#so heavily on the mind ?? little goblin wolf
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putting silas in a shirt that says âNERVOUSâ across the chest in bold letters
#( tell me to stop posting ; ooc. )#like those dogs that have âNERVOUSâ on their collar/harnesses#and the collars/harnesses are usually like bright yellow too ??#I passed out for 40 minutes after settling in bed . Iâm trying to go back to sleep . but he is still#so heavily on the mind ?? little goblin wolf#I wanted to say something cute like âoh heâll leave u dead animals like cats <3â but he (probably) wonât because heâs just too skittish#to even allow sb to bond with him enough to do that
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Feeding Alligators 59 - Plans Within Plans
You deal with a couple of problems.
On AO3.
As yâall donât got no bear around to announce yourselves, yâall decide stealth is the best option. You start on the peripherals, catch stragglers or small groups here and there. Gale can actually silence a whole room while the others move in and take them out. Astarion is as efficient with his knives as usual.
Yâall find a guy in a cage, lamenting the new cult. Goblins, turns out, have their own god. One this codger (you canât actually tell his age, but little dudeâs talking like an old-timer) refuses to abandon.
Gale lets him out, too.
Eventually, yâall wind up in the main hall at the front, where some goblin version of a biker granny tries to brand you. And then tries to mind-whammy you. So sheâs got a parasite. She calls you a âtrue soulâ like them people you fed to the owlbear, and sheâs one of them leaders Halsin mentioned, so you suggest yâall talk in private and she goes right along with you.
You barely get the door shut when Laeâzel skewers her. Literally. Sword punches clear through her back, out her front as she gasps, and then Laeâzel kind of flicks the blade. And biker granny falls to the ground in pieces.
âJesus,��� you say.
âWe waste our time,â she says.
Biker Granny has a bedroom with another ogress in it (you wonder if itâs the same one hooking up with Man-Wolf, but she donât seem to recognize you when she spots yâall). The fight is short but mean, and as yâall are looting around, Karlach busts down a door that opens to a spooky hallway. Which leads to an inner temple that puts a sneer on Shadowheartâs face.
âNot a fan of this goddess?â you say, looking up at a statue of a woman in some ancient robe ensemble.
âSelune,â Shadowheart says like a curse. A moon goddess or something. Shadowheart calls her followers hypocrites and a few other choice insults.
Huh. You notice Gale eyeballing her all speculative, but he donât say nothing.
And then Karlach finds and presses a button that opens a wall. Faerun really, really likes the whole âsecret hallway behind a fake doorâ bullshit.
Below is a fuck off chasm with a ladder disappearing into the gloom.
âHell no,â you say.
But Gale surprises you by offering to float himself downâyâall watch until heâs swallowed by the gloomâand then fly himself back up. âItâs a Selunite outpost extending into what I heavily suspect is the Underdark.â
You zone out a little. It ainât murdering the two other ringleaders, and it ainât getting the worm outta your head, and it ainât fixing whatever inter personal fuckshit is going on between you andâŚand everyone and each other.
You ainât sure how to deal with the other two leaders. One is their generalâsomething called a drow, and the others looks real grim about thatâand the other guy is holding a fucking pep rally with another dozen goblins in a room around a dead squidward.
âFuck,â you say.
Which is when you catch the words âspark powder barrelsâ and âenough to light the whole place up.â You turn. Find two goblins chatting in the corner.
âWhatâs this about barrels?â you say.
***
The thing about modern Earth warfare is that people got real, real good at killing other people from a distance. Sometimes even killing people who ainât in the same room, or continent, as you. Faerun ainât primitiveâthat word is loaded with all kinds of racist undertones anywayâbut theyâre still more used to killing with blades and arrows and spells.
Yâall find a way into the bomb room through Biker Grannyâs quarters. You give her cooling body a wide berth.
You and Astarion have been ignoring each other since he chose the lookout option, and he now stands at the edge of the group, cleaning his knives. But you seen him sneak, and you seen him climb, and heâs the best man for the idea brewing in your brain.
And maybe heâll take it as an olive branch?
(You got nothing to apologize for in snapping at him about Rack Guy. You stood up for yourself, and for Rack Guy. Anybody whoâs got a problem with that is the problem.)
âAstarion,â you say.
And he ignores you like a petty bitch. So thatâs going great.
Losing your shit ainât never accomplished nothing. So you reign yourself in, walk over to him, and stop right in front of him. You try to keep your body relaxed and your tone professional. âAstarion.â
He deigns to look up. Give you a smile. âAh, our illustrious leader. What may I do for you now?â
Murder or lockpicks. His only contributions.
Your righteous huff deflates just a little. That part was uncalled for. Breaking people down to what they can be used for is fucked up farmstead shit.
You really look at him, the minute hunch to his shoulders, the flat eyes, the tiny tilt of his head. Heâs a bitch, but that donât mean you have to be.
Fuck. Damn.
Well, no time like the present. You breathe deep and slow.
âIâm sorry,â you say, trying to ignore the others around you. âAbout what I said earlier. Youâre a lot more than I gave you credit for, and it was outta line for me to suggest otherwise. It wonât happen again.â
Yâall might not be friends, but heâs still a member of the group, and youâd feel like a giant fuckhead going around and making bad feelings.
ButâŚhe just stands there for half a second. His face does something complicatedâa frown, confusion, narrowed eyesâbefore settling back on his usual, fake smile.
âAh, for that, I can only assume you require something outside of my usual repertoire?â he says.
WhichâŚhow the fuck does the dirt potion translate something into French??
And ouch. He really took that insult to heart, huh? Fuck.
You close your eyes. âI deserve that. Yes, Iâm gonna ask you to do something. And leaving that guy was a dickhead move. But I really am sorry for, for implying that youâre only your talents. Which you have more than two, and that was me being a jackass. But Iâm sorry, and you deserve to know it.â
Again, that careful blankness. It only lifts when you show him your baby bird of a plan, all small and ugly and shaking around in the mental nest. He snorts like he canât help it, and for just a split second, something genuine skirts along the edge of his smirk.
âYouâre forming a pattern, darling,â he says.
âIf it works, donât break it,â you say. âItâs how the empire back home deals with everybody.â
âThatâs the second time youâve mentioned something like that,â Gale says. âWhen this is over, you and I desperately need to have another sit down chat.â
So you can spill U.S. military tactics you learned from the internet to a wizard. Why not.
âAnd if I run into anyone else skulking about?â Astarion says.
You want to sigh, but donât. âStill hungry?â
âAlways, darling.â
âI guess as long as you ainât dropping bodies outta the raftersâŚâ
The man lights the fuck up, a kid handed a hundred dollars and let loose in a candy store. He scuttles up the closest ladder with what you can only describe as sheer glee.
âTurning a vampire loose in a den of goblins,â Shadowheart says. âIâm not sure which part is worse. Do you think he can drink himself into a stupor?â
âHe got pretty sloshed the night when soldier here stuck her soul in a jar,â Karlach says. Catches your silent question. âWhile you went wherever it is you went to, old Fangs came back drenched in blood. Looked like he got in a fight with a bear. He couldnât even stand straight. Then he saw you, well, dead, and he stormed off. Tripped over a root, too, which I only noticed cause he donât normally do stuff like that.â
âŚhuh. Okay?
Well, he seems to revel in your ideas (when they involve murder or being a shithead). He stopped when you told him to. He was an absolute bastard about it, and he later tried again. But when you told him no, he fucked off (which hurt, youâre beginning to realize, because you apparently have the emotional intelligence of a potato. It actually hurt).
âI think I trust him,â you say, looking up to where he disappeared. âWith this stuff, anyway.â
***
Astarion returns with good tidings. Thereâs a path along the rafters right over to Door Rags and his pep rally. Gale has enough juice to help float up the barrels Laeâzel and Shadowheart canât hoist up (Karlach looks on like a dog told to sit while you throw a ball). It takes a bit to get everything where you want, but yâall manage it.
You have to step over three dead goblins stuffed into a corner. Astarion catches your gaze and gives you a proud tilt of his chin.
See? it seems to say. Not raining down bodies.
You give him a thumbs up.
Then you sneak off with Wyll to a wall ledge overlooking the rally room. Spot another room off to the side with some magic, floating crystal ball.
âA watcher,â Wyll says. Up close, he smells of mint and some kinda herbâyou ainât sure if itâs soap, perfume, or something he uses in his hair. âSomeone is keeping an eye on all this. Weâll want to take that out before any fighting starts. Blind whoeverâs controlling it.â
âCan you do that?â
He gives you a warm smile. âThe blade will strike true.â
You roll your eyes, but youâre smiling, too. Then you catch voices, and inch further out onto the ledge. Across a wooden bridge, somebody moves. A woman in armor. An elf? Only sheâs purple with a shock of white hair.
âThe drow,â Wyll whispers, sinking into a crouch next to you. âSheâll likely be a powerful fighter. Theyâre known for their strength in battle. They kill any of their own who show what they consider a weakness. Which generally amounts to being kind or merciful.â
Because that worked so well for the Spartans.
Wyll must catch a look from you. You say, âIâll tell you later. Itâs stupid and impractical, and usually ends with a couple of people slapfighting each other for status while their nation canât support itself anymore and collapses.â
And another idea blooms in your head. Which you share with him.
He considers a moment. Nods slowly. âAlright, it seems a sound strategy. Iâm beginning to see a pattern with you.â
Which, what the fuck does that even mean?
But yâall need to move. The longer yâall camp out up here, the more likely somebody gets spotted. You both sneak back to join the others.
Previous - Index - Next Chapter
#feeding alligators fic#these two shitheads#astarion#astarion x tav#tavstarion#slow burn#putting the slow in 150k burn#they've made it to second base#once#demisexual tav#plus size tav#this ones got murder in it#the disclosure arc
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Hello! You've found this page, so you've probably seen most of this pinned post before.
This thing exists to separate my writing and general creative shenanigans from my main GW2 blog @violentnornography. As before, interactions come from @pocketgoth, and I'll be rambling about the same characters, probably even more vehemently.
You'll find fics, art, screenshots, asks, headcanons and general oc chatter here. Quite happy to receive in-character asks, if that's your thing.
Character lore and little drabbles I write for fun will be tagged here, my main WIPs and anything M+ rated will be on AO3 only.
This blog will be SFW, any NSFW asks/posts etc will be over on @violentnornography.
Fair warning: This blog is new and a complete WIP, so some links in this post may link to my other blog until I sort my life out. Please bear with. TYVM <3
Without further ado, roll call:

Kara Brunhilda Jorgensdottir
Norn, Follower of Wolf, Pact Commander.
Born 1309 AE. Soulbeast, Chef, Cat Enthusiast. Other titles involving gods and dragons have also occasionally been mentioned, but she's mostly about the cats. Might have the best booty in Hoelbrak. Will beat you up, and apologise after. Proper and dignified, tries desperately to live up to her own legend. Jumps off cliffs for fun. Once killed a forged forerunner and stole its boots just for the flaming surfboard. Best Friends: Torvi Scorchgear, Rytlock Brimstone and Canach. Mate: Braham Eirsson. Eventually. If they can stop bickering for five minutes. Canach has a betting pool, if you're interested. Ship-related posts are here

Warmaster Torvi Scorchgear
Norn, Follower of Bear, Warmaster of the Vigil.
Born 1308 AE. Engineer, Flamethrower only. Honorary-turned-full member of the Gear Warband. Only dates Charr. Kara's childhood friend. Party goblin. Will encourage you to be feral. Knows what you did at the last alemoot, and now so does half of Hoelbrak. Guest stars in the main fic any time the Vigil shows up, will be mentioned semi-regularly. Mate: Mangonel Gearstrip. They've been ride or die since they got drunk and stole a tank together, and no, they don't want your opinion, thanks. Hoping to adopt a cub or two when Torvi retires from the Vigil. Ship-related posts here.

Rhianwen
Soundless Sylvari. Pale Reaver.
Born in the Cycle of Night, 1305 AE. Reaper. Obligate Carnivore. Swamp Witch. Will safely deliver your baby. Probably won't eat it. Can craft you a tonic to fix just about anything. Definitely not undead. Joined the campaign to Maguuma as a personal favour to Trahearne. After he is captured by Mordremoth, she puts heavy pressure on the Commander to push forward to rescue him, no matter the cost. Was gifted the remains of Caladbolg for her efforts, though she does not generally wield it.

Yngvar the Aberrant
Norn, Follower of Wolverine.
Yngvar is my brand new child and will get a proper character profile at some point, but for now:
Lives in the Aberrant Forest. Cannot become the Wolverine at will, but has the weirdest dreams about it. Boneskinners are friendly towards him, for no apparent reason. Will feature semi-heavily when my fic gets to the Bjora Marches.


Aaria
Norn, Vindicator, Alliance Stance, Follower of No-one.
Aaria is an old, neglected child of mine I found it in my heart to start developing, so watch this space!
Traditional Norn nomadic lifestyle in the cental Shiverpeaks, Aaria often only returns to Hoelbrak for moots. Hammer enthusiast, enjoyer of women. Channels Jormag when they are awake. She is largely unaffected by their persuasion, but doesn't mind the company. Jormag is a hell of a conversationlist, and whilst it irritates them that Aaria is immune to their charms, they do have some lovely chats.
*****
*Names are OC names, may not match in-game names*
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Five years ago, the women on this site who treated me like trash over loving Labyrinth and shipping Jareth/Sarah were almost always obliviously consuming Radfem propaganda, or were out and out Radfems/Terfs themselves.
They were the types of people who casually threw the word âpedophileâ around against grown women who shipped an adult Sarah with Jareth, aka literally one of the most popular ships for women in fandom for 30 years.
Pretty much invariably, these women had serious sex-negative anxieties, which included a severe paranoia about any and all kink and fetish, and porn in general. I saw a lot of shocking, fear-mongering propaganda surrounding sexual expression. Pretty much invariably, their method of approach involved immediate personal shock-value attacks on anyone they perceived to be âbad.â
Today, you can look at the way some people react to other popular so-called âproblematicâ ships and recognize the same toxic, fear-mongering rhetoric coming from women who consider themselves regular, trans-inclusive feminists. Sometimes it even manifests in the words of very well-meaning people (including myself here), who feel the need to talk about specific issues that pertain to their own experiences of trauma and oppression.
The people who shit on Labyrinth often seem to not really be able to comprehend that the Goblin King, like the film itself, is canonically a representation of a teen girlâs psyche, a soup of fears and anxieties and desires and dreams. Heâs not a literal human adult preying on a literal child, and to read the film that way seriously undermines the entire point of the film.Â
When I (and people of many fandoms) say âThis is fiction, calm down,â Iâm not just saying itâs not real so it cant hurt you and you canât criticize me. Iâm trying to call attention to what fiction actually is - artistic representations of feelings and experiences. The Goblin King is Sarahâs fiction. Therefore, he can be anything she or any woman who identifies with her wants him to be, including her lover when sheâs grown and ready for such a thing.
I once took an alarming dive into Beetlejuice fandom to see what content was there (the cartoon was a favorite when I was little). Chillingly, what youâll find is an extremely wounded fanbase, with a sharp divide between the older women who had long been shipping BJ/Lydia because of their love for the cartoon series (and whom were previously the vast majority of the Beetlejuice fandom), and a massive amount of young people riding the wave of the musical fad who had decided that the entire old school Beetlejuice fandom was populated by literal pedophiles.Â
I saw death threats. Suicide baiting. Constant, constant toxic discourse. It did not matter how the BJ/Lydia fandom dealt with any particular issues that would exist in their ship, in fact Iâm certain that the people abusing them cared very little to even consider if they were trying to handle it at all. The only thing that mattered was that they were disgusting subhuman scum asking for abuse. If you have at any time reblogged recent Beetlejuice fan art or content from fans of the musical, you have more than likely been engaging positively with the content of someone participating in toxic fandom behavior.
Nobody is really sticking up for them, either, as far as I saw. Itâs really hard to imagine how painful it must be to have such a large group of people explode into into your relatively private fandom space to tell you that you are evil, vile, and deserve constant abuse, and also you are no longer allowed into the fandom space to engage in itâs content. But I think thereâs something very alarming indeed about this happening specifically to the BJ fandom, and Iâll explain why.Â
The pop-culture characterization of Beetlejuice, which is heavily influenced by the cartoon series to be clear, has always in my mind been a vaguely ageless being who matches with the psychological maturity of whatever age Lydia is supposed to be. Heâs more or less like an imaginary friend, a manifestation of Lydiaâs psyche. In fact, I would argue that i think most of us who grew up with the cartoon or itâs subsequent merchandizing before the musical ever existed probably internalized the idea as BJ and Lydia as this ageless, salt-and-pepper-shaker couple beloved by the goth community, similar to Gomez and Morticia. In each version of canon he may be a creepy ghost in the literal sense, but any adult who is capable of identifying literary tropes (even just subconciously) would read cartoon!BJ as an artistic representation of a socially awkward outcast girlâs inner world. Lydiaâs darker dispositions and interests, which alienate her from most others, are freely accepted and embraced by her spooky magical friend. BJ/Lydia in the cartoon were depicted as best friends, but to my memory there was always an underlying sense that they had secret feelings for each other, which I identified easily even as a small child. In fact, their dynamic and behavior perfectly reflected the psychological development of the showâs target demographic. They are best friends who get into adventures and learning experiences together, who have delicate feelings for each other but lack any true adult romantic/sexual understanding to acknowledge those feelings, let alone pursue them.
Though I havenât seen the Musical yet, Iâve read the wiki and I would argue that it embodies this exact same concept even more so for itâs own version of the characters, in that Beetlejuice specifically exists to help Lydia process her motherâs death.
This is not a complicated thing to recognize and comprehend whatsoever. In fact, it looks downright blatant. Itâs also a clear indicator of what BJ/Lydia means to the women who have long loved it. It was a story about a spooky wierd girl being loved and accepted and understood for who she was, and it gave them a sense of solidarity. It makes perfect sense why those women would stick with those characters, and create a safe little space for themselves to and imagine their beloved characters growing and having adult lives and experiencing adult drama, in just the same ways that the women of the Labyrinth fandom do. Thatâs all these women were doing. And now, they canât do it without facing intense verbal violence. That safe space is poisoned now.
Having grown up with the cartoon as one of my favorites and been around goth subculture stuff for decades, I was actually shocked and squicked at the original Beetlejuice filmâs narrative once I actually saw it, because it was extremely divorced from what these two characters had evolved into for goth subculture and what they meant to me. Itâs not telling the same story, and is in fact about the Maitland's specifically. In pretty much exactly the same way two different versions of Little Red Riding Hood can be extremely different from each other, the film is a different animal. While I imagine that the film version has been at the heart of a lot of this confused fear-mongering around all other versions of the characters, I would no more judge different adaptations of these characters any more than I would condemn a version of Little Red in which Red and the Wolf are best friends or lovers just because the very first iteration of LRRH was about protecting yourself from predators.
I would even argue that the people who have engaged in Anti-shipper behavior over BJ/Lydia are in intense denial over the fact that BJ being interested in Lydia, either as blatant predatory behavior a la the film or on a peer level as in the cartoon (and musical?) is an inextricable part of canon. Beetlejuice was always attracted to Lydia, and it was not always cute or amusing. Beetlejuice was not always a beloved buddy character, an in fact was originally written as a gross scumbag. Thatâs just what he was. Even people engaging with him now by writing OC girlfriends for him (as stand-ins for the salt-and-pepper-shaker space Lydia used to take up, because obviously that was part of the core fun of the characters), or just loving him as a character, are erasing parts of his characterâs history in order to do so. They are actively refusing to be held responsible for being fans of new version of him despite the fact that he engaged in overt predatory behavior in the original film. In fact, I would venture to say that they are actively erasing the fact that Musical Beetliejuice tried to marry a teenager and as far as Iâm aware, seemed to like the idea (because heâs probably a fucking figment of her imagination but go off I guess). The only reason they can have a version of this character who could be perceived as âbuddyâ material is because...the cartoon had an impact on our pop cultural perception of what the character and his dynamic with Lydia is.Â
We can have a version of the Big Bad Wolf whoâs a creepy monster. We can have a version whoâs sweet and lovable. We can have a version that lives in the middle. We can have a version whoâs a hybrid between Red and the Wolf (a la Ruby in OUAT). All of these things can exist in the same world, and can even be loved for different reasons by the same people.
Iâve been using Beetlejuice as an example here because itâs kind of perfect for my overall point regarding the toxic ideologies in fandom right now across many different spaces, including ones for progressive and queer media, and how much so many people donât recognize how deeply theyâve been radicalized into literalist and sex-negative radfem rhetoric, to the point where we arenât allowed to have difficult, messy explorations of imperfect, flawed humans, and that art is never going to be 100% pure and without flaw in itâs ability to convey what it wants to convey.
This includes the rhetoric Iâve seen across the board, from She-Ra to A:TLA to Star Wars to Lovecraft Country. We donât talk about the inherent malleable, subjective, or charmingly imperfect nature of fiction any more. Transformation and reclamation are myths in this space. Everything is in rigid categories. It is seemingly very difficult for some of these people to engage with anything that is not able to be clearly labeled as one thing or another (see the inherent transphobic and biphobic elements of the most intense rhetoric). They destroy anything they cannot filter through their ideology. When women act in a way that breaks from their narrative of womanhood (like...not having a vagina), then those women must be condemned instead of understood. Anything that challenges them or makes them uncomfortable is a mortal sin. There is an extraordinary level of both hypocrisy and repressive denial that is underlying the behavior Iâm seeing now. Much like toxic Christian conservatism, these people often are discovered engaging in the same behaviors and interests that they condemn behind closed doors (or just out of sheer cognitive dissonance). As an example, one of the people who talked shit to me about Labyrinth was a huge fan of Kill La Kill, which to my knowledge was an anime about a teenage girl in like, superpowered lingere (hence why I stayed the fuck away from that shit myself). Indeed, they even allow themselves plenty of leeway for behavior far worse than they condemn others for, and create support systems for the worst of their own abusers.Â
Quite frankly, Iâm tired. Instead of talking about theoretical problematic shit, we need to start talking about quantifiable harm. Because as far as I can tell, the most real, immediate, and quantifiable harm done because of anybodyâs favorite ships or pieces of media seems to consistently be the kind thatâs done to the people who experience verbal violence and abuse and manipulation and suicide baiting and death threats from the people who have a problem.
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Thorin ~ Chastity
1,000 Followers Challenge!
Requested by @fizzyxcustard
Words: 1,867
Warnings: Werewolf!AU, minor angst
The cool air of Lake-town was helping calm your nerves, settling away the edge youâd been on since leaving Beornâs. Â You knew the cold would only help momentarily, but for now, it was more than enough so as you werenât feeling every little thing.
Warm arms wrap around you and a nose nuzzles a little behind your ear as lips press a soft kiss to your neck. Â âIt is cold out here.â
Your arms fold over his as you fight back a sigh. Â âItâs better.â
He pulls you closer to him, your back pressed to his front tightly, his warmth seeping into you. Â âI know how hard this is Y/N, but there is no need to torture yourself for it.â
The sigh escapes this time. Â âWe both have our own coping mechanisms Thorin. Â I need this. Â Please.â
Thorin hesitates for a moment, but then pulls away. Â You can feel his eyes on you as you return to lean on the balcony, staring at the water below.
Gandalf had invited you on this quest and youâd met the company just outside of Bree, having had your own issues the night before, and again, Thorin had stared at you, but then, that had been for a very different reason.
Neither of you had ever thought that you would find someone living with what you are.
It had been aâŚtense explanation, when the two of you had had a quiet chance to talk, both of you weary of the other, keeping any real reaction well hidden until Thorin had told you that his family had been like this for several generations now.
Youâd never heard of a werewolf being born before.
Thorin had been equally as stunned to hear that you had survived an attack from a wild one, as heâd never heard of such a case happening. As it was, his own people had put certain measureâs in place to ensure that such a thing couldnât happen after many deaths early on, but you explained that out in the wilds, such cases were rare, but not unheard of.
It started something unlikely between the two of you and a part of you was sure that Thorin was just glad to have someone along that could understand, someone that wasnât his two nephews, who were also shocked by your appearance, and it wasnât long before quiet words and shared looks were had between the rest of the company.
The werewolf side of you was always in the back of your mind though, the itching in your gums, the aches in your fingers and burning in your joints. Â The longer things went without a transformation, the worse it all got.
âWolves arenât meant to be caged.â Â Thorin had said one night when you asked him how he coped with such things. Â âSometimes it is necessary for them to be let lose, if just to tame them again for a while so we can have some normalcy back.â
âWe are surrounded by others Thorin,â Youâd said back. Â âWe cannot possibly do so out here.â
But it seemed Thorin had already planned for this. Â You, Fili, Kili and himself staying behind for two days while the company continued on, and, despite your nerves, you felt the thrill of the hunt starting, although you werenât sure how youâd react to suddenly having others around you.
Four sets of howls filled the air that night, you falling into easy step beside Thorin, as if you belonged there, Fili and Kili on either side. Together, the four of you hunted, killed, and put your wolfish sides to eventual rest.
You and Thorin were particularly quiet for the following days, both knowing, but being unwillingly to say anything, still not quite ready to believe that such an odd coincidence could happen.
But as you leapt in front of Thorin to save him from a warg, you both knew that this unspoken thing could not remain so.
âYou were lucky you did not turn,â Thorin said by your bedside in Rivendell, your leg having been tended to from where the warg had sunk in its teeth. Â âYou were lucky that it did not put the rest of the company at risk.â
âI know,â You said, testing out the movement in the bindings, making sure that you were looking at it instead of him.  âBut it was a risk I had to take Thorin.  If youâd been hurtâŚâ
His hand rested on yours, bringing your gaze to his and for a long moment, the two of you just stared at each other.
Thorinâs thumb brushed your cheek. Â âDonât do that again. Â I cannot trust my own reaction if you do.â
You smiled. Â âWell, donât put yourself in harms way again. Â I canât trust my reaction either.â
He returned your smile and rested his forehead against yours, the two of your sitting like that until you were interrupted.
The goblin tunnels proved too much of a challenge for you, the pull of the moon too strong and the threat against Thorin too high, fire roaring through your blood as you turned, teeth snapping as you charged at the goblins, vision filled with red.
How Thorin didnât turn was still a mystery to both of you, but somehow, him being there, him watching, it was keeping you away from the others, as if he was protecting them, and as you caught up at Beornâs, it took Thorin a long time to convince you that it was okay.
His lips had pressed to yours, silencing your worrying and bringing forth something that was being buried by the both of you since that first shared turn.
You accepted him as if he was an extension of yourself, your body melting into him as he held you close, your lips following his easily, hands holding him tightly. Â A low growl had rumbled through him, sending a thrill of excitement through you and your wolf as it sat on the edge of your mind, and you knew that he was feeling the same way.
The wildness of the wolf tugged at your mind and you had to force yourself away, both of you breathing heavily, Thorinâs blue eyes tinted with amber as he stared at you, both in shock and confusion, wondering why you had pulled away.
This was new to you and that wild feeling frightened you, it was so much stronger than normal and you were still unsure of that at the best of times.
A journey such as this was no place for such things, for either thinking, talking or actioning it. Â Thorin had agreed with you then, but you knew, in the way he watched you now, that it was at the forefront of his mind.
It seemed that Mirkwood and being trapped by the elves made that final decision for Thorin, this time turning to save you as orcs attacked the barrels, later pulling you free from the water and curling close around you, keeping you warm. Â It took a long time to convince him to turn back and even longer then to convince Bard to smuggle you all into Lake-Town.
Feeling Thorin like that you had realised just how much you could tell about him, sensing where he was in a room, being able to scent each change in his emotions, wanting to be close to him at all times. Â The worst part of it was, the more you seemed at risk, the more it set your wolf on edge, the more you could feel.
Which was why youâd placed yourself out in the cold.
âDo you think you could at least try to love me?â Â Thorinâs voice was quiet, laced with hurt and it made your chest ache in a way it never had before as you turned to face him, his expression hurting.
Your eyes pricked with tears. Â âI do Thorin, I promise I do, more than anything.â
âThen why do you run from me?â Â He asked, unmoving.
âFor the same reason that you do not move now,â You said, breaking away from the pain in his gaze.  âBecause this frightens you.  ThisâŚthis is intense Thorin, neither of us can deny that, andâŚif weâŚif weâŚâ
You swallow, wanting to finish the sentence but unsure how as the low growl of the wolf rumbles through your mind, wanting to go to him and never let go.
âIt frightens me Thorin.â  Your voice sounds small, far away.  âIt frightens me that I feel so much when youâre here, and Iâm unsure of how to process it all withâŚwith my other side so close.  I feel as if I do what you want of me that I will lose all control and that I cannot have happen, I will not let it happen.  Iâve seen my fair share of feral wolves Thorin and-â
âYou would never be one,â A gentle hand rests under your chin and brings your gaze back to his, his own eyes shining. Â âIt is not in your blood or strength or honour to be so. Your loss of control, if there is any, would be with me and for me only.â
Your hand takes his and presses it into your cheek, letting yourself nuzzle him slightly, a small whimper leaving you as you ignore the urge to move closer.  âThen let me come to terms with that.  Please. I was not born with rules and tales to learn from as you, I was made into this.  I have overcome and adapted so much just to get here, forced control upon myself, but this, the feel of the wolf in the back of my mind edging for release when youâre so closeâŚâ
Thorin places a gentle kiss to your forehead, his thumb brushing away a stray tear, his gaze soft on you. Â âI would never rush you into anything, please know that. Â I want you to be comfortable with me as I am with you as our wolves are. Â I told you then as I will tell you again now, I will answer any question that you may have to the best of my abilities. Â No one should ever be alone in this.â
You close your eyes with a sigh, just enjoying the warmth of his hand for a moment, forcing your mind to slow, putting the wolf slowly back into a state you could control. Â âThank you Thorin. Â Thank you for understanding.â
Carefully, he steps in a little, taking it slow as he wraps his other arm around you, ensuring you were comfortable before placing a soft kiss into your hair. Â âI am sorry if I made you uncomfortable.â
Your head rests against his chest, taking in a deep breath, keeping yourself braced in case your wolf flared up again. Â âI just need time.â Â You sigh as his heartbeat does more than what the cold ever seemed to do. âOnce we have some, then I can ask my questions, then we sort this out properly and maybe then I wonât be so afraid of myself.â
Thorin smiles, resting his head atop yours and closing his eyes as the two of you stood out in the cold. Â âI promise Y/N, you have nothing to be afraid of.â
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Building Amadeus Cho in D&D 5e
I really need to distract myself from how bad elections in my country went, so here is another build. I noticed about every single one Iâve made - Cassandra Cain, Nico Minoru, Virgil Hawkins, Laura Kinney, Emiko Queen - are all âletâs dump strengthâ builds. So why not do something about it and make someone who is all about Strength? Well, maybe not âallâ, letâs make him smart as well. You can probably guess who comes to mind
Letâs start with our goals for this build. First of all, we need to be both strong AND smart, finding a way to show both of them in combat. Second, we need to express somehow Amadeusâ perk for invention and gadgets that aid him. And finally, we need to get knowledge skills to reflect well our status as the 7th Smartest Man on Earth.
As with Tulok the Barbarian, who inspired these pots, I will be using standard points array for Ability Scores - 15, 14, 13, 12, 10 and 8. If you want to roll or use different point buy or your DM insists on that, treat these as a guideline
Strength: 14, you were once The Strongest One There Is after all
Dexterity: 12, You are somewhat agile, maybe more than an average Hulk
Constitution: 13, very important for both taking hits and not getting distracted when you do SCIENCE!
Intelligence: 15, youâre 7th Smartest Man on Earth after all
Wisdom: 8, dump it, Amadeus was always known for being really freaking reckless after all.
Charisma: 10, Amadeus has shown he has as much of a chance to woo a girl as to annoy his teammates, you may as well leave this one entirely to the dice
Now for Race, which in D&D terms mean species. Amadeus is currently a superhumanly strong, green-skinned individual with an ability to increase his strength by getting enraged. And you know very well what that means for people who make character builds in 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons
Seriously tho, Amadeus is a human who got transformed into this green form, but a human none the less. Variant Humans get +1 to two Ability Scores, even out Intelligence and Constitution. For your free skill pick up Religion, first of our Knowledge Skills - you didnât hang out with Hercules without having that mythological knowledge run off on to you after all. Pick whatever is relevant to the campaign for the bonus language.
For the feat pick War Caster - it gives you an advantage on the Constitution saving throws to maintain concentration on a spell whenever you take damage, lets you perform somatic components even with a weapon or a shield in both hands and you can cast a spell instead of attacking whenever a creature provokes an opportunity attack from you, as long at the spell has a casting time of 1 action.
For Background we will go with Sage, giving us proficiency in History and Nature, two more Knowledge Skills and you also learn two languages of your choice, again, pick whateverâs relevant. You also get the Researcher feature, allowing you to, if you do not know something, at least know where to easily obtain that information.
Now for the Class, let us get us some Brains. And as with Static, we will do a little trick and treat magic as science. Maybe your magic really is your technological inventions? Or maybe you just used your brilliant mind to study it like science? It makes sense really - a scientific mind in a world where magic is a tangible force and all sci-fi elements are nonexistent would study magic with a scientific approach. If only there was a class known for this. 1st Level Wizard gains proficiency with our last knowledge skill, Arcana, and one more - pick Insight, Investigation or Medicine. You get saving throws with Wisdom and Intelligence and proficiency with Daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs and light crossbows
Wizard learns Spellcasting. You gain a spellbook containing six 1st-level Wizard spells and each long rest you can prepare a limited number of them that you can cast and you cannot prepare spells of a higher level than your maximum level known. You also get cantrips that you can cast as many times a day as you want but you only know a few of them. Finally, you can spend 2 hours and 50 gp to copy any spell you have found into your spellbook as long as you can cast spells of this level, adding them to a number of spells you can choose from. If your spell requires a spell attack, you make it with modifier equal your Proficiency Bonus + Your Intelligence Modifier and if it requires Saving Throw, you take that number and add 8 to get your Save Difficulty. You also gain Arcane Recovery, which lets you recover some of your spell slots on short rest, but they cannot be of higher combined level than half of your wizard level rounded up.
For Cantrips you get to know 3 and here are some good choices:
Prestidigitation is a multi-use tool that allows you to make all kinds of minor magical effects that last up to 1 hourÂ
Either Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade - each is a spell that lets you make an attack and causes some effect if you hit, either making green fire leap from it to the second target to give it damage equal to your Intelligence Modifier, or deal the target additional 1d8 thunder damage if it willingly moves before end of your next turn. Either of those scales up with your total character level
Shocking Grasp lets you make a melee attack as a part of casting a spell as well, with an advantage if the target is wearing armor, and if you hit they take 1d8 lightning damage (again, scaling with your total level) cannot take reactions until the end of your next turn.
Now for the 1st Level Spells, we get to know six of them even if we can only cast two per long rest.
Fog Cloud lets you create a 20-foot radius sphere centered around you that makes an entire area in it heavily obscured.
Jump lets you triple your jump distance for 1 minute, getting that trademark Hulk jumpIdentify lets you learn all magical properties related to a touched item or what spells are affecting the touched creature
Grease turns an area within 10-foot square from a chosen point into difficult terrain for 1 minute and every creature standing on it or entering it must succeed on a Dexterity Saving Throw or fall prone.
Feather Fall has a casting time of a reaction and lasts for one minute and each from up to five falling creatures within 60-feet range, you included, slows down on falling to 60 feet and if it lands on the ground before the spell ends, it takes no damage
Finally, Find Familiar lets you summon a familiar. There is no dog or wolf on the list but Iâm sure a GM can be persuaded into allowing you to have a coyote pup. Familiar acts independent from you but obeys your commands, if it dies you can bring it back by recasting the spell, you can communicate with it telepathically if it is within 100 feet from you and for action see through its eyes and if you cast a touch spell your familiar can deliver it to the target. This has a ton of uses and if done well it will make your puppy a beloved pet of the party.
We will now jump to Barbarian. You get proficiency light and medium armor, simple and martial weapons and shields. As you might have noticed, we do not get tavern brawler to deal better damage on unarmed strike. This is because I remembered that Amadeus was once wielding mace previously belonging to Hercules. I see no reason why not to return to it to give Amadeus more of his classic flavor. Also, it will mesh better with some features we will get than punching with your fist. You can also pick up that huge two-handed hammer he was using as Brawnhammer.
1st Level Barbarians get an ability to Rage, allowing you to enter a state in which you gain an advantage on Strength checks and saving throws, +2 to damage dealt by strength attacks and resistance to bludgeoning, Piercing and Slashing Damage. It lasts for 1 minute, until youâre knocked out or if you ended your turn without attacking any enemy for your turn. You can do it twice between long rests. Sadly, you cannot cast spells or concentrate on those already cast in Rage. This will be a more last line of defense than a common go-to strategy.
You also get Unarmored Defense, allowing you to add your Constitution Modifier to your Armor Class, which helps since Cho isnât known for wearing armor.
2nd Level Barbarian gets Danger Sense, if you are not blinded, deafened or incapacitated, you have an advantage on Dexterity saving throws against any effect you can see, such as traps or spells. You also gain Reckless Attack, allowing you to gain an advantage on your attack rolls made this turn at the cost of giving your enemies advantage on attack rolls against you until your next turn.
2nd Level Wizard gets a new spell slot to use. You also get to choose an Arcane Tradition. School of Lore Mastery gives us two features. Lore Mastery itself allows you to substitute your Intelligence modifier for Dexterity modifier when you roll for Initiative and doubles your proficiency modifier in all Knowledge Skills you are proficient with. Which are ALL OF THEM! Youâre welcome. Spel Secrets meanwhile allows you to, whenever you cast a spell that deals acid, cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, radiant, or thunder damage to just declare you change it to another type. Meaning you no longer care for resistance or immunity to damage. ON TOP OF THAT, if a spell requires someone to make a saving throw, it also lets you change whichever Ability they have to roll for. So if youâre fighting a group of Goblins, you donât make them roll Dexterity but Strength o that Grease.
ALTERNATIVE: School of War Magic allows you to add your Intelligence Modifier to your Initiative rolls with Tactical Wit and with Arcane Deflection you can spend your reaction to give yourself +2 to Armor Class were you be hit by an attack roll or +4 to a saving throw you failed, but you cannot cast spells other than cantrips until end of your next turn.
Okay, we have brains, we have brawl, but Amadeus is both - not just a genius or a Hulk, he is Brawn and he combines these two sides of him. We will let him do that...in a moment
First Level Fighter gets to choose a fighting style. Depending on what you picked up as your weapon choose either Dueling (+2 to damage rolls if youâre using only one weapon in one hand) or Great Weapon Fighting (when you use two-handed or versatile weapon wielded in two hands you can reroll all 1 or 2 on damage rolls but must use the new roll even if it is as bad or worse). You also gain Second Wind, letting you once per short or long rest use a bonus action to regain health points equal 1d10 + your fighter level. This will get us some of that healing factor.
EDIT: if you really want Brawn who fights with his fists then pick a new Fighting Style from Unearthed Arcana on Alternate Class Features - Unarmed Fighting. It changes the damage dealt by your unarmed attacks from flat 2 to 1d6+your STRE modifier, 1d8 if you attack with both hands and grants you an extra 1d4 damage dealt whenever you successfully start a grapple with a creature and whenever you hit a creature youâre already grappling.
Second Level Fighter gains Action Surge - once per short or long rest you can gain an additional action for your round. This means an extra attack or lets you cast a spell and attack in one turn.
Third Level Fighter gains a Martial Archetype. And this is what we are here for. Eldritch Knight. First, it lets you learn a ritual that creates a bond between yourself and a weapon and you can have two such weapons bonded to you at once. As long as you hold one you cannot be disarmed unless youâre incapacitated and if you are to part from it you can summon it as a bonus action, making it teleport in your hand as long as youâre on the same plane of existence. Teleporting gear he needs into his hands does sound like a very Amadeus thing, gotta say.
But now to the real meat of Eldritch Knight. You get to learn spells as a fighter. As opposed to Wizard spells you know a limited number of them and you spend spell slots to cast them without preparations. Sadly you cannot cast Wizard Spells you know from Eldritch Knight spell slots or vice versa. However, two levels you took will count to determine your number of spell slots. Consult this table using the following guidelines - every 4 levels of Eldritch Knight you take count as 1 level on the table and every level of wizard counts as 1. If the table would give you access to spell slots of a higher level that you should know by normal class progression, you can only use them to cast spell slots of a level you know.
Also, since your casting ability is the same for both classes, your spell attack and save difficulty modifiers are the same.
You learn two Cantrips from a wizard spell list and they work pretty much as the wizard ones.
Thunderclap is a very Hulk thing - make a burst of sound forcing every creature within 5 feet to make Constitution saving throw or take 2d6 (since we are above 5th level) thunder damage. As you can guess, it scales with your total character level.
Lighting Lure forces a target to make Strength saving throw or be pulled up to 10 feet of you and take 2d8 lightning damage if it finds itself within 5 feet of you. And yes, it does too scale with your total level.
You get to know 3 1-st level spells from Wizard Spell list but they must be abjuration or evocation. As you will learn 4th one on the next level I will list all 4
Thunderwave forces every creature within a 15-foot cube from you to make a Constitution saving throw or take 2d8 Thunder Damage and be pushed 10 feet away from you. On a save it remains in position and takes only half of the damage.
Protection from Evil and Good lets you choose one type of creature - aberrations, celestials, elementals, fey, fiend and undead - it is a concentration spell lasting up to 10 minutes and gives that type of creatures disadvantage on attack rolls against you and you cannot be charmed, frightened or possessed by them. This is for next time you run into the Enchantress
Absorb Elements lets you chose damage type you are about to take from acid, cold, fire, lightning or thunder, giving you resistance to that damage. The first time you hit on your next round you deal additional 1d6 damage of that type to the target, +1d6 per spell slot level if you cast it from a higher level
Chromatic Orb lets you make spell attack against the target, dealing it 3d8 (+1d8 for each higher level of spell slot used) of damage of your choice - poison, acid, fire, cold, lighting or thunder.
4th Level Fighter gains an Ability Score improvement, for now we will focus on increasing our Intelligence. 5th Level gives us Extra Attack, letting us make two attacks as a part of the same attack action. 6th Level is another Ability Score Improvement, Round up the Intelligence
7th Level Eldritch Knight gets to learn a new Spell and gains access to 2nd level spell slots. Snillocâs Snowball Storm makes fury of snowballs explode in a 5-ffot sphere from the chosen target, dealing every creature in range 3d6 cold damage and a half on successful Dexterity saving throw. if you would rather go with the Hulk-lite theme, pick up Shatter instead - works similarly except dealing thunder damage, asking for Constitution save and dealing 3d8 damage instead of 3d6 and imposing disadvantage on the saving throw to creatures made out of inorganic materials.
You also gain a feature - War Magic. Whenever you cast a Cantrip as an action you can now make a single weapon attack as a bonus action.
8th Level Fighter gains another Ability Score Improvement, boost up your Strength. You can learn a new spell and this time it can be one out of any school. Hold Person lets you force a Wisdom saving throw on a target and if they fail then, for your concentration, they become paralyzed until they succeed a next Wisdom save on their round, you break your concentration or 1 minute passes.
9th Level Fighter gains Indomitable, letting you once per long rest reroll one failed saving throw.
10th Level Eldritch Knight learns Eldritch Strike, meaning that now whenever you hit a creature with a weapon attack, it has a disadvantage on the save against the first spell you cast until the end of your next turn. You also learn a new Cantrip and a new Spell and another one on 11th level
Ray of Frost makes you make a spell attack against a single target and if you hit you deal 3d8 (since it scales with a level) cold damage and reduce its speed by 10 feet until the start of your next turn.
Scorching Ray makes you pick up to 3 targets (+1 for each higher level from which you cast) to be hit with 2d6 Fire Damage.
Melfâs Acid Arrow lets you make a spell attack against a target. On a hit, it takes 4d4 acid damage now and 2d4 on the end on its next turn, on a miss it only takes 2d4 acid damage once.
11th Level Fighter also gains the third attack to be done as a part of the same attack action.
12th level Fighter gains an Ability Score improvement, this time increase your Constitution.
On 13th Level you get to use Indomitable twice between long rests, can learn one new spell and gain access to 3rd level spells. You get another one, this one from any school, on 14th level as well, alongside next Ability Score Improvement (which should go to Strength)
Counterspell allows you to interrupt an enemy costing spell. If it is casting a spell of a level equal or lower than that of spell slot you used, it fails immediately. if its level is higher, you counter it if you succeed an Intelligence Check with difficulty equal to 10 + spell level.
Haste is a concentration spell for up to 1 minute, it doubles your (or another target you used it for) speed, gains +2 to AC, advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws and on each of its turns gains one action it can use to make a single weapon attack, dash, disengage, hide or use object. Once it ends target must spend 1 turn doing nothing to regain its strength.
15th Level Eldritch Knight gets to use Arcane Charge, which lets you teleport up to 30 feet as a part of an action you gain by Arcane Surge. Our Capstone is 16th Level Fighter. Final Ability Score Improvement - round up Strength - and final spell to learn - Fireball lets you cause an explosion in a 20-foot radius from the target, dealing every creature in it 8d6 fire damage or half on successful save +1d6 for each higher level of spell slot you used to cast it from.
So here is how I would do Amadeus. School of Lore Mastery Wizard 2/Barbarian 2/Eldritch Knight Fighter 16. :et us see how valid this build is. For one, you are a good tank with multiple ways to reduce damage dealt to you and make up for not wearing armor - protection from good and evil, indomitable, absorb elements, rage (which works with some of these abilities), second wind, Unarmored Defense - and a lot of hit points. You also get a varied array of spells that deal different types of damage and many of them have various utilities attached to them, with added bonus you can fluff them as either gadgets or Hulk abilities, and your wizard levels let you cast them using 5th level slots (see the table again) which actually allows you to deal more damage with them than pure Eldritch Knight. You do not need to worry about having either too many or not spells of one damage type for any given situation with Lore Mastery either. Hell, you could refluff the same spells as different gadgets multiple times. You also have ways to get in more attacks and to make up for relatively poor Dexterity. If you run out of spells you can enter rage and go into full combat. Finally, you have all the knowledge skills to truly be 7th Smartest Man on Earth.
On the downsides, you are a jack of all trades but master of none, lacking real focus. Your array of spells is limited and even though you can learn more via wizard spellbook theyâre only gonna be of 1st level. Spells you do know are only of 3rd level at best, meaning their usefulness will be limited. And Rage basically turns off your entire spellcasting and concentration spells, meaning you have to choose which one to use. We didnât max out Constitution and Dexterity is low, meaning our AC is not as good as it should be. Finally, your Charisma and Wisdom Saves are low, meaning you should expect to be banished to another dimension or mind-controlled to turn against your party a lot.
However, you are a very balanced character who can be useful in many things and has an answer to all kinds of problems. You are brains and Brawl in one green package. Just remember you cannot do everything and you work much better as a part of a team. So donât your teammates get sick of your ego.
ERRATA: Original build started with levels in Barbarian but it was pointed out to me that you need to take a casting class to take War Caster feat, I have made changes to reflect that.
UPDATE: Changed Wizard School to Lore Mastery, with War as an alternate option.
- Admin
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Of Monsters and Men
The Kingdom of Fife was quiet, so Ser Proletius and his Knights of Crail spread throughout the kingdom to help the people more directly. Proletius had gone to the town of Enest, surrounded by thick forest to see if they had any problems. Turned out that they had a monster problem that needed solving.
On Ao3!
Warning ahead: I got slightly discriptive with describing corpses, and battle
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Ser Proletius and his Knights of Crail had been out in the Kingdom to patrol some of the towns and villages to secure then as well as the cities since everything had been a bit quiet. Since they were only patrolling towns, they didnât need many knights to secure them and had chosen to go in pairs of two or three; except if youâre the Grandmaster who went to the forest town of Enest on his own with only his unicorn as his companion. He wouldâve brought Farcry, but the eagle was simply too big to land in the tightly packed forest that surrounded Enest.Â
He had been on the road to Enest for a few days now and could now see it in the distance, his unicorn had seen it too for e quickened eirâs pace so that they could get to the town before nightfall as the sky began to darken. As they cantered along the road, they passed a portion of the forest that was felled, a good half-acre, in fact, was simply, gone. It stunned both Proletius and the unicorn enough that e slowed eirâs canter to a trot, walk then full stop to take in the damage.
Normally seeing felled trees or plains isnât too odd especially near farming towns, but this area is very heavily forested (and he didnât know that there had been approved logging in this area) so this had been odd to Proletius. What was odder still were the corpses suspended and intertwined in tree roots that pushed their way through the earth, the bodies crushed and pierced. The eyes and faces of the corpses were picked away by ravens and other carrion feeders. In Proletiusâs line of work, seeing corpses isnât rare nor is adding to the corpse count, what was odd about this was the fact it looked like nature itself fought back against the carnage.
The Grandmaster made a âhmmâ noise in the back of his throat as he surveyed what happened. He then looked to his right towards Enest a few kilometres in the distance. âI suppose weâll find out more in the town,â he said aloud.
The unicorn snorted in agreement, turned around and started back up towards the town in a faster canter, but not quite a gallop. With the unicornâs pace, they got to the town quickly and entered it, heading straight for the inn and had stopped in front of it.
Proletius barely managed to dismount from his unicorn when he heard wheezing and puffing from behind him. He finished getting off the unicorn, turned around to be met with a rather rotund and overweight man with auburn hair, dressed plainly, with a blue cloak and doubled over to catch his breath. Waddling up to stand next to the man was a mastiff-sized wingless dragon: a drake-hound, and a green one at that. The Grandmaster waited for the man to catch his breath.
The man caught his breath and stood straight, he took the time to brush himself off and gather his nerves before he spoke to Ser Proletius. âEvening Ser Knight! I am Munroe, the local logger overseer, that came down to this town about a little over a week ago to clear out some of this wood,â he started to explain.
The Grandmaster had interrupted whatever Munroe was going to say next. âEnest supplies the kingdom with mushrooms and truffles, not wood,â he said.
Munroe blinked and floundered. âWell, Uhm, not yet the town wonât be. I came to change that and brought some men with me from my village to help out, locals havenât been helping us, which isnât a problem, the problem is that three days ago a monster that slaughtered half my men and rendered the rest too afraid to work!â the man finished, a bit flustered.
âA monster? See anything that would make you think that?â Proletius asked. Something had seemed off about this man.
âOh, I wasnât there, but I heard it from the surviving men - in the midst of fearful babbling mind you - that they were attacked by wolves and ravens, the men ran, and the ones that apparently didnât get away in time were crushed by tree roots that had risen from the ground. I went down to the location awhile ago. So yes, it was a monster,â Munroe expanded as he patted the drake-hound at his side.
Proletius thought back to the sight he saw back before the village, the empty forest floor with the corpses of lumberjacks crushed in intertwining roots, their bodies covered in wolf bites and their eyes pecked out by ravens. It did look like a monster had attacked them, but why would it attack now? Proletius decided not to ask Munroe, he only arrived a few weeks ago, he wouldnât know. âThank you, Munroe, Iâll look into it,â the Knight said respectfully to the man.
âPlease try to hurry, Ser, I donât mean to rush a distinguished knight such as yourself, but I fear that the rest of the men may leave the town if the threat of this monster keeps up,â the overseer said.
Proletius gave a curt nod and Munroe waddled off with his drake-hound hot on his heels. The Grandmaster turned back around to face the inn that was his original objective and looked at the squat wooden building that sat upon a foundation of carved stone, the sign to this inn had a goblet with a crack in it and words that read âThe Cracked Chaliceâ. He checked to make sure that his unicorn was alright and walked up the three steps to get inside. The barkeep will have more information he figured.
When the Grandmaster walked through the door, he was met with a remarkably clean establishment, the tables were well taken care of, the chairs and stools had some furs on the seats to add a bit of comfort and it was well lit with candles. There were a few patrons already seated at some of the tables and bar that turned to look at Proletius when he came through the door, all a bit in awe that the Grandmaster himself had come to their village. He walked up to the bar and sat down at one of the stools in front of it, his armour clanking and rubbing against itself as he sat down, his sword on his hip bumped slightly against the bar.
The barkeep saw Proletius walk in and had waited for him to get situated before he spoke to the Grandmaster. âEvening, Ser, what brings you to Enest?â he greeted.
âMaking sure that everything is alright in the kingdom. Now I heard from a man called Munroe that you have a monster problem?â Proletius said.
The barkeep and several of the patrons grumbled about Munroe under their breath. The barkeep then spoke up. âWe never used to have a problem with nature before Munroe and his men came to fell our woods,â the barkeep began, âbut they didnât listen to our druid when she told them to clear the woods she marked, because of animal homes and the like, and they didnât listen, felled some trees not where she marked and got what was coming to them.â
âSo even you donât know anything about this monster?â
The barkeep shrugged his thick shoulders. âNope. Though I saw itâs carnage, everyone did. Some kind of nature beast or spirit that they pissed off. Best to talk to Alina about it.â
âAlina?â
âThe druid I mentioned earlier. She knows nature. Though itâs best you go visit her in the morning, she doesnât like visitors this late,â the barkeep advised.
Proletius turned around to look out the window and sure enough, the sky was a lot darker than earlier. Well, he should probably sleep then. âIâll grab a room for the night, then. As well as something to eat and drink,â the Grandmaster said.
âSure thing, what would you like to drink?â
âMead.â came the Grandmasterâs answer. He figured itâd be okay to have one drink.
The barkeep turned around to the counter behind him and grabbed a cup and a bottle of mead poured it into the cup, and set it down in front of the Grandmaster. âSomething to eat? The cook has prepared a nice steak with some mushroom gravy for the day,â the barkeep offered for something to eat.
One of the things Proletius liked when he travelled the kingdom is trying the different foods of the villages and towns. âThat sounds perfect, Iâll have that,â the Grandmaster said as he sipped at his drink.
The barkeep nodded and walked to the back to give Proletiusâs order to the cook. The barkeep stuck his head out to check on the front before ducking back to attend to something else. This left Proletius alone, which he didnât mind of course.
While he waited for his meal, he thought about the things he saw and started to pile the evidence about what this âmonsterâ might be. Admittedly he wasnât sure, monster hunting wasnât his expertise. Now, goblin and chaos wizard hunting, on the other hand, was in his expertise. He was brought out of his thoughts by his food being placed in front of him, that brought his focus to enjoying some food.
The barkeep stood back behind the bar and looked at Proletius as the Grandmaster ate. âSo, what are you going to do when you talk with Alina?â he asked. He sounded concerned for the druidâs well-being.
âCallum, let the knight finish his food,â someone else at the bar scolded the barkeep.
Proletius simply chewed his mouthful and swallowed before he answered. âTalk to her. Listen to her, see if she spoke and negotiated with Munroe, try to help negotiations. This monster issue sounds like a relatively easy fix,â he said. At least, he hoped that it was an easy fix.
âAh, I see. Sorry, sheâs been a big help here ever since she moved here five years ago. Helping us fell the right trees and not change the landscape drastically in the process. Sheâs not like most other druids,â Callum - the barkeep - said.Â
Proletius had been quietly eating his food while Callum talked. He swallowed his last mouthful. âWhat do you mean ânot like other druidsâ?â he questioned.
âYouâll see.â
âIs it that hard to explain?â Proletius asked in a slightly joking tone.
Callum chuckled. âWell, no, itâs just easier to see what I mean when you actually meet her.â
âI see.â Proletius went back to his food in silence and Callum left him alone to finish the meal and sleep. The Grandmaster ate his food, paid for both the meal and the room and left to the said room after the keys were given to him.
                                                           ***
The Grandmaster slept well that night and awoke to the sun shining in his face, which, for a knight is not unusual but no less annoying. He got up and got ready for the day, washed his face a bit, got dressed and donned in his armour, that kind of thing. After he did that, he went to the bar to grab a quick bite to eat before he went to talk to Alina. Callum talked to him a bit while he had eaten.
After that, the Grandmaster asked Callum where Alina lived and went on a nice walk to the druidâs house to go talk to her. When he approached the house (which was five minutes off the outskirts of the village) it looked like many of the other houses in the village: squat, wooden and small. The differences to this house where the garden beds, the many ground-bird coops and feeding stations. Yep, this was a druidâs house. Proletius walked up to the door and gave it a good loud knock since he heard something fall inside the house.
âJust come inside!â came a feminine voice in answer to the knock.
Proletius nudged open the door and stepped inside to be met with a lot of red birds and a bit of chaos. There were birds on the rafters, the sills, everywhere and they looked very similar to ravens in size and shape though were a brilliant shade of red with the tail and wingtips gradient to blue, all the feathers had an iridescent sheen with the beaks and feet of the birds being yellow.
A young-looking woman wearing a plain beige shirt, brown pants and slippers came into view carrying a box with what looked to be yarn-nests in her slender yet lithe arms. Her build wasn't small or terribly thin, but it wasn't muscular either. Her long blonde hair was haphazardly brushed and pulled into a loose tail, her green eyes focused on the birds and not her guest. She set the box down and began to hand each bird pair a nest from the box, the pair flying off through the window and the next pair stepped up. They were queueing.Â
Proletius could see that she was immediately busy and stood near the door to wait for her to finish her job. He looked around the room he stood in, there was a small round table to his left, a desk near the table with piles of loose paper scattered on it, herbs, a mortar and pestle, other plants, a few loose feathers and quills. Above the desk were a couple of shelves that held books and a few potted plants.
âHere, Big Miss Muffet wants to go outside,â the lady said as she passed briefly by Proletius and shoved something into his hands to no doubt put outside. She still didnât seem to notice him as she disappeared behind a corner in the back to get something. (Probably more nests, since she ran out of the ones in the box she got out.)
Proletius looked down at his hands to see a decently sized tarantula in them that the druid gave him. The Grandmaster stared at it for a few moments before he leaned down and let the spider crawl outside the open door. When he stood back up, he saw the woman standing in the opening she went into, staring at him. âAlina, I presume?â he asked.
She nodded. âYes⌠Sorry for pushing a spider into your hands, I thought you were someone else,â she apologised. She held a box with more nests in her arms.
Proletius waved a hand dismissively, âItâs alright, Iâm alright with spiders. Iâm Ser Proletius, Grandmaster of the Knights of Crail. I wanted to ask you a few questions about the apparent nature spirit or monster that attacked some of Munroeâs men,â he said, getting to the point.
Alina looked pissed at the mention of Munroeâs name. She set the box that was in her arms on the countertop with a bit more force than what was necessary. âI told him and his men not to cut down that area, I even showed and marked an area for them to fell because those trees were all old. But no, he chose the young trees that a critically endangered bird species were nesting in, or rather, managed to adapt to nesting in,â she said with annoyance.
Proletius looked at the red ravens that helped each other get the nests out of the box. âAre those the critically endangered birds?â he asked for clarification.
âYeah, Pheonix Ravens, thought to have been pushed to extinction fifty years ago but I found two dwindling and barely surviving flocks. Iâve been trying to help them adapt to living in a different area, but itâs not easy. Nature often tends to be stubborn,â she said exasperated. âIâve spent the last three days trying to help them after Munroe felled the trees that they managed to call home.â
The Grandmaster looked at the red birds in surprise. Even he thought that the Phoenix Ravens went extinct. It made him consider telling the King about it. âEven I thought these birds went extinct, Iâm glad they didnât. I can help you talk to Munroe to work something out and I can even talk with the king to make them protected to help them,â Proletius said.
Alinaâs tired face suddenly lit up. âYou will?â at his nod, she couldnât hold back a smile. âThank you! If you let me tidy myself up a bit more, we can go talk to the man now?â she asked.
âSooner is better. I can wait outside for you,â Proletius offered.
âOh no, itâs alright, you can wait in here if you want. I should have some biscuits if the birds didnât eat them all that is,â she said off-handed and reached for a jar on the counter next to the nest box. She opened the ceramic jar to check inside it. âOh nope, they didnât eat all of them,â she commented as she set the jar down on the table and put the lid back on before a Phoenix Raven tried to take a biscuit.
Ser Proletius shook his head at her offer for him to stay in her house. âThank you for the offer, but Iâll wait outside for you. I do want a biscuit though,â he said. The Grandmaster picked up the jar to get a biscuit, upon doing that, he felt a weight descend on his right shoulder and twisted his head to see a phoenix raven looking at him. âI get the feeling that if I open this, this one with dive for it.â
Alina looked a bit done with the antics of the phoenix ravens. âYes, she will.â
Proletius had an idea. He put the jar down, reached into his pocket and brought out a bit of jerky (a treat he normally gave to Farcry), broke a decent sized bit off the strip and gave that to the raven. The piece was a bit too large for the raven to swallow whole which gave the Grandmaster enough time to take a biscuit out of the jar and eat it. He managed to do all that while the raven was trying to break the jerky upon his shoulder in order to eat its snack.
When the raven realised that the Grandmaster tricked it into eating a healthier snack and not the sugar biscuit it wanted, it looked at him very offended. Alina had laughed at the Grandmaster tricking one of the phoenix ravens. After the raven had gotten off Proletius, the Grandmaster went to wait outside while Alina made herself more presentable.
Proletius didnât have to wait long for the druid to make herself more presentable since she had come outside wearing the same things as before, but her hair was neatly brushed and braided, laying against her neck. She also had a staff that was made of simple wood, the top of the staff was gnarled and twisted like a dead tree. "Are you ready?" the Grandmaster asked just to be sure.Â
She nodded. "Yes, I am, let's go find Munroe and talk to him. The nature spirit should stop killing his men if we manage to negotiate with him," she said. Alina did not mention what would happen if they didnât.
Proletius nodded and both set off back to the village side by side to talk to Munroe. They walked in silence for the first half of the trip while they looked for Munroe after they got into the village.Â
"So what brings the Grandmaster to this little town?" Alina asked.Â
"The kingdom has been quiet. No problems from the neighbours, no chaos wizards, no goblin issues. So I told the knights to secure the kingdom by assisting the people with their problems, and I myself went out as well," Proletius answered.Â
"I see. Oh, there he is!" Alina pointed towards Munroe, the man's figure had set him apart from the norm.Â
Both the Grandmaster and the druid made their way to the overseer, who had turned to face them. When he saw that Alina was with Proletius his whole body seemed to huff in annoyance.Â
"I see that you went to talk with the druidâŚ" Munroe said when they got closer.Â
"The monster that attacked your men was a nature spirit, defending the loss of habitat of critically endangered birds," Proletius started. "She tells me that she talked to you and even showed you a place to log. Why did you choose to cut down the trees in the unmarked area?"Â
Munroe huffed. "Those trees were old, young trees are better."Â
"For what? Older trees have a lot more wood in them to be used for everything!" Alina argued.Â
"Furniture requires the delicacy and lightness of the young wood!" he countered.Â
Alina's features hardened. "And why so picky? Wood is wood, older trees have already lived their lives. They are suited for home building or furniture!"Â
Proletius could see that this would only escalate and so interrupted the pair before they continued. "Enough! We came to you, Munroe to reach an agreement. You want wood, Alina has already shown that she is willing to help as long as you listen to her," he said with a slightly commanding tone.Â
Proletius's command caused both to shut up and listen to him. They both shared a glance with each other.Â
"Well, now that you say it like that, I suppose that I can agree with the druid and will go remove the trees she marked herself," Munroe relented. "And the birds?"Â
"They will be fine. I'm headed back to the capital and will tell the King about the surviving Phoenix Raven flocks. They will be protected," Proletius said to Munro's concern.Â
Munroe faced Alina and held out a hand to shake on it. "I suppose that we have come to a deal?" he asked. He had a kind smile while he took the deal. The drake-hound that was always at his side, wandered off.Â
Alina took his hand in her own and shook it. "Yes, we have a deal," she said, something felt off to her though.Â
Proletius nodded, outwardly glad that they had gotten along, but he felt like something would go wrong. "Glad that this will be solved and no more monster or nature spirit problems for you, Munroe," he said.Â
"Of course! I will deal with selling older wood, but I'll live. Now, Ser, you're probably going to head off soon, aren't you?" Munroe asked.Â
The Grandmaster nodded. "If there's not much more for me to do now, I was going to head back now."Â
"Of course! I won't keep you any longer, Ser," Munroe said, letting the knight know that he can head off.Â
"There is nothing more I need from you, either, thank you," Alina said.Â
"Well, farewell to you both and I hope all will be well," Proletius said, then called for his unicorn. The unicorn was quick to answer the whistle and stood next to the Grandmaster to allow him to get on. He climbed onto the unicorn's back, and both headed off to the exit of the village.Â
                                                           ***
Proletius and the unicorn had been three hours away from the village when the Grandmasterâs gut feeling got worse, even his unicorn slowed eirâs walk and tilted eâs ears to listen to the forest. Ser Proletius scanned the bushes and drew out his blade just in case.Â
Both had heard a tree suddenly snap and fall. It crashed and shattered where the pair had been. They were no longer there because the unicorn had leapt forward when they heard the suspicious crack.Â
An arrow flew out from the bushes but was deflected by Proletiusâs sword just as several people, armed with swords jumped out of the bushes and rushed the pair. Both the unicorn and the Grandmaster focused on the people that attacked them.
A green blur tackled Proletius of his unicorn and onto the ground. The knight lost grip on his sword when he fell but managed to use his armoured bracers to stop the drake-houndâs powerful jaws from going around his neck. It still hurt like hell when the jaws snapped down on the metal around his arm and he punched the animalâs nose to get it to let go. Hang on, he recognised this green and the drake, this was the same animal that was at Munroeâs side. The bastard had staged an ambush. He knew something had felt off.
He managed to throw the drake-hound off after he had stunned it and got up, retrieved his sword and went to help his unicorn battle the men that crowded around it. The Grandmaster struck the men down, even as a few more had come from the bushes.
A howl echoed from the forest in a radius and suddenly a pack of wolves, as well as a flock of ravens, exploded from the foilage to attack the men that assaulted the Grandmaster. That made the remaining men focus on the animals as well as flushing out the rest - including Munroe - from the bushes. There had been a lot of screaming from the men as they got attacked by the wolves and ravens.
Munroe fired his crossbow at a few of the ravens - which killed them - then took aim at Proletius and fired, but the bolt was deflected into one of his men. âNo hard feelings Ser, but I canât let you go report to the king on this,â he said with his familiar smile and good-natured attitude.
Proletius was not pleased. âI will still go to the king about this and will now include how you had attacked a Knight and the Grandmaster. Death will not be easy for you, Munroe,â the Grandmaster warned.
Munroe took aim again in answer and prepared to fire. Proletius closed the gap quickly, disarmed the crossbow from the manâs arms and prepared to engage the man as the overseer brought out a dagger. The drake-hound also bounded towards the pair and leapt at Proletius again, though the Grandmaster dodged it.Â
Roots broke from the dirt and entangled the men, crushing and piercing them - or in Munroeâs case, simply restrained him - which caused the battle to die down as a woman wearing leather armour, a staff, familiar braid, hair colour and eyes walked out from some roots herself. Alina faced Munroe. âI knew you were up to something, Munroe,â she said bitterly.
Proletius looked at the roots, the birds and wolves while he checked on his unicorn. He thought back to the scenery he had seen yesterday. So that was her. She was a powerful druid thatâs for certain.
Munroe had a mixture of fear and frustration written on his face. âSurprised that you didnât call me a rat, monster!â he insulted.
âThatâd be an insult to rats,â she countered back.
âYouâre a powerful druid, Alina,â Proletius complimented, ignoring Munroe.
She turned to him and smiled. âThank you. Thank you for also not listening to Munroe,â she said.
Proletius nodded. âItâs no problem, something didnât feel right about it and I did what I had to,â he said.
âSo what about him?â Alina pointed her staff at Munroe who glared daggers at both the druid and the knight.
âWell, I donât have the necessary equipment needed to arrest him, so Iâll need to get back to the capital for that,â he mentioned, then looked around at the roots. âThink you can hold him in someplace temporary until I get back?â
âOf course I can.â
Proletius turned towards his unicorn and got back onto eirâs back. He looked at Alina. âThank you. Also, next time something like this happens again, get us,â he advised.
Alina grinned. âCertainly, but come quicker next time so I donât have too,â she countered. The druid then remembered something, âwait, Ser, did Bushâs teeth break your armour and skin?â she asked, the green drake-hound sat obediently at her side. The drake then snorted.
Proletius checked the bracer that faced the brunt of the bite, while it was malformed a bit and punctured in places, he didnât feel any skin broken. âIt didnât get past my armour enough to break the skin, why?â he asked.
âForest drake-hounds have deadly venom, they use it for defence,â she answered, relieved.
The Grandmaster made an âahâ sound, glad that he dodged that arrow. âThank you for the information. What will you do with the drake-hound?â
âIâm going to keep him,â she said proudly. âAnd rename him, he needs a better name than âBushâ. Probably Surthian.â She gave the drake a few good scratches while Munroe vocalised his annoyance at that. He was left ignored.
The Grandmaster shrugged. âFair enough. Farewell, Alina, Iâll be back later to pick up Munroe.â
Alina nodded. âYes, see you then, Ser Proletius.â
Both then parted ways, more permanently this time, Alina took Munroe back to the town and Proletius went back to Dundee to report to Angus McFife I about what had happened at Enest.
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Tyler, The Creator - IGOR ALBUM REVIEW

Tyler, The Creator has been apart of hip hop for a decade now and heâs impacted the genre and become a legend in his own right. His work as a solo artist and a member of Odd Future have influenced a lot of young rappers today. Tyler seems to put out a project every other year and this time heâs back with IGOR. Much like his biggest musical inspiration Pharrell who seems to reinvent himself with every artistic endeavor, every Tyler album really does sound different. Last year, I finally saw Tyler live for the first time and he said that there is a big divide in his fanbase between the ones who love Cherry Bomb and Scum Fuck Flower Boy and his older albums like Bastard, Goblin and Wolf. After his last album, 2017â˛s Flower Boy, he gained a lot of new fans and they seemed to gravitate toward the sound that he captured on just that album. Just like how all his albums are different from each other, IGOR is different too. Even though there are plenty of hip hop elements throughout this album, it isnât really a rap album. Thereâs a verse here and there but it isnât the focal point of the music. I remember a while back after the release of Wolf in 2013, Tyler said he wanted to sing more and felt like rapping trapped him. I feel like IGOR is this album that heâs been hinting at making with Cherry Bomb and Flower Boy. Flower Boy was probably Tylerâs most vulnerable album since Wolf dropped in 2013. It discussed his emotions and sexuality heavily. Lyrics about his emotions are on this album too. I love how this album starts off with IGORâS THEME. This menacing synth is met with this knocking drum break that instantly gets your head nodding. The hook and the melodies of the piano on top of the beat are beautiful and made me rewind the track at least twice after I first heard it. EARFQUAKE was a good track and I was surprised that Playboi Cartiâs incoherent lyrics didnât make me mad. I donât care for Cartiâs music but I didnât mind his little ad-libs at the end of Solangeâs track Almeda. I guess I felt the same with this track. Every time Tyler and Charlie Wilson link up, we get something great. Speaking of Solange, she appears on I THINK, a song I really love a lot. Solange sounds great on the hook. The beat reminded me of Pilot from Cherry Bomb. The song RUNNING OUT OF TIME was fantastic. The use of that sample on A BOY IS A GUN is absolutely perfect. I donât think Iâve ever heard a Tyler, The Creator song so soulful before. That same sample is used on Kanyeâs Bound 2 by the way. Speaking of Kanye, he appears on the next track, PUPPET. The song features my favorite Tyler verse on the whole album. Tyler seems to inspire Kanye a lot and I feel like thatâs why Kanye sounds good every time they collaborate. The last time they were on a track together was Smuckers which also featured Lil Wayne. I honestly expected a Lil Wayne verse on this album because he had standout verses on both Cherry Bomb and Flower Boy. The song GONE, GONE / THANK YOU sounds like the non-hip hop lovechild of his songs Glitter and Enjoy Right Now Today. Tylerâs influence from Pharrell and N.E.R.D. are shown on this album and Pharrell even makes an appearance on the last track as well. Tyler and Pharrell is such an amazing pairing and every song theyâve done is nothing short of great. The production and use of all the uncredited features are all very well executed and enjoyable to listen to. I donât quite understand the title IGOR but this album is fucking great nonetheless.Â
Fav Tracks: IGORâS THEME, I THINK, NEW MAGIC WAND, A BOY IS A GUN, PUPPET, WHATâS GOOD, GONE GONE / THANK YOU
#Tyler The Creator#IGOR#Kanye West#Solange#Lil Uzi Vert#Playboi Carti#Kali Uchis#Santigold#Jack White#Pharrell#Odd Future#Flower Boy#Cherry Bomb
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Haven Raised- Chapter 3
On AO3
Summary:Â Harry's life is completely changed when his aunt and uncle are forced to take him to a funeral at a relatives. Now being raised by Primrose Evans, her sister Grace and the citizens of Havenfall, his life is going to be a roller coaster.
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September 2012
âPlease donât mess up your clothes!â Prim called out to Harry who was rolling around with Spot. âWeâre having family photos today!â
âSorry, Mama!â Harry said, sitting up and rubbing Spotâs head. Prim shook her head and adjusted her hair as she waited for Grace to finish setting up the camera. She ran back with a grin and sat down next to Prim, Harry running over to jump in their laps.
âAlright- ten- nO! SPOT!â Grace shouted as Spot jumped up onto their laps as the Camera began to flash steadily.
Looking at the photos, Prim had to say it was the best family photo sheâd seen.
Spot had jumped on them and knocked Grace over so she laid on the couch, the dog licking her face while Harry laughed in glee and Prim covered her mouth, eyes alight with humor.
It was perfect and one she did not put into the special potion to make it move.
It was perfect as it is.
October 2012
âI wanna dress up for Halloween this year,â Harry said to Prim as she worked on some bank statements from Gringotts. Sheâd encouraged the goblins to buy shares in the muggle world and it was making good money.
â... You sure kiddo?â Prim asked, pushing her glasses up.
âYeah. I⌠is it bad that while I was happy to mourn them last year itâsâŚâ Harry hesitated, trying to find the right word.
âNot as strong of an emotion?â Prim asked. Harry shrugged. â...Harry, you donât need to mourn your parents as⌠peopleâŚâ Prim frowned. That sounded weird. âThat sounded strange.â
âA little,â Harry admitted. Prim hummed. âI mean, I liked our memorial last year but I donât⌠want to do it this year? I wanna⌠dress up. Have fun⌠I miss them butâŚâ
âYou miss the idea of parents more than the actual parents,â said Prim. Harry looked surprised at her. âWhat? In the wise words of JD, I know stuff.â
âIs it wrong?â
âWhat?! No!â Prim said, shaking her head. âYou didnât know them. Not really anyway. Maybe if you were older I would wonder what sort of parents they were you donât mourn them but⌠you donât need to mourn them more than you have honey. No one gets to tell you when to move on, and no one gets to tell you that you need to keep mourning.â
â...Thanks.â Harry said softly and Prim beckoned him closer to kiss his forehead.
âSo what do you want to be for Halloween?â
âI dunno. I want Spot to come with me though.â Prim chuckled and nodded. âHmm, maybe a ringmaster and Spot can be a wolf?â
âSure honey, weâll figure something out.â
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âHeâs a strong kid,â Razi said as Prim cleaned the floor. She had no idea how Razi became her go-to for family talk after a year, but she didnât mind. She liked the man- he was kind and sweet. âSo, ringmaster costume?â
âThere should be something in Indianapolis or at the very least something I can cobble together at the thrift store.â Prim shrugged.
âWell, this might work out well. I was thinking of creating formal FridaysâŚâ
âWait, what?â JD said, coming from the stockroom where they totally had not been paying attention.
âYeah, like everyone dresses up in a nice formal dress.â
â...We work at a bowling alley,â said JD. Prim scrunched her nose.
âI have to agree. Imagine having to handle all of the customers in a dress.â Prim made a face.
âCome on, itâll be fun!â Razi said grinning. âItâll be more interesting than just hanging around all day like we all do half the time.â Prim had to wonder how the hell the bowling alley stayed open some days, given it was true that other then the bar there wasnât much reason to go to the alley.
âAlright, however, I absolutely refuse to wear makeup for work like this,â Prim said. Make-up was really itchy.
âDeal.â
âUgh, I hate suits.â JD groaned.
âThen wear a dress,â Razi replied. JD blinked.
âHuh, I do look good in them⌠but theyâre always so frilly.â
âOnly if theyâre dresses like those reenactments or the ones some wear for cosplay or such,â said Prim. JD looked confused.
âWait, they arenât like that anymore?â
âVery funny,â Razi said dryly while Prim just stared at the two. What the hell was that about?
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Harry was dressed in his ringmaster outfit with a wolf costume on Spot. Grace was dressed as one of those women who rode the horses and did tricks while Prim had been convinced to dress as a trapeze artist. It was Razi who took the photo for them after the family had stopped at the bowling alley to see Razi and JD. JD was dressed as an angel, prompting laughter from Prim.
âIf you ever had a halo it was held up by devil horns,â she teased them. They cocked a grin.
âWhy Prim, thank you!â
Razi was just wearing a top hat, prompting booing from Grace.
âYou need to dress up Razi!â she said, glaring. Razi just smirked.
âIâm fabulous every day of the year. Adding one thing is a costume.â He winked and Harry went pink and scurried away with Spot. Grace withheld her snickers while Razi blinked and then covered his face. âI did not know that.â
âItâs a little adorable,â Prim said with a grin. JD snickered from beside Razi, a big grin on their face. âPlease donât tease Razi in front of Harry or Harry in front of Razi. He thinks we donât know.â
âCan I tease him when heâs a teen and has a boyfriend or girlfriend or datefriend or whatever?â JD asked with a grin.
âYes,â Prim said with a snicker. Razi just sighed.
âOkay, itâs a little funny⌠and I will happily take the place of being Harryâs first crush because again, I am the more fabulous one.â JD looked heavily offended as Prim and Grace left, Harry already outside the door.
Mackenzie was patrolling the town looking for teenage pranksters and gave them a nod.
âExcellent costumes.â
âThank you, Sheriff,â Prim said with a grin. The group went door to door, Harry eager to get candy and Grace happy she had an excuse to get candy herself instead of feeling too old.
When they got to the doctorâs door, he winced at seeing Spot, but the dog just wagged his tail, much to his surprise.
âDogs⌠usually donât like me,â he said, petting Spot with a big grin on his face.
âIf you want I can bring him around sometime!â Harry offered with a smile and Diego grinned.
âThank you, Harry, that would be excellent.â
At the end of the night they did go back to let Spot play with Diego for a while, Harry falling asleep in the truck as Grace pigged out on her candy and Prim stole candy from the both.
It was a perfect night.
November 2012
Prim walked in to hear two people speaking Hindi and grinned.
âHello!â she called out in the same language. She heard two callbacks and walked into the kitchen to see Chetas and Harry at the table, a delicious smell coming from the stove.
âMama! Chetas is teaching me!â Harry said in English, grinning.
âHe is doing well learning,â Chetas said in English as well. âHow are your lessons coming?â she asked in Sanskrit.
âAs well as they can, given Iâm older and have aâŚâ Prim frowned.
âTougher?â Chetas asked, repeating it in both languages.
âAh yes, that,â Prim said with a nod. âTougher time learning.â Chetas waved her hand, assuring her she was doing well.
The little Indian woman often came to town to teach Harry and help Prim cook. Apparently, her grandchildren rarely visited and she got bored easily. Prim was somewhat surprised the little old granny could move so well and could drive to Havenfall as easily as she did.
Prim sat in for the rest of the lesson and learned some new dishes for Harry who adored them all. Grace was working that night and she complained about missing out all the next day.
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âDoes Chetas celebrate Christmas?â Harry asked Prim who frowned as she made dough for dumplings.
âYou know⌠I donât know.â Prim replied to Harry. âProbably not though. Why?â
âHer grandkids donât visit much she says a lot. I thought âbout having her over for Christmas might make her smile?â Harry asked.
âI think thatâs a fantastic idea honestly,â Prim said with a grin. âWe can ask her next time we see her, yeah?â Harry grinned and nodded as Prim continued the preparations for the evening. If she hadnât had Harry, she was fairly certain she and Grace would live off of fast food with how often the two were tired after work, but with Harry neither wanted him to become ill or sick because he did not receive the proper nutrition.
The mailbox lit up and Harry went over to pull out a letter from Remus. With the laws back in place, Remus was forced to only send letters to her again, though half the time it was obvious it was supposed to be Harry receiving the letters.
âMe or you kiddo?â Prim asked as Harry opened it.
âMe!â Harry said, grinning at the letter and going off to read it as Prim finished the dough. The doorbell rang then. âMama?â
âI will be getting that young man!â Prim called out. She never wanted Harry to answer the door- feeling it would be too dangerous.
She washed her hands quickly and then went to the door, opening it to find Grace at the door, holding a bunch of bags, which was why she rang the doorbell.
âHow did you get here from the store?â Prim asked in confusion, grabbing a few bags.
âI saw her trying to fit them onto her bike, so I gave her a ride,â a voice said. Mackenzie Hunt was coming up the steps, having pulled Graceâs bike out of her trunk.
âThank you, Sheriff,â Prim said, smiling at the taller woman. âWould you like some coffee as a thank you?â Mackenzie shook her head.
âNo, itâs fine.â the woman said. âHave a nice afternoon, alright?â She smiled at Prim who smiled right back before she left. Prim closed the door to find Grace grinning behind her.
â...No.â
âI was only going to say that your old crush seems to be back.â Prim rolled her eyes at her little sisterâs comment.
âItâs called I have eyes and am super bi, so I can see sheâs hot,â Prim replied to Grace. The younger girl pouted.
âYou never date,â Grace said. âYouâre twenty years old and I know you think people are attractive, why not?â
âBecause the dating pool in this town sucks,â Prim said, following her sister to the kitchen where Grace began putting away groceries and Prim began preparing the rest of supper.
âI dunno- I mean youâre close with the town doctor, Razi, JD, and the sheriff. And theyâre all hot.â Grace replied. Prim gave her a look. âWhat?â
âThe town doctor who I speak to as a customer, the sheriff who comes in to yell half the time at JD, my boss, and my coworker?â
âWell⌠theyâre hot.â Grace shrugged and Prim sighed as Harry looked up from the letter.
âWhat are you talking about?â he asked.
âYour crush on Razi,â Grace replied with a grin. Harry went brick red.
âItâs not a crush!â he cried out. âRazi is just super cool okay!?â
âMhmm,â Grace said with a bigger grin. âSo thatâs why you neaten your clothing when you see him and make sure to always bring back your history homework for help?â
âMama!â Harry cried out.
âStop teasing Harry about his crush Grace.â
âItâs not a crush!!â
December 2012
âThanks for letting Chetas come to the party, Harryâs excited,â Prim said to Razi. He waved his hand.
âChetas is more than welcome given sheâs helping Harry connect with his heritage.â
âShe needs to participate in White Elephant though!â JD said, passing them by. Razi shrugged and Prim chuckled.
âIâll tell her that. Is Diego coming as well?â
âYeah, so is the sheriff,â Razi replied.
âWhat?â Prim asked, tilting her head.
âShe works Christmas this year- so I thought Iâd invite her to the party for Christmas cheer.â Razi shrugged.
â...did you just use Christmas cheer unironically?â Prim asked as JD raised their eyebrows and stared at Razi.
âOh shut up the both of you.â
December 20, 2012
The party was rather simple that year, with everyone simply sitting around at the bar and chatting. Prim wore the snowman sweater Grace had bought her, while Grace wore a sweater with a cat wearing a Santa hat on it, while JD pouted about not being able to wear their shirt with a Christmas tree burning on it.
âItâs not really festive,â Prim said.
âFestive?!â JD huffed. âLike the sheriffâs plaid is festive?!â
âItâs red and green,â Mackenzie points out. JD rolled their eyes while Grace snickered. Chetas chuckled from her position on the couch and Prim gave her a confused look. They hadnât been loud, how could she hear that?
âMama, can you help me sit on a stool?â Harry asked Prim who agreed and went to help him sit on a stool next to Diego who smiled at them.
âPleasure to see you too.â Harry pouted at Diego who chuckled. âNot liking I had to give you some shots?â
âNo,â Harry crossed his arms and glared at Diego who just laughed. Prim laughed and ruffled his hair as Razi handed Diego a drink.
âThink fast!â Chetas suddenly called out.
 They all turned to see Chetas holding a camera, and she took a photo of them all. Prim laughed as both Diego and Mac protested they hadnât been ready, while JD just laughed at the whole thing.
âNice one,â Grace laughed. She took the camera and got Chetas to stand in the photo, taking another photo that was somewhat more refined, with everyone aware of it.
At least until it was developed and you saw JD giving the sheriff bunny ears.
March 2013
âI DONâT WANNA!â Harry shouted at Prim who scowled.
âWell, I donât care if you want to or not! You have to go to school and apologize to the teacher-â Prim said firmly, hands on her hips when Harry shouted out,
âI HATE YOU!â he stomped off and hid in the bowling alley bathroom, leaving Prim staring after him. She sat on a stool, thankful that no one was in that day.
JD and Razi traded glances, and then JD shook their head and crept off despite the annoyed look Razi was sending them. The man sighed and then filled a glass with water, placing it down beside Prim.
âHere, have a drink.â
âHe hates me,â Prim said softly.
âHow many times did you say that to your parents?â Razi asked.
âOnce and then they died the next day,â Prim replied. Razi did not answer, to busy staring at the back of her head. â...Mostly joking.â Prim said.
âWell, then you know you didnât mean it, right? I remember saying that to my parents a few times.â
âIâm fairly certain JD means it when they say they hate their dad,â Prim said.
âJDâs case is⌠special.â Razi replied. âI would not base your relationship with Harry on JDâs with their dad. Do you know why he yelled at his teacher?â
âShe dislikes me,â Prim responded. Razi made a face. Sure, some of the hate towards the Evans family was gone from what it once had been, but it was still there. âShe doesnât do anything to Harry but she made a comment about me he overheard andâŚâ Prim shrugged.
âAnd yet youâre making him apologize?â Razi asked.
âI am angry at what she said, but I also understand that Harry yelling at teachers will accomplish nothing. As well, I wish for him to respect teachers. Yes, she does not like me but she has never let it affect how she treats him. If it did, I would let him scream and yell at her, and report it, but as it isnât- then he needs to respect her.â Prim said. âShe has earned his respect by acting like a teacher.â
âSo youâre teaching him respect,â Razi stated.
âAs well, I find it funny how most people take my attitude and get confused that I never negatively react to them. Itâs hilarious.â Prim admitted, smirking as she turned around to sip her water. Razi snorted at that.
âTrying to teach Harry how to act like you then?â
âMore trying to teach him how to mess with people by acting very polite and kind when they are not,â Prim said. âBut also trying to teach him that as she has earned this respect, she gets it.â
âWell, Iâm sure heâll understand. Let him cool off a bit and then have another chat.â Razi said. Prim smiled and reached out to pat his arm.
âThank you, Razi.â
âWhat Iâm here for. Advice and to pay you.â
âYouâre good at it.â Prim snickered. Razi rolled his eyes at her and she just laughed.
Luckily, Harry did cool off and they had a long conversation about respect that ended with Harry agreeing to apologize. The teacher was shocked when he did and seemed to treat Prim a little better after that. Prim just smiled when she did.Â
It was very satisfying.
June 2013
Prim flipped through the channels on the TV, feeling exhausted. Sheâd agreed to pull a double shift as there had been four birthday parties booked and Razi needed all hands on deck- especially when it turned out one party had glitter decorations. Prim had tried to wash her hair three times but there was still glitter in her hair.
A documentary about Bigfoot appeared and she grinned, clicking on it. Bad documentaries were her favorite things to watch. As well, it would give her an excuse to avoid sleeping in her room. She still wasnât used to it.
She was rather absorbed in the documentary when Harry touched her arm.
âHoney?â she asked in surprise. He had red eyes that he rubbed at.
âI had a bad dream,â he said in a soft tone, hanging his head. Prim reached out and pulled him down to sit with her, letting him snuggle into her, holding onto a stuffed stag that Remus had sent him for Christmas.
âWant to watch a terrible documentary?â Prim asked. Harry nodded and the two watched the documentary, giggling at the bad effects until they fell asleep.
Grace took a photo the next morning, one that would join the many on the walls of the two cuddling on the couch.
July 2013
âHappy birthday Harry!â Chetas sang out as she set down a cake that she and Prim had made together. Harry grinned at the group that had shown up. He had a few friends from school, but he typically didnât hang out with them because he didnât like how their parents gave Prim weird looks and he hated people being mean to his Mama!
Razi and JD had shown up though, given the amount of time he spent at the bowling alley Harry felt like they were part of his family. Though he did not want to add Razi to the family like that!! It wasnât a crush!!! It was admiration!
He blew out the candles as everyone cheered around him and his Mama came to kiss his forehead.
He closed his eyes and smiled.
Everything was perfect.
September 2013
âI hate picture day,â Harry grumbled as Prim fixed his hair.
âAnd I hate that your hair wonât stay flat,â Prim replied.
âItâs the Potter curse Uncle Remus says,â Harry smirked at his mother who just stuck her tongue out at him.
âMaybe growing it out will fix it,â Prim said. Harry immediately perked up.
âCan I put it in a ponytail?â he asked eagerly. Prim chuckled. The crush was still going strong.
âCourse you can baby,â Prim said, kissing his forehead. She then sighed. âI give up. Grace! You said you had an idea?â
âPunk rock!â Grace said gleefully as she danced into the bathroom, listening to her iPod through one headphone. She had just bought the new Jonas Quinton album and was thrilled. âNot your style.â
âOkay, one- you dress in pink and blues and soft tones,â Prim said firmly as Grace began styling Harryâs hair in a spiky style. âSecond, I do wear jeans and t-shirts!â
âAnd then you wear things like pleated skirts and blouses or dresses and shawls.â Grace shot back, sticking her tongue out. âIâm more hip than you!â
âIâm 21, youâre 16-â
âAlmost 17!â
âAlmost 17, that is not much of a difference, thank you.â Prim rolled her eyes at Graceâs face she made as she finished with Harryâs hair and then got him to change his shirt to a black button up instead of the white.
Prim did not mention how much better it looked.
Graceâs smirk made her realize she knew though.
October 2013
âSo you hooked up with some guy in Indianapolis and now youâre feeling guilty?â JD asked Prim sighed. âThis is weird.â
âItâs not guilt. Itâs⌠being unaware if a⌠hook up was proper when you have a son.â Prim said. JD rolled their eyes.
âLook, you had fun, right? You enjoyed yourself and Harry was at a sleepover so he was taken care of. Grace is old enough to be by herself- stop feeling guilty!â They threw their hands up in annoyance.
âI canât just stop JD,â Prim said. âItâs⌠I donât know. Should I be looking for someone special? So that I can give Harry another parent?â
â...Prim, youâre 21.â JD said, leaning on the bar counter and giving her a look. âYou donât need to focus on finding the ONE right now or your soulmate or whatever. Yeah, it would be great for Harry to have like a dad or another mom or a⌠bibi or whatever, but like⌠real talk? He just needs a stable family and youâre that already. Plus like Razi is his super crush slash uncle which is weird to think about, but yeah. You can focus on having fun and having a few hookups.â
â...His parents did sign him up for some fancy boarding school next year. Maybe Iâll have some more fun then.â Prim chuckled. JD pointed at her.
âSee? And really?â
âHarryâs technically a lord though⌠not really? I believe the title was removed a century ago.â When there was something that had happened with the Black family. Prim honestly had not opened that can of worms after learning some of the more⌠disturbing situations the Blacks had caused.
â...Bullshit.â JD said. Prim shrugged and they stuck out their tongue, revealing a piercing.
âDidnât know you had that pierced,â Prim remarked, a little impressed. Other then her ears, she had never wanted any other piercings. Much too painful.
âOh, yeah. An ex-girlfriend had one and it was wild so I got one.â JD waggled their eyebrows and Prim shook her head.
â...Thanks for the chat,â she said finally. They shrugged.
âHey, no problem. Weâre friends, right?â They winked at her and she grinned.
âI suppose I put up with you enough.â Prim shot back.
âYay, weâre all a happy family,â Razi said, voice dry as a desert. âNow please get to work.â
âRight away,â both said, sharing grins.
-0-
Prim clutched the phone in her hand as she tried to figure out what to do. Harry was sick, while Grace and she both had work. She couldnât take Harry into work and she couldnât miss work either- nor could Grace! She was finally being trained as a waitress. They needed to go to work!
She struggled to think of someone to watch her kid, someone who had the day⌠offâŚ
She dialed a number and prayed it would be okay.
âYo, this is JD.â
âJD can I ask you a huge favor?â
After explaining the situation, JD agreed and ended up driving up on their bike.
âYou have no idea how much this means to me,â Prim said at the door.
âEh, not like I had anything else to do.â They said with a shrug. âHeâs asleep?â
âYeah, probably wonât wake up but if he does heâll just want to sit on the couch and watch some show. Heâs really into Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood right now-â
âYou let him watch that?â JD asked, somewhat surprised she would let him watch such a bloody show. She didnât seem the type at all. Prim frowned at them.
âItâs not that bad and I trust his maturity level.â Prim shrugged. âAlright, I have to go- thereâs a bunch of food in the fridge. Help yourself!â She waved and left, leaving them behind. JD entered the house and wondered what the hell theyâd been thinking, agreeing to babysit. Like, sure, they liked the kid but babysitting? Ugh.
They grabbed some food from the fridge and turned on the TV, noticing someone had been watching some sort of documentary about aliens on CrispyFlix.
âWho watches that?â They wondered out loud. Maybe it was one of the late night needing to sleep binges. They flickered through the shows before landing on an anime their sister had said was good. They had plenty to say about Hikari but she had good taste in anime.
Watching for a little while, they heard someone coming down the stairs. Pausing the show, they saw Harry coming down the stairs carrying his stag plushie.
âHey kid,â JD said, giving the kid a grin. âYou up now?â
âMmm,â the kid mumbled, coming over to the couch to grab a blanket and wrapping himself up in it. JD wordlessly turned the show to the anime he would like. JD had just finished the series themself so it would be interesting to watch it with the kid and see his reactions.
âI like Edward,â Harry said softly halfway through the episode where they meet Greed. âHeâs a good big brother.â
âI agree with you there,â JD told the kid. âI do like the Colonelâs alchemy more though.â
âMmm, I like Meiâs stuff. Super cool throwing knives and directing her power.â Harry said.
âHey, thatâs a good point.â
âAnd she has a cute panda.â
âWho bites. I like that thing.â JD chuckled. Harry smiled at JD who flashed a grin back. They continued their quiet chatter throughout the episode, Harry gasping in horror at the death of the various chimera in Greedâs base. âYeah, it gets darker here on out. You sure you wanna watch without your mom?â
âYeah,â Harry said, sounding a bit nervous but he swallowed. âYouâre here, right JD? I trust you.â
â...Trust me with what?â JD asked slowly.
âBeing there when it gets dark,â Harry responded. JD stared at the kid, confused and a little touched by the honest words from the boy, though they didnât say anything. Just swallowed and went back to watching.
JD was unaware of Harry drifting off until soft snores came from the kid after a few more episodes. They paused the TV and hesitated for a second, looking at Harry. The kid was sleeping weird and probably would get a kink in his neck if he stayed there longer. And⌠the kid was a good kid and sick andâŚ
âThis means nothing,â JD muttered as they picked up Harry and carefully carried him upstairs. It took a few minutes to find his room, and they paused to see that Spot was sleeping at the end of the bed. The dog woke up when JD entered to tuck Harry into his bed, raising his head. The dog traded a look with JD before going back to sleep.
âYeah, you donât say anything I wonât either,â JD muttered to the dog before they put Harry into his bed. They left after making sure the kid was covered. Wouldnât want him to get sicker.
Afterward, they went back downstairs to pretend it had never happened at all.
October 31, 2013
âI am Dracula!â Harry said in a loud voice, showing off his costume for the bowling alley. Spot wore a pair of bat wings attached to his back and looked done.
Meanwhile, JD was covering their mouth, looking way too amused while Razi was smiling widely and Diego just stared. JD was dressed up as a âslutty witchâ as they called it complete with a very short skirt. Razi was again just wearing a top hat while Diego wore his normal clothing.
âNice costume,â Razi said as Prim removed her witch hat. She had dressed as the Wicked Witch from the Wizard of OZ and was already regretting the paint.
âHe's been obsessing over vampires since Grace found this website of vampire jokes.â JD perked right up as Diego groaned.
âTell us some!â JD insisted. Harry grinned while Prim grimaced.
âWhy did the vampire flunk art?â Harry asked.
âI don't know, why?â
âBecause he could only draw blood!â Harry grinned as JD snorted. âHow did you know the vampire was sick said the nurse. Well, the doctor said, he wouldn't stop coffin!â JD started laughing as Harry continued to state bad vampire jokes, Razi chortling a few times himself while Diego just looked long-suffering.
Prim managed to remind Harry about trick or treating but JD made the boy promise to give them the website he got the jokes from.
Prim was not looking forward to the next few months of work.
November 2013
âChetas is kinda like my grandma,â Harry said to Prim as he struggled with his homework at the bar. Prim was cleaning glasses, feeling exhausted. She had been working extra shifts as her truck was having issues and she needed the money.
â...Huh, I suppose she is.â Prim blinked. â...Do you wanna call her that?â
â...Nah. Sheâs Chetas.â Harry shrugged.
âYeah, thatâs true.â
-0-
 Diego checked Harryâs blood pressure, Prim sitting in the room quietly.
âWell, looks like another clean bill of health⌠and no shots,â Diego said with a chuckle. Harry grinned as Prim chuckled.
âThank you, Dr. Diego!â Harry said in a happy tone, smiling up at the doctor who grinned back.
âThank you for bringing Spot over to play. I miss having a dog.â Diego told tas he packed his bag with the ease of practice. âHave you thought about doing a sport?â He asked Harry who shrugged.
âIâm going to a boarding school my mum and dad signed me up for at birth. Mama says itâs a really good one. Theyâll have sports then!â He grinned and with permission ran off. While his mama always made sure to include him in discussions about him, he also got bored easily and trusted her to tell him stuff.
âIs there any reason you brought up sports? Heâs a fairly active child with Spot.â Prim asked the doctor who finished packing his stuff.
â...Itâs a small town Miss Evans, and I am well aware of the fact Harry does not haveâŚâ
âMany friends?â Prim asked. She tilted her head and gave a smirk, raising an eyebrow. âIs Razi gossiping again?â
âSomewhat,â Diego admitted with a chuckle. Prim shook her head, a fond smile on her face as she rolled her eyes.
âThat man. The thing is Doctor, is that Harry is going to be going to a school in England. As well, the school only has physical mail sources as they believe that computers are detrimental to the learning process. Harryâs aware of the struggles it would cause to remain friends and wishes to be alone because of this.â Prim shrugged. âAs well, heâs not⌠comfortable with people still. He prefers his dog.â
âSo you donât push because you worry for him?â Diego asked. Prim nodded.
âQuite right. Heâs a good kid and⌠well, I wasnât that social either as a child though that was more due to bullying and the⌠dislike of the town. However, I still turned out fairly all right.â She shrugged again. âI will consider sports or something similar for summer programming if his lack of a social life continues while heâs in England.â
âYouâre a good mother, I donât doubt youâll do the best you can for him,â Diego told her, nodding. âHave a good evening.â
âYou as well doctor, and thank you again for your house calls,â Prim said to the man, walking him out.
âWell, not much of a hospital here in town and I donât enjoy the thought of a bunch of people coming to my house to spread illness where I sleep.â Diego chuckled. He nodded to her and left the house as she waved him off.
Harry was busy roughhousing with Spot in his room when she checked in on him. She watched for a little while, smiling but she left, sighing.
Was she doing the right thing by not forcing her kid out to socialize? She knew that most experts said that at least one productive after school activity would help Harry in the long run- even if it was something like a swim club where it was more individual focused sports- but she had never really bothered because she knew he was going to Hogwarts.
All she could do was hope he could make friends there.
December 2013
âOkay, worst date go!â JD said, pointing at Razi. It was a âstaff meetingâ night or a night where the three would just sit around and chat. Razi had started it after heâd noticed the tension between JD and Prim but they never stopped doing them after the two became friends.
âUgh, okay so it was with this guy and he was very⌠focused on the idea of being a top?â Razi said, making a face.
âNot one of those types.â Prim groaned, covering her face. Sheâd met a few ladies who were more focused on being as dominant or as submissive as possible. Some werenât bad, but othersâŚ
âI have no problem with either way but this guy was⌠he was offended at my height and muscle mass!â Razi rolled his eyes. âIt ended with me just leaving.â
âUgh that sucks,â JD said. They then pointed to Prim. âYour turn.â
âIt wasnât a date but it was a⌠friends with benefits situation.â Prim began. âIt was when I was traveling. I met up with a very pretty woman who was traveling as well and I thought; well then, letâs travel together. We started⌠having fun together about two weeks in. We both found each other attractive and we both agreed that sometimes it was hard to find a partner while traveling so why not.â
âLet me guess,â JD said. âOne of you began taking it more seriously?â
âYes. We both made it clear that were would break it off or talk if one of us developed feelings. Or that we would never assume said feelings would be returned. We both were aware thatâŚâ Prim shrugged. âWell, we were aware humans make unhealthy choices sometimes and that we might not talk or break it off so⌠we promised. However sheâŚâ Prim made a motion with her hand, just waving it. âShe decided that I had to have feelings for her and when I broke it off to come back here, she was furious that I was not only breaking it off but also that I didnât return her feelings.â
âIâve had a situation like that,â JD said, shuddering. âBut again, worst date.â
âYou just let me tell my story!â Prim said.
âYou offered it, I agree though. Worst date!â Razi said with a grin. Prim rolled her eyes but laughed.
âMy date tripped into the waiter coming back from the bathroom and the waiter dumped a hot plate of pasta on me while I was wearing a light blue dress,â Prim said. âRuined the dress, the guy thought it romantic to go âOh baby, wanna go back to my place to change?ââ She mocked the man's voice in her most ridiculous tone, causing JD and Razi to burst into laughter. âOnly bright side is I got free food out of that.â
âThat sucks,â JD said, still laughing. âAnd my worst dates usually involve misgendering or people being dicks.â They shrugged as Prim and Razi made faces at that. âRaziâs turn to ask a question!â
âAlright⌠what is⌠your favorite take-out order?â
âRazi, ask a real one!â
âWhat? Weâre all hungry!â Prim laughed as the two bickered, smiling at her friends. She hadnât expected to earn such a bond with them when she first started working at the bowling alley but she loved it.
-0-
Chetas sat at the bar, watching as Prim spoke with Harry, the two playing some arcade game while JD and Grace cheered them on.
âSheâs a good one.â mused Chetas, accepting the drink Razi handed her. âHavenât said anything yet?â
âNo. We thought it more appropriate to wait.â He replied, leaning on his arms that he folded on the bar. âYou tell her?â
âBetter to come from close friends than old woman they see once in a while,â Chetas replied. Razi shrugged.
âWell, when the kid goes off, weâre gonna have a chat. Maybe we will, maybe we wonât.â Razi said.
âYou mean if the child stays here after the kid leaves. Itâs a way to judge isnât it?â Chetas asked in amusement. Razi shrugged and turned to Diego who had been keeping out of the conversation to give him a drink. He also grabbed the camera to snap a photo of Grace, Prim and Harry laughing as the two stood in front of an arcade machine.
It was a good picture.
January 2014
âI am never going to a New Year's Eve party JD hosts again,â Prim muttered, head between her legs. She was sitting on the couch after falling asleep the night before and had a horrific headache pounding in her ears.
âHangover from hell, hmmmmmm?â Grace asked in a teasing tone, setting down a glass of water.
âI am never drinking again,â Prim muttered. Harry was being very quiet and she hated it because he had gotten terrified when she came in drunk. He remembered his uncle far too well when he got drunk.
âOr at least not with JD. Razi called and said you matched them shot for shot- and I know they have crazy tolerance.â Grace said.
âLeave me alone,â Prim said. She curled up on the couch and ignored her sister and son as the two giggled at her.
Never again.
March 2014
Harry was sitting in the diner eating a big sundae that his mama had got him for acing his latest science test. Grace was keeping an eye on him with Luceâs permission, the owner still not a fan of the family but she had a soft spot for kids.
The door opened and two men came in, quietly chatting. As it was a seat yourself place, the went and sat down behind Harry.
âAlright, so this place?â one asked.
âOnly weird thing is the fog, Dean. Thatâs the only weird thing.â
âAnd no big deaths or anything at all?â
âNope. Just a lot of fog.â
âAlright, do we have a case at all Sammy?â
âA few towns south yeah- missing people.â The door opened then and JD came in.
âWho has the Impala? Thatâs a thing of beauty!â they called out and the people behind Harry laughed.
âThanks⌠uhhhâŚâ
âNameâs JD,â JD laughed. âNice to meet you.â They came over, stopping to say hi to Harry before they started a conversation with the two behind Harry about cars and bikes. Harry finished his sundae before his mama came into the diner.
âJD, Razi says get back to work before he decides to come after you,â Prim told her coworker who sighed.
âFine. Have a nice night off Prim. Thanks for the chat, Dean.â JD left with a wave.
âPrim, is it?â asked Dean in a weird voice. Harry turned around to kneel on the seat, looking at Dean.
âWhy are you talking like that to my mama?â Prim chuckled and ruffled Harryâs hair.
âHeâs being foolish sweetie. And my answer is no.â She told Dean who shrugged. Harry gave her a confused look and she just laughed.
âYay, my sister gets hit on by a hot guy-â Grace muttered as she walked away.
âSheâs underage,â Prim told Dean who raised his hands.
âWhoa, wasnât going to lady.â
âJust making absolutely sure. Harry, let us depart.â Prim said, ruffling his hair again. The two left, leaving behind the strangers as the mother and son headed to their truck.
July 2014
It was a nice sunny day when the mailbox glowed in the corner of the kitchen. Grace dug through the mail pile that had arrived, grinning when she found one certain letter.
âMr. Harry Potter, the second biggest room-â she read off the envelope before Harry grabbed it, cheering.
âItâs my Hogwarts letter! Iâm going to Hogwarts!!â
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I lied. The next two years got squashed together because I couldnât think of any other cute scenes. As well, first-year happens before Season 1 of Havenfall, so weâll get through this and then the Havenfall fun starts. As well⌠I originally was completely sure about where the pairing was going but now Iâm torn because I thought of like eight REALLY GOOD plot points for another route and now itâs⌠gar. At least I have year one first before the big decision.
PLOT STUFF I WANNA CHAT ABOUT
-I love the MC original outfit but I also love the idea of Prim wearing these super cute prim and proper outfits like *insert links* so⌠yeah. She wears a wide variety of clothing. Sheâs just picky about when she wears them.
-The scene with Harry asking if itâs okay if he stops mourning is something I decided on due to far-reaching plot points. Yes, the previous chapter had him mourning but this is due to the fact it was the first time he knew. Itâs not⌠to me, the idea of Harry always mourning his parents as people just doesnât make sense. He didnât know them, and here- not only did he get negative and wrong information from the Dursley family, but Prim doesnât really know much other then Lily was a nice cousin sort of thing. So he mourns the idea of a loving set of parents, but not his actual parents. Add in that Prim is his mom now, and he more mourns the what if, but heâs a kid and bounces back.
-You know, originally I had this huge plot where JD and Prim fought a fair bit because Prim is very much not like JD, but the more I wrote it the more I went: Damn it, I like their canon interaction in all their routes (friends who mess with each other) too much. So yeah, less bickering than I originally intended.
-I know Razi canonly is a fucking brick wall, but Harry is tiny nine-year-old who has gay baby crush on Razi and is OBVIOUS AS FUCK. Running away red because of a gin? Yeah, obvious. Probably had more stuff happen before this and now itâs hitting him.
-The teacher bit⌠oh, no Iâm not stating how the Snape thing will go down. Not at all.
-Ages ago I wrote a one-shot with JD having a tongue piercing and it literally is my favorite headcanon of them. I got told I was the one to be the originator of this and like: what? But anyway- itâs canon. NO ONE CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE.
-Chetas was going to get called grandma but like⌠I realized while I will be dragging her in and out of the story I kinda like the idea of her being just Chetas? I dunno? Sheâs Chetas.
-Itâs canon that Diego makes house calls and was going to the MC house in his route to give Grace shots for college. As well, itâs mentioned the hospital is a bit away so I assume thereâs a small town nearby (but with some distance) with a hospital that most Havenfall folks go to in an emergency, while Diego does act as the general doctor in Havenfall he just makes house calls mostly. (There was a town near mine growing up that did something similar).
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Not Sorry...
Dim lantern light flickered over the Sinâdoreiâs features as she sat in quiet contemplation of the holding cell. It wasnât the first time sheâd spent in such a place. Her temper was nothing new, always a part of why she spent so little time in Silvermoon. Moments in her past had shaped who sheâd become, setting her apart with a defensive fury. It kept her moving, one place to the next.Â
This time was different. She knew there would be issues that would arise from her choices. She just hadnât expected for them to come so soon. Especially in the Bay with the diverse population mingling through their business and guilty pleasures.Â
The voice rang loud in her thoughts, âYouâre no longer welcome in QuelâThalas... No longer a daughter of Silvermoon... Tainted.. by a dirty human...â The thought alone stirred the distasteful sneer at Zaraâs lips.Â
(( @conwulfâ Â for mentions))
Two weeks prior; it was earlier in the day when the Sin'dorei stepped off the ship fresh in from Ratchet. The past weeks had sent her a relay of jobs and had lined her pockets with just enough that seemed to burn at them. A shuffle of her shoulder as she jostled her bag and a crooked grin crossing her lips as she gazed out at the Bay.Â
The stay had only been intended to last a few days of alcohol, gambling, and light ventures while she tracked down the next line of work. Instead a human sat her table asking to join the next hand of cards and the rest seemed to fall into place. The pair barely spoke a word knowing little of the otherâs language but the company came surprisingly easy. The night soon turned into days and those days formed into weeks with little sign of their interests fading.
It was an appointment with a previous contact that pulled the woman from the freedom of roaming and enjoying the port. Stepping into one of the pubs adorned in her heavy leather boots, loose fitted leather breeches, and a billowed buckler blouse, Zara made her way towards the bar. Sage hues shifting through the small few gathered, noting the goblin goons at the corners of the room. There was a faint roll of those sage hues before an upward nod was given to the bartender.Â
Elbows pressed over the bar as, faintly calloused fingers scooped up the shot, throwing it back only to clap it to the bar. That was when she felt the eyes looking over her form. Looking to her right, Zara dipped her head. The figure a tall Sinâdorei with short blonde neatly mussed locks, well toned figure if not a bit more lanky. He was an investor in the Bay by the name of Kairrem Sharpsinger and rarely had any shortage of work available. From escorting a purchase to delivering a message, the pair shared a history that went back nearly fifty years.Â
âMiss Baloâamora, Hadnât thought to see you about these parts. Last I heard you were off towards Rachet.â Came the deep arrogant tone. The man well aware of his value and then some. The gaze held in his eyes was always thinking, processing the outcomes of the conversation and how he might work his words for his profit.Â
Pale brows furrowed at the man, âBullshit, Kairrem. You put word out two days ago that you needed a rider. Unless Iâm mistaken, riderâs donât venture this far south often, leaving your pickings slim. You need me. Iâm here.â The hand closest to the emptied shot glass motioned outward with a presenting wave. Pinked lips curled into her signature crooked grin and a knowing nod.Â
A deepened hum sounded from pressed lips, the male looking off towards one of the goons in disapproval. Some one, it seemed, hadnât done their job. âTrue. I did. I donât anymore. Not from you. Though I have heard that your sort can find work down at the docks cleaning the fish or mucking out chamber pots. If youâre in need of work Iâd be glad to put a word of recommendation for you.âÂ
It was a smug gaze that found Zara leaning her head back, baffled at the manâs words. âExcuse me?â
Speaking a little louder and more slowly as if the woman was dim, âWe. Do. Not. Need. You. It has been sorted out.â Kairrem shook his head, he couldnât speak the words any clearer for the woman. He gave a careless shrug, considering as the corners of his lips pulled down ward and waved his own hand at her, âI want to help you Zara, but I can only do so much given the circumstances.â
Leaning her head forward, appearing to still struggle with the concept Kairrem was presenting. âYouâve always got something. Youâre up to your balls in projects and youâre telling me to go gut fish and empty chamber pots?â Zara squared off her shoulders pulling back to spy the humor on Kairremâs face. âQuit fucking with me, Kairrem. Iâm good for the work, you need a rider Iâm the best south of Arathi.â
The investor gave the womanâs figure a once over. Accessing her form in almost admiration then tarnished with his own distaste. âItâs a real pity, but you need to leave, Zara. I donât keep traitors under my employ.â
Sage hues stared blankly at her long time acquaintance. After a few breaths her shoulders slumped. âHow...â She started to ask before nights with Conwulf flashed through her mind. She felt her blood grow warm. âWhat I do on my own time is my business, itâs the fucking Bay for godsâ sake. Iâve Always come through for you.â Zara barked back, more hurt that Kairrem would turn his back on her now after all their history.Â
The humor held to the investorâs face, straightening as if heâd just realized it was all a joke. A smile pulled at his lips, showing off his brilliant pearly whites, âOh! My apologies, I hadnât pegged you for a whore, Zara. But now that I look at you, I can see it. Bed them take their gold, all an act? Yeah?â The corner of his lips pressed with a thoughtful hum, his own green hues lofting up through thick lashes as he canted his head this way and that considering. Looking back to Zara with a bright smile, âThereâs a brothel just up from the third dock, Iâll send them your information, let them know youâre flexible with clients.â
There was a slow roll of her tongue to wet her lips, the manâs insults not lost on her. That familiar stir and pang pulled at her stomach. The corner of her nose twitched in a sneer. It was no more warning than that, Zara rushed the two steps pouring her weight into her swing, and connected her closed fist with the the pretty elven face of his. Kairremâs head shot back, stumbling back, knocking over several bar stools in a loud clatter. The ruckus bringing all the attention to the pair.Â
Two of the goons started, moving closer if the woman wanted to start trouble with their boss. Kairemâs hand held at his face, pulling his hand away with a puddle of crimson smeared over his palm and slowly dripping over the left side of his lips. All humor was gone from his elven features. The words that came next were spit like venom, â âYouâre no longer welcome in QuelâThalas... No longer a daughter of Silvermoon... Tainted.. by a dirty human... I will see you outcast for the traitor you are.â
The words hurt. The hurt swiftly turned to anger, it was an energy she was well familiar with. Instead of tears, Zaraâs cry was a swing of a fist or a blow of her ax. It was as she roared out in her anger, pressing upon her toes to lunge at Kairrem again, she was suddenly caught by her arms and pulled back in the goonsâ hold. The woman spitting obscenities between calling the man on his own sins felt the hit at her gut leaving her breathless and suddenly silent.
Kairem gave a wave of his hand, âGet her out of my sight. Take her to the Bruisers and have them hold her for the night to come to terms with...â He shuddered, âA new profession..â
Dim lantern light flickered over the Sinâdoreiâs features as she sat in quiet contemplation of the holding cell. It wasnât the first time sheâd spent in such a place. Her temper was nothing new, always a part of why she spent so little time in Silvermoon. Moments in her past had shaped who sheâd become, setting her apart with a defensive fury. It kept her moving, one place to the next.
This time was different. She knew there would be issues that would arise from her choices. She just hadnât expected for them to come so soon. Especially in the Bay with the diverse population mingling through their business and guilty pleasures.
The voice rang loud in her thoughts, âYouâre no longer welcome in QuelâThalas... No longer a daughter of Silvermoon... Tainted.. by a dirty human...â The thought alone stirred the distasteful sneer at Zaraâs lips.
Weighing on the events of the last weeks, a game of cards gone awry. There was no denying that though the man was human.. or worse yet, worgen, sheâd not been as much of herself as she was with him. Things sheâd thought lost were slowly coming back. When he looked at her she felt less cold. The feeling had nothing to do with lust, though that was there too. It was a feeling sheâd not known in decades. When she weighed the events against the distaste Kairrem had shown, it became an easy choice. The idea of losing the wolf was a far greater ache than the idea of loosing the investor.Â
Her sage hues drifted to the wood planks that formed the floor, common words parting her lips with the foreign Thalassian accent heavily curling itâs tone, âNot Sorry...â
#Zara Baloâamora#Conwulf Fane#Kairrem Sharpsinger#The Gilnean & The Sin'dorei#Cross Faction#Disapproval
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Shapeshifters: Werewolves, Tricksters, Monsters, and More

While the traditional image of the werewolf is, without a doubt, the first thing that springs to mind when a discussion of shapeshifters takes place, the truth of the matter is that there is a veritable menagerie of such infernal things in our midst. Were-cats, were-tigers, were-hyenas, and were-coyotes are also near the top of the monstrous list. Then, there are the ancient beliefs that those who died violent deathsâor those who were, themselves, murderersâwere often destined to return to our plane of existence in the forms of hideous beasts, including wild and savage ape-like animals, fearsome black dogs with glowing and blazing red eyes, and mermaid-like things. There are also beings from other worlds: aliens, extraterrestrials, and Men in Black.
Even the legendary monsters of Loch Ness, Scotland, are believedâin certain monster-hunting quartersâto be paranormal beasts that have the ability to alter their appearances at will. As are legendary vampires, who, the old legends suggest, can transform into the likes of bats and wolves.
Collectively, all of these "things" amount to an absolute army of otherworldly creatures, and half-human monsters that have plagued and tormented us since the dawning of civilization. And, they show zero signs of slowing down anytime soon. The things you thought were only fit for campfire tales, late-night stories intended to thrill little children, and entertaining monster-movies, are, in actuality, creatures of the real world. Of our world. Shapeshifters are everywhere: they lurk in the shadows, in the deep woods and expansive forests, in dark and dank caves, and in the murky waters of our lakes and rivers. Maybe even, after sunset, in the recesses of your very own backyard, patiently waiting to pounce. And many of them like nothing better than to terrorize and torment us, the human race. Let's take a look at a few examples:
Werewolves The latter part of the 1800s saw the surfacing of a tale of shapeshifting out of Germanyâa country that has a long and checkered history of encounters with werewolves. It's specifically to the town of Ludwigslust we have to turn our attentions, a town with origins that date back to 1724. One particular creature that became almost legendary in 1879 was a large, wild wolf that seemingly was completely unaffected by bullets. The brazen beast would even creep up on hunters and steal their bountyâtheir dinner, in other words. It's no surprise that word soon got around that maybe the wolf was more than just a nimble animal that had been lucky enough to avoid getting shot. Some thought it was supernatural in nature. Others, in quiet tones, suggested Ludwigslust had its very own werewolf. They were right. Witnesses claimed to see a wizened old witch transform into the deadly beastâand back again.
In April 2016, a very strange story surfaced out of the north of England. And to the extent that not just the local media, but the national media, too, were busy chasing down the strange and sinister story of what has become known as the "Werewolf of Hull," reportedly an eight-foot-tall, hair-covered monster. The case was, however, notable for the fact that several of the witnesses claimed the beast shape-shifted from a terrible, foul monster into the form of a black-cloaked old witch.
Most of the reports surfaced in and around the vicinity of what is called the Beverley and Barmston Drain, a land drainage operation, the origins of which date back to the latter part of the 1800s. A tunnel that carries the drain can be found below an old bridge on Beverley Beck, a canal in East Riding, Yorkshire, Englandâa location where a number of the encounters with the hair-covered thing have taken place.
So, what might the creature have been? The UK's media picked upâand picked up quickly and widelyâon a local legend of an abominable beast known as "Old Stinker." It's a terrifying half-human/half-animal thing that has a long history in the area, a history that dates back centuries. So the story goes, the name came from the legend that the creature allegedly suffered from severely bad breath! And its physical appearance was said to have been no better either: it was covered in hair, and had piercing and glowing red eyes. On top of that, it regularly devoured the corpses of the recently deceased.
Were-cats Jennifer's encounter occurred in her small Oregon hometown in the fall of 2011. Late one night, Jennifer saw what she assumed was a large black dog walking towards her, on the sidewalk. As the creature got closer, Jennifer was horrified to see it was actually a significantly-sized cat. As in the size of a jaguar. Jennifer was about to make a run for coverâbut to where, at that time of night, she admitted she had no ideaâwhen the cat suddenly stood upright, changed its appearance and ran across the road, at a phenomenal speed, and vanished into an alley on the other side of the road. Notably, Jennifer said that the cat did not lose its black color as it changed into human form, nor did it lose its cat-like head. It was, according to Jennifer, something that appeared half-human and half-cat. A definitive were-cat.
Elementals Of the many and varied kinds of "elementals" that were said to possess the awesome powers of shapeshifting, certainly one of the most mysterious, and strangest of all, was the Dryad. It was a definitive entity of magical proportions that took shapeshifting to a truly unique level. The Dryad was a supernatural entity that features heavily in ancient Greek mythology, and which was exclusively associated with forests, woods, and trees. There was a very good reason for that: the Dryad had the uncanny and eerie ability to transform itself into a tree!
Coyotes Perceived almost unanimously by Native Americans as a trickster-like animal, the coyote is said to have the ability to control the weather, specifically rain and storms. And, like so many other trickster entitiesâsuch as fairies and goblinsâthe coyote can be friendly, playful, and helpful. But, and also like all tricksters, the coyote has a dark side: it can be manipulative, deceitful, and even deadly, and as the mood takes it. As for what Native American lore says of the shapeshifting abilities of the coyote, we are told that the animal can take on human form, usually in the guise of a man with a large mustache. Coyotes are said to be able to transform into the forms of birds, fish, and cats. Also according to Native American mythology, witches and those familiar with magical rituals can transform themselves into coyotes. Thus, a coyote seen running wildly late at night may well be a shapeshifting witch or wizard, embarking on some dark and disturbing mission.
The Kitsune Japan has its very own shapeshifter: the Kitsune. It is a word that means "fox." Japanese lore has long maintained that each and every fox that livesâand that has ever livedâhas the ability to take on the appearance of a human, whether that of a man or of a woman. And, like many of the shapeshifters that we have focused on so far, the Kitsune alternates from being a malevolent creature to a placid and helpful entity. Mostly, however, it acts as a classic Trickster â manipulating people, and playing endless mind-games.
And that's just the start of things: the Men in Black who terrorize UFO witnesses have been seen to morph into the forms of blazing-eyed, black dogs. The legendary Mothman of Point Pleasant, West Virginia has been described variously as a winged humanoid, as giant bat-like animal, and as a huge bird. Clearly, the beast is able to take on multiple guises. Bigfoot witnesses tell of the creatures changing into bright balls of light. The legendary creatures of Loch Ness are said to have the ability to take on the forms of beautiful women and large black horses.
If you think that shapeshifters are merely the things of folklore, mythology and legend, it's time to think again. Shapeshifters are here, there, and everywhereâand in multiple, monstrous forms, too...
[Nick Redfern, Llewellyn]
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The April Fool
Fandom: Doctor Who Pairing: Rose x Ten Baby!fic, Time lady!Rose, Doomsday rewrite. The Doctor unable to return turns out to be a horrid prank.
AO3
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Last night I had a dream. Rose. I heard a voice and it was calling my name. Rose. Rose. Rose. I had a dream. I told Mum, and Dad, and Mickey. Anyone else would think I was mad. But not those three. They believed it because theyâve met the Doctor. So they listened to the dream. He was calling me and that night, we packed up, got into dadâs old Jeep, and off we went. Mum cried the entire time she packed my duffel. She said she knew that I had never belonged there. She said she understood it even more when Iâd gotten shot at Torchwood, by a bullet that had meant to be a rubber round, but was instead live. It hit me in the heart, and I was on the ground, choking on my own blood.
It was the best and worst feeling of my life. I was going to die. It was a certainty that Iâve never before experienced with anything else in life. Theyâd called Mum and Dad to say goodbye, but instead, the light energy still latent in my dna, missed by the Doctor, came to life and lit me ablaze in the longest and shortest shock of my life. Iâd seen this, when Iâd been Bad Wolf. Iâd become this.
Mumâd had kittens when she heard.
The medic had informed her, after a full workup, that I had two hearts. Multiple stomachs. That everything was healthy still⌠that my body had known how to protectâŚ.
Sheâd always known that I was going to become an alien and run off with the Doctor. Now, here was my chance, sad as she was, she was also happy knowing I wouldnât have to watch everyone I love grow old and die before me â not alone, anyhow.
We followed the voice across the water, kept on driving hundreds and hundreds of miles, because he was calling.
Rose.
Rose walked alone across the windswept beach, duffel in hand, remembering the last time sheâd tossed it at the Doctor, laughingly telling him that he was stuck with her, now. There she was, at lastâŚ. and sheâd have to tell him the story of how sheâd died. Heâd hate it, for sure. An image of the Doctor appeared in front of her, startling her from her revierie.
âWhere are you?â she asked, fearing his response. Fearing letting go of all of her newfound hope.
âInside the Tardis.â His voice was so grimâŚ.
Inside the TardisâŚ.. heâs going to say he canât come and get meâŚ. Iâm damned to live here and watch them all wiltâŚ
âThereâs only one tiny little gap in the Universe left, just about to close, and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. Iâm in orbit around a supernova. Iâm burning up a sun just to say goodbye.â
The words were like a shot. She knew then, that the best course of action would be to lie to him, tell him everything was fine, that she was happyâŚ. but she couldnâtâŚ. could she?
âYou look like a ghostâŚâ she murmured.
âHold on,â he responded, and the sound of the sonic was something sheâd missed so much.
âCâŚ. can⌠IâŚ?â she reached, but his instant negative response made her flinch and stop.
âIâm still just an imageâŚ. no touch.â
Yeah, boy, doesnât that sound like when we first metâŚ?
âCanât you come through properly?â
Weâll never be togetherâŚ
âThe whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse.â Iâm losing everything. It feels like my universe is collapsed anyhow.
âSo?â she joked bitterly.
I have to be strong for him. I shouldâŚ.
âWhere are we? Where did the gap come out?â
âWeâre in Norway.â
âNorway. Right.â
âAbout fifty miles out of Bergen. 50.17 miles, to be exact. Itâs a town called DĂĽrling Ulv Stranden.â
âDalek?â âDĂĽrlig. The A with a small circle above it, makes the âawâ sound. Itâs Norwegian for Bad. It translates as Bad Wolf Bay.â He nodded, and she felt prompted to say anything.
âHow longâŚ.?â she could barely get the words out, tears streaking her face.
âTwo minutesâŚ.â she could hardly hear him over the water rushing sound in her ears. Her mum was crying softly in the background. Sheâd never wanted this life for her girlâŚ.
âI canât think of what to sayâŚâ she laughed a bit, nervously.
âYouâve still got Mr. Mickey then?â
âThereâs five of us now. Mum, Dad, Mickey and the baby.â it rolled off her tongue so automatically.
âYouâre not?!â
ShitshitshitshitshitshitshitâŚ.
âOh no, itâs mum. Sheâs three months gone. More Tylers on the way.â Had the Doctor seen the look of abject horror and confusion on Jackieâs face, he would have seen through the lie.
âAnd what about you? Are youââ
âYeah, Iâm back working in the shop.â
âOh, good for youâŚâ
âShut up. No Iâm not. Thereâs still a Torchwood on this planet. Itâs open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens.â
Jackieâs loud snort and Mickeyâs cough were thusly ignored, although the Doctor did raise an eyebrow.
âRose TylerâŚâ he said her name with so much affection. It reminded her of the way he said it when they made love, when he kissed all along her body, when he gasped it into her ear and mind when he came.
âDefender of the Earth. Youâre dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and youâve gone missing. Youâre on a list of the dead. Here you are, living a life, day after day. The one adventure I can never have.â
âAm I ever going to see you again?â
âYou canât.â
She crumbled. âWhat are you going to do?â
He was putting on a front. He kept biting his lips, trying to keep his face brave for her. âOh. Iâve got the Tardis. Same old life, last of the Time Lords.â
âOn your ownâŚ..â she breathed. Just say it, you idiot. Last chance. âIâŚ. I love youâŚ.â
The look in his eyes was shocked to the teeth, and he looked like he was struggling to form words for a moment. âQuite right too⌠And, I suppose, if itâs one last chance to say it, Rose Tyler, IâŚâ
The Tardis vanished, and she collapsed to the beach, sobbing. Jackie ran to her daughter, throwing her shoes off to get a better grip on the sand.
âYou canât get so upset, itâs not good for theââ she was cut off by the sounds of the Tardis.
The Tardis was solid this time, and she looked at him in shock as he exited, smiling wildly. âHappy April Fools Day!â he announced, as though heâd just pulled a rabbit out of a hat.
His smile took on a confused and strained look, and then he finally gave up the ghost. âRoseâŚ.â
She was breathing heavily, trying to control the urge to let him bloody have it mixed with her body recovering from shock and the worst sadness of her life. This was where her mum took over, pinging rocks at him from the beach left and right, that he struggled to dodge, both hands up in defense.
âBLOODY. TIME. LORD. ARSEHOLE! YOU! DO! NOT! DO! THAT! KIND! OF! PRANK!â
He tried to take Rose into his arms, getting winged by sand dollars by Jackie when Rose swung at him. She barely missed.
Even Mickey shook his head at him. âSome bits donât even begin to be appropriate, Doctor. You canât joke about this sort of bit. Pregnancy pranks, death pranks, screamers, and breakup pranks. Theyâre literally not okay.â
âOhâŚ.â he murmured, looking confused. âThey were appropriate on Xylon 5. Prank capital of the UniverseâŚ.â
âEarth, mate. You should know.â
Roseâs lip quivered, and he felt like the biggest bastard in the universe. He reached for her, and she sobbed in his arms, as he spun her around.
âI thought Iâd have to spend forever without youâŚ.â she hiccupped, and he shook his head.
âIâm sorry. I thought youâd figured me outâŚ. what with that whole bit about the shopâŚ.â
âNâŚ. noâŚâ
He shushed her, holding her tightly.
âIâmâŚ. sâmeâŚ. Iâm pregnantâŚ.â
âYou donât have to do a joke in reverse, Rickey just said that those pranks arenât appropriate.â
Mickey flipped him the bird.
âSânot a jokeâŚ.â she whimpered, unable to handle much more emotional drainage today.
He suddenly felt it, felt exactly what she was, and then felt the life blooming, once he had begun paying attention. âYâŚ. youâŚ.. weâŚ. oh, RoseâŚ.â
His tears came without prompt, and she gave him a watery smile. âI told youâŚ. foreverâŚ. I jusâ really, really meant itâŚ.â
He held her tightly, and after a few apologies and goodbyes to Jackie and everyone else â âYOU HAD BETTER MARRY HERâ screamed in his ear â he took off with the love of his life, the holes in the universes closing as soon as he left.
âIâm just saying,â he kept trying, feeling guiltier and guiltier by the second. Heâd pretend permanently broken up with the mother of his child. Who was now a Time Lady, who would have had to outlive everyone⌠oh, he was space rubbish⌠âIt seemed funny at the time. I thought weâd have a laugh.â
âIt wasnât funny. It was dreadful.â
âIâm rubbish at pranks, Rose, Iâm so sorryââ
âMake it up to me?â
He was about to ask her how, when he caught the hidden meaning and grinned, widely. Oh yes. He would.
âââââââââââââ
A few hours of rowdy lovemaking, one telepathic bond, and a mug of tea later, Rose sat on his lap, on the jumpseat, wearing only his shirt and a pair of knickers and socks. He was honestly up for round four, at this point, nuzzling into her neck and repeating his promise to never do that type of prank again.
âI, The Doctor, do solemnly swearâŚâ
âI, The Doctor, do solemnly swearâŚâ
âTo never again perform a prank that makes people cryâŚâ
âTo never again perform a prank that makes people cryâŚâ
âOr to act like such a penisgoblin about itâŚ.â
âOr to act like suâ such a what? A penis what?â
âAhem.â
âOr to act like such a penisgoblin abouâ really, Rose, a penisgoblin? What even is a penis goblin?â
âDoctorâŚ.â
ââŚ.Or to act like such a penisgoblin about itâŚ.â
âForever and ever and ever, the end.â
âForever and ever and ever, I love you Rose Tyler, the end.â
She giggled, and nuzzled him. âForgiven.â
He sighed in relief. âI just didnât know what sort of prank would be funnyâ â
A redhead in a wedding dress appeared, and began flipping out.
âApparentlyâŚ. neither does the TardisâŚ.â Rose murmured, blinking as the redhead threw her jacket across the room.
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Making a Video Game Hero: Platformer Edition
May 6, 2020 2:30 PM EST
Step back into our video game creation lab as we build the best platform hero ever by combining the genreâs best in a Frankenstein creation.
Recently, we took a look at all of the video game heroes who make their living in hallowed halls of the action-adventure genre. After analyzing each of them (very scientifically, we might add) we put together an amalgamation of their body parts to build the greatest action-adventure hero. Like a modern-day Dr. Frankenstein, we built the ultimate hero for that genre, and now weâre back again with a new, fan-favorite genre. Thatâs right, itâs time to build a Mario.
Now, like action-adventure games, platformers have a ton of different sub-genres within their sphere. Not only do you have 2D and 3D platformers, but there are also games that mix shooting, mind powers, and even naughty swear words. That said, weâre looking to build a hero that can work their way through whatever situation developers can throw at them. So, give our beautiful monster a look below and let us know if youâd make any changes in the comments below.
Brain: Alucard (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) Runnersâ Up: Razputin Aquato (Psychonauts) and Clank (Ratchet & Clank series)

To kick off the list, we have a trifecta of great options. On one hand, you have Raz from Psychonauts, a young boy with considerable psychic powers. Not only has he mastered many PSI skills while training to be a Psychonaut, but he also boasts nearly impenetrable psychic defenses. On the other hand, Clank is a robot with access to a gigantic database of information that he can call up in the blink of an eye.
However, on the third (?) hand, we have Alucard, the dhampir son of Dracula. Now, as a half-vampire, he lacks the immortality of his fatherâs species; however, he still has all the other powers. With his brain, we get access to a library of powerful magic and, presumably, the ability to shape-shift into a bat, wolf, or mist. So, while he might be a little less of a smartie than Clank, weâll take the wolf morph every day.
Eyes: Six (Little Nightmares) Runnersâ Up: Crash Bandicoot and Fez

Again, the platformer genre gives us a plethora of options for our monsterâs eyeballs. Weâre tempted to go with Crash and his gigantic, terrifying, lifeless eyes, but frankly, even weâre too scared by the thought of what those eyes have seen. Why are they always so wide open? What makes them spin? These are the questions that keep us up at night.
Instead, weâre going with someone a bit smaller. Fez was strongly considered due to his ability to see the world in multiple dimensions at once; however, we decided to go with someone whoâs faced down horrible, sausage-wielding ���chefsâ and lived to tell the tale. Six from Little Nightmares might not be the strongest platforming character, but we can trust her to stay brave, regardless of what terrifying monster we find ourselves up against.
Mouth: Kirby Runnersâ Up: Conker (Conkerâs Bad Fur Day) and Earthworm Jim

Honestly, this might be the easiest choice on the list. A potty-mouthed squirrel and an earthworm full of bad puns are hardly a match for the power-stealing jaws of Kirby. I mean, sure, our hero can already morph into a wolf, but what if they could also morph into Bowser? Or Dr. Neo Cortex? Or even Professor von Kriplespac? The possibilities are truly endless, and itâs nearly impossible to imagine any other characterâs mouth in Kirbyâs place.
Torso: Meat Boy (Super Meat Boy) Runnersâ Up: Banjo (Banjo-Kazooie) and Tim (Braid)

Here, things get interesting again. If we take Banjoâs body, do we also get Kazooie? If so, that means we can fly, but since we already have multiple morphing powers, thatâs not really needed. Timâs squat body might let us control the flow of time, which is going to come in handy when braving spikey pits.
That being said, weâre going with Meat Boy. After all, there arenât many heroes who can say theyâve withstood more punishment than that slab of beef. And he just keeps coming back for more. Thatâs a trait our monster needs.
Left Arm: Mega Man Runnersâ Up: Yarny (Unravel) and Rad Spencer (Bionic Commando)

The first thing we have to ask ourselves is âwould we marry our robotic arm if we found out it was our previously thought-to-be-dead wife?â And, obviously, the answer is yes. However, if our creation is married to their arm, then theyâll live a life torn between us, their creator, and their arm-wife. That doesnât work for us, so Rad Spencer is, unfortunately, out.
Yarny presents another interesting option; however, their power feels limited. Thereâs only so much you can do with yarn. Mega Man, on the other hand, has a smorgasbord of power-ups for our monster to take advantage of, making him the easy choice.
Right Arm: Donkey Kong Runnersâ Up: Cuphead and Voodoo Vince
Cupheadâs arm would definitely be a fun addition, but that feels like a bit of overkill. Voodoo Vince combos well with Meat Boyâs body. Stabbing that slab of beef and inflicting damage on our enemies seems like an easy win. However, our platformer build is missing something. We needâŚpower.
Enter Donkey Kongâs right arm. Did you know that gorillas can lift an estimated 1800 lbs? Imagine what that kind of strength could do to a man or Goomba. Weâre talking complete and total destruction. Our monster needs that.
Legs: Madeline (Celeste) Runnersâ Up: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sly Cooper, and Arthur (Ghosts ân Goblins)
Again, tons of great options. If youâre looking for pure, video game speed, Sonic is the obvious choice. Maybe you want world-class agility that would let you sneak your way into any heavily-guarded fortress. In that case, Sly Cooper is your guy. Heck, maybe you just want to look good in your undies, making Arthur the man for you.
For our creature, weâre taking Madelineâs legs. If you play Celeste on Assist Mode, you can turn on infinite stamina. That means Madeline can jump forever. And, even if we donât turn on Assist Mode, her legs are some of the best leapers in the business. Her air control is top-tier, a fact our beast will take full advantage of.
Hat: Mario Runnersâ Up: The Boy (Inside) and Shovel Knight

(Note: Spoilers for Inside below)
Okay, our last category continues to be something of a catch-all. At first, we thought weâd just slap The Boy from Insideâs ability to turn into a massive flesh blob in here, because what an awesome sequence. If our monster can just transform into that whenever they want, why wouldnât we want that? However, it feels wrong to not have Mario involved in our video game creation in some way. So, weâve decided to continue enhancing our beastâs ability to morph into other creatures by adding Marioâs hat. Oh, and Shovel Knight is cool, but only cool enough to make the list and not overtake Mario.
At this point, our platformer hero has basically become the newest Animorph, with the power to morph into whatever animal or object needed to get past any obstacle. Bowsers everywhere are surely crying into their pillow, as they dream sweet nightmares about our creation.
Thus ends our latest creation. Be sure to check back in the near future as we tackle the next video game genre. And stick with DualShockers for all your weird, imaginary video game science experiments.
May 6, 2020 2:30 PM EST
from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/05/making-a-video-game-hero-platformer-edition/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=making-a-video-game-hero-platformer-edition
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Note
Answer character creation questions for your D&D boys!
HOO BOY OK
Naveen:
1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?
Appearance and personality� I wanted a sassy gay elf lol
2. Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?
No, I didnât really know the setting or the other characters when I was doing character creation.
3. How did you choose their name?
My best friend/DM for the campaign I use Naveen in actually named him. I had a name for him and it didnât fit, and I was struggling before the start of the first session. She asked me a bunch of questions about him and named him at the table literally five minutes before we started the first session of the campaign. It fits him better than any name I couldâve chosen for him.
4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?
Not applicable⌠I hashed out a very basic backstory for him before our first session, but didnât know anything about the world until later.
5. Is there any significance behind their hair color?
Nah
6. Is there any significance behind their eye color?
Nah
7. Is there any significance behind their height?
Nah
8. What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?
I relate to Naveen a lot. He tends to feel very alone and even though he doesnât want to burden others with his problems he relies on other people very heavily⌠he wants to be a better person, and he wants to be more confident in himself and his ability to love other people. He wants to lift other people up and make the people he cares about happy.
Heâs also fat and trans, lol.
9. Are they based off of you, in some way?
No. As he grows as a person, I find he has traits Iâd like to see in myself, though, lol.
10. If they have an LI, how much of their character is tailored to be compatible to that person?
Assuming this means love interest?? He has crushes on like⌠three to four people. Maybe more⌠No part of him was made to be compatible with any of them, and heâs not compatible with any of them.
Maybe with ReginaldâŚ
11. Did you know what the OCâs sexuality would be at the time of their creation?
I mean⌠I went into creating him like âbitchy gay elf hahaâ but like, the finer details of it, not really? He likes people regardless of gender. I also thought he was asexual at first which has turned out not to be true in the least.
12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?
When I created him I wanted to draw him, obviously, but I hadnât tried to draw seriously in at least two years. I had a set idea of what I wanted him to look like and didnât have the skills to do that which is why the initial drawings I have of him are so different from how he looks now - I went outside my comfort zone to try and teach myself how to draw different hair and body types, for example. Iâve gotten better, but that was really hard.
I also try to write poems as him to get a better feel for his character, which has been helpful, but was difficult as I hadnât tried to write a poem in over a decade.
13. How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?
We havenât finished the canon yet!
I just want his story to end happily.
14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?
1. Heâs going to do stuff I donât want him to.2. I should lean into that a little bit from time to time.
15. What is something about your OC can make you laugh?
Heâs very easy to pick on, which tends to make for funny situations.
16. What is something about your OC can make you cry?
Heâs a fucking idiot who doesnât know how to relate to other people and he constantly puts his foot in his mouth and itâs so frustrating.
17. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?
Uhh⌠I regret his whole existence sometimes.
I didnât want him to be horny but he is and I hate that.
18. What is the most recent thing youâve discovered about your OC?
He likes kids, which is sort of surprising? Like, theyâve found themselves around a bunch of goblin kids and a little vampire girl and he was kind of overwhelmed at first because he hasnât spent a lot of time around kids, but he really loved them. He was amused by their antics and wants to take care of them.
19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?
The two strands of hair that frame his face are coiled just a little bit tighter than the rest of his hair because he twirls them around his fingers when heâs nervous!
Droâgul:
1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?
I just wanted a beastmaster ranger. (Naveen was initially going to be one but another player claimed that class first!!) Droâgul has actually been through a lot of iterations. He was initially a female half-elf and has gone through a lot of revamps until he became something I was happy with.
2. Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?
Sort of. I wanted a character whose personality would mesh better with this particular campaignâs chaotic team than my straight-laced, goody-two-shoes drow wizard.
3. How did you choose their name?
I liked the shorter name âGulâ for a while because it frequently came up on the Orc name generator I used, lol. I found out during that time that it also means âroseâ in Persian, which I thought was sweet. I just added âDroâ to make it longer.
4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?
Honestly? None at first⌠In fact his backstory really makes very little sense for the time period this particular campaign is set in (1920â˛s, but we all keep forgetting and picture it as medieval fantasyâŚ).
My friend was also wanting to switch their character to someone more fitting for the vibe of the campaign, so our DM asked if our characters could know each other. We linked their backstories (âhe broke her out of jail and theyâve been together since!â) and it quickly went downhill into shipping them, lol. Thatâs been more influential. But itâs fun and itâs solidified who he is as a character very significantly.
5. Is there any significance behind their hair color?
Nah
6. Is there any significance behind their eye color?
To match his wolf!
7. Is there any significance behind their height?
Wanted⌠big boi
8. What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?
I relate a lot to Droâgul as a survivor of family abuse who struggles with PTSD. Heâs been through more and worse than Iâve been through but I relate to the feelings of despair and guilt and panic that he feels. Heâs done bad things and he thinks heâs a bad person though he tries to combat that line of thinking. He wants to do good to make up for the bad heâs done. He wants to raise other people up.
9. Are they based off of you, in some way?
No, though we share the self-deprecation and (usually unintentional) self-sacrifice.
10. If they have an LI, how much of their character is tailored to be compatible to that person?
Heâs dating my friendâs tiefling sorcerer, Nowhere. They were created separately from each other, and he wasnât tailored to be compatible with her, but they work well together incidentally. I love them together very much but with that said his devotion to her is pretty decidedly unhealthy. If she felt like taking advantage of his good nature it would be easy for her to do so. (She doesnât want to, luckily!)
11. Did you know what the OCâs sexuality would be at the time of their creation?
Not in the least. When I created him I wasnât really thinking about his romantic or sexual preferences. I kind of assumed he was straight for a bit but I was incorrect. I also thought he was cis, but heâs nonbinary - heâs comfortable being identified as male but he doesnât really care about differences in gender one way or another and thinks the idea that there are masculine traits and feminine traits are ridiculous.
12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?
I⌠canât draw muscles or strong jawlines or body hair or tusks or curly hair, but he has all of those things.
Iâm still learning.
13. How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?
Iâve talked about his plans with Nowhere with Nowhereâs player, but for now those will remains secret! We havenât finished the campaign and therefore the canon yet so itâs up in the air either way.
14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?
1. Heâs an idiot2. Heâs going to die because heâs an idiot
15. What is something about your OC can make you laugh?
His lack of intelligence makes for funny moments - for example, someone described coffee to him and he became convinced coffee was drugs. He also thought their very short party member was an actual child. Both of these are things he believed for some time.
16. What is something about your OC can make you cry?
Heâs got too good of a heart and heâs going to get hurt because of it.
17. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?
I wish his conversation confessing to Nowhere had been more romantic. But, it was really awkward and genuine, which makes more sense narratively, so Iâm okay with it.
18. What is the most recent thing youâve discovered about your OC?
Heâs got a lot more anxiety than I thought he did, lol.
19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?
He fidgets a lot when heâs nervous - runs his hands through his hair, rubs the tips of his tusks against his upper lip, rubs his cheek. He cute.
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