#empty bones

[kinardsevan]

tidbit tuesday

I'm struggling hard to write anything right now, but here's a bit I was working on for the next chapter of Empty Bones:

-

“Let’s give Mr. Buckley a few minutes.” 

They leave the room quietly and Tommy gently pulls Evan into him, murmuring soothing words to him as his fingers brush gently against the side of his head. 

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” Evan cries into his shirt. “I didn’t ask for any of this.” 

“I know,” Tommy rasps, his face buried in Evan’s curls. “I’m so sorry, baby. I should’ve been there to stop it.” 

Evan whimpers again, clinging to him. 

“You don’t have to,” Tommy reminds him after a few seconds. “But they still have to make sure you’ve stopped bleeding.” 

Evan turns his head, shoving his nose into Tommy’s chest and continuing to shake it as quiet sobs come out of him. Tommy blinks away his own tears. 

“Baby,” he coaxes hoarsely. He pulls his hand down from where he has it on Evan’s face, gently pulling him back. “Evan.” 

The blonde looks up at him, face pale and splotchy from all of the crying. He snuffles, trying to breathe. 

“Please let the doctors make sure you’re okay,” Tommy croaks out, his voice cracking. “I’ll be right here.” 

[heybiji]

"It must hurt her feelings."

[lightningbig]

sorry twilight princess will always be eating holes in my brain. constantly and forever. I cannot ever be normal about it.

it's such a haunted game. you are a dead thing going through a dead world. you are something in between. you can go back but it will never be the same. you will never be the same. you are walking, constantly, through ghosts of what came before. you are exploring places long forgotten. you are the only one on this path because there is no one else that can walk it. you were just a farm boy. you were in the wrong place at the wrong time. right place at the wrong time? wrong place at the right time? you were just supposed to deliver a sword.

[bonebabbles]

RiverClan Refugees

Gorseclaw and Lizardtail want to join ThunderClan because they watched Harelight, their only other family, get publicly executed in front of them

They are trying their hardest to be useful and polite while being refugees in ThunderClan, and get mistreated for the effort-- having their food preferences mocked, getting told they're taking up space, hearing a steady stream of slurs, etc

After one more mass shaming session where Squirrelstar asserts they won't be accepting new cats, Sunbeam and Fernstripe join in on condescending them, and we get this;

"It would have felt bad turning them away, but if they chose to go home (AFTER BEING BULLIED FOR SEVERAL CHAPTERS) then there was no need to feel guilty"

This does not come across as these two earnestly missing home and choosing to go back; it comes across like they're accepting the fact that they are unwanted and getting out of dodge before it gets worse.

Honestly, I'm at the point where I can't call this a lack of self awareness. The difference between ThunderClan's treatment of Gorse and Lizard vs RiverClan's treatment of Wasp is obvious to me. The narrative is straightforwardly pro-xenophobic as long as it isn't overtly violent.

Social bigotry is fine. Good, even, to separate the "desirable" immigrants from the "undesirable" ones. What defines those categories? A good one will assimilate fully and leave their culture behind; a bad one only wants safety and a better life for their family.

Terrifying, imo, considering how the irl overton window has shifted on migration at the time of writing this in 2025. Does the spectre of the times loom over these words as I speak them? I hope not.

[tovaicas]

↳ ꜱɴᴏᴡ + ᴄᴏᴇʀᴛʜᴀꜱ ᴡᴇꜱᴛᴇʀɴ ʜɪɢʜʟᴀɴᴅꜱ

ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ꜱɴᴏᴡꜱ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ʜɪɢʜʟᴀɴᴅꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴄᴏᴇʀᴛʜᴀꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀᴋᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄᴀʟᴀᴍɪᴛʏ ʟᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇxᴛɪɴᴄᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴘʟᴀɴᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀɴɪᴍᴀʟꜱ. ʙᴇꜰᴏʀᴇ ᴛʜᴇɴ, ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴇʀᴛɪʟᴇ ʙᴀɴᴋꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ʀɪᴠᴇʀꜱ ᴡʜɪᴄʜ ꜰʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴇꜱᴛᴇʀɴ ʜɪɢʜʟᴀɴᴅꜱ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴏɴᴄᴇ ᴛᴇᴇᴍɪɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟɪꜰᴇ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴜʀʀᴏᴜɴᴅɪɴɢ ᴘᴀꜱᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ ᴍᴀᴅᴇ ꜰᴏʀ ᴇxᴄᴇʟʟᴇɴᴛ ɢʀᴀᴢɪɴɢ. ᴀʟᴀꜱ, ᴀꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴇʀᴀᴛᴜʀᴇꜱ ᴅʀᴏᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪᴠᴇʀꜱ ꜰʀᴏᴢᴇ, ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴇɢᴇᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴡɪᴛʜᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅɪᴇᴅ, ᴀꜱ ᴅɪᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪᴠᴇʟɪʜᴏᴏᴅꜱ ᴏꜰ ɪꜱʜɢᴀʀᴅ'ꜱ ꜰᴀʀᴍᴇʀꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱʜᴇᴘʜᴇʀᴅꜱ.

[jackietaylorgf]

just thought about the possibility of the surviving yellowjackets getting rescued and going home and seeing their own graves. they were missing for 19 months, probably presumed dead for a lot of that. their families probably made arrangements and had headstones installed over empty caskets.

[maidenofcrows]

“…but he held steady as she launched herself from the cradle of his fingers”

I need people to understand how important it is that Inej launched herself. Kaz held steady and provided the foothold, but she launched herself.

Kaz gave her a ship and a place to return. He holds steady in a different way waiting for her return. He supports her fully. But she launched herself. This is her mission, her endeavor, her drive, her purpose.

[sweetreveriee]

I’m almost done with the empty grave and I am not ready to say goodbye to my babies

[vamp1r3gf]

Just finished Crooked Kingdom…

I am unwell

[ironyscleverer]

Lockwood reread commentary pt. 2:

Now that I’m closer to Kipps’ age than Lucy’s, I find the idea of him at 20-22ish having to babysit manage a team of roughly 15-17 year olds kind of hilarious. He’s really just a young adult trying to figure out his life and then there’s this team of grimy children pulling insane stunts and roasting him at every turn. But at the same time he’s the closest thing to an adult they’ll trust and they’re also his only friends so he has to stick around and try to keep them alive.

Lockwood & co: *does something outrageously illegal*

Quill Kipps, old enough to have a consciousness: this is fine

[kinardsevan]

Based on the review I woke up to this morning….

first of all, if ANYTHING about empty bones makes you think I ship buddie, what are you smoking? second, please don’t ever ask me to actually write it. you can have your ship, idc, but it’s not my flavor.

third, if you think it’s cute and want dubcon, I’m pretty sure I’ve actually seen a fic out there that discusses these parameters in that ship. however, asking me, someone who writes very delicately about extremely invasive trauma, to write for your fanon ship in a way that completely disregards the damage SA does…get fucked please. no person EVER who has been through that kind of abuse has ever had a moment of being in the midst of it and changing their mind to deciding they were in love with the person doing it to them.

that’s all. (I think.) thanks for coming to my TEDtalk.

[yellowraincoat]

I wonder sometimes what the L&Co crew did after they aged out of having the sight. Obviously Lucy makes some mention of them helping DEPRAC clear the other side and you can help with that even w/o sight thanks to the Orpheus society, but I don’t imagine they did that forever or even full time.

I’ve actually thought a LOT about what I think they end up doing as adults so… here’s an extremely long post about it:

George’s path is obvious to me. He becomes a foremost voice on the nature of the problem, and he’s able to go to Oxford for university (or the most prestigious UK university still running) on this basis. He gets a degree in history and goes on to a PHD. He then dedicates several years to writing a complete, multi-volume, history of the problem/agencies/corruption/visitors (which will go down in history as THE TEXT about the problem)

… I’ll put the rest under the cut bc this is fr going to be lonnnng

We also know from the existence of Lockwood and Co the books that Lucy at some point metatextually writes a memoir detailing the antics of Lockwood and co. (Which, go off girlboss, she did a great job.) For Lucy’s career path, I imagine that she is a formal DEPRAC partner for a time goes to the other side more than any of her other L&Co colleagues to help out.

This may be a weird take, but I also think that Lucy’s relationship with the Skull and all the weird experiments on ghosts she witnesses lead her to go all GHOST RIGHTS. She campaigns for seeing ghosts differently and repsecting the dead and works to get DEPRAC to create better regulations for how sources are treated when contained and advocates for figuring out how to release them to the other side rather than destroying sources as a first move. Idk I think it suits her relationship to ghosts; she’s definitely more invested in their humanity than other agents.

I don’t think Lockwood would try to hire young agents as a supervisor to keep the agency going after losing his sight. Especially since he’s aware that the problem is fading and considering he’d still have work available through DEPRAC. I think Lockwood spends his first few post-sight years in lots of therapy and takes time off from working since he’s been running a very intense business since he was like 14. I also think he foots the bill for Flo to get a therapist as well.

They’re both able to work through their grief and trauma from the people they’ve lost, Lockwood works through his habit of repressing his feelings, and Flo works through her feelings of being cornered while in doors. Flo eventually moves into Portland Row, and she and George and Lucy and Lockwood spend most of their young adult lives (whole lives if you ask me) living in the same house or living right next door to each other.

As for Lockwood’s actual career path I think Lockwood’s would make it his life’s work to share his parents findings. He spreads the traditional burial practices and ways to ward off ghosts like that Lockwood’s parent’s researched to help people protect themselves from ghosts around the UK as the problem fades.

I don’t know that I see Flo having a real job. I could see her in advocacy for housing insecure youth (we know London has MANY due to the Problem) but I’d also like to see her have a relaxing-ass life. Enjoy therapy and her friends, date George, plant a vegetable garden. Flo’s never cared much about material goods so I could see her working odd jobs here and there to help contribute to Portland Row Expenses, but mostly focus on nonprofit work and political activism while enjoying her life.

I think both Kipps and Holly stay on at Lockwood and co until it permanently disbands, then I imagine they both work to advocate for the rights of former agents in some capacity. If Holly could further her eduction I think she’d work in the legal system, maybe working in administration/research on cases that are attempting to hold leaders of the Orpheus society and high up Fittes and Rottweil people accountable for compensating traumatized former agents. Oh and she asks out that girl from DEPRAC she was living with (and they were roommates oh my god they were roommates)

I think Kipps might (after he’s matured a bit) get involved with a young adult professional development program trying to address all of the former agents and nightwatch kids who forwent education at a young age to hunt ghosts and help them access free education and classes to gain new marketable skills as the ghost hunting industry declines and kids age out of the sight. He also stops beefing with teenagers (so much) and lives out his destiny as surrogate brother/20 year old adopted father to Lucy George and the rest. And he gets himself a husband bc he deserves it 😤

As for the Skull… I’m in the camp that he does return and he occasionally stops by Portland Row to chat with Lucy and pull poltergeists type pranks on the other residents. When Lucy can no longer hear him 🥲 I still think he sticks around for a while, making his presence known by moving objects and helping keep the house cool in the summer (yayyy ghost chill), he also still speaks to Lucy when she does work on the other side with DEPRAC. But eventually, maybe when Lucy’s in her late twenties, the skull feels ready to move on, and Lucy visits to the other side to say good by and help him pass on.

[lichqueenlibrarian]

Bones you’re a doctor, quit torturing Kirk.

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

but they already knew that, didn't they?

[jazzkrebber]

shskwndksndksns when Jesper tells Wylan "this isn't your fight, you know" and yes it's obvious my boy's hopelessly in love and is worried ab his bf but I WILL NEVER GET OVER THE FACT THAT IT REALLY ISNT WYLAN'S FIGHT HE'S JUST IN IT FOR PROTECTION FROM HIS FATHER AND JESPER DOESN'T KNOW AND THEN WYLAN CHANGES THE SUBJECT WITH THE "Jesper Fahey are you worried about me?" AHHHHHHHHHHHH

[orcboxer]

one thing that sucks about bg3 is that Shar is an edgy bitch who also has the coolest introduction in the game. "I am the empty room" is such a baller line that deserves to come from a much cooler character