#Neverworld's End

[majestativa]

Away away my love to where all darkness will be gone.

[a-deadly-serenade]

this is still such a serve. i hope lisa middelhauve is having a good day

[evilvillainapologist]

I still think Lord Yunzhong should have been the end boss, btw.

Tai Sui, Shmai Sui, who cares, but that guy needed to be taken down a peg.

You don't go, "Yeah, just let my little brother die forever, that's a risk I'm willing to take" and get to be one of the good guys.

Team Orchid Should Have Slapped Yunzhong Into The Neverworld

[firstagent]

Adapting Neverworld- Part One (Characters)

Earlier I’d mentioned that I’m currently adapting Neverworld to be an original story. This was a story where everyone from every season was locked in the Digital World together, focused more on their interactions than their struggle for survival. So the challenge is taking a story so reliant on familiar characters and so entrenched in Digital World logic (and its creatures) and making it work on its own.

Neverworld had 36 kids by the end of the first book, and one of its best features is the way it bounced between all of them at some point, with a dozen-ish subplots that wove their way around everybody. So yeah… that’s buttload of OCs. Not 36, that would be insane, plus I suppose I have to keep an eye on word count. But 24, plus the two beloved missing dudes, is plenty when we get all of their perspectives, and required some creativity to diversity a little beyond all Japanese and 69% male. We’re looking at a proportional cross-section of the English speaking world, and even if many of the storylines hit familiar notes, the new characters bring a whole new life to them. So the new story might turn Tai into a woman, Takato into a Canadian, and Zoe into a goth, but I swear you’ll barely notice. The idea of a timeless world where the characters neither age nor have anything particular to strive for still offers so much story potential, with the goal to narrow in the focus to dwell on its impact to the drama everyone gets themselves into.

I’ll chime in from time to time with updates on how things are going, what’s going on with the world, and eventually samples!

[pixiedust-poppers]

@enanit-star

Once the beloved first mate of captain Jake’s crew, she was drowned with the rope tightly wrapped around her neck and a rope attached to said anchor. It was the dark of night when she was taken by the notorious Captain Hook and the seas were too rough for her to fight. But even when the seas were calm, she was nowhere to be found, not even the anchor.

But she’s very much here. Stories have been passed around by those who have encountered her. Many have had the bottom of their ships suddenly have massive holes in them, sometimes on the deck as well and mostly during rough seas. Captain and crew members claimed that at night there’s a silhouette of a young girl that appears in various places around the ship. Whenever she speaks, it comes out in a gurgled horrific mess you cannot comprehend what she’s saying. But she is harmless to ye.

Unless you attack first, those who do often did met gruesome fates and a sunken ship that was beyond repair, those who survive do not leave unscathed. However, those that have been given and wore her old pixie dust pouch have met very gruesome end to the point of being unrecognizable.

It is unknown on how to make peace with her.

--

My thoughts went into three categories when thinking about villain izzy:

Alive (redeemable; she fell down a shit path but learned to grow into a better person)

Alive (irredeemable; fell down that same shit path and decided to remain bitter and let negative feelings fester within her till her last breath),

dead (haunts the entirety of neverland and the neversea..)

I went with the very much latter as you see, cause I like to think Izzy is that important to neverland in some way, that she has that much influence over the neverworld :>. She becomes a legend and urban legends of sorts and figured to atleast get an idea of sorts down.

[ninthwav]

i’m doing 6 hours in the library today (i would do more but they close at 5 for some unknowable reason) so i think today is my day where i listen to everything xandria put out since neverwprld’s end and see what the deal is

for the record neverworld’s end is one of, to me, the top tier hypergeneric symphonic female-fronted metal albums— like once, neverworld’s end, and symphonies of the night are it for me (sadly lacking in the m/f vocal arrangements which the genre is known for, esp considering that one of these has literal liv kristine on it, but i honestly have heard very few beauty-and-the-beast styled albums which i think hit a good balance. i don’t think it would be fair to put epica in that camp because i don’t think they actually think of their vocal lines like that— rarely do simone and mark seem to be functionally duetting. like i think epica does have this really quite striking problem with musical storytelling! which rarely is noticeable because, again, simone and mark are usually doing musically but not conceptually distinct parts…?). their sound has been pretty generic since they ¿booted? lisa and went for the much-maligned nightwish clone sound, but they really rocked it the first time and then swung dark carnivale so immediately that i couldn’t stick around for more. i think diane is an able vocalist and i am sure the music is fine. but like the most interesting thing, musically, on the latest album is the lifted melody from india on illusion is their name.

[howtobecomeadragon]

10, 13, 18, 27 please and thank you 🤭🥰

dang okay, i had a lot to say for these!!! hehe thank you for asking 😊

10. has a piece of writing ever haunted you? has your own writing haunted you? what does that mean to you?

hmm. none of my writing haunts me. but I have been a big reader all my life and there are certain books that have stuck with me, due to how much they made me feel, whether it was joy or heartbreak or grief. and I think that is haunting in a way. and I guess in a way those books haunt me bc I want to write something that sticks with someone that long.

some books/series that haunt me: six of crows, in other lands (terribly underrated book), the princess diaries (ik 🫣), many books by tana french, the raven boys, inkheart, neverworld wake, love and other words, his dark materials, wolfsong, the library at mount char, every heart a doorway.

13. what is a subject matter that is incredibly difficult for you to write about? what is easy?

some personal stuff incoming here... everything to do with will's relationship with lonnie in my current big wip (come back to me and forgive everything) is very difficult for me, bc it is very much so inspired by my relationship with my dad. will's rant on the swings was me about my dad, the sneaking around the house trying to avoid lonnie was me growing up with my dad, will putting himself in a situation where he stays with his dad despite everything was me in the past with my dad. upcoming things I haven't posted yet from that fic are as well. i wanted to write about it obviously, but it's been challenging bc of that too!

also umm kissing scenes are impossible, they stress me out to the max.

the easy stuff? the yearning. all the ways that being infatuated with someone shows up in silly little ways. I love that shit.

18. choose a passage from your writing. tell me about the backstory of this moment. how you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

Here's a little passage from my movie magic fic:

"The Byers had moved to Hawkins five months ago. Or rather, technically, they had moved back to Hawkins five months ago. They’d lived in Hawkins as an unhappy little family until his parents had divorced. Will was only three."

I probably could've had this fic done like a week ago if I hadn't agonized over Will's background. I originally had this ambitious idea of Mike returning movies, but behind that, I was also going to have it so that the Byers moved away from Hawkins when Will was in kindergarten or first grade... so he'd already met Mike. it was going to be this whole complicated thing of Will slowly remembering Mike and figuring out when Mike remembered Will, long lost best friends from when they were 5, etc. it was going to be very dramatic.

but then I was like "??? write a short fic for once, ffs." so I scrapped that idea for this one (still ended up with 14k though. 🙄 I will continue to pursue the goal of writing a short fic). also had a short time where I was just going to have the whole fic be post s5, but I wanted to change the dynamics up a bit.

I may very well return to the concept of Will moving away after meeting Mike in a different fic in the future, but for now I like the simpler concept I went with instead. Will is just a new guy in town.

27. who is the most stressful character you've ever written? why?

Dustin is stressful for me to write tbh?? he's kind of a loose canon and he's very very much so Not Me, so although he had a big scene and a ton of dialogue in one of my fics and he's here and there in other fics, I tend to be cautious about writing him. it's just harder for me to get in his head I guess.

[libertyreads]

May Wrap Up--

May has been the most unhinged month so far this year despite what the photo may show. I had such an amazing time rediscovering my local library after getting my new library card at the end of April. I ended up reading a total of 5,308 pages across 19 works--13 of which I borrowed from the library. All of this goes completely against my goal to read fewer books in 2023. At this moment, I’m on pace to read 7 more books than I read last year. Whoops.

Comics/Graphic Novels-- 1. Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo (Library)-- 3 stars.

2. Heart and Brain Vol. 1 by Nick Seluk (Library)-- 4 stars.

Novellas/Short Stories-- 1. All Systems Red by Martha Wells-- 4.25 stars (original rating).

2. Say Yes by Elle Kennedy (Library)-- 3 stars.

3. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (Library)-- 3 stars.

4. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher (Library)-- 4 stars.

Novels-- 1. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney (Library)-- 2.75 stars.

2. Rookie Move by Sarina Bowen (Library)-- 3 stars.

3. Greenglass House by Kate Milford (Library)-- 3.75 stars.

4. Just the Nicest Couple by Mary Kubica (Library)-- 2.5 stars.

5. The Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle-Suzanna Barbot de Villeneuve-- 2 stars.

6. The Marriage Act by John Marrs-- 3.75 stars.

7. Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao (Library)-- 2 stars.

8. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson (Library)-- 4 stars.

9. If I Never Met You by Mhairi McFarlane (Library)-- 4 stars.

10. A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid (NetGalley)-- 3.75 stars.

11. Roomies by Christina Lauren (Library)-- 3.75 stars.

12. Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl (Kindle)-- 2 stars.

13. The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas-- 2.75 stars.

The Average Rating for the month ended up coming out to 3.22 stars. Which isn’t unexpected given how much I picked up from the library. I’ve really been using the library as a means to pick up books that I’m unsure about. It’s great for not buying books I’m not sure I’ll enjoy. So, despite the lower than average monthly rating I’m happy with what I’ve read and how I’ve read it in May.

[brightbeautifulthings]

Neverworld Wake by Marisha Pessl

"We swear we see each other, but all we are ever able to make out is a tiny porthole view of an ocean. We think we remember the past as it was, but our memories are as fantastic and flimsy as dreams. It's so easy to hate the pretty one, worship the genius, love the rock star, trust the good girl. That's never their only story."

Year Read: 2023

Rating: 4/5

About: Beatrice has barely spoken to her friends since her high school boyfriend, Jim, committed suicide. Her first year of college passed without incident, and she receives an invitation to Wincroft, the seaside mansion where they always gathered as a group. Determined to find out what really happened that night, she decides to go. When a tragic accident leaves them snagged on a splinter of time, repeating the same day over and over again until they make an impossible decision, it gives her the opportunity to investigate his death for real and find out, once and for all, whether Jim really killed himself. Trigger warnings: character/child death, suicide, car/boating accidents, guns, severe injury, violence, alcohol/drug use, hospitals, threats, guilt.

Thoughts: It was a funny coincidence that I was reading this book on Groundhog Day and the characters are stuck in a time loop. In short, Neverworld Wake is my kind of weird. I'm having trouble even classifying the genre. It's young adult but philosophical enough to appeal to adult readers. Science fiction/fantasy but without a lot of overwhelming explanations of the world-building or time travel. Dark academia adjacent since all the characters became friends at an elite boarding school and are investigating the murder/suicide of one of their group. It's a bit of all of them done well, plus Pessl's own unique concept of the Neverworld, and as these are mostly my genres, I enjoyed it a lot.

While the book as a whole is a very different vibe, the characters as a group remind me of the ones in We Were Liars. Talented, privileged, entitled, and somehow captivating in their utter lack of regard for other humans. I think the ending would have hit harder if we'd gotten to know them a little better before they were all, you know, dead, but for the most part, Pessl does a nice job on filling in the past. I was prepared to be disappointed by the mystery of Jim's death, but there are appropriate layers to it, and the ending is quite moving overall. I hovered between three and four stars, but the end ultimately pushed it higher for me. I'm guessing it's the kind of book that rewards rereading, and I'll look forward to seeing what clues I can pick up on a second round. (Also, I lowkey want Martha's favorite book, The Dark House at Elsewhere Bend, to be a real book. Anyone on that?)

[gothprentiss]

somehow STILL behind on lesson planning AND i got CYBERBULLIED (old best friend texted me out of nowhere like hey have you done and shared any creative writing recently? and i was like no. what’s language) BUT

BUT!!!!!!! when i was in high school i was very into the xandria album neverworld’s end which is kind of like. if you were trying to average out female-fronted symphonic metal into a single album, it might very well be that. and it was the sole album they made with the vocalist manuela kraller. i liked the album! it was fun! i still like it probably even if it is a bit devoid of personality! and then she stopped making music (not fully but mostly)! i was a HUGE fan of hers. i think they hired her because she does sound a LOT like tarja turunen and if you’re trying to symphonic metal up your symphonic metal, that’s an easy way to do it babey. and an equally easy way to worm your way right into my heart. and then i was on youtube a few minutes ago and she’s back with her youtube and claims to be very DEFINITELY making music. what a time to be alive

[verasimile]

Catherine Kennedy cannot sleep. It is not something she is capable of, but she dreams all the same. Perfectly awake and yet lost in the neverworld of the dreamtime. Her mind spirals in concentric fractal patterns, her dream a Julia set of illogic. Fair ferns of the subconscious reach up towards the light of truth.

---

There is a hole at the bottom of the universe. A place where reality folds in upon itself and disappears. Every stumbling gyration of the cosmos brings it closer to falling through and out the other side. The end is but a misstep away.

---

All of existence spreads out before her. An expanse of light; the saccharine nuclear riot of an ever-dying star. There is a castle on the hill and a fire in the sky and the sunset turns a shade of purple that never existed.

---

Polyphemus dreams he is a moth. His wings are wide and he flies forever and his antennae see what they will and he has no mouth and he starves and he dies. When he awakes, there will be a tear in his blind eye.

The Polyphemus Moth dreams it is a cyclops. Its body is large and its eye sees far and it is deceived by the traveler and it is blinded. When it awakes it will not have the mental faculty to know that it was dreaming.

---

Thoughts expand down, down, down into the underpinnings of reality, spreading across the breadth of all that is. Orgone orchids rise from fractal fractures in the firmament. A pandemonium of plutonian lilies explode into rune-etched knucklebones and foresee the never-end of time. The inanimate seers tumble down the gravity well and meet the event horizon where it stands. Aesacian argonauts that know the end and see it named, that pass through the singularity unscathed and all the wiser. Catherine knows the answer to their questions but she cannot respond. Her being is reflected back upon itself and cannot see the light. She opens an umbrella against the acid rain and nightmares spill out.

---

A moth and a cyclops sit on the edge of oblivion and watch—though one cannot hear and the other cannot see—as Fortune plucks upon the latitude lines of her lyre heart in melody for the lost things fallen beyond. The sky above is nothing but stars and the one below only darkness. The heavens join her in chorus as she plays, and a dream screams its way down the gravity well.

---

Catherine is spinning. She can’t stop her assailants and she braces herself against the solar winds. She would that it would end, but she was never asleep. She passes the event horizon and it tears her apart. She spins and screams and reality reaches a crescendo and the singularity rises in her sight. Catherine has gone too far not of her own volition the universe expands before her in silhouette the singularity is dark dark dark—

And the dream collapses.

[a-deadly-serenade]

im having such mixed feelings rn. kamelot just dropped their us tour dates with the announcement that they’re being backed up by battle beast and... XANDRIA, who are all ive been listening to these past 3 days, reminiscing. but, the issue is, i love xandria the most like, how they sounded 20 years ago 😭 and god just even saying that is insane. kill the sun and ravenheart are 20 years old.....

anyways. im excited but its also not the xandria i grew up listening to, and i havent listened to anything new by them since neverworld’s end... & that came out over 10 years ago 💀 like, theyre new stuff sounds fine but its just not Xandria. so, im just not as excited as i’d like to be and that makes me sad

[thecozypenguin]

🍀March reads🍀

Beach Read - Emily Henry

Conversations on Love - Natasha Lunn

Outlove: A Queer Christian Survival Story - Julie Rodgers

Longshadow - Olivia Atwater

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk - Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

Neverworld Wake - Marisha Pessl

Outlove was heartbreaking, Longshadow was a lovely conclusion to the Regency Faerie Tales, and I enjoyed the experience of Neverworld Wake - it did feel like bits from Special Topics in Calamity Physics were being reused, and the ending was sort of loose, but I still mostly liked it.

[ninthwav]

great news i STILL think the new xandria is their worst post-lisa album (i wuv their work as a truly mid goth band but even as a kill the sun respecter i cannot say much good about the other albums). i almost like theater of dimensions but that is largely because the music is so generically symphonique— if it were any sort of like truly Dark Carnivale Of Horreurs Und Delights thing it would have been a fucking nightmare. xandria used to do this thing where they tried out something a bit folky— call of the wind on neverworld’s end has a bit of pipe work and a kind of folk song-y melody iirc, or at least it’s got a kind of boat song or windswept cliffs vibe lol— and it has never been good but it has at least shown that they are trying. ship of doom and céilí are actively ass but they are again at least trying. really i am just emerging from this symphonic slurry with increased respect for dianne van giersbergen who wrote for the album and clearly was given full head to do different vocal stuff. the long title track is pretty cool but like, herein lies the nightwish clone problem: nightwish has sort of normalized having one very long concept track per album, and i don’t know why this is the model you would follow. like this album is built like a nightwish album and it’s like, okay, dianne’s main project is a prog metal band— you might want to try not doing the nightwish one short instrumental one long concept song thing and let her actually bringn something interesting to the band? anyway doesnt matter they booted her soon after but it is just goofy

[hauntedwhispers]

❅ 10 Songs, 10 Years Old ❅ 2012 - 2022 ❅

Band: Xandria Song: Valentine Album: Neverwold’s End

[selegonzalez]

¡NUEVO VÍDEO! 30 Curiosidades que posiblemente no sabías de Xandria Espero que les guste :D 

LINK: https://youtu.be/LR7q34IRhg8