#greenwarden spoilers

[fiddles-ifs]

The Box is Open. THE BOX IS OPEN

A VERY MERRY GREENWARDEN HOLIDAY

Warden’s winter season is marked by Christmas lights and tinsel on phone poles, bright snowflakes in green and red and white lit up when the sun goes down. There’s even a few chanukiyot in shop windows, gelt sold in the grocery stores. It’s also fucking cold. 

The mountains freeze early. It’s been snowing since October up here, but it’s only just now been cold enough for the river to go solid, enough that there are kids daring each other to seal slide across when their parents aren’t looking. They wear layers of socks on their hands, four coats and as many pairs of jeans, and little toboggans with puffs of color at their crowns or WVU stitched on their foreheads. You smile, shake your head, and breathe warm air into your numb fingers. It’s better than hurricane season in Florida, at least.

Devin and Nazeri sent you out to get last-minute groceries, things that they were too busy bickering to remember. They’ve set aside their differences -- mostly -- to keep the holiday somewhat calm. It’s still Irish Christmas at Devin’s house, though. Utter chaos.

The bags are heavy in your hands. You’ve gotten offers from a few, cautious Wardenites to hop in their car and they’ll drive you up the holler, but you’ve declined every time. You kind of like the walk now. It’s brisk, you get to see the decorations, and the eerie cracking of river ice as it thaws and refreezes is oddly peaceful.

You pass under the boughs of branches, and the whispers start. The steady pressure on the back of your skull. A shiver rolls down your spine.

...calm...

You stop on the trail, head tilted, straining to listen. Your ears rumble with blood.

...happy...

...Nothing.

You roll your shoulders and shake the tension from your head, a huff of hot air crystalizing and dissipating. The pressure subsides, just a bit, but noticeable. A contented big cat curling up for a nap. You walk a little faster down the trail.

Devin’s foyer is welcome warmth, Dean Martin’s crooner voice blaring through the TV speakers. It smells like God. Your mouth immediately gets sloppy wet, and when you walk into the kitchen to set the bags down, you already see Devin threatening Trace with a wooden spoon.

“Go on! Git!”

She scampers, muttley laughing, one of Devin’s homemade bread rolls in her mouth. Nazeri is on savory duty, reading over Devin’s recipe book.

“Are you sure I should put cumin in this?” He asks. Devin eyes him from whatever batter they’re whipping into shape.

“I’m sure.”

“I just think cardamom would be better-”

“I have stuff,” you haul the grocery bags onto the kitchen island before another fight kicks up. Both of them light up at the sight of you. Bautista pokes her head from around the overstuffed chair. She’s curled around a hot cup of coffee. The monstrously huge stack of firewood by the fireplace and her cherry red nose tells you all you need to know about what she’s been up to. You ask anyway.

“They won’t let me in the kitchen,” she says.

“Because you’re bud luck,” Devin rifles through the bags and pulls out produce, spices, and booze under Trace’s watchful eye. “She managed to burn rice. Rice!”

“Is that what happened while I was gone?” You chuckle. Not that you’re much better -- you have the sneaking suspicion Devin and Nazeri sent you to the store to get you out of the house. Otherwise, you’d be causing even more chaos. All of you woke up early this morning to make breakfast and get dinner done before Polar Express comes on this evening, and Devin quickly chased all but Nazeri out of the kitchen because the rest of you are functionally useless with anything but coffee makers and microwaves. Now, dinner is in its last vestiges.

You ladle a little eggnog into a cup and sip, casting around at the Kwanzaa kinara, the nativity scene, and Bautista’s dinky little handmade parols. Trace made paper snowflakes and plastered them to the walls with Scotch tape. She has her ear next to the speaker, quietly tapping away with her finger. It feels strangely like family. It’s not a feeling you’ve felt for years. Something stings, and something balms a wound.

You hide your face behind your mug for a bit.

You manage to slip in somehow, pre-rinsing dishes and running the dishwasher. It lessens the load a little, while Bautista and Trace play ninja in the living room. Sometimes you tag in. Trace wins. You and Bautista take bets on who would win at the game -- Nazeri or Trace; Devin chimes in with a five dollar wager, and then it’s on.

The ninja game lasts until Devin serves dinner for everyone. You curl up by the nativity scene with a plate of roast chicken, lumpia, tahdig. A second round of mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. A little bit of pie, a little bit of ice cream. You eat until your stomach hurts and your eyes droop, curled with hot chocolate. Even Nazeri and Devin are laughing at each others jokes.

Polar Express is an uglier movie than you remember, but it sparks a nostalgic part of you. None of you do Noche Buena -- Devin and Nazeri don’t celebrate, Trace doesn’t know what it is, and Bautista can’t stay awake too long. She’s got a two hour drive tomorrow to catch morning mass at the nearest Catholic church. Habits. If she doesn’t get a solid six hours, she won’t wake up.

You swallow a yawn beside Devin on the couch.

“Thanks for doing this for us,” you mutter, everyone enraptured by Tom Hanks’ eclectic hot chocolate burlesque.

“Sure,” they say, “you’re family now, pretty much.”

You can’t really argue. Not tonight, anyway.

It feels good to be family.

[trystanryder]

i didn’t actually stop playing i just love bautista more than i can handle

[dorkouscogaming]

still thinking about That Scene in chapter two update from @greenwarden-cog ;;;

[half-anidiot]

tracker: deals with monsters and weird creatures for a living

also tracker: magic? do you even hear yourself right now?

[bosspigeon]

oh youve met trace now, did they bite your mc and copy their appearance? i love that they can just become whatever theyve gotten a bite of. love that freaky feral goop bitch

oh yeah he chomped the hell out of chaboi hfdjskaghdkjl

[ambrosykim]

i take it back, i don't want to kiss bautista anymore😭😭💔

[prim-moth]

WIP Wednesday Saturday tagged by @gncrezan hii Najam thank you :] this is my greenwarden mc! No name yet. also this feels like a slightly different style I’m doing?? Maybe it’s the brush lol

[lilyveins]

Jack, moments before she left to bully Devin outside of a small town diner.

[impossible-rat-babies]

gonna give you a hard one maybe but top 5 moments in any IF? 😎💖

OKAY OKAY i've got this i've got this. mild spoilers for some IF--it's all released content though:

1. ortega dinner date from fallen hero. hands down one of my most favorite scenes in any IF. I could sit and write an essay breaking down the whole series of scenes.

2. the hotel room scene with bautista from greenwarden. there's so much unspoken there between the characters already (i love the tracker and bautista's relationship) and just the building of that is ;--; i love it even if i hate the tracker for dumbass crime behavior <3

3. the "button was mind controlled to place the bomb" scene from mindblind. the follow up after that, nick's panic, rosy's interrogation--i love the variety of how button can respond to the situation and how it all feels appropriate and justified. it's also a feasible twist to have in the story knowing what we know about button and what's presented to us--they've been controlled once, it's understandable it could happen again.

4. the confrontation between the commander and syfyn during the parade in the exile. especially having had a past sort of almost romantic thing with syfyn. the pain and the betrayal--the hurt between the two of them. the way the commander can respond to syfyn and her pain of seeing them again--it's just. very good. didn't expect that to sucker punch me in the face.

5. any variation of the boat scene after chapter 1 in wayfarer. i love the different ways the conversation with Aeran can go, the branching paths with that dynamic relationship is wonderful. okay ngl i love all the scenes with Aeran in wayfarer ;--;

and a FHR specific list:

1. dinner date with ortega

2. the gala fight specifically with ortega in rebirth

3. chen date my Beloved ;--;

4. explaining step and the puppet to mortum + the regene mortum reveal in retri

5. the argent bridge fight

[fiddles-ifs]

Without getting too into spoiler territory, I was just wondering if the MC and RO's can be happy one day? MC seems pretty... Messed up, for lack of a better word 👀

It'll take work, but yes! There is a happy ending for Greenwarden -- with the caveat that the MC's trauma is likely going to stay with them forever, and they won't be entirely "normal."

[leondaltons]

Out of all of your ocs, which ones would be most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse? Which ones could make halfway until something happens? And which ones would perish almost as soon as it starts?

Omg okay so, you told me 2 with powers and 5 humans (I made my sister pick at random to mix up a little) so here we go 👀

(also I have 8 characters because debate started between me and my sister if Aubrey and Clementine could be counted as having “powers” kajskas) 

askjasak thank you SO much for this ask Yajaira, this was so fun haaha 💕

For least to most likely to survive: Isabella of Westerling (Royal Affairs) - Aubrey Dumas (kotsam) - Clementine Argent (Into the Shadows) - Cassidy Vallendil (Shepherds of Haven) - Robin Wiseman (Mind Blind) - Astrid Vega (Greenwarden) and Amelia Greene (Wayhaven Chronicles) - Odessa Moore (Scout Apocalypse)

A more detailed explanation about their status and why under the read more

Isabella: The most smart and level head of my Royal Affairs MCs however she has lived a way too easy life never having to really survive out there. Her brains can only take her up to a point. Dies pretty early (unless she is in a bunker for royalty, she might get pretty far if that’s the case lmao)

Aubrey: Big debate with my sister if she has powers or not because she is human, but has the Keeper powers, so we are giving her half a point hahaa

Anyway, even with keeper powers she doesn’t last too long. Her supplies to make potions and runes end running out at some point so she is physically defendless. Aubrey is also too nice and trusting, and not above sacrificing herself for someone else so she also dies pretty early

Clementine: Another debate if she being a psychic could be considered as having powers, so she gets half a point asjaksa. Makes it farther than Aubrey and Isabella because she is older and has more experience (being able to hear what other people intentions are helps a lot too) but only makes it halfway or something like that. She is super smart but also has lived a too comfortable life, worst of all she is a journalist and therefore extremely curious, which probably has her end in the wrong place at the wrong time (either with people or zombies) 

Cassidy: Not only she has illusion powers she also has daggers and knows how to use them. Cassidy is manipulative, cunning and ruthless, not above cutting someone’s throat in order to survive (as long as they deserve it). But she is also too fucking reckless and thinks she can take 15 zombies at the same time, spoiler alert: she can’t. Makes it a decent amount of time tho

Robin: I was torn if putting her before or after Cassidy but they probably make it the same amount of time. Listen, Robin might be a zero but she is smart and resourceful! She might have depression but will also fight with teeth and nails to survive. Survivors might be able to read her thoughts but not all of them, she has become adept at hiding a lot of them from Nick so that he doesn’t worry even more.

Robin was already surviving in her canon story, she will also do it in here, as long as she can. She is not above doing what has to be done, so her survival is possible (or at least for a long time) as long as zombies don’t retain their mental powers (Jo, do zombies in the Mind universe retain their mental powers and can perceive Button’s thoughts? important question 👀)

Astrid: I was torn (and i’m still am) to put her here and not last and if she survives or not. On the one hand she is a monster hunter but on the other one, she has a really fat ass depression and anxiety so idk how well she would deal with everything. However, above all Astrid is stubborn, and she didn’t survive this long only to die in a lame way like being killed by zombies. 

She has what it takes to survive: the physical training and experience killing creatures, she is smart and resourceful and will not hesitate against another human who is a danger for her survival. If her mental state allows it, she can survive this.

Amelia: Same as above, I’m torn about her survival status and if she dies how long she makes it. Amelia is physically qualified and it is hard for her to break under pressure or show too many emotions; she is also resourceful and smart, having the qualities to become the leader. However, for Amelia, it would be hard to cross the line of attacking other humans but would do it if it meant protecting others. High chances of surviving everything

Odessa: Girl is literally already living in an apocalypse world so she is already used to this shit ajskahsa. Again she is smart, has a good physical condition, knows how to use a bow and arrow, is charming and has survival instincts. Doesn’t like fighting with other humans but won’t hesitate to do what it takes to survive another day (especially if it means to protect those she loves). 99.9% chances of survival and high chances of becoming a community leader.

Again thank you 💕💕🥺🥺

[bosspigeon]

devin left the mc because devin is a scared weenie :( i mean, i would leave a stranger that dragged me into the woods if shit started getting spooky and a fucked up monster showed up so i get them. also, they have a birb daughter to take care of so no dying for them

you know what??? fair

ALSO BIRD DAUGHTER WHAT??? I FINISHED THE DEMO WHERE IS THE BIRD DAUGHTER

[avid-author-activist]

evangeline samos, growth

[broken throne spoilers]

evangeline of house samos is eighteen years old, standing in an arena of nothing but ruins, competing viciously for a crown she was made to want. “get in my way and I’ll kill you slowly... little lightning girl.” 

she shows off for a group of teenagers while training to kill, parlor tricks for empty admiration, a queen bee in a big-kid’s popularity game. she is followed by empty smiles and emptier promises everywhere she goes, young nobles hoping to win the favor of their prince’s betrothed. mareena titanos makes her run, blows her spiders to shards in a training arena. 

evangeline (lady of house samos, princess of the rift, betrothed to tiberias calore vii, flame of the north, heir to the burning crown) was trained to kill, trained to fight, raised to strength, to power, to death. she wore her ability every day, jewelry dripping with gems and metal, rippling gowns of chromium and mercury, metal talons on her fingers and steel shrapnel in her silver hair. 

she softens for elane haven, the shadow girl that hears everything but is never seen. no, evangeline, steel does not break, and it does not bend, but it can be melted and reforged into something new, something stronger. 

she finds the strength to turn away and step down, a different strength than the one that carried her through a hundred battles at court and on the front lines. she finds the strength to let go, to let her father the king fall from the bridge. to turn away from her gilded life of crowns, silk, and power, to turn to a country where her blood is no longer superior. 

to turn away from a war and a throne to live life as a commoner. to sit in a garden tended by a careful greenwarden and his husband the premier. to leave behind the smoking ruins of the place where she grew up, to lay in the grass in a gray wool sweater.

evangeline turns twenty years old as evangeline of montfort. heir to no crown and no titles and no wealth. beholden to no one.  

[taliaglitch]

READ THE GREENWARDEN UPDATE

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

(spoilers in the tags im Theorizing a little bit)

[fiddles-ifs]

With my school year ending and me graduating, I figured it's about time to announce something I've had in the works for a bit!

My very own Patreon!

Much as I'd love to quit my day job and write full-time, I got bills to pay and city living is expensive. So! This is a little extra for me, your friendly bartender/author/sewer dweller, and it also contains all sorts of fun bonus content! I feel like a big kid now <3

The Patreon is split into three tiers ($3 USD, $5 USD, $10 USD) with increasing rewards.

Keep reading for a detailed list of tier rewards, roadmap, and launch date!

OPERATIVE ($3 USD) The basic tier! For 3 cheevos, you get:

Shorts, AUs, Snippets

Monthly Q&As*

Monthly roadmap/newsletter

*monthly Q&As will not be spoiler-free but will avoid deep-lore spoilers.

HUNTER ($5 USD) The mid-tier! For 5 cheevos, you too can have:

Everything in the OPERATIVE tier

Voting on next month's bonus content

DIRECTOR ($10 USD) Affirmative, Director! For 10 bucks, Director-tier patrons get:

Everything in the OPERATIVE and HUNTER tiers

Deep Lore Q&As, streamed on Twitch every month! (A living document of questions and answers and stream recordings will also be provided for people who can't make it to the streams!)

Alpha Tester access when Greenwarden: Book 1 enters alpha!

As of now, the Patreon page is still unfinished (being worked on and Almost there, but not quite -- I want to put out some bonus content and work out some kinks before I actually publish it), but here's a roadmap on what to expect!

APRIL 2023

Set up a Twitch page, maybe buy a nice mic and webcam for the Deep Lore streams

Fine-tune Patreon

Develop bonus content to release on launch

Prep for Greenwarden's birthday

April 30th: Greenwarden monthly update

MAY 2023

Continue developing launch-day bonus content

Prep for Greenwarden's birthday

Create designated documents for questions

Test streaming to fine-tune Twitch page + OBS on my dinosaur computer

May 15th: Send out first Q&A form

May 30th: Greenwarden 1.0's birthday! 2.0 gets updated. Special birthday post

JUNE 2023

June 5th: Patreon launch! Relax a little. Publish bonus content, first poll

June 10th: First newsletter and Q&A responses roll out

June 15th: (Hopefully) first-ever Deep Lore Q&A!

June 30th: Greenwarden update

JULY 2023

July 5th: Bonus content, poll

July 10th: Newsletter, Q&A responses

July 15th: Deep Lore Q&A

July 30th: Greenwarden update

Hopefully by August, I'll get into a rhythm of post-and-development! Everything is subject to change, but I'll keep everybody updated if I have to spread things out a little further. I'm also hoping at some point to go on vacation and celebrate my finally graduating!

Thanks all!

And happy hunting :]

[fiddles-ifs]

Happy Winter Holidays!

CHANGELOG

Continued writing CH. 3 (its coming to an end..... SOON I prommy)

Added a scene to chat with Nazeri after getting back from Devin’s place; Bautista’s scene will come in a later update.

Even more continued planning for closed alpha

Started messing with the idea of changing the gender system. Watch this space

CURRENT WORD COUNT: 76,962

AVERAGE PLAYTHROUGH: 32,275