#we basically roleplayed the conversation out and then I took all our dialogue and actions and made it into an actual lil short story

[scribesofcalamity]

Our boys have finally confessed to eachother, after learning of a 30 year old prophecy where they were dubbed the wounded lovers 🥺 We made it soft and I had to create a doodle of the aftermath.

Small written collaboration piece from myself and Derrick’s player below the cut 💖

Derrick winced as the entrails fell from Briars body, calling an end to the whole spooky business in the Hecata's basement. He glanced at Seth, and was surprised to see his partners brow scrunched as he bored a hole into the floor with his icy stare. The whole mumbo jumbo prophecy must have spooked him a bit, although Derrick wasn't so sure that Seth took much stock in those types of things. He certainly didn't.

Before Derrick could make a joke to try and lighten the mood, the older Brujah had already made a break for the door. The rest of the night, Derrick could hardly start a sentence before Seth was away, first to feed, then back into the creepy hotel and all around. Derrick frowned as he watched Seth banter with the others. He looked calm, but there was something off…and he was definitely avoiding him. When had he last acted like this? Derrick mused in silence as he and Angie sat in the car, watching the silhouettes of their friends inside. It was certainly an unusual behavior for him. Derrick landed on an answer to his question- it had been two years ago, when Seth had returned from a job that was helping to fund school supplies for the community kids. Carol had dared Derrick to give Seth a kiss on the forehead when he walked in, proclaiming him their hero, to welcome him back. Derrick had taken the dare and done just that. Seth had frozen on the spot for a solid minute before silently taking some documents and money out of his bag, handing them over, and immediately walking back out the door. He spent the next three days avoiding Derrick entirely, going so far as to leave out his window at one point when Derrick had burst into the apartment in a surprise attack. After that…everything went back to normal. He had never quite figured out why Seth had gotten so angry about the joke. “What the hell is his problem?” Derrick mumbled as he rubbed his chin in thought. Well, the night had to wind down at some point. He'd corner Seth then.

Seth rubbed the back of his neck in exasperation as he watched Angie and Tommy out on the water. Vee looked up at him, eyes full of curiosity and what seemed to be a hint of mirth after his and Tommy's argument on the stairwell. “Who could blame me?” Seth thought.” There's all sorts of monsters in the fucking swamp. How was I supposed to know they wanted to recreate the scene from the little mermaid after 3 days of knowing eahother?” He nodded back to the building and began walking in with the young man. Vee stopped halfway, giving an interested look at the sniper rifle slung over Seth's shoulder. “Think you could teach me how to use it?” Seth half smiled,partly genuine at Vee's interest, and partly because the longer they were out here, the better. He helped Vee hold the gun up,gently adjusting his stance and pointing out the scope, magazine and safety. Vee looked unwieldy and unprepared holding the large weapon, and Seth was reminded of when he had first been taught to hold a gun, looking much the same. He chuckled as he took it back. Vee was quiet before he asked why they were helping him. Seth answered truthfully. He hoped they could help Vee. Give him another chance. Make him survive. In the silence that followed, Seth awkwardly reached out and ruffled Vee's hair. He wasn't terribly good at comforting people, but he wanted to try. Vee scoffed. “Thanks, I guess?”

As they opened the door to the station, Angie and Tommy zoomed by on the motorbike. Seth watched them speed away with a slight pang of jealousy. Tommy was certainly a braver man than he was. Vee headed towards the kitchen area and Seth turned to the garage, mentally making a list of things to prepare…he should clean the guns and count how many incendiary rounds he had left…

“Seth.” He flinched, Derrick's voice breaking into his inner monologue. He had been a bit too focused, and the brunette had walked right up behind him. Seth turned slowly. Derrick wore an irritated expression. “Are you avoiding me?”

Seth quickly averted his gaze,admiring the basic concrete of the wall in great detail.”Not really.”

“Not. Really?” He could feel Derrick glaring at him. He'd never been good with lying to him.

"It's just...been busy of course.” Seth quipped as he tried to side step around Derrick. That plan was quickly thwarted as Derrick stepped in front of him,shutting the door and blocking his escape route. “We’re always busy. Did I do something? You know you can always talk to me, Seth..”

Panic settled into Seth's chest as he looked at Derrick's hurt expression. "No,you didn't do anything…” He took a pause. Maybe this was a good time to try and steer Derrick out of here…”I

…was actually just thinking maybe it would be good for you to take Vee and head back to New York with...all the strange stuff happening around here…”

Derrick's voice was sharp as he cut Seth off.

“Excuse me? That’s not happening. What are you even on about? Where is this coming from?”

Seth winced internally. Perhaps not. His head felt all over the place tonight. He wasn't good at convincing people without force.

"Well you know...with the Cam and that wierd prophecy and all the monsters in the swamp...maybe it would be good to remove some pieces...and you're certainly better with people than I am.”

“Remove pieces, yeah okay.” Seth could tell Derrick was getting riled up, his hand motions becoming a tad aggressive as he spoke. “You really believe this mumbo jumbo prophecy? We have been through literal shit together and now you’re going to tell me to leave?” His fists curled as he closed the distance between them. “I fucking can’t believe you. Do you think I’d just leave you here on your own?” Amid the anger, Derrick suddenly paused, before looking Seth straight in the eye. “Am I in your way?”

Conflict raged in Seth's head. How could he make Derrick understand? He took a step back, trying to clear his argument in his head.

"No, that's not it...You're not in the way. You never have been. I just...I don't think we should ignore something so potentially serious, that's been around since before we ever met, when all this other wierd shit has happened and now we're all here…”

“Leaving kind of sounds like ignoring it.” Derrick stepped forward to close the gap Seth had just created. “I thought we were in this together. Why has that changed now?”

Fuck. This wasn’t working. Seth began almost rambling, looking anywhere but Derrick's angry gaze. "I...we are...but in this case...I mean, Vee is called the sacrificial sheep for fucks sake! I think the kid has been through enough... and it seems we would uhhh....share a fate too, including one where our eyes get gouged out...you have alot of responsibility back at home and we can't possibly have something like that happen to you, and I'm sure it might be a nice thing for Vee to just get a fresh start. A-and, it seems it's not even Peele that's here, maybe just a copycat, so....” he trailed off. This was the farthest thing from convincing. Seth felt fear wrap its way around his throat.

Derrick practically spit his next words, rage simmering below the surface. Seth considered sticking with it. If he let Derrick knock him out, they couldn't argue anymore.

“I can’t even believe the words coming out of your mouth right now. Let’s say these prophecies were fated, what’s leaving with Vee going to change? For Christ’s sake the guy is safer with us as a group than for me to run off with him and take him to New York!”

Derrick's voice was strained. “Maybe it is a copycat here.Even so, I’d never leave you alone to deal with all of this.” he gestured at the air, at everything as a whole. “You’re not impractical. There’s something else isn’t there? You can’t even look at me, Seth. What is it you’re leaving out?”

Seth dug his nails into his palm, releasing a thin trickle of vitae as he considered his options. This night had been utter turmoil for him. Hearing the different versions of the prophecy of cranes, he had felt dizzy. When the spirit identified him and Derrick as the “wounded lovers”, Seth had felt like a glass cage he hadn't even known was there had shattered directly on his head. This entire time? Kindred in this strange little town had seen them before they even knew of the other's existence.

Maybe Tommy was onto something though.Although he had never planned to say anything…even if he lost Derrick forever this way…it would be better than something forced upon him. Perhaps it would make him listen.

Seth decided to let go.

"Derrick...listen...I'm worried because these prophecies are calling us the wounded lovers. I...I know we're not lovers,nor do we have any kind of of relationship like that. You could say the prophecy is fake based on that alone, even without knowing what the other few visions showed. "

He stopped one more time, ruminating in the silence. If he spoke it now, there was no turning back. Derrick shifted slightly,crossing his arms as he waited for Seth to speak. Seth smiled at the memory of the previous day, their eyes meeting in the reflections of the sunlight bouncing off the water pools in the bunker. At the very least, he could cherish that memory. He looked up and met Derrick's eyes.

"Derrick,I'm taking this so seriously... because I love you. I've been in love with you for a long time now.” He let the words hang for just a moment.

“I really considered if my feelings were perhaps caused by this prophecy but..." Seth slowly clutched his hand into his jacket over his heart. He had let the thought cross his mind for a only a moment, but he knew that wasn't true. It had been a gradual fall. He hadnt even trusted Derrick at first, but three years ago, he had realized it was much deeper than simple friendship and affection. No future vision, no matter how sinister, could have created those feelings. "I know that's not it.” Seth struggled to speak his conclusion. “Which means that it would be because of me falling in love with you that you could get dragged into some crazy mess that you didn't ask for, perhaps have your mind manipulated into having feelings for me or something else. If you got hurt,mentally or physically, because I couldn't keep my emotions In check for my best friend and work partner, I could never forgive myself. "

Derrick was silent as he simply stared back at Seth. Well, that was that. Seth let his gaze drop, his arm releasing his jacket, exhaustion and defeat flowing into his body. This place was the worst. "I'm sorry. I know that is alot to drop on you out of the blue. I just want you to be safe....” The ground had never looked so interesting. Derrick was still silent as Seth moved around him and opened the door. “I don't need an answer. I can’t make you do anything, so if you plan to stay, we need to focus on the battles ahead.” As he stepped over the door frame,he uttered a final sentence. ”I understand if you don't want me to come back to New York when this is all over. “

Derrick's eyes widened before softening. He almost let Seth walk out of the door before his new found brain fog broke for a moment and he whirled, catching the door and causing Seth to turn back towards him, his blue eyes wary.

“Seth, don’t go.” He felt as if he let Seth go, he would never get his thoughts out. “This whole time? You’ve been holding this back the entire time?” Derrick's voice wavered.

“I can’t- I won’t even entertain the thought of some prophecies controlling my emotions. Or yours. I’m well aware how dangerous this will be. I won’t lie and say this isn’t some of the scariest shit I’ve seen in my life.” Seth had fully turned around now, caution holding his cold expression, but Derrick could see a small spark of hope in his eyes. He continued speaking, letting the words spill out.

“ Yet I find comfort in facing it with you… and you’re delusional if you think I’d abandon you here to deal with it on your own. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.” He stopped suddenly, before his next words fell out of his mouth.

Memories filled his mind of pestering Seth in his apartment when he first moved into the slums of New York. At first Derrick wanted to know who this stranger was and keep a close eye on him. After some time however, Derrick had started to crave his company. Maybe it all started there.

“Whatever all of this is, we can figure it out together… and… even if it is fated, it’s a fate I want to share with you Seth…because…I love you too.”

[tetranocular]

What rp ettiquite do you wish everyone knew?

oop sorry this is way late since i took a nap

i’m gonna ramble so im putting it under the cut

but anyways it’s not really one thing. it’s more just... there used to be a lot of unspoken rules back a few years ago that a lot of younger rpers just don’t seem to know. most of it is just how to behave out of character. being respectful of your partner and your rp partner’s time, and things like that. there’s also bits and pieces about how to take turns carrying the weight of the rp, because if you’re making only your partner have to lead the roleplay, it gets VERY tiring very fast

like, one of my biggest pet peeves from a lot of roleplays i do nowadays is having to be the one to keep the roleplay going. and it happens ALL the time. i’m on rolechat and cherp fairly often, and i almost always have to carry it. a vague example of this, where lets say im character a, is this-

character a: have you heard of this movie? i really enjoy it

character b: yeah it’s good.

replies like this make it hard to respond. where’s someone to go from there? when people make these curt responses that have no questions, no segue into another part of the conversation or even a new conversation, you’re forcing your partner to do it for you. it’s fine once in a while, if you don’t have any ideas, but it’s always just polite to share the burden. and it’s not that hard to do, too! the way i make sure my responses aren’t dead-ends is i try and always include something my partner can respond to. usually, a question, or some kind of prompt for them to talk. so instead of “yeah it’s good”, a more proper response would be something like

character a: have you heard of this movie? i really enjoy it

character b: yeah it’s good. did you hear about the scandal with the director though?

character a: oh no, i didn’t! i hope it’s nothing too horrible

character b: it’s not that bad, just interesting to read about. i think we should rewatch the movie anyways sometime

and so on. obviously this is like.. a silly little example with just dialogue, but you get what i mean. i feel like people ought to learn a little bit about how improv is done, because in improv, people would get really mad if you gave them responses that were such a halt in the flow. i think there’s really something to the improv rule of “yes, and”, along with some other rules

“1) Say “Yes’and!”

For a story to be built, whether it is short form or long form, the players have to agree to the basic situation and set-up. The who, what, and where have to be developed for a scene to work.

By saying yes, we accept the reality created by our partners and begin the collaborative process from the start of a scene. The collaborative process or group mind helps make us giants, animals, villains, saints and more importantly put us in situations that we would normally avoid.

2) After the “‘and,” add new information.

An improvised scene can’t move forward or advance unless we add new information. That is why new information is added after the “Yes” of “Yes ‘and!”

Example:

Yes, I washed big dawg and I fed him your steak too!

Rather than:

Yes, I washed big dawg. (SILENCE)

Example:

Yes, I accept being your assistant Heir Doctor and will gladly get you the princess’s body from the morgue tonight.

Rather than:

Yes, I accept being your assistant Heir Doctor. (SILENCE)

Saying “Yes’and” does not mean there will not be conflict or that we would accept something our character would not accept.

3) Don’t Block.

The opposite of saying “yes’and” is blocking or denial.

Denial destroys or stops the addition of new information or worse negates what has already been established. Blocking is a way of minimizing the impact of new information. It is also a method for the performer to play it safe. The performer maintains control and avoids vulnerability by blocking. But in improv we say the opposite of what we would say in real life, “go there.”, rather than don’t go there.

Blocking at its simplest levels involves saying “no,” or avoiding a subject. At a more advanced level, blocking is something that keeps the action from moving forward or the players from changing.”

(from here https://www.pantheater.com/rules-of-improv.html)

now of course, i feel the need to mention that “yes” doesnt mean you always agree to things like questions, but rather, you agree to the setting your partner has laid out for you. likely, they have ideas for how they want to proceed, and blocking their story from unfolding just makes it more difficult on the both of you. keeping the flow going is important for both of your enjoyment, so when you block or refuse to fully engage with what your partner is giving you, it makes the roleplay stutter a bit, and your partner suddenly needs to find some other way to keep it going, or else it’s just going to die out

now, obviously you don’t NEED to do what i say, i’m not some big authority on roleplay, but the amount of times i’ve dropped roleplays because my partner was dragging their feet through the whole thing, expecting me to carry the entire plot, or constantly blocking every idea i feed them is WAY too much. if you rp, consider how fair you’re being to your partner, and whether the rp is fun for them, or a chore. and if you’re uncertain where to go, there’s nothing wrong with talking to your partner ooc to figure out where you guys want to go and how you’re supposed to get there. things like timeskips are your friends, but it’s usually polite to ask before going ahead with them

all in all, the main thing is just to respect your partner, and try and make it fun for the both of you. roleplaying shouldn’t feel like a chore, and being educated about how interesting dialogue unfolds in stories and improv can actually help both you and your partner really enjoy your rps more!