#Your Friendly Conspiracy of Ravens

[aledethanlast]

If I'm already on the topic of the foxes and grown ups, let's talk about Kevin.

I think Kevin mellows out a lot by the time he goes pro. In part because there's not nearly so large an axe over his neck anymore, but largely because around his fourth year, when pro teams start seriously trying to recruit him, he realizes that his caustic and dismissive attitude towards his teammates can't really fly anymore. It's a Raven behavior, a label he's both disavowed and been disowned by, and most coaches are not his dad who will let him do whatever and kowtow to his expertise. He was an assistant coach for one semester, and never a captain. His behavior has a deadline and if he misses it, it might end his career. He's gonna need to make an actual effort.

And he wants to make the effort! He always admired the Trojans for their good nature, and while he is definitely a fox, he thinks he'd very much like being part of a more friendly team.

So when he signs on to his first pro team (the culmination of six weeks of studying various teams for play style, lineups, press reputation, and point stats), he feels ready to turn over a new leaf. If nothing else, he thinks he'd like to make more friends now that he doesn't have Andrew and Neil around all the time. And the team seems like a nice bunch! They're talented, driven, he can see how he can mesh with them.

This sentiment lasts him about a week.

"Put Neil on the goddamn phone," he says as he slams the door of his car.

"Kevin," his father says on the other end of the line. "We are at practice right now."

"I know, that's why I called you."

His father sighs in the way he does when he needs a few seconds to debate who he should blame for this latest headache. Then he hears a fist on glass on the other end, and a minute later the little fucker says "Kevin. How are you."

"I don't know how you did this or why, but I am going to fucking end you."

"Please be more specific." Smug little motherfucker. Kevin slams his foot on the gas and pretends it's Neil's neck. Though he eases up a bit when he almost tailspins out of the parking lot. He hasn't driven a car in six years, fucking sue him.

"Practice ended three hours ago, Neil. I am now leaving the stadium. Can you guess what I was doing in that meantime?"

"Rediscovering the lost city of Atlantis," Neil says, deadpan, and when Kevin goes to trial for homicide he is going to play this recording back for the court and they're going to call it justified.

"No, see, by the time Gotlieb started talking about Atlantis, I knew he was fucking with me. That doesn't salvage the two goddamn hours I spent trying to convince my teammates that the pyramids weren't, I shit you not, built by Napoleon." He pauses as he reconsiders what just came out of his mouth. "This was Andrew's idea, wasn't it?"

"Kevin, if you only talk to people about exy, they're going to think they can only talk to you about exy. Now your team knows you're an actual fucking person. Have fun with that."

Plague upon his fucking house. "Are you expecting a thank you?"

"You promised yourself you'll make more friends. I'm just holding you to it. So...yes."

Kevin doesn't say it, and he tells himself its because Neil doesn't need the ego. Somehow Neil hears him anyway. "Drive home safe, Kevin."

"Go get your rookies in line, Captain," Kevin says, and hangs up. He dials Andrew next; he needs to know just how much of Kevin's thesis Andrew turned into conspiracy fodder.

[hiraganasakura]

Hi so me being me I've decided to hyperanalyze the conversation Qrow and Raven had in Higanbana practically line by line bcus I have Many Thoughts and this is the best way I can think of to get them all out. If you can't tell I'm absolutely obsessed with these two. Btw.

Thanks to the RWBY wiki for providing transcripts for every episode, otherwise I definitely would have missed smth despite having just watched this scene recently lol

I put it under the read more for easier scrolling due to how long this post got!

I immediately noticed smth in the very first lines of the interaction:

Raven: "Hello, brother." Qrow: "...Raven."

You'll notice throughout the whole conversation that Raven never calls Qrow by his name, only condescendingly referring to him as "brother" this one time and never calling him anything else. Meanwhile, Qrow directly refers to Raven a total of three times throughout the conversation, and only one doesn't call Raven by her name (which we'll get to shortly)

On the other hand, Qrow doesn't bother with even so much as a greeting beyond simply stating Raven's name

It's different ways of communicating their distance. While Raven holds her relationship with Qrow over his head — never once, even outside of this scene, does she call him "brother" with affection iirc, only derision and condescension — Qrow doesn't seem to rly know how to greet her. He hesitates before saying her name and approaching her, as if trying to assess the situation before acting

Qrow: "So, what do you want?" Raven: "A girl can't just catch up with her family?" Qrow: "She can, but you're not. Now how 'bout we get on with it? Unless you plan on keeping these [drinks] comin'."

Again, Raven seems to bring up her familial ties with Qrow as a tactic to get him to do what she wants — in this case, stick around to talk to her despite him not seeming to rly want to. Frankly, it feels manipulative. We're gonna put a pin in this for now and come back to it in just a moment

Additionally, Qrow already knows that Raven's not just here for a friendly chat between two siblings, and sees right thru her facade that it is. Raven is here bcus she wants smth from him. But interestingly, it is Raven in V5 that says, in an almost frustrated/disappointed tone, "Family. Only coming around when they need something." There's another pin; keep both in mind

Raven: "Does she have it?" Qrow: "...Did you know Yang lost her arm?" Raven: "That's not—" Qrow: "Rhetorical question, I know you know. It's just obnoxious that you'd bring up family and then carry on like your own daughter doesn't exist." Raven: "I saved her." Qrow: "Once. Because that was your rule, right? Real 'Mom of the Year' material, sis."

Qrow dodges Raven's question about the Relic and instead brings up her hypocrisy in how she treats family. And it's a good point. Here she is lording her siblingship with Qrow over his head while simultaneously defending and upholding her rule that she is only obligated to help her own daughter a single time. Another pinpoint on our little conspiracy board

Also, here's the one time in this conversation Qrow refers to Raven as "sis". Like Raven's use of "brother", Qrow's use of "sis" is very pointed and with intent. But it's not to manipulate Raven, it's a snarky jab meant to rly hammer home Qrow's point

Raven: "I told you Beacon would fall, and it did. I told you Ozpin would fail, and he has. Now you tell me. Does. Salem. Have it?" Qrow: "I thought you weren't interested in all of that." Raven: "I just want to know what we are up against." Qrow: "And which 'we' are you referring to?"

A few things of note here. At some point in the past, Raven expressed an outright disinterest in Ozpin's inner circle, at least to Qrow. Qrow also feels excluded in the "we" Raven mentions being against Salem. To me, there seems to be a distinct possibility here that it wasn't that Raven felt personally disinterested in Ozpin's operations, but that she somehow felt excluded and feigned a lack of interest in order to protect herself. An idea that is further supported in my eyes by the following dialogue:

Qrow: "You should come back, Raven. The only way we'd beat her is by working together. All of us." Raven: "You're the one who left. The tribe raised us, and you turned your back on them." Qrow: "They were killers and thieves." Raven: "They were your family." Qrow: "You have a very skewed perception of that word."

And there it is. Raven's problem is laid out here for us, loud and clear: She feels like she was the one abandoned, not the one running away. She says it outright! "You're the one who left." To her, Qrow is the traitor, the one who left their family behind. If you ask Qrow (or, for that matter, Tai, Yang, and even Summer based on the scene in V9), it's the opposite

Bcus they have different definitions of family

Another thing to pin (I promise this will all become clear soon)

Raven: "I lead our people now. And as leader, I will do everything in my power to ensure our survival." Qrow: "I saw. The people of Shion saw, too." Raven: "The weak die. The strong live. Those are the rules." Qrow: "Well, you've certainly got someone strong on your side. I've seen the damage." Raven: "We couldn't have known the Grimm would set in as quickly as they did." Qrow: "I'm not talking about the Grimm. And I'm not talking about you, either."

Notice Raven's shift from "the tribe" to "our people". More of that guilt tripping!

Additionally, Raven is *obsessed* with rules. One save. The weak die, the strong live. Raven lives and breathes rules, even seemingly arbitrary ones. Guess what this is? Another pin!

Raven: "If you don't know where the Relic is, then we have nothing left to talk about." Qrow: "I don't know where the Spring Maiden is, either, but if you do, I need you to tell me." Raven: "And why would I do that?" Qrow: "Because without her, we're all going to die." Raven: "...And which 'we' are you referring to?"

Qrow's "either" here implies that he also doesn't know where the Crown of Choice is, which is... interesting. He's one of Ozpin's closest lieutenants, and is in the dark on where Beacon's Relic is? Wherever it is, it is such a closely kept secret that even Ozpin's best spy doesn't know where it is (maybe so that in the event Qrow gets captured by Salem he can't be forced into giving her the information?)

Meanwhile, Raven's "And why would I [tell you]?" implies that she does know who the Spring Maiden is (obviously. Raven's the Spring Maiden lol) but refuses to disclose to Qrow

A lantern sputters out after Qrow says "Without [Spring] we're all going to die." Now, I genuinely can't remember if this is headcanon or canon, but iirc Misfortune seems to act up when Qrow's upset. He's clearly tired of this little game of dancing around topics that Raven's been playing with him

And once again, Raven indicates a feeling of exclusion from Qrow's life in the iconic final line. She gets the final word in before leaving

We've finally reached the end of the conversation. Now what does all of this tell us?

And here is where all of those pins I wrote down are relevant. As I mentioned, the twins view family very differently

Qrow's view is pretty obvious: he views family as the ppl in his life who matter most to him. Unlike Raven, he does not view the tribe as family despite the fact that they raised him, disgustedly referring to them as "killers and thieves". It's implied that he was, in fact, neglected and/or likely abused by the Branwen tribe, saying in V6C4, "No one wanted me... I was cursed..." further explaining his distaste for them. Furthermore, despite not being related to Ruby by blood, they clearly consider one another family throughout the series, and he even seems closer to her than he seems to his niece who's actually blood related to him (I personally headcanon that he keeps more of a distance from Yang bcus she reminds him too much of Raven, who he feels abandoned and hurt by, but that's neither here nor there). Bloodlines and debts are secondary compared to loyalty, if they're considered at all. He is obviously furious that Raven only insists on saving Yang once and never directly interacting with her beyond that, despite Raven constantly guilting Qrow over abandoning his so-called "family" of the tribe. And yet. And yet. He still offers Raven a place back in his life, even if only to unite against Salem

Raven's view, to me, has been an enigma for a while. But after hyperanalyzing this conversation, after noting down all of those points of interest, I feel like I've finally cracked the code. Raven views family as an obligation, an exchange that always has an ulterior motive behind it. She seeks out Qrow only bcus she desires smth from him despite showing distaste when someone does the same to her; condescendingly calls Qrow "brother" more than his actual name and calls the tribe their "family" to try guilting him into doing what she wants; and feels fierce loyalty to the tribe but barely interacts with her daughter, only seeming to count one of the two as true family. She views the concept of family with cynicism and seems to feel an obligation to the tribe, as if she "owes" them for raising her

I think the two's perceptions of what defines family are all to do with the way the tribe treated both of them. This crosses a bit into headcanon territory, but as you can see by the above quotes and analysis, I rly don't think I'm just making it up entirely

As I already mentioned, I think it's implied that the Branwen tribe neglected/abused Qrow. In fact, we could probably blame their treatment of him for the deep self-loathing he has due to his "cursed" Semblance. But what about Raven?

Well, it's simple: I think she was abused, too, just in a different way. While Qrow was likely shown and told on a consistent basis that he was unwanted, unloved, undeserving of good things, Raven may have been shown and told she was wanted, loved, and deserving of good things... if she did what the tribe told her. If she repaid them for raising her and her brother, for being her "family". The way she uses her familial ties with Qrow as almost blackmail may be exactly the way the tribe treated her. Her obsession with following rules may stem from the fact that she had to follow the rules the tribe set for her in order to be accepted and deemed worth smth

As for her distance from Yang... honestly, I wonder if Raven is aware that Yang deserves better and keeps her distance as her way of doing that. When Summer confronts Raven in the V9 scene, Raven says, "...You're better at that life. Better than I was." She seems to have a fear and insecurity about being a good family member, a good mother, and maybe that's why she fled. Maybe she was scared of being like her abusers due to how she emulates them as a self-preservation tactic in so many other ways. Not entirely sure about this point tho

And I think too this is why the twins don't rly understand one another. They may have been unaware of the different ways in which the other was treated. Qrow, constantly unwanted and loathed, can't understand why Raven sticks around with the tribe; Raven, who obeyed the tribe and, in doing so, garnered enough of their favor to even eventually become leader, can't understand why Qrow can't just be "good", earn respect, and stay

This dissonance between the two experiences may also be completely intentional on the part of the tribe; abusers will often eliminate their targets' support systems in order to make them completely reliant on the abuser, so it's highly likely that the wedge was intentionally driven between the two siblings so that they could not find support in one another. This would also tie into why the twins seem to feel excluded from one another's lives and abandoned by one another: bcus they were made to feel that way by their common abusers, and did nothing to challenge these assumptions bcus they saw no reason to — and only seemed to keep proving one another right if they did

Which rly has some disturbing implications about how the Branwen tribe works. Like, do they just pick orphaned kids up off the street and abuse them into being perfect little bandits, molded to be of the greatest possible use and discarded if they're deemed worthless? Plus Qrow says his Semblance is how he got his name, which implies that the tribe also renames the kids they scoop up (possibly as a form of control or a way to make sure they can't be tracked down by any remaining family)? Plus there's the whole thing where Qrow and Raven were originally sent to Beacon to learn how to kill Huntsmen, which carries with it the implication that the Branwen tribe grooms literal orphan children into becoming stone-hearted murderers? What. The heck.

And if I'm right, if the Branwen tribe is that severely abusive, then like... wow, no wonder Qrow and Raven are Like That. They're both very deeply hurt people expressing it in different ways

I was considering adding their conversation at the Battle of Haven to this post, but I think that would be better as its own thing. Also I haven't gotten there on my rewatch yet so I may miss some details if I try to analyze it rn; it's better to wait overall methinks

But I have reached the point of my rewatch where we see Weiss and Whitley interact, and I think it would be very efficient to sum up what Qrow and Raven's relationship seems to be by using those siblings as a point of reference. Qrow = Weiss, actively trying to break free from and fight back against their abusers in different ways, while Raven = Whitley, continuing to do as their abusers want and have wanted as a method of self-preservation. Only, unlike Weiss and Whitley, Qrow and Raven have yet to come to a point where they can understand one another. I think that's a good way to briefly summarize the uh. Absolutely massive post this is.

In conclusion, I may have cracked the majority of the Branwen twins' pre-Beacon backstory purely by hyperanalyzing a single conversation. Oopsies

[maddstermind]

Find the Word!

Yay!!! Thank you @k-v-briarwood, I think these are my favorite types of tag games!

I'll tag @akiwitch, @worldsfromhoney, @moondust-bard, @localhellraiser, and anyone else who wants too! (And you are more than welcome to tag me back!)

Your words are: gone, please, blame, burn, and heart.

hold

It had always felt fitting that the missing King was holding the missing Princess. That was surely part of the allure of the portrait — the mystery behind their disappearances, the conspiracies. Genesis had been gone for nineteen years, almost to the day, and Belladonna only a few months less. People liked to think that wherever they went, they were together. Others were more cynical, believing Genesis abandoned their family and their duty to the country, and that Belladonna was plain and simply kidnapped. Or perhaps Daphné had killed them both. Or maybe Belladonna had never existed.

marr

He was pulled from the rubble by a hand that shone with the light of the suns, yet was cold to the touch. Their body was similarly bright but cold, and a sword hung off their side, the sharp blade hidden in its sheath, away from the curious fingers of children. Despite their cold exterior, they looked at the child with the fondness of a father, of a friend. A handsome, unmarred face, friendly eyes, and dark hair with pale streaks running through it.      They looked like a hero. Something out of a fairytale. Someone who had helped already — and could maybe help more.

gloom

Never used this word, apparently! Wowie!

great

      "Ashton!" Dr. Leonardo shouted as he approached. "What'd you do to that thing? Who is this?"      Sutton jumped and pocketed the scale, looking over. "Oh, hello. I'm Sutton Senft, nice to meet you."      "They're a traveller," Ashton explained. "They're injured."      "Great," the doctor grumbled. "More patients, just what I need. Did you even find the catch?"      Ashton pointed to Sutton. "They were in the trap. Hence the injury."      His eyes nearly bulged out of his head. "How in the name of the Silpa did a person get caught in a trap like that?"      They flushed. "It was dark."      "It was dark," he nodded, staring them down.

beam

     Raven sat, mouth hidden by the back of her hand, staring worriedly at the wall. "I think," she spoke carefully, "you may be onto something, Christie."      Despite the heavy tone, Christie beamed. She had wanted a mystery: now she had one. She had wanted a way to redeem herself to Raven: this was how. Maybe all wasn't so lost.

Hurrah hurrah!!! (These are all from Auberon books one and two, btw.)

[eivors-ravens]

Surprise Surprises by @reallywantanap

From your friendly conspiracy of ravens.

[berryshiara]

Ive Got You - Writing Prompt - Pure Randivor

[earnestly-endlessly]

I love your fic recs! Do you have any with Protective!Erik?

Protective! Erik is one of my favourite tropes so I have a TON of fics to share with you. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Protective! Erik fic recs

Erik Lehnsherr's Guide to Saving the Universe By Meeting Your Soul-Mate and Falling in Love in Less than 72 Hours – madneto, Pangea

Summary: Army Pilot Erik Lehnsherr is just trying to enjoy his day off when a mostly naked person crashes through the roof of his car. Even more alarming, the strange falling naked person—who goes by Charles Xavier when he's not speaking an ancient dead language—brings tidings of the apparent potential end of the world, and begs Erik to help him put a stop to it.

Well. His mother has been nagging at him to go out and meet new people.

In Sound and Silence – endingthemes

Summary: Erik is assigned to care for the special patient in room 301.

How Not To Meet Your Future Boyfriend – ikeracity

Summary: Erik punches Charles in the face the first time they meet. There isn't anywhere their relationship can go from there but up.

Forgotten – FuryRed

Summary: Charles is having a really bad day. Not only has he woken up in the middle of the afternoon with no idea where he is or how he got there, but when he returns home he’s confronted by a stranger with intense eyes, who insists that he knows Charles rather more intimately than Charles remembers…

Thou Shalt Not Eat Stones – valancysnaith

Summary: Two months after Washington, Raven found Erik in a skeevy motel off the Florida interstate.

“They have Charles, Erik,” she said.

The bedframe shrieked. In the bathroom, the showerhead snapped in half and clattered into the tub.

Demoted – JayPendragon

Summary: Erik Lehnsherr is a detective-specialist with the NYPD Mutant Tactical Unit, ready to help out where his skills are needed. Or he would be, if he and his partner hadn’t been demoted. For the next four months, he is patrolling the Lenox Hill precinct with Azazel – if he doesn’t die of boredom first. One night they are called in to investigate a potential case of domestic violence, yet the tenant assures them he is both alone and unharmed. However, there is something about this Charles Xavier that compels Erik to follow up.

Warning: Sensitive material, domestic abuse and dubious consent

Watch Your Back – swoopswoop

Summary: Bodyguard AU where Erik is overly protective and things aren't as simple as they seem.

If We Met Differently – swoopswoop

Summary: Erik wasn't the only mutant 'taken in' by Shaw, Erik learns this the hard way when a new mutant is dropped into his cell. They manage to escape together, but things aren't all roses after that. Erik has a score to settle and needs to make sure Charles is safe.

The Color of Love (Character Swap Remix) – BadLuckBlueEyes

Summary: Nobody sees in color until they meet their soulmates. When your soulmate dies, your vision returns to black and white. What happens when your soulmate only dies for a few minutes?

Omega Online – miss_aphelion

Summary: Newly imprinted Charles is having trouble dealing with his overly protective alpha—so in desperation he seeks advice in an omega chat room. Emma Frost is more than happy to help, Raven isn't helping at all, and Erik can't stand to be out of touch with Charles for more than five minutes at a time.

Cannot be Contained in Words – wallhaditcoming (uvcatastrophe) 

Summary: Crime syndicate head Erik Lehnsherr travels to London on business, where he meets oxford student Charles Xavier. Their liaison spawns into a years long transatlantic affair, kept apart by Erik's work and Charles' studies,which Erik chronicles in photographs. When distance ceases to be an issue after four long years, the overlap between Charles' past and Erik's work create a whole new set of complications.

A Pertinent Reminder – ikeracity, Pangea

Summary: Sometimes it's easy to forget that getting involved in Erik's mob business isn't all fine dining and sex on yachts. There's nothing like taking a couple of bullets to remind Charles of the reality.

Part 3 of the Associates series

A Dangerous Game – ikeracity, pangea

Summary: When a familiar enemy of Erik's returns to the city for some old-fashioned revenge, Charles is sucked deeper into the world of the mob than ever before.

Part 6 of the Associates series

You don’t choose the thug life (except when you do) – Anonymous

Summary: Charles is kidnapped and discovers that Erik, the Alpha he has been dating for the past few months and is head-over-heels for, is not just a wealthy businessman but actually the head of a syndicate.

He is rather unhappy about this discovery and Erik gets an earful for lying to him. Then Charles is kidnapped again and really, he hopes mating Erik won't result in weekly kidnapping because he has a thesis to finish and papers to grade.

Marrying a Mob – Ook

Summary: Charles is a teacher at a very exclusive school. When armed men burst in on the trail of two children, of course he stands up to them and gets hurt. The children are Erik Lehnsherr's children (of course); a "prominent businessman" or, less politely, "mobster".

Erik is grateful to Charles for saving his children's lives at the cost of his kneecap. So very grateful.

Naturally he tries to reward Charles for his actions. Equally naturally, Charles will be having none of that.

Azazel finds the whole thing unspeakably hilarious. Naturally.

Rumor Has It – blueink3

Summary: "Did I hear the doorbell earlier?"

"Yeah, but I'd steer clear if I were you. It seemed a little tense. I don't know what's going on, but there's a kid out there who looks freakily like the prof."

Nearly six months after Cuba, Charles' life is turned upside down for the second time. Though he's slowly learning to adapt to the first, he's not sure he can handle the second. Luckily for him, there are a few people out there more than willing to help.

Forward Momentum – AsYouWish

Summary: Six months after Cuba, Charles and Erik find themselves thrown fifty years into the future, where they meet their older selves, the Avengers, and a world that's very different from their own. Faced with the pieces of their broken relationship, an unparalleled adversary, and dealing with Tony Stark on a daily basis, Charles and Erik do their best to adapt while trying to find a way back home -- and to each other.

Runs in the Family – Anonysquirrel (chibirisuchan)

Summary: Alex knew his own reputation. Hell, he'd started some of his own reputation, because it kept some of the smarter thugs off his back. Everyone knew Alex's reputation. There was no way Hank didn't know his reputation, but he'd brought Alex into a house with some really expensive things and a lot of innocent little kids and his too-friendly, too-harmless dad.

But clearly Hank hadn't told his family anything about Alex, just like he hadn't told Alex anything about his family. At least, not about the brain-breaking parts of his family.

"I didn't know where to start," Hank said, for the dozenth time.

Featuring mpreg!Charles in a Kiss The Cook apron, overprotective!Erik in wet black leather, and baked goods. Lots and lots of baked goods.

Round the Corner Waiting – swoopswoop

Summary: When things go so spectacularly wrong during a relationship, Charles - now a single dad - almost makes a big mistake, only to be stopped by a mysterious man who just might turn his life back around.

Hide Your Fires – swoopswoop

Summary: As the sole heir, Prince Charles, had no problem with the roles and responsibility that would come with ruling a kingdom. Though he was the only one who did not see a problem. After years of being shuttled back and forth between kingdoms, his Regent hoping he would find a match more suitable to being King, he is finally sent to Genosha. Though the path has never been less clear than the one to a foreign kingdom with no ties to his native land.

Shaw’s Captive – swoopswoop

Summary: Magneto killed Shaw, it had to be done for the sake of mutant-kind but what he wasn't expecting to find hidden deep with Shaw's complex was a man held captive, obviously tortured, that somehow made Magneto turn into Erik.

Erik now has a potential human in his citadel as he continues the war with the human's.

Mind’s Eye Blind – Sperare 

Summary: As far as Erik is concerned, if you want to scare a person into talking, you have to present him with something more compelling than what he stands to lose...

And there is nothing in the world more compelling than Charles.

Chipped – Rosawyn 

Summary: Magneto's fledgling Brotherhood find Charles Xavier in a mutations research lab as an apparently willing subject for an experimental suppression device.

Okay, I Feel Better Now – Harleydoll

Summary: The AU in which Erik is sent to a mental health facility after being convicted for Shaw's murder and pleads insanity, and Charles is his paranoid schizophrenic of a roommate. Powers, Hellfire conspiracies, protective!Erik, and of course the inevitable angst.

Five Nights in Nuremberg – FuryRed

Summary: When Charles escapes from the mutant prison he has been held in for the last two years he knows that he’s going to need help to avoid being recaptured.

What he doesn’t expect is that help will come in the form of a mysterious German man who rescues Charles and takes him to his home; a handsome stranger who, frustratingly, doesn’t speak a single word of English…

Five Bullet Points – Sperare

Summary: It was supposed to be Erik locked away in a prison one hundred stories below the ground.

Charles was never supposed to be there with him.

Notes: Unfinished but an excellent read. Highly recommend it.

Stolen – ishipitsobad

Summary: Erik is a miserable, grumpy, cantankerous bastard, and he has every fucking right to be. He drew the short end of the stick when he got the Underworld as his domain, and there isn't very much fun to be had in judging and governing dead souls who would rather be anywhere else but with Erik in the depths of Hell.

So when he meets Charles, brilliant and lovely Charles who is more popularly known amongst the mortals as Persephone, and feels the promise of something wonderful that could make his eternally doomed existence infinitely more bearable... you can bet all your drachmas Erik's not going to let Charles go any fucking time soon.

My Barbaric Darling – baehj2915

Summary: Erik is revivified caveman. Charles is the anthropologist(?) taking care of him. This is as ridiculous as it sounds. Romcom misunderstandings and prehistoric wooing ensues.

Swimming with Sharks – Not_You

Summary: Erik used to be a shark. Now he's not, and has to figure out how to be a good human father to his twins. Charles is willing to help.

Eucalyptus leaf of my soul - kageillusionz, ourgirlfriday

Summary: Zookeeper Raven at Taronga Zoo keeps having ideas on how to capitalize on interest in the zoo mascots, Koala Charles and Drop Bear Erik (the only drop bear in captivity!), who have captured the hearts and minds of the public. First it was to introduce prospective mates (It’ll generate attention, Hank. People are perverts. They’d love to see koala porn.). This idea was not effective the first through fifth attempts, as Erik and Charles seemed to show at best polite interest in the newcomer before resuming whatever marsupial debate they had going. However, the resulting lesbian koala orgies did indeed generate interest. Then Raven unveiled the Hug-A-Koala program, which was successful, as the public showed great interest in hugging Charles, and Charles seemed to enjoy being hugged.

Then Raven unveiled the Hug-A-Drop Bear program, and Hank, not for the first time, wished he had a flask handy.

Notes: Yes, they’re Koalas, yes they’re adorable, and yes, Erik is super protective even as a Drop Bear.

[ask-the-crimson-king]

Tales from D&D: The Campfire Song Song

[It is I, your friendly neighborhood Hermit back with another tale from D&D. And this one is... Certainly a saga. LONG POST AHOY.

IT IS ONCE AGAIN FROM MY CURSE OF STRAHD CAMPAIGN! The characters, in brief, are:

AETERNUS -- Goliath wild soul barbarian, played more like a golem than a goliath. Stoic, remembers almost nothing of his past. ARAZEL -- Blood angel (aasimar x tiefling hybrid) bard, has a patron because he used to be a Warlock and the player wanted to keep the patron. Very much a Bard. Has tamed a fucking dire wolf who is now named Boris. He is a good boy. LEON -- Human time domain cleric, worships a god of time called Tempus. Old retired soldier sent out into the world because his god has plans for him. CALEB -- Vampire desperado gunslinger, a vampire hunter who wants revenge against the creatures who turned him and killed his family. 

In the last session, the players had made it to the Old Bonegrinder and met the three hags living there. Thanks to a Fifth Nat 1, the hags became hostile because Arazel mentioned how he had a pet dire wolf and the hags thought he was sent by Strahd. 

I told them at the beginning of this one,  “If you can talk your way out of this encounter, I’ll let you level up right now instead of waiting for Friday.”

What the fuck happens right after I say that?

Arazel fucking crits on persuasion and the party is now LEVEL FOUR! HURRAY!

Caleb is dealing with the two sisters upstairs, his gun is mentioned, and then Arazel’s player says, and I quote,

Arazel had also purchased a pastry, and Aeternus ends up charging upstairs and Arazel turns to him and says, "Hey Pebbles, eat this okay?" Aeternus made the con save, so instead of having weird dream visions, he instead felt this weird sense of nostalgia that he cant place his finger on. Seeing the cakes were safe, the rest of the party all pay for a cake themselves and they all. fail. the save.

So they get to fall into a pleasant, dreamlike state, for 1d4+4 hours... and OF COURSE I roll a 4. So eight hours of them being in this trance. Arazel, Leon, and Caleb, all conked the hell out. Which meant Aeternus was alone with this Night Hag who was now cackling. 

And so he asked the witch what was in the cakes, and she simply said “some very rare and exotic ingredients. it is an acquired taste.” aeternus then took many hints, scooped everyone up, and left with Ismark (Kolyana and Ireena were waiting outside in a cart, not trusting that place one bit, but Ismark went in to help guard the party and keep an eye on Caleb.) 

They run back to the cart and Kolyana is asking what happened. Aeternus explains the situation with the cakes, and Kolyana then facepalms. He says,

"You didn't eat any, did you?" "I did, why?" "Those are dream cakes. they're popular in Vallaki -- you'll see why." "I do not dream." "Everyone dreams, my boy. daydreams, plans for the future, or-" "I have nothing to dream about."  The cart goes quiet before Ismark speaks up. "What do you mean?" Aeternus then says, "I remember nothing but war from my past." "A miserable existence, then." "Heh, makes you sound like a barovian," Kolyana says with a snicker. "We're all miserable bastards." 

More silence. 

"You really don't remember anything?" Ismark then asks. "Nothing but war." Aeternus shakes his head. "How old are you?" "... I do not know. I have been wandering for some time, but I know I am quite old." "I don’t remember any wars in our recent history. You don’t seem to be old enough for any of those." "Definitely not," Kolyana agrees. The cart is silent, and Aeternus goes quiet.

Hours pass, and the cart is pulled off to the side of the road. Ireena and Valerie, a Vistana woman they had met, (who owned the cart), go off to build a fire, while the rest stay back in order to wait for the others to come out of their trances. 

When they do awaken, the world is darker. More grim, more miserable. The mists seem to cling to them, and they long to be back in their dreams.

Arazel awakes with a start, drawing out his magic string and wrapping it around Leon's neck while a thin knife hovers at Caleb's throat. Kolyana, Ismark, and Aeternus all stand to try and apprehend him as he asks, "What the HELL happened to me?" "You were dreaming," Aeternus tells him. "We didn’t do anything to you." "Put the weapons away, you're around friends here," Ismark says, his sword half out of its sheath. Slowly, Arazel backs down, checking his wings to see if any feathers are out of place. Boris looks up at him expectantly, and Arazel takes him to the fire as the rest of the party files out of the cart.

They all go and head down to the fireplace, and enjoy a nice thick stew. Some of the vegetables are freshly picked from the lands around them, although they are thick mountain-dwelling plants. They are a bit higher up in elevation, though more surrounded by foothills instead of mountains. 

They enjoy their dinner and Kolyana asks them what they saw in their visions. Leon goes first, recalling his home. recalling the people he loved, the community fostered, everything. It felt warm. It felt safe. But that wasn't here anymore. Kolyana gave him a small reassuring pat on the shoulder before Arazel spoke up.

"I saw my mother." "Your mother?" Aeternus asks. "Okay, well, here's the thing. My mother was this holy angel, and my father was a damned and hated tiefling. And my father kinda dipped on me when i was younger. My mother served a very holy god who didn't want to be sullied with such a sinful abomination," he then gestures to himself, "and so my mum had to leave me." "Wait, wait, your mom left you because her god said so?" Caleb asks. "Well yeah but I mean I get it. if she didn't then she would've lost her powers, and-" "That’s pretty selfish of her." Caleb shrugs. "sorry, man." "Not really. I’m sure any parent would do that." "I can tell you, as a father myself, I would never do that to my children. No matter who the god was. I'm sorry you had to go through that," Kolyana tells him, giving Arazel a meaningful look.

“And what about you, vampire?” the old man asks. “What did you see?”

"I saw my home. I saw the old homestead. I saw my parents, and my siblings. It was nice." Before Kolyana responds, a conspiracy of ravens descends from the sky. one lands on each of Aeternus' shoulders, cawing.  The three Barovians all gasp. 

"What fantastic luck," Kolyana mutters. Arazel is tempted to have Boris pounce on them, but Kolyana quickly says "DO NOT ATTACK THEM! That would bring nothing but doom and misfortune. Ravens are symbols of good luck, not evil. At least not here." 

Arazel shrugs, and tosses a piece of his stew at them. They caw and hop off the giant's shoulders, peck at the food, then flutter off into the night. The party all decides to settle in for the night, and this comes my FAVORITE fucking part of the session;

Dream Chats with Strahd!

(Yes I’m bending the lore a bit but it’s for the rule of cool okay)

I bring each of the players into the Special Corner (Discord call, we have a D&D voice chat and then Special Corner for 1-on-1 with the DM) one by one.

First in was Arazel.

Arazel feels the presence of his patron. He feels a warm, golden glow about him, even if he cannot visualize Sanguinius himself. He soon finds himself within a hall. It seems to be that of a cathedral. Polished stone, nearly gleaming, is under his feet. But everything feels... a bit fuzzed out. Just barely out of focus. He sees a lectern at the end of this great hall, with, what 40k fans would recognize, as the BA symbol, inscribed into it.

And then he hears a very familiar voice, and sees a very familiar figure walk out from behind a pillar.

Familiar dark clothing, familiar face, familiar dark eyes. 

It is Strahd von Zarovich, and he has come for a chat. 

And he doesnt greet arazel with hostility. He says that he is impressed with this place of worship, and that he knows very little about Arazel’s patron. But he would love to learn more about him, and about Arazel himself. Arazel asks “why are you here?”

Strahd takes a sip from his glass before he says, “You and your compatriots all fascinate me. So I want to learn just a little more about you. How you think, what your morality is." He shrugs, and then explains that he does not have too much time to speak. An invitation will be given -- soon, though he does not know when -- and tells him it is within Arazel’s best interests to accept it. He wants to be able to have an open, honest chat with him and his friends.

He also asks that he does not discuss this meeting with anyone. A measure of trust. Arazel agrees, and Strahd disappears.

Next up, Caleb.

Caleb is dreaming of his homestead. He feels grass beneath his feet, but none of his family is here. Everything around him feels fuzzy, blurry. The only crisp image is of the homestead itself. Strahd appears to him as well, coming out of the homestead, and says similar things to what he told Arazel, namely the reason for his arrival and his interest in him and his friends. However, he also remarks on how similar the two of them are, referring to their shared vampiric nature. Caleb says,

"Actually we're probably very different. I think we became who we are through very different ways." 

Strahd agrees, but he offers a solution to Caleb's little bloodthirst-issue, (which luckily has been able to be curbed thanks to Leon being generous), and potentially knowledge about his abilities. Caleb recently gained the ability to be able to shift into bat form, and he thinks he may have other skills locked away.

An invitation is mentioned, along with the same condition. He cannot tell anyone of this meeting.

Caleb, begrudgingly, agrees. Strahd vanishes once more. Interestingly, Strahd does not mention how one of Caleb’s current goals is to go into van Richten’s tower to find the old hunter in order to find a way to kill Strahd. 

But we’ll get to that.

Then we go to Leon.

Leon appears within an old library. The books around him are nothing more than vague shapes, and there is a musty smell from the bookshelves. Ahead of him is a strange device, a piece of machinery made of many different concentric rings, which he realizes must represent the different planes of reality. It slowly moves, casting around shadows as an unknown light source dances around the room. This is a representation of how Tempus views reality and its many potential timelines, he realizes. Just a very, very simple model, but it resembles the one from his own church. 

Enter Strahd, a warm smile on his face.

“I’ve been waiting to speak with you for some time. You and I have much to discuss.”

Leon asks why he is here, and Strahd explains what he had told Caleb and Arazel -- though he also adds he wants to learn a little more about him, here and now. He wants to also extend the offer for Leon to learn more about Strahd himself in a sort of private talk, and expresses interest in learning more about Tempus and Leon's nature and relationship. He asks Leon to tell him a few things, and Leon agrees to tell him a bit about his past -- his life as a soldier, the village he had settled within, how he found Tempus, that sort of stuff. 

Then Leon cuts right to the point, saying, "Why are you really asking me this? I don’t like to associate with bad people."

"Well I wouldn’t call myself bad. I have made my mistakes, and I am no saint, but I’m not a horrible person." Strahd shrugs. "I ask because I’m fascinated by you. By all of you, honestly. You're quite the interesting little crew."

He mentions the invitation, but also gives a different message.

"I know Caleb is going to be going to van Richten's tower. I want you to stay behind in Vallaki when he does. I will send my invitation then. Our conversation will be a little more... private, for lack of a better term, then the one I shall have with all of you."

He gives the same terms -- that Leon cannot tell anyone of this meeting -- which Leon agrees to, and Strahd disappears once more.

Last but not least...

Aeternus.

Aeternus doesn't dream, but his mind does come to a daydreaming-state. He comes to one of the few scenes he remembers. A field, with the rubble of a broken house nearby. Nothing else is clear, or even blurred. It feels like he’s standing on the edge of a vast void.

Strahd appears once more, commenting on how grim this place was. Aeternus is on edge at the appearance of the vampire, but simply replies, "this is all I can remember."

"Oh, I know. All you remember is warfare. But even then, of no clear battle. Just fragments of death and misery. A shame, really." Strahd sighs. "I know of a way for you to begin remembering all you had lost. My libraries may hold some of the answers you seek, as do I."

Aeternus is quiet. Before he speaks, strahd smiles. 

"Petting that wolf made you remember something, didn't it? And the cake you ate? You remember something about a raven, too."

Aeternus is caught way off guard. Strahd has, somehow (rule of cool and plot reasons) gotten into his head. He goes on guard, but Strahd puts his hands up. 

"I can offer answers. I will be sending an invitation, soon. I do not know when. But I need to be able to trust you. Tell no one of this encounter." 

"How can i be able to trust you?" Aeternus responds with a grunt. One hand is on his axe. Strahd chuckles. "Caleb wants to go to van Richten's tower. Go with him. There is something waiting for you there." 

And then he disappears, and that is where the session ended.

[aconissa]

10 Questions Tag Game!

I was tagged by the lovely @punkenglishnerd

What is one event that completely changed your life or was a turning point in your life? Uhhh no clue tbh 😬 

What is your favourite place you’ve ever been to? Can be a country, a city, or even something as small as a cafe you went to once. Castle Howard (Brideshead) in Yorkshire is definitely one of my fave places

Who is your confidant or go-to whenever you need advice or someone to just vent to? My group chat with my 3 best friends

What is your philosophy on life? Be kind, do what you love, live well

If you could master one skill, what would you choose? Would just love to be properly fluent in other languages

If you were given $1000 (or the equivalent in your currency) but had to spend it on someone else, who would you spend it on and what would you buy? I’d take my best friends on a shopping spree

Is there something people usually assume about you that isn’t true? If so, what is it? (For example, it could be based on your race, sexuality, gender, personality, etc.) I think people often assume I’d be a pushover or overly polite because I’m nice & friendly, whereas in reality I don’t compromise on my beliefs, I can be pretty rude to my friends (from a place of love!), and I swear all the time

How do you typically spend a sick day? lying in bed watching tv

Imagine you became famous for something. What would you want to be famous for? Being an expert historian, but a respected one and not one who overly simplifies history in an effort to popularise it

Describe yourself as if you were a character in a book.  Hi my name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair (that's how I got my name) with purple streaks and red tips that reaches my mid-back and icy blue eyes like limpid tears and a lot of people tell me I look like Amy Lee (AN: if u don't know who she is get da hell out of here!).

My own questions are below the cut. I tag @lesmiserabelles @henrylevesconte @myfavoritedemons @hegodamask but no pressure!

do you believe in any conspiracy theories, and if so which ones?

favourite work of art?

have you ever had recurring dreams, and if so what were they about?

which unfinished/cancelled show or book series would you bring back if you could?

what wild animal would you want as your cartoon sidekick?

favourite word?

pick the three songs you’d listen to for the rest of your life if you could never listen to anything else

which historical figure would you most want to meet and why?

is there a cause that’s particularly close to your heart right now?

pick a tv show that you wish was never made

post the last thing you screenshot

[avpsyren-blog]

hellooooo thank you so much for the warm welcome! i will legit reply to my ims soon. also hi again i’m rhys and this is my bb red aka psyren (pronounced like siren heh). so like i left krp in 2016 and like when i saw this rp i was like whoah i gotta get back because i love everything xmen/mutant-related shit. anyway i’ll tell you more underneath the cut ma dudes

red is probs (one of the?) oldest member of the academy as in she was brought in at 12. she been here 10 years bruh. she doesnt remember anything other than what happened to her on the day she lost her memory after she got shot in da head (so yknow tonssssssssssss of shit we can do)

was she just at the wrong place at the wrong time?

was she sent there?

was she a part of some conspiracy? against humans? mutants?

did she have parents? siblings?

did she know you? whoaaahhhhh

idk man da possibility is endless

anyway her powers. she’s basically simon, but this simon only says “simon says” that’s it. more information here

personality wise, just call her a loose cannon. she’s unpredictable. she’s nice though just yknow provocative as in she evokes all kinds of emotions, intentional or nah because sometimes she gets a lil cocky. most times she’s nice. also she may dress provocatively from time to time (all the time)

she may see herself as the good guy but sometimes she’s not that convinced yknow? but she’s loyal loyal. she feels that she owes people of the academy for taking her in so she’d probs die for them idk

also what you can notice from time to time is that she’s taking some kinda medication. she has to take them like 4 times a day so yknow could be a plot point

she doesn’t get these flashbacks ala raven (that’s clairvoyance anyway) but she gets nightmares ya cliche

she may be a senior but she’s generally quite friendly. sometimes she’ll pretend to be a newbie to just mess with the newbies (heads) 

also open to any kind of relationship like you can also FAKE a family relationship with her because she has no recollection of the past whatsoever 

ya wait i’m gonna be writing some mature content on here so i’ll tag em with tw because i’ll probs include a lot of those sometime somewhere 

basically plots: exes, enemies, best friends, um student? (because she can amplify your power and make you feel super powerful like whoah i didn’t know i can do that), rebel buddies (she smokes, drinks), family, ANGST OKAY I WANT THAT SO PLS JUST PLSSSSSSS

anyway if you plan to have another muse and want to have the same bg as her to strengthen this conspiracy theory as in that wasn’t an isolated event you can do that tbh like the more the merrier

i honestly forgot what my discord is but you can also reach me on twitter @jieqiongs_ or just im me here on tumblr to plot 

[kinkyacademia]

Hi Rae Rae! I would be ever so pleased if you can make so sfw & nsfw Headcannons of Alpha!Mic and his blind yet sassy s/o? Love you lots and thank you for considering this ask! ;)

Hello there! Pfft, if I can? You know I can! No worries, no issues, no problemo! Lets hope it turns out alright, love to hear what you think when I’m done though my musical lil’ conspiracy! Can’t wait! Also, I’ve gotten slack af on my birb selfies so I’ll try to add new ones as I go! Though most will be sketches since my tablet is gone with the wind and drawing with a mouse is a pain in the cloaca!!!

Also, friendly reminder I don’t usually write for mic, this was a special occasion!

🕸🕸Undead Raven🕸🕸

🐺📻 Hizashi Yamada 📻🐺

🐺📻 Just because you’re blind, doesn’t mean that you need someone to tell you every little detail that’s going on. This is something that you just cannot get across to your boyfriend, Hizashi.

🐺📻 Some things, like the weather or important events are alright for him to explain to you in detail but what colour cars going past are, what people are wearing? You really didn’t need to know about that and you often told Hizashi off for over-describing things!

🐺📻 Sometimes when you were out with Hizashi, Shouta and Nemuri, you would join in on their conversations and surprise them with your sassy nature, despite knowing you for a few years now, it always seemed to surprise them.

🐺📻 Students of Hizashi’s that you happened to meet were always startled by your outgoing personality and sassy remarks. Most were expecting someone quiet and reserved but you always found a way to blow away that expectation.

🐺📻 In the bedroom, your handicap became your greatest strength. Though you couldn’t see, you could still feel and being that touching is how you “see” Hizashi was always left a growling, hot mess when you had your fun with him, your touches being thorough and unafraid of what was to come.

🐺📻 Though, since he was an alpha, you had to make sure he was sitting up so that he wasn’t on his back before you even began to pleasure him, not wanting to stir up his alpha tendencies just yet.

🐺📻 It had amazed you when you found that Hizashi enjoyed having you top him through that sense, not in charge but also returning the pleasure he gave you! Once he deemed you had had enough fun, Hizashi would always change the positions and knot you until you were overflowing with his hot seed.

[milk-karton-kids]

Return to the Winchester Mansion

Hey! This is a short fic I wrote based off the season premiere of BFU Supernatural Season 5!

Pairing: Shyan

Headcannon: Shyan, Demon Shane

Rating: PG (so far)

Word count: 5K (so far)

Read it on Wattpad: ^-^

Read it here:

The Winchester Mansion. The very first place Shane and Ryan had ever investigated, and the place where Shane had first decided that he had wanted to do this- ghost hunting or whatever- with Ryan for as long as they could. The crew had drove to the location from their office in LA, the van crammed full of people and filming equipment.

They were all chatty, cracking jokes, sharing embarrassing stories and making fun of each other. They stopped for dinner at a McDonalds, and as a result, the van smelled like fried food for the rest of the drive. At one point, Ryan and Shane had started throwing fries at the people in the front seats.

By nightfall, the crew reached the location. Through the window, Shane could see the sprawling mansion once again, and it reminded him of his first impression of it, and how touristy it was. The van pulled up and the crew piled out, and started to unload the equipment. Grateful to stretch his long legs, Shane walked around a bit.

He made his way over to Ryan as the crew started to set up.

"Are you ready?"

Ryan looked up into Shane's eyes, and Shane tried to push the feeling of his gut tightening away.

"No, but we're going to do this anyway."

Shane shot him a grin, and together they made their way up the sidewalk.

Standing outside the front door, they both took a moment to gaze at the giant maze of rooms.

"Back where it all began," Ryan said. "Back to the spot where we started ghoul hunting."

"We came as boys, and now we return as men," Shane added.

"I'm happy to be back. It is dressed up for Halloween right now, so that's going to add a little bit of spooky fun to it."

"Yeah, but that makes it almost better, cause, Jack-o-lanterns, everybody loves 'em, right?"

"You have anything to say to her, Shane? The lady of the house?"

Shane had a lot to say, just not to Sarah Winchester.

"Yeah, let's tango baby! Let's dance!"

Except there was someone he'd rather be tangoing and dancing with.

Shane didn't really know when it started- the feeling of solidarity between Ryan and him. He'd been invited onto Buzzfeed Unsolved after the first few episodes of True Crime had been filmed, only knowing Ryan as a friendly coworker. However, in the Buzzfeed industry, that was still fairly well.

Shane enjoyed conspiracy theories as much as the next person. He loved mystery- and he loved taking down ridiculous claims. He also liked to take down not-so-ridiculous claims, like the fact that ghosts were real (true, he'd met a fair few) and demons existed (also true, he was living proof of that).

He also enjoyed hiding this truth from Ryan as best as he could. There was something thrilling about walking on the edge, knowing that one mistake, one slip-up, could possibly ruin everything between him and Ryan. And whatever that was, Shane wanted more of it.

Reflecting on this, Shane followed Ryan into the house.

"Man, it does feel like we're coming back home," Ryan said in earnest.

"Yeah I do feel... I feel right being here."

Probably because this is where all my feelings started to manifest, Shane thought to himself.

They shut the door behind them.

"Well, in case any of you needed a reminder, this place is a twisting nightmare."

Did you mean: My feelings for you? Shane asked in his head.

Together they walked down a dark hallway, the camera crew behind them.

Ryan had a flashlight out, and started speaking to the darkness.

"Hello? Just so all of you know in this house, we've been here before, my name is Ryan..."

"Uh, my name's Shane," Shane jumped in, startling out of his thoughts.

"And, uh, we're just here to talk, so if you wanna just come out, maybe show yourself-"

"-You know, just chill here, and hang out with us!"

"Yeah. Oh great, I'm already lost."

Shane repressed a snicker, but his eyes were darting over Ryan's back, taking in his slight build and unsteady posture. He could tell Ryan was already scared. Good. Shane liked Ryan when Ryan was scared.

They joked around a bit more before heading to the area they would film the main segments about the history and lore of the house, and of course, where Ryan would say "This week on the season premiere of Buzzfeed Unsolved, we re-investigate the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose California as part of our ongoing investigation into the question 'Are ghosts real?'" to which Shane would shake his head as the scene cut to him.

They pulled up two chairs in a rather cluttered room, set them next to each other, facing slightly inward, while the camera crew set up their equipment.

Ryan started going through his script, talking about how this was the first site they'd been to, and about how tonight "We're actually going to sleep here this time, uh, I was a little too chicken for that," (in talking about when they visited before).

Shane gave an awkward little chuckle.

"We're going to sleep individually, too," Ryan added, jerking a thumb in Shane's direction.

"I love it," Shane lied.

"So you'll actually sleep tonight-"

"-I'll get a great night's sleep-"

"-I won't, probably, I'm going to be in her bedroom, trying very hard to, eh, not die," Ryan chuckled. "I think I'm just gonna count-"

"What's she gonna do?" interjected Shane.

"I don't know!" Ryan shrugged, a wide grin spreading across his face.

"She's just gonna rip out your spine?" Shane definitely had not daydreamed about doing that to Ryan before. "The worst she'll do is give you a little kiss on the cheek or something." Like I want to.

"I'm trying to challenge myself mentally this season," Ryan said, directing his attention back towards the camera. "Because last season-"

"A little too cocky," Shane interjected, lacing his fingers together and leaning back. He was ready to see Ryan start freaking out again. He missed it.

"I got a little too, uh, calloused."

"Yeah. You stopped believing in ghosts, I think," Shane provoked.

"I did not stop believing in ghosts-"

"-Maybe-"

"-I'm used to hunting ghouls after a while-"

"-if you really believed in them, you'd still be pretty scared, but-"

"Anyways, let's break down some history, huh?"

"Yeah," Shane said, looking away.

"You ready?" Ryan asked, prompting a transition in the final video cut, but also, it seemed to Shane, noticing that there was something on Shane's mind. He had slipped a little, and it was noticeable.

"Oh yeah!" Shane answered enthusiastically, nodding.

"Then let's get into it."

"Okay."

They waited a bit for the camera to stop filming, and then put the chairs back.

"Ready to start walking around?" Ryan asked.

Shane nodded, and they started to make their way to the hay house. Up the switch-back stairs they went, camera rolling, into the attic, which Shane immediately recognized.

"Well, we're back," Ryan said cheerfully.

"The Ghoul Brothers," Shane said.

There was a moment of silence.

"We've upgraded to Ghoul Brothers, now?" Ryan joked, shining the flashlight on Shane's face. He pretended to cringe from the brightness so Ryan would move the light off his face and hopefully not notice the blush he could feel creeping into his cheeks.

"Yeah," was all Shane said.

Ryan moved around and settled into a spot for the moment.

"Whoever lived in the house, or may be in this house now, or in the past, we know this was one of the more, original, places when this place was first built, and not uh, uuh, a weird little fun house that it is now. Now that you know that we know who you are..."

"But do they know that we know that..."

"They know that we know-"

"-that we know who they are?"

There was a pause.

"That's the trick," Shane smiled, shining the flashlight in Ryan's now-confused (but adorable) face.

Shane squatted down, and Ryan, after questioning, it, followed suit.

"If there's anyone in here with us, let us know. Say something."

The two of them waited for whatever would or wouldn't say something.

Shane could already tell that there were no ghosts in the room at the moment.

"Twenty seconds."

Shane's face screwed up, and Ryan noticed.

"You think something's funny?" he asked.

Shane's composure broke and he let out a small chuckle, saying "I like how you give them a little warning, 'Twenty seconds left, get your shit together'."

Shane got up and Ryan mumbled something he couldn't quite understand. Ryan called out a "buh-bye!" as they started to exited the room. "That was dissapointin- Ah!"

Ryan startled at a fake black bird that'd suddenly be caught in his flashlight beam. Upon realizing what it was, he laughed nervously and put a hand up to his forehead only to then bend over and place his hands on his knees. "Ah, shit."

Meanwhile Shane was laughing.

"Well that's going to happen a couple of times tonight," Ryan admitted. "Just, there's, there's Halloween stuff around, we got, a crow, or a raven-?"

"It's Ryan's biggest fear."

Ryan laughed again, and they headed back down the switch-back stairs.

From there, Ryan led them to some of the more visually popular places in the building, like the stairs that lead to nowhere, the door that opened to reveal a bricked-up wall, and the door that lead to a drop since it was a few stories up.

"One of the, uh, greater novelties of this home, if you want to call it that," Ryan said, looking out the door and then into Shane's phone's camera. "Except this novelty could kill you, so..."

Ryan leaned over and looked down.

"It really goes there," Shane commented.

"Ooooh," Ryan said, making a spooky noise.

"Yeah, careful, man," Shane titted. He knew he could survive a drop like that, but Ryan? Ryan was just human, and human shells were frail.

"I just don't think any ghost is going to open this door and be like 'woeoeoeow' and fall out like Wild E Coyote."

God, Ryan was so cute.

"'Going to ghost work, honey, see you la-wooooah, not again!" Shane jumped in.

Ryan laughed, and Shane felt that all-too-familiar tugging sensation in his gut.

Together with the crew, they walked around the house some more, getting some extra footage of the house to show while Ryan's voice over played.

Through this transition in Ryan's narrative, it would bring the audience to the seance room next, and therefore was where they headed after gathering some more footage of random rooms and hallways.

The walls of the seance room were made of long and thin wooden panels that were painted a light whitish color, though it was hard to tell in the dark with only flashlights. There were a number of iron hooks on the walls, and also a fair amount of doors. And, for the season, there were also many spooky Halloween decorations about.

Ryan talked about their visit to this room last time they were there, and Shane commented on how they weren't as good ghost hunters back then as they were now. Personally, Shane felt like at least a good portion of that improvement had come from working together over the years.

"But now, we're actually going to conduct a legitimate seance!"

"Let's rock and roll!" cheered Shane.

Ryan started to set up the ouija board, which Shane attempted to help with, but Ryan was in a very particular mood, and didn't want Shane "messing up" the set-up, even though last time they used one Ryan had to google how it was done.

You would think as a demon, I would know how it's set up, and therefore you'd let me set it up, Shane thought to himself, because of course he couldn't say it out loud.

When Ryan was done setting up the board, allowing Shane to add his rice krispie treat to "appease" the spirits (Shane knew ghost didn't like food, but demons who inhabited a human host did), Shane pulled up two chairs on either side of the table.

The camera was set up so that Ryan would be in the left of the shot and Shane would be on the right.

Ryan held out his hands on either side of the board towards Shane.

Shane copied him.

"Let's do it."

Shane flipped his hands over and slapped them down into Ryan's. Thankfully Shane had grown used to controlling bodily functions of his host, so his hands weren't freezing cold. Also thankfully while his body slept, his mind did not, so he was able to maintain body heat when Ryan and him shared a bed. Which was kind of a lot.

"Alright, that was a firm grip," Ryan commented, to Shane's amusement.

"Okay, spirits of this room, we're here to communicate with you-"

"Yes."

"We are welcoming-"

"Yes."

"And we, uh, have nothing but good intentions and good vibes-"

"Yeah."

"We have some, uh, food for you, here-

"A rice krispie treat, a treat from the future."

"-we also, uh, have this uh, this, this, board here, in fact, why don't I just show you how it works."

Ryan grabbed the planchette, letting go of Shane's hands, started moving it around the board.

"See?"

"You see that? Oooooh look how fun that is!"

"Hello, H-e-l-l-o."

"Ooooh, cool," Shane responded, looking deviously into the camera. He could move it, but so far over the seasons he'd liked to take things slow, only making a few things move or speak here and there. Nothing to give Ryan substantial proof of ghost, or in this case, demons.

"I'm going to move the rice krispie treat off the board so it doesn't get sticky," Ryan said aloud, putting it on the table, where Shane immediately picked it up, taking a bite as he stared into Ryan's eyes.

"That's for them."

"See how that works?" Shane put the rice krispie treat down. "I just want them to know it's food."

He leaned back and started to dramatically rub his belly. "Mmmm! Yum-yum!"

Ryan lost his composure, and Shane started to laugh along with him. It felt good.

"Alright, here we go," Ryan offered his hands again once the two of them had managed to settle down. "If there's anyone here with us, you can use this board, you can, uh, take some of the food, y-you can move these candles, you can say something, you can touch something-"

"This is all for you."

They paused for a few seconds.

"Sarah, if you're hearing us right now, we'd like to speak to you in particular, so, uh, I'd like it very much to meet you."

"Have some of the rice krispie."

Ryan and Shane continued to hold hands around the table in silence.

"Can you say your name?"

Another pause.

"Is there anything you'd like us to know?"

More silence.

"Is there anything you're scared of?"

There was still no response.

"Well, that's that," Ryan conceded, disappointed, and broke the connection with Shane, who clapped his hands loudly.

"Nothing," Ryan sighed while Shane reached for the rice krispie treat and ate the rest in one large bite, wiping his hands while once again maintaining eye-contact with Ryan, then folding his hands out towards Ryan. Ryan started to laugh, and Shane was happy he'd made Ryan feel even a little better.

The next room they headed to was some room full of glass. Shane didn't really understand why it was here, but the whole house was weird, and he was a gay demon, so he didn't question it too much.

"Well, Sarah, we're here, in your, well, what I would assume is one of your more, uh, favorite rooms."

"And if you're thinking 'Well, I'm not gonna talk to these guys', please, no, we're gonna be here all night! The sooner you, uh, get it out of the way, heck, if you do it now, this guy will go, he'll go runnin'," Shane teased.

"Whoever is in this room, whether it be Sarah or someone who worked in this mansion, let us know you're here."

"Shatter every piece of stained glass in this room," challenged Shane.

"Okay," Ryan responded, trying to rope him back in. "I'm going to give you a minute," he continued talking to the ghosts, "just uh, just uh, dealer's choice here, do whatever you want. Here we go, one minute of silence coming up, starting now."

Shane had a flashlight in one hand, which he shone on Ryan and his phone attached to the gopro in the other. Ryan had his own flashlight and a microphone attached to a box-shaped gadget. Strapped to both their chests were cameras.

Shane took his light off Ryan and used it to film around the room in the dark.

"I will say that I don't feel like I'm being watched right now." Ryan was looking directly into Shane's face, so Shane's camera angle was coming from a bit underneath Ryan's gaze.

"No?" he asked.

Ryan started to shake his head, and Shane started to ask if he had felt anything in other places when a noise caught their attention, and Ryan's head whipped to the side.

"Who was that? Who just spoke?"

Shane glanced down at his phone screen before flicking his eyes back up to Ryan, who was looking around in bewilderment. Uncomfortable, he started to laugh nervously, which caused Shane to laugh at him.

"That old familiar face."

Ryan continued to laugh.

He had missed that face.

Shane made sure to capture the moment with his gopro.

Ryan dropped the creepy face with a sigh. "If that was anybody, can you say it again?"

Ryan blinked heavily and asked who had said something.

"I heard what sounded like a little whisper," Shane told him, pronouncing the "h" in "whisper" clearly.

"Yeah-"

"Did you hear a little whisper?"

"Yeah, are you, I just, I think you're appeasing me right now, I don't think you actually heard anything."

"It's a little bit of both, I did hear what appeared to sound like a little whisper." He was still pronouncing the "h". "I don't think it was a ghost," he clarified.

"It was a female voice," Ryan argued. "If there, whoever that was, can you say it again? If that was anybody, in fact?"

Shane had his flashlight trained on Ryan once more.

"You don't have to be scared of us, I assure you, I am more scared of you than you are of me."

Shane wondered how scared of him Ryan would be if he knew the truth.

Ryan took a step and continued to look around, but didn't seem to find anything.

"That's it, folks," Shane concluded.

"Very lovely glass-"

"Love the glass."

"-Thank you for showing us-"

"Nice glass."

"-that's some really good glass you got there."

"That's some good ass glass-"

"That's good glass behind that glass-"

"I'm gonna steal that glass."

They paused.

"I won't, I respect this house," Shane laughed.

Ryan laughed with him, even though Shane knew Ryan didn't get the full extent of his joke.

Together with the crew they exited the room, heading to what was known as "The Witch's Cap".

"Oh this is cool!" Shane exclaimed upon seeing it. "Oh, oh I love this! Can I sleep here? Stand in the middle, speak upward," he commanded Ryan.

"Hello- oh! Oooh!"

"Yeah, right there, right?"

"Yeah, that is good."

"Alright let's see if I can also- hello? Hello? Hello?"

"Yeah."

"Hi?"

Ryan shot Shane a glance, but Shane continued to mess around with the acoustics of the room until Ryan practically dragged him away to sit on a bench.

"Uh, we're here to communicate with whoever is in this room right now-"

"He's invited his little spirit box here, he's gonna let it rip and you're gonna hate it," Shane assured. The high level of frequencies and constant shifting channels gave him a headache.

"Three, two, one-"

"YAHTZEE!"

Ryan turned it on, cringing at the suddenly onset of noise and letting out a swear, messing with the settings until something clearly said "drop those off".

Shane glanced at Ryan and asked if it said "take your clothes off".

Ryan ignored him while the spirit box continued it's chatter, which Shane also commented on.

"What the fuck is going on in this room?" Ryan finally acknowledged after putting in earbuds.

"Can you say our names back to us?" Shane asked, knowing that was one of Ryan's go-to questions. Ryan titled his head down to fiddle with the box again, and it gave a short pause. "What was that?" he asked, looking up at Shane.

"Can you say the name of the woman who built this house?" asked Ryan. "Or, if you are the woman who built this house, can you say your name?"

The spirit box spat out some chunks of noise, but nothing either of them could discern, until-

"Who is Patrick?"

Ryan and Shane looked at each other. "It sounded like 'Patrick'." Ryan commented.

"'Well I'm not Sarah Winchester, but, it's Patrick!'"

Ryan started to talk over a phrase that came through, stopping in time to clearly hear the word "ungrateful". "What was that?" Ryan asked, eyes widening. "Alright, who was just speaking the past two times? It was very clear. Can you say what your name is?"

The spirit box spat out more nonsense.

"What?"

"Optimal."

"Optimal?" Shane repeated.

"What's optimal?" Ryan asked.

They waited.

"You're not making this easy, I'll tell you that-" Ryan started to say more, but what sounded like a scream interrupted him.

"Ooh a scream-"

"What the fuck was that?"

"-They're excited Ryan." Shane turned his head towards the camera. "Don't bother with Ryan right now, not worth it, wait 'til he's alone."

A deep voice came on.

"Woah," Ryan blinked.

"What'd it say?"

"I don't know."

Shane started to laugh and make fun of Ryan's reaction.

"Well it was a full sentence-"

"It wasn't a full sentence!"

"It was like three words!"

Shane started to imitate the spirit box to mock Ryan. "Wooooah, a whole sentence!"

"It said like two-to-three words!"

Shane continued making spirit box noises.

The box, meanwhile, said something along the lines of "Okay, kid." Ryan looked up at Shane, but Shane was watching his phone screen as it filmed.

"Alright," Ryan said, "Hasta luego, turning this off." Ryan looked at Shane again.

"Well, I'll tell you what, ghosts, if any of you are protective of this room, not gonna do it on purpose, but there's a good chance I'm gonna fart in here."

Ryan continued to stare at Shane before suggesting they move to the next filming location, the basement.

When they got to the top of the basement stairs, the crew started pulling out the equipment the duo would need for their solo investigations. This included, among other things, a camera strapped to their head, pointed at their faces. As was custom, Shane was up first.

"You look great, man" Ryan commented sarcastically when Shane was fully decked-out and ready to head into the dark of the basement by himself.

"Thank you! What do I do down there?"

"Try and find Clyde," Ryan said. Clyde was a ghost he would introduce the audience to in his voice-over section.

"Ooh."

"Well, adios," Ryan bid him.

"Yeah, I'll see you later, man," Shane called back, heading down the stairs. Ryan closed the door behind Shane, turning to lean back on it, arms crossed. "And now we wait."

Meanwhile, Shane walked around in the basement yelling for Clyde.

"Ooh boy, I forgot about these low ass ceilings down here." Shane tried to duck but ended up knocking some of the equipment off his head.

Ryan stayed upstairs talking to the camera crew while Shane walked around to conduct his personal investigation.

After his ten minutes was up, Ryan opened the door and called him back, but Shane didn't answer.

"I'm not playing your game. I know exactly what you're doing right now. Not gonna happen, bud. I'm not going to come walkin' down there to find you. I know what happened last time I was down here."

Defeated, Shane returned back up to the main level of the house, where Ryan would take his place.

"Well you look great, you look ready. Get down there, have a good time!" Shane coaxed Ryan when they had traded gear. Ryan started to head downstairs, and Shane turned to the camera to pull a face.

When he got downstairs, Ryan started to talk to the darkness and Shane continued to talk to the camera.

"What if I just make nonsense noises right now?" Ryan asked the ghosts, proceeding to do so.

"What the fuck is going on down there?" Shane asked the camera. He heard more strange nonsense noises from downstairs. "I think we've lost him," Shane cracked a smile.

"Ah! What the fuck was that? My fucking gopro thing fell off... I think I'm going to sit down, I'm sitting down."

"This sounds like it's really escalating," Shane commented.

"I'm going to turn on the spirit box now."

"There's that spirit box."

"I. Hate. This."

"Did he say 'I love you'?"

"My name is Ryan, can you say my name back to me?"

"'I love you' 'Who's this?'"

Ryan continued to talk to the spirit box. Shane peaked his head into the stairwell.

"RYAN!"

"What?"

"TWO MINUTE WARNING!"

"Great."

Ryan continued to talk to the darkness.

"Alright he can't do two minutes, come up!" Shane called, opening the door again.

"What?"

"You FAILED."

"Could I come up?"

"Yes!" Shane barked.

"Oh, thank god," Ryan replied almost cheerily. "Yes," he whispered, coming up the stairs.

"You couldn't do two minutes of silence, could ya?"

"Wha?"

"I heard you talking."

"I was talking quietly."

"I don't care. You talk to hide from the silence."

Ryan sighed.

"You know you do."

"I was merely trying to communicate."

Shane rolled his eyes.

"Get ready for an all-night nightmare now."

The crew moved to the witch's cap to set up the cameras that would be trained on Shane as he slept for the few remaining hours of the night. When all was set up, Shane laid out his sleeping bag.

Ryan came over to stand above him.

"Are you going to make it?" Shane joked.

Ryan shrugged. "Uh, I dunno."

"Well, you're welcome to come running here crying like a little baby if you need."

"Thanks man, but I think I'm good."

That didn't stop Ryan from writing down directions from the witch's cap to Sarah's bedroom, however.

When the crew was done setting up for Ryan in there, they wished him luck and headed out to sleep in the motel they'd booked.

Shane had his phone out and filmed a little vlog before attempting to go to sleep. Ryan filmed around the room and also him using the spirit box.

After fooling around on social media for a bit and singing "Mama Mia" to himself, Shane put his phone down and zipped up his sleeping bag to let his body catch up on rest. Ryan got a surprise visitor from the caretaker, which scared the shit out of him.

Shane had been waiting to see if Ryan would come running into his room, scared of something or another, looking for comfort. In fact, it was what he'd been dreaming about all day. Now that the time was right, however, Shane wasn't having his moment.

"It was foolish to think anything would happen," Shane whispered to himself, and shut his eyes.

He heard a creak.

Sitting up on one elbow, Shane looked around.

"Ryan?" he whispered.

There was no response.

Shane took one more sweep of the room with his eyes before settling down again.

Another creak had him sitting up again.

"Ryan!" he hissed.

He heard soft footsteps approaching.

Grabbing the flashlight, Shane shined it down the hall. Ryan cringed from the sudden bright light.

"What are you doing?" Shane whispered.

"I got scared," Ryan admitted.

Shane rolled his eyes. "What do you want me to do about it?"

Ryan shrugged, and Shane noticed he had his sleeping bag with him.

"Come on," Shane motioned, moving his sleeping bag over.

Ryan put his stuff down next to Shane and crawled back into his sleeping bag.

"Are we putting this in the video?" Shane asked jokingly.

"No," Ryan sniffed.

"Wait, are you- are you crying?"

"No," Ryan sniffed again.

"Damn, something must have really scared you, huh?" Shane asked.

Ryan didn't respond.

"Ryan?"

Shane heard Ryan sniffle again. He wasn't sure what to do, so he waited. However, so did Ryan.

"You don't want to talk about it?"

"I didn't get scared," Ryan said quickly, and Shane realized he was telling the truth. Something else was going on that he didn't understand. Something that didn't have to do with the house, with ghosts, with the show, maybe not even to do with them. Maybe something had happened and it just happened to be now, and Shane just happened to be the only one around. Maybe Ryan just needed a friend.

"Okay."

"Goodnight, Shane."

"Goodnight, Ryan."

Neither of them went back to sleep.

*-*-*-*-*

When morning came, Ryan and Shane broke down the cameras themselves and brought the equipment to the front door, where they were meeting the crew. It was still dark outside, and they stood in the early morning chill filming the ending of the video.

"Another investigation in the books, uh, adios, Winchester House," Ryan spun his phone around trying to get the house in the shot behind them. "Where- where even is it?" A car horn honked in the background.

"It's behind us-"

"I can't even, I can't even think."

"-it's pretty large."

"Yeah, uh. Yeah. Let's get out of here."

"Yeah," Shane agreed. "Sounds good."

The crew packed up the equipment while Shane and Ryan climbed into the back of the van. Ryan was still filming the view from out Shane's window.

"Are we going to talk about last night?" Shane asked, looking at what Ryan was filming, everything that had led up to Ryan laying down next to him running through his head like a video on loop.

"Maybe later," Ryan answered, stopping the video and turning off his phone as the crew piled in and drove away.

[theblueorchidhotels]

How to Celebrate a Luxury Halloween in London | Blue Orchid Hotels

With mansions, monuments, parks and castles, London's got a handful of locations where you can find yourself the perfect trick-and-treating opportunities. 

To find the best hotels in London as well as stay close to all the top attractions, central London is your answer. From there on, you can hop on a tube, cab or even walk to the best Halloween parties in town. 

Visit the haunted locations in London 

Encounter a ghost or two at the Queen's House in Greenwich or the Sutton House and Breaker's Yard. Both are some of the most haunted locations in the city with several stories of supernatural encounters dotting the history. 

If these are not scary enough for you, you can always visit some of London's most eerie and haunting cemeteries. It would be fitting to find a white lady floating through the thick forest. 

The Rochester hotel by Blue Orchid is located near Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey. 15 minutes from Covent Gardens, you can walk over to Victoria Station to board a tube for Greenwich. 

In case you are seeking a more family-friendly Halloween venue, try out the fun-filled trail at Chiswick House & Gardens. The illuminated woods are extremely haunting and filled with delicious treats. Or you can grab a pint at some of the oldest pubs in London such as The Ten Bells, The Grenadier, The Spaniards Inn and The Viaduct Tavern.

Theatre

Is a trip to London ever complete without attending a theatre show? 

Watch a musical adaptation of Wicked or the haunting romance story of The Phantom of the Opera. To watch the film screening of Halloween's cult classics such as Hocus Pocus or the Shining, head over to the Rivoli Ballroom's Halloween horror film fest. 

27 minutes from Tower Suites by the Blue Orchid, the best hotel in central London, a stay at this hotel will keep you near the Sky Gardens, Jack the Ripper museum and Clink museum. 

Ghost tours 

Hop on the ghost bus tour to discover the dark and gory secrets that are hiding behind the iconic monuments in the city. These tours include museums, cemeteries and even secret ale houses with tons of haunting locations included in the itinerary. 

The Rochester hotel by Blue Orchid, 19 minutes away from Trafalgar Square, is the best accommodation in case the ghost bus tours are on your bucket list. Trafalgar Square is the pick-and-drop point for most of these ghost bus tours.

The Halloween experience 

Are you someone who prefers a more interactive experience over visiting cemeteries? Worry not, you have tons of venues to visit before and after Halloween. 

Arcane Afternoon Tea at Wands and Wizard Exploratorium lets you cast spells on the tea stand and solve puzzles that reveal delicious treats. 

The best hotels in London such as The Wellington and the Rochester are 2.7 miles away and guests can walk to Victoria station to board a tube. 

There is always the Tower Vaults at the Tower of London where you can join Guy Fawkes portrayed by Tom Felton who plays Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter. Play your parts and solve the explosive conspiracy plots 

For a digital experience head over to the Sandbox VR in Covent Garden to participate in the zombie-themed Deadwood Valley experience. 

London's haunting experience 

Visit the Harry Potter film studios at Warner Bros studio tour in London. Similar to the movies, the studio is warped to suit a Halloween theme and is an absolute delight. 

The Tower of London has narrators that speak of the tales of torture and imprisonment while exploring the Bloody Tower. Adding to the mystical and haunting environment are the nine ravens which are like the cherry on top of this tour. 

To stay closer to the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, River Thames and Tower Pier, you can choose the best hotel in central London by Blue Orchid, Tower Suites, which is 7 minutes away from these marvellous attractions. 

With 273 suites, this 5-star hotel gives you a chance to experience the high life of London while celebrating the Halloween spirit. Tower Suites has a spa, gym, grooming atelier, 3 restaurants and even a coffee shop.

[overfedvenison]

Dnd Session 6

Oh dang, I never updated my D&D journal for the past session.

So quick summary of the past events: An orcish princess was murdered, implicating our organizations and causing the orc faction to go to war with us, after we refused to hand over a stone that can empower demons of the Black Veil. We suspected the Black Veil - An organization allegedly dedicated to maintaining cosmic balance, but was clearly playing us in some way. Our investigation uncovered a grand conspiracy where the Veil's enemies, including a demon hunter, were trapped inside crystals in a secret house in the city.

But in the process, one of the Veil's members was interviewed in a circle of truth and exploded, and a shadow demon was unleashed from a crystal sphere from the rolm - The veil then declared war on us. However, we got proof of our innocence in these events, and found the culprit was someone named Rilo...

The party:

Charn, a human fighter from the Storm Petrel Academy currently acting as a revolver-brandishing PI unravelling a demon conspiracy and acting as the party's lawyer Arka, a lizardfolk bloodrager and close ally of Charn who had recently begun studying at the same school Pavia, the victim of a scheme to frame her for murder. She is a soldier of the Black Ravens, and has a colonial mindset. Erdrick, a dwarven barbarian who has recently entered an alliance with a demon to reclaim his lost honor And... An Aasimar I can't remember the name of. Slowly learning to stand for herself, but hasn't had a lot of screentime or character development

(Also Tosh, a kistune)

First, I presented my findings to the king, who was very irate at the investigation that transpired. Since one of the people we interviewed kind of... Exploded? The Black Veil had up and left town, and declared war on Angelpoint and the Storm Petrel Acandemy. I'm alive, though, free of treason for now - I uncovered various conspiracies from the Veil that proved that they were doing some incredibly dodgy things, and it's probably good that they're legitimately our enemy instead of just our enemy in secret. So things are kind of up in the air.

However, it's a bad situation... With the Veil gone and without the stone, there is a chance the apocalypse will happen within two years - If the Veil were telling the truth. What's more is that the person we have in holding is threatening us and saying how the Veil can invade us whenever she wants, etc. Of course, I pressed him: "If she's so powerful, why didn't she just go get the stone herself?"

We have to find a conclusive solution within two years, in any case, and then sailed off to present our investigation to the Orcs of the Mistveil Islands.

----

The orcs were receptive to our findings... We conclusively proved that Rilo was responsible for the murder, and not our ally Pavia as they believed. We also learned a nugget of information: Rilo did indeed bring the Obsidian Shard to the misty isles. The Veil, for all their conspiracies, mind control, and dirty deeds, did in fact have a traitor in their midsts working against them. One who took the Shard for his own means.

The orcs demanded a trial by combat for continued relationships. Through strength and valour, they would judge our valor.

Pavia fought the orc's strongest champion... She was quickly crushed, as he has immune to bullets. Tosh jumped in soon after, only to be overwhelmed as well. But Arka stepped up with great honor

"Heal my enemy. I will fight with all my might."

The orcs were impressed. "Very well," said the chieftain.

...The two barbarians raged at each other and traded immense blows. Arka's new magic allowed him to grow to the size of a giant, while the orc was naturally 8-feet tall and wore a mask of steel tusks that dealt horrible goring wounds.

After leaving his swamp, learning of the outside world, studying at the Storm Petrel Academy, and getting a metal arm in his adventures, and learning of the demons that would control the fate of the mortal realm... Arka died here, defending the honor of a human city. But in his death, he dealt a critical blow to the Orc - He collapsed of exhaustion just after killing the lizardfolk.

----

It was this sacrifice that allowed the orcs to forgive us - Somewhat. The chieftain was pleased, and a day later brought the now-recovered Pavia to his tend as we were readying to leave.

He asked of Pavia a request - To go find the true killer, and return his head to him. That will show that the orcs that Pavia is truly in her good graces, and valued Okra.

Pavia, however... As you'll recall, she hated the orcs. This made her the perfect target to frame in the first place - And all this trouble had only made her double down.

"No," she said "That problem is your own. I may not have pulled the trigger, but I hated Okra and I hate your people. I might have done it myself, had I the chance."

The Orc Chief became enranged, and punished her for this insolence. This attracted the rest of the party, who watched. He gave her one last chance to make amends - And she said "You have proven nothing to me. You are what I thought - Savages"

And so, she was executed. I returned the gifts they had given us, and the party left the island to a rocky and very tenuous "peace." This, too, we will have to fix.

----

The party was down a few members, but upon returning to town, got some back.

Erdrick the Dwarf hired a new Black Raven Mercinary, a skilled but naïve soldier who does everything by the book and who is built to call out assists and spot. He's Pavia's player's new character, and is much more of an idealist (and much less of a racist)

I also encountered a summoner, who began to follow me around. He's Arka's player's new character, a socially-awkward summoner who makes friends with summoned creatures.

Finally, the NPC we rescued from the Veil - An experienced demon-hunter, skilled but unused to having a body after many years in a crystal. She is serious and intelligent.

Together, we had one final piece of unfinished business before we could proceed to bigger issues. - To defeat a shadow demon we had inadvertently unleashed when exploring the Veil's secret room.

-----

While we were planning, Erdrick met with his Patron. As you'll recall, when we refused to return the Shard, Erdrick became enraged and made a deal with a demon to retrieve the shard to restore his dwarven honor... And so he conversed once more.

This demon was Rilo, the very one who had killed Okra and betrayed the Veil, and was now playing him as well - To get the shard, and to betray the Veil for his own ends. He has a new plan - He wants to converse with me. He would come to our meeting place in disguise, and get me to agree to an accord to meet with him later...

The summoner and I spent the time researching the Shadow Demon in the library, getting an entire monster manual entry on the thing and planned out a strategy. Erdrick approached us as well, and got the party together to discuss plans. He took me aside as well, acting friendly and courteous - As far as I know, I'm our issues are over, and so Charn trusts him.

What we were speaking of was mostly irrelevant... Buy while we met, I heard a voice in my head from a passerby - Rilo was offering to explain everything to me. I told him that I would agree, and we would need to work out an accord... No magic, no allies, and no weapons. We would talk... In my research on the shadow demon, I also found the perfect spot - A section of the sewers with a metal grate between us. Furthermore, I agreed to get him to wear gloves and not phase through that grate with his mist form. Not an hour later, I would be in a nearby location to combat a shadow demon.

Charn and Rilo would meet. And talk.

----

The DM and I skipped ahead to the demon fight from this part because I had taken up a lot of screentime this game, and did this later.

The talk was long and tenuous. Charn started incredibly suspicious at first, but through either honeyed words of legitimately speaking the truth, he gradually said more and began to saw Rilo's side.

Charn was suspicious, but as crazy and prepared as always. He had a smokebomb on hand in case he needed a quick escape, and a plan for afterwards.

Rilo told me many things that seemed to make sense...

That the Veil was, for all it's misgivings, actually legitimate about protecting the multiverse from an apocalypse, and needed the stone to do so. Rilo stole the stone in order to seal off the material realm, and in doing so, would free the people of the god's control and the control of Shira so they might stand on their own

Shira, as seen with the followers, was controlling the fates of many humans for her own ends. She cares only for her own goals, and not for the hearts and souls of human beings. She is a villian, but not an evil one... She maintains a status quo in the blood war, but her existence is bad for humanity. Positives and negatives.

Shira can call in forces through the tower - This is something we have to deal with. She can also spy on us, but we are unsure how. The Veil Member in holding is also a liability, and should be dealt with.

He cleared up a bit about the murder... He actually climbed down from the roof, killed, and the became invisible after, for instance. But the broad strokes of Rilo as the culprit were accurate... Rilo betrayed the Veil, gave the Shard to the orcs for safekeeping, then when we didn't return it to him, panicked and killed Okra as a threat. The conspiracy with the Veil was unrelated.

And now, he asks that I help him - Go to the abyss, return his sister who is trapped there, and then seal away the material plane. A tempting offer... I told him that I would have to consider the philosophy teachings of the Storm Petrel Academy - A faction about defending from the apocalypse, the potential of humanity without fate and destiny, and hunting demons - to see what I should do.

This wasn't fast enough for him, so he had an imp slave cast Dominate on me - From a demon's perspective, an imp slave is no ally, just a tool to be used and discarded.

Charn would get him that shard, of his own free will, or not.

----

OR THAT'S HOW IT WOULD GO DOWN, IF I DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING!!

The party was fighting a shadow demon immediately after this meeting. A shadow demon's most dangerous ability is Possession... Which can be warded off with a Protection from Evil spell. Protection from Evil also suppresses mental control for it's duration - And so I had a few minutes to alert someone.

The demon slayer and Aasimar! Aasimar has perspective from Charn's secular humanism, and Seranrae's Church - Both anti-demon. The Demon Slayer is an enemy of the veil, but also an enemy of demons. I let these two in on my plans...

"A word - Before we fight this shadow demon, I was investigating the final aspects of the Okra case. I understand everything now... But I'm not sure why I made some of the decisions I did, and believe I have made an accord to meet with a demon, at 3 AM at (location) three days from now. Neither of us are to bring any allies, weapons, or magic...

Over the next few days, I need you to investigate me. If you think I've been dominated into being your enemy, or have become an enemy of this city, go there with any many forces as you can - But anyone who comes, must come as my enemy, not my ally, ready to kill me if need be. Capture his demon's soul in the crystal ball we retrieved so we can offer it to the veil to leave this city alone - this demon is a traitor to them. Then, give his body to the Mistveil Orcs as justice for murder, for peace on that front. I'm counting on you two... I trust you wouldn't fall in line with demons.

Hrm. Now then, this spell is limited, so lets kill this shadow demon before anything else."

The pieces are all in motion - These two will investigate me, and find out the truth. If they agree with Rilo, of free and sound mind, that is what our path forward shall be. If they come to try and free me, as allies, they will have come against my will - And thus, I have not brought allies, they have shown up on their own and against my wishes. If they show up as enemies, the city will be saved and the war with the orcs will be over. The only thing they have to do is not fail.

...metanarratively, I'm also giving the Aasimar some focus. She's kind of been a wallflower, haha.

----

Regardless, we manage to defeat the shadow demon and had a brief moment of levity with the town wizard which I may detail later... And are set for the next arc.

[eivors-ravens]

Week 2 Prompts By order of submission @songofsoma wrote Divinity is the Shape of a Woman

@mass-convergence wrote First Snow

@musikfurfreiheit wrote Everything That Is Good In The World

@themisthios wrote Pure

@kelenloth wrote Solitude

@upsilonscorpii wrote Pure

@berryshiara wrote Pure Eivor

@baepsae-7 wrote Pure

@reallywantanap wrote Selfless

Any of others interested in adding to our weekly prompts just tag us here at Eivor's Ravens and we will get you on the list. Any time I as your friendly neighborhood bear will backdate you to the list!

Enjoy~

Your friendly Conspiracy of Ravens!

[cyborgmagpie]

Devils Train (Part 1)

Its dark out, the trees seem to claw at the sky, the moon is a faint glow from behind foreboding clouds and a lone figure stands on the gravel by the tracks. A warm breeze passes by, only scattering a few leaves. The figure stood, ignoring the conspiracy of ravens watching, ignoring anything he heard, or imagined he'd heard.

The tracks started to rattle, and as the figure looked down the tracks there it was, a train, with an engine blacker than the night surrounding it, the carriages a dark wine red, the only light being from inside the carriages, showing figures walking too and fro onboard the train. The figure waiting by the track stepped out onto it, feeling the tremors the engine caused.

"Let's make a deal." The conspiracy spoke, the train thundered along towards the figure, the figure closed their eyes.

"For the price of your soul." The conspiracy incanted. It was getting warmer, louder, the figure opened their eyes, there it was, they had barely the time to blink before-

The clacking of the train, the mocking chuff of the ending, the night, they all came from outside now. The figure stood in a carriage, many other figures sat in booths, playing poker, talking, plotting. A haze of smoke hung in the carriage, giving it all the more of a devils casino feel than the red and black colour scheme did.

Let's not waist our attention on this figure however, they have come to waist their soul away. To make a deal and hand it to a darker being who will put it in a jar and watch it rot, and after, eat it like it were a fine cheese, or fermented wine.

There is another figure upon the train, in a carriage closer to the front than the previous one, although, carriage location has nothing to do with rank. In this term we are using the word figure to mean someone to look up to rather than a visible but unidentified person. His name is Wilford Warfstache.

Wilford lived on the train, and not metaphorically either, in the front two carriages there were cabins that a whole host of entities lived in, from Incubi to Eldritch and back again, and although Wilford was defiantly human when he first stepped on the train, he probably wasn't fully human now. He still looked very early 30's despite the decades spent onboard, and he still dressed as ridiculously.

It didn't matter to him, he was supposed to be the center of attention, he sat at a poker table of his choice, and watched as he slowly lost everything on purpose, before winning twice as much back. People bet what they wanted, money, trinkets, their own flesh and blood, or even, on occasion, their souls. Wilford wasn't after the latter two, but he knew a majority of the rest of the train were, so he let them bet. Over time he had built up a collection of watches, vintage guns, historical artifacts. However there wasn't enough room in his cabin for most, and so he sold it.

Wilford can't remember when he decided to stay on the train, he knew he enjoyed the first time he boarded, having won a rather fancy looking, rose-gold plated gun. He knew he visited a few more times after that and became familiar with one of the beings, but he wasn't sure where between there and never leaving the train again he made his choice.

"What would you like to bet this time then pal?"

The man on the other side looked up, he was old, with a friendly wrinkle in the crease of his eyes and paper skin that had seen years of experience, however Wilford had decided today not to play games and to just win as much as he could. "Come on, no harm done, you can bet anything from your eyes to your grandmothers knickers."

His shadow snickered, not his physical one, but rather a being who followed him around enough to be called his shadow anyway.

The man pulled out of his pocket a medallion on a chain, which Wilford's shadow took and inspected, "Pirates gold huh? Ye really do have all the oddities. Say, do ye just enjoy the gambling or are you after something?" The man took the medallion back, placing it onto the table.

"I'm after something."

"Care to name your price?" Wilford asked as his shadow dealt the cards.

The man pointed at Wilford's shadow, "you, you're pale, too pale to be human, and you have those pointy teeth, I'd say you're a demon."

The shadow blinked, revealing inky black eyes, "Close."

"Yes, close, there's something else. . . by any chance are you part demon and part something else."

"I'm part of your worst nightmares pal."

"Don't be dramatic." Wilford waved a hand at his shadow, "now, your price."

"A vial of his blood."

Wilford sat back and raised an eyebrow at his shadow.

"Any injury would ruin my perfect skin." You had better win.

Wilford nodded, catching onto the unspoken words. "Blackjack again, as you requested."

The man nodded, "Its good for fast betting."

The shadow dealt the cards, then stood back.

"Twist." A card to the man.

"Twist." A card to Wilford.

"Stick."

"Twist." Another card to Wilford, "Stick."

"Okay, you first." The man said.

"Nineteen, and you?"

---

"I can't believe you."

"Anti, dearest, I had nineteen."

"He had twenty one." The shadow said back, "and now I've got a cut on my hand."

Wilford huffed, sitting up in his bath, bubbles adorning his shoulders, turning to Anti who was sat on a stool, "You know the rules dearest, now, no sulking or I'll have to tickle you."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Are you worried for your reputation or your waistcoat."

"Both."

[megwritesfanfiction]

Wild Flowers - Jericho/Raven, Chapter 6/?

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. I am not making a profit off of this.

A/N: I was stuck on this for awhile. All most rewrote it, but decided I didn’t need to.

Need a little catch up with your mustard? No problem! 

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

DOGSBANE - Flower of Deceit

Jericho wasn’t sure what was going on.

In his personal opinion, he thought the battle had gone well considering they were up against two large villains. Cinderblock was exactly how he imagined. Big, reckless, and, well, a literal blockhead. He wasn’t sure why the rock giant broke into a jewelry store in the downtown shopping district, but Jericho wasn’t one to judge.

Plasmas, on the other hand, concerned him.

After he was assured that maroon glob wasn’t toxic, Jericho was able to put his ability to use. He locked eyes with the monster, signaling to Raven to put the monster back to sleep. The others has taken down Cinderblock.

Despite the goo, it was pretty simple.

Everyone was unharmed, civilians included.

Even damage to the area was minimal.

So, why was Robin muttering like a crazy person?

They’d been home for about two hours. Jericho and the other Titans had showered, changed, and gotten comfy on the main room couch. The mute found himself resting comfortably on the couch with a carton of orange chicken and fried rice. Chopsticks clinched in his fingers, he watched the masked teen from across the room.

Still dressed in his dirty uniform, he sat the small desk across from the kitchen furiously going through a stack of files.

Penny for your thoughts? Raven smirked. She plopped down on the seat next to him. Dressed in an oversized Gotham City sweatshirt and black leggings, she held her own carton of food in her lap.

Penny? Jericho scoffed. The going rate is at least a quarter.

The empath rolled her eyes, opening her container. The best I can do is beef lo mein. Her lips twisted as she hid her smile, offering him the container.

That works too. He smirked, taking the container from and placing his in her lap.

“Hey!” Beast Boy cried, looking over at the pair. “I nearly lost my hand when I tried to take a piece of your veggie roll, and you’re willingly giving him food! Dude! The hypocrisy!”

Raven wanted to compliment him on his vocabulary choice, but she resisted the urge to. “One, you tried to take a bite from my roll. I don’t want to eat behind you, I don’t know where you’re mouth has been.”

“Seriously, it’s just spit, and our lips have touched before. I don’t see why be taking a bite of your roll is a big deal.”

That caught Jericho’s attention. Oh? He looked at the empath wide eyed, and suddenly interested in the revelation. Really now? You’ve kissed him? What other things are you keeping from me?

Joey… She’d deal with the mute in a little bit. “CPR training doesn’t count, Beast Boy. Though it’s a good thing we’re all certified because you might need to be resuscitated if you keep talking.” CPR doesn’t count as a kiss. It was mandatory training.

“Beast Boy does have a point.” Cyborg shrugged.

Raven raised an eyebrow. “So give him a bite of your food.”

“Not that! And no!”

Starfire nodded. “Agreed. You and New Friend Jericho are quite friendly.” The alien observed.

Raven ignored the rising heat creeping up her face and Jericho’s satisfied grin. The empath shrugged sheepishly, grabbing a piece of orange chicken to silence any comments she’d make.

I’m happy we’re friendly. Jericho grinned cheekily, looking at her bright eyed.

Violet eyes narrowed as she looked at him.

“What did he say?” Cyborg asked, raising a knowing eyebrow.

Oh, one of the, few, benefits of being mute. Jericho could dodge an inquisition, especially when people assumed he was also deaf. He really hoped they never bothered to learn sign language.

“Nothing.” Raven shook her head, eating another bite of his food. You are so lucky we’re friends.

Nope. Jericho shook his head, reaching over and taking piece of chicken from the container she held. I’m lucky I’m cute. He told her smugly, turning his attention back to the television.

Indeed.

The mute couldn’t contain his delight at her agreement.

“Hey, you two,” Cyborg warned. “I can hear you all flirting over there. None of that.” He pointed a fatherly finger at the two of them. “Don’t make me get the hose.”

Raven growled as she continued eating.

“How can you hear them?” The changeling questioned confused.

“After years of watching the  dramatic saga that is Robin and Starfire,” Cyborg leaned back into the couch, picking up another chicken wing. “I know flirting,” He eyed the empath and mute knowingly. “Even when it’s silent.”

Jericho looked at the blushing alien and back to the obsessive leader. He looked at the Titan’s and then pointed to Robin sitting at the desk, oblivious to their conversation.

“What’s with him?” Cyborg asked, wondering if that was what the mute was referring to.

Jericho nodded.

“He thinks there is some sort of conspiracy going on.” Beast Boy dismissed.

“Boyfriend Robin does not think the attacks of the Plasmus and the Cinderblock were not random.” Starfire explained, picking up her mustard.

“And since he’s not allowed to lock himself in the evidence room and work for more than two hours a day,” Cyborg shouted, trying to get a reaction out of the masked Titan. “He set up a desk out here to work on his latest Slade theory.”

Jericho felt his heart stop for a moment. Slowly, he lowered his chopsticks into the container of lo mein. Slade? He asked looking at Raven, eyes wide. The mute knew that coincidences existed. It was a common name. So, why was his chest tighten?

Raven nodded, taking another bite of food. “He’s probably number one on our enemy list. Though, we haven’t had direct contact with him for,” She paused, trying to recall. “It’s been over a year now.”

“Which means he can stop obsessing!” Beast Boy shouted.

Robin ignored him as he continued to review the crime scene.

“He’s probably dead by now.” Cyborg shrugged.

“I mean, the guy was already missing body parts when we met him.”

The mute’s head snapped toward the changeling.

Raven shook her head. “He was missing an eye. That’s one part, singular.”

“That we know of.” Beast Boy nodded sagely.

Jericho felt sick. The odds were too small. 

“Who knows if he got his body back?” Beast Boy shrugged. “I’d prefer he’d rot, but…”

Jericho slammed his container on the small table in front of them. Getting up, he walked out of the main room as fast and as calmly as he could manage.

Beast Boy blinked owlishly. “Was it something I said?” He looked to metal man, alien, and empath.

Raven set her container down, following the towhead teen. “Probably.” She wasn’t sure it was Beast Boy’s fault.

Who was she kidding? Of course, she could blame it on the changeling.