#southern gothic romance

[pstelwitchcraft]

You wanna know what's crazy? Now knowing that Laura and Marisha didn't plan to be romantic this campaign at all, it is INSANE that everything went so perfectly, thematically, exactly the way it did.

The series of events from the rock breaking, Dusk showing up RIGHT as it was happening, to them making up just so Otohan could show up and kill Laudna not a DAY later literally because she wanted to get on Imogen's nerves ("Is she your favorite?"). And then Imogen obliterating Delilah with her own fucking hands for Laudna. Getting the circlet. Laudna holding Imogen on the ship they were about to crash having that Tether Talk^tm just before they were separated ONCE AGAIN.

Just the entire escalation that led to them meeting in Jrusar that day and Imogen blurting out "Can I kiss you?" in the mfing BREAD ISLE because she couldn't hold back her feelings is BONKERS.

Even down to Imogen saying she "thought dates were supposed to have sparks" after their date with pretty and telling Laudna she "has the biggest spark she's ever seen" a long ass time later in Bassuras.

The evolution of their feelings for each other, the tension that was building on that table every time they talked to each other. The fact that it all happened serendipitously with absolutely no previous plan and it went just the way it did? Immaculate. Showstopping. Absolutely astounding. If Marisha, Matt and Laura had sat down and planned this whole thing from the beginning it still couldn't have gone more perfectly.

[runningthrough-if]

[ demo ] [ pinterest ] [ characters ] [ masterlist ]

P L O T

Welcome to Landry’s Rowe.

Founded in 1733

Population: 3,667

After being let go from your job only a month prior, you’ve headed off on a ‘horror’ road trip across the United States with your best friend. Visiting the most disturbing locations in the country should have incited something within you right? Fear, joy, anxiety, anything.

But the trip is coming to an end and it’s been…well, a bust. Nothing has pushed your overwhelming numbness to the side. God, you’d give anything just to feel a sliver of an emotion.

Until it happens.

Landry’s Rowe wasn’t even a town on your list; it was just a place to stop for a burger.

‘Running Through the Trees’ is a wip, southern gothic interactive fiction with elements of horror, mystery, and romance. It is rated 18+ due to themes that may be disturbing to some readers. ‘Running Through’ explores themes of gore, violence, sexual content, drug use, cults, spiritual psychosis, complex human relationships, etc.

If you're interested in cults, creature features, mysteries, and morally gray characters, this may be for you.

F E A T U R E S

Customize your MC. This includes: name, appearance, gender identity, pronouns, and more!

Make choices that matter. Your choices change the story and the route you end up on.

Use your former in game job to progress the story. You were previously either an archaeologist (at a metaphysical museum), an archivist (for occult books), or a college professor (folk-tales and their lore).

Explore the three completely different routes within the same story. There’s a hunter’s route, protector’s route, and cult route.

Build a romantic relationship with 5 different romance options or form a purely sexual relationship with 1 option. While there are element of romance within this game, you do not need to interact with that element to enjoy the story.

Read a story about main characters who are slightly older. Everyone is between 28-35.

Build relationships with a variety of side characters.

Do some slice of life things, such as: foraging, gardening, tea making, etc.

R O M A N C E

Silas Barclay Jr., He/Him, 28, Hunter // “They’re dangerous and therefore, they must be taken out.”

Silas Jr. is the youngest, and only living, son of head hunter and guild leader, Silas Barclay Sr. His mother, Sylvia Cass, disappeared a month after his birth.

The Barclays are one of the three founding families of Landry’s Rowe.

Silas is truly hesitant to become a hunter, but those around town would never be able to tell. He pushes his own feelings aside for the sake of family legacy.

He’s known for his brash attitude, frequent bar fights, and founders family ‘get out of jail free’ connections.

Only romanceable if you choose to pursue the hunter’s route. Choosing the protector’s route or the cult’s route will lock you out.

Nell Valez, She/Her, 30, Witch // “They’re confused and scared, but they can be helped without bloodshed.”

Nell runs the local coven, under the guise of a reformatory school, alongside Natalie Van de Ber. The Van de Bers are one of three founding families of Landry’s Rowe.

She is fiercely protective of her home, her coven, and her relationships.

She is known for her gentle demeanor, botanical knowledge, and ability to think/act quickly under pressure.

Only romanceable if you choose to pursue the protector’s route. Choosing the hunter’s route or the cult’s route will lock you out.

Ellis/Eve Van de Ber, Gender Selectable, 32, Bartender at Graves

E has been a bartender at Graves since their 21st birthday. That night they strode behind the bar and demanded the owner, Abraham Barclay, show them how to make a whiskey sour.

They’re insecure about their current state of life, but it’s easier to take a shot and make a joke than it is to go to therapy.

They’re known for their sarcastic comments, charming smile, and all those rumors surrounding their shady family dynamics.

Only romanceable if you choose to pursue the hunter’s route. Choosing the protector’s route or the cult’s route will lock you out.

Orson Barclay, He/Him, 29, Owner of Able & Poe

Orson Barclay is the only son of Raven and Savannah Barclay, who passed away during a routine boating tour at the Vonn Swamp six years prior. After their passing, he took over Able & Poe and pushed aside his efforts of becoming the Landry’s Rowe Public Library librarian.

He is the cousin of Silas Barclay Jr.

He’s known for his quiet demeanor, endless thirst for knowledge, and natural fishing skill.

Only romanceable if you choose to pursue the protector’s route. Choosing the hunter’s route or the cult’s route will lock you out.

Vernon/Verena Hart, Gender Selectable, 31, Your Best Friend

V has been your best friend for as long as you can remember (since you two grew up beside each other).

They work as a freelance, and pretty popular, photographer with a niche in unsettling or haunting imagery.

They’re loyal to a fault, a bit impulsive, and always down to have a good time.

They’re romanceable no matter which route you choose.

V is asexual. Please keep that in mind during their route.

Cash/Cassandra Landry, 35, Cult Leader Pastor of Weeping Willows // “They’re powerful which means we should be controlling them.”

C Landry is the youngest child of Wilson and Ruby Landry, who were killed during a community outing ten years prior. They both died of a gunshot wound to the head, but their killer remains unknown.

Their 3 sisters each moved away the moment they turned 18 (prior to their parents' death).

The Landrys are one of the three founding families of Landry’s Rowe.

C runs Willow’s Rest, a church and community center, nestled between Vonn Swamp and Perla’s Bed & Breakfast.

They’re know for their charismatic personality, religious rants, and the polaroid camera they constantly carry.

Only romanceable if you choose to pursue the cult’s route. Choosing the hunter’s route or the protector’s route will lock you out.

Their ‘romance’ is not a true relationship, but rather a strictly physical relationship.

[nellasbookplanet]

I know this is old hat to just about everyone, but I'm more and more enjoying Imogen and Laudna as not just a mirror of the Briarwoods but also, and perhaps even more so, as a foil.

Laudna may be the death magic goth with a necromancer in her head, but out of the two of them, Imogen is the stronger mirror of Delilah. She’s the one with the undead lover, the one prepared to break the world by risking Delilah's return as long as it got her Laudna back, the one with the drive and the thirst for power and knowledge. Laudna meanwhile, while also tempted by power, is mostly just along for the ride, deeply devoted to Imogen over anything or anyone, alive only because Imogen found a way to resurrect her. They have looked each other in the eye, recognised the same seeds of darkness and the possibility of giving in, and said 'Together either way'.

But they are also in many ways a direct subversion of the Briarwoods. Delilah and Sylas both seemed perfectly happy to have made a pact with Vecna and revelled in the power he granted them, even knowing the disaster he would bring and the horrific acts he asked of them. Imogen and Laudna meanwhile, while tempted by power and openly voicing said temptation to each other, actively fight against it. Imogen was prepared to risk Delilah's return for the sake of Laudna's resurrection, but she would've fought her every step of the way. She's tempted by the power and knowledge of Ruidus, but also prepared to give all of it up if it means saving the world, because unlike Delilah she chooses to care about people other than herself and her lover. Laudna may be prepared to follow Imogen into hell itself, but she may also be what would lead her back out, because unlike Sylas she doesn’t just recognise darkness in her lover, she wants to fight it alongside her.

This is what I mean when I say these two hold the potential for great darkness. They wouldn’t function as a mirror and a foil of the most romantically iconic critical role villain duo if they didn't. But holding the potential for darkness and corruption also means holding the potential to resist and fight said darkness at every turn. It gives them the potential to choose kindness and struggle while still keeping a little bit of that darkness in their hearts, because without it, they never would have found each other.

[belle-keys]

“People who cease to believe in God or goodness altogether still believe in the devil... Evil is always possible. And goodness is eternally difficult.”

– Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice (1976)

[carm3n-carm3n]

𐬿 ✥ 𐬾

[vanalex]

[namedvesta]

Roberto Ferri, Il Sepolcro Degli Amanti (𝟤𝟢𝟣𝟦)

[itwasntaphase]

I may not be catholic but I will say their aesthetic slaps

[volkomenniel]

my type? definitely aggressive smoking boys

[adacayifedaisi]

I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown Writing in blood on your walls 'Cause the ink in my pen don't look good in my pad But hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have

[apple-blossom-jeans]

[localartthrobsalome]

“What a lovely hiding place that you have made to delay our parting/ What a world outside to keep each other safe from, that’s all I want a darling.” - Paris Paloma - Triassic Love Song

[paperglader]

yes, it’s been three weeks, and yes, I’m still screaming about the fact that Imogen was at her lowest when she met laudna (was thinking of ending it all), and laudna had been roaming aimlessly for thirty years, utterly alone. No purpose, no reason for living, until she met the purple-haired sorcerer that saved her life no questions asked as soon as they first met, then chose to stick together forever, hold on to each other, sleep on the same bed for the next two years and help each other find answers to their miserable existence- and now, NOW that they finally got it together, got some stupid answers, and actually gained some power over the forces that had subdued them for years, KISSED, immediately- literally nine days into their relationship- the shitty world that they live in decided to make it clear and remind them that their days are numbered (significantly smaller numbers than they had accounted for) and that they won’t get to live their quiet life on a field, raise horses and just be. I AM OK ABOUT THAT. TOTALLY FINE.

[desdasiwrites]

– Lee Mandelo, Summer Sons

[kafkaesquette]

[angelunderheaven]

take me, sentence me to be your lover for life