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midorishinji · 9 months ago

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Saturnalia

Original work ｜Part I of the "A girl by the sea"｜Also published in Portuguese and on AO3

Some people say December has a smell. It smells like a grandma's home, like sea breeze, like candy, like freshly cut grass, like rain that's about to pour. I’ve never understood this, and I’ve never felt it either: December to me is a dark month, full of penitence. I was never the type of child who was enchanted by Christmas, or who believed in Santa Claus: when I think of that time, I think about being in my dad's car passing under the tunnel of fairy lights that the city always puts up on a particular avenue here; I didn't know why back then, but I loved passing under the thousands of lights so much because my astigmatism made their brightness merge into a single magnanimous blurry entity. I thought this was how angels were supposed to look like.

Despite this, I can never feel happy when this month arrives. When I was still at school, December meant holidays, lonely and monotonous days at home, watching TV while it rained all the time, floating in a bubble of boredom and isolation. After I grew up, I discovered that I can't be left alone for too long with my own thoughts, or I start to feel like “Saturn devouring his son”, the famous painting by Francisco Goya: if I'm not functioning at maximum capacity, I start to cannibalize myself. In December 2017, I cried for two weeks, uninterruptedly, until I became sick with so much melancholy, like a heroine in a Victorian-era novel, delicately wasting away.

I resigned from the horrible job that used to pain me so much, and now I'm bitter about unemployment. It's been productive: I've been writing like I haven't written in many years, the words spilling out of my fingers, story after story; it's a shame that this production cannot sustain my body, only my soul. All of my college classmates have been feeling discouraged about their careers: we were promised a bright future if we had a degree, but each of us is worse off; informality, low salary, unemployment, freelancing, instability, professional portfolio, LinkedIn, I wanna run away from home and go live in a cave so I never have to deal with capitalism again.

I can't say that I'm perishing gracefully today: a more appropriate description would be a roadkill that drags itself across the asphalt, leaving trails of blood and ragged fur behind. And again we return to grotesque analogies and metaphors, like Saturn. December is the month of the Saturnalia festival in Ancient Rome, when masters served their slaves, and social norms were upside down; it was the festival that worshiped the god of time, wealth, renewal and liberation, the god who demands symbolic sacrifices in his name. In astrology, Saturn is a malefic planet that brings disaster, misfortune, loss, sacrifice, delays, and Saturn's return is feared as a time when everything falls apart.

I sympathize a little with the poor thing. I'm a Scorpio — misunderstood by nature — and I'm used to Pluto's phases, destruction as a tool of construction. I sympathize because I have a sensitive soul, and I buy the ugly fruits at the market because I know that no one but me would take them home, because I know what it's like to be a damaged product. I have Saturn in the eleventh house, the House of Blessings; it represents friendships, communities, and fulfilling dreams. Where Saturn is, it makes everything difficult: I have few friends, I can't understand social norms, and it seems that the more I swim, the further from the shore, from the much-desired reward, I get. Sometimes I have the impression that I see my dreams constantly slipping away through my fingers, and the more I fight, the more I struggle, the further away they become.

I think of December as the darker side of Saturnalia, wax figures, candles and masks that were offered in place of human blood. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is in this month that the winter solstice, the Long Night, occurs, when the sun seems to never want to shine again. And even though here in Brazil it's the opposite, the summer solstice when the light is so bright it's blinding, December for me is always a month of crossing the shadow, a journey through the Underworld. Saturn and Pluto are not so different after all: they both rule agriculture and bring fortune. Saturn is unhappiness, punishment, deprivation, but it is also wisdom, stability, persistence, tenacity, recognition; a god with two faces, and one of them is only seen after the ordeal. I know that the Long Night will eventually come to an end, because life is made up of cycles and more cycles, and it’s only a matter of time before I can get back on my feet, before I can feel that the reward is within my reach — even though the umbra seems infinite and impenetrable, I believe that it ends, because it’s in my nature to believe. And while the light hasn't returned, I’ll light a candle and take off my glasses, and let the astigmatism blur my vision so that this small flame can take up my entire field of vision until it becomes my sun.

#fanfiction #fanfic #writing #ao3 #original work #original writing #poetry #musings #saturnalia #a girl by the sea #december

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juniper-and-lamplight · 2 years ago

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Our Flag Means Death Fic Favorites

Updated September 28, 2023

Why yes, I am unnecessarily proud to have wrangled my OFMD fic faves into a rebloggable list! Some of these fics need no reccing, but everything is new to somebody, and all of these authors deserve some extra recognition.

(You can find these same fics in my AO3 bookmark collection if that’s more your speed, or on Pinboard along with lots of other fic bookmarks.)

Recs under the cut, because the list is NOT short.

The Lighthouse - A_Candle_For_Sherlock | @a-candle-for-sherlock - 30k, T, Ed/Stede "The recovery of Edward Teach, briefly the Kraken, always the love of Stede Bonnet's life; and how he finds every fine thing in the world can be his after all."

make your peace with weariness and let it be - anirondack - 18.7k, T, Jim/Oluwande but mostly a Jim character study "In the garden of your body, this forsaken paradise that keeps you alive, you do not know who you are. Sometimes you feel like Eve, extracted from your warm, soft home next to somebody’s heart for a purpose not your own, to be a voyeur to the pain of creation only after it has been created. Sometimes you feel like Adam, dissected by a hand that isn’t yours, parts of you pulled out and fashioned into something useful, with orders on your breath blowing dust off your dirty palms. And sometimes you feel like God, lonely and alone, grinding bone against bone like a mortar and pestle and hoping to plant something that grows."

domestic - Ark | @et-in-arkadia - 33k, E, Ed/Stede "Stede finds the house. When he comes back to their room at the inn, he won’t rest—won’t let Ed rest—until Ed’s seen it. His eyes are bright in that way that makes Ed’s guts feel scooped out with a spoon. So Ed hurries into his boots and goes with him. The once-white paint is stripped by weather and wear, a portion of the roof is caved in, and the spokes of the wraparound porch are all gnawed through by animals. Ed gazes up at the broken windows and the birds that have built nests there. At his side, Stede is waiting, rocking back and forth on his heels. 'It’s perfect,' says Ed."

He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven - @auntieclimactic - 14k, E, Ed/Stede “'Here we go again,' he heard Lucius scream over Izzy’s furious cursing."

it's worth it, it's divine - beepbeep4 - 3k, E, Ed/Stede "Ed wears one of Stede's silk robes. Things escalate quickly."

in the emerald green - darcylindbergh | @forpiratereasons - 3k, E, Ed/Stede "And Stede likes Ed, here and now, with the fresh smell of the wind and the salt in his hair, stripped down to nothing but an emerald green banyan and the ink in his skin, climbing back into the bed."

Cleave the Pin - @DarkIsRising - 7k, E, Ed/Stede "It’s a sobering thought for someone facing middle age to wrestle with, this notion one might be less than appealing in bed, and while he’d always known he was no Don Juan, Stede thought himself perfectly adequate in the art of making love. But ‘perfectly adequate,’ when facing the prospect of reuniting with the man that may very well be the love of his life, feels (pathetic, mortifying, distressing) like a quandary.”

I'll follow the echoes - Dialects_and_Costumes | @unadulteratedkr - 20k, E, Ed/Stede "When the Revenge is in need of some extreme maintenance that leaves the ship and its crew stuck in Nassau for a month, Ed finds himself returning to the piano at a small bar in town far away from anyone who knows him."

So Take My Hand and Have No Fear (Love Led Us Here) - DontOffendTheBees | @dont-offend-the-bees - 6k, T, Ed/Stede "Ed attempts a glare. And it's a strong attempt! Especially with this scary new look he seems to have been experimenting with in Stede’s absence. But it's somewhat marred by the fact that his long, beautiful hair is currently hanging straight down from his upside-down scalp and making him look rather like a vengeful paintbrush. Fondness bubbles in Stede’s chest, but he wisely keeps it to himself. '...I can explain?’”

before your name became a pulsing star - foxtails | @ratchet - 8k, E, Ed/Stede "The first time he fucks Stede Bonnet, Edward Teach is sure of three things: Stede Bonnet’s mouth tastes both warm like brandy, and sweet like the flesh of an orange. Stede Bonnet’s skin smells like fresh air, and sun, and the good type of dirt. Stede Bonnet is going to be the greatest, most wonderful mistake of Ed’s life. or: Ed and Stede enter into a co-captains with benefits arrangement. It stays about as platonic as you'd expect."

the young and the menace - foxtails - 8.5k, E, Lucius/Stede, AU "Really, the fact that he’s written a pros and cons list should be the biggest clue that yes, actually, Lucius really does want to fuck that old man."

seven point three miles - foxtails - 19k, T, Ed/Stede, AU "Stede takes a job as a remote forest fire lookout in the summer following his divorce, with a plan to find out who he is, and what he wants his life to be. With the help of the enigmatic lookout on the other side of the forest, he ends up getting more out of the experience than he could ever have hoped."

Fancy - Fyre | @amuseoffyre w/ @aivelin -7k, E, Ed/Stede "When a Spanish prize yields a treasure trove of exquisite clothing, Stede can't resist the urge to indulge Ed's fondness for a fine fabric."

Rough Winds Do Shake - HeckinaHandbasket | @heck-in-a-handbasket - 4k, E, Ed/Stede "He returned with the book, tapping it on Ed’s leg as he reclaimed his seat in the chair. ‘I’ve always been rather partial to a sonnet, myself. Though they’ve often left me feeling somewhat melancholy.’ They’d often left him filled with longing, left him feeling empty, and strange, as if he were missing something vital to the human experience. He loved them, still. Pain was the price of beauty, after all. Stede glanced up at Ed, smiling at the effortlessly lovely picture he made, backlit by a dozen candles. ‘Although, I wonder, now, if it might be different.’ Ed shifted on the arm of the chair, throwing his own arm over Stede’s shoulders to peer at the book. ‘Different, how?’ Without thinking, Stede bumped his forehead against Ed’s shoulder, joyful honesty bubbling out of him like seafoam. ‘Well, with you, of course. Everything is different with you.’ A deep, thoughtful line appeared between Ed’s brows as he examined Stede’s face. ‘Is it?’”

we're finding new forms - Hymn | @thelionshoarde - 6k, E, Ed/Stede “Against Ed’s gasping mouth, Stede murmurs, 'My dear. You’re shaking, ' before sucking in Ed’s bottom lip. Groaning, Ed doesn’t try to fight it—the tide of panic, of love, of fear that lingers. He hadn’t expected that part, to be honest. All his life and Ed had shown fear the middle finger every time it came knocking. He’s had to, hasn’t he? But then wham, love stomps him to the ground, sets up a home inside his chest, and Ed hasn’t known peace since. Stede’s fingers trying their damnedest to wiggle under his leather, squeezing at Ed’s ass sure as shit isn’t helping keep him sane. "

one good thing - illimerence - 2k, E, Ed/Stede "Everything’s different with Stede. He can see everything, every part of Ed that Ed hasn’t shown anyone before."

Wayfaring - Justkeeptrekkin | @justkeeptrekkin - 34k, E, Ed/Stede "The downside to being stuck on a desert island is that Stede's not awfully good at adapting. The upside is that he and Ed can finally have some peace and quiet– that is, if Ed ever wakes up from the gunshot wound in his stomach. Stranded in the middle of who-knows-where, Stede learns the art of reflection and how to embrace the man who looks back."

Renewal - katonline - 3k, E, Ed/Stede "The fire is blazing cheerfully in the fancy as fuck fireplace in their cabin. It’s a ridiculous folly, it shouldn’t be there, but it is and it’s wonderful. It’s wet and dreary outside and it’s cozy and snug and perfect in here. The cabin is like a friend. The rain is indifferent, blind to their happiness. That’s - whatsit, fuck - ah. Right. That’s pathetic fallacy.Stede taught him about pathetic fallacy.”

on a homeward path we go series - @kirkaut - 25k, T, Ed/Stede "Ed’s made up his mind: if he ever lays eyes on Stede fucking Bonnet again, he’s a dead man. Ed’s had six months of Stede-lessness, and six months of thinking about all the terrible things he’d do to him when they saw each other again. Somehow, it never occurred to him to think that they’d never have the chance."

Such as They May Be - @livelydiver - 6k, E, Ed/Stede "'That's enough,' a voice rings out, and Ed feels the world turn sideways. He lifts his eyes and sees a spirit, a sea nymph aglow in the swaying lamplight, clad in billowing white, with golden hair pushed back roguishly and a voice that sounds just like Stede's. 'You,' Izzy spits furiously, letting Pete drop to the deck. 'Hello darling,' the spirit says, and his smile shines on Ed like the sun through clouds. 'Is your face all right?' 'Oh fuck,' Ed breathes.”

Half agony, half hope - lyricl | @connachta - 35k, E, Ed/Stede "The first letter appeared only a few weeks after Stede left him alone on that beach. Ed burnt the first, and the second, and the third. But they kept coming. Or: how Edward Teach got a pen pal, reunited with an old friend, lost a first mate, gained a new one, learned something about seagulls, asked for some fashion advice, found Stede Bonnet, found himself."

My Body, Poured Out for You - MassiveAggression | @revmassiveaggression - 6k, E, Ed/Stede "’I'm not your God, Stede,’ Ed said stiffly, feeling deeply uncomfortable both with the subject matter at hand and with the sudden tightness of his trousers. ‘No, you're not,’ Stede said, head slightly bowed, eyes cast upward, meeting Ed's gaze from beneath his lashes. Ed forgot to breathe for a moment, enchanted by the dance of candle flame over Stede's skin and the heat radiating from his gaze. ‘But there is a connection there. You see, my God is love.’ He raised his hands to rest on Ed's thighs, fingers firm atop the leather. ‘And expressing that love’-- Stede's voice pitched even lower, his hands raking slowly up and down Ed's legs--’is holy.’" (Full disclosure: this brilliant author is my actual wife)

As Long As You're Beside Me Along the Way - MassiveAggression - 2k, E, Ed/Stede "In which Ed and Stede have been out of the pirate life for a while, but are still fascinated with each other in simultaneously wholesome and sexy ways. Also, they have a cat."

your name like a boat - mia_ugly | @mia-ugly and soft_october | @soft-october-night - 39k, E, AU, Ed/Stede "Sailors call them watermarks. A gift from the sea, a name or symbol written on your chest, meant to guide you to your own true love. But Stede Bonnet's mark doesn't look like anything at all. Not really. And it certainly doesn't look like 'Edward' or 'Teach' or 'Blackbeard' or a black beard and that's fine. Completely fine. Ed's absolutely fine with it."

Transformative Work - mia_ugly and @pinehutch - 41k, E, Frenchie/Jim, Frenchie/Oluwande "Captain Blackbeard has heard about Frenchie’s ‘bit of fanfiction.’ He asks him to write a better ending for his and Stede’s story. Frenchie tries his best but soon other people want to tell the story the way it should have gone, including Fang, Lucius, Ivan, Jim, and ultimately Ed. In the act of surviving and telling stories together, relationships are considered, examined, and developed. Meanwhile, a ship trailing seagulls grows closer and closer on the horizon."

we were warnings - mia_ugly | @mia-ugly - 13k, E, Ed/Stede "Stede comes back. Ed does too. It just takes a little longer."

Salt, Sweet - mia_ugly - 18k, E, Ed/Stede (femslash) "'You look –' Stede steps forward, and if she says 'pretty, ' Ed thinks she might tear her own face off. She doesn’t mind that sometimes, but tonight she wants to be something different. 'Astonishing, ' Stede says, moving closer, close enough to touch. Her fingers land on the lapel of Ed’s velvet coat, smoothing the grain of it. 'The most beautiful person I’ve ever seen. ' 'Beautiful. ' Ed's voice is unfamiliar to her, a low rasp. 'Handsome, ' Stede says quietly, and the word catches in Ed’s throat like a diamond. "

Buttercup - mia_ugly - 13k, E, Ed/Stede "The thing is, when you’re Blackbeard you’ve got kind of a reputation to uphold. When you captain a ship, when you lead a crew, when people look up to you, tell stories, build a legend – parts of that legend are always more accurate than others. And maybe you just let it slide, some of the things people say. Some of the things they assume. Maybe you swagger around and wear black leather and are a handsy bastard and let the stories tell themselves. Maybe you don't want to talk about it."

i who have died am alive again today - @middyblue - 8k, T, Ed/Stede "Blackbeard stands atop the quarterdeck of the merchant vessel the Virginia, his wild hair wafting in the breeze that carries the scent of blood and gunpowder and terror, thick over the brine of the sea. He surveys the main deck below as the chaos of the raid winds down; the Virginia’s men had even put up something of a fight, to their credit, but he and Izzy have reminded their crew what the name Blackbeard means. What it will always mean, unending and relentless and dark like the pull of the ocean floor: death; the skeleton piercing the heart; the black flag haunting every seafarer’s nightmares; the malevolent ghost on every merchant’s horizon. This is the truth of him; there is no other."

Hell or High Water - @mottlemoth - 298k, E, Ed/Stede, Izzy/OMC "For a year now, Stede Bonnet has pursued the legendary pirate Blackbeard across the sea. Desperate for a chance to put things right, Stede will stop at nothing to catch up with the Revenge and its new captain. But who will he encounter on Ocracoke Island: the man he loves, or a monster?"

The Importance of Being Edward - MrsNoggin | @katnoggin - 6k, E, Ed/Stede "He snaps. ‘Ed’s long gone now.’ Stede has always been good at pushing his luck. Especially with this man. ‘I don’t know, I think I see him, lurking around under all that dirt.’ Because they can't get away, start over, reset."

weather the storm - one_more_page | @one-more-page - 10k, E, Ed/Stede "Ed runs, Stede follows. Ed stabs Stede, Stede comes back. They duel, they fight, they talk, no matter the encounter Ed wakes the next day with Stede's ship just on the horizon. He’s being haunted by Stede Bonnet."

If You Were Mine to Keep - Pamplemousse | @mysterybees - WIP, AU, E, Ed/Stede "Caught between the gallows and the end of an English sword, Ed accepts the Act of Grace: marry into the aristocracy, leave the English ships alone, and live to sail another day. But who in their right mind would ever agree to marry the mad devil pirate Blackbeard?"

Aftercare - @perkynurples - 214.5k, E, Ed/Stede "In the aftermath of some life-altering decisions on both sides, Edward and Stede navigate reuniting, learning what it is that they really want and how to ask for it, as well as surviving in a world that is nowhere near ready to just let them rest. Or, finding their way back to each other is only the very beginning."

Liquid Gold - perkynurples - SMAU, M, Ed/Stede (complete on Twitter) "Stede Bonnet, recently divorced, returns to the town he once knew with a plan. He's got the house (older and more derelict than he remembers), he's got the bees (and the theoretical skill to keep them), and he's going to be(e) happy if it's the last thing he does. (Stede is, as it turns out, a bit miserable no matter how hard he tries.) Ed Teach has been keeping all of his various demos at bay more or less successfully for years now. He's known as THE beekeeper in town, always meticulous, always gentle, never too bothered with rules, expectations, or protective gear for that matter. (Ed is also, no matter how hard he tries, a bit bored at this point.)"

No One Would Riot For Less - @sacrificethemtothesquid - 51k, M, Ed/Stede "He doesn’t know that a buffoon with blond curls and a nervous smile will end him as surely as a bullet to the temple. He will lose everything from his boat to his beard and his name along with it, and the worst part is that he will be glad for the loss. Edward Teach will fall in love and Blackbeard will die, and neither fraction of himself sees it coming.”

you can almost see st. augustine from here - @shortcrust - 7k, T, Ed/Stede, Ed & Izzy "Israel Hands is on the run, and he has nowhere else to go."

guardians of a rare thing - ShowMeAHero | @andillwriteyouatragedy - 10k, E, Ed/Stede "Five times stede did things for ed, and one time ed did something for stede."

quand il me prend dans ses bras, qu’il me parle tout bas (je vois la vie en rose) - SilkAndLeather w/ juniper_and_lamplight (that’s me!) - 7k, E, Ed/Stede "Ed appreciates his new morning routine, as well as Stede's more intimate finery.”

Index - Siria | @siriaeve - 1k, G, Ed/Stede "Blackbeard and the Gentleman Pirate: Matelotage, Masculinity, and Maritime Community Building in the Golden Age of Caribbean Piracy (Newtown: Atlantic University Press, 2022) draws on extensive archival research to provide the most comprehensive reconstruction yet of Teach and Bonnet’s careers and travels."

Labyrinth Skin - @skrifores - 18k, E, Ed/Stede, AU "Ed's tattoos have stories to tell."

Can't Stand Me Now - Skrifores - 6.6k, E, Ed/Stede "Ed and Stede are back together on the Revenge, but they haven't made up yet. The crew have the bright idea to handcuff them together, to make them get along. Sitcom trope shenanigans ensue."

Weird - Skrifores - 5k, E, Ed/Stede "In which Ed muses on all the things which are just fucking weird about being on the Revenge, especially the cute, strange, lunatic captain."

As I Drowned series - Skrifores - 24k, E, Ed/Stede "Ed’s aware that from the outside that might seem faintly ridiculous. Stede’s a posh boy with no real idea of what he’s doing, afterall, but he really doesn’t give a fuck. It’s been a very, very long time since he felt anything new and this is fun as fuck… So he’s gonna see where this goes. He’s gonna lean the fuck in.”

Bones Adrift - Skrifores - 42k, E, Ed/Stede "The Revenge spots a drifting, seemingly abandoned ship. Is it haunted, overrun by demons, or full of vampire-mermaids? Probably none of the above, Ed and Stede think, though some of the crew have different ideas. There does seem to be something wrong about that ship though. It warrants some investigation."

turn on the light - smallestchurch, read by Kninjaknitter - 55k, 6hrs, E, Ed/Stede, AU "Lighthouse Bookshop had been there seemingly since time immemorial. Over forty years at that spot, sitting proud, a beacon at the heart of the community, and when the old owner decides to sell, it's the perfect vessel for Stede's odd restlessness. And the building is connected to a famous cocktail bar run by a mad genius behind the stick. One problem: Stede's still married." Podfic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41920626/chapters/105213216

the last night i lie - smallestchurch - 10k, E, Ed/Stede "Stede keeps giving Ed *the look* and Ed tries to figure out what it means for once and for all. ‘And what about you, Stede Bonnet? Proclivities and all that?’”

Waiting on the Lightning - smallestchurch - 8k, AU, E, Ed/Stede “They're co-captains now, sure, that's great and good, but... why is it making Stede so nervous?”

not pickles - smallestchurch - WIP, E, Ed/Stede, AU "Ed's minding his business when the new neighbor's kid comes around holding a human puppet. It's creepy as hell, but as soon as the kid's father rounds the corner, Ed doesn't mind. "

Benediction - Springandastorm | @spr1ngandastorm - 2k, T, Ed/Stede "There'd be the drag of a lace cuff, the soft pliancy of Stede's fingertips on his hand or in his hair. He could feel it through his clothes, sometimes, a phantom press against his arm or shoulder or heart long after Stede had lowered his hand. He didn't know what to do with so much sensation, a tide of its own, one that made him afraid to open his mouth and let the water in, almost certain he'd drown.”

did my heart love till now? - stedesboyfriend - 8k, E, AU, Ed/Stede (femslash) "They do a lot of kissing, yes, and it’s been great. It’s been leagues more than great. But it’s also been just that. Just kissing. Which is fine, really. Ed will do whatever the hell Stella wants her to do whenever the hell she wants her to do it, and that includes kissing. Just that, if Stel doesn’t want anything more. And that would be perfectly okay. But. The thing is, Stella sends some very fucking confusing mixed signals."

Message in a Marmalade Jar - stitchy | @stitchyarts - 11k, T, Ed/Stede "'I don’t know who will find this, if anybody. Who would even understand it, as Captain Bonnet is long gone?' The crew of the Revenge find a message in a marmalade jar."

The World That Borders the Sea - @thereluctantrose - 7.7k, T, Ed/Stede “I’m not made for cold,” he grumbled. “But you are made for me,” Stede grinned, leaning into Ed’s shoulder, “And I reckon I’m more than enough to keep you snug in the depths of December.” What can a man say to that, exactly? When the sun tells you it can provide, who are you to doubt its capacity for warmth? Thoughts on The Last Raid and all that comes after."

50 Ways to Kill Your Lover - @trinityofone - 2k, M, Ed/Stede "In his quest to get himself free, Ed begins a list of ways to do away with Stede: 1. Stabbing 2. Harder stabbing It gets much worse, and then much better, from there."

#our flag means death #ofmd #gentlebeard #ofmd fic #fic recs #my recs #blackbonnet #ed/stede

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myexhaustionissoftblue · 2 years ago

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@a-mag-a-day

Lost John's Cave was the first episode to properly scare me. I'm not flat out claustrophobic or anything, but just the having to squeeze through tiny tunnels and not being able to find the end of the water to get out and being lost in this cramped space they thought they had an accurate map of definitely spooked me. The description of the squeeze being so tight you couldn't turn your head! Terrifying! And the "take her, not me" bit was super creepy, it was so good!

I forgot how Buried aligned Laura was! It's like Naomi Herne already being Lonely aligned. In both cases they liked their respective Entities and then had a terrible experience that changed their opinion about it.

Actually I feel like both sisters were Buried related in their own ways, idk. I'm a bit suspicious of what Alena knew. I almost think she knew a bit about the Buried or was Buried aligned herself in a more fear driven way than Laura.

Buried Alena vibes:

"It had helped her when she was in a bad place," <- Caving made her feel better? Ok I know this might be Laura jumping to conclusions

"She used to joke that it felt like the earth itself was trying to kick her ass." <- Hmm or was she serious and hiding it from you Laura?

"Alena said she thought it was quite sweet, in a strange sort of way, and joked that if she ever got trapped underground, she’d want it to be with me." <- That's Buried, I'm sorry

"I broke the surface to see Alena laughing to herself, and holding a rock over the part of the water where I had been trying to emerge." <- Her 'prank' is scaring her sister (with Buried fear)? :/

Alternatively, Vast!Alena:

"Alena was never quite as into it as I was, though. Don’t get me wrong, she was no claustrophobe and I wasn’t forcing her to follow me into the darkness on threat of a family rift, but she mainly enjoyed the climbing, and I always ended up going a little bit deeper than she wanted." <- Mainly enjoyed climbing you say... You went deeper than she wanted hmm...

"I think, to be honest, she would have preferred to get her exercise under the open sky or, failing that, in an above-ground gym. Maybe we should have tried cliffs or a climbing wall, but caving was our thing." <- Again this is admittedly pretty weak but hey. Her Laura wants to to Buried related hobbies, Alena wants to do Vast related ones.

"I had never done cave diving before, and neither had Alena, although she told me that the prospect spooked her less than some of the squeezes we’d had to do to get there." <- Idk just water can be Vast or Buried and I assume it's less tight so they can swim?

Uh and her being taken but not Laura. The Buried girl is fine but the Vast one ain't getting out of this alive!

Listen I just like headcanonning a bunch of things, especially when they have some (however small) supporting evidence in canon

Other stuff:

"About half way through, I realised that it was far tighter than I had imagined. I called ahead, to make sure Alena had made it out okay. She called back, told me it was a hard one, but she was fine. I wanted to answer her, but by that point the rock was so close around me it was stopping me from doing anything but holding my breath and willing myself forward.

"A hand grasped me firmly on the shoulder and pulled me through. Just like that, I was out."

<- I see this as the Buried trying to get Laura and if not for her sister pulling her out, acting as her anchor perhaps, she would have been taken by the earth or crushed right then and there

"As it got closer, I saw the pale hand that held it, and I heard something. It was Alena. It sounded far off and muffled, but I was sure she was calling for help. I shut my eyes, for all the good it did in that place, and tried desperately to will it all away. When I opened my eyes again, the light was still there, but it had changed somehow. It seemed brighter and, as I looked, I realised it was no longer coming from a candle. I could hardly believe it, but it looked like daylight."

<- I assume this is when the "take her not me" bit happens that she completely skimmed over. When she tries to "will it all away", she's hoping it'll take Alena instead of her and is speaking out loud, either unknowingly or on purpose to whatever is attacking them.

"I sent Tim to check the details – Martin declined to help with this investigation as he’s “a bit claustrophobic” – and he found some more bizarre discrepancies."

<- Also I made a post about this before, but Martin refusing to work on this statement because he's "a bit claustrophobic"?? He's definitely underselling it if he told Jon he wouldn't work on this despite obviously knowing that would make Jon annoyed and give him another reason to complain about him. Also this makes him living in the Archives and being in the basement 24/7 for months quite a bit more worrisome...

#this reads so insecure but that's only because i am #a mag a day #tma relisten #tma spoilers #tma #the magnus archives #mag 15 #mag015

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favoriteginger · 3 years ago

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Pixlriffs traveled the world in search of knowledge, out on the road for decades, centuries, as the world changed around him, only to return home to find his home gone, no one left in the desert but himself. And he moved on, but not completely. He breathed new life into the ruins of his old home, tried his best to focus on the people currently living in the world instead of the memories of people who once lived, hovering at the edges of his mind. And he lit a candle for each death, desperately hoping not to loose time again. Hoping not to loose everything again.

Jimmy in his swamp, also the last remaining member of an ancient civilization, inhabited the broken cobble and slimy wood of his old home. For him, the memories of the past are much more present, old friends and subjects floated around his home, keeping him lonely company. And he didn't push them away, for what else was there for him now, other than swarms of cod and false friendships?

Scott made the trek up to the barren mountaintops, and chose to stay, even though all that was there were some sheep and the occasional crimson vine. If there was civilization here once, nothing remained of it. If some caves and cliffsides looked too smooth to be natural, if some of the mountaintops were a bit to flat, if he started finding the crimson vines more and more often, he said nothing about it.

Fwhip entered his new lands, excited to build his nation, taking little note of how the plains were suspiciously empty of old fields and foundations. After all, that just meant more space for him to build, didn't it? By the time he noticed, it was too late. The corruption deep under the ground had surfaced, encouraged by his settling and mining, looking for new minds to control, new lands to conquer. No wonder the plains had seemed so empty, with such a threat lurking beneath the surface.

Joey chose to build his empire in the jungle, but opted to stay at the edges, around his friends, for fear of what lurked in the depth of the trees. He'd seen the ruins, explored the old temples, and a civilization would only need so many weapons and traps if there was something they were trying to fight off.

Joel wasn't aware the mesa used to be inhabited, when he first settled there. He only noticed the vast tunnel network criss-crossing under the surface when he dug into the earth to fill it with life. He wondered how the people who lived there had survived without any vegetation, why they never seemed to live on the surface.

Lizzie didn't give much thought to what might be in the depths of the ocean when she first settled on its surface. After all, what could there be, other than fish and maybe some coral? She tried not to pay too much attention to the stone spires and walls that she eventually found. Nothing that she knew of could sink a whole city, so dwelling on it wouldn't help anything.

When Sausage arrived in what would become Mythland, he had no reason to think it had once been inhabited. Large trees and creeping vegetation had almost completely covered whatever structures had once existed. It didn't take him long to notice all the animals, many of which didn't seem to belong in the area he'd inhabited, all of which seemed much more intelligent than normal animals were wont to be. What would be more effective at at draining an area of magic than a curse?

Shelby had been too preoccupied by the plight of her homeland at first to notice, and the signs were subtle enough to not help with that. But after a while it was hard not to notice the small details that added up to an unsettling picture. The unnaturally flat areas, clear of trees. The trails through the forest. The animals that are much too friendly to people. Whatever people had been here before, there was barely any trace of them left.

Gem's lands were perfect - beautiful and magical and full of life. Sometimes, though, things seemed a bit too perfect. The weather was just a bit too sunny and the animals just a bit too intelligent and magical. Sometimes, the air hung dark and heavy, laden with the feeling of a powerful curse, slick like oil against her skin. Sometimes, the corruption of her neighbor seemed to whisper in her ear, making her efforts for peace more and more ineffective. But she tried not to think of that. Her land was perfect, after all.

The flower forest was lush and full of life. Flowers and moss blanketed the ground and trees stretched up into the sky. The Overgrown was a wonderful friend, offering bountiful gifts in return for Katherine's protection. Given all that, it was sometimes all to easy to forget what she'd found in the forest: old ruins, long since overtaken by vibrant moss and choked by flowering vines. It was easy to forget the occasional bone or head that the Overgrown would offer her, hidden amidst blood-red flowers, but Katherine couldn't fully push those details out of her head. After all, what made the earth more fertile than death?

Pearl had found a nice peaceful area to found her empire in. It was lush and green and had good soil for growing crops. She settled down and tended her fields and tried not to notice the things in the corner of her eye. She regularly had to rid her farm of unwanted greenery; sometimes she would turn around for a second and a vine would have found its way up the supports of her house. She tried not to think to hard about how quickly her dripleaf had grown and how large it had become. She tried to forget the ruins of houses she stumbled across, covered in massive vines.

#so anyways i've been thinking about all the empires existing in the ruins of ancinet civilizations #empires smp #mcyt #ngl this ended up being a lot spookier than i meant it to be #but that's fun #i enjoy the sinister vibes #corruption arcs my beloved #also i wrote this over like three separate days so sorry for any inconsistencies in tone and such lmao #ginger writes

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justsomeectoplasm · 3 years ago

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Horizon, lonely and almost desperate, traveling to Ragma Kingdom, in search for information because he refuse to believe that the stars will abandon them just like that.

There must be a reason why they're here.

(I hope this is simple enough hehehe 😅😅)

(A/N: Okay so I may or may not have been lurking around Horizon's posts ahshahan. I'll be using some headcannons that the asker has already made for Horizon. For those who don't know, Horizon is a skykid born in eden and was born as a child of darkness instead of light. Please check out @always-anxious-skychild because their stuff is golden.)

"Cold. This place was colder than valley. That was all Horizon could think of as he woke up in the castle. The howling winds echoed through the castle, its sounds mimicking wailing ghosts. As he slowly got up from the ground, he lit up his candle to try and keep warm. He didn't expect to land in a castle of all places, but in a way he was glad. He didn't like the idea of waking up in the snow, freezing to death.

Ragma wasn't Horizon's first choice. Rarely anyone chooses the same portal where wasteland use to be. He wanted to visit Melinka, a place that was rumored to study the stars and celestial beings. But something....called him here. A force he could not explain gently lured him here, a small voice giggling at the back of his mind.

Whatever it was, it had to be a clue. He needed to know why the stars disappeared. He ignored the veterans warnings and calling him a fool for looking for the stars that forgot about them and pressed forward with his plan. He can't abandoned it just yet.

And so he walked down the empty hallways of the castle, determined to find answers."

• Horizon visited to the kingdom at the worst time. The winter has arrived and with it, its harsh winds that can freeze fire. Horizon had to hold his candle tightly under his cape, fearing that it might go out at any second.

• It seems like a snowstorm has approached. Great. He wished he had a compass that some of the skykids found in the seasonal areas.

• Horizon mindlessly walked in the storm, hoping to find a path eventually, just like in the realms. But he instead found a forest.

• Everything looks the same. The trees stretch endlessly into the sky, reminding him of the forest and it's soft rain. But yet these trees are pitch black, and none seem to make way for path. Some kindle was on the ground, not yet covered by the snow. Perhaps he could make a fire somewhere?

• Eventually Horizon stumbled upon a cave deep into the forest . 'Shelter', he thought, 'I could wait for the storm to pass here.' He entered the cave, the sounds of the wind start becoming muffled as Horizon breathes out, his breath turning into small clouds. The cave was dark, so much so that he almost blended in with the cave.

• There were some sticks in the cave. Weird, but Horizon decided to shake it off as he starts a fire using them. Using some kindle he picked up, he started a fire. The dark cave lit up, shadows dancing on the walls at the beat of the fire.

• Horizon sat down and rubbed his hands together, warmth returning to them. He looked towards the deep end of the cave where the light doesn't reach, wondering why he has a knawing feeling that a spirit is near. He can't really describe it, but he feels as if that same force is in the cave with him.....Eh, no way.

• A gust of wind blows out from the cave, causing the fire to be extinguished. Horizon stood up, his eyes darting around the cave. He feels a presence in the cave, the same as when a spirit has been lit. No, he thought, this isn't a human spirit. The sounds of twigs falling around and the clacking of nails on the ground made Horizon hold his breath. The fire lights up again, although just dimly. Horizon widens his eyes at what he saw.

• A monster? No, a spirit. They're see through like the ones in the skykingdom. But this one isn't like them. It's a beast with a long neck, it's body is pitch black like shadows and it has four legs with claws at the end of it's feet. It has a mask for a face that changes expressions and right now the mask has a sort of neutral expression. The monster looked at Horizon, it's neck twisting around in loops. "Oh a visitor." It spoke, it's voice garbled and sounding almost sing song like and yet so low pitched. "And another one of them, but also, not yet quite" it traced one of it's claws on Horizon's face. "You're like me aren't you? But at the same time not yet quite." It backed away, it's body twisting and turning as it climbs the wall, it's gaze never leaving Horizon. Horizon gulped "Who are you?"

• The creature mask changes, it's oily black body covering it to change a new face, one that smiles. "I am called Bono. Spirit of a thousand faces. And you, little one, rudely and without permission walked into my domain." Horizon stiffens up and murmurs apologisies, his eyes never leaving the creature. The creature twists it's neck again, looking at Horizon upside down. "Hm....I'll forgive you, since you are such an...interesting creature of your kind." It started circling Horizon, like a predator inspecting it's prey.

• "What is a thing like you, wondering around this forest? Are you looking for something or...perhaps someone?"

"I was lost" Horizon bluntly said, determining that he shouldn't show fear to this creature. "Lost because you were searching for something, hm?" Bono laughed when Horizons eyes widen. "Tell me, child of dark, why are you out here alone? Were you exiled from your kind." Horizon clutched his cloak. "No, I wasn't." The creature stopped to look at Horizon, it's claws tapping on the ground, "And yet here you are, alone without so much as a friend." Bono was getting closer. "I'd say none of them were worried about you."

"That's not true."

"And how sure are you of that? Why aren't any of them with you? Is it because of your origin?"

"No, they're not like that."

"Is that so? Or did you convince yourself of that, afraid that they might turn on you?"

"No!"

"Don't lie. You felt that too. That hunger. That excitement. You want it, don't you? It beckons you, calls for you. Eventually you need to answer it. No, you want to answer it, don't you?"

"Shut up!"

"Admit it, you just want to get rid of that child of light name. It caused you so much suffering. You know you'll never fit in, you know you'll never be accepted, so just give it up. Just let that little thing go and all your problems will be solved."

"Then that makes me no different from you!"

• Close. Bono's face was mere inches away from Horizon. Horizon stopped his breath, his body paralysed from fear. Bono twisted it's head and backed away. "You're quite an interesting thing aren't you?" A clicking noise came from Bono's mask. "I like you. I think I'll allow you to wonder this forest, little shadow. Please do give me a show while you're at it." Bono chuckled, deep and distorted before dissapearing in the shadows. The campfire lit brighter and Horizon fell on his knees, the adrenaline giving away. The cave was now silent, only the sounds of the muffled wind bounce around in the cave.

Additional headcannons:

• Horizon gets chased out by most villages for his looks when he first came to the kingdom, but he was once gifted gloves by a seamstress. He still wears them and keeps them safe.

• Due to his darkness, Horizon is immune to curses, which garnered him the name "Blessed child", a legendary child said to have been a mindless shadow wondering the world in search of the human he belonged to. The goddess of light pitied him and blessed him to be an ori child, free to befriend others to never be alone. Lonely people who were cursed often come to him, seeking companionship.

• Horizon feels less tired in Ragma. Perhaps it's due to the rise of darkness, but Horizon feels rejuvenated whenever he visits the kingdom.

• Due to Ragma's nature, Horizon finds spirits much easier then other skykids. He doesn't know why, but he started to have some gut feelings as to where a spirit is located. This resulted in skykids going to him for help when they need to find a spirit.

• Almost became a witch's familiar. Narrowly escaped her.

#sky children of the light #sky cotl #sky: children of the light #Sorry but this character gave me ❇ideas❇#This took way too long #I also wanted to expand Ragma just a tad bit more #the ori children au

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rainydayotomes · 3 years ago

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Reddened Love (Tsukuyomi x Reader)

This story was requested by anon a couple days ago, and I accidentally wrote waaaay too much for this so it became it's own fic ;P

I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope it was to your liking anon! <3

The request can be found here.

Notes: This story takes place after the events of Akaza's good ending. And- you are not Olympia! There are next to no story spoilers, except for a non-important scene featuring Tsukuyomi at the end of the game. -------------

"(Y/N), are you going down to Yomi today?" "Lord Jigen! Yes, I am. I am in need of more... supplies." You fidgeted with your somewhat darkened red hair to imply what you meant. You sighed when you saw the colour come off on your fingers, and hid your hands within your long sleeves once more. Jigen gave you a kind smile, knowing what you meant. "Of course. Enjoy your walk." Every 3 months, the colour that had been painted into your (h/c) hair started to fade and come out, much to your dismay. It had already been 4 months since you last got the dye needed for your hair, so today you needed to make your annual trip to visit the lone man that lived deep underneath Yomi. (Why am I the only one who has to do this...? Jigen, Douma, and Tokisada don't have to go through the same thing....) You heaved out another sigh at your predicament. As usual, Tsukuyomi had never told you why you had to do this- why you had to hide your real identity- that you were an outsider. None of the other outsiders had to hide. So why did you? The scarf you had gently and elegantly wrapped around your deep red locks swayed in harmony with the cold autumn breeze. You shivered as the wind pierced your sweater, the cold seeping deep into your bones. "A-Ah, good afternoon Riku." "May I see your pass?" You gave a hurt smile at the blue haired soldier. "Always the perfect soldier, huh? You always act like you don't know me even though everyone knows we've been friends for a long time." "......" Riku averted his eyes. "Well, whatever. Here's the pass, soldier boy." "...Go ahead." And with those words, your feet carried you down the steps and into the depths of the underground world. You rubbed the tips of your hair to shed the old dye that clung to you, as to not appear quite as.... red, to the residents with no "good" colour. You pulled the scarf around your hair closer to you, and kept your reddened eyes cast downward. Another 'gift' from Tsukuyomi to help you blend in with the red. You hurried down the main street, thankfully blending into the crowd of various colours easily enough on your way to the spa. "Oh! (Y/N)! Here to see Tsu again?" Camellia cried out to you from the front steps. You nodded, smiling at the doll. "Yep. I know I'm a month late, but I was being invited to date after date.... so many suitors that I can't take." "I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind your colour! Hey, what colour do you even think you-" "That's enough, Camellia. Let her see him; he's worried." Yosuga's voice interrupted the doll, and it was then that you had noticed he was standing with the doors open. "Oh! That's right! (Y/N)- Tsu was worried about you!" Your brows furrowed in confusion, unable to picture the always calm and serene Tsukuyomi actually worried about you. "Really? Tsukuyomi?" Yosuga laughed at your reaction. "Yes, I know it's hard to believe so you better hurry down." "Uhh... right. Excuse me then..." You said, walking past both friends and towards the back rooms. The cold, stagnant air of the deepest part of Yomi hit you like a brick- it always did when you came to see him. But today, it seemed so much colder then usual. You never understood how the things down here could grow like they do- the grass, the trees... even the spring that sat in the center of this weird cave-like area shone like it reflected the brilliance of the moon. You walked up to the lone house that sat far from the entrance to the lonely cave, and moved the curtains to the side to enter the home. "Tsukuyomi?" You called out, placing your bag down beside the door. Whenever you came for the hair dye, Tsukuyomi asked you to stay for tea- but he had never not been present when you arrived. What was he doing? "Ah- (Y/N)!" A smile erupted on his face the moment he saw you, as he stood in the doorway to the rest of the building. "It has been a while. I am very glad to see you are alright." He held his arms out, and you already knew what he wanted. You nodded, giving him a smile as you walked up to his embrace. "It has been. Sorry I couldn't come sooner,

there was never a good time to step away from the red for a day.... everyone wants me for some reason, and apparently this month it was all of the bachelors in the district..." His arms were wrapped around you protectively, and upon finishing your sentance you swore you could feel them tighten ever so slightly around your form. The mysterious man didn't say a word in response. Instead, after a few more moments in his warm embrace he pulled away, looking down at you. His hand, hidden by his sleeve, came up to push away the scarf from your hair. He looked troubled. "I was worried about you. I feared that you had been discovered." You shook your head, pulling the scarf from your head and folding it up neatly in your hands. "No no, nothing like that. I'm sorry to make you worry." His troubled look didn't disappear, however. His white sleeve stroked your sideswept hair, seeing the colour powder leave it's traces on the bright cloth. You felt him hover my your cheek, before he lowered his hand once more. "Come. You must remove the colour immediately." "Huh?" Suddenly, he turned and vanished deeper into the building- which you could only presume was his house. You had never been inside it before- and you doubted anyone else had either. Your heartbeat quickened as you followed his fleeting figure down a hallway before watching him dart into a room. You took in a deep breath, before following him into the only room who's door was open. .......... "...Huh?" Tsukuyomi was bent over something that reflected the candles that surrounded it. A container of water? But upon hearing your shock, he stood up straight and turned to you with his usual gentle smile. You could see his sleeve was wet- where he had watched the powder stain the pristine white cloth beforehand. "The water is comfortable. I assume this will be sufficent for you to cleanse yourself?" You blinked. Once. Twice. "Huh???" "I will find you spare clothes. You may leave your current clothes next to the water." And with that, he walked right past you and left before you could say a word, shutting the door swiftly behind him. .....Did he really want you to bathe? Here??? Why so suddenly???? The container of water- a deep brown coloured circular bathtub- sat in the center of a large room lit with lanterns. Candles adorned the perimeter, giving a beautifully peaceful atmosphere to the scene. Potted plants lined the area, making it almost seem like the bath was instead a beautiful spring in the middle of a forest. Perhaps that was what it was meant to look like. You stepped up to the... bath, seeing the beautifully clear and shining water rest still within the tub. You met your reflection in the liquid, ....... (.......HE WANTS ME TO GET NAKED!?) The revelation hit you like a stray dodgeball- and your face erupted into a deep scarlet. The thin wooden door shifted to the side behind you, and you turned to see Tsukuyomi carrying neatly folded clothing, placing them on a nearby bush that stood out from the rest of the greenery- almost like it was meant to hold things. "Do not worry, my (Y/N). The water is taken from the spring on Tennyo island, and is blessed by Amatersau herself." "T-Tennyo island?! I-I really don't think I s-should be... uh..." You stared at the beautiful reflection of the room in the water, trying to figure out what this ever-mysterious man was thinking. "You must cleanse yourself, my dear. This water is safe for you. As is this place." "U-Uh...." You stiffened immediately as you felt Tsukuyomi's sleeved hands on your shoulders, slipping your sweater off your shoulders. "....." You seriously couldn't understand what was going on in his head. Why did you have to 'cleanse' yourself? Why do you need to remove the dye from your hair so urgently? Usually you just did it once you got back home and then reapplying the fresh dye he gave you.... You had let him take the sweater from your cold body, but upon feeling the soft cloth of his sleeves on your waist, you instantly pulled yourself away from him, turning to him with a

blush. "I-I can do it myself!" He looked downward, a smile on his face. "So be it." The two of you stood there for what felt like an eternity, as you waited for him to leave. Clearly, he wasn't about to let you get out of this. "U-Uh...? Tsukyomi? Aren't you going to.. uh... leave?" "Ah, that is what you are worried about." He looked upwards with a smile, and you still couldn't tell what was going on behind that deep golden eye of his. "I will not do anything you are uncomfortable with." "But I'm not comfortable taking off my clothes here....!" "That, I am afraid, is not a choice." He looked downward again, a troubled look crossing his features for a moment before he looked back up at you. "Would you prefer me to help-" "-NO!" Your voice reverberated around the room, your resounding decline of his offer coming out a bit louder then intended. "...No." You reaffirmed, but calmer this time. "I-I'm ok." You took in a deep breath, your hands going to the hem of your shirt as you turned away from his gaze. ...Was he seriously going to stay here??? Why????? You turned around again, intending to voice your questions to the man who insisted on your bath. "Why do I have to-" His sleeve suddenly came to your lips, and you narrowed your eyes on his outstretched arm before looking back up at him. All he did was give you his usual, beautiful smile.... and that's when you felt it. Gentle, but cold fingers on your hip. They curled under the hem of your shirt and lifted it up slowly, his other hand pulling away from your lips and revealing itself to meet the other side of your shirt. Your breath felt caught in your throat, as all you could do was stand there and blush as Tsukuyomi disrobed you. (....ok. There's no use fighting this. He's always been... a little weird like this. He probably... doesn't mean anything.... by this... right?) You steeled yourself, and allowed him to do as he wished. You gave in, and lifted your arms above your head. The hair on your neck raised at the feeling of his cold, pale fingers grazing the sensitive flesh of the top of your breast. Finally, your shirt was discarded, and Tsukuyomi took the fabric and folded it neatly, placing it on another bush close to the bath. As he did so, you moved to turn your back to him, swiftly taking off your pants and panties in one motion, but the man turned back to you before you could fold the denim. You could feel his gaze pierce your back, and you couldn't help but shudder. You went to move your hands to your back, standing awkwardly, but instead you felt Tsukuyomi's cold fingers graze against the top part of your back, right underneath your neck. You froze. "You haven't taken the proper precautions to prevent staining of your skin." His voice was soft, but there was a hint of something almost.... sinister, angry- in the way he said it. "I-I uh.... I tried. But it's difficult to-" Before you even realized it, your bra fell away from your chest, and you could feel the intense heat burning away at your cheeks. "Get in." Was he... angry? You assumed that you had accidentally gotten dye on your neck when you had last used it, but shouldn't it have washed out by now? And why would he be mad over that? He sounded like he always did when he spoke, but you couldn't help but feel something buried beneath the calm of his voice. You moved swiftly into the water, sinking your cold flesh deeper and deeper into the clear bath. The water was surprisingly warm and comforting. Tsukuyomi watched as you submersed yourself, his piercing gaze eyeing your every move. You sat down on the rounded protuding edge at the bottom of the bath, your body tense under Tsukuyomi's stare. (.....he's still here.) You turned to meet his gaze, finding him taking off his robe. ....WAIT WHAT!? "U-Uh- wait a second-!" You cried. What the hell was he doing!? He wasn't seriously going to get in with you was he!? Your face burned with heat, as you realized just what you got yourself into. But.... the pale man stayed quiet, and the only thing he took off were his

robes.... underneath, he wore a simple tank top. His skin was unbelievably pale. You averted your gaze quickly- realizing you were staring right at him. Your cheeks maintained their reddened state. Your thoughts raced, trying to figure out what was going on and if this was really the Tsukuyomi you knew. He... definitely wasn't acting like it. The man walked up to the edge of the bath, bending over slightly to dip his hands into the warm water. "Did you think I was going to join you?" He spoke huskily into your ear. You felt a shiver go down your spine as you felt his breath on your skin. You were sure the look on your face said it all, and you knew that your eyes were as big as saucers. "Tsu... this isn't funny..." You felt water run down your shoulders, your neck, your back.... and realized that Tsukuyomi was moving to cover the areas of your skin that had yet to touch the water. 'Tsu' remained silent, even after your objection. You tried to break the awkward silence. "I-I.... uh... can do it myself..." You said, but he made no movement to stop. He was gentle, and all you could hear was the steady pouring of water as it fell from his hands and onto your skin. You could see the water slowly turning red, no doubt from the dye that had apparently stained your skin. You felt his hands rub into the muscles of your shoulders, his fingers nimble and experienced. His hands slowly moved up your neck, and you felt your hair shift from his presence. With his other hand, he poured water over your head, and stroked your hair to pull out the remaining red powder that clung to your locks. Finally, your natural hair colour was revealed once again- something that nobody but you and him had ever seen. "This red does not suit you." "Huh?" "No colour of this island would suit you." "Uh...." He seemed to pick up the pace a little bit, working swiftly yet ever gentle to remove the dye. "I much prefer your natural appearance." Ah... that's what he was getting at. Maybe... now you could ask him why you had to dye your hair? You voiced your question to him, and for a moment he stopped. His hands remained on your head and in your hair, and suddenly he removed himself from you. But- soon after your face was covered in water that had been poured over your head. Tsukuyomi had been careful to not get water in your face before... until now, that is. "Hey!" You swiftly turned around and shot him a glare, water dripping from the hair that now covered your face. But he simply gave you a playful smile. "Your natural beauty had to be hidden." The glare that painted your expression swiftly disappeared, and was replaced with shock and a little bit of embaressment. "What?" Tsukuyomi continued to smile. "You needed to be protected from the people of this island. And in order to do so, you had to become one of them." Your brows furrowed. "Wait... why? Why did I need to be protected? The other outsiders were fine...." Your question was simply left unanswered- but Tsukuyomi's smile seemed to widen just a little bit. The water around you glimmered with a dull shade of deep pink from the dye that you had been freed from. Orange flickered on the surface from the candles that surrounded you... and infront of you, the only thing you could see in the pale man's deep golden eye was your reflection. "Recent events have made me realize that you are no longer safe from the people of this land. So I shall be taking you into my care permanently." He said with a look of concerned thought, his eye lowering to the ground for a moment. "Huh!?" Water splashed around you at your sudden movement, as you turned your entire body towards the man; making sure to keep your chest below the edge of the bath. Tsukuyomi turned his eye back to you, and it seemed to almost shine in the candlelight. "I do not wish for others to defile you. Here, I can protect you, and ensure that you are treated with love." "...love!?" That damned ever-present smile. The one that never betrayed his thoughts. That damned, beautiful smile. His hand came up to your

cheek, still wet from the water. "I do not wish for anyone else to touch you... I shall be the only one to do so. And I shall be the only one to know your true beauty." His hand was still cold, but.... it felt warmer then it did before. Your heart pounded away in your chest- it felt like it could burst out at any moment. Too soon however, Tsukuyomi pulled his hand away, and he looked down once more with a look of deep thought, his hand now on his chin. "I know I am being selfish..." He mumbled so quietly you almost didn't catch it. And you almost missed the flicker of sadness within his eye as well, but it lingered for just a moment too long. He looked back up at you, his smile returned. "Camellia informed me that I had to find something to live for." And there it was- his hand back upon your cool cheek. It didn't feel cold anymore. His hand was warm and comforting; and you could feel the gentle care behind his touch. "At first, I had resigned myself to looking after a sapling that had sprouted. But... then you appeared." Ah... that day that you had washed ashore. Tsukuyomi had found you, and brought you back to his home to nurse you back to health. You barely remembered that time- but you know it was soon after that that he decided you needed to hide your identity. "I do not wish to lose you.... I want to protect you from those who would do only harm to you." The blush returned to your cheeks, and you averted your eyes from his. You... had no idea he felt this way. Was this why you had to hide your true identity from everyone? Surely some people could be trusted, but.... Tsukuyomi didn't think so. "Tsu..." You mumbled; a start to a thought unfinished. Before you could process what was happening, Tsukuyomi leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. It was light- a true ghost of a touch. And as swiftly as he had kissed you, it ended. He pulled himself away from you, and turned away to do something. You looked down at the dull reddish-pink water around you, and your hand came up to your lips. It was as if you could still feel his cold touch. Your hand reached up into your hair, running through your wet head before bringing it back down to look at your palm. Sure enough, not a trace of the powdered dye was left. And from the looks of it, the dye was dissolving rapidly in the water around you. When you looked back up at Tsukuyomi, he had returned to wearing his robes, and was holding out the spare clothing he had brought for you earlier. Your eyes came to rest on the cloth in his hands, and.... it seemed to be similar to his. Red on white, with bits of yellow here and there. The smile he gave you felt different then before. Like.... it was filled with love. His eye was gentle as well, looking at you with affection. "Dry yourself, and I shall help you into your clothing." Again with the whole 'being naked infront of him' thing... You took a deep breath, giving in to him as you pulled your body up on shaky legs. You swiftly stepped out of the bath, and grabbed a nearby towel that the man before you had laid out for you. The white towel was quickly stained red from the remaining water and dye on your skin, but Tsukuyomi didn't seem to mind. You took a portion of the towel that hadn't been stained quite as much and ran it through your hair, trying to put it into it's usual place as much as you could. All the while Tsukuyomi watched you with that loving, affectionate smile. When you finished drying your body, you continued to hold the towel close to you, covering your naked form. Tsukuyomi moved to unfold the cloth he had prepared for you, placing it over your shoulders. It was warm, and... smelled like him. His face was suddenly next to yours, his breath hot on your ear. "I will take care of you. Whatever you desire, I will provide." His lips, warmer then they were before- pressed against your cool, damp cheek.

#tsukuyomi #olympia soiree #tsukuyomi x reader #reader insert #otome games #request

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shelby-love · 4 years ago

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HARGREEVES SIBLINGS

What Brings us Together: Funerals

Requested: yes [x]

Prompts: none

Warning(s): none

Word count: 3.5K

Author’s note: I hope this is what you wanted. You didn't specify what kind of interaction we should have w our siblings so I just went off what was most realistic. Luther is a b of course, that's just how he is at the beginning lol. Don’t think I hate him though! p.s. so is diego we know he wasn’t really nice to vanya in the beginning :(

You sighed heavily through your nose, gathering your brows in distaste at the building standing tall in front of you. The Umbrella Academy looks as imposing as ever, making you remember just how much it once scared you when you were a kid.

Time went by and you became an adult. Someone with common sense, living an ordinary life far away from your once bright future that suggested money and luxury. Of course, when you’re informed of your father’s passing through a TV screen, it’s mandatory to show up and pay your respects.

You snorted at the rogue thought. “Bastard.”

Seeing your siblings after so many years of being apart made you feel anxious. Your father and his ashes weren’t the cause of your sweaty hands. It felt weird. Too weird.

But you ignored the feeling and called out your inner adult, placing one foot in front of the other and walking straight through the two-winged doors.

Your eyes fell on every surface of the academy, sweeping over every object while doing so. The number of memories, good and bad, that this place held was uncountable. But life, alas, is too short.

Your father a true example.

You gazed at the portrait with no emotion, looking at the picture of your father and siblings with a crooked smile of sadness. The tips of your bare fingers flickered with energy, and you fought the urge to curl them into a fist and punch a wall.

But your father's voice rung through your head, what you've been taught all your life bucking into instinctive actions. "You must know self-control Number Eight. You lack of it will be your downfall. Now put your gloves back on!"

You were 4 when those words big words started to leave his mouth, and you never heard the end of it. Not until he died.

You uncurled your fists, took a deep breath and felt the energy cave in.

"Y/N? Is that you?"

The sudden sweetness of a voice that belonged to your sister travelled into your ears, so quietly you almost didn't hear her. Your eyes widened slightly, and when you turned around – for a moment you didn't know what to do. The girl had turned into a celebrity, and you wondered if that had changed her in any way.

"Allison?"

She took a few sharp steps your way and wrapped her arms around you, pulling you in a bone-crushing hug you returned immediately.

"You're not wearing your gloves," she took note, looking tentative to touch you for a second after pulling away.

"I don't need them anymore," you stated proudly.

Your father graced you with leather gloves at the age of 4, telling you to never take them off. That in a way, you and the powers you possessed were a danger to your siblings. The dark leather gloves weren't comfortable, in fact, they felt suffocating every time you wore them. Because that's how silencing your powers feels like. Suffocating. For a second too short, you had wondered what Allison felt like. Not being able to use her voice for what it was made for.

"Well, I'm happy for you," said Allison, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. "You never really liked them."

"No," you agreed with a mumble. "No, I didn't."

The two of you walked out of the hall and into the living area, legs paired with pace.

"Where is everyone?" You asked her quietly, your eyes inspecting an antique you knocked over as a kid more times than you could count.

"Diego is here, somewhere," she mused, and you raised your brows ever so slightly in surprise. "He has this weird hero complex, so he's out saving the world, I guess. Apart from us three, no one’s here yet."

"Do you know when he'll be coming back?" You wondered out loud, watching her give you an odd look a second later. "I haven't seen him in years, Allison. He's my brother."

A part of you wanted to tease her about Luther by saying that not everyone is into what they were, but you withheld it and instead locked your eyes onto your other brother.

Number Five.

"I missed you Y/N."

You smiled at her quiet voice, "Missed you too Ally."

***

"You know if I was murdered, and if one of my sons...adopted sons... happened to be able to commune with the dead, I might think about, I don't know, I don't know...manifesting!"

You attempted to stifle your laughter as you watched Klaus prance around your father's ashes in an attempt to talk to him. He wasn't sober, so you doubted it would work.

But it was pleasantly nice to see him try at least.

"I don't think he wants to talk," you interrupted him mid-vent.

You watched as his pacing stopped, his demeanor switching from crazy to collected in the seconds it took your voice to be heard. Klaus turned around slowly, beaming from one ear to another. "It's you! You're alive!"

His scream of joy brought a wide smile to your lips, and you rushed to his arms. Both of you screamed like little kids, telling how much you missed each other and how tragic life has been without one another. Making jokes on your dead father's account was overly present too.

"And you're high!" You squealed in delight, ruffling his crazy looking hair.

Klaus pulled away at that, swaying in a matter that looked like he was stretching before a run. He pointed his thumb at the ashes, "Dad's too stubborn. He won't talk to me."

"Did you try begging?" You asked amused.

"I-I guess…" He mumbled before groaning. "I'm too sober for this!"

Then his eyes snapped to you and a pout drew on his face. Klaus went to stand in front of you, grabbing your hands in his and placing them on his chest. "Y/N…"

You rolled your eyes but didn't remove them, "Yes, Klaus?"

"I was just wondering if you," He said gingerly. "You know…"

This time you did pull your hands away but placed them on his face. Teasingly you squished his cheeks like you used to when you were kids. "You want me to give you money, so you can go get high because your childhood trauma of being locked in a mausoleum catches up to you every time you're sober? Of course, I will. How much do you need?"

It took him a second to process your words. "Oh my God really?" Klaus whispered, almost as if he didn't believe that was happening.

"I tried it your way when I left -" you explained, pulling out your wallet and glancing at his stunned expression. "- to suppress my powers. It didn't work, and I continued to suffer. If that's what it takes for you to not suffer from them, I'll gladly help."

You handed him a wad of money but when he tried to take them you pulled away, "Just…be careful Klaus."

"Yeah of course I will," he replied absentmindedly before he turned his head to the side. "Shut up."

You furrowed your brows, "Did you say something Klaus?"

"Oh no, no, no, no, no," said Klaus quickly, a little too quickly. "I didn't say anything."

You hummed but swore you had caught him swing his leg at something too.

"Well, if that’s all…" you murmured, "I'll leave you to it then, I gotta go see Mom. Don't say hi to dad from me, okay? Don't you dare Klaus."

The sibling only saluted, turning around to get back to trying to reach your dad, securing the money into a pocket in his skirt.

"Hey! Wait!"

You stopped and turned back around. Klaus waved his hands at the big lone fireplace. "Can you do that thing, please?"

By that thing, he meant to say start the fire. You shrugged and walked back to the fireplace. The amount of time you lit it up for your siblings was infinite. It felt weird to do it now even though you light your fire at home with your powers all the time.

Fire comes out of your hands quickly and with ease in the shape of a golden ball, igniting the lone fireplace within seconds. You watched the inferno you created in a daze, only breaking out of it when Klaus came to stand in front of the fire to warm up.

"Love you Klaus."

"Awww I love you too sis."

You shook your head, turned and left the room.

***

"Heard you came from the moon." You mused, "Thought I'd stop by and see for myself."

When word spread that Luther was on the moon, you didn't quite believe it. Then you found out that he too came back to send your father off to the lands of the dead, and you just had to see him and ask for yourself.

It was no surprise to find him in your dad's office of all places, although at first glance he did look like an intruder. You felt yourself stiffen at the sight of a big man in a coat, looming over your father's desk imposingly. Power surged through your veins, and it took everything in you to stop it from overflowing in fear.

When your brother met your face, you exhaled in relief and a single candle lit in the room as a result.

Luther seized it, looking impressed. "You've gotten better."

"Cut the crap Number One," you snapped suddenly, the tone mainly coming from the fact that your powers activated because of the fear that came from seeing a completely new version of your brother. "First of all, what happened to you? I thought Diego would turn out like that, not you."

He shrugged his massive shoulders.

"Second of all," you began. "What are you doing in dad's office?"

"Nothing," he said quickly.

Luther might look big and dangerous but the creases in his face give you all the answers you need. "You haven't changed a bit," you mused, leaning against the door. A part of you still felt young and that made you respect your father's words a little more by staying put. "Save for the…" You pointed to your torso for reference.

Luther noticed the way you eerily stood at the doorstep, contemplating whether to enter and break his word. "He's dead you know."

You shot him a look, "I know that."

"So, why don't you come in?"

You contemplated to come in, but in all honesty - nothing was of interest. You would much rather like to interrogate Luther and his whims.

"Is Allison really the only person you care about?" You asked him instead, the bubbled feelings you've been holding inside threatening to spill. It was rather hostile, the way you two met after years of not seeing each other. A big part of you felt angry at him for not calling you when things obviously went wrong somewhere. His body wasn’t a result of something natural, and you knew it. "I mean this as a sibling. Let's ignore the weird thing you two have for each other."

"We don-" he started, your seizing eyes stopping him mid-sentence. "Is it that obvious?"

You sighed, "Look Luther, I'm just trying to say…"

"No, you're accusing me."

"Of what?"

"You left. All of you."

You snorted, "You really want to do this right now?"

"I don't see why not."

"You're looking for something," you said instead, completely ignoring his words. "I won't help you find it nor will I try to lie if you ask me if I have it."

His ears perked, "Dad's monocle."

You chuckled, "That lame thing he always wore?"

Luther nodded.

"Why do you need it?"

"You said you wouldn't lie."

"I'm not lying Luther, I just asked you a question!" You told him. A thought washed over you when his eyes pinned you in, and you could barely even grasp it. "You think I killed him, don't you?"

"I didn't say that." He tried to reason, although he didn't move from around the desk to try and soothe you.

"You didn't have to," you said quietly, feeling tears gather in your eyes. "I see the way you look at me, brother. Ever since I hurt her-"

"Don't talk about her," he stopped you.

"Why the hell not?!" You exclaimed, "She's my sister you know. Our sister. You keep forgetting that."

Luther stayed silent after your outburst, probably contemplating whether to apologize, but you cut him from speaking before he could even start. "We were 7 Luther. I didn't know what I was doing. You think I wanted to take the air out of her lungs? She was going to rumor me Luther. I was scared."

It didn't really matter how much you repeated it to him, he never understood. His love for her goes beyond siblingship, as weird and disturbing as it was. Whoever hurt Allison became a monster in his eyes. "But anyway. I didn't steal that ugly thing. You can cross me off your list."

You looked around the office, ignoring the way Luther stood silently. The lack of light was obviously making it difficult for him to sniff around. You raised your hands in the air, watching as the tips of your fingers turned into flames. A satisfying sight, but a sight you didn't want to look at currently. With a swipe of your hand, you controlled the small blazes until they broke apart and landed at the candles, lighting up the room, so Luther can see. "Hopefully this helps."

You walked away from the office after that, not daring to look behind yourself in fear of breaking down.

***

You stomped across the academy, anger flowing off you in waves. Having your emotions tied to your feelings was never fun. The chandelier above you swayed under the wind that came from your anger and candles burnt out, the fire that came within them disappearing into your body.

"Y/N?"

Suddenly, the wind stopped, but your lip started to tremble instead. "Vanya?"

When you turned around, she stood awkwardly at the door. With hands in her pockets she glanced between the shaking chandelier and you.

It was obvious that she was uncomfortable, at least until she saw your relieved smile. "Is that really you?"

She smiled, "I-I guess."

You outright laughed, the outcome of Luther and yours argument disappearing from your mind completely when you hugged her. "I missed you so much."

"You did?" She asked surprised.

"Why wouldn't I?" You asked her, confusion crossing your features. "You're my sister. Come here."

You brought her into the hug again, feeling her hug you tighter this time.

"You're not mad at me?"

Remembering what she was talking about had you cringing ever so slightly in discomfort. You scratched the back of your neck, "I mean… I was. But not anymore, Vanya. I'm all passed that now."

"You are?" She asked, hopeful.

"I am," you nodded in confirmation. "We're here to say our goodbyes to Dad. You have every right to be here, no one can tell you otherwise."

Vanya stayed silent, so you quickly added, "And the book was good. Exposing, but good. I like your way with words."

She snorted, "Yeah I thought you would."

Beaming, you slung an arm around her shoulders just like Allison did when you first came. Unfortunately, in your dysfunctional family, no one has peace for long. Diego came striding down the stairs in his black spandex suit, looking as he just came out of an action movie.

Seeing you had his smile growing by a mile, but upon glancing at Vanya the easy smile vanished and was instead replaced by a scowl. "You're still here? I thought I already told you. You don't belong –"

"Diego," your hand raised in the air to halt his mouth. "Now's not the time."

He let out a humorous laugh, walking up to you to give you a kiss on the cheek. You didn't fight it, instead letting him kiss your cheek and squeeze your shoulder as a greeting after not seeing each other for years. "Good to have you back sis."

"Enjoy it while you can," you said. "Because I'm leaving the moment dad's ashes are spread."

"Oh, I bet," he mused. "I'm leaving too. You should go now Vanya, save us the trouble."

"Okay Diego that's enough," you interrupted, standing closer to Vanya this time round, hoping she sees your support through mere change of standing. "Why don't you run along and go save lives? I heard that's your life's call."

He rolled his eyes before glancing at your outfit. "That's an awfully bold color for a funeral."

"That's because I'm not dressed yet," you rolled your eyes. "Now, if you don't have anything nice to say, I suggest you leave before I boil you."

Knowing you don't give out empty threats, Diego nodded grimly and disappeared upstairs, not giving Vanya a glance of acknowledgement. "You know, maybe he's right… I should just go."

You shook your head immediately, "Absolutely not. Look Vanya, your book might've not been the best thing that's happened to us, but it certainly isn't the worst. He's just being snappish. That's Diego's factory setting."

She laughed, this time giving you a smile. Not a fake smile, but a real one.

You felt victorious as you wrapped your arm around her again, leading her into the living area for a catch-up.

***

"Does anyone else see little Number Five, or is that just me?"

You and Klaus held to each other like little kids, not believing what, or who, stood in front of you. The little carbon copy of your long-lost brother swore under his breath, shocking you to the bones with the word ‘shit’. "I'm not high, am I?"

"I-I don't know," said Klaus awkwardly, "Do you feel high?"

"Klaus she's not high," Diego interrupted, standing in front of the group with Luther.

"You never know with her," Klaus tried to explain.

"Five is that really you?" You asked, ignoring the bickering that went all around you.

"Of course, it's me!"

"Oh God Klaus they even sound the same," you whispered, clutching Klaus' hand tighter.

"Look I don't have time to explain this all to you," the boy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose like an old man.

"The hell you do," Diego mumbled, eyeing him with menace.

Number Five (if that was even him) rolled his eyes and tried to push through and walk right past you. No 30-year-old - despite how shocked and curious they were - tried to stop him.

Save for you of course.

A lone vine flew from the wall under your command, wrapping itself around your brother's wrist in a vice-grip. Five eyed it nonchalantly, as if the sight amused him rather than intimidated him. "You do know I can walk right through that?"

You dared him with your eyes and mocked him with your mouth, "You do know that you've been gone for 17 years? I've evolved little man."

He bunched his brows together, almost as if he didn't believe you. To test his theory out, he urged his body to travel through space. You all watched as he walked straight through the air, coming out on the other end in a different part of the yard, not being able to move due to the vine's grip despite having travelled through literal space.

"Cute!" Five called out, walking back toward you using his power. "Now let me go."

"And why would she do that?" Luther asked, the inner Number One in him surfacing.

"Because I've got work to do."

"Five you're a kid literally," Allison objected, gazing over your brother's tiny body.

"You don't understand…"

"Maybe he needs a nap," Klaus mumbled next to you.

"I don’t-"

By not literal smoke was almost coming out of his little ears, his face reddened from anger, and he looked annoyed beyond understanding. "They're too young… I knew it."

You creased your brows, not understanding why Five was mumbling weird things into his chin. "You alright Five?"

He glared at you, "I will be… Once you get this thing off me."

You shrugged with a sigh, mumbling an okay and hauling the vine away from Five who shook his head in irritation. He wrapped a hand around his sore wrist, massaging it with his thumb to get read of the soreness. "Can't say I missed you and your crazy plants. Although you would've been a great addition to my adventures."

"What adventures?" You asked confused. "You’re 13."

Five sighed, brushing you all off with a sway of his hand.

Klaus was the first one to dash back into the house mumbling something about not being able to handle the weather, Allison following behind him carefully. Luther, who looked like a lost puppy, followed after your sister until it was just Vanya, Diego, Five and you left.

"I'm going to head inside," said Vanya awkwardly, disappearing inside quickly.

Diego gave Five a sideward glance but shook his head and left too.

"Elemental manipulation is exactly what we need to fight it."

You rolled your eyes, not quite believing that he forgot how elemental manipulation isn't your favorite thing. "Fight what Five?"

"The apocalypse."

"I'm glad you're back bro, seriously I mean it," You told him sincerely, "But you're crazy. I'd say get some help but…"

MASTERLIST

Here is the link to my tag list masterpost! If you want to be added to one of my existing tag lists (or perhaps new ones) let me know! :)

✭ GENERAL TAGS (all WIPs):

@fofisstilinski @short-potato @miranda0102 @httphiddlestan @caromichaela @xx-missunicorn-xx @jemmakates @theravenclawmarauder @tclaerh @chefdoeuvre @just-arather-veryconfused-being @crazy0lu @thirstykpophoe @abimoon @sofiasamps @princxss-fia @theletterhart

✭ THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY: /

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prismadog · 3 years ago

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Found Family AU character facts/background (part 7)

well, folks, we've made it to the last one of these posts - minus the upcoming master post. these just seem to get longer and longer, or maybe it's just because the past two have been about siblings? idk, all I know is that I'm a bit tired of writing these atm.

this last one should - SHOULD be shorter, but we'll see. this one will feature our last two characters - Mr. there's-no-such-thing-as-a-demon Joel Smallishbeans and good ol' Copper Dad Pixlriffs.

*did you know that Mesoglea is a word? I didn't until I kept trying to type "Mezalea" and my computer kept wanting to change it. Mesoglea is a gelatinous substance between the endoderm and ectoderm of sponges or cnidarians, or something. there's your word of the day and it's all thanks to the red squiggly line that appears every time I type "Mezalea"

*edit: guess what? y'all get two of these in one day because I felt like writing this last one! [technically, it's already Saturday but to me, the next day doesn't start until the sun comes up so yeah...two in one day! whoo!] the master post will be tomorrow sometime but idk when.

Joel

Joel is the only child to the Mezalean King and Queen, and was less born to them and more born from the Mother Tree - they couldn't have children so they begged the Mother Tree for an heir, She granted them a child who they raised as their own.

he was often alone growing up, never really played with the other children, but he wasn't lonely - so he and others would say - because he had his terracotta clones. he built many of them with his own two hands and the Mother Tree gave them life. he was raised as a prince and often went to the Gathering of the Empires with his father.

he got on well enough with the other children but kept mostly to himself - that is until he met the princess of the Ocean Empire. he noticed the other noble children seemed afraid of her so he took it upon himself to befriend her - plus, she was so different from the humans/clones around him, she was interesting with her pink hair and pearlescent skin and unnaturally blue eyes.

they would meet at the Gathering and spend the whole time together talking about their kingdoms and their hobbies - Joel was really into building and playing pranks on people, Lizzie was into raising axolotls and has a brother who she looks after. the short meetings weren't enough and Joel talked to his parents about visits with the Ocean Empire - it only makes sense since the two empires boarder each other. unknown at that moment, the Oceanic rulers proposed the same thing to the Mezalean rulers.

visits began between the two kingdoms and Joel found himself in love quickly enough - he loved Lizzie, he loved her little brother, he loved the Ocean Empire itself. but he kept his feelings to himself for fear of rejection, that is until he was about 16 when Lizzie came to him with talk of marriage - their parents had been discussing it but didn't want to force their children into it. he and Lizzie talked it over then went to their parents together and promised a future wedding, he also promised that Jimmy could be his best man.

life was peaceful, there were plenty of long visits between kingdoms, him and Jimmy often got into trouble - then the King of the Ocean Empire was killed. Joel tried to be there for her but found travel between kingdoms difficult due to the ongoing storms surrounding the Ocean Empire, he still managed to write Lizzie and once was able to visit - though getting back was just as difficult as getting in.

then several months later the storms stopped and Lizzie wrote to him about her taking the throne - she had said the Queen returned to the sea, though, he didn't really understand what that meant. he returned to the Ocean Empire and was there for Lizzie's coronation. he started visiting regularly for a time and each visit seemed to last longer than the one before it - he was there so often that Jimmy suggested he just move in. he did, with both his parents' and Lizzie's permission.

two years after that, he asked Lizzie to marry him and she said yes. they had two ceremonies, a proper land-dweller one in Mezalea, and another smaller Oceanic ceremony. being King now to the Ocean Empire meant he was basically a trophy husband but he didn't mind, he was happy as long as he was at Lizzie's side. if there was a Gathering, he or Jimmy would go with her, though usually Jimmy stayed home to watch over the kingdom - but he made sure to bring him plenty of stories and food from the Gathering.

Joel received word from his parents that an illness had struck Mezalea and the King and Queen had caught it. he returned home immediately to help where he could, Lizzie often sent aid to him, as did the kingdom's ally Pixandria - he had hardly ever spoken to the Copper King but he was glad for the aid. his parents unfortunately didn't survive and he lost a good number of civilians to the illness. but it was cured, with the help of the Mother Tree and magic from the Crystal Cliffs, and he became King of Mezalea.

with the illness cured, visits started up again between Mezalea and the Ocean Empire, though there was a lot more time spent apart than together but he and Lizzie made it work. Jimmy sent messages and gifts between the couple, often getting some for himself, until of course Jimmy became of age and wanted to travel the world.

Joel and Lizzie saw Jimmy off - it never ceased to amaze him how his two best friends could turn into giant sea creatures that could wipe out a fleet of ships. they managed visits on their own and sometimes he got letters from Jimmy. the letters stopped for a time and Lizzie grew worried, worried enough that storms nearly threatened the kingdom - but then Jimmy finally wrote them again and things were okay, he was in a swamp settlement and the people were taking care of him.

he and Lizzie went out right away to see him and found him at home in the swamp amongst a bunch of fish-human hybrids. he watched as Lizzie lectured her brother then babied him, then helped set Jimmy up as the ruler of the swamp settlement - the Cod Empire. they left Jimmy sometime later but saw him again at the next Gathering.

Jimmy got on well enough with the other rulers, despite the cod head he wore, though Joel noticed some rulers picking on him. he helped Jimmy from time to time, just so his brother wouldn't be alone, but didn't worry too much since Lizzie wasn't worrying - she was extremely protective of Jimmy but if she wasn't stepping in, then there was no need to worry.

Joel had met many of the rulers when he was a child so he knew pretty much everyone there. the only ones he hadn't met before was Count fWhip of the Grimlands, Wizard Gem of the Crystal Cliffs, and King Joey of the Lost Empire. Gem was all right for a mage, he ended up becoming frenemies with fWhip due to the teasing of Jimmy, and Joey was just weird so he didn't really talk to him unless need be. he got to know Pix a bit more when Pix decided to ally himself with Lizzie and Jimmy, and he started calling the man "Copper Dad" since his main trade was copper.

Pixl

Pixl was found by a pair of miners in a cave beneath the sands and was taken back to a large desert village, nobody really knew where he had come from, only that he was gifted with visions of death - of those around him and of rulers of the kingdoms outside of the desert. the villagers thought him odd and a bad omen, at first anyway, because he always knew who would die next and would light a candle for them when they passed.

they accepted him after a time, once they realized that he wasn't actually the cause - he would preach to them about Lady Death sometimes and how she would care for their loved ones. everyone in the village had a hand in raising him, as well as raising other children which was their way - it takes a village to raise a child.

Pixl learned how to farm and mine and care for animals, and he learned to build. his first build, guided by his visions, was the Vigil - it stood tall in the center of the village and was home to 12 different colored candles - only two of which were lit - one for Elfking Scott of Rivendell and one for Queen Katherine of the Flower Fields. the rest remained untouched. these flames never went out and the villagers often questioned him about them - he told them that there will be 12 mighty rulers that would change the world, for better or worse he didn't know.

over the years, he continued building up the village, he watched over the Vigil as Prophet of Death, and started working with copper and trading it for other goods. the people began to go to him for help and looked up to him as a leader, they named him the Copper King - a new candle was lit for himself when he was crowned, something he hadn't known would happen.

he continued leading his people and made a few alliances with other kingdoms - with Queen Katherine and the King of Mezalea. there wasn't a lot of contact between the kingdoms other than the Gathering, of which, he never failed to go to. over the years, he watched rulers age and die and watched their heirs take over. it took a long time for him to meet the children who would one day have their candles lit.

the next candle to be lit was for Pearl of Smallholding, though, he didn't know who she was at the time, he didn't even meet her until many years later. the next few happen fairly quickly - Queen Lizzie of the Ocean Empire, King Joel of Mezalea, and a couple years later Dwarf King Sausage of Mythland - these three he had watch grow up through the Gatherings. shortly after Mythland, Wizard Gem took over as the ruler of the Crystal Cliffs - he had known the previous Wizard and through them, knew of their protégé. a year after Gem was her twin brother, Count fWhip of the Grimlands - a new kingdom that managed to rise up from its own sort of desert. a few years later was King Joey of the Lost Empire and Codfather Jimmy of the Cod Empire - Joey's kingdom had once been named Maztec but had been in hiding for so long that it lost its name. due to his alliance with Joel, Pix decided it best to ally himself with Lizzie and Jimmy as well, somewhat through association but mostly because he liked them.

one candle remains unlit and no matter how much Pixl prays, the answers as to why remain a mystery. he still watches over the Vigil and keeps a count of each rulers' deaths - for some reason, the 11 rulers are allowed to revive themselves every time they die. he finds this odd as well, and a bit concerning.

#empires smp #found family au #xornoth adopts child!shubble au #joel smallishbeans #pixlriffs

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hognosesnakehalloweenfest · 3 years ago

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Oct 1: A Season for Spirits

By HognoseSnake (@snakeHognose on twitter, Hognose Snake on AO3)

It had been hard going, in the thin daylight of late-September. These were days of the lengthening nights, days that turned his breath to mist, days hostile to long journeys.

The young man had managed to find his way to the forest, just as the sun was setting. The shadows stretched out long in front of him, the light starting to dim. It had been hard going. He had hoped to find his way to a village for the night.

He raked a hand through his unruly hair and heaved a sigh, a cloud of breath lazily snaking its way into the air. He had no lantern - he’d left it at Liledal, lost it in a drunken game of cards. To be out in the open air on days like this-

(On nights like this, dark nights, cold night, in places like this at the edge of these woods-)

He took another deep breath and paused. Woodsmoke. Smooth and rugged. He glanced around again and saw a pinprick of light emanating from the distance, glowing in the early evening.

It seemed worth a try.

He set off, down the gentle slope he’d found himself on, towards the house. Smoke was rising from the chimney. Someone was home.

(Who would want to live here, at the edge of the woods, at the edge of these woods, alone with nobody around for miles-)

It was a small, squat cottage. The walls were a bright, cheerful white, nearly dazzling him with the reflection of the setting sun. The door was rounded at the top, the wood thick and smooth and shining in the early evening light. Thin tendrils of smoke slithered up from the squat chimney, just visible from the worn, well swept doorway. There was a window box, the flowers no longer in bloom, and thick windows that warped the shapes of whatever lay within.

Just above the entryway was the lantern, glowing gently, providing the little spot of light that had caught his eye from all that way away. He rested his hand on the rough cottage walls, testing to see if it was there, if it was really there-

(He’d heard stories about these woods, and not just the good ones, not just the ones that he had followed all this way, he’d heard of the hungry lonely broken things that lurked in the shadows of this forest, waiting, waiting, waiting for him-)

He knocked. He heard the muffled sounds of someone rising, making their way over to the door. It slowly creaked open, the first few gusts of warmth creeping out and laying flat against his skin.

The woman in the doorway was old, her face lined with deep grooves. Her hair fell in limp, grey strands about her shoulders. Her hands were old and gnarled, knotted like the roots of a tree, the skin thick like scales. She was a head shorter than him, and looked up with milky eyes that didn’t quite fix onto his face.

“Hello?” she croaked, and her voice was like woodsmoke too.

The young man took off his hat, distantly remembering his manners. “Sorry to trouble you,” he said, mustering up the charming smile that had gotten him out of a dozen half-paid debts.

The old woman hummed. Go on, then.

“I’m travelling east, see, but I must have made a mistake and gotten myself stranded halfway between towns,” he said, as apologetically as he could. “It’s awful embarrassing. I don’t suppose you’d mind me staying the night?”

The old woman stared up in his direction, not quite at him, not quite at the darkening sky behind him.

“Come in,” she said, after a long pause. “I’ve not got anything worth stealing anyway.”

It sounded like a joke, so the young man laughed. She opened the door a little wider and gestured for him to come in.

The room was warm and homely. A fire crackled loudly in its place, sputtering as the old woman threw another log onto the fire. Firewood, he noted. Split firewood. Someone must care about her, then.

The rug beneath his feet was faded but clean, and the table was laid, and there was the warm smell of porridge emanating from a pot hung over the fire. She paused to stir it a few times.

“You’ll want dinner?” she asked over her shoulder. The young man settled on a chair at the table.

“If it’s not too much trouble,” he said. She hummed again, before steadily making her way back to the spinning wheel. With a great effort she settled herself back on her chair, spinning her yarn from a small pile of fibres next to her.

“What brings you east?” she asked, glancing up in his direction again. The young man eased the pack from his shoulders.

“Visiting a friend,” he said absently. The lie he’d told a thousand times over fell easily from his lips.

The spinning slowed slightly. “Where?”

“Arabay.”

“And where’re you from?”

“Shanshannon.”

The spinning returned to its usual speed. “Long way.”

“I suppose.”

“What drew your friend to Arabay, then?”

She was asking a lot of questions. “Work.”

“For who?”

“A farmer?”

“You sound unsure.”

“We weren’t close.”

“Long way to go for someone you’re not close with.”

“I-“

“Stop,” she said, and her voice was harsh, firm. Steady. “Enough lying. What brings you east?”

There was a long silence, the only sound the gentle creaking and whooshing of the spinning wheel.

“You know,” he said eventually, even though his heart was racing, even though he felt like he was about to start trembling in every bone of his body. “You know.”

The spinning slowed, stopped. She looked up towards him again.

“You’re here for the forest, aren’t you?” she asked. Her voice was thin and small and husky again.

The young man nodded. She huffed and went back to spinning.

“Is that so wrong?” he asked, and tried to sound confrontational.

(Tried to hide the shake in his voice.)

“A hundred men before you have walked into that forest looking for their heart’s desire. I have seen none return,” she said evenly, focused on the yarn between her hands.

“I’ll be the lucky hundred and first, then,” he said, crossing his arms. He felt petulant, childlike.

“Tell yourself that,” she muttered, “if it makes you feel better.”

“Please,” he scoffed, feeling himself again (and also quite rude), “they must have found another way out. Or been stupid enough to not notice they were wandering into a wolf’s territory.”

“So you don’t think there is anything to fear?” she asked, glancing in his direction, briefly. The spinning quickened. “You believe there is nothing in the forest beyond your comprehension.”

“Of course not.”

“And yet you search for it, don’t you?” Again, the spinning quickened. “The heart of the forest, the beating heart that will offer you untold riches. Or is it a loved one back from the dead? Or a life unbothered by sickness? There are so many stories out there I cannot possibly guess which it is you are chasing.”

“All of them! None of them!” he snapped, glaring at her. “What is it to you?”

“Your journey is nothing to me,” she snapped back, and he distantly wondered why it was he was sitting here, arguing with a woman in her eighties, and why it was his heart was racing in his chest. The spinning kept quickening. “Your journey is nothing, and your life is nothing as well. I am telling you to leave. Go back to Shanshannon a failure. It is better than not returning at all.”

“You dumb bitch,” he hissed, “how can you possibly believe that? At your age, believing ghost stories for children! You can’t think I’d believe that you really think any of this nonsense, can you? When you live out here, in the middle of nowhere, all alone. It can’t be that dangerous, if someone as frail as you has survived this whole time!”

The spinning came to a sudden halt and her head snapped up to look at him.

(To look at him.)

“Listen carefully,” she said, her voice quiet, steady, flickering in the light of the fire “I will say this only once. Tomorrow, it is October, and with it come the days of the lengthening nights, the days that turn your breath to mist, days hostile to long journeys. Now are the days of bonfire evenings, appleyard harvests, carving gruesome visages into gourds and setting them as sentinels outside your door.”

“Whilst children dress as monsters and beg for sweets, their parents watch the shapes of the shadows and wait. They lock their doors and keep the candles burning long throughout the night and wait. They say their prayers and cross their hearts and wait for the sounds of the parade they’ll join in their time.”

“Now is the season for spirits, boy, when things benign and cruel and kind and hungry seep forth from the night. They are waiting, too. For whatever fool has deluded himself into thinking he is walking on virgin ground. For whoever is so arrogant he can ignore the pricking of a hundred eyes on his skin. For the hundred and first young man to think he is deserving for whatever is at the heart of the forest, to wander in and convince himself that he is alone.”

She grinned, her gaze clear on his face, and everything about her was sharp. In the flickering light of the fire, in the gathering dark outside, he swore her smile held to many teeth.

“It is October now, boy. I am never alone, here. Neither are you.”

After a long pause, the spinning resumed. The young man tried to work out why his heart was beating so thick and heavy in his chest.

“The porridge is done,” she said, her voice thin and wispy again in the quiet, homely room. “I’ll make up the spare bed for you.”

----

In the morning, the young man woke up in the ruins of a house. Where the spinning wheel had sat, the roof had caved in. The fireplace was ancient, filled with soot and dust. He sat up, hearing the rotting wood of a bedframe creek ominously underneath him, and he flung the mouldy, damp quilt off him in disgust.

His pack and boots were exactly where he’d left them the night before. He’d tidily put them away, leaning them against the doorframe. Now, the door was hanging off its hinges, warped with a hundred years of weather.

He put his feet into his boots and cautiously pushed the door open. He glanced up – the lantern was smashed to pieces. He wasn’t sure what he expected.

He pushed the door a little further and tried not to jump back in surprise. Where yesterday the door had opened to rolling hills and wide open fields, he now found himself mere inches from an enormous oak tree. He craned his neck but couldn’t quite see the top of it – just the endless stretch of tree trunk reaching up into the sky.

Edging around it didn’t prove much more encouraging. Just another enormous tree, the grass beneath his feet thick and long and overgrown.

This was it, the forest. He paid no mind to how he came here, how the cottage had aged a hundred years overnight, or how he now awoke in the thick of it. He took a steadying breath, and headed deeper in.

Alone.

(Except for the hundreds of eyes he felt on his back, watching, waiting, waiting.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hognose Snake is a 23 year old who likes doing things such as burrying herself in soft dirt, eating toads, and writing fanfic. Best known for Green & Gold, she is the founder and primary organizer for the Halloween festival.

#halloween #fiction #short fiction #writing #fall #autumn #ghost story #eyes #forest #HognoseSnakeHalloweenFest21 #short stories #horror #cottagecore #dark fairytale

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magnusmysteries · 3 years ago

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Part 21: Star-Crossed Lovers

The Magnus Archives was a horror podcast. It is now completed. Many of the show’s mysteries were never explained on the show. I intend to explain them. Spoilers for the show, but also spoilers if you wanna solve these mysteries yourself.

In the previous post I said the tree at Hill Top Road was of the Spiral. And that one of the reasons I think that is that it was destroyed by two people marked by the Spiral. What other reasons are there?

Second reason: It bleeds, like the doorknob in a sturdy lock. If you see a tree bleed, you’d fear for your sanity.

Third reason: I think trees in general are a symbol of the Spiral. In The Coming Storm Michael Crew is tormented by a Spiral creature. He opens it’s gate to find a forest full of impossible trees. But symbolically what does trees have to do with the Spiral?

I think the Spiral not only covers the fear of insanity, but also the fear of getting lost. That’s why the Spiral often deals with mazes. And that’s why trees, you can get lost in the woods. Michael Crew did not enter the gate, but if he had I think he would have gotten lost. This explains why the Spiral is the opposite of the Desolation (see part 3). Because trees burn. This is why the Spiral is next to the Buried (see part 3). Because you can get lost in a cave.

This might explain why the Spiral likes fractals. Trees look like a fractal with their branches. And a maze has branching paths like a fractal.

Gertrude’s protective circle is in a forest. It has bottles full of boiling water and photographs of Gertrude and twigs and pine needles. When the Cult is trying to burn Gertrude, the force gets directed to the bottles because of the photographs. And then the forest and the twigs neutralizes the power because they are of the Spiral and opposes the Desolation.

In Burning Desire Agnes feels a sudden pain. It happens just about the same time as the Hill Top Road tree is pulled down. Why is Agnes affected by the tree’s destruction?

In Recluse the statement giver mentions the tree. He says it has leaves, and that he likes to sit under it and read. So it is a normal tree, not yet dead and spooky like in Burned Out. In the same episode is the box from the table. It has not yet ended up beneath the tree. So who changed the tree? Who placed the box beneath it?

I think Agnes did both things. But how can Agnes turn a tree into a Spiral tree if Agnes is of the Desolation? Because Agnes is an avatar of both the Spiral and the Desolation.

The Cult of the Lightless Flame has a hard time raising Agnes and so decides to send her to the orphanage to be raised by Raymond Fielding of the Web. Now, does that make any sense? Letting a different Power, one that specializes in mind control no less, raise their messiah? No. Creating Agnes was the Web’s plan from the beginning.

In Burning Desire Jack sees three men from the Cult of the Lightless Flame. One John identifies as Diego, and suspects another could be Arthur Noland. One has a bag full of candles, so it is probably Eugene Vanderstock, as he made candles. By process of elimination, the third man is probably Arthur. This man holds a container full of spiders. According to Jane Prentiss, there are also spiders in the apartment building where Arthur later is the landlord. The Web is manipulating Arthur and he doesn't realize it. Arthur is the one that proposes a plan to make a Messiah for the Desolation. But it is actually the Web’s plan.

When the Lightless Flame Cult holds the ritual that births Agnes, they have it in a forest. Agnes’ mother lies on wood and wears a crown of wood. The cultists don’t realize it, but they are incorporating Spiral symbols in their ritual.

Agnes’ mother is of the Desolation. I think the father is someone from the Spiral. I think there is a meta hint about it: The mother’s name is Eileen Montague. Montague is the last name of Romeo from Romeo and Juliet. A story of two people from enemy families falling in love. Like Eileen having a relationship with someone from the enemy power. The Spiral being the opposite of the Desolation.

When Diego brings a book about child care, Arthur burns it. He thinks he does it because Diego is attacking his leadership. Actually the Web makes him do it. To sabotage their attempts at raising Agnes, so that they’ll bring Agnes to the orphanage.

Why was Agnes created? In This Old House we learn that the Web would lure servants of various fears to Hill Top Road to fight each other to widen the crack in reality. A sculptor of puppets (of the Web? Or the Stranger?) gets killed by a hunter. An Eye avatar gets killed by a Buried avatar. But why make Agnes an avatar of two Fears? I think the web wanted all the Fears to have fought at Hill Top Road. By creating Agnes, the Web is killing two birds with one stone, getting a Desolation fight and a Spiral fight at the same time.

If Agnes made the tree, does it mean the tree is also a Spiral and Desolation tree? Yes. The tree has scorch marks on it. But if Ivo and Father Burroughs needed to be marked by the Spiral to destroy the tree, would they not also have to be marked by the Desolation? Yes, and they were marked by the Desolation. Just before they destroyed the tree, they were attacked by the Desolation and felt like they were burning. The Web brought the Desolation entity to Hill Top Road to mark them.

In this Old House Annabelle says the crack in reality became a gap when Agnes kills Raymond. I think she’s a little wrong. The fight between Agnes and Raymond did turn the crack into a gap, but I think that happened before Raymond died. Agnes binds Raymond to Hill Top Road by putting the box from his table under the tree. She transforms the tree so it can not be easily destroyed. I believe binding Raymond is what widens the crack. And this allows for time travel.

Quote from Ivo from Burned out “And then I would smell it again, that whiff of burnt hair, or catch a glimpse of brown pigtails disappearing around a corner.”

Ivo is not hallucinating, nor seeing a ghost. That’s Agnes traveling to the future. The pigtails suggest this happened while Agnes was young. Which suggests the time traveling became possible before Raymond died.

In I Guess You Had To Be There a woman sees the ghost of a burning woman. I think that’s Agnes again, time traveling.

I think it’s impossible to travel in time to before the crack gets widened. At least I can’t think of anything that suggests time traveling happening before Agnes goes to Hill Top Road.

Raymond shows up in the future and meets Ivo. Raymond’s not a ghost, he’s a time traveler. He’s wearing old fashioned clothes, natch. (I think every time we see something related to ghosts or life after death it is connected either with the End, or the two fears next to the End, the Slaughter and the Lonely. I don’t think the Web or the Desolation makes ghosts.) I’m not sure why Raymond traveled forward in time. Was it on purpose to try to escape Agnes and the tree? Did Agnes send him?

Raymond goes and stares out of the window into the garden. I think he’s looking at the tree, the tree that is trapping him. Raymond vanished and the floor where he stood was scorched.

In the past Raymond vanished, and Agnes lived alone for some years. Then the orphanage burns and Raymond is found dead, missing his right hand. Many years later Agnes is hanged. A severed right hand is attached to her waist with a chain. Tissue decay suggests the hand owner died about the same time as Agnes.

I think when Raymond vanished for years, that’s because he went to the future and met Ivo. Right before Agnes dies, she travels back in time to when Raymond met Ivo. Agnes chains Raymond to herself and drags him back in time. Hence the scorched floor. Agnes takes Raymond back to the orphanage, cuts off his hand, burns him and the orphanage. Then she travels forwards in time and is hanged, hand still attached.

Why is she attached to the hand when she is hanged? I think some magic reason. Maybe by having part of him attached, when she commits suicide, Raymond is symbolically committing suicide. Maybe this lessens the Web’s power? Hands are often a symbol for the Spiral.

Eugene says Arthur told him Agnes had kept the hand when she burned Raymond. So maybe Arthur spoke with future Agnes? Since Agnes stopped aging as an adult, Arthur would not have realized she was older.

Agnes goes on some dates with Jack Barnabas. When the tree is uprooted, Agnes tells the cult that Barnabas has made her doubt role as a Messiah. She says her doubt will make the ritual fail. And so she will hang herself, so that she will not use up the Desolation power on a failed ritual. That way the cult can attempt another ritual relatively soon, but not too soon. This is a bunch of lies.

Agnes never wanted to complete a ritual. (Maybe when she was very little.) She was just pretending for the cult. She never had any real interest in Barnabas, the dates with him were just an excuse to fool the cult, and more importantly fool the web.

Agnes fakes her death, sort of. By going back in time she could create two Agneses. One of them hanged herself, the other lived.

This paragraph has super big spoilers for the movie The Prestige, so I’m gonna encrypt it in ROT13 : Oneanonf naq Ntarf tb ba n qngr naq jngpu gur Cerfgvtr. Va gur Cerfgvtr n punenpgre vf uhat, lrg fbeg bs fheivirf, orpnhfr vg’f npghnyyl gjvaf cergraqvat gb or bar crefba. Whfg yvxr Ntarf trgf uhat, lrg fheivirf orpnhfr fur vf gjb crbcyr ivn gvzr geniry.

Why did Agnes have to fake her own death? I’m not sure about this but I think the Web considered her dangerous and wanted her killed. But if Agnes died, the aspect of the Web that was trapped under the tree would also have died. So the Web couldn’t kill her until they had removed the tree. Once the tree is gone, Agnes is no longer protected and she fakes her death.

This is similar to how the Web bound Gertrude and Agnes together. This made the cult afraid to hurt Gertrude. Agnes told the cult that it was her binding to Gertrude that prevented her from doing the ritual. But this is more lies, she didn’t want to do it anyway. I think the Web bound them together to protect Gertrude. The Web wanted Gertrude alive, possibly so Gertrude could stop the other ritual than the Eye’s. Or possibly because the Web thought Gertrude could be the one to complete the Eye’s ritual.

Is Agnes evil? I think she is very good, though very ruthless. When she was very young she did burn people. But if an adult gives a machine gun to a baby and the baby shoots someone, who is to blame?

In Burned Out Annie tells Ivo about Agnes, implying Agnes killed pets and a boy named Henry. But Annie serves the Web, and I think she is lying. Annie wants Ivo to repeat this story to the Archives to trick the Archivists into thinking Agnes is evil. Annie asks Ivo to not let anyone know what she’d been talking about. This is because Annie doesn’t want Ivo to find out the stories are lies. But Annie knows Ivo can’t help tell the story when making a statement.

In Recluse Agnes saves a boy from Raymond, and she probably saves the other children. This is before she is bound to Gertrude, so she was already good before that.

Eugene made candles of people, so Agnes could inhale their suffering. But Eugene is not sure if Agnes uses those candles, or that’s just what Arthur tells him. And in Twice as Bright Jude Perry says she had a newfound love for scented candles. It was Jude who inhaled their suffering.

Agnes kisses Barnabas and burns him badly. But I think this was to prevent the other cult members from killing him, because he’s already suffering. Agnes asks Jude not to interfere with Barnabas. Agnes cries a tear when kissing him, she is sad she has to hurt him.

Gertrude demands that the cult not hurt Barnabas. Why does Gertrude care about him? She doesn’t. It’s Agnes that has told Gertrude to protect Barnabas, because Agnes feels guilty about hurting him. Agnes and Gertrude are working together. More on that in a later post.

In Infectious Doubts Gertrude allows Arthur to ask her a question. Why would she give information to an enemy? The only reason would be if she wanted to lie to him. I’m not sure how much Gertrude tells him is true, but I think at least one thing is a lie. Gertrude says her protective circle has symbols of the Desolation. Actually it has symbols of the Spiral. Similar symbols were used when Agnes was born. Gertrude is lying to Arthur, because she does not want him to realize that Agnes is part Spiral.

How can Agnes be good, if she is an avatar? I think because she never made a choice to become an avatar, she was one from birth. Because she never chose it, I think the Desolation and the Spiral can’t influence her mind.

#the magnus archives #tma #magnuspod #agnes montague #raymond fielding

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pomrania · 5 years ago

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TMA Entities as Normal Horoscopes

(To clarify, the Entities from The Magnus Archives, as represented by horoscopes from @normal-horoscopes. Entities presented in alphabetical order, horoscopes in the order that I found them.)

BEHOLDING

Libra: Your eye for detail is one of your most defining traits! Most people only have two general purpose eyes.

Gemini: Unleash your curiosity upon an unforgiving world and dissect everything you are afraid of with an olive fork until you understand it so well it can’t scare you anymore.

Pisces: You are the last one still awake. What are you still doing up? This late at night, with only one pair of eyes. You might see something you weren’t supposed to.

Gemini: You’ll have to throw out or donate most of your novelty t-shirts when you awake to find several bonus eyes hovering around you in elliptical orbits.

Sagittarius: Careful not to blunt those sharp eyes on an unforgiving task. Passion for learning is all well and good, but you’re venturing into uncharted territory that may contain things that want your eyes.

Gemini: Most of us have spare eyes. You have far too many.

Taurus: I can’t shake the feeling I’m being watched. Wait, watched isn’t the right word. Watched and something else.

Cancer: Quit your peeping. Something is looking back at you.

BURIED

Virgo: The weight of the world will crush you into a diamond.

Virgo: Your horoscope today is just dust. That’s it. Buncha dust.

Libra: Pressure can be an excellent motivator in the right amount. Also, they meant social pressure, doing paperwork in a deep-sea diving bell will not improve the quality of your work.

Gemini: From dust to dust. You came from the earth and she wants you back.

Taurus: Cave buddies.

Capricorn: Spend some time huffing large amounts of dust to make your insides dustier.

Scorpio: As you lay on your back, head tilted to an uncaring sky, the very earth whispered to you. She reached up her hands and fingers and you gave her everything you could. Sleep now. Mother is here.

Taurus: It goes far deeper than you imagine. Talk about it.

Cancer: You’ve come across something you should not have interrupted. Run. Run now. Go, or the very earth will swallow you whole.

Scorpio: Your natural drive and ambition will lead you to some interesting places! Who knew a person could even fit in that small a hole?

CORRUPTION

Aries: Live in the level of filth that is comfortable to you. Just make sure you are practicing self-love.

Pisces: You will see a cool picture of a plague doctor this week. Hell yeah.

Pisces: Growth is simply growth. Gardens and cancers alike.

Ophiuchus: When she awoke to see the infection had taken her shoulder she did the only sensible thing. She cut off her own head. She holds it by the hair in her left hand.

Ophiuchus: Worms in your brain. Worms in your brain. There are very helpful worms in your brain.

Gemini: The discomfort you can’t seem to shake is likely due to the large nest of bees that have made its home inside your ribs.

Ophiuchus: The value of today’s fortune depends heavily on your opinion of rot.

Virgo: The position of Mars says the virus is spreading and soon you will be reborn ascendant to join in the virulent bacchanalia.

Leo: We can only hate what we see in ourselves. Consider that you may be full of mosquitoes.

Aquarius: A lavish and ostentatious estate. Empty and bare because the previous occupants couldn’t stomach a little plague. Wimps.

Aries: When she touched you she laid several eggs in your skin. Free babes! Nice.

Ophiuchus: Having trouble in an academic setting? Try lying down in a field and letting insects use their tiny voices to whisper the secrets of the world to you.

DARK

Scorpio: A ray of night from the clouds will darken the banks of the river. Look only. Touch nothing.

Capricorn: The massive black roadrunner that followed your car through Utah. You didn’t say a word the whole night.

Leo: When you see the black, many eyed owls, immediately turn around and snuff out any lights. Your light up sneakers will have to go. Sacrifices must be made.

Aries: Take their hand. They will guide you into the night. Finding your own way out will be its own task. Feel as your heart starts to quicken.

Pisces: There is so much the world has to offer. So much beyond this fervor. Steady your hands and rest in the gentle dark.

Leo: The Diminutive Beings of Shadow and Dread are raccoons. They are raccoons. Close your trash cans.

Aries: You visibly absorb light from the area around you, consider medication.

Leo: Something moves soundlessly through your neighborhood, avoiding the streetlights. Check on your pets.

Pisces: The night is a blanket over all of us. There is fear and comfort in the privacy of the dark.

DESOLATION

Scorpio: As much as the stars and I admire your zeal, human hair candles will not catch on.

Taurus: Ensure your friends sit next to you by burning all other chairs and eating the ashes to hide your trickery.

Virgo: Fire is a powerful cleansing force, but that doesn’t make arson legal. The one thing fire cannot purify is the law.

Gemini: It absolutely could hurt to try. Pain is just pain.

Aries: Today your horoscope involves fire and children. The stars wouldn’t clarify anything past that.

Ophiuchus: A chapel made from old shipping containers. The priest is setting herself on fire for the third time in the sermon.

Cancer: It will not actually solve anything, but you can put your problems into perspective by setting everything on fire.

Capricorn: You’ll look back on all of it and wish it to be burned. Start the fire as soon as possible.

Libra: Watch the fire dance between your fingers. You only have so long.

END

Aries: Look buddy, only one of us can leave this pumpkin festival alive, and I’m already dead.

Gemini: What’s the rush? Nothing has happened but you can feel your heartbeat in your ears, you can feel your eyes dilate. Literally nothing has changed but your body seems convinced that you are going to die any second.

Scorpio: No sense in arguing over the supposed opinions of a dead man. Dig him up and ask him why don’t you? It’s a once in a lifetime chance.

Sagittarius: Today you will be legally dead for about 140 seconds but you’ll come back with a complementary mint.

Leo: After selling your soul to the devil, the sheer negative value of your soul will crash the soul market, causing the dead to walk again.

Ophiuchus: The only permanent state of being is death and even that’s debatable.

Pisces: A good strategy here is to simply refuse to die.

Aquarius: Fuck it. Carry a scythe around. Who even gives a shit.

Capricorn: Statistically, there is a chance that something you do today, however small, will lead to the death of an innocent.

Ophiuchus: Death is only the beginning. The beginning of not being alive anymore.

Aries: Your obsession with death will be satisfied. Eventually.

FLESH

Ophiuchus: Have yourself a feast and invent a new catholic saint to justify it.

Taurus: The stars say to get of your high horse and quit genetically engineering horses to have such legs. Horses are poorly designed as they are. It’s irresponsible.

Aries: Your newfound ability to scale a brick wall in seconds flat is kinda scary. Your bones make weird noises and everything. Try not to do it around kids.

Virgo: Do you know what flavor you are Virgo? Well get ready to find out!

Capricorn: You know Capricorn, you’re really one or two big steps away from being a sausage.

Leo: There will be a distinct element of aggression to your emotions today, specifically towards chefs that are a member of the ancient secret society of cannibals who just murdered your science teacher.

Taurus: Money troubles Taurus? Try growing new bones and selling them to bone farmers for extra cash. If you get good enough at it, you can use wholesalers.

Sagittarius: Fear not, there is pulled pork aplenty for those with the courage to seek it.

Virgo: There is a mad little part of our heads that looks at a meat cleaver and says “just chop your hand off”. Don’t listen to that bit. It's a prick and it owes me $120.

Pisces: Your body is not a temple, it is a river. A river made of meat and blood and stuff.

HUNT

Aquarius: Speak softly, carry a big stick, hide a gun inside the stick just in case the bastard is outside of stick range.

Pisces: If you are being chased by something unearthly, go for the selfie. Life is short, especially when you are being chased by something unearthly.

Aries: Nothing evil stalks the forest. The wild is bigger than you could ever imagine. You are nothing to it. No skinwalker or boogeyman or revenant could ever aspire to the persistence and hunger of the wild untamed.

Leo: Allow fear to inform you. To accept fear as sovereign is sin against the self. Fear is very correct about the large hungry mammal chasing you. Run.

Aquarius: Those assassins from the meat of the month club have finally found your new address and are planting the explosives as you read this.

Scorpio: Dreams of chasing smaller weaker things through the woods. Waking aching to remember. You will remember soon.

Sagittarius: The hunt is on! No starbucks will escape your horn-blessed gaze.

Scorpio: You will get into a fight. Go on a quest for revenge. And know the true visceral feeling of the hunt.

Virgo: The blissful are being sold a lie. The only true bliss is the glory of the hunt and a slaked bloodlust.

Pisces: Nothing gets the panties wet like the sound of hundreds of spectral mounts crashing through moonlit woods while the call of the hunt echoes among the trees, striking fear into the hearts of your ghastly quarry.

LONELY

Ophiuchus: You can’t stop feeling just one thing. Stuffing down one emotion means stuffing down them all.

Aquarius: You may be stunned to find that the introduction of a new person into your life will make you less lonely.

Taurus: Spend some time outdoors today. Reflect on the state of the world. See yourself reflected in the world and try to fight the other person who is interrupting your reflection time.

Aquarius: Do you remember the seaside? That strip of sand that made you feel at home? Do you remember how quiet it was?

Virgo: Remember Virgo, you can click the control stick to go into stealth mode. Use this to avoid your problems easier.

Aries: You are beyond the pale, transparent really.

Taurus: It's not fog. It's a curse. A curse that looks like fog. Stay away.

Cancer: The stars and I regret to tell you that you will, actually, have to talk to people at some point.

SLAUGHTER

Capricorn: Some things cannot be prepared for. Who even uses flintlock pistols anymore? Especially in the parking lot of a grocery store?

Pisces: There is a number of knives that it is appropriate to own. It is quite high. Let’s say you need to curate your collection.

Pisces: Romantic bloodsport for two.

Leo: Nobody really cares that you’re not one for fighting. Preparation is its own reward.

Leo: Having trouble with your customers at work? Strike the head for critical damage!

Aries: When things seem confusing, just start swinging at whoever you see. At the very least, you’ll get some breathing room.

Capricorn: It may be that you fight for good, and your opponent fights for a love of bloodshed, all that matters is that you are fighting.

Virgo: Ruthless efficiency produces results but blind rage is more fun.

SPIRAL

Libra: Drawings of wildflowers that don’t exist. Diagrams and advice in a language that nobody speaks. Strewn about your room in impossible places.

Capricorn: Reject the concept of direction. There is no up, there is no down. Orientation is for losers.

Sagittarius: You are correct Sagittarius! That small wooden carving of a fox wasn’t there last night! Yes, it is cursed! Right on the money there.

Capricorn: There is no old woman following you around throwing small potted plants at you.

Scorpio: Relieve stress by planning a trip that isn’t a trip to a place that isn’t a place. Relieve stress by conceiving of time collapsed into a single semipermeable plane of events that anchors all the things that could be.

Leo: When the world stops making sense, play with the perspective. Go Escher on your problem’s ass.

Taurus: Two strangers meet in a Mediterranean country that does not exist. They discuss silver and poison and the nature of madness.

STRANGER

Aquarius: You are never done growing. It takes real effort, and for you, it will take many hours of prowling around the backs of hardware stores for stray screws to eat.

Libra: There is something in the wires practicing its voices by leaving spam calls in your inbox.

Sagittarius: Whoops! Something stole your friend’s face again! Get that ritual dagger and get to work.

Capricorn: Well lookee what we go here, a full shipment of mannequins that look exactly like you except with minor errors in body part proportions. Whoda thunk?

Sagittarius: Enough improvements and you’ll barely recognize yourself. Harvest the parts and avoid the authorities.

Cancer: If you’re gonna copy other people, don’t half-ass it. Ritual cannibalism is the only way to go.

Ophiuchus: The creepy carnival set up outside of town that only certain people can see is not to be trusted, not matter how cool the rollercoaster looks.

Cancer: She’s a fake bitch. Literally, she has a heart of clockwork and armored skin made of porcelain. Even unholy things like her shouldn’t gossip though.

Taurus: Beware the almost. The almost real, the almost breathing, the almost human.

Virgo: Keep a close eye on the puppets. One of them has no strings.

VAST

Aries: The stars say you may find yourself falling from a great height. Remember to tuck and roll.

Virgo: Do not look down. There is nothing beneath you. Carry on with your day as if the world is sensible and solid beneath you, and it will follow suit.

Aries: The storm sirens wail, the sound of colossal footsteps thunder closer. A low mournful sound that seems to crack the sky.

Pisces: Today you might fall into a bottomless pit. This is not a metaphor.

Aries: Ever feel under the weather? You are lightning.

Aquarius: You can also see the stars if you’re not in a gutter.

Leo: A man on the roof of his home during a tornado warning, laughing.

Aries: The world seems to be getting smaller and smaller. One day you will be confronted with the magnitude of it all. The vast unexplored deep. The wild unknown, and all those that would build a home in its bosom.

Aries: The space between two mountains in the distance. The sky looks different. You can hear the beating of colossal wings.

Aquarius: Your desire for human contact can be satisfied by being struck by lightning for some reason.

WEB

Capricorn: Today you will finally locate and kill the college student with a writing credit on your life.

Capricorn: The stars say to make friends with the harvestmen in your bathroom. They are helping clean up all the lil bug corpses and would appreciate some recognition.

Aquarius: It’s time to make a nest. Don’t ask questions. No thought, only nest.

Gemini: You’ve got a productive day in store Gemini. Will it be on something you actually want to do? Let’s say there is some minor will enslavement involved.

Aquarius: You’ve done an excellent job so far of making friends with the spider people that live in the abandoned subway tunnels. Keep it up!

Gemini: People are depending on you to uphold your promises. The last thing you want to be known as is a trickster. Or is it? That’s exactly the sort of thing a trickster would do!

Leo: You are a puppet, you know exactly who is pulling the strings.

Libra: A tiny spider who has made a friend.

Ophiuchus: The spider lady would like her copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends back.

Aries: See how the cobwebs catch the light? Be sure to thank the spiders.

And some others that didn't necessarily fit with a particular Entity, but gave off such strong TMA vibes that I had to include them anyways:

Gemini: This week you will be faced with your greatest challenge yet, a twink with massive burn scars.

Libra: Preserve yourself for all eternity by outsourcing your aging to other people.

Pisces: One man’s panic inducing siren-song is what another man uses to fall asleep.

Virgo: Confused? Do not worry. Everything not saved will be lost.

Taurus: This week should be one of experimentation! Push the boundaries of what it means to be mortal!

Capricorn: Answer the Door.

Scorpio: Tomorrow will be the last time you dream of the crown of teeth.

Cancer: The thing that watches over the prison transport ships. It used to be two things but now they share a spine.

Aries: Trust your instincts Aries, your dead wife does have a new form made of dried paint and she is slowly hunting you.

Taurus: They died when the radio tower was bombed. Sometimes you can hear them sending messages before the sun rises, whispering over the unused channels.

Virgo: Your capacity for learning will come in handy today when you smash your head through an old Apple II and download the entire internet into your brain, along with several shards of glass.

Libra: Look, nobody said it would be easy, but at least now you’re suffering for something you love.

Pisces: There is a hole in the world where you cannot see, and through this hole there seeps the things that can never be.

Scorpio: Sometimes being too oblivious to even notice a problem can be an asset. Can’t sweat the small stuff if you don’t even notice it.

Libra: Financial problems? Try encasing your credit cards in a block of ice. Encase all money in a block of ice. Keep all wealth frozen in a block of ice.

Ophiuchus: Maybe your prayers would be answered if your god wasn’t such a pussy.

Gemini: Limited options make choices easier! There are only so many places you can get a human heart!

Taurus: Remember, now matter how many false eyes something might have, at least one of them has to be real. It boils down to a question of bullets over time.

Libra: When others can’t decide, you will be there to make the tough choices with your brave disregard for things like “Rational Thought” and “Basic Self-preservation”.

Virgo: Ribs are important. Make sure you have a good grasp on the importance of ribs.

Pisces: Your constant near death experiences may be putting you under some stress. Time for some light reading, or maybe some breathing exercises. Honestly the stars say you’re handling constantly being faced with your own mortality pretty well.

Aries: After hearing that cursed song today, you’ll only destroy 80% of the objects around you. Recovery is a slow process.

Cancer: There is an aggression to you today. There is an aggression to you all the time. There is an aggression to all things, it is simply your turn on the wheel.

Leo: The hunger you feel is not for food.

Capricorn: Woo her. She is terrifying isn’t she?

Gemini: You are hunting the guy down seven years later and bashing his knees in with a pipe.

Capricorn: What happens when you open a door marked “exit” and all you find is another hallway?

Ophiuchus: Nothing makes a friendship like shared intense suffering.

Taurus: Analog recording devices are surprisingly sensitive. Listen to your old tapes again and hear the tiny voices that whisper along with the song.

Taurus: Clawing your way back out has dulled your talons and blunted your fangs, you are a soft and gentle creature for it. You can buy a knife at most stores.

Sagittarius: When you needed patience, you thought of those who loved you. When you needed fury, you thought of those who hurt you. When you needed strength, you thought of yourself. When you needed just one more chance to get it right, you thought of that cat.

Libra: Keep a journal and write down everything you see, it may save the life of whoever finds it.

Libra: Did you feel it? Just now, the world ended. There's no going back. Saddle up and find a mask.

Leo: The night is long, the tea is hot, the eyes are plenty.

Ophiuchus: Your eyes can’t lie to you if you don't have any eyes.

Aries: Now is the time to try new things! Experience new forms of pain! Suffer in new and interesting ways!

Cancer: Someone is missing from that big social meeting you’ve got planned! Luckily they were just preoccupied with being suspended in limbo between life and death.

Libra: If someone says they have power over you, don't believe them until you see for yourself. Test those limits.

Aquarius: The danger you pose to others is dwarfed by your ability and desire to help. Nothing is without its dangers. You know this more than anyone.

Taurus: Turn some of your energy towards improving the space around you, especially if the space around you is bad and the energy is heat. Burn your house down.

Virgo: The stars say an authority member might be causing you some minor trouble. The important thing to remember during professional squabbles is to use your psychic powers to rip them apart with the strength of your will alone.

Taurus: It's a tough thing, allowing yourself to be known. The stars say the time may be coming up, are you ready? Too bad fucko, it's happening anyway.

Ophiuchus: Hiding under the covers actually works with some things. It is technically a threshold and so some things do actually have to be invited.

Cancer: Watch for a box that carries no address. Do not open it. It will be gone tomorrow.

Ophiuchus: Your choices are yours alone. This is important to remember, especially when not making choices.

Scorpio: Goddamit Goddamit shut the fuck up and tell a story.

Sagittarius: That could be you in a few years. Keep your feet about you.

Gemini: There is a deep and old power in that of the image. As long as cameras existed they have been a tool to tell what is really there.

#fandom: magnus archives #not a reblog

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always-anxious-skychild · 4 years ago

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Thoughts about Sky: Light Awaits (Sky First Beta) in the Eyes of a Sky Child

So I watched a Sky Beta Play through when it is still called as Sky: Light Awaits. I was curious when Youtube recommended to me, so I was like: why not? Concept wise, there isn’t a lot of changes but there are still interesting details to compare. Here’s the video that I watched: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQTH0bLyvh4

Isle

The player is washed over the shore of the Isle

It used to be smaller but it’s hella filled with stone statues.

It has a broken stone bridge to the temple.

Daleth gave us our cape/ability to fly

BIRDS GUIDING YOU

AND A SPIRIT TURTLE

Home Space

It used to be called as Aviary.

You can access this after leaving the Isle

The flight between those two places are a bit wider and has more buildings

It is a mix of the home space and Prairie’s social space

AND HOLY SHT, IF SKY WILL EXPAND THEIR HOME SPACE - I WISH THEY REUSE THIS CONCEPT

But I understand why they scrapped it because it feels crowded

There’s a bot that will guide us here a bit

Narrative lines says a “Great Storm”

Colored capes are very much for detail

Prairie

First area is a pretty much the same but with less clouds

Caves is also practically the same

So you know the thing that we do to summon the manta sound spirit - yeah, it happens a lot and you get wax for it

Summoning spirits are similar to traveling spirits and you can access their tree immediately after getting their emote

Main area, also practically the same but there’s a boat with four chatting bench and you can activate it to move, I guess?

To activate the bells, you open jars of butterflies instead of lighting up candles which makes sense at the same time not?

Winged light doesn’t exist. You get more flight power by summoning the spirits.

Ayin’s cutscene didn’t change because THEY ARE ALREADY PERFECT

Forest

There’s no social area in the forest. After going up outside the temple, there’s a small space with candles and chatting benches but you immediately fly to the forest.

Tree placements are very different

No magical mushrooms as yet

Second forest area is a bit more shallow? Like the big cliff to jump down doesn’t exist yet

The bridge is there. The crab hole is there.

I think it’s wider than our second forest area.

There’s no pond in the sunny forest

Jellyfish bridge to the temple doesn’t exist yet

Teth is more somber than frustrated in their cutscene, and they don’t have their hammer yet!

But still very majestic with their hair floating when they had light markings again and no, that’s not simp in me talking- *slaps*

Valley

Without the social area, the flight from forest and valley is much longer. There, we see more buildings.

There’s a giant golden statue by the entrance of the skiing area.

It doesn’t have the redish glow yet

Valley is used to be called as Mountains.

Race is still the same but instead of just lights, butterflies follow you as you collect lights

The way to the arena though, you can still see buildings by the side and arcs on the race track

I would say something about the arena but that’s season of dreams spoiler so Imma held my tongue on that for now

Citadel is still the same.

Valley elders’ cutscene is very different but thank the stars they changed it. The current one is much more memorable.

Wasteland

Without the social area, you just straight down from skies lol

BUT THEY DIDN’T EAT SAND. UNFAIR lol.

It’s definetly brighter than our Wasteland

Graveyard has less hiding places - more open

I will forever laugh at the fact the sky child has to run back in fears of Tsadi crashing on them lol

Vault

There’s a chatting bench on the elevator

The islands in the third floor are more spherical

Only the Prairie constellation is the same as before lol

The last island is so small and lonely

The murals are simpler but still pretty as hell

Eden

It’s still have the same flying rocks and krills

You do have to light up something to open up this big gate in the ceiling.

The eye doesn’t have any statues. You just walk to the end and die lol

But you can really see how you slowly become a statue, green stones and all. Then when you die, you fall down and crash into pieces.

No flying to the orbit. The light that you manage to keep by the end are your wing buffs? The animation for that is really cute.

#sky children of the light #sky cotl #thatskygame #(sky thoughts)

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eternal-writers-block · 3 years ago

Note

Writing prompt: charm, thirteen, smile, shadow

(it's pretty random,, you don't have to write anything if you don't wanna:))

Bass throbbed with a buzzing pulse, carbonating the blood of every person in the room. Sweat dripped into screaming mouths. The taste of salt and sticky sweetness filmed over tongues. The unique, human scent of life and skin and breath was huffed in and out with every gasp. This was a true party, the kind that used your very bones as kindling.

A pair of eyes, half-hidden under their lids, caught every gaze they could. Come over and talk to me, they seemed to say. I dare you. They were the color of old autumn leaves, the ones that flickered on the ground in crunching droves--- colored like the seductive wood of a classy diner's floor, warm and solid-soft--- stained the grit of an ancient rock found quiet in a midnight forest.

The body holding these eyes had the same charm, invoked the same inexplicable feeling people tend to get when they enter an old thrift store. When the air smells of a candle without the smoke. Some would call it timeless.

It was a wavering body. Soft edges, flickering glow, blurring features (save for the eyes). They were clothed in things the color of desert sand at night. Their antique look toed the line of jarringly out of place in this room, this room that fogged with neon colors.

The low bass beats came quicker, as if dragged behind an unfelt pulse. A drink watered the concrete floor. The dark stain seeped to the edges of their shoes. The wood-dark eyes followed its path. The liquid stains the shoes' pale sides. They consider the damage.

A sudden voice. "Ah, dude! Uh, I'm sorry man. That's, like, the thirteenth time tonight. You know how it is, yeah? Sometimes the party slaps too hard. Sorry I ruined your shoes though!" A clap to the shoulder, a poorly-stifled belch, and the voice was gone.

A low humming noise built in the back of the timeless one's throat. It holds no particular emotion, it simply was. The stained shoes lifted, one by one, and left the drink puddle behind. The humming became a bridal train, followed behind them in a silken buzz.

As they threaded their way through the room, the vivacious smiles of the party-goers dropped, the wake of that low noise purring on the tops of their teeth and the caves behind their eyes. The shouts and laughter fades to a sullen trickle. All that is left is the bass, rattling cups and jolting through the bones of everyone in the room.

"Hey, uh, what's going on?" It's the voice from before. The host. What's that, like, noise?"

There is a pause, heavy with a hum that spoke of a sunlit afternoon in a dusty bookstore, wooden fences sticky with pollen, the arching cry of seagulls. The eyes that shine with such an ancient light find those of a person in the crowd, whose eyelids are pulled back like windowshades to let the fear slip through.

A single finger straightens and alights, with the grace of gentle rot, upon that person's visage. A voice comes, a voice blurred with a smudge of some incomprehensible emotion, a dark twinge of bitten tongues and aching knees.

The person's lungs work quickly, as though they're fighting to make up for breaths that will never be taken. That voice is nothing but absolution.

"This isn't happening-" they say. Their eyes sprint desperately to meet every pair in the room, which scatter before them like startled vultures. "Please, oh, this is not happening. Oh, please."

A blur of sound. It shudders with the weight of eternity. The person shudders with it. A shiver skates through every cell in their being. It is too cold, it is too hot, it doesn't matter much. The bass-thick song ends, but no one is paying attention.

A mothwing heartbeat shakes faster. How grim, how dark, how lonely. The voice sounds a final time (It is not final. It will never be.) and the person sucks in a gasp of oxygen, they wring their hands, they scream-

And the bygone, sun-soaked eyes are gone. The music is blasting once more. The host stumbles through the crowd, warm with intoxication. The low bass beats come quicker, as if dragged behind an unfelt pulse. A drink waters the concrete floor.

A sudden voice. "Ah, dude! Uh, I'm sorry-" There is no one there. The host shrugs, moves to turn. A person collapses to the ground. The host rushes to their side. "Seizure! Get help!" They yell, sobered and terrified. The person's eyelids are pulled back like windowshades to let the fear slip through.

The bass-thick song ends, but no one is paying attention.

There is a flicker of eyes, and an unheard hum. As the person's heart stops, the eyes are gone, having witnessed and been witnessed, but never seen. There is nothing left, not even a shadow.

("The dialogue between the living and the dead is full of misunderstanding and silence." - Welcome to Night Vale)

#THANK YOU SO MUCH YOU'RE MY FAVORITE PERSON EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#have ALL of my love and affection #<33333333 #send me prompts #my asks #that-odd-puzzle-piece #can u tell i made the concept up in like five seconds #fun fact: unfelt is not a word #i just really like grim reapers okay #also there was this book i read once and it was like unsettling stories? and there was one where this thing would come eat ur fingers in #the night and then it would like. make you forget? it was terrifying #and uh losing my memory scares me so <3 #cw death #this is darker than i expected?? but so Spooky ammirite #just in time for the Spooky months

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