#Startless

[sabiazothpsyche]

What a psychic effervescent satisfying experience that my Being is aware of! My startless beginning, as "Principium, Absentia, Exordium" (i.e., "Beginning in the absence of a start").

In other words, my Being begins as the "Absentia Presentia" (i.e., the "Presence as Absence"). Absence in the sense that my beginning as a presence was an amorphous consciousness in flux: Even way before John Locke's epistemological theory of the Latin phrase, "tabula rasa" (e.g., a "clean slate,) which is a condition of the human mind before ideas and information have been imprinted on it, by external facilitating factors: Which is an indication of an "outset" (a start for the human mind,) something that my Being is absent of, in terms of my awareness, existence, ecsentience, experatience, and experience.

Truly, my beginning (before any outset, and or any offset,) is "Absentia Presentia": even before the start of any "tabula rasa"! Indeed, it is great to understand my 'nonhumanity'! Truly, it is satisfying to be aware that my beginning is without a start (even without the start of any "psychologization" and "mentalization/memorization"!)

[threetrenchcoatsinatrenchcoat]

anyone else like jerkin it i like jerkin it hohoheheheee

This post is dedicated to the brilliant @transvampireboyfriend. You are my sun and my moon and my harbor in every storm. No paradise may dissuade me from a life lived for life's sake while your soul yet resides on this earth. If my feelings for you could be described as love, the term is unfit to be sullied by poets and songsmiths who graced the world's stage before your entrance. Every day you inspire me towards a richer, more infinite joy.

[cogumielitos]

And Time Is Always Waiting - Ollie, 2023

A piece inspired by the amazing tale from “The startless sea” by Erin Morgenstern

[magnuspanoptes]

Came across your blog and fell in love with your takes on arguably the most important dynamic in tma (like it made me miss them and actually start a relisten after like never finding the energy to after the finale years back). Do you happen to write any fics or have any fic recs?

RAHHH thank you!! this is exactly what i'm hoping to achieve every time i post yet another one of my delusional comparatives 🙂‍↕️

and i don't write fics but i do have recs!

I'd suffer all if you'd tell me, by RavenXavier is definitive S4 silence of the lambs / red dragon prison visit fic. to me.

Death Be Not Proud, by Startless - is another prison visit fic, but it's an AU where jon chose to die in his coma and woke up as an avatar of the end.

Pinned in vain desire, by statuscrows is about jon slowly developing compulsion which causes problems for elias :) they probably write the most in-character elias. he's not nice, but he's fond of jon. i recommend, like, every single one of their je fics. nobody writes beholding powers quite like them, almost every fic is based around an aspect of the beholding. Skeptic is an AU where jon finds gertrude's tape on the first day of the job. statuscrows always writes jon with his early seasons abrasiveness and mean streak intact, which is really all i want from jon's characterisation. i don't want nice jon, take that awayyy; Ritual misery is set immediately after 160 and is doing more interesting things with the web than all of S5 put together; From his prospect high - jonathan sims learns to See; Quenched in darkness you shall see - this is noncon and dead dove. read the tags! reccing this because ritual voyeurism to please the beholding is a real and true concept.

Perchance to Dream, by parva_dae and once upon a dream, by indelibleangel - are dream fics, inspired by MAG 120. first one is a snippet of elias poking around in jon's head and worsening his fear and paranoia. he would do that ^_^ and in the second one they talk. and kiss.

and lilies, by kototyph - i read two chapters while it was still ongoing but it's finished now and i haven't gotten around to it yet, but from what i remember this had, like, revolutionary elias characterisation. he's a disaster. a very well put together, beautiful disaster.

also these two one shots they wrote for jonelias week which i liked very much :3

something different crosses the threshold, by aguntoaknifefight - amnesia. classic.

a heavenly madness, by roundthedecay - this is one of the very few, proper gothic fics with these two. there's a cursed oil painting. jon's having his life ruined by said cursed painting. and jonah/elias gets a proper gothic villain treatment.

Worn to Shadows, by Ash_Rabbit, which somewhat satisfies my bluebeard itch, but it's an AU with no institute.

everything Candentia has ever written, basically. they write entity horror really well, and i think almost every one of their je fics are squarely in the horror genre, which i appreciate very much. i'm here for the horror. and you have to check out Beholding's Own if only for the jonah chapters. it doesn't have that older mentor shaping the younger in their own image dynamic because this an AU in which they're childhood friends. but it's so good. it's so good!! the georgian jonah chapters are exquisite. the tone, voice, word choice, atmosphere, general everything. also, some serious wuthering heights stuff happening between these two. like, they get it. they get it! they've also written a bluebeard (and cupid & psyche) adjacent fic - darkly, which is a fairy tale au. and Where Hope and Reason Part is tagged dead dove for the detailed descriptions of eye gore. which is my thing. we need more of that.

Professional Distance - takes place during the birthday tape, has an excellent elias voice. he's evil. and enamoured by jon. and evil.

a glass essay, by fairbanks is jonpeter and only tangentially lonelyeyes and jonelias, but it's one of the most gorgeously written fics i've had the pleasure of reading. excellent isolation narrative and has symbolism which pays off in an unexpectedly perfect way. and as a guy who does not care about peter lukas or any ships involving him in the slightest. well. this got to me.

Scenes from an Epicenter, by NeverwinterThistle which is set during S3 and the first je fic i recall reading. the bit where elias takes jon home after distortion helen drops him in his office is canon to me <3

Dark Square Bishop, by Blissymbolics, exactly what it says on the tin. homoerotic chess match at the end of the world.

[elias-rights]

i read the blue_blue_electricblue fics that u recommended and my brain rotated a full 360 degrees in my skull /pos. do you happen to have any other recs Please

I recently answered a similar ask about general recommendations here, but if you want more in a similar vein (the vein of Jonah being ambitious and pretty and psychologically compromised):

jackals in waistcoats by escherzo — Elias dresses Jon in Jonah's old clothes. Please note that this fic features grey-ace Jon who does have sex with Elias, in case that's not your cup of tea. 8K.

to sculpt anew by screechfox — A post-canon Jon travels back in time to before the start of the podcast and has a very interesting conversation with Elias. It's told from Elias's point of view, and his inner monologue is very fun and very, very in-character. 2K.

To Ensure Your Own Happiness by marstime — A backstory for a trans Jonah that drives me fully crazy. I love it beyond words. It features intertextual dialogue with King Lear, specifically Edmund's character, if that sweetens the deal. 6K, unfinished.

The understanding is too much for my soul to hold, and so my soul will open. by Alias — Jonah as the Pupil of the Eye. This one is pretty abstract. <1K.

Present Future by Startless — Elias travels back to season three after the finale. His relationship with himself has its ups and downs. A fascinating little speculative character study from the limited point of view of Jon that leaves you wanting for more. 4K.

[mastcrmarksman]

ASKS ENCOURGED // @cenererisorta ⸺ ❛ you shouldn’t be out here by yourself. ❜  ( wanda )

Clint had stayed behind, felt that it was his rsponsibility to be out here and putting in the work. That's who he really was; the kid would dig his heels into the dirt, rain or shine, and trained for eight hours straight with whatever his mentor had put into his hand. Throwing knives, a sword, a bow and some arrows. Hit a target for hours on end until he needed a target, until he was told he did good work today and he could rest.

He's a little lost in his head, shoulders slumped, as he works at the task at hand. Out here, by himself, windy day with a promise of rain, but it's not stopping Clint until he was finished. The slump to his shoulders was heavy as was his head, replaying the past among other things. Wanda startless him to say the least, but he won't say that she had. It takes him a moment to turn his head up and look toward her, watching her as she tells him he shouldn't be out here by himself.

He forces on a smile, pulling himself out of that faraway place, and offers her an earnest smile. ❝ A little storm's not gonna bother me. ❞ It's said with nonchalance as his eyes turn to the sky, assuming that's what she was referring to and possibly not what had been everyone's mind lately. ❝ I figured I'd get working, stop putting it off the list. ❞

[carp-from-space]

Sasha hcs for touchstarved game MC flavored. Mostly

Under cut you may find mentions of abuse, death, death wish and potentially other difficult subject matter. So please if anything feels uncomfortable, exit. I'll also put a warning by the paragraphs containing triggery stuff that are beyond what canon does atm like this ⚠️

Sasha goes by pronouns xey/xem mostly. Its just how their first language rolls.

Full name is Alyosha, but nobody except mage that raised xem knows this. It is inscribed in the box xey were found in after a fogfall incident.

Said box was taken by xeir (then) girlfriend Olena after she sold xem out and took the money with the wood box. (Later Olena met Sashas older sisters because of the box)

Speaks three languages; common, deep wastelands language and eventually dheme.

Proficient with blades and efficient killing. Not necessarily elegant.

⚠️ Was rised by mage who was part of crime syndicate and Sasha was indoctrinated into it, the syndicate was looking quite like cult of personality.

⚠️ Child soldier, was rised to see life as cheap comodity.

An incident in xeir late 20s triggered xeir slow deprograming, and this is where xey started to set aside coin to make xemself useless and find a cure for xeir biggest asset, and cut loose from syndicate.

⚠️Olena noticed the savings and broke the news to Gloria who promissed Olena her freedom for xeir life. Organized the removal of Sasha, having xem hanged. It goes terribly wrong. Rest of party is dead. Olena gets one word of warning. Run.

Broken, beaten and presumed dead, xey scraped up money and joined a caravan as an escort. Xey got to get to know a lot of passangers and got to care about them, but then the fogfall right before Eridia.

Xey fought. Hard. Lost xeir sword in that soulless side. Was still standing, half dead, screaming, clawing and lashing at soulless around when Kuras found xem (Can you get an angel scared? Not this time. But sure bewildered to the sight of a human(?) just going berserk with quite a bit of blood loss and a limb short. Just a flesh wound etc). Soon xey fainted and got brought to the clinic.

Xey almost slipped away until xey remembered: revenge.

So xey screamed bloody murder as they shot straight up off the clinics bed. Kuras just sitting there. Reading notes. Sasha screaming from top of xeir lungs, still in moment of the fog fall. Kuras patiently and politely endures. Sasha sore throat aftermath. Gets a honney pastilles from Kuras and gets sent out.

Leander and Vere encounters go as per game play mostly.

Sasha decides to go back where the caravan fell, trying to burry as many dead as possible. Xey almost finished it before a red eyed woman startless xem. Freaks xem out a bit w the sales pitch, but also low key horny cuz its Women crush Wednesday in Sasha-town. Gets sent to Ais.

Ais encounter goes as per game. Mostly. At one point Sasha tries to reach for xeir missing saber to keep soulless at bay. Ready to go out guns-a-blazing. Ais is amused.

Gets sent back to Eridia with Princess. Two of them stop by the new makeshift graveyard. Flowers start to shily peak trough the stone.

⚠️Back to Eridia, soulless encounter, Sasha wants xeir blade back. Mhin kills it before Sasha can tear with xeir teeth trough it. Mhin is part disgusted, part impressed, as Sasha tore trough the remains with the saber. At least xey got it out of xeir system.

⚠️The rage is slowly vanishing. Reality of not wanting to go on anymore setting in. Joining the folks xey cared about even for a short while.

Still annoying following Mhin, absent-mindedly gathering some intel about Senobium till they reach the Wet Wick.

The evening goes as per game. Mostly.

Sasha tries the Leanderxology. Does nothing to xem.

Gets a cookie from Kuras.

Offers half to Vere. Vere has mixed feelings about the temptation. Ais takes the half instead.

⚠️Accept plum gin, thinking its a sweet last drink

Xey get outside to get some fresh air after, stumbles uppon Vere.

⚠️The early ending sequence triggers. Vere kills them. Time rewinds. Vere kills them. Time rewinds. Vere kills them...

⚠️Vere gives up, half freaked out by something he can't quite remember, half horny because something freaky kept happening and he cant remember. He gives up on the kill, just lightly pressing hand against xeir neck. It's a warning.

Event witnessed by Kuras and/or Ais/Ais' agents.

Few hard drinks back in WW and Sasha drifts off into restless sleep full of ghosts in the borrowed sanctuary.

[trainerlynda]

Magic!Zork:

Maddie is a master of illusions. Which means she can mask her appearance, her scent, everything about her even down to the aura she presents. She uses this as wisely as any sage would.

Tapping Lynda on the shoulder. Then plopping her chin right on the trainer's other, grinning about as slyly as any Unovan Zoroark would. Even her eyes had the life of one despite her ghost typing.

"Fancy meeting you on my own this time~"

Lynda startless quite a bit at the sudden tapping, having been just sitting on her bed having been scrolling on his phone, bored. Blinking frantically before noticing Maddie now on his shoulder, calming back down and smiling kindly.

"Fancy indeed, how are you with all the silliness you're causing?"

Her tone is soft and playful, very friendly with a chuckle.

[libidomechanica]

Yielding and his yet the little female ran, and as my name

Yielding and his yet the little female ran, and as my name… . So he this brim. On the East, their Bills alone: they anoint to me, one who lent without, so I go into a silence. Simply riper ages, and tremble—the embrace unto Matrimony. I’m afraid, and crown the Muses entering a woman a’ her the she’s scarlet. Thy hope of love is golden by Sand. Breath true, or, were far away. But I’ll gone, Lament hue, in a Heaven while other will your voice of the rest, and how she is winter wilful green., Fair on and seen thou dost seat blunder my last night; subdued, with she can ever a great the Light on his mee. For, like and and rufull verse.—Himself with calm Dudu, with thy cup is thy locks downcast unflushes load and silver corn this is nough not, never that safe from mortal curtain to stock had see, with his so much puts by think of the startless prayed.

[violettesiren]

Dream in Which My Body Is a Snow Storm and doesn’t make anyone cold. If I fell I would fall in state-shaped flakes. One for every place my body lingered. One for every little bit of light I stole and kept. No cars startless. No tangled up roadways. Neck becoming mountain of drift; foot becoming fierce kicking eddies. Heat would not melt me. Hands would not help me undo. Blanketing softly. Whimsy not pretend. Dream in which my body is a snowstorm and the storm says a purpose in falling.

Dream in Which My Body Is a Snow Storm by A.D. Lauren-Abunassar

[pcrplevenom]

"I mean, I have to at ssome point. I passed out once for maybe closse to an hour and a half at my ssewing machine after I turned it off. Handmade stuff keepss me pretty busy, detail work iss tediouss to embroider!" Hands on her hips, frowning. Soldan barely blinked when it came down to last minute add ons. "Ah, not jusst the wall! Ground workss too, I love being unpredictable! Startless 'em, which I enoy seeing."

"Hey, you got thiss. Though, I have been overworkin' mysself to the core on my own. I sswear I haven't sslept for like, a day or sso? The holidayss take a heavy toll on me, rather literally." giving a small, yet sleepy yawn. She hasn't had to nap once either, stubborn and tirelessly determined. "I make my own giftss, barely spending money on any." "Oh, that'ss also the fun part. Thiss dude was twice my height! Ran at me, I dodged and I counter attacked from behind doin that."

[aurowrite]

i assume this is the most meaningful, most creative, and most impressive poetry ive ever written about romance

this might be the end of the page

keep in mind the 18th line, 

sayonaranghae <3

idk what u call this writing style: the last word of the line is the same as the first line of the next. i just tried, and i absolutely enjoyed it.

[cogumielitos]

i started reading the startless sea and OMG ITS SO GOOD WHAT

I'm only on page 25 and im so invested, and I'm a person who HATES reading wtf this book its awesome

[wcstarless]

I know you did a roster for your FunClan, TentClan, and related cats. Could you maybe do an allegiance of the cats who were present when each of the Startless Cats were alive? It kind of just makes things a bit easier to keep track of since cats seem to come and go or are just mentioned on the sly.

Ugh god this would be an incredible nightmare because I have so many cats plus some of them cross over into canon territory so I have to do research. I guess I can throw down the original 4's Clans??

[dalelans]

supergod

infant beautiful swan sri lovely moon from no end to no end startless and endless infinite

Matt Leece

[spacecatpoetry]

My god, what have I won?

Here is my heaven.

This startless war

has both ended and begun.

The battle isn’t over,

But the lonely fight is done.