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theonyxpath · 4 years

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Yes, that’s right, we actually do not have a Kickstarter running this week. Weird, huh?

Legendlore just wrapped up with a very strong (and unexpected but delightful) final 48 hours last week, and we have not yet launched the They Came From Beyond the Grave! KS.

So instead, let me tell you about the guy I illustrated for the cover shown above. In-universe (or Continuum), that’s Duke Rollo, the gonzo journalist/commentator of the TC: Aberrant setting.

But.

He’s also Justin Achilli, who originated the character and wrote both small Duke Rollo books – one for first edition Aberrant and now the book pictured for Trinity Continuum: Aberrant.

I originally pictured him as Justin appeared back then, piercings and all, and with a very gonzo attitude to life, and work, and especially after-hours playtime. The version above was drawn to still be the same character, but seasoned. More experienced, but still railing against the inequities of the TC: Aberrant world.

I bring this up because real-world Justin has amassed even more experience and knowledge since the WW days, and has explored game design in the electronic gaming sphere very successfully, and yet has never stopped applying what he has learned to TTRPGs, and specifically the World of Darkness and Vampire: The Masquerade.

His experience with party deduction games led to his working with us on The Prince’s Gambit card game, for example. And his online design theory posts through the years are rife with game design theory that could be applied to electronic games, or right back in TTRPGs.

And in fact, he himself, is also right back in TTRPGs with last week’s announcement that Justin is the new Creative Lead for the WoD 5th Edition efforts over at Paradox!

Congrats, Justin!

Now, I have a long history with Justin, going back to when he was developing the RAGE card game at WW. (A “dragon biting some clown in half”, anybody?) He was developer and I was art director for years on VtM Revised, we worked on the late, lamented, WoD MMO together, and he was the first developer for V20, and then helmed many V20 books for Onyx Path.

And yet, even I really don’t know what he’s planning for V5. The Covid situation here and in Sweden, where Paradox is based, has complicated matters, so we’re still looking forward to what’s going to happen next.

As they say, more news when we have it!

Let the Streets Run Red art by Sam Denmark

Surely You Have Something Kickstarter-y?

OK. Fair enough, I hear ya!

You want to know more about They Came From Beyond the Grave!, especially since that’s going to be the subject of our next Kickstarter.

Well, it is the second game in the They Came From…! game line, and this time, rather than being based in the world of Sci-Fi movies of the 50s, TCFBtGrave! is set in two time periods favored by horror movies of the 60s and 70s: the Victorian Era and the late 60s into the 70s.

In fact, the game supports either era, or both with players swapping back and forth between the two. Hammer Horror is of course a huge influence, along with Roger Corman horror films, and even the Dark Shadows TV series.

Like TCFBtSea!, TCFBtGrave! uses the Storypath System plus Quip cards that allow players to contribute appropriate (or far more often extremely inappropriate) comments and dialogue that is often hilarious, but also can give mechanical benefits to the character. With the cards, the player doesn’t need to be funny, just how they use the quip.

Similarly, there are cards for filmic situations appropriate to the genre we’re emulating, like “The Devil Himself!”, or “Missing Scene” which allows for a miraculous escape that players can note as having happened during that scene. It was amazing, just a shame the scene is missing, but at least we’re all OK.

Honestly, we should have one titled “Christopher Lee’s Voice”, but that might be too powerful for players.

Keep an eye out on our social media as we continue to tease the game, and check out the actual play sessions that are available on our Twitch channel.

Pirates of Pugmire art by Pat McEvoy

Updates On Previous Mentions:

As I mentioned last week, we were looking to hire an out-of-house HR representative as a contact person for anyone with concerns on an HR level with Onyx Path. We indeed did hire Georgina who can be contacted at [email protected].

Scion Companion art by Shen Fei

Sorry to say it, but the pandemic is still affecting everyone – writers, printers, shippers – so while we are seeing some folks come back to business as sorta-normal, many others still can’t do that. Sometimes that’s our creators, and other times it’s our manufacturers and shippers. I’m currently waiting for at least five books worth of PoD proofs to get to me for approval so we can start selling them.

So, please hang in with us as we maneuver through this continuing alteration in our normal business practices. There’s a lot of things changing all across the world, and our little hobby isn’t in a bubble – and even if it was, we’re still going to be affected like I mention above. Just know that we are doing what we can to get you the materials so you can enjoy our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

Blurbs!

Kickstarter!

Next Up On Kickstarter: They Came From Beyond the Grave!

And keep your eyes open for:

Onyx Path Media!

This week: the Terrifically Terrible Trio chat about the Onyx Path Virtual Gaming Convention, and online TTRPG gaming in general!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

This week on Twitch, expect to see

V5 – Chicago by Night

Behind the Screen – Scion

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – They Came from Devil’s Reef!

Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale

Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous

Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds

Get watching for some fantastic insight into how to run these wonderful games and subscribe to us on Twitch, over at twitch.tv/theonyxpath

Come take a look at our YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/theonyxpath, where you can find a whole load of videos of actual plays, dissections of our games, and more, including:

#OnyxPathCon | How to Write for TTRPGs [Panel]: https://youtu.be/UKmJQEhInP8

#OnyxPathCon | Consent & Safety Mechanics [Panel]: https://youtu.be/LljJV-TRLWA

Legendlore – The Metal Scourge: https://youtu.be/IrhhKnf6dHg

#OnyxPathCon | The Art of Onyx Path [Panel]:https://youtu.be/2mG_BqXzkfE

#OnyxPathCon | What’s Up with Onyx Path #2 [Panel]:https://youtu.be/GjukejNcCcc

#OnyxPathCon | Create Your Best Character [Panel]:https://youtu.be/UZIBL87hu6U

#OnyxPathCon | Onyx Pathcast Live [Panel]:https://youtu.be/XxNvUPUtC1o

Subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

Did you miss Occultists Anonymous‘ last episodes of their excellent Mage: The Awakening chronicle? Here they are:

Episode 108: Car-V Heist While Songbird prepares for a dangerous summoning, Atratus and Wyrd hit the junkyards with an overly elaborate plan to make an overly elaborate gift. How very Mage of them… https://youtu.be/wSy3c74jkfM

Episode 109: Crown of Blood Wyrd and Atratus enjoy the joy of a well-made gift and the good vibes that comes with that. Songbird joins together with Hadramiel to summon an Angel of Death to anoint a Vampire Prince in power. https://youtu.be/QxB6Ml6uStY

The Botch Pit have released an excellent overview of Mage: The Awakening right here. Do give them a like and a subscribe: https://youtu.be/D-0O1Nun6NA

Systematic Understanding of Everything is a new Exalted Explainer Podcast by Exalted Dev Monica Speca and Exalted Writer Chazz Kellner that is breaking down Creation in 45 minute chunks in preparation for Exalted Essence.

Their most recent episode in on Creation and its history – https://anchor.fm/exaltcast/episodes/Trackless-Region-Navigation—What-is-Creation-eg2g9d

Get past episodes at http://www.exaltcast.com/

Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And now Scion Origin and Scion Hero and Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Aeon are available to order!

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

On Sale This Week!

This Wednesday, to celebrate the arrival of Justin Achilli, we present V5 Chicago By Night electronic wallpaper and V20 Lore of the Clans Storyteller’s Screen PDF files, both on DTRPG!

Conventions!

Though dates for physical conventions are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s what’s left of our current list of upcoming conventions (and really, we’re just waiting for this last one to be cancelled even though it’s Nov/Dec). Instead, keep an eye out here for more virtual conventions we’re going to be involved with:

PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/

And now, the new project status updates!

Development Status from Eddy Webb! (Projects in bold have changed status since last week.):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep.)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Anima

M20 Technocracy Operative’s Dossier (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

Squeaks In The Deep (Realms of Pugmire)

Redlines

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)

CtL 2e Novella Collection: Hollow Courts (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Second Draft

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)

Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)

The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

V5 Children of the Blood (was The Faithful Undead) (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Development

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)

V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Manuscript Approval

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Under Alien Skies (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Post-Approval Development

Editing

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)

Post-Editing Development

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Indexing

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

Tales of Aquatic Terror – Handed off to Meredith to AD.

WoD Ghost Hunters (KS) – KS assets wrapped up.

Aberrant – AD’d. Checking with Gunship.

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Mummy 2

Deviant

Legendlore – KS running.

Technocracy Reloaded (KS)

Cults of the Blood God – Rolling along.

Scion: Dragon (KS) – Waiting on art notes.

Masks of the Mythos (KS) – Getting the cover art going.

Scion: Demigod (KS) – Art rolling. KS assets AD’d.

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (KS) – Prepping KS assets.

TC: Adventure! (KS) – Shen Fei cover art finished by end of the month.

Geist: One Foot In the Grave – AD’d.

In Layout

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad

Vigil Watch

TC Aeon Terra Firma

V5 Let the Streets Run Red – continued working it.

Pugmire Adventure – small project, knocking the layout together.

Scion Titanomachy

Proofing

Trinity Aeon Jumpstart – Errata gathering.

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – Page XXs.

Contagion Chronicle – Backer PDF out to backers, closing errata.

Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs

Magic Item Decks (Scarred Lands)

Yugman’s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)

Dark Eras 2 Screen and booklet

Scion Companion – Inputting changes from devs.

At Press

TCFBTS Heroic Land Dwellers – PoD files uploaded.

TCFBTS Screen and Booklet – Files at press.

They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Press proofs signed off on, PoD files uploaded.

Creature Collection 5e – PoD proof ordered. Traditional files sent to printer.

Pirates of Pugmire – Files at press. PoD proofs ordered.

Pirates of Pugmire Screen – Files at press.

Pugmire Buried Bones – PoD proof ordered.

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition Dark Eras Compilation – Uploading PoD file.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

I’d really like to get back to needing to pull wacky things that happened on this date, but we need to celebrate the life of a towering giant in his field. Ennio Morricone, one of the greatest film composers, has left this earth he brought so much magic and passion and joy to. The Untouchables. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The Mission. Once Upon A Time In the West. His film scores were the background music I played while illustrating all the way back to high school, and as late as two weeks ago I asked Alexa to “Play Ennio Morriconi music” as I wrote that week’s MMN blog. Not only was he a genius in composing instrumental scores, but he was willing to incorporate single instruments, or non-instruments, or inserted choral sections, or even compose an entire theme using fart sounds. Maybe not to everyone’s tastes, that last example, but my point is, he stretched what could be done with musical scores with a deft hand and a genius’s ear. His like will not be heard again.

#Onyx Path Publishing

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daedriclorde · 4 years

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A Thief in Wolf’s Clothing, Part II: Chapter 1, “Not Totally Alone”

AH! I finally did it! I finished Part II. Quarantine is good for something, right? Anyway.

Hey imma abbreviate to ATIWC2, in the future.

I really really really hope that you guys enjoy this!

Summary: Now a full-fledged Companion and werewolf, Aerisif takes on a new life as Kjolti. While she may be physically better equipped to be the Dragonborn, Kjolti struggles with the mental and emotional burden of the legendary title she bears. She finds solace and comfort with the Companions.But can she truly escape her past so easily? Or will her life as Aerisif catch up with her?

PS: If you came here originally because of Aerisif x Brynjolf, and are disappointed because this is centered on the Companions, fear not. Bryn and the Thieves Guild are in this story, across all three parts:)

on Ao3!

This is odd, Farkas thought as he lifted his mug of ale.

It was a calm night in the mead hall. Most of the Companions were in bed or away on jobs, though a few remained. But Farkas was up, drinking in the hall. And Kodlak was up, waiting. It was clear that something was on the old man’s mind, but it was anyone’s guess what.

Calamity came bursting in through the doors in the early hours of the morning. Aela was crying out for help before they were even through the threshold. He leapt up, ready to aid his Shield-Sister.

Farkas could see Skjor’s face, pale and weak. Something terrible had happened, that much was clear. Then he saw Kjolti.

She held the other end of the shields that held Skjor. Faint and covered in blood, it was clear that pure adrenaline got her back to Jorrvaskr’s doorstep. Farkas felt his heart drop to see her injured.

But his next inhale told him even more, and Farkas was shocked.

Kjolti had taken of the beast blood.

And he hadn’t been there for it.

There wasn’t time for shock and hurt. Skjor was dying.

“Careful, careful,” Kodlak instructed as Companions appeared to get Skjor below. Once they saw him safely carried to the living quarters, he wheeled to face Aela.

“What were you thinking?” It was the closest Kodlak had come to yelling.

“It needed to be done!” Aela snapped.

“It needed to be done?”Kodlak asked incredulously. “You needed to sway this whelp to take the beast blood, likely without her full knowledge of what that meant? You needed to release her through Whiterun, killing innocents and harming many more? You needed to take her to Gallows Rock, to wipe out an entire fortress when you knew she would be in a weakened state? You needed to allow Skjor to go on ahead, alone?” There was vitriol in the old man’s voice.

Aela darkened and crossed her arms. “Skjor is a capable warrior and made that decision for himself.”

“Yes, and it is he that we must bring back from the brink of death. Go. Fetch Danica from the Temple. We will need her talents.”

Aela furrowed her brow but obeyed, storming out into the night. Kodlak turned to Kjolti.

“You are in need of healing as well, I see.”

Kjolti nodded and swayed.

Kodlak sighed. “I cannot say I am pleased that you have taken the beast blood. You are young, and young to the Companions at that. But, your actions have more than proved your worthiness among the Inner Circle, and I would not remove you from our number. I just hope you know what you have done, and to what you have committed yourself.”

Kjolti mumbled and began to wobble from her own wounds and loss of blood. Farkas caught her arm and steadied her.

“See to her wounds, Farkas. I am needed elsewhere.”

Farkas nodded and helped a wavering Kjolti down below. She was limping, and clutching one arm.

“What happened?” He asked in a whisper.

Kjolti inhaled shakily. “We were outnumbered,” she croaked. “Foolish, foolish plan. But Farkas, the power. It was too sweet. I couldn’t stop myself. Do you know what it’s like?”

He nodded, knowing all too well. “You’re a werewolf now.”

“I am.” Kjolti sounded distant, but whether that was from her injuries or her newfound lycanthropy, Farkas couldn’t say. “I’ve never felt anything like that. I don’t think there is anything like that, you know? There was this…this hunger. A drive I’ve never known. It’s incredible. And terrifying. Does that feeling ever change?”

Farkas considered for a moment. “No, not really. The first time is always the strongest, but the hunger is always there. I feel it constantly.” They had arrived at Kjolti’s quarters. “Let me help you with your wounds.”

Kjolti opened her mouth to refuse, but reconsidered. “Fine.”

He sat her down on her bed and finally assessed her wounds. Her armor was rent open at her hip, the blood surrounding making it impossible to see how bad it was. The wound on her arm was long, but looked shallow.

Farkas shifted. “Um. Uh. We’ll need to remove your armor.”

Kjolti, thankfully, was too weak to notice his discomfort. “Yeah, okay.” She began to reach for the clasps and laces securing her armor, but winced and shook from the pain it caused.

“Here, let me help,” Farkas found the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. He reached and undid the fastenings that held her armor in place, and pulled the steel plates from her body. Kjolti gingerly bent and removed her steel boots.

Okay, this is fine. I can handle this. He distracted himself from the thin homespun jerkin she wore underneath her armor.

Oh Divines. Her mail greaves. They needed to be removed before he could properly clean the wound on her hip.

Fortunately, Kjolti was a step ahead of him, and though grimacing, was beginning to slide the chain mail off her hips. But her blood had dried, partially fusing the metal to her wound. She cried out.

“Shh, shh, here,” Farkas grabbed a flask from the nearest shelf and handed it to her. “Drink.”

She obeyed. Trying his best to keep his gaze down, Farkas finished sliding the greaves off Kjolti’s legs. The sight of her bare legs made his ears turn red. Kjolti had cotton small clothes to keep her modesty, thank the divines.

Kjolti giggled. “Farkas, you aren’t shy, are you?”

He blushed, but the dim lighting hid it. “No,” he grumbled. Yes, he thought. He stood abruptly. “I need some clean cloth, to dress you. Your wound!” He quickly left.

Coward. You pathetic, shy, coward.

Farkas found the shelf where Tilma kept their medical supplies. He reached for a ball of tightly wound cotton.

She’s a werewolf now. Just like you. The thought made his heart leap.

***

Aerisif stirred as tender fingers ran through her hair. She moaned gently, feeling the ache of her body wake up too. She hesitantly opened her eyes.

“Bryn?”

Her favorite smile in the world grinned back at her. “I’m here, lass.”

She groaned again. “What the hell did I do?”

He chuckled softly. “You made quite the display, lass.”

“Divines. What did I do, Brynjolf? I don’t remember.”

“Well. For starts, you pulled off a brilliant heist in Whiterun. That bastard Belethor is in for a rough time.”

“Okay, I remember that.” She nudged her head towards Brynjolf’s gentle touch. “Then what?”

“You insisted we celebrate. And who was I to argue with both my lass and my Guild Master? So…we celebrated.”

“How?”

“By stealing an entire keg of mead and draining it while we took a carriage from Whiterun back to Riften.”

Aerisif moaned again and closed her eyes. “That explains it.”

“That’s not all, lass.”

She opened one eye to peer up at Brynjolf. His trademark smirk graced his face. “It’s not?”

“Nope. Upon our arrival to Riften, you marched right over to the Meadery and bought another keg.”

“Divines. That’s why I feel like death.”

“Still not all, lass.”

Aerisif perched her head up on one arm, distraught. “It’s not??”

“Nope. We brought the barrel down to the Flagon, to the delight of our fellow Guild members, and shared it. But you were in fine form, and insisted on challenging anyone who would take you up on it to a duel.”

“A DUEL?”

“Aye lass, a duel.” He was still smirking.

“Bryn?”

“Aer?”

“Who did I duel?”

He sucked in his breath. “You engaged in unarmed combat with Dirge.”

A defeated moan flew from Aerisif. “Dirge. Great. I picked a fight with our biggest heavy. Well, did I at least win?”

“Delvin and I intercepted before a winner could be declared. Both of you were getting a little too batted around for our liking.”

“Gods. I am a natural disaster masquerading as a person.”

Brynjolf leaned in close and planted a gentle kiss on her temple. “You are a force of nature, Aerisif.”

Aerisif smiled and looked up at Brynjolf. His gleaming emerald eyes were filled with love.

“Bryn?”

“Aer?”

“I love you.”

But Brynjolf didn’t say anything. Instead, he was fading away.

“Bryn?”

She almost couldn’t see him now.

“Brynjolf!”

Aerisif woke up as she called out Brynjolf’s name. She looked around, startled in her unfamiliar surroundings.

Then everything came into focus. She was in her room in Jorrvaskr. The pounding aches she felt came from her arm and hip, from the injuries she sustained at Gallow’s Rock. She was alone.

Aerisif looked down at her hip again. It was cleanly dressed in linen, as was her arm. Someone had cared for her wounds. She smiled sadly. Not totally alone.

#fanfic #skyrim fanfic #the elder scrolls V #tes v #tes #skyrim #OC dragonborn #aerisif #kjolti #aerisif/kjolti #The Companions #The Thieves Guild #Brynjolf #dragonborn x brynjolf #Farkas #Vilkas #Aela

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neuxue · 4 years

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Dear Yuletide Author

Thanks for writing for me! I’ve probably written too much here, so...when in doubt, write the story you want to write, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it! The below are more guidelines than actual rules.

GENERAL

Likes:

Fictional characters in pain (physical, mental, other).

Complicated dynamics between characters (friends, enemies, strangers, all of the above, other). Bonus points for enemies-to-friends/friends-to-enemies/enemies-to-lovers/any movement on the friendship-ally-enmity axis, really.

Betrayals, pseudo-betrayals, etc (see above about complicated dynamics). Bonus points for betrayals made out of necessity. Double bonus points if the betrayed doesn’t know it’s necessary.

Villain-by-necessity or antagonist-by-necessity.

Exploration of power (individual, interpersonal, or both. Again, can be as dark as you want, if you are so inclined.)

Ambiguity, in pretty much all its forms.

Dark fic. You don't have to, but you absolutely 100% can. This is a blank cheque on content warnings, up to and including the major archive warnings.

Plot! You absolutely do not have to write a complex plot, but if that's your thing...go wild. Political machinations or detailed worldbuilding or some absurdly complicated scheme or that sequel you wish were written.

Fic formats I am very happy with, if they’re your thing: fic-as-character-study, theme-and-variation (so 5 times fics are 100% cool with me), or unconventional fic formats of any kind! But more conventional or linear formats are also A+. This is another ‘blanket permission to do whatever you want’

Dislikes/DNW:

Explicit sex, unless it’s absolutely essential to the story (if it IS absolutely essential: fade-to-black is fine, lightly explicit but not quite porn is usually fine. If I’m going to read sex I’d actually prefer it to be a bit darker in some way - definitely doesn’t have to be related to consent, though it certainly can, but I’d prefer there to be some tension/pain/angst/tragedy/betrayal/darkness/power dynamics to it.y)

Romance as the central focus of the story (partial exceptions include enemies-to-lovers or ‘complicated character dynamics’).

Children (child characters or characters having children).

Alternate setting AUs (like Hogwarts AU or Modern AU or A/B/O, etc. AU that alters canon events - eg ‘X doesn’t die’ or ‘Y happens differently’ is completely fine).

Fluff (humour is fine; sweetness is fine in moderation).

FANDOM-SPECIFIC

His Dark Materials - Marisa Coulter, Lord Asriel

HDM was very much a Formative Fantasy Series for me, and these two were defintely my uh...Formative Fucked-Up Pairing. Enemies, lovers, partners in damnation: they have it all, and they move fluidly between all of those. Individually, they’re some of my favourite characters in the genre: forces to be reckoned with, powerful and capable and driven, terrifying, and somehow still human.

Together, their dynamic is…everything I want in a story. It’s a mess, but it’s a devastatingly beautiful and functionally destructive mess that has the capacity to take down heaven and earth.I love their complexity, both individually and together, and I just want more of it.

“I wanted you to come with me, and I thought you would prefer a lie” has always been my favourite line for these two, if that helps. But really anything about their fucked-up contradictory mess of a series of betrayals and antagonistic workings that somehow form a relationship.

Feel free to include any other characters (nominated or otherwise) you see fit, but I would prefer the focus to be on these two (though if you think an outsider viewpoint, for instance, is the best way to do that, I have no complaints).

As a point of clarification, because romance is loosely on my DNW list: There’s definitely an aspect of Marisa/Asriel that could be called romance, and I have no objections to you exploring that in the context of the rest of their clusterfuck of a dynamic (but it’s the clusterfuck I love the most).

The Baru Cormorant / Masquerade Series - Svirakir

I have this bad habit of loving minor characters, but was rather delighted to see Apparitor not only get some screen time but even get a name in the second book. So I just want...more about him. He was hardly in the first book but was very present on the sidelines, once you know what to look for: what was he up to? What does that look like from his side of things? What did he think of Baru then? What’s his origin story, from his perspective, beyond the brief pieces of it we hear? What other tasks has he carried out in his role as Apparitor? Where has he travelled? Where does he want to go? What’s his great secret, his true aim? What was his first mission, or what would his version of a book-one-esque beginning look like?

Any of the above, none of the above...I’m being frustratingly nonspecific here, but I really will be happy with mostly anything. He’s a good candidate for fic-as-character-study, if that’s your thing. Or if you’re a plotty sort and want to write him and the others carrying out some absurd heist, I’d be 100% here for it. Or if, like me, you enjoy some good old-fashioned whump and just want to rough him up a bit...yeah, he’s the sort whom suffering looks good on.

Really, knock yourself out. Include any and all other characters from the series as you see fit, or don’t.

The Dragon Prince - Aaravos, Runaan

I feel like I should maybe apologise for this one, especially because it’s a children’s show and yet my immediate thought on this one is ‘if dark is your thing, go dark here’. If dark isn’t your thing that’s absolutely fine, of course, but if it is...yeah. Have fun. Go wild.

I’m happy to read either of these characters individually, if featuring both of them doesn’t work with what you come up with, but if you do feel like including both, that would be excellent. Maybe they meet somehow -- do the coins and the mirror lead to the same place, and they’re both trapped and meet as uneasy allies? Or as enemies? Or as friends? Or perhaps they’re both trapped and completely separate and never actually meet but their experiences run either parallel or opposite. How did they each get to where they are? What happens to those who are shut away from the real world? Any or none of the above, really.

I’m just super curious to see what is even happening with either or both of these two. Trapped and powerful and mirrored and mysterious...it’s a whole lot, for me, however you decide to slice it, and the world that’s been built is still an open playing field, so have fun!

If it helps, my favourite moments of these two individually are:

Aaravos - when he responds, in that voice of his, to Viren asking ‘why should I trust you’ with ‘You shouldn’t. Yet.’

Runaan - that first shot we see of him chained to a wall.

I know. I’m sorry.

Oh, also, I know Season 3 is meant to come out before Yuletide fics are due; include or ignore any content from that as you wish.

Machineries of Empire - Vauhan Mikodez

This whole series is really just designed to ruin me, full as it is of characters who are all My Type in different ways.

So first of all, feel free to include any other characters from the series you see fit. Personal favourite candidates include Kujen, Jedao (either version but mostly the first), Cheris, Istradez, Zehun, any of the other Hexarchs/Heptarchs including Faian, any of Kujen’s anchors...the list continues.

Mikodez is fascinating to me because of the contrast in...not quite how he presents himself versus who he actually is, but in how he fully embodies the persona his role demands -- the murdering, amoral, ruthless, scheming, pragmatic Shuos Hexarch -- and yet also manages to be one of the more morally grounded characters in the series. He just doesn’t let anyone (often including himself) see that. So he ends up perceived as having taken a similar path to, say Kujen in terms of murdering his own conscience, stifling his ability to feel pain or empathy in order to become what he must, but he hasn’t. He just follows that path as far as making it clear, to himself and everyone else, that those feelings are a privilege the Shuos Hexarch cannot afford; but he feels them anyway, as himself, and it’s just a whole Problem for me.

And so the way he interacts with other characters, especially those like Jedao and Kujen, is rather fascinating to me. But so is his relationship with Istradez, because again, based on how he presents himself, you wouldn’t really expect Mikodez to be generous and understanding, but he so very much is.

Mikodez is another great option for fic-as-character-study if you want to go that route, or just go all-out and throw him in way over his head, or let him watch from the shadows, the longest-serving Shuos Hexarch, as everything else plays out. Apologies for not really giving much in the way of prompts here, but I’m pretty much game for anything, and I’m super curious to see what you might come up with.

Sunshine - Robin McKinley (any - Charlie, Rae, Onyx, Con, Mel, Rae’s grandmother)

Knock yourself out. Go wild. Pick any one of the 189237 loose ends this book left and run with it.

Who the hell even was (is?) Onyx Blaise? Actually, if you feel up to it, anything involving Onyx and his mother (Rae’s grandmother) would be fascinating to me. Or, throw Mel and Con and Rae together in some mess they have to work together to solve. Or just give me Mel’s backstory. Or Con’s. Did Con and Onyx meet, and what was that like? What does Rae’s life look like after the book ends?

If you have an idea for this world, for any or all of these characters, write that. I will read anything, because there’s just so much there to play with.

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cult-magic · 5 years

Text

Oh boy, ResDogs fic. Buckle up, kids, it’s gonna be a wild ride.

“Freddy, newly 18 and with no prospects, settles in a vacant house. He gets more roommates than he ever wanted, and some of them are less than human.”

The bus pulled away in a suffocating cloud of hot exhaust and dust, leaving Freddy standing alone at the bus stop with a hand over his eyes despite his sunglasses, wishing he’d spent those few extra bucks on a decent pair of shades. But his money was running low already, the few hundred bucks he’d saved after working for Holdaway at the local precinct going to the bus fare and what little food he’d eaten since he left two days ago. Both his wallet and his stomach were running on fumes now, and he needed a place to stay.

Two hundred and forty dollars had taken him to the middle of Tennessee, where the sun beat down hard and heavy even though it was mid-September. The air was sticky, the tarmac so hot he could feel it through his shoes. Heat waves rolled up from the horizon just down main street. Next to the sidewalk where he stood, a small diner boasted the best white gravy in all the south. Across the street stood an antique store, rusted and racist junk lining the windows masquerading as history.

Freddy went walking until he came across a city hall in the center of the town square. Most of the storefronts surrounding it were empty, a few cars scattered in the parking lot. There was a barbershop across from the front door of the city hall, a pet store next to it with the door open and a loud fan whirring in the vacant threshold.

Inside city hall, it was blessedly cool. The small, empty lobby gave way to one long, white corridor. On the walls were various maps and a copy of the town charter from 1876. The glass was smudged with fingerprints. On either side of the hallway, the pale wooden doors were closed, the frosted glass dim or backlit with the high afternoon sun. In the right corner at the end of the hallway, next to another closed door, a fern was dying slowly.

One door was open on the left side, but when Freddy looked inside, he was greeted by an empty waste management office. He cut his loses and left the building.

Around the back of the city hall, Freddy found a cafe sitting alone among a strip of empty storefronts, claiming to have coffee and milkshakes. Come back after five, the sign said, and they would serve him alcohol too. Freddy wondered if they carded as he stepped in.

The woman at the counter waved him in lazily, said she’d be around to take his order in a second. Freddy slid into the booth, the cracked red vinyl sticking to his sweaty ass and back, pulling his skin unpleasantly. He tucked his bag between himself and the wall.

“What can I get you?” the woman asked when she ambled up a few minutes later. She smelled like cigarette smoke and damp perfumed skin.

“Strawberry shake,” said Freddy. The woman nodded uninterestedly and ambled off to place his order, her scent lingering until the overworked fan in the ceiling swept it away.

When she returned, placing his already sweating glass in front of him, Freddy asked if she knew of any vacant houses around town. She eyed him suspiciously and said, “You can’t spit without hitting an empty place ‘round here.” She ambled off with a little more speed this time, taking glances at him from the counter as he finished his milkshake. He put money on the table and left without another word, her glassy yellowed eyes watching his retreating back.

Freddy walked down a few empty streets, passing only a few people on the sidewalk or in their yards as he went, until he turned down a red gravel road and found a decrepit old house standing in a lot of tall yellow grass, a tangled jungle of trees starting on the edge of the yard. It was isolated, maybe a few miles from town, and deadly quiet. The sun was starting to make its way to the horizon, casting the world in golden light. Freddy decided, looking at the broken living room window refracting stretching orange triangles across the rotting wood of the porch, that this would make a fine temporary home.

He went inside.

...

They took two cars northeast out of Mississippi, passing through Memphis and stopping in Jackson for gas. When they came to Myersville - tiny, sparsely populated, and with only one road in and out - they decided this was home until the heat died down.

Larry was driving the lead car, taking the curves nice and slow so the townspeople took no notice of their little motorcade. It was a rather moot point, seeing as it was so hot today no one was braving the outdoors. They drove through the town square, then on through what Larry guessed to be the only traffic light in the town. He followed the road to nowhere, checking his mirror occasionally to make sure Vega was still on his tail.

Finally, after driving through what passed for suburbs in this town, Larry came across the perfect place. The house was old and had obviously been abandoned for some time, but most of the windows were unbroken and the roof looked in good shape. The grass was tall, but the woods off to the side would provide good cover for the cars. Plus, the place was at least three miles out of town with neighbors half a mile out. In the moments before dusk, Larry decided this place would be HQ until Joe called the all-clear.

He parked on the side of the street in front of the house; he wanted to walk the grass before driving into it so he could avoid something gouging the tires. Vega pulled up behind him and climbed out, Brown emerging from the passenger side. Both squinted into the setting sun to see the house.

“This the best place you could find?” said Brown.

“It’ll work,” said Larry.

Vega nodded. “Discreet and isolated. It’ll work, at least ‘til Eddie gets here.”

“It’ll work ‘til Papa says it doesn’t need to work anymore,” corrected Larry. Nice Guy Eddie was the heir, but Joe Cabot was still the King, and Larry was nothing if not an obedient little knight.

“Okay,” said Pink, “but what do we do with the cars? Any cop sees us loitering around here and they’ll be on us like pigs on slop.”

Vega slapped Pink on the back genially. “You calling us slop?” he asked around his vague, threatening smile.

“Only if you get us caught,” said Pink as he stepped away from Vega warily.

“No one’s getting caught,” Larry interrupted. “We’ll pull the cars around the side after we case the place. C’mon, while there’s still daylight.”

Larry brushed his fingers over his piece where it was tucked into the back of his pants. The place gave him the creeps: the low light cast long shadows over the yellow grass; the dying sunlight glinting off the broken windows on the first floor; the way the gables casted the top windows into darkness. The air smelled like dry dirt and wet rotten wood, and was mostly silent but for the bugs in the trees.

“Creepy,” said Brown offhandedly.

Pink threw a glare over his shoulder. “Be a goddamn professional,” he replied, as he had many times over the weeks they’d planned this job. Even after they had gotten away with the heist, Pink’s paranoia was in overdrive. Not to say that was a bad thing; they’d saved themselves from a nervous rent-a-cop thanks to Pink’s paranoia.

Larry tried the doorknob, unsurprised to find it open already. The porch steps groaned in protest as the other guys followed him. Pink had his gun hanging at his side. Blonde was smoking, waving his cigarette at Brown when he tried to peer around him into the house.

The inside was dark, the trees to the left blocking most of the light that would come into the living room. It smelled damp, like mildew and rotten leaves. The broken window was in the kitchen to the right of the front door, dead leaves and puddles of stagnant water were collecting in the sink and on the floor below it. Down the hall, Larry could see light falling in from open doors that probably led to bedrooms.

“Hey, what’re you-”

All four of them had guns pointed at the kid before any of them really had time to think of it. The kid looked terrified, fear-wide green eyes reflecting the light from the flashlight he had in one hand. He was camped out on a bare patch of floor, a sketchbook open in his lap and a pen clutched in his free hand. A duffle bag at his side was propping up his flashlight hand over the book.

He was dressed like a kid trying to look tough, decked out in a leather jacket over a white t-shirt and dark jeans that all hung off his skinny frame like they belonged to his dad. His hair was dirty blonde and a little greasy with sweat, falling to frame his face like he didn’t know what to do with it otherwise. A pair of cheap sunglasses sat atop his head, probably meant to keep the hair back but not succeeding.

“Shit,” said Larry, tucking his gun back into his pants. “What the fuck are you doing here, kid?”

“Squatting,” said the kid. He was watching Pink, who had not yet lowered his gun.

“Put the fuckin’ gun down,” said Larry. “He’s just a kid.”

“I don’t fucking know that,” said Pink. “He could be a thief, or a fucking rat.”

“He’s got a point,” said Vega, an amused smirk curling around his mouth. He took another drag from his cigarette, posture loose.

Larry glared at him. “Stop egging him on, you fuckin’ degenerate.”

“What’re we gonna do with him?” asked Brown. He was frowning at the kid from around Vega, but was making no threatening moves.

Larry turned back around. The kid was standing now, legs long and ungainly, a little awkward and looking ready to run with nowhere to go. The flashlight was hanging uselessly from his fingers now, the dim light that made it through the gaps in the leaves casting sharp shadows across his pale face. Larry thought, with little difficulty, that he was gorgeous.

“What’s your name, kid?” asked Larry.

The kid hesitated, then said, “Freddy.” The fear in his face had lessened a bit, fading into cautious intrigue.

“And what are you gonna do if we let you go, Freddy?” asked Larry.

Freddy shrugged casually. Larry was caught by the way his hands, long-fingered and elegant, flexed with the motion of his shoulders. “Go find a new house, I guess,” he said. He looked at all of them, eyeing the guns where they were visible. “Squatting isn’t exactly legal, even if it doesn’t ping on their radar next to whatever you did.”

“See?” Larry gestured at Freddy, shooting a smile his way when the kid started to fidget. “He’s not gonna do shit.”

“Oh gee,” said Vega, blandly, “do we really get to keep him?”

Larry rolled his eyes and started moving further into the house. The two doors on the right were bedrooms - one of which was suffering from a hole on the roof and a soggy mattress - and the doors on the left revealed an empty closet and a bathroom, respectively.

“There’s still running water,” said Freddy, “but no electricity. I think it’s from a well. Water comes out kind of red at first, but it seems all right. I wouldn’t drink it, but.” He shrugged. “Should be okay for bathing and cooking.”

Brown whooped, already undoing his tie. “You have no idea how much I need a shower, man.”

“There’s no curtain,” Freddy called down the hallway where Brown disappeared, “or towels, or soap. Try not to make a mess.”

Vega raised a cool eyebrow at Larry and cut his eyes to the kid before going outside to call Eddie and update him on their situation. Pink squinted at them all before disappearing into the back bedroom, whose mattress was dusty and a little moldy but not wet.

Larry sat on the couch beside where Freddy was resettled on the floor. It was dusty and ripped up, one cushion missing and the whole thing smelling of mildew. Freddy had put aside the sketchbook and turned off the flashlight, now sitting with his back against his bag.

“What’re you doing here, kid?”

Freddy sprawled out a little more, forced casual. “Foster system cut me loose,” he said.

Larry’s eyebrows shot up. The kid was probably freshly eighteen, then, really just a kid. “So you packed up and moved here?”

“No.” Freddy made eye contact, like a challenge. “What are you doing here?”

Larry met his challenge head on. “Hiding from the cops ‘til the heat dies down.”

Freddy nodded and turned to watch Vega swagger through the door. He turned back to Larry after staring after him contemplatively. “What’s your name?”

Larry hummed and turned away from those pretty green eyes. “Mr. White.”

...

Weird shit started happening the first night. Brown and Vega took the bed in the back room and Larry convinced Freddy (with surprising ease) to settle with him on the floor of the front bedroom, where it was dry and the broken window kept the hot air circulating. Pink was in the living room, on the floor and using one cushion as a pillow.

Freddy was laid out beside him, sleeping the sleep of the deeply exhausted but newly-freed. Dust motes were floating in the faint moonlight seeping in through the window. Larry was too wired to sleep, so he watched Freddy instead. He really was gorgeous, especially with the soft white light falling across his face, long eyelashes casting gentle shadows on his cheeks. Sometimes, when he shifted, he made sweet little noises that had Larry’s mouth twitching into a smile.

He was knocked from his thoughts by footsteps outside the door, but when he got up to check, the hallway was clear and all three of his guys were sleeping.

Larry turned back to his room to keep vigil over the kid, his gun resting on the pile of his clothes.

...

Larry was woken from his light sleep by screaming, and he was in the kitchen just behind Pink with Brown on his tail, Vega following from outside, all four of them dressed for sleep with guns leveled on the problem.

The problem was this: Freddy backed up against the counter opposite the bloody dead animal, looking like he’d had the life scared out of him.

Larry put his gun down and moved to Freddy, slipping an arm around his back to steady him. “You good, Freddo?”

The kid sucked in a deep breath then started coughing; the kitchen was starting to smell like the thing’s insides. “Shit, yeah,” he said eventually, “just scared me s’all.”

“Well you sure scared the shit outta me,” Pink groused. “I thought someone was dyin’.”

“Someone did,” said Vega. “What is that, some kinda raccoon?” He looked like he wanted to poke it, but all he had in reach was his gun and he treated his piece like his baby.

“Opossum,” said Brown. He wrinkled his nose. “Looks like it’s been dead for a while.”

Freddy let out another breath. “I didn’t see it when I first got in here,” he said. He was trembling gently under Larry’s hand, coming down from the sudden adrenaline spike.

“Probably killed itself trying to get in last night,” said Larry. “Caught on the glass or something.”

Freddy seemed to accept that easily and let Larry lead him out of the room. Larry didn’t add that there was no blood on the window. He did add: “Someone get that shit outta there, it’s disgusting.”

Behind them, the others started arguing about who was handling the mangled little body half hanging out of the sink and who was cleaning up the gore.

...

Freddy was alone in the front bedroom, laid out on the floor and staring at the ceiling. The others were outside, talking about something heist-related to which Freddy was supposed to be privy. He could hear their voices filtering in through the busted window, muffled baritones and distinct profanity. Beyond them, the leaves were rustling in the wind. The sun was high in the sky, the wood where he was lying pleasantly sun-warmed.

Despite being effectively homeless and entirely broke, Freddy felt like he was doing all right for himself. He had a roof over his head, even if that roof leaked, and he had friends, even if his friends were nameless and aloof. White, at least, seemed to genuinely like him, and Blonde liked to tease him. It was more than he’d had before, so that made every bit of this situation precious.

White told him earlier that they were waiting for Joe, whoever that was, to call the all clear. Freddy figured he was some sort of mob boss or something, which as cool as hell if a little scary. It’s not like his life was going anywhere but the ground, anyway, so getting involved wouldn’t necessarily be the worst thing he could do.

Outside, the voices were moving away, probably going to the cars parked around the other side of the house. Freddy strained to hear them, but eventually their voices faded into the nature sounds, so Freddy let his focus drift, and that’s when he heard the murmuring. It was indistinct, soft, almost sounded like insects, but the longer he listened the easier it got to make out the individual voices. They were all talking at once, from every direction, filling the room like a tangible being. Freddy thought of Venom, huge and amorphous and hissing, and felt excited before the sensation fled.

A voice broke through the clamour, a clink of glass among the crunch of gravel: a clear “come” whispered in surround sound that sent a shiver through Freddy. He sat up, staring into the open closet. It seemed darker than it was before, or was that the midday shadows?

Freddy clambered to his feet, cold sweat starting to gather on his face, and stumbled out of the room. He could hear the others on the front porch, anyway, there was no reason not to go greet them. No reason to linger in his terror.

...

“I had the weirdest fuckin’ dream last night,” said Brown during lunch. He was talking around a mouthful of peanut butter and jelly. “Dreamt I was a little kid again, and my dad was putting me to bed, but it was this house and he was covered in blood.”

“Jesus Christ,” said Larry, grimacing. Freddy grunted in agreement.

Pink groaned loudly. “Can’t I just eat my lunch in peace?” he demanded.

“No one needs to know about your daddy issues, Brown,” said Vega.

Brown made a face. “Who do you think I am, Madonna?”

“You talk about her enough,” said Larry.

“Fuckin’ ugliest Madonna I’ve ever seen,” said Pink.

“Listen assholes-” Brown was cut off by a crash in the back of the house. They were up and going before they were even done swallowing, guns at the ready. Freddy was slinking along behind them, curious but smart enough not to get in front of the action.

They found the the source of the crash in the bathroom. The curtain rod had fallen from above the bathtub, one side of it bent a little, the end broken in an ugly jagged edge like a broken bone. In the wall next to the mirror, the tile was shattered.

“The fuck?” said Pink. He swung around abruptly, sweeping into the back bedroom. The bathroom had no window and only the one door. The rod looked as if something heavy had been dropped from it, or pulled down on it.

He and Vega returned after a few tense moments. “No one’s here,” said Vega. He was cool as ever when he said, “Probably a ghost.”

“Don’t be fucking stupid,” Larry snapped, but the way Freddy shifted beside him made his voice waver.

Vega grinned, smarmy as could be. “What,” he drawled, “little doggy scared of a few ghosts?”

Pink scoffed. “You believe in that shit?”

“Nah,” said Vega, “but our boy sure seems to.” He gestured to Freddy, who was looking a little pale-faced.

Freddy blew out a breath, flipping the bird at Vega. “This is just weird shit, man. Unsettling.”

Behind them, Brown nodded in agreement. “This place is straight outta Poltergeist.”

Freddy’s eyes got a little wider, so Larry told them to knock it the fuck off and pulled the kid out.

...

The day was rolling towards one and Larry and Freddy were settled in the ruins of the living room, Larry reclined on musty couch cushions and Freddy on the floor, leaning back on the couch and sitting on Pink’s makeshift pillow. A sketchbook was open in Freddy’s lap, the same one from the first day they met. They were silent, Larry smoking and staring at the ceiling and Freddy drawing with quiet concentration. The others were elsewhere in the house, occupying themselves as best they could. Somewhere outside, Brown was singing badly, a subpar soundtrack to a pleasant afternoon.

And it remained pleasant until Freddy nudged his leg gently and said, “Hey, look,” while shoving his sketchbook under Larry’s nose.

It was a bunch of figures walking as a loose group, swaggering across the page in comic book style. There were five of them, all decked out in black suits and sunglasses with ties acting as bright pops of color. It was highly stylized and made Larry grin; it was them, a bunch of fucking crooks done up in gel pen ink and thick paper. But he counted again and his grin falted.

“Kid,” he said, “who-?”

“That’s me,” said Freddy, goofy grin taking over his face. “Mr. Orange, fucking green as spring-”

“Kid,” Larry interrupted. “You aren’t one of us,” and god, watching that grin fall off his face was hard, but it needed to be said, “we aren’t some fucking Brady Bunch family, we’re a bunch of dirty thieves and you’re too fucking good to be a part of this. You deserve better than us.” Than me went unspoken.

The sparkle in those huge green eyes had disappeared halfway through his little lecture, his mouth set in a grim, disappointed line that looked too familiar on a face that sweet. Freddy’s eyebrows were drawn low, eyelids drooped, and his lean body held carefully relaxed where it was laying against the couch. “Y’know,” he said, casual as could be, “I don’t think you really get to decide what I deserve.”

Larry realized what was happening, then. He was taking cold for casual, hurt for apathy. The kid was a good actor, he though, better than anyone had ever probably given him credit for. A product of the system. And yeah, he realized he made a mistake right then, too.

...

That night was tense. Freddy laid with his back to Larry, curled into a ball like the last thing he wanted was Larry’s touch. Neither of them slept for most of the night, jumping at any little noise. Some time past midnight, something clattered in their room and Freddy made the most heartbreaking little noise. Larry wanted nothing more than to soothe him, but Freddy never turned to seek comfort, instead curling up tighter when Larry shifted. What little sleep Freddy did manage to get was plagued by nightmares that made him cry out. The one time Larry woke him up, he got a face full of scared green eyes and a weak scowl for his trouble.

The next morning, a hammer sat in the shade of the closet, something brown like rust smudging the handle and head. Freddy let out a puff of breath and shuffled out of the room as soon as he could.

Nice Guy Eddie showed up later that morning, Blue snoring in the passenger seat. Eddie swept into the house, zeroing in on Freddy immediately.

“Who the fuck is the kid?” he demanded, hand already reaching for the gun in the waistband of his fuckugly pants that went with his fuckugly windbreaker.

“Just a kid,” said Larry. “He don’t know nothin’.”

“Fuck’s he doing here?”

“Found him squatin’ when we got here,” said Vega. He was lazing against the kitchen counter. “He’s good company. Gets spooked easy.” Vega wiggled his fingers at Freddy, making half-assed ghost noises. Freddy made a face at him, which made Larry laugh under his breath.

Eddie glared at the kid, probably deciding whether to just kill him anyway, before he said, “Whatever. Keep your stupid mouth shut, kid.”

Freddy waved a hand, said, “Don’t have anyone to tell.” It was one of the saddest things Larry had ever heard, but no one else gave it another thought.

Blue brought in bags of food from the car, enough to last a couple days if someone shared rations with Freddy (even if the kid was an unexpected burden, Eddie wasn’t gonna make him starve). Eddie moved himself into the back bedroom, relegating Brown to the floor so he and Vega could share the bed. Blue put his bag next to the couch in the living room, picking the cushion up off the floor and putting it back in its place on the couch, claiming it for himself.

“Hey,” said Pink, “you can’t take that.”

Blue leveled Pink with a tired glare. “And why is that?”

“It’s mine!”

Blue sighed. “Son, I am sixty-eight years old. If I want the couch and all its cushions, I will fucking well have it.”

The group laughed, but Larry kept his eyes on Freddy. He was smiling faintly, but he was standing back, tucked between the doorway and the counter. He looked sad around the eyes, separated by a distance greater than whatever few feet he’d put between himself and the others.

Larry did that.

...

Eddie got the call at four in the morning. He was loud, greeting the other side with enthusiasm and saying goodbye with even more. “Home free!” he yelled, startling Freddy out of the last vestiges of sleep. The guys called out various exclamations of relief, White chiming in as well. Freddy curled closer to himself and buried his face in his jacket, his stomach churning. They would be leaving tomorrow.

They were ready to go by dawn, stuffed packed away in their three cars. The plan was to split up at the first major highway and meet up in a port city in South Carolina at staggered intervals. White and Pink would show up last after winding their way through Kentucky, up to West Virginia, and then down the coast.

Freddy was standing behind them as they went through the plan one last time, watching with detached interest. None of them had plans to bring him, though he saw White glancing back at him every few minutes. He wondered what White thought he was doing, looking back like he regretted leaving him here. Did he think he was making it easier on Freddy, making him think it was a choice out of his hands? Did he think the pity would make Freddy feel better once they were gone? He was either stupid or cruel.

Blonde slapped him on the back and called him a good pup before he left, a mean smirk on his face that was more familiar than offensive at this point. Brown gave his shoulder a squeeze, perhaps genuinely fond and perhaps patronizing. Pink cast him a suspicious glance on his way out and Blue and Eddie left without a second thought.

White waited until the others were gone before stepping up to Freddy and pulling him into a hug. Freddy stood stiff against him, head down to rest against White’s shoulder.

“Sorry, kid,” said White. Freddy sighed, sagging against him for a moment, letting his weight rest on his solid body. He pulled himself away, looking at White as he moved to stand closer to the ruined couch. They stood in silence, just watching each other. White left after that, wordless in the heavy silence.

The sun was hot on his face as he watched the cars pull away from the broken window. There was no breeze this morning, just hot sunlight and humid air.

Footsteps rang down the hall behind him. “Okay,” he said, “I’m coming.” Freddy turned away from the window, going further into the house.

...

“Shit,” said Larry before he pressed on the break and jerked the wheel around, doing a U-turn in the middle of the street. The two cars in front of them disappeared around a curve.

“What?” said Pink. “Did you fucking forget something?”

“Yeah,” said White, “Freddy.”

“We can’t go back to that fucking house,” protested Pink, “not for that goddamn kid.”

“The hell we can’t.” Larry sped back the way they came, urgency rising in his chest. He couldn’t stop thinking about the look on the kid’s face as they left. He’d seen that kind of hopeless resignation before, in criminals when a heist goes wrong, in cops when a heist goes all too right.

Pink huffed, glaring pissily at Larry. “Why the fuck do you care anyway? Just some kid.”

“He’s grown on me,” said Larry. He parked in the grass in front of the house, barely pausing to undo his seatbelt before exiting the car and running up to the house. He had a horrible feeling something bad was happening in that house.

He found Freddy bleeding from the gut in the front bedroom. It looked like something had tried to tear into him, but there was no weapon, nothing but Freddy’s hands, but the kid couldn’t do that to himself.

Against all odds, he was conscious and reaching for Larry when he appeared in the doorway. “Freddy,” said Larry, collapsing next to the kid and gathering him up as best he could. “Kid, fuck, what happened?”

“You came back,” Freddy croaked. His face crumbled then, in pain and fear and misery. “I don’t want to go anymore. I- bring me back.”

“Yeah,” breathed Larry, “yeah, yeah kiddo, I’m bringin’ you back with me.” He grabbed Freddy’s hands and put them over the wounds, pushing them down. “Put pressure on it, kid, c’mon Freddy.”

Freddy was groaning, no fucking tolerance for pain, when Pink showed up, gun drawn and panting. “I couldn’t find anyone,” he said. “Fuck, that’s a lot of blood. Fuck. Is it bad?”

Larry looked at him. “As opposed to good?”

Freddy cried out, one hand reaching for Larry. “White, bring me- bring me back, please.”

Pink tucked his gun into his pants and said, “What the fuck is he talking about? Bring him back from where?”

Larry paused, looking at Pink. He hadn’t thought of it like that. But that didn’t matter, not yet. “Help me,” said Larry. He lifted one of Freddy’s arms around his shoulder. Pink took his other, bending under Freddy’s weight. “Press on his wound,” he ordered. Pink reached around to Freddy’s belly, bitching the whole time.

They stumbled out of the bedroom and down the hall, out the door and down the ramshackle porch with footsteps from nowhere booming from behind. They staggered across the lawn of overlong grass to the car, Freddy wheezing and crying out Larry’s alias with every step.

Larry opened the back door of the Cadillac and dumped Freddy in, climbing in after him and tossing Pink the keys. “Get to Nashville,” said Larry, “I’ve got a contact there.”

Pink groaned. “You fucking owe me one, asshole.”

“Yeah yeah,” said Larry, “just fucking drive, fishface.”

Freddy’s breathing was labored and he was clutching at Larry’s hands, mumbling “White, White” under his breath. Larry pushed the kid’s hair out of his face, grimaced when all he did was smudged blood over his face. “My name is Larry, kiddo. Can you say it?”

“Larry,” said Freddy. He grinned tremulously, teeth streaked with his own blood. He tried to shift closer and screamed instead.

Larry hushed him, moving to support his head. “That’s it, Freddo. Rest now, we’ll take care of you.”

...

Six years into a life of crime and this was the first time Freddy was seeing the dogs again. Blue had long since retired, but the others were sat around the table like they’d been together all that time. Brown had shaved his awful goatee in the interim and Pink had gained a little weight to fill in his bug-eyed face, but otherwise things were mostly the same. Eddie brought a job from Joe (who was not a mob boss and was, in fact, Eddie’s dad) and, after delivering it, was laughing along with the lot of them at Freddy’s story.

He was telling the one about the ghost baby that haunted his and Larry’s apartment. It screamed and cried and banged on the walls at all hours of the day. Freddy knew it wasn’t actually a ghost; their neighbors had a kid about three years ago and he still cried like an infant, and the banging came from their loud fucking teenager. Still, it was a running joke between them that made for a good story during dinner with their friends, and who said the dogs couldn’t be friends, even if most of them didn’t know each other’s names?

Eddie slapped his hand on the table, still laughing. “You believe in that shit?”

Freddy sobered a little, still snickering but with a tinge of nerves. Beside him, Larry had gone still. Between the two of them, the incident six years ago was still rawest for Larry. “Yeah, I believe in it,” Freddy said, “Why wouldn’t I?”

Eddie snorted. “Because you’re a rational fucking human being?”

Freddy shrugged and leaned back to rest against Larry’s arm, which was stretched across the back of his chair. “I’ve got personal experience.”

Pink groaned. “And he got that personal experience all over my fucking car-”

“That wasn’t your goddamn car,” Freddy laughed, throwing a roll at him from across the table.

“Children, please,” said Blonde, unwrapping a toothpick. Beside him, Brown laughed loudly.

“Says the last guy on earth who still uses toothpicks-”

“What’s that got to do with anything-”

“Oh my god,” said Eddie, “shut the fuck up.” He leaned towards Freddy. “Anyone else seen your fuckin’ ghosties?”

“Yeah,” said Freddy. The table’s occupants nodded in varying degrees of enthusiasm. “Do you think I ripped myself open with a hammer claw?”

“His day’s over if he stubs his toe,” Larry added.

“That’s an exaggeration,” said Freddy. “But it doesn’t matter, ‘cause everyone else knows about the ghosts.”

“Always getcha when you’re alone,” said Brown, nodding sagely. “In your dreams.”

“Oh sure, Madonna,” said Blonde, sending the whole table into peals of laughter.

Freddy leaned into Larry’s side, hand coming to cover his scared abdomen as he laughed. It was the last visible reminder of those lonely few days. Larry always got this pinched look on his face when he saw it, but Freddy liked it. The texture was nice, moving his fingers from numb, rough scar tissue to smooth skin, and he liked remembering that he hadn’t been abandoned to the mercy of more than his share of ghosts.

Besides, he had his own Ghostbuster right here. He grinned at Larry and Larry smiled back, effusively warm.

“I’ll get the bill,” said Eddie when they started to quiet down. “You lot get to work.”

They all pitched in for the tip, though Pink bitched about it until Blonde offered to shoot him to the table at large. They shuffled outside, Blonde and Freddy lighting up the moment they got outside. “See you,” said Freddy, waving at the dogs as they drifted to their own vehicles.

“Later, Orange,” said Brown. He was swinging his keys around his finger on the way to his shitty old Chrysler, and when he got in they could here the strains of KBilly’s turned up too loud through the closed door.

“What a loser,” said Larry. Freddy laughed and followed him to their own car, rolling down the window to finish his cigarette and turning up their own radio.

“Just drive, old man,” he said, and they pulled away in a suffocating cloud of hot exhaust and dust, leaving behind Eddie and Blonde to their argument about whatever.

#reservoir dogs #freddy x larry #freddy newandyke #larry dimmick #mr orange #mr white #it's a haunted house #and a metaphor

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analeoftwocities · 5 years

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Book Read: Six of Crows & Crooked Kingdom by @lbardugo

Beer Paired: Gun Hill Brewery Sticky Situation & Souther Tier Paradox of the Powerful

What We Love About the Books

After reading the Grisha Trilogy, I felt obligated to read the Six of Crows duology. Don’t get me wrong, most of the time, I really enjoyed the Grisha Trilogy. It was right up my alley in genre, characters, style, and content. All of that lined up, but it still felt a little flat to me. Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but even with the perfect formula it still didn’t rise to my list of favorites. And that was that. However, I still felt like I made a commitment that I needed to see through, and so I picked up the Six of Crows duology.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo instantly felt different then her previous trilogy. The characters were more interesting, the setting felt more natural to her writing, like she had settled into it and really let it live. The Grisha Trilogy was good, but this was dynamic. For all my fans of Young Adult fantasy, the Six of Crows duology is where Bardugo shines.

The gritty, dangerous Six of Crows characters are the seediest, least trust worthy, and yet most loveable, relatable characters. This is because the world within this duology, that Bardugo created, is irresistible. The other place where these books shine is their plots. Full of twists and turns, familiar faces, and new characters that will haunt our dreams, these books keep you on the edge of your seat in a way the Grisha Trilogy never could.

After finishing Six of Crows, I was worried that Crooked Kingdom would go to far and masticate the brilliance of Six of Crows. Sometimes I think we take things too far in an attempt to have more of a good thing, but my fears were misled. Crooked Kingdom fell in line with Six of Crows and kept moving in the right direction, both enriching the first, but also bringing so much more.

Don’t get me wrong though. Part of the charm of both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom is the return to the world of the Grisha Trilogy. Sure they take place in Ketterdam not Ravka, but coming in with a familiarity of the world made me, as the reader, feel like one of the gang. Like I was in on the brilliant heist.

There seems to be a bit of a formula in the fantasy fiction genre. Sometimes its hidden in an inventive story, sometimes its predictable and easy to identify. The latter doesn’t make for bad literature, just a little more run of the mill. Where Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy felt to me like it fell in the latter category, the Six of Crows duology falls in the first. Full of anti-heroes and relatable villains, both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom are easy to read, and even easier to loose yourself in. With vivid worlds, twisting plot lines, and juicy characters, these books will keep you enthralled and entertained.

What We Love About the Beers

First, let’s start with Six of Crows. Obviously, we were attracted to this pairing because the same of the beer, Sticky Situation by Gun Hill Brewing Company, felt straight out of the infamous Dirtyhands’ mind itself. What could possibly be more fitting? But then, we tried it, and full transparency this was not our favorite beer. We love Gun Hill Brewing Company, but this just isn’t their best offering, in our humble opinion. And then it struck us, doesn’t that make it even more perfect? Here is a book about a gang of misfits, failures, and frauds banding together and honestly beating bad guys and good guys a like? So, what could be more fitting than a run of the mill beer, masquerading as the perfect match, thus becoming exactly what Six of Crows needs? Too complicated an explanation? Exactly!

Gun Hill’s Sticky Situation is okay. It is their version of a dubbel, but tastes more like a tripel. In fact, it is very alcoholic tasting for a 7.5% ABV beer, probably to the liking of our favorite Ketterdam underdogs. In all fairness, we drank this beer after coming back from Germany and Belgium, where we had some of the best dubbels and tripels we have ever had, and sticky situation just didn’t stand up. However, with its reddish-brown appearance, earthy notes, and full-bodied dry finish, this wanna-be dubbel would fit right into the world of Six of Crows.

For Crooked Kingdom, on the other hand, we truly did find the perfect match, no tricks this time. Paradox of the Powerful by Southern Tier instantly made us think of the Grisha in Crooked Kingdom that are faced with the chance for unparalleled power with Jurda Parem (a drug that enhances their magical abilities), but also the doom that comes with its use. This is truly the paradox of the powerful. Beyond the name’s significance, this beer is very good. With heavy lacing, honey, pear, orange notes, and a dank hop flavor, this is a great offering from Southern Tier. Just like the story the flavors of this beer are new and fresh with every sip. It is a refreshing and juicy beer that is very easy to drink. In fact, I could have had a few without feeling weighed down.

It was the perfect match for the culmination of Bardugo’s best writing, of what we have read of course. Paradox of the Powerful is a great culminating match for the Crooked Kingdom and the Six of Crows duology. It is a unique beer, that is refreshing and enjoyable; just like these books. These made a great pair. The perfect powerful, imaginative world, full of dynamic characters, paired with a flavorful, full-bodied beer to compliment. Are you ready for this magical reading/drinking experience?!

JANUARY 4th! ONE REVIEW DOWN, SO MANY MORE AHEAD. HAPPY NEW YEAR DEAR FRIENDS AND READERS! WE HOPE YOUR NEW YEAR IS FILLED WITH EVERYTHING YOU COULD EVER DREAM OF. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING US THIS FAR, WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE WHERE THIS JOURNEY TAKES US. SO HERE’S TO DISCOVERING NEW WORLDS THROUGH THE BOOKS WE READ, ADVENTURING TO PLACES THAT BROADEN OUR ACUTAL WORLD, TRYING NEW THINGS AND NEW BEERS THAT GROW OUR PASSIONS AND OUR TASTEBUDS, AND MAKING THE TYPE OF CONNECTIONS ALONG THE WAY THAT MAKE IT ALL WORTHWHILE. WE CAN’T WAIT TO CONTINUE THIS AMAZING JOURNEY! 2019, HERE WE COME!

www.analeoftwocities.com

#six of crows #leigh bardugo #ya fantasy #Grishaverse #craft beer #crooked kingdom #book review #beer review #book blog #beer blog #book pairing #beer pairing #bookblr

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lostinthewinterwood · 4 years

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Hetswap 2020

Hey there friend! Thanks for creating for me.

Sorry this letter’s late—it includes the general likes and fandom-specific notes that my signup is tragically lacking.

My other exchange letters can be found here, and all the fandoms I’ve linked have fandom-specific request tags too. I’d be happy to get treats in any medium.

General DNW non/dub-con; non-canonical major character death; heavy angst; hurt no comfort; on-page deliberate self-harm*; on-page suicide; smut; gore; grimdark; complete downer endings; character bashing; incest; cringe comedy; a/b/o; mpreg; graphic eye trauma; graphic hand trauma; issuefic; unrequested full-setting aus; unrequested identity headcanons; a focus on unrequested romantic relationships**. *I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. however, something like cutting would not be appreciated. **canonical levels of canonical ships are perfectly fine; background non-canon ships that I haven’t dnw’d are okay too.

General Likes

– I really like plotty fics

– Secret identity and disguise shenanigans, the more layers to them and more absurdity the better.

– Crossdressing for whatever reason and gender disguises, also for whatever reason, though not as a kink—that I enjoy less.

– A focus on family and/or friendship, especially characters realizing they’re not nearly as alone as they think they are, and just generally characters who like each other and enjoy spending time together

– Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding

– Canon-divergence AUs and missing scenes; things set pre- or post-canon; wriggling into canon and poking at it to see what it spits back at you, if that description makes any sense at all.

Art Things(??)

I’ll be real here, I’ve never requested art before; I don’t really know how best to prompt for it. I like a lot of different styles, though, so—if you matched on art or want to make art, just, do your style? I’m sure I’ll like it! For the visual media, definitely don’t feel pressured to stick to the canonical art style if you don’t want to. Seriously—digital, traditional, some combination—you do you.

As I, again, don’t really know how to prompt well for art, I haven’t given art prompts even where I’ve requested art. Don’t feel pressured to try to work any of the proposed scenarios into your art, though if you feel inspired by them that’s great; just give me the characters together, however you think best—that will be enough.

Podfic

My only podfic-specific comment is that I do generally appreciate not having very sudden volume shifts, especially from quiet to loud, as I like to listen on headphones. Apart from that, again, go with your style :D

Original Work

· Male reforester who's planted thousands of trees/Female dryad of the new forest

· Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Female Student Warrior Disiguised as a Boy

· Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl/Female Fellow Student Mage

· Runaway Princess/King of Thieves

· Sheltered Prince/Roguish Female Thief

· Teen Girl Medium/Ghost of a Murdered Detective Helping her Solve the Case (OW)

· Teenage Supervillainess with a Secret Identity/Teenage Superhero with a Secret Identity

· Teenage Supervillain with a Secret Identity/Teenage Superheroine with a Secret Identity

· Fanfiction

This isn't a hard-and-fast rule, but I'd rather all the human characters in relationships be at least fifteen, and I'd rather not have a very large age gap (say, >5 years) if one of the characters is underage. (For the medium/ghost, you don't need to keep it that small; just maybe don't draw too much attention to it and/or make her an older teenager lol).

fandom-specific dnw: predatory manipulation between characters in the relationship in service of the relationship--if, for example, the superheroes/villains are manipulating each other for non-relationship things and such that's okay, but i'd rather both parties in any of the ships be interested in the romance of their own accord. Additionally—this isn’t in my signup—please don’t have characters react to any gender-disguised characters (or characters in general, but it’s most relevant to them) in transphobic or transphobic-adjacent ways (i.e. none of the characters are requested as trans, but I still wouldn’t want to see the kinds of comments people make about trans people aimed at them).

Reforester/Dryad—I really like, idk, the vibe I get off this one—it’s got a very nice atmosphere? I don’t really know how better to say it, I’m sorry.

Student Mage/Student Warrior; Student Mage/Student Mage—obviously I love identity and disguise shenanigans; it always struck me as tragic when I was younger that there were all these stories about girls disguised as boys, but no one ever seemed to do the reverse? Hence prompts such as these. I’d love an identity/gender reveal, or maybe a post-reveal setting; I’d really rather not see them engage in any kind of serious romance without both of their genders being accurately known to the other, though flirting is definitely okay, as would be a date or two. It’d be fun to go with some variety of mutual pining pre-reveal though, that could make the reveal all the sweeter.

Runaway Princess/King of Thieves; Sheltered Prince/Roguish Thief—these seem to be mirrors of each other, somewhat at least; how does a royal meet a thief? Does our princess find herself in the criminal underworld when she runs away? Does our prince have a burglar appear on his balcony, or does he perhaps meet a girl at a masquerade who’s no noble and instead a thief?

Medium/Ghost—lots of fun shenanigans you can go into here! What kind of case are they working on? How does a relationship work, when one of you is alive and the other isn’t?

Supervillain(ess)/Superhero(ine)—love me some superhero identity shenanigans. Do they know each other in their normal lives? Are their identities secret from each other, or only the world? How do they first fall for each other—were they friends in their normal lives and enemies in masks? Is this enemies-to-lovers, friends-to-lovers, or maybe something in-between? How do they reconcile a romantic relationship with one being a hero and the other a villain?

Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure

· Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel (Cartoon)

· Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Stalyan (Cartoon)

· Fanfiction

Eugene/Rapunzel—they’re adorable. I love them. Give me more—a moment in their lives? Something in the year before the series starts; something post-canon? Or maybe glimpses of them on the road?

Eugene/Stalyan—I will admit that this certainly isn’t my endgame ship for this canon, but I’d really love something pre-canon, when they were engaged or dating—what was their relationship like? How did they interact with each other and the world? Maybe a heist fic; that could be fun. My interpretation from what we get in canon is that their relationship wasn’t necessarily the healthiest (healthy relationships don’t usually lead to one getting left at the altar, after all) but it didn’t seem to me that it was necessarily abusive; I’d appreciate it if it was kept out of the actually abusive zone.

Hanging Out with a Gamer Girl (Manga)

· Terazaki Kaoru/Takekawa Izumi (HOwaGG)

· Terazaki Kaoru/Ousaka Nanami (HOwaGG)

· Fanart

· Fanfiction

· Podfic

Fandom-specific dnw: sexualization of Kaoru’s crossdressing, full justification of Kaoru’s fears re: Nanami’s dad

Kaoru/Izumi—they’re both cute; they have cute interactions; give me more of that?

Kaoru/Nanami—I, admittedly, don’t usually ship these two—but I love their friendship. Give me more of that, show me how it becomes a romance?

My typical DNW for unrequested setting aus does not apply here; if you want to write an au and want some ideas, I requested several in my AUEx letter.

Tortall – Tamora Pierce

· Stiloit Tasikhe/Varice Kingsford

· Kaddar Iliniat/Kalasin of Conté

· Roald II of Conté/Shinkokami of Conté

· Fanfiction

fandom-specific dnw: characters in the political marriages hating being married to their spouse throughout the fic--they can start off with reservations or not liking it but i'd really rather end with them at the very least liking their spouse.

Stiloit/Varice—they had quite interesting interactions, the few times they got the chance; Varice is a bit young for him in Tempests and Slaughter, but say he didn’t die—say he was alive still when she grew up a bit more—what does their relationship look like? What changes in the wider story, if Stiloit doesn’t die, if Ozorne doesn’t become quite so close to the throne as young as he does?

Kaddar/Kalasin; Roald/Shinko—these are both political marriages between characters who either seem to like each other or like they’d have a reasonable chance to like each other; what does marriage look like when you came into it as a diplomatic thing rather than falling in love? How do they learn about and come to care for each other?

Revolutionary Arc – kitsunerei88

· Aldon Rosier/Francesca Lam (Revolutionary Arc)

· Aleksandr Willoughby Dragic/Fei Long Lin (Revolutionary Arc)

· Fanart

· Fanfiction

Aldon/Chess—they do not have enough fluff or gentleness in the story right now; I’d like some more, please. Maybe post-war, with Chess off at muggle university—how does Aldon do with living properly in the muggle world? What do Chess’s classmates/friends think of him? I would also happily accept fluff/soft things set in the universe of Blake.

Alex/Fei—they haven’t ah, interacted ever in canon that I recall, but they seem like they’d fit together well, if only for a little while—is this a wartime friends-with-benefits? Maybe post-war? If you go with the friends-with-benefits take here I wouldn’t necessarily mind a bit of smut, as long as it’s not only smut—please no PWP.

Rigel Black Chronicles – murkybluematter

· Arcturus Rigel Black/Pansy Parkinson (Rigel Black Series)

· Remus Lupin/Rispah Cooper (Rigel Black Series)

· Fanart

· Fanfiction

Archie/Pansy—so. Archie’s quite attached to Hermione right now; but he’s also fourteen. Not all romantic interests people have at age fourteen stay strong; I’d rather not have a hard break or too many hard feelings between him and Hermione, and I think he’d be interesting to see with Pansy. As for Pansy herself—she seems to be too close to Rigel as a friend to seriously consider him as a partner, but she did seem potentially interested in Harry at the Gala—perhaps she’d also be interested in Archie, when she gets to meet him properly. Maybe this is a post-reveal thing; perhaps in trying to get to know the real Black heir she falls for him? I don’t know.

Remus/Rispah—this is admittedly partly my inner Song of the Lioness fan coming out, but I’d love to see Remus learning more about the Lower Alleys and what goes on there, and conversely bringing Rispah more into his world too.

#hetswap #exchange letters #requested: art #requested: podfic #requested: fic #requested: original work #requested: rapunzel's tangled adventure #requested: hanging out with a gamer girl #requested: tortall #requested: revolutionary arc #requested: rigel black chronicles

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thechroniclesofdaraliss · 7 years

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100 Dungeons & Dragons Campaign/Session Ideas

While I have always been fond of RPGs, my first encounter with tabletops was Dungeons & Dragons. The iconic platform was created in 1974 and has served as one of the greatest contributions to the gaming world. While there are many great systems out there in tabletop format (Mutants & Masterminds, Shadowrun, Vampire: The Masquerade), none of them would have been possible if D&D had not paved the trail first. Of course, the pioneer of the tabletop RPG world can be intimidating to try out. The technical aspects can be difficult to navigate, it’s the most enduring tabletop, and you may be wondering what you can make that hasn’t been done already. However, one of the best parts of this system is that if you have ever dreamed of going on an epic adventure, being the hero of a magical world, or wanted to battle the forces of evil with friends, this system gives you the freedom to do all of this and more. It’s for this reason that I have made a list of campaign or session ideas I’ve either field tested or always wanted to try out. Enjoy!

1) Slaves are rounding up captives on every continent. Some believe it’s to diversify the types of slaves sold, but it’s really a plot to find the legendary Gatekeepers. There is said to be one from each race and the Slavers won’t stop until all of them are captured 2) A Holy War has broken out between two rival Gods. While both sides go to war with promises of salvation, there’s something much more sinister lurking under the surface 3) In an attempt to save his wife, a young Necromancer gets a ritual wrong at the Tomb of Uther, and has instead summoned hoards of the undead. They are rampaging all across the continent, and only you can stop them. 4) The Queen has been assassinated and the king has hired you to find out who among her many enemies carried out the contract on her life. 5) A Thief Guild has taken a step out of wanton crime and into overthrowing governments. You must either assist these anarchists in their goals, or join the nobility and try to stop them 6) The party encounters a coliseum, and they are offered a chance at profit if they win. But there are sinister elements at play in this world where murder is a sport. 7) A terrible Plague has swept its way across the kingdom, but the source is most unnatural 8) You are tasked with storming an ancient crypt riddled with traps in order to collect parts of a map. However, the map leads to a multitude of new locations, each with a miraculous treasure and a harrowing obstacle 9) A local Barbarian Tribe has kidnapped a noble’s son. You have been hired to bring him or his body back. Only it seems that the Barbarians have accepted the young lad into their ranks by the time you arrive. 10) The party is tasked with finding a legendary creature in a safari. However, the Goddess of Nature deems this the last straw and wages a war on the civilized world. 11) A city ahs lost its inhabitants overnight, and it seems that otherworldly forces are at play 12) The party must retrieve an artifact from an ancient bandit tribe. But when they make contact, they learn that the bandits have a terrible secret. One that grants them immortality and makes them a danger to the entire world. 13) A massive portal has been ripped in the center of the kingdom, and the royalty has tasked you with discovering how and why this has happened 14) A demented Gorgon has been harvesting people and animals for her “Garden of the Dead.” You must find a way to rescue them all and not become a new addition to her collection 15) You encounter a graveyard, yet the rumors of a Necromancer being at large are debunked by the presence of moving statues that are gifted with great combat finesse 16) An ancient Lich has waged war against the Elfish Kingdom. Yet the reasons are more personal in nature 17) A series of enchanted objects have appeared, and it’s up to the party to collect them all and return them to the Tower of Secrets before they fall into the wrong hands 18) An ancient race of Giants invaded the kingdoms after they were believed to be long dead. After they were defeated, it’s revealed that they’re not the only ancient race that has resurfaced 19) A dark figure arrives at a hanging ordained by the nobility. He claims that this corrupt system is going to be replaced with a new one. One that is even more terrible and awe inspiring 20) A series of dark crystals are found in your world. What’s more is that touching one gives you access to a shadowy reflection of your world, and it’s filled with a wilderness of horrors 21) An ancient artifact is revealed to have belonged to one of the Bard Kings. It soon goes missing and it’s up to the party to find it and return it to the proper heir 22) A Ranger arrives at a tavern, and he is full of life and charismatic. Only when he takes his first sip of ale, he is found he is found dead some time later. The catch? The ale isn’t poisoned 23) A series of Ogres charge through the countryside and are casting spells with greater finesse than trained wizards. What’s most troubling is that Ogres shouldn’t be able to use magic. 24) A God has issued a contest to the mortal kingdoms. He has dropped a blessed object on Earth and encourages all of them to fight in order to obtain it 25) The most oppressive of the Kingdoms has outfitted their armies with incredible weapons. They have the ability to cut through the hardest armor and its available to each of them. There can only be one explanation, one of the legendary blacksmiths has been enslaved! 26) Despite centuries of transgressions and unprovoked wars, the Orcs are attempting to come to peace terms with the other nations. Is it an honest attempt at peace, or some kind of trick? 27) The forest has been producing a series of insidious and bloodthirsty creatures. Local mages claim there’s only one explanation, the arcane center of the forest has become corrupted 28) There is an “Arcane Olympics” taking place at the capital 29) A series of “crimson cuts” have formed in the sky, and they are spilling monsters onto your world that are unnatural and extremely intelligent 30) You must clear the name of one of your party members, who has been framed for a crime. This is likely the doing of your party member’s rival, a noble who has lusted after your friend’s bride/husband for years 31) The God of Death ahs discovered a way to turn the souls of the departed into fuel for a ritual that will change the course of history 32) Monsters have been ravaging the wilderness, but it turns out that they are children that were contorted into these awful shapes. They are simply trying to communicate or defend themselves from hostile people. It’s up to you to either rescue and reform them, or to put them out of their misery 33) The Dwarf Kingdom has shut its borders. Yet the Council of 40 Clans protests against this. Perhaps the conflict lies with the King himself. 34) The Elves are suffering severe persecution and are being hunted within their own nation’s borders. You must decide whether to aid the hunters, or to resist and keep the Elves safe 35) A group of mercenaries claim they have a mission vital the safeguarding of the kingdom they need you to deliver a message to them and persuade them to help. Is it a scheme by the mercenaries, the negligence of the nobles, or something else entirely? 36) A massive lake that was once the center of the Halfling way of life has now been frozen in the middle of summer. It’s up to you to return the lake to its original glory 37) The entire party is turned into animals and they must find a way to return to their original humanoid forms 38) You happen upon a village an find that it’s teeming with beauty, peace, and pleasure. But upon realizing that it’s too perfect, it’s actually a village of murderers and manipulators. 39) The animals are suddenly attacking a local village. But what could anger them so intensely? The village doesn’t even hunt. 40) After a strange cosmological event, thirteen new islands have surfaced in a sea that was entirely deep water. You have been tasked with investigating each new island and reporting what you find 41) You happen upon a seaside church where many sailors have been taken in for injuries. What’s more is that the monks refuse to let you bathe in the water. They claim that something terrible lurks beneath the waves 42) The party is knocked unconscious and awakens in a village at the peak of the trees, all resting on chutes of bamboo and in the company of Monkeyfolk 43) You enter a town where there are no children. The mayor gets the party in a room alone and reveals that twisted alchemists are stealing all of the children to unlock the secret of immorality 44) You encounter a tribe of Gnomes that have turned their mountain village into a mobile mountain. It’s a marvel of engineering that could either bring the Gnomes from the brink of destruction from the last war, or it could make them the initiators of a new war 45) A Vampiric group known as the Red Fang is acting in opposition to local Clerics. They claim that it’s wrong to have the public live short life in fear when there’s another life waiting where they can be free and do as they please. The chief one of these new rights being the right to kill in order to feed 46) A family of four nature spirits has been separated so that corrupt mages can exploit their arcane potential 47) A witch that lives in a hollow Elder Tree promises knowledge in exchange for services. Simple as it seems on the surface, she is masking truly vicious intentions 48) A war is about to break out between Bandit Clans because the “perfect heist” was foiled 49) A family of Kobolds occupies a nearby mine. The nobility insists that these Kobolds are vicious and untrustworthy. But the Kobolds have a different story. They are looking to start anew 50) A series of murders are being committed inside the city walls that mirror the methods of a killer that was publically executed a week ago 51) The Council of Wizards and the Circle of Druids are in opposition. A marriage from one member of both parties has driven both of them off the deep end 52) Mysterious runes form at the front of a town hall’s door and reveal a riddle 53) A n ancient witch is trying to bind three royal sisters in an attempt to absorb them in a spell to give her Life, Form, and Magic. She will then return from the grave with all the power to exact revenge on the people that wronged her in life 54) The combination of magic and industry has created a massive rift where the laws of nature have no meaning 55) After years of researching, you discover a tree that has the ability to turn you into any race. Some believe it can turn you into a God, while others will not consume it because it can turn you into a Demon 56) You encounter a group of merchants that deal in items of emotional value rather than monetary value 57) You have been tasked with recovering artifacts that contain six of the most ancient Gods that scriptures of any religion can record. Some are benevolent and cooperative while others are hostile and manipulative 58) You must find a way to break out of a prison that is run by your sworn enemies 59) You must rescue a young warrior who is trapped in a mysterious forest. What’s more is that you must defeat a Demonic Insect Queen before getting this warrior free 60) A noble family has been thriving off of the exploitation of minorities in their jurisdiction. It’s up to you to find a way to take this family down in the name of justice 61) A council of mages has designs on becoming the most powerful group on earth. They have numerous arcane plots afoot that will shake the world as you know it to the core. You must find each member and defeat them before their plans can be completed 62) In a botched attempt to claim vengeance on a Dread Pirate, you must enter his service in order to survive on the high seas 63) A horrific creature has been attacking the Mead Hall every full moon. It seems entirely immune to weapons, both conventional and enchanted 64) You encounter clues that the legend of a city in the clouds is true. You must reach the city before the Human Nation does, as they want to use the weapons it holds for world domination 65) An ex-thief has teamed up with the nobility. In exchange for taking down Thief Guilds, his children are guaranteed a future 66) As a Beast Hunter, you must collect the five Grand Trophies, Razorfish, Manitcore, Kopru, Thraal, and Necronaut 67) Lovecraftian priests from another realm have invaded the physical plain, possessed humans, and are now manipulating the most powerful people on earth. They hope to bend the entire world to their will before the year is out 68) Magic has entered a state of flux. Mages of the world have come to the conclusion that the only way to return it to normally is by reaching the Fountain of Divination. 69) People have gone missing in the Forest of Dark Dreams. You go there and discover that an infestation of intelligent spiders have been keeping people a live and feeding off of them piece by piece 70) Nine of the most gifted warriors to ever assemble are forced into exile after the last way. Yet with them gone, crimes and wars have gone up in all of the kingdoms. It’s up to you to find each of them and to return the world to normal 71) An inventor is crafting items that are far ahead of your time (pistols, rudimentary tanks, primitive flying machines, etc) 72) As you travel with a group of Bards, trouble is following them like ticks on a dog. Yet it’s not simple bar fights or pranks amongst themselves. Assassins are trying to reach them wherever they go, and everyone from thrones to gutters is after them. But why? 73) An ancient mine ahs had its workers going missing. Many believe it to be a mining accident, but you hear rumors that it could be “her.” 74) A network of smugglers and murderers has overtaken the sewers. As long as they maintain this place as their hideout, not even the Royal Guard can keep them in check. Either smoke them out, or join their ranks. 75) An ancient castle has been discovered, but the landscape has been turned into frigid cold and the entire structure has fallen onto its side. The entire castle remains intact, but you will have to crawl through this dungeon from a different perspective 76) A volcanic tribe of Dwarves has lost contact with the outside world. You investigate to find that insects have infested this tribe’s homeland. What’s more is that they seem totally immune to heat and lava 77) Your ship is caught in hurricane winds along the high seas. Your entire party falls overboard, and you awaken to find that you are in an undersea dome where a pocket of air holds a legendary kingdom that has faded out of history books and into obscurity and myth…until now 78) You encounter a temple that is at the center of a natural anomaly. The seasons are at full strength in different directions, with the temple as its center. Winter to the North, Summer to the South, Fall to the West, and Spring to the East 79) A string of island nations have been overcome with horrible water known as the Crimson Tide. All creatures that swim in it are overcome with rot and ships deteriorate when they sail in it. What’s more is that the ring of destructive water is closing in on the islands, as though it going to devour them all. You must find a way to relieve these kingdoms of this curse before a genocide occurs 80) After all of the High Kings and Queens have been poisoned at a feast, every nation is at each other’s throats. You must find who is responsible, or the world as you know it will be torn apart in an endless war 81) You are welcomed by some of the wealthiest nobility for miles around. Yet for all the rumors, their home is dark, the villagers are terrified to speak the family’s name, and they eat from empty plates and drink from empty glasses 82) Toward the end of his life, an Alchemist created an “Ultimate Dowser.” It was first regarded as junk but was used to help prevent cosmic catastrophes. Now the time for using it has come again, yet it only works in one person’s hands…yours. 83) You walk through a forest and find that the trees are bleeding and that moans form with no wind to produce them 84) A handsome man has been seen in multiple towns and cities. He courts only the most wealthy and beautiful young girls. Yet for all his promises of keeping them safe, they always end up dead. He is now hunting an Earl’s daughter, and he pleads that you protect her from this horrible man. His presence has already been confirmed near the estate 85) A Barbarian boy is left for dead when his tribe has suffered a beating. He claims that with the death of their current leader (which is now inevitable, given his age), they will surely unleash the monster they’ve been keeping hidden for so long: the Mountain Troll 86) The King has had dozens of legitimate children and even more illegitimate ones. With his dying wish, he pleads you bring his true eldest son, Alan. The boy doesn’t know that he’s the son of a king, but you must protect him from his knifing siblings or else the kingdom will be in ruins 87) A terrible drought is sapping the earth and forests of their vitality. Most don’t know what to do, but all of them suspect tha the new Archmage is involved 88) At the center of all nations lies a mountain range known as the Eye. It is one of the wildest portions of the world. Some caverns go deeper than any recorded mine, and the peak goes well beyond the clouds. It’s up to you to find out what wonders this natural marvel holds 89) A master spy has lost contact with her lover. She pleads that you find him before he is tortured into giving information up or before he’s dispatched. In exchange, she will give you the chance to live any life you want 90) A mother has lost her son to the horrible plots of a coven of Witches. In an attempt to get revenge on them, she too begins practicing sorcery and enlists your help in exacting her revenge 91) A routine exterminator job turns out to be a dungeon crawl. You enter a woman’s pantry, and you find a passage that leads to a historical marvel of a site. The rats soon grow to enormous sizes and you see the ruins of a great battlefield that extend for miles beneath the surface. It’s your job to find out what happened. 92) After losing himself to madness, Kai-Von the Swift (mightiest of the Barbarians) has issued a decree to all other tribes: surrender or see true darkness 93) Corrupt Paladins have been tricking their apprentices into delivering young sacrifices to them so they can conduct rituals to Pagan Gods. 94) A blackmailer has been harvesting the so did secrets of all nobles in the kingdom 95) A clever Countess has arranged for a ball where she can delight her guests and kill her enemies 96) You are tasked with delivering a small chest to the next kingdom, but you are forbidden from looking inside 97) An ancient grove reveals itself. You see there are several figures appear, each claiming to be a guardian spirit that was once human 98) A child is kidnapped by their uncle for ransom. But this isn’t a normal crime, the commoner child has aspirations of killing the heroes 99) The party is caught in the throes of a terrible storm, and they must find a way to escape from the pale-faced creature that chases them relentlessly through the rustling trees 100) The Grand Forest is more expansive than any sea and more dangerous than any battlefield. Yet the crown has decreed that you must investigate it. You can bring any allies or friends you wish, but when you go out there, you are both at your most free and your most vulnerable.

#dungeons and dragons #campaign ideas #rpg world #story inspiration #rpg #session ideas #tabletop rpgs

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