#those heavy hitters will not be in round one but after they show up in round 2 then it will progress like any other average bracket does

[fisherman-fight]

my work on the first round of polls is... probably about halfway done? there’s like 50 in round one it’s. a lot. i still need to find pictures for all the competitors and fix some formatting but other than that, they’re just about ready to go

[dycefic]

Tom Saves The World

Everyone knows that it’s super-heroes who save the world. They fight the aliens, or the monsters, or the bad guys. And mostly, that’s true.

But not always.

I’m a psychic. The thing is, my range isn’t that great. I don’t have much detail more than about 36 hours out, 48 for something really big. I’d had a nebulous sort of bad feeling for about a week before this one finally hit, and it was big. Something very tough and very supernatural was going to come up out of the harbor of Nova Roma, and the death-toll was going to be high. Crazy high.

I did all I could. I told the Unaligned Supers Job Placement Agency, and they put the word out to everyone on both sides of the Line. The Henchman’s Union don’t like natural disasters any more than anyone else, and they’re often quite helpful against eldritch horrors and stuff like that. Things that don’t hire henchmen and ruin the property values.

The trouble was, nobody big was around. The only really big team of heavy hitters on the West Coast were away dealing with some sort of doomsday cult - I never was clear on what that was about - and Guarde and Dog Fox were out of touch and even Mx Frantique was out of town at someone’s wedding. It was going to happen in less than two days and we couldn’t find anyone to help and I was seriously considering calling in some kind of bomb threat or something to get people away from the docks, at least.

And then, about eighteen hours out, it just… went away.

Which never, ever happens.

My powers might be short range, but they’re reliable. I don’t get stuff wrong, and I hadn’t been able to find any way to prevent what was going to happen, or even been able to identify anyone who could. But someone did. Someone had done something to stop the threat, something that happened literally while I was opening my car door. When I reached for the handle, thousands of people were going to die. By the time the door was open, there was no threat at all.

At first I thought it must have been a ranged thing. Like, whatever I’d been seeing (all those teeth, I saw them in nightmares for months after) had been distracted by something tasty on its way here and gotten off track, that it’d come up somewhere up or down the coast. My range isn’t that big, either. Anything outside about thirty miles might as well be on Mars for all I know about it. So we kept a watch out, and warned the chapters of the Union and the Agency in other cities.

But nothing happened. Nothing at all. I couldn’t explain it, and I was really unpopular for a while. Supers do NOT like people who cry wolf. There’s enough freaky shit we have to deal with without someone panicking everyone with a dire prophecy that fizzles out.

Thank all the gods that Tunny showed up. Nobody’s really sure what Tunny actually is - sentient fish creature, some kind of really mutated human, an alien, or what. She changes her story a lot. But she’s pretty friendly, especially for a twenty-foot-long horror-movie-mermaid-thing with four arms, so when she came into harbor to pick up some supplies a guy from the Agency went out to tell her what I’d seen. I’d gotten a wharf and dock number, so she went down to check.

I don’t think anyone had ever seen Tunny scared before. Her English wasn’t good enough to really explain what she’d found hibernating down there, but it was something very old and very powerful and very dangerous, and if it’d been woken up my vision would just have been the start of the crisis.

She rounded up a bunch of whales to help her move it, once she was sure it hadn’t been agitated and wasn’t likely to rouse if moved carefully. They towed it out before dawn, not wanting to scare the civilians, and when I saw the footage from the helicopter the Union sent up, when I saw how big the swell was, how many whales were pulling, I swear I nearly crapped myself. No wonder I’d been getting hints a week in advance. Somehow we dumbass humans had built a whole fucking city almost on top of some kind of Ancient Old… THING, and eroded the sea-bottom until it was exposed, and if someone hadn’t done whatever it was we’d all have been dead long before Tunny arrived. And not just all as in ‘all of Nova Roma’, it could have taken out half of the continent... or all of it.

It took me years to find out what happened. YEARS. It turned into a kind of hobby, tracking everything that might possibly have come into contact with Wharf 38 on that particular day.  

And what I found, eventually, was a city employee named Thomas Briggs.

I’d found out early on that 38 wasn’t in good repair. Not that bad, but not great. It was old, things were getting a bit saggy in a few places, but there’d been no sign that anything was likely to fall off on the day. It had sat there for a couple of years after the crisis that never happened,, doing its job without problems then been rebuilt without any drama at all.

Entirely, completely, and totally because of Thomas Briggs.

The story, when I finally pieced it together, went like this.

There’d been some project or other to build some sort of high-budget science project over on the other side of the harbor, hanging it off’ve Pier 8, the furthest out on that side. Something about tracking sea-life or ships or something. My conversational English is near perfect, I’ve been here for years, but I don’t speak science nerd in ANY language. It’d all been approved, some university was covering most of the cost, it was all gonna be fine. And it was gonna be over on 8 because that side of the harbor is the shallow end. It’s where the sailboats go. All the big stuff that would block visual sensors and deafen the thing with engine noise was over in the thirties, in the real deep water.

They were almost ready to install the thing when a bunch of rich dudes suddenly got their panties in a bunch over having a big sciency tower thing ruining the view from their yachts, and tried to get it moved.

To, and I’m sure you guessed this, Wharf 38.

Which was completely insane. It wouldn’t be able to do its job over there, it’d be way more in the way, and (although they couldn’t have known it) the installation would definitely have woken up the Thing sleeping by the wharf and we all would have died. But rich dudes with yachts don’t care about that stuff. They’d bitched out and bribed up their friends on the city council, and those friends had done their thing, and the scientists had been left in the dark, and it’d almost gone through. They’d figured to install it right away, so that when the science guys found out it’d be too late and they’d either have to pay a lot to move it or just use it where it was.

Enter Thomas Briggs.

Mr Briggs, Tom to his friends, didn’t give a crap about the yachts or the science. He was a senior money guy for the commercial wharfs, the one who figured out things like how much money they’d take in in a quarter, and what the repair budget should be, stuff like that. He found out about this thing two days before the disaster would have happened, and sat down and did the math.

Then he sent out an email to the guys trying to push this through, and he ripped into them like they’d threatened to knife his mother. I got my hands on that email, and I didn’t understand a lot of it any more than the council guys would have. It was ALL numbers. But at the top he wrote it out in plain English. Pier 8 was new, and rated to handle the weight of the thingy. Wharf 38 was going to be scrapped in a few years, and it was NOT rated for that kind of structure. Pier 8 had plenty of room around it. Wharf 38 was already a tight fit for the big commercial ships, and adding a structure sticking out on one side would block off at least half of the wharf to those ships completely.

Bottom line, putting the thing on Wharf 38 would cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars more per year than putting it on 8, AND the city would have to eat the cost if 38 collapsed under it which it could easily do, AND the city would have to pay to move it in a couple of years anyway when 38 was due to be rebuilt.

And he cc-ed every important person he had an email address for, including the mayor, the anti-corruption people, and several reporters.

He must have sent that email right when I was opening my car door.

The whole plan collapsed right there, and some people got fired. There was no news story because the whole plan got killed before the reporters even got to the right office. The installation was started on Wharf 8 a few weeks later and I never connected it to a commercial wharf on the other side of the harbor.

One email, and a man who I never could have located in time, a man who had no powers at all, a man who was just conscientiously doing his job looking after the city’s money saved the city, and the continent, and maybe even the world.

Who could have predicted that? Not me, that’s for damn sure.

I can’t deny that I went home and got drunk off my ass that night. Just thinking about how close that had been made my hands shake. One man. One honest man who’d done the math.

I put the word out, once the hangover wore off. What had happened. That Thomas Briggs was the reason we were all alive and everyone better make his life real nice from now on, because he’d done what none of us could do and nobody but the supers would ever even know it.

He’s got a lot of luck coming to him, I can tell you. We don’t forget debts like that.

And I knew that’d freak him out, because honest men don’t like it when people start doing them a lot of favors for no apparent reason, so I tracked him down at the little bar where he likes to have a quiet beer on Friday nights before he goes home. Hell, I was the one who’d gone through it all, back then. I should get to tell him.

I sat down beside him at the bar and looked at him. I saw a thin, small, balding man who looked like he worried too much and didn’t get enough sleep, with lines around his eyes. Yeah, he looked like a man who’d do the math. “Thomas Briggs?”

He blinked at me through his glasses. “Yes? Do I know you?”

“No, you don’t. My name’s Barkhado Omar, and I’ve been looking for you for a long time.” I offered him my hand and he shook it, still looking confused. Which was fair, ‘cause I doubt a lot of seven foot tall Somali women came up to him in bars even when he was young. He’s got to be close to retirement now.

He frowned. “Looking for me? Why?”

I smiled at him. “Tom, let me buy you a drink and tell you about the day you saved the world.”

It’s usually us who save the city, or the world. We have all the intel, all the advantages, all the powers.

But sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s someone like Tom Briggs, doing the right thing at the right time and never knowing that he changed the course of history.

Wild, huh?

--

This story is a direct result of me and my ex chatting about how different the entire Marvel Universe would have been if Jean’s first ‘resurrection’ - being found in a life pod under a wharf, IIRC - had happened at like... any other time. Earlier. Later. It would have changed SO MUCH.

And we speculated about how it could happen, how someone just puttering around in middle management might have unknowingly saved countless lives, prevented Madelyne’s corruption, the legacy virus, all of it, just by postponing that particular set of repairs a bit longer.... and I couldn’t resist writing a version of the story in which Tom does, in fact, save the world.

[dykehayleywilliams]

One Parasong to Rule Them All: Category Crowns and Clowns

All We Know Is Falling 👑: Conspiracy 🤡: Whoa

AWKIF struggled, with all but two songs being eliminated in the first round. Whoa suffered the worst defeat of any song the whole competition, while Conspiracy and Here We Go Again both put up brave fights in round two before ultimately being killed off.

Riot! 👑: For A Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic 🤡: Misery Business

For A Pessimist defied all odds as the only song on Riot to make it into the semifinals, proving itself to be the album opener of All Time. Misery Business, on the other hand, was kicked down the stairs on sight, failing to make it out of round one.

Brand New Eyes 👑: Ignorance 🤡: The Only Exception

Ignorance steamrolled everything in its path and now joins fellow BNE track Playing God in the final. Time and again, it managed to take down other heavy hitters, proving itself really to be our collective new best friend. On the other hand, TOE was the only BNE single eliminated in round one. Pour one out for my beautiful misunderstood wife.

Paramore 👑: Part II 🤡: Fast in My Car

Part II was narrowly eliminated in round three, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids (All I Wanted) it could have made it all the way. Meanwhile, Fast in My Car was one of the 11 self-titled tracks brutally eliminated at the beginning, proving no one has any taste.

After Laughter 👑: Pool 🤡: Told You So

The AL stans showed UP to the polls every day and made their votes count. I get that Told You So was up against Hard Times in the first round, but it didn't even put up a fight. Pool proved its status as a fan favorite; even if it didn't make it to the final round, the real winners are all of us for recognizing the peak of songwriting.

This Is Why 👑: Thick Skull 🤡: The News

As the newest album, This Is Why both gained a boost from the recency bias while also struggling to hold its own against tracks that have had years to cement their statuses. The News couldn't make weight, while Thick Skull made it all the way to round four.

Singles Club, Bonus Tracks, Rares, Twilight OST 👑: Decode 🤡: Decode

[polarisdelphi]

Another Knight I worked on my Arthurian concepts, Sir Tristan. One of my favourites again blaming the 2005 movie for that and accidentally looking like a ranger :)

Also accidental Jesus Christ as well, I only realized after I coloured his face *puts on clown makeup*

Everything is rounded and wavy with him - even with his sword, I opted for more rounded shapes to give Tristan this air of softness. He is known for his love of Iseult, so I'm taking the route of "this man is a menace, but is filled with kindness in his big golden heart".

Same goes for the flowers all over. They are to point that soft side of his but I also searched a little bit about Kernow, found out about Cornwall, and decided to incorporate those flowers into his design.

As a counterpoint, we have his sharper facial features and scar, indicating that ~menacing~ part of his, I guess hahaha

Once he ended up falliing more to the ranger side on my design, I also opted for leather armour instead of full heavy stuff. His build is more athletic but not bulky yes, yes, Lancelot is the heavy hitter fighter in the team, who would've known and he has this sense of ~movement~.

And, of course, sad droopy eyes and forget-me-nots in his hands.

As always, I'll leave more explaining and fangirling over Arthurian characters under the cut, where I'll tell al little more of my version of these characters!

SO TRISTAN, MY BELOVED.

Like I said, I became a Tristan fangirl after the 2005 King Arthur movie thanks to Mads Mikkelsen but I only went downhill from there. We all know the story of Tristant and Iseult, and he always ends up being one of my favourite characters.

Therefore, when I was reading Bernard Cornwell's Enemy of God, I almost died when I saw the phrase "because that was the summer of Tristan and Iseult" and went NOOOOOOOOO I'M NOT READY FOR THIS PLEASE LEAVE MY TRISTAN ALONE.

Alas. He wasn't left alone.

As there are many iterations of his tale, I had to decide which one to go with in order to get his design going. I like the tragedy of having him being Mark's son, as prince of Kernow, and falling for Iseult - the young woman to be married to his father, the King of Kernow.

Why? Because I'm a dramatic bitch, that's why.

Jokes aside, I think it opens many options for character development and counterpoints. By choosing Tristan to be Mark's son, I can develop them as being opposites in basically everything.

Unlike Lancelot and Galahad, who are opposite sides of the same coin and can work together despite how different they are, Tristan and Mark cannot. Tristan is brave while Mark is a coward, Tristan is gentle while Mark is harsh, Tristan is kind while Mark is cruel. All his softness, beauty and knightly courage is reflected as cruelty, uglyness and cowardice in his own father.

And by uglyness I mean more than just what we consider beautiful in aesthetic terms - it would be a putridness of heart, a rotting of the soul. Tristan's beauty comes from his capability of showing mercy and love, from having rough hands but wielding the softest of touches, from knowing how to hunt but also how to preserve the world around him to keep it in balance. Starkly different from his father, from his own blood.

That's why I think his design took a more ranger route. I wanted him to have that sort of Aragorn quietness and gentleness mixed with an imposing but quite relaxed aura of when Aragorn first appears as Strider - the Ranger of the North.

Ok peeps I won't dwell much on this because I FREAKING LOVE RANGERS. Ever since I discovered RPGs in my life, when I was a little kid playing Ragnarok online, I'm a ranger, I can't choose a different class, they are awesome and yesterday even I was fangirling over how awesome I feel with my ranger only dialogue in Baldur's Gate 3 and how badass my ranger character looks, thank you very much, I'm accepting Tristan into the ranger family AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON ARAGORN-

Ranger Tristan it is.

And the theme seemed to fit him nicely. Like I said before, having him as the son of King Mark of Kernow - which, as my knowledge goes, is Cornwall - I wanted to use his colours as black and yellow. But they didn't work with him at all. Testing some other similar colours, I ended up with forest green and everything fell into its proper place - so the black/yellow theme will probably be his father's, to be another counterpoint to him.

If Mark is full on his posh and noble clothes, Tristan will be simple and wearing only a few things to identify himself as the prince of Kernow - hence the Kernow flowers engraved on his gear.

On my Arthurian world, then, Tristan and Iseult fall in love willingly, no love potions involved. For Iseult knew only obligation and fear with Mark until she was treated with utmost kindness and love with Tristan - sealing her fate as soon as he kissed her hand for the first time as an act of courtly decorum. And Tristan... He met in her the same kindness he always had inside of him but was never extended to him. Having, for the first time, someone care and worry about him, someone who offered him gentle words instead of cruel ones.

They were, unfortunately, meant to be - and their hearts knew they couldn't be together, but a love like this cannot be tamed or ignored.

Regarding his looks, the only thing I really wanted him to have was droopy eyes - reflecting that internal sadness in his soul. The longing he carries for something he doesn't quite know or understand, until he sets his sad eyes on Iseult.

And that's why he is carrying forget-me-nots. As a foreshadowing of his and his beloved's fate at the hands of his cruel father - myosotis, as I always heard them being called, are a pledge to never forget your loved ones, a vow of faithfullness, during all life and in death, remembering the adoration for those who aren't among the living anymore.

And I think it fits Tristan and his tragic love for Iseult quite nicely.

him looking like ranger Jesus Christ wasn't intentional I SWEAR

[neruomancer]

Average Members of Groups of Interest: Where are they now? Part 2

PISCES:

*Either some MI5 desk monkey or an especially good tarot reader that was "conscripted". They are the new blood after the office went through some "fumigations". They don't have a bug problem anymore. That's right, no brain bugs, completely clean you don't have to worry about it anymore. They are all gone

*Shan infested Agent, all the old timers and loyal azathoth worshippers got wiped during the "bug hunts". Now it is just the atheistic/secular earth borns who have only known the pleasures of human misery. They may have had a hand in culling the azathoth worshippers and the geezers from the cowboys so they could live it up driving around their meat suits.

Army of the Third Eye

*After the Embassy Row massacre A-Cell decided they needed some local heavy hitters. They turned some young former IRA hard boys over to the Army to train them in sabotage and to give them a little catharsis against the Brits. They don't really know about the bugs and they don't really care. Or they are environmentalists really mad about Welsh lake being drained and have become violent anprims.

*Department for the Veterans of Psychic Wars. When most left the Army or got busted you stayed behind because you had nowhere else to go. They were inside your head, you remember the scratching feeling against the back of your skull. You can hear the whistling of the Court, the nuclear chaos of it all. Those whistles wax and wan but you hear it in your loneliness and alienation. Your apartment is freezing and you swear you can simply walk in the court of the Outer Gods.

GRU-SV8

*You fought against the cultists of Shub, you hunted down Nazis wizards, traveled to Leng and back. All to get blown away by some NAFO dip shit memer piloting a drone with a grenade tapped to it. The video of your death will be put into a tiktok nsfl compilation and children will do the floss to it.

*The Broken Vanguard. You were there, the past haunts you. Your country was stolen and sold off from you. You live in the decaying ruins of what was to be the future of the workers state.

The Skoptsi

*After much of the cult was either blown away or got pitched you went to jail for mundane crimes. Life max. The cult is no more but you have started a gang culture devoted to the black goat, our lady of new birth. Forgive us for our sins and born us new into the world. Sheds the only flesh for the new flesh. You awaken in the shared prison shower covered in blood and hungry. This is not a prison, it is a feeding farm for you.

*You were a good Orthodox boy who grew up in the church. You read your Bible, you went to service, etc. You are an adult now and you hear the flies. The Flys of the Black Goat. You see some people are covered in flies, at work or at the bus stop or in the store. No one else sees them. But you do. Make the buzzing stop. They smell like rotten flesh. There is only one thing you can do. Buy a toolbox, maybe even a gun? Squash the flies.

Outlook Group

*See Majestic

Phenomen-X

*Zak Bagans but somehow worse. "We are here at this Asylum today". Maybe they believe? Maybe they don't? Is just here until they get a TV show deal with Discovery or The Travel Channel. Does very little work besides just showing up to the filming. They have the same disease as Alex Jones where he needs to buy a new watch every three months just to feel something again.

*Genuine believer but very little to absolutely no camera presence. Has been made into a lolcow by the Phenomen-X social media group because of how awkward and gawky they are.

Tiger Transit

*Since the organization has gone "legit" you were the first of the round of new hires to make the crime organization look as illegal as any other financial firm. You are probably an accountant or a HR person for one of the many shell companies. At the recent company retreat there was a banquet. The main course? The long pork. It wasn't as bad as you thought it would be? Most corpos are flesh eaters so it's fine.

*Since Tiger Transit was a airline used by the CIA to traffic heroin, naturally the next step is become a anti communist advocacy think tank. You are a fresh face social media influencer who cries on podcasts about how communism took away your grandpas opium plantation.

D-Stacks

*Dr. Jensen Wu has to be 88 now right? He probably has an intern? Where is he? He got lost in the storage halls of the museum. Sometimes you see him wandering. Bright smile, wrinkles and all.

*If the program didn't assign a "budget" archeologist to the stacks then the outlaws tried to transfer everything of note to a green box somewhere. God I hope not.

Keepers of the Faith

*One of the dwindling numbers of loyal yog worshippers who slip in and out of the train tunnels of New York. Sometimes people in suits come by and give you snacks from the morgues office for information about the glowing spheres. A peaceful and quiet existence sleeping in the cold and tight seams of the city. The time will come.

*The impatient young blood. Has forbid the teachings of yoga for the careless gospel of hip new gods. Doesn't know what the fuck a crawl chaos is but human flesh sure does sound good about now. Got sick and tired of the old dry dead the keepers kept pointing to feed on.

[theanticool]

About a year ago I asked how JDM would stack against the other contenders at 170. Since then he's had three fights and his last he knocked out Burns a strong wrestler and grappler. After everything you've seen in the past year how does he stack up with the rest of the current division? Guys like Shavkat, Belal, Edwards, Ian Garry, Sean Brady, etc.?

I think the good thing for JDM is that, at this point, Burns is probably the best shot wrestler at the top of 170lbs. Edwards is ok at it but a lot of his takedowns come from extensive clinch wrestling. Same with Shavkat. His lead foot heavy style, forward pressure, and questionable wrestling instincts (shouts to him going for that same wizzar kick he ‘hit’ against Basil Hafez in the 3rd round against Burns) make him a target for guys who can get down underneath him. It’s why Hafez was able to take him down. Burns was able, intentionally or not, to turn those big level changes into big offense in the 2nd when he landed that big elbow and the overhand. Both came outs hat ducked down position. And JDM showed he’s a tough guy to keep down. He can really scramble up when he needs to.

I don’t take Sean Brady seriously in this match up. Man’s ability to wrestle and boxing defense completely evaporated in the face of Belal’s pressure. And that is Belal. For as talented and relentless a grappler he is, how can I trust him if he gets tagged and can’t immediately grab hold?

I do not trust Leon Edwards against high volume pressure fighters. Never have, never will. There’s a chance that Edwards is able to pick off JDM from range and keep the fight at a brisk pace, but I do not trust him to do that for 5 rounds. Like Nate and Colby were able to eventually find paths to their offense. If they can manage to do that in 25 minutes, I trust a big punching switch hitter like JDM with actual pressuring mechanics.

The best analogue for a Belal match up is probably Luque. Much like Burns, Belal was able to use lateral movement to set up his entries. Where I think JDM would have success over a guy like Luque is that he will likely not overstay his welcome. Luque is foot slow and Belal was able to turn him, occupying him with his hands while moving and then shooting for the leg. The concerning thing for JDM is he also likes that high crotch single leg on southpaw fighters. That said, I think I’d favor JDM. Belal does really struggle with southpaws and I have to think that a fighter with a more active lead hand and less likely to just plant and fire back makes him more he less likely to shoot in.

Ian Garry is weird. We’ve seen him struggle with a pressure fighter before (was it Gabe Green) but he managed to overcome with some really smart adjustments. The problem is that he recently fought Neal and just looked pedestrian at dealing with pressure. To the point a lot of his responses were turning and circling out at full speed. Not what you want to do against JDM.

Shavkat is by far the most interesting fight. A guy who will not let JDM pressure. Who will tie up with him if he does get backed up. A guy who is a smooth operator at mid range. But also a guy who we’ve seen hurt by crafty southpaws on the inside and outside. He’s not going to be able to get underneath JDM for easy takedowns and since Maddalena does not really kick, the takedowns are coming from the clinch. If he got JDM down, I trust him the most to actually do damage with any top position he gets. Also, he’s got those amazing knees that I could see JDM getting caught with should he look for the rear hand. I’m curious if he’d fight Shavkat out of southpaw because while he had some issues, a lot of his best offense was beating up on Neal by taking advantage of the angles the open guard match up presents.

They’re all great fights though. Hopefully we get the JDM vs Shavkat fight. Either for #1 contender or the title, should one of them beat Edwards.

[vashsscoreboardofpain]

WELCOME BACK SPORTS FANS TO "VASH'S SCORE BOARD OF PAIN" :D

We are almost at the end of the ride! Stampede Vash only has 2 more rounds left to gather as many points as he can before his break. Many fans will be sad to see him go, but before that lets see what the debutant will do in episode 11!

Lets go!

Once again no time is wasted here. Vash is still in the soup and BAM, first "bad event" point for getting kinda stabbed in the back by Nai and BAM, another "bad event" point because the stabbing was to control his mind. Strong start the debutant is showing, the crowd goes insane at this.

Stampede vash wakes up in a MIND PALACE HOLY CRAP. THE CROWD CHEERS. THIS SCENARIO PROMISES MULTIPLE SUFFERING POINTS AND THE CONTESTANT KNOWS IT. The points hit the tally like theyre nothing. 1 "action" point because of the memory his mind chose, 1 "yikes statement" fault because vash keeps blaming himself for the explotation of the plants, and 1 "bad event" point for being basically thrown into a hole of Bad Memories TM. We are just 5 minutes in folks, today he is leaving no crumbs.

He keeps striking points when he wakes in the desert and is tormented by rosa's final words (1 "bad event" point from that) the 2 kids he failed. 2 "bad event" points per child because this is a memory of the traumatic event. Wait...is that....WOLFWOOD WITH A STEELCHAIR? BAM! Another "bad event" point for remembering rollo's dead in such gruesome way.

Just after a nice walk in the desert of his mind we get ANOTHER "BAD EVENT" POINT FOR FINDING THE AFTERMATH OF BIG FALL. AND THERE HE IS NAI TO GIVE HIM AN "ACTION POINT." When he shows vash meryl and roberto, vash feels guilty about the problems they have been put through because of him and is scared of what they may think of him. The action that shows his guilt in this case is his devastating sad expression. A member of the audience presented this point a few weeks ago. Well, there it is.

MEANWHILE, OUTSIDE OF THE MIND PALACE, HE GETS 1 "TRAUMATIC EVENT" POINT. How you say? because of the vines that are growing out of him ofc. No one in the suffering division thought he would be happy about them.

AND WE GET IT, WE GET THE FIRST "SAD OUTBURST" POINT OF THE SEASON. THE AUDIENCE HUGS EACH OTHER AND CRIES AS THEY SEE THE POINT BEING ADDED TO THE TALLY. the contestant hit this point with his mental breakdown surrounded by the debris of Big Fall.

He gets one minute of peace with rem (the audience goes "awwww") BUT WAIT, THE DEBUTANT HITS THE AUDIENCE WITH A FLASHBACK. His memory about him being "different" is enough to give him 1 "traumatic event" point because that mentality followed him through adulthood. AND THE NICE MOMENT IS OVER. NAI THE MVP HAS OPENED THE DOORS (literally) FOR A BRAND NEW "TRAUMATIC EVENT" POINT. The discovery of our dear tesla and the breakdown the twins have is enough to get that point in the basket.

AND SHIT KEEPS HITTING THE FAN. 1 "ACTION" POINT FOR LETTING NAI SAY ALL THOSE MEAN THINGS TO HIM, 1 "ACTION" POINT FOR ACCEPTING THE BLAME, AND 1 "SAD OUTBURST" EVENT AFTER REALIZING EVERYTHING IS (allegedly) HIS FAULT. SOMEONE GET THIS GUY A THERAPIST. SO MANY HEAVY HITTERS AT ONCE. HOLY SHIT

AND IT KEEPS GOING! 1 "YIKES STATEMENT" POINT FOR BEGGING REM TO STAY WITH HIM, 1 "TRAUMATIC EVENT" PPINT FOR WATCHING NAI KILL REM IN FRONT OF HIS EYES, ANOTHER "TRAUMATIC EVENT" POINT FOR GETTING ALL HIS MEMORIES DELETED AND COMPLETING THE SYNCRONIZATION AT THE SAME TIME, ANOTHER "TRAUMATIZING EVENT" POINT FOR BEING USED AS A GATE, AND ANOTHER ONE FOR BEING USED TO GET THE OTHERS PLANTS PREGNANT, AND A FINAL "TRAUMATIZING EVENT" POINT FOR BASICALLY TRANSFORMING HIS TRAUMA INTO A REM-SHAPED TREE. HOLY SHIT ITS OVER. ITS FINALLY OVER. THE PEOPLE CAN THE SUFFERING DIVISION CAN REST. THE BEST ROUND SO FAR BUT AT WHAT COST.

His total for this episode are 24 points, making the total 138 points. The debutant will certainly make a mark in the history of suffering olympics, and will drag all of us with him.

Please tune in for the final stampede round of the year!

[bl-bracket]

Info for how the brackets work:

So since there's been a lot more attention on this current competetion then the last, I thought I'd share some of my process on how the brackets get formed so y'all can understand how it works more!

Who gets put in the brackets?

Basically everyone who gets submitted at this point! I'm still starting out on here and I don't have a ton of traction yet, so every character submitted has been put in the bracket. Right now I've been doing 16-competitors brackets, so I basically take everyone's submissions and then add my own if I need more. The green flag bracket had the most amount of submissions so far (39) with 12 characters nominated. I added another 4 based on my personal choices to complete the bracket and that's how you got what we have now.

Why is X character against Y character?

The pairings for the bracket are about 80% randomized. The remaining 20% is my interference, which, in order to make the competition more interesting, is avoiding putting the real heavy hitters against each other in the first round. For this bracket (and those going forward), the "heavy hitters" were basically the characters I got the most repeated submissions for earlier. Like I said, I had 39 submissions with only 12 characters, many characters were submitted by multiple people. I took the ones with the most submissions and adjusted it so that they weren't going to face each other till later rounds. Maybe in the future I will adjust this policy but for now just keep in mind that the match ups are largely randomized.

Isn't this just a popularity contest?

I mean... yeah? Unfortunately that's how these bracket competitions seem to work and I'm not sure if there's any way to combat that. My best advice is to use as much campaigning and propaganda as you want for your desired canadite (also reblogging the poll if your follower base tends to have similar opinions on the shows can be advantageous to you ;).) I also think in future brackets I'll add the reasons people give for submitting their character to the posts to hopefully even the odds a little.

Also just some general info, I'm trying my best to be neutral as possible with these! I don't vote in the polls (originally because the very first round I ever did didn't have a lot of votes and I didn't want to sway any of them. Now it's just a fun little game of self restraint) so I'm not trying to get yall to vote for a specific character. I also haven't watched every single drama that is a part of these competitions so pls don't get too upset at a character being included that you think is inaccurate! There is a very real possibility that they were just a user submission I added! I don't want to stay which dramas I have or haven't watched (again I don't want to sway anything) so please don't ask me or interrogate me on why a character is a part of the poll! Like I said before, it's primarily user submissions and only a few are added by me, but I would really rather not say which are which (except maybe after a bracket has been completed!)

Anyways! This is just a reminder that this is all in good fun! The most popular bl is not necessarily the best bl, nor is the bl you find most enjoyable always the best bl either! It can be fun to argue and debate over fictional characters but please stay kind and remember to keep fun at the forefront!

[oswednesday]

bill's behavior has been good enough to get him "outside time" but he still has to wear the leg monitor, he's "catching up" with a demon he's made deals with that he owes cause like the universe conquering didnt go his way round 1, but its one of those things, the kind of person he cuts deals with-- if he pushed them around its not the first person hes going to show up for, its like, the pliable, like how many people are out there waiting to get a bite out of him after everything, people are afraid of what he'll do when he gets Out but a lot will know how vulnerable he is when hes in, which is to say hes in a meeting with a heavy hitter who really mellows out after a smoke or twenty two, all this to say

im there (emotional support pet in the astral space) and i make a realization like bill is dressed in a little hat and bow tie, this other guy has like what a monocle and an ascot? these arent liked clothes and im the only human here, so i throw my medical gown off

but every time it looks like You, the audience, are going to get an Eyeful of The Goods, bill's hat is in The Way, or his cane is out, or suddenly the perspective is such that his arm or hand is covering something, and so on

[sacred-stanning]

Final Roster Part 1: Some heavy hitters and Eirika and Vanessa

It's time for the final boss, but first, let's take a look at the 12 who made the cut and are at the last map.

First up is Ephraim. Ephraim is good.

Seriously, his original personal weapon is a way better Steel Lance, and it has so many uses that, especially if you repair it with the Hammerne staff, you can easily use it from the start of the game until the end. That lance alone makes him good. Then to back it up, he also has good starting stats and growths, and he gets a horse when he promotes!

His promotion being a little on the late side can feel a bit rough, but he's strong enough in his base class that it's fine, really.

I got his A Support with L'Arachel this time because I don't think I'd ever seen it all the way through before, and they are a bizarrely inappropriately matched couple that still gets an ending card together. Like, for real, what would they even talk about? Maybe L'Arachel just talks all the time and Ephraim grunts occasionally to show he's listening?

Eirika is better in her own route where you can use her more. She's still never quite as strong as Ephraim, even if you level her up a lot. She also is stuck using only swords for the whole game, even after promoting, so she never gets a good 2-range option.

I like Eirika though, and I'll probably do her route again next time I play Sacred Stones.

She got to C support with Ephraim and B with Seth. If I'd wanted to, I probably could have ground out the Seth one on one of those maps with huge deployments, but I didn't really feel like it.

Franz was the under-hyped keystone of this playthrough! He got lucky with defense growth in the early game, and basically was my designated brick wall from there on out. Absolutely stellar!

My biggest mistake with him was not choosing a weapon type to focus on so I could get him S rank in something, preferably not lances since so many other units had that covered. He could have easily gotten S in swords if I had thought to do so, or maybe even in axes, even though those didn't open up to him until after promotion.

LUTE

She's my favorite. :)

I went with Mage Knight this time for the con and the movement, and I think it was a good choice. It does mean that I missed out on some more points of magic that she could have gotten since she was bumping up against this 25 cap pretty quickly, but she was blasting stuff away anyway, so she didn't really need more magic.

In a game with actual trainee units, Lute has always felt a bit like a secret 4th trainee, except not annoying to use. When she first shows up, she's made out of tissue paper, and she's not fast or powerful enough to one-round most enemies, but she has such good growths in magic and speed that she becomes able to one-round enemies pretty quickly. And while she never really stops being tissue paper against physical attacks, her speed makes her dodgy, and her resistance growth is really good.

Oh, Vanessa... I like her as a character in her own right, and I like her because Lute likes her, but as a combat unit, she can be pretty disappointing sometimes.

Her strength growth was never good from start to finish. In fact, basically none of her growths worked out for me this time aside from speed. She got lots of speed. And I fed her resistance stat boosters.

But, hey, she can fly and rescue drop people, and she supports Lute and makes her even more deadly, so A+ job!

Cormag is generally the strongest of the 4 fliers in this game in my experience. Tana can end up pretty deadly with good growth luck, but Cormag starts out really strong, so he'll be good every time.

I had him go with Dragon Master for sword access, but then, even with me focusing on having him use swords, I just didn't have enough time to get his rank up to S. Like, it wasn't even close. Oh well.

It was fun seeing his support chain with Tana though. That's another one I don't think I ever saw through to the end before.

Next time: The other 6

[senstless]

Splinterlands Share Your Battle - Soulbound Reward Cards combine to give Bronze Level Cards a Victory over Silver level cards.

New Soul Bound Reward Cards combine for a great combo victory

As I continue to play the new reward cards that are so bound, I want to continue to highlight battle posts that show their uses and new strategies in the game. This week I played a match for the first time using Drybone Barbarian and I was really excited at how well it went. I thought it was something that might change a lot of my lineups and give new strategies for some areas that I'm currently struggling. Let's take a look at what I was able to do with bronze League cap cards or below, playing against maxed out silver league cards.

Weekly Challenge - Drybone Barbarian

Edition: SOULBOUND REWARD Rarity: COMMON Element: LIFE Attack: MELEE Abilities: ENRAGE Health: 10 Speed: 4 Attack: 2

Reasons Why I like it I really like the Drybone Barbarian because it isn't going to be a great tank card for hire mana matches. Especially those matches that restrict epic and legendary cards, I think this would be the new go to. With a massive 10 health and a very healthy for damage even at level one, it's going to be very formidable. The fact that it also has been range means it will just get a boost to go to damage and speed which can really ever some knockouts

I don't really see the negatives outside of its nine mana cost . It's true that doesn't have Shield or armor or void, but it is a very well-balanced card overall. I look forward to using it a bunch

The Matchup

The Rule Sets

Watch the Match Here

MANA: 21 Ruleset: Healed Out: All healing abilities are removed. Ruleset: Odd Ones Out: Only monsters with odd mana costs may be used. Ruleset: Tis but Scratches: All Monsters have the Cripple ability.

SPLINTERS: Earth, Life, Death

Initial Rule Set and Mana Gameplay Thoughts

This is pretty interesting when you combine 21 manna with three different rule sets. Not to mention one of the rulesets odd one's out restricts the cards available to only odd cards thus cutting the population of potential lineups even further. The other concern is the scratches where every card has cripple and health will become a significant issue very quickly. Anticipated my opponent to use potentially Earth and magic but losing some of the even cards will really make their lineups more difficult. I wanted to give this a new card a try so I went down the route of a heavy hitter in first place within range.

Opponent Lineup & Match Play

Summoner GENERAL Sloan solid choice for the matchup, but a little confusing given the lack of range attack monsters used I think they could have done better with a different life summoner.

ARGOYA SCRAPPER decent first monster for low mana cost. Small health but void and it might just absorb some attacks while the rest of their monsters do their thing

STITCH LEECH great all around sneak card, but I think it would be better in third position to allow to do sneak damage for more rounds

CHAOS AGENT another great moment of card to fill in, after the health boost and Dodge that will do well but I think it should be in second position

DJINN RENOVA great card especially level four, health boost plus three magic damage is really going to wreak havoc

PORTAL SPINNER good card, high damage after it's boosted to three and has scattershot which can either be great or detrimental.

Round 1

Before the round starts I'm not quite sure how this will play out. I think it all depends on whether or not I end up missing Chaos agent a few times. Passed around starts I don't have to wait long before Venrai Markscrat is knocked out. And I get my boosts too Drybone Barbarian boosting it to five damage with three speed and 11 health. This of course all before it gets enraged. I get my first knockout with Drybone Barbarian as it takes out gargoya scraper. I also get lucky as portal spin misses runeslinger and around ends as stitch hits and enrages Drybone Barbarian. To start the next round I'm going to be on full tilt.

Round 2

As you can see getting enraged is what I really needed. I now do eight damage with five speed and 9 health. This means I should be the first one to attack and I should always hit my opponents unless I miss due to dodge only. Cuz the round starts I get my second knockout of stitch leech. I don't get as lucky with misses this round and I think my chances of winning are now going to depend on where Portal spin attacks and if it hits

Round 3

From three starts and I get another knockout on Chaos agent. This puts everything into alignment and means I can secure knockouts and move portal spinner into first position where it can't attack as long as I don't get hit twice this round. I get lucky as room slinger attacks Djinn Renova, not only delivering the damage but also stunning her. Since it's stunned I'm no longer at risk of being knocked out this round. Portal spinner doesn't fact attack and hit Drybone Barbarian come up meaning if Djinn Renova wasn't stunned I would have lost

Round 4

The round starts with another knockout, securing my victory it's just a matter of removing the armor and getting to round 5.

Round 5

Round 5 is just a one turn knockout and a victory. It's great to secure the victory especially knowing I got pretty lucky

Thoughts - and Chances to Win Again

I think my lineup might have been a little high risk I reward but given that my opponent happened to be max silver league cards I think that might be the type of approach I need to take to get a victory. Looking over at my favorite website splintertools.io rude awakening than I am only 36% chance to win if Play it again. All this initially seems a little low it does show the importance of the stun I got in round three that let me win.

When I opened the prediction tool and played around in the custom battles I ran it multiple times for predictions and due to the randomness of portal spinner, my range is to win where anywhere from 40% to 60%. I think that means we're fairly evenly matched given the lineups and I'll consider myself very lucky to have secured this victory

Thoughts - and Chances to Win Again

I think my lineup might have been a little high risk I reward but given that my opponent happened to be max silver league cards I think that might be the type of approach I need to take to get a victory. Looking over at my favorite website splintertools.io rude awakening than I am only 36% chance to win if Play it again. All this initially seems a little low it does show the importance of the stun I got in round three that let me win.

~~@senstless

[ketchupqueenboiiii]

Young Justice

A/N: Some cursing and poorly written fight scene. I will be making this a multichap fic, reposting it to its own work. Also name is a WIP.

@maribat-2k20

Whoosh.

Thump.

Clank-Clunk.

Repeat.

Happy Harbor doesn't make her very happy. But it doesn't make her that sad either. No different than New York City. But at least her Mama was there. The mother-daughter duo had made amends and Audrey invited Chloe to live with her in the city. It was nice, until Chloe got antsy. She itched to get out there and fight. But New York wasn't her turf and there were no bad guys to battle. Chloe also wasn't too keen on going to school in New York.

She was completely fine with video calling her Mari-bug, thank you very much. But even Mari saw that she needed to get back into the game.

"Bee, you can't have your only interaction being with your over-worked butler, your work-acholic mother, and your ex in Tibet." Mari's voice was hoarse from being out of breathe.

"You're just phrasing it weird. You're my best friend more than my ex. And Jean-Paul is not over-worked. He has off on Wednesdays and Sundays." Chloe responded flippantly and continued to file her nails on her sofa, which was placed right in front of the 85 inch flat screen mounted the wall of her room. She had linked her phone to the screen and webcam so she had a good view of her friend.

Mari gave her a unimpressed look while drying her head. She wore a pink sleeveless workout shirt with red flower designs sewn in and matching capris. She was also bald now. A guardian-in-training thing, Chloe was told when she first got the frantic call with the news. Her clothing choice was impressive since she lives in a temple in the mountains. Surrounded by snow.

"Chloe, you're lonely and you miss Sabrina. I can feel it from here." The pink clad girl said, before taking a sip from her matching water bottle.

"I'm not lonely, I have those trainers I practice with and I talk to Felix every now-" Chloe argued. But then was interrupted by her friend.

"You know, I think you should go to Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. And use Pollen and Stompp." She smiled as she cut off Chloe, tilting her head to the side with a content look on her face.

What. Chloe thought, head turning so fast to the screen she should have gotten whiplash.

"You should go. My instincts tell me that your gonna find something there. And as a Guardian-in-training, my instinct is usually right." Apparently Chloe said that thought out loud.

"Mari, I can't just leave. Mama has work in the city-" Chloe tried.

"Stop with the excuses, Chlo. Audrey has a headquarters in Happy Harbor, so she could just move her work there." Damn her preparedness and reasoning. Chloe stayed silent as she glared at her friend, even though it hasn't had an effect on Mari since they were ten-year-olds.

"And lucky for you, I already called Audrey to confirm it and she agrees that it's a good idea." Mari does a little dance, smirking with a wiggle of her shoulders and eyebrows. Fucking dammit, Mari-bug.

"I'll give it a chance." Chloe grumbles, a little peeved.

"Then get packing, honeybee, 'cause your leaving in three days."

Sometimes Chloe can't believe she still listens to her Bug's crazy plans.

~

Running across the roof tops in the middle of town. How inconspicuous. Was Mari trying to get her captured?

Now Chloe just felt stupid. She opened the screen of her top and prepared to arrange for another call with Mari when she felt a shift in the air. Someone was approaching, but she couldn't see anyone there. That wouldn't mean much though, since she had experience with invisible enemies.

Enemies, really? Even in death, you show her no respect. Sabrina should have-

Opponents. Invisible opponents. Chloe steadied her breath and banished the thoughts for another time. Faking ignorance, she tapped randomly on her top's screen.

The invisible entity came closer. And closer. Just a little closer. Almost within reach.

She grabbed a horn from her headset that doubled as a weapon and swung at the mysterious invisible person in one smooth motion. She grinned in satisfaction when she felt it hit something and heard it yelp in surprise. Or pain. Either was good.

Chloe looked over in time to see a green-skinned red-head girl lying on the ground, clearly disoriented by her surprise attack. Chloe's smile fell a bit when she envisioned a different red-head in her place, one much more familiar, thought only for a moment.

A memory of her faults and another thing that she lost.

She was quickly thrown out of her spiral when she saw two boys fall from out of a random place in the sky. Her instinct was to catch them and moved to do so before she saw the insignias on their chests.

"M'gann!" They yelled, probably because of the girl on the ground. Also, ever heard of code names?

Both boys wore a different emblem on their chests. After focusing on them, she recognized them to be the ones worn by the Superman and the Flash. So they must be their sidekick squad. The girl was probably Martian Manhunter's apprentice, since green skin and invisibility.

The boy with the Superman logo glared at her as a red and yellow blur came at her. The Flash's sidekick probably. And damn did whatever he did to her stomach sting.

Good thing she's an expert on stings. Her inner Adrikins was beside themselves laughing while every other part of her wanted to shake her head in exasperation.

Fighting a speedster was like fighting blind. Not something she particularly excelled at. All she could do was dodge as best as she could, which meant getting hit every eighth strike.

Chloe planted her feet and recalled everything Mari had told her during her probation and training period. Mari may not have been properly trained then, but she learned the ropes fast enough to teach everyone else;

"Every team's bound to have some variation of these core members. You need to be able to identify them. The heavy-hitter.

Probably Super-kid. For her, sometimes it was Adrien and others it was Rose using Stompp.

The strategist.

Redhead One or Redhead Two? Definitely not. Speedy over their just ran up to her and kept whooping her, it didn't seem like he had any other objective. And Mari, duh.

The one light on their feet.

Redhead Flash, obviously.

With the power of subjection, you must incapacitate the biggest threat. To you, the people, a team member, or the entire mission.

Looks like Redhead Flash is getting stung today. Serves him right, that hit was gonna bruise.

"Venom." She thinks, and thrusting her stinger-armed hand into where she predicted the boy would be. And she's right he comes to a complete stop, and, to her amusement, the momentum of his running caused him to face plant into the ground with a crack. His wrist probably, since a venom kept you from intentionally moving but allows movement by external forces.

Namely gravity and the concrete of the rooftop.

"Kid!" Exclaimed a young voice, probably from the figure falling from where the Redhead Flash and Super-kid fell from.

Super-kid helped up Redhead One and turned back to glare at Chloe again. She just smirked and armed herself with a top in her left hand and a horn in the other. To be honest, it look like an escrima stick.

A silent challenge hung in the air, each daring the other to move first. Though it actually gave her time to think up a plan. The most practical thing would be to jump off the side of the building, making it look like a retreat and then swing in to take him from behind. Yeah, that should work.

Chloe made a scene of contemplating fighting and running away, narrowing her eyes in thought. She ran to the edge of the roof top and jumped, briefly loosing herself to the nostalgia. Of the wind in her face and the adrenaline in her veins. It's been way too long since the last time she felt felt them.

She threw her top at the ledge of the roof, willing it to change into a grapple and swung her legs routinely. After doing this exact maneuver countless times before, she instinctively moved with just the right amount of force at just the right time. They used to call it the 'Mari Go Round', named after the girl who taught her the tact and the American nickname for a carrousel. Also because the swing takes you in a full circle.

Chloe straightened her legs in preparation to slam into his back, hopefully pushing him of the side of the building or at least give him some kind of injury with her heels. But he turned at the last minute and smacked her out of the air with his forearm. The bruise forming on her leg tells her that he has both super strength and invulnerability, since normal human strength wouldn't have sent so far and normal human arms would have broken if they tried to pull that trick.

The newest guest started throwing stuff at her. So Chloe quickly rose and jumped to the next building. She needed time to think.

Chloe wasn't here to fight the heroes, she here because Mari told she'd find something here. Maybe a lost miraculous, or guardian artifact. Or maybe someone-

"Boo." The young voice happily said, followed by giggles.

"Merde!" She shrieked, throwing one of her own boomerang weapons at the voice. Her eyebrows furrowed when she heard the unsatisfying noise of them imbedding themselves in the concrete.

She heard a fwuop and whoosh noise from the sidekick squad's direction, directly behind her. Not a good move on her part. She turned her head to see a net and inch from her face, leaving no room or time for escape.  She hit the ground with a thud, unable to get up due to the weight of the net. It likely was made for non-human threats. Not that Chloe wasn't human, but she was magically enhanced and that made her a lot stronger than one.

She felt hands pick her up and set her into a kneeling position, unknowingly giving her an  advantage. She quickly broke off the heel of her boot and hid it in her hand. They surrounded her, but were weirdly silent. They made faces at each other, like one would to convey emotion into words.

Redhead One tried to touch her forehead, and Chloe definitely wasn't having that. She summersaulted backwards into Super-kid, successfully knocking him down and allowing her to cut some of the net with the sharp side of her heel. Her legs were free now, and as she multi-tasked cutting the rest of the net, and dodging what ever the new guy was throwing at her and the now flying Redhead One, she ran and jumped as safely as she could.

Who was she trying to kid, that's what she'd tell Mari when this was over. Literally none of the stuff she does is safe.

Chloe landed on a roof top the one they fought on and she was so close to  getting the stupid weighted-net off her. As she finished cutting the last bit of the net and she reached for her top, she was bound again. This time by a... rope? Something like her weapon, just it was without a top or yoyo at the end and was... gold.

Oh, fuck.

[skyhopedango]

State of the Season pt 3

Following pts 1 and 2...

Bishounen Tanteidan

I've been struggling with how to go about writing about this, because every single sentence I thought of ended with "...and this is why Ouran Host Club is superior and everyone should watch that instead."

I mean, it's not like the show is trying to avoid comparisons? Or maybe they thought Ouran Host Club was so long ago nobody would notice or care? But I mean come on, starting with the whole premise of "pretty boy club where the 'pretty boy' part is of central importance, and where the members are all eccentrics, especially the leader, takes in a girl disguised as a boy as their new member, that girl likes to snark at the eccentricies of the other members, and also she is voiced by Sakamoto Maaya" - even aside of that, there's also the whole "incredibly opulent school" setting, the "incredibly opulent" visuals in general, and...

Well.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

It's really obvious. And frankly, Bishounen Tanteidan is not doing itself any favors by setting itself as being directly comparable to Ouran Host Club, because Ouran Host Club is superior to it in every way. Sure, I'm biased - Ouran Host Club is one of my favorite anime shows ever, it's cute, funny - like really funny not "smirking sometimes" funny - it's extremely relatable to me and my fandom experiences, the voice acting is impeccable (Miyano Mamoru when he still gave a shit!), the direction and the visuals are handled by a sure hand, thoughtfully and with a purpose, and the characters are not simply charming and fun - they're just extremely well-written (most of them, anyway) with depth enough to sail a submarine through. (Also: Ouran Host Club is one of those rare anime adaptations which are so much better than their manga source material that it's almost unfair.)

In comparison Bishounen Tanteidan is basically one of those cheap chocolate Easter bunnies. It looks nice and tasty, but once you take off the shiny wrapper and take a bite you'll find that it's 1. completely empty inside and 2. the "chocolate" is just a cheap compound mix.

Really, I could talk about how the visuals are just opulent without any particular purpose, to the point where you just end up tuning them out because when everything is shiny nothing is really shiny; or how it's full of characters talking and talking and talking and talking and saying stuff that sounds complicated and smart but once you stop to think about it it's all banalities at best and pretentious bullshit at worst; about how the "cases" are just random shit happening until someone stops the story to give a lengthy exposition to explain the whys and wherefores, and it's usually incredibly dumb in a not-fun way... really, there's so much I could talk about, but to me the main issue is the characters.

Like, in Ouran Host Club after two episodes you already have a good idea of who these characters are, what are their main character traits, what are their relationships with one another, etc., and it only gets more detailed later on. In Bishounen Tanteidan we're on episode 7 and... who are these people, other than loose collections of randomly assembled tropes? There's Girl With Super Vision who is sometimes reluctant sometimes not; there's Boy With Legs who has legs; there's Boy With Pretty Voice who might be a lolicon and who mostly functions as Mr Exposition; there's Boy With Red Hair who is kind of gruff and likes cooking I guess; and there's Silent Boy who I'm told is artistic but that doesn't really figure into anything really. It's been 7 episodes and the only one with a clearly defined personality is Manabu and even that personality is "annoying and not in a charming way."

Anyway, I'm watching because I do enjoy the character designs, Boy With Pretty Voice does have a very pretty voice and he looks gorgeous, and overall it's a harmless way to spend 20 minutes a week. But honestly, the most enjoyment it brought to me was inspiring me to rewatch Ouran Host Club. Seriously people, watch Ouran, it's great.

.

Shadows House

This one, though! After Godzilla SP, this is another very pleasant surprise. I went into this not knowing what to expect, and got a really fun mystery with cute and likeable characters, some nice designs... just overall it's a very entertaining little show with a pretty interesting story so far. (It's taking me some self-restraint not to just get the manga and read ahead.) This is one that I look forward to each week, and I'll definitely read the manga once it's over.

.

Megalobox 2: NOMAD

Aaand there's this. This show is just great. Nothing more or less. Like the first season it's a well-rounded, well-produced, really well-done show that basically does everything well and despite being built on obvious tropes, despite the story being predictable, it's so smooth, so well-done, so raw and passionate, it has so much heart - that it never once feels tired or boring. It's a perfect example of how you don't need to reinvent the wheel to make a show good, that tropes themselves are not bad only when you use them wrong (same case with Ouran Host Club vs Bishounen Tanteidan above, btw). It shows how to take something that might be tired and infuse it with a new life.

I mean... sure, these things are incredibly subjective. But personally, Nomad generated a ton more emotions in me with its recent episodes than To Your Eternity which keeps being hyped as the emotional heavy hitter of the season. The episode of Nomad where the past happenings are revealed was really hard for me to get through, because everything in it was either way too relatable or way too real.

So yeah, so far Nomad is one of the best shows of the past years, much like Megalobox was, and I'm fairly confident that it's going to be able to stick the landing.

.

..

...oh yeah, and there's also Fairy Ranmaru. :D But I'm blabbering about that one separately I guess?

[nishaapologist]

Jock Energy (2078 AU, Sarah/Dusk/NBi!Lone Wanderer)

WARNING: i'm Welsh and know nothing about a) the American high school system b) baseball and c) anything. BUT THAT SAID THE FACT THAT ROOKIE IS CANONICALLY A JOCK IN THIS AU AND SARAH ISN'T??? literally hilarious. show-stopping. anyway i made most of this fic up on the spot with the liberal aid of google so if anything here is wrong: it be like that. it's fallout. i can do anything i want.

(for those new here, 2078 AU is an AU where the bombs don't drop and the fo3 cast are just hanging out in pre-war America, doing dumb shit like kissing and playing baseball. it's good. check it out. also dusk is here)

(sarah uses she/her pronouns, dusk and rookie use they/them)

=

"Didn't know you were into jocks, Sarah," Dusk teases one day out of the blue, right as Sarah's waving goodbye to Rookie after another long day of the academic grind at Roosevelt Academy. She's getting on the bus with Dusk so they can do some studying together back at home, but Rookie's staying behind for baseball practise, a duffel bag tucked under one arm and heavy with their kit, giving their little trot towards the field a certain sway to one side.

Instead of answering her friend right away, Sarah chooses to ignore Dusk just long enough to find them both a seat, sliding next to the window so she can mindlessly stare at the traffic outside, but once they're all situated and the words have finally wormed their way into her brain - fried after entirely too much fucking calculus in a gruelling fourth period - she blinks, and scrunches up her nose in confusion.

"What are you talking about? Rookie's not a jock," she says, because she's right. Rookie's five-foot-nothing and could probably be used in lieu of Sarah's weights on her barbell, and nothing about them has ever, nor will ever, make them resemble anything like the broad-shouldered members of the football team, who are, and always have been, Sarah's internal perception of all jocks everywhere. Shit, Kodiak's the ideal in her mind - tall and stocky, with a bright smile and a charming charisma that makes him annoyingly likable. He suits the garish colours of the school letterman jacket, just as much as he suits the defensive line in his games.

Dusk, however, just tuts. "Haven't been to any of their baseball games yet? For shame, Sarah; where's your school spirit?"

She just rolls her eyes, pressing her forehead to the window and letting the rumble of the engine vibrate against her skull. "I have other things to be worrying about than watching baseball. I only go to the football matches 'cause you became friends with half the team somehow." She pauses, and then shoots Dusk a look. "Aren't you the one who's into jocks here?"

"You wish. I don't give them googly eyes when I think they aren't looking."

Sarah wants to protest that she has never done that and that Dusk has no proof to the contrary, but if she gets into this argument again, it's going to take six hours before they actually remember that they're going to her place to do actual studying. They're both dire at math, and they need every braincell they can get between them in order to power through the masses of homework they've been assigned. "Uh-huh, sure. Whatever you say."

Dusk grins, and leans her head against Sarah's shoulder, as cutely obnoxious as ever. "You know I'm right."

They aren't. Sarah doesn't bother pointing it out. "Rookie's still not a jock, though."

=

Well, that's what Sarah thinks until they head into school the next day. For all of Dusk's accusations on the ride home, Sarah's pretty sure that they devoted more than half their study session to glancing at Sarah over the top of their glasses when she was particularly distracted by a complex problem, which she wants to ask about but also doesn't particularly want to get into right now. There's already a lot on her plate, which only seems to grow ever larger when Rookie - who'd taken an early lift to school with their dad this morning, a spare seat offered to Sarah and politely declined in favour of finishing her morning workout - comes down the corridor wearing that same garish purple-orange letterman jacket that, before right this very moment, Sarah had only seen on the likes of Dusk's friend group of significantly larger, more powerful, and incredibly masculine athletes.

There is, however, a very slight difference, because Rookie's jacket is fucking slathered in patches announcing baseball championships across the entire DMV, and not a single one of them carries a number any higher than #1.

"What the fuck," Sarah says, very cheerfully, instead of her intended hey Rookie, how's it hanging, and Rookie stops dead in their tracks with wide eyes, smile fixed but wilting fast. Somewhere behind her, Dusk snickers.

"Hi to you too?" Rookie offers, but then busies themself with opening their locker. "What's up?"

Sarah isn't sure what expression, exactly, is plastered on her face, but it must be absolutely hilarious to see because when Dusk rounds her to say something undoubtedly sarcastic, they catch Sarah's eye and have to muffle their shock of laughter by shoving their whole fist in their mouth. Still, Sarah barrels on. "You're a jock?"

"What?" Rookie looks down at themself, as if the jacket had magically materialised and they just hadn't noticed until this very second. "Uh... I mean, I guess you could take it like that. You already knew I was on the baseball team, though."

"Yeah," Sarah hears herself agrees, "like, the baseball team for ants."

Rookie snorts, though Dusk's laughter has now reached a whole new level of crazed cackling. "Okay, well, spoilers: I'm on the actual baseball team as the designated hitter and occasional outfielder, and I like to think I'm pretty good at it."

"Voted MVP twice, wasn't it? This year and last?" asks another voice, and Kodiak appears from behind Sarah in his own jacket - his various patches favouring the shape of a football versus the circular ones on Rookie's oversized sleeves. It really makes it clear Rookie is almost drowning in their jacket, because his sits much tighter to his body, buttons almost straining to hold all the width of his chest inside. "Which is kinda crazy. Usually freshmen never make that much of an impression."

"I think it was more impressive that the team voted for me after seeing my performance in left field," Rookie adds, laughing to themself. "Light a fire under my ass and I'll run the bases like nobody's business, but my throwing arm isn't exactly a godsend. Coach seems to think all the homeruns make up for it, though."

Sarah feels completely untethered from this conversation as a whole, hearing it mumble past her ears if only because she's now currently having to re-evaluate her entire life and understanding of the universe. Rookie is tiny, and very small, and very cute. Rookie does not look like a jock. And yet, Rookie is apparently a very good baseball player, and has all the patches to prove it along with Kodiak's word, who is very much a jock, and therefore would probably know best. What does it all mean?

In the time it takes her to deliberate all this information, Dusk has managed to regain some form of composure, and, as ever, they wield it in the worst way possible. "Hey, Rookie," they pipe up, unbearably smug, "you wear that jacket for all the pretty girls?"

Sarah considers, briefly, squashing them like a bug. They're small enough. It wouldn't take even a second. But Dusk isn't quite done yet, the bastard. "Or... did you wear it just to impress Sarah?"

Sarah could reduce them to strawberry jelly in an instant. She could crush them like a can. Smash them like a bottle of Nuka Cola. Their shit-eating grin says they know all too well what they're angling for here, but Rookie, who may be a jock but is also very small and therefore has only one little braincell, just blinks big and owlishly, confused.

"For the girls?" they ask, quietly. "Dusk, it's November. It's cold out there."

[nicka-nell]

Friend with the enemy - Chapter 1: The pretty boy

Masterlist     | Chapter 2 - next

Chapter: 1/4 | Oikawa x reader

Words: 2.816

Warning: none

(y/n) = your name | (l/n) = last name | (e/c) = eye colour | (h/c) = hair colour

“Do you want me to help you carry all those bottles?" you hear Tendou’s voice next to you. “No. They’re not that heavy. You better go warm up with the others. The game against Aobajohsai won’t be easy." You answer him seriously, but keep looking forward to the gym.

“Don't worry about it. We will break their little helpless heart in two.” Tendou suddenly starts singing and goes to his remaining teammates. Sighing, you shake your head. You’d love to know what’s going on in his head every day. No... actually not.

You put the bottles all on a small table next to the bench on which your trainers sit and put together a bench and a table for the opponents. After all, their trainers must be able to sit somewhere. Just when you want to lift the bench alone, Semi comes up to you and helps you carry it. “Eita, I want you to warm up. Please...I can do this on my own, all right?" you smile kindly. “Yes, I know (y/n). But you shouldn’t wear that heavy stuff on your own. I'm going already.” a narrow grin can be seen on his face before he joins his team to warm up.

From a distance you can hear a bus that stops at your school grounds and you look out. The school logo of Aobajohsai can be seen on it and for the last time before the game starts you get the boys together.

“Everybody, listen to me! The bus has just arrived and the game will start in a few minutes. It’s just a friendly game, but I want you to take a good look at your opponents. Analyze them. Get to know them. Remember their weaknesses and look at their strengths. Even if you are one of the best players in Japan, you can also learn from the others. So give your best and win!" determined, you call them.

“Thank you!” they all respond to you energetically and even the tears flow at one or the other. Some of them are really... built very close to the water when you say something. After a short moment they look at their coach. “I have nothing to add to her words. Be glad to have such a good manager. If you lose, you’ll all run a hundred rounds around school." The grim announcement of your coach was the exact opposite of your motivational speech, but the team also thanked him energetically and put themselves up for the greeting.

You step out of the gym to welcome the team of Aobajohsai and accompany them to the gym when some girls from your school start screaming like crazy. Leaning against the windows, they look at a certain person. The setter of Aobajohsai Tooru Oikawa. Enthusiastic about the girls, he waves to them.

Tooru Oikawa... He is known as a very intelligent player with an insanely good jumping stroke and as a setter he can put himself perfectly in his team members' shoes... But he is also known as a pretty boy who wants to wrap everything around his finger with two legs and a short skirt.

When they arrive, Oikawa turns the eyes off of the screaming girls and looks at you. Shortly you have the feeling that he looks at you and does not know what to say but this feeling lasts only briefly.

“Hello beauty. I am Tooru Oikawa, an incredibly good setter and incredibly good-looking." He grins stupidly. “Hello. (y/n) (l/n).” you answer barely with a nod. But inside, you roll your eyes. “Oikawa, you idiot! Stop flirting with the women here and concentrate on the upcoming game!" A dark-haired young man yells at him.

If you are right, the man in front of you would have to be Hajime Iwaizumi, the outside hitter, better said their ace and vice captain. “Hello, I’m Hajime Iwaizumi. I’m really sorry he’s so intrusive. You can't teach that idiot any manners. Sometimes Shittykawa doesn't know his limits.” Iwaizumi responds and strikes Oikawa with much force against the back of his head.

“Owie Iwa-chan! That hurt.” pounds the until now still happy Oikawa. “You don’t have to apologize for your friend. Please come to the hall, so we can start the game." You answer quietly, and maybe a little too cold. Even before the young men can say anything, you have already turned around and wave to them with a hand movement so that they follow you.

In the gym, the two teams welcome each other and you sit down next to your coach on the bench. You pick up your notepad and pen and start analyzing the opponents with the starting whistle and at the same time evaluating your team’s performance. You can win the first set with ease, just like you expected from your team. The second set seems to be more difficult. The score is 18:18.

Oikawa is now on with his serve. Completely concentrated, he takes a deep breath before he throws the ball into the air and makes a jump strike. “He lands in the left corner." You mumble to yourself and your coach looks at you skeptically. With full force it lands in the left corner of your playing field. “hm!” It escapes you and a small grin makes itself visible in your face. As if Oikawa had heard your low voice and your previous words, he looks in your direction and slightly opens his mouth.

Now you roll your eyes and look at your team. “Put some effort into it! This is a tragedy!" you call them energetically, and they apologize to you. Next to you, you hear your coach laughing. “I don’t know why I’m still sitting here. They seem to listen better to you anyway, (l/n)." sighs your coach. You do not consider it necessary to give him an answer and continue to follow the game. Much more serious and concentrated your team looks at the opposing team and as expected they win after only ten minutes the set and thus also the game.

While both teams are still stretching and changing after the game, you go to the canteen to prepare the vegetables and meat for the joint grilling. The trainers had thought about this idea since the members should exchange with each other about strengths and weaknesses.

You prepare the meat and vegetables on the plates and place a plate on your right forearm, take two plates in your hand and just want to take two more plates in your left hand when you hear a voice from the entrance door to the canteen. “(l/n), right? Do you need help with anything?" Iwaizumi looks at you with a questioning look and walks towards you.

“No, thank you. I can do it myself.” you answer him in a calm tone and set yourself in motion. You don’t want to cause him any more trouble. After all, he is one of the players invited by your school. “What a gentleman I would be if I didn’t help you with all these plates.” he laughs and takes two of your plates from you to take the last remaining plate. “All you have to do now is show me where we have to go with all the food." He then notes. “But you really didn’t have to help me." You answer him and go ahead, behind the sports hall where a table has already been set up to put down the plates with the food.

You put the plates down and you just want to go back to the canteen to pick up the drinks for everyone as you see Semi, Tendou and Ushijima already coming towards you with the drinks and some coal for the grill as well as paper plates and cups. In tow are both teams with their coaches. “You didn’t really think I’d let you carry all those heavy bottles, did you?" Ushijima asks you while he places the water bottles on the table. “Yes, you could have said something, you know that we always help you little (y/n)." Tendou continues and Semi nods in agreement. “Thank you. But you know that my job as a manager is to prepare such things alone?" you sigh. Just when Semi wants to answer you, you hear another voice where you only have to roll with your eyes.

“Iwa-chan! What are you doing?” Oikawa meddles and Iwaizumi rolls his eyes irritated. “Everybody, listen to me! We’ll start grilling now. You are responsible for putting the things you want to eat on the grill. Drinks are also available. So enjoy the rest of the evening." Your coach calls out to the crowd and everyone says thank you to him and goes to dinner.

You actually want to wait until the boys have packed their portions on the grill and then on their plates, but Ushijima apparently has something against it.

“Here. Lots of vegetables, little meat. Just the way you like it best." with a narrow smile, he offers you a plate of already grilled vegetables and a small portion of grilled turkey breast. About Ushijima, it is said that he laughs little... strangely enough he laughs a lot with you. “Thank you Wakatoshi." you also answer with a narrow grin and sit a little away from the whole people on the meadow.

“Can I sit next to you?" Oikawa grins at you, but before you can answer him, he is already sitting next to you. Briefly you look at him, but then turn to your plate with the food. “This really looks pretty yummy what you have chosen." Still grinning he tries to keep up the conversation. "Wakatoshi did this for me." you answer coolly and take another bite of your vegetables. “Wakatoshi? Are you guys together or why is he doing this?" surprised he puts his head upside down.

“Wakatoshi is a pretty nice young man. Do you want something in particular from me Oikawa?" You answer him and you finally want your peace. “Tell me... how did you know where my jump strike was going to end up?" in a serious voice, he moves a little closer to you and looks at you. “Oh? Did you hear that?" you ask him in wonder and place your now empty plate next to you.

“Yes. And I just wonder how you knew. You must have played volleyball yourself, right? Or are you really so good at analyzing your opponent?" His eyes are pinched as he tries to see through you. “I was introduced to playing volleyball at a young age. I also played for a long time, but I can’t play any more because of a knee injury." Sighing, you look at your legs. You’re not telling him that Ushijima was the one who got you to play volleyball. You’ve known each other for a long time what you can’t say about Oikawa.

“Oh... I’m really sorry. I don’t know what I’d do if I stopped playing volleyball. Volleyball is everything to me." With a serious look, he looks at your legs first and then up into the sky. For being so popular with women, he seems to be a brute. Volleyball was also important to you, but you are always looking forward to seeing your team play and supporting them with your analyses and tips.

From the corner of your eye you look at Oikawa and notice how he suddenly gets big eyes and looks at you hastily. “I am so sorry! That was really tactless of me." Oikawa tries to apologize. “It's all right." you answer coolly. “No, it is not. You know, I always have my day off on Mondays. I don’t train there. I’ll pick out a nice place to invite you and you’ll be served by me all day. What do you think of it?" Flirtatiously he smiles at you and tilts his head.

Sighing, you try to figure out how best to refuse, but before you can even bring out a sensible sentence, Oikawa holds your hands in his. “You can’t refuse now. Really. I want to apologize to you. That was really rude of me and I would really like to see a smile on your lips. If I manage to make you laugh, I have already reached my goal." He laughs kindly and a bit embarrassed. "All right..." you say with a grin. You see how he’s trying to ask you something as you hear another voice.

“Hey, (y/n), you should have a drink." Ushijima stands before you and hands you a cup of water. “Oh, thank you, Wakatoshi." you thank him and take the cup from him and drink the water completely. “Am I disturbing you?" he asks thoughtfully and looks back and forth between you and Oikawa.

“No. I was just leaving anyway." You answer and just want to take the cup and your plate in your hand, but Oikawa interrupts you in your movement. “Wait! How should I contact you?" he calls to you questioning. Giggling, you take a pen out of the pocket of your blouse and pull the hand with which Oikawa holds you and write a few numbers on his forearm. “This is my cell number. You should write it down before you take a shower and the number’s gone. See you Oikawa." Grinning, you and Ushijima go back to the others.

“Did Oikawa want something from you?" Ushijima asks you on the way back. “He wanted to apologize to me and invited me on a date. It’s a long story, I guess." You laugh and hook up with him. “Oh? A date? Mh... You can tell me about it when we are back home." he answers you curiously before you arrive at the others. Having arrived at the others, you hear Iwaizumi calling his crew together.

They seem to want to leave. You all say goodbye to each other and you start cleaning up the barbecue area. Semi, Tendou and Ushijima help you even though you told them you didn’t need help. Together with the boys it doesn’t take long until you make your way home with Ushijima. Once there, you both put your bags down and sit down on the sofa to watch your favorite show like every night.

**Beep-Beep** Suddenly you hear your phone vibrating in your chest pocket. Ushijima looks at you questioning as you are about to take out your phone and read a message from an unknown number.

You’re still answering grinning and putting your phone away as you hear a laugh from your right side. “So, so a friend... Just finish the message. The commercial is over soon and the show continues. Let’s see it through and then you can keep writing with your friend." Ushijima answers you and draws quotes into the air with his index and ring fingers. You give him a friendly punch in the arm and stick out your tongue.

After the show, you both get ready for bed and each of you goes to your own bedroom. In your bed, you and Oikawa write texts until night. Shortly before three o'clock at night you notice how your eyes get heavier and you are about to fall asleep when your phone vibrates again in your hand.

Pretty tired you read his message but fall asleep right away.

Chapter 2 - Smile for me

If you want to be tagged, just say so :)

[today-only-happens-once]

Have you talked about your DnD PCs before? Can you talk about your game on tumblr? What's all been going on last few sessions :o

ANON you are one of my favorite people today this ask made me so freaking happy. (So is @psychedelicships  who said I had an invitation to ramble about my d&d campaign) Sorry for my excited gushing and rambling slkdfjdsklfjskldfj

My D&D Player Character

So my current D&D PC is named Kyssarda. She’s a half-elf neutral-good monk. I’ve rambled about her backstory before but the condensed version is that there’s a pattern of people leaving her/abandoning her in her life. Her parents died in a fire that her older brother rescued her from when she was four. She passed out on the way out, and when she woke up, she’d been told that she’d been left on the doorstep of the temple. Her brother was no where to be found. When she eventually made her way back home, her home was ash. Monks trained her, but they weren’t really equipped to raise a small child, so Kyssarda had a very lonely upbringing. The monks follow Sehanine (d&d deity), so she was raised on the tenants of her teachings and the teachings about following your own path led to her eventually striking out on her own. As a result of her upbringing and past, the people in her life (i.e. the party) are super important to her, because they are the first friends she ever chose and in some ways, they’ve chosen her too. She has abandonment issues up the wazoo, and hoo has she been reminded of that in recent sessions.

She’s very... empathetic and soft. She pays close attention to the mental/emotional state of her party members. Part of that is just who she is, but a lot of that is informed by her own loneliness. She doesn’t want others to feel like they’re alone, because she knows very intimately how much that can suck. Her loyalty and protectiveness of her friends leads her to sometimes not make the most tactically advantageous decision in combat, and also means that she has basically no self-preservation instincts (which is the main reason I’m pretty sure she’s gonna die before the campaign is over).

Campaign Stuff/Ramblings (under a cut because I’m literally just never going to shut up lets goooo):

So the original party consisted of a Teifling Paladin, a Wood Elf Rogue (who is multiclassing in monk), a Leonin Blood Hunter, and Kyssarda. We met during a fighting tournament and was contracted by the king to retrieve something for him. We teamed up for that, and convinced the king to come along too. So we traveled to some ruins, fought some stuff, and found the relic the king needed. We ran into a Jotenheim giant and fought that. In the process, the Leonin ended up attacking Kyssarda (cuz he’s basically a werewolf lion, and when he goes to his hybrid form and drops below half-health, he has to save on a wisdom saving throw or he just attacks the closest figure which happened to be meeee). 

Later on in a different fight in the same place, Kyssarda freaking died thanks to 2 chain lightnings (I took damage while unconcious and then rolled a Nat1 on the death save). But the king we brought along was a cleric who had what was needed for revivify. So Kyssarda came back, with a withered left hand. The Leonin felt responsible for her death because he’d attacked her earlier, and vowed to help her fix her hand. 

I forget exactly when, but during this journey, Kyssarda and the Leonin learned that there was a war brewing between two different kingdoms and that the Elf Rogue seemed to have a personal (but vague?) stake in the outcome of that war.

but ON OUR WAY BACK to the city, we got side-tracked with a quest to help a little girl rescue her family. So we also fought a troll and a hag. And when we were getting her family out, we also found (Surprise!!) the estranged (kinda) sister of the Elf Rogue. 

This lead to some downtime back at the main city. Kyssarda got her hand fixed at a temple. We got the sister of the Elf Rogue healed up at the same temple. The Leonin had a hilarious and embarrassing fight with a creature I can’t remember the name of. And lots of research was done by all about various things. Kyssarda did the most research, as she grew up working in the library section of the monk monastery so she’s always curious. So she starts looking into things about the war going on, and learns that Mr. Elf Rogue is in fact ROYALTY. He’s a prince of one of the countries at war. And we had learned already that he had fled the city with his siblings but not that he was royalty?? So that was a trip to learn. 

Meanwhile, Kyssarda is also helping the Teifling Paladin with some research because he’s been having weird dreams. And while they’re chillin’ in the library, the Paladin finds this book and gets sucked into it. Like. One minute he’s there, one minute he’s not and the book is floating before it closes and slams on the table. So Kyssarda (Ms. Abandonment Issues and also Freshly Traumatized By Havivng Died) panics and takes the book and runs. Our Paladin is still in the book. We sent him a Sending Scroll asking if he was okay and he basically said “Yeah im fine I’ll be back eventually”. Kyssarda also had a nice heart-to-heart with the Elf Rogue about the reemergence of his sister and told him a little about how her own brother abandoned her and encouraged him to just be patient with her (because the sister is not happy with him). 

But the show must go on, and our Elf Rogue really wants to get back to his home and help in the war effort somehow, plus find his brother who also is MIA. So Kyssarda, the Leonin, the Royal Elf Rogue, his sister, AND another human PC (a guy who helped sneak the Elf Rogue and his siblings out the city all those years ago and was being played by the guy who used to be the Paladin) all travel out headed towards the Elf Rogue’s homeland. 

But we get to the border at a bridge, and the party finds themselves facing down some harpies, some marrows, and a water elemental. In the fight, Kyssarda casts silence to help against the siren song the harpies were singing. Which was mostly a good thing. The water elemental was something else though. It engulfed both Kyssarda and the Elf Rogue, and Kyssarda was down to 1 HP when the Leonin yanked her out. However, because of a REALLY unfortunate roll by the human pc to save from a drop into the river (rolled a 2 and had a minus 2 on the modifier), he was unconcious and drowning. And none of our characters knew because. y’know. Silence. He kept drowning as the fight went on. And he eventually got washed up on some rocks and could make one death save after two failed ones. And he failed. And we had no cleric, and besides... it was more than a minute before we found his body down river. 

And all of our characters felt terrible. Kyssarda has a tendency to take blame for things that maybe aren’t strictly her fault, so she definitely feels a weight of responsibility for complicated reasons. The Leonin expressed that he felt some level of responsibility as well, and also hesitation about going forward with the journey though some conversation between Kyssarda and him lead to him continuing on regardless. The Elf Rogue was pretty torn up about it. 

We got some Elf Rogue backstory that addresses the fact that he was royalty (which was something Kyssarda had thought about asking) and more explanation of what’s been going on with him and his connection to the land we’re heading towards. We run into a fey creature that was an old ally of the Elf Rogue and Teifling Paladin, and we agreed to help him.

Cue the session last night.

We go to get some stuff of his back from an Incubus/Succubus pair. And sh!t hit the fan. Our Elf Rogue rolled really high stealth and decided that was a fine reason to dive through the broken window. Meanwhile, we were going on this side-quest with a half-orc barbarian (played by the guy that’s usually the paladin and who had the first PC death of the game the session prior). And the Incubus and Succubus can each essentially mind-control people, or try to. And both our barbarian and our Leonin Blood Hunter failed their wisdom save and so our two biggest heavy hitters were mind-controlled by the enemy. THAT went about as well as you’d expect. 

Over the course of the fight, the Leonin went unconcious twice. Kyssarda once. The Elf Rogue twice. And the barbarian would have gone unconcious but thanks to relentless endurance, he was brought back to one HP. In fact, we reached a point towards the end where the Leonin, Kyssarda, and the Elf Rogue were all unconcious and our barbarian was the only one standing...at one HP. That’s when the incubus (we’d killed his mate by then) took the Elf Rogue’s sister and made a break for it. The barbarian brought me back first (because I was dying in acid and therefore automatically failing death saves). Then I brought back the Leonin and we got the Elf Rogue up too. We managed to chase down the Incubus and save the sister as well. but HOLE. EE. SH!T. Most terrifying, stressful D&D combat of my LIFE. Kyssarda came very, very close for two rounds to offering herself up as a willing victim/slave/whatever if they’d let her friends go. She didn’t because the tide was starting to turn by then in the fight but it was a ROLLERCOASTER.

Before we closed the session, we went back to that fey guy and got paid though Kyssarda stormed off kind of? She didn’t vibe with the guy because she almost lost her friends over his stupid book and she was shaken and upset. But she had a conversation with the Leonin at the end of the session just kinda... dealing with the trauma of the past few days in-game. It was actually a really nice moment. I think my favorite RP moment for Kyssarda so far. 

So yeah! If you read all of this, I’m surprised and touched. Heh. I literally love D&D so freaking much, and I’m especially attached to this party and this character... though her lack of self-preservation does have me starting to plan for another back-up character just in case. ^u^