#spooky plays dragon age

[yshtal]

haters will never understand but the fallow mire is SUCH a good area in da:i and I refuse to accept criticism

#in which she rambles #it’s a straightforward end-to-end quest level that appeals to the early game fanatics #while still being open world enough that non-linear players can enjoy it #it’s full of horrors #the swamp is massive and you can die in it #all of your companions hate being there and WILL tell you so #skywatcher my beloved is there #literally untouchable #luv the mire #the ambiance and the spooky string music?? *chef’s kiss* #every time I replay I’m like ‘ah fuck the fallow mire again’ and the. play through the entire thing in one sitting because I enjoy it so muc #truly madly deeply never have the time to get tired of this ghoulish and horrible bog and that’s a PERFECT level lads #it’s short! it’s unique! it’s filled with horrors! what more could you want! #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dai

[ziracona]

I really miss Dragon Age 2.

#I’m not sure I can say it was the best one? technically speaking Origins probably is? but it was the one that I liked the story of most. it #hit me deepest. that messed me up but I also loved it. and it was much better designed for cause and effect #dragon age 2 #inquisition is frustrating because half the time - especially w War Room - you pick as well as you can based on all the info you /have/ at #your disposal and it goes ‘hehe you picked Lelianna’s ‘let’s be cautious and scout first’ ^u^ over Josephine’s ‘let’s ask the nobles if they #can help intel gather’ and Cullen’s ‘let’s send our soldiers to look around’. 300 people died ^u^’ #so if you want good results you either re-load or use a guide bc there’s little sense to it & you’re constantly punished not for really your #own choices but just arbitrarily. I used a guide like 3 times the entirety of DA2. I use them constantly for DAI becuase every time I go ‘im #just gonna play normally : )’ ten minutes later I tell some girl the wardens seem cool & she immediately gets brutally murdered #also they constantly have NPcs there to tell you something and die seconds later and it’s so annoying??? in every other DA game you can heal #and save NPCs you find injured but now they go ‘tell my wife…I’m sorry…’ and die and you have a quest to tell their wife ‘sorry I didn’t #give her one of the 40 health potions I was carrying’ or some idiocy. I have NOT ONCE been able to save by healing an NPC when in every #other game I had MANY chances. no heal even EXISTS as a spell in DAI when it’s a basic skill in every other game??? #also the quests are structured so badly half the time I walk into a house and kill a monster and Varric goes ‘ah the High Beam Killer dead #at last’ and I won’t know what the fuck he’s saying At All but some quest marked Spooky Mansion is marked completed and I gain exp without #ever remotely knowing what the quest was in the first place #in DA2 when I got punished I deserved it. in Act3 the Mages with Grace suspected me of turning them in bc I tricked the Templars instead of #killing Thrask and that made sense. I did pick a slightly less safe outcome to protect him. i absolutely never betrayed them but I did take #a risk that put /them/ at risk and it made sense for her to distrust me. In DAI my friends get killed because I’m Qunari no matter what I do #at the war table before or after and they just give me pointless missions about it so I have the illusion of choice and consequence #DAI is obsessed with Only Bad Outcome quests because the Devs are centrists who think there’s no right answer to fucking anything and it #deeply damages the story structure and the quest load out #(I don’t hate DAI I’m just venting. I enjoy many many parts of it. but some I want to destroy rabidly with a hammer)

[layalu]

6, 8, and 11 for the video game asks <33

[ask game]

Thank you for the ask! <33

6. Favorite genre?

To play myself, platformers/metroidvania and puzzle games (ideally both combined)! Otherwise I love RPGs and anything that is story-heavy and/or character focused, though those I don't mind watching LPs of instead of playing them myself since gameplay isn't my focus (and bc that way I can skip the tedious parts like grinding lol)

8. First video game you remember playing?

The Löwenzahn CD ROMs I had as a kid (and still have, in fact) :) There were multiple disks but the one I remember the most is the one that had snails as one of its themes.

Or, if we're going actual console games, then Battle for Bikini Bottom is the first I remember

11. Video game you’ve spent the most time on?

Minecraft probably? I bet the accumulated time spent on building projects over the years is quite the sum haha

#i really don't care much about playing games myself except when the actual playing part makes up a lot of the experience #like say. celeste or portal or professor layton (or more recently dragon age lol) #otherwise playing is a bonus but not required #or completely off the table in the case of spooky stuff lmao because i am a scaredy cat #but ye thanks again rachel! :) #ask game

[theplottdump]

a silly lil' simblr CAS challenge;

Send me a Symbol and the name of one of my Sims, and I'll dress them up!

👑 Sims Medieval 🤠 Yeehaw 🤖 Cyberpunk ✨ 50s Astro-Futurism ☄️ Post Apocalyptic 🧝 Their Dungeons and Dragons Character 🏠 Suburban Sitcom 🥵 Something a lil' Spicy 👶 Younger 👴🏻 Older 👻 Spooky Day Costume 🐫 Egyptologist Chic 📸 Red Carpet Glam 🏴‍☠️ Pirates! 🚀 Space Pirates! ☕️ RomCom Love Interest/Protagonist 🖤 Funeral Attire 🏐 Beach! 💎 Secret Agent 😈 Supervillain 🧊 Titanic 🎷 Jazz Age 💖 Barbie/Ken Coded 🔪 Murder Mystery 🪄 Magic Town 🕺 Mamma Mia (here we go again) 🎸 Rock Star 🏈 High School Stereotype 👗 Prom 🔥 Prom but on Fire ⚡️Greek God(ess) 🧛🏼‍♂️ An occult/a different occult 👀 In another simmers style/aesthetic

Feel free to reblog and tag anyone you think might want to play! tagging: @aheathen-conceivably, @antiquatedplumbobs, @simadelics for inspiring me to make this and @shoobysims, @cinamun, and @doctorsimcraft for being some real ones.

#simblr ask game #simblr #cas challenge #ask game

[myx-on-earth]

Content Warning: Landfall Game's April Fools Triumph

For the Content!

It would seem that an April Fools joke of a game has resulted in overnight indie success. Landfall Games, a beloved indie game studio, has a yearly April Fools tradition they call “Landfall Day”, where their devs put together essentially a parody of whatever game is popular at the time. They’ve parodied everything from DayZ to battle royales (Twice, with Totally Accurate Battlegrounds and Knightfall), and this year it would seem it’s Lethal Company’s turn.

Lethal Company is a game known for silly co-op shenanigans that seem to instantly translate into YouTube content- and Content Warning takes that idea and turns it up to 11, making being an influencer a part of the game mechanics. You and a group of friends take a diving bell to “The Old World”, a spooky map filled with monsters and traps entirely for the sake of internet entertainment value. With a single camera and 90 seconds of film, your group has to make the spookiest, funniest video possible- because your only source of income is Spooktube, and that revenue doesn’t come easily.

It's such a brilliant parody of both the horror genre Lethal Company tapped into and the loop of content creation in the internet age that it, somehow, wraps around to being an excellent game in of itself, though Landfall is no stranger to finding gold through satire. Previously, their first battle royale parody (Totally Accurate Battlegrounds, a riff on PUBG) found some success, enough that Landfall turned it into a full venture. It’s not as popular nowadays, but it IS legitimately good- and Content Warning seems to be turning out the same way with its initial popularity and engaging premise.

Typical Content Warning video result, featuring myself, @thatpocketninja, @squiddskipp, and a third friend who requested to remain anonymous

In the space of video game development, April Fools seems to be not so much a “joke” day, but a day that allows ideas to be thrown around that might not otherwise have been considered, which can lead to majorly creative leaps of faith. With examples like the Yakuza series’ pivot to turn-based combat, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon’s continued success in the midst of a floundering Ubisoft, and even Lilith Walther’s upcoming definitely-not-Bloodborne Kart (now known as Nightmare Kart), the idea of “joke turned legitimate gamedev venture” isn’t exactly new.

I actually had the pleasure of exchanging emails with Hanna Fogelberg (@thebirdmountain on Twitter), Landfall's Head of Community, who provided some insight into Content Warning’s development and the overwhelming response in the interview below.

1. What's it like to go to bed seeing some success, then waking up to find your joke game is a viral hit? Did you expect this at all, given the surprising amount of polish it has?

"We couldn't sleep to tell you the truth! Even if the team said good night at about 2am we kept texting the player numbers to each other throughout the night, we were very wired! We always knew there was the potential of the game going really well, there's something about the design and shareability of the videos you make that we knew could hit it big but it's still surprising it went THIS well."

2. How long did it take to develop Content Warning?

"Content Warning was made in about six weeks of active game development, but the idea came to us back in December!"

3. What were your main inspirations for the game? (Beyond Lethal Company, of course)

“Lethal Company and similar games were an obvious reference for the gameplay loop, we love that game! That said, what was most interesting to us was the core of the game - the filming and video creation. We were inspired by YouTubers and influencer culture, there's something interesting in people risking life and limb for content that we wanted to play off of. 

Other than that, the vibes of The Older World were inspired by Junji Ito and a specific H.R Giger painting while The Over World references the Swedish children's book Pettson och Findus.”

4. How experienced was the dev team?

“We're pretty experienced, the Landfall team has been making games for over 10 years with previous releases being Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Stick Fight: The Game, Clustertruck and Rounds to mention a few.”

5. How does this experience compare to the last semi-viral success Landfall had with a Landfall Day game? (TABG)

“This game outdid TABG in player numbers several times over! So it's hard to compare, this is by far our most viral hit to date.” 6. Any plans for the future of the game? Or just basic bug fixes and some more content? 

“We will see! Currently, we're focusing on fixing bigger bugs and other issues but we already have some new content planned. We're kind of playing it by ear at this point, it all depends on how things go in the coming weeks.”

Some may attribute Content Warning’s success to multiple factors- the 24 hour free period, how it riffs on Lethal Company and the tropes it already employs, or even that it was “designed to go viral”- but you can’t deny that, even as an iterative piece, it still manages to find its own identity and already seems to have captured the content creation hearts of everyone who gives it a chance. Games like this, that aren’t reliant on micro transactions and are buoyed by the PEOPLE you play with, rather than the money that one must spend on it, are the hope- and, hopefully, the future- of the video games industry. You can find Content Warning (No longer free, but still very cheap!) at the link below: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2881650/Content_Warning/

#indie games #gaming #journalism #landfall #content warning game #honestly a legitimately fantastic game #i will be absolutely playing more #better than lethal company??!?!!?!?! jk 2 legends can exist

[vivilove-jonsa]

The Stranger's Bride

For Day 2 of the Jonsa Halloween Event: The Stranger - Pumpkin - Full Moon

(This is just a little something because I'm tired of outlining the next book tonight and the spooky season brought this to mind❤️)

It's nearly nightfall.  Sansa wishes they hadn’t waited so late for the ceremony.  The moon hides behind the clouds like a child playing peek-a-boo, eager to spoil her surprise.  She breathes in deeply and checks her reflection one last time.  A picture-perfect bride with auburn hair and a fragile, haunted beauty stares back.  He will be eager to bed her once the feast is over and the Wolf will be eager to feast in turn.  She’s been dutiful all her life but, tonight, duty dies. 

The music swells as the massive doors of the sept open.  All guests turn to watch her coming down the aisle in her ivory and grey cloak, embroidered with the direwolf, the symbol of the Stark Family.  Every man in her family has the beast tattooed over his heart from the age of sixteen when he swears the oath.  So silly.  As if a tattoo makes a man into a fearsome beast.  What does her groom have tattooed over his heart?  A dragon?  Perhaps so though she knows he is the son of her long-dead aunt.  

Outwardly, this looks like a happy occasion but the bride knows better.  The men are all armed and ready to spill blood at a moment’s notice should something go awry.  And, the women present either look at her with pity (if they have sense) or envy (if they have none.)  One thing is agreed though - they all think she’ll be lucky to survive one year as his wife.  

Sansa ignores the stares, holding her head high as she walks with measured grace, letting her blue eyes sweep over the images of the gods above the altar.  She could relate to the Maiden’s plight or seek the Mother’s comfort or Crone’s wisdom today.  

But there stands the Stranger.  

How fitting when she is to wed a stranger today, the ruthless new underworld boss of the South, Jon Targaryen.  They say he is a cold-blooded killer. It's rumored he can't be killed. Nonsense. All men die.

When she dares look at him, his dark eyes burn with fire, reminding her that his family’s favorite method for eliminating their enemies is burning them alive.  Gruesome but effective.  The Starks prefer the old ways.    

“He will never harm you,” Father had said when he’d told her of the arrangement he had made with the now-deceased Rhaegar Targaryen.

“There is little you can do about it if he does.”  Father knows it to be true even if he prefers to pretend otherwise.  She’ll be his wife and under his power. At least, that’s what they all think.  

“A marriage between our houses will bring peace.  It’s better for business.”

Business.  That is the name of the game when you’re born into the mob.  Arranged marriages are still popular in their world, a way to broker peace.  The Northern Families had needed peace badly enough for her father to barter his oldest daughter away.  

Through stained glass, the moon winks at her from behind the clouds and that familiar, savage hunger unfurls.  Not yet, not yet.  She clutches her tummy, hoping to mask it as maidenly nerves.  

Father grips her hand a little tighter, the tiniest sign he’s not the emotionless ice man everyone believes him to be.  Is it a desire to comfort her that prompts him to do it?  A warning to her not to run?  Or fear of what may happen this night?

The endless walk to her groom is over before she knows it and her father's protection ends. It's fine. She can protect herself. 

The septon starts to speak and the rustling behind them tells her the guests are taking their seats.  What a show they may have if those clouds can’t contain the moon a little longer.   

But a cold, scarred hand slips into hers, drawing her from her murderous thoughts.  The darkness of his eyes is not as profound up close.  The grey reminds her more of her father’s with flecks of lilac visible in the candlelight.  

His lips twist into a wry but undeniably fetching grin.  She would prefer if he’d been plainer.  No other appetites would be raised if that were so. 

“Good evening, wife.”  They are the first words he has ever spoken to her. They feel like a caress meant to calm.

“Good evening,” she murmurs in reply.  She is well known for her courtesy after all.  He is handsome. Perhaps she will let him bed her before she allows the wolf to-

“You smell…”  He lets the words hang and she wonders if he means to insult her here at the altar as they are being wed.  Her eyes snap to his and those mesmerizing eyes have changed again back to something dark and unfathomable when he finally finishes the sentence.  “Delicious.”  

And, it’s then that she hears it in his voice, that rumbling growl his civil mask can’t contain as the moon emerges from the clouds.  She knows that sound like her own heartbeat. His thumb sweeps across her wrist, setting her pulse to pounding and drawing an answering growl from her own throat.  How curious.  

"You smell... dangerous," she says, testing.

He smiles, showing her his sharp teeth. Oh. Her groom is a stranger to her but they share an unexpected kinship. 

Old Nan had always said she would recognize another with the dark gift without ever uttering a sound.  She was right.  What an interesting discovery to make on one's wedding day. She can't wait for the wedding night.

#jonsa #jonsa halloween #jonsa halloween 2023 #jonsa fic

[dragonageconfessions]

CONFESSION:

I was watching YouTube videos of walkthroughs of the haunted houses for this year's Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Park. When I saw that they did a house based on the game "The Last Of Us" an idea came to me. I know it will never happen because Universal Studios doesn't have permission or rights to do so but I think it would be interesting if one year they did one of their houses based on the Dragon Age games. The house would take park goers through either the Deep Roads or some other spooky location and scare actors would be dressed as Darkspawn, walking corpses, Ghouls, and other scary creatures or characters and their would be a couple of actors playing Alistair, Morrigan, or any other major character. The house could also have a big animatronic of either an Ogre, a Broodmother, or even the archdemon.

#Dragon Age Confessions #Halloween #The Deep Roads #Dragon Age Origins #Dragon Age

[yandere-fics]

Very spooky request. Witch reader with the whole kingdom cast after her.

The Kingdom wants them due to their skill. At least that's what they say to the other court nobles. Totally not because they're such a nice charming bby that always is so kind to them. Theanna totally didn't fall in love with them when she was still seeking ways to take the throne. Their smile and laugh a stark contrast to the whining and complaining of her courtiers. And Abigail and Ainsly totally didn't get enamored when they showed their skills and abilities defeating raging beasts and protecting some children who ran just a bit too far into the forest when playing. Elisha is also adamant that she only goes to the witch for their help in healing her wounds. Totally not because when she looks into their eyes she sees the finest jewels she's ever seen. That evil dragon is the only one that seeks out the witch. The court says it's to hinder the kingdom's prosperity, but in actuality it's because whenever Veronia and reader run into each other they give her some bangin biscuits and pastries. Also she sometimes stays the night and cuddles with Veronia :3c.

(Okay I love how this sort of feels like reader literally only really likes Veronia. Had to change it a bit with Theanna since she already had a mage. She recruited Ainsley at the age of 12 cause she was girlbossing. I was a bit goofier with this request, it was a bit less dark than other things. Ainsley is excluded because if everyone else were pining for her darling like this, they'd be dead, she has no loyalty even though she's in Theanna's squad.)

♡ Them With A Sweet Witch Darling ♡

♡ Theanna always feared those with magic when she was younger, before she knew better. At the time of your meeting there was always the fear that should she come into contact with someone who had magic, they'd be able to see the copious amounts of spells that she had on her, and possibly dispel them, though that way highly unlikely as Ainsley always reassured her. Thus upon your first meeting she was hesitant to get close to you, despite you being known as extremely friendly and loveable to all the villagers. ♡

♡ When she first approached you it was with ulterior motives, having the witch who was beloved by her citizens on her side would only be one more reason for her to be made successor. She liked you enough but that was the extent of it. She really didn't think much more about your interactions until she really took the throne and realized she would need a wife. A kind wife, and she realized you'd been the only one to truly be kind to her before she became heir to the throne. ♡

♡ That totally was all there was to it. She needed a wife and you were perfect for the role. Yeah, she's kind of stupid and doesn't realize if that's all there was to it then she wouldn't have forced you to move your house to the capital and she wouldn't have assigned her best knight to watch over you secretly(R.I.P. to Abigail, she'll never get a break) ♡

♡ She was kind of upset when you became common knowledge to the people. You had been the first person she had truly gotten close to when she arrived in the world, seeing as you always treated all of her wounds. She liked having you be her safe haven in the forest so hearing you had moved to the capital was extremely frustrating because now you would be treating other people's wounds. ♡

♡ She had tried her best for years to convince you to join her on her travels as a healer, totally only as a healer, and yet you had chosen to move to the capital just because the crown princess asked you to? Needless to say the adventurer is now on bad terms with the rest of the kingdom. ♡

♡ At a certain point they have to weigh their options, they can either have the lovable witch, or the dragon slayer. They chose you, lol. Elisha really needs to hatch a plan to take you to another kingdom but with your rizz, they'd probably also try to take you. You'll never be Elisha's secret again. ♡

♡ Abigail is fine with being your knight, honestly she would have tried to guard you when you moved to the capital anyways. She knew being a witch would make adjusting to capital life difficult and you were almost a minor celebrity so you needed security. That's all there was to it. ♡

♡ She's oblivious to how she feels, simply believing her feelings towards you are just wanting to protect the future queen, one of the most skilled warriors she's ever met and she would never ever take the queen away from her closest friend, right? ♡

♡ Be still heart, she can't allow herself to love, she'll have to settle for being your admirer and guard. Maybe, hopefully Theanna dies before you so in your later years as a widow, you can move into her estate and she can have you close to you. ♡

♡ The kingdom has committed an act of war by having you move to the capital. She can't have her mate be so far away. It was bad enough when you lived in the forest and had people visit you at random. She was allowing that to happen though because you always returned to her at the end of the day. You were happy to see her right? So why then did you move to the capital?! ♡

♡ It's alright cause you still visit her with your cookies every week, and she knows that the people keeping you in the capital will be oulived by you so you will one day return to the forest with her and she'll hold you there forever. ♡

♡ All she must do is have patience. ♡

#yandere oc #yandere lesbian #yandere x reader #yandere x y/n #yandere asks #yandere scenarios #my oc theanna #my oc elisha #my oc abigail #my oc veronia

[anglespin]

DUDE, THE DRAGONS YOU TAKE INSPO FROM ARE SO COOL?? Woahhhh, now I have two new games to reference from. Personally, I take a lot of reference from DOTA: Dragon's Blood and a little bit of Dragon's Dogma for the dragon heart/weakness idea. (Been having a dragon au brewing in my head for RE ngl) How do you think your Leons would've got infected? I'm just asking cause usually people do something along the lines of 'this guy got infected and turned into a dog hybrid'! Or something like that. (Genetics would apply to that too, possibly???) I guess this also applies to Las Plagas Leon, but honestly the way he could've got infected could be very different from RE4/RE4R if you want to go that route. (Honestly this goes for all you hybrid Leons in general, so if you wanna answer don't complicate it too much so I don't make your brain or something die bc of me 😭)

JUST WANTED TO ASK THISSSSS!!

Receives your heart and throws millions back at you ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I havent really seen anything for those two games you've mentioned... I'd love to try Dragon's Dogma though I think?

I grew up on Dragon Age so those two dragons got a special place in my heart. The ArchDemon is crazy awesome and spooky looking!!! I also love Flemmeth's dragon design as well, but I didn't use hers for anything.

My plaga Leon specifically was infected through RE4-- just with a major twist and fuckery on my part.

Leon was given a Queen Plaga instead of a normal one in order to subdue his will far easier. Saddler had known based on what he'd been told by his people that Leon was formidable and unstoppable... so he ordered Menendez to "convert" him with one. Also Saddler was very interested in expanding the holy body's hierarchy (not in a weird, breedy way though) since the Queen had no host that could take it's will and power. This is based on the Remake version of events because I haven't played OG4 yet... I have it on my pc.

Krauser's own actually reacts to the Queen Plaga

The Plaga he was given hadn't been killed when he was treated... instead it had gone dormant in shock. The treatment wasn't in time and also the plaga was just too strong to be taken out. It re-emerges once he's in the United States during his quarantine post-mission.

The US government was indeed very interested in the Plagas once they were informed of them... and Leon having a Queen specimen was very... promising. Especially because the Queen is independent from Saddler and that means Leon can command soldiers. (Which is why I have BOW armor Leon... He's deployed with Verdugos on missions. Also I want to have Leon vs. Chris at some point w it cause it sounds SUPER COOL!!! Chris wouldn't know its Leon though hehe)

C-Virus.... I've always liked to use C-virus for shit so I was like: Government experiments on Leon a little bit in some super soldier program designed to use Las Plagas as biological enhancements. They create their own Verdugos and Leon can command them as a Queen bee can. They also discover that C-Virus and Plagas are pretty compatible. It gives Plaga Leon the ability to change as far as needed... and revert back without much issues.

Leon's DNA is used for alot of the projects so everything is actually traceable back to him

Plaga Leon is actually not that strong. Chris can still go toe to toe easily with him. He's only stronger when he's more transformed... then uhhh survive :3c

The BSAA heavily pushes into investigations of the US Government and eventually the DSO over Human Rights violations among other things involving the creation and use of BOW's for their own interests. Chris actually pressures Leon over it alot... but Leon is utterly terrified of saying anything because its extremely dangerous and top secret information (also he was ahem.. conditioned to not spare a peep).

The Magenta eyes were an intentional design choice because red is kinda corny imo and also i thought it was cool :3c

KSDFJSLKFJSL AAAA HEARTS!!!

#angle's inbox archive

[taevbears]

Magic Shop - 01

Your magical journey begins with a fateful encounter and a beloved companion.

⤑ pairing: (eventual) OT7 x female witch!reader ⤑ genre: magic au, slow burn, action/adventure ⤑ rating: 18+ ⤑ word count: 8.3k ⤑ warnings: DUB-CON, implied SA, side character death, systematic oppression, religious themes, violence, brief smut (foreplay and fingering), mention of blood, just a lot of dark themes in general, our reader is a smart cookie but also an idiot when it comes to the boys. ⤑ note: Hello lol. So I'm not exactly new to fanfiction, but I am new to writing BTS fanfiction. Anyway, spooky season is around the corner and this story has been in my head for a while now. This chapter is also heavily inspired but this game called Dragon Age: Origins (though you don't need to play it to read this story). Also big shoutout to @angelicyoongie for the tips and encouragement throughout my writing process ♡

Chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 (final)

The Devoted teaches that all magic is a source of wicked power, and those who inherit the abilities to manipulate unnatural forces are cursed.

For centuries, word of its immorality has spread throughout the lands. Until, one day, it’s become a universal truth. For magic, like all things twisted and evil, come from the Veil. A hidden realm between the spiritual and mortal worlds. A place of whims and fantasy. Of unspeakable horrors and sins.

To many, the Veil is a mystery.

Some describe it as a place where dreams manifest. A cluster of visions, intermingling together, creating a world of sleep and wake. Images that show one’s true desires and their darkest secrets.

Others say it’s a world for the passing. Where all souls end up once they leave the mortal realm. Lucky ones find a way to be reincarnated to a new life. Most are aimless wanderers, no longer attached to the memories of their previous lives. But there are some unfortunate ones who become restless spirits, gone too soon or burdened with regret. Eventually, the despair and fury overcome them, tainting their souls with a miserable, contagious darkness.

Mages, who are most attuned with their magic in the Veil, are also the most susceptible to corruption. The tainting is subtle at first. Whispered insecurities, fears, regrets, and doubts, chipping away at one’s sense of self. Until it molds and twists into a hatred that fills the hearts of mages and overflows into the mortal realm like a plague.

History speaks of those who have succumbed to the tempting darkness of their own abilities. Those who have sacrificed the blood of innocents for their unholy rituals. Who transformed humans into beasts, and who single-handedly usurped grand cities in their lust for power and greed.

They’re called the Wicked.

Left unchecked, all those born with magic could become tainted by their own power. Even those with the purest of souls.

Thus, it’s declared that all mages are condemned to be locked away in isolated castles and towers. Away from the humans, who deem them as dangers to their society, and heavily guarded by the Wardens of the Devoted, the sentries who have taken an oath to protect humankind and eliminate mages from becoming Wicked.

On a high cliff, overseeing the inky waters of a dark lake and beyond the ominous deep woods is Blackstone Castle. It’s one of the few hidden fortresses where those with an affinity to magic are taken upon the awakening of their abilities. Its tall, looming towers and sturdy, ancient structures are all you’ve ever known. Within its lonely, dreary walls and corridors is what you call home.

Like many cursed children, you’ve awakened your power at a young age. Too young to even remember the faces of your parents before you were cruelly ripped away from them.

Under the care of the Circle of Magi – enchanters who work as caretakers, teachers, and groundskeepers within the castle – and the ever-vigilant gaze of the Blackstone Wardens, you’ve learned to cultivate your art and make it into something incredible. Something beautiful.

Through years of study and practice, your passion and relentless determination has driven you to the top of your class. You’re a promising apprentice, yet to be defeated in a dueling match of incantations and spells. Your hard work has earned you many praises from your mentors, as well as the weary caution from the armored wardens.

After all, in the eyes of the Devoted, you’re an abomination. And your beautiful, remarkable talent is vile. Atrocious. Evil.

Someone like you – a young, feisty apprentice of high regard, who embraces the curse of magic as a blessing – is the perfect, dangerous concoction of becoming Wicked.

There’s only one way the enchanters and the wardens can determine a young mage’s abilities and their resistance to temptation within the Veil. A secret rite of passage that turns an apprentice into a full-fledged mage. A final test that all Blackstone students spend their youth anticipating and preparing for.

The Harrowing.

All mage apprentices must face this inevitable trial, but very few know what it truly entails. Those who’ve done it and succeeded are forbidden to speak about it. And those who’ve failed are never seen or heard of again.

At any given moment, an apprentice will be beckoned for this evaluation, and will have no other choice but to obey its call. And yours could be any day now.

“Mina,” a voice gently calls in the middle of the night. Your eyes flutter open, glancing at the handsome warden standing by the doorway. Light from the hallway shines behind him, almost giving him an angelic appearance. He addresses the girl sleeping in the bunk next to you. “Mina, wake up.”

Your roommate stirs at the sound of her name. “Seokjin?”

“It’s your time.”

In the darkness, you see Mina stiffen and a tense silence passes between them. You all know what those words mean. You watch as she takes a shaky breath and then proceeds to step out of bed. Some of the other girls in your tiny dorm sit up on their bunks to see her go. She returns your stares with an unspoken goodbye.

Your gaze turns to Seokjin just then. The handsome warden smiles sadly, watching as she tries not to tremble before him. Mina pauses by your bed, giving a half-hearted smile, one that carries the weight of the years of friendship between you two, before she leaves the dorm.

It’s the last time you’ll ever see her.

“She’s the fourth girl that went missing this month,” Hoseok comments, picking up pieces of grilled lamb and putting them on your plate. “Ever since Seokjin was transferred here, girls who do their Harrowing have disappeared more frequently.”

“Are you saying Seokjin has something to do with it?” you question, putting the meat right back on his plate. You refuse to eat more than your share when your best friend hasn’t even touched his food.

“I’m saying it’s suspicious.”

“It is really odd,” you agree, chewing thoughtfully. “But it’s Seokjin. I don’t think he has anything to do with the missing girls.”

Hoseok snorts. “You say that because you have a soft spot for him.”

“I saw him cowering over a moth that flew over his head the other night, Hoseok. I don’t think it’s that much of a reach to believe he’s harmless.”

Over a week has passed since Mina was summoned. No one has seen her around the castle after that night. As her roommate, the two of you would dream and whisper about passing that secret test together.

It’s the next big milestone; a graduation from your apprenticeship. Passing your Harrowing will bring you one step closer to becoming a true mage. Your new status will unlock new books and spells within the libraries. You can become a member of the Circle, whether to educate students, care for the little ones, or upkeep your favorite parts of Blackstone. The wardens will be less strict with you, given that you’d be living proof of your willpower and resistance to temptations. And that mysterious realm, with all its secrets and treasures, will be opened to you for the first time.

More than anything, you were ready for it. Both of you were.

But then, that night happened.

Suddenly, you wake up in the morning and see her empty bunk beside you. The bed is made and the pillow is cold. It hasn’t been touched. Not since she left. The other girls that share the dorm wonder about her, as she was friends with everyone she meets. But no one knows for sure what happened. If she’s still in the castle, why hasn’t she come by to see you all?  Is she just busy with her new tasks and duties? Is something else going on?

While you’re lost in thought, Hoseok adds some meat back on your plate. He knows you’ve been unsettled since your roommate disappeared. You’ve told him as much when she didn’t return the next morning. And while you appreciate his subtle ways of taking care of you, you catch him in the act and return it back to him.

“Hoseok, please.”

“Sorry, I’m just…” he trails off with a heavy sigh, putting the utensils down. “I’m worried. The disappearances. Our own Harrowings. All the changes that come afterwards. Aren’t you scared?”

You are. More than you’re willing to admit.

You and Hoseok have been friends since you were kids. There’s rarely a day when the two of you aren’t seen together. Although you’ve been in Blackstone for as long as you can remember, he’s one of the very few you consider a friend.

Here, beneath the tree you and Hoseok are sitting under, holds so many first memories for you: your first kiss, your first confession, a sacred vow, a proposition. All of it with Hoseok.

But Hoseok doesn’t love you that way.

He told you so himself, catapulting your friendship into a strange limbo between platonic and romantic. One where you’ll seek each other out for comfort and affection, sometimes in ways that are too intimate for just friends. One where you can talk to each other about anything and everything, carrying each other’s secrets, knowing exactly what spots and kinks get him going behind that beautiful, sunny smile. One where Hoseok wouldn’t deny it if someone mistook you as his girlfriend, but in private, when it’s just you and him, he’d ask if the two of you are still friends.

Hoseok doesn’t love you that way because he likes Mina.

But he was afraid of messing up with her. So, he’d come to you. His best friend, a safe zone. Someone he trusted won’t break his heart.

And you let him because there’s one secret that Hoseok doesn’t know about. That maybe, perhaps, there’s a part of you that holds onto the hope of something more.

It’s confusing, this dance that you and Hoseok have shared over the years. Both of you value your friendship so much. But once you pass your Harrowing, you’ll no longer be an apprentice. You’ll be moved out of the dorm and into the enchanters’ corridors. You’ll be assigned new tasks and duties within the castle. Your schedule will be completely different from Hoseok’s. 

You won’t see him as often as you do now. And that’s what terrifies you the most.

“I don’t have a reason to be,” you finally answer with a confident smile. A convincing lie.

He laughs in a way that makes your heart melt. “Wow, my best friend is very brave.”

You try not to let your smile falter and shovel some food in your mouth. The topic of Mina still lingers over your head. Hoseok must be heartbroken, even if he seems more occupied fretting over you. It feels absurd to move on from the fact that she isn’t around anymore, but Mina is one of the many girls who left without a trace.

“Anyway,” Hoseok continues, picking at his food again. “Just promise me you’ll be careful around Seokjin, okay?

“You have nothing to worry about, Hoseok,” you assure him with a small smile. Perhaps you really do have a soft spot for the handsome warden. “I trust him.”

“Yeah, but–”

“Wait, Hoseok,” you interrupt, turning your gaze away from him. “Did you hear that?”

Both of you fall quiet. The courtyard is busy with fellow apprentices on their break from morning lectures. Beyond the chatter, however, is a loud rustling coming from the bushes nearby. His eyes widen as he whispers, “Do you think it’s a bear?”

“A bear–” you sputter, standing to your feet. “No, I don’t think so.”

You carefully walk toward the sound, eyeing the shrubs before you. One of them pinpoints exactly where the source of the noise is coming from.

“What if it’s a tiger?” Hoseok asks urgently, tailing closely after you. His grip around your shoulders is almost painful.

Neither of those animals are revealed as you push the shapely plants with your hand. Instead, hidden in the small opening, is a tiny kitten.

It hisses the moment it sees you two, warning you both to stay away.

“Hey, it’s okay,” you coo softly, trying to calm it down. It looks like a stray. Its black fur is covered with blood, dirt, and grime. It must’ve gotten attacked by another animal nearby.

“Poor little guy,” Hoseok says, peering over your shoulder. “How did you get here?”

The kitten continues to hiss and growl, distrusting eyes glaring up at you.

“It’s hurt,” you point out, noting how one of its front legs is stiff.

“I might have something in my pouch,” Hoseok mutters, looking over at the tree where you both abandoned your things. “Wait here, I’ll go get it.”

As he leaves, you crouch down to get a little closer. The kitten tenses, but isn’t able to go anywhere with its injured limb. It keeps its gaze on you, licking its leg to soothe itself and crying in pain.

The sound breaks your heart.

Before Hoseok could return, you close your eyes and hover your hand over the kitten’s arm. It growls, baring its teeth and trying to swipe at you with its good paw. Immediately, it freezes when a warmth is transferred from you to the kitten. It blinks up at you with surprised, feline eyes.

“Better?” you ask, feeling a bit dizzy. Healing magic is difficult and draining, especially since you’re not a trained healer. By the time Hoseok returns with both of your things, the kitten’s pained mewling stopped and it’s able to move its arm.

Hoseok crouches beside you, carefully feeding it some of the grilled lamb the two of you kept passing each other. A heart-shaped smile appears on his lips when the kitten sniffs at the meat and accepts it.

“I dipped some healing potion in the meat. He’ll be good as new by tomorrow morning,” he explains before playfully scolding, “You should’ve waited before you attempted healing magic. It only took me a minute to get my bag.”

“I had to do something, Hoseok,” you pout, though happy that the kitten was eating from his hand. Break is nearly over when the cloudy skies above quickly darken. “Let’s get you somewhere warm.”

The kitten seems hesitant at first, still seeming wary as its eyes gauge you and Hoseok. It seems settled in its hiding spot under the bushes too, but it changes its mind when the first raindrops fall on its head.

You gather the little thing in your arms, and you and Hoseok head inside before you’re all caught in the rain.

“Familiars,” the instructor says, just as you and Hoseok enter the lecture room. She has her back toward the class, writing out the term on the chalkboard. “Animals tend to be drawn toward magic, and sometimes, a special bond is formed between these creatures and people like us. For thousands of years, familiars have been known to be a mage’s greatest companion. They’re friends from the Veil, serving to guide and protect you as you develop your magical powers.”

Perched on her desk is the instructor’s familiar: a great, grey owl with a large, round face, a small beak, and beady eyes. It sleeps as the lesson goes on, both familiar and instructor unaware of the two of you quietly sneaking in while the class is in session.

Your new friend is with Hoseok, sleeping peacefully in his arms. You suppose you’re not the first person to bring a stray into the castle. Several other students have acquired their own pets: birds and reptiles perched on shoulders, rodents tucked in pockets, cats and dogs on laps. Small critters who’ve helped ease the loneliness that comes within the castle.

“What’s fascinating is that you don’t choose what your familiar looks like. Whatever creature they are, whatever shape they appear, they’re the ones that choose you,” she continues, looking at her beloved owl. She chuckles as she goes into a tangent. “Why, I had an old roommate who was allergic to hers–”

“What should we name our son?” Hoseok suddenly whispers, gently caressing the kitten’s cheek. You hear it purring under his touch.

You can’t help but smile. “He’s our son now? I didn’t know we were keeping him.”

“Look at his face, though. Wouldn’t the three of us make a cute family?” He shifts in his seat so that you could get a better look at your newly-founded son. With its fur cleaned up and the remedies seeming to help, it’s like a new kitten. Seeing it relaxed and happy in Hoseok’s arms is a stark difference from the scared, injured animal you found only an hour before.

“If he chooses to stay,” you say, reaching over to pet the top of its head and smiling when it leans toward your touch, “then we can name him.”

“The only way a mage can choose a familiar is by striking up a contract within the Veil. But be warned,” the instructor cautions, finally turning her attention to the class, “this is highly advised against. For if these creatures are dedicating their devotion, knowledge, and livelihoods to you, they will want something of equal value in return.”

Your eyes scan the lecture room, lingering toward the desk where he normally sits. A small frown forms on your lips when you see it’s empty again.

Where’s Namjoon?

“These kinds of contracts are considered dark magic, prone to turn you Wicked. Just like the mortal realm, there are good and bad spirits in the Veil. Some familiars, especially those who remember you from previous lives, will approach you with a genuine eagerness to help. Others will see you as a chance to corrupt the world that hurt them, manipulating and possessing you to do unspeakable evils. You’ll never know who or what you’re dealing with in the Veil, and there’s no going back once a contract has been made.”

“Hey, Hoseok.”

“Hm?”

“What happened to Namjoon? He wasn’t in any of the lectures this morning either.”

He glances up at the desk where Namjoon sits, causing the kitten to mewl in protest when he stops petting it. “I don’t know.”

Dread sinks in your heart. First Mina, now Namjoon is missing too?

“History speaks of the mages who’ve caused destruction and ruin to humankind, but some historians believe it was their familiars who influenced them into becoming Wicked,” she says, looking back at hers. “After all, why would a mage question the intentions of their greatest companion?”

The owl opens its eyes and hoots. A quiet warning.

The instructor smiles brightly and turns back to the class. “Now then, let’s open our books to where we last left off.”

If there’s one place you’d know to find Namjoon, it’d be here.

Tall shelves surround you, full of books in a variety of colors and volumes. Within many of their pages tell the history between humans and mages, skewed toward the teachings of the Devoted. Some contain spell books, most that are inaccessible to you as an apprentice. And some are leisure readings, often with a witch as the main villain of the story.

You spend a lot of time here. Probably more than at your own dorm. The quiet ambiance has helped you go through your studies and reviews of your notes and lessons over the years.

He’s always here as well. The library with all its written knowledge at his fingertips is his favorite part of the castle.

“Figured I’d find you here,” you remark once you spot him. He’s sitting at a table with a couple of his friends. They nudge at him when they see you approaching, knowing smiles and amused eyes lighting their faces. You ignore them as you cross your arms and glare at Namjoon. “You weren’t in class.”

“I wasn’t,” he acknowledges, raising an eyebrow before a twitch of a smirk tugs on his lips. “Why? Did you miss me?”

“Of course not,” you scoff, standing your ground as he gets up from his seat. He’s so tall, he practically towers over you. “I just want to know why you didn’t show up.”

It’s not just his physique that makes him so big, but his presence, the way that he can command a room to pay attention to him. Many of your fellow students admire him, even Hoseok. He’s incredibly intelligent too, one of the smartest and most naturally-gifted apprentices his mentors sing praises about. His knowledge on the arcane arts and its history is unmatchable.

And you absolutely loathe it.

You, who has been in Blackstone Castle your whole life, climbed to the top of your class through your own blood, sweat, and tears. Whereas Namjoon, who was transferred to Blackstone at nineteen, came to the top because magic comes easily for him. It could take you hours to master one spell while he gets it on his first try. He aces his exams with his nose stuck in unrelated books and poems, while you spend hours trying to maintain your high scores.

He’s the worst. The most mildly-infuriating, petty walking disaster of a genius you’ve ever come across.

“Sorry, baby. You won’t be seeing me much at the lectures anymore.”

You blink at surprise. “What? Why?”

“Didn’t you hear?” one of his friends pipes up. “Our Namjoon passed his Harrowing this morning. The wardens said that he finished it in under an hour! That’s the fastest anyone has ever completed theirs!”

Your eyes widen. “You did the Harrowing?”

A small, tiny sense of relief blooms in your heart when he nods his head. Your academic rival didn’t go missing. He passed his Harrowing and he’s still here, now working at the library to become a scholar.

“Do you guys mind? I’d like to talk to her for a minute,” Namjoon says to his friends without taking his eyes off you. The two exchange looks with each other and agree to give you some privacy. But you don’t let your guard down, even after they leave.

“What is it, Joon?”

“I heard about Mina,” he starts carefully, his voice sincere. “Are you okay? I know she was your roommate.”

“I’m… a little shaken,” you admit, uncrossing your arms. It feels almost strange being this vulnerable with him, but if Namjoon already did his, then yours and Hoseok’s would be right around the corner. “I don’t know what happened to her. No one tells us anything. Do you know? What happened to her, I mean?”

A look of guilt flashes in his eyes. “I can’t tell you.”

You sigh. “Of course you can’t.”

“Listen, be careful when you go to the Veil,” he warns, eyeing around him as if he’s afraid someone will listen in. There’s hardly anyone else here except the scholars and a handful of students, but you and Namjoon are nowhere near eavesdrop distance from them. “There are dark energies everywhere. Not just in that realm.”

You frown at his warning and think back to what Hoseok said about Seokjin. About all the disappearances that’s been happening lately. About Mina.

“I can handle myself, Namjoon.”

There’s a warmth in his aura, in the deep dimples of his smile, in the way he looks at you then. He squeezes your arm gently. “I know you can. Just promise you’ll come back to me, okay?”

It isn’t until later that night when you and Seokjin finally talk.

“Who’s this?”

“A new friend,” you explain, waving him over to sit next to you. On your lap is the black kitten, bumping its tiny head against your hand for pets. “Hoseok and I found him this morning, but we haven’t thought of a name yet.”

The kitten looks over at him, curiosity shining in its bright eyes, and mewls. The cute sound makes both you and Seokjin gush. “Sounds like you’re planning to keep him.”

“Only if he wants to stay.” You watch as Seokjin holds out his hand, letting the kitten sniff him, before he gently rubs its head with his fingertips. It purrs under his touch, closing its eyes with content. “I hope he does.”

“Maybe he’ll become your … familiar?” He glances at you, checking if he used the correct word. He’s the only warden you know of who even bothers learning a mage’s terminology.

Like all the other Blackstone Wardens, he’s in uniform. Heavy armor made of material resistant to magic. Hidden within his reach are spell-breaking weapons and poisons meant to hinder your abilities. Things that could temporarily mute or blind you mid-incantation. 

Had it been any other warden, you wouldn’t feel comfortable being this close to them.

From the moment a mage is set to live in their towers, wardens are assigned to guard them, watch them, and “handle” them if they show signs of becoming Wicked. Most, if not all, the wardens are Devoted – members of the ruling religious organization that believe people with your gift are the ban of all things evil.

Thus, many of them, in your humble opinion, are assholes.

You’ve heard the rumors. The open secret of what happens to mouthy, pretty mages and wardens with too much power and too little heart. 

It’s atrociously easy for wardens to call an innocent apprentice Wicked. It’s equally alarming how many self-righteous Devotees take advantage of their position over people like you, coercing victims to do what they want or have them face the deadly consequences of false accusations. You’ve seen with your own eyes how fellow apprentices cry themselves to sleep at night, or become distant and fearful after surviving these awful predators. How some willingly refuse to do their Harrowing if their assailant is present, as this assessment would be when an apprentice is the most vulnerable.

Not Seokjin, though.

He’s … different from the others. He’s safe.

Safe enough that you know you can trust him.

“Jin…” Although your voice is quiet, it’s loud enough for him to hear. Loud enough for him to turn his attention to you. “Can you promise me something?”

He looks up at you. His eyes are so warm and pretty. They practically have stars in them. “What is it?”

“When I do my Harrowing, will you protect me?”

“You know I can’t interfere with your test,” he replies, his voice quiet.

“I know. I meant,” you fidget slightly. “my body. Could you watch over me? Make sure nothing happens to me when I’m in the Veil.”

“Of course.” He extends a pinky toward you. A gesture that makes you smile as you wrap your own pinky around his. He returns your smile and vows, “I’ll always protect you.”

As the days pass, the concern over Mina has died down. Instead, you hear rumors of another failed Harrowing. Another girl disappearing. But no one has any answers as to why this is happening.

The black kitten stayed with you and Hoseok for a couple more days until it fully healed. Then, without a word, it left too. But not without giving you a small token of appreciation.

That next morning, you found a Dzi bead on your pillow. A small, protective charm meant to bring the wearer good fortune, health, and luck.

Ironically, you had the gift in your hand when Seokjin came to your dorm again. He calls out your name, gently shaking your shoulder and stirring you from your sleep. There’s a sad smile on his handsome face as he tells you, “It’s your time.”

You must’ve fallen back to sleep.

On the edge of dreaming and waking, you could’ve sworn you heard a strange sound. Your brows furrow in wonder, but your eyes remain close.

You’re exhausted. The lulls of sleep call you like a siren song. Your body feels heavy, your head feels dizzy. All you want to do is lay still on the soft, cozy bed you’re on and let your dreams drift you away.

But something – someone – keeps you on the brink of consciousness. Again, you hear a peculiar sound. Louder this time than before.

Music?

When you open your eyes, you’re greeted with a familiar sight. Cold, dark stones cemented into an ominous, impenetrable tower. Cobble-pebbled patterns decorate the high ceilings. Moonlight shines through a single, small window and casts baleful shadows with its serene light.

Blackstone Castle. Or rather, a place that looks like it.

Growing up here, you know every nook and cranny of this place, and yet…

Something feels off.

It’s too spacious. Too quiet.

No snores of creaking beds from the other apprentices. No heavy, armored footsteps from the wardens during their nightly patrols. No stifled giggles or hushed voices from the enchanters as they pass through the corridors.

This isn’t a room you recognize, and this bed is far too comfortable to call your own.

Compared to your stiff bunk in the dorm, this canopy bed feels like a cloud. Soft. Fluffy. The sheets feel like silk against your bare skin. It reminds you of how tired you are to begin with. How heavenly a decent sleep sounds.

But the strange, distant melody keeps you from drifting completely.

And it’s only then that you realize you’re not alone.

There’s a weight over you, heavy and wrapped around you tightly. It keeps you secured to the cloud, trapping you in its hold. Warm breath tickets the back of your neck, and you could feel the rise and fall of a muscular chest against your bare back.

Terror strikes you wide awake.

Here you are, in a room you don’t recognize, sleeping on a stranger’s bed. Naked, and with no recollection of how you even got there.

Heart racing, you slowly flip over to face the stranger. A sharp gasp falls from your lips when you recognize who it is. “Seokjin?!”

The handsome warden grunts in response. Without opening his eyes, and with his voice in a deep, sleepy rumble, he tiredly asks, “What time is it?”

“Jin, what– how did we–” you stumble over your words as you sit up, pulling the sheets over your chest. “I can’t remember–”

Seokjin opens his eyes this time. Deep brown stares back at you. Ones that usually sparkle whenever he turns his gaze toward you. Ones that are full of warmth and stars.

One that makes you realize something is very off about Seokjin.

Instead, the eyes that look at you are cold and hollow, completely void of light. Terrifying, and yet, you can’t look away from them.

You try not to shiver when Seokjin raises his head from the pillow and sits up to face you. The sheets fall off his chest and down to his thin waist unceremoniously. A mischievous smirk dances on his lips as he leans toward you. “Shall I remind you?”

“We shouldn’t,” you whisper, darting your gaze at anything but him and his broad shoulders, his plush lips, his muscular abdomen. You know Seokjin is handsome – hell, he knows it, too – but this isn’t… He wouldn’t…

“Why not?” he asks, nearly pouting. His hand cups your face, thumb gently brushing your cheek. “You trust me, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” you reply. And it’s the truth. You trust Seokjin more than anyone.

He leans closer. The emptiness in his eyes are replaced with odd glints of gold. Mesmerizing. Hypnotizing.  You barely hear his command. 

“Then give in, little one.”

Your eyes flutter close as he presses soft kisses against your cheek, then along your jaw. The bedsheets no longer feel like fine silk against your fingers, but thin and transparent, even before he pries your hands open and lets the covering fall to your waist. You feel your heart to your throat as his lips travel to your neck, to your collarbone, to your breast. 

It’s like your body has a mind of its own as your nod in consent, easily falling back on the cloud with the handsome warden on top of you.

Drifting. You feel yourself drifting.

A haze muddles your thoughts as Seokjin continues to press kisses against your skin. It feels good. You can feel yourself arching for more, preening to be held and touched. He smirks as he travels lower, dipping to your hips where he tugs off the remaining covers.

The melody in the background stutters, as if someone fumbled with the notes. It’s jarring enough to snap you out of the trance. To realize that Seokjin’s touch is burning as he pins you to the bed. To see that the eyes looking down at you are inhuman.

This isn’t Seokjin.

Seokjin is your warden. Your friend. The man you trust the most. He would never take advantage of you like this.

Snapping out of it, you shove down the building arousal and look around the room. Something is wrong. You have to get out of here. All your things are thrown on the floor, and there’s nothing within reach that you can use to defend yourself. 

You’ll have to improvise.

Shutting your eyes, you try to keep focused. Little whimpers and shaky gasps escape your lips when you feel his mouth work against your core. His tongue and fingers distract you, eliciting waves of desire and pleasure.

The Seokjin look-alike sits up to peer down at you, brown eyes almost golden now as he seems to feed off your energy. Long fingers are still inside you, curling and pumping in and out, distracting him enough for you to strike.

Strength and light flow from your fingertips. Using that energy, you shove the stranger on top of you. The magic burns its bare chest as a demonic scream escapes its lips.

Your heart nearly stops when you hear the sound.

It’s Wicked.

When the imposter recoils, you stumble out of the bed and grab a simple black dress from the floor. There’s a small weight in one of the pockets, and when you reach inside, you recognize the shape of the kitten’s gift – something that won’t help you now. You don’t dare look back or think about how your legs are shaking as you throw your clothes on and run out the door. Your feet are flying without direction, lungs burning and legs aching, until you’re certain you’re far away from it. Until you’re certain it isn’t chasing you down.

So that’s Wicked. You’ve heard the enchanters talk about those doomed beings. Embodied vices of lust, pride, greed, envy, gluttony, sloth, and wrath that taint the mages, letting their powers corrupt them, until they are no longer human.

Your head doesn’t feel as hazy and your body doesn’t feel as lethargic since you’ve exited that room. It was a very close call. That entity with Seokjin’s face… You shudder to think of what could’ve happened if you stayed a minute longer.

Catching your breath, you take a moment to look at your surroundings. The hallways are similar to the castle, but long and winding. It almost makes you feel dizzy looking down at them. Lanterns and doorways mirror each other in endless paths.

You straighten up and reach toward a random door, opening it and stepping inside.

Only to find yourself in a similar hallway.

What?

With a frown, you reach for another door. One on your right this time, instead of directly in front of you.

But it’s the same damn thing. Same endless, dark hallways. Same dimly-lit lanterns. Same identical doorways. No matter how many you go through, you’re stuck in a loop.

Panic crawls beneath your skin when a low growl emits from the hallway.

That Wicked is still after you, and it’s angry.

Who knows if the next door you choose will lead you closer to it. Or if it will have you stuck in a repeating maze until it catches up.

Just when it feels like all hope is lost, you hear it. 

The melody from earlier. It sounds like it’s coming through one of the doors.

With nothing else to lose, you open it and step inside, knowing that the Wicked will get you if you stay where you are. You’re in an identical hallway, but this time, the music comes from a different door. Then, another door. And another door.

You’ve lost count of how many you’ve gone through. Could be dozens. Could be hundreds. But every time, it feels like you’re getting a bit closer and closer to the source.

And then, finally, you open a door and no longer find yourself in a dreary hallway.

Emerald-green walls paint the candle-lit room, causing haunting shadows to dance with the burning glow of the fires. A fence with a tarp cages a black, grand piano. And inside is a man with pale skin that contrasts his black hair.

Of all the things in the room, his aura seems to shine the brightest.

He doesn’t notice you as his fingers continue to play the beautiful instrument, its melody drawing you closer and closer.

You’re practically standing next to the pianist when the song ends and he finally addresses you. “Can I help you with something?”

“I…” you pause, almost forgetting why you’re here. “You play so beautifully.”

His eyes flicker away for a brief moment, taken aback by the sudden compliment. Even more so with how such a simple sentence stirs something he’s forgotten so long ago. He rephrases his question. “What do you want?”

You don’t answer him right away. The two of you stare at each other as the candle wax burns and the shadows around the room continue to sway. Then, you reach into the pocket of your dress and pull out the token the kitten gifted you, resting it on top of your piano. 

His eyes widen when he sees it. Then, he takes it in his hand.

“There’s something after me.”

Dark eyes linger off the charm and onto your face. His gaze is intense but strangely familiar. “He won’t get you in here. This area isn’t in his boundaries.”

“But I can’t stay here, either.”

The pianist raises an eyebrow at you, seeming surprised by your statement. You suppose he had expected you to accept his refuge, but you know you’re losing precious time. You know that you’re in the Veil and this is your Harrowing.

“You’re a smart one,” he says after a moment, almost impressed. To your dismay, he hands back the token and turns back to his piano. A new melody begins. “I won’t keep you here, but I can’t help you. Your protection charm is no use to me here.”

The door you came from opens. Back to where that monster with Seokjin’s face is waiting for you. Back to where you can almost feel the bloodlust from the other side.

“I’m willing to bargain.”

That catches his attention. His hands still, the music stops. The shadows against the wall seem to pause and stare at you, silent witnesses to what’s about to happen. Words from the instructor echo in your head, but it’s too late. The words already left your mouth.

And the pianist, with his dark, intense, feline eyes – tinted with a golden amber reflected from the candlelight – stands before you. “What’s your offer?”

“Ah, little one. You finally came out of hiding,” the one with Seokjin’s face smiles devilishly as you approach him. “Shall we continue where we left off?”

Thrown to the wolves, you feel terrified. You have nothing but the clothes on your back, a beaded charm, and a half-assed plan. None of your lectures, nothing you’ve ever read or practiced, could have prepared you for this. The monster at the crossroad. The hungry wolf hunting you down like prey.

But you can’t be scared. Not now when the enemy is right in front of you.

“You’re the one responsible for all the missing girls.”

His broad shoulders shake with sadistic laughter. 

“That I am! You impress me, little one. Those stupid girls never even escaped that room. Always falling into their desires, they don’t realize how much time has passed. How cold their physical bodies become while their souls are in my hands. They practically beg me to turn them Wicked, to devour their humanity,” he shamelessly admits, bringing his hands to cup his jawline. “This face of that warden you all desire – he’s made the hunting so much easier. Isn’t that right, friend?”

He’s addressing the pianist now. You turn to him with a frown. “You killed those girls too?”

“I see he hasn’t told you of our arrangement,” the wolf says, staring at his partner. “His music lures in the ones who get away. Baits them right into his little cage where he can trap them for as long as he desires.”

“Sorry,” the pianist finally speaks. “I have a new contract now.”

The wolf’s smile falters. “You’re betraying me? For this human?”

“You killed my friends!” you tell the wolf, drawing his attention back to you. Thinking about Mina. Thinking about all the other apprentices who’ve failed their Harrowings because of them. Those who never became mages, who’ve lost their dreams and their humanity. “I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done!”

“We shall see,” the wolf replies, bearing its large teeth at you. In an inhuman speed, the wolf lunges at you. The pianist pushes you out of the way at the last second as the two demons tumble to the ground.

“Find a weapon!” the pianist yells, crying out in pain when the wolf bites into his shoulder. You scramble to your feet, looking for a wand, a staff, something. The crossroads doesn’t provide you much of anything, and your hand encloses around the charm in your pocket, anxious and stressed.

Until you realize the charm has changed shape.

In a mysterious realm where willpower is the key to survival, you don’t have time to question it as you cast a spell to knock the wolf off the pianist. The Seokjin-lookalike lands roughly on the dirt-pathed ground, but you don’t give it time to recover as two more spells fire from your wand.

“Stupid girl!” the demon roars, moving to attack, its fingers extending into claws. You manage to put up a barrier at the last second, shielding yourself and the pianist. The wolf roars in frustration, running back and body slamming against your shield. To your horror, the transparent spell begins to crack.

“Listen, you have to drop your barrier,” the pianist tells you as the attacks become harder and faster, causing jagged rips along your magic. “Drop it and attack him on my count.”

You look at him like he’s insane. “You were partners with this guy! How will I know you won’t betray me?”

“You don’t,” he says as the wolf continues its relentless attacks. It won’t be long until it shatters completely. “But we made a contract.”

“Okay.”

“Okay,” he echoes, nodding his head. Your defense is breaking. One more hit, and you’re done. “One… two…”

On three, just as the wolf is about to give the final blow, you strike. A bright ball of light shoots from your wand, bigger than any spell you’ve cast so far. It sends the wolf back and knocks him out for good.

It’s over.

Out of breath, you collapse on the ground. The wand you use changes back into a charm, and the pianist stands beside you in shock. He holds his arm as blood seeps through his white shirt, but he doesn’t pay any mind to it as he states, “You … You actually did it. You defeated him.”

“Yeah…” you sigh, equally in disbelief. You’ve never had to fire off that many spells at once. You’re exhausted, dead on your feet, but you finally notice the injury on the pianist’s arm. “Wait, let me heal you.”

“You still want to help me? After what I’ve done?”

“We made a contract,” you remind him, holding out hand and letting the warmth spread from you to him. You feel even dizzier, more so than when you helped the kitten. “This is the second time I had to do this for you, you know.”

“You know it’s me, huh?” A small smile appears on the pianist’s mouth. His dark eyes – ones identical to the black kitten – seem to be full of admiration when he looks at you. “You really are a clever girl.”

The Devoted teaches that all magic is a source of wicked power, and that those born with the abilities to manipulate those unnatural forces are cursed.

But they’re wrong.

History remembers the wicked and their dark rituals, their forbidden magic, and their insatiable vices. They completely erase the wisdom and beauty bestowed upon their world through magic. They forget about the brave mages who fought along historic heroes in their quests, or the wise healers in villages that the Devoted haven’t influenced. They tear away young children from their families, imprison potential spell-casters from the world, shun them for their gift, hunt them down for simply existing.

Over the years, young apprentices would come to the Veil, fresh and unprepared to face the entities that rule this realm. It’s a sadistic rite of passage that the Devoted created to prove a young mage’s worth. Throwing their spirits to the wolves, defenseless and scared, as the Wicked feeds off their energies, eager to corrupt and consume. Leaving the physical forms behind, vulnerable, unconscious, and in the mercy of those sending them to the Veil. 

The pianist has been in this realm for a very long time. He no longer remembers his past, nor does he care about the person he was. All he knows is his piano and the music he creates that fills his lonely eternity with life and magic.

For far too long, he’s seen apprentice after apprentice fail their Harrowing. He’s seen the look of defeat in their eyes once a mage awakens and finds themselves in this world. He’s seen Wicked, like his old partner, toy with these lost souls like predators that play with their meals. He’s grown numb to the horrors and anguish that surrounds him with their defeat.

His partner, the wolf, has become greedy with their arrangement. A deal that they made long ago: should an apprentice escape the wolf’s den and find themselves in the music room, the wolf can’t touch them. Not when they’re still within his boundaries.

Sometimes, they hide too long. Their physical bodies become cold, and their connection to the mortal realm weakens. That’s what happened to your friend, Mina, who sought sanctuary from the wolf, but didn’t leave until it was too late. Her soul is forever trapped like a bird in a cage. And the wolf, constantly on the prowl of those who got away, waits just outside the border with all the patience in the world.

His somber melodies play as souls like hers begin to accept that she’ll never return to her body. They play in triumph as souls like Namjoon, who enters a different part of the Veil, faces his fears and vanquishes his own demon. They play for souls like yours, luring you away from the wolf, bringing you safely to him.

He first met you in a different form, one of a small cat on the brink of death. For just a few days, he sees through its eyes the person you are: brave, kind, and clever. You have a potential he hasn’t seen in another apprentice in years.

The feeling only amplifies when you find him in the Veil and offer the token he had gifted you, placing it on his piano in exchange for his aid against his greedy partner. One that he returns back to you with a spell of transformation, allowing you to change its shape once and for a short time.

You’re incredibly special. That much is clear to him from the moment he met you.

However, he’s starting to suspect you’re more special to him than he thought.

“What do you want?” you ask him in response to his question, holding his gaze. 

It almost sounds naÏve coming from your mouth, but something tells him that you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.

“You,” he simply says. “You’re what I want.”

“That’s a high demand for one Wicked. Name something else.”

“Who’s to say this is the only Wicked you’ll face? There are many dangers here, but some of the most vile creatures are the humans from your realm.”

It makes his blood boil. Feelings that he hasn’t felt in so long surfacing.

You’re quiet for a moment, then you propose, “Well, if it’s me that you want, then it’s only fair that you become mine too. I don’t want just help for this Wicked. I want you to be my partner.”

The pianist looks at your extended hand and the certainty in your eyes. His large hand practically swallows yours as he shakes it. “I accept.” 

And so, a deal between two souls is made.

When you wake from your Harrowing, you find yourself in the arms of the handsome warden, who took care of you just as he promised he would. You’re engulfed in a hug from your best friend, screaming his congratulations and relieved that you’re safe. A sentiment he shares with your academic rival, who throws you a proud, dimpled smile when your eyes meet his.

No longer an apprentice, there are new changes with your schedule around the castle. But there’s one thing you’re adamant about keeping the same: you and Hoseok, beneath the old tree that’s become a favorite spot for you two.

And it’s in that place where you and the pianist meet again.

“Oh, our son is back!” Hoseok exclaims, smiling brightly at the black kitten. It meows at him, as if saying that he’s home. He reaches over and scratches the top of its head. “I guess it wants to stay with us. Have you thought of a name yet?”

“Yeah.” You give your new familiar a knowing smile, remembering the bright, shining aura he had in the Veil. “Let’s call him Yoongi.”

Thank you for reading ♡ Comments & reviews are greatly appreciated! To join the tag list, please read [here].

Series Masterlist | Next

#magic shop series #bts x reader #ot7 x reader #hoseok x reader #namjoon x reader #yoongi x reader #seokjin x reader #bts magic au #bts witch au #bts fantasy au #bts au #bts fanfic

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

how do you write jahaera in the fathers clad in fire? Does it come natural? Or do you have certain idea of who she is and based on that you write her dialogue you write her response?

because i just innately feel characterization of her in the story is so authentic. This makes me wonder how the heck you guys achieved that with lack of material on jaehara?

how do you see her personality, her values, her interests? How do you think she would express affection and love?

I love this! Thanks so much for asking about Jae!

The kids are some of my favorite characters to write. Aside from being a high school history teacher, I'm a mom myself to two teenagers, a son and a daughter. I draw on my own experience with kids a lot when I write Jaehaera, and my personal and professional knowledge of children! Kids are hard to get right, especially traumatized kids. Children, I think, are one of George's weak spots and he writes without a clear idea of what is developmentally appropriate for kids at various ages (think about the scene in F&B when three year old Joffrey tries to stop Aemond from claiming Vhagar). That's something we wanted to avoid. We want our eight year old to feel eight, our fourteen year olds to feel fourteen. Most of all when I write the children I try to think about what would be an age appropriate responses in the situations they face, what sorts of things my own children were fascinated by when they were at these ages, the kinds of reactions they had to setbacks and successes, and the sorts of relationships they formed with adults and with other children. (more below the cut)

It was important for us that all of the kids have personalities of their own that, while informed by their trauma, are not entirely comprised of their trauma. While they're traumatized kids, they're still kids! Our Jae has a fascination with the spooky and the weird that we extrapolated from her dragon being named Morghul, which basically is "Death" in Valyrian. It's a lot of fun to imagine the various odd myths and creatures and odd stories that Jae would get fixated on. Experiencing the real life horrors didn't make Jae less fascinated by scary things, but she likes her horrors to remain otherworldly. Stories about Ice Spiders are fun and cool, stories about scary men with knives are not. We also picked up on Jae's likely neurodivergence from the books, which tell us she was quiet and didn't show emotion like other children. Of course, those are accounts of people who didn't know her or really care about her. Our Jae is a bit older, so she does speak, and we see her through the eyes of people who love her and know her (or Baela, who is interested in knowing her), so her quirks are just that, quirks. Aegon is very protective of her and hates when people insinuate that she's simple because she's actually quite smart, and when it comes to her hyperfixations, she reads a ton. Basically, for her characterization, we took what little crumbs were there, and ran with them, extrapolating from there to create our version of Jae who is serious, opinionated, protective, possessive, and fierce.

I love that you ask about how Jae shows affection because that's a big part of the next chapter. Jae is much more likely to show affection with actions rather than with words. As Jae is usually quite possessive (as you saw when Gaemon played with papa's lute), it's a big deal when she shares something that is special to her, especially the things that bring her comfort (a trait she shares with her dad, only Aegon is usually sharing food or drink rather than things!). And if you mess with someone she cares about, watch out! To illustrate, here's a small snip from the upcoming chapter, when Baela's sister Rhaena makes a surprise visit with her dragon, Morning:

“Why are there two of you?” Jaehaera asked. She was sat at a low table nearby, a large paper in front of her as well as several inkpots with various colored inks, drawing what looked to be a large spider. Aeg sat beside her with a paper of his own, although his drawing was of Dragonstone’s keep. At Jaehaera’s voice he looked up, his eyes darting from Baela to Rhaena. “Princess Jaehaera, Gaemon, this is my sister, Rhaena. She and I look alike because she’s my twin," Baela said. Jaehaera narrowed her eyes, clearly skeptical. Of course, Baela thought, her twin had been a brother, not her own mirror image. “Aegon,” Rhaena said, a plaintive note to her voice. “It’s me. It’s Rhaena. Come here, sweet boy.” Aeg stood from the table, his eyes fixed upon Rhaena. Baela knew the exact moment he noticed Morning upon her shoulder, for he shook his head. “Why is it here?” His voice trembled. “Baela you promised.” “She’s just a hatchling, Aeg,” Rhaena said. “Her name is Morning. Don’t you want to meet her?” Aeg backed up, tears filling his eyes. Before Baela could stop her, Rhaena took a step forward. “No,” shrieked Aeg. “No! No! Rhaena, no!” Jaehaera glanced at him, her eyes wide, then glared back at Rhaena. “He’s afraid of dragons, stupid.”

I'll tag in @aifsaath in case she has anything to add!

#jaehaera targaryen #writing asks #our fathers clad in red #aegon iii targaryen #aegon ii targaryen

[ghouljams]

what all creatures exist in your fae!au?

Anything that's appeared in myths or folktales, including the spooky ones, some of which I deeply dislike but gotta stick to the rules.

Creatures tend to stay to their home turf, but they don't have to. You're not likely to see a yeti in the middle of a city but that doesn't mean they don't exist. That said I hesitate to get too mythical monsterful. The modern age has been very adapt or die for most creatures. So things like dragon's probably don't exist anymore in this world, or if they do they don't make themselves known.

That said there are exceptions to every rule, if you have an idea who am I to stop you? I'm just some weirdo on the internet playing with soldier barbie dolls.

#ghoul speaks #the setting is UK adjacent so most of the creatures are vaguely european but the world is so interconnected these days #im sure there are creatures from all over the place wandering the city #i think of the fae as the middlemen between creatures and humans #they have space all over the world and can sorta pop between continents #the fae wild is crazy ljke that

[science-lings]

Top 5 headcanons?

I like it when Wild (or botw Link in general) has some weird death stuff going on, whether he actually died and has unlocked some spooky death stuff (talking and seeing ghosts, being able to hold other spirits within his body ie. the champions and the sheikah monks) Like that dying fundamentally changed him and opened him up to the world of spirits and gods, he can hear and communicate with Hylia and ride the lord of the mountain and is buddies with Malanya and can see koroks and dragons which can normally be seen only by the pure of heart or children and it's not his hero status that opened him up to this world but the fact that he died and came back. (this can also be linked to my witch/potion maker Wild hc but I shouldn't ramble too much about him I've already done that...)

Wind's growth spurt. He will eventually be the tallest among them. Even taller than Time and Warriors. It all happens before the events of the comic are over. He's going to be like six feet tall.

Fierce Dadity > evil war god as a tool for angst and whump, I think it is objectively far more interesting as a vibe to have an extremely powerful deity that adopts the team's local dad. The dad gets out-dadded by the scariest dude imaginable. It's so funny and also I'm tired of the big bad mask that possesses Time and makes him kill the other Link's just bc the author was feeling evil.

Fairy Hyrule, not just as a fun little ability or spell but as like, a part of his identity and biology. He isn't even Hylian canonically (which makes his nickname very funny to me), but a foreigner from Calatia, (which I have my own ideas about specifically to link him to my fairy hero but that's not what this is about lol) I just think it's very fun when his fairy origins are played with for plot and also for fun.

Time's Age, with all the time travel and time loops, he genuinely does not know how old he really is. sometimes he acts kind of childlike and sometimes he acts like he's a crotchety old grandpa. It doesn't help that he was raised by the oldest being ever and alongside eternally youthful beings with him being the only one who could ever physically age. He can't even figure out a number range for how old he is. It confuses him so he just doesn't think about it and thus doesn't like it when the chain speculates about it.

#i decided to go with lu lol #linked universe #ask andromeda #ask game #top five ask game #top 5 ask game #you guys can keep asking me stuff lol this is fun

[bonyfish]

I have been playing Dragon Age: Origins and so far this is the vibe. It's going great. He was having a perfectly normal time playing Good Dalish Bad Dalish with his irascible hunting buddy but then they just had to go into the spooky cave and now this is happening.

#dragon age #dragon age origins #warden mahariel #dalish warden #my art

[8bitsupervillain]

End of the Year 2023: Pre-2023 Good Games

Now we're talking, it's time for good games. As with previous years I decided on separate lists to talk about games that came out before 2023 and those that came out during the year itself. I agonized over this list. Hope you enjoy it

10: Diablo III

In the meh games list I mentioned that I'm not a fan of Diablo III. In fact for the longest time I was fairly cold on this game and really disliked it. There's something to Diablo III however, every few months since finishing the Reaper of Souls expansion way back in 2014 that kept the game popping up in my mind. You should play it again, it would say. Roll a new character, it's probably better than you remember. Then I would inevitably try it again, play a few hours and then just sort of peter off it. Perhaps it's simply because of the sheer ineptitude of Immortal, and my complete and utter lack of caring for Diablo 4 that made my most recent playing Diablo III feel so much more fun. I think enough time has passed that I can freely admit to enjoying this game for the most part. I just never go out of my way to play it, but it'll probably happen again that I'll be doing whatever and the urge to play it will occur

09: Doom 3

It's something of the black sheep of the Doom franchise, but I recall quite enjoying the games when I played them spur of the moment this year. A lot of people bemoan the fact that they just made Doom 3 a horror game, but I'm not so sure I agree with that assessment. Sure it has spooky lighting, and impenetrable darkness, but you're never really put into a less empowered state compared to the original Dooms. You're never starved for ammo, and except for the odd jumpscare there's never anything really scary that happens in the game. More so in the Resurrection of Evil expansion, where they give you the super shotgun. It's slower, and more methodical than the other Doom games, but I really don't feel it's any lesser as a result. It's truly unfortunate there's no way to really get the original versions of Doom 3 an Resurrection of Evil outside of looking in nefarious places, because I played the BFG Edition as well as the original Doom 3 and it made me feel physically ill. The originals are surprisingly forward thinking made games because it's wild to me a game from 2004 has support for a 1080p resolution.

08: Higanbana no Saku Yoru Ni (The Unforgiving Flowers Blossom in the Dead of Night)

A delightful horror themed visual novel that I freely admit I never would have ever heard of if not for Umineko. It's more of a straightforward horror tale than a Umineko because this is about the local ghosts and monsters that haunt a school. I haven't finished the second of the two games, but I did quite like the stories in The First Night. Well worth checking out if you want to see some of Ryukishi07's lesser known works.

07: The Witcher II

A lot more competently put together than the original Witcher. It's also much more action focused compared to the original. I kind of miss the different fighting stances that were in the first Witcher game, but I can understand that the series needs to undergo some streamlining as they become a more cross-platform series. It's a fine story as well, where it seems to be pulling from more contemporary fantasy stories of the time like your Game of Thrones with all of its fantasy political intrigue. But it also includes troll fart jokes, so it still remembers some of its origins as well. One of the only things I didn't really like in this game was the inclusion of the odd Quick Time Event. There's not a particular lot of them, but they just felt weirdly out of place.

06: Dragon Age II

I think it handled the transition from traditional CRPG to a more action focused one rather well honestly. It's not the deepest combat in the world, but I never really had any particular complaint with how it was implemented. I liked the time skips in the story as well, jumping to more important parts of Hawkes' life rather than meander and get bogged down in the weeds of showing their entire time in Kirkwall. A fine enough story, even though its attempts to make the final endgame events bigger than previous plot points just fall flat on its face. It was fun seeing the fantasy RPG equivalent to a Like a Dragon game.

05: Might and Magic X: Legacy

I don't know a thing about the Might and Magic series. I know one of the strategy spinoffs is regarded as the absolute pinnacle of the genre, but as far as the mainline ones go I know nothing. That being said however I did quite like the first person dungeon crawling and combat here in MMX. It's nothing groundbreaking, and I doubt it was anything particuarly special when it came out nearly a decade ago in 2014. I appreciate that the game is more than willing to let you screw up making your party and going in with a "suboptimal" team. Rather than hold your hand and tell you which classes to bring or how to level them. I wish Ubisoft would let some developers make another one of these because I enjoy these lower budget RPGs that aren't these massive open world fiascos. Also you could make bank by upsetting the crowd who cries about ruining beloved franchises by making new entries in older series. But really I just greatly enjoy this type of RPG, and I would love to see more of them. I don't know if it will save Ubisoft from their impending implosion, but I would love to see them take chances on this type of game again rather than see them put out another big open world game that takes a hundred hours to finish.

04: Bravely Default II

With series like the Bravely Default series I usually try to play the games in release order. I know developers go to great pains to make it so you can follow a narrative for a game without having played every single entry prior to it. Regardless I try to play the first entries first. Sometimes this is a double edged sword because who's got time to play the eight or so entries before you play Ys VIII? Other times you got two entries, Bravely Default and Bravely Second. But here's the thing, while I played Bravely D 1 way back on the 3DS I know I never actually finished it, and I never touched Bravely Second. But towards the end of December 2022 I decided what the hey, I'll play Bravely Default 2 and just try to figure it out from there. This game was an utter delight to play, something about the turn based combat, good story, and charming visuals just combined to make this game a real treat for me. Even when I was going out of my way to suck the fun out of the game by grinding up the job levels I was having a heck of a good time. While I enjoy the story that's not what kept bringing me back to the game. I kept coming back to it just for the sheer enjoyment of playing the actual game. A novel concept! Bravely Default II was just an immensely enjoyable game and I highly recommend it to those who enjoy turn-based RPGs.

03: Potato Flowers in Full Bloom

This is as late an entry as one could possibly get. I went into this completely blind and I came away absolutely stunned. This is a great turn-based dungeon crawler RPG that I cannot recommend highly enough. It's clearly done by people who have a great love for the DRPGs but it isn't so bogged down with the ideas of what a "hardcore" DRPG should be that it loses itself in the fine details. Rather than get super in depth with the challenge one would find in a Wizardry Potato Flowers just focuses on a superlative gameplay loop that is just extremely enjoyable to play.

02: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

It seemed like a lock way back at the start of the year. Sure Bravely Default 2 was a sheer delight, but it couldn't match Deadfire. The combat, the look, the storyline, everthing was just such a marked improvement over the basic perfection I felt playing Pillars of Eternity 1.

01: Umineko: When the Seagulls Cry

But something came along in May that just swept the legs out from under it. There has not been an experience that has just taken up permanent residence in my head since finishing it. I went into Umineko knowing basically nothing, and by the time I finished it my mind just kept going over it again and again thinking about the characters, and the story, just replaying and rethinking events over and over again. Just a masterfully crafted narrative, and a killer soundtrack to boot.

01: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

But the thing about games is that there's more to them than just the story, the gameplay also matters. The short of it is that Pillars of Eternity II quite handily beats Umineko on the gameplay front. Plus, I really don't want to downplay the story of PIllars II because it stands strongly in my memory as one of the most superbly written stories I have ever experienced in any RPG, much less games in general.

01: Umineko: When They Cry

But the story contained within the one hundred and twenty hours worth of Umineko is without hyperbole some of the best written I have had the pleasure to experience. Just some of the most astonishingly well-written character I have ever seen in any medium. Such dedication to the crafting of some of the most vile duplicitous bastards you have ever seen, it's staggering.

01: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

The storyline in Deadfire takes the already major stakes from Pillars of Eternity I and manages to raise them even higher without making it seem like it's going to ridiculous lengths. The many characters you meet in this game are some of the strongest and best written I have seen in an extraordinarily long time. It's such a wonderful balancing act that you have such a range of characters who have their own plots and schemes that can affect the world but they all gel really well together. Even the overtly optimistic characters are played in a very realistic way where it doesn't come across as the game trying to pander with naive cheerful characters.

Umineko no Naku Koro Ni

I find it incredible that a series of such gargantuan length was able to maintain and hold my interest for the majority of its length. There were a couple of times early on where I felt my interest waning a bit, but everytime it was able to draw me back in and just revitalize my enjoyment. I am also immensely surprised at just how strongly it has remained lodged in my memory since finishing it. I feel reasonably confident if pressed I could give a summation of the entire VN just going off of memory and lose very little in the retelling.

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

As with the original Pillars the sequel does an amazing job integrating the DLC expansions quite seamlessly into the main narrative. There were times that I would embark on what I thought was a simple sidequest but was actualy a large add-on that was just as well crafted as the stuff in the main game. It was a very nice and greatly appreciated attention to detail.

02: Umineko no Naku Koro Ni

I adore this game, I will sing its praises even while carrying the small issues I have with the production. It is such a genuinely great piece of work that I worry that I might be overselling how good it is. But I genuinely feel that it is certainly worth all the praise the visual novel has accrued since its release.

01: Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire

However, games are more than just their story. It comes down to gameplay as well as the story that determines what I think the best of the year (pre-2023) truly is. And that's Pillars of Eternity II. I went in to this game with very high expectations, and I was truly surprised at how masterfully the game had met every single one of them. Despite some minor character and story wobbles I adore everything Pillars II set out to do. I highly, highly recommend this game to anyone who has even a passing interest in CRPGs.

What do you think everyone?

But in my heart I know the award goes to Umineko.

#end of the year #game of the year #doom 3 #pillars of eternity #potato flowers in full bloom #might and magic #umineko #umineko no naku koro ni #umineko when they cry #higanbana no saku yoru ni #diablo 3 #bravely default 2 #bravely default ii #dragon age 2 #the witcher 2

[femuirdris]

But Now I've Met You And I Know

Fire Emblem Awakening | Rating: G | Character Focus: Chrom, F!Robin (Emmeryn, Lissa, Aversa) | Ship(s): F!Chrobin | CW: Mild Fictional Racism/Xenophobia

The young Prince Chrom of Ylisse is often fed much negativity about the neighboring country, Plegia. Upon hearing the daughters of the grand vizier are set to arrive, his interest is piqued.

Chrobin Week 2023, Day 2: Plegian Royalty!Robin AU

[Chapter 1 - Read on AO3!]

A great fanfare erupted outside, the castle walls vibrating from the call of a hundred horns.

Chrom was just tall enough to peer out the window, balancing his weight between his tiptoes and arms. He gazed at the incoming Plegian entourage, the deep blacks and purples adorning their horses a stark contrast to the pale emerald and azure hues of his home. Fitting, he figured, for the Fell Dragon worshippers to look equally as despicable as their god.

A pair of haphazard, noisy little footsteps broke him from his trance. “Lissa, be quiet! I’m tryin’ to keep an eye on our enemies!”

“Chrom, it’s time to come down to greet our guests,” his eldest sister urged, her voice gentle but her tone firm. Chrom flinched at the sound of her voice, having only expected Lissa, but there was Emmeryn holding her hand. “And please do be mindful of the scowl upon your face. If we are to negotiate for peace, we must remain diplomatic—and polite.”

“Okay…” he replied obediently. He kicked himself off the sill dramatically as his sisters watched, Lissa appearing impressed while Emmeryn remained stoic. “But why do we have to go to this anyway? Usually Father and Mother and the war council take care of all the big meetings.”

“The Plegian royals have expanded their entourage to include the grand vizier’s daughters, who are about our ages,” she explained. “Mother and Father agreed that we would make an appearance, as well, to represent the future rulers of Ylisse. You will have a squire as your attendant today, as well, lest you find yourself running off into trouble.” She smiled, but Chrom knew it to be a warning. “Come, we must make haste.”

As they walked, Chrom and Lissa imagined what the “princesses” would be like. Lissa hoped they’d be dressed in frilly black and purple gowns with cute pigtails just like her. “Maybe they’ll play games! Or find fwogs with me!”

“Not uh!” Chrom argued, “I bet they’re spooky witches and know all kinds of dark spells! I bet they’ll put a hex on you the second you say hello!”

“Now Chrom… you know better than to call dark mages and sorcerers witches,” Emmeryn chided.

“But that’s what Father—“

Chrom promptly clammed up when he met his sister’s disapproving eyes.

“Well… I hope they at least know how to fight… I wanna challenge one of them to a duel to show them how strong Ylisse is!” he said excitedly, grabbing the air with his fist.

Emmeryn chuckled. “Very well, so long as you are chivalrous during your skirmish. And…” she gestured towards the knights they were approaching, “so long as Squire Frederick keeps watch on you.”

At that, he groaned, not at all eager to have the most dutiful of the squires attending him. Emmeryn seemed to favor him most, though Chrom could only imagine it was because he was the only one who could keep close watch on him and Lissa at the same time. On the bright side, he knew Frederick would protect him and Lissa lest the Plegians attempt any hexes.

The siblings took their places beside their parents (with Frederick on guard alongside their parents’ retainers) as the Plegian entourage entered. A low hum of whispers could be heard among the crowd of Ylisseans watching the Mad King Gangrel make his way towards the throne, followed by a tall, spindly man who Chrom assumed was the grand vizier. Behind him were two girls—his daughters Emmeryn spoke of. One looked about Emmeryn’s age, with stark white hair draping down her shoulders and deep olive skin adorned with purple facial tattoos. Her outfit was nowhere near Lissa’s vision, with a black feathery cloak, a loose black blouse with large gold bands, a skirt surrounded by a large metal brace, and gold and black boots. She wore a spiky black crown, which Chrom thought was far less attractive than his golden one. A sorceress, he figured, by the way Frederick was eying her suspiciously.

The other daughter was younger, probably around Chrom’s age, with her white hair pulled into twin-tails adorned by spiky golden accessories. She had a more modest black and purple cloak over a stitched cream-colored dress, knee-high black socks, and golden slippers. While the elder daughter held a smirk on her face, this younger one seemed more reserved, more approachable even. If he was to spar either of them, he’d much prefer this one.

Chrom sighed. Introductions at important royal events were always so stuffy and formal and slow. He enjoyed being the prince, of course, but sometimes he just wished he could go up to someone and say hello without the need for someone else to announce him as Chrom, Prince of Ylisse. Couldn’t he just introduce himself to the Plegian princess? Surely this would make this process go faster. He began shifting the weight in his feet, his gaze fixed on their young guests.

Finally, he got to learn their names. The elder was introduced as Aversa, and the younger as Robin. Compared to Validar, Gangrel, and Aversa, Robin’s name seemed… sweeter, somehow. Still foreign, of course, but it didn’t seem as harsh to his ears. How curious.

After what seemed like hours, the welcoming ceremony finally concluded, allowing the young royals the opportunity to more casually intermingle with one another.

“Princess Robin!” Chrom blurted, met with a glare from both Emmeryn and Aversa. “Er, sorry,” he said, remembering his manners. He gave her a small bow. “I’m Prince Chrom. A pleasure to meet you!”

“Well met, Prince Chrom,” Robin replied with a small curtsey. “Though, I am not a princess, per se. Plegian royalty does not follow the same conventions as your kingdom. You may address me simply as Robin.”

To his surprise, she spoke so much like Emmeryn—with big words for someone so small! From the way his father always spoke of Plegians, he imagined them more sinister, more… barbaric? Closer to bandits and snakes than someone as noble and respectable as his eldest sister.

“Well then!” he smiled, deepening his voice to imitate her formal tone. “You may address me simply as Chrom!” She grinned, her nose crinkling.

“Robin, you have pigtails like me! Except yours are white and mine are yellowy!” Lissa giggled excitedly. Chrom huffed at the interruption, but both Robin and Emmeryn let out shy laughs, covering their mouths politely. “I’m Princess Lissa! Do you wanna go catch fwogs with me?”

Aversa sneered. “Of course a Ylissean would allow their royal children to go off playing in the mud with amphibians.”

Chrom and Frederick scowled in response while Lissa pouted sadly. Emmeryn, though, remained unshaken. “Perhaps instead of frog hunting, you ladies would prefer to have tea? Our stewards brew only the finest.”

Lissa’s sadness quickly dissipated. “Tea party!”

“I suppose I can be pained for a cup of tea,” Aversa answered, not meeting Emmeryn’s eyes.

Chrom spoke up again, a little more hesitantly than before, “Well I was gonna ask Princ—um, Robin, if she wanted to spar with me…”

Robin’s face lit up in a way Chrom hadn’t noticed all this time of observing her. She looked to her sister, who still looked unimpressed. Aversa sighed, then locked eyes with Frederick. “Squire! See to it that your prince brings no harm to my little sister, or it will be your head and his.”

He sucked in a breath, lifting his chin. “You have my utmost assurance, milady.”

If Chrom didn’t know any better, he’d say Frederick sounded shaken.

“Then it is settled! Come on, Robin!” Chrom said, offering his hand. “Let me show you our training grounds!”

#chrobinweek2023 #chrobin week 2023 #fire emblem awakening #fe13 #plegian royalty!robin au #f!chrobin #chrobin #chrom #fe chrom #f!robin #emmeryn #lissa #aversa #child au #my fanfics #to be continued #q'd