#Tales from the reapers Scythe

[adder24]

An Update is coming!

@hellostickerdoodle @the-boneyard-rider @myfriendtheurbanlegend @nuggsmum @nuggsmumreads @untilthe12ofnever @reeselivesforeverinmyheart @moviesaremylife @dontgetfunny @emelinelovesjc @mulasawala @imelopsittacus

I dunno who else to tag because I have no idea who wants to read it...I'm just throwing it out into the universe.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Deity: Nerull, The One Who Sorts The Bones

It's said they found the god in the old tombs, in that forgotten quiet where long eras had worn away all the epitaphs. They drew in a breath of the still air and on their exhalation the god took flight into the world on vulture's wings. -The Silent Testimonies, book 1

A god not of death, but of the dead, Nerull presides those aspects of the mortal coil that lay beyond the Raven Queen's domain of mourning and memory. Someone must keep vigil for the departed long after their names have passed from the memories of the living, and so that duty falls to Nerull, who's chosen people are the spirits that have lingered in the world far longer than they were ever alive.

Beyond the dead, the vulture’s faithful are an eclectic lot. Itinerant gravetenders, scholars of forgotten tongues, Bonesetters who's experience with embalming helps them minister to the living.  To Serve Nerull you must first die, though this is often symbolic.

Unlike his fellow carrion-bird death god, Nerull's following does not frown on the use of necromancy, or the existance of undead. Ghost stories, whether vengeful or sorrowful are considered holy for the way their memory transcends time. The exception to this reverence of course are those trapped in suffering, and the "hungry" dead who feed on the living. Pain and want are after all the purview of life, and Nerull dispatches hunters and psychopomps to ease such spirits along their way.

Adventure Hooks:

While out on their travels the party encounters a procession of grey pilgrims, masked and shrouded, all silent save for the leader of their procession who carries a staff jingling with bells and welcomes the party to sit by his fire. He tells tale of conflicts across the realm, new and old, shared with her by her flock, and invites the party to walk along with them the next day if they wish to see something splendid. Should the party agree to such unsettling company they will walk until sunset when they come to a hillside dotted with loose stones, where one by one the pigrims will walk out and begin constructing their own cairns. The procession leader will thank them for their observance, not many are so kind to the unnamed dead, and will reward them with answers to five questions before departing on pallid wings.

After inexplicably befriending one of Nerull's agents (and possibly his daughter?) during one of their adventures, the party are liable to be put out when they don't see their favourite psychopomp for a while. Queue sightings of a foreboding spectre that's knocking one by one on the doors of the city at night, sending people into a panic. Imagine their surprise when it turns out this wraith has a message for them... their favourite omen of doom has been kidnapped by a necromancer and her boss (dad?) wants them to get her back.

The Vulture's work is never done, and this time he's decided to enlist the heroes for aid. Perhaps there's an undead spirit that needs to be quieted, perhaps there's something sinister at work in a ruin once consecrated in his name, perhaps it's just making sure they clean up after themselves after their latest stint of tombrobbing. Regardless, Nerull can offer the heroes something far beyond coin... closure with the dead, ensuring visitation with a loved one for some much needed closure.

Titles: The Vulture, The Bonesorter, Dead Ned, the weary reaper, the vagabond end.

Signs: Plants too dry to rot, the voices of the departed carried on the wind, skeletons rearranged into trees or gardens.

Symbols: A scythe or sickle entwined with flowers.

[christian-oc-tournament]

Please vote based on the picture AND the description!

Athaliah Taveet [@soldierpoetkingcomic]

Athaliah is the displaced king of her city, shunned as an evil omen for her albinism, forced to hide in caves from the man who stole her throne, and plagued by visions from a god she does not understand.

Béla Balogh [Pushing Irises: A Grim Fandango Tale @littlebluebarista]

Dead, petulant, painter of flowers, and most assuredly not named Bella, this thin husk of a man was offered a robe and scythe as a slow and agonizing means to eventual redemption after he died. But when redemption never comes, is he willing to set aside his work as a Grim Reaper and risk it all traversing a brutal and unforgiving underworld to finally see heaven? Will heaven even accept him if he does? Only he can find that answer, all the while painting purple peonies as he hopes he isn't shot with one.

[utmvarchive]

Reapertale: a summary.

As stated before, some AUs seem to run in different formats. "Reapertale" is another such AU, but rather than running as a soap opera, this Tale seems to play out like Greek mythos, positioning monsters as gods.

Toriel, goddess of life and warmth, gave breath to the earthly realm and sprouted humankind... but they were not yet mortals, and as they continued to propagate, so did conflict among them, and the balance of the earth tilted. His majesty Asgore, god of the sky from which he and the other first gods were born, and to which they would return if ever they passed on, turned to Gerson, god of wisdom, for answers. And Gerson, in turn, commissioned Gaster, god of the arcane, to conjure a counterbalance. Together, they used the power of darkness to invent the gods of death– Sans and Papyrus. Their conception deeply offended her majesty Toriel, and she secluded herself on the earth to swear off any further creation.

Though life would continue, sterility and stagnation would break out in the goddess' absence, and humanity's faith in the gods would falter. This brought on the loss of the god of hope– Asriel– as he was reaching to save Chara, a devoted acolyte, from tragedy. He was too late, and when his stardust fell into a pool of their blood, he would be reborn as an emissary of despair... again as a golden flower.

As it would happen, Chara would be the reapers' first job; but the gods of death were still newly-formed, and the dark magic used to conjure them still leaked from their forms and their scythes. Thus, only a moment's hesitation was enough for Sans' essence to corrupt Chara's SOUL, which was already embittered by the betrayal of mortal and immortal alike. They would escape, adopting the role of a demon in the following centuries.

In his effort to find Chara, Sans instead found Toriel's hidden sanctuary. The two were confrontational at first, but soon it became clear that Sans liked finding somewhere that allowed him reprieve from his thankless job, being the brother in charge of collecting the SOULs of the damned and the restless. In secret, they grew close...

...and then, claiming a role as harbinger of entropy, Chara too found Toriel. Though a god, they struck her down using a scythe stolen from Sans, igniting an Era of Corruption– an outbreak of strife, stagnation and stillbirth.

Undyne, goddess of war, was next to find what was left of the fallen god's hideaway, and confronted Sans before she could see could see that he too was grieving. Papyrus managed to intervene and calm Sans, stopping the spread of his necrotic influence, redirecting Undyne's attention to seek guidance from the father gods.

Of the first gods, Asgore was still in mourning, Gerson had gone quiet, and Gaster had gone to consult an all-seeing mirror. The mirror could show him everything– past present and future– but Chara had found it first, clouding its vision to lure him closer. They trapped him in it, and they shattered the mirror, scattering him and all memories of him with its shards.

In an effort to buy more time to rediscover life, the goddess of knowledge... Alphys... would be tasked with finding alternatives for creation. Her... first attempt involved the willing sacrifice of other gods, but these efforts would be in vain. The second attempt involved making a new vessel for a prematurely disembodied SOUL, and so... Mettaton would be created as a golem, embodying self-love.

What remained of the slain goddess was eventually detected by the opposing reapers at the same time, but Sans was thankfully faster than Chara and took her SOUL into hiding within his and Papyrus' own realm. He procured a stained-glass flower she'd once made for him after his touch withered the live white lily she previously tried to hand him, and he sacrificed the gift to bring her back with the essence of hers it had preserved. Thus, her restoration was secured.

But it would not be until the emergence of Frisk, demigod of mercy, that Chara would be cured of corruption and instead represent faith, and the balance of their world would finally stabilize.

...Seeing that mirror for myself would make my job so much easier if it were still intact...

[zairene]

WELCOME TO THE PARTY. osamu dazai

* ˚ ✦ synopsis: you’ve perished and after being in a limitless abyss that seemed to have no end, you found yourself having a conversation with the underground’s grim reaper.

* ˚ ✦ genre: fic, 1k count !

* ˚ ✦ author’s note: this is honestly a really good prologue for a series.

after becoming a victim of reality’s corrupt fate of death, you were surprisingly calm. were you satisfied when you died? obviously not. dying young meant leaving everyone and everything you had ever loved behind and it was definitely a hard pill to swallow. however, you just knew it was coming. you were free of the pain you were constantly having to endure when living, and now that it has stopped, you finally achieved a level of peace you haven’t experienced before.

you had been suffering from a terminal illness, when doctors immediately diagnosed you and relayed the news that you were slowly dying, you didn’t know how to feel. seeing the tears of your loved ones did not help your conflicted emotions, they were handling it worse than you and you were the one dying. so when it came to the day you were expected to die, you were just ready for life to take you away and put you in whatever situation that lay for you in the afterlife.

and here you are now, walking in this abyss-like place where nothing but the color black was in your vision. you didn’t know how long you were walking or where you were heading towards—hell you could’ve been walking in circles this entire time—but you didn’t feel any sort of fatigue or have any sense of time. being dead was a lot more dull than you assumed it to be. either way, you had no choice.

“well hello there.”

a deep smooth voice called from behind you. you turned around to see a figure with a tall and lanky physique, his bandaged hands held an enormous scythe. is he here to finish me off? that was your initial thought when you saw the being. he soon lifted his hoodie to reveal his face. his eyes were a piercing black to the point where a simple stare could make any regular person think he could see their soul. in this case, he probably could.

his wavy brown hair was layered, but his hair in the back reached the nape of his neck. even for being dead, it looked like he took care of it quite well, you were kinda impressed. his smile was oddly soothing, but you could tell there were many tales to be told behind it.

“are you just here to tell me i’m dead? i think i’m aware.” you said.

“no, no darling. actually, you’re not dead. not yet anyways.” he saunters closer to you. “this is the void.”

“the what?”

“the void.” he raises his hand that is holding his scythe and places it behind him to lean on. you are stunned by the fact that thing could handle his entire body weight. “a place between life and death where i make your journey into the afterlife somewhat easier, to put it into simpler terms, i guess.” he paused, taking a look at you. his expression changed. “you poor thing, you look awfully young. i take it you haven’t handled the news well, hm?”

“yeah, dying young wasn’t really a part of my resolutions for the new year but here i am. and i handled it just fine, thank you.” you were not about to have him treat you like some charity case similar to anybody else that has met their end here. he smirks. “sassy one, aren’t ya?”

“if being sassy means i won’t put up with pity, then i might be the sassiest of them all.” you retorted.

“point taken.” he puts his hands up in defense. “here, walk with me. unless you wanna be here forever, then be my guest.” he walks past you, and you follow shortly not interested in the idea of being lost for the rest of eternity.

“i’m your friendly neighborhood grim reaper, and yes, just like the forms of entertainment the humans like to indulge in.” he says disgustingly. you noticed his disdain for mortal activities but you weren’t bothered to ask.

“so you’re here to take my soul?”

“incorrect and that’s honestly boring. think of the opportunity that lies ahead of you as a second life.”

“a second life?” you were intrigued.

“yes. a better version of humanity, that’s what many have said at least.”

“oh really? what makes them say that?”

“my, you are filled with questions. as expected but i’m afraid i can’t answer them all as i am a very busy man.” you rolled your eyes. “however, you can refer to our consultant at the underground once our conversation here is finished.”

he held his finger up. “and before you ask, i’ll explain.” you closed your mouth since you were gonna ask another question.

“the underground is the place you go to once you’re officially dead—i feel that part was obvious but it’s part of the speech i give everyone—a wonderland filled with people who are also in your situation. dead and confused. some have resided there longer than others, so they know their way around the place, but for people like you,” he points at you. “it’s a redemption of sorts. to live your life eternally without the fear it may end due to unfathomable circumstances or stupid things like old age.”

“so you’re saying that i’m living life again but infinitely and with no consequences?”

“correct! you’re a natural.” he continues. “but this doesn’t exclude you from having responsibilities of course. we all have jobs here and you still have to play your part, alive or not. now, are you ready?”

“yeah, sure.” you weren’t. you were still very hesitant about the whole thing but you didn’t want to continue to bombard the guy with questions. “well then,” after those words a red portal appeared in front of the both of you. you looked at the man’s face and he gave you another smile. “welcome to the party.”

and before you could even comprehend what he told you, you were pushed into the portal, unaware of where it would take you specifically but you most certainly had an idea.

(📦) — BUNGOU STRAY DOGS TAGLIST // @4nthonyyliving @4kh

(📝) — TAGLIST FORM :: sign to be apart of the taglist!

[31nightshade]

It's was all Yellow 💛.

Look at the stars

Look how they shine for you

The reaper took the angel's hand under the stars enchanted by the Wondering stars that danced in the angel's gaze.

And everything you do

Yeah, they were all yellow

The angel took his hand and laughed his golden hair weaving in the wind.

I came along

I wrote a song for you

And all the things you do

The reaper took his hand away from the angel's heavenly grasp and took out his guitar and started to sing

And it was called Yellow

The angel listens to the reaper's song as he watches the golden marigolds grow around them glowing in the night

So then I took my turn

Oh, what a thing to have done

The angle meets the eyes of the reaper hollow yet loving and he takes his hand once more.

And it was all yellow

And started to dance with the marigolds and stars lighting their path.

Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones

Turn into something beautiful

The reapers skeleton hand intertwined with the angels palm spinning them in a graceful dance filled with laughter and love.

And you know, you know I love you so

You know I love you so

Like an eclipse they clided into a tender kiss only to be taken away from each other.

I swam across

I jumped across for you

Oh, what a thing to do

The reaper woke from his undead slumber by his son and daughter they tell him the tale of his angel's curse. He left with his little warrior in hand and his daughter with close friends.

Cause you were all yellow

His light, his sun, his angel was no longer yellow.

I drew a line

I drew a line for you

Oh, what a thing to do

The reaper drew his scythe and the little warrior channeled the blood god's magic into his blade ready to eliminate the monster that was not his husband.

And it was all yellow

The angel cried and fought the devil in his skin until it finally did away with its greed.

And your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones

Turn into something beautiful

The angel's body finally cot up to him and he collapsed into skeletal arms.

And you know, for you, I'd bleed myself dry

For you, I'd bleed myself dry

It's true

The reaper still standing fighting the greedy beast in his angel's skin. He was worn down on his last legs but he still stood he would fight even if it killed him but then the body collapsed with an agonizing scream. He took the body into his arms and cried.

Look how they shine for you

The little warrior ran up to his fathers crying hanging onto the angel.

Look how they shine for you

The reaper as gently as he can in his condition set the angel into the bote

Look how they shine for

When they arrived at shore his resilient flower was waiting there.

Look how they shine for you

She cried seeing the angels condition

Look how they shine for you

The reaper brought the angel into their home.

Look how they shine

They all slept next to each other that night.

Look at the stars

Look how they shine for you

And all the things that you do

The stars and marigolds danced once more.

[rawcalamity]

Darkness anchors the sun as it falls beneath the horizon, it’s brilliant sky sullied by the breath of night. A watchful moon stalks through billows of fog as it’s drawn like curtains to a play. The cold, brisk wind whistles a soulless tune; brushing against leaves wilted and withered. Souls who brave the night of All Hallow‘s Eve must beware of the terrible creatures that lurk behind every shadow, lest they succumb to the reapers scythe. Stories sail from one travelers ear to another, spreading the tale of a wicked beast who slumbers beneath the soil. They say that when summer fades into fall, a predators prowls through the large swaths of pumpkin patches—a gourd colossal in size and tangled within gnarled tendrils of draconic roots. As it wakes, a plethora of crooked beaks breach through the cracks of the hardened soil. Emerging from its nest are the heads of the pumpkin hydra; together they howl with the wind, beckoning monsters and ghouls alike. The pumpkin hydra is sworn to violently protect pumpkins and gourds as if they were its kin. Whispers say that this gargantuan gourd was brought to life from a witches thumb.

[mortifry]

Not very many people live long enough to tell the tale of how they’ve come face-to-face with the Grimm Reaper. No, nobody ever gets a chance to talk about just how devilishly handsome he looks right before he ends their lives, nor do they get to tell anybody about how he favors the old pistol hidden in his well-worn, brown leather jacket, rather than a scythe. Nobody ever gets that second wind on him—nobody ever gets a chance to fight for their life.

Sure, there are stories about him that float around in an endless game of telephone—rumors that could ruin another man’s life, but nobody ever gets the smaller details right. Nobody talks about how he likes his coffee with a pinch of sugar and half a cup of whiskey. Nobody ever mentions how unflattering the color yellow looks on him, even though that’s his go-to. They’d prefer to paint him in black with a halo of gold. Nobody says anything about the photograph of his daughter that lies face down on his desk, covered in a layer of dust for who knows how long. They don’t talk about how his mitch-match eyes pierce through even the darkest rooms, like stars millions of light-years away, and that meeting his gaze makes you feel like you’re farther from home than you’ve ever been.

No, nobody ever gets that close. Nobody ever gets to stay around long enough to see the way he looks when he stares out the huge window in his office as the purple glow from Pandora dances off his hard features, making him look softer and smaller than he’s been made out to be. They don’t see him as he looks past the planet he hopes to conquer—past the people he’d step on just to do it—nobody sees how solemn and empty he looks when he thinks he’s alone.

Perhaps there’s a reason nobody ever gets to see the man under the mask as the person he is, rather than the image he’s made for himself. But for that reason, I will never know.

[aspoonofsugar]

Ruby's Volume 4 Character Short

Ruby's Volume 4 character short is a great piece of foreshadowing of our Little Rose's arc as a whole. Let's see why.

Little Red Riding Hood Meets Wolves

First of all, the short clearly references the Red Trailer and it is LRRH in a nutshell.

Ruby wanders in the woods aloneand finds some Beowolves preying on people's homes. She immediately goes to fight the monsters, so that people can be saved.

This is the crux of Ruby's character: a LRRH who fights the wolves hidden within the shadows thanks to her ability to see the beauty of the world (Silver Eyes). It is her innocent and hopeful self, which makes her "the best Huntress of all".

The short pays homage to this idea while exploring other important elements. For example, the town destroyed by fire and Grimms clearly calls back to Beacon:

Which leads us to another recurring theme in Ruby's arc. Grief.

From Nevermore to Idol

Ruby sees a place resembling her lost school and rushes in to help. This shows how our girl deals with grief. She never stops to face her feelings, but rather she pushes forward and fights. So, the short starts with a metaphor of Ruby's own coping mechanism in the face of loss.

It is full of symbols linked to death:

Ruby looks like the Grimm Reaper. She wears a cape and has a scythe, both symbols linked to this mythological character.

She rides a Nevermore, which embodies grief, as its name references Edgar Allan Poe's Raven. This poem is about a man mourning a girl (the famous Lost Lenore) and crying he will see her nevermore.

Ruby lets go of the Grimm and lands on a statue. The statue is clearly a religious idol. So, Ruby crashing on it and symbolically taking its place hints to this:

Ruby: It's all… so… heavy… It's the only thing I can feel anymore… and it never, ever goes away. The feeling of not being… enough. Blacksmith: And how would you measure “enough”?

Ruby: Mom?

The whole sequence shows how Ruby is dealing with Summer's death. She is literally wrapped in death (the cape which resembles Summer's) and struggles with grief (the Nevermore). Finally she decides to deal with this complicated feelings by becoming an ideal, just like Summer:

Past Ruby: Mom was the best… but even she failed.

She steps in the fallen hero's shoes. This is why the statue really looks like Summer herself. After all, it is a white hooded figure:

Dorothy Meets One-Eyed Monkey

So, Ruby chooses to overcome Summer's death by becoming like her mom. Still, she meets 2 enemies in her path:

Beowolves and a Beringel. Both tie with 2 different fairy tale allusions.

The Beowolves are Little Red Riding Hood's enemies. This is why Ruby meets them in the Red Trailer, as well.

The Beringel is Dorothy's enemy, as it references Wizard of Oz's Winged Monkeys.

So, Ruby going from the Beowolves to the stronger and more intelligent Beringel shows that she is stepping into Dorothy's role. She is gonna fight the Evil Witch of the West:

Not only that, though, as this specific Grimm has some interesting similarities to another one of Ruby's greatest enemies:

Just like Cinder, the Beringel only has one eye:

It also shows itself to be smarter than the Beowulves, which launch stones to Ruby:

It instead makes use of other Grimms:

Just like Cinder manipulates even her own allies to defeat her enemies:

Finally, Cinder seems destined to turn into one of the Evil Witch of the West's minions:

So, to link her to a Winged Monkey seems just perfect.

In other words, Ruby metaphorically fights Cinder in a town filled with flames. How does their fight go?

Fall And Rebirth

Ruby fights the Beringel on the roof of a church. this setting is interesting because:

It ties into the religious symbolism Ruby herself has - she is an idol and a messianic archetype.

The tower of the church vaguely resembles Beacon Tower - this place is important for Ruby, Cinder and their relationship. There they have their first and second dances and there they will probably have their finale one.

In any case, the Beringel eventually has Ruby fall:

And roars victorious.

Just like Cinder succeeds in sending Ruby down into the Ever After:

And gloats about her victory after Atlas.

Still, this isn't the end.

Ruby symbolically breaks in many pieces:

But is eventually reborn:

Just like in the Ever After she goes through a process of Destruction:

And Re-Creation:

Ruby comes back and defeats the Grimm. Similarly, she is now back to fight Cinder again. I don't think their confrontation will go like Ruby and the Beringel, though. Rather, our Dorothy will turn into her LRRH's self and see the person inside the monster. She will save the Child swallowed by the Wolf, like the Huntress she is.

Light After Dark

The short ends with a reminder that Ruby isn't alone:

JRN are with her and her teammates are fighting their own separated battles, as well:

The final frames of Weiss, Blake and Yang tie the girls to some of their respective motifs. Weiss is associated with the moon and the night (like Ruby), Blake with the twilight (where light and shadow meet) and Yang with the sun and the day (Sunny Little Dragon). At the same time, their order of appearance is used to convey another key idea. The protagonists are moving from the darkness towards the light. From the night to the day. From the Fall to the Dawn.

[chronotsr]

No. 3 - G3, Hall of the Fire Giant King (July 1978)

Author(s): Gary Gygax Artist(s): Erol Otus, Dave C. Sutherland III (cover), David A. Trampier Level range: Average of 9, preferably 5+ players Theme: Standard Swords and Sorcery Major re-releases: G1-3 Against the Giants, GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders, Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff, Dungeon #200, Tales from the Yawning Portal

So that was a little disappointing. But maybe it just middles in the middle? C'mon Gary, let's see that special skill I've heard so much about.

G3 begins how G2 ended: teleporting conveniently on the outskirts of the fortress in such a way as to skip a trek without surprising the players. Meh. Our big bad this time is King Snurre -- I haven't mentioned the Chieftains yet because they're all just midbosses compared to the this guy. And, he's kind of famous isn't he?

For a guy who is functionally a one-off NPC that the party presumably kills, he ends up in a lot of paintings. Not that I'm complaining, that 4e art is amazing. In fact, broadly, 4e's art is a little underrated, it benefits from being less restrained than 5e. I don't think that's a knock on 5e's artists, more like…the art direction seems to be intentionally tamer. Anyway, thank you 4e art, I never realized there was a dog in the background of the 5e PHB until now. Neat.

Yada yada yada the setup is exactly the same as before, but now it's got ~mordor vibes~. As far as changes change, these fire giants (even the children) expressly do not do morale checks because apparently Snurre is such a motherfucker. Scary!

Anyway, we're already in the room-by-room, so let's begin the juicy part:

There's a scooby doo trap with a tapestry in the doorway having holes for eyes so a giant guard can alert the entire building if the players don't catch it. That's evil! But not unfair, which is a good balance. Naturally, there is a ballista tripwire on revisit that does some nasty damage, so this hallway is just The Troll Zone

Snurre has two pet hellhounds leashed to his throne, but also he's wearing a white dragonskin as a cloak at all times, which overcomes his natural aversion to cold with MAGIC. What an asshole! Also, as you look at that picture from the 5e cover, there's a bevy of (unimportant) changes from the original, like Snurre is no longer in his signature pitch-black platemail, but I think special mention should go to the fact that in the original he has literally 60k worth of precious stones on his person and scattered throughout the architecture of the throne room. This room should be GLEAMING.

A Gygaxism: Queen Frupy is a 'haradin', which roughly means 'scold', which. Ok. So, so much attention is given to how uggo she is (to Gary). Actually, I think the description of her armor is kinda cool, she wears black dragonskin, studded with iron (so by Runescape logic I guess she's good with a bow?). Reaper Minis did a character that sort-of resembles the description, but their Vanja has a spear where Frupy uses a scepter:

You can actually negotiate with her, the implication of the text is that she's unreasonable but…just ignore that. Lol.

She also has a magic mirror (implied to be a furniture mirror, not a hand mirror) that reveals invisible creatures in the reflection, which is kind of awesome. Good way to catch assassins! Somehow the drow are using a gifted necklace to spy on them, but I feel like the mirror probably should've revealed in some way (maybe the mirror was also a drow gift?) She's more astute than she lets on, because she has a huge stash of mind control crap in her dresser drawers for emergencies.

????????????????????????????

Keeping with the "giant leader's treasure sucks" tradition, Snurre's treasure is genuinely crazy. It occupies a FULL PAGE, and each INDIVIDUAL TRUNK has a listing and an explicit mention of the traps. Traps range from a standard scything trap to secret snakes to the treasure being invisible to contact poison. How the hell does Snurre use this room? You're telling me he never fucked up remembering which of the 13 chests were trapped in which way? Oh, also, they're pick-proof, because fuck you thief. Naturally, the loot itself is also a fucking trap, because while there is some truly amazing stuff in there (20 randomized magic items, a decent amount of valuables, a +3 ring of protection, and a ring of 3 wishes), there is also lots of troll items (statues with a stacking curse of -1 to all tests, ring of contrariness, ring of delusion). On the whole, a big fuck you to the party. Oh, and while the locks are unpickable, you can shoot them off with magic missile, which is…why?

Snurre's dwarf-slave-advisor is bizarrely well equipped and loyal, and given the opportunity to escape he will…backstab the party. As much as people complain about how early DND has too many save or die traps, I genuinely think the regularity with which rescued npcs betray the party is a waaaaaay dumber and more ridiculous trend. I simply cannot fathom why someone as smart as Obmi would choose to keep being a slave to Snurre when adventurers showed up with the ability to free him. Honestly? Take his big lie and make it true. The lie makes sense because it makes more sense than the canon character.

The scroll that finally tips at the motivation of the giants is, no kidding, scroll #68 of almost 450 paper items, none of which are mentioned. The weird need for a number baffles me.

The kitchen is doing some lateral thinking and using one of the gas vents as a gas stove, which is hilarious.

Oh, we're only now to level 2?

All of the former kings are entombed in a Giant Tomb, which, that is entirely too cool of a visual for them to have not included a visual. In a fucking grave mistake, this room is cut from the 4e remake, so there is no incredible art of it. There is no justice.

If you somehow didn't kill the hill giant chieftain AND you didn't get him in G2, he's here in G3. And he brought the pet bears!

Gary, you're such an asshole. No one would ever think to throw their cool mace into the lava pit mid combat. This is just trolling.

🤷 Guess I'll die

"The were-rats, if losing, will turn into rats and flee down the drain" That is, actually an incredible escape plan, except that we have pre-established that this Hall is founded upon LAVA AND COOKING-HOT GAS.

Fuck the party I guess

You often hear people who got into ADND in the late 1e/2e era talk about how people speculated that Hommlet must lead to Temple of Elemental Evil because of hints about the Elemental Eye and, honestly it just kind of feels like Gary defaults to the Eye. It has come up in every scenario he has written so far (which admittedly is 2 so far), but with the power of Knowing What Comes Next I can assure you that this is going to keep happening. Anyway, there is a temple to the Eye here, complete with human sacrifice, and the allusion to tentacles eating people is already starting to signpost what we now know is true: It's Tharizdun. The Eye is Tharizdun. It always comes back to Cthulhus!

A lot of early players clearly enjoyed Poking Random Shit because if you decide to touch the Elemental Eye's altar and also play every musical instrument in the room, you get to make every person in the room roll on this table, AND also execute whichever player is nearest to the altar (no save). But, hey, you will suddenly get whatever you want most on the altar. If you are somehow dumb enough to do it again, there's a 1 in 12 chance you get a +1 in all stats, a 2 in 12 chance of something extremely bad happening, and a 9 in 12 chance nothing happens.

Would genuinely like to know how many GMs bothered following this instruction. It does teleport you towards the final encounter, so that's something.

An entire page is dedicated to disarming the tentacle wall magic trap, which to be honest looks like it'd repel a significant percentage of players because you either need an evil cleric or some good magic to dispel the wall, and the wall punishes the shit out of you for trying to disarm it. To be a mild devil's advocate, the tentacle wall IS super suspiciously placed (the shape of the room implies it's going somewhere), so at least it's not also super esoteric. If you DO bypass it, you are now the proud winner of the "discover the drow" award! Woah, elves but they're ontologically evil??????????????????????????????????? Truly novel! Eclavdra, head of the drow here, hangs out doing nothing in particular, and you may unceremoniously execute her if you want to bring her storyline to an unceremonious end.

The frost giants are here from last module, if they survived. They really want you to kill these kings!

No really why did they used to draw trolls like that

This adventure just won't end. There's a surprising amount to say about this module given that it's only 22 pages of monster murder and motherfucker traps. Anyway, welcome to level 3!

There are fake dragons here to troll you into getting excited for loot

The fire giants also have a panic room? Every giant has a panic room. Why are panic rooms so normal in the G series?

A SECOND fake dragon that is actually a gorgon, which is almost funny

Finally, a REAL red dragon, which is frankly cruelty to fool me three times

After many, many drow are fought, you eventually run into a magic-fighter drow noble who has a wand of "viscid globs", which despite the suggestive name, is actually a superglue gun? You can literally rip yourself apart trying to separate yourself from a glued object. It's a really, really bizarre item. And it has a LOT of charges -- 79.

Mercifully, finally, something that could be potentially interesting: Eclavdra's rival is hanging out in the basement and can be sweetalked into helping the party screw over Eclavdra, which. FINALLY. However, if you displease her, it's demon time.

For reasons I cannot fathom, there are mind flayers here observing the drow, and the drow are not super bothered by that.

And that's basically it! at the very end they find a tube with a map and a wish leading to the D series, and a quick explainer on the then-new Drow. Well, not that quick, it's a page and a half, but the conceptualization of the drow is basically unchanged between then and now. Evil elves, forced underground, adapted to living there, dark skin, magic spidersilk clothes and adamantine weapons, sunlight sensitivity, drow spell list.

On the whole, G3 is, an adventure. While yes the Drow twist is kind of neat (but not special, since Drow are functionally Melniboneans and Elric was already decades old at this point), mostly this module lacks the fun of G1 and substitutes lots of murder traps for any genuine creativity with the scenario. On the whole, I consider it…crowd pleasingly boring? Your treasure goblins will love it for how much nice stuff they can find, if they survive.

We will end today with the back cover, which features some hippogriff mounts. People just don't give parties flying mounts anymore, it's honestly strange the tradition died. See you in the D series later. And if you're waiting for more obscure modules…I can only promise one in 1978.

[adder24]

I did a thing

@untilthe12ofnever @nuggsmum @hellostickerdoodle @the-boneyard-rider​ @littletime67​ @bonnie131313​ @scnewztown​ @bliphany​ @imelopsittacus​ @sunrise68​ @stingalingaling​ @mother-of-a-murder​ @izhunny​ @littlefreya​ @nuggsmumreads​ @myfriendtheurbanlegend​ @reeselivesforeverinmyheart​​ @hellostickerdoodle @scribbledoodles @traveler-of-realms @happiness-in-the-dark

No idea who else to tag but please feel free to share. I'm just trying to get this story told.

[kekkuda]

stuck thinkin hard bc I wanna do some bloodborne tarot drawings for the major arcana but I don’t know what to do with Gehrman bc I think most people would assign him to Death bc of the grim reaper aesthetic going on but the classic Rider Waite illustration being a dead knight on a horse trampling over a corpse is just literally Ludwig, just an undying knight rotting away on a corpse pile in bloodborne’s equivalent of hell

like the card also represents transition/change and inevitability which just works so much better with Ludwig’s role in Bloodborne as a cautionary tale of this is what happens to every hunter and even the greatest of us cannot escape it. It just seems so perfect for him I’m not sure what other card to give him because I can’t just assign him to the Moon bc its fucking bloodborne and every character has moon motifs and there’s literally a fucking Moon Presence

So that said I’m really thinking Gehrman is probably just going to be the Hanged Man because of the card’s meaning being linked to sacrifice/surrender, uncertainty, imprisonment, and apathy with a good old side of soft martyrdom. It has a lot of imagery dealing with being unable to escape from a situation or help oneself, often being associated with pause and contemplation which. Man it fits Gehrman so much better than just giving him Death bc of the grim reaper ass scythe and the fact that idk, he kills you. The hanged man also seems to have a common interpretation related to notions of letting go and I mean… come on now

how many times has there been an option to end a game with a character being like “congrats you did it, unfortunately the reward for it fucking sucks so you should just let me kill you (but not really kill you) so that you don’t have to suffer in eternal purgatory” hes the embodiment of severing ties and ‘letting go’ in so many aspects of his character, simultaneously physically attached from the ‘waking world’ yet unable to emotionally sever himself from it. He cannot make peace with his isolation, and he cannot ‘go mad’ from it either. He’s just forced to exist in a place of stasis as hunters constantly come and go and sometimes never come back should they turn or become trapped in the nightmare. Idk just some overthinkin

[christian-oc-tournament]

Please vote based on the picture AND the description!

The winner of this poll will move to the semifinals!

Béla Balogh [Pushing Irises: A Grim Fandango Tale @littlebluebarista]

Dead, petulant, painter of flowers, and most assuredly not named Bella, this thin husk of a man was offered a robe and scythe as a slow and agonizing means to eventual redemption after he died. But when redemption never comes, is he willing to set aside his work as a Grim Reaper and risk it all traversing a brutal and unforgiving underworld to finally see heaven? Will heaven even accept him if he does? Only he can find that answer, all the while painting purple peonies as he hopes he isn't shot with one.

Crispin O'Callner [Fallen Breath @larissa-the-scribe]

So committed to his ideals that he continues to shoot any business opportunity he has in the foot. A Tired Noir Detective who works with both the natural and supernatural, and is physically incapable of asking money from any old lady who wants his help. Just wants one nice weekend where he doesn't have to worry about anything and can go read at the public library until he falls asleep.

[littlebluebarista]

I'd love to ask about your OCs but I have zero context sooo

Tell me what your WIP and OCs are about

*So for honesty's sake I have to say this does take place in the same universe as an old 1998 point-and-click adventure game. However you don't need any knowledge of it whatsoever to understand the story. The plot and characters and even some settings are written entirely by me but this is in fact a Grim Fandango Tale.*

Everyone is dead. When people die they are reduced to bone and wrapped up in a husk, patiently awaiting whatever reaper is assigned to them to venture back to the Land of the Living and cut them free. But that's only the beginning, as once they are brought to the Land of the Dead they are faced with a treacherous and perilous land filled with dangers and disasters and monsters and jazz and art deco and so much walking!

See, each grim reaper has two jobs. Not only do they go and reap souls into the Land of the Dead, but they also double as travel agents to aid in the Four-Year Journey of the Soul from the Land of the Dead to the 9th Underworld, otherwise refered to as the Land of Eternal Rest. Depending on how virtuous a life you lead (and how much money you were buried with), you could qualify for better travel experiences besides walking the whole way on-foot; from sports cars, to ocean liners, or even a ticket on an express train that takes you across the Land of the Dead in 4 minutes instead of 4 years!

Enter Béla Balogh!

Petulant, terrible at sales, and most assuredly not named Bella, Béla trudges through his everyday life (death?) with a commonly mispronounced name, a misunderstood passion for painting flowers, and a misplaced hatred for a job he knows he never should have taken. He was offered the robe and scythe as a means to redeem himself, slowly working his way out of the Department of Death and into the 9th Underworld via railway, but it's kind of difficult for reapers to make commission when none of their clients ever seem to qualify for anything good. And as the days turned to weeks, and eventually years, with no end in sight, Béla began to wonder whether or not the clients he was receiving really were as sinful as their files made them out to be. After all, there had been whisperings around the office about a certain level of corruption beginning to take root in the Department of Death. But why was it somehow only Béla who ended up assigned to the ones who only ever qualified for walking sticks and hiking boots? He had many times considered abandoning the office and striking out to take on the Land of the Dead himself. But even among reapers, it was widely understood that an entire 4-year journey across the Land of the Dead on-foot was akin to a second death wish, especially if ventured alone. And so Béla stayed, disgruntled and yearning for a chance to one day finally break out of his prison of pencils and paperclips. Until along came Loca.

Enter Loca Servantes!

Soft-spoken, freshly dead, and scared out of her skin (literally), this poor woman assumed she would finally find the peace that came with the sweet release of death and instead was reaped by Béla to a cold, cruel, unfamiliar land that supposedly wanted to kill her again. It was bad enough that she was matched with a travel agent indifferent to his clients' well-being, but when her file somehow reported her to be a mob hitman in her previous life, she was left with no choice but to be turned away and face the Land of the Dead alone.

But could this little woman be the very thing Béla needs to finally get out? Would they each take the risk of seeking Heaven through a violent and unforgiving world in the company of a complete stranger?

Secrets will be unveiled, flowers will bloom, bones will shatter, and hearts will mend

-in-

[ REDACTED*]: A Grim Fandango Tale!

~Coming at some point in the distant future to a dashboard near you!~

*comic still undergoing a proper title search

[dailyanarchistposts]

The Red: Haymarket Centennial

The history of the modern May Day originates in the center of the North American plains, at Haymarket, in Chicago - "the city on the make" - in May 1886. The Red side of that story is more well-known than the Green, because it was bloody. But there was also a Green side to the tale, though the green was not so much that of pretty grass garlands, as it was of greenbacks, for in Chicago, it was said, the dollar is king.

Of course the prairies are green in May. Virgin soil, dark, brown, crumbling, shot with fine black sand, it was the produce of thousands of years of humus and organic decomposition. For many centuries this earth was husbanded by the native Americans of the plains. As Black Elk said theirs is "the story of all life that is holy and is good to tell, and of us two-leggeds sharing in it with the four- leggeds and the wings of the air and all green things; for these are children of one mother and their father is one Spirit." From such a green perspective, the white men appeared as pharaohs, and indeed, as Abe Lincoln put it, these prairies were the "Egypt of the West".

The land was mechanized. Relative surplus value could only be obtained by reducing the price of food. The proteins and vitamins of this fertile earth spread through the whole world. Chicago was the jugular vein. Cyrus McCormick wielded the surgeon's knife. His mechanical reapers harvested the grasses and grains. McCormick produced 1,500 reapers in 1849; by 1884 he was producing 80,000. Not that McCormick actually made reapers, members of the Molders Union Local 23 did that, and on May Day 1867 they went on strike, starting the Eight Hour Movement.

A staggering transformation was wrought. It was: "Farewell" to the hammer and sickle. "Goodby" to the cradle scythe. "So long" to Emerson's man with the hoe. These now became the artifacts of nostalgia and romance. It became "Hello" to the hobo. "Move on" to the harvest stiffs. "Line up" the proletarians. Such were the new commands of civilization.

Thousands of immigrants, many from Germany, poured into Chicago after the Civil War. Class war was advanced, technically and logistically. In 1855 the Chicago police used Gatling guns against the workers who protested the closing of the beer gardens. In the Bread Riot of 1872 the police clubbed hungry people in a tunnel under the river. In the 1877 railway strike, Federal troops fought workers at "The Battle of the Viaduct." These troops were recently seasoned from fighting the Sioux who had killed Custer. Henceforth, the defeated Sioux could only "Go to a mountain top and cry for a vision." The Pinkerton Detective Agency put visions into practice by teaching the city police how to spy and to form fighting columns for deployment in city streets. A hundred years ago during the street car strike, the police issued a shoot-to-kill order.

McCormick cut wages 15%. His profit rate was 71%. In May 1886 four molders whom McCormick locked-out was shot dead by the police. Thus, did this 'grim reaper' maintain his profits.

Nationally, May First 1886 was important because a couple of years earlier the Federation of Organized Trade and Labor Unions of the United States and Canada, "RESOLVED... that eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labor, from and after May 1, 1886.

On 4 May 1886 several thousand people gathered near Haymarket Square to hear what August Spies, a newspaperman, had to say about the shootings at the McCormick works. Albert Parsons, a typographer and labor leader spoke net. Later, at his trial, he said, "What is Socialism or Anarchism? Briefly stated it is the right of the toilers to the free and equal use of the tools of production and the right of the producers to their product." He was followed by "Good-Natured Sam" Fielden who as a child had worked in the textile factories of Lancashire, England. He was a Methodist preacher and labor organizer. He got done speaking at 10:30 PM. At that time 176 policemen charged the crowd that had dwindled to about 200. An unknown hand threw a stick of dynamite, the first time that Alfred Nobel's invention was used in class battle.

All hell broke lose, many were killed, and the rest is history.

"Make the raids first and look up the law afterwards," was the Sheriff's dictum. It was followed religiously across the country. Newspaper screamed for blood, homes were ransacked, and suspects were subjected to the "third degree." Eight men were railroaded in Chicago at a farcical trial. Four men hanged on "Black Friday," 11 November 1887.

"There will come a time when our silence will be more powerful than the voices you strangle today," said Spies before he choked.

[lem-argentum]

here r some updated answers from the ff.xiv questions in this post bc i have now played 1000% more of the game :> :> <3 💛✨💛 I LIKE IT A NORMAL AMOUNT!!!!

3. favorite class?

….IT’S ASTROLOGIAN. :’) <3 reaper is very much my main it’s the most comfy class for me, and i’m not really GOOD at ast…… but it is my favorite conceptually & visually i think the skill effects are so gorgeous :’). every time i unlocked a new ability i was so in love… but yes otherwise it is reaper hfnkdn <33 (and i really enjoy playing scholar as piccolo too, it is very strong as a healer & shields are fun >:D <3)

4. favorite expansion?

*GETS OUT A MEGAPHONE* SHADOWWWBRINGGERSSSSSNFKDWJFKJQKWAAAAHHHHHHHHHJKJFNSKFJMZBFKJZCKDHHFKBSFWAAAAAAAAAA HHHHH WAAHHH WEEHHHFKBDKCJ 💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

5. favorite scion?

it’s still *looks at the camera.* also still alphi!!! and obviously raha impacted me very very much emotionally she is one of the most important characters ever so ALSO RAHA, and also kr.ile <333. and ali.saie she’s also so so important. and- *i am forcibly cut off before i name every scion*

6. current glam?

I DON’T HAVE ANY RECENT FULLBODY PICS OF RUDY IN HIS MAIN GLAM but i basically haven’t altered it since i made it efndkdn <3. SKULL EYEPATCH + PAGOS BOLERO + CRYSTARIUM THIGHBOOTS OF MAIMING + AUGMENTED CRYSTARIUM WAR SCYTHE MY BELOVED (and on his side glams he’s always wearing the redbill scarf. ^^) <333

7. favorite dye?

it’s wine red :) <3 and for piccolo i like marsh green and mud green the most <3 <3

8. biggest accomplishment?

PLAYING HEALERRR!!!!!! I WAS SO SCARED OF IT BUT I’M MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE WITH IT NOW it’s the most fun role to play :D <3

9. favorite song?

WELL COMEEE AND WELL MET, MY BRAVE LITTLE SPARK. HOW LONG YOU’VE WANDEREDDD, BURNED BRIGHT AS A STARRRR. OH, I HAVE AWAITED YOU PATIENTLYYY, ALL THIS TIIIMMEEEE, PAST EVVVVERY FATE. NOW SING WITH ME ONCE MOREEEE, SHARE OF YOUR LIIIIIFEEEE, FAR GREATER THANNNN MEMORYYYYYY, ITS LOSS AND LOVE, WORDS CANNOT HOLDDDD, BOUNDLESS THJ TALE OVERFLOOWWWSSSSS AND CARRIESSS YOUURRRR LIGHT OUT TO SEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (i’ve been singing this one almost daily since finishing end.walker i have so very many emotions about it . i could list many more songs but it would take hours so just take flow ok <) 💛)

10. best zone?

IL MHEG. IL MHEG IL MHEG <3333 so many good whimsical little storylines there. also the tempest + elpis :) <333

11. favorite city-state?

out of the initial three it’s gridania (even though it is the only one to not get any development in the story so far……… it very much needs it fndkfjk). IF I CAN CHEAT AND SAY OTHER CITIES ITS THE CRYSTARIUM + OLD SHARLAYAN THANKSSSS <333

12. best dungeon?

AHEM. MY FAVORITE DUNGEON IS MT. GULG. I DO STILL LOVE GREAT GUBAL LIBRARY. I ALSO LIKE THE WANDERER’S PALACE, SAINT MOCIANNE’S ARBORETUM, AND THE DEAD ENDS. THANKS <3

13. crafting or gathering?

BORN TO GATHER. 1372987 COLLECTED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

14. favorite raid?

[GUY WHO’S ONLY COMPLETED THE SHB RAIDS VOICE] HAHA YEAH UM I LOVE EDEN ^^ <3 I THINK I LIKED ETERNITY AND ICONOCLASM THE MOST!!!!! my favorite alliance raid is euphrosyne :) <3

xx. favorite trial?

THERE’S NO FAVORITE TRIAL QUESTION SO I’M JUST ADDING MY OWN HFNDKFN they are seat of sacrifice, the dancing plague, and the final day >:> <3

15. best memory?

starting shb….. i remember walking up to the crystarium with stars in my eyes efndknd <333. most excitement i’ve had in SO LONG HAHAKFN I WAS REALLY HAPPY. <3 and seeing amaurot for the first time was one of the besttttt moments in the story i was so in awe….. weh <3

16. favorite primal?

h. h.ydaelyn. i sob so much about v.enat i love her i would never have expected the emotional significance she would amount to. :’) <3 otherwise it’s still susano HAHA I NEED TO REPLAY THAT TRIAL SOMETIME HAKFNSM <333

19. favorite villain?

emet-s.elch I SUPPOSE!!!!!!!!!. he strikes a very interesting balance between being a tragic character you can empathize with and also being undeniably irredeemable. his actions are unforgivable! he also introduces some of the most absolutely intriguing parts of the world that shape so much of what the story becomes!!!!!! it’s really good!!!!!! he sucks!!!!!!!! AA!!!!!!!!!! otherwise it’s yo.tsuyu though the narrative treated her much worse. </3

22. afk spot?

i pretty much always afk in old sharlayan now… i set it to rudy’s home point in ew, both because it was convenient for the story and because it has the most soothing music to me (esp the night theme..). <3

25. favorite minion?

SIGH it’s the hw th.ancred minion. i think the model is really cute and i like him hanging out with rudy and he does cute little backflips all the time and AHGFKD. <3 otherwise i use the kidragora (i headcanon one just got attached to rudy when he was out in the forest, and now it’s kind of like his child. it hangs out in the lavender beds when he’s not bringing it somewhere.) OR the CLOCKWORK LANTERN MINION WHICH I BOUGHT ON IMPULSE AS A PVP REWARD AND WAS IMMEDIATELY ENAMORED WITH BECAUSE ITS SO CUUTEE AND IT MATCHES RURU’S AST GLAM AND IT HOPS AROUND ANDmfnskfjk. but yeah it’s mostly th.ancred .

26. favorite mount?

i have yet to get a mount that i really like…? x’) rudy uses the rose lanner/white lanner (depending on which glam he has on) and i like them but they’re not PERFECT…. piccolo though has the korpokkur mount and i grinded forever for it and THAT ONE. is perfect for HER i love its sound effects and it suits her so. <33 :>

27. favorite relic?

there’s only one set of relic weapons for reaper and none of them fit rudy [sad music starts playing. the swell of the string instruments matches the darkening clouds as rain begins to f-] i’m not a fan of super flashy weapons i just like the simple ones so HKFNSJ NONE OF ‘EM I GUESS <3

28. which class would you want to see added next?

i think it would be really funny if they added gambler but i know they wouldn’t EFNDKJ. <33 I WOULD HAVE PICCOLO PLAY IT THOUGH. GIVE HER THE SILLY RNG CLASS PLEASE <3.

29. one feature/content you want added to the game?

still th.ancred/wol kiss scene HAHAKFNZMHFK <3333