#Ferris the Paladin

[vodkacheesefries]

Guess who was a dumbass who broke their paladin's oath in the stupidest way possible because they simply *forgot* that they had actually found Arabella's parents and told her they hadn't yet

[silverskye13]

A lot of people ask me for writing advice, and I often respond with variations of the phrase "read a lot and analyze that writing." But I don't give a lot of examples of what I mean by analyze so, here's a rant about something I liked recently!

Minor spoilers for Paladin's Faith by T Kingfisher below:

I'm rereading [for the 4th time whoops] Paladin's Faith by T Kingfisher, and noticed a very interesting chapter that did some very subtle, but decently heavy lifting for the ensuing plot points.

There is a chapter where Shane, after dealing with regency shenanigans, goes to have a pint of beer with a character who invited him out earlier in the plot. Most of their conversation is meandering and character building: Shane is very obviously starting to fall for his love interest Marguerite, and these little moments start to really ingrain how much he is thinking about her. The character he's drinking with tells his own little anecdotes about falling, and being, in love. During the course of the conversation, very close to the beginning, before the expected pining conversation, the character he's talking to mentions "Hey, sorry the beer here is kinda bad. There is a boatman's strike going on right now."

Because of this big regency gala going on, the boats and ferries are striking for better wages and better treatment. They're sure to get what they want, because at some point, the rich folks on the other side of the river are going to run out of fancy food and wine, but for now, no boats or ferries are allowed to cross the lake.

Shane takes this in stride, decides the beer is fine, and moves on. They talk about love. Shane leaves the bar. On the way back from the bar, Shane is attacked. At this point in the story, the author has established that Shane is here to protect his love interest, and assassins could be coming for her at any time. This is our first instance of violence against the main characters, and it's short and thrilling! Finally some payoff for the undercurrent of danger these courtly scenes have been giving us! And we get to see Shane's skills as a competent protector demonstrated. The scene is short because he's quick and competent, even while drunk. It's planting for later fights, where Shane will eventually be called on to do more impressive things: look at how dangerous our main character is!

Later, shit hits the fan [as these stories go] and Shane and company have to escape from the gala. Once again, Shane's night out for drinks is brought up, this time from Marguerite's perspective. She talks about the fight he got into, how that was probably a test by the people after her to see how she responded, and she failed that test. Now they're going to have to run for it, with enemies on their heels. There's more fight scenes that are intense and thrilling, well set up by Shane's previous fight. He and Wren's efficiency and ability and prowess pull them through spectacularly, and the group makes it all the way down to the docks. It is a fantastic mirror for Shane's night, the author even went out of her way to remind you of it! And then the group is confronted by the fact that there are no boats on the docks.

Oh. Right. The strike.

I really, really love how those two scenes work together, how well they're planted, and how awesome the surprise of the boat strike is buried. When it's presented, it sounds like simple world building. It makes the world feel more alive, gives the characters a reason to complain about the alcohol and start their conversation. The boatmen being on strike is maybe one paragraph, buried in romantic pining, hidden behind a violent attack. Even Shane, who has been reliably giving Marguerite all the insignificant information he learns throughout the mission, forgets to tell her about the strike because he was wounded. And, if you are analyzing a story for story mechanics and plot devices, most people will point to him going for drinks as the vehicle for the Very Important attack scene. Not the Attack Scene as the smokescreen for the Very Important Boat Strike.

This boat strike sets up the rest of the novel. The rest of the characters' journey is dictated by the fact that they couldn't cross the lake to get away, they have to wander out into the wilderness instead. It's almost divine intervention on the plot: they wouldn't reach their goal without it, or if they did, it would've taken much longer. It marks a turning point in the novel, where political intrigue drops off abruptly for the much more action-fantasy second half of the story, and it was buried in one paragraph of text in a chapter with much more interesting things going on. I absolutely adore that execution, especially given both the buried strike point and Shane getting jumped were plot important. Both have payoffs in the same upcoming chapter. But the one you thought would be important has a much smaller ripple on the story than the other. Very good trope finessing and I adore it. Taking notes to use in my own writing.

[wildtornado-o]

Paladin Laurence <3

Hes an Oathbreaker but he did take the Oath of the Crown before that

Granby Little Harcourt Chenery Tharkay Riley Ferris Forthing

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Halloween Cinderella; Eddie Munson x reader

*Author’s note*

Okay so this was for a favor for a dear fav. blog of mine @sweetpeapod when she needed some help in clearing out some requests so to the requester who asked this of her during her last event, look no further than here.  Now I made some changes to the request (just some small minor stuff to fit with the time period and all that) but other than that the only warnings are swearing, cheating, some minor angst but also some fluffy, comforting and a bit flirty Eddie.  Hope you enjoy this my lovelies and to @sweetpeapod​ thanks for sending this fic my way, had a blast writing it and I’m happy to help anytime you want your inbox cleared of some work :)

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​​

@queen-paladin​

@gay-and-ready-to-cry​

___________________________________________________________

*Halloween 1984*

I still don’t even understand why I even came here to begin with? All I wanted to do was stay at home, do candy duty and just wait for this day to be month to be over.  Not to say that I don’t like Halloween cause I do, but the fact that my douche of a boyfriend dumped me just a week before we would go as our couple costumes of Kane and Ripley from Alien.  That’s something I can’t look past, especially when he admitted to cheating on me with some slut from the swim team.

So my best friend/brother from another mother Ferris (who was dressed as Michael Myers) thought it would still be a good idea for us to go to the party just to rub Jefferson’s face in it.  And believe me when I say that it is hard to say no to Ferris Worthington, the boy’s as stubborn as a mule and won’t take no for an answer.

And that’s where I am.  Sitting in my car, parked right outside Heather’s place where the party was debating whether or not I should go in or just drive away and lock myself in isolation.

“Goddamn it Ferris. Why do I always let you talk me into these things seriously why?” I said talking to myself.  “Because I was a jackass in a previous life. Now grow a pair and get your sexy Ripley butt in there!” I said knowing what he’d say if we had drove together.  “I hate you so much, you better be in there and I swear there better be some serious booze if not a little buzz of the Mary Jane.” I said muttering to myself again as I got out of the car and locked it.

I walked up to Heather’s house and opened the door and already blaring music was playing, streamers were flying everywhere, and over a hundred people were already in the large mansion.

“Think I’ll also be needing some earplugs too and maybe whiskey instead of beer to drown this noise out.” I said adjusting my fake rifle further up my shoulder.  I had been fabricating with my dad since the start of summer, he actually works on indie horror films so he’s gone some weapons and makeup sculpting skills.

As I walked through the crowd of seniors and even a couple of juniors that somehow managed to sneak in, I noticed a problem.  Ferris said he’d be dressing up like Michael Myers from Halloween, well I’m barely at the living room and already I spotted three different Michael Myers masks.

“Brilliant move Ferris. Seems like every freaking guy in here had the same idea you did.” When I finally got to the living room, low and behold there were about seven, maybe 10 other Michael Myers at the party.  I mean Jesus Christ there are other slasher killers you can choose from; Freddie Kruger, Psycho’s Norman Bates, Leatherface, Jason, any of those guys but nope everyone chose Michael Myers.

Again not that there’s anything wrong with it, Jamie Lee, perfect final girl material and an extreme badass next to Sigourney Weaver, but come on guys.  Ferris could’ve at least given me something to distinguish himself from all the other Michael Myers’ at this party.

“Okay so first thing I’m gonna do is find that smug son of a bitch, then kick his ass for making me search for him, and then drink, drink, drink.” I said to myself before going in and walking to the first Michael Myers costume I saw.  “Ferris?!” the person turned to me and motioned to them to take their mask off. They removed their mask and I saw it was one of the football players.

“Sorry.” He told me before putting his mask back on.  Okay one down, nine to maybe a dozen or so to go. I moved through the crowd, keeping my plastic rifle close to me and walked up to the next Michael Myers I saw.

“Ferris is that you under there?!” the person lifted up their mask and it was some other random dude, probably from either another school or even a former graduate (by a year or two).

“You got the wrong guy, sweetheart. But if you stick around, I can make you forget about him.” He said as he eyed me up and down with a lustful look in his eyes.

“Yeah and I’d like to tell you a joke about my vagina but you’re never gonna get it.” I said walking away annoyed.  One by one I asked each Michael Myers I saw to remove their mask, but all of them turned out to be a bust.

I was now by the drinks deciding to just get me some spiked punch and just accept the fact that either Ferris had ditched the party all together and lied to me, or the little shithead is hiding somewhere knowing I’d probably kill him for making me search for him.

I soon took notice of another person coming up as Michael Myers coming to get a glass of punch.  I set my cup down and turned to the guy and told him.

“Need I ask if that’s you Ferris?” the guy soon turned his attention to me and removed his mask.  Unlike the rest of the guys who had short hair underneath, this guy had long, shaggy brown hair.  Deep brown deer like eyes, maybe even puppy brown.  “Oh.” I said dejectedly returning to my drink.

“Just what every boy dreams of hearing from someone who's just seen your face for the first time.” He told me.

“I’m sorry. Really I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just I’ve been searching for my friend for what feels like hours. He told me he came as Michael Myers and low and behold, almost every guy came in dressed like the guy.”

“I know. At first I was gonna come as Freddie Kruger, but then one of my little sheepies whose part of the drama department in charge of makeup fell sick and couldn’t come to work on my makeup.”

“No kidding, they were really gonna do that?”

“Yeah. Said his dad or uncle or whatever works with VFX makeup in Hollywood. Has his own shop and everything of all the face casts and costumes he’s sculpted. Would’ve been so metal but unfortunately I got stuck with Old Michael. No offense the dude is one badass mother fucker, but the mask just suffocates me.”

“That’s a shame. Cause that is a very lovely face, a really handsome face that I’d hate to see be suffocated and—” oh shit please tell me I did not just say that to some stranger.  I slowly turned to him to see him pondering on what I just said with a smirk before he turned to me and asked.

“Lovely face? No wait scratch that, really handsome face?”

“Can I just the spiked punch made me say it?” I gulped defeatedly.

“You know what they say, drunken lips brings out sober thoughts.”

“That doesn’t even rhyme!”

“Who cares if it does?”

“I do!”

“What are you? The rhyming police?”

“Yes and I’m placing you under arrest for crimes against poor rhyming.” He laughed before saying.

“Whatever you say, Ellen Ripley.”

“You know you’re the first person to actually say who I am.”

“Uncultured swine’s!” he said exasperatedly as he gasped and placed his hand over his heart dramatically.

“Right!? Alien is a badass movie. If they ever think about making a second movie they better not fuck it up.”

“You never know.” He shrugged.  “But if I may be inquired to ask your real name? Just so I can put a name to the girl who called my face handsome.”

“(Y/n). (Y/n) (l/n).”

“Munson. Eddie Munson.” We shook hands as I said.

“With an intro like that, surprised you didn’t come as James Bond.”

“Ehh, cool guy but boring films.”

“WHAT!?”

“Oh don’t tell me…..”

“Uncultured swine!” I exclaimed.  Once again he shot his hand to his heart and threw himself backwards which made me laugh.  “How could you think the Bond films are boring!?!”

“I’m sorry but they drag the plot too long and the humor is kinda stale.”

“Which Bond films have you seen?”

“What was that last Bond film that came out last year?”

“Oh Octopussy with Richard Moore? Okay I will give you that, that one wasn’t as good. But if you get to watch any of the Sean Connery ones, I swear you’ll think he’s the best Bond ever.”

“Okay, I’ll hold you to that.” A brief moment of silence came around us.  It wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward but—comforting? “Hey, I don’t normally ask this but uhh…..do you wanna step outside? Party’s getting more crowded and all that. I was gonna offer that to you earlier when I saw how dejected you seemed earlier.”

“I’d actually like that. Promise not to murder me once we get outside Michael?” I teased his character’s name at the end.

“Oh sweetheart, if anyone’s gonna murder anyone it’s you who’d murder me Ripley. You took on a fucking alien with an extended alien tongue. Compared to that, I’m mere child’s play.” So Eddie and I walked out of the house and into the backyard.

Hardly any people were outside.  Most of them having a quick smoke break or to get some air from the mass of bodies that occupied the house.  As Eddie prepared himself a smoke, he offered me one and I thanked him and he offered up his lighter.

I took a deep inhale before exhaling the smoke as I felt the cigarette between my index and tall finger.

“So the guy you mentioned earlier, you said his name was Ferris?”

“Yeah, Ferris Worthington.”

“Hold on, Ferris Worthington?” he asked me as he turned to me.

“Yeah.”

“About yay-tall, short brown hair, always wears a sweater vest?”

“Yeah. Wait how do you know him?”

“You kidding me? Ferris the Cunning Paladin. Dude may dress like a nerd but he’s one smart son of a bitch in my campaigns. He told me he was gonna dress up as Jason from Friday the 13th and I’ve been looking for him everywhere. We were gonna try to battle it out in front of everyone. Find out just who would really win in a fight.”

Oh that little shit! I’ll kill him I swear!

“Really? Cause like I said before, he told me he was gonna dress up as Michael Myers. Seems we’ve been played.”

“It would seem so.” He said taking an inhale of his cigarette.

“I should’ve known. I’ve known that boy since we were in kindergarten and he always does shit like this. He knew I didn’t want to come to the party anymore and he still managed to somehow convince me only to stand me up just like my douche of an ex-boyfriend!” I ranted angrily and when I turned to see Eddie looking at me stunned I exhaled deeply and shook my head. “I’m sorry. You probably don’t wanna hear me rant, so I wouldn’t blame you if you left me to my misery.”

“I may be known as the ‘Freak of Hawkins High’, but being the King of the social outcasts does come with its priorities.”

“And what’s that?”

“Being a good listener. Since I’m not so stuck up in my head of my own vanity and pride, I can take time to truly listen to those who need to rant, scream or shout. Not like those who follow the force conformity of ignoring other people’s problems.”

“I don’t know Eddie—”

“I won’t pry, if you tell me to drop it, we’ll drop it. But—you do seem like you really need to rant, and it seems like Ferris didn’t really take your feelings seriously.”

“Lately he hasn’t.” I took another intake from my cigarette before exhaling the smoke out and stomping on the last bit of bud that was left.  “My ex-boyfriend, cheated on me with some bimbo from the swim team. And he told me he had been cheating on me for five months while we were still together. Not only that but he dumped me for said bimbo through a note he put in my locker.”

“Jesus what a cowardly dick.” I laughed coldly.

“I wish there was a word to describe him. Couldn’t even work up the balls to break up with me face to face. Anyway, we had planned to come together to this party with me as Ripley and him as Kane. Even made a tiny alien baby to have pop out of his chest and everything.”

“That would’ve been so metal.” I nodded.

“I hated him so much. So much so that I felt like Halloween was ruined for me. I’ve actually wanted to do a couple’s costume ever since we went out. I planned, prepped and tried to come up with a cool costume duo that wasn’t gonna be predictable or standard.”

“I hear yah. I may not look it but I can respect a good costume couple, and already seeing you I would’ve like to have seen that.”

“Sorry to disappoint in not having the other half.”

“Not disappointed. You still look pretty badass. I mean your rifle alone looks awesome.”

“Just your basic nerf gun that I painted and redesigned a bit.”

“Metal.” He said impressed.  “And seriously, I meant what I said when I called your ex a cowardly dick. He shouldn’t have done that to you.”

“I know I shouldn’t let it get to me this badly but—he was the first guy who really took interest in me. And not just because he wanted to have someone to fuck or please him. We did have a lot in common, but then it turns out he had to fuck some other girl behind my back just to keep what was between his legs satisfied. Sometimes I feel like something’s wrong with me.”

“Hey,” he came in front of me.  His head tilted downward so he could try to look me in the eye. Eventually I looked up at him and he continued, “There is nothing, okay absolutely nothing wrong with you. The relationship failed because of him, not you. If he couldn’t see the beautiful woman that was standing right at his side, then it’s his loss.” I felt my cheeks heat up as I crossed my arms over my chest and said.

“Did you just—call me beautiful?”

“I’m not the only one with a good looking face.” He said with a small grin.

“Eddie, I appreciate the comment but…..if this is some attempt for you to be Prince Charming and swoop in on a girl who’s emotionally vulnerable, this isn’t the right way to go about it.”

“I know. I’m just giving a lovely girl a compliment. I don’t expect anything in return.”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?!?” We turned around and speak of the devil there stood Ferris with his lifted up Jason Vorhees mask.  “This was not how I pictured this going!!”

“Did you seriously think I would want another relationship so sudden after my last one?!” I snapped.

“If it gets you to stop mopping, yes! Plus you guys were really hitting it off! C’mon Eddie’s a good guy just kiss him already!” I shook my head at Ferris.

“Permission to beat the shit out of this little turd, my lady?” Eddie asked me.

“He’s all yours.” I said.  Eddie put his mask back on and as quick as lightning, he charged at Ferris who let out a girlish scream and went running for the hills.  I shook my head and decided to just head home knowing that all of this was just Ferris Worthington’s scheme to make me have another man just so I would stop my bitching and mopping.  

Monday at school, I was opening my locker to get my trig book when a note fell out of my locker.  I picked it up, unfolded it and read it.

Hey Ripley,

The party was fun, sorry about Ferris. He says he’s sorry for what he did. And don’t worry, even if he doesn’t mean it, I’ll make sure he pays for it at our next D&D campaign hehehe (devil face drawing).

Anyway, I meant what I said about both your ex being a douche and you being beautiful.  Now I’m not trying to flirt or start an instant relationship but if you ever want to rant or punch someone, give me a call.  Just know you’ve got someone on your side who will really listen to you, be your punching bag, or even a shoulder to cry on and won’t complain at all. Hope to see you around the school, or just reach me here.

XXX-XXX-XXXX

Eddie aka Michael Myers #9

He even drew little devil horns around his name.  I smiled and folded the note and put it in my flannel pocket over my heart.  I grabbed my book and headed off to my trig class with a slight pep in my step.

[slocumjoe]

Companions react to the Scorched Plague

Ada; Sent on supply and scavenging runs, gets what's needed and takes it where it needs to go. When she's not doing that, joins hunting parties and gets deep in the fray. She can't get infected—the squishy humans can. Ada is joined by Codsworth pretty frequently. At the end of it, keeps a Scorched Beast tooth in her home (whatever it may be) as a souvenir.

Cait; One of the first to join the Scorched Beast hunting parties. She recognizes a 'all hands on deck' situation when she sees it. And when the usual monsters of the waste give way to crystallized husks, working as one mind hell-bent on destruction? Fuck it. If it takes her out, she'll have taken out far more. Danse gives her a sweet suit of Power Armor and she wears out the knuckle joints a lot. Why shoot when you can punch, right?

Curie; You can't pull her away from her labs, her medical bays. Curie works herself to the bone and then some, trying to find a cure, a prevention, anything. She still ends up having to restock her ammo, when her patients or test subjects succumb and have to be put down. It's the hardest thing Curie has ever gone through. She doesn't come out the same person.

Codsworth; Bounces many different jobs. Ferries supplies, tends to the wounded and sick, feeds the civilians...he's a nervous wreck, but determined. He's often sent into infection hotzones with other robots, who can't get infected. Ada and him make a good duo, together. If only the decontamination process didn't rust him so badly...

Danse; On the outside, he's in Paladin mode. Barking orders, leading hunting parties, rarely does Danse stop firing at something. But internally, holy shit, this man is terrified. The Brotherhood is familiar with this plague, but if they couldn't stop it before, how could they now? He's the first to give an inspirational, do-or-die speech, and the last person to believe it. Makes Power Armor for anyone who'll join the cause. Ends up really bonding with Cait and X6-88 over the duration of the epidemic.

Deacon; keeps an eye on the wandering packs, the trails he finds of the Beasts, and points the hunting parties at them. The Railroad, for once, joins the fray. Instead of moving just synths, they move everyone into safe areas. He's not as nervous as other people; he can't be. Panic isn't going to keep people safe. Deacon stops cutting and dying his hair, pretending to be someone else. Staring at the Scorched, watching their individuality melt away into one mindless, all-thinking husk...you learn to value who you are. Even if you don't always like yourself, at least you are yourself.

Dogmeat; is trained to sniff out the plague, both in people yet to be taken over, and the hordes of Scorched. Dogmeat gets passed around to whoever needs his nose—Deacon takes him for tracking the Beasts, Curie has him find infected, Preston has him herd the Scorched into a nice, easy place for Artillery to rain down on. When all is said and done, is fed the highest quality meats while he catches up on his naps.

Gage; Bye, fuckers! He grabs as much as he can, finds a nice, cozy little bunker somewhere, and happily plans the rest of his life there. Starts gardening, like a Minuteman nerd. It's open season if someone opens the door. If the world ends a second time, Gage will watch it with bottle-cap sunglasses, and a glass of home-brewed mutfruit wine in hand. Will have a crisis over how much he likes the simple, quiet farming life. Has to get dragged kicking and screaming to leave his bunker, convinced there'll be a second wave or something.

Hancock; Debates leaving Goodneighbor. Loves his town, but they're not the kind of folks to...y'know. Quarantine, practice safe sex, not get into weird substances they find...he sticks by them though. Everyone gets armor and masks to cover up, keep the plague off them. There's a strict curfew, neighborhood watch delivers supplies to each building. Hancock has Kent work with Piper, keep the airwaves pumping out information and news as it comes. Hancock himself works with MacCready. Keeps off the chems to not dull his senses. Has a giant, week long party in Goodneighbor afterwards.

MacCready; Helps Goodneighbor get supplies in. Travels exclusively by rooftop if he can help it. Daisy sets him up with a long-distance radio so he can get word to Kent, Travis Miles in DC, and the Minutemen ASAP. A very valuable agent in the mess. Hancock watches his back as he scopes out the hordes and picks them off. Duncan draws pictures of his dad shooting down Scorched Beasts; they stay on the fridge long after the Plague is dealt with.

Nick; Travels with Piper as she investigates and reports the movement of the plague. Since he's immune, he ventures into the hotbeds of the plague, where Piper would get infected. Nick takes note of the appearance of individual Scorched, hoping to tell their worried loved ones what became of them. He leaves pamphlets of these descriptions at the agency, printed in the Publick Occurances alongside the news. Once the dust settles, burns all of his clothes; can't risk them being contaminated. Diamond City gets him a nice new trench coat as thanks for everything.

Old Longfellow; Takes point at settlements and safe zones. Whenever he's posted, not a single Scorched get within a mile of the area and leaves it alive. They start piling up at some point. He shoots down a Scorched Beast all on his own and bars everywhere are doomed to hear it echoed throughout eternity. Old Longfellow ends up teaching Minutemen rookies some tricks while on guard duty with them. Gets yelled at for giving them booze.

Piper; Chases the hordes, the infection zones, the Beasts, and stops only to write the info and news. She teams with the radio hosts of the Commonwealth, Travis and Kent Connolly, to deliver immediate warnings. The Brotherhood, Railroad, Minutemen—Piper is their top source of information. She could never truly fathom how important her work is, and how many people it saved. After the plague, she writes a book about the experience.

Preston; It is difficult to describe how hard this man works. He's giving rationing orders to a settlement while in a firefight across the state. He's making decisions about an assault ten different assaults away while hitting Beasts out of the air with Artillery. He's like a workaholic octopus. It's kind of incredible. Consumes only coffee and whatever someone else can shove in his face while he uses his hands for something else. The General has to chase him down and tranq him so he sleeps. Like Curie, fundamentally changed. Loses all of his hinges through it all.

X6-88; The plague effects Gen3 synths, so he has to don full-coverage armor and forgo his sunglasses. Deeply upset by this. Coursers, once rare to see and rarer to survive, are everywhere hunting the Beasts. X6-88 gives Institute info to Piper when he can get away with it. He hates the wasteland already—he doesn't want it getting worse. At least the topside scum aren't possessed by weird zombie bats. X6 joins Danse's teams, brings Curie samples, and when all is over, breaks into Gage's bunker and drags him out to rejoin society, as per the Sole Survivor's orders.

[livums]

I. the demifae. {🌹}

Hi 💜 I feel... wow!

To go from writing like 1k+ words a day earlier this year (not in a healthy or sustainable way) to watching my writing pace slow to a crawl as I first started working on Demigods... it was hard. I was frequently discouraged. But I am so happy to say that I finally finished the first draft of chapter 1! ☺💜

I'm so proud of it. Like, really.

I've included in this post a brief preview--the full text can be read on my (very under-construction) neocities site here!

Please enjoy! 💜💗💕

Featuring:

Kesh Akesheen (A-kesh-EEN)

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

(tag, DM, reply, or fill out this google form to be added/removed from taglists)

General taglist: @enchanted-lightning-aes @outpost51 @tragicbackstoryenjoyer @goldxdarkness

The Romance of the Demigods taglist: @aalinaaaaaa @sarahlizziewrites @thecrookedwriterspath @inkspellangel @crystal-librarian @hallwriteblr @bluberimufim @kingkendrick7 @sergeantnarwhalwrites @wildswrites @wip-nook

It took her several fatal moments to recognize the silver ghost that menaced the edge of her vision. If not for the song, if not for the ease she felt among the people, she might have fled in time.

Her head froze in place. In truth, her whole body went rigid. Then, in the space of an instant, Kesh forced herself to relax again, to sway and smile as the crowd did. She dared not turn her face towards the paladin entirely. From her periphery, she tried to take in as much detail as she could: His head was hairless, his arms crossed over his chest, clad in a steel breastplate. It was so thoroughly polished that even beneath overcast skies it gleamed. She saw, blurred in the corner of her eye, the length of a dark scabbard belted at his waist. He stood beyond the fountain, a ways away from Kesh and the crowd in which she sheltered. His eyes might well have been fixed on her—or on the musicians. Or on any others who had crowded around to listen. Or on anything else. She wasn't to know. She knew only that it was safest for her to take leave, whether he suspected something of her or not. The girls were fast approaching the height of the song, their voices entwined more often than not. The ecstatic harmony ferried words that no longer reached Kesh's ears. All was distant beneath the pounding of her startled heart. She started to move. As quickly as she dared, Kesh began to pick her way backwards through the crowd. It had swelled in the time since she'd first pushed her way through it. Cora. She had to find him—where was he? She couldn't have outrun him by much. She had to find him, while not being found, while steeling her nerve against the part of herself whispering Find him or die. Focus and find him or die. A tall ask. Between fighting her way free of the throng, and trying not to flinch violently every time she was jostled about, Kesh could hardly focus on placing one foot afore the other. Part of her insisted: Save existing, she had done nothing wrong. But she knew it didn't matter. She would find a quiet place, Kesh told herself. A place to hide, to find her breath, and to find that impulse that burned somewhere in her head. That heat that would point her to him. She broke through the edge of the assembly. Kesh took inventory of her appearance as she went—she was not too short, nor was she over- or underdressed. There were plenty of folk about with her complexion, her curls, her freckles. To any unknowing eye, she belonged in Cill Tossach as much as any of the hollering and cavorting youths she wove between. It was unfair—yes, it was unfair. But it didn't matter! She would change out of herself, clothe herself in the safety of another skin, and she would find Cora. They would go back to the Sweetmoon, and she would feel at ease among the others of their troupe. She could try to convince them to leave this place. Hopefully forever. For, as it happened, Kesh quite liked her true face. If she was of a mind to start gallivanting around in it, it was not going to be here, in this great iron cage of folk with their iron rings and iron charms and— Steel breastplate. Kesh stopped short, reeling on the balls of her feet to avoid marching her face right into the torso of a waiting paladin.

Click to read the full chapter on my neocities site!

[shih-coulda-had-it]

i will (very respectfully) ask you for it

just a tiny crumb, only if possible,,, the prettiest pretty please 🙌✨❤

I respect you and your decision to ask for this off anon. This is the homebrewed fantasy AU (based off @boss-the-goofball's fantasy otome isekai prequel) featuring Demon Lord of Evil All for One and 'Bro, Seriously? This Guy?' Knight Torino.

in-universe context: AfO is a Demon Lord who fell off the radar a long time ago. He's passing as a human but the bulk of his divinity (really love religious terminology; I'm gonna be accused of blasphemy someday) is in the sword that Sorahiko agrees to carry/ferry to the 'vault'.

wc: 1,615 | rated: a mild m but i'm tagging as lemon for decency's sake

//

Ever since those loathsome paladins of One for All started dispelling the curses and cultic practices that All for One had embedded into the lands long ago, there was a distinct decline of zealots vying for his attention. Gone were the acolytes who dreamt of having him as a patron; exiled (if not summarily executed) were the cultists who praised his generosity and lavished him with their worship. The world had learned to treat All for One as taboo, and as useful as it was to be the unspoken embodiment of evil, it was also just that: unspoken. 

Unspoken, then unacknowledged. The consequence of being deliberately ignored (forgotten!) is his current reduced nature: he’s still more than a mortal, but he’s also become nearly as vulnerable as one.

“Are you testing me?” Torino demands. The hedge knight dogs All for One’s footsteps as All for One leads the way back to an old follower’s home. That follower is dead, but property is eternal, and All for One’s claim never fades.

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe so you could get off on seeing your damn sword in action. Not that you could’ve seen much, considering your position in that mess was directly underneath a dogpile of idiots.” A brief pause, and then Torino says in resignation, “Except you didn’t have to see it.”

“I feel it all,” says All for One smugly. “You wield the blade well.”

“Oh, so you were getting off on it.”

“And there’s the romance of the whole encounter, gone,” he laments. Just as they reach the door, too! 

Located on the outskirts of the village, his old follower’s home is a rough-hewn hut surrounded by overgrown bushes. There is no light shining from within, no smoke exiting the mud-and-stone column protruding from the roof. Somewhere in the dirt, All for One can sense a buried idol that wards off any do-gooder’s attempt at arson.

All for One pushes at the wood, sweeping an arm out in a gesture for Torino to step in first.

“A real lightning bolt of attraction,” Torino says, dry, and instead of agreeably following All for One’s direction, he stops in front of his (well, it’s not locked in just yet, but All for One can seal this deal; the blade is just one aspect of several for Torino to truly become his champion) patron and tilts his head. Their eyes meet.

There’s blood on his face still, streaking up from a stubbled jaw and staining the arch of his nose. A few abrasions mar the overall visage, but overall…

All for One smiles. He’s always been partial to those who spilled blood for him.

“What are we doing here?”

“Resting,” he answers, innocent. “After all, we’ve made enemies among the villagers. You can’t pay for a room until they, hm, forget the beating you’ve delivered.”

Torino’s eyebrows draw together in a clear, if silent, curse. His thin mouth tightens into a bloodless line, and then he blows out a rough sigh. “The owner?”

“Long dead.”

“... Provisions?”

All for One blinks down at his knight. “You’re here.”

“Ah,” says Torino, sounding as though puzzle pieces have finally slotted into place. Whatever revelations have occurred in Torino’s head, they certainly haven’t come from All for One, who is now dearly wishing for that mental backdoor access. One step at a time, though. Torino’s only just promised to bear the sword to the vault.

If he plays his cards right, he can tempt Torino a little further down.

“It's a shelter from the elements,” he says.

“And only that,” Torino mocks.

“I offered you what I have. See what I’ve lost now?” All for One reaches for Torino’s forehead--an old habit--and deftly switches tracks to card the silver hair with his fingers. And Torino lets him. “All my tributes, my riches, oh, they all claimed it was going to be redistributed. But then they said it was cursed, and they hoarded it for themselves.”

“Because you parted with your gold so easily.”

“I made exchanges based on equal value.”

“So in your eyes, is this shelter worth my tender love and care?” Torino glances at the sparse interior--a hearth, a cobwebbed cauldron, a dusty bed with moth-eaten covers--and looks back at All for One with a challenging stare. The sting of his question fails to hurt, though. A part of All for One exults at the phrase ‘tender love and care.’

“Not alone,” says All for One slyly. “Why, you’ve been given the whole package, Sir Torino. The weapon, the house, and the god, all at your disposal.” With his hand at Torino’s nape, he draws him forward until their chests make contact, and All for One bends his own neck in order to give Torino a kiss.

Torino makes a noise, somehow startled in spite of all the signals having been sent his way. His hands go to grasp at All for One’s waist. He kisses back tentatively, then hungrily. As All for One pulls away for air, Torino takes the opportunity to urge him into the hut, kicking the door shut behind them.

“Air’s not as stale as I expected.”

“Mm,” he hums, distracted by the influx of power. It’s quick to recede, so All for One’s using it fast to make this living space more bearable. Cycling a sharp, cold breeze to kill any small, leggy intruders is the first item on his agenda.

“You’re doing something,” Torino realizes aloud, and he follows that profoundly redundant statement with an explorative trail of his mouth to All for One’s throat. Breathed against that flesh, Torino says, “Is it the action, or the intention?”

“It’s more fun when it’s both.” The deflection earns him teeth, almost immediately soothed by a tongue, and All for One clutches at Torino’s neck with a gasp. “Bed. Now.”

“What, you’re not going to fuss about the sheets?”

“Torino.”

“I don’t have supplies,” Torino says, a hint of warning entering his tone. “Give me more time in the next town, and maybe I’ll get away with more than a jar of salt.”

“If you’re following along,” All for One retorts, “then you can predict how I’ll fix it.”

The thing is, All for One thinks as he takes a step back, Torino does follow along. He’s grasped that worship isn’t just for ego’s sake. But if All for One spells it out, Torino will act contrary just to poke fun at the Demon Lord of Evil.

Closer to the bed. He thinks of undressing himself, but Torino’s pointed question holds true: All for One does want to fuss about the sheets. So instead he sits on top of the covers and watches Torino shuffle off his traveling gear: the boxy pack, the cloak, and the belts attached to the sheath of his blade. The boots come off one at a time, and after a moment, so does the top half of his outfit.

“You’re folding your clothes?”

“In the loosest of terms,” Torino says. The linens and the mail are rendered into neat squares sitting on top of the cloak; with no other way to delay the inevitable, Torino finally gives all his attention to All for One.

“Well?” All for One says, imperious in his invitation. He cocks his head and parts his legs.

“I gotta undress you too?”

“Perhaps passion could win out over propriety just this once,” he suggests.

Torino huffs out a laugh, but he approaches All for One without hesitation and climbs into the bed, carelessly tugging the Demon Lord of Evil to the center. For easier access, he rucks up the skirts of All for One’s robe.

“Hey, look at that. You do wear pants.”

“You’ll want to take my shoes off before that.”

The click of a tongue is hardly a reprimand, not when Torino so agreeably catches one of All for One’s legs and starts feeling for the seam where the hems were tucked into a road-worn boot. He drags a nail over the bunched fabric when he finds it, and is terribly gentle while pulling linen from leather.

It feels like worship, for all that Torino says no prayers.

All for One basks in it. His vision blurs slightly, going out of focus as Torino occupies himself with divesting All for One of his shoes and pants. The flow of power is only a trickle, and this mortal vessel can’t even hoard it, so he has to use it now. Priorities, priorities… definitely the bed first.

Using magic to mend and launder fabric would have earned his ridicule once, but it’s not as though All for One has the capacity to weave it anew just this second. He thinks longingly of the fine things lost from his castle: the furnishings, the meals, the painted-black plates of armor his armies donned to induce fear.

“Still here?”

With a start, All for One feels the cold air brush against bare skin. There are hands stroking up and down his legs, and Torino shuffles closer on his knees. Power licks through his veins like a dog slavering for its first meal of the day.

Half-dazed, he says, “Yes,” and, “More.”

“Greedy,” Torino accuses, and even though it’s not the vow of devotion that All for One starves for, it’s a shade closer to fondness than Torino would probably perish before admitting. His knight digs his fingers against the pliant flesh of All for One’s thighs, bites his throat hard enough to earn a gasping moan. “Selfish.”

“You’re here to please your god,” All for One manages. 

“Aren’t I,” says Torino, and he slides his mouth against All for One’s in a rough kiss.

[roll-for-something]

My Number One Tip on Writing a Convincing Villain

the following is MY personal number one tip on writing villains and BBEGs for whatever use you may need them for. It are in no way the DEFINITIVE way to write a villain. I for instance like writing more morally complex villains that let the players think about the villains motivations because when the players can question if the villain is fully wrong it can lead to more interesting interactions. This is just a process I use. If you want your villain to be a true and horrific villain, then by all means do so. All that being said lets get into it! Everyone is the hero in their own story: Put simply its exactly what it says on the tin. If your villain is doing something villainous its usually because they think its the right thing to do. If you want your villains final goal to be to plunge the world into darkness, ask yourself WHY your villain wants to do that. Maybe its as simple as theres a much larger threat coming that feeds off of light or can weaponize the light in some destructive way, so there can be no light on the surface and millions will die. Or maybe its more complex than that. Maybe the villains clearly tragic backstory has a part where a group of paladins of the sun god committed some great atrocity against him and he vowed to blot out the sun so people will lose faith in the sun god, rendering him powerless. Both of these different reasonings give way to interesting interactions between the party and the BBEG. They also allow your VILLAIN to act VILLAINOUS without being absolutely reprehensible. As an example well use the first idea from above here. The BBEG is actually trying to protect the world from a much greater danger. The party could come across an absolutely DESTROYED caravan. Charred guards skeletons still in their soot blackened armor, a horse and buggy absolutely blasted to splinters, the ground charred and burnt 100 feet around never to grow plants again. the party comes across this with no context and its an inarguably horrific scene of brutality only a short time past. Its destructive. Its horrific. Its villainous from the parties perspective. But on the other hand... we have our BBEGs perspective. the caravan had some kind of super rare or even one of a kind super powerful magical reagent the BBEG needed to cast his ritual to plunge the world into darkness. He tried to settle things peacefully. He tried to explain the situation to the guards. But they drew weapons, discarding his stories of a light wielding monstrosity as a bandits distraction. Your BBEG doesnt have time for this. Time is running out. One spell. One blast. They died instantly. Painlessly. a few quick deaths to prevent the slow painful deaths of millions. A regrettable sacrifice that needed to be made. The Interaction of these two wholly different perspectives on the same horrible event allow for some of the most interesting role play possibilities in TTRPG or even just simply written history. At least in my opinion. this one interaction of the players coming across this scene after the fact also opens up many possibilities for the narrative. Do they side with him or oppose him? Do they talk or fight? Do they oppose him, only to talk to him halfway through the game, then side with him? HOPFULLY. Examples of this idea in fiction include Magneto from the X-men, Black Adam from Marvel comics (Not the movie. ew.), and oddly enough Principal Ed Rooney from ferris Beullers day off. (Think about it. Hes just doing his job.)

[panda-writes-kpop]

Sweet Mango Slushie ~ For Mala

A/N: Hi guys, girls, and non-binary pearls! Happy belated birthday to @sanccharine. You're awesome in so many ways! ❤️

TW: Heights, Paladin! AU

Masterlist 》》》 Prompt List

A Mango Slushie is something you share with a close friend when the sizing is a bit too big for the both of you. Sharing is a sweet gesture, but someone hogging everything to themselves is the sour end of sharing.

I swear to God, Katie, when I get out of this floating metal box, I'm going to murder you for pulling a stunt like this.

Okay, that was definitely an overstatement because Sparrow would turn you into minced meat if you ever touched her child, and Neon and King would probably turn you away until the day that you die, which would be coming soon if you didn't-

Fuck, I'm spiraling, I need to take a breather.

"Are you doing okay?" Moonsua asks with a soft smile on her face.

She was always the caring type, which made sense given that Moonsua and Katie were friends.

Right now I wouldn't call Katie very caring because she left me up here alone-

"I've … been better." You admit before sighing and looking out of the pod.

"Do you not like heights?"

"Yeah, something like that." You mutter as the ferris wheel stops moving when you reach the top.

Moonsua observes you for a moment before staring out at the view as well.

"Katie's cute, you know, for trying to set us up like this." She softly says as you gasp.

"You knew?"

"You didn't?" She says before laughing. "Ah, she can be tricky at times, but not all of her schemes are fool-proof."

"Yeah… she's something, alright." You nervously rub the back of your neck as you watch the people below you pass the ferris wheel with not a care in the world.

What I would give to be one of them…

"So… do you want to hang out after this? Just the two of us, perhaps?"

Her words shock you as you turn to face her.

"Wait, you're actually into me?? I thought Katie was joking with me when she said you had a crush on me!"

"Of course I am. What's not to like about you?" She looks you up and down before turning back to look at the skyline. "Don't feel pressured. If you want to do something another time, I'm down."

"I'd like to hang out with you… as just the two of us." You repeat before the pod jerks slightly before beginning to move towards the ground.

"Sounds like a great plan." Moonsua gives you a bright smile, and your heart continues to beat faster as you share a smile with her.

The two of you sit in silence as the pod slowly comes to a stop at the ground. You're very glad that your legs don't shake when you stand up, and that the nausea in your stomach stays where it is.

Being on a ferris wheel and sharing a beautiful view with a girl that I like wasn't such a bad outcome after all…

As soon as you exit the ride, Moonsua takes your hand.

"Are you ready to go? There's a lot more of the fair that we have yet to explore."

You look at the ferris wheel for another moment before turning your attention to the girl in front of you.

"Let's go."

"Let's go!" She cheers before dragging you through the fairgrounds for a night full of fun and laughter.

~

You have received a text from: Katie aka Your Favorite Person on Earth 🥰

Katie aka Your Favorite Person on Earth 🥰: How did your date with Moonsua go????

Y/N: I hate you.

You ABANDONED ME :(

Katie aka Your Favorite Person on Earth 🥰: But you got to hang out with a cute girl???

A win is a win, take the W

Y/N: You're so mean.

Katie aka Your Favorite Person on Earth 🥰: I think what you're trying to say is, "Thank you?"

You're welcome, by the way.

Y/N: I changed my mind, murder is still on the table for you.

Katie aka Your Favorite Person on Earth 🥰: EEEEKKK!

You wouldn't murder me, I'm too cute! 🥺🥺

Y/N: Bet.

[frowningfox]

Farris and Asim:

Stillness, Roots, and Hair!

stillness: How does your OC act while still? Are they fidgety? Do they have any common gestures or tics? Does their clothing affect how they hold themselves while at rest?

Both Sir Ferris Finnigan and Asim are very inventor-y sorts of people and are constantly either jotting down notes or tinkering/fidgeting with something they're making.

Asim has a bit of a chewing-on-things fidget fixation, which he's a bit embarrassed about if he catches himself doing it in front of people because it's considered "childish".

Sir Ferris Finnigan on the otherhand might seem a lot more fidgety than he actually is on the account of Sir Ferris Finnigan's Armor and Sir Ferris Finnigan's Body being at-odds with each other and not exactly having the same goals in life/death. It's fine though. The Sir Ferris Finnigan who is in control of the situation is the Sir Ferris Finnigan you would want in control of the situation.

Asim has several gestures he defaults to a lot, since when he was little, he spoke in a mix of underelven and undersign like many dairau do. It was mostly taught out of him at academy but he's been having more slip ups lately. He commonly uses the tap left pinky finger to lips and then move it outwards gesture, which is sign for "I'm telling the truth"/"you can trust me" and tapping his index finger next to his eye then holding it there as he taps his middle finger and thumb together once. Which is sign for closing one eye. He uses this to indicate he's winking... because uh. It's hard to wink with one eye.

I've not RP-ed it but I imagine he would make a sign of blessing at people too, he's started greeting people with the dairau phrase "Selgam" which is well... a greeting that means "blessings"/'bless you" etc. I think the gesture would be tapping your left pink between your collarbones and then drawing it downwards then outwards to point it at the person you're addressing.

As a treat he can have my tic where I hold down my ring finger with my thumb and then turn my hand twice shortly and quickly. Though he would hold down his pinky instead(elves only have four fingers, their ring finger/pinky finger is the same finger).

Sir Ferris Finnigan and gestures/tics.... if you can imagine a knight being chivalrous or posing for one of those dramatic murals, he does all of that. He is the most flamboyantly knightly guy out there. he does it all.

Clothing does effect both Asim and Sir Ferris Finnigan and how they hold themselves at rest.

Asim has had it drilled into him through religious military academy that he must "look the part" so when in his paladin gear, he is very formal and upright in his posture. He even holds back on emoting with his ears when in Paladin Mode and will hold them at the unnatural neutral "half mast" that elves are taught to hold in mortal led training regiments.

Sir Ferris Finnigan has equal but different struggles with clothing and posture. Sir Ferrris Finnigan's Armor keeps Sir Ferris Finnigan's Body upright and noble looking. Not in the same "yessir, at your service sir" officer type way Asim was trained in, but in a more extravagant NOBLE HERO posture

roots: Is your OC's look inspired by any specific style of clothing or fashion trend? What are the roots and/or inspiration for their look?

Sir Ferris Finnigan:

He is literally heavily almost directly inspired by the Tenniel illustration of the white knight from Through the Looking Glass(and picking and choosing traits from various adaptations)

So heavy on classical Knight In Shining Armor inspiration, but with the design changes required of "since most of these are live action, an actor actually has to be able to function in this".

Asim:

Well, since he mostly wears his Paladinial gear currently, I'll explain that design instead of the more traditional cultural roots I want to bring into his design as he embraces his heritage more.

His vestments and armor are very... what if you took a typical DnD high fantasy paladin and toned it down so it was more grounded in reality, and then merged it with a 1800s pastor's cassock and wide brimmed hat

His helmet is a sallet because I just really like their silhouette but I took inspiration from russian and nordic helmet reconstructions and added a facial ventail/aventail to create a sort of veiled look to it. (also, that way even with the visor lifted, he would have a veil over his eye(s) to protect them from the sun)

hair: How does your OC wear their hair? Does it have some kind of meaning?

Sir Ferris Finnigan: Balding. Big Mustache. It means I like Alice in Wonderland. The white knight is a darling old man and I love him greatly and Sir Ferris Finnigan is an homage to him.

Asim:

His hair is usually a mess. He has trouble brushing his own hair, it frustrates him. If his hair looks neat and tidy, it's because he conned a loved one into brushing it for him. He also wears a Makhiorya, an dairau beaded braid that symbolizes the connections and relationships they've forged through life. In-game, he has just started wearing it and so it only has a few beads on it (you must ask each person for a drop of their blood to use in a ritual, with no further explanation, to add their bead to your braid. it's a symbolic gesture of trust on both parts, though most dairau know why you are asking in the first place, hence it being more symbolic)

IN DEPICTIONS, I draw him with a few specific depictions of Makhiorya, mainly styles worn by or depicted on certain religious/holy figures, specifically deities, martyrs, saints, certain higher priests, and folk heroes.

The braid starts at the temple, and is attached to the back of the ear by a special earring(this is means its beads will jingle as he emotes with his ears!), on the loop from the temple to the ear, there are three copper rings, symbolizing Brother Luck, Miss Fortune, and Mx. Blessings, the Three Twins, a trio of luck deities in the dairau pantheon. And four gold beads, represent the Child Emperor, Father Weaver, Mother Neverwas, and Grandfather Death. Their beads on the makhiorya represent an ascended status of the wearer, meaning that they have been accepted into the inner family of the pantheon.

The red beads on the other two loops of braid(it is a long braid, pinned up) symbolize connections/relationships like they normally do but the beads aren't typically arranged like this. Evenly spaced beads on a loop is shorthand for "idk how many beads this guy actually has, but I bet it fills his entire braid, but he always room for more*". It's a way to consistently depict a religious figure's braid without making a stance on the actual number you think they have.

The at the end of the braid, and therefore at the pinning point of the loops, is his ferryman's fare(for grandfather death to take him home to the feywild), a couple copper coins pinning the end of his braid together. in the hole of the coins is a red bead for himself. This is another "in depiction only" thing for drawing him, he lost his ferryman fare when he got in trouble at the religious military academy and they forcefully buzzcut his hair(very taboo in dairau culture, ESPECIALLY when the makhiorya is cut off as well). Hopefully he can find it again.

*it's customary to start another braid when you've filled one up, but that would be something noteworthy and you wouldn't just depict a religious figure with multiple just because you think he probably had more. It's something you would know for a fact, and if you didn't you'd just... use the "many but room for more' shorthand. Also, to make another, you would dedicate extra ferryman fare to a lost soul, or someone who's lost their fare and wear it at the end of the new braid. It might be interesting going forward to depict Asim with his main braid having no fare, but his other braids(if he ever gets that far) with lost soul fare. It would be very in line with his themes. But I would want him to make it to that point in game before depicting that... though it is tempting if I were to make a heavily dairau religion themed art piece of him.

[vodkacheesefries]

Did my Tavs as the breakfast club because I have 5 so why not? Only I didn’t really draw them as teenagers so like…maybe they’re a college study group instead?

Top to bottom, left to right:

The Rebel: Knox (they/he) - Redeemed Dark Urge - Rogue, assassin subclass, romanced Astarion

The Outcast: Gritty (they/them) - Druid, Circle of the Moon, romanced Wyll

The Brain - Lumi (she/her) - Draconic bloodline sorcerer/college of lore bard - romancing Lae’zel

The Jock - Ferris (he/him) - Oath of Devotion Paladin/Divination wizard - romancing Gale

The Pretty One - Io (she/they) - Cleric of Selûne Life Domain/Oath of the Ancients Paladin - Romanced Shadowheart and Halsin

[bugpysforge]

Lapras ferries passengers across the ocean via a reputable cruise line. She has a lot of charisma and has learned a variety of languages to better serve her guests.

Race: Tortle Class: Paladin Subclass: Oath of Piracy Alignment: Neutral Good

View the pokedex of all dungeon pokemon by following the link in the menu.

[foolheartedclown]

All the DnD/Pathfinder pcs I’ve played over the years (save M.V. and another one shot character I forgot about) These are ones who’ve gotten actual sessions- except the last who was in concept stage for an upcoming game when I made this.

Excited to keep adding to them: 

Calligula | Human | Fighter

Coast | Water Genasi | Rogue

Ferris | Centaur | Fighter

Caeldrim | Half-Elf |Whisper Bard

Quora | Aasimar | Paladin (D&D: Curse of Strahd)

Quest | Tielfing | Bard

Euros | Sylph | Fighter (PF: Rise of the Runelords)

Valentin | Half-Elf | Grave Cleric of the Raven Queen

Jett | Human | Carnivalist Rogue (PF: Curse of the Crimson Throne)

Atticus | Human-Passing Tiefling | Investigator (PF: Carrion Crown)

JuLai | Undine | Sea Witch (PF: Skulls and Shackles) (upcoming)

[redgoldblue]

Seven Specifics

i was tagged by @itwoodbeprefect 💖

Relationship Status: single. have decided at the ripe old age of 22, suffering through one, that i don’t like having crushes actually (if any of my sibs are reading this no you aren’t shut up go away. you never heard about this)

Favorite Color(s): purple but also yellow and i can’t forget my good friend red

Last Song I Listened To: a cover of From Little Things Big Things Grow by Archie Roach and Ella Hooper and some other people on Rockwiz (Australian music quiz show)

Song In My Head: last one was either The Bones by Maren Morris or Fire by Springsteen. the latter of which i have been playing on repeat the last three days

Three Favourite Foods: hm. imma say spinach and feta gozleme, chocolate mousse, and popcorn, but that list could change at any moment

Last Thing(s) I Googled: ...From Little Things Big Things Grow, while watching it. Before that, ‘paladin’ so I could give my mother an accurate definition of the D&D class, and ‘lisa sanders books’ bc I was trying to remember the name of Every Patient Tells A Story.

Dream Trip: I want to do a train/ferry-only trip across UK/Europe so bad. had it all planned out pre-covid and it was probably unrealistic even then but then it became even more unrealistic. one day maybe. Also US East Coast-West Coast road trip. and going back to Hawaii and literally just spending like a year in some little house on Kauai writing. also train across Russia. i just want to go places basically

i'll tag @krysten-knitter (whose fault Fire is bc you rbed a gifset of it the other day), @smooth-mccrimmonal and @magical-friends

[felikatze]

Feli's Binding Blade Blind Faux Ironman is COMPLETE

and by "faux" i mean there were cases i didn't deliberatley reset but instead ragequit and i also just restarted chapters when roy beefed it because i'm a pussy

anyway.

SURVIVAL RANK E BABEYYYYYYYYYY

out of all of the dead. i have one burning question

how the fuck did lalum survive chapter 21

she got surrounded by wyverns but they just didnt attack her. was it bcuz their hit rate was 0? but enemies love attacking lugh when they have a hitrate of 0. good for her ig, you go girl, live!!

LET US THANK THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND:

ALLEN!!! With maxed out attack, incredible defense, high speed and skill, as well acess to the full weapon triangle and amazing HP, Allen is the unit with the most battles, the most kills, and the singlehanded savior of this shitshow of a challenge run.

Without him, I'd be dead many times over. He had higher stats than Perceval when I recruited him in ch15, and this trend kept up because Perceval's level ups were garbage.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

LUGH!! The best mage of this run. He maxed his speed INCREDIBLY fast, and became basically unhittable to everything. Place him on a forest tile, and the hit rate is zero. His high speed, 1-2 weapon range, and high magic also meant he blasted everything into oblivion on counterattack. In chapter 21, he held off half the wyvern reinforcements all by himself cuz none of them could touch him. Get Aircalibur'd, idiot.

ZEISS!! My only decent flyer because Shanna is the only pegasus i recruited! Instead of promo'ing instantly as I did Melady (much to my regret cuz she was not useful except for ferrying), I threw Allen at Narcian's runesword till it broke, and got him to lv16 before promoting. Though not as busted as the former two, he still held his own. With a Shield of Delphi stolen off Narcian, he had really damn good defense. Though there were many occasions he only survived because a 60% attack missed. You are one lucky bastard.

PERCEVAL!!! After the death of Noah and Jerrot, Perceval's recruitment was a light on the horizon. Finally I had another good paladin, even if it took Noah's sacrifice to figure out you recruit him with Lalum. Though he wasn't as good as Allen, he still held his own in every situation, and even landed the killing blow on Zephiel with Mallet. Thank you king.

SUE!!!! Rounding out the unbeatable death squad, Sue was the sole living archer for a GOOD chunk of the game. When Wolt died and later Shin, she was the one to snipe foes, to slay wyverns in a heartbeat, and land some sick crits with a Killer Bow. Not a solo destroyer like her companions, she was nonetheless an invaluable asset.

it was this squad of five that carried my ass through every map, with support from various healers (mainly Saul and Celica, later joined by Raigh, Niime and Lugh himself). Whittling down bosses, holding off hordes of enemies, somehow preventing Lalum from dying five times over, and finally taking the throne; I thank ye, my scrimblos.

now it is time. to honor the fallen.

unlike lalum, these two did not survive same turn wyvern reinforcements <3

just like him. but he was dead weight anyway so

i dont even remember how these two beefed it. i DO remember recruiting perceval in ch15 and then noah died and going eh. i have perceval now its fine. OH YEAH CH18 WAS THE SACAE MAP RIGHT? lot got skewered by archers

classic case of "i put too much faith in her def stat" with echidna. fir got crit to death in retribution for killing rutger back in ch9

honestly if you give me a lv1 shaman in a fog of war map with wyverns how was she supposed to live

Shin tragically died escorting Astore to some treasure as i camped the boss because of sudden reinforcements <3 Astore survived because i seized in time <3 jerrot died of old age ig

fog of war casualties <3 again rutger got crit by fir and lilina was killed by Suddenly Pirates

alas tumblr mobile's image cap.

Deke: died tragically to a crit in ch8. first loss i was truly upset by. deke my man.

Wolt: died to archers in ch7. i think. i had Sue so whatever

Elen: beefed it in ch12 but she was obsolete when Lugh promoted anyway

Wade: killed in ch3. First death of the run. I was very whatever about it.

FINAL DEATH COUNT: 16

This is without units who died of non-recruitment, such as Gonzales, Klein, and many others.

SURVIVAL RANK: E

conclusion: god i had a ton of fun with this game, even when it threw some garbage at me. The many same turn reinforcements, the fog of war maps, the sheer size of every single chapter, and Horse Emblem. The atrocious hitrates on everything and everyone, enemy and ally alike.

I definetly played too conservatively in the beginning. Yeah, i treated units like they were more expendable, but i did NOT use all my good items, which is a huge mistake in retrospect. What really taught me this was that one Sacae map with two Bolting mages camping in the walls, who sniped Roy. I came back, equipped with my own Bolting and a Silence staff, readily prepared. Revenge was glorious.

I obviously didn't get the true ending, with how many plot important characters died. My only legendary weapon, besides the ones Yoder yeets at you (thank you for the Mallet, Zephiel would've taken five years otherwise), was Durandal. I got none of the other ones, either cuz I missed turn counts or had dead required units. I'll for sure go back and try again, this time while looking shit up.

I very notably played this entirely blind. I didn't know shit. That's how me recruiting Perceval is a fucking miracle, cuz his goons surrounded Lalum, and I thought, goddamn, let's try it. Twas sheer coincidence.

This was my first brush truly experiencing the permadeath mechanic. Yeah, i played SoV on classic, but with Mila's Timewheel? Nobody ever died. It was really fun to just revel in my mistakes. I reset more often toward the endgame (ch22 took me a couple attempts), but it was still a great experience to just. Take the loss and move on. To think, what now? But, well, Lugh and Allen were unkillable anyway.

Well, no, actually, they very much were. Even though they were my juggernauts, it's not to the degree of later FE games. Lugh sweeping is definetly not comparable to say, Dimitri in FE3H, or Morgan in Awakening. No matter how good they were, I still had to pay attention to keep them alive. It was a fun tightrope to walk.

All in all, great game! I'm really glad I gave it a try! I didn't talk story much, cuz, yknow, it's pretty basic, but I did like it. Zephiel's backstory and the mystery surrounding the dragons were done well enough.

TL;DR: Roy is our boy.

[cupcakecoterie]

@true0neutral - Hazel, half-elf cleric

@fauxfire76 - Darvin, human bard/sorcerer

@hyperewok1 - Remi, human paladin/warlock

@miaaoi - Farideh, dragonborn sorcerer

@lindira - Clarity, tiefling rogue/warlock

Marion - Ava, human ranger

Brian - Barnabus, minotaur fighter

@lovefrometernity - Rylan, wood elf sorcerer

Only a few more sessions to go. Still keeping it relatively short, summary-wise.

After receiving their message from the gods about the containment device that had apparently been used to bring the black sludge to Grey’s Inn and might be able to contain it again if they figure out how it worked, the gang decided to search the Grey’s Inn government building / inn / manor thing.

Issues about leaving their dire moose companion where he might end up accidentally corrupted were solved when Alisaie made a surprisingly successful attempt to use her “permanent wings” circlet on Legolas. He only gets them for a day, but currently they have a winged dire moose.

Having the winged riding creature proved helpful when almost no one managed the climb up to the first sturdy floor they could find, and Legolas had to ferry people up. Spared Alisaie some weight, anyway.

They split up into groups and between them, they learned why Grey’s Inn is the province of information gatherers as well as livestock-rearing. Barnabus nearly wept with joy at the careful, tidy, thorough chains of evidence the people of Grey’s Inn were putting together about the bullshit going on in Baronsvere. Honestly, they’d nearly figured everything out, from the high concentration of former mercenaries in Goldendale to Jain Nerrand III’s true identity as an ancient black dragon to, apparently, the identity of Baronsvere’s true king. They’d also been tracking Ava, partly to solidify their chain of evidence about the “Lady Ava’laen Vanedar” swanning around Cedargrove not being the rightful Lady Vanedar at all.

Unfortunately, the place was so ransacked that they couldn’t tell how much had been taken, how much had been read, or how much their adversaries knew was known. Because of the timings and dates on some of the reports, they did reason that Varydel hit Grey’s Inn when he did at least in part to prevent the Grey’s Inn spy squad from handing all their tidily documented information over to the Cupcake Coterie as a way to win allies within Baronsvere to help with their attempt to take down Blackcrown.

They didn’t find any kind of device, but they did find a sort of secret passage, and ended the session making preparations to explore what lay beyond it.

We ended up missing two players the following session, but we made it work, just about.