#magic of black sails I guess

[dragonsinthedarkness]

Lately I found myself thinking about James/Miranda relationship as a reversed version of Orpheus and Eurydice’s story, especially towards the end of it. Not because these two stories match well (they do not) but just because I like making this kind of classical comparisons and I'm stuck from a bit on the fact that, right before her death, for the first time Miranda was the one to refuse the progress to look back at the past. 

After the loss of Thomas, James let himself slip into a darkness comparable to the underworld, a darkness which so often threatened to swallow him whole. He walked on a thin line between a reign of death and an island of life, and if that darkness was that reign, Miranda was his island. 

During their whole journey of processing their grief and climbing their way back to a life that could be called such, she was the one always trying to drag him towards the light. To her, the life that might have been waiting for them in the future was that light, while the past was the darkness, and not because she deemed it forgettable or unimportant, quite the contrary indeed, but because while she knew how to keep and remember the beauty of that past and the light of it, along with the sorrow, she knew perfectly well how different it was for James. How he could remember the beauty of it, of course, but also knew how to put it aside in favor of the rage and the guilt, his gaze clouded by the pain and the unacceptable shame. 

She said it herself: she didn't want to forget that past, not the bright side of it and neither the inescapable sadness of it, its tragedy being the spring of that very beauty, the ruins existing only because there was something precious to be ruined in the first place; and at the same time, what could the dark of it matter, the injustice, the grudge, when it condemned the both of them to never be able to see the light again? 

First time I heard their discussion in ep.VII after knowing the whole story, I wondered how could she ask something like that of him, to forget and pass over what they had done to him just to gain a liveable life, but recently I've actually been wondering : how could she not?

I'm not taking any side in this, as I recognize Miranda's thoughts to be the most reasonable ones as they often are but at the same time I can't say I wouldn't act as stubbornly and desperately as James did in that situation, they're just really different ways to conceive one’s own existence, influenced by their own problems and conditions and mind. All I'm saying is that Miranda was able to see the light even if just from a distance, she was able to hope that one day they would have been able to truly see it. James was never. 

He just lied to himself about the possibility of it. He had plans and tactics and strategies, but for how I see it, those were all desperate attempts to convince himself of the contrary. He couldn't, maybe because of his personality, maybe because he knew that his situation wasn't one that could ever allow him to found real light in that world, maybe just because he loved her less than how much he had loved Thomas, less than how much she loved him, but whichever was the reason, he couldn't afford to see the light after that abyss, and I think Miranda was the first to know that. The one who knew him like no other, the one who loved him like no other. She knew that without help he would have never really been able to reach the end of that dark state of being. And she tried. She tried to help him in so many ways, because she loved him, she really did, and because she had the damn right to claim at least a decent life for herself. 

And here we come to the end, to Charles town.

Charles town could have been her success. Charles town was James’ surrender. For the first time she glimpsed one real chance of having him back, she saw in him the real intention to leave all of that darkness behind, to follow her, not leaving the past behind, never, but learning to move forward, finally allowing her a chance for a new life together. 

He was actually ready to accept even that miserable condition Peter Ashe imposed on him in order to get rid of the darkness, to climb to the light -as short lived as that might have been, at this point- to give Miranda a better alternative than the ones he had been able to grant her up until that moment (as I think his whole Charles town plan was led by the purpose of doing something to save her): as useless as we all know that would have been, accepting that bargain has probably been the most selfless thing James has ever done, even if he did it also for himself in a tired, desperate and contorted way. 

But Charles town wasn't only this to Miranda. 

Charles town was the discovery of the betrayal, because I believe she understood it all the moment she first saw that clock, I'm sure of it. Charles town was her umptheen attempt and her umptheen sacrifice. 

I think that must have been to her a similar quest to the Maria Aleyne's one: respecting James by telling him the truth, something he deserves to know, even knowing how he will react to it, knowing how impossible it would become for him, then, to go on with his plan, granting him a one way ticket to that darkness, or keeping him in the dark, bearing alone the weight of that knowledge, accepting to live with the helplessness to remedy that fatal injustice, only in the hope to finally make him reach that light?  

Would Orpheus reveal Eurydike a truth which risked pushing her back into the underworld just because it might be right for her to know it?

Still, things had been different, more desperate, back to the Maria Aleyne. Now the chance to succeed was real. 

And at first she made that difficult choice, which was selfish in a way, but definitely selfless in another, all at the same time.

And she did it because she loved him. 

She loved him so much that when she glimpsed, in that light, the prospect of losing him, she had to recognize that that light was -as James would have put it in the future- only their light, the light of a world the two of them couldn’t be part of anymore. 

She loved him so much that she had to look back. To the past, to him, because her James was still behind her, still in the dark, the only place where he was allowed to stay, and only that version of him was the one she truly loved. She loved the real James, with all his broken parts, not the one that could be seen under the lights of their lies. 

So she couldn't help giving up that false light, because she had wished for tranquility, a normal life -as probably anyone in her conditions would have done- but she was not disposed to give up the man she loved in order to gain that, as she hadn't been in the past, when the prospect of the future had been only dark and still she had not deserted the ones she loved. 

And when she turned back, this time trying to shield him from that light, the darkness at the pit ended up swallowing them both. 

Miranda died, and James was dragged back full force and imprisoned into the worst version of himself, the ruthless, autodestructive one. 

There are two versions of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, and I think that the two of them taken together perfectly represent James’ reaction to her death and its circumstances.

In Virgilius’ one, Eurydice slightly resents Orpheus for his action, for his “folly” -as it is called- and (if we may call it that) for his selfish gesture of looking back, that she paid with her second chance to be alive. 

After Miranda's death, James dreams of her reminding him how he had resented her “because they were so close” and of course since that's a dream is what he knew he had felt. But that was…collateral to the condition he had been left stuck in. That was the childish resentment of having explicitly denied something he knew deep down he couldn't have. 

In Ovidius’ one instead Eurydice doesn't blame him because she can't resent being loved, and I think this is what James really felt. After all, looking straight at the truth of the situation and looking back at their shared history, I think there were no ways for him to actually, rationally resent her. (And in fact in his last dream about her she uses a past tense, “you resented me”, hinting that was something he had felt only in the moments when he was at his worst as when, always in the dream, he heard her apology).

Moreover, I think he perfectly understood the meaning of those last moments of hers, how important it was to her to make her voice be heard in that moment. In fact, despite the clear and growing doubt and rage (and worry) on his face while Peter and Miranda spoke, he didn't say a word, he let her speak, despite knowing the risks  and I think this is amazing and just proves how beautiful and respectful their relationship was, and that there were no way he could actually deem her responsible of their failure in that mission (doomed to failure since the beginning ‘cause of the truth).

What hurts even more about her death is the fact that it looks like they got closer to each other once again during that trip, as they hadn't probably been in years, and then…everything got lost forever.

[supernxvas]

if i had a nickel… for every time an actor appears in Exactly 2 of my favorite medias… i’d have 3 nickels. is that anything?

tom hopper as sir percival (merlin) and billy bones (black sails)

aml ameen as capheus onyango (sense8) and alby (the maze runner)

charlize theron as andromache the scythian (the old guard) and furiosa (mad max: fury road)

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 2

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Burning Kingdoms series (The Jasmine Throne, The Oleander Sword, The Lotus Empire) by Tasha Suri

Author of Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri’s The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess’s traitor brother.

Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters — but is now little more than a decaying ruin.

Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.

But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.

Fantasy, epic fantasy, politics, secondary world, series, adult

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland

Endorsement from submitter: "Utterly hilarious romp. No actual sex, but somehow hornier than 90% of books with actual sex in them that I have read."

Avra Helvaçi, former field agent of the Araşti Ministry of Intelligence, has accidentally stolen the single most expensive secret in the world―and the only place to flee with a secret that big is the open sea.

To find a buyer with deep enough pockets, Avra must ask for help from his on-again, off-again ex, the pirate Captain Teveri az-Ḥaffār. They are far from happy to see him, but together, they hatch a plan: take the information to the isolated pirate republic of the Isles of Lost Souls, fence it, profit. The only things in their way? A calculating new Araşti ambassador to the Isles of Lost Souls who’s got his eyes on Avra’s every move; Brother Julian, a beautiful, mysterious new member of the crew with secrets of his own and a frankly inconvenient vow of celibacy; the fact that they’re sailing straight into sea serpent breeding season and almost certain doom.

But if they can find a way to survive and sell the secret on the black market, they’ll all be as wealthy as kings―and, more important, they’ll be legends.

Fantasy, humor, adventure, secondary world, queernorm, adult

[hjhikari]

Crossman Zero (this game does not exist)

But good news everyone: since fandom is one big bowl of free real estate soup, and so by the miraculous power of the mind’s true desire, the story of the Megaman Zero Crossover parody goes something like this: ↓

- Crossman Zero: The Story

The year was 20XX, after a century of fighting for creations to exist in peace, Ink mysteriously disappeared one day after having last been seen near a sea port AU.

Meanwhile without Ink’s intervention, Cross had fallen into an existential crisis, ruminating over whether he would be capable of falling into the destructive legacy left behind by his creator, and one day impulsively sealed himself away into a magic nest for maximum rest, so he may sleep away his sorrows over the next 100 years.

The multiverse fell into chaos soon after, with powerful beings rising to power to fill the void Ink left behind. In the face of an imminent crisis caused by creation magic shortage, Dream suddenly found himself unable to use magic and on the run from xGaster, with xGaster finally completing his vision for a utopia, where only canonized and elite creations were given protection from the unpredictable dangers of the multiverse. Dream, accompanied by a tiny black octopus-like creature latching on his shoulder looking suspiciously like a tiny Nightmare, stumbles across Cross’s sad hiding spot, now only whispered like rumors in the wind.

“Cross, please wake up! I know you’re in there.” Dream cried out to him, “The multiverse is in big trouble! Nobody can use magic, and I know you’re our only hope in defeating xGaster!” But Cross’s nest was entirely too comfortable and safe, and he really did not want to wake up from his cocoon to face the harsh reality of the outside world.

Seeing a morose Dream unable to rouse Cross, the tiny Nightmare parched on Dream’s shoulder steeled its resolve, and valiantly launched itself into Cross’s face with a wet slop, latching onto his eyes, nose and mouth with every ounce of strength present in a tiny goopy amoeba, to Dream’s grave concern. “Nightmare!!! Nooooooo!!! Don’t risk yourself like this!!! What if he thinks you’re food and eat you?”

“What the Hhhfh—Mngnfgh?!“, Cross shot up instantly, swatting at his face and struggling to tear the abomination faceplant off of him, but tiny Nightmare was determined, latching on to all of Cross’s orifices with every single one of its tiny tentacles.

After rounds of battle where Cross had punched himself a non-zero number of times (with Dream not sure who to help), Cross had finally understood that struggling and running away from his problems (today) was useless. He has had enough of tentacle suffering lessons in one day, so he reluctantly decided to wake up once and for all, to help Dream out of the trouble he and the multiverse had found themselves in at last.

————

Meanwhile, it turned out Ink had just wanted to take a day off without telling anyone at first, but after chasing what he thought was just an ordinary ice cream truck, he accidentally got himself locked into the back of a cargo ship, which inexplicably had been destined to sail out to the crevices of isolated pocket dimensions over the next 100 years. After realizing his mistake, Ink simply went, “Well I guess it can’t be helped,” and decided to continue with his impromptu vacation, oblivious to the rest of the multiverse burning down without him, thanks to his best friend xGaster.

However as it turns out, the ship’s cargo had been full of antique video game cartridges, collected across space-time. After a long time of them being locked away, they had become imbued with powerful digital magic manifested by those who obsessively enjoyed them. By being basked in its magic presence for months, Ink was surprised to find him donning a brand new outfit that looks like he walked right out of a 16-bit era video game.

Ink eventually remembered he had never even attempted to open a portal to escape before assuming he was trapped forever, and was surprised that it was actually working,…to some extend. Because upon closer inspection, it’s clear it wasn’t a traversable portal and Ink can only see through it, unable to go to the other side. But he was surprised to see on other side was Cross…! And what appears to be an army of tiny Nightmares, trying to thwart what can only be described as a gigantic iron golem, with Dream caught helplessly between its claws. None of them was using magic for some reason, albeit Cross was doing much better than both Dream and all the Tinymares combined, trying his best with a makeshift pipe weapon, guard training and his unholy strength of being able to lift a whole bus on demand.

The other side all gasped simultaneously upon seeing the imagery of Ink, a ghostly 16-bit apparition staring at them from a monitor-like portal.

“Ink? Is that you? Where the hell have you been? it’s been literally a whole year!” Dream shouted at the fuzzy portal transmission and struggled, but the iron golem gripped onto him tighter. “The world had been thrown into chaos while you were gone, not to mention Cross had put himself into a depression coma!”

“Dream wait! It’s possible this is just another overwrite trick from xGaster to distract us.” Cross dodged another blow from the golem as another Tinymare disintegrated into a pitiful goopy pile upon impact. “Nobody from AU worlds has had access to creation magic for a while from the energy crisis. And see? He looks nothing like the Ink we know.”

“Oh my god!!!! You guys can see me?!” Ink has never felt so ecstatic, and in an instant, with his unrivalled ability in thinking thoughts off on a tangent, immediately figures it all out. “I cannot believe this. xGaster must be at it again trying to create a canon-only utopia while I was away! But don’t worry guys, I’ve got it all figured out.” Ink rushed back to the cargo pile, rummaging until he found a game cartridge radiating a powerful magical intent. “I can’t get myself across right now, but it’s dangerous to go on alone. Take this!”

The magical essence followed Ink’s will across the portal, and upon touching down, instantly transforming into the coolest beam saber Cross had ever laid his eyelights upon, with blue neon hue glowing from its magic, mesmerizing him. Could it have been used by a powerful legendary battle hero…?

“I feel like I know this sword for some reason.” Cross gave the sword a once-over, contemplating. “It kind of makes me want to carry a head full of luscious golden mane, and letting it flow in the wind elegantly for some reason,…but it could just be my imagination.”

“No more waxing poetics now Cross, the golem!!!” Dream shouts from the distance. He struggles again in the golem’s claws, to no prevail at freeing himself. The sword settled into Cross’s hands as if it were made for him to hold, and with a single practised swing, the golem was sliced clean into two pieces, its grip on Dream going lax, crashing to the ground.

The magical beam saber, as if responding to its new owner’s resolve, now shining with a bright red hue. Cross appears to grow three times cooler as he turns back to give Ink’s mirage a thumbs up, whom looked sagely pleased at what they had pulled off together.

“Great! It looks like everything’s fine now.” With the situation satisfactorily resolved, Ink gave Cross a triumphant smile back through the portal, but Dream was not amused, having just been rendered a helpless damsel for most of the encounter. After pulling himself out of the scrap metal pile, the splatters of tiny Nightmares having melded back into their original shapes, now latching onto Dream to heal his damages.

“No, it’s not fine? Ink, where the heck have you been?” Dream has the most annoyed expression on his face, his shoulders slumping from exhaustion. “Things are not okay here actually. The multiverse had been on fire, I had to babysit an army of tiny creatures that looks like my brother which is too much to explain now, and,” He points, “it was a miracle we managed to find Cross hiding himself to fix himself, in a ditch.”

“Hey, it was a very comfortable ditch, thank you very much.” Cross huffed with indignation. “Ugh, but I can’t believe I allowed my mental well being to become joined at the hipbone with Ink…, when all I needed was for someone to kick my ass.” He facepalmed from second hand embarrassment for himself and Ink, despite feeling theoretically happy to see Ink alive and possibly,…well.

“Never mind that, what in the world happened to you?” Cross continued. “Is that another outfit change? You look like you’ve walked straight out of a cyberspace AU.”

“Yeah, I guess this place’s magic did a number on me,” Ink looked around the cargo case he’s stuck in, and back down at himself, “It looks like the magic was manifested from the intent of someone who obsessively enjoyed playing lots of video games. But also check it out!” He gestures back at Cross, “You’re also looking pretty cool yourself right now, you know?”

Confused, Cross looked down at himself, and was surprised to find his own outfit had changed to something similar to what Ink is wearing. It seems like the moment he took the coolest beam saber in existence into his own hand, it also made him look very cool by extension…almost like a cool protagonist from a video game that he couldn’t quite put the bones of his fingers around. Cross felt his face heat up from suddenly becoming too cool for his inadequate feelings to handle.

“Oh, god damn it. Just when I’ve gotten over the royal guard outfit…” Cross tries to hold himself together from having an inner battle with his first hand embarrassment. “I guess, if we really are going to save the multiverse looking like we were cosplaying some video game characters, then I’ll have no choice but to do it.”

Seizing the opportunity while Cross was distracted, Ink continued. “Let me make it up to you guys by helping out from here, since it looks like there’s plenty of creation magic to spare from where I am. And…,maybe you can find a way to get me out of here too?” Ink attempts to put on his best sheepish smile. “I feel like I’m trapped in someone’s personal cyberspace locker or something. Like a backroom away from reality, if you will. It’s getting sorta old and uncomfortable. And very paintless.”

“Ink I have no idea what you meant or what you’re trying to tell us, but realistically we have no choice now but to continue forward.” Dream finally picked himself up from the metal scrap pile and dusted himself off. “There’s no time to waste. Looking like video game characters or not, we have to stop xGaster before it’s too late, for the sake of all creations, canon or otherwise! Now who’s with me?”

So with one resigned and one enthusiastic cheer later, Cross, Ink, Dream, and an army of tiny Nightmares reluctantly set out on this strange adventure that they all really wish they did not sign up for. If only they could predict the ominous shenanigans that awaits them in the future…

——— * You find a scrunched up piece of dirty paper abandoned on the ground after the kerfuffle had cleared. Unfurling it reveals an author’s note:

“To whoever finds this, congratulations on bearing witnessing to this highly specific universe’s existence, a fruit of torment bore upon the author’s soul until a “Game Night” UTMV fanzine called in seeking for the gamer’s Crossover, and by the gods who was I to hold them back? Don’t let the apples of your dream be dreams, they say (turn them into skeletons instead). But like a Flash in the Dark, time is limited in this universe and all good times must end, the curtains must fall, so this is our goodbye.

..…or….this is according to what they say. What do you two think?”

[holo-dok]

A snipped from my mageUni (werebeast au)!

Quick reminder: Shadow milk is a mage Professor who goes by the name of Blueberry Milk. He's hiding the fact that he is a werebeast - an unstable and magical creature who can switch between his beast (wolf) and human forms. Capple is in like a mage pre-school and those young ones are called trainees.

(Cookies and ambiguously human)

- Professor! Professor Blueberry Milk! - someone's frantic cries rang through the corridor.

Class stilled, normal murmuring of a busy lecture coming to a sudden halt.

Lound stomping steps came to the door and it burst open, wooden frame shuddering from impact.

- Prh.. Professor! - a young cookie with short white hair, (Cotton something.. or candy? what was her name?), quickly entered, closing the door behind her in a hurry.

She heaved a breath, short white strands of sticky sweet hair clinging to her face.

Professor stopped mid sentence and turned to look at her. Perfect serene expression morphing into sonething almost fearful before closing back into a calm state.

- Calm down, little one, please.. look at me - when did Professor move so fast..? He was standing, howering above the girl, hand outstretched to offer comfort when she accepts it.

She looks up, lilac eyes full of fear and tears. Desperate hands clung to his robes and hands, and Professor takes her in his arms, cradling the little trainiee.

She misses the way his robes seem to shift unnaturally, the way his eyes lack some of their usual mirth.

Classroom, as if a silent spell has been lifted, erupts in worried cries.

- What happend????

- Is she safe?

- Aw! Unfair! Why She gets to be held by Professor like that!

Most worried for the girl, some - for their own safety. It was rare for someone to interrupt His lecture like that.

Blueberry Milk speaks in a commanding tone: -Silence. - not looking up from the little trembling

trainee in his arms.

Every soulf in the room quiets again, almost in reverence

- Please, Candy .. (he should Know her name, why can't he remember?? This is Horrible for his image).., tell me what happened?

She huccups and lifts her head slightly, whispering just for him to hear. Hopefully.

- B.. beast. I.. I saw it prowling around. I.. It didn't see me I guess? I was in the garden and it jumped over the fence! I run.. I run straight here... - she hiccuped, composing herself slightly, clinging to his heavy robes.

His blood run cold. No way.. how could she? There were no beasts..beside him of course.. in this University. No one to wreak havoc or eat cookies. He made sure of it, and all the mages in training and their familiars helped to solidify this certainly. They were strong enough to fend of an attack.

If another, more dangerous beast were to appear - it wouldn't be able to leave to see another day.

Candy (Apple..?) was continuing, whispering about claws and fangs. Stripes of bloody red and nightmarish black.

- Dear, are you sure it wasn't someone's familiar you saw? ...

She shoot up and wriggled out of his hands, plopping to the ground, all angry red eyes and tiny furrowed eyebrows.

- No!! I am not old enough to attend all the lectures and become a mage, but I attended the pre-school! I know how to identify a beast from a familiar! - she stomped her foot down, quickly loosing the wind in her sails.

- It smelled soo strongly. It was spicy and burned my eyes..

[cyanide-latte]

Profile: Copper Benoit

Art by @followthechick (left) and @ramshacklerumble (right)

Species: Human

Gender and pronouns: Trans boy, he/him

NRC Dorm: Pomefiore (freshman)

Unique Magic: "Lay To Fiddler's Green" - originally called “gingersnaps” by Copper to avoid being found out while within Mr. Stone's 'care'; has the ability to break any locks or wards within a certain range, or break open a pathway if needed

Career/Future: Founder of the New Brethren Court, and Pirate King

Birthday: October 24th (Scorpio)

Floyd nickname: Sea Dog

Rook nickname: Petit brigand / Roi des Brigands

Kalim nickname: My treasure

Twisted from: Captain Hector Barbossa (PotC) with elements from Penny from The Rescuers in his backstory (and chosen first name)

Additional notes:

Extrovert, too much Protagonist Energy

Prior to the school year the game opens with, Copper visits the school, ends up getting pre-enrolled (more below) and spends the remainder of that school year into the summer catching up on the basics he needs as a mage

Shipped with Kalim al-Asim, and his relationship with Jamil Viper is Complicated™ (there's definitely something queerplatonic going on there that might turn romantic? But that's ultimately up in the air)

From Port O' Bliss, "raised" in a bayou locals called "the devil's bayou", semi-pronounced accent when he speaks that becomes more prominent the more worked up he is (often subconsciously code-switches when interacting with Sam at the Mystery Shop)

Hypervigilant and aware of his surroundings at all times, due to being raised in an abusive environment. Often catches tiny details and changes that other people miss.

The blue "scarf" is a length of silk given to him as a gift by Kalim when they first met, intended to calm a frightened Copper; Copper often wears it as a scarf or a sash and considers it the nicest thing he owns

Attending NRC on a "scholarship" Crowley "generously" bestowed on him when Copper uncovered an old magical pirate ship beneath the school that Crowley "misplaced forever ago"

Captain of the pirate ship with black sails and her undead crew. (Jamil is his rather unwilling First Mate, at least initially. Because the ship herself decided this.) The ship also came with a monkey named Jackie, who is mysteriously magical in nature and becomes Copper's close companion.

Considers his Pomefiore dormmates his brothers

Very rare for him to meet someone and not get along with them. If he decides he's going to make you his friend, guess what, buddy, you're no match for the Shonen Protagonist Energy.

One of few who earned Leona's respect (Copper isn't sure how he did this but he's not complaining.) Leona doesn't refer to him as "herbivore". Later on, he eventually teaches Copper to play chess, and Copper in turn teaches him to play Liar's Dice.

Pirate blood allows him to locate lost pirate treasure through latent magical ability

Affinity for wind magic. Copper often uses this to cushion himself if he falls off a broom or jumps from high places (initially for self preservation, later for dramatic flair.) Comes in handy on a pirate ship when you need it.

Never Overblots but is present for and joins the fight during several other people's Overblots. (He's present for Jamil's and Vil's Overblots, and obviously Malleus's, but he's also present for my friends' numerous OCs' Overblots.)

Don't let the smile and friendly demeanor fool you; Copper can turn conniving and snide easily, and the longer he stays at NRC, the faster he gets good at playing mind games and social chess. Can and will verbally back Crowley into a corner for his friends and or his own aims. (In the shared stuff I do with @/tixdixl and @/ramshacklerumble, we refer to Copper, Kingsley and Gia as the Protag Trio, and the best part of it is our associated running joke that combined they are Crowley's worst nightmare.)

Also, @/tixdixl drew this amazing art of Copper for their TWST OC tarot series that features Copper with Jackie, and @/the-trinket-witch drew this art of Copper and Jackie based on my intro ficlet for Copper in the Wishmaster's Concert fan event

Taglist: @elenauaurs @inmateofthemind @ramshacklerumble @tixdixl @winterweary

@distant-velleity @rainesol @thehollowwriter @theleechyskrunkly @twst-migraine

@jovieinramshackle @the-trinket-witch @treydia (DM me if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist for my TWST OCs stuff)

[adokle]

(Insert pre-fight banter here)

---

Erron Black Vs. Ruby Heart. Cowboy vs. Pirate. Just a thing inspired by the Mortal Kombat 1 intro clashes. 

Ruby's a Street Fighter character now as of SFV I guess, but in my heart, this is a Mortal Kombat vs. Darkstalkers pic, with Ruby as a pirate from the 1700s who sailed into the Bermuda triangle and emerged in the modern day. Kinda how MKX Erron was preserved from the Wild West times till now via magic.

[drama--universe]

Learning cultures

Requested by anonymous: Hello! How are you? Your writing is divine, just...wow, speechless! Can I request a oneshot for LXC? The reader is a cultivator from a completely different country, she has different customs, different fighting style, different weapons, different magic... she traveled all the clans, Nie, Jiang, Jin and even Lan, in every clan everyone liked her even though she had different customs, she was kind and accommodating to everyone, forming strong friendships with JGY and NHS. Then she runs into LXC during one of the walks, literally slamming into him when she wasn't paying attention to where she was going. Of course, LXC didn't get mad, he made sure the reader was okay and went on his way. JGY sees all this and then teases the reader when he saw her blush😂 NHS then becomes something of a messenger as he passes letters from LXC and the reader to the other one 😂I don't know, somehow the request came to me, I hope it's cool, I don't ask for requests too much😄 take care and thank you!👋

Pairing: Lan Xichen x fem!foreigner!reader

Word Count: 2.9k words

You never really expected to find another country, you honestly just wanted to leave your home for awhile. You had set sail on the shores of your home country and now you found yourself on the shore of another. Your boat was wrecked and you went under, only to wash ashore later on while trying to not inhale the salty water. The sun shine down from it's spot up in the sky, making the sand beneath your hands burning hot and the air around you dry. You could practically feel the taunt from the sun as it challenged you, but you could care less. Your weapons felt heavy, the spear on you back was pulling you down back into the water due to it's weight and the twin daggers didn't help you out much either. Your bag was floating somewhere in the water and you didn't even want to think about where all your food went, probably already taken by the sea like your ship.

But even while nearly drowning, you were painfully aware of the eyes on you. Two curious eyes that made you wonder why they were not even in view.

Then you spotted it, a child staring straight at you with big eyes full of curiosity, almost sparkling as they spotted you. The kid wasn't tall, slightly on the thinner side if you'd compare with the children from your country, and you guessed that he'd been an early teenager. He was hidden behind a tree, eyes barely visible as he tried his best to stay hidden. The man behind him, you assumed it was an adult anyway, didn't share that thought as he casually strolled forward out of the woods. He seemed surprised by you and you were just as surprised, he looked quite different from you or anyone you had ever seen before today. He was a bit paler than you, silky black hair and thinner slanted eyes. The grey robes he wore were also unique looking to you, looking nothing like your clothes in the slightest. He spoke, the language unfamiliar to you and not even sounding like anything at first. You held up your hand for him to pause, getting up before focusing your energy to him. He spoke again and this time you understood him fine, thanks to some quick spell.

"Are you alright?" He repeated his question again as he held out one of his hands, which you quickly took with a thanks as you focused your spell to make him understand your words.

"Fine, fine... Could be worse." "Worse than drowning?" He asked and you opened your mouth to retort his statement, but closed your mouth again when you realized he was right. Not much worse than almost dying...

"May I ask who you are?" "Right! The name's (Y/n), pleasure to meet you!" You smiled brightly as you held out your hand to shake, surprised as he just bowed his head while revealing himself to be Meng Yao. The boy from behind the trees had also decided to join you, standing behind Meng Yao while sending you a bright and yet shy smile and introducing himself as Nie Huaisang. The conversation quickly moved on to your place of origin and how toy actually got here, which was then followed by Huaisang offering you a place to stay. You could hardly ignore the kid or his request, so you agreed.

Thus you found yourself on the grounds of the Qinghe Nie clan, meeting Nie Mingjue and being absolutely terrified of the man as he reluctantly agreed to let you stay thanks to Huaisang's pleading look. He reminded you much of your little brother, a cute boy who knew how to get what he wants. Although difficult, you tried to adapt as much as possible to their culture. Huaisang was quick to guide you through everything, starting with giving you a hanfu to wear. It was beautiful, a soft material used instead of the rough fabrics that you were more used to, and details were so difficult to catch that you could spend hours just looking. Then he and Meng Yao taught you some of their customs before explaining that every clan had different ones. It took you a couple of weeks to get the basics of the Nie clan before you set off to the next.

First the Lanling Jin clan, where some disciplines were kind enough to tell you a bit before you set of again thanks to the arrogant teenager(s) that kept mocking you. The second clan you went to was the Yunmeng Jiang clan, where you were taught by the daughter of the head of the clan. Jiang Yanli was the sweetest, never getting annoyed or angry as she taught you everything you needed or wanted to know. Wuxian, her adoptive brother, was even more excited to teach you things (pranks mostly) and he was always present when Yanli taught you. You only saw Jiang Cheng a few times, but you could tell that he was a nice person as well, just not visibly showing it to others. You stayed with them for 3 months, then you moved again to the final clan.

Gusu Lan, one know for it's strictness and their many rules to follow. You didn't really know what to expect from them, so having the kids from Yunmeng and from Qinghe join you for a sort of school was kind of exciting. You were just glad that you were allowed to join them, Meng Yao had sent you a letter saying that he got permission to take you as a Nie representative.

You actually enjoyed the trip up the mountain, unlike the others, as the view as astounding to see and the fresh air instantly woke you up from your drowsiness. Once past the gate, you could only marvel at the structures that were build in between the mountain. Of course you loved all the other clan buildings, but this one had a massive library that you just couldn't ignore. You just wanted to find out what kind of information the books in there had, what kind of knowledge you could possible gain you. Then you were inside, greeted by a man that you could only stare at. All the previous people you had met were attractive, both men and women, but this man was different. Maybe it was because of the confidence that he had or maybe just something else, but he looked dazzling. You almost thought you reached the heavens, the white and blue robes didn't make that thought any better. You also noticed the ribbon weaved through his hair to rest on his forehead, a cloud symbol laying between his eyebrows. It looked intricate and you wondered if you could take a closer look at it in some period of time later on.

You joined Yanli and some other girls to a dorm, settling in quickly after a short introduction. The robes on your bed were soft, feeling almost as soft as the clouds that were painted on the bottom of the robe and you were almost afraid of how quickly you would dirty the white and light blue colors.

A woman entered not much later after you got dresses, her robes a darker blue than you had seen others wear, and she asked everyone to follow her before pausing on you. You expected a mocking comment or something along those lines, the girls from Lanling hadn't been to quiet with their insults, but she just walked closer to you and pulled your belt up a bit before pulling your robes a bit down to make it lay flatter than it had before. You thanked her, bowing your head before following her out like everyone else. You entered a lecture hall, the men were all present already and you quickly joined Huaisang and Meng Yao before looking around. Two men entered, one an elder man that you assumed was the head of the clan when you saw his clothes and the other was the angelic man from the front gate. He was smiling slightly this time, mostly aimed at a younger boy in the front that looked very similar to him. The elder man spoke first, but you hadn't expected him to start rules. At first, you were carefully listening to his words but that changed around the 30th rule or so.

"How many more do we have to listen to?" "There are 3,000 rules in total, all of them are equally important. I do admit their wording could be shorter." You flinched as someone actually answered your question, turning your head slightly to see the angelic man. After blinking a few times, you nodded to acknowledge his words before turning to face the front again. Huaisang, who had heard of the number of rules, was already laying face down on the table and you couldn't help but do the same. It was only at the 580th rule that you shut off your brain, letting go of the translation spell that made you understand the elder and instead trying to push back your growing headache. It was like someone was pushing your head together at the temples, knives pushing into your skull and turning around once inside. It was painful, so much so that you just wanted to lay down and sleep right in this room. You couldn't, obviously, but you opted to just close your eyes instead in hopes that it would lessen slightly by doing so. So you closed your eyes, hoping that you would be left alone as the elder still listed the rules, you assumed he was anyway.

When you opened your eyes again, because of course you had fallen asleep, everyone else was getting ready to leave. You just followed, you didn't want to stay longer at the moment. Your headache, although lessened, was still killing you and you had some medicine in your bag that could help. You didn't wait for anyone, you just want to the dorm and shoved the medicine down with some water. Then you laid down to sleep, quickly moving on to the dream world.

Although it was early in the morning, you were wide awake and bringing with energy. You were the only person, beside the Lan disciplines, that seemed happy to be out for a walk. You didn't know why Huaisang looked so glum, the sights were beautiful and the cold breeze could easily wake up anyone from their slumber. Nonetheless, you talked him through the walk as you walked, a happy skip in your step and a big smile on your face. Your eyes weren't really focused on the road ahead of you, they remained on Huaisang during your conversation. Unfortunately, that also meant that you didn't see that everyone else had stopped. The result? You were abruptly stopped when you slammed into someone's chest, stumbling backwards until the person caught you. You looked up and we're surprised to see Lan Xichen before you, giving you a smile like you hadn't just bumped him.

"Are you alright?" He let go of your waist and you straightened your robes out before nodding at him, trying to ignore the way that your heart skipped a beat and how your face heated up.

"Please be mindful of your surroundings." He said before turning around and walking away, leaving you standing in the same spot with a look of surprise. Yet you couldn't help but smile a bit.

"You're so in love with him." Meng Yao speaks loud enough for anyone to hear as he passes by you, smirking at you before speeding up a bit as you kicked your leg at him. This action earned a disapproving look from Lan Qiren while Xichen just chuckled softly, which made your face heat up even more. Luckily, the rest of the walk was without you slamming into someone else again. However, you also noticed that Xichen lingered near you as you walked, almost like he was ready to catch you if you tripped again or something along those lines. Not that he made that clear, he just walked beside you at a decent distance, which only made Meng Yao raise his eyebrows at you suggestively once more. You ignored him without hesitation, instead focusing on the road and those interesting pebbles on the ground.

You didn't know how you ended up in this situation, sitting across Xichen while drinking tea and talking. But you also didn't really care about how you got here, you were too busy trying to keep your face neutral enough and not to just smile like an idiot. Xichen was explaining some stuff about the clan, the reasons for their colors and how their rules came into place, but you could only stare at him. More specifically at the cloud symbol on his forehead, which he hadn't noticed and if he had, he was kind enough to not point it out.

"Why do you wear that?" You blurted out in the middle of his sentence, realizing how rude this probably was and quickly apologizing after. Xichen paid no mind to this and kindly started to explain instead.

"It is a metaphor, it shows that we restrain ourselves." The explanation was simple, you were sure that he oversimplified the actual meaning, and Xichen was also quick to add that it wasn't something that just anyone could touch.

"Only close family members are allowed to touch the headbands. When we marry, our wife and future kids are also allowed." Xichen says and you felt a wave of disappointment wash over you, unsure of the reason for those feelings. The conversation moved on to other subjects, but somehow the thought of marrying Xichen had entered your mind and it wouldn't leave. You could only try to hide the slight blush on your face until you could excuse yourself to go to your class.

You never went to that class. and the thoughts of marrying Xichen turned into hopeful dreams that revealed your true feelings of the man.

The first letter you sent to Xichen was after your leave of the Gusu Lan clan. You added it to your letter to Huaisang, the paper folded neatly with Xichen's name on it. Xichen answered not much later, his response folded into the letter that Huaisang send you back. You didn't miss Huaisang's teasing in his own letter, you had no doubt that the boy had peaked into your letter. However, you first focused on Xichen's letter, because the man had called you his dear friend and you took a few minutes to just process that.

A dear friend was a start, maybe someday it say dear lover.

The second conversation was started by Xichen, asking you where you were traveling this time. You answered him, sticking in a small note of thanks to Huaisang that he helped you deliver the letters to Xichen. You received no you're welcome back, but you did get another letter. One that only made your heart ache as Xichen spoke of marriage, but he was to be clan leader after all and neither of you were still really young. But still with all that, you wished that he would chose you and not some clan's daughter that was chosen for him. Luckily, he didn't seem to mention his future marriage in any way, so you didn't see need to worry yet. Even though you were glad, you couldn't help yourself from asking if he had plans to marry. The letter was sent before you could actually control your actions, embarrassment entering much later and when it was too late to get the letter back.

You waited for two weeks for any kind of response from Xichen, but you got a very good response. You got Xichen in front of you, his angelic smile aimed to you and a letter in his hand. You took it with confusion, reading it's contents carefully.

Right at the bottom, written in the neatest letters stood a sentence that made your heart stop.

'I hope that we might marry someday.'

You were ready to faint at this point, not being able to control your magic as you made the letter go up in flames thanks to the sparks from your fingers. You only stared at the ashes before apologizing to Xichen, but he was just smiling at you like it was nothing. Then again, you had explained your powers to him or at least to some extent.

"I presume that to be a yes?" He asked and you nodded slowly, not really knowing what you were supposed to say to his proposal. You'd figure it out later, however, because you just wanted to hug him right now. So you did, embracing him and toying with the back of his belt as he threw his arms around your shoulders.

"How'd you know?" You dare to ask him, looking up to him with curious eyes as you awaited his answer.

"You often think out loud." Cue your face heating up as you hid your face in his chest, only making the man chuckle softly while parting your head.

You received one more letter later on from Huaisang, asking if the proposal went well. You burned that one as well.

[captainsvscaptains]

Battle of the Ships

Round 3 Part 3 Poll 1

Per Aspera : It’s a ship with several large masts with kind of magic sails.

Temeraire :

He's a uuhhhhhhh dragon.

While he's more of a 'plane' technically I guess, his captain is a navy captain, he's named after the original ship 'Temeraire', and something like 75% at least of the books takes place on/around navy ships... Plus he likes swimming so I guess in a way he's a sea-faring vessel??

As far as looks go; big-ass black dragon.

[morrigan-sims]

me again duhhh im going away on a trip for a month SO use this as an excuse to rant about whichever oc you want!!!!!!!! ill be on a 12 hour flight so i'll save it to read then 😇

Oh dear. Anon. You have opened the fucking FLOODGATES. Umm, you're definitely gonna need a WHILE to read all this.

Obviously, I wanna talk about my boy Rook, but more specifically I want to explain all of the Liars lore, because I don't think I've ever really gotten to FULLY explain that on here.

Okay, it's going under the cut. It's gonna be long, I'm so sorry. (Update from later Morri: it's 4k+ words. I'm SO sorry.)

Also, uhh... see if you can piece things together before I did, lmaoooo. Morri and Rook were both SO blind to what was going on, despite it being increasingly obvious. I guess loving someone really does fuck with your perceptions!!! I'm giving you information in the exact same order I got it in.

Okay, so first off, the things you need to know about Rook / his campaign:

He's the bastard son of a nobleman from the city-state of Arborcea. The nobleman's name is Lord Alistair Lockwood, and he's a member of the governing council.

After YEARS of being treated like shit, Rook ran away at age 17, and joined the crew of a pirate named Zara Fairweather on the ship the Tide Breaker. She became his mentor, and gifted him his magic rapier (which he has since upgraded with a magic jewel he got from saving an archfey lady).

The crew didn't like him bc despite being the youngest he was Zara's favorite, so a group of them conspired against him. They drugged him and sold him to a notorious pirate captain named Kora Wolf.

He was on Wolf's ship for 2 years, enduring torture for her enjoyment, until he escaped, setting her ship the Sea Snake on fire in the process.

He only found this out recently, but the reason Wolf wanted him in the first place is because she and Zara have beef that dates back 20+ years. Wolf knew he was important to Zara and was sending back letters to her detailed what she was doing. She threatened to kill Rook unless Zara gave up sailing.

After escaping the Sea Snake, Rook ended up in the Feywild (hiding from Wolf), where he hid out for nearly a year before meeting the party and joining them.

The party member he became closest to was a middle-aged human werewolf gunslinger named Warren.

The rest of the party is two brothers named Aki (bard) and Maka (wizard), and occasionally a druid named Elias.

Aki and Maka used to be close family friends with Wolf, calling her "Aunt Kory".

Because Rook is/was terrified of Wolf finding him again, he resumed using his birth name (Adrian Lockwood) in some situations while in the BDK.

We found a were-husky child named Cherry fleeing from a mob lead by Captain Wolf's son, and took her in. Warren ended up more or less adopting her, but she's been looking for her family for years. The only lead she has is a locket with the name "Alina" inscribed in it.

WORLDBUILDING LORE:

The party kinda-sorta works for the government of a place called the Black Desert Kingdom, which is ruled by an Ancient Moon Dragon named Nadir.

The BDK has long-standing beef with the Leyland Confederation, a group of city-states (including Rook's birthplace of Arborcea) that are primarily of Elven heritage (drow or wood elf, depending on the location).

Like 300 years ago the leadership of the BDK (which was at that point a Yuan-Ti-led monarchy) led a genocide against the drow of the Leyland Confederation.

The LC, especially the few drow survivors, still hold a grudge about this, despite the fact that all of the people from the BDK who were involved have been dead for centuries.

Two of those survivors are really, really important here. One of them, Minister Consin White of Svarga, is rather a bit of an extremist, and has been trying to goad the LC into war with the BDK.

He took another, younger, drow survivor under his wing and molded him into another hateful person. That younger guy took on the moniker Dr. Purity.

Together they started a cult of mad scientists, called the Children of the Enlightened (CoE), who want to destroy basically the entire continent.

Prior to the campaign, Maka had been captured and experimented on by the CoE, due to the archfey he had living with him at the time.

OKAY, PHEW, I CAN FINALLY START EXPLAINING THE LIARS LORE.

Alright, so after Rook had been with the party not too long, he was outside in Warren's yard, practicing with his sword. A middle-aged human man walked up to him and asked his name. Rook, fearing that the man worked for Wolf, introduced himself as Adrian Lockwood.

They sparred a coupled times, and the dude was impressed with Rook's skills. The guy introduced himself as Sigmar, and invited Rook to come talk to him another time.

A few days later, Rook goes and talks to him, and Sigmar teaches him a new combat move, which on my character sheet is called "Rook's Gambit". At some point during the conversation, Sigmar presses Rook for info on the name he gave (Adrian Lockwood), saying that he knows it's a lie. (This is the beginning of a long-running theme that is why I call these two the Liars. Sigmar has said to Rook several times "You and I are the same: We're both liars.")

While talking over a bottle of whiskey from Eberron (our world is weird. Eberron is the continental neighbor to our homebrew continent) Rook ends up revealing his father's identity, making Sigmar (a total stranger!!!) the first person in the entire world to know that information. Sigmar seems disappointed, saying that he knew Alistair, and that didn't sound like him, but he does ultimately believe Rook is telling the truth.

Just before Rook leaves Sigmar's house, Sigmar tells him that his original reason for entering Warren's yard was to burn down Warren's house due to him being a werebeast. But after learning that he was taking care of a child, he decided against it.

Rook turns to leave, but then turns around in a flash and puts the tip of his rapier to Sigmar's throat. He tells Sigmar that if he ever so much as thinks about harming the party again, he will be "a dead man walking". (Direct quote. Also, not a phrasing Rook would usually use, so I have no idea what possessed me to say it.)

Several days later, Sigmar and Rook talk again, with Rook sharing some details about Zara and Wolf. In exchange, Sigmar reveals that he was sold to and held prisoner by the leaders of the Merchant's Guild. Sigmar gives him a ring with an emerald in it (Rook's birthstone), which although belated, is the first birthday gift Rook has ever received.

Sigmar starts to get to know the rest of the party. During one such occasion, he plays chess against Maka. (We rolled dice to see who won.) Maka wins, specifically narrating that he took Sigmar's king with his rook.

Rook starts experiencing the effects of a cursed item that Warren had acquired. It was cursed by Furicifer, the demon of lies, and causes horrible nightmares. No one in the party knows the source of the curse at this point, though.

Sigmar takes the party into the Feywild to hunt a couple of monsters, teaching Rook a couple of new things along the way. While there, we venture a tad bit too close to the area of the Feywild that the CoE had previously wiped out. Maka is nearly captured by a Nightwalker (a generic term for the fucked-up monsters created by the CoE).

On our way back, the party stops at an upside down waterfall where Rook had camped out when he was living in the Feywild and has a very cute and lovely time. Cherry reveals her werehusky form to Sigmar and he remarks that his mother had a dog that looked just like her.

Sigmar inspects Cherry's locket, the one that says "Alina", and tells her that it likely belongs to a member of the White Weaver tribe, a group of drow who were wiped out by the BDK monarchy about 300 years ago.

That night, Sigmar is affected by Furicifer's curse. Maka and Rook enter his dreams and see him in a burning village, under attack from the Yuan-Ti monarchs from MANY years ago.

The party returns to the Material Plane and seeks out a cure for the curse. Maka reaches out to one of the Doctors of the CoE, Dr. Greytusk, and convinces him to help us. We borrow a room in the palace's science wing for the ritual.

During the ritual, Rook blacks out, while the rest of the party is largely unaffected. After the ritual, Dr. Greytusk takes Rook into another room. During their search for a private place to talk, Dr. G opens the wrong door and thanks to a nat 20 Perception check, Rook sees one of the two heads of the Merchant's Guild observing an experiment being done on a werebeast.

Dr. G tells Rook that the curse was part of what was keeping Furicifer, demon lord of lies, from entering the Material Plane. He says that if we completely destroy the curse, he'll be free to return. He offers Rook a choice: keep the curse himself, or have Dr. G secretly place it into one of his friends. Rook chooses to keep it for himself, and gains a point of exhaustion. He does not tell anyone he has done this.

Later that day, he tells Sigmar about seeing the merchant's guild master, and Sigmar urges him to go to Torsek (city-state belonging to the Leyland Confederation) and talk to them. We already needed to go there to talk to Warren's daughter (who was taken from him 10 years ago after he lost control of his werebeast form and killed his wife), so it's not hard to persuade the party to go.

Our official reason for going is to deliver a shipment of things from the Merchant's Guild. One of their members, a man named Bismark, travels with us. Also accompanying us is a healer named Vera, whose father lives in Torsek.

Along the route, Sigmar notices that Rook seems tired, and offers to make him some medicine to help with the exhaustion.

After arriving in Torsek, Bismark tells the party that he used to be an assassin for the last awful monarch of the BDK, before the dragon Nadir was installed as Chancellor. He says that 12 years ago, he was tasked with purging some of the queen's scientists, ones she thought were traitors. He entered an underground lab, and killed everyone there. Afterwards, he found a baby girl. A werebeast child. He felt awful, and so he left the queen's service and tried to hide the child. The queen found out, and took her away. He's convinced that Cherry is that child.

We leave Bismark to secure us a place to stay, and Sigmar splits off to get ingredients for Rook's medicine, while the rest of the party heads to deliver the goods.

On our way to deliver the shipment, the party is ambushed by a woman named Shade, a Shadar-Kai assassin who works for Captain Wolf. She successfully kills Rook, who is revived by Aki. The cart of goods is destroyed in the process, exploding and summoning several werebeasts to attack us. Clearly it was not what we thought it was.

The party goes to the house of the Winter siblings, the two co-ministers who lead Torsek. Under the guidance of a blood-soaked Rook, the party manages to negotiate a deal: if we can prove our worth by investigating the delivery we were supposed to make, they will consider helping us.

After the meeting, we return to the tavern to rest.

The next day we go to check out the intended delivery address for the goods. (Bismark and Sigmar stay behind again.) Vera realizes that it's her father's address. Upon arriving, we hear voices. It sounds like whoever's in there has someone tied up.

Getting closer, we hear the voice of the ambassador from the BDK. He mentions the delivery we were supposed to make, saying that the werebeasts were supposed to arrive here. We realize this is probably an assassination attempt sanctioned by Nadir.

We try to sneak into the house and are mostly successful, with only Maka failing. Two of the three BDK people come to investigate. Upon realizing that her dad is a hostage, Vera targets one of them with a spell, killing him (Maka tried to Counterspell, but it didn't work). The ambassador tries to run, but Rook jumps out of hiding, gets a crit with sneak attack, and kills him instantly. We subdue the last guy, and Rook persuades the party that we can't let him live, because he'll report our treason to Nadir.

On our way to inform the Winters of what we learned, we see a Selunite Priestess preaching to a crowd. She's fearmongering, trying to cause a panic. Maka notices another Doctor of the CoE, Dr. Balbia. he tells us the priestess (Sister Celestia) is actually working for the CoE.

We return to the Winter's manor (Rook once again soaked in blood after dispatching two people), and inform them what we learned. We end up agreeing to help each other stop Celestia's plot to cause damage in Torsek, with the door open for further discussion about working together against Nadir, who the party is aware wants to conquer Torsek.

On the way back to the tavern, Aki hears a dog in distress and goes to investigate. It ends up being a trap, and the entire party gets sucked into a combat against a Nightwalker. Rook is knocked unconscious twice.

After the combat, the party goes back to the tavern and tries to talk to the dog, who claims he is a former member of the CoE turned into a Chihuahua by Deadringer (a sadistic werewolf who is the son of a hag and happened to be the one who turned Warren into a werewolf).

The conversation is interrupted by Rook passing out from a combination of exhaustion and physical stress.

After sleeping for ~15 hours, Rook wakes up, and is interrogated by a very concerned Sigmar, who remarks that Rook is "lucky to be alive". Rook, still dazed, responds that he wasn't yesterday (technically 2 days ago atp, but we'll give Rook some grace). Panicked, Sigmar questions him further and learns about Shade killing Rook.

Furious, he lectures Rook, calling his reckless behavior passively suicidal, which Rook denies.

After that, Sigmar presses Rook further on the reason for his exhaustion, telling him "You and I are the same: We're both liars. So don't lie to me." Sigmar narrowly (27 Insight vs Rook's 26 Deception) discovers that Rook is still affected by Furicifer's curse. He urges Rook to tell the party, but Rook says that he can't, saying that he took the curse to protect them. Sigmar reluctantly agrees to use his medicine to help Rook hide the curse but tells Rook that if he is concerned for Rook's health, he will inform the party whether Rook wants him to or not.

The rest of the party comes in to talk to Rook. Cherry and Aki gift him a wood carving of a sailing ship, complete with a miniature Rook as captain. The mood is ruined by Maka revealing that the Chihuahua they had saved the night before is actually Lanny, one of the crew members responsible for drugging Rook and selling him to Wolf.

Rook is furious, and threatens to kill Lanny, but Lanny reveals that he knows where Zara is. He says that she's the mayor of a port town named Xen, located northeast of the BDK.

Sigmar offers to torture Lanny for more info, which snaps Rook out of his own rage, and he orders everyone to leave the room. He imagines killing Lanny in an attempt to calm himself, down, but ends up having a panic attack anyways. Desperate to stop the chaos in his brain, he punches the bathroom mirror, bringing the party running. Warren lectures him, telling him that by hurting himself, he's hurting the party.

A few hours later, the party sets out to fight Celestia. A handful of NPCs, including Sigmar, go with some of the Winters' men to ensure that the trap they set to lure away Celestia's bodyguard, Ivan, actually worked.

During the fight, Rook is knocked unconscious a whopping 4 times, but ends up being the last person standing in the entire party (including NPCs) with 4 or 5 hp left. After brutally killing Celestia, he hurriedly uses potions to wake Aki and Vera, who heal the rest of the party. We're EXTREMELY low on spell-slots (atp we had 3 left between the entire party), so Rook has the most hp, with 9.

As the party processes what happened, Deadringer makes an appearance. He remarks on the presence of three werebeasts (Warren, Canan, and Cherry), and says about Cherry "You even collected the pup. I didn't know she was still alive." Fearing for her life, Warren tells Cherry to run and hide, which she obeys.

He threatens the party, and Rook steps into his path, saying that if he wants to hurt the party, he'll have to go through him first. Deadringer shrugs and says "Works for me", and tosses Rook headfirst into a wall, knocking him unconscious again.

He then asks the party how many Revivify diamonds we have with us, saying that he's on no kill orders, but revivals don't count. We technically have 3, but only one 3rd level spell slot, so Maka uses a Hero Point (homebrew mechanic) to tell him we only have one.

Deadringer, being a hag and also the one who turned Warren, takes control of Warren's body and forces him to kill the unconscious Rook. He then leaves, taking Warren with him.

Vera revives Rook who is badly hurt and has a concussion. The party goes in search of Cherry and Warren. Along the way, Rook spots the other NPCs returning (including Sigmar), and runs towards them, nearly falling on his face. Sigmar catches him and asks what happened. Rather out of it, Rook says "I think I died again", much to Sigmar's concern.

The party locates Cherry, then Warren, who has been left unconscious, surrounded by the bodies of people he was forced to kill. Using our 2nd-to-last spell slot, he's woken up, and the party moves to return to the Winters' manor.

By the time the party makes it back, Rook is in very bad shape, his wounds having reopened during the search. A worried Sigmar takes him to see one of the Winters' clerics, asking Rook for details about what happened in an attempt to keep him conscious.

Rook reveals that it was Deadringer who killed him (no one had the heart to tell him it was Warren), and Sigmar says that he shouldn't have let Rook go to fight someone like him without his help.

After a day or two of rest, the party sets out to deal with Ivan, Celestia's bodyguard, who was sent to retrieve a powerful magic item that the CoE is desperate to get their hands on.

During the fight, Sigmar is knocked unconscious and injected with some kind of poison. Furious and panicked, Rook kicks Ivan down into a pit, then jumps on top of him, stabbing him straight through with his sword.

Sigmar is woken, but the party is unable to remove the poison.

On the way out of town, the party stops to steal the same item Ivan wanted, hoping to keep it out of the CoE's hands. We end up accidentally leaving another item, recovered from Ivan’s body, in "the glove compartment of our rental minivan" (aka, we narrated we put it in a drawer in the magical machine we were riding in, and then never narrated we took it back out.)

On the ride back to the Winters' manor, Rook realized Sigmar isn't worried about dying from the poison, but rather something else. Rook tries to probe him for info, but he promises to tell Rook later. He also tries to make plans to get more ingredients for Rook's medicine, but Rook tells him to rest. Sigmar vaguely agrees, but Rook calls his BS saying simply, "Liars, remember?"

The next day, Rook goes and asks him for more info, and Sigmar reveals that he is actually dead, and confesses that he is responsible for a bad event that happened 12 years earlier, which resulted in a lot of dangerous werebeasts escaping the evil queen's secret labs.

Rook is unfazed, and insists that Sigmar is a different person now, saying that a person who still had those evil goals wouldn't be working with the party now, given how many chances he had to stop us.

Rook ends up revealing Bismark's connection to the evil former queen, and Sigmar is about to go and kill him. Rook stops him by drawing his sword on Sigmar, telling him that if he tries to hurt Bismark, the party will kill him, and Rook does not want to be put in a place where he has to choose between the two of them. Sigmar reluctantly agrees to leave Bismark alone as long as he is useful to the party.

The next morning, Rook goes and gets the ring Sigmar gifted him enchanted to hide visual symptoms of his exhaustion (since Sigmar's medicine helps with the physiological ones). While doing so, he happens to spy Sigmar doing something similar to hide the effects of the poison from Ivan.

In a private conversation with the Winters, Warren is told that it's most likely that Cherry's father is Dr. Purity, who was a member of the White Weaver tribe to which her amulet belongs.

A while after that, the party is back in the BDK. Aki has been kidnapped by the merchant's guild masters. The party goes to rescue him from their underground prison/vault. While down there, Rook fails a lock-picking check (which I had advantage on), and then immediately fails a wisdom save against a trap that was on it. He's instantly teleported away to somewhere else in the dungeon. Sigmar takes off at a sprint to try and find him. The rest of the party continues with their plan to rescue Aki.

Rook appears trapped in a circle by an Arcanaloth (fox-like creatures who do magical contracts) named the Duchess. She pries into his mind, and discovers Furicifer's curse. Delighted to have found him (since Furicifer returning to the Material Plane is a problem for her business contracts), she exclaims that she "went looking for gold and found diamonds".

Having seen Rook's memories of his recklessness, she says that he can't be trusted with his own life. She makes plans to make a contract that would bind him to Captain Wolf. Despite Rook's insistence that Wolf would kill him, she starts making preparations for the contract.

Sigmar runs into the room, pulling his revolver on the Duchess and ordering her to let Rook go. She calls him an "extra-planar war criminal", and seems nervous about what he would do if she were to hurt Rook. She tells the two of them that she will be back in a month to create the contract, then vanishes.

The party had arrived during this conversation, and learned about Rook's curse by eavesdropping. Furious, they rush in and start lecturing Rook, who had fallen to his knees as soon as the circle holding him in place was gone. He's still terrified about the prospect of being handed to Wolf and isn't really listening.

Later, after leaving the dungeon, the party pushes Rook on the topic further, telling him that the curse didn't have "nothing to do with them" like he had claimed, and saying that by hiding it, he was hurting them.

After this, we ventured into the underground labs where the werebeasts were experimented on during the time of the former evil queen. One night, before we venture into the depths, Sigmar approaches Rook, clearly nervous. He tells him that he needs Rook's help in locating a device located somewhere in the labs. He describes it to Rook, promising to tell him what it is at a later date.

The next day, we see a winged snake chameleon chimera (my own invention) that has the device Sigmar described. He charges after it, with Rook following. In the next room, there is a horrible chimera (lots of tentacles). Upon seeing Sigmar it calls him an "insatiable liar", and attacks the party.

During the fight, the floor breaks, and we fall down into a lower level.

At the end of the fight, Sigmar is not doing well. Whatever poison Ivan gave him has clearly progressed. Rook anxiously tries to help him, while the party searches the room.

Warren and Maka find the device that Sigmar was looking for and turn it on. It's a recording device, and projects a magical hologram. In the "video", we see a drow who speaks with Sigmar's voice, talking about an experiment of his. He mentions that "Alistair Lockwood's men" would soon be there to escort him and "Alina".

Deadringer bursts into the room, carrying a corpse. He dumps it on the floor, and we see that it's Sigmar's corpse.

Deadringer hands the drow (who he addresses as "Doc") a mask, covered with blood. Deadringer makes a cruel remark about how easy it was to kill the archfey it belonged to, and how pathetic her bodyguard had been.

Using the mask, the doctor causes Sigmar's corpse to get up and start following him around.

The doctor asks where Alina is, and Deadringer blithely remarks that she's dead. Upset, the doctor starts making panicked plans to flee, planning to change his name and go into hiding. Deadringer goads him into a different path. The doctor looks intently at the corpse following him and orders Deadringer to lead him to Minister Consin White. The recording ends.

At this point, Rook is in shock and struggling to piece all of that together. Or rather, he has pieced it together, but is in denial. Maka steps forwards towards Sigmar and makes a gloating speech about how he knew from DAY ONE that Sigmar was actually a puppet of Dr. Purity.

Cherry asks him who he mother was, and he says she doesn't have one.

Aki, Maka, and Canan threaten to kill Sigmar. He essentially dares them to, saying that if they kill this body, he'll just wake up in his real one.

Furious, Aki, Maka, and Canan (whose brother was the bodyguard of the archfey that Deadringer murdered), brutally destroy Sigmar's body. As they do so, he begs Rook to help him, saying that Rook would be dead without his help, and reminding Rook what he had said about Sigmar having changed.

Rook is stunned, unable to do anything but watch while the others brutally torture him to death.

Afterwards, everyone flocks to Cherry's side, except for Maka who comes to check up on Rook. Furious, Rook turns on him, berating him for not telling him the truth. Maka says that he did this to protect everyone, since as long as Sigmar/Purity was attached to Rook, the CoE wouldn't be hunting us.

Angry and heartbroken, Rook tells Maka he wishes he had killed him back on Kroko (the island where Rook got possessed and nearly killed Maka, which was his biggest regret ever and the origin of his intense fear of hurting a party member), and runs off into the labs, activating his boots of haste to get as far away as possible.

I'll spare you the rest of the details because this is already too long, but one more thing: less than 48 hours after the Sigmar/Purity reveal, Warren dies, reviving Rook as part of that death.

After his funeral, Rook breaks away from the party and goes to Sigmar's house, more or less tearing it apart. Hidden in one of the shelves, he finds a fictional book with a prominent mentor character. Every inch of the margins is filled with handwritten notes of Sigmar/Purity thinking of how to apply this to Rook.

Okay, congrats, you've read this god-awful MONSTROSITY. (If you skimmed or didn't read it, that's okay.) But um. Yeah. Rook's beloved mentor, and the 2nd most important person in his entire life, is actually the BBEG of the whole fucking campaign. And to make matters worse, he does actually, genuinely love Rook (in a platonic way, obviously).

He wasn't supposed to get attached, but he did by accident, and now it's going to ruin both of their lives.

For some meta notes:

I joined the campaign 6 months after it started. Purity's backstory and personality were written before Rook ever existed.

By complete and total accident, I created Rook to be a perfect mirror to Purity.

The DM asked me if I would be okay with Rook having another mentor figure. I said yes.

What the fuck possessed me to use the phrase "Dead man walking"???? That's not like Rook.

I also sent a message to the DM saying "I don't care if fucking Dr. Purity comes with us, I just don't want [two annoying NPCs] to come along." OVER 6 MONTHS BEFORE THE REVEAL.

The reveal was supposed to be a shock to me too, but Warren and Maka's players made some vague jokes while Sigmar was asking Rook to help him look for the device, and all of the Very Suspicious things that my brain had deliberately chosen to ignore because I loved him too much fell into place.

I pretty much had a panic attack about it. Luckily I have friends who are saner than me.

After ~36 hours panicking, I realized that this was actually the best and most fascinating thing that's ever happened in my life, and I started feverishly working on the Checkmate render, inspired by Maka beating Sigmar in chess in-campaign.

That next weekend the actual reveal happened.

Remember that item I said we left in the glove compartment? Good thing we did! It was the antidote to the poison Ivan used on Sigmar. If Sigmar had gotten his hands on it, we probably would have had to fight him, which would have been even worse for Rook.

I have never been more obsessed with any set of characters in my entire life. I think about these two every single fucking day. They are everything to me. I already have ideas about how Rook is going to say goodbye to Purity, and just telling my DM the idea almost made him cry.

My tag for these two on my personal blog (where I post a lot of my dnd-related bullshit) is "*Liars" [LINK]. I promise there's some good stuff in there, and it's not a long scroll.

If you want to read the written prose versions I did of some of the scenes mentioned here, lmk, and I can post a link. :3

And if you love reading about fucked up mentorships, Carrion ALSO has one, but in a VERY different way.

Some Sims-Related links:

Dr. Purtiy's Tarot Card Edit

Checkmate Render

Mirror Punch Render (from after the conversation in Torsek)

My sim versions of Sigmar and Dr. Purity

[willows-unnamed-rpg]

Post 1) Overall idea - turn based pirate rpg/ttrpg system

TLDR: I am working on a ttrpg system as a basis for a turn based rpg that is magic, piracy, and exploration. A focus on wealth and growth plus a vast world (hopefully). I am inspired by alot of things, mainly horror and pirate media, so the intent is a more darker setting

Ok onto the post :)

I figured if I actually want to get this bloody game in production I might as well start with a long post detailing some initial thoughts with some hope of any amount of actual engagement (doubtful that is). This thing has lived in my brain for weeks now and it has officially kept me up at night now. Figured I should post something out into the world. Now I guess I should have some form of organizing

Why a turn based rpg

Honestly, it's what I love. I grew up playing RPGs and I love table top RPGs. I figured it was this or action rpg and I don't want an action rpg. Granted it might fit the genre more but also I'm the one making it the thing so I get to call the shots (until someone else hops in if I ever get someone else)

I also Game Master several table top games currently so I have an understanding of combat flow and narrative, I am just used to others adding to the story rather than it being all me (since ttrpgs are inherently collaborative works)

I have some ideas for the system, something I want to go into detail when I am less sleep deprived, but in short I want it to be classless but still guiding the player to general play styles, like mage or tank. I know pirates and magic, but the whole magical dungeon diving fits exploring ancient ruins for money (plus casting a big old fireball at a ship sounds cool as hell).

So a custom rpg system?

Yes. Like I want it to work on its own as a standalone ttrpg system. Since I should be able to make it translate well into a video game. I mean that's the hope. I won't be the first person to do this (look at all the d&d games from the 1980s on dos to BG3, it works)

The idea as said above is classless with point buying perks (kinda like fallout). Unsure if I want it to be a d20 system but I am absolutely going for high roll is better since low roll systems hurt my head (looking at 2e dnd, had to learn it for some dos d&d games and it took a bit of getting used to). But it's all subjected to change since it's literally this post and my brain

Pirates?

You bet. Look, the only good pirate games are Assassin Creed: Black Flag and Sea of Thieves and both are subjective. Of course the big problem here comes from the question of how much time do we put into ship combat to make it fluid. Especially with turn based rpg combat. And I know that will be the challenge. I will not back down from this point. I want ship combat. Even if it's just boarding other vessels. I want fireballs to light gunpowder holds and deal massive damage. I want artificers repairing the ship and manning guns. I want the player to feel at full control and be able to react while making choices that fit into the system. Without it being full on simulation.

As for the player exploration off the boat, that should be easy, like any other RPGs. Of course I have done ttrpg games not video games so I know it will be a pain nonetheless but that's learning and art.

So about that world for exploring

I want that to be it's own post once I nail down the system's mechanics but in short, kinda an Isekai (well not literally, the player isn't from another world, not yet anyway) but all the "Species" (no idea what I want to use for the word) are not native to the world, and so they have been invited over time to explore a long dead universe that they brought in their own beliefs. Does that mean human Christianity mixing with let's say elven nature faith? It's been in my mind as a neat idea but also *yikes* as well. I want to be sure that I consider everything, including cultures who were exploited during the age of sail so I don't propagate more harm. So that will require a lot of research and help from those communities. I also don't want to plop in fantasy races "just because" since they probably won't belong. We tend to see them because Western fantasy is typically "eurocentric", and this game will not be. Pirates were European sure but that ignores so many other groups (Barbary Pirate, Malagasy, South East Asian. Again I need to do more research)

I have tied in my own Mexican culture into my ttrpg games before but that's my own culture and in a small group. This is far larger and I need to give the world the respect it deserves.

What kind of art style?

I am not a very good artist so this one will be in the air until I settle, but I need to grow or get help. I would like something near realism (Honestly like how the Paradox Strategy games tend to do art, EU4 especially since it's the right period of time but again that's eurocentric so who knows)

I can't settle on a style when I haven't even made custom stat blocks for creatures or even know what creatures will be in the game yet. I will say, I love pixel art but I'm aware of exactly how much work it takes to make it wonderful. I have exactly zero skill in most art/drawing and what I do have need work, so best get to doodling to get better

The story?

On my main blog I usually write (though I am bad at posting, let's not make that a habit shall we?) but that doesn't mean I'm good at writing. Writing like drawing is an art, so I need to work on this and get help from others as it warms up. I don't want to disregard writing, it's an rpg, it lives by the narrative.

Other than exploring the world for money, I like the idea of it being focused on either one country or one city. A pirate republic. You could leave on expeditions and come back and those would be arcs. Do everything around town, hang out with companions, romance, and then to move the narrative along we build up to an expedition that changes the republic. Kinda like Dragon Age 2 and Kirkwall (not going into it here since spoilers for the game) but I really like this idea. You can see growth and change and get an impact on the narrative. Obviously this isn't anything new. But it's always a good time

My Inspirations?

That is a hell of a question. I have alot, ranging from Dark Fantasy/Gothic Horror with Ravenloft, Dragon Age, From Software's Library, Lovecraft's work (he isn't gothic horror I know, Eldritch is different but also water monsters in a ocean setting hits good) to pirate media with One Piece, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies and the actual historical pirates I know.

And Obviously with any game, Lord of the Rings and System Shock 2 despite how far apart both are and possibly irrelevant they are.

I don't have any current "required reading" minus The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings (and maybe The Dunwitch Horror?)

I guess my inspirations lead me to a darker world, which fits real pirates well

[ixekizumab]

hello hello! by any other name for the wip game <3

By Any Other Name is my Rosekiller fic (currently on hiatus but I swear I am coming back to it soon, otherwise I will have to answer to @mywifeisaworm). It started as me trying to figure out how it might be possible to tell the "canon" Barty Crouch Jr. story without magic. And somehow that turned into a Shakespearean tragedy with Breaking Bad energy. Here's a snippet!

Stanford University Palo Alto, California September 2002

The addition of a vanilla latte is nice, but this required reading is no less tedious in CoHo than it was in the library. Fuck these gen ed classes, honestly. Why does Barty need them to get a chemistry degree? He thinks he may have made a mistake picking Stanford over Cal Tech after all. They probably don’t make you read these nonsense books from five hundred years ago at Cal Tech. But then again, Pasadena seems boring as shit, so…

He takes another sip from his too-hot latte to delay the moment where he has to bring his eyes back down to the pages of this god-forsaken play. Scalding liquid burns his tongue and throat, and he hisses under his breath. Okay. Fine. His ring-clad fingers spread the pages open to Act I, Scene II, and Barty forces his gaze down to the printed words.

“But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?”

The voice is pleasant but coming from a little too close. It just has to be directed at Barty. Not entirely disappointed at the excuse to abandon his short-lived reading attempt, his eyes flit upward to see who has invaded his personal space to speak gibberish at him. It’s the kind of insane thing one of the panhandlers just off campus would say, but this man doesn’t look homeless. He looks… well, he looks beautiful.

He has the kind of sun-kissed blonde hair and lightly tanned skin that makes Barty think of surfers. And yet, that’s not the vibe he’s giving. Maybe it’s the way he’s dressed in dark colors, black shirt providing little contrast against deep navy jeans. Or maybe it’s the eyebrow piercing. Or the half-sleeve of impeccably shaded roses on his arm.

Maybe it’s something else entirely.

“Are you talking to me?” Barty asks, his attempt at a scathing look less successful than usual in the face of this disconcertingly attractive man.

“Oh.” The stranger’s smile falters. “Yeah, just… you know. Because of what you’re reading?”

Barty’s cheeks heat as he realizes the man was, in fact, not speaking nonsense a moment ago but rather making a Shakespeare reference that had sailed right over his head. “Guess I haven’t gotten to that part yet.”

“Well…” Charming grin beginning to reemerge, the stranger responds. “Not to spoil anything for you, but the ending is kind of a bummer.”

[memento-morri-writes]

Anniversary Special: Liars Lore Dump

In honor of today being the one year anniversary of me finding out the truth about Sigmar, I finally decided to share the complete lore dump that I wrote to explain the situation leading up to the reveal. Fair warning, it's extremely long (barely over 5k words), so if you open the readmore be prepared for "color of the sky" levels of long. Skip to the bottom for some writing related links. See if you can piece things together before I did, hahaha. Morri and Rook were both SO blind to what was going on, despite it being increasingly obvious. I guess loving someone really does fuck with your perceptions!!! I’m giving you information in the exact same order I got it in, which looking back is just painfully obvious.

Okay, so first off, the things you need to know about Rook / his campaign:

He's the bastard son of a nobleman from the city-state of Arborcea. The nobleman's name is Lord Alistair Lockwood, and he's a member of the governing council. Rook’s birth name is Adrian Lockwood.

After YEARS of being treated like shit, Rook ran away at age 17, and joined the crew of a pirate named Zara Fairweather on the ship the Tide Breaker. She became his mentor, and gifted him his magic rapier (which he has since upgraded with a magic jewel he got from saving an archfey lady).

The crew didn't like him because despite being the youngest he was Zara's favorite, so a group of them conspired against him. They drugged him and sold him to a notorious pirate captain named Kora Wolf.

He was on Wolf's ship for 2 years, enduring torture for her enjoyment, until he escaped, setting her ship the Sea Snake on fire in the process.

He only found this out recently, but the reason Wolf wanted him in the first place is because she and Zara have beef that dates back 20+ years. Wolf knew he was important to Zara and was sending back letters to her detailing what she was doing. She threatened to kill Rook unless Zara gave up sailing.

After escaping the Sea Snake, Rook ended up in the Feywild (hiding from Wolf), where he hid out for nearly a year before meeting the party and joining them.

Afraid of being found by Wolf’s people, Rook has fake documents made in his birth name (effectively making him Schrödinger’s citizen), and uses the name from time to time.

The party member he became closest to was a middle-aged human werewolf gunslinger named Warren.

The rest of the party is two brothers named Aki (bard) and Maka (wizard), and occasionally a druid named Elias.

Aki and Maka used to be close family friends with Wolf, calling her "Aunt Kory".

We found a were-husky child named Cherry fleeing from a mob lead by Captain Wolf's son, and took her in. Warren ended up more or less adopting her, but she's been looking for her family for years. The only lead she has is a locket with the name "Alina" inscribed in it.

WORLDBUILDING LORE:

The party kinda-sorta works for the government of a place called the Black Desert Kingdom, which is ruled by an Ancient Moon Dragon named Nadir.

The BDK has long-standing beef with the Leyland Confederation, a group of city-states (including Rook's birthplace of Arborcea) that are primarily of Elven heritage (drow or wood elf, depending on the location).

Like 300 years ago the leadership of the BDK (which was at that point a Yuan-Ti-led monarchy) led a genocide against the drow of the Leyland Confederation.

The LC, especially the few drow survivors, still hold a grudge about this, despite the fact that all of the people from the BDK who were involved have been dead for centuries.

Two of those survivors are really, really important here. One of them, Minister Consin White of Svarga, is rather a bit of an extremist, and has been trying to goad the LC into war with the BDK.

He took another, younger, drow survivor under his wing and molded him into another hateful person. That younger guy took on the moniker Dr. Purity.

Together they started a cult of mad scientists, called the Children of the Enlightened (CoE), who want to destroy basically the entire continent.

Prior to the campaign, Maka had been captured and experimented on by the CoE, due to the archfey he had living with him at the time.

OKAY, PHEW, I CAN FINALLY START EXPLAINING THE LIARS LORE.

Alright, so after Rook had been with the party not too long, he was outside in Warren's yard, practicing with his sword. A middle-aged human man walked up to him and asked his name. Rook, fearing that the man worked for Wolf, introduced himself as Adrian Lockwood.

They sparred a couple times, and the dude was impressed with Rook's skills. The guy introduced himself as Sigmar, and invited Rook to come talk to him another time.

A few days later, Rook goes and talks to him. They share a bottle of whiskey from Eberron (our world is weird. Eberron is the continental neighbor to our homebrew continent), and Sigmar teaches him a new combat move, which on my character sheet is called "Rook's Gambit" (the first of 3 chess-themed maneuvers he would learn). At some point during the conversation, Sigmar presses Rook for info on the name he gave (Adrian Lockwood), saying that he knows it's a lie. (This is the beginning of a long-running theme that is why I call these two the Liars. Sigmar has said to Rook several times "You and I are the same: We're both liars.")

Sigmar offers to trade a lie for a lie, and tells him that his original reason for entering Warren's yard was to burn down Warren's house due to him being a werebeast. But after learning that he was taking care of a child, he decided against it. In exchange, Rook ends up revealing his father's identity, making Sigmar (a total stranger!!!) the first person in the entire world to know that information. Sigmar seems disappointed, saying that he knew Alistair, and that didn't sound like him, but he does ultimately believe Rook is telling the truth.

Rook turns to leave, but then turns around in a flash and puts the tip of his rapier to Sigmar's throat. He tells Sigmar that if he ever so much as thinks about harming the party again, he will be "a dead man walking". (Direct quote. Also, not a phrasing Rook would usually use, so I have no idea what possessed me to say it.)

Several days later, Sigmar and Rook talk again, with Rook sharing some details about Zara and Wolf. In exchange, Sigmar reveals that he was sold to and held prisoner by the leaders of the Merchant's Guild. Sigmar gives him a ring with an emerald in it (Rook's birthstone), which although belated, is the first birthday gift Rook has ever received.

Sigmar starts to get to know the rest of the party. During one such occasion, he plays chess against Maka. (We rolled dice to see who won.) Maka wins, specifically narrating that he took Sigmar's king with his rook.

Rook starts experiencing the effects of a cursed item that Warren had acquired. It was cursed by Furicifer, the demon of lies, and causes horrible nightmares. No one in the party knows the source of the curse at this point, though.

Sigmar takes the party into the Feywild to hunt a couple of monsters, teaching Rook a couple of new things along the way. While there, we venture a tad bit too close to the area of the Feywild that the CoE had previously wiped out. Maka is nearly captured by a Nightwalker (a generic term for the fucked-up monsters created by the CoE).

On our way back, the party stops at an upside down waterfall where Rook had camped out when he was living in the Feywild and has a very cute and lovely time. Cherry reveals her werehusky form to Sigmar and he remarks that his mother had a dog that looked just like her.

Sigmar inspects Cherry's locket, the one that says "Alina", and tells her that it likely belongs to a member of the White Weaver tribe, a group of drow who were wiped out by the BDK monarchy about 300 years ago.

That night, Sigmar is affected by Furicifer's curse. Maka and Rook enter his dreams and see him in a burning village, under attack from the Yuan-Ti monarchs from MANY years ago.

The party returns to the Material Plane and seeks out a cure for the curse. Maka reaches out to one of the Doctors of the CoE, Dr. Greytusk, and convinces him to help us. We borrow a room in the palace's science wing for the ritual.

During the ritual, Rook blacks out, while the rest of the party is largely unaffected. After the ritual, Dr. Greytusk takes Rook into another room. During their search for a private place to talk, Dr. G opens the wrong door and thanks to a nat 20 Perception check, Rook sees one of the two heads of the Merchant's Guild observing an experiment being done on a werebeast.

Dr. G tells Rook that the curse was part of what was keeping Furicifer, demon lord of lies, from entering the Material Plane. He says that if we completely destroy the curse, he'll be free to return. He offers Rook a choice: keep the curse himself, or have Dr. G secretly place it into one of his friends. Rook chooses to keep it for himself, and gains a point of exhaustion. He does not tell anyone he has done this.

Later that day, he tells Sigmar about seeing the merchant's guild master, and Sigmar urges him to go to Torsek (city-state belonging to the Leyland Confederation) and talk to them. We already needed to go there to talk to Warren's daughter (who was taken from him 10 years ago after he lost control of his werebeast form and killed his wife), so it's not hard to persuade the party to go.

Our official reason for going is to deliver a shipment of things from the Merchant's Guild. One of their members, a man named Bismark, travels with us. Also accompanying us is a healer named Vera, whose father lives in Torsek.

Along the route, Sigmar notices that Rook seems tired, and offers to make him some medicine to help with the exhaustion.

After arriving in Torsek, Bismark tells the party that he used to be an assassin for the last awful monarch of the BDK, before the dragon Nadir was installed as Chancellor. He says that 12 years ago, he was tasked with purging some of the queen's scientists, ones she thought were traitors. He entered an underground lab, and killed everyone there. Afterwards, he found a baby girl. A werebeast child. He felt awful, and so he left the queen's service and tried to hide the child. The queen found out, and took her away. He's convinced that Cherry is that child.

We leave Bismark to secure us a place to stay, and Sigmar splits off to get ingredients for Rook's medicine, while the rest of the party heads to deliver the goods.

On our way to deliver the shipment, the party is ambushed by a woman named Shade, a Shadar-Kai assassin who works for Captain Wolf. She successfully kills Rook, who is revived by Aki. The cart of goods is destroyed in the process, exploding and summoning several werebeasts to attack us. Clearly it was not what we thought it was.

The party goes to the house of the Winter siblings, the two co-ministers who lead Torsek. Under the guidance of a blood-soaked Rook, the party manages to negotiate a deal: if we can prove our worth by investigating the delivery we were supposed to make, they will consider helping us.

After the meeting, we return to the tavern to rest.

The next day we go to check out the intended delivery address for the goods. (Bismark and Sigmar stay behind again.) Vera realizes that it's her father's address. Upon arriving, we hear voices. It sounds like whoever's in there has someone tied up.

Getting closer, we hear the voice of the ambassador from the BDK. He mentions the delivery we were supposed to make, saying that the werebeasts were supposed to arrive here. We realize this is probably an assassination attempt sanctioned by Nadir.

We try to sneak into the house and are mostly successful, with only Maka failing. Two of the three BDK people come to investigate. Upon realizing that her dad is a hostage, Vera targets one of them with a spell, killing him (Maka tried to Counterspell, but it didn't work). The ambassador tries to run, but Rook jumps out of hiding, gets a crit with sneak attack, and kills him instantly. We subdue the last guy, and Rook persuades the party that we can't let him live, because he'll report our treason to Nadir.

On our way to inform the Winters of what we learned, we see a Selunite Priestess preaching to a crowd. She's fearmongering, trying to cause a panic. Maka notices another Doctor of the CoE, Dr. Balbia. he tells us the priestess (Sister Celestia) is actually working for the CoE.

We return to the Winter's manor (Rook once again soaked in blood after dispatching two people), and inform them what we learned. We end up agreeing to help each other stop Celestia's plot to cause damage in Torsek, with the door open for further discussion about working together against Nadir, who the party is aware wants to conquer Torsek.

On the way back to the tavern, Aki hears a dog in distress and goes to investigate. It ends up being a trap, and the entire party gets sucked into a combat against a Nightwalker. Rook is knocked unconscious twice.

After the combat, the party goes back to the tavern and tries to talk to the dog, who claims he is a former member of the CoE turned into a Chihuahua by Deadringer (a sadistic werewolf who is the son of a hag and happened to be the one who turned Warren into a werewolf).

The conversation is interrupted by Rook passing out from a combination of exhaustion and physical stress.

After sleeping for ~15 hours, Rook wakes up, and is interrogated by a very concerned Sigmar, who remarks that Rook is "lucky to be alive". Rook, still dazed, responds that he wasn't yesterday (technically 2 days ago atp, but we'll give Rook some grace). Panicked, Sigmar questions him further and learns about Shade killing Rook.

Furious, he lectures Rook, calling his reckless behavior passively suicidal, which Rook denies.

After that, Sigmar presses Rook further on the reason for his exhaustion, telling him "You and I are the same: We're both liars. So don't lie to me." Sigmar narrowly (27 Insight vs Rook's 26 Deception) discovers that Rook is still affected by Furicifer's curse. He urges Rook to tell the party, but Rook says that he can't, saying that he took the curse to protect them. Sigmar reluctantly agrees to use his medicine to help Rook hide the curse but tells Rook that if he is concerned for Rook's health, he will inform the party whether Rook wants him to or not.

The rest of the party comes in to talk to Rook. Cherry and Aki gift him a wood carving of a sailing ship, complete with a miniature Rook as captain. The mood is ruined by Maka revealing that the Chihuahua they had saved the night before is actually Lanny, one of the crew members responsible for drugging Rook and selling him to Wolf.

Rook is furious, and threatens to kill Lanny, but Lanny reveals that he knows where Zara is. He says that she's the mayor of a port town named Xen, located northeast of the BDK.

Sigmar offers to torture Lanny for more info, which snaps Rook out of his own rage, and he orders everyone to leave the room. He imagines killing Lanny in an attempt to calm himself down, but ends up having a panic attack anyways. Desperate to stop the chaos in his brain, he punches the bathroom mirror, bringing the party running. Warren lectures him, telling him that by hurting himself, he's hurting the party.

A few hours later, the party sets out to fight Celestia. A handful of NPCs, including Sigmar, go with some of the Winters' men to ensure that the trap they set to lure away Celestia's bodyguard, Ivan, actually worked.

During the fight, Rook is knocked unconscious a whopping 4 times, but ends up being the last person standing in the entire party (including NPCs) with 4 or 5 hp left. After brutally killing Celestia, he hurriedly uses potions to wake Aki and Vera, who heal the rest of the party. We're EXTREMELY low on spell-slots (atp we had 3 left between the entire party), so Rook has the most hp, with 9.

As the party processes what happened, Deadringer makes an appearance. He remarks on the presence of three werebeasts (Warren, Canan, and Cherry), and says about Cherry "You even collected the pup. I didn't know she was still alive." Fearing for her life, Warren tells Cherry to run and hide, which she obeys.

He threatens the party, and Rook steps into his path, saying that if he wants to hurt the party, he'll have to go through him first. Deadringer shrugs and says "Works for me", and tosses Rook headfirst into a wall, knocking him unconscious again.

He then asks the party how many Revivify diamonds we have with us, saying that he's on no kill orders, but revivals don't count. We technically have 3, but only one 3rd level spell slot, so Maka uses a Hero Point (homebrew mechanic) to tell him we only have one.

Deadringer, being a hag and also the one who turned Warren, takes control of Warren's body and forces him to kill the unconscious Rook. He then leaves, taking Warren with him.

Vera revives Rook who is badly hurt and has a concussion. The party goes in search of Cherry and Warren. Along the way, Rook spots the other NPCs returning (including Sigmar), and runs towards them, nearly falling on his face. Sigmar catches him and asks what happened. Rather out of it, Rook says "I think I died again", much to Sigmar's concern.

The party locates Cherry, then Warren, who has been left unconscious, surrounded by the bodies of people he was forced to kill. Using our 2nd-to-last spell slot, he's woken up, and the party moves to return to the Winters' manor.

By the time the party makes it back, Rook is in very bad shape, his wounds having reopened during the search. A worried Sigmar takes him to see one of the Winters' clerics, asking Rook for details about what happened in an attempt to keep him conscious.

Rook reveals that it was Deadringer who killed him (no one had the heart to tell him it was Warren), and Sigmar says that he shouldn't have let Rook go to fight someone like him without his help.

After a day or two of rest, the party sets out to deal with Ivan, Celestia's bodyguard, who was sent to retrieve a powerful magic item that the CoE is desperate to get their hands on.

During the fight, Sigmar is knocked unconscious and injected with some kind of poison. Furious and panicked, Rook kicks Ivan down into a pit, then jumps on top of him, stabbing him straight through with his sword.

Sigmar is woken, but the party is unable to remove the poison.

On the way out of town, the party stops to steal the same item Ivan wanted, hoping to keep it out of the CoE's hands. We end up accidentally leaving another important item, taken from Ivan, in "the glove compartment of our rental minivan" (aka, we narrated we put it in a drawer in the magical machine we were riding in, and then never narrated we took it back out.)

On the ride back to the Winters' manor, Rook realized Sigmar isn't worried about dying from the poison, but rather something else. Rook tries to probe him for info, but he promises to tell Rook later. He also tries to make plans to get more ingredients for Rook's medicine, but Rook tells him to rest. Sigmar vaguely agrees, but Rook calls his BS saying simply, "Liars, remember?"

The next day, Rook goes and asks him for more info, and Sigmar reveals that he is actually dead, and confesses that he is responsible for a bad event that happened 12 years earlier, which resulted in a lot of dangerous werebeasts escaping the evil queen's secret labs.

Rook is unfazed, and insists that Sigmar is a different person now, saying that a person who still had those evil goals wouldn't be working with the party now, given how many chances he had to stop them.

Rook ends up revealing Bismark's connection to the evil former queen, and Sigmar is about to go and kill him. Rook stops him by drawing his sword on Sigmar, telling him that if he tries to hurt Bismark, the party will kill him, and Rook does not want to be put in a place where he has to choose between the two of them. Sigmar reluctantly agrees to leave Bismark alone as long as he is useful to the party.

The next morning, Rook goes and gets the ring Sigmar gifted him enchanted to hide visual symptoms of his exhaustion (since Sigmar's medicine helps with the physiological ones). While doing so, he happens to spy Sigmar doing something similar to hide the effects of the poison from Ivan.

In a private conversation with the Winters, Warren is told that it's most likely that Cherry's father is Dr. Purity, who was a member of the White Weaver tribe to which her amulet belongs.

A while after that, the party is back in the BDK. Aki has been kidnapped by the merchant's guild masters. The party goes to rescue him from their underground prison/vault. While down there, Rook fails a lock-picking check (which I had advantage on), and then immediately fails a wisdom save against a trap that was on it. He's instantly teleported away to somewhere else in the dungeon. Sigmar takes off at a sprint to try and find him. The rest of the party continues with their plan to rescue Aki.

Rook appears trapped in a circle by an Arcanaloth (fox-like creatures who do magical contracts) named the Duchess. She pries into his mind, and discovers Furicifer's curse. Delighted to have found him (since Furicifer returning to the Material Plane is a problem for her business contracts), she exclaims that she "went looking for gold and found diamonds".

Having seen Rook's memories of his recklessness, she says that he can't be trusted with his own life. She makes plans to make a contract that would bind him to Captain Wolf. Despite Rook's insistence that Wolf would kill him, she starts making preparations for the contract.

Sigmar runs into the room, pulling his revolver on the Duchess and ordering her to let Rook go. She calls him an "extra-planar war criminal", and seems nervous about what he would do if she were to hurt Rook. She tells the two of them that she will be back in a month to create the contract, then vanishes.

The party had arrived during this conversation, and learned about Rook's curse by eavesdropping. Furious, they rush in and start lecturing Rook, who had fallen to his knees as soon as the circle holding him in place was gone. He's still terrified about the prospect of being handed to Wolf and isn't really listening.

Later, after leaving the dungeon, the party pushes Rook on the topic further, telling him that the curse didn't have "nothing to do with them" like he had claimed, and saying that by hiding it, he was hurting them.

After this, we ventured into the underground labs where the werebeasts were experimented on during the time of the former evil queen. One night, before we venture into the depths, Sigmar approaches Rook, clearly nervous. He tells him that he needs Rook's help in locating a device located somewhere in the labs. He describes it to Rook, promising to tell him what it is at a later date.

The next day, we see a winged snake chameleon chimera (my own invention) that has the device Sigmar described. He charges after it, with Rook following. In the next room, there is a horrible chimera (lots of tentacles). Upon seeing Sigmar it calls him an "insatiable liar", and attacks the party.

During the fight, the floor breaks, and we fall down into a lower level.

At the end of the fight, Sigmar is not doing well. Whatever poison Ivan gave him has clearly progressed. Rook anxiously tries to help him, while the party searches the room.

Warren and Maka find the device that Sigmar was looking for and turn it on. It's a recording device, and projects a magical hologram. In the "video", we see a drow who speaks with Sigmar's voice, talking about an experiment of his. He mentions that "Alistair Lockwood's men" would soon be there to escort him and "Alina".

Deadringer bursts into the room, carrying a corpse. He dumps it on the floor, and we see that it's Sigmar's corpse.

Deadringer hands the drow (who he addresses as "Doc") a mask, covered with blood. Deadringer makes a cruel remark about how easy it was to kill the archfey it belonged to, and how pathetic her bodyguard had been.

Using the mask, the doctor causes Sigmar's corpse to get up and start following him around.

The doctor asks where Alina is, and Deadringer blithely remarks that she's dead. Upset, the doctor starts making panicked plans to flee, planning to change his name and go into hiding. Deadringer goads him into a different path. The doctor looks intently at the corpse following him and orders Deadringer to lead him to Minister Consin White. The recording ends.

At this point, Rook is in shock and struggling to piece all of that together. Or rather, he has pieced it together, but is in denial. Maka steps forwards towards Sigmar and makes a gloating speech about how he knew from DAY ONE that Sigmar was actually a puppet of Dr. Purity.

Cherry asks him who her mother was, and he says she doesn't have one.

Aki, Maka, and Canan threaten to kill Sigmar. He essentially dares them to, saying that if they kill this body, he'll just wake up in his real one.

Furious, Aki, Maka, and Canan (whose brother was the bodyguard of the archfey that Deadringer murdered), brutally destroy Sigmar's body. As they do so, he begs Rook to help him, saying that Rook would be dead without his help, and reminding Rook what he had said about Sigmar having changed.

Rook is stunned, unable to do anything but watch while the others brutally torture him to death.

Afterwards, everyone flocks to Cherry's side, except for Maka who comes to check up on Rook. Furious, Rook turns on him, berating him for not telling him the truth. Maka says that he did this to protect everyone, since as long as Sigmar/Purity was attached to Rook, the CoE wouldn't be hunting us.

Angry and heartbroken, Rook tells Maka he wishes he had killed him back on Kroko (the island where Rook got possessed and nearly killed Maka, which was his biggest regret ever and the origin of his intense fear of hurting a party member), and runs off into the labs, activating his boots of haste to get as far away as possible.

I'll spare you the rest of the details because this is already too long, but one more thing: less than 48 hours after the Sigmar/Purity reveal, Warren dies, reviving Rook as part of that death.

After his funeral, Rook breaks away from the party and goes to Sigmar's house, more or less tearing it apart. Hidden in one of the shelves, he finds a fictional book with a prominent mentor character. Every inch of the margins is filled with handwritten notes of Sigmar/Purity thinking of how to apply this to Rook. Rook grabbed the book and took it with him before setting the house on fire. 

Okay, congrats, you've read this god-awful MONSTROSITY. (If you skimmed or didn't read it, that's okay.) But um. Yeah. Rook's beloved mentor, and the 2nd most important person in his entire life, is actually the BBEG of the whole fucking campaign. And to make matters worse, he does actually, genuinely love Rook (in a platonic way, obviously).

He wasn't supposed to get attached, but he did by accident, and now it's going to ruin both of their lives.

For some meta notes:

I joined the campaign 6 months after it started. Purity's backstory and personality were written before Rook ever existed.

By complete and total accident, I created Rook to be a perfect mirror to Purity.

The DM asked me if I would be okay with Rook having another mentor figure. I said yes.

What the fuck possessed me to use the phrase "Dead man walking"???? That's not like Rook, and I usually have a very good handle on his voice when playing or writing him. 

I also sent a message to the DM saying "I don't care if fucking Dr. Purity comes with us, I just don't want [two annoying NPCs] to come along." OVER 6 MONTHS BEFORE THE REVEAL.

Basically every single decision I made in Torsek made things worse for myself/Rook later. (I do not regret this.)

The reveal was supposed to be a shock to me too, but Warren and Maka's players made some vague jokes while Sigmar was asking Rook to help him look for the device, and all of the Very Suspicious things that my brain had deliberately chosen to ignore because I loved him too much fell into place.

I pretty much had a panic attack about it. Luckily I have friends who are saner than me.

After ~36 hours panicking, I realized that this was actually the best and most fascinating thing that's ever happened in my life, and I started feverishly working on the Checkmate render, inspired by Maka beating Sigmar in chess in-campaign.

That next weekend the actual reveal happened.

Remember that item I said we left in the glove compartment? Thank fuck we did. If Sigmar had gotten his hands on it like he wanted to, we might have had to fight him and that would have been even worse for Rook. 

There exists a very fucked-up AU in my head where the ONLY thing that changes is that Sigmar finds Rook instead of the party, and Rook ends up siding with him and joining the CoE. 

I’ll spare you the details but in that AU, Rook is the semi-final boss of the campaign and has a full set of Gambits, one for every piece on the chessboard. 

Writing-Related Links:

D&D Writing Masterlist (has links to all of the snippets I've posted)

Rook Series on AO3 (doesn't have everything from the masterpost)

Torsek Part 1 (collapse and Lanny conversation) [ao3 link]

Torsek Part 2 (Celestia fight and aftermath) [ao3 link]

Pawns (Sigmar/Purity reveal) [ao3 link] (tumblr link coming soon)

+ Bonus: Hallucination (read aloud to the party after the reveal and Warren's death, but before searching Sigmar's house) (not on AO3)

A look at the Evil Rook AU I mentioned

[darkwitch1999]

A Random Headcanon: Why Marc Anciel Should Never Have Coffee Part I☕🚫

So I have a few headcanons that I am going to be included in my fanfiction series about Marc Anciel:

He has two moms. Emerson Anciel who runs a coffee shop and Kiki Anciel who is an aromatherapist.

Despite his mother running a coffee shop, Marc isn't allowed to drink coffee since caffeine worsens his anxiety.

During the few times Marc sneaked some coffee, he tends to become a bit...eccentric.

Anyway, I had this idea in my head for a few days now and I just couldn't resist writing this out and sharing it on Tumblr. Basically, this takes place during the "Adrienette" romantic plans time and it's stressing him out big time. As for what happens next, well, just read and see:

Collège Françoise Dupont: Art Room 33

(Nathaniel walks into the room to see his frazzled and twitchy partner. Is he mumbling to himself? ) 

Nathaniel: (hesitantly) Uh… H-Hi, Marc. (approaches the writer cautiously and nervously) W-Whatcha doing?

(Marc immediately snaps his head towards Nathaniel. His mouth spread wide forming a massive, unhinged smile. Deep, dark circles caked around his eyes with his right eye twitching rapidly. His black hair resembled that of a bird’s nest. And his hands trembling terribly. His partner’s appearance immediately took Nathaniel aback.)

Marc: (speaks frantically) Nath! I’ve got it! I finally figured it out! 

Nathaniel: (nervously) Uh…figured what out exactly?

Marc: (grabs Nathaniel’s shoulders) The answer to Marinette and Adrien’s kissing problem! The solution was right in front of our faces this time, and we just couldn’t see it! It’s so simple! There’s no way they could mess this up for the 72nd time in a row! (starts shaking Nathaniel) OUR SHIP IS SAILING AT LAST!!!!! THE WAIT IS OVER!!!!!

(Nathaniel pulls himself away from Marc’s grasp, recovering from the feeling of dizziness from being shaken by the frantic writer. Perhaps these Adrienette first kiss plans were starting to take their toll on Marc? Nathaniel couldn’t argue that he too was starting to feel burnt out on drawing new plans to help Adrien and Marinette finally have their first kiss. Still, he could also understand why these plans would leave Marc feeling the most drained since he is the one who wrote over seventy different perfect romantic scenarios that ultimately fail over and over again. Guess it was only a matter of time before he snapped.)

Marc: (picks up his open journal and starts frantically shoving it into Nathaniel’s hands) It’s all written down right here! The ultimate solution! The one I should have just thought up a long time before I wrote those other miserably failed plans!

(Nathaniel took note of the bitterness and venom that was lacing the writer’s tone of voice. Additionally, he also noticed that his partner’s hands were increasingly shaking violently as he kept trying to shove the journal into his hands. Now Nathaniel was getting even more worried for Marc’s well-being.)

Nathaniel: (uses caution as he speaks) Marc, are you feeling okay? Y-You seem a bit…

(Unhinged? Crazed? Frazzled? Unstable? Disturbed? Fixated?)

Nathaniel: Tense?

Marc: (starts talking fast) Tense? Who’s tense? (unhinged chuckling) Certainly not me! You worry too much, Nath! I’m fine! Yep, totally fine! In fact, everything is going to be great now because now we have a full-proof plan to get Adrien and Marinette to finally have their magical kiss so that they just kiss already, live happily ever after, and we can all finally get on with our LIVES!!!!!

(Okay, now Nathaniel was fully convinced that Marc had finally snapped. When this latest plan fails, he definitely needs to have a long talk with his class about leaving him and Marc out of these Adrienette plans for a while. He would have gladly done so now if not for his unhinged partner forcefully insisting that he read the latest scheme that he has come up with this time.)

Marc: (finally manages to get Nathaniel to take hold of his journal) C’mon, Nath! C’mon! Read it! Read it! I’m telling you, this idea is foolproof! There's no way they could mess it up this time!

(Marc stared at Nathaniel with his twitching eyes and wide smile. Nathaniel, despite being disturbed by the writer’s insistence, took the journal and started to read through the page)

Nathaniel: (reading the page) “JUST KISS ALREADY, FOR FUC-”...Marc!

(Nathaniel gaped as he skimmed through the rest of Marc’s “plan”, which was actually just a double-sided five-page long rant about how frustrating Marinette and Adrien were. He was taken aback by how many times the writer used swear words in his rant. Though the artist knew Marc rarely cussed, he knew that whenever the few rare moments when the writer did use swear words meant that his hidden rage would be unleashed.)

Marc: Soooo, what do you think?

Nathaniel: (cringes) I think you should see your therapist ASAP. I…uh don’t think that this plan is going to work out the way you want it. Honestly, I don’t even know where to start drawing this out.

Marc: Well, if you don’t like that idea, I also came up with another one right here. (Flips through the pages and then stops at a page) Take a look!

(Nathaniel was hesitant about reading Marc’s other plan. If the first one was this bad, he could imagine how terrifying the alternative would have been. Despite this, Nathaniel decided to read what his partner had written. He then lets out a shocked gasp as he reads.)

Nath: Marc! No! We can’t do this to them either!

Marc: (whines) Oh c’mon, what’s the problem now?! This one has got to be flawless! They are so close to kissing, they just need a little push!

Nathaniel: (raises an eyebrow) And by little push, you mean having our friends literally push them together and force them to kiss? Marc, there’s no way we can do that to them! It’s wrong and I’m pretty sure it’s illegal too!  What the hell is wrong with you?!

(Nathaniel knew that Marc wasn’t thinking clearly. He knew that Marc was against trying to force love onto someone and a ruthless critique when it came to other writers trying to force their ideals of “perfect lovers” onto their characters when there were better choices for character pairings.)

Marc: (his smile slowly falters into a frown) What’s wrong with me? (starts to chuckle unsteadily) You think that something is wrong with me?! Oh let me tell you something, Nathaniel Kurtzberg, if there is something wrong with anyone, it would be MARINETTE and ADRIEN! (Starts anxiously digging his finger through his hair) You know, when Alya and Nino first approached us and asked for our help to bring Marinette and Adrien together, I thought to myself “This is going to be so much fun!” and “It will be just like writing a romantic love story but in real life!”. I was more than happy to help out our friends and I was excited to play the part of Eros alongside you. I wanted to see them both become our LONG awaited favorite couple and do all of that “cutesy” couple stuff that either makes others go “awwww” or shout “Get a room!”. But most importantly, I wanted them to be happy together and to finally get over acting all awkward around each other so everything is not always so tense and complicated whenever they are in the same room together! (grips the sides of his head) But those two…those two, Nathaniel, are just so FUCKING FRUSTRATING! Don’t get me wrong, I love Marinette. She’s like a sister or a cousin to me and she was the first friend I made here at Dupont. If it wasn’t for her, I would probably still be writing alone under the stairs every day and avoiding human interaction as much as possible. BUT THAT GIRL IS SO FUCKING CLUMSY THAT IT IS OFFICIALLY CRINGE!!!!! It doesn’t matter how I set up each scenario, she always manages to trip over, fall, and break everything that crosses her path! Never mind KISSING Adrien, we’ll all be lucky if she doesn’t KILL him first. Oh and speaking of Adrien, how can someone so well-educated be so FUCKING CLUELESS?! I mean, I get it. He was homeschooled and sheltered all of his life, but how can he be so OBLIVIOUS towards Marinette’s obvious crush on him?! Seriously, she literally acts like she has rabies every time she tries to talk to him and apparently, he has to pretend to be a wax statue to get her to “profess her feelings” to him, and yet that obvious sign still goes over his fucking head! (tilts his head to the side). So you want to know what my problem is, Nath, or as you put it “What’s wrong with me?”?! I’ll tell you what my problem is! My problem is that in addition to schoolwork and writing our comics, I’ve had to spend the last couple of months playing matchmaker for two of the most awkward people in our grade! Tell me, Nath, do you enjoy sleeping? I know I USED TO!!!! I didn’t expect the first couple of “Adrinette” plans to succeed and I would be lying if I said I didn’t anticipate a few setbacks, but for FUCK’S SAKE! IT’S BEEN MONTHS!!! MONTHS!!!!! I’m all out of ideas, Nath! I don’t know what to do! This shouldn’t be that difficult! She likes him and he likes her. We’ve established that. (Slams his head down onto the table and starts pounding his fist on the table repeatedly) HOW HARD IS IT TO GET TWO PEOPLE TO FUCK-.....

Nathaniel: Marc!

Marc: -ING KISS ALREADY!!!!!

(Nathaniel was at a loss for words. His partner was having a complete breakdown and he wasn’t sure what he should say next. Did Marc admit that he was losing sleep over this?! Marc hardly ever pulled all-nighters because he knew that a lack of proper sleep wasn’t good for his anxiety. The whole “Adrinette” plans were supposed to be like a side project. When did they let these romantic fantasies become one of their priorities?! Nathaniel knew that Marc didn’t like letting others down and that he always put his own well-being last, but this was extreme even for him. This must have been building up for a while, but why was he letting this all out now? What could have triggered this breaking point? Marc was fine yesterday, even after their latest “Adrienette” plan had failed, he didn’t show any signs of frustration or resentment. Honestly, Marc was acting like that one time he stayed up all night to rewrite their manuscripts for their comics after the original copy was lost and he drank-....That’s when it hit Nathaniel! The unhinged body language. His erratic fast-talking rants. His violently shaky hands. Nathaniel’s eyes quickly fell onto Marc’s blue Stanley tumbler cup with “My Hero Academia” stickers decorated all over.)

Nathaniel: (eyes Marc with suspicion) Marc, what’s in your cup?

(Marc immediately raises his head off the table and looks at the artist with nervously shifting eyes.)

Marc: Uh…what?

Nathaniel: (crosses his arms) Marc Anciel, you heard me. What have you been drinking out of that cup?

(Marc’s eyes darted around nervously as he actively tried to think up a cover-up. Nathaniel’s suspicions were confirmed as he noticed how the writer took his time to answer the artist’s question as well as how much his eyes kept shifting all over the place.)

Nathaniel: Marc, there’s coffee in that cup, isn’t there?

Marc: (frantically) What?! No! It’s not coffee! It’s just water!

Nathaniel: Your lying, Marc. If there was water in that cup, you would have just told me right away and wouldn’t have asked me to repeat myself. 

Marc: No! Nath, I swear I’m not lying! I swear on my life!

Nathaniel: (raises an eyebrow with a smirk) What about on your moms’ lives?

(Silence fell between the two boys. Nathaniel was playing dirty, but it was necessary to get the truth out. Marc then started fidgeting with his fingers nervously and let out a sigh.)

Marc: (avoids eye contact with Nathaniel) Okay fine, maybe it is coffee.

Nathaniel: (gives Marc a disapproving look) I knew it! Marc…

Marc: (frantically exclaims) Look, I’m under a lot of pressure right now! Our next meeting with the editor is in three weeks and I had to finish writing the ending to our next comic issue so you could start drawing the panels! Not to mention I had to finish my science homework as well as come up with more doomed-to-fail ideas for our desperate attempts to get our friends’ ship to sail! I needed it to help me stay awake and keep me going!

Nathaniel: (looks at Marc with a concerned, softened expression) Marc, you know what coffee does to you. Drinking caffeine makes your anxiety worse. You could’ve given yourself another panic attack or be close to one right now.

Marc: (forces a grin) But I’m fine, Nath! Everything is fine! I swear, you and my moms worry too much. I can handle a little caffeine. 

Nathaniel: Just how much of this “little caffeine” have you had, Marc? And I want the truth this time.

Marc: (eyes shift left and right as he twiddles his fingers nervously) I’ve only had one cup…or maybe two? ……give or take five?

Nathaniel: (eyes widen in shock) Marc!

Marc: (defensively) I said I was under pressure! 

Nathaniel: (points at Marc’s cup) That’s your fifth cup of coffee?!

Marc: Weeeellllll, technically it's my sixth cup that I just started drinking…

Nathaniel: (gives Marc a stern look) Ok, Marc. I think you’ve had more than enough. I’m cutting you off.

(Unfortunately for Nathaniel as he starts reaching for his partner’s cup, the writer immediately snatched it off the table and started backing away from Nathaniel slowly. This caught the artist off guard as he watched the wide-eyed, erratic boy hold his cup protectively against his chest. Nathaniel then put his hands up in a placating gesture.)

Nathaniel: (tries to approach the writer cautiously and calmly) Marc…let’s stay calm and be reasonable. You're not well and I want to help you. Please, give me the coffee-...

(As Nathaniel tries to reach for the cup, his partner lets out a loud hiss at the artist like a wild cat and bolts out of the art room, leaving the artist flabbergasted.) Nathaniel: D-Did…Did he just seriously hiss at me?

Well, hope you all enjoyed part one, and stay tuned for part two!

@artzychic27 @nerd-chocolate @username8746489 @andromeda612 @princessbutterflysposts @lady0lunamoon

[theravenchilde]

FINALE TIME

I wonder if they're just gonna straight up kill siuan. I hope not, but I think it's possible.

DOOR ALERT. DOOR ALERT.

AELFINN. and early alviarin and elaida, huh.

Ooooooooh I like the sitters shawls. Now I gotta have a red one, huh. Someone with magic powers pls get stills of the shawls or ask the costume director about them.

Leane as a blue sitter? Based on Liandrins eye roll I think she knows Alviarin is what she is and above her. Super sad we didn't get a foot washing scene.

Hi Sammy! Ah we are trading him for Asmo. RIP Asmo.

Tanchico has noods!!

I definitely think it's Mat's luck making people show up at the right time.

I wonder if they'll keep Amathera.

Fuck u ads

Uh oh. He made her angy. Oops. RIP melindhra too. But also oh no Lanfear maiden. Annnnnd oops Sammy.

I wonder if sexing up Lanfear is a deal breaker for Aviendha.

Ooo black Aiel! Sevanna is still hot oops. I wonder if that was Therava with her.

KITTY SNACKS OF PEOPLE.

Oh Thom is just telling her. Thank heavens we don't get the drunk elayne flirting.

They gave the crazy black sister a Lazer gun lmao

Oops. Bye Mat. You know what. I'm down with their costume. I always had a hard time imagining the Finn.

There is a ton going on. I wish they had more time to spread it out more, but at least it's true to the books that way.

Elayne did a murder oops.

THEY DID IT RIGHT FUCK UESBSAILAGXXIQLBDAOSJ THE XOSNIXEK ooo is min gonna save him instead? MOUTH TO MOUTH MIN U CAN DO IT I WILL SAIL THE GOOD SHIP MINT

liandrin would be a better forsaken than taim imo

SHES ALADDIN OMG. AND MOSES.

aww we traded lan for mat with melindhra. Huh. I'm actually okay with this mostly. Makes the Dark One more legit.

That's a really cool visual for stilling. Don't worry baby Nynaeves busy leveling up for you.

Sammy's a little strung up at the moment. Wait holy shit what is this evil Egyptian queen outfit Lanfear omg damn. Or is it signalling the Seanchan?

Too bad the Shaido all have generically dark colored outfits but we gotta make them the evil Aiel somehow...

Ugh shoresh so cool. I finally beat the Conductor's storyline in destiny (for now) so I'm just shivering.

Rhuarc's cape is so cool. I hope the other chiefs have capes.

I think Lanfears scary weaves must be the true power.

That. That was a head. Whomp.

All the Aiel like AHH THE SKY IS FALLING lmao

I will take this. RIP to siuan I did love her teaching eggy but I guess someone else can. I wonder if they will have the Shaido invade Tear instead to claim the stone bc prophecies and they will fight there instead of cairhein. Sad we did not get the nynaeve v moggy staring contest but oh well. And thom lived! So mat can still steal his hat! Now to see if moiraine lives tho. I think they are gonna have to keep her and since Lanfear isn't properly dead yet that's still gonna have to happen too.

[llaberration]

Coyne's Chronicles: Shadow Over Yfiria - Chapter 6

“Alan?”

“Hm?”

“Do you remember yesterday? When we agreed that you might catch more suspicious individuals if you didn't draw attention to us?”

“Yeah...”

Thenore sighed, once more running an eye over his companion. “That's... not what I meant.” Somehow, the well educated, well raised man who apparently had the intelligence to ace classes consistently throughout their years at the college, did not have the intelligence to know what 'keep a low profile' was. Rather than opting for normal, mid-range clothing like himself that drew the eye of nobody, the college mage had gone from one extreme to another... and was now dressed like a beggar. He had managed to get the scrappiest, most ripped up clothing Trevor had ever seen anywhere. That plan could actually have worked if the other mage were a little rougher around the edges, like himself, with his unshaven look and skinny form. Alan however, was well-blooded, with excellent pale skin, clean, groomed hair, a shaven face and quite a softness from eating too many bilberry pastries after dinner.

“Well what did you mean?” asked Alan, shooting him a look.

“You look like you robbed a beggar and put his clothes on as a fashion statement. Don't get me wrong it goes nicely with your 'stay away from me I'm clearly a dangerous lunatic' demeanour but... you're still scaring everyone off. It's just that now, they're less concerned that you're going to kidnap them and send them to the college, and more concerned that you're going to try and cannibalise them.”

“I suppose that's more your area of expertise?” replied Alan, giving him a pointed look.

Trevor let out a surprised, indignant snort at the speed and wit of this response coming from Alan, but it did take the wind out of his sails for criticisms for now. He flopped back on his barrel with his arms folded over his chest. “Fine. It's an improvement of some kind I guess.”

He felt off today for some reason. Something in his guts felt... wrong. He didn't know if it was his senses telling him there was a distant but present danger, or whether the pie at their inn last night had not been quite as fresh as the landlord had claimed.

“Morning gents.”

Trevor looked up to see one of the guardsmen heading over. “Oh hello Sir Boregar...” he greeted in a monotonous, not terribly interested tone. The wall guards rarely bothered speaking with them, but this one for some reason had taken an interest in the two young college mages. Sir Belfus Boregar was probably only five years older than them, and had little in common with his fellow guards, so perhaps that explained it. He was better-read than most of the normal soldier fare, from blue-blooded breeding apparently, and tended not to fit in particularly well with his peers. Perhaps that was why he had pinned himself to Trevor and Alan, who were equally shunned by the rest of the legion. “Any juicy magic yet today?” he asked.

His voice was thick with a hammy, posh accent. His black hair was slicked back heroically, and a small, clipped moustache graced his high-cheekboned, frustratingly chiselled face. The heavy metal chest plate unnecessarily adorned with muscle-pattern and bright blue cape completed the look, and Trevor felt a little bitterness in the back of his mouth as he wondered how anyone could stand to walk around looking so bloody perfect. “Not today,” said Alan, looking dejected. “Nobody exciting coming through at all really...”

“Hm, wonder why that is!” said Boregar, his stuffy voice hesitating a little as he looked Alan up and down. “I say...” he said, leaning over towards Trevor. “What happened to him? Did he get robbed?”

Trevor let out a little laugh-snort. “No. He's 'keeping a low profile' today.”

“Ah... I... uh... I see...” said the guard, still looking at the other mage, who had turned back to the crowd.

“And how is your day? How's Poffers? Ordered the execution of any more inanimate objects recently?” The commanding officer of this particular area of the wall was an older soldier with a few too many years of experience, at least when they were calculated by bumps to the head. Captain Hortense Pofiddle, also liked his whiskey. Not many days ago he had become so drunk on the legion's supplies that he had gotten into a 'fight' with a barrel and thereafter demanded its execution on the grounds of assaulting an officer. He was the sort of leader the college best liked to work with on the wall, because he basically ignored everything they did as long as it did not directly affect his precious guards. The soldiers were satisfied to work around him too. He was one of those leaders whose men were always happy to follow him, not because they truly believed he was capable, but more out of a sense of curiosity to what he would get up to next.

Even the government liked him, because his attitude to guarding the wall was so overly heavy handed that they knew not a single mouse would manage to get through without him seeing, and having it impaled a dozen times. When he got into his little 'accidents' with whiskey, their answer was normally just to send him more of it in the hope he would continue keeping his region of the wall more secure than a thief's lockbox.

Belfus shot Thenore a manufactured smile through clenched, overly white teeth. “You know we're not... supposed to talk about the barrel incident...”

Trevor gave a second, more satisfied laugh-snort. “My mistake. It must be great fun working in the military,” he said, sarcastically. “All the bullshit you can eat.”

The guard looked offended but only in an 'obligated to do so' manner. “Come now. With the plague getting more powerful all the time, I'd think your college would be grateful to us for keeping trouble away so efficiently.”

“Oh I'm grateful for that,” said Trevor, “Don't get me wrong I'm glad to have the wall keeping us all safe here... like a big pointy angry dad...” his voice trailed off as he looked up at the wall, unease shifting within him again. He hated being this close to it, unable to see half the sky over them... he knew this side was his home but... he did struggle with the reality of urbanisation sometimes.

Belfus watched the druid's eyes tune out, going vacant as his mind went elsewhere, and he shrugged, well used to this by now. All magic users were, in his experience, a bit odd, and these two were no exception to that rule. “He's... not very good at keeping a low profile is he?” he asked, watching a family of traders speed up to pass Alan as fast as they could, dragging their staring child.

“Hm? Wha? Oh. No. Not at all. He's pretty terrible at it, but he's enthusiastic and smarter than he looks so... at least he's got that going for him...” Trevor glanced sharply at the soldier. “But don't you dare say that to him. You two high bloods are bad enough without people going around complimenting you.”

The guard shook his head, “Alan is well bred but he's hardly a high-blood,” he scoffed, until he glanced at Trevor's grin and realised the man was making a mock. He huffed a bit, folding his arms, “Well. He certainly doesn't look like it today.”

Trevor chuckled, “You're not wrong. He looks like he was dragged through a gutter. I think even more people are avoiding him now than when he had the college robes.”

“I can hear you Thenore...” muttered Alan, giving momentarily up on his checking and coming over to look at the man. “Maybe if you got off that barrel and helped me, we might get a bit more done.”

“Well... that's an interesting idea... I could give up my duty guarding this extremely comfortable barrel...” said Trevor, sitting up. “Let me see... is there... anything around here that needs to be hit really hard by a bear?”

“Um... no?” said Alan, looking around.

“How about anything that needs to be chased down by a stallion?”

“No...” sighed the other mage, seeing where this was going.

“How about a misbehaving carrot that requires urgent attention from a rabbit?”

“I see what you're...”

“Anything that needs the keen nose of a bloodhound?”

“Orange.”

“What?” the Druid stumbled on his words at that response.

“Orange.”

Trevor realised the man's strange eyes were focused over his shoulder, “What?” he repeated, turning in place to stare behind him. There was nothing. Normal, boring people milling around. “What are you talking about?”

“Orange...” repeated Alan, his eyes twinkling like he had seen something both amazing, and quite impossible.

“Is he alright?” asked Belfus, frowning a little. “Is... he having some kind of episode?”

“No...” said Trevor, waving a hand in front of Alan, who completely ignored him. “At least I don't think so...” he had never seen Alan do exactly this before. It didn't seem like an entirely good or bad thing, so he gave the man's shoulder an experimental shake. “Alan?”

Alan brushed his hand off with a gentle but insistent movement, and then appeared to start wandering off into the crowd.

Trevor watched him, his dark eyes silently observing as the blonde man made off towards something he either could not see, or could not identify as special.

“Shouldn't we... uh... follow him?” suggested Belfus, cocking his head curiously, causing the chainmail around his neck to clank loudly against the tall collar of his outer armour.

“I... guess?” said Trevor, his senses starting to tingle that something might not be quite right as he watched Alan dodge off into an alleyway not far from the gate. A look of concern began to tug at his face as he hurried across the courtyard after his friend with Belfus clanking along after him.

Alan followed the orange, his complete and full attention on the bright glowing smear in his vision. He had seen almost every colour come from humans or animals before, but orange was completely and entirely new. Not only was this a new colour but it was vivid, shining like a beacon compared to the mute trails of the people around it. So bright he could barely see the individual beneath the colour. He knew this had to be something magical, but it was certainly nothing he had experienced before, and it had just strolled right in through the gate as though nothing was wrong... so it had to at least look human underneath all that.

He jogged a little, working to get closer, his sense of duty for the time being set aside behind a veil of wonder.

Coyne was already well aware of something being off. He had gotten past the guards and through the gate just fine, and dodged himself down the first convenient alleyway he had seen, striding like a local who knew exactly where he was going.

At first, he thought he had gotten away with it, the tense knot of muscles (and dragon) in his belly starting to relax.

A step on the cobble behind him however, made him realise that perhaps something was not exactly as he had thought. 'It could just be someone innocently walking' he reasoned with himself, but a glance over his shoulder caused every muscle he had to clench. “Fez,” he breathed ever so softly. “I think there's a crazy person after us...”

“I saw him... looks like someone dressed a lord in rags...” muttered the dragon. “He looks soft, I'm sure you can out-run him... but don't yet,”

“Why not?”

“We're literally feet from the wall still... if you draw attention you might get an entire legion after you.”

“So what do we do?”

“Get another look at him, let me see.”

Coyne hesitated, but looked over his shoulder, shocked to find the man was a lot closer, speedwalking much more swiftly than he had anticipated. He recoiled, going still as his eyes met the other man's, almost stumbling over his feet as he stared into the black orbs, lit only with a pinpoint of light.

“The eyes of an ancient...” breathed Fez's voice in his ear, sounding genuinely shocked. “Coyne! I want him!”

“What?!”

“I. Want. Him. Draw him into an alleyway.”

“We're IN an alleyway!”

“Find a more alley-like alleyway!”

Coyne, shocked that the man was still dreamily following, his strange eyes almost dazed as they stared at him, did as he was told. He didn't know what was going on... but Fez seemed to have a plan. He found one of the tiny access ways between buildings that was designed only for the most skinny people, as these were normally devoid of all life, and windows.

The man continued following, a fascinated stare on his face as Coyne wound himself around a corner into the dimly lit space.

“Now... let him get near you then put hands on him. Flesh, not cloth. I'm going to pass a spell through you...”

“You're going to what?!”

“Just do it!”

Compelled to obey, Coyne stopped, letting the strange, staring man catch up with him.

Alan got time to breathe the words, “What are you?” his eyes twinkling in wonder before Coyne reached his hands out and placed them one on the man's arm, one on his neck, the two nearest spots he could grab.

Instantly, the mimic's veins seemed to catch on fire as purple light spilled from his hands, crackling and glowing as the magic seized the man, obscuring him in sparkling, purple smoke. He seemed to disappear from beneath Coyne's hands, and the veil of magic faded. “Now grab him quick!” the dragon sounded hoarse from exhaustion.

The order from Fez puzzled Coyne, but as he looked down, he saw what the dragon meant. He had clearly worked the same spell on the strange man as he had put on himself... as he was lying on the cobbles, around three inches tall, and looking stunned. “Grab. Him.”

Coyne complied, snatching the small body up, holding it desperately in his hands as he began to hurry along the remaining length of the access way. He spotted people on a larger road ahead, and not knowing what to do with the tiny man, stuffed him into the carrying pouch in his shirt, clipping it firmly closed as he tried to appear normal and calm, emerging from the access way, smoothing his hair down and continuing away from the wall as fast as he could walk without looking suspicious.

“Good, good...” the dragon's voice seemed weak, and he had once again gone limp with exhaustion. “Keep him safe... I... want... him...”

Puzzled and terrified but trying hard not to show it, Coyne hurried to lose himself in the crowds, steering away from the wall.

Trevor was growing increasingly uneasy, his senses struggling to follow Alan's trail accurately. He lost him for a moment, then picked up the scent down one of the access ways again. Alan smelled clean, unlike a lot of the people here, and that was what made him trackable. “Here...” he said, rushing down the narrow path.

Belfus' armour scraped noisily on the buildings as he followed, but Trevor ignored the guard for now, his attention fully consumed pursuing his friend. A short way down the narrow walkway, he stopped dead, his scruffy hair all but standing on end as he felt the powerful whiff of magic use... strong magic. He looked around them, his sharp eyes searching for any clue as to what had happened. “This isn't wizard magic...” he muttered, as he bent down to examine the ground. “Something older... stronger...” he scowled, straightening up. His friend had met some kind of mishap here... he could tell because there was no more scent of Alan having continued down the path. “Alan?” he called, looking around, hoping his senses were lying to him. There was no magic that could simply make someone disappear, even teleportation magic was all but a myth, there was nowhere the man could have GONE! Frustrated with himself, Trevor snorted, looking up at Belfus, who was looking on with puzzled concern from his position, stuck by the armour in the corner where the alleyway turned. “He's just gone...” muttered Trevor, to update the man who did not share his animal like senses. “He's just gone but he can't just be gone!” he snapped. He let out a growl and dropped onto all fours, smoothly and quickly transitioning into a dog. A mutt of some kind, and began scouring the ground for answers with his vastly improved nose.

The scent of magic still dominated the scene, thick and powerful, it masked most information... he could find one spot where Alan's scent seemed to concentrate itself on the ground, but gained no further information than that. He snorted angrily, looking up at Belfus, who was still trying to un-wedge himself. Smoothly transitioning back into himself, he had to wait until he had a human tongue and teeth again to exclaim. “He's just gone! Something magical has taken him somehow!”

“So... what do we do now?” asked the guard. “He must be somewhere...”

Trevor frowned, “Oh what am I going to tell the college?! That I LOST their magical eye-man? I'll be weaponised and sent to the battlefields...” he shivered, grabbing the guard's shoulder. “We have to find him... now.”

“Alright so... how do we do that? Do you fellows have some way of... tracking each other?”

Trevor stared for a moment before giving the guard's chest plate a celebratory punch, the impact enough to dink the guard un-stuck, “Go on, back the way we came... I know what to do.”

He helped scrape the guard back out of the walkway, and dashed off down the street, the merry clanking sound intensifying as Belfus attempted to keep pace in his heavy set of armour.

Trevor arrived back at their lodgings with perhaps a two minute lead on the guard, already upstairs in their shared room, rummaging around in his belongings by the time Belfus clattered in, his normally perfect hair now out of place and damp with sweat as he leaned on the door frame, panting heavily. “What're...” he began, cut off as his breath ran out after only a single word. “we...” he continued, struggling to maintain full dignity. “Doing?”

“Aha!” Trevor let out a triumphant noise as he found what he had been seeking. He held it up in celebration, and Belfus eyed the trinket.

“Your... Meadowfield seal?”

The seal was basically a pendant cast in bronze, stamped with the rounded sigil of the college, and studded with nine gem stones, each representing one school of magic. “Yes... but more,” said Trevor, with a tone of conspiracy in his words. He brought the thing up to his mouth and using just a hint of magic, he whispered his name to it. Belfus watched with interest as one of the gems slightly to the right began to glow. “It tracks us,” said Trevor, holding up his right hand, on the middle finger of which rested a thick, gold band with an inset green gem. “Our college rings... which we can't take off by the way...” he said, circling his hand around the seal, showing that the glow accurately followed his ring. “Which means... as long as Alan is still alive... and on this continent...” he brought the thing back to his lips and whispered with magic once more, using Alan's proper college name.

There was a slight pause, in which they both stared at the trinket, breath held tight in their chests, slightly more so with Trevor. Then one stone glowed, and they both relaxed. “Right then... we know the way,” said the druid, grabbing his bag and hauling it onto his shoulder. “Let's go...”

“Wait...” said the guard, “I can't just go running off... what about my duties... what about...”

Trevor stared at him, a stare so intense that it froze the muscular man where he stood and caused him to shrink into his collar a little. “Are you telling me you're not going to help? An innocent young mage has been kidnapped on your watch and you're just not going to do anything? What is it with you soldier types... you always talk about rescue and adventure and yet when it swims up with a little bow on its head and bites you in the arse you just panic and hide in your little wall!”

“Well... I need to sign off... we need supplies...” the guard continued, his voice a little more timid now. “I need to at least tell Captain Pofiddle something...”

“Fine,” said Trevor, “I need to figure out what kind of magic that was anyway. And I suppose we don't want Poffers sending his legion out after you. I'll send a communication to the college to tell them we're...” he paused, twirling his fingers in the air. “Following a lead on a magical... something... and you tell your lot the same thing.”

“I can't lie to...”

“It's not lying. There was magic, we're following it. That's all they need to know,” said Trevor, feeling oddly alive to know that he was a) leaving the wall, and b) going to do something more than sit and broodily stare at passers by.

“Are you sure about...” Belfus was silenced as another hard stare was directed at him, and he turned around with a clatter.

“And leave the bloody armour at home!” snapped Trevor. “It's about as stealthy as a horse with buckets stuck on its feet.”

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<<First || Previous || Masterlist || Next>> And so we reunite with the meadowfield mages in order to begin thoroughly ruining their day! Hanging out with a dragon sure does attract trouble.