#we are not speaking of the author of hp here (not gonna put her name in the tags so people can't see it)

[pardonmydelays]

Did you like Harry Potter?

so we are actually halfway through, four more to go!

so far i really like it and i can see now why so many people love this series. i'm having so much fun and watching it with bel is amazing because she's even more excited than i am (probably the same thing happened when she started listening to twenty one pilots because of me and i almost exploded and i still can't believe it and i will never shut up about it. look what i did here. i am answering ask about harry potter and yet i had to mention them at least once. oh god).

anyway, we are going to watch the next one today! and out of the first four i liked the third one the most.

[quietlysatan]

Year One: The Year of Revelations Part 1 of the Harry Potter and the Diplomat's Son Series - Lady Angel (dameange), AO3

Link: Here!! 

Rating: T for too fucking sweet ohmygod it’s so great

Favorite Quote(s): I love these sort of things, and people, the sort who can act as proper as their situation calls for one second, and then a regular human the next.

Severus had to violently subdue his urge to cast a silencing spell at the naked toddler. But he watched the scene unfold with curiosity. Mere moments before, the boy had been the perfect, docile high society child. Seen, but not heard, a perfect little complement to the seemingly perfect aristocratic life. Now, he was laughing and tickling, and generally acting like an eleven year old boy should. Severus found this dichotomy of interest.

Harbin, or Hari, Harry’s name under his adoptive parents, is still just as oblivious as he always has been for all that he’s not dumbing himself down anymore, or possibly never at all if the age he was "lost” is right...

Severus was curious, of course, but kept his own counsel, choosing to turn his attention back to the transfigured vase, changing it into the symbol of his house, although a nonpoisonous one. Chevalier seemed to recognize this as he held his hand out for the green garden snake. Father and son seemed to be mesmerized by the snake, Harbin going so far as to hiss to it, laughing in delight when it hissed back.

I love Slytherins, and this whole family is Slytherin fight me

Those muggleborns and their families that Severus had to contact in the years before Harbin Chevalier either stared in stupid gapped-mouth wonder or exclaimed over everything like it was the second coming of Merlin. The Chevaliers and their bodyguard, instead, smoothly glided about Diagon Alley as if they owned it. Purebloods that usually turned up their noses at everyone, nodded at them with gentility and sharing space with them rather than glaring them out of the way.

Embarrassing but loving parents is my favorite thing

Seeing that no one was paying attention to them at all, he pondered how she could think he was growing up so fast when it felt like forever just since Professor Snape had come to the house. Mothers could be strange creatures like that.

I love Ron, he’s the dumbest smart person in the whole series and he’s such a sweetheart, and he always means well, and whenever authors get it right I fall a little bit in love with their works

The girl gave Weasley a tremulous smile. The boy fell like a domino. Pathetic.

I just think this is really important and something not a lot of authors actually touch on when writing Harry Potter stories, even in canon we barely get any of this if at all, at least as far as the movies are concerned which is such a shame

Severus watched as the child contemplated his toy. An orphan never stopped wondering about their biological parents, no matter how happy they were with their current situation. Harbin wandered out of his classroom with nary a goodbye. He forgave the slight, knowing that ruminations about his birth parents were taking up the boy’s entire mind.

I actually want this one tattoed on me

“Nous apprenons. Nous planifions.”

Words & Chapter(s): 33,610 words, one-shot of what is current;y a 4 part series so far, though each entry is complete each piece of this series is also a one-shot, and I have plans to review each

Summary: this is the summary for the first entry, but I feel it rather gets the point across

Sometimes it isn’t about nature versus nurture. Sometimes it’s nature and nurture. Instead of being raised as Harry Potter by the Dursleys, he became Harbin Chevalier, the son of a French diplomat, and part of a loving Muggle family. What would have been different?

Score: 9459858495880883498439859.9..... So like, literally one of my actual top three reads, I’ve read this about six times and started learning French because of it. 

Pairing(s):  Eventual Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter does not happen until entry four of the series, Wolfstar!!! Background Sophie Chevalier/Uncle Jonah/Yves Chevalier, eventual Wolfstar

My personal headcanons for each of the (Lovely and wonderful) original characters general looks are as follows because I thought it would be nice to add: Sophie is tall, taller than Yves, but shorter then Jonah, though most humans are. Sophie has warm toned tan skin and dark, nearly black, brown hair and golden eyes as warm as the sun. I always picture her wearing fantastic evening gowns for no other reason than that I can.

Jonah looks like if Vin Diesel and Jason Statham were somehow combined if a bit taller and all around bigger, and his eyes are a deep nearly metallic grey, he is bald, mostly because he shaves his head. I tend to think of him wearing casual easy-to-move-in suits that seem emptier than they actually are.

Yves appears in my head as a slightly shorter than average man, though most don’t notice it past a passing observation, his personality is to warm, he’s a little tanner than most white people, but he is, in fact, white, he’s got beautiful warm friendly ocean blue eyes, and his hair is bright and blonde, a little wavy when left alone, but otherwise stylishly slicked into position. He tends to wear obviously nice, stylish yet comfortable suits similar to Tony Stark when he actually puts on a suit whenever I think about it, honestly, Yves is played by a blonde haired blue eyed RDJ sooooo, take that as you will

Warning(s): Past Child Abuse not very graphically described, but both parents are aware of how bad off he was. Child abandonment by Dumble-douche-bag The Dursleys. Said child was Harry in both situations. I don’t even know who else that would happen to in the HP Universe to be fair though. 

The kidnapping of a different child. Not Harry in this case. No worries, he’s perfectly fine and his kidnapper is tormented by him the entire time regardless anyways which is great.

Temporary, understandable, and acceptable Ron bashing. (Spoiler here)

The basilisk thing happens, the philosipher’s stone happens, everybody is okay

Pros: It’s so good I PICKED A LANGUAGE TO LEARN BECAUSE OF IT. You cannot regret reading this. Even if you don’t care for Drarry, you’re gonna fucking love this regardless, and that doesn’t really happen until like the fourth-ish book anyways so...

But the french is so cool, if you hover over it there will be a translation presented automatically somehow, and since I’ve read this seventeen times I’m starting to recognize a few words, which, is awesome. 

And Oooh The Game, I love The Game, for those of you who do not know, The Game is, essentially, what “Important People” do for fun, it’s the reason why there are seventy different utensils at a fancy dinner party, why we serve hors d'œuvre, why everything from how you stand, to your accent, to how you talk, and even how you walk, is important at Certain Social Functions, it is, essentially a political ploy, a game to see who is the most    Cultered, so to speak. It is the reason why “Look underneath the underneath” is even a thing, for a more in-depth example I suggest watching someone play Dragon Age: Inquisition, specifically The Game mission/chapter/event. 

But gods do I love The Game, it’s so much fun, and such a rush, you just have to be careful to turn off The Game when you’re done tho, and not to run out of batteries so-to-speak, They can sense exhaustian and it’s like sharks to blood once that happens

Harry really enjoys slightly seducing absolutely everyone within a five-foot radius, he’s so sweet, and charming, and open with affection, Draco is very adorable about it too, and Hermione’s just such a lovely character in this one, she’s sweet but still her, and she restrains herself some which is always a nice break, Draco actually has to slowly work through his prejudices which is always fucking amazing, and well-appreciated, Ron also has his own to work through, but he’s always been a simple/single-minded person so that was quite easy to work past.

ALSO, THERE’S NO BASHING!!!!!!!!! Except for Ron for a little bit, but Hari takes care of that Real Quick

Harry is a manipulative little shit and it’s beautiful, this is what I mean when I say all manipulations aren’t bad, like, telling your kids they can get super powers if they eat all their veggies, it’s still manipulation but it’s towards a good end, and well-meant

Gif Aesthetic: Harry’s parents when Harry does anything

What Harry sees when he sees his friends (The freaking cuteness!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Everyone @ Harry, but especially Draco

The overall mood of this fic????

So cool and badass

[cursewoodrecap]

Session 2: Academics and Debates

Due to DnD being scheduling hell, Clem the fighter is Definitely Standing Just Offscreen this session. Meanwhile, the DM introduces two mechanics he has been dying to try out: Corruption, and the Deck. 

There will be a full post about Corruption later (when DM tells us how the rest of it works, lol) but the point is this: the longer you stay in the cursed forest, the deeper you go, the more you experience there - the more cursed you become. It corrupts you. You can earn corruptions in various ways - cosmetic (looking more monstrous and less humanoid); psychological (e.g. feeling a compulsion for bloodlust or gaining a terrible phobia); or others I have forgotten about right now, at 9:50pm, while eating lasagna. 

Certain things that happen when in the woods give you points toward a score called Taint. (Heh heh heh.) We, uh, lost our Taint virginity this session. (No, DM, we will not stop. You brought this upon yourself.)

The Deck is a deck of cards used to determine encounters. Again, full post later, but it has such cards as “The Hunt,” “The Crown,” “The Wanderer,” etc. Each one can symbolize multiple things. For example, “The Crown” represents authority and government, so it could mean help from Duke Shieldeater’s forces - or it could mean a dangerous clash with enemy soldiers. 

ANYWAY, STUFF HAPPENED:

We woke in the Temple of Rack in the village of Ovruch, early in the grey dawn hours. There was brief scramblin’ around as the players did math to figure out how much starting wealth we all had and how much spare change those bandits had left lying around for us. Valeria spent some of the money overnight to make some Holy Water.

We scooted on out of the town without really saying much to anyone - the few people awake and the guards on patrol were definitely giving us Looks, but we didn’t really stop to chat.

Shoshana leads the way towards the ravine she had directed Sir Balderich to. Even in the 8 months since she’s been out in this direction, the woods have gotten darker and more foreboding, alarmingly tangled and twisted. A decent Survival check does right by us, and DM directs Shoshana, as the one rolling it, to draw a card from the Deck. She draws The Crown.

The Crown: Authority, government. A bit of good luck (and perhaps DM guilt?) leads us to a fortuitous find: an abandoned cart bearing the seal of the Royal House of Valdia, smashed and overgrown. There’s a strongbox off to the side, nestled in a hard-to-see place, miraculously untouched by bandits. Gral examines it, wondering if he might be able to coax open the lock...when the pommel of a shining sword just slams down and smashes the lock mechanism to smithereens. Thanks for the crit, Valeria.

We find: 100gp, 4 jewelry items of 25gp value each (1 mirror, 1 bracelet, and 2 rings), a silver dagger (given to Gral), and a bladeless sword hilt carved in runes. Gral and Shoshana determine that the sword hilt is not evil and probably magic, but hell if we know what it does.

We travel onward, and Valeria draws the next card: The Wanderer. The DM cannot suppress his glee, because he has an NPC he really really likes and it’s time to use him!

We hear shouting in a strange language - Draco-Aquilian, which only Valeria knows. Also generally crashing mayhem noises. We hustle on closer, and Valeria understands that the person is shouting “OH GOD! LIGHTNING DOESN’T WORK! LIGHTNING DOESN’T WOOOORK!”

There is a cart, drawn by two lizardlike beasts of burden. There is a Shambling Mound trying to engulf the cart and its inhabitants. Two Goliaths, a male and a female, are all tangled up in the thing, and there is a skinny, fancily-dressed blue Dragonborn generally panicking atop the cart. Being PCs, we attempt to kick butt. It eats Valeria (a helpful Goliath pulls her out), Shoshana sprays it with weedkiller, and we all go “???!?! WE ARE LEVEL 2″ but we don’t die. Valeria uses a Smite of some sort that looks like glowing vines snake through its plant form and burst into roses!!! It’s very Sailor Moon. Valeria gains 3 Taint for dropping to 0 HP while in a Cursed area.

The fancy Dragonborn hops down from the damaged cart and addresses Valeria in Draco-Aquilian, which nobody else speaks. “Greetings! I certainly must say, I did not expect to be rescued by a Knight of the Rose! I am Lucinius Galvan, Professor of Archaeology of the University of Aurentium!” He and Valeria chat a moment - “Argent? Oh I’m sure I’ve heard that name-” “Daughter of Renata and Bastion of the Silver Steppes.” “Oh, of course! The princess who became a knight! I’m merely an Earl myself-”

a) Yes, I wrote down your lore, feel free to correct my spelling; b) They’re speaking Fancy Dragon Words so the other characters don’t know any of this.

We also meet his Goliath bodyguards, Bjorn and Ingborg, who speak...not that much Valdian. They are Vangarians - part of a highly professional force of mercenaries rented out by the Draco-Aquilian Emperor. Extremely practical in the face of nonsense. Lucinius, meanwhile, requests them to bring out Tea! and Fancy Teacups! and Breakfast! and little stools to sit on! Bjorn complies, long-sufferingly. Shoshana is Awkward Turtle about fancy rich people things, and Gral is pretty suspicious but definitely has some jam and toast.

“I say! Are you local to this area, madam?” he inquires. Turns out he’s searching for some Aquilian ruins in the area, and Shoshana is able to give him decent directions to the spot she used to play in as a child. He describes his research - there’s a presentation, with visual aids. Bjorn tries to save us from having to sit through it, but academia cannot be stopped. Why did the Aquilian Empire never conquer the Greatwood? We must DO ARCHAEOLOGY about it!!!

Also, he identifies the mysterious sword hilt as, functionally, a scroll of Flame Blade. Neat! Due to a conversational mix up between etymology and entomology, he gives us a magic beetle that acts as a floating lamp. We love our Rune Beetle. (He pulls it out of “one of his many pockets,” and is immediately declared to be wearing the world’s fanciest Tacky Fisherman Vest.)

He’s ready to cheerfully forge on into the forest! Gral and Shoshana quietly pull Bjorn aside and warn him that the Cursewood is, like, super cursed? Did you guys not notice??? Bjorn and Ingborg thank us for the information, and continue on their way, almost certainly figuring out how to put a child leash on the adorable fancylizard.

Gral draws the third and final card of the night: The Outlaw. We come across a small camp: the bandits who attacked Ovruch the night before. Gral overhears them - their leader, the largest and most imposing, is threatening the others into compliance. They are uneasy - the wolves ran away last night after the werewolf was killed; can they trust the freaks in the ravine not to betray them? Doesn’t matter! The freaks in the ravine will eat them if they don’t cooperate, and they’ll get better loot by working with ‘em. 

Shoshana is like “welp,” and rolls up her sleeves, but Valeria very nobly goes “NO, there must be Another Way.”

“Uh, you do realize those are the guys who KILLED INNOCENT PEOPLE yesterday, right?”

“And we just heard they’re being coerced! We don’t have to just kill them.”

Valeria strides into the bandit camp in a Nonthreatening Pose, weapons down. The bandits all jump to alertness, because Large Dragonperson In Armor, Oh No. She begins to offer them another option - we don’t know if she’s thought of one yet, but dang does she roll well on her Persuasion check to get them to listen. The bandits are going “...hmm, IS there another way?” but their leader, the madness of the Curse in his eyes, orders them to attack.

We kick their butts; Valeria deliberately nonlethals the bandit leader into unconsciousness. Gral offers the other bandits a harsh but fair option out: “Travel south, to where Duke Shieldeater’s forces are clear-cutting forest in order to hold back the Curse. Volunteer yourself for manual labor there. You will be treated fairly, if you work. In your spare time you will learn Orcish, for we have need of translators.”

The bandits, who have all gained Brooklyn accents, say, “Okay, deal, but...your friend there ain’t gonna kill us as we leave, is she?”

Because as they spoke, Shoshana had definitively Chill Touched their leader to death.

She agrees she’s not going to kill the bandits, but they better get the fuck out of here.

We also grill the bandits for information on The Hunt, which is what the “freaks in the ravine” call themselves. We learn that they sleep with wolves around them, and those that disagree with them are hunted for sport. There are traps set up around the perimeter of their territory - that’s how they captured the knight, who they are now keeping in some kind of cage. The bandits are unsure of the identity of the main leader - there was Lupo, the werewolf we killed last night, but they mostly listen to this Weird Guy In A Hood. Also, there is a huntress-woman, an archer girl. Shoshana freezes, and carefully asks who the huntress is, and what she looks like. They say she’s spooky; the shadows cling to her.

The knight is caged in the ravine, the part where it gets supernaturally dark. Most of the camp is outside The Darkness, but there’s a cave down there where the Huntress and the Weird Hooded Guy and Lupo lived. They bring the bandit leaders down there sometimes, to show them who’s in charge.

Also there’s this war-boar running around, with a dead Demish knight still strapped to its back?

We let the bandits (whose accents have swapped to Southern) escape, and then Valeria and Shoshana have what some folks call a “spirited ethical debate,” which in layman’s terms means they are PISSED at each other.

Valeria is shocked and appalled that Shoshana would kill an unconscious man. Especially when the bandits were surrendering and cooperating! Monstrous and brutal behavior. How could you?

Shoshana angrily stands by her decision. “How many people did those men kill last night?” she asks. “People I grew up with. And you think letting these bandits go free is worth letting them do that to innocent people again? Their leader was already Curse-mad. Too far gone.” (To be fair, she is too pissed off in the moment, and her player too awkward, to articulate her position this eloquently.)

Valeria erases 3 Taint for doing something so noble and heroic against the will of the Curse. Shoshana gains 3 Taint for acting in a way encouraged by the Curse.

With nothing to do but simmer at each other, and Gral diplomatically not choosing a side out loud, there is nothing to do but move on.

DM agrees that we could take a long rest now and reach the ravine by 4 or 5 pm. We jump at the chance to get our spell slots back, but each take 3 Taint for spending so long out here in the cursed lands.

All characters are now level 3.

[ilikebigbooks-and-icannotlie]

What are your favorite blogs? You reblog from so many different ones so I was jw ha ha (LOVE ff&ss btw!!! Please keep writing!)

Aaahhhh!! Thank you thank you! It’s still so weird to me when people say they love my writing, lol, but there will be lots more to come!! 

Oh man, this is such a loaded question anon, you don’t even know - my list of favorite blogs is so long, and I have lots of different ones, and I don’t know how to narrow it down? The categories of blogs are going to be kind of weird, and some will have descriptions and some won’t so just get ready (also be advised that they are in no particular order and that they are not in order of how much I love them because that would be unfair as I love them all in varying amounts for different and many reasons) :

The Squadre - first and foremost, for reasons I talk about often, I love @highlady-casandra @miladyaelin and @shortie-stories so so so much!! If you check my sassacas tag, you’ll see a lot of love for these ladies - the first two of which are wonderful SJM blogs if you’re about that life :)

@frankiefasthands - is one of my oldest and best friends in “real life” (we’ve now known each other for like 11 years, which is kind of insane?) and her blog is always cool, though most of my reblogs from her go to my personal blog, @they-did-the-do

The Hannahs - so these guys are all together because they’re all named Hannah, but that’s pretty much the only similarity between the three of them lol@propshophannah is the SJMaas Hannah, and an amazing writer, and a great person, and really wonderful all around and I love her and her blog so so much - probably my favorite SJM blog, if I had to pick one. But also, if you need life advice, or have a sex ed question that you’re really uncomfortable asking anyone else, she’s probably already answered it, or will happily answer it if you send her an ask, because she’s just the best, and just really positive, oh man, just so wonderful@ignitesthestars (also known as New Zealand Hannah, lol) is also a really great Hannah - her blog is also really wonderful, really happy, really feminist, just generally a good place, always makes me smile :) She’s got AMAZING fic, always my go-to recommendation for people if you’re looking for tgt or soc or pjo fic (or star wars fic, but I’m not personally on that train, but Hannah’s basically the conductor, so), and I just love her so much honestly - her fic is breathtaking, she’s honestly a queen, I lack the words to express it, but oh man she’s great@ananbeth is another FANTASTIC Hannah, and I love her very very much. She’s a fantastic writer, and she’s the reason I’m into Skam (which I recommend to everyone so much, and one of my fave pjo writers, and I just appreciate her a lot. She’s also co-author of the Wimbledon AU (one of my favorite fics of all time), the coming soon “call me percy” AU (which I’m already super invested in), and the coming not as soon Devil Wears Prada AU (which I’m also super excited for). She’s half of an amazing dynamic duo that I adore so much.

The Sophiis - they’re actually the same person, but I follow two of her blogs and love them both for different reasons, so I’m tagging both and highly recommend both; she is also the other half to the above Hannah’s dynamic duo@blackjacktheboss is Sophii’s pjo blog and is honestly a blessing tbh - she’s the queen of AUs and headcanons, and I have literally scrolled through her tags for hours I love her so much omg, she’s captain of the S.S. Tratie and her Ichor Group AU is what I live for and any time her and Hannah play tag, or generally @ each other or write anything, I just cry (any time Sophii writes with anyone, honestly, except Dan, because their angst stresses me out so much - actually that makes me cry too? so yeah any time she writes with anyone I cry)@furbyhater is Sophii’s other blog and it’s basically all sorts of wonderful happy things that make me laugh, and is the reason I caught up to Jane the Virgin, but again most of this is reblogged to my personal blog because it’s not very book-ish, but either way I recommend because it will much joy and happiness to your blogThe rest of the PJO fam - so I have this ridiculous like crack headcanon about these guys, and I love them all a lot, and basically they’re my faves and it’s best when you follow all of their blogs and cry over all of their perfectness@son-of-rome is the self-proclaimed lord of angst but he’s secretly a huge softie ssshhhhh and any time he’s involved with anything it’s bound to give you a small heart attack, whether it be because it’s so beautiful, or incredibly sweet retaliation fluff, or heart-wrenching angst, it’s always great, plus he’s generally hilarious and brilliant so basically I love Dan a lot and him and The Wife are the otp 5ever and anyone who ships him with any of the rest of the squad is automatically wrong sorry I don’t make the rules@percyyoulittleshit is a precious marshmallow and I adore her and Mari is the #1 fan and biggest source for all things tlt musical and if you (like me) are still sobbing over the fact that you didn’t get to see it, then Mari will 100% feel those feels too, and generally she’s just really precious and makes my days better, so 10/10 would recommend Mari’s blog@bananannabeth is  a ray of sunshine and happiness and all good things basically except for when she writes soul crushing angst to fuel dan’s anger but we don’t talk about that and is responsible for some of my fave fics - including the famous percabeth FWB fic, and one of my favorite renditions of everyone’s fave skater!percy AU, and Ashlee’s generally a precious flower so highly recommend!! (She’s also where a lot of my hp content comes from lol)@greenconverses is just ... I’m not sure how to put Jess into words, but she’s the reason I started reading fanfic in the first place, and is honestly super important to me, and she’s a brilliant writer, and generally super cool, and anything she writes is basically magic, so I love her a lot and everyone should check her outAs far as other generally cool pjo blogs go (this is getting super long so this is just gonna be a list sorry :/) - @riptidescap @shanlightyear @suchastart @burdge @lesbabeths @demidorks @cindersart @rongasm @romanitas @flyingcrowbar and so many others are so so so so wonderful!!!! And I know I’m forgetting some because there’s so many but oh man, honestly great people this fandom is surging with talent and love and it crushes my soulThe SJM fam - lol this list has been trimmed down recently - there was a lot of discourse recently, and a lot of mean things were said about a lot of people, so I saw bad sides of a lot of mean people, and so yeah, not the longest list in the world, but I digressFor super wonderful content: @azrielsiphons, @rowan-buzzard-whitethorn, @paperbacktrash, @elidexlorcan, @lu-cien, @salvaterre, @nightcourthighlordrhysand, @highfaedaily, @deathgoddessnesta and  so many more that again I cannot think of off of the top of my head are really genuinely wonderful blogs and really genuinely wonderful people that I recommend so so so much!!!!For super wonderful art: @witchlingsandwyverns, @meabhd, @meabhdbutsexii (lol and just general hilariosity), @charliebowater, @jessdoodlesthings, @projectnelm and soooo many more - this fandom is rampant with super talented artists!! Lots of people make super sick edits, too, but I can’t think of them off of the top of my head and I’m sorry, these are the ones I have notifications turned on for, so I can see immediately if new art is posted, because I’m a loser lolFor general people I appreciate a lot: @rowanismybae, @fictionalcharactersaremyreality, @snaps7, @the-north-star, @throneofstars, and a few others that I’m probably forgetting (and totally apologize for) are super sweet and super cool

The authors - I follow a lot of authors on here, and that’s always really cool! Some good  ones include @sabaatahir @vaveyard @stdennard and @lbardugo, as well as @worldofsarahjmaas which is not actually run by Sarah but is where all new Sarah info comes from. Sarah and Sooz also started a super amazing cool not published anywhere else story together at @thestarkillerscycle, which is super duper good, though not finished, but I still recommend itSPEAKING OF LEIGH BARDUGO!!! - I get notifications for exactly 4 Leigh Bardugo blogs (including Leigh herself, and the previously mentioned Hannah) not because I don’t love her books (I do, lots and lots) but because her fandom generally aggravates me lol so I like casually scrolling past them on my dash, but I don’t want to be notified every time they post. The two big blogs I obsessively check are @zoyalina and @savagekaz both of whom are really on top of edits and fics and such, and Cassie in particular is really strongly invested in tgt, so if you’re about the Leigh Bardugo life, her blog is 100% the place to be. She has also just started reading PJO, so a lot of wonderful edits are coming from her on that end, and it’s absolutely magical.

Okay I think that’s all I can think of off of the top of my head without scrolling through notes and my blog and who I’m following? I’m actually really impressed with myself for remembering this many lol. If I’ve forgotten anyone, I’m so so so sorry!!!!!!! But yeah, here’s a mostly comprehensive list of my faves :) I’m sorry this got incredibly long and is poorly organized to the max :/ Hope it’s helpful? I’m not even checking for typos, so I’m sorry if you’ve reached the end and are deeply offended by any of them - enjoy, lol

[perfectdagger]

Okay here we go 3, 13, 15, 17, 46

Sorry it took us forever to answer this, anon! But here we go:

3. name three favorite writers

Steph: I was just going through the fics I’ve read the other day and I realized that the authors I have actually read more works from were: green_feelings @greenfeelings, stylinsoncity @alienproof and cherrystreet @cherrystreet, and I really like their stories very much (I cry thinking about Empty Skies, To the Ends of the Earth and 7 Up), so there we go. (AND ALRIGHT, YES, YOU ARE MY FAVE SYN, EVEN THO YOU HAVEN’T WRITTEN  MY BDAY FIC YET)

Syn: unbelievable you didn’t answer it was me steph go away and think about your life choices but know you’re mine either way  it will be a cold dead day in hell before i put anyone besides my absolute GODDESSES so i know this shit should be about larry but listen…….. Lightning on the Wave literally molded me as a person and if you like drarry you should YOU SHOULD read her work. it’s literally been 8 years and i’m still not over this Arc. also if you’re a slytherin? you should do it because of the sheer sly pride it oozes. lucius/narcisa is the GODDAMN BEST THING like they fight while they dance tango? honestly please do yourself a favor and read this i beg you. also harry is slytherin and has a twin but don’t get freaked out because of it i swear the connor thing is actually very interesting. anyway, then I have the love of my life Annie_D (scaramouche) because i’m still destiel trash  AS FUCK even if i don’t even watch spn anymore. about larry now……….. the first fic i ever read and that is still to this day one of my fav ones is Gods and Monsters by @mizzwilde and tbh i love y&b but i can’t belieb people sleep on gods and monsters so much HONESTLY PEOPLE (steph: YAS GODS AND MONSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!)

also VERY SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TO EVERY WRITER OUT THERE DOING GOD’S WORK AND WRITING GIRL!DIRECTION I LOVE YOU (steph: I second that)

13. hardest character to write

Steph: I don’t know, I’m more used to writing only Harry and Louis and they are always somehow similar in my fics, I guess. But it’s been a little roller coaster of feelings to write them in IYEWBIL hahaha (syn: little roller coaster? YOU’VE CRIED TWICE ALREADY that’s an euphemism if i ever heard any)

Syn :��i was talking about this with steph and tbh i struggle a bit with harry? i love his quirkiness and shit but i guess i kinda understand where louis comes from more

15. hardest verse to write

Steph: (I’m assuming this is verse as in a part of the fic and not verse as in universe, ‘cause then it would be ABO LOL) I don’t wanna say it was hard, because it flowed naturally, but the break up scene in ELTHDIM was very heavy. Also, Marcel appearing at Louis’ again after 2 years in the interludio: I cried writing that. Not that it was hard, but it was very sentimental. (if we’re talking about having a hard time writing anything, then I did have a hard time with writing my fic for the Potter Direction Exchange, but that’s a whole other thing). But I guess, the hardest thing for me to write is yet to come, so I’m bracing myself and people who are reading IYEWBIL should too lol

Syn: (but when have you ever written abo steph? (: (steph: i wouldn’t know ehehehehe)) fighting scenes are A BITCH and i don’t mean verbal fighting because i ace at those, i mean actual fighting punching and shit. don’t ask where this is coming from tho

17. favorite AU to write 

Steph: So far I’ve written: a single parents au, a coffeeshop au, a fake relationship au and two hogwarts aus (Mistletoes & Wrackspurts Series and the one for the Potter Direction Exchange) and I think it’s because M&W has been the longest one, I’m having more fun writing it. But also the fake relationship au was great to write hahaha

Syn: HARRY POTTER AU HANDS DOWN because i live and breath hp and muggle!louis/wizard!harry is the best of both worlds HOW CAN I NOT DIG THAT but now i discovered a new love in writing my catwoman!au so i guess y’all should ask about those fighting scenes i guess

(steph: i hope you’re all ready for this catwoman!au, that’s all i’m gonna say)

46. share a scene of a story that you haven’t published yet

Steph: I don’t think I have any story written that I haven’t published? Syn has tons lol I’ll leave this one to her.

Syn: don’t expose me like that steph but yeah i do my draft has right now about 5 works in progress HAHA and yes one of those if your gift u cry baby

ok so er under the cut is a piece of my god-knows-when-will-come-but-i’m-currently-on-chapter-3-of-who-the-fuck-knows-how-many catwoman au in which yes harry styles is catwoman y’all know why exactly

also if there’s any dc fan out there please hmu cuz i’d love to have some help haha

Louis heard a small click, their earpiece connection turning off. He rolled his shoulders inside his uniform, suddenly wary of the silence echoing inside the empty store. Normally the black (and dark blue) of his Nightwing costume worked as a camouflage in his environment, much like Batman’s did as well, but he felt exposed inside the lighten up vault as he looked for anything that could help catch the bastard behind the 3 X’s. He took his time, checking the floor, the empty cabinets, the empty shelves, anything and everything. Still, nothing. So he went back to the door, analyzing the scratches there (he still couldn’t believe it, fucking scratches) with his gloved hand caressing them softly.

“Glad to see you admire my work.”

Louis quickly threw a batarang to where the deep, drawled out voice came from, taking his sticks out when he saw the silhouette had dodged his attack. He’d heard no one come in, where did the fucker come from? Fucker was silent, silent like…

He saw a movement come from his side as he exited the vault, blocking the punch with his forearm, getting kneeled in the stomach a second after, too surprised he was by the fast attack. He gasped and stepped backwards, raising his sticks to avoid being clawed - what the fuck, his brain registered in confusion - at, blocking every time, left, right, left, right, right, left, both, the clank of the claws against his shatterproof sticks echoing in the empty store. He was glad his mask had nightvision, otherwise he’d be even more susceptible to the attacks, his reflexes matching them and being able to hold his own in the darkened store, the streetlights weak, reflecting on the empty jewelry display around them, not enough to show much of the person trying to rip his face in two. Speaking of which, Louis concentrated, paying attention to the silhouette in front of him, narrowing his eyes to identify what-

His mistake. Between a block from his hand and another, Louis felt a kick in his stomach, strong enough to push him back into one of the glass tables that held jewelry before, the sound of shattering glass hiding his groan of pain. Fuck, that’d hurt. He blinked, a grimace from pain in his face as he tried to get himself up and look at what he was sure looked like-

A slick noise and then he was on the floor, pieces of glass dragging beneath him as he was pulled by his feet towards his attacker, who was suddenly looking down at him from above, faces inches apart, a smirk in place and black mask covering half of his face.

“Catwoman.”

Satisfied, he smiled bigger, maliciously, leaning down to lick Louis’ cheek. Louis turned his head in disgust, enough to recognize it was a long whip Catwoman secured in her hand and had used to lock his feet and drag him forward.

“Meow.” She whispered in his ear that was just in front of Catwoman’s face as he turned it more to the side. Louis used the distraction her smugness must be to punch her to the side, taking her out of top. She scuffled sideways, gracefully going back to her feet while Louis took the whip from out of his feet.

Then he took a moment to realize what was in front of him.

“You’re a man.”

“My, my, Nightwing, shouldn’t an agent of law and good know better than to designate gender to his comrades?” Catwoman teased, his (her?) voice deep, a small pout forming in his lips.

“You’re not a comrade.” Louis answered irritated, fucking pissed the fucker was teasing him after everything he’d put him through the last months.

Also, he’d licked him. Who even does that.

“No, I’m not.” Catwoman moved his hips slowly, as if he was preparing himself for an attack, as if he was having fun. “I am, however, a man.”

Louis hummed, twirling his sticks in his hands, watching every move the man made in front of him, waiting for the right moment to strike.

“Should I be calling you Catman, then? Instead of Catwoman?”

He scoffed, as if the notion was ridiculous. “Of course not. Catwoman is a title that was so gracefully bestowed upon me, why would I change it? Besides,” he stopped his moving, standing still - too still - in the middle of the floor. “I like how you say it.”

[everyonesomething]

Session Seventeen

Edith Runekill: "We're adventurers tracking down a very dangerous individual."

Capridi: "I heard something about a lich committing grand theft auto. It was in all the papers. You're not very good detectives to assume everyone you come across is in cahoots."

Malkas: "Sydney's the only detective."

Sydney Gaydos is DEVASTATED... SHE'S THE GREAT DETECTIVE.

Capridi: "Can I put my hands down?"

Grim has not lowered her gun

Pepper: "If you wanna get shot at again, maybe."

In this session we make some new friends and make new discoveries.

The set-up: We've rested up in the library for an uneventful 8 hours and we're just about ready to get going again.

The Game: While Mal and Edith are resting up, Grim takes the opportunity to try to set Pepper straight on what happened with Edith earlier in the day.

Grim: "What you said to Edith today, you don't ever do that to a person."

Pepper is keeping her voice down. "What, that? It was a joke and it wasn't even about--however she took it. You'd think it would've been a LITTLE obvious from context what I meant."

Grim Looks At Pepper

Grim: "You're too smart to play dumb."

Pepper LOOKS back.

Grim: "You got a weapon in your words, and it don't take much looking at you to see that you know it."

"You ever raise it 'gainst an innocent again, I will mark you."

Pepper bristles. "Yeah, I've got a mouth but y'know it's not all on me, here. How am I supposed to expect she's gonna jump to 'eaten alive' without someone SAYING it in so many words? Half the time you can't tell WHAT'S going on in her head. Half the time SHE can't tell what's going on in her own head."

Grim: "Guess that's for you to figure out. I've said my piece."

Pepper snorts. "Yeah cuz YOU'VE never done anything shitty to someone around here."

Grim: "Hell of an eye you got for other folks, for someone who don't like to watch herself."

Pepper keeps her voice low. "Hell of a high horse you've got when you're going around flirting with someone's girlfriend right in front of them."

Grim gives Pepper an odd look

Grim: "Say what"

Pepper gruffs up her voice. "'Oh Edith you're the only one I trust to hold my stuff. Oh Edith, feel my abs.'" She rolls her eyes.

Grim continues to just look at Pepper in mystification

Grim: "You are just gettin' all cooked up in your own head, huh."

Malkas makes telltale sounds of being awake.

Malkas: "Edi, wake up."

Edith Runekill: "Whhh... wha...?"

Malkas: "We gotta ... um. Door."

Edith Runekill peels her face off the spellbook.

Malkas rubs his eyes.

Edith Runekill: There's some backwards writing imprinted on her face, where she fell asleep on some notes she'd made where the ink was still wet.

"Oh..."

"Door."

Pepper lowers her voice and grins a bit. "You're wasting your time on her, anyway."

Grim almost looks sorry for Pepper

Edith Runekill casts Major Image and the room floods with brilliant morning sunlight; by all appearances, it's the crack of dawn. With a flourish, she adds the sound of a rooster crowing.

Grim blinks at the change in atmosphere and glances around

Pepper is bathed in light and shrugs. "But you're right, I should be more careful around the less observant."

Grim looks back at Pepper

Grim: "You keep on the way you're startin' down, you just be careful around me."

Couldn't have gone better!

The door opens to Edith's spell and we're ambushed by a stranger: a sheep-looking dragonborn with a sickle who demands to... see our library cards? Grim raises her gun at her as the stranger tries to tell us she's the librarian and we're not authorized to be there.

Tries to, anyway. We're not buying it: Edith points out the place had been warded for the last 400 years and the wards have only been down a short amount of time. The stranger tries to stand her ground and Syd tries to encourage the group to use a more friendly approach, but Grim shoots a hole in the wall by the stranger's head and that's the end of that.

We introduce ourselves, anyway, and the stranger tells us she's been stuck inside for about a week. She stumbled on a patch of feywild magic that teleported her into the library while the wards were still up and couldn't find a way to get out. We're not sure if that's what brought the wards down, but it would explain the boggles we ran across earlier.

Edith and Mal are convinced by her story, though Grim is less trusting since the stranger did lie to us and wave a sickle around for a bit. Regardless, we decide to bring her along: if she's hostile, it's best to keep an eye on her and if she's not, we can help get her out of the library.

In the next room there's a plaster model of a dragon on the floor and a familiar-looking jeweled book on a table. Edith picks up the book and it's off into another pocket dimension for her, Syd and Pepper close behind. Mal tries to talk the stranger—Capridi, she says her name is—into following us in. It would be silly to leave her outside if she does mean us harm and there's monsters inside we could use her help fighting.

When talking doesn't work, Grim does some harder persuasion with her rifle pointed at Cap to much better results.

Inside, the scene is a little marshy and a lot dragony. We all jump into the fray, except Cap who backs off away from it. Syd does her hookshot thing into it like she did with the last dragon and whacks it a bit. We take turns pounding on it before it smacks Mal around and spits acid at Syd and Edith.

A minor set-back!

Cap heals Syd, she's at least determined to help the least-shitty one of us so she doesn't have to fight a dragon herself. Speaking of, Syd smashes it good and finishes it off, sending us back out of the book.

Malkas: "... I feel like these things go down a little too easy."

Grim picks herself up and reloads her rifle, then slings it back over her shoulder

Malkas is bleeding profusely.

Capridi: "Are we done?"

Edith Runekill: "I got drenched in acid so I'll say it didn't go down easy enough."

Malkas: "We'll get you a new hat, Edi."

Edith Runekill turns to Capridi. "Hey. Thanks for looking out for Sydney, there."

Grim: "Malkas, see to that wound."

"No good trailin' blood after us."

Sydney Gaydos: "Yes! Gaydos will return the favor ten-fold Newbie Gumshoe!"

Malkas nods at Capridi and cracks open a can of Carbonated Healing liquid. "Yeah, I got it, Grim."

Capridi: "I'm forced into a book by some weirdos, I sure as hell am not getting stuck there fighting their battles for them"

Edith Runekill pops open a can of Healing Pop, too.

Sydney Gaydos: "... understandable But now we--" Sydney walks over to pick up the key. "Can move on!"

Malkas: "Well, thanks for your help, Capridi. I hope you can get out of here."

Pepper: "They forced you in? Jeez."

Grim: "Nothin personal."

Capridi: "Totally personal"

Malkas: "I held the boggles downstairs off with a bag of candy. I didn't think that'd work on you."

Grim heads for the door

Pepper rubs her chin and shrugs. "Just seems a little rude, that's all. Threatening someone into a weird magic book." She digs a candy out of her pocket and eats it.

Malkas: "... You are... probably right. So, sorry about that, Capridi. We're a little on edge because we almost got killed by a kraken like two days ago."

"But, uh, I'm pretty sure we've got the way out of here, if you wanna stick with us."

"Instead of living alone, forever, in a flammable, fey-infested library."

Trust Pepper to know rude when she sees it, I guess.

The next room is different from the ones before: it's filled with piles of gold coins. Edith examines one of the coins, but it doesn't match up with anything she's ever seen before.

Might be because it's a group of Mimics in the shape of piles of coins that then rise up to clobber Edith and Pepper. They give us an undeserved beating, nearly taking Syd out in the process before Cap can get her healed up a bit. Mal breaks out a Hellish Rebuke on one of them, Grim shoots a storm of thorns at another, Syd does her smashing, and Edith and Pepper throw magic at them until they go down. Something. Weird almost happens to Pepper, but then doesn't. Probably nothing.

Pepper looks slightly off somehow for a second.

Pepper is pelted with shrapnel.

Grim cleans off her rifle, gross

Edith Runekill leans on her staff, looking exhausted and bloodied.

Malkas: [Infernal] "Are you okay?"

Edith Runekill: [Inferna] "That was REALLY FUCKING COOL, that thing you did."

Pepper flops down onto the ground, a little shaken.

Capridi heals Sydney a bit

Sydney Gaydos is going to also sit down on the floor, still looking pretty bad but not as bad as she was with three hp.

Malkas: [Infernal] Thanks. Don't think I ever did that before.

Edith Runekill: [Infernal] And you did it for me.

Edith Runekill kisses Mal on the cheek. She's filthy and bloody, it's kind of gross.

Canned Cleric: Heals the group a bit more

Edith Runekill gently scoops Millicent up and puts her back in her purse.

Pepper rolls onto her back on the dirty floor, she don't care.

Pepper: “[Elvish] That sucked.”

Sydney Gaydos waves a bit at Capridi! "Thank you again for the assistance! Gaydos now owes you twice as much!"

Capridi: "I take cash, whenever that's convenient"

"Or you can just help me get out, I'm so tired of this place"

Our team's finally come together, y'all.

Now that the Mimics are gone, we can examine the room freely and find a door locked by a puzzle and a mural nearby. The door has different dials laid out in a 2x2 grid showing both an environment—each corresponding to one of the four books we've been in—and a picture showing a time of day. The nearby mural shows the order of the times of day, but it's up to us to remember how to match them to the environments. We succeed, though, and are rewarded with a key.

During this, we fill Cap in on the situation. She doesn't sound too happy she might have been in a library with a lich for a week, and even less happy we're going to find him and that he might be in the next room.

Turns out there is an undeaded hooded figure in there, but it's not the lich we're after.

Edith Runekill 's mouth falls open.

Grim reaches for her rifle

Sydney Gaydos slowly raises her maul. "It's Undead."

Capridi: "Is this the guy?"

Edith Runekill , in a low voice: "He's not anyone I recognize."

Edith Runekill: "It's not Tam..."

Grim lowers her gun again

Edith Runekill: "Grim...?"

Pepper whispers, "[Elvish]A baelnorn."

Grim: "Hells. Never thought I'd come across-" She glances at Pepper.

Edith Runekill: [Elvish] Oh.

[Elvish] So that's what they look like...

Capridi: "Ask him if there's a way out"

Grim climbs up through the hatch

Edith Runekill follows.

Grim removes her hat

Edith Runekill: [Elvish] Er, hello. Sir.

Helia (GM): The Baelnorn looks up. "Well howdy."

Grim: "How d'you do, sir."

Capridi waits at the bottom of the ladder in case they get themselves killed

Pepper follows the group.

Helia (GM): "Oh, you know. Candlekeepin'."

Edith Runekill: [Elvish] I am beyond honored to be in the esteemed presence of a baelnorn.

Grim: "You're the protector of this place?"

Sydney Gaydos might as well follow. Still a little on edge because Undead, but he's a nice one. She guesses.

Helia (GM): "Ah. Thank you. And yes. Somewhat."

Baelnorn are elves who turn undead with a purpose to preserve or protect something, rather than go mad with power like a typical lich. This one—Tharnis, they tell us their name is—has been watching over Candlekeep for the past 200 years and tells us the wards came down as part of a plot to trap our lich: The hope was he would enter the library and then be trapped in the feywild. Unfortunately all they managed to trap was Cap.

Tharnis tells us they have a passage from this room to a small outbuilding on the library's grounds, we can use that to leave. We make nice with them for a bit before heading out.

Helia (GM): "I moved in merely 2 centuries ago."

Helia (GM): "I had thought the people of Baldur's Gate remembered, but ... Perhaps not."

Edith Runekill: "What's your name?"

Edith Runekill: "I'm Edith."

Helia (GM): "I am the Baelnorn Tharnis."

Grim: "We 'ppreciate your vigilance here. It's good to know there's still some watching over folks."

Helia (GM): "A pleasure."

Grim nods

Grim: "Is there anythin' we can do to help out your post here?"

Capridi tries opening the magical looking door while the others are talking

Sydney Gaydos still unsettled but, helping is what she does. "Right. We are here to help!"

Edith Runekill: "Yeah, we kinda thought this place had just been left unattended. I'm glad there's someone looking after it."

Helia (GM): "Mm, not that I can think of, my dear. Should Szazz show up, my fey companions and myself will prove to be a challenge."

Pepper gives a little bow. "[Elvish] I'm uh," and glances at Edith. "Adralei Aitphen. Thanks for your service."

Helia (GM): The lich bows, [Elvish] "Of course, anything to serve my people and my world."

Grim glances at Edith, then back at Tharnis

Malkas: "We, uh, took a bunch of magical treasures out of the master bedroom. Hope that's alright."

Edith Runekill: "And, um, I took some books. Books we don't have on the outside anymore." She shifts her weight uncertainly, and reaches into her bag. "I can give 'em back..."

Helia (GM): "No, no, enjoy them. I cannot enter that bedroom as it is, there is no way to play the game alone."

Capridi turns her head back from looking through the doorway, the doorway shes unsure where it leads. She's incredulous at how honest these lot are.

Grim: "Runekill's a vigil keeper too, in her own way. She's been real concerned about the books in here fallin' to waste, sittin' unread and all."

Edith Runekill: "Yeah. A lotta dangerous stuff got locked away here. But a lot of knowledge was locked away with it."

"Things we've lost, things we've forgotten..."

"Stopping Szass Tam is more important, of course. But..."

Grim: "Reckon there's any kind've deal might be struck? Libraries lend books, don't they, s'long as they're cared for an' returned?"

Helia (GM): 'Hm, I suppose. But so many of the books here are dangerous. I will have to go through them..."

"Keep the ones you've gathered, if you find them useful."

Grim: "I vouch my honour you can trust Runekill with the importance of what you hold here. She's a good head on her."

Edith Runekill: "Less useful, more just... well. Beautiful. Enlightening. Answers to questions we've had for centuries. There's things important besides being useful."

Helia (GM): "I shall.. endeavor to maintain safety standards, once the threat of Szazz Tam has passed."

Edith Runekill: "Thank you."

Grim nods to Tharnis

Edith Runekill bows deeply.

Our group has such good synergy, y'all.

And with that, we're finally out of the library. We thank Cap for helping us with healing while we were fighting monsters and she turns to take her leave when Grim stops her. In the light of day, Grim can see her better and recognizes her from one of the bounty papers she carries around.

Oh.

Cap tries to run off—despite Pepper warning her that would just get her shot—and. Grim shoots her. Nobody else seems to approve of this chain of events, but Grim goes to handcuff her anyway. Mal examines the bounty paperwork and finds it was issued by an agency clear on the other side of the continent from us—we're a bit out of their jurisdiction.

Malkas: "Okay, let's not get all ... Bounty-Happy here, huh?"

Malkas puts his hands up placatingly at Grim.

Grim looks at Mal

Capridi: "Yeah, curb your gun wielding psycho"

Malkas: "Don't be rude."

Edith Runekill: "D-don't talk about Grim like that..."

Capridi: "Tell her not to shoot me, maybe we'll see eye to eye"

Pepper to Edith. "[Elvish] Really? This is like the third time that gun's been at her and twice a bullet's come out."

Grim: "I got my own job to do, Malkas, I ain't turnin' a blind eye to convicts just 'cause we got bigger fish to fry further down the road."

Pepper: "[Elvish] Kind of a rotten way to treat someone that's spent a week stuck in a weird library funhouse."

Malkas: "Okay, well I'm not saying let her go... But uh, notice how we get Almost Dead a lot?"

Edith Runekill: "She... she DID heal us..."

Capridi: "Yes, I'm a hero."

Edith Runekill: "I mean. Speaking for myself. But I'd probably... you know. Be sort of."

"Dead...?"

"Just a little."

Sydney Gaydos: "That's right! She saved Gaydos! Twice!"

Malkas: "Very heroic. So, here's my proposition."

Capridi stands up

Grim looks at Mal and Edith, initially annoyed, then at Sydney

Grim frowns slowly

Capridi: "Looks like we're all in agreement that turning me in is a waste of your time and I'm owed a get out of jail free card for the favors I did for you."

Malkas: "Didn't say that."

Edith Runekill: "I mean... I guess she did some real bad stuff...? Or she wouldn't have a bounty on her."

"I don't know."

Grim throws down her cigarette and looks at Mal

Edith Runekill: "I'm not equipped to make decisions like this."

Grim: "Alright, here's what."

"She's your bounty now."

Edith Runekill looks SO TORN right now.

Grim: "Do what you will."

Edith Runekill: "I mean. I know this is important to you, Grim. Like the books were with me."

"Like... I don't know."

Grim looks at Edith, it's the first time she's looked really annoyed with her

Capridi thinks (wow edith is a nerd)

Grim: "No, Runekill, you don't know."

Malkas: "Okay, I say she sticks with us and ... well, does that healing magic that none of us know. We're heading west anyway, Thay is near High Imasker, isn't it?"

Grim looks back at Mal

Grim nods to him

Edith Runekill: "I... I don't. No."

Capridi: "Wait wait, don't I get a say in this? Isn't the healing I did an equal exchange?"

Edith Runekill takes a step back. And shuts up.

Malkas: "So, maybe she repays her debt to society in Heroism."

"You get a share of whatever treasure we find or are rewarded with."

Grim: "Maybe, Malkas. It's on you now."

Edith Runekill: "...sorry."

Capridi ponders the possibility of making a few bucks

Sydney Gaydos: "Do not worry Grim. Gaydos will put her straight on the path of righteousness!"

Pepper: "I'd think stopping a lich would get you a pretty good chance for a clean slate from the courts, too, right?"

Malkas: "And if you try and take off on us, then... Well, I'm not responsible for Grim's actions."

Pepper rubs her chin.

Malkas: "But you're outta my hands at that point."

Grim wanders off a little way to let them hash this out between them

Pepper: "Call it civil service. Commuted sentence. Etc."

Capridi says with vague sarcasm "Yes, I will see the righteous path and mend my maladaptive ways"

Malkas: "We'll plead your case in Imasker."

"Hey, we're all for Maladaptive, we've got Pepper."

Pepper grins and thumbs up.

Synergy, group coming together, etc.

For some reason, it's an awkward car trip back to the police station where we pick up our reward for investigating the library. We turn in to the hotel for the night, we've had a big day and we're facing down a long road trip soon.

Edith, Mal, and Pepper hang out for a bit in Edith and Mal's room where Edith tries to process all of what happened. She doesn't agree at all with how Grim treated Cap and even though Mal tries to reason with her that Grim seems used to thinking fast and solving problems on her own with a gun, she's still upset. Pepper takes a moment to apologize to Edith. Sort of.

Pepper mage hands a shrimp in Edith's direction. "You know I didn't. Like. MEAN to joke Mal had been eaten alive, right?"

Malkas: "You did what?"

Pepper sprawls out over like three chairs. "In that stupid book the boggles threw at me. Edith was all 'where's Mal' and I'm like 'feeding your kids' and well." And she waves an arm around.

Malkas: "Hmm."

"Seems like you knew how that could've gone down, Pep."

Edith Runekill: "It's just... even if you didn't mean it on purpose. I'd been alone in there a while. I was already scared. And then everyone but Mal showed up..."

"You... you coulda been a bit more thoughtful, is all."

Malkas grabs the shrimp bucket.

Pepper slaps a hand over her eyes. "Well don't worry about that, Grim's gonna shoot ME the next time it happens. 'Course with Capridi around now, maybe she'll forget that little promise." She grabs some roll off the table and eats without sitting up.

Pepper chews. "Have I said how GLAD I am to have Grim around."

At that, Edith is back to thinking about what happened with Grim and Cap. Edith was touched by Grim praising her work in front of Tharnis and she can't understand why the whole situation has her so messed up in the head, especially when she thought she had Grim figured out. Mal—dear sweet kind Mal—bites the bullet and chases Pepper out of the room to have a long-needed conversation with Edith.

Pepper launches a roll at Edith's head. "[Elvish] Don't go for the wine after this."

Malkas: "Take the wine, Pep."

Pepper makes a big show of dusting off her hands as she stands up.

Edith Runekill: The roll bounces off and rolls under the bed.

Pepper gathers up like four bottles of wine why did we order so much.

Pepper waves goodbye from the door, nearly dropping a bottle. "And uh, sorry. About the book shit. I know you REALLY care about Mal. REALLY. Like. Solid. Okay, I'm going to bed." And leaves before the awkward.

Edith Runekill waves goodbye to Pepper. She still looks sort of confused, like everyone but her is in on some joke.

Mal gently breaks it to Edith that maybe she's got a huge a bit of a crush on Grim. Edith thinks that's ridiculous, she's never had a crush on a woman before... except that one time. And that other time with their coworker. And—

Edith Runekill: "[Infernal] Fuck.”

Mal's not upset—he knows Edith didn't mean anything by it—but even so, she feels terrible that it looked like she was flirting with someone else in front of her boyfriend. And that everyone but her seemed aware of it.

Well. Almost everyone.

Edith Runekill: "I've had a crush on Grim for weeks and didn't even realize that's what it was. It it makes me feel like I been lying without even realizing it all this time?"

Edith Runekill: "I... I should. I don't know what I'd say, though."

Grim pauses when she gets inside and looks quizzically at the adjoining wall, hearing Edith's confession.

Grim :|

Grim sits down and lights a cigarette :|

Edith Runekill: "I'm still kinda reeling, to be honest."

"From... from all this."

Grim exhales a lot of smoke

Grim just wanted to kill a lich