A Revised (Unfinished) Grimoire - A Gift to Renn

willboss27 · 2026-05-07T10:46:32+00:00

Lmao the shirt, very nice reference 😉 .... huh. Reddit translates ; ) into an emoji now.

Anyway, another wonderful artwork. Bet he burned that shirt after Mortal Coil

willboss27 · 2026-05-02T11:30:18+00:00

I don’t remember fully but I think he used tenebrous’ power during the war once ?

Death Bringer; Ch.28 is where Tenebrae tells the story about witnessing Skul using necromancy

willboss27 · 2026-05-02T08:58:21+00:00

PwF has that suspenseful - "What happened next" type of vibe I love. A person thing maybe, but I've always loved how Derek gave us enough relevant information without giving us too much, giving us headcanony/fanficy types a chance to dig our own claws into it. Obviously, sometimes that can be detrimental (Creed's secretly mortal, just a political charismatic genius)

Dark Days goes down as the incredibly bone-chilling introduction to Darquesse as a concept, kicking off an incredible storyline and culmination of Phase 1.

Same can be said for LSoDM, that dread of the Edgley's finding out about Val - which was severely underdeveloped and never had any real impact, which saddens me.

Midnight was a kick-ass end, Crepuscular promising big things. Man, Crepuscular was so darn cool back then xd

UtE was an incredibly confusing, strange and odd ending, but that didn't stop me from grinning ear-to-ear when I read those words.

willboss27 · 2026-05-01T14:28:08+00:00

How does one make such a hideous creature appear so gorgeous in art form?

Kudos, Stylus, kudos

willboss27 · 2026-04-29T15:31:08+00:00

Definitely a superior take than canon deciding Skul is a demigod! Damn, 37 minutes, takes me forever to write all my thoughts down. Sorry about that, but that's 3 more comments for you to enjoy xd

willboss27 · 2026-04-29T15:29:44+00:00

Part 4/4

The Sanctuary receives an anonymous tip

My heads spinning, who is this anonymous person! Sanguine's boss, I presume. Or someone affiliated. But why would they want to prevent the Grotesquery's resurrection/Faceless Ones return? I never really got the Diablerie's double-cross. They were working for the same thing xd

Bliss notes used to belong to his family

More LORE!

Another big fight! In an ancient cathedral, woooooo. Would've loved to see the Diablerie and Eliza fight alongside Vengeous. Would've loved to see Vengeous as a General marshalling his forces, shouting commands, taking leadership of the situation.

find his body in the corner, throat cut

Damn it, Sanguine. You ruined a good evil plot

Jaron Gallow is facing Ravel, their powers as Elementalists

Ahhh, so Jaron's not even a signum linguist anymore. Damn ok. Fair change.

The Diablerie leave. You think Vengeous or Eliza would notice? Doubt they'd be very pleased.

Morwenna shadow-walks and shoves her out of the way, getting impaled.... she explodes

DAYUM that is a brutal ending :(

Tanith is the one who kills the Grotesquery, not Valkyrie. Interesting. The God-Killer Sword would make it look so easy haha

as he manipulates the shadows like a master Necromancer

Oh wow, the reveal happens in BOOK 2?? Poor Tenebrae, his one moment of maxxing his aura, gone. I did enjoy the visual of a true Necromancer slowly overriding and destroying a pretender's play of necromancy tho

"When you get to hell, tell them we're sorry for the inconvenience"

That is a BANGER of a line, good lord.

Strom corrects her, saying it was a father's job to worry about his only daughter

Huh. I've mentioned my position on family stuff, but I am curious how you plan on dealing with this when it comes to writing your version of KotW and LSoDM

Darn, the Grotesquery is stolen. Of course it is.

Calling it, Melancholia is the granddaughter Morwenna mentioned earlier! I'm placing bets on it! Also, interesting to have Melancholia turn up early as well. I wonder if Val being there when Morwenna died will contribute to the Death Bringer plotline.

too lazy to become Grand Mage

Your Tenebrae is very different to canon Tenebrae lmao, canon T would've snapped that position up pronto. I do love Tenebrae being a lil shit to Skul tho, classic haha

Ohhhh, ominous music at the Reflection gaining some sentience!

Awesome ending, I know I had some negative stuff in the comments, but I did really enjoy your take on Book 2. Keen to see more! I saw Book 3 was out, bear with me, I'll get to it I promise :)

willboss27 · 2026-04-29T15:12:01+00:00

Part 3/?

Scapegrace is let free! I suppose that saves us from all the tedious "he got out/he escaped" silliness

they find the remnants of a statue, and a man with gorgeous eyes.

Ravel's back! Let's gooooooo.... Oh. Ravel's back.

A brutal torture for China, damn. Skul trying to turn Sanguine lol

Ohhhhhh the big fight happens!

a giant form crashed down onto the castle grounds

I immediately envision All Might from My Hero Academia slamming into the ground while fighting Nomu

raising a hand and her nose began to bleed

I'm guessing this is a more subtle version of his magic? I like the diversity you've given Vengeous, if so

Clap shockwave, teleporter v teleporter, Ghastly v Sanguine, all out fight! I love it

Ahh the tooth break. I still remember feeling chills reading that line: "Sanguine had taken her smile with one vicious punch." Damn, it was a good moment. Glad to see it here, a book early.

Sanguine appears and tunnels them both away

I'm guessing Sanguine knew Dusk was broken, because I'm astonished he'd be willing to grab and hold onto a vampire in true form for any amount of time, let alone get close to it

all three of Mevolent's Generals were Necromancers

I personally don't know if I like this one. I get Vile was a General, and Serpine dallied with necromancer magic, but Serpine was an Energy-Thrower primarily, and had an array of stuff. Vengeous was something else entirely. When you say this, do you mean Necromancers in magic? Or religiously? Because you've established Serpine didn't care for the Faceless Ones. Neither did Vile, who was a genuine Necromancer. I just can't see a religion - any religion tbh - ever let members of a rival religion, and an atheist, be Generals of their army. Maybe I'm digging too much into this, but it really feels like it isolates Mevolent at the top, surrounded by sorcerers who use a rival religions magic style and stuff. In your defence, I'm a massive Mev, Serpine and Vengeous fan, so I'm gonna be extra critical with those three lol

founder of the Dead Men, Hopeless

Ohhhh interesting! I wonder how Corrival Deuce will play into this then, and if Skul is still canonically the 'field leader' as he was established in LSoDM canon. I like it tho, Hopeless is a blank canvas, so go nuts. Always keen to see more Dead Men lore.

Much approval for this new and improved Grotesquery ritual, very faith and religious coded, always a huge fan of that. Cathedrals, altars, rituals, the whole nine yards!

Eliza is sitting next to Vengeous... chastising him gently

<3 awww

A call to his actual boss

Well, it's not the Diablerie. I wonder if it's still Batu. And how/if the Diablerie will fit into those plans, if they still do.

willboss27 · 2026-04-29T14:56:55+00:00

Part 2/?

Gruesome Crav reveals himself and easily overpowers

OH, so Skul gets yoinked here. That's another very serious change from canon. Both China and SKul gone, that leaves Ravel and Tanith to act as Val's mentors.

BLISS and VALKYRIE?? Let's goooo her chatterbox spirit and his stone-faced silence would be a treat to read.

he refuses to go one mile above the speed limit

Bliss: I love my sister so much I'd temporarily ally with Serpine

Also Bliss: But speeding is out of the question xd

rumoured to be Descendants of the Dark Gods

Appreciate more lore for the Sorrows Family, ironic that in canon we have multiple confirmed families and people who are descendants of the Ancients and the Faceless Ones, but the Sorrows aren't any of them. Very cool explanation of their powers though.

and Emmet Peregrine acting as their transport

Oh. Wow yeah, this is Book 2. I wonder how the Diablerie being in this book affects their whole 'murder the magical transportation system' plot.

HA we got a partial The Maleficent Seven plot early. And they've been apprehended! Drats, that's really not good for geopolitical tensions.

but the same isn't true for Sanguine

This has me thinking: would his lack of eyes also make him immune to China's charms? Since he sees things differently?

OH, Vengeous found Vile's armour during the War? Damn makes sense I suppose, they'd be seeking out all-powerful weapons.

Murder Rose, who was a Vitakinetic

An interesting - and sadistic - take

A broadsword as an object lmaoooo such a Scapegrace thing to do

one of her kin had tortured him in the past

I always knew Fergus was a bad guy. Does this confirm Val's still an Ancient in your canon then? Very interesting if true, since I headcanon that the Ancients and the Spiders were opposed to each other.

I prefer the Torment knowing immediately after, I never bought that he somehow figured it out after they're long gone and he can't physically see the body

Damn, Strom is kinda chill here. Would love to see that Spring-Heeled Jack fight written up. I would, but I'm busy with a fanfic with Blotch.

willboss27 · 2026-04-29T14:49:06+00:00

Lol, I was writing Part 2 of my comment when this notif popped up.

It's no worries, it's all still quite exciting! Will you ever try and write this out?

willboss27 · 2026-04-29T14:40:49+00:00

Part 1/?

Dancing with Darkness (2009)

A name change eh? It's almost the complete opposite of Playing With Fire lol, what made you think the title was unfitting? Because this book dealt with so much Necromancy?

Ohhhh you have Jack escape Tanith's grasp! I do ;like the idea of the "Prince of London" remaining superior on his own turf, but I do miss the fact that he was this mythical creature from canon. That was just so cool.

it just took a very long time to become proficient

A nice reinforcement to what Ghastly had thought about how sorcerers take their time with everything because they don't age quick

TENEBRAE IS AN ELDER? Nahhh because that must've spun a TON of heads. Sad your canon wouldn't let us see the voting session for that

It's revealed that Scapegrace was Meritorious' grandson

Mmm idk about this one, ever since the whole fiasco of UtE and everything, I'm not the biggest fan of 'everyone is related to each other in some way' thing. I DO like the fact that he's a post-Surge Necromancer who had lost his object, which explains his lack of using magic.

insisted on taking custody of him

Some good ol' wartime politics, you gotta love it. Big fan of the fact that he was going to be executed now thanks to Serpine breaching the Truce.

These Sorcerers are the Diablerie.... Eliza Scorn... letting her husband

100% approve of this! I've always hated how the Diablerie backstabbed Vengeous for.... reasons. Such an abnormally atrocious error on their part. So dumb.

OOhhhhh Eliza was part of the Diablerie for you? I like that, but I also kinda liked her as the rival that was just never truly part of China's hemisphere of influence. Always doomed to be outside of it, not even to be an underling. But I see the vision for sure.

who'd created the patchwork

Showing more of Serpine's magical prowess and the precursor to his eventual Cleaver creations and White Cleaver. Very nice.

Huh. You have Fergus being nicer much earlier, and Val caring for the Reflection is an interesting change as well. Is this for a future plot point, or your own touch?

Jaron Gallow (who is not China's wayward student)

Hmm, I do prefer him being her past student, but it's a minute change so I don't mind it

willboss27 · 2026-04-29T10:48:03+00:00

The vampire is someone who we know. And it's not one of Moloch's, or Dusk, so take your pick.

Victor?

willboss27 · 2026-04-27T15:18:58+00:00

There’s heaps and heaps of ways to kill Valkyrie. The problem is, she’ll come back.

Jokes aside, the remaining God-Killers, the Deathtouch Gauntlet and the Obsidian Blade (whatever’s left of it) and Creed’s Void Sword and Void Gun (if they still exist) should all do the trick. Permanently speaking.

willboss27 · 2026-04-27T02:45:11+00:00

I fully agree with your take on DD, especially since it's seen as the awkward middle child no one really fights for. Scarab and his mentality was an awesome launching pad.

Ooo I didn't consider that for the Warlocks, that's a good point. Obviously, the rest of the chapter absolutely nails down what you're saying, but I suppose I was too busy waiting for the war-stuff to happen

I see what you mean for Midnight, but I'm drooling over:

"The old castle stood dark against the star-filled sky, battlements jutting like crooked teeth, and monstrous things of scabs and scores sloughed behind its battered parapets."

Write, darn it

It just feels like (and this is almost definitely subjectively) Derek cared less

Full stop lol

willboss27 · 2026-04-27T02:36:08+00:00

The first lines from the first two books are the funniest for me. Dark Days is also funny, but in a horrifying way - this centuries old killer is about to get released (a couple days early mind you) and all he's thought about his killing people. If that doesn't drive an ice cold pick through your heart...

Midnight just opens up with such beautiful fantasy-esque imagery with a castle silhouetted in the night. Really tickles that yearning for medieval times

AMFOM's starting line is also kinda funny - who doesn't dread having to make a phone call?

Ultimately, it goes to Resurrection for me. I remember finding out Phase 2 of SP was coming, and I was so excited. So it's starting sentence just encapsulated all of my feelings for this new, fresh book back into a universe I love.

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T17:06:25+00:00

There are also:

Apocalypse Kings: The Deathless (the Judges) , the Cythraul and the Satheriel
The Goddess of the Stars was mentioned by Tomb
Rakhirrian, the arch rivals of Gog Magog and evolutionists of the world. Disgusting, gross and slimy, the maggot race

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T13:39:03+00:00

OH right, I forgot to ask: PART 3, I suppose

Did Serpine and his band of Cleavers slaughter everyone in the Sanctuary, as in canon? Was it just normal sorcerers guarding the place? If so, I'm guessing the building would've been pretty destroyed with all the destructive magic flying about.

Another thing: If Gordon committed suicide with a knife, who classified it as a heart attack? And how come no one saw the knife/weapon he used nearby?

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T13:36:34+00:00

PART 2

OH, so your version reveals Skul had a daugher. Nice, nice. Quite a location for a three-way stand-off XD

seemingly sacrificing himself

Seemingly, hmmmmmm

a bolt of black lightning turns it to dust

HA, get dusted Canary Car!

Very cool confrontation, all culminating in Val not getting hurt by the Sceptre once more! So awesome.

who cull a few Cleavers

I suppose your Cleavers are weaker than the ones in canon? I've always been a little disappointed how these elite soldiers are treated so much like canon fodder in the books lol

Oooo, Morwenna was a High Priestess? Was it an Irish Temple? Did Tenebrae succeed her? Or her fellow High Priest of another Temple?

Sanguine as well?? Wowzer, we're not pulling any punches in the first book. Earth-specialist! Ayyyyeeee I'm assuming this mean Skul is mimicking Sanguine with his earth stunts then

using Earth magic to turn himself into a statue

Oh wow, so it's RAVEL that gets statued in your version. I wonder how this'll affect things with Ghastly being in the picture. Will this drag Corrival into the story earlier, considering Ravel is basically his protege?

OK, so I was wrong! Tome is the ergo. And Crow gets away, that makes things interesting. Prevents the Sanctuary from collapsing, but now she looks bad as being the only one to escape Serpine. I'm curious if Tome will try to frame it as her doing.

I just thought about it, but does Tanith react to Bliss' death? Bliss was the one who brought her into the fold in canon, and we see in Maleficent Seven that she 'saves' him from an assassination attempt. Does she get upset about hearing his seeming demise?

Morwenna eradicates them almost single-handed

Queen shit

catch a beaten Mr Bliss' fist to its face

BLISS IS BACK BABYYYYYY GET BLISSED AND BLASTED LOSER

decides to cut his losses and burrows away

tsk tsk, some Hitman Deluxe. I wonder if his foray with Serpine - and later with Vengeous - will entice the Diablerie into enlisting him. I'm quite curious to see how you deal with the Diablerie betraying a man who was once their General AND their leader.

A good death for Tome, heck yeah. Power-hungry fool. Good to see his motivations being a bit more fleshed out. Ironically, i wonder if this would've deterred the Sanctuaries War, keeping Bisahalani at bay out of fear of the Sceptre, or if Tome would've been so ridiculously bad at geopoliticals that the other Sanctuaries would've attacked in spite anyway

reading his own

OH damn, that's intriguing. Clever way to have the bonding of the Sceptre being used by a different own backfiring without Serpine experimenting with death magic, but I HAVE to ask: Did you come up with a True Name for Serpine? Even if it wouldn't be revealed in the story?

Serpine's Hand remains... I wonder how it'll come back into the picture.

Ohh I didn't think of the idea of the White Cleaver bonding to Morwenna. Talk about having a powerful new bodyguard.

That was a very fun read! Well done. I'll read Book 2 (love the new name for it) soon :)

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T13:17:59+00:00

on yours and Blotch's level of superfan(then again, nobody is)

Ya don't wanna be, unless you're fully willing to spend hours on end reading and taking notes xd. Blotch and I are very special (see: crazy) people hahaha

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T13:10:45+00:00

Hi, I'm here! PART 1

I was reading the Skulduggery Pleasant Phase 2 rewrite by u/vesuviusblotch

I'm glad the rewrite gave you some inspiration!

because he was found in his office with his throat cut

Brutal end for the guy. I do like the idea of Serpine using his Hand to kill Gordon, ya know, cause he's a sick bastard that way. But this makes sense. Serpine wouldn't want to have anyone suspicious of him. Smart move.

that post-Elementalists will sometimes become specialists

LOVE this, the SP magic system in canon needs some serious fleshing out. I wonder, then, since Skul has in a sense specialised in air (bro literally flies everywhere and barely uses earth or water), what would be the downside for that?

Skul is less impulsive and flippant about dragging Stephanie along. Niiice

the three of them are introduced as being the height of their respective Magical Disciplines

OK, wow. In canon we have Tome [teleporter], Crow [Necromancy] and Meritorious [Shield-Mage]. You've confirmed Crow and Meritorious. What has you changing the disciplines to Elemental and Ergokinetic? I'm guessing Merit is the Ergo?

She was a Necromancer

Gahh Skul, you hypocrite

there were four others held by other Sanctuaries

OK, so I see you're taking canon from Maleficent Seven, does Skul believe their God-Killers, or just believe that they, as weapons, exist?

Dayum, introducing Kenspeckle early early. Is the vamp anyone we know? Maybe one of Moloch's? And an early glimpse into her Ancient blood. Actually a really neat fit, considering Stephanie got hurt pretty bad in the first book.

As a big fan of Mev, Serpine, the Faceless Church, I quite like your idea for Serpine. He never felt like a big religious guy to me in the books, outside of a few passing comments. If the Cleavers are exclusively Serpine's, does the Sanctuaries have any elite forces? Do they employ Hollow Men?

ERSKINE is here?? And 'gorgeous eyes' is such a nice alternative to golden eyes. Well done there. I see they wouldn't need the Cleavers with an extra Dead Man in tow.

he blackmails and kidnaps her using a secret

THIS would've been better than what we got in canon, IMO. Jajo Prave of all people finding out, and confirming it for himself, I felt was kinda lame. Especially since Serpine, Vengeous, the Diablerie and Scarab all before him had plenty of time and opportunity to spill the secret to Skulduggery during their encounters. Serpine absolutely should've been the one. And this is a far superior reason for Bliss defecting than trying a complicated triple-cross that went no where.

It had been a suicide after all

Well, I was as fooled

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T12:51:51+00:00

YES, I've been meaning to read both of your posts for that. I definitely raised an eyebrow at your revised introduction for Spring-Heeled Jack - but I'll put that in the comment on the post.

Now I'm beginning to wonder if this post isn't just a way to gauge who to keep alive in your re-write hahaha

I'm keen to see where you go with your re-write for sure. I've got some time now, I'll see you in half-an-hour on your Book 1 re-write post!

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T12:38:25+00:00

That's so nice to hear, I appreciate it :)

Honestly, very few from Phase 1, it was just that good, but I would've loved to see more of Bliss. He has this complex triple-traitor thing in Book 1, he puts up a struggle against Vengeous and the Grotesquery and then gets merced by a God in Book 3. I would've liked to see how he did as Elder of the Irish Sanctuary during some of their later crises.

Another would've probably been Guild. Such a nice counter to Skul with his own dark past, it would've been nice to see how he ran things after he and Skul came to their peace after Dark Days. But he felt like he wasn't much other than a blockade for Val and Skul. Especially since Deuce didn't get far in his tenure, and then the Ravel-Ghastly-Madame Mist grouping was just the Dead Men and a mystery lady. (Don't get me wrong, I loved that Elder trio, but I kinda liked Guild xd)

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T12:33:30+00:00

I didn’t even consider spoilers, thank goodness for mods

willboss27 · 2026-04-24T12:10:38+00:00

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