#excited+ for the future chapters

[see-arcane]

One of my companions whispered to another the line from Burger's "Lenore":—

"Denn die Todten reiten schnell"— ("For the dead travel fast.")

There’s only so much that can be said about the upcoming parallels between the poem of “Lenore” by Gottfriend August Bürger without spoiling the punch of specific plot points in Dracula for new readers, but for context’s sake--and so I can free myself from some of the need to Ramble (tm)--the synopsis for the poem is this:

The eponymous Lenore is heartbroken, wretched, and lamenting God’s cruelty for apparently failing to favor or protect her beloved William in war. He’s the only soldier of their village who does not return alive, smiling and triumphant. Lenore’s mother tries to shush and deter her from such grieving blasphemy unto God, claiming William must merely have gone off with another girl and that God does love her. To curse Him is dangerous!

A few verses carry on in this way, highlighting Lenore’s well-earned anger, sorrow and grief, all contrasted with her mother’s fretting and somewhat lacking comfort. Night falls. Outside Lenore’s window, William rides up on his horse, alive and well. Lenore is overjoyed and joins him when he invites her onto his steed so they can ride away...

“Ere we may lie in the bridal-bed.”

Off they ride swiftly into the night, gradually joined by a following of eerie restless dead as their impromptu wedding reception. Though Lenore is frightened, William is content to ride on and banter about the spirits. Eventually, the horse comes to a stop at their destination: a cemetery. As they dismount, Lenore sees ‘William’ melt away to reveal the iconic Grim Reaper face of Death, replete with skeleton shape, sickle, and hourglass. William has been dead all along and the only bed he has to share with her is a grave. The final lines?

The churchyard troop,--a ghostly group--

Close round the dying girl;

Out and in they hurry and spin

Through the dance’s weary whirl:

“Patience, patience, when the heart is breaking

With thy God there is no question-making:

Of they body thou art quit and free:

Heaven keep thy soul eternally!”

Which is a Hell of a grim sentiment to end on. 

In future chapters, once Certain Vampiric Events come into view, the motifs of the ballad come back in full force. Albeit in ways that both lean into and fully defy the seeming moral for poor Lenore and William. You know when you see them.

If you haven’t read the poem before, I highly recommend it! You can give it a gander here.

[forgettable-au]

Since the font wingdings gets translated horribly by any recording and ESPECIALLY digital stuff, can he like- not make phone calls either? THIS POOR MAN 😭

Yeah, basically 😞

I kinda made that whole headcanon for Wingdings based on this thing that happens in deltarune with your phone:

Soooooo, yeah!!!! Phone calls don't work great!!!

And like, yeaaaahh that's definitely related to Gaster but it's probably not his voiceeeee in canon, it's probably something elseeeeee BUT!!! IN THIS AU I MADE A WHOLE HEADCANON FOR GASTER BASED ON THAT, ISN'T THAT FUN???? YEAH🎉

[triglycercule]

horrortale waterfall game broke me sorry (hey just like horror!)

[myokk]

[thatonecrazysidekick]

@sunfloweraro I'm sorry it took so long to respond to you on this post, but I needed to draw this before any further action could be taken.

Yippee, Ravio will get comfort!! My sanity is safe (for now). Hilda and Zelda appearances would be cool, and a Sheerow POV would be quite interesting indeed!! I wonder what that bird is thinking behind those blank little eyes...

[vicartless-bowuigi-space-au]

“What are you scared of?”

Luigi felt the Star's unease fill his every being—a child shaking in a dark alley, crowding against a corner with no escape. And with a voice that stole Luigi's breath, the Star responded.

“Her.”

[grimstrawberry]

If I don't make light of everything, I'm gonna explode.

[zentriii]

hatake kakashi: full time shinobi part time comedian

[burnthatbridge]

far from my care and keeping

buddie (side buck/tommy, mentioned eddie/marisol) | T | 3k | angst, pining, one-sided feelings realization Buck's in hospital, but that's nothing new. What is new is the extra person in the waiting room. That, and Eddie's understanding of his own heart.

Another day, another visit to the hospital.

They should be used to this by now: sitting in the sterile space off the main hallway, waiting, waiting, waiting. It should feel routine, ordinary, typical with how often they find themselves in the situation. But Eddie doesn’t think it’s ever going to feel that way when it’s one of them behind the doors fighting for their life, the rest sitting anxious on the other side. He wishes the universe would stop adding instances, would cease trying to make it, force it to be, normal.

It’s the usual crew; they’re practically all there: Eddie, Bobby, Hen, Ravi, Maddie, Athena. Chim had taken Jee-Yun from Maddie and left with her about an hour after Maddie arrived — it’s getting late, past Jee’s bedtime. And Karen is at home with the baby and Denny. Eddie is lucky Marisol was supposed to be coming over for dinner anyway, that she offered to get Chris and stay with him till Eddie could leave. Athena showed up at the end of her shift with coffee and donuts for everyone, caffeine and sugar to keep them going.

Eddie’s cup is sitting cold on the table, his donut already split between Chim and Ravi when he shook his head in a refusal of it. He’d struggle to eat or drink anything in his condition, plus the knot in his stomach is too large for anything else to fit. It’d come back up, and he’s afraid of what else might spill from him with it.

It’s the usual crew. Plus–

“Hey,” Tommy’s voice sounds. Eddie looks up to him crossing the floor towards them, not at a run, but not far off. “What happened? How’s he doing?” he asks, directed at Eddie, as his eyes sweep over him, take in the state of him.

“He’s– It was–” Eddie tries, but his mouth is dry and the lump in his stomach extends to his throat too, blocking it, making him choke on the words.

Hen, sitting in the chair next to him, takes over. “He’s in surgery.”

read more on ao3

[partyhorn]

She's a little strange

[demaparbat-hp]

For the Spirits— Chapter VII: Take Me South

Take me south when it's the time

Pour me away like golden wine

I'll form a splash and it will dry

But in the shape of you

—Pure You by Nothing But Thieves

.

Yume placed her hands on her hips and took a step forward. “That I do, yet I can't help but wonder about the timing. Heading South, seeking information on the Tribes…it's all very sudden, don't you think?”

The folded parchment hidden under his vest suddenly seemed to hold the weight of the world. Zuko placed a hand on his chest, where the sketch rested just above his heart. He stared thoughtfully at the floor.

Why now, indeed?

[iwanttoshareamorange]

I should be going to bed but all I can think about is lwj and jc’s relationship, specifically in my sk8 au.

They cannot stand each other, and in a perfect world they would have never met .

They each find the other annoying and too much and so high and mighty.

But they are all that’s left of the best years of their lives before everything went to shit and they lost most of their friends died group in the span of 12 months. They’re pretty much the only reminders they have of carefree childhood and skating around with friends and doing silly tricks.

But the pain of what they lost hurts so they spend the next over a decade ignoring each other

And then their fucking kids become best friends and all the sudden they have to see each other all the time again

And all they can see is all their own broken pieces because nobody reminds them more of what they lost than the other person who was there for it

And all the juniors are looking between these two reasonable professional adults who they thought were complete strangers have the most petty burning tragic hatred between them and just ?????????????

[stegulus]

all our time has come

“It’s Black land,” Regulus repeats, his voice rising now, losing the controlled edge that never seemed to leave him at school. “I don’t want you here. This is my clearing, I was here first, and you always do this, and he’s my brother, not yours, and– and– and I hate you, and Sirius showed it to me first, and it’s not fair! It– it isn’t fair.” He’s run out of steam by the end of his tirade, voice trailing off, breathing hard, eyes wet and ears red.

hogwarts, a summer, a war, and a time loop to bring them together

regulus black / james potter

words: 19,717 ; chapters: 2/18

updates every week

read on ao3 / a lily & bas project

[scarredlove]

WHAM! We have a winner!

My attack for @bamsara

Inspired by this post

[potatobugz]

for those of you who liked my bfdi high fantasy drawings, im planning on turning it into a fic <|:)

You can find it Here

[deiaiko]

#18.1 Rak

Rak let out a huff and sat down next to Agni. Agni peeked over at Rak, who was looking far ahead, as if his past were replaying right before him.

TW: Self harm and suicide…in a way? (Sorry if it gets too dark. I put the TLDR on the tags)

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"I met him back when I was young, about a hundred years ago," Rak started.

Agni was taken aback at how long the gap between their time travel was. He wondered how much his Rak had changed.

"It was getting cold, which meant it was hunting season. I got bored and picked a fight with the toughest and biggest prey I could find."

Agni hummed when Rak paused for a moment too long, "Let me guess. You underestimated it and you lost?"

"The river was slippery!" Rak crossed his arms defensively. "And I didn't lose!"

"Sure," Agni rolled his eyes, one corner of his lips upturned. "How come?"

"I didn't lose, but I didn’t win either." Rak looked away, probably in embarrassment. "Another spear pierced its head before mine. That's when I met him."

From the way Rak's expression turned fiery, Agni had a suspicion that that exact moment had affected Rak more than what he spilled out. It didn't surprise him however, since he knew Rak’s ego.

"He was around for a while, acting like he cared about me." Rak huffed again, more fondly this time, eyes closed and arms still crossed. "He taught me a few fancy tricks with rocks and how to hunt better. He talked a lot about turtle this and turtle that. There were so many, I don't remember. But Black and Blue turtles were the ones he talked about the most, saying something like 'no one else will be more worthy prey than them.'"

Agni felt his chest tighten. To think that their Rak had acknowledged them and even bragged about it…it filled him with a sense of pride and longing.

"I didn't believe him then, since turtles are boring and no way they could do what he said they could." Rak paused and untangled his arms, eyes focusing and turning predatory, "But when he said that these turtles were unlike what we had there, I have been wanting to meet those turtles he told me about and hunt them."

Rak's story was intriguing. But even if it flattered him, Agni was more curious about his Rak's whereabouts. "What happened to him then? Wasn't he…badly injured?"

Rak frowned and went silent. But when he found his voice, it lacked its previous vigor. "He was. It looked fresh and so impossible to walk with, but he did. I asked if it was painful, but he said he didn’t feel a thing."

Third-degree burn. Agni thought to himself. But there was no way it spread evenly. Some areas must've been painful.

"He definitely lied," Rak voiced Agni's thought. "He was just acting to look tough."

The edge of Agni's lips twitched in an attempt to suppress his smile. That's him alright. And of course Rak could figure his own self easily. 

"One day he challenged me in an all out duel," Rak's gaze turned dark. "His wounds had weakened him over the months, and it was obvious who would be the winner."

Agni frowned at the implication.

Wordlessly, Rak called out his arms inventory which held a familiar looking spear that shouldn't have been in his possession at this point in time. Agni would recognize that design anywhere, "...Mad shocker."

"He said he wanted to test me, and he gave me this." Rak glared at the spear as if it was responsible for his misfortune. "And later told me that I should be proud, for only a true hunter was allowed to defeat him."

Agni felt his throat going dry, and gulped. "He died, didn't he?"

Rak's eyes sharpened. Whether it was in regret or anger, Agni couldn't tell. "I killed him." 

Agni didn't know what to feel about that. On one hand, he could empathize with how much pain Rak must've felt from the injury, especially with the lack of proper treatment that could cure or even just lessen the pain. But on the other hand, it meant that his Rak was truly gone, in such a way, and he still couldn't wrap his head around it.

Rak put his pipe back to invisible mode, like looking at it had brought him so much grief. "I've never used that spear since."

The silence stretched, with only the loud noises coming from the training ground to fill it. Agni wasn't sure how to reply to that without being overly friendly nor physical, and he definitely wouldn't do that to Rak, who only met him today.

Sitting beside Rak like this reminded him of their chat before the workshop battle, on the balcony. It was when Rak truly let him see his buried feelings, his desire to climb the tower together with him and Grace. And with that, the grief finally started to dawn on him. The scar on his face felt itchy and his hand was already clawing at his mask before he registered the motion. He sighed and put his hand back on his knee, pushing the tangled feeling to the back of his mind to be dealt with later. And since the silence had stretched out for too long, he asked; "What was he to you?"

"A rival," Rak looked thoughtful before adding, "and family."

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