#leonard rousseau

[hyperionwitch-art]

Next up, a design commission for Dazeonae! This one really took me back to my Pirates of the Caribbean roots~ Want a commission of your very own? I have a commission waitlist! Shoot me a DM if you’re interested in being added~

[deathzgf]

how i feel submitting a french assignment with 30 different autistic ass references

[catos-wound]

realll. but also this is so funny. can we leave his socratussy alone

rousseau just like me fs <33333 glazing cato up so much...

[grandhotelabyss]

"Unlike Kat, I believe (or hope) that literature will not so much be surpassed by the online persona as it will be saved by being harnessed to the online persona’s energy, a latent possibility since the early-celebrity days of Rousseau, Goethe, and Byron."

Do you think there's any possibility of someone today maintaining an artistic void around them (I'm thinking of Shakespeare's notorious self-effacement, as a perhaps extreme example) and still having a career? Or is that just, realistically, no longer an option, and everyone has to reveal themselves?

A "career"? I doubt it, unless they have serious help, like some kind of impresario to manage the public-facing part of the process. I'd draw a distinction between revealing oneself and cultivating an artistic persona, though. A certain elusiveness can be an effective part of the persona. For example, I recently saw somebody use Don DeLillo as a wistful example of a very pure novelist who didn't write a lot of essays and editorials or give lectures, who had the career without becoming a public figure. But, first of all, that created a mystique around him, augmented what John Leonard called his "secret sadhu" quality. Second, his novels were themselves those essays and editorials and lectures, since they famously (or in some quarters infamously) had such a "theory"-like cast to them. I know DeLillo largely pre-dates the online era, but I'm just trying to point out that there are many ways in a media-saturated age to maintain a career, a public persona, and a serious literary project without giving up one's dignity by disrobing in public.

[egoschwank]

al things considered — when i post my masterpiece #1342

first posted in facebook september 4, 2024

maria anto -- "lullaby" (1968)

"when i ran off and left her she wasn't holding a baby" … vic chesnutt

"the fact that i am a woman increases my possibilities when it comes to expression, but also involves more demands on my time and energy. i could not give up my home for painting. if i had no choice, i would stop painting" … mario anto

"sleep, baby, sleep the day's on the run the wind in the trees is talking in tongues i don't wonder why if the night is long here's my lullaby here's my lullaby" … leonard cohen

"maria loves magic, but she does not accept the lure of banal beauty. her landscape paintings bring to mind girlish dreams that appear after hearing beautiful and good fairy tales. the juicy and colourful flowers and trees make us think of rousseau's exotic plants or they seem to be speaking a magical language of the medieval flora" … michał jachuła

"the fact that i'm a man creates less demands on my time … if i had a choice, i would keep posting masterpieces" … al janik

[writer59january13]

Au revoir oh perilous freedom...

Since pledging my troth to the missus July 25th, 1996

after the comma error punctuated mein kampf with disequilibrium.

Ever since the notions of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness coalesced within the mindscape attributed to one or more anonymous forebears way before the advent of civilization when written language preserved (homo sapiens communicated virtual primal groans and grunts),

nevertheless witnessing inchoate awakening visa vis dawning enlightenment bajillions of years after earth, wind and fire affected ideal environment for Beatle browed foo fighters Nirvana oriented proto humans among rival capital one group of beastie boys versus another. Each subsequent generation embodied propensity to acquire heavenly delight characterized courtesy

storied primeval human associations

to wrestle with promotion of mental, physical and spiritual autonomy. Once self-determination awoke animal hides did cloak daggers if antagonism occurred especially as high society coaxed fibers inviting village people to invent legislation to evoke amity particularly once firearms witnessed proliferation of gunsmoke (and the Western genre as film noir) after shoot-'em-ups erupted,

when scapegoat mustered courage

(after chomping powder milk biscuits)

bad to the bone bully underestimated chutzpah

courtesy said shy person, yours truly did invoke adulation and garnered within figurative keystroke generated winning vote cast strictly by menfolk if I vouchsafed would

NOT be pig in a poke

as happened countless millenniums later,

when forty fifth president of lands slated to become United States of America would try to revoke his successor mudslinging him,

(the latter, a common joe biden time), a veritable teetotaler,

who swore, he rarely took a toke.

Blame aforementioned blue collar Scranton boy yup blimey bloke woke up after leaving Oval Office early one Autumn morning bright eyed and bushy tailed after an eight year stint, whereby the electorate majority approved former occupant of “Executive Mansion”

(circa 2020 - 2028) admitting admirable administration donned hat of clown

earning a living wage and taking page from playbook of bozo, who brought good humor and laughter, where tragedy wrought woe

visited webbed wired wide world

(once trod upon by the noble savage

as described by Jean-Jacques Rousseau)

whipping out trademark Dobro,

(a contraction of "Dopyera brothers" and a word meaning "goodness" in their native Slovak,

who introduced said instrument in 1928)

kickass nimble octogenarian (accompanied by the band Tripping Up Stairs) performed outstanding show capering, dancing, gliding,

high jumping, et cetera across the stage

hither and yon, to and fro

contagiously gifting, letting riotous hoopla ring out across Land of Lake Wobegon spontaneously kickstarting audience of senior citizens

(including yours truly) to shuck off mantle of senescence (and clothes in the same process after gaining courage to join Barenaked Ladies) hooting and trumpeting nouveau playfulness summoning

rebirth of childlike spirit. How carefree and ideal to identify with mindset of Alfred E Neuman Mad Magazine what me worry unfortunately as a little boy yours truly beset with mental health issues Anorexia Nervosa the most serious potential to develop healthily

self starvation eradicated courtesy the expertise of psychiatrist

Ted Goldberg my parents did employ subsequently eating disorder

manifested as hair obsession with a vengeance, when maybe some dozen years later while completing a co-op linkedin to enrollment at Antioch College at facility I chose called

Chicago Ecology Resource Center in Illinois,

and who should make a small teleporting cameo appearance,

but none other than Leonard Nimoy,

albeit his likeness manufactured as plastic popular gewgaw enterprising toy.

Courtesy the most flimsy tenuous designs linkedin to above lines

availed and linkedin thru Unitarian Church affiliation while a youth, (now negligible participant,

who would never join any group

that would accept me as a member) an important connection throve with 1976 Norristown Area High School alum Frankie Augustine Junior a brain,

plus admirable ruler

of tribbles and klingons to boot.

As an otherworldly webbed wordsmith, I befriended said lad, who became best earthling chum,

whose birthday (January eleventh nineteen fifty nine) two days before mine, our camaraderie did rattle and hum

until he attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (majoring in nuclear engineering) landing himself a plum job.

Our friendship since foundered unlike the enterprising television show, which captured the imaginations of countless young and older people alike. By 1986, 17 years after entering syndication,

Star Trek considered

the most popular syndicated series;

by 1987, Paramount made $1 million

from each episode;

and by 1994, the reruns

still aired in 94% of the United States.

[lesterplatt]

Agoria - CALL OF THE WILD from Loic Andrieu on Vimeo.

Directed by Loïc Andrieu

Produced by SOLDATS FILMS

Music by AGORIA (ft. STS) performing "CALL OF THE WILD"

© Soldats Films © 2019 Sapiens Recordings

Producer: Pierre Cazenave-Kaufman (Soldats Films) Director of photography: Simon Chaudoir Editor: Naza Giral (Soldats Films) Art director: Freyja Bardel Artistic Director: Loïc Andrieu Colorist: Mathieu Caplanne Los Angeles Producer Gaetan Rousseau (Paradoxal inc) Wardrobe Stylist Los Angeles: Yasmine Abraham Re-Recording Mixer: Christophe Leroy

VFX House: REEPOST

Starring Fleur Geffrier, Carl Crupud, Sean Roc Smith, Ron Guilbert, Christianno Chavez, Sam Ingraffia

Based on feature film script "LIFE LINE" written by Hedi Chellouf & Loïc Andrieu

Label: Sapiens Video commissioner: Christian De Rosnay

Development manager: Juliette Labrousse

Production Service Los Angeles: PARADOXAL INC

Sound facilities: YELLOW CAB STUDIOS

ADR & Foley Mixer: Christophe Leroy Sound designers: Alexis Jung & Olivier Ranquet Foley Artist: Florian Penot

Special thanks: Victoria Videnina

----------

Los Angeles crew

Executive Producers: Pierre Cazenave-Kaufman (Soldats Films) Associate Producer: Gaetan Rousseau (Paradoxal Inc) Production Service Los Angeles: Paradoxal Inc Line Producer: Hugo Marcel Production Manager: Thomas Duchêne 1st AD: Manuel Roman 2nd AD: Nick Brokaw Production assistants: Eric Hellberg & Yohan Lefevre & Martin de Bokay & Nicolas Thau & Timothy Watson Vocal Coach: Laura Rizzotto Location Scout: Kaelyn Phillips Art director: Freyja Bardell Set decorator: Crystal Criego Prop master: Dominic Wymark Leadman: Eligh Macias Set Dresser: Daniel R. Oregel & Kevin Lopez, Pedro Ramirez, Taylor Williams

Wardrobe Stylist: Yasmine Abraham

Wardrobe Assistant: Coleen Chan HMU: Jessica Sainclair

Casting director: Sarah-May Levy Cast: Fleur Geffrier, Carl Crupud, Sean Roc Smith, Ron Gilbert, Christianno Chavez, Sam Ingraffia, Spencer Frankeberger, Deron Cash, Rusty Rooftop, Gabriella S.Robinson, Shan Moreno, Sadyr Diouf, Natasha Churchil, Bodhi Dell, Johan Domhoff, Ryan Gatewood, Abraham Sesay Newscaster Voice Over: Douglas Rand 1st AC: Vincent Toubel 2nd AC: Dusty Saunders & Rogelio Mosqueda Steadicam Operator: Olivier Merckx Sound operator: JP Delacruz Sound design: Alexis Jung & Olivier Ranquet Mix: Christophe Leroy Gaffer: Joel Gill Best boy electric: Gerardo Ruiz Electrics: Laura Sfeir, Eddie Teram, Davis Villa, James Wray Key Grip: Dennis Pires Best Boy Grip: Ivan Garcia Grips: Robert Dulany, Ardy Fatehi, Michael Parlinic Motocrane: DRIVER’S EYE TEAM LAPD SERVICE: Paul Hinton, Darryl Martin

Catering: Mia’ Cuisine Los Angeles Studios: BEEPS DINNER, SILVER DREAM FACTORY, ESCOBAR FAMILY Los Angeles Costumes rental house: UNIVERSAL COSTUME, WESTERN COSTUME

Los Angeles Police Car rental house: CINEMA VEHICLES Los Angeles props rental house: ISS, SET STUFF OMEGA Los Angeles Camera rental house: PANAVISION HOLLYWOOD, CHAPMAN : LEONARD, JQ DA SILVA

----------

Paris crew

Production Company: Soldats Films Producer: Pierre Cazenave (Soldats Films) Line Producer Paris: Quentin Henneguelle (Soldats Films) Production Manager: Charlotte Giral (Soldats Films) 1st AC: Maud Cyrano Gaffer: Michael Monod Electrics: Jerôme Baudouin, Cedric Guerby Key Grip: Benjamin Rame Prop Master: Ludovic Jardiné HMU: Elisabeth Pilarsky On Set VFX Supervisor: Clement Germain

YELLOW CAB STUDIOS Sound designer: Alexis Jung & Olivier Ranquet Foley Artist: Florian Penot ADR & Foley Mixer: Christophe Leroy

SOLDATS CREW Post Producer: Naza Giral (Soldats Films) After Effects by: Naza Giral (Soldats Films) - Rémi Muzzupapa (Soldats Films) – Paul Laurent (Soldats Films) - Victor Sellier (Soldats Films)

REEPOST CREW

REEPOST VFX Supervisor: Adrien LEPINEAU

REEPOST VFX Post-producer: Loundja OUSSANA

Assistant post-production: Tilou MARTIN 3D Supervisor: Stephen PLONGEON

3D Artists: Xavier VERDIER Marion GUICHENUY Geoffrey PONS Olivier MASSON

Compositing: Matthieu DESTRADE Marc LATIL Benoit MESSAGER Johan ROCHE Gaetan BAILLEUL Thierry BONNEAU Mathieu PLESSIS Alexis BAILLA

Tracking: Toufik MEKBEL Walid BEN HEND (VISION AGE VFX)

Studio La Villette: Navarro ------------------

Special thanks to Agoria « You made it happen ! »

Christophe Leroy for Yellow Cabs Studio « Sound Wizard ! »

[figurelifeflirt]

2021 Skate Canada Challenge entry #48

Senior women short program

Beatrice Leonard

Thoughts: the opening botched triple loop. And the sal right after. Why did she curve her body like that when she landed? It looked very uncomfortable.

Catherine Carle

Thoughts: Did she darken her hair?! Anyway, I was hoping she’d be here. I am such a fan. Almost 2 years now, I think. She’s so cute.

Catherine Girard

Thoughts: what is this color? Like a sparkly grayish brown? Not feeling it.

Emma Dinda

Thoughts: purple reverse ombre dress. That wasn’t on the bingo card?! I can’t believe how pretty this is.

Jessica Rousseau

Thoughts: I like the back of her dress more than the front

Gabrielle Daleman

Thoughts: we gave that triple toe combo with a very pitched forward landing a green light?! What?! I don’t even want to comment on how much I loved her hairdo anymore.

Camile Perreault

Thoughts: I know I’ve heard her name before, but I can't remember where. This dress was gorgeous.

[whativseen]

QCQ

QCQ

QCQ Assignment:

Quote:

“I loved the challenge of imagining a person who’s fictional but who is also kind of

real in a way.”

I loved this idea of creating someone and making them who and what you want them to be.

A personal creation with no rules, perhaps even making them part of yourself or another.

It all started when film maker Cheryl Dunye approached Zoe Leonard about making a documentary film about a woman that did not exist but that could actually exist.

The work to create this fictitious woman began, she would be a queer negro woman named Fae Richards with parts of her life taken from others to perhaps make her more glorious or at least interesting.  Fae was so many things and had many interests. She dabbled in photography throughout her life, was a singer for years as well as an actress.  Fae also had political interests as well but with some challenges due to the era in which she lived regarding homophobia and racism but still managed to live a full and happy life. She had what seemed to be a perfect life but I have to wonder how when there were so many challenges for black women not to mention queer. I suppose this is where it does not have to be real but instead fictitious. 

It was said that her life would become an archive with so many missing parts making me think of a person that would not always be present…or not real. This would imply a mysterious person in some ways escaping when life offers distraction or escape.  

The idea of creating a fictional person is so bazar but so intriguing. When thinking about the reality of creating a fictional person it makes me wonder…how much of her own personal desires and aspirations were used to create this person or even regrets and mistakes? Did you start feeling that yours and Fae’s life were intertwined in any way?

Dynamic Stallion

Ricardo Chavez-Mendez

Carnaval

Ricardo Chavez-Mendez

The Sleeping Gypsy is a 1897 oil painting by the famous French artist Henri Rousseau. It is a fantastical delineation of a lion and a resting gypsy on a twilight night. 

[mankillercalledbunny]

Character list time! Ft both mine and my partner's, theirs listed separately

Mine:

Main characters

• Mikhail Pietre Rashnikov - half-demon aka cambion, he/him; Czech-Russian, light skin, blond, blue eyes; shadow and red fire manipulation abilities; bartender/manager at the strip club & bar, gruff badass exterior with a heart of gold who plays the gruff loner role but is actually a very well-liked and well-integrated member of the NYC supernatural community, cat named Nikolai; age: 27

• Alecus Cyrus Morgan - Persian-Spanish warlock, he/him; long dark brown hair, beard, medium brown skin, violet eyes; owns a bookshop café (alchemy side business) near the NYU Campus in the west village, born 1804, age: 219

• Eamon Leonard O'Connor - half-angel aka nephil, he/him; Irish, pale skin, redhead, grey eyes; light and blue flames manipulation, summonable red wings; Mikhail's friend/eventual partner, regular at the bar/club, Warden team lead; occasionally works with Tali, friendly sarcastic and competitive, dog named Saoirse; age: 27

Additional Characters

• Rook - punk-goth enby shapeshifter, they/them; American, usually dark hair and tan skin with a preference for corvids and associated colouring; co-worker of Mikhail's; their partners are werepanthers Nick and Maya who have the complete opposite Basic Hipster aesthetic, age: 28 (partners: 28/29)

• Indra Naaga - half-dragon, he/him, Warden, works with Eamon; Indian, medium brown skin with black hair, orange-to-yellow scales, green and black eyes with slit pupils, mix of human skin and orange scales on limbs; age: 35

• Ikaros Pinion (called Karo/Pin) - harpy, he/him, Warden, works with Eamon; Black, dark skin, black hair, black and grey feathers on wings and patches on torso but not face, bird legs, claws, gold and black eyes; age: 27

• Serifos Alexandros (called Ser/Seri/Ale) - werejaguar, he/him, Warden, works with Eamon, dating Wraith; Greek-Mexican, medium brown skin, brown eyes, dark brown hair, scar across nose and on forehead; age: 27

• Acrisius Wraith (called Wraith) - Reaper cambion, he/him, Warden, works with Eamon, dating Seri; English, pale skin, red hair, black-silver eyes, covered in scars; ex-military, shadow abilities similar to Mikhail but with death connection instead of fire and less active control of shadows; can melt into shadows and out of them but cannot properly teleport (requires visual); grumpy and sarcastic but cares a lot, age: 29

Background Characters

• Arlan and Jocelyn Mueller - heads of the meatpacking district pack, the oldest and most well-established pack in the city; Mueller's butchery is family business - Mikhail helped out granddaughter (Katherine/Kate) and her vamp girlfriend (Catarina/Cat)

• Amaranth and Michael - witch and her son, run Ambrosia and Nectar witchcraft supply shop and apothecary in Brooklyn

• Tyresius aka Ty - undead (technically) Black, human, he/him, died at 22, found as a ghost (and body) three weeks after death by Callum and became a Reaper

• [Unknown] - Harpy with light skin fading to black on limbs, black hair/gold and black eyes; black and brown feathers; she/they; age and origin unknown, had a Bad Time and is hoping that the city will be both better and safer

@themechanicsnightmare 's characters:

Main characters

• Callum Aiken - Reaper, half-demon/half-witch, he/him, dating Tom, Tali's brother; Scottish-Italian, black hair, tan skin; occasionally comes to visit Mikhail at work/home, died at 18 but now 23 (continues to grow up to a point)

• Tomas/Tom Cardenas-Rousseau - witch, he/him; Mexican-French, black hair, brown skin; went to uni with and is now dating Callum, day job as an aerospace engineer; getting PhD in physics modelling; age: 23

• Talia/Tali Aiken - half-demon/half-witch, she/her; Scottish-Italian black hair, tan skin; Guardian of the Veil, older sister of Callum; very large dog (or dog-shaped entity) called Spot; age: 27

Additional characters

• William/Gwilym/Liam - vampire (no sun, blood requirement, fine with garlic), he/him; Welsh, dark hair, pale skin; bartender/freelance programmer, co-worker of Mikhail's; age: eternally 21 (and acts like it), born 1663, looks about 18

• Gabriella/Gabi Jordan - warlock, she/her, Warden, works with Eamon; light brown skin, black hair, purple eyes; pastel aesthetic and heels

• Johanna/Jo Jordan - identical twin of Gabi, she/her, same job/description; grunge aesthetic and hates shoes, will only wear non-heels, is the reason for the shoe rack at HQ

Background Characters

• Ezra - half-vampire/half-water fey, lives in a lake house upstate, minor allergy to sunlight, basically immune to garlic, age: 5700+

• Tychon - vampire, they/them enby, Greek-British, detective, partner of Robert and Ammara

• Robert - werewolf, he/him trans guy, Black British, paramedic, partner of Tychon and Ammara

• Amara - witch, she/her, white British, programmer, partner of Tychon and Robert, uses a wheelchair

Bonus: the College Pack (moved from the UK)

(all 21 y/o)

• Lily - shapeshifter, she/they, fine arts and photography

• Jordan - werewolf, he/him agender, physiotherapy, dating Henry

• Adam - werewolf (Laney's twin), he/him, (HS) design tech education

• Lainey - werewolf (Adam's twin), she/her, pre-med

• Stefan/Stef - vampire, he/they (adoptive sibling to the twins), graphic design

• Anna - werewolf, she/her, drama, dating Danny

• Tomi - kitsune, they/them, primary education

• Danny - werewolf, he/him, paramedic sciences, dating Anna

• Cara - Banshee, she/her, drama

• Alice - witch (Chris' cousin), she/her, physics (also competitive archer)

• Chris - witch (Alice's cousin), he/him, pre-law

• Henry - werewolf, he/him (adoptive sibling to Alice), software engineering, dating Jordan

Callum is one of Mikhail's best friends, and occasionally shows up in Mikhail's flat when Mikhail's working the night shift just to keep his cat company. He also likes to show up when Alecus is working, just to mess around in the warlock's workshop. Jo and Gabi are on the same Warden crew with Eamon, Karo, Indra, Wraith, and Ser, and they're all good friends and colleagues. The College Pack have regular game nights at Alec's café. Tom has worked on his dissertation both at Mikhail's bar (across from his flat) and in Alecus' café, and never needs to ask for refills. Tali and Eamon met in the field and fought off threats together three separate times before they actually learned each other's names. They're great friends.

Thank you for joining us! If you have questions about my characters, feel free to ask, and if you have questions about @themechanicsnightmare 's shoot them an ask!

All right fuck it I'm infodumping about MRNYC under the cut

So I have this world called Modern Realism New York City that I've created wherein most species/creatures from folklore and mythology do in fact exist, with... Nebulous knowledge and understanding of this by humans (meaning some are totally in the dark and some absolutely know about it and are part of it). It is the entire world but my main characters are centred around NYC, hence the name. There are other realms/planes/etc which have some crossover with the "mortal" one, and though gods aren't really a thing as such there are other very powerful beings that exist in those other realms that occasionally do rock up in the mortal world and fuck around to varying degrees. There are vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, magic users, Fae, and most things you can probably think of.

The whole notion actually spawned around the idea of vampires and werewolves. I thought the idea of the garlic thing being BS but widely believed means that an Italian restaurant would be the perfect cover for a vampire family. They have a long standing partnership with the werewolf pack that runs the meatpacking district both for actual meat products (it is a restaurant after all) and for the blood that would otherwise be disposed of, so they don't have to worry about their supply or anyone going off the shits. In MRNYC, there's one main vampire colony and one main werewolf pack, though there are smaller packs in each of the five boroughs and a collection of werejaguars on Long Island. The colony is mostly one big Italian family, and the Wolfpack is one big Dutch family, and they've both been here for centuries at this point. The werewolves also do a lot of community work, they're very social, they hold block parties and stuff. The vampires are less so, but they do keep in touch. One of the werewolf great-grandchildren and one of the vampire grandkids are dating, their names are Katherine and Catarina respectively, they are very cute and their families are very happy for them. (There are a number of vampire subspecies as well as numerous types of weres, but the following rules apply to basically everyone). Both communities are remarkably self-policing; it takes months of preparation and understanding of the community, the change, and the consequences before someone is allowed to become either. This is not something to go into unprepared, and consent is incredibly important. (I did take some inspiration here from the Jewish conversion system e.g. it's not active and in order to do so you gotta COMMIT and DO YOUT RESEARCH before you're granted the opportunity.) If a bite/transformation happens by accident/maliciously, that is one of the only circumstances where seeking treatment would be considered, and if someone decided they didn't want to the community would welcome and educate them, helping them however they could. Whoever did the unconsensual transforming though... Would not be so lucky. That's a serious transgression and would be treated as such. The Manhattan pack and colony are not the only wolves and vamps on the island, just the largest collections, and they do outreach to new arrivals and have connections with other packs/colonies. There are plenty of small packs, and of course New York has universities where you'll get young members of social species away from their families for the first time, so there's a lot of outreach and connection to provide a safety net for people who need it.

Angels and demons do exist, from their respective (linked) realms, but they don't have the inherent attributes given to them by superstitious/religious humans, they're just people. They (along with most species) can interbreed with humans, although instead of creating a super powerful nightmare child they just... Have a nephil or cambion kid. Who has some of the abilities of their supernatural parent, but probably not all of them. The vast majority of those who interact with humans are "lesser" demons or angels, the Just Some Dudes of their respective realms, and it's not particularly common for "greater" ones to show up. They're in charge, they have shit to do.

While "sorcerer" is a general description that can be applied to magic users of any species, witch and warlock are actually their own species, not the same but closely related (think like Vulcans and Romulans, for example). Both are longer-lived than humans (averaging a couple centuries) and have inherent magic which presents in small ways, like oddly coloured eyes or faint patterns on the skin. Warlock blood is faintly silvery and inherently toxic, they can't be changed into vampires or werewolves, and if their blood gets on human skin it will leave a chemical burn. Witch blood isn't toxic, and they can be transformed. If you meet a magical wolf or vamp, they likely either have witch parentage or were one first.

The Fae exist. They have their own realm, but some places in the mortal world have entrances to it. The Fae have a particular attachment to Ireland (with some of Scotland and Wales as well) and are very protective of it, meaning that the vast majority of non-human activity there is either the Fae or requires their blessing. They can be particularly vindictive if they feel that their permission has not been properly asked or that someone is trespassing on their protected ground. This can lead to some... Less than favourable situations for non-fae supernatural families, unfortunately, and can be a reason people end up leaving the Isles.

There are two major protective organisations that deal with various issues and threats, as well as things that may cause problems between realms. These are the Wardens, who deal with the living, and the Reapers, who deal with the dead. Both are joinable by anyone, and are very good employers. Wardens are somewhere between Witchers, border patrol, and bounty hunters, investigating/finding/returning extradimensional creatures from whence they came and dealing with unexpected incursions. Listen, not everyone is nice. Reapers, meanwhile, deal with the dead or those manipulating the dead, as well as guiding wayward spirits home. If there's a haunting, things coming out of graves, anything of that nature, that's a Reaper's job to deal with. All Reapers are dead themselves; if someone feels like they're not done but in a... Non-haunting way, they can become a Reaper. There's a training process as well as some physical and spiritual reinforcing, but it's also a job so you get days off and holiday and all that. Death is a very fair employer. There's also the Guardian of the Veil, who isn't any of these, but whose job it is to essentially watch borders between worlds and deal with anything that is a Massive Fucking Problem, and they have leave to call in as many Wardens or Reapers (or both) as necessary. If the Guardian calls, whatever you're working on can wait because this is an Imminent Threat To Global Existence and you are needed now.

Okay that's all the worldbuilding I can really think of at the moment! My wonderful partner @themechanicsnightmare has helped me flesh out this marvelous world with significant contributions (the Reapers and the Guardian were their ideas, plus witches being a species as well as warlocks), it wouldn't be the lived-in world it has become without them. If the worldbuilding here interests you and/or you want to know about the main characters in the world, let me know!

And before anyone asks: no, there is no webcomic or novel or anything for this, and no there is not going to be one. While things like the Wardens and the specific ways the species work are my invention, urban fantasy/magical realism is a broad genre for a reason. I took inspiration from Grimm, Supernatural, Percy Jackson/the Riordanverse, and The Mortal Instruments (albeit mainly the bits I liked or wanted to fix) as well as many, many pieces of mythology and folklore. This is just my iterations of it. The characters are very much mine, and the specifics of the world are mine, but urban fantasy is a wonderful base for a worldbuilding concept and I highly encourage people to use it.

[defconprime]

Angry Birds cover for IDW Star Trek issue 34, "Lost Apollo Part 2." Cover art by Craig Rousseau, 2014.

[psikonauti]

Mitsuru Watanabe (Japanese, b. 1953)

Leonard in Dream of Rousseau, 2018

Oil on Canvas

[myriamgendron]

Ma délire, d’après Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau

Le scénariste et critique Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau a écouté «Ma délire — Songs of love, lost & found» et a eu la gentillesse de nous dire ce qu’il en pense:

J'attendais un petit matin bien gris pis triste avant d'écouter Ma délire, question de pouvoir découvrir le nouvel album de Myriam Gendron dans des conditions optimales. Je m'imaginais déjà ruminer au bord de ma fenêtre avec une tasse de café fumante, en regardant la pluie tomber. Mais les aléas de la météo étant ce qu'ils sont, il a fallu que je me contente d'une journée radieuse de mai, ce qui ne correspondait pas tout à fait à ce dont j'avais rêvé.

C'est pas ben grave, remarque. Au bout de dix secondes, la guitare de Myriam avait déjà dimmé le soleil pis imposé son mood. C'était l'automne en été, pis la dureté de la lumière faisait juste accentuer la beauté des notes jouées. J'haïs ça quand les gens disent que la musique les « transporte ». Je trouve ça ben fromagé, comme formule prémâchée. Mais je mentirais si je disais que ce n'est pas comme ça que je me senti. Désolé pour le cliché.

Après Poor Girl Blues, ses accents de John Fahey et ses échos de Leonard Cohen, je me demandais déjà avec une pointe d'inquiétude si l'album allait pouvoir topper ça, tellement la barre était haute. Mais la guitare électrique de C'est dans les vieux pays m'est rentrée dedans comme un 18 roues pis j'ai su qu'on était partis pour la gloire. Une chance que Shenandoah vient se poser doucement après ça pour calmer le jeu un peu, sinon je suis pas sûr que j'aurais survécu à la ride.

Ma délire, sérieux, c'est du gros stock. Myriam vient de condenser tellement de fragments de la culture folklorique nord-américaine en un seul album que j'ai l'impression qu'il y a toute une tablette de ma collection de disques qui fitte dessus. Not So Deep as a Well était déjà ben bon. Y'a pas de doute là-dessus. Mais Ma délire est plus vaste et plus dense. Va falloir l'écouter en boucle, jusqu'à en creuser les sillons, avant d'arriver à vraiment en faire le tour. Pis même à ça, je suis pas mal sûr qu'il va encore trouver le moyen de me surprendre.

– Alexandre Fontaine Rousseau

[bm-contemporary-art]

J.F. Millet and Th. Rousseau, Leonard Baskin, n.d., Brooklyn Museum: Contemporary Art

© Estate of Leonard Baskin, Courtesy Galerie St. Etienne, New York Size: Sheet: 14 x 11 in. (35.6 x 28 cm) Image: 6 1/8 x 6 1/2 in. (15.6 x 16.5 cm) Medium: Woodcut on thin wove paper

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/152809

[wethenorth-archive]

WE THE NORTH ↳ announcement 6 → names in use We got a very good question about duplicate names. Unless related we do not allow duplicate surnames. We do not allow duplicate first names but will allow similar spelling. Please see under the cut for the names in use. Please use Ctrl+f as they are not in alphabetical order. Thank you!

ANNIE PRICE CARLY HAWKE DEXTER SOMMER KEAHI PAOA KENADIE AUGUSTINE NOAH WALLACE ABEL SANDERS ESMERALDA BELL EVELYN HEO MATTHEW LACROIX DELILAH LEAUMONT KASHVI SANDHU SAWSAN ARMSTRONG JAYLEE UNDERWOOD SEBASTIAN HARDING DYLAN SONG JASMINE FLOWERS HYUN-JAE PARK NATHANIEL HENDRIX PENELOPE DIAZ REAGAN FARLEY SAHANA SANDHU ALICIA BRYANT ANGELO CALLOWAY MELANIE JACKSON SAMANTHA PILKINGTON ARTHUR GODFREY EDRIC ARSLAN SAMSON ARMSTRONG JAXON O'KEEFFE SILAS HAWKE MILES HAWKE DIMITRA LOVELL JOSEPHINE JAYAKUMAR LINCOLN NASSAR MIN-HO PARK OLIVER BRYANT PRUDENCE MCKNIGHT RUBY RAJA-SALEM TALIA BELL-ARMSTRONG VINCENT ARMSTRONG AREUM JEON AVERLY ROSEWOOD ELIJAH COOPER FLETCHER RHODES HUDSON ARMSTRONG KAHLAN THOMPSON LENA ARMSTRONG LOGAN CALLOWAY NIXON LOVELL SAWYER BERLINSKY WYNTER HILL ALEXIS GARCIA AXEL LOVELL CHETANA AGRAWAL CHRISTOPHER HAWKE HUNTER ALCOTT JORDAN MESSINA QUINN CARPENTER SAVANNAH ARMSTRONG VICTOR FLORES AMAYA GRAVES ANDRÉ DUARTE HAKIM KOURI JAMES MCKNIGHT MEREDITH ZHOU MITCHELL LOVELL SIERRA ANDERSON MAISIE FONTAINE JADE RAJA-SALEM RHYS HAWKE CESAR CORTEZ EZEKIEL IDRISSI GREGORY TREMBLEY KIAAN DHAWAN MARQUIS BRYANT PARIZA NASSAR RAYLEIGH STERLING RUSSELL HUGHES THEODORE SHERWOOD TOMÁS PELLETIER PEIGI WILSON SIENNA ARMSTRONG YAMI SUWANNARAT MARGOT MARTIN ANASTASIA BAXTER FELICITY GREY LUCA CHIANG PIPER MORGAN TAE-SUNG PARK ELIAS KANG AMELIA ATWOOD MILDRED WARREN EMERALD REYES GREG HAWKE SHEPHERD CLEARY AUBREY DAWSON EMILIA HART MINJUNG SEONG WEI LI AVA TARGAS BRENT JACOBSEN CAMPBELL CALDWELL DAWN HUELLET ISAAC ROUSSEAU KRISTEN SNEED LANDON FRASER MASON HENDERSON SYLVIE DELACORTE TOBIAS BROOKS VALERIA CORTEZ KYUNG SEONG ELEANOR NASSAR JAVIER RAMIREZ BEAU LAFLAMME ESTER PERETZ MCKINLEY KEATING DIEGO LOPEZ ELIANA SHIRAH FINNEAS WILSON LUNARA OSMAN NAIRA DHAWAN LEONARD JAYAKUMAR OLIVA ARMSTRONG SHIANNE WILLIAMS JEFFREY PHILLIPS NOELLE WILLIAMS MACON HOLLIFIELD DIMITRA BLACK OCTAVIA LAURENT FLYNN WALKER

[writingbymel]

Syndicate - Part 6

Author’s Note: Hey guys! I’ve been in the process of moving back home after university so I’ve been super busy. Here’s the long awaited Part 6! Updates should be more regular after this :) 

Date Posted: 12/3/2019

Summary: Y/N and Leo have moved into the Mikaelson’s home adjusting to life back in New Orleans. A new threat in town causes a rift between Klaus and Y/N. 

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x Reader

Word Count: 2,300+

Parts: SYNDICATE MASTERLIST

It’s been a couple uneventful weeks since Leo and I moved into the Mikaelson’s. Leo has spent his days shopping in all the New Orleans boutiques, I, on the other hand, have spent a majority of my time training with Rebekah. If Sami, or any other vampire hunter for that matter, decided to show up I wanted to be prepared.

“And now you would be dead,” Rebekah says pinning me down on the mat laid out in the living area. She fakes staking me with a laugh. I roll my eyes. She was always one for dramatics.

“Realistically, how fair is it for me to fight an original vampire?” I say struggling against her grip. Rebekah gets up and extends her hand helping me up to my feet.

“I was going easy on you Y/N,” Rebekah laughs walking over to grab her drink off the table. I follow taking a drink of water from my own cup.

“How is the training going?” Elijah asks walking down the stairs while adjusting his blazer. Rebekah has an amused look on her face.

“Unfair as usual,” I say jokingly, taking a seat.

“Y/N is just upset that I always beat her,” Rebekah responds with a smile. “Where are you headed brother?”

“Just into town,” Elijah states giving his sister a small hug. Rebekah gives Elijah a skeptical look, but nods.

“Bye Elijah,” I give him a small smile as he exits.

After Elijah leaves, Klaus shortly follows down the stairs with an old book in his hands.    He is extremely invested in the book not taking much interest in Rebekah and I sitting around the table.

“What have you got there Klaus?” I ask curiously walking behind him to take a peek. All the text was in a language I couldn’t decipher. He quickly closes the book shooting me a small smirk.

“Nothing to worry you with darling,” he says.

“Why do you have that?” Rebekah asks angrily. She speeds over to Klaus grabbing the book from his hands. Klaus attempts to grab the book back from her, but her grip remains firm. “First Elijah hastily leaves into town and now you’re looking at this.”

“This situation doesn’t concern you Rebekah,” Klaus replies.

“If you’re looking at the ancient encyclopedia of mystical creatures I think it should concern me,” Rebekah states looking to me for help.

“Klaus just tell us what’s going on,” I plead. Klaus grabs the book from Rebekah.

“If you two must know,” Klaus starts. “The witches have noticed there has been some suspicious activity in the quarter.”

“What kind of suspicious activity?” I ask.

“Y/N,” Klaus responds. “I believe all the time you’ve spent with my dear sister has made you just as curious as she is. I recommend you both stop asking questions for your own good.” Klaus quickly leaves out the front door.

“Niklaus is so infuriating,” Rebekah states. “If he wasn’t my brother I swear I would—”

“Let’s follow them,” I say putting on my jacket. I wasn’t going to let Klaus shut me out like he always did. If there was some way I could help, I wanted to help.

“But we don’t even know where they went,” Rebekah responds.

“I think I have an idea,” I tell her. We both hop into my car and I drive to the one spot where I knew the witches used to practice. As we approach the cemetery gates, I recognize Elijah standing outside talking to a girl. I pull my car to a stop. “Who is that?” I ask Rebekah.

“I’m not sure,” Rebekah tells me attempting to take a better look. I turn to look again and both of them have disappeared.

“What the—” I start only to be interrupted by a knock on my car window. Elijah stands outside with his arms crossed. He gestures for Rebekah and I to step out of the car. I quickly get out of the car.

“Dear Y/N, do you care to explain what you and Rebekah are doing here?” Elijah asks.

“Klaus told us that the witches have noticed some suspicious activity in the quarter,” I tell him. “If there’s something going on we want to know too, we want to help.”

“Klaus is going to kill me if he even knows that you two saw me here,” Elijah states worriedly pacing back and forth.

“Who were you talking to Elijah?” Rebekah asks. “I know all the witches in the quarter and she was not one of them.”

Elijah sighs, “I suppose I have no choice, but to tell you two what is going on.”

“We’re listening,” I respond.

“Like Niklaus said, the witches are worried about a recent surge in crime in the area,” Elijah explains. “Six of the members from their coven have disappeared without a trace. They have tried doing locater spells on them, but they’ve had no luck. Eventually they sought out Klaus and I to help them.”

“Why are you two helping them?” Rebekah asks.

“It appears a few other vampires have disappeared as well,” Elijah answers sadly.

“Do you guys have any leads so far?” I ask.

“That girl I was talking to is a witch from Salem and she said they have been experiencing the same disappearances in their town,” Elijah says.

“What or who could be taking these people?” I question.

“And without a single trace?” asks Rebekah.

“We are not sure this is all pretty recent,” Elijah states. “You are to not tell Niklaus I told you two this. He will be so angry. He did not want to involve you too.”

“It’s a little too late for that Elijah,” I hear from behind us. We turn around to see Klaus with an angry look washed over his face. “I told you to not get involved Y/N, and what do you do? The exact opposite.”

“Klaus if something is going on I want to help,” I respond. “You know me.”

“Don’t you get it?” Klaus yells. “If you become involved I’m putting you at risk from being captured by whatever we are dealing with.”

“I know the risk Klaus,” I tell him. “I’ve known you for centuries. I know the risk of being in your life,” I look between Elijah and Rebekah who are both visibly uncomfortable. “The risk being in all of your lives.” I finish.

“I don’t know if you remember Y/N, but you ran off for half of those centuries,” Klaus replies angrily.

“Niklaus, stop it,” Rebekah says.

“I am only speaking the truth,” Klaus states.

“Nik—” Elijah starts.

“No he’s right,” I respond. I reach into my jacket for my car keys and hop into my car not wanting to endure the conversation any longer. I pull up to Rousseau’s to get a drink and I smile when I see Cami is bartending. To my surprise, Leo is also sitting at the bar deep in his thoughts.

“Hey strangers,” I say to the both of them. I set my jacket down on the back of the chair next to Leo.

“Long time no see,” Cami replies pouring me a glass of my favorite drink. “Leo here was just updating me about all your adventures.” She hands me the glass.

“Thank you. Yeah it sure has been eventful that’s for sure,” I reply taking a sip.

“Bad day?” Cami asks.

“Terrible day,” I respond.

“Do tell,” Cami says.

“Just Mikaelson family drama,” I reply. “As usual.”

“I was wondering where you and Rebekah disappeared off to this morning,” Leo mentions.

“We were trying to figure out what scheming Klaus and Elijah were up to,” I tell them.

“What’s going on with them?” asks Leo.

“There’s been multiple disappearances of supernatural people in the quarter,” I explain. “Klaus and Elijah have been trying to figure out why. Rebekah and I wanted to help, but the minute that we tried to Klaus snapped.”

“That’s not a surprise,” Leo responds with an eye roll. “That sums up Klaus.”

“Leo has a point Y/N,” Cami says while wiping down a few spare glasses.

“After years of knowing him you would think I would have gotten used to his outbursts by now,” I say swirling my drink around in my cup. “He dared to say that I had no right to help them because I ran off.”

“Do you want me to kill him?” Leo asks. “I never did like him.”

I laugh at his response, “Leo, you and I both know you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“I’m hurt that you doubt my abilities Y/N,” Leo jokes pushing my shoulder.

Our antics are interrupted by a loud crash near the door followed by screams from people in the bar.

“What the—” Cami starts. I turn to see a thin human-like creature with sunken eyes. It screeches revealing its sharp teeth. The creature looks around the room with crowds of people running out of the bar.

“What the hell is that,” Leo whispers.

“I think we’re about to find out,” I reply turning to Cami, “Cami run.” She quickly runs out the back door to safety. I feel the veins under my eyes start to wash over my face. The creature begins grabbing people throwing them against the wall of the bar. It continues searching the room until its bright yellow eyes notice Leo and I in the corner of the room. It screeches again and begins advancing quickly towards us. I use my vampire speed to go behind it before it can reach us. I grab a chair next to me and smash it on its back. It turns around angrily pinning me against the wall by my neck. Leo runs over to pull the creature off of me, but it throws him across the room. Before I could process, the creature is pulled away from me and with a snap it collapses to the ground.

“A chair is not the best weapon of choice, love,” Klaus smirks.

“Wipe that smirk off your face Klaus,” I say still upset with him. I look over to see some individuals on the ground. I rush over to a woman giving her my blood to heal her. I look around to see Leo doing the same.

“You will not remember what happened here,” I compel the woman. “You will walk out and continue with your day.” She walks out. I get up brushing off my pants.

“What is this thing?” asks Leo kicking it.

“I wouldn’t do that Leonard,” Klaus says. “We still don’t know its strengths and abilities.”

“Don’t call me that,” Leo replies angrily.

“I believe this is our culprit,” Klaus says kneeling down to take a closer look at the creature. “The one who has been responsible for the disappearance of the witches and vampires in the quarter.”  

“Well it didn’t try to hurt anyone besides me or Leo,” I tell Klaus. Klaus pushes the creature at an attempt to take a better look until it suddenly vanishes into thin air. “Well that’s new.”

“Quite new,” Klaus retorts. “Let’s head back home.” Klaus files out of the door.

//

“How are you holding up Y/N?” asks Rebekah standing at the door of my room. “I know Klaus was a little sour earlier at the cemetery.”

“Nothing I’m not used to,” I reply with a laugh brushing out my hair.

“If it makes you feel better Lij and I have been trying to convince him to apologize,” Rebekah tells me.

“You know Klaus doesn’t do well with apologies,” I say.

“Not unless it’s you,” she states.

“I don’t know what you’re going on about Rebekah,” I say.

She smirks before leaving the doorway, “Goodnight Y/N.”

“She’s right you know,” I hear Klaus’s voice at my door. “May I come in?”

“If you must,” I reply. He walks over to take a seat on my bed. I notice a book underneath his arm. “Did you guys find any more information about the creature?”

Klaus opens to a page in the book which reads ‘Ghoul’ at the top of the page, “I believe we’re dealing with one of these.” I grab the book reading all the descriptions.

“Sounds like a match,” I say. “Does it say anything about how to stop them?”

“Look Y/N,” Klaus grabs the book from my hands. “I truly am sorry for what I said earlier.”

“It’s okay,” I reply. “I know you’re just trying to protect me.”

“I just got you back Y/N,” Klaus tells me. “I don’t want to lose you again.”

I reach out to grab his hand, “Klaus I want to help you and you know I can handle myself.”

“Just don’t try and use chairs again on creatures 3 times larger than you,” Klaus teases. I shove him playfully. He turns to a page in the book. “Apparently some ghouls can shape shift into different forms of animals or humans in order to disguise themselves.”

“That means these ghouls could be hiding among us and we don’t even know it,” I say worriedly. “But why are they targeting supernatural creatures?”

“That’s the million dollar question love,” Klaus replies. “Someone must be awakening these creatures to do their bidding.”

“Is there any way that we can track them down at the source?” I ask.

“That’s genius Y/N,” Klaus says. “I believe a little witch owes us a favor.”