Thanks for the ask! I know this isn’t your fandom, but these are going to be about Criminal Minds lol
💥: What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?
I really wish when JJ got pregnant they didn’t force her into a relationship. She could have co-parented with Will and I think it would have been 100x more believable than the forced relationship we have been forced to endure for 14 seasons.
In that same vein, I wish they didn’t write AJ’s second pregnancy into the show. I understand her irl son plays Henry, but they didn’t HAVE to write Phoenix (Michael) in as well. I feel like her character just became exclusively about her being a Mother and it stripped her of so much personality
👻: What is your wildest headcanon?
Oh man, oh man, oh man. I recently talked about how deep my [Emily headcanons] go, but in terms of my favourite one that’s just pure crack, that award will always go to Helen from PTA.
Helen From PTA: Origins
Helen From PTA: The Bake Sale Incident
Helen From PTA: Mysterious Death
🍬: Do you write for multiple fandoms? If yes, what is your favorite fic of yours for each fandom?
Currently, I’ve only been writing Criminal Minds. But I have written for other fandoms in the past! And I keep wanting to write something for Warehouse 13 (Bering/Wells) and I also would love to write some Critical Role (BeauYasha) but tbrh I’m pretty intimidated by the incredible authors in that fandom (like you!) But here are my fave non-CM fics:
Freddy: Oh, that you would ask me such a bedeviling question. Possibly the worst question in the history of inquiry. And that includes the time when Archduke Ferdinand in remarking upon how lovely a day it was asked his attaché the terrible question "What could possibly go wrong?"
𝐍𝐎 𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐒, 𝐍𝐎 𝐅𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐒. once again, thank you all so much for the dedication put into applying here at mourners ; it’s truly been a pleasure reading all of your applications &. i’m tremendously grateful. turning down an application is never an easy process, and there were many instances in which i wished i could permit a duplicate upon the dash. with that said, i’m looking forward to both speaking &. plotting with each of you tomorrow ( bear with me while all pages &. skeletons are properly updated ) — welcome to mourners ! please review our checklist and report to the barrel boss within the next twenty - four hours.
𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐉 𝐆𝐇𝐀𝐅𝐀
VENLI ! choosing an inej for mourners was ... a feat, as each applicant displayed an exquisite version of our wraith, but what swayed me in the end was the balance you kept between who she was while with the dregs &. who she became without them. the details surrounding intricacies of her newfound crewmen ( &. her family post their reunion ) in which helped shape the woman outside the barrel were lovely to read ( her thoughts on rilar, in particular, were both authentic &. entertaining ) ; i could picture the scenes in earnest. i also loved the mention of how she came to understand kaz’s own vices after having to face her own whilst sailing the seas. thank you for taking the time to apply — i look forward to seeing your inej in play.
𝐉𝐄𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐇𝐄𝐘
NOAH ! the bit about kaz disproving jesper’s exaggerated stories had me rolling, and your headcanon regarding jesper being an absolute catastrophe in the kitchen ( gordon ramsay is unamused ) ? you wrote it best: ‘ tall, lanky, restless, distracted, easily bored. ’. incredibly handsome, but certainly cannot focus on a single recipe. on a serious note ( despite the consistent, comical little tidbits which made your application such a pleasure to read ), the grasp upon his character you presented between struggling with guilt &. penitence was flawless, and something i look forward to seeing explored on the dash.
𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐑
ABBY ! there was so much i loved about your matthias, but i especially appreciated how you incorporated the other skeletons into interpersonal plot points for him. the attention to detail within matthias’ headspace when ruminating over them was absolutely believable to his character. the vast detail you supplied for each personality trait &. headcanons were so indicative of who he’s been and who he’s become ( or trying so desperately to be ). i’m interested to see his reactions to henrik’s next moves just as much as you, and where our drüskelle will stand, then. oh, and abby, what’s the first rule about fight club ?
𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐀 𝐙𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐊
EMILY ! ah, yes, nina, our waffle queen. her past, present &. sought future were crafted so wonderfully within your application ; i particularly loved your headcanon dealing with her time as a heartrender, where nina stubbornly wished to understand the small science whilst her peers were occupied with morozov’s manuals. it was a pleasure to be able to read her thoughts on the grisha she’s become, the label of corpsewitch adhered to her, the burden it has also set upon her as ‘ self - appointed grisha guardian angel ’. &. i do hope you get to share those plot ideas with some of our fellow grisha, as your points revolving around them were so well thought out and executed. also, you’re right — kaz gets way too into the costumes.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍
HARPER ! i’m ready to interact with felix. it’s no wonder kaz made him a deal — tragedy maketh man, and if there’s one thing dirtyhands can comprehend, it’s being dealt a bad hand. i love the idea in which you set forth that he’s lived his life in such silence, that there are those who have known him for several years, but haven’t heard even a whisper slip from his tongue. the way you transitioned felix’s headcanons into the pivotal moments of his life made it a blast to read through ( especially during the deal, where we got a good look at the first devil in his life — do old habits die hard, in the end ? ). once again, welcome to mourners ( i foresee much plotting in our future ).
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑
ALEX ! we do love a good destroyer, and marlaina is no exception. she knows her power &. is not afraid to unleash it, a trait that, while prized within the dregs, can also become a nightmare. after all, control &. patience can be key. the idea that she’s particularly skilled at cards ( as well as banned from most gambling halls ) was a fresh addition to the skeleton, as i quite love the idea of our hellish heartrender pushing her luck at the crow’s club ( when has that ever ended badly ? ). i agree it’d be an interesting concept to see her have another grisha under her wing, especially when she herself is always so keen to detonate — her desertion, however, will surely catch up with her soon.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑
MARGOT ! you have spun the impostor into an entirely new medium, and produced a character that went beyond the skeleton provided. ‘ prison changed you. for the better. you’re more fun now, sociable and loud, like a cannon, truly. so loud everybody jumps when you burst into a room. ’ one of the first few lines in your application, but what immediately captured my attention and had me buckle in. i never considered that the target in which damned the impostor to the depths of hellgate could be family, but now i’d not have it any other way. aris is a world class actor &. i cannot wait to help you set the stage ( &. maybe watch it burn in the process ).
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐓
HENRY JUDE ! i wasn’t sure if there’d be a lieutenant at the start of mourners, so i was absolutely thrilled when receiving your application. an important player with a plethora of potential directions in which they could shift, and i can’t wait to see if jozef's includes the checkmate. the craftsmanship in your design for him was extraordinarily executed and quite poetic ; he was absolute pleasure to study. i look forward to plotting with you as well as discussing the similarities between our broken, disastrous muses ( also, i can’t believe we’re both aleksander morozova apologists ).
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐋𝐎𝐑
ARACELIA ! i’m in love with anya. you put so much adoration into her creation &. i cannot wait to see it bleed onto the dash ( you make it so hard to loathe a traitor ). her personality is so believably balanced, and more than what my own ideas surrounding the role initially included. the birth of a monster, the birth of a tailor &. the birth of an illusionist were impeccably composed stories which sewed her into existence. you’ve forged a character who is the definition of ‘ so much more than meets the eye ’ &. i am thrilled to have gotten the first look at our scarab queen.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐑 | EM ! i absolutely love the concept of aleni ( as kaz would say: she’s a particularly good investment ). with grisha within his crew, what better for an amplifier to do ? i was wondering if i’d see an application involving ketterdam’s university, and was immediately thrilled when seeing it pulled into aleni’s history. the idea that she loved ketterdam in any capacity is not something you tend to hear ( it died quickly, of course ), which was a unique mention within your wildcard. &. we will definitely have to discuss aleni mistakenly having amplified the inferni at fifth harbour, as i believe you’ve proposed an excellent idea.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄𝐑 // 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑 | IRIS ! to be introduced to valdis by way of your character summary was a treat. i absolutely loved the way it was written, and immediately knew why she’d made it into the dregs ( truly obsessed with her being the daughter of a pirate captain ). though she managed to escape her original work with braam, it seems, for a time, she had let history repeat itself, but with perhaps a better boss than originally at the helm. &. with a new debt paid, how fast till old loyalty dies ?
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑 // 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑 | REE ! it’s all in the bones. a fjerdan fleeing for discovering themselves grisha is always something i’ve wanted to see explored, and now i have a front row seat. to be ostracized by their own &. then by a place of presumed sanctuary can induce a particular psychosis within the most stable of individuals, and we do love sigyn’s particular brand of crazy. you’ve provided an entirely fresh take on what is known of a grisha healer, and how such gifts may be construed when mixed with the beliefs of fjerda. thank you for delivering such a spellbinding character to mourners.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋 | ALI ! with a vast cast of varying characters, i was thrilled to see that senna originally came from wealth ( it’s a different path to weave, one that usually draws more enemies than friends ). your application was so appreciated, providing a role in which started from the top &. careened to the bottom ( i do hope to see senna &. wylan swap stories, especially where senna has made strides to escape the tread of their father ). you call it their grand adventure, and in all its sinister glory, it’s only just begun. welcome to mourners ; let’s plot some blackmail.
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐑 // 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐀 𝐓𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐑 | NINA ! both applications for our resident tidemaker spun tales which were a pleasure to traverse, and i would have loved to have both turning the tides for the dregs. manu belongs in a novel, with all the devotion you’ve clearly put into him. &. i am ecstatic to at least have him for mourners’ chapters. when you wrote ‘ for the wanderer was nothing if not a mismatched family, made with kerch purple, fjerdan ice, kaelish fire, zemeni courage and ravkan boldness ’, i found myself able to refer to it whilst reading through the life authored for him, able to pick out these particular qualities on his way to the barrel. &. hopefully, he’ll reach the surface soon.
Warnings: Established poly relationship, fluff, pregnancy, birth, slight angst if you squint, fluff.
Summary: Jared, Jensen, and Y/N give an exclusive interview, breaking the news of their relationship and pregnancy to the public. Baby is born and they celebrate Christmas.
Pairing: J2 x Reader
Word Count: 1916
Beta’d by: no beta, all mistakes are my own. Images found on google and pinterest.
A/N: This has a few time jumps in it to fit it in for the Holidays! This is the last installment of To New Beginnings, which originally started as most definitely not a request from @supernatural-jackles, who told me she would love to see me write a J2 x Reader. It has exceeded my expectations and I hope yours too!
As a reminder, this is a work of fiction and should be regarded as such. No harm is intended toward the actor(s) or their families.
The days following the wrap party were filled with nerves for Jared, Jensen, and Y/N. After deciding to invite Samantha Highfill and Entertainment Weekly into their home, giving them an exclusive about their relationship and the baby, they were all excited, but definitely nervous. One month felt like a long time, but before they knew it, there was a camera crew set up in their living room.
“How do you feel now, having said goodbye to Dean and Sam Winchester, and Y/C/N?” Sam started off easy.
“We’ve had this question at conventions before and even now, the answer is the same,” Jensen began. “It’s not goodbye. Sam and Dean have been a part of us for the last fifteen years. I know Dean as well as I know myself and he’ll always be here.” He patted his chest.
“Jensen’s right. I was Y/C/N for only five years, but she’ll always be a part of me. We put so much of ourselves into our characters, that they’ll never truly be gone,” Y/N added.
Jared cleared his throat, clearly already a little emotional. “Never. As long as we, and the Supernatural family, are around, they’ll always be here.”
The easy questions continued for about thirty minutes, not that the next question Sam asked was difficult, but they all knew it was coming and this was the one they had prepared for all week.
“So what projects are on the horizon for you guys? Jensen, what do you have lined up?” Sam looked to Jensen first.
“It’s odd, you know? For the first time in twenty-three years, I am officially unemployed. I decided to take some time off, indefinitely. We’ll still be doing conventions here and there, and there’s the charity work, but I haven’t signed on for anything, filming wise,” Jensen informed her.
“Nothing caught your eye, yet?” Sam assumed.
“No, it’s nothing like that. We’ve all had some very interesting scripts sent to us, but for the time being, we’re concentrating on ourselves, our family, for the first time in a long time,” Jared added.
“What about you, Y/N? You taking time off, too?” Samantha inquired, hoping at least one of them had some interesting news to share. “Tell me you’ve got some top secret role up your sleeve for us.”
“There’s literally nothing up my sleeve, as you can see” Y/N laughed lifting her arms in her flowing tank, growing a little more nervous now that the attention was solely on her. “But I am taking on a new role before the end of the year.”
“That’s great! Care to share some juicy details about your new role?” Sam exclaimed.
“Well, I can tell you I am incredibly excited and terrified at the same time. It’s going to be a long term role, but I have the two best partners a girl could ask for going into it. It will be my most extensive and hopefully my most prominent role ever,” Y/N rattled.
“Sounds exhilarating! Is the role filled with some badassery in true Y/C/N fashion?” Sam winked at her.
“She will definitely be the badassest in this new role,” Jared laughed.
“Dude, that is not a word,” Jensen sighed. “I think what Jared is not so eloquently trying to say is that while the role is still being developed, Y/N here will be amazing and more than perfect for it.”
“Thank you both. I know we’ve got you more than a little perplexed, Sam. It’s motherhood. I’m pregnant,” Y/N finally blurted it out. They hadn’t told many people, only their immediate family and close friends. It felt real telling someone they barely knew and only in a professional capacity.
“What? Wow! Congratulations, Y/N! Who is the lucky man?”
“Well, that’s another story altogether,” Y/N said quietly. Jared and Jensen immediately picked up on her increased nervousness. Each of them picked up one of her hands in theirs and held tight.
“We are,” Jared and Jensen said at the same time.
The look on the journalists face told them she definitely was not expecting their answer and it took a moment for her to pull her thoughts together. “The three of you are...together then?”
“Polyamorus relationships remain taboo in this day and age, but throughout history they were quite common. No one person can give you everything you need. There are so many facets to a relationship and being someone’s everything is a hell of a lot of pressure, when you think about it. I personally feel that’s why more than half of marriages end in divorce. We’ve been together for about eighteen months now and every day keeps getting better,” Jared explained. “And the new roles we’ve embarked on are going to be our most extraordinary.”
“I’m thrilled to be a father. Scared as hell, but I know it will be worth every sleepless night,” Jensen interjected.
“Do you know which one of you is the father?” Samantha asked.
“We don’t know and we’re not going to find out,” Y/N began. “To us, it doesn’t matter. This baby will be loved beyond belief.”
“Our DNA? Mine or Jared’s, won’t dictate how much love we already have for this baby. We’re halfway to meeting our little bundle of joy and none of us can wait to truly begin this new chapter of our lives,” Jensen elaborated.
“It’s all about nurture for this baby. Nature will have nothing to do with it,” Jared added.
The interview continued for a few more minutes and as soon as the door closed, Y/N collapsed into a heap on the sofa. “I’m exhausted!”
“That was intense, but you were great, darlin’,” Jensen sat beside her, pulling her feet into his lap and rubbing them gently.
“I know we said we were ready, but now, I’m even more nervous,” Y/N admitted. “What if people hate us? They’re going to think we’re crazy!”
“Hey, hey now. We talked about this. Those that matter don’t care and those that care don’t matter, right? All that matters is how we feel and what we know to be the truth,” Jared reminded her, taking a seat as well, placing her head in his lap. “There will be haters no matter what, but there will also be a fuck ton of people that are really happy for us.”
“I know and you’re right. Thank you. I’m going to take a nap, but we’re still going shopping for the nursery, right?” Y/N looked up at both her men and they nodded in agreement. Jensen covered her with a light blanket, both of them kissing her softly before letting her rest. They decided to finish cleaning out one of the spare rooms that they planned on for the nursery. The next four months would go by in the blink of an eye.
~*~
“I hate you both!” Y/N screamed at the top of her lungs as another contraction seized her body and she pushed once again. Y/N had been admitted to the hospital four hours earlier after her water broke.
“Darlin’, you’re doing such a good job. We’re so proud of you. Just a few more pushes and you’ll be done and we’ll have our baby in our arms, okay?” Jensen encouraged from his spot on her right. One hand under her knee, the other in a death grip in hers.
“You’re so strong, baby. We love you so much,” Jared cooed, pressing a gentle kiss to her sweat soaked hairline. Her body relaxed slightly as the contraction eased, but he knew they weren’t done yet.
“I love you. I’m sorry I yelled,” Y/N cried. Her body was sore and exhausted from the labor. She didn’t think she could go on and then another contraction hit.
“Okay, Y/N, one more and the baby’s head should be out. Push hard for me,” the doctor instructed. “Dads, help her out, we’re almost there.”
Tears feel freely from her eyes as she bore down, Jared and Jensen each pushing her legs up and her back forward as she pushed. Screams tore through the room. Jared and Jensen caught each others eyes, both wet with their own tears, because they knew there was absolutely nothing they could do to make it easier on her.
“Okay, the head is out! One more hard push, Mama, and your baby will be here,” the doctor informed them. A moment later, a cry sounded and it gave Y/N the strength to keep going.
Y/N gave it her all and she felt the pressure ease. “It’s a boy!”
Born one week early on Halloween of all days, Jack Winchester Padalecki-Ackles weighed in at a very healthy eight pounds, three ounces and twenty-one inches long. Wrapped in a soft blanket, he slept peacefully in his mother’s arms, a bright orange pumpkin cap on his head.
~*~
The room was lit only by the lights of the Christmas tree and the moon shining through the large glass windows overlooking the mountains of Vancouver. Y/N sat nestled comfortably on the sofa, nursing Jack before bed. Christmas had been a busy time for the new family with all three sets of parents visiting to spend time with them.
Jensen carried a tray of hot chocolate and set it down on the table in front of her. As she shifted Jack over her shoulder to burp him, Jared swooped him up, Jensen handing her a steaming mug. “Take a break, darlin’.”
An enormous belch escaped their baby and the three of them giggled softly.
“Our first Christmas as a family is in the books,” Jared said quietly, Jack dozing in his father’s arms.
“And a great Christmas it was,” Jensen added, taking a sip of his cocoa.
“Mhmm,” Y/N agreed, yawning contentedly, a small smile tugging at her lips. “But it’s not over yet. Jen, would you check Jack’s stocking one more time, please?”
“What did you do now, Y/N?” he chuckled, getting up and moving to the mantle. He pulled a small package from inside the hand knitted stocking and returned to the sofa.
“Well, open it!” Y/N insisted, the smile on her face growing with each passing second.
Jensen tore the paper open and revealed a small flat box. Ripping the tape from the sides, he lifted the top and his eyes went wide as saucers. Jensen looked up from the gift, meeting her gaze first, then Jared’s. “Are you serious?”
She nodded excitedly. “I know we didn’t exactly talk about it, but we also didn’t do anything to prevent it. By next Christmas, we’ll have another baby. Merry Christmas, Jen. And you too, Jared.” She leaned over kissing them both, before placing a soft kiss to the top of Jack’s head, his fine hair tickling her lips.
Jared took the box from Jensen and looked at the small shirt inside. “Big brother.”
“I’m loving this new adventure,” Jensen declared, wrapping his arm around Y/N tightly and kissing her lips.
Jared reached over, taking her hand in his. “This really is the best adventure ever and there isn’t anyone I’d rather share it with than the two of you and our little ones.”
random question to be answered at your leisure: favorite thrilling adventure hour story, aside from sparks nevada and beyond belief? mine is amelia earheart, fearless flyer although i am not happy with the new version of the theme song. that one episode about modern america was fucking incredible though
despite my best intentions it’s probably the black lagoon stories. not because they’re the best, but simply because i grew up listening to the radio shows all those Old Tyme Hollywood figures starred in, and consequently I, A Zillennial, completely lose my shit over those jokes
I’m also admittedly fond of when they (accidentally or not) made Fish Batman and Bad Puns Superman get unexpectedly homoerotic near the end of the original run though. phillip fathom was the best thing about captain laserbeam by a fucking lightyear tbqh
I am betraying how far back in your archives I am reading, but, at one point when watching TNG, you encountered Q and learned that he was what was being parodied by “an all-powerful space ~entity~ in this brilliant radio play I listened to, which always did a ton of homaging to old TV shows,” which sounds like my jam. I could probably google it but I don’t think I would get good results from “k q radio.” Do you happen to remember what the show was?? Thanks!
a) Thank you so much for so clearly describing what you are referring to, that is LOVELY ask etiquette
b) The Thrilling Adventure Hour!! And now I will need to further explain, because while Thrilling does somewhat exist as a podcast again these days in a sporadic, piecemeal “Treasury” form, the TEN YEARS of material from 2005-2015 that make up the original show is now only available to $5/month supporters on their new Patreon. Which is fair, that is an absolutely massive amount of high quality work that should be paid for. And it’s not like you would need to pay for it forever, just however as long as you’d be working your way through the archives, if the rest of my description continues to pique your interest.
The conceit of The Thrilling Adventure Hour is that for, again, ten years, two writers and a core group of actors in Los Angeles, along with very good musicians and a rotating cast of special guest stars, would do a monthly stage show in which they would perform an old timey-style radio play (but with very modern sensibilities) at microphones in front of a live audience. Like a staged play reading, basically. Each show would be composed of three segments, always beginning with ‘Sparks Nevada: Marshall on Mars’ (self explanatory) and concluding with ‘Beyond Belief’, which is basically if Nick & Nora Charles were mediums. The middle segment would be filled by one of a bunch of other stories, from the old Batman cartoon-style ‘Captain Laserbeam’ to the old Doctor Who-style ‘Colonel Tick-Tock’, or something like ‘Jefferson Reid: Ace American’ which spun off into the adventures of ‘Amelia Earhart: Fearless Flyer’, who is now a time-traveler who fights Nazis and flirts with ladies. The recording of the live monthly show would be split into each of its three segments, and released each week in podcast form, with the fourth week some sort of bonus episode. Some of the segments were more serialized than others, particularly ‘Sparks’, but all are really best listened to in order, as I did, for many, many hours of enjoyment on my commute in NYC years ago.
What’s wild about TAH is that for something that seems fairly under-the-radar online, the star power behind this thing is pretty huge. The main players include Actors You May Know like Marc Evan Jackson, Busy Phillips, Paul F. Tompkins, Paget Brewster, Joshua Malina, and so, so many goddamn guest stars. I can’t even start to list some of the guest stars. Besides it’s more fun when they just pop up unexpectedly, and you’re like wait shit it’s Retta!
Anyway, K was a character played with manic whimsy by Paul F. Tompkins, and I think they were originally on ‘Colonel Tick-Tock’ and then spilled over into ‘The Algonquin Four’? That’s the one where Dorothy Parker, Harry Houdini, Woodrow Wilson, and Robert Benchley have superpowers, like the 1920s wits version of the Fantastic Four.
@hallublin: My wife sent me this picture of Beyond Belief and I can't get over how much joy it brought me to be with my @ThrillingAdv family again. Thank you to everyone who was there for #TAHLive tonight!
Fresh off the excellent meeting we had with Paradox and White Wolf in Berlin a week or so ago, and a week before we open the tomb of the Mummy: The Curse 2e Kickstarter, I figure it’s a good time to give you a look at some of my thoughts on a bunch of our game lines.
Scarred Lands:
With that lead-in paragraph, I bet you expected WW-IP stuff, but there is just so much happening with Scarred Lands that I wanted to get all that out first. To be honest, the interest in SL has been a real surprise. A great surprise, because there just seems to be a constant stream of folks that remember the setting from years ago and are excited to play and create with our new edition.
Which is wonderfully gratifying. Not only for the love and interest, but because we (I) was slow on the uptake on getting SL back on track after our original Scarred Lands partnership with Stewart Wieck came to an abrupt end with his passing. If I look back, I’m pretty sure I just delayed dealing with it, as jumping in where Stew was originally going to handle things reminded me of my friend too much.
But this year, we made huge strides – in a large part helped by the awesome efforts of all the creators on the Slarecian Vault (SL‘s community content site), our recently finished Creature Collection KS, and next year we’ll be presented monthly releases of Yugman’s Guide to the Scarred Lands, and the Vigil Watch project. There are weekly Twitch actual plays, and the amazing adventures of an awesome ratman (is it not all about him?) by Devil’s Luck Gaming that’s been running for months with all the twists and plot turns you could ever want.
Plus, just today Matt McElroy let us know that we’ll have a “What’s Up with 5e and Onyx Path” panel at Gamehole Con in Madison at the end of the week: https://www.gameholecon.com/events/event/7956 and he is running a “meat grinder” Scarred Lands game after hours at the con. If you’re interested in participating, let him know at our booth.
And then, we also have heard that the Scarred Lands supplement to Expedition, the exciting card and app-based RPG is going on sale the start of November. Here’s a description from Eddy Webb, who has been overseeing the project:
A lightweight, card-based roleplaying game that’s fun for players – and storytellers. Whether you’re playing alone, with a group of friends, your spouse or with your kids – anyone can learn to play in less than 5 minutes! Powered by a free companion app with hundreds of free adventures and new quests every week, there’s always something new to play! For 1-6 players, 20+ minutes, ages 8+
More on this as it’s released! Suffice to say, Scarred Lands has been reborn, and we’re just thrilled with how players have responded to its return!
M20 Book of the Fallen art by Sam Araya
World of Darkness:
We’ll be Kickstarting the traditionally printed and in-stores version of V5 Cults of the Blood Gods soon, and coming out of Berlin, our team has several more V5 projects to get rolling on. While we’ve been finishing the Stretch Goal rewards for several past 20th Anniversary Kickstarters, we also have a few more 20th projects that WW/Paradox is cool with us doing, so keep an eye out for those.
Overall, as WW/Paradox‘s method of handling the licensing of WoD changes as they continue moving to “5th Edition WoD”, we are comfortable with pitching individual projects or whole lines depending on the parameters they use on each line. Right now, if we get an idea we pitch it their way and see if it works with their plans.
Chronicles of Darkness:
Much like with WoD, we pitch interesting CofD projects to Paradox, and they can OK them or not according to their overall plans.
Which works out just fine for us right now, as we’ve got plenty to keep us busy as Dark Eras 2 proofs get finalized and out to backers, which has so many CofD lines in it, and with Geist 2e going to press, and Mummy 2e‘s KS and Hunter 2e‘s not far behind- plus all the attendant KS Stretch Goal projects, plus plus starting a couple of projects not yet on the progress report that WW/Paradox is OK with.
Exalted:
The big books roll along with Lunars and Exigents at different stages and with smaller books/stretch goals also rolling. We’re getting close to wrapping up the two monthly EX3 projects. There’s a very special secret project that we’ve been working on that we’re going to announce at PAX Unplugged in early December, and we’re really looking forward to letting our EX3 audience in on that!
In general, while we know folks might look back at the previous two editions’ release schedules and count the numbers, we are looking at how far our “new” Exalted team has come and the overall quality of the projects seems pretty satisfying. While we’re not aiming to return to the frenetic release pace of old, EX3 looks well positioned to deliver a more regular series of releases in the coming year.
Deviant: The Renegades art by Michael Gaydos
Scion:
For a while I’ve been thinking about how there’s really two tracks for Scion: the Mythic track, which contains Scion: Origin, Hero, Demigod, and God, and the projects that talk about The World and our take on how real-world pantheons would work in it like Titanomachy, and then there’s the Expanded track, which looks at ways to add further ideas on what could be considered a pantheon, or a god, or what else could exist alongside or outside the Mythic track. These would include Scion: Dragon, and Masks of the Mythos.
We’re aiming to create projects that provide value to both tracks, even if they are more firmly situated in a single one, and to release those projects so that everyone into Scion will receive a steady stream of excellent material. Having the Storypath Nexus community content site up and being the repository of even more potential Scion goodness is definitely part of the plan.
Trinity Continuum:
Sort of similar to Scion but the key design decision to build everything as a Continuum helps folks understand that we’re not going to stop with just the original eras but expand the potential eras from the past to the far future and eras in-between what we already have. Plus sideways and upways and downways. I’ve taken to considering the TC not as a linear time track alone, but as one with bubbles of eras that run parallel and drift closer or farther together depending on the interests of our players.
To use my favorite example, the hidden ultra-tech city of the intelligent gorillas may exist in a bubble that in your TC:Adventure! game is very close or even touching your TC:Adventure! era, but that same gorilla bubble may be far away and so unreachable in your TC:Aeon game.
So with the Trinity Continuum Core and TC: Aeon books shipping RIGHT NOW to backers, work progressing nicely on the final TC: Aberrant text, and TC:Adventure! on the progress report chart below, we’ve got all sorts of added Stretch Goal projects that are getting ready to come out, plus unannounced projects for both the Core and the TC itself that we’ll let you in on very soon.
They Came From Beneath the Sea!, Dystopia Rising: Evolution, Realms of Pugmire, and Cavaliers of Mars:
These are all verrrry different games, but all share the same publishing philosophy of launching and fulfilling a Kickstarter campaign to get the books into stores, and of working to provide a first wave of releases that support and add to the game line’s core book(s). Mostly via Kickstarter Stretch Goal rewards.
With Cavs and Pugmire, we try and work within the schedules and interests of the creators, Rose and Eddy respectively, so as they come up with ideas we bat those back and forth until a new project forms out of all of it. For They Came From and DR:E, we’re working on getting the core books created, as well as the supplements from their KSs. From there we’ll see if the interest is there for more projects with the line…but it’ll be a few months before those triggers are pulled and we have anything to announce.
Dark Eras 2 art by Luis Sanz
Legendlore:
This is one that I’m really interested in seeing how it hits. If you listen to developer Steffie de Vaan’s deep dive with Matthew and Dixie on last Friday’s Onyx Pathcast, she stresses that this fantasy world that has been around for decades as a comic book series contains a lot of inherent world design that she and her team took and expanded on – always with an eye towards the central premise of the setting: you the player are playing some version of yourself transported to this fantasy world.
This can be a touchy premise for a game, though. A lot of folks who play RPGs are playing to NOT be themselves, but to explore different types of characters. Steffie has that covered too, in much the same way that she has looked at how to make the premise work so that players have options that work for them, for their personal beliefs and ideas as to what sort of character they are comfortable playing.
It’s only one aspect of a rich fantasy world, but it is so intrinsic to the setting (even beyond how important regular character creation is for any game world) that it had to be handled with thought and empathy. If you have the time, take a listen – you’ll also get a chance to hear a lot more about the warring nations, and the skullduggery of appeasing a dangerous aggressive neighboring realm, and that there’s several different types of playable trolls (!), and much, much, more.
There you go – and I’m not even getting into the possible new licenses and other new lines we continue to look into. Truly, we have so:
Many Worlds, One Path!
BLURBS!
Kickstarter!
The Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition Kickstarter arises next Tuesday, Nov 5th, at 2pm Eastern US time. Be there to witness the majesty and terror of this new version of Mummy: The Curse!
Onyx Path Media!
This Friday’s Onyx Pathcast features the recorded Worldbuilding panel from the Save Against Fear convention – Eddy, Dixie, RichT, surprise guest Neall Raemonn Price, and other game creators answer questions from the moderator and the audience as to what challenges creators face in world building for their games. The answers are often surprisingly personal, and no one held back their opinions, that’s for sure!
What a week we have in store for you on the Onyx Path Twitch channel! Matthew has already hosted the Onyx Path News today in a bumper, hour long edition, and we’ve got games of V5, Scion, Pugmire, Hunter: The Vigil, Aberrant, Changeling: The Lost, Mage: The Awakening, and Scarred Lands all to come! Check us out and give us a follow on twitch.tv/theonyxpath
It really helps us to have subscribers on our Twitch channel, and you can do so for free and catch premieres as they go up if you have an Amazon Prime account. Just type Twitch Amazon Prime into Google and you’ll be shown how to subscribe for free.
Do you follow us on YouTube? Well, if you haven’t subscribed to us on Twitch, do not despair, as a couple of weeks after each episode on Twitch we transfer the videos over to YouTube right here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzN5jRB35OvnC-6gxnRY4gQ
We already have episodes of Aberrant and Changeling up, with more to come!
Meanwhile, our fans keep creating excellent content for us, not limited to:
Occultists Anonymous continues with their fantastic Mage: The Awakening game right here:
Episode 54: A Marrow Escape The cabal travels into this strange Atlantean temple and tries to decipher the purpose of the building. The ancient defenses still work though…https://youtu.be/_6asdJMHo00
Episode 55: Judgment Call Shaking the remains of the Temple’s defenses off of themselves, the cabal begins to discover the heart of the Temple and it’s possibly dark purposes…https://youtu.be/S9eSLKTnUR8
Plus, the Story Told Podcast posts another episode of their fantastic Exalted: Dragon-Blooded series right here: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/episode-17-welcome-to-daric
Do not miss Devil’s Luck Gaming with their superb Scarred Lands content: https://www.twitch.tv/DevilsLuckGaming
Watch Geek & Sundry‘s Eric Campbell discuss his love of Geist: The Sin-Eaters right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es7G-P9iou8
Twin Cities by Night continue their fantastic Chronicles of Darkness chronicle right here on Podbean: https://twincitiebynight.podbean.com/
Did you miss the Ragnarok & Roll podcast’s coverage of Scion Second Edition and their actual play spanning first edition’s Hero to Ragnarok? If so, please check them out here: https://ragnarokandroll.podbean.com/
If you want a fresh new take on Chicago by Night, complete with animated opening, please give the fine folks (with superb voice acting) a look at Windy City Kindred right here: www.twitch.tv/wickedstudiosllc
Drop Matthew a message via the contact button on matthewdawkins.com if you have actual plays, reviews, or game overviews you want us to profile on the blog!
Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!
Electronic Gaming!
As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)
On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!
You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).
If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!
Our selection includes these latest fiction books:
Our Sales Partners!
We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire
We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game
Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost
Scarred Lands (Pathfinder) books are also on sale at Studio2, and they have the 5e version, supplements, and dice as well!:
https://studio2publishing.com/collections/scarred-lands
Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online
Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/
And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And NOW Scion Origin and Scion Hero are available to order!
As always, you can find most of Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!
The big Halloween Sale on DriveThruRPG and Storytellers Vault continues until Halloween.
Most of our Chronicles of Darkness PDFs will be on sale on both sites, plus there will be some Halloween Treats (i.e. free PDFs) hidden around the sites.
On Sale This Week!
This Wednesday, we’ll be resplendently releasing our monthly Exalted 3rd PDFs on DTRPG!
Conventions!
GameHoleCon: This week: October 31st – November 3rd in Madison, WI!
PAX Unplugged: December 6th – 8th, in Philadelphia, PA.
2020: Midwinter: January 9th – 12th, in Milwaukee, WI.
And now, the new project status updates!
DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):
First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)
Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)
City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)
Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)
W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)
TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)
Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)
Indexing
ART DIRECTION FROM MIKE CHANEY!
In Art Direction
Contagion Chronicle – Sent out contracts.
Trinity Continuum: Aberrant
Hunter: The Vigil 2e
Ex3 Lunars – Contracted.
TCfBtS!: Heroic Land Dwellers
Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed
Ex3 Monthly Stuff
Trinity RMCs – Finals in.
Cults of the Blood God (KS) – Mark finals rolling in.
Chicago Folio – Finals rolling in.
Mummy 2 (KS) – Ready for KS.
City of the Towered Tombs – Contracted.
Let the Streets Run Red – Figuring out probable page count.
CtL Oak Ash and Thorn – Awaiting artnotes.
Scion Mythical Denizens
Deviant
Trinity Continuum Aeon Jumpstart
In Layout
They Came from Beneath the Sea! – Template created… system chapter done.
Trinity Continuum Aeon: Distant Worlds
VtR Spilled Blood
Geist 2e Screen – Putting it together.
Pirates of Pugmire
Proofing
M20 Book of the Fallen – At WW for final approval.
Memento Mori
Dark Eras 2 – First dev pass ready to go back to designer.
At Press
Trinity Core Screen – At Studio2 – shipping to backers.
TC Aeon Screen – At Studio2 – shipping to backers.
Trinity: In Media Res – PoD proofs coming.
Trinity Core – At Studio2 – shipping to backers.
Trinity Aeon – At Studio2 – shipping to backers.
V5: Chicago – Printing.
Aeon Aexpansion – PoD proofs ordered.
W20 Art Book – On sale next week.
W20 Auspice Gift Cards deck – Backer PDF out to backers, PoD proofs ordered.
Geist 2e (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition) – Getting print files ready.
DR:E – Getting print files ready.
DRE Screen – Getting print files prepped.
C20 Cup of Dreams – Backer PDF with backers.
DR:E Threat Guide – Helnau’s Guide to Wasteland Beasties – PDF out to backers.
Today’s Reason to Celebrate!
Eight years ago, I let the ever-optimistic Impish Ian Watson know that Onyx Path had purchased the Trinity IP from White Wolf/CCP. And that we were going to bring it back and he was going to be as involved as he wanted, after all his years of keeping the flame lit. Today, Ian received his KS copies of the Trinity Continuum Core, and Trinity Continuum: Aeon. Took longer than either of us expected, but the dream is now real!
my travels through the cosmere - the origins, the journey, and the destination
On the 8th of December 2019, I started reading The Way of Kings. Yesterday, on the 14th of April 2019, I finished reading Sixth of the Dusk. In between these dates, I read every single cosmere work ever published, and storms was it a wild ride.
December 8th was not the first time I had picked up The Way of Kings, having read both it and Words of Radiance, alongside a handful of other Sanderson works, back in 2014. I suppose you could say that was when, at thirteen years of age, I begun my journey through the cosmere. But it was on December 8 that I decided to reread the first two Stormlight Archive books in order to go on and read Oathbringer - a book I had eagerly been awaiting having the time to read ever since its release. It was on this day that my most recent race through the cosmere begun.
(to save your feed, dear reader, my cosmere travels continue below the cut)
I whirled my way through The Stormlight Archive, rediscovering my all time favourite book series and characters upon whom I base many of my personal philosophies; dove into Warbreaker initially to find out who tf Azure was and was rewarded with not just that information but a hundred more questions and a love of a scruffy rope-wielding ardent; jumped back to Elantris to see Brandon’s origins; took a “break” to read The Emperor’s Soul, not realising it would be the greatest piece of short fiction I would read to date; read a heartbreaking story about ghosts in a forest (i had heatstroke at the time but i persevered!! i think it needs a reread already tho my memory of that day is fuzzy); whipped my way through the first Mistborn trilogy where I was reminded just how much I loved this magic system; freaked the FUCK OUT over Kelsier doing that ????? in Mistborn SH ??????; pushed on into Wax and Wayne which was rudely cut off right when it was getting amazing (sa4 and lost metal I WILL SELL MY SOUL FOR THEE); discovered I had not one but TWO White Sand graphic novels to read; and then ended on a shardless planet nonetheless filled with Investiture.
Throughout this time, I spent countless hours vehemently searching through WoB and coppermind, and learnt a truly shocking amount about Investiture and Realmatic Theory considering I didn’t even know what those two things were four months ago. It got to the point where I would see a pool of water, yell aloud “BITCH ITS A PERPENDICULARITY!! ! !!!!” and most of the time would be right. I am sure you share the sentiment.
I also had the absolute pleasure of witnessing the incredible development of Brandon Sanderson’s writing over the past fourteen or so years. Not only did he increase his vocabulary and stop using the word “maladroitly” five times a book, but it seems he gained an incredibly nuanced view of all facets of humankind, particularly women and minority groups. Watching his insights start from a truly deep and eye-opening exploration into the minds of religious believers in Elantris, and expand to the nuanced cultures, characters, mental illnesses and injustices we see in Oathbringer was absolutely stunning. To learn and read so much about an author who openly employs reflective thinking to look at past mistakes and see how he can improve was refreshing beyond belief. We do, in fact, stan.
Over the past four months I laughed, I cried, I fell in love with so many characters (and then had other characters call the aforementioned characters into question and realised I can love them both all the same (Sazed and Wax in era 2 ??? fucking BRILLIANT writing right there)). Most of all? I genuinely had my fundamental beliefs about the world, society and our place within it shaken.
I don’t know what I will do now that I have completed my adventure through the cosmere up to the present date. Upon reading the postscript for Sixth of the Dusk I just sort of stared at a wall for a solid minute in disbelief. I feel like this is the end, as these books have been my constant companions for the recent past and their presence shall no longer be quite so constant. But the cosmere has new heights to reach yet.
I am beyond thrilled to have joined you all on our travels through these worlds. I know not where this vast universe will take us, but, after all: journey before destination, my friends.