#i escaped the wizard maze

[monikokii]

WIZARD @wizardsisananimal

[shadylex]

MAGGIE NOOOOOOOOO

[doppiopinkman]

Polnareff is such a funny character. He has a compelling motivation and is interesting when you look at him narratively but nearly every time there's an episode dedicated to him it's Jean Pierre Polnareff's official toilet tragedy number 57 where upon entering a bathroom stall Polnareff is transported into an evil death maze by the enemy stand user King Gizzard the Lizard Wizard and he must find all the hidden notes and escape the maze before time runs out or else King Gizzard the Lizard Wizard's stand Jeff the Killer will Jeff the Kill him. Meanwhile his friends are having lunch and going "huh. Polnareff's been in there for awhile, I wonder what's taking him so long." as if they don't already know.

[prokopetz]

Trying to make an entry for the jam made me confront a question: how does one inject flavour and evocative writing in an RPG when there is little to no space for flavour text?

I ended up unable to add any writing that wasn't rules without going over the 200 word limit, outside of maybe the naming of some mechanics, but I went in thinking that being able to provoke the imagination would be the difference between an ok entry and a really good one.

How would you do it?

(With reference to this post here.)

The customary answer in the one-page-RPG sphere is graphic design, but here you can't do much of that, so you need to rely on phrasing, rhythm, register, word choice, and yes, game-mechanical jargon. Indie RPGs are often mocked for using their own idiosyncratic terminology rather using the "standard" jargon developed by Dungeons & Dragons and its various direct imitators, but there really is a point: even something as simple as the level of formality of the mechanical text can have a huge impact on how a game comes across.

Let's look at an extreme example – my own recent experiment in fitting a complete game into a single Bluesky post:

CREATURES Need: 3d6 Character * Skills: Hands, Feet, Mouth, Guts; assign 3, 2, 2, 1 * Traits: claws, fangs, fins, horns, shell, slime, tail, tentacles, trunk, wings; pick 2 Conflict * Roll dice=skill * Highest: * 6: Yay * 4–5: Okay * 1–3: Uh-oh Scenario * escape maze * eat wizard * profit!

This one only has three hundred characters to work with, and consists almost entirely of rules text, yet the structure and word choice convey a very clear idea of who the player characters are and what they do!

It can be helpful to bear in mind that the separation of rules text and flavour text is an artificial one, adopted by long-form games where mixing mechanics with microfiction can make the former difficult to when there's three hundred pages of the latter to comb through. You don't really need to worry about that in a very short game, so you're free to have the same text play both roles.

[malicious-spellcaster-420]

My apologies for disappearing from the platform for so long, the Wizard Council disapproved of my funny pranks and locked me in a fucking labyrinth again. Luckily, I kept my wits about me and managed my escape! Your silly rat mazes cannot contain me!

[darknesseddiem]

hi babe !

i hope your doing okay !! can i request n°10 and n°13 with roommate Eddie Munson, some angst and fluff pleaaaase ??

love u

nono 🫶🏻

𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥

"With the raven's wings retreating into the night, the cold air carries the faint whisper of your escape—a haunting reminder that, just this once, you’ve slipped through the shadows."

This blurb is part of the writing game created by me, join me and the raven in this maze of stories. 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚'𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐥.

Ever since you moved in with Eddie, your life turned into a complete circus, and not the fun kind.

I mean, this guy made it his personal mission to torment and annoy you in every possible way. It was like he had a sixth sense for when you were in a good mood, because that’s exactly when he'd show up with his unbearable attitude and ruin your day.

You’d be chilling on the couch, finally finding your zen after a long day, and boom, Eddie’s at your side with some ridiculous comment or a loud snack, crunching like a rock concert in your ear. It's like he had an alarm set to interrupt any hint of peace you managed to scrape together. He was the king of passive-aggressive vibes, and his superpower was turning your bliss into chaos.

But it wasn't like you had much of a choice. You'd just moved out of your parents' house, and your wallet was emptier than a ghost town on a Tuesday night. Plus, you had a lease binding you to this disaster zone of an apartment, and breaking it wasn't exactly in the budget.

So, there you were, stuck with Eddie the Terrible, who seemed to think that personal space was an urban legend and that common decency was for other people. Every time he walked into the room, it was like a dark cloud rolled in, and you couldn't help but wonder what cosmic force had brought the two of you together. If only you'd had a crystal ball before signing that lease.

Everything seemed totally fine at first. When Steve and Robin introduced him to you, he seemed chill, fun, even charming in that "he's probably got a ton of friends" kind of way. If only you'd known what you were signing up for...

The first few days living together in the apartment were bliss. He helped you with the move, carried all the heavy boxes, and went out of his way to make sure you felt comfortable. He was quiet when you needed silence, even respected your sacred moments on the couch while you binge-watched Modern Family. But, you know what they say, when the deal seems too good, it's time to raise an eyebrow.

It didn't take long for Eddie's true colors to start leaking out. Those same colors were about as subtle as a clown at a funeral. The same guy who had been so considerate and quiet suddenly turned into a one-man circus, complete with loud music and a never-ending collection of weird hobbies that made you wish you could build a soundproof bubble around yourself.

Silent nights turned into your own personal heavy metal concert, and your sacred couch time was constantly disrupted by the RPG campaigns he insisted on hosting at the apartment. Oh, and let's not forget about the marathon sessions he spent in the bathroom, perfectly timed to when you were running late. It was like the old Eddie had vanished into thin air, replaced by a cheap knockoff who didn't understand the concept of a volume knob—or basic courtesy, for that matter.

Gone were the days of quiet evenings, replaced by head-banging riffs that could wake the dead. Trying to watch your favorite show? Forget it—there was always a horde of his geeky friends crowded around the kitchen table, rolling dice and arguing about some wizard’s spell-casting ability. You'd go to grab a drink and feel like you'd wandered into the middle of a convention.

And those bathroom stunts? A whole new level of infuriating. You'd be in a rush, scrambling to get ready, and he'd be in there for what felt like an eternity, probably reading one of his comic books or watching cat videos. The guy had a sixth sense for the exact moment when you'd need the bathroom, and he used it to make your mornings an absolute nightmare.

Which brings us to the present moment: you pounding on the bathroom door like there's no tomorrow, hopping up and down like a kangaroo, and shouting for the thousandth time. "Eddie, I swear to God, if you don't come out of that bathroom right now, I will pee on your bed!"

The only response you got was a noise that could only be described as someone eating in the most grotesque, inappropriate way. "Wait, are you... are you watching ASMR while I'm about to explode into a puddle of pee? Oh no, you did not. You are going to hear from me!"

The sound from inside got louder, and then he replied, "Sorry, I can't hear you. I'm busy watching this guy stuff a whole chicken leg into his mouth."

It took every ounce of restraint not to break down that door and give him a piece of your mind. Eddie's antics had hit a new low, and your patience was hanging by a thread. This was the pinnacle of absurdity, the kind of moment that made you question every decision that led you here. You'd been through a lot with Eddie, but this? This was a whole new level of "what the hell." It was like living with a YouTube compilation of the most obnoxious trends, all crammed into one bathroom-occupying nightmare.

You might need a whole new strategy—or, at this point, just a new apartment. Because if this was a glimpse into the future, you weren't sure you wanted to stick around to see what else Eddie had in store.

“Please, for the love of God, let me pee…” you said, almost on the verge of tears. This was getting exhausting. Eddie must've sensed the shift in your tone, because the annoying sounds suddenly stopped, and the door swung open to reveal a metalhead with frizzy hair, wearing Looney Tunes pajama pants.

He had this sheepish grin on his face, like he knew he'd pushed you to your limit but didn't quite realize how close you were to snapping. He stood there in all his ridiculous glory, holding his phone with a paused video of some guy eating what looked like a plate of ribs, totally unbothered. "Hey, no need to be so dramatic, it's all yours," he said, stepping aside as if he wasn't the cause of your impending bladder explosion.

You shot him a look that could've melted steel, then dashed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind you. As you finally got your much-needed relief, you could hear Eddie outside, humming some awful heavy metal tune to himself. It was like he had zero clue—or zero care—about how his antics drove you up the wall. He was just Eddie, living his best life, while you were left to deal with the chaos he left in his wake.

After the morning incident, you grabbed your coffee and headed straight to work, determined to shake off the chaos that was life with Eddie. But you could only escape for so long, because lunchtime rolled around, and you returned to the apartment, only to find a scene that looked like something straight out of a sitcom—think The Office, but even more ridiculous.

Eddie was in the kitchen, wearing an apron that said "Kiss the Cook," with his hair pulled back in a makeshift ponytail. The whole place smelled like something was burning, and he was frantically waving a dish towel at the smoke detector, trying to get it to shut up. It kept beeping, and every time it did, Eddie flinched like it was personally attacking him.

On the stove, there was a pan with some kind of unidentifiable charred mess, which he was desperately trying to scrape off with a spatula.

Your smile vanished the moment you noticed that the charred thing in the skillet was none other than the octopus you'd bought just the day before.

"What the hell?" You were furious, and it didn't help that Eddie was grinning like he was some kind of innocent angel.

He shrugged, clearly oblivious to the level of your outrage. "Oh, that was yours? My bad, I thought it was just... some random squid or something." He scratched the back of his head, as if he'd just made a minor mistake and not destroyed a perfectly good piece of seafood. The sight of him smiling like that only made your blood boil even more.

Your plans for a delicious lunch were now literally ashes, and Eddie was standing there like he'd just successfully solved a Rubik's Cube. You had to take a deep breath to keep from shouting. You'd put a lot of effort into picking out that octopus, and now it was just a blackened lump that even the trash bin would reject.

"How do you not know the difference between an octopus and a random squid? And who just grabs something from the fridge without asking?" you shot back, trying to keep your voice from escalating into full-blown rage.

Eddie looked around as if hoping to find an excuse or an escape route, but there was nowhere to run. He was cornered, and he knew it.

That was the last straw. Tears welled up in your eyes, and Eddie's expression shifted from cheerful to guilty in an instant. Before he could say anything, you turned and bolted out of the apartment, exhausted by the whole ordeal.

You couldn't stay there another minute. The anger and frustration had been building for weeks, and now it had boiled over. You needed space, air, and most importantly, a break from Eddie and his chaos. You didn't know where you were going, but you knew you couldn't be in that apartment for another second.

You walked for what felt like hours, letting the cool breeze and the distant sounds of the city calm you down. The world outside was peaceful compared to the constant drama of living with Eddie. As you strolled through the park and sat on a bench to collect your thoughts, you realized just how much the situation had been draining you.

You didn't go back home for the rest of the day. Instead, you found solace in the simple things—grabbing a coffee, listening to music. Anything to clear your mind and remind yourself that there was a whole world out there, far removed from Eddie's antics. You needed this time to figure out your next move, to decide if you could keep living with him or if it was time to break the lease and find a new place.

The one thing you knew for sure was that you couldn't keep going like this. Living with Eddie had become too much, and you'd had enough. It was time to put yourself first and find a way out of the madness.

As soon as you returned, he tried to talk.

"H—"

"Don't talk to me," you snapped, cutting him off mid-sentence. No room for discussion, no excuses. Just the sharp edge of your words.

Eddie looked taken aback, his eyes widening as if he'd just been hit by a surprise splash of cold water. You'd never spoken to him like that before, but you weren't in the mood to hear whatever half-baked apology or lame excuse he was about to offer. After everything that had happened, you just needed space and silence.

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and backed off, his usual bravado deflating like a punctured balloon. You could feel him watching you as you walked past, but you didn't turn around. The time for talking was over, and you didn't owe him anything. You'd already had more than enough of his antics for one day.

You went to your room and closed the door, thankful for the barrier it provided. It wasn't much, but at least it gave you some distance from Eddie and his chaotic energy.

After some time reflecting, you decided it was time to talk about your decision. You went to the living room, where Eddie was watching one of his nerdy movies. He was glued to the screen, engrossed in whatever epic battle or spaceship chase was playing out.

"We need to talk," you said, standing by the couch with your arms crossed. Eddie turned his head, startled, but didn't say anything. He paused the movie, knowing this wasn't just a casual chat. "This isn't working," you continued. "I think it's better if I look for another place to live."

Eddie blinked a few times, processing your words. He shifted uncomfortably on the couch, scratching the back of his head. It was clear he hadn't expected this conversation. "You're leaving?" he finally asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

You nodded. "Yeah, it's just... too much. The constant noise, the bathroom thing, and then the whole octopus incident," you said, laying out the reasons. "It's not healthy, and I can't keep dealing with this."

Eddie looked genuinely regretful. "Hey, I'm sorry about all that. I didn't mean to—"

"It's not about apologies," you interrupted. "It's about needing space, needing peace. We just don't work as roommates, and that's okay. But I can't keep living like this."

He nodded like he understood your reasons, but what he said next was not at all what you expected.

"Ever wonder why I always bug you?" he asked, looking at you with an expression that was hard to read.

You frowned and shook your head, genuinely puzzled. "No, not really. I just figured you were... I don't know, Eddie."

He took a breath and then, almost sheepishly, replied, "It's because I want to get your attention."

Okay, what the hell? Your heart suddenly raced, and your mouth opened in a shocked gasp. Was he serious? All those antics, the noise, the drama—it was all because he wanted you to notice him? It sounded like something out of a high school rom-com, and it left you reeling.

"Wait, are you kidding?" you asked, trying to process what he was saying. Was this some sort of joke? But the look on his face told you he wasn't messing around. This was real, and he was genuinely trying to explain himself.

Eddie seemed to sense your disbelief, and he shrugged, looking a bit embarrassed. "I know, it's dumb, right? But I don't know how else to talk to you. You seem so... I don't know, together. And I'm... well, I'm me," he said, gesturing to himself like he was some kind of cosmic disaster.

This conversation had taken a turn you weren't expecting. You'd come here to tell him you were moving out, and now you were dealing with a confession that threw everything into a whole new light. What were you supposed to say to that? It was hard enough dealing with his shenanigans as a roommate; now he was confessing that there might be more to it.

He continued, "Ever since Steve and Robin introduced us, I’ve been interested in you. You’re so smart, beautiful, and funny that I found myself falling for you, little by little."

Oh my God, it felt like your heart was about to burst from the rollercoaster of emotions you'd experienced today.

"Was it a stupid way to get your attention? Yes. Was I a jerk? Absolutely," he said, rubbing his temples like he was trying to make sense of it himself. "But I got so lost in my own feelings that it was the only thing I could think of to make you notice me..."

This wasn't at all what you expected when you walked into the living room. You'd imagined a straightforward breakup with your roommate, but now here he was, confessing that he had a crush on you. And not just any crush—one that had apparently driven him to turn your life into an ongoing episode of Jackass.

It was a lot to take in, and you didn't even know where to start. Part of you was still annoyed at him for all the chaos he'd caused, but another part of you felt a twinge of sympathy. Maybe Eddie wasn’t just the relentless man-child you thought he was. Maybe he was just... confused and desperate for your attention.

"Eddie," you began, struggling to find the right words, "you can't go around making my life miserable just because you like me. That's not how this works." You shook your head, trying to ground yourself. "I'm glad you told me how you feel, but this isn't the way to handle things. It just makes everything more complicated."

Eddie looked genuinely regretful, as if he realized that his antics might have done more harm than good. "I know," he said, his shoulders slumping a bit. "I didn't think it through. I just... I don't know, I panicked."

The whole situation was like a scene from a cheesy romantic comedy, but it was happening in real life, and you weren't sure how to navigate it. You'd come to tell him you were moving out, and now you had to figure out how to deal with this unexpected confession without losing your sanity.

You sighed, feeling like you'd been caught in the world's most twisted emotional chess game. After a moment of gathering your thoughts, you confessed to him, "I can't say I don't feel anything for you either... From the first day, I liked you, but I'm just so mad about everything." It was time to set things straight. "We can try something more, if you promise to never pull those idiotic stunts again, or I swear I'll kill you." The two of you chuckled at the last part.

Eddie's eyes lit up, a smile spreading across his face like you'd just given him the best news in the world. He looked almost like a puppy that had been let back inside after getting caught in the rain. "I promise, no more of that stuff. I mean it. If I do anything dumb, you can smack me with a frying pan," he said, putting his hand over his heart in a mockingly solemn gesture.

You couldn't help but laugh at his exaggerated seriousness. It was hard to stay mad at him when he was being so goofy. "I'll hold you to that. I have a pretty big frying pan," you replied, raising an eyebrow.

Eddie chuckled, clearly relieved that you weren't storming out the door. "Deal. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I really am. I didn't mean to make things so hard for you. I just... I guess I went about it in the worst way possible." He rubbed the back of his neck, a little sheepish. "But I'll do better, I promise. If it means we can try something, then I'll be on my best behavior."

It felt like a weight had been lifted, and the tension in the room eased a bit. You knew there'd be a lot of work to do to make this living arrangement function without the constant drama, but at least now you had a new understanding between you. It wasn't exactly the romantic journey you'd pictured, but at least it wasn't a total train wreck.

"We'll see," you said, giving him a half-smile. "But one more thing, Eddie—if you ever lock me out of the bathroom again, I won't just threaten to pee on your bed. I'll do it." The laughter that followed was a sign that maybe, just maybe, things might work out after all.

“Okay, I’m starving,” you said, breaking the mood with a light touch. “Sushi?”

“Sushi?” He grinned and pitched his voice into a silly imitation, making you roll your eyes. “Eddie, I’m serious,” you said, trying to sound stern.

“Eddie, I’m serious,” he repeated with an even bigger grin.

“Stop mocking me,” you whined, narrowing your eyes at him.

“Stop mocking me,” he echoed in an exaggeratedly whiny voice.

“I’m getting the frying pan,” you threatened.

“Sushi sounds great to me,” he replied instantly, flashing you his best innocent smile, you rolled your eyes and went to order the food.

You wouldn’t lie—even his idiotic ways had managed to win your heart too, but you’d never admit that to him.

[demetrius-haggarty]

After Felix was done with lunch, he stood up, brushing crumbs off his robes with an absentminded flick of his wrist, and surveyed the bustling Great Hall. The clatter of plates and the hum of chatter filled the room, but his focus was solely on the Gryffindor table.

His eyes scanned the crowd until they landed on his friend. With a smile tugging at his lips, the tall Ravenclaw made his way over, weaving through the maze of students and benches.

Without a moment's hesitation, Felix clapped the Gryffindor's shoulder, a broad smile lighting up his face. "Hey Meech! Ready to go?" he asked, his voice warm and inviting.

"I couldn't find the measuring tape," he confessed, scratching the back of his head. "But I'm sure we'll figure something out to find out how tall you are. Don't worry."

The Gryffindor yelped at the sudden invasion of his personal space. He let go of his spoon in the middle of bringing it to his mouth and grabbed Felix' wrist on an instinct. The spoon fell into his bowl and splashed the soup all over Meech' shirt and surroundings but the Gryffindor payed it no attention.

Demetrius quickly glanced to the side and then up just as a familiar Ravenclaw greeted him. The wizard breathed out in relief.

'Hi, Felix,' he replied and loosened the tight grip he had on his friend. 'Sorry about that, I've been bombarded by some... touchy admirers as of late. Puts me on edge. There is no escape, Felix, no escape...'

The last sentence was a sad whisper of a man haunted by his present. Meech solemnly turned to look at what was left of soup and frowned after noticing the state of his shirt. He got his wand out hesitantly and focused on a few spots he could see. They've been over this, a simple cleaning charm is well within Meech's capabilities.

With a cleaning charm, the most visible soup spots disappeared from his shirt but the boy still frowned. He would always know the broth was on it. Always.

'We already know that I am close to you in height. I am saddened to know that even Montrose was unable to land us his measuring tools. How about a simple ruler? We find a doorframe, mark how tall we are and find the difference between your height and mine?'

[hrokkall]

TMA NEURON ACTIVATION what avatars would the scrybes be 👀👀👀

I don’t know if they’d all be avatars or just plain manifestations (maybe a combination of both) but I’d imagine it would be:

Leshy - The Hunt (self-explanatory)

Grimora - The End (equally self-explanatory)

Magnificus - The Spiral (was going to say The Eye originally for the joke, but he just seems like a Spiral guy—less in the “lying” way and moreso in the “twisting infinite patterns that entrance and confuse and disorientate” way but he’d trap someone in a wizard maze too if push came to shove. As a backup though you could consider the flesh because of. Gesturing vaguely to the wizard pupils).

P03 - The Web (A little bit of a weird choice but I think it fits with P03’s whole “self-preservation” deal that it strings along the player in order to accomplish… plus there’s the obvious World Wide Web pun here. Specifically I feel it would be a manifestation that ends up trapped in a computer and having to operate from there, similar to how the Spiral’s Lichtenberg Figure was trapped inside of Ex Altiora.)

If Inscryption as a whole were to be given as a statement though (as in, say, Luke calls into the Magnus Institute and talks about his experiences with the haunted cartridge retirement home he found in the woods) if you had to put it in a TMA category I’d say it would be a manifestation of the Extinction (four AIs fighting for dominance; a malevolent, world-ending string of code beneath them… feels pretty extinction to me).

And then some other characters as a bonus lightning round:

Kaycee - Touched by the Desolation, ultimately becomes an avatar of the Hunt to escape her fate.

Luke - Probably touched by multiple entities just because I think in all universes he should be having a hell of a time. Maybe he’s like Martin where every entity wants him like “Oh this guy will be SO easy to kill/manipulate” and then he ends up surviving (or dying but dying normally) by making decisions So Horribly Bad that not even Fear Incarnate could’ve predicted them.

Amanda/Sado - Manifestation of the Stranger. Obviously. (Carla is probably touched by the Stranger as a result; I just generally like the idea that Sado is loyal to no one except for her)

All of the underlings (if they exist) are touched by/manifestations of the same fear as their Scrybe, but aren’t avatars. Maybe not the bots though; unless they’re just a team of poor ass software developers who are suddenly compelled to keep this mysterious program up and running and adding features that even they don’t know the meaning of. Meanwhile Magnificus’s pupils are his students (similar to the situation with Robert Smirke), Grimora’s ghouls are people she bound to the end to save them from a grisly fate, and Leshy’s woodsmen… idk they’re like his drinking buddies or something and they go hunt monsters on weekends.

Not all of the minor characters are directly affiliated with any entity though. Characters such as Rebecha are completely unaligned (or if she has had any run-in with an entity no one is going to Ever know about it. At most I can see it being a Georgie Barker situation); the Woodcarver is actively ensuring she doesn’t become bound to any entity, despite Leshy’s influence; the Mycologists claim that they aren’t bound to any entity, but they’re collecting Leitners like trading cards for their “experiments” so it’s less so “unaligned” and more so “race to see whether the Corruption or the Flesh or a third secret thing stakes a claim first”.

The Bone Lord is definitely an End manifestation (unlike Grimora, who is the only one of the Scrybes who is most likely an avatar as opposed to a manifestation or a secret third thing) but I have no idea where they would fit in. Or maybe an extinction manifestation. I have no idea. They’re there though; not leaving them out

Don’t ask about the Hex cast here. I know by making Rebecha relevant they exist by extension but I have No idea where they’d fit in aside from being assorted statement givers (and maybe Lionel as one of those figures that shows up in multiple statements and makes people audibly groan every time there’s THIS GUY again but he’s just a normal dude who happens to be in a lot of places. That’s pretty fitting considering the plot of the game)

[wheretheharekissesthefox]

Lavender and Starflower (Mobster AU) – Chapter 10

The Dekarios Clan reigns over Waterdeep as the city’s protector for centuries. Suddenly, the Clan gets challenged by Cazador, the head of the Szarr Clan that rules over Baldur’s Gate. Of course, such an attack won’t be tolerated and the intruder must be forced back and out of the City of Splendors. While fixing destroyed protection sigils, Gale, wizard prodigy and heir of the Dekarios Clan, meets a charming stranger called Astarion. And Gale makes the biggest mistake of his life; he invites the pale elf into his home.

Trigger warning (18+): graphic description of sex, graphic description of violence, smut, dissociation, angst, emotional rollercoaster, mobster AU

I was inspired to start writing this fic when I saw this artwork by @arczism

The first poem's an original written by me.

The name of the fictional poet is based on Pan, the Greek god of the wild, shepherds, music, sex, and fertility. The name Pitus stems from Pitys (pine), a nymph who was pursued by Pan.

The second poem's written by me, but inspired by the lyrics to "Wham Bam Shang-A-Lang" by Silver.

In the game, the inscription on Astarion's gravestone reads "Astarion Ancunín: 229 – 268 DR", thus, he died and was turned at the age of 39 (which is very young for an elf since they claim adulthood and an adult name at 100 and can live up to 750 years)

According to D&D lore, Ches aka The Claw of the Sunsets is the third month of the year and the month in which the Spring Equinox takes place.

In Greek mythology, Ariadne was the daughter of King Minos of Crete and helped Theseus escape the Minotaur and then was abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. There, Dionysus (god of wine-making, orchards, fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre) fell in love with her and married her. Many versions of the myth recount Dionysus throwing Ariadne's jewelled crown into the sky to create a constellation, the Corona Borealis (Northern Crown). Ariadne's associated with mazes and labyrinths.

Lamarelle comes from the French phrase 'jouer à la marelle' meaning 'to play hopscotch'.

This is obviously an AU that isn't related to my other work.

Despite worrying about Astarion's whereabouts and well-being, life went on and Gale had to go to work. Setting up more protection and defence spells, gathering information in the brothels, calming the panicked priestesses in the Selûne temple and explaining that the suspended garlic garlands weren't enough to protect them.

With Murk by his side, Gale made his rounds through Waterdeep until long past midnight. He was exhausted when he finally arrived at home, thus, he didn't have the energy to cook for himself and ate some leftovers in the estate's kitchen. Afterwards, he walked upstairs to his suite and closed the door with a deep sigh.

"Gale..." Astarion scrambled off the sofa and flung himself around the wizard's neck. Relief flooded through the latter and he held the vampire spawn close.

"Are you alright? Where were you? I was worried."

"I had to deal with some business," replied Astarion, but didn't elaborate further. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," admitted the wizard, smiling softly.

Astarion kissed him deeply, desperately, and Gale wondered why. The vampire spawn's hands undid the wizard's trousers while they kept exchanging kisses.

"I want you," whispered Astarion. "Please, let me have you."

"Yes," panted Gale and groaned when the elf dragged his lips down his throat and collarbone. Astarion dropped to his knees, pulling down the wizard's trousers and underwear in one go, and swallowed his cock down. Gale moaned as he was deepthroated for the first time in his life, and ran his fingers through the vampire spawn's hair.

"Careful, don't choke," he got out, but realised at the same time that the undead didn't need to breathe. However, he could feel how Astarion, with his nose pressed into Gale's pubic hair, inhaled deeply as if to memorise the smell. The elf swallowed around him and moaned gutturally. Then, he started bobbing up and down on Gale's cock, once in a while pushing the entire length down his throat. It was too much and Gale couldn't hold on any longer.

"I'm close."

He whined the warning a second before he came. Astarion moaned and swallowed eagerly, his nails digging into the wizard's buttcheeks as the vampire spawn deepthroated him again. Gale whimpered due to overstimulation and gently pulled the elf off his softening, sensitive cock. The latter reluctantly let go and released the wizard with an obscene slurp. Moaning, Astarion swallowed again, his eyes on half-mast as he licked his lips. He seemed miles away. Gale stroke the vampire spawn's hair and asked worried: "Are you alright? You seem dazed."

"I'm fine, Mast– darling. I'm fine."

"Let me return the favour."

"No, not necessary. I'm fine," muttered Astarion, lolling his tongue back out to lick Gale's cock again, but the latter moved out of reach.

"Apologies, but I'm still too sensitive," explained Gale and helped the elf onto his feet. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes," answered Astarion, but he seemed to look right through him.

Gale frowned, kissed the vampire spawn's cheek, and murmured: "I'll get ready for bed."

"I'll be waiting for you," purred the elf and pulled him into a sloppy kiss. When they finally parted, Astarion sauntered into the bedroom while Gale entered the bathroom. The latter gave himself a catlick, brushed his teeth, and dressed in a shirt and underwear. Then, he entered the bedroom. Astarion was lounging on the mattress, with his legs spread to put himself on full display and a charming smile on his face.

"Come here, darling," he purred and rolled his hips up.

"My sincerest apology, Astarion, but I'm too tired to continue," Gale told him as he lifted the covers to slip into bed. "I'll make it up to you in the morning, I promise."

For a moment, the addressed stayed silent and Gale worried that he'd angered the vampire spawn. But then, the latter moved over and stroke the wizard's chest.

"I see," he murmured with a sickly-sweet smile that put Gale on edge. "That's alright, darling, but let me stay close to you."

"Of course, Astarion," nodded the wizard and extinguished the candlelight with a flick of the wrist.

As they lay in the dark, the vampire spawn pulled down the blanket, settled between Gale's legs, and took his cock back into his mouth. The wizard hissed in surprise.

"Astarion, please, I'm too tired. Let me sleep," he groaned.

The addressed popped off the wizard's flaccid member and replied: "Then sleep. Just let me stay here for a while. Please..."

Gale sighed. He couldn't refuse Astarion anything.

"Alright, but I doubt I can get it up again."

"That's fine by me," replied the elf and swallowed him back down. The wizard sighed again and started caressing Astarion's silver-white curls.

The latter seemed content to simply lay between his legs, eyes closed, hands on the wizard's thighs, and a flaccid cock on his tongue. He didn't move at all, only swallowed once in a while. It couldn't be called 'cockwarming', not really. Astarion's mouth was too cold for that, and it was more the other way around; the warmth of Gale's member warming up Astarion's mouth. But the wizarddidn't mind and it seemed as if the vampire spawn didn't either.

"I'm cold," muttered Gale after a while.

Astarion only hummed and, without looking, pulled the blanket up and over himself to cover Gale's torso. The latter lifted it up to look at the elf who was still between his legs and asked: "Are you alright down there? Are you sure you want to continue?"

"Yes," slurred Astarion, gazing up at him.

Again, it seemed like he was far away mentally and looking right through him.

"If you say so," muttered Gale and made himself more comfortable with a sigh. He stretched out his legs, sunk deeper into the pillow, and moved his hand to his own thigh to cover Astarion's fingers. He fell asleep this way, utterly exhausted.

The vampire spawn lingered under the covers, with his mouth around the wizard, while he was floating. His mind blissfully empty. All his worries and fears gone for a short while.

When Gale awoke, Astarion's head was resting on his chest. Smiling, he stroke the elf's silky-soft hair.

"Good morning," he mumbled sleepily.

The vampire spawn lifted his head up, smiling at him.

"Morning."

Astarion slotted their lips together sloppily and sucked on Gale's tongue who moaned at the treatment. They moved their bodies together, rolling their hips into each other. The wizard wrapped a hand around them both and started to stroke. Astarion whined into Gale's mouth and thrust into the grip.

"Gale," he moaned, eyes rolling back in his head. "A poem..."

The addressed huffed a laugh and pulled the vampire spawn into another passionate kiss before complying to the request.

"'Whether bathed in daylight or moonlight,

your beauty always shines blindingly bright.

I'm simply gazing at you in utter awe

as if you were a chiselled marble statue,

covered in stardust and morning dew.

You're the most beautiful being I ever saw.

I realise that the gods have not only blessed you,

as I am allowed to dwell in your presence, I'm blessed too.'"

Astarion's orgasm hit him like a minotaur during mating season. As his seeds burst out of him, covering Gale's hand and belly, his body shook violently and he moaned so loudly and gutturally, he feared his vocal cords would rip. It was only with Gale that his orgasms were so intense. Unsually, he felt nothing. He locked lips with the wizard again, kissing him desperately and hungrily. With a groan, Gale rolled his hips up one last time before he was granted his on relief.

Panting, they lay there, waiting until they'd recovered.

"Pan Pitus, author of numerous epic erotic poems," mumbled Astarion. "Allegedly, he died during intercourse at the ripe age of six hundred and sixty-nine."

"What a way to go," snickered Gale. The elf graced him with a chuckle, but it sounded a bit forced.

After a few minutes had passed, the wizard sighed and spoke: "I must go to work. Will you still be here when I come home?"

Astarion gave him a small smile, it seemed sad.

"Of course, I'll be here, darling."

"Are you sure you'll alright?" asked Gale, frowning slightly. "Something seems off since you've returned. Did something happen? You know you can trust me."

"Of course, I trust you darling, but it's nothing." After a short pause, Astarion sighed and added: "Well, there is something troubling me, but unfortunately, you cannot help me with it. I have to work through it on my own, I'm afraid."

"I see..." Still frowning, Gale gently brushed a loose curl behind the elf's pointy ear. "Whatever's troubling you, I'm sure you'll figure it out. I have faith in you."

At that, the addressed barked a laugh, sharp, humourless, and sad.

"I will," he said then.

They finally got out of bed. Gale got ready for the day in a rush and had a quick breakfast. Astarion moved much slower, as if still in trance. The wizard couldn't figure out why the elf looked so sad. With one last kiss, they parted and Gale made his way over to Morena's office to accept today's duties.

The day was rainy and unproductive. Gale made no progress on the subject of Cazador. No news, no more broken sigils, nothing at all. It was eerie – and highly suspicious. In a bad mood, Gale trotted home next to Murk who happily whistling a tune, seemingly utterly unbothered by anything.

At least, I'll see Astarion again soon, Gale thought with a smile.

"I'm home!" Gale announced and closed the suite's door behind him. He caught sight of Astarion lying on the sofa, curled up with a poetry album in his hand, but staring into space. Tara was sitting next to him on the sofa's armrest.

"Good evening, Mr. Dekarios. Welcome home," she said.

"Hello, my dear Tara," smiled the addressed and walked over to her. He scratched the purring tressym under the chin and then kissed the vampire spawn's forehead.

"Hello, Astarion, how are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine," mumbled the addressed and lifted his gaze up at the wizard.

He looked terrible, with dark circles under his eyes and a haunted expression on his face. Gale frowned, but said nothing.

"I'll prepare something for dinner," he spoke. "Are you hungry too? Should I get you some blood?"

"No, everything's fine," Astarion replied, but it was obvious that nothing was fine.

Gale sighed and marched into the kitchen with Tara hot on his heels.

"Astarion was like this all day," the tressym informed him while she patiently waited for her food being served. "He's obviously deeply troubled."

"I know," whispered Gale and sat Tara's bowl of food down. "I've tried to talk to him about it, but he doesn't want to. I don't know what to do..."

"Let's eat first," the tressym said and smacked her lips. "One doesn't think well on an empty stomach."

"Truer words have never been spoken," chuckled the wizard and started cooking his own dinner.

Shortly after, Gale returned to the living room with a bowl of noodles, garnished with steamed cherry tomatoes and basil, and a glass of red wine. Silently, he sat down at Astarion's feet and place the wine glass on the low table in front of the sofa. As soon as he'd started to eat, the vampire spawn got into motion, turned around, and laid his head onto Gale's lap.

"I doubt that's a good idea," remarked the wizard. "I might drop some food and burn you."

The addressed hummed, but stubbornly stayed where he was. Gale kept eating and paid extra attention to not spill anything while Astarion started to stroke the wizard's knee absentmindedly.

When he was done with his dinner, he put the bowl down on the table, lifted his wine glass up, and gulped it all down in one go. Then, he leaned back with a content sigh and stroke Astarion's hair.

"You can talk to me about anything, you know?" he muttered, but Astarion kept quiet.

After a while, Gale rose to wash the dishes and get ready for bed.

When he returned to the living room, Astarion stood in front of the open balcony door. Naked and with his arms slightly spread to the side as if he enjoyed soaking up the moonlight. He looked beautiful and it took Gale's breath away.

"You're beautiful," he voiced his thought.

Astarion turned towards him, smiling that sad little smile. Then, he rushed over and pulled the wizard into a kiss. He helped Gale shed his night clothes hastily, before stepping backwards until the table dug into his backside.

"Gale..." whispered the vampire spawn, stroking the addressed's cheek. "Please make love to me."

Before the wizard could answer, he was kissed again. It felt desperate. Quickly, Astarion turned around, placed his hands on the table, arched his back, and widened his stance.

"Take me right here," he demanded, but it sounded more like begging.

Gale kissed Astarion's neck and let his lips wander down his back, worshiping all those scars. When he'd reached the elf's tailbone, the wizard dropped to his knees, spread Astarion's buttcheeks, and licked across his hole. The vampire spawn gasped and whined when Gale wiggled his tongue into him. Astarion cried out, arching his back, and screwed his eyes shut.

"No one – no one has ever done this before," he panted. "Gods... it feels so good. Please don't stop."

The wizard chuckled – as much as he could in his position – and opened Astarion up with his tongue. In the meantime, he wrapped a hand around the elf's erection and started to stroke. Astarion moaned, whined, and begged for more, with shaking arms and weak legs, until he came. It took all his strength to keep himself upright and his attempt was almost all for nothing when Gale removed his hand from his spent member and pushed his semen-covered fingers into the elf. Astarion groaned as his eyes rolled back. The wizard had such a dirty mind – and he loved it.

"Gale, please, I'm ready," he panted.

With one last lick over the vampire spawn's hole, the addressed drew back and stood up. He bent over Astarion to kiss the tip of his pointy ear and whispered huskily: "I'll make love to you, as promised."

The vampire spawn sobbed quietly, and finally, finally, Gale entered him. Astarion cried out in bliss when his prostate was hit with every slow, sensual thrust. Gale's hands were on his hips and his forehead pressed into his back. He felt the wizard's breath puff against his skin with every exhale and moan. It was too good to be true. Astarion's arms finally gave out and his torso collapsed onto the tabletop. The gentleness of their coupling gave him the urge to scratch his skin off. He moaned while his eyes glazed over and he knew what he had to do. Astarion had made his decision.

"'Starry nights, sunny days,

I always thought that love should be this way,

but now, lifted and evaporated is lust's haze,

gone is the belief that we had a love that would stay.

You've been so good to me, but please don't lie,

I know it's over now, and our love has to die.

It hurts to say farewell, of course it does,

but there's no need to fight until our heads buzz.

My heart says no, but my mind says to let it go.

Let's get it over with and quickly vanquish sorrow.

And who's to say where we'll be tomorrow?'"

For a moment, it was dead-silent in the room. Then, Gale asked tentatively: "Astarion... what – what do you mean by that?"

"Nothing, it's just a poem," said the addressed, still bent over the table.

"No, it's not," retorted the wizard. "Don't lie to me."

Astarion chuckled, but it sounded hollow and humourless.

"I always had a weakness for the smart ones," he said, "and, of course, it'll be my downfall."

Hastily, he grabbed his clothes and put them on. Gale stared at him in disbelief, still naked, covered in sweat and other bodily fluids.

"What the hells is going on, Astarion? Talk to me," he implored, but the addressed only shot him a sad smile.

"Farewell, Gale. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. For the first time in one hundred years, my cold, dead heart felt something, and for that I am forever grateful."

And before Gale could react, Astarion jumped off the balcony and vanished into the night. The wizard's heart broke and the tears started to fall.

When Gale had finally fallen asleep after crying himself to exhaustion, Tara hopped off the bed and started pacing through the dark bedroom. What's to be done? What's to be done? Tricky, tricky, indeed. The tressym's sharp eyes landed on Astarion's bag in the corner.

A quick rummage never hurt anyone, she thought and scuttled over. Thanks to a magic word in Tressymspeak, the bag opened for her and she stuck her head in to take a look. Everything smelled strongly of Astarion's perfume, including his fresh clothing. Tara figured it might be a way to try and cover up the vampire spawn's smell of undead that could give him away to more nose-sensitive individuals like herself. She dug deeper. There were two books. By the look of them, they were over two hundred years old. They were well-thumbed and thus, well-loved. One was an epic poem about a dragon slayer and a cursed princess, the other was a collection of Elven poetry. Next to them, Tara discovered a dark red velvet bag and she magicked it open with another spell. Inside were a handful of pretty but regular stones, a gold necklace with a ruby-adorned pendant, and a gold family sigil ring. With it, lay an old, slightly crumbly letter. The tressym let it hover in the air and unfold with a spell.

Ches (The Claw of the Sunsets), 268

To Astarion Ancunín, Heir of the Ancunín Family, Magistrate of Baldur's Gate

We hereby send you a letter of honour regarding an invitation to the decennial Elven Festival of the Arts. You are invited as an honorary member to represent your family. It would be an extraordinary pleasure for us to welcome you.

Yours sincerely,

Ariadne Lamarelle

Board Member of Baldur's Gate's Elven Community

Astarion Ancunín. Heir. Magistrate. Baldur's Gate. Vampire spawn. Not good. Not good at all.

Tara growled a bit as she put everything back where it belonged. Now, she wanted to be even more thorough in her investigation than before. She stuck her head back into the bag to search further. On the bottom sat a leather collar which faintly smelled of honey. That's when she suddenly felt her magic wane. Hissing, the tressym reeled back.

Sussur! Oh, that's most worrisome!

Tara immediately knew that the collar wasn't meant for an animal, but for a very specific human wizard.

I must speak to Morena. We must find out more about the vampire spawn's origin and motives. When I'm done talking to Gale's mother, I'll pick up Astarion's trail. I can follow the smell of his pungent perfume halfway across the city.

Tara nodded to herself and set to work. After all, she had to keep her best friend and his mother safe.

[sergeifyodorov]

Hughes brothers for the character ask meme?

im going to be real my first impression of quinn was from noted quinn scholar tanya txstars talking abt him. i dont even know what the first little bit was about because i was like “yeah everyone i follow just has that one guy they’re obsessed with” and then i actually saw photos of quinn and then started to Get It.

jack was the more famous of the three from the getgo. I knew he was a devil but didn’t know which one was jack and which one was nico for a while so there is that

and i’m like 90% sure my first thoughts on luke were THERE’S A THIRD ONE???

IMPRESSION NOW

Quinn: he is my scrungly. More than the generic fact that i find him hot in a wetpathetic roadside cat kind of way and that i am impressed and delighted by his skating and his ice time, I do really genuinely like him. He comes across as somehow both an idiot well-meaning jock and as an honestly intelligent man; maybe he’s just an airhead stoner. He’s the eldest daughter of our dreams. He should absolutely be the next captain of the Canucks. He’s level-headed and stands up for his teammates off the ice (talking openly about how he thinks they mishandled an injury!?) and is just… an ideal man. He’s also definitely got ghosts after him.

Jack: NIGHTMARE CHILD. I probably first started to hear his name from all the xreader writers who wanted to take him to prom, but once you actually start looking at and seeing him beyond the Boy Band Fluff, he’s… kind of a greasy sharp-toothed demon child? I do like him -- quite a good deal, to be honest, but the instant he let sweat slick his hair back and the playoffs knocked a tooth out he immediately became Interesting to me, as opposed to just some mouse.

Luke: Luke’s relative lack of screentime means my impression is a lot less nuanced than the other two: he both terrifies and excites me. Terrifies because the Devils are in my conference so i’ll have to see him three times a year… and excites because Quinn, Ellen, and Jack all say that he’s the best of the three of them. Can you BELIEVE how good that would make him. Quinn’s one of the best offensive defencemen on the planet (and pretty good defensively, despite what you might think!) and still has a few years before his peak, Jack’s a hundred-point forward at 21, and Luke is BETTER THAN BOTH OF THEM. 

FAVOURITE MOMENT

Quinn: the “taking his ESL teammates out to the movies” is endlessly charming to me… even if he picked rather a terrible movie to show to his esl teammates. also pretending to be a really bad driver at petey. Older brother supreme

Jack: either aforementioned tooth loss or any of his comedic falling-overs. Third place goes to snarking to the media… that boy wants nothing to do w any of it. If he was in toronto they’d have ripped him jaw to tailbone

Luke: overtime gwg w jack assist!!!!!!

IDEA FOR STORY

Quinn: what if i told u im partway through a quinnfic as we speak… he is dealing with the horrors surprisingly well all things considered

Jack: i am not of the opinion that he should get like. romcom fluff. he is as of yet not that type of girl. Get his ass to the mobster movie/wizard maze/indiscriminate pwp. Send him to something violent and a little bit horny and way too complicated for his little brain full of titty magazine and bits of lint. Bamboozle him and cover him in blood and let him top badly. many people are saying this

Luke: until such time as we see Character Traits from him (im not a umich girly dont tell me anything you’ve seen from there) i am content to let him remain for now a background character. he’s big and he has jack’s nose and quinn’s eyebags and he’s the baby. That’s enough

UNPOPULAR OPINION

Quinn: i am a quinn will become a leaf eventually truther. not that every born leafsfan will become a leaf at some point in their career but he will. Not because he hates it in vancouver because im pretty sure he doesn’t… just that there’s destinies out there u can’t escape. Im also a quinn will become a devil eventually anti. he’s not going to do that he likes offseason brother time and offseason brother time only

Jack: the beard is a good look on him

Luke: tall people shouldn’t have older siblings it’s wrong

FAV RELATIONSHIP

Quinn: quinnpetey kissa time. petey’s cringe little gay romanticism is now going to lead him away from brock to A Person With A Sustainable Future As a Canuck… quinn is going to let petey infringe on his space and his feelings and his bedsheets. they will hold hands through the horrors (vancouver canuckdom)

Jack: now hear me out i want us to explore whatever freudian attraction he had to pk subban. nico is cool and all but there’s more out here

Luke: not in an incestfic way but i do love his relationships w his brothers… siblings i do not understand them

FAV HEADCANON

Quinn: there was once a canucks raffle, where you could win bags each of the canucks had chosen stuff for… most of it was kind of generic. wine, a trip somewhere nice in the city, sometimes you’d get a sweater or a record or something. quinn chose cast iron pans and a cookbook. he wants to know how to cook well, he drives a reasonable car instead of petey’s fancy sports cars, he gets esl teammates to repeat his meaning back to him so he knows they understand. he’s grounded in a way few hockeys are and this is part character analysis from what we know and part extrapolation but that’s SO fascinating to me. i think he also knows stuff like how to sew on a button and clean an oven and tie a tourniquet.

Jack: could do sweet tricks on the trampoline

Luke: i dont think he’s going to take after either of his brothers in the personality department… he cares too much he’s going to suck up to the media way more when they want him. He’s avoiding that for now by being shy but he very much did puke into that garbage can at the frozen four he CARES

[nightowlmila]

Spoiler warning for Hogwarts Legacy's Sebastian Sallow & Natsai Onai quest lines!

So, I haven't seen anyone talking about the two crucio moments yet - I've decided to just do it myself. (English is not my first language.)

I've always felt like Sebastian was pretty much smitten with the MC from the moment they bested him in that duell in DADA on the first day. (As was the MC with him. Really, you can't tell me otherwise xD)

Which made it very weird for me that he so easily was able to use the cruciatus curse on the MC.

But, after witnessing crucio being cast on Natsai, it makes a whole of a lot more sense.

You see, when Natsai was hit with the curse by Harlow, she broke down spasming, apparently even loosing consciousness, ending up in the hospital wing in a wheelchair. She said it was mainly because her mother insisted, but when you compare that to how the MC was effected by the curse - she seems to be a whole of a lot more damaged by it.

Because MC, while obviously being hurt by it - considering the life bar dropped into the red area - took just one healing potion and was walking and talking like nothing happend. No spasms, no loosing consciousness. They just dropped to their knees in pain. Which means that Sebastian using that curse was not half as bad as Harlow using it.

It reminded me of when Harry used it on Bellatrix in Order of the Pheonix. While she too broke down from the pain, she was basically unharmed by it - because Harry, while furious because of Sirius's death, didn't mean it in a way that would cause unspeakable pain.

I see the same for Sebastian. He didn't want to hurt the MC in that way. That boy has by all means a lot of unresolved issues. Anger issues even. And he definitely is drawn to the dark arts. But he is also a loyal, reliable friend who cares deeply (maybe even a bit too much, considering how far he is willing to go for his sister) about those he loves.

My point being - Sebastian may have used the cruciatus curse on the MC to escape Slytherin's maze - but it was a really weak one compared to an actual dark wizard using it on someone they hate.

Therefore I don't see Sebastian actually wanting to hurt the MC but merely channeling his anger and frustration into the curse to escape a death trap.

He definitely meant to kill that goblin and his uncle, tho. Like I said. Lots of unresolved (anger) issues. Get him lots of hugs and a therapist, please. Why couldn't my MC give him more hugs and therapy sessions? I want more meaningful decisions in that game XD

(No, seriously. The way it most of the time doesn't even matter what you say because the characters answers will not differ is just plainly frustrating at times. No, douchbag Solomon, I did not defend Sebastian, I said he went the hell too far, you moron XD)

[childotkw]

Okay so hear me out the I know you had an idea for another au combining listening ears and the one where Neville pushes Draco off a cliff (I can’t remember the name). But I put Voldemort as being alive at the beginning like in the Four Houses AU (is that the name?) but what if he was dead and it followed the resurrection arc like in Listening Ears but when Voldemort is brought back there are these four absolutely mad lads ready to murder for each other and an over protective Slytherin house. And all of 1st year he just would like his spy (gossip) network to work more efficiently pls and thank you.

The Four Agreements? If I went Voldemort as a Dark Lord rather than the DADA professor?

Oof yeah, if Voldemort got resurrected in that one, after the fuckery that was the tournament and dragging Harry into it - Ron, Hermione and Neville would go rabid.

Harry in Slytherin as the champion would cause massive waves through the school in general, with the prejudice against Slytherin exploding, but god help anyone who tries to insult Harry around Ron, Hermione or Neville.

When Harry comes back (with no Cedric death because ambitious little Harry would have carved his way to the maze centre without running into anyone else and snatch up the goblet immediately), he's smart enough not to start screaming about Voldemort being back even while in the grips of shock.

He doesn't tell Dumbledore, he doesn't tell Snape, or the medics or any authority figure because they've never done anything to help him before so why should he tell them the truth now when he knows how the wizarding world reacts to news they don't want to hear? He's just spent a year getting the absolute shit kicked out of him by the media. If he proclaims that Voldemort is back? Yeah nah, Harry can see where that would go.

So he doesn't tell anyone accept his friends, the ones he knows he can trust because they stuck by him through months of absolute insanity (Neville in particular has been vicious in his defence). And you know what? His mates believe him, because of course they do.

And Harry might be looking away from them, staring out the window of the small abandoned classroom they meet in, but he can feel the weight of their eyes on his back. He can feel their anger, their fear - for him, not of Voldemort - and he knows they'll support him when he turns around and lays out his plan to stop a Dark Lord.

Voldemort, for his part, is...intrigued. He knew Harry Potter was a Slytherin from his time with Quirrell. He knew the boy was less 'obedient puppet' and more 'raging uncontrollable tempest', but even he couldn't predict that Potter wouldn't go running to Dumbledore the moment he escaped the graveyard.

But there's nothing in the media about his return, or even anything denouncing Potter as crazy for suggesting such a thing.

It's too quiet, and he doesn't like that at all.

When the next year starts and information starts filtering through the Slytherin students to their parents, Voldemort can't help but think that he's underestimated his opponent.

When they get to the end of the year, and the war kicks off, and Harry Potter and his three closest companions apparently vanish, he grows a little more concerned. Because in the dreams he and Potter share sometimes, the brat seems worryingly assured of his own victory. He looks at Voldemort like he knows his every weakness.

Which was preposterous (but maybe he should check on his horcruxes just to be sure??)

[wizardo-yo]

idk who wants to read this but here's some word salad explanation of the lore in passageways (warning: its long)

okay so there are 3 distinct groups in this

the original expedition team

the extraction team (whose logs you read)

you, the player

So the original expedition are your typical Marleybonian colonizers. They find this new world and build a settlement there. In doing so, they anger the spirit/will of the world and it begins to take its revenge on them. It gets rid of the colonizers and takes over the original settlement, warping it into a hostile and maze-like living compound.

This world is unique in that it is kind of "alive". Think kinda like that god world in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (i think. its been a while since i've seen that movie). You know, like a world so powerful it gains consciousness. That kinda thing.

So back in Marleybone, the leadership there obviously is like, hey, why did our boys just disappear? So they hire the extraction team to find them and also to figure out what happened and prevent it from happening again.

The extraction team is a crew of 7, made up of half pirates, half wizards, and half miscellaneous Marleybonians. Don't check my math here.

The pirates are the Captain, the First Mate, and the Navigator. (I didn't actually assign them any p101 classes bc uh honestly I don't know enough about them and it wasn't really relevant, but if any classes seem to fit feel free to headcanon)

The wizards are the Mercenary (necromancer) and the Medic (theurgist).

The miscellaneous Marleybonians are the Engineer and the Chronicler.

In order of log appearance, they are

Captain (low education and distrustful of magic)

Engineer (tasked w/ restoring communication w/ Marleybone)

Navigator (tasked w/ tracking down lost colonizers, first to be taken)

Mercenary (necromancer, realizes something's wrong here and it ain't regular magic)

First Mate (reliable and level-headed)

Medic (theurgist, recent Ravenwood grad)

Chronicler (last left alive, very british)

So this crew hops into the world via Spiral Key and they go looking for the lost colonizers. Obvi they slowly realize that something Ain't Right Here. As they journey onward, the same thing happens to them as what happened to the original team. This time, one last person is spared, the Chronicler, and they escape to Wizard City.

Eventually either the Chronicler dies or just decides to have a garage sale or something but you, young wizard, buy an old key from an estate sale that turns out to be the Spiral Key to the spooky world. And that's where the game picks up.

You go through. Find the logs. Spooky things happen. At the end, the world is fed up with your intrusion and you are chased back to a world door. You barely escape with your life, but in your rush to escape you leave the Wizard City Spiral Key in the door which allows the entity chasing you to pass through. The ending is intentionally open ended. What happens after the door opens is up to you.

Some Q's and A's

What's the timeline?

So if you pay attention to the medic's log, you'll see that they mention Professor Drake. Given that they're a theurgist, they mean Professor Sylvia Drake, as opposed to Cyrus or Malistaire. I took this line out of the original log to cut some length, but in the Captain's log, they mention that this is the Medic's first mission. So, from this, you can conclude that the extraction mission happened before the events of Arc 1 when Sylvia Drake was still alive. The events of the original colonizers then happened slightly before that. The timing of when you the player come in is up to individual interpretation though. It could happen at any time after. It could still be before Arc 1, meaning you are not the Scion young wizard but another wizard entirely. Or it could be after the events of the main game. Really up to whatever you headcanon.

Whats up with the wooden constructs?

So the in-game explanation is that they're the transformed bodies of the previous expeditions being puppeteered by the will of the world. The out-of-game explanation is that I already had them modeled and rigged from that other wiz fan game I was working on. When I was making this game, I was like, "hmm. what's a spooky motif in the horror genre I could put in here? ah. mannequins." And I remembered I had the constructs so I put them in.

So what the heck is chasing us at the end? Why can't I see a spooky monster? I wanna see a spooky monster :(

So there's not really one monster or something that you're running from. The world CAN manifest itself through physical means via 'possession' of a sort, but it can also just. Take you. And spirit you away. Like it did to the navigator. So I guess you could say the world itself is chasing you at the end. Presumably, if you were to stay there you would eventually suffer the same fate as the previous groups. Maybe if I decided to add a patch to the game I would add an alternate ending where this happens, but. Not likely lol. The other answer is that your imagination is capable of creating much scarier monsters than I can, so I intentionally stayed away from having a physical thing to be scared of. The other Other answer is that I simply did not want to design, model, rig, and animate a monster. :)

[stabbysideblog]

Yes yes ye a

This is the version of the story they would tell her hand-in-hand to get her to sleep.

Once apon a time there was a boy, he was born with a curse that nobody knew. He lived his life the chains of the curse pulling him lower and lower curling his back more and more until he crawled in the ground then dug through the dirt.

He dug and dug never knowing of his curse each day getting lower and lower into the ground. Whenever someone asked him why he was so deep into the ground he would reply "This is just how things are." One say the boy now a man was so far deep he fell into a tunnel. It was a maze to him twisting and turning with no possible escape.

At first he ran trying to free himself, he couldn't go any further down the unknown curse had surely carried him to hell! He ran and ran he climbed and screamed and cried. Finally he sat down. "I guess this is how it is." The man said to himself.

The man lived in the tunnels for months, he turned roots into shoes and rocks into a bed. He ate worms and all manner of decomposing matter. "This is fine" he told himself as he lay on the hard bedrock.

One day while he was scavenging for meager scraps to survive on he stumbled apon the most handsome wizard he had ever seen. Immediately smitten he hid too ashamed of his filth to talk to the wizard. Little did he know how powerful the wizard was. He had already seen the man and could sense the curse buried deep inside of him. The wizard felt deeply for the poor soul and decided to lift the curse, but first he had to lure the wildman into getting close enough. You see the wizard wasn't trapped here like the man, he had free passage from the highest levels of heaven to the deepest pits of hell. Everyday he would bring presents from above food, blankets, plants, even animals. Amazing gifts the man hadn't seen in what felt like lifetimes. Slowly he became less shameful allowing the wizard to see more and more of him. One day the wizard came with no gifts. He simply opened his arms to the man.

The man hadn't felt the touch of other human in so long, the hug was tight and he felt like he might live and die in it happily. When they pulled away the wizard held a dark orb in his hands. At once the man felt that some invisible burden was lifted. The wizard sealed the curse away and hand-in-hand they began to climb out of the tunnels.

At the end of the story they’re looking into eachother eyes and smiling

When Ardent has to go back to the prison this is the story that Sam tells

its mostly the same but the curse is a little different. The boy doesn't know of it still but the boy is a criminal and with every wicked action it pulls him down a little faster. Also when the wizard hugs him it goes into what happens with the wizard. He's transported into the mans soul. It's a dark and tumultuous place. He's weightless surrounded by raging storms and the shadows of giant serpents.

One of the serpents emerges from the dark clouds a 12 mile long behemoth. The wizard fights it going back and forth with the beast for weeks and months. Finally exhausted the wizard deals a killing blow and the serpent dies its form disintegrating leaving a key in its wake. The wizard takes the key and travels through the clouds until he reaches a single patch of ground floating among the nothing. On it is a cage with the boy inside. The cage is wrapped in chains and the boy sits curled up ignoring everything around him. The wizard unlocks the cage but the boy does not react. He says in the cramped prison ignoring the obvious escape. Once again the wizard has a great fight in front of him. Not of a serpent or a monster but instead the boy. It's his hardest battle yet but when it ends the boy tentatively reaches a hand out of the cage allowing the wizard to help him escape the cage. As soon as he does the storm stops the clouds turning white and serene. The shadows of beasts resolve into giant swarms of birds and butterflies. The patch of land grows until it is a massive flower field with a large cage set in the middle. The boy ages quickly and soon a spitting image of the man stands in front of the wizard. The wizard pulls him in for a hug turning him into a ball of darkness. As long as he can't return to the cage the curse will be lifted. In his pocket the key shifts and grows. He throws it far away as it turns into the massive serpent once again. With the ball in hand he escapes the mans soul barely avoiding the wrath of the serpent. The man smiles at him now freed from his curse. The wizard locks the ball away a long thin serpent invisible to everyone except him circles the new cage. Together they escape the tunnels and build a life together. Alone the wizard battles the serpent, forever eager to curse the man once again

[20furiousbluebirds]

The Doctor, frantically typing on Reddit: Guys is it ok to be racist if a racist space wizard has trapped me in a death maze I can only escape by being racist? I swear this isn't trolling, there is literally a racist space wizard and he's going to destroy the world unless I overshadow my black coworker.

[hinatastinygiant]

9 | Tangerine Skies

Pairing: Ominis Gaunt x Fem!Reader

Serpents and Roses

OMINIS' P.O.V.

"Hey, earth to Ominis," Sebastian says to me as he presumably waves his hand in front of my face after we finish eating lunch. "Whacha daydreamin' about?"

"Huh? Sorry," I say, snapping back into reality.

"You were thinking about her again, weren't ya?" he asks.

"No," I shake my head, turning away. "I was thinking about Thestrals."

"Liar," Sebastian scoffs. "You were thinking about Y/N."

"Was not."

"Yeah, ya were," he insists.

"How would you know? I'm blind, remember? Perhaps I was just ignoring you," I lie.

"It's not hard to see the way you stare into space after her name comes up. Or the way your eyes light up whenever you're near her. Or the way you seem to forget how to speak when she touches you. Hell, even the way you've been trying to act all high and mighty with that Nott guy has got something to do with her," he laughs.

"Shut up," I groan. "You don't know what you're saying."

"Why not just admit it already?" he asks. "You like her. It's pretty obvious. Everyone knows it, too. Besides, I'm the only one here, and I already know. Can't say I blame you. She's cute."

"She's a muggle," I frown.

"So?"

"So... I can't."

"Why not? There's no rule against it," Sebastian shrugs.

"Because I don't actually like her, okay?" I say, feeling a pain in my chest as the words escape my lips. "I'm just trying to be nice because she's got no friends."

"Alright, whatever," he finally gives in. "Let's go to class already. If we wait too much longer we'll be late."

"That's what I was saying before," I groan.

"You were? No, you were staring into space," he rolls his eyes.

"I'm not having this conversation again," I shake my head.

"Whatever. I'll see you after. I've got potions now," Sebastian says as he stands up and leaves the Great Hall.

I stay behind, finishing the last of my juice. When I'm done, I head towards the door.

SEBASTIAN'S P.O.V.

As I walk down the hall towards the potion's room, I notice Y/N laughing while standing beside that unmistakable red-haired Garreth Weasley. I didn't know the two of them were friends.

"Hogwarts is like a maze to me," Y/N then sighs. "Maybe you can show me around sometime? I'd love to see some cool spots in the castle."

Garreth responds with a mischievous grin, saying, "Oh, Y/N, navigating this castle is a skill only a true witch or wizard can master. But for you, I'd consider being your guide. Just be prepared for a few surprises along the way."

Y/N's eyes light up. "I'd like that. Thanks, Garreth."

I narrow my eyes and continue to observe the interaction. It seems innocent enough, but something about the way Garreth is smiling at her makes me uneasy.

"Hey," I say, interrupting them as I approach the two. "Class is about to start. Sharp won't be too happy if you're late."

"Since when do you care about being on time, Sallow?" Garreth rolls his eyes.

"Since you're making the new girl late to her second potions class," I shake my head. "What a bad role model."

I watch rather pleased with myself as Garreth's face turns bright red in embarrassment. He looks over at Y/N who gives him an apologetic smile before following me into the classroom.

"Thanks for the save, but I could've handled it," Y/N tells me.

"Could you have?" I hum without looking back. "We'll see. Now, take a seat."

"Why? So I can sit by you?" she asks sarcastically.

"Of course. What else would you want to do?" I laugh, gesturing to the seat next to mine.

She sighs and plops down beside me, pulling out her book and quill.

"Now, class," Professor Sharp says, clasping his hands together as he begins his lecture. "Today we're going to learn how to make..."

After class, Professor Sharp scolds me for not paying attention and warns me about my grades.

"Sorry, sir. I'll be sure to do better tomorrow," I say, trying to look as though I give a shit. It is my last year, after all.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Sharp frowns. "Get out of here, Sallow."

"Yessir," I nod, taking my leave.

Of course, as I walk out, I see Y/N surrounded by another guy. It's that Gryffindor again, Nott.

"Filthy muggle," I hear him say as he gets too close to her.

Y/N looks over at me and narrows her eyes, causing a chill to run down my spine. I'm used to her giving me that look, but it's never made me feel this uneasy before. I guess she doesn't want me intervening. She did just tell me she can handle herself, she might really begin to hate me if I keep intervening... But this guy is such an ass...

I watch as Y/N pushes Nott off of her and shout something in his face so, I shrug my shoulders. Looks like she really can handle herself. I better not get in her way.

Y/N'S P.O.V.

"What the fuck does that even mean?" you shout as you push Nott off of you. "What the hell is a filthy muggle, huh?"

"I'm surprised you don't know. Guess you're dumber than I thought," Nott laughs. "It means that your kind should just die. You should just give up, Y/N. Be mine and I'll protect you. It's what your brother would want."

"Go fuck yourself," you snarl.

"Hey," another voice calls out. You look over and see Garreth. "What the hell is going on?"

"Oh, nothing. Y/N and I were just talking about her future," Nott grins, placing his hand on your shoulder.

"Back the fuck up, Nott," Garreth warns him.

"I think she likes me, Weasley," Nott tells him, leaning closer.

"I don't," you say, pushing his hand away. "Leave me alone."

"I could show you a good time," Nott laughs. "What do you think, Weasley? Want to join us?"

"Get lost," Garreth growls. "Y/N isn't interested."

"We'll see about that," Nott smirks, rolling his eyes before finally backing off.

"Man, that guy doesn't get the hint, does he," Garreth shakes his head.

"Thanks for standing up for me," you say, biting the inside of your cheek. "He really freaks me out."

"Don't stress it. He's just an asshole," Garreth tells you.

"Yeah, but it doesn't help that I'm a muggle," you sigh.

"Forget about him," he insists. "Come on, I'll give you that tour now, if you'd like."

"Yeah," you smile. "That sounds good. Thanks Garreth."

Garreth returns the gesture as he wraps his arm around you and the two of you walk off together.

SEBASTIAN'S P.O.V.

"Dude, you've got to make a move soon," I warn Ominis as I enter our dorm. "You should've seen the way Garreth was all over her."

"And how would I go about doing that?" he sighs as he narrows his eyes in my direction. "Besides, half the population of seventh years is attempting to make a move."

"Well, for starters, you could try actually spending time with her instead of watching her from a distance," I scoff.

"Like that's not what you do," he scoffs. "Tell me, did you intervene?"

"Should I?" I hum, a grin growing on my lips as I sit on my bed and loosen my tie. "I thought you weren't interested in her?"

"I'm not," he mutters, averting his gaze.

"Sure. You just keep telling yourself that," I laugh. "Either way, you need to be the one to talk to her. Cause, seriously, you're gonna lose her to someone else."

"Yeah, maybe," he sighs.

"Hey, I noticed she's got a new necklace now. Guess some guy must've given it to her," I say, noticing the way his face freezes.

"It was me," he admits quietly.

"What?"

"I gave it to her."

"Huh," I mutter, trying to think of the right words.

"What's wrong with that?" he asks.

"You gave it to her... but you don't have feelings for her?" I roll my eyes. "Yeah, and I'm a fucking idiot."

"Shut up," Ominis sighs, turning away from me.

"Hmm, well, if you want, I could always steal it," I suggest.

"What? Why would I want you to do that?" he frowns.

"So she has a reason to talk to you since you're too damn afraid to go and do it yourself," I tell him, shaking my head.

"No, don't do that," he shakes his head. "I know she looks good wearing it. Plus, it'd be too risky."

"Yeah," I shrug, laying back in my bed and letting out a sigh of relief. It's been such a long day already. "Oh, by the way, I saw Nott talking with her after class."

"Really?" he hums, his interest suddenly piqued. "Did he try anything?"

"Yeah," I nod. "She's got a mouth on her, though. So, he backed off."

"Good. I hate that guy," he sneers.

"I don't like him either, but he's not so bad. Plus, his family has money. Maybe Y/N could use that," I laugh, trying to get a rise out of him.

"What the hell would she need their money for?" he snaps, balling his hands into fists.

"Language!" I scold him teasingly. "But, maybe he'll pay her to go out with him? You never know."

"Shut up," he scowls. "Y/N wouldn't do something like that."

"How do you know?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Because I... because...," he stutters, unable to come up with a retort.

"Thought so," I laugh. "Look, if you don't do something, I will. I'll tell Y/N that you're head over heels for her."

"No, don't," he says, his face growing pale.

"Then make a move," I shrug. "Before it's too late."

"Alright," he groans, running a hand through his hair. "I will."

Serpents and Roses