#moonshine and hardwon are my comfort characters

[auteurdefeu]

It is 5am and I haven’t slept yet but this is a note to my future self (or really anyone… please, someone write this if I don’t)

There is so much angst in Bahumia as is, but there’s always an opportunity for more, for a good hurt/comfort angst with a happy ending story (or major character death, to each their own).

A Hardshine Hanahaki AU. More specifically:

Moonshine with Hanahaki. It just makes sense to me. A disease from what one believes to be unrequited love, where flowers grow from the lovesick fool’s lungs. The victim is destined to die from this disease unless their love is returned, or the roots of the flowers are removed, along with the ability to love this person any longer. As a Druid with an abundance of spores and mushrooms… it would make so much sense. Just— okay, here me out.

She can’t hide anything from Mee Maw, Jolene discovers her sickness before anyone else. The flowers are a magic of their own, and though clouded by Moonshine’s own arcane aura, it’s hard to hide the difference from someone as attentive as Jolene. She’s the one who has to explain the meaning of these internal buds to the young elf. It’s not difficult to guess who she’d have such strong feelings for, no fling or distant admiration would bring about such heartbreak for the disease to begin infesting her lungs. Hardwon Surefoot, now a half elf of the Crick, and unknowingly the owner of Moonshine’s heart. Jolene holds her daughter as she cries through this realization, knowing Moonshine would never give up her ability to love, knowing what fate that might bring. She also knows the love that she has felt for her people, her family. It was something she wouldn’t give up either.

Hardwon isn’t sure why Jolene’s smiles towards him hold an undertone of sadness to them.

Instinctively, Pawpaw always knew when something was wrong. He’s distressed and confused, saddened by the fact he cannot help what he doesn’t understand. It’s Lucanus who is told next. Moonshine approached him first as a wizard, seeking his guidance and any spells he might know that would keep the disease at bay as she continued to love, but it was as her father that he pleaded with her to preserve herself. It was something she refused, so he provided what he could to ease her pain.

It wasn’t often that Hardwon made visits to the University, but when he did, he could’ve sworn that Lucanus was actively avoiding his eyes.

Beverly finds out next. Perhaps it had something to do with being a paladin, or maybe he just knew Moonshine too well. He knew she wasn’t okay, but it wasn’t until he had offered her his highest levels of healing spells that she had told him the source. In direct opposition to what she’d been expecting from him, he spoke sincerely of the love he knew Hardwon had for her in return, that if she just spoke to him… there was still tears in his eyes. He’d lost enough loved ones, and even a few that were warm to the touch now, he’d held their corpses, pleading with them to return back to the living with the power of the light. Moonshine— she was supposed to stay with him for a long, long time. He couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t just tell Hardwon, why she’d let herself suffer when it seemed so clear that her feelings were returned.

But Hardwon would die too soon. With any luck, it would be of natural causes at an old age, when Moonshine looked barely a decade older than when they’d first met. Could she really risk giving him all her love, just to know it would be snatched away so soon? He lived with so much guilt as is, and should he not love her as anything more than family, she couldn’t burden him with this guilt as well. She didn’t want to know a world without Hardwon Surefoot. With any of what she believed to be luck, maybe she wouldn’t have to.

Spells and potions help a great deal. But the disease is still ever present, and she’s reminded of it each time she sees his smile and the tendrils of stems and roots scratch at her throat. Moonshine has long since decided that she would not die of heartbreak, that’s not what this was. She would die with a full heart, loving as strongly and as wholly as she ever had. When she had sought to be locked away in hell, she believed she would not be missed, not to the extent that the would would stop spinning. They would go on without her and learn to adapt. A part of her still believes that, or at least she tries to convince herself it’s true now, so that there may be some righteousness to her stubborn attitude in her ability to love.

Hardwon was blind to a lot of things but not to his love, not to her pain. She would not be able to hide it from him forever, try as hard as she might. It comes down to whether it not he realizes in time.

#someday I’ll write this fully #they mean so much to me #hardshine #moonwon #naddpod #naddpod c1 #bahumia #moonshine cybin #hardwon surefoot #beverly toegold v

[ihatepickingusernames101]

Sometimes a family can be a good boy, an old man, a naked mushroom lady, her possum, and a himbo turned vampire turned half-elf.

#I’m almost done with my third listen of NADDPOD and I’m having feelings #naddpod #moonshine and hardwon are my comfort characters #moonshine cybin #hardwon surefoot #Beverly toegold the fifth #beverly toegold #balnor the brave #balnor #shut up abi

[notcrowfacts]

I Rate The TTRPG Shows I’ve Watched

Critical Role (53/114 cr1 & 97/99 cr2)

8/10

The og show. I love cr so very much. The pcs are always so wonderful and the crew plays them so convincingly. I wish I could DM like Matt Mercer my god. Genuinely such an entertaining show with a lovely cast. Also Laura Bailey exists so

-2 points for 4 hour episodes. -1 point for being PURE dnd with less overarching narrative. +1 point for a podcast option

Dimension 20 (all caught up on every season)

9.5/10

I’m gonna fight Brennan Lee Mulligan in a Denny’s parking lot. FUCK. This show is so good, it’s had me go from bawling my eyes out one second to hysterically laughing the next. The role-playing is excellent, the episodes are a more manageable length (1-2hours), and Brennan is also such an excellent DM. The cast is great, Ally, Lou, and Zac are so fucking funny, Emily is chaos in human form, Siobhan could murder me and I’d thank her, Murph SAYS he’s a good lawful boy but I see him play he can’t fool me.

-1 point for emotional damages. -.5 points for not being able to talk abt it with my friends bc you have to pay for dropout. +1 point for free trials and the amount of free content on YouTube.

NADDPod (100/100 main campaign 7/16 Trinyvale)

12/10

Genuinely I think this is my favorite dnd podcast. It’s truly so good. Murph is an excellent DM, his NPCs are amazing, his narrative is beautiful, it’s impossible not to fall in love with this campaign. It’s so funny while still having an ongoing theme of love, forgiveness, and mercy and it just makes you feel better after listening. The cast is also wonderful. Emily Axford exists and my heart goes 🥰🥰🥰. Jake is so funny and his portrayal of Hardwon was so GOOD. Caldwell is amazing and it’s real nice to see him get more comfortable dming trinyvale and see him live out his anime boy dreams through Beverly.

-3 points for dragon pussy. +5 points for moonshine cybin existing

The Adventure Zone (12/16 graduation caught up on everything else)

7.5/10

This and critical role seems to be everyone’s baby’s first dnd podcast. Balance was what got my into ttrpg shows in the first place so TAZ will always have a special place in my heart. That being said, I’ve sort of lost interest in graduation, Travis is a wonderful dm don’t get me wrong but I’m just not ~into~ it anymore. Still, Balance and Amnesty are wonderful, I adore those campaigns and I hope Graduation will grow on me too. I’m not giving up on this podcast yet!!

-5 points for Garfield related crimes. +1 point for the PCs. +1 point for Clint

Rusty Quill Gaming (all caught up)

9/10

Fuck me guys. This podcast has really done me a new one recently. The story is really wonderful, the PCs have my whole heart, and the cast is just really really great. There have been such wonderful portrayals of mental health struggles, the loss of a loved one, and just being real people who are complicated and trying their best. And STILL the podcast is really really funny!! They also do a bunch of specials using other systems (they do a bunch by Grant Howitt with Grant Howitt!). It’s just a good time all around. Rusty Quill is also the company that makes TMA so if you’re into horror you’d probably like it? Idk I don’t do spooks.

-3 points for Ben Meredith and his Grizzop related crimes -1 point for Pathfinder and it’s stupid rules -2 points for all the TMA crossovers +2 points because Alex is a monster (but we respect his craft) +3 points for Sasha, Azu, and Cel

Dungeons and Daddies (14/35)

8/10

I’m only partway through but I’m loving this show so far!! The cast is so funny and the premise in general is fucking genius. I can’t wait to see how these characters grow and become actually good fathers (god Ron and Henry are s o c l o s e). I’m in love with their kids and wives (blows a kiss to Samantha and Mercedes). I’m just super pumped to keep listening.

-3 points for child murder. -1 point for poor parenting. +2 points for Beth May

#naddpod #critical role #rusty quill gaming #dndads #dimension 20 #the adventure zone #all the ratings are kinda jokes #i genuinely love all these shows #if you havent watched all the shows on the list #then i really reccommend them #ill probably make an update when i inevitably watch EVEN more dnd shows

[marsjoram]

Moonshine...

oh man…..Moonshine……..,,

How I feel about this character

shes incredible!! an amazing character!! i think about her too long and i weep openly 

emily talked about episode 91 on reddit recently (here’s the full comment bc it’s good) and the part that really hits me the hardest is emily describing moonshine’s entire character as being “built around trying to make sure everyone’s comfortable and taken care of. Which can be a strength, but it can also be a flaw, so I try to play it both ways. She isn’t trying to “sacrifice” herself or do something noble, or have an arc. She’s just trying to make sure everyone’s taken care of and believes she can help.”

its very very bizarre to think about now but when i listened to the meet the party thing at the beginning, i was honestly kind of lukewarm on the pitch of moonshine’s character. im really not sure why. but now, while i dont have anything to say that hasnt already been said better by others, i would die for her 

All the people I ship romantically with this character

i don’t really have strong feelings on moonshine having a love interest tbh. i think if she does get one this late in the campaign it should probably be alanis, they would be really nice together! (and tbh youre entirely to blame for that bhgjnfkfj) i think her and jaina would be neat. i also think her and jovyre wouldve been extremely good if moonshine was in a better emotional state when jovyre hit on her. a dyke can dream

also im very curious who moonshine has a crush on 

My non-romantic OTP for this character

she and hardwon………..theyre so good………the absolute unwavering respect and love hardwon has for her is a lot. its a lot. 

her and apple!! theyre both just elf jocks teaming up together and i think thats wonderful. also the fact that moonshine is so unabashedly selfless and that apple is admittedly a little bit selfish is funny to me considering they get along so well

also, while they havent interacted much since then, i remember when moonshine and ulfgar declared each other best friends after wrestling and i think that wouldve been nice to explore in a different world

My unpopular opinion about this character

not unpopular on tumblr as much as on twitter or reddit, but moonshine has done nothing wrong ever and emily gets entirely too much shit 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

i just want her to end the campaign not feeling the need to have the world on her shoulders yknow. also i guess to a smaller extent the jovyre thing i mentioned earlier but thats less for narrative interest and more because im gay 

#naddpod #naddpod spoilers #talk tag #ask #ask game #beverlytoegoldv #!!! #SORRY THIS IS SO LONG i just love moonshine a lot ok