#i just think Hunters are bad at mass archiving

[shatter-song]

I think I'll just post just the 1st chs of my ongoing stories and that's it. like I'll post updates when I finish them but these will be my main examples for people at how I'm doing writing wise

so this ch 1 of my melodybeast centered fic!

Oh. This is bad.

 

Viney doesn't know why it took her this long to realize that but it did.

 

Ever since Hunter's second arrival to Hexside and telling everyone the truth about the Day of Unity, all the kids were thrown into hysteria.

 

And who could blame them? The former Golden Guard comes to their school, tells them that the Day of Unity is actually a planned out mass genocide of all living things on the Isles and only the mass believers of Belos would laugh in their face.

 

Thankfully, Viney has always been a nonbeliever.

 

She mentally thanks her parent for instilling that in her.

 

But then it was the Day of Unity. Those with sigils nearly died, her friends go missing (whenever someone is saying that they could be dead, she asks Skara to cast a silencing spell because she might end up fistfighting someone), her Nobi goes missing, and all the kids are left alone.

 

She recalls Matt saying he doesn't know whether or not Glandus is okay which led her to wonder if the kids from other schools got branded or not.

 

(Are they alone, too?)

 

Regardless, none of them are showing up.

 

A week into the apocalypse, with every adult at Hexside turned into a puppet (because of Boscha, the darker parts of her mind provides) and many more missing, the realization what's happened sets in for every kid.

 

Then came the tears.

 

Everyone not in kindergarten was in charge now for the kindergarten kids. Their parents were either missing or puppets. No one was coming to help them.

 

They're on their own.

 

Yeah. This is totally not good.

This year is going in the therapy books. If those will even continue to exist anymore.

 

They have to get supplies. The kids – Oh yeah, she's one, too – were in this for the long haul, Titan forbid anyone think otherwise.

 

Which leads to now.

 

Ordinarily, Viney would be one of the witches to stay because of her capability in healing. Kat is... not here, Emira is inexperienced with major injuries that are more common than ever and is also taking care of Edric, and Bo is good but far too tired from the past few days alone.

 

And that's just naming a few. Viney is sure she could make a whole book listing the problems healers alone have right now.

 

However, with Matt busy in staging a coup, and the healing homeroom not actually packed for once, Viney volunteered to look for supplies.

 

Like hell she would live on school lunch for the rest of her life.

 

"If I knew that the apocalypse would come last week, I would've dressed more comfortably." Skara says irritably.

 

"Yeah, scavenging around in school uniform does not bode well for days in a row." Jerbo replies with a low note of humor.

 

Herself, Barcus, Jerbo, and Skara are scavenging the hollowed out town that was Bonesborough.

 

Apparently, there's some kind of schedule with how the Collector acts – at least, that's the best way to put it.

 

The morning to the afternoon was "playtime". The night until morning was "bedtime". It's coming into conflict to what she thought the Collector to be. Regardless of those thoughts, one thing is for certain.

 

The Collector is dangerous. And very powerful but that goes without saying.

 

"What should we look for first?" Barcus woofs from the front of the group.

 

"Hang on," Skara halts. "I made a list." The bard takes out a folded sheet of paper. She unfolds it then reads outloud.

 

"Okay so, we need some clothes for the kindergarten kids after they tore theirs while hunting down lockers."

 

Jerbo groans while Viney pats his back in sympathy. "That's gonna be a common occurrence, isn't it?"

 

"Yeah... We also need food, seeds for the plant track students – any will do, and some extra sleeping bags."

 

"Okay," Viney starts, "Let's head for the marketplace then. We'll find what we need there."

 

The trek wasn't hard. They ran into little to no trouble because... well, there wasn't anything. The streets were empty and quiet. It was wrong. Everything about this was wrong but now isn't the time to have a crisis.

 

She can save that for later.

 

"We should split up." Skara suggests, "We shouldn't run into much trouble but I'd rather not risk anything. You guys got invisibility glyphs?"

 

The trio nods then Skara continues, "Alright. Viney, you're with me. We'll scour the Ceilingmart. Barcus, you and Jerbo check the stands."

 

Ah. Hm.

 

Viney doesn't mind at all going with Skara but that doesn't stop this bubbling feeling in her from rising.

 

It's not the first time either.

 

"I think Skara is poisoning me." Viney says, one day. The two of them are inside the room of shortcuts except for Barcus.

 

Jerbo looks away from the potted abomination he was crafting. "What?"

 

"I think Skara is poisoning me."

 

"Why do you think that?"

 

"So, you know how when you're slowly poisoned overtime, you would feel weird in your stomach?" Viney gestures to him like this is completely normal.

 

...

 

"No, Viney. I wouldn't know." Jerbo says with a completely blank face and straight lined mouth.

 

"Okay, good."

 

"Oh my Titan, Viney."

 

"Anyways, that's what happening to me for like... a week now. I would just feel sweaty and like, I would feel my heart pounding so much faster than it should." Viney said.

 

"And you're sure this is her poisoning you? " Jerbo questions. At this point, neither of them are paying attention to whatever task they're supposed to complete. This is clearly more important.

 

"Well... no. But those are the symptoms of being poisoned, so..."

 

"Alright, there has to be more to this."

 

There is. Thank Titan that Jerbo is a good listener.

 

Viney would sometimes stare for a little too long. Think about her at nearly anytime of the day. Remember the littlest of things that just seem important to her. All that.

 

Then, Jerbo manages to develop the answer. He narrows his eyes. "That's not her poisoning you, Viney. That means you have a crush on her."

 

Oh.

 

Yeah. Oh. In hindsight, it was probably stupid to think she was poisoning her.

 

Whatever, this is where the problem comes in. What does she do about this?

 

She's never had a crush before. On anyone. What if she ruins their friendship? What if Skara hated her for it?

 

What if this wasn't a crush and she's just panicing over nothing? What if Skara actually reciprocates her "feelings" only to break up later?

 

Viney doesn't want to hurt her. She's been through enough hurt by her own friends as it is.

 

"Viney?"

 

The beastkeeper blinks, her intrusive thoughts disappearing as she takes in the present. She sees Skara looking at her in concern. Her cricket palisman is on her shoulder mirroring her witch's look.

 

"Yeah, what's up?"

 

Skara points to where Viney was originally looking. "You were just, uh, staring down those pots like it had done something to you."

 

Viney looks to where the bard is pointing. Ah, right. Since they can't go outdoors, they'll have to grow crops from pots.

 

"Sorry, just thinking about which pots to get. I'm not in the plant track so I don't know which one to get."

 

Ugh. Thinking about school romance of all things when you're supposed to be getting supplies for an entire school body? Seriously?

 

Get it together, Vernal.

 

"I guess that makes sense." The bard purses her lips in consideration. "Maybe I should've sent Jerbo here instead."

 

Viney shrugs, "Eh, it's fine. We could just come back if we need to. Not like they're going anywhere. I think." She turns to Skara, "Are pots sentient?"

 

That earns her a chuckle which in turn makes the healer smile.

 

For a moment, everything's right. This one moment they can ignore the apocalyptic setting around them and just be kids.

 

So it's only a matter of time before something goes wrong.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They weren't supposed to be here.

 

It was nighttime. Isn't that the Collector's bedtime? Do these things just have minds of their own?

 

Skara quickly plays a few notes on her lyre and the star is shoved into a nearby building by bard magic.

 

Jerbo uses a vine as some kind of lasso and drags another star down so Barcus could destroy it with a bite infused with oracle magic.

 

And Viney? Well, she's good at defense so defend is what she'll do. Puddles is... also not here so the best she could do is conjure shields whenever the time arises.

 

The shields are hands at least so she could swat them away like vampflies.

 

But this is getting too much.

 

"Barcus, look out!" Viney shouts.

 

Barcus yips and jumps up to dodge a spy's puppet-transforming magic before Jerbo catches him in his arms.

 

"We gotta fall back!" Jerbo yells and Barcus barks in agreement.

 

Viney makes a wide spell circle and the four are surrounded by a giant dark blue dome. It immediately cracks under the attacks recieved by their enemies.

 

Thankfully, quick thinking and improvisation are skills that you need if you were to be a delinquent a few months ago. And also a survivor in the apocalypse now.

 

"Grab hands and use an invisibility glyph then run like hell into the alleyways!" Viney commands.

 

Skara grabs Viney's hand – Oh Titan, calm down, it's literally just handholding for dear life – then she grabs Jerbo's. Barcus, who is still in the grip of his fellow delinquent, pulls out a glyph from his pouch.

 

"On three, hold your breaths!"

 

The group nods. Viney's shields are about to go down due to the force of the star spies.

 

Honestly, she's actually pretty surprised it lasted this long.

 

"Two!"

 

"Wh-?! What happened to one?!" Jerbo sputters.

 

"No time for one!"

 

The shields shatter into glistening light particles and spread across the baren street. Viney's proud of how long those lasted.

 

"Three!"

 

The group breathe in their share of air, hold it in, and run. They rush down the alleyways and out, dragging each other into a new street.

 

Pieces of Bonesborough watch as the spies fly past broken down husks of buildings of the place they called their town. The confusion is oddly clear on their faces.

 

The spies aren't giving up so neither are they. Well, in a sense they are, but this battle doesn't need to won in this war.

 

Jerbo drags them into a open building before shutting the door behind them. At that point, they all take in a large gulp of air, the invisibility taken off of them.

 

Skara, not stopping for a moment, covers the window with its blinds. Viney slumps against a wall while Jerbo puts down Barcus back on the floor.

 

"That..." Jerbo panted, "was close."

 

"Too close." Barcus huffs. "It's the middle of the night. I thought the Collector was asleep?"

 

"I guess those things must be capable of acting on their own." Viney said. "When we were running, I noticed how the spies looked confused. Like, really confused. That may not sound like much but you'd be surprised at how a lot of beasts are not capable of facial expressions."

 

It'd be fascinating if it weren't for the fact those things turn people into wooden puppets.

 

"They're quite the unique beast, no?"

 

"Regardless," Skara says, gathering the attention of everyone, "it's probably best if we hide for the meantime. Let's scour the building for any supplies."

 

"Aye aye, captain." Jerbo salutes. He leaves up a stairwell with Barcus in tow. The demon sends a side eye to Viney and before she could react, he's already gone.

 

Weird.

 

"Well," Skara begins and Viney turns to her. "where we should we start?" 

 

Ah. Right. Barcus knows because of couse he does.

 

Gay. Gay. Homosexual. Gay.

 

Shut up, Barcus.

 

She feels a chortle in her mind before it fades away. What was she doing again?

 

Oh! Right, a place to start.

 

"How about a kitchen?" Viney suggests. "I know I'm hungry after that ordeal."

 

"No kidding." Skara giggles. "I hope they have some cake in here."

 

Viney laughs. "Here's hoping."

 

Skara draws a circle and a ball of light is brought to life in the palm of her hand. She smiles at her which has the troublemaker darting her eyes, uncharacteristically shy-like.

 

Okay, Vernal. Just you and who is probably the prettiest girl you've ever met scouting a random building for supplies. You got this.

 

She doesn't expect the bard to hook her right arm with her left but hey, she doesn't mind.

 

Just don't look into her beautiful silver eyes and say something embarrassing. Easy.

 

She's so got this.

 

(No, she does not.)

[twurtleeggy]

This is chapter 12 of The Journey Home, the Rain World story I write.

After the cliffhanger from the previous chapter, this is the one that properly introduces Saint! I really wanted to give off a "something's just off here" feeling with their introduction, with them being very vague and acting just a little strange. They leave quickly enough, but they'll be back! Hopefully they left a strong first impression.

This is where Hunter's symptoms start properly getting bad; they'll end up ramping up pretty fast from here. In retrospect I could have had quite a bit more lead up to this, but I think it turned out okay. I do remember distinctly feeling like it was a little bit rushed unfortunately.

This is the first time Arti is seeing inside of Moon's superstructure; I definitely feel that I could have done a better job conveying how unnerving the situation is to her. Even in the heavily rotted sections of Pebbles there's still movement - there's still life, even if twisted. Moon is just - quiet. Silent. Dead. I think it would be incredibly off-putting and unsettling to Arti here, and I could have shown that better.

While I feel that bit of characterization was rathe lacking, I am happy with the characterization in Moon's chamber. Arti gets to be a little protective, Hunter gets to be a little stubborn, and Gourmand does a good job of being a mediator between them. Arti also gets to plan things ahead and be cautious, and Monk gets to worry about her friend a little.

The choice ends up being made for the group to stick around Moon's Superstructure for a while; I'll touch on my thoughts on this in a few chapters. Moon gets the bad news broken to her, and copes by focusing on anything else. Plus, some details with how much Arti and Hunter are able to communicate with the Iterators.

Rivulet gets a bit of nice characterization before leaving the group for a bit to go bring the Mass Rarefaction Cell to Moon's heart. Moon marvels over a fire, there's a moment of peace and calm, and a short heart to heart talk between Hunter and Survivor.

All in all, I think I could have done a lot more with this chapter. There is quite a bit of nice setup, and some good character moments, but there are some large things that I think I could have done much better.

[raevenlywrites]

okay. i have some time to myself before work and i need to troubleshoot my headphones anyways so lets take another run at the season 1 finale

Infestation, attempt 2

full disclosure, i listened to this and most of ep 40 on the way home, and i do remember id made it this far in my first listen years ago. so I've had some time to organize my thoughts

The emotion in the recordings make more sense now. Knowing that hes coming to the tape recorder after a failed digital attempt, him knowing those statements are "real"- and all the stuff about him feeling "watched" lends credence to my idea that those statements take on a life of their own, literally trying to scare him into believing. It feels like the Fears feed on attention, on believe, and on acts of...worship? to their domain.

The Jon/Martin of it all is adorable. "...you didnt die here, did you?" "Did you think I was a ghost?" Adorable. (Also Martin's poetry oh my fucking god. Its getting harder and harder to be sus about Martin, emotionally.)

Elias remains absolutely sus.

Sasha is too brave for her own good.

Tim remains an idiot doofus.

The found footageness is deeply interesting. I very much appreciate that ep 40 follows up and fills in the gaps left by the piecemeal nature of ep 39. Its a wild departure from the slow, steady scares of the statement readings. As someone who primarily consumes stories through audio rather than video, I feel pretty qualified to comment on how deftly they use the medium. This isnt just an audiobook. It isnt just a radio drama. It honestly kind of reminds of homestuck in that respect, how its utilizing a (at the time) newish medium to tell a story that could only be told in this way. Every Fear having a signature sound. The subtle shift from Sasha to Not Sasha (close enough i could fool myself into thinking they were the same VA at times, at others being absolutely certain theyre not. chefs kiss). They way it makes you work, to have to keep a stringboard or consult with a community to figure it all out. The way it responds to reader feedback. Its such a beautiful and unique piece of art. It makes me wish I could get into Nightvale, bc it feels like these two were maybe somewhat in competition? I can see how both would be good homes for the HS fans left adrift towards its end.

Human Remains

Jons obsession with needing to keep watch does not bode well for him

"Did you not get the tapes?" "No there was a problem" and yet we got to hear them???? Now im confused about the conceit all over again XD Ive been kind of assuming a meta framework of "Listener is a grad student" or whatever, so now im like "...listener is....????"

I want to know what Elias knows. bc he clearly knows a lot.

"Martin found a body." Oh no, Sasha- "Tell me what happened to Gertrude Robinson." Oh, my bad. Tell me more.

So glad Tim's shitty jokes got his ass XD

"We're safe inside the archive" really curious about that. What slowed the worms? The archive entity (the Eye, i think? this is meta knowing through fandom osmosis)? The efforts of Elias and the Lucas Family and whatever the shit consiparcy is behind all this?

Worm Gateway is freaky as fuck. That is clearly a portal and its only a matter of what they were trying to let in and if that was always the goal of them gathering en masse or simply a shift of resources during the premature attack Jon triggered.

Yeah, that is NOT Sasha. I still applaud how vaguely close but definitely not the same they got. Very good at making reality doubty vibes - oh shit, Michael XD Forgot all about him. Oh, Jon, you almost noticed she's wrong!!! *sobs*

Oh, Martin. You dear sweet kicked puppy man. Well done for bringing him to life, Alex Newall.

ugh, i wish i had the kind of patience to track down which case files were taken, but i super dont. feel free to tell me if you know

-

So that's season 1! I did skip a few eps (vampire hunter, the piper, lost johns cave, schwartzwald) so if theres something vital in them you think ive missed, let me know! i did listen to them all first go around, but as weve seen my memory is garbo XD

Time for today's Magnus Archives listen! Well start with Ep 34: Anatomy Class, and continue with eps 35: Old Passages, 36: Taken Ill, 37 Burnt Offering, 38: Lost and Found, 39: Infestation and 40: Human Remains, finishing up season 1!

im beginning to suspect I made it all the way through season 1 on my first listening attempt, bc this all still feels familiar XD (eta: yup, defo made it through season 1 the first time)

Anatomy Class

Yay! Another guest!

im sorry but thats all i can think of when i hear tooth apple XD

This scare reminds me of Not Graham, for some reason. I know it wasnt a case of identical dopplegangers, but it still feels related. No real evidence, just vibes.

Old Passages

Leitner ep! Leitner ep!!!

-

Oh boy! this episode has everything: Leitner, Jared Key, that one architect guy, a jump scare, Squirmies, and Breackon and Hope! The tension is ramping up and im getting excited for the show down :D

Taken Ill

Oooh i dont remember this one at all - except for the bit at the end with the deliveries. Having a garbo memory is fun; some of this feels new, some of this i remember vividly, most I dont recall until were partway through

Burnt Offering

Yay its Martin again!

-

Man, this one was weird. just weird

Lost and Found

Hey, its Selasa (sp lol) from Piecemeal!

-

Eek! Another jumpscare. Also I cant believe Sasha went in there. Not enough money in the world lol

Infestation

im assuming this is a part 2, so to speak. just in keeping with the found footage of it all- oh! no. hes being... thorough and a little obsessive XD

[shalalalalaw]

random, semi-incoherent and not serious thoughts on the efficiency of Hunters below

i would love to be a fly on the wall of pre-D1's War Room, not just to hear Osiris and Saint running tactical, which i honestly think would be hilarious and infomative in equal measure

but as a resident Hunter simp, i want to know how Tallulah and Caliban and Aparajita and Kauko and Andal and later Cayde managed to organise this veritable herd of cats

how they would manage to collect enough reports from all of them scattered across the system, sometimes out of contact for months, to make enough dots connect for things to make sense

and then how they managed to keep the same systems in place that their predecessor tried to establish, or rework, or how they tried to set up new things

and i suddenly understand why Cayde always seemed so laid back and hands off and goofing off, he did have work he was avoiding i'm 100% sure of that, but it was all sporadic, because he was missing so much information at any given time

how many of his Hunters, the vast majority of them always away from the City, the VanNet and other major communication systems they have running, just don't know when the change in procedure happened and whether they even CARE enough to keep track of these things? they're out there, doing the dirty and lonely and dangerous job and then send in a report, what more do you want?

and maybe this mentality even extends to groups and factions and packs of Hunters that are familiar with A Certain Procedure set by a Certain Vanguard at a Certain Time, like possibly the Arcstriders

which i guess is how you end up with no Hunters in the City after Cayde died

because somebody else was doing all the work of putting together all the pieces to squeeze any amount of sense from them and also enforcing someorganisation on them? and acting like a tether to reality for some

now, to be clear about my thought process, that's what every Vanguard does. I think that Osiris left a decent system that Ikora could work with and Saladin and Saint had simple and efficient sets of actions that Zavala could either use or ignore

i'm not quite sure what Tallulah left for Caliban and what he left for Aparajita and what they left for Kauko and what he left for Andal and what he left for Cayde-

[thepaperclip]

FAQish but not really lol

More like “I feel like I should answer some questions no one’s really asking right now but I am concerned abt answering anyways” lmao

Why didn’t the D’arbys use their Stands on the Joestars and just stick to their vampire powers?

The original D’arby battles were challenges rather than outright fights, and all were to do with a wager of some sort. Both were meant to keep the SDC crew away from something (the truth of The World, getting to Dio himself). However, in the Anna Timeline they were both victims of Straizo and their goal was to escape and capitalize on their new powers. Since the SDC crew also didn’t know the way out, the D’arbys couldn’t gain anything from them aside from help getting out, and thus there was nothing of more value for Osiris or Atum to wager for. Too bad the SDC crew were also vampire hunters on top of being Stand Users.

Who was it that Dio was thinking of in chapter one when his inner monologue mentions of Anna, “He hates her, really, she’s too idiotically kind, just like—never mind.”

His mother. Dio at 12 years old doesn’t strike me as someone who would have a lot of women associates aside from his mother, and his mother would probably be the most comparatively kindest and highest in his good books. Thus Dio compares his new stepsister to the only other woman he knew best at that point, and in just as much contempt.

Is Strohiem dead?

Yes. He didn’t even get to turn cyborg, either. Even if he did, it never made a big difference to the end of the Second World War anyway. It probably has something to do with a human sized cyborg being difficult to upkeep in terms of energy, protection from overheating itself from using the various guns in its arsenal as well as must moving in general, protection from extreme weather conditions like in Siberia, the very specifically designed components and parts not having a very established mass production line established, you know, the works. Actually, Franz from Archives lost the blueprints somewhere and it burned down in some firebomb before it could even get to Strohiem in the first place so no getting cyborg technology from the Germans. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure should’ve punched more N*zis.

Did Straizo actually love Anna back?

The short answer is yes, but the long answer is “It’s complicated.” The perfect time and scenario for them to have started a romantic relationship that actually would last would’ve been around when Lisa Lisa was well into her marriage and Joseph may or may not have been on the way; the scenario that would need to happen is that Anna opened up about her true origins to Straizo and have been clear about being willing to Turn Straizo but only with certain requirements and caveats in place. Where things fell apart was Straizo waiting for so long, and Anna keeping important secrets from him. Though, that’s not to say that Anna didn’t have her own reasons for wanting to not mention her reincarnation. That life becomes further and further from her as she continues living, and her concern about future knowledge spreading uncontrollably also play into her habitual silence. Let it be very clearly said that Straizo’s betrayal was very much a betrayal, and had he stayed and let her talk and heard her out things would have also ended better.

Holly can beat people up now???

Holly learned to fight because Caesar, Anna, and Lisa Lisa were around to teach her a thing or two. Joseph was less averse to teaching his daughter such things because Joseph was actively raised by Lisa Lisa who taught him combat and was an example of “girls can definitely kick ass and still be elegant and ladylike”; and Anna, who instilled in him the ethos of a well-rounded and holistic education as well as proper precautionary measures. Ergo, letting Holly live her life as freely and happily as possible also included making sure she was strong enough to save herself if need be. As for her being in a gang, yes. In New York she joined a Greaser gang more because they liked motors and she did too, thanks to Grandpa Georgie showing her airplanes since she was a toddler. Unfortunately fights and gang wars were part of the experience but it did let her put some of her lessons to practical use. Like her grandfather before her, she cannot channel Hamon but that doesn’t make much of a difference if you’ve got a better swing with a wrench. How Holly and Sadao met was that he was in New York for music school and his bike broke while she was on her way out from hanging out with her crew, so she helped him out. He treated her to lunch as repayment and they hit it off very well. But yes, Joseph still pettily dislikes Sadao for taking his daughter away to a foreign land. He’s just better at expressing and focusing his annoyance. And no, if canon Joseph won’t actually kill Sadao for doing all of this then Starsverse Joseph won’t actually kill Sadao for the same reasons. He actually does respect the dude, he just wishes his son-in-law could spend more time with his daughter and son. The ultimate thing about Holly is that she chooses to be a pacifist, and that’s not something someone without a strong will would stick to.

If Jonathan lived longer, as well as Lisa Lisa and Georgie, wouldn’t they have a chance to have more kids? Why don’t we see them and those changes?

The Doylist answer is I don’t wanna make more OCs to juggle and factor in, that’s for a different timeline, thanks. The Watsonian answer is that contraceptives exist, pregnancy doesn’t always happen to some couples even if they’re going at it like rabbits, maybe Hamon is a factor that actually makes this harder, who knows! Although, in regards to Erina and Jonathan, in some ways this question also plays into the question of:

Giorno managed to exist in this universe even though his parentage is different. Are Donatello, Rykiel, and Ungalo in this universe too?

Originally, I thought that the mention of the “other fruits” of the tree thing that birthed Giorno would suffice as reference to Donatello, Rykiel, and Ungalo. Thus they were fruits of the same homunculus-method that made this Giorno, “born” to Anna as their mother, however unlike Giorno they didn’t survive beyond infancy for whatever reason. Another idea was that they would be Erina and Jonathan’s children but then see the previous answer about juggling characters so then nixing them would mean Erina miscarriages multiple times while she and Jonathan try having more children than just Georgie, and that was a pretty depressing thought. Plus I don’t see Erina marrying again after Jonathan and she would’ve been too old to have children by then anyway. The third idea was that they would be born to their original mothers, albeit with different fathers given that Dio is long dead, and since neither Jonathan nor Anna would’ve been involved then Donatello, Rykiel, and Ungalo could live perfectly mundane lives unburdened by the Joestar legacy. Their lives would be better in some ways and lack in other ways. In the end, the “other fruits” stuff made it in, but I can also see the version where their original mothers had them through different fathers and they just grew up normally also existing in the Anna timeline. Both are true, then.

Does Anna still remember the future? The time she came from? Or even canon?

Lmao that’s like 3 in one question lol. Short answer? Yes and no. The memory of Margot and being Margot is around but the information is buried under many, many more years of experience as Anna. I’ve answered in a direct comment before that Anna has the unique experience of time traveling but then returning to her original time the long way around. So in the 1880s, she’d remember iPhones, Jojo canon she’d read, and big world events and even wrote them down to remember. But she wouldn’t have written down certain memes and thus wouldn’t remember unless the meme was very big in her life (“What is love?” And she is tempted to reply with “baby don’t hurt me” vs. seeing a shiba inu and dogecoin not even passing her mind even once). Human memory is only as good as what it prioritizes to preserve, so Anna would slowly forget memes and even 2010s technology and re-learn them while they become released for the first time into the world. As stated at the beginning, the memory is around but there’s too much recent information to prioritize and new memories being made that it’s almost impossible to recall anything she didn’t preserve in books or destroyed. The memory would be overwritten and too corrupted. It’s like searching through a vast archive but the old stuff hasn’t been updated to the new system yet so the information is practically lost. In short, memories of Margot, Jojo canon, and the future is information that Anna can’t access anymore.

[charmixpower]

Earth's population reacting to magic and the winx for the first time headcanons? Kinda specific I know

I've been obessed with this topic ever since s4, I love this ask

Pretending that world peace was achieved at some point because I do not want to think about what would happen if magic was discovered in our current......""socio-poltical climate""

I'd imagine the first reaction is "that's CGI", no one in their right mind believes it

Bloom goes on live news to use Magic, and everyone there was like 0_0 oh shittttt

Most people still dont trust some random small news channel, I'm imagining they get invited on to some like Dr Phil, essentially so they can get "Exposed". Bloom invites Diaspro into the interview with her

Bloom proves her magical powers to that audience, while having Diaspro explain their motives and intentions in political speak, and it's essentially bouncing around from TV show to TV show until plot of s4 picks up

I just want Bloom to rock the shit of a condescending asshole on TV, that's all

By that point most people are like "aliens?!" "Magic????????" "ALIENS ARE COMING HERE?!??!?!?!?"

Then s4 and the Vengeance faries happen, and thankfully they don't get very far so they don't scare that many people (Mostly so they aren't universally feared by the people their going to eventually be helping)

Little girls all around the world are obessed, going "🥺 I wanna be a fairy 🥺🥺🥺🥺"

There's definitely immediate witch hunt reaction...that archives literally nothing because magical barriers

The Winx are seen as ambassadors of the whole magical dimension, which, no. They're not. They're 19

The sheer amount of TV appreances they make they become celebrities (?) But less like gossip magazine, and more everyone knows about them

There's a very small amount of people who think they deserve magic that the Fariy hunters would make into a little army, claiming that the Winx we're keeping magic from them

Can you imagine all the men out there who think men are inherently superior learning that magic is a primarily female change, and the most powerful of them are called faries? That would be fuckin hilarious

When the magical core of earth is restored is when shit gets real. Bunch of afabs (and a few non afabs) have magic now. You can imagine the mass "WHAT THE FUCK"

The earth fairies quickly round these people up for an education lmao

The sci-fi and Fantasy fans are fucking going crazy

Conspiracy theorists make fucking bank going crazy about this before the Earth fairies can start correcting things

Most people are like !!!!!!!, With a few bad actors trying to use magic or magical people for their own gain

Earth won't be part of the magical dimension for another couple hundreds of years, while people get used to magic, so it's just years of everyone becoming urban fantasy

[mahvaladara]

What happened to Gamall Sullyvan - A Lore of Astreia Oneshot

This story is being told by the POV of the Wanderer. The Wanderer is talking about Gamall Sullyvan to someone who asked. He gets a bit off topic here and there. 

Warning: Graphic descriptions of abuse, torture. It a point it becomes... bad. Baaad! Very bad!

“What happened to Gamall Sullyvan?”

“Gamall Sullyvan, you say?”

“This man, you know this man, don’t you?”

“Oh yes, yes I do!”

Gamall Sullyvan. I knew him.

I knew him intamately. 

His fears, his dreams, his ambitions.

35 years old in age, tall, flimsy, a bit of goof who’s not overly expressive. Not particularly smart or good looking. Not rich, nor wealthy, no over the top status. Avarage man, a good man. A family man. 

If you looked at him, you’d wonder if he was half Sillarin, his eyes certainly looked Sillarin, but his skin was too pale. Must have been those Aklory genes. He was Aklory, born and raised and dead for those lands. 

But he was a good man, you see. 

He was born in Calldragon. His entire nuclear family was expelled from the city and he lost right of citizenship. 

But he was the grandson of the Scholar Gamall Callarius. Yes, that Gamall Callarius, the one in the Royal CallDragon Archives. But he was no one. He dreamed of being a librarian like her, but he was not particularly smart or talented. He was curious and determined, but he wasn’t a genius. 

Gamall was not his grandmother. He only shared her name. 

Yes, I know it’s a woman’s name, but Gamall didn’t much care of things such as female or male. No, he was much more ambiguous when it came to these things. You see, he used to pretend to be a woman. When he took care of a bed ridden, demented mother he had to. He even dressed like his grandmother. 

When he met the woman who’d become his wife, at first, she thought he was an abnormally tall woman. He did things humans tipacally atributed to women and he never questioned it. He was eldest, his mother was sick, his father couldn’t do it, so of course it had to be him. He raised all of his siblings while his father worked. And then, when he came of age, he ran away with Caitlin Sullyvan. 

Let his mother to Rot.

I don’t think he ever got over that guilt. She did rot, you know. Not that he ever saw it, or looked for it. But time and illness so says that she did Rot.

...   

Anyway, Gamall didn’t catch it or anything. They were inoculated.

He met Caitlin and ran away. Caitlin, his wife.

He was a good man, understanding, caring, a good husband, who was wholly devoted to his wife and son. Everything he did was for them and them alone. 

Gamall was altruistic, he never thought much of himself. It was always Caitlin and Seimei first, and when it wasn’t them, it was his neighbors and his friends at Riverrend. It was what he did. That’s where they lived, where they moved to.

Riverrend.

If you talked to them they’d always have something nice to say about Gamall. How he wasn’t expressive, like resting bored face. But he always tried to say some witty joke or lighten up the mood. He always helped. Quick witted, quick tempered. He was a good man, poor and struggling and the people of Riverrend liked him, like they liked anyone else in town.

The people of Riverrend.

Riverrend is a cemmetary now. Ravaged to the floor by the Ainlienists. You have heard of them, the “Church of Burden”. Follow the prophet Ainlie and his message of salvation.

Delusions of a sick mind. I know, I spoke to Ainlie and this “religion”, though it’s more of a cult, certainly got his words wrong.

Salvation my ass. Being burnt alive doesn’t sound very salvating. 

Fanatical assholes. Zealots. Prejudicious, racist, sexist assholes. No respect for anyone or thier beliefs. 

If they were like every other religions on our planet who have this mentality of “you believe this, we believe that. It’s cool, we’re neighbors” it wouldn’t be a problem. But they have a “the only good heretic is a dead heretic” mentality.

Thank the stars the Wanderer whipped them from the face of Akloria and promised to wipe them from the face of the Astreia.

Yet people get mad at the Wanderer for that, can you imagine? People mad at me! 

They call me evil! That I committed the mass genocide of a religious group. 

No I didn’t! There’s still some left! In Valora and the 1001 Seas. 

But I am evil one. They forget these same Ainlienists were trying to burn the entire planet to ash and kill everyone. They also forgot they strapped bombs unto children and sent them to the walls of the capital. 

...

Yes, they blew up kids.

But sure. The Wanderer is the evil one for wanting to get rid of them.

And yes, I am getting off topic, bult talking about the Ainlienists is also talking about Gamall. So I’m getting there.

He was a good man. Avarage man, but most certainly not a member of a fanatical religious cult.

But you know, it’s their fault. It’s because of them that Gamall is gone.

He was a good man. Good, understanding, caring, selfless! All he wanted was to own a horse and they killed all the horses. It’s a good thing he didn’t say his life long dream was to be a librarian or they would have burned all the books - though they sure tried. 

People died, but I saved the books! That’s what matters!

But Gamall!

The Sullyvan name he actually picked from his wife. He lost right to a family name when he lost right of citizenship. So, Sullyvan was his wife’s surname that he took at the time.

Gamall was a lumberjack in Riverrend, worked in Caitlin’s Mill and did some hunting on the side. He had a dream of being a librarian but had given up on that dream. He didn’t have any formal education. He knew how to read but he couldn’t exactly work as a scholar at the time because he lacked education.

As he was now a father and a husband, a very poor one in a country at war, all that he cared about was providing for his family.

Gamall had a son, Seimei, who got sick. 

Boy got blood rot, didn’t eat enough meat, got anemic. The boy wanted to eat greens only. Vegan I think that’s what is called. Gamall called it bullshit! 

But the boy was against eating meat, and Gamall was a hunter. Meat was the easiest thing to come by and the boy refused to eat it. Gamall couldn’t afford a proper “vegan” diet for him. So of course Seimei got anemic. One can’t survive of lettuce alone!

And Gamall couldn’t afford to treat him. The iron supplements and even the blood strengthening potions were expensive. They were millers and they couldn’t apply for government aid because Gamall wasn’t a legal citizen. So they were struggling.

Gamall joined the war as a contract Archer. It could give him a lot of money as well as right of citizenship. And as a contract archer, he could abandon the war once his contract was over. So he joined the war.

He said he wanted to use the money to treat his son and buy a horse. Wanted to become a courier, and if he had a horse, he could gain some steady income that way. Make sure his son never got blood rot again. He could also buy the right of citizenship and if he had a honorable conduit in the army, he could even earn it.

But was he wrong. 

He was not a fighter! He was a lumberjack who hunted deers on the side!

Of course he got captured during the war! 

Amarintia. That’s where he was captured. That’s another cemmetary there. All thanks to the “Church of Burden”.

They say the Ainlienists tortured him, broke him. The Ainlienists did horrible things to everyone. You saw the cities the Ainlienists destroyed. The dissected dragons, the decapitated humans and the burnt witches. All in the name of their maker. 

Eventually he was rescued and kept fighting in the war. I saw him a couple of times. He was still hopefull there was something worth fighting for, and he did. But I could see it in the mirror, that spark, that “humanity” of his be broken down, piece by little piece. 

War does that to you.  

He was tortured. Oh, was he tortured!

Tortured by the enemy. 

Used by his allies.

Betrayed by the people he loved and fought for. 

Used, tortured, beaten and abused.

You see, at a point, Gamall became a weapon, because there’s something particular about him. He couldn’t die. And he was becoming powerful and he was even able to manipulate his appearance. 

Isn’t that handy?

Should be easier to hide the scars, don’t you think?

But he was captured a second time, and the Ainlienists realized they couldn’t kill him so they exploited that. They had fun!

I heard they locked him inside a iron bull for three days straight. You know, Iron Bulls. Those iron contraptions where someone is locked inside and you lit the fire and let the person slowly cook alive. They did that to him. Cooked him alive.

Then healed him up and locked him inside an Iron Maiden. The one’s with spikes. When they left him out, there was a puddle of his own blood under it.

I heard one night they had fun with him. Raped him, sodomized him, made him wish he was neither man or woman. Made him wish he could die. Heard he squealed and begged and begged they’d just grab a rock and crush his skull.

And they did it!

But of course that didn’t kill him. 

So they did worse.

They sawed him in half.

They grabbed a rusty saw, held it firmly between his legs and sawed him in half. All the way up, slow pull by slow pull until the rusty teeth of saw got stuck right in his sternum and they still tried to cut further. But they were pressed for time.

They left him there. Litterally rotting.

Left the bacteria in his shredded intestines rot his body while his immortal cells tried to fix it. Like he was locked in this endless torturous cicle of rot and regeneration.

And no one saved him.

He had friends, you know. Friends who knew he had been captured.

“It’s not like you’ll die.” That’s what they told him, when he found a way home and was properly healed and treated.

I heard he actually lost a few inches of his entrails, but I am going to be honest. I didn’t measure them.

I think after that. After that moment Gamall realized how truly meaningless he was in the face of it all. That’s when he lost that “kindness” and “caring" and “altruism” and “hope”.

His wife went on with life. 

She died during the war. He never saw her again, not even her corpse. Only words that she was dead.

His son? Heard he was killed by his own hand. 

And you’ll ask, what happened to Gamall Sullyvan? Well...

I think that’s when Gamall Sullyvan was finally lost. That day. That day he escaped the Ainlienist hands and had to drag his own intestines through a desert, while rotting, only to be told to his face, by the people he loved that they didn’t bother to save him. Because...

“It’s not like you’ll die.”

I haven’t seen him since.

...

He’s dead. 

I'm all that's left.

[trollhuntersshardborn]

Act 1 Summary

Okay, so since the fic will probably never be updated again, I wanna tell exactly how it was supposed to go down. I just don’t have the inspiration or energy from it, and I just need to put the story to rest.

Okay, act 1. Let’s briefly go over chapters 1-4.

The story takes place in medieval Europe. The year 1315 to be exact. The prologue covers the gumm-gumm trolls rampaging through a castle looking for a past occupant. A princess from three hundred years ago. Apparently, she was deemed a witch and burned at the stake, but that’s like, oh well, to the trolls. Why they are looking for her would be addressed later. 

Later that night, the gumm-gumms raid a nearby farm for food (humans). This is the Ward family farm, owned by Larkin Ward and his six children. The oldest daughter is named Nadia, and she’s just a peasant girl trying to live her life and in perpetual fear of being married off and taken away. In the raid, Nadia runs away in fear as her entire immediate family is killed and/or eaten. But before the same thing happens to her, the Trollhunter Nakrik shows up to fight off the bad trolls. And he’s joined by a woman with super strength! But this seems to be for naught as Nadia’s heart gives out due to fright. But it’s okay, she gets better. She comes back to life for some reason.

So the Trollhunter and his “human” friend take the survivors (Nadia, her granny, and a visiting boy named Edwin/Edmund (I kept forgetting his name)) to the Royal Trollmarket nearby. Now, Royal Trollmarket was the largest market in Europe, housing a massive cavern with every good and ware you can think of, and in the middle of it is not a Heartstone, but a massive fortress that serves as the palace! Nadia is introduced to the world of trolls, fae, and other things, as well as made aware that now she’s an immortal being called a Shard. This is explained to her by a fellow Shard, the “human” friend named Elisi.

The basic story of Shards is that they’re immortal beings created by Merlin himself. Magic pulled from a Life Stone (which did as the name suggests, creates life from two separate souls) so Gunmar couldn’t use it to raise an army overnight. Merlin separated this magic into eight segments and had them enter eight human maidens upon birth. The point was to keep this magic AWAY from Gunmar, so these girls could be anywhere in the world and their powers and immortality wouldn’t activate until their very first death. Merlin also gave each girl a unique “gift” to protect herself and her life magic, but basically Shards still use their Life Magic to create new life between other souls, so anyone who had a Shard on their side could theoretically create a bunch of living beings overtime. So in this time of war between Gunmar and whoever is Trollhunter, having a Shard would come in handy. That is, if she feels like creating an army.

So far, no Shard is willing to be a baby factory to make this army for either side. Elisi is married to a troll named Richta, a gentle potion maker who’s very protective of his family. Nadia has an underlying phobia of being reduced to a perpetual mother, and doesn’t take well that this is now what she is. Reduced to a blubbering mess, she retreats into the market and ends up in a small library. The librarian, Dictatious, begrudgingly lets the girl hide there, but realizes she’s a fast learner when she tries to read and interpret trollish.

Now, the Gumm-gumms realize there’s now not one, but TWO of the eight Shards in one place right now: in the Royal Trollmarket. Bular decides to go on the offensive, and with the help of a changeling underling named Corvis, he unleashes a pack of creatures called rust rats. Now, rust rats exist to kill and eat trolls, however whatever's left comes back to life as a rust zombie, and they infect anything they touch with their rust. So with zombie trolls in the market, everyone runs for the closest safe place: the palace. The only people not marching there are the Nakrik, Elisi, and another character named Grim or Black Knight Grim, for long. Grim is another human in Team Trollhunter, decked out in sweet black armor, a fearless horse, and basically any weapon you can think of to get the job done. He’s from a family of monster hunters who specialize in killing trolls, and he’s so skilled and well prepared that he’s taken on an entire squad of gumm-gumms alone. More on him later.

The fighters in our cast wipe out the zombie trolls and zombie causers, which is the signal for the gumm gumm army to storm the place en mass! Out numbered and outmatched, the remaining party makes a run for the castle. Nakrik, the noble trollhunter and good friend that he is, makes sure the others get in safely before squaring off against the entire army by himself. But he not only fights all these gumm gumms, but also Bular the Butcher, and a general named Alora Darren the Undying, mother to Bular, wife to Gunmar and (HOLY SHIT) a Shard herself! More on her later!

Fortunately for Nakrik, he’s saved by the king of Royal Trollmarket, King Gholgolm the Fourteenth, a thirty foot tall centaur troll who’s so big he can’t even get out of the front door of his palace. But just making it half way out the door to kick some ass is enough to scare the army away for a time. The palace fortress closes itself off so the invading forces can’t get in, and everyone just hunkers down tight for a plan. See, now all the survivors are trapped with no way out since the gumm-gumms have all the exits covered and are occupying the surrounding trollmarket. So while the heroes are trying to come up with a plan, news of Nadia, another Shard, reaches the king’s ears and he asks her to the throne room. He asks her to be the Shard that makes the army he needs to win, and she tearfully declines. Nadia just can’t bring herself to be reduced to a baby machine as she’s always feared, but has no other way to be of help. But Dictatious does see a use for Nadia, and to calm her brings her to the royal library. 

Here in the library are more characters to be introduced to (I hated how chapter 4 is a character dump episode, how do I get you guys to care about everyone?!), there’s Dic’s brother Blinky, also there’s the royal wizard Rundle and his family, Vendel (son and apprentice) and Kilfred (elder who’s barely understandable and laughs with a grandfatherly “ho ho ho ho.”) Everyone’s excited to meet Nadia, but Dictatious explains something about Shards that wasn’t addressed. Each Shard has a unique ability to protect herself with based on their title. Elisi is the Maid of Fortitude, and possesses “the strength of ten trolls.” Alora, still outside the palace and trying to get in and kill everyone, is the Eternal Arsenal, and can create any weapon she’s well versed in. Dic has deduced that Nadia is the Maid of Intelligence, who is a fast learner with a perfect memory. She can be a living archive, and recall knowledge used for tactics. Nadia... doesn’t take being this inferior well and nearly has another breakdown. But her grandmother lets her in on a little secret. Unrelated to being a Shard, Nadia has magic in her bloodline. Turns out granny is a witch, and the family gift of magic tends to skip a generation and is only present in the girls. So Nadia, with her newfound magic talent, and her ability to remember all knowledge she’s learned could be a living magical archive and the potential to be a powerful witch is very likely. She’s hesitant, but once Rundle starts showing her how to cast spells and how to recite them, she quickly becomes fascinated. 

Meanwhile, the gumm gumm army is trying to invade the castle, but can’t seem to find a weak link in the walls or “moat” of indefinite voids that troll caves seem to have. But Edwin has managed to sneak out in his “trolls are going to eat me” panic, and when confronted by Alora and Bular, promises to show how he was able to sneak out/in if he’s left alive and can get “his girl” out. Turns out he has a huge crush and Nadia and wants to get her out of here with him. It’s agreed and Alora sends him back in along with her own wizard troll, Skeeziel, to sneak inside the fortress and open the front doors from inside. Edwin goes to get Nadia to get her the hell out of here while Skeeziel sneaks around and assasinates whoever gets in his way and manages to get the doors open. So now everyone needs to evacuate further into the castle, closing off the outside halls as the army starts to make their approach. Edwin somehow manages to escape the chaos, without Nadia, and makes it to the surface... only to run into Gunmar, who promptly eats him.

Everyone’s in a near panic! Gunmar himself is going to storm the now vulnerable palace and there’s no way to fight in these much more cramped corners. King Gholgolm decides he’s going to fight Gunmar and give everyone enough time to live/escape. Rundle figures he can open a portal to the surface with help from his father and son, along with Nadia. The four of them can keep a small portal open long enough to get everyone out. Nadia only has the confidence to try and help with the others nearby. The portal is a success, and Nadia desperately tries to hold up her side of the magical baggage as the castle is slowly evacuated. King Gholgolm faces off against Gunmar at the entrance of the castle, but its not even a fight. Even as such a large troll, he’s no match for Gunmar’s prowess and sheer determination (foolish horse-monster! while you sat stuck in your own castle, I practiced the blade!). Gunmar then wrestles what he really wants from the king: the location of the Heartstone rumored to be growing in the east. The King does say there’s one in China, before Gunmar kills him. The rest of the army storms the palace.

Seeing that the King has failed, Nakrik then rushes off to fight off the army and Gunmar himself as well. Elisi goes with him. The stress of her friends probably not going to make it gets to Nadia, but she’s kept on course. Nakrik is soon stuck fighting with Alora, and he yells at Elisi to fall back and protect the survivors. She reluctantly does, leaving Nakrik to his fate. Soon, the army is about to overtake the portal room. Only Nadia, Vendel, Rundle and Kilfred are left. They start to debate who should stay to keep the portal open long enough for the others to flee, but little old Kilfred makes the decision for them. He shoves Nadia, and his son and grandson into the portal just as Gunmar manages to break through. The portal closes, and Kilfred looks up to Gunmar with a large grin and one last “ho ho ho ho” before snapping his staff and causing an explosion of light bright enough to be sunlight. Kilfred is dead, the survivors are safe on the surface, and Gunmar is temporarily blinded and enraged. His victory in Royal Trollmarket is a hollow one.

Among the survivors on the surface is young Prince Thalfie, Gholgolm’s son, who now must lead his scared and frightened people to somewhere safe. As soon as Elisi insists that they need to wait for Nakrik, the amulet makes its way to the group. Nakrik didn’t survive. And the amulet chooses Elisi’s husband, Richta, to be the next trollhunter.

Act 1 ends with Nadia still frightened by this terrifying new world, but now has the hope to survive it with her new skills. Elisi is now horrified that her husband is going to suffer the fate of all Trollhunters, and Thalfie begins to lead his people to the Black Forest for shelter. Rundle promises to continue to train Nadia. End of Act 1? Not quite.

The last thing to see in Act 1 is Alora wandering the surface, heavily injured, fighting off tears, with the Sigil of Angor Rot on the right side of her face.

Okay, now Act 1 is over. 

Act 2 and 3 will be tomorrow, since part of the reason I had such trouble writing was I couldn’t fully plot out Act 2 much.

Oh, shit, that’s right. Then there’s Forged in Darkness. Remind me to tell you guys about that first before getting into Act 2.

And...... that’s it for Act 1.

[wafflewarriors]

Quality FanFiction Recommendations!

Quarantined? Bored? Itching to read? I have just the thing for you. I have around 100+ fanfic recommendations with descriptions!!! Yay!

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Disclaimer: None of what is below is mine. Not even the descriptions. :)

I have read all of these though and I can promise they are very good!

WARNING = Possibly triggering. Rather be safe than sorry, but you can certainly ignore these.

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Fics for Superwholock, Supernatural, Doctor Who, Avengers, Merlin, Sherlock and Miscellaneous below.

Superwholock (and Variations)

Second Chances: When Sam Winchester finds himself stuck in New York City with new abilities he doesn’t know how to use and a recent life-changing event he can’t remember, the last thing he expects is to find friends and allies in the city’s resident heroes. But Sam isn’t the only new arrival to New York: the supernatural world doesn’t want to let Sam go, and their plans extend beyond just Sam and the city. Sam is going to have to bring together every hero he can to save New York—and maybe along the way, he can save himself, too.

New York City has been referred to as the City of Dreams, but for Sam Winchester, it’s more than that—it’s also the City of Second Chances. (VERY VERY GOOD AND STILL UPDATING; I’M STILL READING IT)

Breaking the Cycle: The TARDIS materializes at the Broward County Mystery Spot on a Tuesday.

The Other Loki: There’s a new Trickster in town. Tony and the other Avengers aren’t sure what to make of him.

The Tomato in the Mirror: Loki body-swaps with Sam. Later, things get weird.

Don't Blink? No Problem: Castiel meets a Weeping Angel. It's not a fair fight.

Supernatural

Road Song: Dean attempts to calm the reader with a drive in the Impala after a night filled with nightmares.

WARNING Cabin Fever: When you’ve been cooped up with the Winchesters for too long your plan to get an hour away from them takes a terrible turn for the worse.

Cold as Ice: After an accident, Dean and the reader find themselves stuck in the woods during a storm.

Counting the Days: The world was overrun by the Croatoan virus, Sam said ‘yes’ to Lucifer, and Dean hasn’t talked to his brother in five years. One of these things is not like the others.

WARNING You Bleed, I Bleed: Dean confronts you, and tells you that from now on, anything you do to yourself, he will do to himself. Because he just can’t stand to see you hurting, alone in your pain.

Imagine Winchester Saving You From Jack Frost: (no description) “Ice crystals blossomed across your skin, growing and claiming your body as it’s own. You were glistening, the frost reflecting the evening sun like millions of stars. The beauty of winter dominated your body, sprouted from your neck, your neck that had gelid fingers curled around it.”

Tired and Scared: So, backstory is that the reader is doing some sort of a quest and it’s doing bad stuff to her, sort of like Sam and the trials.

I Think I Might Need You: Dr. Jade Thorpe is a strong, independent woman. It’s how she defines herself, the lens through which she views the world. So when everything she knows and has drops out from under her, she has nowhere to turn but to three men who she’s never met, who she will grow to know as, “the f****** Winchesters and that goddamn angel.”

NSFW All Your Pretty Lies: The first time you meet Dean Winchester he almost kills you. Don’t all healthy relationships start with attempted murder?

WARNING You are the Blood in my Veins: You’ve been dealing with self harm for years, the brothers don’t know yet and you don’t know how much more you can take.

Long I Stood: [Endverse!AU] After his phone call with Dean in “The End,” Sam is exhausted. Still recovering from his near-relapse when hunters Reggie Hull and Tim Janklow tried to force him to drink demon blood and unwilling to fall into bed because Lucifer is waiting in his head, Sam sets off running.

He runs straight into the end of the world, where Zachariah tells him that this is where his choices will inevitably lead him unless he plays his part. Sam finds unexpected allies in the survivors at Camp Chitaqua, and maybe―just maybe―there’s still reason for hope. Maybe they won’t always wind up here. Not if Sam has his say.

When Summoning, Please Watch the Wording: (A strange crossover of Supernatural and Good Omens. I don’t even know if it’s canonically correct but it was very entertaining.)

Find the Light: This is the first part of a series! Sam and Dean discover Y/N as a victim of a Djinn.

In the Quiet Moments: Being stuck in your own horrible inner thoughts is hard. It’s even harder to when those thoughts feel more and more real. Sometimes, you need someone to pull you back to reality and remind you of your worth. 

Waiting: The reader is seriously injured on a hunt. Sam and Dean take you to Bobby’s so he can patch you up. Dean is freaked to Hell.

WARNING Chink in the Armor: Dean Winchester, in the years following Sam’s departure for college, was not a very stable individual.

WARNING Trust Us: You get kidnapped by the two mass murderers you’ve seen on TV, Sam and Dean Winchester. But are they as bad as they are made out to be?

Heavy Sleeper: Imagine Sam and Dean finding the reader asleep in the impala after a long hunt.

Period Pains: The reader has her period worse than usual and Dean takes note, taking care of her in anyway he can. (so cute)

Headache: Reader has a migraine and Sam and Dean don’t realize it and are annoying.

Through the Dark: You finally go on your first hunt, accompanying Sam and Dean. The experience leaves you haunted and Dean does his best to comfort you.

WARNING Be Free: AU from end of Southern Comfort. Sam takes Dean’s words to heart, his mind throwing in its own two cents. Believing it is what will make Dean happy, Sam runs and becomes untraceable until it is almost too late. Dean calls in any help he can to find his brother, including angelic assistance. But finding someone with the knowledge Sam has, and who doesn’t want to be found, the remaining members of Team Free Will better pull out all the stops, and fast.

Imagine Falling Asleep While Watching TV with Dean One Shot: Exhaustion. That was the sign of a hunt well done.

Finding Out You Made a Crossroad’s Deal to Save Him: (no description; preference)

Selfish Motives: Imagine taking a bullet for Dean and he gets emotional while patching you up.

WARNING Reflection: A dark time from the reader’s past comes to light.

Shattered: “The one you shattered? I can fix it.” He said, hand already hovering over your hip. It wasn’t the first time you’d had this conversation, you had the unfortunate feeling it wouldn’t be the last. (tooth-rotting fluff)

Protection Detail: “You’re okay, you’re safe.” The man driving spoke softly. Something about the deep timbre of his voice sounded familiar and strangely comforting. You’d heard it before, but couldn’t for the life of you figure out where or when. There was sincerity in his tone- he truly believed what he was saying. Safe. Too bad he’s wrong. He couldn’t possibly know who you were running from or what they’d done to you. Even worse, what they’d do to him for getting in the way. He was in far over his head and it would only get him killed.

WARNING If Anything Happened to You: After jumping in front of the gun one too many times, the Winchester’s are wondering if there is something more to it than just saving them.

He Isn’t Heavy, He’s My Brother: What happens when the boys are stranded and one of them becomes violently ill? (it’s dean)

You Can’t Rule with a Broken Upper Hand: Successfully killing Lilith and keeping Dean out of Hell has the brothers ready for a good, old-fashioned, hunter-on-demon brawl. It’s time to get back to the basics, back to the way things used to be, when monsters got ganked and that was the end of things. That said, they are not ready for a new kind of creature to appear in the middle of their fight, covered in blood and begging for mercy they aren’t supposed to give.

Meanwhile, Castiel is panicking. He’s been tortured senseless for four decades straight, and now he’s been thrown down in front of two hunters. If he thought his brothers were bad… well, all angels knew how cruel hunters were… and Castiel has no idea how to convince them he doesn’t need to be, in the shorter one’s words, ganked.

Forgotten: Sam and Dean are working a case in Wyoming, but are distracted by news of a dangerous angel called “Castiel�� who they can’t remember ever having heard of before. The name seems a little bit familiar, but neither of the boys is sure why. (THIS ONE IS SO GOOD)

Bronco: Reader goes on a hunt alone and hides more serious injuries from Sam and Dean. She heads to Bobby’s to recover only to have the boys show up shortly after. (I love this one)

WARNING We As Human: Sam has been struggling with depression since Stanford. Well, not really struggling. Excelling. He’s been excelling at depression since Stanford, and it’s only gotten worse since he started hunting again. Unfortunately, the relapses from John’s death and Dean’s trip to Hell were bad, but they had nothing on the downward spiral triggered by Sam starting the Apocalypse.

But Sam has never come clean before, and he isn’t about to start. He’s self-medicating, he’s suppressing, and he’s handling things in the Trademark Winchester Way. He can do this. He can totally do this.

Spoiler: No, he can’t.

WARNING Stop the Clock: Being cooped up in the bunker with the Men of Letters archive at your fingertips, you’re now the go-to person for help with lore. But having so many hunters depend on you is overwhelming. You don’t have enough time for yourself and you’ve reached a breaking point. (Dean holding you after a panic attack and comforting you.)

WARNING Chance Encounters: You are running. As a hunter, it seems like you are always running. Whether it be toward an enemy or away. You find yourself in a bar and are saved by Sam and Dean. As Dean gets curious about you, you start to fall for him. With all that is going on with the boys, you offer to help.

Come Hell or Highwater: Oneshot where the reader is stranded on a little boat in the middle of the ocean with one of the boys, and has a super repressed fear of water.

Blood and Tears: The reader is having really bad period cramps, and Dean doesn’t know how to help. (vulgar)

Deep thoughts: When the Winchesters find her, strung up and tortured by a demon, they realize she’s something more than an average human. Sam’s curious, Dean’s apprehensive, and Elise knows everything - because she can hear their thoughts.

Walkie-Talkies: The reader and Dean have to wait out a blizzard at a motel. Question is: will things heat up or not?

Ruination: The night Dean kicks him out of the bunker, Castiel has to find shelter from the rain. But he unwittingly stumbles across a monster’s lair and is caught…and as far as he knows, no one’s looking for him. Meanwhile, Sam’s not buying Dean’s story about why Cas left, and he won’t be satisfied until he finds some answers. Assuming the ex-angel lasts that long.

One Saved Message: After a hunting accident puts Sam out of commission for a couple of days, Dean decides to surprise his brother with a new phone, since his old one is toast. Even better is when he finds that he’s been able to save all of Sam’s old information and restore it to his cell. That’s when he discovers an old voicemail that Sam has kept saved for the last two and a half years… (Voicemail fix-it)

Stargazing: Sam used to want something for himself. Voicemail and amulet fix-it.

Desolation Angels: She slides into the passenger seat and shuts the door as he throws the car into drive. He speeds down the empty highway, deftly avoiding the dead cars dotting the asphalt. // AU starting at the end of AHBL Part One. (An exercise in character study.)

Lullaby: Imagine TFW finding out that the sleeping pills you take every night don’t stop the nightmares; they just keep you from screaming.

Worth It: Tag to Plucky Pennywhistle’s. When they get back to the motel room, Dean discovers Sam’s been hiding his injuries.

Avengers

Fallen Hero: A five part story of Peter and Tony’s relationship beyond what we’re shown in the MCU. If you’re into having your heart shredded and crying yourself to sleep, this is for you.

Five Times Peter Said ‘Sorry’ to Mr.Stark: …and the one time he didn’t have to.

Marvel Masterlist: This Masterlist includes Avengers and the Hell’s Kitchen Boys (Defenders and Punisher).

WARNING Dumb Luck: Having a panic attack during your flight wasn’t part of the plan. Lucky for you your seatmates are there to save the day.

Identity Theft: An organically developed, platonic slow-burn of Avengers-fam dynamic with a heavy hand of Irondad & Spiderson. Throw in an overdose of whump, a couple of cunning villains and a big-bad hiding in the shadows, and you got yourself this hot mess.

WARNING The Homes We Make: Peter Parker isn’t the type of boy to run crying to Tony Stark because he can’t handle a punch. Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds aren’t the type of friends to ignore Peter’s rapidly declining health. Eugene “Flash” Thompson isn’t an idiot.

Division of the Heart: Tony Stark is sick. Surely that’s not going to be a problem? When he doesn’t tell the team a normal cold is a little more complicated with the Arc Reactor, things get a little out of hand.

Doctor Who

WARNING Reasons: The Doctor comforts his companion when she sees a familiar face, a face she wishes she could forget.

Time to Let Go: ANGST ANGST ANGST :)

Flowers for Words: This is a little… darker than my usual. There’s kinda graphic descriptions of bloody things, so this ain’t for the squeamish.

WARNING Trust: After running away from your abusive father, you find yourself in the dark and all alone. That is, until a strange man approaches you.

Stolen: The Doctor left Rose in the other universe with the Meta-Crisis Doctor to give her a chance at a normal life. Now he’s come back to get her, and the knowledge of what she’s been put through will drive him temporarily mad.

Vision: (no description but I can tell you it’s good)

Waving Through History: The Doctor will never see her again, but that doesn’t mean she can’t see him again. // Seven times Amy and Rory visit the past Doctor and one time Amy sees the future Doctor. Post-Angels, 1930-1988.

Trapped in an Elevator: You are late for work when you become trapped in an elevator with the Eleventh Doctor.

The Curious Case of the Doctor and the Cat: Master of the Seven Blocks Rusty Grr'wa is a cat, a Good Boy with a simple life. He must protect and patrol his Seven Blocks, generously let select People pet his incredible fur, and look after the Stacy, the Mum, and the Dad. Then he runs into not-People the Doctor and the Doctor’s Clara Oswald. And then they must all deal with the Sky-thing. (crack)

Afraid of the Dark: It was quiet. That was the first thing that truly caught your attention.

Reality: A more realistic story of a whovian getting stuck in the “Doctor Who” universe. This isn’t the typical “Yay, I met the Doctor” story. If you suddenly found out the Doctor was real, wouldn’t you be a little scared? That would mean all the monsters were real too!

WARNING Psycho Savior: A young woman contemplates suicide by power steering fluid. An attempt to subvert the fan cliche in which the Doctor talks someone out of suicide.

Cold Comfort: The Doctor had his back turned, so he didn’t see how badly Rose’s hands shook as she wrapped them around the thick mug.

Human: The doctor decides it’s not safe for you to travel with him anymore, so he tries to push you away.

Pretty Girl: (no description) “I’m not beautiful,” you say one day.

WARNING: Knock Three Times: Two perfect strangers wake to find themselves being held in adjacent prison cells with no memories of who they are or how they got there. It isn’t until they are faced with agonizing trials that push the limits of self-sacrifice to new horrific heights, that they realize just what they’re facing and how much they will need to trust each other in order to survive.

WARNING Better Now: (no description)

Stellar Storytime: (no description)

Merlin

Deep in the Diamond of the Day: What if Merlin was the one to sustain the mortal injuries during the Battle of Camlann, not Arthur? Will the Once and Future King be able to save his friend? More importantly, will he WANT to after finally discovering Merlin’s secret? A fix-it fic for the series finale, which shattered my soul.

Allow One to ‘See’: When the King is attacked in his tent on patrol and falls into an unending sleep everyone is worried. What they don’t know is that Arthur is fine. In fact he is standing right here next to them, watching them all fret over his prone body. To stave off the boredom whilst a cure is found Arthur takes to wandering the castle and soon discovered a hidden side of Camelot he never knew about.

Or: Arthur’s soul gets trapped outside his body and takes to following his servant around. He gets an interesting insight into Merlin, his servant’s life and just how much Camelot needs the man.

Peace for Our Time: Merlin froze for several seconds before squinting at Arthur across the table. “I feel like I’m definitely misunderstanding the situation here.”

Arthur sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “I really don’t think you are.”

“You want me to learn magic?”

In a Name: In the middle of some quest or another, Merlin, Arthur and the knights find themselves stuck in the middle of a shrine being told that, if they wish to proceed unharmed, they need only speak their true names and titles. Straight-forward enough, right? Wrong. Merlin really hates the Old Religion sometimes.

Sherlock

WARNING Write Love on Her Arms: (no description)

Spiderman Into the Spider-verse

Ground Zero: Basically, the plot of Spider-Man; Into the Spiderverse if they all got sent to Peter B.’s universe instead of Miles’

Stranger Things

Bleeding: Hopper confronts Reader seven weeks after she left Hawkins.

Timeless

All These Tears I’ve Cried: A snapshot of Lucy’s nightmares, and the aftermath of each. Loosely set between 2x05 and 2x06.

Detroit: Become Human

Skip-able NSFW Leap: Amanda thinks she’s won, but Connor has one last trick up his sleeve. He’s determined to find someone who can fix him and get rid of CyberLife’s influence once and for all. And of course that person is a human woman, the owner of a small android repairshop in downtown Detroit. And she’s not happy about the deviant android who’s just broken in, but necessity dictates she help CyberLife’s most sophisticated prototype escape his chains. With her help, Connor soon discovers what fills the void between the lines of his code.

The Good Doctor

Do No Harm: Shaun is a doctor. He heals the sick and injured, and he takes care of people that need his help. He made this vow in full, understanding the responsibility he was taking on. So, when the bus swerved, when it crashed and flipped, it came as second nature to him. Despite his pain, and despite his injuries, he still pushed himself to do as much as he could for those around him. And he did. Without hesitation, he tried to save as many people as possible. And in doing do, he wasn’t able to save himself.

[goliath-de-senfina-sango]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Danny Phantom Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Danny Fenton/Tucker Foley, Jack Fenton/Maddie Fenton, Danny Fenton & Jazz Fenton & Maddie Fenton & Jack Fenton, Danny Fenton & Sam Manson Characters: Danny Fenton, Tucker Foley, Sam Manson, Jazz Fenton, Jack Fenton, Maddie Fenton, Valerie Gray, Wes Weston, Dash Baxter, Kwan (Danny Phantom), Nicolai Technus, OCs, Vlad Masters Additional Tags: God has cursed me for my hubris and my work is never done, The GIW are stupid, Fentons are Geniuses, Danny Pantom, Trans Male Character, Trans Female Character, to be added - Freeform Summary:

It was an average day in Amity Park. Then Technus was drawn to something the GIW shouldn't've been transporting through a city full of civilians to their base. Then things became somewhat above average in Amity Park.

It is a standard day in Amity Park Minnesota.  Birds are chirping, their song joined by will-o the wisps who speak only in music and color; children play in the park with friends, family, and pets that never left them, even if they did turn green; adults walked around small craters in sidewalks or avoided driving on roads not yet repaired on their ways to and from their many destinations.  Nicolai Technus is flying toward an 18 wheeler bearing the mark of the Ghost Interception Wing, drawn in by the powerful and complex piece of technology that it contained.  A girl in black and red flew a hoverboard loaded up with weapons to demonstrate their effectiveness on their maker, as thanks for grafting the suit to her.  A girl in white and black flew toward the ghost on her hoverboard with a shield projector and a Fenton Thermos™ ready to protect Technus from his obsessive tendencies and the ghost hunters unconcerned with his safety.  

Shots fly from ecto-pistols and Sam wonders what the GIW could possibly be driving through the city that'd tempt Technus to ignore the dangers presented to him, and why she hadn't just gone to watch Danny destroy Tucker in bowling.  Sam flew faster, a trail of violet streaking behind her as she pushed her board to its limits to keep up with Technus and the now speed limit breaking truck fleeing him.  A bolt of lightning flew from Technus' hand and the crate doors on the back of the truck flew open, revealing something so brilliant green that Sam wondered if her experimental suit was going to be enough to protect her from the radiation it was giving off.  Before she could put up her shield, Sam watched with terror that had no time to rise as the truck hit a pothole, bounced, and one of the agents now trading fire with Technus tripped, fell back, and shot the object of Technus' hyperfocus.  The world became nothing but green and pain.

"You, Danny Fenton, are cheating," Tucker declared with the absolute certainty that only a clown could muster.  Danny rolled his eyes and rolled the ball down the alley toward the pins and pumped his fists when he got yet another strike.  "Five strikes in a row - you're using telekinesis or something."  Danny snorted and stepped aside for Tucker to give it a shot.  "Ghostly telekinesis to win bowling."

"Yeah, I just learned how to use telekinesis to beat you in something I've been beating everyone at for years.  Never to like, grab a remote or toss Young Blood around with, just bowling."  Tucker made his swing and Danny patted his shoulder.  "You keep thinking that."  Danny shook his head while Tucker hit some of the pins. "Just like Sam is cheating in videogames to beat us."

"It's biphobic, what you're doing, really."

"Is it?"

"I'm being thoroughly inconvenienced, therefore-" Danny sealed Tucker's lips with his own and snickered at the expression he saw when he pulled back to grab his bowling ball. "Rude, but that's really just the only good way to shut me up."

"It's so effective." Danny shook his head, reared his hand back and the ball flew from his fingers as green light washed over the building and the force of power releasing itself into the material world slammed into his core like a tidal wave, knocking Danny to the ground before it started shaking. Glass shattered, the walls splintered, and Tucker picked him up off of the ground. They ran for a shadowed corner and Danny pulled on the light and shadows in his center, letting it wash over him slowly so that no one would notice him shifting away from the physical into the in-between and Tucker activated his suit. "Orange Spandex looks horrible on you."

"Good thing it's not spandex then, huh? If you were a little taller, I could've worn your back up one instead of Sam." The material covered Tucker's regular clothes and he pulled the hood over his head, running toward the exit while Danny flew above the building, hopping on his hoverboard and pulling out his phone. "Call Sam." The phone synced to his hood rang and rang and rang. Tucker got on his hoverboard and rose above the building as the call went to voicemail. "No, no no, please no." The green light that near outshone the sun was coming from where the world was shaking hardest. "Track GPS on Sam's board." In front of him, the visor of his hood showed him coordinates and he flew forward. "Please, gods, no."

Jack Fenton drove what some would call a tank through what others might call a warzone.  The city hadn't looked this bad since Pariah Dark had invaded, and at least then he'dd seen ghosts and humans alike fighting off the forces of the mad ghost bent on global domination.  Now he drove over a road that had been torn apart by a shockwave around buildings that had fallen over each other and themselves, the air saturated with ectoplasmic radiation and yet nothing compared to the reading he was driving toward.  And there was nothing, not a soul, living or dead, that he could see anywhere.  He kept his eyes on what used to be a street, however, so he didn't have to focus on that.

Maddie Fenton, however, was their lookout in case of any hostiles coming at them.  And she wished dearly that she wasn't.  She saw exactly what all the ectoplasmic radiation was doing in those buildings that had fallen over, could see transparent white and green and blue figures flickering into existence before fading out of view like a signal that the Earth struggled to receive.  Amity Park's ghost population hadn't increased so dramatically since the Poindexter incident in the 50s, and that was minuscule to what she was seeing now.

With a familiar viridian light surrounding her, Valerie Gray pulled herself up from a pile of rubble, aching all over her body in a way that she never had before in her entire life.  When she looked down at her hands, her suit was broken apart in chunks, the metal burned away in places, and her skin was an alien navy blue.  She screamed, and her arm vanished from sight, and someone groaned nearby.  She waved her hand around, biting back further shouts while hiding behind a block of concrete.  Trying to focus through the throbbing pain in her head, the sandpaper dryness in her throat, the rattling shake in her bones, was next to impossible.  Valerie had done more than the impossible before.  She focused on her blasters, and her hand came back into view, a pistol sized barrel building itself on her wrist.  She whirled it around the rubble to aim at whatever was approaching her and sucked in a gasp that left her coughing.  The truck was in ruins, scattered everywhere, the GIW idiots scattered on the ground either riddled with metal and red, or with suits black as night instead of the eye-burning white they dedicated themselves to, skin shades of blue and green, and above them, beyond them, was a mass of ectoplasm shifting from a pyramid to a sphere to a cube, never staying one shape for longer than an instant and yet visibly all of them at once.  A portal, like the one in the Fentons' basement that she'd gone through before but this one was unrestrained, wild, terrifying and beautiful in an alien way.  She took a step forward, and pain raced up her foot and to every inch of her body, black spots dotting her vision.  The last thing Valerie saw before everything went dark was a shock of white hair and a golden hoverboard.

It was an average day in Amity Park Minnesota.  It will not be average for a good long time.  All is as it should be.

[destielreclists]

Hey! So I really love this pairing but I’m not a fan of AUs and it feels like AUs are everywhere. Any good canon-compliant or even just canon verse with a twist stuff out there?

Hey, Anon. I remember when I wasn’t a fan of AU’s, too. Needless to say I was desperate for any SPN Verse I could get my hands on. 

Moral of the story is: don’t worry, boo. I gotchu. 

Some of my personal Supernatural Universe faves would be:

The Consequences of Falling by: Fayjay (e, 37.1k)

The Girlfriend Experience by: rageprufrock (e, 15.3k)

Hands, From Which All Things Are Built by: MajorEnglishEsquire (t, 14.6k)

Hummingbirds by: strangeandcharm (e, 25.4k)

Some Assembly Required by: narrow_staircases (m, 46.9k)

And then before I give you more recs, here’s a list of resources (tags) you may find helpful:

Supernatural Universe Tag on:

destielreclists

destielfanfic

dailydoseofdestiel

destielfanficgaloreficrec

destielfanfictions

destielfanficrecs

On DeanxCas Fic Fecs:

non-AU tag

bunker fics tag

On Archive of Our Own:

bunker [related] tag

hunter husbands tag

canon compliant tag

post-canon tag

canon universe tag

Now here are some more fic that comes to mind and that I thoroughly enjoyed (plus a few that aren’t strictly SPN verse, but also aren’t AU? - you’ll see what I mean…):

Are you there Dean Winchester? It’s me, God. by: bunnymacool

Dean Winchester has grown used to God dicking around in his life the last couple years. But this crap? This takes the CAKE … or pie, rather. Now he’s been thrown a whole new curve-ball. The kind that has ended the Civil War in Heaven … but resulted in Raphael taking over, and hunting for Dean’s ass on a silver platter. Not to mention dealing with Balthazar acting like a self-righteous prick, Sam having some big damn epiphany on his big brother’s sexuality, and Cas eying him up like he’s the world’s juiciest cheeseburger. All that mixed with the chance to fix it all and set everything to rights … but only if Dean is willing to sacrifice himself. Again. Seriously, if he ever meets that bastard God he’s gonna- … oh hey, Chuck! What are you doing here?

Circadia by: imogenbynight

4-01 is a monster undeserving of a name.

In a facility known only as Circadia, he serves a life sentence in punishment for terrible crimes he cannot remember, and is told to be grateful to have forgotten what those he left behind cannot.

Meanwhile, convinced that he is nothing but a poisonous presence in the lives of those he loves, Dean is attempting to track down Gadreel when Sam calls with bad news: Castiel has disappeared without a trace.

The Day The World Went Away by: pyjamagurl

After being reunited with Sam and leaving Lisa, Dean is finding that adjusting back into the hunting lifestyle is harder than he thought it would be. When a particular hunt goes badly, he gets knocked out, only to awaken five years in the future. Things are definitely different; Castiel is a hunter, Sam is married and things between Dean and Castiel have gone somewhere Dean really hadn’t expected. And somewhere in all of this there is a lesson to be learned.

A Distant Mirror by: zatnikatel

Dean finds that his heart is racing, and his throat is suddenly thick. He swallows once, almost gasps it out, his need to know.“Show me.”The words are scarcely out of him before Castiel’s fingers are tapping softly on his forehead, and the air is suddenly oddly heavy with something; with age, with knowledge, with a gust of wind that buffets the curtains, with a crackle of sounds, with the scent of salt, and copper and—

Dry Clean Only by: PersephoneSmee 

There were only two hunter-friendly drycleaner-laundromats in the US, and My Little Warsh House in Okeana, Ohio, belonged to Harry Mencher. In the aftermath of Cas’s Leviathan possession and disappearance, life and laundry must go on. 

Feel by: zatnakitel

You feel me…you always will.

The Fourth Wall by: entanglednow 

What happens when a few certain hunters, and a one angel of the Lord become just this side of obsessed with *gulp* Supernatural fanfic? Nothing short of greatness… depending on which of the three you’re asking. 

Head full of Doubt, Road Full of Promise by: nurfherder

When a witch’s spell goes awry, Dean transforms. However, even after the dust settles, we can’t change the things we’ve done or revealed about ourselves. It’s time to look inside and figure out who we really are, and who we really love. Completed Work. (Original story as seen on my tumblr, nurfherder.)DeanCas, multiple characters, semi-AU after Season Five. Only first part gender-bend. Christmas time. 

How Still My Heart by: cadignan

Charlie hadn’t been waiting for the call, but it’s not exactly a surprise to hear from Dean.

“Cas? You want me to find Cas?”

*this fic is available to registered AO3 users only

How To Romance a Human by: cloudyjenn

Castiel consults Cosmopolitan magazine in order to win Dean’s heart.

Keeping Faith by: zoemathemata 

After the apocalypse is over, Dean and Cas become a family when they take in a little girl.

A Night at the Museum by: swordofmymouth  

AU. For anyone who’s seen 5.04 all the way through, and wondered what happened afterward, in the Year of Apocalypse, 2014 – this is that story.

*this says AU, but I think canon divergent is a more accurate description as it’s written in the SPN universe. 

Not Usually A Good Thing by: cloudyjenn 

Five ways Castiel made Dean feel. 

The Pillow Verse by: anythingtoasted, clockworkrobots, inplayruns, outpastthemoat  

This is a story of the things that happen after the fall.

A canon-based domestic!fic shared universe set in the Men of Letter’s bunker, The Pillow ‘Verse follows Dean, Castiel, Sam, and their small cohort of rabble-rousers through stories of love, nest building, family, and healing following the 8x23 Supernatural finale Sacrifice.

Redemption Road by: darksilvercat, daymarket, dotfic, electricskeptic, jackvelvet, murron, nanoochka, nyoka, peroxidepest17, shane_mayhem, squeemonster, swordofmymouth, takadainmate, tiptoe39, zatnikatel

With Castiel having set himself up as the new God, drunk on power and volatile as a nuclear reactor, Dean, Sam, and Bobby find themselves on the run from the jealous, capricious monster wearing the face of their friend. Desperate for protection and wary of his brother’s mental state since Castiel unlocked Sam’s memories of Hell, Dean knows Castiel must be defused before he can wreak further havoc in Heaven or on Earth. Although Bobby advocates for destroying Castiel by whatever means necessary, Dean is convinced the Cas he once knew still remains, buried somewhere beneath the mass of poisonous souls and calling out for help. Determined to save the angel who once rescued him from Hell and redefined his purpose in life, Dean himself must resist the allure of the false deity vying for his obedience, and come to terms with the knowledge, long-suppressed, that his feelings for Castiel run much deeper than brotherhood. It is this bond, and the dubious distinction of the Righteous Man, that will ultimately grant Dean access to where Castiel’s grace languishes in Purgatory. However, what Dean brings back with him is broken, angry, and only half-angel, certainly not the Castiel he remembers—and nor is it the only thing that returns to Earth with them…

The Shattered One by: MissAnnThropic 

When it struck Castiel, he was in mid-flight. It dropped him out of the sky like a sparrow buffeted by gale-force winds. Castiel set down the first place he could find. He ended up standing in a field in Switzerland, swaying on his feet and staring down at his body, dazed by what it had just done. 

*There is a sequel to this, but I stopped reading about half way through so I can’t recommend it officially as I haven’t finished it. It’s called The Unbroken Ones if you’re interested.

The Story Of You And Me by: the_diggler

Dean wakes up in bed next to a very human Castiel, and a journal in his own handwriting that tells him it’s two years in the future. The house looks a lot like Bobby’s, and Sam lives there too… He just can’t remember how they got from angels falling in the sky – to comfortable domesticity.

While there is much in the journal Dean doesn’t remember, there is much of their story he’s always known. And as he settles into the routine of his new life and relationship with Castiel, it quickly becomes something he doesn’t know how to live without.

Thursday’s Child by: strangeandcharm

Thursday’s child has far to go.

Tripping by: Hatteress

That time the universe decided Dean belonged with Cas and wasn’t afraid to pull out the big guns to make it so. Big guns in this case being obsessive fangirls, archangels turned tricksters and overly enthusiastic cupids. Welcome to Dean’s life.

the world is ours to take by: casfallsinlove (tumblr link)

Dean was right about the heater; it’s one of the only things that works properly in this room, thirty years old as it is, and his skin prickles with the welcome heat as he strips off his jacket and t-shirt, shimmies out of his jeans. Down to only his underwear he stifles a yawn and crawls back into the nest of blankets Cas has created. His spot is long since cold but Cas’s body is a furnace and he nestles his way in until he can rub his frozen nose on the back of Cas’s neck.

And finally the not AU’s not SPN verse ones:

Yellow Moon by: coffeeandcheesecake

King of the Road by: loversantiquities

Kiss You When It’s Dangerous by: zoemathemata

Happy reading!

[archonreviews]

The Archon’s Review of E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy

E.Y.E: Divine Cybermancy is a first-person shooter with role-playing game elements created by Streum On Studio. It is the year 15 of the New Era (About 2395 CE), and the Federation (It’s always, always a fucking federation, isn’t it?) has total and dictatorial control over ~1,200 worlds. However, things are not going well: violent crime and piracy are not only rampant, but absolutely endemic, even expected on most Federation worlds. Strange and terrible creatures known collectively as the Metastreumonic Force have ravaged any world already desolated by human industry. Megacorporations rule pretty much everything. In the midst of this horror and chaos, a shadowy and clandestine group called the Secreta Secretorum has returned to prominence. Once, they were demon hunters and mystics, fighting against the Metastreumonic Force alongside the Federation, but now horrified by its total control over so many worlds, they have decided to rebel against them, using the chaos of looter bands and Force attacks to their advantage. However, things are not going well for the Secreta either. The group is split by factional infighting, as the Culter Dei and the Jian Shang Di groups each struggle for power and influence within the Secreta Secretorum. In this moment, the Culters have made a move to strike at “an influential Jian mentor”. You were assigned to a special task force sent to complete this mission, but you wake up in a cave, amnesiac, and must piece together your past, the plot, your loyalties, etc. As a direct result of your amnesia, people assume you’re stupid because you ask basic questions. Are you stupid? Only one way to find out.

I swear to the heavens that the above splash image is not a Space Marine.

So, another FPS, this one with the RPG mechanics that were really popular with FPS’s for a while.This is one of those games where I seem to have more bad to say about it than good, and yet I end up enjoying it anyway. See also: Shadow the Hedgehog.

So how about that visual aesthetic, eh? Basically, take Warhammer 40k, Shadowrun, Crysis, and whatever other cyberpunk/dystopic sci-fi you wanna think of, toss it all in a blender, and Divine Cybermancy is basically what you get from it. Sadly, while they were busy stealing elements wholesale from wherever they could, they decided that having interesting or multi-colored backgrounds was overrated, and that having interesting and distinct character models was more so. This actually makes it a little bit difficult to determine which enemies have which weapons and abilities. In fact, there are like, 3 character models per faction? Maybe? In addition, the lack of diverse backgrounds makes it a little bit difficult to know where you’ve been before in a level. All in all, while the aesthetic is interesting prima facie, it rather quickly becomes a mass of dull colors and confusing visuals.

Quick, semi-related note: the dialogue translations are a little bit not-the-best. I had originally thought that the game was translated from Russian, but I later read that it was translated by a Frenchman who knew no English at all. So, either this mysterious Frenchman is translating from Russian into English, or from French into English. Either way, the translations are impressive... for someone who speaks no English. Some of them do get really weird later on though, so... eh, we’ll give the translations a C+ and move on, shall we?

Speaking of men, this game is an absolute sausage fest. Like, there are literally no female characters to speak of, except for a particular female enemy type among the aforementioned Metastreumonic Force. I mean, c’mon Streum On Studio, even W40K has the Sisters of Battle, and I’m sure Crysis had a lady or two. Although... almost every character has a full helmet and body armor. So I suppose, they could be women underneath all that armor. But I know for a fact that almost all the main characters are dudes.

Speaking of dudes, the tutorial is rubbish. It’s a basic level through a cave and then a sewer system, and every time a new mechanic comes up, the game will helpfully prompt you to press the T key to bring up the list of tutorial videos. Really sloppy, actually, when you could easily build a tutorial into a game like this. Although, it controls more or less like a standard FPS, so I don’t begrudge it too much, I suppose.

Speaking of grudges, there is no functioning save system. Like, at all. The game supposedly auto-saves your progress at the start of every mission, and also at the mission’s conclusion, but missions can be really long and arduous, and even then, I have encountered at least one glitch (I imagine it’s a rare one), which deleted all my progress and booted me to just after I finished the tutorial level. Without any explanation. Or warning. It was a very trying moment for me. Manly cyberpunk tears were shed.

Speaking of other game elements to pick at, if that exposition up there made no sense to you, don’t worry. It confused they heck out of me as well, but I sorta liked it anyway. Not everyday that you see the the obligatory human Federation as the bad guys. Hell, their footsoldiers are literally the Helghast from Crysis. PEOPLE WHO MADE CRYSIS DON’T SUE THESE PEOPLE, ETC. That said, the plot your character goes through is a bit of a mess, at least, to begin with. You start in a dream, where you learn you’ve killed your mentor, and then you get dropped into the beginner cave, and everyone acts like you should know everything about this world already, but you know nothing, Jon Snow. This results in compounded confusion, especially since the historical archives your allies give you access to only detail the past millennia, not really immediate events. Regardless, I’m sure the plot pans out... somehow.

^(I’m putting thus here only to prove a point about the visual similarities between these enemies and the ones in Crysis. You guys, pleeeeaaaase don’t sue Streum. It’d make me sad.)^

Now, some of the things I’ve described are not without their qualifications. Por exemple, while the visuals are generally dull, are some genuinely impressive shots one can get if they position themselves well. The game is a bit like having a lovely view out your living room window... of a totally urban environment created by someone who subsists on cigarettes and cyber-spite.

^(A vibrant, dystopic paradise...

... the halls of power in an ancient temple...

... and choice monster ass. What more could you ask for?)^

Even all that is dressing and crust for the moment-to-moment gameplay. And that gameplay is actually quite entertaining! It facilitates a variety of gameplay styles. You wanna be a cold sniper, casually making headshots against gormless assholes? Go for it! Wanna be a psy-wizard? Do it! Tech-berserker? The world is yours! Hacker extraordinaire? Enemies are hackable; hack ‘em all! Each of those gameplay styles is not only viable, but entertaining as fuuuuuuuuck. Getting regular headshots made me feel like a Shinigami, and when I was done with that character and wanted something more hands-on; well, let’s just say the transmutation of monsters into monster corpses was made all the more enjoyable with the aid of my exploding sword.

The RPG elements work well enough, and are pretty bog-standard. You get experience points for killing enemies and completing missions, and every time you get enough, you gain a level, giving you 3 skill points to distribute among your many abilities. In addition, you can equip a number of items, each of which take up a certain amount of space in your inventory. These items and your armor determine, along with your agility stat, your movement speed.

^(My tank character’s sheet. Stats on the right, derivatives on the left.)^

You may also invest in cybernetics which increase your stats or give you special abilities, or in psionic powers which are essentially magical. Each of these cost mone -- Oh, I’m sorry, brouzoufs -- and while they seem really cool, I often found that my first brouzoufs went into research. Oh yeah, you can research things in this game. These researches can grant you the use of new items, or improve your stats, or merely unlock new research topics. Really, there’s a lot to spend your resources on, whether it’s skill points or brouzoufs.

Nəticədə, I had a hard time with this game. I loved the pizza that was the gameplay, but not as much the toppings that were the ancillary bits. I’d recommend it to very patient sci-fi/cyberpunk fans, mostly. If you’re patient with the game’s faults, the game will prove quite an enjoyable experience. I would only return to playing it if I had a lot more time on my hands, honestly.

^(Of course, the best thing about the game are these friends.)^

[swipestream]

New Release Roundup, 2 February 2019: Fantasy and Adventure

The Devil is not in the details, but on the battlefield. In his shadow, infernal hitmen and detective saints; Nazi wizards and British mages; dragon slayers and divine champions clash in this week’s roundup of the newest releases in fantasy and adventure.

The Caster of Destruction (Overlord #9) – Kugane Maruyama

For twelve years, the virtual world of Yggdrasil has served as the playground and battlefield for the skeletal lord Momonga and his guild of fellow monsters, Ainz Ooal Gown. But the guild’s glory days are over, and the game is shutting down permanently. When Momonga logs in one last time just to be there when the servers go dark, something happens–and suddenly, fantasy is reality. A rogues’ gallery of fanatically devoted NPCs is ready to obey his every order, but the world Momonga now inhabits is not the one he remembers. The game may be over, but the epic tale of Ainz Ooal Gown is only beginning…

The annual war between the kingdom and the empire almost always ends in little more than a staring contest. This year, the Fresh Blood Emperor’s visit to Nazarick will change everything. Ainz himself has joined the fray, which is a dark omen of the coming storm. The arrival of the absolute ruler of Nazarick means only horror and death await those who stand on what will become the most hellish battlefield anyone has seen in living memory…!

Chuck Dixon’s Avalon #3: The Conscience of the King – Chuck Dixon and Frank Fosco

While King Ace is in training with Big Simba and the Specials of the UN-SPC, his former partner-in-fighting-crime Fazer languishes in a prison designed especially for people with superhuman powers. Fazer is desperate to escape, but how can he get out when his jailors possess the technology required to block his unique abilities?

But Fazer isn’t the only one feeling trapped, as King Ace quickly comes to learn that his new team isn’t tasked with fighting crime in the city of Avalon, but rather, tracking down other people like him and Fazer. And he also discovers that signing on with the official forces of law and order means accepting restrictions on your ability to do what you think is right.

Chuck Dixon is the most prolific comic book writer in history. Set in the world of Alt★Hero, CHUCK DIXON’S AVALON is the legend’s newest creation.

The Circle of St. George – John Auber Armstrong

Nothing in his life prepared Charlie Walker for meeting King Arthur and Merlin, King Oberon and Puck, or to find himself riding with the Wild Hunt and fighting a cohort of bloodthirsty Valkyries attacking GI’s on the beaches of France! Compared to that, a naked Winston Churchill barely rates mentioning …

Britain, 1940: a coalition of British magicians have united to oppose the Nazi’s use of black magic, and a young American soldier is sent to observe and report on the program code-named The Circle of St. George. Captain Charlie Walker doesn’t believe in gods, ghosts, or magic … until he has no choice in the matter!

Charlie’s education in magick is a hero’s journey like no other you’ve read. His instructors include Aleister Crowley and a who’s who of British occultists. Together, from the great plain of Glastonbury and the isle of Avalon to the Fae Kingdom and the death camps of the Third Reich, Charlie and The Circle of St. George stand alone against Hitler’s magicians.

The Devil’s Gunman (The Devil’s Gunman #1) – Philip S. Bolger

Working as a hitman for the devil of paperwork is a pretty good gig. Until you settle your obligation and don’t have the job anymore. Then what do you do?

For Nick Soren, it was the best of times and the worst of times. Having made more money working for the devil than he could ever spend, he lived it up in a haze of booze and drugs. Until the devil put a hit out on him.

On the run, Nick finds help from someone he never expected—another of the devil’s previous hitmen—who wants Nick to kill the devil. But there are vampires and Hellhounds on his tail, and that is going to make things…difficult. Can Nick get clear of the supernatural creatures hunting him long enough to take his shot and get revenge on the devil?

He’s not alone in his mission—a jiangshi mage and a chimera are along for the ride, and may help even the odds…or just get him killed all the faster.

Time is running out and the vampires are closing in…is this the end for the devil’s gunman?

Flying Sparks: Meta-Man Special – Jon del Arroz 

For the last fifty years, Meta-Man has been an enigma—a reclusive hero who does his duty but shies away from the public eye. What happened? Who is he?

Unlocked from the archives for the first time, you can dive into one of Meta-Man’s early adventures and get a glimpse into his heroic world as he works to stave off a plot from his nemesis Dr. Malicious and his communist commandos! Can Meta-Man prevail, or will the U.S.S.R. interfere with the American presidential election and spread the reach of the Iron Curtain across the globe? Read this action-packed superhero comic and find out!

“A touch of backstory for a side character, a dash of 60s comics-style fisticuffs, and a sprinkle of the classic tragedy of missing out on important personal moments for the sake of saving the day for someone else. “–Amazon Reader Review

Infernal Affairs (Saint Tommy, NYPD #3) – Declan Finn

My name is Officer Thomas Nolan, and I am a saint.

I can smell evil. I show mercy to the lesser criminals – the desperate. Even those I’ve put behind bars seem to like me.  But now there’s a serial killer bringing darkness beyond imagination to my city. I can smell his stench a mile away.

Detective Tommy Nolan is having a bad day.

First, the celebrant was murdered during mass. Then the SWAT team knocked down his door trying to kill him.

With the million dollar bounty on his head, every gunman and demonic monster is coming out of the pit to collect it.

Tommy has to discover who’s out to make him a martyr before he becomes a saint for real.

Sowing Dragon Teeth (The Iron Disciplines #1) – James Alderdice

Nobody said getting revenge on a dragon that killed your father would be easy, but nobody said it would be this hard either.

War looms on the horizon. Aisha is scouting the borderlands wary of a coming secret invasion when she is ambushed by a crazed old shaman who was sure that she was trying learn his secrets. She isn’t interested in the old legends about a dragon graveyard but after burning the secret map she is the only one who knows where it is supposed to exist and every gold hungry rogue crawls out of hiding to try and force her to take them there for riches untold.

The journey will take them across a cursed landscape brimming with foul sorceries and terrible monsters, but the promise of both treasure and revenge is irresistible. Sowing Dragon Teeth is an action-packed heroic fantasy in the vein of classic pulp fiction and thrilling treasure hunts. If you like gory battles, larger-than-life characters, and witty humor, then you’ll love James Alderice’s gritty tale.

A Thousand Drunken Monkeys (The Hero of Thera #2) – Eric Nylund

Continue Playing the Game? Yes / No

The Kingdom of Thera is a crossroads to many worlds and realities. Here a secret war between the gods plays out via their proxy mortal champions. These player-champions use all the augmented-reality interfaces and game mechanics that role-playing and video-gamers know and love.

Join Hektor Saint-Savage, Marine and martial artist extraordinaire; Morgana Nox, shapeshifting druid-thief and trickster; and the cantankerous dwarf, Elmac Arguson—as they punch, blast, stab, and slither their way through the second Hero of Thera novel.

Can they outwit, outfight, and outrun assassins? The Imperial Knight Champion of Chaos? Feisty gnomes with slide rules? A horde of a thousand inebriated simians?

There’s only one way to find out…

Viridian Gate Online: Doom Forge (The Viridian Gate Archives #6) – James Hunter

Jack and the crew of the Crimson Alliance have finally made it back from the Realm of Order, but the threat to Eldgard is deadlier than ever.

Vogthar incursions are increasing, dungeons falling in droves, towns and cities ravaged by Darklings—Players and NPCs who have willingly sided with the Dark Overmind Thanatos. But thanks to a priceless artifact Jack found after defeating the Lich Priest, there might be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Jack and company have unearthed a Doom-Forged relic, one part of an ancient weapon capable of killing even a god. But to assemble the legendary god-killer, they’ll need to find the other relics and locate the fabled Doom Forge of the Dwarven godling Khalkeús, all while unraveling a mystery five hundred years in the making.

New Release Roundup, 2 February 2019: Fantasy and Adventure published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames