#I feel like anytime there’s one main plot that all the ghosts are pretty involved in the episode ends up being so so good

[thecryptidbard]

Just finally got to watch the new Halloween Ghosts episode and oh my god this might truly have been The Most Episode of Television of all time.

[merrock]

HAPPY FIRST OF AUGUST!

Just as fast as June went by, July flew by right after, and now we're in August! A hot, hot month, but thankfully we have fun things happening in our little town, and some stuff that we want to go over as mods, as well, that we think is pretty important! So, you know the drill. Read on!

HAPPENING IN AUGUST:

trivia night (august 6) -- for anyone who signed up, our trivia night will be happening at The Mirage on August 6th! We will be taking sign-ups still for a few more days, and although this isn't a huge IC event, it should be fun OOC to see how it turns out!

town-wide yard sale & classic car cruise-in (august 12 - 14) -- a fun way to just get out and have some fun with your neighbors, not to mention unloading your junk!

end of summer pool party (august 21 - 27) -- join everyone in town as they wind down summer with one last hurrah at the merrock public pool! adult swim every night after 8pm, with lots of fun happening during the day for the kiddos, as well.

mini events -- on August 3rd, we will be having Watermelon Day at the farmer's market! There's also the 1st day of school on August 29th, and eat outside day takes place on August 31st for anyone who really likes to picnic.

EXTRA BIT OF FUN:

This month’s development resource is all about music and how it relates to your character with our very first playlist challenge! As usual, this can be done anytime, but we are introducing it to our stockpile for the month of August. Might be fun to challenge yourself with! We will also have a task coming up later this month that has to do with our one year anniversary. Exciting! Stay tuned.

RULE CHANGES & REMINDERS:

as usual, I am asking that you please take a few moments to read over our rules -- just to refamiliarize yourself!

please do the leg work when it comes to your activity! don’t expect everyone to only come to you: reach out to others for plots, respond to plot calls, say hey to an old friend, ask someone for something new if a thread feels stale or outdated rather than ghosting them. it feels good!

& reply to open starters! we have made notes of who we do and do not see doing this, and would prefer avoiding handing out warnings. we want this group to be inclusive and foster a wide variety of interactions to discourage bubble roleplaying in any way. we have amazing characters -- you never know what could shake out!

our messages are always open for you to chat or ask for help or bring something to our attention, but if you need something that requires us to be logged into main and at a computer (some examples would be an unfollow, a development page addition, a hiatus request, an update to your bio, etc.), please send it to the ask box. it allows us, as a team, to set a boundary where we aren’t expected to be online 24/7, and helps us help you by having everything in our inbox that needs taken care of.

last little thing -- triggers should be tagged as “trigger tw” for ease of use. this includes dash and ooc interactions. (ex: blood tw, cancer tw)

THINGS BEHIND THE SCENES:

late august marks our one year anniversary of being open! at least for our soft opening. we're so grateful for everyone who has joined our group along the way, whether it was way back then, or during our wide opening this spring! and we're so excited to see what our second year has in store for all of us!

as we teased last month, we do have a little something that will probably be starting in september and should get some NPCs involved in the game (outside of the Benefactor, and less interactive, just kind of there for fun). stay tuned for more information, but Lindsey and I are excited!

another new location will be coming soon ish! we had two planned for july, but life got a little hectic, and I decided it made more sense to open up towards the cooler months, anyway. but it’s not forgotten, and I think that it will be a really fun nostalgia-inducing place the locals will love.

to give you a ‘free preview’ at the month ahead, we’ll be having our Sunflower Festival, with a fun added bonus of a music fest being thrown in there! Creek Fest, which is our annual fall festival will be happening, as well (don’t worry, it’s totally different from Sunflower Festival), and we’ll see the ushering in of fall and in true Maine fashion... another lobster day!

Overall, we are very pleased with our first (almost!) year here in the group, and have loved writing and creating and growing, and think that we’re going to have an amazing year ahead! I know that we can sound like broken records with reminders to reply to starters, not to drop a lot of threads, to reach out to others, to watch activity... but it’s because we truly love this group and our group of writers, and want to see this place continue to thrive for a very long time, and we hope that you understand that, and thank you for making this place amazing.

Let’s make it a great August! xx

[axemetaphor]

im definitely not ripping off my friend by making a list of au ideas i have no siree //gonna slap this under a readmore cause i. well i say a lot. all of the time. i tried so hard to format this Good but tumblr fucked me up i am so sorry

so first-off i know i already have one WIP AU (Auckland) on ao3 so i wont talk about That one cause like. spoilers. i actualyl have it like 80% created so its likely gonna truly get finished for once and i dont wanna ruin shit

the other one ive posted about is something me and ben (catgirlrepublic) have worked on together its not at all close to done or anything but it's. a fun little crossover. Between jdate and my fuckinuhm. Original characters story “Untitled Villains Project”. the sketches of the comic version ive started is actually my pinned post 👉👈 its like the first chunk of the story, i think half of part 1? yea.

Tldr john fucking Somehow is able t oget into contact with a certain curious scientist from another reality who’d just love to study the Soy Sauce, most certainly not for her own nefarious purposes

John and Dave meet up with the scientist, her name is Boss, and her lab assistant, Toxic, and after a bit of a preliminary Vibe Check where john determines her trustworthy (which Dave doesnt agree with,) the two agree to be taken to the world UVP is set in. from there they stay in Boss’s lab (big old fucking abandoned military lab). John and Toxic are fast friends due to mutual love-of-chaos. John n Dave get to fuckin, camp out on an air mattress.

The day after they arrive, the two get split up, not exactly intentionally; big plot points of UVP are liek. Fueled by Boss sending Toxic to go fetch her “research materials,” which are usually important artifacts

Fuckin side note i guess i have to explain my dumb bullshit: Boss’s, uh, field of expertise so to speak is actually fckin, basically the scientific study of magic and superpowers n shit like that. This shit’s all real in that world. Toxic’s got fuckin superpowers, so do 4 other main characters, whatever. It’s got a bit to do with spirituality, iss Boss’s hypothesis. So she has Toxic fetch important artifacts that might have “energies” to them. The thing is actually way more fuckin complictated than that, this is just Boss’s initial hypothesis.

Motherfucking anyways. So Boss gives Toxic a job to do, and John get excited about how Cool that sounds, and ends up going with Toxic, leaving Boss and Dave alone. Neither is thrilled about this. But Dave and Boss get to have a bit of conversation (while Toxic and John are off bonding and having a good time) and come to a… mutual grudging understanding of some kind. They still dont like each other though lmao

Theres gonna be deeper shit going on but we havent sorted it out yet/tbh havent like Written For It in a while but i still like thinking about it a lot lol

Also pretty sure our endgame is john and dave steal toxic and bring them back with em lmao boss is kind of not nice and toxic would most certainly be better off in Undisclosed. Actually theyd fucking love it. Theyd become a local cryptid im sure. Undisclosed’s mothman is a teleporting spike baby.

I have. Another crossover AU that i might. Post something about for halloween? Maybe? If i have it finished?

Crosses over into, you guessed it, another one of my original-character projects. God, am i vain or something?

I promise this is just because i think blue and dave should get to team up to beat up some monsters

Quick briefing on my fuckinuh. Original character story, this one doesnt have a name (yet? Idk lol my work never actually goes anywhere sso who gives a shit). It centers around two grim reapers, Red (26, bi woman) and Blue (22, aroace agender asshole). In this reality or whatever, grim reapers function kind of like low-level office workers. They get told who’s going to die + when by some middle-management types, and upper management only involve themselves when punishment needs to be doled out. These Higher-Ups can be seen as analogous to Korrok; they’re decidedly not human, never were, and fucking terrifyingly powerful. Additionally, grim reapers are sort of .. designed to be “background noise” people. In reality theyre supernatural beings and, uh, look Real Fuckin Weird (the whole deal has a neon aesthetic im terrible at drawing uwu) but most humans just perceive them like extras in a movie. A body’s there but the camera’s not focused on it.

To the narrative: the shit starts when Red n Blue get relocated to Undisclosed. Relocation is something that just happens every now and then to reapers; they usually work in teams, but they get split up into different cities to avoid any strong bonds forming (a counter-union strategy from the Higher-Ups).

Red, Blue, John and Dave end up running into each other for the first time in a McDonalds where John n Dave are getting some 4am “hey, we just survived another horrific monster fight” celebration burgers. John and Dave are the only two people who can see how… strange Red and Blue are. Nobody else notices.

John unintentionally pisses Blue off, leading to Blue whacking him upside the head with a dildo bat. They all four get kicked out of McDonald’s. Dave and Red both are less than thrilled

Blue and John end up resolving their differences, somehow. Red and Dave briefly bond over their dumbass best friends being, well, dumbasses. They all part ways amicably.

somehow-or-other (idk yet) they end up running into each other a few more times, and eventually john invites them over to his place, and the four (plus Amy now!) get to know each other a little better

while there, Blue gets a text about some guy who's gonna die and John offers to drive them to where that's gonna go down. they take him up on the offer and get to have a bit of one-on-one conversation

after that ordeal though Blue has had Enough of people and bails, leaving John to head home alone

theres a sort of mirror-development going on with the five of em. Red, John, and Amy would all like everyone to get along, though theyre a bit tentative about it (John moreso than the other two, actually, jsut cause. well Red n Blue could still be Sauce Monsters). Dave and Blue on the other hand do Not like people enough for this shit, and Dave's not unconvinced theyre Sauce Monsters. he will not trust them until proven he should

the story's kinda nebulous but i got an idea for some Shit going down that involves both Sauce Monsters and also the Higher-Ups to have some fuckin absolute chaos go down.

Oops! All Trans

Everybody is transgender. Everyone

Ive actually workshopped this one both with ben (catgirlrepublic) and ghost (ghost-wannabe) lmao its a fun lil concept ive had from the get-go cause i mean. What’s an internet tran gonna do other than hit all their favourite media with the Everyone’s Trans beam

Dave transitioned post-high school and faked his death for it. People go missing in Undisclosed all the damned time, after all. He moved to the next city over, transitioned fully, then came back as a completely new man. Yes i know this doesnt exactly fit with the “everyone knows David from high school” thing alright, hush.

Anytime anyone brings up John’s old best friend (pre-transition Dave) John throws an entire fit like an overdramatic grieving widow. Full-on sobbing “why would you bring her up?! I miss her so much—” to the point that people just stop bringing up because Jesus Christ That Sure Is Uncomfortable KJHGFDS.

This is a scheme he and Dave came up with prior to Dave leaving, though Dave hadnt exactly anticipated John putting on this much of a performance about it— but it’s stopped Dave from ever having tto hear his deadname again, so hey.

Amy transitioned sometime in middle school/early high school. Her family was super supportive and loved her a ton and most people just know her as Amy. she was super shy her whole life really so. Yeah. people just dont think to bring it up lmao also i Feel Like big jim would absolutely wallop anyone who gave her trouble of any kind

John’s nonbinary (genderfluid specifically) and not exactly Interested in transitioning ? like hes fine with how he is. mostly.

he came out to Dave in high school but hes not out to anyone else exactly. Maybe his bandmates. Probably any other trans person in Undisclosed knows, too, cause theyre safe to tell lmao. Johns mostly a “he/him out of convenience” kinda nb who’s cool with any pronouns but does prefer they/them most. Dave and Amy use they/them when the trio are alone

Also this is a totally self-indulgent caveat that i think would be great, Dave’s actually agender but because he's transmasc and transitioned when he thought there were really only two options, and being Boy at least felt less weird than being Girl, he just kind of assumed he was a dude. It’s only through a lot of (like fucking years and years hes probably in his 30s/40s when he puts 2 and 2 together on this one) talks about gender with John that he realizes he actually feels like No Gender. Masc aesthetic with none gender.

I Just Think It’d Be Neat Is All Okay

Also Amy came out to Dave about being trans early on in them seeing each other and his response was to get very nervous before blurting out “me too” and then just being too embarrassed to talk about it for the rest of the day. Hes got a lot of hangups on talking about it actually it takes years for him to get comfortable in that

by contrast when Amy comes out to John about it his response is to yell “EYYY ME TOO” and give her a big ol hug lmao

I think itd be neatt if Amy ran a like. Transfem help/advice blog on tumblr. Kind of helped-with by John who can give her transfem nb insight for certain asks. I also just think that would be neat.

Cowboy AU - i put this one last cause its got drawings to it actually. Theyll be at the bottom

Basically just. Hey you ever watched a western. I think they look neat

This is another one me n ben have come up with lol

The soy sauce and all that shit still exist, im not sure where korrok fits in yet but ill figure it out

Theres no real like solid narrative yet ? but heres the barebones of everybody’s arcs.

John

Johns an absolute troublemaker, Of Course. Hes wanted in several towns for absolutely stupid shit. Hes a loner who shows up, causes chaos, gets drunk, does some drugs, runs away if people get too mad at him

He definitely had the same kind of deal with the soy sauce as in canon— he was at some kind of party, somebody offered it, he took it cause why the fuck wouldnt he, now he can see monsters and shit

Hes kind of a mooch also. Like. dont let him stay in your barn man he’ll never fucking leave and drink all your booze.

He runs into Dave when they happen to just, cross paths in the same town. the bullshit John stirs up ends up involving Dave in a way that makes it seem like it's his fault too, and they both get run out of town

after that he just tags along after Dave. hes decided this guy's Cool he wants to stick around. Dave is pissed at first, but not enough to shoot him or anything, and eventually, John grows on him

Dave

Dave also is a loner but unlike John hes simply so fucking awkward and bad with people. He doesnt feel like he belongs anywhere so he just travels

He’s the stereotypical Lone Ranger tbh. He wanders from town to town, solving their problems, though hed deny its out of any moral obligation (it kinda is, a little bit, tbh. He does like feeling useful). He shows up, fixes things, leaves. He's kind of a legend but most people think he's hiding something dark. other people jsut know him as that guy who farted real loud in the middle of the saloon and promptly skipped town out of sheer embarrassment. you know how it goes with Dave

He ends up involved with the Soy Sauce when a snake (not Actually a snake,) bites him. The snake’s more like the wig-monsters, really. Anyway, it injects him with the soy sauce, he fucking trips balls in the middle of the desert, he can see monsters now

He runs into John and shit goes tits-up, as said, but they become traveling buddies after that. he'd never say so, but he's glad for the company, actually. it's nice. hes not used to companionship but he feels a strange kind of easiness hanging out with John....

not sure how the Monster Dave concept will like fit in to this reality but like. trust me i want it in here. I'll Figure It Out.

Amy

Amy’s been living in a town John and Dave end up passing through and she is very curious about these two new Handsome Strangers who claim to fight monsters and just kinda. Persistently tags along til they let her join for real

Her family’s all dead, unfortunately, just like in canon, and she’s been living alone for a few years before meeting John n Dave. she had nothing left in that town to stay for, she'd been fantasizing about escaping on wild adventures for a long time and this felt a little like a dream come true. (Dave still gives her a spiel about how Difficult it is, but really, her fantasies were pretty grounded-in-reality already. i jsut think thats how she is, yknow?)

Shes the first person to react to the whole “we see monsters” shit with a kind of “oh, okay. neat” kind of response lmao

John and Dave fix whatever the fuck is up with her town (maybe that’s where the Korrok shit can fit, who knows) and Amy ends up being integral to that. After, she insists they take her with them because “they need her now” and Dave just cant really say no. John too is very much "the more the merrier!" and hes actually glad to have another person along he loves people lmao

At the start she has long hair but after she joins them she chops it short with a knife for convenience

also she still is an amputee. justt. idk. it was a wagon/stagecoach accident rather than a car accident lmao. just to clarify since i hadnt mentioned it, i wouldnt rob her of her ghost hand or yknow. all of the significance to her character that Missing A Hand has. although also now im going to have to research what was used as painkillers way-back-when, but im betting shes still got, like, her pain pills, they probably had those, maybe i wouldnt have to try too hard there. old timey medicine could be WACK though,

Shitload

Yeah hes in tthis shit mostly cause i liked designing his cowboy self lmao

Hes a kid (like 16, 17, technically i think in those days that was more Young Man than Kid but whatever. Hes Young i mean.) who got possessed by the Worms out in the desert and, by his family’s perception, just went missing!

Hes also a wanderer, but he ended up at the same town john and dave met in, at that same time, and starts following them after, already aware of who/what they are.

He keeps his face covered 24/7. actually he covers a Majority of his self for reasons. kinda want him to be a slightly more horrifying Worm Entity rather than human idk,

I kinda dont have much for this boy yet sorry Shitload

images !

with some editing notes for me cause im doing a very specific aesthetic with this lmao. i might change some lil details/colours though ...... idk

im also kinda 🤔 about shitload's colour palette. i want things assoicated w the sauce to be black'n'red predominantly but i think his palette might mirror dave's too closely. also im working on a korrok design i jsut am too busy to draw it now

[nappainanotherdimension]

NappainAnotherDimension’s Verses {For Mobile Users}

Hell Verse

Open Starter

Tag: #Wearing a Halo but ain't no Angel (Hell verse canon)

Setting: After his death in Dragonball Z's Saiyan Saga, in Hell based on what is shown in the series that is influenced by Japanese and Chinese folklore.

Nappa's Motivation: To explore Hell, look for opponents to fight, get stronger, or learn how to get out of Hell. Will settle for good company though.

Intended Audience: Muses who can visit Hell, will eventually go there for one reason or another, or anyone who wants to interact with the ghost of Nappa.

Space Escapades Verse

Tag: #Fond Memories of Past Exploits (Space Escapades verse Canon)

Setting: Before the Saiyan Saga in Dragonball Z, and after the destruction of Planet Vegeta. Sometimes I may also specify that this is after their successful takeover of Shikk, when Nappa got so mad at Frieza he charged at him with aggressive intent. Where it takes place can be anywhere in space. Be it within his own galaxy or in the galaxy of another muse.

Nappa's Motivation: Nappa is still loyal to serving Vegeta, and is still a mid-level soldier in Frieza’s Planet Trade Organization. Which means he’s still assigned to purge planets in his galaxy. So he’ll still be pretty aggressive. If this is after the mission on Shikk, then Nappa could be taking some unofficial vacation time, and be less hostile towards other planets and people.

Intended Audience: Muses who are from other sci-fi series or play alien characters.

What If Nappa Lived Verse

Canon Divergent AU

Tag: #If Things Were Different (What if Nappa Lived verse Canon)

Setting: Set anytime after the Saiyan saga, but is typically after the events on Namek. Usually on the planet Earth, but can also be on other planets and in space in his own galaxy or in the galaxy of another muse.

Nappa's Motivation: After the events on Namek, Nappa now lives on Earth and is an ally of the main characters of Dragonball Z. This is perhaps the most canon-divergent of the verses in terms of Nappa’s character. He no longer feels as destructive as he used to be, and he’s much calmer than before. When he does feel bored, he will venture out into space with a Capsule Corp. ship made for him.

Intended Audience: Canon and OC muses who wouldn’t otherwise get to interact with him because of his death in the Saiyan saga. Also works well with any humans or other muses who stay on Earth. Of course this can also still work for other sci-fi and alien muses who would rather interact with Nappa after he’s moved on from his life in the Planet Trade Organization.

WINL Verse Space Escapades

Sub-verse for If Nappa Lived verse

Tag: #Livin' the Dream (WINL Space Escapades)

Setting: This is a verse within the What if Nappa Lived verse. Set anytime after the Namek saga, or after the Cell Saga. Usually Nappa is traveling out into space visiting distant planets from Earth.

Nappa's Motivation: When Nappa is restless on Earth and there’s no big bad to fight, he likes to go out into space. Depending on what time a thread takes place in the DBZ timeline will dictate how “good” Nappa is. After the Namek Saga, he still has a mean streak going on, but after the Cell Saga, he’s mostly "good."

Intended Audience: Muses who are from other sci-fi series or play alien characters who want to interact. Also good for fellow DBZ canon and OC muses who want a thread with a sci-fi setting.

Xenoverse 2 Mentor Verse

A Time For Change Intro

Directly tied to the Hell verse

Tag: #A Saiyan Outta Time (Conton City Verse)

Setting: Conton City and wherever else the Time Patrollers are allowed to go for training.

Nappa's Motivation: Nappa’s taken out of the original timeline and Hell to be available as a mentor for Time Patrollers. So his motivation is to help other characters to continue living in Conton City. This verse is my take on a redemption arc for Nappa that picks up from DBZ canon.

Intended Audience: For Xenoverse 1 and 2's cast and for the many OCs created for this setting.

FighterZ Verse

More Info Post

Directly tied to the Hell verse

Tag: #Out of the Hellfire and Into The Baking Pan (FighterZ verse Canon)

Setting: On Earth set after the events of Dragonball Z and after the Universe 6 Saga of Dragonball Super.

Nappa's Motivation: Nappa is going to be a Super Salty Saiyan™ because of what happened to him in the Saiyan saga. He may be begrudgingly working for Frieza and be an ally with the Z warriors, but what he really wants is to finally have his revenge against Vegeta. That is his end goal unless a redemption arc is being worked on in the thread. He may also be willing to work together with Android 21 if the alliance seems beneficial.

Intended Audience: Open to muses who are featured in the game and who would be on Earth at the time of this game’s story arc. This includes Player Soul muses. If you have an OC, Dragonball canon muse who wasn’t involved in this game’s story, or a muse from another fandom etc. talk with me before sending a starter and we can discuss an AU for your muse to make sense of why they’re there.

Legends Verse

This verse follows Dragonball Super continuity 

Tag: #Cultivating Another Legend (Legends Verse Canon)

Setting: Takes place during the Tournament of Time, which is after the Tournament of Power in Dragonball Super. However, this version of Nappa was taken out of his time before Raditz came to Earth in Dragonball Z.  Nappa’s Motivation: While he and Vegeta are working together during the Tournament of Time, Lord Beerus commands Vegeta to train Shallot, Zahha, and Gohan so they could defeat Raditz. After becoming impressed by Shallot through a misunderstanding of his words, Nappa happily decides to train and mentor them all with a particular fondness for Shallot for what he perceived as him admiring how powerful he was. (I still need to finish watching more of Alejandro Saab’s playthrough of the game, so I’ll fill in more details as I become more familiar with what happens after)

Intended Audience: Open to muses who are featured in the game and any OCs who might also be taking part in the Tournament of Time. 

Baba's Champion Verse

Directly tied to the Hell & Xenoverse 2 verses

Tag: #Brought Back by Fortuneteller Baba! (Baba's Champion verse)

Setting: On Earth either at Baba's palace our out exploring Earth if nobody's around.

Nappa's Motivation: He is resurrected for a day to fight as one of her champions. So his job is to fight anyone who wants a free fortune reading from Baba after they defeat the other four champions she has lined up for challengers. He may also get bored and explore Earth on his own.

Intended Audience: A fairly niche verse made to interact with DBZ canon muses who Nappa still has unfinished business with. Open to other muses who would be on Earth and might want to get a free reading from Fortuneteller Baba.

Planet Vegeta AU

Canon divergent AU

More Info Post coming soon

Warning: Heavy with Saiyan Politics

Tag: #Home Sweet Home (Planet Vegeta AU)

Setting: Any point after the Saiyan-Tuffle War on Planet Vegeta (formerly known as Planet Plant) in an alternate universe where Frieza never destroyed the planet, and the Saiyans successfully found a way to overthrow his rule over them. The Planet Trade Organization’s technology, armor, etc have remained in their use and is part of their cultural identity.

Nappa's Motivation: Without the Arcosians ruling over them, the Saiyans pretty much continue to plunder and purge other planets to benefit their own empire. They also form alliances with other planets, trading goods with them and/or send their warriors to settle their wars for them. Nappa serves King Vegeta as the top General of the Saiyan Army, and is the bodyguard and partner to the prince, Vegeta. He has lovers and children in this AU. Nappa has even more accomplishments to add to his laurels in this AU, and has a stronger sense of honor about his actions since everything he does benefits his family and his people. Therefore, he has a more commanding presence, is militantly serious, and straight-laced. Nappa still has a kinder disposition towards Saiyans compared to other species of aliens. Unless those Saiyans are traitors, or disrespectful towards him and the royal family.

Intended Audience: Muses who are Saiyan characters (canon or OCs) who would like to participate in this AU. Also any sci-fi muses who might like to deal with the Saiyans as a political power that is either a threat or ally to their own planet and people. Keep in mind Nappa’s much more political-minded in this verse than he is in others.

Tenchi Muyo! Verse

Sub-verse to Space Escapades verses

Crossover for Tenchi Muyo! muses

More information post coming soon

Tag: #Leaving All but the Future Far Behind (Tenchi Muyo! verse Canon)

Setting: Set within the side of Space where Jurai rules and the Galaxy Police enforces the various laws of their galaxy.

Nappa's Motivation: After being insulted by Frieza for taking 3 days to conquer Shikk, Nappa decides to go AWOL when he realizes he lost his desire to kill and destroy for the tyrant he and his comrades work for. Upon being accosted by Galaxy Police Detective Mihoshi Kuramitsu, he decides to play along with getting arrested. After helping her solve a cold case, Nappa comes to Earth with Mihoshi to meet the Masaki family. (Though really it's just to keep an eye on a dangerous visitor.)

Intended Audience: A niche crossover for Tenchi Muyo! canon muses to interact with Nappa since I roleplay with a few of them in a connected narrative since we all know each other through our mutual love for the series. Also open to other muses who are from any of the Tenchi series.

Star Wars Verse

Sub-verse to Space Escapades verse

Crossover for Star Wars muses

Tag: #Visiting a Galaxy Far Far Away (Star Wars AU canon verse)

Setting: Takes place before the events of Saiyan Saga. Either in the Star Wars or DBZ setting. Depends on the partner and the plot of the thread.

Nappa's Motivation: Nappa is still a soldier from the Planet Trade Organization and will take on jobs for anyone Frieza is working with.

Intended Audience: A niche crossover for the occasional Star Wars canon or OC character.

[fyrapartnersearch]

So it is written

Hello and good day.

This will be probably my last post on FYRA for a longer period of time. But I hope to find at least one who would share my interest. Anyways back with a new request! This one will be more specific as it only targets one certain fandom. I have had plenty of amazing original roleplays in the past, but now my desire is slowly favoring canon universes once again. It makes character building (in my opinion) also a greater challenge which I also quite enjoy to be honest. I have a strong penchant for including original characters and ideas that can be added to the pre-existing plot. Also very happy to expand on the given worlds and open to AU’s. Okay so I am a really big nerd when it comes to the supernatural, mysterious, urban myth and fantasy. Love combining those given elements with organized crime, complex characters, cataclysmic events and dark schemes that all unravels as time goes on. 

Just so you know, a little about me.

You must be at least 18+ of age when you want to start original roleplay with this gal here. As I am in my twenties, I prefer maturer partners. I accept anyone, regardless if they are male or female. What I expect is a decent (if not very good) grasp on grammar, the ability and will to write creatively, shoulder a great part of the plotting and responsibility as well as passion for roleplaying. Of course this should be seen as a fun hobby but I really like to invest… I wish for my partner / friend to take equal initiative. 
 Here are my cravings and guidelines! Even though they are only limited to a few, I made sure to filter out the ones I know I wouldn’t role-play anytime soon. So if you are interested in something I didn't mention here, I am afraid I have to decline. Sorry. 

Btw, call me Gil ;) 
 The roleplay I have been wanting to do for such a long time is none other than Devil May Cry. 
Replaying the game brought back some really good and nostalgic feels - but the latest game one was one of the best in my opinion. Such creativity, especially with urban mythology, monsters and other interesting elements. Hence why this game is right up my alley and one of my favourites of all time. If this does not interest you as much, I am also keen on roleplaying Castlevania or next gen Harry Potter! But my main interest still remains with DMC, just so you know. :) 
What it entails:


Alright, so you are writing with some of mature age. I have 11 years of writing experience when it comes to the game. This will be a fair warning that this request is not for the faint of heart. There will be violence, swearing, gore, intimate scenes, uncomfortable subjects, drama, conflict and other dark themes included within the story. I have few limits but I will respect the boundaries of my partner, so do not shy away from telling me. Just so you know, I won’t fade to black or skip out on the nitty gritty. Go big or go home. Interests: My line of interests are very dynamic when it comes to genres. I love conceiving my own lore inside a stories, be it an original or a pre-existing story. Gothic fantasy among others are one of my favourites. I am not opposed to tapping into some science fiction, action, romance, crime, action or thriller genres, in fact I encourage it. Inspirations for me are Lovecraft, Hellsing, Blade, Underworld, etc. As for the fandom inspired RPs, I am more than willing to bend some rules and be a little indulgent. Writing: 3rd person perspective. My writing is wide-ranging and flexible, which means that frequently, word count will go up 1000+ per reply - though it highly depends on the given situation and partner. Quality over quantity as they say - but why not both? I love detail in description, and I am actively seeking someone of the same infamy. My partner should have a basic grasp on grammar, punctuation and somewhat of an interest in knowledgeable writing. I also double! (preferably, but we can always discuss whether it makes sense for our roleplay our not.) World building and sharing the burden: You should be active and help me shape the world around our characters. Even if we discuss many things during and before the roleplay, how we wish for things to play out and take its course, I am always happy to be surprised with a secret of my partner’s character I didn’t know before. You don’t need to lay out all your cards on the table… keep it a little mysterious and suspenseful. Just enough so we can work with the ideas, but not completely kill off the suspense. Characters: I write canon as well as OC characters. Faceclaims, GIFs, drawings, mood boards or just a plain physical description is absolutely sufficient. Whatever floats your boat when it comes to visualising your character and their backstory, I’m on board. Characters should be written as opulent, flawed, unique, talented, heroic, villainous, spiteful, angry, and everything in-between figures. In other words, don’t be scared of making them ‘human’, even when they are non-human. Romance: Openly play and accept characters of both genders, preferable m x f pairings, but I am open to m x m and f x f relationships as well. I have more experience with m x f relationships, so I might be more adept with this one. If the chemistry of two characters compel me, I will ship them no matter what! When it comes to sexual scenarios and intimacy (intercourse, foreplay, all that jazz). I encourage eroticism, but always in a tasteful, sensual manner (that goes for romance as well). The passion must be felt through the screen, even if it’s just a mere description of someone’s deep train of thought. Content: Drama, violence, sex, metamorphosis, symbolism, action, romance, pretty much everything is a-okay. I am unbothered by certain subjects that may or may not be uncomfortable for the general public. Roleplays are fictional stories and we best keep viewing them as such. If there are things you are uncomfortable with, name them and I shall respect those boundaries. But don’t be surprised when suddenly one of our characters bites the dust, or gets tortured. It may be difficult to write and read, but it is all part of the story and furthering the plot. My roleplays imply and involve brutality, mayhem, psychological and physical torture as well as other things. But I also endorse beauty, serenity and placid moments, scenes or characters. I love it when it comes full circle… everyone- and everything has a beautiful and hideous side. Both should be embraced like Yin and Yang. Communication and friendship: OOC-chat friendly! I love meeting new people and making friends. Plus it strengthens the compatibility between us. Communication is the alpha and the omega. If there is anything that bothers you, or if you think you are left out in some way (be it a mistake on my part or we’re both at fault here), don’t be scared to tell me. Really, it won’t be taken personally - since I know that we slip up every now and then, we’re only human after all. It is also completely sufficient if you only type out a few messages per week. I am super chill about it. It doesn’t bother me re-writing a scene to fit the narrative more. If there are mistakes, they can be corrected - just to get that out there. We can always exchange opinions and see what would benefit the story most. I will also voice my opinion should something arise that could be bothersome. Partnership: An active roleplayer is wanted without a doubt. Can’t do the thinking for two now. Let’s row this boat together Limits: Subject matters I avoid are pedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, vore, scat, furries and various other bizarre fetishes. Also no one-liners or text-talk messages. The sentences have to be cohesive, coherent and decently structured. 
 
Now a little more information about myself.

I live in CET central Europe. My response rate varies throughout the weeks, depending on my schedule. 
I study at a university full time and work a job on the side and both are keeping me fairly busy. My writing will increase most likely during the weekends. If I should hit a hiatus, I will let you know as soon as possible. I understand when you are busy as well and won’t be able to respond, though I prefer if my partner does not ghost me. At least let me know what’s going on so I can adjust and put the roleplay on hold if needed! 
Mediums I roleplay on are email and googledocs. Though I also have Discord in case for OOC chat! 

I prefer if my partner messages me first on email, giving me a brief description of themselves, their cravings as well as ideas. That way I can see if we’re compatible and if it bears any potential. 

Message me here: EMAIL: gilgameshmercury@gmail.com Hope to hear from you soon! Lots of love!





Yours sincerely,

-Gil

[eloarei]

So I was tagged by @nomadsky the other day; thanks, Sekiei! There's little I love more than talking about my favorite characters. (By the way, Sekiei, some of your answers were like A+ so perfect, and a few of them were characters I would pick, so I might just note those characters and then pick someone else, for variety's sake.) (Also, the rules don't say how many to pick?? But I'm assuming they meant 10. I'll aim for that.) EDIT: THE RULES: post your favorite characters and what you like about them/ why.  In no particular order: Hanna Falk Cross (Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name (aka HINABN))

--- Not a sixteen year old girl. Hanna is a 24 year old guy, tiny, red-headed and adorkable, who apparently learned magic from a hobo and is allergic to ghosts. He's uniquely talented at fucking things up, has abandonment issues, and secrets I'll never know but will always haunt me. Despite the perma-hiatus status of the series, I still love him, even seven years later, so much so that I was willing to devote 2 years to writing a longfic about him. Honestly, I feel like I know him better than my own characters now. And, sure, it's probably my own semi-IC version of him, but that's probably not a surprise considering HINABN topped out at 100 pages, some of which didn't feature Hanna at all. Of course, you probably have already heard me say this five million times, but I wrote a story I'm pretty fond of, featuring this loser: Rogue.  Garrus Vakarian AND Runner-up: Mordin Solus (Mass Effect)

--- Sekiei already said Garrus, so I'll be brief and move on. Garrus is the most charming bug-dragon alien around. He's perfect, honestly. Would that men like him actually existed in real life, even in human form. --- I mean, I love Mordin. I actually would have romanced him if it was possible (not instead of Garrus; I'd have done a separate playthrough). I still think of him anytime someone says “seashells”. Mordin is a funny, interesting character that I think is often overlooked, partly because he only features in half of the series, I imagine. I've never read a Mordin fic, although I'd like to. I've read a few Shakarian fics that were pretty good, but I don't remember any of them off the top of my head. Killua Zoldyck (Hunter x Hunter)

--- It was hard to choose between him and Gon, because I think of them largely as a team, but Killua is my favorite because of all the growth he goes through over the course of the series. He's a silly, irreverent, dangerous, smart-ass kid, but he has so much damage that's brought to the table by his friendship with Gon, and he becomes such a good heartfelt person by the end. Also he's totally a conduit for the absolute FEELS I get from the series. Whenever he screams or cries, I feel it in my soul. I've still not read any Killua fics that I think are truly top-notch, which is kind of surprising. Varric Tethras AND Runner-up Merrill (Dragon Age) 

--- Again, Sekiei already chose Varric, and mirrored my thoughts about him: he's fantastic and why the HELL couldn't we romance him?! He was absolutely my first choice, and I was honestly upset when I found he wasn't romanceable! --- This was kind of a hard choice, because I like a lot of the DA characters almost equally, but I find Merril to be especially precious. Weirdly, I never got around to romancing her, but she's one of those characters that I think is really adorable and I just want to pet her hair and give her tasty snacks and warm blankets. (Also I low-key ship her with Varric; don't ask me how that works. Or do.) Nick Valentine (Fallout 4)

--- Hoo boy let me tell you about Valentine. Gawd, he's such a damn beautiful android. And I don't really mean that in a physical way (because yeah he's cool looking; got a good aesthetic for sure, but I wouldn't say he's at all pretty). Valentine is 100% the kind of guy I want on my side, to have my back. He's somewhat similar to Garrus in that rogue lawman kind of way. (Speaking of “Rogue”, he reminds me of my portrayal of “the detective” (purely a coincidence, because I was 90% done writing Rogue before I played FO4), which clearly proves that I have a type.) His tragic backstory and circumstances mirror The Lone Survivor's almost perfectly, and they are really so wonderful together, which is why it KILLS ME that he was not romanceable. I think I'm still in denial, tbh. He's funny, sarcastic, yet still very sincere, and though he acts very confident and is well-liked even by people who don't like synths, he has this deep loneliness in him that really rips up my heart in all the best ways. (By the way, writing this spurred me to replay Fallout4, which spurred me to start a Valentine-centric fic I was fiddling with the plot of last year, so if I actually do finish that fic-- Sekiei, I'll have you to thank!) I read a great Nick/Nora fic last year, although I can only recommend the first like... 30-or-so chapters? because the last few sort of deviate from the quality of the beginning (imo), and the fic never got finished. Still worth a read. Jesse McCree AND Hanzo Shimada (Overwatch) 

--- Honestly, as someone who has scarcely played Overwatch, it feels a bit disingenuous to put one of their characters on my fave character list, but that's part of the charm of the series: you don't really have to play the game to get most of the details it takes to get involved in the fandom. And given how explosively popular it was this past year-end, I got pretty involved. If you follow my fandom blog, you might have noticed that it was 90% McHanzo for a few months. That's because there's something really charming about those two characters! (Or, at very least, the way fandom portrays them.) McCree is such a goddamn stereotype hahaha but I love him. A grown-ass man who dresses like a cowboy because WHY NOT, he seems to have a pretty easy-going temperament that makes me feel at home. Not to mention, you think of McCree and you can't help but think of the endless desert and vast blue sky. He's a big goof-ball but also dangerous with a bit of a dark past. You know I love the type. I'm writing a McCree-centric AU, but who knows if I'll finish it. There are already quite a lot of other great McCree fics out there. --- I tried not to pick two characters from the same series, but I love McCree and Hanzo equally and in different ways, so I couldn't not. Again, there's not a whole heck of a lot of canon for these characters (I mean, there's a bit, but not as much as if they were, say, the main characters of their own piece of media, and not left largely up to the interpretation of fans), but they seem to have pretty defined personalities. Hanzo is a fairly serious guy, with a fairly serious past, and I like that in a character, that sort of stoic sincerity. But he's also got a mischievous/silly streak, I think, if only evidenced in canon by the fact that he (much like Jesse) tends to dress in an outfit several centuries out of date. But he looks damn good in it! Honest to god, he's frickin' gorgeous. XD Like, what a beautiful damn character. And I love a character that can probably kill with a glance. Whew. Erhem. Aside from that, though, he also gives off a nice peaceful vibe-- meditating up high somewhere quiet with tree leaves blowing in the breeze. Great character aesthetic. Anyone who's in the Overwatch fandom has probably already heard of “Hang the Fool”, but it's far and away the best McHanzo fic available, and I highly recommend it! Fawkes (Fallout 3)

--- Often I know about characters before I encounter them in whatever media they're from. That's partly why I choose to get into games/shows/etc. I was caught off guard by Fawkes, a big scary green “super mutant” from Fallout 3, who you encounter near the end of the story. Up to that point, all the super mutants you meet are just big dumb brutes who are trying to kill you, and have a good chance of succeeding, because they are, as I mentioned, rather large and scary. But Fawkes was locked up by his kind precisely because he was different. He's intelligent, compassionate, and loyal-- truly one of the nicest and most 'good' people you ever stumble upon in the Capital Wasteland. Also he kicks ass, because he is fucking huge and carries a gattling gun like it's no big deal. If I play FO3 again, I'm rushing right to that part so I can pick him up as soon as possible. Also, I'm one of like maybe a handful of people who ship him with the Lone Wanderer, which prooobably makes it my rarest rare-pair. Luckily, my friend Choco wrote a kick-ass long-fic about them, which made my whole month when I read it last year.   Noctis Lucis Caelum (Final Fantasy XV)

--- It was really hard to choose one out of the four main guys from this series, but I eventually decided on the main character Noctis, because I really think he's a great main character. Final Fantasy main characters are known for being kind of whiny and emo, and Noctis doesn't exactly deviate from this plan, but he adheres to it in such a way that makes sense to me. I find him to be very realistic! He's 20. He's tired and just wants to sleep. He likes to play video games. He rolls his eyes at his dad's affection but obviously loves him. He goofs off with his friends but can get stuff done when the time comes. He's a cat person, but he likes dogs too. Oh and he loves food, but he's a picky eater. And unlike other FF main characters, his style is very casual. I have actually seen people who dress like him. ...I actually AM a people who dresses like him. He's a good character who didn't deserve any of the shit that was thrown his way-- but at least he had good friends. I've read a few good Noctis-related fics so far, but nothing very long that left much impression yet. Hoping I'll find one at some point. If not, maybe one of my own will end up fitting the bill.

Jinbe (One Piece)

--- Wrapping this up with another somewhat-obscure character, Jinbe from One Piece. (Or, if you like, because romanization is weird: Jinbei, Jimbe, Jimbei, etc) First, I love One Piece. It's a great, super-long anime with so many good characters! But Jinbe, oh. He's a big, blue, intimidating fish-man who often looks angry and has mannerisms/speech patterns that are reminiscent of I think both samurai and old mob-bosses. But he's an intensely sincere guy, who's fiercely protective of those who are important to him, and the promises he makes. Everything he does for Luffy makes me cry. XD When nobody else will risk giving Luffy a blood transfusion because of stupid old racist laws, he publicly declares his willingness. When Luffy's knocked out at Marineford and Akainu is coming after him, the way Jinbe holds Luffy and gives Akainu the most visceral snarl I've ever heard. I love it. I really like scary looking guys who are sweet. ALSO, I haven't seen any good Jinbe fics, so if anybody has one I'd love to see it. =3

Tagging: uh, I dunno. @braincoins, @tempuslunam, @chocochipbiscuit, @tequilatrashbin, @buddhistmamaduck, @milarca, and @ whoever else wants to do it. 

[iainwrites]

Alright.  I finished Iron Fist.  And lo and behold, I didn’t enjoy it one bit.  Okay, maybe that’s a stretch and there were some aspects that I did like, but they were incredibly few and far between.  Why, and how, could I possibly feel this way?  Up to this point, Netflix was batting 100 when it came to its Marvel properties.  Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage all came in, and stared knocking it out of the park, each with their own unique aspects: Luke Cage for its “street-ness,” (”black-ness” coming from me just sounds wrong and racist, and besides, it was a very “on the street” series)  Jessica Jones for its paranoia levels and how dark it went, Daredevil for introducing us to this new iteration and of the world and yes, damn it, court room drama.  So how could I possibly feel anything but good when it comes to Iron Fist?  Well, there’s no pretty way to do this, but there is a logical one: step by step while being blunt.  Here we go, gloves off, no punches pulled and spoilers aplenty.

-Danny: Danny is a man who speaks in maxims and fortune cookie notions, but is incapable of following through and acts like a rash youth.  Danny is a man who has been trained by monks for over a decade, day in and day out, which he never fails to mention was incredibly strict, and yet acts like a spoiled child (His first meeting with Jeri had him call her “J-Money,” something his 10 year old self did, despite the fact that both of them grew up).  Danny is the Iron Fist, a Living Weapon, trained in countless martial art disciplines, and still manages to look like he’s in the early stages of practising and has the body of someone who keeps themselves in relatively good shape (do an image search of Danny in the comics  Guy is built. Finn Jones?  Not close to it.) Not only that, but he miraculously changes his face whenever a complex fight breaks out (Yes, Daredevil and Jessica Jones weren’t perfect when it came to fights, but Christ, at least they were engaging). Oh yeah, and you know those opening credits, where the artist is going through all the motions and stages and such? Not even Finn Jones, because boy, were they ever insistent that this Danny has curly hair and buddy in the credits has flat hair.  Add this to the mood whiplash that comes from nowhere, the general sense of blah that he exudes in most of his scenes or the over expression he does when it’s called for something emotional and you just get a poor outing.  And when your lead is painful to watch, then the rest of the show follows.  And the ending.  (Harold impaled, Danny walking away, etc etc.)  Know what would have worked?  Danny using the Iron Fist… to cleanse the elixir or whatever the hell we want to call it out of Harold (like they showed him doing in the convenient flashback for Colleen) and showing mercy.  You could have had Ward cap him at the end, but for Danny to show that he has learned that the fist isn’t just a weapon for destruction but to help would have went a long way.  But no. Danny didn’t learn anything that the monks hadn’t already drilled into his head.

-Ward: I hated him.  I rarely use the word “hate” because it hates requires energy that could be put into better things, but boy, did I hate him. And not just the character: I despised the actor (Tom Pelphrey) when he started showing up.  In the first half (and then some) of the series, he was just so bland and grating.  And I know: maybe that was the whole point to him.  But buggering hell, he sucked.  And the characterization!  He’s dismissing that Danny is alive, and he dismisses his sister, and he’s under his father’s thumb, and he’s selfish and wants out and is willing to walk away from the company and all the money but will fight so that he gets money from his severance and will screw his father and Danny over and will work with Danny anyways and try to make nice with a guy he’s been an asshole to his entire life! And he gets away with it all!  Our main character suffers through the show and the guy who spent most of the time kicking him while he was down becomes the head of his company.

-Joy: And Joy on the other hand!  … Well, I didn’t mind Joy.  Until the end.  Because even though Danny did nothing to her (or the stuff he did do would make sense to anyone able to put 2 and 2 together after everything is revealed to them) she’s talking with Davos at the end of the series about how they’ll work together to destroy Danny because it’s all his fault.  Seriously?  She was the smartest and most together character on the whole damn show and we’re left with her ready to dispose of the guy who was the most straightforward of her entire “family.”

-Colleen: Again, I didn’t mind her.  Sure, I’m a little annoyed that the co-protagonist who happens to be a woman ended up being in a relationship with the protagonist who happened to be male. And that she was completely willing to go along with Danny, even after being so broken up about going against the tenants of bushido and probably breaking a few more while she’s at it.  And no doubt a list of other things I’m forgetting at the moment because next to nothing about the character stuck in my mind. That’s its own shortcoming, I think: being forgettable.

-Claire: Why was she here? What did she do (besides treat people who had been wounded)?  Why did she not contact Matt when it came to going after Harold at the end, because Lord knows, that would have made sense, what with all the times she referenced her super friends (yes, I know, you have to keep the shows separate, which would make sense IF CLAIR WASN’T IN EACH OF THE SERIES AND YOU HAD NO PROBLEM BRING JERI IN FOR LEGAL HELP!)  If this is a shared universe and are calling it a shared universe, then make it work as a shared universe!  Not so much a Claire problem, but it ties into her.  It’s probably because we were coming off a Luke Cage high, where she was used pretty damn well compared to how they used her in Iron Fist, but damn it, they could have used her better or used her less.

-Harold: Norman Osborne. I wanted him to be Norman Osborne and he started going in that direction and I was so damn happy about it.  Manipulating a company behind the scenes.  Favoring the chosen son and being a dick to his biological one, with the reasoning being that “he needs to toughen up.”  Being obviously intelligent when it came to business matters. Doing anything to get ahead. Power/curse put on him that starts to damage his psyche.  Viciousness hidden behind civility.  Wenham could have gone there and done it well.  Hell, he did do it well!  And with the rights to Spider-man in Marvel’s hands, they could have gone there and encouraged the shared universe even further!  But no.  And for shit’s sake: he’s been dead for years.  I know he had “plans” but does he really expect that people would be perfectly fine with him coming back to Rand?

-Gao:  … I got nothing.  Anytime Gao was on screen, I was content.  I’m happy she got more screen time.  I’m happy she was fleshed out as being a manipulator of the highest level (she could manipulate with the truth AND lies in equal measure).  No complaints.  At all.

-Turk:  WHERE THE FUCK WAS TURK BARRET?  YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THE BADDEST MAN TO SWAGGER THROUGH NEW YORK WOULDN’T WANT A PIECE OF THIS ACTION?  BULLSHIT!  IF CLAIRE WAS THERE, WE DESERVED HIM, TOO!  Ahem.

-Jeri: I’m going to start with this: “[Scott] Buck said, "She has an extremely important role in Danny’s life ... she’s very involved in our story and Danny’s journey." Loeb added, "Danny has very much a hopeful optimism about him, and Carrie-Anne obviously lives in a different kind of world, and so being able to see those two worlds collide is just the beginning of the many obstacles that he goes through."  She has an important role?  When did that happen, besides when she was plot device #3?  Sure, it was fun to see her be no bullshit and smack Danny’s childlike self down, but important?  Hardly.

Everyone else left such a faint impression on me that they’re barely worth mentioning.  Davos being Mordo-Lite was disappointing (and yes, I knew he was Davos as soon as he did the throwing star, because Danny kept on mentioning “his friend Davos” which is short hand for “Oh yeah, he’ll be on the show eventually.”)  Bokudo and his Hand (again, not surprised, when the group who wear read shirts end up being the Hand, who have been well known to favor the color red in their shirts) were just a bland point, and really, just seemed like a side mission instead of being integral to the overall plot.  And… that’s it.  Nobody else worth mentioning or remembering.

In the end (although I’m sure this won’t be the end of my Iron Fist annoyance), this show just wasn’t any good.  And this last part is directed to Finn Jones, even though I know he likely won’t read any of this:

I didn’t enjoy it as a fan.  Yeah, I watched it critically, too, but I watched it first and foremost because I enjoy my Marvel outings.  I think Marvel has DC beat 9/10 times in recent years.  I’ve never been this annoyed at a Marvel property before (and I watched F4tastic 4 AND Ghost Rider).  But this show was bad.  Because of the writing and because of the acting.  I hope to Zod you step it up in The Defenders, because if it sucks, you’re the first person who gets my blame.  Everyone else has proven their worth; YOU’RE the weak link.

Don’t fuck this up.

[zippdementia]

Part 56 Alignment May Vary: Interlude and Side Quest Suggestions

There is an uneasy feeling as the players stand next to the Ghost Lord in the Lion’s Maw. Where do we go from here? Tyrion, as usual, is the first to break the ice, and he does so bluntly:

“So, you gonna help us kick some ass on the horde now?”

The Ghost Lord laughs and tells the players that, no, he has no intention of joining their fight long term. “Guys like Nazragul, Acererak, they always want to take over the world,” he says. “And where does that get them? A lot of hassle and constant visits from adventurers and would-be do-gooders. Acererak can’t even stay on this plane of existence he has so many enemies. And Nazragul? He’s in a hole. I set my sights on simpler things. My experiments. Maybe being left alone isn’t a grand goal, but I’ll tell you, long after everyone else has died chasing their damned grand goals, I’ll still be here, laughing as I watch the world turn.”

The Ghost Lord does agree to help Nazragul reshape his soul jar into something more sensible than the giant mass of muscle and tissue and undead organs that is currently growing out of Lady Dagger’s tortured body in the Maaken Temple.

“He never was much of a craftsmen,” The Ghost Lord grouses.

So the party travels with the Ghost Lord back across the Thornwaste. With the Ghost Lord at their side the journey is quick. The land itself opens up before his passage, the myriad thorns and other hazards retreating at his approach. He truly is the master of this land.

At the edge of the Thornwaste the players come across a character they have not met since the early days of the campaign: Joachim, the elderly and mysterious Yellow Robed Elf. While the Ghost Lord and Trellara hang back, so as not to terrify the travelers, the three more normal companions (nevermind Tyrion’s blue skin) join Joachim and his troop of bodyguards at his fire and have a strange conversation with him. Joachim speaks directly to Aldric (when the knight takes a break from flirting with the female mercenary, who brushes him off by saying she’s been married for 367 years) who asks if the elf knows anything about the creature that attacked Adlric’s troop and whom he had tracked into the Thornwaste. 

Joachim does, in fact, know about it. It is a Behir, he tells Aldric, a creature that usually detests dragons yet for some reason is claiming to be the mother of the Dragonlord leading the Red Hand. This particular Behir is ancient, having plagued the Elsir Vale for a millenia. Whether Aldric will be the one to bring her down has not yet been seen in the stars.

Joachim also speaks to Nysyries, telling her that soon she will have to make a choice. She will know the moment when she is there and it will represent a cross roads in her life. What happens from that point forward will be up to her. They are cryptic words, and Nazragul shifts inside of her as they are spoken.

Finally, Joachim tells them that they are on the very edge of greatness, that there are three weapons very nearby that can be used to help them secure victory over the hoard. They used to reside in old Rhest and contributed to the land’s downfall in civil strife. He tells them that these weapons now reside with the dwarves in the southern mountains and that these weapons will be instrumental in fighting and defeating the Red Hand. With a flourish, he spreads a special powder into the fire and the flames rear up black and ominous as he looks at Aldric and speaks of the first weapon.

As Joachim speaks, the three grow more and more tired and suddenly realize that Joachim has placed a sleeping powder in the fire. The three pass out then awaken in the morning to find the others gone... except for one male mercenary left tied up like a hog for slaughter--a gift from Joachim to Nysyries, a gift that casts his alignment and goals in an even deeper mystery.

Setting the Side Quest: White Plume Mountain

The three weapons that Joachim tells them of are from White Plume Mountain.

One consistent problem with the original Red Hand of Doom module is its transitions between chapters. The best D&D adventures have either plot hooks that pull its character inexorably towards the next big thing after each chapter or have a hub city or NPC where more quests can be given. Red Hand has the problem of its hub city getting destroyed in the first chapter and, for the most part, of lacking compelling hooks. This problem is tied into the fact that every major adventure in the campaign is essentially a big side quest. Going to Rhest and going to the Ghost Lord’s lair does have an effect on the final battle and does bring players in direct conflict with their foe, the Red Hand, but it also leads to a dead end each time, always returning players to the “let’s get to Brindol” plot line afterwards. Because players know about Brindol from the start and don’t find out about this plan gradually, the plot can get a little stale as the main goal never changes. 

I didn’t notice some of these problems until recently. The campaign gets touted so often as one of the best that I went in with some blinders on. Also, it is constantly complained about for being too easy, a complaint that I took to heart in my redesign but one which I’m not sure I actually agree with any more. Or rather, I do think as built it is an easy campaign, but I also think that is part of what makes it work. I think this campaign is supposed to make the players feel like they are stomping through the horde at each turn, bringing down dragons and lieutenants of the horde. You can tell this was the intent because at each step of the way, players are punished for not doing this! If they aren’t aggressive enough, the horde marshals its full strength at the Battle of Brindol and is much harder to defeat. If you take these victories away from the players or make them too challenging, then what you end up with is a campaign where the players are doing things to systemically make the horde weaker, but they are not doing anything to make themselves feel stronger.

Some of the problems I mentioned with the campaign I’ve addressed. Nazragul’s Maakengorge became my stand-in hub to keep the story moving. And I’ve pretty much eschewed the in-book timer to countdown to the horde’s arrival at Brindol. It’s a cool idea, but there just isn’t enough exciting things to do in all the time the module gives you to make this work. Chasing the horde across the land discourages players from going to Rhest and the Thornwaste and isn’t very much fun besides, mostly a series of random encounters with the horde. So get rid of that time system and just go with “the horde travels at plot speed.”

The one problem I didn’t address, and in fact probably contributed to creating, was the feeling of player weakness. Red Hand doesn’t need to be harder. At least pieces of it don’t. The Ghost Lord should be near impossible to fight. And taking on the whole horde at once should be a death sentence. Doing stupid things in Rhest and bringing the whole place down on you should be a bad idea. But the rank and file should feel easy and the lieutenants and dragons should be defeatable. It’s not individual encounters like this that are impressive about the horde: it’s their sheer size. Let the players feel like they are way above these fights but anytime they get close to the main army, its sheer size should turn them away. That’s when you shouldn’t be afraid to throw six chimera and two dozen hobgoblins at them (buff their health and proficiencies here if you need to to make them a bigger threat).

In any case, it’s not like my campaign has been a failure because of this. The players respect the horde and they’ve become good villains for them, too. They are really eager to defeat them at Brindol and I’m very much looking forward to that clash. We’ve also got to have some very tactical battles because of the challenge and some incredible close calls, like Nysyries blowing up the bridge. But because of the difficulty I made the campaign overall, it’s time to give the players something back, to make them feel like more than pawns on this chess board. They should at least be rooks *wink*

To that end, one final side quest before Brindol is in order. And the dwarves make a great catalyst for it. Honestly, I was surprised when the original module didn’t offer up the Dwarves in the Wyvernwatch mountains as a side quest post-Thornwaste. I literally thought I was missing a piece of the book. The mountains are right next to the Thornwaste and the Dwarves have already been given a plot hook back in the Witchwood where the payment for their services as mercenaries to Brindol had been waylaid. I thought that plot hook would be followed up by a short Dwarven adventure later on, maybe something that involved delving deep into the mountain to kill a Dragon and seize its treasure or recover some material to help the dwaves forge a mighty weapon to fight the Horde.

What I’m basically saying is that you should add a dwarven adventure into your own campaign at this point in the campaign. It’s too good of an opportunity to flesh out the world and as a story beat it creates a wonderful mirror of the “ally gathering” that happened in Rhest. That was an elvish adventure, now they get a dwarven adventure. If the players manage to recruit both races to the cause than it feels like a true alliance of good vs. evil, where all races have put aside their differences to face the Red Horde. It really builds up that final confrontation well!

As far as actual adventures go, make up your own if you’d like, or select something appropriate from the plethora of choices in DnD’s back catalog or from third-party creators on DMs Guild. Some suggestions include:

Anything from a suitable adventure’s league. These adventures are always easy to fit into any campaign. Just find one of the appropriate level that interests you and *bam* you have a two to three hour session ready to go. You can easily change major NPCs to dwarves and the location to match the Wyvernatch.

Glitterdoom, from Goodman Games. It’s a nice little Dwarven mine adventure. You’ll probably have to change out some of the encounters to make it level appropriate, though: it’s too easy at level 3.

Forge of Fury, from Tales of the Yawning Portal, especially if your party is a little bit less leveled than mine. You might still have to bump up some encounters to match the challenge you want, but this is a perfectly themed adventure.

A side quest from Rise of Tiamet. That book is basically made up of side adventures, just grab one that feels good and change the setting and NPCs to dwarves. It’s already dragon-themed and is basically the redux of Red Hand of Doom already. They should already be pretty much level appropriate.

For myself, I chose White Plume Mountain from Tales of the Yawning Portal. I think it is the perfect side quest for this campaign and we will get into why, and some of the changes I’ve made to it, next time.

Other suggestions are welcome, for good side adventures! Just post a reply. I’m always looking for good side adventures.