#custom knife scales

[szaszimi]

Spyderco Paramilitary 2 in Maxamet, one of the hardest high alloy-high carbon toolsteels available in production. Excellent edge retention, great edge stability, superb wear resistance and a quickly developing patina which makes this steel unique. Its a great match with the fine polished pure copper scales. No clip screws, just a slim, minimal and elegant carry, a timeless design.

[gibsongunleather]

GIBSON TRADITIONAL ROUND KNIFE by BRUCE GIBSON Via Flickr: www.GibsonLeather.com

[rezwrites]

𝓝𝓸𝓬𝓽𝓮 𝓣𝓲𝓶𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓼

Vampire!Rio Vidal x Reader

Word count: 3.3k+

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, consensual non-consent, blood, stalking, knife play/knife-fucking, pervy!rio, choking/breathplay, double-ended strap, classic vampire cliches

a/n: happy halloween!

Stepping into the library, you're greeted by the soft creaking of the wooden floor beneath your feet drowned out by the mellow music that plays in the background, creating a soothing ambiance. Ancient bookshelves tower towards the lofty ceiling, dust particles dancing in the slivers of sunlight that penetrate the stained glass.

You make your way to the cafe ordering your usual coffee, the strong aroma wafting through the air, mingling with the crisp scent of old books.

Scaling the winding staircase, you delve deeper into the labyrinthine corridors of books and tomes, until happening upon your favorite cozy, nook by the window that overlooks the town square. Settling in, cautious not to spill your drink, you surround yourself with the new murder-mystery series you’re ecstatic about. The hours slip by unnoticed as you’re immersed in the numinous atmosphere, unaware to the pair of eyes that occasionally lingered on you.

“Don’t you have any friends to hang out with?” Rio’s smoky voice startled you out of your trance, questioning orbs probing you. She seemingly appeared out of nowhere, wavy, auburn hair fell over her tweed jacket.

“You always ask that, Rio. The answer never changes. I just enjoy reading.” You placed your bookmarked in between the pages, closing your book.

Rio pulls up a chair at the small table, “I know. It’s just that you’re here all the time. Always staying late.”

You narrow your eyes, furrowing your eyebrows at her, ”Well, what about you? You don’t ever seem to take off or anything. Besides, don’t you have other customers to bother?”

“Everyone’s gone home.” she motions to the window behind you. Turning to see the sun long gone, the near full moon high in the sky casting its brilliant glow unto the earth. Looking back at your phone you notice it’s almost 8’oclock. Slipping your books into your bag you gave Rio a sympathetic smile, truly feeling bad for losing track of time and hindering her from closing the library.

You gazed at her as she acts uncharacteristically nervous, shifting from foot to foot. Before you could ask what’s wrong Rio blurted out, “Can I walk you home tonight?”

She hates knowing the fact that you’d rather walk home alone at night than take the bus, you had mentioned something about carbon footprint. While she admires your dedication she anguishes over the idea of harm coming your way. Since you’re always the last one to leave, she closes the library as quickly as possible to watch and make sure you get home safely.

You nodded smiling, grateful for the offer. The library was normally quiet, of course, but as Rio led you through the bookshelves it has a different more eerie, quietness to it. You just chalked it up to the fact that it’s nighttime outside. You waited by the front desk while Rio finished up the rest of her duties, returning to you surprisingly quickly, you noted. Watching the lights go out one by one you clutched your tote bag, the darkness of the library was slightly unpleasant. Before any panic could stir Rio called you over to the front door so she could lock up.

The cool air feels crisp and refreshing against your skin as you both stepped outside. Small puffs of breath flowing into the night each time you exhale. The twinkling stars in the sky seem to shimmer and dance. The night is calm and peaceful, enveloping you in a sense of tranquility. The faint rustling of leaves in the wind carrying the scent of petrichor. The streetlights lit your way as you traverse the suburban roads.

“What book are you on now?” She asked, hands in her pockets as she walked on the side of the sidewalk closest to the street.

“That new murder-mystery series I’ve been telling you about! The bookstore across town had it out just in time for Halloween, I’m already on the second book.” Rio just chuckled at your enthusiastic ramblings, you’ve been raving about this series since late-May.

Rio doesn’t understand why you like Halloween so much. In all her time alive and the countless Halloweens that have passed her she has never grasped it. She just doesn’t understand Halloween, much like how she doesn’t understand why she’s so drawn to you. You were just a regular customer in the beginning, and even though you both built an acquaintance you’re still just a regular person. She tells herself it’s because you’re an easy meal but if you’re such an easy meal then why hasn’t she fed on you yet?

“So, why a librarian?” You inquired

“Quite, mundane. Books make decent weapons.” She laughed before quieting again, “Honestly, books provide a solace no one else can.”

“I get that.” You nodded along, “That’s really why I’m hidden away in the corner all day. My friends all moved to the city a few months ago and even though I just settled into my new job, I still have time on my hands.”

Rio listened intently, holding your front gate open, “Books are great way to lose yourself for a while.”

“Exactly!” You both shared a laugh, coming to a stop at the bottom of your porch steps, “Thanks for walking me home.”

“It’s not a problem.” You bid her a goodnight, fiddling with your keychain trying find your house key. Before you could enter your home she calls out, ”Do you want to go on a date?”

Spinning on your heel, shock evident on your face. Rio’s eyes widened at your shocked expression, clearing her throat, “I mean I might as well close for Halloween. We could watch horror movies all night. What better way to take a break, right?”

“I can make us dinner!” You instantly piped up, so many recipes already swimming in your mind, “it’s the least I could do walking me home.”

“Nothing with garlic, please.” She requests, playing coy. Faking an embarrassed chuckle, “I’m actually allergic.”

Bidding an each other a final goodnight, Rio watches you disappear inside your home. Hearing the click of the lock Rio checks her surroundings, before dipping around the back of your house. The lights in your bedroom already on by the time she crouches in your bushes. Peering through the sheer curtains of your bedroom window Rio watches you undress, noting every curve, dip, and mark on your body. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of mapping your body, it’s her favorite thing since developing this routine over the last month. She knows it’s morally wrong, but when she sees your angelic body she doesn’t dare stop herself from indulging in fantasies.

As you step into the shower Rio’s mind wanders to the thought of her hands roaming your warm body. Images of you shaking in bliss underneath her, arousal clear in your blood as she tastes you dance in her mind. Rio grunts lowly when you emerge from the bathroom instantly turning everything off and crawling into bed, upset she isn’t able to gaze at you a little longer. Rio makes her way home after listening to your breathing slow, confirming you fell asleep.

—

Buzzing with excitement when Thursday finally rolls around, you don’t hesitate to log off of work the second the clock hits four. After queuing up the movies for tonight you dash into the kitchen to get started on dinner and desert.

Rio stands in your walkway, staring at the fake cobwebs hanging from the porch banisters. After knocking she counts the fake spiders in your door wreath as she waits for you to answer the door.

“Hey!” You open the door with a cheerful smile on your face, “come in, come in.”

“All deck out for Halloween I see.” She closes the door behind her taking in all the decorations around your house. Little skeleton animals, pumpkin, and witch decor littered every inch of your living space, “My god, it’s like Halloween threw up in here.”

“I made bloody brownie bites for dessert!” Rio rounded the corner into the kitchen with her eyebrow turned up. Setting the brownies on the rack you turned to her, “Brownies with a little cherry filling. I also found a lasagna recipe that doesn’t have garlic in it.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Rio walked closer to you, the rich smell of tomato sauce and cheese filling the kitchen.

“No. You’re my guest, just sit and relax.” Pulling a chair at the table gesturing her to sit. Setting two glasses of water on the table.

"Are you really wearing plastic fangs right now? They look so realistic!” Taking in her dark makeup noticing the sharp canine teeth poking out.

She took in a sharp breath, holding a hand to her chest in offense. "These are my real teeth! This is just the one time a year nobody freaks out about them!”

You laugh, “Sure, sure.” Fixing two plates you place one in front of her, sitting down. A few minutes of silence passed before you spoke up again, “So do you sleep in a coffin or?”

“No. Ugh, those stupid movies never get vampires right!” She breathed out exasperated. She takes a sip of her water, “Call me crazy but I actually live above the library. There were a few rooms on the third floor, so I decided to renovate them as a living space.”

Cackling you held your stomach as it starts to cramp, “Sorry, I’m not laughing at you living at the library. Your commitment to the vampire character is convincing.” Taking a deep breath you wiped a tear from your eye.

“Dinner was delicious.” Rio complemented, handing you her plate, “How about we skip the movies for right now.”

“What did you want to do instead?” You placed the dishes in the soapy water, grabbing a towel to dry your hands.

“Let’s go for a walk. We can come back and finish the night with the movies.” Rio suggested, pushing her chair back in the table. Agreeing, you grabbed a light jacket before heading out.

—

The streets were alive with costumed children and their parents darting from house to house, colorful outfits glowing in the moonlight. The air was filled with the laughter and excited chatter of eager trick or treaters, blending with the rustle of leaves under their feet. The street lights were off letting the glow of Jack-o'-lanterns illuminating the street, casting eerie shadows on the houses and adding a touch of mystery to the atmosphere. The feeling of anticipation hung in the air.

“I’m sure the werewolves are having fun.” Rio stated, gawking at the large full moon.

“What?” You casted a pointed look at her, “There’s no such thing.”

“You really don’t believe in them? Just werewolves or all monsters?” Her face contorts with confusion. She’s not sure why she’s displeased. The fact that you don’t believe in the supernatural despite all your love for Halloween, and folklore upsets her.

“Like ghosts, spirits, stuff like that yeah, but vampires, werewolves, that’s where it gets tough.” you notice the streets getting quieter the longer you two walked. Rio perked up once you neared the graveyard. Running ahead she pushed open the grand metal gate, creaking as it gave way.

“Why in the world would we go in there?” You freeze on the sidewalk, goosebumps breaking out all over.

“Because it’s spooky,��� she teased, bringing her hands up making them into claws. Cackling she turned, already walking onto the grounds. Huffing you followed after her eyes downcast, making sure not to trip over any tree roots protruding from the ground. A knot of dread slowly twisting in your stomach as you traversed the rows of tombstones. Rio gasps turning back towards you, “I hope no zombies wake up while we’re here.”

“That’s not funny.” you admonished, pressing a hand to your chest, attempting to soothe your racing heart. Glancing around, wide eyes darting all over, you hear Rio behind you, “Let’s play hide and seek.”

“What! no.” Turning to find yourself all alone, Rio nowhere in sight. How did she even disappear so quickly and quietly? It suddenly dawned on you how much silence there was, save for the crickets and occasional owl hoots. Shouting her name you searched around for her, quietly apologizing to each headstone you passed. Each passing second fear and anxiety welled up in your chest.

Frantically combing every inch of the graveyard, tears welled in your eyes. Coming to halt you let the tears fall, gathering your scattered thoughts. Fear turning to anger when you heard Rio’s laughter. Glancing up you spot her hanging upside down from a tree branch, your fists balling realizing that she just watched you run around the graveyard like a crazy person. Jaw clenching, you yelled at her, “Get down here, Rio! Stop kidding around!”

Rio stopped laughing, her face deadpanned. Dropping to the ground Rio stared you down, not uttering word as she advanced. Your blood froze when Rio’s eyes turned red, lips curling into a sinister smile, baring sharp fangs. Frozen in place, captivated by her hypnotic gaze. Time seems to slow as Rio leans in, breath brushing against your earlobe, “Your turn to hide.”

Immediately turning tail, you bolted out of the graveyard, your blood-curdling screams filling the air. Your breaths heave, heart pounding against your ribcage as adrenaline courses through your veins. Feet hitting the ground as fast as your body could take you, not caring how people looked at you as you ran past them, you just needed to get home.

Rio watched you run away, laughing to herself as she started the long way to your home. Now that you’ve invited her in your home she can come and go as she pleases. By the time she reached your backyard she was surprised you hadn’t made it home yet. Shimmying a library card under your window, she slides it open. Climbing into your bedroom, she heard the lock of your doors clicking. Cautiously closing your window she slipped behind your door, lying in wait.

Checking to be sure all the windows and doors were locked, drawing all curtains you made your way to your bedroom. Turning your on the bedroom light, you felt the cold steel of a blade on your neck. Rio grabbed you tighter, pressed the blade closer to your throat, her singsong voice floating through your ear, ”I found you.”

The blade of her dagger dangerously glinting in the light, swiftly slashing through your shirt. Peeling off your bra, Rio held you down on the bed. Hand on the middle of your back, wrestling off your pants. Hastily ridding herself of her own clothes Rio was thankful she’d forwent undergarments tonight. Every swing of her strap causing the end inside of her to press against her walls, sending a delicious shiver up her spine.

Flipping you on your back Rio caught both your wrists in one hand, pinning them above your head. Trailing the knife down your neck and across your collarbones, she stops the knife nicking the skin above your breast. Rio made a series of rushed, small cuts down your torso, the sweet sting of each one increasing the wetness between your thighs.

Rio fixated on blood bubbling up to the surface of your skin. Moaning each time she dipped down, warm tongue lapping at the fresh wounds. Rio’s eyes lit up with enamor as she licked your blood from her lips.

She dragged your panties up pinching your clit, jerking your hips towards her. The pulse in your clit growing stronger as she presses the blunt side of her blade on your bundle of nerves.

“Look at this mess. It’d be too easy to just-” voice trailed off as she gathers your slick on the hilt of her dagger. Head falling back as Rio lines the handle to your entrance. A pleased hum passes your lips as the icy steel stretches you out.

You shiver under Rio’s predatory gaze, her hand moving to cover your neck, lightly squeezing the sides. Head feeling light and fuzzy as she thrusts the hilt inside you, the curve of the handle passing over that soft, spongy spot perfectly. She can feel your pulse fluctuating under her fingertips as she tests the pressure around your throat.

Yelping at the sudden emptiness in your core, you squeaked watching her bury her dagger into your headboard. “Absolutely soaked,” she husked out spreading your juices on her shaft. Holding your panties to the side she inched into you, both of you moaning in unison. Sharply inhaling when Rio sped up, deft fingers squeezing your neck again.

It’s such a power trip she thinks, gazing down on you. Your life is in her hands, but your face shows pure blissed-out pleasure. Releasing her hold on you she uses her thumb to push your head aside. Teeth scraping against your earlobe, “Depraved slut.”

Her hips thrusted at a near inhuman speed, nails digging into her wrists as her gripped tightened. Pussy clenching around Rio’s cock, eyes rolling to the back of your skull at the thought of bruises forming on your throat. She swallows your moans, sneaking her other hand between your bodies, thumbing your clit. Each hard thrust sending electrifying, shockwaves through you, heels digging into her back. The squelching sound of her cock pounding you fills the room, mixing with the filthy moans you’re both emitting.

White spots blotted the edges of your vision, warmth rolling over you in waves. Shrieking, a sharp pain radiating as her teeth pierce your skin. Hearing her sucking on your neck realization hits you like a ton of bricks that Rio wasn’t masquerading as a supernatural creature for the night. Dragging your nails across her back leaving red trails in their wake, a loud moan escaping her. Rio latched on tighter, tasting your delicious blood as you convulse in her arms.

She doesn’t want to let go, wanting to stay in this moment for the rest of her eternity getting drunk off your taste. You weakly try to push her off as she licks at the hot liquid trickling down your neck.

Sucking in a deep breath when she relaxed the hand on your neck, her face remaining buried in your neck. Rio stilled inside you, collapsing on you. Shifting around to get comfortable, feeling the sheets soaked through beneath you. Rio found the way your heartbeat gradually slowed to normal rhythm calming, reveling in the way it grounded her. She felt your chest rise before you spoke up, “I know we talked about the- the sex and everything, but you’re actually a-”

“I tried telling you before.” Rio interjects, voice unusually small.

“I thought you were kidding! I thought you were alluding to your Halloween costume and was just super committed! You’re an actual-,” facepalming yourself, “Oh my god. Am I going to become a vampire?”

“No.” Rio rolled off you as you shot up, eyes bulging as you look at her. She figured you’d be screaming more, freaking out. You opened your mouth to ask another question but she beat you to it, “No, I’m not going to kill you.”

Clamping your mouth shut, you looked away from her, fingers reaching up to feel the puncture wounds she left. Watching you flinch, she propped herself on her elbows, “…Are you alright?” Rio felt more vulnerable with each passing second of thick silence, mentally trying shove herself in a grave. Boring holes in the back of your head, awaiting any form of reaction from you.

Thoughts running a mile a minute, too quick for you to grasp and focus on one. Despite Rio being a vampire she still felt like a haven. It shouldn’t be like this, but it is. Exhilaration, that a creature that’s portrayed as this evil being can deliver you such a cathartic experience. Fear, shame, embarrassment, feelings of the like surrounding the erotic fantasies you have, gone with Rio around. The ache in your neck and core solidified one thing: you wanted this again. The thrill of the chase as you ran home, arousal already forming knowing what awaited you the second you locked your doors. Eventually you straightened up, turning back towards her, an excited grin on your face, “Let’s fuck in the library next year!”

Rio’s eyes darkened, a smirk on her face, “Why wait?”

[monarchetype]

btw you should play xenoblade chronicles x: definitive edition when it comes out on switch and here's why:

-absolutely beautiful open world JRPG made by the studio that went on to work on BotW and TotK's maps. you want fantastical natural settings? we got em in spades.

-instead of being a JRPG that starts as a fantasy story and gets more scifi as it goes on it starts as a scifi story and gets more fantasy as it goes on. all xenoblade games are firmly science fantasy but X tips the closest to the science side of the scale

-super cool aliens. aliens that were genetically engineered to eat pollution. high tech aliens that love pizza. aliens that are allergic to human dna. straight up thundercats.

-Mix-and-match combat where you custom build your own class based on which sword and gun choice you have equipped. From a regular ass knife to a lightsaber, from an assault rifle to a laser drone.

-There's a character named "Murderess."

-You get a mech. You get lots of mechs. They transform into vehicles and can fly. Anything you want out of a mech, this mech can do it.

-There is a field boss named "Sheldon the Dentally Challenged"

-If you have a favorite English voice actor, they are in this game, I can almost guarantee it.

-Side quests. Great side quests. Excellent side quests. Open world JRPG with excellent side quests. Need I repeat.

-OST by Hiroyuki Sawano. You might recognize him from the soundtrack of some obscure anime such as Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill, and Gundam.

[dereliction-if]

DERELICTION - One empire. Three kingdoms. Four races. A fate so fragile, and yet the celestial spirits decided to put it in the hands of their own potential deicide.

In a fractured realm plagued by ancient animosities, where empires clash and races vie for their own goal, their own dominance, a haunting destiny hangs over an unlikely figure. A pariah, an outcast, and perhaps the only hope - You.

You bear the weight of a dark lineage and the remnants of a once-powerful origin - now shunned by all races. While shadows of your tragic past loom large, a seemingly chance encounter thrusts you into a perilous journey. The path ahead is cloaked in uncertainty, an abyss that beckons you to confront your deepest fears, your deepest desires - a choice that may tip the scales toward salvation or everlasting despair.

It’s upon you to decide: Can you outrun your fate, or will you succumb to the very darkness you seek to defy?

/// FEATURES:

Customize the Main Character (MC) and hereby influence your path in the world:

• Name (including Nickname & Alias)

• Pronouns (choose preset or set your own)

• Gender (male, female & non-binary options)

• Appearance (hair, eye colour, size, body type, scars & more)

• Race: Thao‘Raq

• Personality (influencing events, attitudes & behaviour towards you)

• Vices (choose your poison)

• An inner power yet to identify What else? Different POVs (incl. your ROs POVs)

/// HOW IT ALL BEGAN - YOUR STORY:

/// THE WORLD (MAP WIP)

/// CHARACTERS:

For thy company makes thy destiny:

Several characters that highly influence your path, depending on your relationship and choices. Some of them you‘ll encounter just once, whilst others will be your companions for a long while. But relationships might change, due to events in the past, decisions you made. Beware, character deaths are happening and some consequences will only show in the long run.

Important characters to be announced soon

/// ROMANTIC OPTIONS:

Overall there will be 5 ROs and plenty of short term encounters - see below (Spoiler alert)

RO#1: The royal heir

Princess Sonea - she/her, 1,76m (5'9") Prince Solas - he/him, 1,94m (6'4") - 22yo, straight or gay; race: Human

Appearance: tba

Personality: tba

The first time your eyes locked, both your fates were decided. Yet, nobody could have known what consequence just one destined moment would mean for both of you and, further, the whole realm. Will you be each other’s key or knife?

RO#2: The sovereign

Amara Dougal - she/her, 1,81m (5'11") - 31yo, straight or gay, race: Human x Thao‘Raq

Appearance: tba

Personality: tba

You were never meant to be more than a tool for them - an interchangeable toy to kill boredom, play a little game of strength, willpower and dominance. Then you managed to surprise them. Was that your plan all along?

Mood Board: here

RO#3: The mage

Jia - she/her, 1,65m (5'5"); he/him, 1,79m (5'10"); they/them, 1,73m (5'8") - 21yo, demi, race: Eirdimon

Appearance: tba

Personality: tba

You stumbled into their life, being the first light in a long while. They are grateful for the new perspectives you bring into their life, even though you turn their whole world upside down. Still, they decided to never let you go again.

RO#4: The mercenary

Havu Guillame - she/her, 1,73m (5'8"); he/him 1,87m (6'2") - 26yo, pan, race: Sertynan

Appearance: tba

Personality: tba

A rusty knife, straight between their shoulder blades sounded like a much more enjoyable scenario than having to spend time with you. Not because you are exceptionally annoying, which you can be, but because bearing anybody else’s burden is nothing more than a waste of time to them.

RO#5: The knight

Daria Baran - she/her, 1,97m (6'6") Darius Baran - he/him, 2,03m (6'8") - 38yo, straight (?), race: Human

Appearance: tba

Personality: tba

Their oath is the reason why they are stuck with you. If it were possible, they would‘ve avoided it as a whole, but it seems carrying your ass around, reminding you of your manners, duties and cleaning the mess you leave behind you, is their painful responsibility now.

/// RACES: Click on each race to find out more

Sertynan (Original purpose: Diplomacy & Peace)

Eirdimon (Original purpose: Creation & Wisdom)

Human soon

Thao‘Raq (Original purpose: Protection & Defense)

>>> physical appearances - race specific: here

/// FLORA & FAUNA:

Buorshik (Lizard)

/// CONTENT WARNING: 🔞 Dark adult fiction

contains mentions of violence, bullying, racism, body horror, torture, gore, medical procedures, death, alcohol, drugs, addiction, abuse, self harm, optional sexual content incl. prostitution.

Full content warning here.

/// LAST UPDATE: 08.04.2024

In early development. DEMO: t.b.a.

Note: Each chapter will be published once it is finished.

[folksaga-if]

“It is a long story, and it does no credit to anyone: there is murder in it, and trickery, lies and foolishness, seduction and pursuit.  Listen."

- Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology

You are a human. A totally normal one.

Honestly.

You’re a human. You’re a bartender, which is a very normal job for a human to have, and when you walk down the winding streets of Akureyri you can blend seamlessly into any crowd of people which is, without question, only something that a human could do.

The fact that you came here two years ago with nothing but the clothing on your back doesn’t mean anything; you’re hardly northern Iceland’s first wayfaring soul. That you had no money to your name, no friends or family to speak of — that’s a fairly average human thing, too. And that little craving you have, that quiet urge to dig your teeth into any passing stranger’s throat? It's completely, entirely mundane.

It’s manageable. You’re managing.

Or you were, until someone — someone who's decidedly notas good at this human thing as you are — begins leaving a trail of dead bodies at your doorstep, and a trio of god-like siblings take a seat at your bar.

MAGNI THORSON .

No doubt the mightiest of his siblings, the eldest child of Thor is exactly the sort of person you would expect him to be: a giant (half-giant, in fact) asshole with a smoulder and a knife-sharp jawline to match. He’ll match your every word with a cocky grin and a joke that’s nowhere near as funny as he thinks, and he’ll look every inch the prince that he is all the while.

(Well, the prince that he was. Just don’t let him hear you say that.)

MODI THORSON .

For the supposed embodiment of his father’s wrath, the God of Thunder’s second son is surprisingly…not that. He’s no picnic, mind you — he’s broody, he’s secretive, and he's fucking intense, but that hardly equates to fury incarnate. You’re sure there’s something hiding under that moody surface; whether or not you want to uncover it is a different story entirely.

(Looks like even gods aren’t immune to middle-child syndrome. Who knew?)

THRÚD THORSDÓTTIR .

Valkyrie, seidhr,paragon of strength — with all of her mother’s best traits (and a few of her father’s worst), is it any wonder that Thor’s youngest child was also his favourite? Smarter than her half-brothers and more likeable by a longshot, you might find yourself forgetting how easily the fortune-telling goddess could break you in two. You might, but she’ll be happy to remind you if you do.

(Maybe a little too happy, in fact.)

KATLA B̶͍̏L̸̝͑O̵̟͠M̴̳̓Q̴̯̔V̵̺͆I̷̗͛S̵̠͒T̸̬̒ .

A fellow nomad and your coworker at Black Thunder, the first friend you made in Akureyri has remained your closest. Mischevious, magnetic, and often up to no small amount of trouble, there are times when you think you might know Katla better than you know yourself. You even know about her…well, you know that she…sorry, what were you talking about again?

(It's just that it’s nice, being close to someone who’s so very human.)

THE MARE .

There’s a voice in your head and a shadow in your dreams, and they’re telling you to run. You probably shouldn’t trust them.

(…Right?)

Customize your monster character. New life, new you! Choose your gender identity, change your name, cut your hair, and remember: if you’re starting to grow tired of running from your past, try on a new outfit and start running faster.

Play as one of three runway creatures from Norse mythology — a cunning keeper of the forest, a charming warden of the lake, or a formidable guardian of the mountains. Each has its quirks (would you prefer a hollowed-out tree for a back, or webbed fingers and forearms covered in scales?), but they all have two key things in common: they’ll killto protect their homes, and you’redefinitely not one of them.

Choose your own fate, out of the countless that are presented to you. Had oatmeal instead of skyr with your breakfast this morning? You might have just brought about Ragnarök 2.0. Nice one, asshole.

Multiple romance options, with each available to pursue regardless of your gender or background. Ever wanted to kiss a god under a starry sky? Now's your chance! Or maybe you’re through with immortal beings and desperate to ask the pretty server on a date? Go for it! She’s definitelya human too. Totally. You’d be able to tell if she wasn’t. Wouldn’t you?

Save the world — or don’t.It's your choice, and isn't that what true freedom is all about?

Folksaga is inspired by The Edda, Norse mythology, andTwin Peaks, with a bit of tweaking to the myths as needed for the sake of plot. MC backgrounds have been adjusted to fit for all players regardless of gender identity, and creative liberty has been taken with some smaller points for a smoother storytelling experience. All changes will be explained in an FAQ post (too be added in the links below ASAP!)

AS OF AUGUST 21 UPDATE: The current demo consists of the prologue (introductory lore + character creation), + chapter 1, about 70k words total.

I expect it to be somewhere in the range of 600,000 to 700,000 words, but this is subject to change (and likely will due to my propensity for rambling text. oops.).

I’ve written  short and long-form original fiction as well as a lot of fanfic (say hello @ pentaghastly on AO3, and @kendallroynsfw on tumblr!), but this is my first IF! Bugs and coding issues may appear in the demo; please let me know if any issues arise during your playthroughs.

Folksaga is a work in progress. I would love constructive feedback when the demo is posted, as well as any bugs or grammar issues to be brought to my attention if I've missed them :) I would also love patience, because I'm a full time health care worker who gets sleepy lots xoxo

A Swedish farmer named Sven Andersson was executed in 1691 for having intercourse with a mountain nymph, or bergsrå. I will neither confirm or deny if his Wikipedia article was the inspiration for this IF, except I will confirm it and it definitely was.

MC ORIGINS | RO INTROS | DEMO!!!!! | COG FORUMS | PATREON

[skythevirus]

[Completed] First Time Cosplay Journey: Peppino and Noise Full Body Cosplay

As the title states, this is literally the first time making a full fledged costume. @skyrider3217artz and I started this back at the beginning of July and we wanted to share our experience with making them for the upcoming convention my sister and I be heading to around December close to our birthday.

I'm used to doing custom plushies with my sister with our latest one being a custom 4-foot Mizutsune plush (https://www.reddit.com/r/MonsterHunter/s/jD17gT3R0O) plus a mushroom toppin for a friend and a pineapple toppin for another commission. Honestly, this is a really big jump from making custom plushies but I am feeling optimistic about this project. It has been a long and grueling month working a full-time job plus working on this cosplay with the weather and workspace not being favorable at our location. This is what we have so far in the project:

Last Updated: 10/20/2024 (Updates Highlighted in Blue)

More details below:

Noise Cosplay

The cosplay is fully completed, here is the post showcasing the costume.

Props

NTV Microphone: Fully completed

Noise Bomb Plush: Fully completed [post] Created by SkyRider

Noisey Plush: Not started.

Jetpack Backpack: Not started.

Plush Knife: Scrapped

Clothes

Devilish Imp: We are almost complete with the costume, we mostly need some wings, the horned hat, and attaching the zippers for the ankles.

Poise: Not Started

Critic: The costume is almost complete. We are reusing the Devilish Imp costume in red with some green fabric for the cape. Work smarter, not harder.

Roise: Basically Critic, but with normal Noise's cape. Just resuing parts. It's not completed yet.

Peppino Cosplay

The cosplay is fully completed, here is the post showcasing the costume.

Props

“Peppino Pizza” Pizza Box: Fully Complete [pizza box Post] [Plush post]

6" Toppin Plushies:

~Mushroom: Pattern completed via previous commission, needs to be scaled down.

~Cheese: Not Started

~Tomato: Not started

~Sausage: We have tested the pattern and will need to figure out how to properly sew the ends of the sausage without it looking funky.

~Pineapple: Pattern completed via previous commission, needs to be scaled down.

Clothes

Candy Wrapper: We have bought fabric for the costume and will assemble it soon.

Blood Red: We have bought fabric for the costume and will assemble it soon.

TV Purple: We have bought fabric for the costume and will assemble it soon.

With the main project completed, any updates will be small "bonus" updates. (Mainly for posting the final props or costumes as they get completed)

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The long bezzle

Going to Defcon this weekend? I’m giving a keynote, “An Audacious Plan to Halt the Internet’s Enshittification and Throw it Into Reverse,” on Saturday at 12:30pm, followed by a book signing at the No Starch Press booth at 2:30pm!

https://info.defcon.org/event/?id=50826

When it comes to the modern world of enshittified, terrible businesses, no addition to your vocabulary is more essential than "bezzle," JK Galbraith's term for "the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it"

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/09/accounting-gimmicks/#unter

The bezzle is contained by two forces.

First, Stein's Law: "Anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop."

Second, Keynes's: "Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent."

On the one hand, extremely badly run businesses that strip all the value out of the firm, making things progressively worse for its suppliers, workers and customers will eventually fail (Stein's Law).

On the other hand, as the private equity sector has repeatedly demonstrated, there are all kinds of accounting tricks, subsidies and frauds that can animate a decaying, zombie firm long after its best-before date (Keynes's irrational markets):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/02/plunderers/#farben

One company that has done an admirable job of balancing on a knife edge between Stein and Keynes is Verizon, a monopoly telecoms firm that has proven that a business can remain large, its products relied upon by millions, its stock actively traded and its market cap buoyant, despite manifest, repeated incompetence and waste on an unimaginable scale.

This week, Verizon shut down Bluejeans, an also-ran videoconferencing service the company bought for $400 million in 2020 as a panic-buy to keep up with Zoom. As they lit that $400 mil on fire, Verizon praised its own vision, calling Bluejeans "an award-winning product that connects our customers around the world, but we have made this decision due to the changing market landscape":

https://9to5google.com/2023/08/08/verizon-bluejeans-shutting-down/

Writing for Techdirt, Karl Bode runs down a partial list of all the unbelievably terrible business decisions Verizon has made without losing investor confidence or going under, in a kind of tribute to Keynes's maxim:

https://www.techdirt.com/2023/08/10/verizon-fails-again-shutters-attempted-zoom-alternative-bluejeans-after-paying-400-million-for-it/

Remember Go90, the "dud" streaming service launched in 2015 and shuttered in 2018? You probably don't, and neither (apparently) do Verizon's shareholders, who lost $1.2 billion on this folly:

https://www.techdirt.com/2018/07/02/verizons-sad-attempt-to-woo-millennials-falls-flat-face/

Then there was Verizon's bid to rescue Redbox with a new joint-venture streaming service, Redbox Instant, launched 2012, killed in 2014, $450,000,000 later:

https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/verizon-redbox-to-pull-plug-on-video-streaming-service-1201321484/

Then there was Sugarstring, a tech "news" website where journalists were prohibited from saying nice things about Net Neutrality or surveillance – born 2014, died 2014:

https://www.theverge.com/2014/12/2/7324063/verizon-kills-off-sugarstring

An app store, started in 2010, killed in 2012:

https://www.theverge.com/2012/11/5/3605618/verizon-apps-store-closing-january-2013

Vcast, 2005-2012, yet another failed streaming service (pray that someday you find someone who loves you as much as Verizon's C-suite loves doomed streaming services):

https://venturebeat.com/media/verizon-vcast-shutting-down/

And the granddaddy of them all, Oath, Verizon's 2017, $4.8 billion acquisition of Yahoo/AOL, whose name refers to the fact that the company's mismanagement provoked involuntary, protracted swearing from all who witnessed the $4.6 billion write-down the company took a year later:

https://www.techdirt.com/2018/12/12/if-youre-surprised-verizons-aol-yahoo-face-plant-you-dont-know-verizon/

Verizon isn't just bad at being a phone company that does non-phone-company things – it's incredibly bad at being a phone company, too. As Bode points out, Verizon's only real competency is in capturing its regulators at the FCC:

https://www.techdirt.com/2017/05/02/new-verizon-video-blatantly-lies-about-whats-happening-to-net-neutrality/

And sucking up massive public subsidies from rubes in the state houses of New York:

https://www.techdirt.com/2017/03/14/new-york-city-sues-verizon-fiber-optic-bait-switch/

New Jersey:

https://www.techdirt.com/2014/04/25/verizon-knows-youre-sucker-takes-taxpayer-subsidies-broadband-doesnt-deliver-lobbies-to-drop-requirements/

and Pennsylvania:

https://www.techdirt.com/2017/06/15/verizon-gets-wrist-slap-years-neglecting-broadband-networks-new-jersey-pennsylvania/

Despite all this, and vast unfunded liabilities – like remediating the population-destroying lead in their cables – they remain solvent:

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/verizon-sued-by-investors-over-lead-cables-environmental-statements-2023-08-02/

Verizon has remained irrational longer than any short seller could remain solvent.

Short-sellers – who bet against companies and get paid when their stock prices go down – get a bad rap: billionaire shorts were the villains of the Gamestop squeeze, accused of running negative PR campaigns against beloved businesses to drive them under and pay their bets off:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/30/meme-stocks/#stockstonks

But shorts can do the lord's work. Writing for Bloomberg, Kathy Burton tells the story of Nate Anderson, whose Hindenburg Research has cost some of the world's wealthiest people over $99 billion by publishing investigative reports on their balance-sheet shell-games just this year:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-08-06/how-much-did-hindenburg-make-from-shorting-adani-dorsey-icahn

Anderson started off trying to earn a living as a SEC whistleblower, identifying financial shenanigans and collecting the bounties on offer, but that didn't pan out. So he turned his forensic research skills to preparing mediagenic, viral reports on the scams underpinning the financial boasts of giant companies…after taking a short position in them.

This year, Anderson's targets have included Carl Icahn, whose company lost $17b in market cap after Anderson accused it of overvaluing its assets. He went after the world's fourth-richest man, Gautam Adani, accusing him of "accounting fraud and stock manipulation," wiping out 34% of his net worth. He took on Jack Dorsey, whose payment processor Square renamed itself Block and went all in on the cryptocurrency bezzle, lopping 16% off its share price.

Burton points out that Anderson's upside for these massive bloodletting was comparatively modest. A perfectly timed exit from the $17b Icahn report would have netted $56m. What's more, Anderson faces legal threats and worse – one short seller was attacked by a man wearing brass-knuckles, an attack attributed to her short activism.

Shorts are lauded as one of capitalism's self-correcting mechanisms, and Hindenberg certainly has taken some big, successful swings at some of the great bezzles of our time. But as Verizon shows, shorts alone can't discipline a market where profits and investor confidence are totally decoupled from competence or providing a decent product or service.

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/10/smartest-guys-in-the-room/#can-you-hear-me-now

[khaire-traveler]

⚖️ Subtle Themis Worship ⚔️

Try veiling

When you have a big decision/judgement to make, blindfold yourself for a moment; be in a place where you're alone and can think quietly

Vote if you can

Get a candle that reminds you of her (no altar needed)

Keep a picture of her in your wallet

Wear jewelry that reminds you of her

Stay up to date on local politics

Join a local activism group; LGBT rights, POC rights, women's rights, etc.

Support humanitarian organizations or homeless shelters

Have a stuffed animal lion: have a stuffed animal of any creature you associate with justice, order, custom, prophecy, or judgement

Have imagery of the earth/sky, scales, blindfolds, swords, or lions around

Volunteer at a homeless shelter; volunteer at a soup kitchen

Spread the word about injustice, especially related to humanitarian causes

Speak your mind; be honest and direct with others; note that honest does not mean cruel

Get more comfortable with the idea of conflict; look into healthy conflict resolution skills

Join a debate team; spectate or participate in formal debates

Write letters you will never send to people who have done you wrong; burn them (SAFELY!!!)

Try to get involved with your local community; help run events, join groups/clubs, meet new people, etc.

Cook a warm meal for someone in need

Ask someone in need for the things they need most; buy/give them those things if you can

Practice restraint and grounding, especially when it comes to people who annoy you

Try to stay away from gossip; don't spread rumors about others, especially those that you're unsure the integrity of

Get curious about the world around you and the way things work; encourage yourself to question things

Trust yourself; listen to your gut

Work on setting boundaries with others and yourself

Let people know when they've done something that hurt you; ask them to change their behavior or wording

Feel free to give people chances to change, but if they continue not to make changes, don't put yourself through the extra work of keeping them around

Release things that no longer serve you

Work on accepting constructive criticism; try not to take criticism too personally

Get to know yourself better; feel confident in the fact that you know yourself better than others

Keep a self-growth journal; write down things relating to self improvement, how you're feeling, goals you're working towards, etc.

Learn any discreet form of divination; cartomancy, carromancy, pyromancy, tea leaves, etc.

Hold onto family heirlooms

Practice family traditions or create new ones c:

Learn self-defense; learn how to properly use weapons; pepper spray, pocket knife, etc.

Clean up after yourself; don't litter in the environment; pick up litter you come across

Try your best to take the advice you give to others (easier said than done, I know)

Practice patience and mindfulness; release control over the things that you can't control

Ground yourself if you're feeling anxious or stressed over an issue; learn about healthy coping skills for stress or anxiety if you don't know any

Take regular breaks from screens; walk around outside, and enjoy yourself; get some fresh air

Take a walk/hike outside; connect with nature

Drink a calming, soothing, or grounding tea

Take care of yourself after a hard day; be kind and gentle with yourself; engage in comforting activities

-

I'll likely add more going forward, but for the time being, this is my list of discreet ways to worship Themis. I hope others find this helpful! Take care, everyone. 🧡

Link to Subtle Worship Master list

[inafieldofdaisies]

Custom Funko Project: Far Cry 5 | John, Jacob & Faith Seed

/ In the beginning of 2022 I got really into making custom funkos of my most favorite characters & have been marking so many off my to-do list. Today I'm showing off the results for the Seeds and the boxes I designed to go with the figures.

When making the ones for John, Jacob and Faith (and for all characters I recreate really) I wanted to include as many details as possible and get as accurate to the OG character as I can. When it comes to accessories I basically make everything on my own.

For John: I handdrew all the tattoos that would be visible + scar on his chest. Included the EG earring and belt, his watch and made the sunglasses from scratch.

For Faith: Lace details on the dress. The flowers took hours, but I'm so happy with how they turned out. Another thing I handpainted were the butterflies, I never thought I'd be able to paint them in such tiny scale.

For Jacob: All the patches he has on his shirt are yet again handpainted. Necklaces + knife were a must.

And ofc, at some point I plan on making a Joseph funko.

[szaszimi]

Spyderco Paramilitary 2 in Maxamet, one of the hardest high alloy-high carbon toolsteels available in production. Excellent edge retention, great edge stability, superb wear resistance and a quickly developing patina which makes this steel unique. Its a great match with the fine polished pure copper scales. No clip screws, just a slim, minimal and elegant carry, a timeless design.

[possum-quesadilla]

Hey all! Here is Cyrus’ backstory, including his human life and then his time as a demon up until his first appearance in Time’s Arrow!

Note: this is not meant to sympathize him, he sucks. Just wanted to share some backstory that’ll never come up in the fic!

TW: He grew up in the 1800s, where plenty of nasty stuff happened. Warnings for child labor, work incidents, mentions of homophobia and sexism, blood and violence, rampant substance abuse (including alcohol and drugs), gambling, murder, manipulation, emotional and physical abuse mentions. He’s a nasty dude.

Cyrus is a younger demon, having lived in America in the 1800’s. His real demonic name is “Sirius”, which is the brightest star in the night sky, also known as the “dog star”, and part of the constellation Canis Major. Canis Major is meant to be the hunting dog of Orion the hunter.

His human name was Jack Patrick Howard, and he was born and raised in Maine. His father was an immigrant from England, and his mother was a Maine native. He has a strong drifting accent (either Maine farming or cockney) that he does his best to cover up.

Jack grew up on a sheep farm with his folks, and was sent off to do small odd jobs for neighbors and local businesses by his father to make a quick penny for his poor family.

At the ripe young age of eight, he started pocketing half the money he earned from his odd jobs and just told his parents that people were paying him less.

At the age of thirteen, he took on a full time job in a factory and moved away from his parent’s farm.

He met a boy at age fifteen, and the two were seen as the best of friends by everyone around them. Really, he and that boy were dating, but that obviously was an issue back in 18-whatever.

That boy died mysteriously in a factory accident, purposefully caused by Jack when he realized people were starting to get suspicious of their close relationship.

Jack fled the factory shortly after, moving from job to job, drifting between towns. He became a grifter.

He worked a lot of odd jobs; factory worker, farm hand, logger, bartender, etc. He stole often and loved to spend the money on drinking and smoking and gambling, and he would just flee the town when he was caught.

Eventually, when he was 25, Jack got a letter: his aging parents needed help caring for themselves and the farm. So he traveled there, treated them all nice and sweet whenever company was over.

But once he’d settled in, he killed his parents and blamed it on their age/poor health. He inherited the farm and all their money, which wasn’t much.

Not able to hold down a farm by himself, Jack let his family farm go to ruin and then sold it for much less than it was worth within a year.

Jack continued to be a grifter, drinking and smoking his money away and stealing whenever he could, until he was about 33 years old.

That is when his crimes caught up with him.

A furious woman whose husband was driven to drink himself to death after their business went under due to Jack’s stealing their money and driving customers away came after him with a flintlock pistol while he was asleep.

He managed to escape, but not without grievous injuries.

Jack was going to die.

“I’d sell my soul for one last drink,” he said, as he hobbled along into the woods.

“That can be arranged,” a voice answered.

A demon named Canis came to him, offering up one last drink in exchange for his soul.

Jack thought quickly. He was always very clever.

He asked, instead, for the demon to retrieve an apple from a nearby orchard. He was too weak from blood loss to climb up and get one, and he would certainly exchange his soul if he could have just one last refreshing bite of an apple.

The demon grumbled but acquiesced, scaling the tree to get Jack an apple.

The man carved a crucifix into the bark of the tree with his pocket knife before the demon could come down.

Furious and trapped, the demon demanded he scratch off the cross and let him down.

Nope, not unless Jack got to drink and smoke and do as he pleased forever.

After much growling and grumbling, the demon agreed.

They shook on it, and Jack allowed the demon down.

Still quite angry, Canis said he would make him a demon, so that he could trick and scheme and lie for eternity. Sure, he wouldn’t “live” forever, but it was close enough. Jack hadn’t thought it through and set out the proper parameters of the Deal.

Canis had another stipulation: Jack would not get hellfire in his chest like every other demon. He would get only embers, and forever feel the chill of death unlike every other demon.

With that, Canis granted him his new name and led him down to the Netherworld.

Sirius.

He was fuming. He wanted to live forever, and now he was stuck in the Netherworld for eternity?

Now going by ‘Cyrus’, he immediately sought a way to scheme and climb the ladder.

Being on the bottom rung of the demon social ladder was horrendous. (May elaborate on that in another post if desired)

Being born a human was looked down upon among demonkind, despite the majority of them being born as humans.

He heard whispers of the Shoggoth spawn, and the power they wielded.

He then heard about a Shoggoth demon named Beetlejuice, and how he was unhappily married to a cruel demon named Rigel.

How he sought after attention and any crumb of affection by almost any means necessary.

He found his mark.

While Cyrus charmed and manipulated Beetlejuice, he searched for other ways to help him grow his power.

As he was schmoozing up a newly-dead in one of the waiting rooms, trying to strike up a Deal, Cyrus discovered something interesting growing from the carpet and the moldy corners of the ceiling: a strange little blue-leafed plant, with an alluring aroma.

It was called the ‘Tears of Prometheus’, and it grew in places where human despair was in great abundance.

Cyrus learned it had a wonderful warming affect on him when consumed, even more so when ground up and smoked.

It had other effects on the rest of demonkind.

It was highly addictive, but in very short supply.

Cyrus decided to seize control of that supply, plucking all of the plants and storing them away to grow himself.

His power and influence in the Depths grew rapidly overnight.

He was a nobody, a demon without even a building to his name.

Suddenly, he was rivaling the other higher level demons.

He had the power and influence he always wanted.

But he wanted more.

Cyrus convinced the members of his Cult to set up an exorcism ritual, and convinced Beetlejuice to lure his terrible husband at the time to it.

They watched him be Extinguished together.

Cyrus gained all of the Cult members that had belonged to Rigel.

(Cyrus does not have a Coven, only a Cult. He is hella sexist.)

Unfortunately for him, his little stunt got Beetlejuice in serious trouble with Juno, and he was cursed and banished to the surface.

So Cyrus waited for his return, all the while searching for another Shoggoth to steal power from, but he found none.

So he waited.

[blackjackkent]

As I mentioned in my previous post, it's very interesting to me that Durge gets custom dialogue about how they really want to kill Minsc, but never got any similar dialogue about Jaheira.

Honestly, this whole next cutscene (besides being my one of my favorites in the game and one of my favorite Jaheira moments in general) is just deeply interesting to me with Rakha specifically...

Narrator: Against the darkness swarming his senses, a single light glows - rage, flaring brighter every moment.

Minsc, in person and up close, is terrifying. He is the largest human Rakha has ever met, a hulking behemoth of a warrior, and even battered almost into unconsciousness by Minthara's sword and Jaheira's claws, he still curls his limbs under himself and tries, again and again, to rise.

His head lifts. Blood drips from his nose and his mouth. Pain stabs in Rakha's temple as his tadpole, lashing out wildly, connects with hers. Unlike so many past first connections, this one carries no images, no history, no information at all - just a growling flare of blind and agonized fury.

~Killed... her...~

"He won't stay down for long!" Jaheira shouts, the words tumbling over each other before her wildshape has even finished fading. The tension in her voice splits the air like a knife. "Tell your illithid to protect him from the elder brain's influence! Quickly!"

Another twinge, another voice breaking through the static of Rakha's mind - the Emperor this time, its ice-cold baritone a sharp counterpoint to Jaheira's shrill urgency.

"No," it says flatly. "This one will not aid our cause. Get rid of him."

And then the deepest and darkest voice of all, the beast in her head, rising into the milieu and roaring hungrily, the scent of blood from the dead Bhaalists, from Minsc, from her own wounds all combining into a nearly blinding temptation to simply strike, to pull her dagger and sink it into the tempting solidity of the Rashemaar's shoulders and slide the blade all the way down his spine...

Narrator: This wretch has stood against your Father before. You tremble to end him, every part of your rancorous body yearns for it.

Rakha goes utterly still, squeezing her eyes shut. Her breath comes quick and shallow with the effort of keeping herself from moving. It is too much, too many voices, all pushing and pulling at once, and the urge to kill - to kill this man in particular - is stronger than she has ever experienced before. She is almost salivating with it, hungry and eager.

She struggles desperately to shove back the feral instincts and think.

The beast wants Minsc dead.

Jaheira wants him to live.

The Emperor does not care - but does not want to waste resources on protecting him, and with the tadpole in Minsc's head, that is also a death sentence.

What do I want?

The Emperor's guidance has been good thus far, has been a central pillar of her fractured decision-making process. By all logic, perhaps she should listen to it, turn her back on Minsc, or even assuage the terrible hunger in her head by killing him after all.

But it would be a betrayal of Jaheira. A terrible one, one that there would be no coming back from. She made her position perfectly clear before the fight began. Lay a hand on Minsc with murder in your mind, and I will not stay my hand in answer.

She's known the Emperor longer, though only by a few months, and it has brought her peace in dark moments. But Jaheira has sat by Rakha's bunk through all hours of the night, protecting her from herself. If it is merely a question of where she owes most, she is not sure where the scales fall.

But in the end it is not the Emperor or Jaheira that tips the scales most. It is Minsc himself, and the tenuous connection between his mind and Rakha's.

"Killed... her..." Again that rumbling growl of pure grief and rage. The image of Jaheira flashes between them like lightning, along with an impression of friendship and loyalty so deeply entrenched that even the tadpole could not tear it out.

Ever since Jaheira first told Rakha of Minsc, Rakha has suspected that there were similarities between herself and the berserker. And these suspicions are now proved true, for she sees inside his mind and what she sees looks very much like her own. An off-kilter view of the world, something not quite madness but not quite sanity, and underlaid with a hunger for violence.

A hunger to do good with that violence, in spite of the rage.

To kill with purpose.

He is no Bhaalspawn, but he is like her. And yet Jaheira loves him with the same ferocity that Rakha sees in his mind for her.

Try to protect him. I must defy my Urge.

Roaring with pain and fury, Minsc makes it to his knees. "AAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHHHH!" His fists clench, ready in another moment to lurch up, to lash out--

"Don't be foolish," the Emperor growls. Its disdain is obvious. "He is too unpredictable. He will only be a hindrance to us."

And I am not? Rakha thinks - and for the first time a flash of anger at the Emperor shoots through her. To her mind, the similarity between herself and Minsc is obvious, and therefore the Emperor's underlying message is equally clear. It protected her on the nautiloid because it needed her - but if it had met her now, it would discard her as a useless threat.

(A/N: This is another one of those thought processes that didn't occur to me until just this moment as I was writing it, but oh man! Did not have Minsc's arrival being the first chink in Rakha's trust in the Emperor's good will towards her on my bingo card.)

Her jaw sets and her head lifts, her eyes narrowing. You will do as I command, she snarls inwardly.

I have followed your guidance all this time. Now you will follow mine, if you know what is good for you.

"No." The Emperor's voice is flatter even than usual. She can feel a sudden straining tension in her connection with the Astral Prism that she has never felt before; it sends an unpleasant streak of ice down her back. "I will not be coerced into protecting him. You do not see what I do. His thoughts, his mind. Pure chaos."

I do, Rakha thinks bitterly. I see it in him - and in myself. If it is worthless in him, it is worthless in me too.

Jaheira has been watching the subtle twitch of muscles on Rakha's face with increasing concern. Her eyes narrow into slits, and she wipes rapidly at a trickle of blood moving down her cheek. "The mind flayer pours poison in your ear, I think," she says coldly.

Stepping forward, she squares off with Rakha, and despite their difference in height she might as well be staring directly into the half-orc's eyes.

"Tell it I will tear the Prism from your grasp," she growls, sounding more wolf than woman now in her furious desperation, "and throw it in the deepest lava pit I can find. Long after our bones are dust and ash, the walls of its prison will still be burning!"

The Weave flares around her; Rakha can see every bit of magical energy inside her drawing itself up in preparation for a final, furious stand. "NOW HELP MY FRIEND!" she thunders, her voice echoing to the cistern ceiling.

Rakha's head spasms. The beast is still scrabbling furiously at the inside of her mind under the surface of this conversation, and she catches herself reaching unconsciously for her dagger, shoves her hand behind her back with a quick, spasmodic motion.

"She bluffs," the Emperor hisses. "Surely she would not risk the fate of all for one simple life..." But she can sense the flicker, almost imperceptible, of its uncertainty.

Rakha draws a hoarse breath, clenching her fists to steady herself. Perhaps Jaheira is bluffing, and perhaps she is not. In truth, Rakha doesn't know. But it doesn't matter - her decision is made already, and after everything, it has turned out to have nothing to do with Jaheira at all.

It doesn't matter, she tells the Emperor - and she's surprised at the sense of certainty that she's not sure she's ever felt before. Help him.

There's a long, strained pause, while Rakha struggles as the beast tries again to rise into the silence. Then the tension with the Prism eases.

"Fine," the Emperor mutters - just a touch petulantly. "Have it your way."

Sudden pain. Familiar pain. The tadpole connection clicks into place in earnest now, the binding Rakha has experienced with all of her infected companions, a view straight down through Minsc's mind into his soul.

Narrator: His mind unfolds beneath yours. A still lake pulls you down into its depths. Images flash by - battles fought and friends fallen. His rage grows colder, burrows deeper, as a familiar face crystallizes before you.

Again the image of Jaheira passes between them, saturated with grief and fury. Minsc rises to his feet, fists clenched, eyes wide and starting from his head. Though he is only human, he towers over Rakha by several inches, something she has rarely experienced.

"Jaheira!" he roars, and for a moment Rakha finds herself reckoning with the fact that all the magic in the world will not protect her from the impact of one of those massive fists. "You killed her!"

"You are being dramatic," Jaheira says matter-of-factly at his side.

Minsc's head snaps back and he blinks rapidly at Jaheira's voice. He turns, meeting her eyes, and--

Narrator: The instant's hesitation is enough. With a sensation of terrible rending, something vast and nameless falls away from his mind.

"There," the Emperor mutters. "It is done."

Minsc's body spasms and he clutches at his temples with both hands. Rakha watches dispassionately as the transition passes and the Prism's protection takes hold. She knows the pain he is undergoing - but also knows it will pass, and she can see the moment where the rage drains away in favor of confusion.

"...Jaheira?" he mumbles shakily, staggering backward a few steps. Instead of rage or grief, his eyes take on a bewildered air, a pleading question which he waits expectantly for Jaheira to answer. "I... do not understand."

Jaheira laughs - and the sound takes Rakha a little by surprise. After so many days of increasing tension, it is a sound of wild relief. "Good," she says dryly. "That means you're back to your old ways." She shoots Rakha a look. "We have a lot to discuss, but first - you have someone to thank."

Minsc turns towards her with guileless, wide eyes, opening his mouth to speak, when--

WHAM.

The tadpole connection slams through them again, and this time Rakha staggers with the impact of it.

Narrator: In the sudden silence, your minds merge once more. More memories, sensations, but passing too quickly for you to track. In the same breath, you share everything that happened to you - the nautiloid, the Absolute, the Chosen of the Dead Three.

Rakha is, by now, no stranger to sharing all her memories with others. It's a small enough collection, after all. But the connection is a different experience with every person, and with Minsc it is... particularly unique.

He rolls through her like a wave, a strange thundering avalanche of personality and perception and instinct. And there are familiar notes in that avalanche, more than with any other connection she has yet experienced.

She sees him on the forefront of an adventuring party, veins bulging from his forehead and vision reddened with rage, tearing apart foes in his path. And she sees quiet nights in a camp she does not recognize, a series of women's faces each marked with that bone-deep loyalty, camaraderie and warmth and joyful certainty. And she sees a faint, skittering form, a constant presence, wise and unwavering, crawling up his leg and into his pocket.

The images fade. Her vision clears to find Minsc looking at her with deep curiosity.

"You," he murmurs wonderingly. "You saved Minsc while he danced like a mind flayer's meat-puppet. Why?"

Rakha considers trying to explain her standoff with the Emperor. The way she saw her own instability and rage and struggle for purpose in his own, and realized that the Emperor would gladly thrown Minsc aside for those same qualities. But she barely has the words for it to herself, let alone to this man who - in spite of the mental connection - is still ultimately a stranger.

"Jaheira insisted," she says gruffly.

Jaheira snorts softly. "Suggested," she murmurs, with heavy irony.

Minsc brightens. It's clear that, as far as he sees the situation, with the threat past and his friend at his side all is well, regardless of what lies ahead or behind. "You do well to heed her," he says earnestly, with a broad smile. "Jaheira was very wise even *before* she was very old."

He reaches in a casual gesture towards his shoulder, a movement clearly so natural as to be completely unconscious. "There is someone you must meet," he goes on eagerly. "He is--" He breaks off. Whatever he was reaching for at his shoulder is not there, and he begins to paw frantically at the rest of his clothes. A new agitation is in his eyes - not the same grief-filled rage as before, but a sort of anxious panic instead. "He is..."

"Where is he?!"

Moving far faster than his enormous bulk should make possible, he spins and darts away, barreling unhesitatingly through the solid brick wall at the end of the room.

[theoutcastrogue]

8 Fancy Pocket Knives

Etched pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

Silver / mother of pearl Victorian fruit knife, England

Damascene Toledo knife, Spain

Inlaid Toledo knife, Germany

Silver-plated fruit knife, USA

Damascene Toledo knife, Spain

Etched pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

Mother of pearl pocket knife from Eskilstuna, Sweden

@victoriansword [details after the cut]

1) Swedish pocket knife by EKA (Eskilstuna Kniffabriks AB), c. 1980-2000. Model 6 GS (1967-2010), with main blade, bottle opener/screwdriver, pen blade, and nail file. Tang stamp "EKA / SWEDEN" (from 1967), etched handle, 7 cm closed.

These were very popular in the 2nd half of the 20th century as gift knives or advertising knives. They were manufactured by many cutlers in Eskilstuna, and widely exported. The decorative pattern appears, with variations, on Swedish knives from at least the 19th century, and is inspired by Norse / Viking art, which often features twisted serpents/dragons. The interlacing perhaps also borrows from Celtic knots.

2) English fruit knife by Martin Bros & Co, 1848. Silver blade with 4 hallmarks (for Queen Victoria, the year, sterling silver, and Sheffield) and maker's mark, mother of pearl scales, 9.5 cm closed.

This is the posh version of what used to be an incredibly useful tool, a knife (and sometimes a multi-tool knife and fork) for eating on the road. The fancier ones were also status symbols, and very popular gifts – millions of silver fruit knives were manufactured in Britain from the 18th to the 20th century, mostly in Sheffield, Birmingham, and Edinburgh.

3) Spanish Toledo knife, as it's sometimes called, a damascened penknife of recent manufacture. Two pen blades, tang stamp "TOLEDO", 6.7 cm closed.

Not to be confused with Damascus blades! The handle is damascened – decorated with gold inlaid into oxidized steel (see here for details). Reminder that gold is a highly ductile metal (you can stretch it real thin before it breaks), so that impressive aesthetic result comes from a tiny amount of gold. It's a cheap knife, is what I'm saying, for tourists basically.

4) German pocket knife, confusingly also called Toledo, by Hartkopf. With main blade, pen blade and nail file. Brass handle inlaid with oxidised steel. Tang stamp "Hartkopf&Co / Solingen", 8cm closed.

It's "damascened" in the broad sense of inlaying, hence the name "Toledo": it supposedly emulates the Spanish style, and perhaps pretends to be Spanish, but both the metals and the geometric patterns are different. Knives of this type were popular in Germany all through the 20th century as gifts and advertising knives.

5) American fruit knife by William Rogers Mfg, made in Hartford, Connecticut c.1865-1898. Main blade, seedpick [also called nut-pick or nut-picker *snickers*], silver-plated nickel silver, decorated with flowers and apples. Tang stamp: an anchor logo and "Wm ROGERS & SON AA", 8.2 cm closed.

Sometimes fruit knives like this were bought by fruit shops/groceries (relatively fancy ones, presumably) in bulk, and sold or given to customers as gifts.

6) Spanish Toledo penknife (another one). With pen blade and damascened handle, different pattern, probably a bit older. Tang stamp again "TOLEDO", 6.8 cm closed.

7) Swedish pocket knife by Emil Olsson, c. 1920-1950. Blade, pen blade and corkscrew. Tang stamp "EMIL OLSSON / [star logo] / ESKILSTUNA", 9.2 cm closed.

Another etched serpent pattern on the handle, though by now you have to squint to see it. This knife has seen some shit. Until ~1940, pocket knives were widely sold and used in Sweden because they came with corkscrews, and all the bottles had corks, and everyone needed to open bottles. After the war, bottle caps replaced corks for everything except wine, and the pocket knife's utility plummeted, and cutleries started closing. There used to be hundreds, and by now only EKA's left. So statistically, if it's from before ~1950 it saw a lot of use, and if it's after ~1950 it did not, it was a gift or something.

8) Swedish pocket knife by EKA, c.1935-1965. Model 38 PB, with blade, pen blade, flat screwdriver, and corkscrew. Handle with mother of pearl scales and nickel silver bolsters, tang stamp "E.K.A. / ESKILSTUNA / SWEDEN", 8.3 cm closed.

The corkscrew is a quirky one, known as Gottlieb Hammesfahr patent: it pivots on the pin and opens perpendicular to the handle, not pulled downwards as in most pocket knives.

[chuckeroo777]

Chuck's Backpack Hero Mods

So, I've obviously been hyper-fixating on Dungeon Meshi lately, but that isn't all I do. For the past year, I've been making mods for my current favorite game: Backpack Hero!

My collection of mods! Look here if you want to check out any of these mods for yourself!

So in this post, I thought it would be fun to go over all my mods, and share some of my favorite details.

Chuck's Bionicle Mod: contains 245 items

Naturally, my first mod was a Bionicle mod. I love Bionicle. While I did a lot of custom spritework for this mod, shout out to Danska's Bionicle Builder, which is what I used for the masks and set-accurate weapons.

The mod's main gimmick is loot boxes! You can find mask packs, and equipment packs which can be opened for random items from the corresponding set wave. If you're real lucky, you may even find a bulk parts pack, which contains random equipment packs!

Nearly every set is represented, and a wide assortment of items from MNOG and VNOG are included too. As my first pack, the balancing was pretty spotty at first, but a few updates have fixed the more egregious examples. Did you know it took me 6 months to realize that the nektann robots had accidentally been set to unfindable?

Chuck's Plants vs Zombies Mod: contains 654 items??? (probably cut that down to like, ~350ish, since packets don't really count as a separate item)

My second mod, and hoo boy is it a doozy. Probably my favorite mod, this mod has a ton of work put into it, containing every plant from the orginal game, PvZ 2, and chinese PvZ 2. Thats a lot of plants!

The main gimmick of this mod is plant packets. Instead of finding plants as loot, you get packets, which grow over time. Once enough encounters occur with it in your pack, it grows into the plant.

But plants aren't the only thing in this pack. There is also a suite of zombie equipment, which grows stronger based on how many plants you have. Not to mention watering cans, pinatas, guppies, and other essentials to help fuel your botanical battle pack!

Chuck's Bloons Mod: Contains 134 items (again, effective number is a lot lower due to upgrades)

Ah yes, my bloons mod. This is probably my least favorite mod, simple because of how jank it is.

Basically, monkey's grow more powerful based on how many bloons they pop. As they reach thresholds, they get upgraded. However, spriting and programming so many upgrades gets rather tedious. This, combined with the fact that playing with the mod is rather feast or famine makes me not particularly fond.

Getting enough bloons can be tricky if you don't find one of the generators, and some monkeys are just way more useful than others, since due to the effort required, fully upgraded monkeys are mostly an endless mode thing, and some of them just don't scale into endless very well.

That being said, most of the monkeys are at least okay at a base level, so in casual play, they are decent, if not exciting.

Also, the monkey loot packs being barrels makes me giggle.

Chuck's Random Items Mod: contains 10 items

A simple little pack containing a few endless focused items. Originally meant for random ideas, but the next mod ended up taking that role.

Some neat examples include the white manastone, which acts as fuel for the vanilla black manastone, the sticky token, which acts as both energy and duct tape, at the cost of gimping defense, and the Fatum Ruptor, my signature sword.

Chuck's Pack of Mediocre Items: contains 109 items

This is a fun one. Basically, when modding, one tends to make things stronger than vanilla. So I challenged myself to make a pack with intentionally weak, but useful items. That doesn't mean it's bad, just lacks a lot of the raw power my other mods have.

As such, it is my recommendation for if you want a more vanilla style pack. Some of these items are literally just vanilla items with a twist. Such as the glove of knife. Just the one. Glove of knives was OP anyway.

Plenty of cheeky little references in here too. Like the candy cane horns which fill you with rage, or the pristine blade which fractures into one of ten different variants.

Chuck's Terraria Mod: contains 111 items

Ah yes, my favorite Minecraft clone. This pack has a little of everything. You got arrows, spears, tomes of ichor based magic, what's not to love?

If you're really lucky, you might find a crate containing items from my second and third favorite mods, Thorium and Calamity. (Sorry guys, you aren't even close to beating Magic Storage in the top spot.)

This pack also has few item type gimmicks I think are cool. Spears can only be used once per turn, but they have strong AOE attacks. Bullets are arrows that can also be used only once per turn. And then there is the copper shortsword. If you swing it 999 times, something cool might happen.

Chuck's Stick Ranger Mod: 174 items

Anyone else remember this game? Man, Stick Ranger was awesome. Pity they never made a sequel. Anyway, this pack contains a wide assortment of items, including 16 weapons from each class, except angel and gunner. Gunner only gets 8. Angel gets... 34???

Yeah, I like rings. I gave them a cool mechanic where they buff other adjacent rings, like a variant of Satchel's hammers. So of course I included a ton of them.

Also, the imperial crown used to hold the record for the laggiest item I ever made, but engine optimizations has made it actually viable to use. Hooray! Much like the game it comes from, the crown massively boosts the threat enemies pose, but greatly rewards you for it.

Chuck's Neo-Battledome Mod: contains 130 items

To be perfectly honest, I never got past the level of duel-wielding scarab rings before I got banned due to my account getting hacked. Hasn't stopped me from obsessively keeping up with battledome weapon releases, even if they're currently releasing, like, three a year.

That's right, did you ever play Neopets and wished you could wield the Darigan Sword of Death? Or really wanted to own a Weird Scarab, even though it was an impossible to find yet completely ineffectual item? Well, now you can do the next best thing!

Chuck's Elder Scrolls Mod: contains 59 items

Ah, Skyrim. My first M rated game. Which I bought without my parents' permission. Honestly, get rid of those terrible blood splatters, and the strangely mild swearing, and it would pass for T. (Seriously, how do Skyrim and Stick of Truth have the same rating???)

Anyway, this mod contains items from not just skyrim, but oblivion and morrowind too. And maybe even an item or two from arena and daggerfall if you're nice.

If you collect 24 Stones of Barenziah, absolutely nothing happens. Just like in Skyrim.

Chuck's MSPA Mod: contains 49 items

Ah yes. Homestuck. I'd say it's pretty good. Shame it ended at act 7. Anyway, here's some items to shove in your sylladex backpack. Lots of Problem Sleuth items too. Those are probably a bit less polarizing.

Probably best to swiftly move along.

Chuck's Enchanting Crystals Mod: contains 18 items

A small, but simple pack. These crystals can be used to add permanent buffs to your items. The more powerful ones contain downsides though, so be careful.

Chuck's RPG Classes Mod: contains 68 items (Only 9 of which are actually findable, lol)

One of my most popular mods, this adds essences which boost various play-styles. They start off weak, but as you kill enemies, they level up! When leveling up, they branch into two options, with six of the base essences each having four different final forms.

Let me give you a hint. If you're using this, or any of my mods with upgrading items, I won't get mad if you use debug mode to check what items will do when they grow up.

Chuck's Card Slinger Mod: contains 88 items

Ask any Backpack Hero player who the worst playable character is, and we'll all agree. It's Tote. So here's a mod to try and make her more fun. Excuse the use of the thumbnail instead of a pack of items. Carvings are a pain to screenshot.

This mod contains carvings for Tote based on a variety of card games, like Hearthstone, Eternal, MtG, Inscryption, and more! Seriously, some of these are obscure as heck. Like the ones from my own card game that I have never shown off publicly.

Generally fitting into a discard-light setup, the minion cards attack each turn, but get discarded if you get attacked too many times. There are also self-discarding spells, and cards which buff your other cards.

Crown of Possibilities is my favorite TCG card of all time, and you can't change my mind.

Chuck's Mod of Loathing: contains 36 items

Couldn't really get into Kingdom of Loathing, but dang if West of Loathing and Shadows over Loathing aren't amazing games.

Anyway, items in this pack are neat, but I may have created the worst item ever in the Spittoon. It hurts you when used, but gives treasure! Most of the treasure is awful. There is only one good item in its pool. And it's a damn good one. So there I go. Reaching into every spittoon I find, taking ten damage for no reason, hoping to get lucky. If that doesn't capture the essence of the spittoon, I don't know what will.

Chuck's Backpack Battles Mod: contains 47 items

Ah yes, my third favorite backpack based game.

Some pretty neat mechanics in this mod. The versitile dagger and thirsting blade both have a mechanic where after using them for a while, they upgrade into a random crafted version. The gems also upgrade over time.

I also added some dragon eggs. I thought they were really swell. How swell? Well...

Chuck's Dragon Eggs Mod: contains 641 items!!! (Like the PvZ mod, cut that roughly in half.)

Originally based on Dragon Cave, I had to take it down and rework it with my own original sprite art. I'd say it turned out pretty good.

This mod contains eggs which hatch after a while into dragons. It is mainly focused on Pouchette, who can find the full selection, but the others can find a more limited selection too. (Except Tote. Tote never gets to have fun. Except when she finds a Darigan Sword of Death.)

I had a lot of fun figuring out the flavor for this mod. There are a ton of different dragon types, each with it's own type of effect. Tarasques are defensive, drakes have power in numbers, bug dragons are totally a real thing, and weren't the result of running out of unique body plans...

Chuck's Randomly Generated Mod: contains 38 items

Exactly what it says on the tin. I set up a random table, rolled two effects, a trigger, and a character, then made an item inspired by the results.

Chuck's Hyperrealistic Mod: contains 15 items

Gonna be honest, this one's a shitpost.

Chuck's Undertale Mod: contains 92 items

This was a fun pack to work on. I love Undertale and Deltarune, so I certainly wasn't lacking inspiration. Most of the equipment and consumables are in there, along with plenty of memes. I got you're stopsigns, a punchcard that provides massive value if you know how to exploit it, maybe even a Prunsel if you're good.

My favorite item has to be the cell phone. Each battle, you receive a random call, providing a small benefit. You might get Undyne slapping spaghetti against the receiver, you might get Papyrus complaining about spike regulations, you might get [half price baloney], you never know!

Chuck's Dredmor Mod: contains 36 items

Ever played Dungeons of Dredmor? It's very silly. And hard. I've never won a run.

Anyway, here's some random items from that game cause I felt like it. What more do you want?

Chuck's Dungeon Dice Mod: contains 52 items (more like 7 lol)

Contains items which randomize their effects at the start of each battle. Pretty cool.

Anyway, those are my mods. Enjoy a screenshot of the nonsense you can get up to with all my mods active.

Hope you enjoyed reading, and maybe enjoy playing with them!

Stay tuned for my next mod, based on Chips Challenge! This may or may not be a joke.

[folksaga-if]

“It is a long story, and it does no credit to anyone: there is murder in it, and trickery, lies and foolishness, seduction and pursuit.                                                                                           Listen."

                               - Neil Gaiman, Norse Mythology

You are a human. A totally normal one.

Honestly.

You’re a human. You’re a bartender, which is a very normal job for a human to have, and when you walk down the winding streets of Akureyri you can blend seamlessly into any crowd of people which is, without question, only something that a human could do.

The fact that you came here two years ago with nothing but the clothing on your back doesn’t mean anything; you’re hardly northern Iceland’s first wayfaring soul. That you had no money to your name, no friends or family to speak of — that’s a fairly average human thing, too. And that little craving you have, that quiet urge to dig your teeth into any passing stranger’s throat? It's completely, entirely mundane.

It’s manageable. You’re managing.

Or you were, until someone — someone who's decidedly not as good at this human thing as you are — begins leaving a trail of dead bodies at your doorstep, and a trio of god-like siblings take a seat at your bar.

(Ragnarök might have marked the end of the Norns, but that doesn't mean your fate died along with them.)

MAGNI THORSON .

No doubt the mightiest of his siblings, the eldest child of Thor is exactly the sort of person you would expect him to be: a giant (half-giant, in fact) asshole with a smoulder and a knife-sharp jawline to match. He’ll match your every word with a cocky grin and a joke that’s nowhere near as funny as he thinks, and he’ll look every inch the prince that he is all the while.

(Well, the prince that he was. Just don’t let him hear you say that.)

MODI THORSON .

For the supposed embodiment of his father’s wrath, the God of Thunder’s second son is surprisingly…not that. He’s no picnic, mind you — he’s broody, he’s secretive, and he's fucking intense, but that hardly equates to fury incarnate. You’re sure there’s something hiding under that moody surface; whether or not you want to uncover it is a different story entirely.

(Looks like even gods aren’t immune to middle-child syndrome. Who knew?)

THRÚD THORSDÓTTIR .

Valkyrie, seidhr, paragon of strength — with all of her mother’s best traits (and a few of her father’s worst), is it any wonder that Thor’s youngest child was also his favourite? Smarter than her half-brothers and more likeable by a longshot, you might find yourself forgetting how easily the fortune-telling goddess could break you in two. You might, but she’ll be happy to remind you if you do.

(Maybe a little too happy, in fact.)

KATLA B̶͍̏L̸̝͑O̵̟͠M̴̳̓Q̴̯̔V̵̺͆I̷̗͛S̵̠͒T̸̬̒ .

A fellow nomad and your coworker at Black Thunder, the first friend you made in Akureyri has remained your closest. Mischevious, magnetic, and often up to no small amount of trouble, there are times when you think you might know Katla better than you know yourself. You even know about her…well, you know that she…sorry, what were you talking about again?

(It's just that it’s nice, being close to someone who’s so very human.)

THE MARE .

There’s a voice in your head and a shadow in your dreams, and they’re telling you to run. You probably shouldn’t trust them.

(…Right?)

Customize your monster character. New life, new you! Choose your gender identity, change your name, cut your hair, and remember: if you’re starting to grow tired of running from your past, try on a new outfit and start running faster.

Play as one of three runway creatures from Norse mythology — a cunning keeper of the forest, a charming warden of the lake, or a formidable guardian of the mountains. Each has its quirks (would you prefer a hollowed-out tree for a back, or webbed fingers and forearms covered in scales?), but they all have two key things in common: they’ll kill to protect their homes, and you’re definitely not one of them.

Choose your own fate, out of the countless that are presented to you. Had oatmeal instead of skyr with your breakfast this morning? You might have just brought about Ragnarök 2.0. Nice one, asshole.

Multiple romance options, with each available to pursue regardless of your gender or background. Ever wanted to kiss a god under a starry sky? Now's your chance! Or maybe you’re through with immortal beings and desperate to ask the pretty server on a date? Go for it! She’s definitely a human too. Totally. You’d be able to tell if she wasn’t. Wouldn’t you?

Save the world — or don’t. It's your choice, and isn't that what true freedom is all about?

Folksaga is inspired by The Edda, Norse mythology, and Twin Peaks, with a bit of tweaking to the myths as needed for the sake of plot. MC backgrounds have been adjusted to fit for all players regardless of gender identity, and creative liberty has been taken with some smaller points for a smoother storytelling experience. All changes will be explained in an FAQ post (too be added in the links below ASAP!)

The current demo consists of the prologue (introductory lore + character creation), which is about 20k words. I plan to post it in the next few weeks, after some edits + the completion of chapter one!

I expect it to be somewhere in the range of 600,000 to 700,000 words, but this is subject to change (and likely will due to my propensity for rambling text. oops.).

I’ve written  short and long-form original fiction as well as a lot of fanfic (say hello @ pentaghastly on AO3, and @kendallroynsfw on tumblr!), but this is my first IF! Bugs and coding issues may appear in the demo; please let me know if any issues arise during your playthroughs.

Folksaga is a work in progress. I would love constructive feedback when the demo is posted, as well as any bugs or grammar issues to be brought to my attention if I've missed them :) I would also love patience, because I'm a full time health care worker who gets sleepy lots xoxo

A Swedish farmer named Sven Andersson was executed in 1691 for having intercourse with a mountain nymph, or bergsrå. I will neither confirm or deny if his Wikipedia article was the inspiration for this IF, except I will confirm it and it definitely was.

MC ORIGINS | RO INTROS | demo coming soon!