#i want to create my own take on these myths so thanks for inspiring me if nothing else

[msbunnat]

thank you for your answer, in any case I was already very excited by your comic and I cannot wait to read more about it!

I honestly cannot understand the people hating on your work. I feel like fandoms has been invaded by a wave of purity/moral policy that shouldn't exist anymore. it's even more wild to me knowing you're working on a greek myth, and the greek myths are KNOWN to have many versions. that's the beauty of them in my opinion, the way these authors all wrote their own versions and they passed them to us. I love the fact you picked Ganimedes, and you decided to explore both Zeus and him. And the mystery you keep about your relationship really makes me wonder which take you will follow!

and speaking of take, I really enjoy yours on Zeus. Gods are complex beings, and sure they're problematic (like duh) and bad, and everything but it's funny how people will decide which pick for who. Like everybody love Poseidon but oh boy, he can be as bad as Zeus people. So yeah, I am actually excited to read the way you're gonna write him! I don't hate Zeus, sure he does seem one of the "worse" when reading most of the myths, but my favorite thing is the way you can love one god in one story, and hate him in another. they're immortal beings. they're not just black and white. so I happen to enjoy when authors write Zeus as more than just a big bad villain. But I also enjoy when they just don't make him a "sweet lovely daddy".

Oh by the way, I didn't know the version of Metis abusing him and I'll have to look into it! We had a more "feminist" vision of her myth in my class, so it's not something that was talked about hmm.

Also, my bad for saying he died. It was a sum up because of him turning into a constellation. I cannot say we studied this myth so unfortunately I don't have sources to help you on it! It's assumed he lives on forever young but the fact he turns into a constellation is why people think he died?

Thanks! I want to post soon, but I'm so tireeed ;w; I prefer to make people wait and do a good job tho.

About the hate... People re affraid (artists have to much power kkkkk) and we live in a time that you need to share your opnion to get validation. In my case, they need to say that Zeus is bad and hate on him and me so they know they re on the rigth side and have good morals. And even after all this, I think its a good thing they just warning people, that way I can get to my real target that can enjoy characters more complex that re not good or evil, but mess up beings (that includes Ganimedes). And even if people in the end critizied my aproach, its also fine, I dont claim to be perfect and just hope that even to the mad ones, they feel inspired to create their version as well. I think they forgot that, like, they can have their version and will be as valid as mine, dosent matter the story.

(I really enjoy everything about Ganymede, if people go and do their versions, its a plus to me! More about him is best for me heheh. I came across two versions of Ganymede on tumblr and I LOVE BOTH!! I really want to do a fanart of the second one, but I'm a lil afraid if they dont want to interact with me, which is fair, but I'm just judging by the dark aproach on the myth, as a horror story).

Thanks for liking my Zeus u.u I'm really more found of him, as I think about his past, but I'm trying not to focus to much on him! He steals the scene to much!!!

About Metis, its not a version, but a interpretation. I'm looking to see if I find a sourse, but anyway, its intresting, since they met when Zeus was still young. And there re some greek myths with female abusers, so... its something.

Oooh! I see. hm... I never see the constelation as a death, so its not clicking with me, but I understand. Any way, I kinda dont like the constelation, for some reason looks wrong to me, but its a valid version and Im totally using the aesthetic kkkk

[milky-rozen]

Hello 🤗, I’ve kind been following your project for months now and I have to say I’m glad people are still acknowledging Egyptian Mythology. I know it doesn’t really have all the drama and pizzaz I suppose Greek or Roman mythos does which is why people like it more, however I find your work refreshing because it seems like you actually care about Egyptian Mythos. I’ve been obsessed with it for years and I’ve even done my own research over the years myself and could never fully understood why people didn’t care for it as much. Even after watching Hollywood Blockbuster films like “Gods of Egypt” the movie frustrated me in so many ways but the biggest one being that it felt like a knockoff of Clash of the Titans. So I’m done with my little rant but I was curious on what sparked your interest in making this project? How often are you taking creative liberties with your story? Also how do you come up with such creative designs for your characters will also keeping the historical consistency of Ancient Egypt?

P.S. Hope this all made sense 😀

Heya!

So, first of all, thank you so much for your kind words, they really made my day!

Second of all, let me reply to all of your questions in order so I don't forget anything lol

Ok so, as for what sparked my interest in making this project, It all started with me playing a mythology-themed video game called Dislyte. I've always been into Egyptian Mythology since I can remember, but when I was a kid, things were a bit different from now and I didn't have access to the Internet as I have now as my father would set up a limited screen time for me and my sister on the computer, and also at that time, I just didn't know how to research things properly lol. So, nostalgia led me to explore new and old media about Egyptian mythology and do some proper academic research to get to know the main and minor myths better. During this "research phase" I discovered the Korean manhwa Ennead, which inspired me and my character designs a lot. Afterwards, as I realized how little material exists about this mythology in particular, I decided to create something myself that could help fill that gap, something that could bring people together and spark their interest so that I could have someone to talk to about Egyptian Mythology lmaooo. But also, I always wanted to work on an original comic series and so I thought that this could have been the best time to start! And so, House of the Sun was born!

Now, talking about artistic liberty, it really depends on the comic we're talking about. In Thoth's Library, I try to be as accurate as possible to the actual myths, only taking some artistic liberty when I need to link some facts that would otherwise sound a bit random and incohesive to the narration, adding some motivations and sub-plots to link all the stories together while trying to stay true to the original sources. Although, this might change in some future arcs. In Young Horus, although some connections are accurate, I decided to fill all the gaps I could with an original coming-of-age story for Horus the Younger to create something new and have fun with it, so the majority of the things happening in the comic are purely fictional. Of course, I always make sure to put a disclaimer for that in every episode just in case ahahah

As for the inspiration behind the character designs, I wanted to create something very personal and somewhat accurate in terms of clothing and overall presentation without including those classic elements we all know, like the animal heads or masks we often see in other media. I was especially inspired by something I noticed in Ancient Egyptian art, like the fact that some gods like Ra have both a human and animal form, and so I was like, you know what? I'm leaving the animal iconography to other contexts, I'm going full human this time lmao. Well, kind of, since I still wanted to include some animal traits that are very iconic to Egyptian art, like the tails (often used in classic Egyptian iconography to depict power and royalty), the ears and sometimes the paws too because, why not? 😂

Man, this was a very long reply lol I tried to be as brief as possible but I'm not good at it honestly ahah soooo, thanks for sticking with me so far! 😂 and, oh! Before I forget , Happy New Year!

[darkcrowprincess]

I so want to write a romance like Lukercy or Pernico... Fanfics aren't really my thing, but I'm often inspired to create my own stories. There is so much potential behind these dynamics. I'd love to know if you have any ideas to offer, because I don't really have a starting point, or even a concrete idea. Maybe there will be nods to Romeo & Juliet, who knows ? Your posts and reblogs on them finally made me see and understand the beauty of this love story. Most of my romances will certainly have nods to it now, like with the case of Beauty and the Beast.

@darklinaforever

Do I have ideas!!! I got tons. And if you want to take them off my hands I'd love that!

Percico:

I have this idea for a potion of Endymion fic. Where to save Percys life Nico gives Percy a potion that heals him but puts him in immortal sleep(look up the greek myth Selene and Endymion to understand). Now Nico has to find a cure for Percy. The catch is though Percy and Nico can meet in dreams/have shared dreams. The dreams are very addictive. Nico and Percy are both very tempted to stay in the dream world where nothing bad could hurt them and thry can be together(Nico thanks since its a shared dream its the obly reason why Percy has feelings for him). The dream world is something they both can share and create together.

A 2004 troy movie au where Percy and Nico are Helen and Paris. Percy is in an abusive arranged marriage(it doesn't have to be Annabeth, but if i were to write it thats how I'd see it) so Nico his secret lover hides him away on his sister Bianca's boat when their heading back to Troy. Now war is on the horizon because Percy's abusive spiteful spouse wont let him go. But Nico will fight for him(look up the plot for 2004 troy)

Romeo and Juliet style romance between Percy and Nico who are young gods. They are children of Poseidon and Hades and are forbidden from seeing each other.

Lukercy:

Luke and Percy runaway together(Canada or Alaska) sometime between canon and dont look back. They start a horse ranch together. Maybe someone from their past finds them.

This one is based on the tv show. But them aged up. Luke kidnaps Percy and takes him with him through the portal when Annabeth finds them.

Luke is resurrected during Heroes of Olympus and helps the seven. He has gold angel wings and mainly protects Percy. He and Percy fall in love.

Tv show again, Luke finds where Percy lives in New York before season 2. Luke keeps trying to convince Percy to join him. Also apologizes for hurting and lying to him. Percy also wants to convince Luke to leave Kronos. Adventure and romance in New York for a year before summer. Who will convince who?

Hope you like my ideas.

[0wl3tt3]

Reflection on my practice (for future me)

Hello, so I wanted to do write what has been my practice so far for future me to read and reflect, I discover a lot for myself, so this might be long so please sit and relax.

Catholicism

I grew up Roman Catholic for most of my life, living and breathing on those values, going to Catholic school and going to church but it doesn't really have an affect for me, I didn't feel connected to Catholicism, so I was semi atheist (I didn't know that Agnostic exist) for most of my early teenage years until I was in grade 10, where I was kinda chilling in class, I wasn't interested with the subject so I just pulled out my phone and thought it would be fun to search on tumblr about witchcraft and it really interested me. Everything about it looked fun and maybe I wanted to dipped my toes in the water. Later on I created an account specifically for that! I enjoyed it as a newbie liking the vibes and looked to find Paganism

Kemeticism

Anyone who followed 15-16 year old me will remember I was a Kemetic pagan, I worshipped Anubis and Ra (Along with Heru-Sa-Aset) but I was close to Anubis, I prayed to him after my dog died which did started my path to paganism where I now just denounce myself silently as a Catholic. I prayed and gave him offerings that I have access to and just let him guide me to cope. I started being open to my practice to my friends as well which they all really support! I never said anything to my family knowing what they believe was that I'm just catholic.

I really do thank Anubis and the gods I did pray for those hardships of my own mistakes and leading me to comfort even when I'm arrogant. It inspired me to admire history more that I ever did, I wanted to read more about old religions, I wanted to just eat every single information I can find tiring to be the best version of what I should do and value.

Hellenism and Athena

I've already told this but I wasn't Kemetic pagan anymore now, I adored Anubis but it felt like my time of mourning had passed and it felt like I might have to part my ways with Kemeticism. Its a beautiful religion and the people there are lovely! but I just don't follow it as a follower anymore and I was called to Hellenism.

I wasn't gonna lie and say Hellenism didn't intimidate me, it did, I knew to never take the myths literally for me to not act dumb but there were a lot of things I had to learn now that I wasn't following Kemeticism. I wasn't sure who to look, well, for a bit until I settled with Athena which makes sense.

Listen, I am a girl that loved the greek monsters, dragons, drawing, and war history, of course I'm gonna pray to Athena!

I felt like she was the goddess for me and later became the kinda the only goddess I prayed for when it comes to tests and being strong. Sometimes I don't do prayers because of school and my own laziness, I'm happy that she's patient with me and a tarot reading by a friend, where I asked "What's Athena thinking about me? I haven't done much for her..." "Talk to me more! and stop procrastinating!"

Is just... I STILL THINK ABOUT IT LIKE OH SWEET GODDESS THANK YOU BUT ALSO DON'T CALL ME OUT😭😭😭😭/j

But I really do thank her for that, it's just so sweet for me to know she is around even when I'm not always acknowledging her.

Now and future

I think one, buy a fucking tarot deck for myself and just talk more, sometimes when no one is around I just talk out of no where to her which I see as my baby steps to coming back since last and the early months I was pretty dry on my worship and practice. This summer I hope I can read history books and just talk about it to her, start doing divination and do something about that rain water from one year ago lmao.

I think this year will be witchy and pagan for me! I'm excited for shenanigans to ensue with my irl witch friends!

And I will say it again, thank you to the deities I worshipped before and now for guiding me to where I am now, no matter how chaotic it is, you're there for me.

So for future me, let's do this!!!!!

[groofz]

PART I: "Midlife Crisis for Dummies"

How would I describe a midlife crisis, in a nutshell? Complacency seeps in, slow and silent. Before you know it, you hate your job, your wife, yourself, and your life. The everyday routine that once brought you peace has turned on you. It sneaks into your home, screws your wife, and burns down the house with the kids inside—all in slow motion, right in front of you. And somehow, you've forgotten how to even find words for the feeling—not even to yourself. It's not like anyone would listen, anyway; you don't speak their language anymore, and they can't see you at all.

Halloween just passed, but that's not why I sketched the Invisible Man. I sketched him because I'm living through a three-year midlife crisis that started back in 2021 and hasn't let up. I used to think the "midlife crisis" was a myth. I mean, what could possibly top puberty? Many of us barely survived that as it is! But this feels a lot like puberty, minus the zits and hormone spikes (though there's still confusion, the feeling of being an outsider, and plenty of horniness and depression). After one of the most productive phases of my life, I lost touch with everything | ever believed in.

I drifted away, forgot how to connect with other people, lost my sense of self, my identity, my sense of belonging. Just like that, I was gone.

The first sign? An onslaught of angst and the overpowering urge to reread The Catcher in the Rye for what must have been the 25th time. At first, I wondered if this was puberty all over again-maybe thanks to the COVID vaccine. Once I started becoming aware of it, though, there was still nothing I could do. I got more depressed and suicidal than l'd ever been. Like so many creatives, I left art and comics behind years ago, focusing on a responsible, modest lifestyle, building a career and a family. By 29, I was an ordinary guy-content, or at least settling. Then life came along and sucker-punched me in the balls, stole my powers, and burned it all down. Out of nowhere, though, I felt the spark of something new. It was time to go on a quest.

PART II: "There and Back Again"

I wanted to draw the Invisible Man because that's exactly how I feel. I feel like Gregor Samsa, trying to murmur an "I love you" through my own twisted exoskeleton, only to terrify anyone who matters. I feel like Frankenstein, Godzilla, or Toru Okada in a surreal, postmodern search for meaning, lost in a dark hole. I am body horror-aging itself is body horror. It reminds me of that Cronenberg film Shivers, where an old man opens his trench coat to expose his shriveled body, croaking, "Even old flesh... is erotic flesh." It's grotesque, yet somehow, it's all part of this journey.

PART III: "How to Survive a Midlife Crisis (Or Any Crisis) "

How do you survive a midlife crisis—or any crisis? By diving into the toxic wreckage of this post-apocalyptic, dystopian nightmare we call life and finding the art buried inside. Let it in; let it take over like radiation or cancer. Become someone new-reborn, inspired, creating art and comics, and vomiting pop culture.

During the worst of it, I went back to my old survival strategy. I gorged on every piece of media I could get my hands on-comics, manga, art books, classics, film noir, vintage BDSM movies and magazines. I started drawing again, and fast. Now it's all coming together, fusing into something new. This is what I wanted. More to come?

P.S. Did I mention I might've jerked off 40 times a day and visited a few escorts in all this? Guess that should've been in here too, since I'm drawing hentai late at night.

Feels like this is going somewhere. I'll just have to follow my heart and see where it

[cybercelestian]

Hello cybercelestian! 👋

Can you tell me about one of your WIPs you’re working on at the moment? I’d love to know more about what my mutuals enjoy 💫

Tell me as much as you like! Or, if you don’t want to spoil/leave it as a surprise, tell me what inspired you to write.✨

Hi thanks for the ask! (We’re gonna ignore my late reply loll)

an arrow of inspiration shot me down just a few days ago soo

If I were to describe it concisely it would be: “ripoff Percy Jackson”

…but who likes to be concise?

it starts out with your usual completely corrupted and annoying Zeus who thinks humans are kinda being led astray. He believes that the humans should learn the lessons they learned oh so long ago, now only viewed upon as magical myths. So, he creates a prophecy and binds three kids to it

anyways he goes undercover and starts a Greek myth class. When the 3 kids show up, he gifts them Greek artifacts and doesn’t specify if they’re real or not. Basically the kids are trying to find a way to break the prophecy since they’re gonna die if they don’t.

the 3 kids areee:

Iara (Gifted with Icarus’ wings)

Straightforward, planned out 16-year-old

is intelligent but not necessarily creative

a natural born leader who is only stoic when they have to take on said leader role

will freak out the minute things get off-course

has enhanced agility after being gifted the wings

Noa (Gifted with Narcissus’ Mirror)

Artistic and go with the flow 17-year-old

burnt out gifted kid in the arts and desperately wants to reclaim that spark

not a big fan of themself, more of a supporter for everyone else

i don’t really have an enhanced skill for them yet

Amelia (Gifted with Atlas’ Projector Orb Thingy)

A witty and inventive 12-year-old

very very socially anxious because of how easily swayed she is

wants to be part of a group

loves astronomy, mathematics, and history

owns lots of turtlenecks and hair clips

has the ability to understand Ancient Greek (language of the gods I’m assuming) and can really decipher prophecies

The three’s personalities are the exact opposite of the person/titan they’re bound to

that’s the most I can think of

[tleeaves]

Thank you @luciehercndale and also @faithfromanewperspective (I am pretty sure you also tagged me and I forgot to make my reply then) for tagging me 🥺 It means the world, honestly, since I don't update a lot nor write too many fics, yet I'm still remembered.

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💖

(All of the below are in The Last Hours fandom)

Wasting Beats In This Heart Of Mine 136,108 words. Work in progress. This fic is my most ambitious and it is a various x OC story (James Herondale, Cordelia Carstairs, and Matthew Fairchild). It's my own take on how multiple universes of the same characters work and what would happen if a time loop was created by trying to save someone who is meant to die. Basically, it's the fracturing of reality, the occasional dose of heavy existentialism and derealisation/depersonalisation, fixing of some canon complaints I had, but it all takes place during Chain of Iron. It's a re-write of an earlier and now deleted fanfic of mine called Chain of Lies. Oh, and there's romance. Everything kind of revolves around that, one way or another, even in some rather dangerous ways.

The Rain (It Rains Every Day) 7,912 words. Work in progress. This is a Beauty and the Beast AU but greatly inspired by the myth of Eros/Cupid and Psyche, as well as earlier versions of the Beauty and Beast story (the French version, as well as some others under different titles like East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which is basically Cupid and Psyche in a different font). It's got James Herondale x Cordelia Carstairs, Lucie Herondale x Grace Blackthorn, and Alastair Carstairs x Thomas Lightwood. The setting is 1900, Greece in an alternate universe where a whole bunch of the TLH cast immigrated to the country or live(d) in Bulgaria or Persia.

A Diamond On Your Pillow 1,978 words. Complete work. A crack-ship fic about Christopher Lightwood x Lara Croft because of a silly joke I had with @thevagabondexpress. I still maintain that it is the most genius of my works, even if I did not get around to writing out any of the backstory we talked about. Also, it's the strangest ship in the fandom corner right now and I am proud of that. The moment someone takes my title, I will be publishing a James Herondale x Alastair Carstairs fic and no one can stop me. Not even your mother. Heed my warning because after that it might be Peeta Mellark x Cordelia Carstairs AND I WILL DO IT.

Love, We Did Our Best 3,354 words. Work in progress. A Matthew Fairchild x pregnant OC fic. I came up with the idea after a weird dream I had about IVF, but anyway. It takes place in France (past) and Tortuga (current story), 1906. Matthew has been travelling the world and generally avoiding Shadowhunters until he gets to Tortuga and meets a Nephilim woman with her marks stripped in exile there. She is a widow expecting to give birth to her first child in somewhere over three months. It only has two chapters so far, but it's supposed to be a cute murder mystery (..."cute" as in there's romance, but also the murder mystery itself is not actually cute, it gets quite dark).

Pride and Prejudice 2,460 words. Work in progress. It is literally just a Thomastair Pride and Prejudice AU. It has one chapter. I intend to continue it one day, but I have to refer to the book often so it's on the backburner because I am too lazy to refer to the book to write and this AU requires it. I'll get around to it eventually. Probably.

I am tagging @griddle-cakes, @sourlemons262, @zoyalannister, and @all-this-panic-still-no-disco (mostly because I know you're also fanfic writers, 3/4 of which have written also for TLH. You absolutely don't have to do this though if you don't want to.)

[denimbex1986]

'In contemporary fandom, canon is king. This is not a jab against an admiration of an ordered continuity and worldbuilding, the necessary aspects of creating a story to be lost in. But what goes beyond it—a yearning for raw, wiki-able data and facts that can be collated and held in amber, where interpretation gives way to a singular thesis—often threatens to override it. Which is why for Doctor Who, a show that has spent 60 years growing and changing and writing over and under itself, its latest shock is less about breaking its own world, but rather setting itself free.

It did so in the final act of “The Giggle,” the last of the three special episodes released over the last few weeks to mark Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary. Starring David Tennant not as a returning incarnation of the Doctor, but a new, fourteenth face, audiences came into the specials expecting one thing as their only guarantee: by the end of the third special, David Tennant’s latest Doctor would die, and transform into Ncuti Gatwa’s 15th.

Which he did... of a sort. Mortally wounded by classic villain the Toymaker, the 14th Doctor’s regeneration began just like every other contemporary imagining of the process has, inspired by Who’s long history—coalescing orange-yellow energies coursing through the Doctor’s body, preparing to explode in beams of radiant, transformative light. But here, they didn’t. Instead, the glow faded, and the Doctor, with the help of a push and a pull from his friends Donna and Mel, somehow split into two co-existent beings: the 14th Doctor and the 15th Doctor, together in one place.

“I’ve Bigenerated,” the 15th Doctor explains to his past self, confused onlookers, and the audience alike. “There’s no such thing. Bigeneration is supposed to be a myth, but... look at me.” It’s unquestionable in this, or any moment that comes after, that Gatwa is anything other than the definite article, although there have been valid concerns of the optics of making this choice with the transition from one of, if not the, most beloved actors to ever take on the role to the first Black, openly queer man to play it.

But the episode clearly establishes that this is the Doctor’s future staring right back at themselves—Time Lord rehab out of order, as 15 puts it later, imploring his past self to go on the journey of healing that has lead to his own currently revitalized lease on life. From the 14th Doctor’s future, his continued existence is not seen in so much as cheating death but once again, getting to see his own future reflected back at him. Ncuti Gatwa is the Doctor. David Tennant is the Doctor. It’s just that for the first time in Doctor Who’s long history of regeneration, we saw a version of the process that was less about physical death and rebirth, and more about divergence in time itself.

Part of understanding that divergence has been made all the more universal to Doctor Who beyond just this specific moment, thanks to returning showrunner Russell T. Davies. Speaking on a supplementary commentary track released to accompany “The Giggle,” Davies offered his own interpretation of what Bigeneration means:

“My theory... I think what with Peter [Davison] having been in, with with Colin [Baker] having been in, I think down the timeline, they all seperated. They all went like that, all the Doctors came back to life, with their original TARDISes, the gift of the Toymaker. They’re all traveling out there, I’m calling it a Doctor-verse. I want to create a future where, you know, Sylvester McCoy survived [the 1996 TV movie] and has an adventure! One of the things about [the first 60th special] “The Star Beast” is to get [David Tennant] back and get Catherine [Tate] back, we have to jump through so many hoops. Which is a great story, but it’s just like... ‘why can’t you just arrive and step out the TARDIS?’”

It wouldn’t be the first time recently that Davies proposed such an idea, either. In Tales of the TARDIS, a special anniversary miniseries cutting down classic Doctor Who episodes with new interstitials from returning Doctors and companions, it’s floated by the various Doctors that there are, in the universe, many intertwined timelines—timelines where, unlike the ones we saw onscreen, incarnations of the Doctor survived their regeneration stories and kept going, offering an explanation as to why Doctors can return looking older than when we saw them “die.” An interpretation then, as Davies put it, that realities can now intersect where all these Doctors, regardless of where they are in their own personal journeys and what we understood to be the end of those journeys, can come back. In one single moment, every Doctor becomes the Doctor forever, versions of themselves echoing out across time and space. It’s huge!

But it also isn’t. Because that’s all it is: an interpretation. None of these details, about what Bigeneration is and isn’t, are sourced from within the primary text itself—Doctor Who, the television show—and perhaps it should stay that way. In fact, part of what makes “The Giggle” so freeing is that all it makes actually explicit about this process is simply what our base understanding of what it is in the first place already was. The Doctor changes faces, and goes on forever. All we’ve added is that those faces can go on forever too, in whatever way we or the show might one day want them to. It might contradict things said in the past; in another 60 year’s time should we be blessed with both a livable planet and the continued health of Doctor Who, a new writer could completely upend “The Giggle” altogether and bring us back to our prior understanding of it all. Or they could do something completely different all over again! We don’t have a logical, scientific, biological breakdown of how the process works, right now Bigeneration is a vibe, a feeling. It is, as the Doctor himself puts it, a myth, and the whole point of myths and their persistence is that the story is retold and reinterpreted by different texts and perspectives across eons.

That’s the magic of Doctor Who, that’s the point of it: it carries on and it grows and it changes, all the time, forever and always. I don’t want to explain to you, reader, what Bigeneration is, because Doctor Who doesn’t want to right now either. For every once in a while, in a very long while when the wind stands fair, Doctor Who simply just ask us to have our own view on something, instead of treating its story as a series of definitive, immutable facts. On its own 60th birthday, it gives us this beautiful gift: to be free to imagine what might be for ourselves.'

[derectumart]

'Across Acheron' in tribute to Gustave Doré

Hello dear reader, stop by for a little tale.

So back in the days before the AI and Photoshop, there was, once upon a time, a great artist called Gustave Doré. He decided that it would be a really great idea to illustrate Dante's Divine Comedy, probably one of the most famous works of biblical myth aside from the actual Bible. He created 75 illustrations for it and they are all incredible masterpieces.

As an artist, I'm super obsessed with the past, and mythology! Especially works of art like this, that run the risk of being forgotten. The one I wanted to bring back to focus is the one from 1857, namely "Plate X: Canto III: Charon herds the sinners onto his boat." Not only is this work extremely atmospheric and a dark rendition of the mix between Greek and Biblical mythology, it is also an incredibly skilful display of Doré's grasp of human anatomy. Each and every human body is portrayed in a compelling, dynamic way alongside the emotion of complete tragedy and hopelessness. #Charon himself is inspired by Michelangelo's prior depiction in the Sistine Chapel.

My aim was to bring back this incredible piece of work in a modern way and recreate it with colour, while trying to preserve the emotion behind it. I wanted to focus on a re-interpretation of it, so to speak. So, I added a few modifications to the mountains in the background, fixed up Charon a little to make him stand out, and applied my own style to the piece.

The final result was this:

And I'm very pleased with it!

Doré's style and work is phenomenal and he has become my greatest recent inspirations. His works on the Divine Comedy is full of emotion, and a gothic impression pervades every line drawn.

As the tale goes, Charon is the ferryman of the dead, taking the lost souls across the river Styx (or in this case Acheron); Dante mixes Greek and Biblical mythology in his work about the famous journey through the underworld, which is honestly really awesome and inspiring to me.

Thank you for reading,

[milkbabysstuff]

Hey, this isn't my usual writing here, but I think it's important. I have a personal writing project where I write a letter to someone who has passed every day. It's inspired by a book called "Love Letters to the Dead," hence, that's what I call the project. Today's letter was hard, and I took multiple breaks. However I think it has important meanings. Below is the letter. Please read, especially if you live in America (like me) or if the recent election heavily affects you! (Tupac quotes are in Red)

Dear Tupac Shakur,

I took a break from writing in this project, however with recent events (Election) I have been listening to some of your songs again. I’ve been thinking about you and the life you lived. You brought so many smiles and so much joy to so many people. You touched people's lives and to this day still do.

I’ve been listening to your song “Keep Ya Head Up” from your 1993 album, “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.” Sense womens rights are a big topic, and the future is unsteady. There is one part I've seen online a lot, and it's stuck in my head. The Lyrics are as follows:

And since we all came from a woman

Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman (yeah, yeah)

I wonder why we take from our women

Why we rape our women, do we hate our women? (Why? Why?)

I think it's time to kill for our women (why? Why? Why? Why?)

Time to heal our women, be real to our women

And if we don't we'll have a race of babies

That will hate the ladies, that make the babies (oh, yeah, baby)

And since a man can't make one

He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one

So will the real men get up

I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up

I want to say, while this is SO important right now, there's another part I also frequently look at, but I haven't seen anyone discussing the importance of it as of now. This part goes:

But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up

Forgive but don't forget, girl, keep your head up

And when he tells you you ain't nuttin' don't believe him

And if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him

'Cause sista you don't need him

And:

Last night my buddy lost his whole family

It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity (no, no, no, no)

It seems the rain'll never let up

I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin' wet up

You know, it's funny when it rains it pours

They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor

Said it ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is

It ain't no hope for the future

And then they wonder why we crazy

He also mentions, “We ain't meant to survive, 'cause it's a setup.” I mention these because so many people will just suffer now, not just women. So even if I'm scared, and don’t want to promise false hope, As much as I want to melt into my depression, you've made me realize there's always hope. So as you said, my message to everyone is, “Keep ya head up!!” Hope and strength is how we, everyone, has gotten through tough times in the past. Community is important, and keeping hope is even more important. So please, don’t give up, ever. Our pasts might be shit, our future may go into it, but we will make it out and make a better world for our futures, and the next generations. We fight, not always for our own futures, but for the future of those important to us and that may come after us. The rain may seem like it wont let up, but it will. I promise.

“We ain’t meant to survive, ‘cause it’s a setup.” But, we are meant to fight to make it easier to survive. We may have not been meant to survive but we will fight for it, and keep our heads up.

Thank you Tupac for lightening this dark time in my, and many others, lives. The Man, The Myth, The Legend, The Hero. All ways I will think of you.

-Gee <3<3

[aikoiya]

Thank you. I really do appreciate it.

I hope you sleep well. You can read the rest tomorrow.

Honestly, I try very hard to separate reality from fiction.

Like my fourth wall is very thick.

And I like it that way!

And, when I enter the realm of fiction, I what what happens there to remain fictional & to have its own rules.

But, I suppose that there are layers of fiction.

There's mythos, which is what I tend to categorize other religions, folktales, etc, as. Not real, but interesting to look over from the perspective of a storyteller. They aren't, however, things to be worshipped. (Like, good heavens, Zeus especially. Ugh!)

There's modern media, which is what LoZ is part of.

And, finally, media fantasy, which is where we, the fans, expand upon that media.

Where the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit exists is firmly in the realm of reality. He is real.

Then, again, that could very well just be me wishing to hold onto my ability to marvel at human creativity to come up with such odd stories. Because that's all they are to me, stories.

Now, if it turns out there's something more sinister to it, then I will endeavor to separate myself from it.

At the same time, I very rarely use actual pagan deities from actual religions when I expand the Zelda world. I may take elements from here & there, perhaps some inspiration, but for the most part, I mostly just make my own characters.

But I also don't want to make any of them all-powerful. That is for God only. So, I make them fallible. I make them human, just with more power, but only in certain areas.

I give them stories like people. Real motivations. Things that they are also going through & struggling with. Because I refuse to make them perfect in any manner. But I am more than willing to make them doing the best with what they have & also trying to figure things out.

In this way, I honestly don't even see them as gods at all. Just people higher up on the food chain that typical Hyruleans.

Again, my thoughts are that a lot of religions are simply an expression of cultural identity. So, by looking at their myths, I think I can get a feel for how the culture sees life & the world around them.

(Except for gnosticism & other such ridiculous ones. Just no. They stand in direct opposition to God. Therefore, I find myself unable to respect such beliefs that refuse to respect Him.)

That isn't to say that I am correct in doing so, I could very well be extremely wrong & if so, then I pray that the Father corrects me.

... I guess that I just try to reframe things.

Regardless, I actually tend to take far more inspiration from the cultures themselves & even how they percieve how they're supposed to worship.

Like, evidently, the Norse believed that their deities helped those who helped themselves. This, from my perspective, resulted in them being a culture that focused on self-reliance & proaction rather than just words.

So, from their perspective, simply praying over & over, but doing nothing, would seem simpering & whiny & possibly even downright lazy.

However, if one were to apply this to a more Christian idea, it's similar to how in "The Red Fern Grows," there is a belief that you sometimes need to "meet God halfway."

Honestly... the only way in which I even associate Demise with the devil is basically in his fall from grace, the desire to destroy all, & the fact that he's already been beaten & will not be redeemed. Everything else about him, I've sort of created something pretty dang new.

Now, again, there are some influences from other religions, but most of them are thematic in nature.

For instance, I tend to also associate Hylia, Demise, & the Fierce Deity with the Shinto trio, Amaterasu, Susano'o, & Tsukuyomi. But again, a bit more so thematically speaking.

The reason being that I see a definite association with them in the form of Hylia's sun imagery, Demise & Ganondorf's connection to

And, in this particular instance, I do sort of see Ganondorf as Demise's "successor." But in the way that Demise fell, tried to shoot his shot, lost & was sealed, lost again & died, forced his grudge stank on Ganondorf, Ganondorf slowly over several incarnations, gets saved through the power of real legit love & the realization that he was little more than an attack dog for an overpowered toddler who couldn't even do the job himself. Then, when he finally gets to the point of reaching a better self, he takes Demise's old role before he gave it up for more power.

Though in more Christian terms, in my mind, Ganondorf rejecting Demise can symbolize when someone who'd been raised by Satanists looks at their life & casts off the shackles that they were born into by rebuking the devil, choosing light, & being freed from his influence, thereby killing whatever was left of Demise. Which eventually leads to the breaking of the cycle as a whole.

To me, I think that that would probably really sting.

Though, in this situation, I'd more so be going the direction of how God works through us to reach others.

Because in the legends of Susano'o, he eventually falls in love & earns back his place in heaven.

So, in this way, I suppose that I'm more sticking to symbolism & possibly themes?

You know, sometimes I worry...

When I write about Ganondorf. Admittedly, part of it is due to me seeing him as attractive.

However, his association with Demise gives me pause.

I want to treat others' religions with a degree of respect. Not because they are true, nor because I think they are good. But more so, because I view them as expressions of a culture's values.

So, while I know in my heart that they are wrong, I see value in acknowledging their existence. Which is why I don't like it when people try to fit other religions into the shape of Christianity, because, simply put, they aren't Christianity.

And we shouldn't try to treat them as if they are. For one, it's an insult to God.

So, while I can definitely see the Christian overtones in LoZ, at its core, I see it as its own thing. A wonderful story, but still just a story.

At the same time, I suppose that, subconsciously, I want to portray Ganondorf as a person who as been raised astray. But, at the same time, someone who can still be saved. From Demise.

Perhaps, I see it as a symbol of how far redemption can reach? Or, at least, I think that's what I'm going for. Because I don't see Ganondorf as Demise. Not even really, as Demise's hatred reborn.

More so as a man unfortunate enough to act as Demise's pawn.

And maybe I use a tiny amount of elements from my own real-world beliefs, but I don't want this to be an outright... allusion.

Like, if it were, then I think that Ganondorf would already be doomed. Period. End of story.

I guess my problem is that I see the parallels & the implications. Like, even though the closest thing the games have to an actual devil allegory is Demise & I never intend to redeem him, I still sometimes worry that I'm playing a dangerous game.

Perhaps... perhaps I can make it an allegory for Jesus' victory? Subtextually, I mean.

I dunno, I'm struggling because the closer I get to Him, the more I want to live in a way that will do right by Him. But sometimes I look at the things I write & worry a bit about if the things I write are wrong.

Like, obviously, some of the subject matters are wrong, but like I said before, I try to acknowledge that such things are wrong.

Try being the key word, I'm afraid that I don't always succeed.

It's somewhat like the struggle you were having earlier, but with a much more important Judge.

Do you sometimes worry the same?

I'm sorry to put this on you, but I suppose that I've been thinking lately is all.

Or today, at least.

Hmm, that's a tricky one. I'd phone in C.S. Lewis if I could.

Allow my to ramble my rambles and pray they make any sense/are helpful.

Personally I feel like I'm always going to be more inclined to produce that more allegory-like material, so I tend to be real careful with religiously bound figures. Zelda's also an interesting one because the Book of Magic was literally the Bible in the Japanese version and Link to the Past has an official artwork of Link literally praying at a crucifix and it appears that Nintendo America's "no real religions" policy was what threw it into... whatever we have now. So I feel it definitely depends on which game you're directly spitting at. Personally, I've only played the Three "Breath" games, Skyward Sword, and a liiitttlleee of Twilight. And Skyward especially I feel is one of the closest we got to having an allegory like that, with Breath's Gerudo deviating from Hylia to the Heroines (as the old lady mentioned) reminding me of modern times. I've always kinda seen Nayru, Din and Farore/the Triforce as kind of a Holy Trinity reference that they had to split out from Hylia due to the No Real Religions thing, but that could be me being... optimistic might be the word? I know Japan is not a Christian country, but Miyamoto was obviously making a point with the first couple of Zelda games having those very overt themes and so a lot of me wants to believe he's continued to sneak those in.

I've been that way too, recently. I've noticed I've collected a lot of spirits that I'm... not sure if I want to keep in there. Saint-like characters? Sure. But I'm talking more like Egyptian gods kinda thing. Which I definitely don't want. Quite a bit of the Hateno Village stuff is loosely based or inspired off the big ol mess that's called my life so I think I'm more comfortable putting that in there because to me that is redemption. Link's story there, from the tragic story of his parents to him breaking that "curse" of inbreeding by marrying Zelda who is 100% not related to him because all of the 'worldly' ways Link, his family, his tribe, try to fix it just blow up even further, but the journey he (and later Zelda) takes through faith ends up being better than the solution they crafted with their own force (ah let's not cry here).

However, I think it's good to remember that we're sucky little humans who are really good at "Hey, don't do the thing!" *does the thing* (and I can laugh while saying that because my Xanax is still active haha.) That's literally the whole point of Jesus coming here in the first place and while definitely don't discount that or use it as an excuse, it's good to keep in mind.

What I also try to do is I try to always look for my 'why'. Do I want this because its trendy currently? Am I looking for shock value? Do I need to stick my face in cold water and come back to this concept in a week or two when I'm less hormonal? (This happens often when I'm fooling with those darn Wolfbred, I have to be really careful who I bounce ideas off of with them, because their story can very easily tumble into a dumpster fire of Bad if I'm not being very careful, which is why I currently don't permit myself to write any fics where an important part of the main premise is Wolfbred in the Spring because that's been a problem in the past). Usually I require myself to hold new lore for a week so I can take a good long look at it outside of whatever influence I may be under. I have done absolutely 0 holding of lore recently and I have been telling myself off about it for a while because I should be. Especially with those Wolfbred, who I am the worst about holding lore for!

And there's definitely different types of "putting God in the story".

Allow me to quote from this video

There's the Complete Allegory (Aslan - Narnia)

Partial Allegory where some parts of God are represented, but not Him in His entirety (Gandalf's defeat of the Balrog - Lord of the Rings)

Different World/Different Name - Same God; where its very clear that characters worship God simply under a different name (God being named "The Maker" in Wingfeather Saga, and I've actually played with this one before in an original concept where He is called "The Protector" and the major village where His people are located is "Ecclesia" (Named after the Greek city from Ecclesiastes because apparently Past Me is clever)... I think it will work better as a children's book because I cannot think of any coherent young adult/new adult concepts for it. It would also help if I didn't leave myself SUCH CRYPTIC NOTES)

Ahem. Anyways

There's also the Biblical Retelling, self explanatory (a fantasy take on Ruth's story in A Bond of Briar's... or a massive chunk of VeggieTales)

Themes - Biblical messages and values are passed on without God's explicit mention (I throw this one around a lottttt)

Symbolism - Baby allegory. No one character symbolizes God, but objects or situations reflect Him

~~~

I don't think I've really gotten to the point. I think I've just run my mouth.

But yeah, I think maybe stopping yourself and really getting a look at why you include what you include/why you want to write that specific thing is a nice place to start! Maybe I'm too much of an old stickler for this one but I try not to let myself play with other religions. I've seen a lot of good people get stuck to Greek/Roman/Egyptian gods out of what was originally a good intention of cultural awareness or simply scholarly intrigue. Although I am a former furry/therian so I hold myself to very rigid standards about how I interact with non-Christian materials, especially ones without humans or with extremely humanized animals, and this probably isn't a necessary standard for everyone. (Don't get me started on my conspiracy regarding Warrior Cats and Wings of Fire being a pipeline to this. I'll never go to bed and I have to be awake in 6.5 hours.)

But ooh! Allegories and shenanigans! The Pride Wars is a good read while I'm thinking of Narnia/Lord of the Rings/etc. Anti-Religion-Only-Science Kingdom meets Very Religious Kingdom. Anti-Religion kingdom's heir turns out to be able to tell magic parables/fables. It's got a lot of Hebrew woven in as well, and follows that Different World, Same God setting. (God is named Alayah)

I'm fond of this proverb from the second book (which I still need to finish... I should really just buy them). I think it's a paraphrase of a Bible verse, but if so, the verse it paraphrases escapes me

[pirunika]

Now that the Lovestruck is ending i wanna say 1 more thing abt my fave series, route — the worst part of Astraeus' story is that you can't be less apologetic about destroying Olympus... (I wanted to like..rub it in Zeus' face (,,ΦωΦ,,) and like.. What gives? Why am I supposed to feel bad... other than like.. harming one of my friends (Cyprin) mother who i also don't care abt... they are there doing absolutely nothing good but being rich and petty

Fr tho never in a moment it felt like the DarKest EndIng as people like to say here, to me its in fact the only Good ending - you save a persecuted group from eternal torment and get to have revenge on the rich elite, get revenge on your unjustly sacrificed mother, gain your freedom and give knowledge to the ordinary people (knowing gods exist etc), have your own power w/o depending on the love interest and w/o giving yourself as sacrifice to Pantheon (everytime she declared she was ThE GoddEss of FaMilY in some of the other routes I cringed so hard.. No girl you ain't) I literally couldn't enjoy any other routes BC it simply does not compare.. At all

Hydra was good I guess but I thought the mc was too much of a damsel in distress and Hydra was a total asshole who's only redeeming quality was not liking Hades

Didn't read Medusa but from what I heard I know I wouldn't like it

Chimera and Cerberus... yeah nothing good to say about it Chimera was slightly better i cant get over the fact mc literally had to b passed around like sheep in Cerberus' story, oh good now Cerberus owns the mc bc he Fought W Another Man how romantic

Alex.. I could never get into it... idk can't really place it... But I can't see them anything but a friend to the mc - not even a crush.. It felt so mild and emotionless.. Anticlimatic.. WhERE ARE THE FEELINGS,, THE LOVE??? Annnd it lowkey pissed me off when the story said the mc's mom was buried in Olympus tho like -- no? i totally refuse that lol she died a horrible death bc of the gods.. no way let the woman Rest

Hades --- yeah the capitalist in a suit we established that.. i liked his route for a moment when i ignored %75 of it, wouldve liked it better if he had long hair and robes or sth different.. sth charming.. But nooo we cant let men be pretty here </3

[merchantarthurn]

if you dont mind me asking what is witch hat atelier about and would you reccomend it

I would recommend it with my whole soul!!!!!

The manga centres on a girl named Coco who wanted nothing more than to be a witch, but believed she couldn't since she wasn't born as one. Then, after a local witch named Qifrey comes to buy fabric from her mother's shop she witnesses him performing magic - with a pen, ink, and hand-drawn symbols.

Copying a spell from a book given to her by a mysterious masked witch years earlier, she learns she too can do magic - that everyone can do magic. But not all spells are created equal, and doing magic without knowledge is dangerous: she does one final spell by tracing the patterns in the book and accidentally turns her house and her mother with it to stone.

Qifrey returns and takes her in as his fourth apprentice witch - despite witch law dictating that her memory of magic should be taken on two counts: one, she is an Unknowning, a person who was not born a witch who has learnt the secrets of magic and; two, she's committed taboo - performed magic on the human body. It's not going to be simple to save her mother - especially not with the masked witch vying for her to cast forbidden magic again.

And that... is barely scratching the surface. it's so hard to summarise this manga without underselling it but I'd hate to spoil anything. Every character feels alive with personality, backstory, hidden and open agendas; the world is ever expanding with culture and myth and history and allegory. Tetia says thank you to people who thank her because it makes her happy to be thanked. This manga is perfect.

More than anything - if you've got a creative streak, even if you wouldn't call yourself an artist, WHA is so deeply inspiring - and not just because the art is beautiful. The magic in WHA is a pretty open metaphor for art (or that's one thing it can be understood as, you could expand it to general ways to live often enough) and the ways characters use it makes you naturally reflect on art in general - how to maintain your own originality without stunting your growth; jealousy and artistic weakness; art block; dangerous art; art as societal good; gatekeeping and hierarchy; the doors artistic teaching can open; rigidity in teaching and it's negative impacts.... and that's not even starting on the class and disability commentary that feels so naturally presented. And beyond the allegory... god the story!!! There's so many threads and gut-punches and foreshadowing and heartwarming moments and!!

At the end of it all it feels like such a kind-hearted manga, even when it makes you cry or gasp. Coco is reaching for new answers in a world that only offers two shitty choices to her and not just to save her mother, but to help whoever she sees needs it and it's... inspiring, truly. There's so much love in this manga where there easily could have been bitterness and cynical loss and it's worth the read just for that tbh.

[writingquestionsanswered]

hello!! hope you're doing well and I'd like to start by thanking you for all your help and responses:)) Now, i was wondering where we draw the line in between creating a fantasy country and culture inspired by a real life country, and simply creating a fantasy country that IS a real life country. I would like my story to happen someplace where the readers will be able to recognize as Italy-based, just as they recognized, for example, Leigh Bardugo's Ravka as Russian-based. How can i do so without copy-pasting every single detail from Italy?

Real-Inspired Fantasy Country without Creating a Carbon Copy

First, thank you so much for your kind words. I'm so glad you're finding the blog to be helpful. ♥

There are several things that I think make Leigh Bardugo's portrayal of Ravka work so well:

1) Roots in the Language

There's actually an article in the archives of Leigh Bardugo's web site that talked about how she borrowed from the Russian language without using it completely. One way that she did this is by taking familiar English words like "sovereign" and combining it with a Russian root word or affixes, which is how she came up with the form of address "moi soverennyi" for the Darkling. Other words simply sound like Russian words because they use the same prominent letters or combinations of letters, or because they look/sound similar to Russian words. For example, "Ravka" bears some similarity to "Russia." They both begin with 'R' and end with 'A,' they both have a vowel as the second letter, and in the case of Ravka, the "vk" together are strongly reminiscent of Russian. In some cases, she did use actual Russian words, like Tsar and kvas, but only in places where she didn't feel it would take the reader out of the story.

2) Specific Time and Place

No country or culture is a monolith. "Ancient Egypt," for example, stretched across thousands of years of different dynasties, rooted in somewhat different parts of the same region. Old Kingdom Egypt at Giza would be somewhat different from Ptolemaic Egypt in Alexandria. Ravka was largely inspired by 19th century Tzarist Russia, which would be quite different from say 15th century Russia under Ivan III or Soviet Russia in 1955. Choosing a specific time, place, and culture within your inspiration country brings focus to the details that will best give the look and feel you want for your story.

3) Choose What to Use

There are all sorts of things from your source country you can use as inspiration for your fantasy country: geography, flora and fauna, language, architecture, food and drink, dance and song, mythology and folk tales, cultural traditions and festivals, clothing, social customs... the list goes on and on. It helps if you choose a few specific things to use as inspiration in your story. You might use the architecture, clothing, food, and drink as inspiration for your story, but everything else is wholly your own. Or, maybe you create your own architecture and clothing style, but you use the language, song and dance, and myth as inspiration. There's no right or wrong combination or amount, but knowing what you're using and what you're not creates much-needed consistency.

4) Use Your Original Ideas, Too

Ravka may bear similarities to Russia, but it has a lot of its own unique elements, too. The Grisha and their use the country's Second Army, the Grand Palace as home to the king and the Little Palace as home to the Grisha, the Fold, West Ravka, and their specific enemies are all concepts entirely unique to Leigh Bardugo's imagination. But, although they're not necessarily inspired by anything taken from Russia, the ideas are still complimentary with the Russian elements she did use as inspiration.

You can read more in my post Using an Existing Country as Inspiration. Good luck with your story! ♥

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[shepard-ram]

Antidote for the Lovesick [Antarctic Empire!Wilbur x Reader]

(Fluff, Not a request: Another one inspired by light anons asks- anyways I'm planning on working on my requests again after this. School will be out for the year soon so I will be writing more in a few weeks!)

----------

While the Royal family was well known by default, (and fairly well liked as far as monarchies go) none were as popular as the prince second in line for the throne. It seemed he made for the public eye, able to talk himself out of any situation. With the handful of poems and songs that made it to the people rumors and half-jokes that he must be part siren stired around him. There's no doubt that even without his crown he would have made himself an adored public figure.

It doesn't take much thought to see why prince Wilbur was a star in the empire's negotiations. The Emperor himself was a close second but he was often more fussed about internal affairs. The crown prince was intimidating and a genius when it came to battle, but all that confidence melted when it came to social interactions. Meanwhile the youngest prince... let's just say he hadn't developed the filter needed for the job.

So the poet prince sat at the table and charmed his way into countless treaties and alliances. Needless to say he got very friendly with many rulers and ambassadors alike. The more connections the better after all, but it was only a matter of time before the wrong person got a little too attached.

It was a simple meeting with some local nobles, and one enchantress. It could be It's own story. One starting with the prince's usual banter and a crush forming in its wake, but ending in a turned down confession and alot of shouting. By the time he retired to his bed a soon to be revealed curse was taking its hold.

That morning was filled with emotions and panic. At first he wanted to believe it was nothing more than a sore throat. However the more he tried to make any sound the more he was forced to accept what had happened. His voice was turned to a screech akin to a horse being stabbed. He desperately attempted to sing, only producing a sound that sounded as painful was it was to make. He wasn't just silenced, his voice was replaced with the one of dying demons.

His younger brother was the first he ran into. At first the youngest laughed, after all it was one hell of a noise, but he soon realized just how shaken the poet was. From there it was very quick, how the news spread to the rest of the family. The youngest still didn't stop trying to make fun of his brothers situation. But soon the royal doctors where at his bed chambers with whatever potions and medicines that they thought could ease the affliction.

As soon as they came they left without the barest hint of success. As much as the winged Emperor would've preferred to keep this a private matter it was clear they needed as much talent as possible. They needed more ideas and the skills to make a cure to the curse. So an invention spread to every city and almost every town. It was a simple one, explaining the princes condition and offering a hefty reward to anyone who could put an end to it.

This little piece of paper changed your life.

You were a rather young alchemist, specializing in all remedies natural and magical. The money stood out to you more than most. You weren't starving by any means, but no one in your little rural home town was exactly rolling in cash. Before you knew it you were packing up your things and getting the final "good bye"s and "good luck"s from your family and friends as you set off to the capital.

You weren't the first one to try, not at all. In fact you were one of last with the confidence to try. The thing is, you didn't have the herbs you planned to use.

"Why wouldn't you have them ready?!" You understood why the crown prince was on edge, things were looking more and more hopeless with each attempt. You stayed calm and explained it The best you could.

"The plants I need can be very precise with the conditions they need to grow in, and are often conned on the market. I trust my own abilities more than a salesman looking to make a quick buck." You knew your words reached the trio listening to the pitch, so you made your request. "All I need is the space to grow them and time, they'll take about two months at most. Maybe the royal garden?"

They shared a glance, but it seemed they already had the answer decided.

"How much space do you need?"

You quickly got to work, preparing the soil for the medicine and writing down some notes about the exact qualities of the future remedy. By sunset you were tidying up the servants quarters they had provided so you can stay close the growing ingredients.

On one of your first evenings you were tending to the young plants. That was until you heard a heavenly sound drifting from the other side of the garden. At first you just enjoyed the background music while finishing up your current occupation. As soon as you could you put your watering can down you stood up, very eager to track down the source of the wordless lullaby.

It was a painting, the clouds of bushes more than tall enough to hide the silent signer sitting in the middle of them. The grass while not gone completely was worn out, a clear sign the prince sat in the almost enclosed ring often. You stood in the opening of a leafy doorway. Watching in awe as he played a guitar, eye's closed with so much ease you'd believe it was creating the music by itself.

Eventually the music faded, and in a kick of humor you clapped. Startled he jumped to his feet, calming down a little when he saw that you didn't look at all hostile.

"Sorry for the surprise, my prince." You marked with a small bow. You didn't miss the little uncomfortable look that flashed across his face. "But I couldn't help but notice your song, it's absolutely amazing." You offered with a light voice. "I- I get the rumors now." You could tell you caught his interest with that. "Can you play some more for me, these plants grow faster and better with the company of music."

Rather or not that's just a myth you weren't entirely sure, but with a small smile he honored the request. He followed you out of his little hedge room and closer the area you were tending to. Sitting on a nearby bench watching you work on the newest attempt to reclaim his unnatural voice.

"How about I get to know my patient a little?" The music hiccuped in its players curiosity, silently prompting you to continue. "I ask you some questions, yes or no ones. It might be helpful when it comes to fine-tuning this" you gestured to the dirt that would soon be covered with fully grown medicinal plants. In return he gave his first answer, a nod.

Over the days you grew fond of the routine you fell into. Sometimes you would be asking questions, looking up from the garden to catch his answer. Sometimes you would be telling him stories from your home, about the many people who have come to you for remedies. Sometimes there would be no words, just the gorgeous calming sounds of his music. You could both feel how comfortable this was.

"Would you prefer if I called you only Wilbur?"

A happy nod.

Only Wilbur was very different from prince Wilbur. You've always thought of the prince as this fox, prideful and cunning and charming in untrustworthy ways. But only Wilbur wasn't on this higher devine level, he was a person. A person with passions and vulnerabilities. Only Wilbur melted ideas about himself you didn't even realize you harbored. You liked only Wilbur, that was certain.

You made a promise to both yourself and to him that day. You would lift the curse, you had to.

It had been 43 days, the herbs were ready. "Maybe music did make them grow faster" you entertained. It was the only day you were with the plants without Wilbur. He was in his bed chambers so you could focus on brewing.

You looked over your notes thousands of time over. When you took this job you knew it was going to be one of your most important ever, but now you weren't just curing a prince- you were curing a friend. You paused in setting up your equipment. The term friend felt, incorrect with how exactly you felt about Wilbur. You shoved down the thoughts and continued, now was not the time.

Was it hours, or was it a few minutes? You couldn't tell and you didn't care. In a glass bottle you held the product of your labor. Corked and wrapped in many clothes before being nestled in your bag just to be safe. You took a deep breath and set off for Wilburs room.

He hesitated taking the bottle from you, like he had grown attached to his own silence. When he did take the potion it was all still slow and methodical. As if taking the cork off wrong could ruin everything. It felt like your entire body was on stand-by, paused as he downed the entire container. With a small drink of water he waited for a minute.

Then with a little nod from you, he hummed. The simple notes never sounded so rich and deep, filled with over a month of built up thoughts and emotions. Two faces lit up hearing it.

"You- you really did it." Wilbur was so quiet. As if speaking too loudly could break the newly repaired sound.

Then laughter, and the rambling of words that didn't need to make sense. Because you could hear them.

Then a hug, one of so much more than gratitude. One accompanied with an over abundance of "Thank you"s.

"How could I ever make this up to you" He only now slowed down, only enough to take your input.

Looking over at a familiar instrument you gave that input to him, "Can you play some more for me, my prince." He chuckled, a sound that you already loved as he sat back down on the bed with his guitar.

You recognized the song. It backdroped your first siting of him. Only now did you finally hear it in its entirety. It was a love song. Lyrics sweet and sincere and raw all rolled up by the accompanying strumming. When the last cord drifted off he looked at you, eagerly awaiting your response.

"If I understood the rumors then, now I just might be a believer." How much of that was exaggeration, you honestly couldn't say.

"I'm assuming that's good."

"Trust me, it's more than good." Watching as put the instrument back. "You should probably go tell the others the good news. Especially so I can get my money" you added jokingly. With that you got one last hug and thank you before you both left the room.

As you were walking back to your room something hit you. The realization that this was over. You were going to your temporary room and packing up so you could leave. You never expected to bond with the prince this much, and in the moment you regretted it. If only a little. You swallowed the sudden mood shift and started packing.

"Hey where are you going!?" An already familiar excited voice rang out, running towards you.

"I'm getting ready to leave." You said, bluntly.

"Wait, really?" As if he didn't know you weren't moving in permanently. Without thinking he grabbed your arm like you trying to run away. "We're having a big feast tonight, to celebrate your achievement. You should probably be there."

"That sounds great." You could feel the wave of sadness fade off.

"I thought I always sound great." You chuckled.

"I really wish I could deny that."

"No you don't."

"Only because I wouldn't get my money if I could."

"Come on, that's not the only reason."

"Like it's any secret I care about you."

That put an end to his humor, "Here, let's get ready."

[lovely-necromancy]

A Cure for Insomnia CH 1.

This is a reader insert I originally started posting on AO3. I’m cross posting here because I know some of the fandom still lives here.

Quick Disclaimer:

This is a fic I'm writing for my own comfort.

I was inspired by RaeBees (you can check out their works over on Quotev and AO3), and how they characterize the "proxies". Having always seen the characters different than most of the fandom I've interacted with I never really shared my thoughts until now. This work is only placed in the Creepypasta tag so it reaches its demographic. However, I am fully aware of the fact that no main character is considered a Pasta.

It may also appear to lean more Toby X Protag in the beginning but end goal is protag with all three, and Brian and Tim already in a relationship. How I picture it now is a slowburn but Toby and Protag will be in a friends with benefits relationship before either has any feelings, so I think that counts. Some may be confused by the asexual protag tag but it'll be explained in story, as an Ace myself I get frustrated with media that only show one version and say it goes for us all. That being said I don't represent the whole Ace community but I hope to provide a bit more representation for some others out there.

Protag will be depicted as agender, and will have a few tics that stem from their Autism. Again I don't speak for any others with Autism but I hope to provide some representation for those in similar positions.

Tags will be updated as the story progresses. Canon-Typical violence and mental health issues are to be expected if you feel uncomfortable with those aspects I advise you to not engage. This story will also have a lot of NSFW themes and scenes so I highly discourage anyone under the age of 18 from viewing this work. You will get warnings on chapters with NSFW and I will make it skippable as well.

I'm also very nitpicky and gave the main characters birthdays just because it irritates me when it gets mentioned once and you have to do the math or imagine your own conversation when a birthday was too close to a character's.

Tim January 1st, home state Alabama

Toby April 28th, home state Virginia (saw this years ago no clue if it's accurate)

Protag May 13th, home state Virginia

Brian May 23rd, home state Alabama

Connor the service dog July 18th, home state Kentucky

I've referred to Protag as Protag here but in story they're referred to as YN.

Everything felt impossibly dull; your senses, the dark room you're currently in, the noise coming from the fan just to the left of the bed on which you laid. Turning to the window beside your head you stare out into that weird midnight summer sky. More of a gray than a true dark blue night, cast in an orange glow that made the night seem closer to day than it truly was. While the time was just half past twelve, you felt it may have been more accurate to say it was closer to four in the morning.

You're exhausted but that true sort of exhaustion where whatever energy you have left buzzes all around. It consumes your entire being, dances between being deafeningly loud in your ears to giving you twitches in your legs. You'd laid down hours ago thinking you'd be tired enough to sleep once your tics started to spasm in closer intervals, but to no avail were you able to rest. That buzzing preventing you from dreamland. Maybe the hum of your body was right, you didn't really need to sleep, you just wanted it to feel normal.

Knowing the battle had already been lost you push yourself off the bed and grab a pair of shorts off the floor. Slipping them on you contemplate your options for the night. Going into town was out since it was Sunday...well Monday now, but there would be nothing but bars open and you were never one for drinking. And as fun as a drive sounds right now, you feel the buzzing in your bones grow stronger, you need to move. A late night hike should keep you occupied, with it being so quiet and the middle of the night you wouldn't even have to take your headphones to cancel out the sounds of other people, you aren't likely to run into many people tonight.

Deciding on a hike you grab a mask and car keys and make your way to your yellow Kia Soul. A going away present from your parents that they gave you the moment you got your driver's license after your 24th birthday. Having anxiety throughout your life you'd never been in the head space to start driving till later on, and while you still don't enjoy driving you are pretty good at it even with your “late” start. Surfing through radio stations as you let the car warm up you find your latest obsession, it's a conspiracy theory podcast that someone in Kepler managed to blast through the limited air ways of the town. Impressive considering Kepler was in a radio quiet zone and even cell phones couldn't work in the small town, luckily you lived just outside of the zone so you could send texts and call your parents every weekend.

It seemed today's episode was a rerun, Mothman: Murderer, Man, or Myth. It was actually one of your favorites, the paranormal stories tended to be more entertaining than hearing about how a man could murder sixteen people while working as a cop ruining evidence to lead the others off his trail. Humans could be more vial and cruel than any little gray alien from the future or tall Fresno Nightcrawler could ever be. And they weren't as entertaining to hear about, nor were their exploits as impressive. You could always see patterns, either connecting clues first or finding connections no one else saw, it was never hard to tell where a certain case would lead so you'd always end up disappointed in humanity when they overlooked such obvious clues. Though that often led you down a path of deep diving for information to see just how obvious it was, more often than not you'd find that the most logical conclusion was shady public officers. After investigating so many cold cases you're sure if you're ever in trouble you'll never involve the police, in the end they'd probably just ignore you and rule your case closed if anything ever did happen to you.

'I'd haunt them if they did.' You decide and you shift gears and begin driving to the Monongahela National Forest, as the timeline of Mothman sightings and events play out before for your ears.

Instead of going through town and possibly loosing the signal of the show, you drive on the old dirt road that runs along the very edge of the town, partially covered in trees. This over grown road is the main reason Kepler doesn't see many visitors, the second someone makes their way onto it coming off the interstate they floor it until they see civilization. Over the few months you've been here you've nearly been run right off the road by spooked tourists, trying to escape whatever ghouls their wild imaginations created. The only real thing on this road was a mini mart gas station, and even though it was shady as hell the cashier didn't bug you too much when you came in in the dead of night. Plus they had a cat, how could you not stop in and say hi to little ole Magnolia?

Speaking of which you should probably get a drink for your hike, you could already feel your throat drying out. Turning into the parking lot you're happy to see no other cars around, putting your face mask on you make your way inside. As usual the store is dead at this time, and Ronnie is manning the desk. What's unusual is the man also behind the counter, he has dark brown hair that he's tied into a small and low ponytail, thick sideburns frame his face. You immediately take note of the slight imperfections of his face, most would see the slit in his eyebrow as following the current trend or even just a genetic thing, but you can see the slightly off color of a healed scar that starts just above his eyebrow and ends mid eyelid, he has a few smaller discolorations on his crooked nose, you'd guess he's had it broken at least twice.

Briefly taking a glance to his brown eyes before looking away, today is not an eye contact day. Nodding in their directions, the best acknowledgment you can give right now, you make your way to the freezers. From the freezer section you can hear Ronnie “explain” you.

“That's YN, a regular mainly at night though. A bit skittish and rarely ever says more than 'thanks have a nice day'” Even though she's whispering you can hear everything. Including the high octave her voice takes to mimic you, it feels more like mocking.

If being mocked hadn't already put you on edge the eyes boring into you have. The eyes may not be roaming over your body but the icky crawling of your skin sure makes it feel that way. The feeling of being put under a microscope has always made you sick, the stares, the leers and sneers, and the judgment just makes you want to implode on the spot. Cease existence, be swallowed into the abyss. You're about to set yourself into an anxiety attack with all these thoughts.

'Mask, mask, mask' you repeat over and over in your head, it's the only thing you can focus on. You are wearing a mask, there is one thing they can't perceive, the face is the most important for humans to perceive, your mask protects you.

Without looking you pull a water bottle from the cooler. You don't think you like this brand but the sports mouth makes up for it, and you can't focus enough to grab another. As the imaginary spiders crawl their way under your skin and your breath hitches you make your way over to the counter head down, never looking up at the employees beyond the counter. Your vision is blurring in time with the beating of your heart, you can't tell if it's due to nerves or from being up for five days in a row.

“Hey YN, how're you?” Ronnie asks, her tone is different from the past times you've been in. It's higher and has a lilt in it that you'd expect from a teasing friend. But Ronnie isn't a friend and has never spoken to you like this, you hate it. You nod to politely move on with the process, between the crawling of your skin and the buzzing underneath it you feel sick. And you're now very aware of the existence of your eyelids, you try to focus on ignoring that awareness. You need to move.

“Hmm, that's good. Anyway this is Tim! He's just started so go easy on him.” you hear the sound of a hand hitting fabric and assume she's patted Tim's shoulder as she introduced Tim to you. Why was she doing this, what purpose could introducing you two have? You nod again, was anyone going to ring you out?

“Hi, this all?” a deep voice asked, it isn't extremely deep more of a standard baritone that has a slight raspy quality, probably a reformed smoker. You don't smell cigarettes currently so he could've quit after years. Unfortunately despite your efforts to stave them off your blinking tics emerge. Making it difficult to keep your eyes open for longer than a nano second.

Startled and ticcing you look up and catch his eyes, you see pity in them, before casting your glance back to the counter. You can never tell what's worse people seeing you as weird or seeing you as something needing to be fixed. Nodding again, Tim tells you the total; a dollar fifty eight, and you hand him two dollars from your wallet.

Tim doesn't ask if you want the receipt or a bag, he prints out the receipt and hands you your change. The change goes immediately into the cat food fund for Magnolia. She got diagnosed with diabetes about a month ago and having worked in shelters and pet stores you know just how expensive her prescription food is. After folding the receipt into your wallet, Tim gently slides the water bottle over to you.

“Have a good night.” he says it so low and gentle, as if he thinks you'll shatter in front of him. As kind as the gesture seems, you aren't that fragile...or maybe you are if you have to keep repeating 'mask' over and over in your head to ground yourself. With a final nod you turn and make your way to the door, and just as you open it you hear Ronnie call out.

“Awwww, c'mon YN at least say 'Hi' to Tim.” You really don't like how she squeaked out 'hi'.

Taking a deep breath you prepare yourself, you'll show them both you can do this simple task. Even if you can't stop blinking long enough to see straight. Once you've steadied yourself you turn and look at Tim. He's sending you a look that says 'You don't have to' all that's missing is a slow head shake to complete his unease with this “peer pressure”.

But you can do this you can say 'Hi, Tim.' Two words super simple, nothing complex like 'Hi, Tim, nice to meet you.' and so much better than the option of your next meeting saying 'Hi, Tim. Sorry for spazzing out the other night.'. Yup you can do this just breathe, you open your mouth and...and you've forgotten what to say. Looking like a deer in headlights, well at least the tics stopped, you say the first thing that pops in.

“Mask.” You've said it loud and clear both cashiers heard you.

Tim stares with wide eyes and you see Ronnie failing to hide her laughter. Out of all the ways this could've gone this was probably the best outcome for her. The blinking has started up again, this time growing more frequent. You can't even hold your eyes open, to the two cashiers it must look like you're in pain or crying. And while you want to die of embarrassment, crying is a bit of an extreme for you.

So with red face and the inability to see you leave through the door, and try to make your way back to your car. Once in you lock the doors, switch the car on, and rest your head on the steering wheel. Out of every way this stop could've gone, being perceived by a new comer and Ronnie was not what you expected. While this hadn't been the worst five minutes or so of your life, it definitely would be another thing keeping you up at night for the next twenty years.

Calming down in the cool quiet dark of your car your slowly brought back to the world by the beginning of a new episode. This one talking about the Tailypo legend. A favorite story of yours from when you were a kid living on the coast of Virginia. So with yet another deep breath and the wave of nostalgia, you pull out of the parking lot and slowly coast down the old dirt road. Heading yet again for the Monongahela forest.

It's nearly two in the morning when you roll up to see an RV parked by the forgotten entrance of the park. It isn't surprising at all to find an RV out here since the Monongahela Forest is one of the most beautiful parks you've ever been to. You also don't think anything of them being parked by this unused entrance because you use it all the time since finding it accidentally. Figuring they just wanted to camp and be left to their own devices rather than use the RV sites and be bothered with other campers here for the summer.

Climbing out of your car you notice the RV isn't new by any means but it isn't a total rust bucket either, looks like it's been passed around throughout the years. There isn't anything to suggest it's been here a while, nothing left set up outside, must have just gotten into town then. You do happen to notice dog tracks around the sandy dirt you've parked in, good to know they have a dog before you slammed your car door. Closing the door gently behind you so you don't startle a pup and wake up it's owner or owners, you make your way through the woods. No real direction in mind, with no real thought in your head. Just the thought of moving and to keep on moving.

You could walk the same path every time you came through and always find something different. In fact that's exactly what happens, you're almost positive that you've deepened the imprint of the path just from walking through several times a week. Following the same winding path you usually do, climbing over the fallen tree, and through a scattering of blueberry thicket's you find yourself on the edge of one of the forest's many streams. It's your favorite spot in the forest so far, and about as far as you've gotten considering these hikes of yours take place during the dead of night.

The wind picks up and sends a chill through you, taking that as a sign you slide down to sit by the stream. Vans placed to your side as you sink your feet into the cool water. It's peaceful out here, so cool, and quiet, save for the slight noises the stream makes, various bubbling and drips. You try to think on things like your recent move, your job, the embarrassing 'mask' incident, just life in general. But you can't seem to form a single thought, this happens a lot, you've recently been conscious of the fact that you've been running on auto pilot for the past two months, hell a lot longer than that. You think everyone must get like this from time to time, but you think you've always been this way. Keen to dissociating and slipping in and out of existence.

It's quite nice really, except for the times like right now where you'd love to figure out why the silence in your head is so painfully loud. The more you think on it the louder it gets and the stronger the buzzing under your skin feels. And right now the static in your mind has been getting louder and louder for the past few minutes. You feel your head jerk to the right of it's own accord, moving back in place it happens for a second time, and then a third, then jerks up, before jerking a forth time to the right effectively cracking you neck.

“There we go.” you mumble, you can relax a bit as the verbal tic indicates the end of this round of tics.

Sighing you look at the sky...that can't be right. The sky has been painted it's fresh baby blues for the day, but again that can't be right. You just got to the stream, that path is a thirty minute walk meaning it should be just about two thirty in the morning, but the sky suggests it's five or six at the latest. Reaching for your water bottle you find it empty next to you. You didn't fall asleep you know that much, perhaps you did dissociate tonight. Well this hike was disappointing if you knew you were going to dissociate you'd have saved yourself that embarrassment and stayed home. Maybe done some painting or tidied up.

Sighing you push yourself off the ground, collecting you vans you're about to put them on when you notice a figure off in the distance. You freeze out of shock and stare at the figure, it stares back. The figure is about ten yards away, god your near sighted ass should really remember to not leave your glasses in the car when hiking. The figure starts to make it's way to you and after a few steps you realize it hasn't moved from it's spot. Rolling your eyes you ignore the hallucination.

You'd really needed to get sleep last night, today is day six of no sleep and though you haven't had many episodes these past few days, you have a feeling they'll start to get more prominent today. Hopefully tonight you can manage to get some rest, the longer you go without sleep the more realistic the hallucinations become. But for today you're content with the knowledge that it's just shadow like beings that you'll be seeing.

After putting on your shoes you start the thirty minute hike back to your car. You're thankful for the weather in Kepler, nothing like back on the coast. Here you can go for a morning hike through the forest while a gentle breeze passes by and the sun starts to give the area a pleasant warmth. Back on the coast you couldn't run and grab the mail without getting drenched in moisture from either sweat, humidity, or a mixture of both.  The coast sucks, hell Virginia sucks altogether, you're glad to be in Kepler.

“I want to go home, home.” you say out of nowhere.

Before you reach the entrance you hear barking, oh the RV campers must be up. Should you be careful not to scare them, or just walk normally and say 'Good morning' in passing, maybe just nod your head in greeting. Oh and you've stopped just beside the entrance as you got lost in your rambling. You didn't mean to come to a stop here, and as you try to move you notice how silent it's gotten. Did the dog go inside, maybe they've already passed...no it's too quiet for that. No the silence is oppressive like the one you deal with nightly, there's a reason for the silence. The situation's making you feel uneasy, but that could be the sleep deprivation talking.

You're about to brush it off and move when you hear a whispered, “Seriously man, I don't think anyone's out there. Let's get inside.”

There's a noise of agreement before you hear shuffling. Oh no, you zoned out and now you look like a weirdo stalker. Just perfect, maybe if you wait around a little more you'll seem more normal or at least feel normal. Not knowing how long to wait you walk along the tree line for a bit, looking at the ground as you do making sure you won't step on any snakes. In you quest to not step on any snakes you spot something suspiciously off white. It seems purposefully buried under a dead blueberry bush and some fallen branches.

Having listened to too many true crime shows, you know better than to implicate yourself in a murder. Grabbing a stick off the ground you gently brush the foliage away from the supposed corpse. No way, you can't believe your luck, it's an actual fucking skull. An intact skull of a deer! That is so cool, you've only seen taxidermists on TikTok getting so lucky and finding these dudes. Since the jaw bone is connected by tissue it of course isn't with the skull but maybe it's close by? Clearly this got planted or hidden by someone, maybe they were planning on pranking a friend by 'uncovering' a skull later. Oh well, finders keepers and all that, you have way better plans for this guy, hopefully you can find that jaw bone.

You set off searching through the foliage and near by bushes with the branch while holding the skull in your other arm. After searching about three feet around and finding no more bones you decide that this is the only part of the deer's skeleton in this area. A little disappointed but still thrilled with your find, you decide it must be a good time to go back to your car.

Surely you won't look weird now. You a little forager with their treasure in hand. Looks like you'll be busy cleaning, then bleaching, and cleaning these bones today. Is that the order to treat found bones? You aren't sure but you can look into that later. Placing the skull in the trunk so it doesn't roll about and get damaged you make sure it's secure before closing the trunk and getting into your car and locking the doors.

Not once did you notice the pairs of eyes that had been watching you. One watching as you found the deer skull, and the other set seeing you place bones into your car. They kept watching as you fiddled with the radio while the car was starting up. They watched as you pulled out of the sandy dirt lot and drove back down the old road a little faster than before now that you could clearly see.