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#Vecna Greyhawk
thyeternalhunger · 4 months
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Vile way to hold a book
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VECNA from DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
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JUSTIFICATION:
"I mean, she transcended mortality to become a god, she's already trans, and her main goal in Die Vecna, Die is to take the place of the LADY of Pain. Why does she want to discard her mortal flesh so much if she isn't trans" - Anonymous
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ervona · 1 month
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so many dnd liches have a V name that it fucks with me, I may have to rename my girl Vlatka at least to say that... she lifted someone's name for her lich name. does that make sense lol her name sounds too cool to belong to her as an apprentice so her original name was clearly not Vlatka Vastan
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rpgsandbox · 2 months
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Vecna: Eve of Ruin
WHO WILL SAVE EXISTENCE?
Save existence from annihilation in this epic, multiverse-spanning adventure.
The notorious lich Vecna is weaving a ritual to eliminate good, obliterate the gods, and subjugate all worlds. To stop Vecna before he remakes the universe, the heroes work with three of the multiverse’s most famous archmages, travel to far-flung locales, and rebuild the legendary Rod of Seven Parts.
Vecna: Eve of Ruin is a high-stakes DUNGEONS & DRAGONS adventure in which the fate of the multiverse hangs in the balance. The heroes begin in the Forgotten Realms® and travel to Planescape, Spelljammer, Eberron, Ravenloft, Dragonlance, and Greyhawk as they race to save existence from obliteration.  
A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS adventure for characters of levels 10–20. GET AN EXCLUSIVE BONUS ADVENTURE Prepare for the final battle with Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye, a single-session adventure that foreshadows the events in Vecna: Eve of Ruin. This D&D Beyond exclusive releases 4/16 and is available with digital preorder only.  
Vecna: Eve of Ruin, a 256-page hardcover adventure book for 10th to 20th level characters
Double-sided poster map
30+ Terrifying new monsters spawning from all over the multiverse
Detailed character dossiers with exclusive insights into legendary allies who you may recognize from other D&D adventures
D&D Beyond digital copy of Vecna: Eve of Ruin
PREORDER TO UNLOCK:
D&D Beyond access to Vecna: Nest of the Eldritch Eye, starting April 16, 2024
Early access to Vecna: Eve of Ruin on D&D Beyond, starting May 7, 2024
Hardcover – 21 May 2024, from Wizards of the Coast.
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time for some dnd heavy theorizing about our beloved eddie, the banished
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as we all know, we saw eddie die in the upside down, where his body was left. assuming this since there has been no proof of his death or whereabouts in the public eye. but what if there was a way he could be brought back? what if there was a way vecna brought him back?
there is a character in DnD named kas the bloody handed. he was once a human turned vampire during a battle against vecna, as his former first lieutenant turned betrayer. while i understand its not likely we will see eddie roaming hawkin’s as a vampire - this means that kas was at one point vecna’s puppet. all of the creatures in stranger things have their DnD counterpart who don’t LITERALLY have all the attributes of said counterpart. before eddie is killed by bats (a link to kas’ vampirism in DnD) he plays master of puppets by metallica. which you would think has no literal bearing on the story at hand... unless that is foreshadowing eddie’s fate in the upside down after death. eddie has bats tattooed on his arm, along with the master of puppets himself.
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and not only that but while eddie is fighting and is eventually slain in the upside down, hopper picks up a sword which has a striking resemblance to the sword of kas. and imo there was a lot of emphasis on it as hopper picked it up off the ground... based on the prior fights that had happened in the pit there literally could have been anything there, an axe or WHATEVER. (there was actually nothing in the pit when joyce and hopper got down there so it almost seemed like it appeared in front of him, but that could be an oversight on the show productions part.) but THIS sword is what hopper picks up from the ground, as eddie is in the upside down keeping the bats off to the best of his ability.
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A BIT OF A RESEMBLANCE, NO? i’m going share some stuff from the kas section of the greyhawk wiki.
“Kas is perhaps best known for the infamous artifact that bears his name, the Sword of Kas. The Sword of Kas first appeared in the Original D&D supplement, Eldritch Wizardry.  It was one of the first artifacts detailed for the Dungeons & Dragons game. The sword has been updated many times and has even been the object of quests as in the adventure Vecna Lives. The sword, variously described as a short sword, longsword, or greatsword, was crafted by Vecna. The blade is said to have been magically honed to a razor's edge, enhanced the wielder's strength, and could be used to call down lightning bolts from any storm clouds that might be overhead. The sword itself is intelligent, possessing a vile and murderous spirit. “
“After years of loyal service to Vecna, Kas eventually turned betrayer. It is said that the sword itself whispered to Kas, convincing him to slay his master and usurp his power. The battle destroyed Vecna's Rotting Tower, cost the lich his left hand and eye, and Kas himself was flung across the multiverse to Vecna's Citadel Cavitius on the Quasielemental Plane of Ash. The time he spent so close to the Negative Energy Plane changed him into a vampire, and he decided he would be called "Kas the Destroyer." “
eddie, the banished → eddie, the bloody handed → eddie, the destroyer
“When Vecna was defeated during his bid for control of Oerth, Kas was freed from his centuries of imprisonment, only to find himself facing a shapeless wall of mist. When it cleared, he was master of the domain of Tovag, across the Burning Peaks from Vecna's domain of Cavitius. Kas waged an endless war of attrition with Vecna's forces in the hopes of retrieving the Sword of Kas from Vecna's citadel, where he erroneously believed Vecna held it.”
“According to Dragon #341, when Vecna escaped from Cavitius, both realms were destroyed (explaining, in-fiction, their absence from 3rd edition Ravenloft). Kas was caught up in the destruction and very nearly obliterated; he survives only as a vestige, a soul outside time and space whose powers can be used by users of magic known as binders.”
i think there is a very high possibility we will see eddie munson, albeit changed, in season 5. there is also an additional theory linked to peter gabriel’s cover of “heroes” which plays in season one when it is believed that will has passed after his decoy body was found in the lake. this song also played after hopper “died” in season 3.. this song is also apparently heard after eddie has passed in the upside down. i’m not sure if this is confirmed because i was literally bawling my eyes out after and could have missed it so if anyone has an answer to this, please let me know!!
anyways with all of this symbolism it would be honestly pretty bonkers if it’s not true. this would give eddie a chance to fight in hawkin’s against vecna, in front of everyone, finally proving who he really was in life. even if at the end of it he is also destroyed. i know we all miss our boy and i just think this would be such a cool way to finish his arc as a true and known hero. which is what he DESERVES!
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yourplayersaidwhat · 2 years
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the wizard (a priest of Vecna) realizes he's met the cleric (a priest of Murlynd) before - years before the campaign at a gay bar in Greyhawk where he panicked in the restroom and responded to a friendly hello from a cowboy (our cleric) with "yeehaw"
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theology101 · 6 months
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Family Tree of the Divine in my DnD Campaign - Forgotten Realms/Greyhawk hybrid
So I started DnD with the Greyhawk setting. It’s a dark, depressing setting of beings of good fighting against the oncoming, overwhelming dark. It’s fun, but as time has gone by it has been surpassed by its younger cousin, Forgotten Realms. Both are still around, though - Mordenkanian is from Oerth, not Faerûn, same with Vecna. For my campaign, here is my Lore and Family tree
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Ao the Everything
Ao the Everything simply was. Then They had a thought - and that thought was Ioun. The Goddess of Thought and Memory was born, and Ao saw something that both was Them, and wasn’t Them - a part of the collective, yet independent. And when They had finished that thought, the concept of something ending came into existence, and with it Jergal, the God of Death and Endings.
The three set about the idea of making, and every time Ao had thought of a new concept, the concept had come into being too, and with it a God. To track who came and when, Time was created and so was Amauanator. Earth and Fire came next, then water and air. And on and on and on it went. And when it was done, the planet had been formed, the universal order had been set, and the original pantheon was born.
Ao the Everything: God of Creation
Ioun: Goddess of Creativity, Thought, and Memory
Jergal: God of Death and Ending
Amauanator: God of Time and Divisions
Akadi, Queen of Winds: Goddess of the Air
Kossuth, King of Flame: God of Fire
Grumbar, Margrave of Stone: God of Earth
Istishia, Lady of Seas: Goddess of Water
Melora, the Wildmother: Goddess of Life
Avandra: Goddess of Change and Luck
Etherdock, the Endless Shadow: God of the Dark
Targus: God of Conflict
Sune: Goddess of Passion
Together, the original twelve built reality. The Sovereigns of Materials fashioned of themselves places where all was them, as Ao had, and tried to split off themselves and coallesce as new beings, without success. The result was, in the center of the four, a mess of their elements, combining and recombining into a number of half-formed shapes - without Ao, nothing new could be made beyond what it was. The remaining eight were set to work by their Creator, fashioning the core of the Elemental Chaos into the Material Plane, named after the beings it was forged of, the Four Elemental gods of Material.
But the Chaos was peaking through, piercing the Prime Material Plane, turning the carefully sculpted hills and seas into hellscapes and arid wastelands. To protect their creation, another realm was made, surrounding the Prime Material. It was Avandra who decided that there would be no set shape to this realm, and things would be free to change and alter - a fluid, chaotic realm, to protect their solid one.
But the Gods had grown upset with Ao. They had formed their creations, and they were proud of them. Yet they sat their, lifeless and inanimate. Jealous of Ao’s power, Targus was able to rile up his siblings to form a coalition, one which went to their creator and asked for the ability to create themselves. Ao, who had grown fond of the many differences and contradictions within Themselves, asked Ioun for her council - for she and Jergal alone of the Twelve refused to join the coalition.
“To grant us this gift is a gift that can never be undone,” she told the Everything. “We will be able to make alone, or with each other. In the dark, in conspiracy. But it would also grant us joy - as you felt when creating Us. And in our independance, we may hope to give you more joy with our creations too. For when, in all that Amauanator has chronicled, have you ever been surprised?”
Swayed by the Goddess, Ao took a raw piece of the Soverigns and made of it a Tablet, and transcribed Their power within it. And like that, the Era of the Making was finished, and the Age of Divinity began.
Amaunator went to Kossuth and together helped each other make children. Amauanator borrowed of Kossuth’s flame, and set it in the void surrounding the Material Plane, and delegated the keeping of Time to his son, the God of the Sun, Pelor. Kossuth, on the other hand, had Amauantor count faster over a divine flame, and when he did the flame grew hotter and hotter until it became Bazim-Gorag, the Firebringer.
Melora set about seeding the Material Plane with life, crafting from the clay the Beasts of the Field, Sea and Sky. But also beyond, creating Flora and Fauna that could exist in the Chaotic Fluid Plane and the Elemental ones. And it was in the fluid plane that she begat a son, Correllon the Archheart, to watch over this chaotic intermingling realm. In the Prime Material Realm, she begat a daughter named Chauntea, Goddess of Planet Life. Yet still, she felt the planeness of it all, the lack of drive in her Life. The stationarity.
With Pelor’s flame now visible to all on the Prime Material plane, Etherdock began to tire. And so he took upon a shape more pleasing to Pelor’s liking, and the two (bound by Sune’s magic) spawned their daughters, Selûne, the Goddess of Light, and Shar, Goddess of Darkness. Selûne, who loved their father Pelor, helped him in keeping time and spreading Light, forming the Moon. Shar helped as well, but was far too independent to be locked in a celestial body, became the Night, staying away from her father. But then Targus began to poke and prod at the Twin Sisters, eventually erupting into conflict between the two.
From that conflict was the first war, Light fighting Darkness. And from that war came Tempus, it’s god and Targus’ son. The war grew violent, tumultuous, almost as bad as before the Fluid Plane was made. So much so that their fathers intervened and Pelor took on the shape of a warrior before warriors had meaning. When Pelor was in the Sky, Light would reign supreme, but when Etherdock had taken his place, Darkness would. Yet regardless of which god’s influence was dominant, the Twins would be forced to suffer the others pressence. The war did not end, Shar and Selûne would simply not be the ones to fight it. And so, they made proxy servants of lesser strength to fight for them.
Ioun had watched the chaos of the Light and Dark war, and watched as it cluttered and crowded her webs of fate. Destiny had grown chaotic, and she grew concerned. So, she split off a part of herself to help focus the strands, to Weave them into something manageable, something usable. This split was named Mystryl, and she was the Goddess of Magic.
Targus wished to participate, and with Sune’s help, he was able to woo Melora. In their lovemaking, they had several children: Gruumsh the Ravenous, Malor the Feral Lord, Meiliki the Forest Maiden, Lurue of the Talking Beasts, and Silvanus the Treefather. Malar and Lurue set about shaping more animals for their mother, while Melikki and Silvanus set about giving the animals a place to live. Gruumsh gave all these beings hunger, a need to eat and consume. In this way, Gruumsh encourages the creations to make way for new life to grow by consuming the old, Targus watching the conflicts as animals competed and evolved against and with one another.
Emerging from the Elemental Chaos with no clear creator was Talos, the god of elemental destruction. Grumbar and Kossuth, following Targus and Melora’s coupling, bred together twins of molten rock and stone, and they were the craftsman Gond and Moradin. Akadi and Ishtisha, begat twins of their own; Auril, the Iceheart, goddess of winter, and Kord, god of storm’s and strength. Avandra, watching as their family grew larger and larger, figured it was time she had children too - Tymora, Good Luck, and Besheba, Bad Luck. Both were set loose to inflict chaos.
Much in Sune’s confidences, Mystryl grew fascinated with Pelor. Unlike the other gods, who mostly were content with their sphere’s of influence, Pelor was ambitious, restless. He had turned from simply the Timekeeper to the God around which the whole plane revolved around, literally. He was a fire god now, a war god too (Forced to break up Shar and Selûne’s fights as he was) as well as his role as the literal Sun. Mystryl liked that ambition, and so she approached him, and together they had a son, and his name was Lathander the Newdawn.
Wishing to have a partner, Corellon asked Avandra to make him a wife. And that she did, and she was beautiful and dark. But Sune did not like the pair, waiting until they had produced the fey and their daughter Sedhaine/Ellistrae, the Dreamweaver before setting her husband Targus upon the pair. Lolth and Corellon started arguing, and that arguing split their children. The Fey did as their gods did, and fought and split into the Unseelie and Seelie courts - receiving patronage from Shar and Selûne respectively. The Fey took on the nature of the Fluid Plane, wild and chaotic with beings and geography shifting and altering at random. Gruumsh inflicted himself upon the Fey in equal measures, feeding into their love of mischief
All was well in the realms until Pelor, Targus, Mystryl and Avandra came up with a scheme. Though they could create new life, new beings, these beings were only aspects of themselves. Parts of them. Though they could become more, as Pelor had, and his and mystryl’s son had after, but they weren’t new. Not fully.
So, Lathander approached Ao the Everything, and asked the venerable Progenitor to teach him how to plant. He took a scythe into the earth, and attempted to use it as though it were a hoe. Amused, Ao the Everything took upon a physical form so that They may show the young god how it was done. They took the seeds from Lathander’s hands, summoned and focussed the winds to part the ground in furrows. Having never taken physical shape before, Ao found the experience enlightening, enjoyable even. So They asked Lathander what ground he wanted parted next, and after that, and so on.
Unbeknowst to Ao the Everything, They were not plowing randomly into the earth. Lathander was there, guiding and requesting as they went, shaping row after row of soon to be plant life, into creating a massive runic symbol. But Mystryl and Shar were able to obscure that from Ao, just as she obscured that Lathander’s seeds were banefully cursed. Each drained some of Ao’s divine power. They could’ve noticed it, perhaps, but Besheba ensured it was the God’s bad luck to never check.
With each seed planted, Ao summoned pure Water. It was then that the trap was launched. Pelor added his own divine flames, and like that - another Tablet had been formed. Made of the raw materials, Ao was tricked into separating off themselves in another covenant. Three of the four prime elements were involved in the phony farming scheme, and when Pelor added his flame the tablet was set.
There, with what was left of Their power, Ao could have smashed thr Tablet, restored to Their full power. But Targus had appeared from behind and restrained him, Mystryl’s magic beginning dissolving the Creator into his raw components as Selûne flooded Their eyes with light and Shar with darkness. The Everything tried what They could, using what was left of Their quickly fading power to strike at Their Betrayers, but Pelor overwhelmed Them with the full Force of the Sun, long enough for Lathander to take his scythe and carved out the Heart of Creation.
Without Their heart, Ao was defensless as Mystryl’s spells finished their work, scattering the Creator to the Elemtenal Chaos. The Creator was dead - but from those seeds that had been planted sprouted the first mortals. The Age of Wonder had begun. Or so they had thought.
Jergal appeared then, the God of Death’s scorn painful to behold, let alone suffer through.
“You arrogant children,” he spat with venom. “You bumbling, foolish and spoiled Children. Dodst thou truly think Ao destroyed? Nay. They art All - to destroy Them is to destroy thyselves, too. Yet, forsooth, we stand. The End of All Things is not yet, but thou have ignited it. And when Ao doth Return, thy’s end will be of your design.”
The new creations were not as great as their previous ones. They were small, and weaker too. But they were free in a way that the Gods never could be. And yet, he who had never created, Jergal was their ultimate master. For all the new creations, inspite of the Gods wishes, were not eternal. They were mortal - and eventually, Jergal came to collect them, spiriting them away to the Astral sea.
They all took a hand in it. Leaving the Feywild, the Fey who longed for a concrete appearance turned into the first elves, orcs and gnomes. From their forge, Gond and Moradin made beings as strong and stout as the steel they worked, imbuing within them the same desire to create that Ao had given all the Gods. The Dwarves, as their machines were called, set about creating too, emulating all the gods who came before in their wish to make. Kord’s lightning struck a mountain and that Mountain became Aman, who began begatting the Giants. Even the Material Soverigns were involved, sculpting from the elements the Genasi.
But from the seeds that Ao had planted came Humans. The accidental creations. The Curse and Seed of Ao. And within each of them was the same unlimited potential of Ao.
Graaumsh and Lolth both chafed under Corellon - though all were Gods of similar power and pedigree, Corellon the Archheart was the Master of both the Fey and Elves, including Gruumsh’s Orcs snd Lolth’s Drow - the Fey to whom were Loyal to them. The Children of Melora erupted into violent war. Corellon, Silvanus, Sedhaine, and Lurue fought Gruumsh and Lolth, snd while Malar attempted to join on their side, his inability to focus made him practically neutral with Melikki. The war between them was long and bloody, only ending when Amauanator deemed that the ‘runt-orcs’ as they were called at the time, were distinct enough from True Orcs that they were a different species entirely. While that did not necessarily mean Gruumsh would lose their allegiance, Targus chose that moment to make the runt-orcs institute a revolt against their True Orc masters. From their collective hatred and rage, the runt orc’s made their own god, Muglibiyet, by worshipping one of Gruumsh’s aspects so hard it became a new being. The sheer shock of the event made all the gods in question put down their arms, at least temporarily.
Humans, with their terribly short lives, started to spread. Slowly, and steadily at first, but accelerating once Mystryl taught the first human magic. All spellcasting prior had been intrinsic, natural, or divine - but now, through conscious effort, spells could be made.
Kingdoms and Empires were forged and destroyed and forged again. Lesser spirits, not quite gods but not mortal either, took to these kingdoms, becoming patrons of certain cities or states. And then, to their shock, the spirits got stronger. Through reverence, the Mortals had imbued psrt of their power into the Spirit. Not much, not anything tangible to them, but built up and in the right hands, these spirits became lesser gods.
This, of course, was part of the Four Traitor’s plan. Through worship, they gained power, yes, but they gained even more when they claimed a Soul. Jergal escorted the souls of the Dead to the Astral Sea, but from there Lathander would steal the ones most loyal to the Betrayers and dole them out accordingly. And soon, Pelor, Mystyl, Targus and Avandra became stronger than any god could’ve imagined. Especially Pelor and Mystryl, both of whom had absorbed what they could from Ao when they destroyed him. Yet it did not change that Death lead to uncertainty and chaos.
See, Ao just vanished, or so the other gods thought. Only those involved, plus Jergal and Ioun, knew what happened to Ao. All thr others could sense, suddenly, that he was gone and they had new abilities. When Mystryl told them that Ao had given himself for them to create, they believed. It was their dark and hidden secret.
Pelor commanded his son to hide the Heart, hide it some where it could never be found. So in the lowest plane he could fine, he made a mountain with nine distinct layers, surrounded it by a River, and put the heart at the bottom. Lathander was given command of the Peak, and granted his friends and colleagues positions all throughout the length of the monument. It was there that Lathander stored and processed souls before granting them to the betrayers.
It wasn’t until a young mortal woman, who’s name has faded from existence, was able to make a spell. She had lost her family in tragedy after calamity, watched with her magical talent as they were split and separate, so the family could not rest in peace. So she made a spell, coalescing all the pieces of Ao she could and binding them to herself. In a moment, the mortal girl had become a Goddess. Cloaked in the rotting and black power of Ao, she flew to the Land of the Dead, beseeching the Lord of the Dead to grant mercy to the dead.
But Jergal could not grant mercy, for he was not the one who was inflicting their torment. He was the God of Death, yes, and he took the Souls when their time had ended, but he did not own the Souls. He did not want to. So he allowed them to do as they wished after he collected them. It mattered not to Jergal if a Mortal’s spirit was locked in Elysium or the Elemental plane of fire. And so, as her domain, she became the Shepherd of Dead, and their judge. When Lathander went to retrieve his harvest from the Astral Sea, he was shocked to find it nearly empty.
The Raven Queen, for she had shed her mortal name, met with God and named him fiend. Souls, all Souls, would go through her before she decided where to take them. Enraged, Lathander took upon a fearsome aspect of red skin, leathern wings, Fangs and several sets of Horns. Wing against wing, claw against talon, the newly made Goddess held firm. Her mastery of magic had only enhanced upon her apotheosis and was able to match the child of the Sun and Magic. For in claiming her mantle, she was granted access to the strings of fate, and with it she learned of the Betrayer 'secret.
The Raven Queen, for she had shed her mortal name, met with God and named him fiend. Souls, all Souls, would go through her before she decided where to take them. Enraged, Lathander took upon a fearsome aspect of red skin, leathern wings, Fangs and several sets of Horns. Wing against wing, claw against talon, the newly made Goddess held firm. Her mastery of magic had only enhanced upon her apotheosis and was able to match the child of the Sun and Magic. For in claiming her mantle, she was granted access to the strings of fate, and with it she learned of the Betrayer's secret.
They were gone speaking for a time, and when they were finished, Lathander was smirking. The Betrayers would keep their secrets, and they would receive their souls still. But now, any Mortal who pledged themselves to a God would be escorted by the Raven Queen to the Astral Sea
Several others followed the Raven Queen to Godhood, but with intentions less pure. The Dead Three were mortals who spread Chaos and Death in the realm of Mortals, and eventually they fought their way to Jergal. Instead of a battle, Jergal instead lifted each of them to godhood, allowing them to choose thier own domains. Bane chose Tyranny and Power, Myrkul chose to be master over all the dead, and Bhaal wished to unleash his bloodlust on a scale never dreamt of. But Jergal had tricked them - by taking a divine seat, they were bound by all the laws of Gods and they lost their ability to act without the Divine noticing - and possibly stopping them. Yet, as Custodian of the Dead, Myrkul allowed Necromancers to summon vast hoards of undead, Bhaal and his daughters unleashed plague and suffering en-mass and Bane’s patronage aided the darkest of Despots. And so, Mystryl incarnated in mortal form and guided two mortals to godhood. Cyric, who’s position of strife and chaos would destroy Bane’s kingdoms and shatter the control of Myrkul’s necromancers. Kelemvor, who would be the Judge of the Dead - giving souls their sentences so that they would not be fodder for summoning. But Mystryl had grown wroth at the impetuous mortals who thought they could be Gods - and so she found a Necromancer of phenomenal power known for his hoarding of knowledge and secret. And so, she whispered to him the secrets of Ascension, knowing that he would then wipe out all other sources of that information so that he alone amongst mortals could ascend. And so, Vecna rose as a Divine and went to claim the crown of the dead - only for Mystryl to correct that false assumption. Vecna would be the God of Secrets and a patron of necromancers - but he was still bound to the laws of Magic. Mystryl’s laws.
Such was the status quo of the Age of Wonder, and for seven thousand years, there was peace. Consistency ruled the heavens and the mortals worshipped as their gods walked the earth. Millions of legends come from this period, where even the most mundane of mortals could sprout an oasis in a desert or incinerate a beast. The greatest of these mages met in the Ivory City of Heaven, meditating on the nature of the Universe and Ao.
For Ao’s name was still known, the Everything was still worshipped. The revered Missing God who had given Themselves to oblivion to allow their mortality - or so the Gods told them, and the Betrayers, Ioun, the Raven Queen and Jergal were not inclined to argue. And so They continued to receive worship and, like all other deities, They received power from it.
And in the Elemental Chaos, They took form.
The Doom would come from Karsus, the greatest living Wizard and Emperor of Netheril. His home city, Nether, had been a piss water port on the coast of the great inland sea. When Karsus was a boy, the town was besieged by a dragon. Karsus, only a child, ripped a hole into Baator’s second level, stole several hundred of Mephistopheles servants, dominated them and tore the dragon to shreds. Over the next several hundred years of his life, he acquired magic and power unseen since the ascension of the Raven Queen, helped along by Mephistopheles, who had become fond of the mortal.
Karsus learned of the ritual that the Raven Queen had attempted, but Karsus wanted more. Made of Pure Earth, forged in the flames of the Fire Plane, quenched in the Sea of the Water Plane, and carved by the True Wind of plane of Air - Karsus forged his terrible artifact. The Crown of Karsus, a twisted mockery of a Tablet. And through that, he tried to ascend. He called all the fragments of Ao to himself that he could. And for just a single instant, Karsus was everything. And then he felt himself be carbed off and seperated, madness fracturing him as Ao had, the history of everything filling and breaking his mind until the spell was complete.
Karsus was gone, and emerging around a cold void was Tharizdum. All of Ao’s hate and anger and rage - all They had left - in an all consuming storm of a god. Tharizdum was Ao’s vengence, and It was set on consuming all that there was, returning everything to Itself so that It could never be betrayed by Its children again.
In Baator, the Heart burst itself, forming a pit of unending depth, and from each layer would step the Demons. Robbed of his ability to make true life, all Tharizdum could do was pour Itself into these beings, and their infinite numbers all hated as much as It did. They, too, entered the Primer Material, tearing through the Abyss and in to aid their father by punishing all the little mortals.
Corellon and his allies took themselves to the Feywilds, using the Chaos of the realm to their advantage as they battled Demons. Gruumsh, seeing the opportunity to finally claim his brother’s crown, betrayed the Fey by opening a portal to the Abyss within the valley that divided Seelie and Unseelie. Orcus, Exarch of Gruumsh and his demi-god son, had no idea about his father’s betrayal, and flew to do battle with Zehir, the Cloaked Corrupter. The Serpent God bit Orcus, injecting into him the pure Abyss. Orcus was twisted by the venom, his traits exagersted into a monstrous mockery of an already wicked god. While this was happening, Gruumsh had dueled Corellon for the crown once again, freezing only when he saw his son turned into a Demon. Corellon used the moment of weakness to stab Gruumsh through the eye, and banishing him and hid followers from the Feywilds. Yet it was too late - Zehir was already here, and was now aided by Orcus the Necromancer.
Grumbar, Margrave of Stone, lumbered into the Prime Materiel and did battle with Tharizdum. The massive Earth titan collided with a storm of chaos and raw creation, fists the size of islands cracking against It. But Tharizdum did not stumble, did not break, and began shredding the Fourthborn. All the while, Demons feasted and rampaged through the country sides. The Gods were deafened by unanswered prayers. And then Grumbar was pierced clean through the chest.
It was then, rising with the morning sun, that Pelor charged into the fray with his heavenly host, while in the west, Lathander rose, a dark reflection of his father, with an army of his Devils and mounted upon the Ember Phoenix. Father and Son baited and pulled Tharizdum with them, granting Grumbar some reprieve before he was set upon by Torog.
Coming to rescue their brother, the remaining Material Sovereigns emerged to do battle with demon lords. They were, however, too late for Grumbar. In his weakness and before aid could arrive, the Crawling King burrowed into the Titan’s flesh, carving out tunnels and opening tears into other planes. It was too much for the Earth titan, and he collapsed into the inland sea, making the Hollow Hills.
Ioun had seen the murder of Ao by her daughter and grandson, yet had stayed silent. Mum. If Ao were to return, Ioun would serve Them again, and gladly. But Tharizdum had none of Ao’s mercy or creativity - simply a drive to end everything.
And so, Ioun did what she did best - think. Tharizdum could not be destroyed, nor could It be overpowered with strength. And so, Ioun told Mystryl and Pelor how to defeat Tharizdum - bind him.
While Lathander and Pelor dueled the Storm, Ioun was carving a third tablet - a true tablet, unlike Karsus’ abomination. Gond and Moradin forged manacles of adamantine, enchanted to stay solid even against the Chaos of the Void.
Pelor, using all his strength and power, struck at the God, and the impact shattered the land and broke the mountain. It was only due to the bravery and skill of the maid Mahthillidis that the city Lagharic survived the blast, as every other structure, from mountains to forest, were scorched snd blasted away from the blow. Weakened temporarily, Mystryl used the Weave to ensnare Tharizdum, Kord pulling hard on the Weave as he held It down. Ioun chanted as Lathander bound him in Adamntine Manacles and Mystryl fought to cage all that he was. With Its final, angry strike, Tharizdum slew Mystryl and in that moment, all Magic died too. Tears of flame dowm his cheek, Lathander rode Desirat straight to the Hells, dragging the Chained God behind him. It was only when Baator Mountain pierced through Tharizdum like a lance, shattering what was left of It’s mind. Where he had hidden the Heart was now the opening of the Abyss, and so Lathander reclaimed the Heart and chucked Tharizdum into the Abyss.
Without Tharizdum opening rifts and forging demon lords out of the environment and things around It, the rallied and inspired Gods were able to banish the last of the demons, but with great loss.
Besides Mystryl, hundreds of spirits and lesser gods were killed or corrupted into demons, and Targus simply vanished. The second the Abyss opened, Targus brandished his war axe and rode his bull mount down, never to be heard from again. That was not Mystryl’s fate.
The Web of Fate and souls needed to be replaced, and Mystryl had prepared for the posdibility of her death. She seperated some of her divine spark and entrusted it to the Raven Queen. When the dust cleared and all was well, the Raven Queen released that spark. Soon, it grew, and then Ioun was with it, teaching it. And then Mystra was born, and she set about restoring the Weave.
Lathander, bloody and injured and mourning his lost mother, took refuge in his holy city, Lagharic. He had expected ruins but when it was in one piece and he learned a Mortal woman was responsible for its safekeeping, he went to her. He granted her a Crown of Infernal Iron and named her as Queen and Mother of his people. For those who had been in the blast radius of Pelor’s strike and survived, they were forever altered. They adopted the form that Lathander had - horned and barb tailed - or they had residue of the divine glow in their skin. They were a people apart now, changed. And Mathildis and her son with Lathander, who had taken upon the name Asmodeus, Gerald would start a dynasty that would last for over a thousand years
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dndhistory · 8 months
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14. Gary Gygax and Brian Blume - Supplement III - Eldritch Wizardry (1976)
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After the rules supplements Greyhawk and Blackmoor, we get the first one which is not titled after a setting but promises to give us some wizardry stuff. While that's not a complete lie, the truth is that what it is concerned about mostly is Psionics... and what a needlessly complicated thing that is. There's a reason why Psionics did not stick around and that's because it just adds another layer of complication to the rules that kind of make it very unwieldy. 
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However the supplement isn't all about psionics, there are a bunch of things that did stick around the rules up until today, and particularly things about the lore of D&D that first appear here which are emblematic of the game's universe. First you get the new class of Druid, together with Druidic spells, a lot of the new Psionic powers would also later become spells, so that's a part that sticks around. 
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In terms of lore you get a bunch of named monsters like Orcus or the Demogorgon that come straight out of Gygax's Greyhawk setting and would still be showing up in Stranger Things in the 2020s. Speaking of Stranger Things you also get the first references to Vecna here, with item descriptions for the Hand and Eye of Vecna, two truly nasty artifacts that give great power at great cost. A mix of bad ideas (psionics) and great ideas (everything else), worth a look. 
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thecornwall · 5 months
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Cornwall's Random Card of the Day #696: Eye of Vecna
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Eye of Vecna is a rare from the Forgotten Realms tie-in product.
So, the Eye of Vecna is an artifact from Greyhawk, Gygax's own campaign setting which is so generic noone wants to use it. Some big-dick lich called Vecna turned himself into a god, but his eye and hand got cut off beforehand, and are themselves quite powerful. But you gotta cut off your own hand/gouge out your own eye and replace them with the grody undead one to use em. Vecna was the god of secrets, so makes sense this is a traditional black-style draw and lose life kinda card.
Now to tell you the fun story of an urban legend that some GM put the Head of Vecna in his campaign. Gives you all the power of Vecna's head, but needs the same replacement to be usable. So to utilise it you must first cut off your- well, now you can see the joke.
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deadpan-c · 10 months
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What caused The Great Scar?
vecna vernak appeared 2,000 years ago and went to a dwarven settlement (what is now ren hill) in search of a way to return to greyhawk his own world. dude was crazy after spending so long banished in cavitius extradimensional prison and he got pissed off that he couldn't find a way back that he decided to start a ritual to make westhold shitty™.
so he used the moon as a component in a big-ass spell to create a Big Hole (the scar). he blew up the moon, sending chunks of it down to the earth. the Big Hole then formed and eeeeevil monsters flooded out of it.
tl;dr: a wizard did it
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ladylannisterxo · 2 years
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So I've done some research about Vecna and Kas The Bloody Handed characters from D&D games.. Since you aren't the first person I seen whose said this theory. Obviously you could research more on this game, these characters, everything from D&D on any useful site. So I won't send two many links. Link 1: (youtube. com /watch?v=06V5XKSrUB8). Link 2: (vexmoor. com/ kas-the-bloody-handed/). Link 3: (greyhawk. fandom. com/wiki/Kas). Link 4: (criticalrole. fandom. com/wiki/Kas_the_Bloody-Handed).
Oooooo!! Thanks for sending these links! I'll link them directly below for anyone else who may be interested! Also, the theory was presented by @ahoymayfield and the tiktoks she has watched so credit where credit is due!!
Link 1 | Link 2 | Link 3 | Link 4
O K A Y so this is a lot of information but there are specific things that have stuck out to me as I went through all of this. In the first link, it is mentioned that when Kas went up against Vecna and they had their bloody battle, Kas's body was never found and was presumed dead although "it was discovered later that he was banished" and while banished, Kas was transformed into a vampire. SO, a couple of things with that: throughout the entirety of S4, Eddie is referred to as "Eddie the Banished" annnnnd Steve made the comment about whether or not Vecna was a vampire and it was theorized for a hot second that when Steve was attacked by the demobats, that maybe something vampiric would happen - so maybe something is happening to Eddie. It does sound awfully familiar because they left Eddie's body in the Upside Down - we don't know what's currently happening to it.
Another thing the first link mentions is that Vecna is depicted as the "ultimate villain" and in the DMG, it was encouraged that Dungeon Master's get over their fear of killing off characters because Vecna is that strong and too powerful for characters to fully attack. So, with that in mind, I'm imagining a lot of death in S5 - assuming the Duffers actually get ballsy with it.
I'll admit I know next to nothing about D&D so this was fun, getting to see a little insight into the lore of the game! Thanks again for sending this over!
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thyeternalhunger · 2 months
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rkgk
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queerlyglittering · 1 year
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Ok so we're all familiar with the theory that Eddie Munson will come back in the Upside Down as a pawn/right-hand-man of Vecna, like the character Kas in their D&D campaign
And I just read a screenrant article based off a quote from Jamie Campbell Bower saying that he wanted to see Will be the one to square off with Vecna in season 2. The author expanded on that quote by saying that there should be more of a D&D tie-in to the climax of season 5, since that's one of Will's strengths/special interests that holds a lot of happy memories for him (memories being one of the keys, like music, for breaking the mental hold of Vecna/the Mind Flayer/the Upside Down)
And I've been bemoaning for months that Will never got the chance to meet Eddie, who would have been a fantastic role model for him in many ways, like the Steve to his Dustin 😭
...
Now I really need season 5 to culminate in Eddie, coming back as Kas (as foreshadowed in s4), basically masterminding and manipulating Vecna/Henry/One's whole plan to parallel the plot of the D&D campaign - as a subconscious nod to his friends, to give them a chance and let them know he's still in there and secretly on their side or whatever - and I need Will to be the one to catch on. Maybe with the help of Dustin/Mike/Lucas, who were actually part of Eddie's campaig specifically, but iirc they were playing a variation on a published campaign (Greyhawk I think?) that was part of like one of the official D&D rulebooks/guides at the time, so it was commonly accessible knowledge that Will could easily have been familiar with as well. And he'd be more likely to notice since D&D is more significant to him than to the others. I need him to have a Ron-Weasley-wizard's-chess type moment where he sees the plan, sees the opening in it that Kas!Eddie has left for them, and they just have to trust his knowledge and instincts about it and it pays off. (Could do without the self-sacrifice part, unless it's necessary. Which I could see them setting things up to where each member of the group gets separated/sacrificed basically one at a time in order to get Eleven to the final confrontation with Vecna, though I'd like to see someone else take him on for a change, or at least her not have to do it alone. And Will does have an axe to grind against the Mind Flayer and subsequently Vecna.)
It would be super cool if they could also figure out how to break Kas!Eddie free of Vecna's mind control, especially if it involves D&D memories (and/or more Metallica lmao), and super especially if they can bring him back home to Hawkins. But that might be asking for too much. I just really need Eddie to pull enough strings to get the D&D plot to happen and the boys, especially Will, to catch on.
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boldlyvoid · 2 years
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No you’re taking notes about how dungeons and dragons works including all the realms, vecna, acererak, becoming a lich, demigod and spells to ensure mass worship over the town of greyhawk. In all seriousness, I’m learning so much about how this world works and it’s all connecting to stranger things in my mind perfectly
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cambria-writes · 1 year
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oooo for the fanfic author ask game, ravenloft with 3, 4, and 7, please! (favourite line of narration, favourite line of dialogue, and where did the title come from)
I honestly didn’t expect to get an ask from anyone so thank u 🥹
3. What’s your favourite line of narration?
You huff through your nose and, in an act of defiance, screw your eyes shut.
This unleashes a wave of panicked screaming.
I literally cannot overstate how much I love this part. Everyone knowing how El gets when she uses her powers too much and this bitch just goes ahead and tries to fry her own brain just to prove a point. Dumb Spiteful Bitch energy at its finest and I love it.
4. What’s your favourite line of dialogue?
“Hey uh, remember when I said they wouldn’t be stupid enough to go through Watergate? I overestimated them.”
“Okay, that’s just plain rude! […] I didn’t even go through the gate!”
“You know I think that might actually be worse.”
“Oh fuck off, Ed.”
I couldn’t tell you why but this just tickles me a lot.
7. Where did the title come from?
The first time you see the Creel house, I literally paused and shouted “What the fuck kinda Ravenloft bullshit?!”
You see I once had a DM that made us play through the Ravenloft supplemental campaign. The lich in there fucking murdered us. Total party wipe. But not before I busted into a locked room, saw something moving on top of a four poster bed and set it on fire only to discover that it was a spider nest. That was……. A lot of fire spiders crawling everywhere. (The DM apologized when he realized I was legit arachnophobia lol.)
And so when they start investigating the house and Steve finds the spiders in the vent I literally screamed. It’s absolutely supposed to be Ravenloft, but the funniest thing to me is that Vecna’s a part of the Greyhawk supplemental.
It’s also what motivated me to write a cleric-centric fic!
Thank you for playing 🥰
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Eddie the Freak
Hello dear readers - I’ve been away from the keyboard for ... well, a while! But Stranger Things’ Eddie Munson has me weak at the knees. No spoilers for ST4p2 this part (you read that right - asked for or not, this is a multiple part fic). I’m in love with writing Eddie, but it’s hard cause he’s so flamboyant with his actions, so if I get lost in that, I’m sorry - this is unbeta’d. Eddie Munson x Tiffany Johnson (original character) Word Count: 1.5k+ Bit of fluff for now!
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“It’s okay, no one comes out here,” Tiffany said when Eddie looked around.She was sitting on the picnic table in the woods behind Hawkins High, waiting for him. Her frizzy brown hair blowing gently in the breeze, her ripped jeans revealing the tops of her thighs and her knees as she played with the frayed edge of one of the holes. “Oh, I’m not—” He began. “You got a reputation to uphold, I get it, can’t be seen hanging with a cheerleader!” She said, leaning back onto her palms. “That’s not it at all, I wouldn’t want anyone thinking you’ve got standards!” He teased, closing in on her. “Just low one’s,” She said with a grin, looking up at him as he got closer, close enough to touch her. “Touché!” He said with a grin of his own. “So, are you finally gonna tell me about Vecna or what?” She asked, sitting forward. Eddie moved fast, his hands on both sides of her face, bringing her to him as he crashed his lips to hers. She sat up straighter, leaning into him, pulling him between her legs by the belt loops of his jeans.
He hummed as she broke the kiss, sitting back to look at him. “What was that for?” She asked, a red tint to her cheeks as she looked up at him through her lashes. “I love when you talk Dungeons to me,” he said with a smile, his cheeks warm. “Then you’re gonna cream when you find out I’m a level twelve Ranger!” Eddie groaned, almost buckling at the knees as he pulled her back to him.
After some intense making out, Eddie finally pulled back, smiling when Tiffany followed a moment before opening her eyes and sitting back again, playing with the zipper of his leather jacket. “Come ‘round tomorrow night?” She asked, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. “Sure, you want me to bring anything…?” He asked, fishing for hidden meaning. “Dealer’s choice,” she ran her hands up the zip of his jacket and pulled him back to her. But just as their lips were a hair’s-width apart, he sighed and pulled back. “Were you joking?” He asked, hands spread on her thighs, fingertips fiddling with the threads around the holes of her jeans. “About what?” “Nothing, it doesn’t matter,” he backed out, leaning in to kiss her again but she leant back, eyes searching his as she raised an eyebrow at him. His shoulders sagged as he grimaced at himself, head dropping. “Being a level twelve Ranger?” He peaked up at her. She chuckled and wiped her hand on her jeans before extending it to him in greeting. “Adrena Orcsbane,” she introduced. “Dungeon Master of Hellfire,” he said, taking her hand. “Duh,” she said, poking the center of the devil’s head on his shirt with her other index finger. He scoffed at her and licked his bottom lip. “So are you gonna tell me what the deal is with Vecna?” She batted her eyelashes at him. He let go of her hand and stepped back, spinning away, throwing a hand out, as if imagining the stage in front of them.
“Once a powerful wizard in the World of Greyhawk, Vecna turned Lich, the dying King, deadliest of  the monsters,” he began explaining, then turned back to look at her staring at him, “Do you really wanna know about all this?” He questioned, suddenly self concious. “Go on!” She enthused, kicking out at his leg with her foot. He swatted at it playfully then jumped up to the picnic table’s seat, dropping onto the table next to her. “Okay,” he knocked her leg with his, “living in the Flan city of Fleeth, Vecna’s mother Mazzel trained him as a wizard in the arcane arts,” including the story of Vecna’s rise to Lichdom, Eddie told her his plans for the game and the players involved. 
All the while Tiff was hanging off his every word, she sat wide eyed as he leapt up onto the table, following the story as he launched off and onto the leaf-littered ground, elbows on her knees and chin in her hands as he fought swords and rolled out of the way of imaginary blasts. She was enraptured by him. “And then,” he said with a bow and a sweeping gesture, “it ends!” She stood up on the seat and applauded, stopping when he straightened, a big grin in place. With one last clap, she let her feet slide off the wooden bench and drop to the ground “And that is why we play!” She said animatedly.
A devilish look set in his eyes, a smirk quirking the corner of his lips as he flipped his hair out of his eyes. “What?” She asked, lowering her hands. He took a step toward her. “Eddie?” She backed up to the table. He tilted his head and wagged his eyebrows. “I can think of another reason we play,” He said, devilish tone matching the look on his face. “Eddie!” She shrieked as he launched. She dodged him and darted around the side of the table. “Tiff,” he growled, hands splayed on the table, looking at her like prey. “Eddie,” she said with a faux-authoritarian tone, planting her hands on her hips. “Tiffany,” he tried her full name. “Edward.” She mimicked him. “Oh you’re getting it now,” he warned, and with that he launched over the table and caught her around the middle as she tried to run, sending them both sprawling. She laughed as they hit the ground, pushing him over onto his back, pinning him under her. “You were saying?” She asked, looking down at him, stealing a kiss. “Adrena slays another monster,” he said, pretending to die, wheezing out his last breath. She sat astride him, looking down at the ‘dead’ fool below her. “Not so sure about the monster part,” she said, leaning in and stealing another kiss before pushing off his chest to kneel next to him. “Mmyeah, I have a reputation to uphold,” he said, sitting up next to her and pulling the leaves from his hair. “Yeah, getting with a cheerleader must be a real cred-ruiner, huh?” She sassed, getting to her feet. “Getting wi— hold up,” he pushed himself to standing, “I thought I was dating one?” “I don’t recall going on a date,” she said with a shake of her head, letting him catch her by the belt-loop of her jeans. “What? Yeah,” he said, pulling her to him, “that night you came to my gig at The Hideout, we hung out after the band played?” She wound her arms around him, looking up at him. “Oh you mean the night we officially met?” She grinned up at him, enjoying watching him realize he’d never taken her on a date. “Okay, well, what about that night you came over—” “We smoked weed and you introduced me to Siggy, your guitar?” She jogged his memory and upon him scrunching up his nose, she shook her head, “Yeah, still not a date, Munson!” “Fuuuck,” he let out as a breath as he dropped his forehead to hers. “Pick me up tomorrow night at 9?” She suggested, arching an eyebrow. He stood up straight again, “yeah?” “Yeah,” He ducked down and gave her a chaste kiss. “Why so late?” He asked. “The game,” she said. “Right, the…” he let go of her and pretended to cheer, pumping his hands in the air. “Yeah, the…” she mirrored him, “but with more,” she plastered on a big grin and thrust her hands down by her side in fists, then shrugged. Eddie backed away, “You gonna do a flip or something?” He asked, holding his hands up to defend himself against any flailing limbs. “You want to see a flip?” She asked. He nodded enthusiastically, “Duh,” he said. She prepped, curling in on herself, then as she bounced on her heels to throw herself backwards she flipped him off with both fingers. He laughed and nodded in concession. “You want to see me flip, come tomorrow night!” She said with a shrug.
Behind them the bell rang, signaling next class. She glanced over her shoulder and he followed. “Just stay,” he begged. “Sorry, someone’s gotta graduate this year!” She said with a smirk, closing the distance between them. He narrowed his gaze at her. “I know what you’re doing and it wont—“ his words caught in his throat as his eyebrows shot up. She smiled up at him innocently as she squeezed ever-so-slightly against the growing bulge in his pants. “See you tomorrow,” she whispered, reaching up to plant a chaste kiss to his lips. “Mmhm,” was all he could muster as he seemed to deflate the moment she released him.
***
“What’s Eddie Munson doing here?” Chrissy asked as she looked up into the bleachers. Tiffany followed her fellow cheerleader’s gaze and smiled when she saw Eddie looking annoyed and lost, that was until he saw her, then he gestured to himself with a sweep of his hand. She waved a pompom at him and winked. “Stop,” Chrissy pulled Tiffany’s hand down. “What?” Tiffany asked, turning to face the court. “Don’t lead him on, that’s not nice!” Chrissy defended. “What makes you think I’m leading him on?” Tiffany asked, cutting off any questioning remark by cheering as the coach came out to introduce the team.
___
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