#den harrow

[shineiidawn]

Pre-digital, sampling has been fundamental in the production of dance music in its many forms. There are some pieces of music that have formed the foundation of literally thousands of other songs. There are Jamaican riddims, Soul and Funk breaks and Disco acapellas that are reused endlessly. These pieces of music create a direct connection between the newer piece of music to the origins of its genre. The New York producer and DJ Todd Terry has frequently reused beats and riffs on both his own tracks and his remixes of others. Shine II Dawn from his Unreleased Project E.P from 1992 is pretty much a dub of his seminal 'Melody' remix of PM Dawn's A Watcher's Point of View (Don't Cha Think) from 1991. He also released Shadow's Dawn on The Unreleased Project 2, which uses a different arrangement of the same elements while throwing in some manually (?) gated Uranium from Kraftwerk 'aaaahs' (as heard on Blue Monday) to keep things interesting. To my knowledge the he managed to squeeze 4 tracks out of Watchers Point of View for The Unreleased Project 12"s released between '92 and '93, besides using the drum pattern on several more tracks. I like to think that his no nonsense approach to production and studio time meant that they were put together during the same session. They are:

Shine II Dawn - The Unreleased Project Put Your Hands Together - The Unreleased Project Part 2 Shadow's Dawn - The Unreleased Project Part 2 On and On Again - The Unreleased Project Part 4 PM Dawn became friends with Todd Terry while working at the mailing offices of New York's hugely influential record label Warlock, which launched Todd's career. PM Dawn were signed briefly to the label before moving to Gee Street Records, Warlock's partners in the UK. Gee Street were there at the cusp of the Acid House explosion and would famously go on to release one of the definitive tracks of the UK scene, Todd's game changer of a remix for The Jungle Brother's - I'll House You. in 1988, I'll House You is basically the Brothers rapping over an earlier Todd Terry track Royal House's Can You Party?, albeit rearranged a little.

PM Dawn's Watcher's Point of View single came off the back of their massive hit Set Adrift On Memory Bliss. Leaning heavily on a sample from Spandau Ballet's True, the song was looked down on by most "real" Hip Hop fans despite it's otherwise more credible samples from The Soul Searchers and Bob James. With their "Beautiful, sweeping melodies paired with lyrics of regret, remorse, heartache and profound loss" you can make up your own minds why they never fit comfortably into the Hip Hop scene. Their story, and in particular that of their front man Prince Be, is both fascinating and tragic. I'd be lying if I said I'd given them much thought at the time of Set Adrift… and wrote them off as a something of a novelty act, a kind of uncool De La. I'm only half joking when I say that I blame the Spandau Ballet sample for turning me off. True was considered naff and inextricably connected to a not too distant past that recalled shiny disco trousers, white socks and loafers, slow dances at the end of the night (or "erection sections" as some of us called them) and a fight in the taxi rank afterwards. And shit music. Really shit music. True was new but sounded old, Soul without the soul. Additionally, to anyone with a mild interest in Hip Hop, The Soul Searchers drum break used on the PM Dawn track was also overused by that point, as was Bob James' Take Me To The Mardi Gras.

In 1991 I was listening to albums like Fear of a Black Planet and The Low End Theory. Public Enemy and The Bomb Squad melded layer upon layer of samples together, creating dense and abrasive slabs of noise while A Tribe Called Quest were rhyming over dusty Jazz and gritty Funk samples and breaks. This music was sonically a long way from anything I'd heard before, and despite both borrowing heavily from the past, this sounded like the future. It's a tired old story, but many of my generation who were into Hip Hop were swept up in the Acid House scene and it wasn't too much of a leap from the more experimental Hip Hop to breakbeat led rave that developed a little later. You could argue that the Hardcore sound was a representation of both of the Public Enemy and Tribe approaches, plus a big dollop of sound system culture and a pop sensibility. Just not Spandau Ballet-type Pop.

Set Adrift On Memory Bliss was a huge hit, reaching number one and three in the US and UK charts respectively, and was the first black rap single to reach number one on the pop charts, much to the "real" rappers disgust. Despite critical acclaim and commercial success, (although not necessarily at the same time) the duo slowly slid into obscurity and split. Prince Be died of kidney disease caused by complications of diabetes at the age of 46.

The PM Dawn Melody Mix is one of Todd "The God" Terry's many big remixes of the early 90s. I can clearly remember Pete Tong introducing the track on his Essential Selection with the words: "Todd Terry. Back on form." The acapella introduces the track part of which is the source of a tiny vocal snippet that runs through the whole thing. The acapella is accompanied by heavy and ominous pads that drop out suddenly before an extremely crispy drum pattern begins. A bouncy synth melody fades in under it all before everything is thrown into the mix with rave stabs and an undulating bass line and everything keeps moving until the breakdowns. Then, different elements are dropped out before bringing everything back to a crescendo with the trademark Todd snares. Simple but powerful and dynamic, this track used to ruin dance floors.

A track from 1991 I always associate with Todd's PM Dawn remix is TC 1991 - Berry. TC 1991 were one of the many aliases of Italian House chaps FPI Project, who have an insane amount of releases under their collective belt, under numerous aliases. FPI stands for Fratty Presti Intrallazzi, the surnames of the original members of the collective but the group used the TC name (and others) to enable them to release more underground music without the association of the commercially huge hits they'd produced as the FPI Project.

TC originally stood for Tina Chris a mix of Cristina (Malvestiti) who was a vocalist on FPI's first singles, but this was later changed to Total Control. TC was used on a series of big hitters, with TC 1991's Berry and TC 1992 - Funky Guitar in particular having a huge impact on UK dancefloors, landing at a perfect time when guitars and a rock music element was turning up in some tracks, along with a Rock 'n' Roll aesthetic becoming popular in clubland fashion. Somehow, leather trousers in a sweaty club seemed like a good idea.

With Italian made records not selling well in their native country, the group sent copies to the UK and then had them re-imported as if they were foreign productions. The rear cover of the original release features the phrase "Hey papa, guarda… un pollo!" Hey daddy look… a chicken! which is taken from a Knorr chicken stock cube TV advert. I've failed to understand the reference. Hopefully, I'll find a middle aged Italian that could explain it to me.

TC 1992 was licensed to R & S, ZYX and Union City Recordings in the UK, getting the trademark Justin Robertson/Lionrock remix treatment with triumphant trumpets galore but the FPI Funky Mix still sounds fantastic, replete with its dubby drum workout.

"Hey papa, guarda… un pollo!"

Back to Berry. Introduced dramatically with the crash of a gong, Berry wastes no time in getting going with some galloping beats before a snare break not unlike Watcher's unleashes the elastic, bass line led riff. The riff is basically Bizarre Incs Technological, while that itself isn't too far away from the classic Mr Fingers Can You Feel It. They all use a Roland 909 and Juno-60, I've been reliably informed by the internet. This clever chap breaks down how Can You Feel It was made.

Like the Melody Mix of Watchers Point Of View, Berry builds everything up to a peak, drops everything out, then brings everything crashing back in again. Both owe something to the early style of Hip Hop DJing in that respect, the technology and music of the time only really enabling DJs to cut in beats and breaks rather than achieving long blends. The beauty of this type of mixing is it creates a powerful and dynamic effect. Todd Terry, who famously reinvented House music for a bit of a laugh, was DJing and producing Hip Hop and Freestyle way before the Can You Party era and brought those influences to how he made House tracks. From the man himself: "Do a really hot minute-and-a half/two minutes and just loop it three times." Just like that.

"Do a really hot minute-and-a half/two minutes and just loop it three times."

Todd has always been upfront about reusing beats while also showing no contrition for playing DJ sets that predominantly feature his own music. And why should he? I don't doubt the NY hustler in him has something to do with this approach, along with releasing and rereleasing tracks using multiple aliases on many different labels. In the context of Watchers Point of View, he's still getting mileage out of the track 30+ years later, just recently releasing a remastered version of Put Your Hands Together. I wonder what Prince Be would make of it. On the subject of reusing beats and pieces, PM Dawn had sampled Todd Terry's moody (and underrated) I Love The Way You Shake under his Frontline monicker on their Hip Houser Shake, with Prince Be imploring everyone to "thank Todd Terry" in the final bars. That refrain later turned up on Irish outfit Sound Crowd's Touched By The Hand of Todd. I won't link to that because the first track on The Public Image EP that it appears on: The Acid Garage, is arguably more of a celebration of Todd Terry as it has the same kind of driving bass line, signature choppy percussion and tearing snare breaks as many of his tracks.

"Everyone thank Todd Terry"

Very similar to the use of riddims in Jamaican dancehall, the examples of reuse are endless. The infectious keys from Jazz Anthem, released in 1991 were reused three years later on Bounce To The Beat. In 1994, Grant Nelson and Si Firmin's G.O.D alias released the first of their 'Limited' run of 12"s. These took huge liberties by chopping up and repackaging classic House tracks to great effect. One of these tracks was Todd Terry's Bounce To the Beat. G.O.D's version begins with tribal drum intro before launching into a barely altered original. Taking it full circle, Todd Terry later released Sound Design – Back From The Dead EP which featured Bounce To The Beat (Remix). This is exactly the same as the G.O.D version, minus their intro. (Insert laughing emoji here.)

Other notable tracks Todd Terry reused in that early 90s period are his remixes for Bizarre Inc. and Cajmere. Rave Mix of Bizarre Inc - I'm Gonna Get You and his TNT Dub of Cajmere Featuring Dajae – Brighter Days. Hilariously, they're pretty much the same track, and both take massive liberties with Cool Jack's Come With Me, taking the chutzpah to extraordinary levels. He did do the Cajmere remixes for nothing, however, and his Tee's Dope Mix is a standalone classic.

Cool Jack was another Italian Euro House vehicle. Made up of brothers Brothers Paolo and Gianni Visnadi, they not only produced utterly glorious cheese by the likes of Alex Party and Living Joy but more underground recordings like the mental Racing Tracks under the Visnadi moniker and Try The Feeling, also as Cool Jack. Both Cool Jack tracks use the vocals of the interestingly surnamed US singer Tom Hooker. Where things get very interesting…

Tom Hooker was a songwriter and vocalist for Den Harrow (a bastardization of "Denaro", money in Italian) recordings, along with other vocalists including dreamer Silvio Pozzoli and others. Den Harrow was an Italian music project (another one) started by Roberto Turatti and Miki Chieregato. Amongst many other music projects, they produced this absolute banger of an Italo-Disco track from the improbably named Jock Hattle (real name Alberto Carpani). Den Harrow was energetically and flamboyantly fronted by Stefano Zandri, while others did the rest, including the songwriting and actual singing. Stefano and the producers Turatti and Chieregato finally admitted in 2012 that he hadn't sung on any of the Den Harrow songs. It's a story more common than you might imagine. Things have been very messy between Hooker and Zandri since, both fighting about the right to perform the songs of Den Harrow. If you're interested, there's a great documentary about it here: Dons of Disco.

It's all gone a bit Milli Vanilli, which is as good a place as any to end it. More next time…

[xray-vex]

11 and 18 for the music game! 😄💚

11:A song that you never get tired of

Oh man. This mix and this video specifically. S-tier. THE TABLE-FLIP.

18:A song from the year that you were born

[music asks]

[djevilninja]

"Attention, the invaders are coming this way. The only known weapon is to project loud dance music. This affects their nervous systems. By all means, do not leave discotheques or cars Without a portable radio or you will be in danger."

Den Harrow - Broken Radio

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: December 1, 1986

Lyrics:

Songwriter:

When I see a foxy lady

Every time I lose my mind

I want her to be my baby

Maybe all the time or for one night.

Every girl in town's in danger

I could come up from behind

I don't want to be a stranger when I see a new girl that I like.

Hey ho hey - hurry up

Don't give up till you catch the fox.

Hey ho hey - look around like a hound till you catch the fox.

Every time they light my fire

They don't know what they're in for

Building up a strong desire

They keep coming knocking at my door.

Hey ho hey - hurry up

Don't give up till you catch the fox.

Hey ho hey - look around like a hound till you catch the fox.

Hey ho hey - hurry up

Don't give up till you catch the fox.

Hey ho hey - look around like a hound till you catch the fox.

Fiorenzo Zanotti / Michele Chieregato / Roberto Turatti / Tom Hooker

[harrowedsoup]

‘Harrow is a vampire and Gideon is a werewolf AU’

Fools. Cowards.

Harrow as a werewolf. She leaves the bones of her kills all over the place and is covered in blood like 75% of the time. Her sleep schedule is shit because she’s up all day trying to work but her wolf instincts keep her up all night. She gets over stimulated because her hearing is so much better than humans.

Gideon as weird vampire human hybrid. She’s tougher than a human, weaker than a vampire. Her eyes make people double take because they’re fucking golden. She’s stronger then she should be but that goes unnoticed for a long time because she works out so much. Doesn’t like drinking blood because it grosses her out but can in an emergency.

[chimchiri]

I can't believe it took me the whole goddamn act 1 to finally realize that the POV/writing style shifts between chapters

this book keeps fascinating me......

[decorativecrab]

i couldn't think of an @ joke for gideon,

goofy art practice based on This lol

[loremastering]

previous mate died of old age so yellowfang found another. he even smiles for the camera :3

[bees-n-bones]

do you ever remember a song exists, add it to a caracter/ship playlist without listening to it, just to discover later that its an Even Better fit than initially thought?

[notedchampagne]

harrow nova for @den-gamle-kartograf !! i had fun w the shapes here

donation commissions are still open until march 31! we need $200 and 4 days left

[xxacademy]

BLOODIED HANDS OF A LOVER'S MISFORTUNE —THRONE OF HIS OWN PART II

Leon Kennedy x Agent!Reader (she/her)

-> READ PART ONE

Summary: Blood, wine, fangs, touch-- his touch. Leon Kennedy made you his princess. He put you in pretty dresses, and put is mark on every part of you. But, it's time to face the reality of your situation. You are not Leon's princess, you are his back up. Now you're forced to do your job, and come face to face with the chaos of the vampire court.

Word Count: 2.5k

Content warnings: blood/gore, reader gets drugged and restrained, weapons, vampires, typical violence and themes associated with resident evil, i shamefully reference one of Leon Kennedy's cringiest one-liner's.

a/n: i had so much fun writing this!! action & horror elements are the best. i think i could write descriptions about blood and wounds forever... it's so strangely fun (?) anwaysss im playing re4r again and i cannot get leon's kicks outta my brain, lol. i hope you enjoy, and as always thank you for your patience. i am a full-time student and i have a full-time job, so writing can take me foreverrrrr.

Leon sits among the vampiric overlords while you sit alone, drinking a cup of tea, wearing yet another tightly corseted Victorian monstrosity.

The servants were undoubtedly kind to offer you clean clothes and breakfast, but that didn't make you want to leave any less. The uneasiness lingers dense in your stomach.

Last night was... Indulgent, to say the least. But the welcome has been overstayed, and you're antsy to leave the vampire's den. Hopefully, Leon will be quick to end their little conclave.

── ･ ｡☆*☽*☆ﾟ.──

You awoke suddenly to a loud clank beside you. To your groggy surprise, your tea cup had fallen and shattered at your feet.

The idle warmth of the fireplace and the cozy living room must have lulled you to sleep. Despite your mind being deep in a heavy fog, you found the strength to look around the room and confirm that you were still, in fact, alone.

You meandered to the heavily draped window and peeked outside. You prepared yourself to be blinded by searing bright snow, but... Oh, dear god.

The sun was setting. You rubbed your eyes in harrowed disbelief. The sun was fucking setting.

How could it be? It was only just morning. You couldn't have possibly slept the entire day.

Your hands were trembling mess as you squatted down to analyze the shattered tea cup. You grabbed a piece of jagged porcelain and brought it to your nose, breathing deeply.

You caught an unmistakably bitter note buried underneath aromatic peppermint. A sedative herb most definitely was used to lace the tea. You felt ashamed; how could you be so naïve, falling for such a novice trick?

But, there was no time to dwell. You scoured the room for a weapon. The only object that stood out to you was a particularly pointy piece of metal off an ornate candelabra. You ripped out the half-melted candles and bent the metal into a makeshift weapon, poking it into your skin to test its sharpness.

This should work, and if it doesn't? Well, It will, you told yourself.

Jaunty candlestick weapon in hand, you headed for the door, which was, unsurprisingly, locked. You analyzed the clunky metalwork and quickly determined it was an old-fashioned skeleton lock. You pulled several pins from your hair, fashioned them into impromptu Allen wrenches, and began picking the lock.

After several attempts and numerous broken pins, you finally jimmied the door open.

You set out into the gothic night-veiled estate, creeping through the labyrinth of hallways. Your heeled shoes and sweeping gown made stealth damn near impossible, but you had no choice but to make it work.

You followed the networking corridors aimlessly, pressing your ear to closed doors in the hope of finding Leon.

You heard pattering footsteps coming towards you, and in a desperate attempt to hide, you angled yourself behind a column of an archway. But as the person passed, a white-gowned servant, she stopped dead in her tracks and turned on her heels to face you.

Glowing red eyes met yours, and a mindless, other-worldly voice flowed from her: "You made a very grave mistake, chérie." The servant lunged at you, unarmed, fangs bared.

The candlestick you weld plummeted to the ground, and you grabbed the servant by the wrists and held her firm, straining to keep her away as she thrashed with all her might.

You threw her down by twisting her arm to the ground and holding her in place by firmly pressing your heel into her sternum. She cried a blood-curdling howl in pain, thrashing under your foot.

"Where is he? Where is Leon?" You demanded, rage filling your wavering voice.

The servant snickered, flashing small, jagged fangs.

"Tell me!" You demanded for the last time.

She was hysterically laughing now-- It was useless to attempt to communicate with a mindless thrall.

You reached for the candlestick and quickly bent over the thrashing servant and slit her throat with the sharp metal edge.

Hot blood spilled down her virgin-white dress, but her glowing red eyes stayed fully conscious. "You're a fool," she mocked, her fingers laced around your wrist.

You sunk your heel back into her sternum, this time with much more force, causing her head to smack against the floor. She hissed in pain. Blood was still pouring from her neck as you forced her hand off of yours. You repositioned the candlestick in your hand, aiming it for her heart.

You held her still by wrapping your hand tightly around her neck and drove the weapon through her chest. Her head lulled to the side limply, and her glowing eyes dulled- she was dead, finally.

You took a moment to catch your breath, staring at the woman's lifeless body. You couldn't recall a single vampiric servant from the previous night, so why now?

As you began to regain your composure, you looked down at yourself, pretty dress all covered in blood. It was an honest reflection of how terrible the last twenty-four hours have gone.

Regardless, you grabbed your blood-drenched candlestick and began creeping through the hallways once more. No one else seemed to be coming for you now. You were utterly alone as you tip-toed through the darkened estate. Utterly alone-- besides the gut-wrenching feeling that you were being watched.

The oil-painted portraits that decorated the looming walls felt like they saw everything. They saw you massacre that servant, they saw you lie to their rulers, they saw you drunkenly court your colleague. Maybe it was your own internalization showing, but you couldn't shake the feeling.

But you felt relief when you spotted a warm candlelit gleam emanating from the crack of a closed door. It had been the first trace of light you'd seen in these gloomy halls.

As you approached the door, you heard overlapping voices talking and laughing. It sounded like a blend of English and French was being spoken, adding to the dissonance.

You ever so gently pressed your ear to the door, attempting to make out what was happening. You couldn't understand a lick of the French being spoken. But you overheard something in English: "When are you going to get the girl?" a mysterious voice asked.

Another more familiar voice replied. “Quand nous en aurons fini avec lui.”

The King.

They must have Leon here. Your stomach dropped.

What could they possibly be doing to him? And the girl, that has to be me, right?

You don't know how it happened or how your cover could have been blown. What if they killed Leon?

There's no way you'd be able to defeat them on your own. Your mind traces all the rational options to go about this, but you conclude there is none. There is only one way.

You draw a quivering breath and open the mysterious door.

To your surprise, you revealed a grand banquet hall swarmed with almost the same lineup from last night's soirée.

The creak of the door caused all of their necks to turn to you instantly. The first thing you noticed was a sea of glowing crimson eyes. All the Lords have been turned now.

The King's stark pale skin and deep blood-red eyes burrowed through your soul. The pointed corners of his mouth raised in an impish smile. At the King's side was Leon, his arms bound and his head hung limp.

He had been draped and displayed at the hands of the merciless creatures that stalked this land. A centerpiece to their dastardly festivities.

"The bunny makes its way to the wolf's den. It's almost commendable." The King squinted, his head reaching forward in his throne to get a better look at you. "It looks like you even found someone in my estate to prey on. How scary."

"How did you find out?" You kept your words steady and firm.

The King laughed, "Ah, this is a good story."

"Go on," you said, taking a step closer.

The King shifted in his chair and took a sip of what was presumably blood from a crystal glass. "I had one of my men doing perimeter control on the south end. He made it all the way to the road, where he saw a car a few meters away-- and chérie, cars do not drive on that road."

Your heart sunk.

"He found a car and stopped it. I could tell you who he found, but I think you might already know. But in case you need a refresher, it was a United States agent with a very detailed file about you and Mr. Kennedy in his car."

You tried to close the gap between you and the King, but two guards restrained you by your arms after throwing your makeshift weapon to the ground.

"You bastard! You bloody bastard! What did you do to him? And what have you done to Leon!?"

"You're going to love this ma chérie. Leon is on the path to grand ascension— he'll become one of us soon. As for the agent that brought you here, he was at lunch the following day. Not exactly my taste, as I prefer the sweet blood of a woman, but he sufficed."

The room erupted in laughter, and long fangs taunted you everywhere you looked. Even the men who held your arms laughed at you.

You tried to break free of their grip, but they outmatched you. The men lifted you by your arms and dropped you before the King's throne. They pushed you down by your shoulders so that your knees crashed to the ground.

You hoped Leon would look up or say something. But he just rested on his knees, head down, in unwavering silence.

Your voice cracked, "And what about me?"

The King clicked his tongue, scanning your blood-soaked figure with heavy lids and a cocky glint in his eye. "You're simply too... Beautiful to just let go."

You rolled your eyes, "Give me a break! You think I'll just go along with you, easy as that?"

His lips formed into a cruel smirk, "I do."

You noticed earlier that the men who restrain you have swords attached to their hips, which could quickly turn the tide of this unlucky evening. The answer is, how?

"Just you wait, little dear." The King arose from his seat and picked up Leon by the collar of his shirt.

The King was tall; he easily towered over everyone in the room. His raven black hair flowed long down his back, extenuating his gaunt appearance.

It appeared that Leon had also been drugged. His body was limp, and he barely resisted as the King pushed him up and threw him into the arms of guards.

The King cleared his throat, demanding the room's attention to himself. "Good evening, everyone. You all know Leon here; He was incredibly loyal and fearlessly dedicated to our cause. But it's recently come to light that he and his darling little girlfriend are federal agents for the United States military."

The crowd murmured their feelings in disgust. "I know, this is very disheartening. But, I have a fitting punishment for the traitors."

The King dragged on about how he planned on turning you both into vampiric slaves, doomed to a life of servitude. But you couldn't care less. He clearly underestimated you.

You notice Leon begin to come to consciousness. It started with his hands forming into fists and then him rolling his neck from side to side.

He lifted his head, sunken blue eyes meeting yours. You were kneeling on the ground, dress blood-soaked and arms forcefully restrained by guards, all before him, to save him.

Leon's eyes darted to the swords the men beside you adorned, and then they darted back to you. He raised an eyebrow as if asking if you saw what he saw.

Yes— you mouthed the words, and Leon nodded.

"Ahh, you're awake." The King forcefully grabbed Leon's neck, digging his talon-like nails into his skin. "Your time has come, Kennedy."

Leon remained silent in the wake of the King's cruelness.

The King yelled for more guards, and they arrived holding a small box upon a velvet pillow. The King opened the box, taking a sizeable, needled syringe between his fingers.

That's how they're doing it, and Umbrella parasite, of course, You thought to yourself.

The guards holding your arms tightened their grip as the King approached Leon, flicking the serum vial menacingly.

"Let the coronation commence!" The King exclaimed to exuberant cheers.

In a quiet voice, he said to Leon only, "I wasn't planning on the girl being here, but how sweet is it that your lover gets to witness your rebirth?"

Leon scoffed, staring at the King directly, sizing up his foe. "We'll see about that."

The King was unphased as he closed the gap, reaching the needle closer and closer to Leon's neck, and when he was in range, Leon charged his leg and landed a devastating kick to the King's chest.

He went flying back and fell to the ground with wind-knocking ferocity. The syringe skidded across the marble floor, far from the King's grasp.

Before anyone could react, Leon freed himself from the guard's grip, flipping one of them over his shoulder and slamming him to the ground. He kicked in the other guard's kneecap, sending him down instantly. Leon stole both swords from either injured guard and pointed them at the King.

Sweat dripped from Leon's brow, and his skin looked washed out and pale. But he stood tall in the wake of the tyrannical leader. The people around began to stir. Some remained frozen in shock, and some readied themselves for a fight.

This was about to get very ugly, and you needed to break free. With your knees pushed into the ground, it was difficult to maneuver against the guard's strength.

You hastily attempted to drive your elbow into the stomach of one of the guards. He deflected it. But you tried again, aiming for his knee. You landed it this time.

"You bitch," the guard grunted as he stumbled back. The other one grabbed you by your arms, lifting you to your feet and placing you into a headlock.

Leon reacted swiftly by throwing one of his swords in your direction. The guard flinched as the sword propelled through the air, seemingly aimed right at his head.

But, you caught the sword by its hilt and wasted no time driving the blade through the belly of the guard who restrained you. The other guard, who was still reeling from his punched-in knee, was next. It was light work for you as you twisted the blade through his chest.

Leon called for you, requesting your backup as he fought off the vampire spawns. They had Leon surrounded, protecting their King like devoted honey bees.

You axed through the crowd, driving your long sword through the hearts of fresh vamplings. Leon held his own impeccably well. He pushed away hungry fangs with ease, kicking and slicing the hoard.

You joined Leon and pressed your back against his as you fought against the opponents from behind.

Through ribbons of blood, chaos, and murder, you gritted through your teeth, "What's the plan?"

"Kill the King and run," Leon grunted.

"Where to?"

"The cabin."

"You got it; I'll follow your lead." You couldn't hide the smirk that formed across your lips. It felt good to finally be reunited and dishing out justice.

Leon chuckled exasperatedly, "Just stay alive, sweetheart, and we'll all be singing kumbaya later."

part three coming soon xx

!! tag list -> @g4ys0n @elijahsprincess

[kradogsrats]

The last time Lissa cries is in Katolis.

As she rides away, she feels as if she'll weep forever—tears she can't stop flowing down her cheeks, ceaseless and steady—but when she crosses into Del Bar, her face and eyes are dry. Her parents welcome her back into their home. Her siblings and their children turning out to comfort her. Lissa smiles and thanks them, lets them embrace her.

None of them say, I told you so. Not outright, at least. She can tell some of them are thinking it.

Doesn't seem all that broken up about it, does she? Not a single tear.

Shush—let the poor girl be. Not all pains can be wept over right away.

But when her mother falls ill, she doesn't cry like her sisters do. When they bury her—when her father, always mountain-strong, is reduced to gravel in his children's arms—she has no tears to shed.

Nor does she weep for her brother's son—young and bright and brimming with promise—dead the instant his horse throws him, his neck snapped cleanly. He'd planned to marry his sweetheart, in a year or two. There's a funeral instead, the other boy's anguished tears a river of grief.

Lissa still does not cry. No matter the sorrow, her eyes sit in her head like stones, hard and heavy. Dry as bone, even as her throat closes and her chest burns like her heart is on fire.

There are no tears from her even for her second sister's husband, a sailor whose ship never returns from its last journey through the spring storms. Her sister holds her own shattered pieces together for the sake of their small children, and the family rallies to support her with food and chores and company. They cry with her, late into the night—all of them, except for Lissa.

Cold as the heart of Hinterpeak, that one.

You're surprised? She married a mage, she was cursed from the start.

Then she abandoned her children in the snake's den, when she'd had her fill of him and his poison.

I suppose it takes a monster to love a monster.

What could she tell them—that Viren had meant no ill? That she'd been the collateral damage of a miracle, a negligible cost for saving a child from death? That her children were better served by staying with a father who loved them so fiercely than by their broken mother dragging them away?

That when he'd stumbled in half-mad, his face scarred beyond recognition, ranting and raving his demands that she weep to save their son, she had refused? That she'd feared what he might take from her, as if anything she possessed could be worth more than Soren's life?

That when his hand twisted in her hair and the cold glass pressed against her cheek, she cried not for Soren, but for the man she'd loved and the monster he'd become?

That, most of all, she had cried for herself?

She stays quiet, and does not cry.

Her father finally passes, never recovered from her mother's loss, and her brother approaches on behalf of the family. We love you, Lissy, you know that—but we think it would be best if you didn't come to the funeral.

Lissa's heart burns, her throat clenched tight against any protest, and she nods. She leaves that night, vanishing into the mountains. No one comes looking for her.

She settles outside a remote village, in a tiny hut halfway up the mountain, more a hunter's seasonal shelter than a house. She busies herself with survival—tends a garden, hunts and forages. Down in the village, she trades the pelts of what she can trap, and sometimes plays the decrepit, barely-tuned piano in the tavern for coins.

That's where she hears of the great march on Xadia. King Viren of Katolis, leading the united Pentarchy to end the threat of dragons for good.

Lissa returns to the tavern every day after that, desperate for more news—it's barely a week later when she hears he's dead, his army broken by an alliance between the elves of Xadia and those loyal to King Harrow's son. There is no mention of her children in any of the garbled rumors.

It's almost a relief, that she doesn't cry for Viren.

But Soren would be old enough to have joined the Crownguard, just as he'd always wanted. With two kings dead in such quick succession—first King Harrow, and then, somehow, his own father—could she even dare hope he still lives? And Claudia, so fascinated by magic, even when it tore their family apart—had she succumbed to all its dangers? Would Viren have let her walk a different path, if she chose?

She imagines going back, demanding to know what happened to her son and daughter—if Viren remained in a place sufficiently prominent to somehow become king, someone has to know. She imagines seeing them again, being able to run to them and take them in her arms. She imagines crying, then—a decade of stolen tears released in a flood of joy and relief.

Then she imagines their revulsion at the mother who left them, should she be unable to shed a single tear of grief or regret.

Lissa stops going to the tavern. Her heart burns as if its falling to ash.

She doesn't cry.

[theresattrpgforthat]

Do you know of a ttrpg where travel is the main focus? Like I tried one ring and travel felt like a mini game rather than a key feature

THEME: Travel (Part 2)

Hello friend, so I’m firstly going to link you to this Travel Recommendation Post I put together in June of last year. (It’s a lot of posts and I didn’t tag it very well! Working on remedying that.)

Rig Rats, by kyusenbo.

The year is 30XX, and climate disasters and human negligence have brought the world to its knees. Only large, corporation-run cities remain, surrounded by large, climate-controlled domes. However, in order for these corpo cities to send and receive goods and services between each other, we need Rig Rats. These are ragtag teams of big rig operations rogues, needed to run rigs on the desert roads, to ensure that these deliveries make it on time through radar attacks, bad weather, and poor road conditions.

Rig Rats takes prime inspiration from Mad Max, and while the game itself is just two jpeg images with a list of rules and a few scribbles, just by reading it I think it can deliver that kind of high-octane experience. Each of your characters has a role on the rig, such as Driver, Mechanic, or Lookout. You get to decide what you’re carrying, and why your cargo makes things complicated.

Each session is a single trip from one city to another, so it makes the game great for one-shots, and the number of obstacles that can come up make your trip truly harrowing. Will the rig break down? Will you run into rival bandits that want your cargo? What about environmental hazards, like minefields or electrical storms? What if a singular guy in a really modded-out car shows up and kicks the shit out of you because he wants your gasoline?

Anyways, you should check out Rig Rats.

Gone Too Far, by The Badger’s Den.

Gone Too Far is a GM-less rules-lite narrative game about travelling to distant planets. It can be played as a solo journaling game or as a collaborative roleplaying game for up to three players.

Far in the future, mining & scientific corporations send scouts to distant places to find suitable expansion locations or useful resources. They use a risky teleportation technology that is high risk / high reward, as there is a chance the user will go out of range for a return journey. 

You (and your friends if playing together) play as one of these scouts going to lost places and mineral-rich planets.

While much of this game is exploration-focused, the danger of travelling too far is central to the premise. You are voyaging to new and wondrous places with heavily experimental and limited technology; the possibility that you don’t make it back makes the portal roll incredibly important to the game, even though it only happens at the end of a player’s trip. You play this game over and over series of rounds; the player experience can be rather siloed from other people at the table, unless you choose to use an optional aid mechanic. As a result, I think Gone Too Far might work rather well as a solo or duet game, and is a great option to consider if you like themes of travelling through space.

Ferryfolk, by cthos

Another day, another fare, another series of mysterious islands to traverse. You are a Ferryfolk, though there are those who call you by an older name: Psychopomp. Your job is to guide lost souls down the river Styx and see them to their final destination unharmed and hopefully having learned a life lesson or two.

Only the weirdest and most difficult cases draw multiple Ferryfolk to a single boat, and you've been selected for the job! Travel from island to island facing the Fare's fears and memories and guide them to be a better person before they reach their Destination. 

As a 24XX game, Ferryfolk is rather rules light, with everything you need to play in just 5 pages. It carries elements I typically associate with the OSR (roll-tables, high amounts of danger, upgrades in the form of gear), as well as elements I typically associate with story games. The primary piece that feels story-like is rooted in the cargo your characters are ferrying across the River Styx: people.

Your passengers have personal problems that they’re wrestling with, and part of your journey must include visiting various islands, which contain memories that the passenger must work through if they are to overcome their personal fears. These passengers have a fear track, and risk becoming lost should they run into the wrong kind of hazard.

The fact that your boat has a distinguishing ability that gives it a unique advantage, as well as potential companions that can make your journey easier, makes this game both solo-friendly and suitable for a small campaign. If you liked the video game Spiritfarer, I think you might like Ferryfolk.

Courier, by Sleepy Sasquatch.

Courier is a solo-RPG where you take control of a Courier—someone who travels the Wasteland delivering and trading cargo in exchange for REP, the currency of this post-apocalyptic future. As you explore the world around you, locations and factions are revealed and recorded on your map. Choose to take jobs for factions and build reputation to access new benefits all while becoming better at your job and earning new character perks.

You will continue to take on quests delivering, recovering, or scouting the map for one of the many factions populating the Wasteland. Every choice you make as a Courier will reflect how these factions view you and open new opportunities and bonuses as your standing increases, or decreases through a fame and infamy system. Choices will have you siding with a few select factions by the end of your game and seeing the world change for it.

If you are a big fan of Death Stranding, I think you might like Courier. The game is all about exploring a wasteland and delivering items from one location to another. The game involves revealing hexes and tiles, so moving in a certain direction on the map can have really big consequences.A really large chunk of the game is focused on exploration, and that includes creating routes and shortcuts between locations: basically, improving your map to make future quests easier to complete. New locations give you both obstacles and opportunities, with both hazards and interesting scavenge that might be useful in keeping you alive.

The designer for Courier also has an updated version of this game called Courier - Repacked Edition, which they are very proud of - however I don’t own a copy of that game so I don’t know what exactly has been changed in the second version.

MythRider, by Natalie Jones.

When the great fires died and the distant reaches of civilisation were plunged into darkness, Riders were called upon to chart the dark. Explore the uncharted wilderness of a supernaturally huge forest, call forth legends into the world and bend magic through the wings of dragonflies.

Mythrider is a rules-light fantasy roleplaying game using the Wild Words engine to tell stories about knightly heroes and their giant insect steeds.

Like Wildsea, which uses the same system, MythRider has a whole type of scene dedicated to travel. Typical of a Wild Words game, you have a danger track that fills every time you run into trouble or move too fast, and a distance track to indicate how far you have to go before you reach your destination.

Games like this aren’t incredibly granular when it comes to any specific mechanic; many parts of the story can be abstracted out, including a montage that you can partake in whenever your crew has downtime at a settlement. This abstraction means that you can draw out the moments that mean the most to you, especially travel.

The setting for Mythrider is fantastical, with a really iconic set-piece of gigantic dragonflies and other insects that you can ride. I think these unique setting pieces make the game a compelling sell to any interested game group.

Wilding Road, by Resident Gorgon Games

Aldea was once a far flung colony of Earth. The people lived easy, carefree lives in a society fueled by clean, renewable energy and maintained by a benevolent AI known as the Overseer. Until the Collapse.

Something went horribly wrong with the gate in orbit, causing it to shatter and bring ruin to the world below. The lucky ones were able to escape and build a life on Aldea’s moon, Duru. Those left behind struggled to survive and what remained of the Overseer and Aldea’s infrastructure fought to return the planet to the garden it had once been.

Caravaners make a living by traveling between these pockets of society and civility. But, the road makes for a hard life. Even with beasts and bandits, the Overseer is constantly on the look out for those that would disturb its work of returning Aldea to what it deems as perfect. So, Rigs must walk the line of being able to travel but go unnoticed by the world around them, lest they be discovered and draw ire.

Wild Words games are typically great about travel: in this case, you also have the added difficulty of moving from point A to point B without getting noticed by something big and powerful.Your characters have a rig, which you use to cross the weird wilderness. You have a threat track, which is marked whenever the Rig runs into trouble, and eventually will likely introduce a hazard of some kind. You also have resources, in the form of both cargo that you are carrying and scrap you might discover, which can make the journey easier.

The designer for this game is doing a lot of work with this engine, making Realm, a fantasy game about exploring a world of spirits and wonder. If you like the ideas presented in Wildsea, you might want to check out these games!

Aquanautica, by Old Grog

Aquanautica is a subaquatic sci-fi setting inspired by the Aquazone Lego sets from the ‘90s. It takes place on Tethys-95, an oceanic, alien world filled with mystery and adventure. It was designed for use with tabletop roleplaying games but is system-agnostic and therefore doesn’t require any specific game system to play.

Aquanautica is a hex crawl setting that has a very colourful and useful map. This map has icons to represent different locations and environment types, as well as a colour reference to represent how deep you are at any given hex. The game comes with some dangers: running out of power or oxygen can bring your journey to a pretty definite end, and it will also make your navigation incredibly important: how far or deep can you go before you need to turn back?

The game has a lot of tools to help generate the setting and make it feel alive: there’s a roll table for encounters, some factions that will be trying to lay claim to parts of the setting, and a creature generator. There’s also a cave system generation process, which includes tunnels and additional dangers of getting lost and racing against the to find the exit.

This isn’t a game in itself - it’s an adventure setting for another game. I think a game like Mothership, Into the Odd, or perhaps a Tunnel Goons hack would be appropriate systems for Aquanautica.

Other Recommendation Posts To Check Out

My Isolation and Desperation post which had some funky recommendations for a person looking to craft a spooky road-trip.

My Pacific Drive Recommendation Post.

My Exploration recommendation post.

[mayasaura]

They've been apart and out of focus for so long that sometimes I wonder if I'm exaggerating griddlehark in the retelling of recollection. Harrow doesn't even remember Gideon for most of her pov chapters. Is Gideon really as much of a priority to her as I want to believe?

And then I remember Harrowhark 'handed an egg to protect in a den of egg-hunting snakes'. Harrowhark 'if it looks dangerous, let Camilla go first'. Harrowhark 'the whole of her always seemed to come back to Gideon'. Harrowhark who sabatoged her own lyctorhood and walked willingly into an uncertain suspension between life and death for the chance of preserving Gideon's soul.

And I feel better.

[sometimesiwritetoo]

Kakanaru AU where Alpha!Kakashi's suppressants stop working and he unexpectedly starts going into rut. He's intent on riding it out on his own except Tsunade "highly advises" he finds someone to be with him just in case it's particularly harrowing.

Naruto is far from the typical omega, but he still is one. Of all the people alpha!Sakura suggests Naruto is suboptimal in Kakashi's eyes for a slew of reasons not at all related to how that's his dead sensei's son. Like, he's cute and all but he's also loud and hard headed and probably not prepared for a jounin alpha's rut. Naruto agrees with all of these excuses. He is probably not the best omega to help him through his shit so maybe Kakashi should find someone else.

And maybe it's the rut hormones talking but how dare this little omega just casually drop the subject and walk away from him.

It's a bruise to the ego and egos weren't meant to be bruised like that. Kakashi is in his prime, he's got omegas lining up at the door to be with him. Naruto doesn't know what he's missing out on and yes that is definitely the rut hormones feeding in to an old, competitive urge but he refuses to cop to that even when he's dragged the spicy omega to his den.

[boozybellybabe]

I'm a guard watching a caravan with important treasure

During the journey we're attacked by bandits. My company manages to fend them off but I'm captured and taken to their den for interrogation. They lock me up but I refuse to tell me anything, so they come up with a solution. They open an ale cask and told me to drink it, so my tongue will loosen up. I refuse, but since they're not giving my anything else to eat or drink, my belly growls, eventually forcing me to accept the booze.

The bandits didn't count with me being a total lighweight, however, and with just one mug of ale I'm laying on the floor, unable to understand the questions they ask, much less answer them. I've never drank before! No matter, they think, we will try again tomorrow. At first I try to resist, but since they're not giving me water, I'm forced to drink the ale.

I'm smart enough and come up with a solution. Thinking back to the day before, if I drink enough of the booze I won't be able to tell them anything. I keep asking for drinks and they keep giving them to me until I'm eventually so drunk I'm falling over and slurring my words into unintelligible gibberish.

The days go by and not a word of information comes out of my mouth, but plenty of ale comes in. About a week inside the cage I find myself constantly asking them for ale. They've given up on me being of any use, but at least find some amusement in the drunken girl soldier locked up in the cell. Sometimes I throw insults at them, beligerent and wild, sometimes I fumble with my armor trying to take it off and show them my tits and pussy.

I lost count of the time I've been there, and my only comfort and entertainment is the ale they keep bringing me. Each day I need more than the day before, and I start asking for stronger stuff. My cell is filled with empty bottles, and I'm commonly found passed out among them, my armor getting tight from the beers that start accumulating on my belly.

Eventually my company founds the bandits' hideot and put them all to the sword. I'm freed after gods know how long, and compensated handsomely for the harrowing experience I've endured, with a big bag of coin. I thank my superior and grab the bag of coin.

I leave the hideout and immediately start looking for a tavern.