#edited to include the read more

[ask-the-crimson-king]

Tales from Black Crusade... Kind Of

It's been a while since I've made any sort of post like this, be it Warhammer TTRPG related or other-TTRPG related. For those who are wondering or care, I am currently in 3 campaigns -- playing in a Pathfinder 2e Campaign, and DM'ing a Dragonlance game and a reboot of an old campaign that I've wrote about before here on Tumblr.

That campaign being Black Crusade, which fell apart almost a year ago now. But we tried a reboot, and some things are happening.

This will just be a mini-post about one snippet of last night's session, purely because the scene was just amazing and I'd like to try and share it with other humans.

However, before I can even do that, I'll briefly introduce the player characters, even though the scene in question only really involves two or three of them:

ZACHARIAH CAIN - Former World Eater, current diabolist attached to the 17th Host of Word Bearers. Has recently mutated a lot due to the destabilizing presence of a Slaaneshi daemon prince, and is on the verge of either ascending or becoming Chaos Spawn, neither outcome seeming very appetizing.

SOHN'IK ERINACEUS - An Emperor's Children raptor who is all about extreme speed and is generally always in a good mood. Happily will run into danger for fun. If you get the meaning behind his name, you get a cookie. Also as an aside, this character is unironically genuinely amazing, their player plays him SUPER well and he's a treat at the table. I'll discuss his exploits in a later post, potentially.

SOLOMON GRUNDY - Death Guard who was attached to the Lords of Silence and generally doesn't remember much about his life because he died and came back holding a seed from a Barbaran oak tree. Grundy also has befriended a tiny nurgling and is the fire support for the party.

Finally, and potentially controversially,

ARTORIAS - I would list out all of his names but there's too many. Artorias is a renegade Custodian who was lost out in the Warp for millennia, its exposure slowly breaking down the geneforging that locked his mind into being happy to be used as a tool and weapon of the Emperor. He was later found and convinced that his way was a way of slavery, and that he could find freedom elsewhere. He acts as a hidden guardian of Apostle Ans'ar of the 17th Host.

Artorias deserves a post all on his own. Some people may be rolling their eyes but bear with me, I promise his lore is not completely gary stu cringe. I allowed it because the campaign is being done in Wrath & Glory, and the party is at Tier 5, and there was some acceptable homebrew to make a Custodian. Trust, I am generally someone who likes to err on the side of canon and lore. Plus my player really wanted to make a renegade Custodes, and I didn't want to "no, but" him, and it's led to some really great storytelling and moments in the campaign.

BUT this tale is not about Artorias. This is about the current exploits of our new band of Misfits.

Zachariah sends out a call to try and get the ear of Kor Phaeron. Already this may sound insane but bear with me. The party has come up with a very long-winded plan that involves the creation and maintaining of several Warpstorms in and around the Eye of Terror. There's several other aspects including Titan Legions, Knight Houses, the Dark Mechanicum, at least three other Legions [not in their entirety, but a decent showing of force], and potentially the Blood Pact, but that would require maybe an additional 5,000 words to explain the context for.

The party is in pretty good standing with the Word Bearers, and they needed someone who was a very adept ritualist with a large reach to assist in this endeavor. So they shot for the stars and, with dice on their side, they got what they wanted.

One of my players happens to have a very good voice for Kor Phaeron, and he offered to take up the role for me. He's played the old bastard in the past for a campaign, so I agree to let him do it. I set the scene a bit so he can understand Kor Phaeron's current mindset, and he gets to work.

I basically tell him where we last had seen him at the end of Throne of Light, explain how he probably feels in the aftermath, and a couple of additional campaign-specific details.

I cannot express in words alone how this man nailed his character so pristinely.

Zachariah gets in contact with the Dark Cardinal himself, and invites him to this grand theatre of war that he, the 17th Host, and the small band of Misfits are putting together alongside allies within the Emperor's Children. Most of the plan he is relaying is the brainchild of Solmon Grundy and Sohn'ik Erinaceus, with some add-ons by Zachariah and Artorias. It's a very, very ambitious plan, and one that, if executed very well, can and will work. What he is not saying is how this is all connected to an insane idea that the Apostle currently has, because the Apostle knows it's an idea that could absolutely get him killed and the 17th disbanded.

Kor Phaeron takes a moment to think. He then asks why he -- and his Legion, in particular -- would really be interested in such an engagement. Surely this is something the III Legion can handle on their own. Why should they be meddling in this great conflict to come?

Zachariah says that there could be glory to be found in an alliance here, and that Kor Phaeron's own expertise is needed. The old man says that he cannot see how, and presses Zachariah on why this conflict matters so deeply to him. Again, this sounds like the business of another Legion, yet he's speaking with urgency and is trying desperately to sway him. Surely there must be something else here.

And then Zachariah makes what we in the industry call a "Gift of Gab moment".

Zachariah sells out the actual intentions of his Apostle.

And immediately my player who's playing Kor Phaeron starts doing his villain laugh.

"He said it in character, I do not want to do takes-backsies, let's roll with this."

I could feel everyone tensing at the table and I decide to have Ans'ar, the Apostle who just got sold for 62 cents, jump in and try to defend and explain himself.

Kor Phaeron then says, "You have from the time I walk from my personal chambers to the strategium deck to explain the reason for the 17th not deserving chastisement or reorganization."

They can hear the tread of his heavy boots upon the decking and the clicking of his claws as he speaks.

So he tries to sum up everything neatly and as swiftly as he can, with Zachariah occasionally butting in to offer some extra details. Out of character, the table is tense and everyone is saying "oh fucking no".

What is the plan that could get all of them absolutely wiped without a second thought? Well.

Ans'ar and several other Apostles have come up with a plan to force the primarch out of his seclusion using a massive ritual. They need the ritual to go off because they hope to empower Lorgar so that he can kill the burgeoning Star Child and also bring a measure of order to the Warp.

With such a daring plan, there are obviously many ways for this to go wrong, but if it goes right, it means Lorgar is out active in the galaxy again, and that could be bad news if you're depending on him not being out and about for the next while.

Kor Phaeron has heard a few murmurings and rumors about a number of Hosts who seemed to be conspiring about something, but the nature of it was mostly veiled or it seemed not to be of great interest. And now he is very, very interested.

Of course, involving Kor Phaeron would absolutely and inevitably mean that the cat would get out of the bag at some point, but this was absolutely not the time. This was just supposed to be a quick "will you help us?" and if he said no, proceed without him. This was a Hail Mary, a "hey, wouldn't it be hilarious if we could do this?" and I let them roll for it.

If he DID say yes, they tell him the plan when the pieces are already in place and the board is set. That way, even if he objects, there's not much he could do to stop it or interfere.

In this instance, the pieces have just been outlined, nowhere near to being put into place. Which now means that Kor Phaeron can now have free reign over the entire plan and twist it to his whims.

SOOOO now Kor Phaeron has a very vested interest in knowing all the ins and outs of this plan, when it is being conducted, and by whom. He expects all of these answers when he meets with Ans'ar in person. He tells the Apostle that he is, for now, "grounded", and is to remain in place until Kor Phaeron arrives.

And right before he cuts contact, as he enters the strategium and everyone hears the tensing of Terminators in greeting, he has a few final words for Ans'ar in quiet Colchisian:

"My son will not return by your hand."

The connection drops dead.

Plans begin changing fast. The nature of Artorias's very existence is a secret to all but those within the Host, and if Kor Phaeron finds out, then Ans'ar may be in bigger trouble than planning a massive primarch ganking ritual. However, at this point, Artorias is demanding to be at the Apostle's side as part of his honor guard once Kor Phaeron arrives. So is Zachariah, as one of his Masters of Possession, much to Zikar-Sin's protesting.

Grundy & Sohn'ik both have to depart in order to begin organizing their parts of the grand plan -- Sohn'ik to try and find and recruit the Riotous Host, Grundy to go find the Lords of Silence. Of course, other allies are also being contacted -- we're going to be having a small cameo next session of an Alpha Legionnaire from a past player who just couldn't schedule the game in -- but I'm very excited.

Now I get to plan out a LOT of potential networking, combat, and the arrival of the bastard himself. That's all going to be very fun.

Since his PC is going to be Away -- not a decision made so he could continue to guest NPC as Kor Phaeron, that was already decided on before Zachariah's PC decided to be like "hey, could I try Skype calling him?" -- Grundy's player will probably be playing him again with me handing him some rough bullet points and notes on what I want to have hit with him.

Very excited to see where this goes, we're only a few sessions away from the end. Will the party have a skill issue and die in this massive confrontation they planned? Maybe. Odds are they probably will. BUT I trust them not to. They can be very keen strategists.

I hope you enjoyed this tale, I'll try to post these on occasion if things of note happen. Expect one for Dragonlance to be posted soon as the party is about to confront Dragon Emperor Ariakas at Sanction.

[dunderella]

barnaclive AU commission for crispy from the firestorm discord!!!!

shinryu!barnabas showing his favor for his squire 18!clive... 😳💐

edit: kaede has started posting the fic that this comm was for! go read it!!!

[petricorah]

How's about "love shown through weapon's maintenance" for a zukka prompt?

Ahh this was such a good prompt! I do wish i wasn't half asleep in a car to do it proper justice, but i hope you enjoy!

-------

Zuko woke in a cold sweat.

He panted, frantically attempting to catch his breath as the dregs of his nightmare melted off his body. His chest was tight, and he felt like his throat was closed off. He looked wildly around his room but was met with abrupt darkness. He flicked his hand to produce the flame, and only sparks erupted from his hand.

He grit his teeth. Of course. Of course this was still a problem.

He'd been stressed for months, between his new duties as firelord and assassination attempts, and more and more, and for some reason, his ability to bend had dwindled, which had done nothing but increase the stress.

No one knew, of course. He'd kept it close to him. He was vulnerable at this time, and he didn't know who to trust. And the idea of telling his friends...he was supposed to be stronger than this. After all he's been through, this is what was bested him? The stress of running a nation? He'd even gone to the dragons themselves and found a new way of bending, and now it was gone again? Did he have to go back?

Zuko felt the panic rise in his chest once more, that awful feeling that he hadn't been able to shake, and he groaned loudly, the sound echoing off the room. He shook his head and threw the covers off of him. They crumpled to a pile on the ground. In the dark, he reached for the spot on his wall where his swords were mounted and closed his hand around the joint hilts.

A smidgen of the panic clogging his throat dissipated, but not by much.

He took them off the wall and carefully crept out of the room.

Since the third assassination attempt, he hadn't slept in the firelord's chambers. That let him sleep a little better--mostly because he didn't like staying in what he still considered to be his father's room. In order to call attention to his new resting place, there were no guards stationed outside of his door. That was fine enough--the guards hadn't been able to stop the assassins the first few times, so it was better to not have any blood shed on his behalf, anyway.

And it made for an easier escape when he wanted to pace the grounds in the middle of the night.

He made his way through the palace. He had no idea where he was going. He had no idea what he was doing. Why he was going there. With his swords. He just--

The air on his sweat soaked skin made him shiver. He stood in front of the door, swords drawn, and didn't move.

This is stupid.

He grit his teeth and stepped away from the door, causing the wood under his feet to creak. He winced, and the door opened before he could decide on running or jumping behind it.

"...Zuko?" Sokka said sleepily, rubbing the back of his head. His hair was down, framing his face, and sticking up in every direction. He looked groggy and sleep logged. "What are you doing here?"

"That's how you open the door?" He snapped. "What if I was an assassin?"

Sokka squinted at him. "I could tell it was you," he said. "You always shift like that in front of my door."

What? "I do not!"

Sokka's eyes trailed down to his swords. "Were you coming to kill me?"

"No!" He snarled in a hushed voice. "How could you say that?"

Sokka laughed sleepily, a good sound that Zuko couldn't appreciate because he couldn't shove down the panic in his chest.

"Relax," he said. "Why are you here, then?"

Zuko grit his teeth and his eyes drifted away from Sokka's gaze.

"Ah."

"I thought we could spar."

Sokka chewed on the inside of his cheek. "Nah."

"What? You're awake now."

"You look pissed," he said jabbing a finger at him accusatorily. "And I'm still half asleep. That's a recipe for getting my head lopped out."

"I wouldn't do that to you," he said through his teeth. "How could you think that I would do something like that? Do you really think I've lost that much control--"

"Woah," Sokka said and put both of his hands on Zuko's shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. "Chill out."

Zuko could feel the warmth through the tips of his fingers, grounding him. His eyes had adjusted in the dark, and he could see Sokka's features. Soft and concerned.

"Stay here," Sokka said. He withdrew his hands and a rush of coldness fell over Zuko at their absence.

Sokka came back out a few minutes lter, holding something in his hand. He motioned for him to follow, and they made their way out to the moonlit courtyard.

"Give me your swords," Sokka said. He sat himself down on the grass, and Zuko followed suit, handing him the swords. The night breeze was cold, and sittinf in the damp grass was colder, but he did.

He watched as Sokka took the object in his hand and began to sharpen his sword.

"I can do that myself," he said.

"I know."

Zuko glared at him, but settled into his seat and watched as Sokka ran the stone across the blade.

"What were you told to do when you sharpen your blade?" Sokka said.

"It's a task," he said. "What do you mean?" It was simply something you did to take care of your weapons.

"My dad said that you should use the opportunity of sharpening your blade to sharpen your mind," Sokka said. His long hair fell forward as he leaned to see what he was doing. "When I was younger, I thought it meant to focus on the battle ahead. But now...I use it to clear my mind."

"Should your head be any emptier?"

Sokka rolled his eyes and jabbed him in the ribs. "The best sword works as an extension of your body," he said.

Zuko narrowed his eyes. Of course.

"So you have to take care of yourself like you would a prized weapon." He pressed the stone on the tip of the sword, and the metal bent downwards. "Just like stress can destroy a blade, it can destroy you, too." Sokka relaxed his shoulders and let out a long breath. "I think it's important to remember that."

Zuko was silent for a moment. Then--

"I can't avoid being stressed," he said, and he reached forward to take the swords back, pulling them from Sokka's grasp and putting them back together. "I wanted to spar and get rid of that stress. That's why I came to you. If you don't want to do that, then I'll leave--"

"Zuko," Sokka said. "Just sit down."

Zuko glared down.

"Please. To humor me. And then you can fight me and knock me out so I can go back to sleep."

Zuko's eyes narrowed to slits, but he slumped down.

Sokka sat with his legs crossed, looking like Aang when he meditated.

"You're kidding me, right? Are you an air nomad?"

"Remember when we went to the boiling rock?" he said. "And you used your breath to stay warm?"

"I've tried that," he said. "But every time I sit still, I just think about everything that I have to do, and everything that's happening and--"

Sokka reached over and took his hand, and Zuko immediately closed his mouth. "Just breathe with me for a bit."

Zuko kept his mouth in a firm line, but did. He expected Sokka to remove his hand, but he didn't.

Sokka took a big breath next to him, and Zuko hesitated, but did. He closed his eyes inhaled, filling his lungs, taking in so much that his chest ached and his back cracked.

And he breathed out.

And again.

And again.

"You know we have your back, right?" Sokka said softly from beside him. Zuko could feel the warmth from his palm over his, radiating throughout his body. "All of us. We're here for you."

Zuko could feel the tightness swirl inside his chest, panic flaring up, and a burning behind his glassy eyes. "I don't want you to have to be."

Sokka laughed. "Well, too bad. You have friends. I hated it when you made me do exercises for my leg and when you wouldn't let me train until it healed. I especially hated when it gave out and you had to carry me all the way back to the palace. But that's what friends do. And that's what I'm doing for you."

Zuko's opened one eye, looking at him. "By comparing me to a weapon?"

He laughed again, and this time, Zuko appreciated it. He appreciated how soft and carefree it was. How deep and grounded it sounded. How he could hear it at the middle of the night. How he was there to hear if.

"Yeah. By comparing you to a weapon."

Sokka took another deep breath, and Zuko did as well.

And, in one final exhale, he felt the flames curl out of his mouth, and warmth spread across his body once more.

[sainz100]

2024 Hungarian GP | x (edited)

[mag-lore]

I was inspired by @and-the-stars-collided 's recent post on the aesthetics of the House of Fëanor, so I made some moodboards!

Fëanor

Maedhros

Maglor

Celegorm

Caranthir

Curufin

Amrod

Amras

Celebrimbor

[zara-renata]

I need someone to hear me out quick— alight , hear me out. 👀 So the majority of us are who plays love and deepspace are gen z and we are born between 1995 and 2012, right? The in game timeline takes place around 2048.. so if we do the math, we will all be in our early-mid 40s!! .·°՞(≧□≦)՞°·.

Now, have you heard of this Manhwa: Tears on the Withered Rose? If not that's alr— what if there's will be a timeline where the mc(us) is her early 40s and the LI are basically the same age in game, what do you think the relationship dynamic will be like? If we follow the characters roles in Tears on the Withered Rose, Na Hae-Soo in the Mc and Sylus is Beom Tae-ha. (⚆_⚆)

Y'ALL HEAR ME OUT?? :000

Edit: my friend has just informed me that this emoji means that you're weeping .·°՞(≧□≦)՞°·. (I'm assuming at the idea of eventually being in your early-mid forties?) And I'm not there quite yet, but I can assure you, you will still be you in your mid-forties, in the same fundamental way that you feel like you're you now. Hopefully you'll be a little wiser, a little more knowledgeable about the world, but it's fucking great getting older. I wouldn't go back to being 25 if someone paid me. So if anyone is despairing regarding aging, please don't worry about it, life tends to get better instead of worse as you gain experience.

Anyway.

I haven't read Tears on the Withered Rose, but if it has an older MC then I am definitely interested and will have to check it out. I'm a little older than the typical demographic for LADS and for most mainstream romance protagonists, so I am always interested in stories where MC is a little older, while still retaining the same swoon-worthy tropes that make romance fun in the first place.

I'd like to preface this answer by acknowledging that most cultures still judge men dating younger woman and women dating younger men with a double standard. Which is bullshit. The only metric we should judge relationships by are the ability to give true consent and if the people involved have a healthy power/maturity dynamic. But I'm not here to write a treatise on the ethics of age-gap romances, but the following answer acknowledges the reality that society at large may give the "younger" men and older MC the side-eye upon discovering their romantic relationship.

So for the LADS guys... we have an 800 year old fish-man, an immortal dragon, a cardiac surgeon who was born a curmudgeon and has been an old man ever since he was a kid, and a prince that has lived for at least 200 years. So let's just take a minute to soak in, and then conveniently ignore, the inherent age-gap between these old men in pretty boy bodies + 24 year old MC. But, because of who these men actually are, I think that their and an older MC's dynamic would be similar to what it is now, but MC is likely at Captain Jenna's professional level or above, higher in the administration of the Hunter's Association, has the weight of management/administrative responsibilities, possibly a shitty ex husband and all the baggage that entails, maybe a couple of kids she's doing her best to co-parent with said shitty ex. And yet each of the LIs would be the same- the weight of past lives, of memory, of their love for her. Sylus would still feign smug arrogance, utter self-containment, while doing everything he can to attract and retain MC's interest. Xavier would still share the work connection but possibly be a subordinate under MC, which could complicate their relationship in a different but still similar way to being in a relationship with a coworker as the current MC, but he'd still be the sweet guy next door, always there to have MC's back. Zayne would still be her physician, still end up violating all sorts of medical ethical regulations to develop their relationship, still mature and slow to thaw but warm and incredibly loving as their relationship grows. And I'm so sorry, I like Rafayel, but I have not interacted with him enough in game to describe more than surface level what their dynamic is other than he too would be the same with a 40-something MC.

Only people on the outside looking in would lift an eyebrow, and then the LIs would confuse the fuck out of everyone by joking about how someone's robbing the cradle in their relationship, but it sure as hell isn't her. Except, even with my limited knowledge of Raf I can definitely see him playing up the 'age difference' and pretending that MC just took advantage of his poor little meow meow naive youthful self to bag herself a cute boytoy, and I can see Sylus also driving MC nuts by really leaning into the "She criminally stole my innocence" and "Oh, she's my sugar mama" shticks when people dare to say something when he's the immortal one and it's still his black card in her wallet that's paying for her spas when he insists she needs a break (even though she earns enough to pay for herself, but he insists), and if she has kids, his new adopted kids' expensive sports gear and elite summer camps.

Now that you've sent this ask, I think it would be really, really fun to write this dynamic, actually, especially Sylus since he's my big bias and he'd be so infuriatingly charming for an older, exhausted MC, especially one who has a shitty ex who put her through the wringer and who is skittish at the idea of accepting the lavish, unconditional love of a gorgeous, wealthy, "younger" man who is also a fucking mafia boss. And in return I think a more emotionally experienced MC would more quickly see through his facade, and see the vulnerable dragon underneath, and would be able to care for him in return. Thank you for this fun ask!

[deweyduck]

@pscentral​​ event 18: adaptations

↳ DCOMS BASED ON BOOKS (that i have read)

[kingdomoftyto]

[keeps-ache]

i think i'm starting to really like writing again :D this will have consequences

[strawhattery]

✨ utilities included

zoro/sanji | explicit | chapter 5/10

alpha/beta/omega dynamics • alpha x alpha • modern era • roommates to lovers • internalized homophobia • canon-typical zosan antagonism • references to canon-typical vinsmoke family dynamics

“I’m giving you an option.” Zoro’s grin has gone feral. He licks his lips a little—probably subconsciously—and Sanji feels hot all over from the glimpse at his tongue. “Take it or leave it.” “I hate you,” Sanji insists. “I hate you so much.” Zoro takes another step closer. Sanji growls again, louder than before. No longer a warning. A threat.  “What do you say?” asks Zoro. “Could be fun.” “I could rip your throat out with my teeth.” “Oh yeah, talk dirty to me.”

[athena-xox]

If I were to write a long eah rewrite would anyone beta read?

Edit: I’ve made another post that pinned with more details about this if you’re interested

[cowchickenbeefpork]

My two fanfic wips being 4.6k and 5.5k respectively and non derivative short story wip being 1.2k long who’s gonna clap for meeeee

[coseris]

books i finished in 2024:

- skyclan’s destiny: 1/2/24

[ghost-proofbaby]

OH god, sooo many kellin fics. Most were on wattpad honestly.

A lot of them all blur together (also a few kellic fics yikes), but I specifically remember one with an OC? Like kellin cheated on his wife with her and she nearly died or something? Classic wattpad and shitty summary but IT WAS SO GOOD. I think the girl's name was Brooke or Brooklyn. (also keep in mind this was 2012? 2013? wattpad. so... maybe not good by our current day standards but back then it was AMAZING). I can't remember the name but if you want it I would be willing to go on the deep dive for you 👀

SAY FUCKING SIKE RIGHT NOW.

you don't need to deep dive for the fic. her name was brooklyn mackenzie or some stupid shit, the fic's name is 'The Secret Affair', and it's going to haunt me until the day i die because i wrote it at 13 years old.

congratulations, nonnie. you can officially say you are one of the og readers of my fics. i certainly hope my writing has improved this last decade.

(unless there was another popular kellin fic with the exact same plot as mine. in that case, this is embarrassing).

[steppingstar]

HOW IS THIS REAL 😭😭😭😭😭😭

[byanyan]

muse's handwriting

find the font that closest resembles your muses handwriting from here and write their name!

tagged by:ㅤ@sunsetsoft ♡♡♡