#sanders sides vampire the masquerade

[pattons-second-cookie-v2]

I will be going on hiatus as I work up whichever wins the final result. PREVIEW WILL BE POSTED ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

Character Summaries will give a brief breakdown on each characters’ physical and actual age, vampiric bloodline, and what role they play for the Masquerade.

The Relationship Map will be a color-coded diagram (or two) showing how each character corresponds to one another. (I will spoil now that while some characters are romantically entangled, others are supernaturally bound)

*I once again will say if anyone wishes to be tagged in this project please mention it on any of my post marked #sanders sides vampire au or DM me*

Tag List: @sethlost @thearomanticsnake

[lefaystrent]

YESSS!! Oh my goodness, I would love to read it! Vtm is such an old buggy game, but it's rich with lore and the vampire clans are so cool. Malkavians were always my favorite, but I imagine Thomas would be more of a Toreador, since they're closest to humanity and love beauty and art. But there's countless ways you could spin a story in its universe.

Man, I might have to write my au for it now. I'm feeling inspired!

Random Sanders Sides Story Ideas

1. Patton is used to repressing his feelings. What he's not used to is repressing his new wolfish tendencies. In which Patton finds out he's a literal Woof Man and tries desperately to hide it from his roommates in increasingly ridiculous ways.

2. Thomas finds himself isekaied into a fantasy world where humans apparently don't exist. The mythical creatures he meets there may be ablento help him get home, if he can just get them to work together. Featuring centaur!Roman, faun!Patton, merfolk!Logan, naga!Janus, harpy!Remus, and drider!Virgil.

3. An AU of the cult classic game Vampire: the Masquerade- Bloodlines. Thomas is an ancient vampire who doesn't like to play a part in the petty clan politics. Over the centuries, he ends up gaining a collective of ghoul underlings who are more like family. Living peacefully becomes hard when the most recent ghoul he takes in, Virgil, becomes caught in the crossfire of a breach in the Masquerade.

4. Remus is a stuntman who's broken every bone in his body and then some. Roman, the leading actor of the movie they're working on, is becoming suspicious if the man is even human. As truths are revealed, the suspenseful horror film starts becoming reality, and Roman refuses to become a victim. Featuring make-up artist Janus, director Patton, script-writer Logan, and cameraman Virgil.

5. Janus, a powerful arch fae, is banished from his grove when his disdain towards humans becomes too great. Believing himself to be superior, Janus dives head first into human society to prove his point. Alternatively, local arch fae gets kicked out of his fairy ring and immediately gets stabbed upon entering human society. It'd be a shame if some humans were to take pity on him and make him experience...emotions. Featuring truth-seekers/monster-hunters Virgil and Remus.

[mscoffeesq]

Vampire the Masquerade: Boston is Healing, Session 1

List of Player Characters, including the initial of their player to denote who played who.

(M) Sophia Blanchard - Toreador, Prince of the Boston Camarilla (Survived) 

(Jaq) Cait Harkness - Salubri, Escaped to parts unknown 

(R) Gabriel Sanders - Ghoul, Deceased (Killed by Malkavian Anarch) 

(S) Aksel Palensen- Tremere, Deceased (Killed in Sabbat Raid) 

(Jac) Roy Vestry - Gangrel, Deceased (Ambushed by a Sniper) 

(R) Geoffrey Williamson - Gangrel, Deceased (Botched a Diablerie Roll) 

(Jaq) Jessie Parks - Caitiff, Deceased (Killed in Sabbat Raid) 

(R) Mama Mtshali - Nosferatu, Deceased (Killed in Sabbat Raid) 

The Story So Far -  

The year is 2022. After a brutal Second Inquisition (SI) attack on Boston the population of Kindred in the city dropped drastically, down to about half of what it once was. The Camarilla, who control the city, lost a prominent Harpy, two Primogen members, and the previous Scourge in the attack. The Prince, Coth, is currently trying to hold his position and repair the city while other parties try and squirm their way into power- the Anarchs have been growing restless, and there are rumors that Sabbat forces have been making designs on the city. Even Clan Giovanni, who spend most of their time in Lynn, have been branching out after the attack to try and secure new territory. Coth has been meeting with the Baron, leader of the Anarchs, in order to broker somewhat of a peace between the two sides. Recently, the Prince has invited a select group of Camarilla to a party within Elysium for a very special, but secretive, event. 

  

Session 1 -  

Gabriel decides to take a walk around his domain to check on things before going off to Elysium. There are currently mortals and ghouls putting up decor and equipment for an event. Some are wearing tiger masks of varying colors. The Keeper, Krow, seems to be talking to a woman, wearing old fashioned dress and heavy dark makeup, a large hat, and orange hair. The woman appears to be being scolded. 

The Elysium is 3 floors, including a hidden basement area. Gabriel sits down at the bar, where a ghoul tells him that the vessels are being reserved for the event coming up. The ghoul offers a boon in exchange for the inconvenience: 2 free vessels the next time Gabriel comes in. 

The ghoul mentions that a very special guest will be coming the following night. Gabriel goes to talk with the Keeper who begins to whisper to the woman before going off to her quarters. Gabriel decides to speak with the woman now that she's alone. The woman is supernaturally beautiful- almost like her features were sculpted to be perfect. 

She introduces herself as Lucy, and offers her hand to be kissed by Gabriel. He notices that her fingernails are long and sharp, and look more like bones pushed out of her fingers to make claws. She says that she arrived in town last week. 

Lucy asks what the crime rate in the city is, and how many crimes Gabriel could pull off without being noticed. He says it depends on the crime. She says that a friend of hers has arrived and leaves to meet up with someone Gabriel didn't notice. 

Aksel is at the closed Boston Aquarium with his sire, Dylan, who asked to meet with him. Richard is wearing casual clothing, with something in his back pocket. Aksel has a plush penguin in his arms as he approaches his sire. 

He gives the penguin to his sire as a gift, before his sire lets him know that a special guest is arriving in the city tonight. He says that it is someone higher up in the ranks of the Camarilla, and that a public announcement of their arrival will be the next evening. 

Dylan also lets Aksel know that he will need to get himself proper attire, as he will be going to the event in his sire's stead. His sire also tells him that his groupies will not be invited to the party, so not to bring them. He also mentions an "accident" (murder) in a theater in town- and to keep an eye out for trouble. The party is scheduled for 9pm the next night. 

His sire says that he'll be returning to his school for thaumaturgy and bids Aksel a good night. Aksel steals a crocodile plushie on his way out. 

Roy is at his house, and hears a knock at the door. Immediately the door is kicked and someone is trying to get into the house. A bird flies into the room before the person manages to break in, 

and it's Roy's sire and wife, Stephanie. 

She is upset after an altercation with a raccoon who stole her ball with her hamster inside. On top of that, the bag she's carrying breaks and spills its contents all over the floor. Some birds come in and help clean it up. 

She asks Roy how he's doing, and Roy says that he's been working on his book. She lets him know that there was a letter for him. It's in a black envelope, and written on very nice paper. 

The letter is from Krow, letting him know of the upcoming event and contact information for him to get in touch with. There is also a threat to not embarrass anyone. 

Stephanie is shocked to see the letter once she reads it. She suggests he go, because she believes it will be some sort of promotion. She also suggests bringing a gift, because the Prince likes gifts, and recommends a dove.  

Roy starts preparing his formal clothes for the next day. 

Sophia takes Cait to her favorite club in town- the Delirium. Carl the bouncer of Delirium lets them in no problem. The bar is jungle themed, but also sort of like an idea of heaven mixed with a jungle. The staff wear animal masks and angel outfits with small angel wings. The wings don't appear to be connected to their clothes though, and move as if they are natural wings. 

The club is very packed. The rules are that you can feast on anyone you want except staff, you just can't kill people. Cait uses Auspex and notices 3 other Kindred in the club, including the owner who seems uninterested in what's going on. 

Sophia scans around the club and sees a gentleman who looks out of place and like he was dragged to the bar. Sophia taps his shoulder and introduces herself. He says that the owner has been throwing him off and says that her tongue is weird.  

Sophia grabs the man, Will, by the arm and takes him to meet Ember. Her tongue sticks out a bit but she pulls it back. Ember offers to take him to show him around the club. He notices her eyes. Will still goes with her, and points out another Toreador in the bar. 

There's another woman in the bar who appears to be very drunk. Sophia passes up the opportunity to drink because she doesn't want to get too drunk and instead takes Cait out to dance. Sophia accidentally steps on a black envelope. The stamp on the envelope is a Krown with a cross on it. The letter is written in Spanish, not in English. 

Ember stops the two of them, whispers something to an angel, and brings out a bottle to give to Sophia that smells extra sweet. Sophia and Cait go off back to Cait's apartment to see if her girlfriend can read the letter for them. 

Cait's fiancée, Maria, is watching TV when they arrive. She translates it for them, but seems confused and concerned. She says that there's a party at the Langham Hotel. The invitation seems to be for someone named Isabelle or Isabella Ferrari. It also seems to mention the Friends of Night. 

 Maria lets Cait know that her friend Sakura was there earlier and left a notepad for her. Sophia decides to leave the two of them alone for the night to go enjoy herself, but tells Cait they will be clothes shopping before the event. 

Maria says that she should go in order to keep Sophia safe, but Cait promises to leave if things go south. She also tells Cait about an attack on the theater, where some audience members were disoriented and some were even still singing when they were found. Police said there were heavy casualties, but are stumped by it. 

Gabriel goes to pick up a suit before the event. Something sensible that won't stand out too much. He also makes sure his car is working well. 

Aksel makes sure that he has a suit ready to go, one that is used for occult gathering. He also attempts to steal a penguin from the aquarium but fails. He calls his mentor, Richard, to ask what the proper attire would be to make sure he is right. 

Roy prepares his suit and then goes to find a dove to give the Prince as a present, but only manages to find pigeons. Even then he's not able to catch any. 

Sophia enjoys a nice bath and the blood she got from Ember while making calls to set up a limo and new clothes for her and Cait. 

Cait decides to call her sire, Deirdre, to ask about the Friends of the Night and the seal on the letter. The Krown symbol appears to be Lasombra, but she isn't familiar with the Friends of the Night. Deirdre also warns Cait to not be out by herself, as things haven't been safe. 

As Sophia goes to pick up Cait, she notices a woman outside struggling. The woman says she's a friend of Cait's from school. Sakura had come over to hang out with Maria while they're out 

tonight. 

Sophia takes one of the coffees meant for Cait which she had to turn down, but Sophia spits it out in a bush once they're all inside. They continue on to the hotel, with Cait changing into 

her nicer outfit Sophia got for her. 

Aksel, Gabriel, and Roy arrive at the hotel together. They are catching up together when Sophia and Cait arrive. They talk together for a bit, when Gabriel notices Lucy arrive. Sophia and Gabriel notice that she's not going into the regular entrance to Elysium. 

The desk attendant, Juliet, asks us for our invites. She is confused by the fact that Sophia and Cait's invite is different from the others. She takes Aksel and Roy's invitation no problem. When she gets to Cait and Sophia’s invite, she calls her partner Romeo to the desk. Romeo is very well dressed, and could be a Ventrue or Toreador. Romeo runs off, while Juliet questions us: Romeo comes back and sends them in, but does not give the invite back like they had for the others. Juliet gives the group five cards, one for each of them. 

Sophia admits to Aksel that they weren't actually invited, and asks if Isabelle or Isabella Ferrari means anything to anyone. Roy thinks the name sounds familiar, they are an important Kindred, but he doesn't know for which clan. Aksel knows that they're an important member of the Camarilla. A high ranking society member. 

Sophia wonders how the invite for such a high up member would have wound up on the floor of Delirium. Isabella Ferrari is the daughter of the Ferrari CEO. She always seems to be near a body of water in every picture. She has a tattoo of a name in German, possibly a company or something. 

When they enter Elysium, Cait activates Auspex. She catches 13 pale auras (Kindred) among a lot of vessels. The Ventrue and Tremere Primogens also appear to be there. 

Aksel goes to speak to the Tremere Primogen briefly before going to a powder room and then rejoining the coterie. 

A bit later, someone approaches us who looks very rough compared to everyone else and is dirty and bloodstained. He plops down next to Aksel and introduces himself as Jakeup Cooper. Jakeup is confused as to why he's at the event. Sophia recognizes him and he recognizes her. She knows that he's a Gangrel. 

He's usually seen conversing with an odd gentleman who visits Elysium now and then. He wonders where the Prince and Sheriff are, and points out that the dress code is odd. They all get into a tiff about tailcoats, before Jakeup points out to the Keeper who looks angry and ready to snap. 

Jakeup wonders who the special guest is. Apparently, we're the only coterie at the event which is why he wanted to hang out with us. He claims that he doesn't want to talk to anyone because they're mostly Tremere or Toreador. He says that he spends most of his time by the harbor. 

He asks us our names, and we introduce ourselves. Aksel performs a sleight of hand trick for everyone. The lights begin to dim. We get on the subject of kids (as in vampire children, who could be any age) because Jakeup mentions a kid he adopted. Aksel says he adopted 3 other people's kids, sort of. 

The Keeper gets everyone's attention and lets the crowd know that the Prince is running late. She says that the special guest is here to speak with the group because of our special skills. A shadow takes the form of a person, who is supernaturally beautiful with a symbol tattoo that none of us recognize. 

She introduces herself as Silhouette. She says she is looking for an object, a sort of black and silver key with three bits. All of us survived the attack, and are loyal to the camarilla. She wants us to search the city for the key, and promises a reward to whoever finds it. Gabriel and Sophia realize that she's heading to the large pool within Elysium after she finishes. 

We ask Jakeup to leave so we can speak alone. Gabriel looks under the cushions to see if the key is under there. They talk for a while before Aksel goes off to get a drink. Suddenly, the doors are pushed open by the Prince, Coth, and his Sheriff, Emma. He starts talking with the Keeper, and asks where the special guest is. 

The Sheriff whispers something to him, and he turns to look at us. Krow hands him a tablet which he checks before handing it back and walks over to our coterie and asks us our names. He's fairly familiar with Sophia, Gabriel, and Roy's sire Stephanie. 

The dress code was apparently a request from Silhouette. He wishes us well, and recommends the blood for the evening. We are all talking again when the Prince suddenly comes back, and demands that the five of us go speak to Silhouette. Aksel asks quickly if the Prince's nickname, The Three Legged King, refers to his endowment or not, and if it's okay to call him that. The Prince seems to be okay with it and finds it humorous. 

We go to meet with Silhouette, and there are tendrils reaching around her in the pool. She confronts us over the fact that most of us were not actually invited to the event, and wonders if someone was trying to get us killed. She invites us to swim with her. Gabriel jumps in and discovers that the tendrils are actually coming off of her dress. 

She asks if we still intend to find the key. We discover that her name is Isabella. She asks if we're associated with the Camarilla, and we explain our ties to the faction. She asks for Romeo to be summoned. Isabella recommends we go to the Empyrium Theater, where the attack happened. She assumes that the attack was caused by something searching for the relic. 

Romeo comes back with the letter Sophia and Cait had found and Isabella tears it up and destroys it. She asks that we not cause any issues in the city while she is observing things. One of the attendants says that Juliet needs Isabella's attention because of trouble in London. 

Aksel remembers the conversation earlier and says that he adopted his brother's kids until they became adults. Gabriel dries himself off. By the time we return to the party, most of the Kindred are gone and only a few people are left. 

Sophia and Cait run back by Sophia's apartment to change into more sensible clothing, and Sophia grabs her pistol. Gabriel runs back to his place to change and grab his rifle. Roys heads back to his place to change and sees his sire sleeping on the sofa, covered in bunnies. Aksel goes home to change, calls his mentor, and sets up a few things for his business. 

Aksel's mentor says that he's familiar with the name Isabella Ferrari, and that she's a Lasombra Antitribu Archon. Richard says he's concerned about things with her in town. 

Sophia finds a letter on her table. White with a rose design on it. The letter is written in messy cursive. 

“Pleasure to meet you! This is weird, but I'm making my way to Boston. We are technically sisters and I'd like to meet you. I should be there in around 3 days, and I'm looking forward to seeing you. I don't really know how to end a letter, 

Okay bye!” 

Sophia is a little upset because this implies that Russel sired another vampire, who is on her way to Boston now. 

End of Session 1 - 3 xp gained per player. 

[sidewritings]

Virgil’s Carnival

Summary: It’s a trip

Pairings: A sprinkle of Prinxiety

Genres: I have no idea what this is

Warnings: sketchy, weird, possible suspenseful, references the devil

Word Count: 1326

Author’s Note: This fic is a product of hexcellent writing advice from  @theonlyjelly-iwillput-inmybelly, a song from @novagalaxy4real ‘s playlist, my old aesthetic, and a heaping helping of The Devil’s Carnival

Virgil opened his eyes, 'well,' he thought, 'this is new.'   He'd had plenty of nightmares over the years in many different styles: silent black and white film, realistic, cartoon, horror, and more, but he'd never had a nightmare about a carnival. 

He was standing in front of a ticket booth at night outside what looked like an old, decrepit carnival with a fence around it.  To be fair, he'd never been to a real carnival, but the absence of a sign with the name of the place on it was a bit sketchy.  Another odd thing, the calliope music he could hear from somewhere inside one of the tents was playing some kind of waltz.

But, it was his nightmare, and he would just have to play along until he woke up.  Virgil stepped up to the ticket booth where a thin, balding old man stood.

“Ticket, please,” the old ticket-keeper said, his voice low and gravely.

“I don't ha-” Virgil was surprised when he looked down and saw a ticket in his hand.  It read: “Carnival: Admit One” with the number 666 printed on each end.  'Well, at least they'd gotten his number right,' he thought, ruefully, before handing over his ticket.

The ticket-keeper gestured him to enter and Virgil went to the gate, which opened without visible provocation.  Virgil stepped through, and the gate squeaked shut behind him, closing with a metallic clang.

The dirt paths of the carnival twisted around faded yellow and red tents, past buildings with peeling paint and dilapidated shutters, and by booths, once brightly lit with cheerful signage, now dark with cracked and faded signs, where there were still signs at all.  Virgil walked through with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.  There were hardly any people there, which meant it was probably a jump-scare nightmare or a chase nightmare.  He shuddered, he didn't like either of those.  The Calliope music still played faintly from...somewhere, he couldn't pinpoint the direction. 

A 'hobo clown' sat on the ground at the corner of a game booth. As Virgil passed, he held out his hat, ratty and with a few holes in it, wordlessly asking for change.  Virgil dug in the pockets of his jeans, surprised to find a dollar and some spare change.  He grabbed all of it and dropped it in the man's hat, hurrying on.  The clown looked a bit sinister, and he didn't want to be around him any longer than necessary.

Virgil wandered along a path between two tents, passing by a tall, muscular man with a large scar on his face.  The man held a whip and glared at Virgil as he passed, but he didn't speak or follow him. Virgil was a little surprised, his dreams were usually a lot more, well terrifying than this by now, not that walking past the carnival workers was enjoyable, but they weren't chasing him or harassing him or tearing him limb from limb.  Virgil's shoulders relaxed a smidge, maybe this dream wasn't so bad. 

He walked past a merry-go-round where a woman made up to look like a broken china doll stood.  She crooked her finger at him, gesturing him to follow her.  Virgil mentally shrugged and followed her towards one of the tents.  She slipped inside a flap in the tent, there was a sign on the ground that looked like it had fallen down from over the flap that read “Employees Only.”  Virgil stopped.  The woman's hand appeared through the opening, crooking her finger again.  He rolled his eyes and turned around, walking away. 'Nice try lady,' he thought, 'use it on someone who isn't gay next time.

Virgil finally heard it, the calliope music growing louder as he approached the center of the carnival.  He followed the music towards a large, circular tent and walked around it, looking for an entrance. He finally found one that read “All Welcome” and entered.  The same strange waltz he'd heard when he first arrived was still playing, all at once comfortingly odd and familiar.

Inside the tent were a few rows of seats, all empty, and the center 'ring' was clear, empty save for one man with purple hair standing back to him in a warm yellow spotlight.  Virgil took in the man's tight black pants and shiny black boots, such a startlingly clean contrast to the faded, grimy look of the rest of the carnival and its employees.  The jacket he wore was startlingly crisp and clean too, white with red and gold trim.  His hair fell perfectly too, and Virgil knew who it was. 

'It's a nightmare,' his mind shouted at him, 'this won't end well!'  Virgil didn't listen, couldn't listen to it.  He was drawn forward like a moth to a flame, stepping into the center ring and into the spotlight.  The man turned around and Roman, handsome, princely, exasperating Roman smiled at him.  His heart fluttered, this felt different.  This didn't feel like a nightmare.  It felt like...

Roman bowed and offered Virgil his hand looking up at him through his lashes.  Virgil felt him put his hand in Roman's without consciously choosing to do so.  Roman settled Virgil's hand on Roman's shoulder and set his on Virgil's waist.  Virgil stood, stock still as Roman took his other hand in his and began to lead him through a waltz.  Virgil had never danced, had never been good at it and had never tried to improve, but suddenly he was gliding, almost floating on air as Roman lead him through the lilting pattern of the dance around the tent.

Virgil paid no mind as the spotlight followed them, took no heed as the tent filled with the carnival employees, and was completely oblivious even as the owner of the carnival, Satan himself entered. He wasn't aware of anything outside of their little pool of light, or even outside the circle of Roman's arms.  Roman lead him through a few gentle turns and a couple more showy steps and Virgil matched him gracefully in their strange duet.

“Is this a nightmare?” He finally asked Roman in hushed tones when his partner had finished promenading him. 

“No,” Roman replied, just as softly, with a tiny smile twitching up the corners of his lips.  “This is a dream.” 

Roman spun Virgil again and sank him into a gentle dip, kissing his lips. Virgil's eyes slid shut as he kissed Roman back.

And then Virgil was falling, waking up when he fell off his bed. He groaned and rubbed the back of his head. 

'All in all, it had been a nice dream,' Virgil mused, taking stock on the pain in his head, back, and butt, nothing seriously damaged, just in pain, 'even if the end was unexpected'.

A tousled head of purple hair peeked over the side of Virgil's bed.

“I told you your bed wasn't big enough for both of us.  You're sleeping in my bed tonight.”  Roman reached over the edge of the bed to help Virgil up.

The moment Virgil took Roman's hand, for a split second, it felt like when Roman had taken his hand in the dream, but the moment ended and Virgil stood with a small wince that made Roman frown.

“You're not hurt too badly, are you,” the princely side asked, looking concerned.

Virgil rolled his eyes at the delayed expression of care.

“I'm fine, Princey, and my bed isn't too small, your ego is just too big.”

Roman scoffed, his expression of concern disappearing instantly. His eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“So? How was your first ever dream!?”

Virgil looked down at Roman, sitting back on his heels in the middle of Virgil's bed, his hair disheveled and a child-like grin on his face.

“It was...” he trailed off, trying to find a word to describe it.  His mouth quirked up in a nostalgic little smile, “weird.  It was wonderfully weird.”

[twisted-in-wonderland-jay]

Character Playlists (+ links to created playlists)

Riddle

all the kings horses

Heads will roll

Heal me

Alice

Queen of broken hearts

Ace

marry you

Take me to wonderland

Bad romance

Mad hatter

Greek tragedy by the wombats

Queen of hearts

You’ll be back

Troublemaker by olly Murs

Cater (link)

Ladies night

Dynamite-BTS

Happy pills

The fame

Rain on me

In a world of my own

Stunnin’

Do you wonder

All men are pigs

Trey

Mother knows best

Before I cry

Sway

Welcome to wonderland

Birthday by Katy Perry

Deuce

poker face -blowsight

Shut up and dance (walk the moon)

Fifteen minutes mike

Stitches

Duality by set it off

Fight back by NEFFEX

If I had you (Adam Lambert)

Grenade

Last of the real ones

Maniac

Leona

King again

Alex and Rus

Monster

Come and get it from me

Say my name

Nobody mitski

Roar by Katy Perry

Jack (Link)

Can you feel the love tonight

Teeth

Touch off-uverworld

Alone Pt II

Wild love

The wolf -Siames

Wolves -Sam

Ruggie

He lives in you

No man is an island

Sucker for pain

You’re gonna go far kid

We are young

Sunflower

Eh, Eh

Visionaries by INZO

Heavy Metal lover

One jump ahead

Run wild by laney Jones

Jade

Fly me to the moon

Why did you do that?

Secrets

Queen of white lie

Lucky Strike

Bottom of the deep blue sea (MISSIO)

Floyd

The ballad of Mona Lisa

Looking like this

Hooked (Why don’t we)

Wow (Post Malone)

Cake by the Ocean

Cake by the ocean

Light out MSI

Telephone

Just my type (The Vamps)

Two player game

Bust your knee caps

Teenage dirtbag

Azul

the contract A3!

Black Sea

Who’s laughing now

Money money

Brand new city Mitski

Expensive by Todrick

Jamil

ways to be wicked

Speechless

Genie in a bottle by Oshri

The mighty fall

Wolf in sheep’s clothing

Judas

Speechless lady Gaga

Bad liar

Kalim

sing me to sleep

Sempura narmi

Hot wings

Just dance

Angel (onlyoneof)

Mikrokosmos (BTS)

I like it loud

Good vibes by Nathan Trent

Where did the party go

Vil (Link)

Vil’s took up to much room to I didn’t create a king for each

young and beautiful. Strut by Lenny Kravitz. EMPIRE wengie

Beautiful, dirty, rich. Sour candy. GRRRLS

Flesh. Poison by Groove Coverage. Never enough

Say so. Go hard. One song-Scot sings

Rotten to the core-David Diaz. One kiss. Queen of mean

Applause lady gaga The schuyler sisters

Rook

burn

My songs know what you did

Obsessed by Lexxa

Saccharine by Jazmin Bean

Stalker’s Tango

Sweet Tangerine

Derni’ere Danse

Paparazzi

Epel

makes you beautiful

Boys boys boys

My way by Ava Max

I’m wishing (male version)

Honor to us all

Reflection

Idia

Sweater weather

Color Tokyo

Always remember us this way

1,000 doves

This is Halloween

In my blood (Shawn)

Candle queen

Go the distance

Sex with a ghost by teddy Hyde

Panic room

Love tastes by moe shop

Anxiety

Any Tryhardninja Minecraft song

Prom dress

I’ll try-jesse McCartney

My chance-Satoshi

Ortho

Brother by Kodaline

Is that right?

Shooting stars

Summertime by cinnamonsx

Take on the world

Happier

Devil town

Malleus (Link)

No friends- cadmium

Once upon a time- Lana Del Rey

Anything by sleeping at last

Angel of darkness

Monochrome no kiss

Enchanted by owl city

Million reasons

Stupid love

Horns

Dancing in the dark

Paint it black by Rolling Stones

I hear a symphony by Cody fry

Lilia

you’ll be in my heart-Japanese. Babylon. I’m not a vampire. Stop rewind. My nocturnal serenade (yohio is my fav artist). Immortals. Centuries. Come little children. Little dark Age. Tag you’re it. Thrift shop. Lorelei lord of the lost. VORACITY myth and roid. For the departed Shayfer James Battle cry Shayfer James. Die young. The vampire masquerade peter gundry. Dear fellow traveler Sea wolf. Shadow of the moon Blackmore’s night. Dancer and the moon Blackmore’s night

Silver

4U blackbear

The silent forest KHBBS

Look what I found

Your Guardian Angel

Arabella arctic monkeys

Sing me to sleep

Come as you are

Bitter water

Sebek

I’ll make a man out of you

Sine from above

Soldier, poet, king

Goodnight demon slayer Aurelio voltaire

Things I’ll never say

If I killed someone for you

A sadness runs through him the hoosiers

A thousand years

Akatsuki Arrival the last note

Ama no jaku 164

Karakuri pierrot 40mP

In your eyes

The Dorms

Diasomnia- Lacrimosa

Savanaclaw- stronger

Scarabia- The weekend whip

Pomefiore- cooler then me or Candy store

Ignihyde- Bap- oral cigarettes

Octavinelle- Black Sea

Heartslabyul- In a world of my own

First Year Gang

Greek tragedy by the wombats

Heroes

Back in school by mother mother

All my heroes by naeleck

Friends on the other side (Thomas sanders)

Mad at Disney

[raining-anonymously]

Ok this is the second time I’ve been tagged so I’ll actually do it now! Thanks @fan-of-chaos and @sharada-n!

Rules: bold what you prefer

coffee or tea (hot chocolate) | early bird or night owl | chocolate or vanilla | spring or fall | silver or gold | pop or alternative | freckles or dimples | snakes or sharks | mountains or fields | thunderstorm or lightning | Egyptian or Greek mythology | ivory or scarlet | flute or lyre | eyes or lips | witch or fairy | opal or diamond | butterflies or honeybees | macarons or eclairs | typewritten or handwritten letters | secret garden or secret library | rooftop or balcony | spicy or mild | opera or ballet | London or Paris | Vincent van Gogh or Claude Monet | denim or leather | potions or spells | ocean or desert | mermaid or siren | masquerade ball or cocktail party

Rules: name your top ten favourite characters from ten different fandoms

In the order I thought of them:

Seam (Deltarune)

Mettaton (Undertale)

Crowley and Aziraphale (Good Omens) (i couldn’t choose)

Loki (Norse mythology in general)

Ben Linus (Lost)

Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows)

 June Egbert (Homestuck)

Linus Baker (The House on the Cerulean Sea)

Virgil (Sanders Sides)

Rules: bold the statements that apply to you

AIR: I have small hands • I love the night sky • I watch small animals and birds when I pass them by • I drink herbal tea • I wake to see dawn • The smell of dust is comforting • I’m valued for being wise • I prefer books to music • I meditate • I find joy in learning new truths from the world around me

FIRE: I don’t have straight hair • I like to wear ripped jeans and overalls pants & leggings • I play an organized sport • I love cats • I am not afraid of adventure • I love to talk to strangers • I always try new foods • I enjoy road trips • Summer is my favourite season • My radio is always playing

WATER: I wear bracelets on my wrists • I love the bustle of the city • I have more than one set of piercings • I read poetry • I love the sound of a thunderstorm • I want to travel the world • I sleep past midnight most days • I love dimly lit diners and fluorescent signs • I rewatch kids’ shows out of nostalgia • I see emotions in colours not words

EARTH: I wear glasses • I enjoy doing the laundry • I am a vegetarian or vegan • I have an excellent sense of time • My humour is very cheerful • I am a valued adviser to my friends • I believe in true love • I love the chill of mountain air • I’m always listening to music • I am highly trusted by the people in my life

AETHER: I go without makeup in my daily life • I make my own artwork • I keep on track of my tasks and time • I always know true north • I see beauty in everything • I can always smell flowers • I smile at everyone I pass by • I always fear history repeating itself • I have recovered from a mental disorder • I can love unconditionally

For tagging people I’ll do @makerofmadness @softichill @seamvil @stqrryskiez  @mistery-elijah plus anyone who sees and wants to do it!

[aj-draws]

✨ Masterpost ✨

Art:

Tower of God-

Khunbam doodles

Khun Redraw from the Crown Game

Khunbam Incorrect Quote (#1)

Khunbam Incorrect Quote (#2)

Khun in a dress (+dancing w/ Bam)

Khunbam Incorrect Quote (#3)

Bam as an animal crossing squirrel

Yuri Jahad

Fem Khunbam doodles (Pt 1)

Fem Khunbam doodles (Pt 2)

Khunbam Week - Day 1 (Sunrise/Sunset)

Khunbam Week - Day 2 (Firsts)

Khunbam Week - Day 3 (Comfort)

Khunbam Week - Day 4 (Soulmate AU)

Khunbam Week - Day 5 (Confession)

Khunbam Week - Day 6 (Eyes)

Khunbam Week - Day 7 (Night)

Khun as Princess Zelda - Breath of the Wild AU

Khunbam Spy AU

Chess AU - Bishop! Yura

Chess AU - Knight! Maschenny

ToG Screenshot Palettes - Gatecrasher with Khun

ToG Screenshot Palettes - I was never educated with Maschenny

Chess AU - Queen! Khun

ToG Screenshot Palettes - Bastard dad with White

S3 Bam calling Khun ‘pretty boy’

Tower of Beach Collab - Yuri

ToG Screenshot Palettes - step on me plz with Elaine

ToG Screenshot Palettes - biole is watching with Hwaryun

Khunbam scene from ‘Save the Last Dance for Me’

Halloween Week - Day 1 (Vampire w/ Khun)

Halloween Week - Day 2 (Jack-o’-Lantern w/ Endorsi)

Halloween Week - Day 3 (Skeleton w/ Viole)

Halloween Week - Day 4 (Creature w/ Elaine)

Halloween Week - Day 5 (Witch w/ Yuri and Maschenny)

Halloween Week - Day 6 (Angel & Devil w/ Khunbam)

Halloween Week - Day 7 (Trick-or-Treat w/ Bam, Khun, and Hwaryun)

Viole Sketches

Secret Santa - Khunbam hug

Assorted tog sketches

Secret Santa - Khun with the firefish

Valentine Gift Exchange - Flower Shop/Tattoo Artist AU w/ Ehwaryun

ToG Calendar - S1 Characters for October

Dream SMP-

Techno sketches (+a smol Ranboo)

Tales of the SMP (The Masquerade) sketches

Dream, Ranboo, Techno, Tubbo+Tommy sketches

Assorted sketches (Techno, Ghostbur, etc)

Technoblacle’s dnf DTIYS

Dnf sketches

Erinksea’s Wilbur DTIYS

Sanders Sides-

Flirting with Social Anxiety-Prinxiety scene

Multifandom-

Art Summary 2020

Original-

Matching Tarot Cards with Careers (Pt 1)

Matching Tarot Cards with Careers (Pt 2)

---

Writing:

Tower of God-

Fantasy AU - Ideas

Fantasy AU - The Wandering Knight (Chapter One)

Fantasy AU - The Wandering Knight (Chapter Two)

Mafia AU - Guns and Roses (Chapter One)

Fantasy AU - The Wandering Knight (Chapter Three)

[miguel-manbemel]

Aspects & Fanfics Ep. 7: The Dungeon and the Dragon Witch: The Sides' Team Adventure

Seventh entry of the “Aspects & Fanfics” fanfic blog inspired on “Sanders Sides” by Thomas Sanders and Joan. And it’s the first one since the magnificent “Selfishness v. Selflessness”. I had it almost finished yesterday, but I prefered to wait some time to publish it in order not to be bothersome to those commenting the new episode. Fun fact, I was writing one of the last paragraphs when the YouTube notification kicked in. I had my headphones a little loud, I was so concentrated in the writing... I got the scare of my lifetime and I jumped on my chair like if it had been an air horn... xD.

Luckily enough, for the time being there’s nothing in the new episode that contradicts badly what I had written in previous entries, the new episode could perfectly have happened between “Embarrasing Phases” and my first entry, but anyway, remember that this fanfic has its own alternate continuity after “Embarrasing Phases”, even though I was pleasantly surprised to see that I coincidentally guessed some minor details from the real episode that I had mentioned in previous installments of mine, like my episode where Logan wanted Thomas not to have a candy party and eat healthy instead, and then in the end card of the real episode Logan remarked that Thomas needed the nutrients from the salsa verde enchiladas and shouldn’t eat the butterfinger. The coincidence made me chuckle. Should any major changes come to the canon series (and they will certainly come sooner or later, it’s only a matter of time and the Team Foster Dawg’s expertise), I would try to add them into the fanfic respecting my continuity if I can. The alternative would be starting from scratch after each real episode is released, but that would be impractical if I want to tell a coherent story, wouldn’t it?

For this entry, that took me longer than I expected, again because of a couple of blockings during the process, I had the idea of incorporating tabletop roleplaying into the story. I used to play it for a little amounts of time years ago. I’ve forgotten almost everything but the basics, and I never played “Dungeons & Dragons” or similar games (I think I played the “Lord of the Rings” role playing game, and also briefly “Vampire the Masquerade”), so I decided not to stick to any particular gaming rules and make up my own rules to make them fit into the story. Also, I didn’t want to put too many gaming details, as the story is already long enough as it is. As usual, references will be made to previous entries, so if you want to read them beforehand, you can find them right here. And thank you so much to each and everyone who has liked any of the entries, reblogged or written comments. I really appreciate them and feel honored for your words. I already said in the first entry that nothing I could write could get even closer to the original, and that’s not my intention, but I hope I can do justice to your praises. And now after this too long introduction, let’s get cracking with the fic already.

SYNOPSIS: Thomas has been invited to participate in a stage show where he’ll be role-playing in front of an audience. As it’s been ages since the last time he role played, he doesn’t remember how to play anymore and feels insecure, thinking he’s gonna mess up in front of hundreds of people. The Sides appear and suggest to have a session of role-playing all together, so that they can help Thomas freshen up his game.

WARNINGS: Inside the game, there will be encounters with monsters, fighting and everything that comes with it, including the death of one of the main Sides’ characters. But it is made clear all the time that nothing’s real and it’s just a game, so it shouldn’t be a bad trigger to anyone. But it’s better too much warning than not enough, so there it is. In general, apart of these in-game moments, there’s not much more I can think of, except in the ending segment, where some mild angst will make an appearance.

EPISODE INDEX

THOMAS: Good evening, everyone! My name is Thomas Sanders and… I have no clue of how to get out of this situation! That’s a constant in my life, though.

[intro sequence]

THOMAS: What is up, everybody? You guys, I’m really excited for this weekend. One of my friends has invited me to a convention about tabletop Role Playing. I really liked Role Playing long ago when I was younger, and I still like it. I mean, it was true acting at home with friends, all mixed up with a really fun game. Who wouldn’t love it? In the con, we’re gonna play a game of RPG with other people to see who’s the best, all on-stage in front of hundreds of people who are gonna watch the show. I mean, I haven’t played RPG in ages, but… [suddenly shows a serious slightly terrified face of realization] Wait a minute… I haven’t played in ages. I don’t remember how to play anymore! [terrified squealing] Oh, my gosh, I’m gonna make a fool of myself in front of hundreds of people!

VIRGIL: [appearing] Seriously? You have to get me to work at full cap even for a game? Isn’t a game supposed to be done for fun?

THOMAS: Yes, Virgil, it is, but this game is going to be seen live by so many people… and I don’t remember how to play! It will be like going on-stage without rehearsing! Nothing would make me more anxious than that!

HONESTY: [rising up] But Thomas, you said it was on the weekend. You still have plenty of time to rehearse your game, don’t you?

THOMAS: I wouldn’t even know where to start, Honesty. I don’t even have the materials, like papers, dices, books…

LOGAN: [rising up, over-excited yelling] Did someone say BOOKS?

VIRGIL: [startled] What the f…! Not again, Logan!

LOGAN: Apologies. Thomas, what books are you talking about?

THOMAS: I mean, the basics for a good game of role-playing are contained in books, where there are the rules, the mechanics, examples of characters and basic adventures…

ROMAN: [rising up] But Thomas, to play a game of these there’s one thing among others that you already have. Me! Your creativity is the most important part of the game and you already have it with you. Cheer up!

THOMAS: Yes, but this is not like writing something for myself and then acting it. If it was that easy, I’d have full creative freedom and that would be my home ground. But when you have to subject your creativity to the constraints of some rules… that’s a tall order, especially if you don’t remember those rules.

PATTON: [rising up] Then why don’t we play ourselves?

LOGAN: What?

PATTON: Think about it. If we have a game of role-playing all of us together with Thomas, it would work like a rehearsal for him, and it would help him remember the rules. Besides, I would love to play with all of you, guys! I’m tired of playing solitaire in my room…

ROMAN: Well, at least it would be safer than Patton-cake… I had stiffness in my arms for a week after so much swimming running away from the piranhas, and I still haven’t recovered full sensitivity in my fingers after the hot candle wax…

THOMAS: I love that idea, Patton!

HONESTY: Mmm… that’s not my cup of tea, however. I’m not much into something where everything is out of reality. I find it… [yawns] ...boring. Excuse me.

LOGAN: I would agree, but if it works to help Thomas, I will sacrifice myself. Wouldn’t you, Hon?

HONESTY: [reluctantly] I…

DECEIT: [through Honesty’s body] Well, I love this kind of game, where everybody pretends to be someone they’re not. If Honesty doesn’t want to participate, may I in his place?

THOMAS: Of course, Deceit, join us.

[Honesty transforms into Deceit]

DECEIT: [grinning] Cool.

HONESTY: [through Deceit’s body] Well, that settles it then. If you don’t mind, I’m a little tired, so I’m gonna use your game time to take a nap, okay? [yawns] Have fun, Deceit.

DECEIT: Bye, Honesty, but don’t start snoring in the middle of the game, okay?

HONESTY: Hey, I don’t snore! It’s just strong breathing!

DECEIT: Of course it is… And then I’m the deceitful one of the fam…

PATTON: You two are such good friends now, Deceit.

DECEIT: Nah, we’re just roommates, only that we’re sharing a body instead of a house.

THOMAS: Okay, so, if we’re gonna role-play today, we’re gonna need a table and materials… I think I’m gonna need your help, Roman, are you following me?

ROMAN: Sure, Thomas. I’m following you… [confused] Where do you want me to follow you?

LOGAN: [facepalms while mumbling] Oh, my goodness, el príncipe es mucho estúpido…

ROMAN: [offended] Logan, that’s not right! [beat] It is “muy estúpido”, not “mucho estúpido”.

LOGAN: Whatever, it’s true…

THOMAS: Roman, I meant that I need a room in the Mind Palace for role-playing, with a table and all the materials we need.

ROMAN: Oh, you could have said it earlier, Thomas! All right, let’s get playing now!

[Roman snaps his finger and Thomas and the Sides appear in a room with a large round table. Thomas is sitting down in the middle and the Sides are sitting around the table, in the order they usually stand in the living-room.]

THOMAS: This is so cool. Look, here are the tools for doing an adventure. I’ll be the Dungeon Master.

VIRGIL: Wait a minute, if there’s a dungeon, I should be its master! It suits me more than you!

THOMAS: You guys are saying all the time that I am the boss of this, or the master or that… I’d say I’m fitting for the role, am I not?

VIRGIL: Touche, Thomas… Okay, but I hope to get a good dark character at least…

THOMAS: You will all play the characters you want in the end. But, I thought it would be more fun if we played characters that are the complete opposite of us. It would make it more challenging. What do you think?

PATTON: Yayyy!

ROMAN: Why not? I love challenges…

LOGAN: It really doesn’t matter what we choose because nothing is real anyway, so count me in.

DECEIT: [low fake voice] I’m feeling quite confident, but let’s try it anyway.

VIRGIL: Ummm…

PATTON: Come on, Virgil, this is just for fun! Don’t hesitate!

VIRGIL: Okay, okay. I hope this doesn’t turn into a mess.

THOMAS: That’s the spirit, you won’t regret it! Okay, I have the character sheets ready, then. Virgil, you’re gonna be the bard. Specialized in singing and dancing that can buff the rest of the team’s power in their attacks…

VIRGIL: [picking up the sheet Thomas is giving him] I’m already regretting it…

THOMAS: Roman, you’re gonna be… the wizard.

ROMAN: Oh…

THOMAS: Specialized in the studying of spells and the casting of magic attacks.

ROMAN: Okay… [to himself, trying to cheer himself up] Challenge, challenge, challenge…

THOMAS: Logan, you’re gonna be… the knight. Master of sword, armor and melee combat.

ROMAN: What? He is gonna be the knight? [starts laughing]

LOGAN: And why couldn’t I be the knight?

ROMAN: May I bring up a list of reasons or are we short on time?

LOGAN: Well, at least I’d be a more competent knight with better strategy ideas. You, on the contrary, are always more preoccupied of having your sword clean to delight in your own face reflected on it, rather than learning how to wield it!

ROMAN: Well, at least I wield a sword for real! If you had to grab my sword I’m sure you’d cut yourself even without taking it out of the sheath!

LOGAN: And I wonder if you’ll be able to learn any kind of spell with your wizard! You weren’t able even to memorize your washing machine manual!

ROMAN: I’m a prince, I’ve got servants for that! I memorize only the things that are useful for me! You instead have memorized lots of things that are worth for nothing and utterly stupid, you Fact Hoarder!

LOGAN: FALSEHOOD!

[Roman and Logan start arguing]

VIRGIL: [covering his ear with a little dash of pain] Why do I always have to be next to Logan when he screeches like that?

DECEIT: You’re always next to Logan, Virgil.

VIRGIL: True… May we switch places?

DECEIT: I’d be delighted… No.

THOMAS: [to Logan and Roman] Guys, guys! Relax! This is a game of teamwork, you’re not supposed to fight against each other!

[Roman and Logan stop arguing and give a dirty look to each other]

DECEIT: Okay, what will be my part, then?

THOMAS: Yes, Deceit… [searching between the sheets] You’re gonna be… [finding the sheet and giving it to Deceit] … the priest!

DECEIT: [grabbing the sheet, with a sarcastic fake low voice and a face of disgust] Wee… My heart is filled with joy…

THOMAS: You’ll have the power of truth and faith in your hands so you can heal your allies’ wounds and repel the darkest creatures.

PATTON: [excited] And now it’s my turn!

THOMAS: Yes, Patton, and you’re gonna be… the Dark Warlock! You get your powers from evil and use them for your own benefit. You are helping your team, but only for as long as they’re useful to you.

PATTON: [happy] Yaayyyy!

THOMAS: See? Learn from Patton, you guys! He has taken it much better than all of you!

PATTON: [threatening low evil voice] Call me Supreme Lord of Evil Patton, you slaves! I’m ready to win this adventure and I won’t tolerate any failures! It is either victory or death for you!

ROMAN: [in shock] Wow… He’s got into character really fast… Okay, guys, let’s dress into character to make the adventure more realistic.

[They all suddenly change their outfits. Roman is wearing a white and red robe with a red wizard hat. Patton is wearing a black robe with a blood red hood and a light blue medal over his chest with a gargoyle carved on it. He’s still wearing his glasses. Logan is wearing a medieval armor with an indigo sash on the chest and an open helmet exposes his face, which shows he’s also still wearing his glasses. Virgil is wearing purple peasant garments, including tights and a hood. He still has his usual eyeshadow and he’s holding Thomas’ ukulele. And Deceit is wearing a yellow priest’s tunic, wearing on the head what resembles a miter, those tall hats that Catholic bishops wear, only a little smaller and also in yellow.]

THOMAS: Wow, nice cosplay, you guys, this will really help getting into action! Okay, it’s time to let the adventure begin… And I’ll read the beginning. [with his trademark narrator voice] Story time! You are in front of the door of a huge dungeon. A king has hired you to retrieve a talisman that can save his kingdom. To do so, you must take it off the cold hands of the evil ruler of the dungeon. It won’t be an easy task, as lots of enemies, traps and other dangers are blocking your way, but nothing worse than all the perils you’ve already gone through in the past. The first obstacle is the door that lies in front of you, which of course is locked. What will you do?

LOGAN: Easy… [with robotic voice doing a gesture of typing text with his hands, sound of typing is heard and a little beep when he enters] “Unlock door with picklock. Enter”.

THOMAS: [confused] … what…? [realizing] Oh! Logan, this is not one of those old school text adventure games from the ancient computers of the eighties… You have to act your actions convincingly… and besides you’re not carrying any picklock with you.

LOGAN: Okay, I’ll try… I’ll hit the lock with my sword to break it.

THOMAS: Okay… throw a 20 sided dice for aim.

[Logan throws a dice]

LOGAN: 1!? 20 sides and I get only a 1!? What are the odds!?

THOMAS: Fumble. You miss the lock and you hit your own foot. You can be lucky that your armor absorbs the damage to your body. Not so much to your ego, though, and the armor loses one point of durability.

[Roman chuckles]

LOGAN: [angry] Shut up!

ROMAN: [confident] Make way, I’ll do it. I’ll throw a spell to swiftly unlock the door.

THOMAS: Throw a dice for magic expertise.

[Roman throws the dice, he gets another 1]

LOGAN: [laughs lively, then ironic] Make way for the prince of experts!

THOMAS: Fumble. The spell not only does not unlock the door. It makes the lock even stronger and more difficult to break than it was before. Further tries will need three more points than normal to be successful.

ROMAN: [angry] These dices are loaded!

THOMAS: Hey, don’t blame me. You created this room and all its materials, including these dices.

[Roman shows a sudden mischievous smile]

THOMAS: [firm voice] Don’t you dare! Don’t manipulate the dices! The game must be fair!

ROMAN: [sighs] Fine…

PATTON: [evil voice] Step aside, you amateur fools! This will be no problem for my magic! I’ll throw a curse to destroy the door altogether!

THOMAS: Okay, throw a dice for evil strength.

PATTON: [after throwing the dice] Eleven!

THOMAS: Your curse is partially successful. The door isn’t completely destroyed, but the lock itself is, leaving a hole. Now you can open it and enter the dungeon. Behind the door there’s a long dark corridor.

VIRGIL: Shouldn’t we have some torches? Because the corridor is dark and full of terrors…

DECEIT: As a matter of fact, apparently I carry a bag of torches with me.

THOMAS: Yes, you have torches… but no means to light them.

ROMAN: I’ll make some magic fire to light the torches.

THOMAS: Okay, throw a dice for magic expertise.

LOGAN: Don’t screw it up.

[Logan throws the dice, he gets a 20]

ROMAN: [happy] Yes, baby! [to Logan, sarcastic] What were you saying about screwing up…?

LOGAN: Let me see that dice…

THOMAS: Critical hit! The torches don’t light up, but all the existing sources of light in the corridor and in all the dungeon do light up. You’re no longer in need of light for the rest of your adventure.

ROMAN: That’s more like it.

VIRGIL: [groans] He’s gonna be boasting about it all week long, I can see it…

ROMAN: Did you doubt it…? You better write a good song about my talents, bard.

VIRGIL: At least it’s gonna be a short song then.

ROMAN: [offended noises] Ugh!?

DECEIT: Shouldn’t we get cracking? We’ve taken two centuries to get the front door open. Let’s come in already.

LOGAN: Yeah, let’s go.

THOMAS: All right, you enter into the corridor. You advance a few steps until you reach some stairs that go down. There’s also a door next to the stairs.

VIRGIL: I’ll examine the door.

THOMAS: Throw a dice for perception.

[Virgil throws a dice and he gets an 8]

THOMAS: You see there’s some bright oily substance on the latch, but you can’t quite identify what it is.

VIRGIL: That looks suspicious. I’m not gonna touch it. Let’s examine the stairs instead.

THOMAS: Okay, throw another dice.

[Virgil throws a dice and he gets a 14]

THOMAS: You see a secret mechanism on the edge of the stairs. It looks like a trap, and you find no way of disabling it.

LOGAN: Fine, so now we’re stuck between a weird oily substance and a most than probable trap. Fantastic. Although… I’m wearing an armor, with gauntlets and all. I don’t have to touch that substance to open the door, do I? It makes all the sense that I open it. I’ll do it.

THOMAS: You open the door. The oily substance happens to be a powerful acid that corrodes your gauntlet. You have to quickly take the gauntlet off so it doesn’t reach your skin. In a matter of a couple of minutes, only a viscous smoky slime remains of your gauntlet.

LOGAN: Not fair!

THOMAS: Give thanks that it’s not your hand what has suffered that destiny.

LOGAN: Lucky me that I’m carrying a spare gauntlet in my bag.

THOMAS: Yes, but the spare gauntlet is less durable than the original. So now you have two points less of durability, and that makes three points less.

LOGAN: Well, at least the door is open.

THOMAS: And you won’t like it, cause behind the door there’s a monster. A vicious indescribable entity that attacks your team.

PATTON: [cold voice] I’ll throw a curse on it. It’ll regret messing up with me!

THOMAS: Throw a dice for magic strength.

[Patton gets a 20]

THOMAS: Wow! It’s a critical hit! The creature bursts into flames!

PATTON: [evil sadistic laughter and yelling] Yes… muahahaha! Burn! BURN! B-U-U-U-U-R-N!

ROMAN: Did I already say that I’m a little scared of how much Patton has got into character?

THOMAS: In a matter of seconds, only a pile of ashes remains of the monster.

PATTON: I’ll grab the ashes. They may come in useful for my spells.

THOMAS: I presume you want to enter the next room, right?

LOGAN: Allons-y!

THOMAS: Where did I hear that before…? Okay. The next room has a spiral staircase in the center. There is also a little chest in a corner.

VIRGIL: I’ll examine the coffin, it could be another trap.

THOMAS: Throw for perception.

[Virgil throws and he gets a 16]

THOMAS: You find no kind of traps in the chest. It is safe to open, and it’s full of gold coins.

VIRGIL: Cool, at last, something good.

DECEIT: Now, let’s go downstairs.

THOMAS: All right, you go down the stairs. The stairs are long… really long… It looks as if you were descending to the depths of the earth, or even as if you were right on your way to the underworld. When you’ve lost notion of time and it seems like you’ve been going on for forever this way, you finally reach the bottom. There’s a corridor right in front of the stairs.

VIRGIL: I search for traps in the corridor.

THOMAS: Throw for perception then.

[Virgil throws and he gets a 9]

THOMAS: You discover that there’s a trap in the middle of the corridor, but can’t find the way to disable it.

LOGAN: Oh, great, now we know there’s a trap and we can’t disable it. We’re trapped between going up those stairs again or falling to our doom.

ROMAN: Well, perhaps I could throw a spell of divination to search how to unlock the trap.

THOMAS: Okay, throw for magic expertise.

[Roman throws and he gets a 19]

ROMAN: Good one!

THOMAS: Almost a critical, but not quite yet. However, your spell is entirely successful and you see an almost hidden lever right at the entrance of the corridor. If you push that lever, the trap will be disabled.

ROMAN: Of course, I’ll push it.

THOMAS: Uh-oh. It is too hard. You’re gonna need to throw a dice for physical strength.

[Roman throws and he gets a 3]

ROMAN: Cursed dragon witches!

THOMAS: You can’t move the lever, not even an inch.

LOGAN: I guess I’ll have to try again. My character is specialized in physical strength after all. Give me that dice.

[Logan throws the dice and he gets a 14]

THOMAS: Well done. You manage to push the lever. You hear muffled cracking sounds behind the walls and feel a smooth shaking on the floor. The trap is disabled and you can keep going.

DECEIT: Well, let’s go, then.

THOMAS: You advance through the corridor, until you cross a door to a huge room. There is a crystal ball on the top of a cane that is fixed on the floor.

VIRGIL: I don’t like the look of this…

THOMAS: And you’re right, Virgil, because as you all come into the room, the door slams behind you and an evil laugh is heard. “This will be your tomb, adventurers!” you can hear.

PATTON: [confident evil voice] Wanna bet?

THOMAS: From the crystal ball a lightning surges and three ominous hooded creatures are created from the crystal. They start attacking you. The first creature aims at Logan. She throws a ray at you. I throw for aim…

[Thomas throws and he gets a 13]

THOMAS: I hit you. Now you must throw for defense.

[Logan throws and he gets a 9]

THOMAS: The armor absorbs part of the damage but it’s not enough to avoid it making you a wound in your hand, your less protected part. You lose 2 points of health, and have 16 left.

PATTON: [suddenly breaking out of character, squealing angry] Don’t touch my Teach Boy, you monster! I throw a curse to the creature!

THOMAS: The curse has no effect.

PATTON: Don’t I get to throw a dice?

THOMAS: Nope. No matter what you try, you can’t do any damage to them.

PATTON: [squealing angry] Not fair!

VIRGIL: [thinking] Hmm…

DECEIT: I had the power to repel dark creatures, right? I’m gonna use it.

THOMAS: Very well, throw for faith.

[Virgil throws and he gets a 16]

THOMAS: You create a force field around the three creatures. They can’t get out of it, and that gives you three turns to think and apply your strategy, even though Deceit cannot throw any other spells while he’s holding the force field. You better hurry.

ROMAN: Virgil, you said a significant “Hmm” earlier. Have you got any ideas?

VIRGIL: I was thinking about how Thomas didn’t let us throw any dices. That means these creatures are invincible. However each creature in a role-playing game should have a weak point or else there would be no chance to beat the game, and I doubt that such an impossible game would appear as a basic adventure in a book of the game.

THOMAS: Guys… I would have preferred if you’d reached that conclusion without having to get so meta, that breaks the mood of the story.

VIRGIL: Our aim should not be the creatures. These creatures appeared from a ray that came from that crystal ball. I suggest that we destroy the crystal ball and see what happens next.

LOGAN: Good idea. It’s payment time! I’ll hit the ball with my sword!

THOMAS: Throw for aim.

ROMAN: And don’t stab your foot this time!

[Logan throws and he gets an 11]

THOMAS: You hit the ball, but not hard enough to destroy it. However, you crack it, which makes the creatures flicker back and forth.

ROMAN: [singing to the tune of “It’s My Time” by Jade Ewen] It’s my time, it’s my time, my moment! [stops singing] I throw a spell to pulverize the ball!

THOMAS: Throw for magic expertise.

LOGAN: And try not to fix the crack, please.

[Logan throws and he gets a 16]

THOMAS: The ball gets broken to pieces. The creatures disappear and so does Deceit’s force field, just in time.

ROMAN: Yes, I did it!

VIRGIL: We did it, Roman. This was done with the effort of all of us.

ROMAN: Oh, yeah, yeah, of course.

THOMAS: He’s right. Nice teamwork, guys.

DECEIT: Now I’ll heal Logan’s wounds, he needs it.

LOGAN: Thanks, Deceit.

THOMAS: Throw for faith.

[Deceit throws and he gets a 20]

THOMAS: Critical hit! Not only all his wounds are healed, and with that all his points of health are restored. You also fix all of his armor, and he recovers all the lost points of durability.

DECEIT: Nice!

LOGAN: Good job!

THOMAS: You started with awful luck with the dices, but now it’s a chain of criticals from all of you. Roman, are you sure you didn’t bribe the dices?

ROMAN: I give my royal word that I didn’t manipulate the dices, Thomas!

[Deceit gives a mischievous smile to Virgil, and he silently chuckles without Thomas noticing]

THOMAS: Okay… Now that the room is empty, you notice a huge chest next to a door in the background.

VIRGIL: Let’s examine it.

THOMAS: Throw for perception.

[Virgil throws and he gets a 16]

THOMAS: There are no traps in the chest. Inside it, you find it’s full of diamonds.

VIRGIL: Let’s share it all, we’ve all earned it in equal parts.

PATTON: [normal Patton voice] Agreed… [clears throat, then with low evil voice] Agreed for the time being…

ROMAN: The fact that you broke out of character earlier and now has calmed me down, Patton. For a moment I thought you were Wrath in disguise…

DECEIT: Please, Roman. There’s only one master of disguise in this Mind Palace, and he’s in front of you. I have never seen a worse shape-shifter than Wrath, you should see him…

VIRGIL: Yeah, he’s right. Remember when he tried to impersonate me and he put the eyeshadow over the eyebrows? He looked like an emo version of Groucho Marx.

[Deceit laughs]

THOMAS: Okay, back to the game, guys… The door opens and you enter in what looks like a throne room.

DECEIT: Ooh… There’s a smell of final battle in the atmosphere…

THOMAS: The dungeon ruler is in front of you. They’re wearing a golden armor that covers their face, but that doesn’t diminish their threatening aura. They don’t say a word. They just stand up from their throne and shows the talisman. It is a golden necklace with strange symbols carved on the brightest ruby. A magic glows from it. Then, they throw it to a chest that closes itself and is then protected with a bright force field. You know what you have to do. Only by defeating them the force field will be gone and the talisman will be yours.

VIRGIL: Okay, it’s time to start singing to boost your abilities, I guess… [clears throat, then singing] “Woords fail… woords fail… there’s nothing I can say...”

ROMAN: Um… Virgil, your supposed to lift our spirits, not to send us into deep sadness. Sing a happy cheery song!

VIRGIL: Nobody appreciates real art… Okay, how about this…?

[Virgil starts singing “Friday I’m in Love” by The Cure while playing the ukulele]

ROMAN: It’s not “Whistle while you work”, but it’s not bad either.

THOMAS: Okay, thanks to Virgil’s singing, you get a bonus boost of all of your abilities of +5.

LOGAN: Good, keep singing, Virgil. I’ll go attack them on melee mode. You, Deceit, heal me, and anyone who needs healing too. You, Patton, attack them with curses. You, Roman, throw all the offensive spells on them and defensive spells on us, but try not to get the aggro on you…

THOMAS: Logan… Logan, stop. This is tabletop role playing, not “World of Warcraft”. There’s no aggro in here.

LOGAN: Apologies. Forget about the aggro. All the rest still applies. You guys ready?

DECEIT: Ready.

ROMAN: Let’s go get them!

PATTON: He’s gonna feel our rage!

VIRGIL: [still singing] “…it’s Friday, I’m in love”… [threatening voice] If you ever tell that I’ve been singing solo for so long I’m gonna kill you… [resumes singing] “Monday, you can fall apart...”

LOGAN: Okay, team Sanders Sides, let’s go! Geronimoooo!

[The battle begins. As we see shots of the Sides and Thomas throwing dices and silently acting, that is combined with background images of the battle that we see behind them, with the characters actually fighting the creature, while epic music sounds. We see the battle advance, with Logan attacking with his sword, Roman and Patton casting spells, Deceit magically healing everyone and Virgil still singing and playing the ukulele. That until Logan throws a gash onto the armored enemy and knocks him down. At that moment, the armor shakes and a black smoke emerges from it. The smoke turns into a dragon-witch. The battle then resumes, but the dragon-witch’s first attack against Logan knocks him down. Upon seeing this, Patton enters berserk mode and throws a huge stream of fire against the dragon. She responds throwing fire from her mouth and the two streams of fire collide. Virgil plays his song more intensely and Roman supports Patton’s spell with his magic, until the combined forces finally overcome the Dragon’s Witch power and she explodes in a fireball. The scene fades out and we return to the Sides on the table]

PATTON: [dramatic] Logan, are you all right? Talk to me! Deceit, do something!

DECEIT: [dramatic] I’m sorry, guys, his wounds have been too much. He’s gone.

PATTON: [over the top crying] Logan, oh, Logan, why did it have to be you!?

LOGAN: Dag nabbit. We were about to win, and I lost on the finish line.

ROMAN: [angry low voice] Shut up, you’re dead, don’t ruin the mood of the ending!

THOMAS: [epic narrator voice] But his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. The force field in the chest is gone and the talisman is yours. You can be proud of your teamwork guys, you’ve saved the kingdom and you will always be remembered as heroes of legend. Congratulations!

PATTON: [over dramatic] We will never forget you, Logan! Poems will be written honoring your name, the gods will rearrange the stars to forge a constellation with your shape and everyone will get emotional upon seeing it in the sky up until the end of time!

LOGAN: Umm… Patton, that’s not how constellations work…

ROMAN: [waving his hands quickly] Sssshhhhhh! I’m enjoying this…!

[Logan silently sighs and rolls his eyes]

THOMAS: ...aaaand… The End. Well done, guys!

LOGAN: Can I speak now?

ROMAN: Yes.

PATTON: [over the top emotional happiness] Logan! You’re alive, thank God, I thought we had lost you!

LOGAN: Um… Patton, you knew this was all a game of pretend, didn’t you?

PATTON: [surprised] Oh… Was it?

ROMAN: [sighs] No wonder why he got into character so much, he thought everything was real…

THOMAS: Okay, guys, let’s go back.

ROMAN: Agreed.

[Roman snaps his finger and they all get back to the apartment with their habitual outfits]

PATTON: This was really fun, kiddos!

THOMAS: Yeah, it really was. But you almost got a syncope, Patton. Listen, role-playing is good, but don’t get so much into character that you cease to distinguish between fiction and reality. This is just a game and you got too much into it.

PATTON: I’m sorry… But it was fun. And the end was happy for everyone…

LOGAN: ...well, almost for everyone.

THOMAS: It’s okay, Logan. We can repeat this some other day and maybe next time you’ll win too.

LOGAN: The most important thing is… did all this gaming help you for your con?

THOMAS: I think it did. Now I remember all of the rules as if my last game had been yesterday. Thank you so much. And apart of that I also remembered a really important lesson.

LOGAN: Oh, really? What is it?

THOMAS: You reminded me the important value of teamwork. At first when each of you was on your own it looked as if you wouldn’t pass even from the front door, and then you started working as a team and defeating dangers all together as if you were one person.

DECEIT: Well, technically we’re all one person...

THOMAS: I’m proud of all of you, guys.

LOGAN: Thank you. At least my sacrifice has worked for something. [sinking down] Next time, give me an alchemist or something more of my style.

THOMAS: All right, Logan.

PATTON: [sinking down] I’m gonna go get a nice cup of calming tea. I need it after the scary ending we’ve gone through.

THOMAS: Okay, Patton, and sorry.

DECEIT: [sinking down] Well, I’m gonna go wake up Honesty. It is my turn to take a nap, I’m exhausted. See ya.

THOMAS: Bye, Deceit!

VIRGIL: I’ll remind you, just in case, if you ever tell that I was singing solo all of the time, you’re not gonna sleep in a couple of weeks, and it will not be because of your usual habit of not sleeping when editing a video. [sinking down] Be warned.

THOMAS: Okay, Virgil, relax…

ROMAN: Ah… A good old battle. And I’ve had the chance to fight it with all of my friends. Victory tastes sweet, but it tastes to glory when you share it with the people you love. [sinking down] I’m gonna spend my part of the treasure on Fairy Godmother’s, I desperately need a beauty treatment. Bye, Thomas.

THOMAS: Bye, Roman… Well… Life can put lots of challenges of many kinds in front of us. Some of them, we’ll have to face them on our own and in those cases we must be brave, trust ourselves, and give our best. But other times we’ll have the chance to face them in company. In those cases, remember that the value of teamwork will multiply the possibilities of success. Learn about your project partners. Take the time to know your own pros and cons and investigate your pals’. If you work to support each other in your cons and to boost each other in your pros, no one will be able to stop your team. You will be the best of the best and I’ll be even more proud of you than I already am. Until next time, take it easy, guys, gals and non binary pals. Peace out!

[end card]

[Deceit is in the Light Realm, talking to Honesty inside his body]

DECEIT: ...and then Patton threw a ray of fire that destroyed that dragon witch! You should have seen it!

HONESTY: I’m glad that you had fun, Deceit. You really deserved some spare time for a change.

DECEIT: You should have seen it. You should have stayed awaken over there. I was playing a priest of truth, I could have used some help from you.

HONESTY: I’m sorry… But lately, I’ve been feeling… I don’t know how to explain it, like wearing a little thin.

DECEIT: [alarmed] Are you okay? Do you feel sick or something?

HONESTY: No, it’s not that… It’s just that I feel tired, more than tired, exhausted… Don’t worry, Decey. It will pass if I rest.

DECEIT: Oh, I’m not worrying at all…

HONESTY: You’re lying, Deceit, I can see in your mind. I appreciate your concern over me, but I…

[Honesty suddenly stops talking through Deceit’s body. Deceit stays silent for a few seconds. He shows a face of fear]

DECEIT: Honesty? Honesty!? Can you hear me? I’m not feeling you anymore! Honesty!

HONESTY: Oh… Sorry… for a moment I felt like… out of it.

DECEIT: This isn’t normal, Honesty. For a moment I lost all contact with you, as if you had been gone completely.

HONESTY: It just felt as if I’d fallen asleep. Don’t know how to describe it.

DECEIT: Maybe we should talk to Logan, he’s Thomas’ knowledge. He might know what’s going on.

HONESTY: Only if we have no choice. I don’t want Thomas or the Sides to worry unnecessarily.

DECEIT: Let me try something, okay?

HONESTY: What?

DECEIT: Try to get out.

HONESTY: If you insist…

[Deceit is covered by the yellow cloud. It flickers between yellow and orange for a couple of second, then goes back to yellow, dissolves, and Deceit is still there]

HONESTY: I can’t get out…

DECEIT: [scared] Don’t tell me this is normal, Honesty!

HONESTY: I know it isn’t, but let’s wait, all right?

DECEIT: But…

HONESTY: [firm voice] I said let’s wait.

DECEIT: Okay, I hope you know what you’re doing…

HONESTY: Me too, Deceit, me too…

[broadwaytheanimatedseries]

Thanks to @everynight-cainite

I now have twin oc's for vampire the masquerade and also a Sanders sides au cooking up in my brain.

Thanks a lot, Buddy.

But if we're being honest it would have happened sooner or later

[pattons-second-cookie-v2]

The Blood That Binds- Prologue

*It’s here it’s finally here!! I apologize for not getting the character profiles done. I do still plan on uploading them. I just need more time. But I promised the story begins on Halloween and I’m keeping that promise. So please- enjoy!!*

Relation Map

Word Count: 1,695

Tag List: @sethlost @thearomanticsnake

Virgil sighed as he tossed the last cardboard box into the dumpster. He was relieved to have gotten settled into the apartment before it started snowing again. It felt strange to be back in the same building he grew up in. He was glad Aunt Patty still owned the complex because there was no way he’d be able to make rent anywhere else.

Heading back inside, Virgil gazed at the calendar on his wall. A large “27” was circled on today’s date. Virgil sighed as he’d nearly forgotten his own birthday. The first birthday he’d be spending in the city in nearly a decade. He’s changed so much, for better or worse. He’d gone to college, earned a psychology degree, realized he didn’t want to be a therapist and that he just needs therapy, and then refused to find a good therapist. And now…

Now he’s back home. In the same small apartment he spent the first 21 years of his life in. Where his Aunt Patty did her best to raise him whilst singing praise of his mother and father.

Mom and Dad… He’d grown numb to the memory of them. He never knew his father, but he’s reminded every year that his birthday is the day he died. It was snowing terribly, and his dad had left work and was speeding to the hospital. His car was totaled… and his body was never salvaged from the wreckage.

Virgil’s mother lost her mind after hearing the news of her husband’s passing. She couldn’t cope with the idea of raising her baby alone. Patton had been so excited to be a father…

Virgil shook the memory from his head and tried focusing on settling back in. He turns on the TV and tries to drown out his grief with Parks & Rec reruns. But the cheap comedy doesn’t work on him this time.

He feels his body tighten like a spring before he stands up from his worn out sofa, turns off the television, and grabs his favorite hoodie before heading out. It was getting pretty late, and he needed a drink.

*Downtown*

Virgil typically hates crowds, but around this time of year it’s the one thing he seeks. The louder and busier a place is, the less likely he is to be noticed. And he never wants to be noticed on his birthday.

Gay clubs are especially vibrant this time of year, with a massive wave of people seeking to keep away from homophobic family members. The most popular in the city, The Rose Garden, was one Virgil often visited when he had first turned 21. The place was called such for its classy, flowery parlor and bar area and its intense and “thorny” dance floor. He wondered if much had changed in the last 6 years.

Slinking up to the bar, Virgil felt the anxiety creep into him. Rather than push it away like usual, he welcomed it. He listened to the music humming through the walls of the dance floor and let his mind race for a moment. He felt the physical toll of panic inch in. The pounding heart. The racing thoughts. Even the slightly foggy vision. He had become so focused on his own breath he hadn’t even noticed the set of eyes watching him from the far end of the bar.

The young man looked to be around the same age as Virgil, but he had an indescribable maturity to him. Shoulders sat broadly and chin held high. Even his clothes had a certain regality to it. He had a hungry and focused look in his eye as he watched Virgil stare blankly into his drink. Something about this sad little stormcloud in a sea of celebratory bodies intrigued him. It seemed only fair to offer an introduction.

“What’s someone as pretty as you doing looking so sad?” The young man said as he placed himself in the seat next to Virgil’s.

Virgil looked over to the man as was taken back by his own beauty. He did his best to play it cool. “What’s someone as handsome as you doing wasting time with someone so sad?”

“We’ll, it is almost Christmas and New Year’s! The world continues to spin for yet another moment. Everyone is celebrating family and the year’s accomplishments.” The man quickly noticed Virgil’s disinterest in his fondness for the holidays. “There is no reason to be so glum during the holidays.”

Virgil felt the frustration well up in him, or perhaps it was just the alcohol talking. “Yeah well it’s also my birthday and I’m still feeling pretty ‘glum’ as you put it.”

“Your birthday? And you’re sitting here alone and sulking? That simply won’t do.” The man signaled over the bartender. “Some shots for me and my new acquaintance, if it’s not too much to ask.”

“No, thanks,” Virgil said uncomfortably. “I appreciate you trying to be friendly and everything, but I know better than to drink with strangers.”

The man placed a hand on Virgil’s shoulder before he could stand.

“I’m Roman. My father owns this club, and he likes to have me make sure everyone is having a good time.” His expression softened. “Please, just one drink?”

“…Fine. One drink and then I’m going home,” Virgil sighed before picking up the shot glass places before him.

The pair each raised their glass to the other.

“You never told me your name.” Roman smirked.

“Virgil,” he replied before downing his shot. He grimaced slightly as it burned his throat.

“To Virgil,” Roman toasted. “May the eve of his birthday turn around for the better.”

Roman hardly pulled a face as he took his shot. He smiled as he looked at Virgil, but found the young man looking back at him solemnly.

“It’s not just my birthday…” He could barely be heard as he spoke in a whisper. “It’s also the same day my dad died…”

Roman sat for a moment in stunned silence. Had he been given a hundred guesses on why this boy was so saddened, he never would have landed on such an answer. “Oh my… I’m not exactly sure what to say… I'm so sorry for your loss.”

“That’s all anybody ever says,” Virgil sighed as he shrunk down in his hoodie. “‘I’m so sorry’, ‘That’s so awful’, ‘You poor thing’. It means nothing. But I’m not pouring my heart out to a stranger.”

Virgil turned and stood, but instead slanted and fell off his barstool. Roman reached an arm out to catch him. He stood to join Virgil and steady him.

“You’re in no state to drive,” Roman spoke sternly. “Let me take you home. It’s the least I can do after ruining your night.”

Virgil’s meds made his two drinks feel like 6. That plus the shot and the fact he’d been so busy unpacking that he hadn’t eaten made it impossible for him to get home safely. He looked to the floor ashamed and nodded.

“Okay, but after I want you to leave me alone. You don’t save my address, you don’t get my number, I don’t even give you my Twitter handle.”

“I don’t have Twitter,” Roman said as he put an arm around Virgil’s shoulder and guided him out of The Rose Garden.

Virgil couldn’t help but let out a chuckle at that. How anyone in this day and age avoids social media is a mystery to him.

Virge pulled up the apartments on his phone and sat in the front seat with his knees tucked up to his chest. He and Roman rode in silence as the radio blared Christmas music.

Pulling up to his place, Virgil could feel Roman wanting to speak.

“If you have something to say,” he mumbled, “go ahead and say it.”

Roman hesitated for a moment. “It’s just that… I’d been told this place was haunted. That there’s a ghost that circles the building at night.”

Virgil stayed silent for a long while. “Yeah…… My aunt used to say it’s my dad trying to visit. I think it was her attempt to comfort me as a kid. Telling me he was still around in a way. But all it did was make me scared of becoming a ghost.”

“You are. So. Sad.” Roman covered his mouth, instantly regretting what he’d just said. “I apologize- I’ve just never come across someone full of such pain.”

“And you never will again,” Virgil said as he stood out of the car. “Give me back my keys. Goodnight, Roman.”

“No!” Roman rushed out of the car. “We can’t end it all like that. You can’t give me just a glimpse of how broken you are and then expect me to walk about like I’m not thinking up ways to fix you. As if I won’t be spending every waking moment imagining how I can make a smile return to your face. I can’t just go about pretending I don’t know there’s a sad young man full of such pain who needs-“

“I don’t need whatever you’re offering!!” Virgil shouted. “Friendship, Love, Sex- whatever it is you think I “need”. I don’t want it! You caught me at a weak point and that’s it.”

Virgil pushed himself past Roman and made his way to the building door.

“Just pretend tonight never happened,” he said without turning around. “That’s what I always do…”

Virgil unlocked the door and let himself inside, making sure it locked behind him before heading upstairs.

Roman stood there in the parking lot for a while, thoroughly disappointed at how botched his hunt had been. How had his natural charms not worked? Why didn’t he attempt Compulsion over this young man? What was this weird fluttering in the spot where his heart once beat?

All questions that would have to be put off for another night. There was still a need to feed before sunrise, and this new obsession would have to wait. Roman turned on his heels and stalked off into the night.

The December air was cold and still and the night moved on. From the far edge of the parking lot, Patton emerged from the shadows, visibly shaken by what he’d just seen.

“I gotta tell Logan,” he said nervously.

[pattons-second-cookie-v2]

The Blood That Binds Character Profile- Thomas

Prologue | Relationship Map | Janus

Welcome to the first Character Profile for The Blood That Binds. These post will be brief rundowns on each of the main characters featured in the story.

We're starting with Thomas, as he is the eldest vampire.

Born in 1911, Thomas lived a life of luxury. His family was wealthy, and he was set to inherit his father's jazz club. He'd always hope to be a performer, but life insisted on him running the business instead.

News of the second world war caused a sense of worry for European kindred, with some making their way to America to seek refuge. One such kindred would be Thomas' Sire, a Toreador woman known to most as Madame Silver.

Silver spent frequent nights at Thomas' club, hoping to find a worthy heir to bring into the newly established Camarilla territory. It was a rare sighting to see the master of the house outside of his office, and she was quick to take up as much of Thomas' free time as possible. Using her vampiric charm, Silver lulled Thomas into a sense of safety and security. He confided in his struggles with upholding his father's wishes, his desires to be a performer himself, and his less-than-holy thoughts about men. He was comforted in Silver's lack of judgement, and she was amazed by his ambition.

Consensual Embraces are not an uncommon phenomenon, especially within the Camarilla. In Thomas' case, it seemed almost ceremonious. A spacious room, heavily decorate, with a sparce number of masked witnesses. Upon his reanimation, Thomas was offered the blood of one of these witnesses, and their death marked the beginning of Thomas's new existence.

For roughly 2 years, Thomas followed Silver's orders like an obedient puppy. Always being told he needed more time before he could truly grow his empire. He was being conditioned alongside another fledgling, a Ventrue named Janus. He was quick to grow jealous of Janus, as it felt like he received less and less praise with each passing night.

WWII continued on, and with the US joining the fray, the nightlife of the city dwindled. But Thomas kept the club doors open as late as possible, with special discounts for soldiers. That's ultimately how he found himself meeting Roman.

A pair of twins, looking to be only a few years younger than Thomas, were in the thralls of a heated argument. It seemed that one had enlisted behind the other's back. With signs pointing towards a physical altercation happening at any moment, Thomas took it upon himself to break the two up. Casting out who he assumed was the more violent brother, he turned his attention to the one left behind. By the end of the night, Roman was like putty in his hand.

The details of Roman and Thomas' relationship are a messy blur. At first, he swore to himself that he wouldn't use the same tricks Silver had used on him. But Roman was too self-obsessed and was quick to lose sight of Thomas. Wanting nothing more than a loving companion and someone to spend time with in the Ivory Tower, Thomas began doing whatever he could to make the relationship work. It did not take long for things to become extremely one-sided, with Roman pining day and night for Thomas. It wasn't until an evening where Thomas invited himself to Roman's home that he realized the severity of what he'd done.

Drawings, poems, paintings, love letters. A mountain of devotion scattered across Roman's floor. Thomas had done more than make himself Roman's muse- he had created an obsession. And his claws had run so deep that there was no easy way for the damage to be undone. Not while Roman was alive, at least. Perhaps all this art could be crafted and honed into someone useful to the Cam.

Siring Roman was a mistake. Attempting to bring him into the Camarilla was another mistake. Thomas was inevitably given an ultimatum; either he and his childe leave the city and never return or he teaches his charge and teaches him quickly. If Roman wasn't in line by the end of the war, both of them would be sentenced to Final Death.

The training was tedious as Thomas sent Roman headlong through understanding the Six Pillars of the Cam, social etiquette regarding Elysium and upholding the Masquerade, how to manage bloodlust, and a countless assortment of other rules and behaviors. Roman was completely severed from his mortal existence, and now he belonged entirely to Thomas.

Having made the impossible possible by taming his fledging, Thomas was welcomed into the Inner Circle. This declaration was made the same eve that Janus was also welcomed in. Another strike of jealousy ran through Thomas.

Thomas works as a visionary, setting up the details of Elysium and any other meetings being held by high ranking Camarilla officials and visiting kindred. He realized quickly how little time he had for Roman. Seeing as how their power imbalance prevented them from every having a truly healthy relationship, it didn't take long for Thomas to cast him aside.

In the modern nights, Thomas works as the Herald. More or less he is a mouthpiece to the Prince, sending out word on the state of the Masquerade and the status of other Cam officials. The tasks he doesn't want to do, he gives to Roman. He still owns the club, which has gone through countless renovations and rebranding over the decades. He's only recently opened up a smaller second location, which he plans to Roman as a sort of test to see if his childe is finally worthy enough to be on his own.

Thomas himself acts almost independently. He has a few Ghouls under his control, and of course Roman hanging onto his every word. There's little resistance to his ideas, and his ability to keep the Camarilla's aesthetic in line with the modern era proved to be vastly beneficial in upholding the Masquerade.

Thomas will be seen sparingly for parts of this story, as the happenings of the Inner Circle are kept private. Most of what will likely be shown of him will be in flashback form.

*Next week's Character: Janus*

Tag List: @sethlost @thearomanticsnake

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The Blood That Binds Character Profile- Janus

Prologue | Relationship Map | Thomas

The second Profile is here, albeit a little later than I would’ve liked. I apologize. But here it is!! Janus’ backstory!!

Tag List: @sethlost @thearomanticsnake

TW: mentions of abuse, use of supernatural domination

Janus came from a line of privilege. He had a past life in England that entitled him to all the finer things. He immigrated to America at the first signs of tension in Germany, and quickly established himself as an eccentric salesman. He had a way with words that made others believe nearly anything he said. There wasn’t any lie he couldn’t make someone believe.

No one knows who Janus’ Sire is. It’s a fact even he himself refuses to share. Some theorize that it was a past love he killed shortly after the Embrace. Others that it was an undercover Anarch. Others still claim it was the Prince himself.

What matters is that Janus took to the gift of vampirism surprisingly fast. He was an efficient hunter, a master of his Disciplines, and a strong enforcer of the Masquerade. He earned himself a spot in the Inner Circle rather quickly. He did take the time to notice the handsome young Toreador being brought up alongside him. Thomas and his clumsy fledgling Roman were a pleasant site for Janus.

As time passed Janus’ strength and resolve grew. He was uncannily good at keeping his true intentions hidden from the rest of the Ivory Tower. He kept to himself most night, keeping an eye out for strays or signs of rebellion. By the end of the 1960s he had been instated as the new Sheriff of the Camarilla. This quickly drew his desire to find himself a Scourge/Hound to assist him.

It was a seemingly ordinary night in 1975 as Janus made a brief patrol around the city. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That was until he picked up the faint trace of blood in the air outside a shabby apartment complex. Once inside, Janus could make out the sound of two people having a heated argument.

Following the sound to the third floor, clearing the others to ensure they were clear, he came across a ghastly sight. Two Kindred, one elbow-deep in the blood of a dying human on the floor. The other was just as bloodstained but appeared injured, as if he’d be thrown about rather heavily. Janus couldn’t help but notice the eery similarity between this vampire’s features and Roman’s. If he didn’t know better, he’d say they were brothers.

The Kindred kneeling over the human was clearly younger and less experienced. It was easy for Janus to subdue him, but for whatever reason he chose to leave this one alive. Perhaps he wanted to leave them to their mess. But he would not leave alone.

It took little convincing to get Remus on Janus’ side. It took even less to establish the Blood Bond. Remus has been Janus’ obedient guard dog for nearly 50 years. It was an uneasy adjustment to bring a Tzimisce into the Camarilla, but eventually a fragile peace was established. Janus always held the promise that Remus' time would come. Just a little more time. Just a little more blood. Patience. All in due time...

In the modern nights the two are inseparable, for better or worse. Remus follows Janus' every order, and Janus is always there to clean up Remus' mess. Combatting Anarchs and Sabatt, removing strays, accomplishing Blood Hunts set by the Prince. Whatever the tasks, the Sheriff and Hound were quick to see it done.

Their next mission: Observe Roman as he is given his next trial.

[pattons-second-cookie-v2]

Relationship Map for The Blood That Binds- A Sanders Sides X Vampire the Masquerade AU

There's a title now!!! From now on, posts under this project be titled and tagged with The Blood That Binds.

2 weeks ago I posted a poll asking if people would like to see Character Profiles or a Relationship Map first. The results showed a majority rule for the Relationship Map, which I am sharing today! But! I will be uploading the Character Profiles as well some time between now and the publishing of Chapter 1 (which I do still plan to release on Halloween).

Anyway, I've rambled enough- HERE'S THE MAP

So I know this is an absolute mess to look at so let me further explain how it's set up. Each character has their own color (I am aware of the shade similarity between Patton/Logan and Roman/Thomas but I genuinely couldn't think what other colors to use). The symbols next to most characters are their Clan Symbol- which I will further explain in the Character Profiles.

Characters connected by solid lines have interacted directly at least once. Characters connected by arrows have not interacted, but will interact in the beginnings of the tale. Below the cut, I've included some further explanations of the relationships.

Patton and Virgil

This is the dynamic that made me want to write this story in the first place. In this AU, Patton is Virgil's biological father. Through a misfortune that will be explained later on, Patton became a vampire when Virgil was still a baby (late 90s). Virgil grew up in the city believing his father to have passed away, all while Patton has been silently observing him from the shadows. At the time where our story takes place, Virgil has returned to the city after a little over 6 years away. And Patton is going to have a totally normal and rational reaction to seeing his son again.

Roman and Thomas

I knew I wanted to toy around with the supernatural power dynamic of a Sire Bond. And I knew I wanted Thomas specifically to be someone's Sire. In the context of the story, Roman was once Thomas' love, and was given the gift of immortality as a means to stay together forever. Thomas himself was still quite new to vampirism, and he quickly grew to regret making Roman. In the modern day, Roman is more like a lackey to Thomas. Following his beck and call in hopes of earning his favor once again. It has been over 70 years, and still Roman very much has the desperate hero vibes about him.

Roman and Virgil

Roman has spotted Virgil, and where the story picks up, he's beginning to close in. The only issue is he can't decide what exactly he'll do once he gets close to Virgil. He could make him a mindless Blood Slave. He could string him out as a forlorn lover. He could recruit him to his vampiric faction, as either a Bonded Ghoul or a fledgling vampire. His decision will drastically reform the dynamics of all those around him. But he's a little too lovestruck to realize the potential damage he could cause.

Logan and Patton

A healthy relationship?? In my toxic vampire romance? Yes, actually. Logan found Patton as a terrified fledgling who'd been abandoned by his Sire. Having roughly two decades of vampiric knowledge to rely on, Logan was quick to lend his talents to guide Patton. It became rather apparent that Patton did not take well to vampirism, and Logan's levelheadedness eased him into his new existence. In the modern nights, the two are inseparable. This is mostly at Patton's request, as he begins to grow paranoid in Logan's absence.

Janus and Remus

Janus is power-hungry and Remus is easily controlled. Janus has a few years of seniority over Remus, which he is quick to remind him of. Remus is also the only character who is beginning the story already Blood Bound. He has been Janus' thrall for since the 80s, and after spending over 30 years unbound, he just feels grateful to be noticed. He thinks being close to Janus gets him closer to Roman gets him closer to the command and power he truly craves. He views his Bond as a necessary evil. Janus views it as a means of controlling a scary guard dog.

Janus and Thomas

These two are both members of the Inner Circle, a sort of Sect within the Sect of the Camarilla. Those in the Inner Circle often interact directly with the Prince of the city (or whoever is in command) as well as following out any jurisdiction placed by the Prince. Janus and Thomas entered the Camarilla at roughly the same time, as well as being welcomed to the Inner Circle during the same night of Elysium. Their specific roles within the inner circle will be explained later.

Janus has always viewed Thomas as a potential adversary, believing that their power and influence combined could be immensely beneficial to the Camarilla. Thomas, on the other hand, is extremely jealous of Janus. He believes that their parallel rise to power is building up to an ultimate showdown where one of them will be forced to overtake the other. And he does not intend for Janus to have the advantage.

Remus and Logan

Remus has a 20 year advantage on Logan. At the time of their meeting, they were both strays who were not bound to any vampiric Sect. Remus viewed Logan as a fellow outcast, someone with skill and poise that could prove a useful asset in his major goals. Logan viewed himself as superior to Remus, believing his pragmatic approach to vampirism made him more appealing. They had a messy breakup, to put it lightly, and neither of them have made any attempt to reconnect.

Roman and Remus

These two are still canonically twin brothers. There's a lot to explain, which I will cover in better detail in each of their Character Profiles. But to summarize here: Roman became a vampire first, and has believed Remus to have passed away after being deployed during WWII. However, Remus did return home after the war, and had heard whispers of his brother joining a "secret society". Efforts to find Roman ultimately lead to Remus becoming a vampire himself. Rather than wallow over what had become his fate, Remus has instead spent the last few decades working to use his abilities as a means of finding Roman and taking all that he is.

Characters who have NOT interacted together!

Patton and Roman

Logan and Roman

Logan and Janus

Janus and Patton

Janus and Roman

Remus and Patton

Remus and Thomas

Logan and Thomas

Virgil and EVERYBODY

I believe that covers everything for now. My goal is to have a Character Profile posted every Friday between now and Halloween, and then posting Chapter One on Halloween as a way to enjoy the spooky evening. As always, if you wish to be tagged in this project, reply on this post or send me a DM.

Tag List: @sethlost @thearomanticsnake

Above board for a moment, I do want to thank everyone who has been encouraging this story. It's been a long while since I've written any major works, and I'm really excited to be worldbuilding again. So just- thanks for the kind words and the sharing and the support. Its really means a lot <3

-🍪

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The Blood That Binds- A Sanders’ Sides X Vampire: The Masquerade AU

Do you like Sanders’ Sides? Do you like vampires? Have you ever wanted to read about the Sides as chaotic vampires? Well YOU’RE IN LUCK!

I’m currently working on the premise of a SS story centered on the TTRPG/video game universe Vampire: The Masquerade. VTM is a gritty and intense game that explores a lot of dark themes, and I’m already cooking up some juicy scenarios to put the Sides through. But I figured I’d give a little starter pitch before getting too busy with writing.

The Sides are all vampires of varying ages (mostly late 20s and early 30s) and from different eras (1940s-present day). The only human (at the time I’ writing this) is Virgil but don’t worry, he won’t be for long.

In VTM there are two main sects of Vampires, the Camarilla and the Anarchs. The Camarilla are mainly old world vampires who are set in the ways of the old traditions that are structured to benefit the elders and those with power. The Anarchs are the rebels, typically new age vampires with a common goal to deconstruct the Cam and establish free states for any and all vampires. The methods and influences of the two sects vary from city to city.

The Sides are a healthy mix of Anarchs and Camarilla, as well as a nomad or two. Expect to see lots of secrets and backstabbing. And perhaps even some enemies to lovers ;)

If you have interest in this Vampire AU, let me know on this post or my DMs and I’ll set up a tag list. First chapters won’t be up for a while, but I will be setting up some character profiles and drabbles before beginning the main story. I’m hoping to get the story officially started by Halloween (very fitting for vampires, I know)

Below the cut, I’m including a list of possible triggers/tropes I may end up using. Please note that not all of these are final, but they all have the potential to be used.

Story May Include: Body horror, blood, gore, descriptions of death, major character death, hallucinations (auditory and visual), verbal abuse, descriptions of panic attacks, kidnapping, bondage, power imbalance, harm to animals

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“Gosh I wish I had some way to fill my time…”

*looks at Sanders’ Sides posters*

*looks at Vampire: The Masquerade corebooks*

I might get back into fanfic writing cuz why have I never thought to smash my hyperfixations together???????? I already have so many ideas in my head for the different character dynamics and abilities and- AAAAAAAAAAAA

I WANNA WRITE THIS SO MUCH BUT I NEED TO GO TO BED

[lefaystrent]

Random Sanders Sides Story Ideas

1. Patton is used to repressing his feelings. What he's not used to is repressing his new wolfish tendencies. In which Patton finds out he's a literal Woof Man and tries desperately to hide it from his roommates in increasingly ridiculous ways.

2. Thomas finds himself isekaied into a fantasy world where humans apparently don't exist. The mythical creatures he meets there may be ablento help him get home, if he can just get them to work together. Featuring centaur!Roman, faun!Patton, merfolk!Logan, naga!Janus, harpy!Remus, and drider!Virgil.

3. An AU of the cult classic game Vampire: the Masquerade- Bloodlines. Thomas is an ancient vampire who doesn't like to play a part in the petty clan politics. Over the centuries, he ends up gaining a collective of ghoul underlings who are more like family. Living peacefully becomes hard when the most recent ghoul he takes in, Virgil, becomes caught in the crossfire of a breach in the Masquerade.

4. Remus is a stuntman who's broken every bone in his body and then some. Roman, the leading actor of the movie they're working on, is becoming suspicious if the man is even human. As truths are revealed, the suspenseful horror film starts becoming reality, and Roman refuses to become a victim. Featuring make-up artist Janus, director Patton, script-writer Logan, and cameraman Virgil.

5. Janus, a powerful arch fae, is banished from his grove when his disdain towards humans becomes too great. Believing himself to be superior, Janus dives head first into human society to prove his point. Alternatively, local arch fae gets kicked out of his fairy ring and immediately gets stabbed upon entering human society. It'd be a shame if some humans were to take pity on him and make him experience...emotions. Featuring truth-seekers/monster-hunters Virgil and Remus.