#five element vein type

[comfycat3]

taking some notes for my own study later

Nickeline: NiAs, hexagonal, pale copper red

Maucherite: Ni11As8, tetragonal, warm silverly white turning darker grey when oxidised

Gersdorffite: NiAsS, isometric, grey to white

Parkerite: Ni3(Bi,Pb)2S2, monoclinic, pale bronze

Hauchecornite: Ni9BiSbS8, tetragonal, bronzy yellow

Matildite: AgBiS2, trigonal, silvery black or grey

Ni-Co-Ag deposits or five-element (Ni-Co-As-Ag-Bi) vein type deposits, the name is not really that accurate as it often has Fe, U, but we persist. It tends be exist in continental crust where extensional tectonics occur.

Ore precipitation theories

Natural Fracking - This is the current leading theory. Liberation of hydrocarbons during the break up of rocks near hydrothermal systems. Mixing of hydrocarbonates and metal rich hydrothermal fluids precipitate ore (Markl, Burisch, Neumann, 2016).

Iron oxidation - Correlates pyrite abundance with mineralisation (Ondrus, et al., 2003)

Fluid mixing - Fluids of different pH mixing. Ore fluids are shown to be alkaline, and the proposed precipitation is caused by decreasing pH. (Staude, et al., 2012)

Boiling... or Cooling? - High temperatures in the crust mobilise saline and ~400°C fluids, and scavenge Ni-Co-Ag from surrounding rock. The deposition mechanism is reduction and boiling. (Kissin, 1992)

im tired, back to porphyry work. i may or may not come back with more <3

Nickeline (pink/peach) and Maucherite (pinkish grey) with a rim of Gersdorffite (bluish grey) overgrown by intergrown Parkerite (light grey, twinning) and Hauchecornite (dull pink), then overgrown by Matildite (darker grey, rough texture).

Locality: Easter-Duffy Deposit, East Arm Region, Greater Slave Lake, NWT, Canada

Reflected Plane Polarized Light, 200X Magnification

Quick laundry list of minerals most people will have never heard of!

[chiscaralight]

cw: nsfw scaramouche x reader. modern au, lowkey fratboy!scara, oral sex (m and f receiving) p in v

a reader who’s honestly out of their element at a party. this isn’t even the type of crowd you roll with, why would your friend drag you here, and then forget you?

forget is a strong word. she’s just having alot of fun! but she doesn’t realize that you’ve slipped away to the higher level of this frat house, opening up doors to find somewhere you can relax for a bit before heading back down. and it’s a clean room that you do, full of dark and dingy colors and a neatly laid bed. it’s definitely someone’s bedroom and you’d hate to invade the space for too long, so you decide to stay only about five minutes before heading back.

too bad the owner only needed three, because you’re face to face with a purple haired, stupidly beautiful guy who’s gripping a full bottle of vodka in one hand and a shot glass in the other. you squeal and apologize, trying to make your way out of the room, but he waves you off. stay if you want, just don’t bother him too much.

and it works for a bit, he’s just laying down on his phone, but the thick silence is just too uncomfortable for you. and he notices, because you’re playing with your fingers like a third grader about to present to the class. so he rolls his eyes and offers you a single shot, which you gladly take.

one shot turns to two, two turns to four, and our turns to one two many between the two of you, because now you’re laid up with him, side by side and giggling like a little kid while you talk about whatever. and he just can’t take his eyes off of you, your words going right over his head as his gaze moved from those eyes of yours to your plump lips, licking his instinctively as he imagines how soft they’d feel on his.

honestly, he was just hoping to get a kiss from you and end it there. maybe you’d even straddle him; grind against his lap. he wasn’t expecting this though, but why would he complain? after all, it’s not every day you find someone as cute as you with your lips wrapped round his hardened cock like this. and even through your drunken moans, thsy tongue of yours is rolling round his shaft so well, poking and prodding at every vein.

he’s weak, physically spent from the number you’re doing on him as you bob your head up and down his length. but it’s way to early for him to cum so against everything in his body, he’ll push you off of him and lay you back so he can dip his head into that sweet cunt of yours.

and you taste absolutely divine, mewling and arching off the bed as he assaults you with his tongue and fingers, groaning into your heat as he lets the slick stain his chin. your fingers are tangling up in his hair, tugging and pulling on his strands as he coaxes your orgasm out of you painfully hard, tears pricking the corners of your eyes as you cum, humping his face like an animal throughout. he’ll hum through it, pulling up only when he’s sure he’s drank his fill. and your beautiful, fucked out face is practically begging him to go again, to plunge right back down and take another one from you.

you take dick just as well as you suck it, because scaramouche is hammering into you. your legs are hooked around his waist, face awfully close to yours as you moan out. he’s entranced by the way you look, the way you sound as you dig your fingers into his shoulders, trying to draw him in for another kiss.

it’s not that he doesn’t want to kiss you. on the contrary, he loves those lips of yours. but it’s fun to watch you struggle, which is why he’s pulling you off the bed, harshly guiding you o er to the table so he can bend you over and fuck you right.

and right it is, because you’re slobbering over his desk. in any other case he would’ve been so grossed out, but you’re whining his name in a way that makes his hips speed up, colliding with yours over and over again until you’re not sure what you’re saying anymore. he thinks it’s so cute, taunting you about how dump you look. the only response you can give him is a broken moan, pulling your hand back until it comes in contact with his.

you’re just adorable, why wouldn’t he intertwine his fingers with yours? once his hand is firmly in place. toue head falls back onto the desk like that was what you were waiting for. because within seconds you’re whining out about cumming. but that’s not good enkigh for him, he has to see that face.

he moves quick, turning and pushing you up the desk so you’re not empty for too long. your arms are locked around his neck, chest pressed into his as he fucks your orgasm out of you. you’re almost screaming, struggling to keep your eyes open as you make such a mess, head falling against his when you finally finish. he’ll pull out and cum in between you two, painting both of your stomachs with his cum. you’re still so out of it, barely registering anything he says before you actually pass out.

when you wake up, you’re naked in a bed you don’t remember. you’re already cursing yourself, ready to pull yourself out from the sheets and escape this unknown place regardless of the way your brain is banging against your skull.

but an arm draws u back, almost slamming you against a pretty toned chest that you’re just about starting to remember. your face is flushing as you try to wriggle away, but scaramouche keeps you locked in place until you give up. you’re whining for him to let you go, but he doesn’t let up. when you look at him for the first time sober or not in close contact with his cock, his beauty hits you all over again. you choose to stop fighting this time, sliding back into his grip before he plants a kiss on the back of your neck.

maybe it was a good thing to come to this party.

[crow-stars]

Can you do Rook x professional sniper!GN!Yuu. Rook is always the hunter I want him to be hunted in return.

oh, quite the request reader! let's see... rook hunt from the stories of twisted wonderland. oh, and you wish for him to be hunted? the hunter becoming the hunted, how intriguing indeed! now let's see how this story turned out...

❝HIT YOU ONCE, HIT YOU TWICE❞

❦summary; when blood rushes through your veins and the adreneline runs high, it makes the chase so much more exciting.

♪the characters in this story; rook hunt, prefect!reader

✎word count; 758

❀what do the ghosts say?; ambiguous, comparisons of predator and prey, , weapons (bow, rifle),

☛the author's notes; forgive me if this isn't that much of the hunter/hunted type of thing, i'm not the best when it comes to action writing.

☪look at the catalogue?

The forests have always been a comfort to Rook Hunt, There, he was in his element, his habitat, his own hunting grounds. There, no forest creature, mage, human, or beastman could dare to escape his grasp. 

Over multiple years, he’s honed his skills, eyes sharp to catch the gentlest of rustling leaves, ears aware and quick to pick up on the smallest footstep against the forest floor. Whenever in the forest, he was at his most aware, most secure. 

Except today. 

Today when the skies are cloudy, darkening the forest around him. Rook ran as fast as he could, lips curled in a feverish smile as curling heat corrupted his veins and bloomed on his skin. It was uncomfortable, but so welcome, so addicting that he couldn’t help push himself to run faster. 

Run faster despite the burning pain in his chest, the ache of his lungs. It hurt so bad, yet it hurt so good. 

How long had he been running again? How long had his feet been pounding against the forest floor, trying to make distance from his pursuer? How long until they reach him? They were skilled, they made sure Rook knew this. 

How his heart pounded against his chest, ears trying to keep sharp yet the blood rushing in his ears hindered this. But he was able to catch the first shot, missing him only by a hair and hitting the tree trunk he had just ducked behind. 

Rook’s bow was gripped tightly in his hold as he waited, silent and ready for whatever sound or hint that could be given to him, to tell him where they were. 

“Rook~” His heart leaped, a grin spreading across his flushed cheeks. Their voice, your voice, rang through his ears, playful and yet threatening. 

“Come out Rook.” There was the sound of the cocking of a gun, sounding so near, so close. 

His heart pounded against his chest and the exhale he let out was shaky and unsteady, unfitting for a hunter such as he. Another shot rang out, hitting the tree that he was hiding behind. That was when he had to move, rising quickly to his feet and sprinting further into the darkened forest. There’s another set of feet that follow him, match his speed well enough that even he feels like you’ll catch up to him. 

It’s exhilarating, it’s heart-racing, it feels so, so dangerous. To be the one hunted, the one who runs like their life depends on it. It was a drastic change, a change of power and Rook loved it. 

Rook finds another tree for cover and ducks behind it, edging over to the next tree over to hopefully throw you off. 

The forest is silent. 

He takes in a deep breath, an attempt to steady his screaming heart. 

A light crunch of the leaves was heard and Rook held his breath. 

One second of silence. Rook notches an arrow onto his bow. 

Two seconds. His chest feels pricked with worry, or was it excitement. 

Three seconds. Rook pulls the bowstring taut, prepared for anything. 

Four seconds. 

Five seconds. 

Silence still. 

Rook waited. 

A hand grabbed the back of his uniform, the grip tight and unforgiving as he was pulled back, thrown onto the forest floor. 

Rook doesn’t have much time to get up or gather himself as a weight settles onto his chest, knees pinning his arms to the ground. He hears you laugh, the muzzle of your rifle resting beside his head. His eyes looked up to you, you who was smiling widely at him, proud of your catch. 

“Found you Rook~” 

When he hears your voice, that smile of his spreads onto his lips, viridescent eyes glinting with something more as he stares up at you. 

“Ah, it seems so, mon petit chasseur. Bon travail!” With what little mobility he has of his arms, Rook attempts to clap.

The sight makes you laugh once more, a smirk curling onto your lips. 

“What’s the score this time?” 

“It’s five to three, my dear.” 

You cheer, leaning down to place your face closer to Rook’s. Gently, you tap your finger against his nose, smiling. 

“You better step up your game, hunter. I’m winning.” 

Rook laughs, shaking his head a bit. 

“Don’t you worry, mon cher, I’ll win next time.” 

With a smile, you get off of Rook’s chest and help him up, grabbing his hat that had fallen off in the fall. You place the hat on your head and begin walking back towards the school, with Rook following after.

[mellowswriting]

domestic life with din

pairing || Din Djarin x f!Reader

word count || 2.2k (OOF)

summary || ever wonder what domestic life would look like with Din?

content || SMUT, soft and sweet sex, dorks in love, DOMESTIC FLUFF to the extreme

a/n || this started as a headcanon and very quickly spiraled out of control 🤠 which is why this is a very informal format (unusual for me tbh) but still great imo

Din Masterlist  |  Main Masterlist

Domestic life has been kind to Din.

A year has passed since the two of you settled in the cozy Tudor-style home nestled away in the woods, and a lot has changed. Without the constant commotion of bounty hunting, Din can finally explore that softness he has hidden away beneath his rough exterior. It takes a bit of time for his mind to adjust to the sharp shift in lifestyle.

For a while, he still slept like he was on a cramped ship instead of a huge bed - body rigid, laid out in a straight line on his back, dressed in less than comfortable clothes. He couldn’t sleep more than five hours a night no matter how hard he tried. A blaster was always within reach. The back of his neck would prickle with apprehension at every creak of the house settling. The whole thing was just so abnormal to him.

He looks to you for guidance. Din watches the way you wander through the house, barefoot with your robe tied loosely around your waist. A book hangs loosely from your fingers and a mug of coffee is in the other, and you pace absentmindedly as you read. Your hair is still messy from sleep and one leg of your lounge pants is rucked up over your calf - and he swears you have never looked more beautiful. Seeing you so in your element helps you find his.

You’re so comfortable in your own skin, in this space - he can’t help but want the same. He carefully edges out of his comfort zone. New, comfortable clothes. The trial and error of learning to cook real food. The warmth of alcohol singing in his veins as the two of you sip wine in the middle of a sunny afternoon. Consuming entire books in mere hours. Slowly but surely, Din learns who he is as a man and a husband - not just a bounty hunter.

Mornings are his favorite, which he never expected. Keeping a typical sleep schedule was damn near impossible before and he relishes in the structure of it. Din rises at the same time each morning and takes a moment to savor the sight of you still asleep next to him. Glowing in the few streams of sunlight that peek through the curtains, a bit of drool gathered in the corner of your mouth. His beautiful wife, absolutely dead to the world. Din kisses your forehead, tugs the blankets up to keep you warm, and slips off into the kitchen to make some coffee and breakfast.

Din’s love for cooking hit him hard and fast. Was he good at it at first? No, absolutely not. The windows have been left open many times to clear out the smoke from meals gone wrong. But Din is nothing if not a strategist. He learns from his mistakes and soon, he’s plating meals like a pro. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know how to cook or don’t like to, because he is more than happy to do the lion’s share of the cooking. He loves it when you sit on the counter and chat with him, a glass of wine in hand.

If you want to help, though? Expect excitement in those pretty brown eyes. Quality time spent together in the kitchen is something he can’t get enough of. He’s the type to come up behind you and help guide your hands. His chin resting on your shoulder, chest pressed against your back. It’s so hard to focus with him so close, his low voice rumbling in your ear as he instructs you, but your husband is patient. And maybe, just maybe, he likes the attention. He likes watching your hands falter as he presses a kiss to your shoulder. He likes hearing your stuttered exhale as you shake your head and try to focus on the task in front of you. He likes how you whisper his name like a warning, one he never heeds.

Din likes waking you every morning. He starts out soft and sweet. Gentle brushes of his fingers, calling your name in a low voice. Usually it’s enough to get you up and going, but you can be stubborn sometimes. That’s when Din pulls out the big guns and tugs the blankets back entirely to expose you to the cool air. He ignores your indignant pleas and climbs into bed to hover over you. You look so cute, blinking up at him with those sleepy eyes and begging for “just a few more minutes”.

“But I made breakfast.” Din murmurs. He kisses down the line of your throat, along your collarbone - a surefire way to wake you up completely. You make that soft sound low in your throat and Din smiles into your skin. His tongue flicks out to trace your heartbeat and your fingers tangle in his hair to tug him up into a real kiss.

“You’re a menace, Mr. Djarin.” You whisper against his lips.

“And you love it, Mrs. Djarin.” He whispers right back. All you do is roll your eyes and drag him in for a slow, deep kiss. It’s easy to get lost in the softness of your lips, the happy little sounds you make.

“Mm, your scruff is perfect.” You rub your cheek against his like a content loth cat, all but purring as you love on him.

It doesn’t take long to get you out of bed and eating breakfast and fuck, it feels so good to see you content and happily eating the food he made you. He can’t help but feel proud in a very instinctive, deep-rooted way. Providing for you, nourishing your body - he feels like a good husband. The two of you forgo the dining table to relax on the couch. You sit with your legs draped over his lap, squished between his broad body and the arm of the couch. Right where you belong.

Soon the dirty plates are stacked on the coffee table and you’re snuggled into his side as Din watches some soapy holodrama. His newfound love of cooking has given him a bit of softness to his belly that you adore. He’s all well-fed and happy, and you love the way it looks on him. You’re practically glued to him; your head rests on his shoulder, your thigh hitched over his lap, one arm slung over that soft tummy. His fingers trail nonsensical lines into your arm and warmth radiates from his body.

For the thousandth time, you are struck by just how lucky you are. How much you love him. How unbelievable it is that the two of you finally have this life together. You love him so much that you can barely contain it. It swells and bursts in your chest, rushes through your veins like a drug. You shift against him, trying to press impossibly closer, aching to truly feel him. Desire rocks through you - meanwhile, Din is too lost in the action on the holo to notice how needy you’ve become.

“I swear if Rhysa goes back to that asshole after everything he’s done…” Din grumbles, sounding genuinely irritated, but you’re too distracted to do more than hum in response.

Your fingers stroke lower on his belly, through the wispy hairs of his happy trail, and Din makes a pleased sound low in his throat. It isn’t enough. His eyes don’t stray from the screen but that’s okay. You have more than a few tricks up your sleeve to get his attention. You shift your hips until his thigh is pressed between your own and a throb of arousal warms your belly. The slow grinding is nearly imperceptible, especially with his attention so otherwise occupied.

You tilt your head up to kiss his neck, finally eliciting a curious sound from your husband. His hand settles on your waist and squeezes as he gives you a knowing look, mirth glinting in his eyes. “And what do you think you’re doing?”

“Oh, nothing… wouldn’t want to distract you from your show…” You reply as innocently as possible. Your fingers dip beneath the waistband of his lounge pants and the holodrama goes entirely forgotten from that moment on.

It’s all hot and desperate and messy - and you wouldn’t have it any other way. Din guides the rolling of your hips until you’re an absolute mess. You whine into his neck as you grind against him, your hand stroking his cock sloppily beneath his pants. It doesn’t take long for neediness to consume you both. Clothes discarded on the floor, your knees pressed into the cushions - you take him right there on the couch. Messy kisses, hands in his hair. Mumbling that he’s such a good man, such a good husband - and Din loses it.

His fingertips dig into your waist as he rocks his hips up to meet yours. He can barely complete a sentence, broken praise falling from his lips with every exhale. You’re ethereal above him - your head tipped back to expose the long line of your throat, sweet sounds of pleasure falling from your lips, the bounce of your breasts mere inches from his face. Everything about you overwhelms his senses and he wouldn’t have it any other way. His hand covers yours where it’s braced against his chest and twines your fingers together.

“Let me,” Din whispers as he draws your hand up to his lips to kiss your palm. “Please.”

He pleads so reverently, breathless in his devotion - and you can't say no to him. Not when he aches so deeply to worship at the altar of your body. The moment you give him that sweet fuck yes, Din drags you down onto the soft carpet. You find yourself on your back, a pillow tucked carefully beneath your head and your husband kneeling between your thighs. His hair has grown out the last few months and those dark curls are the perfect place to bury your fingers as he fucks you the way you deserve to be fucked.

His beautiful, perfect wife. You absolutely amaze him and he needs to show you just how much he loves you. Din angles his hips just right and you cry his name like it’s a prayer, supplicating yourself before him with every quiver of your cunt around his cock. It’s almost too good to be real. Fuck, he can barely believe this is his life - that he gets to fuck his wife right in the living room of his home without a care in the damn universe. He’ll be damned if he doesn’t enjoy it to the fullest.

Every long, deliberate stroke makes you choke on your breath. Leave it to your husband to fuck you so thoroughly that you’re devastated within ten minutes. An orgasm already hovers in the peripheral. The stretch of taking him is almost too much to bear and each throb of his cock makes you shiver. Your nails bite into the back of his neck as his thumb brushes your clit and honeyed praise falls from his lips. Din leans close, that deliciously deep voice low in your ear as he murmurs, “That’s it… come for me, sweetheart.”

An order, one rumbled in that commanding tone that you have never been able to refuse. The pressure tightens and bursts in your belly, soaks into your very soul until you’re left trembling beneath him on the floor. You babble nearly indecipherable praise at him as he fucks you through it, buries himself so deep that he grinds against the seal of your womb. Tears prick your eyes as he follows you over the edge, the hot pulse of your cunt dragging him into a devastating orgasm.

It takes a lot of control for him not to sink his weight into you like he usually does. Even though he bought and installed this carpet for the express reason of it being soft enough to fuck you on, the floor isn’t quite comfortable enough for him to squish you like he prefers to. With a put-upon sigh, he opts to roll onto his back to catch his breath. You cast a glance over at him and the moment you lock eyes, you let out a dazed giggle that is painfully irresistible.

“You are ridiculous, you know that?” Din shakes his head with faux exasperation but there’s no fighting the grin on his face.

“Well, you’re the one who married me…” You shrug.

“Best decision of my life.” He reaches out to caress your cheek, affection warm in those brown eyes you love. You lean into his palm and kiss the soft skin of his wrist.

“You’re a sap.” You sigh before tossing your arm over your eyes to block out the late morning sunlight. Din props himself up on his elbow to take in the sight of you. The slow rise and fall of your chest as your breathing returns to normal. The flick of your tongue wetting your lips. The sweat drying on your skin. This… this is all he ever needs in this life.

There’s no life or death, no violence, no endless traveling. Just you and him in the life you’ve built together.

[vixensdungeon]

Dungeons: The Dragons

What if Dungeons & Dragons was a Storytelling game in the vein of Vampire: The Requiem and such?

Obviously it would still be about adventurers going into dungeons to get loot, but with a new Chronicles of Darknessy twist. Why Storytelling instead of Storyteller, you might ask? Because the more formulaic structure of the former makes this easier, basically. Let's go!

So one of the things I struggled with while coming up with this was what the Inherent Type would be (see: Clan, Auspice, Path). The obvious answer might be race, but that didn't quite sit right with me. For one thing I wanted there to be an element of transformation, like a normal person can become an adventurer, and suddenly becoming an elf would be a bit weird. So by default your adventurers are humans who go through some transformation to become adventures. And my bestie @thydungeonguy finally cracked it when I was wondering what the obligatory skull logo would be like and he said "dragon skull." So it clicked: an adventurer has become infused with a dragon soul or something, and the five inherent types map to the five metallic dragons!

So next we have the Joined Type (see: Covenant, Tribe, Order), and this one was a lot easier. Going with classes was a bit too boring, so I just stole the five factions from 5th Edition, which can still serve to give you class-like abilities (evil-smiting abilities from the Order of the Gauntlet, for example).

Then there's the basic Powers (see: Disciplines, Gifts, Arcana). I think these come from the draconic type, with factions working more like the Covenants in Vampire where they can teach you miscalleanous skills like sorcery. I haven't figured out any particulars, including what to call these.

Onto the Power Stat (see: Blood Potency, Primal Urge, Gnosis). This is just Level, right? Like, you all agree this one should be called Level? Moving on.

The Morality/Integrity Stat (see: Humanity, Harmony, Wisdom) is a measure of how close you are to a Normal Man. The lower it goes, the more removed you are from being able to associate with people who have normal jobs instead of risking their lives going into dungeons for loot. If it's at 10, you can't actually go into dungeons. If it's at 0, they won't let you back into town, you're just too dungeonpilled now. Don't know what to call this. Normalcy, maybe?

There's also the Resource Stat (see: Vitae, Essence, Mana). I think here we have to depart from the usual formulas a bit and, instead of giving characters a pool of points to use, give them spell slots! Maybe even call them that, in which case the powers would be called Spells.

The Advanced Types (see: Bloodline, Lodge, Legacy) are Prestige Classes, which are called that even though there technically aren't classes.

Tell me what you think, and suggest names for the stuff I haven't named yet!

[moonyasnow]

TWST OC Showcase: Victor Dragomir

(The younger twin brother to Veronica Dragomir)

Voice Claim: Antony del Rio (in his performance of Silas from Fire Emblem: Fates)

Victor Dragomir 1/4 Fae - Salamander Left-handed Briar Valley - Ignihyde Dorm 170cm / 5'6 - #fad489 / 227, 191, 120 October 17th - Libra - 17-18 y.o. 2nd year - Sophmore - Class B, no. 5 Science Club Best Subject: Animal Language Hobbies: Taxidermy Pet peeves: Weak people Favorite food: Gelato Least favorite food: anything bitter or spicy Talent: Keeping a Poker-Face Floyd-given name: Anglerfish Rook-given name: Monsieur Sang Cater-given name: Vi-vi Signature Spell: 'Dark of Night' So long as there is still a skeleton, he can reanimate any dead creature for a temporary amount of time and use the body like a puppet to do his bidding

Link to all my OC Showcases here!

A few quotes:

“Ugh, chaos, chaos, chaos! How unorganized!”

“Humanity truly is a scourge.” — “Oh! Haha~! You misunderstand; the fae are no better. The only truly clean beings are animals. Animals hold no malice; when they hurt, it is out of necessity, no ill-will harborered. When humanity is overthrown, trust me to be one of the first to switch allegiance. I pray the day approaches quickly.”

“Oh hell…oh hell, hell, hell, hell, hell!”

Victor and his twin sister Veronica, born three minutes before him, were born to an old family of knights in Briar Valley, a clan of lesser dragons— Salamanders— with close ties to the Draconia family, having served as their guards and knights for centuries. Though by the time they were born, the Salamander blood in their veins had become diluted, with Victor and his sister being the closest the clan has had to 'pure-blood Salamanders' in centuries. Salamanders, as both lesser dragons and a fire-elemental type fae, are prone to catch fire. Literally. Their skin and hair can catch fire when they're experiencing severe, negative emotion, though mostly anger. It burns a bright gold— like when you try burning sodium. A Salamander cannot be hurt by their own fire, but that's not to say things around them are immune to it. Veronica, Victor and their parents are immune to their own and each other's fire, as well as most magical fires. However, regular fire can still affect them due to the human part of their heritage. A pure-blooded Salamander would not be affected by normal fire. This weakness was exploited and used against them.

Cecilia Dragomir (maiden name Cecilia Cornix) and Vladimir Dragomir died in a fire that engulfed the Dragomir manor when the twins were just five years old. A fire started by someone seeking to end the family, holding hatred for the quantity of human blood in their veins. The twins themselves only survived thanks to being rescued by their distant relative, a man named Diaval Dragomir, who adopted them and raised them as their father from then on. Veronica was the heir to the Dragomir family, her brother Victor second in line, Diaval the head of the family until Veronica comes of age. Victor remembers a lot more of their life before the fire than his sister does. He remembers his parents incredibly fondly, and how they alongside Veronica would always protect him, and try to comfort him whenever anyone had been mean to him. And he remembers far too much about the fire for his liking. Remembers seeing his childhood home go up in flames, and remembers his parents' voices, screaming, then silence. Afterwards he became even more timid than before, and reliant on Veronica as the only familiar thing he had left. Victor was often described as a calm, quiet and polite, though a bit of a doormat, shy and very timid. He often preferred the company of animals over people. This often lead to other, less timid, often older, kids picking on and teasing him. But Veronica stood up for him in his place, and he always felt safer when she was there. He was the only person who seemed able to calm her down. Veronica comforted him when his bullies made him cry, and he comforted her when she had become upset and thrown a tantrum. But— though he felt guilty for it— he was also a bit envious of his sister. She was so strong, and never scared, and was never afraid to say how she felt or what she thought. And he wanted to be just like her. But no one around them ever seemed to agree. People always compared them to each other, and were always in Victor's favor... Because while neither were viewed particularly favorably in the eyes of the adult fae around them, there was one thing that, in their eyes, made the two inherently different, and Victor better. Victor was a magical prodigy, even by fae standards. Veronica was magicless. Though none of them yet seemed to understand that he and his sister were different from them in terms of their race and what that meant, they could just feel the lack of magic from Veronica. In their eyes it made her different. And since their peers were also afraid of Veronica's violent temper, they always excluded her. Victor was her only friend, making the two even closer.

However, when the twins were just about to turn 8, Victor was kidnapped. He still wouldn't stop crying even after Veronica had scared off all his bullies, so she took him to a nearby shop to buy ice cream, since his sweet tooth meant he often stopped crying when he got to eat sweets. Veronica was right next to him, walking proudly with a small, recently obtained practice sword on her hip, and only let go of Victor's hand for a single moment to pay for ice cream for the two of them. That's when he felt a hand close around his arm and someone's hand over his mouth. Before he could understand what was happening, an adult had picked him up and was dragging him away into an alley. Victor had started crying, his one free arm reaching out for Veronica, who had her back turned as she payed. But when she looked back, she started running after them, sword in hand...but a seven-year-old could never defeat a grown adult. Victor remembers seeing a bolt of magic hit her head, then her falling to the ground. He cried harder, but quieter after that. The next thing he remembers is an image of descending into massive hole in the sea. He and his sister were inseparable before he was kidnapped. They were each other's polar opposites and complimented each other. Victor comforted her, and she comforted him. As long as she was happy, he was happy, and vise versa. Victor never celebrates his birthday anymore. It feels wrong to do it without Veronica. But also because he doesn't want to grow up any more than he already has; it would feel like admitting just how much he's lost.

He had been kidnapped by Warren and Mina Cornix, two relatives from his mother's side of the family, both able to pass for human. As for why they kidnapped him, it seems they were planning to use his great affinity for magic, along with some fancy new modern technology and technomancy, to 'bring back the Dragomir family to what it once was'. He didn't understand what that meant and became scared it meant they would hurt him, which only made him even more terrified than he already was. For a very long time after initially being abducted, Victor was constantly confused and scared, almost always crying. Warren always yelled at him when he started crying, which quickly taught him that crying was unsafe. But he couldn't stop his tears even though he wanted to; they just kept flowing out whenever he was scared, which was almost always when living with Warren. In time, Warren became upset enough at this 'bad habit' of his that he began to use force to get him to stop. Mina, Warren's wife, for her part, was nicer. But she too was too scared of her husband to be able to do much to lessen the abuse Victor had begun to be regularly subjected to whenever Warren felt he 'wasn't trying hard enough'. And whenever Victor wasn't progressing at the speed Warren wanted him to, he would yell insults at him, calling him a 'rotten half-breed', implying that must be why Victor could never be good enough.

After kidnapping him they first cashed in a favor from a person who worked at the Island of Woe, and were allowed to hide out there for a while. During their stay at the Island of Woe, he met two boys his age, two brothers named Idia and Ortho, who also lived there. He was scared of both of them at first, since in his experience, other kids who weren't his sister were always horrible to him. But they were nice to him. They asked him tons of questions, being curious about what Briar Valley was like, having never left the Island of Woe themselves. The back and forth eventually drifted to Veronica, which always made him start crying from missing her. But having them as friends for the time that he did meant a lot to him. For the year that he knew them, they were the one comfortable thing in his life after being ripped away from everything he'd ever known. He didn't stop crying for two days when he had to say goodbye to them. They gave him a little dog plushy to remember them by, whom he named 'Hugo'. After that Victor and his guardians moved around a lot in order to take Victor to tutors, doctors and specialists who could both help him hone his magic and teach him about technomancy, modern technology, alchemy, and anything else they thought he might have use for— all with the aim of making him even stronger. Victor was trained by a lot of different people in technomancy, technology, alchemy and the like, meaning he had to move around a lot. He didn't like it. They also took him to various doctors and people working with technological enhancements and basically turned him part technomatic cyborg, giving him abilities like night and heat vision, stronger bones and muscles, tougher skin…and also one which just implanted a microchip into his body, so his guardians could always know his location. The procedures were very painful, the more painful the more stressed, tense or scared he was. As a result Victor was forced to learn to numb his emotions. He never quite got that back. For a very long time after initially being abducted, Victor was constantly confused and scared, almost always crying. Warren always yelled at him when he started crying, which quickly taught him that crying was unsafe. But he couldn't stop his tears even though he wanted to; they just kept flowing out whenever he was scared, which was almost always when living with Warren. In time, Warren became upset enough at this 'bad habit' of his that he began to use force to get him to stop. Mina, Warren's wife, for her part, was nicer. But she too was too scared of her husband to be able to do much to lessen the abuse Victor had begun to be regularly subjected to whenever Warren felt he 'wasn't trying hard enough'. And whenever Victor wasn't progressing at the speed Warren wanted him to, he would yell insults at him, calling him a 'rotten half-breed', implying that must be why Victor could never be good enough. It was obvious even to Victor that Warren only wanted to use Victor, caring only for his magic and not his personhood. He was the guardian who pushed for the enhancements to Victor's body and kept moving them around to find new tutors. Mina went along with what he wanted because they were scared of him and was being abused, too, just verbally and mentally instead of physically.

But through all the studying he did discover he had quite a scientific mind. He wanted to study things himself, relying on his own observations to find out the 'how' and 'why'. He was just more interested in biology than anything related to magic or technomancy or the like. Sometimes he wondered what certain animals would look like if he were to cut into them. The thought that it meant killing an animal made him sad at first...but not afraid. He felt like he was supposed to feel bad at the thought. But he didn't. So he started wandering the sides of roads after school, looking for roadkill to dissect. But eventually that wasn't interesting enough. You can only look at the same types of long-dead tissue so many times before you've learned all you can about it. And fresher samples would be more intact. And though he claimed to love animals, he didn't seem to have any qualms about them being dead, or even killing them himself— though he didn't like the sounds they made when in pain, and disliked them suffering. But that got better when he learned how to kill them quickly and...as close to humanely as an adolescent boy killing animals in secret can manage. Once after just dissecting an animal, he felt words in the back of his throat, ones he felt oddly compelled to speak: 'Dark of Night' Next thing he knew, it was up and moving in his arms again, though seeming much more docile then it was when he first caught it. Maybe, he thought, it wasn't scared anymore because it was already dead; after death, what else could there be to fear? At the age of 13, he had just discovered his Signature Spell. And with it, an interest in taxidermy, so he could still reanimate the animals without them starting to stink. The idea of bringing back the past started to really resonate with him. He missed his home. He missed his parents. He missed his sister. He missed the way things used to be, and wanted to return to it, developing a love of things that never change. He began to see undeath as the most desirable state of being, because your existence continues on, yet you can't die again.

He also began to wonder more and more what it might feel like to kill a person. So one day, while it was just him and Warren, traveling up a mountain to find a tutor living in a small town near it, Victor decided to just push him off of a cliff. He was a little surprised at how little he felt seeing him fall to his death— didn't even feel much seeing him splat against the ground, maybe a bit of satisfaction at most. He was briefly surprised that he felt so little taking a life at first, but didn't really care. When he came back down the mountain, he told Mina that Warren fell on his own. She didn't openly question it. And so they started living a somewhat quieter life just the two of them. But Victor had grown attached to the idea of bringing his family back, so he kept studying. Not in school, no, most of his grades dropped to Es— just enough to keep him in school- as soon as Warren was no longer around, simply because he didn't care about anything else. His only A was in Biology, any other good grades being purely accidental due to him just having so much fun learning that his teachers managed to catch on that he knew a lot about it.

As a child, he remembered he often begged in his mind for his sister to come and save him. From Warren, from all the doctors, from everything. But no one came to save him. So at some point he stopped crying out for help. He eventually found he could barely feel fear anymore. Nowadays, very, very few things are capable of truly scaring him. If he almost dies, sure, he'll be shook, but he'll recover from it fairly quickly after some deep breaths. But there are some things that truly scare him. To this day, hearing 'half-breed' makes his body flinch and blood run cold, bringing up his guard even higher than it already was. He basically dissociates for a little while until he's forcefully snapped out of it by something like someone snapping their fingers in front of him, after which he'll be confused for just a second before remembering what he was supposed to be doing.

He still likes animals more than he probably ever will people. To the point where he feels more bad killing animals than he did killing Warren. To him, humans aren't as human as him, if that's how to word it. It's like in his mind, he is an animal, and that's why killing animals hurts him but killing humans doesn't. Oh, except for when it comes to his Creatures, of course. In pursuit of making a new Creature, he never feels bad about killing an animal, believing he's 'saving' them from the grip of mortality. Though on the rare occasion he likes a human at all, he'll compare them to some kind of animal. For example, he'll call someone whose loyalty he admires a Guard-Dog, and maybe even want to scratch their chin if he genuinely likes them. It may sound to others as though he's putting them down when he says things like that, but to him it's how he shows affection. As a child, apart from his sister, his only friends were all animals. So he just decided he had no need for human friends. One reason for his hatred of humans is because he grew up being bullied for being half human and 'weaker' than his fully fae peers, and so hates the part of him which is human with a passion, since he hates anything he thinks makes him 'weak'. But Warren thought the reason he was such a talented mage from such an early age must have been due to his fae side. So since he was no longer surrounded on all sides by pro-far sentiments and this 'talent' from his fae side lead to his guardian abducting and abusing and trying to mold him how he saw fit, he sees his fae side as chains which bind him. Doesn't help that he hated the other fae kids who bullied him, too. He hates both parts of his heritage equally and wishes he were anything else. So then, with his love of animals, beastpeople and mer are the only 'people' he doesn't dislike. Them having some connection animals makes him associate what he sees as animals' good qualities with them, just by association. He outright believes beastpeople and mer are better than both humans and fae.

Some miscellaneous info about him:

He is a seemingly nice, polite person, but in no way a pushover; the kind of person who, if you bother him too much, will give you a polite fake smile, laugh in a lighthearted tone and tell you he really wishes murder wasn't considered a crime so he could make you shut up. And his smile always looks rather cold and insincere unless he's talking to or about one of his Creatures.

He loves uncovering mysteries more than anything in the world, and his curiosity often gets the best of him. He tends to get hyper-focused tunnel-vision once he finds something fascinating. He has trouble stopping himself while in this kind of situation. He'll become absolutely obsessed with a potential avenue of research and won't move on until he's learned as much as he possibly can about it. He is dedicated to following the rules. For civility' sake, as well as because he knows from experience that if he lets himself disregard one, it's going to lead him down a slippery slope of 'rules mean nothing; I am God'. But if he finds a rule stupid and gives himself even one second to think of what he could potentially learn from disobeying it, he'll throw it out the window. 

He is polite, but only to the extent that's societally mandated. He doesn't like being in the company of humans or fae, but knows there's not really anything he can do to change the necessity to. Unless he's been actively provoked he keeps up appearances, just so people won't go rooting around and find out about his hobby of digging through pet cemeteries and do anything crazy like 'reporting him to local authorities'.

He's not the kind of person who would beat you up when he's truly mad— no, he wants to make you suffer in the long term. He might create an army of Creatures comprised of animals the one who wronged him is terrified of and then let them run loose in that person's home. Or he might just release those same animals, but living, in their home. If someone was scared of ants he'd drill multiple small holes in the wall behind some kind of furniture— somewhere his victim wouldn't find it— all over their residence and scent them with something irresistible to ants.

He gets along with others well enough and can sometimes even like some people, but that doesn't mean he isn't also a cold-blooded murderer. And he can be extremely petty when someone has bothered him enough to make him want revenge.

He has a major sweet-tooth and adores all kinds of sweets and candy.  He actually can barely stand bitter or spicy tastes at all, always eating white chocolate, and pouring so much milk and sugar into his coffee that you can barely see the actual coffee in the sugary sweet concoction.

He's the same when it comes to smells. Without the tons and tons of sweet-smelling herbs, potpourri and incense he's hung up in his room, it would smell like carnage and roadkill. He also has a taste for cute things! That's another part of the reason he loves animals so much. He would definitely want have a giant Squishmallow collection, but needs to limit himself to just one or two. His room is already quite unsanitary, since keeping sterilized medical equipment where he sleeps isn't exactly feasible, and his taxidermy hobby takes priority. And since he can bring his taxidermies to 'life', it's like he has his own personal army in his room.

At NRC:

As basically everyone in his life had been expecting since he was just a child, he one day recieved an invitation to Night Raven College. SInce he has already spent most of his life planning to go there anyway, he didn't have a lot to sort out before the carriage came for him.

At the sorting ceremony, he went before the Dark Mirror, who said that the nature of his soul matched that of Ignihyde: Diligent, just as the King of the Underworld was. He was quite pleased with this, and thought it fit him.

As he was looking around the room in boredom waiting for the ceremony to conclude, he thought, for just a second, that he spotted someone who looked like his sister in the crowd. The thought made him strangely anxious. He tried to shake it off, reasoning with himself that there's no way a magicless person like her would be a student at Night Raven, a school specifically for mages. But he couldn't rid himself of that uneasy feeling and spent the rest of the night feeling tense, though hiding it well enough behind a practiced, uninterested smile. He was, evidently, distracted enough by his thoughts to have entirely missed the part where the floating tablet his new Housewarden had attending in his place said his name as he urged all the Ignihyde students to follow him through to their dorm.

He was still caught up in his thoughts when he distantly heard a call of his name— then something big collided with his side. He tensed and his elbow came down to wedge itself between his body and that of the object and flung it off with all his strength. 'Wo-ah!' was heard, as something metallic-sounding collided with the floor. When Victor looked to the source of the noise he saw Ortho.

His childhood friend. ...Who looked like he hadn't aged a single day since he last saw him. His eyes were blown wide and his arms fell limp to his sides as he watched the little boy get up on engine 'feet' and ask if Victor remembered him, saying something about how 'his scans indicated a state of shock.'

Victor confirmed that yes, he did remember him. And his brother, too. And when Ortho took his hand and said he'd take him too see his brother, that both he and Idia had really missed him, he went along with it. He really thought he'd finally started to go mad and was seeing ghosts: first his sister, then his childhood friend. But when he passed through the door to Idia's room— behind which Idia himself was groaning that he really didn't need Ortho to try to bring some freshman to speak to him and to 'keep the NPCs out!'— and saw an older Idia, he realized he wasn't insane. Well logically he did, at least.

Both he and Idia stared at each other in shock, the latter having let out a baffled squeak Victor couldn't help but want to liken to that of a little mouse. Ignoring his protests Victor walked up to Idia, grabbed his hand to yank him out of his chair and hugged him. He buried his face in Idia's hair to hide the smalls tears that had come to his eyes; the first tears he'd cried in years.

He never asked what happened to Ortho. He didn't need to. And Idia and Ortho never asked what happened to Victor, though he was sure they could both see the massive change he had undergone.

They just let each other...exist, in the others' presence. It was the closest to peace Victor could remember feeling in a long time.

And Idia, despite calling it extremely weird and also kinda gross, never really cared too much to stop Victor's hobby. He thought his robotics hobby wasn't all too different, in a way. Both originating from a desire to preserve. He didn't know how to feel about Victor sometimes jokingly referring to him as a mouse though.

His only real friends are Veronica, Idia and Ortho. The rest, he just observes from a distance, as though they really were ants in a terrarium.

He HATES Rook. If someone killed an animal to eat it or because it attacked first, he'd think it was understandable, just how nature goes. But if someone killed an animal just because, he would not be able to stand that person. Animals have always been kinder to him than humans or fae(with VERY few exceptions, such as his sister), so he feels more at home with them (and kinda by extension beastmen and merpeople) and anyone who hurts them for no good reason should die, in his mind. Sure he'll kill an animal for science, but it's always for a clear purpose, and he always makes it quick. (he may or may not be a little bit hypocritical)

But he gets the most upset when anyone says he and Rook are alike. You'll see his smile become strained, and his brow twitch in annoyance.

Now, he may be a sadist who loves seeing others' squirm, but he has standards. He will only let loose his sadistic side if he's been attacked in any way. Living things attack if threatened, do they not? He dislikes attacking the innocent who have no will to fight. It's pathetic to him, and reminds him of his younger self, not to mention makes him feel like one of his bullies, which he detests so much it makes him nauseous. So he always avoids it unless absolutely necessary. But his curiosity will always trump this. If he thinks someone is fascinating, he's going to study them no matter how it makes them feel.

His grades, just like when he was younger, in every subject but Animal Linguistics, are only really passing enough to keep him enrolled.

About the Salamander 'catching fire' thing... Victor, who is very good at keeping his emotions in check for the most part, doesn't bother fireproofing his clothes, especially since it can get quite expensive. However this doesn't tend to end very well when he DOES get angry. The tips of his ears also catch fire when he's flustered. Which is almost never.

One thing that didn't change at all from when they were children was that, whenever anyone tried to be mean to Victor in her presence, Veronica would always step in, either barking at them until they went away or threatening to do something to them. Seven forbid anyone actually laid their hands on Victor…

Once, Veronica smashed her lunch tray into another student's head for punching Victor. She did it without hesitation.  Afterwards, like clockwork, they went into a familiar routine; she took his hand and started walking away. Without even needing to ask Victor picked up the plot immediately and said 'Ooo, yay, ice cream!' and giggled. The warm pressure of her hand around his guiding him away from danger to comfort him made him feel so nostalgic…so safe. They skipped lunch and just had ice cream that day instead. 

Victor later learned Veronica's Housewarden, Vil, was upset with her over the incident. But also that Veronica refused to back down, and didn't even try to argue with him about whether what she did was right or not. When it came to Victor it didn't matter what was 'right' or 'wrong'— just caring for him. It warmed his cold heart for the first time in years. Enough to melt a tiny piece of it enough to let his sister back into it. It felt like coming home.

More sprites:

Bonus: family

Father Vladimir and mother Cecilia. Since he remembers them so well, and didn't grow up being raised by his adoptive father Diaval, he doesn't consider him his father the way his sister considers him hers.

[happymetalgirl]

Nile - The Underworld Awaits Us All

In the vein of technical death metal that Nile have occupied since their debut and flourished in since at least Annihilation of the Wicked, they have remained a consistently reliable force and probably my personal favorite group within that category, balancing impressive technicality with grandiose brutality. The departure of Dallas Toller-Wade, who had become a pillar of Nile's sound by that point, surprised and worried me and at least a few other fans, but the band's emphatic return to form on 2019's Vile Nilotic Rites with new guitarist Brian Kingsland's strong vocal delivery at the forefront showed that they were far from out for the count yet. They took their time with that album, and they took their time again with their 10th and most recent full-length album here, The Underworld Awaits Us All, which follows another personnel change as the group trade bassists yet again and add third guitarist Zach Jeter to the mix. A third guitarist! in Nile! Of all the bands for whom such a move is completely unnecessary and gratuitous, yet also so fucking awesome, Nile has got to be the most apt to fit that super-specific description. With three guitars on board, three vocalists in the mix, and nearly five years in the making, The Underworld Awaits Us All is a record that pushes further along a plateau (though an incredibly high plateau) of diminishing returns at the height of what Nile's favored style of technical death metal can accomplish. Like a dash of pepper into an already-complex and multi-layered soup, more guitars and more vocals layered onto a Nile project really does only serve as a relatively marginal increase in flavor and intensity. Nile have done more with less, however, utilizing dynamism rather than marginal increases in gratuitous extremity, as exemplified on records like Annihilation of the Wicked and Those Whom the Gods Detest, extreme and highly technical albums as well, but albums on which the extremity and technicality was harnessed and directed to serve a greater compositional end rather than its own. This is not to say that there aren't tasty hooks and nasty riffs abound or that the technicality is of a grossly masturbatory nature on the album, but I would say that the approach is redundant and very much feels like Nile retreading very heavily tread ground. They have their niche, and they are certainly reliable in producing the type of death metal anyone should come to expect from them, but I think this album, with the addition of more guitar parts, more growls, more wailing background vocals and choirs, more excessive instrumental layering, and just more of everything shows that Nile have realistically expanded their style to its limits, as the novelty of these new-ish elements proves to be window-dressing on an impressive but otherwise somewhat undercooked and rather unadventurous effort.

7/10

[kiingleoturtles]

Explaining Elicia's Frostbite Alchemy

Okay fellas I'm finally making a post explaining the science of Elicia Hughes' alchemy technique which currently appears in two of my fics (Satisfaction as well as Simple and Clean) so let's start this.

Quick shout out to @kaethefangirl for helping me work out some of this stuff and designing the transmutation circle below

Elicia's frostbite alchemy is an adaptation of Roy's flame alchemy, but whereas his has a triangle (three points for the three elements needed to make fire - oxygen heat fuel), her's has a pentagon (five points) for the five elements needed to make a glacier:

90% water

9% oxygen

1% hydrogen

0.1% carbon

0.01% nitrogen

Her alchemy can be used to create ice and mostly uses her own breath to do so, given the fact that breath is a mixture of oxygen and water molecules so she can form ice from thin air!

However, she is also a little freak (probably from losing her dad at a young age and attempting human transmutation to bring him back and then joining the military when that failed) so she also tends to freeze the blood in people's veins. Some of the chemical components of blood include hydrogen and oxygen, so her alchemy can be used to freeze blood.

Her alchemy is similarly activated to Roy's (another thing due to basing her technique off of his) and so subsequently she uses alchemy gloves with the transmutation circle from earlier on them. Although it is harder to snap with her left hand (automail) she has gloves for both hands.

Speaking of her automail, it's made in the same style as Briggs automail is so as not to freeze over (although if you've read enough of Satisfaction you'll know that didn't work when her alchemy backfired on her).

Being both fifteen years old and the inventor of this new type of alchemy, Elicia does find it hard to control so sometimes just does regular transmutations instead but she likes to try and impress her uncle Roy occasionally by using her new alchemy (he's still upset she tried human transmutation though).

And that's all I can think of for now! But if anyone has any more questions then my ask box is always open and I'd love to chat about it!

[open-hearth-rpg]

Base Building: Great RPG Mechanics #RPGMechanics Week Seven

I’ve always loved the idea of developing a “place” in play: a location, a home, an organization. I remember when Advanced Dungeons & Dragons arrived it presented the concept of high level fighters & such having a castle or keep. The rules limited this privilege limited by level– you needed a ton of experience before you could be lord of a fortress. And it also cost in-game money. A hefty price tag would consistent mechanic in ttrpgs for years. If you wanted something big– vehicles, robots, a wizard’s tower– you had earn hard cash first. 

That system would evolve with cash-based economies joined by point-based ones. Champions and accounting-heavy games would eventually create systems for detailed base-building. But these were often architectural and mapping sub-systems and just involved making a big vehicle that didn’t move. There would be other approaches, but the next big shift came with Forged in the Dark’s Crew Playbooks.

Developing your Crew offered many benefits: increased effectiveness in certain areas, physical locations offering a benefit, new access, additional members. A tier system and crew special abilities added to that. You picked elements from a flow chart on the Crew sheet, another version of experience points being converted into benefits. This system offered a striking new area for game design. I’ve talked before about how games like Girl by Moonlight and Vergence use those as campaign and series frameworks. 

But one of the most exciting new Forged in the Dark approaches has been that of Mountain Home. In MH you play Founders, leaders setting up a new Dwarven Settlement. The settlement itself acts as a kind of crew playbook, but there’s a shared template. You can choose between claiming a lost fortress, building a buried metropolis, being on an exodus from their previous settlement, or seeking to mine a new mother lode. Each has questions to help set things up and there’s a definite shift in tone between them. The choice of settlement type impacts abilities, special discoveries, and a couple of other things. 

Mountain Home, like other Forged games, has a distinct cycle of play. The Settlement Phase is final part of Mountain Home’s play cycle and includes the Downtime phase. It marks the end of the year–something which mentally gives the players a sense of closure and the larger span of time happening. The phase begins with players activating Claim Buildings. I’ll come back to that in a moment, but basically there are effects: like special healing or increasing reputation which are based on particular buildings. 

Downtime actions in the settlement phase include the usual FitD choices, like training and clearing stress. But the big ticket item here is the Long Term Project. As with other FitD games these can be flexibly used for lots of things. 

These projects include two of the most important aspects of Mountain Home: Discoveries and Claim Buildings. The players’ settlement is broken into four rows and five columns. The rows represent depths from Surface to Depth 3. Each of the intersections of Depth and column have two spots where players can eventually build Claim buildings. But to do so, they first have to discover and explore them– a long term project. When they finish that project, the GM rolls to see what kind of location it is (Earthy Caves, Iron Vein, Lava-Filled Caverns, etc). The depth and kind of discovery affects what kinds of buildings can be constructed in those two associated spots. There’s also a set of special discoveries which can get triggered, unique to the kind of settlement being built. 

The other big long term project is establishing one of those Claim buildings. As I mentioned, some have requirements for where they can be built. For example a Lumber Mill can only be built in a Surface Forest, a Research Library in an Ancient Ruin, an Iron Guildhall in an Iron Vein. These have different Tiers (up to IV); the clock for building them is 3+Tier. So with a couple of people working, a building can often be finished in a single Settlement phase. 

This breaks the concept of base building away from just point-buying or experience spending. Instead the act of creation is part of play. That’s novel and opens up what you can do in play. Functionally you have two things. The first is the idea of a space which needs to be prepared: explored, excavated, etc. Players take actions and invest in handling that. Then there’s actually choosing and building things in those uncovered areas. 

The selection of buildings is really interesting, but with room for the players to add more. Some affect the Trade roll which is made after the Downtime phase, generating treasure. Others are permanently dedicated for effects. For example, you need to dedicate a Farm of some kind to raise your settlement’s Tier. There’s enough options and interesting ideas there that the players will always have tough choices– and each settlement will be different. When I ran it players did projects to come up with the plans for new buildings (which they then spent actions building) including a Hot Springs.   

I would say the Settlement map, the Claim buildings, and that whole system is really the secret sauce of Mountain Home. It’s great and really makes adding what are effectively elements to your crew sheet feel super satisfying.

You can easily hack this in-play base-building I can imagine using this for developing a space colony; it maps easily to that. You could adapt it for something post-apocalyptic like Forbidden Lands or Twilight 2000. The players find an abandoned base or town and have to work to restore it. For something like Urban Shadows or Vampire, it might be about extending influence over the area. One idea I’ve mentioned before is the concept borrowed from Wrath of the Autarch. In this fantasy setting, the players are exiles who had fled and found themselves at a long-lost supernatural fortress. They have rebuild that in order to gather allies and strike back at the Empress who drove them out.

[gorbalsvampire]

Building Koldun in V5

So a while back I was in the 'tism hole over Tzimisce koldun, and talking a big game about rebuilding Koldunism as a series of Rituals for non-Sorcery Disciplines. I pulled a bunch of names from the WW Wiki, assigned them to parent powers and started writing situational modifiers. But I also looked at the Paradox Wiki to see what had made the jump to V5, and... there's a lot more of the old Tzim-Tzim flavour in Blood Sorcery than I'd initially realised.

The thing is, Blood Sorcery is a messy Discipline, with its powers representing (at least) three magical traditions and spread out across (at least) five rulebooks. So... I went through everything I could access and picked out the Rituals with the right vibes, plus powers at each level to serve as the baseline. And then I started making full character builds because, er. I have brain problems?

Blood Sorcery

L1 - Koldunic Sorcery Beelzebeatit, Clinging of the Insect, Coax the Garden, Craft Bloodstone, Douse the Fear, Enrich the Blood, Herd Ward, Letter Ward

L2 - Scour Secrets [Protean: Visceral Absorbtion] [Dominate: Ancestral Dominion] As Fog on Water, Calling the Aura’s Remnants, Depths of Nightmare, Elemental Grasp, Tiamat Glistens, Viscera Garden

L3 - Transitive Bond Communal Vigour, Elemental Shelter, Essence of Air, Eyes of the Past, Firewalkerm, Galvanic Ruination, Herd Ward (Major), One With The Blade, Seeing with the Sky’s Eyes, Seeking Tiamat, Soul of the Homunculus, The Unseen Change

L4 - Blood Aegis Compel the Inanimate, Defence of the Sacred Haven, Feast of Ashes, Guided Memory, Land’s Sustenance, Rending the Sweet Earth, Riding the Earth’s Veins

L5 - Reclamation of Vitae Dominion, Elemental Attack, Fisher King, Heart of Stone, Transferring the Soul

The parent powers I've selected are mostly concerned with acquiring knowledge (the scrying effect of Koldunic Sorcery and the speed-reading capacity of Scour Secrets), moving into management of Retainers and Herd at the higher levels.

Other Disciplines

Dominate: Compel, Cloud Memory, Domitor’s Favour, Ancestral Dominion Protean: Eyes of the Beast, Feral Weapons, Earth Meld, Visceral Absorption, One with the Land Animalism: Bond Famulus, Animal Messenger, Messenger’s Command, Animal Succulence Fortitude: Resilience, Enduring Beasts Auspex: Sense the Unseen, Unerring Pursuit [Reveal Temperament], Eyes of Beasts

You're not going to get all of these and Blood Sorcery, but I wanted to showcase a few potential pathways. Dominate is there for the Old Clan vibe, building up Retainers and Mawla once the utility powers are out of the way.

Protean powers are more in the vein of touching ground than meat crimes, but you can totally sub in Vicissitude for Feral Weapons and Horrid Form for Visceral Absorption if you want to be basic. ;)

With Animalism and Fortitude I've tried to build into another "retainer" concept with the Famulus powers, kind of a witch's familiar that evokes the Mephistophelean Minx ritual from before.

And finally, Auspex. For the old-fashioned true-Tzimisce stans out there, we have perceptions extended into the spiritual and bestial, tying into Animalism to observe as well as instruct through the Famulus. You could also take a swarm approach here, if you wanted (for example) a chattering rookery as spies for the Koldun.

Recommended Loresheet: Veins of the Earth.

Predator Type: If ancilla, Osiris will allow Blood Sorcery 3 at character creation (if you can twist your ST's arm into letting you take the first one despite Not Being A Tremere, which I think is reasonable: it's not like there were Tzimisce rules when the V5 core was written). If neonate, Osiris is still the most efficient from an XP standpoint, but the 10 XP for Koldunic Sorcery and a Ritual are within easy reach for any Predator Type.

The house considers Montero to be flavourful for an aloof scholar and scryer whose Retainers do the boring bits for them. I've been wanting to make that Predator Type work since I first saw it and it just hits right for a Tzimisce.

Complete Builds

First up, the Refugee. This neonate character has a lot of flexibility, isn't bad in a fight (six dice Brawl pool with a Rouse, and Aggravated damage - you could always shift the 4 dots into Strength if you wanted more combat focus, or chuck Feral Weapons for Vicissitude if you wanted some classic meat crimes in there).

I've built them as dependent on a sponsor, an elder of their chosen sect who's taken them in: perhaps they were a street kid with potential, or perhaps they're a recent defector from the Sabbat who left without much more than the clothes they stood up in.

And now, a playable ancilla, the Lady of the Scene! This concept eschews broad Disciplines in favour of deeper Koldunism and a more developed Famulus; they're a leader, not a fighter. They've been around for a while, building a community around themself and embedding themselves into the city at large. They're not exactly famous, but it's known that they can intercede on your behalf and get things done. If you have a problem nobody else can help with, the witch is there...

We've got some classic vampire weaknesses: the invitation thing works for an old-fashioned Tzimisce (this one's much more Old Clan in feeling, without even the potential for Vicissitude) and holy water ties nicely to selecting water as their Koldunic element (I see this character having a scrying pool in their basement). There's some post-Sabbat baggage in the form of the Shunned flaw, and Stigmata feels like an appropriate "hide in plain sight" choice for a character who could well be a cult leader. In fact, if we look closely at the sheet, I went more specific with this one without meaning to... I engineered this with the Santa Muerte cult in mind, and that's the concept I'd lean into if and when I personally got to play this one.

This is the first time I've shared something like this, but I really hope people like it, and it makes sense, because I love building premades and I could very easily do more of these. Maybe even by request? If you've got a concept you want me to put some numbers behind, get in my askbox. Otherwise I'm gonna start blurting about the Redemption coterie - unless people REALLY hate the focus on sheets and numbers and want me to go away and stop talking.

[neptuniadoesstuff]

OOOO WHAT ARE THE NEW FIVE LIKE (powers… relation with each other and the other mynks… looks … etc?) :0

Zynkins: The Nils of the new 5. While they can be any color & any bidy type. They are usually seen as thin & only having 1 single color. Hence being nicknamed "monos". Its not a insult to them they kinda dont rlly care, more or less chill fella. They don't have any magic powers, but are GOOD CLIMBERS & great builders as well. Can & will eat anything that's given to them.

Jellens: The Jellen Mynks are Mynks who's parts are made of a gummy like texture that's sorta drippy. Are primarily based of sea slugs/nudibranches, snails, & land slugs. They have 2 main divisions/breeds, uncrusted (common) & crusted. Their color is quite randomized but their Coloration can be based on whatever snail/nudibranch/slug they are based in. Pretty much the Bloopmos. They have edible jelly (that can be any known flavor that is food & drink based) but can use elemental abilities to their advantage. Also have a major sweet tooth (But do eet anything unless it's smtn they don't like).

Unnamed Creepy Mynks: Mynks who are abnormally horrifying for just being a mynk. Their faces are purely black & their eyes are normally a white or red with a black pupil. Their body is primarily warm colors mixed with blue strands to give the illusion of veins, also on occasion will have red markings which may look like bl00d but rlly aren't. Are quite strong & are able to break any hard object with just their fist. Also are able to go through walls, making them like that of ghosts. Eat anything, but protein is their main source (& ig the fear of ppl).

Unnamed Crystal/Gemstone Mynks: Mynks who weirdly look like they are based on bugs from long ago/now to being deep sea critters. Their limbs, horns, teeth, & tail spike are made of a very hard material that's almost made of crystals/gemstones, but this material is actually completely different, almost as hard as titanium (well harder than that) but doesn't melt either? They can make a silk from their mouth like how some bugs do but also when the silk is put onto a warm & lit environment, it becomes hard like crystals & is very shiny. Are rlly any color BUT are useally based on crystal colors or gemstone colors while the main squishy body is sorta a darker/light ooppisite if said color. Their diet consists of cave critters, rocks, & cave water. (As they live primarily in caves)

Kalfosins: Mynks who look almost like Khajitt but seem to have more human-ish features & have 2 very large & fuzzy tails that weirdly enough are on fire on the tips. Can turn into any breed but usually has a base form based on the breed type. Their Coloration is based on domesticated cats, wild cats, or just cats in nature. They do purr, but it sounds more like a microwave- Their diet primarily consists of meat but do chew on grass & maybe eet yur knees if they are willing to be complete menaces.

This is all of them lol.

[celestialdragoncookie]

i wanna ask a question if you don't have burden of your fans

Who's starlight star

What's her background

Name: Starlight Star Cookie.

Occupation: Mixture of Ranged and Bomber.

Rarity: Forgotten ( Two tier above Beast cookies).

Origins:

Before the era of witches, the lone ruler of the stars and birds protector of the sky the divine cosmic phoenix was born. The lone phoenix of cosmic stars and space along with it's sibling titanium dragon, were born not baked from the collision of the thousand planets and fallen unstable stars. From that onwards a single wisp of mighty pure cosmic flames, howled into the nexus with mighty firish feather wings created range of the universe various constellations stars, planets magnetic forces were given life. As it's roar thunder throughout vast universe like a predator in the ocean, it was not alone as the unstable energies and various metals from the collision of thousand planets and fallen stars assimilated due to strong magnetic forces created a powerful divine being the apex predator in the cycle a mighty dragon. Upon it's awakening it's roar shoke the heavens bringing fear to life death alike, the two siblings were only toddlers and first cookies in all in the universe. With mighty beat of the entitys wings caused a mystical crystal to appear, from that source becomes the core of space cookies life including birth of new race of Phoenixs. The Phoenix was named Starlight Star cookie, primordial Cosmic phoenix and creator of all space cookies including the Phoenix kind.

It's dragon sibling with a mighty roar caused shockwaves throughout the universe, the seismic waves results in the shocking various elements which results in the formation of magic, mana and important of all dragons came into being. The dragon named itself Titanium dragon cookie, primordial dragon cookie ruler of metal type of cookies and ancestor of dragons.

As the witches created the first five heros wielding the five soul jams, they came into being Starlight Star cookie and titanium Dragon cookie as they weren't baked by them in the first place. Each first five heros represents different virtues but those two represents different virtues more powerful purer then ever balancing the cycle. Starlight Star cookie wielding the virtue of Friendship while her dragon brother Titanium dragon cookie wielding the virtue of Courage. The ear of heroes were peaceful ever growing but alas the once promised heroes because twisted apostles of darkness accept for those two. The fallen heroes no called beasts gestured their two comrades to follow and join them, but two refused seeing their unwilling ness they attacked them. Now once comrades in arms are now enemies, battle between the two heroes of legacy and beasts were intense battle continued for days after hours of struggle the two heroes managed to defeat them and stopped them from prevail the destruction. Beasts now in weakened state, sealed away in the silver tree by the creators witches themselves as The silver kingdom was born whom Elder Faerie cookie was appointed as the guardian of the seal.

The battle was known as " Battle of Legacy", where the two heroes of legacy and beasts fought both sides fought for either peace or destruction. The battle held in the area where the kingdom of holly berry resides, and this contains denser and thicker layer of mana and place is called Fallen Dragon veins. In fear of being corrupted, the last two heroes sealed themselves away didn't want the history to repeat themselves due to several days of battle cost the extinction of Phoenixs and endangerment of dragon kind. The Twilight kingdom known as kingdom of wishes vanished becoming a myth along with the metal clan of hero of courage turned to ruins. As centuries have passed, the two heroes of legacy are now become myth to put children to sleep as the remains are now forgotten, chased by adventures treasure hunters and scientists. No body knows the forgotten kingdoms true origins and it's location, the only cookie who has suck knowledge is Elder Faerie cookie.

Will the two forgotten heroes being remembered again or reborn as corrupted version of themselves? Will they bring peace to this world or will be bearer of the destruction itself? Only the time will tell the tale. Now the five beasts have woken up from their slumber, will some brave cookie will venture into the depths of truth and awake the old legacy that was hidden away from the world? Beware as the Once Honorable two heroes of legacy Will Prevail their Era of Peace And Destroyer of Darkness.

STARLIGHT STAR COOKIE, FORGOTTEN HERO OF FRIENDSHIP AND TITANIUM DRAGON COOKIE FORGOTTEN HERO OF COURAGE, THE TWO MIGHTY HEROS OF LEGACY WILL ONCE AGAIN GRACED THEIR PRESENCE ONCE AGAIN IN THE MORTAL REALM AND AGENTS OF LIGHT WILL PURIFY THE DARKNESS ONCE AND FOR ALL.

[clumsiestgiantess]

Day 18: Frost

This one’s for the lore! I have a few different refs of the creatures in Winter’s Everlasting

(in the final picture, top left is an Ice Person, top right is a Faerie, bottom left is a giant, and bottom right is a Frost Spirit)

If you want some more in depth info, look below

Creature index:

Human - I'm going to assume you're human yourself and know what that is

Greater Wolf - A large wolf about 8 feet long, as smart as a person and can stand and walk on rear limbs like one too.  Their speech is similar to English with varying Northern European accents (depending on where the wolves live).  They live underneath a king and his advisors, as well as regional representatives that come petition the king every year.  Their king is very vain and often throws lavish parties; his advisors keep trying to reel in his excessive tendencies.

Faerie - Speaks in a language that everyone and no one can understand (except for those who speak it, who understand it just fine) which each creature can understand during certain hours of the day.  There are 7 different types of faerie, all connected to different elements.  While they can control virtually every aspect of their element, they can not create it.  Have unprecedented magical capacity, thus actually making their lives harder by having to follow certain guidelines that come with all that raw energy.  These include: Can't give their full name or they won't be able to deny whoever knows it.  All favors they take or give must be repaid (if either party fails to repay before their death, they will become bad-type immortal until their deed is done).  If they lie three times about the same thing, it will never be true.  Can't kill something without their permission (excludes plants)  Can't touch raw iron, it will cause pinpricks in the skin that feel like burning because their 'blood' is raw energy, being drawn like a magnet through their veins to the iron.  Faeries have different colonies scattered throughout the realm, all of which have drastically different cultures.  Mountains - The oldest living make the rules; they live in a small palace high in the peaks.  Tundra - There are no rules, everyone for themselves; they live underground w/ entrances beneath bushes.  Forested - Queen/King is determined through trial by combat; they live within large tree trunks.  Plains - Communities of like-minded individuals who form deep bonds & claim territories; they live openly in flowering fields & sometimes with a hospitable/unaware giant.

'Dragon' (in circus) - A forbidden hybrid between a dragon and a greater wolf.  At one point they were sentient, but over a lifetime of mistreatment (and being part dragon, they've lived quite a while) they've lost their mind to animalistic tendencies.

Ice People - Live in the Northern Kingdom in a giant glacier-plowed valley.  Have a social hierarchy similar to arthurian times, with five classes: Royalty, Empowered, Median, Lesser, Lost.  Each higher class can tell the lower classes what to do.  They look like normal people carved of crystalline ice and stand at a statuesque height of 12 feet tall.  They don't eat normal foods and instead survive off heat, which is converted internaly into energy.  If they get too hot, it's like overeating to them.  They will (depending on how hot it is) get fatter and if it's warm enough, rupture and die.  (The warmest place in the land is like an Alaskan spring, so they can survive there, they'll just get fat.)  Every house has a large fireplace of sorts where a kitchen normally is.  Their queen is ferice, but surprisingly good at keeping her citizens happy.

Giant - Live in the warmest part of the world, though they can survive in much colder places.  In legends, they are known to “breathe life” into the world; really their breath is so big and warm it melts snow and allows plants to flourish.  Contrary to rumors, giants don’t eat much meat.  Meat is easy for them to digest, therefore it’s highly unsustainable for their diet as they would have to eat many hundreds of pounds of it to satisfy them.  Giants mainly eat large vegetation in spurts called ‘cravings’, where they eat many large plants in a single sitting.  Afterwards, they don’t eat for an entire month.  They try to spread out the devastation their cravings cause between multiple places to avoid upsetting the natural life.

Dragon - They come together to vote on a new leader every twenty years, though all the voted leaders have purposely been voted in due to their relaxed rules, so the laziest one is often the best candidate.  For this reason, dragons are said to be lazy though many of them are far from it, and work hard to provide for themselves and others.  They breathe ‘fire’, which is really a type of magic.  Different species of dragons have different types of magic; the ones in Winter’s Everlasting have a negative version of fire, which is bitterly cold and sucks in light.

Frost Spirit - The magic energy left after a human perished in a cold environment.  A lot of mystery surrounds them as most beings don’t even know what they were.  Many of these spirits are stationary, though there are a few more restless ones who wander around the realm.  They can speak with great difficulty, so they don’t do it often.  

Magic:

-Comes in many fun colors depending on the wielder.  soft yellow = faerie, electric blue = greater wolf, indigo = ice person, fiery orange = dragon

-Originates from faeries as they're born with a very high energy capacity.  They 'created' magic by figuring out how to manipulate the energy into spells.  All creatures have this energy, some just don't have much and are less likely to be good at magic.

-Iron has magic-absorbing properties.  This is especially dangerous to the faeries because they have it running through their veins like blood.

-Tier list: Faerie (literally have raw energy as blood), Ice People (can directly convert heat into energy), Dragons (massive stores of energy are in its chest), Greater wolves (the same energy stores that a human would have), Giants (they are the anti-faerie due to the large amount of iron in their blood)

Naming: Greater wolves - things/actions, Ice People - verbs/descriptors, Dragons - sounds/actions, Giants & Faeries - strange names

[art-of-lilith]

This is more or less a WIP of Liliths Bio in HxH as i’m debating what other trivia stuff to add :v

|Basics|

Name: Lilith Alecto Necroshade

Aliases: The Shadow Weaver

Age: 35

Birthday: 31st October 1987

Gender: Female

Height: 8’8

Weight: 350 pounds

Appearance: Lilith commands attention with her imposing stature, standing tall at 8’8”. Her presence is both striking and enigmatic, reflecting her dark and powerful nature. Her long, dark scarlet red hair falls in waves, reminiscent of blood-stained silk, framing her face with a big side fringe. It's partially curly in certain parts and very curly and long at the back, reaching the midpoint of her back. Her eyes, a piercing crimson, gleam with mystique and power, accentuated by subtle black markings resembling veins under her eyes. Five blood moon red spider eyes adorn her forehead, adding an otherworldly allure. Her pale anti-flash white skin contrasts starkly with her dark features. Black markings decorate her face, adding to her mysterious aura, while charcoal black tints adorn her hands and feet, with her hands having a blood-moon red tint at the ends of her fingers. Ebony black sharp demon horns grace her head, exuding a regal and formidable presence. Mandibles with black pincers tipped in blood-moon color add to her menacing appearance. Her body is adorned with various tattoos symbolizing her connection to magic and darkness, visible on her back, arms, and front. Her ears are a unique combination of demon, Gerudo, and siren styles, with black webbing between the spikes. Her lips, painted in captivating black cherry, draw attention to her enigmatic smile. Adding to her allure, subtle siren scales appear all over her skin under moonlight, while Twili markings along her arms are visible only at night. Her body features a tail inspired by Striker and Charlie from Hellaverse, with a chocolate cosmos base, a platinum blade tip, and a blood moon red heart at the center, surrounded by chocolate kisses colored spikes. Her impressive spider-leg Wyvern wings, composed of eerie black bones and dark cherry red webbing, grant her a haunting and ethereal presence. She has a stitch along her mouth and across her neck to resemble her origins and where she came from. Additionally, she possesses a long dark sienna tongue that is extremely long, as well as fangs having a combination of varied species, adding to her formidable appearance.

Personality: To her enemies she can be cold and calculative with a slight hint of cunning and sultry but when it comes to people she genuinely cares about,she is kind and protective whilst also being caring and sometimes shy when it comes to her crush but that is super rare of her. When it comes to missions or business things - she takes it very seriously and if things don't go her way well she is very hot-tempered and violent.

Affiliation: Phantom Troupe

Occupation: Occult Specialist

|Relationships|

Parents: Circeluna (decided to rename her), Mother that helped her to learn the occult and witchcraft - Deceased (Burnt at the stake when she was 13 or older)

Her father is unknown as there is nothing she or anyone else knows about him.

Friends: Shalnark,Shizuku,Feitan and Machi

Romantic Interest: Uvogin - Crush (It will blossom into a full relationship - soon 👀)

Other: Hisoka - she genuinely gets freaked out by him and his weirdness in a way.

Pets: Shadowflight, the Raven,Serpentine, the Snake,Midnight, the Cat.

|Abilities|

Nen Type: Specialist

Nen Abilities: Shadow Coven - this Nen ability grants her access to a wide array of mystical and occult powers, including casting curses, divining the future, manipulating elemental forces, brewing potions, and more. The source and limitations to her powers are unknown because of how little information there is about her as her files in certain authorities are scrambled or written in a text that is difficult to decipher.

Mental Abilities: She is quite cunning,able to use weak points to her advantage and due to her mothers teachings as well as her own teachings - she is well-versed in the occult and witchcraft.

Physical Abilities: She is fast,strong and flexible with very good stamina that can outwit any opponent and crush them in her path.

|Stats|

Spirit- 4/5

Skill- 5/5

Strength- 4/5

Nen- 5/5

Talent- 5/5

Intelligence- 5/5

|History|

Lilith's early life was marked by tragedy and persecution. Born into a small town in 1987, her mother, a talented witch, fell victim to a wave of hysteria reminiscent of the Salem Witch Trials that started in 2002. Accused of practicing dark magic and consorting with supernatural beings, she was unjustly sentenced to be burned at the stake. As a young child, Lilith had to bear witness to this horrific event, which left a lasting impact on her. But the torment didn't end there. Lilith's unique heritage and emerging powers made her a target of fear and prejudice among her peers. She was subjected to relentless bullying, enduring both physical and verbal abuse. Rocks were thrown at her, insults hurled, and she was ostracized from her community. The cruelty she experienced as a child was a catalyst for her decision to flee her hometown, seeking solace and a place where she could belong.

Driven by a strong determination to embrace her true self and find her purpose, Lilith embarked on a solitary journey. She roamed the world, exploring hidden realms and studying ancient arts. Along her path, she encountered mentors who recognized her potential and nurtured her abilities. Under their guidance, she honed her skills in dark magic and necromancy, becoming a formidable practitioner. The hardships she endured, from witnessing her mother's tragic fate to enduring the persecution of her peers, shaped Lilith into a complex individual. Her experiences have instilled within her a burning desire for justice and the strength to stand against oppression. Now, as a powerful necromancer, she seeks to uncover the truth behind her mother's persecution and to protect those who suffer from prejudice and discrimination in the supernatural realm.

Amidst her descent into darkness,Lilith's path intersected with that of the Phantom Troupe. Drawn to their enigmatic leader and their mission to defy societal norms, Lilith saw an opportunity to align herself with a group that shared her desire for justice and power. With her formidable skills and unwavering determination, she proved herself to be a valuable asset to the Troupe, earning her place among their ranks as a fearsome enforcer and powerful ally. Thus, Lilith became a member of the Phantom Troupe, embracing her role as a formidable villain.

|Trivia|

She learns others abilities and skills through observation as she is a very fast learner and can adapt to any situation.

She fears fires used in a more threaten way - this is because of her mothers passing/torture to death as she doesn’t want to die the same way she did.

She enjoys meditating in the dark and reading/listening to occult stories and learning more things about the darkness.

She is a liquor chic more than a wine chic

She does swear a lot - especially if things don't go her way.

Her language and species are unknown making her more unique to everyone else in a way.

Her birth sign is Scorpio

She is bisexual and polyamorus as she prefers her relationships to be that way however if she is drawn to only one individual - she’ll stick to them.

She can hiss like a snake and purr like a big cat - depending on which she feels like.

She has special vision that allows her to spot her target/prey which can detect heartbeats especially from fear.

She is super Voluptuous and slightly muscular - Both top and bottom heavy with thicc thighs that save lives 💅🏻

(Will draw her in her outfit soon so hope you enjoy!)

[catsofimperium]

Welcome To Imperium

Project run by @moremysteriesthantragedies.

In a world of cats ruled by the goddess herself, our beloved matriarch, there are many stories happening all over the realm. Perhaps it's time to figure out where yours lies?

Races

All you need to know about the available cat types.

Locations

Your map to this fantastically grim world.

Rules

Quite simply but things to keep in mind.

Q&A

Questions you may have and clarification about certain elements.

My Characters

Darian (#darian📚)

Age: Twenty-four Race: Lucern (child of the night) Breed: Maine Coon Appearance: He has bat-like wings and ears. Black fur with wispy grey edges. His eyes glow light grey to match, as does the webbing of his wings and his paw pads. Outfit: He has a pair of round, silver glasses and wears a set black and flexible leather armor. On the front is the goddess' symbol. Personality: Stern, professional, harsh, and secretly very motherly.

A loyal guard of the goddess herself, tasked to care for her assets...chosen pupils. He carries out his tasks in the capital city, though is known to travel quite a lot. He does not believe forces in which he can not see (including the elements, not believing they have wills of their own).

So he came to the one force in this world he does know exists, The Goddess, to conduct change within the world. He trained hard to get his position and leave Society Luna for good. He sees the people back home, worshippers of the moon, as foolish cats who are simply holding onto false hope. Though the goddess' actions are cold, he justifies them as cruelty sometimes being necessary. Which is interesting considering he avoids outright cruelty himself.

Selene (#sel🌙)

Age: Twenty-five Race: Stell (child of the constellations), The Shades mix (child of the shadows) Breed: Bengal cat Appearance: Has a deep, dark blue and translucent body. His constellations, stripes, and spots were black in hue, as are his eyes. Both constantly flicker. The lack of coloring extends to the tips of his tail, ears, and paws, making them difficult to see in certain lights. Outfit: A hood and cloak. Personality: Shy, curious, and, though he is gentle, he has a fierce side.

Darian's husband, a dim Stell that fell from the celestial plane and has been weak ever since. Now lives in the capital city. Rarely talks but treats those around him with kindness and patience. Most would never guess the darker magic seeping through his veins, the infection of the shade not showing outright in his form, other than his eyes, which suspiciously glow in the dark.

Sel and Darian having their wedding rings on their tails respectively. They are both silver and ornate looking.

Crackle (#crackle🦋)

Age: Eighteen Race: Molten (child of fire) Breed: Ragdoll Appearance: Orange in color with more yellow markings around his mouth and eyes, and on the tips of his paws and ears. He has yellow eyes. Made out of lava. Short in stature. Outfit: Protective gear consisting of a strong suit and helmet with glass so he can see. Personality: Skittish, shy, and extremely caring to a fault.

One of the goddess' pupils, currently being looked after by Darian and comes with him on many of his travels. Never knew his parents or his birth name.

Exspir (#exspir🌱)

Age: Twenty-two Race: Radius turned Glade (child of the sky, child of the day) Breed: American Shorthair/steller's jay Appearance: His eyes are dark blue. He has black talons and feathery wings. The bottom of his body is a stone blue, while the top is black with slightly brighter blue, feathery accents, including his stripes on his back and tail. There is also blue at the edge of his wings and dots like freckles on his snout. He has black feathers sticking up from his head. His sunlight shows from his ears, which radiate white light, as does the fur on his chest, the webbing of his wings, and the edges of his ears.  Personality: Distant, a bit gruff, lonely and depressed, secretly self conscious with faked pride, and has paranoia issues. 

Exspir is cursed with a corrupted seed of magic, its power running off pure emotion and requiring most of his energy. He does not remember how he got them, he was simply born with this condition, which caused him to be a major concern from birth.

Diana (#diana💜📔)

Age: Twenty-one Race: Crystalor turned Beloved (child of the sky, child of the goddess) Breed: Birman  Appearance: Long haired cat with a gray coat and purple, crystal accents along her chest and the side of her thighs. There are also some at the end of her tail and her beloved horn/wings are made purely of crystal as well. Her eyes are purple. However, upon being sent to The Nowhere Isles, Diana is stripped of her magic, with scars replacing where her horn and wings once were. Personality: Shy, kind, and clever.

Previously being one of the goddess' beloved ones, she gave up her position to study The Nowhere Isles instead.

One Shots

Darian, Sel, and Crackle.

Clipped Wings

Decay

Darian's Lament

My Starlight

Darian's Night In

Matthias' Unexpected Guest

NoxGale's Call

Exspir and Diana

The Children of Nowhere

[ragnarokhound]

2, 7, 8, & 29 for the fic writer ask game pls?

Sure!

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Oh gosh. There's so many good ones out there, and my favorite kind of trope use involves mashing a bunch of them together into a tasty stew - Only One Bed is a personal fave that I haven't really done yet lol, but OH. A groundhog day/timeloop fic. Gotta be one of my favorite kinds of character study/fix-it/whump all rolled into one. And the whole batfam in general are already the type of people to play events in their heads over and over trying to figure out what the Right thing would have been to do, how could they have been better...oh yeah. Highly effective psychological torture for them. Especially if there is no Right Answer to breaking the loop 8)

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“The elements connect us,” Helaine says as she lays his hand on the surface of the pool. The ice-cold water is always a shock to him at first, and he is careful not to break the surface tension. “The fire warms us; the earth sustains us; the water,” here, her hand joins his on the water’s surface, “flows through us. Feel the blood in your veins, the beat of your pulse in your ears. It is the water of your life, and it has seen all you have seen, and more besides. Much more.” She drags her hand back toward her body at the edge of the pool, and Feldar, sitting opposite, mirrors her. As their fingers drag across the water, the ripples that form spread and merge and create ripples of their own. The water wavers and changes, and Feldar hears it, like a steady drum of war— his own pulse in his ears. He feels it down his arm and in the tips of each finger where they sit on the water, and watches as Gallant’s hooves thunder down a distant road, one he had never seen before, dark under the canopies of ancient trees filled with the webs of spiders. Then Gallant’s hooves pound in the distance, and he sits up from the dirt of the road and sees the knight on the black horse with no device on his shiny steel shield, and a ridiculous straw hat on his head. He is so hungry, and he may be trod underfoot and left to die in the dust, but he has seen no one else on the road for two days, and he is so hungry.

This snippet is from "like the ashes of ash (i saw eyes in the heat)" which is the second in a four part fanfic series I did for Sorcerer's Son by Phyllis Eisenstein. I had to invent the fandom tag for this book series, so check that one off the Ao3 bucket list! :')

I really enjoyed coming up with a structure for how the Seer magic worked; in the book it was left pretty opaque (on purpose lol) and sometimes would have more to do with intuition than anything resembling 'magic', which seemed sensible to me.

I wanted to paste more of this passage in because I'm really proud of the way this scene builds on itself, but it would have been way too long lol - the next four or five paragraphs all start with variations on "Then Gallant's hooves [action]" to indicate a new piece of the past and the future that Feldar is seeing in the pool, and it ends with Helaine explaining how using water to scry changes what and how you see. (Helaine is always shown using water to scry with in the book; I thought it would be more appropriate for his character that Feldar would scry with fire :) hence the naming schema for the series!)

Also, I love indulging in a stream of consciousness writing style, and the ethereal, out-of-body feeling of this scene was the perfect opportunity to make use of it lol

I have a big ol' soft spot for my Sorcerer's Son fics lol - they are for a fantasy book series I'm pretty sure only a handful of people have read - it is...okay! The books are okay. :) I read the first one a year or two ago and fell in love with the protagonists best friend, Feldar Sepwin, who becomes apprenticed to a seer, and promptly adopted him. I wrote the series both as a character study of him, and as a way to give him the boyfriend he deserves ;O;

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

uh. okay, the dialogue i'm Most proud of is actually from a WIP rn, and at a very spoilery moment fjdslafjsal so I will talk about the next runner up instead lol:

“Catch.” Babs’ hand flashes out to snatch the pill bottle out of the air with a short rattle, reflexes still Batwoman-sharp.  It makes him angry in a low, burning sort of way, that constant thrum of rage at the Joker and everything he’s ever done flaring up with a vengeance. She still kicks ass, and she'd kill him if he ever implied otherwise, but— she shouldn’t be in that chair, just like how Jason shouldn’t have died. And the Joker shouldn’t be alive. But she is, and he did. And he still is.  She squints at the label on the bottle, then turns her chair to face Jason with a smirk. “You know I have my own allergy meds, right?” Jason shrugs. “Never hurts to be prepared.” Even as he says it, her attention zeroes in on the dog keeping stride with him, and she leans down to hold out the back of her hand for a sniff. “Hey, there,” she says, voice pitching up the way people do when they want babies and animals to like them. Barf. The dog darts up to her, tongue hanging out, and lets her pet it. Its whippy tail wags back and forth as it whuffs excitedly in short, ecstatic barks, and Jason watches incredulously. This is nothing like how his first meeting with the dog went. Where’s the growling and the bared teeth, huh? He makes a face. “He sure warmed up to you quick.” “Jealous?” She asks him, smug. He scoffs. “No.” Yes. “You have the thing?” He asks impatiently. She grins, and pauses scritching the dog behind the ears to snag a USB off her desk. “Catch.” He makes it disappear, grunting his thanks. “I’ll be back later. Have fun with your new BFF.” Babs laughs at him, but then she says, "Hey."  He stops where he'd been turning around, and the smile Babs shoots him is a little rye. "Thanks for doing all this. I know you have other shit going on that's important. I appreciate it." It settles his ruffled feathers a little, even if he won't admit it. He grunts. "Yeah, well. It's worth the blackmail material this’ll net me when the replacement's finally back. I'm gonna hold this over his head forever." She raises her eyebrows, amused. "He'll hate that." He grins toothily at her, a little mean. "That's what I'm counting on."  When he leaves, he goes out through the roof.

Sit, Stay, Speak was full of little agonies for me as I worked on it lol, and one of those little agonies was Barbara. She was involved largely so that Jason had a reason to be in Tim's apartment and then be made to stay, and as someone for him to bounce off when he needed to talk about what he'd found. She gave him another viewpoint on Tim that he needed to fully grasp the enormity of what he was seeing.

But all that being said, I have gotten most of my understanding of the characters via other people's fic. Turns out, reading primarily JayTim does not afford a lot of opportunities to get to know Babs! Who knew!! So she was a fun challenge.

I like this exchange a lot because it was my opportunity to think about how and why Jason and Babs would be friends. I'm a really big fan of that for them - in my mind, Babs is similar to Tim in that she's more willing to bend some of Batman's rules. She's willing to work with people on the Big Picture, and that includes Jason even when he's not "playing nice". I think they both have that acerbic wit to fall back on, which would make their dish sessions absolutely SAVAGE lmao

This whole fic was an accident in a lot of ways, but more so than anything else, my secondary treatise on Jason & Barbara's friendship was the biggest accident of all! I had no idea we'd get here, and while it's not very long, I think this scene is kind of a microcosm of that exploration.

(Also one of my absolute favorite dialogue/narrative jokes is a direct contradiction from the narration of something a character just says. "No." Yes. Comedy gold.)

29. If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

OH MAN OKAY there are so many talented folks out there dsalfjaj some fics that I love I would never WANT to write a sequel/prequel for if only because they already said what needed to be said lol and I always feel strange about piggybacking off of another author's ideas fjdslajf

but oh boy, this one fic I came across a couple weeks ago - Caves & Tunnels by Skalidra.

This fic is so delightful to me; just the rich magical world they imply with Jason and the tunnels under Gotham and Alfred and Bruce and the manor...there's a lot of unexplained supernatural elements, and it's never really touched on whether Bruce performs a similar role to Batman or not. Also Tim and Jason haven't kissed by the end of the story and I'm a romantic who yearns

So I think if I were to write something in this verse, it would be a sequel, and it would explore the beginning of Tim and Jason's relationship alongside Tim's first forays into the world of knowing about the supernatural. Skalidra gets away with a lot of scant explanations due to the nature of ending this fic right at the revelation point, haha - so it would be a lot of work! But it would be So Good OwO

Thanks for the questions! <33