Okay, so like 1st post ever! And it's going to be a theory for what I think our devious GM has planned.
So we have just learned that the memory threads can be stitched back into the person who lost their memories, where they will regain them.
THIS IS IMPORTANT B/C SEBASTIAN (aka ex God of War) WAS ERASED FROM EXISTENCE. The only people who know what happened and who this is are those who slew him. And we know that those very heroes had their graves robbed.
So what if the big plot is to use the memory threads to stitch together Sebastain back together or even create a newer, and scarier enemy? Like Frankenstein's Monster-esque.
SESSION 10! DOUBLE DIGITS Y'ALL!! and 11 pages of notes (+ a couple lines of a 12th). oh we're so back. but also not at all because this session was SO stressful and all of our online dice were rolling SO bad (me rolling with disadvantage and ending up with a nat 1 and 2, for example...)
almost genuinely shit myself several times this session. you'll find out why.
lets get into it- here are some quotes from session 10 of my d&d campaign that i found particularly interesting, and my thoughts on them!
"How do you feel about your body?" - Our GM
"It's a tug of war between fascination and also disgust." - Bonny J. Travesty
THE DREAM SEQUENCES BEGIN. all including mirrors. all brutal and upsetting in their own right. they were all also pretty trippy? but i'll focus more on bonny's right now since it'd been first. the gender shit going on with this entire party is crazy- bonny's opinion of herself being contradictory and using a tug-of-war visual to represent it is just so fucking cool, in an objective sense. in an emotional sense, though, it has to be nauseating. to be enamored with the body you see in the mirror but also be disgusted with it possibly because it wasn't your choice to have it look the way it does?? also thinking of the idea of like. if she'd had a choice, would she have still chosen this body? how long has she been like this? would she choose to change back, if given the opportunity?
"How much control do you think Bonny has had over her life?" - Our GM
"She has never had a hand in any decision." - Bonny J. Travesty's Player
CONTINUING MY PREVIOUS THOUGHT PROCESS FROM THE LAST QUOTE. finding out later on during bonny's dream sequence that yes, indeed, she'd been forced to look the way she looks now, and that it's probably one decision in a long list of choices she hasn't been allowed to have her hand in making- this has me going absolutely insane. i've literally played a character just like this (rip abaddonix hale, my roman empire </3), and while i'm sure bonny's story is wildly different from his, it's still just like. ugh. bonny. i get you, in that way. you and abaddonix are separated by a campaign, years, and death, but he'd understand that aspect of your life.
"A scene starts to appear... homes made of packed rainbow sand... mangrove trees... every flammable material is on fire." - Our GM
anemoia's mirror dream... my heart was in my stomach. and i fear it never left. her seeing her home on fire and her family being slaughtered, but not being able to get through the mirror to save them?? and she spends the rest of the dream trying to break through?? it's so fucking over, actually.
"Maximilian. You fired too early. Not only did you hurt her, you hurt yourself. Why did you pull the trigger?" - Our GM
LET ME OUTTT OH IT'S STILL SO OVER WE'RE NEVER GONNA BE BACK EVER. venus, my beloved, being revealed in maximilian's mirror dream, but it's because maximilian shoots her?? with the stone she carries around?? if my fellow players didn't read these posts i'd be yelling more spoilers because i actually just can't do this shit y'all. and because maximilian hasn't seen her in a long time, it's the way venus looked back then?? i think i need to ask our gm if he hates me. this feels targeted. NO ONE talk to me about this. i'll burst into tears.
"It's like you're stuck perpetually in motion." - Our GM, about Maximilian Kurshahn
MY ORIGINAL WRITING FOR MAXIMILIAN BEING THIS EXACT THING. her being restless, relentless, impatient- constantly pursuing the truth and the answers she's been trying to find for a third of her life. this specific quote from our gm was of her trying to run to get through the mirror and get to venus, sure, but it's such an accurate description of her character as a whole. she could die and still keep chasing the truth, somehow.
"How does this version of Butchie look at Butchie now?" - Our GM
"The look in their eyes is concern for a friend." - Butchie's Player
butchie's mirror dream being younger versions of him looking at him now- this is literally what every trans person's either biggest nightmare or biggest wish is. to meet your younger selves and be faced with what they think of what you've become.
"If she looks at him at all it's sidelong glances... of course it would end up like this." - Butchie's Player, about a younger version of Butchie
this version of butchie not being allowed to look at someone "like him" was so upsetting, i can't lie. a younger version of yourself that was curious, but had to hide that curiosity for fear of persecution. avoiding any inkling of acknowledgement. goddamn.
"How does Butchie feel about this journey?... Does Butchie view himself any different?" - Our GM
"Underneath everything, he's still the girl that he was." - Butchie's Player
this is, genuinely, exactly how i feel about myself when it comes to my own gender and slow transition. like, yes, i'm changing how i look and how i identify, but i'm still the same little girl deep down, the same little girl that wants to find the good in everything, and believe everyone is truthful and kind. you could interpret this quote to be something negative, and butchie's player will have to let me know if he meant it that way, but i don't think still being that little kid deep down is something to be ashamed of. my thoughts on this are hard to articulate, but i hope this all makes sense lol
"Temerity, if you could describe... no. Actually, I don't think you can." - Our GM
could. we. just like. not? y'know, i think that would be kinda cool. maybe let's leave everyone alone, i think that's a good idea. i need to be hit with a hammer, because literally what the HELL was this?? this was traumatic temerity i'm so sorry dawg-
"You spend the rest of your dream running in endless mirrored halls, searching for a face that does not exist." - Our GM, to Temerity Hellebore
NOT EVEN TO MENTION THE FACT THAT TEMERITY THEMSELF HAD BEEN THE MIRROR IN THEIR DREAM?? ARE YOU FOR REAL?? adding on this dream sequence to the cliffhanger that was temerity getting a memory stolen last session has to be a hate crime. who do i need to call to get this man dealt with???
"Wait! I just wanted to give you something!" - Anemoia Basalt, to the two necromancers
...
"I'll take them and give them to them, just stop crying." - City Guard
anemoia just falling to her knees, crying in the street, because she had friendship bracelets that she wanted to give the necromancers that she tried to secretly follow- i love her so bad it's crazy y'all don't even know-
"I think they were on a date." - Anemoia Basalt, about the two necromancers
THE B-PLOT OF THE TWO NECROMANCERS BEING ROMANTICALLY INVOLVED?? I LOVE??? they were kissin' n shit. it was honestly really cute. i hope they're happy <3 but maybe quit with the necromancy business <3
"It's easy to talk a whole lot and not say much of anything." - Butchie
nothing much to say here other than i liked this quote and. yeah. bars. so true.
"And with a little practice, you can do that too." - Bonny J. Travesty
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION AND SUBSEQUENT RESURRECTION, MIND YOU. we (maximilian and bonny) were literally disguised as necromancers in the middle of the literal draucus coterie headquarters (full of necromancers! btw!) and her wild magic just. decided to do that. it's funny NOW but?? in the moment?? literally how the fuck did we move on from this-
"Judas. You can call me that if I do anything to disappoint you." - Bonny J. Travesty, to Maximilian Kurshahn
can i just say. the events between the last quote and this one. SO MUCH. the leader of the draucus coterie having acrobats and dancers in his meeting room?? ELYSIA???? THE BEST FRIEND IN BUTCHIE'S BACKSTORY???? JUST IN A STAINED-GLASS BOX I THINK??? idfk i was tripping. i think my ears started ringing from shock. father enoch also being there too?? less surprising considering we heard about that last session, but still. also bonny's previous name being revealed because she has connections to enoch and his little group, which is how we were able to escape from that whole situation without getting our shit absolutely rocked. god BLESS. the dice were NOT on our side until that natural 20 moment. i'm still reeling from it. words can't properly express the emotional rollercoaster that happened. i still stand by my statement that the nat 20 was the universe telling us to get the FUCK outta dodge
"I guess you could say that luck was on my side." - Unnamed Individual
secret little underground bar teehee don't mind if i do!!! so excited for this considering the bar has ties to the newly ascended god of the universe (one created with one of the pc's in our last campaign, koschei you are so cool). love little secret codes that you have to learn in order to get into fun little places.
"Are you okay?" - Butchie
"Does it matter?" - Temerity Hellebore
...
"You too?" - Temerity Hellebore
"Yeah. It's hard to come back from learning something like that." - Butchie
oh :-[ it matters so much temerity :-[ temerity being the most recent person in the party to have a memory stolen from them, those emotions being fresh and raw, and seeing their party members be people that are living in the years-long aftermath of it. temerity now knows how those people feel, but they wish they didn't.
"She frustrates me, but it's not a new feeling to have someone not like me." - Temerity Hellebore, about Bonny J. Travesty
...
"You guys seem to argue better than you talk." - Butchie
"It doesn't feel like we've done much else." - Temerity Hellebore
update on the temerity/bonny beef... it's getting sad up in here, y'all, and it's about to get so much worse considering i'm typing up this post after playing session 11... also, flashback to bonny saying "and i like it when they look over at me" guys i fear it's so over (literally when have we ever been back)
"The girl I told you about last night... I don't remember what she looks like anymore." - Temerity Hellebore, to Butchie
this being the memory that was taken from them... can literally any of us queers get a win??? throwing up about this, actively
"Before. I need you to make me a promise, okay?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"Okay." - Butchie
"You... are... An Old Boar. More than that, you're her friend." - Bonny J. Travesty
"Whose friend?" - Butchie
...
"Ours? You're so important to all of us. We are your sole responsibility. Whatever you say, we will follow you like a deity, and we will die like martyrs. So promise me this. Please... promise me that you will not lead us astray. Don't be reckless like our past selves." - Bonny J. Travesty
[bless up from bulldog, butchie's player, for having a voice recording of this conversation so i can get put the quotes together with better accuracy] bonny being drunk as shit, crying about finding elysia with enoch and kalmere and having to tell butchie about it?? and making sure that butchie promises not to do anything drastic before bonny even tells him anything?? the entire visual of this conversation has me going so so so crazy.
"The moment you forgot her, she became intrinsically tied to whatever this is." - Bonny J. Travesty, about Elysia
"I know." - Butchie
this is the type of shit that i have no words in which to describe my feelings. we're not even aware of most of what's going on yet, but we know that we're all linked together in some fucked up way. and so are the people that our characters care about. god!!!! i love telling stories!!! and i love d&d!!!!!
"You were right to make me promise, but here's the thing... I'm not going to get any of you killed for someone I don't remember." - Butchie
"Good. I believe you. I trust you. I'm sorry." - Bonny J. Travesty
"Thanks." - Butchie
so many thoughts, here. the emphasis on him not getting any of us killed, but not including himself in that, is very apparent and i noticed that, sir. my other main thought being that bonny cannot willingly lie. her saying "i believe you. i trust you. i'm sorry" and knowing that these are genuine- it made me emotional then and it's making me emotional now, reading the quotes back-
"Thank you for telling me." - Butchie
"I didn't want to." - Bonny J. Travesty
"Thank you for doing it anyway." - Butchie
again. bonny being honest here. saying that she didn't necessarily want to tell butchie about elysia being in the draucus coterie headquarters, but possibly recognizing that she needed to tell him. telling him despite being afraid of him being "reckless like our past selves."
"It seems you've brought a motley crew in here, and I like to know my guests. Let's play a game." - Unnamed Bar Owner
JIGSAW IS THAT YOU?? no seriously though, literally what a thing to say to a group of strangers lmao. this was such a scary thing to end the session on, because?? game?? the way you propositioned us, it feels like we're about to wager our souls in a game of blackjack-
session 9!!!! guys holy shit!!!!! almost double digits!!!!! i'm so normal i swear. 7 pages in total for notes, but this tracks considering we immediately had combat at the top of session with those wack ass entertainers that i mentioned in my post about session 8 (shot those guys in the kneecaps (literally), you're welcome), but once we got to wisteria (!!!) my notetaking ramped up.
before we begin i would just like to point out that we had 10 individuals in the initiative order, and half of them rolled a 17. genuinely what the fuck-
anyway! we know what we're all here for! here are some quotes i found particularly interesting from session 9 of my d&d campaign and my thoughts on them!
"I wouldn't want to drag anybody- any pig- into that." - Bonny J. Travesty
so :-[ we're leaving poogie with hazen on their farm :-[ with the hog named lady parabellum that the entertainers had because she's apparently poogie's mom :-[ their reunion was SO cute but oh does it break my heart to leave our mascot behind. though, as bonny said, we probably shouldn't be putting poogie in danger by taking him to wisteria. will miss him badly but he's with his mom again and that's beautiful!!!!
"The way it has changed has been very consistent... changed, but nothing being innovated." - Our GM, about Wisteria
the way our gm was describing wisteria was very very intriguing to me- nothing new or innovative, purely patchwork. also the fact that they seemed to be trying to incorporate necromancy into everyday life in the city (skeletal servants helping rebuild structures, large golems made of bone carrying around produce). we, both as players and characters, don't know much about the conflict in wisteria other than it's between the draucus coterie (a group of necromancers), and the druids that follow the goddess of biotic life and ecosystem function, roushla, but currently it seems as if the necromancers are running the city considering they're guarding the gates and such. staying neutral, for now, until we learn more.
"We had them in our grasp, but you know how it is." - Unnamed Necromancer
by "we" i automatically assumed the druids?? that seems like the most logical conclusion here. definitely conflict still happening between the two groups, just by this alone but also by stuff that we saw going further into the city. we also find out while eavesdropping on this conversation that the druids have a wielder on their side now? i'm going back and forth between it being or not being emerson kantana, but, like i said, there were things we saw further within the city that heavily suggests that it's emerson. but who knows! guess we'll find out!!
"You can't expect to come home, a decade and a half later, and be welcomed with open arms... and besides, his ideas were terrible." - Unnamed Necromancer
now i need to know who the FUCK they're talking about here. tell me!! who the fuck are you talking about!!!! i'm a nosy bitch!!!!! ugh!!!!!!! [EDIT: gm corrected me that it's 'a decade and a half' not 'half a decade' !! whoopsie!!]
"Let's go to the bathroom, Bonny." - Maximilian Kurshahn
"I thought you'd never ask." - Bonny J. Travesty
this was fucking hysterical i just need to say that first. when these two interact it's actually some of the funniest shit on earth, and i need reasons for this to happen more often. and like, yeah, the innkeeper probably (definitely) thinks we had sex in the bathroom considering how long we were gone for, but like. what if we did? it's none of your business, that's for sure. it's not like maximilian would've left the place a mess, anyway, she cleans up after herself-
"But he doesn't exactly like people like him." - Unnamed Necromancer, about Kalmere and Father Enoch
NAME DROP: KALMERE. he was mentioned in the conversation from earlier, but his vibe is sort of further elaborated on here so i thought it better to discuss it under this quote instead. remembering my notes from a few sessions ago about father enoch leaving hyperion (with his daughter!!! augh!!!!) to go to Wisteria to discuss things "with the saviors" (the wistan saviors, long story) and i am not looking forward to seeing this guy next session considering our plan is to get anemoia to follow these necromancers to the meeting between kalmere (presumably the leader of the draucus coterie?) and father enoch. this quote has me Curious and Nervous both at the same time.
"I don't look longingly at myself in the mirror, that's weird and self-centered." - Maximilian Kurshahn
cracking the fuck UUUUP. maximilian was having a mini crisis (when is she not, though, let's be real) and zoning out while staring in the mirror and bonny is like. hey. what the fuck is wrong with you. DYINGGGG (credits to bulldog btw for this quote and the next set of quotes since i was roleplaying and not able to write down much <3)
"It's not like I do it all the time-" - Maximilian Kurshahn
"Think? Yeah, didn't figure you did." - Bonny J. Travesty
OHHH THIS DUO IS SO FUNNY. stubborn ass vs. stubborn (literal) ass. it can't get better than this.
"Lumen Academy is a wreck and a shell of its former self, so you can keep it for as long as you like." - Temerity Hellebore, to Butchie
loving and adoring them, always. but also this is like. actually sad if you think about it for more than five seconds. will elaborate under a different set of quotes because it makes more sense to with those, but just. ugh. gender studies duo. don't ever die. please.
"I know about grief, we are intimately acquainted." - Butchie
HEY. HEEEEEY. REF DO SOMETHING. REFFFFF THAT'S UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS DO SOMETHINGGGGG
"If you need me, I'm here." - Butchie
"Thank you, Butchie. I don't really have anywhere else to go, so." - Temerity Hellebore
OH. IT'S. SO. OVER. we know the least about temerity out of everyone else in the party, and just. this quote from temerity. nowhere else to go because they presumably have nothing to do with their family. but also nowhere else to go because the academy they were studying at and doing an internship for is currently not a functioning institution because the headmaster is essentially out of commission, the mayor of the city is gone, and everything is overall just in complete disarray. heart is hurting for this little (5'11) academic.
"Are you okay?" - Butchie
"Physically, yes." - Bonny J. Travesty
i. hate this. finding out that bonny considers herself a liability because she can't willingly tell a lie (for a reason currently unknown to us) and the only person she felt like she could tell was butchie. aka the only person she let listen in on her prophecy from somnesia. mhm. mhm mhm mhm. normal about this.
"I'm sorry I told you so late." - Bonny J. Travesty
"Don't be sorry, I'm just glad you told me at all." - Butchie
CLAWING AT MY SKIN. knowing she can't willingly tell a lie so this apology is GENUINE. AND EVERYTHING SHE EVER SAYS IS GENUINE. don't do this to me. i'm not ready to die.
"If you knew it made them uncomfortable, why would you bring it up?" - Butchie
"The only interactions we've had have been with anger. And I like when they look over at me." - Bonny J. Travesty
this is so actually the worst. whatever i said before about something else being the worst was a lie. bonny pushing temerity's buttons so they would look at her, in whatever way she could get it. in butchie's words, it's a very "middle school way to play it." sigh.
"I would give you some advice, but you've seen my bachelor pad." - Butchie, to Bonny J. Travesty
this is funny, yes. but it is also very sad just considering what we know of butchie right now. living alone. recently discovered that he'd been forced to forget his best friend. probably other shit too. ughhhhh
"If I asked, would it upset you? Would you answer?" - Butchie
"I would." - Bonny J. Travesty
i have in my notes a physical observation that bonny's player describes as something butchie would notice in this moment, that "she's been fiddling with the ring around her finger for this entire conversation." the fact that butchie makes sure to ask about asking her first before actually putting his question out there is so indicative of who butchie is as a person. he now knows that bonny cannot willingly tell a lie, so he's not putting her in a position in which the only option is to either tell a truth she might not want to confess, or stay silent (which, depending on how/what you ask, could be an answer in and of itself).
"No lost love?" - Butchie
"Not like yours. I don't think so, anyway." - Bonny J. Travesty
...
"But you still wear the ring?" - Butchie
"What am I supposed to do with it?" - Bonny J. Travesty
so, so many feelings about this set of quotes and the one right below this. bonny doesn't love this person anymore, hasn't for i don't know how long, but there's an apprehension (i hesitate to say fear because i don't want to mischaracterize her, but i think it might be) in getting rid of the thing that connects her to them. dare i say it has ties to her issues with religion, and her ties to father enoch and his whole group (i'm right, but i don't know to what extent, nor the details. we will see what happens. regardless, my heart breaks for bonny j. travesty).
"But if she found me without it, I don't know what I'd do." - Bonny J. Travesty
i lied again. when i said earlier that something was the worst, i temporarily forgot about this quote. this is in fact the worst. like actually awful. it's such a loaded sentence, and i will never get over it. i have a feeling that what goes unsaid here is i don't know what she would do or that she's scared that she knows what this person would do (using the word found i feel like is also very telling of the history and dynamic there).
"I was seventeen and it was dumb. But there's nothing I can do about it now." - Bonny J. Travesty
i actually hate this soooo much i hate it bad. feeling resigned to being tied to this person, this person you fear, for the rest of your life because of a decision you made almost a decade ago (if i remember her current age correctly) is so upsetting. hashtag fucking free her!!!!
"Every 'sorry' that comes from me is pure honesty." - Bonny J. Travesty
HEY. YOU KNOW WHEN I SAID THAT EVERYTHING BONNY SAYS IS THE TRUTH. SO THE APOLOGY FROM EARLIER WAS GENUINE. HEEEEEY. I'M GOING MENTAL. hashtag fucking free ME, actually-
"A twinge in your eye... but it doesn't wake you." - Our GM, to Temerity Hellebore
UMMM HI HELLO WHY DID BOTH TEMERITY AND I BOTH ROLL ABSOLUTELY DOG SHIT ON PERCEPTION DURING OUR INDIVIDUAL NIGHT WATCHES. WHO AAARE YOUUUU GET OUT OF OUR INN ROOM!!!!!! CREEP!!!!!!!!!! i can't think too hard about what memory was just stolen from temerity or i'll crash out. not to mention the fact that i cast see invisibility on my watch and don't end up seeing shit!!!!!! oh i can't do this. fuck everybody.
SURPRISE! BONUS MEME SECTION! BROUGHT TO YOU BY A FELLOW PARTY MEMBER!
SESSION 7. THANK THE GODS. this marks the beginning of arc 2! hyped as fuck! i think i mentioned that i plan to do these posts by a session-by-session basis instead of in groups of two, but if not. that's what i'm doing!
with this in mind. 9 pages total. which is, yes, less than i usually have for my other posts, but it also slightly less than my normal number of pages for the other sessions just on their own. this, however, is irrelevant because there were some really good quotes this session, and my hand cramped trying to write as fast as these players were throwing out bars!
So, without further ado- here are the quotes from session 7 of my d&d campaign that i found particularly interesting, and my thoughts on them!
"None of the ladies like me, but they follow you around like a shepherd." - Gideon Ahab, to Butchie
honest to god so mad that this dude is the first quote of this list. trust and believe that if this was ranked by enjoyment and not chronologically, he would NOT be up here. however, i will admit that this moment made me giggle.
"So here's the thing about being a real man- don't be a douche." - Butchie
WE LOOOVE A TRANSMASC BEING ASKED HOW TO BE A REAL MAN. YES ABSOLUTELY. going to ignore the fact that gideon probably doesn't know that butchie isn't cis. it's the principle of the matter.
"They probably don't want to be around you because you suck." - Butchie, to Gideon Ahab
HE DOES. HE DOES AND HE SHOULD BE TOLD AS MUCH.
"The way you talk to people changes the way they treat you." - Butchie, to Gideon Ahab
quote one of fifty billion on the list of absolute bars in this session. this is just, on a basic level, the reason why gideon is getting the behavior he's getting. if you are a misogynistic freak you WILL be catching hands. both verbal and physical. there is no world in which he should be surprised. but also. it's gideon ahab.
"I think I get it." - Gideon Ahab
"I hope so." - Butchie
he got it on a base level, unfortunately, but at least he got it!
"There's a reason that Jackson doesn't like me anymore... It's not anybody else, it's got something to do with me, and I've never thought about that before." - Gideon Ahab
HIS BRAINCELLS FINALLY MADE CONTACT THANK FUCKING GOD. the biggest breakthrough yet, i need this man to keep going. maybe i'll actually like him by the end of the campaign! that would be a miracle!
"I am as fine as I can be." - Anemoia Basalt
anemoia :-[[ anemoia i am so sorry my pookie :-[[ both for last session and for spooking you in this scene :-[[ we're gonna figure this out!! we're gonna get you home!! trust!!!!!
"She loved the people here, and as far as we know, she loved you." - Willamae Carmichael, to Butchie, about Elysia
i actually just can't handle this quote at all. like actually just take me out back. i'll be bringing this quote up in therapy. if we don't find her i'll tweak the hell out and she's not even in MY PC'S BACKSTORY.
"How do you put back together 7 years of friendship?" - Butchie
FIRST OF ALL. 7 YEARS. I NEED TO BE SHOT. second of all. the way if i, milo, was made to forget 7 years of a dear and loving friendship of mine, and i eventually found out about it, i don't think i'd be able to mentally handle it. i'd combust. butchie you're better than me in this moment, but unfortunately not by much just based on your behavior atm.
"You're safe to feel things. Say what's on your mind, I don't mind." - Willamae Carmichael, to Butchie
WILLAMAE I LOVE YOUUU. YOU ARE SO DEAR TO ME. YOU DESERVE THE WORLD AND MORE. YOU'RE SAFE TO FEEL THINGS???? IT'S SOOO OVERRRR
"You always have a place here at The Unknowable." - Willamae Carmichael, to Butchie
The Unknowable, aka the first gay bar in Hyperion <3. it's a crime that it took my pc 7 sessions to go here. it's so slay. also, finding out that Butchie used to be a bouncer at said gay bar?? iconic as fuck. what a guy.
"You reminded me of myself." - Maximilian Kurshahn, to Butchie
THEIR NARRATIVE PARALLELS PAIN ME HORRIBLY. butchie coming into work hungover a couple days before this and maximilian immediately being like "ah. that's a mirror. what the fuck." oh i CAN'T DO IT. there is a conversation between these two about alcoholism approaching on the horizon.
"Do you want company? That sounds a certain way, not like that. Unless you want that. I just know you live alone and I know how suffocating that can be." - Maximilian Kurshahn, to Butchie
LOOK. no she didn't immediately mean it like that. but she also had to shoot her shot!!! it doesn't matter that butchie is her superior!!!! he's a bulky, 7'6 minotaur that she could ride 17 ways from sunday! and she hasn't had sex in a good while! leave her alone!!!!!!!
"I put in my two weeks." - Jackson Bernardi
STADIUM FUCKING CHEEERSSSSS. this quote MAY seem simple but i HAD to put it in here. jackson bernardi you are so special to me!!!!! go do things! find your passions! i'm so proud of you!
"I spent 26 years here, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little upset about leaving, but what other choice do I have?" - Bonny J. Travesty
the sprinkle of bonny angst before the torrential downpour later in the session. . . also this had me realizing that i'm pretty sure bonny is younger than maximilian (who is 28)? which is not something i considered, for some reason? my mind had assumed she was older, i have no idea why lmao
"To you, Butchie, and to Wisteria." - Bonny J. Travesty
Butchie's little promotion party!!! the little toasts we had here were sweet :-] also the fact that i have a drawing in my notebook of what order people sat in our circular corner booth lmao. circular corner booths are legally required to exist in every restaurant/pub in d&d. them's the rules.
"You just don't get it, philosophically." - Our GM, to Anemoia Basalt
i loved that we invented a shitty flatbread place that's open until 2am, for several reasons, but mostly because we got this gem of a quote from our gm because anemoia's player rolled to see if she would like flatbread and got a fucking 3. this is peak d&d. fuck everything else, this is what i play d&d for.
"I would run, but where would I go?" - Headmaster Vhonus
TO HELL. THAT'S WHERE. this fucking guy. this entire scene was CRAZY and you'll understand why a few quotes down but oh my god. the lore we found here?? it circling back to what i as a player know about how souls work in this universe??? i genuinely started fucking tweaking. like what do you MEAN i'm hearing about soul threads again. i cannot handle this. get me out of here (i'm right where i want to be please don't).
"It is no fault of mine, but the fault of the ignoramuses that are in this city, that my plan failed." - Headmaster Vhonus
i mean. fair?? but also you're wild for even starting the project that you started. like yeah you were pulling soul material from corpses and not live people but it's still so odd??? and most likely unethical on some level??? also finding out that he was most likely about to turn on the Artuso Twins because we found notes about his suspicions of them and his notes about the weapons he had been creating with said soul material (and succeeded in doing so) was CRAZY. ALSO. he has a benefactor of some sort, but never mentions them by name, and trades the soul material he collects for "edited" soul material. this is genuinely so insane. i was so sat for this lore drop, and still am ngl
"I was just ending your destruction. To prevent you from stopping others with great aspirations." - Headmaster Vhonus, to Temerity Hellebore
BE. SO. FR. you're the one with the weird blade contraptions made out of literal soul threads?? your research may have started out with good intentions, according to the notes we found at least, but it's still crazy as fuck that you were using parts of people's souls in order to do what you were doing. genuinely on the wildest level of unethical i fear. "great aspirations" my ASS.
"I thought it was wasted potential, but it's much worse. It's potential in the other direction. Potential so misguided. Simply abhorrent." - Headmaster Vhonus
abhorrent is a good word. but like also fuck you headmaster vhonus. literally what you MEAN "in the other direction"??? potential is potential??? just because you don't like what temerity is doing doesn't mean it's misguided potential.
"I hope you failed in that grandeur you craved." - Temerity Hellebore, to Headmaster Vhonus
SHOUTOUT TO BULLDOG, A FELLOW PLAYER IN THE CAMPAIGN, FOR GETTING ME THIS QUOTE BECAUSE I MISSED IT BECAUSE MY HEARING OVER DISCORD IS BAD. especially considering that this is a BAR. GET HIS ASS TEMERITY.
"If I had it my way, this school would be self-contained, not overreaching." - Temerity Hellebore
temerity you are so right all the time. your takes are so correct. it's genuinely weird as shit what they were trying to do (possibly might try and do again? maybe not, considering both harkin and vhonus aren't in power anymore).
"Are you going to stab me in the eye with that?" - Headmaster Vhonus
"A little blood never hurt anyone." - Anemoia Basalt
THIS WAS FUCKING INSAAANE. LIKE THERE'S NO OTHER WAY TO DESCRIBE THIS MOMENT IN THE SESSION. mouths were AGAPE ACROSS THE BOARD. so so so many thoughts about this moment and how we're going to talk about all of it in-game in future sessions. the way that anemoia was so rightfully angry here, that i don't necessarily blame her but i know that once we fully explain it that she'll be horrified.
"You are a hypocrite, Anemoia. I need you to know that." - Maximilian Kurshahn
continuing the commentary above since this is in the same moment, practically. but it's the way that anemoia doesn't realize that she's a hypocrite. she doesn't fully understand what she's done is exactly what has been done to her (and several other party members, but she doesn't know that) because it hasn't been explained to her. she hasn't connected the tool she used on vhonus to the memory devices that she's come across previously. such a fucking phenomenal narrative moment that i think will permanently change party dynamics. intra-party conflict in d&d is so juicy and fun. anemoia you are such a creature and i as a player love you.
A way home, that was closer than you knew, that was utterly ruined by fire." - Our GM, to Anemoia Basalt
THIS WAS SOOOO UPSETTING. finding out that, right before we got into the room, vhonus destroyed a fairy circle, aka a portal to the feywild, aka where anemoia is from. oh this was so heartbreaking. the way my pc didn't know what a fairy circle was and just described the scorched dirt and mushrooms on the ground so matter-of-fact. unbeknownst to her, anemoia was about to go ballistic and plunger 70% of vhonus' life-force out of his body. ohhhhh it's so over
"Thanks for following me. You're not very sneaky." - Bonny J. Travesty, to Butchie
I genuinely got emotional during this entire scene, so there's that. good thing i locked the fuck in because the quotes were SO good. like holy shit. the way that bonny started freaking the fuck out when anemoia did what she did. i knew it was the start of some good roleplay (sorry bonny. . .)
"Sorry I left, I wasn't very useful." - Bonny J. Travesty
"I did too, it's okay." - Butchie
i actually cannot blame either of them for checking the fuck out. like the only way maximilian got through it was getting so angry that she disassociated. this shit was just. like. damn.
"I'm sorry." - Butchie
"For what? You didn't do nothin'." - Bonny J. Travesty
"I can still be sorry even though it wasn't my fault." - Butchie
OHHH THISSSSS. heavyyy on the "I can still be sorry" part. like no butchie didn't do anything in the moment to contribute to the stress that was that entire situation, but he can still be apologetic. he's empathizing with her. he gets it. he GETS. IT.
"If you're missing even a piece of yourself, you will be stuck there. And I'm going to be stuck there, and so are you. And I don't know if I'm going to be able to recognize anyone when I get there." - Bonny J. Travesty
i think i fucking blacked out here?? like this was such an emotionally charged scene i'm surprised i got as much as i did, but i missed exactly what she was talking about here, but it's fucking brutal, and it's a specific religious belief about a place in the northern part of the continent our characters are on right now. like i think it's a form of an afterlife, from what i can recall. and that you'll be ushered to it by the goddess of death, or at least a figure representing her? had to have a smidgen of assistance from a fellow player for this one, but i imagine we'll learn more about this belief as the campaign goes on. gut-wrenching. the religion talk in this scene, goooooosshhh
"It was supposed to be something that made me feel warm... gave me someone to fight for." - Butchie
"it was supposed to be" is SUCH a way to phrase this, very pointed and purposeful. loved this. so good
"That religion doesn't seem kind." - Butchie
"I envy you. It's cold and it's lonely." - Bonny J. Travesty
"My religion hasn't been too warm lately either." - Butchie
AUUUGH. cannot tell y'all how insane i am about this set of dialogue. two people having issues with their own religions being envious of the other despite neither religion being something to be envious of. devastating.
"I swore my oath of devotion to Judith." - Butchie
"The Goddess of Tragedy, and you are roped up in it." - Bonny J. Travesty
first reveal for me as a player as to what god that butchie is a paladin for!!!! slay!!! but also the way he speaks about his experience with it (and also the dialogue immediately below this) is just. ouch ouch ouch. free him.
"I tried to break my oath. Did you know that?" - Butchie
"I didn't. How did it feel?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"I wanna say it hurt a lot, but I can't remember most of the conversation." - Butchie
I CAN'T REMEMBER MOST OF THE CONVERSATION. WHEN A COMMON THEME SO FAR IN THIS CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN STOLEN MEMORIES. COULD I HAVE A BREAK FROM THIS TORTURE. WHERE IS THE EXIT SIGN. LET ME OUT.
"That's the thing about faith... it haunts you." - Bonny J. Travesty
there was more said here, but i am but a man and i can only write so fast. but. STILL. bonny j fucking travesty. actually more like the player who inhabits her body. I CAN ONLY TAKE SO MUCH. LET ME LIVE. STOP STABBING ME AND MY RELIGIOUS TRAUMA.
"I think it's a parasite." - Bonny J. Travesty
OHHHHHH IT'S SO FUCKING OVER YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND. describing your religion and your faith as a relationship in which only one side benefits and the other is only harmed and obtains nothing good from the exchange means INSANE THINGS TO ME. the idea that oaths exist as a concept that seems mutually beneficial, but in reality it is a connection that will kill the host that it attaches to. somebody sedate me.
"I think any choice you make- you didn't, there's no way." - Bonny J. Travesty
being so convinced/in denial that any decision you make is not your own and was already predetermined. oh my fucking god i could die. being like. there's no way i did this and it wasn't destined to happen. because if it wasn't and i could have done something different and that choice would have mattered and been mine to take, then it's my fault. i have to accept that it's my fault and i can't bring myself to. that's what this reads to me at least. regardless. UGH.
"I break my oath every day. In more ways you could ever know." - Bonny J. Travesty
finding out that bonny is possibly married was not on my d&d bingo card?? or at least was. she pointed out a ring during this, is why i say she is/was married. what if i died. can't handle this rn.
"Can I tell you something stupid? I'm not worried about leaving here. I'm not. I know the people I'm forced to care about will make do. I don't wanna go." - Bonny J. Travesty
Bonny being so terrified to leave Hyperion was actually just the worst thing to witness ever probably. no words, no thoughts except screaming in agony over this quote.
I think it's a parasite that tricks you into loving it." - Bonny J. Travesty
AGAIN. THE COMPARISON OF A RELIGION BEING A PARASITE. THAT TRICKS YOU. INTO LOVING IT. ARE WE SERIOUS RIGHT NOWWWWWW
"I haven't seen him in ages, but it's impossible to leave. And I don't know why." - Bonny J. Travesty
bonny revealing that father job is her dad was also not on my bingo card, but i had the theory in the back of my mind just based on observations i made in previous sessions. regardless, this was so upsetting. just being so afraid to leave despite having not been in that environment for an undisclosed amount of time. the fear they instilled in you sticking around without you wanting it to. can we just. take a second.
"To parasites, I guess." - Butchie
"To parasites." - Bonny J. Travesty
what a fucking send-off to a session!! definitely not painful and devastating at all!!!!!!!!! there's nothing wrong with me emotionally. what are you talking about. shut up. go away.
eek! session 11! i'm back! we're back! with 11 pages (haha) of notes! this session was like. 3 months ago. i do not want to talk about it, let's just get into the thing because this shit was INSANE.
here are some quotes from session 11 of my d&d campaign that i found particularly interesting, and my thoughts on them!
"I'll never make anyone play a game in my club." - Earlyle Vhonus
you read that name right folks- this motherfucker (lovingly) is headmaster huxthane vhonus' younger brother!! literally what are the fucking odds lol. on the bright side, we're not gambling with our souls and he's actually a considerate guy that won't allow people to gamble in his club if they need the money for necessities! however, i don't think i could get the thought out of my mind during this whole interaction that huxthane is... essentially ~80% incoherent due to a member of our party sucking part of his soul material from his body. i think we've just. decided not to tell earlyle for now-
"It's not like we haven't been used as tools for HOG, is this really any different?" - Bonny J. Travesty
dare i say bonny has a point,, but hey! it's fine! going with earlyle's group in this whole situation was probably our best option considering some pretty glaring red flags in the necromancers (known from our personal experiences) and the druids (information we are told from earlyle and his personal experiences).
"I don't know you people, but I do know that luck is on your side." - Earlyle Vhonus
such a bar i can't lie. honestly, he's put a lot of faith in us considering the fact that we're pretty much strangers to him and to the city, but if he knew we took down that major operation in hyperion and got rid of two extremely powerful necromancers,, i think we'd earn some points lol
"I understand your inhibitions, but I must request to use your church tomorrow." - Father Enoch, to Priest Worley
"You are a divisive man, Enoch... I won't stop you, but just know that I fear for our people." - Priest Worley
it's the way we only picked up on this interaction because we were passing through the area to go to an inn in that part of the city- worley you have every fucking right to worry, that man cannot be trusted. and, the fact that enoch and worley are priests of the same religion but have such differing views to the point that one of them worries about what the other's influence will do to their followers,,, it's called twisting scripture to fit your personal agenda i fear!!!
"I don't know what's going on with you, but we're going to be alright." - Temerity Hellebore
"I trust you." - Bonny J. Travesty
bonny still feeling the guilt of whatever is going on with elysia, and now having to avoid people that she clearly knows from her past,,, girly!!! my heart breaks for you!!!!
"I thought I told him not to be fucking stupid." - Bonny J. Travesty
CALLBACK. EEK. I'LL TALK MORE IN DEPTH ABOUT THE CONTEXT OF THIS UNDER THE NEXT QUOTE GROUP BUT THE AFTERMATH OF BONNY TELLING BUTCHIE ABOUT ELYSIA AND THAT HE CAN'T BE RECKLESS........
"Are you good?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"Doesn't matter." - Butchie
so. butchie drank waaay more before we officially left earlyle's underground club but didn't tell anybody, then while on the way to the inn he puked due to the alcohol poisoning. hey. HEYYY. what if i said that i was going insane about this and that maximilian also felt like she was looking in a mirror when this was going on. which reminded me of all of the party's mirror dreams. GODDDDD.
"What's gotten into you? Is it just the alcohol?" - Temerity Hellebore
"It's probably not helping." - Bonny J. Travesty
sigh. SIGHHHH. temerity the perceiver. the way they speak to each other has been slowly shifting. hashtag noticing!!
"I know too many of these people, and I really don't want to fucking be here." - Bonny J. Travesty
this is literally the realest shit anyone in this game has ever said so far. me in my hometown actually. i understand you, bonny, in a way.
"If it means anything, you're more fun." - Bonny J. Travesty
"And that's saying something." - Temerity Hellebore
genuinely. GENUINELY. all i can think about is that bonny cannot speak lies. trust me when i say that i will never not bring this up. no one look at me. i can't handle this. (listening to mitski while writing this post was an awful idea.)
"You know a lot, Temerity. Can I ask you something?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"Yeah, you can." - Temerity Hellebore
"Why... why Honey?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"It was someone's name. Someone I lost. Hearing it... it makes me feel like I've lost control of what's happening." - Temerity Hellebore
temerity :-[[[[ we arguably know the least about your backstory, and this is genuinely heartbreaking. all we know is that you've got like. fae in your family tree somewhere if i remember correctly. and that your family has a huge estate near the bone museum. need that hashtag lore drop.
"You have my word, if it means anything." - Bonny J. Travesty
"It does." - Temerity Hellebore
"if it means anything" is going to start haunting me if bonny keeps saying it. her saying it twice (twice!! more than once!!) because she doesn't think what she says to people means anything!!!!! what if i died!!!!!!
"They are trying to disprove me, in a way, and I'm tired of the debate." - Bonny J. Travesty
...
"You're real, you're here, you're you, it'd be bad science to say otherwise." - Temerity Hellebore
BARS BARS BARS. I LOVE TRANS PEOPLE HAPPY PRIDE MONTH TO THE FICTIONAL QUEER PEOPLE IN OUR COLLECTIVE THEATER OF THE MIND. like i literally have nothing to say other than that this entire conversation was just soooo. ugh. temerity being like "you're real to me" like injeeeeect thaaaaat. if you're not validating the existence of your trans characters in this political climate then what are you even doing. get real.
"I think I just found something that he lost. And somebody I wished to lose." - Bonny J. Travesty
talking about butchie and elysia here,,, god can i PLEASE know a crumb of lore. a crumb for poor little me.
"Should I be worried?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"No, just fae politics, probably." - Temerity Hellebore
DUDE the official reveal that bonny has been cursed by elisha, the fairy that we've seen and talked to before back in hyperion. i (and i'm sure everybody else) came to this conclusion a bit ago but it's great to get it confirmed i can't lie. also, temerity's "probably" made me giggle.
"I'm here to fix things." - Melbris
...
"I hope the thing you're trying to fix is the same thing I'm trying to fix." - Maximilian Kurshahn
THIS FUCKING GUY OHHHH Y'ALL. did NOT expect him to pop up in the campaign, but i absolutely love that he did. though... half of his face has been withered since the last time maximilian saw him... so that's not great...... but!!! he says he has to talk to maximilian about something!!! everybody knows how information-hungry maximilian is so this is great.
"I don't think people like me, right now." - Anemoia Basalt
...
"It might look like we're angry, or upset, but we're just afraid." - Butchie
anemoia :-[[[[ we love you so bad, our characters are just clashing and things are so scary right now because of so many unknowns. you are near and dear to my heart.
"I trust you, okay?" - Anemoia Basalt, to Butchie
AUGH. THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
"I'm used to not sleeping in a bed, if that makes sense." - Anemoia Basalt
"So is it... comfortable?" - Butchie
"It's not uncomfortable?... It's quite homey, it makes me feel safe." - Anemoia Basalt
anemoia sleeping in their shell instead of in one of the beds in the inn because it makes them feel safe :-[[ that's so cute but honestly so real, i feel like i'd be doing the same if i had a shell. then i wouldn't have to spend money on a bed and i'd have a lot more space to work with in my bedroom. gah. curses.
"You've been to events like this. You know what's coming." - Our GM, to Bonny J. Travesty
headed to father enoch's event in the church the following morning.... y'all this was TENSE. like of course they pulled from real-life religion when creating this fictional religion, but the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up dawg-
"Our Mother of Death
Sanctify you we shall
Impure for slaughter (lamb to none)
Your sacred daughter (your sacred son)
To transcend is to be whole
Give us this day, a day to surveil
And tally our trespasses
As we tally our trespasses to reach enlightenment
And we become witness to our temptations
So we may take ourselves from evil
Our Death." - Wistan Saviors Prayer
i had to include the prayer in this post because the thought and time put into this... genuinely peak. like goddamn.
"The way we live is at stake... we must preserve our faith... this requires sacrifice." - Father Job
...
"We do not see eye-to-eye with the Coterie. In many ways they are opposites to us. But they are willing to let our faith exist." - Father Job
...
"A soul that does not seek to protect itself is suicidal." - Father Job
first of all. fuck this guy. second of all. crazy work that, despite necromancy being something that your religion quite vehemently rejects (because the goddess you follow is the goddess of death), you still choose to fuck around and ally with the necromancers anyway. this just further proves my point that enoch is doing this shit for his own personal gain and personal agenda and is twisting things around so they make just enough sense for people who aren't paying that much attention or thinking that deep about it. ohhhh don't piss me off.
"Tradition will prevent man from twisting your purity into something radical." - Bonny J. Travesty
...
"Job will leave you just as he left me." - Bonny J. Travesty
...
"Death becomes us. do not forget this." - Bonny J. Travesty
AGAIN i wish i'd gotten more of this whole speech down but BONNY YOU WERE SO COOL. going up in front of everyone in that church with the knowledge of the religion you grew up in to speak out against those two manipulative FUCKS. love you bad for this.
"I think your father stands. Looking at you. He doesn't know how to react." - Our GM
"I don't think Bonny does either." - Bonny J. Travesty's Player
mmmm just juicy shit i loved this little description. job seeing bonny and possibly realizing who she is (if he hasn't seen her like this before now) and him having to reckon with the emotional turmoil. bonny also not knowing how to react either, but still standing there and looking at him anyway. the visuaaaalll y'all walk with me.
"See! They will leave you! They have nothing to say on this! They will leave you!" - Bonny J. Travesty
enoch and job leaving and proving her point!!!! like come on at least try and refute her speech!!!! well you really can't. but you should've at least tried!!!! it would've been really funny!!!!
"I think you've made an impact on the people here today." - Priest Worley
"I hope so. I desperately hope so." - Bonny J. Travesty
me making this post a few months (and sessions) later and knowing what exactly the type of impact she makes... or at least part of it.... genuinely just beautiful.
"It hits Bonny, just how lonely this place is when it's vacant." - Our GM
again! the visual described in this scene at the end!! bonny standing at the pulpit, hotel scripture in hand, then walking down the aisle and dropping it into a trash bin before walking out. literal cinema. need to see it on my local theater screen PRONTO.
alright. now. i know i said i was slacking when i took 22 pages for sessions 5 and 6. turns out that's double what i have for sessions 1 and 2-
ignoring the high standards i have for myself. swiftly moving on!
Not nearly as many as i thought there would be, but here are some notable quotes i have from sessions 1 and 2 of my current d&d campaign and my thoughts on them!
"To live in Hyperion is to be drenched in light." - Our GM
RAAA love a good intro!! also love being able to revisit this city/this continent again after so long since we had played a little origins mini-campaign a year or so ago. especially since that mini-campaign was like 400+ years before this one. crazy!! insane!! in love with this game and this universe!!
"That's what HOG's about, it's about action." - Hayes "Bernard" Bernardi
y'all. when our gm told me and one of the other players about bernard before we played. swooning. an older, beefy green tiefling?? sign me UP. (like me, the player. my pc is steering clear of this guy. we Work for him. absolutely not). also. just have to say that i love the labels for the officers employed with the Hyperion Officers Guild (HOG). and the fact that it's based on real life hog age designations. squeaker. boar of the 4th/5th/6th year. old boar. to name a few. so so fun.
"It's the thing that makes this more tolerable, even if it is poison." - Our GM
hey. HEY. who up processing their possible alcoholism through their d&d character. oh DUDE the possible narrative parallels with the pc this was directed towards and mine. also the way i've made my pc for this campaign kind of the opposite in terms of substance use compared to my pc for the last campaign we had. i think i love that a lot.
"I hope you haven't taken Jackson under your wing, Gideon." - Bonny J. Travesty
if i could blow up a man with my mind i WOULD. like why the fuck is this 30-something year old man taking this 19-year-old to this gay bar??? like jackson can be here that's fine there's obviously nothing wrong with this gay bar i love me a good gay bar but GET THIS KID OUT OF HERE AND AWAY FROM GIDEON AHAB. PLEASE. STOP HARASSING WOMEN. (now that we're a decent amount of sessions in, can safely say that i think we've accomplished this. jackson go be happy away from all of this bullshit. if not for yourself, then for my mental stability.)
"Me and Bonny know each other, we go way back." - Gideon Ahab
bro says this like they're buddy-buddy?? which like. idfk to the extent that bonny has known this guy, but you are a raging misogynist and you objectify women. i need you to back UP. also looking back at my notes during this moment and my note under this quote being "me when i don't give a fuck." lmao. and i still stand by that. gideon has not given me a reason to listen to anything he says with any modicum of respect. eat rocks.
"What? You think you're gonna lose?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"I just think you're pretty." - Gideon Ahab
i need this man to be shaken like a rattle. gonna get the 7'6 minotaur i know and have him shake this guy with everything he has. also i don't have a big enough of a coherent quote to include it in this list. but just know gideon used the term "barbie" when describing either a woman at this bar or bonny herself. either way. shut your mouth. i'm not asking. every woman needs a restraining order against you.
"I don't really know what a conniption is, but I'll have one." - Willamae Carmichael
willamae THE icon ever. i need my pc to meet you. it's a crime i haven't be able to do that yet.
"Have you heard of the heresy?" - ???
the religious district of this city is SO interesting. this guy was giving religious preacher that randomly approaches you as you pass him on the street. leave my anemoia basalt ALONE. let her go down the street in peace. i wish i had a little bit better of notes for this scene because all we know is that the archbishop is/was serving "words of heresy"? babe please elaborate. like i think i understand it now that we've played for 6 sessions but why did i write this particular interaction this way lol. fellow players of mine, if you see this don't hesitate to yell at me that i'm forgetting something.
"Why would you want to go back?" - Elisha, to Anemoia Basalt
anemoia wanting to go back to her home in the feywild :-[ there not being many fae that she can talk to about the feywild other than elisha :-[ ugh ugh ugh.
"Thank you, have a safe journey back." - Headmaster Vhonus, to a masked figure
READING THESE NOTES BACK AFTER THE END OF ARC 1 AND OHHHHH BOY. this was one of the Artuso Twins and we didn't even KNOW at the time what we would find out about them. and. again. thinking about how vhonus just vanished the day after we killed the twins??? big feeling that vhonus is coming back at some point. not looking forward to that, not one bit.
"This was just supposed to be a hobby group." - Novice Necromancer
this was honestly kind of sad :-[ like necromancy was just a hobby for them and a way to make friends :-[ and then they get arrested for it and also, from what we know now, pulled into a much more sinister plot. genuinely the worst time to pick up a hobby i fear-
"Your pay will be docked, this is your last warning." - Hayes "Bernard" Bernardi, to Gideon Ahab
OH THIS WAS BEAUTIFUL TO WITNESS. like you literally just walked away from an entire emergency situation when it is literally your obligation to help??? be soooo fr. i can't even pretend to feel bad for you, man.
ok. so. i'm caving and making another d&d session quotes post because this is really fun. thank you, bulldog, friend o' mine, for convincing me to do this.
sessions 3 and 4. woof. 24 pages of notes. the lore dropped in these two sessions alone was crazy, i can't lie. but i am such a sucker for lore, so definitely not complaining!
i plan on working backwards until we have another session, then go in chronological order from there. so, without further preamble, these are my favorite quotes from sessions 3 and 4 of my d&d campaign and my thoughts on them!
"He's a real piece of work." - Butchie
"Certainly didn't hurt my hand much." - Maximilian Kurshahn
love playing this character because now i actually have an excuse to punch the asshole npc's that really need a good wallop. like, bro, you don't just get to call someone a bitch without facing consequences? get real, gideon lmao
"She's literally fire, Gideon." - Bonny J. Travesty
"She?? That's a woman?!" - Gideon Ahab
OH I CRIED LAUGHING. maximilian, my transfemme/genderfluid/whatever-works-best-in-the-moment, how i love you. you confuse the shit out of any man you come across, and that was my goal, goddammit. my she/they/he fire genasi queen <3. not even to mention the fact that like 5 minutes before this he was calling her "one of the guys." well, yes! but also, no!
"Watch your eyes. And mind your damn business, I can fend for myself." - Bonny J. Travesty
"I know." - Maximilian Kurshahn
gideon being a massive creep and just looking at bonny's chest the entire time she's speaking to him. no, no it's cool, gideon, just come back over here, i think you need a matching scorch mark on your other cheek in the shape of my knuckles. it's symmetrical, people like symmetry, it's for your benefit, for sure.
"We're both new, we gotta stick together." - Anemoia Basalt, to Jackson Bernardi
their blooming friendship is actually everything to me. i suddenly don't care about anything else, just give me a youtube compilation of jackson and anemoia moments. inject it into my veins.
"The more I look at Gideon, the more I'm starting to think that Gideon fucking sucks, too." - Jackson Bernardi
THE WAY WE HAD TO PULL THIS KID FROM GIDEON'S GRIMY HANDS. he is the worst role model for you, jackson. i'm sorry for intimidating you so well that now you're scared of me, but i needed to get you away from that man. see the light, sir! please! for the love of god!
"She's scary, but she's really nice!" - Anemoia Basalt, to Jackson Bernardi about Maximilian Kurshahn
ANEMOIA NO ONE COULD EVER MAKE ME HATE YOU. you are the sweetest little tortle i've ever met. and also the beefiest, with a 20 strength score. literally iconic.
"I will need that back, I think it's overdue." - Temerity Hellebore, to Butchie
overdue by 3 weeks, btw. absolutely cackling.
"His smile has been fake for so long that it's become his real smile." - Our GM, describing the mayor, Claudessen Berumensch
oh Y'ALL. this fucking guy. a wild description, for a wild dude. shady as hell in the way he became mayor. i'm convinced he ordered a hit on the last one, and just considering what we've learned recently? this is most definitely the case. what a cool name, though, i have to admit.
"Oh, look who it is." - Elisha
"You got a fuckin' price on your head or somethin'?" - Bonny J. Travesty
this two have beef for whatever reason, one currently unknown to me and pretty much the rest of the party. very very intrigued what the story is there.
"Pay like shit and people are gonna talk shit." - ???
i honestly found this amusing, because like. i mean. yeah. pay your hired muscle well and your secrets most likely won't be leaked. pretty self-explanatory, lol
"It seems like you have a pet now, Bonny." - Temerity Hellebore
POOGIE THE PIGLET THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. with his endless need to consume and his little top hat!! we'll feed you all the bread you want for the rest of time, poogie. you are now the party's mascot. say hello to Poogie and the Hogs, everyone!
"We even adventured on that table over there." - Janibell Halt
OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. this old lady was so horny for butchie, i think i blacked out from laughing so much. this is the most coherent horny quote from janibell that i got down, i think, and this wasn't even the worst thing she said or did! like girl i respect the hustle, trust, but butchie does not want you, please take your hair out of that bun you put it in and RELAX.
"You look different, but looks can be deceiving." - Elisha, to Bonny J. Travesty
AGAIN WITH THE BEEF. i need to know the backstory. pls. pls god tell me.
"I bet you have nothing to lose, do you?" - Temerity Hellebore, to Bonny J. Travesty
ooohhh the divas have started fighting. their talk from session 6 was this but tenfold, however i wanted to include quotes from this anyway because they are Tea.
"This is probably going to get dirty, and you aren't gonna like it." - Bonny J. Travesty, to Temerity Hellebore
OHHHH THE WAY THAT BONNY CALLED BACK TO THIS DURING SESSION 6'S BIG BATTLE. in love with that.
"Your studies are a "hella-bore" by the way." - Bonny J. Travesty
i was trying to figure out how to type this out so it makes sense but like i don't even care because this was SO stupid funny. what a way to end an argument, bonny, truly doing the most.
"Tomorrow?" - Butchie
"Tomorrow." - Maximilian Kurshahn
holding brazen bull duo delicately in my hands :-[ current alcoholic vs. former-but-still-struggling alcoholic. tism4tism. need their drink date STAT.
"She was gorgeous, y'know?" - Willamae Carmichael
elysia we will find you TRUST. girl pls just be kidnapped or something, butchie needs you. god this entire conversation was heartbreaking, i fear.
"And we were friends?" - Butchie
"Best friends." - Willamae Carmichael
I NEED TO BE SEDATED. this isn't even the worst part of this scene, but like?? are you joking??? whoever stole butchie's memories of elysia. you should fear me. milo. the player.
"What can I do?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"How are you going to fix a situation I don't remember?" - Butchie
i need to hurl. i need to VOM. this is such bullshit. hate this game.
"She was beautiful, and she did not deserve what I did to her. She was perfect." - Bonny J. Travesty
i'm sorry?? genuinely fucking crazy. from what i can understand, elysia was a sex worker of some sort? i could be totally off base, but i'm fairly sure i'm right. so this quote makes more sense, with that possible context, but still. what the fuck did you do, bonny j. travesty.
"The way she looked at you... it was different." - Bonny J. Travesty
VOMMING. OH IT'S OVER. that's actually the worst thing to hear of a person you literally can't remember. can't do it. i quit.
"Do you want me to walk with you?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"I don't think I'll be much company." - Butchie
"It doesn't matter." - Bonny J. Travesty
don't talk to me. no one talk to me. leave me alone.
"You will discover what it means to be a mage that will have a real influence on the world." - Headmaster Vhonus
this shit was SHAAADDDY. like why are we creating a mage cult-group-thing that we find out later had a hit list with a couple of our party members on it?? hello??? answer quickly, headmaster.
"Imagine having free reign of the magic you can wield." - Advisor Harkin
no because this guy would be sooo gung-ho for ai summaries if he were a real person. like? a crystal that projects your spellbook so you don't have to have spellcasting mastery?? the gm did not intend for this to be an allusion to the use of ai and how it can be detrimental to our education, but it is.
"I don't think any magic is ever useless." - Temerity Hellebore
LOVED LOVED LOOOVED the questioning and skepticism that temerity had in this entire scene. because, yes! question these ai-using freaks! also, re-reading notes from this scene and, like. this wasn't a mayoral matter? you didn't need to tell the council? smells like a government overthrow to me. stinks of magocracy. which, government overthrow? not the issue. magocracy, though? with the way they were talking about things?? no i'm okay, actually.
"Foul eye, who is your master?" - Headmaster Vhonus
dare i say clairvoyance top 5 best spells in d&d?? hate to say that vhonus kind of ate with this quote but my GOD this shit was creepy. like either they have truesight or just happened to have casted detect magic or something similar at the same time that temerity used clairvoyance to spy in on them when they left. either way, haaaated this. so unsettling.
Having two consecutive days of playing d&d is both the worst thing and the best thing. Because on one hand I want to keep playing every day all day forever and I CAN'T which is DUMB, but on the other hand I get to write SO many notes and have good moments and quotes from my fellow players and our favorite (or sometimes least favorite) NPC's. 22 pages of notes from said two consecutive sessions btw. I was lowkey slacking though, usually I write more.
Nonetheless, I still wrote some good shit down! I'm sharing quotes I'm fond of from my notes of sessions 5 and 6 (and the end of the first arc!) from the campaign I'm in, as well as sharing my thoughts on them! Most are serious, but I swear funny things happen.
[Note: this will likely be mostly out of context for people not in this campaign because giving context would take a While. But, hey, if someone wants to know I'll be more than willing to info dump!]
"I promise you can be found again." - Father Job
looove love love experiencing fear-mongering religious sermons both in and out of game, definitely not super unsettling. oh father job how i loathe you
"Together we can erase the oppression weighing down on our shoulders." - Father Job
another absolutely wonderful quote from father job. finding out that this man was possibly going to start a revolution and become the mayor of the city through that made a lot of sense for the ego on this fucking guy. thank god we prevented that and he's still just a regular freak but with less powerful connections. hopefully lol
"You are really in over your head." - Noellian Triscenti
"Really? Because you're about to be in over your head in a minute." - Bonny J. Travesty
COMICAL exchange because noellian was lying through his scared little teeth. YES it's you we want. you've been evading everyone and dabbling in things that had you trying to flee the city. don't worry, we definitely won't dangle you over the edge of a bridge and intimidate you into telling us the information we know that you know. :). good luck with your "fleeing the city" move, buddy!
"Sorry, stuff happened." - Anemoia Basalt
UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE MILLENNIUM. we witnessed a mass killing with a gas bomb in the middle of a packed open-air cathedral. or, according to anemoia, "stuff happened". i love you so bad 'moia, please never change
"Keep them separate. Sending Anemoia to you. Good luck. Enjoyed working with you." - Maximilian Kurshahn, to Temerity Hellebore
yes, canonically we've only known each other for like a week and have worked together for slightly less than that. but when you get the feeling that you're about to die at the hands of two powerful spellcasters, even the most tenuous of coworkers can get sentimental over a sending spell. excited that i'm not dead and neither are any of the other pc's!! it's a miracle!
"They can go ahead. I know their names." - Temerity Hellebore
BAR. bro killed the academy advisor and all of his naive cronies scattered, as they should. rest in hell harkin. but also you were a funny ass man and interacting with you was absolutely hilarious. god bless
"Anemoia, I don't think I wanna do this anymore." - Jackson Bernardi
jackson you precious fucking kid. just because your grandfather is the leader of this organization doesn't mean you have to be here, too. giving this fictional 19 year old a hug, he deserves it.
"Well, we aren't friends." - Anemoia Basalt, to Maximilian Kurshahn
you would've thought we all got shot the way the entire table reacted to this line. GUTTED ME. this is what i get for making a character who outwardly seems closed off and doesn't want to be bothered, and also doesn't really know how to make friends (and also doesn't have any, and forgot she could actually have them). welcome to the consequences of my actions, sorry guys!
"Tell me, Temerity, is it common practice to be a total douche to the people you work with?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"I'm trying to say sorry." - Temerity Hellebore
"Well say it, don't step around it." - Bonny J. Travesty
LAWD these two were beefing. not even the best to come out of this conversation. so so tea.
"I can see right through you." - Bonny J. Travesty
"I bet you think you can." - Temerity Hellebore
GAGGED. ABSOLUTELY GAGGED. i'm very interested to see how their dynamics change throughout the campaign.
"Temerity?" - Bonny J. Travesty
"What is it?" - Temerity Hellebore
"...Nevermind." - Bonny J. Travesty
AGAIN!!! GAGGED!!!! 10/10 NO NOTES
"Thank you." - Butchie
"There's no need. This is what you deserve." - Hayes "Bernard" Bernardi
OH this moment was so emotional. even had the gm himself tearing up. butchie old boar status is so special to me, even if he thinks he doesn't deserve the promotion :'-]
