Battle Maps!

Meta question: Since the episode name is available right at 7pm on Beacon, I don’t think it’s necessarily a spoiler to put in the title. What does everyone think? Is that ok or should I remove it and consider titles a spoiler?

I will never tire of seeing how happy Ashley is whenever we visit Nana.

Last we left off…

Bell’s Hells, after returning to finding your west encampment (in the middle of the Hellcatch Valley) destroyed, you escaped to Vasselheim, where you encountered not just Keyleth but many of the higher up movers and shakers of Exandria, to discuss how to deal with the coming threat and the looming chaotic pinnacle of the Vanguard’s plot. As part of this discussion, you yourself spoke with some of the familiar faces of which you had built a rapport with since this journey began and figured out a plan in hopes that it would be the one everyone could put themselves behind. You pitched this plan, this multi-pronged attack, utilizing the back door secret portal, the passage to Ruidus that you had discovered.
Upon beseeching all that had gathered within the Platinum Sanctuary to help, you (and Keyleth, the council, and the numerous other allies you had made to make this mission function) sold your case, and most were convinced. As such, what you had decided upon is now being hatched as the initial plot against Ludinus and the Vanguard (which involves multiple groups of heroes from all across Exandria, some being pulled from retirement, some being pulled from their current decrees, others just being sought after who’ve been missing for a while) until everything is aligned. Within a week, which is hopefully enough time, you are to all descend upon the Malleus Key, the Weave Mind, and the very core of Ruidus at the same time, with Bells Hells to be the key linchpin to head towards the center of that moon.
After some chance encounters with some other interesting, powerful entities and a reunion with Dorian’s father, you went to rest for the evening and consider what was to be had. After a discussion not too long before that (with Imogen and her mother) you had heard tale that a Simulacrum of Ludinus was travelling with the Sorrowlord Zathuda, to meet up with the Unseelie, who had been conspicuously absent since the destruction of the second Malleus Key.
You also ran into a superfan of Chetney Pock O’Pea, and discovered or unraveled what appeared to be a community of superfans who have been collecting, cataloging and worshipping the “grandiose, wonderful, craftsman legend” that has walked alongside you. After receiving a tour of his modest collection, you were allowed a room to sleep for the evening. As the rest of you gather your things and hole up within the guest chambers of the home of Scalebearer Waylon Amaredda, the night’s rest is yours.

♪Episode Song References♪

ᕕ( ᐛ)ᕗ

• 00:20:10 Fiddler on the Roof - Matchmaker
• 00:20:28 System of a Down - Chop Suey!
• 00:57:32 Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes - Mad about Me
• 01:34:58 “keep em separated” Offspring - Come Out and Play
• 01:54:22 Creed - With Arms Wide Open
• 02:17:00 Lonely Island - Threw It on the Ground
• 02:39:20 Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles
• 02:41:35 Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles again
• 02:50:37 Judas Priest - Breakin the Law
• 03:07:02 Aerosmith - Livin’ on the Edge
• 03:07:03 Lady Gaga - Edge of Glory
• 03:15:57 Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles again
• 03:16:50 Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles again
• 03:18:23 Arid Xtra Dry “Get a Little Closer” Jingle
• 03:18:28 Jay and the Americans - Come a Little Bit Closer
• 03:25:00 Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles again
• 03:33:02 Vanessa Carlton - A Thousand Miles again
• 03:33:46 “to the wall” Lil John - Get Low
• 03:56:56 Timothy Chalamet - SNL - Tiny Horse

Highlights

• 00:12:40 Chetney and Dorian make some gear upgrades while Imogen sends a message to Ira Wendigoth
• 00:13:19 Chetney:“Okay, everybody that doesn’t want to sleep with the Nightmare King can weigh in, okay?”
• 00:15:04 “Are you pooping?” medley
• 00:15:26 Ira Wendigoth IDubz:“Ah. Glad to see you’re still alive. I’ve been keeping a low profile on Kreviris. But if you want me to join, let me know where I’m most useful.”
• 00:16:52 Fearne:“It’s Pravienire, Chet.” (Travis calls it Dan Povenmire of Gravity Falls fame)
• 00:17:18 Ashley breaks Matt with a story of hearing romantic noise between Ira and Nanna Morri
• 00:18:00 And Braius
• 00:19:11 Braius:“That sounds like a lovely dichotomy.”
  Ashton:“New kid has taste. Unlike some people.”
• 00:19:55 IDubz:"Ligament Manor, huh? It has been some time.
• 00:21:33 Fearne:“I have sixty-nine gold pieces.”
  Waylon:“Nice.”
• 00:25:05 Ashley:“Look how good they are, almost.”
• 00:26:45 Fearne:“I am so sorry. I was gonna try to just take it.”
• 00:27:15 Fan Art Moment Dark Waylon approaching a trapped Fearne
• 00:28:13 Waylon:“Rest well, he’s always watching.”
• 00:29:35 Laura:“Do you think any of us will ever find the egg in your butt.” (Goop reference?)
  Travis:“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
• 00:32:13 Chetney gives Waylon Amaredda the nickname Senor Amaretto
• 00:33:40 Chetney:“I’m gonna make a cult.”
  Sam looks over to make eye contact (he had a cult side plan with FCG)
• 00:34:55 Waylon rats out Fearne
• 00:35:10 Chetney:“I got lieged!”
• 00:38:27 When a fandom turns on you.
• 00:39:39 Back to Kiki:“Whatever part the Unseelie has had to play, or will, please bring that information back…That is one blind spot that makes me anxious.”
• 00:42:56 Orym gets PAID
  Chetney:“Want me to hold onto it? I’ll give you a fair 4.4% yield. You don’t wanna open a CD?”
• 00:43:37 Fearne:“This Potion of Invulnerability, did somebody want this?”
  What?
• 00:44:30 “Why not both?” ¿Por que no los dos?
• 00:45:15 Laudna:“Do they even communicate? Could you walk the line, and they would never know? It’s not like their talking, like they have a shared thread…of scrying.”
  Dorian:“A sort of web of communication.”
• 00:46:04 Robbie:“Are you looking to multi-god?”
  Liam:(automated assistant voice)“Hi! It looks like you’re trying to contact another god.”
• 00:46:19 A rare sighting of the Californian Jumping Pen
• 00:47:12 Matt:“Poly-theism is in…Tengar was a crazy place, y’all.”
• 00:49:35 Matt:“Allura has strong spinster professor vibes…Well, Kima drags her into some shit.”
• 00:50:45 Super swampy spot in the Fey Realm
• 00:52:45 Chetters seeks the Fey Wood
• 00:53:50 Dorian has goosebumps just being here
• 00:55:16 Dorian’s allergies return?
• 00:58:35 Dorian connects to the Fey Realm through his music
• 00:59:52 The Ligament Manor An incredibly tall and multi-tiered tree house. You see the trunk of this tree knot and spiral upward into multiple floors that rise up as branches extend onward, each one seeming to cradle a chamber that is decorated and lit with its own coloration and theme. A faint sound of music (sourceless, different from your own that you’ve been playing) seems to mingle and drift throughout the interior. You can see numerous pairs of glowing eyes from creatures that sit just beyond the visible light, watching you all as you enter.
• 01:01:09 Nanna Morri:“Let me put away my machine.”
  Fan Art Moment Nanna Morri (The Fate Stitcher) working away at some ‘Threads of Fate’ and having Tummy holding pins in their mouth just because.
• 01:02:18 Nanna Morri You see this massive, hill-like, humanoid shape begin to step to the top of the landing of these natural winding stairs. You see a female shape, shoulders wide and extended, a barrel-like torso, itself wrapped in a thick shawl or a purple-dyed, sack cloth, thick material, tied and drifting off with tassels that seem to drag on the ground and have darkened with gathered muck through travel. Where you see the shawl and coat held in these thin, long arms that extend from the shoulder joints that are longer than they should be and don’t match the proportions of the thick, wide torso. From the shoulders, this head looks towards you, and it is extended beyond the shoulders and neck by a good solid two, three feet (like a giraffe) that has a horse mane of whitish hair that drifts off to one side. You see a female noseless grin, extended pointed chin filled with teeth, sparse amongst blackened gums, and a big toothy smile. These vacuous holes where eyes seem to be receded into darkness except for two little points of light that find you as she smiles.
• 01:04:19 Dorian:“You are beautiful…grandma kisses are always wet.”
• 01:05:12 When Dorian arrived, the reaction was “Oh, who’s this cute boy you brought over?” this reaction is “Who is this Man?”
• 01:06:24 Nanna Morri:“Do you like Amaretto? Where are you from? You smell like shadow and bad choices.”
• 01:08:04 Nanna Morri:“Oh, and how’s The Legend doing?”
• 01:10:32 Imogen:“Fearne doesn’t have another face down in her cooch, if that’s what yer wonderin’.”
  Sam:“Cahooch.”
  Fearne:“As far as you know. You have no idea what’s in this marsupial pouch.”
• 01:13:27 Nanna Morri:“You all don’t mind things that taste a bit nutty do you?”
  Liam:“No. I love the taste of nuts.”
  Braius:“Love nuts in my mouth.”
• 01:14:24 Imogen breaks the news of the imminent arrival of Ira Wendigoth
  Tummy:“What did he say?!”
• 01:18:45 Laudna asks if Nanna Morri has knowledge of FCG’s status in the afterlife and is told it is “beyond my purview unless I have them written into my specific periphery.”
• 01:19:09 Nanna Morri:“Bwuh?”
• 01:22:05 Iiiiit’s Ira!
• 01:23:18 Nanna throwin’ shade
• 01:24:55 Liam:(news voice)“We’ve crafted this ancient man into a useable chair!”
  Ashley:“A La-Z-boy!”
• 01:28:28 Braius inserts himself as a challenger for Morrighan’s affections against Ira.
  What?
• 01:31:24 Fan Art Moment “Dolled Up” Nanna Morri
• 01:32:35 Nanna Morri:“The Boy the Wind Has Tossed.”
  Looks like Orym is off the hook for his debt because of the loss of F.C.G.
• 01:33:46 Nanna Morri:“Your daughter is in fact quite an important piece in this chess game.”
• 01:37:05 Fan Art Moment Nanna Morri conjures up nine spectral horses (with six legs and extra long necks), which Imogen seems to enjoy.
  
• 01:39:00 NM:“You can see possibilities, but that’s where the weave of the fate’s threads is important. I don’t weave them, that lies in the Matron’s domain. I just tend to sneak in and tug a little here and there.”
• 01:41:18 Marisha tries not to say “Makin’-her-way”
• 01:41:26 NM:“This domain lies more under the Moonweaver and the Arch Heart. This is the Arch Heart’s domain after all…[The Unseelie and Seelie Courts] are more bound to the rules of their tenets and their divine relationships than us more free fey.”
• 01:43:26 Ashton:“Lets go Bedknobs and Broomsticks this shit.”
• 01:44:35 Ira knows the way to Pravienir in the Amethyst Gulch Sierras

INTERMISSION

Spectral Steed names: Mochi, Wagyu, Udon, Edamame, Pocky, Shishido, Angela Lansbury and Shabu Shabu/Marzipan

Sam’s Mug

yellow carousel horse meme from the film We Live in Time.