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fangsandfracturedhearts · 7 months ago

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Fangs and Fractured Hearts

Chapter 14: Devil's Ploy

Summary: After embracing eternity as a vampire spawn under Astarion's wing, the Crimson Palace becomes a haunting symbol of the man he once was. As his personality unravels into a dark abyss, you flee. A year of hardship unveils the harsh reality of existence as a vampire spawn.

Just as all hope seems lost, a twist of fate reunites you with Astarion, revealing a glimmer of hope amidst the shadows. As you navigate the complexities of your relationship, you must confront the unsettling truth behind the Rite of Profane Ascension and the devilish secrets it holds.

In a race against time, you embark on a daring quest to save Astarion from his descent into darkness. With each choice you make, the stakes grow higher, testing the limits of your courage and determination.

Will Astarion find redemption, or is he destined to succumb to his own inner turmoil?

Word Count: 6k

Pairing: Ascended Astarion x female!Tav Spawn

Warnings: [Will try to continue to add more, but in general expect explicit content for mature audiences]

Possible spoilers. Eventual Explicit Content. Slow Burn. Thoughts of Suicide. Violence. Blood. Injury. Mature Content. Self-Harm. Mentions of in-game content. Completely fabricated camp events. Mentions of Astarion's Trauma.

If you notice a very critical tag missing, please don't hesitate to let me know

Rating: Explicit 18+ - [Meant For Mature Audience]

You snort and blink rapidly to clear your nose of the fetid sulphuric odour burning the membranes of your nostrils, throat and eyes. In the cramped, dimly lit sewers, where the air doesn’t stir, the stench of it lingers and never seems to dissipate.

When your vision finally becomes unimpaired by burning tears, the cambion and her fire-red hair, horns bedazzled with chains of gold, is leering at you with a conniving expression that makes your stomach sink. You’ve seen this expression on her plenty of times when she was scheming and plotting.

“Gods above,” you hiss with a rasp to your voice. “What do you want, Mizora? I thought I was good and done with your kind.”

“And here I thought we had all become such good friends,” she titters, feigning cordiality terribly. “You always did have so much… spunk. I’m happy death still hasn’t taken your lovely little spark.”

“You can ask Raphael all about my spark,” you smirk. Vivid blue lightning crackles and buzzes over your fingertips. “Oh, wait. You can’t because I killed him for seeing me as no more than a little mouse, a pawn, and I will do the same with you if you think you can play games with me.”

“Oh-yes,” Mizora giggles, not one iota ruffled by your threats. “All nine Hells were positively astir with the news of his demise. He always was such a pompous and over-confident twat, not unlike your master, I suppose."

Master. Ugh.

“I would be lying if I said it was nice to see you again, Mizora. If you will excuse me, I have my prey to hunt, and you’ve made me lose its trail.”

You can’t hear or smell Elowyn anymore. She will be deep into the ruin by now, or worse yet, in the Crimson Palace itself, but you still don’t understand what use she would have of that place. There is nothing left there but closed cells full of rotting gore that can never be opened again since you made Astarion break Cazador’s quarterstaff - Woe. Insofar as you’re aware, that was the only key to controlling everything.

“A great pity you’re in such a rush, pet,” Mizora snickers. Gods, you hate being called “pet.” You almost growl, but you’re too preoccupied with the rising feeling of foreboding swishing around in your stomach. You know that laugh and dread what’s about to come out of her mouth next. “I was going to offer to assist your Vampire Ascendant with his little… problem, but I suppose if you don’t want help… well, you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Ta-ta!”

“Wait!” You snap, whirling around. You’re going to regret this. “Wait… What do you know of Astarion’s ailment?”

“I thought that might get your attention,” she smirks smugly. “Let’s make ourselves more comfortable, shall we? You may be accustomed to living in such filth, but I am decidedly not.”

Mizora snaps her fingers, fire bursts to life all around you, and then you’re in a grand sitting room with glitzy settees, lounges and chairs. Rugs made of creatures you’ve never seen before litter the floor. Some appear reptile-like with scaly hides, others plush furs, others with feathers and more with something you can only begin to describe as some form of cartilaginous exoskeleton. They look at you with glassy, dead eyes ashine in their long-dead sockets.

It’s stiflingly hot, and you peer out of double doors leading to the terrace and take in the landscape. In the distance, black, jagged mountains pierce the horizon with peaks wreathed in an eerie crimson mist. Brimstone and fire dance in a perpetual inferno bordering a river made entirely of lava or possibly blood. It’s hard to tell from this height. The air is acrid and clouded with volcanic ash, and the sky flickers reds and oranges as fireballs race through clouds of darkest black.

“Avernus,” Mizora gushes. “Isn’t it beautiful?”

“I think I preferred the sewers,” you croak, wiping the sweat from your brow and going back inside. It does little to provide any comfort or liberation from the sweltering climate.

“Of course, sewer spawn,” she scoffs indignantly and drops unceremoniously onto a lounge. “It was your home for a little while. Wasn’t it? Until the Cleric and Wizard found you down there.”

“Have you been watching me this entire time?” You cross your arms and quirk a brow at her. “Do you have nothing better to do than derive pleasure from pain and suffering?”

“Oh, darling.” Her head falls back, and she laughs, “Of course! Who wouldn’t want to watch this little tragedy play out? It has been quite amusing thus far.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the show,” you bow sarcastically with a frown. “If you’re getting such a kick out of it, why are you meddling in my nightmare?”

“Sit. Won’t you?” She gestures toward the chaise. Mizora won’t tell you anything until you do as she asks. This is all part of her little game, after all. So, you sit with a roll of your eyes. “I would have been happy to watch until the vampire killed you, but alas, all good things must come to an end. Zariel and the other archdevils have other plans.”

Fuck. If another archdevil, or several, from the sounds of it, are getting involved, this is unlikely to be good. What got you here was another deal with an archdevil, but if there’s even a chance that something Mizora might tell you can give you somewhere to start, well, you can humour her.

“Which are?”

“Oh,” Mizora shrugs. “I don’t know, little lamb. I am merely a messenger.”

“Okay,” you comb your fingers through your sweat-dampened hair. She’s lying. You can see the hinting glint in her eyes. She knows more than she’s letting on. “Well, what is it you can tell me?”

The toothy, menacing smile that sidles across Mizora’s face should send you running. She sneers, “Tell me. What do you know of Mephistopheles?”

You shrug, “I know he is an archdevil, a rather powerful one. His domain is Cania. The Rite of Profane Ascension was a contract with him. Beyond that, I do not spend much time researching devils.”

“So, nothing then,” she pouts. “Well, allow me to enlighten you.”

Fire leaps to life in a circle, and Mizora’s eyes gleam with the keenness of a wild cat as you jump and get ready to defend yourself. Everything goes black except for the inferno burning around you.

As you watch the writhing blaze, depictions form in the leaping flames, moving against them. A towering devil with bright red skin, curling ram horns and massive bat-like wings jutting out from his back. He has an unnervingly charming smile, but it’s offset by cold, milk-white eyes that stare through you, making you shudder.

The figure paces around, muttering to himself and the empty grand halls around him. His eyes bounce around with feral neuroticism. He twitches, growls, hisses and waves his hand as if shooing away an annoying insect while snarling.

Abruptly, the fiery figure lets out a blood-curdling shriek and starts clawing at his skin, tearing gashes into himself until his skin is hanging in gruesome, dripping flaps from his arms and chest. Fire explodes in his palms, and he flings around bolts of Hellfire, instantly turning everything around him to ash. He pivots quickly and appears to be looking straight at you. He roars so loud you’re sure your eardrums have burst. He charges toward you with the ferocity of a rabid animal and a fireball barrels toward you.

Everything goes black, and you fall onto the floor by Mizora, who is snickering.

“What in the Hells was that?” You snap, getting up and getting in her face. You grab that fur collar in your hands and shake her, “What the fuck did I just witness?”

“Mephistopheles, for all his cunning and brilliance, is a deeply troubled individual. As you saw, he is neurotic and suspicious and often flies into fits of explosive and violent rage. Does that remind you of anyone?”

“… Astarion,” you breathe and stumble back. “Oh Gods…”

“Yes, pet.” Mizora nods with a fiendish cackle. “I can see you putting it all together. The Vampire Ascendant was an experiment of sorts. As you can imagine, these tendencies are not becoming of an archdevil. In an effort to rid himself of his neurotic temper, he needed a willing vessel to imbue with a portion of his nature. What better way to lure a willing participant than to offer unfathomable power?”

You collapse onto the chaise, wracking your fingers through your hair, “The Vampire Ascendant was nothing more than a way for Mephistopheles to offload his psychosis?”

Gods above. It makes so much sense. Astarion’s blind fits of rage. The voices in his head. The alternate version of him that sometimes takes control. You never got to see the whole contract. Did Raphael know about this and neglect to say it?

“But.” You add, looking at Mizora, “Astarion is himself some of the time.”

“Ah-yes,” Mizora snickers, glancing at her nails. “The vessel was never supposed to have an intact soul. It’s much easier to work with an empty cask than one that is already full, so to speak. A spawn was never supposed to usurp the ritual. I would say an oversight on Mephistopheles’ part, but truly, who could have imagined a spawn would get infected with a mind flayer tadpole that broke his master’s chains? Then, he just so happened to come upon a fine hero to help him. It’s all rather ludicrous sounding. Astarion’s soul is fractured but not completely eradicated. Well, not yet at least.”

“What do you mean not yet?”

“Think of it like this,” Mizora speaks to you slowly, as if you might not be smart enough to understand the metaphor slipping past her lips. “The entity is like an infection. It contaminates him, tainting everything from his thoughts, the platelets in his blood, to the marrow in his very bones, faster than his body can heal itself.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” You’re starting to get suspicious. Where is the catch? The line she will hook you with?

“Can’t I just want to help out an old friend?” She pouts.

You glower at her and cross your arms, “No.”

“You were always so clever.” Mizora suddenly becomes serious, “Mephistopheles is a threat. Now that he is no longer burdened by his demons, he’s set his aspirations quite high. Too high for the liking of many of the archdevils. We would like to see him reunited with himself. It’s a very fine little deal. You get what you want to rid Astarion of the entity that’s eating him from the inside out, and we get to cage Mephistopheles back in the prison of his mind. A warning, pet. It will not be an easy road.”

“My life has never been easy. Why would it start now?” You sigh, “Tell me what needs to be done, and I will do it.”

“Such a good little spawn. Aren’t you? He’s killed you, tortured you, starved you, beat you, emotionally ruined you, and stolen your name, and you’re still willing to risk yourself to save him?” Mizora giggles, “I would say it was a true love story in the making were it not so fucking tragic.”

“What do you mean stolen my name?” You growl, cocking your head at her, “I have a name!”

“Oh,” she snickers, “Then tell me, pet. What’s your name?”

“My name…” You trail off, wracking your brain for the word. It’s right there, sitting precariously on the tip of your tongue. “My name… It’s… It’s…”

Mizora’s laughter is a haunting melody, a sinister cackle in a chilling symphony. That sound could freeze the blood of the bravest soul and make the earth tremble, “You can’t remember it. Can you?”

You replay old conversations in your head. You can see Shadowheart’s lips moving, but then there’s a sudden silence where all you hear is white noise even though she’s still talking. It’s the same with conversations with Gale, just white noise in the place where your name should have been.

Astarion stole your name from you… When did that happen, and why can’t you remember? What else has he stolen from you?

“What’s my name,” you swallow the thick odium that’s erected itself into your throat. You shriek, rage sweeping through you in a gust of hatred, “What my name, Mizora! Say it!”

Mizora smiles haughtily and speaks. You focus with every iota of your capacity, watching her lips move, but it is as you feared. Your ears hear nothing but the breathy whisper of silence, and your eyes seem unable to read the phonetics on her lips.

You’re his darling. His sweet girl. His precious treasure. His consort. His nameless spawn.

And yet, you’re still prepared to sacrifice your life.

Yes, a very good little spawn, indeed.

“It doesn’t matter,” you mutter, clenching your chest as a tendril of sadness wraps around your heart and chokes it. “What do I have to do?”

“Before we can do anything about Astarion. We must first unbind him from his contract.” Mizora says, eyes narrowing, fixed on you. “I don’t care how you do it, but you must get Astarion’s contract from Mephistopheles. Steal it. Bargain for it. The choice is yours, but you must do it fast. There’s no way to know how much time before Astarion is lost forever.”

Mizora deposits you back into the sewers, and her voice bounces off the stony passageways, “Tick-tock, tick-tock, pet.”

You consider continuing to try to track Elowyn, but you’re reeling with information and cannot fathom how you would even begin to concentrate on her. She must be dealt with. That is certain, but it must wait until your mind isn’t fraught and unsettled.

How are you supposed to get Astarion’s contract from Mephistopheles? Bargaining for it should be your last resort, but how do you get to Cania, the eighth layer of the Nine Hells, survive it long enough to sneak into Mephistar and somehow sneak through an archdevil citadel? It seems like an impossible task.

Should you tell Astarion? He would usually be the first person you ran to for help with a heist, but he’s unlikely to let you go, even if it is the only means to save him from inevitably losing himself entirely. You can’t risk Astarion forcing you to stay, but you might not be able to risk going to the Hells without him. The Vampire Ascendant will likely be an invaluable asset if you meet resistance. But if he loses himself, you might not survive Astarion’s wrath long enough to get where you’re going. Whether that thing inside him is a separate entity or a version of himself that’s been infected and corrupted, you doubt it will take kindly to you trying to remove it.

Do you approach Shadowheart? You would be putting her in great peril, but she might be able to help with research. This is your mistake to fix, and you don’t relish putting your friend’s lives on the line. Karlach and Wyll are in the Hells. They may be able to help ascertain a way to get to Cania, but you’ll need to figure out how to contact them.

And Good Gods, your name…

The silent corridors echo with the foreboding sound of your heavy footsteps like the ominous rumble of an approaching storm as you work through the maze of gangways and channels. Tears stroll in rivulets down your snowy cheeks, liquid poetry to express all the emotions you can’t.

Dejection. Grief. Fear. Defeat. Loss.

Lost in the spiralling thoughts, you forget to look to the sky as you drag your weary body home. The only thing you want right now is to curl up in the strong arms of Astarion and let him hold your broken pieces and fears together because you’re not sure if you can do it by yourself.

The sun cracks the skyline, the first rays of the soft light of an autumn day embracing the streets, but the sun no longer embraces you. It blinds and broils you. Your skin glows, flakes, and melts. Deep, molten silver-blue channels crack in your arms, legs and face. The pain is so intense you can’t even remember to scream as you stand, waiting for your skin to slough off your bones and cover the street with ash.

You don’t remember reaching out to the bond with Astarion, but his voice fills your head, “Gods above. What in the nine Hells are you doing!? ” Astarion bellows. Panic infects his usual halcyon timbre, “Find shelter! I’m coming!”

The pain is all-consuming. You can’t move, can’t think, can’t speak as your nerves are melted away. Your skin dissolves like water evaporating under the sun’s heat. Every inch of your skin is being flayed in a single moment that lasts forever.

You will die nameless and alone.

“Fuck! Find shelter. Now!”

Astarion’s compulsion overrides everything else, and your body moves stiffly to obey the command even as it smokes and your skin is loosened from your frame, liquifying and dripping off your arms and legs, turning to ash in midair and being carried away by the morning breeze.

Find shelter. Find shelter. Find shelter.

Your instructions resound in your head even louder than the pain that falls to a buzz in the background. You can’t even blink as your fingers curl around the boards of a long-abandoned shack. Gods. Are those your fingers? Is that bone you see? You wrench the board off the window. The pads of your fingers squelch and ooze. When you throw the boards down, your skin sticks to them, peeling away in rangy, fibril bands like gum. Thank the Gods, you lack the capacity to mull it over much as your body throws itself inside without your consent.

With the order completed, there is a brief moment of pure, blissful euphoria - a reward for being so very obedient. The compulsion pales, the vines recede, and you’re pitched back into the residual agony that has yet to abate.

Now that the sun is no longer skinning you alive, the pain has lessened, and you remember how to scream. An inhumane noise rends your throat somewhere between a shriek and a wail. Your head lolls to the side, and your eyes fall to your arms.

You immediately wish they hadn’t.

Your skin is not the smooth pearlescent you’re used to seeing now that the colour it once held has faded to death’s grip. It’s powdery and matte. You’re sure you’re looking at the bones of your forearms in the chasmal rifts.

You hear white noise in your head, murmuring over the bond. It feels like Astarion is trying to contact you, but you hear no words. To get your thoughts off the pain still being recited by your nerves, you shift your focus to the emotions in your head, trying to sift through them. Astarion’s heartbeat in your chest is excruciating. It hammers with the intensity of a blacksmith striking an anvil. He’s petrified, bordering on hysterical.

You reach out in your head, “Astarion?”

“Little love!” He howls. You must remember to request he not attempt to dissolve your brain matter. “Why haven’t you been answering me?”

“Where are you?”

“Close, my treasure.”

You don’t know how much time elapses as you bounce between consciousness and dissociation while focusing on not moving. The less you move, the better for you, but your limbs and muscles seem to jerk and twitch without your consent, and every time, it sends another agonizing swell of suffering to break over you. Teardrops flutter on your lashes, but you can’t move to wipe them away.

Your ears pick up the thudding tempo of Astarion’s beating heart before he bursts through the door, scattering the planks and showering splinters in his haste. Astarion drops to his knees beside you. He visibly shudders as his eyes land on you, slumped against a wall.

“Hells,” he breathes, chest heaving from exertion. You can feel his horror in your head, but you need not. It’s evident in his shaky and rapid speech, “It’s okay. I’m here. I’m here. You’re safe. Look at me, darling.”

Why, after everything he has done to you, is his proximity so remarkably comforting? You let your eyes roam over him and truly appreciate the beauty before you. His scarlet eyes, dazzling like vivid, perfectly polished jewels ashine behind… tears? No. That doesn’t seem right. Your vision is blurred from your eyes being boiled in their sockets. You must be imagining the tears, but his eyes are beautiful nonetheless. His sculpted, full lips, which once held the promise of an eternity of silk kisses, are downturned at the corners. You would give anything to run your fingers along them right now, feel them on your skin, taste them on your tongue. He is breathtaking, quite literally.

“Sweetheart.” Astarion reaches to you. His fingers tremble as they hover below your jaw. He knows it will hurt if he touches you, “Can you hear me?”

You answer in his head because moving the muscles in your face to make you capable of speech will hurt, “Yes. I hear you.”

“I can compel you to not feel the pain, to sleep, but I need your permission.” His eyes bore into you. His voice is a favourite dream you long to slip into, “Please.”

It’s dangerous permission to give. You’ve told him you will leave if he compels you again, but he just did, didn’t he? He compelled you to find shelter when you could not do it yourself. He compelled you from afar. He does not need to be near you to force commands upon you. He can wrap your brain and body around his finger like twine from anywhere, anytime, on a whim. But Gods, you will do anything to make this pain end, to drift away from this fucking nightmare.

“Do it.”

Immediately, you feel your control funnelling away, like sand through an hourglass.

“You feel no pain,” he purrs, and the pain vanishes as your nerve endings deactivate. It’s a blissful respite, and you sigh. “Thank you for trusting me. Sleep now.”

Your brain shuts off. Darkness claims you, and Hells below, you welcome it.

“Wake.”

The directive floats through your comatose mind like a beam of light cuts through the pitch-blackness of nullity. Your faculties burst to life, waking one by one, unfurling like a blooming flower. The first thing you feel is hunger so painful that your body jerks to collapse in on itself as your limbs jolt and tremor insuppressibly. Excruciating cramps make your toes curl and your hands ball into fists. Your mind is raving, mad with hunger. You consider biting your tongue if only for the sweet succour of that crimson elixir.

You cannot think of anything other than the sensation of your insides gnawing on themselves, the paralyzing contracting of every ligament and tendon in your body, the desiccation that’s withered your tongue, and the grave need to feed - on anything and anyone.

Another spasm causes you to lurch and claw at your skin like you could dig yourself out of this ailing body. Warm hands clasp your wrists, and all your mind can think is warm means alive, and alive means blood. Your eyes snap open, but your addled brain simply cannot process the visual input, and you don’t think twice before fire erupts from your palms.

“Shit!”

You hear it, but you do not process it. As soon as the grip on you rescinds, you lunge at this figure before you whose beating heart is thrumming the provocative siren song of life and food. Colliding with it is like being throttled into a brick wall, but you waste no time fumbling and climbing with bared fangs. You’re so close to that beautifully pulsing vein, and it’s the only thing your eyes can focus on.

Stomach bubbling with hunger, you go to bite, jaws snapping and slobbering like a feral beast. As soon as your fangs hover within striking distance, your body arrests, and you’re instantaneously immobilized.

Strong arms wrap around you, lift, and sink you to the floor. A hand cradles your cheek, and the branching blue-purple veins make you swoon. You think about biting them only to have your body freeze up on you further. It guides your eyes to vivid crimson irises that spark recognition and reason back into your dazed lucidity.

“Astarion…”

“Stop thinking about biting me,” he chuckles and shifts you to the side. “You’ll be able to move again.”

“What?” You would quirk a brow at him, but you’re too focused on trying to push your intentions of biting him away. They do not concede to your urges, and you find your eyes wander without your permission to any vein that might be in striking distance. Astarion always gently walks your errant gaze back to his. “You haven’t compelled me?”

“Ah. Apologies. I do forget how new you are to this.” Astarion reaches for something on the dresser to his right, “No. This is not a compulsion. As my…” he trails off.

“Spawn.” You state with a palpable despondency threaded between the fog of hunger that looms over you.

“I do hate that word,” he shakes his head with discontentment as if he does not want to face the reality of what he has turned you into. “You are physically unable to bite me without my permission. Your body simply will not allow you to do it. Which is why you currently cannot move.”

Astarion holds a goblet out to you, and your stomach is set on fire by the iron sharpness that wafts from the syrupy, bright red nectar. It breaks you away from your absorption of sinking your fangs into Astarion’s flesh, and you snatch it out of his hands and drink with mindless gluttony.

The blood is fresh, hot and rich as the liquid rushes into your mouth. It waterfalls through your body, unknotting the snarls in your muscles, dissolving away the relentless twist of your stomach, and replacing the bloodlust hysteria in your mind with a sultry buzzing.

Astarion’s already holding another goblet, and you throw the empty one to the side and close your eyes as you guzzle. The blood is buttery and decadent. It’s hundreds, nay, thousands of exquisite dishes in a single swallow. It’s like a summertime dawn on your tongue. The wet warmth of it sinks between your thighs, settling with a molten throbbing in your core, and you moan at the pure bliss.

Astarion slips the goblet from your fingers once you’ve finished, and you look at him with half-lidded eyes. You rack your brain for memories of the few times you’ve tasted the blood of thinking creatures. You bit a few in the battles between when he turned you and the Netherbrain, but you cannot remember any of them ever tasting that deliciously arousing.

“That wasn’t animal blood,” you state, almost slurring. You feel drunk, or maybe Astarion is just intoxicating to look at while he mesmerizes you with those red eyes and perfect lips that foretoken pleasure. “Who did you just feed me?”

“No, it was decidedly not animal blood,” he grins as you adjust on his lap and straddle him. You’re not entirely sure what you’re doing in your desirous daze, and you trace the perfect bow of his lips as he speaks. “It was my blood.”

“You are delectable,” you giggle as your fingers help themselves and start fiddling with the buttons on his chemise. As your muddled mind starts to make sense of what he just said, you’re tripped up. You stare at him with a slack jaw and round eyes.

“The look on your face is priceless, darling,” he giggles and glances down at your roving hands as they push open his shirt and trace the defined muscles. Astarion’s fingers trace down your neck, sending shivers down your spine and making you squirm on his lap in wanton desperation for even the most minuscule friction to sate the ache, “I told you that you would taste me, and I you. It will not make you a True Vampire, though, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

Right now, you could not care less about being a True Vampire. There is very little on your mind except how his skin feels on your fingers and how extraordinary he would feel stretching you.

You bury your face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent deeply, placing slow kisses up the column. His fingers curl into the silk nightdress he must have changed you into at some point as he groans.

“Whatever are you doing?” He mutters near your ear, pressing his cheek to yours.

“I want you,” you sigh as you curl your fingers into his hair.

“You just attacked me,” he swallows.

“Then, let me apologize,” you grind against his hardening length in a way that makes you both gasp.

“You’ve been asleep for a week,” he mumbles, even as his arms wrap around you, tugging you close. “You have no idea how close you were to dying. Truly dying.”

You should probably be concerned with how long he kept you asleep since your time is limited, but you don’t care. You can’t care. You’ve never been quite so high on blood, on him. He is the light, darkness and blood that runs through your veins, and good Gods, you will give him everything.

“So, wake me up,” you purr as you push his shirt over his shoulders and run the flat of your tongue up his neck, relishing the salt of his skin. “Touch me like only you can. Love me like only you do. Help me feel alive, Astarion.”

Astarion pulls you back, cradling your face with this thumb pressed gently under your chin, drawing your eyes to his, and you stare at him through narrow, seductively hooded eyes like a love-sick pup. He traces your lips with his thumb, and you catch it in your mouth and suck.

“Hells,” he rasps darkly with a sharp inhalation.

You feel the offering call of the bond, and you don’t hesitate to throw it open. That beautifully overwhelming frisson shatters through you as Astarion’s lips catch yours in an eager, bordering on frantic kiss. He snakes his hand into your hair, holding you firmly against his vehement embrace. His tongue darts into your mouth, and a guttural groan thunders in his chest. His kiss is unusually clumsy, lacking the artistry and mastery he typically possesses, and your teeth click together with your greed for each other. You roll your hips, sinking your clit against his length, and your head falls back as white-hot sparks of want rupture behind your eyelids.

As far as you’re concerned, he is the definition of desire. His lips, his hands, and his taste are the only things that can bring you back to life from this deathless death, and you’re sure that you could never get close enough to him. Even with every curve of your body pressed into every contour of his, it still wouldn’t be enough. Nothing is sweeter than the serene sin of the kisses his lips press against your throat.

You peel off your nightdress, and your fingers tug at the opening of his breeches, graceless in your wild hunger to be filled, to be taken, to be his. Astarion quirks his hips up and pulls them down his hips, freeing his cock. The head glistens with evidence of his arousal. With no warning or hesitation, you sink his full length into you. The heavenly stretch makes you cry out and dig your fingers into his chest.

“Fuck,” he breathes, heavy, ragged and uneven. The pads of his fingers find your swollen flesh, sweeping and circling, and you get lost in the divine stimulation.

You set a slow, teasing pace, rising and sinking back down onto him as you delight in feeling the ridges of his head with every languid pump. Astarion pants as he lets out breathy moans. He brings a hand to your hip, trying to urge you to move quicker.

“Good Gods,” he whimpers, his gaze glossed with desire. “Have mercy.”

You are starving for pleasure, famished, and you will take it how you want it. With a warning growl, you grasp his wrist and pin it above his head to the wall. Astarion grins at your dominance and doesn’t fight it. He murmurs something unintelligible as you plunge onto his cock, and stares reverentially through thick lashes, drinking you in as you forfeit all rational thought.

Time runs away with you. You could have been riding him for hours or seconds, but eventually, your savouring pace turns reckless and erratic. Astarion bucks his hips in time to meet yours as the sound of smacking flesh, wanton cries and panting is all that fills your ears and head.

Astarion’s fingers tremble and quake against your sensitive bud, his skin sheens with sweat and his breath hitches. When you finally unpin his wrist, he clutches your hips and guides you to continue the tempo that is driving you perilously close to the edge.

His breath starts to come faster, panting hot and crude, fanning across your sweat-veiled skin. Scarlet eyes devour you as you chase your release in his lap. He penetrates you - Harder. Deeper. Animalistic.

“Oh shit—” His eyes snap open wide, almost in a look of blissful confusion. In your rapture, you barely notice the way his lips move, but you hear nothing but white noise. “I’m going to— Gods. I think I’m going to—“

A shuddering gasp escapes his lips, his body suddenly tensing beneath you. The look of ecstasy that washes over his face is enough to hurl you over the precipice, and you cry out with him. Between your walls clutching and spasming, you feel his cock twitching and pulsing, flooding you with his seed. His arms wrap around you, and you cling to him with a grip that would surely bruise. He crushes you against him as you’re both overwhelmed with pleasure so pure you think maybe it would have killed you were you not already dead.

As the intoxication of your climax fades, you sag into him, pressing your forehead against his neck. You close your eyes, breathing in the fragrance of his sweat, and focus on the rise and fall of his chest. It would be nice to stay in this darkness, snug and safe and home in his embrace, with the bond open so you can remain one pale star against the dusk of reality.

And then you remember the white noise from the moving lips of Shadowheart, Gale, Mizora, and him … You pull back abruptly, breaking out of Astarion’s arms and staring at him, tears teeming in your eyes. Astarion’s confusion is evident on his face and through the connection.

“What’s wrong?” He asks. You can feel him trying to figure it out in his head. It’s such an odd sensation, almost like your emotions are being poked and prodded. “What did I do?”

“Say my name,” you whimper, focusing on his lips.

“What?” His eyes bounce around as his brows pull down.

“My name,” you repeat with a quivering lip. “Say it.”

Astarion’s lips move, and… nothing. All you can hear is the buzzing, fizzing hiss of white noise coming from his mouth.

“Again.”

“I don’t understand —“ He yet again opens and closes his mouth with only a droning hum. Your fingers clamber against his lips, pushing his mouth open as if you might be able to grasp the word as it leaves his tongue. “Whatever is the matter?”

He doesn’t even know, you realize. He has no idea that he’s stolen your name just as he stole your life. You find some comfort in knowing that it wasn’t this version of him that did it, at least. You stare off dejected as everything rushes back to you like a slap across the cheek.

Mizora. The Hells. Mephistopheles. The Contract. The ticking clock. Your name.

“My love,” Astarion’s fingers curl into your hair, and he ushers your eyes to his. “Did I harm you? Please. Tell me what’s troubling you."

“I don’t remember my name,” the tears spill out of your eyes. “You stole it from me.”

Big thank you for everyone who takes the time to read/reblog/comment, and all the other magnificent things. As always, I hope you enjoy this, darlings!

AO3 [Crossposted]

Master List of Chapters: Fangs and Fractured Hearts

If you're interested I write another fic with Spawn Astarion x Tav called - Shadows of the Past

Small Notes:

So... does she tell him what Mizora revealed?

#ascended astarion #bg3 #astarion fanfic #astarion x you #astarion #bg3 fanfiction #bg3 astarion #astarion x reader #astarion x tav #astarion smut #fangs and fractured hearts

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sweetjulieapples · 28 days ago

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I was tagged by @charmedcleric to make my OCs with this picrew! Thank you for tagging me!

Audrey Amell: Audrey is a very talented mage and was quite popular in Ferelden's circle, often making friends easily. She was more than relieved to be recruited by the Grey Wardens, always dreaming of adventure. She loved travelling Ferelden and being outside of the tower, dark spawn aside. She's very cheerful and chatty, often striking up conversations with strangers on the road. She loves to laugh and goof around, and has no hesitation to tease someone for being an idiot (Sorry Alistair). She comes up with some sick burns, which is rather ironic for an ice mage.

Rhiannon Hawke: Rhiannon is most definitely a "purple" Hawke. She rarely takes things seriously unless someone she cares about is hurt. She's a fierce warrior one moment and a smart-mouthed buffoon the next. She learnt fairly young to laugh off pain, especially emotional pain, which she has had her fair share of. She has a good heart and wants to do what's best for the greater good of Thedas, but also understands that sometimes the most morally correct choice isn't always the right choice.

Juliette Trevelyan: Juliette was always very quiet and reserved and was considered a bit of a loner during her time at Ostwick's circle. She has impressive natural talent as fire mage, however is very insecure in her abilities and is terrified of drawing too much attention to herself. She's kind hearted and nurturing, and once she comes out of her shell a little, can sometimes be a bit silly. She'd much rather spend time horse riding and daydreaming than being Inquisitor, but pushes herself to step up because she knows it's the right thing to do. (and well, she doesn't really have a choice, does she?) She can sometimes be a bit immature and bratty, especially when it comes to her emotions because she was never taught how to properly express herself. For the first time in her life she makes solid friendships with her companions & advisors and with their support learns to trust not only others, but also herself.

Tagging (no pressure of course): @animezinglife @sasha199 @johnny-i-hardly-knew-ye

#tag game #dragon age #audrey amell #Rhiannon Hawke #juliette trevelyan

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bucknastysbabe · 10 months ago

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A day in the life of ✨Ser Criston Crispin Cole✨

The bestest kingsguard to ever and he doesn’t break vows or kill innocent people but has trauma and ptsd and a big throbbing ahem

Rating: Everyone

Tags: this is silly goofy, I even made some visuals, Criston rounds up the Targtowers, I finally gave a name to Aemond’s twin, Aemond’s irrational fears, Incel Knight has Issues, Aegon being a creature per usual.

Tagging some fools: @aemonds-holy-milk @aemonddtargaryen @fairysluna @arcielee @bambitas (ur man is trying)

“You what?,” he echoed to Aegon, laid out in the streets of Flea Bottom. While Aegon did appear as a piece of scud needing to be scraped off the cobblestone— Ser Criston gleamed in his armor and white cloak. White horse too. White horse armor. Totally not to overcompensate for anything like oath breaking and other heathenry.

The scud with blonde hair rasped, “I fucked an Ibbenese whore, she was a sight! You should’ve seen her hair, the bush, I needed a Dragonkeeper.” Criston held up his hand to silence the fool, growing disgusted. The prince laughed before vomiting right on the kingshorse’ lacquered hooves.

Ser Cole stared blankly, dreaming of nasty, awful things. That may include something along the lines of murder. Again. He didn’t mean to, okay? Criston got off the equine and kicked Aegon once for good measure. The idiot squawked, “Ow, fuck, I just emptied my guts! Hold on!”

The Dornishman ignored his prince’s whining and slung the wannabe jester up onto the hind of the horse. He sighed in annoyance, climbing back upon the destrier and riding back towards the keep. Aegon started up with a hoarse laugh. He rasped, “Y’know a little hair doesn’t hurt anyone Cole, I know you prefer yours on the Valyrian- CRISTONNNN!”

Criston smirked a bit having reached back and backhanding the Prince. Lovely Alicent granted him ‘any means possible’. Which mean he got to slap around Aegon for fun. It was quite a stress-reliever, truly. The eldest prince continued, “I’m still the prince you can’t just,” then again he was smacked in quick succession, “FUCKING QUIIIITTTT!!”

Ser Cole held back a chuckle at Aegon’s sniveling. They reached the keep now, Criston hauling the heir inside. Aegon whined, “Jus’ take me to my room you beast!” The brunette sighed, “No can do, you smell like the inside of a whaling barge. Since you enjoy fucking Ibbenese.”

“Don’t knock it til’ you try it,” the prince grumbled.

He was swiftly deposited into the baths. Criston felt he need to change his clothing now, the filth of Aegon smeared all over his clothes, horse, and soul. Yuck. He could die, honestly. Really wanted to awhile back but Alicent took pity and so forth.

The man ran a hand through his hair. He needed to go to the rookery now. Criston maintained a long-standing chat with the youngest prince, Daeron. The boy seemed to be relatively ‘normal’ compared to the rest of the Hightower Dragon breed. Smart, valiant, knowledgeable, lacking that murderous instinct and eternal burning fire of hatred that Criston and Aemond shared. The kid was off to a good start already.

Criston looked through the plethora of ravens once he arrived, shoving off the Maester trying to help. He knew their raven— it had a strange white feather on the left wing. He smiled when he spotted the feather in question, cheering, “Aha, told you.” The Maester grumbled under his breath. Criston ignored it.

But the Maester did say in case the reader was curious: “Oathbreaking dornish viper curly haired pretty face bitch monger of marcher spawn.”

Meanwhile the Kingsguard unrolled the little letter and read with a soft curl of his lips.

“Dear Ser Criston,

I hope to be able to see you at the next tourney, I heard about you rendering Breakbones to Brokenbones! How amazing your skills are. I hope to be as good as a jouster and knight as you one day….blah blah blah

I hate to ask this but the question has been at my mind. Mother may have got very intoxicated her on her visit with Gwayne and I a fortnight ago now? She may have slipped in a rant of anger? Not at you though. But I must inquire, family to family, I consider you Ser as family. Even if we have never met!

Did you actually bed Rh—nyr-?

No need to answer if I have offended, have a splendid day good Ser! xoxo Prince Daeron Targaryen.”

Criston’s smile slipped into a frown. He gazed blankly into the mid-distance. Then stepped towards the nearest opening.

He stepped back and sighed. That felt better. He turned to the Maester scattered on the floor, apologizing. Criston tried to hold a hand out for help but the little man hissed, “You have problems Ser! I do not need those demons that haunt you!”

Well. The prick wasn’t wrong. Criston had other things to tend to. He probably should go see Helaena and the children now. The white knight was a busy sort and not even Lord Commander! He could draw pride from that, standing a little taller after the blow in the letter.

Jaehaerys and Jaehaera played on the floor with a handmaiden. Criston took a moment to pause. Aegon must’ve named the children. Why didn’t he get somewhat creative? He paused again. Helaena would’ve likely named the twins Spider and Spiderette so he’d just move on now, yep, nothing new with the Hightower Targaryens.

He looked at the handmaiden and inquired, “Where is the princess?”

She pointed to the opened door to the balcony. Criston sighed and walked out there to see her leaning precariously over the sides. His eyes widened and he ran over to yank her back. Helaena shrieked and yelped, “Do not move your feet! Don’t!” She still was in his arms, legs jerked up as she frantically looked around.

Criston stayed still, out of fear of whatever bug or creature’s life. If he were to accidentally squish it— oh gods the girl would be bedridden for a week. Helaena whispered, “You messed me up! I almost had her!” The knight replied drily, “Had who, my princess?” The princess went on to ramble about some sort of Summer Isles beetle.

Criston just stood like an idiot until there was a creeping on his neck. He hissed urgently, “I believe you should check my nape for your creature!”

Wide eyes stared. “Your what?”

“The fucking beetle is crawling on me! I do not wish to die a violent death princess!”

“Oh!”

The legs on his neck were removed and Helaena cradled a fierce looking orange beetle. Criston lowered her gently down, backing away. She chirped, “That would’ve hurt worse than three arrows sticking out of your head.” Criston shivered as blank eyes flicked up at him before back down to her pet. Now he was fit to ruin his breeches. Helaena sometimes scared him witless.

“Thanks Ser Cole, you did end up helping. The children are alright if that’s what you inquire,” she murmured while walking inside, him following her indoors. Criston nodded, still feeling strange. The princess smiled, “I need to return this beauty to her enclosure, thank you!”

He might have walked a little faster than what was reasonable out there. The arrows comment worried him more than the time she told Criston he should beware a ball of Butchers. He had no clue what the hell she meant but whatever! The dornishman would like to die without arrows or anything like a ball of butchers but that was up to the gods.

He sighed and decided to head to his quarters to rest a moment— he rarely received any these days. Criston wearily plodded to his cot and flopped down, just closing his eyes a bit.

SER CRISTON WAKE THE HELLS UP!

Criston sat upright, swinging at whatever was yelling at him, eloquently replying, “Baahmnnfhgh!” He stopped swinging when Aemond’s twin Valaerys cursed, “I’m not the damn villian, come with me!” She held out a gloved hand and he let the younger princess lead him out of the White Sword tower at a breakneck pace.

“Val, what is exactly the matter here, why are we running!”

She hollered over her shoulder, “Aemond is about to take off on his beast because he got a letter!”

“A letter? That’s silly!”

They took the hidden stairs down to the beaches. Val, Criston’s reluctant favorite, elaborated, “A letter from the bastards, asking about his fear of birds, and they may have put a dead bird in a package? I don’t know he was yelling and squawking all over the place!”

The knight exhaled sharply. He gets good sleep for once and it’s expended on the second son getting his feelings hurt. Well. Cole did kill a man for reminding him of his own hurt feelings. But that’s beside the point, he was sad okay? He felt like a dirty whore that night. No one needs to be the dirty whore!

“Okay, so Aemond’s supersized ego has been punctured because the bastards are aware of his fear of birds? Are you being serious Val?”

She stopped him dead in his tracks and hissed, “When am I not serious Cole? Really? Come on.”

Criston tried to hold back an erection. She was a force when angry. Alas, Valaerys was too young, too outside of his OATH, too hot in a pair of leather leggings- oh Godsdammit. He blinked the thoughts away and followed her to the beach head.

They stopped in their tracks to watch the second son holler at the sea, long blonde hair flipping to and fro. Criston and Val shared a look, watching the scene unfold of Aemond practically hopping in anger, hands fisted.

Criston recognized too much of himself in the angry lad. He hollered, “Quit yelling and come over here!” Aemond stopped throwing his fists and turned sharply. He hissed, “This has nothing to do with you two!”

Criston crossed his arms and replied, “Yes it does, your angry actions could affect the King’s health. I am the Kingsguard and therefore need you to come over here.” Val added on, “And you look like a crazed lunatic yelling at the ocean. Reminds me of the time Uncle Daemon got banished. Again. Rolling in the ocean weeping and such.” Criston grimaced at the thought of the melodramatic Prince, perverted freak.

Okay maybe he was one too but he slipped up once! Stop judging him!

Aemond huffed and stomped over, thin lips turned down as he glared. His lanky arms were firmly crossed over his chest. The prince managed, “I’m not afraid of birds. They’re fucking with me. I need to shame them and their puny dragons.”

Criston clasped a hand on Aemond’s shoulder, sighing, “You are afraid of birds, it’s alright son. But don’t go on the beast to burn Dragonstone, you’d be a bit outnumbered. Besides you’re much better a sword fighter and leader than those mongrels.” Valaerys nodded in agreement, braids bouncing.

Aemond took a look at the ocean and back to Criston, scoffing, “You’re right, I shouldn’t lower myself to childish antics. Oh and Cole, don’t move please. I think she smelt Dornish.”

Criston stiffened up suddenly. When did he not notice the looming figure and hot breath flapping his hair and cloak around. Val stifled a giggle, merlot eyes flashing. Vhagar’s big old ass was right behind him, ready for some scorched dornishman. Criston whispered angrily, “Get your damn dragon Aemond! That thing still thinks we’re in a war and you’re Visenya minus an eye!”

Aemond scoffed indignantly, “Vhagar is much smarter than that! She chose me!,” the blonde grumbled, “She does probably smell Dornish. Apologies Cole.”

Val snickered again before jolting upright when Vhagar made a particularly hungry noise. Aemond hollered at the thing in High Valyrian, waving his arms and pointing back to her spot carved on the beach. Criston shivered, eyes darting to the dragon and back to the princess.

The dragon snarled and huffed, Criston wincing before he heard heavy footfalls and the dragging of her tail. Vhagar was leaving the trio alone. The white knight swore on the Seven he would NEVER be that close to that BEAST ever AGAIN.

Aemond smiled, “There we are, didn’t need the help but here we are. Good night Ser Criston, night my sweet hell bitch sister.” Val rolled her eyes and made a bird noise, flapping her arms at the man. Aemond sniffed and hustled away, a certain stiffness to his posture. He’d go do…whatever Aemond did in his spare time.

Criston let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and sagged. He looked at Val’s amused expression and mumbled, “You got any problems?” She procured a wine-skin from under her dark cloak and hummed, “Some wine that needs to be emptied. Let’s get out of here before Vhagar decides to have a Dornish snack. I don’t think I have the skill to play Rhaenys.”

He shot back as they entered to tunnels, “You’re much too mean to play her. Anyways what’s the vintage?”

“Dornish Sangria, what else would you think,” she said, raising a sharp brow. Criston eyed Valaerys and praised the princess, “See, this is why you’re my favorite. Don’t have to deal with nonsense. I almost threw up on Aegon. Horrid.”

“Do tell me all about your wonderful day, probably more interesting than mine good Ser.”

They sat on a ledge, far away from Vhagar, and shared the wineskin. Criston felt okay with his day, nothing much but honest work. Somewhat. One can never be fully honest in the Red Keep. He took a sip and the corners of his lips turned up.

#hotd fanfic #criston cole x reader but its not developed yet #Ser Criston Cole #coles day in the life #daeron targaryen #aegon ii targaryen #aemond targaryen #helaena targaryen #hightower targs #cringefails here there and everywhere

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teqshark · 11 days ago

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Minecraft Hardcore (0-10)

Might not be as many houses as I originally anticipated but I started up a hardcore world on bedrock on a whim so I thought I'd document my exploits here. Maybe next time I can actually remember to get screenshots during the interval but oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. All images were captured on Day 10. (Spoiler alert: I survive the 10(11?) days). Without any further ado, all worlds start with...

Day 0: Yes, we're counting Day 0. I spawned at the origin (0,0) in a forest so I was just surrounded by oak and birch. I wasted no time in chopping my first tree so I could craft a wooden pickaxe and wooden axe. Before I left the forest, I nearly broke the axe getting wood but didn't fully break it. I like to keep the first tools I make as a memento to how far I've come. Gathering logs took up half the day but I was still able to explore a little bit before dark. I found a shallow cave in the side of the mountain that I could take shelter in. I dug right into the cliffside to get some cobblestone while I wait out the night. I knew I wouldn't be living here permanently but I thought I'd make it at least resemble a home of some kind so I made a door and some fences for a little balcony out by the door. I also crafted some slabs to make the way down a little easier and then the sun began to rise.

Day 1: I left the sight of my first home and quickly got into a tussle with a skeleton. I hadn't been able to make any armor yet so I went down to about half health(I don't remember exactly). I ate my last lamb chop and decided not to go sprinting around since I was low on food. I quickly found a plains biome and with that, some animals I could turn into food. Then I stumbled across a horse. I saw a lot of snow in the distance so I wanted to make some leather boots so I wouldn't sink into the powdered snow and freeze to death. After asking my friend, the horse did not make it but it's leather was enough for the boots. Right as I noticed a village of sorts, the sun began to set again. However, I had a bed this time so I quickly went to sleep before any hostiles could spawn.

Day 2: I woke up, broke by bed, and went to check out the village. It had generated on a hillside which was interesting since only half of it was visible from where I slept. Once I got there, I realized it was actually an abandoned village. They're rare but it wasn't my first time seeing one so I just tried to take what I could. In the blacksmith, I was able to get an iron helmet and chestplate which really boosts your confidence. I began searching some of the other buildings and I noticed my inventory was nearly full of junk. I thought it might be time to settle down when my friend had reminded me of the previous update. A couple weeks ago, bundles had been added. For those unaware, a bundle allows you to hold up to a stack of various stackable items in one slot and all you need to make one is string and leather. I didn't have any string so I dropped back onto the blacksmith roof to destroy a cobweb. After creating one, I was able to reopen about half of my inventory slots. Across from the valley this village lied on was a lightly snowed peak which I briefly considered living on. After making my way over, I chopped down a couple spruce trees since I wanted to start on a cabin. This plan quickly fell through because there wasn't much space and terraforming early in hardcore seemed like a death wish. But still, it was getting late so I placed down a campfire to cook the animals I'd slain as well as a couple logs by the fire to really complete the campsite. Once everything was cooked and I took out another skeleton that wanted me dead, I went to bed wondering where to go next.

Day 3: I started by heading over to the trees I'd cut down to gather the saplings it dropped. I only ended up getting 3 but it's fine since they grow and produce more. After walking for a little bit, I saw another village, this one actually being inhabited. In the cliff next to a campfire, I finally found some iron ore so naturally I grabbed that while I cooked up some animals I killed. Not only did this village have a lot of crops I should steal harvest including carrots and potatoes, it also had 2 blacksmiths and with chests containing iron tools and some obsidian(it's a surprise tool that'll help us later :) ). By the time I'd seen everything, it was already night and I slept once again.

Day 4: With plenty of food for my journey and a stack of potatoes to farm, I went on my merry way. This may come as a surprise, but after a little more meandering, I encountered village #3. This one was up high on a meadow with a river separating it so I made a boat to reach this one. They didn't have a blacksmith but I was able to find some hay bales which I took with me because they can't defend themselves. I will specify that this one was a plains village and thus had the iconic cobblestone church as seen below.

One thing I enjoy about The Village and Pillage Update that dropped in *does a Google search* 2019 is that the plains also have a second church-like building.

Now idk if this is actually a church but both buildings contain brewing stands and those turn villagers into clerics. Personally, I like the thought of there being multiple different Minecraft religions among the townsfolk. Anyway, as I was exploring the second church as shown above, it started to thunder so I decided to sleep it away because playing in the rain is just a little annoying.

Day 5: Shortly after sleeping, I had decided to get off for the day because the first play session was starting to drain a little bit. However, I did get on the next day and got right back to looking for somewhere to settle. I didn't get far from the village before noticing the meadow had shifted gears. In and around the village there hadn't been a lot of flowers, as is a key characteristic of the biome. However, I noticed the ground was suddenly filled with alliums.

I had never come across a meadow with this flower before. I thought they only spawn in flower forests, but I was wrong. After a little bewilderment, I decided somewhere around here would be the place I set up shop. I managed to find a decently flat area so I made a chest and started to unload the inventory of non-essentials. I also put down a crafting table, furnace, and a smoker I borrowed from village 1. Smokers are like furnaces except they only smelt food but quicker than a standard furnace or campfire. I noticed the sun was starting to get kinda low so I quickly began setting up what I like to call The Gridlock. I'll save that for Day 6.

Day 6: Now, The Gridlock. This will require some explanation. Prior to 1.18(Caves and Cliffs pt. 2), hostile mobs were able to spawn at a light level of 7 or less. After the update, a light level of 0 is now required. Torches produce a light level of 15 when placed that decreases once per block the light spreads to. The Gridlock is the name I associate with placing a torch every 10 blocks on my land so that nothing can spawn. It's like The Lion King, everything the light touches is mine. I spent a little of Day 5 and about a third of Day 6 placing torches so that hopefully, nothing can sneak up on me while I'm minding my own business. I also spent part of this day to smelt the little iron I had and make a bucket. This is one of the most important items throughout the cycle of the game and I needed water. Luckily, there was a river down the side of the mountain I didn't come from so i went down there, got a bucket, and placed it down back up at my base. It was a surprisingly long journey so for the second bucket I needed(I'll explain), I decided to get a water source in one of the caves I saw. After a little scrounging around to find it, I now had 2 buckets of water and a little bit more coal because I couldn't help myself. Now, for those still wondering, I used the 2 water sources to create an infinite water source. That's right, some figurations of water make it so that you simply never run out. Most people opt to create the 2x2 but I instead use the 1x3. As long as I take buckets from the center, it will never run out. I inlayed it next to a terrain change and put some trapdoors over it so I don't fall in(as shown later). Next, I used my new power to create a potato farm. It fit perfectly inside one square of the grid and I outlined it with the alliums since they're everywhere and I had to clear some to make the farm. Sometime during its construction, a wandering trader spawned. I had 4 emeralds from stealing borrowing from the villagers so I thought I'd see what he was offering. I ended up buying some moss and an orange tulip. I then bonemealed the tulip to make more and then took one to dye my bundle orange. I proceeded to create a magenta one since 2 bundles are clearly better than 1. Finally, I decided to plant the spruce saplings I obtained in Day 3. By that, it had somehow started to rain again which was absurd since it had been like 2 days but luckily I was able to sleep it away.

Day 7-8: With basic housekeeping done, I decided to set out for a nice cave to start mining for resources. I found one that was nice and away from everything and I noticed very early on that there was a LOT of copper in this cave. I've been watching a playthrough from ItsMarloe on YouTube and he uses a lot of copper in his builds so I thought I'd give it a shot. I mined every single coal, copper and iron ore I came across. Every time my inventory was nearing full, I compressed the resources I collected into blocks so that I could keep going. About halfway through my expedition, I stopped to smelt the surprisingly little iron I had acquired and finally make myself some leggings. Around this time, I killed a zombie that dropped a chainmail helmet. While chains are now an item, chainmail armor cannot be crafted, thus making it a rare find. After about another 15 minutes, I decided that was enough caving for this session. I had gone through multiple iron pickaxes on the copper alone. Despite the low coal yield, I did get a fair bit of coal and didn't venture deep enough to find anything else. One thing I started doing with this adventure was only putting torches along the right walls of the cave. It's a productive way to ensure you don't get lost underground.

Day 9: I emerged from the cave about halfway into Day 9 so there wasn't all that much to do. I started by smelting the iron I manage to get and using it to make myself a stonecutter, which makes crafting different stone blocks easier, and a blast furnace, which smelts ores faster like the smoker with food. This will be helpful for when I finally decide to smelt up the copper because currently I do not have nearly enough fuel to smelt it all.

As you can see by my surprisingly blurry screenshot, I mined just over 5 stacks of copper blocks. That creates 2,889 copper ingots. I didn't mine that many ores however, because copper drops multiple raw copper even without the Fortune enchantment, but I still mined quite a few. In the bottom left of the chest, you can also see the 23 blocks of coal I collected. even if I used all of them, it wouldn't smelt all the copper so I'll leave that until I can actually finish smelting all of it. I saw I had some daylight left so I decided to make a carrot farm right next to the potatoes, allium border and all. I didn't have nearly as many carrots as potatoes so that one is gonna require some work yet.

Day 10: I woke up for this one and it occurred to me: I have a camp, but not a house. I intend to build one right in front of where my camp is so I spent some time just clearing out some flowers because A) they'll be in the way and B) I thought picking flowers would be a nice little treat for surviving 10 days.

It's nothing crazy because I only have iron tools but I plan to make something nice. This image really shows just how big and surreal the biome is. I'll eventually cover the entire thing into the Gridlock but maybe that'll be when I have more resources. I spent the rest of the day obtaining these other pictures of my little camp.

Here we have the farms, the trees I planted and a different wandering trader. I checked, he had different trades.

And then we have the assortment of blocks I currently call home. Under the trapdoors is the infinite water source which I think tucks itself away very nicely.

That's a wrap on my progress for this world. Please comment any suggestions or questions you may have. I did my best to recount all notable events in the order they occurred. Some might be a little out of sequence but I believe I at least covered it all. Next long post will be regarding days 11-20 unless something else takes the spotlight ;). Thank you for actually reading all of this. If you skimmed, that's fine. I know it's a lot. Until next time 👍

#minecraft #minecraft hardcore #long post

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mamamittens · 1 year ago

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Major Tears of The Kingdom Spoilers while I act a sentimental fool and nerd with a "what if" scenario

Okay, so I was thinking (oh God not again) about the Divine Beasts and the Light Dragon.

If you don't know about the deal with the Light Dragon yet and don't want to be spoiled, scroll away sweet summer child! Same goes for the final battle in Tears of the Kingdom!

So it really does bother me that the divine Beasts and the champions (baring Mipha) are just??? Gone??? Like, everyone acts like they never existed?!? And it's unclear if Link in ToTK went through BoTW cause so much of the landscape is different?!? The shrine of awakening is straight up gone, the ancient towers missing, and you don't have any of your shit but the horses?!? Why?!?!?

Like, Tulin (my precious baby who has done no wrong, ever) is referred to as the first Rito to create his own wind but like.... RIVALI DID THAT?!? Like, he had to be squat so maybe they mean in midair but still?!? And Yonobu has a slightly different ability from the shield, like he lost it or something?!? Why?!?

And the divine Beasts are totally gone, no one mentions them and it's not like they were small?!?

Where did they go?!?

Naturally, I had a fun idea for a little... Fixy fix.

Imagine if, when Hyrule Castle went up (again) and all that shit started up, the Divine Beasts were still parked right where they were when you defeated Calamity Ganon (maybe his spirit self and defeating the calamity is why hydrated Ganon has to hide his ass away under the castle on top of being bent over by Rauru for thousands of years--yeah I said what I said and I know exactly how that sounds.

But they didn't activate. They were totally silent while their respective people suffered. And because of that, the races assumed they'd been abandoned by their protectors (baring Mipha, who the Zora assumed she'd simply fulfilled her duty with the end of the Calamity and moved on). And that's why they don't talk about the champions aside from maybe a few hushed comments, a bit bitter that they'd been left to fend for themselves.

And as you fight the area's bosses, there is like, a midway point where suddenly the Divine Beasts jolts and fires a single attack, triggering the second stage before powering down again. When you beat the boss, the Divine Beasts shudder back online and trample over to the nearest chasm, diving in. Maybe a stray voice line from the previous champion about it not being over yet--referring to the round two fight below in the Depths.

And the Divine Beasts are understandably fucked up from the fall, eventually you find them near the boss area.

I thought it'd be cool if Vah Medo was partially frozen over by Colgera with one of the weak spots now over the engine and inaccessible to be hit, so it's left for last. And when you do go to try and bust it open, a sudden updraft sends you flying as it explodes, Ghost Rivali mocking you for needing his help. Beast defeated once and for all (the respawn is a normal variant), you receive the Rivali's Gale again accessed the same way as in BoTW so it doesn't mess with Tulin's Vow.

Vah Naboris is grounded, legs broken (RIP) and the Gibdo Queen almost sneaks up on you but a bolt stops her. Halfway part is the Queen lurching to his inside Naboris' chest cavity while shooting out spawns perhaps? And going in to kick ass until the health is gone triggers a cutscenes of Naboris powering up and electrocuting the shit outta here. Urbosa giving you her lighting attack, letting Riju's be a long range attack and Urbosa being close range area of effect.

Vah Rudania perhaps triggering a spray of lazers or trapping the Gohma? Maybe it skitters up a wall out of reach until Rudania skuttles over and slams it back down for a finishing blow before you're given the improved shield ability? Sounds neat to me, honestly.

Vah Ruta probably starts spraying water, giving the mud spots a time limit and perhaps slamming down the trunk when the Mucktorok tries to go inside to take over the Divine Beast? Finally, you get Mipha's ability again, requiring no button prompt.

They all have their cheeky little lines before stating that it's time they rest and let the Sages handle things from here.

As for the Light Dragon, you absolutely should have been able to tell at least Purah and Impa about Zelda. They both have no idea how to help but set up a station to observe her move through the sky, maybe tooling up towers for extra height to reach for additional research?!? And they decide to craft a gift to show Zelda that they believe in her and maybe see if there's truly nothing left--thats right, you make her a flower crown of Silent Princess's. Maybe with Champion fabric woven in alongside mini flags of the kingdoms, idk. And they're naturally upset when it appears to do nothing but produce a single tear.

This builds up to the boss battle where a cut scene plays just as Ganon takes off with Link. Purah and Impa turn their gaze to where Zelda previously was flying peacefully only to see her gunning towards Ganon.

"I-Is that?!?"

Sages might limp into frame, Riju and Tulin carried by Yonobu and Sidon, all beaten to hell and back but alive.

"It's her!"

And maybe the addition of the flower crown means you slowly heal while riding her to get a good vantage to kick Ganon's ass, idk.

Maybe she has the flower crown still when she turns back for extra points. Her bob braided with flowers and beads representing the crown in the end cutscene, the flower crown displayed in her study.

The Champions turn into Poes at the end, either drifting off as they finally move on or to be collected by link and given to the bargainer statues. Maybe for minis of the Divine Beasts with their Champions that'll be displayed in your house?! Or flags or something idk, something sweet and commemorative.

Anyway! That's just my thought for something that'd be really cool and sorta poetic. Really burying the past and letting it move on, perhaps with a few speeches from the different regions about the champions trusting them to handle hardships on their own now, giving the task of defending the realm to a new generation.

Or maybe I'm full of shit, idk. But I do gotta go to bed, so there's that 🤭

#tears of the kingdom #legend of zelda #spoilers #light dragon #divine beasts #alt endings and quest linez #give me back my son #i love that asshole bird #he just wants to prove himself #and the whole gang is so damn wholesome #i want Tulin to recieve and approving nod from Rivali alongside the first sage

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selamat-linting · 1 month ago

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its been a while since i write abt terrafirmacraft... well its because i've been busy rebuilding the house. its a two story house with a wing dedicated for cooking and forging. the roof was burnt down twice until i replaced it with mudbricks instead of wood blocks. it also has a basement where i kept barrels of limewater, tallows, and preserved foods. limewater is useful for a lot of things, but right now im using it just for leather. tallows are candles. turns out whale hunting is a lot easier than i think. i crossed the ocean many times during my move, and some of them lingers and follow you on boat. candles are better light source than torches. you cant exactly hang it off the walls or ceiling, but it lasts longer. i'll be using candles until i finally get materials to make lamp glass.

as i get settled, i started farming. plants grow better here, and i can forage things from the forest, but they overheat fast so i need to provide crops with lots of fertilizers. i planted tomatoes, but i forgot they need a stick to prop them up. and then i find some animals, a cow, horse, and a llama i think? idk. i also got some chicken but it dies lol.

the cow was probably the worst animal i had to drag back. theyre so stupid! i brought three, but only one survives because one of them escaped the leash and ran off while the other fell in a hole and gets bit to death by crocodiles. i hate crocodiles so much, theyre demons that trap you in swamps.

winter came, and i started preparing for a trek to find graphite. i found a bunch of coppers, cooked, don my leather armor, i vaguely remember that there was an exposed bit of rock that might contain graphite in one of the lakes near my super super first base. i spent at least one and a half prospective pick just to get graphite. its tedious, long, and arduous. i think it took me two weeks to get it. i play the game in 2 hour duration twice a week so yea im a casual. its super satisfying to hit a super large stack though and coming home with a bonus of pyrite and beets. also now i know how to mine deep underwater <3

my plan here is to make glass for lamps and jars. to do that i need tools like paddle, jacks, blowpipe, and gem saw. i need brass to make jacks. and for gem saw i would need gems like pyrite and brass rod. to make brass you need a tin and copper and a way to process said tin and copper to be brass. by that i mean i need a crucible. its made out of fire clay. fire clay is made out of kaolinite clay and graphite. i just need One Thing.

but of course finding kaolinite isnt as easy as it sounds. it took me a week before i start using cheats. i already live SOMEHWERE where kao is supposed to spawn. but all i see is sylvite and saltpeters. its drudget i use locate biome to see other places like highlands and old mountains that might give me what i need, but so far i found zero. im starting to think my world just doesnt have kao. so i just give up and type give tfc:kaolin_clay.

i gave myself just enough to make a crucible. i made my brass rods and once i got it, i have to weld and work said rods on the anvil to make my blowpipe.

i blew all my coal and brass ingots to zero results. i just suck, suck so bad at working the anvil. so i took a long break. i didnt touch tfc for quite a while. i focused on making gifsets and such. but i get bored with only dabbling with photoshop so i look up tips on anvil working on tfc. there's no way around it. the mod is meant to slow you down and make you learn and explore. some suggested i practiced working on an anvil using copper. some suggested i work on other shit before coming back to the anvil.

so, i went back, and realized how much i neglected my house. my animals still doesnt have a barn. i havent fixed the burned kitchen roof. my bookshelves are empty. my leather armor have been worn down to a nub. my inventory shelves are a mess. i havent restored the decorations that got burned down on the third (or was it fourth?) house fire. i went to work slowly fixing those things. i made copper armor again, a helmet and boots. to tell you the truth, i think i did metalworking better when im just going by vibes instead of overthinking the maths.

im gonna complete the armor i wear, but for now i think i want to make a proper barn first and a warehouse. as i was working, the chest near the forge caught fire. i realized then the space im working in is too small. i need to make a storage space and a building dedicating for forging.

#terrafirmacraft

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roamingtigress · 1 year ago

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More super interesting things I discovered while playing Dutch on RDO:

-The guy is the equivalent of the Scrawny Nag. His initial health/stamina is shite (seen in the screenshots; that's what they're when I get him into the game). He is FRAGILE and needs to be fed a healthy breakfast of tonics and seasoned meat throughout the day (I accidentally got up him up to Overweight and he's still lean smh, not fair to the rest of us). It's a bit funny considering what he looks like in the Union suit but I'll put it down to a realistic bit of detail considering his age.

-He gets twitchy over hearing gunfire, gets into this defensive pose and sometimes unholsters his handgun if the gunfire is close enough (particularly doing the bounty/trader/moonshine role). Yesterday he brought a bounty into San Denis and there were some players scrapping a block away; he braced himself, and didn't unholster his semi-autos (which if he did I'd quickly unholster) but he still thought it was an activity of GREAT CONCERN. The first time I saw this (I think it was a bounty) I audibly spoke "woah!" Another time I had him sitting at the fire at the camp, there was gunfire going off from those random defend-a-camp events that pop up, and he got up, ready for action and he whooped some ass. That awareness he has of stuff going on an an area is amazing and again forces me to focus on detail.

-Dutch's need to look at EVERYTHING (yes Dutch that's a horse, yes Dutch that's a raspberry bush, yes that's a wagon, yes that's your husband, yes that's a 1 star rabbit, don't make me put some blinkers on) drives me batty at times (for as endearing as it actually really is) when I want to get screenshots of him but it's also really immersive and made me focus on all the details instead of rushing through as I've done with my OC character. He also completely zeroes his eyes in on his bounty target which I thought is super cool. Who needs Dead Eye?

-He SULKS in the rain.

-His gait changes by whatever shoes he's wearing; when he's in his top hat ensemble he GLIDES. When he's wearing that red/black top ensemble he SWAGGERS. Again a very cool detail.

-Dutch can be THROWN. He was minding his own business, having a drink in Valentine when this player came in, gave him a look, seemed to have just grabbed him back of his pants and tossed him halfway across the room. He just kinda did this floppy Kermit flail. SO dramatic.

-His NOT AGAIN protests can be so funny. Like once he was attacked by a lion (that Hosea KICKED TO DEATH) that someone spawned into camp as if it happened before.

-He's sullen in bigger towns (Blackwater, Saint Denis), but gets a soft eye back at camp (as seen in the last two screenshots above (he' in the camp tent), trail rides, and anywhere not in those towns. He often looks very reflective as he rides around, just taking in the scenery.

The details like this that I've picked up on playing him are INCREDIBLE. With how smooth he is to play, It's almost as if it was intended that we'd play him but it was never made official or such.

#red dead redemption II #red dead redemption 2 #Red Dead Online #Red Dead Redemption II Online #Dutch van der Linde #Hosea #Hosea Matthews #hosea x dutch #Vandermatthews #this is pretty amazing #Dutch #RDO #RDR2 #rdr2o #The Caldwell hat looks ridiculous and I love it on him

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barovianchickenandwaffles · 6 months ago

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Barovian Tales: Berry Road

(author’s note: something that just popped into my head this morning… enjoy!)

So, there I was during one long, busy shift when disaster struck. I ran to the pantry to get more berry syrup when I realized that we were out.

“Looks like you finally ran out of luck, boss,” wailed the ghostly form of Viktor former intern.

“Not on your life… er, unlife.”

“Gary”, my Illithid barista, stalking silently behind me as he usually does, said telepathically, “János sent a message. He’s delayed in Kartakass and won’t be in Barovia until Thursday.”

This is bad. If my trusted Vistana courier doesn’t arrive on time, then there’s no way to get supplies of berry syrup. Fresh berries certainly don’t grow in this forsaken land.

Except in one place.

“Gary, hitch up the cart,” I said as I took my crossbow from its hook on the wall. “I’m going out.”

Only the Devil Strahd and his elite minions own horses in Barovia, so us peons have to make do with donkeys. However, we Barovians are resourceful, and the underground donkey-cart racing scene is alive and well. So, to evade werewolves and chase down deadbeats I owned a modified V8 donkey which I dubbed the Profit Pursuit Special.

I strapped myself in, and holstered my crossbow. Gary handed me the reins.

“No customer-eating this time,” I said.

Gary said nothing verbally but appeared crestfallen. His eldritch, beady puppy-dog eyes looked up at me.

“Fine, but keep it discreet will ‘ya?”

His tentacles wriggled eagerly.

I fired up the donkey and was off.

Once I passed out of Barovia Town I was on my own. Traveling the roads of Barovia is always dangerous alone, but it was a race against time and there was profit to be had. I would need to get to the Wizards or Wine vineyard before nightfall and back again.

Passing the Tser Falls and that creepy gallows that shows your image hanging there (we locals call it the “star attraction”), I ran into trouble: I heard the galloping of horses, several of them.

As the horses caught up to me, I could soon hear the whooping and hollering of a gang of marauders. I looked back. Teenage vampire spawn, decked out in leather, spikes and mohawks.

I wasn’t going to lose to these punks. I kicked the donkey into overdrive and put some distance behind us. As we approached the first gate on the Svalich Road, I realized that this was all a trap. The gang had tied a rope across the gate.

I yanked the reins and swerved my donkey up the left hillside and around the gate just in time. The gang shouted blasphemous, infernal curses at me, but gave up.

“Eat my waffle dough!” I yelled back laughing.

Passing Vallaki, I was tailed by a silent, floating phantom in a tattered grey death shroud.

I swerved one way, then another, double back and even risked overheating my donkey to get away, but the phantom wasn’t deterred. It loomed closer and closer until it came up beside me.

“Excuse me, good sir,” it said in a shrill nasally voice, “can you give me directions to Barovia-Con ‘27?”

I pointed back. “Er, that way.”

“Thanks!” said the phantom and it flitted away. I didn’t bother to tell him that Barovian-Con ‘27 was 15 years ago.

I passed another checkpoint and turned left away from the village of Krezk. Hopefully, my rival Vlad, owner of Barovian Weiners and Pancakes, would not detect my presence on his turf.

A pack of werewolves pursued me on the last leg of the journey, but a silvered crossbow bolt to the head of the pack leader put an end to that chase. They were probably more bored than hungry and went off in search of easier prey.

Finally I pulled up to the Wizards of Wine Winery.

Since I usually get my syrup from outside Barovia and make my own moonshine anyway, I rarely do business with these guys, but desperate times and all that. They knew me, but it was a frosty relationship. I explained my need of fresh berries and after some haggling they agreed to sell a few bushels.

When I inspected the berries, I found some of them still green and unripe, others with fuzzy mold on them. They smelled pungent more than sweet.

“Must’ve been a bumper crop this year”, I remarked.

“Indeed it was a good harvest.”

Say what you will, but those nasty berries were delicious by Barovian standards.

Laden with several bushels of berries, I unhitched my donkey cart and raced back to the main road. It was already getting dark and I had a lot of ground to cover.

The werewolves were nowhere to be found and I passed the fork in the road leading to Krezk without issue. I breathed a sigh of relief. I just might get home in one piece.

Then I heard a familiar voice calling to me from the surrounding woods. “Hello, Oleksii!”

I groaned. “Hello, Vlad.”

Waiting for me up ahead was a blockade, manned by Vlad and his goons, armed with crossbows. But where was his Thri-Kreen assistant, “John”?

I built up more speed as I careened toward the barrier, and then at the last moment I jammed the reins to the right using the momentum of my cart to ram into the barrier and shield me from the crossbow bolts. It worked!

The barrier was smashed to smithereens, but the cart took some damage too. The left rear spoke was cracked and wouldn’t last long. I took off again and left Vlad behind. I could hear him cursing as I shouted back, “kiss my dirty dishes!”

I laughed to myself, admiring my witty retort, when I felt a sinister presence behind me. “John” the Thri-Kreen had snuck aboard the cart!

The insectoid creature started dumping bushels over the side. I took out my crossbow, then realized that I had forgotten to reload it. In frustration I hit him with the butt end of the weapon, but it bounced off the carapace.

“Buzz buzz buzz,” it said to me.

“What?!” I said over the roar of the wind.

“Buzz, buzz-buzz buzz buzz buzzz!”

“Huh? I don’t speak Thri-Kreen.”

John shrugged and used his scissor-like arms to smash the damaged axle further. The wheel broke into splinters and the cart lurched to one side.

“Buzz,” John said as he hopped off and disappeared.

The cart still ran, but it wouldn’t be long before Vlad and his gang caught up. We were passing Vallaki when I spotted Vlad behind me. His donkey-cart led the pack. Say what you will about Vlad, but he drives a mean donkey cart: spikes on the wheels, metal plating on the sides, and a mounted ballista on the back. John the Thri-Kreen took position as gunner. I took a moment to admire his craftsmanship and then lashed the reins again. The weight of remaining bushels, plus the drag of the broken axle was slowing me down. It wasn’t looking good.

I prayed for a miracle. Whatever Eldritch, Infernal, Philosophical, Ethereal, Symbolic and/or Higher Power hears this plea, get me out of this jam.

As I turned a corner, I could see a phantasmal, glowing cube floating mid-air down the road. It had a big “?” mark on it. Puzzled, I ran for it and snagged the cube. Inside I found an oversized, green turtle shell.

“What in the name of Mammon am I supposed to do with this thing?”

I kept the shell with me and made a desperate flight for home. Vlad’s thugs pulled up on either side. One of them jumped on my cart, but I fought him off. Another took a shot at me and grazed my neck with a throwing knife. I threw a handful of moldy berries at him.

A couple more carts pulled up, as Vlad hung back. It was now three against one on the back of the cart. I drew my silvered frypan, the one handed down by my Babusya, and whacked one of the thugs square on the face. He fell, but the other two got the jump on me. I struggled as they pinned my arms and more carts approached. That oversized green shell clattered around, out of reach.

Then, abruptly they let me go. The thugs dashed off and jumped back on their carts and pulled back.

Confused I looked up ahead and there they were, waiting for us: the vampire spawn gang.

The lead rider, a blonde looking vampire with an earring and mullet haircut beckoned me. “Join us, Michael!”

“My name’s Oleksii!”

“Whatever, we have cookies.”

“I’m on to you. Those are the crappy raisin oatmeal cookies that no eats unless they’re the last ones.”

Mullet-guy snarled and prodded his horse toward me, his gang in ravenously approaching.

I had no choice left, my frypan was in the back and my crossbow was empty, and I am pretty sure the Morninglord wasn’t going to help me after that One Time. So, I did the only left to do: I hurled that green shell at Mullet-guy.

My throwing arm is pretty lousy, but the green shell glided down the road and hit its mark. Mullet-guy’s horse was knocked into the air and I dashed through the gap. The vampire spawn gang soon ran into Vlad’s gang and I left them to sort things out.

Safely back in Barovia village I pulled my donkey cart into the garage. The damage was extensive, and it would have to be in the shop for a couple weeks. But at least I got my berries.

I unloaded the inventory and was disheartened to see that only one bushel remained, most of its contents spilled out into the cart.

I gathered every berry I could and hauled them into the shop. It was then that I saw János my Vistana courier unloading the usual shipment.

“Sorry, Oleksii,” he bowed apologetically. “There was yet another music festival in Kartakass and I was caught in traffic.”

János was good people, so I let it go. At least the berry syrup was well stocked again. However, even with the steady business that week, and minimal customer casualties, the repairs to the cart meant I would be in the red for a while.

And what to do about those unused, questionable berries I brought back from the Winery?

After consulting with Gary, I hit upon a plan…

I put a sign out the next day:

Adventuring parties! For one week only, get your hands on limited-edition, organic, non-GMO, somewhat fair trade, bottles of local artisan berry syrup. Now on sale for only 20gp a bottle!

#ravenloft #dnd #ttrpg #barovia #d&d #dungeons and dragons #life in barovia #waffles #curse of strahd #barovian tales #barovian chicken and waffles

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the-fiction-witch · 1 year ago

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Hell spawn Part One

Media IRL X Judgement Day

Character Thomas Brodie Sangster (Devil)

Couple Thomas X Reader Kinda

Rating Dark, Spooky, Flirty

Concept After the Apocalypse

I had read stories in books, old magazines and what little had survived of print news. Stories about the history of the world before the horses rode. I myself had never seen the world before with my own eyes, only images. I was one of very few still alive in this strange world of fire and chaos, and it wasn't from luck. I was born after the horses rode. I had only known this world and I'd learnt it's harsh ways. I hid myself behind the black rocks, waiting with my bow in hand already pulled back, keeping my breaths so and quiet. I hadn't moved a muscle for a good few moments keeping myself quiet and strong. I watched the hellish creature sniffing making it's way across the rocks having yet to discover me. I pressed my lips together and softly whistled making it perk its head up and the moment it did I released my grip, the arrow sent through his hand instantly sending it to the floor. I was careful making sure not to be spotted grabbing the creature ripping out my arrow and stuffing it's body in my bag with the other things I had found. I looked to the dark red sky and quickly began making my way back to my cave by the river taking some water with me as I headed inside making sure to reseal the doorway as much as possible to make sure I wouldn't be discovered. I did all my usual business, covering my body with blood to hide my scent, cooking some meat to eat, boiling water to drink, making new arrows from the bones of these smaller creatures as wood barely exists now the fire having taken it all.

Once all done I went to rest for the night looking over my small book I found years ago, written by one of the survivors who recalled the time before and the start of the madness. But the book was abandoned when I found it and I knew better than to hope they'd Still be alive.

'It began like any other day would, the sun in the sky, birds in the trees, people going about their business. Knowone thought for a moment that this would have happened on a day like this. First came the howls. Every dog and wolf began howling at the moon that still lingured in the sky. Then the birds all just dropped. Fell from their nests, from the sky, from perch and ledge's everywhere. Then animals too just dropped down dead it caused mass panic but people didn't have much time to panic. From the ocean came this huge mountain of fire boiling the ocean around it before it could even form waves, lava and fire flowed down from its tip and from it came the riders. All in black. Coated in flame. Some say in some places people dropped with the animals but most believe that to simply be a hopeful lie.

After the riders, he came.

The monster of all monsters, king of all evil, master of the darkness. He came with his army of demon spawn to lay waste to our world.

At first people where massacred and mutilated by his armies as they washed over the world like a tsunami.

Then hope came, angles an army of light and good being lead by he the brightest and most light of all. The holy son. But this turned out to be a false hope for they where not here to save us. But to battle over our world. The two here to battle out their differences two kings in the greatest of wars, A war between good and evil with humanity caught in the Crossfire.

It wasn't long before our world was a memory, everything dark, sick, dusty, muddy. A no man's land in this great war. Humans didn't stand a chance. Most died in the Crossfire of fighting, others smart enough to hide and survive this long where hunted down by either side. It's said the hellspawn and the devil himself can smell humans'

I didn't believe much of it I think there are likely gaps in the knowledge of whomever wrote it but still I had always avoided either side and made sure my scent was as hidden as possible. I put the book away and do my best to sleep.

I woke up and ate what little I could stomach even after all this time I still hadn't gotten use to the sour taste. I drank up my water and filled my bag with arrows heading out into the dusty wilds to hunt and forrage for what little had yet to be corrupted. I was getting a little nervous as it got later everything around me had dried up leading me further out so I was now further from home then I should have been.

I saw three large creatures in the edge of the more rocky area immediately I hid myself as best I could making sure to keep an eye on them, they where larger and far more developed then the small ones I hunt. My arrows would bounce off them, and they'd be able to smell my scent. I did my best to keep my breath shallow and quiet.

"I tell us your loosing it!"

"I'm not loosing it!"

"It's a phantom smell you dummy! There are no more humans"

"I tell ya. What I smell. And I smell human"

I immediately began to panic struggling to keep my breath in check I knew I couldn't stay here so I did my best to head back as quick and quiet as I could trying desperately not to be noticed but in my panicked rush I didn't notice a loose rock and I tripped over twisting my ankle over and landing in a pond that had formed in the rocks from recent rain, all of which rand over me washing off the blood I had layered on myself

"Human!" I heard them shout just a little way back behind me so I bolted as fast as I could even if my ankle was in agony and then chasing behind me I got back and sealed the doorway doing my best to hide myself away.

They bust thought the sealed doorway like it was nothing and a silence fell over the cave, darkness filled the cave as they blocked the light from outside and preventing my escape,

"Where is she?"

"She's in here. I smell her."

I did my best to hold my breath, remain perfectly still do everything I could to not draw attention to myself even if I was fighting back tears as they ripped thought my home destroying everything in hope of finding me until just before they reached my hiding spot they stopped and got quiet.

I was beyond curious why, so against my better judgement I peeked out from my hiding spot seeing the doorway again darken as a figure arrived shadow over them unable to reveal who or what they were

"Master sir we-"

"Where is it?" This commanding voice spoke

"In here we know it sir"

"That's obvious you blithering idiots." He said I hid myself away more as the creatures tried to defend their work but this voice simply belittled them as he stepped in slowly moving things from his path until he stood meerly an inch from my hiding spot and I heard them sniffing

"Smells human doesn't it master"

"No. Not human" his voice spoke before he broke through and grabbed my arm forcing me out from my hiding place immediately I was taken aback by what now held my arm.

He looked human, tall, thin, vainy arms and a wicked smile, tall boots with various buckles, leather trousers with various belts and holsters for weapons, a half unbuttoned shirt scars across his pale skin, the shirt sleaves stopped as his elbows but his skin covered in blood from his elbows up his nails a dark black and sharp too, he smiled wickedly down at me his brow low, his blonde hair falling in his eyes, he chuckled to himself taking a step closer cornering me giving me no way to fight, to run, or escape him in anyway, and he smiled like he knew it.

"We told you master!"

"Yeah yeah we said we found a human!"

He snapped his head towards them "shut. Up. Or I'll send you both for a spin on the spit" he warned them immediately shutting them up and he turned back to me "Hello little bird" he smiled fixing a stray peice of my hair away from my face immediately I tried to fight and squirm away but his grip was too strong and his nails dug into my skin "ah ah ah. Where do you think your going?" He smirked "fetch a cage." He demanded from the creatures "a nice one" he added stroking my cheek with the back of his finger even if I tried to fight they left leaving the doorway open he saw me eyeing the door and chuckled again fiddling with my hair and my clothes "does it speak?" He asks so I tried to bite his finger "ooohh fiesty" he laughed "come along then little bird, I've got somewhere special in mind for you" he smirked forcing me out the cave where the creatures had returned with a metal cage I tried to argue to fight as much as I could but he was too strong for me forcing me into the cage and locking it behind me "take her back home. But not a soul touches her till I get there you understand?"

"Yes master" the creatures agreed

As soon as they uttered those words the discoloured skin on their backs began to swell boils forming and eventually popping sending blood everywhere and as they popped they revealed wings to suit the size and colour of each of them they took the cage in hand picking it up and carrying the cage and me up into the air high into the clouds. I hung on to the cage in fear my whole body shaking watching the world under me the rivers, hills and endless desert. I didn't know where I was going but I was utterly terrified. Until I saw where we were going.

A castle built of black stone into the side of the mountains with a city of junk formed around it smoke and clanking metal coming from this harsh place they set the cage down inside the storm castle in a room filled with demons and devilish creatures. All of them looked at me harshly as if I was their next meal and they were hungry, some looked at me worse with expressions hiding thoughts I didn't want to think. Many tried to come close to take me from the cage or to reach inside but they were often stopped by the two who brought me here.

Until he arrived.

He came through the roof like my cage had and landed squarely on the stone in a burst of ashy smoke. It was him, from my cave now with two large black and red Wings well scared but strong they all bowed to him and rejoice at his arrival, and it became clear he was far more then simply some commander or general. He pulled his wings back below his skin and he moved across to the black stone throne where he took his seat, he smirked looking at me in my state of fear

"Have her sent to the sixth floor, have the succubuses wash her fully but they are not to play with her. Or I’ll rip their clits off. Dress her in white cotton and leave her in the chamber I hear of anyone touch her or so much as look at her I’ll gut you all for the maggots”

I tried to fight but they took me from the cage and forced me away into the castle.

#thomas brodie sangster #tbs smut #tbs imagine #tbs imagines #thomasbrodiesangster #thomas sangster imagine #tbs #thomas sangster #thomas brodie sangster imagine #thomas brodie sangster smut

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spagyricqueen · 1 year ago

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The Quest For Dawn

Chapter Two

(note: I just really love this chapter in my little saga, and I wanted to share it. It's arguably my favorite, but there are many.)

For some time afterward, Tavriel and Astarion were caught up in more questions than answers. The quest was clear, but the way forward was a fog of mystery. Baldur’s Gate lay half in ruin, with the Elfsong being one of the few places that had been left unscathed during the harrowing battle against the wicked ilithid empire. When the red dragons fled, their proud riders upon them, the last of the nautiloids destroyed, the people of the city were left to scrape through the rubble and rebuild.

Astarion had left behind his home, all too glad to walk away from the palace that had been nothing more than a prison for him in his previous life. Tav had spent her time traveling light before she was snatched up by the nautiloid, and did not have any one place she had called her own. The room they rented at the Elfsong had, in its own way, become a temporary home for them both. Neither of them were bound to it, nor were they bound to their lives as they had been. The life of an adventurer was still novel, Astarion admitted to her, but once he had had a taste, it seemed he was not so willing to let it go. It was freedom. With Cazador dead and gone, his so-called siblings traveling through the Underdark to lead the hoards of spawn they had released, Astarion was driven by a new purpose.

To walk in the sun again; a vampire’s forbidden dream. Traveling by night provided safety for Astarion, but it was simultaneously fraught with peril. Where their previous adventures had counted among them a small band of capable adventurers, this time they traveled as a pair. They had each other, their wits, and extraordinary talents - but they were just two now.

Five days of traveling, and Baldur’s Gate was miles away from the camp they made. They had the luxury of horses this time, tied to the lower limb of a tree next to the small clearing by the river. Following the Coast Road south to Candlekeep had felt like a sound plan. The small breakaway streams from the river flowing south provided water for their horses - but camping next to it warranted all manner of irritations. For Tav, at least. The bugs that lingered and flew through the air in clusters reigned terror on her skin. Astarion seemed quite unaffected, though he was amused to watch her little dance of havoc, swiping and spitting when insects swarmed her head.

“They’re just bugs, darling,” he drawled, unable to hide his grin.

Tav couldn’t seem to help herself, waving her hand about her face and spitting again. “That way,” she pointed past Astarion, farther away from the river’s bank. There was a convenient outcropping of rocks where their tent could be set. The rocks would provide opaque cover for them toward the east, making sure the opening faced north. They couldn’t risk any cracks of sunlight filtering through. The walls of the waxed canvas provided enough protection for him while they waited out the daylight hours. Tavriel was thankful, and though Astarion might not easily admit to it - so was he. Begrudgingly, of course.

The better part of their travels had been spent worrying about these things; when the sun was about to break into dawn, where to build the tent, which way it would face. It was all rather tiresome, but neither she nor Astarion would admit to it. They were set on this path to remedy such inconvenience, after all.

Their bedrolls had been unfurled inside the tent, the soft furs and leather the only luxury of comfort they could reap out in the wilds. No one ever said adventuring was comfortable, but in its own way, it was. The campfire crackled merrily, casting a flickering orange glow around the site. The warm light of the fire danced against their faces, dispelling the chill of the night air.

Tavriel, her bodice and boots traded for the loose comfort of a chemise, sat with a relaxed grace. Her eyes sparkled like the stars above, equally entranced by the night sky as the man beside her. Astarion, his usually battle-ready appearance softened without his studded leather coat, seemed to blend seamlessly with the night. A plain shirt, its collar undone, revealed a tantalizing glimpse of his chest. Tavriel found him magnetic like this—his strong, lithe frame imbued with a vulnerability that his armor concealed.

As they sat with their backs against the stones, next to their tent, the attraction wasn’t just physical. There was a palpable tension in the air, electric and unspoken.

Tavriel loved how Astarion’s armor emphasized his physique, but it was moments like this—in a plain shirt and undone collar—that she felt she truly saw him. And for his part, Astarion’s eyes held a gleam of mischief, and genuine interest, as if he knew he was being looked at and relished it. Tav combed through her blue-black hair, enjoying the firelight and Astarion’s solid frame next to her while she worked. Astarion had his hands behind his head, and stared up at the stars. Occasional glances were thrown his way, her iridescent eyes twinkling like the stars above them, drinking him in as she smiled wryly.

He caught her looking, grinned, and leaned his head back again toward the glittering sky. “Like what you see, darling?”

She clicked her tongue, “Cheeky.” Of course, she couldn’t deny that he was devastatingly beautiful, just as she couldn’t help herself from feeling the warm rush of her blood color her face. But he had always been so much more than that, and it had been Tav – he would argue – who was the first to see anything else in him beyond a pretty face. You believed in me, he had said to her once, believed that I was enough… just the way I am.

Tav turned back to combing her hair, smiling to herself. A hand came to meet her head, slender fingers sliding into her hair. She hummed softly, gently working the last of the knots. The comb was set aside, and she leaned back against him. His arm wrapped lovingly around her, as she settled into watching the stars with him.

“Remarkable, aren’t they?” he said, grazing the top of her head with a kiss. The moon had set hours ago, leaving only the sparkling canvas of stars. Dawn was not far off, but for a moment - this moment - it was timeless.

“They have stories,” said Tav, “Each constellation, each shimmering dot in the night sky, has a tale to tell.”

“Do they?” he asked, feigning ignorance, “Then tell me a story, my love.” His head leaned against her hair, taking his time to drink in her scent of jasmine and lilac. Tav shifted a little, raising her hand to trace a pattern of stars with her finger.

“The circle of seven stars, there,” she began, “Mystra’s Star Circle. The goddess of the Weave has her Castle of Night situated in its center.” Astarion knew this one, of course. It was probably one of the better known constellations that even children had heard of, but despite this, he hummed in response. Tavriel continued, even as she sensed Astarion’s simulated interest, “The brightest star is called Algairtha, the Brow Star. Always pointed towards true north, and can be used if one loses their way.”

Astarion held her, offering a modicum of praise by saying, “A lovely tale.” Tav nudged his rib, causing him to jerk.

“You knew that one,” she accused, unable to help herself smiling. He laughed lightly, his ruby-red eyes sparkling with mischief, but the love he felt for her was there in equal measure.

“I might have,” he admitted, “But that’s the only one. I promise.”

Astarion felt a swell of contentment wash over him. For a moment, he forgot about the weight of the quest that lay before them, about the insidious vampirism that still lingered in his veins. All that mattered was that singular moment under the stars. It stirred Tav’s heart, seeing the unfathomable depths of love reflected in his eyes as they watched her. The belt she had worn throughout their travels was near, and she reached over to pull off a small pouch tied to it. Time seemed to slow as she held the pouch she considered in her hands, thoughts swirling in her mind that Astarion could only guess.

“What is it, love?” he had to ask. Wordlessly, Tavriel pulled out two small objects from the pouch, holding them in her closed fist.

“I had been saving these. I wasn’t sure whether to–well, I wasn’t sure.” Curious, Astarion watched her open her hand. Sitting in her palm were two rings, gold bands, one set with a brilliant sapphire, and the other a deep carnelian. “I found these in the Shadow Lands when we were there, on our last adventure. Felt like ages ago, now, but I knew they were enchanted and thought they could be useful someday. So I kept them.”

Something squeezed in Astarion’s chest at the sight of the pair of rings. His heart did not beat the way it had when he was still mortal, over two hundred years ago. In spite of this, it stirred nonetheless, and he was simply too stunned yet to speak. Tav offered him the carnelian ring. He took it, and carefully scrutinized the stone, mesmerized.

“They’re a bonded pair,” Tav continued, though she winced a little at the words, squeamish in how forward they sounded to her ears. But Astarion just stared at the ring, his thumb tracing over the stone. “A warding bond spell, cast on the one who wears the matching ring. I think it works both ways–”

“You’d like me to wear this?” His words came across harshly, and for a moment Tav thought he might have been put off. Rings were steeped in countless meanings, not least of which was the most glaring, the most obvious. Astarion had never even considered it. It had never been something he could have dreamt of, in a life as dark as his. Enslaved and enthralled to a sadistic vampire had rendered him a helpless pawn through two centuries of torture, of being used and manipulated, forced to do horrendous things.

“Only if you want to, Astarion,” said Tav gently. She was always so gentle with him, and the once-empty place in his chest ached. Never forced, never compelled, always his choice. Astarion chose, and slipped the ring onto his finger, still staring at it - and then to her. His eyes were bright, his sly smile softened as he took the ring she held. His cool, slender fingers wrapped around her hand, sliding the sapphire ring onto her own finger.

“May you always be my guiding star,” he said, uncharacteristically earnest. Astarion raised his eyes to meet hers, and Tav caught her breath. His crimson eyes were piercing, shining, as he reached to pull her toward him. The kiss was pressed to her lips with all the passion in his soul, deep and searching. She melted into him, his arms around her in a protective embrace. When he broke the kiss, it was to hold her close to him, clinging her to him. “You are my north star, my dearest Tavriel.”

It didn’t warrant a response with words. Her heart beat hard in her chest, feeling him, breathing him in, his scent of bergamot and rosemary electrifying her senses. They retreated into their tent, safe from the creeping light of the dawn. Clothes were shed, and they relished in each other, nude and buried in the soft furs of their bedrolls.

#ao3 fanfic #baldur's gate 3 #astarion fanfic #astarion #fanfiction #fanfic #soft astarion

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starswordneo · 9 months ago

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Switch's Hypothetical Minecraft update!

I've been brewing up a fun idea for a minecraft update that'll help refresh a bit of the general minecraft gameplay. None of this I think would be too intrusive, but rather expand on already existing concepts! Warning, nerdy and excited rambling below! If I had to give this update a title, it'd probably be "The Rewind & Refresh" or "Retread & Rework" update. Something to do with going back and giving love to older things!

--------- MOBS

--- PHANTOM REWORK

Now, Phantoms are a hated mob and I think that's kinda fair. Phantoms make the early game a bit bothersome if you don't want to rush, so here's my idea:

The Phantom and the new mob I introduce next are locked behind the day counter. In Minecraft, there's already a difficulty based on the amount of time passed. The Phantoms cannot start spawning until Day 15 has hit. If the player has not slept in 4 days, 1 Phantom will spawn and hunt the player, Day 5, 6, 7 will do the same. On the 8th day, 3 Phantoms will spawn, same for Day 9, 10, and 11. Once you hit Day 12, 5 Phantoms will spawn daily, until the player rests. After the player sleeps, the Phantom counter will go back to default, and the cycle will repeat.

--- THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN

After Day 20, a new mob will spawn, The Headless Horseman. The Headless horseman is a headless mob that rides a spooky Zombie Horse. It has a 0.5% chance to spawn every night, with a 2% chance on New Moons, and an additional 2% on Dark Oak, for a total of 4% in a Dark Oak Forest biome on a New Moon. They cannot spawn below y=50, so they are a surface only mob. If a Headless horseman spawns, another cannot spawn in a 75 block radius.

The Headless horseman attacks you by ramming into you with their Zombie Horse, much like a Goat does. This attack can deal 2/4/6 Hearts of damage on Easy/Normal/Hard. If the headless Horseman's horse dies, the Headless horseman will slowly perish. The Headless Horseman also burns during the day.

Once the Headless Horseman dies, they will drop 2-3 Iron OR 2-3 Gold, with a 20% chance to drop an enchantment book. (Fire Aspect, Unbreaking (I-III), Mending), and a 10% to drop 3 Emeralds.

The Headless horseman has a weakness, if the ground is less than 4 blocks deep, and there's water below it, or a pit at least 5 blocks deep, the Headless Horseman CANNOT pass, referring to the fairy tale.

--- NETHER WHALES

Nether whales are an endangered and mostly ambient mob that spawn in the Lava Ocean biomes. Nether Whales are 6 blocks long, 3 blocks wide, and 2 blocks tall. If a Nether Whale finds itself on land, it will explode with a power of a Charged Creeper. Nether Whales are preyed upon by Ghasts, and Nether Whales prey upon Baby Striders.

--------- THE DEEPER MOBS...

The Deep Sea is a part of the world I love, seeing all sorts of weird and strange creatures, like Anglerfish, barreleye fish, and Minecraft introducing deeper caves and the Deep Dark was something I was ECSTATIC to see! But, not much has been done JUST yet for the deeper mines. Here's my proposals!

--- COBWEBBED CREEPERS

Below y0, Creepers have a 10% chance to become Cobwebbed Creepers. Cobwebbed Creepers are slower, paler, and bulkier creepers. The creeper noises they make are mixed with Spider noises. They take a few extra seconds to explode, and when they do... 0-2 Cave spiders, and 0-1 Spiders spawn! The Cobwebbed Creeper's explosion is also weaker, only destroying blocks in a 3x3x3 area with an extra middle block in each direction. The danger of the Cobwebbed Creepers are that they spawn spiders, however, if you kill the Cobwebbed Creepers before they explode, they give 50 XP, roughly the same of 4 zombies at once.

Cobwebbed Creepers are weak to Bane of Arthropods, giving the enchantment more of a use for these bulkier and deadlier creepers.

--- CAVE SPIDER REWORK

Cave Spiders are a mob that ONLY spawn in Mineshaft Cave Spider Spawners. This is strange, considering their name. I propose they spawn at Y-20, replacing spiders 50% of the time. They also have only half the health of a regular spider. They still contain their poisonous abilities.

--- IGNEOUS ZOMBIES

Below y-20, and in Lava, Igneous Zombies can spawn. They're rocky zombies who are immune to lava! Once they spot a player, they slightly quickly make their way to the Player, and upon attacking, they light the player on Fire! They are frailer but quicker, and upon death, drops 2-4 Deepslate, and rarely, a cooked Potato, Golden Carrot or Steak. Baby and Villager Igneous Zombies don't exist.

Igneous Zombies are especially weak to Snowballs and Water, similar to Blazes.

--- SPECTERS

Below y-10 are the Specters. They're distant cousins to the Phantoms, appearing to Miners who haven't slept in 5 days. When they spot a player who hasn't slept, they'll bounce up from the ground, jumping 3 blocks high, and then slowly glide down to you. Anything they'll hit will be pushed out of the way, triggering Infighting, and dealing 1/3/5 hearts of damage. If they hit a wall while gliding, they'll take a good couple hearts of damage.

Killing them will make them drop Phantom Membranes, and rarely, a fish.

--------- CROPS

I'd also like to introduce 3 new crops, Corn, Tomatoes, and Nether Cattails

--- CORN

Corn is a 1x1x2 block crop that takes 12 stages to fully grow. Once it's ready to harvest, the 2 blocks it occupies can give 1-2 corn each, for a total of 2-4 Corn. This will set it back 5 stages, and will eventually grow back. Corn, when eaten, can restore 5 hunger (2.5 Meats). Cooking it on a Campfire will get you Roasted Corn, which will restore 7 Hunger (3.5 meats). Roasted Corn cannot be cooked in a Furnace. When eaten, Corn gives Cob, which can be used for Composting!

3 Corn in a row can be crafted into 2 Corn Seeds, which can be grown. Corn Seeds can be obtained in Villages, Zombies, or with a 1% Chance from Grass!

If you put 6 Bonemeal above and below, you'll get 12 Cornmeal! Cornmeal is a food item used with all farm Animals! (Pigs, Cows, Chickens, Sheep, etc etc). When used, Cornmeal has a 80% Chance to put an animal into Love mode.

--- TOMATOES

Tomatoes are another crop I'd like to introduce. When planted, it is 1x1x1, however, by placing a Fence Post, the plant can grow upwards, to a maximum to 3 blocks. When harvested after 6 stages, you get 2-3 Tomatoes, for a max of 6-9 Tomatoes! Tomatoes can be cooked like Corn, only via Campfire. Raw tomatoes give 2 Hunger (1 Meat), Roasted gives 4 Hunger (2 Meats)

With 2 Bread in the middle top and bottom, 1 Meat (Steak, Cooked Porkchop, Mutton), and 2 Veggies (Corn, Potatoes, Carrots, Tomatoes), you can craft a Sandwich! Sandwiches are unstackable foods with a unique feature, Durability! When eaten, it restores 14 Hunger, (7 Meats!!), and can be eaten 4 times. The Sandwich is a powerful food item, but takes 1.5x as long to eat then your usual meal.

With 3 Tomatoes, Milk, a Bucket, and 2 other Veggies, you can make Tomato Soup. Tomato Soup restores 8 Hunger (4 Meats), as well as cures all negative effects, leaving positive effects alone!

Tomatoes have one final feature, they can be placed like Sea Pickles, Turtle eggs and Candles! They can stack up to 14 times, in a pyramid formation. Tomatoes serve a more niche and decorate use.

--- NETHER CATTAILS

Nether Cattails are a plant that either grows next to, or in Lava! Nether Cattails can grow up to 4 blocks tall, and then creates a Nether Cattail tip. When it grows an extra stage, using the block will let it explode into 5-10 random dyes, (Blue Dye is replaced with Lapis!) and 1 Cattail seed. After a some time, it'll regrow. Nether Cattails would be a fun new addition to Nether Oceans, being their version of Sugarcane & Kelp!

Nether Cattails, when broken, can give you its Pod, and its stems. The Cattail stem can be used to make Paper, and the Pod can be used as a flint replacement for arrows! Nether Cattail Pods can be eaten, removing 2 Hunger, and giving 30 seconds of Fire, Nausea, and poison.

--------- STRUCTURES

Some Dungeons have simply been left to rot, with varying amounts of care to them,I'd like to simply refresh a couple!

--- PYRAMIDS

Pyramids are slightly bigger, and the interior will be re-decorated to be more egyptian themed. Normal Sandstone Pyramids will have 3 types of pits below the Blue Terracotta.

Type 1 will be the classic type, the old 4 chests with a tnt trap in the center!

Type 2 will be a stairway downwards, leading to a split hallway, as the end of the sides is a double chest filled with Treasure! A tripwire hook will also be hiding in the hallway, don't disarm it, and you'll explode!

Type 3 will contain a spiral staircase and once at the bottom, there's a large hallway with 4 rooms on the sides, each having loot. 3 of them are safe, and 1 is dangerous. The player can figure out the safe chest by checking the flooring, if the floor is red, rather then orange, that room is dangerous!

--- JUNGLE TEMPLES

Jungle Temples just need a general re-building. using Stone Bricks and their mossy counterparts along with Cobblestone! Some new varients of Jungle Temples would be lovely!

--- DUNGEONS

Classic Dungeons are a staple, and I propose a simple addition, Classic Dungeons can generate in different shapes! Spheres, Pyramids, Rectangles, Hexagons. To add to this, new Mob types can be generated, Creeper Dungeons, Cave Spider Dungeons, Stray Dungeons (in Snow Biomes) and Husk Dungeons (in Desert Biomes) can generate! Dungeons can contain Gold, Diamond,Emeralds, Melon & Pumpkin seeds, and 3 items regarding the mob type the dungeon spawned with. Zombies get Smite enchantment books, Carrots and Potatoes, Skeletons give Bows, bones and Bone blocks, Creepers give TNT, Gunpowder and Flint, the list goes on. The dungeons retain their old selves, but getting fun new variations!

---- STRONGHOLDS

Strongholds are a staple of Minecraft, but they have been left to rot, which is terrible considering the IMPORTANCE of them! So, My rework would be this: The Eye of Ender would lead you to a guaranteed room, the Center of a End Stronghold. There, there can be up to 4 paths, a path going down, one going up, and two paths to the side. One of these paths will take you to the End Portal Room. Id request for End Strongholds to be given more layouts and rooms, as well as updates to the general building style. Add some red wool for the floor, and in hallways, have a few spawners with Cave Spiders and zombies, to make the trip tougher. Have Soulfire Lanturns lighting up the hallways, and some arrow traps cleverly hidden with tripwires. Stronghold libraries should be a bit larger and grandiose, with cobwebs and the new bookshelves, perhaps even use them for secret entrances if you find the shelf for a room of loot! Endermen have a slightly increased spawn rate here as well.

Of course, at the end above lava is the End portal frame, with lava pouring at the sides. Make it look pretty using Deepslate, Purpur blocks, Gold and Diamond blocks, with a couple chests of end game loot. The End Stronghold deserves a lot of love for what it is about.

--- NETHER FORTRESSES

Nether Fortresses are also very important considering they're the only places Blaze can spawn. Now my proposal is simply, use the new Netherbrick blocks, and make the flooring Red Netherbrick, or have the bottom sides be used. Nether Fortresses are a bit hard to play in due to how dark the blocks are. I'd also make them form in a more grid-like structure. Every chunk, the Fortress attempts to generate either a hallway in the correct direction, stairs, a unique piece, or a dead end.

Unique Pieces would include the Lava Well, Blaze Room, Netherwart Gardens, Netherwart Tree room, Room Splitters, Staircases, or Large Rooms. Roughly 25% of Dead ends will end with a Blaze Cage room, and there's always one garunteed to spawn. There could be more types of special rooms, but this is just a general idea of how they could be reworked. Nether Fortresses that have hallways go down could twist into themselves and become multi-layered, making them not as flat as they usually are.

If a Nether Fortress is spawned in a Soulsand Valley or Warped Forest, the Nether Fortress would be made out of Warped Netherbrick (A block I'm adding :)), and Blazes become Soulfire Blazes. They'll be stronger but drop more Blaze Rods, as well as more XP.

--- NETHER MINESHAFTS & PIGLIN SKELETONS

According to Mojang, Piglins have mined the ENTIRE nether out, and that's why there is no Netherite ore. However, I'd love to expand on that! Piglin Mineshafts are similar to normal mineshafts, but instead of being 3 wide and tall, it's 5 wide and 5 tall, with polished Basalt Pillars and Blackstone Brick roofs. They spawn at Y35 and below, and have a higher chance of Ancient Debris, Gold and Quartz!

However, this is not free, Piglin Skeletons spawn in this structure, and have recalled a bit of their old instincts. If you mine Gold, Quartz or Ancient Debris in a 4x4x4 area, they'll attack you. Netherrack is fine, however. Making barriers and or defeating them will let you reap the rewards of this structure!

--- PIGLIN EXCAVATION SITES

Piglin Excavation sites are very rare structures that create a wide pit with a spiral staircase to the bottom. There's plenty of ores to mine, and jn the center is a Piglin Watchtower with a bunch of golden tools, enchantment books, and weapons. These contain Piglin Brutes & Piglins. They go pretty deep and are rather large structures, about half the size of a Woodland Mansion. They only appear in Nether Wastes.

--- QUARTZ DEPOSITS

Quartz Caves spawn occasionally in the nether. they appear as slits, with Quartz Crystals, Nether Quartz Ore, and Quartz Blocks. there is also Packed Quartz Ore, blocks that give tons of Quartz and XP.

--- STRIDER DENS, ELDER STRIDERS, & RUBIES

in Nether Oceans, you can occasionally find a tube of Blackstone containing Striders and Elder Striders. In this tube are small pockets of Lava in a blackstone floor, being the Strider beds they rest at. Elder Striders are Striders whos hair has grown out, giving them bushy staches and eyebrows. They're neutral mobs, hurting a Strider or Elder Strider will not be without punishment, as they'll shoot out Lava Spitballs! These don't explode, but will light the player on fire for a very short bit.

In Strider nests, you'll find a new ore! Ruby Ore. Rubies are the Diamonds of the Nether, and can be used to make a Ruby Enchantment Table. Rubies can also be used on a strider to make them like you for a few minutes, gaining a speed boost and allowing you to control them, even without a saddle! Striders LOVE rubies, and collect them to decorate their homes. They'll follow you if you hold one in your hand as well.

--- GHAST GLOWSTONE PODS

On the roofs of the Nether, are LARGE deposits of Glowstone, hollowed out. These are Ghast Pods, homes of the Ghast. Ghasts have made a home similar to beehives, and roam around them. This makes small glowstone deposits into unfinished or abandoned houses for the Ghasts. They are a jackpot of Glowstone, but 1-3 Ghasts will always be around them, protecting their home.

--- NETHER PILLAR BIOME

The Nether Pillars Biome would be a Lava Ocean specific biome where large netherrack pillars are formed from the ceiling to the floor, this biome has no special features, but is a fun ambient biome.

--------- ITEMS & BLOCKS

Rubies can be found in Strider dens or rarely in Basalt Deltas. They can be used to make Ruby Blocks and Ruby Enchantment Tables. Giving them to a strider makes them happy, and allows you to ride them without a saddle for a short time, being almost akin to a Taxi. Ruby Ore is affected by Fortune.

Red Netherbrick will be given a full set, and Warped Netherbrick will be added and also have a full set as well. Soulsand can be made into Soulsandstone, and get a set as well.

Condensed Nether Quartz is a rare block in Nether Quartz Slits, and contain 6 Quartz, and gives a LOAD of XP. They are affected by Fortune.

Nether Cattail Stems and Nether Cattail Pods are a block that can be placed, Pods can be stepped on and deal damage akin to a Berry bush. Cattai Stems are like Sugarcane, and be turned into Sugar or Paper, and the Pods can be used for exploding into Dyes, or crafted into Arrows as a flint replacement!

Iron can now Oxidize into a brown-red rust. I've always dreamed of having iron rust after Copper was given this ability. Oxidized Iron would be a different flavor, which would be perfect for spooky industrial buildings, or showing a different kind of age.

Copper is a item & block that needs more general usage, and that will be the ability to substitute Piston's iron with Copper, or making Copper Anvils. Copper Anvils would have less durability then a typical anvil, and be made purely of Copper Blocks, but would fill the same purpose. Copper can also be used as a substitute for Iron in a few more recipes, lightening the amount of Iron a player needs to use, and giving copper some more strength for usage.

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Thank you so much for reading my silly little wishlist of things! I was bursting with ideas and have been working on this for about a week. I just wanna expand on existing features and or re-work a few of them to truly let them shine! I added in a lot of new nether mobs, mostly because the Nether Update was one of my favorite updates, but it needed just one more kick to get it fully topped off! The Lava Oceans needed just a small push! Eventually, I'll see about making some concept art for these mobs, structures and biomes! But with that said, I'd love to hear thoughts on these mobs, structures and general reworks! ^-^

#Minecraft #Mojang #Minecraft Ideas #My Stuff #Phantoms #Headless horsemen #Creepers #Ghasts #Striders #Piglins

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