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hmserebusadjacent · 3 months ago

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Flotilla

Emmrich makes some origami ship decorations to show how much he appreciates Rook and their friendship and growing relationship.

No spoilers within this story for the upcoming game, just pure fluff.

Emmrich Volkarin x Trans Male Rook (Established relationship but in the early stages of said relationship, fluff)

Word count: 1,900

AO3

Emmrich had been practising for weeks. After the battles they had fought, after the late night conversations they had shared, and after the confession of a lifetime that had been shared yesterday evening. All throughout that time Emmrich had been practising making little origami ships, wanting to make the perfect gift for their fearless leader, his dearest friend and his new lover.

That he and Rook had confessed their feelings to each other last night had felt like a sure sign that Emmrich had been on the right track with this gift, and now rather than a tribute to just a friend, it would be a tribute to a friend and a lover.

He’d had to ask Rook to borrow the paper weeks ago, of course. Well, not quite borrow, obviously. Rook had smiled at him with a pleased look on his face and said he could take as much as he wanted or needed. Then he had fixed Emmrich with a look that made the mage's knees want to buckle, asking just what he had planned.

Emmrich had simply tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially, winked and said

“It's a surprise.”

It hadn't been easy to create a flotilla of ships he was happy with, if Emmrich was being honest. Rook had made it so easy when he had demonstrated the process, but he had been making them for countless years at this point. The way his fingers danced across the paper was a certain kind of magic that the old necromancer couldn't look away from.

And neither could he have looked away from Rook's bright, vibrant gaze when the man looked at him like he was the most wonderful person he had ever met.

In all his years, Emmrich doubted he would ever be able to process the feeling of being looked at like he hung the stars in the sky.

Rook revealing his feelings hadn't helped on that front either, although Emmrich would be lying if he said that the rogue's returned affections didn't set his heart afire in a way he hadn't experienced for quite some years.

With this little gesture, Emmrich hoped to show just how much he adored Rook for being just who he was, and just how much he has cemented himself in the Mourn Watcher's life. Now whenever Emmrich thinks of the sea, he pictures his lover among the sand and the seashells, looking every bit as dashing as the heroes in nautical tales.

He would have to take his lover to the seaside when this was all over, even just for a few weeks. Both of them deserved that much at least.

But before that, a present had to be given and they had to save the world.

So, just after dinner Emmrich had pressed a kiss to Rook's cheek and asked him to come by Rook's own room in an hour whilst he set up the surprise. The rogue had flashed him an intrigued look, full of that curiosity that Emmrich adored.

That his lover had also accepted the idea of a gift without question was extremely humbling. The trust that Rook placed in him everyday was truly extraordinary.

Even Rook allowing Emmrich into his room unchecked whilst he strung up the origami ship bunting was humbling in a very unique way. With all the years he hoped they would have together, the old necromancer who had once believed love had passed him by, hoped that he could tell his lover just how much his own trust was honoured.

And when Emmrich stood back to admire his creation hanging from the rafters, he hoped that this gesture would go some way towards proving that.

—--

“Do I have to close my eyes?”, Rook asked, a little scepticism pulling at his voice. With all of the nasty surprises that Rook had experienced in situations like this, Emmrich could completely understand why his lover was hesitant.

“No, my darling. Not if it would make you uncomfortable”, Emmrich soothed, running the backs of his fingers down his lover's cheek. Rook's smile returned as he leant into Emmrich's touch, gratitude plain to see in his expression. “I can just open the door for you.”

The rogue's eyes gave Emmrich a knowing look then, and the mage couldn't help but grin and bask in the presence of it.

“Always the gentleman, Emmie, and I adore you for it.”

With the hand at his lover’s waist Emmrich pulled his beloved closer, marvelling at the fact that he could now do this at all. Pull his darling Rook closer and look down at his lips flirtatiously and appreciatively before raising his eyes to meet his lover’s gaze again.

“I am your gentleman necromancer. Now and always”, Emmrich assured, sincere down to the last letter. Rook smiled so deeply then that his eyes crinkled at the corners, those lovely laughter lines of his blooming into existence.

“I’m your darling Rook, now and always”, Rook whispered softly. Then the rogue was leaning upwards and the mage was only too happy to lean down too. The moment their lips met, both men sighed with relief. It was an extraordinary thing that they both seemed to draw so much strength from each other through physical touch, something that the more needy part of Emmrich had always desired in a partner.

He was so very tempted to tilt his head to the side and lengthen the kiss, to tease more delightful noises out of the man in his arms. But the part of Emmrich that still felt a little nervous over the potential intensity of his gift won out in the end, drawing him away even as Rook chased his lips.

Oh, Emmrich would never tire of that. Never ever.

“Shall we?”, Emmrich questioned quietly as he watched Rook flutter open his eyes, focusing back on the man in front of him. Without hesitation, Rook nodded, stepping out of Emmrich’s embrace and moving to take his hand instead.

“Lead the way.”

Perfect.

It was with a certain amount of trepidation that Emmrich took hold of the door handle and turned it, the disengaging of the lock sounding loud in the near quiet hallway.

“Behold”, Emmrich enthused, giving his lover a flash of a smile before he was pushing the door open wide.

The little flourish was perhaps a little bit cheesy. But Emmrich decided that it was absolutely worth it as Rook gasped at the first sight of the surprise.

“Oh my…”

Wordlessly, with his mouth slightly open in shock, Rook slowly entered the room, pulling Emmrich along behind him.

Seeing his gorgeous face properly light up with wonder and delight was a moment the old necromancer wouldn’t be forgetting any time soon. As he watched Rook raise a hand to his mouth, Emmrich took a look around himself to admire his handiwork and see things from his lover’s perspective.

From every beam in the ceiling, there hung a string of bunting with at least ten origami ships attached to it by their sails. The ships were all of different colours and sizes, a rainbow of varieties and designs. Dotted around the room near the ceiling were little magelights that Emmrich himself had conjured just to add that little bit of extra mood lighting.

The ones that sat behind some of the ships helped to give the impression that the ships were moving on choppy seas, breaking through invisible waves. The other lights were in the shapes of ghostly little ships, a flotilla of ghost ships to light the way in the dark.

It really was quite the sight to behold, and everything in Rook's face showed that he knew it was a sight to behold as well. To know that Emmrich himself had inspired that look on his lover’s face made the mage feel uniquely honoured.

“Emmrich, this is beautiful!”, Rook eventually murmured, voice sounding distinctly wistful. Emmrich smiled at the compliment, but also at the way his magelights cast his lover in an almost ethereal glow.

The far more beautiful sight is right in front of me, Emmrich thought to himself.

“I am very glad that you like it”, Emmrich said, that soft voice he only used for Rook sounding especially soft.

The mage’s next breath hitched as Rook finally looked at him, eyes alight and twinkling with wonder and gratitude.

“How long have you been planning this?”

The question was punctuated by Rook letting go of his lover’s hand, and Emmrich would have missed the warmth had the rogue not closed the distance between their bodies again immediately, delicate arms wrapping around his neck as his body pressed close.

“A few weeks”, Emmrich admitted, wrapping his arms around Rook’s waist, watching as his lover’s perfect eyebrows rose in surprise. “This was meant to be a gift to show how much I appreciated our friendship, but after last night it is now a gift to show how much I treasure your returned feelings as well.”

Surprised still clouded his lover's gaze upon hearing those words, but there was adoration there too. It hurt Emmrich in a way that Rook even doubted his own magnificence, doubted how anyone could fall for him. But Emmrich was also keenly aware of his own perceived faults that made him feel unlovable at the best of times.

It was early days for both of them. Together they could teach other the ins and outs of their feelings for each other, why they adored each other so. Emmrich was so very eager to learn, and he was prepared to be surprised in his own way too.

“You…”

Rook huffed a little laugh under his breath at losing his words. While he reclaimed them, the rogue's arms slid down till they were braced on Emmrich's chest, allowing him to perfectly cup the mage's cheeks with his hands.

“You are the most wonderful person I have ever met, Emmrich. Don't let anyone ever dim your light.”

Those words were enough to make Emmrich's heart stutter and for his knees to become weak and jelly like. No one had ever spoken to him like this before, and made their actions speak so loudly alongside their words so they were tightly entwined.

“With you in my life, I want to shine brighter than ever”, Emmrich admitted fondly, the truth of his words resonating in his soul. “I want to be yours, and I want to be the best person I can be for you.”

Rook grinned, showing off his lovely teeth, stretching those lovely lips of his, making his dimples magic into life on his cheeks. He looked so genuinely happy, and Emmrich felt pride knowing that he was the one who had made this man who deserved the world so happy.

“Oh, Emmrich”, Rook whispered, leaning upwards until their faces were close once more, their lips practically brushing. “You already are.”

With a noise of joy and desperation, Emmrich closed the minute distance between them and allowed himself the lengthy kiss both of them were craving. Up above their heads, the flotilla of origami ships were highlighted by the flaring of the magelights as they responded to Emmrich's emotions, almost dancing on the sea of the pair's adoration for one another.

By the time the kiss had ended and both men were smiling at each other once more, all of the little lights had formed into beautiful green love hearts.

#emmrich volkarin x rook #emmrich volkarin x trans male rook #emmrich volkarin #erebus adjacent writes emmrich volkarin #erebus adjacent writing adventures #popping back in briefly to post fluff #still trying to avoid spoilers at this stage

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devilsskettle · 8 months ago

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i think some of the popularity that meta horror has garnered is a little bit disingenuous tbqh even though i do like some of the movies that have come out of the subgenre, people don’t realize that the foundation of the slasher genre was established in the 60s/70s and a lot of the 80s movies that have become so classic were already riffing off of the tropes established by those movies before full fledged meta took off. the idea to make friday the 13th was sparked by the commercial success of halloween. the original script for slumber party massacre was a parody of the genre and the movie retains much of that humor which is referential to past slashers by nature. + it intentionally uses typical slasher tropes around gender and sexuality to bring forward the concerns of teenage girls. is that not something that meta horror is frequently touted as doing? child’s play is like a slasher, “except —” which is what a lot of meta horror comedies do now (“slasher except it’s a possessed doll” is not that far off from “slasher except it’s freaky friday” and whatnot). this isn’t to say that scream isn’t foundational to what the slasher genre evolved into or that contemporary meta slashers aren’t doing something interesting but i also think they tend to lean towards cynicism towards the movies they’re deriving their themes from + they’re not even as different as they think they are from “classic” 80s movies that already are borrowing from classic slashers which in turn borrowed from even older horror (for example, in halloween, laurie is watching the thing from another world from the 50s which was adapted into the now classic john carpenter’s the thing in the 80s). and of course many of these older horror movies were adapted from literature which also inspired more literature. like the shelley/byron/polidori scary story writing contest is now legendary but also you don’t get the shining without the haunting of hill house (and you don’t get the haunting of hill house without turn of the screw, for example) and the shining is probably one of the most referenced movies by other media of all time. horror has always been an intertextual genre let’s stop pretending it didn’t become “self aware” until 1996

#+ scream used a framework for examining slasher tropes outlined in men women and chainsaws in 1992 #bringing the term ‘final girl’ + the ‘rules’ of slasher movies into pop culture #so not only is it working from the canon of slasher movies that already exists #but it also is looking at this academic text that establishes a credible film + gender studies lens for the slasher genre #omg not to mention what the author has to say about slasher-adjacent movies that are critically acclaimed #— movies that use a slasher framework for the plot that address similar themes #but distance themselves by making the violence + resolution of conflict less direct #(i.e. moving the conflict from the physical to the psychological) for example silence of the lambs is one movie she cites #making similar themes + similar conflicts more palatable to a wider audience #which is like the opposite response of meta slasher to the classic slasher canon #i guess if you want to make a slasher movie that isn’t really a slasher movie you have two options — lean into it or lean away from it lol #anyway all this is to say. idk whatever i’m bored + too depressed to get up and do anything productive rn #anyway. count how many times i say ‘for example’ in this post

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girlfriendsofthegalaxy · 1 month ago

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war and evil on planet hatred

#mackintosh #phil #mackie was up on the top bed while i was on the couch with phil falling asleep to a mediocre batman film #mackie popped down to slam herself against my legs as i got ready for bed #i threw her on my bed and she hung out for a bit even after phil came to sit on my chest and get her ruff scritched #phil retired to the top bed after mackie left #mackie fucked around for a little bit and tried lying down on the adjacent dresser and going in the middle hideyhole bed #and then decided to see if she could kick phil out of the top he’d #the answer was no

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sega-saturn-arcade · 1 month ago

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i think about this sometimes but I post content of mes that are different from the canon. I draw specific things with me. sometimes if i’m proud, i share it with a wider audience. i think it should be a “who cares” because it’s ME, but I worry about how people will interpret my infodump or my art.

i have always been a big, big advocate for media literacy and looking into characterization deeper and understanding a character from another perspective. i think people dumbing down a character to, “awhh wehh my sweetie he’s nice deep down he’s just mean on the outside” especially when it’s a villian makes me rip my hair out.

But it’s different when it’s kin stuff. Maybe the person portraying themselves like that is because they DID feel that way.

But I can’t draw something or infodump about my life and state, “by the way this is me and how i acted i’m not just disregarding the canon character i promise” every time because outside of kin spaces people don’t take kindly to fictionkin

because i acknowledge the canon character. whether or not i go “well that’s wrong and actually they [i] wouldn’t do that” it’s still somehow weaved into the canon character’s behavior because i still do my best to understand it

and the other issue is like, the whole “just make an oc at that point.” But i’m NOT an oc. I am the guy, even if i remember being vastly different. there’s not a point in drawing kin art if im not drawing ME, is there?

i just wish to not come across as someone who ignores the canon and thinks they know better about the media when they just really do not put the care to learn jack shit about the media they’re consuming

#txt post #rambling #fictionkin #otherkin #alterhuman #therian #like. this post is about subspace because how i remember myself BOTH TIMES BTW is like the opposite of canon #canon listens to the screams of his victims. i listen to chappel roan-adjacent pop #we are not the same #it’s worse when i can’t argue down a point where i can convince someone that how i remember myself is better than canon because #for the most part i’ve just been me but if i had a tinge more spunk than canon #but with subspace i can’t argue that #because my character in the canon isn’t badly written #he is a terrible demon who is straight up a monster and deserves every speck of horrible shit #so for me to argue “actually he is nice and silly and he and medkit were friends and—“#it just genuinely completely goes against everything and destroys the very basis of his characterization #it sucks maaajor balls bro it’s so unfortunate for me #long post #<i forgot to add.

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