#I really want to see the scene with them pulling pc through the mirror into the flashback but I haven’t encountered it yet

[happy10thousandyears]

I really like ivory wraith but I wish there’s ways to actively seek them out to interact with them? Cool guy👍

[lazerv4]

Thoughts on Dragon Age: Inquisition [REPLAY]

Just my raw thoughts not a review or anything

Coming back to Inquisition after 10 years now, is like seeing an old friend that you truly didn’t realize how much they really cared until now that they’ve been gone for a while.

I loved my time revisiting the third entry in Dragon Age especially after last year’s Baldur's Gate 3 and the release this year of Dragon Age: The Veilguard in a few months.

Besides a few issues with the ambition of the story not quite being able to be realized at the time the game is incredibly fun, charming, epic, funny and honestly kind of ahead of it’s time like it’s series tends to be.

First speaking for the gameplay I played a rogue who specialized in assassination, which was incredibly fun a had an entertaining loop once I got my build finalized because man it took a bit to get to the good stuff and I’m not sure if I would have the patience if I already didn’t love the game which is a big slight issue that while the game eventually solved took way too long. The open worlds are all nice, fun and expansive if you remember that not all of them are gigantic and the hinterlands is a go back to every so often kind of place instead of staying there forever like many did. The combat flows well with the level design for the most part having areas that are open and easy to maneuver through however the prowess of the engine holds back some scenes trying to create a large scale that can’t be fully realized since the engine can’t hold that many enemies on screen even with a ludicrously over specs PC like most gaming PCs would be today. However even when the game itself can’t realize the massive world and scale of everything going on the story pulls through and does the heavy lifting. The main plot itself is rather simple, it follow your created character becoming the Inquisitor and expanding your influence to slowly figure out who killed the Divine and created a rift in the sky which eventually turns out to be a returning Corypheus from Dragon Age 2 and then you uncover a lot more things about him, the nature of dark spawn and the mysteries of Thedas as you work to beat Corypheus once and for all. The 3 DLC are 2 main story expansion and an epilogue, the first being Jaws of Hakkon which expands the world into previously uncharted lands further making the world of Thedas feel alive and well thought out as you interact with the Avvar people who basically share nothing besides their species and language with the rest of Thedas as well as uncovering the secrets of the first inquisition in what feels like a fantasy Indiana Jones jungle adventure at times just being incredibly satisfying. Next was The Descent which expands even further into Dwarves and the Deep Roads finally making them feel as cool as the series has always wanted you to think they were, the plot is a simple go down and explore what is causing sudden earthquakes and the resolution to it while leaving you with a bunch of new questions expands on dwarves in fascinating ways that I hope The Veilguard explores more through Harding. Finally you get to quite possibly one of the greatest pieces of DLC ever made with Tresspacer, the third and final story expansion set 2 years after the events of the campaign where an Exalted Council is held by your current Divine to see the future of the Inquisition post Breach and political pressure from both Orlais and Ferelden as a Qunari invasion starts within Eluvia Mirrors (teleporters to a different dimension) as you slowly uncover the mystery old the olden elven gods and why Solas left after the defeat of Corypheus then learning that he is in fact the Dread Wolf, the legendary trickster god who defied the gods and imprisoned or killed them as your mark which turns out to be his doing starts to slowly kill you. Trespasser alone is worth getting into Inquisition with how fantastic it’s quality is, I cannot stress enough how cool of an epilogue plot it is and how it’s unlikely anyone will quite be able to do it like they did.

Inquisition as a whole package is incredible with how it weaves a story spanning the entire continent through it’s side quest and DLC and a pretty fun fantasy story in it’s main plot as you live and breath along with everything in Thedas in a medium that is inherently the best at making worlds feel lived in. Few do it like Dragon Age and none do it better, Skyrim gets a lot of props for being “immersive” but that is only true superficially, if you truly wanna see what a believable world is then go ahead and give not only Inquisition a chance but also the entire series including material outside the games, it’s all great and you get to visit so many places that you basically come to know Thedas as if it was a place you’ve actually lived in. I wish I could write more about how great this game and experience was but I feel like The Veilguard will cover some territory that I want to mention here so I will save it all for that.

[limjaeseven]

Je Ne Sais Quoi

Je ne sais quoi: (n.) a quality that cannot be described or named easily.

Pairing: Jaebeom X Jackson ft. Namjoon (of BTS)

Word Count: 2,410

Genre: Smut, Fluff

Warnings: Porn without plot, blue balls (sorry not sorry :/), anal sex, oral sex, fingering, lots of filthy kissing, sappiness, unnecessary tooth rotting fluff no one asked for, gay sex

Summary: Waking up to an empty bed was something Jaebeom just wasn't used to. He missed his boyfriend, a lot. (Insert really badly written smut here)

[a/n]: This fic was originally based off of a dream that the one and only @triheartedhero had and I just could not pass such a wonderful opportunity. Full disclosure Jackson is a sort of insert for Az in the story since I prefer to write MxM fics. Warning this is just 2.4k of pure word vomit.

For two people who had been fuck buddies for three years before starting to date, monogamy was something they just weren’t interested in. Jackson just couldn’t say no to a good fuck and Jaebeom missed sleeping with women after getting a boyfriend. Both of them were comfortable with their arrangement knowing full well that at the end they both loved and were loved by each other.

Jaebeom had spent his evening in his studio with Jinyoung, his childhood best friend and partner in crime. Being two guys growing up together in a conservative society, they had fooled around quite a bit as teenagers and became each other’s stress relievers on bad days. Jackson had let him know that he would be spending the day at Namjoon’s house and would be home by dinner time. After six gruelling hours of working on the same song and three rounds of sex on the couch in the studio, Jaebeom finally decided to call it a day.

Jackson was busy cooking dinner when Jaebeom got home after dropping Jinyoung off at his apartment. The elder wrapped his hands around his boyfriend’s waist and buried his face in the crook of his neck, making Jackson smile. They ate dinner together while discussing the music Jaebeom was working on and Jackson’s upcoming show. Jackson had scored an opening spot at a big singer’s concert, which was a huge deal for a small underground rapper. After the hearty dinner, Jaebeom and Jackson cuddled together in bed, talking nonsense till they eventually fell asleep.

The two men had originally met each other in a production course in final year of college and immediately hit it off. Jaebeom had thought that he was pretty straight other than the goofing around with Jinyoung in his late teens. Jackson turned that though on its head for Jaebeom after they hooked up at a frat party barely a week after thy first met.

They had been comfortable in denying they growing feelings for almost three years before Jaebeom grew the balls to ask Jackson out and was rewarded with a harsh slap on his arm and a ‘that only took an eternity, you idiot’. They had made in very clear in the very beginning that they would be okay with sleeping with other people so it never was an issue for either of them.

When Jaebeom woke up the next the morning he was shocked to see the bed empty. He immediately sat up and called out for his boyfriend but received no response. In the years that Jaebeom and Jackson had lived together, only twice had Jaebeom ever woken up alone, both times with long texts on his phone from his boyfriend explaining the reason for his absence but this time there was nothing. After six missed calls and two voice mails Jaebeom received a text saying ‘bit busy rn, will call later’.

Jaebeom stared at the text for a few moments, it was the shortest message Jaebeom had ever received from the man, the latter preferring to send long paragraphs regardless of how much time he had available to reply. Despite wanting to wait stubbornly in bed till his boyfriend returned, Jaebeom had to get up so as to not be late for work.

The drive to Jaebeom’s office was quiet, the man still sulking at the lack of his boyfriend’s love early in the morning. The traffic decided to mess with Jaebeom’s already sour mood and doubled his commute time on the day of an important board meeting. After hours of presentations and meaningless discussions, Jaebeom was finally free for lunch. He rushed to his office to finish up some work before heading out for lunch.

Jaebeom was busy unlocking his PC on his desk when he noticed his favourite photo missing from his desk. The ravenette wasn’t a man who enjoyed keeping personal mementos on his work desk but that one picture was his favourite. It was a photo Jaebeom had taken himself six months after they started dating.

After a night of intense fucking and mind-blowing orgasms, the two men were exhausted beyond belief. Jaebeom had dragged himself out of bed to find a towel to clean Jackson up. When he retuned from the bathroom with a damp cloth though, he was greeted with the beautiful sight of his boyfriend curled up in his bed, blankets wrapped around his lower body. Jaebeom’s cat, Nora had made her way onto the bed and had settled on Jackson’s chest. The view was so pretty that before Jaebeom knew it, he was grabbing his camera off the shelf and clicking a photo.

Jaebeom called his assistant in to ask them about the whereabouts of the photo. They told him that Minhyuk, the cleaner had come in the night before and knocked the frame over by mistake, cracking the glass. Jaebeom’s assistant had sent it to get fixed as soon as they found out. Frustrated beyond belief, Jaebeom dismissed them before slamming his head against his desk.

It felt to Jaebeom as if Jackson had been pulled out of his life for a day. The only interaction they had had all day was that one rushed text Jaebeom received. He knew it was a bit childish to miss Jackson after barely 14 hours of not seeing the man but the two of them had been connected at the hip since they met and it was just too unusual to be ghosted by the man for so long.

The day went by torturously and Jaebeom barely made it to the end. By the time he was done with work, he was throwing himself into his car as his driver drove him back to his place. Jaebeom half expected to not see Jackson at home based on the way his day had gone but the loud moan that cut through the silent apartment let Jaebeom know that he thought wrong.

Jaebeom stood outside their shared bedroom and peaked in through the half open door to see Jackson grinding against Namjoon on the bed as they made out. He carefully opened the door all the way and leaned against the doorway, eyes glued to the scene in front of him. After a few moments f standing there and watching his boyfriend and his fuck buddy kissing, Jaebeom cleared his throat, making both of them turn to him.

“Hyung!” Jackson sounded part surprised and part confused. Jaebeom was never one to interrupt Jackson when he was with someone else and neither was he one who joined in for a threesome.

“Joon, I’m sorry for this but do you mind giving Jackson and I some alone time?” Namjoon groaned as he got out of bed and pulled on his t shirt which he had discarded on the bedroom floor. Jaebeom, regretting giving Namjoon a bad case of blue balls grabbed his arm as he moved to leave the room.

“Tomorrow at 7, all three of us, I’ll fuck you just how you like it” Jaebeom placed a chaste kiss on Namjoons smiley face and patted his ass as he left to go back home.

“Is everything alright, hyung?” Jackson asked, making Jaebeom turn back to find him standing in front of him. Instead of answering the man Jaebeom just pressed his lips against Jackson and kissed him, hard. The younger immediately reciprocated the kiss, fisting at the elder’s shirt.

Jaebeom walked forward, not pulling away from Jackson’s lips and pushed him onto the bed. He pulled away for just a moment to take his shirt off before climbing on to the bed, straddling Jackson. Leaning down again, he captured his boyfriend’s lips again, making Jackson moan into the kiss.

“Are you okay, hyung?” Jackson pulling away from Jaebeom made the elder while but looking at his boyfriend’s concerned face, he gave in”

“Just missed you a lot” He pouted.

“Aww hyung, come here, let me make you feel better” Jackson urged Jaebeom on his back before straddling him, mirroring their previous position. Lightly palming Jaebeom’s erection through his slacks, Jackson slid down his legs to sit at the elders calves and bent down to press soft kisses on the mans’s stomach.

Impatient hands grabbed at the belt around Jaebeom’s waist and did quick work to discard it, along with the man’s slacks and boxers. Jaebeom hissed as the cool hair hit his erection, Jackson taking the opportunity to wrap his fingers around the elder’s cock and suckle at the tip.

The feeling of Jaebeom’s short yet strong fingers tangling themselves into Jackson’s hair spent shivers down the brunette’s spine. Pushing firmly against Jackson’s head, Jaebeom got him to take more of his cock into his mouth. The pressure made Jackson moan out, sending vibrations through Jaebeom’s cock making him throw his head back in pleasure.

Having had enough of Jackson’s teasing, Jaebeom tightened hid grip in the younger’s hair and thrusted up into his mouth, making him moan uncontrollably around the elder. On the edge of his orgasm, Jaebeom pulled Jackson, earning a whimper from the brunette and pulled him up for a filthy kiss.

“Fuck me. Now” Jackson whispered.

“Needy, huh?” Jaebeom flipped them around, Jackson’s back hitting the mattress and quickly pulled the younger’s clothes off before kneeling between his spread legs. He leaned down to mouth at Jackson’s balls, causing the younger to moan out in surprise. Trailing down to his rim, Jaebeom teased the tight pucker with his tongue, pushing in lightly before pulling away completely.

“Please, hyung” Jackson’s whines spurred Jaebeom on to fuck the younger with his tongue, making his legs shake. When the brunette’s thighs tried to close, Jaebeom wrapped his hands tightly around them, holding them apart and continued to eat Jackson out.

“I’m gonna c-cum” Much to Jackson’s dismay, who was anticipating his climax, Jaebeom wrapped a hand tightly around the base of his cock and pulled away from his hole, effectively denying him his orgasm. Tears of frustration welled up in the younger’s eyes, which Jaebeom kissed away as they flowed down his cheeks.

Just when Jackson was about to beg Jaebeom to do something, two fingers pressed against his lips which he took into his mouth without hesitation. Working his tongue around the digits, Jackson wet them thoroughly before the elder pulled them away and pressed them against his rim.

The burn of two fingers entering him at once made the younger hiss, but it was quickly replaced by light moans as the ravenet added another finger and worked him open. Pressure built deep inside of Jackson, ready to snap when Jaebeom pulled his fingers out and quickly replaced it with his cock.

If Jackson thought three fingers were a tight fit, the feeling of Jaebeom’s cock penetrating him made him feel like he was about to come apart at the seams. Even though Jaebeom worked his way in slowly and carefully, the girth still hurt, but both of them knew Jackson liked it better like that.

Once all the way inside, Jaebeom held himself up over Jackson on his elbows and kissed him passionately, waiting for Jackson to adjust and the pain to subside. Growing increasingly impatient after two denied orgasms, Jackson ground his hips down onto Jaebeom’s cock which the elder took as a green signal and pulled back till only the tip of his cock was left inside Jackson before pushing back in harshly.

Setting a brutal pace from the get go. It was almost as if the tenderness was gone and replaced with nothing but pure lust but Jackson knew that Jaebeom was always making sure that he wasn’t hurting his boyfriend, even when his mind was completely clouded with need.

Moans and sounds of skin on skin filled the room, both lost in the heat of the moment. An act that usually involved a lot of dirty talk and teasing now boiled down to nothing but the intimacy. Sleeping with other people was fun, but there was a chemistry, a connection, a je ne sais quoi that they had and shared that was irreplaceable. In that moment, Jackson knew why he loved Jaebeom the way he did.

At the end of a long day of work or just hanging around, no place felt more comforting to Jackson than Jaebeom’s arms. The feeling of the elder hugging him, hands wrapped tightly around him, was the feeling of home, one that he never wanted to let go of.

Jackson didn’t know he had stared tearing up again till he felt Jaebeom stop suddenly. Looking down at the younger, Jaebeom noticed the warm smile on his lovers face as stray tears ran down his face. Perplexed at the juxtaposition of the tears with the content expression, Jaebeom brought up a hand to Jackson’s cheek, caressing his soft skin while wiping the tears away.

“Are you okay?” It was funny to Jaebeom how, in such a short period of time, the tables had turned, making it his turn to ask his boyfriend if he was doing fine. Jackson merely smiled wider and placed a chaste kiss on the elder’s lips.

“I love you” Jaebeom felt chills run down his spine at the sincerity in Jackson’s voice, as if he was speaking gospel. Instead of replying, Jaebeom buried his face in the younger’s neck as he felt himself choke up. Jaebeom had always been bad with his emotions, struggling to express his feeling all throughout his life. Jackson, on the other hand, was a simple man, who wore his heart on his sleeve, and even though Jaebeom hated to admit it, he was jealous of his boyfriend.

“Hyung, make love to me, please” It was Jaebeom’s turn to tear up as he pushed into Jackson once more and thrusted shallowly, grinding against the younger. Jaebeom sensed the signs that Jackson was close to climaxing, from the heavy breathing to the airy moans and wrapped a free hand around his cock, stroking in rhythm with his thrusts. Jackson came without much ceremony and just watching his boyfriend orgasm was enough to push Jaebeom off the edge, cumming inside the younger.

It took a while for them to finally feel hot and sticky enough to get out of bed and grab a quick shower together. Later, as they laid in bed together, cuddling, Jaebeom urged Jackson to turn towards him and hugged him to his chest, placing a soft kiss to his forehead.

“I love you too”

[light679]

Here’s a little short I wrote about Leon and the Player Character’s Dragapults having eggs while on vacation. (SFW, Note: PC is aged up to at least 20 years old).

I awoke with the start, hearing the cry of my Dragapult. Leon and I had taken a small vacation to a little cottage with a ranch where we could let our Pokemon roam. The sound was coming from just outside.

“Leon, wake up,” I said, shaking him awake. He wore a cute pouty expression until he saw the worry on my face. “Something’s wrong, I heard Dragapult,” I explained further, throwing on a pair of sweats and a tshirt as I threw Leon his own track pants and hoodie, cursing myself for suggesting we went to bed without clothes on for once. As soon as my shoes were on, I was bolting out the door. I didn’t wait for Leon; I knew he’d catch up to me just fine. I listened as I ran; trying to pinpoint exactly where the sound was coming from.

“Dragapult!” Leon called, bursting through the front door. At the sound of his voice, his own Dragapult came flying up to him. “What’s wrong buddy?” Leon asked, panic in his voice. His Dragapult took off, leading us in the direction of the call. My heart raced, worried for my partner Pokemon. Had we not checked the area well enough for wild Pokemon that could harm ours? This place was supposed to be safe. Had someone tried to abduct my Pokemon?

When the other Dragapult stopped, I looked down and my worry was replaced with giddy pride. Underneath my Pokemon, lay six beautiful eggs. I knelt down, stroking my girl on her head as she beamed at me proudly, her wispy tail waving over the eggs as if to stroke them. Leon knelt beside me to check it out, chuckling softly as he saw the eggs.

“Way to go buddy,” he said to his Dragapult, feeling the warm eggs in front of him. My Pokemon looked at him warily, but allowed him to admire, knowing that Leon was a trusted human. “(Y/N), looks like we’re about to have some babies,” he joked. “Hey guys, it’s a little chilly out here; how’s about we bring you and these little guys inside, huh?” The ghost types nodded eagerly and in appreciation as Leon and I carefully scooped the eggs into our arms to carry them back inside. Thankfully, our Dragapults had made their nest quite close to our little cabin.

As soon as we got inside, Leon got to work, starting a fire and setting out some blankets and pillows on the floor to make a cozy nest, both for us humans and our Pokemon. Watching him treat the not-yet-born Pokemon so endearingly made my heart swell with love for him. “We won’t be able to return to Wyndon until these little guys are born,” Leon said, a boyish grin on his face. He was right, of course. There was absolutely no way I was going to leave this cabin until these Pokemon were born, and I was glad Leon had decided the same. We cuddled up by the fire, nestling the eggs to our chests. With all this attention and warmth, it wouldn’t take long until the eggs hatched. I watched Leon make some calls to his executives in Wyndon as we sat together.

We spent the next five days mainly by the fire as we kept the eggs warm, our Pokemon protectively by our sides. Leon did a lot of cooking for us as I took care of my mamma Dragapult. While Leon’s cooking wasn’t always the best, watching him be so domestic and soft, and tender, I wanted nothing more than to sink my teeth into him, dragging him to the bedroom with me constantly. Thankfully, we had another task at hand to keep me from getting distracted.

Seeing Leon this boyish and excited was refreshing for me. Usually that grin was reserved for talking about Pokemon battles, and sometimes when he was about to tickle me. He talked excitedly about what we were going to do with the baby Dreepys that were about to hatch. “Hop might like to raise one,” he suggested. “That would be nice because then it would be easy for our Dragapults to see them any time we saw Hop. Maybe Raihan would be interested in the little dragon babies? Although I’d be willing to bet he’ll put up a fuss about raising the same Pokemon as his rival. Still, if anyone is fit to raise a dragon baby it’d be him.”

I smiled, rubbing a hand over the egg in front of me. I’d grown attached to all of the eggs of course, but something about this one was speaking to me. Little gold flecks, not visible to someone who wasn’t paying attention, dusted the surface of the egg. “Leon,” I said sweetly, pulling my attention from my golden egg to his golden eyes. “I’d like to keep one, if that’s okay. This one,” and I gestured to the egg I was cuddling. “I was thinking maybe we could raise this Pokemon together. And I know we both already have Dragapults on our team but-“

Leon cut me off mid-sentence with a kiss. “(Y/N), there’s nothing I’d like more than to raise a baby Pokemon with you. Besides, I think if we didn’t keep at least one, my Dragapult is going to wreak havoc for the rest of my life. Despite my passion for it, I know that Pokemon isn’t always about battles.” He rested his hand on the egg, noticing it for the first time. “Hey, this one’s kinda cool,” he noted as he saw the golden flecks. “It’s…sparkly. Like your eyes.”

I laughed. “My eyes? Leon, have you looked in a mirror, Mr. Amber Eyes?”

He blushed. It wasn’t a secret that Leon had beautiful eyes, and it certainly wasn’t a secret how much I adored them. Still, he had a habit of blushing every time I paid him a compliment. It had been over a year since we’d gotten together, and every compliment I gave him caused him to go pink in the face. It was a trait I found absolutely endearing. It was ever cuter to note that it was you who made him blush, and he’d told you as much, which I knew to be true. I’d watched every interview and battle of his throughout my childhood and always saw a man of confidence, or at least feigned confidence, never faltering or blushing once. I’d always figured it was just an expert team of makeup artists, or that his darker skin didn’t easily give way to his blushes. But as I began working with him further, and as we began our relationship I’d realized those assumptions certainly weren’t true and that he never used makeup on his perfect complexion, even in the spotlight.

Several hours later, I was woken by a slight ticking noise next to my ear. I’d fallen asleep curled up next to Leon. Looking up, I saw he’d done the same. Next to me, the ticking noise occurred again and I saw the eggs, all six of them moving, their shells breaking slightly.

“Leon, wake up,” I hissed, shaking him awake for the second time that week. This time, more expectant, Leon straightened himself up immediately to the scene in front of him, grinning as he saw the eggs moving. Our Dragapults hummed with excitement, cuddling together as they watched their babies be born. Leon and I did what we could, placing the broken pieces of eggshell in the garbage as soon as they hit the ground to prevent the Dreepys from hurting themselves on it. We let the baby Pokemon seek their parents first naturally, and gently stroked their pointed heads as they explored over to us, immediately recognizing the love and warmth that radiated from us toward the newborns.

My heart absolutely swelled watching Leon as several of the newborns crawled up onto his arms and chest, placing soft licks all over him. His laugh and smile were genuine as he kissed them right back on the top of their heads. Goodness, he was so soft. The baby Dreepy from the egg I’d had my eyes on climbed into my lap, humming happily as I stroked its head. This one, like it’s father, had red ears. Only one of the six newborns, one that attached itself firmly to Leon, had yellow markings like my Dragapult. I smiled at the newborn in my lap as it tried to jump excitedly, licking my face. It’s limbs moved awkwardly as it worked to figure them out.

“I think Hop will like this one,” Leon said, gesturing to the yellow- eared Dreepy. The newborn had attached itself to his leg, cuddling fiercely. I laughed. “It’ll get along really well with Dubwool.” Dubwool was Hop’s partner Pokemon. As a Wooloo, the Pokemon had always been cuddling Hop, no matter what they were doing. Despite having evolved into a larger ram-like Pokemon, his partner never lost its love of cuddles. The yellow-marked Dreepy would be absolutely perfect.

We spent the rest of the weekend caring for the Pokemon, cuddling and playing with them until we were absolutely sure the Pokemon would be ready to travel and be brought to their new homes, filled with lots of love. The Dreepy Leon and I decided to keep rested on our laps the entire way on our travels, resting contentedly as the both of us gave it soft head pats. I was both excited at nervous at the thought of raising my first Pokemon with Leon.

[zippdementia]

Part 85 Alignment May Vary: An End to Demons

At the end of last session, the PCs managed to put together the pieces of Alyss’ memory to discover she was not the queen of some ancient Satanic city, but rather a noble’s daughter, kidnapped and turned to the worship of Asmodeus. Furthermore, she bore Asmodeus’ child, Karina, who was a major Player Character in our campaign before she reached the hallowed halls of NPCdom.

Now the PCs are whisked back to the present, where they find themselves in the stone hallway again, the “behind the scenes” area of this layer of the Abyss and Esheballa’s game. And indeed, they have a game to finish.

(The artwork below is by Ryan Durney, from his Mirrors of the Abyss module. It’s one of my favorite of his pieces! For the full module, go here.)

Breaking the Rules

With the PCs at this point is Hecate, pulled from her destruction at the hands of the pit fiend moments before she could be crushed by its baleful wrath, and also Alyss. Puck is gone, but Alyss explains that he is “with her now,” the last bit of Asmodeus contained within her, safe in her restored mind until she can bring it to where it needs to go: Esheballa’s inner sanctum, where she keeps the “trophies” of the defeated Demon Lords and Devil invaders, who died during the Blood War’s destructive finale.

Alyss tells the PCs she will reach the sanctum and open a portal so they can join her there but that she needs two things: First, Daymos needs to go with her, as she needs his power to open the portal and also to travel the Abyss unnoticed, as he is now a demon. Second, she needs the PCs to keep playing Esheballa’s game for a little longer, so she doesn’t get suspicious and discover Alyss’ plan.

What is Alyss’ plan? To revive Asmodeus within Esheballa’s sanctum, bringing back her "husband” and the true lord of the devils.

The only other thing Alyss gives the players is a card from Abbraxus, meant for Imoaza. It has a curious riddle on it, telling her that in order to forge a weapon capable of defeating a god or goddess like Esheballa. It reads:

To the Snake Lady:

You will not be able to defeat Esheballa without the power of the realms combined. Solve my riddle and forge the greatest weapon in creation. It was meant for the one whose life you cut. Now its power will be yours to claim. Four realms will come together to craft this blade:

The Eternal Fire of Hell

The Cutting Darkness of the Abyss

The Power of an Elemental God

The Forbidden Knowledge of the Far Realms

Without this weapon, you shall perish and Esheballa shall make a trophy of your skins and a prisoner of your souls. Even with the weapon, your chances may be slight, but darkness flees from even the slightest light.

The PCs jump back into the game after this, doing one more room of Esheballa’s “Mirrors of the Abyss.” Esheballa herself is overjoyed to have her playthings back. 

“Ah, there you are!” Esheballa’s girlish voice emanates from mirrors all around the group. Then her voice darkens and lowers: “I thought you had tried to cheat your way out of my game.” Then a high pitched giggle again. “Or that you’d died, hee hee! Well, I’m glad you are back. There’s so much more fun to show you.”

The next room is a favorite room of mine from Ryan Durney’s crazed campaign, a room where the PCs are forced to split up and each tackle a different puzzle or challenge in a hallway of mirrors. Imoaza and Hecate end up in one hall, Milosh in another, and Ruz in a third.

Ruz has played Esheballa’s game and survived it before and he remembers this mirror puzzle. It was here that he and a fellow traveler met the horrible “Bloody Mary.” Mary was the architect of many of Esheballa’s magical mirrors, but when she tried to escape the realm, Esheballa took offense and punished her horribly, by putting her through the “grater” and then keeping her alive, suffering eternally from her wounds while trapped in the very mirrors she helped construct. Now Esheballa uses her as a monster against those who cannot solve her riddles.

For Ruz, this means solving the steps of a complicated ritual. Fortunately, he has the experience of past failure on his side and is able to avoid the mistakes his old companion made and complete the puzzle. As he exits the mirror hallway, he turns and sees Bloody Mary in one of the mirrors. Something about the look the horrendous apparition gives him makes him think that she knows what he and his companions are about to do. She nods solemnly as if in support, and disappears.

Presently Imoaza, Hecate, and Milosh join him. Milosh looks the worse for wear, but Imoaza and Hecate seem alrite, except for a trickle of blood running down her shoulder. The group doesn’t share their experiences, but I will, briefly.

Imoaza and Hecate end up facing a puzzle involving a sphere of annihilation which requires the proper sacrifice to pass. This is actually a pretty fun little mechanic, where sacrifices let Imoaza roll a d20 to change the effects of the sphere, supposedly turning it eventually into a portal that will let her and Hecate leave this hall. But the trick is that the sphere is never good, and really the goal is have it disappear and reveal the true exit. But this still requires sacrifice.

Milosh, meanwhile, is given a choice in his hallway: face a horrendous monster or set it on one of his fellows. Milosh has been changing ever since entering the abyss and especially since losing Carrick. He is losing his amicable, naive nature and reverting to something more primal inside of him. An old personality is emerging. And that personality wants to live. It sics the monster on Imoaza and Hecate.

This ends up being a boon for the snake relatives, as when they are attacked by the huge, deformed fox creature that Milosh sends at them, Imoaza uses powerful magic to blast it backwards into the sphere of annihilation. The sacrifice is accepted and the sphere disappears! 

An End to Demons

Passing through the mirror trap buys Alyss and Daymos enough time to open a way to Esheballa’s inner sanctum. The PCs leap through the portal that appears for them at the end of the mirror hallway and end up somewhere completely different, a great emptiness that is spanned by a massive bridge leading to the hollowed out corpse of the mighty Demogorgon, defeated during the Blood War and left here to house Esheballa’s most sacred treasures: the conquests of the Blood War.

Note, for this section, I’ve left the module Ryan Durney designed behind, but I want to say that it was a really unique dungeon, and one of the only ones I’ve ever read that really felt like an abyssal adventure. Ryan’s attention to detail really brought Esheballa and her realm to life. It is a deathtrap of a dungeon in the vein of Tomb of Horrors, maybe even deadlier, but also an experience lined with melancholy and moral dilemma. Very interesting stuff! Overall, the Planes in Dungeons & Dragons don’t get enough attention. They have been left as sandbox arenas for innovative DMs to play around in and let their imaginations run wild. But that’s also a lot of pressure on a DM. You have to create a compelling story, pick from myriads of monster lists and obstacles what the players are going to encounter, and somehow make the whole experience feel different enough from a standard game as to make it memorably part of a planar experience. Mirrors of the Abyss is one of the only modules released for 5th Edition that I feel does that, and the only one that does it for the Abyss.

That said, Mirrors could take up many more sessions if I play it straight through, and it is time for us to return to our main storyline. The players enter Demogorgon and make their way into one of his skulls, where Esheballa has built a museum of sorts. Here are paintings all over the walls, each containing the soul of a dead Demon Lord. One painting contains the soul of Asmodeus.

Basically, my head canon here is that in the final days of the Blood War, Asmodeus took some of his highest ranking devils and a huge army and invaded the Abyss. Every single Demon Lord died that day and the power of the Abyss was sealed away by Asmodeus’ power. But using this power drained Asmodeus of his life force and while he could not truly die, the Devils that accompanied him were killed and Asmodeus’ body destroyed. Damaged, his soul fled back to Hell, where one of his disciples, Alyss, found it and nurtured it into a semblance of health. It became Puck. Not strong enough to reveal who he truly was, and with his power only sustained by Alyss’ fervent belief in him, Puck could do naught but watch as Hell was left to the squabbling of those Devil Kings and Queens who had stayed behind from the front lines, turning hell into a capitalistic mecca in the process and more corrupt than ever before.

Meanwhile, The Blood War ended, but the Abyss survived. Dreadfully wounded, its ability to touch the world and open portals to draw poor souls into it was lost. The Demon Lords, from Lolth to Demogorgon, were destroyed. And into this vacuum of power stepped Esheballa. She was a very old goddess of fertility, whose worship had long ago corrupted into lust and blood and then eventually into dust and forgotten rituals. Now she claimed the Abyss for her own playground, feeding on what soul stuff of the dead Demon Lords she could siphon, trapping the rest in paintings to adorn her new sanctum, the hollowed out shell of Demogorgon. She kept a piece of Hellfire, kept alive here in a magical furnace. 

Into this furnace Milosh now places his broken gun arm and the spider mechanical creature that Abbraxus gave him, which is actually one of the old mechas of hell, designed to be able to forge using Hellfire. Milosh also feeds the fire a few special items he’s picked up around Esheballa’s realm, most notably the crown taken from the battle with the Lich. Flames flare up and the spider bot begins working at blinding speed, until it forges a new gun arm for Milosh, a gunarm filled with the powers of the Abyss but also the ability to turn those powers against demons: the Abyss Breaker.

The Abyss Breaker (requires Attunement)

As a bonus action, can transform from a hand into a drill or into a cannon.

As a hand, has no special stats (but it sure looks cool!)

As a drill, it cannot be used to wield a weapon or manipulate objects like a hand could. It can act as a +1 adamantine spear (user has proficiency) and can be used to help break through rocks and other materials. It can also be fired like a grappling hook as an attack action, with a range of 20/60 feet and can deal damage in this manner or be used to grip surfaces or objects (attack roll versus the object's AC to hit and grip an object). If it strikes, an immediate bonus action can be used to pull the user to the object or creature, after which point the target is no longer considered hooked.

As a cannon, it acts like a +3 heavy crossbow, dealing force damage instead of piercing. It can also cast the following spells, once per day per spell as an action:

Cloud of Daggers (PHB 222), Delayed Blast Fireball (PHB 231), Destructive Wave (PHB 231), Vitae Devourandem (a spell created by Ryan Durney which drains a target of their life and feeds it to the user)

The following spell can be used twice a day:

Modified Magic Missile (PHB 257): casts five darts for 1d4+1 force damage each. When a dart hits a target, that target is pushed 1d4-1 squares away in a direction determined by the roll of another d4. 1 - away to the left, 2 - away to the right, 3 - straight back, 4 - knocked prone in place.

Also, the wielder of the cannon can approach the body of a recently slain spellcaster (must have died within the last five minutes) and can store one spell that the spellcaster knew inside of it, to be used at any time. Once this spell is used once, it is gone. Multiple spells can be stored in this manner, up to 6. To store more than 6, one of the other spells must be discarded. The same spell can be stored multiple times, if taken from different spellcasters. This ability cannot be used on the same spellcaster multiple times.

Once per day, when the wielder of the cannon is a target of a spell, they may make an Arcana (Int) check equal to the spellcaster's DC. If successful, the spell is stored inside the cannon as per the ability above. On failure, nothing happens. This has no effect on the spell currently being cast.

And our fun with this weapon-maker isn’t over yet! 

Imoaza thinks back to Abbraxus’ riddle and puts the following items in the fire:

The Necronomicon

The Rod of Storms

Her Drosselgreymeyer Scythe

There is a terrific flare of heat and light and when the spider bot finished its work this time, the Eternal flame of Hell that feeds this furnace does the impossible: it goes out. Emerging from the flame is a shockingly familiar sword. It announces itself as “Blackrazor.” Only this is Blackrazor before it became the sword they all know. It is the original source of Blackrazor and the power of all of the Abyssal weapons that Imoaza and her Yuan Ti tribe have wielded for ages, including Drosselgreyer. We name it Blackrazor “Alpha.” How the sword’s origins begin here, aeons after the sword has already had a history, is a mystery yet to be solved.

“It’s gonna be timey-wimey stuff,” one of the players said. They probably aren’t wrong. “We are gonna go back and give birth to ourselves or something, aren’t we?” another asks. I’m not so sure about that.

The scene wraps up with a big battle. Alyss, Daymos, and Puck arrive and head to the painting of Asmodeus, and begin to form a new body for him, pulling his essence out of the painting where Esheballa had trapped him after the Blood War. But Esheballa also arrives and takes on the form of one of the demon lords she had previously defeated, the Demon Queen of Witches, named Rangda. The stats are taken from a Kobold Press publication (their Tome of Beasts and Creature Codex have gotten mention before, but they deserve mention again as the best third-party monster manuals for fifth edition).

The fight against Esheballa in Rangda’s form is a pretty fantastic one. Imoaza is immediately polymorphed into a serpent by Rangda but that doesn’t stop her from latching on to Rangda’s leg and dealing... well... about 3 damage a turn. But it’s something.

This leaves Hecate, Milosh, and Ruze to deal damage to Esheballa. Milosh has his Abyss Breaker, and Hecate has her gun arm, and Ruze has powerful magics, but it is a very close fight nonetheless. Hecate is nearly killed, and Milosh is about to face a deadly barrage when Ruze’s chaotic wild magic unintentionally turns the tide. Ruze is a Wild Magic sorcerer, and every once in a while he unleashes a random burst of magic. It can be dangerous, turning his powers on his allies... it can be pointless, like giving him a feathery beard or turning his skin blue... but it can also be powerful, like in this case, when it boosts the power of his magic and deals a devastating final blow to Rangda’s form. Esheballa is ejected... but the goddess is far from done with the group. Destroying Rangda’s form was simply like removing a bit of armor from Esheballa. Her true essence stands tall, ready to smite these poor mortals who dared to challenge her.

Only, this whole battle was just a distraction, meant to buy Daymos and Alyss time to channel Asmodeus back into Puck. That process completes now and Asmodeus returns to life. As he does, the power that was keeping the Abyss at bay is sucked back into him and the Demon Lords also are reborn, emerging from the paintings around Esheballa and pulling her, whom they consider a traitor and a rival, into their midst to tear her apart.

Asmodeus says the Blood War is about to begin again, and it is time for everyone to return to their homes, he with his new queen. Then, as Asmodeus draws Alyss in close for a passionate kiss., the PCs are sucked into a portal he creates and the world swirls into color around them.

They next open their eyes to see a canopy of leaf studded trees stretching above them. And that is for next time: Back to the Future.

[touchlotsofbutts]

Tay’s fav new artists, songs, albums of 2019; decade favs too <3

Hello friends. I have listened to 20,000 songs this year (#brag). Some of them I have listened to more than once, and some of them are all together on one really good album I like. Here's some lists of the songs, albums, and people who make them that I liked a lot.

For your listening convenience: a Spotify playlist with the artists, songs, and albums in question. One song from each artist, one song from each album: checka me out

5 new artists from (roughly) this year (unordered)

Slayyyter

Slayyyter is the logical conclusion of the early 2000's pop wave, absolutely bubble gum but no longer pulling and punches with its sexual desire. "He wanna get in my guts" indeed.

100 Gecs

I love high energy, I love noise, and I love catchy. Synthesize major electronic musical movements of the last 10 years and then kick that in the dick and you get 100 Gecs.

Stef Chura

A consistent AF album, with great single songs and a slow procession as well, I'm very hyped for more!

Glass Beach

This band is cutting edge, they know a shitton about music, their hour long album feels like it's only 30 minutes, it teleports you away.

Nilüfer Yanya

Clearly someone who is making music with a succinct style and aesthetic, I find it great to see a full album form around (relatively) simple concepts like an imaginary mental health spa.

10 Songs from this year (ordered)

10. "Good News (Ya-Ya Song)" by MUNA

Unexpectedly a smash hit for me, this is such a simple song but something in the melody stirs a deep and warming feeling within me.

9. "Falling Down The Stairs Of Your Smile" by The New Pornographers

New Pornographers always have great singles. Their albums never quite capture the same feeling, and it breaks my heart every time. Still love the band.

8. "Can't Believe The Way We Flow" by James Blake

A many month throwback, this song was a go-to for the whole year. Seemingly forgotten by many (surely not Dave tho), this album and song really showed additional depth for Blake in my eyes.

7. "24" by IDK

Should to DJ Big Fan. This song is fun as fuck and has so many good one-liners. "She says she not a THOT she a nymphooo"

6. "Clarity" by Kim Petras

This song is a guilty pleasure, not because I am ashamed of its content or sound, but because Kim consistently works with Dr. Luke, the fuckhead who absolutely abused Ke$ha. This song absolutely bops though. Oof.

5. "All I Do is Lie" by Stef Chura

A very small sleeper hit for me, and a big regret when I missed Stef playing nearby, but I love the winding and twisting of this song and the simple mantras bouncing back and forth between meanings.

4. "Lark" by Angel Olsen

This song encapsulates all of Angel's album. It's the lead-in to the album, and it truly matches the scope and grandeur.

3. "Stupid Horse" by 100 Gecs

A song so strong I also want to beat the shit out of a jockey. Distill 100 gecs and for me, this song is at the center. High energy, nonsense, and just total fun. I don't feel bad saying I kind of wish all music sounded like this (sometimes).

2. "Jelmore" by Bon Iver

14,115 feet above sea level, I look out to the sweeping arc of the horizon, a cloudy sky blankets the landscape I left behind. Play this song on your rental car speakers when you choose to conquer fear and ascend a towering mountain.

1. "Gretel" by (Sandy) Alex G

I adore the slow fade in, the garbled vocals, the familiar guitar. The garbled mix slowly devolves into a clear message. Alex G has said he never looks up lyrics, that there is an ambiguity to all words in songs. Is that why he sings this with such clear conviction? There's no misinterpretation here: "good people got something to lose."

20 Albums from this year (ordered)

The first ten are great, but I didn't want to blurb for them all!

20. Clarity by Kim Petras

19. MAGDALENE by FKA Twigs

18. Midnight by Stef Chura

17. Miss Universe by Nilüfer Yanya

16. Dedicated by Carly Rae Jepsen

15. Two Hands by Big Thief

14. Assume Form by James Blake

13. basking in the glow by oso oso

12. Why Hasn't Everything Already Disappeared? by Deerhunter

11. Pang by Caroline Polachek

10. Animated Violence Mild by Blanck Mass

I became stuck in place while listening to Blanck Mass on a plane this summer. One of the only albums I downloaded, it was all I had at 30,000 feet, thrumming engines piercing all the other music I had handy. The cacophony only added to this album, noise layered on noise but turning into melodies and stretching into songs.

9. Father of the Bride by Vampire Weekend

I don't know a ton about jam bands, but I definitely feel it when everyone else says this album was made in hopes of becoming one. This long ass album has some great highs, some charming lows, and honestly a really good chunk of Danielle Haim. Really a soundtrack to 2019 in a lot of ways. But it's really fuckin' long.

8. IGOR by Tyler, the Creator

Tyler's career has had the craziest arc. Rapping about killing women and progressing all the way to IGOR, which, is it even a rap album? The album contains such clear direction and vision, and far less of the reckless anger that Tyler became known for. The energy and sound has been honed down to a fine point, and there's a conciseness that sticks with you for hours after listening.

7. House of Sugar by (Sandy) Alex G

Alex G has always done so much for me. Bedroom music that has transformed each time into bigger and more detailed versions of itself. House of Sugar is no exception. While maybe a little less thrilling for me than Rocket, it's another evolution of this stripped down style, still laid bare but richer all the same.

6. U.F.O.F. by Big Thief

A lot of lists are going to feature some Big Thief. Big Thief is good, their music pierces you through the flesh and hits you in the bones. It stirs the spirit of a time now lost, sidelong glances through thickets of woodsy pines, listening to a friend play a simple song on their new guitar. It's great to celebrate a band and an album that puts a lot of pretense to bed and creates a simple, pleasing experience.

5. Charli by Charli XCX

Charli delivers an album after years of PC Music collaborated mix tapes and psuedo-album releases. Charli isn't some sort of second coming, but is the pinnacle of her expertise: fantastic collaborations, cutting edge beats, and familiar tales of her love and loss.

4. All Mirrors by Angel Olsen

Angel wasn't really known for her grandeur. Her songs and albums were dynamic, sure, with strong emotions, but All Mirrors dives into the direction of a grand pool, crystal clear and vast. "Lark" is a sweeping masterpiece, while "All Mirrors" has a methodical build and release. Angel is fully putting her voice and composition to work with an album this magnificent.

3. the first glass beach album by Glass Beach

My favorite description for this band is "post-emo." Many of my compatriots are not fond of band genres in generally, but for me this really nails it. It's a combination of an emotional, DIY scene with an online mentality, which I feel is representing the pace of the world. Also the music absolutely blasts, grand and epic and quiet and pensive, meandering as it wants.

2. Ghosteen by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Until about two months ago, I wasn't even a huge Nick Cave fan. Serendipitously, I happened to look into his backlog a couple weeks before this surpirse release. I spent a small amount of time looking into his older style, but when Ghosteen popped up, it floored me. That tangible loss, the grief that winds around you and grips you from within, it's on this album in full force. It's an album I know I will listen to sparingly, but lovingly, for ages and ages.

1. 1000 Gecs by 100 Gecs

I typically do not measure these kinds of lists by the number of listens. Usually albums with emotional weight or impact are not so accessible or listenable. This album is an absolute exception, it is crystalline and pure, it is powerful and subtle, its energy infectious. For me, it's a clear message describing the future of music I love.

Honorable menties, not conclusive or ordered, from this year:

Albums:

IDK's Is He Real?

Holly Herndon's PROTO

JPEGMAFIA's All My Heroes Are Cornballs

Battles's Juice B Crypts

Bon Iver's i,i

American Football's American Football (LP3)

DIIV's Deceiver

Anamanguchi's [USA]

Sir Babygirl's Crush on Me

Sharon Van Etten's Remind Me Tomorrow

Hemlock Ernst & Kenny Segal's Back At The House

Jay Som's Anak Ko

Florist's Emily Alone

Songs:

"Harmony Hall" by Vampire Weekend

"Superbike" by Jay Som

"Aute Cuture" by ROSALÍA

Many many others!

Roughly 10 of 2010-2019's best albums (unordered)

Halcyon Digest by Deerhunter

Encapsulate all of the indie rock I listened to and make it so dramatic it oozes lackadaisical energy.

The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do by Fiona Apple

The title is as long as the album is great. I am chomping at the bit for Fiona to follow this up with literally anything.

Carrie & Lowell by Sufjan Stevens

Many feel Sufjan could do no wrong, but it's not that he's unimpeachable, it's that he is able to shift his sound in pivotal ways at pivotal moments.

Cerulean Salt by Waxahatchee

Waxahatchee captured the post college ennui I was so suddenly thrust into, and continues to kick ass even after I got over the dread.

Allelujah! Don't Bend! Ascend! by Godspeed You! Black Emperor

This album kicks ass, but also I have an undying emotional connection to it since I listened to it on repeat the months after pops died! "We Drift Like Worried Fire" is entwined in my soul.

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City by Kendrick Lamar

There is a lot of great Kendrick to choose from, but the one absolutely stacked with bangers will remain my favorite (but I totally acknowledge the artistic merit and beyond of Damn. and TPAB).

The Monitor by Titus Andronicus

I only got into this album like four years after the fact, but it scratched the civil-war-concept-album-actually-about-the-Northeast I didn't know I had! Pumped it also taught me a cool Abe Lincoln speech.

E•MO•TION by Carly Rae Jepsen

This album guided me from toeing around pop music to going all in and finally have a good time in life.

Song of the summer:

"Steal My Sunshine" by Len

Remarkably, for the 20th year in a row, the song of the summer is Len's "Steal My Sunshine." What a powerhouse.

[bysombreseas]

The Dusk Patrol - Chapter One Excerpt

Authour’s Note: 

The first two thousand words or so of my WIP, a little scene where our protagonists are introduced and roles are established. Hope you all enjoy!

Taglist: @aurisadventure , @adayforducks , @danielleslayer , @wordsofpaintandsmoke , @smudged-glasses-writing

Episode 1 – Nightwalkers

It was only when the sun fell that Hope City lit up. Neon flames danced to the pounding chorus that spilled from club doorways and underground raves. The orderly suits of the business sector gave way to brightly dressed youths and drunken partygoers. Beer and blood and drugs beckoned from every doorway, while on the street a thousand honking taxis fought to push through endless gridlock.

There was a lot of crime in Hope City. Beyond the dazzling wealth of its tourist sector lay ramshackle neighborhoods and creeping decay. Hope was two cities, really; one was for the tourists, and the other, much poorer and far more violent, for its permanent residents.

It was in this second city that Dusk Patrol cadet Wren Nichang found herself, her police trainee badge flashing white every time she passed beneath a streetlight. The wind had started to pick up, ruffling her bob cut and sending a chill across her bare arms. It got cold quick at night, even in the summer.

Her mentor tonight was Brian Okave, six foot five and built like a steamroller. The Faith’s golden halo hung around his neck, though Wren couldn’t imagine him as the kind of man who prayed. Everything else about his uniform was standard Dusk Patrol; one Gaea L56 sidearm, one crackling walkie-talkie, a UV-capable flashlight and two clips of hollow-point bullets. Okave was one of the best mentors on the force and Wren was hoping she’d be assigned to shadow him for her training period. It was hard to tell if Okave reciprocated the feeling. There was a veneer of calm about him that rarely broke, even when he raised his voice.

“Nichang. Situational assessment.”

They were in a quieter part of town, the buildings ramshackle and the streetlights few and far between. It wasn’t a place that outsiders visited often, a hidden slum just blocks from one of the city’s biggest concert halls. “There are no cars in sight,” Wren said, squinting as she peered into the darkness. “Fence behind us isn’t short enough to jump. The houses across the street are too close together for there to be alleyways. There’s only one person in the immediate area, leaning against that streetlight. I assume that’s our contact.”

“Good eyes,” said Okave. “Professional assessment. Keep your guard up nonetheless. This is a bad part of town and some nightwalkers are very good at hiding.”

The wind picked up, a soft howling that competed with the distant city noises for attention. As they crossed the street, Wren folded her arms and wished she’d remembered to bring her jacket. “Sir?” she ventured. “Shouldn’t we be wearing plainclothes?”

“We should, yes.”

“Then why–”

“Department rules, Nichang. You’ll see when you meet her.”

“Oh.” Wren frowned. Suspense was never a good thing. “Have you known her for long?

“Several months. I met Anderson on a case. She was mugged on her way home, broke the poor bastard’s arm in three places. I brought up a murder I was working on and she gave me a name. Been my contact ever since.” There was a note of pride in Okave’s voice.

Wren nodded, unsure what to make of that. “With all due respect, sir, I didn’t realize the Dusk Patrol kept informants. None of my previous mentors had any.” Wren left out that her previous mentors hadn’t been too interested in casework. The mentors only got one night with each cadet before putting down names for permanent assignment, and most spent that time getting to know the trainees instead of doing actual policing. Wren–who couldn’t hold a conversation if it was glued to her hands–had spent the last two weeks red-faced and mumbling as each mentor’s initial enthusiasm faded into awkward silence.

“We don’t,” Okave replied to Wren’s query. “This is a special case.”

The figure waved at their approach. A girl, around a year younger than Wren, maybe eighteen. She wore an oversized sweater with the hood pulled up, torn jeans, and fingerless gloves. Her shoes were cheap knockoffs with a brand name like Noke or Jordens. Her face was drawn and pale, feral almost, her short brown hair so ragged and messy Wren was sure that she’d cut it herself with a dull knife and no mirror.

“Brian,” the girl said. Her voice was low. “Who’s the Asian chick?”

“Don’t call me that,” Wren scowled. She was an addict of some sort, that much was certain. Probably wearing the sweater to hide the marks in her arms–though from needles or teeth it was impossible to say. It wasn’t unheard of for people to give themselves up as blood banks, even if feeding was illegal outside of approved centres. Then again there’s the other possibility. She’s one of them.

“Sure thing cutie,” said the girl, with a smile. “I’m Anderson. Ann for short. Brian you didn’t answer my question.”

“Her name is Wren. She’s my shadow for the evening.”

“That’s cool, that’s cool. What am I here for? And I know you’re gonna say ‘the murder of course’ but which one? Cops gunned down three nightwalkers on Cinder Street–”

“Official statement is they drew first.”

“Cross that off. There’re some dead people in a hotel. I think it was a murder-suicide, but I don’t know much. Heard it was gruesome–blood and wax everywhere. Pretty spooky.”

“We want to know about this man.” Okave drew a rumpled photograph from his pants pocket and passed it to the girl. She looked it over, pursing her lips. “Try to remember, would you? I’m sure it can be worth your while.”

Wren watched the interaction from behind Okave. Dusk Patrol was weird in that way; for some things you had complete autonomy and others none. It was probably a rule somewhere you had to wear uniforms when talking to informants. Something about ‘maintaining a position of authority’. They were big on that stuff, pride before practicality.

The autonomy though. Only in the Dusk Patrol could you park your squad car two blocks away, walk to some crap-sack neighborhood and offer a lowlife a bribe without calling any of it in. Then again, when every case was an assault or murder, the criminals were monstrous nightwalkers and officer mortality rates were high enough that a sizeable part of the budget went to paying off life insurance, for most the perks weren’t worth the risk.

“I think I’ve seen him before.” The girl’s voice grew in confidence with each syllable. “Yeah, he was at Iris last Saturday. Bought a drink or two.”

“Iris?” Wren asked. “What’s that?”

“It’s a nightwalker club.” Anderson smiled, a big smile, large enough to show incisors. “I am a vampire.”

Wren stared and Okave sighed and Anderson’s wide smile grew wider.

“Let’s get back on topic here,” said Okave. “We know the guy was at Iris. I wouldn’t be here talking to you if we didn’t know that–”

“I work drinks,” Anderson explained to Wren.

“–so clearly I’m looking for more. Who was he? What did he do? Where did he go?”

“Why does it matter?”

Okave sighed again, running a dark hand over his forehead. “Because he’s been dead two days. We found his body in a dumpster on Queens. Throat slashed, drained dry. He had no wallet, no ID, and we’re waiting on forensics to match his prints. Autopsy came back yesterday; shows he wasn’t a nightwalker.”

“And then you started caring.” Anderson’s voice took on an edge. And that’s why we don’t have informants, Wren thought. To say the relationship between nightwalkers and the Dusk Patrol was poor would have been the understatement of the century. They hate us.

“I just do my job,” Okave said flatly. “The case came on my desk yesterday. A witness placed the guy somewhere in Iris’s vicinity, so I figured I’d talk to you.”

“Well I don’t know his name,” said Anderson. “But I know what he was.”

“That’s a start.”

Anderson scratched the back of her neck. If she felt threatened by the two officers she did not show it. My first vampire, Wren thought. Not entirely true, as she had seen other nightwalkers during training. Behind cells, though, or in interrogation rooms. Anderson was out in the wild. She was different than what Wren had expected. Cocky and rude, but not entirely unfriendly. How does it come so easily to her, that confidence? I wish I had that.

“He was a familiar,” Anderson was saying. “Your shadow know what I’m talking about?”

Okave looked to Wren, who was still staring. “Well?”

“Oh. Uh, they’re humans that want to be nightwalkers, right? Vampires usually.”

“It’s like a fetish,” Anderson chuckled. “He came up to the counter and asked for a beer. I think it was an excuse to make small talk; you should have seen his face when I told him my age. He asked my name, but I already knew where this was going. I told him I wasn’t interested in that sort of arrangement.”

“Blood for money?” Wren asked.

“Providence no, it’s blood for love. It’s blood so maybe a vampire might take you into their home, or even illegally turn you if you’re lucky.”

“I see.” Wren fought to keep her face blank. The thought of willingly letting a vampire drink her blood was a repulsive one, but she didn’t want to offend Anderson. “Does it happen often?”

This time it was Okave who answered. “Rarely, and rarer still the authorities don’t find out. There’s always the danger of ending up with an abusive vampire, or a pathological liar that just wants you for blood. That said, not that all vampires are manipulative, nor are nightwalkers in general–”

“Aw shut up,” Anderson interrupted. “Always with that PC bullshit. Anyways, I told the guy I wasn’t interested, and he left. To be honest I’m not too surprised he’s dead; dude was naïve, nervous. Probably his first time out.”

“Did you see him with anyone?” Okave asked, but the vampire just shrugged.

“Come on, Brian, it’s a busy place. It’s hard to make out faces in a crowd.”

Okave stuck a hand in his pants pocket and came out with a few bills. He let the glow from the streetlight catch on them. “How about these faces?”

Anderson snatched the money. She was almost a head smaller than Okave, her thin form dwarfed in his shadow. “Yeah, I recognize them. I remember your dead man too. Saw him leave with a woman, some ‘crat.”

“You have a name?”

Anderson shook her head. “No, she’s new, but I know the guy she was drinking with. His name is Tim Gossel.”

Gossel, she explained, had been turned legally at a government center when he was eighteen, one of the last before they got shut down. He was a college student and, Anderson added, a ‘hippy’. Wants to ban silver bullets and reopen turning centres. Thinks the Dusk Patrol and the Faith are evil. To Wren he sounded much worse than a hippy; he was a radical with dangerous views. No doubt he thought nightwalker criminals were all good people as well, victims of culture and circumstance and societal pressures.

At least she doesn’t think much of him either, Wren mused. The contempt in Anderson’s voice was palpable. “I didn’t think he was violent,” the vampire was saying. “Though I bet he’d take a swing at me if he knew I talk to you guys.”

It occurred to Wren just how risky Anderson’s actions were. People like Gossel were rife in Hope; no doubt they would consider speaking to the police some form of betrayal. “Does that worry you?” she asked, feeling a note of concern for the slouching girl.

“Fuck no I’d kick his scrawny ass,” Anderson laughed. “Kid’s three, I’m a hundred– Wren, are you alright? Your eyes just got real fuckin’ large again.”

“She’s fine,” Okave said. “If you don’t have anything else, I think we’re done here.”

“Fine by me.” Anderson straightened, adjusting her hood. “Nice to meet you, Wren. See you around sometime.”

Wren managed a quiet ‘bye’ as the girl walked past them, out of the streetlight and into the shadows. She closed her eyes, trying to clear her thoughts. She’s a vampire. The Dusk Patrol is supposed to kill her kind, and werewolves, and demons, and ghouls, and any kind of nightwalker that makes trouble. But she doesn’t care, no, she’s our friend. And she’s a hundred, plus what, the seventeen, eighteen years she was human? Did she call me cute?

Providence, she did. That’s so cool.

[ancientbooshartifacts]

Talk Geek to Me

Author: Kahvi

Year: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Characters: Richmond, Jen, Moss, Roy

"Fucking... fuck!"

The laptop sailed elegantly past Jen, landing on a sofa cushion, looking forlorn. She rolled her eyes, and turned to Roy, questioningly. He scowled at her, like a dog that knew it had done something wrong, but was not about to admit it.

"It won't boot!"

"Of course it won't boot," Moss yelled from behind the banks of monitors that he was attempting to hook up to the same PC. "I don't understand how you could ever have expected it to."

"Mind your own business, Moss," Roy groused, "I replaced the hard drive, flashed the BIOS, added the extra RAM..."

"And as I kept telling, you, you can't add RAM to a CPU."

Jen frowned. "Hang on, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Moss swatted at a flickering monitor. The screen promptly returned to normal.

"That noise... like a voice, sort of."

"Look," Roy waved a screwdriver, first at Jen, then at Moss's desk, "never mind that. I'll have you both know that," he pointed where the laptop had landed, "has an experimental quad-processor motherboard..."

"There it is again," Jen mumbled. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen.

"...where an extra bit of dedicated RAM to keep the CPUs running smoothly..."

"There!" Jen jumped up, waving her finger triumphantly. "You must have heard it, that time - it's coming from the kitchen!"

Roy rolled his eyes at her. "Somebody probably forgot to turn the radio off. Anyway, as I was saying, the dedicated bit of..."

Moss interrupted him. "That doesn't even make sense, Roy!"

Ignoring them both, Jen walked cautiously towards the kitchen. Maybe it was the radio; the noises were definitely human, like someone having a conversation where you couldn't quite make out the words. Furthermore, it seemed to be getting louder the closer she got. Had to be the radio, then... Except that when she stepped through the door, the cheap little Korean knock-off unit stood quietly in the corner of the counter, its LCD screen dead and grey. She bit her lip. In the outer office, voices were being raised.

"...which is exactly what I'm saying. If you hot-swapped it without checking if..."

There came a loud, drawn out groan, and Jen jumped.

"...I know what a PCI-slot looks like, Moss! If I'd have wanted to..."

The groan sounded again, louder and clearer now. Jen let out a little squeal, pressing herself against the counter. What was this?

"...remember clearly when you tried to fit a first-generation Pentium chip into its socket the wrong way, and pushed it in so hard you bent one of the pins..."

"Oh, YES!"

Instant silence. There was no mistaking that voice. Sticking her head out of the kitchen door, Jen met the terrified stares of Moss and Roy, which mirrored her own.

"Well," she said quietly, "anyone for lunch? I know this place really, really far away from here..."

I'minletsgo, the boys replied in unison, and together, they fled the scene, not looking back, except for Moss, who had to run back for his jacket.

Five minutes later, the red door opened, carefully, creaking on its hinges. A more sullen-looking than usual - if also a little flushed - Richmond peeked out, and looked around. Seeing that the coast was clear, he tiptoed over to Roy's desk, and hurriedly pulled out all the drawers, searching frantically. Finally finding what he was looking for, he held up the issue of PC Format in triumph, then legged it back to his room.

As for what happened later, well, if a tree falls, so to speak, in a empty server room, does it

really

make a sound?

[liamfoulger-unit4narrative]

Story Inspiration

I would prefer to do a more visual way of storytelling to begin my game as this immerses players more than just being told everything through text. This makes the player more likely to want to carry on playing the game so understanding how to make the beginning is very important.

Bioshock Infinite

The introduction to Bioshock Infinite is very good as it leans into the horror aspects of the previous games by dropping you off at a lighthouse in the middle of the ocean, given a gun and told to find the girl. It builds quite a lot of tension and has a lot of open questions like who is the girl, where are you going and lots of other things. It also breaks the trope from the first game, where you are sent underwater from the lighthouse, by sending you into the sky. You then wake up in a utopian sky city called Columbia. Then you walk through Columbia seeing different posters making you ask more questions like why are you the false Shepard and why are the people being told to watch out for you.

Mainlining

The introduction to mainlining is very effective at drawing in players with it replicating an old school style PC. The opening helps to engage the players with it just flashing to blue suddenly and giving a reboot style screen, the immersion is kept with it keeping with the old look to the UI but it just uses text which isn't the best way of telling a story but it couldn't have been done any other way with keeping the player involved. Maybe having more of a cutscene would've made it more exciting but it would be difficult to implement.

Silent Hill 2

The opening to Silent Hill 2 is very good as it starts very abruptly with you starting off in an old run down bathroom just looking into a mirror. The character then starts to monologue talking about a woman called Mary and asking whether she could really be there. This opens the question of who is Mary and where is she. You then have to exit the bathroom and hear a woman talking. She starts talking about a town called Silent Hill and how you promised to take her there again and how you never did. She tells she's alone in your special place which half answers the question of where she is but you need to know where your special place is. The main character starts speaking again saying he got a letter from Mary. He then says how Mary was your wife and how she died 3 years ago of disease. He then says how the whole town is your special place but then talks about a park. This then answers the two main questions set up in the introduction but asks another of is she really alive or not. The background is a scene of an area overlooking some trees covered in mist. This is very effective and eerie setting the whole tone of the game by answering questions but opening others with those answers.

The Last Of Us

The opening to the Last Of Us is very good and sets the tone for the game really well. It starts the game with a cutscene showing off a man on the phone worried about losing his job, he then turns on the light waking up a little girl. They then sit down on the sofa together, he calls her honey letting you know they're a farther and daughter. She hands him a present saying its for his birthday which is a new watch, the dad then pulls a joke on her saying it isn't working showing just how close they are. She then falls asleep on the sofa and gets carried upstairs. The gameplay then starts by having you get woken up by a phone call from your uncle asking for your dad. You then have to walk around the house looking for your dad, you're able to look around and find a little bit about the characters and see a bit of a news report telling you about a virus which is flooding the hospitals and see a hospital get blown up. Once you go downstairs and go towards the backdoor, he then walks through the door and tells you to get ready to leave. Then one of your neighbors walks up to the door and smashes it, your dad then shoots them after they run towards you. Your uncle then arrives at the front door and you go in his car, seeing the carnage the world has been plunged into as you get driven past. The car then crashes and you get to play as the dad, Joel, you then have to carry your daughter whilst running through the city avoiding explosions and enemies. You then lose tommy, the uncle, when he saves you by holding back some enemies since he's faster than you because you're holding your daughter. You then get chased by some enemies and then get taken into a cutscene where they get shot. You then see a soldier in front of you who is afraid that you're infected. He then radios through seeming distressed and letting them know you have a little girl with you. He then raises his gun and opens fire. You roll down a hill and tommy saves you but not in time since your daughter was shot. She then dies in your arms and the game truly begins. This really sets up the solemn feel of the whole game and sets up the farther daughter feel which is replicated through Joel and Ellies relationship. At the begin Joel is cold towards her but they slowly grow closer but the dark tone is kept throughout the whole game. This introduction is really effective as it draws you in and shows you the infection and just caught by surprise everyone was. It has a lot of good visual story telling allowing you to see the news report and see all the houses and people stranded on the road whilst you're driving away from the house.

[devils-gatemedia]

It’s almost like someone carefully planned that Steel Panther would hit these shores in January. A week or so until payday, bills from Christmas landing on the doormat, it is bloody freezing, and the country has ground to a halt. Judging by the warnings from the met office, the police, and the transport minister, venturing out after a certain time will result in apocalyptic scenarios rivalling ‘The Day After Tomorrow’. The crowd lining up outside the O2 Academy obviously didn’t get the message, as although it’s sub-zero, there’s a vast amount of naked flesh on display… and that’s just the male of the species. Lycra leggings, mullet wigs, crop tops, and beer bellies can only mean one thing; Steel Panther are in town, and for a few hours, the January blues are forgotten about. The added bonus of two much-touted up and coming UK rock acts is a master stroke, and the net result is a sold out venue.

The job of kicking off the evening fell to Wayward Sons, the new band featuring Toby Jepson, one of the most respected artists in the British rock scene over the last few decades. Jepson and Thunder being the two mainstays from the first coming of a new wave of British classic rock back in the late 80’s early 90’s. Ironic then that years later, Jepson and his fellow Wayward Sons have produced a debut album that gives the youngsters a run for their money. Much heavier than his most well known band, Little Angels, Wayward Sons play a infectious brand of hard rock that has the crowd bouncing from the off. They’ve also brought in some of their own fans as after the intro tape of ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ by Johnny Cash fades into opening track ‘Alive’. Heads are bobbing, arms are in the air, and more importantly, people are singing along. Jepson is sporting a rather nifty looking Flying V as he takes over the role of ring leader, cajoling those unfamiliar with Wayward Sons into clapping along and making some noise. The band are incredible too. Fellow guitarist Sam Wood looks every inch a guitar god in the making, and Nic Wastell plays his bass slung low like every punk wannabe from the good old days, difference being, he can play. Drummer Phil Martini is crucial to the sound as he puts in an almighty shift at the back, driving the likes of ‘Ghost’ and ‘Until The End’ along at a fair old pace. Clem Burke from Blondie is one of my favourite drummers, and I see a lot of Burke in this fella. Check out his intro to ‘Killing Time’… smashing, great, nice, super. Jepson is more experienced than most at this lark, and looks at home in front of a huge crowd. He knows how to work them, and he knows that a lot of those in tonight won’t be familiar with his previous work. His voice shows no sign of wear and tear from the last few decades, if anything it sounds stronger, hitting the high notes on ‘Killing Time’ with ease. After a short 30 minute set, Jepson announces that the band will be back on a headlining tour in April. With gems like ‘Crush’ and ‘Be Still’, you would be a fool to miss them.

Any band that takes to the stage using the theme tune to the classic TV show ‘Superstars’ is fine by me. Laying down a marker that says they are ‘superstars’ in waiting, or a tongue in cheek response to those that hail them as ‘the next big thing’? You decide. Either way, it did raise a wry smile from those who remember Kevin Keegan tumbling from his bike back in the ‘70’s, none of that health & safety malarkey back in them days. After the band take to the stage, the larger than life figure of frontman Nathan James ambles on. It’s hard to miss him really, he’s the one with a mane of long blonde hair and wearing the glittering jacket. Shy and retiring are two words never to be used when describing Nathan James. Frontmen should be confident  by nature, but James takes it to the next level. Thankfully, he has the voice to match his persona. He knows that Inglorious are onto something, and the response from the crowd shows they agree. Possibly the best reception that I’ve witnessed a support band receive in quite some time. Set wise, it’s a great mix from both acclaimed albums, the self-titled debut and last years follow up, ‘Inglorious II’. ‘Read All About It’ has a killer groove to it thanks to the powerhouse drumming. Phil Beaver is truly a beast behind the kit, and along with bassist Colin Parkinson, provides a fantastic foundation for the guys upfront to do their thing. The faster paced ‘Taking The Blame’ has the dandruff flying in the crowd, and a few pints can be seen flying up in the air. It must’ve been the free tap water, as no ‘sweaty’ would waste a pint at these prices, trust me. ‘I Don’t Need Your Loving’ just makes you want to bounce, the beat and the groove is perfect for bouncing, and if you time the bounces correctly, then by the time it finishes you’ve made your way to the barrier! One of the stand out tracks from the debut was ‘Holy Water’. The slower, bluesier side to Inglorious showcases their talent as players, and live it only amplifies this statement. The guitar work from Andreas Eriksson and Drew Lowe is, at times, staggering. Next step for Inglorious? Opening arenas for an act like Whitesnake, or the recently announced Def Leppard/Cheap Trick tour. They’ve got the fanbase in place, someone just needs to take the risk that Inglorious won’t blow them off the stage.

The fact that Steel Panther have been doing their exaggerated comedy-glam-metal-mashup since the early 2000’s, and are still pulling in quite a crowd, is amazing. Even more amazing is that they can still, in current times of various hashtags, the ‘snowflake’, and basically an age when it’s actually harder not to offend anyone than it is to rankle someone… but then again, we do live in a time when Michael McIntyre can sell out multiple nights in arenas up and down the country, so go figure. Maybe the appeal of Steel Panther is that perhaps people are sick of being told what is offensive or not, and sick of not a day going by where someone is on social media apologising for offending someone somewhere. Steel Panther are offensive if you want them to be, but thankfully they don’t apologise. It’s hard to imagine that anyone takes their schtick seriously in 2018, but I’m sure that there are people out there who would baulk if they heard ‘Asian Hooker’ or ‘17 Girls In A Row’. Did anyone ever find out what Tiger Woods thought of their tribute? So, when you walk through the door at a Steel Panther gig, best leave the PC button switched off. You’ll laugh at jokes you probably shouldn’t, but then again you will laugh, and if you go with the flow, you’ll also enjoy some well crafted cheesy hair metal.

Before ‘Supersonic Sex Machine’ opens the show, frontman Michael Starr is over in the wings making hand gestures at someone on the other side. It looks like it’s guitarist Satchel that is on the receiving end of some banter, and that really sets the tone for the show; four guys taking the piss out of each other in the way that only guys can. The crowd are also in for some abuse as well. In the same way that someone sitting in the front row at a comedy gig knows that they will be picked on, if you sit on someone’s shoulders at a Steel Panther gig, you know that you will be singled out. Like the person that Starr points out by saying “Shit, look at the tits on that bitch in the white… fuck!… it’s a guy!” Then said guy lifts his shirt, and wobbles like a human lava lamp. Bassist Lexxi Foxx is the usual butt of most jokes from Starr and Satchel, mainly because of his pout and his habit of checking himself in the mirror. Drummer Stix Zandinia sits atop his riser taking in all the madness that surrounds him. In between all this banter back and forth, Steel Panther actually play some music. ‘Asian Hooker’ and ‘Death To All But Metal’ are still hard to beat, but ‘Tomorrow Night’, ‘Poontang Boomerang’, ‘That’s When You Came In’ (love the acoustic intro), and the mass sing-a-long that is ‘Community Property’ are all special moments. It isn’t a Steel Panther gig until the stage is filled with girls from the crowd for ‘17 Girls In a Row’, and I’m sure that on this occasion I saw someone who looked like Wee Jimmy Krankie in a red wig up there?! It’s not all bawdy lyrics and crowd participation though, Satchel gets his moment in the limelight as he tears through some metal classics during his guitar solo. Satchel played with Rob Halford in Fight, enough said. If he’s good enough for the metal god…

It’s not often that you go to a gig and the entire audience is howling with laughter… unless the band really sucks. Steel Panther do not suck. They are however on tour throughout Europe until mid February. Turn up and let yourself go. Leave the inhibitions at the door, though.

Review: Dave Stott

Images: Dave Jamieson

Live review: Steel Panther – O2 Academy, Glasgow It’s almost like someone carefully planned that Steel Panther would hit these shores in January. A week or so until payday, bills from Christmas landing on the doormat, it is bloody freezing, and the country has ground to a halt.