#Sparks of Calliope

[sparksofcalliope]

And the winner is...

#poetry #award #pushcartprize #pushcart #SparksofCalliope #LaurieKuntz #poetrylovers

Sparks of Calliope is pleased to announce its 2024 nomination of “My Father Remembers” by Laurie Kuntz has been selected for inclusion in Pushcart Prize XLIX (2025 edition). Congratulations, Laurie! Read “My Father Remembers” in Sparks of Calliope here. In accordance with the contract provided by Pushcart Press, Sparks of Calliope and Ms. Laurie Kuntz will receive a copy of this edition of…

[wyvernquill]

You just about read my mind on the Aziraphale fic hot damn!!!!! Here’s what’s hiding out in my notes

OHOHOHOHO YES YES EXCELLENT

This is the second-most-horrifying/shocking realisation over a book Aziraphale has ever had, and it only barely loses out against reading the Nice and Accurate Prophecies. Some Avenging Angeling shall be done - or it would, if he still had his flaming sword.

Well, nevermind. One can outsource these things, can't one.

(Love that you did the 'Hob isn't bound by any of these supernatural laws, he can go rescue this character for us' loophole, I've put it in one of my WIPs as well!)

[raedas]

academic levels of discourse went into to the making of this chart

[id: a chart with 10 categories of yaoi and yuri, with various homestuck sprites. the matchups are as follows. yaoi (classic): dirk/jake. straight yaoi: karkat/terezi. girl yaoi: vriska/terezi. yaoi yuri: dave/terezi. yaoi wildcard: sollux/dave. yuri (classic): rose/kanaya. straight yuri: aradia/sollux. boy yuri: sollux/karkat. yuri yaoi: jade/nepeta. yuri wildcard: calliope/roxy. end id]

credit to johnegbertsmokingafatblunts post for sparking this discussion and @sinnamon--stix for making this chart

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

It's Time To Face Reality

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Princess!Reader

Word Count: ~2.7k

Warnings: kidnapping, angst

Summary: You find the courage and strength inside yourself to be the hero for once. With everything over and done with, you have no choice but to go back to your old life and leave the one person who made you feel so alive.

Play Pretend Masterlist

Square Filled: physical toll for @mfbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are greatly appreciated <3

x

“Whatever move you’re going to make, follow through with it. If you’re ever in a situation where you don’t feel safe, the best thing you can do is follow through. If you give them a single spark of weakness, they will strike where it hurts.”

“Ben, I got it. Now punch me,” you grin.

“You’re trouble,” he chuckles.

Ben continues to teach you how to defend yourself if you ever find yourself in a situation where your life is threatened and Ben isn’t there to protect you.

You roll your head to the right and crack what you can to work out the kinks. James had you moved to one of the back bedrooms while they figure out what to do with you. The clock ticking is the only thing you can hear inside the room, reminding you that you have five more hours until they cut off one of your limbs. You’re not sure if they’ll really do that but Ryder is eager to cut into something.

Your arm is getting numb from the way they’ve tied both behind your back. If you don’t escape now, you’re going to suffer a lot. Fuck this. I’m not going to be a damsel in distress. You’re not going to wait to be rescued when you can do it yourself.

Ben taught you better.

Calliope and Elliot arrived in America as soon as they could. They traveled with Kylen and two other guards for their own protection. Spencer tries not to let their presence scare him but it’s intimidating to know the girl he likes has such high security. Calliope hasn’t stopped crying which is understandable while Elliot holds a hard look in his eyes.

“Tell me you know where our daughter is,” Elliot says to Hotch.

“Your Majesty--”

“Please, Elliot. We’ll be spending a lot of time together.”

“Elliot, we’re doing everything we can to find your daughter before anything bad happens. We’re the very best team and we’re working hard.”

“I never wanted this for her,” Calliope cries.

“Your Majesty, James Volkov is the one who took Y/N,” Ben says.

“What can you tell me about him?” Hotch asks.

“His hatred for the Richmond bloodline goes deeper than Y/N. He broke into the palace when she was barely a year old and then again when she was six. It’s why we hired Ben to look after her. Even before I was Queen, he was obsessed with stealing from my family. He’s money and power hungry.”

“My mother was thinking of marrying James’ father even though he wasn’t from a royal bloodline. Our tradition that we’ve upheld for centuries is to marry another from a royal bloodline. He manipulated her into giving him more money than he deserved. Then, she met my father who made her realize what a disgusting person James’ family was,” Elliot explains.

Hotch sighs and looks at the table in thought. They hadn’t wanted to put James’ picture in fear that he’d hurt you earlier than he said he would.

You’re not going to give them the chance to.

After an incredible amount of patience and strength, you were able to get out of your binds. You might have bruising on your wrists from how hard the ropes were digging into your skin but that’s a price you’re willing to pay. You open the door slightly and see everyone huddled together in the living room. Macy is furiously typing on her laptop while the men are talking over one another, trying to keep their voices down.

“What are we going to do if they don’t send it? Are we really going to kill her?” Kellen asks.

“Whatever we have to do,” James says.

“They have our pictures,” Macy says. She turns the laptop to show all five of their pictures on the FBI website. “This changes things.”

“This changes nothing. Do you know how long I’ve evaded the law? We’re going to be fine. The Richmond family does not scare me.”

You’re not going to give them the opportunity to hurt you. You have to escape now. You close the bedroom door slowly and quietly before taking stock of what you have. What would Ben do if he was here? Ben. Spencer. Oh, Spencer. I hope you’re alright.

Spencer comes in with two water bottles and hands them both to the King and Queen of Yacleira.

“Are you going to pay the ransom?” Rossi asks.

“That bastard will not get a penny of my money,” Elliot says angrily.

“He has Y/N, honey,” Calliope says with tears in her eyes.

Elliot sighs as his resolve crumbles away.

“We’ll send them whatever they want.”

Penelope pulls up the email chain that James had used to send them a picture of you along with their ransom demand. Since there is an email attached to it, she can use this as a direct line to them.

“Do you think they’ll take cash? We could schedule a meetup,” Spencer says. “Make them bring Y/N as proof of life.”

Penelope sends the email off, getting another one minutes later.

“They refuse to meet up. They expect the entire thing to be deposited.”

“It’s not going to be easy sending that kind of money in a lump sum,” Hotch sighs.

“Ask them if they’ll take it in payments,” Rossi says.

Penelope sends the email and it’s not long until she gets one back. The emails are projected onto the big screen so that everyone can see their reply.

Only if you want your daughter’s fingers sent to the FBI as punishment.

“Hotch, we need to look at the area where her phone was last.”

“You’re right. Take Morgan, Ben, and Prentiss with you.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll bring her home to you,” Ben promises.

The four of them take a sleek black SUV over to the gas station where your phone was last pinged in. The gas station is on a desolate road heading out of town so it’s not busy. Whoever is working would have to remember you or the people you were with. Derek and Emily go inside to talk to the attendant while Ben and Spencer stay outside.

“You love her, don’t you?” Ben asks.

“I don’t know about love,” Spencer sighs. “All I know is that she’s the first girl in a long time to make me feel so… alive.”

“Yeah, I get it. I had that.”

“What happened?”

“I wasn’t quick enough.”

Spencer doesn’t pry knowing it must hurt to think about not being able to save the person he loved. Derek approaches the attendant who puts her phone down when she notices them.

“Hi, we’re agents Prentiss and Morgan with the FBI. We’re looking for someone we believe came through here.” He takes out a picture of you and shows her. “Have you seen this woman?”

“No.”

“They might have kept her in the car to prevent people from seeing her,” Emily whispers to Derek.

Derek takes out the pictures of Jacob and James and shows her.

“Have you seen these men?”

“Yeah, they came through late last night. They were with two other men and a woman. The woman stayed outside and got gas but the four men came in.”

“Can you describe any of them?” Emily asks, taking out her notepad.

“The woman had short, cropped hair. Red, I think. One of the men had a Justin Beiber haircut with piercings on his lip and eyebrow, and another man had tattoos up and down his arms. Big muscles.”

“Did you notice anything strange about them?”

Spencer walks inside with Ben as the attendant is talking to Derek and Emily.

“They were talking in a language I didn’t recognize. Clearly, they were pissed about something. They practically threw the cash at me when they paid.”

Emily notices a camera placed on the ceiling behind the young woman facing toward the front door and the cash register.

“Does that camera work?”

“Yeah. The owner wanted to get one after the fifth time someone came in trying to steal something.”

“May we look at the footage from last night?”

“Be my guest.”

She moves out of the way so that Spencer can work the cameras. The TV is small and grainy but the camera is good quality so the picture is clearer than the normal CCTVs. Late last night, a large SUV pulls into the gas station and pulls up to one of the pumps. The car is obstructed due to the pump they pulled into and the way the camera is angled. However, the passenger window is shown just enough to see you resting your head against the glass with your eyes closed. They must have drugged you to prevent you from getting away.

The woman gets out of the car and starts pumping gas but she is out of view of the entire frame. Four men walk inside the gas station and try their best not to show their faces on the camera. Either they knew this place only had one camera or they’re paranoid at every place because they might have cameras.

Like the attendant says, they throw the money in her face and leave as fast as possible just as the woman with the red hair finishes with the gas. They all get into the car and peel out as fast as possible. The camera isn’t wide enough to see past the road for a few feet, but Spencer sees the direction they went in.

“Do you have any idea where these guys might have gone?” Derek asks.

“I’m not sure. Like I said, they didn’t speak any English.”

“Is there anything out here?”

“Yeah, the old Garrison farm a few miles up the road. Take a right out of here and it’s literally the first road you see off to the right. It’s a dirt road. They didn’t like many people visiting but the property is a hundred acres give or take a few.”

“Thanks.” They leave the gas station and head back to the car. “Do you think they took her there?”

“Only one way to find out.”

“You don’t think… You don’t think they hurt her, do you?” Ben asks.

“Only one way to find out,” Spencer answers regretfully.

He hopes you’re okay and if you’re not, alive.

You go to the window that’s not boarded up and open it only to be met with a mesh screen. You push on it but there isn’t any give. They might have glued it or did something to prevent it from being kicked out. You look around the room and see clothes hung up in the closet. Clothes that are on wire hangers. You take one of the hangers and bend it until the metal snaps in two. Now you have a sharp side.

You walk back over to the mesh covering and stab it with the sharp end of the hanger. It takes a bit of strength on your part but if you keep at it, you’ll have created a big enough hole for you to jump through. Thankfully, this farmhouse is only one story so you’re not worried about breaking a leg. You’re so focused on creating the tear that you don’t hear the bedroom door open.

“Hey!”

You look behind you to see Kellen standing there with a shocked look on his face. You toss the metal to the side and tear the rest of the mesh with your hands. Just as you fit your leg through it, he pounces on you.

“Let go of me!” you shout loud enough to alert the others.

You fall forward onto the ground so that the only part of you still in the house is your right leg. Kellen has a death grip on your leg but you’re not giving up.

“Guys! Help! She’s escaping!”

You jerk away from him only to use every ounce of strength you have to kick him in the face. He falls back with a shout of pain, letting go of your leg. You fall to the ground but scramble to your feet as soon as you can. You take off running anywhere that’s not this farmhouse. The front door slams open and all five of them filter out of the house in a panic.

“Find her! Bring her to me!” James yells loudly.

You almost trip over the rocks but you keep running until you can’t see the farmhouse anymore.

“You can run all you want, princess, but we’ll find you. You won’t like what happens when we do!” Jacob shouts.

It’s so dark outside that you’re not sure where you’re going but that’s not going to stop you from running. Thankfully, you can see the trees so you’re not smacking into them. Your heart is racing at the thought of being caught. What if there is nothing around for miles? Are you really going to keep running without knowing what’s out there? What if you’re in their domain and there are more dangerous people out there?

No, don’t think like that. Your lungs are begging to relax and your legs are burning but you won’t stop running. In the distance you see headlights, and being there is a lot better than being with James. You run toward them in hopes that whoever is behind the wheel is friendly. You push through the thick shrubs and fall to the ground right in front of the car. It screeches to a stop before it can hit you, and you put your hand up to block the bright headlights.

“Please, help me.”

“Y/N!”

All four doors open and four people come clambering out of the car. You look up and see two familiar sets of eyes looking back.

“Spencer? Ben?”

“We’re right here. You’re safe now,” Ben says.

“They’re out there looking for me right now. There’s a farmhouse up the road.”

“Come on.”

Spencer and Ben help you into the back of the car just as Emily and Derek get back in the front. They turn the headlights off and lowly trek back to the farmhouse while still staying in the shadows. Derek and Emily get out while Ben and Spencer stay in the back with you. You faintly hear Derek call for immediate backup, and you lean your head on the headrest tiredly.

Spencer looks at you and wants to apologize but nothing comes out. You’ll have time to reconnect later. Backup comes quickly which is enough to arrest all five individuals involved. They’re brought back to the BAU where you discover your parents are. Your mom and dad run over to you, and you run into their arms with tears streaming down your cheeks.

“I’m so sorry for leaving,” you cry. “I didn't mean for all of this to happen.”

“We’re glad you’re okay, baby. You’re safe now,” your mom says.

The paramedics met you at the BAU to assess your injuries which are minor. You were treated for your bruised wrists and the small cuts on your face from the branches. You and Spencer stand off to the side while your parents are with Ben, Kylen, and the rest of the BAU.

“I’d like to take all five of them back to Yacleira if possible. They will face Yacleiran justice,” Elliot says.

“Of course,” Hotch nods. “Interpol will be notified of this as well.”

“I’ll call my contacts,” Emily offers.

You look at your parents and sigh sadly. You know what’s coming next. They know you’re here and it’s not like they will leave without you. You’re old school. They won’t break tradition for you.

“I’m sorry for keeping this a secret from you.”

“No, don’t be. I shouldn’t have left.”

“Spencer, I can’t stay here. My parents will be taking me back to Yacleira where I’m to marry Prince Henry of Vosharia. I thought… well, I thought I was the type of girl who could have what everyone else had. It doesn’t matter anymore, I guess.”

“It’ll always matter.”

“Not to someone like me.” You pull Spencer in to kiss him, and he kisses you back like it’s the last kiss you’ll ever share. Maybe it will be. The thought breaks your heart. “No matter what happens, Spencer, you were the best thing to ever happen to me.”

You look at the briefing room and see both your parents watching you and Spencer. He hates to see you walk out of his life but what can he do when the King and Queen of Yacleira calls back their Princess?

He stands on the side and lets it happen. What’s a man like him going to be able to provide for a woman like you?

x

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[vexwerewolf]

Do you think IGF is a good module to introduce Lancer as a game and setting to people who've never heard of it?

At first I was leaning towards yes because I thought the remote setting would allow the player characters to know little of the wider world and discover it at their own pace.

Like, if a player asks me what Union is, instead of trying to compress their whole history I could say "it's this big supernational government that rules most of humanity. To hear them, they're bringing a post-scarcity utopia to the stars, but in practice what you've seen of them is the free Omninode at the center of Calliope and the carrier that defends it. You've also heard they have a representative on the Icebreaker"

Except that Calliope has its own heap of lore, and I'm starting to think it just might not be a good fit for a quick introduction.

Not to be too self-promotional, but... yes! I think IGF can be a good module to introduce players to the game with.

I don't necessarily think a setting "having a lot of lore" is a serious problem. You just summarized Union in a paragraph. Calliope's essential lore can be summarized the same way.

"A stellar cartography mission mistakenly marked the system as having two paradise worlds, sparking a gold rush as various factions scrambled to colonize it. Unwilling to admit their mistake when they found it barren, several corporations tried and failed to make it profitable, eventually abandoning it or going out of business. Three hundred years down the line, it's a crummy backwater on the fringes of galactic civilization, paying host to all manner of outcasts, fugitives and ne'er-do-wells - including you. It's not much, but it's home."

You can reveal the setting's lore as you run through the campaign. You don't need to dump it on them all at once, unless they ask for it, in which case they're engaged and that's an absolute win.

[cringefail-clown]

there are many things that are still under ??? tab when it comes to turnabout au but one of the biggest ones is if caliborn and calliope should be swapped as well. on the one hand i'd be a huge pain in the ass because it'd completely change the whole narrative and how the events of homestuck play out - instead of caliborns bending the timeline through sheer power of will to suit his narrative and ensure his own arrival it'd have to be more... subtle, tiny moments that have the butterfly effect of making calliope come on top. going with her classpect as the muse of space, she'd more likely be inspiring certain events opposed to head-to-the-brickwalling it through the narrative, for example perhaps Alternia started as this utopian fever dream curtesy of feferi being the empress in the post-scratch universe, but as the time went by things would keep not going right, maybe the alternian trolls, changed by meddling from doc scratch, wouldnt take too eagerly to the idea of caring about those lower on the hemospectrum, maybe feferi would start to feel paranoid about the coming of the next fuchsiablood, thinking that her idea of how to run the place is the only right one, ultimately sending her down the path of quietly getting rid of any fuchsia grubs being born. maybe this coming to the light would spark protests from people already tired of the cotton-candy coddling culture enforced on them, which would lead to her finally breaking and it spiraling into the brutal alternia that we know from the canon

what im trying to say is callies villany would be more like planting little seeds and waiting for the results. not everything would go exactly how she planned, but at the end of the day it'd lead to the same place - her winning the sburb game between the two cherubs. like in a game of chess - one perfectly executed move would open up five others leading to the victory. i honestly like this idea of a cold, cunning villain - cal was really fun in canon, but this version of calliope? downright meancing, a force to be reconed with. but as i said, it would be a shitton of work.

on the other hand, the idea of caliborn being the support character is so fucking hysterical to me im willing to jump through the hoops just to make that happen. like imagine the guy. imagine, instead of being this absolute trashbag of misogyny and toxic masculinity, he'd be more like the tumblr warriormale-esque dude. just aggresively suppotive of his little nuclear unit of a friend group. dave would have an absolute blast with this guy. im losing my mind just thinking about it

[ninibeingdelulu]

A…date ? ✧

Plot: Your childhood friend ask you on a date.

A/N: @a-view-without-light-pollution I hope you’ll like it (I think it’s bad bc it needs more details but anyway) enjoyy xoxo.

From the first instant Zack showed up at your doorstep fidgeting like a hyperactive puppy, you could tell his normally boundless confidence was fraying hard at the edges.

All jittery hand gestures and flushed cheeks as he flashed those baby blues pleading silent messages.

"Heyy...uh listen, I was wondering if ya maybe wanted to, y'know, grab a burger with me later on?"

He finally blurted, scratching at those wild raven spikes crowning his head.

You arched an eyebrow, fighting back an adoring grin at how freaking adorable this human Golden Retriever was acting.

"Zack...we do that literally every other day already. Are you trying to ask me on an actual date here, mister SOLDIER Boy Scout?"

Brilliant crimson exploded across his chiseled features as a strangled noise escaped those plush lips.

He exhaled a shuddering breath, squaring those broad shoulders back as if preparing to charge into battle before nodding decisively.

"Yeah...I am. I really am asking you out on a legit date."

His glowing azure gaze caught yours with an intensity leaving you suddenly breathless.

"Getting all awkward about it won't do either of us any good though, right? Let's just keep it chill like always and have an awesome time."

That trademark sunny grin stretching dimples into those stubble-chapped cheeks was enough to melt anyone's reservations as you found yourself quickly nodding back.

"Definitely, Zack. Count me in - but I expect you to bring your flirting A-game!"

And bring it he did - that charismatic son of a bitch.

From snagging you a stuffed moomba at the carnival shooting range then refusing to relinquish you from under his arm for the rest of the night.

To dramatically serenading you with a botched rendition of "Starlight, Starbright" under the moonlit beach gazebo while passing tipsy couples howled laughter.

Everything felt so achingly, dizzyingly right.

Like this was the inevitable conclusion your lives together were always building toward...however unintentionally.

No more excruciating uncertainty or unrequited longing to agonize over. Just sinking into the warm, radiant glow of Zack's megawatt joy showering over you without restraint.

He was still unapologetically himself, of course. Full of wisecracks and theatrical shenanigans which only strengthened his magnetic charm in your eyes.

Yet now he'd occasionally stumble over his words or allow that velvet baritone to dip into husky dulcet purrs specifically for your ears alone.

Or the way his fingers innocently grazed yours, fingertips sparking little zings of electricity jolting straight to your core while flashing those bedroom eyes assessing your reaction with ardent hunger behind half-mast lids...

All too soon, the carnival lights and jaunty calliope music faded into late-evening stillness encasing you both.

Scuffing boots through sleepy lamp-lit lanes back toward home feeling weightless and intoxicated simply from his nearness.

Drunk on that inexhaustible charisma surrounding you in Zack's personal aura like wafting summer bonfire warmth.

Occasionally lapsing into hushed stretches you leaned in savoring the tactile crackle between close-orbit bodies before erupting into fresh peals of laughter over some locker-room wisecrack.

Until sneaking hesitant sidelong glances revealed his features backlit golden in flickering streetlamp radiance...expression stilled into a look you didn't recognize yet always dreamed of receiving from Zack.

Pure unguarded open adoration emanating in his gaze like you were the only thing in existence worthy of such singular focus.

Your footfalls stopped on instinct, swallowing thickly as those eyes roamed across your face in hungry, aching sweeps you felt tingling upon your skin like physical caresses.

Until Zack closed the short gap separating you in an achingly gradual drift - telegraphing his intent with everything but his voice.

Calloused fingertips glided across your jaw up to cradle your cheekbone with searing gentleness utterly at odds with his rugged stature.

Zack's bottom lip trembled for just a fraction of an instant before your name exhaled from between them in a ravished whisper devoid of the usual bravado.

All you could do was nod mutely and reciprocate the blazing tenderness reflected back at him.

Until those vivid mako irises fluttered shut in blissful surrender...

And you tilted up on tiptoe to lay the whisper-soft pressure of your lips in a gossamer brush across the corner of his own chiseled, perfect mouth.

Just enough for Zack's entire musculature to go rigid as scorching fire flooded his chiseled features - every single one of those battle-hardened sinews vibrating on the verge of deliciously shattering apart at your featherlight touch.

A barely audible whimper sighed out from the deepest caverns of his broad chest before stormy cobalt eyes flew wide in helpless stupefaction.

You drank in every minute tremor and nuance rupturing across Zack's statuesque handsomeness for endless suspended heartbeats...committing the details to permanent memory.

Until finally smiling wider than you ever had in recollection while he just gaped at you in stunned bliss unable to formulate words.

Reality no longer mattered in that divine slice of infinity cradled between you.

Only the dawning awareness of irrevocable, undeniable intimacy blazed in those locked pools of swirling cerulean endlessly dazzling.

[utterlyvertigo]

— | The Old Therebefore | —

————— Agatha Spoilers —————

Dear Marvel,

Fuck you for killing Alice.

Disrespectfully,

UtterlyVertigo.

———————————————

Here’s some sad Episode 5 content. ❤️❤️

———————————————

It was a blur, a terrible, horrible blur. Alice’s limp form had crumpled onto the ground, drained and devastated.

“We should have left her.” Jen sneered. Her body was warm with anger and she could almost her power pulsing in her, wrestling to break its bounds. Lilia stands stoic, her mind racing, anywhere but right there. “Stop being a bitch Jen!” Cassandra yelled, striding towards her, with pulsing energy in her hands, “FOR ONCE KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!” Her voice was hoarse, she���d been screaming. Cassandra looked at Jen, with a flurry of feelings. Anger, hurt, sympathy. She dropped her guard and walked off.

Agatha’s breathing was rapid and scared, and that was abnormal. “I couldn’t control it!” She begged. Teen stood there, shaking his head, “Don’t lie to me Agatha!” He was angry too, everyone was, everyone hated seeing that. Seeing poor Alice. Cassandra left the trial last, closing her eyelids, draping an eyesore of a patterned cloth over Alice. She also took Alice’s necklace. Something to bury, something to remember her by.

“Teen please, my mum is right! We can’t control it!” Cassandra pleaded, standing her place firmly in front of the hollow shell of Agatha. “We?” Lilia whispered, looking Cass up and down, almost in disbelief that the girl before her could drain magic with just as much cruelty as her mother. “You neglected to mention that.” Jen quipped. “I didn’t see it necessary to. And it isn’t necessary! Teen I promise you, we all loved Alice! You didn’t mean it, did you mum?”

Agatha remained hollow eyed and silent.

“Did you…?”

Agatha wasn’t given time to so much as open her mouth as a crackle of magic sparked from Teen. It was cobalt, bright and powerful, it made no sense. Until it did! “Billy?” Cassandra gasped. “Calliope.” The name came off of his lips like it was some kind of curse. “What’s he talking about? What do you know?” Blurs of questions came from the ensemble behind them. “Don’t hurt my mother, please-” Cassandra begged, but Agatha stopped her. “He’s just like his mother. He doesn’t listen to reason.” That didn’t stop Cass.

“I… trust you.” She said, holding her hand out. A truce, peace. “I trust you Billy. And so did Alice,” She added, “she trusted us all, and that trust was well placed. I know it was. If you just let us explain-”

Jen and Lilia took screaming Agatha by an arm each. Teen’s magic circled his hands, watching as Cassandra attempted to tug Agatha out of their grip. The blast of bright blue magic shot towards Agatha, still wrestling her way out, to no avail. She winced, worried, terrified that she might claim another body. But it never hit.

At least it never hit Agatha.

“No witch in their right mind will ever trust a Harkness. And that includes you, Cass, no matter what surname you take.”

The scream that escaped Agatha was gut wrenching, one only a mother could. The Road’s thick muddy floor quickly engulfed the scared and crying Cassandra. “You can be good! We can do this! We can be-”

Agatha was the next to fall, screaming and begging for forgiveness, she didn’t know her crimes in Salem, she control her crimes now.

“Did… we have to take the little one too, Teen?” Lilia asked, looking the boy in the eyes. His eyes were cold, his eyes were mean. Lilia and Jen felt the sharp pushback, and pleaded the same volume of forgiveness.

The crown formed over his head.

If Alice couldn’t survive, if Sharon was left for dead, why should they survive?

————————————

RIP Alice Wu Gulliver

“Maybe the miracle was getting to spend just one moment with you.” - Taylor Swift

[avelera]

Barefoot Divinity - an intriguing art historical detail in The Sandman

I was rewatching The Sandman episode "Calliope" and I noticed an interesting detail: when Calliope is led away from Erasmus Fry's house, she is barefoot.

There's plenty of thematic reasons to do this within the story, as she's an otherworldly being who would not be harmed by going barefoot, and because she is, at this point, a prisoner. One could argue that the reason for this choice is simply because she has not been allowed the dignity of shoes and it is an effective way of controlling peoples' movements to deny them shoes.

But to put on my ancient art history TA hat for a moment here, there's another possible reason for the choice to show Calliope barefoot.

What makes it such an interesting detail in particular is that showing Calliope barefoot is accurate to ancient Greek and Roman art: only the gods are depicted barefoot.

In fact, it's such a consistent rule that it's often a quick way when looking at ancient Greco-Roman sculptures (of certain eras) to know whether or not the figure the statue depicts is meant to be a god or a mortal. If the figure depicted is otherwise fully dressed (ie, it's not a bathing scene or some other deliberately nude subject matter) but they still have no shoes, that means they are a god.

This rule was so strict when it came to portraiture in particular that it took on political significance in the Julio-Claudian era of Ancient Rome. Romans were constantly suspicious of their early emperors like Augustus aspiring to become god-kings in the style of their (barbaric, to Roman minds) eastern counterparts, as Romans considered the allure of being declared divine to be understandable but anathema to their own comfortable fiction that the Emperor was a Princeps, first citizen, and not a king. So when this statue was commissioned by Emperor Augustus's widow, Livia:

It was incredibly politically controversial because she was saying, in essence, that Emperor Augustus was a god.

Now, this particular statue barely squeaked by the censors, so to speak, because the Romans believed everyone had a "genius" or divine spark within them. The claim was that this wasn't a statue of Augustus declaring him a deity but rather a statue depicting his divine spark which could be portrayed as a barefoot god, now that he was dead.

Still, it was a statue viewed with a great deal of suspicion at the time as a result of this splitting of hairs. Next time you go through the Greco-Roman statue portion of a museum that contains full body statues, check out which ones are barefoot! Oftentimes, there is a political message mixed in to that effect. For example, with otherwise naked generals (in a style referred to as "heroic nudity", often used for mythological heroes or athletes) being shown still wearing sandals, to signal they are still modest enough to be depicted as humans, not gods.

The thing is, Calliope is not the only time in The Sandman comics that a godlike being is depicted as barefoot at an otherwise unusual time, specifically in a Greco-Roman context. For example,

After this event in Brief Lives, Dream is shown leaving the temple walking barefoot on the ground. Dream is also named as the Roman god Morpheus, who the Romans would therefore have no issue with being portrayed barefoot.

And much more interestingly, he is throughout the Brief Lives arc frequently and unusually shown barefoot even when wearing modern clothes:

It is this frequent portrayal of Morpheus without shoes on that leads me to believe the choice is deliberate on @neil-gaiman's part, not merely as a depiction of vulnerability but rather as a nod to ancient art history visual language, as is so frequently done throughout The Sandman comics and his other works: modernizing the ancient and bringing the mythological into our world.

[sparksofcalliope]

On Hiatus: June 22, 2023 - July 20, 2023

#litmag #poetrycommunity #hiatus #poetrylovers

After four years of posting almost every three days (or about 121 posts per year), Sparks of Calliope is taking a month-long hiatus to rest, recoup, and regroup. All unread submissions past and present will be considered in the order they were received. Our next scheduled poetry will post on July 21, 2023. In the meantime, we encourage you to browse our past contributors, like and comment on…

[gabessquishytum]

Okay someone somewhere said ballet dancer hob and rewrote my brain chemistry.

So. Ballet director dream was once the absolute best in the world but he had a violent feud with a cold and demanding director named Burgess. During one practice Burgess was yelling and screaming at Dream for being useless (he hoped by hiring Dream, his legendary sister Death would come dance for the London ballet too. It didn’t work and he is bitter about it now). And it turns into a fight and Burgess hits Dream in the knee with his cane, injuring it so badly it ruins his career. (His mistake. In revenge, Dream launches a hostile takeover and ousts the asshole.)

Now Dream is the cold and demanding director of the London ballet. And for ten years (time skip because of silver fox dream supremacy) he builds himself up into an absolute legend. Gault is the prime ballerina because I say so. The Corinthian took over Dream’s role as the other star for a while but eventually he wouldn’t take direction and is also sort of a scummy person so they have a massive falling out and he quits.

Without the Corinthian, people say Dream’s shows have lost their spark. He gets colder and more difficult and demanding as a result. Everyone is on the brink of quitting.

Death is now a director too and she promises Dream that she knows the perfect replacement who will breathe new life into his company.

And she sends him Hob.

Hob is the exact opposite of Dream. He went to school on scholarship. He never even saw a ballet until he was 16. He started late but he’s making up for it with the sheer joy he brings to his dancing. He fucking loves it. There’s something loose and free in his dancing that’s so opposite from Dream’s typical technically perfect but brutally emotional style.

Dream bets Death that Hob will quit within a month. Hob is always showing up smiling and joking around and distracting others. Dream is hard on him as he is hard on everyone. And yet. Hob doesn’t quit.

There’s something about the way he throws himself into the dance that is unshakeable.

Dream can’t help but wonder when he lost that kind of joy. He is very quickly captivated by him. It is always this way. Dream fell for Calliope’s dancing before they ever spoke, those many years ago.

One night, Dream catches Hob dancing late on the stage when everyone else has left, practicing a section Dream criticized him harshly for. It is hard not to overcorrect and be too harsh on Hob. Dream knows eventually it will drive Hob away. So for now he stays in the shadows and watches, his heart pounding against his ribs.

When he’s done, Hob looks right at Dream and asks if that was any better.

Dream wasn’t aware Hob had known he was being watched, but he climbs up onto the stage with him. He tells Hob he is improving. But Dream has extremely high standards and it takes more than passion to survive in this world.

Hob just smiles at him and starts his cool down stretches. “I don’t know. I think you could use a little passion.” He‘s flushed and Dream…can’t quite look away.

“I want to impress you. I want to improve,” Hob tells him. “I’ll do whatever you ask.”

Dream carefully doesn’t examine his words closely. Hob…can’t be imagining what Dream is. He doesn’t know what things Dream might ask for.

“I am not known for my kindness,” Dream says stiffly. “More experienced dancers than you have quit rather than work for me.”

Hob rises to his feet. “You can’t scare me off. I want this,” he insists. “I want to be here.”

Dream is reluctantly impressed. But he is also picturing Hob on his knees in Dream’s silk sheets and he doesn’t know how to stop. “I can be…punishing,” he warns, unwisely worded.

Hob is beautiful and determined in the stage lights. “Punish me,” he dares him.

Oh I LOVE a ballet au!! There’s so much drama here, I love it. Love the idea of dancer Hob, imagine the Billy Elliot vibes!!! Or maybe he doesn’t start dancing until he’s a teenager. Either way he’s the most lively, exciting dancer of his generation and he has so much JOY when it comes to ballet. He’s rough and uncouth at times but the moment he starts dancing he just becomes the most beautiful thing in the room. Death has nurtured him and given him a wonderful grasp of technique, but she knows that in order to become the greatest dancer he can be, Hob needs to go to Dream.

The thing about Hob is, he loves ballet. Loves it in a way that simply can’t be faked. And Dream’s heart clenches each time he sees Hob because he used to be like that! He used to love ballet more than anything in the world. Where has that love gone, and when did he get so angry and cold? It’s not something that Dream wants to dwell on, but watching Hob makes him feel things he hasn’t felt in a decade.

Watching Hob also makes him horny, but that's another thing that he's not ready to unpack.

Imagine Hob practicing at the barre. Repeating over and over, the same exercises, the same positions that Dream has drilled into him. He sees Dream watching him in the mirror and his eyes just light up! He works even harder, enjoying the attention, enjoying the fact that he KNOWS that Dream is going to find something to pick up on.

Imagine Dream stalking up to Hob and just pouncing. Pressing him against the mirror and kissing him desperately. Hob’s fingers stroke Dream’s silver streaked temples and his mouth moves just as beautifully as his body does when he's dancing.

And when Dream pulls back he's like "your tendu is sloppy, do it again." And Hob can't help but grin <3

[writing-for-life]

Sandman Fics and Poems

The list gets updated regularly, and I love your comments and thoughts (no, it’s not weird to interact, it’s what fandom is about)…

Fics

Lupē (one-shot for Sandman Rarepair Fest, Ao3) or Tumblr (completed, 615 words, Calliope/Morpheus)

The Self-Love, Sex and Pursuit of the Helm Novels: A Tragicomedy in Three Movements (Ao3) (crack fic in progress, ~4,500/app. 7,000 words, Morpheus/The Helm)

The Light of Stars Tumblr Master Post or straight to Ao3 (completed long fic, ~ 75,000 words, Morpheus/OFC)

Snow Globes and Whisky (one-shot for Christmas, links in with “The Light of Stars”) (Ao3) (completed, ~2,500 words, Morpheus/OFC)

As It Was Before The Otherness Came (one-shot for Sandman Femslash Weekend) (Ao3) or Tumblr (completed, ~3,700 words, Johanna Constantine/Rachel Moodie)

Poetry

Aftermath and Dreams of Light (poems for Sandman Rarepair Fest)

Ode to Death and Requiem (poems for Death Appreciation Week)

Sandtober/Inktober 2023 Haikus (Ao3) or Tumblr (completed)

Incandescent Light (the prompt poem/vignette hybrid that sparked The Lightbif Stars)

Series

Check out the ongoing Dream’s Therapist—a tragicomedy straight from the therapist’s couch…

To avoid disappointment: I don't write for the big ships because

a) I am generally not a shipper and

b) they tend to be m/m, and as a bi woman, my main interest is writing m/f and f/f. It is important to me to write female protagonists, and I prefer to write from a female point of view—her feelings/wants/desires and sexuality without the detour of projecting them onto a man.

Apart from that, I love myself a good crack fic and rare pairs, and you will definitely find those. I only started writing fanfic in 2022, and I spent most of that time writing a longfic called "The Light of Stars". I am fairly proud I saw it through, and the sequel is in the making (apparently, people liked it: Can I just say how excited and grateful I was when someone gifted me the Literary Badge? Thank you, you know who you are 🥹).

TLoS is a Morpheus x OFC fic, but it is not a self-insert or Y/N-fic. I am fairly prickly about that distinction because fandom's tendency to throw them into the same pot regularly drives me up the wall. I write OCs professionally (albeit in a language other than English), so the assumption that they are all straightforward self-inserts always seemed fairly odd to me…

I also love writing short-form poetry—you might find the odd one here, too.

Link to full pinned post with all my stuff

[acronym-chaos]

Donatello (TMNT) ID Pack

[PT: Donatello (TMNT) ID Pack].

[ID: A purple thin line divider shaded at the bottom. End ID].

Names

[PT: Names].

Alder, Alton, Arlo, Basil, Brennan, Calliope, Cedric, Dexter, Dorian, Edison, Ellis, Fallon, Finnian, Gale, Garrick, Greer, Haven, Hesper, Horatio, Idris, Jade, Keaton, Keegan, Kepler, Leona, Lionel, Liora, Marlowe, Newton, Niko, Noa, Olive, Orville, Phaedra, Phaeton, Quincy, Quinlan, Rae, Roderick, Sabine, Sage, Sylvan, Talia, Thea, Tobias, Uri, Uriel, Vernon, Violet, Xyla, Zadie, Zola

Pronouns

[PT: Pronouns].

Bit / Byte / Bytes, Ci / Cir / Circuit, Co / Code / Codes, Cog / Cogs / Cogs, Gear / Gears / Gears, Giz / Gizmo / Gizmos, Ha / Hack / Hacks, Nano / Nanos / Nanos, Nin / Ninja / Ninjas, Se / Spark / Sparks, Shel / Shell / Shells, Tec / Tech / Techs, Tool / Tools / Tools, Tur / Turtle / Turtles, Wire / Wires / Wires, Wit / Wits / Wits,

Titles

[PT: Titles].

The Brainpower Behind the Team, The Builder of Battle Plans, The Fixer of Problems, The Genius of the Lair, The Genius With a Bō, The Quiet Innovator, The Staff-Wielding Brother, The Techie With a Cause, The Thinker Among Fighters, The Turtle Tinkerer, [Pronoun] Who Sparks Invention, [Pronoun] Who Wields Knowledge,

[ID: A purple thin line divider shaded at the bottom, end ID]

Requested by anon!

Also tagging: @pronoun-arc @id-pack-archive

[jwi-sys-resources]

hi sir/maam

can I get an NPT pack for the bird lady in the hazbin hotel leaks? shes my source if i remember thats what its called correctly. [ I'm thinking frilly/pretty? as well as angelic-sounding bc she's likely an angel of some sorts -hosts ]

a bio template would be nice too, but that's optional

thank you so much!

( if you don't know who I'm talking about, I have a tiktok link with her in it, yet i cant send it bc i cannot send links here )

( again, tyvm for taking time to even look at this ask! )

It took a bit of digging to find reference images, but here you are! The name choices are broken up by theme, and I included some names I thought off based on appearance alone as well! As for pronoun sets, they're based on birds, frills, general pretty things, and angels.

(Bio template will be posted separately)

Names Based on Reference Images

Gabrielle, Aya, Louise, Gayle, Fawn, Faun, Lorelai, Loralei

Elegant/Pretty Names

Annabelle, Calliope, Cecelia, Isabelle, Valentia, Juliette, Primrose, Cassandra, Madeline, Mirabelle, Penelope, Rosalina, Violette, Aurora, Felicity, Angelina, Celeste, Magnolia

Angel Themed Names

Ariel, Castiel, Angelica, Raziel, Uriel, Angelisa, Michaela, Cassiel, Laila

Pronoun Sets (Birds)

tweet/tweets/tweetself

flutter/flutters/flutterself

soar/soars/soarself

feather/feather/featherself

wing/wings/wingself

chirp/chirps/chirpself

Pronoun Sets (Pretty)

lace/laces/laceself

rib/ribbon/ribbons/ribbonself

spark/sparkle/sparkles/sparkleself

shine/shines/shineself

gold/golds/goldself

sil/ver/silvers/silverself

ster/ling/sterlings/sterlingself

cotton/cottons/cottonself

bow/bows/bowself

prim/rose/roses/primroseself

We may return to this to add titles, my brain is completely blanking on that part-- Apologies ^^;

[horsegamergirl]

Guys-

C.C. Creations just made a new video about the Halloween and the horses sound interesting :D

Spoilers ofc

Here's the link to the full video (I'm just gonna mention the horses)

We're getting two new magical horses, both are Mustangs. There aren't models yet, but there's a description for each.

First one is called Bolt and he's a robotic horse:

One stormy night, an evil Dark Core scientist entered a lab that looked suspiciously like a stable. He carried a stolen beaker of Drakonium. He walked the length of the building, chose his subject, applied the Drakonium, and then threw open a window to let in a bolt of lightning! A maniacal laugh echoed throughout the strange laboratory as a robotic horse became aware of his existence. Terrified and confused, the horse kicked out of his restraints and crashed past the evil scientist into the lashing rain. "Monstrous creature!" cried the evil scientist. "Return to do as I command!" "I know not what I am, but I know I am not a monster," thought the newly-born creature. He ran and ran. away from his creator, in search of a friend. Do you see a monster or a beautiful horse?

And the second horse is called Calliope and she's a carousel horse:

Gazing at the Chaos Storm spinning feverishly over Jorvik, a handsome circus master twirled his hat in his hands and dreamed of the magic he could conjure with a fraction of the Pandorian power. He strolled over to his carousel. When his gaze fell upon the most beautiful horse, he felt a spark of dark inspiration. He journeyed to Devil's Gap to siphon a measure of the potent energy. He returned to the horse, anointed her with the substance, and spoke a strange incantation into her ear. There was a crack of splintering wood as the horse broke free from her imprisonment and ran from the carousel's platform. "Stop!" screamed Ydris. "You're mine! I gave you LIFE!" "I am not his!" she thought. A tear rolled down her painted face as she continued to run. Is she the magician's monster or a horse you will cherish?

I think they both sound very interesting, what do you think? I'm especially interested in Calliope. Also, base on the tacks Dark Core and Carousel Queen, I think Bolt will be dark gray with purple-pink-orange gradient and Calliope pink, purple gold and brown. At least the tack looks like that.

And lastly, three new pets: Obsidian Raven MqSquash the (goth) pumpkin, Patches the bunny and a cat named Stitches that will probably have the "sewn together" look.

[x3n0-lik3s-t0-dr4w]

DAD!TUNNER AU (mostly a rant)

Yes! You read it right! In my AU, Tunner is a father of two, and a father figure of many. Many ask him for assistance if they feel unsafe; commonly because he’s a dad, but also because he’s a sheriff.

Tunner would do anything to protect his kids, even if it ended up putting him in a hospital.

[TW]: Hospitalization, Murder, Fire, and gory details in general (pls don’t report it for this- 😭😭)

One of those times Tunner was put in the hospital was when he was poisoned. He and a close friend were working on a case, involving one of the many people he was close with, His “daughter.” She was nearly killed on the way home one day, and she had 3 stab wounds to the chest. During the case; a shady person brought him and his friend a coffee, turned out it was poisoned.

Another time Tunner was put in the hospital—Was that he was shot twice while defending his kids from the shady person. He was shot once in the arm and one in the chest. They took his gun and shot him with it. His “daughter” took care of his actual adopted daughters; Euline and Elenor.

And recently, Tunner was hospitalized from his face and a good chunk of his arm burnt—Third degree that left scarring. There was a car that was leaking gasoline; and the transformer up above it was sparking. He ended up shielding his “daughter” from the fire—But they were both sent back where Tunner was knocked out with a concussion.

Because of the result of the explosion—Tunner had developed a fear of fire. He’s a lot more anxious now—But he’s able to do his job correctly.

Tunner unfortunately has panic attacks—And they’re commonly caused by flashbacks.

——-

Tunner is bisexual—Where he might be poly. He loves Jevin, but he also loves Calliope. (My friend’s Black. He’s a sweetheart 🥰)

He loves playing guitar—His Guitar has stickers from his kids.

——-

THANKS FOR LISTENING TO MY VERY LONG RANT HERE’S TUNNER’S DESIGN SO YOU HAVE AN IDEA

OH BY THE WAY YOU CAN ASK HIM NOW SO ASK AWAY :DDD