"... When Mz. Collins Said "The Old House", I Thought It Would Be Just Another Extension Of The Manor,

"... When Mz. Collins said "The Old House", I thought it would be just another extension of the manor, or maybe another, smaller manor someone had built on the estate.

Instead, after my little adventure with the thorns and the mud, I stumbled into a clearing. In the middle of this clearing, covered in vines and moss and mold, was a cottage.

Even in the middle of what felt like a hurricane, I stopped for a second. Just to stare.

I could tell it had been a beautiful place, once upon a time. A comfortable, warm place. Lots of happy memories had been made there.

Even though it was in ruins, I could still feel that."

Well DUH I've been playing BG3 this entire time. I grew up with the first two (which I highly highly HIGHLY recommend if you like BG3 but definitely get the *Enhanced Editions* from GOG - BG 1 & 2 were the first games of their kind, and also based on D&D 2e which was.... flawed) and seeing the incredible explosion in new fans has got me feeling a lot of nerd joy.

So here is my Tav.....'s dad. I see so many tragic orphan protagonists and OCs in D&D/BG3 that I felt like a parent of some kind was needed. And then this walking embodiment of a hug strolled into my brain.

In my canon here, Tav (short for Tavvari in my game) was raised by a single, extremely overprotective dad, who owns his own bakery in the city. He was very very very very unhappy when his only child went off to apprentice with a bard a few years ago and current events have done absolutely*nothing* to ease his mind.

"... She told me that David likes to go play around "The Old House" - an ominous name if ever I heard one. She also told me that the roads to the Old House had washed out long ago, and the safest way to reach it was through the woods on the east side of the manor.

Left out of this description was the mud, the giant rocks, the oddly thorny trees, and the spectacular lightning storm with 20 mph winds that kicked up the moment I set foot outside the house."

*************************************************

Heya, I still have a few pages left of this story, so I'll be continuing into November! Yay!

"... It was so dark in there, I wondered if it would even be worth it to go in. I didn't want to risk breaking my neck tripping on some antique doorstop or falling through the floor or something. But even as I started strategizing my recon mission into the old house, I caught sight of a painting above the fireplace.

It looked familiar.... Or rather, the person in it looked familiar. Somehow."

I did

a very strange thing

well, okay, not that strange. I'm switching medications and my anxiety has been really bad today, and putting facial hair on Disney male leads seemed like a good coping method. I did try to give each character facial hair according to the time period from which their movie took inspiration (there is no such thing as historical accuracy with Disney movies, they're fantasy, guys). I.... kind of but not really succeeded? The ones I messed up: Florian. I just could not make him look not gross. I gave up and gave him a stupid goatee. Serves him right. Eric. He looks like a white suburban dad. And I really messed up the lines. Oof. Aladdin. I just screwed up. Feel free to improve upon it. Please. The ones I actually got to look not terrible: John Smith. The only one where historical accuracy WAS a thing - I referenced his portraits, but forewent the extra pudge, receding hairline, and brown hair. I got nothing against brown hair, I just didn't feel like putting THAT much effort into editing these screenshots.

Prince Phillip. He's okay. Not great. But okay. I'd let him meet my parents. Shang. DAMN. that's all. And that's my weird Sunday thing I did. Hope you liked it.

Darktober 11-12

"September 13, 2019

My name is Victoria Winters.

I have no idea how to start this entry.

Everything that has happened... Did it really happen? It seems as real as that dream from last night. But I look at my hand, see the bruises on my wrist and scrapes all over my hand, and... Well, it did happen, didn't it? I have the aches to prove it.

Okay. First.

I've been trying to meet David properly all weekend, right? Get to know him at least a little bit, before we start homeschooling on Monday. But he's gotten very good at avoiding me. He didn't even respond to me at meals, which the household all eats together in the dining room. He disappears the second the plates are cleared. Can't say I'm surprised, but I was dreading the awkward lessons on Monday.

Then, today, Sunday, a big storm blew in, and the power went out.

"Don't worry," Mz. Collins said. "This happens every so often in the winter. We'll turn on the generator if the power doesn't come back by tonight." She looked out the window, and her eyebrows furrowed slightly - an expression I've come to recognize as deep concern on her usually stoic face.

"Victoria..." She stopped, hesitating. Then, she sighed, and said, "I'm so sorry, but would you be able to go out and find David?""