#I couldn't resist the meta fun XD | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

victorluvsalice · 3 months

Text

AU Thursday: Valicer In The Dark -- Duskwall Slang

Since we did a VITD lookbook yesterday, I figured we might as well keep the train going today and talk a little bit about some of the worldbuilding I've done for the Valicer In The Dark version of Duskwall (the main setting of Blades In The Dark). Specifically, I've decided to share the short list of slang that I've come up with for people to use! Because that's always fun, right? :) The first entry on this list is taken from the book itself (page 42, specifically) and adapted a little bit, but all the rest are purely my own invention:

-->“Flashing a/their/your Coin” and variants – making an ostentatious display of wealth, to the disgust of everyone around them (the term "Coin" itself is in fact slang for a large sum of money, taken from the days when the Imperial treasury would actually mint large solid gold coins intended to cover major transactions; most people these days rely on small silver pieces called "slugs"). Example: “You spent all that money on THAT outfit? Really flashing your Coin, huh?”

-->“Moving to Six Towers” – indicates that the person said to be moving was previously rich and important, but has fallen on extremely hard times and is on the verge of ruin (referencing the fact that Six Towers USED to be one of the richest neighborhoods in the city, but has turned into a bit of a slum with most of the nobility previously living there moving into Brightstone). Example: “The Everglots’ leviathan ship hasn’t had a good haul in six months. Think they’ll be moving to Six Towers soon.”

-->“Scavenging in the Lost District” – indicates that the person said to be scavenging is taking an INCREDIBLE risk in the hopes of getting a high reward (due to the Lost District being an abandoned neighborhood outside the lightning barrier keeping the city safe and guarded by the Spirit Wardens...but also having many lost riches within its bounds). Example: “You want to rob Lord Mayor Powerwallet? Talk about scavenging in the Lost District!”

-->“Living Coin to Coin” – living paycheck to paycheck, as the average weekly wage in Duskwall is equivalent to a Coin’s worth of money. Example: “Poor old Tom – what with his sick mother and five children needing feeding, he’s living Coin to Coin.”

-->“Only good for mushrooms” – indicates that the thing being talked about is absolute shit. Example: “Don’t order the ‘special ale’ at the Withered Talon, it’s only good for mushrooms.”

-->“You want to call the crows?” – equivalent of “You want to get us killed?” in response to a risky course of action (referencing the Deathseeker crows that find corpses for the Spirit Wardens). Example: “You want to FIGHT Lord Mayor Powerwallet’s bodyguards? You want to call the crows?!”

-->“Barrowcleft approved” – indicates the item in question is homemade but of very high quality (Barrowcleft being a poor, rural neighborhood with one of the best, and fairest, markets in the city). Example – “You carved this yourself? Why, this is Barrowcleft approved work and no mistake!”

-->“Dust Day fare” – an extremely meager meal made from poor-quality ingredients, referencing the popular nickname for the fifth day of the week from Charhollow, which itself references the fact that poor people’s food stores are the thinnest on this day. Example – “Canal water soup with potato peelings. This is Dust Day fare, all right.”

-->“Crit Six/rolled a crit six” – means that something is exceedingly good, or that something that you have done has succeeded beyond your wildest dreams; references the most popular dice game in Duskwall, where rolling double sixes is an automatic win. Example – “I went to open the safe, and I rolled a crit six – the door practically came off in my hands!”

-->“Welcher” – a term for someone who hires a criminal or crew for a job, and then not only refuses to pay them, but actively tries to murder them (directly or otherwise) to avoid doing so. Only one of the highest leaders of the most well-known crews may declare someone a Welcher, and then only after receiving sufficient proof, as the term is a death sentence – the scoundrels of Duskwall do not take kindly to their clients trying to stiff them, in both senses of the word. Example: “All right, I’ve seen enough – I’m ready to declare that Lord E.A. Bethesda is a Welcher. Hope he’s prepared for every scoundrel in the city coming for his ass...”

Further updates to come if and when I think of more stuff! Which I probably will, as this is fun. :)

#valicer in the dark au #blades in the dark #slang #okay okay the 'crit six' one is actually a reference to the fact that rolling double sixes in the RPG itself is a critical success #I couldn't resist the meta fun XD #and 'welcher' comes from the fact that the GM is actively encouraged NOT to have anyone who hires the scoundrels betray them #as that is good for a story but doesn't make for good gameplay #I wanted to explore WHY people might not want to screw the PCs over #and came up with 'anyone who does it winds up very very dead'#poor Lord EA Bethesda :p #that's a real character in my Duskwall by the way #maybe I should do a character list for a future update #I actually have a decent amount of worldbuilding ready to go #though I still have to finish up a few more sections #like a few more details on how ghosts work #the book keeps a lot of stuff deliberately kinda vague and sketchy so you can fill in the gaps with your group #free real estate for fanfic writing purposes that's for damn sure :D #queued

5 notes · View notes

wolfwarden · 2 years

Note

15, 18, and 19, my friend! Bonus question that I never seem to find in meta asks but after my last ask am terribly curious- Song(s) you most associate with your most recent project/the Link featured in your most recent project?

Paloma! Hello! Thank you for the questions! (Questions are from this post. And the answer to #19 is on this post. :) )

15. Which is harder: titles or summaries (or tags)?

Paloma, I have a feeling you know my answer to this one. ;) You might have seen me agonize over the bane of my existence: TITLES. What is the secret?! Long? Short? Make it unique enough to stand out or keep it simple enough to remember easily? Rarely will I have the perfect title come to me early. I have to pull up a note file, fill it with 25 different possibilities, then agonize over it for 3 days before coming up with something completely different. XD I think I agonized over "A Walk in the Woods" the longest? "Distant Blue" and "Bittersweet" were my only two that I loved immediately.

Summaries I don't stress about too much because I use the "paste a section of your story in the summary" method. I try to pick something short (or I edit it down) that gives off the tone of my story and hints enough at the plot. I let the tags do a lot of the heavy lifting for telling the who and what. Now if only I can remember to always use the Linked Universe tag... XD

18. Do any of your stories have alternative versions? (plotlines that you abandoned, AUs of your own work, different characterizations?) Tell us about them.

Ohhh, what a fun question! I don't have AUs but I do have cut/alternate scenes. For Whumptober I had two pieces that I had to do some significant revisions on. The first was "Ignite" which I originally wrote from Warriors' POV and had a longer ending.

The second piece was "A Walk in the Woods." I had a fun little scene planned out where the hunters from the beginning of the fic run into the rest of the chain as they search for Twilight. I was really sad that scene couldn't make the final cut, but I couldn't justify the POV change for just one scene.

If anyone is interested, I'll put a little bit of those scenes under the read more below.

Song(s) you most associate with your most recent project/the Link featured in your most recent project?

A bonus question! How delightful! Well my most recently posted project is "Grateful" (1 of 3 multi-chapters in progress right now😬) and it is Sky-centric. 💗 Paloma, I sat on this ask for a LONG TIME and for some reason I can't think of any songs related to this fic. Normally I do associate songs with characters/stories but for some reason, nothing has caught my attention for "Grateful". XD Ha! I DO like listening to music from "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance" (particularly this track) when I write "Grateful" because it has a nice unsettling vibe but is still beautiful. Which does kinda match what I hope to do for "Grateful" so there you go.

I think bouncing between three fics at once has occupied my mind so I don't latch onto songs like I usually do. But, just for you, I'll give you one for Sky and one for my other WIP: For Sky, particularly for my poor sappy zelink shipper heart, I like "If My Heart Was a House" by Owl City. For "Isn't It Worth a Little Suffering?" (Warriors, Mask, and Fierce Deity angst fic) I like "The Moon is Falling Down" by Crywolf.

[Unused scenes for "Ignite" and "A Walk in the Woods" below]

"A Walk in the Woods" (ALT scene. Two hunters meet the chain looking for a missing Twilight. A different take on the line "I ain't never had wolf.")

The archer’s expression sours. “We’re just tryna’ survive. Ain’t got time for uppity ‘heroes’ who think they get special treatment.” The archer’s lanky friend looks anxiously from one well-armed hero to the next. Legend doesn’t like the way the man’s fingers drum against the side of a large knife hilt in his belt. The air is ripe for someone to try something stupid.

Hyrule’s voice is admirably calm. “We aren’t asking for anything of yours. Just wanting to know if you’ve seen anything.”

“Only thing we’ve seen is you lot causing a racket and chasing away our next meal!”

Sky tries to step in. “That wasn’t our intent, we assure you. But-”

The archer whistles sharply, cutting Sky off. “ ’Course not, ‘course not, you didn’t mean it. Fella like you looks like you never had to skip a meal.”

Wind gives a short exclamation and Legend has some choice words bubbling up own his throat before Sky only smiles and waves his friends down.

“Sir,” Sky asks again, still infuriatingly polite, “we’re just looking for a wolf.”

“Wolf?” The archer spits. “I ain’t never had wolf before. Good eating, is it?” He jabs the end of his bow toward Sky’s stomach.

Legend hears no less than three different weapons sliding halfway out of sheaths before Sky calmly catches the edge of the bow and bats it away. The smile on his face is quite forced now. “Thank you for the information, sir. We’ll be on our way.” Sky turns to walk away, one hand forcibly pushing Wind in front of him, the pirate’s face flushed and murderous. The rest of the group reluctantly follows.

The archer and his friend laugh. “Oi!” The lanky man calls, “If I do come across a wolf I’ll be sure to save some for ya! Least I can do for a buncha heroes!”

Wild’s feet stumble to a halt.

“Let it go, Wild,” Sky murmurs. “Let the fools be fools.”

“What’s this?” The archer calls. “No ‘thank you’ from yer majesties?”

“The wolf is a companion of ours,” Warriors answers rigidly, “so it’s fortunate you haven’t come across him.”

That should be the end of it, but Legend makes the mistake of looking back.

The archer catches his eye and leers. “Weeell, come to think of it, maybe I have had a bite or two. Hard to remember for sure what’s in the ol’ belly.” The man slaps his midsection and laughs again.

Forget Sky’s ‘peace on earth’ garbage, Legend thinks. I’m gonna-

A ringing sound fills the air as Sky barrels past Legend, master sword freed from her sheath and coming to a dead stop at the man’s nose.

“My friend,” Sky says, “I’ve thought of a solution to your problem.”

The man’s face is frozen, his friend equally so. Legend can’t see Sky’s expression but his friend’s cheery tone makes every warning alarm go off in his brain.

Sky leans forward, sword never wavering. “Let’s cut you open and see if the sight of your entrails is enough to jog your memory.”

To his credit, the man finds his courage and glares back, yellowed teeth bared. “Some heroes. Stuck up brats, the lot of ya!” He raises his chin intending to say more, but his eyes refocus on the tip of Sky’s sword.

Sky waits, steady and quiet. As much as Legend wants to see Sky thrash these men, the rational part of his brain is watching the sun sink lower in the trees and reminds him that every second of daylight is time they could spend looking for Twilight. He reaches out and puts one cautious hand on Sky’s shoulder. He can feel the tension under his fingertips, barely contained worry and anxiety finally finding an outlet toward the first target foolish enough to trigger it.

“Like I said,” the man growls, “I ain’t never had wolf.”

~~~

"Ignite" (ALT scene. Warriros POV)

Dahst’s face is red. “No!” He snatches at Warriors' tunic. Warriors is glad they took his scarf off him. He’d hate for ol’ meathead’s stench to rub off on the fine fabric. “You like running your mouth, huh? Well how about we play a new game?”

Warriors cocks an eyebrow. “Oh? What’s that?” Just keep him talking. Keep everyone here in one spot. Give Legend enough time to find us.

“You beg pretty enough, and I’ll stop.”

Warriors has to force himself not to roll his eyes. More beatings? This guy is a one-trick pony. He takes a breath to steady himself. He’s no stranger to bruises and broken bones.

But the blows don’t come. Dahst shoves him, and Warriors' back hits the cages again. Animals hiss and squawk in protest. He straightens, surprised to feel the faint brush of fur against his fingertips. He glances back. A small fur-covered creature with long ears has braved the front of the cage. Its color reminds him of Legend’s hair.

Dahst advances on Warriors, a torch held before him. Fire. Warriors' confidence flickers before he sets his jaw in defiance. It’s fine. Nothing has changed. He can handle this.

The flames hiss and pop as they draw nearer to his face. Warrior’s arm itches and he stills his hand before he can scratch at old burn scars.

The heat grows in intensity as Dahst pushes closer. Warriors tries to blank his expression but he can already see the man’s look of delight.

“What’s this? No more snappy words?”

The flames reach out to lick at his hair, before they abruptly draw back and lower, slowly tracing down his torso.

“Let’s see, let’s see. Where to start?”

Warriors tries not to recall the way he felt as a young trainee, stupidly standing up to the rampaging dragon knight, Volga. That trainee had been brave and stupid and had come far too close to being burnt alive that day. The fight itself was a blur in his memory, but the searing pain after was not something he could ever forget. Not the way his skin bubbled and blackened. Not the bone-deep agony that persisted for hours after the potions did what they could.

The fire presses in closer. His breathing picks up and he presses tightly against the wagon before he fully realizes what he’s doing. He looks about for anything to distract him from the ripples of heat and his captor’s smug expression thrown in sharp relief by the flames. He looks down and catches the shine from the pink creature’s wide, glossy eyes. The little thing presses hard against the bars and stares desperately up at Warriors.

Odd that its expression is so human.

~~~

"Ignite" (ALT ending. Legend POV. Didn't quite have the punch I wanted. Too sappy. XD)

Warriors is dragged away to be tossed into the wagon, the cages rattling as he hits the floorboards.

In minutes the wagon is moving, the swaying motion tossing Legend off balance. His cage is stacked on the outer edge of the wagon and there are too many feathers, horns, and legs in his way to see more than glimpses of his friend inside.

After a few minutes, he hears hushed voices from inside the wagon.

“Please, lie still!” A woman’s voice. “I can remove the gag but you must be silent.”

Legend waits for an irritatingly long time.

Then Warriors' voice rasps out. “Thank you. But my friend… Have you seen a young man, shorter than me, red tunic-”

“Hush! There is no one like that here.”

Yeah, Wars, find out some useful information.

But Warriors is persistent. “Please! Blond hair, pink on the ends-”

“Sir.” The woman’s voice is firm. “As you can see, it’s only the five of us.”

“But I heard him.” Warriors sounds very small. “He’s here. And… he can’t be here.”

“We’ve seen no one like that. Be grateful your friend is elsewhere.”

There's a tense pause before Warriors speaks again. Legend recognizes the false confidence in his voice right away. “He’s coming after us. My friends will be here and we’ll be out soon.”

“Sir,” the woman’s answer is laced with weariness, “we’ll be sold long before then. And nobody knows where we are.”

“But he’s was here. I know it.”

“You saw him?”

“I-” Warriors’ voice cuts off.

The woman’s voice is gentler now. “Sometimes… we imagine things we want to be true-”

“No.”

“-when we are in great pain.”

“It wasn’t like that.”

She sighs. “Then he will come. Or he won’t. May Hylia grant wings on his feet.”

Warriors doesn’t respond to that. Legend glares down at his tiny pink paws. Hylia never saw fit to help him out before. And it’s been an age since he bothered to beg her for help. He scoffs. Warriors certainly isn’t one for begging.

“Help.”

Legend’s ears twitch, Warriors’ softly spoken word is barely discernible amidst the creak of the wagon and yowling of the various captive creatures. No way...

“Hylia,” Warriors says, “if you’re listening… I’ve never asked for much. But please…”

Legend snorts. Thick-skulled fool! He’d rather be burned alive than beg? But here he is, cowering to Hylia. A bonfire doesn’t open his mouth but now?! What on earth would compel him to-

“-keep him safe. I don’t know what kind of trouble he’s gotten into. But just… keep him alive until I get there.”

Legend ducks his head, feeling a familiar burn behind his eyes and an ache in his chest.

Idiot. He glares through the bars.

…Same to you. Just stay alive until I can get to you.

#WolfWarden Writes #asks #writer asks #fanfic #whumptober bonus scenes #Ignite ALT scene and ALT ending #A Walk in the Woods ALT scene #a little whump #lu warriors #lu legend #lu sky

3 notes · View notes