#the faerie wars chronicles

[book--brackets]

Valdemar: Mage Wars by Mercedes Lackey (1994-1996)

It is an age when Valdemar is yet unfounded, its organization of Heralds yet unformed, and magic is still a wild and uncontrolled force.

Skandranon Rashkae is perhaps the finest specimen of his race, with gleaming ebony feathers, majestic wingspan, keen magesight and sharp intelligence. Courageous, bold, and crafty, Skan is everything a gryphon should be. He is the fulfillment of everything that the Mage of Silence, the human sorcerer called Urtho, intended to achieve when he created these magical beings to be his champions, the defenders of his realm--a verdant plain long coveted by the evil mage Maar.

Now Maar is once again advancing on Urtho's Keep, this time with a huge force spearheaded by magical constructs of his own--cruel birds of prey ready to perform any evil their creator may demand of them. And when one of Urtho's Seers wakes from a horrifying vision in which she sees a devastating magical weapon being placed in the hands of Maar's common soldiers, Skandrannon is sent to spy across enemy lines, cloaked in the protective of Urtho's powerful Spell of Silence.

Sorcerer Royal by Zen Cho (2015-2019)

At his wit’s end, Zacharias Wythe, freed slave, eminently proficient magician, and Sorcerer Royal of the Unnatural Philosophers—one of the most respected organizations throughout all of Britain—ventures to the border of Fairyland to discover why England’s magical stocks are drying up.

But when his adventure brings him in contact with a most unusual comrade, a woman with immense power and an unfathomable gift, he sets on a path which will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain—and the world at large…

Valdemar: Vows and Honor by Mercedes Lackey (1988-1998)

She was Tarma. Born to the Clan of the Hawk of the nomadic Shin'a'in people, she saw her entire clan slain by brigands. Vowing blood revenge upon the murderers, she became one of the sword-sworn, the most elite of all warriors. And trained in all the forms of death-dealing combat, she took to the road in search of her enemies.

She was Kethry. Born to a noble house, sold into a hateful "marriage", she fled life's harshness for the sanctuary of the White Winds, a powerful school of sorcery. Becoming an adept, she pledged to use her talents for the greatest good. Yet unlike other sorcerers, Kethry could use worldly weapons as well as magical skills. And when she became the bearer of a uniquely magical sword that drew her to those in need, Kethry was led to a fateful meeting with Tarma.

United by sword-spell and the will of the Goddess, Tarma and Kethry swore a blood oath to carry on their mutual fight against evil. And together, swordsmaster and sorceress set forth to fulfill their destiny....

The Kingston Cycle by C. L. Polk (2018-2021)

In an original world reminiscent of Edwardian England in the shadow of a World War, cabals of noble families use their unique magical gifts to control the fates of nations, while one young man seeks only to live a life of his own. 

Magic marked Miles Singer for suffering the day he was born, doomed either to be enslaved to his family's interest or to be committed to a witches' asylum. He went to war to escape his destiny and came home a different man, but he couldn't leave his past behind. The war between Aeland and Laneer leaves men changed, strangers to their friends and family, but even after faking his own death and reinventing himself as a doctor at a cash-strapped veterans' hospital, Miles can't hide what he truly is. 

When a fatally poisoned patient exposes Miles' healing gift and his witchmark, he must put his anonymity and freedom at risk to investigate his patient's murder. To find the truth he'll need to rely on the family he despises, and on the kindness of the most gorgeous man he's ever seen.

The Faerie Wars Chronicles by Harbie Brennan (2003-2011)

When Henry Atherton helps Mr. Fogarty clean up around his house, he expects to find a mess and a cranky old man; what he doesn't expect to find is Pyrgus Malvae, crown prince of the Faerie realm, who has escaped the treacherous Faeries of the Night by traveling to the human world through a portal powered by trapped lightning. An egomaniacal demon prince, greedy glue factory owners Brimstone and Chalkhill, and the nefarious Lord Hairstreak, leader of the Faeries of the Night, all dream of ruling the Faerie realm and are out to kill Pyrgus.

Enlisting the help of his sister, Holly Blue, and his new friend, Henry, Pyrgus must get back to the Faerie world alive before one of his many enemies gets to him instead. But how many portals are open, and can Pyrgus find the right one before it falls into the wrong hands?

The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye (1980)

Along with Wit, Charm, Health, and Courage, Princess Amy of Phantasmorania receives a special fairy christening gift: Ordinariness. Unlike her six beautiful sisters, she has brown hair and freckles, and would rather have adventures than play the harp, embroider tapestries . . . or become a Queen. When her royal parents try to marry her off, Amy runs away and, because she's so ordinary, easily becomes the fourteenth assistant kitchen maid at a neighboring palace. And there . . . much to everyone's surprise . . . she meets a prince just as ordinary (and special) as she is 

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge (1946)

When orphaned young Maria Merryweather arrives at Moonacre Manor, she feels as if she's entered Paradise. Her new guardian, her uncle Sir Benjamin, is kind and funny; the Manor itself feels like home right away; and every person and animal she meets is like an old friend. But there is something incredibly sad beneath all of this beauty and comfort--a tragedy that happened years ago, shadowing Moonacre Manor and the town around it--and Maria is determined to learn about it, change it, and give her own life story a happy ending. But what can one solitary girl do?

Dr. Greta Helsing by Vivian Shaw (2017-2024)

Meet Greta Helsing, doctor to the undead. After inheriting a highly specialised, and highly peculiar, medical practice, Dr Helsing spends her days treating London’s undead for a host of ills: vocal strain in banshees, arthritis in barrow-wights and entropy in mummies. Although barely making ends meet, this is just the quiet, supernatural-adjacent life Greta’s dreamed of since childhood.

But when a sect of murderous monks emerges, killing human undead and alike, Greta must use all her unusual skills to keep her supernatural clients – and the rest of London – safe.

Of Mermaids and Orisa by Natasha Bowen (2021-2022)

Simi prayed to the gods, once. Now she serves them as Mami Wata—a mermaid—collecting the souls of those who die at sea and blessing their journeys back home.

But when a living boy is thrown overboard, Simi does the unthinkable—she saves his life, going against an ancient decree. And punishment awaits those who dare to defy it.

To protect the other Mami Wata, Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends. But something is amiss. There’s the boy she rescued, who knows more than he should. And something is shadowing Simi, something that would rather see her fail. . . .

Danger lurks at every turn, and as Simi draws closer, she must brave vengeful gods, treacherous lands, and legendary creatures. Because if she doesn’t, then she risks not only the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust (2017)

Sixteen-year-old Mina is motherless, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone--has never beat at all, in fact, but she'd always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king's heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she'll have to become a stepmother.

Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen's image, at her father's order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do--and who to be--to win back the only mother she's ever known...or else defeat her once and for all.

[weirdosnailz]

This is an appreciation post for my fav bookshelf in my room!! I have a few more, but this one is definitely the best looking/most organised ♡＼(￣▽￣)／♡

Starting from the top I have:

J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, Crimes of Grindelwald - the original screenplay, Quidditch Through the Ages, Tales of Beedle the Bard, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them + the first two books from all 4 special House editions

Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, Trials of Apollo, the Sun and the Star, Kane Chronicles, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard + most of the companion books regarding the Riordanverse

Jennifer Cervantes’ Storm Runner

Samantha Shannon’s Priory of the Orange Tree & A Day of Fallen Night

R. F. Kuang’s Poppy War

2/3 books from James Islington’s Licanius Trilogy

Brandon Mull’s Five Kingdoms, The Candy Shop War, Fablehaven, Dragonwatch + the 1st Beyonders book

Holly Black’s The Folk of the Air main books, The Modern Faerie Tales Trilogy, Book of Night, Curse Workers

Paulina Hendel’s Żniwiarz (eng. reaper)

Veronica Roth’s Divergent

Naomi Novik’s Scholomance

+ Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods & Percy Jackson’s Greek Heroes

(yes I keep the toa and magnus chase box set thingies on a separate shelf, I just like looking at all the books and I still wanted to display the beautiful artwork on the boxes)

[d4rkshad0w]

for all those taller!ty believers i must remind you that cassie confirmed Kit and Ty are the same height

have a good day to all the taller!ty believers😀

[julescarstairs]

The minute a Morgenstern starts feeling a little silly you know a war is just around the corner

[weregonnabecoolbeans]

I think Ezra Bridger and Ty Blackthorn would be good friends 😌

[starlingchildgazingatthestars]

I did not count Harry Potter or Percy Jackson because both fandoms are too, well, huge, and HP is currently....... loaded down with too much baggage. So here's some other lesser known titles that I read in my middle and high school years! And yes, I know there's a BAZILLION other titles that I missed; these are simply the ones I remember loving during that time of my life. Happy voting!

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Fae books are some of my favorite, so in honor of my favorite Irish poet, let's have a quick round-up of books with Fae!

OR Melling's The Chronicles of Faerie Series, which includes The Hunter's Moon, The Summer King, The Light Bearer's Daughter, and The Book of Dreams

Literally 99% of everything Juliet Marillier has ever written, with Dreamer's Pool and Wildwood Dancing being my favorites

Brittany N. Williams's That Self-Same Metal

Not one of my favorites, but Holly Black's The Cruel Prince has a metric ton of fae

Terri Windling's The Raven Queen (and the rest of the Voyage of the Basset Series)

Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl and The Fowl Twins series

CE Murphy's Walker Papers series and Negotiator Trilogy

Illona Andrews's Magic Bites

Olivia Atwater's Regency Faerie Tales trilogy

Herbie Brennan's The Faerie Wars Chronicles

Gail Carson Levine's books, including Ella Enchanted, The Two Princesses of Bamarre, and The Princess Tales volumes 1 and 2

William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream

[arcielee]

Interview With a Writer

Artwork by @lonnson​​ 💜

Continuing with my series is @lonnson​​, who does not only create amazing pieces but can write as well. 💜 I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to allow me to gush over your story and answering my questions!

As always, you can look over the masterlist to see the other amazing authors I have spoken with. This series is just a BTS of some of the talented minds on Tumblr and ao3. 💜    

Story: Winterwood on ao3

Paring: Aemond Targaryen x OFC     

Rating/Warning: SA mentioned, graphic depictions of violence, major character death.

So, when did you start writing? I've liked coming up with stories since I was a kid but I never really wrote them down (I was more of an artist than a writer). I think my first "real" fanfiction was a crossover between Downton Abbey and a popular German detective audiobook series (very niche, I know 😅).

It was my first attempt at writing fanfiction and I have no idea if it was any good but at the end of the day it helped me get started on writing (hopefully) better stuff so it wasn't a waste of time.

What inspired this story? I really got into the gothic horror genre and dark fairytale retellings last year and read a lot of books with that vibe. 

The main bit of inspiration definitely came from "The Wolf and the Woodsman" by Ava Reid, which is about a girl and a one-eyed prince. When I watched House of the Dragon later that year, I immediately thought of that novel again. 

I also took some inspiration from fantasy movies I love, like Stardust or The Chronicles of Narnia.

I wanted to do creepy creatures to pop-up in my story, like the bat creatures that were inspired by the cliff ghasts from His Dark Materials. And I also love reading books about bloodthirsty faeries so I thought they fit the vibe (of Winterwood) as well. 

I also love the book "Vaesen" by Johan Egerkrans about spirits and monsters from Scandinavian folklore!

Can you explain your interpretation of Aemond? What drives him in Winterwood? What made him the way he is? I wanted to keep him relatively close to canon, because I do enjoy a good morally-grey character with villain tendencies. But obviously I also wanted to explore some stuff with him that's just my personal interpretation of Aemond.

In my story, Rhaenyra is Queen, Aegon has been executed and Aemond has been exiled to be a Night's Watch man. He's still ambitious and proud, but he's also been disillusioned by life. He can be testy and cranky but he's also feeling very lonely. He's done bad things during the war and they still haunt him. 

I also really wanted him to be somewhere on the asexual spectrum because I'm always drawn to characters who could potentially be ace in how they're portrayed in canon.

My take on Aemond is that he's never really experienced a lot of affection in his life and therefore craves but also fears it. He's interested in swordplay, studies and dragons but he's not a womanizer. And I really wanted to keep his "bad" traits. He's judgmental, testy and very, very guarded. He opens up to others at the speed of a glacier.

What inspired your character creation Lya/Skaðe? Her character kind of developed naturally as I wrote the first chapter. I didn't want her to be "Aemond's love interest", I wanted her to be the second main character of the story. 

She's as complicated as him and they're not so different from each other, which is why they don't get along at all in the beginning. They're lone wolfs, capable fighters and don't trust easily. Lya follows her own agenda and keeps some secrets that are potentially dangerous... Her name is spelled very similar to "liar" which may be a hint to her not being entirely trustworthy.

You already hinted at it, but you prefer to draw or to write? Drawing, definitely. I've drawn since I was a kid and it's still my main creative outlet. I think about fictional scenarios about 85% of the day (😅), but only very few of them are coherent enough to actually write them down. I'd LOVE to write a book though, that's the dream. Do you have a personal favorite story you'd like to share? If you happen to be a fan of The Suicide Squad, I loved anchorage by mentallyillmermaid on ao3 (I'm one of the ten people who are really into the Polka-Dot Man x Ratcatcher ship haha)

[scribes-archives]

Intro & Masterlist

Hallo everyone!! I wanted to assemble my original story concepts on a separate blog to keep myself more organized. My main blog is @scribe-of-monsters and my current main project is a gothic lit-inspired webcomic that I am in the process of scripting, which can be found at @monstersofmancomic.

This blog will be dedicated to my original story ideas. Here's a brief intro/index for them:

"Unfamiliar" is a horror/comedy about two high school students who are unexpectedly thrust into the supernatural when one of them is bitten by a vampire bat. Seeking help with their newfound circumstances, Nic and Velvet run away to a nearby coven to lay low. But the human world isn't done with them just yet- and to make matters worse, the coven is under attack from a mysterious beast: a witch's familiar corrupted by dark magic.

"Entangled" is a Norse mythology-inspired action/adventure series wherein Aster Hodges, the demigod son of Odin, seeks revenge against the Aesir by setting off the events to begin Ragnarok -- starting with freeing Loki and Sigyn from their underground prison. While on the run from the forces of Valhalla, they rescue Myrna, a young elf seer, from the cult Aster was raised in, and the four travel the Nine Worlds in a quest to free Loki's monstrous children and bring Asgard to ruin once and for all.

"Speechless" is a fantasy/drama about Kyran, the heir to the Daemon throne, who secretly hires a band of rebels to assassinate their mother, the queen, in order to stop her from inciting a war with the Faeries. To reinstate peace, Kyran joins forces with the Fae princess Uriel to hunt down the rebels, who kidnapped the Faery king during the assassination. As the manhunt rages on, Kyran finds it increasingly difficult to keep their involvement in the attack hidden-- and the rebels' general gunning for their throne only makes matters worse.

"The Villsvill Chronicles" is a comedy following three kids and their ghost friend as they investigate the supernatural goings-on in their town. As they explore further, they learn that the nearby science institution is hiding a dark secret, and that the mad scientist in charge has transformed into a monster bent on stealing all the town's magic for himself.

[jasminewalkerauthor]

Badly explaining chronicles of the isles stories

What is chronicles of the isles?: Chronicles of the isles is a fantasy novel published february of 2023 and is a collection of short stories surrounding the lives of a pirate crew as they collect ancient artefacts in the hopes to stop the rise of a cursed god.

Married to the sea

Runaway bride decides to join pirate crew embarrassingly fast, falls in love with a budget captain jack sparrow.

Dancing in ships graveyard

A group of unemployed runaways and amnesiacs fight the kraken.

Village of secrets

Girl decides that she is now the new detective on a serial killer case without having any experience in law enforcement before soon falling for the real detective on the same case.

Secrets never die

Hermit inventor learns that you should never touch random magical objects the hard way.

Curse of Selenia Valley

Runaway bride gets held hostage and threatened to be forced into another marriage? her pirate friends take part in a ritual to break a curse before the marriage is finalised.

Circus of stars

Girl pulls a katniss everdeen by volunteering to take the place of her sister who was kidnapped by a circus. She soon finds out it can teleport.

No more games

More curse breaking but this time in a funhouse and with zombie children.

Titans wanted

Pirates now wanted for arson go undercover as they realise they must pull off a royal heist.

Tournament of champions

Pirates take part in a deadly tournament in order to talk to a faerie queen.

Coven of the cursed

The group time travel to basically the 70s and work with an organisation called D.O.O.D to travel to a dissappearing witch island.

Down below

Pirates get put on trial in a fantasy equivilent of atlantis by a god which triggers a philosophical debate

Those who came before

A group of people who hate eachother get possessed by dead heroes as they venture into an ancient cave to steal a flaming sword from a dragon.

The god war

Pirates fight god.

'Chronicles of the isles is available on kindle, kindle unlimited and paperback here:

[herbs-and-spices-and-flowers]

Youtube Fanfic Comment; with Scarlett P.

@scarlettparker1528

 @solidonseraindogthetenth1679  Oh. I still like them.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  So do I. That's why I write fanfictions.

@scarlettparker1528

 @solidonseraindogthetenth1679  gaaaaaasp I also write fanfiction! I got a list of 28 different fandoms I am reading fanfiction for, and several of which I am also writing fanfiction for. What kinds of fanfiction do you write?

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  Well. there's last kids on earth if they had a faerie poet. TMNT if they had a magic little sister. If Harry Potter had a twin. Loads and loads of crossovers and of coarse, if Dr Phantom had a clone, if Charlie had a blind student and if those two kids had a faerie friend who freezes things.

 @solidonseraindogthetenth1679  (static)

(No can't show you guys right now) @scarlettparker1528

 @solidonseraindogthetenth1679  Also-ly, I am pleased to hear someone else knows about the Last Kids on Earth fandom (books and Netflix series).

 @scarlettparker1528  so cool. I've got others too.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  Cool.

Lucy Potter: "How did you get here, Malfoy?"

Draco: "Oh. I guessed your password. And since you didn't change it, I've been coming here ever since." Harry: "Do I know what your password is?"

Lucy: "Nev is awesome 3 2 1. Same since he first stood up to us.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

@scarlettparker1528

 @solidonseraindogthetenth1679  Well, dang, now I've spit out my water.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

BBH: "Ok kiddos. Just stay there, and I'll be right back with the muffins." Skeppy: "Hey kids. I have a challenge for you!" BBH: "Skeppy, I did not take these children under my wing so that you can have them hunt down Techno." Techno didn't get killed obv. But he did get some ideas from them.

@scarlettparker1528

 @solidonseraindogthetenth1679  I shouldn't be surprised there's a fanfiction collection for Dream SMP, but somehow I am. I should totally read some.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  Ok. Here's my list of things I make fanfictions about. Last Kids on Earth Shiloh and Bros DSMP TMNT The things we found on Youtube LMK Amulet FNAF Anything MatPat covers Chronicles of Narnia Harry Potter And I can't think of what else.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  I also made this other fanfiction where Techno, Wilbur and Tommy were off to civil war. So Phil would wander the seashore to think and one day he finds an unconscious boy on the shore. He takes him in and when the boy wakes up, he freaks out because his seal coat is gone. Phil tries to calm him down, but the kid insists that he can't go home without his seal coat. Phil learns that the kid's name is Siegel, and that he was "from the sea". Phil notices some strange behavior with Siegel. One, he is always searching for his seal coat. Two, he goes out to the shore at night to sing and insists there's a choir signing with him and hoping for his return home. Third, two seals were killed and Siegel wept for them, saying they were his brothers, Gaelic and Teir. Many people suspected that the kid was a selkie. But Phil did not believe in selkies until he saw Siegel turn into one after getting his seal coat back and jumping into the water.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  Technoblade: "I've heard of nations that fought over a queen. But a nation that is fighting over a group of children? THIS IS RIDICULOUS!"

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

BBH: "Everyone says I'm a demon." One of the 3 kids: "You're not a demon. Demons are bad spirits who demand worship. You're too nice and modest."

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  When Lillith Afton gets hit with an elf spear. Elf Guard: "How come you're not dead?" Lillith: removes spear from chest and laughs Elf Guard: freaks out and leaves Lillith: "What's wrong? Don't you want your spear back? Don't you want your spear back?! DON'T YOU WANT YOUR SPEAR BACK?!"

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

@scarlettparker1528  Ok.....Hmmmmm........ Emily: "How many dead people are there?" Lillith: "Well. There's me and my siblings." Amber(Corpse child): "There's me too." Emily: "Ok. So five. Unless there are more people dead and here still."

@scarlettparker1528

 @solidonseraindogthetenth1679  O mah goodness these are gold

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  I'm glad I made you happy.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  When there's an explosion in the lab. Dr. Phantom: "......Look. This is a mistake a lot of scientists make. No shame in that, but." Then he puts his hands on Bluefire and Blackwater's heads. Dr. Phantom: "There is one mistake you DID make that very few scientists make. Very few." The two clones: "What?" Dr. Phantom: "You forgot your safety goggles, silly!"

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

Shiloh and Bros Crossover! A meeting gets called The crewmates: "Where?" Shiloh: "Somebody took the flower pots and dumped it all over the floor!" Everyone: GASP Dr. Phantom: "What is going on here?" Charlie: "I am as confused as you are."

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  Charlie: "Look we like kids, but we're looking for help." Peter: "But we're the help." Charlie: "ok. How are you going to help?" Peter: takes out his sword Charlie: "Eh, you don't want to do that, kid." Peter: "Ok. Edmund, you have a shot at this."

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

 @scarlettparker1528  Jack: "There is always a bright side to zombie apocalypses! Hey, Anni. You have unique and colorfully ideas. Why do don't you come up with one." Annike: "Abortion won't be a thing anymore because the population went down. So a; abortion won't be a good idea, and b; there will be less people who insist on it." Jack: "How was this in your head?" Annike: "People thought abortion was a good idea. With zombie reborn," Jack: "Ok, one ,say apocalypse. Apocalypse. Is that hard to say? And two, you tend to think of evil things." Annike: "Ok, I think I'm catching a hint that you're getting uncomfortable from this. Want me to stop?" Jack: "Yes. Please." Annike: "And as for your other question, I don't like it when words get misused. Society ruins the English language for me. Apocalypse means revelation. This may be a revelation, but it's also the world being reborn if you think about it."

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

When Sun and Rose decide to Annoy Moon Both: Oh are you sleeping, Moony! Oh are you sleeping, Moony! It's funny because it's Moon's job to put people to sleep.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

When Dr. Phantom is Chasing Judah Nelson Judah: "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Dr. Phantom: "Hey, get back here! I'm going turn you into an experiment!" Judah: "NEVER! Take my anti ghost spray!" squirt squirt Dr. Phantom: "What was that stuff?!" Judah: "Oh. That was actually cologne." Dr. Phantom: "That stuff is chemically dangerous in a lab. I'm confiscating that!" Judah: "NEVER! YOU'RE A GHOST! I CAN'T LISTEN TO THE GHOST WHO'S GIONG TO THROW ME OUT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The chase continues.

@solidonseraindogthetenth1679

Stop talking about Lady Catherine De'bourg or draw 25

Mr. Collins:

[book--brackets]

Would love to submit (for the fantasy poll)

The Farsala Trilogy - Hilari Bell

The Seven Realms - Cinda Williams Chima

A Great and Terrible Beauty - Libba Bray

Protector of the Small - Tamora Pierce

Poison - Chris Wooding

Caught in Crystal - Patricia C Wrede

The Conjuror Princess - Vivian Vande Velde

Faerie Wars - Herbie Brennan

Troll Fell - Katherine Langrish

Kushiel's Dart - Jacqueline Carey

The Queen's Thief series - Megan Whalen Turner

I added the ones that weren't already on the list, though keep in mind some are under their series titles, not the names you submitted

Protector of the Small my beloved!!

[agentgrange]

Field Notes 10/26-- The Shan, PISCES, and the Changelings

This isn't a full Field Notes, just me putting the idea out there and thinking out loud so I can organize my thoughts better or maybe get some insight into people's opinions on the matter. Making content during the 80s cowboy era is a great opportunity to flesh out PISCES more and have them directly involved with the major struggle at the core of the Conspiracy. They haven't quite been fully subsumed by the Shan at that point, leaving room for a secret war between the members of PISCES not yet infected, those under its will, and Delta Green itself.

But the 90s and certainly into the modern era PISCES is written as entirely a lost cause and purely an opposition figure with Delta Green just picking up the slack recruiting British agents directly into the ostensibly American-based conspiracy or later as a sort of international task force under the Program. There's an unsaid rule leaving the United Kingdom and interaction with PISCES as more or less off limits to interfere in with the line members of Delta Green being none the wiser as to why. This... Really feels like a fun twist that was incorporated into one of the devs original campaigns applied to the 90s setting fully in Countdown but was never really meant to have the long term consequences fleshed out. If I'm being open I've never been a fan of it due to the massive suspension of disbelief, walling off a huge amount of possibilities for interaction, and feel like it just kind of falls flat put against modern tastes in horror when this massive question mark is revealed to the players as "its all parasitic space flies from this obscure Ramsey Campbell story that few, if any of you, have read. Y-- Yeah, no you wouldn't know it. Yeah no, it was written a few decades after Lovecraft's death so it was nev-- Yeah. Also they have pet trees."

Don't get me wrong, I love the fact they incorporated it into the setting as a twist and was an interesting idea when it was originally implemented. But having read Countdown a few times it all reads like classic comic book weird fiction, and not in a good way. Its fun, and creative, but wasn't written in a way that lends itself to these sort of history and universe spanning deep state conspiracies that we have to work around decades later so much as seeming like a minor X-Files arc that should have just resolved itself as a one off in three episodes.

Now, for decades now Delta Green has always actively encouraged Handlers to pick and choose parts of the lore as they see fit and adapt it to fit whatever their personal horror tastes are, I've always appreciated that. So I've been thinking of ways to rewrite and adjust the Shan and how that fits into this secret war in the 1980s, the secret truth before it was buried and rewritten by those that survived, and how it can be useful writing stories and PISCES characters in modern settings. Particularly if it makes PISCES less a fully captured comic-book-villain organization and more of a genuinely competent organization just as fleshed out as Delta Green but absolutely crippled by an institutional paranoia over a war that never really ended.

Particularly, I've been playing around with the idea of adapting the Shen to fit more into stories of Changelings, faeries, and other Celtic and Brittonic legends. I've watched The Hallow recently and the way that these creatures are traditionally remembered before being romanticized by Shakespeare, and can see that as a very very good model for the Shen as these alien entities with a very old, very complicated relationship with the people of the British isles. Funny enough I also really like the idea of looking back to the way faeries were portrayed in older childrens books I used to enjoy, the Spiderwick Chronicles. Smashing these three unlikely sources together seem like a perfect template to turn the spooky MI-6-controled-by-space-flies into an equally horrifying story of changelings worming their way into positions of influence, but for ends less clear and recognizable to a race as young as ourselves. Perhaps even, less outright malicious and more understandable than our agents might feel comfortable with.

Tl;dr-- The Shan should be retconned to be stranded on earth much longer as, like, insectoid brittonic faeries. The process of PISCES agents getting taken over by Shan parasites should be less Invasion of the Body Snatchers and more The Hallow where the process of becoming a Changeling host for a Shan is... A bit more of a cooperative (if unwilling) sum-of-its-parts deal than just being a full on meat puppet. Curious on other thoughts or ideas to flesh this concept out more.

[dhampiravidi]

If you were to live in any of your character's universes, which one would you pick and why?

ooh…*looks at my list of fandoms*…the safest option out of all the fun fantasy verses would probably be The Covenant (2006) or ATLA. I’m assuming that for any verse I’d choose, I’d have the powers of the main group or something similar. So in the 1st, I’d most likely only be in danger if I used my powers too much as an adult (because doing so makes you age rapidly). In ATLA, everything would be pretty chill after the war, for the most part (until Korra’s era).

I love the Grishaverse & I’d love being a Tidemaker, but there’s that long-ass war & the persecution of Grisha (no thanks). So no to that. Then, Shadowhunter Chronicles (books/film), my beloved—if I had to choose a verse where I died a violent yet heroic death, that would be it. I’d crush the fuck on Jace Herondale, befriend everyone but Clary (& them homophobes) & be SO HAPPY to train as a Shadowhunter. I’d even learn to make custom weapons & maybe use magic if I was part-Faerie. But the world would constantly be threatened by an inexhaustible number of demons, which is just sad.

[gristlegrinder]

late night ttrpg gming thoughts about stuff i want to do (whining like a sad little dog)

Like, okay. It’s been way too long since I’ve played or run a game in the Chronicles system and I keep thinking about it. I have so many ideas (for both characters and campaigns) that I’ve been holding onto for years and I want to finally actualize some of them. It’s just, like— so games-wise, if I ever got over my nerves and started running stuff again:

1. The campaign I’ve come the closest to actually GMing but keep kicking my feet on is a Changeling chronicle— Changeling being a dark fantasy game about people reclaiming their trauma narrative from the faerie kingdom they were trapped in— with kind of a southern gothic spin. You know, that kind of folklore vibe, but set in the Blue Ridge Mountains and playing with family and place and being queer in a rural small town. This one’s near and dear to my heart, and I already have some people who’ve called dibs on being in it if I ever get my shit together, but I keep stalling out trying to connect some of the dots in my brain.

2. Likewise, my other big Changeling dream campaign is something that plays with the Briarnet lore— the Briarnet being a variant of the liminal faerie borderlands that takes a cyberpunk edge, quite literally being a web of unreality existing in the Internet itself. I don’t know how else to describe it. It rules. Do I have a specific campaign in mind? No! Do I want some y2k-flavored technofaerie bullshit occupying my brainspace more than it already does? Absolutely! And I think it would be a fun crossover with the Hunter books, as your local advocate for Network Zero (the forum guys) being the best monster hunter conspiracy. (Sorry, Knights of St. Adrian, you’re a close second in my heart).

3. Then there’s the Vampire game I’ve been sitting on. Vampires are probably the most self-explanatory of the group, and Requiem has less internal worldbuilding to introduce than Masquerade IMO, making it a decent introductory point for new players, but vampires are also vampires. My dream Vampire game, for years now, has been a murder mystery noir inspired by fuzzy 1970s giallo film aesthetics, where you and the rest of the group are trying to prove your innocence against the murder and diablerie of a prominent elder amongst the kindred. In a perfect world, I’d want this to have enough players where one PC would actually be the true killer, working against everybody else and gradually killing other characters the longer they’re left alive, but PvP campaigns are fairly difficult and prone to more emotional bleed (especially when Vampire is a game with a lot of direct mental manipulation skills) and I haven’t fully worked out how I’d manage it safely. But I want it so bad.

4. And Demon is the game I used to run for ~4 years, and I miss it so so much. It might be my favorite of the games? It’s an espionage thriller that puts angels and demons in sort of a dystopian Matrix conflict, with the God Machine and Its agents being operatives enforcing systems of reality and demons fighting for their independence and free will. The main issue is that I made the rookie mistake of using most of my good ideas for the first campaign, plus the most established canon setting (kisses Splintered City: Seattle on the cheek), so I’ve been struggling to think of what I want to do next.

I think a series of smaller, serialized-crime-show heists would be fun, focused on destabilizing infrastructure and completing one objective. Not my usual style, which leans more politicking and social deduction, but I feel good enough within the system to not be intimidated by a more action-heavy setup, and organized heists are REALLY fun to plan around.

Setting is the hardest part of this one, since I can’t default to Seattle again, but I’ve been considering something drenched in midcentury Cold War aesthetics, playing up those spy thriller angles— whether that’s white-picket suburban American hell or urban Eastern Europe on the edge of collapse. Knowing me, it’d be something grungy and Soviet, but it could go either way.

5. Wild card option— Beast is really unpopular as a gameline for various reasons but I can fix her. I like to advertise her as The Magnus Archives before there were The Magnus Archives: it’s a game about people who are possessed by archetypal embodiments of carnal fears, who are really also just themselves reflected in darkness, which then drive them to hunger. It’s kind of just a media match made in heaven, besides the families not really lining up right. This was actually the first chronicles game I played in, even if I’ve never run it, so I have a soft spot for it and I think it could be fun to do stylish supernatural horror set in 1920s Weimar Germany. Play up the Primordial Dream as a kind of Expressionistic landscape of growing social anxieties. I didn’t take multiple seminars studying German Expressionism and Fritz Lang in college for nothing, and this lets me recycle some, clears throat, unused concepts I was waiting to show off in my old Demon game.

6. And then finally. Sighs loudly. A Victorian-era gothic comedy(?) with Geist also speaks to me, with Geist being a game about should-be-dead people who bargain with Death for more time among the living, have buddy comedy shenanigans with the death spirit keeping their corpse functioning, and ideally do some kind of ghost socialism (I am not joking). This one ranks the lowest because I have absolutely no vision for the plot, just vibes. This is a really bad way of advertising Geist and I promise it’s cool and atmospheric and haunting but sometimes you just want gay dandies having seances and trying to dance around all of their zombie problems to maintain some social decorum.

And like those aren't all of my dreams (Mummy lives rent free in my brain thematically but plotting for Mummy is scary and intimidating; I’ve wanted to do a fucked up splattery survival horror for a while but don’t have a good system in mind; my more unweildy Geist vision is an Underworld campaign traveling to the Ocean of Fragments to find the end of the end; Oops! Aliens, Somehow! despite there not being solid or consistent alien rules), but they’re the ones I go back to most frequently. I really like doing tabletop stuff! I consider myself a solid GM for this system and have a lot of fun playing with it! I want to do it!

But arrrrrRRRGHGGHHHHHhhhhhhhhh manifestation is HARD and my untreated brain stuff has been destroying my wretched being and part of me keeps telling myself i should probably focus more on Curseborne once that all starts coming out for realsies and—

[readwithmeraki]

SHE HAS ISSUES...

Mahi and Nyx in another battle of wit and sass...who's winning?

“You, you…you… lizard! You scared me, what are you doing flitting around while invisible and where did you go earlier leaving me to the wolves alone,” I ask agitated.

“Be quiet! This room is bugged, and I had to leave or Darian would have sniffed me out in a second. I’m lucky stupid Dolly wasn’t with him.”

“Who is Dolly,” I ask out loud my curiosity getting the best of me.

The next minute, I feel something stuffed into my mouth.

“You are going to get yourself killed, speak as I’m doing… on the inside how is that so hard to grasp?”

“It’s freaky,” I grumble, feeling slightly ashamed as he removes the gag.

“Who is Dolly?” I try thinking.

“Fates, could you be any louder?”

“Sorry.”

“Stop it, just think the words, like having an imaginary conversation with your conscience.”

“Oh, I have plenty of those.”

“I figured,” he answers sarcasm overflowing.

“Is this better?” I try again.

“Quite.”

“You know, you sound like some English noble with something up his…”

“Finish that, I dare you.”

“Only your accent is definitely not it.”

“My master moved around a lot when he wasn’t busy in Faery.”

“Speaking off,” I start lying in my bed facing the ceiling, “Tell me more about this master of yours.”

“I’d rather not, I don’t trust you enough, and this place isn’t helping either.”

It is then that I remember the reason we were having this conversation in my head, “Is it just audio or are there cameras as well?”

“Just… don’t do anything weird in here, definitely don’t dress or undress, you never know with these people.”

“That sounds awfully discriminate, what did they do?”

“Only started the biggest war in all of faery history, nothing big.”

“You know sometimes I really can’t tell sarcasm and real with you.”

“It means I’m doing it right.”

“Who is Dolly?” I ask again sprawling on the bed.

“Before I answer that…”

“Which is never.”

“BEFORE I answer that, do you at least have an idea of how to get out of here? Or are you just going to lie there and wait for your non-existent knight in shining armour?”

“Got it, no more questions about Dolly.”

“Look at that, the head is more than just a white curtain.”

“Sodd off! You surly lizard it’s not white, its platinum,” I grumble, turning onto my side away from his general direction.

I wonder what happened with Dolly.

“I can hear that, idiot.”

“Well don’t listen.”

“Shhhhhhh… inside voice woman.”

“Sorry.”

“You are going to die.” He answers in a disgruntled voice.