#especially the part where bo starts yelling at the audience to get up and have a good time also
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Promises Kept (Chapter One)
Summary: This is Part Two of my series A Herrmann/Halstead Production. It is an AU where Christopher Herrmann's mom had an affair with Pat Halstead resulting in a baby. The series follows this OC character (Rebecca "Bex" Herrmann) as she grows up and gets to know her brothers and the various Chicago teams.
Part Two follows Bex and Jay during the four years while Jay is away in the Army Rangers and then the following four years while Bex is away at school
Rating: Teen Audiences and Up
Relationships: Christopher Herrmann & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Original Female Character, Will Halstead & Original Female Character, Jay Halstead & Will Halstead
Warnings: Talk of war, PTSD, multiple minor character deaths, ill parent, parental death, sibling friction
A/N: I'll post the link to the ao3 page at the bottom. This story has not only an OC character, but some quirky elements which may or may not be everyone's jam. Just FYI. Please enjoy my mostly fluffy with a bit of angst story. :D
Click here for the Part One of this series: Oopsie Baby
Chapter One
Jay had been super busy with basic training, especially now that he was almost done and would be shipping out soon.
But Bex knew that today, of all days, he would make time to call.
She pounced on the phone when it rang. “Jay?”
“Happy Birthday, Bex!”
“Thank you!” She sprinted up the stairs to her room so she could talk to Jay without Lee Henry hollering in the background. The kid was so excited for Halloween he was probably going to pass out before they left the house.
“Having a good day so far?”
“Mm-hm,” Bex leapt onto her bed and got settled in to chat. “Cindy made special breakfast—”
“Chocolate chip pancakes with strawberries?”
“Yup.”
“And bacon??”
“Yes, Jay,” she laughed when he groaned. “I’d have sent you some, but me and Lee Henry ate it all.”
“That kid’s a bad influence, not saving me any bacon,” he grumbled. “What else have you been up to, birthday girl? Man, I can’t believe you’re fourteen. It’s crazy.”
“Now you sound like, Chris,” Bex said. “Every year, he gets more emotional about how I was just a baby and starts reminiscing about my toddler years.”
“He’s not getting enough baby time with Lee Henry?”
“Ooh, speaking of,” Bex made sure her door was closed before spilling the news. “Guess what?”
“If you say you’re pregnant right now—”
“Oh my god, Jay, no,” Bex snorted. “Cindy is. She and Chris told me yesterday, they’re expecting again.”
“And we’re excited about this?” he double checked.
“Yes,” Bex said firmly. “They’re happy. I’m happy. Lee Henry is always happy. We’re all good.”
“Well, that’s cool news, then,” Jay said. “Tell them I said congrats. What else has been going on?”
“Lenny, Max, and Pete retired last month and their replacements just started at 51,” she said. “They’re already calling me Baby Herrmann thanks to Uncle Mouch and Uncle Bo—shut up, stop laughing.”
“It’s a cute nickname!”
“People are going to be calling me Baby Herrmann when I’m twenty-four years old at this rate,” she groused. “I should start calling them Uncle Randy and Uncle Wally as revenge.”
“Please wait until I come home to do that because I would really like to see it.”
“I don’t know that I’d ever actually be brave enough to call Uncle Bo ‘Uncle Wally’,” she said. “Anyway, the new guys seem nice enough. Chris is having way too much fun planning pranks to initiate them. He’s like a five year old. Cindy had to yell at him yesterday to stop with the planning and help her make dinner.”
“Uh-oh,” Jay laughed. “Then what?”
“He helped with dinner, we ate, and then Cindy helped him make better plans after dinner,” Bex said with a grin. “Those guys are in for it.”
“You’re going to have to tell me how it goes,” Jay replied. “Hey, did your card arrive in time?”
“It did! Thank you,” Bex said. “I appreciated the birthday money, but you didn’t have to do that.”
“Shut up, it’s your birthday, of course I did. What are you gonna use it for?”
“Well, I was thinking about…getting a guitar? I’ve been saving up for a bit and I think I have enough now.”
“A guitar? I never knew you wanted to learn how to play.” Jay sounded surprised and rightly so. It was an idea she’d been keeping to herself while she mulled. “You must be really bored without me, hunh?”
“You’re such a dork,” Bex laughed. “But yes, I am. Seriously. Lee Henry is not a great conversationalist yet.”
That got another laugh from Jay and Bex reveled in the sound. Soon he was going to be across the ocean, putting his life in danger. She wanted to bottle every conversation they had, every laugh, and keep it forever.
“I gotta go,” he said eventually. “And we head out day after tomorrow so it might be a bit before you hear from me again, but don’t worry, okay? I’ll email you as soon as I can.”
“Okay,” Bex said quietly. “Miss you, Jay.”
“Miss you too, Bex. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
They hung up and she flopped back on her bed with a sigh. She might joke, but it really wasn’t the same without Jay around. Things would be busy once the new baby arrived, but right now, it all felt wrong. Off balance. She wondered if it would be that way until he got back home.
Bex hopped on her computer to check her email before heading back downstairs. One new message. From Will.
Happy Birthday.
At least he remembered, Bex thought. That was better than last year. Maybe Jay emailed him to remind him this time around. Whatever. She headed back downstairs. There was cake to be had.
***
From: [email protected]
Hey, Bex!
Just wanted to let you know we made it. Everything’s a bit hectic, but we’re here.
Guys in my unit seem nice.
Talk soon,
Jay
***
From: [email protected]
Yay! Glad you made it. Miss your face.
Sent you a pic of the newest member of the Herrmann family.
Love,
Bex
***
From: [email protected]
If that’s Chris and Cindy’s new baby, something’s wrong with it.
***
From: [email protected]
We got a kitten, dork.
Kelly found it in the bushes at the firehouse and I convinced Chris to let us take it home.
Cindy wasn’t too happy about it, but then he snuggled with her and she caved.
His name is Frodo.
***
From: [email protected]
Wow. He really does look like that little hobbit guy. Good name choice.
Who’s Kelly?
***
From: [email protected]
Thank you. Lee Henry wanted to call him Lee Henry, but I won that argument.
Kelly Severide is one of the new guys at 51. I told you about them, remember?
There’s him, and Matt Casey, and Andy Darden. They’re nice. Kelly and Andy are really funny.
Think we can have a video chat soon?
Miss your face!
Bex
***
From: [email protected]
Not right now, but hopefully soon. I’ll let you know.
Miss you too.
Love,
Jay
***
From: [email protected]
Check out our new family member! His name is Frodo.
***
From: [email protected]
Cute.
***
“Bex, mail!” Chris called out.
She thundered down the stairs and swiped the letter out of his hands.
“Hey. Manners!”
“Thank you, Chris!” she hollered as she ran back upstairs.
Finally, a letter back from Jay. They’d had a short video call over Christmas, but he’d been busy doing Ranger stuff and hadn’t had time for many emails.
She carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.
Hi, Bex!
Sorry, it’s been awhile. Things have been crazy.
I hope things are going well with you and the gang. How’s Cindy doing? When’s the baby due?
Glad to hear the guitar lessons are going well. You’ll have to play something next time we have a video call.
T hanks for the picture you sent. Your art is getting REALLY good. Seriously, Bex. I showed it off to the guys. They were jealous my letters are way cooler than theirs.
Not much new to report from here. Jimmy almost strangled Axel the other day because he wouldn’t stop singing.
Bex laughed to herself about that. Axel had been somewhere in the background during their video call. He was enthusiastic, but very, very tone deaf.
Kevin ate something weird and stank up the tent. Weasel kept threatening to boot him out and we were kind of tempted to let him.
Mouse says ‘say hi to Mini Halstead’ so hi from Mouse. Hope you don’t mind the nickname, I think it’s sticking.
Write back soon.
Love you lots,
Jay
Bex sighed and read the letter over again before carefully tucking it away in the box that held his other messages. She was glad he’d found a good group of friends in his unit. They were all goofy, but seemed nice. Even if they’d saddled her with another nickname.
They all crowded into the background during her next video call with Jay, yelling questions and cracking jokes. She didn’t get much news out of Jay, but there was a lot of laughing and that was just as good. Just seeing his face and knowing he was okay was all the she needed. They could make all the fart jokes they wanted as long as she got that.
A few months later, little Luke was born and she sent Jay a few photos.
***
From: [email protected]
…are we sure that Frodo’s not the father?
***
From: [email protected]
Oh, my god, Jay! LOL! Shut up. He’s new. Babies always look weird when they’re new.
He took forever to come out too so he might be a bit extra squishy.
I wandered around the hospital a bit while we were waiting and the peds ward is pretty big. Did you know that there’s kids there who have to stay for months at a time? I was talking to a nurse there and she was telling me how hard it is and how bored they get.
Long story short – I’m volunteering there now! I go once or twice a week and do art with the kids and bring my guitar and we sing songs. It’s pretty cool.
Say hi to the guys.
Miss you!
Love,
Bex
There was a long stretch for a while there where it was radio silence from Jay. She was starting to get worried when it had been three weeks. And then six.
Finally an email saying he was okay.
Two weeks later, a video chat. He looked tired and older somehow. Not the usual Jay spark in his eyes. She wanted to know what was going on, but was afraid to ask. He probably couldn’t tell her anyway.
“Hey, Bex,” he said, softly. “Good to see you. How’s it going?”
“Happy to see you too, Jay,” she said. “I’m good. I, ah—” Bex thought fast, trying to think of things to tell him that wouldn’t stress him out or make him sad or worried. She should just talk and take his mind off of things. “Oh,” Bex snapped her fingers. “Big news. Chris let a raccoon into the house.”
“What?” Jay looked a little more alert at that and she could see Mouse sidling in on the side of the screen.
“Yeah, so you know we’re all crazy sleep deprived here because Lukey’s like ‘sleep, I don’t know her’ and uh, Chris has been trying to help out when he can with the night feeding, but he’s got a really bad habit of only turning on the stove light when he goes into the kitchen.”
The other guys were gathering behind Jay and Bex tried not to notice how quiet it was and the notable lack of Axel.
“So, he’s making the bottle and he hears a sound on the back porch and goes to look out the door and sees a little creature there. He thinks it’s Frodo.”
Jay frowned and laughed a little. “I thought Frodo was an indoor cat.”
“Yeah. He is,” Bex shrugged. “He thought he got outside somehow? I don’t know. 3 a.m. Chris does not have the best thought process. So he lets ‘Frodo’ in,” Bex said, doing the air quotes. “And then goes back to making the bottle. This is when real Frodo trots into the kitchen.”
“Oh, no,” Mouse murmured.
“Oh, yes,” Bex nodded. “Frodo freaks out. The raccoon freaks out. Chris freaks out because he realizes finally he has let some creature into the house.”
The guys were all starting to chuckle along with Jay at that point.
“All of the shrieking from the kitchen wakes up me and Cindy, but not the babies, thank goodness. We run downstairs to find absolute chaos in the kitchen.”
“What did you do?” Jay asked between laughs.
“Cindy grabbed a broom and I opened the door so she could shove the raccoon back outside. Then she smacked the broom against the wall and said ‘Lights on, Christopher. Lights. On.” Bex shook her head. “Then she went to bed and I helped Chris tidy up the kitchen. It was hilarious.”
“That’s crazy,” Jay said and the guys chimed in their agreement behind him. Bex was happy to see him look the tiniest bit more relaxed. They chatted a bit more before saying good-bye.
***
From: [email protected]
I'm sorry about Axel.
Love you.
***
From: [email protected]
Love you too.
***
After that, she tried to keep the energy going for every video call they managed to have. Talk a lot and tell jokes and funny stories. Anything to keep Jay’s mind off of things for a little bit. Sometimes they others were around and other times they left them alone. When they were there, it always seemed to help them too.
During their next call, she had big news for him.
“I have a new very specific super power,” she declared.
“Oh, really?” Jay raised his eyebrows. “Tell me.”
“Excuse me,” Mouse sidled in beside him. “A new super power? This speaks to there being a previous one. You have multiple super powers and we’re just now hearing about it?”
The other guys crowded around, voicing their complaints and Bex held her hands up. “Enough! I’ll explain,” she said. “I only have two—”
“Only two, she says,” Mouse muttered and Jay shushed him.
“I discovered the first one when I was a kid,” she continued. “I can stop the rain, but only once a year.”
“Bullshit,” Weasel said.
“It's true, man,” Jay turned around to face him. “I’ve seen it.”
Mouse was nodding. “I can see why they’re labeled very specific super powers. What’s the new one?”
“Okay, so Cindy taught me and Jay how to bake ages ago and I hadn’t done much of it aside from at Christmas, but recently, I just really felt like baking cookies. I kept looking up random cookie recipes and picking one to try. But then I kept having all of these cookies so I started giving them away.”
“Okay,” Jay said slowly. “This sounds pretty normal so far.”
“Here’s where it gets weird,” Bex said. “I start making these single batches of cookies and taking them with me wherever I’m going that day and then I come across someone and I just know those cookies are for them. And guess what?”
“What?” Kevin asked, leaning over Jay’s shoulder.
“Every time, it turns out that it’s that person’s favourite type of cookie. Without fail.”
“Whoa,” Jay and Mouse said and Weasel scoffed.
“Okay, but it’s all people you know, right? So you probably heard them talking about their favourite cookies at some point,” he said.
“It started with the gang at 51,” Bex said. “But I didn’t know all of their favourites. And now it’s happening with strangers. Like, I gave some random kid at school oatmeal cranberry cookies and he cried because they were just like the ones his grandma used to make. Tell me that’s not weird.”
“No, that’s definitely a super power,” Kevin agreed.
“So, can you tell what someone’s favourite cookie is when you meet them?” Mouse asked.
“Nope.” Bex shook her head. “I make the cookies and then the cookies find their person.”
“So it’s the cookies who have the super power,” Weasel said and they all smacked at him, telling him to shut up.
“That’s pretty cool, Bex,” Mouse said with a smile before drifting away with the rest of the guys.
“It is,” Jay said and laughed a little before his grin got brighter. “Hey, guess who’s coming home for a few weeks?”
“What?” Bex shrieked. “You let me ramble on about cookies when you could have been telling me this amazing news like an hour ago? Jay!”
“I like to hear what’s going on with you,” he said, totally unrepentant. “Going to be even better to hear it in person.”
“Definitely,” Bex agreed, smiling so hard her cheeks were hurting.
“See you soon, Bex.”
She couldn’t wait.
Click here for Chapter Two.
Click here for Chapter Three.
(Here's the link to read on ao3 if you want:)
#chicago fire#chicago med#chicago pd#one chicago#christopher herrmann#jay halstead#will halstead#halstead brothers#oc character#rebecca 'bex' herrmann#halstead sister#sibling bonding#found family#team as family#big brother jay halstead#fluff#hurt/comfort#alternate universe#not canon#not beta read#my first fanfic series#A Herrmann/Halstead Production
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Kisses Under The Mistletoe with the Captain Squad pt1 (Headcanons)
Part one of two for the Haikyuu Captain Squad. I really enjoyed writing these, so if there are any other people you want to see mistletoe kisses for please let me know :). I might try writing some more for the Pretty Setters and maybe some BNHA or otome boys (and girls)
Kisses Under The Mistletoe feat. Daichi, Oikawa, Kuroo and Bokuto
mostly gn reader, TW for mentions of alcohol, grumpy Iwa and Lev being a dork.
Daichi
- It’s all Suga’s fault, and maybe the wine (you’re not saying that Suga was drunk, but that bottle wasn’t half empty when you arrived and he was looking a little pink)
- You were at Asahi’s Christmas party, with everyone back in Miyagi for the holidays it was the perfect opportunity to reconnect with old High School friends, especially those who had left their hometown after graduation to pursue other opportunities, even a few of the former first years showed up.
- Daichi was weirdly nervous, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt until you grabbed his hands and squeezed them.
- “Dai, calm down. We’ve been dating for a year, I’ve already met most of your friends. One party won’t change anything.”
- “Just, they can get a bit… wild.”
- “I remember high school Dai. It’ll be fine.”
- It was fine, mostly, Nishinoya might have been a little over-excited to meet his old captains partner and nearly bowled you over with an enthusiastic hug, but you were happy to finally meet the members of his old team you’d only seen on the court and heard stories about.
- You really didn’t get what he was so worried about, at least until Suga got a little too into the wine and appeared behind the pair of you, brandishing mistletoe to raucous cheers and several shouts of “kiss!”.
- Daichi went an interesting shade of red, glancing around the room for an escape while you just watched him amused.
“- I can just kiss Suga instead?” You offered after a few moments, your lips quirking up in amusement (maybe Suga wasn’t the only one who got into the wine)
- “What!? No!” He frowned at you. “I’m just not used to doing this with an audience.”
- “Then we remember our first date very differently.”
- Asahi makes a strangled noise somewhere and Suga is giggling, waving the mistletoe about. Daichi sighs and learns forward, cupping your face between his palms and pressing his lips to yours as you wrap your arms around his neck.
- The kiss is sweet, albeit a little short, and the cacophony of cheers and whistles around you make your cheeks flush, but you love it all the same.
- And if later in the night you plant a kiss on Suga’s cheek to embarrass him then it’s fully deserved.
Oikawa
- Anyone who tries to say that Oikawa didn’t set the whole mistletoe incident up himself is both a liar and a fool.
- He knows he’s been kind of neglecting you for volleyball lately, he feels bad about it (especially when you’ve been so understanding about the whole thing), it’s just that he needs to practice. To get better.
- But with Christmas coming up he has the perfect idea to make it up to you.
- He ropes Iwa into helping him set things up, it takes far more grovelling than Oikawa will ever admit to, but Iwaizumi eventually gives in. Mostly because he’s fond of you and does agree his friend needs to do something to make up for all the time he’s spent practicing.
- When the day comes for him to set his plan in motion you’re a little on edge. Oikawa has been bursting with nervous energy all week, disappearing for practice and barely remembering to say goodbye to you. So when you get a message from him telling you to meet him in the gym after classes you’d be lying if you said you weren’t a little worried.
- By the time you get there you’re half convinced he’s going to break up with you, so you take a moment to suck in a few deep breaths before you push the door open and make your way inside.
- Whatever you were expecting to see when you stepped inside, Tooru Oikawa standing bathed in the glow of soft string lights and holding a sprig of mistletoe was not it. You’re not complaining, even if the effect is dulled slightly by a scowling Iwaizumi leaning against the wall.
- “Tooru? What’s going on?”
- “I’m sorry I’ve been spending so much time on volleyball and not you.” His face fell for a moment before brightening up again as he waved the mistletoe in the air over his head. “So I’m making it up to you.”
- You roll your eyes as you walk towards him, smiling softly. “So dramatic Tooru.”
- His pout is ruined by the way he smiles as he catches you waist with his free arm and tugs you against his body, pressing his lips to yours in a kiss that somehow manages to be tooth-rottingly sweet and just the right amount of steamy at the same time.
- “Go do that somewhere else, you’re both disgusting.”
Kuroo
- Kuroo tries really hard to be slick about the whole thing. He has an image to keep up after all - the cool, collected, provocateur captain of the volleyball team. He can’t be caught acting like a smitten fool, and besides, he really enjoys seeing you flustered.
- So he has the whole thing planned in his head, he’s going to surprise you with mistletoe and a kiss and he’ll get to watch you blush and still get to kiss you afterwards. It’s foolproof.
- It is not, in fact, foolproof.
- Kuroo may have forgotten to account for his over-enthusiastic team and how excited they get when you turn up to watch them practice in his plan. He tries to intervene before anyone can ruin the surprise, with Yaku’s help, but letting Lev find out what he was up to was a disaster waiting to happen.
- “Oh! Y/N, did Kuroo tell you about the awesome surprise he has planned for you?”
- “No Lev, you don’t normally tell people about surprises.”
- “Oh, sorry! Ack-” (You’re a little worried for Lev’s kneecaps after Yaku grabs him and drags him away).
- By the time Kuroo gets over to you he’s rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly and trying not to pout. You almost take pity on him, almost.
- “Should I pretend I didn’t hear that?”
- Kuroo frowns. “Well you could kitten, but I know you better than that. And those idiots will never leave us alone.”
- He pulls the mistletoe from his jacket pocket, holding it up and bending to press a chaste kiss to your lips, ignoring the cheers from the team behind you.
- The surprise might have been ruined, but at least he still gets to enjoy your flustered reaction, eyes wide and cheeks a beautiful shade of pink. Kuroo thinks you’re gorgeous when you’re like this, embarrassment warring with the flash of desire in your eyes.
- When he pulls away you smile softly at him, following the path of his hand as he slips the mistletoe back into his pocket. When you meet his eyes again your lips have pulled into a smirk that he thinks you might have learned from him. “You can surprise me like that any time.”
- He nearly chokes on air, covering it with a cough as he nods and presses one last kiss to your forehead before turning back to his team to start practice.
- “20 extra laps Lev.”
Bokuto
- You’re walking towards the gym with him, planning to watch their practice so you can walk home together. Things have been really busy lately and you’ve missed being able to spend as much time together as you usually do.
- You’re nearly at the gym when you realise someone has tied mistletoe to one of the cherry trees people are fond of confessing under. It’s not where Bokuto confessed to you, but it’s close enough and the idea is sweet.
- You stop, tugging gently on his arm and pointing towards the tree.
- “Hey, hey? Uh… babe, why’re you pointing at the tree?”
- You can’t help but laugh at the confusion written on his face, but at least he doesn’t take your laughter to heart (Akaashi would kill you if you brought Emo-mode Bo to the gym).
- “It’s mistletoe Kou!”
- He glances at the tree, then back at you, blinking in confusion. “Okay?”
- “You’re supposed to kiss under it!”
- That catches his attention, strong arms wrap around you and his face is suddenly milimetres from yours, expression expectant and waiting for you to close the gap. Something you do happily, pressing your lips to his.
- When you pull away he’s beaming happily, and full of energy. He gets super excited and lifts you up, carrying you into the gym with your legs wrapped around his waist to keep you from falling.
- “AKAAAASSSHHHIIIII!” He yells, grinning bright and happy at his friend. “Y/N kissed me!”
- “Yes Bokuto-san, you are dating. They do that a lot.” Akaashi sighs and you offer him an apologetic smile.
- “No! They kissed me under the mistletoe! It’s special.” He explains, nearly dropping you in his enthusiasm.
- “That’s very sweet Bokuto-san, but we need to practice.”
#my writing#headcanons#haikyuu#daichi#kuroo#oikawa#bokuto#daichi x reader#oikawa x reader#kuroo x reader#bokuto x reader#mistletoe#sawamura daichi#oikawa tooru#kuroo tetsuro#bokuto koutaro#gn!reader#halo.writes#halo.headcanons
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Bo-Katan Week Day 7/ Free Day
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Relationships: Bo-Katan Kryze & Korkie Kryze, Bo-Katan Kryze & Rey
Summary: It’s been twenty years since the battle of Yavin. The Empire is gone and Mandalore is once again in the hands of Mandalorians. Bo-Katan has not heard from her nephew Korkie in over five years until one day out of the blue he contacts her and asks her to meet him. She agrees, unaware how this one act may change the future.
Author’s Note: Happy Day 7 (and final day) of Bo-Katan Week! I have had so much fun, and thank you @bokatanweek so much for doing this and for all your time and hard work! And what amazing artists who’ve submitted and such a great group of people!
So, this is such a random headcannon that once I thought of I had to get out. I intended to finally do a fluff piece for Bo-Katan, and unfortunately it didn’t turn out that way. But I finally get to have two of my favorite characters meet, so I am a happy Star Wars nerd. And yeah, you get another Lord of the Rings quote for the title. Mando’a translations at the end.
Warnings for loss and hurt
Click on the link above or Keep Reading to read.
Bo-Katan walked into her chambers, unbuckling her armor. It had been eight years since they had retaken Mandalore, and everything was finally starting to run with a semblance of normalcy. To Bo, the feeling was somewhat surreal. Before now the only other time she had lived on Sundari without waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop was when she was a little girl, years before the Great Clan Wars. She paused before the painting of Satine that was on her wall and grazed her fingers over her sister’s painted ones.
“You’d be proud, Satine,” she said sadly.
Generally, Mandalore and the surrounding systems were at peace. Once legitimized, the New Republic had tried to get them to join. They’d even sent their most prominent Senator, Leia Organa Solo, to try to convince them, especially since Leia’s brother Luke Skywalker was training their Mand’alor’s, Din Djarin’s, foundling. Despite a surprisingly enjoyable visit, Mandalore remained independent.
Bo had originally resisted Din Djarin becoming the reluctant Mand’alor. But as she watched him, she realized he may just be the one to bring them all together. And for once, Bo realized, she could just be Bo-Katan. While she still led her Nite Owls and other fellow Mandalorian ex-Death Watch members, the expectation to rule, to have everyone’s hopes and dreams on her shoulders, was gone. And she didn’t miss it. And Djarin had brought everyone together. Her dream of retaking Mandalore had finally been realized.
Once stripped out of all her armor and clothing, Bo stepped into the shower and let the warm water cascade over her hair and down her back. She’d been training new recruits and could feel the fatigue in her body. She wasn’t young anymore, and she felt it.
Showered and dressed, she walked back into her sitting room and looked over at Satine’s painting. One of her biggest regrets at the moment was losing track of Korkie, Satine’s one and only son. Yes, while officially he was their cousin’s son and called Satine Auntie, Korkie and Bo had uncovered the true documentation with proof that Korkie was Satine and Obi-Wan Kenobi’s. Korkie had taken some time to get used to that idea, but over the years he had embraced it. He had even met with Luke Skywalker, one of the last people to see Obi-Wan Kenobi alive.
But Korkie had taken off about six years prior, saying he needed to make his own way. And Bo had let him. But she still thought about him. The first year he sent her updates, but he’d been quiet since. She’d tried to find him with no luck.
Her comm beeped with an unknown transmission. She looked at it suspiciously and thought about declining it, but on a whim accepted it.
“Aunt Bo?”
Bo’s heart skipped a beat. She knew that voice.
“Korkie?!”
“Hey Ba’vodu.”
“Korkie, you’re alright! Where have you been?! You haven’t contacted me in over five years!”
“I know, and I’m so sorry. But…I had my reasons. I…can you meet me somewhere?”
Bo paused. This could be a trap. From whom, she didn’t know. She’d made plenty of enemies in her many years. But Korkie was the last of her direct family. She’d risk it for him.
“Just tell me where.”
After a quick conversation with Djarin, who hadn’t been too happy about her taking off to gods know where without much information, and another with Koska to take over leadership duties of the Nite Owls, she was off to the coordinates Korkie had sent her. When she exited hyperspace, the first thing she noticed was that she was in the middle of nowhere. There were no planets anywhere near, and any star was far enough away to shed hardly any light. But there was a single ship. They hailed each other and she pulled her ship up alongside and docked. She took a deep breath, ran her fingers through her graying red hair, and headed to the airlock, adjusting her blasters in their holsters just in case. Opening the door, her eyes fell on a sight that caused a wide grin to break over her face.
“Korkie Kryze Kenobi,” she said, and Korkie smiled at her.
“Hey Auntie.”
Bo, too happy to see her nephew, let the nickname slide and stepped forward to pull him in for a hug.
“I’ve missed you ad’ika,” she said and Korkie squeezed her in response.
“I’ve missed you too.”
Bo pulled back and kept her hands on his shoulders, looking intently at his face. He looked tired. Very tired. And afraid.
“Korkie, what’s going on? Where’ve you been?”
But his answer was interrupted by a small voice behind him.
“Da?”
Bo craned her neck to look around Korkie and was shocked to see a small girl, not more than five, peering at them from around a corner. Korkie sighed and turned, but Bo saw a mask slide over his face, hiding the fear.
“Rey, I thought I asked you to stay in the cockpit?”
“I know, but…who’s that?”
Bo couldn’t keep the surprise out of her face as she looked from Korkie to the girl and back. Da? Was this…?
“Come here,” Korkie said and gestured to the girl. Hesitantly she glanced at Bo and came up to him, hiding behind his legs to look out. “Rey, this is your Aunt Bo-Katan. She was my mother’s sister. Aunt Bo, this is Rey. My daughter.”
Bo stared down at the girl for a moment, not blinking. She could see so much of Satine in her. Bo took a breath and kneeled down to get on the girl’s level.
“Hello Rey. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Rey hid more behind her father, then glanced up at him. He nodded at her and cautiously she stepped around him.
“Hello,” she said. Her eyes moved from Bo’s face to her armor and she took a slow step forward to reach out to tap her shoulder guard.
“That’s beskar,” Bo said.
“Why?” Rey asked, and looked back up to Bo’s face. Her curiosity was chipping away at her shyness.
“Because I’m a Mandalorian. Beskar, especially beskar armor, is an important part of our culture. This armor has been in my family, our family, for three generations.”
Rey looked up at Korkie.
“I’m a Mandalorian too?”
Korkie hesitated.
“You’re part Mandalorian. I’m only half.”
Bo reached into a pouch and pulled out a small pendant, a mythosaur skull made of beskar on a leather thong.
“Being a Mandalorian is more of a creed. It’s what you believe in. You have very strong, very old Mandalorian blood in you Rey. If you’d like to be a Mandalorian, you absolutely can be.” She held out the pendant to the girl and she tentatively reached out, but paused and looked up at her father. He smiled and nodded at her and she took it. “Can you keep an eye on that for me?” Bo asked, and Rey nodded. Korkie leaned down to look Rey in the eye.
“Can you wait in the cockpit for us, love?”
Rey looked between Bo and her father, clutching the pendant in her hand, and nodded.
“See you soon,” Bo said and smiled at her, and for the first time Rey gave her a small smile back before scampering back into the ship. Korkie watched her go with a fond look on his face before the mask fell and he turned back to Bo. “Who’s her mother?”
“She’s…it’s complicated,” Korkie said, leaning up against the wall of the airlock. He glanced into his ship then back. “Aunt Bo, I need you to take Rey. Keep her safe.” Bo blinked at him.
“Wait, what?”
“Please Ba’vodu…”
“Korkie, what is going on?”
“There’s a lot. More than I have time to tell you.” He reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a data stick. “This has all the information you need. And things for Rey, when she’s older and can understand.”
“Korkie,” Bo said, stepping towards him, but he took a step back, glancing into his ship once more.
“My wife, Rey’s mother, is Palpatine’s daughter.”
Bo recoiled.
“What?”
“But she’s good! Kind. I love her. But Palpatine. He…”
“Palpatine’s dead, Korkie. You’ve met the man who killed him.”
Korkie shook his head and Bo’s eyebrows furrowed even more.
“I’m not so sure.”
“Korkie this is crazy.”
“I know!! Don’t you think I know!” Korkie almost yelled, but he recoiled. “But someone is after Rey.”
“Why?”
“She’s Force sensitive. More than either I or her mother. We think he’s after her power.”
Bo felt a powerful protective urge swell within her. This girl was aliit; she was family.
“Then I can help you…”
“No! No. She needs to be hidden. And safe.” He looked up at her and his eyes seemed haunted. “You’re the only one I trust who’s strong enough to protect her.”
“What about Luke Skywalker? Do you not want her trained?”
Korkie shook his head emphatically.
“No. Training her will only put a mark on her. But a Mandalorian? You can teach her to protect herself. Mandalorians and Force users are sworn enemies after all.”
Bo’s heart clenched. “But if you want me to take her, what about you?”
“I’ve got to keep his attention away from Rey.” He turned to look up the hallway where Rey had left. “She’s my world, Auntie.”
“Korkie,” Bo said softly, reaching for him, and he turned, giving her a troubled look.
“Please Aunt Bo. For me. For Auntie Satine and her granddaughter.”
Bo blinked away tears. “She’d want me to protect you too.”
Korkie smiled sadly at her. “I can protect myself. And I can better do that if I know my daughter is safe.” He held out the data stick. Bo sighed, then nodded, taking the stick. Korkie visibly relaxed then took a step forward and pulled Bo into a hug. “Thank you.”
Bo squeezed him tight. “I love you, Korkie.”
“I love you too.”
She followed him down the hallway towards the cockpit. Sitting there in one of the chairs, her legs swinging, was Rey. She glanced up when they walked in and stood, ducking her head somewhat shyly again and walking forward. Korkie kneeled down beside her.
“Rey, you’re going to go with Aunt Bo-Katan, ok?”
Rey looked up at her father, uncertainty in her eyes.
“But why?”
“Because your Mom and I need to go and try to make the bad man go away, alright?”
Tears welled up in Rey’s eyes but she nodded.
“Alright.”
For the first time since she’d boarded the ship Bo saw tears in Korkie’s eyes.
“Oh Rey,” he said and he pulled her in for a hug, one which she returned fiercely. “I love you, we love you so much. Don’t forget that.”
“I love you too, Da.”
Bo walked out and let father and daughter have their moment. She leaned up against the wall, her head bowed. Was their family always destined to be split up from each other? Couldn’t they just have one normal childhood? She turned to look as Korkie and Rey stepped out of the cockpit, a bag strapped to Rey’s back.
“Ready to go?” she asked, and Rey nodded. “Got everything?” Rey glanced up at her father and he nodded.
Bo stepped forward and pulled Korkie into one last hug. “Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum,” she said, and he echoed it back to her. With one last nod she held her hand out to Rey and she took it and the two of them walked down the hallway and back to her ship. With one last farewell she closed the airlock and took one last look at her nephew. Rey’s tears were flowing freely now and Bo just looked down at her sadly.
“Um, so I don’t have any beds here on the ship, but I can make you a place in the back, or you can come up and sit with me?” Rey just stared at the closed door. “You can stay with me.” Bo guided her down the hallway and back to the cockpit. “Here you can sit right next to me,” she said, and brought her over to the co-pilot’s seat. After strapping her in, she took a seat in the pilot’s chair and began pre-flight checks. Once done she glanced back over at Rey and noticed she’d pulled a doll out of her bag. Made of some sort of fabric it had the rough look of a Rebellion fighter pilot. “Who’s that?” she asked, and Rey looked up.
“Red.”
“Red. That’s a good name.”
“My mum and da gave him to me on my birthday.”
“When was your birthday?”
“Yesterday.”
Bo’s heart lurched. She reached out and squeezed Rey’s leg gently. “Well happy birthday Rey. I’ll have to remember that.”
Rey looked out past the viewport. “Where are we going?”
“To Mandalore.”
Rey perked up a little at that. “Mandalore?”
Bo nodded. “And after that, we can go anywhere we want.”
Rey looked at her and nodded. “Ok.”
Bo smiled at her. “Ok.”
She was going to keep this girl safe if that was the last thing she did, and she was going to make sure she was happy and supported. It was the least she could do.
Mando’a Translations
Ba’vodu- Aunt
Ad’ika- little one (fond)
Aliit- family
Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum- I love you
#bo-katan week#bo-katan kryze#bo katan kryze#korkie kryze#rey star wars#family#korkie kryze is a kenobi#rey is a kenobi#korkie kryze needs a hug#rey needs a hug
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What I think SBI would be like in Escape the Night Part 7: Techno and Phil
(Note this is all for fun and just speculation off their internet personas!)
Part 1: TommyInnit
Part 2: Wilbur Soot
Part 3: Technoblade
Part 4: Philza Minecraft
Part 5: Tommy and Wilbur
Part 6: Wilbur and Techno
Part 7: You are here
Part 8: Tommy and Techno
Part 9: Wilbur and Phil
Part 10: Phil and Tommy
Part 11: Sleepy Bois Inc
Emerald duo would be interesting, because I feel like the two of them wouldn’t do much in the sense of they’d hang in the background through a lot of the first half when there’s so many people. Making jokes, giving their reactions to the stuff going around, but not super into it. Like, they’d help look around to solve puzzles, but they wouldn’t be leading the way (say like Alex running through the puzzles quickly in S2). It wouldn’t be until there’s less people that they truly start pulling their weight.
Phil and Techno would be there for the comedy, making jokes the entire time. Phil would still be the supportive dad of the group and Techno would make sure to add in his sarcastic comments. You never have to go super hard on the acting in EtN, so the two would just be having fun and enjoying the experience. Overall they’d sorta be the comedic relief in the background, not too into any drama or terror that’s going on. A nice and enjoyable break for the audience.
However, that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t get defensive for one another. If anyone ever tried to even suggest one of the two of them should go into a final challenge, the other would be there in an instant to back them up and defend their case. They’d always vouch for one another, and even if the rest of the group doesn’t like them (for some reason), it wouldn’t matter cause it’s the two of them versus the world.
Techno’s reaction if Phil died: With Phil, I think Techno would actually show his sadness a bit more outwardly. Still no crying or anything, but think back in the DreamSMP during c!Techno’s execution, how he was crying out to make sure Phil was okay. He’d get really upset about his best friend getting killed, and he would argue that to the others. After that Techno would take things more seriously, but be a bit grumpy about it too.
Phil’s reaction if Techno died: Phil is absolutely not gonna be happy about. From the moment Techno’s name would be pulled he’d be ranting about how dumb it is, and when Techno doesn’t come back he will absolutely hold a grudge, but not in an obvious or outwardly violent way. Maybe making small passive aggressive comments, pointing out how Techno would’ve been helpful with something, how the person who beat Techno isn’t helpful. Never rude out front, but overall really salty with the situation. And sad too. He’d miss him a lot.
If the two had to face each other: Neither would be happy about it, and from the get go Techno would try to self sabotage. I mean, Techno’s literally said to Phil before “For you, the world.” Not to mention Techno would never hurt Phil, so I could see him throwing his own win away just so Phil could succeed. Meanwhile, on Phil’s end, he’d be yelling at Techno to try, to keep going, that he didn’t want to beat him, especially if he was going to just give up. A lot of arguing about the other needing to win. If Techno did end up winning somehow, he’d throw himself in the crossfire, or at least try to, yelling for Phil as they’d be taken away. If Phil won, I feel like he’d apologize a bunch, and overall just feel really guilty.
Do I think they’d both make it: No, but I do think they’d get pretty far. Despite not doing much at the start, sometimes people manage to fly under the radar, especially if it’s a duo and not someone who can be singled out. There’s been a case or two of team players (like Ro) not doing too much and still making it to the final four. So I could see Phil and Techno making it into the final four or three, where by that point people normally just vote for themselves, so depending on fate one or both of them could get screwed over. But you never know, maybe they’d get lucky!
#mcyt#escape the night#technoblade#philza#cc!technoblade#cc!philza#tw death#star rants#star's analysis#EtN SBI AU
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spoilers for longest day in chang’an ep 23 and 24
I’m halfway through the show and I think that this was a big turning point. Li Bi is no longer in his lofty tower with his crew of intellectuals and now must rely on himself. Same with every other character because now 朝廷 is far too messy and no one can wholly rely on any authority figure.
I knew that Cui Qi was going to die halfway through the show because I spoiled myself like a dumbass. So it wasn’t surprising that it happened. However, I did think that the sequence of scenes could have been a little better executed.
Cui Qi had been wavering between career ambitions and loyalty to the Jingansi for a few episodes, but before episode 23, he’d basically accepted the higher ranking general spot with the 右相. Only in episode 22/23 did he return to Jingansi, but it didn’t really feel like he was returning because he needed to do right by his brother. It just felt like he was returning because he thought it was the right thing to do, and he was bound by morality rather than by love.
The fight scene itself was okay. It wasn’t as refined as some of Zhang Xiaojing’s, but Cui Qi is a more gritty dude, considering his weapon of choice was twin maces. By the way, I was really banking on him whipping out his signature weapon at the very end, because at the very least, he needed to be true to himself.
I’m not totally certain on why Long Bo decided to grant that bit of leniency based on Cui Qi having served in the same squad as him. Anyway, at his death, first Cui Qi had a bite of his bread, which was a tribute to his brother (if I remember correctly), and then on the tag, he wrote Chang’An, which I guess was his other ambition in life, to be there for the people of the city.
During the scene in which Long Bo attacked Jingansi, I thought that Jackson Yee’s performance wasn’t as good as it should have been for such a turning point for Li Bi. When his team was being attacked, Li Bi yelled for the guards, for anybody to help, but they were alone. Li Bi’s dialogue showed his helplessness and his shock, but the delivery just wasn’t there. It really didn’t feel like those words came from the heart like they were supposed to. The words that were said by Li Bi were not the rational, precise words that we would usually hear from Li Bi. They were desperate words by a boy who was mildly panicking.
Just a side note, Li Bi had called all the scholars back to Jingansi and they were hanging out having goodies before they started working. When they saw Li Bi had arrived, they all scurried over to him and offered him treats. I thought that little part was cute; despite Li Bi technically being their supervisor, I think the scholars, especially the older ones, were perhaps fond of him like a son that they were proud of for being so successful. And when Long Bo had arrived, they were all desperately trying to get Li Bi to hide. Part of that was definitely loyalty, but I think some of that was due to love too.
After the fire, Li Bi went on his own to follow Long Bo, so he’s really on his own now. Li Bi was caught following and taken back to the hideout. I think Long Bo and Wen Ran might try to play mind games with Li Bi, whereas Yu Chang will probably try to beat him up because she’s not so subtle. Somewhere along the way, He Fu may show up. I think if Li Bi talks to any of the four of those characters, we will be able to find out more about their back story. The info they tell Li Bi may not necessarily be that helpful to him, but it would mean something to the audience since we’ve seen more of those characters than Li Bi has.
Now that it’s been established that Tan Qi and Zhang Xiaojing are an item, I’m worried that Tan Qi might be relegated to the “love interest” role. Before, Tan Qi was an extension of Jingansi and despite being a slave, had her own agency and even some authority when acting on Li Bi’s orders. She’s been assigned by Li Bi to help Zhang Xiaojing, but I was pretty sure Zhang Xiaojing could have managed on his own. I think perhaps Li Bi just wanted to have eyes on Zhang Xiaojing, especially because it might’ve been hard for the people in the signalling towers to keep track of him during the festival. Along with the Christian deacon, their first task involved confronting that guy who used to be Zhang Xiaojing’s friend in the army. However, as we could see in that scene though, the deacon and Tan Qi were sort of in the way of Zhang Xiaojing getting real information out. I hope we don’t get more of those scenes. I want to see Tan Qi doing real substantive work, like we know she can.
While I enjoy the Christian deacon as a sort of comedic relief character, as well as a character who had some parkour scenes, I hope he’s more than just a tag along character to Zhang Xiaojing, and that he is able to contribute more to the investigative side of the story.
It seems like the Crown Prince asked 右相 Lin Jiulang to investigate the fire at Jingansi on his behalf. It seemed like Lin Jiulang just wanted to get the matter off of his hands and called on Ji Wen to find the culprit as soon as possible. Ji Wen used the easiest target and pinned Zhang Xiaojing as the culprit of the fire and also of everything bad that had happened that day, including the kidnapping of Wang Yunxiu.
Now I think Jingansi will become the battlefield of the Crown Prince and Lin Jiulang in the sense that they will use Jingansi as a pawn against each other. In a weird sequence of events, Yao Runeng has sort of become the representative of the scholars of the Jingansi. He was with them from the beginning of the investigation (sort of) so I guess they expected him to stand up for them. He didn’t, and he told the scholars that they have to heed Lin Jiulang’s words, but I think he also did it for self preservation, and the preservation of the scholars’ lives. Yuan Zai had warned Yao Runeng when he was going to confront Ji Wen, but I think Yao Runeng also did want to protect the scholars too. The past few episodes were sort of a coming out for Yao Runeng; he’s stopped being so scared all the time, just wanting to survive and live the rest of his life doing nothing. Instead, I think he realizes that he has a calling here. First it was joining the battle at Jingansi, although he did it a bit late. But I think he will do a bit of his own political maneuvering to get more information, rescue Li Bi, and/or help out Zhang Xiaojing where needed.
It looks like Yuan Zai has become Lin Jiulang and Ji Wen’s default guy to carry out their bidding. However, I refuse to accept that Yuan Zai does not have his own agenda. He has definitely kept Wang Yunxiu with him for political protection. Nobody wanted to let anything happen to her because that would enrage her father, so as a result Yuan Zai himself could be protected too. I also worry that Wang Yunxiu has become a character with no agency. Her only role so far was to get kidnapped, and she’s technically been kidnapped by Yuan Zai too. Like I know Yuan Zai has been treating her well, but as I mentioned about, it really seems like he kept her for political reasons rather than because he actually likes her company.
General Guo’s been getting more scenes in the past few episodes, with all the messages he’s been delivering to Lin Jiulang, as well as the behind-the-scenes stuff he’s been helping Li Bi with. I wonder if he’s going to continue helping Li Bi.
There’s still a question mark for Wen Ran in terms of how she fits into all of this. We’re probably going to learn more about Zhang Xiaojing’s history with his squadmates, and I think Wen Ran is related to that somehow, considering how her dad died a very strange death in Chang’an.
We also need to find out how Wen Ran and Long Bo are related, to the point that Long Bo considers her his family, and that he’d planned the attack for her.
I think we will also learn more about He Fu’s back story, and maybe more about what exactly Lin Jiulang did to destroy his family.
I think Lin Jiulang, who was portrayed as the big bad in the beginning and still sort of is, will kind of move to the sidelines. I don’t really think he’s the big bad here. I think he’s just acting out of self interest, rather than anything more sinister than that.
We still haven’t even seen the emperor. From what I’ve seen and heard, it seems like his presence was a little underwhelming, which I get, because we’ve already bonded with all of the other characters already.
I really want to see more of the Crown Prince. I’m pretty sure he has a close relationship with Li Bi, considering Yao Runeng said that he used to supervise them learning and training together when they were younger. However, this Crown Prince isn’t particularly evil or conniving and just seems like a normal dude who’s trying his best. So I want to see how he does his part to help Chang’an, or if he just succumbs to going with the flow of 朝廷.
Yeah, so this half way point was a big change in atmosphere to the story. For one thing, now it’s night time so all the buildings and architecture just feel different. But as I mentioned, Li Bi is on his own so he doesn’t have Xu Bin or his other scholars to give him more information. Now he really has to rely on not only his own smarts, but his own position and reputation (or what remains of it) to not only get out of Long Bo’s grasp, but probably try to get help from 朝廷.
I’m mentally preparing myself because as some people said, the episodes later on get really draggy. But I’m still excited to see how everything unfolds. I’m also excited to see my favourite characters overcome their challenges.
I’m really falling in love with Chang’an the city, which is first and foremost the main character of the story, let’s be real here. All the characters speak about Chang’an like it’s a spirit or treasure to be protected, and they’re right. What they have in Chang’an is so special. Ahhh I’m trying to be cautiously optimistic but I really am excited.
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Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E4 (Feb 6, 2018)
Oh no.
Tonight’s guests are Sam Riegel, Liam O’Brien, and Marisha Ray!
New opening sequence by @wendydoodles! In true episode-50 fashion, they play it twice in a row because it’s so much fun.
Ashley accidentally calls Brian during the show, so he picks up and puts her on speakerphone.
Announcements: issue four of Vox Machina: Origins is out, the podcast will be updated with episode 4 on Thursday, tomorrow at 9:30 Pacific is a new G&S show called Weave Society (a team-up of Mines N Crafts and AXYB).
@critrolestats for episode 4!
Nott has stolen 8 items since the campaign began. Liam adds to the list: “The audience’s heart.”
20% of die rolls in this episode were single-digit even after mods. By comparison, episode 3 was only 17%. By further comparison, C1E114 was only 3.9%. Le-vel two! Le-vel two!
Sam and Liam get kicked out while Brian asks Marisha questions about her solo scene last week. The show briefly turns into Marisha and Brian dissing Sam’s clothes.
Marisha had pretty much decided on the Cobalt Soul route ahead of time, since it was part of her backstory: running away from the Cobalt Reserve monks.
There was some temptation to say no to the offer, especially when the speeches got a bit more flowery. Marisha: “Beau was sitting there like *jerk-off motion*.” It took the punch to really get her attention.
Marisha is a little concerned that the group is starting to view Beau as a liability (in a different way than Keyleth was), but she also points out that pretty much the whole group is a liability right now. She thinks it makes sense for Matt to pull in Beau’s backstory first, just to give her a more profound reason to stick around.
Beau is partly just trying to learn new moves, but she’s also motivated by her new mentor being a “hot elf monk”.
Beau’s "fuck-it” attitude is partly related to some deeper backstory stuff, but also motivated in part by rebellion against her rich dad.
Gif of the week: Matt losing it over Nott’s zero-deception roll.
All Sam and Liam know about Beau’s scene was a muffled yell of “I’M GONNA PUNCH YOUR FACE” and two natural twenties. Liam suspects Matt and Marisha were just paying bills. Marisha: “In our new segment sponsored by H&R Block...”
Sam has been rewearing his shirts in order from the first campaign, but he was absent in episode 5, so now he’s not sure what to do. He likes the idea of going topless, but “we want to retain viewers”. Marisha suggests a chroma key green shirt that can be photoshopped at will.
Sam is impressed that so much of the party managed to buy drugs four episodes in when it took Scanlan so long. Liam: “I guess you’re just bad at Dungeons & Dragons.”
Caleb knew he and Nott would be able to fake their way through the bathhouse with confidence. Sam: “Do you have a wealthy past?” Liam: “No, I’m a mermaid werewolf.”
Sam thinks that Jester’s backstory is that there is no backstory. It’s all just on the surface.
Art of the week: a gorgeous boulder-parchment-shears attack for Beau.
The intense focus on bathing was originally to mess with Laura, but now Liam’s coming up with a justification for it. There is absolutely no salt whatsoever over the cast latching onto the stinky thing to the extent they did. Not even a little bit. Nope.
Nott is not especially enthused about water.
Marisha has had fencing, stage combat, Krav Maga, little bit of taekwondo, boxing, tai chi, bo staff, quarterstaff, European fighting stick. She’s interested in different fighting styles and how they came about.
Liam and Sam share their different stories about how Sam picked goblin rogue. Sam: “I feel like we’re in a fight.” Liam: “All I hear is aerators.”
Caleb saved Nott’s life in the prison they escaped from; Sam emphasizes that Nott is extremely concerned about his well-being. “She’s seen him almost die a bunch. He is dainty.”
Liam and Matt have talked about specific spells Caleb’s interested in, including a tiny bit of homebrew. Sam asks if the new spells he learned are a part of what he’s been working towards. Liam, avoiding the question entirely: “Hmm. Interesting.”
Caleb and Nott have been "getting fucked up running shitty little cons for a while now.” Caleb’s been wanting to find people who were level-headed and could help out, and so, failing that, he gravitated towards Fjord as someone who at least seems a bit more rational (”I know he’s an asshole too”). He’s also excited to get a chance to riff off Travis more often in this campaign. The words “actor boner” come up and are inevitably mined for high comedy.
Sam mentions that we’ve seen a bit of Nott’s personality quirks that made her an outcast from her particularly bloodthirsty clan of goblins, but any further details of her backstory will play out in the game.
Sam reveals that Nott has been gifted flowers in the past. Brian: “What was her reaction?” Sam: “She ate them.”
Talks Machina Popcorns Machina on Alpha:
Everything is temporarily derailed when Marisha swats a fly into her drink.
There is already half-werewolf half-mermaid art of Caleb from earlier in the show.
Items from the last campaign they wish they had? Liam wants the Displacement Cloak. Sam wants the Tome of Leadership so Nott can get some charisma (it would put her all the way up to 7). Marisha points out that Keyleth was going to use it after a hundred years, so Liam starts plotting a heist... where they’ll have to wait 80 years after stealing it to use it. Sam: “Oh wait, goblins only live 45 years.” Marisha wants an Immovable Rod. Sam wants a Bag of Holding. Marisha wants the healing potions she didn’t use last time.
Marisha on the women in the party having the highest strength scores: “It’s dope as fuck.”
Bad travel habits: Caleb will want to go to bookstores constantly. Everyone agrees that Jester’s the kind of person who’ll want to stop every time she sees anything remotely interesting.
Sam and Liam are both having a really hard time picking their options for level 3. Marisha’s a little more laid-back: “Combat class!” She already knows what she’s doing.
Things, as they do, get a little out of hand when Sam suggests a key party. Liam gets up and leaves the studio. Sam: “You said we could make a snuff film!” Brian, talking over the Geek and Sundry logo at the end: “PLEASE END IT.” It’s about par for the course, really.
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Why are games and the practice of improvised play such common tools used to teach drama?
It’s pretty safe to say that anyone who has participated in an acting class, be it in school, university, as part of an official actor training program, or just for a bit of fun on a Monday afternoon, has played a drama game. Everyone knows the classics like Space Jump and Bus Stop, and every trainer or teacher has a few lesser-known games up their sleeve – Typewriter, String of Pearls, Expert Double Figures, What Are You Doing – the list is practically endless! And of course, all the different names of these games don’t make them any easier to keep track of; is it Zip Zap Boing, Zip Zap Zop, Zip Zap Zoom, Zip Zop Zah, just Zip, just Zap, or some other similar variation?
But as fun as they are, sometimes there might be a moment where, frozen in a bizarre physical representation of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, you get the sudden thought – ‘Why am I doing this? What do knives and forks have to do with acting? Did Hugh Jackman have to make weird tableaus with a class of awkward teenagers to become a famous actor?’ (Well, maybe you haven’t thought that – but I know have!)
We all know how common drama games and improvisational play are in today’s modern classrooms; but that wasn’t always the case.
Drama Games: A Brief History
“Copeau and Suzanne Bing were perhaps the first drama teachers to recognise the value of games work…They recognised that children learn through play, and that the responses of play are natural and authentic.” (Evans 30)
One of the most well-known pioneers of using drama games and improvisational play in actor training was the French actor, director, playwright and teacher, Jacques Copeau. Copeau felt there was great importance in the association between children’s play, naturalism, and imagination – values that were influenced by the Romanticism movement and socio-political change throughout Europe during the 1800s. The growing recognition of imagination, creativity, and the arts, especially in relation to children and their ‘innocent’ or ‘natural’ state, were at the core of Copeau’s views on drama and actor training.
After spending time experimenting with his own form and performance style, Copeau established the Vieux-Colombier School in France, where he sought to expand on and teach his theories on improvisation and play in drama. His teachings on drama games strongly drew from his observations of the imaginative play of children, and the way in which they performed such an ‘unselfconscious’ form of naturalness. He believed that drama games created a space in which a student could wholly commit themselves to the art of improvisation and spontaneity, providing a perfect stimulus for imaginative play.
But Copeau was not alone in his development of training actors through play. Suzanne Bing, an actress who had worked alongside Copeau for several years, had experience working with children and the knowledge of pedagogy needed to devise new teaching techniques which made her invaluable to the development of play in drama. Before joining Copeau at the Vieux-Colombier, Bing worked briefly at Margaret Naumberg’s Children’s School, where she was exposed to some of the earliest examples of play theory and games as teaching tools. Taking this knowledge with her, Bing focused on improvisational play in her teaching at the Vieux-Colombier. Her animal games in particular “encouraged the student to engage the whole body, to escape from their habitual self-consciousness, and to use observation and analysis as the way into their ‘role’” (Ralph and Yarrow 68).
In fact, it is an emerging opinion in academia that Bing should be credited for a lot more in the development of drama games and improvised play than she has been in the past. Mark Evans sums it up nicely by saying that Bing “has been unfairly neglected…Much of the credit for discovery and invention in this new mode should rightly be hers.” (Evans 26). Nevertheless, the combined work of Jacques Copeau and Suzanne Bing was undeniably influential in the development of drama games and improvisation play as a method of actor training.
Switching from France to America, Margaret Naumberg and Neva L. Boyd were two influential figures in the development of ‘play theory’ and the use of games in teaching. Naumberg had her Walden Children’s School in New York, whilst Boyd had her Recreational Training School in Chicago; both women believed in the “liberating effects of play” (Ralph and Yarrow 58) and the “validity of games in teaching communication and social skills” (Evans 50), and were firm advocates for the adoption of games and play in any teaching setting, but particularly with children.
In 1945, Boyd published a collection of around 300 games to be used in a more educational setting. However, one of her students, Viola Spolin, later developed and systemised the games to be used in a specifically dramatic way. Through her development of Boyd’s games and theories, Spolin set some of the foundational features of the ‘Chicago style’ of actor training; in the Chicago style, “improvisation games were a way of communicating between people” (Evans 55) – and Spolin’s own definition of improvisation begins with the concept of ‘playing the game’ (Ralph and Yarrow 51).
These early ‘pioneers’ of drama games and improvisational play paved the way for more modern theorists, such as Clive Barker, Keith Johnstone and Augusto Boal, who further developed the use and style of games in actor training and teaching. Their books and other writings have been influential throughout the late 1900s, and still remain relevant and extremely useful for actors and drama teachers alike today.
But What Are These “Drama Games”, Exactly?
“Theatre games are also commonly used as warm-up exercises for actors before a rehearsal or performance, in the development of improvisational theatre, and as a lateral means to rehearse dramatic material.”
– Wikipedia, Theatre Games
Even if you’ve never played a drama game, I’d find it hard to believe you’ve never heard of them. Nowadays drama games and improvisational play are key components of drama curriculums in primary, secondary, and tertiary education; they’ve taken the Western actor training sphere by storm. Still not sure what I mean? Take a look at this clip from a little-known TV show called Whose Line Is It Anyway?
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Scenes from a Hat takes a very basic principle (ask an audience for a stimulus and make something up on the spot), throws some professional improvisational comedians/actors into the mix, sprinkles in a whole lot of fun, and ends up with one of the most iconic forms of theatre sport entertainment known today. If you’re interested in finding out more, check out this article that lists the ‘top ten’ improvisation games shown in Whose Line, including Hollywood Director, Sound Effects, and Party Quirks.
“The TheatreSports game that most students know, or believe they know. If taught properly it is a very useful tool to teach over-acceptance, focus, spontaneity, using other people’s ideas and characterisation.”
– Australian Institute of TheatreSports
Now, let’s take a quick look at one of the most popular drama games used in classrooms today; Space Jump. In case you’ve never played it, here’s a quick explanation of the game’s stages:
The actors call for a stimulus, usually from the audience; this can be something like an object, a setting, or a character.
The first actor starts an improvised scene on their own using the stimulus.
Someone (it could be another actor or the teacher in a class setting) yells “Space Jump!” and the actor onstage freezes in place.
Another actor moves onstage and creates a new scene inspired by the physical position of the frozen actor – they can create any scene they want, but it has to justify the frozen actor’s position.
Steps 3 and 4 repeat until the whole team of actors are onstage together in one large (and often rather chaotic) scene.
The last actor who joined the scene must then find a reason to leave the scene – and the actors must then revert back to the previous scene, repeating this until the very first actor is the only person left onstage to wrap up the beginning scene and end the game.
– Andrew Hearle, Acting Games.
Sound a bit confusing? Never fear! Here’s a group of professional actors performing a game of Space Jump for your reference:
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There are hundreds more drama games available online and in print for you to take a look at. Websites like Drama Toolkit or Improv Encyclopaedia have huge collections of drama games, and there have been numerous books published by play theorists and actors alike, including Augusto Boal’s Games for Actors and Non-Actors (1992) and Keith Johnstone’s Impro for Storytellers (1999).
That’s Cool And All, But What Am I Actually Learning When I Play Space Jump?
“The trainee actor returns to the games of childhood not only in order to develop further their skills in improvisation and imagination, but also to rediscover a form of playing/acting which is more ‘authentic’, more connected to the actor’s creativity, more ‘natural’.” (Evans 62)
Drama teachers everywhere have been encouraging and supporting the use of games and improvisational play in the school curriculum, citing their inherently fun and rewarding nature, and their ability to improve student’s skills in communication and confidence. Considering games in a strictly dramatic sense though, each game has a particular type of skill(s) that the actor hones in on while they play. For example, Zip Zap Zoom could be categorised as a ‘focus game’, Space Jump as an ‘improvisation game’, and Bus Stop a ‘characterisation game’ (Drama Games). Let’s have a look at how these three games develop an actor’s skillset.
Zip Zap Zoom (or one of its many other aliases) is one of the most common warm-up games used in drama classes. It is a fast-paced game, wherein actors stand in a circle and ‘pass’ a clap around, accompanied by ‘command words’ which identify what kind of clap they’re giving. Zip is a clap to the left; Zap is a clap to the right; Zoom is a clap across the circle. You’re ‘out’ if you miss a beat or say the wrong word, so eye contact and focus is essential in making sure the clap is executed correctly. Focus and maintaining implicit contact with fellow actors is a hugely important skill for an actor to hone; performances require actors to move almost like a single unit, always aware of where everyone is onstage and how to move in relation to their different bodies.
Bus Stop is another often-used drama game, this time falling under the category of characterisation. Two actors sit next to each other chairs, both committing themselves wholly to a character. The goal of the actor to the left is to get the actor to the right to leave the scene – but each must be completely in character while interacting. For example, one character may be a bit of a neat freak, and the other character sits there gratuitously coughing and scratching and sniffling all over the place. Naturally, the neat, clean character would be disgusted and leave the scene. This exercise develops the actor’s skill of characterisation – getting into the character’s head, and fully adopting a certain physicality, to create a wholly realistic person completely separate from the actor onstage.
Now, by this point you should have a pretty good understanding of how Space Jump works. But do you want to know what skills you’re learning when you play it? Well, according to the Australian Institute of TheatreSports, the game of Space Jump:
Develops core improvisation skills
Develops key theatre performance skills and performer/audience relationships
Encourages physical interaction in a group setting and awareness of others
Develops physical skills, coordination and self-control
Encourages cooperation between students
So next time someone says “Let’s play Space Jump”, don’t groan and complain that you always play that game – because there’s an excellent reason why it’s so popular! Improvisation games are a key part of any actor’s training repertoire because they encourage spontaneity and creativity, build trust and relationships between actors, and are a lot more fun than reading the same script over and over again!
“Games were not just a training device for the development of technical skills, they also prepared the actor for performance, encouraging playfulness, spontaneity and flexibility.” (Evans 66)
So, Now You Know!
Why are games and the practice of improvised play such common tools used to teach drama? Because they work! They’re fun and engaging, and help students and actors alike hone their skills in a way that is stimulating and enjoyable. Games and play encourage us to get back in touch with our childishness, to tap into that forgotten source of imagination and total disregard for what other people might think of us. Everyone knows what it’s like to feel awkward or pressured to act a certain way in front of a group of strangers – but you watch a bunch of gangly teenagers, rife with uncertainty over who they are and how they should fit in with their peers, play a few rounds of Space Jump and I bet you they’ll be quite literally leaping around like frogs in no time at all.
“Somewhere along the line of improvised play, playful improvisation, improvised drama, real drama, new and fresh, will appear before us.” (Frost and Yarrow 30)
Works Cited
“Drama Games.” Drama Notebook. Drama Notebook, 2016, www.dramanotebook.com/drama-games/
Evans, Mark. “Copeau's key writings and ideas.” Jacques Copeau, Routledge, 2006. pp. 56-74.
Frost, A., and Ralph Yarrow. “Improvisation in traditional drama.” Improvisation in Drama, 2nd ed., Macmillan Education, 2007. pp. 17-62.
Hearle, Andrew. “Acting Games.” Stage Milk. Stage Milk, 8 Jan. 2013, www.stagemilk.com/acting-games/
“Theatre Games.” Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 16 Feb. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_games
“Yes Let’s.” Australian Institute of TheatreSports. Australian Institute of TheatreSports, 2006, www.theatresportsoz.com/book
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