Tigris Types

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Vacation~ Part 9

Oh dear there was no way to chop this one up nicely for tumblr

It's also how we know that most dinosaurs had round pupils. It's pretty common for people to depict dinosaurs with slit pupils, probably because of Jurassic Park, mostly because it looks really cool, but nope, they were round. There are very few, if any, birds with slit pupils, which is further evidence for round pupils. And most extant animals with slit pupils are on the small side. Many people think of cats having slit pupils, and they do, but it's the little ones. Lions and tigers have round pupils, because slit pupils are most useful closest to the ground and they actually sacrifice some of their visually acuity for the sake of being better at judging distances in low-light conditions, and most animals with them are ambush predators that jump out at their prey. You ever seen a video where someone throws or bounces a ball towards a cat and it bops them on the head and they seem surprised? That's why; they struggle to track where the ball is going, especially horizontally. So for anything over a certain size, slit pupils are a detriment, especially if they chase down prey.

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Okay so that cold open with Kattigan fucking hurt, ouch. Like damn. And the "Maybe, she left-" "FUCK you." That was GOOD. I love getting to see more of Kattigan & his motives & knowing that he's a widower and lost his child? God.

Ouch.

Also- Occtis reiterating to everyone, especially Julien, that they have to be stealthy and not get fucking Killed at his House? Julien reaching out to ask him questions, they've come so far.

Thimble & Occtis' little friendship hurts my heart so good. They care so much about each other. But a part of me thinks that he feels so guilty for *NO REASON* over Thjazi's death, I keep going back to episode 1 & how frustrated and upset he was in his initial appearance. And then the additional content we got with the knowledge that Occtis met Thjazi when he was only EIGHT and Thjazi was the one who helped steer him into the Wizarding path? Now he has to make sure he doesn't cause another loss to House Royce with Thimble.

Not after his family fucking destroyed the Golden Orchard and possibly doomed Maya Davinos. He can't cause more pain to Thimble, to Julien, even id they both want his family dead (and so does a part of him, honestly).

Please Don't Die.

I don't think there will be a Dol-Makjar team. I think too many people have blown their cover, will blow their cover, or have already stated goals that pertain to outside the city. The one exception might be Azune but I think he will have to leave for another reason. Let's go over everyone.

Color key:

Red: High Risk

Orange: Medium Risk

Violet: Low Risk

Pink: Risk Existing Depends on What They Do But Otherwise Has No Reason to Leave Currently

Green: Could Leave or Stay

Blue: Has No Reason to Leave Currently

Azune: He needs a big break. He has had too many breakdowns scheming. Scheming is too stressful for him. I feel like he is going to be convinced to leave by his friends. He might also need to blow his cover to rescue Kattigan. He does have alter self but it is concentration so it may drop if he gets hit and it will if he has to cast a spell. More on that...

Murray: To start, there is the matter of Murray being in the room at the Gala before she was supposed to. Maybe Yanessa or Filoneus didn't catch thay. Anyways... she hasn't definitively blown her cover yet but Tyranny and maybe also Bolaire will probably need to call for help using their magpies to get help from some of Team Theater to rescue Kattigan. They are probably going to send two or three. I can see them sending Murray and Azune or just one of those two. The one who would definitely go would be...

Thaisha: Thaisha already has leverage against the demons, or at least she thinks she does. She also has wild shape and horses are pretty fast, so she can probably get there the quickest if she wanted to. Kattigan's reaction to "Thaisha" and "Hal" also confirmed that it wasn't surprising that Thaisha knew Hal (if the demons caught that. They are dumb.) On top of all that, Wick knows that Yanessa is suspicious of Thaisha and I'm sure others are too since she was confirmed to be fraternizing with Julien by Otto. Thaisha also has to meet with her grandma and she kind of already committed to doing that next.

Hal: He openly defied House Halovar. He's done. Also, small point but reiterating that Kattigan confirmed that Hal knows Teor. Let's just hope they didn't catch that.

Tyranny: It may look really bad for her if there is a rescue attempt from other people or even if she does it with only Bolaire. She might to look like a leak if more people come to rescue Kattigan. It will also be really bad if she comes home and is the only survivor with news that Kattigan was rescued. Maybe Tyranny can pretend to fight back and maybe a sister or multiple will escape with her. We will see. She was also still going with the kidnapped story even though Wick dropped that but it does seem like her sisters didn't catch it (Again they are dumb).

Kattigan: He is done. Yanessa already wants his shadows snipped.

Wicander: Technically there is some risk with Tyranny's slip. A greater reason though is that Armas probably isn't in the city and he wants to find her. His sister just told him that the Creed dosen't have her.

Julien: He is already in hiding mode and now all of the Sundered Houses have reasons to suspect that he might have a grudge. He also committed to going to the Golden Orchard (not that they are definitely going to do that).

Teor: He is as wanted as Kattigan is. Also, he has committed to sticking with Thimble and Cyd wants to take him to Houndsport (not that those aren't contradictory).

Occtis: Primus wants Occtis and he was in hiding mode anyways.

Thimble: There is no threat to her but she has been building a team to go to the Golden Orchard. It also looks like Faerie might reopen after the ritual and I imagine that she would feel it like how she felt when it closed. She would want to go visit and it would be great for making allies and evacuating the fey in Dol-Makjar there since they are in danger in the city.

Vaelus: She wants to go back home. It seems like the Sea Door might be close to her homeland.

Bolaire: He has a museum to run and Termina is in town. I think Termina could leave though to build a god. She might go to quarry that the Cormorays are involved with. Saying this because on a meta level Termina definitely will leave to give Bolaire a hook if there aren't enough pcs to have a schemer team stay in Dol-Makjar.

Talking to your players and understanding what they want out of their characters, and scenes they’d like their characters to be in + story elements they want to be part of is important. ESPECIALLY when the characters themselves would NOT want to be in those situations. If you communicate this, it’s so much more fun to yank their characters in a direction they are looking forward to and expecting (but not necessarily know when or how depending on their preferences - like with Occtis’ fate).

It was never my intention to slaughter any who sit now at this table.

Intention does a lot of heavy lifting here. Primus may not have intended to kill the other Houses, since he needed them to stabilize his hopeful rule, but that's not the same as not being willing or ready to slaughter them all. And let's be honest, if they didn't kneel, death via Deva Vindicta is almost certainly what would have happened.

The creation of this weapon, the Deva Vindicta, the window has closed. We were running out of time. We completed the ritual in perhaps the last day we could have. It is no longer a threat.

I do wonder if the "last day we could have" was about too many forces getting to Tannesar to muck things up, or some sort of magical alignment having to do with the Sea Doors being open for them. We've been told above-table that the Tachonis are having to go the long way around with the Hall of Mercy now, so if the Sea Doors are open for a set period every year, that could make sense of it.

What was our plan? 70 years ago, everyone at this table kneeled to the Royal House of Obridai. All of us, vassal houses. Myself and Halovar descend from the priests of that empire, and all of you, though you fought against the gods in the Shapers' War, your ancestors all knelt. Many of you only have your lands because your ancestors did kneel to the kings of Obridimia. For 70 years, we have been without empire. And in those 70 years, we bicker and quarrel, react, overreact, make mistakes. Royce quarrels with Einfasen, Einfasen with Cormoray. 70 years ago, we had an emperor. I speak truth to you now, my plan with the Deva Vindicta was the same as always: Western Telmora to the Einfasen. Eastern Telmora to the Cormoray. The Golden Orchard moved from its proximity to the closed doors of Faerie into the Tenebral Reaches for use by my family. And Yanessa, the razing of Telmora's druid groves. Plenty of real estate to build cathedrals. We are true allies to all of you here. The Deva Vindicta was not meant to slaughter you, it was meant ot make you kneel. Tachonis is not strong enough on its own. Not without Einfasen, not without Cormoray, nor Halovar.

Gotta wonder at Primus's definition of "true allies" versus what others might define as such. True allies could mean we will help you as long as it benefits us. Which, he's made the argument that Tachonis isn't (currently) strong enough to rule the world on its own. But what happens when Tachonis doesn't need them anymore. Are they still allies then? Or are they rivals to be kept at heel, destroyed if they get to uppity?

We were to make you kneel. The Vindicta would've been out winning gambit in the game that we all play in here. Lord Einfasen, how goes the search for the Jotunøks? My Lord Cormoray, I understand your grant at the Penteveral has gone through. Congratulations. I heard there was some celebration at the old Kalystra quarries? I'm glad you're well, Lady Halovar. Terrible case of bellows fever going around, wouldn't you say? And of course, your wonderful Aspirants. How exceptional that these demons are here because they have been... saved. The Deva Vindicta was a winning move. A winning move in a game that you will not deceive me we are all playing. You might be angry that we almost won, but we did not. You have my apologies for the direct lie of the Royce gala, but let us not pretend that the old throne of Obridimia does not call to each and every lord and lady in this room.

We work best together. For there are 2 games being played here. The game in this room, and the game out there. They're playing too. All of them are playing out there. If we had won and made you kneel as vassal houses of the new Royal House of Tachonis, you would have ruled over every single mortal in creation, save a single family you would kneel to. Vast millions at your feet, and but a handful to whom you would be answerable. If they win, out there, the meanest oaf, the lowest beggar, the most mud-caked simpleton, will be your equal. You will be above no one. They will bury you in their dirt and call it freedom.

If I am bested in our little game here by someone in this room, you have my word, I will applaud you and serve as House Tachonis did serve for centuries.

Gotta wonder about which centuries of service Primus is talking about and how loyal Tachonis actually was at the time. Or how they actually served.

But we cannot take our eyes off them out there. Or did you not here the Lady Royce's late husband and what he can still hear? (Yanessa) Thjazi Fang. You pushed so hard for his death, my Lord Tachonis. (Primus) The candle requires still a great degree of noble blood to be spilt. We knew that if Thjazi was to die, the Lady Aranessa would come running to save him. We needed it to not be a death in private, but one with a trial and a hanging, such that she would have time to make her way to Dol-Makjar. We fed the information to the Royce that we were looking for Occtis thinking they might find him where we could not, and they took him to their home. Davinos was an improvisation, but wherever the Lady Royce and Occtis first met, I would have been waiting in the shadows. Or enough of Aranessa's retainers to speed the Deva's journey to the underworld.

Interesting to note that Primus thinks noble or vassal House blood needed to be spilled to power the candle. Especially as my understanding is that very few that were killed at the Palazzo were actual House (even just vassal) blood, instead being largely the hired help, possibly very minor nobles. I would not call just Raimond "a great degree" of noble blood.

Also interesting to note that while Primus has set Thjazi's death as bait for Aranessa, there's no indication one way or the other about having competing interests, at least over the Stone of Nightsong, brought up.

That is the sum total of it. I have told you all I can. Your wrath is just. Consider as always, my lords and lady, not what your heart might tell you in its consternation and fury. What advances the interests of your House?

"I have told you all I can." We know the spirit of Nullus is in on what the Tachonis are doing to mess with the Halls of Mercy. Primus could be sworn to silence, or just following his own father's orders not knowing the end to be spoken of here. The point is, there is more, but Primus cannot speak of it before the assembled Houses.