#i kept forgetting the mindflayer has Protection

[cyanocoraxx]

ULTRAKILL P-2 SPOILERS DON’T WATCH IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT YOURSELF!!! just my first look at one part of it, i have work tomorrow so i can’t go crazy playing this all night ughghgh anyway you can see most of my gameplay is me saying WTF IS HAPPENING to myself .... i don’t meet the prime soul btw i stop before then (cus i never got there BHSNJA)

[rielzero]

Just saw your post about ascended Astarion and male Tav fanfic. I am willing to rise to the challenge

If you need any prompts! here's some concept I've danced with in my head (up for anyone to use) inspired by my own character's potential AUs. Please do not claim ownership over the ideas, I'd love to see people's different spins. Please keep it to Male Tav, there's so many Female Tav fics out there already- I had ideas specifically with a male character in mind. M x M focus is preferred. I'm not bi or pan, so anything hinting to tav being exclusively gay is nice.

THESE ARE all PROMPTS / IDEAS not demands. I'm not here to control anyone's creative progress :V

I'm just a nerd be nice

Brain Damage Tav has used the tadpole powers but refuses to become half-illitid and keeps it how it is. Tav ascends Astarion- but is convinced by Jaheira or someone else that he is incapable of feeling love now and becomes afraid of him- (Astarion still is very much capable of love) Astarion responds of course like a scorned ex, and lies through his teeth when the break up happens and breaks tav's heart. Timeskip- it is revealed Tav's altered brain still has mindflayer powers, but because of the trauma of the final fight he suffers from severe memory loss and pretty much got themselves in a position were he is dying- only for Astarion to come around and save him by turning him- then be met with guilt and over-protectiveness when he realizes Tav does not remember their time together anymore. (would work for a series, this concept is what I intend to use for an AU of my character but it would be very different.) Lots of angst but soft ascended astarion towards male tav :3 very gentle- very protective.

You were There too AU were Tav was kept by Cazador but never turned, just kept as a snack- so Astarion knows him and they may have fallen in love during that time. During the ritual Cazador threatens to replace Astarion with Tav- Astarion goes feral.

I forget you're an Urchin Playing into the fact that Astarion was a corrupted Noble- knows what luxury life is like- inspired by how my tav is an urchin and very unfamiliar with luxury- Tav is Astarion's consort- but is very awkward not knowing ANYTHING about noble life, from etiquette to wearing jewelry and fancy garbs. Wholesome stuff- Probably lots of fluff. Astarion spoiling Tav and showing him off.

Three of them AU were Gale and Astarion and Tav are a in a polycule, after ascension Astarion becomes a little overly possessive over Tav- Gale notices a bit late and feels left out, but supports his loved ones new life goals... Of world domination.

I'm married, get over it Au were male tav has an horrible ex who breaks in the mansion because he thinks tav is enslaved to Astarion- but he's not- He's just as evil as Astarion. And they're very affectionate- Astarion enjoys rubbing it into the ex's face. Extra points if the ex is a human cleric, paladin, or bard with too much facial hair. (COUGHS)

Warlock? cool Any fic that plays into the warlock theme openly for tav, not similary to Wyll- all though I don't want to restrict anyone to a specific type of patron. (my patron is a great old one) keep in mind there's warlock patrons outside of the subclasses in the bg3 game if you need inspiration. If tav's patron is female, give them a mother-son kind of bond since tav is gay.

Other, Tropes I like described vaguely cuz my brain stoopid but ideas that can be expanded into one fic or more -oh shit you're dying don't worry I can fix it with a bite -you're so beautiful I want a 100 paintings of you akjdkhgkfhgk -The gods literally made you to ruin me god damn it I should've known -tav is small / fragile looking man but he can stab you 100 times over -tav can sing, or is creative but he doesn't like sharing this side of him (loki is 100% exactly this lol) hes easily embarrassed -tav is internally panicking because he is very very very gay. -tav has scars too and is very insecure about his body. -overprotectiveness, lots of handholding keep you close kinda stuff -wholesome physical affection, does not have sexual implications even if they talk dirty or flirt silly -words being used like petite, twink- or cute in the right context. -maybe a fic focussing on tav being half elf and the struggles that come with it. Otherwise leave race up to reader. -Tav was already a vampire before they met, or is a dhampir -Astarion and tav knew each other 200 years ago -I will pet you aggressively and affectionally and you will like it -who the fuck are you drawing? wait thats me??? oh -Astarion is creative too and might doodle. -love at first sight but in denial.. cuz its funny -tav has insomnia and needs cuddles... -tav is a necromancer and familiar with vampire lore. -anything reflecting the vampire bride/groom lore in a scene. (there's a reddit post explaining this) -Vampire hunters coming after tav in attempt to hurt Astarion because he's become pretty untouchable -Vampire Tav does not want to feed on his victims because he finds that too intimite -Vampire tav is a vampire lord too- but not an ascended one- and he isn't corrupted by greed. -Astarion technically can compel Tav, but has no desire to do so and voices this openly to anyone who tries to argue Tav is a slave. -If Astarion hurts tav by accident in any way he feels horrible and will shower him in gifts or thousands of love language things just to affirm that it was an oopsie and he did not want to do that. He'd never do that willingly. -consent consent consent anything with consent- love language is consent -tav was a sex worker himself before they met but not anymore -lots of fluff stuff -scheming husbands plotting the downfall of the world together, bonus points if tav is the mastermind and a genius -Polycule with Gale, either as Triad, or Triangle -Admiring from afar, staring- lots of staring- intense consential staring -astarion beating up tav's abusers while tav sips from a chalice like a spoiled consort -dramatic vampire parties and all the normie vampire lords are scared of Astarion and his consort -vampire politics are kind of like ballroom hissing contests with fancy banquets and showing off your partner -I will go feral if someone hurts or touches you -steer clear of the consort, or the master will gut you -jealous vampire lord tries to seduce tav but tav is very loyal to astarion and not having it -astarion gets a cleric or powerful mage in his court just to revive tav if tav dies -You offended my husband? I'm setting your village on fire -Everyone thinks the consort tav is weak- but the consort might actually be more dangerous oh no -None of the above lines have to be necessarily restricted by ingame universe, can all be AU- does not have to include the whole mindflayer drama. Rule of Cool.

Avoid these please? I personally dislike that -misgendering tav (babygirl, queen, girly, strictly effeminate- any words that might demasculinize tav, as a gay man this stuff makes me really uncomfortable) -Overly describing tav's features as if they're set without leaving it open to the reader (long hair, skin color, favorite colors, etc) -Astarion knew tav when tav was still a child and Astarion was an adult. -Astarion abusing tav physically, just.. Please no. -...they're teenagers in high school... *dies* -brainwashing.. No offense to people who like some tropes I don't- You're fine :V We all have different tastes!

Headcanons for how Ascension works that you can use (inspired by ingame dialogue and such) -Tav isn't a regular spawn, but a vampire groom- He was turned differently, not buried for 2 days. Astarion can sense Tav is in danger if he is a groom, or sense strong emotions from him. -Tav is not immune to sunlight unless he stays in close range of Astarion. (based on dialogue) -Astarion might be a bit warmer to the touch since he is a living vampire now. He does not have to feed on blood- but Tav still requires blood and is cold to the touch.

Might edit this post later with more.

[imaginingmarvelandeverything]

Don’t You Forget About Me

Request: By @fyeahtaylorp : Could you please do a plus size reader and billy Hargrove imagine where the reader is like El and has powers and she is trying to protect the kids but it’s hard because “billy” is coming after her and el and maybe it it’s happy.

Pairing: Billy x Powered!Reader

Warnings: Blood, violence, spoilers for season 3 episode 8

Word Count: 1656

A/N: Thank you so much for the request!! I really enjoyed writing this, I just hope I’ve done it justice. I’ll let you guess what song I was listening to when I wrote this. I gave the reader pyrokinesis because I didn’t want to make this one have a sad ending and the only thing that seems to be able to stop the mindflayer is fire. Requests are open!!

Masterlist

Y/N, Mike, El and Max made it to the front of Starcourt just in time to see Billy clambering out of his Camaro. The car was on fire and the yellow Cadillac Hopper had commandeered was next to it, also on fire. The station wagon was missing through so they had to assume that the other had made it out. The four of them had been separated from the others when the mindflayer fell through the roof of the mall. They managed to escape through the back of the Gap but now they had another problem. 

Y/N’s eyes traced Billy’s form as he stood to his full height. There were tears streaming down his face but his jaw was locked. His white vest made his arms visible and the black lines crisscrossing across his skin stood out. The areas where his skin had broken when El pushed him out of the gym and from the crash had turned black. This wasn’t her Billy. This wasn’t the boy she knew and loved. The mindflayer had control of his mind and subsequently his body. But she knew the tears and the tortured look in his eyes meant that he was still in there; trapped in his own mind.

“Get back inside.” Y/N turned and pushed the three kids back the other side of the loading gate that cut the loading dock off from the car park. Without thinking she slammed the close button; cutting herself off from the kids.

“No! Y/N!” El screamed and tried to get out of Mike and Max’s grasp.

“Get back inside! Go!” Y/N screamed as she turned and ran. She had trapped herself with Billy but all that mattered was keeping the kids safe. She would never forgive herself if something happened to them.

She darted through the main entrance into the mall and froze. Her eyes darted around, looking for somewhere to go. The neon lights of the shops were still glistening brightly but the main lighting was all out. It gave the mall and eerie glow. She was trying not to panic as tears ran down her cheeks and her shoulder burned. The mindflayer had grabbed onto it when it had tried to take El back at the cabin. The wound had reopened with all the fighting and running; she could feel the blood running down her back and soaking her shirt. She caught sight of a service door and bolted for it as she heard the door behind her open. Her blood ran cold as Billy’s voice echoed around the empty mall.

“There’s no where to hide! We will find you!” Billy didn’t even sound like himself. There was an edge to his voice; like his voice consisted of multiple versions of him speaking at once.

Y/N’s footsteps echoed through the empty corridor as she ran. The pain in her shoulder was slowing her down. She lost track of how many corners she turned before she realised her mistake. She hit the end of a corridor and threw open the door at the end. It was a storage room and there was no other exit. A sob escaped her chest as her breathing became more ragged. From the running or the panic clawing at her chest she didn’t know. She couldn’t fight him without hurting or even killing him. She had trapped herself with no where to go, no one to turn to and little hope of help coming.

Billy was limping as he rounded the corner. His hair hung in his face and the black lines in his skin seemed to become more pronounced as he realised she had nowhere to go.

“Billy?” Her voice broke as tears streamed down her face. She turned to face him, taking small steps backwards as he got closer. “Billy, it’s me. I know you can hear me. Please, you can fight him. Please, you have to. I can’t hurt you; he knows that. Billy, he’ll kill me.” Her sobs got louder as her back hit the wall. She had no where left to go. “Billy, please.”

“He’s not here.” With that, his hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her off the floor.

She clawed at his hand and kicked out as he slammed her head back into the wall. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was those all to familiar blue eyes and all the pain hidden behind them.

Billy released his grip on her throat as she went limp under him. He knelt down and let her fall over his shoulder before he stood up. He made his way back to the food court in the centre of the mall. The mindflayer was already waiting for them. He shifted her into his arms before placing her on the floor. He knelt down, his knees either side of her hips as she started to come around.

Y/N groaned as her vision started to return. Her skull throbbed painfully against the tiled ground beneath her. Her eyes focused on the mindflayer above her and she tried to get up. Billy gripped her shoulders and slammed her back into the floor. She screamed as she felt her shoulder tear open further. Sobs racked through her body as Billy lent down next to her ear.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon. Just try to stay very still.” His voice was eerily calm and it sent chills down her spine. He sat back up and went to get up as the mindflayer shot a tendril towards her.

She shot out her hand and screamed. The fire emerging from her arm connected to the tendril and the mindflayer shrieked and stumbled back. It shifted as if to come towards them again but an explosion ripped through the silence right next to it. Lucas had managed to rig together the fireworks they had stolen and the others were all throwing them towards the mindflayer from the top level of the mall. The mindflayer shrieked at them all and tried to dodge the hits but there were too many.

Y/N made the mistake of forgetting that Billy was still with her. He pulled her forward by her shirt and slammed her back into the ground. It caused another scream to rip from her throat as her hands shot to his shoulders to try and push him off. She knew it was futile. His muscle mass was much higher than hers so she knew she wouldn’t be able to break his grip. Her chest heaved from the breaths she managed to take in in-between sobs as she looked up at him.

“Billy, you promised, remember. You promised you’d never hurt me. We were sat in your car, by the quarry.” Y/N shifted one of her hands from his arm to his face as he looked at her with what seemed like recognition. “You told me about your mom, about your dad and all about California. You said you’d take me there. To see the water that was so blue it didn’t look real.” Tears were running down his cheeks now as the black lines in his skin started to fade. “And I told you about my childhood. Not all of it, because Hopper would’ve killed me, but enough so that you would understand. You told me that you loved me, promised you’d always protect me, and I said it back. You looked so happy. You were happy.”

Billy screwed his eyes shut as the tears ran down his cheeks and dropped down his nose onto Y/N’s chest. The black lines had completely faded now and she knew it was her Billy looking back at her. He fell off of her so he was sitting on the floor and put his head in his hands. She sat up carefully and moved over to him.

“I’m sorry.” He sobbed into his hands as she sat in front of him.

“It’s not your fault, it…”

El’s scream cut her off. “Y/N!”

Y/N only just turned in time. She lifted her hands and let the fire course through her. The mindflayer shrieked and tried to move back but she didn’t let up, sitting up onto her knees. She screamed with the effort as the others kept throwing fireworks. She was running out of energy and the others were running out of fireworks when the mindflayer collapsed to the floor.  

Y/N’s strength left her as she fell backwards but Billy was already waiting. He caught her against his chest and held her against him as they both continued crying. She clutched onto his arms around her as she turned and buried her face in his neck. The blood from her shoulder was starting to stain his white vest but he didn’t care. He just buried his face into her hair and cried with her. Neither of them moved as Max, El and Mike appeared in front of them.

“Are you okay?” Max asked as they heard the doors open and the army began to sweep through the mall.

Neither of them answered, they just nodded. They were finally safe. Everything was going to be okay.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

Hey can you do a Robin x reader fic with the reader is in college and also being Dustin’s sister? Robin convinced that Henderson!reader has a thing for Steve? Rating anything just Robin stumbling over how much she has a thing for Dustin’s sister and being sad about the Steve thing even though there is no thing?

After a very long year full of supernatural idiocies, your friends and little brother getting in fatal trouble and all that, a full year of college normalcy away from Hawkins was what you needed to get back on track with your mental health and emotional safety, and now that Summer holiday came once again, you were very happy to be reunited with your family.

Dustin told you that Steve was still working part time at Scoops Ahoy, even after the horrible events at Starcourt, and Robin was there too, so you just HAD to go and see them, you missed them so much.

Of course, you arranged yourself more attentively than usual since it was an important day today, so make up, a nice hairstyle and a pretty outfit were perfect - Nobody would realise you were a huge nerd and geek...Not that you minded. It was your whole life and happiness.

As soon as you stepped in the parlor, you noticed Steve and ran to him, jumping over the counter and hugged him tightly, kissing his cheek and spinning around with him, chanting his name.

“Steve! Steve! Steve! Gosh, how I’ve missed you! It’s really been a whole year, hasn’t it?! Can you believe it?! I sure as hell can’t!” you exclaim happily, letting go of him and analysing him from head to toe. “That hat still doesn’t do your hair any justice.” you laughed, leaning on the counter.“Yes, it’s been a year...Honestly, Y/N, I don’t know if I’d rather face College Horror or Monster Horror again.” he smirked, shaking his head. “But you sure look fresh as a daisy, I’m glad to see that.” he continued, then banged on the little slide-open door, only to be opened by your favourite girl.“Robin!!” your eyes sparkled as you chirped her name.“Our fave girl has returned from College Nightmare, Buckley, don’tcha wanna greet her properly?” Steve asked, motioning for her to get out of there.“Nice to see you back, Y/N! Came here for some free ice cream?” she smirked, already preparing your favourite.“Oh my God, your desserts are always the best! I swear, Robin, you are the best! Hey, why don’t we hang out at my house tonight? Get some booze, play some games, watch some movies? Sounds good? Dustin’s gonna stay over at Mike’s tonight.” you suggested with a sly look on your face.“Sure, why not. It’s been a while since we’ve hung out like that. And it will be nice to have Robin around too, now.” he shrugged. “We finish in two hours, you can prepare everything for our sleep over and we’ll bring the good stuff, ‘kay?” he said, making you  nod vigurously.“Hell yes! See ya later!” you hugged them both and rushed outside to make preparations.

All day you only thought of how to finally ask Robin out.

She’s been in your head all year and you couldn’t, for the love of anything good in this world, get rid of those thoughts about her, so might as well pursue them now.

The only people who knew of this crush were Dustin and Steve, which now seemed to be like literal Father and Son, which you were very happy about.You got to warm up around Steve after he started taking care of and protecting your little brother during all that mess with the demodogs, and from then on, you started hanging around.

After you finished Highschool, Steve started working at Scoops Ahoy, while you decided to volunteer at a place to make your CV better for your future career, so while you didn’t get to hang out too much, you got the privilege of meeting Robin, who was honestly the most beautiful and intriguing girl you’ve ever met.

Unfortunately, you were always much too shy to ask her out, especially knowing how same-sex relationships were seen around, and you were afraid of making her hate you, so being friends was the next best thing, and as long as she was happy, you were happy as well.

Little did you know that the girl thought the exact same things as you were, and even more, she thought you were in love with Steve, seeing how close you were with each other, and she started feeling darker feelings pitting in her stomach.

Night soon came by and your two friends finally arrived, ready to change in their PJs and you gathered in the living room, music loud and preparing for the booze games.

“What should we start with? Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle, Never have I ever...?” you trailed off, thinking of what games to play.“Let’s start with Never have I ever. It’s good for a big round of shots, right?” Seve suggested, opening the vodka bottle and pouring in the glasses.“Okay, sounds good! So, let’s see...Never have I ever...Uhhh....Fuck, I don’t know...Never have I ever gone to a rock concert.” you finally managed to blurt out, then saw Robin chuckle and Steve rolling his eyes, taking a shot.“Woaw, dingus, you sure are as lame as you look.” she snorted, making you giggle.“I mean, did you see how that sailor hat looks on him? Clearly, he’s so lame, he’s kinda like...A super innocent adorable kind of lame!” you exclaimed, making him groan as you laughed, not realising Robin was biting her lip in anger.“Okay, okay, whatever, my turn. Never have I ever went out on a date that went horribly bad.” Steve said, making the both of you drink and laugh at the memories, yet Robin looked down, not drinking.“Like, d’you remember how horribly bad that date with what’s-his-name went? He was so freaking boring that I had to pretend to go to the bathroom, call you to come rescue me, and then we spent the whole night watching movies, trash-talking him and eating ice cream?” you laughed remembering the awkward situation as you drank the shot.“Or that girl I tried to date after Nancy and I accidentally called her by that name...And just then I realised I didn’t even know what her name was. She made me pay the pizza bill but ate none of it, so I called you to come over and help me finish everything.” he nudged you a bit rougher than intended, making you laugh like idiots.“We’re idiots. But, Robin, you didn’t drink. Does that mean that all your dates went well? I’m so happy to hear that!” you grinned at her gently, but she shook her head.“I didn’t get to date anyone, actually.” she shrugged, looking away.“Aww, come on, Robin, don’t get upset! You’re a lovely girl, I’ve never seen anyone funnier, smarter and more beautiful than you! Every guy would be lucky to date someone like you.” you encouraged her, but she only breathed out a soft laugh.“Never have I ever had a crush on someone of the same sex.” Robin declared, making the both of you drink a shot, look at each other with a soft blush, than look away.“Glad to hear I’m not the only one here. Then again...Come on, King Steve, didn’t you like Billy even a little bit? The way he’d hover over your body, all sweaty and panting, calling your name so confidently...” you smirked, slurring a bit, making him groan and fall on the ground.“Fuck Hargrove, okay? He’s lucky he got out alive of that whole Mindflayer shit and moved back to Cali for Uni. If I have to hear one more King Steve from his mouth, I swear I’ll shave him and make him eat his stupid mullet.” Steve threatened, making you fall back with drunken laughter too.“You wish he’d fuck you, man. He’s good, I’m sure of that.” you giggled, poking his sides.“Shut up.” Steve murmured. “Imma go get some snacks from the kitchen...Or vomit.” he left the room, making you roll on your side, smirking at Robin.“Who’s the lucky lady you crushed or are crushing on, Robin, dear~?” you tried to press, making her look away a bit.“She’s...Very smart. She’s at Uni now, going into her 2nd year at a prestigious Uni. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met, she’s soft like an angel and nobody would realise she’s such a damn nerd...And I think she’s crushing or dating Steve.” she mumbled, downing a shot.“Woaw, she sure sounds like a nice girl. You know...I think you should tell her. You never know who she likes, do you? And assumptions aren’t always what they look like. Also...Who the hell would choose Steve over you? You’re a million dollar babe, okay? Steve is just a...A...” you tried to find the perfect word, but she beat you to it, with a gentle smile on her face. “A dingus?”“Oh, gosh, yeah, that was it! Nice one, Robin!” you high fived her, but ended up losing balance and lazily hugging her, giggling.“Do you like Steve, Y/N?” she asked, making you laugh.“Steve? Yeah, he’s like, my best friend and all, what’s not to like about him? He’s an idiot but he saved my baby brother so now we’re friends.” you explained, making her nod at you, looking at you without breaking eye contact.“Yes, but...Do you...Like him? Like-Love him?” she pressed on, making you gag and snort.“Ew, no, jeez, it would be like dating Dustin. So awkward and weird. No way in hell...Besides...The crush I have on a girl? You’re that girl, Robin. I’ve been thinkin’ ‘bout you the whole damn year and I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I was just too much of a coward to ever say it out loud, but this idiot here and the other mini-idiot kept pestering me to finally ask you out...Guess I needed to get tipsy as hell to get that courage, huh?”  you grinned shyly, burying your face in the crook of her neck.“Wanna have our first date tomorrow, then? Go to the movies, eat something, walk around, go to the arcade, stargaze at night...” she offered, making you put your arms around her neck and kiss her cheek.“Sounds like the perfect date, if you ask me.” you hugged her tightly, making her lay on the floor so you could cuddle up to her easier.“Huh...This was so easy...And to think I was jealous on Harrington ‘cause I thought you liked him. So stupid.” she snorted, making you giggle, caressing her cheek.“Steve...Who? He’s nothing compared to you, so forget about him. Tonight it’s just the two of us, this annoyingly loud music that’s gonna give me a hangover migrane very soon, and this vodka that just screams to be downed in one go...Uh...What was I saying?”  you raised your eyebrow, a bit confused, having lost your train of thought.“Just that you love me, dear. Just that. And I love you too and I’m glad you got drunk enough to confess to me.” she leaned on her side, pressing her plump and soft lips to yours softly, a sweet smile gracing her features.“Damn, you’re beautiful, Robin. Will you be my girlfriend?” you asked, making her chuckle a bit, kissing your forehead.“Any day, any time, love. Any time.” she answered, softly.“Oi, guys, what the hell is going on here?! I know you love each other, but come on, don’t make this +18, okay? ...Argh, never mind, just go sleep in the bedroom, I’ll sleep on the couch...Jeez...” he groaned, drinking some water and crashing on the couch with a pout.“What, Harrington, are you jealous I’m dating Y/N and you’re not?” she smirked as you two sat up, her arm around your waist, putting you very close to her.“Nahh, not jealous, just happy for you. About time, really, she’s been gushing about you all year over the phone, I was about ready to just tell you myself about all this.” he shrugged, ushering the two of you to the bedroom.“I have a TV in my room, so we can watch some really good slasher movies and cuddle?” you asked, kissing her again.“Dream date!” she smirked, dragging you to your bedroom, ready to get the night started with her new girlfriend.

[koboldburrow]

Aurix update

There won’t be one of these for a while, since our schedules ain’t workin’ out until next month, buuuut:

Last time: Ronin wanted to get some Thieves’ Tools, and Aurix brought him to some shady-ass Drow gang to hook him up. He didn’t really wanna pay 50g for a set of tools, so instead offered to do A Favour. They asked him to get rid of an elf who was a High Priest of Savras; he agreed. Aurix asked him if 50g was a price he was okay with paying for blood on his hands, and promised to back him up in however he approached this job.

THIS TIME: Aurix made some very excellent use of her new spell, Flock of Familiars, in scouting out the Temple of Savras. We not only found out the high priests would be meeting tonight (one of which was our assassination target) so everyone could see them vote on a change in tenets, but we spotted a young girl that may be the child who was taken away by the temple. (I’m a little fuzzy on what THAT’S about, since it’s a plotline that was going on before I joined the campaign.) 

Von (the bard) polymorphed Ronin (the samurai) into a spider, Aurix tucked him into her hood, and one Mask of Many Faces disguise later, we sneak into the temple for that big meeting. We see the girl is being kept behind a High Priest by the name of Shadowstone, who’s got a fancy tattoo on his arm marking him as a member of the dwarven shady-ass mafia. Ronin also picks up that our assassination target glances at Shadowstone with utter fear before voting the same way that he does. It’s pretty clear that Shadowstone is the dude behind the sketchy business, and it’s equally clear that the drow gang who Ronin promised to Do An Assassinate for probably picked this dude because he’s obviously in Shadowstone’s pocket. 

The Polymorph is getting close to running out, so disguised-as-a-random-Savras-cleric Aurix tries to scootch out of the meeting all “bathroom break s’cuse me.” She manages to deceive all the high priests except one, ducks out, and hides away in an empty room so Ronin can be a half-orc again and not a spider. Knowing their cover may be blown, Ronin tries to suggest pulling out and coming back with the rest of the party. Aurix is wary, knowing that much of the party won’t be super on board with “murder a church guy” or really cut out for Stealth, and fearing that the suspicions they raised may lead to tighter security. She suggests instead that they do a “to hide a tree, use a forest” approach and try to slip in with all the leaving clerics when the meeting ends, and maybe try to follow their mark that way. 

No luck seeing him among the people who go by, though, so Ronin figures that we should just cut our losses and leave. He gets caught on the way out, though, and we get taken to talk to the High Priestess who wasn’t fooled by Aurix’s “lol brb bathroom” bit. She talks about Shadowstone’s shadiness, a bit about our mark’s past, and how he’s one of Shadowstone’s many puppets. Aurix suggests that they, as ardent adherents to the tenets of Savras and not this skewed version Shadowstone is trying to push, try talking to the mark in private. Somehow, this works, and the priestess arranges for them to talk. 

At this point, Aurix is READY THE FUCK TO HIT. Hexblade’s Curse, poised to strike, waiting for Ronin to give the signal. He talks to this drow High Priest a bit. The guy doesn’t really know anything useful at all about Shadowstone, but he quickly realizes that we were sent by the drow gang to kill him, and starts sobbing and weeping. At this point, Ronin does a 180, and completely changes his mind about killing the dude. He kinda does a “well now you know that this gang wants to kill you, so we’ll just see what fate decides” kind of thing and asks how he can help and stuff. Aurix is like shooting him Looks and trying to mouth stuff like “DUDE WE NEED TO GET INTO THE UNDERDARK ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DOUBLE CROSS THE DROW MAFIA,” but she takes her oaths pretty seriously, so she doesn’t really want to run this clown through in front of Ronin after she promised “I’ll have your back, however you wanna get the job done.” 

She knows that the High Priestess of Savras has seen his face and heard his voice, and she also knows that he openly admitted where he’s from, so she’s just thinking, like, “well shit, I gotta protect this poor naive idiot or he’ll absolutely get arrested and/or silenced.” She tells him “okay, go leave back to the inn, don’t hide it, just let people witness you exiting the temple.” Once Ronin clears off, she talks with the mark, convinces him “look, these people will just send someone who’s actually willing to assassinate you once they realize this failed, you have to flee, I can help you disappear so well neither Shadowstone nor drow can find you.” With some very lucky smooth-talking, she convinces him to tell some of the Savras clerics he’s heading out for a walk to clear his head (thereby proving he was still alive after Ronin left), and she takes him out to one of the city gates. 

Now, at this point, her full intention was “get somewhere with no witnesses, run him through, dump him in a ditch.” She did NOT want to backstab the drow criminal syndicate for a lot of reasons. 

They also knew Ronin’s face and voice, meaning they could easily come for him and/or the party he was with.

Aurix had been prepared all along for “I can do an assassination for you” to result in actually doing the assassination, so she was pretty braced for “this is a priest, he probably won’t go HELL YEAH KILL ME I’M EVIL AS SHIT,” so she wasn’t all that moved by tears at all

also Aurix is a True Neutral lizardfolk only really concerned with keeping her oaths and surviving, so risking the necks of herself and her friends for no better reason than “this total stranger did a real sad cry” is just not really something she’s wired to understand 

Aurix is a fuckign criminal with an evil sword that thirsts for blood. She’s been in shadyville so long that she’s probably pretty numb to shedding the blood of sapient beings, especially ones that are cronies in some Real Fucky Business

they definitely did still need to get to the Underdark, and the only really accessible entrance is in this exact city, so thumbing your nose at the drow seems REALLY unwise

It didn’t actually work out that way though. The mark passed out a little outside the gates, an elf standing guard there was all “HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING.” Aurix tries the “hhha ha ha he’s just drunk I’m taking him home,” but the dude just automatically knows that’s horseshit. I’m thinking “jesus christ this unexpected morality moment is going to get my character arrested and/or killed,” so I try to cast Hold Person. Automatic fail (I guess elves resist paralysis or WIS saving throws?). I’m like. [SCREAMS INTERNALLY] and just..... try to bribe the guy to forget he saw anything 

I think the DM feels sorry for me and my utterly screwed character lmao, because the elf kinda just goes “actually for this much gold I’ll just handle making sure this guy gets to the next town over lol” at which point I go “COOL THANKS IF ANYONE ASKS YOU SAW NOTHING” and just fuckign. peace out. So I ended up losing a chunk of change on this, but like.... at least Aurix didn’t Perish

So the whole party reconvenes at the inn, and Ronin has already spilled most of what they were up to. The group moves up to one of their rooms for Privacy and Aurix is... not entirely happy.... about the way things went. She’s pissed that he sprung a last-second backdown on her with no warning and put her into a situation where she had to break an oath to these dudes, that they’ve made enemies of both sides of a gang war, that she had to go through a bunch of money and trouble to clean this up, and that there’s now a loose end running wild on his way to the next town over. The vanishing of a high priest is very quickly noticed, despite the “just going for a walk” thing, and the alarm is raised across the city. We decide “hey this would be a REALLY GOOD TIME to skip town.” We wait until the next day, when Corrin (half-dragon ranger/sorc) can pick up her new +2 spell focus, Aurix picks up the Entire Live Cow she ordered, and we skip town to go back to the ancient dragon’s lair and see how much of the hoard the kobolds have dug up. 

Aurix comes barreling in all “MY SWEET LITTLE LIZARDY BABIES I BROUGHT YOU A BEEF.” Kobolds are very pleased to get an entire delicious cow, and present us with A SHITLOAD OF STUFF. 11K gold tossed into our portable hole, along with 36 more magic items (most of them are scrolls). We explain that we’re gonna be away for a while and that the kobolds really should stay away from hassling the nearby city because AURIX NEEDS HER BABIES TO BE OKAY LMAO. 

With our ducks all in a row, Von (bardy boi) does a Teleportation Circle, and we all blip back to Breedonne to hand in our dragonscales to (and get our magic items Identified by) the wizardy dude who we’re doing this Main Quest stuff for. We retire to an inn to discuss our next move. We’ll still need more dragonscales probably, but it took us a lot to find this white dragon, so we’re not all that sure how easily we’ll even be able to locate another dragon to hunt. Sticking to getting mindflayer helmets from the Underdark seems like the better move, but considering the only really accessible entrance is the one in the city we just messed with the drow in, we’re kinda unsure how well that will go. We figure that we’ll maybe just, like... spend a bit here in Breedonne preparing and researching and getting materials for our Underdark adventure, and hopefully by the time we’re ready to come back, the heat will have died down a little bit. On that decision, we end for the night, and we’ll pick back up sometime in March!