#so guess who's going to be a wizard cowboy?

[utilitycaster]

if you're looking for any reason to write and/or procrastinate, i'd love to hear your alluded-to thoughts on people trying to shove already-extant blorbos into a ttrpg space? it's something i've tried to Strongly Discourage (if not outright ban) at my table and i've struggled putting into words why i dislike it so much. like obviously as a dm doing homebrew world stuff it's super discouraging to feel like your players don't want to engage with it, but even beyond that it feels like it doesn't Work and i'd love to hear if you have thoughts on Why That Is

Absolutely! The biggest reason is in fact the one you say: it's really discouraging as a DM, who is doing a lot more work than anyone else, to have someone not want to build a character informed by your world. This is collaborative storytelling, and they are not collaborating. Which isn't to say that player's preferences for the type of story shouldn't be considered, but there is something very different between, for example, Erika Ishii saying "hey Brennan, I would love to play a witch" in a setting everyone in the cast committed to building collaboratively, vs. coming to your table as a DM saying "hey, this is a world I've created, it is inspired by Norse mythology" and saying "cool this is my weird west cowboy OC, why isn't there a cowboy class."

I think the other reason, and here's where I might be guessing, but I think people can get uniquely rigid and protective of pre-existing OCs. I mean...I had a vague set of OCs inspired by a lot of the fantasy stories I read as a kid for literal years, and setting aside that they don't fit in neatly to a D&D system anyway, the thought of playing one and having them die at level 2 against some will-o-the-wisps is really not something I'm open to! When it comes to a lot of the games that have character progression and start relatively weak, like D&D, most people are thinking of a cool powerful mage, not a squishy L1 wizard with 2 spell slots! I think people are precious and impatient and rigid about a lot of their OCs, so they won't take the big swings that you need to make in order to have a good time in a TTRPG because they're too afraid of losing the character before they reach their final form - and, they have a final form in mind that they might be reluctant to deviate from. Sure, some people can get past this; but many people can't. They already have too much of a story in mind and aren't open to the one being told together at the table. They won't kill their darlings and so they're going to freak out every time Darling has to make a death save.

Finally: I personally think character creation is necessarily collaborative, in that party composition is important. To give an example: I have an idea of an Eldritch Knight who learned her magic from the eccentric wizard she guarded, who then died in a locked room mystery, and she was exonerated but considered suspect (and also felt guilty) and so is in need of employment and could easily fall into adventuring. This is a pretty flexible concept in most D&D settings because a lot of the specifics aren't at all filled in. However: let's say my friend says "hey, um, one of our players had a family emergency and needs to leave our game long-term. Do you want to join?" and I say "yes, absolutely" and they say "great, they were playing a bard and were our only healer, though we do have a warlock who can be the party face," I should not play the eldritch knight with no healing! It is in fact my responsibility to roll up with, say, a cleric!

So that's really why: you can and should bring vague concepts you want to explore to a table, but you really shouldn't pick from a fully fleshed out OC because that doesn't engage with the setting nor what the party needs.

[memekeymouse]

( @tophthedaydreamer ‘s tags in reference to this post)

I’M GLAD!!!! I’M SO HAPPY YOU LIKE MY FUCKED UP TOON LORE SO MUCH!!!! but oh god how do I explain the powers thing without it sounding cringe as hell

……..

FUCK IT. It’s my blog and I’m living my truth. Apologies in advance if it sounds completely incomprehensible though

So far, I’ve mentioned how fame and attention from humans is what basically runs all of Toonkind. Toons need that recognition in order to become corporeal and sentient; otherwise they remain as a nebulous concept forever without actually existing (unfortunately this is what happened to Felicity in my lore due to her incredibly minimal appearances in the comics; this was also Della’s fate until DT17 actually made her a full-fledged character that enough viewers grew attached to).

MY POINT IS: Humans’ attention is the life force of Toonkind, and they need a minimum of that life force in order to keep existing or else they’ll start wasting away until they’re completely forgotten. But what Toons learned later on is that going beyond that minimum can also make those select Toons stronger, and guess who was the first Toon to prove that theory due to his obscenely high popularity?

so yeah, the more famous a Toon is, the more power they have, and that power is shaped by their life, their career, their personality, etc. which means that no Toon has the exact same power.

In Mickey’s case, he’s had a lot of ‘identities’ due to all the different roles and jobs he’s played for all kinds of media: cartoons, comics, videogames, movies and so on. On top of that, Disney has made its identity center around magic and stars, and Mickey has been on the forefront of that as the mascot. As a result, Mickey’s ‘power’ is focused on those two aspects of his life as a Toon.

As a result, Mickey has the power of switching between his different roles and make use of all the abilities each role includes: musketeer, cowboy, wizard, etc. He also has the ability to ‘summon’ each of his ‘selves’ as separate entities, which are all connected to him because they’re, well, himself. I’ve dubbed this power ‘Mouse King’ as a reference to Rat Kings but also to Mickey’s elevated status…whether he wants it or not

Important to mention: even though these kinds of powers can make these Toons stand higher than less popular Toons, they still pose no threat to humans whatsoever. After all, the only influence Toons hold over humans is purely over their emotions; it’s humans who have control over the lives of Toons as their creators and source of their life force.

[heehoothefool]

Mmmm I'm bored and it's almost 6 am and I cannot sleep.

I'm gonna assign the Empires SMP s2 cast DnD classes for the fun of it.

Joel: He's a Sorcerer for sure, but idk if wild magic or blue draconic bloodline is more fitting. On one hand, he dipped into a magic fountain to become a God which is very wild magic leaning. On the other hand, blue dragon ancestry would give an obvious affinity to lightning, and an excuse for his obsession with gold and the common teal/blue themes of his Stratos builds. You also can get wings. Idk, I like both a lot here.

Fwhip: Have you seen those funky Redstone signs? This little guy is an artificer all the way. After he made that sick mace? I'm gonna say he'd run the battle smith archetype. Idk funny little goblin tinkerer is just fun to me.

Jimmy: Fighter, gunslinger archetype. He's a cowboy, look at him. What else could he possibly be? I know he doesn't have a gun (yet) but I think he deserves it with all the gunpowder. He's also Just Some Guy and sadly fighter is the most Just Some Guy class there is.

Pixlriffs: The archivist artificer subclass was literally made for this man. Tinkering around with insane redstone, litematica, the obsession with the past and knowing things he shouldn't necessarily know, like it's all there. It's perfect for him. I love him.

Sausage: Oath of Devotion paladin, for sure. He's the protector of Sanctuary, it's his duty to protect his friends and his people, to stay true to them no matter what. He will protect his people and those he cares about. Also you literally get access to the spell Sanctuary as part of the extended spell list. Come on.

Scott: Wild magic Sorcerer. If a wizard gives you a glass eye that is SO going to have random magical consequences, and with how often Owen goes between human and Llama I wouldn't be shocked if it was related. They're also charisma casters and look at him. Look at him.

Joey: Gunslinger fighter again but this time with the pirate background specifically. He literally has a gun. What else could he be?

Oli: The man is literally a college of glamor bard. Like this isn't even a question. Come on now.

False: Oh an artificer all the way, look at the steampunk aesthetic going on here. I wanna give her artillerist because she definitely seems like the type to develop a flamethrower, but I think alchemist fits her lore (the whole amnesia potions thing) a bit better. Another one I'm a little torn on.

Gem: What else could she be but a light cleric? She is the princess of the sun and she started a church for the sun. Light cleric. Boom.

Katherine: Definitely barbarian, but the subclass isn't clear. I might need to homebrew a monster hunter subclass here because while that would normally be a ranger thing I guess, this isn't the first time I've wanted to build a monster hunter with a big sword or big axe. For now, I'll say wolf totem warrior.

Shelby: Wild magic Sorcerer with really bad luck who decided to multiclass into the actual alchemist class on the side, but not enough to pick an archetype. Her spells go wrong all the time, often on accident, she doesn't learn from a book, she's having a great time. Sorry you got polymorphed into a frog lol.

Lizzie: Another wild magic sorcerer except she stopped trying after she turned herself into a cat and decided to instead become an arcane trickster rogue. She is not a cat, she prommy. She totally will not steal from you the moment you aren't looking. She enchanted her mask to make her look human. She is human. Worry more about your chests. Don't ask about the amethyst. She has expertise in deception.

[probablyahazard]

Tagged by @nuclear-cowboy my beloved to do 15 questions, 15 mutuals so here we go

Were you named after anyone? My first name is stolen from a dnd character and a podcast character. My middle name is veeeery technically from a kpop idol? (its an english name tho, latin origin) a friend called me by his name as a joke once. I proceeded to ignore the massive amount of gender euphoria it gave me for like a year in a half. But the name means lucky so I was like 'ha yeah I'll keep it'

When was the last time cried? Idk dude like 24 hours ago? will probably cry later tho. I cry a lot.

Do you have kids? Ha, fuck no. I'm a baby. Also for other......reasons.

Do you use sarcasm alot? Yes? I think? Enough that people used to comment on how sarcastic I was?

What’s the first thing you notice about people? Is it cheating if I just say vibes? idk if i had to hazard (ha) a guess I'd say like either the way they carry themselves or how much they speak.

What’s your eye colour? Brown but like deep brown almost black looking brown type shit.

Any special talents? I'm one of those bitches who's just super good at memorizing quotes. is it practically useful? no. But it's fun. I memorize whole movies for funsies.

Scary movies or happy endings? Both? It depends on my mood? As a kid i was very into scary movies but as I get older and the world happens I appreciate happy endings more which.....ahhh.... ya know?

Where were you born? Aotearoa

What are your hobbies? Reading (so much fucking reading), drawing, writing, dnd and dming (tho that actually happens once in a blue moon), imagining little scenarios. idk dude existing

Do you have any pets? Not currently, I used to have a cat.

What sports do you play/have played? I did fencing for like 5 years, that was my main thing. Idk not really a sports person. as a kid I did miniball, touch rugby, and gym but not of those ever stuck. I always wanted to play football (soccer not the other one) but eh.

How tall are you? short.... (*whispers* like 5'1)

Favourite subject in school? Classics my beloved <3333 also drama and english. and like in theory I liked the content for my art history class but I hated the way we were taught so

Dream job? I do not dream of labor. also I have a lot of fears about not being able to hold a full time job without destroying myself for...Reasons. But like hypothetically I'd love to be a classicist or a graphic designer. or an actor but like ahhhh no.

Tagging the mutuals, sorry. This is probably not like 15 and obviously you don’t have to do this, it’s chill if you just ignore this. anyways, ur all really cool and I hope ur having a good day <3

@ghostgrrll @badfaithbanana @raemae-15 @nightlynymph @watermelon-converse @coffeeshopghost @future-banned-book-recipient @confused-wizard @angelic-flower-universe @merriweather-underground

[chemicalarospec]

just remembered one of my earliest OCs was trans. awesome for him. I feel like I even wrote him LESS transphobically than I would write trans characters now? Because like I was able to forget he was trans. Johann (or Joshua? I forget) "Grizz" Gillum was the grizzled mentor of the group. He was a former soldier missing one leg. The setting was very D&D and the backdrop was entirely inspired by one (i think Protopetz?) post about how like. cowboys and motorcycle gangs both thrived after wars because of influx of vets with nothing to do and also relative lawlessness so that makes senses for D&D adventuring parties. The party was four people instead of the typical five to represent the destruction of war -- other three were Bitley, a gnome who used gnomish pronouns, Callahan (or Callum?), a human whose older sister had wanted to fight and died and older brother didn't want to fight but was conscripted and died (Callum's always had a GNC air about him, but I think I handwrote any character notes I had so Idk if I ever gave him a concrete non-cismale gender), and Lucy (... I have another OC named Lucy, I guess it's a favorite name of mine?), a pixie without wings. Lucy's brother Oban was also dead and supported to be the missing 5th member of the party, however telling chapters from the perspective of his ghost was severely impeded by my aversion to representation of any kind of afterlife whatsoever. The pixies inhabited the land inbetween the kingdoms that had fought the war -- Lucy and Oban's village had been burned and -- plot twist -- Grizz had participated in the burning. I actually had such elite backstory built up even though I didn't have a strong plot moving forward lol. Also such diverse characters? Impressed with myself. They all had relations to this guy named The Wartime Wizard (a performer) and there was going to be an evil wizard who had studied under the same wizard as the Wartime Wizard and thus wanted something of his he had passed onto the group. I was in my Death Obsession when I was working on it so I skipped to the end of the story and wrote all their deaths lmao.

[ginevralinton]

@its-a-hare-pom-pom thank you for the tag!!

Favourite colour and why? blue - it reminds me of the sea, it feels calm and sad but happy too. I like the sound of the word. I also love pink, because it's a happy and bright.

Five comfort movies: i don't really watch movies...

Favourite season and why? winter! i like when it's cold and you can wrap up in blankets; i like those really cold mornings and cold nights and the frost and ice; less people are out when you go to parks/outdoor places; there are several things that can't happen in winter and those things give me anxiety; i have work and while it's stressful, it's not intense like other parts of the year

Favourite book(s): Villette by Charlotte Bronte, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte are my top three

favourite aesthetic(s)and why? I think 'cottagecore' is pretty cute, or like, space aesthetics or 'arty' ones - oh, and like, horribly gaudy rainbow ones. Idk all the proper names but those ones just appeal to me

Favourite genre and why? It depends on what it is, but I'll talk about books because TV tastes are just - random. With books, I like 'literary' fiction, classics, historical fiction and short stories too? I guess I like the analyse stuff when I read, to look at the layers and structures, and I find those genres lean more easily towards that.

Favourite clothes style: honestly shifts between girly dresses and fluffy coats to dungarees, oversized shirts and DMs

Favourite music genres: most of my favourite artists fit under the 'indie' category somewhere

Favourite artists: Florence and the Machine, The Killers, The Wombats, King Princess

Favourite song(s): King by Florence and the Machine and Battle Born by The Killers

Favourite fandoms: BBC Ghosts ❤

Hobbies: writing, drawing, reading, walking

Care language you give: acts of service, I guess? or being a willing listener? idk

Care language you like to receive: willing listeners?

Are you an introvert/extrovert/ambivert: introvert

Morning or night person? i'm less anxious in the morning but i'm also awake most of the night so...

City, country or suburbs and why? suburbs. basically, i like where i live, the balance between having green space but also having easy access to towns/shops/cities

Favourite time of day and why? between 8:30 and 9:30pm, because day anxiety is over and night anxiety hasn't fully begun

Do you have any religious beliefs(don’t have to answer if not comfortable)? not really

What does your ideal family look like to you? me, a gf and many many guinea pigs? maybe a daschund (if i get over the fear of dogs)? and friends too? (and ofc some of my actual family now)

Dream future: no idea, can't see a thing

Dream place to visit: I'd love to go to Geneva, Brussels or Iceland, but realistically, I'd just like to go back to Haworth or Lulworth (or, lbr, the Isle of Wight)

Favourite type of nature: I like flowers, the sea and cliff tops

Favourite habitat (eg jungle, desert, tundra etc): the ocean and forests

How would you describe yourself in 4 words: awkward, anxious, serious, creative?

If you could be another thing on earth what would it be: something inanimate, like a rock

Favourite type of weather: sunny but cool (or snow, but i feel bad for saying that 😁)

If you could travel anywhere right now where would it be: Haworth

Do you have any fears (serious or otherwise): everything? dogs, house fires, burglary, the future, people in those mascot costumes, social interactions etc.

Dream job: who knows

Would you be a pirate/vampire/cowboy/astronaut/werewolf/wizard/witch/knight/cryptid and why? cowboy, i guess. i like the hats

I'll tag @sonnet-of-anarchy @thelastplantagenet @thatgordongirl @breitzbachbea @athelstan-anglecyning if you want to do it

[arahith]

Rules

Post the names of the files of your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you asks with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it. If you want, tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Tagged by both @setsuntamew and @dragonofeternal so I guess I’m doing this!! I don’t have as much fanfic so I’m including the ttrpgs I’m working on too!

“Crew Info” - This is for chapter 3 of Bleeding Cowboys! I’m just trying to give us all a reference doc for what high school crew was like so we can all write it with a unified voice

“18 isn’t old enough for fireworks but neither is 180” - an unrelated 2000’s teenage Vashwood AU

“Religious angst snippet” - Tristamp Wolfwood having a bad time

“Bluuuuaaargh I am never gonna be able to find this later” - a very poorly titled bit of Vashwood angst with a happyish ending??

“You are not a train” - a Persona 4 Naoto centric Twine (interactive) fic about growing up and being an adult and gender still being complicated

“Pending” - A ttrpg/board game about being a bunch of newly graduated wizards who go in together on a fixer upper tower

“Murder Express” - A ttrpg about murder on a train

“Labyrinth” - A solo ttrpg about playing a haunted ps1 game

“This is not a pipe” - a solo journaling ttrpg about the physicality of a spell book/journal

“Title Here” - a so far unnamed game about being a bunch of kobolds building a dungeon on a shoestring budget

OK SO I MAY HAVE HAD MORE THAN I THOUGHT?? No one gets tagged because everyone I know already was tagged or sent it to me. (Unless you got something @tamayrs up your sleeve, then feel free!) Anyway, feel free to ask me about any of these, I’m happy to give you a snippet and a more in-depth overview!

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

God of Cowboys and Fools - Chapter Four

“I can just keep up.”

“No, you can’t. You don’t know your body’s limitations yet, clearly, but you damn near hit them today.”

I scowl. “I am a god.”

“Part of a god. In a body you cobbled together from spit and spite. Shut up and let me get you a horse.” He walks out and leaves me with the fanged, red-eyed, mouth-breathing freak.

Bella the horse looks at me. I don’t feel like she’s impressed.

Written for the @malevolentmadnessmixup event! Art by @futuresoon.

>>> READ ON AO3 OR BELOW <<<

----------------------

Chapter Four

I stay quiet all the way up the ladder and through the creaky wooden hut and through the desert and back into town and through the swinging doors of Jack’s Bar (which looks a lot better than it should, given the dark magic that undoubtedly flew during our battle, but maybe Arthur repaired it).

I stay quiet as we pass all these dirty humans who just stare at us, who (foolishly) are more wary of him than they are of me, and Arthur nods and mutters to the man behind the bar and leaves a handful of coins and just heads out the door.

We go toward the other end of town, the opposite of the way I came in. There, it seems he has a horse.

It’s a weird horse. This thing is poltergeist gray, with weird red eyes, and its edges don’t seem… solid. It stomps, snorting, and pants through its mouth (some memory from this brain tells me horses can’t do that), revealing fucking fangs that I am damned sure don’t grow in horses.

“There, there,” Arthur the wizard says, patting it (Her? Yep, that’s a lady horse) down. “I know, he’s pretty scary, but he’s a good guy now. Aren’t you, Little John?”

Uh. “I don’t know.”

He rolls his eyes at me.

I think the horse just did, too. What the fuck? “They can’t breathe through their mouths.”

“Bella can. Yes you can, can’t you, old girl? Fuck, we’re going to need you to get a horse. No fucking way she’ll let you ride her.”

Oh. “I can just keep up.”

“No, you can’t. You don’t know your body’s limitations yet, clearly, but you damn near hit them today.”

I scowl. “I am a god.”

“Part of a god. In a body you cobbled together from spit and spite. Shut up and let me get you a horse.” He walks out and leaves me with the fanged, red-eyed, mouth-breathing freak.

Bella the horse looks at me. I don’t feel like she’s impressed.

I bare my teeth.

She bares hers.

Hers are longer. Why the fuck did I bother to keep mine human sized, anyway? “Are you immortal, too?”

She snorts at me. Steam or smoke or something comes out of her nose.

I peer closer. “Are you a summoned being, or something? What are you?”

“Are you talking to my horse?” teases Arthur Lester, who got another horse so fast that I almost think he stole it.

“Yeah. She’s not a horse.”

“On that, you’re partly correct.” He pulls out a saddle and begins rigging her up. “She was a horse. She was a very good horse, and served me well. When she got old, I was sad, because I didn’t want to lose her; she wanted to stay with me, too, so we made a deal.”

This sounds very relevant to my situation. “She’s immortal?”

“She’s tied to me and to one other, between life and death. As long as she wants to be mine, she will be. When she’s done, she’ll join the Wild Hunt forever.” He looks at me. “Do you know how to saddle your new horse?”

I look at my horse. Bay, a gelding. Kind of boring after Bella. “I think so.”

“Do it.” He’s watching me for some reason.

I get the saddle he points me to. Guess we “bought” that, too. Carefully, I apply it to my new horse.

It takes me a few minutes. Each step, I have to search my stolen memories for, and it’s a pain because they don’t match up. Different methods. I frown.

“Problem?” he says, still watching me.

“No,” I snap at him, and choose a method. A few moments later, my new horse is saddled. “Good boy, Boring,” I tell him.

Arthur sort of coughs. “You named him Boring?”

“Yep.”

“I think his name is supposed to be Jed.”

I scoff. “Jed! That’s a stupid name. You’re Boring, aren’t you?”

My horse sort of makes a whuffing sound at me and nods. Ha!

Arthur shakes his head.

“Did you steal him?” I ask just because I’m curious.

“No. I was owed. Let’s go, Little John. They will fucking catch us if we dick around any longer.”

“Who are they?”

“On the road.” He swings into the saddle with a grace I find very interesting all of a sudden, and I stare at him.

“What?” he says.

“That was a beautiful movement.” I peer at him. “You aren’t unseemly for a human, are you?”

He rolls his eyes again.

Whatever. It takes me a moment to remember how to mount, and I’m heavier than Arthur Lester is, but Boring handles it just fine.

Arthur shakes his head and trots Bella out the door.

I follow. Fortunately, Boring knows what to do better than I do. “You’re a good horse,” I tell him.

He whickers at me again.

We have an understanding, he and I. Take that, weird not-horse Bella. Take that.

#

It’s so fucking hot out here. I decide I don’t like it. It must not have been this hot where I came from before. Wherever that was.

The Dreamlands, my Lord, says the voice, who’s been quiet for a while. Which you ruled at your whim.

Did I? It definitely wasn’t hot, then.

“So,” says Arthur after a while, as we bounce along and our horses make noises and our saddles make noises and it’s a weirdly pleasant leather-jingle cacophony. “I really would like to know how you found me.”

“I already answered that,” I say.

“Not quite,” he says. “Here’s the thing, Little John—”

“Just John.” I have decided.

A pause. “Sure. Here’s the thing, Just John: the protections I’ve had in place for the past three hundred years are missing. Just plain gone. Something blew them away like wind on cobwebs—and that something definitely happened in the last several hours.”

I’m not stupid. “You’re blaming me?”

“I didn’t say that,” said Arthur. “It may not be you. It may have been whatever shattered the King in Yellow. That was… that was a big aetheric explosion.” He shudders, closing his eyes for a moment. “The whole world felt it, John. It didn’t feel good.”

I swallow. “I don’t remember what happened. Just waking up.”

“And knowing you had to find me.”

“I… I knew I was mortal. And I can’t be mortal. It’ll destroy me. Then I knew you were immortal, and… I knew I had to find you.”

Arthur Lester looks at me. “You knew that.”

“I knew that.”

His face… I can’t understand what I’m seeing there. It’s pain of some kind, loss, grief, anger? I don’t know. It’s a lot, and doesn’t look pleasant. “You knew your name and that you had to find me.”

Oh. “No. I knew I had to find you. And I… don’t know how I knew to make the body.”

“You knew me but not your name?”

“That’s what I said.” I huff like Boring. It feels pretty good.

“Then how did you learn your name?”

Don’t you dare.

I need his help more than yours, voice. “There’s a voice in my head.”

He looks really spooked now. “What?”

You idiot!

“I don’t know who he is,” I say. “He’s very bossy. But he knew who I was, and told me.”

Arthur frowns, his silver-blue eyes moving as he “sees” all around me, for whatever value of that word. “I don’t see any connective… how the heck…”

You fool!

“He’s insulting me now,” I say. “He swings between that and calling me lord and god and glorious, so I don’t know what to do with him.”

There is a sigh in my head.

Arthur’s frowning. “To be fair, I don’t know what to do with you, either.”

“You have to take me with you,” I remind him.

“Sure, but I could bind you, or something.”

I gasp. “You wouldn’t!”

“I might. If you’re trouble.”

“I’m not trouble!” I bare my teeth.

Bella bares hers sort of at me sideways.

“It’s okay, girl,” says Arthur, patting her neck. “He’s a baby.”

“I am not a baby.”

“From what I can tell, you’re six hours old.”

“I am eternal!”

“You’re mortal, and you came into existence six hours ago. Shut up.”

This man! Infuriating! How dare!

I did tell you not to put your trust in him, my Lord, drawls the voice.

Except that I know I can. Damn it, voice. Listen to me. I know I can.

And I know you can’t.

We’re getting nowhere. “I don’t know what happened to your protections. Sorry.”

“I’m not holding you accountable,” he says, which is weird phrasing that feels like it goes beyond its literal meaning somehow, and I think it’s important. “I’m just… you remembered me. That’s weird, John.”

“Remembered you?” I gasp. “We met before?”

“You and I did not.”

“But you said… Oh! When I was whole.”

“Yes.”

He remembers. But I don’t? “When? How?”

The voice laughs softly. He will never answer that, oh great one. Never in a million years.

I want to know! “Answer me.”

“I’m not ready to talk about it,” he says so primly that I laugh.

“No tea to go with that delivery? Pinky out?”

“What?” Then he laughs. “I get it. No, I think my tone conveyed my high-class disdain just fine.”

We both laugh because that was very silly.

I like Arthur the wizard.

“Six hours,” Arthur murmurs to himself. “Do you feel like you know more or less than you did when you woke?”

“I don't know how to answer that.”

“Do you remember anything of your past? Where you came from? Who you were?”

I scowl. “No.”

“But more… human things.”

“Yes.”

“That may not be good,” he says. “So when you put your body together, what did you use?”

“Cultists.”

He pulls Bella up to a stop. “Did you use any of the King?”

“There were only humans.”

“There should have been something left. Shit. Shit.” He rubs his forehead.

Bella makes a questioning sound.

“What?” I say.

He’s silent for a long moment. “So the pro is they won’t expect us to go back in that direction. The con is they’re definitely coming from that way, so we could be walking into them.”

“Into who?”

“The King’s servants. Fuck.”

I stare at him. “The people chasing you to kill you are my servants?”

“Sort of. They think they're trying to protect him.”

“Protect him? Me? From you?” Boring must be able to feel the awfulness moving through me, like bad blood. He prances in place, uneasy.

Arthur sighs. “I have something. He… gave me something. But they were convinced I stole it.”

What is going on here? “What?” Silence. “What is it? What do you have?”

“I promise I’ll tell you,” says Arthur, “if we survive the night.”

I could tell you, my Lord.

I swallow. I need to know. “You promise you’ll tell me?”

“I give you my word.”

Then no, voice. I want it from him.

He’s a thief and a liar!

Yeah? Really? Funny that you didn’t mention any of what he’s saying, voice. Not one word of it, not all those hours we were talking and walking across the burning sand. Funny how that happened!

You weren’t ready.

I’m so mad at the voice I can barely think. “You better keep your word, Arthur Lester.”

“I will,” he says. And he turns his horse around.

[chapter five] [masterpost]

[space-ayce]

So I created Cad Bane in Miitopia for the Switch....this game has been a curse yet a blessing.

[st-just]

dnd sci-fi anon here! Thanks for the answer, you hit the nail on the head.

As someone who tries to make the best game i can for my players I'm always trying to be aware of where I'm in the wrong about how I run my games, so with so many "it is impossible to do sci-fi in dnd, just play starfinder or lancer" posts I sometimes worry I misstepped by sticking with dnd overall, but I think what it comes down to in the end is that my players directly asked for a dnd campaign in space, with magic-powered tech and space elves and bringing swords to a gunfight, and we all prefer 5e over Starfinder (which would also be a good system for the kind of campaign we all wanted). I had someone who went "I want to play a wizard space cowboy" so I think this was a good pick for the campaign we all wanted.

But i did want to make sure I wasnt just being stupid about it. I agree with you and I think I just run into so many people online who don't see it that way, and that ends up making me second guess and worry that my view on it is just wrong and im being pigheaded by sticking with 5e in the end. I shopped around for a bunch of systems when i first considered this campaign but it came down to "why learn a new system when my players quite literally asked for dnd in space?"

I feel more sure about that decision after hearing from someone I dont know personally who has little reason to worry making me feel bad by telling me if I'm wrong, but also explains thoughts thoroughly enough to convince me if I am. You were more likely to give me a more detailed explanation than the people who just go "there is NOTHING dnd is good for, just play another game" and if i had just asked someone I knew would agree with me it wouldnt do much to help me feel like I made the right choice.

re:

I mean, like, 'your players are comfortable and enjoy D&D and don't want to learn another system' is a perfectly legitimate reason to stick with it! (Certainly the reason I mostly have).

Anyways, I'm super not an authority on TTRPGs at all (I can recommend Legacy and Blades In The Dark and Delta Green as all variously a lot of fun with the right group and Unknown Armies 3e has my favorite session 0/campaign creation chapter ever, but that's about it), but I can absolutely say that you should absolutely positively never take people vitriolically hating something on the internet as being the final word on its quality. Like, about anything.

[scint]

Krogan Ties

"Hey, Shepard! Great party," Wrex cheered over the roaring music. He held up his ryncol in a toast. "Pretty tame by krogan standards but a good time to relax and unwind."

"Thanks, Wrex," she replied as their glasses clinked together. They each took turns taking long pulls from them before she continued. "I think everybody needed this, you know?"

"Yeah. I mean, just look at them flailing around like that." He shook his head as Kaidan aimed a round of finger guns at him. "That's some desperate dancing if I've ever seen it."

"Are you saying krogan dancing is any more dignified than that?"

"I'm too old to make a fool of myself at parties, Shepard. Junior, on the other hand - where is he, anyway?"

They turned in place, glancing at both levels in view. No sign of the silver armor and thick, orange hide.

"Huh. He was just complaining about how hungry he was. Maybe he found a bite to eat and snuck off so he wouldn't have to share."

Shepard turned to stare at her old friend and shook her head in disbelief.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's take a look around," she advised, stepping towards the nearest set of stairs.

"Come on, Shepard. Let the boy be. He'll come out when he's ready. Hell, you can't miss him with a head that big."

"Quit whining and go the other way. I'll meet you in the middle," she called over her shoulder.

After a few minutes of searching and walking in on a few of her squadmates in varyingly precarious senarios, she met Wrex outside of one if the guest bathrooms. She heard the shower running inside and decided it would best to leave whoever it was to finish before checking to see if they'd seen the young krogan.

"Well? Any luck?" Wrex asked.

"No, you?"

He shook his massive head at her and turning back the way he'd came. "That's it. I'm grabbing a refill and then I'll start checking surveillance footage and call the hospital. He'd better be-"

"Are you a wizard?"

"Pst! Hey! Wrex!" Shepard waved him over back to the bathroom door. She could see steam starting to spill out from under the crack in the door.

"What?" he demanded.

"Listen."

Both of them placed an ear to the door, listening intently until-

"Who's a space cowboy? Me!"

Grunt.

"What the..."

Shepard slowly swung the door open so as not to alert him; she didn't need a panicked krogan in a confined space. Stepping inside, she saw him crumbled on the shower floor, water pouring over his massive listless frame.

"Now I've seen everything," she muttered.

She was rewarded with another quip. "Damn your lettuce!"

"Well, he's plastered. Poor boy hasn't developed a tolerance for the drink yet. Guess I shouldn't have been feeding them to him all night."

"Wrex!" Shepard scolded.

"What? He keeps bragging about being a 'pure krogan,'" he exclaimed with air quotes. "Guess I thought he'd be up to the task."

"Next time, don't get the toddler drunk, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah... You know what, though? This is nice. Our little family that we've fought for."

"You mean Grunt?"

"Yeah, sure. You're his battle master, the first person he laid eyes on after being released from that tank. And I took him in, gave him the rite, made him an honorary member of Clan Urdnot. We both adopted him, took him under our wing. Look how well he's doing for it!"

She glanced down at his soaking wet form, questioning Wrex's vision. "Uh-huh."

"I'm serious! We did good," he gushed proudly, beaming down as Grunt began to mutter again.

"Gimme more..."

"What?"

"Gimme more, gimme more..."

"What's he saying?" Wrex asked, eyeballing Shepard who shrugged in response.

"Fishdog Food Shack!"

"See? Told you he was hungry," Wrex nodded knowingly.

"Then get him a snack and put him to bed, Dad." Shepard nudged one if his massive arms and stalked off.

"Dammit! C'mon, Junior," she heard him heave.

"I am the law!"

#MERweek2021 Day 5: We are family.

[salty-dracon]

More Octopath 2. All the Chapter 4s, minus the character whose story end was Chapter 3.

Partitio Chapter 4:

I was wondering what that brick smokestack covered city in the trailer could be... turns out it's AN ENTIRE ISLAND run by THE GOD OF CAPITALISM HIMSELF

This entire factory would probably get thousands of citations from Fantasy OSHA.

Oh. That's the loophole. Roque called it the Neo Steam Engine. Partitio is getting the rights to the original, which cannot be mass-produced. Clever, clever...

Oh. Okay. Not the loophole I was expecting.

HAHAHAHAHA THEY ACTUALLY GIVE YOU EIGHTY BILLION LEAVES-

*train whistle* Oh cool so in Octopath 3 we'll have trains.

Local cowboy face skids into the cobblestones.

Yeah!!! He said it!!! He said capitalism!!!

The fact that we're fighting a giant train, and it does the Octopath Final Boss thing where the part sprites look like they're pieces of the boss itself fucks so hard.

As someone who keeps collecting little doodads, I totally get it.

And so, we hired the bad guy to work for our new company where we use steam power to bring the world closer together! Up until climate change kicks in, that is.

I have no clue how one guy and his scent of commerce could possibly tie into the final boss.

Osvald Chapter 4:

Oh, hey. A mention of D'arqest. The one who opened a portal to attack people around Crackridge, fought back by a man named Kal.

The fact that Osvald is canonically a math guy trying to use math to understand the world of magic makes him a man after my own heart. The fact that he is good enough to teach it to a child is also amazing. I'm a math guy myself, and people treat me like a wizard because of it. Plus, doing math feels like magic to me sometimes and is how Western style magic is supposed to feel.

And Harvey is a biology guy. Less exacting, but respectable, I guess.

... Wow. There's even lore behind Soulstones! They're the dried and crystallized blood of monsters.

I haven't been talking much about the banter but it's so good.

Like what if he extracted blood from the creatures on Ochette's island. The goopy ones. Or the Scarlet Moon ones.

I'm just saying, this thing looks suspiciously like the Scarlet Moon monsters......

THAT'S HIS WIFE?! Is this a Graham Crossford scenario where Osvald's wife's bloodline is tied to a god?

Yes, in fact.

OH NO. OH NO

Osvald, get his ass.

Agnea Chapter 4:

That little kid's going to know so much dance by the time Agnea's done with her.

Aww, her mother came to this town and the grandparents remembered!

Oh. Cuani inspired Dolcinaea, then.

With the persistent theme of the Moon, I wonder if the Moonstep has anything to do with it.

Why is this rich Italian girl personally attacking the poor slums lol

So cringe that they give every female boss the craziest boob physics.

Get her ass, Agnea

Hikari Chapter 4:

The Seventh Source has to be the darkness in human souls or some shit, right? "The Shadow"? Null, as the Room series called it? Because it's in that sword.

Talk about broken bridges!

Awwwww.

Hikari's backstory is obviously pretty much entirely based on feudal Japan including all of its social issues, and those are coming out a lot here.

Hikari: And that's how, at the tender age of 12, I acquired my very own shadow demon.

The other seven : WTF?!?!?!

And in perfect protagonist fashion, the story important guy Hikari killed brought it all on himself.

the fucking banter where Osvald would have rather pulled the frigit isle prison break than have someone else just unlock the door for him. or use magic.

Rai Mei I love you but I was under the impression you wore cool armor, not a boob plate and leggings.

Throne Chapter 4:

Her real bio father probably wrote that message on Pirro's grave.

Oh yeah, that door. But wouldn't the team have realized that it was locked while scouting?

Why is there a big valley under the sprawling metropolis of New Delsta?

Moon symbolism. Seriously, what the shit? Why does there just happen to be a cable car system under New Delsta, and wouldn't anyone know it's there just by looking up? Unless it's because they're over the Pit of Darkness or Pit of Shadows or whatever.

This is starting to feel like a weird semi-steampunk fairy tale in a half-forgotten dream.

Solistia, and moon symbolism for evil. I wonder if the two kingdoms are the light and darkness worlds. Maybe Osvald's wife and daughter and also Kal are descended from the Light lover, and there are others like D'arqest descended from the Darkness.

The Nameless Village? Which does, in fact, have a name.

This is like, Minecraft Ancient City levels of scary.

... What. The fuck. You're telling me that random ass kid in Oresrush- what the fuck is happening. If the Elden Ring x Cold Vein castle didn't turn my brain into mush already, this did.

What. The. Fuck.

Having like 200 kids and putting them all in one big organization so you can have the world's most powerful child. Hashtag immortal people things.

Throne... Get his ass and render it dead.

Castlevania looking asshole. (OP loves making fun of vampires)

Woooooooow. Woooooooooooooooooow.

Okay bravo, the ending was amazing, that shitty dad of hers is dead, and Throne gets a cute doggy to hang out with.

Temenos Chapter 4:

I was like "Kaldena" has "Kal" in front, so that can't be it. But yeah, they didn't overlook it. Her name was Dena.

Oh right the Nameless Village is in Toto'haha.

D'arqest came here, tried to call Shadow, yup yup... WHAT. So the Beastlings' ancestors were humans warped by The Shadow.

More moon symbolism on the ground. So combining this information with that from the end of Ochette's route, this Shadow is pretty much what attacks during the Night of the Scarlet Moon when the barrier between planes is broken.

I am not immune to hot lady knight.

Oh. She's a Dark Souls boss now.

Right, there's a leader of the Moonshade Order somewhere responsible for a massacre thirty years prior. Auuuuuugh I need a proper timeline of events! Too much stuff going on!

Castti Chapter 4:

Castti's a disaster relief apothecary, and I like her for that. I can't wait to see how she disaster relieves a COVID-er, purple rain coronation.

The fact that she saved all of their lives is crazy. And the fact that the townspeople listened is crazier.

Nooooooo I don't wanna fight a plague doctor. Where is his face. Please tell me I get to beat up a guy with a face.

Watching people die over and over is enough to drive one mad. But who exactly did he listen to in the first place, who made him this way? They must have a name. Is it D'arqest or Claude or someone else?

Bitch do NOT make me cry by having Castti formally put her friends to rest

And I'm crying at the ending image now. Poor baby.

Reactions so far to Octopath 2 chapters:

Agnea Chapter 2: I adored it! Agnea's story is pretty lighthearted compared to Primrose's, but I like how it's building up to the Artificial Silk Girl scenario we'll run into later. I like the villains overall, but this guy is partially why. He doesn't have Evil Disease, he just hates poor people. Also, so much good music so far.

Ochette Cateracta Chapter: Love seeing her clashes with places as deeply human as port towns. Love the important side character too. And I can't wait to meet the final boss. There's going to be lots of big monsters in this one... The ending scene where Alpione cries has beautiful music.

Temenos Chapter 2: I LOVE book based murder. It drives me insane I love it. And I love him and his himbo and the mysteries. Although evil knights clad in red = LOL.

I find it hilarious how when you get information out of a person, there's sometimes some funny shit, and sometimes some mind-blowing information rendered in normal text. And sometimes there's glitches.

HER SISTER?!

A DUNGEON AS COMPACT AS A SHIP????

I cannot wait to see what your cool boss sprite looks like with all it's moves-nooooooo moonlight judgment nooooooooooooo

Castti Sai Chapter: She's the one whose story I'm most interested in, since she seems like such a cool character to me. Also I love how the desert is explicitly the Gobi Desert- I feel like we don't get to see that sort of setting that often.

More glitchies!

Edmund, who looks like THAT: A man's gotta be a provider! Me: Got it, he's sexist, racist, and classist.

Stop killing people, Edmund. (10 minutes later) Good on you for whatever you did, Edmund, but fuck you still.

I can't be the only one who was really excited to see a sand lion and ended up disappointed when it was actually just a giant real-world bug. Called a sand lion.

Whoever voicing the Purple Rain guy is doing great. And I'm terrified for what he did to the Apothecaries and that town. Perhaps that's like Octopath's Ruins of Hornburg.

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

🍄Mon 21 Dec ‘20🎉

Liam says he just finished his last thing of the year- CONGRATS BUD I know you were stressed about getting it all done!!- and issues a formal thank you to a faithful helper: his laptop, which “has seen more zooms than I've had dinners, thank you... you can rest now.” That last thing he did was an interview about the wizarding world thing, not yet posted, although he then comes back one more time to post a santa-hat bedtime selfie captioned 'merry christmas you filthy animals'. He's leaving us with plenty of prerecorded content to keep the updates going during his break though; for example he and Roman Kemp have something coming on the 27th, which makes sense what with it being a day ending in a Y and all, it's something about a naughty or nice list, I guess we'll see. And in their fourth to last alarm today, the final round of christmas cracker jokes-- bringing it up to date with an “elf isolation” punchline, nice! I mean not in the sense of being funny but like, timely, also Liam is actually back on the alarm so cheers to that.

They could have hit up Louis for jokes-- he's famous for them! Apparently! A museum exhibition in Baltimore (viewable virtually) quotes him as the author of a vaguely science-y joke-- (“why did the mushroom go to the party? because he's a fungi!”). He definitely isn't the originator of it but me as the curator who was like 'well he said this once and any excuse to write Louis' name on this wall, LET'S DO IT'. Everyone but you is out here telling bad jokes Harry, come reclaim your crown sir!

Niall puts on a cowboy accent for the dramatic unboxing of a Diplo promo package (LP, hankie- “very sexy!”, t-shirt, USB stick- “jeez haven't seen one of these in a while”), it's for a country album with features from Julia Michaels, Cam, Orville Peck, and more that came out back in May, and he knocks off some official sponcon unboxing as well, looking cozy in the promotional knitwear.

Aaaand the Clarks are at it again! First grandma Ruth said Louis was in LA with Freddie until two days ago (she also said he was going to spend xmas with him, pick one lady, but anyway) and everyone put on their thinking caps and were like okaaaay he COULD have flown to LA the day after his show and been there the 13th-18th but that seems crazy and would mean NO quarantine on either end (definitely not allowed in either place), but there's a rumor that Harry is back in London maybe Louis went to LA and got him or something?? But just when they almost had us, enter Brett to try to oversell and screw it all up- in response to a fan pointing out how ridiculous that was, Brett said 'no it's not, Louis was there for two whole weeks his livestream was just prerecorded' LMAO. This is pretty epic since your options are now: you can believe that Louis pulled a conspiracy of moon landing level complexity to pretend that a show that had been recorded previously was live, enlisting not just Veeps but also dozens of people also pretending it was happening at that time, many of them on their obscure official business accounts, without a single slip up, for NO REASON (he could have just visited the kid at... any other time, or had the show at a different time, or been like here's a prerecorded show), OR you can believe that Brett and his family are, hmmm, giant liars! Wild notion!! Sooo anyway guys tell me again how YOU don't believe in wacky conspiracy theories like us crazypants larries... I'm waiting...

[morporkian-cryptid]

Supernatural au:

He can be anything from solid to only able to manipulate the sword. Being solid requires concentration but he always keeps a basis level of solidity around the gang

Meaning: lupin can tackle hug him but goemon can also go intangible if he notices the hug and doesn't want to be touched right now (or if he wants to see lupin fall on his face)

I love the idea of the first goemon being a wielder. Goemon doesn't want people to know he is a wielder less sword (so people don't try to claim him) so he needed a name. He choose his first and in his opinion only worthy wielder

Going off the Archetypes and roles... fujiko's seduction makes me think of sirens or succubi and I had the thought of a shapeshifter but then I thought of that Japanese folktale with a spider youkai seducing and eating men in a Forrest and I think fujiko is one of those

Jigen... he is typically a werewolf in monster aus and it does fit his scruffy self but for this one... maybe some cowboy folktale? I don't know any of those. Something that is associated with following one wherever one goes. Maybe he was a curse, a hitman spell, cast on lupin? Some warning maybe, always in the corner of ones eye, meant to drive one mad.

Lupin, of course, asked out the shadowy apparition in the corner of his sight to dinner and together they killed the wizards who cast the spell before he could order jigen to ...escalate.

I dont know exactly what yatagarasu are but smt tells me they are three legged ravens. Yata is one of those for obvious reasons

JSKDJDKSKFJDKLJ okay I know jack shit about cowboy-related supernatural folklore, but the idea of "Lupin promptly asking out the shadowy apparition in the corner of his sight to dinner" is just ABSOLUTELY PERFECT. You, my friend, are the very definition of galaxy brain.

Idk about being a curse, but he could be some sort of shadow creature that people can make deals with, and someone made a deal with him and sicced him on Lupin.

And then Lupin ended up striking a deal with Jigen to have Jigen protect him. The deal is "until Lupin dies", but Lupin being a vampire that might mean a very, very, very long time. (effectively making Jigen immortal as well, because why not.)

Goemon name origin validated. 👍 Also, him going incorporeal just as Lupin is trying to hug him is great. Or Lupin throwing him something to catch and it just goes right through him.

Wait, is Jigen incorporeal too? Or is he just supernaturally good at sneaking?

I've never heard of that spider yokai, but it sounds like a good fit. Another classic for Fuji in supernatural AUs is a kitsune, shape-shifting foxes that can turn into beautiful women to seduce humans (and sometimes they can also curse or outright posses people). I should do more research about that spider yokai, though.

Yatagarasu are indeed three-legged crows, or rather A three-legged crow who is apparently an incarnation of the sun, and who guided the first emperor of Japan to Yamato (idk what Yamato is). The AU doesn't have to stick perfectly to mythology, so he could be some sort of crow spirit I guess. Maybe Zenigata has no clue that his assistant is supernatural (you said he's a vampire hunter, idk what he thinks of other supernatural creatures, but he probably doesn't like them a whole lot)

[achaoticeternal]

folklore + evermore series

over quarantine, taylor swift has produced two spectacular albums which have left a good majority of us in tears, pain, whatever you want to call it. taylor has written songs that correlate to life in multiple aspects and filtering through the different types and stages of love. And with that, I have decided to write a series of one-shots and connected stories based on the music and lyrics from the albums ever more!

Below the keep reading line, you will find the tracklist with pairings next to them and a lyric that will serve as a summary. As I publish these, I will link the finished fics. I hope you enjoy a marvel and wizarding world of harry potter twist to these beautiful songs, 

from mattie, with love - evermore

the one - draco malfoy x muggleborn!reader and if my wishes came true, it would've been you

willow - ron weasley x reader* i'm begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans, that's my man

cardigan - cedric diggory x reader, fred weasley x reader but I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss i knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs

champagne problems - stephen strange x reader sometimes you just don't know the answer, 'til someone's on their knees and asks you

the last great american dynasty - ron weasley x malfoy!reader who knows, if she never showed up, what could've been, there goes the most shameless woman this town has ever seen

gold rush - steve rogers x reader everybody wonders what it would be like to love you

exile - bucky barnes x reader you're not my homeland anymore, so what am i defending now?

‘tis the damn season - george weasley x reader you can run, but only so far/ i escaped it too, remember how you watched me leave/ but if it's okay with you, it's okay with me

my tears ricochet - stephen strange x reader and you can aim for my heart, go for blood, but you would still miss me in your bones

tolerate it - tony stark x daughter!reader, peter parker x stark!reader i made you my temple, my mural, my sky/ now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life - part 2 of this is me trying

mirrorball - tony stark x daughter!reader, peter parker x stark!reader i'm still on that trapeze, i'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me part 3 to this is me trying and tolerate it

no body, no crime - dark!loki laufeyson x reader no, there ain't no doubt, i think i'm gonna call him out

seven - neville longbottom x reader passed down like folk songs the love lasts so long

happiness - steve rogers x reader, bucky barnes x reader i can't make it go away by making you a villain, i guess it's the price i paid for seven years in heaven part 2 of illicit affairs

august - fred weasley x reader so much for summer love and saying "us", cause you weren't mine to lose

dorothea - peter parker x reader and if you're ever tired of being known for who you know, you know, you'll always know me

this is me trying - tony stark x daughter!reader, peter parker x stark!reader it's hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you

coney island - cedric diggory x reader, draco malfoy x reader, harry potter x reader, neville longbottom x reader, george weasley x reader what's a lifetime of achievement if i pushed you to the edge? but you were too polite to leave me

illicit affairs - steve rogers x reader x bucky barnes  you showed me colors you know i can’t see with anyone else

ivy - draco malfoy x reader, harry potter x reader i wish to know the fatal flaw that makes you long to be magnificently cursed

invisible string - fred weasley x reader one single thread of gold tied me to you

cowboy like me - steve rogers x reader it could be love, we could be the way forward, and I know I'll pay for it part 2 of long story short

mad woman - loki laufeyson x reader do you see my face in the neighbor's lawn? does she smile? or does she mouth, "fuck you forever"?

long story short - steve rogers x reader now i just keep you warm and my waves meet your shore ever and evermore

epiphany - bucky barnes x reader, platonic steve rogers x reader you dream of some epiphany, just one single glimpse of relief

marjorie - peter parker x stark!reader if I didn't know better, i'd think you were still around

betty - ron weasley x reader right now is the last time i can dream about what happens when you see my face again

closure - draco malfoy x muggleborn!reader yes i got your letter, yes i'm doing better, it cut deep to know ya, right to the bone part two of the 1

peace - steve rogers x reader i'd give you my sunshine, give you my best but the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me

evermore - harry potter x reader i had a feeling so peculiar that this pain would be for evermore i had a feeling so peculiar that this pain wouldn’t be for evermore

hoax - tom riddle x reader you knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart, but what you did was just as dark

the lakes - neville longbottom x reader i don't belong and, my beloved, neither do you

[boxesandrings]

Hello! First off, I simply adore your writing. Your characterizations simply feel so... natural! It's lovely! Second, could I request some fluffy Harvey/Elliott at either the Feast of the Winter Star or the Spirit's Eve festival? That would be grand. Thank you!

Teehee sorry this took so long! I had written a story about the two of them at the Feast of the Winter Star and then hated it so much I completely started over 🤪 So I hope you enjoy this now seasonally appropriate Spirit's Eve fluff!

Title: Meet me Halfway

Rating: G

Summary: Harvey is crushing on Elliott, but is more than okay with keeping things the way they are. When Elliott invites him into the maze at the Spirit's Eve festival though, the men get much closer than Harvey ever thought.

Characters: Elliott, Harvey, Sebastion, Marlon, Maru, F!Farmer

Words: 2841

Harvey had been standing by the refreshments table when Elliott passed behind him, his fingertips lightly grazing against the Doctor's shoulders. Harvey jumped, almost spilling his drink but managed to steady himself, cheeks flushed as Elliott laughed.

“A bit on edge, Doctor?” Harvey cleared his throat and set his cup down, his other hand reaching to the back of his neck.

“No! I mean, kinda. I have to say, I think this is probably my least favorite festival.” Elliott nodded. Harvey studied his face, trying to read the man next to him. Was there a slight blush in his face as well?

Even though they had lived in the same town for years now, only a few months ago had it struck Harvey how cute the man living on the beach was. They had talked a bit around town and at festivals, and of course Harvey was Elliott’s doctor. But since the community center had been restored Harvey had begun to spend more time there, reading articles that his colleagues from the city had sent him or using the craft room to work on his model planes. Elliott was there constantly as well, and the two men began to grow more familiar.

Harvey’s feelings surprised him. It wasn’t that he had never had feelings for another man before, but just how suddenly they had developed after getting to know Elliott was strange to him. Harvey had accepted who he was at this point in his life; he was rigid and methodical, overthinking most aspects of his life. But Elliott had somehow swept in and threw his life out of order— Harvey acted impulsively around him, and it scared him.

But what scared Harvey even more was that he couldn’t tell how Elliott felt about him. Elliott was definitely flirty with him, he couldn’t deny it. But Elliott flirted with everyone, or at least seemed to. Elliott was confident, outgoing, and rather touchy with almost everyone in town. There was no way Elliott felt the same way about him, introverted and anxious, but Harvey couldn’t help but feel the hard thumping in his chest everytime Elliott was around.

Beside him Elliott nodded, scooping some of the hot apple cider Gus was providing into his own cup.

“I can understand that. While I’m sure you’ve caught on that I tend to have a certain… flair for the dramatic,” Elliott regarded Harvey out of the corner of his eye, a coy smile on his lips, “this holiday quite honestly might be overdoing it.”

As if the universe was proving a point, a loud clanging noise rang out behind the men. Elliott’s eyes went wide with fear as he jumped, his body colliding with the Doctor’s as he moved away from the noise. Harvey dropped his drink as he steadied the man in front of him, not sure whether to be disappointed by the loss of his cider or elated by the touch. Once Elliott was no longer falling, Harvey turned to investigate the noise.

Behind him, one of the walking skeletons was at the edge of his cage, a bony arm outstretched and rattling against the bars. Sebastian had fallen back onto the ground and was trying to crawl away from the beast with wide eyes. Marlon stepped in quickly after the skeleton had made its move, pushing the monster further back in with a large stick. Once the skeleton was far enough back, Harvey watched as Marlon offered a hand to Sebastian and pulled the boy up, saying something stern but inaudible from this far away. Harvey turned back to Elliott, who was watching the scene with a grimace.

“You want to move somewhere else? Like, away from this?” Elliott’s gaze snapped back to Harvey, his unsettled look quickly turning into a smile.

“I’d like nothing more, my dear doctor.” Elliott linked his arm through Harvey’s and began to march off, Harvey blushing furiously as he stumbled along.

Elliott led them far away from the refreshments, until Harvey found them standing in front of the maze. Elliott looked toward the entrance, then turned to the Doctor.

“Do you want to go in? I’ve never actually tried the maze before, but with you I’m feeling a little bit more bold.” Elliott winked and Harvey coughed, scratching the back of his neck.

“I’m not sure how much of a help I’d be in there. Honestly, the one time I tried before I barely made it 20 feet.” Elliott laughed.

“Well, maybe with the two of us working together we’d go 30.” Harvey chuckled. Before he could agree, someone called out behind him.

“Hey, Doc! You going in?” Harvey and Elliott turned and saw Maru and the Farmer walking toward them, hand in hand.

“Yes! The two of us are going to try to make it an astonishing 30 feet in.” Elliott had answered before he had gotten the chance to, so Harvey nodded along. Had he really agreed to go in, though? Beside him, he saw Elliott tip an imaginary hat toward the Farmer. “Howdy, partner.”

The Farmer sighed, letting go of Maru’s hand to brush her hand through her hair. “El, just because I live on a farm doesn’t mean I’m a cowboy.” Elliott tilted his head to the side, smiling slightly.

“I mean, you sure ride that horse of yours almost everywhere.” Harvey bit his lip, using the moment to bring himself back to reality. Elliott wasn’t flirting with him, he was like this with everyone. The Farmer sighed again, grabbing Maru’s hand once again.

“Whatever.” She began to pull Maru toward the maze. “Later, losers. We’ve got a maze to finish.” Elliott laughed next to Harvey, and waved the two women off. Maru looked over her shoulder grinning at Harvey, mouthing ‘you got this’ in an animated manner until she disappeared behind the first hedge, trailing after her partner.

Harvey furiously blushed. Maru had figured out his crush weeks ago after the two of them had gone out for drinks after work, when Harvey had been so busy staring at Elliott that he had walked straight into a stool and fallen over it.

“Well, no time like the present, I suppose.” Harvey blinked back to reality. Elliott was standing in front of him, the two men eye to eye. Harvey swallowed.

“I guess.” He put on a weak smile, attempting to feign some kind of confidence. Elliott nodded.

“Then let’s away!” Elliott turned and began to walk toward the maze. Harvey sighed, and followed quickly after.

It wasn’t long until the pair came to the first challenge of the maze. As Elliott and Harvey walked side by side, making pleasant small talk, that green hands began to poke their way out of the ground. Elliott jumped, his body colliding with the Doctor’s.

“Oh, Yoba!” Harvey instinctually grabbed Elliott, pulling him close.

“Oh, no, nope! No. Come on.” Harvey let go of Elliott’s shoulder, his hand grabbing the man around the forearm. He took off down another branch, Elliott running behind him.

Once they no longer saw the hands coming out of the ground, men stopped, panting.

“Okay, I get why you didn’t like to go in here.” Elliott looked up at Harvey, still out of breath. Harvey, unsure of how to react, just began to laugh, dropping to the ground as he tried to regain his composure. Elliott sat beside him, brushing his hair back.

“Yeah! No duh.” Elliott began to laugh as well, the men giggling in the dark. Once composed, Elliott turned to face Harvey.

“You know, I quite like it when you’re more relaxed like this. Not that you’re always stiff, just… you seem like there’s a lot going on in your mind.” Harvey weakly smiled and stood up. He was getting too loose.

“Well, that’s being a doctor, I suppose. Especially being the only one for quite a distance.” He offered his hand to Elliott, who took it and pulled himself up.

“That makes sense. You’re always thinking of others.” Elliott smiled. The two men regarded each other. Harvey found himself getting closer, their bodies almost touching, until he noticed a hedge off in the distance reflecting light. He took a step away.

“Wait, what’s that?” Elliott turned around and tilted his head, searching for what Harvey was referencing. Once spotted, Elliott faced him again.

“I guess we know where to go next.” Harvey nodded, and the two moved toward the light source.

The pair came to a large TV, alternating with static and a series of strange images, weird whispers emanating from the speaker bar attached.

“I mean, it’s not as unsettling as the hands but… I’m not a fan of this either.” Elliott was scanning the TV, frowning.

“I know Lewis is trying to boost tourism, but this seems like a lot,” Harvey added, taking a step closer toward his companion. It was human nature to huddle when scared, right? Elliott surely wouldn’t notice. Harvey thought about how he had held the writer when the hands came out of the ground. As terrifying as that was, he almost wanted to do it again.

“I don’t think Lewis built it. I think the Wizard in the woods said he was doing this,” Elliott suggested. The pair heard a snort and both jumped back, trying to find the source.

Maru stepped out from behind the TV, a funny look on her face. “He’s not a wizard, he’s just some hermit in the woods who likes to play with grass.” Harvey’s shoulders relaxed. It wasn’t a monster, it was his nurse.

“I don’t know. Leah said she’s seen some weird things going on at his tower at night.” Maru snorted again and turned her attention back to the screen.

“He probably has some of those LED strips that change colors on the outside of his home.” Elliott nodded, but didn’t look too convinced.

“Maru, what are you doing just lurking out here? And where’s your girlfriend?” Harvey looked around, making sure the TV was the only horror nearby.

“I wanted to figure out how this is working. There’s no plugs out here, and when I opened the battery compartment it was empty. There has to be some other energy source in here.” Maru held up her pocket knife in one hand, a couple of screws in the other. “And she went on ahead to keep exploring so I could play with this. When I’m done I’ll meet her in the middle point of the maze, it’s just up ahead.” She returned her full attention back to the monitor, walking around it’s backside once again.

Harvey turned to Elliott, who shrugged. “Should we move on?” Harvey smiled.

“Lets.”

From where they were standing, Harvey could see the middle point that Maru had talked about. The pair headed toward the fountain, and paused to watch the water shoot high up into the air.

“Well, I’d venture to say we made it quite a bit farther than 30 feet.” Harvey chuckled as Elliott gently elbowed him.

“Quite a bit farther than I made it last time, for sure.” Harvey smiled at Elliott, then turned his gaze back to the fountain. “I’m surprised it’s already the halfway point. It doesn’t seem like we’ve gone too far.”

“I suppose what this maze lacks in physical size, it makes up for in psychological horror.”

As if on cue, the men heard a yell from beyond the midway, and Abigail ran back in toward them, a blur of purple.

“No way, nuh-uh, nope! I’m out.” She blinked out of her confusion, and looked up at Harvey and Elliott. “Dudes, I’m OUT of here.” Harvey stuck a hand out, trying to stop the teen from bolting past him.

“Woah! Abby, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” He scanned for any obvious signs of injury, his doctor instincts kicking into gear. Abigail was generally fearless, even in regards to her own safety. It took a lot to rattle her.

She looked up at the doctor, her eyes wide with fear. “Dude, I mean Doc, there’s some big spiders back there. Like, me-sized. I’m outta here.” She brushed past Harvey and Elliott, making her way toward the path that the men had just come from. “Good luck!”

Harvey looked toward Elliott, who had noticeably paled. Elliott swallowed, then met the doctor’s gaze. “I mean, making this far was a personal victory anyways? Why push it?”

Harvey stared at Elliott, mouth ajar, before bursting into loud laughter. He sat on the edge of the fountain, trying to take deep breaths to contain his joy.

“Oh thank Yoba, I did NOT want to go in there.” Elliott laughed and sat beside him, his fingertips resting only an inch away from Harvey’s own.

“I think we did very well, though! I mean, halfway is nothing to sneeze at.” Elliott looked toward Harvey and winked. “And you’ve been so brave! Why, the way you rescued me from those hands was quite impressive.” Harvey coughed and stood up, suddenly aware of how close he was to Elliott.

“Yes, well, of course.” Elliott looked up at him, his smile slowly falling. Finally, Elliott sighed.

“I don’t know how much more direct I can be, Harvey.” Elliott’s voice was low, and much more serious than Harvey had ever heard. He turned to Elliott.

“What?” Elliott stood up and crossed his arm over his stomach, nervously rubbing his forearm.

“I mean, I hoped you would have caught on by now, over the past few months, or maybe you have and are just trying to be nice? I don’t…” He trailed off, his gaze lowering toward the ground. “I guess I just like you, Harvey, and I was hoping that by inviting you into the maze with me something would happen, but you keep pulling away and I just… I don’t know.”

Harvey’s jaw dropped. Elliott was flirting with him. Him! And oh Yoba, he had blown it, overthinking each touch, every word, the tone of his voice. Elliott had liked him, and Harvey was too full of fear to do anything. Had Maru known? Is that why she wished him luck?

Harvey sputtered, trying to spit out something, to reassure Elliott. He likes me too. Elliott sighed, meeting Harvey’s eyes again, forcing a smile.

“I’m sorry, that was probably a lot at once. I don’t know why it all came out like that. We can head out if you want.” Elliott took a step back.

Harvey needed to act, to break through his fear. He likes me. Now was not the time to be frozen by indecision, to read far too much into every action. Elliott was there, in front of him now but moving away.

Without thinking, maybe for the first time ever, Harvey reached out and grabbed Elliott’s shoulders, pulling the man in closer to him. Their lips connected, and as Harvey kissed him he could feel his heart beating violently in his chest. Elliott had tensed momentarily when the Doctor had grabbed him, but Harvery could feel him smiling now, melting into the kiss as Elliott placed a hand on the side of his face.

When he pulled back, Harvey was breathless, his hand shaking as he brushed a piece of hair out of Elliott’s face. Elliott was smiling, his cheeks flushed red.

“I like you, a lot, Elliott. I just… I didn’t think you felt the same way.” Elliott laughed quietly, his thumb stroking Harvey’s cheek.

“For such a bright man, you can be awfully dense.” Harvey smiled.

“Yeah.” Harvey moved to kiss Elliott again when he heard something shuffle in the maze behind him.

The men looked toward the path, still holding each other, as the Farmer huffed out of the maze, holding a rather large pumpkin in her hands.

“It’s just a pumpkin! I had to make my way through all that for a pumpkin! And not even a special one like last year, it’s made of foam!” She looked up, her expression softening when she realized what she had walked into. “Oh, um.”

“Maru’s back at the TV still,” Elliot said, his hands not moving from Harvey’s face. The Farmer’s eyes flicked back and forth between the two men’s faces, trying to press her lips together to stop from smiling.

“Thanks. Uh… yeah.” The Farmer walked quickly toward the way back, passing the men with a poorly suppressed smile on her face. Harvey figured she’d break the news to Maru as soon as she saw her.

“Well, where were we?” Harvey turned his attention back toward Elliott, who was smiling warmly at him. Harvey bit his lip, smiling.

“Oh, yeah.” He kissed Elliott again, much calmer than before, enjoying the feeling of their lips touching. Harvey pulled back again. “Want to go back and get a drink? I spilled my cider earlier”

Elliott dropped his hands from Harvey’s face and laced his fingers between the Doctor’s. “I’d love nothing more.” The two men went back into the hedges, hands swinging between them as they made their way back through the maze.