#while we r talking about necromancers

[corujalesbica]

Solangelo and wenclair are the same couple in different universes, change my mind

[theinstagrahame]

One of the best things about Crowdfunding is, stuff arrives even when you're cutting way back on spending. A *ton* of stuff arrived in the last month and a bit. Got a bunch of really neat projects in, and it's time to get hype about it!

Why these games rule, under the cut

The Revenant Society: Banana Chan is one of those names that immediately catches my attention when she's on a project. Actually, looking at the list again, the team for this game was stacked, it was a real All-Star Cast. But like, even without the powerhouse designers on the case, this just gets all the things I want in a game: Time loops, murder mysteries, trapped on the Underground. A PbtA game where you solve your own murder is, y'know, a pitch that'll attract my attention.

Hellwhalers: I saw this game coming up through design phases in the Plus One Exp Discord, and it sounded incredible. Using tokens and an old ship betting game, you're part of a whaling crew chasing Moby Dick into actual hell. Maybe Ahab wasn't crazy after all, and maybe we won't survive.

Xenolanguage: I might own everything Thorny Games makes now, because they make games about language. Folks who may not know me might not know that I *love* linquistics. Honestly, if I could repeat college, I'd put more of my time into Linguistics. But due to the linear nature of time, I'll settle for playing games about decoding alien language in a first contact situation. Sorta like that movie Contact. Which, I loved.

Mothership and Desert Moons of Karth: I read through the original version of Mothership a couple of years ago, and it's one I wanted to get more into. When I saw that there was a chance to pick up the full 1e boxset on KS, I jumped. I've also seen tons of people talk about Karth as a really awesome sandbox module for the system, so when I had a little cash on DTRPG from selling books, it was an easy pickup.

Inscrutable Cities: Possum Creek Games told me to back this, so I did (this is a joke, but I do love PCG a whole lot). In reality, I saw Inscrutable Cities on Itch a while ago, and the pitch grabbed me. I love reading solo journaling games (I still haven't found a way I like to play them, if I'm completely honest, but they're really neat reads). Walking through an impossible city is something I'd love to do, so, I have the book for it now.

Reap: Spencer Cambell makes bangers, and bangers only. I'm not *not* on a mission to collect all of his work, but Necromancers? Solo tactical board games, built on Rune? Sure. I'm in.

Luna: Spencer Campbell makes bangers, and bangers only. I also picked up another of his books this month. The Nova universe? Moon cultists trying to destroy the sun? Sure, I'm in.

3 Moonlight on Roseville Beach zines: I played Moonlight on Roseville Beach on my now-defunct podcast, and it's a game that I honestly think about a lot. The dice system was complicated, but in a really neat way that gave the players a ton of really interesting decisions with every roll. What part of my action succeeds? What kinds of complications am I opening myself to?

Anyway, R. Rook put together some characters, mysteries, and monsters for the game, and I really wanted to explore more.

Hiria, In the Margins, A Visit to San Sibilia: I mentioned earlier that I like the notion of exploring weird cities, right? Well, here's two games about that, and a cool bookmark RPG for reading. I listened to San Sibilia played in an episode of Friends at the Table, and it really captured my attention. The questions were fascinating, and they let the players flesh out a city we'd only heard of, but not seen prior to that game. It was a cool coda on a really fantastic and weird season, Sangfielle.

Grandmothership: The title alone had me, but Armanda Haller is a creator I keep an eye on, because she makes really rad stuff. This caught my attention because solving mysteries in a weird, Mothership-esque sci-fi setting, as nosy grandmothers, really just, gets me. I want to do that. I want to live that.

Holdfast Station: I've been watching Stonetop develop through its email updates. It's another PbtA game, but with a robust city-building and city development core loop that, is 100% my jam. (Low-key, one of my favorite games is Dragon Quest Builders 2.) This game takes that concept to space, which is 1000% my jam, in fact.

Spectres of Brocken: Aaron Lim is a designer I got into early on in my foray into games, and I do love Mech Anime. I am eager to see his take on Mech Anime, and I am really intrigued by the way this game handles playsets and worldbuilding as part of the game itself. Really can't wait to dive into this.

Lay on Hands: This is another of those games I've heard about, but never actually checked out. I know Alfred Valley better by reputation than by direct experience, but this is one of those games I hear people constantly telling people to check out. So, I'm gonna!

Penumbra City: Maybe 5 years ago, I read a novella by Margaret Killjoy about anarchists living in an abandoned city, and beset by assholes within their community, and supernatural horrors from without. The world kinda stuck with me, so when I saw she was working on an RPG not in the same world), I was curious to see what that would look like. I haven't cracked Penumbra City open yet, but I'm jazzed to do so.

These two fell off the pile for the big photo, so I forgot:

Deathmatch Island: I enjoyed the Hunger Games and Battle Royale movies a pretty moderate amount, but what really caught my attention here was the promise that players could also break the Reality TV Parody. The use of the Paragon system also caught my attention. After hearing one AP of Agon, I really wanted to see how that would translate into this, and it didn't take me too long reading it to go "Oh, okay, this rules."

Our God is Dead: What if you were a paladin or priest of a faith, and you found out your god was dead? What if you also had like, a bunch of people who really needed that god not to be dead, like this weekend? This sounds hilarious, and I am going to insert it into conversation often to see if people want to play it. Apologies to people who know me.

Eagle eyed viewers may have noticed a second Mothership box. What's that about?

It's a storage box for all my Mothership Zines so far... Except the two that are just slightly too big!

And, some fun comics/graphic novels:

Good Boy Paws: A friend of mine in comics put this together, and it looked extremely cute. A sweet tale of a good boi.

Wine Ghost Goes to Hell: Picked this up because the creator had contributed to Bugsnax, which is a game I enjoyed, and the concept seemed fun. Will have to check it out and report back!

[danco110]

“Grrrr-”

“Playing dumb may fool the living, Slawomir, but not me.”

The undead captain stared through the other zombie who had berated it. After a brief standoff, it gave an annoyed grunt, and straightened its posture somewhat before speaking again.

“Shauntal…” it groaned to the other ghoul, while gesturing to the small army of undead behind it. “Help us…”

The undead surgeon angrily ruffled her smock and hissed, “Help you? Or help your ghoulcaller?”

“Urgh…help me…help Gisa.”

“I refuse to help that madwoman.”

“B-Brought me back…”

“So? You don’t see me bending over backwards to help Geralf, any more than he absolutely needs me to!”

“Er…?”

Slawomir pointed with a rotting finger to the cart of various body parts that Shauntal was currently rummaging through. The zombie surgeon removed a severed head from the cart, and gently blew on its face before saying, “Oh no, these are for my own personal use. I’ve learned quite a bit about stitching from training under Geralf - but I still don’t worship the ground he walks on!”

“Fair…enough,” Slawomir shrugged. “…Training?”

“Yes. Doctor training. I was a…” Shauntal gave an annoyed huff. “Well, I was studying to be a doctor at the Nephalia Academy, anyways, before I died. And to answer the question I know you’re about to ask: no thank you, I still do not need or want any soldier training. And didn’t we just talk about this, not going above and beyond?”

Slawomir gave Shauntal a grin of decayed teeth. “You’re…friend. Not above…beyond…”

“Friend?” Shauntal’s eyes widened. “I see. Er, thank you. But, I will still refuse…if that’s all right?”

Slawomir made a show of shaking the rusted sword and scabbard hanging from its belt. “Defend…self,” it smirked.

“Please,” Shauntal scoffed, though she was smiling as well. “Unlike some necromancers, Geralf doesn’t force me to wade into combat!”

“…Thraben.”

“T-That was one time! And I’m still convinced Gisa was coercing him!”

“R-Riiight,” Slawomir rasped, its face frozen in a smile.

[Just an observation, but Geralf and the other stitchers seem to take wayyy better care of their zombies than Gisa and the other ghoulcallers.]

[secretsofblackthornhall]

Magnus to Alec

Dear delectable muffin of love,

I hope this perfumed letter finds you well, and that you and R and M are having an excellent time in your exotic journey to…well, I believe the term you used was “upstate.” I have heard legends of this Upstate, but never did I know that my family would see for themselves its mountains, its twee farm markets, its River of the Son of Hud.

More to the point, I hope the kids are enjoying their visit with Grandma, and I hope you are referring to Maryse as “Grandma” as often as possible because I enjoy the face she makes when we do. On a less pleasant but more urgent note, I hope you’ve had a chance to talk with Luke about the Cohort/Idris stuff.

But do not tire your beautiful hands with a written reply. I will be heading to this “Upstate” myself to join you later this afternoon, as I am relieved to report that the business with the Blackthorn kids’ cursed house is more or less resolved. Although it was touch and go, let me tell you.

I don’t think I even showed you the note Jem sent, which said, “Emma and Julian are trying not to bother you about their house, and that is very nice of them, but unlike them, I feel absolutely no compunction about bothering you, and so this is me, now, in this note, bothering you. We are in need of a warlock and you are the best one I know for this. We would all really appreciate your help.”

As is often the case, I was both mildly annoyed and mildly impressed with Jem, who managed to be both very kind and also to remind me that I am a sucker when it comes to him and Tessa and will rush to their aid when I can. Because I am a sucker when it comes to him and Tessa, I wrote back quickly saying I would come.

I know what you’re thinking: “How could Tessa need a warlock when she is a warlock?” But different warlocks have different expertises, as you know, and while Jem was flattering me that I was the best choice, the reality is that I have dealt with a lot more curses than Tessa. That’s what comes of spending the past decades hiring your services out to any miscreants who come by, instead of more intelligently living a calm life as a magic researcher in the Spiral Labyrinth. Tessa always was the smartest of us.

Anyway, I must give Emma and Julian credit. I expected to arrive and find them banging the cursed objects against one another or something, but they had set up a decent enough protective circle and even found a spell. It was an old, kind of generic spell that I have found to rarely be of much use with actual curses in the modern day, but still.

Rather stupidly I set up a basic workaday curse-breaking circle of my own, and gave it a try. “Stupidly” because I had forgotten who did the curse in the first place. Your worst ancestor, Benedict Lightwood, all-around demon enthusiast and dilettante necromancer. How in bed with demons was Benedict? He literally died of demon pox — which if you do not know, because you are beautifully pure, my Alec — is a sexually transmitted demon disease.

But I forgot that in the moment, so I was surprised when the curse put up an impressive resistance. It writhed and thrashed and struck out, like Max being lowered into a bath. The cursed objects were all glowing, kind of neon green, where they were tied to the magic, and eventually I realized I was going to have to carefully unknot each object from the curse, one at a time.

I managed the flask, the dagger, and one of the candlesticks (don’t ask me to explain how THAT happens), but after that I was stuck.

It’s not a great look for a warlock to strike a big magic pose and then nothing happens. I am sure I looked ridiculous, like a mundane magician who couldn’t understand why the rabbit wasn’t coming out of the hat. Julian and Emma are very polite and only waited patiently but I felt quite silly.

And then I lost all my focus temporarily because the door opened and Kit walked in. He sort of looked around at the scene and finally said, “Professor Plum in the library with the candlestick, I see.”

“Purple is always an appropriate color for a warlock,” I said. “It is the decorative color of magic.”

Emma, of course, said, “Your magic is blue,” because she is an inveterate smartass.

“Maybe he meant me,” said Julian. “I’m wearing a purple hoodie. Also because it is the decorative color of magic,” he added with a nod in my direction, which I appreciated.

“Maybe you could put the objects on a purple tablecloth instead of a white one,” Kit said, and while he was talking he walked out to get a closer look.

And when he got close to the circle, Alec, I felt the strangest sensation. A feeling of…power, I suppose, kind of humming in Kit. You know the way your body kind of vibrates when there’s a really really low sound? That rumbling feeling? It was like that, but silent. I’ve never had that experience any of the times I’ve seen Kit before. I could also tell that Kit didn’t feel anything unusual. Or if he did, he was surprisingly casual about it.

So I suggested he come join us around the circle and add his focus to the magic. “Especially since Jem and Tessa have snuck off somewhere rather than helping out with this round.”

“They’re out in the garden with Mina,” Kit said, a little defensively.

I redirected everyone’s attention to the objects and established a somewhat souped-up version of my go-to curse breaker. I went for the other candlestick and BANG. No resistance anymore! There was a big burst of blue and all the knots of magic tying the objects to the curse broke into pieces.

Everyone blinked a bunch. Eventually I said something like, “Well, that was more what I was hoping for. I guess four people made the difference.”

I checked. The curse seemed…gone. I was actually a little shaken. I haven’t mentioned it to Tessa and Jem, because I don’t want to make a big deal of it, but I think it worked because of Kit. Not because we needed a fourth person. Something is going on with him, some magic that is totally outside his awareness. I assume it has something to do with being a descendant of the First Heir, but I’ve never been an expert on that kind of faerie enchantment. (And do burn this letter, after you get it — very few of us know about Kit being the First Heir, and it’s best if we keep it that way.)

It makes me sad to think of it. Kit is a good kid who deserves a good, ordinary life. I know that’s what Jem and Tessa want for him, more than anything, after the chaos that was his growing up. But I am not sure he will have a choice in the matter. Fae may not let him choose.

Julian reached out and took hold of the flask. He held it for a moment, frowning.

“What?” said Emma.

“Nothing,” Julian said. He looked up at me. “Is that it? No more curse?”

“No more curse,” I said. “I hope.”

And then down from the ceiling drifted Rupert the Ghost. I never met Rupert Blackthorn when he was alive. I don’t know what to think of him. On the one hand, he seems to have been an innocent who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, a spirit trapped in a house he never lived in because of evil he never knew about while he lived. On the other hand, he met Tatiana Lightwood and thought that lady seems like marriage material, so there must have been something weird going on with him.

Rupert had been hovering and he descended until he was right above the table. He was staring at something on it.

“What is it, Rupert?” said Emma. “What are you looking at?”

Kit followed his gaze and started pushing the objects out of the way. “It’s the ring,” he said.

Emma said, “What ring?”

Indeed, what ring? There wasn’t a ring among the cursed objects. But there was a ring on the table now. Kit picked it up. It was a silver ring, etched with a design of thorns and set with a black stone.

“Blackthorn family ring?” Kit said.

“It’s not how family rings usually look,” Emma said.

“Wedding band?” said Kit.

“Shadowhunters don’t use wedding rings,” said Emma, but Julian had that thoughtful look he gets.

“I am bound here by a silver band,” he said softly.

“Shadowhunters can exchange wedding rings,” I said. “They just aren’t expected to. But they can if they want.”

Whatever it was, it was Rupert’s. He had followed Kit’s hand as it picked up the ring, and now he was reaching out for it with a thin ghostly hand. He wrapped it around the ring, which did absolutely nothing since he’s a ghost – Kit just kind of held it there for him. Then his eyes closed (Rupert’s, I mean) and he got this expression on his face of relief and gratitude and peace, and he just…faded out, right there. Just slowly vanished and was gone. No more Rupert. On to hopefully not being reunited with his wife, since she was also his jailer for over a hundred years.

“He didn’t even say goodbye,” Emma said quietly.

“That’s for the best,” I said. “He was never supposed to be here at all.”

“Well, Rupert, if you can hear me,” said Emma, “it was nice being haunted by you.”

“Five stars,” said Kit solemnly, putting the ring back on the table. “Would be haunted again.”

And all the candles went out in the room at once. Which, if it was Rupert, was a nice touch. Though it may have just been a draft.

We all filed out of the room quietly. “It’s different,” Julian said. He was looking around at the hallway. “I can feel it already.”

I could feel it as well. There was a lightness that had not been there. A kind of pleasant hominess that a good house conveys and that had always been absent from Blackthorn Hall in the time I’ve known it. It’s hard to describe, but all at once it felt like Julian and Emma’s home, in a way it hadn’t before. I’ve always known it as a forbidding place, and then as a hideous ruin, but for the first time I thought, this was a place the Blackthorns could fill with joy.

And I’m certain they will.

See you very soon, my love. I shall kiss you until a toddler forces us apart to pay attention to him. So plan for a kiss of about 30-60 seconds, based on previous experience. But I wish, as always, that it could be endless.

Love,

Magnus

[morvantmortuary]

Maximilian “Maxi” Vincent Morvant

(The Reaper)

(Rarae Aves’s slasher/necromancer OC)

“I promise you’re in good hands with me; let’s get acquainted and figure out just what it is you’re thinkin’… in terms of your memorial, of course.”

[Previously, before Volume I…]

age: 39 (9/9/1982, virgo if he believed in astrology. he has bigger things to worry about.)

birthplace: greymoon, calcascieu parish, louisiana usa

height: 5’11’

current location: usually morvant mortuary of greymoon, louisiana, or the cemetery nearby. (but have you checked under your bed this evening?)

favorite book: other voices, other rooms - truman capote

(what he thinks his walk-on music would be: funeral march - 2WEI

what it actually would be: creature of the night - air traffic controller.

fc: daniel brühl in glasses and a suit. I know what I like.)

hobbies: while running the Mortuary and the House tend to keep him pretty busy not to mention procuring the flesh and blood necessary to keep the House tethered to They Who Provide, he does tend to enjoy a few different things in his spare time. Maxi’s a connoisseur of horror movies, good and bad, and will happily talk your ear off about the accuracy of the gore/wound sfx - though he’s also a sucker for romcoms when the mood strikes. He occasionally can be caught playing video games (especially if you challenge him to one), collects rare books, and has been known to play the piano semi-passably at two or three in the morning after a few drinks. He loves going to New Orleans for concerts, live theater, and museums, and stays the hell away from Baton Rouge on game weekends. He’s also a cheerful walking encyclopedia of death and funerary practices throughout history, including various plagues and epidemics that swept through Louisiana over the centuries. He loves animals (once having dreamed of being a vet before Death ruled his world so completely), especially his beloved reanimated cat Magnolia, and can often be seen leaving appropriate snacks out for the graveyard critters when he’s restoring older tombstones and mausoleums in the cemetery next door.

You, though, are what he adores above all.

occupation: funeral director/mortician at aforementioned mortuary (the latest in a long line of a family business of death care workers.) also a serial killer/necromancer, again the latest in the long line of a family tradition.

"What can I say? It grew on me, after a while.” He smiles, and it’s sweet, unassuming (but there’s still something too dark about those eyes of his - a brown so deep, it teeters nearly into burgundy). “It might not be... what I had in mind for myself, originally,” he says, and his eyes fall to his perfectly shined shoes. “But it’s fulfillin’, gettin’ to help take care of people on their worst days. Give them the rest the deserve. We don’t talk about that nearly enough in this country, honestly, and we can trace that back to when we started phasin’ out home funerals; funnily enough--” He pauses, and laughs - a particular half giggle, half snort. It’s a nice sound (though there’s something under it, something that feels like it could tip into a mad cackle under the right circumstances). “But look at me, goin’ on. I’m sorry, I tend to do that about my line of work.” His eyes flicker back to you behind his glasses (and the focus is a little too keen, too watchful to be only polite interest). “Tell me about what you’re lookin’ for.”

the present, in a way:

Maxi has made peace, more or less, with everything that’s gotten him to his point. After a stint of pursuing the title of his generation’s head necromancer for himself for a few years once he’d finally put his father down for good, he quickly found that power and control over the forces that had made him miserable his whole life didn’t take the fear away, or make him feel any further fulfilled. He’d quietly resigned himself to a life tending Greymoon’s dead as his family had done for generations, and trying to help their more wayward souls find a bit of respite as well as offering its nastier citizens a more fitting purpose as offerings for They Who Provide. He’d consoled himself with the notion of a life alone, contented with his purpose in his community even if they still avoided the strange boy who grew up Death’s willing pupil after all these years.

And then you showed up, and he fell hopelessly head over heels before he had any idea what was happening. It was the first time in his entire life he felt like 

Now you’ve left a Mark on him so deep, it’s stained his very soul in the best way, and he’s left his on you in turn. He’s never been happier, but there are more than a few members of They Who Provide and They Who Decide who are less than thrilled of the heir apparent to the Morvant’s seat abdicating from his eligibility in the name of keeping you alive. So long as he has You, the beloved Final to his Reaper, he’s positive there’s no curse the two of you can’t face and come through together, vengeful crossroad demons be damned... again.

...Right?

favorite snippets outside the main arc:

Maxi dealing with his trans partner’s transphobic parents

Maxi and the hypothetical elementary school Mortuary field trip

Maxi going a bit over the top for a romantic Halloween

The Morvants and an S/O with depression

The Morvants and an S/O with anxiety

The Garter Post

Maxi sleeping hcs

Maxi secretly adores musicals

(Relevant playlists, other stories, and chapters in the overall continuity can be found on the main masterlist here.

all his usual tags are included in this post.)

[extravalgant]

okay last night i was ALSO looking at the descriptions for the magic were on the website and i came across this 

and it got me thinking about how i think the schools would sort of... function . thinkin deeper about how wizzies do their thing and summon creatures

inspired mainly by lightningbat’s post here and that-wizard-oki’s post here

more below ^_^ 

EDIT: forgot about myth . im sorry to all the myth stans out there who ive disappointed

— death wizards belonging to a more advanced part of the school is an interesting part of the story - even the reveal that they have to take multiple steps before they can summon their creature means that if they do steps in the wrong order or dont do them right, the spell the spell might fizzle. im more curious about what kind of steps that could be (burial rites, possibly??), and that i think death wizards are more likely to fall back on muscle memory and routine if it involves something physical to be done. however, i think theyre more in tune with their mortalities as humans (spiral or otherwise) and would probably be more careful about the choices that they make as wizards... some like to cater into the emo aesthetic and some see it more as a school identity more than anything. death might get a bad rep in arc one so maybe necromancers are more defensive about the use of its magic...

— ice wizards specifically use chants to bargain and plead with their creatures to help them - this makes me think that ice creatures r finicky and wish-washy with who gets to summon them, and that theyre possibly easily offended. i think ice wizards therefore a little more charming and persuasive compared to their non-ice peers - because they have to be if they want to summon their creatures. i think you also need to have a lot of patience as an ice wizard because battles can drag out so long in the face of prioritizing tanking over damage

— storm wizards use verses to charm or enthrall their creatures - which kinda makes me think that a lot of the creatures that they deal with could end up doing serious damage to the caster if they arent convincing enough. in this case i think storm wizards would be considerably more manipulative than the rest, convincing their creatures to attack their enemy. i think if you dont follow the tune or the words dont flow well enough then the spell might fizzle 

— fire wizards use incantations to dominate or convince their creatures to fight for them, which honestly kinda fits LMFAO the term hot headed might be perfect for this kind of summoning practice. part of being a fire wizard is knowing that if you cant control your flames (as well as your emotions) it will escape you and consume everything. i think fire wizards are more prone to being bossy and haughty in this case

— life magic is very different compared to the ones already talked about - it relies on nothing but a small part of the song of creation, which wove the spiral. i think the ability to create something from nothing is often looked over as an aspect of life magic, and it can get away from you and consume you entirely if you dont have a handle on it. it can bring someone back from the brink of death, or you can use it to drain someone of their life energy (although, im not sure if the last part is aligned with life ideals). it feels good to be full of life energy, but it can also be overwhelming and hard to deal with being responsible with someone elses life force. i think in this case life wizards can switch between being kind + generous to the mean healer trope LOL

— balance is described as a trasmutation to “blend the forces of other schools”. this could mean that for both elemental and spiritual spells they have to use a mixture of chants, incantations, verses, and being able to harness the small power of the song of creation for life - all while having to balance out these forces. in this case, i think, balance is an advanced school (possibly along with death) because of all the conflicting forces that come with having to deal with all seven main schools. although, i think the way that balance is characterized, balance students are more in tune with themselves and the world around them.

— myth wizards mainly have to rely on their creativity and their mind to drive their specific magic. i think if ravenwood offered more classes then myth classes would probably intertwine with creative writing classes or classes that required you to think beyond your imagination. naming, specifically calling out creatures true names, is a core part of what helps myth wizards summon their creatures. however seeing as the myth teacher is cyrus drake, it might explain why some of his students are... Like that. I think myth would discourage those who are easily afraid, because using a true name and not being confident is a recipe to get your spell reversed on you. however, it does encourage creativity, as well as teamwork and bonding with others. the way that myth wizards cast their spells and rely on one another in an environment -- i think myth wizards are more likely to be caculated, logical. but theyre also likely to be compassionate and kind.

HAVING SAID THAT..... i think the player character (the wizard, the savior) being from earth and not a part of the spiral means that their body doesnt have a natural “magical blocker”, which is meant to protect the body from taking in too much magic at once, from completely different sources

(personal headcanon: this means that when the wizard uses too much magic they may hit a “wizard fever” or “spiral flu” and gets sick as a result of using too much)

this fits in game mechanic wise too -- you can learn a multitude of spells, but you use more of your magic for schools that arent your primary focus - the amulets you can get may help make certain magic flow and cast better

i dont know if i can say that we are the only ones able to learn a bunch of schools at once but i think it may be possible for us because we dont have that “magic blocker” that keeps the body from being filled with too many conflicting magics too much . i think

[malachi-walker]

Ghost what now?

I was hoping someone would ask, so thank you for your service!

The ghost fucking au (it has a real name, that's just it's working title because dropping it into conversation is hilarious) is a side project I've been working on since around April last year. Every time I've tagged a writing post with [redacted] this is what I've been talking about. I just haven't mentioned it before because I didn't wanna get people overexcited because I wanna get it mostly done before I start posting and R&B is still my main project. But then I got angry today, so here we are.

The origin was a conversation between me and a friend about character death aus when I humorously stated that the three valid reasons for character death fics were 1) reincarnation aus, 2) you need a cry and tag appropriately, and 3) kinky ghost sex. They then commented that they had yet to see kinky ghost sex in Catradora and that's when my brain went into overdrive and decided this Shall Not Stand.

So the basic plot is that Catra is a weretiger who was raised in the Horde, basically a paramilitary organization that was originally dedicated to helping shifters stay secret but has steadily gotten more evil and controlling over time. When she discovers they've been drugging her and using her as an assassin against her will, she goes on the run. Three years later while trying to escape an ambush from the Horde Trio, she crashes over the fence of the most obviously haunted house ever, and an eight foot tall warrior materializes out of nowhere and literally chucks the Horde Trio's pickup back over the fence and drives them off.

When she wakes up a few days later, Catra discovers that her savior is a ghost named Adora, and she was bound to the house by evil necromancer Shadow Weaver to forcibly protect her from all the people who want her dead. Shadow Weaver eventually got curbstomped by ancient vampire Angella (now Adora's surrogate mom) but they have yet to figure out a way to get her out of the house that doesn't risk her going poof entirely. Also living people shouldn't be able to see Adora unless she's using energy to become visible, but Catra can, so that's weird. When Angella and Micah find that out they offer Catra shelter from the Horde in exchange for helping them in their continued research to get Adora free from the death house. And in the meantime Catra and Adora spend a lot of time together and try to ignore the intense sexual attraction between them until they figure out Adora can touch her, in which case all gloves are off.

It's an intensely horny au, but there's also political intrigue with the Horde, Grizzlor being the world's best adoptive dad, Catra and Lonnie having a very intense rivalry/complicated relationship, romance, Catra being the world's greatest cook, a stealth horror section for funsies, Hordak and Shadow Weaver being the worst, explosions, identity metaphors, a small mountain of pizza and so, so much more. It's the kitchen sink of aus and I can't wait for the day I can unleash it on the world.

[that-wizard-oki]

ask game S, T, O, R, M

S) Are the seven (or ten, or twelve) canon schools of magic absolute, or are they merely different methods of using some more amorphous concept of magic? Can they be combined? Could someone come up with a new school of magic? Are other types of magic taught elsewhere?

Interesting question! The nostalgia in me wants to say there are Seven "main" schools, while astral and shadow are merely

From a lore perspective, I would say that there are nine disciplines of magic- those being the original seven, Shadow, and then Astral. I lump Moon/Sun/Start together into one definitive term because they so often are in game- specifically in the Arcanum, Shadow has it's own professor, while all three astral disciplines are lumped into one cohesive study, which I feel makes sense.

Though I think they can still be recognized as individual studies- esp cause they're split up when represented on the triangle diagram.

At the end of the day , they are all interconnected to each other :D

T) Do anthro(pomorphic animal character)s exist? Can one be a hybrid anthro?

I mean, yea? I think part of the fun/wonder of the game/universe is that there are nonhuman/anthro characters- it also makes seeing other humans/humanlike characters a lot more intriguing since The Wizard seems to he human themselves.

O) How do Spiral doors work? Who has keys? How are keys made, and by whom? How does one acquire new keys? How can one travel to a world for which they do not have a key? Is travel regulated at all? What happens if multiple people try to use a door at once?

OH this is a fun question! I think there are a limited number of keys, maybe even just one set for more "forgotten worlds" like khrysalis or Mirage. I think the first arc had a LOT of the wizard getting keys from like, "world leaders" or high ranking officials- I think they would normally keep a set of keys for their world/a certain number of worlds for ease of access.

Obviously, the door's are just the size of your typical door, so mass transport between worlds is typically done via boat/sailing like done in pirate. I think key's can be made- like, they obviously had to be made AFTER the first world was broken, that's why we even have the doors in the first place- but they're probably very hard to make. Like if you're crafting a Dragonspyre key, you'd probably need like, the broken tooth of a Dragon and like a molten rock from the heart of the world or something.

I also remember the sewers quest line talking about how the first world had leylines?? I think the druids used them to teleport/travel across long distances- but once the first world was broken, doing this was either super hard or near impossible- so maybe the keys/doors have some sort of connection/extension of the leyline mechanic used by the creatures of the first world.

So yea- boats are the layman's travel in the spiral, doors are for more frequent individual travel (like the wizard or some important diplomat).

R) How are wizards’ schools of magic chosen? Does each person have a predetermined one, or can they choose? Does the Book of Secrets exist? Is it fallible? Can one skip the test? Can one change schools later? Are there any schools of magic that are more or less common than others?

Ohohoho- not to be all "this game is a metaphor for the systematic flaws in the education system" but I don't think there's one solid answer to "tell" what manner of magic someone should follow/ect. I think there are wizards that definitely are like "i am a pyromancer and this is what i love doing and enjoy" but I also think there are plenty of students/wizards who practice and master various types of magic.

I think the test in the book of secrets can be a helpful guide if you're really unsure, but it shouldn't be the end all be all. I think a lot about Morganthe in this respect- like sure she was raised a necromancer, but she also seemed to show an affinity for ice magic, and obviously was deeply connected to shadow and it's power- why should she, or even other theoretical wizards, shoehorned into just one path? Let them breathe, let them be colorful, let them be chaotic.

So yea- i think the test can be a good GUIDE for the unsure, but it's definitely fallible in some respects. Thus, you can skip it, but it seems to be a regular part of the enrollment process at Ravenwood currently, which bring me back to my original point about flaws in educations systems. I think DS academy saw more favor in certain schools because of their focus on producing battle mages, though I think Ravenwood has a more diverse curriculum.

M) How does telepathy/“whispering” work? Does it exist? Can anyone do it? Is there a limit to how far you can whisper? Are there limits on who you can whisper to?

Hmm, honestly i don't consider some game mechanics like this something canon in game- it's fun to, but like. Whisper exists solely for players to communicate with each other, so yea. i think there probably is like, a spell or charm that you could do to "whisper" like, a sentence or a word to someone far away, but tbh I think even still that's kind of op to do. That's just me tho, i think there's a lot of fun to be had with this idea!

Thanks for asking btw this was fun to ramble about :D

[bowl-of-shortness]

YEEEEEEE hope you don't mind me dropping by with another prompt 🙈 this community has gone all but dormant, thank you for keeping us fed, Vix 😆😂 for the prompt!

N!Qrow and N!Oz on their first date perhaps? 👀

:)

Autumn Ease

He checked his scroll for what seemingly was the billionth time, trying to wrap his head around his situation. “How— I just—.” Qrow was stunned, confused, nervous, and excited all at once. He had just scored a date with probably the prettiest and most lovely man alive, him. Of all people for this absolutely stunning man to choose, he chose him.

“Remember Love, 7:30 pm, Dress casually, so on and so forth. I can’t wait to see you!” Read the text that Ozpin had sent him. He flushed again slightly at the nickname. He checked the clock, 6:50 pm, this was actually happening.

He was just as excited as he was petrified, Ozpin, in basically every regard, was better than he was. Qrow saw himself as below average, and while Ozpin disagreed with that notion it was still difficult to feel confident when the constant voices in the back of his mind from his past kept saying otherwise. Should he even go?

Qrow quickly shook the thought “Of course I’ll go. What kind of dick would I be to ask him on a date and then never show?”. Remembering to dress casual he threw on a pair of black jeans, shoes, and a red shirt and checked the clock again, 7:20pm.

The doorbell rang suddenly causing him to jump, answering the door Qrow saw that it was Glynda “Pfft, what are you doing here Blondie?” He joked. Glynda wasn’t amused “Here to make sure you don’t dip on Oz at the last minute. I know how you and your confidence are.” The noirett looked down. “I just don’t get why he would choose me of all people-“ “Because it’s his choice and he loves you Qrow, and you can’t change that, remember?” Glynda cut him off.

Qrow sighed, “Fine come in Glyn, I won’t be here for long, I’ve got 5 minutes before Ozzy shows up. You know how he is with time management.” Glynda laughed at this “Always on the dot.”. The two talked for a little bit, Glynda raising Qrow’s confidence because “goddamnit I didn’t spend all these years wingwomaning for you two morons for you to dip out on eachother.”

And then the doorbell rang, Qrow, once again cautiously opened it to see Ozpin standing there. The taller man was wearing his usual trench coat but instead had a yellow V neck with grey jeans and slip ons on, his hair was tied into a bun too, he looked...nice. The noirett snickered at the silverett “Can’t you go anywhere without the damn trench coat?” Ozpin raised an eyebrow and smiled “If I recall Birdie, aren’t you the one who gifted it to me?” “Yeah but I wasn’t expecting you to wear it all the time.” The shorter man shrugged.

“Well I like it, plus it’s October and it’s the evening, so it’s a bit chillier. Now then, are you ready to go?” Ozpin smiled down gently at Qrow, an action that caused Qrow to give an almost unnoticeable blush at “Yeah, I’m ready.”

— Time skip —

Qrow raised his eyebrows at where they were standing before turning to Ozpin and smiling, “Never took you for the diner type Ozzy.” “Likewise.” He always was fun to have conversations with, being able to keep up with Qrow’s banter. They step inside the diner, it’s small, but cozy, shades of yellow, orange, and rusty red coat the diner, making it appear to be warm, physically it was just as warm. After ordering their food, Ozpin ordering a simple order of eggs, hash browns, and pancakes and Qrow ordering biscuits and gravy, they went and sat down in a booth.

Ozpin hung up his Trenchcoat before sitting down and looking to Qrow, “Well, Birdie? What do you think?” He looked over from the window he was looking out “Nice and cozy, I like it. Just like you~” he smirked when he said the last part, knowing what was coming next. Like usual Ozpin blushed bright red and immediately started stuttering out protests in Qrow’s direction, the silver haired man could never take a compliment without blushing like a tomato and it was absolutely adorable.

“Putting your adorable blushing face aside,” Qrow started, Ozpin blushing further at the comment “Learn anything new recently?” The taller necromancers look of embarrassment turned to surprise. “You, like to listen to me talk about things I’ve learned?” Ozpin said slowly, Qrow smiled gently “Well, yeah, from what it sounds like you know everything! It’s nice to listen to you go in depth about the meanings of things, like those deck cards you were talking about with Oscar one time. It’s interesting when it’s coming from you. Plus...” “Plus?” The silverett questioned, the noirett turned with a mischievous smirk “It’s nice to listen to your accent.”. Ozpin sighed “You never change, doing everything in your power to make me red faced and embarrassed.”

There was silence for a little bit, Ozpin looking down at the table while Qrow stared him, admiring the man before him. “Y’know I was serious, I mean I always am but I mean something different with that compliment.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. “What do you mean then?” He heard Ozpin’s voice say, “I mean, your voice is soothing, not just to Oscar. You have a gentle voice and accent that makes it very easy to listen to every word you say. And fall asleep but that’s besides the point haha. Not to mention your singing voice, if it weren’t for that I think I’d be in more trouble than I am right now with my nightmares.” He hadn’t even realized he was rambling until he finished, he didn’t mind though. He opened one eye to see Ozpin staring at him with surprise, “I-I see...I’m glad you enjoy my voice” Ozpin played with his gloves a bit while smiling.

“Notice how I didn’t mention anything about your serious voice?~” he smirked at the taller man once more. “And here I thought you were going to get sentimental on me.” Ozpin crossed his arms and pouted, a dusty pink crossing his cheeks.

After the two necromancers had finished their food they spoke to eachother some more until their check arrived, which they promptly fought over until they decided to simply split the check. As they walked down the street they were met with a bit of a conundrum. Ozpin thought for a minute “Ah, this may seem selfish to request but it seems we finished dinner a bit earlier than I originally suspected. So, if you don’t mind—“ Qrow knowing what he was asking simply said “Sure, we can do this for a bit longer.” Ozpin sighed with relief. With that Ozpin bowed slightly, putting one arm behind his back and extending his other hand out to Qrow before speaking “Well then, shall we take a walk my love?”

Qrow blushed at this “You’re such a dork Ozzy.” and took Ozpin hand. The taller necromancer playfully scoffed slightly at this, “I’m just being polite love.” “Yep, and your politeness makes you look like an adorable dork.” Qrow gently sassed back. The silverett rolled his eyes as they walked down the sidewalk. It was a cool, crisp night, the route they had taken had been one of the more scenic ones, having lamps light the street with tall red maples blanketing the area, only letting a few glimpses of the indigo, star littered, sky peek through. It was by all means lovely and Qrow listened intently to how Ozpin talked about nothing and everything at the same time.

As they were walking, the noirett watched their surroundings in ease, the place was beautiful. Of course Ozpin would know where a place like this would be, that’s just like him. Speaking of the taller necromancer, Qrow soon noticed he wasn’t walking next to him. He whipped his head around in every which direction until he spotting that familiar mass of silver hair, looking into a window.

Approaching Ozpin, Qrow peered into the window curious as to what could’ve caught the attention of the taller man. He was surprised by what he saw, Ozpin had been looking into a bakery, specifically, he had been eyeing a chocolate cake. “Y’know, you can just ask if we can get it.” He laughed, causing the taller man to jump, “A-ah it’s okay. We don’t have to. I was just looking!” He could tell Ozpin was trying to play it off like he didn’t want it. He’s known Ozpin for a while though and knew he had a special place in his heart for sweets of any kind. He laughed and shook his head and then headed inside the bakery without Ozpin. He paid for the cake, which although had been on the pricier side, was worth getting just to see the silverett be happy.

“You didn’t have to...“ Ozpin began “Eh, I wanted to. Plus it’s not like I’m not getting any either, and if I get to eat a cake at least I get to eat it with you.” He smiled up at Ozpin warmly as the necromancer cocked an eyebrow “And you call me the dork.” “Hey!”. Qrow feigned hurt at the comment as Ozpin laughed, oh how he adored that laugh. Qrow, seeing how dark the sky was, checked his scroll; 10:13 pm “Guess we should get home and enjoy the cake soon, it’s getting late.” He sighed, quietly distraught at the time. He wanted to enjoy more time with the taller man but he had work in the morning.

“My apologies, I didn’t expect our date to turn from too short to too long.” Ozpin looked ashamed, over what Qrow didn’t know. “Why are you sorry? I enjoyed it, now c’mon let’s go before neither of us want to get up in the morning!” He gently shoved the silverett along. Once they had arrived at the silver haired mans house and eaten some of the cake, Qrow promptly collected his things and sadly made his way to the door.

He turned around “So, I mentioned how I enjoyed our time together. How about you Ozzy?” Ozpin looked surprised before he smiled warmly and walked up to Qrow, “I did enjoy it greatly, thank you.”. As he walked outside onto the porch, Qrow decided to take a gamble and ask his new boyfriend a question, what else could he lose? “You mind if we do this again?”. Ozpin decided to take a gamble of his own and lean down to give a quick peck on the lips to the shorter man, “Goodnight my love.” He simply said before gently closing the door.

Qrow stood there for a minute. Beet red, he gently touched his lips in the spot that Ozpin had kissed him and smiled. The walk home had been better than most, Qrow smiling the entire way like a fool over the kiss and having butterflies over it. Meanwhile, once Ozpin had made sure that Qrow had left, the silver haired necromancer started jumping with joy that he did that. “I did that! Did you see that Ozpin he smiled afterwards!” Ozpin thought excitedly while jumping up and down a little bit.

Both men went to sleep incredibly happy.

Each of them were absolutely smitten with the other.

[redlichbluelich]

what’s UP lads it’s time for FRIENDSHIP (or not)

Relationship Call: Barry Bluejeans

OK !!!! so if you like this post, you can expect:

me sendin’ you a Message on the Internet to talk about what kinda relationship you’re thinkin’ of

me sending you More Memes come friday

THREADS???? i can do An Starter, probably

“ah, but joth, what kind of relationships can one Have, with this jeans man” GLAD YOU ASKED

FRIENDS??? this man’s a big fan of science, and particularly the science of magic! if your character’s a Fuckin’ Nerd, you’ve already got a leg up! that said, though, he’s a very friendly guy to anyone, and is generally cool if you’ve got Anywhere Near Decent Morals.

WANT A DAD??? he’ll be your dad! he’ll be anyone’s dad!! he’ll be his own dad!!! maybe not that last one. dude’s got a hell of a lot of life experience, and also death experience, and he’s happy to share it.

R...ROMANCE??? he’s married, but in a poly/open relationship! his wife has a wife. THAT SAID, i personally do Not specialize in writing romance, so this would be pretty selective/unlikely! (he also took nearly 50 whole years to even date his wife in canon, so uh, he’s a slowburner.) but you can certainly let me know if you’re interested, and we can see what happens!

ENEMIES??? while he’s certainly capable of friendly networking with, uhh, Unsavory Folks, there are a few lines that you cannot cross! particularly, doing anything Real Bad to anyone in his family... will, uh, get you a very angry wizard.

FELLOW UNDEAD??? that’s right! not only is he a necromancer, he’s also a lich! what are you, a skeleton? a ghost? love that! he’s gonna be intrigued.

SOMETHING ELSE??? barry is no stranger to various forms of found family, and like i said, he’s a generally nice guy. but he’s also fairly skilled at a range of things! you wanna spar? you wanna exchange knowledge of different languages? got some other idea in mind? i’d love to hear it!!!

[cyberkevvideo]

My Changes to “Way of the Wicked“, Extras 3: Extraplanar Hunters

I kind of had the first one in the back of my mind for a while, but always forgot to put it down on paper, but thanks to vlogger Dungeon Dad converting a bunch of old 3.5 and Pathfinder 1e monsters to 5e, I was reminded that these creatures were very different in 3.5 compared to Pathfinder, and why I had originally considering at least the inevitable for this adventure path.

As always, for space reasons, I’ll be cropping the encounter build.

I do not have a Patreon or a Kickstarter, but I do have a Ko-Fi page (linked) for those who would like to support my work. There is no pressure or obligation to do so, however, but a like and a share would definitely be appreciated. Of this and my older work.

Just before get to it, I hope everyone’s staying safe right now.

There are three sets of stats this time around, and two of them are actually one NPC; a hound archon and his dragon mount. More on that later, including a description regarding how the concept exists. This is what I was talking in the last entry regarding this being something that was skipped over in the Pathfinder bestiary from its 3.5 version.

I’ll say for starters, I didn’t give the NPCs any traits. Those are for PCs, more often than not, but admittedly that was a staple of Gary’s builds to try make the NPCs able to stand up to the villains more. It also felt like an in-joke that the NPCs were the heroic PCs all along. If you want to give them one trait, that’s fine, but for these ones, I didn’t feel it was overly necessary to do so. The only one I even considered was the hound archon, and only to give him armor expert to negate the final armor check penalty to skills.

For starters, inevitables are the very definition of law. Each one has a specific mandate for how things should or shouldn’t be, and how everything interacts with the multiverse.

For starters, we have a zelekhuts are defined as “ bounty hunters and executioners all rolled into one.” The PCs were supposed to die or at least be judged and sent to the salt mines. They escaped. That needs to be rectified. By all means, you can use the standard CR 9 version and have it appear during Book 2, but mine is slightly different. More so because in Book 2, unless you’re doing this incredibly early, the villains may have already amassed a literal army, if only undead. A CR 9 inevitable isn’t going to cut it. My version would appear much later, and it’s also a little different from your regular zelekhut.

I’ll say now, that the reason Judiceye is a variant is because most zelekhuts would just arrive and rain down lawful smiting on their chosen to die. But this one is more crafty. Mitra has seen what the villains can do, and how devious they are, not to mention how large their ever growing army has become. This particular zelekhut’s duty is to show up at the end of Book 3, during the winter months, free any and all prisoners as best as it can, and cause in-fighting among the bugbears and other riffraff that have joined the 9th Knot. If it can take out some unwanted undead, all the better. The PCs are supposed to lose a portion of their troops at the end of winter anyhow due to them running away and leaving their minions high and dry, so this just furthers that plot line all the while putting the PCs on edge. There’s either a traitor among them or maybe the villains just can’t control their people, showing just how unfit they are. And if they start executing their own men for not listening when it’s really just the zelekhut? All the better to use as kindling to create riots and arguments, and really give the villains a run for their money. It’d make for a long winter indeed. And right before the king shows up, or whenever the time is right in the GM’s mind, and the Knot is near their breaking point (possibly when there’s the most confusion), the zelekhut can start a major brawl and try its luck in taking out the PCs. Even better, with its greater hat of disguise, it can change itself to look like whomever it needs to. Just needs Intel first. It can be a PC, a bugbear, a vampire, the medusa half-fiend, or whoever. Doesn’t matter. Because it start a fight, then leave, and turn into someone else. Whatever needs to be done to take down the PCs.

I will not that the DD for the elemental combat style is from  the Pathfinder Disciple's Doctrine. Normally I would go OGL and Core, but this time I need some extra damage, and this was about the only way to pull it off. Also, the reason the hat’s trapped is because these things aren’t supposed to normally have treasure. This will destroy the treasure and maybe do some damage to the PCs at the same time.

JUDICEYE (CR 16; XP 76,800) Variant advanced zelekhut ranger (guildbreakerUI) 7 LN Large outsider (extraplanar, inevitable, lawful) Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, true seeing; Perception +25 DEFENSE AC 31, touch 17, flat-footed 23 (+1 armor, +7 Dex, +1 dodge, +13 natural, –1 size) hp 236 (21d10+121); regeneration 5 (chaotic) Fort +18, Ref +16, Will +15 Defensive Abilities constructed; DR 10/chaotic, DR 3/— (small ranged piercing weapons); SR 27 OFFENSE Speed 50 ft., fly 60 ft. (average) Melee 2 chains +31 (3d6+10/19–20 plus 1d6 electricity and trip) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Special Attacks favored enemy (goblinoids +2), favored organization (Knots of Asmodeus +4) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +18)   Constant—true seeing   At will—clairaudience/clairvoyance, dimensional anchor, dispel magic, fear (W-DC 18), hold person (W-DC 17), locate creature   3/day—hold monster (W-DC 19), mark of justice   1/week—lesser geas (W-DC 17) Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +8)   2nd—chameleon stride   1st—lead blades, resist energy STATISTICS Str 30, Dex 24, Con 18, Int 10, Wis 18, Cha 18 Base Atk +21; CMB +32; CMD 50 (54 vs. trip) Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, EnduranceB, Improved Critical (chains), Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (chains), Improved Vital Strike, Inner FlameARG, Mobility, Power Attack, Scorching WeaponsARG, Step Up, Weapon Focus (chain), Vital Strike Skills Acrobatics +25 (+33 jump), Bluff +15, Disguise +15, Diplomacy +17, Fly +19, Knowledge (local) +10, Knowledge (planes) +13, Perception +25, Sense Motive +21, Spellcraft +11, Stealth +21, Survival +17; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +4 Sense Motive Languages truespeech SQ chains, combat style (elementalDD), crowd stride, deep cover, favored terrain (urban +2), read the cityUI, track +3 Gear quilted clothUE, greater hat of disguise (trapped: maximized fireball; 60 fire damage, R-DC 19) SPECIAL ABILITIES Chains (Ex) A zelekhut’s arms end in long lengths of barbed metal. These chains deal slashing damage and 1d6 points of electricity damage with each hit. Constructed (Ex) Although inevitables are living outsiders, their bodies are constructed of physical components, and in many ways they function as constructs. For the purposes of effects targeting creatures by type (such as a ranger’s favored enemy and bane weapons), inevitables count as both outsiders and constructs. They are immune to death effects, disease, mind-affecting effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep, stun, and any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). Inevitables are not subject to nonlethal damage, ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, or energy drain. They are not at risk of death from massive damage. They have bonus hit points as constructs of their size.

Catching up on a few posts from GMs and players who are going through “Way of the Wicked”, most groups are having no issue whatsoever with the AP because they have a necromancer and a cleric who are creating epic armies of undead. That said, there have been one or two groups that have found themselves struggling, if only because they never rescued Grumblejack, or he died on them back during Branderscar because they all bailed and abandoned the ogre. As such, they’re finding that as the game is progressing, they’re having issues. I’ve got something to help potentially counteract that, if only for one part of the book.

It’s a Book 5 add-on that I thought of. Marut inevitables go after those who artificially extend their life. Namely, lichdom. Now, depending on the PCs, this could be yet another encounter for them too. If they’re using the feat tree that turns them into a vampire or lich, or they all became vampires in the alternate version of the story where Thorn’s a vampire, this thing’s coming after them. There’s just no way around that. However, my initial thought for this, so as to help parties that are having troubles, is the marut came to take down the now ex-Cardinal Thorn, but was dominated and sent after the party. This encounter would take place on the main floor, probably as soon as the PCs entered the cathedral. If the PCs have the means, they could break the control and have it join them in the final battle against Thorn. But you’re asking, “how can Thorn use that spell? It’s not a cleric spell and it’s 9th level.” It’s also a 6th level summoner spell, so miracle would work to cast it. This would reduce Thorn’s 9th level spells by 1, and hopefully that’s enough for the PCs who are struggling. After that though, the marut would leave, its mission completed.

Finally, my last inevitable add-on, and this would be for whenever someone in the party broke a contract (or someone attached to the party, etc). It can even be someone the party is dealing with, who broke a contract, and they summon one to go after that person/creature. The kolyarut is all about negotiating bargains, and they don’t like it when contracts and negotiations break down. They punish all oath-breakers. As stated: “They care little for the terms of the agreements in question, only that promises are fulfilled, debts are paid, and balance is maintained.“ They are definitely someone that the PCs want on their side. Pit fiends and contract devils are great, but they don’t necessarily like to get their hands dirty. They just want souls and payment. Kolyaruts, on the other hand, will always make the time.

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

And now, the ultimate combo that’s just bonkers. I even did a small feat sink on this one despite it actually being something in the original edition that happens for free, and just adds to the CR.

As for where you would encounter this one, there’s any number of ways. 1) Could be a fight not long after they finish Book 3. Mitra might send the archon as an avenger for what happened. 2) Could right after Spring arrives and the villains are fleeing from the king and his army. This could either be an air battle or the very second they land, but before Tiadora arrives. 3) They could arrive with any other encounter, boosting the over all combat and aiding whomever else decides to attack the villains. You could even hold out until Book 6 with this one, if you really wanted to.

The monster info on this variant hound archon reads as thus:

Hound Archon Hero Mounts

In the course of their adventures, many hound archon heroes befriend bronze dragons, which may come to serve as their mounts. The relationship between these mounts and their celestial riders goes beyond even the special bond between paladin and mount. The dragon and the archon are naturally allies and friends, as can be expected of two powerful servants of cosmic justice. The juvenile bronze dragon mount gains 2 additional HD, 4 points of Strength, an additional 4 points of natural armor, improved evasion, and +10 feet to speed in all its movement forms. The dragon cannot, however, command other creatures of its type as other kinds of paladin mounts can.

Note: Under normal circumstances the Draconic Companion from the Dragon Companion Handbook would give you a dragon and have it go up as an animal companion, with the Dragon Companion Mastery feat giving you their full power. Hound Archon Heroes already get an equivalent ability for free so I’m revising the feat to instead give: frightful presence 1/day, +2 Dex instead of +2 Str (which is a swap option you can choose), SR 5 + paladin level, share spells, empathic link, and two of the four bonus dragon feats. However, I’m ignoring the other two bonus feats the dragon would normally gain, additional bonuses to Str/Con/natural armor, and standard ability score increases every 4 Hit Die. The trade off being that a standard bronze dragon has higher mental stats and spells, so it easily balances out.

Overall, this not all that different from the 3.5 Monster Manual version, and should be considered a difficult CR 16 encounter. Also, their wealth is for a CR 16 NPC. Bartel shares it with his dragon mount.

BARTEL, THE HOUND ARCHON HERO (CR 16; XP 76,800) Male Advanced variant hound archon paladin 11 LG Medium outsider (archon, extraplanar, good, lawful) Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, low-light vision, scent; Perception +18 Aura courage (10 ft.), justice (10 ft.), menace (20 ft.; W-DC 21), magic circle against evil, resolve (10 ft.) DEFENSE AC 33, touch 12, flat-footed 31 (+9 armor, +2 Dex, +12 natural); +2 deflection vs. evil hp 229 (19 HD; 19d10+125) Fort +24, Ref +16, Will +21; +4 vs. poison, +2 resistance vs. evil DR 10/evil; Immune charm, disease, electricity, fear, petrification; SR 27 OFFENSE Speed 40 ft. Melee +2 cold iron greatsword +29/+24/+19/+14 (2d6+12/17–20), bite +22 (1d8+4) or   bite +27 (1d8+8), slam +27 (1d4+4) Special Attacks channel energy (W-DC 20, 6d6), smite evil 4/day (+5 atk & AC, +11 dmg) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +11)   Constant—detect evil, magic circle against evil   At will—aid, continual flame, greater teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), message Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th; concentration +16)   At will—detect evil Paladin Spells Prepared (CL 8th; concentration +13)   3rd—heal mount   2nd—bull’s strength, eagle’s splendor, resist energy   1st—divine favor, hero’s defianceAPG, protection from evil, shield of fortificationACG STATISTICS Str 24, Dex 14, Con 22, Int 12, Wis 20, Cha 20 Base Atk +19; CMB +26; CMD 38; +2 vs. evil Feats Blind-Fight, Draconic CompanionDCH, Improved Critical (greatsword), Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mounted Combat, Power Attack, Ride-by Attack, Weapon Focus (greatsword), Word of HealingUM Skills Acrobatics +14, Diplomacy +19, Knowledge (arcana) +12, Intimidate +15, Perception +18, Ride +18, Sense Motive +19, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +14, Survival +18; Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth, +4 Survival; ACP –1 Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal; truespeech SQ aura (overwhelming good), code of conduct, change shape (beast shape II), divine bond (dragon mount; Arlakaida), lay on hands (5d6, 7/day), mercies (cursed, dazed, fatigued) Combat Gear wand of cure light wounds (15 charges), holy water (2); Other Gear +3 mithral breastplate, +2 cold iron greatsword, amulet of mighty fists +1, belt of mighty constitution +2 SPECIAL ABILITIES Aura of Menace (Su) A righteous aura surrounds archons that fight or get angry. Any hostile creature within a 20-foot radius of an archon must succeed on a Will save to resist its effects. The save DC varies with the type of archon, is Charisma-based, and includes a +2 racial bonus. Those who fail take a –2 penalty on attacks, AC, and saves for 24 hours or until they successfully hit the archon that generated the aura. A creature that has resisted or broken the effect cannot be affected again by the same archon’s aura for 24 hours. Change Shape (Su) A hound archon can assume any canine form of Small to Large size, as if using beast shape II. While in canine form, the hound archon loses its bite, slam, and greatsword attacks, but gains the bite attack of the form it chooses. For the purposes of this ability, canines include any dog-like or wolf-like creature of the animal type.

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

ARLAKAIDA THE BRONZE (CR —; XP —) Female juvenile bronze dragon LG Large dragon (water) Init +6; Senses dragon senses; Perception +25 Aura frightful presence 1/day (90 ft.; targets are shaken for 14 rounds; W-DC 21) DEFENSE AC 36, touch 13, flat-footed 33 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +2 deflection, +18 natural, –1 size) hp 161 (14d12+70) Fort +16, Ref +13, Will +15 Defensive Abilities improved evasion; Immune electricity, paralysis, sleep; SR 16 OFFENSE Speed 50 ft., fly 130 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. Melee bite +25 (2d6+15), 2 claws +24 (1d8+11), tail slap +22 (1d8+15), 2 wings +22 (1d6+6) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with bite) Special Attacks breath weapon (80-ft. line, R-DC 24, 12d6 electricity), repulsion breath Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +18)   At will—create food and water, speak with animals Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 4th; concentration +8)   2nd (4/day)—mirror image   1st (7/day)—alarm, obscuring mist, true strike   0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, resistance STATISTICS Str 29, Dex 14, Con 21, Int 18, Wis 19, Cha 18 Base Atk +14; CMB +26; CMD 40 (44 vs. trip) Feats Ability Focus (breath weapon), Alertness, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Multiattack, Powerful BreathB, Quick Breath WeaponB, Vital Strike, Weapon Focus (bite) Skills Diplomacy +19, Fly +12, Handle Animal +16, Heal +16, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (arcana) +19, Perception +25, Sense Motive +25, Spellcraft +20, Stealth +14, Swim +29; Racial Modifiers +8 Swim Languages Aquan, Common, Draconic, Elven, Gnome SQ empathic link, change shape (animal or humanoid, polymorph), share spells, water breathing, wave mastery (40 mins) Gear +2 studded leather barding, amulet of mighty fists +2, belt of physical perfection +2, cloak of resistance +2, ring of protection +2 SPECIAL ABILITIES Dragon Senses (Ex) Dragons have darkvision 120 ft. and blindsense 60 ft. They see four times as well as a human in dim light and twice as well in normal light. Frightful Presence (Ex) This special quality makes a dragon’s very presence unsettling to foes. Activating this ability is a free action that is usually part of an attack or charge. This ability affects only opponents with fewer Hit Dice than the dragon’s. An opponent that succeeds on its saving throw is immune to the dragon’s frightful presence for 24 hours. Multiple uses of a dragon’s presence don’t stack. This ability is a mind-affecting aura. Paladin Mount (Ex) Arlakaida cannot command other creatures of its type (bronze dragons) as other kinds of paladin mounts can. Quick Breath Weapon (Ex) Arlakaida is able to unleash her breath weapon and deliver an attack before her opponent is the wiser. On her turn, Arlakaida can choose to use her breath weapon in place of her bite or one of her claw attacks. Repulsion Breath (Su) Instead of a line of electricity, a bronze dragon can breathe a cone of repulsion gas. Targets must make a Will save or be compelled to do nothing but move away from the dragon for 1d6 rounds plus 1 round per age category. This is a mind-affecting compulsion effect. Water Breathing (Ex) A bronze dragon breathes water and can use its breath weapon, spells, and abilities underwater. Wave Mastery (Su) For up to 10 minutes per age category per day, a juvenile bronze dragon, along with creatures or vessels within 50 feet, can move at twice its normal speed in water. ------------------------------------------------------------

And that’s everything. I don’t know that I’ll ever have more to add to this particular adventure path, but maybe I will. Just depends on how inspired I get.

In the meantime, I hope everyone who is running or playing “Way of the Wicked” is having a fantastic time.

[screechinginthevoid]

Kitchen Mayhem

(LD+R shapeshifters x necromancer!reader)

This wasnt right.

Why, how did it even happened?,you went to the grocery store and when youre back, the whole kitchen was a mess, all caps, MESS , that you're sure you'll make em clean out.

-I want an explanation, right about now-

You told to the two werewolves, as you leaned on the door frame.Sobieski tried to say something, opening his mouth to articulate a word, yet nothing comes out.Meanwhile, you can see decker, already grabbing a mop and weeping the soup off the floor, you sigh , cleaning the pot , rubbing off the burnt veggies.

-Look guys-you said,trying to Summon all the patience you could- I get that both of you are happy to have a New house, I really do, but PLEASE , if youre going to Cook ,do it carefully, I dont want you guys getting burnt by something, allright?-

Sobieski comes from behind an hugs you,whispering a soft 'sorry', soon after, decker does the same, you chuckle and kiss their foreheads.

After cleaning , you guys end up ordering something.

The Next night, however, you found a really nice cooked meal on the livingroom.

Actually, all was tidy,and even...romantic?.

There were candles, roses, and in the table there they were, Sob and deck are just there, casually talking as you take a Seat, both of them grabs you by one hand each.

-We followed the recipe to the letter, and it is actually edible- decker said,the thought of both deck and Sob cooking while trying not to make a mess was cute,probably decker scoffed jhon about trying to get a 'sample ' of the food, smacking the bigger werewolf's hand away -wanna try it?-

-Why yes of course-you Grab a piece with the fork, eating it, youre surprised, it actually tastes pretty good!- oh god,deck, this is actually really good!-

Both them smile.

- Youre lucky there is still a bit of food to eat, jhon here ate as much as he wanted before you came-

Decker said giving sobieski a look.

-Guilty as charged, what can I say?-

The three of you laugh.

[...]

Later that night, you, sobieski and decker ste laying on the bed, it was rather late.

-Im going to make myself a midnight snack-

Jhon said getting out of the bed.

-OH HELL NO!-

You and decker shouted at the same time.

-Jeez okay okay, Man...-

Sobieski said returning to bed.

Needless to say that the Next day you and decker found the kitchen all dirty again...looks Like jhon did got himself a midnight snack...

[...]

~Void.

[hollandroos]

Run To Me | Sequel to Blow A Kiss, Fire A Gun | Prologue!

PART ONE IS OUT AND HERE!

{Y/N} - I apologise if the read more doesn’t work on the origional post!

The therapist stared the small girl down. Little brown curls littered her forehead like springs as she fiddled with the teddy bear in her hands. It was a little bit tattered at the edges, a certain spot of fur matted together but it was the little blue bear that she’d had since birth, the one that hid at the bottom of her junior school bag because she refused to go to school without it… some days. Some days she preferred the small, white and slightly creepy looking cat that she’d carry around by the tale.

Her hands. Red, raw, bloody. Your own daughter, falling apart right before your very eyes.

“Rosie?” The therapist asks, trying to come to eye level with your daughter but it was difficult. Despite her blabbering on about how independent (without actually using that word) and brave she is, she struggled to even look into the eyes of a stranger.

“Rose?” You whisper, bobbing your knee up and down to get the small girls attention. “Can you talk to the lady please?”

“I don’t want to be here.” She mumbles, bottom lip falling into a pout. “I wanna go home.”

You take one of her hands in your own, thumb gently running over the little pink and white hello kitty band-aids. She doesn’t seem to notice, looking at the pile of kids toys that sat in the corner of the room.

“Harper just wants to help you like she helps me.” You try to prevent your voice from shaking and almost fail too if it weren’t for a quick side eye from the therapist. “She’s nice, sweetheart.”

Your daughter was never difficult, on edge definitely and you partially blamed yourself. She’d been bought up seeing you hide in a shell both of your old self and one of pure fear and terror, merely smiling and sometimes not even leaving the bed. On those days your daughter would lay next to you, a rerun of teen titans or how to train your dragon on Netflix. She surely heard your screams in the very middle of the night and saw you freak out whenever she was too loud.

“No, mum.” Your daughter looks up, her glassy eyes finally off of the teddy bear. She begins wriggling around in your arms, the small girl grunting as she fails down your lap. “I wanna play with the toys.”

You were unsure but eventually sigh, letting her go. The near-five-year-old jumps down, little legs making their way towards what children would call ‘Heaven’. There were lego pieces and board games and the odd Rubix cube but your attention was directed towards her little hands, the size of a large tomato but that didn’t worry you, what did was the fact that her hands were the color of one.

The therapist coughs gently, leaning forward in her seat. “So from what you’ve shown me I definitely see signs.”

You weren’t surprised, not even batting an eyelash. “What can we do from here?” You ask, foot tapping gently against the carpeted floor, a nervous habit.

“There’s nothing you really can do, neither can I considering her age. Rosie is young, this could easily just be a phase.” She almost shrugs it off casually, black glasses slipping down her nose and she was quick to shove them up again, eyelashes hitting the frames.

“So you just want me to-” You begin, with no success.

“You can bandage them, give her toys to play with and keep her nails short but that’s about it for now-”

“You want me to let my daughter keep doing this to herself? To sit back and watch?” You feel your eyes prickle and Rosie seems to ignore your sudden outburst. Either she was listening carefully as she often did, focusing despite your knowledge or she was completely oblivious, focusing purely on the game pieces.

A wave of anger washes over you, as well as fear and guilt. The system was screwed up, sure, but you didn’t know how bad until then and there. Your hands trembled, afraid that you couldn’t stop this, you couldn’t be the mother Rosie needed.

“There is nothing I can do. I’m sorry, I know it must be hard but you can help, even just by talking to her about what she’s doing.”

You grit your teeth, hands clenching around the arms of the chairs. If you gripped them any harder you fear the wood breaking off, snapping beneath your fingertips and causing a magnitude of splinters.

Rosie listens, wondering why the two adults were talking about her while she was in the room. The little girl was notorious for picking up things she shouldn’t and at that moment she was trying to decipher what they were saying and why her mum looked like she was about to cry.

Her chubby fingers toy with a Rubix cube and while she had no idea what she was doing, she adored the bright colors. However, they clashed with the pink and white that decorated her hands. The hello kitty ones were her favorite, definitely better than the wiggles band-aids that’d been forced on her last week by the teachers at school.

What was wrong with her?

{ Tom }

“I don’t care what you have tomorrow, We need to have a fucking meeting.” Tom spat into the phone, face red hot with anger. “Your girlfriend can fucking wait. This is important.”

His hands gripped the very roots of his hair, anger racing through every phone as the man on the other end tried to get out of it. Tom couldn’t completely blame him, he’d do the same if he was about to lose his head.

The silence was all that could be heard through the other end of the phone between heavy, nervous breaths and the mobster already knew that he had this one in the bag.

“I can try-”

‘Try’ wasn’t good enough, nowhere near it for the mob boss who had already been pushed past his breaking point by the same client multiple times. He was ready to get his hands dirty again, paint the town red and grey and make those that deserved it fall to their knees.

Tom turned towards his desk, fingers clenching around the cool gun, the metal making goosebumps arise. “You will be there or I swear to god-”

“Okay! Okay, I’ll be there.” Wilson muttered, pursing his lips together in defeat.

Tom almost laughed at the nerves that were visible through even the phone. The guy's voice shook with fear. 

Tom hung up the phone, slamming it down on the desk in pure anger. People that messed with him and his business didn't get off the hook easily and this guy was no different- the fact that he thought he was made Tom’s blood boil. It made the wheels in his brain spin with different possibilities and ways he could show the client who the boss was in this situation.

“He’s coming?”

“He’ll be there.”

-

Words: 1524

Warnings: There will be violence, sexual references, and possible smut. (no guarantees) This story will also focus around both Y/N and her daughters struggle with mental illnesses so if you’re not okay with talks/symptoms of PTSD and OCD disorders the this won’t be for you.

Notes: Angels, I think you all deserve this fic after waiting so long. As someone with an OCD disorder (not the one that’ll be portrayed in this series), I’m so excited to delve into mental illness in fiction and do my best to portray it properly and just expand my horizons.

- There are a lot of dad/mafia series, so if this seems similar to yours then message me for credit.

Posting day: Tuesdays. 

PLEASE LEAVE FEEBACK!

Tags: @draqcnheartstrinq @hollanderheart  @peters-vlogs @no-aaaahhhh @underoosie @cosmetologynerd @holland-ish @kaciidubs @spidey-pal @call-me-wisegirl @khai-day-the-13th @leni-lion-luke-larb-logic  @panicatttckiss @marriedtopeterparker @stormyparker @mysticsthinking @elyshugh @spider-mendes @girl-in-the-chair @sort-of-pretty-in-pink @bloom003-blog @nextkaratekid @saracastickid @prof-scribbles @holyrose96 @riverdalemami @strangerthantheflash @sams-hollands @tiau-man @tiny-friggin-human @thollandtrash @amidblogger @tiau-man @zseonlydavinci @therealme13posts @zseonlydavinci @httpmcrvel @acciorinn @shakespeare-and-shenanigans @satellitesweetpea @maddie-leighhh @spideymanss @stephie-senpai @sherizaraiyah @tomsh0lland @spidey-pal @casualprincess77 @starlightfound @fandom-feathers @spidergirlwanab @smileyhollander @notthepersonyouwerelookingfor @tomhollandsworld @necromancer-inwell @doloreatroce @hottrashformarvel @fragcc @woosh-pear @spider-mendes @softhollandhoe @ill-be-your-temporary-fix @thegirlwiththestories @elyshugh @stilinski-parker @misscookie-monster16 @amidblogger @lovelynerdytraveler @tmrhollandkay @lafayettes-baguettes-1 @thedoctor-and-her-fallenangles @peachesnmei  @ocaptainmycaptainrogers @fuckmerunningtomholland @chingonaconcha @johannaapagan @tomhollandsmouthfr0g @cielofiorito @crazy-bout-books @my-peter-parker @thehollandfam @its-peter-fucking-parker @lostnliterature @sarcasticsara04 @a-bit-of-contained-galaxies @why-am-i-here-again-shitheads @micki-smiles @unreasonablyexcited @kasylikescookies @tomsspideysense @spideyhoecoming @crescentstarknight @its-obrosey-bitch @marvelspidey-tomholland @madnessmads30 @slickerbeans @sholla4-314 @littlemarvelqueen @ashesandfire @deleteidentity @wildefire @penisparkernmj @wastedheartnat @holland-homecoming @oraage @potato-galaxy @oliveheckingflounder @obsessed-fandoms @rumoured-whispers @tomblrholland @abbytheninja @petersunderroos @huggingholland @trashqueenbitch @theamuz @min0100 @inspiredbynewt @downeytownn @webslingerholland @lovisoverrated @6years-7days @abbytheninja @taybugstuff

BAK: @aussie-mantle @highladyjel @revivalbenito @spider-mendes @iris1697 @theamuz @zseonlydavinci @bridiereads @sophie2003003 @parkeret @baby-baker @marvelgladers @dreamsofbeingsomeoneelse @sighaislin @marvel-zip @oreosrockover18 @whystopkeepon@barnsism @trashqueenbitch @gab-spidey @lafayettes-baguettes-1 @peterparkerdeservesbetter @ambrosmar @calmdownyall @xxxxdelenaxxxx @deadlyaffairs @stop-wonder-think @butcanyoujustimagine @leni-lion-luke-larb-logic @highladyjel @study-at-the-disco @r-i-d-g-e-s @giuliavxox @dreams-in-different-colours @spideynblackcat  @vividcelestia @okayypotato @unknxwn-intrxvert @highkeymood @tra2embrel shqueenbitch @imahuricane @thefanbasewhore @lyssilinn @thebittygirl @spn-worm @theamuz @hollandsmuse @theromanmockingbird @revivalbenito @asfaraslifegets @avahodge @eternallovers65 @rosecoloredshawn @spoofagoofonyou @soldmysoultofandomshelp @wintersoldierbaby @lizzie-143 @laucontrerasv @heavydartysoul @noakantor14 @themegatron1999 @galcxykisscd @majestichoechlin @yellow--inlove  @fragcc @chasingsuperheroes @petersunderroos @letrashailen @eclecticbooktaster @hiccups-are-better @bubbles1642  @lydiasobrien @qtest-trash @carrotsunshine @ccold-as-ice @friedwhisperstheorist @moopai @naria-hime @dafnouche @ellebella1238 @ashram12 @jasxn-txdd-8-14 @laucontrerasv @lovee-roaslie @anytimebitches  @teenage-book-lover @moopai @bored-green @curlshawnholland @tryn25 @xx-fandom-potato-xx @lowkeyspideyyy @fandomnerdsarecool  @fvckjamesbarnes @taylorjrs13 @cthoodaf @modern-day-citrus-cowboy @hellodarknessmysweetfriend  @hailhydrabarnes @overdramatic-teen @spideyboiiiiiiii @baileyxrudesalx @briefzipperapricotbagel @parker-underoos @officialchainreaction @aubreylovesthegames @shipitliketheussenterprise @your-1up-girl @peterparkerstolemyheart @dej-okay @0hanx @all-my-friends-are-german @captain-loki-xavier @teenwolfsdream @hazydespair @rosecoloredyelyah @shipitliketheussenterprise @death-gives-free-hugs @justanotherfangurlz @paigeypooo @rose4958 @tommyswolves @spideyboiiiiiiii @idkanymore-lol @space-starz @its-justmaya @fuckmerunningtomholland @shoytai @accio-chosen-one @beccababy2003 @thomaslefteyebrow @softhollandhoe @so-many-freaking-ships @triedstudent @roses-hxlland @fortheloveofdougnuts @penguinsparker @minishala @dej-okay @thestoriofmylife @maakeme-up @ofmusicandbooks @angiegami @aylone @fangirly27 @ginapeanutbutterbean @softpetcrparker @loveablesocio @kneelbitches-ftloki @cutehollands @whymarvelwhyy @spcesebstn @danieeeeeeereyy @livingincompletesilence @whovian1077 @austins-baby-girl1233 @wirth-jackshit @verypolicecollector-843ec253 @milkywayheartcupcake @simple-slytherin-artist @yikies15 @littleladdty @truthfulchange @laucontrerasv @stuck-in-wonderland @tswiftownsme @antaraxy @live-in-the-now10 @yikies15 @theholyholland @obsessed-fandoms @1life-4hope @delusionsofnostalgia @minipeach101 @shilohrudd98 @sterolinelover13 @hufflepuff-always-and-forever @lorewin @castellandiangelo @the-crime-fighting-spider @justagirlwho-believes13 @therealwatermelon @wrandi55 @hither-to-undreamt-of @emaywhyayy @magical-fandoms @stuckonswan @etudaire @magical-fandoms @emi-holland28 @unreasonablyexcited  @thumper-darling @lill-ana  @mmeyers915 @maddieisdreaming @avengersgirllorianna @natasha-hoemanoff @take-a-look-the-invisible-girl @teamfreewillatefobatthedisco @xgreenpandax @gladerofcabin4  @loveyourmockingbird @rinnysblog @thenameisdani @capamericaevans @xoxohollands @emily-antognoli @redickystuff @yagirlspiderman @canyounotkaia @xstarbae @fvck-this-shiit @drxgnel @iamanhotcheeto @jcy-jcyyy @calumhood0824 @izzy206-2001 @superimpossiblecollectordaze @x-parker-holland-x @sydsimss @sp00der-m00n @sci-fibitch @kneelbitches-ftloki @untainted-memories @obsessed-fandoms @burn-brighter-than-fire @louis-tomlinson-is-fucking-hot @brookesamford @errorloadinghappiness  @titankilling-longtermbootycall @kayaaaa @always-late-worth-the-wait @starsandjimin @drxgnel @penisparkernmj @dunbarxmendes @themollyfritz @tomsfireheart @lavavampin @spoookygirl666 @lill-ana @webslingerholland @toeholland @queenophelia @so-many-freaking-ships @a-bit-of-contained-galaxies @spookyskeletonsposts @itsjusttrash23 @rougedemigods @spiderdudeparker @soda610 @missybroox @cam-piper1998 @theactualscarletwitch @aesthetic-fan-96 @sophie-rebecca17 @angelfiregaming @aintnoladyjustgrizzly @tom-parkers-girl @queen-rcm @xxqueenofdemonsxx @playbillsss @extra-terrestrial-et @ghosthiam @i-the-fangirl @peacefulpeonies @spacedoutsher @adi-elese @wastedheartnat @spideyboiiiiiiii @theofficialhufflepuff @peterismyspideybaby @exorcismes @southsiderepresent @talk-geek-to-me @catlover092402152 @phandicktrash-1 @fnosidam @starlightfound @loser-marsh @hollandxlans @live-4-happiness @annascorpia @xxqueenofdemonsxx @litospants @phandicktrash-1 @lolpeterparker @yourwonderbelle @socially-collapsed @deleteidentity @hollandahlia @elizabethrheeder @justalittletumbleweed @wastedheartnat @youhavemyfantasticbeasts @rumoured-whispers

[lilyeholland]

yes and no

[tom holland x reader]

summary: even soft angels like our baby boy tom can have bad days. but it’s all about how you react to them, how you treat it at the end of the day. tom will come to learn that no matter how difficult the acting community can be, the answer will always be a yes form you.

add yourself to my taglist :)

“tommy? is that you?” you turn down the volume on the tv and sit up as you hear the garage door shut and keys slam on the counter. you almost jump at how loud it is, starting to take smaller steps into the kitchen. it’s like walking on egg shells not knowing what’s got him so angry, and it’s even scarier trying to talk to him about it.

he may be an angel, but when something pisses him off, he’s a scary dude.

you see his dark figure maneuver around the kitchen, pulling out a bottle of beer from the fridge and chugging it down quickly. “hey, hey, hey,” you whisper and flick on the lights, placing your hands above his shoulder and spinning into him a little.

he looks you up and down, a mouthful of beer still waiting to be swallowed in his mouth, no expression at all. he gulps as you slide your hand up his neck and cup his cheek. “you okay?” you say as he gulps and brushes you off of him. at first, you’re shocked. even when he’s mad, he never tries to get past you. he’s never this silently angry, never so annoyed that he doesn’t speak back to you.

“yeah, yeah. i’m fine.” he grunts and takes another swig of is beer.

“how’d the audition go?” you sit into your hip and fold your arms, watching him walk around you and out of the kitchen, the bottle of beer still in his hand.

he doesn’t answer.

you scoff and follow him out, catching up to his quick paces before he plops himself down on the couch, his legs lazily bent up to his chest and his arms slung over his knees.

“tom.” you say strictly and walk in front of him. but he still doesn’t even look at you. you can see the rage in his eyes, the annoyance in his jaw and you just know something went wrong. “what happened, baby boy?” you kneel in front of him and touch his cheek, calling him the name that always gets him all soft and fluffy. but he doesn’t change at all. he doesn’t smile, he doesn’t flinch, he doesn’t even turn his gaze to you.

“nothing happened.” he whispers under his breath and clenches his jaw again.

you both sigh, two very different sighs. yours because you’re frustrated and worried that you won’t be able to get to him and help him. his because he’s hurting but he doesn’t wanna open up to you, even though he knows he should.

“you know you can talk to me.” you brush your fingers through the shorter parts of his hair on the side of his head. “that’s what girlfriends are for.” he looks at you, but only for a second.

then he’s back to being all cold and distant. like how stupid men do.

“c’mon,” you take a deep breath and exhale it when your voice cracks a little as you take the beer from his hands and place it on the coffee table. “i’ll make you some tea,” you sing and massage behind his ear like he’s a little puppy, climbing onto the couch and sitting on your knees beside him. “and we can bring the nice blankets out here and cuddle,” you almost catch a smile on his lips but it stops when you add on, “and talk, maybe?”

“i don’t want to talk about it.” he frowns and pouts like he hasn’t gotten his way.

“please!” you beg softly and tug on his shirt. “you seem upset and i don’t wanna go to bed when i know you’re grumpy.” your thumb brushes over his bottom, pouty lip, making him glance at you for longer than before. “i don’t like grumpy tommy.” you shake your head and smile at him.

“talk to me. please, baby?” you press your lips softly below his cheekbone.

he exhales through his nose, finally getting used to the fact that you won’t leave him alone unless he tells you what’s up. “i didn’t get it.” is all he says. his voice is soft and drained and raspy, coarse and tired and sad.

“i’m sorry.” you’re the one pouting now.

“yeah,” his eyes go wide as he stares straight forward. “and i thought it went great....” you listen. “i thought i was so close to getting it, but the guy stopped me and told me i wasn’t right for the role.”

you gasp a little, knowing how damn good your boyfriend is, ready to mess a bitch up for making his small and sensitive side come out.

“and i didn’t wanna tell you because...” he takes a pause and gulps a little, looking down and clinking his nails together.

“why?” you encourage him to finish the sentence.

“i didn’t wanna tell you because i don’t want you to see me as a failure.” a failure? tom holland, your boyfriend, a failure? ah hell naw.

he takes in the look on your face, immediately regretting saying it because now he knows it’s stupid. “i know it’s true and i know that you’re gonna say something cheesy like ‘you’ll never be a failure to me’ but i just wanted to make you happy. and avoid one of these angsty nights.”

“thomas. you know not everyone’s gonna say yes to you? you’re gonna be rejected sometimes.” he watches the way your face looks when you speak so honestly to him. “no matter what those dick-head casting directors think of you, just know i’ll always say yes to you.”

“that’s the cheesy thing i was talking about.” he chuckles and smiles at you, purely.

“shut up, i was trying to help.” you hit his chest, but laugh along with him.

“and you did.” he smiles though another sigh.

you pull him closer, resting his head on your chest as you float down into the cushions of the couch.

“tommy?” you call while tracing your fingertips up and down his neck and through the messy strands of curls he has.

“mhmm?” he groans.

“i love you, you know.”

“yeah, i know.”

@gingertalksshit @tomhollandae @taliaa-gracee @blitchen @esoltis280 @shelteredheart  @yeahbutmarvel @unicorn-princess-1999 @super-fire-breathing-girl @littlebookbengal @softhollandhoe @dangerousluv1 @misformarvel @hazuki22 @farewelldarling @timelordsdoitbetter @mysticsthinking @tomsfireheart @mottergirl99 @mikalaka @xoxoholland @lilackimmi @yolimalopez01 @phoenix-fire-fangirl @the-claire-bitch-project @tomhollandimagines @hollandsmuse @currentlyfangirrling @barely-emily @r-ivertales @highly-cynnie @komorebi-mp4 @acciorinn @lafayettes-baguettes-1 @wtfholland @bibibucky @naybeirao @necromancer-inwell @tai-holland @wombatholland @highlady-of-night @shortgiraffes @teenwolfsdream @voidfanfiction @ironspideyboy @teenwolfsdream @freehoagiehairdopeach @spideyxboy

[rosewinterborn]

11/11/11

I waited too long to do this, so now I have 44 questions to do. RIP. Tagged by @writersblockandapotoftea, @arwallace (I know you tagged @expositionpreposition but it’s easier to do it here!), @shit-she-wrote, and @atinydino

Cap:

Who was your childhood hero?

Honestly, probably JKR. Again, RIP.

If we didn’t start the fire, who did?

People like my dad who say “millennials” like it’s a derogatory word probably

What made you start your wip?

Reading too much Dresden Files and also looking at magic academia posts on Tumblr (Gutter Witch); Reading Eragon (Companion to Dragons); Wanting to make an open magic world (Witches Anthology); Reading too much Stucky fanfiction (Fractal); Listening to the Magnus Archives three times through in a month (CHAF3k); wanted to go on a magic adventure with my high school friends (Children of the Light)

Hogwarts house?

Gryffindor!

Star Trek or Star Wars

Star Wars, though I like both

What was your pre-teen bop?

Uhhh Taylor Swift’s whole second album

If you could have a fantasy creature as a pet, what would you pick?

A dragon about the size of a cat that could sit on my shoulder and talk to me

What’s your pet peeve?

Feeling like people are upset with me but won’t talk to me about it

Dracula or Frankenstien’s Monster?

Haven’t read Dracula so Frankenstein’s monster, I guess.

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve said to a friend?

I mean I had a conversation with two lesbians about dildos yesterday, soooo

If you had to murder someone, who would it be?

No one. I honestly don’t think I’d be able to live with myself after.

A R Wallace

Which book(s)/series would you compare your current WIP(s) to?

The Dresden Files. Though I did have someone say it was like reading a better-written Mortal Instruments. I was tickled.

Would you be willing to adapt your WIP into a movie one     day? Why or Why not?

Yes. Please. Let me see my work come to life.

What is your ‘writing ritual’? (do you make sure     you’ve made a cup of tea, sit in a particular spot, etc.)

I don’t have any particular ritual, I usually just try and seize the energy when I have it. Right now I am trying to sit at my actual desk to work, though, and during school if I had anything that I desperately needed to get done I took my ass to a coffee shop and told myself I wasn’t allowed to leave until it was done.

How much has writeblr helped you with your writing?

It helped me find a writing community that inspired me to get back to work after the depression had taken it away from me. I’m not as active on writeblr as maybe I could be, but the writing discord I found through it has been a lifeline.

If you could be one creature (real or mythical), what would you be?

A dragon. But like, one of the ones that can shapeshift. I also like being human.

Sum up your favorite WIP in one sentence

Oh god I’m supposed to have a favorite? That’s not gonna happen…

Gutter Witch: Local teens sick and tired of prophetic bullshit

Children of the Light: Estranged assholes learn to love each other again and also stop the apocalypse

Fractal: Hell on Earth in so many ways

Companion to Dragons: Girl’s asshole father sends her and her sister on a suicide mission and thinks that’s the end of it (surprise!)

Witches Anthology: literally a whole bunch of short stories so I’m not gonna try

Which of your characters is your favorite?

Whyyyyyy idk in GW probably Hunter, he’s fun to write. Overall maybe Sterling, my enby necromancer in the anthology

Which of your characters is your least favorite?

Hunter’s mother. Like honestly, every time I write about her she gets worse.

What do you believe is the most overused trope in your WIP’s genre(s)?

Melodrama.

Favorite season?

Autumn

If you could travel anywhere in the universe, where would you go?

Several places in Europe, in no particular order.

Eva:

1.     What’s the first story you remember writing?

A story about a cat and a mouse becoming friends.

2.     How has your taste in books changed since childhood?

I’ve tended a lot less towards high fantasy. I think it’s too much of an energy investment to try and understand the worldbuilding right now, whereas you can usually just jump into urban fantasy. I’ve also gotten a lot more interested in horror.

3.     Do you see any similarities to your favorite books in your work? If yes, what are they?

If I’m being real honest, most of my wips are direct rip-offs of stuff I’ve read/watched/listened to, at least in the first draft. I usually try and direct my obsessions into creative energy at some point, with differing amounts of success.

4.     What sort of music inspires you?

Stuff with strong beats/baseline and vaguely rebellious lyrics. So like, lots of Imagine Dragons and Fall Out Boy. But also trailer music like Epic Score and Two Steps from Hell

5.     Favorite book?

These are the most evil kinds of questions you guys.

I can’t think of any published books I’d call my absolute favorite, but I do have a handful of fanfics I read on at least an annual basis: War, Children, by Nonymos; To Be Vulnerable Is Needed Most of All, by perfect_plan; and Schroedinger’s Romance by lesbuchanan

6.     Favorite mythology (Greek, Norse, etc.)?

Probably Celtic? I’m really rusty on it though

7.     Dream vacation?

A long, long trip through Europe without having to worry about money

8.     Favorite writing snack?

I don’t really eat when I write because its too much of a distraction :P

9.     What tea do you drink the most while writing?

Irish Breakfast

10.  Do you have a special writing cup, that you drink tea out of specifically when writing to fill you up with inspiration?

I have a couple I’m more likely to grab, like my Night Vale Community Radio mug or my white Starbucks mug with the gold lettering

11. Write your favorite quote from your recent wip!!

Just outside the beam of light was a circle of what looked like black paint, tiny sigils scratched into it, shimmering uncannily in the dark. Wisps of that grim light drifted from the sigils to the figures at their center, dancing around Mara’s hands, clutching at Hunter’s shirt. Anywhere they touched his skin, blood seeped from a new laceration, sluggish and dark and horrible. 

“Hunter,” she breathed. 

Then she heard him. 

“Run, Cady,” he croaked. “Tell my mom...she’s a bitch.”

Ames:

1.     What’s your favorite season and why

Autumn! I love rain and also that it’s not super hot or super cold

2.     What’s your favorite food?

Bread.

3.     Who’s your favorite character in your most recent WIP?

Hunter Bishop, asshole extraordinaire

4.     Do you hide easter eggs in your writing? If so tell me a few.

Hm. If I do, I don’t consider them easter eggs, just references. Though I did have someone in my creative writing class ask if the sandwich my protagonist was eating was based on one served in one of the restaurants on campus (and he was right)

5.     Would you prefer your WIPs to be turned into a movie or tv series? (feel free to tell me about more than just 1)

Gutter Witch should just be a movie, and I’m leaning towards that for Witches as well. Fractal could go either way, though I’m leaning towards TV show. Children of the Light could go either way. CHAF3k will hopefully be a podcast at some point.

6.     If you could have a writing studio anywhere with anything in it, what would it be like and where would it be?

I like the nook I have, though I think I’d adjust the height of my desk chair and add a coffee maker and a closer bathroom so I don’t have to walk all the way across the apartment. Oh, and I’d get a massive whiteboard so I can go all conspiracy theory on my wips.

7.     What music do you listen to to get you in the zone? (the writing zone)

Trailer music! Epic Score and Two Steps from Hell. I can’t listen to music with lyrics while I try to make the words go.

8.     What’s your worldbuilding process?

Panic.

But actually, I think of the aesthetic I’m after and then try to make everything build off of that. Along the way I usually try to figure out what thing I’m consciously or unconsciously basing it off of so that I can make necessary changes.

9.     Who are your most influential authors?

JKR (sorry), Laini Taylor, Juliet Marillier, Tamora Pierce

10.  What’s your favorite kind of cookie?

French macarons

11. Give me your favorite excerpt for your recent WIP!

“I wanted to talk to Madge.”

“Madge is dead,” Hunter said, confused. 

“I’m aware,” she said. “I asked Death to take me to her, but she said she couldn’t and suggested projection instead.”

Hunter turned from the stove with the most dumbfounded expression Cady had ever seen outside of cinema. “You asked Death,” he repeated.

Cady snorted. “Yeah. I asked Death.”

“The cosmic power, Death.”

“The cosmic power, Death. We’re good friends. She comes over for tea on occasion.”

Hunter stared at her, expression halfway between disbelief and suspicion. “You’re fucking with me.”

“I’m not fucking with you,” Cady said. “Death is the whole reason I came to this Coven. She sent me here when I was thirteen.”

Hunter sank back against the counter, looking almost faint. Whatever he’d been cooking began to sizzle alarmingly. “Death has been...in this apartment.”

Cady nodded.

Not tagging anyone else on this one. I’ve learned my lesson lmao.

[rhetoricandlogic]

2018 in books (including the December list)

In many ways this was an exceptionally good year. 

For one: I learned about web-serials; well, not exactly: learned. I knew of them already but since I’m not a serial type of reader (watcher), they never drew my curiosity. Until I discovered the Wandering Inn. But, since I’m not a serial type, I converted and download all of it, that had been there (up to chapter 5.6) to .mobi and then vanished into a reading hole for 2 month to devour all the 9.800 pages that had been written then. This was a completely new experience for me. To linger in the same world for such a long time - I never did the like before. I mean, yes, re-read what there is of Stormlight Archive and Kingkiller Chronicle and occasionally Gentleman Bastard is all well and fine - and over in 3 weeks or so - it doesn’t quite compare. Will repeat next year.

For another: the Murderbot series is finished and that was The Best. I re-read the complete series just to enjoy having the story in one go and then resolved to give the adult books by Martha Wells a complete go, so Ile-Rien it was, followed by The Bone City. Wells is rapidly climbing the list of my fave authors.

Still another: you can’t beat Brandon Sanderson when it comes to creativity and after years of only watching I finally read all of Steelheart and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.

Even more: new author to watch: Claire North. The Gameshouse series is my fav but this author is so very versatile it’s astonishing. Do recommend, though let it be said that 84K is best not read while depressed.

Aliette de Bodard and T. Kingfisher - enough said. Both already on my fave list since forever. Same as Martha Wells: I have no idea why these women are so underrated. Seriously, what is wrong with readers?

Also: reduce money spent on books by at least 25%. Mission accomplished. Far less than the over 100 books/year I’ve read in the past.

Jade City - Fonda Lee

The Girl Who Dared to Think - Bella Forrest

The Girl Who Dared to Stand - Bella Forrest (abort series ^^ )

Winterglass - Benjanun Sriduangkaew

Hyperbole and a Half - Allie Brosh (re-read)

Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders

Steelheart - Brandon Sanderson

Mitosis - Brandon Sanderson

Firefight - Brandon Sanderson

Calamity - Brandon Sanderson

Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls - Aliette de Bodard

The Manual of Detection - Jedediah Berry

Children of Thorns, Children of Water - Aliette de Bodard

The Winged Histories - Sofia Samatar

Spoonbenders - Daryl Gregory

The Stars Askew - Rjurik Davidson

Binti - Nnedi Okorafor

Binti Home - Nnedi Okorafor

Binti The Night Masquerade - Nnedi Okorafor

Traitor’s Blade - Sebastien de Castell

Hyperion - Dan Simmons

The Fall of Hyperion - Dan Simmons

Knight’s Shadow - Sebastien de Castell

The Ballad of Black Tom - Victor Lavalle

Clockwork Boys - T. Kingfisher

The Wonder Engine - T. Kingfisher

Acadie - David Hutchinson

The Tea Master and the Detective - Aliette de Bodard

Clade - James Bradley

Artificial Condition - Martha Wells

Penric’s Demon - Lois McMaster Bujold

The Toymakers - Robert Dinsdale

Space Opera - Catherynne M. Valente

The Refrigerator Monologues - Catherynne M. Valente

Silently and Very Fast - Catherynne M. Valente

Prophethy’s Ruin - Sam Bowring

Iraq +100 - Editor: Hassan Blasin

The Things They Carried - Tim O’Brien

The End of the Day - Claire North

The Serpent - Claire North

The Thief - Claire North

The Master - Claire North

Revenant Gun - Yoon Ha Lee

Briony and Roses - T. Kingfisher

Kingfisher - Patricia A. McKillip

The Raven and the Reindeer - T. Kingfisher

Summer in Orcus - T. Kingfisher

The Poppy War - R. F. Kuang

In Shadows We Fall - Devin Madson

The Blood of Whisperers - Devin Madson

The Father of Lies - K. J. Parker

I Reap You Not - Catelyn Winona

All Our Wrong Todays -  Elan Mastai

Night’s Master - Tanith Lee

Rogue Protocol - Martha Wells

In The Stacks - Scott Lynch (author-improved and otherwise revised version)

Every Heart a Doorway - Seanan McGuire

The Wandering Inn (9.800 pages of it)  - pirateaba

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

The House of Binding Thorns by Aliette de Bodard

The Owls of Juttshatan - Benjanun Sriduangkaew

After-Swarn -  Benjanun Sriduangkaew

84K - Claire North

Nyx - D. M. Livingston

Passing Strange - Ellen Klages

Siphon - Jay Boyce (the 1st volume and then up to chapter 88)

Witchmark - C. J. Polk

Death’s Master - Tanith Lee

The Element of Fire - Martha Wells

Slade House - David Mitchell

City of Bones - Martha Wells (re-read)

The Decent of Monsters - JY Yang

The Death of the Necromancer - Martha Wells

Swordheart - T. Kingfisher

In The Vanishers Palace - Aliette de Bodard

Senlin Ascends - Josiah Bancroft

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North

The Wizard Hunters - Martha Wells

2017

2016

2015

2014

Not entirely sure I’ll continue the lists and reviews at this point ...

... but if you like to talk about books, give recs (or ask for some) I’ll be always here for you.