#and then i remembered lightkeepers

[rust-painted-fingers]

love it when my muse decides procrastination is the best motivator -_-

[abbysimsfun]

Sims In Bloom: Generation 2 Pt. 63 (The Old Man at the Museum)

The Brindleton Light circled from Deadgrass Isle across the bay as a drizzling rain added moisture to the air.

Conrad hadn't forgotten about the ghostly growl he'd heard on his last visit with Heather, and now, more than ever, he needed a distraction.

He hopped on the ferry and made it to the isle just in time for the museum to close, but he hadn't come to the isle for the artefacts.

An old man walked down the museum steps and offered a friendly wave. Conrad froze. He looked strikingly like his own father, though the closer he walked, the resemblance faded.

His eyes were darker, hair straighter, nose too thin, and maybe he was shorter, too. But for a split second, he swore the man could have been Stephen Gordon himself.

"Detective Gordon! You just missed last entry." He leaned down to give friendly Gord a welcome greeting, too.

"Y-you know me?"

"I know everyone! Lived in Brindleton all my life, and when a new copper moves from the big city to our sleepy town, word travels faster than a greyhound."

Conrad smiled at the kindly old man. In the distance, he thought he saw a light flicker through one of the lighthouse's ground floor windows. "I was hoping to check out the Brindleton Light tonight, anyway."

"You like investigating ghost stories in your spare time?"

"Can ghosts turn the lights on?"

The old man's gaze followed Conrad's toward the base of the tower, but all the windows were dark. "No one's lived in there for close to 150 years, but ghosts are crafty souls!"

He chuckled warmly, and Conrad felt at ease in his presence. "Tonight I just needed something to keep my mind off...something else."

The old man nodded, understanding enough from Conrad's stance not to press for more. "Well, if it's a ghost you want, the cemetery is the place, but some say the ghost of the old lightkeeper's dog still stands guard over the tower, long after his master's death. The bulb runs on electricity now, but they say his old dog's ghost still watches the bay for passing ships and barks to warn them of the rocks."

"Sounds like a very good dog," Conrad mused, ruffling Gord's fur. His dog barked happily.

"I could show you around if you like. I've got to lock the stairwell door, anyway."

Conrad smiled. The old lightkeeper and his dog knew the importance of spending time with those they loved. "You know, I'll definitely be back to take you up on the offer another time, but I shouldn't be here. Not tonight."

The old man tipped his cap with a genial wave. Conrad and Gord circled the lighthouse once, but he couldn't find any sign of someone who might've turned the lights on.

He pet Gord on the head. "All these local ghost stories, talk of Grim Reapers and ambrosia... They must have me seeing things at the lighthouse."

Gord offered a friendly bark before they returned to the pier and boarded the ferry to the mainland. Rain misted against his face as the boat carried them toward the faint lights dotting the shoreline. He walked back up the hill from the wharf to Sable Square, taking his time and collecting himself.

Heather was quiet when he walked through the door.

"You waited up for me. I'm sorry."

"I got called in to work for an emergency tum-readjustment, but I would've been up anyway. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry I just took off. I wasn't trying to scare you, but I had to get my thoughts together. Losing my mother so young was really devastating. I always thought I wouldn't have kids because I didn't want to leave open the possibility they could lose me before they're ready, like I lost her. I love Ash, but it's not the same. He still has you and Malcolm."

Heather sympathized and tried to comfort him. "If you're not ready to be a father, I understand. But when you walked out tonight, I knew more than ever I want a family with you, Conrad. Not just Ash and me, plus you. I love you so much, but if you're never going to be ready..."

"Remember what you said the night I first brought up moving in together? I'm not ready tonight, but I've got months, right? I feel unprepared and totally unready for anyone to call me 'Dad', but you are my family, Heather. And Ash. And this little one, too."

"Conrad, are you sure? This is a bigger commitment than moving in together."

He tried to comfort her fears with a smile. "When Gord and I were out tonight, I spent a lot of time thinking about what my Dad would say if he was here. After we lost my mom, my dad and I leaned on each other for a lot, but I spent years trying to navigate my grief without burdening him further, and I was angry."

"Conrad, I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. He worked a lot and we didn't get to talk much. He didn't like to talk about her, and all I wanted to do was keep remembering her out loud to keep her with us. After he died, I just bottled everything, and when Gord came along I thought that would be it. Me, my dog, and my career."

"But then you met me..."

He took her by the hand and stood from the sofa. "Meeting you changed everything. On my way home, I realized my father showed me until the day he died what family meant to him through the life he gave me. It's not that I don't want this. I love you, I'm just scared. But I'd jump through flame portals to keep you and Ash safe, and I'd do it to protect our baby, too."

He crouched down speak to her small bump. "I promise I'll be ready to be the father to you that my dad was to me."

Heather looked at Conrad with a loving gaze. "We'll always be a team, and you can talk to me about anything, including your parents. You never say much about them, and I never want to pry."

He stood. "I think I know the first thing I need to un-bottle. I only had a few boxes worth of stuff to move when I got here, but I left my parents in a box under the bed in the guest room. You have so many photos of your family and friends all over the house and I told myself there was no need to clutter the walls with more... But I think I need to take my parents out of the box."

With this turn of events, the Nesbitt-Gordon household began planning for a new family member, and Conrad took an important step facing his past. ->

<- Previous Chapter | Gen 2 Start | Gen 1 Summary | Gen 1 Start

[moongirldreamer]

Lighthouse keeper!Eddie x siren!reader

Happy Eddiversary to those who celebrate (this is so late lol)

words: 1k

cw: none i don't think.

a/n: besties this is my first ever fic please be nice to me I tried my best.

Thank you to my friend @theold-ultraviolence Irma i wouldn't have come up with this au or written any of it, if it wasn't for you and our Self Indulgence Sundays. Thank you for nudging me i love you <3

Lightkeeper!Eddie headcannons

August 17 1824

It's been a week since the mysterious lass appeared on my doorstep. Two more till the supply dingy visits, it's been strange, readapting to living with a person but we’ve fallen into a routine. I've found a smile on my face many a time as I'm working. Her voice carries on the wind, it's almost as if it’s blowing it directly to me. 

E.M.

Eddie hardly counted the sailors he’d met and slept next to people, not civilized people at least, forced to wash with salt water to preserve the limited supply of fresh water. He spent many a night with a makeshift mask over his face to hopefully block out the scent of sweat and the sea but when she arrived, he found he didn't mind it, almost like he missed it. 

The keeper's house contained 2 rooms as the tending was intended to be a 2-man job, he never realized how empty the small space was until she occupied it. Grown used to the loneliness the sea brings he forgot that the ocean also gives, and she had given him a beautiful gift. He tried to be the perfect housemate before he went off to his tending. He left coffee already brewed in a small metal pot for her to reheat when she woke, fetched a bucket of water for her from the cistern and left a note on the kitchen table : back at sunset. Will cook dinner- E

Morning work was easy enough; take inventory, rain fell last night meaning the cistern had to be woken up with chalk and a good mixing and then any odd maintenance works the buildings needed. He would always know when she was awake no matter how far he wandered from their quarters, her voice seemed to carry on the wind straight to him. Often time he found himself singing along, whistling is a bad omen on ships he remembers this even on land. He knew quite a few sea shanties, picked up a few local songs while he was on the mainland, but she often sings songs he's never heard before and sometimes he thinks in a language he can't understand.

At noon he returns to a simple meal tack and stew she so proudly displays to him half burnt and over salted, but he grins and eats it anyway. She told him in the first week with misty eyes

“I don't want to be a burden, let me….. Let me cook lunch at least you work so hard let me help you” lip trembling and how could he deny her.

“The poor thing” he thought “could make anything taste like salt water and gruel” but he eats anyway.

“Thank you darling, what would i do without you?"

“You're welcome" grinning she looks down at her plate before shyly muttering

"if you're not too busy, would you like to join me on a walk at sunset?"

"OfCourse, anything for you" he smirks leaving her with a kiss on her hairline.

Sunset at the lighthouse made it seem like the sky and sea were competing for your attention, seeing which could glimmer brighter, but Eddies attention was elsewhere. He was enchanted by how her beauty seemed to be enhanced in the golden light.

"Open your hand" she blinks up at him one her fists closed tightly. Wordlessly he gives her his palm and she places an oyster shell, no longer than his pinkie, in it

He grins "an oyster?"

"Yes, my mother told me they were a sign of good fortune"

"Huh I only know them as dinner"

She laughs, mouth opening to give him a clever word or two when she suddenly goes stiff looking over his shoulder. 

"What is it?" he spins to look at what could've possibly rattled her, and behind him on a boulder is a seagull, a bit unremarkable too no missing limbs or gnarled features.

So, he laughs” You're scared of that little thing?”

“Yes, they're retched beasts of the sky with no manners” she grips his bicep keeping him between her and the bird.

“Y’know on the ships they say they’re the souls of drowned sailors, so we treat them kindly just like our human shipmates” he laughs as she moves her glare from the gull over to him.

“I think they should be chum” she says, squinting at the bird, almost daring it to attack.

In a sudden move the gull swoops over their heads missing hers by a centimeter and continuing out to sea.

"Did you see that! that that monster nearly killed me"

"Maybe you need this more than i do" he dropped the oyster back into her palm

"What? no, no i want you to have it, besides you'll need it if you're going to try befriending those creatures"

He chuckled, the sound like warm honey in the cool sea breeze. "Alright, if you insist. But I promise, no more gull attacks on my watch."

Shakily she grabbed his arm again as they continued their walk down the shoreline.

"Do you ever miss it? sailing? "

"Hmm, sometimes" he sends a wistful look out at the water the sun spilling over it as the last of it slips below the horizon.

"it was my life, the only thing I was good at" he grins, but it's sad round the edges.

"but i needed the change, it was getting too repetitive"

"so you decided to tend a lighthouse? the same job day in day out" her eyebrows pull together eyes squinting in confusion

another smile this one woven with affection "well I'd travelled a while but i needed to return to the sea almost- almost as if something was"

"Was calling you back" her tone changes, her voice becomes layered whispers singing and screaming. her eyes gleam, a secret understanding.

"Yes like-like it was calling me" he steps towards her without thinking, mechanically putting one foot in front of the other, eyes locked on hers until he feels wet? Looking down he realizes his boots are drenched, shin length in the waves his brows furrow.

"What are you doing?" asks melodic laugh behind him and he turns to see her, face lit up with the last of the afternoon glee and a smile.

"Think I wanted to go for a swim" the end lifts like a question, he looks back down to his feet barely visible in the water

"But it's getting dark, we should head back" again her voice changes and he moves without remembering, until they're back to their quarters and she bids him goodnight.

That night as he refills the oil and cleans the lense at the top of the lighthouse out in the distance on a cluster of rocks he sees a figure bathed in darkness. He can only make out a humanoid figure with their hair whipping in the cold sea air behind them. Leaning over the railing to squint into the darkness his blood runs cold as a wail crosses the distance, then a soft whisper, as if it was said over his shoulder, of his name.

"eddie"

[quinn-of-aebradore]

Since I've seen some folks being interested and the fic itself is still a work-in-progress, I thought I'd give a little introduction for the Essek and Caleb in my Candela Obscura AU! The above are their designs as I put together in Hero Forge and of course, here is them drawn by Maddy!

Essek in this world is an occultist who was raised in a very devout Ascendancy worshipping family in Briar Green. While he attended Briar Bank College, he was contacted by EONS and began doing work for them. As that connection went on its course and eventually came to a disastrous ending, Candela made contact with him as a way of damage control, with Lightkeeper Yussa Errenis taking him in as a ward, sort of, which led to Essek meeting—and eventually joining—the Circle of the Nein. He is currently retired from field work and serves as Lightkeeper to the Circle of Pearl.

Caleb, on the other hand, was born outside Newfaire in Tottergrass but grew up in South Soffit after his family lost their farm and moved to the city to find work. In his teens, he was offered an internship at EONS and spent time assisting in their labs in more ways than one, leading to his first exposure to The Flare and bleed. While on track to receiving a scholarship to Briar Bank College, he suffered a breakdown—the circumstances of which EONS has burned from the record and even Candela is unsure of—and spent several years in Greyslate. Whilst a Circle was in process of an investigation at the Sanatorium, Caleb escaped and soon found his way to Candela, becoming part of the Circle of the Nein as a professor soon after. He is currently retired from field work and serves as Lightkeeper to the Circle of Amber.

The fic I'm currently working on takes place after their retirements, though I have plenty of ideas about the events before that and of their backstories that I may turn into their own fics down the road. Which is why certain details are omitted here. If I remember to, I'll maybe post a snippet for WIP Wednesday this week :3

[crimetimesteadicam]

ok @morporkian-cryptid tagged me to do this fic author interview so here we go...

if you would like to do this, i am officially tagging you, yes you, right now. tag me back so i can see your answers

1 How many works do you have on AO3?

i got 40

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

1,044,749

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

sorry like none of these are lupin iii. a blight on my lupin iii blog

Wabisabi (991 kudos) - Spirited Away. idk it's short and cute, read it

BONES OF BLACK MARROW (952 kudos) - Homestuck. the infamous cyoa cannibalism sex fic. scrolling through the things people say about it in the bookmarks is always so funny

Cum mortuis in lingua mortua (925 kudos) - Homestuck. no clue why it has so many kudos lol it was like the first long thing i've ever wrote (a whole decade ago??? jesus). it's a d&d/discworld joke

Vanitas vanitatum (914 kudos) - Homestuck. the same d&d/discworld joke except the LI is turbo depressed. notable for being the only fic i ever outlined and edited and that's why it whips

Supermassive Retinol Overdose! (677 kudos) - hey look, a lupin fic made it on here!

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i do when i have something meaningful to say besides "thank you!" i don't have a lot of thoughts about my own work so therefore i tend to not respond if there's not a direct question :( my head is empty. i always respond to every single comment on the last chapter of longfics though because i'm always impressed people read that far lol. genuinely, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for reading all that

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

idk uhhhh i wrote a series once where two of the main couples break up at the end, but it wasn't really angsty

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

they all end pretty happily

7. Do you write crossovers?

if i did it was so long ago i don't remember it

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

no but people used to send passive aggressive hate about my art in fics once in a while. hasn't happened in like 2+ years

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yes. every kind. EVERY KIND

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

a bot will sometimes scrape my high kudos homestuck fics and plant them on a junk ebook site

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yeah i think like 7 of them got translated into russian and do numbers on ficbook.net

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

in the past me and my friend would sit around a laptop and scream laugh write our way through crack fics

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

right now it's jiglup and fujilup

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

i finish almost all my WIPs because i'm a freak. if i don't finish a WIP it's because some dramatic life event happened. this has only occurred two times

15. What are your writing strengths?

im a funny binch

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

i don't outline or edit or re-read any of my fanfic. i just type it and then eyeball it for typos and then post it. i COULD outline and such to really make the narrative nice and tight, but i don't find it very fun to do (for fanfic) and this is like, my relaxing wind down hobby. i just wanna have fun haha. the only reason my fics like, make sense, is because i write at least one ending scene first thing and always aim for that, and also i write out of order so i kinda know the route of the story

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

it's fine if it makes sense to do it there as a narrative device

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

h-hetalia crack fic.....

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

once i figure out how to draw zenigata it's over for you bitches. luzeni hours on da clock

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

for lupin iii fic, i like Lightkeepers the best

[joodles98]

what are ur headcanons for nessa ....

omg ☺️

i dont think she intended to become a model. she started getting gigs and brand collabs offered to her immediately after her gym challenge run bc of her looks and style and making it all the way to the semifinals. (i believe she became a gym leader around the same time rai did, like late teens close to early 20s) she decided to pursue it to keep her name out there, and as an opportunity to talk about her connection with water pokemon and passion about battling

she met wallace once through one of her modeling gigs and shes a bit intrigued about trying a contest, sometime. mayhaps as an encore career after retiring from the galar league

she did gymnastics and dance as a kid

her partner was a little chewtle she befriended collecting sea shells when she was small. i love how most of her pokemon look tough n armored

feels pretty obvious she grew up in hulbury. tight knit working class fam of Fisher Trainer Class pokepeople. her aunt and uncle run a seafood restaurant. her grandpa was a lightkeeper of the lighthouse and would let her come up to the top sometimes when she was little n its been her favorite place ever since. (such a missed opportunity the game doesnt let u go inside) she adores her fam and they support her interests in fashion and also her big battling ambitions. when the gym leadership became vacant of course she auditioned. i think her town is so proud of her/a reflection of who she really is (hardworking, somewhat stoic, truly breathtaking, unpredictable like the force n restraint of the ocean tides)

she met sonia early in the challenge (i hc that sonia decided not to travel with leon. but we are talking about ness 2day). they both were two lonely girls sitting on opposite ends in the back of the train trying to look stoic and tough and occupied and also gasp thats another challenger that makes us competition. until yamper couldnt contain his curiosity about the chewtle across from him n jumped from sonia's arms. ness assumed who is this girl trying to battle right now 🤨 and sonia apologizes that shes not its just that yamper seems curious about u. actually i do too. ...N then the rest of the ride turns into the biggest yap session + theyve been inseparable since.

i think she teaches sonia a lot about pride + finding your way. while sonia teacher her remembering who you are (like we see in twilight wings). i think sonia is so embarassed at first to be recognized as a Magnolia but then when they get to hulbury n she sees how unique nessa is in her hometown but shes loved regardless it makes her brain chemistry explode.

shes really close with raihan, tho they didnt start becoming friends until after they became gym leaders. turns out they have more in common than they thought when they met as little challengers. (she thought rai was a massive dork with his dragons and history books. still does a lil bit 💝). they indulge eachothers habit of talking league gossip. also rai seeks her advice on his own drama(leon pining) and she eats it up. when shes doubting an outfit for an interview he hypes her up. (since theres a lot of Nepotism within galar gyms, the fact that rai and ness earned gym leaderships on their own is smth they relate over too) its nice to have a friendly face in the league when the pressure is up.

i think abt her twilight wings episode a lot. i like to think she won the match in the end, then called sonia (who ofc was watching it televised back in wedgehurst) just to say how much her words empowered her. n maybe tell her other things 💙

literally its such a lovely episode. lowkey sobbed a bit the first time i saw it. the little pieces of ourselves we carry

also. with the way rose interrogated not only her confidence but her competence, how could she not trust the smile leon wears in his matches after that? if thats how the chairman could talk to a gym leader then what the hell does the champ put up with. deeply unsettling. i think she is skeptical but not in the Detective Way rai is in everything happening pre-darkest day. she is the type to be focused on whats in front of her right now: be a great gym leader, a tough opponent, a role model, yk

despite that, tho, i think what fuels her wanting to beat leon is some resentment, knowing the void he left in sonia and how he either seems oblivious about it or minimizing of it. (also at first she thought sonia was hurt by it bc she had a crush on him. which later ness finds out isn't true). shes also a bit of the jealous type but thats ok so am i

i think she begins to finally consider leon a friend again when he's chairman and has worked out everything that happened between him and sonia. it's also a lot easier to approach him with league matters than it ever was with rose

she still considers milo her biggest rival, though hes a sweet friend. hes a sweetie to everyone. i think it was his idea to gather ness and kabu to send off trainers who defeat them

thats all i can think of rn 💐

[dent-de-leon]

So I “unfortunately” got into Candela Obsura and all I can think about is the Nein being their own circle and Molly being their Lightkeeper.

Aw welcome it’s so spooky and fun :’) I adore the whole little atmosphere and world. And yes, I have so many Mighty Nein Candela AU thoughts I think there’s so much potential there!

Oo Lightkeeper Molly sounds so very interesting! I feel like they’re kinda veterans that have retired from the field and take others under their wing, so I wonder what would lead him to that point.

Taliesin’s character as the Lightkeeper narrator is so fascinating to me though and I feel like he has a certain spooky, enigmatic vibe that suits Lucien well. Every shot of his main Lightkeeper character is very Lucien to me—

Tavelle was so taken with the journal and innately drawn to other magical artifacts, even wished he could study magic at the Solstryce Academy, so I imagine he’d join Candela if he ever had the chance. Has a similar connotation to him signing up for the Claret Orders before he became so disenchanted with them I think.

But I also love the thought of Molly carrying traces of Bleed through Lucien’s Eyes, seeking out Candela Obscura because they’re the only ones that seem to know what he’s dealing with—and how to stop it. And maybe Lucien came from a rival faction that embraced the darker side of phenomena, like the Red Hand.

And I can absolutely see Molly being a Medium who tells fortunes and channels the dead in elaborate spook shows for the circus—all of it meant to be a trick. Playing it up for the audience. Except, sometimes he reaches out to something, and he actually gets an answer. Molly, who liked to take walks in graveyards and cleaned old headstones that no one visited in centuries. Who still remembers the aching Emptiness of clawing his way out of the grave, the Matron of Death still drawn to his fate touched soul. Molly who is never far from death, and still feels its touch so keenly.

And I’m especially fond of Caleb as the Magician, since that’s what he is to Molly :,) He also has a deceptively high Charisma, which I think suits the Candela image of them as performers and illusionists. And I think the handbook’s depiction of the Magician just matches Molly’s own depiction of his Magic Man so well—

“The Card of Exploration. The Magician: Magic, beyond mortal understanding.” Both Caleb and the Candela Magician are in command of their power; there’s a certain elegance and wonder to their magic—it’s a performance, and it’s captivating. And I’ve always loved the way Molly’s art makes it seem like he’s enchanted by Caleb’s simplest trick—a mere cantrip, but something beautiful and magical to him. Having many thoughts about a tragic star crossed widomauk candela AU—

[mysimsloveaffair]

Maia leads me into the museum while giving me an overview of the history of Deadgrass Isle. Once we arrive at the first exhibit, she continues.

Maia: This is a miniature model of the Isle. You can see the museum, which was once the lightkeeper's residence. *Maia points* Right there is the lighthouse and the famous pet cemetery at the Isle's edge. 

Wade: Why would a pet cemetery be famous?

Maia: A ship crashed during a storm and sunk near the shores of Deadgrass Isle. The only survivors were a lifeboat full of cats and dogs; the descendants of the crash are the stray cats and dogs you see wandering around today. When a pet dies in Brindleton Bay, it's tradition to bury it near its ancestors in the cemetery. One of the cemetery's most known residents is a dog named Captain Whitaker that once belonged to a man also named Captain Whitaker. Residents say that the ghosts of both Captain Whitakers haunt the graveyard at night.

Wade: Is the man buried there too?

Maia: No, just the dog, but he still wanders the graveyard, searching for his long-lost pet. Others say that if you visit the cemetery at night and find the ghost of Captain Whitaker's dog, you can befriend him, bring him back to life, and adopt him.

Maia seems to get a lot of joy from reciting this history. She sounds like she has lived here in Brindleton Bay for years. Although enjoyable to listen to, her story is obviously fiction.

Wade: What? I call bullsh*t.

Maia: Yeah, well - some long-time residents believe that myth.

Based on Maia's conviction, I'm wondering if she believes it. She pauses and leads me to another exhibit within the museum.

Maia: Remember, I said the museum was once the lighthouse keeper's home? Over several centuries, the lightkeepers of Dreadgrass Isle were responsible for maintaining the lighthouse as a beacon for ships making their way into Brindleton Bay.

Wade: If there was a shipwreck, they must not have been very good at their job.

Maia: Maybe, but this small corner is all that remains of the original residence.

Wade: What happened to the rest?

Maia: They tore it down to build this museum.

[ihaveatypeanditstrickstergods]

Tell me about The Circle of the Ceaseless Watcher. I’ve been unknowingly saving some TMA fan art to my Candela Pinterest board (I Co-GM a game) and am looking for ideas to inspire future sessions.

Okay!

A really fun thing about mashing up TMA and Candela is that there's a lot of stuff you can almost transfer over one-to-one, but there's also a lot of room for flexibility if you want to play fast-and-loose with things. I will note that this whole thing is still a work in progress to the point that some characters have more detail than others.

So, The Circle of the Ceaseless Watcher currently consists of:

Martin Blackwood (Scholar/Professor): Originally a research assistant to a reclusive academic and retired sea captain named Peter Lukas, Martin first came into contact with Candela during an incident where people who worked with Lukas started drowning on dry land. It turned out that Peter Lukas himself was responsible for the drownings, using an artifact he had found on a previous voyage. Initially his helping out with the case was due to a case of mistaken identity--other Candela circles had previously consulted with Lukas through mail, and when the Circle of the Ceaseless Watcher first arrived at Peter Lukas's office and saw a man in there choking on air, they assumed that was the guy they were looking for. Martin was too awkward to correct them until later.

Sasha James (Weird/Occultist): Sasha's first contact with Candela Obscura was the result of her own actions--she was obsessed with learning the truth of the paranormal and ended up on the wrong side of a particularly nasty creature while investigating "a man with too many bones in his hands". Candela helped her out of that situation, and she jumped at the chance to join up. She still likes to throw herself face-first into Situations, which is how she ended up getting her identity partially metaphysically stolen by a different creature the Circle of the Ceaseless Watcher faced. Those close to her still remember her, but it can be a close thing (yes I saved Sasha. I do not regret this.)

Tim Stoker (Face/Journalist): Tim would have led a relatively normal life as an editor for an entertainment paper were it not for his brother. Danny Stoker was a ruins diver, someone who made a hobby out of exploring Oldfairen ruins, and sometimes he'd drag Tim along. Unfortunately, that included the time that they were exploring a ruined theater and a human-sized marionette removed Danny's skin. Tim managed to escape and later came into contact with Candela Obscura when someone came investigating the situation, joining out of a desire to avenge his brother.

Alice "Daisy" Tonner (Muscle/Soldier): Recently kicked out of the OUP for killing a man in public (The killing was fine, the public was the problem--it was too public to be swept under the rug). She's run into a wide variety of Weird Shit--in particular, she came in with a physical scar from a childhood friend who tried to kill her under the influence of something paranormal, and there's two strange delivery men with a person-eating coffin that keep popping up when she doesn't expect it.

Basira Hussein (Slink/Detective): Basira was Daisy's partner in the OUP. She remained part of the organization when Daisy left (for now, anyway, I'm planning on having her leave at some point) and slips information from one organization to the other. At the moment, her big case at the OUP involves some sort of darkness-worshiping cult whose leader may or may not be entirely human.

all under newly instated Lightkeeper Jonathan Sims. Their previous Lightkeeper, Gertrude Robinson, died under unpleasant circumstances that also resulted in Jon, who was a field agent at the time, getting what mechanically was his third Scar--during a confrontation with Gertrude's killer in the ruins of an Oldfairen prison, he was exposed to a large amount of Bleed that caused him to grow eyes in several unfortunate places and increased certain matters of perception beyond human limits. The exact details of what happened there are known only to Jon and Martin, and several members of the Circle (especially Basira) suspect there's more to what happened.

This AU/'verse also features a paranormal research institute led by an Unabridged (Jonah Magnus, for those in the know), a splinter group of Pyre led by a so-called "Chosen One" (Agnes Montague and the Cult of the Lightless Flame), and whatever else from TMA I can find a way to wedge in, haha.

[ziggystarart]

Flintlocke Gallamer and her original sketch. I was playing him in my current Candela Obscura game until he took too many scars and I thought it would make sense character wise for a retirement. Plus, I loved her too much to let her die. I might have her, post retirement (I'll get into that below) become a new Lightkeeper in my game I'm running.

Flint's backstory, and thus why his eyes are like that, involve a poltergeist called Timothea who possesed Flint. Flint doesn't remember what happened, only waking up covered in dry blood. Not long before her retirement, she found out that Timothea does in fact still hide within herself. So, he requested to be sent to the Fourth Faros to remove the poltergeist. There's more to it than that... But... Well you can read it on Toyhouse here.

[solottrpgchronicles]

5. Echoes of the Past - The Lighthouse at the Edge of the Universe

Keeper: 1035

Date: Liminaember 12, year 9401

Temperature: -14℃

Weather: calm but cold

The breeze outside cuts like a knife. If you glance out the windows, it looks like a pretty decent day to be out and about. But, alas, during this time of the year, you have to be careful on dry, cloudless days - that's when your limbs can freeze off more easily.

So, after my usual maintenance checks, it was time for some reading, wrapped up in my favourite blanket. I need to remember to stock up on books and return the ones I have when the library's ship flies by next time.

I reached for the mug of hot tea on my side table, but I only grabbed air. I turned around in confusion, only to realize it was on the kitchen table instead. Strange... did I forget it there, still steeping?

But no, as I got up to take the mug, I saw I had already removed the teabag. I must have been lost in other thoughts and paid no attention to what I was doing.

Once I resumed my reading, I felt a gentle pull at the edge of my blanket and heard a childlike laugh.

Something in that sound made my eyes well up with tears, even before I consciously realized I had a very special visitor. Sometimes, quiet cold days can bring back echoes of the past, of the present in faraway places, and even of the future.

Focusing on the shimmer in the air, I started to see a shape - then the echo fully revealed itself to me.

It was a child, a 2 or 3 years old human child, who looked a lot like me. I gazed into those round, happy eyes and felt an unbearable nostalgia, an unexplained longing. For my own past, perhaps? Was this an echo of myself, a long time ago? I was somehow quite sure I had never had kids, even if I couldn't exactly remember, so that must be it.

I had been a kid of course, it would make sense since I'm human - I just didn't have any memory of it.

While I was puzzling over the apparition, the child and the shimmer around her disappeared completely, in the blink of an eye. Everything fell silent.

I know I didn't imagine it, though. I tried to continue reading, but my focus was entirely gone, tears streaming down my face. What's the point of dwelling on a past I can't remember? I'm just a lightkeeper, and I'll spend the rest of my life here - that's all I need to know.

I sipped my tea; it left a bitter taste in my mouth.

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

This is a playthrough of a solo TTRPG called The Lighthouse at the Edge of the Universe, by lostwaysclub.

You can check it out on itch.io: https://lostwaysclub.itch.io/the-lighthouse-at-the-edge-of-the-universe

[neve-gallus-girl-detective]

Completely obsessed with Jemily x “Lucifer is still God's best angel, but someone had to rule over hell” prompt.

Basically, God created the universe and among all it there is the Underworld, where the souls of those who had sinned have to suffer for their blasphemies. Some think it’s an a honor to rule it, most believe it to be a punishment. In reality, the hard truth is that someone had to do it.

...and Emily knew who would've stepped forward if she hadn't. Emily had been the best of them. Strongest. Oldest. The first among equals. And she had stepped forward and doomed herself. Because someone had to do it.

At least that was her excuse. When asked, she told them that she was the most likely to survive “falling”. That she was most likely to remember her duty. But it was all bullshit. Nobody wanted to do it, but she knew who would, once she finished her training.

So she took the fall, the duties, the pain. The agony of accepting that realm as her own. The horrors of feeling the white feathers of her wings fall out and turn to ash. She stopped crying when they grew back black as the pit and terrible as the night, a mockery of her angelic heritage and her pride. She hided her pain and misery when her halo dimmed like a dying star and became a suffocating, opaque shadow, even though it had been like dousing herself in acid without the relief of her nerves burning out.

Because someone had to do it.

There had to be consequences so the world can thrive. The worst of the worst had to be punished, locked away in a realm that was designed for torment. And someone had to rule it. Someone had to seal themselves away forever, with the damned and the demons.

And Emily couldn’t let her know that pain. Under no circumstances would she let her know the feeling of fire in her veins and acid in her lungs. She wouldn’t let her scream herself hoarse from agony while she choked on the smell of brimstone.

Not while she had power. Not while she had her wings.

So Emily had stepped forward and let herself be cast down. Someone had to do it, and so Emily left behind her friends and a student who was so much more than that to take up the throne of a realm that might kill her.

All of it because of her. The brilliant student whose compassion was too big for the world. The young angel with light blonde hair, big, shiny blues eyes and large, pure white wings. Who dressed from head to toe in polished silver armour and seemed to glow with a golden light, much like the halo hovering over her head.

Wait okay okay okay okay

I'm so emotional over this

This is its own fic (I am gonna borrow this idea so so sorry, but also dm me if you want me to say where the idea came from because I 100% will)

Emily becoming King of Hell to spare JJ who would have taken on the burden herself. Emily suffering for centuries and centuries. She gets called to Earth for a meeting because Hell is becoming unstable, and JJ is there as the representative from Heaven. They talk, alone, privately, and Emily admits she took the spot to save JJ the pain. JJ can see that the years in darkness have taken their toll. She asks God (Penelope) to go to Hell, but keep her wings. The solution to their problem is simple. She'll be Emily's lightkeeper. JJ will live in Hell with Emily, and keep her from succumbing to the dark.

[elizmanderson]

2023 wrap-up, part 1

click here for part 2 | click here for part 3 | click here for part 4

it's that time of year again! i.e. the time of year when everyone sets goals, but I've never been a terribly goals-oriented person and I'm very bad at setting goals. also I'm in an industry where so much relies on luck that many of the "goals" I could set are actually a bad idea because they're largely outside of my control.

so! I like to look back at my past year instead. it scratches the fomo itch and also pushes back against the ADHD tendency to only remember the bad stuff.

so here's my look back at 2023.

writing

book stuff

my debut released this year! the remarkable retirement of edna fisher has been out since april and is now available in large print, as well as in the original paperback and hardcover, with an audio book on the way.

link to StoryGraph listing

link to large print

link to paperback

link to hardcover

edna was also on goodreads's list of the biggest new fantasy and sci-fi books for spring back in march, which I got so excited about that I had a panic attack, bc apparently my body can't differentiate between that much excitement and panic lmao. ??/10, very odd experience

link to this list

(screenshot cropped to get to edna faster, if you click the link and scroll she's further down)

I also got an agent this year, and we sold two more books! during last year's wrap-up, the book now known as the keeper of lonely spirits had been revised as part of author mentor match, round 9, and I was crossing my fingers and toes that it wouldn't take another two years of querying for me to find an agent with it. and it did not ♥

link to last year's wrap-up, part 1

the second book is tbd bc keeper is a standalone, but keep an eye out for the keeper of lonely spirits in 2025

short story stuff

I had two short stories published this year! still waiting on that one that was accepted in 2021 lol and I'm starting to wonder if the anthology will ever be published, but maybe in 2024?

anyway, until then you can read about a lesbian ex-sea captain, the boy who simps for her, and the sea goddess she never got over, or you can read about a disaster twentysomething dealing with the aftermath of a friends-breakup.

(that second story is contemporary, not fantasy, but it's free online!)

link to lesbian ex-sea captain story

link to disaster twentysomething story

in-progress stuff

pleased to announce that after angsting about my inability to finish anything new in 2022, I fast-drafted a murder mystery this july!

...we won't talk about how revising is going

anyway she's called nettiewip and she's a grumpy old lesbian lightkeeper who gets dragged into a murder mystery. sorry, nettie.

okay, that's it for part 1! part 2 to come.

[smilestrawbunny]

What game is Elizabelle gonna be from? I dont remember if youve ever said the title of the game or not

It’s called “Lightkeeper” ! I haven’t made a direct announcement for it yet technically haha. My team and I are making it for the Spooktober game jam this year :)

[ask-everafteracademy]

Sooo Lavinia? Thoughts? And if you could, is there anything you'd change about how they handled her character?

Ooh. Hm. Alright, full transparency, not the biggest Lavinia fan. And it's a shame really, because her route and her character did have a lot of great potential to it. My main issues were how the general plot with the flower charm felt recycled from Ezra's route (not the writer's fault, it likely wasn't planned for her to have a route at the time it was written), but it still felt kind of cheap. Also wasn't a fan of the way the lore and underlying plot of the series was glossed over. Yes, I'm aware that the purpose of Lovestruck was romance first, but when the rest of the routes focus a lot on the plot, having one that doesn't really makes it stand out in all the wrong ways. That and the way Lavinia was characterized left a lot to be desired. As an immortal powerful queen, you'd expect her personality to reflect that. However, throughout the route, she felt more like a whiny teenager going through a rebellious phase. Which sucks because again, she had so much potential. Still, I mean no disrespect towards Lavinia fans, she's clearly very popular so maybe it's just an us thing. But I'd much rather read Ezra's route, and I'm saying that as a lesbian lol

-Lightkeeper

I can appreciate how positioning a "villainous" character like Lavinia as a love interest helps us see the main cast from an opposing point of view, to showcase their flaws and a contrasting side to them, likely poising to make a statement on morality. It often was very entertaining to see everyone butt heads! I was really curious to see how she would have grown from villainous to perhaps virtuous, so I'm disappointed we'll never know now.

I have to agree with Lightkeeper in that a lot of Lavinia's route seems to borrow from Ezra's. Their relationship dynamics certainly resemble each other. Both began adversarial and argumentative, and through those arguments the LI warmed up once FMC earned their respect. Though Lavinia's feelings for FMC shift from respect into devotion when FMC proves she's a rare individual who extends her compassion and benefit of the doubt, and even faith in her ability to become a better person. EAA's overall theme of the transformative power of love rears its beautiful head once again. (At least, I hope I'm remembering their dynamic correctly.) Maybe upon closer reading, and a long overdue reread, of both routes, I'll be able to better appreciate the differences between Ezra's and Lavinia's romances.

Taken by itself, Lavinia's characterization was fun, as your sort of archetypal delinquent/bad girl hiding heartbreak this time with a fairytale twist, but it was sadly that—just sort of archetypal. Considering she's a centuries-old entity with fairy blood lacking a piece of her heart, I think it would've been really cool to see that reflect in the way she relates to and is seen by humans. Ethereal, whimsical, dangerous? Creepy and unsettling, imposing and mysterious and utterly alien. A force of nature rather than a petulant, brooding rebel without a cause. Anything to justify her fearsome reputation and the main cast's prejudice against her? (Unless that was based off nothing but hearsay, as it was with Ezra, which could have been the entire point! but that would undermine the theme of her story as outlined by her route summary)

Put simply, I wanted to see her character concept taken further, particularly her fae heritage, which would have made the route more fun for me in a few ways. This would have 1) more heavily foreshadowed the Titania twist and made the reveal more satisfying; 2) raised questions about nature vs nurture (after all, what is Lavinia's major?); 3) distinguished it more from Ezra's story, which is about a fundamentally good person whose reputation is smeared by a third party, and made it about someone whose bad reputation is deserved and who must earn her redemption; and 4) allowed us to witness a struggle to reconcile who Lavinia initially is with the image (FMC's image?) of an ideal partner, and from that starting point, watch her become that more suitable partner.

But this is a university setting, and a fluffy romance story. If molding the Ice Queen into a figure you'd be more likely to meet at university was the goal, then I would've liked to see some clearer justification for or exploration of why she's this emotionally stunted for an ancient queen. Something to do with her missing heart shard? Maybe that was coming down the pipe. Again, we'll never know.

Overall, I wasn't terribly fond, since I do have pretty specific tastes and I readily admit that I have my own strong biases. I'm sorry to disappoint anyone looking for a more wholly positive viewpoint! But I'm glad there are people who do love her.

– Pathfinder

[seaside-coffeemilk]

Thinking about what would have happened if the Lightkeeper project had continued.

(this is mostly for the Alpha feels and angsty ramblings.)

----------

1. The first generation of clones might have to be raised by servitors, since the alphas passed away unexpectedly early. 😢

2. Or, to make things less sad, by the time they were at GAIA prime, they already had their successors learning alongside them. (Maybe technologies could speed up growth, so the first lightkeepers quickly were starting to learn alongside the zero dawn staff.)

But since the alphas met their fate in that meeting, to swallow their grief, the next generation of lightkeepers would try to focus on undoing the damage of APOLLO, while trying to ensure project zero dawn could still run as expected.

----------

3. Eventually, MINERVA would find the code to deactivate the swarm.

After the broadcast towers were built and finished, The Lightkeepers would continue to focus on healing the biosphere through monitoring GAIA.

4. Omega clearance would still be a issue, though there's nothing they could do until the outside world was stabilized.

----------

5. With different generations of Lightkeepers continuing the work, I'm imagining it would not be easy for the Lightkeepers' mental states, or to accept the purpose of their birth. Some might be depressed or lack the will to live / continue on.

6. If, for some reason, against all odds the Lightkeeper plan got to continue, They would form their own identities, and maybe some sort of culture or tradition would develope among them? Such as getting to choose their own individual names, or rewatching the hologram of Elisabet saying goodbye to the alphas as a way to pass down their history.

(If the deletion of APOLLO also affected the memory banks in GAIA prime, I also had the thought that they would try to pass down everything through writing down whatever they could remember. :( )

-----

5. Across the years, they worked really hard in helping GAIA settle the biosphere.

Somehow the generations continued, until the time came for the first humans to be released from the cradles.

----------

6. I imagine the newest gen of Lightkeepers ( also being the final one :( ) leading the first humans out to be settled, reintroducing them to the technologies from the world before.

7. With a new, advanced starting point + GAIA and the subfunctions, I imagine human civilization would develop to coexists peacefully with nature.

----------

8. For the next 700 or so years, humanity continues.

Eventually, the extinction signal + Nemisis would enter the picture.

I'm not sure how the once again advanced humans would do in the future. Maybe they continue to be even more advanced? Or does a highly developed civilization fall again before Nemesis arrives?

(In real life history, for some reason, civilizations with a more basic technology level seem to be the ones that last longer? compared to modern times, although humanity has only rapidly advanced during the latest 1 or 2 centuries.)

----------

No matter where the future of humanity ends up, I like to think there's a possibility that a good ending would be easier to reach, since they have GAIA and the subfunctions to guide them in managing the planet.