis, TL;DR: “Ragtag group of adventurers get pulled into another world wherethey find themselves rubbing elbows with gods, fighting monsters, makingfriends, reviving demigods and unwittingly unleashing some massively dangerousthings onto the planet. In between accidentally dying a few times.”

[Ghostwolf] [EscoNitz] [CriticalHat]

Well, we started off in Parnast, sent by our individualfactions to investigate a missing wizard. My halfling bard Jemima is a Harper,same as our other bard, the human Gineye. Our other party members included Lei,the Tortle Paladin, Zuradar the Tiefling ranger, Lilystra the half-orcbarbarian and Zareem, the Aasimar warlock (who works for the Zhentarim, theonly other faction I remember.) On our way to find the missing wizard, we raninto a bunch of Kobolds who attacked us, but one Kobold --with distinctivewooden legs and one arm-- was trapped inside a cart by his own people and gaveus some assistance. When we finally found the wizard he was in the process ofsummoning something that turned out to be a Water Weird, which subsequently atethe whole party, ending the first session.

We woke up a week later inside an infirmary, which we soondiscovered was in an underwater city—the water weird didn’t just eat us, ittransported us basically to another dimension far away from Faerun. Seeing usas adventurers, one of the triton soldiers from the town we woke up in took us upto the surface to the port town of Audio Bay. (I might be spelling it wrong,sorry, I don’t have good notes this far back.) There, a dwarven merchant namedJonah gave us a quest to track down some missing gear that was stolen from him,a quest which lead us to a well with a Zhentarim symbol on it (surprisingly,since none of our factions exist in this dimension) and inside said well, weencountered a “dungeon” of a dubious nature filled with hobgoblins and bugbearsin leather armor and chain shirts. (Yes it was a kink dungeon, no I don’t wantto remember much about it. XD) After thoroughly stomping everyone involved, aminiscule orc calling himself “Bob” entered the room, shouting at us forhurting his people (whom he then revived with no effort at all.) We told him ofour mission and he agreed to let us take the stolen weapons back, along withgifting us a mysterious box filled with magic coins and a magical shield to ourpaladin. It wasn’t until later that we discovered that “Bob” was actually thegod of slaughter, not until after Zareem managed to roll a natural 100 and hithim with an eldritch blast.

As we left the dungeon, we were greeted by a pack of strangelooking wolves and a tall, blond man in a black coat who asked us to give himthe weapons we’d retrieved. He wouldn’t accept “no” for an answer, nor did wehave much time to try convincing him that we’d been assigned to collect thembefore our hair-trigger warlock decided to cast Charm Person on this newcomer.Unfortunately, the man was carrying a Staff of Charming and nullified the spellbefore it could affect him, before wildshaping into an earth elemental andproceeding to do his best to squash us. It wasn’t until Zareem and Zuradarmanaged to capture one of the “wolves” who turned out to be another druid thatthe man relented, changing back and calling off his friends. He admitted hisactions were hasty and together we traveled back to Jonah’s store with thestolen weapons, where it was revealed that the weapons were a special orderfrom the druid himself, Edan. In return for the weapons, Edan financed someupgrades for our group through the organization he works for (including a sweetring for Jemima which changes her vicious mockery from a d4 to a d6.)

The next day saw Edan taking us to an open air market on thedocks to shop around for supplies, before taking us to a tavern and treating usto lunch. (It was a pretty low-key session though there was a lot ofnon-story-important horseplay.) At the tavern we ran into the druids we’dfought the day before as well as a familiar face: Hanzi, the Kobold with thewooden limbs. While we ate, Edan mentioned that the druids, Hanzi and himselfwere all from Faerun originally and offered to let us join the organizationthey were working with when they went back to their base at the end of themonth. Shortly afterwards (after Jemima spent some time performing for thetavern patrons) Edan left the tavern, citing a “call” from his celestial parent(which Jemima immediately recognized, due to her own bardic master having beenan Aasimar as well.) Before they could pursue, the party was given a quest toinvestigate something in the tavern’s cellar, which turned out to be a wholeton of giant spiders (and a lot of screaming from Jemima) as well as a mimicwhich had taken the place of a box intended for Jonah.

As we returned to Jonah’s shop with his shipment, a heavystorm had started rolling in off the ocean, and after checking in with Jonah(and asking him if anyone would have been trying to kill him by sending him amimic) we headed out to the courtyard to find Edan standing by a scorched areawhere several lightning strikes had taken place. One of the lightning strikesleft behind a glowing orb that turned into a box which he quickly pocketed andrefused to tell us what it was, but we learned some troubling information aboutthe how though the portal we’d come through was a common occurrence, somethinghad interfered with it and kept his organization from closing it on time. Afterthings nearly came to blows between him, Zareem, Zuradar and Gineye, we allheaded off to prepare for whatever the next day would bring and eventuallysleep.

The next day was stormy again, but we set out with Edan anda few others to the docks, hoping to stave off whatever horrible thing wasapproaching the town from the portal in the ocean. Almost immediately, Edanflew off towards a monster out in the ocean, leaving us to deal with a largenumber of minor water elementals who did a good deal of damage before welearned we could destroy them by damaging the summoning circles they came from.Meanwhile, Gineye (with his Special Eyes) noticed “Bob” and several cloakedfigures watching the proceedings from the air nearby. As we defeated theelementals, a massive bolt of lighting shot from the storm over the ocean,right into the monster Edan was fighting, killing it and throwing Edan’slifeless body onto the docks nearby. Jemima tried in vain to use Healing Wordto revive him, only to be shut down by someone sending her a clear mentalmessage that she was wasting her time. Soon afterwards we found ourselvesfacing the same Wizard we’d been sent to find, who had merged himself with thewater weird. The battle was short and fairly one-sided as we all charged himbefore he could do much, eventually leading him to attack Lei one-on-one.Nobody’s entirely sure what happened but the wizard disappeared and Lei learnedhe could shoot a beam of radiant energy from his mouth.

That concluded, the realization of what happened to Edan hithome as a few of us tried to go over to him, only to be stopped by two of thecloaked figures Gineye had seen. One, a massive bugbear went to solemnlycollect the body, while the other (a skeletal form we couldn’t see well) tooksome glowing orb from Edan’s head before leaving. We’d managed to save thecity, but we’d lost a friend in the process. The next week was spent helpingthe city rebuild from the attack, though for Jemima it was a week of privatemourning and a grim realization that the fairy tale heroics she’d dreamed ofwere only a fantasy in the face of harsh reality. Then, we were called in toJonah’s again, only to find “Bob” sitting there, along with a large box and thedruids we’d met earlier. He gave us a mission we couldn’t really reject—travelwith Jonah and the druids to take the mysterious box to a town calledSylvenstand, checking in with a few towns along the way. When asked why hechose our group to do this, he admitted that we’d been specially requested, orrather Jemima had been requested for this job and it followed that everyoneelse would come too. In addition, Jemima was given three gifts—the owl-headedStaff of Charming that Edan had used, his bag of holding, and Bob’s holy symbolon her wrist as a sign of protection. And so, the group set off cross-countryto Sylvenstand in an enchanted cart with a box they weren’t allowed to touch(or let anyone else touch either, save for one contact they were told to meet.)

Their first destination was Flatol, where they were sent toinvestigate some reports of some strange goings on. This lead the party toinvestigate a crypt, one decorated with symbols and writing praising Orcus, andinside we found the necromancer that we’d been sent to find who almostimmediately trapped us into seeing our worst fears, but before anyone couldreally dwell on them, the Necromancer himself was murdered by the thingconjured up by Hanzi’s fear: a terrifying shadowy cleric. The battle thatensued was brutal, with us trying to defend against the cleric’s powerfulattacks or healing each other as best we could, but in the end the nightmarecleric was defeated. However, the cost of fighting him turned out to be Lei’slife, for the killing blow on the cleric sent our unconscious paladin into hisfinal death saves (Thanks, Zareem for not moving your Shatter spell somewhereelse.) However, instead of outright dying, a glow surrounded him, bringing himback but without his hard shell and with a much longer tail. The coins we’dreceived from “Bob” on our first meeting with him had each bonded with one ofus and this was the first time they’d revealed their powers: saving the bearerfrom death but bringing them back with a change or two.

We ushered our now semi-naked Tortle back to the cart andprepared to move on (though not until after a horrifying lunch in which ourTiefling nearly petrified several people with some of the dishes he’d made and did actually petrify himself for a shorttime.) Then, we moved on to Glens, the next town on our journey. TheNecromancer we’d run into had gone to Flatol from Glens and we were informedthat another necromancer had been in town as well, along with a frighteningbounty hunter who was hunting him down. Our search for clues turned up little,but as we all went to meet up in the town square, a huge hulking barbarianleaped down into our midst, wielding a massive axe. We weren’t much of a matchfor him, until Lei managed to grapple him, giving Gineye a chance to use a boltof petrification he’d picked up earlier. The Barbarian failed his save hard,turning to stone before our eyes, but as Gineye removed his hood, a familiarface stared back—Edan’s, thoughframed by dark hair instead of blond. Needless to say, Jemima didn’t take itwell, and we carefully moved the petrified man back to the cart to be restored.Before we left, however, the axe the barbarian had been using decided to attachitself to Gineye, revealing itself to be not only cursed but sentient as well.

A cleric who was currently traveling with us managed torestore the barbarian, and a conversation later revealed that he was not, infact, Edan. He introduced himself as Ivan the Lucky, a bounty hunter who hadbeen chasing down the necromancers we had run into, and he’d been working longenough to have a solid reputation, so the chances of him being Edan withamnesia or something was extremely low. However, we couldn’t let him leave asone of the jobs in our contracts was to investigate the grisly murders in Glensand there was a good likelihood he was involved somehow. So, with Ivan in towwe headed off to the next town, Crance, which was currently embroiled in arebellion of some kind. However, we had to stop there to meet up with acontact, and since we weren’t given a description of the contact we had tocross our fingers and hope we found him. A couple of men in a tavern claimed tobe the people we were looking for and agreed to come back to the wagon inexchange for some help with a situation they were in. It was only after givingthem the information we had and letting them inspect the box (which thankfullythey didn’t tamper with) that we found out they were not, in fact, our contact,but a mysterious half-orc in town might be. They were with the resistanceagainst the tyrannical government in the area and they directed us to a guardshack where the half-orc and some of their own people were being held.

Our group headed over there and found the guards to besurprisingly easy to defeat, and in the cells were a group of heavily injuredresistance fighters and one massive, angry owlbear. The half-orc however wasnowhere to be seen, until we headed to a room in the back. There, we found himstanding over the corpse of the head guard, pulling a knife out of thestill-warm body. The distinctive red teardrop tattoo on his face marked him asthe person we were searching for, since it matched the mark Jemima had receivedfrom “Bob” at the start of our quest. The half-orc, Grug, followed us back tothe cart to properly inspect the box and pay us for the tasks we’d alreadycompleted, but took an immediate dislike to the currently sleeping Ivan. Heexplained that Ivan was Edan’s Alternate—somewhat but not quite the same personborn in another dimension, though many differences in environment and home lifecan lead to wildly different characteristics, jobs and lives. He then warned usto keep Ivan away from the box, stating that it was dangerous to have himaround when Edan was in such a “weakened state.” Yet again, Jemima freaked out,demanding to know what he meant by that before Zareem completely stopped theconversation by boasting about how Bob approved of him b/c Zareem had managedto hit him. In a fit of rage, Grug dragged Ivan’s sleeping body away andunleashed a bunch of monsters on us, since pissing off a paladin by boastingthat you’d hit his god is probably the worst idea ever.

Once the monsters were defeated we raced outside after Grugand Ivan, finding Ivan yet again possessed by Gineye’s axe as he’d been thefirst time we fought him. After getting the axe back from Ivan (which sent thelarge barbarian back to sleep) we turned our attention to Grug and the animatedswords he was currently attacking our cart with. A few near deaths later, ourfight was interrupted by Grug vanishing and “Bob” appearing in his place,demanding to know what was going on. Thankfully we were in our rights to defendourselves and “Bob” admitted that Grug was overzealous and a huge problem forhim, but he was obligated to keep the half-orc around due to Grug’s familyconnections. Still, Bob fixed our wagon for us and decided to travel with us toSylvenstand, stating that he couldn’t just teleport there due to the nature ofthe place. A few days of travel later, we reached the woods surroundingSylvenstand, a dark frightening forest that seemed to twist and move around,confusing travelers who dared venture into it.

Which is when we ran into the dinosaurs. About halfway intothe forest we were stopped by a dead end and a voice demanding to know why wewere there. When we explained our mission, the voice told us we could only passafter it had “tested our mettle” upon which an allosaurus and a swarm ofdeinonychus showed up. The battle was surprisingly long, made worse by thearrows being shot from an unknown source deep in the woods. However, thedinosaurs eventually backed down, but not until after Jemima heard a veryfamiliar male voice saying the phrase “You can do better” before their woundswere healed. The fight over, we trooped back inside the cart, following theAllosaurus (named Sharp) to the secret town of Sylvenstand.

When we arrived, Jonah took the mysterious box away, whileour group accompanied by “Bob” went to a building built into the massive treein the center of town. Before we could turn in our quest, we checked in with aman at the front desk by the name of Eldon. It was he who finally explainedwhat exactly it was we had been transporting all this time—Edan’s body,magically preserved and warded to prevent decay so that a reviving ritual couldbe performed once his soul was reclaimed. Then, we were ushered upstairs intothe massive tree to an enormous room where a humanoid figure seemingly made ofwood or possibly completely encased in wooden armor sat. Seeing as it wastechnically her quest, Jemima was chosen to speak for the party, turning in theletter they were sent with as well as being given a bag of coin to be dividedamongst the team later. Lei’s divine sense however, picked up the massive amounts of divine energy comingfrom the figure in front of them, as well as noticing the oak leaf symbol onthe man’s chest. Though the contract said we’d been sent to report in to a mannamed Tay’rados, there was little question that the true originator of thequest was none other than Silvanus, the god of nature and druids himself.

After some impromptu shopping at a small bazaar in town, weheaded off to the temple district to meet with one Captain Taylor who wassupposed to be able to help Zareem with a mysterious mark he bore on his chest.Captain Taylor agreed to help on the condition that we spar with him, anexperience none of us were quite prepared for, as he turned out to be anextremely high-level paladin who was pulling his punches. Midway through thefight, having taken a decent amount of damage, Taylor grabbed Jemima beforereaching an arm into her bag of holding, coming up with a purple coin that she’dnever seen before (she’d been getting small trinkets including a bag of dragonbone from Edan’s bag over time, but never seen that coin in all her searching.)Again, Edan’s voice chimed in with the phrase “You can do better” as Taylor’swounds began to heal. In an almost uncharacteristic display of kindness, Zareemhelped her get the coin back and to keep Taylor from taking it again, Jemimadropped it down the front of her shirt with a glare. Then, taking the staff ofcharming she’d inherited from Edan, she stormed over and slapped him deadbetween the eyes, shouting at him “How dareyou touch my things?” only for Taylor to shout back “How dare you take mybrother’s things?” When the fight finally ended, she confronted him about thosewords, discovering that Taylor (who is, in fact, the real Tay’rados and thenext in line to take over for Silvanus) wasn’t kidding about Edan being hisbrother, and the coin he’d taken was an Ioun stone that Edan had obtainedduring one of his many travels. The voice she’d been hearing was simply theHealing Word spell he’d kept inside it being activated.

After our sparring match ended, Tay invited us to join himat the local tavern for drinks to celebrate Edan’s approaching revival, thoughnot before we returned to the large tree building to answer a few questionsabout the wizard we’d fought back in Audio Bay. That was where, after the armorthe wizard had worn attached itself to Lei, that the wizard hadn’t justdisappeared that day, he’d been stowing along in Lei’s brain the whole timewithout anyone knowing. He hasn’t shown his hand yet, but the eventual effectsof this are unknown. Then we trooped off to the tavern, Lei and Zareemintending to party and have a good time, Zuradar and Gineye picking a fightwith a time-manipulating satyr who’d magic’d away some of our gear earlier (wegot it back thankfully) and Jemima meeting a nice man who gave her a book oncreating a Guard Drake from dragonscale (which she conveniently had thanks tothe bag of bones and scales in Edan’s bag of holding.) The party lasted allnight, though most were passed out before it got too late, particularly Zuradarwho was the first out after he failed to seduce an elf lady two times in a rowand left to drink until he couldn’t remember anything.

The next few days were less eventful, mostly everyone havinga bit of downtime and resting up, preparing for the next phase of the revivaloperation: retrieving Edan’s soul from wherever it had ended up. The owlbearthat we’d encountered in Crance had been put into a crystal by Grug fortransport, and thanks to Eldon, it was healed (though it had to be magicallyde-aged to save it) and given to Zuradar as a companion under the name Pip.When the time came for the expedition to set out, Jemima made sure our team wasinvited, since she desperately wanted to be able to save Edan. The expeditionwould leave Sylvenstand through a portal that had been set up over the last fewdays, though the endpoint was unknown until the portal was actually opened,bringing with it a group of dimensional “police” who wanted to know why we hadopened a portal onto a plane known as “Lunacy.” Tay seemed visibly distressedat the mention of that location, but in the end we were permitted to pass,providing he didn’t come with us (astipulation he didn’t challenge at all.) Armed with a glass jar with a locatingspell cast on it, we headed off into Lunacy.

The jar lead us through marshy woods until we came upon ascene of grisly carnage. Two hags had been torn apart along with a shambling moundor two, and as we approached we saw the one who had caused such destruction: acreature seemingly formed of wood with a featureless wooden mask. Immediatelythe jar Jemima was holding began to glow and vibrate, but just as quickly thecreature melted away into the ground, causing the jar to go dark again. Afterwe were set upon by another hag (and discovered that the damaged Weave on thisplane made casting spells a risky chance that often triggered wild magic tohappen) we continued on, the trail having been picked up again by the jar.After some walking we came upon a small tavern, the inside of which was emptysave for a lone barkeep in fancy eveningwear. He offered to give us informationor magic trinkets, and explained that the creature we had encountered, the“Beastmaster” was keeping him trapped. Our whole party was sure it was a trap,with the notable exception of Zareem, who made an agreement to smuggle a blackshard out of the plane in exchange for a magic sword and an axe.

Thoroughly disgusted at our companion, we continued on untilwe came to another clearing. As Zareem dashed across the grass towards a gate,the ground turned into more shambling mounds which proceeded to attack theparty. Midway through the fight, a large bear with a wooden mask lumbered in,attacking the mounds with us. However, once the mounds were destroyed, the bearturned towards us instead. Jemima had already put together that the jarresponding to both the Beastmaster (whose mask looked shockingly likeSilvanus’s) and the Bear (one of Edan’s common wildshape forms) were somehowconnected to Edan’s soul and she was reluctant to fight until being remindedthat druids change back from their wildshape forms after losing all their HP.When the bear finally fell, it morphed back into Edan, before dissolving intodust with a cry of distress, causing part of the jar to light up. This spurredthe party forward, towards the next location. There they ran across Eldonagain, who had followed them into the plane. He was badly wounded butsurrounded by corpses, including one giant spider wearing a wooden mask.Another piece of the jar lit up as Jemima approached it.

Then, Gineye managed to spot something across a nearbylake—on an island in the center, strapped to a cross-like structure, was Edan,or at least his soul. Coming from his body were five tendrils, two of whichwere rapidly dissolving. Using the teleportation that he had gotten from a wildmagic surge, Gineye teleported over to the island and summoned his axe, usingthe soul-collecting power of the axe to free Edan by having him slice off thetendrils. Edan’s soul disappeared, along with the fragments in the jar and theBeastmaster across the lake, but as soon as he’d done that, a massive shapeappeared in the distance. Sensing danger, Gineye returned, driving us all torun with Eldon in tow, back to the portal we’d come through.

The giant creature, which revealed itself to be a Terrasque,chased us all the way to the portal, eventually parking itself right on theother side of the portal but very much within striking range should we try toescape. Then, it revealed itself to be the same person Zareem had made a dealwith--the one who had marked him with the symbol of Vecna—itself an old andpowerful Primordial. It offered to let us pass as long as we kept the guardsbusy enough for it to escape, since the plane was rapidly dissolving around usas the weave unraveled. We agreed, while secretly planning to alert the guardsonce we were through, and escaped through the portal. The dimensional “police”were on hand to help, and drove back the massive claw that came through, butdespite our efforts, a tiny portion of the creature broke off and disappeared.Still, we had what we had journeyed for and after relinquishing the axe to Silvanus,so that he could extract the soul, we nervously awaited the revival itself. Wewere graciously allowed to be present for it, and the process went surprisinglysmoothly for all the trouble we put in. Upon waking up, groggy and disoriented,Edan asked for his bag which Jemima unquestioningly returned. However, insteadof keeping it, he simply took out the wooden box from the month prior andopened it, revealing a deactivated Void card from the Deck of Many Things. Witha glare he turned to Silvanus, telling his father to try harder the next timehe wanted to kill him before storming out of the room (just in time for Gineyeto return from searching the town for a saxophone in order to serenade Jemima’sreunion with the man she was clearly crushing on.) Gineye’s return lead to anembarrassment-fueled brawl, culminating with the party members involved (sansZuradar and Zareem who had left to talk to Jonah again) waking up the next dayin the infirmary.

When the party reunited in the tavern the next day theyfound out about a list of jobs open to them, now that they had been acceptedinto Mantle, the organization based in Sylvenstand. The party was very excitedover an upcoming tournament (though Jemima had her eyes more on the Bardcollege which nobody even looked at twice) but Gineye demanded they go to thecapitol city Paplus first, upon seeing not only the capture of the resistanceleader they’d encountered in Crance, but also a name he recognized—Lord Darius,a man he’d known before we first met up who seemed to be somehow connected tothe scars Gineye hides under a porcelain mask. As we geared up to go, we askedEdan if he wanted to come along, which he agreed to do, as he wanted to get asfar away from Sylvenstand and his family as possible.

The furthest we could travel by portal was to Paplus’sneighboring town StoneHelm, a two day’s walk from Paplus. Once the journey byportal was completed, Edan took his leave, stating he would be taking the jobat the Bards college there, though the party (save for a heartbroken Jemima)were too busy making plans for marching order and cooking arrangements to evennotice. A days walk later, they set up camp, dividing the nighttime watch intoshifts. During the second shift, after Jemima had bedded down for the night atthe end of her watch, a group of drow appeared, demanding Zuradar tell them thename of the halfling in the nearby bedroll, and at her last name ofAppleblossom the drow attacked, easily subduing the sleepy party and cartingthem off.

We awoke in darkness, with our arms and legs bound, with theexception of Zuradar who had been inadvertently untied by his owlbear Pip, andZareem who instead found himself in a nice room as if he’d been invited as aguest instead of kidnapped. It wasn’t long before the drow returned, removingtheir blindfolds and walking them out of their cells to a large central roomwhere they saw Jemima trussed up and suspended over a fire, and a hooded man atthe end of the room. The man demanded Gineye be brought forward and demandedhim to take off his mask or risk Jemima’s life. Grudgingly, Gineye complied andthe man removed his own hood, revealing the face of a man Gineye had worked withbefore during a similar rebellion back in Faerun, Tiberius. Like many of the peoplethey’d met, Tai had found his way to this world as well and joined the currentrebellion due to his own curiosity at how similar it was to the one in theirown world, even down to the blonde lady behaving shockingly like Gineye himselfhad done. A betrayal from within their ranks had gotten her caught by LordDarius’s forces, and the traitor in question happened to be the reason theywere captured in the first place—they were searching for a young halfling manwith the last name of Appleblossom who was known to use polymorph spells withthe aid of an enchanted broom. Alternates again, the party realized as theygrouped back up.

As we had found our way not only to Paplus but the rebellionwe were supposed to aid, we found ourselves tasked with helping them take downsome high-priority targets. Namely, we were sent to investigate a guard house(since trying to talk a gnomish inventor into helping us without copiousviolence was sadly not anywhere close to our forte.) Inside we found no guardsat all, but instead a massive iron golem guarding the place which we wereforced to fight after the attempts to bluff our way past it failed. With sometricky maneuvering (and a hand grenade), Gineye managed to deactivate the golemand we entered the captain’s office. Our suspicions were on high alert when theguard captain’s voice didn’t quite seem to match his body, but before theErinyes possessing him could do anything, Gineye petrified the captain with acrossbow bolt, then shattered the resulting stone form to prevent the Erinyesdoing more harm.

By the time we returned, the other team had safely securedthe inventor who was currently very clearly possessed himself. After a gooddeal of fooling around and failed attempts at exorcism using the Command spell,Lei realized that as a paladin, he could perform the exorcism himself. With theinventor finally free of possession, he demanded we shut down the factory thathad been making the golems and mechanical enforcers for Lord Darius, butinsisted that we not harm Darius when the time comes for he was in fact, a goodman. The revelation that the revenge Gineye sought would be deflected by yetanother Alternate did not go over well.

So, we set off towards the golem factory with Gineye leadingthe charge, revenge still smoldering behind his mask. When we arrived, thefactory seemed deserted, but when the guard dogs that came out of a few nearbykennels turned into hellhounds, and an ice devil dropped in from above, werealized we were in trouble. The battle, though brief, was tough, painful andlikely made worse by the absence of help from Zareem (who spent all of his timeattempting to get one of the hellhounds to trust him in an attempt to keep it.)Meanwhile, the ice devil managed to get inside the mental world Gineye used toconverse with the spirit of his axe and begin to corrupt it, leading to Gineyebeing unable to get back in. In a desperate bid to regain control, he demandedLei kill him, hoping that the soul trapping powers of the axe would give him aback door and a chance to find “Axey” again before his coin revived him. With aheavy heart, Lei and Zuradar complied, using their own weapons to kill theircompanion.

Gineye fell, then disappeared, reappearing shortly afterwardsacross the room, but something was very much different. Instead of the cheerymask he wore, there was a more sinister one with a jagged smile and a sinisterred glow from his eyes. As it had several times before, the axe had taken overGineye’s unconscious body, puppeteering it into using all of its abilities toattack his friends. Hoping to somehow break its control, Lei, Jemima andZuradar threw themselves into combat while Zareem continued to ignore the fightand attempted to gain favor with the hellhound in the corner. Even aftercalling for help, Zareem didn’t join the fight, stopping only to retrieve anice spear that had fallen from the ice devil’s body and throwing it into a furnace,completing the job of destroying the factory that they had been given.

Meanwhile, inside his head, Gineye was locked in a battlewith a being that resembled a corrupted version of the mostly benevolent spirtwho had helped him for the last several weeks. Assuming (probably correctly,though no confirmation has been given on this point) that this was in fact thepower source of the axe, built from the many slaughtered souls trapped insideit, and having corrupted the actual “Axey,” he sought to free her from thecorruption. A few times her consciousness seemed to flicker, as if his attemptswere getting through, but he was running out of ideas. In one last desperate move,he pulled her into a hug, and when that didn’t work, he used the power of theaxe to summon two spears, stabbing them both through her back and into his ownchest, aiming for the coin around his heart.

Back in the real world, the spear tips manifested out ofGineye’s body before they and he vanished again, leaving only the axe behind.The party barricaded the factory and then rested, worried about their friendbut too battered and tired to leave (save Zareem who had done basically nothingthe whole fight.) As they were ending their rest, a figure began to crawl outof the axe nearby, eventually solidifying into Gineye, though mysteriouslywearing the dress his spirit friend had worn. Naturally the team had questionsbut Gineye was evasive and wanted to move on, stopping only to shoo Jemima awayafter noticing that her poking his leg was causing no sensation of touch.

Their mission complete and their party gathered, theyventured forth to return to the rebellion’s hideout, only to find the doorwelded shut and a trail of blood leading them towards the other door and an unconsciousTai. Thankfully his injuries were minimal, but Tai’s story was grim: during thetime they were away, the hideout had been attacked by the robotic enforcersthat Lord Darius was using, but during that time they had made contact with adivination wizard by the name of Monty who was also a transplant from Faerun,one willing to aid them in their cause. Monty had given them a tip, telling thatthe leader of the rebellion was going to be publicly executed the next day, whichhappened to be only hours away now. Together they went to the town square, nowfitted with a gallows and a horde of people gathered to watch the execution.

Something was very much off, however, as the party hid amongthe crowd, waiting for their chance to strike. The man introduced as LordDarius was a far cry older than the man Gineye had known, and something feltvery wrong about the whole scenario. Those feelings were proven right whenGineye was attacked by one of the masked enforcers and the cloak was knockedoff of the “prisoner,” revealing yet another masked enforcer. The crowd ran asour heroes found themselves surrounded by more of the metallic men. Having dispatchedhis own attacker, Gineye used his axe to create a rope and swung over to thebox with the elderly Lord Darius, soon after followed by Lei using his ownmisty step ability to teleport over.

Inside the box, while the old man may have been recognizedas Lord Darius to the crowd, behind him, hidden from the audience, sat a muchyounger man with a stony expression on his face. The same Lord Darius who hadscarred Gineye’s face. Gineye readied one of the many small powder keg grenadeshe owned, but before he could exact his revenge, the two figures flanking theyounger Darius revealed themselves—one, an arch devil and the other, a demonlord. The demon quickly whisked Darius away, while the arch devil took off intothe city, leaving a swath of destruction in his wake. Before long, our heroesfound themselves in the midst of a holy war, with hordes of demonic forcespreviously hidden in the town, rising up to fight an onslaught of paladins, clerics,and other warriors blessed by divine forces.

Flanked by Zuradar, Gineye ran after the arch devil that hadfled from the observation box, but quickly ran into a group of paladins andclerics who were also pursing the same target. Two of the group, marked by thesymbol of the Raven Queen, immediately took offense at Gineye’s existence, callinghim a “filthy undead” as one attempted to smite him with a lightning bolt. AsGineye protested the inhumane treatment (while the gaping hole in his chestproved their accusations correct) a paladin marked with the symbol of “Bob,”the god of slaughter they had met previous, came over and uppercut the one who castthe lightning bolt (said storm cleric looking shockingly like Zareem.) Thepaladin of Bob revealed soon himself to be in fact Grug, released from thepunishment he had been given by Bob, who urged them to leave before somethingworse happened.

The older Lord had been retrieved from the observation boxby the time Gineye and Zareem returned, but as they returned so did the archdevilwho Gineye had failed to catch before. Introducing himself as Bael, he demandedthe old man be turned over. The party refused, attempting to stop him throughcombat, but their efforts proved futile as he simply walked over and took whathe wanted, before disappearing. Through the use of a haste spell and his own paladinskills, Lei was able to track Bael’s movement back to the Lord’s castle, but itwas decided that the party should rest before continuing on. After a short rest(in which Jemima hounded Gineye for a while in regards to his new undeadstatus, one he couldn’t really deny when the gaping hole in his chest magicallypatched itself up) they trooped off to the castle, preparing for a confrontation.

Lord Darius was inside when they entered, Gineye fullyprepared to take him down one-on-one, were it not for the young noble killinghis older counterpart in front of the bard. Remembering the request from thegnome earlier, Gineye used a new spell, revivify, to revive him before whiskingthe old man outside to protect him. Then, as he returned, finally ready for hisrevenge, that moment was stolen from him as a dark shape appeared behind theyoung Darius, taunting the party before snapping his neck and summoning shadowsto attack our heroes. After having fought them once thanks to Grug, the partyknew how to deal with these shadows and the fight was brief, but by the timethey finished the shadowy creature had left, leaving behind the empty husk thatwas once Gineye’s most hated foe.

Gineye was all set to use his magic to revive or preservethe body, but the arrival of a man through a dimensional door stopped him. Itwas Monty, the diviner they’d been told about, who was more than happy to usehis magic to prove that even if Gineye preserved the body, there was no soulleft to revive him. However, Monty was able to speed them along on their waytowards finding the rebellion’s missing leader, as he directed them towards a dungeonarea that his scrying couldn’t see into—which must be the place as he couldfind her nowhere else.

Inside the dungeon lay a maze of traps, pitfalls andsentient doors who kept their rooms locked with riddles. Inside the very last doorin the maze was a set of stairs leading down to a large room, where a strange,sinister ritual was taking place. A number of cultists surrounded summoning circles,two of whom were wreathed in flame, the one in the middle conjuring up a domeof solid darkness. As stealthily as they could, the party slid closer, Gineyemanaging to make it all the way to a door on one side of the room where he cameacross a terrifying sight: the same exact cell in which he had been tortured.

Unleashing the full power of the axe, he demolished the cultistsin a single hail of swords, which left the summoned fire elementals free toattack at will. Again, the fight was short, the most notable event was Jemimadoing her best to attack one of the elementals with the rapier she’d beencarrying all this time—while forgetting that without magical properties to it,the enchanted fire could easily melt it. Rest in peace, rapier, you were loved.Once the fires died down (literally) the team set about investigating the roomand the dome of darkness in the center of the room. Sadly, efforts to dispel itproved fruitless so the party turned their attention towards a mural on thewall, one depicting a multi-segmented circle, each with a crowned creature carvedinside. After close inspection—including noticing that one segment seemed todepict the same tarrasque they had unleashed upon the world previously—the partyguessed the mural was related somehow to the cult they had encountered, worshippingprimordials from the different planes (each of the elementals seemed to bedepicted, along with ones that looked celestial and infernal.) Finally, theygave one last attempt to dispel the dome, finally breaking the spell with awell-placed arrow, but instead of finding the leader inside as they’d hoped,all they saw was a shadowy creature who disappeared in seconds, followed by hermagical cloak which Zareem kept for himself.

As they went to leave, who should they run into but Grug andthe same paladins and clerics from before? Gineye, remembering their reaction tohim, attempted to hide in the stairwell, but the storm cleric (who still lookedshockingly like Zareem) detected him with his own divine sense. As the partyrushed to protect him, Zareem himself squared up, drawing his sword anddemanding that the paladin face him instead. It only took one single mightyblow from the paladin’s mace to instantly kill the already injured Zareem. Therepresentatives of the Raven Queen left, telling the group to keep “theirundead” on a leash, as everyone tried to figure out what to do now. It was thenGineye posed an idea: someone should let him borrow a 3rd levelspell slot. His words were cryptic, but nobody had any third level slots leftafter the long day they’d had, so Gineye lowered it to a second level slot. TentativelyJemima offered him one of her second level slots, and Gineye in responseplunged his hand into his own heart, pulling out an axe and handing it to her,fading into the axe as his mask appeared on her face. From inside her mind, heused her body and magic to cast a spell to preserve Zareem’s body, before the groupset about a much longer rest.

About halfway through their rest, Zareem revived, his coinhaving activated—giving him permanent wings and a new set of powers. Gineye leftJemima’s mind and reformed in the physical world, and after a bit of foolingaround with him trying to mind-hop into Pip the owlbear’s mind that ended withGineye accidentally killing (and immediately reviving) the poor creature, the teamdecided it was time to move on. The war had died down across Paplus, and theirmission was over though at great cost. After delivering the news of the outcometo Tai, the team set off in search of a Gnoll paladin of Silvanus who they weretold had a scroll for them

What they found instead was a mysterious bar—the same barthey had encountered in Lunacy, still run by the extremely shady feeling manwho just so happened to sometimes be the primordial of Earth. Zareem andZuradar both asked to see what goods he was peddling today, leading to Zareemgaining a +1 chain shirt and Zuradar acquiring himself a +2 bow (for only twoof his hit dice, a total “bargain!”). Meanwhile, Jemima found the gnoll seatedat a table and retrieved the scroll from him. The man let them leave afterthat, noticing how uncomfortable the other three were, but with a reminder thatthey could find him if they only looked for him.

Outside the shady bar (which had mysteriously vanishedagain) they discovered that the scroll was a teleportation sigil, but one thatthey weren’t capable of activating. One person however, was, and it took only asingle utterance of Monty’s name for him to appear through a tear in reality,casting the spell that would take them off to the tournament.

After the chaos of a holy war and a rebellion all in thespan of less than a week, the gang was happy to have a chance to settle down andrelax. Once in the tournament building, they had to sign up, either in solo matchesor groups of 2, which lead to Zareem and Zuradar becoming a group (fittinglynamed Heaven and Hell), Lei and Jemima teaming up (as Swords and Chords) andGineye going solo (under the name “The Entirety of France.”) Then, with an hourto prepare, the teams wandered the building, discovering their old friend Jonahhaving set up a merchants stall there. Jemima immediately informed him of theloss of her rapier, relinquishing the melted remains. In return, he gave her asword he’d fashioned from some of the dragon bones she’d given him, a rapierelegantly combining master swordcraft with the sublime beauty of the naturalworld.

Geared up once more, the matches began. Zareem and Zuradarfound themselves heavily outmatched by a pair of orcs. After Zareemaccidentally hit the younger (and far more badly damaged) of the two with acritical hit poison spray, inadvertently killing the orc, the older and moreexperienced orc proceeded to knock both of them out. Jemima and Lei’s roundwent much smoother, against a lizardfolk and a man in a strange leather dusterwho carried what could only be referred to as guns. Despite the strange man’sapparent prowess with his weapons, he managed to score only one hit on Jemimabefore he was knocked unconscious himself, and the Lizardfolk surrendered soonafter.

Gineye’s match however was stranger still. His opponent wasa man who seemed to disappear shortly after the match started, stayinginvisible or hiding behind dust clouds the whole match, but doing significantdamage to Gineye in the process. Finally, angered, Gineye readied a crossbowbolt, striking as soon as he saw the man’s arm clearly. The petrification boltworked perfectly, petrifying the man and winning Gineye the match (though notbefore a contingency spell activated, using lesser restoration on the man whograciously conceded.)

After their match concluded, Gineye left to find his friendsin the infirmary (though only Zuradar and Zareem needed much attention.) In themidst of their conversation, the man he had just fought walked in, joining thediscussion of the fights he had witnessed. He introduced himself as James and extendedan offer to Gineye to meet him for breakfast at a specific tavern the nextmorning. Tired from their battles, the group headed out to an inn to rest. Itwas agreed that Gineye should go to the tavern to meet James the next day (sincethey might be more relaxed if it was just him) while the rest would return tothe tournament location to find out what was going on. The tournament itselfwouldn’t start for two days, and the actual matches were entirely team-based,but since Lei and Jemima both had passed their matches (as well as Gineye) theywere allowed to form a team and invite the two who had failed their matches aswell.

Gineye’s investigation only put him more on edge. Jamesseemed very eager to recruit him away from the others, even offering to “helphim leave” should Gineye need it, in a way that suggested assassination wouldbe involved. He also knew more than he should, particularly about the war inPaplus and how Gineye’s party had come through a portal in Paplus that shouldhave originated north of the town of Tance, the same as another group whoarrived recently (where, unknown to James, the hidden town of Sylvenstand waslocated.) Gineye played along as best he could, mocking his teammates and theirdecisions and offering to send a package later that day that might be useful toJames’ group. However, once he returned, he clearly wasn’t eager to join such ashady group, but instead had Lei send a package over to the tavern—one containingthe Axe Gineye had pulled from his own heart yet again. However, to his dismaynobody actually took the axe while he was there and in fact nobody was home forthe full day, leaving him to sneak out the next night with a pilfered spellbookand a sour mood.

Finally however, the day of the tournament arrived. The gangwas among the first to compete, finding themselves soon in a large arena packedwith thousands of onlookers. In the middle of the arena, a Kenku introducinghimself as Veo Elmwood was acting as the Emcee, introducing first our heroes asthe “NaCl Pain Delivery Service” and their opponents as “The Hands of Nature.” Theparty (and especially Jemima) were pleased to see Edan again, along with hisalternate Ivan, the ranger Alice (whom Zuradar had attempted and failed to seduceback in Sylvenstand) and Leafsong, the Gnoll paladin from earlier.

However, instead of a fighting competition as the party hadexpected, it was instead a series of games and tests of skill, each with a “firstto 3 points” system of one-on-one matches. The actual games were chosen by diceroll, with the first being a drinking contest. Gineye stepped up, certain hecould win with his undead constitution, even against his opponent Ivan, butonce again Ivan’s luck was on his side as he came back with three points toGineye’s two. Next, Jemima found herself face-to-face with Edan in a challengeof pure luck as they rolled dice, each hoping for a higher roll than theiropponent. Right at the last moment, when it looked as though Edan would scoreanother point for his team, Jemima caught a glow around Ivan’s hand for amoment as the dice flipped over onto a natural 1. Finally, it was Lei and Leafsong’sturn, a test of endurance as they were forced to withstand increasingly harderthrown rocks without crying out in pain. In the end however, Lei managed tohold out the longest, scoring another point for our heroes. And as we left themat the end of that session, they were preparing for the next round of combat: atrial by combat, forced by Ivan again using his luck to twist the die to his favor.

And there you are, thirty episodes summarized as best Icould, with deep apologies for not being able to condense it even further. Ihope you enjoy reading it, and feel free to check out our episodes on youtube!

#d&d #dungeons and dragons #dnd #NaCl D&D #i'm so sorry about how long this took #turns out 8900 words takes several days to write #i could have been more succint i'm sure but i didn't want to miss anything #consider this a recap for anyone wanting to catch up?#again i'm sorry for the extreme length XD i'm more wordy than i think #venusvirago

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theonceoverthinker · 6 years ago

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OUAT 2X01 - Broken

It’s good to be back! Who’s ready for Season 2?

It should be TWO-bular!

...Did you miss the puns?

I missed the puns.

Anyway, under the cut is where you oughta be to hear my thoughts, both cute and seriously! (Going all out here! You get puns AND a rhyme! I spoil you all!)

Press Release Reality and myth begin to merge as the fairytale characters awaken from Evil Queen Regina’s broken curse and remember who they were. But to their dismay, they aren’t transported back to fairytale land. To make matters worse, Rumplestiltskin - aka Mr. Gold - in an effort to gain the upper hand in his power struggle with Regina, has introduced magic into the town. In fairytales magic has its place, but in our world it can have unfathomable consequences. Meanwhile, back in the fairytale land, Prince Phillip awakens his sleeping beauty, Aurora, but discovers that he and his traveling companion, Mulan, will soon have to face a deadly foe. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past The past segment here does an interesting job answering the question of what happened to the Enchanted Forest. Aurora’s a great focal point because just like her, we’re being introduced to the remains of the land with answers only slowly being revealed. At the same time, it’s not for lack of trying on Aurora’s part. She’s quite no-nonsense and inquisitive, but still romantic and trusting enough to believe Phillip as he continues to lie to her.

Additionally, there’s a great deal of tension created between all three mains. Between Aurora and Phillip, there’s the lie about the Wraith’s mark. Between Aurora and Mulan, there’s the threat of romances with Phillip. And between Phillip and Mulan, there’s the fact that they’re both lying to Aurora about everything, the fact that Mulan’s not particularly warm to someone who seems to be characterized as such, and the fact that Phillip’s also lying to her, too. The way that it all comes to a head is just perfect and it leaves everyone in a really interesting for future episodes. It was also cool to see that this was the immediate future following the events of the present segment, a fun way of playing with time and a component for a fantastic twist! Present This episode does a marvelous job exploring exactly what one would want to see after the curse breaks. We get to see happiness through reunions, and on a large scale. At the same time, we get to see the chaos that would be expected too. Mary Margaret and Blue’s reunion (As small as it was) illustrated this best for me. There was that glee in the action of them holding hands, but panic upon the discussion of magic. Additionally, there’s a great buildup to Emma’s source of pain as well, and it’s contrasted so well against Snow and Charming’s enthusiasm. Emma’s character is not forgotten and her pain from the past is still present and valid, making her inability to connect with her parents so sympathetic and heartbreaking. This is a large part of the heart of the story, especially this season!

It’s also great how this story intertwines so well with Rumple and Belle’s. And let’s talk about their story, because it’s fantastic! Rumple having Belle back doesn’t just up and solve his problems. He’s still who he is and he even lies to her and actually gets consequences for it. Granted, they’re temporary consequences (I personally would’ve kept them apart for another episod at least), but at least Rumple is given a sting for what he did and Belle is very clearly framed in the right for her feelings and actions in response to the lie, so I don’t have that many complaints. All Encompassing I was thinking of a grand theme for this episode, and I think Mulan put it best: “Love is sacrifice.” Throughout the different dynamics on display in”Broken,” this was the most prevalent. Now, of course, it’s prevalent in the past, as Phillip’s love for both Aurora and Mulan has him sacrifice himself to the Wraith. But it’s also littered through the present like purple magic smoke. Snow and Charming’s love for Emma came at the cost of potentially sacrificing their relationship with her. Emma’s love for Henry came at the cost of her sacrificing both her hatred for Regina and her being in the same realm as him. Belle’s love for Rumple came with the sacrifice of her anger towards his lie. Those are just a couple of them, but you get my point. It was a well delivered theme that worked with our cast of characters and gave way for the stories they’re going to have going forward! Insights - Stream of Consciousness -The first time I saw this opening, I actually thought I found the wrong show because it was so different than anything we had seen from OUaT so far. Now, it’s so cool for precisely that reason! It’s a jarring turn (A new protagonist and setting and the return of the pop music) that still has tiny elements of the show (The horse and the well-dress rider that gives a vague fantasy vibe). Even the way it’s shot is something that’s more real than the different angles we got in Storybrooke. It just makes the moment when we see both something fantastical from Storybrooke all the more striking. -I forgot how no-nonsense Aurora could be! While still romantic, she’s very questioning and has a nice bit of snark to her. -I love the way magic just hovers in the air, like a harmless sandstorm. It’s hazy and mystical and just a touch threatening because of those that have magic, but there’s a calmness to it too that makes it so lovely to look at. -Those reunions are positively heartwarming! It feels so beautifully earned and everyone is so well connected! It was a great idea to start here as a buildup to the reunion with Emma. -And speaking of, I’ve got to give all the credit in the world to Josh and Ginny. Their reaction to seeing Emma for the first time uncursed is beautiful. Just like in the finale, Snow and Charming get so speechless, ironically showing the emphasis of the moment. And Jen too! Emma’s reaction to this is pretty fitting -- not running at the moment, but this is a lot to take in. The two sets of performances create a stunning contrast with each other to make a reunion so distinct. -Robert Carlyle’s face! Rumple is out for BLOOD! -Also, I just realized that we haven’t seen Regina, and given the last frame of her from Season 1, that is fantastic buildup! -I have...opinions on the whole “no killing under any circumstances” policy, but right now’s not the best time to write that out. -That said, I LOVE Henry’s reaction to the mob invading Regina’s house. It puts Henry’s behavior and expectations towards Regina in Season 1 in context and affirms that for as much as he wants the curse to be undone and for her to lose, he does love her. -The buildup to Regina’s lack of magic is stunning and hilarious! Everyone in the crowd pull off their anger and fear so well and Lana’s put all the ham in to make this such a fantastic moment! -Whale is just the fucking worst! -THANK YOU SNOW!!!! FUCK! YES! THAT WAS THE WAY TO HANDLE REGINA! LOCKING HER UP IS A GOOD IDEA! Seriously, as I said before, while I feel like “no killing under any circumstances” isn’t an ideal way of conducting things for someone who committed harm and could intend more of it, there do need to be consequences for that behavior and Snow went about making a good decision about how to enforce those consequences. I feel like if the Wraith hadn’t taken Emma and Mary Margaret away and Regina hadn’t got her magic back, she would’ve also suggested a trial. -Did Emma change jackets between being at Regina and the sheriff’s station? -Rumple’s “OH” face at the jail cell is so beautiful! XD -My headcanon is that Wraiths have pool parties in the River of Lost Souls during their down time! XD -Did RUMPLE get a haircut and I just didn’t notice? His hair looked so long in the station compared to now! -How do non-Dark Ones summon Wraiths? Apart from the one that invaded Aurora’s land, Mulan has at least heard of them before. -I only realized now how much the writers pull that “I’m dying, but I can’t let my beloved know” trope. I don’t mind it (It’s romantic, tragic, and usually has an interesting bit of lore and character interaction because of it), but when I think about it, wow, there’s a staggering amount of those instances! -”You’re going to have to be more specific.” Given all that he’s done in the last 12-24 hours, that is quite the legitimate question! -Rumple, I get that Emma broke the curse, saved Henry, and reunited with her parents, but you know damn well what you did! Like, leave a note or something! Emma thought her kid was dead and you above all others should empathize! And kudos to Emma for just not buying it for a second! -I’m stuck between finding the Wraith cool as hell and fake as hell, but I’m going to lead towards the former! -Holy crap! Snow’s pulling a pre-Gina Linetti Gina Linetti with that lighter and can! When did I start loving Snow so much because holy crap, I like Snow! -Awww! There’s some cute Regal Believer when Regina asked if Henry really asked her to protect her! -Okay, so I may be the last person in the world who cares about plot holes, but how did Aurora sacrifice herself when she was cursed? -Josh had some glorious acting when it came to the post-portal anger with Regina? You can see every beat of sweat and hear the snarl in his voice! It was equal parts sad and scary -Henry asking Regina to stay away from him and everyone was also the right call. I swear I love Regina, but Henry’s decision both has a level of him giving Regina due consequences and a level of childish pettiness because his presence (As far as he knows at this moment) won’t affect her progress. -I didn’t think until now about how tragic it is that David and Henry, two people who never lived in the loft, now are, but without either of the two usual inhabits. How much are you willing to bet that they spent the day during the reunions imagining settling down in the loft with Emma and Snow, just the four of them together and happy! It makes the bleakness of those first few moments in the loft, such an iconic and bright setting in the last season so sad. -I also feel like I like David a lot more this season! He’s a lot more determined and given emotional provisions, and by that I mean, the emotions that he has are more well founded. Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? We’re mostly back to just the introductions of conflicts here: Emma accepting her parents - This is set up to be Emma’s internal conflict throughout the episode and I’d argue the season if not also the next one too. There are multiple facets to it. First, Emma’s collecting her bearings with the giant revelation, and second, she’s working through an underlying bitterness at her parents for leaving her alone throughout those twenty eight years. Emma and Snow stuck in the EF - This one just kind of explains itself! Storybrooke working to get them back - See above. Regina’s Redemption - A line from my favorite critic, Moviebob that he said quite recently in regards to the protagonists of “The Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise got me thinking as to the nature of redemption for the villains of the show as a whole. It basically amounts to the titular characters and others who redeem themselves do so “through their commitment to each other and a higher cause.” And I think that’s why I’d say that Regina’s redemption starts here. While probably more true for when she first adopted Henry, one can definitely say that their dynamic grew a little skewed both before and during Season 1. So I’d say that this is the rebirth of Regina’s commitment to both Henry and doing better as a person by bringing back Emma and Snow, and thus the true start to her redemption. Favorite Dynamic Emma and Snow - While I was tempted to put Charming in here too, Snow is the driving force behind this dynamic as she is the more active in her demands. In addition to being a dynamic that plays with the theme of “love is sacrifice” (In two respects with them, actually), as I mentioned before, they have a great contrast. Mary Margaret’s passion for meeting her daughter is so wonderfully enthusiastic while Emma’s is...not. What I love is how not only do both women get time to discuss those feelings, but how both of their contrasting feelings are portrayed by the story and the conflicting character as completely valid. While everyone wants Emma to have that same joy as her parents, she doesn’t, and while admittedly a touch selfish (Though I’d also argue understandably so), there’s an understanding that this isn’t just something that she’s going to process right away. Writer Adam and Eddy are of course in charge here, and I think they delivered on exactly what they needed to! Exiting the curse was a big step and doing so would require things that an audience needed to see, both good and bad, across both realms and they did a great job of that. On top of that, the mixing of all three storylines is some of the best that I’ve ever seen of the series. It all feels so seamless and natural how they intersect. Rating Golden Apple (10/10 with an * for superb quality). This episode would’ve been good enough had we just seen the reunions and consequences of the actions in the Season 1 finale. However, we got more than just that. We got new characters, a new story, perfect character conflicts that exist so well with who we have and what they mean to each other, a twinge of lore, and some mysteries to be solved throughout the season! Everyone gets something to do and a “shining” moment (Whether it be an action of heroism or villainy), and it just meshes together really well. It’s just a well put together episode and deserves the appropriate acclaim! Flip My Ship - Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness” Sleeping Warrior - We definitely get some of that enemies to lovers stuff here, and I always enjoy that! There’s a great chemistry between Jamie Chung and Sarah Bolger have some nice chemistry and their characters have that nice defensiveness that ends up making the moment where they do come together at Phillip’s “grave” very sweet. ()()()()()()()

Wow! This was a great way to start the season off! Full disclosure: Since I binged Season 2 and 3 during my initial watch of the series and only rewatched a handful of episodes from it, I never really took much of a magnifying glass to the individual episodes, nor did I really form opinions on some of the characters, so seeing this episode rock as hard as it did made me so happy!!!

Thank you for reading and thanks to the fine folks @watchingfairytales for putting this project together! Next time, get hyped, because out of many come one-- oh excuse me-- two. See you then!

Season 2 Tally (10/220)

Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (10/60) Tags: ouat, once upon a time, watching fairytales, ouat episode code, ouat rewatch, jenna watches ouat, ships mentioned

Operation Rewatch Archives

#ouat #once upon a time #watching fairytales #ouat 2x01 #ouat rewatch #jenna watches ouat #basically every character in this episode is discussed #ships mentioned #sleeping warrior

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hyperfixation-hideout · 4 years ago

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LMAO I was already gonna reblog and say that I agree but then I saw you’d tagged me and my video essays IN the post! But uh, I agree! XD It’s complicated, it’s confusing, it’s yet to be clarified. If after ALL this buildup surrounding the merge there’s just some way to stop it or it’s so slow that it takes until the end of the series to complete (by which point they’d have “won” and people say they want the souls to separate - which I really don’t think is possible at this point), it’d be anticlimactic. Oscar’s story isn’t about losing himself and magically getting himself back so he can be his own person - it’s about being and becoming himself both in spite of, and along with, the merging of his soul with another’s.

It’s not a clean transfer, either, but a combination. We’ve already seen how their similarities are more and more prominent (not new, just spotlighted and developing). It’s about Oscar’s soul being his own even if the one he’s merging with once wasn’t, and so far, every step of the way, Oscar has been growing and developing, coming into his own -- not losing himself. They’re becoming each other, but like I mention in those “long boi videos,” who they become is essentially up to them. Souls in Remnant are what you make of them and how you identify yourself. Everyone gets to choose for themselves whom they’ll become. Oscar has asserted this time and again to the people around him, but seems to believe he’s the exception, that all he can choose is whom to be right now. It’ll be great to see him continue to take up the mantle he’s had thrust upon him as the newest iteration of Ozma. The Oz soul isn’t gone; it’s “never alone,” after all. It joins someone new and carries on with them throughout history as one. If Oscar were to die, his voice would be in the next guy’s head.

Not a rg shipper, but I adore gngrbrd (their friendship) and agree that Ruby’s dynamic with Oscar vs her dynamic with Ozpin is very different and makes it a lot easier to tell how the merge is going. If only they got more screentime together lately to analyze, but it looks like another volume of separation for the two.

Also, @ those people who say they want the end of the series to separate the souls so Oz can rest without Oscar dying - the god of light said “until your task is complete, you will reincarnate.” So Oscar wouldn’t die, he’d just be the last incarnation, so when he dies, the cycle ends. The souls are already nearly-merged. I don’t think ripping them apart is possible anymore if it ever even was, because the line of who’s who is already blurred. Once a venn diagram becomes a circle, how do you make it into two again? It’s all just a really cool concept and I’m thrilled to see where it goes. Great post, OP! :D

Alright I'm about give one my unpopular opinions here!!! U Have Been Warned!!!

I want Oscar & Ozpin to fully merge. I've been thinking about a lot over volume 8 & I think it would be best for the show if the merge fully happen.

They've made it very confusing & the Fandom can't seem to agree on what happens once the merge is complete. The only way to put this augment to rest is by completing the merge & the fall out after.

When the merge happens I'm gonna cry. Cause it will be a tragic moment no matter what. Oscar scared of losing himself to the merge & not knowing what kind of person he'll be. And considering that we learn that useing magic makes the merge happen faster I think that's how it well complete.

Something bad happens & Oscar has to use all of his power for a long time. By long time I mean long enough for the merge to complete. And he stops/fixes whatever happens but everyone realize that the merge is complete & its just a sad moment.

This will probably happen in vacco. Because little prince.

Now here's my main reason why I want the merge to happen. @hyperfixation-hideout made 2 great long boi videos about the merge. Y'all should watch. In them Its argued that Oscar is inheriting Ozpin memorys, magic, & most importantly his soul. Ozpin soul isn't taking over Oscar's. Oscar soul is inheriting Ozpin. Oz is becoming a part of Oscar. Not be erased by him. I wanna Oscar realize that just because he's become Oz doesn't mean he still isn't little cute boy Oscar Pine.

I also wanna see how everyone would interact with a fully merge Oscar. It will tell us exactly how everyone sees him now. I mostly wanna see how Ruby would treat him. Because I'm a Rosegarden shipper!! But how Ruby treat Ozpin & Oscar is very different. She has a very different dynamic with each of them & whatever dynamic they have after the merge will set their relationship in stone. Or maybe they're have a whole new dynamic & my shipping heart won't know what to do with itself.

#I'm gonna stop myself from rambling LMAO #you've already seen the long boi videos jkdshfljsd #rwby analysis #fndm quinteractions #maybe thats a better tag idk #quin additions #quintagged #you put an ask in my inbox I havent answered lol it's cause I'm trying to think of my answers

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drakorn · 7 years ago

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Tanz der Vampire St. Gallen - Act 1 Spoiler Review

Following my little commentary about the St. Gallen production, I have decided that I would actually like to make a full review. Now, back in April, @kahorifutunaka and I watched the St. Gallen production of Tanz der Vampire, directed by Ulrich Wiggers. At first, our opinions were quite mixed. Now we are closer to an agreement: The St. Gallen production does have some great solid directing and the cast is EXCELLENT, but the modern concept is wasted potential. But...why leave it here? You saw the title, right? Let’s get into full spoiler territory! To those who would like to still see the St. Gallen production without being spoiled too much, turn away right now. Everyone else, let’s go :D

Overtüre: Ok, here we can get a first positive: The Orchestra is actually full live in St. Gallen. You WILL get your goosebumps here...in the first few seconds. Remember how magnificent the animations in the original Tanz are? Well...here we get a forest graveyard first and most, followed by a gigantic castle that looks a bit like Bran Castle in Transylvania. The castle actually looks quite nice, but one would wonder “Why is the castle being shown now?” Well, this question is going to be answered in a few minutes. We then see...a much MUCH younger Professor Abronsius running onstage into the fog. We now see two gigantic rat statues with red eyes standing onstage. I am still unsure why they chose RATS of all things. I can imagine this famous Harry Potter meme being inserted here. “Let’s put rats in front of Krolock’s castle!” “But why rats?” “What other creature would you put there to be associated with vampires then?” “Oh, I don’t know...maybe a bat?” Anyway...Abronsius proceeds to examine those rats when he is suddenly...stuck in one of them? Yeah, I still don’t know what that was about...

He, ho, he: Only then does Alfred enter the stage. He is pretty much the same age as in the original version, just dressed entirely differently. He proceeds to sing his song until he discovers Abronsius in the grasp of one of the big bad rats! He frees him and together they proceed to walk...into the castle? Huh...weird...

Knoblauch: Ok, here is where things might get a little confusing at first glance. There are no more signs of a warm and cosy inn where the villagers hide from vampires. No, no, no...they are WITH the vampires already. Yeah, the inn and the castle have been merged into the same place. On the walls, you can see “Sanatorium K” written in fancy gothic letters. So...Krolock owns a Sanatorium...this version of Tanz is, therefore, taking place in an asylum? Jeesh, am I glad they mean the resort kind of asylum. If they would have shown Krolock and his cohorts merely THINKING that they are vampires because they are all cuckoo in their heads...I wouldn’t even know how to react tbh XD Anyway, the thing that ultimately takes the cake in this scene is the gigantic Garlic head in the middle of the room, with taps attached to it...wait...does it mean that the humans ACTUALLY drink garlic juice in this version? Holy moly, THEY are the crazy ones here! But anyway...there is actually something I like in this scene and that’s the costumes of Chagal and Rebecca. They don’t look like stereotypical jews anymore. Rebecca actually looks like a normal person here. Yeah, she’s a bit big, but she dresses nicely, has red hair, glasses and doesn’t look like a cartoon. Chagal looks like a hotel manager here, so...he’s in charge of the asylum? Does it mean, he is in direct communication with Krolock? Uh, this might make for some interesting change! Anyway, let’s see how this goes. So, Alfred and Abronsius stumble in and are taken care of. It is to note that Magda looks more like a nurse rather than a maid in this one. So...it IS an asylum for the mentally ill? I am SO confused. Anyway, Abronsius is woken up by something that looks like a very steaming liquid. And it must smell nice since he actively stretches out his nose. We also see some dark figure lurking in the upper floow...looks like a hotel page...uniform...strangely emo hair...and a hunchback? Is that Koukol? Yes, Koukol already features in Knoblauch here, where he is upstairs and runs away as soon as the two travellers arrive. Does it mean, he is already informing Krolock? That should be interesting. And then the dialogue happens...Abronsius asks “Is there a castle nearby?” Uuuuhm...you kinda JUST walked into the castle! Or perhaps he didn’t notice that this was the castle as it was dark and foggy...but I don’t know. And then Chagal says “No, no castle, nope, what are you talking about? We’re clearly in a castle but naaah, never heard of a CASTLE nearby, lol.” (He didn’t actually say that XD) Then we have the ONLY text change in the ENTIRE musical. The Dorftrottel says “But this place used to be a castle once.” Aaaaah, so Krolock renovated at least parts of his castle in order to build an asylum. Actually, the more you look into the scene, you can actually see vampires amongst the humans. You can point them out by their evil grins and white contact lenses, which I admit does look pretty good.

Bitte, meine Herren: Chagal leads them into their rooms. Ok, STOP! Is this a HOLIDAY asylum, therefore a hotel, or a MENTAL asylum? The word Sanatorium can be used in quite a few variations! Or is it a combination of both? I am SO confused! PLEASE EXPLAIN YOURSELF, MUSICAL! You already changed ONE LINE, it can’t be that hard to include some extra dialogue to match the modern setting! Anyway, Alfred and Abronsius get TWO beds now (wow, how nice of Chagal!) And this time, they sleep stage right, while Sarah’s bedroom is stage left. Ok, let us talk about Sarah’s bedroom, because there is quite a few things to mention. First of all, she has Marilyn Manson posters, along with things from (I think) Twilight and Vampire Diaries. And Sarah has considerably darker hair in this version...OH. MY. GOD. They have given Sarah the Bella Swan treatment! She KNOWS about the vampires and WANTS to be bitten by them! THAT IS...actually really smart. I mean, think about it! Krolock is using the vampire romance hype of the 21st century to get his victims. This makes it all the more easier for him! And it also perfectly parodies the whole “immortal love” aspect. But then there is the other aesthetic thing...WHY are the rooms so dirty? Seriously, the colour is coming off the walls, it looks like a toilet XD Maybe that’s the intention, but I remember the cosy wooden inn...yeah...that was nice.

Eine schöne Tochter: This one is actually pretty entertaining and is one of the best modern transitions of this version. Chagal not only uses a hammer to lock Sarah’s door, no, he also uses a drill! I really like that idea! Perfect inclusion of modern elements.

Nie geseh’n: This is where the entirety of the stage gets used. I actually quite like this scene as well. Chagal finds Magda on a sort of balcony, smoking a cigarette. Her “sewing” remark is treated as sarcasm here. That’s a nice creative way of getting around without changing the lyrics. Also, instead of a Salami, Rebecca uses her walking stick (yeah, she has one here) to beat the shit out of Abronsius and Chagal. What I also enjoy is that the Orchestra pit is incorporated, as in, the actors actually walk through it in order to get to some parts. But here is something I don’t enjoy: Ok, Rebecca has been given red hair in this production...WHY would you change Sarah’s hair then? Come on, you had THE opportunity to create more resemblance and you tossed it out of the window. Shame....Shame....Shame....ok, that’s enough Game of Thrones. Look at the Finnish version, they did it better with the resemblance!

Gott ist tot: Ok...where do I begin to describe how Krolock looks like in this one? He dramatically appears on the rooftop over Sarah’s bedroom and begins walking around on it...dressed in a very thick fur coat. Also, this Krolock looks much older than the one in the original version. But I actually quite like his hairstyle. It is not as wild, it is more civilised. He looks like you would expect a contemporary aristocrat to look like. However...the fur coat and the song make him look like an (and many people have said this before me) undead sugar daddy. And his seductive cat-like movements on the rooftop, followed by a 30-second creepy as fuck stare into Sarah’s window, watching her sleep (ehehe, Twilight, ehehe), don’t really help the case XD Overall, I think Krolock’s first appearance in this version is a bit underwhelming. Remember how in the original version, he glides through the audience, spends the first part of the song in darkness and casts a giant shadow over the entire stage? All of that is unfortunately missing and nothing really makes up for it. The Finnish version had dying couples singing the “Sei bereit...” around him while he was still covered in darkness, THAT is a way of making up for it. But here...no, I didn’t really feel it tbh.

Alles ist hell: One of the biggest changes so far. It takes place in a gym hall (huh, so it IS a hotel then, because I don’t see why a mental asylum should have such a fancy looking gym). Again, we have vampires as well as humans in the gym. Sarah is also allowed outside in this one...well, I hope she is only allowed outside inside the building where her parents can see her, otherwise Draußen ist Freiheit would loose a bit of its impact. And here we have the now second appearance of Koukol. I don’t know, I really hate his hairstyle here. He looks like an emo. But I like that the entire bargain for candles gets a bit more obscure with the modern setting. Why would someone order so many candles when they have electric lights? This leads to the belief that Krolock has only refurbished a certain part of the castle and himself dwells in an older one. Quite an interesting idea here.

Wahrheit: I actually really enjoyed this scene. Abronsius is younger here and they take full advantage of that. A lot of this song is sung on the stationary bicycles of the gym, with Abronsius drinking water, and also breathing into an inhalator...huh, I...guess, he has asthma here? But I appreciate the hard work the actors put in here. It can’t be easy to sing a song like this on bicycles! Also, I like that instead of the wood falling down, a lamp explodes when Abronsius does his high note here. But again, some of the script (”Und dabei schlüpft meine Säge durch Zieder”) would have been up for a change. But at least the Nobel prize makes sense in this context, I guess.

Du bist wirklich sehr nett: I can’t really say that much about this version because it nearly plays out the exact same way. The only difference is that Sarah walks through the orchestra pit to get to Alfred. But yeah, this isn’t one of the scenes where you can change that much.

Einladung zum Ball: Holy moly, THIS scene, however, is a totally different story! First of all, Krolock’s teleportation is grander here. He has two doubles this time, one high up stage left and one further lower stage right. The light shines on them without revealing Krolock’s face, which makes it really believable. However, we also have the stage direction where Sarah gets out of the bath, goes behind the set, in order to sit in a bigger bath in order for the scene to play out. Krolock appears and delivers his invitation. The difference here is that Sarah isn’t frightened or shocked at all...she is happy. This Sarah REALLY wants to get bitten by Krolock. Also, she is actually naked in this one, and she even stands up, with her back facing the audience of course. Krolock quickly takes his fur coat and wraps it around Sarah, which looks quite hilarious actually. It looks like he’s saying “Sarah! This is not a PG15 show, and you are 17 for crying out loud! Here, have my coat and cover yourself!” He then walks away, leaving a magnificent impression on Sarah. We don’t actually see Chagal spanking her in this one, we just hear it. Oh, so we can have naked Sarah, but we can’t see her getting spanked? This show must have had a weeeird risk assessment XD

Draußen ist Freiheit: This version is totally different to the original What I find interesting is that Koukol actually opens the door so that Sarah can get out, which actually makes sense rather than her randomly being able to exit her house in the original version. But the real interesting thing is that Sarah in this version really seems to be annoyed with Alfred. It is so obvious that she wants to get away from him here.

Die roten Stiefel: This time it’s not just red boots but also a red corset. This is...interesting, but ok. And here is the part where I don’t like the look of the new vampires. In the original version, we had this magnificent dream sequence with red curtains and dance pairs. Here it is a bunch of people in leather clothes, pretty reminiscent of the Finale II vampires, which makes it look more dangerous, I’ll give them that, but also less dream-like. But there IS actually a good, even a great addition! This version has a Dream!Chagal coming out to fight Dream!Krolock over Dream!Sarah, which ensues in a battle with the two figures pulling her back and forth. THIS is something I would legitimately like to see in the original version!

Das Gebet: This scene, however...I did not like. In the original version, we have this entire inn, everyone holding candles, a moon shining, the Count standing on the rooftop, Sarah getting all emotional at the front. This version, however, looks like they were thinking “Well...we can’t cut it, so we need to have it somehow.” Everyone is praying in the centre, with Sarah further back and the Count is not even in it.

Trauer um Chagal: What is quite amusing here is that Chagal doesn’t really look that worried when he finds out that his daughter ran off. It actually looks like he’s being like “Oh come on! Seriously? Alright, let’s get her back.” He even drinks a bit of Vodka instead of eating Garlic, like he’s saying “Oh boy, will I have a chat with my boss now.” What follows next is the animation of a long and dark staircase...uhm...whooooooooo...gruuuuuhuhuuuuselig! And then we have one of the most unintentionally funny scenes in the show. Remember how I said that they didn’t change the lyrics? Well, okay, so all of the action, therefore, happens in a single building here. So WHY ON EARTH WOULD THE VILLAGE PEOPLE STILL INSIST THAT WOLVES WERE THE CULPRITS??? Is this a thing in Transylvania? Is it normal to find WOLVES strolling around INSIDE the building? Come on, this is a direct insult to Abronsius’ intelligence here. Also, the vampires among the people really act out their diabolical nature here as they really smirk and smile at the dead Chagal. Then we have this other thing...Chagal seemingly serves Krolock here...so why would Krolock kill him if he wants to bring back his daughter? I mean, I guess he could have found a replacement...but oh well, I’m getting too deep into this. Next scene!

Tot zu sein ist komisch: This is where Magda’s dark side is shown. Why? Because she LAUGHS when she sees Chagal’s dead body. Wow, that woman must have REALLY hated him. I mean, understandably so, but JESUS! And she doesn’t really seem that terrified when she’s bitten. I guess her working for a vampire Count makes her mentally prepared for what is to come eventually. She uses a bible instead of a cross against Chagal. And then...the next best unintentionally funny scene happens. And to this day I STILL don’t know what the creative decision behind that was. Okay, so we have Abronsius and Alfred wanting to impale Chagal, which leads to the chase sequence...only here it is accompanied by disco party lights. WHAT was that for? XD WHY did they do that? XD It’s so hilarious XD “UUuuh, yeaaaah, da vamp’s in da houseeeee, yeessssss!”

Durch die Wildnis zum Schloss: Right, cancel the “Wildnis” part, because nobody is going outside here. And again...”Bestimmt entdecken wir durch ihn das Schloss von diesem Grafen!” YOU ARE IN THE CASTLE, FOR GOD’S SAKE! Jesus Christ, they really should have changed the lyrics because this makes them look like absolute idiots now XD And then the travel sequence comes. I don’t know why, but I had a desire to burst out laughing during this. It shows empty rooms that clearly belong in a mental asylum (SO WHAT IS IT NOW, A HOTEL OR AN ASYLUM??? MAKE UP YOUR MIND, SHOW!) The funny thing is that it has a slow-motion sequence of a black figure running into the distance. I don’t know why, but this really made me laugh so much XD

Vor dem Schloss: Or in this case “In an older part of the castle”. We obviously get the vampires in the audience. They just don’t seem as creepy because of their leather clothes. Then Krolock comes in, wearing a shiny grey suit. Krolock and the amazing shining grey suit! XD Actually, I do admit that this scene is pretty well done. Krolock clearly is annoyed by Abronsius and CONSTANTLY stares at Alfred. When they have their moment together at the end, Krolock grabs his shoulders and stares him right into the soul. Overall, the contact between Krolock and Alfred is done much better here than in the original version, so props to them for this one. But again...please change the script occasionally. Königsberg is no longer the name of the city Abronsius comes from. It’s Kaliningrad now. Yeah... And Herbert...wow, Herbert looks great XD He has this purple suit and long open hair, which make him look like Legolas visiting a gay bar. And then we finally get to see Krolock’s shadow! Hooraaay! He walks up the stairs before the curtain comes down, stretches out his arms, and a giant shadow comes up, opening all of the castle windows. That was quite neat as well. Also, I love how he gets a short moment where he opens Abronsius’ back, sees what’s inside it and nods like he’s saying “I have work to do.”

So, overall, Act 1 wasn’t bad but it wasn’t that overwhelmingly great either. I will see you all in Act 2 which will follow soon enough :D

#Tanz der Vampire #St. Gallen #Musical #Review #Spoilers!#Holy moly #That is long

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