#MAYBE artificer if i can come up with a plan for her

[dissentersrising]

arcane-hatched, plague-blessed, wind-hearted

in less obtuse terms: local wet arcane rat moth goes gallivanting around all of sornieth, stopping at the wyrmwound to take a god damn dip and get a whole bunch of fins

[nevermorgue]

Hii :3

Do you have any headcanons for misfits if they were in steampunk/fantasy au?

I love your headcanons so much <3

Hi anon! Thank you sooo much, you don’t know how happy it makes me that people actually like my stuff LOL

Fantasy time? Fantasy time. Imagine your standard DND world with steampunk technology. Let’s see…

- Lenore is a human artificer. And in this universe we can actually KEEP her family’s influence with the railroad.

- Her family’s trains and steam powered machinery are more than just that- they use magical components to be more effective and better than competition.

- Lenore and Theo were still very musically gifted here. Can’t take away that sibling bond

- maybe in this universe Theo died under more mysterious/foul play circumstances? Giving Lenore a motive to go and form a party and all that

- maybe Lenore was present and got injured/lost consciousness and can’t remember what occurred that day. got her hip injury from it

- then her father keeps her locked inside not only to protect her from whoever did this to her and Theo, but because with her hip now permanently injured he doesn’t really see her as useful anymore (asshole)

- Speaking of which, she still sets fire to the mansion and ditches at night.

- Steals a prototype of a very fancy gun that her father was planning to make to her sold. Magic, of course.

- Also still resumes the identity of the fictional Leo Vandernacht.

- She fled on horseback from the house and to a small town. This is where the story of the party begins

- Lenore has a kinda shitty cane right now, forced to use a large stick until she can actually find a store that has canes.

- She comes across a small crowd watching a bard perform. A tall, elvan man using illusion magic to entertain while also somehow playing a floating lute without touching it.

- As she stops to peer over, she feels a hand poke at her “cane” with a clicking tongue sound

- “Goodness, how is this supposed to support you at all?”

- Lenore sees- the same man. Turns out he has his illusionary self performing while he goes around to loot the crowd for anything that looks valuable. A very shifty bard indeed.

- This is how Lenore meets Duke, an elf bard that uses his charisma and many skills to draw crowds and hopefully people careless enough to leave valuables unattended.

- oh speaking of Duke. So I can keep his French. French = Elvish here. Let’s pretend.

- Lenore makes a lot of jabs at him for what he does, but he insists that the performing is his main thing and that’s what he loves. He only does the ‘look around for things to take’ deal in richer areas where they won’t notice losing a few things. Think like…a better Robin Hood.

- He gives her exactly 5 gold pieces and tells her to get an actual cane. After some more banter and light hearted jabs, he just decides to go with her. They’re fast friends.

- Lenore ends up getting a nice cane that supports her hip far better than an oversized stick could ever do. She vaguely explains her circumstances in half truths to Duke, who then decides to take her to the tavern.

- The walk between the store and the tavern is where they meet Pluto…because he tries to pickpocket Duke.

- Duke doesn’t even seem phased. He just shakes his head in fake disappointment, lifting Pluto up by the scruff of his cape.

“Again, mon minou? How many times must we go through this?”

- turns out they know each other. Pluto is a human rogue who has lived underneath this town his whole life, using theft to barely scrape by. He tried to rob Duke once and now it’s like a little game. Duke finds it amusing, and Pluto honestly keeps trying just to see him again.

- Now the three are a trio!! Lenore keeps jabbing at them both for being thieves, even revealing that she stole most of the items on her person as well.

- Pluto and Duke doing the same thing for different reasons: listen. Pluto using theft to survive, barely holding on. Duke doing it to make a statement, someone who has plenty but takes anyway to very slowly make an influence on the world both through performance and helping others. Nice little “doing the same thing for very different reasons” thing.

- Tavern time. They meet an adorable Eladrin girl who is working there as a waitress named Morella (Paladin of course). She’s a student in town and this is her part time job.

- They also meet Berenice and Eulalie here. Berenice is a tiefling fighter, Eulalie an aasimar sorcerer. They’re actually part of the local adventurers guild and are celebrating a recent victory in which they took back a village from a raid.

- Lenore takes interest in the guild, which leads to them all sitting together with Morella frequently coming by to chat.

- Oh yeah Pluto definitely has met them before too. He made eye contact once with Eulalie while he was sitting on a roof and he nearly fell off.

- He’s seen Berenice underground. He doesn’t know what she does, especially watching her go between the dangerous underground and to the surface, but he watches her wrap her bleeding knuckles with concern.

- This is the start of something new for her, something she can tell is worthwhile. All of the people she’s met since coming to town have already started to mean something special to her.

I did WAY more than I expected i’m so sorry anon-

[kiisuuumii]

@kiisuuumii's writerly questionnaire !

thank you @lead-to-code for tagging (ily kara <33)

i'd love to see yall's answers (only if you'd like to share of course !) @noahsbong @yearning-rambles @thesorcererpoet

about me:

1. when did you first start writing?

i was maybe between seven and nine ? to be honest, i can't really remember when it was, but i remember the first few things i wrote were story quizzes on a (now gone </3) website called quizilla (it was naruto rp....................)

2. are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

not really, now that i actually think about it ! ive always been the type of writer that only liked writing angst, and even outside of writing (fan) fiction (which tbh i dont do very much of anymore), so much of my poetry either comes from heavy emotion or features it so sdghjksd

3. is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you're often compared?

theres one mutual, actually, who i actually wished i could write more like. in a very self-deprecating way, but ive since become very comfortable, and maybe even happy (!), with my style of writing ! so, no, i'm not really looking to emulate anyone in particular, and no one's ever made a comparison between my work and someone else's so no to that one too :0

4. can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)? (room, coffee shop, desk, etc)

i usually write on my phone, in the notes app or in my drafts here ! and ill usually only write in a (head) space where i can really think, undisturbed, for at least 30-45 mins. so i'll usually be out in my backyard under one of my calamansi trees ! though, lately, ive been occasionally writing at my desk on desktop tumblr :>

5. what's your most effective way to muster up some muse?

fall in love with someone

once i start thinking about how everything around me is alive, i start remembering that i, too, am apart of nature—a lucky enough set of sequenced mutations, to make me—just a eating, breathing, shitting animal. how lucky this set of mutations is to take it all in, the emeralds in the trees, and the beat of a chipmunk's heart, how scared we all are.

that or love

6. did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

people, no, but places, yes. i grew up for most of my childhood in the desert, and i have /always/ hated summers, because i'm kinda heat sensitive, and i sweat easily, and i hate it i hate i hate it djhks

but, a year ago, i moved back home, and, honestly, since being back home, ive come to appreciate the desert a bit more sgkjds i used to think they were ugly and uninteresting, but there's so much more there if you look a bit harder imo

7. are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

honestly !! i think there are plenty obvious ones, but i really wanna talk about /the lack of/ sexual themes in my work !! i wanna write more sexetry or whatever, but it feels really embarrassing to sdghks i really like writing them too, but again !! it just feels embarrassing !! ;w;

my characters:

1. would you please tell me about your current favourite character? (current wip, post wip, never used, etc)

not to copy of kara dskjfs but i love my first (and my current) d&d chara !! her name is maeve umerie, and shes a drow wild magic sorcerer / (planned artillerist) artificer !! shes so packed full of trauma and self-harming behaviors and addictions that i dont even know where to start <33 (i promise i love her i would actually be so devastated if she died before i could give her a proper happy ending </3)

2. which of your characters do you think you'd be friends with in real life?

i have this fantasy novel thought that ive floated in my head since maybe september-october of last year, and, in it, i have a character named levin hel, and AUGH hes just a sweetie :^( hes the son of a blacksmith-gunsmith duo who know a thing or two about magic, and is the apprentice to the son of the wizard who saved his life (who's name is nox, and he's an asshole ! but also i love him so much ;v;)

i need go go back to all my notes and stuff on it, bc i invested A LOT of time worldbuilding for it, but yea levin's a very kindhearted person, very much wanting to be like nox's father :'''^) </3

3. which of your characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

i would absolutely hate to meet maeve mother. she's horribly self-serving and emotionally manipulative. she rules the house with an iron fist, and anything less than the best is worthless. she uses everything at her disposal to get what she wants, family or not.

4. tell me about the process of coming up with one, all, or any of your characters.

im ngl most if not all of my characters are just bits and pieces of me and my wants in different aus >_> .................................

5. do you notice any recurring themes/traits among your characters?

family and/or religious trauma mhm yep

6. how do you picture them? (as real people you imagined, as models/actors who exist in real life, as imaginary artwork, as artwork you made or commissioned, anime style, etc)

for my fantasy wip, i imagine imaginary artwork, but for maeve, i have pieces i've drawn and pieces i've commissioned of her !! id love to someday get pieces of her family and other major characters in her past commissioned :>

my writing:

1. what's your reason for writing?

i will say that it's changed over the years. as a kid, and up until college, i've wanted to always be a story-teller. but, lately, i dont really have a reason for writing, other than to satisfy the thing that lives inside me that wants to write :^)

2. is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particular motivating coming from your readers?

knowing other people's reactions, getting to hear how something made them feel emotionally, or physically, or if there was a particular thought or memory that came to mind. i love knowing what people see, what my work makes people see, if anything.

that or if theres something, a word choice, or a line, that you thought was clever or struck you !!! i always love knowing people's thoughts !!!

3. how do you want to be thought of by those who read your work? (for example: as a literary genius, or as a writer who "gets" the human condition; as a talented world builder, as a role model, etc)

i want to be thought of just as another person, honestly. someone who had very human emotions, and did the only thing she knew how to do.

4. what do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

uhhhhh im ngl i think this is also my greatest weakness but i have a tedium to my world-building, in that i need history-book-level details of my worlds or i will die (like i drew my own map. i drew a fucking map of an entire contiment)

5. what have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

yk,,,,, no ones given me a whole lot of specifics so im not sure,,,,,

6. how do you feel about your own writing? (answer in whatever way you interpret this question)

i said it before, but im pretty content at the moment with my poetry. though with prose, i think i could probably improve a bit sdgjksg

7. if you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

uh yeah !!!! i write and record voice memos in my journal fully knowing no one will ever read it or listen back right now as it is so !!!!

8. when you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy? if it's a mix of the two, which holds most influence?

i gotta be honest, writing is a selfish act for me. i write because i want to, in ways that tickle my fancy dgkjds

it really is almost like an instinct for me

[blorbologist]

Hi 👋 sorry to bother and I hope it's okay: I have a question about AooD (my brain decided to randomly scream Thoughts at me today)

Will characters fit into classic DND classes or are you planning to step away from that? I was wondering if Vex will still be a ranger/rogue or some other multiclass, like adding some paladin because of her close connection to divinity. Or maybe some other characters would have minor changes because they're living in a different age and society looks much different from what we know from VM campaign.

MORE than okay! I'm always looking to talk about this AU and poke at it more <3

I do want to broadly work with the constraints of the world; in Calamity characters still had classes, so I'll be sticking to that.

Here's where things get a lil interesting:

I'm sure you'll have noticed Trinket was not in that first chapter :)

Vex is a rogue/paladin in this AU! This was mostly inspired by Laura's responses to a question about alternative classes; she noted that she initially wanted Vex to be a rogue (but went with ranger so Liam could be rogue), and that the idea of late-campaign Vex being a paladin was pretty cool. The fact this exactly mirrors Vax's canon multiclass (bar the last level in druid) is also very intentional. ;3 However I'm letting Vex have ranged smite, because though everyone bickers that it'd be OP to allow... she's the twin of a god. Beastmaster was chronically underpowered in C1. She deserves this.

(Trinket is in the fic I repeat the boy is in the fic he's just not Vex's ranger companion!)

I'm a bit indecisive about Percy. Either he's an artificer, flavored that all his abilities are just gadgets and tinkering, or he's straight fighter like canon. He's 100% magic-free though, without any warlock abilities, and that definitely puts a chip on his shoulder in this mageocratic society. I fully intend for him to flatly call himself a diversity hire at some point. In much the same way that Cerrit has a bit of hubris for being a rogue keeping wizards in line, Percy has a lot of pride staked in doing just what these fancy mages can without any arcane abilities of his own, using SCIENCE!! to accomplish what they do. Not many people in Aeor who know him personally like him lmao.

As a hint of what's to come, most of the other characters remain the same class as canon, if potentially a different subclass or with a multiclass/different multiclass level distribution. Ex: Tary is either a pure artificer or artificer/wizard, Grog might be a zealot or giant barbarian instead of berserker... Ripley is still fighter/wizard, if an opposite split ;3

The one other major class change might be Pike, due to the lack of strong religious belief during the Age of Arcanum. Back in the day Vasselheim placed at least some importance in the divine, hence labelling attempts at ascension hearsay; see Calamity episode 1. But I don't think even they would be quite as zealous as they are in the modern day; Vespin was a mage, a titled archmage, within the city, and we don't know if Vasselheim had the amount of space devoted to temples it does now. She might be a Divine Soul Sorcerer with one level dip into Cleric, but I'll see how my Vasselheim arc shakes up.

Oh. I lied. There's one more major class difference, but it's with an NPC, and that I'll keep to myself ;3

[spacemonkeysalsa]

God of Ambivalence

A tiefling Artificer splits a large stone on a beach to discover a one handed-wizard inside.

Pairing - OC/Gale & Shadowheart/Lae'zel but there will be more as it goes on.

Read Chapter One on Ao3

Read Chapter Two on Ao3

Read Chapter Three on Ao3

Read Chapter Four on Ao3

Read Chapter Five on Ao3

Read Chapter Six on Ao3

Read Chapter Seven on Ao3

Read Chapter Eight on Ao3

or read Chapter Eight, below

The sanctum’s courtyard was where most of the restoration work had been done so far. Perhaps because it was more a matter of gardening than stonework. However, there was some fine stonecraft to show off, now that the walls had all been patched. And the bridge across the ravine was repaired and reinforced. The portcullis had been removed entirely, melted down and used to create a fence for the vegetable garden. This was where Shadowheart’s dire wolf lay fast asleep in the sun, enjoying his protective duties.

The other side of the courtyard was a small makeshift forge that the local blacksmith used sometimes, and a mason’s workshop. The plan was to keep them there until the bulk of the work was done, and then turn it back into the pretty prayer garden intended. Elion spied Master Faydor, not really working, just arranging his tools mindlessly, brow furrowed. The heat from the sun made his bald head sweat and his eyes squint.

Elion didn’t dare take a seat, some part of him sure that Faydor would simply dismiss him on sight again, rather than hear him out. He faced him expectantly, experience telling him that the stonemason was ready to excoriate him again.

“Well. What do you have to say for yourself?” Master Faydor acknowledged him without looking at him. “You haven’t taken your duties seriously. You don’t have a love for the work. Why did you waste my time?”

The hollow disappointment stung. The truth of it stung. “I suppose I was rebelling against my parents?”

“You’re a little old for that.”

“Agreed.”

“I do have an interest,” Elion started to defend himself in earnest, “and talent—you’ve seen what I can do. I can do the work. I think I hoped I’d come to love it. I still hope that.” 

“I can’t actually afford to send you away,” Master Faydor admitted. “I can’t rebuild this place on my own. But, I have a feeling it won’t matter much, in the wake of…” He motioned to the sanctum, indicating everything inside of it, Elion thought. “Mark my word, this will take a cleric far away. She’ll be looking to put together a band of adventurers to lead into foolishness. Once she gets her way, she’ll apologize and want to leave with the wizard. Take on the burden of some quest,” He sniffed. “Maybe she’ll come back, maybe she won’t. Not sure how motivated the people will be to carry on with the project, once their special acolyte is gone.”

Elion wasn’t sure he agreed. “They aren’t doing it for her. Moonhaven Anew wants this place in use again.”

“Selune isn’t real to them, the way that she is,” Master Faydor shrugged. “They were happy to leave this place a ruin for decades. Nothing’s changed.”

“You’re here now. That makes a difference.”

“I was here forty years ago—” Master Faydor started to argue, but Elion shut him up by motioning to the shining white, fresh stones of the lookout tower, and then moved his arm to indicate the bridge beyond the gate.

“And you single-handedly rebuilt an impressive portion of the sanctum, all by yourself,” Elion pointed out. “It’s just a bad day for long term projects. Give yourself credit.”

Master Faydor had stopped wallowing, but he’d also stopped talking entirely. He was looking past Elion at the bridge.

Elion followed his gaze and found a stranger approaching them. The stranger was still a ways off, but he stopped as he noticed them, and waved.

Waving back, Elion looked to Master Faydor. It would be another minute or so before he was in earshot. “I understand if I’m simply not the right apprentice to help you rebuild this sanctum, but you’ve already proven a few times over that you’re up to the task. Everyone sees it. They want it. They’ll not abandon you again. You’re a hope spot for them.”

The stranger was human, well-built and tall, he had a kind of lurching walk, like maybe his legs were especially tired from days on the road. His skin was warm in hue, but free of the typical scars and freckles that the sun burned onto outdoorsy human faces. His clothing fit him poorly, stretched and ripped in places. He definitely looked like he’d had a hard road at his back. He had a pack hanging over one shoulder, but no weapon in sight, not even a bow. Long black hair, thick with curl, was pulled back off his face, tied in a way that suggested he didn’t have a mirror. “Well met,” he greeted, clearing his throat. “I was hoping to cover more ground today, but find myself in need of respite. I don’t suppose a temple of Selûne would welcome a traveler, just for a night? I need not enter the temple proper, but I’d set up camp nearby if I’m welcome.”

“Most welcome,” Master Faydor inclined his head in greeting. “We can certainly spare the space—might even have some food for poor lost refugees. Elion, would you check our larder?” 

Dismissed again, Elion gave them a curt nod, suspicious that Master Faydor was still trying to put off this conversation. They needed to have it. He didn’t much relish the thought either, for he felt sure it would end with him making arrangements to return to Baldur’s Gate where he’d have to explain—apologize—to his parents and probably take up the same station he’d abandoned six months ago.

It was a dim prospect, but foreseeable. He should have put more into this shift, should have recognized that a life change at this point was something that needed to work, or he’d end off significantly worse than before, and humbled before those who already saw him as lesser.

He didn’t go straight to the kitchens this time, deciding instead that he would check in on the wizard and the monk.

The spot where he and Xan had passed the time together was on the way, so he checked and found that Xan had disappeared, leaving his bedroll and several dozing cats. 

He’d set the bath up for Gale in his own room, unsure where else in the sanctum there was decent drainage. It used to be a torture chamber. Shadowheart had told him that once. Somehow, that didn’t surprise him. It was the part of the sanctum still largely decimated by Sharran bombardment, and neglect. There was no longer a doorway of any kind, so he’d fixed a long stretch of burlap cloth as a curtain, and put together a makeshift bedroll and a library that was really just a stack of books he’d found around the temple.

Gale was exactly where Elion had left him; in a wooden tub, behind a paper screen, in no small amount of distress. Elion heard a familiar kind of chime in the air and smelled the acrid dispersion of the weave. Probably dismissed his cantrip; Mage Hand wasn’t quite making up for what he lacked.

“Need some help?” it couldn’t be easy, learning to do everything that had come so naturally for so long, all over again with only one hand to rely on.

“I don’t—it’s fine. I just need a little additional time… compared to my usual routine.”

“It’s alright to need a little help. Especially this early on.”

“A hundred years ago and it’s still early days,” sighed Gale through the screen, the way he released his breath and the splash of water that followed suggested to Elion that he’d leaned back in the tub and sloshed water everywhere. “What have I missed?” he sounded genuinely crushed for a moment, but recovered with a, “I don’t suppose you have a mirror? I could use a mirror.”

“I think the only mirror in the sanctum is a bit on the grand side,” Elion admitted, apologetic. “But, I am at your disposal, if that doesn’t make you uncomfortable.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Wash that fine head of hair for you?” Once he said it aloud it sounded a bit bold. But it was too late to take the words back.

Gale laughed shortly. “You’re the only person I’ve spoken to who likes it.”

“You must not socialize much.”

“Not since it’s gotten this long, no…” Gale was quiet a moment, then he cleared his throat. “So intimate a thing,” he sighed, “but I suppose—I do need help,” he finished the thought in a quiet voice, fearful, almost.

Elion waited a moment on one side of the paper screen. He couldn’t hear anything, not even the wizard’s breathing. “Shall I come around?”

“...Please.”

Gale sat hunched in the tub, already moved forward enough that Elion had easy access to his back and his bowed head. He resisted the urge to comment as the first thing he noticed was just how badly his services were needed. The encasing black gunk that had somehow protected him had left a dust, stinky sort of residue all matted through the back of his head and down his spine. Elion used his tail to whip a stool within reach and sat down gathering the water in his hands and pouring it at first. Gale flinched.

“It’s cooling fast,” Elion said apologetically, laying his hands flat a moment against Gale’s shoulders. He wasn’t shivering, but the water couldn’t be comfortable like this.

“Well. You’re quite warm,” Gale cleared his throat, from the sliver of his face that he could see, Elion thought he wasn’t imagining a blush.

“A featured trait of us hellspawn.”

“Oh Gods, that’s not still the rhetoric is it? Tieflings in my day had a rough go of it. A hundred years and we haven’t learned much?”

“The Infernal Wars have gone on for the century you’ve been away. If progress was ever to be made for tiefling acceptance, it was not going to happen during the last hundred years,” Elion tried not to sound too embittered.

“Shame,” Gale seemed to relax a little under his hands, he actually leaned back, just a few inches, as Elion started to work his fingers into his scalp, massaging the water into the roots of his hair. “I’m sorry to hear it. Truly.”

“I suppose there’s some good things to report.” Elion dipped his hands into the water, and watched the black come away in smokey swirls in the water. “We’ve had a few spots of positive press, if nothing else. Where I grew up—Baldur’s Gate, there’s a rather well known tiefling wizard, master of Ramazith Tower. Rolan. He’s been around a long while now though, I don’t suppose—?”

“After my time,” Gale answered the question before Elion could finish it, but then added, “but, that’s promising to hear, actually. I had hoped to consult elder wizards on my… predicament. If this Archduke Raphael is interested in my orb, perhaps a wizard who’s experienced in the weave and the infernal is the right call.”

“That certainly describes Rolan. At least—what I’ve heard of him.” Elion poured a little water into the worst of the clumped hair and used his long nails to break up the locks.

“I think it’s warmer for being in your hands,” Gale said after a moment, Elion thought he’d been holding his breath. “The water, I mean,” he added.

“You’re nearly starting to look presentable, sir.” Elion was surprised by how much it lifted him to hear Gale sounding less hopeless than before.

“That’s all I can ask,” Gale exhaled another captive breath.

[cheddar-inq]

dark au arti got a redesign !!!!

yippie !!!!!

more under the cut abt them

a lot of how she acts is the same as how it was before, i just changed a bit to match the design better (copy and pasting it from the toyhouse)

"artificer, along with a couple others like hunter and spearmaster, does most of the protecting for the group. 

although capable of glowing, its not something she can do easily and its not something that really worth trying to do 

Along with her normal explosion jumps/explosions, she can do a MASSIVE explosion which stuns and/or kills any creature in a pretty large radius.  usually if theres a lot of creatures in one spot she'll go in, explode once or twice, and then come back so she doesnt stun/hurt any of the scugs in the group. 

she can use the massive explosion once, maybe twice before needing to lie down and cool down. using it causes her to ignite (the fires on her back start) and her scars get very hot which hurts arti a lot, so she doesnt use that explosion very often, only when she really needs to. the fires will change in size and the heat of her scars will change based on how overheated they got.

the fires / hot scars can happen due to very strong negative emotions as well, the intensity of those emotions will also effect the strength of the fire and how hot the scars get

her usual explosions often work fine, if she overheats from any of their explosions it has the same effect, but it starts a lot slower and just keeps building up- sparks and faint glowing, fires actually start and the scars start to burn, lagre flames and very painful scars

shes very protective over the others (at least, the ones she likes) and struggles a lot with keeping her emotions in check, as she has a habit of getting worked up over things and needing to sit down and calm herself down for a bit. 

arti uses any pronouns, she/her preferred (she and hunter are partners. love them)"

also im planning a height chart once i finish all the dark au designs and so far arti and spear are the tallest SHSHD

[thisisnotthenerd]

c3e59 thoughts and musings

wow its been awhile. i have 57 and 58 t&m in my drafts unfinished bc of some irl nonsense i was dealing with but we’re back on the train now. i hope. aabria’s discussion of deanna’s afterlife gave me a new fic idea that i’ll have to follow up on later.

anyway. we’re coming back to team hells! i know they’re officially AOL but team bells and team hells just works too well. whatever happens this episode is going to be so great. i can’t wait to see what matt has concocted in this time. i hope we have the time for taliesin to explain what ashton was doing on their day off. not placing any bets on guests because old or new, whoever it is is going to have to match the incredible energy that aabria and christian gave to the team bells wildemount arc. just as deanna and frida had plothooks for chetney and fcg’s pasts in particular, i hope that whoever’s coming on will have some kind of link to dig into ashton’s backstory a little more and maybe get into the ashari/hishari part of his and orym’s background.

from what i can tell, this 3rd arc is all about uncovering lore--the new state of the world and the plans that led to it along with the backgrounds of core bells hells and their new friends. i’m really hoping for a good lore finding character--while orym’s fantastic perception is gamebreaking, i think they need someone for investigation/arcana. maybe laudna will get proficiency in arcana from having delilah in her head/unpicking the remnants? that would be good bc these three only have +1.

this group is also currently melee heavy; most of the spellcasters went to wildemount. i hope they can strike a good balance--maybe get some hybrid classes to work with them? e.g. ranger, paladin, artificer. i had thoughts about orym multiclassing into either of the first two, but i think orym is staying a fighter.

wtf is this ad sam. emily and omar are coming to the dome!!!! i can’t wait for this zelda oneshot!!!!

here we go! where are we gang! ruidus is likely to the south! wildemount, marquet, or issylra. laudna here being deeply worried about imogen and the blowup. oh boy sending’s not working.

this feels like a shittier situation than team bells. Pate’s here though!

Aimee’s back! latina dwarf energy! i love her. i love her. Mona! the energy is immaculate. ex-fiance??? barbarian rogue? i don’t fuck with the gods. denise though

that fucking speech broadcasted??? OH???

843 PD=no time lapse

bilbo bagginsing it

quick meth

new person??? utkarsh? cringefail of a guy. hair trigger bor’dor sorceror. ruidusborn?

EMILY AXFORD IN THE DOME HOLY SHIT

a little try hard wizard! Cobalt Soul Archivist? investigation queen! teleport malfunction result. Prism my wizard girlie

nexus of infinite personalities in a hole in my head??? this survey is just coming out with the best personality display.

combat?? the rookie energy coming off of bor’dor and prism is fantastic.

very different energy as we get into this side of bell’s hells. communication is going to be a sticking point--ashton and denise are both very insular and private, bor’dor and prism are both new to the situation in varying ways that will really affect the future of the party, and laudna and orym are kind of taking the lead on the social interactions for the party and easing the way through this unprecedented scenario.

laudna’s compartmentalizing hard. ashton is at least letting his anger out. the lightning bolt situation was super frazzling for orym and everyone. i hope that they have the chance to actually sit down after this battle.

i have a feeling that this is really going to bring out different facets of the people we already know, and i hope they have the opportunity to relax the way that team bells did. if it’s formulaic, i think they might head for the nearest big city, then go to traverse toward marquet and maybe hit the hishari village and/or ivaadel on the way.

emily kicking ASS. Bladesinger?? this battle is so cool.

weekend at bernie’sing two corpses as a bit is so funny to me.

prism and bor’dor interacting is so neurodivergent to me.

laudna & ashton talking it out! worries about imogen & the philosophy of not leaving people is really sticking. we are more than enough.

DARIAX???? WANTED POSTER?????EX_FIANCE!!!!

aw orym’s getting to talk it out.

ascendant bridge mountain--i’m seeing a vasselheim trip in the near future maybe.

and we’re off to the nearest town in june! i can’t wait to see where we go from here!

[crewofthegoldrush]

follow up to my semi on-going Role Swap AU - our PCs as the NPCs! breakdown of their changed backstories under the cut as we do

Ororo Kitesong - Thief Rogue, ship pilot 

A rare exception, Ororo is one of the few airship pilots who is not a member of house Lyrandar - and yet she seems to fly the ship just fine, either through sheer charm or maybe you just need to tell the ship who’s boss, y’all

She’s clearly clockable as a rogue, but if you ask her what she did before becoming a pilot or before joining the expedition, her answer changes every time. Who’s askin’? The only consistent part of her story is tales of her grandmother seem to make a regular appearance from her.

Seems to have a bit of a tense, past friendship with the captain, and works close enough with the ship’s wayfinder that the two have become frequent drinking buddies

Montgomery Grey - Soulknife Rogue / Barbarian, first mate

Despite being professional enough, most of the crew avoid this aloof dragon as her mood can change at the drop of a cowboy hat, going from a casual conversation one minute to barking orders the next. Generally at most hours on the ship, Monty keeps her distance from nearly everyone, with the exception of the captain who she seems closer to than even her own sister.

Traditionally a Soulknife uses psionic blades, but Monty has been able to summon what little magic she has in her blood to train her weapons into other forms. Some would swear they’ve seen even a lasso spring out of her hands.

Has a bit of a thing for that gal who pals around with that ranger, but has no interest in getting close to anyone on this ship that could get in the way of the plan, even pretty palominos

[I’m cheating by giving Monty a second class but it’s necessary]

Tequila - Totem of the Dragon Barbian, assistant gunner

Growing up in the wilderness gave this verison of Tequila more of a wild side - she shys away from battles much less here, and fights rather brutally. Still, it’s obvious her rage comes more from a sense of valor and the want to protect her friends

Followed Monty onto this ship after not seeing her for almost five years, but refuses to tell anyone why or where they came from - mostly because she can’t. Her Common is very poor, and she can really only speak clearly in Dragonic or Goblin, so most days she chooses to say very little. 

Found herself growing close to the artificers on the ship, especially the more abrasive one - she minds her a lot of her aunt

Wayfinder Stormchaser - War Wizard, ship captain / Compass, familiar 

The stoic captain of the Celeste Noir who seems to be searching for something lost, no one is completely sure how a Warforged came to be captain of an airship, as he answers vaguely, if he even answers at all. Most assume it might be from his time in the war, as he is rumored to be a powerful war caster

Speaks to the crew rarely, speaking the most with the first mate who almost seems to be his confidante, and he isn't as much of a stranger to the wayfinder either. And of course, the pilot - you always protect the pilot

Has a clear affinity for storms that shows through when he does use magic on the ship, his favorites being Gust, Ray of Frost, and Witchbolt

For all the ways he is aloof and quiet, his familiar is anything but; Compass is a vicious seabird who always seems to be keeping a watchful eye on the crew. Especially that stupid owl.

Dr. Acapella Goodman - Peace Cleric, head ship doctor

An ex-street rat turned Acolyte, I decided immediately that Capella's story is the same. That she "stole" her invitation, believing it was a sign from her lord to join a great expedition (certainly this kind of journey would need a healer!); that she is clearly not a Dr. Goodman but everyone lets her be the boss anyway because she's great at it; and that Benjamin just has to roll with it. Hilarious.

Hmm what would the patron swap with. A god of dreams?

Breezy Weekes - Circle of the Stars Druid, ship librarian / navigator 

I think this AU of Breezy would have a "modern" version of a druid tribe, like maybe Moonwatch is for Breezy what Runswick is for Monty; here she gains an affinity for the stars (possibly by extension, the planes thanks to her dad), making her a perfect choice as a navigator to guide the ship even at night

A much more nerdy version who takes after her dad instead of her mom, she doesn't have that rogue savy-ness, making her less of a risk taker. This aesthetic is also for maximum whiplash when a nervous sweater vest librarian turns into a fucking panther right in front of you

It's absolutely completely meaningless that her position on the ship causes her to spend a lot of time with the cartographer! So what if she's cute!

Liseran Verona - War Wizard, quartermaster

Similar to Delphinium, the soldiers stories are harder for me to conceptualize, but here since I imagined Del as the noble who is running away, it makes sense that Liseran would be the one sent to find her. Learning that the ship is set to travel over the Mournlands, I think Liseran would agree to help Del with whatever she is trying to do to try and discover what happened to Cyre, and slowly, if not immediately, abandons the idea of bringing her back.

Funny enough, doesn't really use her magic often, but when she does she tends to favor offensive spells like Magic Missile and Booming Blade.

(I hate to take this from Ororo, but since Liseran's family were bakers, I really like the idea that she's the chef here,,,,)

[fuckyeah-jessicabiel]

Jessica Biel & Jennifer Garner for Marie Claire, March 2010

"She's not that tall, but you can tell she's strong," says Jessica Biel, talking about her 55-pound pit bull mix — but she could just as well be talking about herself. Biel and I are discussing our love for our dogs (she sleeps with hers as I do with mine) as we wait for her new best friend, Jennifer Garner, to join us for dinner at Madeo, a legendary Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills where Al Pacino is said to keep a standing reservation. The hostess has seated us in a booth in the farthest corner from the door in an attempt to offer some privacy, but Biel's beauty can't go unnoticed. Fresh from a taping of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Biel has her hair perfectly styled, her makeup perfectly applied. There are sequins sparkling on the T-shirt under her open cardigan sweater. And just moments ago, the whole restaurant watched as she gracefully strode toward this back booth.

Underneath the glitter and gloss, Biel is the real thing. At 27, she has been able to figure out how to take life seriously without taking herself so. I become aware of this when we continue our bonding over the climb she has planned up Mount Kilimanjaro. (I climbed the same mountain a few years back.) One of a group of environmental activists and artistic types who have named their trek Summit on the Summit, Biel is climbing the mountain to call attention to the world's clean-water problem. More children, she informs me, die from polluted drinking water than from AIDS and malaria combined — one child every 15 seconds.

A murmur sweeps through the room, a sound not unlike the low roll of wind along the high heathered regions of Mount Kilimanjaro, as a slightly harried Jennifer Garner rushes through the restaurant and slips into our booth.

"Sorry I'm late, but I got lost and—" Garner stops herself upon seeing the gussied-up Biel. "You look gorgeous!" she exclaims. "And look at me. I didn't even change my clothes to come here," she says in the exhausted-but-happily-so tone of a mother with two young children. Garner, 37, is dressed in a black cotton turtleneck and black jeans. She wears no makeup at all, and her hair is pulled back in a ponytail. She possesses an incongruous combination of sexual charisma and girl-next-door normalcy. There is no artifice about her — it is the essence of her appeal. She is Sandra Dee—nuded.

The two stars became fast friends on the set of the film Valentine's Day, a kind of American version of Love Actually with a roster of stars that includes Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Patrick Dempsey, Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Alba, and Shirley MacLaine. Biel plays a single sports publicist who hates the holiday; Garner's character has an affair with an obstetrician played by Dempsey and discovers late in the movie that he's not what he appears to be.

"We don't work with a lot of women on our films," says Garner, explaining why she and Biel connected during the shoot. "And I haven't worked much at all lately, to tell you the truth. The two weeks I worked on this movie were the only two weeks I've worked in about a year-and-a-half because of being pregnant and now having a 1-year-old. But when I do work, it's always one woman and a bunch of men in my casts — maybe my character has a friend in the script, but not always. It's odd. So on this film, it was great to have someone like Jessica around, even though most of our scenes as best friends were over the phone."

"And do you find this true, Jennifer?" Biel asks. "I know I do: You never really bond with all the guys in your cast like they do with each other." Biel is nevertheless excited to tell Garner about her work "shooting N4 machine guns and 9-millimeter Berettas" on the A-Team movie she's making with Cooper, Liam Neeson, and Patrick Wilson.

The waiter approaches our table. "I'd like some wine," says Garner. "I never go out much anymore, so I'm going to have a glass of wine. This is living it up to me now." The women each order an appetizer, a main course, and an order of pasta Bolognese to be shared by the three of us.

"Oh, I heard the sweetest story about Violet the other day," says Biel, mentioning Garner's 4-year-old daughter (older sister of 1-year-old Seraphina). "One of Violet's classmates came up to her and said, 'I heard Jennifer Garner lives in your house.' And Violet said, 'No, she doesn't.' The other kid kept insisting, so Violet came home and asked you, 'Mom, who is Jennifer Garner and why are people saying she lives with us?'"

Garner downs almost half her glass of wine at hearing the story. "Wow. That's true," she says, then pauses, considering whether to give more credence to it. "She just knows me as Mom, so I did have to explain to her for the first time about the difference." She takes another sip. "I'm just holding down the fort while Ben works right now," she says, mentioning her famous husband, Ben Affleck, who has 10 more days of filming The Town, a movie he wrote, is directing, and stars in. "I'm so impressed by his discipline. He gets up and works out every day at 4 a.m. before heading off to work. Every day. I used to do that sometimes for Alias," Garner says of the television show that made her a star (and won her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series as well as a SAG Award and four Emmy nominations). "But not every day. And I'd do it for 30 minutes, maybe 45. He does it for an hour-and-a-half. He comes home and collapses, and then rewrites scenes for the next day, then crashes and does it all over again. He's worn out. Jon Hamm is in it, too. It's kind of a heist movie, and Hamm plays the FBI guy."

"Mmmm ... Don Draper," says Biel, invoking the name of Hamm's character on Mad Men. "I'm fascinated by Don Draper. But I hate him."

"Like every other woman, do you want to sleep with him?" I ask.

"No!" she says emphatically. "No, I don't. Not at all."

Garner giggles and orders another glass of wine.

"Both of you have very famous men whom you really do sleep with," I venture. They are reluctant to talk about their famous significant others (Biel has been dating Justin Timberlake since 2007, and Garner married Affleck in 2005), but I have to ask. "Does that double your own fame? Does it become part of your girl talk?"

"Well, we don't need them to be famous ourselves," says Garner. "It's not like I go to Jessica, 'Oh, how's your famous boyfriend?'"

"But come on," I prod. "You have to be aware you have really cool partners."

"Yeah, from time to time we talk about swapping," Garner deadpans.

It's Biel's turn to giggle now, but then she turns serious. "It does help to have a partner who understands what fame is about and can share that with you. It's a hurdle you don't have to get over."

And how do the women cope with fame? "I think I have it all in perspective," says Garner. "If you're healthy and happy and you have a roof over your head, then that's what's important."

Her own roof, however, is pretty impressive, she and Aftleck recently purechased producerr Brian Gower's palatial Pacific Palisades estate for a $17 million. And yet such luxury doesn't seem to have gone to her head. Instead, it has made her realize, yes, how blessed her life is. "Sometimes I think my brain is going to melt away into a pool of butter. So, I have The New York Times Nicolas Kristof’s blog on my Google reader. Gail Collins is another New York Times Op-ed writer I love. I'm reading Kristof’s book Half the Sky right now. He wrote it with his wife. Sheryl WuDunn. It’s about the oppression of women and girls in the developing world and what we can do to help." "Oh my God"' says Biel. "I'm reading that book right now. too! it’s on my bedside table." "No way!" says Gamer. "No way!" "Yes! They're thinking of making a documentary-like movie based on the book and taking differents actresses to meets the girls Kristof and his wife write about. You and I have to get involved in this project. Jennifer. We have to."

Garner interest in social issues is not unrelated to her husband love of politics. If he evr runn for public office, would she support his choice? -Isn't that what the whole deal is about —supporting each other? I mean, I'm not that hungry for him to run for office, but if he did, I don't have any illusions about what the last few years must have been like for Michelle Obama." “Is he really thinking about running for office?" asks Biel. "No --but it’s almost impossible for it not to be talked about, because he in smart and articulate and politically active. So you can't help but feel it's lurking out there somewhere." says Garner. "But the kids have to grow up a bit." I tell her. "And you have to grow out of your ponytail stage and into your chignon one." Garner smiles and flicks her ponytail at me in flirty defiance. "People do tell me I'd be a good politician’s wife I’m such a Pollyanna and a Goody Two-shoes,' she says. Honey I never thought of you that way" I say "I've always thought of you as a kickass broad? "Well, thank you. I like that better." She admits, then goes back into mommy mode. "I just have to check my text message and see if the nanny and kids are all right." Seeing, Jennifer with her husband and children, does it make you long for that in your life also, Jessica'?" I ask. Garner deeply sighs at such a question. "Sorry.," she says to her friend. 'It always goes that way, doesn't it? As a single woman, you're always asked that, aren't you'?" Biel herself now sighs. "I'm just happy with my life right now' she finally says. "I don't know the answer to that. I mean.,I look at you, Jennifer, and I am a bit in awe. I feel like all my seconds are full all day long, and then I look at your life. and I wonder how you do it. How do you have it all?" Garner laughs at such a thought. “Well, I haven't showered today," she says. I just want to throw that into the conversation. So I'm not sure I do have it all." 

[funkily]

Ghostie ghostie what if I told you *I* voted both? hand them over,,,,

fine i trust you .

Artifice missed them.

Artifice missed a lot of people, to be fair. Her family. Everyone in Midlush. Even Callum. But she really missed her friends.

She'd only known them for... weeks? Maybe a month at a stretch? But they had given her a home. They had offered to give her answers. They cared for her.

She missed Mouse and Rat and Finley. She missed fresh breakfast every morning. She missed quiet talk of the Undersea and flowers. She missed the wag of Rat's tail and the perk of their ears. She missed Mouse in general and how much of herself she saw in him. Or how much of him she saw in herself. Something like that.

It'd been a very eventful few months, cut her a break.

She toyed with a vine that wrapped around her shoulder. She missed them a lot. She knew they would come for her, or at least she hoped they would.

Above all she just wished she had taken her fucking chance.

Because regardless of whether or not they planned on getting her, there was not guarantee they would succeed. Not that they weren't capable! She was sure they were, Rat had picked up her and Mouse that one time with ease (a specific example, as well as one she definitely thought about a normal amount.) But still... even the strongest communities can waste away under the right circumstances. People could die even easier.

And if they died, she never would've been able to tell Finley and Rat that she loved them.

She never wanted to say love. It seemed a bit intense considering, again, they'd just met, but she didn't know if she'd be this torn up about the mere idea of them dying if it was anything less.

She loved all of them. She loved Mouse like a brother and she loved Rat and Finley like partners and she wished she had said something.

She took a deep breath.

They were coming. And they would live. And then she could tell them.

She would. She would.

[ultramagicalternate]

ULTRAMagic Interlude (BC) Chapter 24

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Master Post

Olga and Mariya were Kresimira’s other friends that she had met later on in life, as opposed to Rowena who had been her friend from the start. Olga was an artificer for the Royal Guard, having tied back, blonde hair and purple eyes. Mariya was a secretary for Ironfire station who originally wanted to be a member of the Royal Guard, but decided a desk job was more her forte. She had red eyes and brown hair in a bob. Annoyingly she got stuck in her business suit whereas Olga had the chance to change into her casual clothes.

As the three women began talking with Ekaterina, Vlastimir felt reality slow down. His mind fogged up as he could sense something was off somewhere. Was it a friend? Were they in peril? Negative thoughts ran through his head that he could not shake. His heart had a slight ache and his breathing became shaky. He would nod every once in a while so as not to worry the others, but eventually he stopped as he began to quietly mutter a poem to himself…

“The door only opens one way, unto gulfs of fathomless gray. The stars burn and writhe with hidden ire, begetting unseen masters that never tire. Our fleeting corpses walk… walk to… argh, in accordance with the eldritch plan… we end where we began? No, that wasn’t it…”

“What wasn’t what?” Kresimira inquired. Vlastimir had accidentally said his ramblings aloud.

Mariya could see in him that he was incredibly stressed out. “Eka, I think Vlastimir needs some help…”

“Oh no, dear? Are you okay? Do you need another hug?”

“No no, I’m fine. It’s just…” Before he could finish, an explosion coming from the direction of Corentin’s warehouse went off, startling Vlastimir and causing him to fall back in his chair. “WHAT WAS THAT?!” he exclaimed.

“CORENTIN!” Kresimira got up and stamped her foot. “Pardon me, everyone. I need to make sure he didn’t blow himself up…”

While Ekaterina helped Vlastimir up, the other three waited, snickering. Once they were sure Kresimira was gone, they started laughing. “HA, old habits die hard, am I right?” Rowena observed as she banged her hand on her table.

“Agreed,” Olga replied. “You can take the man out of the explosion, but you can’t take the explosion out of the man. Source, I’d love to have a man like Corentin in my life…”

Mariya nodded, then turned to Vlastimir. He looked a bit shaken. “Um, Vlastimir, would you like to have the floor? Perhaps talking to us will get your mind off of whatever was bothering you?”

“Maybe, even though my mind isn’t that simple… What should I talk about?”

“Oh, well how about your time in The Unlight? You know, aside from your interactions with Blood-Wraith and Drago. We know a fair deal about Earth now, but not what you did here, aside from what we’ve heard through hearsay.”

Vlastimir took a breath and rolled his neck. To start, he elaborated on what got him in The Unlight in the first place: A battle was started by his mother after she released a “demon” from under the academy he was attending during his teenage years. Vlastimir was born as the “ultimate weapon” and his mother wanted to test that. The entire affair backfired and sent the boy to The Unlight through no fault of his own. Finding himself in an unknown realm, he wandered aimlessly for some time in his true form. Eventually he got into a battle with a swordsman carrying a stone greatsword. Vlastimir found the bout quite fun, returning to his human form so he could talk to his opponent. This left the swordsman incredibly confused.

The man’s name was Gostislav Robles (which confused everyone given the surname). He was a sellsword with the blood of a satyr and a dragon. At the time he was out wandering with not much to do. Vlastimir recalled being amazed with the sword skills he witnessed and asked to be taken on as a student or mentee. Gostislav initially refused, but quickly realized the boy needed guidance. It was a wonderful time as the half-dragon was a fantastic teacher and the two traveled all over the place. At some point Vlastimir decided that he wanted to strike out on his own and Gostislav let him. In hindsight this was a bad idea as the loneliness was a hit to Vlastimir’s sanity.

“...thankfully I met Tusk not too long afterwards and we went on some adventures. This stopped when he turned himself into a tree due to personal turmoil. I tried to hang around, but I left once it was clear he wasn’t going to budge.”

“And what happened after that?” Ekaterina asked, incredibly curious. “I imagine we’re getting fairly close to the stuff with The Lich…”

He nodded. “We are. So I went back to wandering for a bit after that. I sensed what was going on in the forest when Blood and the others went there, but arrived too late to be of any help. Also I was a bit loopy at the time for some reason. And then eventually I wandered into the Basalt Monolith Forest. The rest is history from over the past two months.” Vlastimir looked reasonably proud while the others were amazed.

“Wow, that’s quite the journey,” Rowena commented. “I’d lose my mind if I was away from my family for more than a week, ha.”

“And here I thought the Stone-Sword Wretch was some kind of dangerous criminal” Olga stated.

“Well remember, Olga; people have a tendency to embellish things as time goes on” Mariya pointed out.

“True, like how everyone kept claiming that Dunja had slept with Milosh…”

“Honestly I am flabbergasted as to how that rumor picked up so much traction. Sure, the Shadow Orb was quite appalling, but I don’t think that warranted insulting her that badly. It was outright slander!”

Rowena lightly cleared her throat. “Well I mean, it was sort of a 'you get what you deserve’ kind of situation…”

“I guess, but Milosh? Really?” Olga questioned. The three then laughed.

Rowena sighed. “Good point,” she conceded. “I suppose that was a bit harsh, even for Dunja.”

“Was the Shadow Orb really that bad?” Ekaterina inquired.

“Absolutely!” She immediately answered. Rowena seemed a bit irritated over the matter. “Nothing but dirty alchemy and black magic, topped off with that cursed void magic of hers. As an alchemist myself, that was what I consider to be a cardinal sin. I will give her credit in that she did smash it with her own hand, however. As offensive as that whole ideal was, we can’t stay mad at her…”

“Especially since she went over to Shadowland to take care of Milosh once and for all, Rowena…” Mariya emphasized, looking her in the eye.

The alchemist straightened out her jaw and nodded. “I know, I know. Truthfully I’d rather have her with us than with that cretin of a man, despite my hang-ups.”

“Alright, I’m back!” Kresimira called out as she returned. “Everything is alright, Corentin just had an experiment go haywire.”

Ekaterina looked at her hand. “It wasn’t because of me, was it?”

“Unfortunately” she replied as she sat down. “I guess your metal ribbons are more complex than initially thought. Also Corentin told me to tell you not to worry about it. He has had way worse backfires than that… trust me, I know.”

Olga’s interest peaked given what they were told. “Fascinating. You’ll have to have Corentin send me his notes when he’s done… er, with your permission, Ekaterina.”

She shrugged. “Sure, I guess. I don’t see why not.”

Vlastimir looked at his own hand. “Huh, figured my blood would’ve done that. Guess it’s behaving itself like I instructed.”

“Ekaterina? Can I see your ribbons in action?” Olga asked. “I know it’s sudden, but I would really like to see them.”

“Alright…” she replied with a sigh. A ribbon emerged from the top of her hand that she lightly twirled in the air. The shine danced about as the metal wobbled back and forth.

Olga got up to take a closer look at it. “Amazing” she remarked as she carefully ran her fingers along it. “What I’d do to have an ability like this…”

Ekaterina retracted the ribbon. “You’re sure about that? You realize what this was intended for, right?”

“Yeah, because I told them what it was for…”

“Drago!?” Ekaterina leapt out of her chair. Dragoslava laughed.

“How do you always manage to sneak up on us, Drago?” Mariya asked as they shook hands.

“Years of practice while out exploring. The best way to keep your presence concealed is to breathe as calmly as you can and walk slowly. Most animals and people will think the noise is nothing and go about their business.” She then gave Kresimira a hug, shook more hands, and turned to Ekaterina. “Eka, stop worrying. Your ability is cool, end of discussion.”

She sat back down. “It doesn’t feel cool…”

“Nonsense! Have you tried coming up with a technique for it yet?”

“Um, no…”

Dragoslava clapped. “Well there you go! No wonder it doesn’t feel cool; you haven’t made it yours yet. Take it from me, getting used to my metal skin was difficult. Thankfully that changed once I realized it jived with my style of fighting and exploring. It became a cakewalk to figure out after that.”

Rowena nodded. “You know, Eka, the colosseum is open now. You and Vlastimir could head over there, reserve some space, and do some training. Have a ball, see what you can come up with.”

Vlastimir gave Ekaterina a very encouraging nudge. “Oh alright, I’ll give it a shot.”

“There you go.” Dragoslava patted her on the back, then got out her pack. “Rowena, I got the sample you wanted from the metal oasis…”

“Nice!” She reached for the vials, but Dragoslava pulled them away.

“Don’t waste them, the oasis is a bit on edge at the moment…”

“Alchemist’s promise” Rowena swore with her hand raised. She was then handed the vials.

Dragoslava cleared her throat. “Did you all know that the Oasis is actually a primordial? I found that out while I was there.”

Kresimira was surprised. “Really? Which one?”

“The Ferro of Old. He told me about how he was allowed to remain as is since he can’t really reincarnate. I also ran into another primordial that looked like a ragdoll named Andrew Gruell.”

“I’ve heard of that last one,” Kresimira recalled. “Papa has talked about a unique primordial that assisted him and Englehart back during the Vozenilek reign of Shadowland…”

“Yeah, he apparently recognized our family and asked if I was a Raynot.”

Olga chuckled. “Jeez, Drago. You manage to run into all sorts of great stuff. Maybe I should go get permission to join you some time…”

“Hey, if you want to come with me and Desislav on an adventure, you are more than welcome to. That goes for all of you too.”

It was nearing lunch time, so Kresimira went back inside to prepare some food. Rose and Desislav assisted her with this. Since Dragoslava was done for the time being, she figured she would join the group. Ekaterina felt better as lunch went on, and so did Vlastimir. Both of them realized that they were having fun and cast their worries aside. Kresimira noticed this as time went on and felt victorious. 

Later on close to evening, Vlastimir and Ekaterina were back at their quarters. They were musing on the day’s events. “You know what, Ekaterina? I think I need to go home…” Vlastimir asserted.

She looked up from Vexation’s grimoire. “You’ve changed your mind, I take it?”

“Yeah. As crazy as things got back home, I need to rest my head in a realm that obeys the laws of physics. Besides, don’t you want to see your timeline again?”

Ekaterina thought about it and sighed. “I guess so… as long as I don’t have to see my parents.”

“Well don’t worry about that, because it’s apparently 2022 right now.”

She looked at him with wide eyes. “Wait, what?”

“2022. Why? Did you think I was born in the 1970s or something?”

“Vlastimir, you realize I died in 1922, right?”

He laughed. “Then you are going to LOVE modern times. Computers, the internet, constant electricity, cars, television, video games…”

“Did radios ever take off? I remember when I got one. It was utterly amazing…”

“Yeah, then they kind of died off once video killed the radio star. They’re more of a retro hobby these days. The internet further cemented that, but that’s not a bad thing. Imagine this: All the books, movies, and articles you could ever want, all at the tip of your fingers.”

Ekaterina seemed a bit overwhelmed. “Oh my goodness… just how far has humanity progressed?”

“Pretty far… just ignore all the petty screeching about whose politics are right and wrong.”

She laughed and shook her head. “Vlastimir, honey, do you think we were cavemen? I’m no stranger to political squabbles. That was every Tuesday and Friday for my parents. That stuff doesn’t phase me in the slightest. As me and my parents always said; Money talks, nonsense walks.”

“Oh, alright then. Other than that stuff, things are dandy back home. You’re going to have a great time.”

Next: Chapter 25

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

[centaurianthropology]

Far-Too-Specific Predictions for Critical Role C3 that will Absolutely be Wrong (but I like)

Setting and Flavor

I would love to see a group of veterans after a massive war that left both sides devastated.  Matt likes to play with difficult moral conundrums, and a setting where two warring parties both came off poorly, and now they’re both limping through a reconstruction could be really interesting for a long-play game. I would also really like to see both sides of the conflict represented in the group.  The one thing I wanted to see more of in campaign 2 was a native Xorhasian perspective in the group (aside from Essek, who wasn’t a PC).  I’m placing this as post-major Dynasty/Empire conflict at some point in the future, so it would be the same geographical setting as campaign 2, but time skipped enough that we don’t really have a ton of recurring characters.  Cameos from the longer-lived Campaign 2 characters are still possible, though.

Player characters

These predictions are based on my perception of player preferences, interesting roleplay opportunities, and focusing on things that the players seem interested in but haven’t been able to explore yet.  I have also built prior relationships, because I loved having PCs come in with relationships to build the group on and give early opportunities for trust and character building:

 Travis: Human Cleric (Order), with possible multi-class Fighter (Battle master). I would love to lean into a tactical, Imperial battle-commander type character for Travis, who can hit, but leans more support.  I also would love to see him play a cleric with wavering faith in how he used to believe and practice.  He has seen too much of war, too much of dying, to be overly-devoted to a single law or side, and is on an active quest of faith to find a higher sense of order and morality.  He maybe left the army in disgrace, or went AWOL, but either way he is persona non grata on his former side of the war, with only one ally having followed him into exile.  Prior relationship: Ashley’s fighter.  When he went AWOL or was driven into exile, she was the only soldier who followed him. He struggles with his choices and his faith, and she acts as his rock and has become far more of an equal because of that.

Ashley: Warforged Fighter (echo knight).  Ashley loves a straightforward fighter, so I wanted to give her something without complex rules to stress her out, but one that still has some really interesting flavor and possibilities once she gets into the groove.  Echo knight is ideal, because it’s not a hard subclass to play, but it can be seriously fun.  I like the idea that her character was built as an answer to Xorhasian dunamancy, to double herself and fight as two.  As she evolved and became less a machine and more a person, she became more and more attached to her commander rather than blind patriotism, to the point that when he left, she went with him.  Prior relationship: Travis’ cleric.  He was her commander, and she still tends to act as his soldier, despite his wavering faith. She followed him when he lost faith, and she continues to be the one who follows and believes in him.

Laura: Full Orc Barbarian (wild magic).  Laura loves to hit things, and has clearly wanted to play a hardcore tank for a while. I want her to be able to wade into any fight and tank a ton of damage, and full orc and barbarian both play into that. I figure her character would be Xorhasian, was a soldier for a while, but could never fit in because of her taste for wild magic and her chaotic nature.  Having her be a full orc would also allow her to explore playing a character who can’t be traditionally sexy, which would be a fun change from Vex and Jester. I see her as someone who rapidly went AWOL from the army, and is generally unaligned and doesn’t want to think about the war or what it did to her country or her people, and wallows in wild magic to avoid it.  Maybe she went to the Menagerie Coast during the war to get away from the fighting and dive deeper into her path, at which point she met Sam’s character.  Prior relationship: Sam’s sorcerer, as they walk the same path.  They share a faith, and that drew them together before the campaign, and they’re chaotic, happy best friends.

Sam: Satyr Sorcerer (wild magic).  Doubling up wild magic would be nuts, but would allow Sam and Laura to play with some crazy combos in roleplay and in combat.  Sam loves unpredictability, and so I could really see him leaning into the dice roll and relishing when things go wrong as a wild magic sorcerer.  Satyr would also lean into this chaotic bent, and would stack well with the charisma-based sorcerer build.  I see him as being from the Menagerie Coast, unaligned in the war, but touched by it somehow (possibly lost someone / his home / etc to the fighting?).  He and Laura’s character met due to their mutual inclination and tie to wild magic, and are very close friends who have tried to spend the entire war pretending there isn’t a war.  Prior relationship: Laura’s barbarian.  They are on the same wild path, but perhaps have different connections to it or opinions about it to give them different flavors and different approaches to the same chaos.

Marisha: Yuan-ti Pureblood Rogue (swashbuckler).  Let Marisha play high charisma!  Let her play a pirate!  I would love to see a snake-y pirate lady, unaffiliated with everything, acting as a sarcastic outside observer.  I would love to see her lean into snark and the scoundrel-with-a-heart-of-gold archetype, especially in a race than is stereotyped as evil.  Maybe she’s getting out of the pirate’s life, or did something horrific that riddles her with guilt that she covers with snark.  I would just love to have her get a dark, but non-political backstory.  Prior relationship: None.  She is a wildcard character, deliberately.  She comes in and adds a very different flavor and perspective, and as such, probably shouldn’t have a relationship with any of the other characters.

Liam: High Elf Artificer (artillerist).  Liam’s love of describing his spells’ mechanics in C2 was what inspired this. I think he would enjoy being an inventor steeped in tragedy, possibly as someone who invented a weapon of mass destruction for the Empire, and still wants to believe in his homeland, despite what he did and what they did.  Give me Liam as the man who has become death, destroyer of worlds.  It plays into his love of tragedy and redemption, and I am here for that.  Prior relationship: Taliesin’s wizard.  His shame has kept him a hermit, but chance brought Taliesin’s character to him, and he saw Taliesin’s character as a means of redemption or better understanding. Having his closest tie be to someone from the other side would also play into the tragedy of his character.

Taliesin: Drow Wizard (homebrew dunamancer).  Taliesin has always been Matt’s go-to for exploring homebrew content, and introducing dunamancy into C2 was a ton of fun.  I would love to see this get expanded and explored with a Xorhasian dunamancer character PC, and Taliesin has a talent for taking something Matt has played with (Firbolgs, blood hunters, etc.), and making it unique.  He’s definitely the player I could see taking the dunamancer and making him very distinct from Essek and the pre-established notion of what a dunamancer is.  This would also fit with my notion that his character was tightly tied to Dynasty politics, possibly a courtier background, prior to the war, and found himself tied up in it.  I would love to see Taliesin play a character more politically tied to the central story than Caduceus was, as he has a talent for driving plot and being a lynchpin for Matt’s larger plans.  So centering the deep-lore plot on Tal and Liam could be really great.  Prior relationship: Liam’s artificer, though theirs is not a long acquaintance.  They met shortly before the campaign, and though they have a bond, it’s new and somewhat untested.  Not to mention that the combination of an artillerist who built a weapon of mass destruction and a dunamancer make for the potential for some explosive blowouts as secrets get revealed.

[ask-the-crimson-king]

Art Hell Meets Tales from D&D: He Lives

Hello there. If any of you are familiar with Ravenloft lore you're probably very confused. And even if you aren't, I'm going to explain this anyway in a newbie-friendly fashion.

So I run a Ravenloft-based D&D campaign and the artificer was out for three consecutive sessions. I was finally able to make up for lost time with her, and one of my goals for the session was further her little questline.

Basically, there is a kid named Irik Zal'honan. He is the son of Firan Zal'honan, otherwise known as Azalin Rex. Irik was killed by Azalin via an execution in order for Azalin to demonstrate to his subjects that his laws apply equally to all.

To make a long story short, Azalin eventually gets ran out of his original kingdom on account of being a lich and tyrant. He runs into the Mists and is given a gilded cage in the form of a new kingdom that obeys his every whim and is the largest within the Mists. The spirit of his son follows him, and Azalin now wants to escape cause he can't learn new magic while in the Mists so he can't bring his son back plus other reasons, but basically his son is also in the Mists as a ghost.

So the party found Irik's soul bound within a sword during their time going through Barovia. For a while, he was stuck within, able to project himself only about 60ft away and unable to interact with the human components of his father; the side of his father he still has faith in.

Enter the artificer.

She takes up an apprenticeship under an NPC named Yusuf Reid, usually called, Spark, and asks about souls and the like, and Spark gives her some of his old notes and prototypes concerning trapping and holding a soul for a potential body swap. A manual reincarnate if you will.

So she goes back and studies the materials for a while, then comes up with a design for a new body for Irik because she feels bad for the kid/wants to be able to talk with him more and is eventually planning on putting him into an actual fleshy body. I have her make three checks initially.

This bitch rolls a 27, 33, and 31.

Alright. Dope.

The above is the result.

There's more that I'll have to draw in later but that above is his out-of-combat self. In-combat, he can draw out a longsword and shortsword that are folded into his forearms, and he has a scaled-down shoulder-mounted eldritch cannon because, and I quote, "he should have a ranged option."

All I told her was Irik would favor being dextrous and fast, rogue-like. And this player RAN with the ideas. She decided he should be darker colors for better stealth, though it doesn't work too well at current since the party is in a desert domain (hence the outfit right). His face should be robotic over humanoid in order to avoid freaking people out with the uncanny valley (but I added the eyebrows so he can emote better). She also decided he wouldn't have a jaw because why not. Every aspect of the design, minus the clothes and eyebrows, is her ideas 100%. I didn't even suggest a humanoid body for the kid to inhabit, I just said "what do you want to make the new vessel?" and even suggested making it a ring or maybe a projected illusion but she went "no I want to make him something humanoid so he can interact with the world" and I am.

So happy.

ANYWAY, I'm also sleep deprived cause I stayed up til 8:30am working on this and I am extremely proud of how the piece turned out.

[sicahyart]

Bonds of Blood - Chapter 1

Fandom: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Characters: Pyra, Mythra, Amalthus, Rex, Fan la Norne

Read on Ao3 - next

What if Amalthus used Rex and Pyra/Mythra to get his hands back on Malos instead of aiming for Elysium? The Master Blade might be broken, but it doesn't mean he's beyond repair. And definitely not beyond being experimented on.

A XBC2 rewrite from the meeting in Indol

- I have no idea where this fic is going, this was originally a one shot (ch4), before I realized the setting had too much potential to stop there and ended up with multiple chapters. I'm not putting too much thoughts in the full plot, I'm more interested in exploring the characters's feelings and relationships in this AU, writing as it comes. -

—

“You want us to what?”

Rex asked aloud what Pyra was thinking. Although she barely heard him with Mythra’s own shock resonating in their head.

Mythra, indoor voice, please.

Sorry, she apologized. But this..!  

“I am asking you to help me retrieve the Aegis, Malos,” repeated Amalthus, with the same nonchalance as if he was asking them to get some bread at the local market.

“But why? Er, Your Eminence?”

Pyra kept silent, letting Rex lead the conversation. She was wary, yet curious about all of this. Observe first, act later. She could feel Mythra being on edge too.

“You want to reach Elysium. But the path won’t open without him.”

Rex scratched his head.

“But I thought he’s trying to capture Pyra because he can’t open it?”

“That is correct,” nodded Amalthus. “In fact, as it is now, the way to the World Tree cannot be reopened without both Aegises being reunited. This is why he needs her. And why you need him.”

“But the bastard tried to kill us,” protested Zeke. “There’s no way he’ll cooperate.”

Us? Since when is it a us business? This guy wasn't there when Malos attacked, scoffed Mythra.

Pyra ignored her, waiting for the Praetor’s response.

“Not of his own volition. But I am his Driver, and after all this time studying Blades, I believe I have found a way to bond him to me again. My problem is, I need to have him here to help him out of this rampage. And he won’t come to me. Hence my request: will you help me bring him home? Fan la Norne can help you restrain him. But I need someone to take him to her. I believe he would be willing to listen to a fellow Aegis.”

Pyra wasn’t sure about this. She wasn’t really eager to face the other Aegis again. Was it really the only way to the World Tree..?

I don’t know, admitted Mythra. Our main problem is Ophion, unless something or someone has sealed the World Tree itself. Maybe we do need both of us to open it now. Or maybe Ophion will only listen to both of us. It should be MY Artifice, but since it’s been damaged in the fight with Malos... It’s possible he might have tampered with it.

Pyra turned to look at Rex. The boy seemed deep in thoughts too. He eventually looked at the Praetor again.

“You could really save him too?”

“I believe I can,” said Amalthus with calm confidence.

“Alright then, I guess we can try. Whaddya say, Pyra?”

The Fire Blade hesitated. If it really was the only way, and if Amalthus was convinced he could get Malos out of his quest for destruction… Maybe they could bring Jin back to reason too.

Mythra?

The Light Blade didn’t seem convinced either, but…

If there’s a single hope to save Malos from his own rampage, Rex will want to try it. That’s just how he is. Plus Malos isn’t at full power, and we destroyed his Blade at Olethro. If we can separate him from the others, it might be our best chance. If Amalthus’s plan fails, I guess we could still drag Malos with us to Elysium… and beyond. Tell Rex I’m in.

Pyra nodded.

“Alright. Mythra agrees too.”

Rex grinned.

“Then let’s do this!”

The Praetor smiled softly, thanking them for their help.

None of them saw his lips distorting into a smirk as they left the Audience Chamber.

—

Fan la Norne accompanied them back to the Praetorium’s guest rooms.

“So, how shall we proceed?” inquired the ether specialist.

Pyra let Mythra take control of their body.

“We turn back his own plan on him. Remember how he tried to isolate Pyra to capture us in Uraya? I can contact him the same way he did. If we can convince him to meet us alone, it should be easy enough to restrain him with H- Fan’s power.”

“Will he come, though?” pointed Zeke.

Mythra looked at him, then back at Rex and Fan la Norne.

“I think he will if I’m alone. With Fan of course. But no Driver.”

As she expected, Rex opened his mouth to protest. She interrupted him by raising her hand before he could even speak.

“I know. I’ll be fine. Fan’s ability works on him, and he’s weakened. And if anything goes wrong we can just run away.”

Which you should have done at Olethro. Would have spared me the trouble of dealing with this.

Pyra pushed gently on her mind, reminding her that he merely wanted to protect them. Mythra ignored her. She did know that. It didn’t make being back more pleasant. She and Malos never should have returned to this world. She’d make sure it would never happen again this time.

Rex wasn’t doing a great job at hiding his reluctance to let them go alone, but Nia shoved him lightly and he eventually nodded. They had a plan.

“Where should we meet with him, then?” asked Fan la Norne.

Mythra considered their options.

“Leftheria,” she eventually proposed. “It’s close enough to Indol to shorten the journey back as much as possible, and we can isolate him on one of the islands to limit potential casualties.”

That sounded like a good idea. Everyone seemed to agree, and they parted ways with that plan in mind. Fan la Norne took her leave with the promise to procure some Ether Chains to bind Malos during the transfer. They would leave for Leftheria first thing in the morning.

For now, Mythra had someone to meet in her dreams.

[unholyhelbig]

Artifice | Chapter 10: The Escape

For previous chapters, click here | To Read on A03, Click here

The leather was cool under Beca’s fingertips. It smelled of oil paints, and clove, and the faintest bit of smoke. There was salt and sun all at once. She had carried the bag everywhere with her, strung against her shoulder. There were only ever a few cotton shirts, and pants that were worth well with dirt and blood.

She kept her sketchbook, bound in the equally fine leather, close to her heart. A small section of charcoal was folded into a cloth. It was hard to come by, nearly impossible, but Beca knew the right people. Emily Junk knew the right people. She pulled strings for fine clay and even finer parchment.

They were simple gifts, but intricate. When Beca’s stomach was rolling and the ship rocked steadily against black waves, she would sit and sketch Emily, focused so fully on the maps, the charting, and the stars that they followed. Moonlight would dance across her features in pale magnificence.

She kept the sketchbook, the one that reminded her of the ocean before she met Christian and felt the sting of his open palm against her cheek, at the bottom of the bag, away from Chloe, and Aubrey, and Garrett, and the rest of the prying eyes of the world. It was her solace. It made her sick to her stomach.

Beca peeled the bag open. She didn’t’ care much for folding the clothes that she had strewn across the room in her time at the Beale Estate. They had fit just fine when they were pressed and smelling of fresh linen, they would fit just fine now.

Sadness pricked at the back of her eyes. She thought of betraying her own unspoken rules as an artist and tearing the cleanest page from her sketchbook out. She would scrawl a note in charcoal on the back, dirtying the pads of her fingertips and forgetting herself fully.

Unlike her first night here, she could navigate the hallways that were meant for staff with her eyes closed. Stacie had pressed the lanterns hours before Beca returned from the pub. The wax had hardened and the scent of ash hung stubbornly in the air.

Moonlight flitted through the kitchen. She figured she could slip through the back doors into the warmth of the night without anyone missing her too much. Her throat stung with two mugs of brew she had downed to quell her emotions at the pub. It spurred her on, told her to press forward.

Forget the commission, forget the billionaire that had wronged the seven seas, forget his siren wife with hot copper ringlets, and fair lambskin.

“You’re leaving without saying goodbye.”

The statement had no infliction behind it. Beca felt her heart in her throat and her fingers numb against the strap of her leather bag. She hadn’t moved yet, hadn’t gotten past the threshold of the patio door. She hadn’t estimated how long she stood there, counting the blades of grass, but the voice startled her.

“I have to go,” Beca said.

She turned to face Aubrey Posen. A tin mug with water rested at her side, half consumed. The blonde may have watched her as she watched the world, those cold apple-green eyes. They gave her away as human instead of an animal, focused instead of sure.

A silk robe covered her shoulders, the lavender material rich, and rarely seen by someone of her caliber. The whole estate was like that, fancy vases and sculptures, and iron workings that Beca had seen from the outside, looking in, but never the other way around.

“You’re a coward.”

She scoffed “A coward? No soy un cobarde.”

Even as she said it, she knew she was wrong. Someone who didn’t’ shy away from confrontation would have kneeled in front of the woman in the house by now- they would have told her about the band of looters, and pirates that intended on storming her personal palace.

Her face must have softened and given her away. Aubrey quirked an eyebrow, raising the mug to her lips before humming in satisfaction. It made Beca’s skin burn and her heart prickle.

“Leave, then. Making Chloe suffer by contemplating your own actions is doing more harm than good.”

Beca hated to swallow her words twice in one sitting but found herself taking the remaining three steps towards the kitchens island. Aubrey seemed to tense at the movement, dry-mouthed and thick with contempt.

“It’s for the better.”

“For you, or for her?” Aubrey lowered the mug and let out a sigh “Listen, you being here… has been good for Chloe. I thought you would be like them all, the artists. They waltz into the estate with their oils, and charcoals, and parchment, and think that they have the world at their fingertips. Instead of painting her, they use her. And she lets them.”

“I understand your hand over her, Aubrey,” Beca said.

“Hand over who?”

The two women glanced towards the opening to the kitchen. Chloe stood under the archway, her hair caught the moonlight like the rest of the kitchen, but in a deeper, cherry-colored way. She looked sleep-worn and content. That soon shifted against her features as she took in the leather satchel, the swept way Beca stared, and the fingerprints on the glass sliding door.

“You’re going,” She murmured.

The shatter of her words cut deep against Beca’s skin. She felt as if she might bleed there, bite her tongue until she swallowed mouthfuls of red. Her shoulders slumped, her resolve nearly broke. “I don’t have a choice.”

“A choice… Beca you’re here to paint. Have I scorned you that horribly with my antics that you’ve given up the fight?” She scoffed “I’ll ease on the chase. We can start tomorrow>”

She turned and glanced towards the backyard. The moonlit the path beautifully towards the ocean, and the docks, and the fire-filled lights that reflected off the waves. If she searched hard enough, she could see Emily’s ship, its red sails, and drafting architecture.

Aubrey scooped her mug up and was halfway out of the kitchen by the time Beca mustered up the courage to turn back to the woman. She hated the weight of the two of them this close to one another, standing off with nothing but a few inches between them.

“Garrett has wronged a very dangerous group of people,” Beca meant to sound powerful, strong, and sure of herself, but she wasn’t.  There was a meekness to her words. “They’re planning to storm this place, to take back what is rightfully theirs.”

Chloe pursed her lips, frowning as she stared at the terracotta tiling. She had her own silk robe wrapped tersely around her, her blue eyes hard and unreadable. “My husband does not speak about his business and I am kind enough not to ask.”

“He’s robbing people, Chloe. Good innocent people.”

“Pirates.” She snapped back “the last I checked they’re the ones that pillage, and murder, and go entirely feral at the sight of a pint of ale. Garrett is doing this world well.”

“They do what they can to survive. I don’t expect you to understand.”

It came out harsher than intended. Chloe snapped her gaze up to the woman with such ferocity that it chilled her to her bones. She steadied her hand against the island, fingers white as they pressed into the countertop. “Excuse me?”

“Rich, and stubborn enough not to go with me if I asked you to.” Beca whispered, this time sure of herself “I know these people, grew up with them, love them. And they are more merciless than many. Yet you would stay to defend your home, your possessions. Your paintings.”

The words felt bitter against Beca’s tongue. As if her saliva had turned to acid. She would never speak out against the lady of a house, much less one that had offered to pay for her services. But Chloe’s world was sheltered, and it was close to crumbling.

“You never asked.” She snarled, taking another step forward, closing the gap between them. Beca could feel the anger rolling off her in waves. “You packed your things and were going to escape into the night.”

Her breath came out in a shudder, it pressed against Chloe’s collarbone, making goosebumps rise against her skin. Blue eyes flicked to her lips, to her jawline, and to her own chest heaving up and down. It would take nearly nothing to push forward and escape the space left between them.

She swallowed the hot taste in her mouth “Would you have gone?”

Chloe met her question with silence. Maybe the words were stuck in her throat, or maybe they had no place where they were to begin with. Beca frowned, fretted, and took a step back. Chloe could have held her there, tethered her to one spot. She had enough power to convince her to stand against Emily and her intent. But nothing was said. The silence dripped heavily between them.

“Give Garrett my apologies.” She said, “I pray he can find an artist to capture your likeness one day.”

Before the tears that were welling up in Chloe’s eyes could escape, Beca had turned, opened the patio door, and began to walk across the moonlit grass. There were clouds in the sky, prominent against the dark backdrop, covering the ball of light enough for her to slip through the trees that turned to swamp and swamp that stretched into an alcove.

Garrett had spared no expense, the jutting cliffs that dropped straight to the docs and choppy waves had a staircase carved into it. Metal for the same lanterns that lined the Beale estate was set up in sporadic intervals. Beca had trusted only her instinct and anger to get her down to the docks.

Emily’s ship sprouted with blue and amber lights. A man grizzled and half-drunk with the swells of the sea stood as Beca approached. He drew his sword with a slick sound of metal upon metal. The tip of the weapon found its home under her chin, close enough to slice the hair from her head.

“State your business.” He purred, lilting his head at his prize.

“Jasper,” Emily’s voice came from the deck of the ship. She leaned over the railing, having shed her leather coat, and her captain’s hat, simple and beautiful in the moonlight. The man never hesitated. “She’s fine. Come up,”

She adjusted the bag on her shoulder, running her finger over the raw spot against her throat. He could have easily sliced through the skin, could have made a meal of her before the night had even begun.

Beca scaled the rope ladder leading to the main deck of the ship. By the time she had reached the top Emily had a grin on her face, nothing short of pride and warmth. There was a subtle rocking beneath her feet that reminded her so fully of home.

“Do my eyes deceive me delicately?”

“They don’t,”

Emily furrowed her brow and lilted the woman’s head up with the curl of her finger, the opposite of the blade with her softness, and tender stare. “You’re sure about this? I can get you off the island.”

“I’ve already turned my back once tonight. No puedo hacerlo de nuevo. I wish to join you.”

The captain withdrew her touch, worry etched into her features, catching every spare light that the night sea had to offer. Her eyes flitted to the last remaining glow in the kitchen of the Beale Manor, entirely visible from the docks. Past the trees, and the hedges, and the swamps, she could have sworn she saw a woman, backed by a lantern, and forlorn with fear.

[saphirered]

Verin + artificer S/O? Essek (begrudgingly) brings him to meet the Nein and while everyone is say hi they hear a loud boom and out stumbles from their room/lab S/O cover in ash and soot. They say hi to Verin and he just looks over to Essek and is like 'why didn't you bring me here sooner?!' thank you!

Once upon a time I was taught chemistry. I recall next to nothing but hey, maybe someone will recognise the chemicals and reaction causing the boom. I hope this turned out the way you wanted! 😘

“Essek will be here any minute! Hurry up!” You hear Jester shout as you almost spill the contents you’re mixing. Luckily you avoid burning a hole in the table of the lab. Nott might have your head if you ruined her alchemy equipment again.

“I’ll be there in a minute! Just finishing up here and then I’ll clean up and join you!” You shout back putting the vial back in the stand as you watch the fluids mix and swirl together. Taking out your tools you us it to heat up the vial carefully. You don’t need to set up a proper flame. Besides, it doesn’t even need to boil. Arcane flame. Much quicker.

The divines must be looking over you as the vial does not shatter. You set it at the burner to keep the contents at a constant temperature and move on to the next part of your experiment. Time for some powders. Now it’s key they do not come into contact with the liquids in the vial so you set that one out of the way in a safe place before you grab the powders you’ll need.

Goggles and gloves on, tools at the ready you set two beakers apart. With your tools you scoop some grey powder from one container and put it in the one beaker. You close the container and put it to the side before moving onto the next one containing bright yellow pebbles. You take a few and get ready to powder them when-

“Hurry up they’re here! They’re here! They’re here!” Shouting and violent knocking on your door makes you jump out of your skin, the yellow rocks dropping into the beaker with the grey powder, your elbow knocks over the vial from the burning spilling the contents on the desk, ignited by the burner like a fuel trail. You try to snatch the beaker from the desk but it’s already too late.

“Oh shit-“ You take cover casting a quick spell to protect yourself from the blast shattering the beaker in an explosion that should be audible a blocks away. When you get up your goggles are covered in dust and ash from whatever the flames reached. Yep… Nott’s gonna kill you if Caleb doesn’t get to you first… Hope he didn’t have any of his precious books laying around here….

Your ears still ringing you lift the goggles from your eyes giving you visual of the carnage left. You take off the gloves and quickly put out the remaining flames. Oh shit! you’re having guests! Rubbing at your ears trying to get your hearing back to what it’s supposed to be, you stumble to the door slightly disoriented. Opening the door you’re met with some familiar faces, and a new one.

Caduceus had already put aside whatever tray of tea or food he had been carrying and got ready to heal. Caleb is trying to contain the urge to run in and make sure his precious books are alright. Nott’s already screaming her equipment better be fine or you not just owe her a new set but also several fluffernutters to make up for the emotional damages you’ve caused, whatever that’s supposed to mean. Jester joins her at the mentions of receiving fluffernutters. Beau’s laughing her ass off and upon seeing you’re alright Fjord joins her with a light chuckle. Essek looks completely unfazed if not a little worried.

Then you see the other drow. There’s definitely similarities between him and Essek so you feel safe to assume this must be Verin Thelyss. Damn. He’s handsome too… And just your luck you just fell victim to the carnage of your experiment. So much for first impressions. Here you stand covered in ash, dust and sooth probably looking like a maniac or some sort of mad scientist. Oh god… You’re staring. Can he see your staring? Oh no…

You quickly brush off your clothes trying to get rid of the worst of the mess and walk up to the two drow with a bright smile offering a hand to Verin.

“Hello. You must be Verin! Pleasure to meet you.” You look down at your outstretched hand to see it also covered in the grime from your desperate attempt to make yourself look somewhat presentable. You’re about to retract your hand but Verin takes it anyway and shakes it to your surprise. There’s a bit of a mischievous grin visible.

“It’s my pleasure. You must be the artificer my brother neglected to mention dabbles in alchemy. The pleasure is all mine.” Verin certainly expresses an interest in you, or your work. You’re not entirely sure if it’s both or either and you don’t dare to assume.

“Brother dear, you have no excuses for not introducing me to your friend before.” He directs at Essek as he takes your held hand and links it through his arm.

“Not to be rude but I’ve found myself with a special interest in alchemy. Would you mind sharing your work?” Verin asks you and you look at the others. Some raised eyebrows but before you know it you’re pushed into the lab by a little blue tiefling.

“Yes yes! They’d love nothing more than show you all their work and other things!” Jester wiggles her eyebrows and makes a face as you look behind you in confusion.

“You’ll owe me a fluffernutter.” She whispers at you as the door is closed behind you and Verin and you’re left in the mess that is the laboratory.

Verin certainly expresses an interest in your work and has some basic understanding of alchemy. You catch him stare at your more than once, enthralled by you going of on a rant about storing components properly as to avoid situations like this happen.

“-and you see, it’s so difficult to get these specific components here I’m certain I’ve bought up the stocks of every seller in the city at this point yet I still do not have enough to complete this.”

“I happen to have some connections outside of the city. Perhaps I can help you find some or persuade the kind professor to allow you access to their stocks.” Your eyes light up at the offer.

“That would be absolutely amazing! You’d really do that for me? I mean no offence but we’ve only just met like an hour and a half ago?” You’re looking for the loophole or the strings attached to his offer. Usually this stuff doesn’t come for free. Especially not something so generous.

“See it as an opportunity to get to know you better. With your consent of course.” Maybe you should be glad there’s still the remains of sooth you couldn’t wipe away just yet hiding an onset blush. Jeeze. You feel like a school girl what’s going on and how does this man know exactly how to woo you. Charming, intelligent, nice, a good listener that actually shows interest in your passions? You’re not going to pass on that opportunity.

“With an offer like that; consent, permission and attention. You got it all, handsome.” You laugh only half joking. Does this count as flirting? Maybe it does… This is why you’re not the charismatic one.

“It’s settled then and maybe we can discuss your work more thoroughly in the future. I fear I’ve been a terrible guest to your friends.”

“I’m sure they don’t mind.” The two of you begin making your way back to the rest of the Nein and Essek, the latter of which seems relieved no further disasters occurred when letting his brother leave his supervision with you.

By the time Essek and Verin had to take their leave to return to their duties again you bid them farewell. Before departing Verin stops in front of you and clasps your hands between his.

“I’ll see you soon to make good on my promise?” A little caught off guard you can already see the plot spinning in in Jester’s head and Caleb wonder how you’d managed to charm your Thelyss quicker than he had.

“Yeah. See you soon.” He squeezes your hands before letting go and bidding the rest of the Nein farewell. You’re left there standing watching the Thelyss brother go until the door closes.

“Oh. My. Goodness!” Jester’s halfway through planning yours and Verin’s wedding already. Beau pats you on the shoulder for getting in the pants of another hot-boi. You assure her that’s not how you spent your time with Verin. Not yet, she assures you.

“I-uh should just go clean up the mess now…” You try to excuse yourself and for the first time you’re happy Nott’s still upset about her equipment as she begins dragging you off to the lab.

“Yeah! You better!” The goblin screeches.