#it's really neat there's a little vampire crypt down there

[victorluvsalice]

--->And so the trio went off to the Haunted Museum! Which I'd spent the beginning of my playsession updating for them in Build/Buy mode by adding more pictures and suchlike for them to view – like some Realm of Magic tables with the Paranormal Stuff mini-cowplant and falcon statue to the second floor around the werewolf book display, or some of my CC A:MR pictures on a few of the walls downstairs. Plus the Tragic Clown painting, because why not? XD (I also updated the basement area with more Werewolves prints and Crystal Creations moon-patterned rugs and prints, but my Sims never went down there and I forgot to take a picture of that area, so...perhaps on a future visit!) I also added the “Vampire Nexus” and “Peace & Quiet” lot traits to the museum, along with the “Spooky” lot challenge in hopes of maybe seeing a ghost or two. Hey, Petey himself suggested doing the latter – it is supposed to be a haunted museum, after all!

-->Anyway – haunted museum Spookfest date! Naturally, the group's first order of business was to change into costumes. :D Alice got to be a pizza delivery lady; Victor a space ranger; and Smiler – well, they just turned into their Dark Form, because that counts as a costume for vampires. XD (Still think werewolves transforming into their beast forms should count too!) I then had them head inside and sit around the séance table on the first floor (after Alice “donated” her jar of purple Forbidden Candy to the display of “Hello Dalhia” dolls and candy jars there – what, there was a gap and I wanted to fill it! We have TWO at home!) to have a chat to help fulfill the date goals – sharing jokes, flirts, and deep conversations. Alice and Smiler got up a couple of times to look at items (I mean, they WERE at a museum, that’s what you DO there), but everything went very well, and soon the date was at gold level. :) I had Victor blow a kiss to Alice, lay a smooch on Smiler –

-->Then transportalate up to the attic bathrooms as he REALLY had to pee. XD Alice and Smiler amused themselves while he was busy looking at the art, sharing the spooky spirit, talking to one of the Hello Dalhias (Alice), and watering the little plasma tree in its side room (Smiler). Once Victor was done, I had him bring everyone up to the second floor so they could reconvene and finish off all their date goals while looking at the specters-in-jars display there (potential rewards from the Paranormal Investigator career, in case you were wondering). They all had a nice chat together looking at the specters and some of the pictures I added to the lot, with Victor ending things off by giving Alice a nice shoulder massage to complete the last group date goal (and Alice reciprocating with an enthusiastic jump into his arms XD) –

[purplecritter]

Dragon Age: Vows and Vengeance (Ep. 7)

Official episode transcript here

My notes while I was listening under the cut… Spoilers ahead!

I am always so uncomfortable with these types of “surgery” scenes. Could never be a combat medic

So they plan to pack the wound with a “poultice of mud, moss, and herbs”... DAO Warden drinking health poultices is cringing right now :’)

The dramatic thunders are paid actors

Ngl “Blood of the Black Rot” sounds like Blight. Taint if you will. Plus there’s no cure, and darkspawn blood isn’t like oil but it does look quite viscous idk

Okay merchant Ramiro (adds to the notebook of “characters to look out for in Veilguard)

Aww I like Lillemar

I did not anticipate Emmrich having company other than Manfred so this Rolet is a surprise idk why

Okay Emmrich is OPTIMISTIC we love a man that trusts in nature (Nature will absolutely destroy those horses sorry dude)

Mkayyy so a fortnight = two weeks, to get from Antiva past the whole Free Marcher to (near) Hunter Fell (between Nevarra, Tevinter and Orlais basically). Good to know!

The way Emmrich talks is satisfying? Does that make sense? Pleasant voice!

Oooh I wonder if Manfred is a literal spirit of Curiosity or if that was more of a figure of speech. [Spoilers for Tevinter Nights] In “Down Among the Dead Men” Audric is a spirit of curiosity but I don’t recall any other case where we closely interacted with one of this kind, it’d be neat if Manfred was one even silent as he is!

Earthquake mention 🎉

Emmrich what do you mean “by jove”?! Who is Jove here💀

“I don't mean to sound dire, but best you search your heart for something to believe in” okay foreshadowing I see you

Manfred disliking being given nicknames was not on my bingo card but I like it. Number 1 nemesis of Varric’s as soon as they meet

I don’t know why Rolet was with Emmrich and at this point I’m too late to ask

“Things have gotten strange in the lower crypts ever since the incident in the Silent Plains [...] There was quite an explosion in a cave a few weeks back. Its effects have reverberated throughout the area, compromising bits of the Veil” 👀

why do the lineages always have to be patriarchal

Yeah not there’s no way this “Pascal De La Forsa” guy isn’t a vampire or something. His vibes are rancid, as they say

“Almost sounds like the Fade out there, no?” better hope Nadia can learn the Warden’s way of closing Fade rifts by waving their weapon around because I have a feeling it’s not going to stay “almost” for much longer

“Oh no, personally, no. Just the tales I've heard. I imagine it's similar. I'm really just thinking out loud.” this was Solas every time you asked him about things he shouldn’t have known lmao

OOf the sister is even less subtle about not being human 

“Perhaps a little spirit is just what you need” uh huh I see what you did there

“Spirit fire of midnight suns, through my spire of ill and ire, the wretched blood he blessed, not mired” ← Emmric’s incantation to heal Drayden

“Cetus bile” blegh. Anyways Cetus is (drum roll please) a sea dragon! Wonder if they’ll get a spotlight in Veilguard 👀

Demon to Nadia: “Now I see why he wants you” cool cocol cool so either Elio got a reputation since getting possessed or he’s not talking about Elio here? 

^ Maeror apparently. 

“O-NAY, AH-TAY. O-NAY, AH-TAY. SCAH-TOE, TOW-BRAY” ← chanted by demon to open Fade rift

NAAAH THE RING WAS WITH THE TEMPLAR DEMON!! Nadiaaa get awayyy

Yeah much as I hoped in the first couple episodes that Elio could be saved. I don’t think that’s likely at all anymore lol

[chelsfic]

I’ll Just Look on Through My Love - Guillermo x Reader x Nandor One-shot (Dom/Sub, One-shot)

Sorry for the gif lmao

Sequel to A Familiar’s Familiar

WWDITS Masterlist | AO3

Summary: Guillermo and Nandor punish you. Nandor thinks Guillermo is far too lenient with you.

Warnings/Tags: Dom/sub, choking, humiliation, Gender Neutral Pronouns/Descriptions

Nandor’s hand is gigantic. It wraps practically all the way around your throat. His fingers and thumb dig into the tender flesh under your jaw bone, forcing your head back against his broad chest. Guillermo’s hand is smaller, but more vicious. His blunt fingernails cut into your sensitive skin. You’re sandwiched between them, Guillermo’s weight pressing into your chest and Nandor’s ice cold breath creeping over the nape of your neck. Their bodies hold you up, your feet dangling, barely scraping the floor of your little bedroom under the stairs.

 “Look at you, chiquis,” Guillermo’s voice is stern but there’s a tremor in it that betrays how affected he is by this scene. Not to mention his achingly hard erection, currently rocking against your pelvis. “Weeping, whining, falling apart. Is this what it takes to teach you respect?”

 Nandor growls into your ear, his beard scraping roughly against your cheek as he leans over you and grabs Guillermo up in a broken, feral kiss. Their hands loosen around your throat and you sob as the blood rushes painfully back to your oxygen-deprived brain. Shadows and brilliant sparks of light fade from your vision as you recover yourself, suspended between your master and his master.  

 Nandor snarls into the kiss and Guillermo responds with a breathy, needy moan. Hearing the way your master responds to Nandor’s attentions sends a pulsing ache to your groin. But you’re still weak and weepy with the sorrow of disappointing Guillermo. You fist your little hands into the fabric of his sweater and bury your face in the crook of his neck, clinging to him and begging for forgiveness. “I’m sorry,” you repeat over and over again.

 Nandor’s chest rumbles with low laughter and he begins thrusting to the rhythm of your cries; his firm erection rubs against your ass through layers and layers of clothing. “Your familiar is spoiled, Guillermo,” he chides, pulling back from the kiss, his mouth painted with blood. Guillermo’s lips are a beautiful ruin. “They think they can run around this house disrespecting vampires and just say they are sorry ?”

 Nandor wraps his arms around you, replacing his hand around your throat and pulling you away from your master. You sob pitifully at the separation and try again, “Please, I’m really sorry, Master. Master Nandor. I won’t ever roll my eyes at you again. Please…”

 “It’s too late for that!” Nandor grouses. He squeezes his hand on your throat in a petulant warning before letting his fingers relax. “You think I don’t know you don’t give a shit about me? Well, it’s pretty clear. Look at you, so sad and desperate for Guillermo. Well, guess what? Guillermo doesn’t want you. He wants me. Isn’t that right, Guillermo?

 Your master is undressing, responding to some unspoken command from Nandor’s eyes. He removes his clothing with neat precision, folding and setting each item down on the little nightstand beside your cot. “Yes, master,” he answers with a needy moan, finally working the skin-tight boxer-briefs down his curvy legs and standing naked and exposed before you. 

 Guillermo’s body is so perfect it hurts. Your eyes linger over his heaving chest, the round slope of his plush stomach, the shape of his heavy erection jutting out between thick thighs. The only other time you’ve seen your master nude was that night...months ago when he’d offered you the job. But it had been dark and he’d been in a rush. Still. The memory of his words sends a shiver down your spine, If you want this job...you’ll need to lose your virginity first...

 Nandor speaks and you snap back to the present. You can practically see the open-mouthed leer on his lips as he hisses in satisfaction. “Look at you, Guillermo! Your cheeks are so rosy...and that fat cock is ready for me, isn’t it?”

 “Yes, master.” Guillermo backs up until his knees hit the edge of your pitiful little mattress. He lays down on it, his legs spread open and you might faint. Your beautiful master, naked and yearning, laid out in the place where you sleep every night! He ghosts a hand over his dick and pants, “I want you, master. I’ve been good.”

 “Hm, debatable,” Nandor mocks. He’s grinding himself into your ass and you feel yourself responding, subtly rocking back against him. “You can’t even keep your own familiar in line, after all. I have to do everything for you, do I? Guillermo, prepare yourself for me while this pitiful little thing watches.”

 Guillermo groans in delight, shoving his hands between his spread legs. The air rushes from your lungs at the sight and Nandor laughs over your head. “He’s not for you, little human.”

 You watch as Guillermo glances over at your nightstand and back at you with a questioning arch of his brows. Oh god…

 “I-in the drawer, master,” you tell him, face burning as he reaches into the drawer and pulls out the bottle of lube you’d purchased with rather unrealistically hopeful expectations. 

 He smirks at you as he pours the liquid over his fingers, “My familiar is keeping secrets from me, too? What are you doing in here all by yourself in the middle of the day with this, huh?” Guillermo’s fingers trace past his cock, inching between his legs. “Do you touch yourself and think about me? What do you think about? Getting fucked by me?” His fingers disappear and he regards you coldly. “No...it’s something else isn’t it? Something sadder. You think about rutting against me like the pathetic, mewling underservant you are? Fucking yourself on my thigh while I ignore you? Is that what gets you off?”

 Guillermo’s working himself open as he speaks and Nandor’s hand has fallen from your neck. He’s holding you in a bone-cracking bear hug as he frantically humps you from behind. Warmth pools between your legs and every little motion causes your underwear to brush against your sex, sending an electric jolt through your core. You could come without ever being touched.

 “I hope you’re ready for me, Guillermo. Because I cannot wait any longer.” Nandor drags you forward and throws you down on the narrow bed beside your master. You lay there, frozen and unsure, next to your writhing, panting master. Nandor climbs on after you, kneeling between Guillermo’s spread legs. “You’re going to lay there and watch while I fuck your master into the mattress. Won’t that be nice?” When you don’t answer Nandor’s face turns stony. “What do you say when a superior does a kindness for you, mortal?”

 “Thank you, Master Nandor.” Your voice is small. 

 You curl onto your side so you can face your master; maybe you can pretend it’s just the two of you. But Guillermo ignores you, staring up at Nandor with his eyes blown. His face is slack and he squirms wantonly, begging with his body for his master’s attention. What would it be like, you wonder, to be the object of Guillermo’s adoration? Your hands lay limp on the mattress, twitching every now and then with the desire to reach out and touch what you can’t have.

 Nandor unbuttons his fly and pulls out his straining cock, already glistening with pre-cum. He lines himself up without ceremony and rails into Guillermo’s soft, pliant body. Your master cries out, his hands bracing against the wall behind his head as Nandor starts plowing into him with unforgiving force. You watch, rapt, your face only inches from Guillermo’s on the pillow. Nandor is a writhing, brutal force of nature, but you only have eyes for your sweet master. His face scrunches up so adorably in pain-pleasure. His pouty lips are parted and little mewling cries spill out with every breath. Nandor is, as always, relentless. You want to scream at him to kiss and hold your master the way he deserves. But you swallow the instinct, dreaming instead of being the one to kiss his swollen, bloodied lips.

 “You need to learn, little human,” Nandor huffs, his hands digging cruelly into Guillermo’s fleshy thighs. “I’m your master’s master. You disrespect me, then you disrespect your master! Understand?”

 A sob tears from your throat and you bury your face into Guillermo’s sweaty shoulder, hiding your overwrought emotions from the vampire’s cold gaze. Guillermo coos at you soothingly, even as he takes his master’s cock deeper inside of him. He drops one arm down onto your shoulders and hugs you to his side. 

 “You’re too lenient with your familiar, Guillermo,” Nandor growls, his voice hiccupping with the intensity of his human’s hot, tight body wrapped around him. 

 Guillermo gasps out a laugh and says, “I wonder where I learned that?”

 Nandor roars at the impertinence just as his climax takes hold. He frantically grabs for his familiar’s neglected cock. He strokes with precise, inhuman speed that carries Guillermo into a rapid, overwhelming orgasm of his own. You cling onto your master, sniffling and crying into his shoulder as he shakes and gasps.

 Nandor slides out of Guillermo, his cock still throbbing and pulsing out hot ropes of semen that splatter over the human’s inner thighs and belly. He waits until the last drop shoots onto Guillermo’s flushed skin before tucking himself away and standing with a ridiculously dignified air considering what he’s just been doing.

 “I’ll expect you in my crypt in an hour to get me ready for coffin,” he commands, turning on his heel and disappearing behind the flimsy curtain. 

 The quiet in your little room is deafening and it makes it all the more apparent when Guillermo’s soft, panting breaths thicken into silent sobs. You raise your head from the cradle of his shoulder, watching his beautiful face collapse in anguish as he cries. Something inside of you breaks. You forget your own angst--the misery of disappointing Guillermo and the terror of his vampire master taking control over your punishment. Your master is hurting and it feels like someone has cracked open your chest and ripped out your heart. 

 “Oh, master!” you plead, reaching up and wiping the tears from his cheeks. “Please, don’t cry.”

 Guillermo takes another minute to regain control. It’s probably taking advantage of his compromised state but you put your arm around his chest and hug him to you. You need to comfort him and, maybe, you need the comfort of his soft warm body as well. When his sobs finally abate, he tries and fails to attain his usual cold, mean demeanor. You’d take a dozen more punishments if it would heal the broken tremor in his voice that betrays him. “Clean me up, familiar.”

 You dash down the hall, returning in moments with a damp washcloth. Guillermo shifts over on the cot, allowing you space to sit at his side as you gently wipe away the drying gobs of Nandor’s semen from his chest and stomach. You blush a little when he parts his thighs and motions for you to clean him down there as well. But, as much as you lust after your beautiful master, that isn’t what this moment is about. You move to kneel between his legs and clean him with a reverence that feels sacred and pure. Touching him softly, you hiss in sympathy when you notice the finger-shaped bruises forming on his thighs. Guillermo stays utterly quiet throughout, staring into the middle distance. 

 “There,” you say, dropping the cloth onto the floor by the bed. “Good as new, master.”

 Guillermo says nothing, his face is a blank mask but you notice that he’s shivering. 

 “Are you cold?” you ask, tugging at the blanket and covering him with it. You feel suddenly nervous. This is unknown territory, you’ve never actually witnessed the private side of his relationship with Nandor. You can’t help but compare the way Nandor fled afterwards with the way Guillermo let you sleep in bed with him that night after he first punished you…

 Feeling uncertain, but desperately wanting to offer comfort, you climb under the blanket with him and cautiously snuggle into his side. You expect him to push you away, or perhaps to lay rigidly beside you. But Guillermo accepts your touch, allowing you to pillow your head on his soft, scarcely-haired chest. He lets out a shaky sigh and his eyes drift closed.

 “Is this alright, master?” you ask, your voice trembling. “Just for a little while, until you feel better?”

 Guillermo doesn’t answer out loud. Instead, he wraps his arms around you and drops a kiss onto the top of your head. Your lips split into a painful smile. You bury your face in his chest, pressing your lips to his smooth skin and kissing directly over his heart. You think you could endure a thousand nights of having to watch, with pitiful yearning in your gut, if your master will only hold you like this and kiss you sweetly each time.

 “Good familiar,” he breaths into your tangled hair and your heart swells.

[prose-for-hire]

Friends don’t let friends kill their hair

Pairing: Cordelia Chase x Spike (platonic)

Request: Hello lovely! I have a not reader related request, but if you dont want to write it, its fine! I thought that maybe one day spike screws up bleaching his hair and he goes to Cordy for help? And they bond and become reaaally good friends. I think they could gave a pretty neat friendship, if the writers would have let them,and they are my favourites and you write them so amazingly 🌈

Requested by: @therapieliteratur​ - hope this is okay babe !!

A/N: This is my first request with no reader! It was fun, I love both of the characters so I couldn’t say no to making them friends !!

When I was younger I had a bleaching disaster - I actually had a nightmare one night after writing this fic about bleaching my hair again and it all falling out lol

Spike had been bleaching his hair for a long time now. He could pretty much do it with his eyes closed at this point, and in some sense he did as he didn’t have a mirror to check if he had covered everything.

Now, Spike had let his roots grow out a little longer than he usually would, as he had a slight income problem. The problem being he couldn’t find enough people to intimidate into giving him the cash he needed for the essentials: Blood, smokes and most importantly, bleach. This wouldn’t usually stop him, he would use his five-finger discount but he had now got himself a reputation after being caught shoplifting too many times. So, when he did eventually drum up enough money for his box-bleach, his roots were ridiculously overgrown.

He wasn’t able to see himself in the mirror, so didn’t think anything of it until he came across a demon who was definitely not a fan of Spike’s.

“What, it’s not bad enough you’re helping the slayer, you went and gave yourself a golden halo too?” One had taunted, punching him in the face before walking of. Apparently, spike wasn’t even worth dusting. Spike was confused, but not for long. A kinder woman behind the bar who served him his shot of blood told him his bleaching hadn’t gone as well as he had expected.

That’s when Cordelia found him late at night, staring at the rows of bleach in the store. Cordelia had been in to buy tampons and had audibly gasped at the state of his hair. Almost having to shield her eyes from the horror of it.

“Yeah that’s right laugh it up, why don’t you take a bloody picture it’ll last longer” He muttered, instantly on the offensive. He recognised the girl, she knew the Slayer and Angel.

“Ugh, really? Draw more attention to it why don’t you” she rolled her eyes walking away to pay for her items. She didn’t need to be stuck in a conversation, she had things to do.

“Look, pet, just- which one would patch it?” Spike asked, eyes to the floor as he asked for help. Cordelia sighed over-exaggeratedly before stalking back over to the shelves, checking his hair again with a little squint before taking a few bottles and boxes and handing them to him. Spike nodded, a silent thanks and Cordelia went and paid, leaving Spike alone in the drug store.

Cordelia was walking to her car, it was dark and she had to park a few blocks away. She hurried through the streets, not knowing if the feeling of being followed was real or just because she knew what could be lurking there. She finally turned around, finding herself face-to-face with Spike who was holding a brown bag of shopping.

“What is wrong with you, anyone tell you that the annual stalk-a-thon is next week?”

“Really? I better make my way over for that one, any idea what time?” Spike continued, rolling his eyes as if he was already over the conversation, “Listen, love, I was thinkin’ you clearly have a free evening and-”

“I’m busy, actually”

“Yeah? Doin’ what exactly?” he asked, making Cordelia sigh and scowl a little. He was right, she hadn’t had any plans since high school. Half of her friends had died during graduation and her move to LA had to be put on hold as there was a slight cash-flow problem that even her father couldn’t help with. Cordelia huffed, but nodded after Spike gestured to his bag and asked her to tell him what to do to salvage his hair, “Oh come on, I’ll do it”

Back at the crypt, Spike was sat in front of the tv with a towel around his shoulders.

“Not that I don’t respect a man that maintains his own sense of style, but your hair is seriously dead. Like way dead”

“Like the rest of me then” He shrugged.

“No, like, dead dead. It’s like straw! And believe me, I know, I was the straw-princess for three years running”

Spike opened his mouth to ask what the hell a straw-princess was but decided against it. He was strangely enjoying the girl’s company and he didn’t want to insult her and have her leave him with only half of the hair righted.

“The bleach you buy is harsh and you bleach it what every few weeks? You should try a different brand, I know a few” She offered, continuing to correct his mistake.

She continues chattering away, over his tv programme. He starts to tell her to be quiet but she gets snippy, threatening to leave him with half a crown. He sighed, flipping the tv off. He sat there, trying not to itch his head as the bleach took effect. 

He found himself enjoying Cordelia’s company. She was talking, non-stop about the recent goings-on. The demons, how everyone else had started college and she was still just living at home. How she planned to leave to LA. Spike chipped in sometimes, and he was surprisingly supportive about her aspiration to become an actress.

When she was finally done, she announced it in characteristic fashion, “There! Don’t tell me that doesn’t look better?! She smiled brightly, checking out her work and nodding at herself in appreciation.

“I can’t see it, pet, but I believe you. Couldn’t bloody disagree or my head would be spinning with your shrill insistence” he muttered, getting up to stretch after being sat for a while. He slicked his hair back and shrugged choosing to trust the girl. He looked back at Cordelia, the look asking her what she was still doing here. Cordelia rolled her eyes, but smiled before she left.

It was next month so Spike had a good month and had the cash to buy bleach on time. But, this wasn’t needed as when he returned to his crypt in the early morning, just before the sun rose.

There was a little basket, filled with haircare products. Spike frowned, looking around as if it was a trap. As if the slayer was now targeting him where it would really hurt. Taking the last thing he had managed to maintain despite everything. His aesthetic.

He was suspicious, but he hauled the basket into the crypt. He double checked behind him at the entrance to make sure nobody was going to run in and make fun of him or stake him for taking the products inside.

There was better quality bleach, conditioners that might make the quality of his hair better and an old polaroid camera for him to check his hair through taking pictures.

There was a card that read, “Death isn’t an excuse for a bad dye job – C”

Spike smiled, valuing the thought the girl had for her before shaking himself out of it. He was lonely, so any hint of friendship he appeared to cling to at the moment. He had even considered asking if Giles would let him in to watch Passions again, just for company the other week.

“Hey, what’s new in the land of damp and spooky?” Cordelia asked she had decided to drop in finding herself enjoying talking to the vampire. She had been dropping by every so often since she had helped him. She was looking around his home with a disdain she couldn’t quite hide well enough. Her next idea was to convince Spike to let her at least make it a little more homely. Spike didn’t reply, only rolled his eyes almost fondly at the girl who had started to drop in and bring light coloured throws for his sofa and thinking he wouldn’t notice.

“You’re using the products!” Cordelia stated, smiling slightly with satisfaction as she saw some half-used bottles. She had hoped he would.

“To coin a popular Sunnydale phrase, duh” He swatted her away as if she was being moronic for thinking he wouldn’t. He had hoped his gesture had confirmed it to her but she hadn’t understood that this was Spike’s way of saying thank you.

“Well, you don’t have to be rude – you just have to say thank you” Cordelia offered, a small smile on her lips at hearing the vampire say ‘duh’. It felt alien coming from his mouth. Maybe there was hope for him to adapt – finding him some lighter colours and perhaps an aesthetic that wasn’t so black and scary. She had detailed fantasies of convincing him to let her style him a few outfits. Spike just stared at her demand, figuring he must like the brashness of this girl. She was blunt and bossy, and a bit shallow by all accounts. But he couldn’t help become fond of her, especially when she continued when she didn’t say anything, “Fine, if you want say it, you can show it” Cordelia brandished a makeup bag filled with little bottles of nail varnish.

“What the bloody hell-”

“Nails!” She rolled her eyes and grinned as if it was obvious, sitting down and waiting for him to start painting them.

The pair had a good friendship-of-sorts after this, meeting up every so often to gossip about recent goings on. Spike found himself missing her friendship after she was finally able to move to LA, but he kept in contact with her, making trips to see her (and avoiding Angel) to catch up with each other.

[ask-de-writer]

THE MORGRIPE REPORT : MLP Fan Fiction

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Return to Tales to Read AFTER the Lights are OUT!

THE MORGRIPE REPORT

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

2180 words

© 2019 by Glen Ten-Eyck

All rights reserved.  This document may not be copied or distributed on or to any medium or placed in any mass storage system except by the express written consent of the author.

//////////////

Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

///////////////////////

The small cloud white mare with black mane and tail was industriously clipping the grass and weeds around the tomb of Colonel Goodheart. The marble of his monument was softly lighted by the moon overhead. Done with her weed and grass tending, she raked up the trimmings into a tidy pile, ready to gather them up and take to the tomb that she shared with the liches Zom and Junea.

Even though she had heard it before, she listened politely to the Colonel's ghost as he talked to her while she worked, “Kind of ironic, you know, Bonnie, my mare.  I fought in two Prance Incursion Wars and didn't get a scratch.  Home on leave, despite my name of Goodheart, it was my bad heart that got me!  Heart attack and here I am!  

“I am so glad that a mortal like you lives among us who have passed on. It helps to have somepony like you to chat with.”

Bonnie smiled, “It works both ways, Colonel Goodheart.  I was abandoned as a small filly because of my stunted horn.  If Zom and Junea had not taken me into their tomb, I would have died that first winter.  Since then, you ghosts and liches have taught me so many neat and useful things!”

Bonnie was just reaching her limited horn magic down to bind her tasty grass and weed clippings into a shock to take back to the tomb that she lived in, when a pony came charging up and careless hooves scattered her dinner!  

The intruder announced breathlessly, “I am Melissa Newsnose, reporter for the Ponyville's Dark Secrets magazine!  I am here to demand . . .”

Very irritated, Bonnie did not wait to hear more.  She pulled out a whistle and blew three sharp blasts!

Pulled up short, Melissa, now irritated herself, snapped, “What was that for?”

Bonnie replied angrily, “The police!  It is after visiting hours and this cemetery is CLOSED!  Whoever you are, whatever your errand, you will be arrested for trespassing.”

Drawing herself up haughtily, Melissa replied, “I am a REPORTER working on a story.  You have no right to . . .”

Return police whistles cut her off.  There were nightwatch lanterns visible at the cemetery gate.  Official voices called, “Miss Bones!  Where are you?  What is happening?”

Bonnie called back, “Over here by the Goodheart monument!  We have an after hours trespasser!”

The police ponies converged on the scene.  One addressed the reporter, “Melissa, I am afraid that Bonnie is correct.  You have no business here at this hour.”

Argumentatively she retorted, “Then what is SHE doing here?”

Bonnie waited while the officer replied in a mild tone, “Miss Bones works here as a caretaker, usually in the evenings or after dark.  She tends the graves and keeps the grass trimmed.”

Bonnie agreed, “And part of my payment from Duchess Red Hoof is the right to graze the trimmings.”  She pointed to Melissa and growled, “Clumsy hoof there just ruined my dinner trimmings.  I had some nice dandelion flowers and greens and a nice thistle bloom but she trampled them all and even scattered my grass.”

Melissa drawled, “Sorry, I am sure.  You can just go pick some more.  I am here to solve the Morgripe murder case.”

Bonnie looked up with interest.  “Oh, have you found some shred of proof that he was murdered?  Something not in the police reports on the case?  Last that I heard, he was listed as a missing pony.”

One of the police ponies nodded.  “That's what we concluded.  I was on that case.  Bonnie here, stopped Morgripe, Gabe and Chaz from vandalism by knocking both Morgripe and Gabe flat.  Chaz ran and brought us.  He was spouting all sorts of nonsense about Miss Bones dropping from the sky on them!  Gabe got up and ran too, abandoning Morgripe.

It appears that after Miss Bones picked up their tools and paint brush, that Morgripe got up and left on his own.”

Melissa pounced on that.  “How do you know that she did not kill him, then?”

He replied, “Easy.  The grass and sod where he and Gabe fell made excellent impressions.  Besides, the spilled paint marked the spot beautifully.  If he was killed, his body would have to have been dragged off or carried.  She is too small to have carried him. Likewise, there were no deep tracks made by a heavily laden pony and no drag marks.  There were some hoof prints going back to the gravel path.  QED, he left on his own.

“I suspect that he finally actually saw Miss Bones during and after she flattened him.  He was always liar and braggart.  For years he and his buddies were saying that there was a monster in the graveyard.  I think that he realized that his monster was a filly way smaller than any of them and knew that the truth would get out.  Embarrassed, he just sneaked off and left town.”

Melissa snorted, “I saw the police reports.  Very unsatisfactory.  How could such a little wither horn as her possibly take on three ponies, all bigger than she is?”

Before Bonnie could respond to the insult, one of the police ponies cut in, “That last entry in the Morgripe file was made by constable Crager. That report came about because he saw Bonnie get ambushed by both Gabe and Chaz.  

“She flattened both of them and put a sleeper hold on Gabe, knocking him out for ten minutes or so.  Her involvement in the Morgripe case came up in conversation.  She then provided a statement which gave us better detail but changed nothing basic.”

Bonnie acidly pointed out, “This LITTLE WITHER HORN will be happy to demonstrate how I flattened those evil ponies.  All that you need to do is agree that I am not responsible for your injuries in front of these nice police ponies.  Once you do that, the demonstration can begin at once.”

Melissa turned to the police ponies and demanded, “Are you going to just stand there and let her threaten me like that?”

Calmly one of them replied, “Ma'am, you have been nothing but rude and unpleasant since we arrived.  We were called to deal with your trespassing in the cemetery after closing, which IS a crime, if a minor one.

“Bonnie did not threaten you, either.  You asked a question that was very rude and contained a direct personal insult.  She offered to answer it by a physical demonstration, which I gather, from your response, you have refused.”

The other put in, “Bonnie has been most forbearing in not demanding your immediate arrest and removal.  However, that is why we responded and what we must do.  Will you come to the station house, or must we put you in manacles?”

As they led her off, Bonnie heard Melissa expostulating, “But I am trying solve the Morgripe murder case!  She is a witness!”

Bonnie turned back to her work and found a pleasant surprise.  The ghost of the Colonel had been busy.  All of her clippings had been regathered. That was not all.  There was a nice sized helping of dandelion flowers to replace the few that had been ruined by Melissa's hooves.

The old warrior's ghost smiled down at her from where he was sitting on top of his tomb.  “Gathering that together and finding you more dandelions was pretty tiring, Bonnie.”

She smiled up at him and, gathering her meal with her weak magic, ghost floated up to his level to eat it.  Her legs folded comfortably under her, as if she were resting on a nice cushion, instead of empty air, offered, “I know that was hard for you do do, Colonel.  Here, even if you can't eat any of it, at least you can share the scent of it.”

They completed her meal in companionable silence.  Taking her leave politely, Bonnie went home, walking into Zom and Junea's crypt through the door.  As usual, she did not bother to open it, but simply passed through the solid oaken panels like she had been taught to do so long ago by the many ghosts who shared the graveyard with her adoptive parents, Zom and Junea.  There were other liches of several sorts and a few vampires too.  They all had good things to add to the education of an abandoned foal like she was.

She settled herself on the empty coffin shelf that had been her place since Zom and Junea took her in.  The attentive liches that she loved so much, carefully tucked her in before retiring to their coffins to wait out the passing of the day.

The next evening they arose as usual and shared a quiet breakfast. Technically, only Bonnie ate the fried hay twists but her loving liches took pleasure and emotional nourishment from watching her eat.

Since ponies rarely look UP, Bonnie floated ghost-like, up and put her head through the stone roof of the crypt to look about.  The way being clear, she floated over to the gravel path and trotted quietly towards the gate.  She floated up to peer cautiously over the wall.

Sure enough, there was Melissa Newsnose sitting in the omnibus weather shelter, keeping an eye on the cemetery mail box.  Bonnie went to the corner of the cemetery closest to the forest and emerged from the brush there, making it appear that she had come out of the Everfree. She trotted up the street to check the mailbox.

She was removing a letter and a note when Melissa spoke up.  “I wish to apologize for my behavior last evening, Miss Bones.  Would you be willing to show me where you encountered Morgipe, Gabe and Chaz?  I really am working on a story for Ponyville's Dark Secrets magazine.”

Bonnie chuckled, “You are new there, aren't you?  Your first story? Right?”

Melissa nodded as she got up.  “Yes, it is.  They told me that it was an important unsolved case.  Why do you ask?”

Bonnie produced a key and opened the gate for them to enter.  “Because PDS pulls that on just about all of their new staffers.  Seeing how fast they catch on that is a missing pony case rather than a murder is part of their testing new hires.”

“You just blew their game, didn't you?”

“Why not?  They aren't paying me.  Besides, you can still make a good story out of his disappearance.”

Carefully locking the gate behind them, Bonnie escorted Melissa into the cemetery.  Shortly she pointed, “I was doing some mortar repair on that tomb.  Since I was behind it and down almost at ground level with the work, they did not notice me.”

Bonnie crouched behind the tomb.  “When I heard enough of their plans, I jumped from here to the middle of the path, right between them and gave a Morgripe double buck.  I followed that with a forehoof strike at Gabe.  Chaz ran like a rabbit.  While I was gathering up their hammers and prybars, Gabe got up and ran too.  Morgripe just lay there blubbering.  I got his paint brush.

“Since I had seen him, his tools were gone and his paint all spilled, I figured that he wasn't going to do anything more and left to get ready for a Nightmare Night party.  When I got back from that, it was nearly dawn.  I looked, but there was no sign of him or any vandalism.  Went home.”

Melissa looked everything over carefully.  “I see.  That was quite a jump, but nothing impossible.  No wonder they thought that you fell from the sky!”

She made copious notes.  “I have two more things to ask, Bonnie. First, what do you think happened to Morgripe?  And second, would you please look over my story draft before I turn it in?”

As they were approaching the cemetery gate, Bonnie gave a cheerful laugh.  “Sure.  I will be happy to look over your story.

“As for that other one, I see three possibilities.  First, it was after the Nightmare rose and was sharing the sky with Celestia.  At such times, according to witches, the border between here and Nightmare Lands is thin.  He may have wandered into Nightmare and vanished from this Equestria.  Second, he may have gone into the Everfree, which is close by, to try finding my place to get even for being stopped.  He was like that.  Bad things can happen to any pony who does not know what he is about in the Everfree.  Third, the police version.  He left out of shame when he found out that the monster that he was talking up for years was a filly, smaller than any of them.”

As Bonnie was re locking the gate, Melissa said, “The Everfree angle was not in the police reports.  Thanks.  I think that I will use that one.  As for your first one, do you really believe that?”

Bonnie gave another giggle.  “I spend most of my time in a graveyard.  I just had to say it!”

~THE END~

Return to the Master Story Index

Return to MLP Fan Fiction

Return to Tales to Read AFTER the Lights are OUT!

[iceprincelebrat]

It all started out rather small, the odd thing here or there that didn’t fit in with the decor. Then it slowly became an infestation of tiny, yellow, squishy, squeaky rubber…….duckies! Marius was losing his mind. He thought he was imagining the thimble sized ducks until Alessandra inquired about them and Barbara complained bitterly about how many her staff were finding al around the chateaux.

‘Every night we clean them out and the next night there’s double the amount scattered and hidden everywhere!!!’ Barbara said testily to the council and prince. ‘I don’t care how you resolve this but do it and fast!’

Marius felt far too old for this sort of nonsense when one night he awoke to find what appeared to be an army of vampire ducks. Crude fangs glued on and drips of blood painted on their faces and tiny black capes tied around their necks. These were hand sized as opposed to the previous thimble sized ducks.

The ducks were arranged in neat lines travelling down the grand staircase, and leading the troops a duck painted to match their prince Lestat, complete with a tuft of blond hair on its head under a golden crown and blue eyes.

‘Oh dear…..’ Marius sighed as he slowly gazed up the staircase; there must be thousands on the stairs alone he thought.

Marius, Lestat, Louis, Allesandra and David all followed the ducks up the staircase and around the corner through a passageway, up more stairs and finally into one of the apartments reserved for Lestat’s dearest friends. This one, Marius realized with a groan, belonged to his fledgling; Armand.

The door was open and they slowly followed the trail into the room towards the bathroom where the ducks began to get smaller and smaller as they got closer and closer to the bathtub, where it seemed the ducks were originating from the bathtub drain. Inside the bath were more Captain Ducks, as Louis jokingly called them, these ones made to look like Marius, Allesandra, and David.

‘Well. I guess Armand has finally lost the plot……’ David said uncertainly, breaking the tense silence.

‘This is ridiculous…It’s like a little army of vampire ducks….’ Allesandra said, looking amused but concerned.

‘Marius, why on earth is your spawn putting an army of vampire ducks all over the chateaux?’ Lestat asked looking irritated.

Marius grimaced and died a little inside. ‘I don’t know Lestat, but I’m sure we can get to the bottom of this.’

They left Armand’s rooms and went in search of the little red haired vampire. They found the other inhabitants of the household had discovered the army and were laughing and joking with each other about them. Lestat asked that the other vampires, whose numbers totalled around 600, to please collect all of the rubber ducks and dispose of them. The young vampires quickly did as their prince bade them and by morning there wasn’t a rubber duck in sight.

Despite their best efforts they didn’t find Armand that night, no one had seen him and they went down to the crypt for the day with no idea of what would happen the next night.

As it turned out the next night they saw no rubber ducks anywhere and breathed a huge sigh of relief until of course they went outside. The army of vampire rubber ducks were outside, and had surrounded the house. They had weapons now. Small twigs were glued to their sides in imitation of guns or swords.

The council stood on the porch and stared in horror at the millions of ducks that surrounded the chateaux. Louis suddenly burst out laughing, incapable of speech, he pointed to a group of ducks who were surrounding a new scene. A red haired vampire duck was standing over the Lestat Duck, the Lestat Duck was tied to a pyre. The surrounding ducks seemed to be celebrating his imminent demise, as they wore party hats.

Lestat’s jaw dropped and he stared in shock at the scene. ‘Is that a threat?!’

‘Oh it can’t be!’ Allesandra exclaimed. ‘Armand would never hurt the prince! Even if they had their rivalry, you’ve both outgrown those childish grudges.’

‘Apparently Armand didn’t get that memo…..’ David said nervously, eyeing Lestat as his maker appeared to be close to losing his temper.

‘Find Armand tonight!!!!’ Lestat roared at them, this time addressing the younger inhabitants of the coven house.

They didn’t find him that night; again the ducks were cleared out, this time being burned in a pyre. Marius watched to ensure every single one was gone. They went to their rest for the day, even more anxious of what the night would hold.

The scene they found when they woke up was in the middle of the ballroom. It was comprised of a multitude of ducks arranged in circles, vampire ducks with party hats on. Confetti was all over the room and in the middle of the circles was a raised platform with a white archway, a vampire priest duck and two ducks apparently getting married. One clearly made to look like Armand and the other to look like Louis. Below them a pyre where the remains of Lestat Duck sat charred and melted.

They slowly moved away from Lestat as his face went redder and redder. He hissed at them without turning around. ‘If you don’t find him tonight I will burn all of you on a pyre!!!!’

Louis sat down on the outside of the circle, plucked a party hat off of one of the ducks and put it on his index finger, then sat and smiled at the marrying ducks. Lestat stared at him, too shocked to be angry.

‘Louis…what are you doing?’ David said nervously.

Louis looked up in surprise. ‘It’s my wedding; I should get to enjoy it!’

Lestat turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, the rest of the council, except Louis, walking out behind him and throwing odd looks at the princes consort.

Daniel found them in the council chamber later that night and dragged his maker in behind him. ‘I found him; he was chilling in his duck infested bathtub this whole time.’

Armand looked at them and smiled happily. ‘Hi!’ He waved playfully.

Marius stood from the table where they’d been having their meeting and walked down to meet them. ‘Armand we need to have a little talk about the ducks.’

Armand blinked at his former master in confusion. ‘But master….I am five hundred years old, I know all about the ducks by now? Remember when I was mortal you sent me to the brothels-’

Marius shook his head in disdain. ‘No child, the rubber ducks.’

‘Aw Marius it’s so kind of you to worry about if I’m being safe or not!’ Armand gushed innocently.

Daniel rubbed his face tiredly. ‘The ducks are not a metaphor for the birds and bees Armand.’

‘Then what ducks could you possibly be talking about?!’ Armand looked and sounded genuinely confused.

‘The ducks that have been infesting the chateaux for the last two weeks!’ Lestat snapped finally, glaring at his adolescent rival. ‘The ones that originated from your bathtub drain!!!!’

Armand shrugged and looked at Marius. ‘Is he okay? I think he’s gone and lost another screw…we should keep an eye on that, mad princes and kings have never been great for kingdoms. Last I checked ducks don’t come from drains….’

Marius couldn’t do this anymore, he needed to retire, and soon. ‘Child of mine there were ducks arranged in an army formation coming out of your bathtub, following Lestat.’

‘There were rubber ducks following Lestat around the chateaux!?’ Armand looked horrified.

‘Not the real Lestat, a duck made to look like Lestat.’ Daniel groaned.

‘So what does that have to do with me?’ Armand continued to play dumb.

Lestat growled and stood up slowly, looking like he might deck the smaller vampire. ‘They came from your bathtub!!!’

‘Ohh those ducks!’ Armand said looking like he just understood.

‘Yes those ducks.’ Marius confirmed.

‘Really those ducks?’

‘Yes Armand! Really those ducks! Your ducks!’ Daniel put an end to the back and forth before it could get into swing.

Armand gave his fledgling a dirty look. ‘You’re a little grouchy aren’t you? You should celebrate more.’

Armand rummaged in his pocket and pulled out one of the tiny party hats, the same ones that the ducks had been wearing. He handed it to his fledgling and smiled like he’d just done an amazing feat.

‘That is the party hat the ducks were wearing.’ Allesandra said to Armand. ‘Why do you have one if you aren’t guilty?’

‘I went to a lovely party.’ Armand said with a shrug.

‘Where?’ David asked dubiously.

Armand scoffed. ‘At the hosts home. Duh.’

‘Where does the host live?’ David tried again.

‘In his home? Geez David keep up!’ Armand gave David a disparaging look.

David opened and closed his mouth like a fish before finally taking a seat at the table and covering his face with his hands.

Marius intervened before things could get uglier. ‘Armand, why are there ducks all over the chateaux?’

Armand gasped, scandalized. ‘There are ducks in the chateaux?! And none of you thought to share this knowledge with me?’

Marius groaned and tried again. ‘Armand they’re not real-’

‘You know I love ducks!!!’ Armand turned tearful and betrayed eyes to his maker. ‘How could you keep this from me?! I love to feed them and watch their chicks run in a row behind them!’

Marius tried to interject but Armand was quicker. ‘No! I don’t want to hear it! You just don’t want me to be happy do you?! I see how it is!’

Louis pitched in then and they all hoped for a rational word as Louis was well known for being the intellectual and reasonable one. Unfortunately they were let down. ‘I can’t believe you don’t want Armand to be happy Marius! You know he loves ducks!’ Louis came down from the table to hug the red haired vampire.

Marius held his head between his hands and stared at the two seemingly insane vampires. ‘Since when does he love ducks!? I have never known Armand to love ducks. I doubt he as even seen a duck in real life!’

Louis gasped, horrified. ‘Are you duck shaming him!?’

David’s head banged on the table as his last hopes were shattered. Daniel turned and walked out of the room looking traumatised. Allesandra clutched her handkerchief to her breast in dismay. They all looked to Marius for guidance as the oldest among them.

‘I have been kept in the duck for too long on this matter!’ Armand proclaimed.

‘Don’t you mean in the dark?’ David whimpered desperate for some kind of normality.

Armand glared at them all. ‘Now that I know your nefarious plan to make me miserable by keeping me from the ducks of the chateaux I can start to play with a full duck!’

‘A full deck…..’ David whispered to comfort himself. ‘The term is a full deck.’

Armand and Louis glowered at him. Louis took Armand by the hand. ‘We are going to travel feather away from this horrible place!’

Armand took one final shot at Lestat. ‘Mallard, we shall meet again of the field of battle consider this my ducktum!’

‘Dictum. You mean dictum!!’ David finally lost it.

Louis glared over his shoulder at David. 'That's a bad word.'

[white-tree-barden]

What Lies Beyond is almost here, so here’s The Spear of Stars trivia:

-the cities of the Alebolgian Strip use sky couriers (messenger birds) to deliver short notes

-Cavana is the largest city in the Strip and is structured in defensible concentric rings

-ether can be used to seal things like books to preserve them against time and rot

-the Odeleon in Bressel is taller than the Cathedral of Ivars back in Narashtovik and much wider- it’s huge

-it’s not really trivia, but I really enjoyed Raxa’s scene climbing the Exchange by just. sealing herself in the rock a little bit

-ether can also be used as a lockpick

-Adaine has been an interesting fellow for quite a while

-Gladdic is an extremely skilled healer

-Raxa is trying really really hard to not get attached to: Sorrowen, getting into large-scale trouble, other people in general. she is largely failing

-the river running through Bressel is anmed the Chanset, ‘gray waters’

-the Pastlands are strange no matter where you are, but the difference between the journey through them in Bressel vs in the Islands is really interesting

-two hundred years past, Bressel fashion favored dress-like frocks

-’mola ras’ is Tanarian for the Spear of Stars

-Rhobous Doresh (Avinian) = Vampire of Light = White Lich = Eiden Rane (Tanarian)

-some of the monks and priests of Arawn refer to their undead scouts as ‘sixers’

-the Stotts and Helods founded Bressel; I’m curious as to whether or not they have anything at all to do with Minn’s family- Dennever Stotts of Gallador is her uncle

-the combat-trained members of the priesthood in Bressel wear gray with trim in colors that denote their rank and wear a necklace of the Hammer of Taim and a copy of the Ban Naden

-those from Narashtovik wear silver on black and carry black ribbons bearing the sigil of Arawn and of their own secondary god

-Winden spends most of her time in Bressel ready to fight just about anything

-Gladdic doesn’t appreciate Dante and Blays having conversations that barely contain any words bc they know each other too well

-in another life, Gladdic might have been an apothecary assistant to his older brother

-Barsil = Bressel, as the city is known in the Mists

-the Becoming = Worldsea

-the Pits correspond to the Split Crypt in the Mists

-Gladdic has been to Barden

-"Oh. Right. Well, I still want to study it." "Of course you do," Blays said. "If someone cut out your liver and tossed it on the ground in front of you, your first instinct would be to poke at it until you figured out how it works."

-the use of blood to track down a person by finding the link to the rest of their blood is a pretty regular occurrence, but you can use the same theory to track pieces of what were once the same rock, or to find the original tree a piece of fruit came from, which is neat

-I would really enjoy seeing more of these Rosetta Stone plaques (preferably one’s that aren’t warning signs on a cave of death but. yknow) with all these languages and older relations to Mallish and Gaskan and everything

The last 10-15 pages left me with so many questions and like half an answer, and I really hope at least some of them get answered next book.

[ciathyzareposts]

Game 27: Mystery Mansion (1978)

The next game on my list is Mystery Mansion, which was programmed by Bill Wolpert for the HP-1000 minicomputer. I’m not exactly sure if this system is comparable to PLATO or the PDP-10 (I’m really not a hardware guy), but the prospect of venturing back into the world of non-commercial adventure games was making me very nervous. I was not prepared for another Acheton, or even another Zork, as much as I loved playing the latter. Games of that size are not what I’m looking for right now, and I was worried that Mystery Mansion would be one of those.

I’m pleased to say that it’s not over-large. More accurately, I don’t think it’s over-large based on what I’ve explored so far. I don’t think size is going to be the problem here. What’s really going to stop me in my tracks is just how little the game does to let you know what the goal is.

I’m getting ahead of myself, though. The first thing to determine when playing Mystery Mansion is what version to use. The original is out of my reach, as I’m not really up to getting a HP-1000 emulator up and running (guess what, I’m not a software guy either). There are a few different ports, which Jason Dyer helpfully outlines here. I chose the version ported by Terry Newton, which claims to be a “practically exact” port of the game as it was in 1981. Not having ever played the original, I can’t tell how close it is, but it runs fine in Dosbox and feels authentic enough to the period. Download it here if you’d like to take a crack.

As you might have guessed from that 1981 date above, this is yet another game that was developed over the course of several years. I’ve often lamented that these games are often not available in their original forms, but recently I’ve come around to the idea that those earlier versions were much like today’s alpha and beta tests. It may not strictly be true, but it helps me sleep easier at night. With this in mind I considered kicking the game back to 1981, but I’ve already set the precedent of playing these games in their first year of development. So Mystery Mansion is stuck in 1978, and I’m stuck playing it.

Lust? Whatever you say, Bill.

First off, let’s really take in that start screen, because it’s setting my expectations of what I’ll experience while playing very high. Frustration? Definitely. Triumph? I sure hope so. Hope and despair? Conceivable. Power, lust and greed? I’ll give you power and greed as possibilities, but lust? Mr. Wolpert, I can tell you right now that it ain’t happening.

When the game begins, you’re standing at the front gate of an old mansion. A taxi has just dropped you off, although the game doesn’t bother to let you know why you’re there. On my first attempt, I noted the highway leading south, and decided to see what would happen if I just kept on walking away from the mansion. Much to my surprise, I could keep walking south for a long time, with signs appearing occasionally to let me know how close I was to the mansion and the “Big City”. After a time, the sun set and I was walking in the dark. A little further down the road and I heard an explosion, which sounded like the passages underneath the mansion had collapsed. (Pretty good hearing on my part, considering I was at least 30 miles away.) Eventually, after what must have been hundreds of moves to the south, I was told that the game was giving up on me. It was a game over, but I’d gleaned some valuable information: there’s a limited time to explore the caves beneath the mansion, and probably a limited time to complete the game.

The death screen indicated that the game has a score, so upon reloading I entered the SCORE command. The game has 999 points that can be earned, and you begin with 45. Commenter Jason Dyer has informed me that I need to type SCORE POINTS every time I hear a woman scream or a wolf howl in order to score 2 points. I’m grateful for the help, but right off the bat this has me expecting some egregious bullshit from this game. Because let’s be real, that right there is some egregious bullshit.

I also tried checking my inventory, another thing I always do at the start of a game. The INVENTORY command didn’t work, but LIST did, as did BOOTY. My inventory was empty however.

To begin the game, I started by exploring the areas surrounding the mansion.

A map of the outdoors

The first thing that should be noted is that although the game does call out items and characters that can be interacted with, you also need to pay attention to the room descriptions. There’s the lantern in the opening area, for instance: it’s only mentioned in the room description, and it’s vital for making any progress.

The area I’ve mapped above represents the road that goes around the mansion walls. The front gate is closed, and the back gate leads into a garden (which I haven’t explored properly yet). There are cliffs to the east and north, which are predictably fatal if you decide to head that way. To the west is a dense wood, which is pretty easy to get lost in. I tried mapping it by dropping items, but I couldn’t make sense of the results. I think the exits might be randomised. Moving around in the woods will eventually lead to a Strange Stream. Heading down from the stream leads to a cave, with “twisty passages, all alike”, which is always a triggering phrase for me. More on that later. Heading up leads to a cottage which contains a map, which can be used to see the destinations of every exit from the room you’re in. Alas, it only works in the outdoor areas, but it’s great for getting you out of the woods.

At this point I should note that Mystery Mansion uses the same irritating navigation style as The Cottage: when you’re outside you can use cardinal directions (N,E,S,W), but when you’re in the forest or the mansion you have to go Forward, Left, Right or Back. It’s very disorienting, and very, very annoying. Thankfully you can find a compass, which allows you to use cardinal directions everywhere.

There’s a note pinned to the mansion’s front gate, which gives you a hint. These notes will appear in various locations, and seem to be scattered at random, but there’s always one on the gate. Most of the time it will tell you that someone will help you open the gate. There are three characters wandering around in the opening area: a Hunter, a Woodsman and a Warrior. They will follow you about once you encounter them, although they won’t enter the mansion. Any one of them will help you open the gate.

It’s easy enough from there to enter the mansion, but you shouldn’t linger on the front porch. If you wait around for too long (and it tracks actual time, not just commands entered) you’ll fall through to some underground tunnels. I’ve fallen in there a couple of times, and been killed by a werewolf.

The mansion has three levels, as shown below:

A map of the mansion

Each level of the mansion is structured in a neat 3×3 pattern. Most of the rooms in the mansion are dark, which is why you’ll need the lantern to proceed (although the candles in the Chapel and the matches in the Kitchen are a short-term alternative; you can’t take the lamp from the Living Room, although you can light it with a match). There are various items scattered about, though I haven’t found a use for most of them. There are also several characters: the Butler, Cook, Maid, Lady and Master, as well as the Vampire in the crypt.

The compass, which I mentioned before, can be found in the Haunted Hallway on the top floor. (I have no idea why it wasn’t already marked on the map.) The scroll in the Library crumbles whenever it’s touched, but the book can be read. It reveals the verbs that the game understands, showing a different verb with every game. I just tried it now, and it says “THE BOOK CONTAINS WORDS I KNOW LIKE THE VERB DIG”. None of these have been too helpful yet, but they were perhaps more useful to people at the time, who may have been less familiar with adventure games.

The telephone in the entrance hall rings occasionally, and if you answer it you’ll receive a hint. It will always ring and tell you to return to the front gate for the lamp if you forgot to take it.

The Secret Passages are the easiest way to navigate up and down between floors, and there are certain areas you can only get to by passing through them. Each room connected to a Secret Passage has a hidden method that opens the way in. Some examples include drinking the wine in the Charming Chapel, sweeping the Haunted Hallway with a broom, or feeding bananas to the monkey in the Butler’s Room.

The Cold Corridor off to the left in the basement is a trap, with a moving wall that will crush you. I haven’t worked out what to do here. The tunnel leading down from the Dark Pit is another entrance to the maze of twisty passages.

The Vampire in the crypt will kill you pretty quickly after you encounter him, unless you are carrying the cross from the Chapel. Otherwise, he follows you around but does no harm. I haven’t killed him yet, but I suspect that if I lead him up to the ground floor and open some curtains it might do the trick.

As for the other characters roaming the house, they will happily follow you as well. After some experimentation I figured out that you can QUESTION them, and they’ll give you clue about a supposed murder. There are three clues: the culprit, the murder weapon, and the location. You can also find out the identity of the murderer by turning on the radio in the Game Room.

There is always a corpse in the murder location. The weapons are scattered around the game, but they aren’t always in the same place. The goal of the game, or one of the goals, is to find the weapon, and lead the murderer to the place where they did the deed. I managed to do this by accident, which was how I was able to figure out what to do in the first place. In later games I found a note that told me about this, but the first time around I had to stumble into it.

It was the Master, in the cellar, with the club. I knew it all along.

After identifying the murderer, I eventually found another note telling me that I should call the police. This game might be mystifying at the start, but it does provide help here and there. If you call the police on the phone, they’ll come and arrest the murderer.

The only other place I’ve properly explored is the maze of twisty passages, which was nowhere near as large as its counterparts from Colossal Cave Adventure and Zork.

A map of twisty passages, all alike

This maze only has six rooms, thankfully, but it can be difficult to navigate if you don’t have the compass. The torch is a light source that eventually burns out, and the battery can be used to extend the life of your lantern. Both of them are placed randomly in the maze, in different areas every game.

I’ve solved one of the larger problems of Mystery Mansion, but that only left me with 332 points. This means I’ve only figured out one-third of the game. I suspect that the rest might involve hunting down some treasures, but I only say that because it’s the goal of every other damn game I’ve played so far. My immediate goals are to properly explore the garden and the tunnels beneath the porch. There’s a werewolf down there, and I’ve got a pistol and silver bullet ready to go. Hopefully I can figure out what to do pretty soon, because I don’t want to spend much more time with this game.

source http://reposts.ciathyza.com/game-27-mystery-mansion-1978/

[journeyinthetardis]

Synopsis: The Doctor takes Ace in the TARDIS to Northumberland during World War II. He waltzes right up to the naval installation, ignoring the guns being pointed at him, and asks to see Dr. Judson. He goes on his own to see Judson, a wheelchair-bound man who works with ciphers and decryption. The Doctor quickly earns Judson's trust when he reveals that he is knowledgeable in ciphers as well. As such, Judson doesn't object when the Doctor writes a false letter of authority from the Prime Minister and head of the Secret Service.

The following morning, they go to find Judson working on ancient text in the crypt of the local church, where Ace makes friends with two young women, evacuees from London. She decides to go swimming with them later at Maiden's  Point, despite the fact that Ace won't be doing any swimming because she dislikes it.

The church is built on an old Viking grave site, which piques the Doctor's curiosity. Ancient Norwegian text tells of an ancient curse that rests in the lands nearby, which claimed a ship of Vikings long ago. When Ace returns from Maiden's Point, she and the Doctor explore the base and find women from the WRNS working in a room. One of the women has a baby girl with her, whom Ace immediately takes a liking to. She is slightly perturbed, though, to learn that the baby's name is Audrey, the same name as Ace's hated mother.

Exploring down at Maiden's Point, the Doctor and Ace are surprised to find the dead body of a Soviet soldier. They are soon accosted by other Soviets, who seem to have come to spy on the English soldiers, but the Doctor manages to talk his way out of it. Two of the soldiers, one dead and one unconscious, are carrying strange metal objects. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Ace return to the crypt to find a new Norse inscription has appeared out of nowhere.

The leader of the base, Millington, decided to then hold them up at gunpoint. He takes the Doctor further into the crypt, revealing that he has been mining a toxic substance that he plans to use against England's enemies in the war. He then takes the Doctor to Judson's ULTIMA machine, which automatically decrypts German messages. He plans to purposefully let the Soviets steal it, as it will release the toxin once it tries to decrypt a specific word; love.

The Doctor chooses his words carefully, not yet getting on Millington's bad side. Millington orders all radio transmitters and telephone lines be disconnected, isolating the small town. Oddly, he also commands that all chess sets on the base be destroyed. The Doctor meets back up with Ace, and they discover the dead body of a woman from the village. Her body has been drained of all blood, as if attacked by a vampire. The Doctor realizes that it must be haemovores.

They rush off just in time to save the reverend from the 'vampires', but when everybody rushes back to the ULTIMA machine, they find that it's already decrypted the old Norse 'code' that was in the crypt. Millington then declares that the Doctor is too late, and dark powers will soon be his. Everyone quickly flees.

Ace goes to make sure Audrey and her mother are okay, while the Doctor goes with the reverend to look up some of the Norse history from before the church was built. They discover that those who initially encountered this 'curse of Fenric' have passed down from generation to generation. Haemovores attack the church. Ace tries to escape and fails, but is rescued by two of the Soviet soldiers who join with them. The Doctor reveals that the haemovores can be driven away simply by faith, as they are repelled by the 'psychic barrier' that believing in faith produces.

The escape, only to be confronted by Millington again. The Doctor reveals that 'Fenric' is actually just a name for an ancient evil that has found its way back to Earth. Millington has imprisoned Sorin, the leader of the Soviet troupe, but the Doctor and Ace rescue him so he can join their cause. The group then rush back to the ULTIMA machine, finding that dark energies are swirling around and Judson has collapsed. It looks like Fenric has gotten free and has taken over Millington's body.

But this is not the case. Judson stands up, revealing that Fenric has actually taken his body. He proclaims that the Doctor locked him away in the Shadow Dimensions back in the 3rd century, but now he's back to finish their 'game'. He teleports away, leaving the Doctor to announce that he needs a chess set. Ace and Sorin help him find one.

They rush off to get the only remaining chess set from Kathleen, Audrey's mother. The Doctor takes it, while Ace makes sure that the mother and child can escape safely. The Doctor, meanwhile, sets up the same puzzle that he set for Fenric before, a nigh-unsolvable chess puzzle. He challenges Fenric to solve it, and it looks like Fenric won't be able to.

Ace finds Sorin nearby and proclaims that she's figured out the answer to the chess puzzle. However, she realizes too late that Fenric has moved from Judson into Sorin, and now Fenric is able to solve the puzzle. The Doctor arrives but it's too late, and now Fenric is ready to kill them. He had earlier summoned the 'ancient one', a horribly deformed haemovore to do his bidding, killing all the other haemovores and various soldiers and citizens.

Fenric then reveals the truth to Ace, that the baby she had saved was actually her own mother. Ace is shocked, but still has faith in the Doctor to save the day. This faith is enough to keep the ancient one held at bay. The Doctor, however, doesn't stop Fenric when he threatens to kill her. The Doctor reveals that he knew Fenric's evil was always inside of Ace. It was Fenric who created the time storm that sent her to Iceworld in the first place. The Doctor then states that he looks upon Ace unfavorably, and just needed to keep her close so he could get to Fenric.

Ace is crushed by this revelation, and her faith in the Doctor crumbles. The Ancient One is able to move again. However, the Doctor had earlier confronted the Ancient One and turned him against Fenric, revealing that Fenric is ultimately the one that destroys the Earth in the far future that causes the death of all humanity and the mutations he has. Now able to move, the Ancient One attacks and successfully kills Fenric.

Once he and Ace escape, the Doctor does his best to tell Ace that he didn't mean anything he had said. He just needed to break her faith so that the Ancient One could attack Fenric. Ace eventually accepts his apology, and even decides to go for a swim.She contemplates why she adored the baby, but still finds herself hating her mother. Regardless, though, it's been a long day and they head back to the TARDIS.

Thoughts: This was pretty good. A lot more improved than other recent serials we've seen.

This was a complex and involved story, but it was also easy to follow and stay attached to. The characters all had meaningful roles, understandable motivations, and all had their secrets explained eventually. It was fun to see a story set in World War II, and there were even Nazi flags hanging about at points.

This story delved quite a bit into Ace's personal history, and it was probably one of her best episodes. She runs the whole gambit here, being on top of the world and in the depths of depression at times. It was really neat to find out that she was actually fawning over the baby that would grow up to be her own mother. Definitely an interesting twist.

The inclusion of the haemovores seemed a little unrelated to the actual enemy that was Fenric. They didn't really lend a whole lot to the story itself, although they were a frightening enough enemy to watch. Fenric, though he never had a body of his own, was a very charismatic villain that was fun to watch in the latter half.