pastah_farian

Can't have Shit in Kentucky ch. 18

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The roads roared to life as a convoy of four pierced through the quiet and the smoke. The Commandos and the single M9 Army truck cruised with notable speed. Time was of the essence and the longer they dallied, the longer poison choked Earth's air. That was bad, the Kentuckians were told by their erstwhile sponsors, since it would bring the rotten Knox air the world over and bring the end of civilization with it.

The Buyer liked civilization, they were again told....

Update: SSD bricked itself

I was going to update some fics but my SSD took a shit on itself. My windows got corrupted somehow and I was forced to wipe the slate clean and start over again. Worry not though as I will return to regular update schedule immediately.

Restoring Mankind (NieR Automata) Chapter 17 preview 3/5

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Julius awoke slowly, the outline of someone hovering over him dominated his vision. Confusion was in him at first but then, his mind flooded to him exactly what was going on. His instincts kicked him to fight but the rattling of chains rankled his ears. 

A sweet velvety laugh filtered his senses. 

"Defiant. I can see where the androids get their spirit from," Adam whispered, sitting cross-legged across the human. She had chained the human t...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 28

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They weren't blind to what was happening.

A gathering army was not easy to hide and Nords themselves weren't even making it hidden, as if they were taunting them. As soon as the declaration reached their ears, agents were sent to monitor the invaders, both inside their camp and out. It wasn't exactly particularly difficult to embed their tendrils into the enemy camp as they had sent spies posing as mercenaries. The Nords were hungry for bodies and theirs was accepted ea...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 27

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The birds were the sign they were coming. Carrion birds in the sky; cawing, croaking, and awaiting the feast of flesh from both men and beast. The army marching through the valley paths of the Reach stretched like a dark murderous void. Rivers ran dry in their path, what little grass that could be found were consumed by the horses. Flags flew from long poles held by stone-eyed men and women clad in gold and blue and bronze. They glittered, the armor of the soldiers glinting u...

Heads up: Finals!

Heya guys, just a little heads up and apologies for the silence. It's finals season for me over here so I have to study. I swear regular updates will return as soon as they are over! Thank you for your patience.

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 26

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In the movies and shows, assembling an army involves the titular character standing gravelly over their subjects and declaring for banners to be called and then, things would happen. Such a state of affairs were not so simple in practice. To marshal an army of men especially in a pre-Industrial world took work. The institutions of the Nords and the Empire which had ruled it had fostered a sense of mobility and drive for war. The former was a highly warlike and battle-driven society...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 25

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There were moments in time where men ought to decide for themselves regardless of what the world demands of them. This was not out of arrogance for the ones who decide know that if they do nothing then fate marches on and bring ruin to them and the ones they love. Ulfric battled with these thoughts as he tossed and turned in his bed. He slept easily, the days events having sapped him of his energy. He slept for a time...until he was awoken in a cold sweat. 

He gla...

I’m sick

Hello, guys. There won’t be an update for a few days because I’m going through a fever and a bad cough respectively. My immune system is once more as strong as a carrot. I promise i will get back to working as soon as I feel better.

Love you all.

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 24

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It was not so late that the streets had become deserted. The inns, the drinking houses, raucous music and song poured out from windows and cracks. After a hard days work, it was clear where the local Nords spent the last hours of day before returning home. It was a fine arrangement for Irileth as it meant less Nords to encounter in the streets.

All the while, Mephala sang to her.

"What a tangled web that is being weaved," tittered the Prince...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 23

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A dinner and a show. That was the best way Irileth could describe how events were playing. She was sure that somewhere in the future, a enterprising Bard would go ahead and record the event.

For his troubles, Hoag forbid Ulfric to return to the city. If he were to leave the gates in the following morning, he was forbidden to return until the Jarl himself would lift the banishment. Ulfric took the banishment in stride, adopting a face of quiet Nordic stoniness. But the sharpe...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 22

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The dinner was a tame event, Irileth found, as the Jarl and his guests walked onto the Great Hall of the Palace. There was not much pageantry to speak of, no flowing banners and bards annoying the guests with their music and song. As was said earlier, a simple dinner. The fare was far from it however. Seared slaughterfish swam in a butter garlic sauce, crab cakes served with a spiced dipping sauce of cream and onion, golden brown apple pies and bread freshly baked in the Palace kit...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 21

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Their father retreated into his room to rest. As his door closed behind them, Ulfric and Freyja could only watch the old wood oak door with thin lips. Their Housecarls followed them quietly. The elder Stormcloak turned towards his sister. "Now what?" he asked her. Freyja glanced up at her brother.

"Why are you asking me? You're the one to be Jarl, not me." Freyja shrugged, her tone neutral. She turned on her heels and walked off. He followed after her, walking at...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 20

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They still had time left before they could eat in earnest. This grace period had Irileth unfortunately listening to Balgruuf rant and rave. The guest room they found themselves in was generously decorated and spacious, a testament to the wealth of the Jarls of Windhelm who could put up people in apartments that would be an expense for minor lords and thanes. Irileth stood with her back against the wall, the Ebony Blade resting on a mantlepiece, as Balgruuf paced about the room mutt...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 19

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"I see..." Jarl Hoag muttered. His face showed no external reaction other than quiet acceptance. It made discerning his mood difficult. The reactions of Hrolfdir and Igmund were more pronounced however.

"An Imperial Prince is coming here?" Hrolfdir blinked, surprise on his face. "Why were we not told of this? Why was I not told of this?"

"But is the Empire here on our behalf...or the Reachmen?" Igmund muttered, earning a frown from his father.

"Prince Castor mu...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 18

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Freyja Stormcloak hopped off the keel of her ship, the Foehammer, with particular flair. The second child of Hoag had plenty of reason to be happy. She had after all successfully managed to convince the East Empire Company to purchase select Easmarch goods with prices equitable for the Hold and Divines above, trying to convince the monopolists to play fair was a battle of its own. Her shoulders sagged, her brain feeling squishier than normal. She needed a bath, a good piece of brea...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 17

Black stone, dark wood, and living tradition. There was no better way to describe Windhelm but as the beating cultural heart of Skyrim. If the capital Solitude represented its Imperial present then Windhelm was its far-reaching past. Its walls, its houses screamed Nordic with their corner-posts and frameworks of timber with wall planks standing on sills. A great bridge lead to and fro the city, the White River underneath it. As their horses and men crossed it, Balgruuf could see Windhelm'...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 17

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"He has a strong face," Irileth commented, the clip-clopping of horses mixing with boot-steps against the snow crusted road. Balgruuf turned to glance at who Irileth was looking at and appraised the man, Ulfric. The man that would have plunged Skyrim into Civil War was at this time, young. His hair was a blonde that was common to most Nords, with eyes of deep blue that would turn piercing in one second to a certain wistful longing the next. His armor was regal, a thick plate suit w...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 16

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The arrival of the Whiterun men was unexpected but it was not unwelcome. With the thundering of the cavalry, they rushed into the melee and the Dremora found out what it meant to be on the receiving end of a cavalryman's lance. The battle was not entirely one-sided and the Dremora were not so easy to frighten by a charge but the added forces gave the Nords the confidence to continue the fight.

And with the raising of the blue-bear banner atop Amol's ramparts, the battle was wo...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 15

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"You have one chance to surrender, whoresons," cried out Galmar Stone-Fist, battle-axe hefted on his shoulder as he glanced up at the battlements of Fort Amol. Around him, men in blue gambeson and ringed helmets waited with bated breath, gauntleted hands clutching their weapons. They were all in ranks, protected behind a shield-wall of their own making. The wind of Skyrim came up from the east and chilled them. It would take me than a mere breeze to calm the disciplined battle-fury...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 14

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There was much ground for them to cover. Balgruuf wished to get to the Jarl of Markarth before the Jarl of Windhelm did for in his words, "It will create a devastating and catastrophic course of events that will screw us all." And Irileth, ever dutiful, went along for the ride. But it was not just her, however. For as they were riding out, Balgruuf, Irileth, and their party of riders chanced along his brother, his wife, and their mother ascending the steps towards Dragonsr...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 13

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Jarl Heorot's morning could never have been better. His Hold was good and prosperous, the roads were relatively safe and secure, his family was whole again with his boys finally back after five years of war and Skyrim was out of the chaos in the south. There was food aplenty to eat, mead and ale to drink, and music to listen and enjoy. The skies were ever blue and his lands rich with game to hunt, hostile creatures to fight, and women to bed. Not that he would actually do that more ...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 12

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The return to Dragonsreach was done without particular fanfare. The high of their Jarling returning had now settled onto a certain familiarity. There was due respect of course, the salutes and the parting of ways to let him and his party pass but nevertheless, life was due to return to normalcy. Well, what normal that could be captured. By now, news of the Concordat had been spread by returning soldiers. If there was any discontent, it was kept remarkably reserved. The people merel...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 11

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It didn't really take too long to find out where the Draugr came from. The undead were not subtle in their movements and Irileth spotted their trail as easily as she could breath. Crushed roots and branches, deep boot spoors on the earth. It led higher into the hill and towards dark looming ruins of what used to be a castle. In its heydey, it would have been a mighty bulwark overlooking the White River and Eastmarch beyond. Now, the walls had fallen here and there with only the kee...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 10

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Harald had reared his horse up by a fallen tree when he heard a twig snap. His sword was drawn immediately as his ears registered it, reflexes of war still fresh in his body. Then, that battle-cry of the ages, a timeless shout that once filled the land in days gone past. "UNSLAAD KROSIS!" someone snarled, its voice weathered by time but with a hate and malevolence as fresh as the day it was felt. Something whistled in the air and soon, the death throes of horses echoed through...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 9

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The climate needed some getting used to were the thoughts of Proventus Avenicci as he wrapped the fur cloak be purchased around himself and his wife. In her hands and wrapped in a tight bundle, their daughter slept peacefully and innocently unaware of the frost her parents were forced to endure. The Imperial had taken his family and what they had left with them on this made move to Skyrim. As much as he would have loved to stay in Cyrodiil, it was simply too damaged for him to make...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 8

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Floki awoke with a yawn, the warmth of the fireplace keeping the frigid cold of his homeland from freezing him to death. The returned Veteran felt as if he had slept the best goddamn sleep in his entire life. This time, he was home with his family and a little bit richer than he left. No more staying up at long hours being bored stiff or fearing Altmer infiltration. No more listening the orders of officers or eating shite food. He was home now with what remained of his brothers, fe...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 7

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"You have a delightful family, my lord," Irileth quipped. 

"Mhm," was Balgruuf's tasteful reply, his face covered by a pillow. Gone was his armor and dignity, now clad in a tasteful plain robe and body smelling off soaps and oils. He lay on his bed, deflated as a worn tire and snoozing peacefully. They were now in his own private room, afforded the chance to rest before the massive feast that was sure to come later. Balgruuf had wanted to get to business immediately wit...

Stallion of Whiterun (Skyrim Balgruuf SI) Chapter 6

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They returned like heroes of old, fresh from conquest.

The banners of the Stallion flew proudly, the citizens of Whiterun out in full cheer as the caravan rolled in. At its head, Balgruuf preened and waved as all articles of joy were tossed at his feet. Colorful flowers were allayed before their path, cries of his return carried high into the sky. Their cries were more exuberant then as Balgruuf nodded and from the caravan train, his men opened chests and shamelessly tossed se...

Can't Have Shit in Kentucky (Project Zomboid) ch.17

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It was all coming back to Roy. Memories long hidden now brought out. He was younger then, and idealistic. With the certainty of youth, he donned a uniform and did what was asked of him. It was a patriotic thing to do after all, going through jungle, and river trail, and tunnel. They were doing a good job. They were keeping the world safe and making sure that Uncle Sam and the democratic system it had would last for generations to come. Then the disappointment, the loss and the shame...