#Don the Death Collector

[don-the-death-collector]

Officially being mailed the "up your alley" items along with a letter from the guy explaining what happened while he was there. Honestly that is a way better idea than driving down so I'm glad he offered!

[mango-dolphin]

playing a game with myself called "inventing a man and scaring myself with it"

Note: Not all of these predictions are meant to be taken literally, more figuratively/metaphorically/so on. You get it. Note 2: lighter the text, the more likely i think it is to be (in part or in full) true

ALSO. thank you @maxknightleyunofficial for the yuri box.

bingo transcribed below [with additional Author's notes!]:

Limbus Company Predictions

Row 1:

Sinner Number correlates to recruitment order. (Which, yes, would imply Dante joined LCB before Sinclair, Outis, and Gregor. No points)

Another character based on a poet (or philosopher) is introduced. HM: Ovid SWEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Meursault's source material is his backstory: he works for the LCB because they saved him from the death penalty

The E.G.O gear the Sinners are attuned to all corrode because the gear or their attunements are imperfect. As in: your LC nuggets got that good shit [because the LCB doesn't have Cogito & can't manufacture E.G.O gear: the Sinners have to "connect" to the Abnormality instead, however that works] / are better [than the LCB Sinners]

The psychosis warning is for multiple Cantos and/or side stories, but one of the Cantos needing that warning is Meursault's.

Row 2:

Sinclair goes tree mode. I will not explain any further.

Limbus Company wants to be the new L Corp, or at least be continually influencial to whoever takes the spot.

The Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; [it will be] a constant theme. Dante cannot "eat" (the apple), and thus is not "doomed to die" like the Sinners.** **The Sinners are named thus because they "partook" in the fruit: these moments, from blissful yet tormentous naivete to a sudden sinful upheaval, are highlighted in their Cantos. Gregor's was cutting the apple (crossing the boundary from child to war machine); Rodion's was killing the tax collector (her desire to be a hero completely upended by her actions leading to the deaths of all her neighbors); Sinclair's was following Kromer / letting her into his life (specifically allowing Kromer into his basement and witnessing The Horrors)... **This could imply LCB as the serpent in the garden, but more than anything, Dante is Eve. [Iori could also be the serpent she's got the range. swagever. It'd be funny.] HM: Or even worse, the opposite is true.

Sinners will get upgraded versions of their base E.G.Os; These versions have relation to the shadows cast in their E.G.O portrait.

Ishmael's white whale is a Library of Ruina character.

Row 3:

Faust's Faustian Bargain is classically straightforward: she "sold her soul" for knowledge. HM: The Devil in this exchange is the LCB.

Outis is in the middle of her years-long Odyssey as we speak. HM: It's why she's one of the last Sinners

Purgatorio & Paradiso

Outis, Don Quixote, and Hong Lu are using fake names

Dante (prior to the events of the game) has been on the Outskirts of the City, or even left City limits. HM: They're from outside the city

Row 4:

Gregor is an abnormality / abnormality-like; Hermann's "gift" to him is that. [Honestly he'd be one in the same way Tomerry is, but further than that? He's more than just a genetically modified soldier is what I'm trying to get at.]

Iori

^ HM: Lion, Panther, and Wolf were sent to Dante as a test. [Idk what kind of test it'd be. Trust me.]

At least one Sinner will Distort, and possibly multiple Likely Hong Lu, Ryoshu, Rodion, Heathcliff, Faust, or Meursault. Don seems obvious.* *Colors are likelihoods, not pairs. Though I don't see it likely that they all will distort UNLESS SOMETHING FUCKING HAPPENS *ADDITIONAL hard mode (so hard it's mode): Meursault Distorted before joining Limbus

the golden boughs are the remnants of Carmen's body or essence / the byproduct of the Seed of Light. [That's NERVOUS SYSTEM, baybee!]

Dante goes to Paradiso alone / with only Vergilius (I forgot how it went :( idr if Dante Dante's Inferno went up there alone)

Row 5:

Something bad happened to Gregor's sister :( HM: She's still alive. This is a bad thing. [Leaving my wording vague here on purpose.]

Marie (L'Étranger) is in the Blue Team (with Demian); Gretchen (Faust) is in the Red Team (with Hermann). Gretchen switches teams? [Honestly likely Faust hasn't encountered Gretchen either!]

There is yuri moments and maybe even yaoi moments (not Yuri) SINCLAIR. Yi Sang, Outis, Ishmael, Meursault, Outis again, Hong Lu, HM: Outis Wife Penelope

Angela.

Dante knew Carmen

[shunin-gumis]

As Master Joe Wishes - Track 02

Seasonal Team Event - L4mps

Thank you Jelly for handling this chapter!

~~~(flashback)

Toi: Wawawaa! The exterior was lovely, but the interior is also wonderful! It looks like the kind of place where the main character falls in love with the love interests, or have major misunderstandings... It’s so heart pounding!

Ryui: Oi, ‘sit okay to take pictures here? I wanna take pictures of Toi.

Samejima: It should be fine, I think.

Daniel: …The way you say that means this ain’t your house?

Netaro: Sammy lives in much cheaper accommodation than this.

Samejima: Hahaha, but after 30 years, my loan will—... Hey, wait a sec!

Yodaka: Apologies for the sudden question, Samejima-san, but how exactly are you acquainted with Netaro?

Samejima: Well after a certain case, he's started to help me with some of my investigations. Only occasionally, though.

Nagi: …By a certain case, do you mean the one with the missing heart and flowers*?

Yodaka: I see, so it was then… I understand.

Ryui: And? Can we get back on track? Don’ tell me we came in just to have a fuckin’ tea party? If it’s that then I’m headin’ home.

Samejima: Haha, that would put me in a tight spot so let's get started.

Samejima: Uhh, we called everyone here today to this remote location because of a certain request. —Hiramei, the documents.

Hiramei: Sup, I’m Samejima-san’s subordinate, Hiramei, nice to meet you. Here are the holo-documents!

Daniel: …A guard for this manor’s master?

Samejima: Yes. That being said, the original owner of this place passed of senility a few days ago.

Samejima: Her name was “Brunhild Senba.” She was a megastar of the acting world and a German residing in Japan.

Yodaka: In that case, who will we be acting as guards for?

Samejima: That’s the thing. You see, she didn’t have any family members, so through the will, the enormous inheritance she possessed was transferred to a different person…, no, a different child…took it all. That child… is the one you must protect.

Ryui: …This shit seems kinda convoluted.

Samejima: Ahh yeah… I’m not too sure how to explain that part. ...Nevermind that, let’s move on.

Samejima: So, Brunhild-shi was a famous gem collector. She collected many exotic and rare gems.

Samejima: But after her death, rumors that she poured most of her wealth into a custom made “secret treasure” began to circulate about.

Samejima: That’s when we received news that the internationally wanted criminal organization, “Anonymous,” had set their sights on it. Well, they’re called a criminal organization, but they’re honestly just a ragtag bunch of troublemakers… That being said, we can’t let down our guards

Samejima: And amidst that, a world famous phantom thief also got wrapped up in it…

Daniel: Ahh, what the hell, I'm going home.

Toi: Ehhh!? Why!? Danny-san, we’re about to get to the good part!!

Daniel: My dead grandma always told me to never stick my nose into trouble.

Nagi: Trouble……? But it’s like a scene outta a cool drama.

Yodaka: Putting that aside, I think it would be a bit difficult for amateurs like us to go against a criminal organization.

Ryui: I agree with Natsume. Couldn’t give two shits about Hachinoya, but I don’t want Toi to be put in danger.

Daniel: And that’s that. See ya.

Netaro: I won’t let you! You shall not pass, you shall not pass~~~!

Daniel: Woah……. Oi, Netaro, be a good boy and let me go.

Netaro: Nopes, no goesies. If you want to pass, you’ll have to do it over my dead body.

Samejima: Hahaha, sorry, but can you hear me out until the end?

Samejima: And so, well, as you can all guess, we want to use that secret treasure as bait and lure “Anonymous” out in order to round them all up in one go.

Ryui: And like I said, why’s it gotta be us? The police should just do their own thing.

Netaro: Is Ryui a dumb dumb? It’s because they can’t, which is why I was consulted♪

Ryui: You wanna fucking go?

Netaro: And that’s ‘cause, the one we’ll be guarding~, is the “secret treasure” itself~.

Netaro: It’s a very Kawaii and pretty thing after all♪

Ryui: Huh……? The fuck you——

??: May I have your attention please~~~~~~!!!!!!!!!

Notes:

The missing heart and flower case is from Netaro's novel

[docpiplup]

As I promised, let's start with the bookscans:

Al-ANDALUS. PERSONAJES HISTÓRICOS

(Al Andalus. Historical figures)

Concepción Masiá

Summary

Introduction.................................. 9

The precursors of al-Andalus.....13

Count Don Julián....................13

Tarif ben Malluk. ....................15

Musa ben Nusayr and Tariq ben Ziyad: the conquerors of Spania...........16

Abd al-Aziz: a good governor with an unfortunate fate ..........................25

The Odyssey of Prince Abd al-Rahman the Immigrant......................................29

Abd al-Rahman was only twenty-five years old.........................................36

Sulayman ben Yaqzan ben al-Arabi: Charlemagne's deceived "deceiver" ........................... ...........41

Amrus ben Yusuf: the muladí of Huesca

.............................................................47

The “rabadies”: adventurous spirits.. ..............................................53

Ziryab: the singer of Baghdad........61 Tarub: the favorite of Abd al-Rahman II...............,...........................................67 Abbas ben Firnas: the first aviator............................ ......................73 Yahya ben Hakan al-Bakri: the miserly poet.....................................................77

Abd al Chabbar and Sulayman ben Martin: the rebels of Mérida..........................81 Eulogio and Álvaro de Córdoba: pursuing martyrdom..........................85 The Andalusian Vikings..................... 95 The emir Abd Allah distrust and death...............................….................... 101 Musa ben Musa ben Qasi: the third king of Spain.......................................................107 Ibn Hafsun: the unredeemed rebel.....115 Abu Alí al-Sarrach: the Andalusian missionary. ...........................................125 Ibn Masarra: a freethinker in Spanish Islam.......,...........,...................................131 Abd al-Rahman III: the first independent caliph of al-Andalus. ...........,................................137 Hasday ibn Shaprut: the Jewish doctor of Abd al-Rahman III............ ....... ...................... ................... 145 Andalusians in France: the “Moorish kingdom” of Fraxinetum....................... 151 Rabbi ben Zayd: Bishop Recemundo............................................. 157 Al-Hakam al-Mustansir bi-llah: passion for culture.................................. 161

Ibn Abd Rabbhi, the encyclopedist, and Ibn Futais, the collector.................. 167 Al-Mansur “the Victorious” ...................171 Hisham II and Sanchuelo: misrule. .......191

Abu Muhammad Ali ibn Hazm: The pigeon neackle................................209

Hisham III al-Mu'tadd: the end of the Umayyad caliphate...............................215

Ibn al-Wafid: the gardener doctor.....221

Avempace. The supreme good: wisdom...................................................225

Zaida: the Moorish Queen of Leon and Castile........................................................227

Ibn Tufayl of Guadix: the best disciple of Avempace................. ............................ .231 Averroes: the universal Andalusian....233 Moseh ben Maimon: Maimonides..... ..239 Abu Yusuf Yaqub: the winner of Alarcos......................................................243 Ibn Arabi: the Sufi mystic.....................249 Avenzoar: a long dynasty of doctors. ...................................................253 Al-Ahmar: Abenámar, Moor of the Morería. ...,...............................................255 The Abencerrajes. ..................................261 Boabdil the Younger: the last Moorish king ............................................................267 Aben Humeya: the last Muslim leader of Spain................ ..........................................275 Bibliography .............................................285

Note: The spelling of Muslim names is taken from the works of: Levy Provençal, Muslim Spain, and González Ferrín, General History of al-Andalus.

Introduction

In the long eight hundred years that the Muslims remained in Spain, there were many personalities who, in all the fields of knowledge, sciences, letters and arts, stood out unequivocal, marking a milestone not only in the culture of al-Andalus, but that had a relevant character in universal culture.

On the other hand, the almost constant struggle between Christians and Muslims would also generate a whole series of great warriors who, for example, the infante Don Juan Manuel considered the best gifted for the war of all those who existed in the East and the West of their time.

The date that we all know as the arrival of the Muslims to Gothic Spania dates back to the year 711. Its expansion throughout the territory was so rapid as had been the conquest of the Persian empire and its presencein large areas of Asia or North Africa, but from a cultural point of view, the 8th century was totally sterile. The new conquerors who arrived from beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, were men at arms, mostly illiterate, who could do little contribute to a Christian Spania whose culture continued to develop under the dictates of the wisdom of Saint Isidore of Seville. Still they were left on the Peninsula

many areas where Christianity had not taken root and its importance regarding the assimilation of Islam.

The first governors of al-Andalus, dependent on Caliphate of Damascus, during the first years of occupation had to face many enormous internal problems, originated by the different origins of their own people, Arabs and berebers, mostly, while cultural issues occupied a very secondary level. But, possibly for purely practical reasons, Arabic as a language was introduced into the Christian field. According to Juan Vernet, it is possible to find some codices from times as early as the 9th century, that in its margins appear apostilles or comments in Arabic, and it seems that this language was already rooted among the Mozarabs, that is, the Christians who continued to live and preserve their religion in Muslim-dominated territories, in times before Abd al-Rahman II.

But it will be Abd al-Rahman I the Immigrant, who arrived in al-Andalus from Syria as the only survivor of the exterminated Umayyad dynasty, the one who will be concerned with introducing the principles of oriental culture in Spain, limiting itself to the legal-religious sciences that, in those moments, were the most important for the newly Muslims arrived. It was during the time of Abd al-Rahman II that the first wise men, who can be called that, enrich the cultural landscape of al-Andalus.

Poets, doctors, philosophers, mathematicians, geographers, undefeated generals...All of them will give al-Andalus and Europe a series of works that, by their importance will be translated, searched, accepted and will serve as a basis for the western culture and Renaissance ideas, in such a way that many of the great sages of the Italian Renaissance considered that all knowledge of the time came from Muslim Spain, which all the wise men were of Andalusian origin. And when the political decline and the disintegration of the caliphate, will not stop birth, grow and develop distinguished minds that will continue to maintain,for a long time, the prestige of al-Andalus. Curiously, this situation will be repeated throughout the history of Spain, when the Arab occupation just be a memory. The Spanish Golden Age will coincide with decadence of the Austrias, when the country loses its pre-ponderance in Europe, and with the disaster of '98, with the loss for Spain of its last colonies, will produce a cultural and scientific renaissance that has been called the Silver age.

Through the pages of this book we want to highlight those figures who occupied a predominant place in the history of al-Andalus, although not all of them were necessarily Muslims, since that in that cultured and tolerant al-Andalus, many Jews and some other Christians showed their genius, and of those who, often, we know more about his works than about his biography. But whatever religion they had, they were all, after all, Andalusians, born and raised in the extensive lands of al-Andalus. As a matter of curiosity we will include some groups of characters anonymous people who, due to their surprising

actions, on occasions dictated by necessity, they reveal the ingenuity or character of the Andalusians. Such would be the case of the "rabadíes", of the Moors who, for a time, established a small kingdom in France, or those Normans who ended up becoming Andalusians and Muslims to save their lives.

Perhaps this way we will learn a little more about that crossbred Spain, in which despite so many years of struggle, truces and battles, mutual loves and hates, numerous characters belonging to the three cultures, Moors, Christians and Jews shared knowledge, affinities and forms of life, making al-Andalus the cultural beacon of the West.

The precursors of al-Andalus

Count Don Julián

The conquest of Morocco had been carried out quickly, but shallow. The Berbers were only subdued after a fierce resistance, defeated by an ambitious general who had just been appointed governor of Ifriqiya and Maghrib. His successes in these lands They would prepare the ground for him to be the one to set his eyes and, also his troops, over Gothic Spania. It was Musa ben Nusayr. Musa, with the help of one of his sons, took possession of Tangier, and demanded that the subjugated tribes hostage to educate them in the new faith, which in turn, became propagandists of Islam, leaving in the conquered Morocco Arab lieutenants, including General Tariq ben Ziyad, he turned to Ifriqiya. But it seems that the Ceuta square remained in the hands of a Christian, the so-called Count Don Julián, who would have a determining role in this entire story. We could consider it as a precursor of that al-Andalus that was about to be born.

[occasionallyprosie]

"Too Much Like Hell"

Link was more well-acquainted with death than anyone else, and it was not because he witnessed it so many times. It was because he experienced it more than any other and he still came back.

Febuwhump 2024 | Alt Prompt 6: Immortality

Read on AO3 Warnings: None (Barely even counts as angst tbh...)

He had been eight and wielding his uncle's blade naturally. He had been trained since he could walk to be a warrior after all. It didn't matter much against the lynels on Death Mountain though, he still was burned alive.

He had been twelve and drained of all life by Onyx. Din had nothing to do with his survival.

He had been fifteen when he drowned.

That was the last time he died.

He was nineteen when he met the heroes of past, adjacent, and future, and he was twenty when he said his goodbyes to them and went back to his era.

He had lost track of his age when he saw them again.

"Hey! Pikango!"

He looked over and saw a large group of warriors--men and boys--approaching his vantage point, one waving at him.

"Ah, Link," he slid his paintbrush behind his ear, "welcome back to Hyrule."

"Back--I'm not even asking how you know," Link laughed.

"Who's this, Champion?" Asked one of the men.

"Oh--This is Pikango, an artist from Kakariko. He's a great artist, better than the vet even!"

"Oh," one of the boys breathed.

'Pikango' met the boy's eyes and he just smiled.

As the heroes chattered and moved to go on, Link waving back at 'Pikango' as they did, the hero in red lingered.

"So old age isn't an option?" He asked. There was a ripple around the other and there stood what had to be a copy of the hero, only in traditional Sheikah garb.

"No," the Sheikah said.

"Goddesses." The Hero of Legend looked exhausted as he raised his eyes to the bright sky. "Why? I don’t want to be immortal."

The Kakariko painter just smiled. "Nobody does. It's a far more terrible fate than any I've seen before… and there is a certain point when they will deem your journey as finished but you'll still be here… just to watch the world go by."

"That sounds like hell."

"It is, in a way, but we're always meeting new people, making new friends, and exploring new lands."

"And watching them die, losing them, and seeing it be destroyed?"

"More often than I'd prefer. Once, Ganondorf came back, and there was no hero. I tried to step up, but they were clear." Two sets of crimson eyes met again. "I'm a story now, little more than a legend, but so long as that story is told I remain and so will you."

"Hey Veteran!" One of the other heroes called back. "Leave the elder alone!"

"Jump off a bridge, Captain!" the hero yelled back. He turned back to the painter. "No rest for the wicked then?"

The painter chuckled. "I'd say that the idiom 'Legends never die' is a tad more accurate."

He hummed, then looked back at the other heroes. "Do you want to talk to them? Drop the illusion?"

"I'll be alright." A ripple accompanied him retaking the form of a Sheikah elder. "It was good enough just to see them again."

The hero nodded before jogging after the group.

"What was that, collector?" Wild asked.

Legend shook his head. "Nothing. Just seeing if art changed over history, Nayru knows I can't talk to any of you about that."

Wild laughed. "Fair enough. Pikango is the best artist in all of Hyrule, no offense. He just is."

"If you say so," Legend hummed.

He glanced back and saw an old wolf joining the painter at the setting sun. The painter pet the old wolf and continued painting the sunset behind Satori Mountain.

"Hey Rancher," he called forward and Twilight looked back. "What's your thoughts on immortality? A blessing or a curse?"

The topic drew the attention of the group, confusing Twilight as well, but he thought about it.

"I don' think I'd like t'a outlive everyone," the rancher decided. "It sounds like an awful thing, t'be honest wit'ya, Vet."

"But you'd live forever!" Wind argued. "What if someday there were ships that could fly without magic?"

"Doubt it," Hyrule teased.

Legend looked up at the colorful sky and could see one of Wild's dragons flying overhead, the electric one. "I agree," he said, partially to Twilight, partially to all of them, and partially to the goddesses who made him. "It sounds just a little too much like hell."

Event Masterlist

[randomfoggytiger]

X-Files' Collector's Edition: Fight the Future Fics (Part I)

No introduction necessary, I think.

Loose chronological order below~!

astronaught's Equilibrium - Entr'acte

""He doesn’t like having an aversion to smallness because it means he might reject a truth for being insufficiently grand. Tall tales curdle in Kurtzweil’s mouth, and for the eighty-seventh time that year he feels dirtied by their hold on him....

If their work was going to be destroyed by anything, he didn’t think it would be because she lost her nerve. He and she share a tendency to hold their noses when it comes to dealing with the spiritually mundane, but they don’t do so childishly....

But all the same. Their intellectual honesty has always been its own kind of snobbery. It isn’t really smallness (nor practicality, nor effort) that he’s averse to, but rather inefficiency of a very specific kind. His duty is to the necessary. To the fundamentally true....

And he thought she was the same.""

Mulder and Scully spin their wheels, confused and hurt by each other's lines they draw about the work.

red2007's Icarus

""One breath. Two breaths. Chest compressions.

Molten lava was licking through his veins. Every movement he made, every memory he conjured was a four alarm fire coursing through his body. He’d been pulled closer to her everyday since they’d first met, no one else heard him or bothered to listen. No one could see him the way she did, she made him feel relevant. Her trust in him made him feel invincible. He didn’t remember what life was like before her, he didn’t care to.

He was terrified of a life without her and it was burning him up from the inside out. This partnership turned friendship turned codependency turned love…he didn’t know how to survive without it.""

Mulder's body is on fire with adrenaline as he pushes its limits to save his partner.

@leiascully's (Ao3)

OctoberFicFest Day 6: Frost (Ao3)

""He’s too desperate to revive her to think of how empty, how shattered his heart will be if she doesn’t wake up."" 

Mulder ruminates on twisted fairytales while saving his frosted partner.

To The Ends Of The Earth (Ao3)

""He’s still shivering, even in his suit in the sun in the summer. He’s seen her shivering too. They’ve both been drinking more coffee since Antarctica. He’s been watching her lace her fingers around her mugs, just letting the warmth seep into her. He hopes his hand is as soothing to her as the terrible coffee in the bullpen.

“If I quit now, they win,” she said. He turns it over and over in his mind as they walk. He doesn’t know where they’re going. He doesn’t care. They’re together. They survived. They have their work. That’s all that matters to him anymore, Scully and the work.""

Post FTF Mulder and Scully leisure around DC, he enjoying and she surprising.

@scapegrace74-blog/scapegrace74's Walking After You

""It was foreordained that Mulder be beside her.  Where fear and the improbable intersected in her life, there was her partner, vigilant defender against all her katabases.  She no longer questioned his presence there.  He simply was.

...Her beautiful Don Quixote, caring only for the quest, and not its consequences.""

Scully pulls Mulder to her on the ice, contemplating her childhood dreams and her partner's revitalized wonder.

@all-these-ghosts's (Ao3

if i am hopeful - Chapter 6

""After everything, all of the strife and regret, she will die here. In this great whiteness. They say that freezing to death is an easy way to go, but she is a doctor and a realist and nothing, nothing has ever been easy for them.

He has already stopped shivering."" 

Scully is convinced she and Mulder will freeze to death, noting his deterioration but grateful to perish with him.

unfinished business

""This is Scully, he reminds himself. Scully who follows him on every insane adventure, who pulls him back from the edge, who not even a year ago was dying in a hospital bed while he raged, unable to contend with his absolute powerlessness.

And now, here in his living room: he is not powerless.""

AU-- Scully is overthinking her rescue, questioning why Mulder went to the ends of the earth for her. He finally demonstrates why.

@scully/humancredentials’s

a series of tumblr prompts - Chapter 8 (Ao3)

""Her eyes sting, her tears freezing on her face as soon as they fall. She feels the ache in her bones and her lungs burn with every inhale of cold air. She presses her cracked lips to his forehead and tastes blood. His, she thinks, but she’s not sure....

“Mulder,” she murmurs, her voice hoarse and underused. He doesn’t react, doesn’t even move, this foolish hero of hers that followed her to the ends of the earth. He has given her his warmest clothes.""

Scully begs her partner to stay awake, thrilled and relieved when he cracks a joke.

@frangipanidownunder’s (Ao3) 

I Love You Prompts: Tiny Fics - Chapter 2

""Thank you,” she says and her voice is cracked like the ice.

He doesn’t know what to say. She would have done the same for him. Had done the same. Their rescues of each other are becoming more epic by the year. He chuffs out a laugh at the thought but it gets stuck in the frozen air.""

Mulder drags Scully to the Snocat, letting Scully off the hook for not remembering the hallway completely. They always save each other, after all.

Cold, happy, tired.

""She can recall his expression though. Standing before her in that chamber, willing her to breathe. His lips parted, his eyes wide with a mix of terror and happiness. Wet hair flopping over his face. He had saved her and himself - the relieved note in his voice told her that. In that moment, a tiny speck of time between them, she knew she loved him. Irrefutably. The thought flashed through her mind, a bolt of reality. It warmed her chest, spurred her on.""

AU-- Scully sees the spaceship; and, mind blown, helps drag her weary partner to safety, welcoming his tiny little move.

@sixhours/6hoursgirl's (FFN) Waking Hours - Chapter 1 (FFN)

""Mulder,” she tries again, jaw aching with the effort. “Wake up.”

He does, then, ice crystal lashes blinking open to reveal muddy hazel eyes. His lips form her name, a soundless whisper cast into the storm, received by mutual telepathy.""

Scully wakes Mulder up in the icefield, pulling him away from looking for the spaceship he claimed to have seen for more practical pursuits.

@scullydubois/scully_dubois's txf prompts - Chapter 2

""He is numb to everything except a weight and warmth near--one that could not possibly have originated from him, for he has known nothing except ragging breath and stillness for...well, he doesn’t know how long. There are no sunrises or sunsets here to mark the time.

He remembers, then, why he is here. That he’s not alone. That he came here to rescue the one person that’s ever believed him when he needed it, and that he did, and so she must be here, she must be that weight against his side.""

Mulder wakes to Scully, filling her while on the ice and leaving it open-ended on how to go forward.

@contrivedcoincidences6/Spooky66/geektime66’s

Never Let You Go

""For as long as I live I’ll never be able to get the image of her in that capsule out of my head. It will haunt me till the day I die.""

Mulder drags Scully back to the Snocat, both vowing to never let the other go.

Helpless

""I’m too late.

As I helplessly pump at her chest I begin to feel the sobs. My chest and my throat feel like they are being ripped open with the force of them.

She’s gone. Scully is dead and there is no point in living.""

Mulder has a nightmare; and he makes a move on Scully while she attempts to comfort him.

@i-gaze-at-scully’s (Ao3)

Tundra

""I saw it,” you whispered, holding me, as the loose wet hair around your face froze in strands.

Belief as soft and fresh as the snow we laid in insulated us from the cold.""

Mulder and Scully lay on the tundra, warmed by their belief.

Pad Thai and poison apples

""They get out together though, naturally, at the basement level. Scully wants to be smug, wants to rub it in Diana’s face that this is her office, her work, her.... she wants to, but she can’t. Not without a nameplate on the door. Or even a desk.""

Post FTF Diana goads Scully about not getting a lunch invite from Mulder. And even though he'd forgotten about Fowley, it doesn't soothe the sting.

ML/ML_is_me’s (Ao3, Gossamer, DW, Invidiosa)  and LaVa, Jacquie and Tess

Fight the Good Fight

""His cot was less than ten feet from hers but it might as well have been ten miles. She was exhausted by the time she reached his side. Collapsing onto the floor beside him, she called to him.

"Mulder. It's me."

Fear sent her heart bumping against her breastbone when he didn't stir.""

Scully is worried for her partner, both physically and mentally: it's obvious that he's losing his drive for a quest that always hurts her.

@allyinthekeyofx’s (Ao3)

Small Considerations Between Partners - 6 (Ao3)

""Because mostly what I remember is the fear; the absolute all encompassing terror I felt when I tried to swallow and discovered my throat was blocked by a tube, gagging as I tried to scream, to shout, to have someone please come to get it out of me. This invader of my prone body that stole my breath and rendered me almost hysterical as I fought with everything I had to lift my hands in an attempt to rid myself of it; the restraints that prevented me from doing so biting cruelly in to the soft flesh of my wrists even as I arched myself from the bed, the high pitched sound of alarms piercing my already aching head as I silently screamed for him to help me, needing him to find me, to save me just this one last time as scalding tears streamed down my face only to become instantly chilled against my skin.""

Scully is traumatized while recovering from her experience; but Mulder is there (as always) to comfort and reassure.

@danascullysrationalism/ARoadInCapeCod's Whatever's Left

""For too long, she had been his ripcord.... She would always bring him up and out. Alive.... It had saved him too many times when he wandered too far in the ticks of light that led him astray. She was the storm that let him live. He always knew there was something righteous inside her.

This was all he could do to thank her.""

Scully is lost in her recovery, knowing she can't follow Mulder forever; and Mulder is lost watching her recover, knowing he can't give her more.

chezamanda's The Five Times Fox Mulder Didn’t Tell Dana Scully He Loved Her (and the One Time He Did)

""Now here they are, still together even though it feels like the world is constantly trying to keep them apart. If I quit now, they win.

FTF (amongst other seasons) Mulder ruminates thrice on his awe of and love for Scully.

Singing_Violin's This I Can Do

""We are so cold. But she is alive. I am thankful for that."" 

The one thing that Fox Mulder can do is hold Dana Scully.

@broadcastnews1987/audries/@kennedyandheidi/inkspl0tchess's (WBM 1/2/3)

string theory (or seven times dana scully wore fox mulder's clothes)

""be careful,” she thinks she says as the medics move them into the helicopter. the voice in her head is cool, detached, precise. hypothermia demands gentle treatment, it says. he needs me, she tries to tell them, he told me so. she doesn’t know why they won’t let her hold his hand.

two days later and he is slouching in her doorway wearing sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt. he tilts his head to wait for permission and she uncurls her fingers to open her palm like a flower.""

Scully's hypothermia hinders her responses but not her resolve-- to care for and stay with her partner.

DanaScully77's Delirium

""Dearie, you really shouldn’t be speaking.” The nurse is kind with a calming hand on his chest. “Do you remember what happened?”

Mulder shakes his head no. His eyes are pleading with the nurse, confusion too thick in his brain to make sense of anything around him. All that keeps ringing in his mind is that Scully is hurt and that he needs to get to her.

“You both were found in Antarctica by a team of scientists exploring disturbances in the ice. Do you remember how you got there?”

Flashes of alien testing tubes fill his mind and his jaw opens. “Scully."" 

The Unnatural Mulder remembers comforting Scully during the events of FTF. Now, they enjoy hot cocoa at his apartment, happy.

@frogsmulder/Brynstein's Chapter 1: Post Fight the Future

""Mulder, it's me."

He couldn't help but let a laugh go down the line. "Never have I heard sweeter words, Scully."

"Mulder?" The was a pause of quiet, no doubt filled by the rise of a singular eyebrow. "Have you just taken your meds?""

Post FTF Mulder wanders around, bored, before calling Scully to re-patch his wound.

@mashnotesofthemythopoeic/Penumbra/The_Mythopoeic - Works/Penumbra's X-Files Fiction (Alt., Zuffy's Tripod)

The Cretan Paradox

""No minotaur," she says, as they gain the center.

"Looking for trouble, Scully?" he asks, with some intent. His soft mouth quirks.

Labyrinths, Mulder explains, are convoluted journeys fraught with dead ends and blind passages, and are solved by intuition and creativity. "But a maze is a left-brained puzzle." He looks down at her, eyes narrow and warm in the afternoon light. Not unlike you, his eyes say.""

Post FTF Mulder takes Scully to a maze, showing her how to always escape it and leading up to his tentative movie night invite.

AUs

@oceanofthesky/noifsandsorbees’s White Noise (Ao3)

""She smiles and she laughs. A lot.” Mulder says suddenly, and his eyes are faraway, lit up and peaceful. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

“What are you talking about, Mulder?”

“Scully. The rare moments when she lets herself be happy. It’s really something.""

Mulder and Scully may resolve things between them in the hallway, but she's still reassigned. Many phone calls, doubts, and insecurities plague their long-term relationship, deeply rooted by the time they're reunited.

@starwalker42 (Ao3

can't stay awake

""Underneath our cocoon of blankets, trembling fingers wrap around mine. I barely feel the contact, but I’m glad for it all the same. It’s not lost on me that not an hour ago, she was frozen in ice on the brink of death, and now she’s the one comforting me. She’s too good at this – looking after me when she’s the one in pain. I know I don’t deserve Dana Scully. I certainly don’t deserve to die next to her. But I’m glad that if I have to go, I get to go like this.""  

Mulder keeps a slurring Scully awake by bantering about penguins; but the two of them soon slow on the ice, dropping a love you before they succumb to sleep.

@o6666666's (Ao3) Prompts 1, 2, and 83

""He came with a big bottle of aloe, planning to paint her cheeks with it. How funny that his conscientious Scully should get sunburned in the dog days of August from lying out on the ice. (It wasn’t funny.)

They’d brought her all the way to Antarctica in her skirt suit. He pictured the henchmen in their parkas and gloves and boots, none of them caring how she shivered.""

Mulder's guilt over his ice-burned, clingy Scully almost destroys the potential between them. She sees past his reticence and reassures.

2plumsandagherkin's Like You Wanted to

""Do you remember anything that happened… in the hallway?” he asked, tentatively.

“No, what happened in the hallway?”

He explained about her getting stung by the bee and the ambulance crew taking her and trying to shoot him, but she had the feeling he was leaving something out."" 

Scully doesn't recall the hallway incident until later, rushing over to Mulder's and affirming her love.

@frostbitepandaaaaa/FrostbitePanda’s Four Days AU

""If she had just followed her parents’ wishes... she would be laying in a king bed right now. Safe in some boring suburb with a dog and perhaps even some handsome husband watching reruns of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and idly wondering what it would feel like to be a pioneer, a woman planted on the edge of the unknown, spread before her vast and endless and hers for the taking. 

That’s what Mulder gave her— a borderless realm, a fertile landscape lain with both the dreadful and the sublime.

“I’ve always felt… that it should interest me. That… in order to be a real person in the world, I needed to want those things.” She shakes her head, tilted back on the seat, staring at the riveted ceiling, beaded with condensation. 

A great breath shifts out of him, but he says nothing. 

“But the only thing that has ever made me feel like a real person, Mulder, is you."" 

While trapped in the Snocat for four days, Mulder and Scully reopen their hallway discussion and plan for a first date that is not over file cabbage packaged meals. Diana tries to throw a wrench in that; but Skinner is not going to sit idly by at the FBi shindig.

Ann Ripley's Any Resemblance

""The chip was reinserted and her health steadily improved. I know this because I was able to watch the process through a two-way mirror.... They cured her but also filtered out all her memory of our work, our partnership, our love.

Anna's recovery and future safety was the price I paid for my silence. Any subsequent investigation into the consortium or revelation of colonization plans would result in the cancer's return. It was not too high a price to pay. I would do it again in a second.

The show debuted a year after Mrs. Spriggs wheeled Anna out of the consortium-run hospital and started a new life.""

FTF was based on the life of two real people; but the fact was separated from fiction after the unhappy reality. The man who Mulder was based on watches the show, ruminating on all that never and really was.

Enjoy!

[2-dsimp]

hello I saw that the kitchen is open! can I have an upside down cake with dragon beard candy with xiao? if the kitchen is closed then please delete this request! I hope you have a good day! <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upside down cake + Dragon Beard candy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cw: Heavy Angst! Slight yandere tendencies

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xiao knew he shouldn’t have gotten to close to you. That he should’ve known his place and stayed content with only admiring you from within the safety net of your unassuming shadow. Ever since he became the right hand of his boss Zhongli, his life was sealed with the mark of death always looming over his head.

Known as the the debt collector in the streets, he was in charge of terminating any contractees who failed to uphold the contract the Don carefully crafted. Most of the time it ended up with him sending yet another poor bastard 6ft deep underneath the very ground he walked. Along with yet another bounty directed at his head as his job always includes gaining more enemies than allies.

And now due to his carelessness there was a red letter in the mail that indicated that his enemies knew of his precious darlings existence. Which caused him to be more paranoid and anxious whenever you’d leave to do little errands just like a dog suffering from separation anxiety.

He desperately wishes to go in public with you and show that you guys were an item. That you were his and his alone…

However that’ll only confirm the suspicions of his enemies of the relationship he cherished so dearly with his darling. So quickly he began distancing himself from you, each day going by without him constantly being by your side. Until the only way you could only spend time with him was being in the bed you both shared.

In the dark of the night lying there in bed with you, his dear lover. Xiao couldn’t help but feel the guilt and frustration ebbing away at his very being. The mere thought of you being hurt was torturing him, since he knew deep down that he was the one who put your life in jeopardy. All because he couldn’t resist temptation of reveling in the comforting warmth you exuded. I mean how could he abstain when you were his only source of salvation from his own self made hell.

But who was he kidding? How could a man like him deserve such an angel like you? When he was nothing but a mere dirty sinner, carrying around the stench of blood everywhere he went. No matter how many times you assured him that you loved him no matter what and that he was enough. He knew it’d never be enough. You deserved better.

Which is why tomorrow would be the day he’d disappear from your life and erase any traces that’d connect him with you.

‘That way you’d be safe…Right?’

Xiao thought bitterly to himself. His grip on you tightened as his head wracked with voices of uncertainty. Was the decision he was about to make the right one? Would you really be untouched once separated from his grasp?

Couldn’t he just keep you locked up and throw away the key?

Xiao flinched at the invasive suggestion. Did he really just propose the idea of keeping you under imprisonment? With a grave defeated smile he came to a conclusion. Truly he wasn’t worthy of a virtuous lover like you. That mere fact gave him all the more reason to steel his resolve at leaving you behind to make sure no harm will come your way because of his life threatening occupation.

‘It’s the only way to protect you my love’

Even if you may come to have your love for him reduced to hate. His only wish would be for you to live a happy long life no matter where you may be. Xiao gingerly placed one last loving kiss to your forehead as the sun began to rise diminishing the darkness residing within the confines of your home along with himself.

When you woke up in a daze the only evidence that he was with you was the green envelope he left behind on your bedside table. With shaky hands you tore open the letter and couldn’t hold the sobs wracking your throat.

From outside the bedroom window Xiao could only grit his teeth as he heard the muffled cries of anguish escape your lips. And left without looking back with heaviness weighing down in his bleeding heart.

[cdaae]

Why Am I Like This- Phantom Collector Edition

I’m a completionist and an obsessive so I need all the different versions of a thing so here’s a list of where I’m at right now. I wish I could say that I was anywhere near done but there’s always more phantom stuff to collect

Books

Gaston Leroux x51(This includes all 6 English translations, 8 different languages, and three levels of French)

Gaston Leroux signed by Broadway Cast

The Underground’s of the Phantom of the Opera

The Phantom of the Bathtub

Night of the Phantom

Embrace the Night

Lessons from the Phantom of the Opera

Song of a Maiden

Madrigal

Phantom

Unmasqued

Phantom of Manhattan

Ruinsong

Roseblood

Beyond the Masque

Chanson de L’Ange

Sing Me Forgotten

The Angel of the Opera

The Phoenix of the Opera

The Phantom’s Opera

The Phantom of Paris

The Phantom’s Apprentice

Where Dreams Descend

The Phantom Cat of the Opera

Phantom Pop Up Book

George Perry’s Complete Phantom of the Opera

Phantoms of the Opera

The Trap Door Maker

Phantom Graphic Novel x2

The Phantom Cooks

2004 Companion

Geronimo Stilton

Thea Stilton

My Phantom

Phantoms in the Night

Phantom of Pemberly

Phantom of the Auditorium

Behind the Phantom’s Mask

The Phantom Returns

Phantom erotica

Book cassette

Souvenir edition OLC

Emoji of the opera

Phantom 2020

Phantom Phantasia

Songbird

The Phantom’s Lullaby

Phantom of the Little Russian Theatre

Masked Love

Treasures of Egypt

Victory

Venetian Romance

Susannah’s Secret

The Man in the Shadows

Love in the Spotlight

Let the Dream Begin

A Phantom’s Promise

Destiny’s Curse

Phantom by David Bischoff

Mini Leroux

L’Opera de Paris

Paris National Opera

Palais Garnier

Peeping Duck Gang

Out of the Darness

L’Opera De Paris Coulisses etc secrets du Garnier

Claude Rains Book

Movies/CDs/Media

Lon Chaney

Claude Rains x2

Herbert Lom x2

Phantom of Hollywood

Schell

Robert Englund

Charles Dance

David Staller

Julian Sands

2004 x17 (English x2, French x3 Germanx2, Greek, Spanish, Italian, limited(English and German), deluxe, and Ultimate, Special, Collectors(English and French)

Angel of Music

25th Anniversary

Love Never Dies

A Monster in Paris

Phantom of the Grindhouse

Anthony Mann

Phantom of the Theatre

Unmasking the Masterpiece

Love on Safari

Faust

1987 Cartoon(dvd & VHS)

Mystery Legends Phantom Game x2

2004 digital press kit(English and French)

OLC (cassette & CD)

CDs x59

Phantom of the Paradise Record

OLC small record(wywsha&motn)

Long box cd

Long box 2004

2004 VHS

Movie/book set

Long box OLC cassettes

Karaoke cassettes

Highlight cassettes

Robert Englund VHS

For Your Consideration 2004

Book casettes

Stage Fright

Props/Signed/Similar

Love Never Dies audience gift notebook

1992 tour Auction book prop

Jerry Mitchell signed LND after party invite

Phantoms Note from BWay x2

Don Juan Music from BWay x1 1/2

Ticket to 25th Anniversary Party

Majestic Theatre Phantom Barricade Cover

Photo cards, signed x16

Signed LOBs x2

Robert Englund autograph

Laird Mackintosh autograph

BWay 29th anniversary cast gift beanie

KAV’s dressing gown shoes

Manager’s BWay newspaper prop x4

Cast board name placards x3(2 BWay one Vegas)

Reopening cookies x2

London 35th anniversary rose petals and card

Il Muto page boy stockings

OBC cast member costume gloves

Printed cast member email

Cast made calendars 2006 and 2007

Full cast signed poster with Hugh

Signed trading card

Signed Michael Crawford Face mask

Signed Crawford Article

Signed 35 Poster

Signed Mask

Scrap of Christine’s wedding dress

Scrap of phantoms suit

10th anniversary invite

Opera glasses cast gift

Magazines

24/7 Magazine featuring Crivello

NYC City Guide 2014 & 2016

TODAY featuring Vegas

What’s On Vegas

Time Out New York

German LND

Theater Week 1988

In Theater 1998

Casino Player Magazine

Fate Magazine

Broadway Spotlight

Other

Megstine notebook

Mugs x7

Cups x5

Water Bottle

Ornaments x5

Phantom harmonica

Red death figure

Lon Chaney figure

Phantom Nutcracker

Phantom and Christine Barbies

Tote bag x4

Phantom creamer tops, complete set

Postcards x6

LOBs x2

Magnet x5

Stickers x12

Phantom Cat sticker set

Chibi phantom sticker set

Angel patch

Greeting cards x2

Posters x5

Art print

Calendar

Ramin based doll

Phantom doll + Ayesha

Snerik

Pen

Mardi Gras coin

Felt Raoul and Erik

Francœur bean

Small hand painted canvas

25th Anniversary limited edition boxed set

Canada gift bag

Mexico phone card

Japanese train card x2

Trading card

Lon Chaney money

Lon Chaney stamp

Pencil

Phone case

Gift bag

Japanese posters x6

Herbert Lom ad stamp

Complete LND London draft script

Blanket

Operetta

34th Anniversary blank playbill sticker sheets

Goosebumps pen

Goosebumps magnet

Goosebumps stickers x9

Bendyfigs phantom

German postcard

Angel of Music coffee

Where Dreams Descend popcorn holder

Raoul and Christine art print

Large paper bag

1994 calendar

Ireland phone card

Movie screening invite

German something?

Frame

Vegas key card

Angel of music bear

Tea towels x2

Mask sticker

Blockbuster card

Phantom press invite

Mini 2004 scrapbook

Playing cards

Assorted Japanese 2004 film memorabilia(10 pieces)

2004 film poster and booklet

1999 ticket info

2023 newspaper clippings

Gingerbread ornament

Aussie keychain

Phantom/Christine blanket

2011 wall calendar

2012 wall calendar

2013 wall calendar

Angel ornament

Universal Erik doll

Sarah/Steve Ad

1993 calendar

2004 Mylar

1995 calendar

Italy confetti

Crawford ornament

Halloween figure

Matchbox

Soap?

Heart frame

Jewelry

Pins x11

Charm bracelet

Necklace x2

Key chains x14

Replica Ring

Hair bow x2

Think of Me hair clips

Jewelry pouch

Music Boxes

Square black jewelry music box

Il Muto

Limited Edition boat scene

Boat Scene

Phantom and Christine wedding

Porcelain signs x2

Limited edition mirror scene

Mirror scene

Mirror

Limited edition MotN

Red Death

Throne water globe

Music water globe

Phantom w/ stick water globe

Rooftop water globe

Russian egg(?)

Mirror scene water globe

Phantom w/ stick

Phantom in throne

Monkey music box

Limited edition Jack in the box

Boat scene water globe(broken globe)

Russian egg (?? Missing top)

Small music box(no music)

Universal Phantom and Christine

Phantom and Christine with Marni

Opera House

Phantom Automata

Madame Alexander Christine Doll

Broken Mirror

Erik and Christine porcelain figure

Music pedestal

Clothing

Socks

Glow in the dark boxers

Night shirt

Phantom BWay x2

Sydney Harbour shirt

Christine dressing gown VTC

Peacock dress

US tour grey shirt

Christmas Sweatshirt

Toronto shirt

Candy of the Opera

1988 mask shirt

Phantom of the Opry shirt

New York shirt

Mask sweatshirt

Ghost Red Death Shirt

35th anniversary shirt

Italy shirt

Programs/Playbills/ETC

Loose understudy slips x14

Ticket stubs x11

Newspaper clippings

Mini flyers x6

Flyers x40

Ken Hill souvenir program

2004 film souvenir program

ALW souvenir programs x49

BWAY playbills x63

Signed playbills x12

Tour playbills x20

London programs x18

YK phantom playbill

World tour playbill

Melbourne playbill

Robert Englund film souvenir program

Italy program

Sweden program

Music Books

ALW piano x3(easy, intermediate, expert)

2004 film

YK phantom

LND London

I can honestly say this may not even be everything because sometimes I forget to add new acquisitions to the list. If there’s anything on the list you wanna see pics of, I’m happy to share!

[delusinalandpassionate]

Okay so I looked at passives of Base Sinners trying to understand what their sins mean and suddenly realized that each of them had very specific name. Like their skills mostly just a simple description of attack like "thrust" "chop" or "slash", but their passives have unique names and it kinda looked (to me) as if they are recalling to sinners backstories or cantos like

Gregors' passive is "Forced to Survive" and we know that half of his story based on that desire to stay alive and survival guilt following it.

Rodion has "Split Evil" and it kinda a straightforwardish description of what she thought she was doing when she killed tax-collector.

Sinclair has "Determined" whish this time is less about past and more about his position in III Canto when he wanted to murder Kromer no matter what

Yi San has "Information relay" and this may sound as stretch, but their league propose was about sharing information with each other, and hid main work "Mirror" was made in cooperation. And he was kidnapped to share his knowledge, too

So if I am right, than we can use Sinners personal passive to theorize about their past or thier cantos, which I'm going to try right now

Ishmael has "Last-ditch Struggle" and I think it tells about her Canto where she will do something extremely dangerous to avenge her fallen comrades(trying to kill Moby Dick or Ahab I guess)

Heathcliff has "Ressentiment" whish is definitely tells us about his past, or at least about his emotions about it.

Don Quixote has "Righteous Retribution" and I am not sure what it’s about, but if we consider that theory Sancho!Don is true then maybe her Canto will be about revenge to Doctor Carrasco, who was a person mainly responsible for Don quixote death in book.

Hong Lu has "Entertainment" ...and unfortunately I'm not familiar with Red Chamber to make any theories about him, but I would definitely like to read your ideas

Ryoshu has "Indiscriminate Art" and well...I am pretty sure it's about how she was ready to hurt anyone for her Art. Even her own daughter.

Meursault suddenly also has "Determined" just like Sinclair, which makes me think that in his Canto he will also have to be ready to meet past?

Outis has "Executor" and there is a problem, because there was plenty of times when Odysseus executed someone, but I guess it most likely allusion on handmaidens hanged in the end of Odyssey, because of that official art of her with hanging corpse. Or in her Canto we could find out that her final order is to execute Dante.

Faust has "Analytical Eye" which is kinda too vague for me, and just like in Hong Lu situation I know almost nothing about her book. So if you have ideas, please share.

So yeah, that's my dumb theory. Or a bunch of theories. Hope it was interesting

[angelalobcorpdidnothingwrong]

Limbus company prediction:

When they finally start adding Aleph EGO to the game, assuming the general rule of “sinner EGO is the same rank as the abnormality it comes from”, I think we can speculate on a few possible EGO.

Rodya: I think she’s a good fit with Melting Love. Melting Love’s whole deal is spreading widespread death as a result of a well intentioned act, much like her killing of the tax collector. (Mountain of Smiling Bodies could also work here, but my gut tells me that one would be better suited for Ryoshu.)

Sinclair: Chapter 3’s theme of humanity and what it means through the inquisitors and sinclair’s backstory in general make me think Nothing There is a perfect fit. Not to mention, Sinclair’s violent duality ties in with how Nothing There can seem innocently curious until it starts killing its way through your facility.

Don: Army in Pink/Black. Similar ideas of a romantic, unrealistic ideal being set up for a harsh, violent fall. Plus, the corrosion is already built in with the abnormality’s whole deal.

Mersault: [CENSORED]. The blandest man alive gets the least knowable abno of them all.

Faust: WhiteNight, since they both have a legion of simps

[flowers-for-the-grave]

Gold Is Appealing

The crown weighs heavy upon its wearer's brow. Each passing day makes the crown grow heavier, and the wearer grows wearier with each day. Some say that a curse had been placed upon this crown during the first brawl to take place over its ownership. That, in the bloodshed of the rulers, the crown had been cursed to bring death and misfortune in its wake, and that any who wear it face cruel and startling punishments. For some, this means betrayal from one whom they'd loved, being poisoned in their own domain. For others, the crown brought magical powers beyond their own control, causing a harsh and gruelling winter to befall their lands.

It is needless to say that the crown had been swamped with misery and famine since the first few days of its creation. And that it had been buried long ago for good measure.

Pix had failed to read that in his books. But to be fair, there hadn't been many accounts detailing this crown, and those that did contain information were...vague, at best. So he'd seen no issue with donning the crown and wearing it with pride. He'd made his rule, as the books had mentioned within his newfound capabilities, and for the short time of having it, Pix had almost enjoyed it. Not the power itself, no. In other circumstances Pix wouldn't dare do such a thing. But in the name of history, he simply had to, if only to keeep the crown's rich tradition alive.

Perhaps it had been this that caused his untimely demise.

During that tea party at Glimmergrove, Pix hadn't initially thought much when he started withering. He'd assumed that Katherine had found him. After all, he had seen that Katherine did kill those that she managed to find. All in good sport, of course. The respawn ability every ruler shared was used not in life-or-death situations, but mostly as a measure of strength; a way to test how long one may survive against a terrible foe, or when they're on the brink of death from poisoning.

But when he did die, he came back...different. A ghost. A spectral figure that startled the other rulers upon seeing him. Pix had, quite literally, become as dead as history. He'd merged with it. Was that meant to be his fate all along? Condemned to live as a ghost after a light-hearted discovery and some innocent tradition-upkeeping? That didn't seem fair to him.

Scott had the crown now. At first he hadn't meant to acquire it. He'd simply stood nearby and accidentally retrieved the fallen things of the late Pix. And that meant he had to put out his own decree for the other rulers to follow. There wasn't anything he really wanted. Scott was a collector at heart; an adventurer. He'd spent a large part of his life travelling, permanently borrowing artefacts and living freely. It hadn't really been his intention to become King of Chromia, but he took it in his stride. In fact, he had been planning to continue his streak of permanently borrowing other people's possessions. So for now, he administered a simple task: build a statue, building or other form of structure for Chromia. He'd laid out the borders, and left it at that.

But upon his return home, he'd encountered a most peculiar note left for him. It requested that he create a Brown Mooshroom and take it to a place called the Hollow. Scott knew something bad or risky when he saw it. And this note definitely had sinister connotations. Would this lead to his death the same way Pix had perished? There was no real way to tell for sure.

The crown was laced in malice. None would know this. Perhaps a demon from the days of the past had cursed it. A demon that had cursed it as a last resort in case he was sentenced to death.

Who knows? All we know for sure was one thing.

That gold, the very gold within the crown, was appealing to all rulers.

[don-the-death-collector]

One of my connections from my job reached out and said he had a house he was working on that I might like. Debating on whether I should drive to the Midwest to meet him or if it makes more sense to just get the story from him...

[uniquevoidflowers]

Whatever day this is! Tis' short but I think it hits.

Hyrule hummed softly lost in thought during second watch. He had noticed Legend was being off. The collector was being quiet, blank, unexpressive, the exact opposite of how the kid usually acts. Usually Legend is either smiling or scowling, loud with opinions, and laughing with everyone. But during mealtime earlier that evening, the collector kept to himself, face impassive, and managing to avoid every conversation. That made the traveller’s stomach churn a little bit. Eyes landing on the collector, Hyrule found that the kid was tossing and turning, eyebrows furrowed, and tears flowing freely down his cheeks. Legend was whispering stuff like ‘no’ and ‘come back’. Hyrule decided he needed to do something and wandered over to Legend to rouse him. He gently shook the kid, waiting patiently until Legend’s eyes slowly fluttered open. “W-what is it?” Legend questioned, sitting up almost instantly.

“It looked like you were having a nightmare. Thought I’d wake you up.” Hyrule answered.

“I wasn’t.” Legend croaked.

“Really? So I just imagined you crying and tossing and turning, and talking in your sleep?” Hyrule retorted.

Legend’s eyes widened a bit and he felt his face, fingers touching the tear stains. “Okay maybe I was.” He said quietly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Hyrule offered, softening.

The collector’s mouth opened but no sound came out. He suddenly looked so small, eyes wide but narrowed and mouth quivering. Hyrule looked at the kid and suddenly found himself there. Hyrule recalled wishing for arms to wrap around him as he was alone, his parents nowhere to be found. So instead of saying anything he just opened his arms wide, a genuine smile on his face. The traveller was surprised to almost be knocked over by Legend, who had sprinted into his arms. But Hyrule returned the hug, and held Legend close. Hyrule could feel the collector shaking, as pained sobs rang in his ears.

“I-I’m so-ory I just…” Legend broke off at the end.

“No apologizing.” Hyrule murmured.

For a long time, Hyrule sat there with Legend bawling and apologizing over and over again, until the kid had run out of tears to cry. “How are you feeling?” Hyrule asked.

“Better.” Legend sniffled and rubbed his eyes.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” Hyrule asked again.

…

“Yeah.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

Legend paused to collect himself. “I had a nightmare. A-and it was about…it was about my U-uncle…and t-this girl I knew.”

“Yeah? You don’t have to continue if you don’t want to.” Hyrule reminded him.

Legend shook his head. And then began to tell the traveller of the brutal death of his Uncle, how the blood was pouring out of his Uncle’s mouth, and how he saw the gaping hole in the man’s chest. Then the kid rambled about this girl, and every single moment spent with her, but then how he had killed her and never saw her again. At least that’s what Hyrule had picked up. Legend had been sniffling, pausing, and stammering, and mumbling and Hyrule was certain he had missed a few things. He had felt really bad for the poor collector, the poor kid. A literal kid, facing these horrifying things. “Wait how old were you when all this happened?” Hyrule didn’t realize the words had slipped off his tongue until they did.

Legend stiffened. “I uh…do you really want to know?”

Hyrule found that he was curious, but he shouldn’t have been so blatant. “Only if you’d like to answer.” Hyrule decided.

“Well…I was six when my Uncle died, and seven when s-she died.” Legend admitted.

And he was ten now. Hyrule felt sick. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’ be sorry.” Legend yawned.

“I think it’s time for you to go back to sleep and get a night’s rest for our journey tomorrow.” Hyrule demanded.

“M’kay.” Legend nodded and the traveller grabbed a spare blanket.

The collector crawled into his bedroll and Hyrule gave the blanket to him, watching as Legend eventually relaxed.

“‘Rule you were supposed to wake me up quite awhile ago.”

Hyrule jerked around to see Time standing there, a concerned but stern expression on his face. “How much did you hear?” Hyrule questioned.

“Not much. Just woke up a few minutes ago.” Time responded looking at the kid instead of the traveller.

“Right.” Hyrule nodded, not convinced at all.

“Well, what are you standing here for? It’s my turn for watch.” Time demanded, not unkindly.

Hyrule shrugged and slipped into his bedroll. He sat there for a few seconds, before he was able to drift off.

He had nightmares about Legend dying, gory deaths. Once Hyrule had awoken, tears dripping down his face, he hugged the collector. Making sure that the kid was still alive.

“Uh…”

“I’m so glad you’re okay!”

And that was the start of Hyrule and Legend’s friendship.

[eternal--returned]

"A very beautiful parable," Father Quixote said with a note of defiance. He felt uneasy about what was to come. "Yes, it begins beautifully," said the Mayor. "There is this very bourgeois household, a father and two sons. One might describe the father as a rich Russian kulak who regards his peasants as so many souls whom he owns." "There is nothing about kulaks or souls in the parable." "The story you have read has been probably a little corrected and slanted here and there by the ecclesiastical censors." "What do you mean?" "It could have been told so differently, and perhaps it was. Here is this young man who by some beneficent trick of heredity had grown up against all odds with a hatred of inherited wealth. Perhaps Christ had Job in mind. Christ was nearer in time to the author of Job than you are to your great ancestor, the Don. Job, you remember, was obscenely rich. He owned seven thousand sheep and three thousand camels. The son feels stifled by his bourgeois surroundings—perhaps even by the kind of furniture and the kind of pictures on the walls, of fat kulaks sitting down to their Sabbath meal, a sad contrast with the poverty he sees around him. He has to escape—anywhere. So he demands his share of the inheritance which will come to his brother and himself on their father's death and he leaves home." "And squanders his inheritance on riotous living," Father Quixote interrupted. "Ah, that is the official version. My version is that he was so disgusted by the bourgeois world in which he had been brought up that he got rid of his wealth in the quickest way possible—perhaps he even gave it away and in a Tolstoyan gesture he became a peasant." "But he came home." "Yes, his courage failed him. He felt very alone on that pig farm. There was no branch of the Party to which he could look for help. Das Kapital had not yet been written, so he was unable to situate himself in the class struggle. Is it any wonder that he wavered for a time, poor boy?" "Only for a time? How do you make that out?" "The story in your version is cut short rather abruptly, isn't it? By the ecclesiastical censors undoubtedly, even perhaps by Matthew, the tax collector. Oh, he is welcomed home, that's true enough, a fatted calf is served, he is probably happy for a few days, but then he feels again the same oppressive atmosphere of the bourgeois materialism that drove him from home. His father tries to express his love, but the furniture is still hideous, false Louis Quinze or whatever was the equivalent in those days, the same pictures of good living on the walls, he is shocked more than ever by the servility of the servants and the luxury of the food, and he begins to remember the companionship he had found in the poverty of the pig farm."

Graham Greene ֍ Monsignor Quixote (1982)

[lifewithaview]

Peter Falk, Don Ameche, Kim Hunter, and Ross Martin in  Columbo (1971) Suitable for Framing

S1E4

Lt. Columbo investigates the murder of Rudy Matthews, an art collector found shot to death in his home. The killer is the dead man's nephew, art critic Dale Kingston, who, with the help of his accomplice Tracy O'Connor, effectively masks the time of death to give himself an alibi at an art exhibit. From the outset, Columbo can't quite understand why the thief would have first selected a painting of lesser value before suddenly switching to the two most valuable paintings after the killing. Kingston tries to point Columbo in the direction of his aunt, Matthews' ex-wife Edna. The fact that Matthews left his entire art collection to her seems to support that idea. Columbo isn't buying it and sets a clever trap for him.

[wutbju]

Linda Diane Kaleto, 78, of Gladwin, Michigan, was welcomed into the loving arms of her Savior on October 19, 2023. Linda was born at the Venice Army Air Field hospital in Venice, Florida, on June 24, 1945, to Harry and Ollie (Yoder) Page. She was raised in Midland, Michigan, and after graduating from Midland High School in 1963, Linda attended and received an associate degree from Bob Jones University in Greenville, South Carolina. She moved to Gladwin, Michigan, upon her marriage, where she greatly enjoyed living in the beautiful countryside. Linda worked as an administrative assistant for many years for Homestead Tool and Machine in Coleman, Michigan, from which she retired in 2018.

Linda was a faithful member for many years of Grace Fellowship Church (formerly Skeels Baptist Church) of Gladwin, where she served as a Sunday School teacher and in the nursery. In later years, she was a faithful member of Colonville Bible Church of Clare, where she also served in the nursery and greatly enjoyed her ladies' Sunday School class.

Linda was a passionate reader, loved watching cooking shows, and was an avid collector of cookbooks (of which she had well over a hundred). She was a phenomenal cook and was excellent at sewing, whether it was making Halloween costumes for her children or mending many of their clothing items over the years.

Linda was preceded in death by her parents, Harry and Ollie Page, and her sister-in-law, Jeri Page. She is survived by her children, Jeff (Kim) Kaleto of Gladwin, Ryan Kaleto of Midland, and Mindi (Jonathan) Huggins of Leesburg, Virginia, as well as her four grandchildren, Lily, Paige, Hudson, and Hayden. She is also survived by her four brothers--Larry Page of Midland, Don (Fran) Page of Midland, Joe Page of Sanford, and Ron (Mary) Page of Boyne City--and several nieces and nephews.

The family will receive visitors on Friday, October 27, 2023, from 4-7 pm at Smith-Miner Funeral Home in Midland. The funeral service will be held at Midland Baptist Church on Saturday, October 28, 2023, at 11:00 am, with visitation beginning at 10:00 am.

Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider Skeels Christian School or The Springs (summer camp) in Gladwin.