#i also kept spelling catchers as

[kohreeander]

Haikyuu!! but baseball

i started this on twitter but this needs more words for the full brain rot.

volleyball setters and baseball catchers are both extremely important while often being overlooked by casual spectators cause they aren't very flashy

setting in volleyball is extremely important to the offense. they have to be aware of not only where their hitters are, but also where the other team's players are on their court AND figure out how to best score a point. throw in the strict amount of rules they have and you get extremely disciplined players who are also super perceptive.

catchers, on the other hand, literally hold the defense together for the whole game. they are part of every single play, are very base-conscious, and never get a break so they have insane amounts of stamina. if you ever watch a baseball or softball game, pls pay attention to how much the catcher is doing on every single play, you'll be baffled by how much they do.

that being said i know exactly how every setter would catch

kageyama is the definition of a terrifying catcher. he calls all of the pitches himself and he is an asshole about it. he gets a lot of praise for his framing skills that trick even the best umpires into calling strikes. he is acutely aware of each of his teammate's strengths and will adjust them on the field mid-batter to guarantee an out. his fatal flaw is that he got ejected once for arguing with the umps over a check swing (he was right the umps were just bad that day)

suga, on the other hand, is deceptively laid back for a catcher. he has multiple unique call signs that are for the whole team, and often make it harder for coaches to steal their signs. where kageyama almost expects the other team to steal the signs and not pay attention to the defense's movement, suga gets them to move so obviously that they would never be able to guess what pitch is being thrown. like he has noya (ss) move in on the fourth batter, who in their right mind would then call a meatball down the middle?? suga would and it's fuckng insane

noya is a relief catcher. thats it

OIKAWA MY KING he is the perfect catcher. he knows his players perfectly, reads the other teams like open books, is very vocal in each play, is super athletic, looks hot in uniform he's perfect. he's so cocky about his throwing skills that he does run-downs with the ball still in his glove. it's terrifying and monstrous.

yahaba is the relief catcher. he only really gets put in when kyotani is pitching. i can't think of a reason right now but yeah. if he's not catching, he's in the outfield.

kenma is so fucking calm as a catcher. he's very smart and perceptive, but so is the rest of the team so he doesn't have to be as vocal as other catchers. most of the team knows what the play is by how he sets up in the box, and he's. very quick to adapt to strange pitches or hits. he is also not above calling change-ups over and over again on the same batter if it works. he has made many enemies this way I love him

i'm gonna make a dedicated post for semi and shirabu because their catching styles revolve heavily around ushijima, but the gist of it is that semi refuses to call a curveball for ushi so he gets benched for going against the coach's calls, and shirabu is more than happy to only call curveballs.

akaashi. the prettiest boy yes i love him. he is the most stressed catcher in history. he's very good at reading the field, and he is usually the one to call for a conference, not the coach. sometimes he gets too far into his head and makes some wrong calls, but it's nothing a good scream won't fix. his talent shines when he picks off a runner with a pass-ball. and bokuto throws an unfortunate amount of pass-balls.

atsumu is a fucking asshole behind the plate. he is talkative, loud, unfiltered. it is a miracle he has not been thrown out of a game. he will very often steal plays from the other teams. like every game. there is no escape from him. he shines mostly in his framing skills, but don't let that fool you. he will chase down a runner on the third baseline with no hesitation at full speed. he is a terrifying menace and is only made worse when his brother is pitching. both of them find joy in forcing a batter into striking themselves out. they are my nightmare combo.

there are so many teams i cant think of anything else right now.

[heatherly84]

Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein

I've tried several times. I cannot finish it. I hate his prose. /o\

Harry Potter series

I was sixteen the first time. I always feel kind of like an alien because I liked HP, but was never that into it. In fact, I sort of resented it as a teen because people in my fandoms got into it and stopped writing for my fandoms. It took like five years for me to stop thinking it was a weird thing to write fic for.

The Bible

Reading the Bible is actually really interesting because there's a lot of stuff it says that no one tells you about, and a lot of stuff people say is in there that isn't. (The weirdest thing a person has ever told me the Bible said that it doesn't is that left-handed people are evil. It…does not say that. The only thing even close to that I found is that left-handed people are scarier swordsmen. Also, I learned that Heaven is not in the sky and Hell is not underground! They're parallel. Heaven's on the right, Hell's on the left.)

Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell

Well-written, depressing. Also not a great read if you have my specific combination of issues- ADHD, OCD, and an extremely vivid visual imagination while reading. ADHD means that sometimes, texts become a blur where I don't remember what I just read until I land on a word, phrase, or sentence that makes me go, "Wait, what?", OCD means those little "Wait, what?" items STICK THE FUCK AROUND in my brain, and the vivid visual imagination just means that I movie-projected this stuff in my head and may now have a visual I don't want and can't stop seeing.

There are many things in 1984 where this could be a problem, but ironically, the one that derailed my reading experience the most was that they kept being described as wearing overalls. I learned that Orwell meant coveralls:

...but I could not for the life of me stop picturing what Americans mean when we say overalls- what elsewhere in the world are called dungarees:

His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman

It was fine. -\_(:/)_/- I didn't like the second one. The switch from Lyra to Will made it very difficult for me to get into it and then we met the atheist ex-nun and I lost patience with the book entirely.

Little Women – Louisa M Alcott

This is one of my favorite books in the whole world. I am the only person I know whose favorite sister is Meg (Jo is second, I'm not a monster). I did not like the Greta Gerwig movie version. I fucking hated the cast in it. And the costuming. And a lot of the story changes.

Complete Works of Shakespeare

I haven't finished it, but I've gotten farther than anyone I know personally! Romeo and Juliet remains my favorite. I am the kind of freak who likes Titus Andronicus.

The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien

Easier to read than LotR, but still not my favorite.

Catcher in the Rye

Fuck this fucking book.

Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell

Contrary to popular perception, it is not Lost Cause bullshit that mourns the loss of the gentle and beautiful South. In fact, it's full of "The South were sexist pigs who were garbage to women," "The Confederacy was stupid and the war was immoral," and "The people for whom the pre-war South was most comfortable were mostly not equipped to handle their new reality."

It is holy shit racist, though. Less racist than, say, Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden," but very definitely aligned with it philosophically. It has multiple BIPOC characters (Dilcey and Prissy are both Black and Indigenous) with different personalities, experiences, and motivations, but also has them talk in a phonetically-spelled patois that rivals Fleur Delacour's in terms of "Jesus, why?" >:(

I think it provides a lot of great fodder for talking about racism, sexism, feminism, intersectionality, how capitalism and carceralism make good bedfellows, author vs character, history vs historical fiction, and if you watch the movie, a great study in how the themes of a book can be lost when converting it to a visual medium. Buuuuut it's not really a great pleasure read. (Also can't really imagine picking it up for fun the way you might Little Women or Anne of Green Gables. It's over a thousand pages long and full of historical and political asides, violence, and has at least two incidents of sexual assault.)

The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald

Couldn't finish it. :-/

The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Love this book so fucking much. And am still prone to thinking about how I couldn't get the hang of Thursdays.

The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis

It's all right, but it is very weird to engage with as an adult who first read it at nine, with absolutely no idea of who Jesus was. I knew Christmas! I did not know Jesus. As an adult, I obviously know a lot more now about Jesus, and I interact with Narnia like I might with Greek mythology, just putting my nine-year-old self in the place of the Greeks: "Wait, but what did you think this was? What was this like for you then???"

Animal Farm – George Orwell

I agree that you really only need to read one, this or 1984, rather than both. However, I also like it better than 1984. (Talking pigs are easier for my brain to handle than asking me to take your dystopia seriously while imagining the entire cast in dungarees, apparently.)

Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery

I loved this book as a kid. It may also be the first time I encountered a fictional heroine who did something I did.

"But if you call me Anne please call me Anne spelled with an E.”

“What difference does it make how it’s spelled?” asked Marilla with another rusty smile as she picked up the teapot.

“Oh, it makes such a difference. It looks so much nicer. When you hear a name pronounced can’t you always see it in your mind, just as if it was printed out?"

I do this! I've always done it! It's not weird! \o/

The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood

It was all right. Not as bleak as the show, but still pretty bleak. Also, I lost all sympathy for Book!Luke when he murdered their cat. >:( Let her outside, go door to door for a bit, hang up some "Lost Cat" posters, then escape your dystopia. Done. I bet you'd look less like you were about to illegally jump the country if you were just looking for your cat yesterday, too.

Dune – Frank Herbert

I love the Litany Against Fear, but find the book overall so boring it makes me want to peel my skin off. /o\

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

It's all right. -\_(:/)_/- To be honest, most dystopic fiction makes me go, "Eh, it was fine." It's rarely something I'm super into.

Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov

So, funny story. I picked this up when I was 13 because the trailers for the movie with Jeremy Irons on TV made it look so pretty, romantic, and dramatic. (Was I wrong? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ro4ty8zWcko)

Let me tell you. Thirteen is way too young to read Lolita. It also was demonstrably not pretty or romantic.

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold

The Lovely Bones is really good, but really incredibly fucking sad. The title grabbed my attention in Barnes & Noble. I think I was 19 or 20. This is a book with a HIGH barrier for entry. Susie's description of her own rape and murder is terrifying and heartbreaking. And it's the first fucking chapter.

Dracula – Bram Stoker

Even in the form of Dracula Daily, I don't really like it. :( I do think it's funny that Quincey is like some kind of cryptid, though.

The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Super fucking sad. ;__;

Watership Down – Richard Adams

It's been like 27 years since I picked it up. I am still trying to figure out how to pronounce El-ahrairah.

Hamlet – William Shakespeare

I've read it, but I honestly think I should've watched a stage or film version first. I had to explain to my Shakespeare-hating child that reading Shakespeare really isn't how you're supposed to experience it. I might like Hamlet more- and she would maybe like Romeo and Juliet more- if the first encounter we'd had with it had been in a visual, performative medium.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl

I like Matilda better.

Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

I have NOT read Les Mis, but I HAVE read Hunchback of Notre Dame. It gave me nightmares. Also, while I love the Disney version, I read the book the year the movie came out and the whiplash of Movie!Phoebus vs Book!Phoebus is ridiculous. (I remain haunted by Esmerelda in the book asking Phoebus to tell her about his religion so they can get married, and him laughing his ass off at how silly it is that she thinks he would ever marry her. He marries his cousin in the end.)

How many have you read?

The BBC estimates that most people will only read 6 books out of the 100 listed below. Reblog this and bold the titles you’ve read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen 2 Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkein 3 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte 4 Harry Potter series 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee 6 The Bible 7 Wuthering Heights – Emily Bronte 8 Nineteen Eighty Four – George Orwell 9 His Dark Materials – Philip Pullman 10 Great Expectations – Charles Dickens 11 Little Women – Louisa M Alcott 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles – Thomas Hardy 13 Catch 22 – Joseph Heller 14 Complete Works of Shakespeare 15 Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier 16 The Hobbit – JRR Tolkien 17 Birdsong – Sebastian Faulks 18 Catcher in the Rye 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffeneger 20 Middlemarch – George Eliot 21 Gone With The Wind – Margaret Mitchell 22 The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald 23 Bleak House – Charles Dickens 24 War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams 26 Brideshead Revisited – Evelyn Waugh 27 Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky 28 Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck 29 Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll 30 The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame 31 Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy 32 David Copperfield – Charles Dickens 33 Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis 34 Emma – Jane Austen 35 Persuasion – Jane Austen 36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – CS Lewis 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres 39 Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden 40 Winnie the Pooh – AA Milne 41 Animal Farm – George Orwell 42 The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving 45 The Woman in White – Wilkie Collins 46 Anne of Green Gables – LM Montgomery 47 Far From The Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy 48 The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood 49 Lord of the Flies – William Golding 50 Atonement – Ian McEwan

51 Life of Pi – Yann Martel 52 Dune – Frank Herbert 53 Cold Comfort Farm – Stella Gibbons 54 Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen 55 A Suitable Boy – Vikram Seth 56 The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon 57 A Tale Of Two Cities – Charles Dickens 58 Brave New World – Aldous Huxley 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera – Gabriel Garcia Marquez 61 Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck 62 Lolita – Vladimir Nabokov 63 The Secret History – Donna Tartt 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold 65 Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas 66 On The Road – Jack Kerouac 67 Jude the Obscure – Thomas Hardy 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary – Helen Fielding 69 Midnight’s Children – Salman Rushdie 70 Moby Dick – Herman Melville 71 Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens 72 Dracula – Bram Stoker 73 The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett 74 Notes From A Small Island – Bill Bryson 75 Ulysses – James Joyce 76 The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath 77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome 78 Germinal – Emile Zola 79 Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray 80 Possession – AS Byatt 81 A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens 82 Cloud Atlas – David Mitchel 83 The Color Purple – Alice Walker 84 The Remains of the Day – Kazuo Ishiguro 85 Madame Bovary – Gustave Flaubert 86 A Fine Balance – Rohinton Mistry 87 Charlotte’s Web – EB White 88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven – Mitch Albom 89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 90 The Faraway Tree Collection – Enid Blyton 91 Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad 92 The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery 93 The Wasp Factory – Iain Banks 94 Watership Down – Richard Adams 95 A Confederacy of Dunces – John Kennedy Toole 96 A Town Like Alice – Nevil Shute 97 The Three Musketeers – Alexandre Dumas 98 Hamlet – William Shakespeare 99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl 100 Les Miserables – Victor Hugo

[missizzy]

A Game Novice's Baldur's Gate Log, 50 1/2 Hours In: Now With Accompanying Fanfic!

Masterpost

(Note: this will definitely contain spoilers for all I've played through, and probably quite of a bit of the later stuff I've also seen.)

So among the things I ended up playing through this week was a certain camp scene involving Lae'zel and Shadowheart. I'd already had an idea of writing something Lae'zel-related, and then Astarion, being Astarion, butted in where he hadn't been called for, and this resulted. It takes place in the universe of this playthrough, and it won't be the last thing I write that does. I've already got another Lae'zel-related idea, but it will have to wait until I play through a few more things. And yes, there will be fic about my Sara Tully and Gale, when I get to that part of the game.

At the end of last week, I was trying to get to the Myconids, and was convinced the way there was through the cave of explosive mushrooms, and was trying to figure out how to get the dwarf out without setting them off. My first attempt failed, and also caused my game to crash, although thankfully that didn't happen again. I also found myself regretting that I'd sent the spell slot-drained Gale back to camp, since I found myself thinking his frost rays could come in handy. So I went and got him back, actually zapped some isolated mushrooms, tried to bring out his mage hand, and found that made the mushrooms explode, too.

I'd neglected to save, and didn't feel like going back to get him again, so I went back to where I'd saved before sending him there, tried to take the route I'd first taken to the cave from there, didn't quite, got caught up in a very unexpected fight, decided the long rest before going any further, barely kept Shadowheart from killing Lae'zel, eventually got back to cave via a longer route that allowed me to loot a scroll of Misty Step-and was suddenly provided with the option of throwing it to the dwarf, which I gratefully took. With everyone clear, I then had Gale explode most of the mushrooms, went forward after that, looted a chest-and then discovered the cave was enclosed and was not the way to anywhere. I was very put out.

I ended up looking up a map of the Underdark, then slowly walking my party along the barriers I'd run into to find the way through, eventually discovering the big mushroom stalk I could climb up to get to the Myconid village. And once again I must give high praise to the gamemakers for the beautiful, creepy, and very alien place they gave us to find there. We sci-fi/fantasy geeks may have run into the concept of hive mind societies before, but their work can give us the same awe and uneasiness as I instantly knew filled Sara, whom I'm sure never imagined such a thing, when she tried to talk to one of the guards in the front and was answered by Sovereign Spaw, it using this other being as nothing more than a mouthpiece. She felt a bit better when Blurg later claimed to her the Myconids are nonetheless each their own unique selves.

So when she met with the Sovereign, she was happy to tell it that we'd killed the Duergar slave-catchers, and happier to take the D6 boon that truly ended up coming in very handy the rest of the day. But when it requested she then kill Nere, she wasn't so sure she wanted to just agree to do so. On the other hand, after finding and healing Thulla, she had no hesitation about agreeing to rescue the other gnomes.

When we then met Sovereign Glut, and it also asked us about killing the slave-catchers, it likewise seemed no harm to take it to see the corpses. Until it demanded we kill Shaw. Sara wasn't without sympathy, when she heard Shaw had left Glut's circle to their fate, but she was aware she didn't really know or understand these people, and did not want to take sides in their internal political disputes. Except, of course, it then wouldn't take no for an answer, and forced us to kill it instead. Still, thanks to its allegations against Shaw, she was even more hesitant about killing someone it wanted dead.

But, of course, she did want to rescue the gnomes, so we headed to Grymforge anyway. Posing as a True Soul of the Absolute could not have been easy for Sara, but she's now very aware she's probably going to have to do it at Moonrise Towers, so this was good practice, at least. At least she's able to use intimidation as well as deception checks to get past cultists while doing so; she's way better at the former. Also, it seems the cultist NPCs don't necessarily have very good hearing. I'd actually seen one streamer reach the enslaved gnomes working on the cave-in, and note how she seemed able to talk to them freely with the overseers right there, which at least meant I wasn't caught out by that.

Had it just been Nere caught in that cave-in, Sara probably would've just turned on the overseers. But of course some of the gnomes were trapped as well, giving the player more motivation to go find the rune-powder to blow it open. En route, Sara found herself kneeling over the bodies of the dead gnomes being thrown into the water, and at that point her character demanded I have her promise to killed their enslavers. Yet even so, when we got back with the runepowder and set it off, I genuinely didn't know whether we were going to kill Nere or not.

All such vague doubts, however, were quickly wiped away by the cut scene. His brutal treatment of the gnomes was enough for Sara to immediately drop the cold and loyal True Soul act and decry him for his cruelty. His promptly ordering the Duergar to kill her only sealed what probably would've been his fate anyway.

Or at least it did so the second time I played through that scene. The battle proved another one where I first went in without any real preparation or strategy, and things went rather badly as a result. I hadn't even remembered that I'd given Shadowheart Spirit Guardians when we'd leveled up, that first time around. The second time on the other hand, she cast that in the knot our foes formed around us and held concentration on it long enough for it to very much be the MVP spell, making what had been a hard and painful struggle way easier. Although I fear at some point Gale cast something that accidentally hit one of the gnomes, since they suddenly gained all -5 in attitude towards him at the battle's end.

That was part of the reason I lingered only long enough to cut off Nere's head, since we might as well hand that in to Shaw, and be confronted by his parasite. That the gamemakers made sure to give us both virtuous and mercenary reasons to cut off that head makes me think getting that parasite was pretty important. Except that while Sara is no longer ruling out using the Ilithid powers, this time, she had to figure there's be more True Souls to kill down the line, if she wants to make that choice then, so she didn't have to make it now.

I came back after long resting with Gale discreetly swapped out for Astarion, to finish talking with the gnomes and agree to rescue Wulbren. It was a smart party member swap to make anyway, as we've since been further exploring the Grymforge, with plenty of chests and doors for him to lockpick. I am now trying to gather up further XP, and we've had a couple of fights against mimics and similar, but now we're getting close to the elevator that would take us to Act II, which we are definitely not taking just yet, if we do at all.

[shotofire]

Dream Catcher

•LEVI ACKERMAN x READER

•Overview: In which you own a stand to sell dream catchers, and Levi takes an interest in the concept

•Warning: Cursing, angst, mentions of sex, descriptive gore

•Season: Not specified

-

It had been going on for weeks now. Levi Ackerman would wake up pretty much every night covered in sweat and breathing so fast as if the air might run out. Nightmares were nothing new to him at this point. They came and went, but it had been a few years since they’d been this bad.

He wasn’t sure what had triggered the dreams. A mission hadn’t occurred in almost two months believe it or not. The reoccurring nightmares were always the same, down to the details. It started with him in a beautiful field filled with flowers, and the sun was warming his skin.

The peace in the beginning was always short lived, and soon he’d hear a terrified scream erupt behind him. The mood of the fresh air would change immediately, and everything around him had changed in the blink of an eye. Instead of a field filled with flowers it was a field scattered with dead bodies. It seemed to go on for miles, bodies covered in their own blood.

Scream after scream filled the air leaving no room for silence. He would watch as titans snatched up his friends and chewed their body parts like candy. He wanted to help them and he was skilled enough to do so, but his feet couldn’t move.

Everyone would be screaming his name and begging him for help. But the ground acted as if it were glue, keeping him in place as he watched everyone die. Every last person in the field would be ripped apart at ease, leaving him the last one alive. Tears would be streaming down his face as he saw the faces of everyone he cared about with fear struck expressions that would stare back at him.

The titans wouldn’t pay any mind to him. He’d be left alone with no one to care about, no one to love. Even though Levi would die before he admitted it, his greatest fear is to be alone. It’s not the fear of dying that leaves him paralyzed, why would he be scared of the inevitable? Being alone is avoidable and a more logical fear in his opinion.

Once a titan looked at him with a gut wrenching smile he’d sit up in his bed at full speed. His shirtless chest would be hot to the touch and sticky with sweat. There had been a few times he’d woken up with dried tears on his cheeks, or still in the middle of crying.

He pushed it aside at first thinking they’d just go away on their own and he’d be fine. None of his nightmares lasted more than a solid week because he’d find someway to get over them. But once it hit almost a month he was beginning to worry. His lack of sleep was catching up to him, and the bags under his eyes were prominent.

Hanji had bugged him about it for about a week now. She constantly pointed out his dark circles and how slow he was starting to move. The women went as far as to call him ‘an old man’ just so he may tell her what’s going on.

“You look older today,” she whispered in his ear, as he drank some coffee, causing him to jump in surprise.

Levi rolled his eyes once he knew who it was. She just never seemed to go a minute without saying something. He’s been in the dining hall for maybe an hour and she’d already insulted him five times.

“Maybe it’s because i’m getting older,” he grumbles in annoyance.

She sits across from him with a loud thud. Her hands immediately reach across the table to grab his wrists which nearly causes him to drop his coffee. The man didn’t even have the energy to ask what the hell she was doing. Her eyes began scanning his face swiftly, taking in every detail.

“When was the last time you had a good nights sleep?” She asks before letting her tight grip on his wrists go.

He scoffs as if what she was talking about was way off. She basically jumps across the table to smack her palms on either side of his face, squishing it a bit. He grabs her wrists to move her grip but it’s no use, he was too tired and she was far too determined.

“I heard you gasp in your room last night when I was going to get a drink,” she says with narrowed eyes, “and I know you aren’t getting laid so it had to have been a nightmare.”

His mouth hands open at the somewhat insulting words that came out of Hanji’s mouth. How would she know he wasn’t getting anything? He pushed his eyebrows together in a knot and wanted to tell her to fuck off, but he kept himself together.

“So what if I did, it’s not a big deal,” he mumbles and she finally lets go of his face.

“It kinda is a big deal if it’s been going on for weeks,” she says while waving her hands in the air, “eye bags like those don’t form over night.”

He looks down at the wooden table so she’ll stop pointing out and looking at his sleepy features. He’s fully aware of how bad he looks but he’s too stubborn to get help. Hanji knows of Levi’s ways and that’s why she’s trying to annoy the hell out of him. She thinks if she bothers him enough he’ll seek help just for her to leave him alone.

“I know a way your nightmares can go away,” she says with her tone laced in excitement, “get a dream catcher!”

The man had never heard of a dream catcher. For a second he thought it was a drug, he wouldn’t put it past Hanji to try something ‘in the name of science.’ His confused features become prominent and she realizes she should probably explain what this dream catcher is.

“About a month ago I was having this awful dream and it kept going on and on. So I went into town to see a doctor for some strong sleeping medicine and then I saw this colorful sign that said,” she stood up to show how big the sign was, “dream catchers for sale!”

Levi was still beyond confused at this point. And his annoyance with how much energy she had this early in the morning was growing. He just wanted to walk away and get some paperwork done, and then hopefully be able to fall asleep without disruptions. Deep down he knew the dream was just going to happen again.

“The girl there will explain it to you, she will do a lot better job than me, but basically they get rid of your bad dreams,” the smile on her face was huge.

That’s when Levi became interested. So all he didn’t to do was get a dream catcher and this would all go away? It seemed easy enough. Hanji noticed the way his shoulder perked up and her smile only grew.

“It’s right next to that little tavern I forced you to go to with me that one morning, and it’s impossible to miss the sign,” she beams, “also the girl is cute, so you may leave with another prize.”

She wiggles her eyebrows and Levi can’t help but roll his eyes at the crazy women. She stands up quickly before strutting out of the room feeling victorious.

“Thank you Hanji,” Levi whispers just enough for her to hear.

“You’re welcome,” she sings back.

He’s left alone with his thoughts. Was he really going to go see whatever the hell Hanji was talking about? When it comes down to it she didn’t explain what it looked like or if it was a damn drug. He really was going into this blind, but his need for sleep was far too high to not atleast check it out.

Going into town wasn’t his favorite thing to do whatsoever. Most of the time he wouldn’t be seen walking around. Hanji would have to beg for hours, sometimes days, for him to leave base with her. In all the years of knowing him she’d only succeeded a handful of times.

Yet here he was walking through town with his hands stuffed into his pockets. It was rather noisy and crowded, which is what he hated the most. The sun was shining and children were out playing, running in the streets like no one else was around. He had nearly ate shit when a little girl ran infront of him as if he wasn’t there.

“I’m gonna go crazy,” he mumbled to himself.

Right as he turned the corner he saw that sign Hanji had described to him. Swirls of pink, purple, and blue were painted onto it and white block letters spelled out ‘Dream Catchers For Sale!’ His eyes observed the little stand and watches as a women handed the young girl money with a big smile on her face.

Once the women walked away and no one was occupying it he began making his way in that direction. The girl had turned her back before he’d gotten there, he could only guess she was putting away the money. When she turned back around her eyes widened and she jumped at his presence. The girls cheeks heated up as soon as she realized what she did.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t hear you come up and got a bit startled,” she says nervously.

Levi half smiles at the girl, and he kinda surprised himself with his own actions. He finds her awfully cute which he didn’t see coming. It had been a few years since he admitted to finding someone attractive. He looks behind her to see some sort of art, maybe, hanging on nails imbedded in wood. The girl had gotten a big slab of wood and painted it with the same colors as her sign.

“How can I help you?” She asks with a warm smile that makes his heart skip a beat. What the hell is going on with him right now?

“My uh,” he thought for a second, “my friend told me about this thing called a dream catcher. I wanted to get one possibly.”

She smiles and nods, happy to help someone.

“Well i’m (y/n) and i’d be glad to help you,” she beams.

Levi can’t help but abserve her beauty, and her name had a nice ring to it. She turned around to grab one of the objects hanging on the wall before bringing it back to him. She sets it down on the small table infront of her so he can get a better look.

He observes the object and found it rather interesting. There was a large circle at the top, appearing to be made out of wood, that had red string wrapped around and across it to create abstract patterns. More red string hung off the bottom of it, and at the end of those strings were white and grey feathers.

(y/n) watches as his eyes scan over it in curiosity. She loves the looks on people’s faces when they take in every detail of her hard work. He then looks up at her to see she’s looking at him, and his heart beat increases a bit.

“I’m Levi by the way,” he says, “And i’m guessing this is the so called dream catcher?”

She didn’t expect the stranger to tell her his name but she was glad he did.

“Nice to meet you Levi, and yes it is! Would you like me to explain the dream catcher a bit?” She says excitedly with her same smile that got prettier by the minute.

His answer comes in a nod.

“So, a dream catcher is supposed to prevent you from having nightmares, and it’s the healthy option too. Getting medicine you know little about can be dangerous and have negative effects,” she explains.

Levi can’t help but watch the way her lips move and eyes light up. She was rather endearing and knew how to keep your attention with her sweetness. He could tell she found joy in helping people, and he found that admirable.

“It’s not proven to work so don’t come yelling at me tomorrow if you still struggle to sleep,” she giggles, “it’s more of a positive energy object. If you put faith into it and wish it to work it most likely will, that’s what my grandmother always told me. Plus i’ll be handing it off to you with my positive energy!”

He couldn’t help but smile at how excited her tone was. She was happy to help him, a stranger, with her little creation.

“Basically just keep an open mind and gather up all of your positivity,” she says, “Oh and also you hang it on your wall, preferably near your bed. Even better if it’s above your head.”

She was sorta rambling due to the fact she found Levi extremely attractive. It’d been awhile since a man had found his way to her stand, let alone one who had such perfect features. Sure she’d noticed the bags under his eyes but she knew that was the reason he was here.

“Well uh, i’ll take it. Thank you for explaining to me (y/n),” he smiles softly.

The way her name rolled off his tongue sent a chill up her spine. His voice was so deep and smooth, she wanted to hear it in other ways. She pinched her wrist at the dirty thought that was beginning to creep into her head. This man could be crazy for all she knows.

Before she can tell him the price he’s already digging in his pocket and setting the money on the table. She could quickly tell it was more than what she charged.

“Let me get you your change-“ “No, keep it.”

Her cheeks heat up at his kindness. She was struggling financially right now, not many people found her business appealing.

“Actually,” he grabs more money and puts it with the stack on the table, “I’ll take two more.”

(y/n) can’t help but smile brightly at his actions. She grabs two more for him and puts all the dream catchers in a small basket then sets a note on top that Levi didn’t seem to notice. She hands it off to him and he smiles back at her.

“Thank you so much,” she says with her sweet voice that Levi found comforting.

“Of course,” he says, “I’ll be back tomorrow to tell you if it worked for me, but it’s more of an excuse to see you again.”

Her eyes widen at his words and she’s sure her face reached a shade of red that it never had before. He watches as her features get all flustered at his words and he smirks. This girl truly was adorable and he had to come see her again.

“Have a nice rest of your day (y/n),” he says before turning his back and walking off.

“Y-You too,” she stutters. In that moment she wanted to face palm herself for being such a flustered mess. She’s just met him maybe fifteen minutes ago and he already had an effect of her.

That night Levi hung all three dream catchers on the wall above his headboard. When he went to put the basket on his desk he noticed the small yellow tinted piece of paper laying on the bottom, face down. He picks it up and sees the neat handwriting spread across it.

Thank you for supporting my business!

My positive energy is rooting for you to have a good nights sleep!

Levi smiles at the words, she were awfully kind. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stop himself from going to see you tomorrow, even if he had things to do. Her sweat voice range through his head as his eye lids became heavy. He laid down and it only took him a few seconds to fall into a deep sleep.

Tonight was the first night in weeks that Levi slept peacefully. There were no bad dreams, and no seeing his friends die. He’d slept so soundly then when he woke up he was kind of confused. That’s when it hit him, he’d just gotten a full night of sleep with no interruptions.

He stretched his body and it felt amazing. His eyes didn’t feel like bricks in his face, his head wasn’t pounding, and his body felt loose instead of stiff. He looked up at the dream catchers with a small smile on his face. The girls little creation had actually worked, but he thought it was her kindness that contributed to the good nights sleep.

Later that day he walked back to (y/n)’s stand and praised her for his good nights sleep. The blush on her face never seemed to leave the whole time they talked. And Levi couldn’t remember that last time he’d laughed this much during a conversation. If anyone who knew him saw him right now they’d think he was filled to the brim with alcohol. That’d be the only thing they could think of to make his personality do a three-sixty.

Levi ended up asking (y/n) to get coffee with him the next morning. It was the start to a beautiful relationship.

[thenightling]

A list of petty hedge-magicks that work against Dream of The Endless...

Rules, rules, rules...

The Endless are powerful beings but there are laws that govern the universe that they are slaves to obey.  These rules include old magicks.  

Now, the summoning spell, itself, could have easily been brushed off if Morpheus had not been weakened, but once summoned it was certain “Petty hedge-magicks” that held him for over seventy-two-years.  

Morpheus has (at least twice) referred to some of these old spells as “Petty hedge-magicking.”   Hedge-magick usually means low level, weak, or amateurish, spell casting.  Or as I like to say “Something he woefully under-estimates.”

Here are some of the petty hedge-magicks that have worked against Dream of The Endless.

1.   A summoning / binding circle.  In many occult practices a summoning circle can double as a binding circle and whatever you summon within it cannot leave the circle until banished or if the circle is breached.   

Often these sort of circles are based on figures from the key of Solomon.  They can be drawn with things as simple as white chalk. It’s the symbols and the beliefs behind them that matter.  

The pentacle design in the summoning spell in Sandman is very elaborate and full of actual arcane symbols from alchemical sigils and Futhark runes and I think I see Hebrew in there.  It’s a magical hodgepodge.   I won’t go into too much detail about these because some of them are hard for me to see in the illustration even when I enlarge it.

However...

Notice the use of the pentacle at the four points of the circle.  In the Sleep of the Just splash page (issue 1 of The Sandman) I can only see two points but I believe there is a pentacle at the North, South, East, and Western points of the circle.    

The pentacle is NOT Satanic in nature, despite popular misconception.   It is an ancient symbol of elemental magicks.   Each point is an element.  Water, Fire, Earth, air, and spirit at the top.  Water, Fire, Earth, and Air are each associated with a direction.  For example, water is associated with the west.  (Ironic that The Wicked Witch of the West was destroyed with water, isn’t it?) 

The pentacle is a fairly ancient Pagan symbol however it also has had popular use in Christian lore.  

In one folk belief a ring with a pentacle on it was given to King Solomon by the Archangel Michael and this helped enable him to bind djinn or demons.

in Goethe’s Faust Part 1 we find out that a pentacle used as a protection ward over the entrance of Faust’s home can successfully ward against demons.  In German lore the pentacle was once known as the Drudenfuss (The Druid’s foot.)  The demon, Mephistopheles AKA Mephisto, is only able to get in the home because one of the points didn’t quite meet the edge of the circle.  However the pentacle was correct enough that he could not leave until the pentacle was destroyed.  

In the 1941 film The Wolfman the pentacle could be used to ward off the werewolf, prevent the werewolf transformation (when worn by the werewolf), and would appear in a vision to the werewolf on the next victim as a warning.

This carried over into the TV series Dark Shadows, which used the same rules for its own werewolves.   However Dark Shadows preferred to use the unbound pentacle (without the circle around the star).  This carried over to the 1981 film An American werewolf in London where the tavern “The Slaughtered Lamb” was warded against the werewolf with a similar unbound pentacle.   And was possibly drawn in lamb’s blood (More on that later).  

  2.   The crystalline cage.

While the circle holds Morpheus incorporeally, the crystalline cage holds his material aspect (his physical form).  This cage isn’t merely glass though there is an irony to it being glass as glass is made from sand.  Sand that has been transformed into something else.  The Sandman trapped by sand...  Ha!  That must have pissed him off...

Anyway, it’s not purely glass.  It’s leaden quartz crystal.   In folk belief from many parts of the world quartz crystal can absorb and contain magick.  In some lore it can even trap a ghost.   Modern day Wiccans and other Neo Pagans often use quartz crystal in spellcasting.  It’s a common tool in scrying practices.   

That and it is an aspect of sand...   

3.   True name.   Though Dream of The Endless is more of a function than a name, the aspect known as Morpheus is so much a part of his identity that on some level he must perceive it as his true name.  Hence why he hears and answers to it when Rose Walker calls out to him.In folklore if you know a supernatural creature’s true name that’s how you can invoke or banish them.  It’s also why you should never give a fae your full true name.  They can use it to cast magick against you. 

The story of Rumpelstiltskin uses this rule as once the queen knew the imp’s true name she was able to banish him.  

You see it all the time in pop culture such as summoning The Candyman by calling his name five times, or Beetlejuice- you can invoke or banish him by calling his name three times.  Or the old party game of Bloody Mary.   A true name isn’t necessarily the name you were given at birth.  A true name is the name you most heavily associate with yourself.   The Endless supposedly don’t have true names but the aspect of Dream of The Endless that answers to the name Morpheus certainly treats it as his true name.

4.  A circle drawn in the blood of a black lamb.  This one has it’s origins in Exodus.  The passover story.  It was the blood of the lamb that kept the angel of death from entering the Jewish homes so that the angel could claim the first born of every Egyptian family and passover the slave homes.   Because of this there was established lore that the blood could protect against demons and angels.  Lamb’s blood was used in early exorcisms and sometimes as a sacrament in place of sacramental wine.  In the TV show Forever Knight it could even ward against vampires if blessed or with faith behind its power by the person trying to use it as a ward.        

5.   A geas tattoo in the form of the tree of life merged with a dreamcatcher.  As Dream is not of any particular race and represents the dreams of all sentient life, symbols of faith in regard to dreams will work on him (on some level) from all beliefs.      

This one from the 2018 The Dreaming by Simon Spurrier is a combination of the Tree of Life from Kabbalah mysticism combined with a dreamcatcher sacred among Native American / First Nations / Great Plains cultures.   According to popular belief if you hang a dream catcher over the bed it will protect against nightmares.  The nightmares will be caught in the net while good dreams can pass through.  The nightmares burn up in the early morning sunlight.   As Dream of The Endless is the anthropomorphic personification of both dreams and nightmares this ward can successfully bind him.

A geas, by its very nature, is a spell to prevent someone from revealing something, or to force them to say or do something, or in most cases prevent them from saying or doing something in particular.   

In light of how often he has been thwarted with petty hedge-magick, this ultimately leads to the realization that Dream’s true greatest enemy is the master of all hedge-magick, the Arch Hedge-Wizard!

I know that’s a long way to go for a cheesy pun but I couldn’t resist...

[husvetten]

I love your nossies! What headcannons do you have for them?

Thank you for enjoying them!! Considering I was supposed to be the Story Teller, and they were NPC's, anything I say is canon!

The... campaign never happened though. :')

My players jumped off the ship before we got anywhere fewnje.

Askè.

Born in the 1860s of the Victorian period. He’s ambitious and he is strict. He likes it when things go his way and he enjoys responsibility for just that reason. He also has his fingers in quite a bit of pies…

He was once a Ratter, a rat catcher, who started his career when he was nothing but a young boy at 9 years old, together with his brother who died from an infection after getting bitten a few times. And that career stuck to him for as long as he lived. And he was a damn good rat catcher.

Because of how the laws were back then, he provided rats to rat fighting rings in pubs who’d give him a decent sum of money for their entertainment. Any coin is a good coin when the next meal wasn't guaranteed. He had a lot of respect for rats despite that, would even breed them for some extra money if he could.  For some reason, rich people found it wonderful to keep them as pets for as long as they had interesting color mutations!

Going into the sewer might not have been completely legal back then either, but he did it too, since hey! Money's money! And while he was good at his job it wasn't anything to brag too much about money-wise.

Ratters didn't exactly keep the highest position on the mortal social ladder. Considering people thought they bred more rats just to release them so they would be called over again to kill the newly released rats for an easy coin.

At ca 40 years old, he was then turned into a vampire. His Sire found him killing all of their rats as an offense big enough to anger turn him because he had unknowingly become other Vampires' go-to rat catcher for his scarily efficient work. That, and he kept going into the sewer at night, killing the rats there too.

During his vampire years, he learned to love rats even more as he learned how to use Animalism. And continued the rat breeding in full swing as they are highly valuable and great resources. Food, spies, guard dogs, company, anything one might need. His rats are bred to be immune to rat poison and are highly intelligent. So if anyone wants to get rid of their little… rat infestation they have yet to discover… they’ll need to employ harder methods of fighting them than what's on the market.

He did get a short-lived interest in the teleoperation business before its infrastructure got upgraded.

Fun fact: Askè's main inspiration was Queen Victoria's official Rat Catcher. Fun guy.

Vinjyr, an alternative spelling of Vinjar because his mom didn't think it was special enough.

Vinjyr's a Neonate, and Askè's childe.

He was a part of the foster care system after his mother decided to give up her parental rights as she realized in a moment of lucidity that she wasn't able to care for him as she was a drug addict with lots of trauma and an undiagnosed personality disorder that colored her world view, coupled with terrible physical health.

Shame that moment of lucidity didn't last for long and she would constantly demand seeing Vinjyr, while at the same time dropping supervised visitation days, came to them inebriated, etc. It evolved to stalking, her sending threats of harm towards both him and his foster parents, and a lot of other borderline, if not completely illegal things.

He moved away from his home country to stop being stalked by her to study and then get a job. He studied IT and game design, after having had it as a hobby for a while, modding games he enjoyed. Might as well cash in on it.

He met Askè there, who, in a sense turned out to become more and more as a father figure. His foster parents were fine enough but it was always a sort of alienation present that he couldn't shake off. So he ended up clinging to this new parental figure by working on ways to impress Askè.

Though he struggled to make friends, he had no family around, and few people knew him in the new country he had moved to...

So of course Askè decided that ''I like this kid, he's my son now'', and turned him after consulting the Prince about it. It was the cause of a lot of conflict and arguments in the beginning. He felt betrayed that someone he looked up to would do that to him.

But... Askè's still trying to act as a parental figure. A strict teacher, maybe, but Vinjyr kind of needs that, even if he doesn't want to admit to it.

And the Nosferatu clan actually works together to act as a proper family unit. The occasional music night where everyone brings in an instrument to play for a fun time being one example and occasion.

Askè plays the broken-down piano, Vinjyr got an accordion pushed into his arms, Yvonne (Askè's brood mate) the banjo... and so on.

It took some time before the trust was properly rebuilt again, but it did and he will privately call Askè ''dad''. It's easier to say than ''S'' words with that lisp of his. He has learned to ignore how he looks, it's not too bad once you get used to it. Weird, but it's not something he can do about.

Now he's trying to figure out where he stands in the clan, but for now, he's just following Askè's lead. Though he's constantly worried that Askè's going to getting himself into trouble from his overachieving ways.

Bad drawing is bad, but here's how they'd look as humans.

- Vinjyr's a grumpy pessimist who after finally allowing himself after the Embrace to be angry and not force optimism like he had basically all his life... took it a bit too far in the other direction and it became a bad habit to be standoffish, and low-key mean whenever he gets annoyed.

- Vinjyr is autistic.

-Askè's a more jovial kind. Realistic and strict, but good times are good times. Can't denounce them.

-The victorian period was a harsh place and he has experienced the atrocities of the poor house after his own family lost their jobs. Luckily he had his ratting job, so he didn't have to break himself apart like his family did while trying to find something else to do. But it sat a deep impression on him.

-As of now, it's no secret that he most likely will take over for the Nosferatu Primogen if something were to happen to them. He might be young but he's the most capable out of the local clan.

-He has a case of Kyphosis and the giant growth on his neck restricts his arm movement on that side some. Chronic pain, but he manages to work with it.

-Askè and Vinjyr use victorian slang with each other when they don't want humans to know what they're going on about. Sometimes it confuses younger vampires too which is a pluss.

[xwaywardhuntress]

Family Don’t End In Blood (Part Eight)

Summary: What’s the damn plan Jack Belphegor?

Pairings: Dean x reader

Warnings: Season 15 spoilers, language

Word Count: 3900+

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. This is fanfiction only. Please do not redistribute my writings on other sites, horrible or not. Thanks!

Author’s Note: This series is a season 15 rewrite with reader inserted.

Catch Up: Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven

The plan to save Kevin seemed pretty simple. Dean and Sam would show up to meet Jack the Ripper and when the timing was right, Rowena would appear with the crystal with Cas and Y/N as back up and help. There was one problem. Rowena and Castiel were adamant that Y/N stay behind and that they could handle it without her. That argument did not go well with the huntress until Dean had agreed with them putting an end to that problem. 

As everyone prepared for the plan, Dean was the last to be ready as he took Y/N aside. “I’m not trying to be a protective asshole, just so you know. But while we’re going to save Kevin, you should watch the kid.” His eyes glanced over at Belphegor who had been standing at the doorframe of the room when the plan was being discussed. The demon had been clear that he shouldn’t join due to being recognizable to the spirits. He had been their torturer, according to him. “After what Ketch said and what you told me you heard from Jack, we need to make sure an eye is kept on him at all times.”

Y/N sighed, knowing that Dean was right. “Yeah, okay. I’ll watch him.” She whispered back.

The older Winchester pressed his lips to her forehead, lingering there for a moment. “Take this…” He gestured downward as he stuffed a pointed object into her jacket pocket. 

She pulled the item out slightly, recognizing the handle of the knife. It was Ruby’s knife. 

When Dean pulled away from her, he rubbed the side of her arms. “Take care and…call me if you need me. I’ll find a way to be there. ” He smiled at her.

She returned the smile. “Same goes for you.”

And then the older Winchester left with everyone else as Y/N was left in the room with Belphegor. 

The demon looked over at her, from what she could assume, as he grinned, “Well, I think I’ll just go find myself something fun to do in the meantime.” 

As the boy was about to leave the room, Y/N cleared her throat, walking over to Dean’s duffel bag as she grabbed a shotgun. “You’re with me. We’re going on a patrol run.”

Belphegor frowned, “If you were actually listening earlier, I’m pretty sure the angel and witch wanted you out of the action…”

“Yeah, well I will be as long as the spell holds. And that’s why you’re coming with me. If the barrier happens to break down for any reason, I expect you to help keep the spirits at bay. After all, you’d want to be proven useful still, right?” She eyed him, touching on the implication Dean shared earlier during the group discussion. The only reason the demon was still around was that the older Winchester found him useful for now. 

The demon wore a straight facial expression as he contemplated her words carefully.

With no snarky response back but agreeing to go with her, Y/N grinned as she cucked the shotgun. “Let’s roll.” 

-

“You’re definitely as stubborn as a Winchester. No wonder you and Dean pair up so well. I do have to admit that I’ve been shipping you too since the stories of you both first started to pour in into hell.” Belphegor complimented.

Y/N rolled her eyes, not enjoying this small talk that had been going on since they first stepped foot out of the school. Now she had wished she would’ve fought harder to join in Kevin’s rescue escapade.  She could tell the demon was trying to get on her good side, and she couldn’t help but think it was for another reason. 

As they turned a corner, Y/N spotted a body on the ground just a few steps past the barrier. Quickly, she ran to it, squatting down and turning the body over. It was Ketch. “Ketch?” She shoved him once before pressing her two fingers on his throat to feel for a pulse. 

There was definitely still a pulse as the man began waking up. He looked up to see the face of Y/N as he pushed himself to stand back up. 

Y/N assisted him by holding him by his arm, “What the hell happened Ketch?”

“I don't quite remember.” He answered a bit incoherently. “I believe I came across a soul but as I took it out, it seemed to have taken me out as well.” He added. 

“Wow, the great Ketch being taken out by a soul. Who knew that’s all it took?” She sarcastically commented. Despite Dean being able to get along with this man, Y/N still wasn’t a big fan.

Expecting a smart remark back, Y/N was met with silence. Instead, Ketch seemed to be checking himself out.

“Uh, are you okay?” She couldn’t help but ask.

“Ah, yes. Splendid.” Ketch smiled at her, a smile not expected. His expression quickly changed to surprise and almost terror when his eyes landed on Belphegor. 

Before Y/N could ask what his problem was, a series of gun shots were heard nearby. Quickly, Y/N ran to where the sounds of gun fire came from as Belphegor and Ketch followed. 

It was then that they ran into the Winchesters, Cas, and Rowena. Dean had been firing shots at what looked like nothing. There were energy bursts that appeared before the group in random spots.

“What the hell is going on?” Y/N yelled over Dean’s shots.

“Hm. It seems the souls are testing the barriers. This looks to be a weak point. Dean seems to be shooting some, but there’s still a lot.” The demon answered.

When Dean decided to stop shooting, he acknowledged the extra heads: Y/N, Belphegor, and Ketch. “How many is a lot?” He asked the demon boy. Belphegor answered that the older Winchester would run out of bullets before he could even get an eighth of the spirits currently present on the other side of the barrier.

Overhearing the demon’s comment, Y/N turned to Sam. “What happened with the crystal? Can we-?” She began to suggest, but Sam interrupted knowing what his friend was thinking. 

“Rowena!” The younger Winchester called out as he made eye contact with the red head, quickly glancing at the crystal in her hands.

Rowena understood what Sam was implying, but before she could react the crystal was stolen away from her by Ketch. Confused and surprised by Ketch’s sudden behavior, Dean was the first to scoff and tell the man to quit messing around. Ketch had replied with a smirk, slowly walking backwards past the magical barrier, as he began to mock the group. The boys questioned him as to why he would want to help the spirits, but it was Y/N who raised her shotgun back up and aimed it at the man with the crystal. She had an inkling feeling that the man speaking before them all was not exactly Ketch and she had that feeling since she first found him lying on the ground earlier.  His current actions were only feeding her suspicions even more. 

As Ketch continued with the unnecessary monologue of how powerful he would be, it was Rowena who figured him out. “Francis…”

The soul in Ketch’s body smiled at the witch. “Hello again, my little witch…” Francis began as other souls appeared beside him.

Y/N did not want to hear any more speeches and with Rowena confirming Ketch was being possessed by a man named Francis, the huntress shot first and asked questions later. Ketch’s body fell to the ground as another older man’s spirit appeared where the body once stood. 

The shot caused the group to look over at Y/N, who shrugged, “What? I’ve had enough bad guy monologue the past week to last me a lifetime and someone had to do it.” 

The crystal had fallen from the body’s hands as it rolled out towards Rowena. She immediately took it back in her possession as she began chanting the spell to absorb the souls. The first soul being captured was Francis as the remaining began scattering to escape from the absorption. 

 “They’re leaving.” Belphegor commented as the crystal’s spell began to stop. From what had just occurred, it was safe to assume that the crystal was not quite the solution they were hoping for. There were too many souls to capture from such a large area and it only increased as time went on. 

“So what now?” Dean turned to ask the group, realizing the soul catcher plan wasn’t that great of an idea either. It looked like it was back to the drawing board.

-

Back at the school, Castiel and Rowena informed Y/N on what had happened with Kevin and the souls. There had been souls that escaped when the Soul Catcher was first activated, including Jack the Ripper, whom Y/N found out was also Francis. Kevin had shared with them all that Francis had a plan B, which led to the encounter at the edge of the magic barrier. And she knew how that ended up. Ketch was sent to the nearest hospital after shooting him with salt ammo and the Winchesters were left with a personal side mission of trying to help Kevin with the help of Belphegor. 

Did Belphegor really know how to close hell? Y/N couldn’t help but think about. Right now, she was beginning to doubt Jack’s words as the demon boy had many opportunities to share how to close hell, especially with the last plan they had not going so well. 

The Soul Catcher wasn’t exactly a failed plan, but it also wasn’t an entirely successful one either. The real issue was the millions upon millions of souls that were escaping hell. Eventually, the crystal would hit its limit and they would still be stuck in the same current situation. They had to do something about hell being open if only Belphegor would share his damn plan already. 

-

“I have an idea.” The demon announced as all eyes but two landed on him. Y/N and Dean looked at one another first. Their eyes silently asking each other if this was finally the moment the demon would spill the beans on how to close hell, that Jack insisted the monster knew.

“Do you know another spell?” It was Sam who asked first.

Belphegor awkwardly grinned, “Not exactly. You all, uh, probably won’t like it, which is why I haven’t brought it up till now. But you all seem like you’re in a reeeal pickle.”

After Belphegor had helped release Kevin from the barrier with the Winchesters and returned to the school, everyone had been non-stop researching a way to close hell again. Rowena had found one spell that would strengthen the existing barrier spell…temporarily again. However, the group had had enough of temporary solutions. And so, they continued to research till they found something more permanent, which was not going well at all. That is until the demon decided to finally speak up.

Y/N crossed her arms while sitting as she stared at the demon boy. “Well spill.”

Dean had stood up from where he sat and walked over, standing behind Y/N’s chair. The others gathered closer as well, surrounding Belphegor.

Belphegor let out a breath of air before smiling, “So you all know Lilith, right? The first demon created by Lucifer, blah, blah, blah, the last seal of the Apocalypse…”

“Get to the point, kid.” Dean ordered, very aware of who Lilith was as Sam narrowed his eyes at the mention of the white-eyed demon.

“Right. Well, as the first demon created, she was given a special item. Let’s call it a crook. Yeah, you know, one of those, uh, curvy ended canes that Shepards use? Little Bo Peep? It doesn’t matter. It’s actually more of a horn. Anyways, when Lilith began sending demons off to Earth to do her bidding, there was a liiii-ttle…” He enunciated, continuing, “….problem. I mean, yeah, she commanded absolute loyalty in Hell, but there was no guarantee that once her minions were topside, that they wouldn’t just take advantage of the situation. She needed to control her flock. So, the Crook was forged. It could retrieve all of Hell’s lost creatures and bring them…” He snapped his fingers. “…straight back home.”

“And why haven’t we heard about this before?” The angel asked, very skeptical about this idea. He wasn’t alone in feeling that way as it sounded too good to be true. If it were real, it was an item that would’ve been super helpful from the very beginning. 

The demon shrugged nonchalantly. “She never needed to use it. When she ruled, it was enough for us that we knew she could. And then when Crowley took over, he had other forms of discipline: endless lines, endless paperwork, etc…He also didn’t spend a whole lot of time down there – with us anyways.”

Now came the real question. “And where is it exactly?” Y/N asked raising a brow. She had a feeling of where it could be, seeing as no one, including Cas had heard about it before. The lack of knowledge about it only meant that it was kept away and most likely in the one place that no one would want to go too. Hell. 

Belphegor turned to face Y/N as he grinned. “Last I heard, it was in Lilith’s chamber, which has been sealed for ages. Now that all the doors of Hell are open, it’s probably just sitting there, ripe for the taking.” He began moving his head as if looking around at each person present in the room. “So the plan would be, I get the Crook, sound the Crook, and we suck all of Hell’s ghosts back into Hell. Then if the witch is feeling up to it, I slam the door shut behind them.” He turned to look at Rowena, as other eyes followed. 

“What is he talking about?” Sam asked, confused with everyone else about the last bit of the demon’s plan. 

The witch’s eyes widened as the demon’s attention fell on her, but she knew what he had been referring too. She’d never admit it, but the fact that this supposedly lower level demon knew of a spell that she had devised on her own was a bit frightening. Just who was Belphegor exactly? As all eyes were on her, she smiled awkwardly, “Well…there’s a spell I know of. One of my own devising. The Sanetur Acre Vulnus. A healing spell of a kind. If this gateway to Hell isn’t a gate at all, but a wound…” A realization that had hit her earlier after the Francis fiasco. “…or a rupture, I can use the spell to undo the damage Chuck did. Ideally, the hole will heal and close itself up. We’d have to time it perfectly.” The redhead looked down for a moment after speaking as if pondering over additional information to share. 

Y/N noticed Rowena’s look but decided she would ask about it later, as well as why the witch had been treating her a bit differently since arriving. The witch had been against the huntress helping out in what seemed like any dangerous situation. A hunter’s life was dangerous 24/7 and usually before, Rowena was glad to have the help of a female hunter rather than male the majority of the time.

As the group contemplated about this plan, there was an issue and possible chance to resolve one additional problem the older Winchester worried about. “Alright, there’s one thing that bugs me with your plan. Let’s say you go to hell, find the crook. How will we know when to start Rowena’s spell?” The older Winchester asked. 

The demon replied with an answer that was not really an answer. “Trust me, you’ll know.”  

If this Crook was real, then it was probably the best plan they had and all of them knew that. As Sam began to inquire about the ingredients Rowena would need for the healing spell, Dean leaned over to Y/N’s ear level. “I think this is our chance, sweetheart.” He whispered, already putting together a plan to keep the demon in hell once the plan went into motion. 

She looked up at the green-eyed hunter as she got out of her chair.  “You’re not going with him.” Y/N all but ordered. She had known Dean long enough to know what he was thinking. 

Before the older hunter could respond, his name was called out by the witch. Y/N and Dean turned to face Rowena. 

“Dean, my dear boy, we will need you to be by the rupture. You will be near the edge to serve as a fulcrum, or carrier.” The witch explained, which caused the older Winchester’s thoughts to change to this new task handed to him. 

“Why me? And where will you be?” Dean asked, staring back at the witch with a questionable look. 

“I will be somewhere safe to do the spell, but near the rupture as well. Dibs on Samuel as my assistant.” She shared.

Dean looked at his brother to confirm if Rowena was serious. Sam smiled awkwardly at him confirming. The older Winchester rolled his eyes, “And what exactly am I a carrier for?”

“Well, to put it in, uh, American action movie terms, you’ll be carrying a bomb, I light the fuse, then you toss it in and boom, the rupture should heal itself.” Rowena brought her hands in a circulation motion to act out the boom as she continued. “You’ll be unprotected. No salt circles and all manner of angry spirits will be right up your grill. But we all know you are more than capable of handling that all.” She smiled at the end. 

“And the angel comes with me.” Belphegor requested, grinning at everyone.

Castiel was taken back by this request as he glared at the demon boy. “Why?”

“I want protection. I’m sorry, but I’m not going down to Hell and getting past all those pissed off ghosts and demons that are maybe loitering down there, and sounding the Crook all by myself.” The demon fussed as Castiel rolled his eyes. The angel did not want to work at all with the demon that much was clear. 

And here was Y/N’s chance. “I’ll go.” She volunteered.

Dean’s initial instincts wanted to stop her, but before he could say something, Castiel beat him to it.

“Absolutely not, Y/N. You are not going into hell.” The angel insisted very firmly.

The older Winchester was surprised by Cas’s sudden disagreement. He had taken notice of the angel’s a bit more protective actions towards Y/N lately, as witnessed earlier when Cas teamed up with Rowena for Y/N to stay behind, which was odd to him. However, Dean also knew Y/N very well and had an idea of what she had planned in mind. She had volunteered herself the same way he had planned too before she had shut him down. Their shared idea to make sure that the demon stayed in hell once it was closed. Just like Jack had stated to her. And so, despite every fiber of him wanting to go against her and agree with Cas, he knew that if it wasn’t him going down with the demon boy, she’d be the next best choice to make sure that happened. 

It was Y/N’s turn to roll her eyes as she looked over at Belphegor, “You said you need protection. I’m the next best fighting machine after the Winchesters. Human fighting machine, of course.  So will I do?” 

The demon stayed silent as he considered her offer. From watching the demon in thought, Y/N couldn’t help but think he would refuse, until he didn’t. “Okay, that works too.”

Cas opened his mouth, about to dispute, but was interrupted. 

“She’s right. She’s the next best hunter after me. ” Dean added, showing that he was okay with this plan, for once. He looked at his brother as he shrugged and smiled. “Sorry Sam.”

Sam glared at his brother’s comment but also knew that it might’ve been true. Y/N was just as reckless, stubborn, and self-sacrificing as Dean. She also did end up almost breaking Dean’s nose when they had first met her way back in the day.

Turning back to look over at Castiel, Y/N couldn’t understand why the angel seemed to be so against her joining again. “Cas, if you have a problem with me going then you’ll just have to come along too.”

The look on the angel’s face was a mixture of disgust, disappointment, and defeat. Again, just like when she had asked him to tag along and part with Jack’s dead body to head to Harlan in the first place, Cas agreed to join her. “Well, it sounds like I don’t have a choice.” The angel couldn’t help but sarcastically comment.

“Go team.” Dean cheered in a fake tone. 

- 

With the Crook plan settled, the next step was to find a spot close enough to the rupture for Rowena to do her spell. As the group arrived back on the same grounds the majority of them once stood only a few days ago, it still surprised them to see the walking dead wandering around aimlessly. There had been some bodies that they had disassembled before that were now not moving. Of course, as the group got closer to the rupture, the amount of undead increased. Each of the wandering souls that had inhabited a dead body seemed to be in their own little world, which was good a thing in a way. The problem was that there were a lot of them and they didn’t want a repeat of last time. 

“So, see any spots to do this spell of yours?” Y/N asked walking beside the witch. They had managed to walk past the undead without creating another huge battle so far. There were some that brushed against them and then reacted by trying to attack them, to which they took out quickly. Instead of the dead body continuing to live, once it was disassembled the spirit seemed to have left and gone elsewhere leaving an empty dead corpse. 

Rowena stepped forward in front of the group as her eyes scanned the surroundings. It then landed on a crypt, very near the rupture. “Ah, that will do.” The witched pointed out. And of course, the crypt she pointed out was an area completely surrounded by the undead. 

“Great. Of course, it’s surrounded by them!” Dean complained.

Before another complaint could be thrown out, Belphegor made his way to the front of the group as he began mumbling words. It sounded like a spell. Within moments, there was a burst of energy that left the demon’s body as it enlarged and passed through all the undead. All the possessed dead corpse immediately fell to the ground. The demon brushed his hands together as if he had finished cleaning, which technically he kind of did. “That should take care of them for now. Let’s head to that crypt.” He pointed onward with a grin. 

Dean and Y/N looked over at each other as they mentally agreed that Belphegor had been holding back on them this whole time. 

Next: Part Nine coming soon!

If you want to be tagged in this series, please leave a comment or message me! Feedback welcome!

FDEIB Tag: (If I missed anyone, please let me know! I’ve been MIA for a while Dx)

@leahslovelylibrary // @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce // @polina-93 // @deanwinchestersmydaddy // @witch-of-letters​ // @rainflowermoon // @rainflowermoonlibrary​ // @carryon-doctor-lock​ // @jxackles​ // @livelovelaug-h​

[realm-sweet-realm]

Audrey and the Dark Revival, chapter 2: Open Loop

Audrey and the Dark Revival is intended as a sequel series for Bendy and the Ink Machine. May the actual sequel come out soon and completely blow mine out of the water.

This one is where the plot gets real.

Also, I’m using a few of @mwolf0epsilon‘s fantastic monster designs, and plan on using more of them in the future.

---

When Allison removed Audrey’s blindfold, they are on separate sides of a metal door. The door had once been for a now-defunct meat freezer in an industrial kitchen, but it was now defunct, as the lack of cold and the massive, albeit boarded-up, hole in the door told her.

“Sorry about that,” Allison said, “It’s hard to trust anyone around here. I’d normally have just kept an eye on you and let you be, but you have no idea how valuable humans are down here. I really couldn’t just let you go. If you could help us, I would owe you the world. Of course, the fact that you’re on Nathan’s side could cause some challenges... but let’s at least try to work something out.”

“Woah, wait...” Audrey said, “I’m not on Nathan’s side. I’ve been here half an hour and I already regret coming. Nathan and I aren’t on good terms... Anyhow, what I really want is information. What is this place? What are you? And why are humans so valuable?”

“For a long time, I didn’t know what this place was either. Then, a few years ago, I found an audio log from Nathan Arch explaining it. A man named Joey Drew made this place. It’s a representation of how he feels about his failures as an animation visionary- that’s what most of this place is, anyhow. He didn’t create the people. They’re people he murdered, or who got poisoned. Part of the reason this place exists is as a storage device for them. A lot of the space isn’t his creation, either. This place used to be a lot smaller, and after it had been around a few years, Joey Drew put it in a time loop. The only reason I escaped it is because the ink demon chased me into one of Nathan’s areas. The new areas- they aren’t affected by the loop!” Allison’s face brightened considerably. “For a while I thought that the spell was breaking. That it was the world opening up to us! Tom told me otherwise, but I was sure.” Allison darkened again, and Tom laid a hand over her shoulder. “Then, over time, Tom and I kept running into worse and worse monsters. The world has expanded... but it’s also gotten darker, and more crowded. So, Tom and I took to doing what we’ve always done- survive, and look for solutions. We found your father’s lair, complete with new monsters coming out of it. But no toon could ever get into it- it’s defended by ink canons made to melt any other creature of this realm who comes close. And since there were no humans around who were up for the task... since then we’ve just been surviving. Waiting on a hero. Audrey, will you help us to get your father out of here before he makes this place any more of a nightmare?”

Audrey was overwhelmed. “I- I’d love to. But I’m just a random civilian. I don’t know how to fight monsters. I don’t know the lay of the land.”

“Well, you’ll have to learn that if you want to survive here, whether you want to be a saviour or not. I can teach you to fight, and the names of monsters.” Tom whispered something in Allison’s ear. “And there is another human in this realm. If you won’t be our hero, maybe you can convince him to be. He’s proficient at combat and knows the place like the back of his hand!”

Audrey was silent for a while, weighing her options. A part of her didn’t see much other choice. While she had no reason to believe these strangers, they were clearly strong, and the world was clearly dangerous, and she wanted them on her side. And if they were telling the truth and could lead her to Nathan, all the better. “I’ll do it,” she decided.

“Excellent,” Allison beamed, smiling excitedly, and they let her out. After gearing up in the industrial kitchen that they’d made into a base (complete with cots and even a fish tank, Audrey noticed), they headed out. Allison led- she clearly knew the lay of the land. Along the way, she pointed out a number of monsters. She pulled Audrey away from a ledge, warning of the balls of wool, horns, and hooves that might ram her over the edge. From a safe distance, they witnessed a huge, quasi-canine abomination with hooks for hands dragging an exhausted, monkey-looking abomination into a puddle of ink, in which it dissolved. Allison called these creatures “rammers,” “catchers,” and “pipers” respectively. Along the way, there were also opportunities for Audrey to practice using her shock powers with Tom and Allison as back-up. She was getting quite proficient.

Finally, they arrived at what appeared to be a storage area for amusement park equipment- “Bendyland,” as Audrey learned about it from tapes. Just past a roller coaster ride was some sort of ethereal boundary. Their side of the boundary was the some dark, gloomy blue-toned white that everything in this realm had been. The other side of the boundary was somewhat better lit and sepia-toned. “That’s the area affected by the loops,” Allison explained. “And Henry- the other human- will be passing through there.”

“Great,” Audrey replied, clicking the button of a tape recorder that she’d found sitting on a workbench.

The death of the Great Bertrum Piedmont was a tragedy, truly. He was a great boss. But I’m not so sure about sticking around. Seems like there’s been an awful lot of murders among the Bendyland staff since then... and yet the rides keep gettin’ made faster than ever. It’s like they build themselves after the lights go out. I have half a mind to go pokin’ around... but I don’t have that much of a death wish.

Suddenly the roller coaster began to rattle. A piece of the tracks disconnected and swiveled towards the trio, and a duck-shaped cart hurtled towards them, sending them scattering to avoid being crushed. The duck carts- approximately a dozen of them- split off in different directions, going to various spaces in the vast, area-consuming roller coaster. Tom found a round, foundational bolt, and barked to get Allison’s attention before smashing it with his metal first. Allison turned to Audrey, who was attempting to shock a duck to little effect. “Audrey!” she shouted, “find the foundational bolts!”

“What?” Audrey yelled back, dodging out of the way of a duck.

“These!” Allison yelled, stabbing one opposite to the one Tom had destroyed. The entire section of roller coaster collapsed, falling onto another and taking it out with it like dominoes.

“Okay!” Audrey called out, before returning to the weave of dodging ducks, never staying in any one place too long, and finding foundational bots to takeout with her lightening powers. Her power’s range was very useful, but she still needed to constantly be on the move. When the carnival music finally stopped, Audrey looked around her to assure that there were no more pieces of roller coaster left to destroy. Then, she collapsed, first sitting, and then sprawling out on the floor.

Allison rushed over. “You okay?” she asked.

Audrey nodded. “Tired.” She wasn’t used to this kind of activity, but took solace in the fact that even Allison and Tom seemed pretty worn out.

“Well, you’re in luck. A break is the next thing on our to-do list.” Allison helped Audrey up, and they went over to a little selection of carnival games. “Henry will come over here. It’s a part of his loops. It could be five minutes or days. In the meantime, this room has no monsters, so we might as well relax. Wanna see if you can beat me at this shooting game?”

With that, the three of them spent the next couple hours playing games and hanging out. “Wait-” Allison said after Audrey had shared a little story, “You have memories of the outside. You can tell us about the outside!”

Audrey reached for Allison’s wrist. “Well, sure, I-”

As soon as Audrey made skin contact with Allison, Allison’s face went into blank shock. Audrey’s first instinct was to look behind her, but there was nothing there.

“Allison? Allison?”

“Give me a moment. Oh my God. I remember everything.”

“Sorry. Nathan gives me powers like this. He’s probably trying to sabotage us somehow.”

“How could this possibly be sabotage?” Allison beamed, smiling widely. “I don’t know anything about Nathan. Maybe he’s stuck and wants to escape. But this is great. You could work your magic on Henry this way! Speaking of which- over there!” Allison pointed to the entrance of Bendyland.

Through it, a man emerged. It wasn’t the hero that Allison had promised. The man looked to be in his mid-fifties, and was fairly athletic but nothing special. More notably, he was stained head to toe in ink, and had an extremely bored, weary expression on his face. He saw the trio, but ignored their presence entirely and plodded over to one of the games.

“You first, Audrey" Allison whispered, “He’ll think that we’re a hallucination, but he’s never seen you before. I guess I should tell you now, though- he’s not the man he once was. These time loops have damaged him greatly.”

Audrey headed over to him and the other two followed. Allison grabbed his arm, which Henry still didn’t react to, simply trying to play the game despite Allison hanging off of him. Audrey touched him, and he spasmed out, gasping, but afterwards went right back to his game. 

“Henry, this is not a hallucination. Come with us,” Audrey said.

“Yes you are, Allison,” Henry sighed, still looking at the game, “you aren’t from this part of the loop.”

“Henry. You’ve never seen me before,” Audrey said.

Henry turned to her. “You’re right. I haven’t seen you. Sorry, my memory’s a little... spotty, although after what you just did to me...” Henry drifted off into space. “Maybe you aren’t a hallucination. So... what do you want?”

Considering the revelation he’d just had, the man’s voice conveyed considerably little emotion. Audrey chose her next words carefully.

“Henry, we can’t get you out of the studio- not yet, anyhow. But we can get you out of this time loop if you come with us. And we need your help.”

“Henry, come with us and we’ll save Boris" Allison added, “We know a way into chamber he’s being kept in.”

Henry’s eyes immediately lit up. “I’ll come!,” he said, showing the first signs of hope and life that Audrey had seen in him. “If we can do that, then I’ll know this is real!”

[tracingdreams]

Daiya no Ace: The Dramas #1 Naked Shiritori and the Patent Cold Cure

An explanation... To keep my brain from rusting I started a project to translate the drama tracks that came with the character song CDs and other stuff relating to Daiya no Ace (because I love them and they’re all hilarious). My disclaimer - I am not a native speaker of Japanese, but I will do my best!

Sawamura Eijun, Drama 01 - Featuring Miyuki, Furuya and Sawamura

Scene: The boys are playing shiritori (the word game where the next player begins a word based on the end character of the previous word) on a baseball theme. This sounds pretty boring except they’re doing it at the bathhouse. And also, they’re naked. So yeah.)

Translator’s note – this game involves baseball vocab, which is not my strength, and even more so, in Japanese, which means a lot of word explaining. I’ll do my best to make it make sense.

Furuya: I…I…I…Infield Fly (NB this word in Japanese ends with the katakana character for ‘I’)

Miyuki: Not I again? Eh…uh…Ah! Irregular bound! (Bad bounce of the ball - NB this word in Japanese ends with the Japanese character for ‘do’).

Sawamura: Do?! Ehh….uh…do…do…Having the nerve to show up at the last minute! (first word is dotonba…)

Miyuki: That’s not baseball vocabulary!

Sawamura: Eh…do…do…do…An unexpected twist at the end! (dondengaeshi – usually a plot twist)

Miyuki: That one’s a bit dubious as well. Don’t you have anything else?

Sawamura: Well…But!!!

Miyuki: Ah well, whatever. Furuya! Shi.

Furuya: Shikyuu

Sawamura: Hey! You said that already!

Furuya: No. The last one was the shikyuu for a walk after four balls (四球, literally four balls). This is the shikyuu for a hit by pitch (死球, literally ‘dead ball’).

Sawamura: Is that even allowed? (indignant).

Miyuki: It’s fine, isn’t it? So mine is ‘u’, huh. Eeh…uh… Waste ball! (a wasted pitch, in Japanese spelt uesuto booru)

Sawamura: What’s that?

Miyuki: Huh? You…seriously, you play baseball and you don’t know what a waste ball…ah, but there’s no point getting annoyed with you. You’re an IDIOT, after all.

Sawamura: (angry) Grr! It’s fine, isn’t it? Just tell me already!

Miyuki: Furuya?

Furuya: A waste ball is when, in order to prevent something like a squeeze play, hit and run, or a base steal, the pitcher throws the ball some distance away from the batter.

Sawamura: Huh? That’s a waste ball? And wait, how come you know that?

Furuya: Because it’s common knowledge?

Sawamura: …Even if I don’t know the terms, I can still play baseball!

Miyuki: Well, it’s not like I expect you to remember any of the terminology. Because you’re an IDIOT.

Sawamura: GRRR!

Miyuki: Come on, Sawamura. Ru!

Sawamura: Ru?! Is there even a ru? Eeehh…uhhh….

Miyuki: With all that being said, I hope the bath opens up quickly. Waiting here (un)dressed like this is…(he sneezes). Ah crap, I’m seriously going to get a cold.

Furuya: The bath is usually open at this time.

Sawamura: Well, like I said, sometimes they forget to put the hot water on. Ehh…ru…ru…

Miyuki: Even if that’s true, it’s the worst thing ever to realise that AFTER you’ve already undressed. It’s not like I feel like putting my dirty uniform back on, but waiting naked here till the bath is open, playing shiritori, is a bit…(he sneezes again). If I get a cold, Sawamura, it will be ALL YOUR fault!

Sawamura: Eeeh?! Why is it my fault?

Miyuki: Because you kept saying, “I want you to come do night-time practice with me!”, of course!

Sawamura: Well…that’s…

Miyuki: On top of which you riled up Furuya’s rivalry and got him involved too, and the pair of you threw more than a hundred balls between you…(he sneezes) Ah, crap, I’m starting to come out in a cold sweat.

Sawamura: I have a ‘ru’! Ruikan! (the distance between bases!) 27.431 metres! (the measurement ends in ‘ru’)

Miyuki: Why do you not know ‘waste ball’, but you know that?!

Sawamura: Because that’s the only ru there is in baseball!

Furuya: It’s my turn next, isn’t it? Erm….Rule. (ruuru)

Sawamura: (stiffens)

Miyuki: That works, doesn’t it? (he’s still about to sneeze again)

Furuya: Baseball vocabulary shiritori is kind of fun.

Miyuki sneezes again.

(the scene ends. We assume they got their bath, but…scene changes to next day. Sawamura appears to be cooking something. If you likened him to a witch creating a brew, you wouldn’t probably be far wrong…)

Sawamura (voice as narration): And so, the next day!

Sawamura is cutting something in the kitchens, and Furuya comes to find out what he’s doing.

Furuya: What are you doing, borrowing the dorm kitchens like this?

Sawamura: (Still chopping), huh? Ah. Well, you see, this is…for the sake of the quick recovery of a senpai I deeply respect, you see, I’m making a cold remedy.

Furuya: Ahh. Miyuki-senpai’s stuck in bed, isn’t he.

Sawamura: To have the regular catcher bedridden like this is going to affect the mentality of the whole team. It’s just lucky that right now we have no games scheduled, seriously.

Furuya: That’s true, but, what IS that?

Sawamura: Huh? Ah, this is orange peel.

Furuya: But it’s jet black?

Sawamura: I heated it up and burned it. Apparently it works better that way.

Furuya: Eeh. Looking at it, it looks like it would taste pretty bad, don’t you think?

Sawamura: A good medicine is bitter to the taste! What it looks like isn’t anything to do with the taste!

Furuya: (sounding persuaded), Ah, I see.

Sawamura: And if you put it all in the mixer, like this…

Enter Miyuki. Who talks for the whole rest of this drama with a cold, making translating his dialogue SO much fun. Not. I decided not to try and add coldishness to the translation spellings, but imagine that he’s full of cold, ok?)

Miyuki: (Angry and full of cold, coughing): Oi! Sawamura!

Furuya: Oh

Sawamura: (Shocked) Miyuki-senpai? It’s no good for a sick person to be up and about like this!

Miyuki: How do you expect me to sleep? I heard from Kawakami that you’re cooking up some strange potion to make me drink…(dissolves into coughing).

Sawamura: (indignant): What do you mean, some strange potion? I’m doing this for the sake of getting you better, Miyuki-senpai, as soon as possible!

Miyuki: (clearly suspicious): What…is that?

Sawamura: (proud) This is orange peel, which I cooked and charred…

Miyuki: (annoyed): surely it’d be fine to just eat it normally?!

Sawamura: (insistant) It works better if it’s cooked!

Miyuki: And this?

Sawamura: Umeboshi in tea. Also ginger and garlic, which when you cut into small pieces and add to the mixer…(there is the ominous sound of the blender in the background). Then, on top of that, you add an egg…(again, the blender sound)…

Furuya: Ah…it looks pretty horrifying right now.

Sawamura: (Still really pleased with himself) And then, at this point, we add some natural herbs in the form of Japanese honeysuckle! (Blender sound again).

Furuya: They seem like just some random weeds though…

Sawamura: And we add some essence of dandelion seeds! (blender sounds)

Furuya: Genuinely just weeds, aren’t they?

Sawamura: And finally! If you add in all the remaining scraps…(blender sound again) and there it is! Finished!

Miyuki: Hah. Sa…Sawamura?

Sawamura: Yes sir!? What could it possibly be, senpai?! (he is actually formal here!)

Miyuki: Are you…really going to make me drink that?

Sawamura: (indignant) Of course I am!

Miyuki: (clearly doubtful): It’s all right…isn’t it?

Sawamura: What is?! (still indignant).

Miyuki: Well…I’m a bit worried that…before it cures my cold, it might destroy my stomach and I’ll die first…

Sawamura: What kind of weak whining is that, talking about dying when you just have a cold?! Is your illness really your spirit? Weak will is the greatest enemy! (he is shouting. Of course he is).

Miyuki: (sniffling): That’s not what I meant!

Sawamura: It only has things in it that are good for colds, so there’s no chance it won’t work!

Miyuki: Yeah, but, where exactly did you learn this from?

Sawamura: Eh?

Miyuki: For example, is it some cold cure recipe passed down through your family or something?

Sawamura: Uh…well…yes! Yes, that’s what it is! It’s a legendary cure passed down through the family to guarantee a swift cure to any cold! (he’s getting dramatic now, and also, lying). Now, drink it!

Miyuki: (very reluctant): Eh…but…

Sawamura: Come on! Open your mouth! AAAAAAAAH!

Miyuki: (Clearly recoiling): Eeh, that’s some stench! I think I’ll pass…

Sawamura: I won’t take no for an answer! (he actually says, mondō muyō – basically, it’s pointless to object).

Miyuki: (now a little scared): Eh, no way. I don’t want to drink it!

Sawamura: (clearly trying to use force here now): Miyuki-senpai, please stop resisting. Furuya! Hold him down!

Furuya: Huh?

Sawamura: If his cold doesn’t heal up, he won’t be able to catch your pitches either, will he?

Furuya: That’s true. Senpai, I’m very sorry. (he clearly grabs Miyuki, a struggle ensues).

Miyuki: Furuya! Not you too?!

Sawamura: (sounding a bit evil genius now): Now, stay still and drink it, please.

Miyuki: (Freaking out): No…I don’t want to…ah…(more struggle sounds).

Sawamura: Stay still!

(there are some more struggle sounds, some scared Miyuki trying to get away sounds, and then, finally, the sound of someone drinking the potion. It is, of course, Miyuki).

Miyuki: Bleeeeeeeuuurgh (it clearly tasted vile).

Sawamura: (self-satisfied): How was it, then? You feel like you’ll heal up right away, don’t you?

Miyuki: (in creepy, angry, cold-edged voice): If this doesn’t cure me, you’re seriously going to get it.

Furuya: (noticing something): Ah, this book…

Sawamura: (now a bit anxious): Ah, Furuya!

Furuya: (reading) Folk cures for colds from across Japan?

Miyuki: (annoyed) You…don’t tell me you used me as a guinea pig to test out the stuff in that book..?

Sawamura: Ah…no…that is…well…

Miyuki: SAWAMURA! (dissolves into a coughing fit)

Scene ends. As an epilogue, it moves to the next day, in the training ground.

Miyuki: Dammit. So much for being annoyed. After taking that stuff and sleeping through overnight, I’m completely healed up.

Sawamura: (cheerful) Miyuki-senpai! Isn’t it great? You seem to be full of beans again!

Furuya: Mm. I’m glad.

Miyuki: (disgruntled): Shut up.

Sawamura: You see, there was a point in me putting all that effort into making a remedy!

Miyuki: Ah…there’s one thing I still don’t get, however.

Sawamura: Huh?

Miyuki: The three of us were sitting there, naked, playing shiritori. Why am I the only one who got a cold, when you were both fine?

Sawamura: No point asking me..?

Miyuki: Ah! I get it! I see…that’s why, huh?

Sawamura: What is?

Miyuki: Well, they do say that there’s that something that prevents people catching colds, don’t they…I see.

Sawamura: (annoyed): You! Don’t just get all pleased with yourself like that!

Miyuki: (much more cheerful): Right, practice, practice!

Sawamura: Huh? Wait! Miyuki Kazuyaaaaa! Properly explain yourself!

Furuya: Eh…wait…that means…me as well??

(What Miyuki is referring to is the concept in Japan where they say idiots don’t catch colds…)

[thearcanacheck]

Fifteen Vampire Subtypes (In No Particular Order)

Pictured above are the Fruit Bat Cultist, Pincushion, and Hermit, left to right

Nosferachoo: When infected with vampirism, some creatures react to it like an allergen.  This is the only situation an undead creature might exhibit something close to an immune system, but this allows for vampirism to spread like a disease (Nosferachoo are not known to cover their mouths). The only relief these sickly fiends might find are in strong sedatives and cough medicine to help them sleep. As a rule of thumb, the weaker a Nosferachoo is, the more dangerous they are.

Fruit Bat Cultists: Whenever religion arises in vampire communities, they often revolve around Blights! (plants that turn evil when watered with vampire blood). Instead of drinking blood, these cultists exclusively eat fruit grown from these terrible plants. Although they have many healing spells to service fellow vampires in battle, these cultists see non-devout vampires as walking watering cans. The most esteemed members of these cults allow blights to grow around them, becoming Blight Tree Cultists. They get much stronger when a nearby vampire dies...

Vampire Hunters: No not that kind. When vampires assemble themselves into groups, a select few are tasked with prowling the night in search of blood to return to the host with. Typically they just bully local villages into handing over their juiciest livestock/citizens. Some Vampire Hunters get so great at hunting, that they hunt down those who hunt vampires! They are known as Vampire-Hunter-Hunters and that isn’t confusing at all.

More Under the Cut!

Bloodless: Whether driven by a hunger for blood or an urge for needless cruelty, vampires sometimes drink the blood of other vampires. These poor, twice-drained souls are so consumed by their bloodlust that they have forgotten their former powers and personality. They function like frogs in combat -- weakly hurling their mouths at anything that moves. Sometimes, however, a vampire biting another creates a Double Vampire. Double Vampires are very scary to everyone.

Dragulas: Just as evil as your typical vampire, but far more cosmopolitan. These Transylvanian Transvestites stroll through haunted catacombs and fraternize with the wide variety of creatures that are drawn to such a place. They live to insult the clothes of other creatures, but they have a special fondness for protective clothing. They often blow all their bard slots casting “Suggestion,” trying to get adventurers to hand over their armor, shoes, magical cloaks, etc.

Impalers: Thanks to their supernatural strength, these warriors are able to skillfully wield every vampires favorite weapon (the pike). These soldiers train day-and-night in miniature phalanx formations and are eager to turn the dreaded Sentinel + Polearm Master combination against adventurers. Elite Hoplites serve as solitary bodyguards to other vampires and carry mirrored shields to deflect deadly sunlight/moonlight.

Vampire Batters/Catchers. See what I did there? These vampires have developed a host of strange powers they showcase in a bizarre sport they invented: American Baseball. Batters attack adventurers head-on with spiked clubs, hoping to bloody their enemies and frenzy fellow vampires. Their practice with “stealing bases” allow them to avoid opportunity attacks. Catchers hurl spectral bats (the animal) at foes from a distance and “Tag Out” enemies that get too close. Both Batters and Catchers are able to “Deflect Missiles” like a monk.

Werebats: Lycanthropes who are warmly accepted among vampires. All lycanthropes need adequate food/shelter/safety to avoid turning "feral," which vampire covens are able to provide (unless the vampires decide that a Feral Werebat would be useful in a battle; in which case, the werebat is chained up and starved). 

Draftees: Vampires who have been conditioned to resist one of their many weaknesses.

Vampyres: Vampires who’ve been conditioned to love sunlight and all the pain it inflicts. Thanks to all the vitamin D they get, they’re generally more well-adjusted than their peers. That being said, any personality a Vampyre might have is hidden behind pyromania and rapturous agony.

Puncushions: Vampires who’ve been innoculated against... getting stabbed to death. Scar tissue has completely destroyed their mental faculties -- but endowed them with a superhuman tolerance for wooden stakes. They often serve as speed bumps, thrown at enemies who are advancing too quickly.

Waterlogged: Running water may be one of the many weaknesses of vampires, but it’s also really good at killing adventurers, historically. Therefore, having deadly rapids and waterfalls are a non-negotiable part of any dungeon. These vampires serve as prune-y lifeguards to their kin -- but their rotting bodies contaminate water as badly as you’d think.

Hermit: By surgically grafting a house onto a vampire, they may enter and exit any house without asking permission (since they’re technically always inside a house). Hermits cannot feed normally, so they must return to their masters to be fed blood through a thin tube. They are known for cat-burglar-ing and a fondness for household gardening.

Iconoclast: Vampires with miscellaneous body parts of saints grafted onto their bodies. After a great deal of mental conditioning, these “priests” are willing and able to smite the devout who would otherwise threaten their undead brethren. Similar to how a cleric can “Turn Undead,” Iconoclasts can “Turn the Living.”

Stinker: Creatures who are conditioned to love garlic. Social isolation has reduced them to goblin-like misanthropes, but a Garlic-heavy diet has improved their immune system, at the very least. Rations that are not kept in air-tight conditions around Stinkers are rendered near-inedible.

Immaculate: “A Vampire without weaknesses.” This frankenstein-like creature can wield all of the most potent vampire-killing weapons (sunlight lanterns, garlic grenades, cross-bows, stake-knives, super-soakers, mobile homes, etc). This makes the Immaculate an ideal vamp-killing machine, as many “Problem-Vampires” need to be kept in line by their superiors.

An immaculate’s favorite weapon is a sentient torch -- the Flame of Undeath. This weapon acts on its own initiative and casts various restorative/offensive spells. If the Immaculate ever falls in combat, the flame (if still burning) ignites the Immaculate’s corpse and slowly begins reviving it...

[1zzis]

child detective au. ˎˊ˗

this has been a draft so long that i’m no longer even on this blog (it’s been a thing since the 5th may 2018, the latest cookie at the time in ovenbreak was adventurer and walnut wasnt a thing so shush), but i’m gonna post it here anyway. its still unfinished and will most likely stay that way which sucks bc tbh this was the au i was most excited to do stuff for but oh well - 2020 izzi

hewwo it’s another cookie run au by izzi  /  lemon. in this au pretty much uhhh cream puff is a detective, her wacky sidekick™ is vampire cookie. i keep thinking it’s going to be like layton brothers : mystery room, really. i made edits that tumblr will fuck up the quality for, it’s also because the original images are small as shit. also i’m aware of the spelling mistakes and i’m too lazy to fix them all at this point.

—   001.   THE BEGINNING OF MADNESS. 

the prologue! cream puff is introduced here and pretty much everyone underestimates her. she’s dubbed as the child detective and while she’s clumsy and forgetful, she does make up by her sweetness. no one knows exactly how or why she’s hired, really. and to make sure to guide her along the way ( and also just to hopefully better them from their stupid ways ) is vampire cookie  —  yes, the guy who got stuck in the wine cooler for a night.

i don’t really have much to say except from 006, so i’ll explain that!

sea fairy was ( and still is ) a detective, a famous one who was good at her job. she was cold but not cruel and was careful with her words. she worked hard at her job and never got emotionally attached to her cases. until that one case she got with the notorious and feared two gangs, dream catchers and skulls. 

a murder had happened, the leader of skulls had been killed. 

///

and i never finished it past that! i remember being stuck on this part. partly because i had no idea who the other leader was gonna be (and then chili pepper was the next cookie to come out a few days later lol) and mostly bc i didnt know how to put my thoughts into words and i was running out of ideas

in chapter 6, you play as sea fairy years back in the past. this was the last case she ever did before she mysteriously vanished. to this day, no one knows where she is.

chili pepper is the leader of skulls and moonlight is the leader of dream catchers. these two gangs have always been in a rivalry of constantly one upping eachother in crimes, money and power. the leaders also kinda hate eachother.

when chili pepper died, her gang quickly became reckless. they suspected that a member of dream catchers somehow killed her. a day after, the gang fought them in broad daylight. when a few members of skulls snitched to the police, the moment they found where moonlight was, she was detained. this didn’t make the case any easier, though.

moonlight constantly flirted and talked with sea fairy. she would also refuse to talk to anyone else except sea fairy when she was alone. it’s unknown whether moonlight actually loved sea fairy or if she just used her, but either way...

sea fairy fell in love. and the bitch fell hard. it was a slow decent, but eventually her emotions overwhelmed her. sea fairy did whatever she could to postpone trials, intentionally fake evidence that proved moonlight innocent and talked to moonlight when it wasn’t legal to. but it was obvious from the start and as trials kept presenting more evidence, sea fairy knew that moonlight was the murderer.

...moonlight, even after all of sea fairy’s attempts, was found guilty. but it doesn’t end there. after only a week, moonlight was gone again. and after a day or two later, the police found out that sea fairy had never returned to her home.

anyways! that’s it. so you may be asking who’s the guilty cookie for all of the other cases and to that, no idea! i hope one day i’ll pick this au back up again, but i most likely won’t ngl. if you have any ideas/headcanons n stuff about this au though... please hmu about them! maybe i’ll even bring this au back :*)

have a bonus old edit 4 this au for somehow making it this far

[fo-love]

😘🎵💞 for the feral f/o asks !

You didn't specify so I did my current main f/o, Cheshire Cat from Alice's Warped Wonderland, I hope that's ok! Also thank you so much for the ask!! This is how I help with my boredom so if people don't interact I can't, so I really really mean it when I say thank you! :)

😘- what's your f/o's favorite thing about YOU?

Not being afraid to speak my mind if I disagree! If I don't like someone or their opinion, I won't act like I do and it's not often that I sugarcoat it either.

My little random actions I can't help. I would call them Tics but, as far as I know, they aren't. My most common one is balling my hand into a fist and moving it near my face, like you know the "nyah" thing? Yeah that, but no talking and super fast.

My hiccups, they're weird and don't sound like usual ones and he isn't one for liking mainstream or standard things.

The fact that I blush so easily, he gets a kick out of it.

My hips, he knows how self conscious I am of my body but especially my hips so he likes to mention how much he likes them often or put his hands on them at random times. It's really sweet and makes me feel a lot better!

🎵- what are some song lyrics that make you think of your f/o/your relationship with your f/o?

"throwing off the chains, I'm running" (uncontainable by Set it Off)

That remind me of our relationship because we first met in (warped) wonderland and we were both trying to get me free. Once I was free he was in the real world with me, so we both got free of the rules of (warped) wonderland!

Tomorrow by Set it Off

This song reminds me of the Cheshire Cat because it's all about hope, not giving up and how we always have tomorrow to go to if things aren't the best today. Cheshire makes me feel comfortable, he gives me hope and love. He helps when I'm having a panic attack or a crying spell, he always listens and makes me feel better, which is why this song reminds me of him.

Generally, just Set it Off songs remind me of him, the style fits cheshire and depending on the song, the lyrics do too. Like Why Worry, Partners in crime, Dream Catcher, etc :)

💞- how do you both express affection?

I love physical contact so I usually do it through holding hands, hugging, kisses, just touching.

Though I do do one's that aren't so obvious, like drawing him a picture, naming a plant I have after him, playing with his cloak, wearing his bell, things like that! :)

He really enjoys me petting him so I do that a lot, he even purrs, isn't that adorable?? I love my boyfriend 🥺🥺💖💖💖

This is his first ever romantic relationship so he's still trying to figure it out but he's very observant and notices how if he hasn't hugged me or held my hand or something in a while I'll get less energy and little down

But as soon as he gives me physical contact I'm back to normal so he does physical contact a lot since we both enjoy it

He does experiment with other things as well

He usually sticks to quality time and physical contact though because they seem to work the best at him showing he loves me.

He once tried the meaningful gifts love language on me but I just ended up getting him something too, to pay him back since I feel the need to. He kept a mental note that it didn't work because if I didn't have time to get or make him a gift I would feel really bad.

But he's figuring it out and I'm very proud of him :) 💕💕

[thenightling]

The Dreaming (2018) in a nut shell

Full plot of The Dreaming (2018 run).  This is copied and pasted from a Discord conversation because I didn’t feel like repeating myself...  That’s also why it’s a bit disjointed.

I'll explain the whole plot as best I can, bear with me. There's this monstress named Dora living in The Dreaming, and she's got a chip on her shoulder since Morpheus had once promised her she'd never have to be afraid ever again and that was shortly before The Kindly Ones.  Anyway, she's been haunting the dream of this woman dying of throat cancer (revealed to be Rose's mother).  Daniel goes MIA and doesn't seem to want to be found.

Suddenly these "blanks" generic looking humanoid enterities start pouring in from cracks in the dreaming.   Mervyn invents a racial slur for them of Soggies (totally not "wet backs").

While Daniel is gone Judge Gallows (another old DC horror host) takes over The Dreaming and promises to make The dreaming great again.

Dora befriends one of the blanks who is very child-like and names him Ziggy. Merv starts penning them up on behalf of Judge Gallows and even attempts to lynch Ziggy. 

Merv has a grudge.  Shortly before Judge Gallows took over Lucien used the helm to un-create Merv's friends right on the steps of the caslte and it was implied to be out of spite

("I did warn you." - said by Lucien).  It's a "They took our jobs" thing, apparently. The blanks are more efficient. No immigration metaphors here, nope.

Lucien is apparently slowly losing his mind / going senile.  He can't remember anything.   Eventually Judge Gallows gets defeated and replaced with this weird AI, yes an AI named Wan.   WAN, as it turns out was created by this character who looks suspiciously like Steve Jobs. Actual character name: Hyperion Keter.

Totally not Steve Jobs had a nightmare decades before where Dora was attacking him.  he had confronted her in the dream and told her she's not real.  This caused her to have an existential crisis and flee into The Dreaming where Morpheus had tended to her and sealed her own memories to protect her mind.  He also hid the newly re-created ruby dreamstone inside her to aid her until she no longer needed it.

Steve Jobs-Knock-off guy creates Wan with the intention of invading and conquering The dreaming.  He thinks all the ills of humanity come from dreams.  Greed, superstition, religious zealousness.   Oh, by the way, Judge Gallows heavily indicates that Morpheus caused the civil war and holocaust by creating him (Judge Gallows) to prey on man's fear of "The other". So anyway, while that was going on Daniel was playing human and dating Ivy. Steve Jobs sends some occultists to steal a lock of Ivy's hair to control her.  Ivy gets upset when Daniel won't let her tattoo him since she's a tattoo artist. (that's where I grew to hate her).  She doesn’t accept no means no with his bodily autonomy.  Daniel apologizes to her and proposes marriage.  He gives her an emerald ring.

The occultists (working out of Fawny Rig) control Ivy and she gives Daniel a dream catcher / tree of life tattoo that works as a geas to bar him from The Dreaming and prevent him from calling out for help.

Ivy tries to "apologize" by giving him a cup of tea but it turns out to be poisoned.   Desire (or what appears to be Desire, it might be posthumous Morpheus in disguise, the face is always partly hidden and he's very thin) warns Rose of what's going on and Rose slaps the drink from Daniel's hand but he's already had a taste.  Daniel, freaks the f--k out.

A dog walker eats his own fingers right there on the beach.   Someone screams until their vocal chords burst in their throat.  Daniel is maming and mutilating right and left (and this is NOT where those partiers were killed, that was earlier and said very nonchalantly during the dating montage.  Daniel made some drunk bachelor party guys who cat called Ivy walk into the ocean and drown...  I think he killed the entire party...)

Daniel finds the occultists and traps them all in terrible nightmare half-concious states but still weakened and unable to return to The Dreaming he goes to apologize to Ivy, knowing she was being controlled but it's too late, she's ODed and brain dead.

He takes her soul with him to flee to another universe.

Dora, meanwhile, gets a hold of Destruction's sword, briefly meets up with Nuala (who has learned Titania's true name thanks to Daniel stopping by for help with the fae).  Daniel gets the egg that Titania has from back during the original Books of Magic, this is the "Mundane Egg" able to open or create another universe.

Anyway, back in The Dreaming Wan (the AI) is trying to run things and doesn't know it has a secret dark side programming to destroy the place.

Wan legitimately wants to do good and blacks out when the other side takes over. An AI with a split personality. Wan talks Abel into taking the initiative and kill Cain...

Cain does not revive. Wan also digitizes the entire dreaming library because of Lucien's memory problems.   Lucien decides he wants to die.

Abel scooped out Matthew's eyes with a spoon and gives him his own eyes so Matthew can see what he sses, the secret that Wan is destroying The Dreaming. Matthew with giant human eyes sticking out of his tiny raven head, Abel (whose eyes grow back), and Dora, head out to save the dreaming.

Cain, meanwhile, his soul was uploaded into an AI at the home of Not-Steve Jobs. So he's there.  The heroes make their way there and learn the story of why things are happening.   Poor not-Steve Jobs was dying of cancer (this was really tasteless to model him after Steve jobs).  And Daniel briefly came to him, showing him what he was destroying in destroying The Dreaming,  Hyperion tried to set things right but his own minion stopped him.

Dora shows up and accidentally shuts down Steve's life support system. Rose gets told more exposition dump from "Desire" (I'm telling you, there are clues it's actually Morpheus) She hijacks a bus to get to Steve Jobs'  place. Here we discover the re-created ruby dream stone was inside Dora the whole time.  Lucien, meanwhile, had tried to be re-abosrbed into The Dreaming with the help of his dream friends (eve, Merv, etc).  And he has a brief visit with Death who introduces him to Steve Jobs and gives him a special book that has all of Lucien's lost memories. Dora returns to The dreaming with the dream stone, and her, Lucien, and the other dream folk are able to summon Daniel back, breaking the geas spell he was under (Ivy is left behind).

Dora is a Night Hag, by the way.   That was her big secret besides having the ruby in her. They kept harping on how special she was, that she wasn't like the others in the Dreaming. ...she was a Night hag, that's it.  They kept going on about her being special, this big secret, she's a night hag.  Eve delviers a line I cannot forgive.  She says something like "We were worried he only kept us around out of laziness or loneliness. We were wrong."  They were HAPPY they were there as a failsafe, as tools in case he got captured again in the waking world.  They would rather be tools than for someone to want them around out of loneliness?!  Daniel uncreates Wan but as Wan begns to fade the good side of Wan helps Daniel set things right and apologizes for its other personality. Daniel erases Rose's memory of the entire adventure (which I think is bullshit).  She lost her f--king daughter, you asshole!  And Lucien learns to be 'More assertive" and when Daniel requests he come to the throne room so he can thank them formally Lucien says no, because he's drinking with Dora.

"character growth" TM

 hated Simon's run of The Dreaming but not as much as I hate Caitlin R. Kiernan's. 

Dreaming Waking Hours is about a Nightmare named Ruin who escapes to the waking world because he's fallen in love with a mortal.   It's so much better but all the events of Simon's Dreaming are still canon so that's a problem. The villain being modeled after Steve Jobs even if he sees the error of his ways in the end was totally tasteless. My hands ache from writing all that out...

Oh, and Cain is back to normal (for him) he and Abel took turns in a sort of tag team tormenting the tech support for Wan, via nightmares. So they couldn't intervene in stopping the destruction of the AI. That was actually a fun scene. "There will be no tech support today." Cain shows up with a chainsaw.

Also the reason "not Steve Jobs" knew about Dream was because he found a journal from an occultist at a garage sale that described Morpheus' capture.

I think I'm still traumatized from reading it, especially the early issues where Merv was used as a Trump supporter allegory. And Abel did give Matthew back his normal raven eyes while they were in Steve Job's house.   Though don't ask me how Abel even did the initial eye surgery of putting his eyes in Matthew while he was blinded.  

Someone tried telling me Simon Spurrier wasn't trying for a Republican metaphor, he was making a commentary on the Tories How is that better?!?

It's still a very dated political reference.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #147

“i almost died, but it felt great.”

Have you ever thought of a relationship as more of a job than love?  Yep, definitely with Tyler.  Girt felt that way too, kinda. Do you live in a town where basically everyone knows everyone else?  Nope. When’s the last time you chose a bath over a shower?  Years ago, you don't even wanna know what was wrong with me. What are you doing for your next birthday?  Hopefully I'll be in a tattoo parlor my dude. Do you know anyone else with your name?  Yeah, but spelled differently. Who do you care about the most?  Sara and my mom. Colored skinny jeans. Yay or nay? YAY. Interests & hobbies:  Photography, watching let's plays, music, writing/RP, any interaction with animals, art, gaming, being out in nature if it's cool. Music. What do you listen to?  Heavy metal, mostly.  Other sub-genres of metal and rock. Quality or quantity?  Quality. What’s your phone’s signature? (if you have one…)  Oh my fucking god I forgot phones used to have a signature option.  I don't have one. Do you think it’s possible to will yourself out of caring about someone? I don't think so, honestly.  Well... maybe.  But I think you have to truly want to. Do you know anyone that is albino?  No. Would you agree that smoking (cigarettes) should be illegal?  It should be, but it's too late to make it so.  Too many people would lose their jobs. Do you prefer regular bacon or turkey bacon?  Regular by miles. Where do most of your relatives live?  New York and Ohio. Is your weight proportionate to your height?  No. What is the last place, other than home, that you stayed overnight?  Sara's house. Do you prefer leather or lace?  Lace. Would you ever buy a motorcycle?  No, too risky for me. What is the furthest you have traveled alone?  Illinois. Have you ever ridden a train? How about a subway?  No to both. What did you do on the busiest day of your life?  I dunno. Do you think everyone is born innocent? Or do you think “evil” is predetermined?  I lean more towards being born innocent. What was the meanest thing you’ve been called?  A martyr. Do you have any pets? If so, what species/breed? How did you acquire said pets?  I have two dogs, one being a beagle/cocker spaniel and probs collie mix, and another that's supposedly part jack russell.  The first came from a friend of a family friend, and the other I think from Craigslist?  Then I have a cat that looks to have Siamese heritage, and he came from my sister's mother-in-law.  I also have a champagne ball python that came from a breeder in Florida.  Both my iguana and rat came from Craigslist. Have you ever gotten a pet at a shelter? You should. There’s nothing wrong with shelter pets.  I believe so? Have you ever taken in a stray animal?  Story of my family's life with cats lmao. Have you ever dated someone simply for their looks?  No. What about dating someone simply because you felt too bad to say no?  That's honestly how Tyler and I started, yes lmao.  I didn't "like" him yet, but I mean, he was enough of a good guy for me to be like "okay let's try." Does any food always make you sick but you love it too much to not eat it?  None "sick," no.  Some don't sit well with my stomach, but I eat anyways. How do you feel about alcohol?  Dangerous potential.  Don't overindulge. Have you ever been drunk?  No. Chicken or the egg, really?  Chicken. Do you tell white lies?  Sometimes. Would you rather be able to talk to animals or be fluent in every language?  Talk to animals! Does your kitchen have a pantry?  No. Have you ever interviewed a job applicant at your workplace?  No. How do your political beliefs compare to those of your parents?  I'm not as conservative as either. Have you ever gone over 3 months without shaving/waxing your legs?  Lol yes. Would you ever consider being a foster parent?  No. What’s your opinion on lottery tickets? Waste of money, or no?  Once in a blue moon, whatever, give it a shot if you want.  But generally a waste, odds are too small. Have you ever swam in a saltwater pool?  Those exist?? What kinds of leisure activities did your family do together when you were growing up?  Almost nothing all together...  We would swim together sometimes, though.  And cook out. Are either of your parents retired yet and if not, what do they do?  No.  Dad's a mailman, and Mom's a pharmacy tech. What kind of booze did you last take shots of?  I've never done shots. What is one moment that you missed out on that you wished you didn’t? Off the top of my head, I guess the total solar eclipse we had a while back.  Didn't see anything here.  But eh, didn't have glasses anyway. What is your favorite shape?  Circles. Who did you last kiss?  Romantically, Sara.  Platonically, I think my nephew. Are pigs adorable or dirty?  PRECIOUS. What brand water do you drink? (Smart Water, Dasani, etc)  Great Value lmao. Can you speak a second language fluently?  No. Do you wanna learn any other languages?  I would really, really like to take German again and become fluent. What is the worst pain you’ve ever experienced?  Physically, an infected cyst being drained with not even nearly enough numbing and morphine; emotionally, romantic heartbreak. What’s your least favorite chore?  Dishes.  I refuse to live somewhere that doesn't have a dishwasher when I move out aksjfdasoejiw. If you had 5 minutes to talk with any politician, who would it be?  *shrugs* What would you ask them?  ^ You’re stranded alongside the road. Who do you call first?  Mom. Name the last 3 TV shows you watched:  The Good Doctor, The Bionic Vet, and probably a show that's not coming to me for Keegan or the girl Colleen watches. If you had to be a member of a TV sitcom family, which one would it be?  jfaskdjasie the Addams.  Goals. Name 3 things from your childhood that you still have today:  Like half a billion stuffed animals, some toys, some video games. How many bones have you broken?  None. Who is the one person you DON’T want to come to your wedding?  Hm.  Idk.  Maybe my sister's husband, but I mean it'd be fine if he kept his judgments to himself as I'm probably marrying a girl, and boy do I know his opinions. What is your favorite fast food joint?  Probably Wendy's. Have you used Limewire before?  Hahaha yes. Do you have any siblings? Younger or older?  Yeah, five older and one younger. Have you ever had a one night stand?  No. Do you or any of your friends have children?  My best friend has a son. Who do you envy the most, if anyone at all?  Ha, couldn't tell you.  Somebody. So have you ever been on a legit date?  Yeah. Last person you watched a movie with? 
 Colleen. Favorite book that was made into a movie? Johnny Got His Gun. Do you like eggnog?  NO. Ever seen someone get surgery?  Not like, in person.  But I watched a video of how the surgery I had is done before having it. Do you play Pokemon Go? If so, what level are you and who’s your buddy?  I play when I can anyway, Pokestops are like non-existent here, so.  But anyway I think I'm 11 or 12, and my buddy is Charmander. If you wear lipstick, what’s your favorite color to wear? Black. Has your best friend ever made you cry?  Yes. Have you ever entered a talent competition?  No. What color is your best friend’s hair?  Blonde. Is your best friend older or younger than you?  She's a few months older. Do you have a dream catcher?  No. If you’ve ever been out of your country, do you have a souvenir?  I've never been out of the country. When was the last time you saw the person you had your first kiss with?  February of last year. Have you read any of Shakespeare’s works other than Romeo and Juliet?  Yeah, though it was still for school. Why did you move to where you’re living now?  We got evicted and kinda just had to pick whatever accommodated us and wasn't gross-looking.  Thankfully we all really like our house, more than our old one even. What was the most severe punishment your parents gave you when you were growing up?  Multiple spankings. Have you ever been to California?  No. Do you think dreams actually mean anything? Why/why not?  No.  Because recently Colleen told me about a dream where she won a fried chicken plush from a claw machine and it came out as four buckets of KFC.  Find me the meaning pls. What’s something you’re really bad at compared to others?  Social interaction.  I panic over how long I'm supposed to keep eye contact, dude. How much was gas the last time you filled your car up?  I don't fill my own gas, don't have a car.  But I think it's like... $2.69 or something here?? Do you usually fill up at the same gas station?  Mom normally does. What was the topic of conversation the last time you spoke to a sibling?  I was texting Ashley about where we're doing Ryder's birthday pictures. Are any of your relatives musicians?  No. Is there a movie you currently want to see?  Slender Man and The Meg. Have you ever received an autograph from a celebrity? No.. Do you have a piece of technology that should be dead, but it’s still going?  Oh boy, the iPod nano I've had since the beginning of middle school. Ever sent drunk texts? No. How many dresses do you own?  Besides my two prom ones, I think one?? What was the most unique pet you’ve owned? My iguana, probably. Do you enjoy swimming in the ocean?  Big scream yes.  I was at the beach the other day and the water was absolutely perfect. Is there something you want to do, that you swear you will, no matter what? Yeah, meet Mark.  Direct opposite location in the U.S. my ass, he has no escape. What’s something you’ve vowed to never eat? Wild animals, unless I'm in a survival situation. Do you have trouble sleeping if you sleep anywhere else but home?  Eh, I can sometimes.  If I'm comfortable, not really.

[bigmacdaddio]

George Moriarty story...

Third baseman / Umpire / Manager

Born:

July 7, 1884

Chicago, Illinois

Died:

April 8, 1964 (aged 79)

Miami, Florida

Batted:

Right

Threw:

Right

MLB debut

September 27, 1903, for the Chicago Cubs

Last MLB appearance

May 4, 1916, for the Chicago White Sox

MLB statistics

Batting average

.251

Home runs

5

Runs batted in

376

Stolen bases

248

Managerial Record

150–157

Winning percentage

.489

Teams

As player

Chicago Cubs (1903–1904)

New York Highlanders (1906–1908)

Detroit Tigers (1909–1915)

Chicago White Sox (1916)

As manager

Detroit Tigers (1927–1928)

George Joseph Moriarty (July 7, 1884 – April 8, 1964) was an American third baseman, umpire and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1903 to 1940. He played for the Chicago Cubs, New York Highlanders, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago White Sox from 1903 to 1916.

Life[edit]

Moriarty was born in Chicago, where he grew up near the Union Stock Yards.[1] He made his major league debut on September 7, 1903 at the age of 19 with the Cubs. He was an average hitter but an outstanding baserunner, with 20 or more stolen bases in eight consecutive seasons and 248 career stolen bases, including eleven steals of home.[2] He played his last major league game on May 4, 1916 with the White Sox.

Afterward, he became an American League umpire from 1917 to 1940, interrupted only by a 2-year stint as manager of the Tigers in 1927–28. He was one of the AL's most highly regarded umpires in his era, working in the 1921, 1925, 1930, 1933 and 1935 World Series (as crew chief in 1930 and 1935), as well as the second All-Star Game in 1934.

A baseball card of Moriarty as a member of the Detroit Tigers in 1911.

On Memorial Day in 1932, Moriarty worked behind the plate for a Cleveland Indians home game against the White Sox. When several Chicago players took exception to his calls, he challenged them to settle the dispute under the stands of League Park after the game. Pitcher Milt Gaston took him on first but Moriarty knocked him flat, breaking his hand. Several White Sox, including manager Lew Fonseca and catcher and future AL umpire Charlie Berry, took him on in turn. The next day, AL president Will Harridge issued numerous fines and a 10-day suspension for Gaston.[1]

It is reported that once while Moriarty was umpiring, none other than Babe Ruth stepped out of the batter's box and asked Moriarty to spell his last name. When he did so, Ruth reportedly replied, "Just as I thought; only one I." The baseball card shown to the left of this text, however, misspells Moriarty's name with two I's.

Moriarty also was noted for coming to the defense of Tiger slugger Hank Greenberg in the 1935 World Series (eventually won by Detroit), when he warned several Chicago Cubs to stop yelling antisemitic slurs at Greenberg.[3] When they defied him and kept up the abuse, he took the unusual step of clearing the entire Chicago bench—a move that got him fined by longtime Commissioner/Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (known primarily to posterity for keeping blacks out of the major leagues throughout his quarter-century in office).[4] Three years later, when Greenberg was pursuing Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, Moriarty kept the final game of the 1938 season going until darkness made it impossible to continue, Greenberg finishing with 58 homers, two shy of Ruth's record.[5]

In his biography, Greenberg recalled:

Much later in my career George Moriarty and I became very good friends. Back in the early 1900s he played third base for Detroit, and he used to steal home. Somebody wrote a poem about him, and the title was "Never Die on Third Moriarty." All through the rest of his life George felt he knew something about stealing home. When he was umpiring on third base, and on occasion when I'd get on third, he coached me on how to take a lead so I could steal home. I never had the guts enough to try, because I didn't think I could make it. I'd run down the line, and he'd keep insisting that I take a bigger lead. I was always afraid that I was going to get picked off. But it was interesting to see Moriarty, who was umpiring at third base, coaching me on how to steal home for the Tigers. It became a joke among the players, but I never got up the nerve to try it.[4]

Despite his combative field persona Moriarty was quite congenial off the field, maintaining close friendships with Jesuit priests at the College of the Holy Cross in central Massachusetts. He also fancied himself a lyricist, supplying the words for Richard A. Whiting's tune "Love Me Like the Ivy Loves the Old Oak Tree."[6] and J. R. Shannon on "Maybe I'll Forget You Then" and "Ragtime 'Rastus Brown" in 1912.

On the other hand, during 1944 divorce proceedings his wife testified, "His attitude toward the next-door neighbors was of intense hatred for no reason whatever. One time he heard the neighbor's radio. He was so angry he carried our radio to the open window next to the neighbor and turned it on full blast for about three hours."

Moriarty joined the AL public relations staff after retiring from field work, and later became a scout for the Tigers, helping to discover such players as hard-hitting Harvey Kuenn and southpaw Billy Hoeft before retiring in December 1958.

He died in Miami at 79.[1]

[theranskahovs]

Haunted *Piotr x Reader*

A/N: this is based on this post

•

Ghosts and entities were a familiar topic for you. You’d had enough experience with them to be able to tell when they were around, and when you came home one day you could tell something was definitely here.

You waited for a few days to see what needed to be done, in a wary coexistence with whatever decided to visit you for a bit.

You’d wracked your brain trying to figure out why they’d joined you out of the blue. You hadn’t bought any used furniture or objects lately; you didn’t go anywhere out of the usual; no one close to you had died; you didn’t forget to close your circle. Hell, you just changed your rock salt containers around the apartment, what did this thing want?

They didn’t seem to be aggressive, aside from some light wandering at night. For days you’d asked what they wanted, and on the fourth day of wondering you kept seeing and getting the word benevolent. Happy at the breakthrough, you lit a candle and brought out your pendulum.

“Alright bud, you know the deal. Let’s do right or clockwise for yes, and left or counterclockwise for no. Ready?” You paused, the candle flickering manically. “Show me no.”

Feebly, the pendulum moved left. “Can you show me yes?” Slightly stronger, it swings right.

You smile to the air, “You’ve been telling me about benevolence a lot lately. Are you benevolent?”

There’s a pause, and your hand is steady as it moves clockwise. “That’s good to know, I was getting worried. I’d like to know why you’re here.”

“Did you follow me from somewhere?” No.

“Did you end up here during my casting?” No.

“Did we know each other in this life?” No.

What else could it possibly be doing here? “Are you here for a reason?” Yes.

You take in a big breath, at least you’re getting somewhere. “Do you need help crossing?” No.

“Are you here to teach me something?” Yes.

“A life lesson?” The pendulum doesn’t move and the candle stills. You wait, watching for a flicker of the flame. Nothing moves.

You set the pendulum down and blow the candle out. “You could’ve said goodbye first.”

•

You’d been watching closely for signs the entity was harmful. Nothing bad happened, but you did realize they were a little shit. Whenever you needed something, the item would disappear and show up once you’d forgotten about it.

You also noticed that whenever you did spells, they’d be there. They must’ve not known much about witchcraft in their lifetime, because they always watched you closely. You suspected they even helped a bit, providing energy when they could.

When you’d be studying and forgot to make dinner, your cupboards would be open when you’d leave your room, or some kind of food would have fallen out, almost like they were reminding you to eat. Whenever you’d hear their wandering at night, you’d ask them politely to stop and they would. The whispering or voices you’d hear always stopped when you talked back, as if they were just lonely.

After a while, you fell into a routine like normal again. The ghost was welcome to share your space with you, permitted they acted benevolently.

•

While your ghost encounters were happening, you’d begun to talk with Piotr, and eventually started dating him.

One day you invited him over for the first time, and you weren’t sure if you should mention the ghost or not.

When you let him in, he instantly tensed up, but didn’t mention anything. It took him a few weeks before he finally talked to you about it.

“I think your apartment is haunted,” he told you seriously. He didn’t know if you even believed in the supernatural, and was afraid you’d laugh at him for suggesting it.

You couldn’t help it, you laughed. “I know, it’s been around for a few months now.”

Piotr’s shocked. “You knew? You let it stay?!”

“Yeah! It’s nice. Like a roommate.”

Piotr isn’t sure. “It always feel cold and anxious. It felt like I couldn’t breathe.”

“That’s weird, it’s always peaceful with me.”

That wasn’t all you noticed. When Piotr would come over, his things would get moved around. When you’d be cuddling with him, he’d jump and tell you about how something pulled his hair or his clothes, or pinched him. He wasn’t wrong, the next day he’d have a strange scratch or a bruise like a fingerprint. You didn’t want to tell him you thought your ghost was getting jealous.

•

Eventually, Piotr started spending the night at your apartment. You’d learned to sleep through the wandering and the voices, but Piotr couldn’t get used to it. In the mornings he’d mention how he’d had terrible nightmares and sleep paralysis.

“I can put up a dream catcher for you or something? I’ve already put agate on the headboard and under the mattress, and salt.”

“No. It needs to go,” he tells you seriously.

“Let me talk to it first. It really is nice, I swear,” you try to reason with Piotr. You start speaking to the ghost, “Please stop giving Piotr a hard time, I don’t want to have to sage you away.”

Piotrs turns to you, “That’s it?”

You smile at him, “Now we wait.”

•

After that, Piotr didn’t mention the ghost anymore. He told you he thought it was gone. But you knew it wasn’t. They still sat with you when you were at your altar, and you still communicated through the pendulum sometimes. You would let Piotr believe the spirit was gone, but in all honesty you didn’t mind having them around.