#kyd sequel

[sophsicle]

HI SOPH!!which one will u update next kyd or ohb?<33

kyd!

[ufolvr]

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

3. Obscure headcanon

for Psimon?

Sure man let's have fun 💕 this will be heavily based on Psionics (Bruno/Psimon) bc the poor guy doesn't have much going on by himself. Also I'm mixing shit from YJ and TT2003 for the same reason :]

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

He is transgender. You will accept this. Also he's got significant sequelae from having his brain fried - he needs a cane and his psychic powers are permanently impaired.

3. Obscure headcanon

I think any hc for him is obscure - there aren't many psimon lovers to share them with I'm afraid, at least not on Tumblr. Anyways, laughs at his own jokes often!

12. Crack headcanon

Cracking My brain trying to figure smth out. Well I think it'd be fun if he was, like, a good big brother figure. Iirc, he pairs up with Kyd Wykkyd in TT2003? Maybe? In my heart it's bc they get along fine. Like, this freak is much more normal about kids than many mothers out there. A fun scenario of mine is having Psimon and Bruno 'adopt' Terra instead of Slade so she's a petty thief and a pest instead of a man made horror, just bc it'd be funny.

13. Dumbest thing they’ve ever done

Use telepathy to expose Artemis instead of speaking normally LOL I get why that'd happen plot wise but it's like. Ok your catatonia sequel man not mine (I could explain it away by saying telepathy is less taxing than speaking, but since the show didn't I Won't do that)

44. Their happiest memory

[sloppy lizard kissing sfx] No but seriously it was probably when it clicked in his head that he trusted Bruno, wholeheartedly - he didn't have to watch his back or be prepared for backstabbing all the time anymore. Being loved and cared for does feel good, doesn't it?

50. A memory they’ve blocked out

Most of the second confrontation with M'gann for sure. He knows she was there and that he messed with her but he cannot remember what they talked about and why she attacked him, and he would rather Not remember what it felt like either so he's fine with that.

sorry for the delay! tumblr mobile doesnt let me edit asks for whatever reason now. go figure.

[lurking-loaf]

Shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. Then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals!

(11) "Clockwise Operetta" by Tomas Dvorak, Machinarium

(10) "Title Track" by Chris Rickwood, Orcs Must Die!

(7) "Orbiter" by Jesper Kyd, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

(20) "Threadcutter" by Kyle Gabler, World of Goo

(9) "Red Brick, Broken" by Inon Zur, Fallout 4

Since I already answered a different version of this ask using my favorite playlist, I opted to shuffle my Top 25 Most Played one instead. For fun I also included what position each song has on that list.

Thank you for asking Snipper!

[ideasspeedsite]

Hitman 2 homing briefcase

Instead in HITMAN 2, you have this animated stills with voice-overs that replace the standard cutscenes. Even though the last game was stingy with their number, there were still a few well-made cutscenes that progressed the story. For some baffling reason, there are no more pre-rendered, cinematic cutscenes that play out between missions. Sadly, the game does a terrible job of presenting the story to the players. In addition to 47, Diana and Lucas Grey, all of the assassination targets are well fleshed out with copious amounts of backstory which ties them nicely to the main story. The story is a tad bit better than the recent entries in the series. Gone are the themes of catharsis, redemption and self-reflection and instead, the story plays out much like a spy thriller with a pinch of personal motive. HITMAN 2016 and HITMAN 2 on the other hand, have seemingly struck a nice balance between the story and the gameplay.

Absolution did the opposite and we all know what happened next. The story was a slave to its gameplay and was just sort of there. The story was never the strong suit of the older Hitman games. After a shocking revelation, 47 and Diana are forced to take their own stand in a conflict larger than both of them could imagine. It goes without saying that the plot does not go from point A to B directly. After being played by Lucas Grey into taking down several Providence members, the legendary assassin Agent 47 and his handler Diana Burnwood goes after Grey and his militia to put a stop to this bloody war and uncover the grand scheme of things. Grey leaves no stone unturned and is willing to go to any length to take down the Providence. The secret organization called Providence which controls world behind the scenes is at war with a militia group led by the mysterious Lucas Grey. HITMAN 2 is a direct sequel to 2016’s HITMAN and thus, the story picks up directly where the last game left off. The seventh entry in the long-running series, HITMAN 2 was released on 13 November 2018 Story & Narrative Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. HITMAN 2 is a stealth video game developed by IO Interactive and published by Warner Bros. Does HITMAN 2 deliver on its promises or does it fall flat on its bald head? Let’s find out. The stakes are higher than ever for both the series and the developer. But the flames have been rekindled and Agent 47 is back to its root with HITMAN 2. After the disappointment that was Absolution, we saw IO Interactive struggle to retain the series’ identity and adapting to an episodic model, only to be driven to the verge of bankruptcy. The last few years saw the Hitman series trying to emerge out of its niche shell and with it, came the good, the bad and the ugly. The unique concept of assassin power fantasy, gameplay design that makes a perfectionist orgasm and the cathartic orchestral score by Jesper Kyd made sure that the franchise stayed relevant, even after 18 years of its inception. While the series may not have enjoyed the global success of its peers like Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell, the stealth genre as a whole will forever be indebted to the bald, bar-coded assassin. If someone asks me to name the best stealth games of all time, at least one title from Danish developer IO Interactive’s Hitman series is undoubtedly going to be there.

[onthepageoftears]

Hold Them Closer Series Masterlist || Witcher

THIS SERIES IS COMPLETE. First installment can be found here.

Pairing: Jaskier x Assassin!Reader

Summary: The end of one journey has passed, but the next has just begun. Y/N struggles with puzzled memories of the past, bringing Jaskier along as they try to put the pieces back together.

Warnings: graphic violence, language, death/killing, mentions of r*pe, alcoholism, murder, gore, torture, etc

Words: 30k+

This is the sequel to Kill Your Darlings, masterlist here. It is highly recommended to read that series first!

Your kind words and reviews mean a lot to me, so please don’t afraid to leave a message/comment!

✥ Chapter 1: The journey has begun.

✥ Chapter 2: Satisfaction only happens if you take the leap.

✥ Chapter 3: An ‘atmosphere of love’ has many facets.

✥ Chapter 4: The return of a friend may bring a new approach to hardships.

✥ Chapter 5: Gaining the information you needed isn’t easy, and brings up old memories.

✥ Chapter 6: Traveling has never been harder.

✥ Chapter 7: All that lies ahead is the skeleton of what you called home.

✥ Chapter 8: The search continues.

✥ Chapter 9: A young girl brings much more trouble than you bargained for.

✥ Chapter 10: The past is not something you can truly escape from.

✥ Chapter 11: A side job brings more than you could have imagined.

✥ Chapter 12: Reverting to your old ways never brings peace.

✥ Chapter 13: Love always conquers fear.

✥ Chapter 14: Confrontation is never easy.

✥ Chapter 15: Epilogue.

Please Don’t Plagiarize My Work!

[fancypantsrecords]

Jesper Kyd - Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! Claptastic Voyage Original Soundtrack | Spacelab9 | 2018 | "Claptrap's Conciousness" Green Translucent with Green Splatter | /200

[fluffyblue-multifandommess]

If you have any doubts that Admiral Holdo in TLJ is gay plase just rememberthat she died at the end

[jasper-rolls]

Persistent Impulse - Jesper Kyd [Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! Original Game Soundtrack]

[sweetsoundsofignorance]

Can you tell me about Born to You or As We Go Up We Go Down? (I remember All the World is Green, it was so good and I think you would write exceptional enemies to lovers.)

thank you, that's amazing encouragement ❤❤❤ i appreciate you!

ohhhhh, these two.

born to you (working title) is the one that's been weighing on my mind the most because it's the sequel to devil's daughter, which i'm mad-dashing to finish right now. but, i anticipate being very emotionally drained after closing dd (tbh, i already am). i plan to spend some time on original work with a few palate cleansers (on this list) before hopefully tackling this sequel.

i can't say too much about it without giving away the ending of dd, but it has been almost fully outlined since may 2019. it will be much like the dd setup with alternating timelines, POVs between betty and jughead, and interspersed with jug's psych sessions. that's about as much as i can divulge, sorry 😕

for as we go up we go down, i took a bunch of the dd cut scenes and repurposed them for this story. i had two directions for dd, but i ended up with the current one that is posted, and that left the other direction. here, bughead go full dark, no stars (not as wild as kyd). think the badlands meets wayne meets bonnie and clyde, and it's more they begin as villains of circumstance (like dd) but really lean into it and burn the whole world down. it alternates between bughead on the lam and how they got to that point (yeah, i don't do linear storylines). there's breaking and entering, murder, robbing a diner, police standoffs, moral relativism, disaffected youth, and it's set in the 90s. the works.

urgh, i need more hours in a day, please. who knows magic?

a million thank yous again for asking, you wonderful being 🥰

[elencelebrindal]

Favourite colour, music, film, anime? I'm curious

Uuhhh, sorry for the wait, this ask has been waiting in my inbox for a lot by now, but let me answer you. Some of these answers are really long, so I marked them with a title in case people are not interested in everything. Though, I don’t think many people would be interested at all, my life is not that eventful. 

Favorite Color

My favorite color is black (even though black is not technically a color, damn you art school why did you have to teach me that), closely followed by blood red and silver. 

Favorite Music

My favorite music... I don’t really understand if you’re asking me what genre I prefer, or who do I prefer listening to, so I’ll just go the safe route and answer everything at once.  I love metal (especially power metal, epic metal and folk metal, with a significance preference for its viking sub-genre), and I am in love with Blind Guardian, the first ever band I listened to. I still remember the first song I’ve ever listened, which is “Noldor (Dead Winter Reigns)”. Being a Tolkien fan led me to discover them, and subsequently to fall in love with the genre. Among my favorites there’s also Nightwish, Epica, Alestorm, and I’m baffled by Sabaton and Korpiklaani. I do listen to a bunch more bands, but not as much and I don’t know as many songs. 

But it’s not my one and only love. Aside from metal music, I also love classic music (I am deeply in love with a ton of Italian composers alongside the others), dark cabaret music (most notably Aurelio Voltaire, Dresden Dolls and Emilie Autumn, though her style doesn’t really fall into one single category), and I go crazy with anime music and openings.  I appreciate the music of anime so much, even though a lot of people don’t think highly of it, and since childhood I’ve always listened to our “opening singers” (the most important I grew up listening to are Cristina d’Avena and Giorgio Vanni), so I simply cannot stop loving them.  On a similar note, I cannot have enough of movie soundtracks. Composers like Howard Shore, Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer... the list could go on forever. I never get tired of their music. Again, videogame soundtracks are on the list of my beloved music as well, especially the music from Skyrim (Jeremy Soule) and Assassin’s Creed (Jesper Kyd). 

Favorite film/movie

I don’t really have one favorite. I do have a list of movies that I could watch over and over again, though, and others I just have fun watching even though they’re not my favorites.  The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy are absolutely on the top of my list. As I said, I’m a huge fan of Tolkien, and I’m also a huge fan of Peter Jackson. Add them together and BOOM! I am a tiny bit bitter about the Hobbit movies, but seriously? I still loved it.  Right after them there’s ALL the movies by Tim Burton, Alice in Wonderland and its sequel on top. I love Tim Burton, so much I cannot even explain it. And Alice in Wonderland has a very special place in my heart. 

[story time, you can skip if you want]

Not just because I love the story and the craziness of everything, but because back in high school (my last year) we decided to do Alice in Wonderland with a twist for our theater lab, and I not only got to write the entire script, but also to play the Cheshire Cat alongside all of my friends. My best friend was Alice, my other best friend was the costume designer, a lot of other people I knew and loved were the other characters. It’s such a delightful memory for me that I never stopped enjoying Alice in Wonderland from that day onward.  I got so involved with my part that I ended up making an entire steampunk-ish cosplay of the Cheshire Cat from scratch, a cosplay I brought two times to a convention and I’m currently renovating after taking it apart. This is how much I grew attached to that play and to that character.  Some years ago, before this, we had a director guiding us for two years of theater lab. A delightful man that looked at me and decided I needed to be addressed as “Alice” because of how much I reminded him of her.  It’s just good memories. 

[end of the story time]

I also have the “classics”, like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and the like. If it’s fantasy/sci-fi/something along those lines, I probably love it. Regardless of who made it, being it the writer or the director.  One particular movie that holds a special place in my heart is “The Fall”, and I cannot really pinpoint a reason why I love it so much. I just do.  There’s many titles I can tell you, even more serious ones like “The Imitation Game”, “The Danish Girl”, or “Dallas Buyers Club” and “Fight Club”.  Even though I prefer fantasy themes, there’s significant exceptions.  Old Italian movies are among my favorites too, but they’re just a drop in the ocean.  To close this, I’m going to bring you my love for the entire “Night at the Museum” ordeal and the entire “Jumanji” series (as of now, but I will never love anything more than the original).  I get really excited when I get to talk about this kind of interests, sorry T_T

Favorite Anime

Oh boy.  This sounds like it might be an easy one, given the nature of this blog, but it’s actually not.  In fact, I forgot Saint Seiya was my favorite anime.  You see, I originally watched it when I was nothing but a child, with a memory that obviously wasn’t so good at the time. This eventually led me to forget about how much I loved Saint Seiya, even though its characters never left my mind, and I started gravitating more towards Yu-Gi-Oh!, especially 5D’s. For the longest time I was convinced my absolute favorite was Yu-Gi-Oh!, until I finally started re-watching Saint Seiya and got hit by the memory train. 

But let’s not wander too far away from the question. What’s my favorite anime? Of all time is Saint Seiya, hands down. It has so much to offer, so much diversity, so much story and so many characters. Here in Italy, it has one of the most unique dubs of all time, with dialogues that are aulic (for the Italian fans who are curious --> l’origine del registro aulico dei Cavalieri dello Zodiaco è stato deciso da Enrico Carabelli e  Stefano Cerioni ed è spiegato in questo video, ed è poi stato mantenuto da Ivo de Palma nella serie di Hades) and filled with quotes from authors like Dante Alighieri, Ugo Foscolo and more, an “oddity” that made me fall in love again and again. 

Aside from this, I have another list, because I honestly cannot bring myself to choose only one.  Above all are Yu-Gi-Oh! (in order from best to worst for me --> 5D’s, Duel Monsters, GX, ZeXal, Vrains, Arc-V), My Hero Academia, and Sailor Moon.  Honorable mentions are Attack on Titan, Black Butler, Another, Pretty Cure ( spent basically my entire childhood/teenage years watching them, my favorites are the first two series), One Piece, Dragon Ball, Naruto, Beyblade, Tokyo Mew Mew... this could go on forever.  I’m a sucker for “old” anime as well, so a lot of them are mostly from the 70′s, 80′s, 90′s. Some of them I was so little when I watched it, like for example Card Captor Sakura (I was like three years old and I dressed up as her for Carnival), that I don’t remember them but they still have a place in my heart.  I wasn’t even fixated on one genre and that was it, I watched the hell out of anime and I still do (when I have time). 

I do also watch yaoi (shame on me, I know), and since I’m here telling you about my favorites: I love Dramatical Murder, especially (and you might not believe me) for how creative the story and the worldbuilding are. I’m also shameless enough to have watched the entire game in all its incarnations, so there’s that.  Not only that, I’m shameless enough to have watched more explicit ones, but I’m not telling you ;) I have a reputation here, after all. 

This took a long time for me to answer, and I’m sorry. I legit looked at this in my inbox, tried to conjure up some will to write, failed and went back to bed or to my books. Rinse and repeat for an entire week.  And to all of you who actually made it through this entire thing without getting annoyed/bored, damn you’re determined. 

[thewhyldeone]

ADOW like Reading Recs

For all my fellow fans of the All Souls World, but especially fans of Shadow of Night. Here is a reading list I started after i first finished the All Souls Trilogy, when I began to want more fiction set in that slightly alternate and very magical 16th century London Deborah Harkness created. This is a list books I loved and have to share.

Strange Devices of the Sun and Moon by Lisa Goldstein: 

Elizabethan London of 1590 is an intense city, overflowing with life and action, a city of spies and booksellers, alchemists and playwrights, poets, witches, plague and salvation. A series of strange events links the lives of St. Paul bookseller Alice Wood, the great writer Christopher Marlowe, the Faerie Queen as her court invades London to wage war amidst the intrigues of Queen Elizabeth I’s own court, as well as  in the streets and courtyards among the unseeing populace. They are in search of a boy claiming to be the reborn King Arthur. Marlowe must become in effect a detective, and Alice, strangely favored by the fairies, must become a heroine in a struggle against evil forces, culminating in a magnificent battle fought in the heart of London.

What to Love:

History

16th century London: 1590

Christopher Marlow and Thomas Kyd

St. Paul’s Bookstalls, book selling rights

Fae London, Seelie and Unseelie court intrigue and war.

Alice Wood, a female member of London’s Stationer’s Guild: rare!

Arthurian legend, alchemy, magic, poets, playwrights, dragons?

The Alchemist’s Door by Lisa Goldstein: 

Scientist, mathematician, and court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I, John Dee is also one of the sixteenth-century's most renowned alchemists, he is driven by a passion to fathom the elemental secrets of the cosmos. But when his reckless assistant, Edward Kelley, succeeds in using a crystal sphere to summon angels, Dee is catapulted into an awesome struggle that may extinguish the light of reason forever. One of the spirits invoked is a cunning demon who takes possession of Dee's young daughter, Katherine, and shows Dee a frightening vision of his own future. 

Terrified by what has been foretold, Dee abruptly decides to close his house in London and flee to Europe with his long-suffering wife, Jane, and their two young children. Their desperate flight brings them at last to the city of Prague--a center of culture, knowledge, and learning, both sacred and profane, a gateway between the Eastern and Western worlds, and also, it is whispered, a door between our world and the world of the spirits. There, in the city's ancient streets, Dee encounters the mystic Rabbi Judah Loew, who enlists his aid in the creation of a Golem--a man fashioned from the clay--to defend the city's Jewish Quarter from persecution. And he asks Dee's help to avert a impending crisis that threatens to engulf the world. For ancient legends say that the fate of the world rests on shoulders of thirty-six righteous men. And if one of those righteous men dies before his time, the world will end and dark spirits will remake it in their own image.

What to Love:

History

16th Century London, Prague, and Krakow, Poland : 1582

John Dee, Edward Kelley, Empirer Rudolf II, Rabbi Judah Loew, Jane Dee

The Golem of Prague...PRAGUE!! 

Angels, demons, demon possession, conversations with angels, alchemy, mysticism, apocalypses.

The School of Night by Alan Wall:

BBC editor Sean Tallow has only two overriding desires in life. One is to step into the shoes of his glamorous friend Daniel Pagett, and the other is to establish the truth about the School of Night, a shadowy group of Elizabethans who clustered around Sir Walter Raleigh.

Tallow pursues the School of Night and its entanglement in the question of whether the man from Stratford-upon-Avon could really have written the plays ascribed to William Shakespeare. If he didn't, then who did? The harder he studies, the less light is thrown on this troublesome question, and the more his interest in the School of Night becomes a grim fixation.

Just when it seems Tallow is ready to give up the quest, day becomes night and everything he once believed is turned on its head as he enters a fearful world where there are no longer any rules except survival. Like the original members of the School of Night, he finds himself treading on the wrong side of the law.

What to Love: 

History

Theft

The School of Night

Sir Walter Raleigh, Thomas Hariot/Harriot, Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare

Oxford, and Bradford England

A debate about who wrote Shakspeares plays.

The School of Night by Louis Bayard:  

In the late sixteenth century, five brilliant scholars gather under the cloak of darkness to discuss God, politics, astronomy, and the black arts. Known as the School of Night, they meet in secret to avoid the wrath of Queen Elizabeth. But one of the men, Thomas Harriot, has secrets of his own, secrets he shares with one person only: the servant woman he loves.

In modern-day Washington, D.C., disgraced Elizabethan scholar Henry Cavendish has been hired by the ruthless antiquities collector Bernard Styles to find a missing letter. The letter dates from the 1600s and was stolen by Henry's close friend, Alonzo Wax. Now Wax is dead and Styles wants the letter back. But the letter is an object of interest to others, too. It may be the clue to a hidden treasure; it may contain a mysterious and long-sought alchemical formula; it most certainly will prove the existence of the group of men whom Shakespeare dubbed the School of Night but about whom little is known. 

Joining Henry in his search for the letter is Clarissa Dale, a mysterious woman who suffers from visions that only Henry can understand. In short order, Henry finds himself stumbling through a secretive world of ancient perils, caught up in a deadly plot, and ensnared in the tragic legacy of a forgotten genius.

What to Love:

16Th/17th Century London

The Tower of London

The School of Night

Henry Percy aka They Wizard Earl aka Hal aka The Earl of Northhunbarland, Christopher ‘Kit’ Marlowe, Thomas Harriot/Hariot, Sir Walter Raleigh

A disgrace Elizaabethan scholar, mystery, treasure, alchemy, history, romance.

Veronica by Nicholas Christopher: 

On a snowy night in February, at the improbable point in Lower Manhattan where Waverly Place intersects Waverly Place, a 30-year-old freelance photographer named Leo meets elusive, strangely beautiful Veronica, a magician's daughter and assistant, she leads him into a world where illusion blends seamlessly with reality—a luminously transformed city where powerful underground streams crisscross beneath the streets, a city of dragonpoints and Tibetan mysticism where real time is magically altered. Ten years have passed since Veronica’s father, the famous magician Albin White, disappeared while performing a dangerous feat of time travel before a packed theater audience. 

White’s disappearance was no accident: he was sabotaged by his apprentice Starwood, who interfered at a critical moment and sent him hurtling into the past, free to explore other eras but with no means of returning to the present. Veronica and a small group of family and friends have spent the last 10 years preparing to bring her father back from his limbo, and the bewildered Leo will be an important part of their perilous plan.

What to Love: 

New York

Time Travel

The School of Night

Magic, magicians, Tibetan Mysticism, Illusion

The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman: 

A country divided. A newly crowned, desperately vulnerable young queen. Can one man uncover the secret that will save her throne?

It is 1560, and Elizabeth Tudor has been on the throne for a year. Dr. John Dee, at 32 already acclaimed throughout Europe, is her astrologer and consultant in the hidden arts… a controversial appointment in these days of superstition and religious strife.

When dangerous questions of Elizabeth's legitimacy arise, the mild, bookish Dee finds himself summoned before William Cecil, who tasks him with an important mission. Along with Robert Dudley, Dee's daring friend and former student who is also rumored to be the Queen's secret lover, Dee must travel to the famously mystical town of Glastonbury to find the missing bones of King Arthur. Once these long-lost relics, the embodiment of a legacy vitally important to the Tudor line, are ensconced in London, doubts as to the Queen's supremacy as the rightful Tudor heir will be dispelled.

But the quest quickly turns deadly—Dee and Dudley arrive in Glastonbury to discover the town mourning the gruesome execution of its abbot, and more death soon follows at the old abbey. Racing to uncover the secrets buried there, Dee finds himself caught in the tangled roots of English magic, unexpected violence, the breathless stirring of first love… and the cold heart of a complex plot against Elizabeth.

Sequel: The Heresy of Dr. Dee

What to Love:

16th century Elizabethan London: 1560

John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I, Robert Dudley, William Cecil

Medieval mystery, murder, witchcraft, Arthurian legend, court drama, Tudor politics, magic.

Heresy by S.J. Parris 

A blending true events with fiction, this  historical thriller a page-turning murder mystery set on the sixteenth-century Oxford University campus.

Giordano Bruno was a monk, poet, scientist, and magician on the run from the Roman Inquisition on charges of heresy for his belief that the Earth orbits the sun and that the universe is infinite. This alone could have gotten him burned at the stake, but he was also a student of occult philosophies and magic.

Bruno's pursuit of this rare knowledge brings him to London, where he is unexpectedly recruited by Queen Elizabeth I and is sent undercover to Oxford University on the pretext of a royal visitation. Officially Bruno is to take part in a debate on the Copernican theory of the universe; unofficially, he is to find out whatever he can about a Catholic plot to overthrow the queen.

His mission is dramatically thrown off course by a series of grisly murders and a spirited and beautiful young woman. As Bruno begins to discover a pattern in these killings, he realizes that no one at Oxford is who he seems to be. Bruno must attempt to outwit a killer who appears obsessed with the boundary between truth and heresy.

Sequels: Prophecy, Sacrilege, Treachery, Conspiracy, and short story The Secret Dead

What to Love:

16th Century London and Oxford

History

Giordano Bruno, William Cecil, Francis Wallsingham, Elizabeth I

Murder, espionage, mystery, philosophical debate, science history, scientists, poets

The Book of Splendor by Frances Sherwood

A historical novel about the most unlikely of lovers, interwoven with the mysticism of the Jewish occult. The Book of Splendor is novel that brings to life the experience of the Jewish community during a period of oppression and rebirth in seventeenth-century Prague. This is an adventure-filled romance stocked with court intrigue and political tension, including the machinations of the rival Ottoman Empire, the religious controversies of Protestantism, and the constant threat of violence to the Jewish community. At the heart of the novel is Rochel, a bastard seamstress who escapes poverty through an arranged marriage to the tailor Zev, but falls in love with Yossel, the Golem created by Rabbi Loew to protect the Jewish community. Meanwhile, Emperor Rudolph II puts the safety of all Prague at risk in his mad bid for an elixir of immortality.

What to Love:

History

16th/17th century Prague: 1601

John Dee, Edward Kelley, Rabbi Loew, The Golem of Prague, Mad Emperor Rudolph II

Alchemy, Jewish Occult lore, mysticism, court intrigue, political tension, romance

Descriptions mostly from Goodreads

If anyone else has any books they have found, please do share!!! These are just the ones I have found, loved and needed everyone to know about. This is a short list, and I do have more, but it’s a great start if you are hungry while waiting for more ADOW. Tell me what you think! 

[sophsicle]

okay so i am 2 chapters behind on Kyd BUT I just saw the ask with 'Bee 🥺🥺' and my brain just went 'when the fuck did Soph post an AFTG fic???????' 😭

honestly fair i saw a fanart the other day that REALLY made me wanna write a kandreil fic SO who knows

might happen one day

[radioactive-synth]

tagged by @jackkrauser​ thanks!!

Favorite game from the last 5 years? Fallout 4

Most nostalgic game? Spyro the Dragon Trilogy

Game that deserves a sequel? The Wolf Among Us :((

Game that deserves a remaster? inFAMOUS 1 & 2

Favorite game series? Ratchet and Clank series

Favorite genre? RPG

Least favorite genre? any multiplayer nonsense

Favorite song from a game? Ezio’s Family by Jesper Kyd

Favorite character from a game? Nick Valentine

Favorite ship from a game? does my oc Vaughn with Nick and Hancock counts?

Favorite voice actor from a game? Nolan North

Favorite cutscene? Ezio talking to Desmond in AC Revelations ending

Favorite Boss? Dr. Nefarious from Ratchet & Clank series

First Console? Sega

Current Console or Consoles? PS2, PS3, PS4, PSP 3000, PSVita, gaming PC

Console you want? PS5 lmao

Place from a game that you’d like to visit? damn there are too many places to think about

Place from a game that you’d like to live in? idk....

Ridiculous crossover that would never happen but would be super fun? um..

Book that would make a good game? -

Show/Movie that would make a good game? -

Games you want to play? Cyberpunk 2077, and i also have We Happy Few and AC Odyssey to play but i dont have enough energy lmao

Have you gotten 100% completion in a game? yea with Ratchet and Clank series, AC Revelations and GTA 5

Have you cried over a game? have i not cried over a video game???

What power-up or ability would you want in real life? conduit powers

tag: @sadieaddler  @satyavxswani @gaaaayshepard @radioactiveandraste @lavellane @emerius @ultrastimpaks @enclave @eldersarahlyons @electricitytrick @nurnhilde @nukalove76 @nokikissa @misthios @maelacri @wildwasteland @television-for-dinner

only if you want!!

[loveydoveypiperwright]

Video Game Tag!!

Yes hello, Im three days late, don't @ me. I was tagged by @fen-harel , as per uge. Time to type up a storm 😎😎😎

Favorite game from the past 5 years? =That I've played in the past five (5) years or that came out in the past five (5) years? If the former, Assassin's Creed III or Dishonored. AC3s storytelling was one of the best from the entire franchise, I'd like to think. Dishonored bc I like the whole parkour aspect and the fact I don't have to kill people if so I choose. If the latter, Dragon Age Inquisition!! It's very pretty and I adore the characters.

Most nostalgic game? =Toy Story 3: The Video Game!! It was my first videogame and my brother and I used to play it together so many times.

Game that deserves a sequel? =I'd say Dragon Age Origins bc I want to see my Warden again, but they can die so like,, Not everyone will see them. How about Mass Effect Andromeda? There should be more to Ryder

Game that deserves a remaster? =Dragon Age Origins!!! More flora, better graphics, clutered areas, a new look at all our favorite characters, etc. It would be banger!! Here's a (Not actually going to made but still cool) link to a remastered Ostagar. It's so gorgeous. Props to Makara Tes!!

Favorite game series? =Draaagon Aaaage, if it weren't already obvious.

Favorite genre? =Choose Your Own Adventure RPGs and Action-Adventures are my faves, although I kinda really like MMOs

Least favorite genre? =Anything really old, like pre-1995 old. That or pixel games.

Favorite song from a video game? =The Lost Elf theme from Dragon Age Inquisition written by Trevor Morris is incredible. Ezio's Family from Assassin's Creed 2 written by Jesper Kyd is the sountrack of this franchise; The lead woman's voice, the lone violin, even the kickass electric guitar at the very end. No matter how many new games take a spin on it, it will always be something that is Assassin's Creed. Assassin's Creed 3's base and DLC soundtracks are also incredible, but I like Fight Club the most. Tavern instruments!!

Favorite character from a game? =Either Piper Wright or Ratonhnhaké:ton (Rah-toe-hEINg-atohn) or Connor Kenway, as that's what he's refered to outside of his Mohawk tribe. I like to think in a sense they're a clash of what I'm like, but there's barely any string to tie us together, lmao.

Favorite ship from a game? =The El Impoluto from AC4, GOSH, what a beast!!! Oh, you don't mean an actual ship? Ah, Aveline de Grandpré and Gérald Blanc (Assassin's Creed Liberation) or Ezio Auditore da Firenze and Sofia Sartor (Assassin's Creed Revelations) are very lovely. Ezio and Sofia are simply perfect 😊

Favorite voice actor from a game? =Duncan from Dragon Age Origin's VA Peter Renaday (Fun fact he's actually 83), Leliana from every Dragon Age game's VA Corinne Kempa, Miranda Lawson from Mass Effect 2 & 3's VA Yvonne Strahovski, Sera from Dragon Age Inquisition's VA Robyn Addison, they're all so smoooooth, fuuuck. Katy Townsend is the only VA (Cait from Fallout 4 and Suvi from Mass Effect Andromeda) that I follow on social media and she's such a dork, I love her

Favorite cutscene? =That scene in DA2 where Marethari visits Kirkwall's Alienage, looking apon the Vhenadahl (the tree) and a few of the city elves flock around her, bowing. Gosh, it was so mystical, I love it.

Favorite boss? =To be honest, Knight-Commander Merebitch Stannard. Like she's a complete and utter shitstain upon Kirkwall, upon every mage in Thedas, but in her final moments I had sympathy for her. Her doubt, its just,, its a heavy burden to bear

First console? =PlayStation 3

Current console or consoles? =I currently play on my PC and a PS4.

Console you want? =A better computer would be nice. My laptop can run most games but not super fast nor well.

Place from a game you'd love to visit? =Literally any game. Anything not here has my interest. (Maybe not Dunwall or a Fallout map, thats kinda gloomy.)

Place from a game you'd like to live in? =Dunno. They all look pretty but I dunno if I'd stay. For me people are my home so I'd rather be around characters who hang together.

Ridiculous crossover that'll never happen but would be super fun? =Xena the Warrior Princess becomes as assassin!! That would rad!! Some of the AC protags in Mass Effect?

Book that would make a good game? =I don't read many books bc I can rarely ever concentrate, but maybe Fairest by Gail Carson Levine? It'd be like a Witcher-story, Dishonored -gameplay mash!!

Show/movie that would make a good game? =I don't watch a lot of anything sooo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Maybe The Pinkertons??? It'd be kinda LA Noir but in the Wild West with a lady as the main

Games you want to play? =Oh I have a bunch, but Dishonored 2 and Monster Hunter World are what I'm working for right now. Others on my list include The Wolf Among Us, God of War 4, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Shadow of The Tomb Raider.

Have you ever gotten 100% completion in a game? =From AC2 through AC Rogue (AC2, ACB, ACR, AC3, ACL, AC4, ACRO) I've completed them 100%. (As in I completed the map shit, not all the achievement lmao)

Have you ever cried over a game? =Twice. First was Aunt Mays death from Insomniac's SpiderMan and the second was when Kaidan was yelling at me in Mass Effect 2 on Horizon. I'm sorry dude, it's not my choice to work with Cerberus, please just come back to me. *Sobs a bathtub full bc I'm a sensitive little shit lmao*

What power-up or ability would you want in real life? =Not really either of those, but having horns like Qunari would be fuckin' RAD also I really want wings I really want wings I havent played a game with people with wings but I really want wings

GOD THAT WAS A LOT Hello I procrastinate a lot and I shouldn't've spent three hours on this

Not tagging anyone bc it's a lot and I'm not that mean lololol

[slothssassin]

Game meme

Tagged by @occorner and @briarfox13, thanks lovelies!

I’ll tag @liaorban, @deadlymaelstrom, @katajanokka, @eluvisen and @starsandskies, no pressure of course!

favorite game from the last 5 years? I’ve played a lot of great games in the last 5 years and and, depending what I’m playing at the moment, my favourite might change. I’ve loved both Mass Effect and Dragon Age, God of War is a fantastic game, Life is Strange was amazing, Detroit: Become Human is super emotional and there are a lot of other ones that are important to me. In the end I might have to say Fallout 4 here - this game just feels like home to me.

most nostalgic game? I’d say Assassin’s Creed 2. It was one of the first games I seriously played on the PC and I loved it a lot. The characters are amazing, the story is interesting and visiting Italy is always a joy. I often come back to play this game, in fact it would be time to do that again soon.

game that deserves a sequel? Hmm I would like to continue with Tales from the Borderlands? I’m sure there would still be some stories to tell. Also there are still a lot of unanswered questions in Mass Effect Andromeda.

game that deserves a remaster? I would love to play a remastered version of the Mass Effect trilogy. 

favorite game series? Mass Effect and Dragon Age

favorite genre? I love RPGs the most, it’s awesome to have a huge world you can explore with multiple quests. I also enjoy a shooter or stealth game every now and then.

least favorite genre? Multiplayer games like LoL or CS, that’s just not my kind of thing.

favorite song from a game? Oh boy. I’m a huge fan of video game soundtracks and music, so this is a very hard decision. I love “Ezio’s Family” from AC2 a lot, Jesper Kyd is one of my favourite composers in general. “Rebuild, renew” from the Fallout 4 soundtrack by Inon Zur is amazing as well and sets a wonderful atmosphere for the game. Life is Strange’s soundtrack is great too, also “Silver for Monsters” from The Witcher 3 OST. My favourite voiced song might be “Once we were” from the Dragon Age Inquisition Bard Songs.

favorite character from a game? I have a lot of favourite characters. My ME and DA romances are very dear to my heart of course. I don’t want to list all of my favourites here, that would be way too long, let’s just say I have at least one fav in every game I love.

favorite ship from a game? I usually ship my OCs with a canon character, Shepard x Kaidan, Warden x Alistair, Hawke x Fenris, Lavellan x Cullen... it gets harder for two canon characters. I’ve always liked Max x Warren and Chloe x Rachel from Life is Strange though.

favorite voice actor from a game? Jennifer Hale is great

favorite cutscene? One?? That’s impossible to decide. Definitely the romance scenes from the Bioware games. Shepard’s and Kaidan’s almost kiss. The journey to Skyhold felt very epic. Every Father/Son interaction between Kratos and Atreus. Alice on that merry-go-round in Detroit. Ezio becoming an Assassin in AC2. Ahh and many more!!

favorite boss? Magni and Modi in God of War

first console? A Playstation 2, if the Gameboy Advance doesn’t count

current console or consoles? Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, Playstation 4

console you want? Maybe a Nintendo Switch? I’m actually more of a PC player

place from a game that you’d like to visit? Some places in DA are lovely! Like the Hinterlands, but minus the bears^^ The Citadel would be interesting to see as well. Some cities and landscapes in Skyrim would be worth a travel too!

place from a game that you’d like to live in? My own farm in Stardew Valley maybe? 

ridiculous crossover that would never happen but would be super fun?  Hmm the classic Mass Effect/Dragon Age?

book that would make a good game? Peter Brett’s books maybe?

show/movie that would make a good game? Avatar: The last Airbender. Or maybe a game in that world. Let me be the Avatar, choose my nation and then learn the other elements. That would be awesome *-*

games you want to play? Too many, honestly! Not including the ones I want to play again. So I really want to play Detroit (have only seen a Let’s play so far), AC Odyssey, Red Dead Redemption 2, Life is Strange 2, Elder Scrolls Online, Senua’s Sacrifice and a few smaller ones.

have you gotten 100% completion in a game? Yes, I managed that with Life is Strange and LiS Before the Storm, Tales from the Borderlands, To the Moon and Finding Paradise. I’m close to getting 100% in Stardew Valley as well, but that might take some while.

have you cried over a game? Too many times.

[onthepageoftears]

Hold Them Closer ~ Ch.12 [Jaskier x assassin!reader] || Witcher

A/N: okay I lied about there being two chapters left, now after this one there are ACTUALLY two chapters left lol (well, one and an epilogue). it's seriously going to be so weird not writing this y/n x jaskier story ahhhh okay im just not gonna think about it lol enjoy!

Your kind words and reviews mean a lot to me, so please don’t afraid to leave a message/comment!

Summary: Reverting to your old ways never brings peace.

Warnings: language? angst, self deprecation, conflicted reader, lots of gore, violence, mentions of death/killing/blood, again lots of gore so read at your own risk!

Words: 2,713 (longer chapter you’re welcome hehe)

Please Don’t Plagiarize My Work!

Your heart was stuck in your throat as your mother pulled away from Theo. Her daughter. Your mother’s daughter. Her other child.

“Oh, thank the gods.” She said, patting down Theo’s hair where she had just kissed it. Your stomach dropped — that used to be you. The child in your mother’s grasp used to be you. Now, it was Theo. Your…sister?

“Sorry, Mom.” Theo’s voice was sheepish, strained. It wasn’t like you had ever heard her — not the usual condescending or sarcastic tone she carried. But you supposed everyone acted differently around their mothers.

Theo’s mother — your mother — clicked her tongue. “If you ever do that again…"

The first words you spoke weren’t the ones you expected. “Theo did well. She’s a fighter.”

Your mother’s eyes cast over you, absent of any flicker of recognition. “That’s what I’m worried about.” She smiled at you, but in a polite way. Your stomach churned as she reached into the front of her apron. “Well, here. Your reward.”

She stepped toward you, her relief-filled smile not the one you were hoping for. You stared at her for a moment too long, making her frown. After clearing your throat, you shook your head.

“We can’t take that,” you said, almost surprising yourself.

Your mother frowned, pushing the pouch out again. “You must. You helped my daughter. I can’t let that go unrewarded.”

You blinked, taking a sharp breath in. Part of you felt distant from the conversation as if you were watching it from the outside, like a memory, or a dream — or a nightmare.

Again, you cleared your throat, trying with every muscle in your body to keep your composure. “Your daughter didn’t need any of our help, ma’am. Like I said, she’s a fighter.”

Your mother tilted her head, a pleased smile finding its way on her face before she nodded, “I appreciate that.” She looked at you a second longer before turning around, shoving the pouch back in her apron as she made her way behind the counter. It was then that you noticed this wasn’t any shop — it was a bakery. As your stomach churned once more, your mother spoke, “Here. At least take some food with you. I can only imagine how hungry you must be.”

This time, you let Geralt step forward, his eyes casting over you for a moment before taking the loaf of bread from your mother’s hands. Jaskier thanked her gently, nodding to her and Theo and taking your arm in his hand. You kept your eyes locked on her, only moving them when Jaskier led you out the door.

As soon as the fresh air hit your face, you felt like maybe you could finally breathe. That feeling wasn’t enough; you blinked at the brightness around you, taking very shallow breaths as Jaskier led you further away from your mother’s shop.

Geralt walked ahead, grunting about meeting you and Jaskier at the inn. His eyes stopped on you before leaving, but you were too focused on the harshness of your breaths.

Jaskier stopped in front of you, his eyes flitting over your face. “Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a wraith.” You flicked your eyes to him, and as if he were a mind reader, his jaw dropped. “No— that’s not—“

You cut him off, casting your eyes on the ground, “My mother. Yes. That’s her.”

Jaskier stuttered, his head shaking in confusion, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Julian—“ You looked at him, your eyes full of regret. “I can’t.”

“What? Why not?”

“I can’t…I just can’t. I can’t face her, I can’t—“

“Alright, hey — hey, it’s okay.” You let him engulf you in his arms, his comforting scent filling the space around you.

“She has another kid,” you mumbled into his chest, eyes still open despite their sudden heaviness.

Jaskier sighed, his chin resting on your head. “She does.”

—

“How do you feel today?”

You turned your head from the window, letting your eyes rest on Jaskier. He must’ve been standing there for a while without you noticing, as he was now leaning against one of the chairs in your shared room.

In response to his question, you shrugged.

It had been nearly two days since you came back with Theo — two days since you found your mother. In two days, you could have caught up with her, cried with her, told her the countless stories you had under your belt. Instead, you were cooped up in your room at the local inn, barely saying a word to anyone. You were thinking, quite a lot, about how you were going to build up the courage to reveal your identity.

Jaskier sighed, looking to the quarter loaf of bread left idle on the table. “You haven’t eaten?”

You turned back to the window, silently shaking your head. You didn’t even have to answer him — your mother baked that bread, and one taste would have you…well, you didn’t know what you would do. You didn’t want to find out.

“Love,” Jaskier said, his voice gentle as he walked up behind you, placing a hand on your waist. “You have to talk to her. We won’t leave here until you do.”

You frowned, eyes still focusing on nothing in particular.

Jaskier continued, “I can go with you. We can talk to her together if you want.” At your silence, he kissed your shoulder, “I’ll be around. Let me know if you need me.”

You didn’t watch as he left.

—

It was the early afternoon when you found yourself standing in front of your mother’s shop. Eyes trained on the shop door, you frowned. You had just gone out for a walk to try and clear your head from its constant whirring, but you ended up here. It wasn’t exactly a helpful place to stop — in fact, it was the exact opposite. Maybe your brain was trying to subconsciously force you to talk with your mother, to just get it over with. And maybe you should have.

Standing in front of the shop doors, you thought of what was happening inside. Your mother — her hair now greyed but still just as luscious as you remembered it — setting up the pastries of the day, finally owning the shop she had always dreamed about. Her favorite recipes now perfected, welcoming regulars into the shop doors every day. Someone helps her man the counter on especially busy days, sometimes even helping her bake — except, that person, that child helping your mother — it’s not you. It’s Theo. Theo is the one with your mother. Theo is the one who has been with your mother for the past sixteen or so years.

You feel yourself step back from the shop, a frown forming on your face. While your mother and her daughter have been living in Velen, working in their small shop — you were a trained killer. You killed countless innocent people, sliced dozens of throats, stabbed even more hearts. The blood on your hands, the guilt on your back…how could you ever think your mother would want to know you again? You weren’t the child she left behind. You were no different than Rauf, no different than those endregas you slashed through the other day.

You were a cold-blooded killer. An assassin. A monster.

Your breath was shaky as you walked backward away from the shop. You didn’t belong here, or anywhere of the sort. You belonged in a battle, in the way of a dozen blades. You were meant to kill — built to kill — so that was what you would do.

Your feet stomped their way over to the nearest notice board. No thoughts echoed in your mind as you searched the loose parchments, eyes searching for anything to get your hands dirty. They landed on big letters — BANDITS. You skimmed the page, the location being the only thing you needed. Without thinking, you unsheathed one of the knives from your boot and stabbed it into the notice board, on the very job you were about to fulfill. You would get your knife back when you were done, and only then. You didn’t even care for the money — you just wanted to do what you were meant to do.

Kill.

—

The ride to the bandit’s hideout was nothing for you and Buttercup. You practically hopped off her back, barely stopping long enough to tie her to a nearby tree. Without an ounce of hesitation, you slid your sword from its sheath and made your way down the narrow pathway and into the depths of the forest.

It was just barely getting dark, the sunset casting a warm glow over the horizon. You thought of Jaskier for a moment, but just a moment, as you shook the thought away immediately. He was another person who you didn’t deserve, not after all you’ve done. It didn’t matter if you loved him, or if he loved you — love wasn’t enough. It never was.

You didn’t even bother sneaking down the pathway — leaves crunched under your feet, your sword held tightly in your hands. The sound of laughter echoed in the forest just as you caught sight of smoke from a fire. You grit your teeth, eyes narrowing as you walked faster towards the sound of the bandits.

They had no clue what was about to happen to them, and that made you shiver.

As you neared the small camp, you counted the heads you could see: five. Your shoulders nearly dropped from disappointment. You wanted a real challenge.

Better than nothing, you thought as you rolled your neck in a circle, stretching your muscles casually as one of the bandits finally noticed you.

“Hey! Who the fuck are you?”

You smiled as the bandits stood from their tree stumps, grabbing their weapons and immediately pointing them towards you.

Swinging your sword in your hand, you looked one of them in the eyes, “I’m your worst fucking nightmare.”

Without waiting for a response, you let out a battle cry, charging the nearest bandit with your sword held high. He blocked your sword with his mace, pushing it so you stumbled backward. One of the other bandits jumped towards you in your state, slicing into the side of your stomach. You grit your teeth, glaring at the man who just cut you.

“You’ll regret that,” you said, and immediately lunged your sword into his leg. He screamed as you removed your sword; you quickly brought it up again and sliced it into his stomach this time. He fell to the ground, his screams fueling your adrenaline as you looked up at the rest of the bandits. They seemed to be in shock for a moment before their wide-open mouths became gritted in anger.

“Get the fucker!” One yelled, making three of the others rush towards you. You immediately dropped down, causing all of them to tumble over your body. While they were on the ground, you unsheathed a knife, throwing it towards the bandit on the opposite side of the fire. The knife lodged right into his throat, blood immediately squirting out from the wound.

By then, the other three bandits had gotten up, one of them slamming you in the back with a bludgeon. You yelled out, hands catching your body on the ground beneath you. You felt another blow, this time knocking the breath out of you and forcing your face down into the dirt.

“I’m gonna enjoy this one,” one of them sneered as he dragged his bludgeon on the ground. You cursed, just now realizing your sword was no longer in your hand. “Looking for this?” The sneering bandit asked, holding your sword up tauntingly.

You looked up, bringing your own face into a sneer. Within a second, you unsheathed another knife and reached up to stab the bandit in the gut: once, twice, three times before one of the others grabbed the back of your collar and threw you in the opposite direction.

You coughed after you hit the ground, trying to use one of your arms to lift yourself up. Before you could, the bandit with the mace kicked you in the stomach — hard. You blinked through the pain, a satisfied smile filling your features at the sight of the sneering bandit writhing in pain on the ground.

“You think this is funny?” The mace bandit kicked you again in the stomach, then placed his foot on your wrist. You yelled in pain as he reached down and took your knife, throwing it into the growing darkness. “What are you gonna do now, huh?”

For a moment, you just blinked. In hindsight, you were pretty much screwed. Only one knife left, your sword a few feet away. But instead of panicking, you laughed.

“What the fuck are you laughing at?” The other live bandit said, who was now standing up from the dead sneering bandit’s body.

“This.” You spoke, before clamping your teeth down on the mace bandit’s ankle.

He screamed out, immediately trying to slam your side with his mace. Before he could, you rolled out of the way, sitting up just as his mace made contact with the ground. In one swift movement, you grabbed his wrist and kicked it with as much force as you could. The mace fell to the ground as he cradled his now broken wrist, giving you the perfect opportunity to pick it up and slam it into the side of his head.

You didn’t bother trying to take the mace out of the bandit’s head — instead, you stood up slowly, keeping eye contact with the last bandit. He shook in his spot, holding his small sword towards you, gulping as you walked over to him. His eyes widened as you grabbed his wrist, sliding the sword from his grasp. For a second, the fear in his eyes made you stop. But then, you shook the feeling in the pit of your stomach away, throwing his sword to the side and bringing your knee up straight into his groin. He fell to his knees in front of you, a groan escaping his lips. As he struggled in his spot, you stepped behind him, giving him a moment to catch his breath. Then, after a second of contemplation, you unsheathed the last knife from your boot and grabbed the last bandit’s chin, lifting it up so you could slide your knife across his neck.

His choked breaths echoed in the growing darkness, the sound making you wince. For the first time in a while, you thought of your old friend.

The memories flooded you like the blood that spilled from the bandit’s throat — for a moment, instead of a nasty bandit, you saw Joneta. You saw her confused eyes after you slit her throat, the blood coating your hands as you tried to seal the wound.

“I told you to stop.” You said, falling to your knees, eyes brimming with tears as you relived the memory. Joneta looked back at you, her eyes glazing over just as they had not long ago.

As you blinked through the tears, Joneta's face turned back into that of the bandit. You slumped the bandit’s body to the side, a sob escaping your throat. Your hands were covered in blood, as they were that day — as they were so many other days, from so many other people. You hadn’t just killed a dear friend, you hadn’t just killed the only family you really knew — you killed so many people. So many innocents. How many more? How many more were you going to kill? How could you ever be the person you wanted to be — how could you be with Jaskier, a charismatic, friendly bard? How could you be with someone not as evil as you? As monstrous as you?

Your eyes welled with tears as you stared down at the blood coating your skin, your mouth wide open as you tried to breathe. Instead, loud sobs escaped your throat, seemingly echoing in the darkness falling over you.

You couldn’t move. You couldn’t breathe. So you sat there, in the middle of the bandit’s camp, their bodies littered around you to remind you of all the death you were the cause of.

———————————————————————————————————

:(((( let me know your thoughts!