#Common Grave

[areyouscaredyet]

if they dated i think it would be like this

[idiopathicsmile]

a "fun fact" i read as a child is that pure honey never spoils, to the point where honey from ancient egyptian tombs was found to still be edible

i used to think about this, and imagine a poor intern who was strong-armed into putting in their one human mouth something was made literally thousands of years ago, just to make sure it could be safely eaten

but having since met scientists and having learned what freaks they are, if they did put this to the test, i am VERY confident that every single archaeologist in the room was duking it out over who got the honor of putting their tongue on that mummy's dusty old bee goo.

[ug-hh]

Mexico buried my sister in a common grave

My sister was 28 year old and was a born US citizen who was in a hit and run in Tijuana Mexico but we never claimed her body because Mexico law enforcement didn't even try to identify her when she passed, we found out 4 months later and her body only waited 15 days to be claimed then they buried her at a cemetery for the unidentified and unclaimed bodies are buried

[avicecaro]

i think it’s important everyone knows about the little roman girl who died at only five years and seven months old, and her grave reads "dum vixi, lusi" or "while i lived, i played"

[manderleyfire]

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON COUNTDOWN TO S2 Day 7 – Dynamics: Otto x Alicent x Aegon

[why] DO YOU [destroy yourself] LOVE ME?

[beannoss]

Hi Bean!

I have a question for you! I have noticed in your writings that Twilight and Yor begin a romantic relationship after their secrets are revealed. Are you opposed to any romance between them before they find out? I assume if so, it’s because it’s morally questionable, though a lot of fans find romance before compelling as it raises the stakes considerably. I’m not suggesting one is right and the other is wrong, I’m just interested in your take on this! I love your writing! Thank you! 😊

Hello you! I'm always chuffed to see your name pop up 🫶😊!

Oh boy! Thank you for this ask — it's a big question but also I do have thoughts XD Sorry it's taken me a few days to get my ducks in a row!

I want to start, though, by emphasising that my thoughts and preferences here are exclusive to Spy x Family as a canon enterprise; they don't pertain to fanworks or other fan theories, I'm not out to yuck anyone's yum ✌️ ditto for even my own writing! You're right that I don't really have an interest in exploring that dynamic but I reserve the right to change my mind ;)!

[Reference herein to manga chapters not yet animated]

Right, so. There's lots of things I love about SxF, but one of the things that interested me early and keeps me engaged is that it operates under an interesting and complex morality. Spy work and contract killing are obviously an ethical minefield, and in the real world, generally to the bad. Within the world of SxF, Endo takes pains to write Twilight and Yor both firmly on the morally right side, even if Twilight’s tactics or Yor’s actions in a vacuum are frequently questionable. With Twilight especially it seems Twilight is currently (resisting) working through the impact and ethical implication of his actions on Anya. When it comes to Yor, I expect that’s where we’ll see him wrestle with similar questions through a romance lens. I think it was quite deliberate and important that Twilight specifically articulated that he’d been wondering if Yor had previous romantic relationships, and that it was now confirmed she hadn’t. As far as I can remember, it’s the only time he’s had that sort of reflection on Yor's life before the Forgers; I mention it because it mirrors times he’s reflected explicitly on Anya’s history and trauma and her needs as a child, with implication that his actions and motivations for adopting her could/probably will hurt her. I hazard that his observation about Yor will be similarly indicative of an arc down the line.

When it comes to canon, if the Yor x Twilight romance were to firm up while Yor still believes Twilight is Loid, I admit there’s a high chance I’d nope out. I want to emphasize firm up though… I tend to think Yor already has feelings for Loid (Twilight?) whether she’s fully aware of them or would necessarily articulate them as romantic (and I think this is being really interestingly conveyed and explored through her current feelings about kissing, though I may differ with some on how I think that may shake out). I also think there’s a… less high but not impossible chance that Twilight is aware he has or is developing feelings for Yor. I’ve argued before that he knows he has formed/is forming an attachment to her and that he knows he trusts her. I don’t think it’s too far from there to romantic feelings for Twilight: after all, attachment and trust (intimacy) are not things he's had in a long, long time. And given his current pseudo-short temper and general malaise comes out most with Anya, with Yor he’s been notably softer and more receptive. In my view, this is partially because so far he hasn't really done much that would really hurt Yor and nor has she done anything that would really hurt Twilight. So far, Twilight and Yor are on a fairly even footing.

This is a very long way of saying that I trend toward thinking we’ve got at least a few toes into the romance already.

The reasons I’d be a squicked by the firming up of the romance, pre-reveal, are related to its being morally questionable as you pointed out (I'll talk a bit more about that in a moment.) But it's also because I think it would undermine character arcs and dominant themes.

Twilight’s arc involves finding and forging a new pack, a new family. Somewhere safe and loving that he’s been denied essentially for his whole life (I don’t dispute that his mother loved him deeply and did her best to protect him: living with an abuser and then with her under war was never going to actually be or feel safe). A big part of this safety and love for Twilight is about being accepted, warts and all. Twilight started lying because he wasn’t accepted by his father as he was. There’s a fair bit to work through by way of accepting Twilight’s warts already — I think Yor will be fairly understanding as things currently stand, and that’s part of why they’re a good match. Their moral compasses, their sacrifices, how they see the world and how they want to try and make it better, align and/or resonate in foundational ways. However, given their current standing, pursuing deeper intimacy of a romantic/sexual relationship with Yor before reveals, I think would take it past the line. And particularly when considering Yor’s character arc.

Yor’s arc is also around finding love and security, but centred less around acceptance (although that obviously also explicitly features!) and more around self-worth and understanding her value. If the romance were to firm up pre-reveal, the false pretences are… I mean, to me, they lob a Molotov cocktail into that theme of self-worth and being valued, as she really would just be being used: the intimacy could never be real because Twilight is not Loid Forger. To expand a bit on an earlier point, perhaps ironically, Yor’s relationship with Loid is mostly on the up-and-up: they both know any marital connection they demonstrate is fake. They may be (are) friends, and also they’re under no illusions that it’s something of a tenuous friendship (at least for now). They co-parent Anya but are clear that this co-parenting comes with clear lines around and between their relationship otherwise. I want to tread mindfully here, because I also really like and appreciate aroace interpretations of Yor and Twilight and their relationship: I think this discussion around firming up their romance actually also holds true in the case of attempting to substantially deepen their platonic bond, pre-reveal. In the same ways, Twilight needing acceptance and Yor learning self-worth would be severely undermined by a pre-reveal apparent and false deepening of their commitment to one another.

On the point of it being morally questionable generally, yeah it is. I mean, look, it's fiction and they aren't real people who can be hurt by those actions. So in principle, Endo can write what story he wants, I wouldn't think it reflected poorly on him or anything like that. I just don't really want to read a story that goes to that place; it’s a squick. I'm sure this has been discussed before in fandom, but my read on the moral dubiety centres around the idea that it isn’t possible to actively choose or meaningfully consent to emotional or physical intimacy when one person is lying about who they are (and in this case, they're both lying about who they are... Although Twilight to a greater extent). This does tie back into SxF themes as well, as choice and consent are also… maybe not big themes of SxF exactly, but active choice and informed consent are things which have come up more than once (I have my thoughts as to why: for a character whose choices drive so much of the narrative, Twilight is actually also a character who’s shown to have little actual choice or control over much of his own life. Considering his motivations for a world where children don’t cry, imo valuing active choice and meaningful consent are important factors required for that world. And I also actually suspect the theme of choice will become more important the more we learn about Donovan, and his role as foil for Twilight.)

Also, honestly for me, it would be too close to a common trope in a lot of popular western fiction/media that I don’t like: a woman being taken advantage of by a man in some way, shape or form, and then through the magic of her non-specific womanness, forgiving him his gross transgressions under the thinnest of pretences. Particularly as Endo has already taken pains to sidestep that as a foundation of their arrangement. To be fair, I wouldn't be surprised that were Endo to take the pre-reveal romance path, it would be a deeper interpretation of that trope, but as with other sexist tropes utilised in pop fiction/media, I have to ask why the choice couldn’t have been for a more interesting path, rather than retreading that one. And particularly given everything he's established for Twilight and Yor: it goes against much of what Twilight stands for — and indeed goes against much of what he meaningfully brings in his current relationship with Yor, that of encouraging her, supporting her, and shoring up her thoughts, opinions and self-image, particularly when she voices upset or doubt about them. It also goes against much of what Yor stands for: while the power imbalance would lie firmly with Twilight, it remains true that Yor’s lies in an apparently deepening intimacy would also undermine the safety and security she ostensibly creates for Twilight. She also so obviously hates lying, the prospect of her keeping her secret into what she believed was a real relationship would wreck her. Doubly so, given the weight Yor puts on Loid's acknowledgement of who she is and what she believes: something she hangs her self-worth on, a recognition of her value. And I'd argue here that it would actually, conversely, be impossible for Loid Forger to acknowledge or accept Yor's truth: that's only something Twilight can do.

And so I guess there’s also just the bare fact following from the above that I think a pre-reveal firming up of their relationship is the less interesting choice for what is a major franchise that has otherwise done innovative things. Another reason I love SxF is that it subverts tropes and complicates cliches. One of which includes communication: for a pair who have crossed lines as a foundation of their relationship, Yor and Twilight actually do a lot of communicating. That’s a subversion of many heterosexual romantic tropes and norms, at least in a Western context, and, to put it sort of flippantly, it would bum me out if it failed at the final hurdle.

I just want to emphasise one more time, my opinions and preferences here are strictly related to Spy x Family in an official canon capacity, and nothing to do with fanworks or fan theories or what fans want to explore in whatever fashion. Part of my feelings here are also honestly because of the tone and pacing of SxF. I think it entirely possible to do interesting things with those tropes and actually think Endo is the type of writer I would trust to do so. But the way SxF is written by way of tone, pacing, narrative priorities and audience demand, I don't think even Endo would be able to do them within SxF in ways that wouldn't squick me out and make me lose love for Twilight, specifically, pretty entirely. I'd rather he just didn't 😂

Tl;dr: in canon exclusively I’m not into a firming up of their romantic relationship pre-reveal! Their situation is complicated enough as it is; give these goobers the love they want and can share with one another, kindly and gently, when the world has been neither kind nor gentle with them. In my view, it’s already primed in their character and thematic arcs 🫶

[writingwithfolklore]

Kill Your Darlings

                This is another one of those common pieces of advice that gets traded so often it’s somewhat lost its meaning, similar to “write what you know”. Kill your darlings doesn’t mean ‘kill your favourite characters’, or even ‘take away what your characters love most’ (though that’s good advice for your midpoint.)

                Kill your darlings means ‘get rid of what’s not serving you’. That may be a character you like but ultimately adds nothing to the plot (or adds something another character could easily also add), a plot point that is exciting and fun but takes the story off the rails, or even as specific as a line of dialogue you love but just doesn’t fit into the conversation anywhere.

                It means, even if you love it, if it isn’t serving your story it’s gotta go. Cut out the fluff. Kill your darlings. In work that’s intended to be professional, this is incredibly important (fanfic writers and people just writing for yourself, you get to do whatever you want haha).

                To make this easier, I keep a separate document I call the “graveyard�� where I put everything I cut out of my draft. Scenes, lines of dialogue, or even ideas I had to strike all end up in the graveyard where they’re safe. This way, if I ever want to use them in another project (or they end up working out after all), they’re somewhere I can find them again.

                What’s another piece of advice you find gets taken out of context or misunderstood?

[ghouldnight]

I'm pegging Commander Graves and NO ONE can stop me so here's a little blurb

NSFW Under the Cut - MDNI 18+

TW for: Mild choking, roughness, and that general sort of nastiness. All of this is CONSENSUAL (duh)

Please keep in mind for scenes like this, all things should be negotiated prior with any respective partners! Safe sex practice matters and so does communication

︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶⊹︶︶୨୧︶︶⊹︶

The scene laid in front of you might as well have been a sculpture carved out of the finest marble. On the silk fitted sheets lay none other than the commander of the Shadow Company itself, a glistening layer of sweat sheened off of his tense form. Dark blond locks lay dampened against his forehead, slicked and tangled from your fingers and his alike raking through them.

His lips curled back into a half there noise, showing off the sharpness of his pearly whites as yet another shudder racked his form. For the better part of the hour, you'd been relentlessly teasing him. A hand on his thigh skimmed up, up, up so close to the throbbing hardness that leaked pearlescent drops from where it curved over onto his abdomen and the neatened happy trail there. Yet every time when his hips shifted upwards in a silent plea and his eyes rolled back the smallest bit, back arching so prettily, you guided your touch away once more.

To make matters worse for him, or better for you, you had him quite full of yourself. Literally. It's better than being full of himself and his attitude, as per usual. That's how you always reasoned it. Having something nestled inside of him in the most intimate way always served as a good attitude adjuster which was much needed when dealing with someone like Phillip. And what better way to do it than to warm him up, nice and slow, and get him properly acquainted with his favorite toy?

Much to his frustration, however, you didn't move. You kept him settled against the sheets, your length unmoving in him as you traced along his form, drawing invisible patterns only you could see. This time as your fingers diverted, skimming across the scar on his hip once more, a noise half akin to a whine left his lips as his eyes fluttered opened. In what must've been his best attempt at a glare, he exhaled a noisy huff, his nose crinkling as his head thumped against the pillow.

"C'mon, now you're just being a cruel bit-" He sneered, though his words caught in his throat when you grasped his shaft firm, circling your fingers tight around his base.

His eyes fully rolled back, a choked gasp leaving his lips when you squeezed your hand around it even tighter. Fingers clawed at the sheets, tangling them in his grasp as all planes of his muscles tensed again, his stomach sucking in as he tried bucking his hips. Your other hand held him firm, halting the motion as you shoved him back into the mattress, pinning his abdomen with your forearm.

"Phillip." You tutted with a click of your tongue, your eyes narrowing right back, "I thought I taught you better manners than that."

Whatever glare or venomous expression he tried to muster back melted off of his face when you delivered yet another squeeze to the base of his cock, feeling how it twitched in response. No matter how he protested or how his brows knit together, there's no denying just how much he liked it when his excitement practically wept for attention. You're sure if you kept it up, he might just follow suit.

Releasing his cock, you laid it on his abdomen as you raked your nails up his side, just enough to leave angry, red lines highlighted over the slight tan of his supple flesh. A violent shiver danced down his spine as his back arched once more, head tossing back against the pillows as his pretty lips parted in yet another silent noise. Your other hand moved to rest beside his head, dropping to your forearm as you removed your weight and touch alike from him and braced, causing the bed to shift with another creak.

Tracing up and across his ribs, you splayed your hand over his sternum, keeping him pinned to the mattress. The tackiness of his pre-spend mixed with the droplets of perspiration beading like fresh drops of dew as you rested it there. Subtle curls of his paler chest hair swirled in mused whorls that you further teased with a single finger, dancing around the area right above his rapidly beating heart. Every shuddering breath, every quavering beat of his heart, resonated through your fingertips, right to your very core.

The healthy flush dappling his cheeks and chest alike might soon match the redness of the sheets he insisted upon if you kept it up. That thought brought a smirk to your lips once more, for once meeting no immediate comment from Graves as he kept his eyes squinted closed for another two moments more as he took in shuddering breaths.

When he opened them with tepid languidness, his vision hazy, those normally so wicked sky blue eyes of his scarcely had much focus. His throat bobbed as he closed his mouth, swallowing with a shaky exhale. The contemplation that shone in his eyes was palpable as he studied you, his fingers clenching and unclenching in the sheets as the gears in his pleasure addled brain turned on a slow speed in the hazy heat you had built between you.

Licking his lips, he couldn't hide the tremble in his Texan drawl as he spoke once more, "And I... Thought... you knew better than to tease me." He challenged, his nostrils flaring as he canted his hips up, trying to find friction on the nothingness that now graced his lower body.

Ever the brat, he stubbornly refused to break eye contact as he arched his back and hips once more, a ridiculously pleased, self-satisfied noise leaving his lips as he felt the girth of the silicon stretching the sensitive furl of his hole open rub against his walls once more. He didn't hide how his teeth sunk into his lower lip nor how he shuddered in delight.

With a sigh, you eased your hips forwards, drawing his corded thighs over your hips once more as you settled yourself firm against him, bottoming out fully. A satisfied hum echoed from his chest as his toes curled, head lolling to the side as he exhaled a harsh breath through his nose.

Your movements kept still in response for a long, few moments. The silence that stretched between you was anything but comfortable, yet his mind clearly was elsewhere - likely on the stretch of the toy instead. As bratty as he was, he always made for a lovely sight as he lay there like the king himself, pleasure highlighted from the flutter of his pale lashes to the twitching of his cock and flexing of his abs as he breathed in deep breaths, savoring the feeling inside and out.

"You want it that bad?" You spoke after a few, long moments when he attempted to rock his hips once more, only being met with yours cemented in place, refusing to allow him that leeway.

A verbal answer wasn't something you expected, or ever got unless you made him sit there and use his words for a new scene or something you explicitly demanded clear consent for. Phillip wasn't ever one to say things like 'yes' or 'please', no. He's one who expected anything you gave towards him, as if he were entitled to every moment of his pleasure and yours alike.

So it wasn't a surprise when he didn't nod nor did he utter yes, he simply sighed once again, lifting his head to glare at you as he tried to rock his hips down and back in vain, trying to chase the elusive pleasure that evaded him so.

"No." Came the simple command as you lowered your voice to a hiss, something he paid no heed to as he tried yet again.

The hand that had braced on his chest at once snaked up to the base of his throat, circling around the flat of it as you splayed your hand across. An immediate intake of breath and a whole body shudder as he froze was exactly the response you'd been hoping for.

Those pretty blue eyes slid open, dilated pupils nearly drowning out the color as he peered up at you through his lashes, his tongue darting along his canines as he held still. The rise and fall of his chest matched the quickened beating of his heart as his soft, shallower breaths left him in visibly excited puffs. His hands trembled in the sheets as he held himself as still as he could, his gaze unable to leave yours as you leaned down.

"You want it that bad, huh?" You breathed as you arched an amused brow, the leering grin dancing on your lips anything but kind or welcoming.

"You want it that bad that you're going to act like a damn brat?" You repeated, this time moving your hips back in a drag slow enough for him to feel every ridge and bump of the toy as it tugged him open yet left him empty all the same.

A pathetic, keening noise graced your ears as he clenched down hard enough for you to feel the resistant tug of his body as you eased yet another inch out, the violent shudder of his form breaking the near motionless trance that held him taught. "No, no, don't. I've been so good, don't baby-" He babbled in a single breath as his body swayed with the motion, desperate to not let you deny him any further or the delicious fullness he craved.

"Quiet." You snapped, bucking your hips forward enough to force the length back into him just as he seemed to beg for in a fluid motion that knocked the air from his lungs (and yet another noise to boot).

His back arched off the bed, throat bared as he twisted and writhed, teeth sinking so hard into his bottom lip you're sure it would draw blood. "Yes, fuck, that's it. Give me-"

Your grasp on his throat tightened once more, cutting him off as yet another roll of your hips punched a breathy moan from his lungs, draining him of most of his breath. "I said, quiet." You emphasized with further pressure on the thin skin that he had bared for you moments prior.

The bobbing of his Adam's apple as he swallowed met the warmth of your palm as you lightened your grasp. Any mercy in the gesture was short lived as you ground your length into him, letting him really feel how his favored toy rubbed against his walls in a way that truly stole his breath.

"Seems you have a listening problem, sweetheart." You breathed as you lowered your head, your lips skimming across his in a silent promise uttered in a way he could feel as you punctuated every syllable with yet another slow grind.

How you wish you could've capture the way he shivered in delight at the promise, the first whimper of the night escaping him as you finally brushed his sweet spot, his eyes squeezing shut in ecstasy as his back arched and toes curled. "Let's see if we can fix that... " You whispered as you traced your nose along his cheek, nuzzling into his temple as your lips graced his ear.

While it might be the first lesson of the night, it certainly wouldn't be the last. If how he tilted his head and silently demanded more were any bit of an indication of how it would go, you're sure it would be at least a few hours.

Good thing the sun had barely set below the horizon and you had the entirety of the night to test what would give in first: His spirit or his bed.

[soratsuart]

Nightmare Before Christmas' This Is Halloween being a twiattune this event and being a full English cover AND recreation of the original animation has to be one of the coolest things Twisted Wonderland has ever done and I've been obsessed with it. But I've also seen some people confused about who sings what

Particularly, people seem to think that when Skully's chibi appears pulling Jack that the voice singing then is him, but according to some Japanese players that's actually Jamil singing and Skully doesn't sing at all since Kappei Yamaguchi (Skully's V.A.) doesn't appear credited

However, as I stated in this post, I'm quite familiarised with his voice actor. So. If you have made yourself the question of whether Skully can sing or not... Here's your answer:

Yeah, he sure can

[girlfcker]

another day without a boyfriend who acts exactly like the fictional man i’m obsessed with

[rabbitmotifs]

adventures of freakboy and hatergirl

[whenyoulosesmallmind]

Nicklas Bäckström & the Washington Capitals (+ nickeovi) ― Immortality, Clare Harner | insp.

credits: x. x. x. x. x. x. x. x. x. x.

[lakesparkles]

I got 13k followers on Instagram so it's a good chance to do something I always wanted to - a DTIYS challenge! This may seem complicated at first but, as I have people who followed me for different fandoms, I figured it was a good idea to give three different options so you can choose which one you want to draw.

RULES:

- You have to follow me, of course.

- Feel free to change anything you want: the number of characters (of course you don't need to draw all my four OCs if you choose this one); poses, expressions; anything that makes it easier and better for you! Just keep the idea similar to the original.

- If you do it, tag me and use the tag #lakesparklesdtiys (very creative, I know)

- There will be three winners in the end, one for each drawing. The prize will be a shaded fullbody!

- The deadline is July 20th

- Just ask me if you have any questions!!

[null-entity]

#Stocktober2024 Day 28 - Zombie Rising

Full Stocktober details here.

Model: Me.

Photographer: The Remote Camera Trigger.

If you want to help support me and get awesome stuff like early access/polls & pose requests Become A Patron or you can check out my Ko-Fi store for exclusive stock!

Read My Rules Before You Use My Stock.

[pianostarinwonderland]

maybe skully isnt dead 🤯 [half copium half srs]

listen. ik ive been on copium for a while. ik we all are, ive seen twitter, tumblr, and everyone’s tags on my posts when they reblog

BUT PLS HEAR ME OUT. IM SO SERIOUS RN WHEN I SAY: if u wanna be technical about it, if u wanna stretch it out somehow, you can argue that the game never outright states that skully is dead, only that the skully we met was from hundreds of years ago.

“but mamsir pianostarinwonderland, how in the fuck can that be???? we HEARD that invisible kiss” LET ME COOKKKKKK 🔥🔥🔥 I SWEAR EVERYONE, I AM COOKING U JUST HAVE TO HEAR ME OUUUUUUUUUUUUUT— knocked out

Ok serious time, let me mansplain to you all the possibility of Skully being alive

Establishing first of all, Twst has kept Skully's nature vague

Simply put: we don't know if Skully is human. In his live 2D, Skully's ears are completely covered. Even in his illustration, we can barely see his ears. It's an interesting design choice. However, in his chibi (which wasn't revealed until Episode 5), we can see his ears aren't shaped like a fae, but are round like that of a human.

However, it's pretty hard to think he's human either, when we consider his "moshi, ne moshi" greeting in Episode 1 and its connection to the supernatural. Voiced, to be noted. Exactly what kind of creature he could be is currently unknown, but because this part was voiced, it's something we need to pay attention to at the very least.

In regards to his mortality, the only clue we're really given is Skully himself saying that he may never meet us except through Halloween, which implies a lifespan similar to a human or something similar. But Skully doesn't know how far into the future that the cast is from. Heck, does he even know of his nature?

Now, addressing that invisible kiss...

I feel like this is the main thing that told all of us that Skully is long gone. Heck, if you catch me in my right mind, I might just tell you that yeah, that should be enough proof that Skully is dead! Little signs from the dead such can manifest in similar ways to what Jamil and Leona sensed: hearing a kiss and feeling a kiss on your hand.

(unfortunately i'm not in my right mind so you're getting my dumb reasons why i'm arguing for otherwise)

However, if Skully is gone, I find it interesting that this is the way they decide to show it. We already know from the very first Halloween event that ghosts can manifest all year round in Night Raven College due to the high concentration of magical power in the area. Outside of that, they cannot be seen. If they really wanted to confirm with the audience that Skully is a ghost, they could have had him appear as such at the end, when they all returned to Night Raven College.

But they chose a scenario where people can draw a lot of conclusions from it: Is their senses getting fucked over as they wake up? Are they still reeling from the magic of the book? (though rationally, we know that Leona is not one to be easily stunned, so the first question is at the very least easy to dismiss)

I've also seen some people theorize that he's using invisibility magic during the invisible kiss scene. And well, while I find that funny, it makes me wonder if he could be some other kind of spirit that's not dead. Like an undead of some sort, which the residents of Halloween Town are. Heck, Azul's card line about Skully talks about how he seems to fit right at home with the Halloween Town residents. Again, we don't know Skully's true nature, but the possibility of him being a species that can turn invisible is interesting.

Moving on, we have what Dire Crowley stated about Skully

At the end of the event, Crowley tells us that he found Skully’s portrait while rummaging through the storage and shows it to us and the 11 boys who went inside the book

What he tells us is that Skully J. Graves is a NRC graduate from hundreds of years ago, before Crowley was Headmage. Note that he only was appointed for the position 100 years ago; the Skully we met is at least from around 200 years ago. During his NRC years, Skully got to share Halloween to NRC. It was a hit, and when he graduated, he spread Halloween all over the world in his travels.

I'd like to take a little detour first to discuss something that's been weighing on my mind: Some people have thought that Crowley is lying to us when he speaks about Skully and his achievements, but... I don't see why he would lie. For one, there is a decent chance that Crowley might not have gotten to see Skully. Even if he did, it's even more unsure if he was involved in Skully's affairs.

However, there's one main reason why I do think that Skully got to live a fulfilling life instead of facing an overblot that killed him or some other tragedy. I'd like to dedicate a longer post to this matter, but to make it concise, I think through Skully, Twst is starting to establish something new regarding their history. I think that historical teachings, folktales and stories, and rumors that are well-known tend to be lies or twisted truths. Whereas those that are obscure and not known are actually what occurred. Skully is called the King of Halloween who's done so much to spread the holiday to the world, yet not even NRC students, who should be the first to know considering that Skully is an alumna, know of him. Although there may be other reasons why that's the case, I like to think that at the very least, Skully's obscurity indicates that he did live the life he wanted and succeeded in working for a future that generations after him can enjoy.

Anyway, that actually isn't the main point of this section of the post, but I kind of want to air that out first. The main point is that Crowley only really said that Skully is a former NRC student from hundreds of years ago who traveled around the world to spread Halloween. But he never told us where he was buried or whether he saw his ghost roaming NRC. He never said anything about Skully being dead.

He probably said the hundreds of years ago bit, carrying the assumption that of course, Skully may have passed away. But we have to remember that we have long-living species in Twisted Wonderland. Fae that were students 200 years ago are very likely to be alive now. Crowley himself is a long-living creature, having been Headmage for 100 years. I think with that in mind, it's important for him to emphasize that Skully's gone if he really is. But he never mentioned it. Therefore, there is a good chance that Skully might just be somewhere else. That or Crowley just doesn't give a fuck where his alumni go, and I might be thinking too deeply about the absence of certain words. Honestly, that's a pretty good chance too.

Lastly, we have the scene where Jack Skellington gets shot down but survives it

Here's where it gets a bit more into speculation, but you're going to have to hear me out.

In the movie, Jack Skellington gets shot down by the military for impersonating Santa Claus. When the Halloween Townspeople watched it, they all despaired, and the mayor started declaring to all that Jack has been blown to smithereens and proclaimed him dead.

But that's not what happened: we find Jack landing on an angel's statue, alive and definitely not blown to smithereens.

And considering that Skully is still very much twisted from Jack Skellington... do you think the writers are pulling a similar move? Making us think that he's dead, just as the townspeople thought he was dead, only for us to learn eventually that he's alive.

This of course depends on what happens eventually in the sequel. From the way things are proceeding, what happened in the Lost in the Book with TNBC is events prior to the movie, and we could very well have the sequel be set during the movie events. (If you ask me, I kind of doubt that actually. I feel like Skellington got inspired by Skully's love for Halloween, enough to stay true to his identity as the Pumpkin King, which would mean the movie wouldn't happen the way we know it. So if anything, I feel like TNBC 2 would focus less on the actual movie and more on the side games where Oogie takes over Halloween Town and even kidnaps Santa and other people, but I admit, that's a stretch, especially considering that we will get Santa giving Halloween Town a taste of Christmas)

Of course, this post is really just to let some of my copium out. Rn, it's still safe to assume that yea, Skully's dead. And though I am coping hard for Skully to be alive, with the way Twst treats the dead, it's not exactly a bad thing. Ghosts continue to stay in NRC like they're living people. They honor the dead, and let the dead live among them. And even if he is in the afterlife and not stuck in the mortal plane, I have faith that Skully did live a fulfilling life that may have been forgotten but clearly changed the world. :'D

[variousqueerthings]

my pretentious trait is that i get richard ii and coriolanus, RIP to the haters but they're literally the two best plays in their respective categories because the leads are That Good in my opinion