#urban mystery

[roentare]

Near Duckboard Place

Melbourne mural

Sony A7RV

FE 35mm f1.4 GM

[collarbjt]

SPN 1014

What…a haunted navigation? I like this kind of urban mystery

Dean and witness’s generation gap lol

What…Dean loves his baby soooo much🥹

Those teenagers are crazy

Oh so, the ghost through online???? Wow dangerous wifi

Finally Dean decides about his Mark… well done Dean

[wontonsoupho]

THEN GOD

MADE THEM BLUE

© Artist the Author

PILOT | WHEN THE LEVEES BREAK

THERE’S DEATH on THE BRIDGE of MACABRE

WORD COUNT : 1 , 777 words

TRAUMA WARNING : This episode includes the following triggers; death , mild gore , heavy profanity , suicidal attempt/ideation & PTSD. With FULL DISCLOSURE , PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK.

EPISODE THEMES : Life & Death

WE NEVER TRULY SEE IT COMING , yet it sings our names so profoundly as the bells ring their piercingly dreadful sound that echos amongst the tunnels of our hearing—Death. Much like the flowers at the peak of a wintertime filled with an ambiance of pure rigidity , swathed in an atmosphere so thick and coarse the oxygen feels like poisonous needles forcing themselves within the confines of your realm of respiration. It can also be resemblant to the quietus ivory specs of sorrow that blanket the face of the earth and kills her ever so softly with their freezing embrace , we too shall pass on and wither away in open air. In life , it is ultimately every beating heart's destiny to die. Being that as it may , when alas that moment arises from the ashes bathing in the essence of the phoenix it tastes as bitter as the element of a nasty surprise. Gently placed , when the Angel of Death himself Mr. Grim Reaper appears before us at the hour of our rapture , we in fact are unable to bear witness to his presence. We are however capable of partaking in learning what it truly means ceasing to exist in the physicality of it all. Shackled in trauma on a stormy October night , two unfortunate souls fell under this curse of carnal demise — and only God alone owned the anecdote to save this tandem's lives.

The sole commodity tangible to his murky oceans of vision with cavernous skies had been total and utter darkness. A cold , wet , and lingering tenebrosity that shared flavors with the iron profusely decorating his buccal cavity — tart and royally uncomfortable. Gripping the steering wheel with one blood gushing hand , the other shakily unlocked his cellular getting a slew of the crimson DNA all over its screen and by miracle or maybe even muscle memory dialed a very important phone number. Aside from the minimal luminescence provided by the headlights of his customized obsidian Lamborghini Aventador , the heavy downpour and winds produced a beatdown only a world champion could give further aided in the reason for his panic whilst his heavy foot applied pressure to the gas pedal that resided above the nearly flooded backroad.

He'd been scared shitless , even with veins bursting full of adrenaline he could still feel the stronghold of absolute fear's crippling touch. That , and an entire planet of detrimental cogitations crashed into the interstice of his most sacred cerebration whilst each painstaking moment set adrift a new memory everlasting — there lied no time to contemplate anything. His actual life and vitality depended on this feat. With the amount of chasmic wounds his ethereally created anatomy had been littered in , it was an utter phenomenon how he even managed to escape altogether analogously in one piece let alone drive.

“Hello?”A woman's raspy tone called out quite groggily from being awoken into the surround sound of the butterfly doored sports vehicle he possessed. “Nova it is three in the morning , shouldn't you be-”

“No time to explain Chitty listen to me , I'm losing a lot of blood! Please. Could you go by Mama So's 'n make sure Nani is safe and sound at her grandma's for me? Matter fact just go get her , I don't wanna chance it. Yamileth went ballistic on me and I need to be assured she doesn't try to harm another soul tonight. I dead can't believe this shit-”

“Wait , wait , wait , WHAT?! Why are you blee-how did this-none of this shit is adding up Nova , what the fuck are you talking about?! What do you mean Yami went loca , and what does my niece have to do with it-what about the storm-”

“Leoni! I might fuckin' die tonight , please! I know Yamileth is your sister. Right now the only thing that is important is Yaniis , so I'm gonna need you to pull your shit together and go get my fucking daughter like yesterday!”

“Nova. You’re not-”

“GO!”

“But-”

The annoying loud triplet chirp of Nova's phone dying cut Leoni off short in her stride , she who just so happened to be the sister of his daughter's mother in which he'd been making great efforts to save whilst medias res his own rescue mission.

“FUCK!”

That was the only cogitation singing like a blackbird during its fecund season off the chambers of his comprehension. Because what a fucking tragedy to become of it at the end of the song. Even for the other deplorable anima who's existence figure eighted on the skinniest layers of ice that very moment , tortuously unaware when and if she'd awake to lay sight upon another sun. As she too partook in a hot pursuit of her divinely favored place in this world that dreadful night , her cerebrum was plagued with a stampede of overwhelming rumination and her feet bled gravel mixed with fine shards of glass. Naming her weak would be a sadly mistaken understatement , she'd grown far into the thick of enervation with promises of a complete burn out. Every minuscule iota she blinked in hopes that the all consuming black onyx surrounding her wouldn't crystallize and swallow her whole , every mere second the rain dove from the heavens to kiss the physiognomy of her mother earth giving life to the grounds we tread upon , the not so lucky damsel of the night ran as far as her legs would stretch out and carry her.

As the high speed winds picked up their haste , her developed yet petite frame shifted slightly on the concrete asphalt underneath her bare feet. She wanted to look behind her , in fact she yearned for it but knew that in the end it was most prudent to keep focus ahead the best that she could to have a better chance of survival. Everything felt as if a blur and it grew difficult to properly navigate to her destination at her own volition , her limbs appeared to be on autopilot as they sprinted towards a place unknown to her psyche. Fight or flight instinct fading slowly from each of the exhausted membranes of her encephalon , the strong sprint she began with was starting to ware off — as well for her grip on sanity and reality. She'd been running for so long that she lost track of her place within space and time. Running for her life , this particular familiar face is a far fetch from the imagination of her departure within her mind.

     With the storm surging like an overloaded electrical system it was a mystery how she'd reached it but there she was , just a few feet shy from The Bridge of Macabre. By then , the waters that swayed under the spine of the overpass sloshed and smacked the viaduct head on , and slowly the woman's soaked anatomy found itself standing at the edge teetering between land and water. There were only two options she had presented to her — kill or be killed or otherwise risk an existence of forever looking over her shoulder just to prolong the inevitable. Four years junior her fourth decade under the sun , how much longer could she keep this up before she got sloppy from weariness or tired from having to live such a risky lifestyle? It all seemed very clear to her what course of action to take , and as the waves crashed up and downstream Macabre River only one thought sailed her Seas of Cogitation.

Death will always come before dishonor.

     Blinding headlights inched in from her peripheral eventually stinging her retinas full on , proving it difficult for her to decipher whether they were real or not due to her growing further and further into delirium. On approach , the very familiar foreign coupe rolled its passenger five percent tinted window down where a face just the same came into view. Gaging the stick shift into park , the driver of the car began to speak up to her.

“Xolani  , what are you doin' out hea' it's a storm!”

     Looking up to the sky , Xolani felt the heavy precipitation and zephyr sweep over her , a sudden calm chilling every pore until she broke out in goosebumps. Pivoting at one eighty , she glared at he who'd spoken to her with hazy vision not really knowing exactly what to say. Because , what was there to say? The trauma between these two ran deeper than bleeding ink traveling throughout threads of cotton fabric.

“Why do you care Xodus? You never cared-”

“I always fuckin' cared fuck you talkin' 'bout?”

“No you didn't! You drove me away and then they took me , only God can save me now.”

“What's that's supposed to mean Goapel-the fuck you got goin' on right now?” Xodus questioned whilst coughing up blood.  “Fuck-”

“Elijah-”

“C'mon Lani , get in. I'm on the way to the hospital 'n as you can see we don't have time to spare.”

     She hadn't noticed it then but , Xodus had been painted with deep stab wounds , and profusely leaking his life essence all over his fresh white tee and gray sweatpants. That was just the reassurance she needed to know this experience was actually happening and was not just some influenced hallucination from the high of her brush with death. Swiftly as remotely possible , Goapele joined Xodus in his Lamborghini Aventador slamming the butterfly door shut. She took a few moments to examine the situation and come to an understanding on the condition he was in.

“Xodus Elijah , what have you gotten yourself into now boy? We need to switch seats , you're losing entirely too much blood.” Xolani chastised him before deciding to help. She did her best to pull his near three hundred pound stature from driver to passenger , but he'd been of no assistance as his breathing began to mirror the tempo of the percussionist beating his heart. “How did you get yourself into this predicament?”

That was the last question Xolani ever got to ask in her life. A second later , the levees holding the overflow of Macabre River — which allotted for a third of the city's land — broke just east up the bank. A tsunami like mass flood hit the streams and surrounding lands sinking them under. One moment both souls were in route to salvation upon Death's Bridge , the next the two were swallowed by the currents of the rapture. Their lungs filled with the very resource needed to sustain their lives , and true euphoria was bestowed upon all six of their senses engulfing them in utopia. Below the waves of Macabre Bridge sank the bodies of Goapele Scott and Xodus Casanova , then God made them BLUE.

•

Hello my favorite little heauxs , I hope you’re all well today! I wrote this episode a month or so ago and released it on Wattpad on 02/01/2023 , so I’m premiering it here on the fifteenth and I want keep a similar odd week pattern in mind for the schedule. I know there isn’t much intel and it may be a bit vague and or cryptic but trust me when I say that every event will fold together like an envelope as my baby girl develops. Feel free to comment your thoughts , concerns , and opinions below , and remember that if you like her to repost her cause she’s a bad bitch 😉. P. S. IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED TO THE TAGLIST CLICK THE HYPERLINK ABOVE HERE. Thank you so much for joining me and my friends in the Artiverse , we hope to see you again.

… DID YOU HEAR WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK ON THEN GOD MADE THEM BLUE ?

EPISODE 1 | SEEING GHOSTS (PREMIERE — 04/21/2023)

[anim-ttrpgs]

"My Glasses!" investigator Trait from Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy. Every investigator has 3 to 6 Traits!

[octobelus]

hey if you want to solve mysteries as a genius detective, bumbling idiot, super powerful predator, deeply traumatized weirdo, Normal Guy, or some combination of the above, check out the ttrpg Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy

development is ongoing, but in its current state my character got to trigger a cascade of dramatic reveals and worsening mental health among the party where it turned out 3/5 of them were living dolls while a dead body lay at their feet and the only human was covered in its brains. I haven't played ttrpgs in yearsss and this was a hilarious way to come back to it!

[radiantcircle-if]

The Radiant Circle

The Radiant Circle is a work-in-progress contemporary fantasy interactive novel with elemental magic, a heavy hand of romance, and a salt-sprinkle of mystery. The story is rated 18+ and may contain triggering content for some.

↪ introduction (updated 7/22/24) ⟢ demo (upcoming fall/winter)

You were born without any magic into a long lineage of sorcerers who serve the Night Circle—a division of the Radiant Circle, the central governing body that maintains order among sorcerers. Even now when you live outside of the magical community, you’re still required to report to the local leadership about the magic you still don’t have.

Of course, only after having accepted a life without magic, you awaken a latent magical power too great to be yours. Myths speak of such a sorcerer, a Resonant Soul capable of mastering all four elements, reincarnated throughout history to bring balance to the magic community. So little is truly known, but that can’t be you.

But what if it is?

Thankfully, as an investigative journalist, what you do best is hunt for the truth. To unravel the secrets of your soul, you’re forced back into the world of sorcery to navigate ancient rivalries and contend with those who may fear your newfound power and seek to bury it for good. 

Because while most didn't believe the myths to be true, others have been preparing for your return. Most of all? You four souls bonded to yours for eternity.

Play as the main character ⟢

Choose your name, appearance, gender, and sexuality.

Develop your personality as a harmonizer or disruptor—will you bring unity or will you bring destruction?

Gain mastery over elemental magic as the Resonant Soul—how much mastery in each element is up to you.

Travel the world while earning or losing influence through your decisions—will your reputation precede you or will you remain unknown?

Five romance options ⟢

Two pansexual men, one lesbian, and two gender-selectable romance options... and a hidden sixth romance option... with the potential for more to unlock later.

Four soulmates who will be revealed over the course of the story—your bonds, whether platonic or romantic, are yours to develop.

And if you don’t like romance, you can improve your friendships instead.

Or if you’re a misanthrope, deteriorate all your relationships to your liking.

Good endings? Check. Bad endings? Also check.

You ✦ 26-year-old journalist from Seattle, USA (ℹ) Rejected by the magical community because your magic never awakened, you once sought to understand why before later turning to a career of journalism to attempt to uncover truths that don’t have to do with magic. Your dissertation was titled “Unveiling the Hidden: A Comparative Study of Secret Societies and Their Influence on Modern Media." After landing your dream job as an investigative journalist, you're returning home to Seattle for your assignment.

⟡ tropes include main character (surprise! you're the main character), insider/outsider, the most wanted (because you are a…), person of mass destruction, (possible) living legend, (possible) lust object, (seemingly) cosmic plaything…

Arseau Nassiet ⟡ High Justicar 31-year-old water sorcerer (he/him) from Seattle, USA (ℹ) A talented water sorcerer, your older brother Arseau is well loved within the Night Circle's upper echelons, but he'd never brag about it. He has been away from home for over a decade, raising ranks within the circle alongside his best friend. He coordinates his visit home with yours during the holidays so he can see his favorite younger sibling (never mind that he has only one sibling—you).

⟡ tropes include protective older brother, brainless beauty (yeah, he's a himbo), the caregiver/caretaker, the confidant (if you want), the informant, nice guy (someone has to keep the peace between the Pico brothers), the reliable one...

César Pico (RO) ⟡ Archumbricar 31-year-old earth sorcerer (he/him) from Tijuana, MX (ℹ) One of the highest ranking earth sorcerers in the world, César is seen as the unofficial heir of the current Night Luminary—and he takes the role seriously. As your brother's best friend, he has been a permanent fixture in your life as far as you remember—another persistent reminder of the magic that has remained inaccessible to you and the community that left you behind. He's at least an attractive reminder, even if it's unfortunate that his rare smirk proves that he knows it.

⟡ tropes include the hero, the cold & brooding heir, older brother's best friend/forbidden love, age gap, opposites attract, danger deadpan, glory hound, tall dark & handsome (obviously) ⟡ solo-route (with a possible rivalry with his brother), borderline enemies to lovers, (possible first love), forced proximity, maybe the slowest burn

Rafa Pico (RO) ⟡ High Justicar 27-year-old fire sorcerer (he/him) from Tijuana, MX (ℹ) The younger brother of César....and also his left hand man even though he doesn't take his position within the Night Circle very seriously. He doesn't take anything very seriously except his freedom. Especially his freedom to flirt his way into anyone's good graces.

⟡ tropes include the explorer, the charming playboy, childhood/long time friend, (his) unrequited crush (on you), the (horny) bard, speed demon, hell seeker, elegant classical musician... ⟡ solo-route (with a possible rivalry with his brother), friends to lovers but he never really saw you as a friend, forced proximity, slow burn

Gazi Gharib (RO) ⟡ Photojournalist 28-year-old (she/her or he/him) from New York City, USA (ℹ) Your roommate and best friend ever since you moved to NYC, they're always ready to help you investigate something new and dangerous.

⟡ tropes include the innocent, the best friend, the encouraging charmer, the serial romeo, the casanova, agent mulder (the believer), empathetic communicator, spirited competitor, the klutz ⟡ solo-route or poly-route with Deniz, besties to lovers (and you can start at the lover bit if you'd like cause this one is a...), faaaaaast burn

Deniz Yılmaz (RO) ⟡ Private Investigator 26-year-old (he/him or she/her) from Istanbul, TR (ℹ) Your next-door-neighbor and childhood best friend. You haven't kept in close contact, but they're the first person you think of seeing when you visit home.

⟡ tropes include the jester, agent scully (the skeptic), street-smart investigator, hardboiled detective, erudite stoner, literal-minded/snark knight combo, childhood friends, loyal supporter, gadgeteer genius ⟡ solo-route or poly-route with Gazi, childhood friends (or was it more?) to lovers, (possible second chance romance...), somewhere between slow and fast burn

Dr. Noel Sung (RO) ⟡ Journalist 41-year-old (she/her) from London, UK (ℹ) Your graduate school mentor who you credit for preparing you to land a job at The New York Times as prestigious as it is. She's now your direct supervisor, and she has quite the assignment for you.

⟡ tropes include the magician, high-powered career woman, absent-minded professor(/former forbidden love?), age gap, charismatic intellectual, intuitive leader, pragmatic idealist, deadpan snarker, determinator, shrinking violet, (your possible unrequited crush on her goes here)… ⟡ solo-route, workplace romance (technically; she's your boss now), slow burn

An ancient, hidden society of sorcerers ⟢

The Radiant Circle is the central governing body that maintains harmony and order among sorcerers, as well as keep their community secret. It was originally formed and led by the Resonant Soul (called the High Guardian—this is you) and the most powerful elemental sorcerers of the time (called the Founding Guardians—these are the four souls bonded to you) as an alliance of sorcerers from across the New Kingdom of Egypt.

After its formation, the magical community grew, and eventually, the Radiant Circle was divided into four smaller regional circles called the Ephemeral Circles: the Night Circle (you know the most about this one), the Dawn Circle, the Day Circle, and the Dusk Circle. These four circles, also called luminariates, are the main governing bodies of the current world of sorcery. Every known family of sorcerers lives under the eye of the Radiant Circle and one of the four Ephemeral Circles.

Only the Resonant Soul can be the High Guardian of the Radiant Circle. Only the four souls bonded with Resonant Soul can be the Founding Guardians. During periods where the Resonant Soul or the Guardians aren’t alive, these positions are left vacant and the Ephemeral Circles meet as the Radiant Council annually instead. Unfortunately, it's been so long since there has been a Resonant Soul that there aren't many people left who remember who sits at the top of the hierarchy.

You live as a Threshold—an uninitiated sorcerer, typically a child who can't use magic yet—within the luminariate called the Night Circle. You sit at the bottom of the hierarchy, but every other sorcerer you know? César is an Archumbricar, the right hand of the Night Luminary and leader of the Night Circle. Arseau and Rafa are César's High Justicars, his right and left hands. Your dads even play a role, advising the Luminary from their position in the Night Weave.

A single soul that can control all four elements, reincarnated once again—you ⟢

Before you became the Resonant Soul, you were a child born without magic to two prominent sorcerers sometime before recorded human history begins. Back then, it was common to put the child of every sorcerer through a resonance ritual, even children of sorcerers born without magic who always died in the process. But where there's a will, there's a way, and someone really wanted you to live and created circumstances that bound your souls together—one into endless reincarnation and the other into endless immortality.

You meet the four original Guardians over the course of hundreds of years. Your bonds are unique and have chained the fate of their souls with yours so that they are reincarnated in an endless cycle by your side. Even so, you've lived more lives without them than with them, lived more lives without magic than with it. Almost as if you're fighting a losing battle against knowing your true soul.

Only the Resonant Soul can resonate with all four types of elemental magic, but your magic remains locked away until you regain your memories (how're you supposed to regain memories you don't remember you need to regain? then again, how safe would it be to give you all that power and no recollection of all the mistakes you've made?). The Guardians are known for their extraordinary abilities in one element; their magic isn't sealed away, only their memories (which still isn't convenient—how are you supposed to know who they are if they don't know who they are?).

⟢ retweets & asks are welcome! there is no better writing motivation ♡

〉 Sections: Profiles, Editorials, Articles, Ask Me, Answers, Quotes

[tsutsumi-kurose]

*orpheus and eurydices your mitsukou*

[lyss-butterscotch]

People who hop on trains with no bags no satchels no nothin but the clothes on their back and whatever the hell fits in your pockets.

You scare me.

What are you doing. Are you just casually hopping between areas and cities like youre rounding the block? Travelling? Are you not paranoid over what you might need away from home?

[roentare]

Alton Oil Refinery

Sony A7RV

FE 200-600mm f5.6-6.4

[collarbjt]

SPN 314 second run

I love the episodes about urban mystery and haunted machine/techs.

Oh John’s voice… I’m ambivalent. Whatever…don’t be a Thing or ghost, John.

Dean is still too devoted? Good boy to John……. His blind faith is definitely due to John. It’s a fake John, Dean!!! You’ve noticed that the old guy already died after he kept receiving the calls from his died high school lover.

I love that company worker extra, he’s kinda cute…well, I already know he died in this ep😭

Oh…. That dirty sucker called a father with his deceased child’s voice…way-over the line.

Well… Crocotta’s death is kinda gross but funny scene

Dean is scared about death after 1 yr deadline…well don’t worry boy, angels(especially the Thursday one)were watching over you.lol

[anim-ttrpgs]

A quickly doodled fan comic from @umbraldame featuring a thing from beyond A.K.A. "The Blanket" and her ability to absorb not only nutrition but information from the people she digests! That would be pretty handy for investigating a mystery, if you could get past the question of morality.

This is one of the five playable monster types in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, and a fan favorite around here!

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is still crowdfunding on kickstarter from now until 2:00 PM CST on Friday, May 10th! Back it before it's too late!

If you want to try before you buy, you can download a free demo of the prerelease version from our website or our itch.io page!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[ominous-feychild]

✦ MY WRITEBLR INTRODUCTION ✦

Hey! I've been here for a while and I've somehow amassed a shocking amount of followers and mutuals, so I figured it's finally time for me to force one of these out for you guys!

(And you know... a masterpost... when I get around to it. 😅😭)

About me:

✦ Barlowe (she/her)

✦ In my early 20s

✦ A writer of 10 years ✦ working on novels for 6 of 10!

✦ Less dedicated to—but still interested in!—drawing, animation, photography, and cinematography

✦ AuDHD and a grey lesbian (aka I'm leaning asexual) ✦ (my writing may or may not be a special interest)

✦ I have a whole bunch of other neurodivergencies besides AuDHD but I don't think y'all want me to get into all of them, haha. ✦ oh, and I say "haha" a lot. I apologize in advance.

✦ I think I'm hilarious and make jokes constantly

✦ I use a lot of emojis and tone tags to help convey tone. Please forgive me if it's annoying, it's to cope with my inability to communicate. /lh /hj

Masterlists:

✦ General ✦ Worldbuilding ✦ Sun and Shadow ✦ The Arcane Rifts ✦ Rising From the Ashes

(will be added eventually)

My Obsessions:

✦ Fantasy, horror, mystery, action, and exploration of realistic characters' reactions to the things they go through.

✦ Fairy tales, mythology, and folklore

✦ "Ye Olde History" and language

✦ DIVERSITY!!!

✦ Explorations of "evil-coded" characters and abilities--aka, not just showing them as evil. Show them as people (for characters) and tools (for abilities)!

✦ Traumatizing my characters just like I've been

✦ Traumatizing my characters in ways I haven't been!

✦ Learning!!!

✦ Talking way too much about the things I like to the point that I need to make a whole separate post to share it so it doesn't clutter my intro post... oh, hey, why is this linked?

✦ THE AESTHETIC!!!!

My Aesthetics:

Those who've been following me for a bit probably know that I adore "the aesthetic" and try to make my posts look nice... even if there's no real reason to besides that it gives me a little serotonin. Here's my favorite aesthetics!

✦ Starry; night sky ✦ Dawn / dusk ✦ Sunrise / sunset

✦ Nature! ✦ Forestry ✦ Cottagecore ✦ Rustic ✦ Ocean

✦ Literally all of them, please and thank you

My Writing:

✎ Sun and Shadow

Everything goes wrong for Freya Ula when she leaves her simple life as a fisherwoman to get engaged overseas. Her ship gets wrecked, she finds out her dad's been hiding secrets from her for her whole life, and, oh, she gets framed for a terrorist attack. Wait, WHAT!? After the city's greatest detective is attacked and disappears before she could consult with him, Frey has to enlist the help of his kid and her would-be fiancée to find out who framed her and clear her name. If only Crow was half as good a detective their dad was supposed to be.

Main characters: Freya, Crow, Daleira

✦ Urban-esque high fantasy ✦ purposely very tropey in places ✦ however, as always, I love throwing in curveballs. Wonder what's played straight and what I'm going to emotionally destroy you with. Definitely won't be Crow.

✦ Slow-burn romance between Frey and Crow ✦ immediate interest between Frey / Daleira ✦ oh, look, it's a love triangle? ✦ JOKE'S ON YOU, IT'LL ACTUALLY BE POLY ✦ it's just... going to take a while.

✦ Lesbians, lesbians everywhere ✦ though Crow is actually genderfluid and uses they/them for the first book ✦ despite barely having anything written I've already plotted a bit of book 2 ✦ I desperately need help.

✦ Unsurprisingly is a detective mystery with action mixed in ✦ I'm not typically a romance writer, I excel in action fantasy ✦ please have mercy on my soul

✦ Lots of magic, it's high fantasy + victorian aesthetic ✦ (aka "gaslamp fantasy" if you've heard of it) ✦ Frey's got sun-themed magic ✦ gasp, I know ✦ Crow's got shadow magic ✦ wonder why this sounds familiar ✦ Daleira's got, hm, well it's also shadowy! ✦ spoilers 😘

✦ About to be updated en-masse for a writing contest!!!

✎ The Arcane Rifts

Ghosts of past tragedies haunt the town of Kavo after decades of neglect. Fantastical creatures desiring nothing but fear and destruction hide in invisible tears in reality. Gangs and the police are at constant war with one another, there's a shapeshifting monster running amok, and the mayor's assistant suddenly wants a disabled orphan kicked to the streets. A year ago, Gene was discovered in the forest on the outskirts of town, half dead, amnesiac, and unable to even speak the local language. As he had nowhere to go, he was brought to the orphanage of Kavo for a place to stay. Now Caspar, the assistant of the mayor and the man who funds the orphanage, wants him kicked out. When Gene's left to the cold, cruel streets of Kavo on his own, he has to navigate through a town ravaged by decades of neglect and intrigue. Has the corruption truly been purged from the government? Why are godly forces active in Kavo, a small town in a backwater country? And most importantly--will Gene survive?

Main Characters: Gene, Tazin, Mislav, Ludmila, Rada ❧ Gene and Tazin for book 1 ❧ the other 3 start being MCs books 2 and 3 ❧ I guess Nikolai is also a MC tho

❧ Industrial-era rustic high fantasy ❧ mixes fantasy, action, horror, and mystery! ❧ oh helloooooo "ominous feychild" origin? ❧ very strong folkloric and traditional fantasy inspo ❧ except I mean "traditional fantasy" as in ❧ "we don't understand this magic stuff but we're used to it" ❧ not "travel the world adventures!"

❧ VERY involved story with strong themes of discrimination, poverty, exploitation, trauma, and the recovery from trauma ❧ each main and secondary character is one flavor of discriminated against or another in-universe ❧ obviously I try to write it respectfully, but you can't really write bigots being bigots "respectfully"

❧ Has two "main plots" going on simultaneously; technically three ❧ I periodically give the reader updated "character guides" ❧ like they get more recent plot info added kinda like a red-string board to keep you, the audience, up-to-date with info you might've otherwise missed ❧ I think it's really cool and people seem to enjoy it ❧ I know it seems like a lot but please give it a chance

❧ I've literally plotted out pretty much the entirety of the first and second books, and know most of how book 3 will go, yet there's very little out for the current version of the story ❧ part of that is because I'm paused on the 3rd draft

❧ There's lots of timeskips throughout the first two books, but they're mostly to age up the protagonists! Gene, the MC, starts the series at 7. I promise it's not a kid's story though.

❧ The "secondary MC", Nikolai, is the police chief investigating magical stuff going on at the same time. They tie in with the main story involving Gene, though won't appear to for a long while.

❧ The "golden child" series I love more than SaS; however it's on hiatus because I promised people to work on SaS first and SaS is more popular as a romance-focused story. :/ ❧ I would never be salty about that.

Taglist:

For everything: @honeybewrites @the-golden-comet @illarian-rambling @ashirisu @urnumber1star

@the-letterbox-archives @48lexr @aalinaaaaaa @thecomfywriter

For Worldbuilding: @paeliae-occasionally

For Sun and Shadow: @mysticstarlightduck @paeliae-occasionally

For the Arcane Rifts: @paeliae-occasionally

For Rising From the Ashes: N/A

To be tagged in tag games: @honeybewrites @aalinaaaaaa

Ask and ye shall be added

Divider by @cafekitsune

[roentare]

Mirror Room in Federation Square

Sony A7RV

FE 20-70mm f4 G

[witchblood-if]

“A Macigian never reveals their secrets. A Witch even less so.”

Well, you had a good run. For the last 70 or so years that you've had your little shop in Esmar's capital, nothing overly exciting happened. Apart from the occasional political changes and economical shifts, you could mostly carry on business as usual. But when the Fae calling herself your "best and only friend" invites you to pull a heist on your rival's home you didn't realize what effect that stunt would have on your immortal life. But damn, you really wanted that statue back.

Play Demo

Witch Blood is an upcoming urban fantasy interactive fiction story where you take on the role of one of the last proper witches of Esmar, hoping to resolve a very time-sensitive mystery that might cost you your own life if you don’t get on with the investigation soon.

Does it have to do with random people’s head exploding?

Is this the reason you seem to have more prophetic dreams than usual?

Why are there so many strangers storming into your shop demanding answers you couldn’t possibly know?

And why does your familiar keep eating your receipts? You need those for your taxes!

Create your very own witch. Appearance, personality, gender and sexuality...  All that Jazz

Choose a furry (or non-furry) companion for your immortal life

Become a master of 5 witchy skills that may or may not help you along the road

Keep your business afloat (you got bills to pay, after all)

Solve a mystery, save a bunch of people, and meet the Gods (???)

Find love, friendship, or rivalry (or maybe all three of them at the same time) with 5 different people who will. Not. Leave. You. Alone.

And for the love of the Gods: please stop spitting coins

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So far it will probably be a 16+ kind of rating for:

Mentions of violence, blood and gore

Strong language, cursing

Suggestive language

but things might change. I’ll keep you updated in any case.

The Best Friend: Faith (f)

Flirty and flighty, Faith is certainly living her best life. And while she’s not always the most reliable of friends, she always shows up for your weekly tea and gossip session (and more often than not with baked goods as well). If you’re looking for a fun night out: Faith is your gal. Don’t ask how she pays for all of it without having a job though.

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The Knight in Shining Armor: Isaac (m)

A stranger visiting your shop and ... flirting with you? Thankfully you’ve lived long enough to see through his ploy and stay unaffacted to his charms. Mostly. With a quick smile, a stance almost too relaxed and some really suspicious questions you can’t quite get a read on him. And you have the feeling he is also not really a tourist interested in your special sale items.

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The Loyal Advisor: Eli (f/m/nb)

Another stranger. This one seems much more honest than the last one but somehow you haven’t decided yet if you appreciate that or not. They say there is a problem their employer has sent them to hopefully solve and after some extensive research you seemed to be the least untrustworthy person of your craft to potentially help. You can’t quite tell from their stoic face if that sentence was supposed to be a compliment, a joke or very subtle sarcasm. But the pay they offer is nothing to turn your nose up at and you’ve worked for way shadier people.

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The Crazy Mushroom: Mezilkree (f/m/nb)

Mezilkree has been a frequent visitor of yours for quite some years. Mostly they just hang out at your shop and try to scare potential customers. When you try to make them leave they declare they are a customer, throw a bottle cap on your counter and shove a handful of candy from the jar you keep for kids in their mouth. Sometimes they even do buy something if they’re on an errand for their family, but as their community grows more and more resentful of non-mushrooms this occasion becomes rarer and rarer. In the many years of botherment, you have found Mezilkree to be a mischievous but sweet troublemaker. Some of the time, at least.

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The Other Witch: Levan (nb)

An Enemy. A Fiend. Your Immortal Rival. Most of the time you and Levan stay clear of each other, as is agreed upon in your Contract of Geniality. But now they have decided to steal a very valuable artifact you have spent months on locating. At least you’re pretty sure it was them, who else would be skilled enough to enter your home. Even though you don’t particularly get along, Levan is a witch you have known for the longest of time. But because of their spiteful nature and (admittedly somewhat deserved) arrogance you have long decided to avoid them, lest you burn down the whole town in a fit of anger. They really know how to push your buttons.

ROs Physical Appearance 

Witch Types

Demo

#ro ask ----> Scenarios and asks including all ROs

#ros ----> unspecific general info about ROs

#ch: [name] ----> info about that RO, often paired with #ros

#ch: carter ----> facts and info and rambling about the author

#mc ----> anything to do with your character, customization and so on

#lore and #lore ask ----> anything that’s about worldbuilding

#story and story ask ----> anything to do with plot

#lovely ocs ----> readers showing off their ocs

#lovely readers ----> lovely words from lovely people

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Hello my lovelies! This is a first attempt at Interactive Fiction, and on an even more important to note: a first real attempt at writing. I hope it doesn’t suck too much! Also please forgive orthographic and grammatical errors, English isn’t my first language :) (if you see something, say something tho)

Currently the prologue is in the works and will face some editing and expanding.

Until then,

Love, Carter

[anim-ttrpgs]

Our first official original TTRPG, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is planned for kickstarter launch late 2023/early 2024!

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is an original, fully fledged, 200-page 2d6 TTRPG from The Agency of Narrative Intrigue and Mystery inspired by The X-Files, Kolchak: The Nightstalker, and much more!

Eureka features investigation mechanics that let players take initiative, use their characters’ unique strengths to find clues, and deduce conclusions themselves rather than to just walking into a room and roll Investigate.

Failed Rolls are not the End!

The Eureka! mechanic accumulates points throughout the adventure that can be used to help prevent investigators from getting totally stuck, but also a reward investigators for solving the mystery without ever getting stumped, because these points can be saved for life-or-death situations instead!

Tactical Combat!

High-stakes realistic combat can end lives in seconds through deep strategy that encourages careful thinking and allows for complex maneuvers. Thoughtful positioning, understanding of one’s surroundings, and having the right weapon for the job play as much of a role in victory as a character’s stats, if not more, which is good, because most of these PCs will not be larger-than-life action heroes!

Roleplay-driven Mechanics, and Mechanic-driven Roleplay!

Player characters’ personalities and ideals determine many of their gameplay mechanics, giving each character a totally unique way to play through Eureka! This won’t get confusing though, as all of these different mechanics use the same underlying systems that are easy to understand! Changing characters won’t require you to completely relearn the game!

Man-eating Monsters Hiding in Plain Sight!

 As investigators face off against metaphorical (or sometimes literal) monsters, the rare investigator may literally be a monster themselves, and keeping it secret from the other players while having to sate their sinister hunger is a game of intrigue all its own.

Extreme Versatility!

Eureka is designed to be able to run (just about) any adventure module set between about 1850 and the present day with hardly any adjustments to either the system or the module, no matter what system that module was originally made for! Investigation, action, survival-horror, you name it, Eureka can run it!

Player-driven investigation, a rewarding system for solving mysteries themselves, realistic high-stakes combat, gameplay determined by roleplay, and inter-party deception are all features you can look forward to in Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy.

Launch is still a ways off, but it doesn’t hurt to get the word out early!

Follow this blog to stay up to date on our launch preparations!

[jessread-s]

✩🕯️📜Series Review:

Core concepts

⋆ The Atlas Six - Physics

⋆ The Atlas Paradox - Psychology

⋆ The Atlas Complex - Philosophy

“The Atlas” series is so much more than dark academia or romance. This series studies what happens to human beings when they are promised access to infinite knowledge and power. It is about how quickly we turn on each other and abandon our own morals to gain. said knowledge and power. Each installment blew me away as I watched Blake’s six protagonists gradually find and/or destroy themselves. My mind was continuously expanded by her prose and it made me question my every decision. It’s a soul crushing read, but perhaps also a necessary one.

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

@torpublishinggroup @olivieblake