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honestgrins · 4 years

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Resonant || Klaroline

Inspired by the world of Onward, where technology edged magic out of daily existence because all creatures learned to adapt to a new life. Caroline might have taken the DNA test, but she doesn’t take her magical origins nearly as seriously as some people. Klaus, however, takes his birthright and the power it lends very, very seriously - but why would he kidnap an elf?

"I don't know what you want from me," Caroline snarled, her wrists raw from fighting her bonds. "But I do know this is not the way to go about it." The chair was cold through the thin silk of her dress, an excellent dress her date so didn't deserve. "Seriously, let me go, Nik. This isn't funny."

He pulled another chair from the edge of the cell where she awoke, tied up and confused. Twirling it before her, he straddled the seat to rest his arms on the back as he watched her with a gleeful smile. "Perhaps, now is the time to tell you my name isn't Nik. Not technically."

The laugh she let out was harsh. "Surprise, the guy who drugged me during dinner isn't who he said he was. I don't give a fuck, let me go."

"No, I think I'll keep you," he answered, amusement all too clear in his voice. "That is, unless you can free yourself. Then, I'm willing to negotiate terms."

She gave another jerk against her ties, but the metal cord obviously held. "How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

Smirking, Not Technically Nik traced his bottom lip with his thumb. "I trust you'll figure it out. Until then, let me introduce myself. Niklaus Mikaelson, at your service."

"Really crappy service," she spat, only quailing when her brain caught up with the bomb he just dropped. Horror dawned on her slowly as she saw him watching her with great interest. Not only had she been kidnapped - she'd been kidnapped by the Original Hybrid out to set a new world order.

Magic had always been an accepted part of the world. Gnomes, elves, wizards, and so much more, everyone had their origins and lived as they chose. Specialized knowledge was shared through the generations, lovingly passed down to children and nurtured the necessary skills as they grew. Little ones were taught all the lore for such a world of wonder.

And then, the advancement of technology caught up. Wings were traded for sensible, mid-size sedans, and sorcery gave way to invention. The world became connected in a way it never was before, and all creatures adapted to new common goals until magic eased itself out of existence. Lore was still taught, mostly, though some stories had been forgotten, lost to time as populations mingled. The knowledge was generalized, until schools only taught the big points, nuance and details only so important as they appeared on standardized tests.

So, magic existed - at one point. The last vestiges only remained among those who trained in the skills their ancestors once held as a sacred practice. All creatures could be dangerous if they chose to be, and most people had a wide range of lineages to choose from in their quest for some ancient power. Bonnie had bought Caroline one of those DNA tests the year before; she presented and lived as an elf her whole life, it was kind of a kick to learn she was three percent centaur. "Maybe that's why I had a horse phase growing up," she had joked.

But Klaus Mikaelson was staring at her with greed, and she didn't think it had to do with a penchant for pony tails and killer legs.

The news was always talking about the underground revolution inspired by the Original Hybrid. Rumor had it he was cursed by a witch, his werewolf genes bound and useless. He was left to fend for himself when a rogue vampire attacked him. They were drawn to the healing arts, their need for fresh blood often a handy currency for those with terrible or no insurance. But when they were hungry, it could get ugly. For Klaus, though, the turn was particularly traumatic. Finding the witch who cursed him, he killed her to release his werewolf side, which allowed him to become something entirely new and untested in the world.

That last half was confirmed, Klaus himself having spread the story far and wide as his many surrogates tried to recruit new blood to his cause - to return to the natural state of magic until the world respected all species for the danger they posed. Caroline thought it was a resistance-flavored attempt at elitist elimination of diverse families, and she usually turned the TV off whenever some outlet dared to grant the monster some legitimacy and a chance to reach new ears. If she'd waited a bit longer, she might have recognized his face when he showed up on her dating app.

She'd been so excited for this date. He was charming and funny, a little acerbic, but she liked that mixed into her banter. He seemed like the perfect guy for her, passionate about his art. If only she'd known he was passionate about magical dominion over the entire world, then she might have tempered her expectations.

As he watched her every expression, though, she wondered why he went to such trouble. There was no need to sit through an entire dinner with her, to flirt with her and make her feel seen. It had been going really well, yet he had to have slipped her something for her to wake up in an actual dungeon. Who had a dungeon?

Biting her lip, there were too many other things that didn't make sense. From what she had gleaned over the years his little movement had been actively acknowledged, Klaus went after powerful species. Giants, trolls, wizards he could win over to his way of thinking. She was an elf, with some siren, nymph, and a negligible bit of centaur in her line.

"What the fuck do you want with me?"

His head tilted to the side, that insufferable smirk only widening the longer it took him to answer. Her irritation grew until she tried to shake the metal ties again, and he narrowed his eyes with something like pity. "You truly don't know, do you?"

Caroline didn't want to give him the satisfaction of asking, but it wasn't like she was getting out of this nonsense by herself. "I know you're nuts and I'm filing a restraining order once I get out of here."

"Have you never wondered what magic might be bubbling under your skin," he question softly, his eyes lingering over the red welts on her wrists, "just begging to be released?"

"I took a DNA test," she bit back with a sharp grin, "turns out I'm a hundred percent that bitch who wants nothing to do with you or your little power trip. You don't want me, and I sure as hell don't want you."

Klaus propped his chin on his hand, chuckling. "I thought dinner was going pretty well, actually."

"You made a good impression," she admitted. "I'm a fast learner, though. Besides, don't you recruit big strong fighters to serve as cannon fodder for your worst ideas?"

With a casual shrug, he seemed annoying unperturbed by her accusations. "We all have our strengths. I'm most interested in discovering yours, however." His voice lowered, almost seductive as he leaned toward her. "Escape your bindings, sweetheart. I know you can."

She refused to ask how, not that she particularly wanted to pass his twisted test. But, she did want to escape. "I've never shown an aptitude for magic, ever. My best friend is a witch, and she would have noticed."

"No one noticed." He was watching her steadily, pleased she appeared to play along. "I wouldn't have if I hadn't gotten ahold of your results from the ancestry testing database."

"Stalker!"

His lips curled upward. "Not just yours, mind, I have a talented mole on staff there to keep me abreast of any...abnormalities in gene reports."

Blinking, Caroline tried to remember what that stupid app had told her. "Th-there was an eight percent unknown strain," she recalled. "But that's normal. 'Within the accepted range for interpretation,' is what I think it said. Too many species and generations to clearly delineate."

"I don't care for percentages," Klaus said. "Percentages mean nothing. It's about what resonates throughout your very being, whether it be the lion's share or a single thread. According to your genetic code, you have a very, very rare thread that I think resonates within you. And I think you can call it forth to escape those bindings."

Her heart was pounding. "What are you talking about?"

He stood, moving toward her to gently lift the pendant from the hollow of her neck. "This is very pretty, just like you," he flirted. "Have you never wondered why you favor gold jewelry?"

"It suits my coloring. What does my personal style have to do with anything?"

"Or why you can't help but soak in the sun at every chance you get? Your profile pictures are all outside, often lounging next to a pool."

"Hi, it's an excuse to post a bikini pic!"

Klaus smiled knowingly. "You tend to latch onto your friends, loathe to share them with others. Bonnie, was it? The friend who called halfway through our dinner? You're awfully possessive of her, aren't you?"

Anger welled within her, a boiling rage she'd never quite felt before and had no idea what to do with.

Of course, he just kept smiling. "It'd be a shame if something were to happen to this Bonnie, should you not be able to escape."

Her hands balled into tight fists and her breathing grew heavy. "Don't threaten my friends."

"Your friends," he asked, taking a tighter hold of her necklace as his fangs finally slid out to show just how dangerous he was, "or your hoard?" Then, he ripped her necklace off.

And all hell broke loose.

#klaroline #kcauweek2020 #drugged #kidnapping #day 2 #sci-fi/fantasy #fic: resonant #captive audience

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partyopossum · 7 years

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Moose’s Adventures in D&D 5e - Session 1

So I started playing 5e (I usually play 3.5 and Pathfinder, but 5e has been fantastic) with my amazing friend Jacky and her boyfriend. We’ve played three sessions so far, and let me tell you it has been a doozy. So I’m going to go over the highlights/summary of the first few sessions, which is easy ‘cause we’ve had three. For now, session 1. First bit is we used a character background randomizer book/PDF. From that, thanks to a series of dice rolls we got: A dragonborn bard who worships the Goddess of the underworld and writes ballads in her name. His girlfriend was kidnapped and his ultimate quest was to get her back. A demigod tiefling rogue, daughter of aforementioned Goddess of the underworld, who - thanks to a long series of unfortunate rolls - experienced...

her birth being in the medical tent just outside a raging battlefield

being born with glowing violet eyes that have heat vision

moving to another country during infancy

having to witness the first of her two younger half-sisters be killed by a werewolf

having her own throat gouged out by said werewolf (this makes it painful to talk and she sounds like a fallout ghoul if she talks without something to sooth it)

developing lycanthropy

her skin turned to a pitch black color

her other younger half-sister being taken away and dying of an unknown disease

the first half-sister now haunts her and attacks her every 50-something days (I don’t have my character sheet for the exact numbers)

being forced into a child marriage

a war starting within her country

being blamed for starting that war, thus being thrown into prison and branded on the back of the next as a traitor

less than three years later being let free when they realize she didn’t do it

the government making amends by helping her home village become more prosperous

but that doesn’t mean jack-shit since she can’t stay in one town for more than a year and a day

a distant family member died and gave her their private island in their will

every lover she has meets their untimely demise after 3 months (I think)

also she’s a pyromaniac

And this is all before she turned 18! I’d give more details on the dragonborn, but I arrived near the butt-end of his background rolls lol Now, the world is a magical, mostly rebuilt post-apocalyptic Earth, specifically America, and more specifically Philidelphia. Or was they call it, Phil-e-del-fiya. Technology that exists include phones that were modeled after Nokia phones (you know the one) and the means to make ice cream.

So our first session begins! Ayl (my teifling) and the dragonborn (I can’t remember his name at the moment)(played by Jacky’s boyfriend) don’t know each other. They’re both just people for hire. Ayl came into town about a month ago, just doing her nomad thing, while the dragonborn had been there for a while, looking for clues about his missing girlfriend. There’s a guy named Jeremiah (I think) who owns a bar that also sells ice cream. Ayl loved the ice cream as it soothes her throat long enough to allow her to talk for about 20 minutes, and the dragonborn played for the bar when he didn’t have other work. Well a job was posted and Ayl and the dragonborn agreed to team up after a series of increasingly frustrated gesturing from Ayl. They split off to get supplies and to meet at the bar around noon. Ayl takes like 5 minutes to get her stuff, writing it down and handing it to each shop owner. When passing the dragonborn, who had perusing the shop for like half an hour at that point, Ayl even deals with the pain of talking just to say “Git gud, scrub” when passing him with her collection. Fast forward a while to the magic shop, where Ayl didn’t bother to go to (she’s a rogue with heat vision, she sees no reason for magic doodads), and the dragonborn is still taking his time. Ayl goes to look for him, ice cream cone in tow. She’s more chatty now, of course, and doesn’t sound like she’s been a smoker for the last 500 years. The shop owner, with a deck of many things, is enticing the dragonborn to use it. He does. And so does Ayl. As a result (and these aren’t in order soooo)...

the dragonborn got three wishes from a card he had to use within half an hour. One wish was for his girlfriend to be returned to him safely, the other was to learn what a pizza was after reading about it in ancient tomes, and the third was for an item that would grant him more wishes. So he got a magical wish granting Magic 8 Ball

Ayl’s card forced her to fight what was equivalent to a lowgrade grim reaper

the next card for the dragonborn made him shrink down to like a foot tall

then the dragonborn drew a card that got him a weapon called “The Dragonslayer” which was super awkward

the dragonborn also got long, luscious black hair that he can’t get rid of from a card

We then turned to the Magic 8 Ball cause things were getting too random for the cards. Wishes included for the dragonborn to be normal sized, and for Ayl to meet her mother...Which lead her to be transported to the underworld where we learned reapers kinda have an office vibe going on, complete with talking while sipping coffee from novelty mugs. Ayl made her way to her mother’s chambers, where the WORLDS MOST AWKWARD FAMILY REUNION took place. Like holy shit it was uncomfortable. Meanwhile the dragonborn asks to know where she went, which causes him to be transported there too, where he eagerly plays a ballad for his deity, and learns the snarky pain in his ass he just met today was her daughter. Ayl gets a bell that can allow her to contact her mother if she needs help, which she stashes in her boobage, and they’re sent back to the sorcerer’s shop. By now Ayl’s noticed she’s been eating the same ice cream cone for like two hours now and it’s not gone anywhere. It’s not melting and not matter how much she eats, it’s still the same amount. She quickly figures out the sorceress she’d been flirting with while they’ve been dilly-dallying in her shop was the cause, and also learns if she lets go of the ice cream, it’ll just float and follow her around. They decide to take a break and reconvene the next day, since the dragonborn had to get reacquainted with his girlfriend, and both of them had to meditate with their new weapons to better use them. And that ends SESSION 1!

#long post #dandd #dungeons and dragons #5e #the moose speaks #it's been nuts

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