#i feel if i added more id have to redo the sorting or id end up with a number thats not fun for formatting. | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

yutaya · 3 years

Text

Iron Fist Week Day 7: minor character/missing scene

Albert is a man. A man... with a van.

He's proud of his van. Sure it was a bitch and a half to get certified and sometimes trying to drive three freaking blocks in this city when he's having a bad enough day can threaten to put his blood pressure through the roof, but he's ground out an honest living for himself with it. That's no mean feat, in this neighborhood.

Plus, Al likes his job. It involves a lot of visiting every nook and cranny of the area, meeting loads of people at varying levels of talkative - it's a job that requires someone personable, and Al doesn't think it's too immodest to say that he fits the bill.

Staring down a fully loaded armoire, though, Al can admit to himself that there are times he's less fond of this job than others.

By the time he's got the thing down on the sidewalk, doors and drawers bound shut and with an initial layer of wrapping to protect it from pedestrian traffic while he sets up the loader, Al has mentally added two upticks to his pain-in-the-ass fee.

"Woah, can I help you with that?"

Al pauses in his transferring long enough to take a look at who's spoken. It's a white guy, 20s, a little scruffy but looks comfortable, and, most importantly, seems genuine.

Al smiles at him. "I appreciate the offer, but these need to be moved in a specific way to prevent scuffing."

"Oh." Al goes back to loading the armoire. "...Would you show me?" Al pauses again. Looks back at the guy. "I'm Danny, by the way," he adds, and smiles beatifically.

Al blinks up at the sky. Had the sun shone more brightly for a second, there? He turns back to wrapping the furniture with blankets and bungee cords. "You need to move a lot of furniture, Danny?" he asks while he works. Engaging in friendly conversation with strangers is second nature to him, at this point.

Danny, who has the courtesy to remain standing out on the street behind the van as they talk, bounces a little as he replies. "Yes, actually! My girlfriend and I have been redoing her apartment."

"Wow, big project. Hey, if you guys need stuff moved around, I've got you covered. Back and forth from the storage unit, delivering your new stuff from the store, bringing your old stuff wherever it's going... My rates are fair and, as you can see, I'd actually take care of your things." He pats the carefully cushioned furniture from his current job in indication.

Danny laughs a little, looking at it. "At least that isn't a piano, right?"

"Hey man, pianos have wheels. I can walk them right up the ramp."

Danny eyes the ramp Al uses with the handtrucks. "Isn't it too skinny?"

Al laughs again. "What kind of piano are you picturing, a grand?" As if anyone who owned one of those would be hiring Al to move it. As if anyone who owned one of those would be living in this area at all.

Danny shrugs, unbothered. "I haven't seen one since I was a kid. Maybe it seemed bigger back then." A beat passes, and then Danny continues talking, the oversharing sort of babble symptomatic of the sleep-deprived. "Anyway, we'll definitely call you for help with our stuff. And you can show me all the right ways to handle everything! I'm probably going to be doing a lot of rearranging furniture and stuff since Colleen is out at Bayard all the time now; she keeps talking about helping the community during the daytime - Colleen's my girlfriend, she's the best - and, I mean, she's right, of course, plus, we just got back to the city and I am not used to not having to do something -" he cuts himself off, lighting up. "Hey, could I get a job with you?"

Al startles. He can usually recognize when someone's coming at that angle. Granted, they usually don't seem to stumble into it by mistake.

"The shop down the street is hiring," he offers. "On the corner."

"Thanks! I'd like to work for this business, though."

Al pauses. Revaluates "Danny". There are only so many reasons someone would be looking for a moving job specifically, and in this neighborhood, the most likely scenario is one that Al has been very carefully steering clear of for 30 years.

"I appreciate the interest," he repeats cautiously, "but we're a small business. I'm afraid we don't really have the means to hire right now." It's a bit of a risk, revealing a vulnerability like that. Luckily, Albert is overstating it a bit; it won't be that easy for any of the triads to put financial pressure on him, and, well. He's stubborn. He swore a long time ago that he wouldn't go there.

"Oh, that's not a problem!" Danny says brightly. "You wouldn't need to pay me. I'm more looking for the experience, you know? I've never had a normal job, and Colleen thinks it'll be good for us to start over."

The alarm bell clanging in Al's head rises to a shriek, then falters. If this is a ploy, it is astoundingly poorly executed. If this guy is in with any sort of organized crime, he can't be more than a fledgling recruit. Al feels a moral obligation to try and steer him better, even if his self preservation instincts disagree.

"Look," Al says, watching Danny's face carefully. "I'm running an honest business, here. I'm not interested in having our name attached to anything. And, if I could offer you a word of advice?" Danny, who mostly just looks confused, nods. "Don't go saying that stuff about working for free. Depending who hears it, that's a good way to end up either severely taken advantage of, or in a coffin. Anyone you might be trying that hard to get a resource for won't be happy about you overplaying your hand."

Danny still looks confused. Al mimes swinging a hatchet. Danny's eyes go wide with clarity.

"I'm not with the triads," he says disconcertingly earnestly. "I'm the Iron Fist. I'm sworn to defend the city from people like them."

...Ok.

Well, at least this is an interesting conversation.

"If you're not with the triads, why do you want this job?"

"I guess I'm looking for something new. For fifteen years, I had one purpose. Now, it's done. Now, I need to build a new life, and..." His voice dips in a certain way with the next words, a way that makes Al's stomach sink with the familiarity of it. "...keep a promise to a friend."

Al looks at Danny, a pit in his stomach and memories in his heart. Resignation settles underneath his skin.

"You have a résumé?" he asks. At least Danny doesn't seem inclined to just throw things around, like some other shipping companies that Al could name. Royal Al Moving provides quality for its clients, thank you very much.

"I don't think so. What is that, equipment? I could buy some."

Al stares at him. He'd been expecting either an agreement to email or bring by a copy later, or a conversation along the lines of 'do I really need one?' followed by a verbal listing off of previous work or even just ability.

"Do you have any previous experience?" Al tries again. "Had any jobs before?"

"Yeah, I have," Danny says, and doesn't elaborate.

White people.

"What about ID?" Al asks, despite knowing full well he'll probably pretend not to notice if anything seems off about it.

Danny laughs a bit, seemingly unphased by his own complete lack of knowledge regarding ordinary job application/interview etiquette whatsoever. "Oh, I definitely have that. Had to fight really hard for it, too. It was almost all gone, but once everything got sorted out, we made, like, 10 new copies of everything." Danny pats around at his pockets, not appearing to notice Al's incredulous expression. "I don't have any of those with me right now, but... Ah ha!" He pulls something out triumphantly. "Business cards! I'm pretty sure my brother thought I was just going to destroy them, but my friend Jeri said it's important to always have one. It might have gone through the laundry, though, sorry."

Assuming this day can't get any weirder, like a fool, Al takes the card.

Even worn and slightly crumpled, the obnoxiously expensive quality of the original card is still clear. There's embossing and gold foil, for god's sake. The Rand Enterprises logo glints up at him almost mockingly even as the three dimensional lines of the border rise and fall under his thumb. Either seems unnecessary and frankly tone deaf for a Humanitarian Aid company, let alone both. Then again, maybe they reserve this version of the card for the executive level, those who hobnob among the elite, who need to make a certain type of impression on the too rich in order to convince them to donate well.

Because that's another thing this card reads, right there in plain English: a 9pt bold 'Daniel Rand', and under that, 'CEO'.

'What,' a little voice in Al's head wails semi-hysterically, 'the fuck?'

"Is this a joke?" Al asks out loud, vaguely surprised by how calm he sounds given the way the voice inside his head might be having a meltdown. "Am I on Candid Camera?"

But, no, wasn't he just thinking that this card is way too expensive - and thus definitely too expensive to be a prop?

"Hey, I know that one!" Danny Rand says cheerfully. "Joy and I used to watch it together!"

'Joy,' the voice in Al's head supplies. 'Joy Meachum.

'Well, at least this explains why he said he doesn't need money.

'Wait, why is he looking for a job in the first place? Is he not CEO? Did they kick him out or something? Did they disown him for wearing a hoodie with holes in it? Is that what he meant earlier when he said the thing he was doing before is over now?'

Al has never felt more rueful that he doesn't pay much attention to celebrity news.

"So," Al tries to find a way to word this that isn't 'have you been cut off or what?' "Why is Danny Rand looking for a job here?"

By "here", Al means a lot of things. This type of neighborhood, in general. Chinatown, out of all of them. At a low-wage position in a manual labor business with very little room for growth, if they're really getting into it.

"I like your name," Danny replies. It's far from the kind of answer that Al was expecting, but he finds himself unperturbed. Maybe he's hit a point where nothing is surprising anymore. "It reminds me of a friend. He was more of a Big Al than a Royal one, but I saw your logo and it seemed right."

(Al still pays Danny, because he refuses to be a shady business and because if he's finally getting around to setting up an employee system, he's needs to make it one that will work for anyone he might hire in the future, too. They won't all be Danny Rand. Danny keeps finding ways to immediately give it back, because he's literally a billionaire.)

#here it is like an entire week late #it took so long to write and i still kind of hate it but whatever #ironfistweek #iron fist #danny rand #fanfic #?#my stuff #the immortal iron fist #the internet is for fanfiction #colleen and misty's days still to come #they're just gonna be gifsets tho so~

18 notes · View notes

theonyxpath · 6 years

Link

With tails wagging and tongue’s lolling, we are racing towards the last days of the Fetch Quest Kickstarter campaign! If you haven’t yet checked it out, please take a look at this easy to learn, cooperative, deck-building card game for all ages. The KS page has reviews and how to play links, and as a backer you can download a print’n’play version of your own and start having fun right now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/fetch-quest-a-deck-building-game-in-the-realms-of/description

And once you do, let us know what you think! Card games aren’t our usual thing, so the more feedback we get on the game or the way the Fetch Quest Kickstarter is set up, the better we can do the next ones!

Changeling: The Lost 2nd art by Ken Meyer, Jr

Here are a few more bite-sized treats selected from what we talked about in the Monday Meeting today:

Our sales partners at IPR‘s sale on prestige edition Chronicles of Darkness books (Demon: The Descent, Mummy: The Curse, Dark Eras, Beast: The Primordial) and their Screens ends June 24th. These are the remaining books from their respective Kickstarters, and are traditional printed and bound, with bookmarks and embossed and varnished covers printed over metallic paper. They’re gorgeous and on sale. http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Fantasy Grounds has added Shelzar: City of Sins from Scarred Lands to their online store, so that their Virtual Tabletop community can now explore the most wicked city in the Scarred Lands. We’re very happy that our SL presence in VTT is starting to build with our friends at Fantasy Grounds!

Our plans for Gen Con 2018 are rolling forward – just check out the projects Mirthful Mike is working on right now – and we’re going to be waving at Paizo again on our front, and across the aisle sideways at White Wolf this year. So we’ll have a ring-side seat at the explosion of gamers coming for V5 this year. Meanwhile, we’ll have our good friends from the Wrecking Crew demoing again this year outside the exhibit hall in their own room, and at least one demo table at our booth going at all times. Expect us to announce some pretty wild projects this year!

Lots of folks working on lots of exciting books – just peruse the First Draft part of the Progress Report below! We still have some very important core books to deliver, and then a smorgasbord of different projects of all game lines and sizes are on their way.

Last Friday’s Onyx Pathcast that featured an overview and behind-the-scenes of Vampire: The Requiem 2nd has garnered a ton of fantastic comments all over the place, and rightfully so considering the Terribly Terrific Trio (or the Terrifically Terrible Trio) were really firing on all cylinders with this one. If you want to hear more of these project or game-line oriented Pathcasts, then join the crowd and let us know! This Friday, at least two thirds of the gang will be interviewing the amazing up-and-coming writer and developer, Steffie de Vaan.

Changeling: The Lost 2nd art by Brian LeBlanc

And now, as a change of pace, and as sort of an illustration equivalent to the Developer/Writer viewpoints in last Friday’s Onyx Pathcast, I thought I’d do a bit of a walk-through showing the steps Mirthful Mike and I go through as an art director when one of us commissions an artist to create an illustration for one of our books.

The developer should have provided the art notes for the pieces they know they need. Some devs will write out very detailed, multi-page, descriptions that specify every aspect of what the piece should contain, others will give very brief descriptions and leave the decisions as to what looks good to the artist.

As an art director, I’m looking for a bit of a middle zone where the developer includes descriptions or reference links for accuracy – character appearance, the location, etc – and very specifically what they need to see happen in the illustration. If the point is to show a power being used, we do need to know what that power does. If the point is to show our cool protagonist in a run-down bar, then a brief description of what sort of attitude is being expressed is important.

In the end, we prefer to give the artist just enough info so that they can run with a piece and show off their abilities while still holding to the subject matter we hired them to illustrate. We also like to have a good idea of which pieces are going to which illustrator so that we can fine tune the notes based on how they are most comfortable working.

Some artists like having as much info as possible in addition to the art notes, like the whole text or at least their chapter, while others find all that reading too much to deal with while trying to get to grips with their specific assignments. No wrong answer there, and we try and work with them to allow them to make their best work.

For example, here’s a link to the art notes for the full page pieces for Wraith 20th that we sent to Ken Meyer, Jr. For this project, Ken was illustrating all the full-page pieces and they needed to contain the various player-character types. Since we’ve been hiring Ken for longer than any of us care to be reminded about, RichD was able to keep the info pretty minimal for the actual fulls, while stressing the overall specific feel of Wr20 (as opposed to any of our many other game lines Ken has done his beautiful illustrations for). Here’s a link to those art notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B57iDF62OjtPaV9ySDZ3QlZtbEJqdW8yb2V4ZFVRZDdjRGVZ

Here’s the specific full-page description (in case you don’t want to read the PDF of the full art notes):

Chapter Nine – Drama Chanteur – Petite wraith with an electric violin and a headset mike, playing the violin like it’s a weapon. Because it is.

As per our illustration process, Ken then sent in a sketch worked up in pencil and based on a series of emails with Mirthful Mike that went over any questions that Ken might have:

Depending on the project, Mike may loop in the developer, me, or a licensing partner like White Wolf, for commentary and to see if the subject matter is being handled as needed. Most of the time, Mike handles this stage himself – particularly when you consider that different artists sketch with different kinds of completeness. Some artists like to create very tight sketches and then use the final stages to take that tight sketch into the finished medium. Others like to have less detailed sketches and work out the details in their finish.

So an art director gets to know how to “read” the sketches of their different artists and respond appropriately.

In this particular case, the communication worked the way we like it to, because here’s the fantastic final piece:

Now figure that we go through those steps, and often have redos or tweaks at each stage, for every piece of art you see in every book and project we make. An art director’s job is never done, especially when they are keeping an eye on all the styles and subject matters we have in all our projects which span:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

Fetch Quest, the adventure card game set in the Realms of Pugmire is down to its last days and we’d love to have you join us!

And if you’ve already pledged, this is definitely a game that needs to be spread by word of mouth, so please let your friends and family know about this game of good dogs (and cats!) out to fetch what Man has left behind!

Next up, Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition Kickstarter…starting sooner than you might expect…

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here are the links for the Apple and Android versions:

http://theappstore.site/app/1296692067/onyx-dice

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onyxpathpublishing.onyxdice&hl=en

Three different screenshots, above.

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Endless Ages Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Rites of Renown: When Will You Rage II (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Ascension: Truth Beyond Paradox (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: The God-Machine Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Curse of the Blue Nile (Kindle, Nook)

Beast: The Primordial: The Primordial Feast Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: Of Predators and Prey: The Hunters Hunted II Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: The Poison Tree (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: Songs of the Sun and Moon: Tales of the Changing Breeds (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: The Strix Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Forsaken: The Idigam Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Mage: The Awakening: The Fallen World Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Masquerade: The Beast Within Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Werewolf: The Apocalypse: W20 Cookbook (Kindle, Nook)

Exalted: Tales from the Age of Sorrows (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Tales of the Dark Eras (Kindle, Nook)

Promethean: The Created: The Firestorm Chronicle Anthology (Kindle, Nook)

Demon: The Descent: Demon: Interface (Kindle, Nook)

Scarred Lands: Death in the Walled Warren (Kindle, Nook)

V20 Dark Ages: Cainite Conspiracies (Kindle, Nook)

Chronicles of Darkness: Strangeness in the Proportion (Kindle, Nook)

Vampire: The Requiem: Silent Knife (Kindle, Nook)

Mummy: The Curse: Dawn of Heresies (Kindle, Nook)

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there!

https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

Here’s the link to the press release we put out about how Onyx Path is now selling through Indie Press Revolution: http://theonyxpath.com/press-release-onyx-path-limited-editions-now-available-through-indie-press-revolution/

And you can now order Pugmire: the book, the screen, and the dice! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

IPR is holding a 40% sale on the Chronicles of Darkness prestige edition core books that we have remaining until June 24th!

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

This Wednesday the PDF and physical book PoD versions of C20 Kithbook: Boggans go on sale on DTRPG.com!

Sometimes it’s the little things that make the biggest differences in life, and nowhere is this more evident than the boggan kith. Although they have preferred to let others glory in the spotlight, this industrious kith has worked its own subtle and patient magic over the centuries, drawing power from dreams of hearth and comfort and becoming no less than the bedrock of Kithain society. Even heroes need homes to return to, after all.

For the first time ever, the secrets and gossip of the boggan kith are being shared with outsiders. So pull your chair closer to the fire, take up a fresh cup of tea, and listen carefully, because the real truth about these unsung heroes is finally coming to light.

Kithbook: Boggans features:

• A history of this unassuming yet vital kith, and how they’ve subtly shaped the Dreaming.

• Insight into boggan nature combined with advice for bringing boggan characters to life.

• Ready-made characters for quick play, and profiles of famous boggans past and present.

• New Treasures, Merits, and Flaws for boggan characters.

CONVENTIONS!

Prep is seriously underway for Gen Con 2018 in the first week of August, which takes place in Indianapolis. In addition to our booth presence, be sure to check out the games and panels in the Gen Con Event Schedule.

From Fast Eddy Webb, we have these:

Eddy will be speaking at Broadleaf Writers Conference (September 22-23) in Decatur, GA. He’ll be there to talk about writing for interactive fiction, and hanging out with other writers who have far more illustrious careers. http://broadleafwriters.com/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference/3rd-annual-broadleaf-writers-conference-speakers/

Eddy will also be a featured guest at Save Against Fear (October 12-14) in Harrisburg, PA. He’ll be running some Pugmire games, be available for autographs, and will sometimes accept free drinks. http://www.thebodhanagroup.org/about-the-convention

If you are going and want to meet up, let us know!

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Novel (Jackie Cassada) (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Tales of Excellent Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Adventures for Curious Cats (Monarchies of Mau)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Changeling: The Lost 2nd Jumpstart (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Redlines

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Night Horrors: Shunned by the Moon (Werewolf: The Forsaken 2nd Edition)

In Media Res (Trinity Continuum: Core)

Wr20 Book of Oblivion (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

C20 Players’ Guide (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

Dog and Cat Ready Made Characters (Monarchies of Mau)

Aeon Aexpansion (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Second Draft

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Development

Signs of Sorcery (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Fetch Quest (Pugmire)

They Came From Beneath the Sea! Rulebook (TCFBtS!)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Manuscript Approval:

Dystopia Rising: Evolution (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

Editing:

Guide to the Night (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

Post-Editing Development:

Scion: Hero (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Core Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Trinity Continuum: Aeon Rulebook (The Trinity Continuum)

Ex Novel 2 (Aaron Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted 3rd Novel by Matt Forbeck (Exalted 3rd Edition)

GtS Geist 2e core (Geist: the Sin-Eaters Second Edition)

M20 Gods and Monsters (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Night Horrors: The Tormented (Promethean: The Created 2nd Edition)

Indexing:

Wraith 20

Cavaliers of Mars

Monarchies of Mau (Monarchies of Mau)

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Ex3 Monthly Stuff

Scion Hero – Stuff is progressing…

Trinity Continuum

Geist 2e – KS artwork continues.

The Realm

M20 Gods and Monsters

Ex3 Dragon Blooded – More sketches coming in.

Promethean Night Horrors: The Tormented

Marketing Stuff

Posters and Displays

Gen Con Cards

In Layout

Fetch Quest – Prepping new playtest decks for Gen Con.

Proofing

Scion Origin – Onyx review.

Changeling: the Lost 2 – Corrections to Josh.

Wraith 20 Screen – At WW.

Storyteller System Brochure

GenCon Brochure

At Press

V20 Beckett’s Jyhad Diary & Beckett Screen & V20 Dice – At fulfillment shipper, prepping for KS ship-out.

Scion Dice – At fulfillment shipper.

Boggans – PDF and PoDs on sale this Wednesday.

Monarchies of Mau – In Indexing.

Monarchies of Mau Screen – Getting ready to send to press.

Cavaliers of Mars Screen – Getting ready to send to press.

Wr20 Guide for Newly Departed – Creating PoD files.

Gen Con Buttons – At press.

WoD and CofD reroll cards – At press.

FQ and PG Gen Con cards – At press.

TODAY’S REASON TO CELEBRATE: Today is the birthday of J. Michael Straczynski, 1954 – celebrated writer of comics and TV, specifically of Babylon 5. Fun fact: B5 was a real pioneer in structure for television with free-standing episodes that were part of story-arcs that worked as seasons that had specific season-long stories and finishes, and so it was a huge influence on the limited-series concept for our games. Specifically in pitching Orpheus back in the day, I referenced B5‘s use of structure.

#Onyx Path Publishing

3 notes · View notes

i-write-shakespeare-not-disney · 7 years

Text

Warm Me Up pt 26

Click Here for Ch. 1

Click Here for Ch. 25

I figured since I got 100 notes on the last chapter it was fine to upload a new one :3 Please give feedback guys, I want your thoughts on this too <3

It was a bad day again. Nico had been waiting for it. While being with Will kept his spirits up, he felt complacent and uncertain when he was alone. He had been waiting for that rise or fall of emotions and now it was there.

This time it seemed to mock him though. While he just wanted to appreciate having Will back in his life and spending time with him, whether for a few moments while getting coffee or for a few hours as they walked around the campus and talked, his mind immediately darkened it all. Instead of the joy, the murkier, painful thoughts began to rise.

He thought back to those first months, when every night had been filled with Will’s warmth or kisses shared under covers and in the confines of his car or the times when Nico felt like he was falling apart and Will had held him together. He thought of all of those moments and felt reminded of the fact that he was so screwed up he couldn’t hold on to it. He had messed up and now they weren’t there anymore. Now they had to start over and it was all his fault.

Instead of looking back on those moments with fondness, he was looking back on them with bitterness. Why weren’t they happening anymore? Why did he have to be so fucked up that he hurt the one person he ever truly trusted and loved? And how long would he have to fight?

Not only that, but if those frustrating, self deprecating thoughts were running through his head again, who was to say Will wasn’t right and he’d just go and do it again when he was given a chance? What if he was unfixable?

The thoughts, the questions, the frustration all stirred in his brain until he felt he was going to explode. He left the dorm, cigarettes and journal in hand, and raced to the seating area in front of the café. The smell of smoke was strong despite the late hour, and the soft light that had been added gave Nico enough to pour over his lyrics. He lit a cigarette and tried to either muffle his thoughts with song or at least pour them all out onto paper.

His writing was messy, frantic even. He just wanted the thoughts gone. In the back of his head, he knew the gas station was across the street. He knew he wouldn’t be asked for an ID. He knew there was an easy way to shut the voices up, a simple way to just stop thinking.

He was rooted to the chair, debating with himself. Did he want to backtrack so quickly? No. But he wanted the rush of thoughts to stop and he wanted to stop tearing himself down when he was already trying so hard to fix himself. He flinched as the ash from his cigarette fell against his arm, scorching the skin.

“Shit,” he muttered.

“Nico?” He looked up and felt his cheeks warm almost immediately. “You okay? You look stressed.” Just like that, the frustrated rush of thoughts stopped. All he could think of now were those pretty blue eyes and the splatter of cinnamon colored freckles and the gentle reflection of light at the ends of his golden hair.

“I’m okay,” he said in a voice very much not okay. He cleared his throat and frowned. “I’m okay,” he repeated with a more convincing voice. He put out his cigarette and stood. “Sorry. I know you don’t like the smell.”

Will smiled and shook his head. “It’s okay. I was heading over to the library actually. I have a project I need to do.”

“Oh,” he said with a tinge of disappointment. “Well, have fun,” he offered feebly.

Will furrowed his eyebrows and set his stuff down on the table. “What’s wrong?” Nico tried to say nothing, but the word caught in his throat. Instead, he shrugged and shook his head. “Nico, remember friends help each other. Can you let me help you?”

“You’re always helping me. That’s what got us into this mess in the first place,” he muttered. Will’s eyes widened and Nico’s lips parted as he tried to figure out a way to take it back. “Uh, no, I mean…. I didn’t mean it like…. He pressed his hands to the sides of his head and squeezed his eyes shut. “Shit I’m doing it again.”

“Nico?”

“I have to go. I should go. I’ll be okay. I’m sorry.” He turned away and started running for his room.

The expression on his face worried Will and part of him wanted to run after Nico. But he also knew him well enough to know Nico wouldn’t tell Will what was happening. So instead he sent him a message.

Let me know if you need anything. I’ll check on you if you don’t get back to me.

Before turning away, he saw that Nico had left his journal on the table. He took it and placed it carefully with his own books. He started to walk back to the library, but then he heard his name get called out. When he turned he saw Leo with Piper and Jason, leaving the café. He broke away from them and walked over to Will with an expression that was oddly serious. “Hey. What’s up?” he asked Will.

“Uh, not much. I’m going to the library to do a project. I ran into Nico just now, and he seemed upset.”

“Speaking of Nico,” he said, immediately latching onto that. Will groaned internally, but only raised an eyebrow. “What’s… what’s going on there? He said something about you guys being friends now.”

“Yeah, we are,” he said with a smile.

“Okay. But… I mean…. Are you guys supposed to get back together? Is there like an allotted time or a build up or-?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” he answered, feeling uncomfortable with the amount of questions. He could barely keep track of what was happening between Nico and himself, there was no way he would be able to answer the questions Leo was throwing at him.

Leo frowned and began cracking his knuckles absentmindedly. “I’m just trying to…. Okay look, to Nico, this his second shot at dating you. A redo. I’m just asking if that’s how you see it too, or if you plan on seeing other people…?”

It felt like a bucket of ice water had been doused over his head, soaking him completely and chilling him to his core. The blood drained from his face as he stared at Leo warily. “Um…. Well, I mean I hang out with Nico a lot. It’s not as often, but I mean I guess the option is there…. It just really I guess sort of depends on how this all goes, you know? There’s a lot that happened and a lot to sort of w-”

“Will, I saw you at the theater with some guy and it wasn’t Nico and there was kissing and I don’t know what to do with this information!” Will’s eyes widened and his cheeks flared while his mind raced with profanities. Leo seemed to deflate and he ran his hand through his curls. “Look man, Nico is my friend. We’re not super tight, but he is my friend, and I really-”

“Leo stop,” he begged. He glanced over his shoulder where Jason and Piper were looking over at them curiously. Then he pulled Leo aside and rubbed his face. “Leo, please don’t say anything about that. Like ever. I didn’t tell anyone that was even happening. That wasn’t going anywhere.” He sighed and sat down on a bench. “Leo, I really, really care about Nico. I… I don’t know how it happened, but I did fall for him, and I fell hard.” He looked at Leo helplessly. “Please, Nico can’t find out about that. At least not yet. Not when things are finally getting better between the two of us. That guy just kept bugging me about a date so I went to get him to stop, I wasn’t expecting a kiss and I… I didn’t like it.”

“Bad kisser?” he asked sympathetically.

Will stared at him and shook his head. “Oh God,” he muttered. “No. I mean, I don’t know. It’s just…. I couldn’t stop thinking about Nico. Leo, I don’t know where this is going any more than you do, but I would like to find out. So please, can you just keep it quiet?”

Leo sighed and kicked at the ground. “Okay. Yeah, I can do that. I’m sorry if I… cornered you or something.” Will waved the comment away and took a relieved breath. “I’ll let you study. And… I’m rooting for you guys. If that means anything. I think we all are. We never saw Nico as happy as the way he was when he was with you.”

“Thanks,” he said softly. Leo walked away and Will continued to the library, hoping to forget the awkwardness of the entire encounter.

When he arrived, he found a table on the second floor, hidden behind bookcases where few people ventured. He sat there and pulled out Nico’s journal. He didn’t want to read through it. He knew every lyric was personal to him. Even when they were dating Nico hadn’t let him see the songs.

But there was one song he wanted to see. He hadn’t heard it in a long time; he at least wanted to read it. He was careful to keep his eyes on the titles, his curiosity peaking when he saw more intriguing ones. But he waited until he got to that familiar song and smiled to himself as he looked at the scribbled words.

For a few moments, he was back in the café with Nico singing in front of him, smiling at him, looking at him like he was the most important person in the world. The memories made his heart warm and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He missed Nico.

Ignoring the project that was looming over him, he put the journal back with his books and left the library. He went to Nico’s dorm and knocked on the door of his room. There was no answer. He knocked again and waited but there was still no answer.

Before he could knock again, the door across from Nico’s opened. “Are you knocking on my door?” a girl asked.

“Oh, no. Sorry. I’m knocking on this one….”

She frowned and pointed at the door. “You’re looking for the shaggy haired dude? He’s not in there. When I came up to my room, I saw him leaving, taking the stairs like two at a time.”

“Oh, okay. Thank you,” he said. The girl nodded and went back into her room. He turned away and went out to the parking lot. Nico’s motorcycle was missing.

Knowing the way Nico could act when he was upset, Will felt more than a little worried. Nico had said time and time again that it was no longer Will’s job to worry, but Will couldn’t help it any more than he could help how in love with Nico he was.

He got in his car and drove over to the dirt road Nico seemed to love so much. He parked and walked slowly toward the clearing where he saw Nico walking back and forth… with a clear bottle in one hand.

The thoughts wouldn’t stop. They were overlapping, screaming, jumbling together, one angry thought after the other. The weight of the vodka bottle was the only thing anchoring him to where he was.

He hadn’t opened it. Hell he could barely bring himself to look at it.

Part of him wanted to drink it just to slow the thoughts racing through his mind. He wanted to prove to himself how pointless his attempt at getting better was. He wanted to prove to himself how pathetic and useless he was, and how much better Will was without him because he was such a mess of a person.

But the other part wouldn’t let him. He didn’t want to backtrack. He didn’t want to be right. He wanted to get better and he wanted to be better for Will. He wanted to stop doing all of the things that reminded him how much he could hate himself.

He’d bought the stupid thing, but he hadn’t opened it. He kept going back and forth, testing his own strength, seeing how far he could stretch himself before he succumbed.

“Nico?” He froze and looked up, seeing Will, looking crestfallen as he walked nearer. “What are you doing?”

Nico couldn’t talk. He didn’t trust himself. He felt that if he opened his mouth, he would start screaming. Instead, he kept his eyes on Will.

“Nico, give me the bottle.” He didn’t move. He just stood there, trying to breathe, trying to stop thinking, trying not to scream. “Nico,” he said softly, reaching forward. Nico didn’t move. He felt the warmth of Will’s hand slide around his own, prying the bottle from his palm.

It felt like strings had been cut. His shoulders slumped and he ducked his head in shame.

“You didn’t open it,” he said with heavy relief. Nico glanced up and furrowed his eyebrows. He placed the bottle by a tree and tugged Nico by his arm to another where he had him sit. Without saying a word, he sat down beside him.

Will’s warmth beside him was calming. Knowing that he knew him well enough to find him, knowing that he cared enough to sit beside him without even knowing what was wrong exactly made Nico’s heart swell. It made him love him even more.

He wanted to rest his head against Will’s shoulder. He wanted the warmth of Will’s freckled hand in his own. He wanted to climb into his lap and have Will wrap his arms around him. He wanted to lean his head in the crook of his neck, rest his hand over his chest until Will’s steady heartbeat steadied his own. He wanted to kiss him until every other thought was gone and all he could think of was the taste of his lips.

But he couldn’t do that anymore.

Instead, he tried to allow himself to be comforted by the pressure of Will’s shoulders against his, by the soft sounds of his breaths.

For a while, they just sat there in silence. Slowly, Nico’s mind quieted. The rush was over. Now he felt ridiculous. For buying the vodka, for pacing, for panicking, for having Will come all the way out here. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands.

“Do you want to go get some coffee? Starbucks, not the rip off crap from campus,” Will said, breaking the silence. Nico glanced over at him and Will tilted his head. “As friends.”

Still not trusting his voice, he nodded slowly and stood as Will did. He hesitated by his motorcycle and scratched his head. “You should take that back to campus. I’ll follow and then we can carpool,” he offered.

Nico nodded and climbed onto his bike, starting the engine. Will grabbed the bottle and nodded at Nico as he went back to his car.

A few minutes later, after Nico pulled into the parking lot and parked his motorcycle, Will’s car pulled up. Nico slid into the passenger seat without talking, vaguely wondering what Will did with the vodka. Soft classic love ballads played while Will drove.

Nico took a breath as Will parked and looked over at him as he turned off the engine. “Thank you,” he said.

“He speaks,” Will said with a smile. Then the smile melted away. “Why’d you buy the bottle?”

He shrugged and frowned at the dashboard. “I was debating whether or not it was worth it. I don’t know what I would’ve ended up deciding if you hadn’t arrived.” He took a breath and looked at shook his head. “It’s just one of those bad days.”

Will nodded and reached for the backseat, fumbling for a while before he sat back. Then he handed Nico a journal and he realized it was his song book. “You left this when you left earlier. I didn’t read anything in it.”

“Really?” he asked.

His face colored slightly and he cleared his throat. “Well, I mean, I just… I read one.” Nico looked at him, but he was looking away. “The song from the café. The… one you wrote for me.”

“Oh,” he said. “That’s okay,” he assured. “Thank you for keeping it safe for me.” Will nodded and began chewing on his thumb. Nico pulled his hand away by his wrist and scoffed. “You don’t have to get nervous,” he murmured.

Bright blue eyes settled on him, causing his breath to hitch. “I’m not,” he answered softly. “It’s just… memories.”

Nico furrowed his eyebrows and slid his fingers from Will’s wrist to his knuckles. “I know. Me too.” Will’s eyes flitted to their hands and he blinked rapidly as he pulled his hand away. “Will…”

“No, it’s okay.” He looked at Nico and smiled. “Really. It’s alright. Let’s not get into this right now. Come on, I’ll pay.” Will took another look at Nico before getting out of the car. It took Nico a second to process, but he eventually got out of the car as well, figuring it best to drop it and not have the same conversation again.

It was awkward for a few moments as they walked. When they got inside and ordered, Will sat across from him at a small table and interlocked his hands. “Have you been able to catch up with school?”

Nico stared at him and smiled as he looked down at the table.

As if by magic, the pain and stress of the day melted away and he was okay. He talked leisurely with Will about unimportant things, marveled at his ability to keep Nico from sinking into the depths of his mind, and felt his affection increase more with each passing moment.

Somehow it felt more real. Without being able to simply lean forward and kiss him as he pleased, every moment mattered. Every moment was cherished.

There was so much to work on. Nico had to work on himself. Will had to be able to trust Nico with his feelings. They had to learn to be with each other again. And it would take time. Nico didn’t know how much time, but if it meant he’d have Will in his arms again one day, he didn’t care. He would try.

Slowly but surely, Will saw the change in Nico’s eyes. The pained, guarded expression slowly melted into those warm brown eyes he loved so much, brighter as he smiled and began speaking with his hands. A million butterflies erupted in his stomach each time Nico smiled or laughed. He had a habit of pushing his tongue behind his teeth and Will found it endearing. He also kept his hand busy by folding the straw paper over and over then unfolding it.

After another hour of talking, the two of them returned to the car and drove back to campus. Will parked in the main garage since the lot near his dorm was full. Together, they walked along the sidewalk, hands in their pockets.

Before having to split ways, Nico turned to Will and smiled. “Thank you. It’s not up to you to be sure I’m okay. But I’m thankful you still do.”

Will shook his head and smiled. “You do realize how much I care about you, right? It doesn’t matter if it’s not my responsibility.” Nico took a deep breath and slight blush filled his cheeks, much to Will’s delight. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah. And… I’m sorry I bought that… vodka…. I promise I’m trying-”

“Nico, relax,” Will said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Things don’t change from one day to the next. You didn’t drink. That was a step. Stop being so hard on yourself.” Nico nodded and hesitated. “What?”

“I just….” He bit his lip and ran his hand through his hair. “Would a hug be okay?” he asked softly.

Will raised his eyebrows and smiled as his cheeks warmed. Without another word, he wrapped his arms around Nico and Nico’s came up, his hands resting on his shoulders. Nico’s head leaned into the crook of his neck, facing away. He felt familiar. Will didn’t want to let go.

He held him tightly, feeling as Nico took a deep breath. He began to pull away and Will allowed his arms to loosen and fall back to his sides. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered. He turned away and began to walk while Will simply stared after him.

Click Here for Ch. 27

#JUST KISS DAMMIT #oh wait #uh #solangelo #will solace #nico di angelo #im getting better #nico is hella based on me #its hard to get better #agh #depression #relationships #fanfiction #will and nico #nico and will #warm me up #breathe me #feedback please

226 notes · View notes

yesterdaysdreams · 6 years

Text

Our Renovation Inspiration & Materials

Hey guys! It’s been a while since I’ve had a renovation update for you and in case you were thinking it had completely stalled, it has, in fact, been the complete opposite.

In true Ben style, there’s been no dilly-dallying on this project. ON TIME AND ON BUDGET (as he always says), and indeed that’s *pretty much* been the case. Very soon I’m going to be sharing with you a looonggggg video of all the behind the scenes of construction process (including a very edited selection of imagery of us at the hardware store, because it turns out that going to Bunnings is a twice daily occurance when you’re renovating) but in the meantime I thought it would be nice to quickly run you through a few of the inspiration and materials we chose for the house. You guys helped with the paint selection, which I am most grateful for!

The Inspiration

We ran you through all the plans for the house in this post, but what I didn’t touch on was the inspiration for the feel of the house – something that related a lot to the materials that we choose (along with the design elements and details). In general, I was inspired by light bright spaces with personality, with a big open air living space that really felt like home. Rugs, plants and strategic pops of colour would play a role in adding personaility to the space – as I really wanted to steer away from a black and white palette. Below you can see the images that filled my moodboard – with spaces that have a lot of light, vintage details and decor that brings a lot of personaility.

Choosing The Materials

In truth, if it was up to me I would still be stuffing around workshopping different tile options, but if there’s one thing Ben’s good as it’s not wasting time, so we chose the materials for the house relatively quickly. That said, I had spent a decent amount of time in the lead up to the actual choosing making mood boards and understanding what styles we thought a) would suit the house b) be interesting and c) not date too much. It’s a challenge to balance those things but I THINK we’ve done ok.

Our Renovation Materials

Tiles

As you would have seen in the post where we discussed tiles in more detail, we chose a very simple slightly textured subway tile for our wall tile from Tilecloud and decided to lay it… Vertical! This might come as a bit of a let down to some of you who were all for the herringbone. But after discussing it long and hard with Ben, we decided this is a style that best suited the house and the rooms we would have it in. Not only did we take inot account aesthetics, but Ben reminded me that various tile layouts will have different labor costs involved, something that is so so obvious but I hadn’t thought about. Once we did the numbers this one was our chocie! It looks great now that I have seen it up so I’m glad we chose it, you can let me know what you think soon! (Another tile I absolutely love love love, but which was sadly released after we bought ours, is this one).

For the floors, one trend that I have been loving in the tile department is terrazzo. But I was always a little nervous that it would date too much, particularly if we chose it in a coloured style. For a second there I was realllly into this pink terrazzo tile… But luckily I moved on from that because I think it would have been wayyyy too much. Instead, we went for a more subtle version of the terrazzo tile – this grey terrazzo style tile.

Metal Tapware

This is an area I was sooo excited to get stuck into – taps, door handles and metal details… You know you’re OLD when this stuff starts to excite you. I have always loved brass fittings (ie gold) but was surprised about how hard it was to find really great ones that didn’t blow the budget and didn’t look too shiny. After searching high and low I stumbled upon ABI Interiors, which have an amazing (and affordable!) selection of brass metal tapware of all types, all in matching colours so that all the metal details of a space will match (you can even shop by colour). Because we have been designing a separate upstairs and downstairs, we decided to do really nice matte black tapware upstairs (Mondella & Caroma from Bunnings), and brass hardware (from ABI Interiors) downstairs. Ben’s view is that you don’t want to mix up hardware colours across the one dwelling/space. And I do what I’m told! I was surprised by just how much different hardware you need for a space – not only taps and shower heads but bottle traps, waste covers, sinks etc etc etc. Oh and in case you’re interested this was my ultimate but it was outside the budget… Maybe next time!

Paint

For those of you who kindly made suggestions on this post, we decided, in the end, to go with the green and dusty pink palette, with the colours from Haymes Paint. It was a surprisingly hard decision to make, but seeing it in place now I think it works really well. That said, we’ve used the coloured paints quite minimally throughout the house so in case you’re thinking it’s going to be a colourful nightmare you don’t have to worry (at least I am hoping not!). I guess at the end of the day I wanted the house to have personality without being too overpowering… Although those of you who gravitate towards black and white might find it too much. But you can let me know when you see it!

Main colours Minimalist (white), Intimacy (dark grey)

Highlight colours Marengo (mustard), Humas (dusty pink), Cordovan (light pink).

Walls & Floors

In keeping with the traditional style of the house, we chose to keep all the existing walls and floors, and matching the walls and floors in the back extension. We went back and forth about making the extention more modern (as a lot of architects would do) but I think in the end I really liked that we kept it traditional. We had the choice to redo the floors for the whole upstairs, and this was somewhat appealing because the existing floors are a) very warm toned and b) a bit knocked around. But at the end of the day we decided that the floors and the walls contained so much character, that is was worth keeping them as much as possible. That means the floors are a bit knocked up here and there, and some of the walls are hilariously askew, but I love that about it. For downstairs, we went with more of an industrial feel, with sealed concrete floors and flat panelled walls. As simple (and affordable, haha) as possible!

So that’s our materials guys! Crossing my fingers you found it intersting. And in case you’re wondering, yes it has been a little bit intense doing all this while pregnant, but I’ve been lucky that Ben a) does this sort of thing every day so there’s literally zero stress involved and b) he was happy (I think) to take a bit of the load off me.

I’m really excited to share with you very shortly the BTS of the construction for the house, and then the formal ‘after’ shots very soon. Wah!

Read the rest of our renovation series here!

The post Our Renovation Inspiration & Materials appeared first on A Pair & A Spare.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713 https://ift.tt/2sEDxNc via IFTTT

#IFTTT #RSSMix.com Mix ID 8265713

0 notes