#drakov

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: Darklord Vladeska Drakov

Domain: Falkovnia Domain Formation:  Unspecified (former version 690 BC) Power Level: 💀💀💀⚫⚫ (3/5 Skulls) Sources: Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft (5e)

Without a Core containing neighboring Domains in 5e Ravenloft lore, the concept of an ever-failing would-be conqueror becomes as pointless as Vlad's efforts to overthrow Darkon. The new version of Falkovnia is a Domain overrun by zombie hordes as the people and their commander, Vladeska Drakov, fight a never ending battle against the hordes of undead.

All of Falkovnia’s villages have been abandoned as the remaining populace rally behind the walled city of Lekar. Their resources are running thinner each day and on the week of the new moon countless zombies shamble out of the Mists and lay siege upon what’s left of Falkovnia. 

Vladeska shares Vlad’s love of punishment through impalement and his history as a mercenary. She was known as the Crimson Falcon and led an army of mercenaries that called themselves the Falcon’s Talons. So, similar, but different with falcons replacing hawks, though unlike Vlad, Vladeska was very much respected by her peers and the lords she worked for. 

Eventually, Vladeska and her people killed the wrong person. Who this person was has been obscured by the Mists, but they were important enough to turn those Vladeska worked for against the mercenaries. Vladeska is said to be a tactical genius and instead of being cowed, she turned against those that pursued her. She was ruthless, forced people into her service and impaled anyone who attempted to stop her. The Mists came for her and her Talons after they had defeated Vladeska’s last foes. Our Tormentors always know when to time things to snatch away that bit of hope we all hold onto at the last possible moment.

Vladeska found herself in Falkovnia, which she conquered almost too easily, likely by our tormentor’s design. She was unable to enjoy her victory as days later hordes of undead laid siege against her. Falkovnia is locked in a never ending loop of preparing for war, then fighting it. Every citizen is forced to serve and fight against the zombie invasion. Vladeska does not have the power to control the borders of her Domain and they remain closed except for a brief period of time after the hordes of undead have been driven back once again. This would be the best time for all the citizens she forces into military service to flee, but her always loyal Talons patrol the borders at this time and any deserters are impaled. So most stay because they fear Vladeska more than they fear the undead.

Vladeska is unable to admit defeat, though fleeing would likely save countless souls. She is plagued by recognizing every face worn by the undead horde and she knows, somehow, they are coming for her in particular. Vladeska’s strength comes from her people’s loyalty and fear of her punishments. Without her people, she is easily dealt with, but one should not make the mistake of underestimating her. I will grant her 3 skulls for keeping her people loyal despite the never ending odds stacked up against her.

#ravenloft #darklordreviews #azalin rex #dnd #vladeska drakov #falkovnia #some say i'm responsible for the hordes of zombies that plague vladeska #that would be amusing but i have better things to do in 5e #like pull myself together again #or enjoying a vacation on oerth depending on what you roll on that random table

[communistchilchuck]

should i even try to push timlonnie propaganda or should i accept humble defeat

#its red robover. its moneyspover. guys… its lonnie machover tim drakover.

[demiplanardemagogue]

Although known mostly for futile warmongering in his professional life, it would seem like Falkovnia's Kingfuhrer is a true romantic at heart. A large archive of Vlad's alleged slash fanfics of his fellow darklords was recently discovered hidden in a ditch near Draccipetri. Of the stories written by Mr. "Dalf Ov Dark", Azalin and the Vampire seems to be the most popular on the Astral Net, followed by The Witch and the Poisoner: Toxic Love, and oddly, Lament and Ebonbane: A Sword in the House.

#demiplanar demagogue #demiplanar news #ravenloft humor #ravenloft news #vlad drakov #bad flash fics #tumblrloft #the witch and the poisoner #lament #ebonbane #azalin rex and the vampire #a bloody love story #dalf ov dark #make love not war

[writerofadream]

Can u either do Nat x Reader oneshots, or Clint x Reader oneshots.

And have a powered reader, with gravity manipulation

(seriously best power ever ngl)

Of course I shall, mi amor, I'll do whatever your heart desires. I'll be starting off with Natasha first!

If I am being totally honest, you kind of didn't know what to think of Natasha Romanoff at the begining.

I mean how could you? She came up to you with her beautiful red hair and amazing voice.

You didn't know what to do!

But Natasha knew exactly what to think of you from the start.

Fury had told her exactly what you deal was and why you were there in the Avengers just like her.

You worked with Bobbi Morse, and when she went undercover at Hyrda... you did as well. But you didn't make it out.

A year later, a girl named Daisy Johnson pulled you out, and well the mess you had been undone to, wasn't pretty.

When you became even the slightest upset everything around you seemed to drop to the floor, people, animals, picture frames, food, the list went on.

So when you found out that SHIELD wanted more from you, that they wanted you to join the fucking Avengers?

"There ain't a chance in high Hades I'm going ANYWHERE, with you." Is exactly what you screamed at the poor intern assigned to picking you up.

... There's a chance that you may or may not have pushed him twenty feet away from you with a flick of your wrist very soon afterwards.

So Natasha came next.

Well, after an hour of... talking, you joined, and let me tell you, the ammount of god damn JOKES Tony made about you 'Shaking his world.' made you want to drop him through his building to the bottom floor, no scratch that, through the bottom floor.

When Natasha asked you out, it was- something to say the least.

Nat at 3 a.m: *Knocks on your door* You opening the door yawning: What the fuck- Nat quickly looking at a spot on the wall behind you: Do you want to go out yes, or no? You tired out of your mind: Sure? Nat: *slams door*

When you did start going out Clint and Tony made about a million bets (Who'd kiss the other first, etc.)

You did, you kissed her first, (cue sounds of Clint clapping in the background and Tony crying) and it seemed to be the only thing that kept your emotions in tact

Natasha loved you, she loved the way you looked at her, the way your mouth smiled, she loved each of your scars, she loved you, and that meant every part.

Now here comes the true oneshot time.

You were not a cuddler, but surprisingly, Natasha was, after the redroom and all that time with Drakov, and not truly ever knowing the way a loving touch felt, meant she loved whenever you held her, or whenever your shoulder brushed hers, any simple touch, made her so happy.

Natasha had a tiny secret, which was that she loved cooking, her best memories where when she was younger with Yelena, and her parents were at work so she'd cook up something special for her younger sister, but you on the other hand, were terrible at cooking, the one time Clint tried to convice you, you got so pissed off the entire refrigator began floating and getting suspiciously taller then Cint.

Nightmares were a common thing between the two of you, but on days were it was truly terrible, the entire bed would lift off the ground and you'd scream these horrible words, and when you woke up? All you'd do was stare at your hands and rock back and forth.

Natasha's nightmares on the other hand were always silent, but you weren't used to silent, the tower was always bustling even at nightime, no matter if it was the familiar pang on the window as Tony's pet project The Spider would come in to repair his suit, or if Clint was pacing in the vents, or if Thor and Loki were fighting over Uno... again, or if Steve and Bucky were sparring with Wanda, and finally Natasha's familiar snore, it was soft, but whenever it stopped you woke up quickly. When she woke up it was different, she'd wave you worried hands away and tell you nothing happened.

When you guys fought, it was deathly silent, aside from the gentle hum of raw energy in the air. If she was to blame you'd just stare at her and with a whisper of despair all you'd manage was "Why?" and if you were at fault you'd get the cold shoulder, she'd change bedrooms, and wouldn't tell you what you did wrong.

she proposed because god knows your not risking rejection from the god damn black widow of all people

Now it is Clint's turn.

He screamed at you the first time you met.

Okay let me explain.

You had walked into the compound on your first day after a workout session at the gym, and it had been fucking four in the morning (You had sleep issues), and he was just laying half in-half out of the vents, and when his half opened eyes saw you...

Well he screamed.

Loudly.

Surprised by the action, a chunk of the wall fell down and you cursed, and made the concrete rise back into its place in the wall, and you stitched it together, Clint watching you silently the whole time.

When you finish, you give him a slight glare and walk off

Hes in love

Your hot, powerful, and hate him??? literally on his knees

He fell first, and he fell hard.

You didn't fall in love till around age of ultron.(at least that is what you told him)

But you ask him out first, and you do it at the worst time possible.

*during a fight* You as you bring down a building with a snap of your fingers: Just curious, you free saturday? Him blowing up some bad guys with his arrows: Yes- why? You: We're going on a date then and just wanted to make sure.

... does natasha give you the shovel talk?

...kinda...??

one night you go to bed and wake up somewhere in the middle of isreal tied up with a large piece of paper sitting in front of you that says "fucking watch yourself."

and then y'know, u quicly become besties... somehow

clint hates it (but he likes that it makes you both seem brighter)

now heres the real oneshots

he's not the best with kids, but you are, yet kids make you worried

the first date is a movie and dinner

he doesn't visit your part of the tower till the fifth date ;)

after the loki incident and even before that nightmares were common with clint, he was even more paranoid the nat

there was a gun underneath his pillow, a smoke bomb on the dresser, a comprresed bow and 15 arrows in a basket by the bed

and ofc his gravity girl <3

(thats ur name on his phone)

(his name on urs is: hawkie xo)

he loves cooking, like it borderlines crazy,

"hey babe, do you want to go out tonight cause i dont wanna cook?"

clint crashing out of the vents screaming his head off: FUCK NO. IM ABOUT TO MAKE THE MOST SCRUMPTIOUS SHIT YOU'VE EVER TASTED

and then- and then somehow he does??

your a super big hugger, but he's not.

none of the avengers have noticed the fact u 2 r dating

steve catches the signs though

he notices the way you 2 act after rough missions

You had been ignoring everyone on the way home, the avengers has went after a sex trafficking ring and you had stumbled on a room full of what the children called 'the miss behaviors' it was a room full of twenty-three children dead, with one bullet in their heads.

Now you sat in the kitchen your head in your hands. "What can't the big bad, Gravitas, deal with it?" Clint teased. "Fuck you, Barton." You hissed at him, about to stalk upstairs. "Wow, the great Gravitas can handle everything but emotions can't she?" He laughed at you and Tony was about to tell him to screw off, but Natasha grabbed Tony's arm and shook her head.

Suddenly a kitchen knife flew at Clint and he deflected it quickly. "Oh come on, such a cry baby." He smiled wide and joyfull. You were standing in the hallway shaking quietly and when you turned around you were smiling.

You were fucking pissed. You launched yourself at him, and the entire compound shook. But Clint didn't return any of your punches. He either took them or blocked them.

Finally you just stood there, your fists clenched. "Come on gravity girl. You'll be alright." He whispers.

Then... you break.

#writing #clint barton #age of ultron #avengers assemble #avengers #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanov #natalia romanova #black widow #marvel fic #fanfic #super powers #queer writers

[soup-mother]

ok this is something literally noone cares about but I'm slightly annoyed all the English language wiki stuff for advance wars days of ruin/dark conflict follows the US release translation (days of ruin? instead of the EU/AUS release version (dark conflict) because the names are changed really dramatically in the US one and it makes it confusing. (names are generally way closer to the japanese in dark conflict)

like Ed is called Ed in Japanese as well but he's Will in the US version, Catleia is Catleia in japan but Isabella in the US. it's very strange. generally the EU release follows the japanese names way more, although Drakov is called Vanda in japanese (and "the beast" in america for some reason).

not only that but the units are different too? the missile boat (which uses missiles as its main weapon) is called a gunboat in the US which is silly, and the Fighter is called a Duster (like crop duster) which is also silly. ALSO idk why but mech units/bazookas are called mech units in america but bazookas in the eu (weird because bazookas are american) BUT in the US version it's called artillery and in the eu it's Mech Gun???

the 12th Independent Legion is called the 12th battalion or Brenner's (O'Brien) wolves? but very strangely, Zephyria is called Lazuria in the US and Sapphirus in japan, and Laurentia is called Rubeline in the US and Rubel in Japan (which is the one time I've seen the US version be closer to the japanese)

advance wars localisation is a really strange topic. and more broadly it's really really interesting how stuff (especially from japan) gets localised in the US versus the rest of the world? like the infamous pokemon "doughnut" riceball thing. feels like there's generally way more liberties taken in the US localisations of things, although that's not universally true.

i guess this is one of the joys of emulation that u can experience both and get really really confused at terminology changes and why everyone online is talking about "brenner" and "gunboats". but like genuinely if you're trying to look shit up to get through the game you genuinely run into the translation difference issue surprisingly frequently.

also amusingly I'm playing Dark Conflict (EU/AUS version) yet still call it Days of ruin because that's what everyone calls it. I'm multicultural (i sometimes acknowledge yanks exist)

#my post #advance wars #advance wars days of ruin #advance wars dark conflict

[rubythecrimsonwriter]

Flipping Legacies, chapter 7 part 1

previous chapters can be found on ao3!

Natasha arrives back at the safehouse with Jason and fast food in hand. She hands out the variety pack of burgers and fries, plows through two burgers in under ten minutes, and makes her escape to change.

It has been a long day.

She changes back into the sweats, tank top, and silk robe that she’d been in last night and takes a moment to just breathe. Confronting Batman and Agent A, corralling the kid, running after Jason—it’s been a long day.

She stands in her doorway and listens to Drakov extolling the virtues of one of his knives to Damian, who she can’t see, but the fact that he’s being quiet means that he’s probably engaged. And Clint, very quietly: “I was never supposed to be a hero.”

Jason says nothing, but the air is charged.

“I’m a carnie, or an assassin, or a mercenary, or a government drone—not a hero. Was never supposed to be a hero. And then a portal opened up and Loki turned my heart to ice and my will to his, and Nat had to break me out again. And then another portal opened up over Manhattan and I said I could fly a plane, for some fucking reason, when Captain America shows up and says we need to go. And he just looked at Nat and she did her little chin lift that means so much and yet so little, you know the one?”

Jason croaks a laugh. Natasha smiles to herself a little. Nice to know she can still befuddle Clint sometimes.

“Yeah, and then Captain Fucking America nods and says let’s go. Like he just needs the word of a former KGB assassin to trust the word of the freshly un-brainwashed assassin. Like, what the fuck?”

“What the fuck,” Jason agrees, sounding like he’s sitting on a laugh.

“And then there was an alien invasion,” Clint says. “And I thought, ‘you know, I don’t think this week could get any weirder,’ and then I’m being called everything from stupid for being the only baseline human on a team of enhanced people—from technologically enhanced, to genetically enhanced, to being a fucking alien—thanks, Thor—and like. Fair. I also think I’m stupid for, uh, accidentally signing onto this circus—shut it—“

Jason’s laughing.

“I’m a carnie, I know exactly what a circus is like, and the Avengers have it all!” Clint sounds indignant. “But I’m being called stupid and badass in the same breath and then there’s the word ‘hero’ and I’m busy looking around for Captain America. I can’t say a damn thing, because it’s ‘bad for image’ and ‘we have enough issues, Hawkass, stop making my job harder’ and—well, you get the picture. So I kept my opinions to myself and thought that those people calling me a hero were stupid. And then I met Kate.”

Kate, Natasha knows, is a damn good hero. If a little rough around the edges. Which is why the callsign Hawkeye suits her down to the ground. She also takes great glee in yanking on Clint’s worldview, which is always hilarious to watch.

“And I realized that you can’t call yourself a hero. Maybe you can’t see it. Apparently I saved someone and did something badass during the Battle of Manhattan and Kate idolized me. She’d already been in archery and martial arts and after the Battle, she took it up to ten, and then I found this idiot teenage girl with a bow and arrow and a thousand dollar jacket wandering around Bronx and doing a good job almost getting herself killed. And of course I pulled her ass out of the fire, and told her to stop being stupid, and this girl had so many stars in her eyes she might as well have had a couple of galaxies hanging out in there, but she tried so hard to play it cool.”

Kate did not play it cool. Natasha remembers meeting Kate the day after. Kate was cool like a raging bonfire. Kate was not cool. Funny as hell, but not cool.

“And she followed me home and showed up on my doorstep and demanded training because she was going right back out there whether I trained her or not,” Clint says.

And now she’s the most dangerous seventeen year old girl on the eastern seaboard, Natasha thinks, grinning.

“And she knows me now. She knows that I’m not a hero, I’m just a guy that’s going to sit there and say, ‘I have this skillset. This is what needs to be done. I’m the guy that can do it. No one else around can, so let’s do it.’ And apparently that’s how that works.”

There’s a long silence, and Jason finally asks, “Was there a point to this, or is today Therapy Day and I’m the mannequin everyone’s talking to?”

“I knew I was forgetting something,” Clint says to himself, and Natasha giggles quietly. Jason snorts. “The point is that there’s a shitton of fuckups like me that get seen as heroes for some fucking reason. You have a special skillset, you see a need, you’re going to do it, damn the consequences. That’s why heroes are so controversial, because we’re needed, but we don’t work within limits as defined by laws or morals or whatever. I work with the Hulk, I’ve been brainwashed, I’ve been every bad guy in the books. Natasha’s KGB, her job was seduction and assassination and gathering information and toppling regimes, and she’s damn good at that. Tony was called the Merchant of Death. He’s a damn good weapons inventor. Batman might not call you a hero, but Crime Alley does. Natasha sees an Avenger in you. We all did, frankly, when she showed us the baby she tripped over.”

“Hey,” Jason says mildly.

“Nat’s a hundred and three, you’re a baby,” Clint says blithely.

Jason chokes. “A hundred—“

“And three,” she agrees, stepping back into the dining nook. “Can’t wait to be a hundred and thirteen, I’m going to start claiming I’m a teenager and watch all the double takes go in the opposite direction.”

Clint guffaws.

“Did you think I was joking about immortal assassins?” Natasha asks, curious.

Jason shakes his head. “I mean—Bucky Barnes. That was proof enough. I thought, maybe you were in your fifties and got recruited in the 70s. Twenty years is plenty for needing the kind of bloody revenge you talked about, not—“

“Almost eighty,” Natasha says, not unkindly. She grabs her tea and some blackberry jam and starts preparing it. “Did you want some?”

“I—yes, please.”

Drakov, in the living room, also requests tea. Natasha goes through the motions of making tea for three fairly quickly, snagging a jar of honey and some milk and bringing it all back to the table. “In the nook, Drakov,” she says. Clint gives her a puzzled look, and then realizes as Drakov comes back into the nook, Damian in tow.

“Your sneaky Russian brainwaves,” he accuses cheerfully, passing the honey.

“Clint,” Natasha says, very fondly, “you’re deaf.”

Jason hides his giggles in his teacup.

#flipping legacies #marvelxdc #dcxmarvel #jason todd #clint barton #natasha romanoff #bucky barnes

[martianbugsbunny]

If You Are Gilgamesh And Did Those Things (An Espionage Husbands Fic)

*eating diagonal-cut toast* Remember what I was saying about how that chunk from the Epic of Gilgamesh gives Espionage Husbands? Well, I decided to take the dialogue from that chunk and use it in a fic. I also used this fic as an excuse to try and figure out Fury's character a bit more, because I will admit he's sort of difficult to write, but I think I'm managing alright. Join me in my sadnesses, won't you?

There wasn’t a body, but there was a grave.

Actually, it was Fury’s.

It was a week after Talos’s death, and Fury had had the second name carved on the headstone, right above his own name, just hours ago. Their names should be blazed across the stone together, as they should also be burned into the history books—if their parts in this war were remembered at all. After life united, death united, even if their mortal bodies couldn't moulder and rot in the same place, was the only way Fury could think of it without falling apart.

....Besides, Fury had all the memories the two of them had made together, and the love they had shared was still treating brokenly in his chest, so when he eventually was interred beneath that stone himself, he would bring the most important parts of Talos to their shared grave at last.

Still, Fury hadn’t been the same since he left Talos’s body, still bleeding, on that battleground. Since that soft, strong presence had vanished from his side. He hadn’t eaten much, and the face that met him in the mirror looked like every moment was spent reliving the one where he’d watched Talos die. He couldn’t seem to get the stunned pain out of his eyes.

Sonya stood beside him at the gravesite. Fury wasn’t sure what she was doing there; he had visited her for intel and she had followed him.

“The Nick Fury I knew back in the day wouldn’t take it so hard,” Sonya said. “He was a lot tougher. Less emotional. He was the man who was a thorn in Drakov’s side, who battled Hydra, who took on the world and won. If you are Fury and did those things, why are you so thin, and your face half-crazed?”

Fury was tough. And while a large part of that toughness was having strong emotions to bolster his stubborn resolve, he had, over time, become a sort of legendary figure, and nobody believed that legends could bleed from their hearts. (Although, if anyone cared to remember that Fury had disobeyed direct orders during the Battle of New York; that he had been a man of enough faith to bring the Avengers Initiative to fruition; that alone should’ve been proof that his heart was not cold.)

He knew Sonya personally liked to believe him emotionless because she couldn’t understand being able to do the things Fury had done with an active heart. She certainly would never see the kind of emotion in him that had allowed him to fall in love with a former enemy.

“I have grieved—is it so impossible to believe?” he asked, exhausted. “My friend who went through everything with me is dead!”

All the things Sonya had listed, he and Talos had done together. Talos fed him the intel, got his own men in covert positions, made sure Fury would be going in informed and prepared so he wouldn’t be taken down. Talos was the half of Fury that nobody saw, the part that lived in shadows and stole others’ faces and never returned to the same apartment twice. Everything Fury had lived through since 1995, he had lived through with Talos secretly by his side.

“No-one grieves that much,” she said. “Your friend is gone; forget him. No-one remembers him. He is dead.”

Then she turned and left, and Fury sank to his knees on the grass.

Nobody probably did remember Talos. He was a Skrull—he had died in his Skrull flesh—and he was easy to overlook. He had fought for humanity…or for Fury, at least, and yet he could be written off as simply another one of the fallen enemy.

“Talos.” Fury ran his fingers over the freshly-carved letters. “Talos,” Fury called out. “Help me. They do not know you as I know you.”

#talos #nick fury #espionage husbands #nick fury x talos #talos x nick fury #secret invasion #sonya falsworth #source: the epic of gilgamesh #sad fic #sad author too lol #I want the green space dad back #but while I'm smad about it I might as well use that for a fic right? #et voila #angst without a happy ending #(a very rare trope for me that's how much marvel has destroyed me) #martianbugsbunny writes fic

[iriel3000]

2014 Friday Recs - Week Two

Happy Friday! Some reading recommendations for your enjoyment. No particular order and more to come.

I'm starting to see some of my favorite authors appear more and more. Luv that some have been writing for almost a decade 💘

Keep the Customer Satisfied by NyxEtoile, OlivesAwl

And so begins the next chapter in Nat and Clint's adventures in being off the grid. They explore their relationship further, learn how to actually talk, and help out a guy in over his head.

Little Red Dress by bristow

Every time they went on a mission that required some form of fancy dress-up, Natasha Romanoff always wore her little red dress. The funny thing was, she never really knew why. But she had a pretty good idea.

She Was Such A Perfect Stranger ART - Clint by LePeru (Nizah)

FANART: A call-girl AU. Natasha is a very expensive but talented Russian call girl, able to do what you want if you pay for it.

Caveman by Jaune_Chat

When Natasha is captured and unexpectedly goes into heat, Clint gives into his alpha instincts to protect her.

The Son and The Security by corinnemaree

Clint Barton, the President's son, has always had fun with his security detail, but when his father finds out about his exploits, his new security detail, Natasha Romanoff, isn't taking any of his shit. The two don't get along, with Clint messing around and never being a reasonable person. But when things become heated between the two, they might just get along.

Avengers Art Commissions by celtic7irish

Avengers Art #7: Clint x Natasha by colonelrogers

Partners by seekingsquake

"It's just until you're okay." "I'm okay." "I know."

Drakov's Daughter by ohrabbitheart

Ivan Petrovich is not a good man. The Winter Soldier has been a pawn much longer than Pierce could ever imagine. And that love affair between James and Natasha? It's not all you think it is.

The Only Exception by bookmaniac

Natasha Romanoff had never been one to believe in love, but with Clint, she just might be on her way to believing. One shot based off the song "Only Exception" by Paramore. Set shortly after Avengers.

If you are one of the authors or know them on tumblr and they are not properly tagged, please let me know in comments and I'll add them. Please feel free to click the Iriel3000fridayrecs link below to browse more categories.

#iriel3000fridayrecs #hawkeye #black widow #clintasha #clintasha fanfiction #caws #strike team delta #ao3 #ao3 fanfic #clint barton #natasha romanov

[casketsanctum]

imagine a mod for ck3 in the core... i know it will 100% benefit vlad drakov

[darklordazalin]

Azalin Reviews: 'Darklord' Vlad Drakov

Domain: Falkovnia Domain Formation: 690 BC Power Level: ⚫⚫⚫⚫⚫ 0/5 Skulls Sources: Domains of Dread (23); Domains and Denizens (2e), Ravenloft Gazetteer II (3e); Secrets of the Dread Realms (3e)

Ah, Vlad Drakov, the impaling loving little hireling Darklord of Falkovnia. Falkovnia is a land of rolling lowlands, fertile fields, and lush forests...All these resources are the only reason any other Domain in the Core puts up with this miserable failure, never-was conqueror.

Though the story changes slightly from pre and post Grand Conjunction days, Vlad was originally from the Kingdom of Thenol in the realm of Talades. Not Oerth, so clearly unimportant. Vlad and his little band of ruffians, who called themselves the Talons of the Hawk, were mercenaries. Vlad being the “Hawk” and the rest of his band of brutality being the “Talons”. Vlad doesn’t have a lot going for him, but he managed to scrape up enough charm to convince these Talons of his to do whatever he asked of them, which mostly amounted to them brutally slaughtering people for coin and Vlad impaling captives and watching them slowly die while he took on his evening meal.

Eventually, these hirelings wandered into the Mists and found themselves in the southlands of Darkon. Believing he discovered a new land, Vlad set about slaughtering my people. This did not work out the way he thought it would as his murders only gave me more weapons to work with. I sent the newly fallen and many of the old against him and his men. They fled, like the cowards they are, into the Mists.

Our ever present Tormentors thought it fit to gift Vlad with the Domain of Falkovnia then. Oh there’s some nonsensical “history” about Vlad overthrowing a “wizard king” known as the “Falcon the Great” before he settled in Castle Draccipetri and became the leader of the realm, but I place little validity on that story. Vlad couldn’t overthrow an army of ants let alone a powerful wizard king. Castle Draccipetri stands in the middle of an island on the Lukar River, a single, narrow bridge the only entryway, making it easy to defend, which matters little as no one would bother to send forces against him in the first place. The victory would be too easy.

The hireling was always looked down upon by the mighty lords and leaders that needed his brutality to win their wars and he desired nothing more than to be their equal and earn their respect. He was granted a position of rulership by our Tormentors, but the rulers of the other Domains will never respect him if they even notice him. He is akin to a fly; annoying yet easily swatted away.

Vlad tries to conquer the Domains that surround his, yet fails at every attempt. He has his heart set on Darkon, my Domain being vastly superior and richer than his own. I have lost track of the number of times the little hawk as attemppted to graps my lands in his talons, only to be swatted away by a horde of zombies. These failed attempts are barely worth the effort of a moment's work it takes for me to utterly destroy his forces. But some men do not recognize the futility of their own actions. Vlad also fails to understand where he is and why he is haunted by unsuccessful campaigns...well, besides the fact that he is always overreaching.  King of the Dead here, stop sending your soldiers into my Domain and adding to my side of an utterly pointless fight.

Failing conquest and gaining the respect of his fellow lords, Darkov has little pleasure in life except impaling his victims and watching them slowly die. He also is quite fond of “hawking” and treats his hawks better than any of his mortal companions. He takes out his frustration on his people with oppressive and extensive laws, making life in Falkovnia about as meaningless and futile as Darkov’s campaigns against Darkon.

Vlad is a fearsome warrior, but given his curse is to never know victory or respect, I will award him zero skulls. Good day sir!

#darklordreviews #azalin rex #ravenloft #dnd #vlad drakov #vlad drakov invades darkon and is repealed #falkovnia #i guess he forced the treaty of four towers to come into existence #but even those domains with few soldiers are able to deal with this idiot

[doctorhelena]

Wednesday 100 Challenge

Week 4 (PeggyNat)

Written for the @100wednesday any ship, any fandom, old-school drabble writing challenge! You can find the details here.

---

“So, the Winter Soldier.” Peggy kept pressure on Natasha’s shoulder as they followed Maria and Sam towards the dam. “That was Yelena, as in - ?”

“Yep.” Peggy knew exactly how badly Natasha’s careful shrug must hurt. “Drakov is dead, the Red Room is gone. But it looks - ”

“We’ll stop her,” Peggy told her, matter-of-factly. “And then we’ll save her.”

“This isn’t your fight, Carter.”

Peggy rolled her eyes. “Of course it is. You’re my best friend, Widow, regardless of what the second F in BFF might stand for.”

“I have to save her.”

Peggy met her gaze. “You won’t be alone.”

#wednesday100 #peggynat #my fic #drabble #winter soldier au

[demiplanardemagogue]

Despite Vlad Drakov's efforts to rebrand Falkovnia, it appears the nation is floundering. As recently reported, Falkovnia's citizens are fleeing the domain like rats from a sinking ship- except it's perhaps the rats that are staying behind in charge. Drakov has in recent days attempted numerous strategies to regain lost tax revenues. However, success in keeping to keep his borders closed for Drakov seems as slippery as Soth's resolve. This is because efforts rarely address the core problem- that his management is running it into the ground. Drakov's nightly impalings to lively dinner music do little to earn subject loyalty, for example. Apparently, offering Bloody Red Verified User checkmarks to speedup time through military checkpoints hardly seems to make up for the daily threat of having a spear through your gut.

Still, Drakov considers his land's lack of popularity to be a mere branding problem- hence renaming it "Super Happy Fun Land." (His initial idea of a name was inexplicably "Y"- perhaps as in "Y are you leaving?"- though his Ministry of Marketing at least managed to convince him only the greatest fools would rename a domain to a single letter. Whatever the case, it seems to have little effect in helping Falkovnia reestablish itself. And so once again, Falkovnia invaded the market but was repulsed- or perhaps it was repulsive.

Super Happy Fun Land's failures occur in the context of newly rising competition- though in some cases the competition seems to be doing little better. The Rex has established a nearby community on the border called "Dreads" to lure in Falkovnian defectors- though for various reasons it seems to be doing only slightly better. Darkon Zuckerberg seems to be seeking more souls to sacrifice for some farfetched plan or another- like blowing up the demiplane in another escape attempt or popularizing tire-sized VR goggles. Meanwhile, a Falkovnian defector is attempting to setup a BlueDie on Tepestani shores. Only time will tell if it will survive or go the way of Super Happy Fun Land's now extinct blue bird.

#ravenloft humor #demiplanar demagogue #demiplanar news #ravenloft news #antisocial media #vlad drakov #falkovnia fails #falkovnia #bloody red verified users #Darkon Zuckerberg #azalin rex #Tepest #gerard ferrier #dreads #rebranding #unsuccessful rebrandings #azalin fails #impaling #SUPER HAPPY FUN LAND!!

[stilltrails]

Okay but imagine Black Widow!Christine who’s a sleeper agent and doesn’t remember her time in the red room or with the others. She excelled in math and science and her purpose was to take out people that Drakov wanted her to without being noticed (as a doctor). 

Eventually she gets separated from the Widows, but sometimes she still has dreams of the red room which she doesn’t understand. It isn’t until she meets Natasha (who’s probably doing avengers business with Stephen) that she fully remember (though its still very foggy). 

Plus Natasha is happy to have her sister back. 

#natasha romanov #christine palmer #palmerstrange #stephen strange

[rubythecrimsonwriter]

Flipping Legacies, middle/end part of Chapter 8, yes this is out of order shush

Snacks are churros grabbed from a street vendor, mostly because they smelled divine while passing by. Natasha grabs enough for six, plus a few extra. Between the super soldiers, the immortals, and the growing children, someone will eat them, she’s sure.

Arms full of churros, she lets herself into the apartment and holds the door open for Nightwing. Drakov’s head pops up from the breakfast nook at the second set of footsteps.

“Drakov, Nightwing,” Natasha introduces shortly. “Nightwing, one of my first trainers and the only one left alive, Drakov, also known as the Winter Soldier or Bucky Barnes.”

Nightwing slows for a second and visibly winces. “...how is Captain America taking that?”

“Mm,” Natasha hums with a mouthful of churro, passing a bag to Drakov.

“Badly,” Drakov says dryly.

“He doesn’t know Drakov is here right now,” Natasha says.

Clint exits the bathroom and works his way down the hall. About halfway down the hall, he registers the vigilante that doesn’t live there and starts grinning.

Natasha raises an eyebrow.

Nightwing catches the look and turns around. Natasha edges her way around because she desperately wants to catch this entire interaction.

Sue her. She’s a spy. Nosy is literally her job description.

Nightwing beams. It’s the only proper word for it.

Clint launches himself at the vigilante, and what follows can only be described as a casual roughhouse. It’d be deadly for most anyone else facing either of them. It’s fast, full strength, and utterly silent.

They break apart as fast as they started, grinning, neither out of breath. They’re both grinning like loons.

“Churro?” Nightwing offers.

“Fuck yes,” Clint says.

This is a normal interaction. Alright. Natasha is not asking.

“I gotta know,” Drakov says, amused. “How long have you two known each other?”

Clint smirks, a bit. Oh. Oh no. Bozhe moy.

“Your call, my dude,” Clint says. “I’m not the one with a secret identity.”

Natasha honestly forgot that no one but her and JARVIS had put everything together to then threaten Batman in the daytime.

“I’ve known him,” Nightwing says, with a deliberateness that speaks volumes, “for longer than Batman’s had Robin.”

Natasha very carefully does not choke. Clint does.

She pounds him on the back while watching Drakov, whose eyebrows have nearly hit his hairline.

“You do realize that you can’t be saying that to just anyone, right?” Drakov says.

“He was trained by Batman,” Natasha says dryly. “I’m pretty sure that’s a challenge to say, come discover my secret identity, I dare you.”

Nightwing laughs. “If Clint reported my involvement with his mission, I’ll eat Batman’s cowl after a bad night.”

“Of course I fucking didn’t,” Clint coughed out. “I would have been laughed right back into jail if I reported a fucking nine year old doing anything but flips on a trampoline.”

Natasha exchanges a look of resigned horror with Drakov. Her own words from the previous morning haunt her: Imagine if Clint couldn’t turn off the assassin like us. So lethal, so graceful, so talented, so obvious. So ripe for HYDRA’s picking, way back in 1996. Imagine if Clint didn’t have Coulson as a handler, who was notorious for going back for his agents no matter what and had the Director of SHIELD’s ear.

Coulson would have believed Clint. Which meant Coulson was not his handler.

Oops. Agent Barton had a tragic accident on a mission. We have to bury an empty casket, her own words echo back at her again.

“Where was your handler.” The words basically fall out of her mouth without permission.

Clint does a double take at her. She doesn’t know what she looks like, but based on the fact that she’s swiftly relieved of everything she might drop, she must look like she’s about to pass out.

“I ditched him,” Clint admits, grabbing her by the shoulders and shoving her into a chair. “Considering I later wound up killing the guy they sent me to protect, I’m okay with that mark on my record. Unfortunate failure is better than intentional sabotage.”

That old Winter Soldier has had his fun, but he’s a little too feisty.

Nightwing quirks a smile at her. It looks rueful. “However bad you think it is, I can guarantee it was worse.”

“Dick,” Clint hisses. Natasha knows it’s his name. It’s said as an insult.

Natasha buries her head in her arms. “How close did you come to being serumed up and brainwashed into doing some shadowy underground totalitarian government’s bidding?”

Nightwing rocks back on his heels. “Actually, you’re right on the money. How did you do that?”

Natasha pops her head up so fast her eyesight can’t compensate. “You. Don’t talk.”

She grabs Clint. “Where the fuck was Coulson, and why didn’t you refuse a handler that would deliberately fail to catch you?”

Clint looks like he’s doing complicated math in his head and he’s losing track of the numbers. “I’m definitely missing something,” he finally says.

“She’s talking about the fact that if the Black Widow was willing to run with a normal human, and have the normal human not be dead weight, then the normal human would be utterly spectacular as a super soldier,” Drakov says levelly.

He’s just. Like. Us. But he’d be better if he was serumed up and had all five senses fully working.

Clint and Nightwing exchange a glance. She knows that glance. That’s a, wow, shit was even more fucked than I originally thought it was glance.

“Oh my god,” she says faintly.

“It’s a long story,” Clint admits. “And not one we really have time for, or, uh. Patience. On the plus side, we killed them, their undead serumed monsters, their bosses, and like ninety-five percent of the underlings, too, so unless they reinvent the wheel--”

“They did,” Nightwing says.

“—we’ll be—I’m sorry, what was that?”

“They did.”

“What?”

“They revived the Court of Owls,” Nightwing says patiently. “And Batman and I took care of them. Again.”

“Oh, well--”

“And so did Robin, again.”

Natasha looks at Drakov despairingly.

Clint opens his mouth and shuts it. He looks at the ceiling and mutters something Natasha doesn’t quite catch, but makes Drakov snort.

Nightwing has a smile on his face that’s a threat. It lingers in the corners of his mouth, around the edges of his domino. It’s a smile that Coulson would be envious of. “Gotham’s a little...much for the Mainlanders. But Clint’s welcome to run with the Bats anytime. Birds of a feather flock together, right? Especially the ones that get stalked to be brainwashed assassins.”

Natasha puts her head back onto the table and gives quiet thanks that even Hydra wasn’t willing to fuck around with Gotham’s brand of crazy.

She pushes back from the table and stands up. “You crazy kids have fun. Drakov, don’t enable them. I’m going for a run.”

“Bye!” Nightwing calls after her. “Don’t forget a rebreather!”

She shakes one as she escapes out the door in response. Get her out of here. Now.

#flipping legacies #natasha romanoff #jason todd #bucky barnes #clint barton #trying to nail down nightwing's voice right now #it's hard tbqh #like he's right up there with damian #i can do bruce and alfred and jason and tim #but dick? damian? like i know that they're more than cheerful and cranky respectively but i just don't have a proper voice for them yet #working on it though #ik damian has a SAVAGE sense of humor but that was also AFTER he started being Robin and we are currently. pre-Robin by a substantial amoun #also I am working on reading some of the first batman comics that introduce robin and shits wild man #i'm going to have so much fun writing that story #please if you're reading this and you have Important Nightwing Characterization please tag me in posts because uhh #there are a LOT of comics and I can't read them all at once unfortunately so I'll probably miss a lot

[moja--nesmrtelna]

Moja nesmrteľná - Kapitola 6

/toto je slovenský preklad my immortal, nie som autor tohto diela, len ho samozvane prekladám/

AP: dtšte huby prepy! PS nenuudem apdejzovať kĺm my nedáte doooré hodjotenja!

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Na ďalší deň som sa zobudila v svojej rakvi. Dala som si čiernu minisukňu ktorá bola celé roztrhnutá na konci a pasujúci vrch s červenou lebkou cezeň a čižmy na vysokých potpätkoch ktoré boli čierne. Dala som si dva páry lebkových náušníc, a dva kríže do mojich uší. Sprejonafarbila som si vlasy na fialovo. 

Vo Veľkej Sieni, som jedla nejaké Knieža Chokjula cereáliel s krvou namiesto mlieka, a pohár červenej krvi. Zrazu do mňa niekto šťuchol. Všetká tá krv sa vyliala na môj vrch.

,,Bastard!” zakričala som nahnevane. Iľutovala som čo som povedala koď som sa pozrela hore lebo som sa pozerala do bledej bielej tváre gotického chlapca s čiernymi špicatými vlasmi s červenými prúžkami. Nosil toľko očnej linky že som išla dole jeho tvárou a nosil čiernu peropaličku.Už nemal okuliare a teraz nosil červené kontaktné šošovky presne ako Drakove a na jeho čele už nebola jazua. Na jeho brade mal mužnú jamku. Mal sexuálne príťažlivý anglický prízvuk. Vizeral presne ako Joel Madden. Bol tak sexuálne príťažlivý že moje telo celé oteplelo keď som ho zazrelatrochu ako erekcia ale ja som dievča takže som you nedostala vy chlievaci

,,Prepáč.” povedal hamblivým hlasom. 

,,To je všetko v pravo. Ako sa voláš?” pýtala som sa. 

,,Moje meno je  Henrich Hrnčiar, i keď väčšina ľudima nazýva Vampír v posledných dňoch.” zadudral.

,,Prečo?” opýtala som sa.

 “Lebo mám rád chuť ľudskej krve.” za chechtal sa.

 ,,No, ja som upír.” priznala som. 

,,Ozaj?” zafňukal. 

,,Ano.” zahrmotala som. 

Posadili sme sa aby sme sa na chvíľu porozprávali. Potom sa Drako priplížil za mnou a povedal mi že má pre mňa prekvapenie tak som s ním odišla. 

#repost #my immortal #ťumbľr #čumblr #moja nesmteľná

[frogbearwhatever]

Very Short Story- Snow White

There it was again.

A snow white flash among the trees.

"She's close." Drakov muttered, cocking his pistol.

"Don't you feel any empathy? All she wants is the man who jilted her to acknowledge her." Kryllora whispered.

"Empathy is for the living."

#my writing #writing #minific #prompted writing #horrorprompt #vss 2023 #vss #very short stories