#also that wasnt the only dream i had and remember

[cent-scratchnsniff]

here together

[mossterunderthebed]

[eliotquillon]

just finished the rwrb movie and although i really enjoyed it (and was kicking my feet giggling the whole time) i do have a couple of major criticisms, some of which i think aren’t really the movie’s fault because they had to fit a whole book into 2 hours, but some of which left me kind of disappointed:

-i feel slightly icky that bea and nora got their screentime SIGNIFICANTLY reduced even after june got cut entirely (which i was upset about, but did understand). i loved zahra and adored her on screen but i do think it’s very odd that she is pretty much the only major female character in this movie since bea was nonexistent and nora got permanently spirited away to pez’s bed or something sometime during the second act

-it felt like a lot of the internal conflict in alex and henry’s relationship was very unbalanced and henry heavy - alex’s neurodivergence was erased, his bi epiphany was barely even an epiphany, and him not being explicitly kicked off the campaign after ellen finds out about him and henry essentially killed his whole subplot about realising he doesn’t need to have everything achieved at thirty and deciding he wants to apply to law school instead. which wouldn’t have been terrible but on the flipside it felt weird that we didn’t see very much of henry’s family considering how much they affect and shape his fear of being outed and his feeling of being in a glass cage - e.g bea’s treatment by the media during her active addiction (which was entirely erased), the extent of the tension between him and philip. felt like henry’s pov scenes were a super wasted opportunity for that and we were mostly just being Told about all of these things

-i am not actually that mad about oscar and ellen still being together lol but i felt like in the scene with oscar smoking the cigar on the balcony they were kinda building up to there being significant strain in his and ellen’s relationship that just wasn’t explored. especially since it’s clear oscar would never be able to be president because he’s not a natural born citizen + the sacrifice of his career for ellen’s is so much bigger now that he’s first gentleman in this version

-pacing in general was a bit off but the worst offender was the fact that there was a complete time skip between the alex henry confrontation/reconciliation and the outing. so much of the tension and desperation from that outing scene comes from the fact that the risk of it happening was slowly increasing throughout the book and it felt almost inevitable (the elevator cctv being leaked, henry having to fake date june) and honestly making it so abrupt weirdly reduced a lot of its impact for me

-similarly i actually completely understand why the richards plot / rafael luna plot was cut (i suspect republican election interference hits a bit too close to home after 2020) but my god was miguel a lame fucking villain and him being queer and hispanic erased a lot of the original commentary about racism and homophobia that the richards plot lent itself to. like in general this movie was a lot lighter than the book which is fine! but for a movie where the main subplot is a presidential election So Much of the political themes were heavily neutered or cut to the point that it seemed like the pressure on henry and alex’s relationship was disproportionately coming from henry’s side when in the book it was more balanced

again on the whole i really really loved this movie and i knew going in that certain changed were going to be made. and i hope more movies get made like it! these r just my Thots and i may change my mind when i rewatch it with my friend tomorrow

[rexscanonwife]

Oh boy so. My partner and I started rewatching Lazytown 0///0

[supahstarrr]

ill never understand why "reality shifting" was a term referring to the phenomenon of inducing your brain to get a specific (lucid or non-lucid) dream you want. isn't knowing that the brain is so complex and weird and bizarre that you can "trick" it already interesting itself than supposedly "reality shifting"...?

[todayisafridaynight]

sorry if this is out of the blue guys but i think my brain just decided to convert me to being an adachi stan

[trans-leek-cookie]

as a certified Aromantic Asexual (I should make myself a certificate) I genuinely don't Believe there is systemic oppression that specifically targets Aromantic or Asexual people.

I do however believe that people Cannot be normal about ppl who don't have sex or romantic relationships, and that can Really Impact Aromantic And Asexual People.

Also like. Aros n aces are still. Experiences Other forms of oppression that can interact with the aro and/or ace-ness

[semiotomatics]

welp

[thetangibleghost]

really long dream involving my brother, living alone, having to navigate wearing clean, nice clothes while changing houses. my broth had a stuffed rabbit that doesn't exist irl. We were both about ten years younger.

just remembered, always remembering out of order but Sally Face was also there, around my age in the dream. He called me and I was supposed to find him in my apartment but I was annoyed/stressed, I guess we knew eachother pretty well in the dream. there was only one place to hid in my apartment but I was a little surprised he was actually there, in a cabmif that doesn't exist irl underneath a bunch of cloth for sewing.

I found him and like sat on his hips and took a video? of him giggling?

The entire dream there was this song playing that kinda sounded like a mix between Folsom Prison Blues and Stairway to Heaven??? Ended with the line "Heaven is those who apear on the train." right as I was coming out of sleep.

[mx-paint]

.

[show-us-kaidenshenandoah]

Wicked Gelphie fans, i need you guys so badly to know how well Elphaba/Glinda are "good timeline"d "history doesnt repeat, it rhymes"-ified by Dorothy/Princess Ozma in Baum's original Oz book series. like. Dorothy/Ozma get everything; theyre the sweet, intimate friends-to-"??? are they a couple?"-ified political power-sapphic-duo that Gelphie would have wanted to be. like??

if you merge canons, fam... Wicked-Glinda must be struggling, seeing Dorothy/Ozma be everything she and Elphaba could have been.... omfg... the angst potential, the envy of watching a couple of sapphic childhood sweethearts get everything they were denied, fulfill Glinda and Elphie's dreams, and seemingly so easily too...

(also!! they even CAN look like a kid-Glinda and kid-Elphaba! there's canon to justify that kind of appearance paralleling!!)

faq below if you want more context

edit, psa: i did read these books from like.. the ages of 10 to like 14 or so, maybe as young as 8? idk, i dont remember. anyway. its been a decade since i picked them back up. and i didnt think this would gain as much traction as it has been after 100+ notes in less than 24 hours. uh. so. take my chronic memory loss-addled summarization with a grain of salt?? like? i just wrote this post so i didnt have to re-vent (agAIN) to my friends about how much i fucking love Dorothy/Ozma, period, much less in parallel to Gelphie. so. enjoy, carry on, and whatnot lmao

1️⃣: there's Oz books? plural???

yes, Baum wrote 14 books about Oz, actually. also, he wrote them under the appointment of "the royal historian of Oz" instead of "author", so there's other "official" Oz books by other "royal historians of Oz"

Baum wrote so much bc (he needed money, yes, but also:) kids would send him questions in fan-mail, and he would proceed to answer them via new novels. so he never planned to make more Oz books, he just (wasnt good with money and also) was routinely inspired by the kids who wrote to him and would write the stuff they wanted to learn about Oz and whatnot

2️⃣: does Dorothy go back to Oz? wasn't it all a dream for her??

yeah, Dorothy returns to Oz a lot in the books, she eventually even moves to live there permanently. bc, in the book series, it's a real place

only in the 1939 film was Oz ever a dream

3️⃣: how does Dorothy look like Glinda OR Elphaba?? what are you talking about?

okay so, "The Wizard of Oz" has an illustrator, W. W. Denslow. in the book, Dorothy is confirmed to be wearing a blue-white gingham dress (she changes outfits tho, she doesnt always wear the same dress all 14 books like she's some cartoon character); but im pretty sure her hair was all Denslow(? i could be remembering wrong. p sure im not tho??). this is what the 1939 movie based her appearance off of. so i can see why youd go "she doesnt look like Glinda or Elphaba"

BUT Denslow and Baum started feuding. so for the rest of the Oz books that Baum wrote, he had a different illustrator by the name of John R. Neil

and Neil decided to give Dorothy for every one of the books he illustrated (so, 13 of Baum's books to Denslow's 1 book of Baum's) a cute lil blonde bob, making her look like what i assume blonde-Glinda looked like as a child. i think she'd approve lol

so!! Dorothy very much looks like a trendy little Glinda, with her cute blonde bob, her fashionable drop-waist dress, and bows for most of the Baum series, actually!

(also, Neil had a preference for dressing Dorothy in this red and polka-dot number, but, again, she does wear other outfits)

(lmao also look at Tin-Man and Scarecrow with blonde-Dorothy, they look like her two gay dads encouraging her to just go be herself at school?? i love them)

(also, if you see "Eloise At The Plaza"-energy in this Dorothy design, im right there with you lol)

4️⃣: who is Ozma??

she's the Princess of Oz. she eventually appears in the second book of the series. she rules Oz after the Wizard

she's actually a really interesting transwoman allegory too. (spoilers for a book from the early 1900s?) she was born a little girl named Ozma, but has a spell put on her as a baby to be genderbent and was socially raised as a little boy under a different name, and she later realizes who she truly is: a girl. she finds the transformation scary, as she returns to her girl-form she always truly was, but she feels better and more herself now that she is Ozma again. i dont think L. Frank Baum intentionally wrote her to be a trans allegory, but you can very obviously see why our trans elders fucking LOVED Ozma back in the early 1900s

also, she has a similar "sir, you fucked up" relationship with the Wizard as Elphaba*. and, also like Elphaba, Ozma politically tries to make things in Oz better (just.. unlike Elphaba, Ozma has the power and support to do just that p much asap)

* (edit for contextual clarification on how the Wizard fucked up: the Wizard fucked up with Ozma because he is ultimately and p directly the reason why she was genderbent/hidden. he deposed of her family and sent her away. Baum decided later on to backtrack a little bit on this(?) because he wanted to bring back the Wizard and, in order for Baum to do that, has to try to not make him SO terribly horrible??? so like. Ozma does end up forgiving him and tolerates him amd he's nicer, later on, within the books. but i doubt any modern adaptation of the books would follow that, personally. even as a kid, i went "bullshit" and headcanoned that Ozma fucking hated the guy and, at best, MAYBE tolerated him for Dorothy, but overall did not like him for justifiable reasons! i think the direction society seems to have taken the Wizard is interesting, and i wouldnt be surprised if there was at least one future adaptation that made him The Bad Guy in a very Rumplestiltskin in the Once Upon A Time TV show kind of way. but like. in the books, they do END UP getting along. i just forever disagree with Baum on that lol i think the Wizard fucked up, and in book 2 of the series (the one where Ozma is, y'know, introduced), it is obvious the Wizard FUCKED UP. but yeah. also, Ozma does get her dad back. her mom was kind of never in the picture to begin with, specifically in a Ponyo's Mom kind of way, like, she made Oz and then left it for her husband and kid to rule, so. yeah. im getting off track. my point is the Wizard did a full-on coup on her family and then banished her and genderbent her so no one would recognize that she had claim to the throne he was sitting on!! he fucked up! so, like, i personally hc that Elphaba founded the "i hate the Wizard" club to which everyone slowly joined, like Fieyro and etc, and Ozma is their youngest member. the Wizard did both Elphie and Ozma so dirty, omfg)

it also should be mentioned, Ozma in NBC's "Emerald City" was casted as Black (her actress being Jordan Loughran). so, though Ozma does not have green skin (but also? neither did the Wicked Witch of the West in the books, she wasn't green there. that was a 1939 film decision to make her green. so! Ozma could be green!! why not!), but she does have Black features to theoretically remind Glinda of Cynthia Eviro's Elphaba when you consider that casting. or, if you prefer a Jewish!Elphaba casting, a'la Idina Menzel's Elphaba, i think Ozma's book design works well to interpretively parallel those features too. or both, if you like the sound of a Black-Jewish Elphaba and Ozma paralleling lol

(edit, because i thought i mentioned this but? no?? i didnt?? i must have misclicked or something to have deleted the paragraph. im so sorry, here you go:) also, when Ozma was a boy, she was basically enslaved to her jailor of a caretaker. which one could interpret as "oh, a Cinderella story!", sure. but, with a Black Ozma, it does read as an intergenerational grief-formed power-fantasy that is both empowering and poignant for Ozma to have ran away from her enslavement and gone on to become a princess afterwards. to any Black folks who may be going "is this going to trigger me?" about Ozma having been a child-slave, i remind you that Baum wrote this intentionally for children, so, no, the books do not sit in the trauma and horror of enslavement, but whether or not it would trigger you yourself is up to your discretion. i will say, Baum did NOT write the American Girls' Addy of his time (context: a children's book about a child-slave that does go into the horrors, some, though in a kid-friendly way) or Louis Sachar's Holes (i asssume i dont have explain Holes since its movie was such a hit), i remember it as even more kid-friendly than either of those also-children's books, so i would assume most people would be fine? but you are responsible for your own mental well-being, i urge you to confirm if it is fine for yourself however you need to do that. but, yes, you can use this backstory as further evidence for your Ozma being Black, of course! you can have Ozma be Black regardless, but if you want this as further evidence, go ahead! and also, it does parallel Ozma to Elphaba in the sense that Elphaba's family mistreats Elphaba! (i will, regardless of if you prefer a Jewish and/or Black Elphaba, add that doing so is also a nice "fuck you" to Baum in how, being a white man of the late 1800s and early 1900s, did end up throwing in racist and/or antisemitic caricatures here and there within his 14 books, unfortunately. i, an Indigenous American, remember as a child still immensely enjoying Oz despite Baum being racist towards Native Americans. if youre curious on the egregious level of it all and if the story could still be enjoyable, id say it's in the realm of Peter Pan, Willy Wonka, and Matilda of "wow. that is shitty. im going to pretend this thing i love is good instead via cognitive dissonance")

regardless, in John R Neil's illustrations, Ozma does have black hair, so that too coincides with modern understandings of Elphaba

(there is also her appearance in Disney's "Return to Oz", performed by Emma Ridley, where she is blonde. but, though i love that spooky movie, that's neither here nor there. as far as im aware, only in that movie has Ozma not had black hair)

anyway, she rules Oz; and by book 3, becomes really close friends with Dorothy. they're not a canon couple, not anymore than Gelphie is, but they are such close and affectionate friends that they are so easy to ship as childhood sweethearts (so, no, there is no moment of 🎶loathing🎶, but i find that sweetness makes them an angstier parallel for Glinda to watch over, personally lol)

like here's some illustrations from the books of them just being two "gal pals". no wonder our queer elders shipped them lmao and this isn't even all of their illustrations together, this is just the first spurts that google shot out at me lmao

also??? this is them with book-Glinda. not only do they look absolutely darling, also, yes, Dorothy becomes a princess, because Ozma said so. they co-rule Oz together. they are just too sweet, fam, i love these two little childhood sweethearts, i choose to see Dorothy's princess-ship as the same as two kids promising to marry one another when they grow up. this is so cute

and can you imagine Wicked-Glinda? looking down at these two, seeing what could have between herself and Elphaba had things turned out different??? im making myself sad

(also "Book of Glinda" is so wild. both in terms of "...Baum, how do you not see this as queer?" like with one example being like "Baum, you put that Glinda has 100s of single women at her beck and call in her palace, this is so easy to see as sapphic, sir"... and then, over here, we have John R Neil repeatedly reading "gave a platonic, innocent kiss" and going "okay, so, uh, making out? i dont do platonic kissing" lmao anYWAAAAYYYY, THAT'S NOT RELEVANT HERE)

🌟5️⃣ bonus:

so, you might have a few follow-up questions. like, what is "Elphaba" like in the books? what does she look like?

well, she's really only in the first book. she's one-note, evil, dies. she's not green-skinned, and she isn't given any sort of name. she is only called "the Wicked Witch of the West", that's it, she is not Elphaba

however, i will mention the Wicked Witch of the West, in the books, is a fashion disaster and i want to see her look used as evidence that "yes, goth-Elphaba and dark-academia-Elphaba are 10/10, but also?? kitschy grandma-core knitwear-Elphaba × her fashionably Barbie pink girlfriend". i'd love to see art of that. i'm just saying

also?? this isn't related to her at all but guess what

Scarecrow/Tin-Man was like THE ship for our queer elders. they are so emotionally intimate, they live together, it's great, look at these pictures of them being absolute bros (can you see why they were shipped so hard)

i bring this up, bc you could argue Fieyro/Boq if you merge canons to make your own narrative and whatnot. guess Fieryo and Boq kinda had their own mirrored 🎶loathing🎶 period under that framing lmao

or, if you hate Boq, youll probably love the Tin-Man's angsty "ship of Theseus"-like backstory as the once-Nick Chopper(: his human name, pre-tin-ification) that is in the books

so! enjoy that knowledge!! theyre super cute in the books, i love them. again, not a canon ship, but still beloved by our elder queers, just like Ozma and Dorothy

i hope it makes even more sense now why our queer elders used the phrase "Are you a friend of Dorothy?" as code to see if someone else was queer, not even taking into account the 1939 movie or Judy Garland's relationship with the queer community

anyway, albeit this is all the basics generalized, that should be everything

but yeah!! Ozma and Dorothy reminding Glinda of what could have been, of what she lost, being the sweeter "next generation" version of Gelphie?? tugs so hard at my heartstrings

but yeah, do whatever you want with Gelphie, Fieryo, and Part 2. im just saying. the angst potential of being envious and living vicariously through someone and seeing other people get the happy ending you were denied?? is right there lol

(edit: this awesome video by Kaz Rowe JUST came out if you want to hear more about the Oz book series, its queerness, its author, its GLARING PROBLEMS including but not limited to instances of racism, and so on and so forth. Kaz Rowe is a fantastic video-essayist, so i hope you watch the video and enjoy their hard-polished craftsmanship)

[whole-circus]

Hihi I recently started reading your works and stchnvdhnifbmb I'm obsessed now lol

I must ask how the creeps would react to someone who was there for them before they became the way they are now? I'm quite curious (⁠´⁠-⁠﹏⁠-⁠`⁠；)

Take care and hydrate <333

Creepypastas with reader that had knew them before tragic eventes

➥ with Jeff the Killer, Homicidal Liu, "Ticci" Toby, Eyeless Jack, Ben Drowned

Ahh you waited so long for this Im so sorry!T^T

Also you guys have no idea how sweet that is! Im glad that someone likes to read my scribble! <3 Lots of love and also remember to hydrate! I choose couple of pastas, but feel free to inform me if you would like someone else!

.•┈••✦ 🖤 ✦••┈•.

☆ Jeff the Killer

During one of this normal days, or maybe during calm night? You finally saw him..You were looking at eachothers, not sure what to do - sure, he may be a killer now..but this killer was once your friend? Does he even recognize you? But to your suprise, he just started laughing. It wasn't his casual maniac laughter..this one were more friendly, just like the laugh of him you remembered. The laugh of your best friend. He remembered you..and even if he is way diffrent now, then the part of him is still your best friend. You are finally something good in his miserable life, and he almost felt normal once again. Its funny how you make a man like him smile and sigh in relief, just by your presence. And he doesn't care what he did do somehow deserved you again - all he could do is being grateful for that.

☆ Homicidal Liu

You manage to meet Liu on one, ordinary night. Even if he looked, oh so diffrent, then inside you could still recognize his past self. When it comes to Liu, he couldnt believe his luck in that moment. He craves for sense of normalcy like nothing else, its his only true wish..but now you are here again? He start to remember all this nice moments from his childhood..you were in all of them! Even if he didnt recognize you at first, he felt so many strong emotions and could find something familiar..and like that after a quick chat you finally were in eachothers arms once again. There you were..his only hope and only love, you have no idea how long he had waited for you - and when he finally got you, he wont let you go again.

☆ "Ticci" Toby

After everything he had done, Toby really became all this names they used to call him in school - he was a monster, a freak in fact. Could you even look at him in the same, sweet way you used to as a kid? He was scared, constantly scared..so he didnt made a first move. Until that day. When he finally saw you again, he finally felt at peace. The feeling when you were again in his arms felt like coming home from a long journey. He was able to feel the same thing, the same love and care from you. And he already felt much better, just from seeing your smile again.

☆ Eyeless Jack

He was sure you wouldn't recognize him..now he was a monster after all, a inhuman being, a demon straight from poeple nightmares. But he wished, he dreamed that you would look at him in the same way - they way you used to when everything was normal. Meeting you again made him so incredible happy..he almost feel human again! All he could do was just hug you, and sob quietly.. you had so much to talk about, but you have time for that..the only thing that matter is you right now.

☆ Ben Drowned

Ben wasnt the same person you used to cherish and care for..shit, he wasnt even a person, a human anymore. So was he still worth of your friendship? Your sweet words and hugs? Was he even worth looking at you? But he finally decide to meet you once more, he had all eternity and he needs you to make it worth exisitng. So when he showed up at your doors? He had it all planned, the things he will do and say..but just seeing you made him tear up and look in guilt to the ground. His always cool and smug persona, was replaced with the seriousness and culpability. And when you took him into your warm embrace? When you started to shush him ,a dcomfort him? He felt at peace once again, almost like nothing else matters but you both. You already made him the happiest and nothing can compare to you, nothing else in this world.

.•┈••✦ 🖤 ✦••┈•.

[opal-owl-flight]

“…I thought…youd be happy to see me again.”

"|You promised me that you will stay away from here. Why would I be happy?|"

But its clear from the screen behind them that theyve been dreaming of her, much like she has of them.

So 3s perspective on 4s return!!

A bit of context: Part of why 3 returns to being cold on duty (and during times of stress, which Ive explained before somewhere is bc of their clan teaching them these values and "snapping back to bad habits" is just smth that happens bc of said stress) is bc they keep believing that they have to keep everything together.

They learned this in (my rewrite of) RotM. They were the only person who was diplomatic enough to make all involved teams work together.

They learned during theur first big mission as the new captain that they can only ever rely on *themself.*

Neo3 was an asshole, Neo4 can work well but is a bit of a wet towel when it comes to confrontations, Callie and Marie are actively arguing with Octavio, Deep Cut are following NO orders from anyone and also keep arguing with the Squisters,

Its madness.

3 had to multiple times fire a weapon to get everyone to shut the fuck up. Or hiss, or bark orders.

Putting on this intimidating aura of command to pull off a management save of the CENTURY to save the world.

Ever since that time, theyve stuck to the same "show no emotion. Be cold. Ruthless" Principles. Bc this is what damn worked. This is what kept everyone alive.

-------------

What Rain experienced upon her return was Tanara at the end of their rope.

They were strict with themself before, yes. But they were generally more warm and supportive to everyone else back then (Rain remembers this well). They wanted everyone to grow into their best selves. They use their team captain experience for the betterment of the platoon (even before they were promoted). A nudge here, a word of advice there. Like a cool upperclassman. A good, observant teammate.

Come promotion they...

...well, even shortly before, theyve become significantly less expressive. They continued to nod their approval, but its clear that Rain's absence is affecting them.

And then rotm happened. Their usual strategies for keeping teams together wasnt working. So they became...someone else. And then everyone fell in line.

They didnt want to become like the monsters that were their military relatives. But they were pushed to become that, for a time.

They hated it, such ruthlessness is something they knew would start doing damage if they push it for too long. but its what will keep everyone safe. As long as theyre safe, the means dont matter.

And then they hurt the one they wanted to keep safe the most, and this entire act falls apart.

------------

They became cold to 4 partially because of this mask theyve put on as a captain, but also as a means to drive her away again. The only way to keep her safe from their hands forever stained in blood is to make sure she stays away from this place. From them.

They believe so hard that they destroy everything they touch. They dont want Rain to be the next thing they destroy.

But it happened anyway.

[mists-reading-nook]

Creator!Reader with religious trauma [REWRITE]

Decided to do a rewrite of this because I reread it and it was rough. So enjoy 2700 words of reader suffering! Yay!

Warning: this is based on my own experiences with religion, specifically of the ahabramic kind. I mean no disrespect to anyone’s personal faith or beliefs. 

TWS: manipulation, slavery, some light ish gore, religious trauma, sacrifice, death, mention of starving, self isolation, victim blaming from the victim,and  weird pov switching. Also completely in beta read and unedited. 

also written on laptop, so some parts may be wonky.

From the sky came words crashing onto the ears of man. Man spoke those same words, and they became speeches that became chants that were fed into your ears. 

You,the pillar of innocence. Wide eyes that took in all they could see. Tiny hands clenching onto anything they could grasp. 

The word of God became the word of man. It twisted into the cage that held you hostage. 

Your parents had told you the rules, made sure you knew not to question. They shot down your ‘why’s’ with more words. They taped your lips and gaped your ears and told you to be still. To be seen in His eyes, and never heard. They told you to shrink, to be silent, to not exist. 

They locked you in His cage and told you to thank Him for it. 

Though as all things are, your cage was not perfect. It had a hole. A way for you to escape, even if you had to return after a while. Games. Board games, when you were young, and video games once you were a little older. Games worked away at your mind and chipped away at that hold until it was big enough for you to escape through forever. 

You were long gone when Genshin Impact came into your life. In adulthood you kept far away from Man and their Word, but in the game, you could enjoy the land of Celestial powers and Gods among men in safety behind your screen. You fell in love with each and every character, running your wallet dry with every new release. There were nights where you fell asleep with the screen before your eyes, Genshin Impact still open and running.

One of those nights became the catalyst for your future in this land. 

Your dream began with stone. It lay crumbling beneath your feet, it reached to the heavens in towering pillars. It was all around you. The dark gray against the bright blue sky. The stone beneath you stretched far before you and far behind you. Alone in this familiar purgatory you waited for something. For some grand event that would justify your presence here. 

Soon, you began to regret that wish. There was no sun, yet the sky darkend anyway, as if it had no reason to obry the laws of life. This place began to take shape in your memory, and your brain brought your beloved video game to theb forefrongt of your thoughts. You were sure now that this was some nightmarish verionm of the tetris effect, that somehow Genshin had infiltrated your dreams. It wasnt real though. Soon youn would wake up, and soon you would forget the crumbling stone and the cold winter air.

But even if it was not real, like you begged your mind to remember, your body trembled from staying still. So you forced yoiur numb legs to move, one step after the other. It felt like hours had gone by as you walked, one foot after the other. Surely you could stop now, right? 

As if to sense your thoughts, the crumbling began. You didnt dare look behind you, because the sound was enough. Forcing your legs to move faster and faster, your clumsy stumble becoming a run. 

The sound seemed to move in tandem with your feet. You searched for an exit, any way to escape this terrible fate, but your eyes only met the dark pillars and the endless open sky. All you could look at was the ever stretching road ahead, and all you could focus on was making sure you kept running. 

You found it eventually. Whether you had been running for minutes or days, you didn't know. All you knew was the burn in your legs and the fire in your lungs. But you found it. The door, made of the same ever crumbling stone. An escape from your flight. 

Looking back, you wished you had let yourself into the unknown. But wishes arent reality. And you knew if you had to do it again forever, yuoud dom the same thing every time. Youd hurl yourself at that door over and over, because lettingh yourself fall wouldve been a scarier fate.

Even now you remembered how cold the stone was. How hard you had to push until it gave, even though it looked like it could turn to dust any second. The way the stone finally disappeared under your feet just as the white embraced you.

                                   ﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

You expect to wake in your bed, finally free from that awful nightmare. But instead, you awake to a gentle breeze on your face. Your eyes flew open to take in the bright world around you. It was all familiar, and maybe youd forgotten it. But the unusually bright colors,  the gigantic tree that cast its shadow over you, the tiny glowing blue flies that landed on your shoulders. You couldnt have forgotten a place like this, no. 

But maybe…

You stood on shaky lrgs that still seemed to burn, even though you had only ran in that dream. Walking around to the front of the statue, you clutched a hand to your mouth. A familliar stone face peered down at you. 

No, you hadnt forgot. You were still dreaming after all, because it simply wasn’t possible to be transported into a game in your sleep. But something about the hard ground and the pristine, cold stone of the statue told you this wasn't a dream. This was the windrise tree.

You had truly been transported into Genshin impact.

                          ﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

The moments after that had been all but erased from your mind until you came into contact with Lisa. being heralded as a god, being cut down so they could see the golden blood bubble up from your flesh. You let it all happen, because the thought of disappointing the characters who had gotten you through such pain made you feel sick. They had gotten you through so much, so this was the least you cou;ldf do in return. And even if the thought of being a god like *it made bile rise in your throat, it couldn't possibly be that bad. It would probably all blow over anyway.

What a fool you had been. Only a fool would think it would be over after that. That you'd be ab;le to live peacefully and as you pleased. You were more suited to be a jester than a king.

People soon came streaming in from all over Teyvat to see you. To be blessed by even a glimpse of your hair or skin. They came to give you offerings, they came to beg for your forgiveness. They came to get married under you. They hauled in dead loved ones for you to bless, or worse, revive. 

The knights had claimed you, and so you couldn't leave the church without an entire entourage by your side. Worst still, the archons came one by one out of the woodwork. Zhongli ( Morax, as he told you) left retirement to stay by your side eternally, as he claimed he once had. Even Venti revealed himself to the world, just to get a chance to approach you. 

You were trapped in the walls of worship yet again. This time, though, you were on the other side. Your hair began to turn white from the stress.

The people said it was a miracle. You thought it was a curse. You could tell people to jump, they'd do it until exhaustion killed them. You tell them to stop, and they would crawl. The words you meant with innocence were twisted by ears and further twisted by mouth. 

People died because of you. People with your eyes, your hair, your face. They all died cursing your name. Some died prasing it, hoping that maybe, you who had forsaken them would take pity on their soul. Children weren’t spared from this fate. Nobody was.

Yet still, people worshipped you. Still, people who bore your features risked their lives to see you, only to fall to their knees and beg for forgiveness, simply for the crime of looking like you.

Of course, you tried desperately to save them all. Tried to say that looking like you was a blessing, not a curse. You twisted your own thoughts into words, in a way you had seen others do as a young child. 

All your efforts got you sacrifice. Children were lauded as saints and sent to you in droves. The sacrifice of a human life. A future of cold walls and eternal servitude. That was the result of your words. It took too long for it to stop. You saved some by sending them far from your church, to other nations. So they could be free from prying eyes and chiding words. But others were forever shackled to you. You had no real power, not enough to stop your aclotyes, and not enough to convince the children to turn away. Not enough to convince them that they were more than an extension of your light. 

Eventually, you had to lock yourself in your room to send the message. It managed to work, because now the people needed you. It didn't matter that they had survived just fine without you before. They had you now, and that was enough to get them addicted. When you returned to the, after the children had stopped coming, they celebrated. It didn't matter that you had bags beneath your eyes and your gaze had gone distant. They had your light again, and that was all that mattered to them. They wanted you to attend sermons. They wanted you to hear them twist the ancient stories of your once favorite game world. 

You went, because the thought of the sick smell of blood and rotting fruit haunted your memory.

Standing below a church built in your honor, with its shadow casting over you. All of a sudden you were a child again, trapped in a cage. This time though, the hole was patched. This time, you were never alone. Even in your private room, someone stood waiting outside the door. The only safe place was your mind, and even there, godhood waited there. Taunting you. 

Sitting in a seat high above the crowd, you listened to all the drivel of the man below. Hearing them twist your words…

The room suddenly felt very small. The world narrowed down just to this man's droning voice, and the air around you turned stale, and you felt like you were being squeezed so hard you could pop. sweat formed on your brow and, more air, you needed more air. You could hear someone calling your name, no not your name, that stupid title again. They said it again and again as you tried to force your ears to fucking work.

“...Your Grace?’ there you go, you can hear. Trying to control your breathing, you look up at the person who called. You couldn't actually see who it was, your vision was too blurry. You forced your head up and down in a janky mimicry of a nod. “I was just asking if you are alright, but you seem ill..” you tried to force out words, but your traitorous mind only allowed you to shakily nod again.

A sudden hand on your shoulder makes you jump, and your vision clears just enough so you can see Zhongli standing behind you. Words claw out y=our through, and you manage to say something. “I wish to go home now”, and there's a croak in your mouth when you say it, but you don't care. The word ‘home’ feels foreign on your tongue. You haven't had a home in such a long time. But you say it anyway, because that's what they all want to hear. You ignore the murmurs and gasps as you leave. The speaker will be dead by tomorrow, and you think it serves him right for twisting your words like that. In the back of your mind, you shudder at how cruel you've become. 

                          ﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

There's questions as they take you home, but you can't hear them, because you're far too busy trying to get your breathing under control and trying to quill your body to stop trembling. It's the sound of that stupid title that causes you to break.

A sob works its way out your lips, as if you'd tried to trap it in your chest. You just couldn't do it any longer, whether you were here or back home. Religion trapped you in any way it could. Now it must be vengeful, because it seemed to stop at nothing to remind you that you were just like Them. You stood by, seemingly powerless to stop the people who supposedly ‘followed’ you.every day, you watched them use your name to kill and maim. Every day, you had to look in the mirror and see Them in your reflection. You were no better than them. You just watched it all happen. You let your aclotyes worship the literal ground you walked on. The birds, the trees, the grass, they all sung your praises day in and day out.

All while you covered your ears and pretended not to hear.

Your pain turns itself into words and comes rushing out of your mouth. You n o longer cared what your ridiculous aclotyes thought. Let them gawk and stare, the only thing you care about is getting the pain  out of your chest.

You babbled and cried until you fell asleep.

                         ﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

You locked yourself in your chambers after that. It was easier than facing your followers, or having the sickly sweet smell of rotting fruit and blood bombard your senses. You couldn’t eat or sleep, you just sat next to the barred window and stared out of the world you ‘created’. How could a creation of yours be so cruel? How could it treat you like this? Why? What had you ever done wrong? All you did was try to be kind. All you did was try to be good. Yet you were alone. And forsaken by those who claimed to follow you.

There was a knock on the door. You didn’t say anything from your bed. You didn’t even get up. You didn’t need to. They would come in anyway, no matter what the issue was. Sometimes they would just barge into stare at you. Sometimes they would kneel your feet. Like you guessed, Zhongli opened your door and walked in. You had to keep a scowl off your face. Zhongli was incessant, claiming himself to be your favorite just because you remembered your past incarnation from his youth.

You hated him a healthy amount.

He kneeled at the side of your bed, his eyes to the floor, and you waved your hand. Anything he said, you’d listen. Not as if you had a choice. 

“Your Grace-“ Zhongli began, “on behalf of me and all your loyal acolytes, I would like to apologize for our actions.”

At that you perked up. Perhaps they might actually listen to you this time. Maybe you would be granted freedom, away from this stuffy grand cathedral. You stared at Zhongli, waiting for his next words. Hoping desperately that freedom would come.

“We… We did not give you the fullest extent of our praise and worship. It seems that it made you feel adequate as our God and that is completely unacceptable.” 

The world seemed to slow down around you. 

What a fool you were. What a fool to think that man could understand. The shaking set in again, and you could barely hear Zhonglis speech over the ringing in your ears. 

“Do not worry your grace. You will get the appreciation you deserve.” 

The smell of rotting fruit and blood came from right outside your door. What a terrible fool you were.

                         ﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

END

maybe I'll do some more rewrites, cus honestly this is leagues better than the original. if i do do more rewrites, tell me what you think of this one and which one i should do next!

*this will be posted under my A03 'Miss-Molly-Mayhem', under the name "Greater than man"*

[spiderdotexe]

i had a dream where a bunch of weird stuff i barely remember happened but near the end of it i found a creepypasta (but was also implied to be real?) about a spamton neo form named 4 AM (or more specifically 4:00:00) because you could only find it at 4 AM and he looked like this.

the two scariest parts about this is that 4 AM was not found in deltarune but rather Pokemon Scarlet/Violet for some reason. and also the implications in said creepypasta that this wasnt spamton at all but rather a seperate entity. i dont know how to feel about that

[cinnamon-stixs]

It's time for another addition of 'A new episode of something cinna really likes just came out so now they have to rant about it!

(Spoilers for tadc episode 4)

-ragatha trying to teach gangle to pitch auughh

-"You're wasting your time raggy" SHUT UP

-yesss chew his ass out ragatha

-This episode was such a huge w for us abstradgedy shippers

-side tangent, I loooove gangle's voice

-Her signature catchphrase!!

-"The curse of the violent psychopath butcher!" Bro is trying SO hard

-No fr it's so funny that caine only has the human emotion capacity to equate 'mature' to 'scary'.

-THERE WAS A SUGGESTION BOX THIS WHOLE TIME?!

-Not the zooble pinata...

-THIS SCREENSHOT IS KILLING ME LMAOAOAO

-Why are bubble's and caine's tongues connected...

-NOOO KINGER SITS IT OUTTT QnQ we get like no content of him in this episode I'm so sad

-"You can shut up now! :D"

-"Being a shift manager was my job at one point" LORE?!

-As someone looking to go into the culinary service field, love the mention of non-slip shoes

-I'm such a sadist when it comes to Jax. (Also amy come get your man off the floor)

-GET MY WIFE OUT OF THERE?! THOSE ARE FUCKING 3RD DEGREE BURNS!! THAT'S LITERALLY BOILING OIL!!

-This zesty ass man.

-PUNISHMENT?! GANGLE WOAH.

-GANGLE PULL HER OUT!!

-"It's called a manic episode!" So true queen. I love how this episode really pushes the bpd allegory gangle's masks have

-"This is really weird" YA THINK?

-Zooble burning their hand :(

-I love orbsman. I also love that they can just understand him for some reason.

-Jax constantly checking the clock is so me

-"i'm addicted :3"

-High ass ragatha. Oh I love you high ragatha.

-I THOUGHT THIS WASNT A HORROR ADVENTURE

-abstrabbit crumbs yayyyyy!!!

-"Caine's not gonna do anything malicious, it's not in his nature" Just a line I wanna put a pin in.

-GUMMIGOO NOOO. HE DOESN'T REMEMBER HER IM GONNA KMS

-I can't even blame her for being so awkward. Like imagine watching your friend die and then they show up, no memory whatsoever, at your fucking job

-"She's flirting with the gummy guy." this one line is gonna spark so much ragapom and funnygummy art, i just know it.

-I love that ragatha's more honest in calling people out while high. Go off queen.

-"I wish someone would flirt with me.." I WILL!!! I WILL!!!

-The occasional cracking sounds when gangle is annoyed is SUCH GOOD FORESHADOWING

-"... Does this count as a bus?"

-GLOINK QUEEN!!!!!

-She named all her kiddddsss :(

-"well that doesn't really sound like a can-do attitude to me!" "it's not."

-"You're better when you're sad" KILL YOURSELF NOW!!

-Nothing to say here I just like this screenshot

-Gangle wanted to be a comic artist in life, but gave up on the dream.

-WHAT IS GOING ON

-"Huffing paint?! AND NOT WAITING UNTIL A DESIGNATED BREAK?!"

-"I miss my horses" Ragatha probably had horses of her own in life

-"No offense, but you're kind of annoying when you have your happy mask." You're sleeping on the couch tonight Ragatha.

-Someone get her a therapist, and I DON'T mean Caine.

-"Yeah that clock's broken." good job queen

-Why is there ANY information on gloink reproduction. And is that the sex joke goose was talking about?

-"I like.. hate you, but I don't want you to hate me" So real!! ow!!

-The little casual moment between jax and pomni, and all of the characters in this episode, makes me so happy.

-Me core

-Pomni has such a big heart I love her so fucking much.

-"Oh Ragatha.. I love her, but after a while it gets hard to tell how genuine she's actually being" THIS IS SUCH A GOOD LINE!!! I love how it shows how Ragatha is really trying her best, but she's been worn down so much over the years that they can tell her kindness is a mask, sort of like gangle's comedy mask.

-(Also gangle said 'i love her' in reference to ragatha, w for the gangle x ragatha shippers)

-real.

-I love how we get to see zooble's softer side in this episode.

-Gangle's not having a good time: the musical

-Again, pomni is just so sweet :(

-Ok but why does this ending sequence eat so hard

-EXCUSE ME

-I could go into a whole rant abt how this ending could possibly hint to all the cast being dead, and how this ending is a sort of recreation of Gangle's death, but I'm not sure goose would do that. It's a plausible theory after this episode, but i don't think the "They're all dead and living in a digital purgatory" theory fits the themes of the show well.

-Gangle chooses to be honest, even when faced with possible consequences.

-ROYALTEETH CRUMBS!!! I like to imagine Caine and Kinger went on their own little date adventure :3

-C&A logo on Caine's computer

-Family guy death pose and a reference to that one weird bootleg caine costume

-"and now I don't think anybody wants to talk to me anymore" My autistic ass relates to that a little too much

-"I still like talking to you" AHHHHHHHHHH <3

-"I always like seeing what you draw" CRYING

Overall, I thought episode 4 was really good. Probably my least favorite so far, really just because of the slower pacing. I can't wait to see what's next!!