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too-deviant · 8 months ago

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idk if you’d be comfortable writing this but I was wondering if you could whip up an Aphrodite!reader who’s fed up with her beauty. She stops attending school and stays the full term at camp which makes Luke confused. So she tells him about how random dudes would hit on her and be creepy at her school or something. She’d prolly join him with Kronos bc she wants to feel respected for once. Would be such an angsty but filled with femme rage although totally cool if you choose not to write this~ Just wanted to share it with someone 💛

Pairing: Luke Castellan x Aphrodite!Reader

Summary: Maybe you didn't want to be beautiful anymore.

Content: pretty angsty, brief mentions of male harassment but nothing explicit or triggering, again sorry for the wait i had w block pls forgive me. also not proofread sorry yall its been a rough week.

You were only faintly aware of the noise around you.

The chatter of the city was a mere buzz in the back of your head as you marched down the street. It amazed you, really, just how unbelievably dickish mortal boys could be. This one in particular; Mike Schwartz, a five foot something jock who sat on the bench at every game. He’d been a bother in your life since you started high school. Back then, you took the endless prospects as a compliment – you truly were your mother’s daughter. It was a boost to your weak teenage confidence.

But as the years went by, the constant asking for your hand became an irritant. Especially when they couldn’t get the hint – at fourteen, turning down guys felt amazing, but when those same guys kept coming back for more, it made your eye twitch. Couldn’t they take the first no, tuck their tail between their legs and fuck off?

Apparently not.

After four years of putting up with it, you were done. Storming out of the cafeteria, grabbing all your things, hailing a cab and getting the hell outta dodge. Maybe you should’ve stopped to think — called your dad, taken a few deep breaths. But the harder you thought about it, after trying not to for so many years, you came to the conclusion that you would’ve ended up here anyway.

Here being the peak of HalfBlood Hill in the middle of September. It was only slightly unusual, because when you usually arrive at the start of summer you get to watch the crowds of arrivals setting up shop at camp. Now, however, it was fairly desolate. Less people, you knew.

It was also a split second shock when you stepped across the border and felt the drastic change in weather. From the cool breeze of the autumn air to the warm summery spring that camp was in year-round. A shift that made you pause, but you kept on down the hill anyway.

Chiron was waiting for you on the porch of the Big House, and without so much as a word, gestured for you to follow him inside. He was fairly understanding of your situation, but made you Iris Message your dad and tell him of your decision. He, too, was more glad you were safe than angry you ran off.

“We can talk about this when you feel like talking.” He’d said.

So you’d done it. Finally, you’d gotten yourself away from the hey hot stuffs and the you seeing anyone baby?s. You were back at camp, you were where you were most happy.

But you weren’t happy.

Being a year-rounder, you’d discovered, was a lot less busy than being a summer camper. You got more days off, longer breaks between activities. You found yourself spending more time in your own company; something you never really got to do before. Most of the time you were with your siblings, or your mortal friends, or you were being hounded by some frat boy and their friends.

It took a minute to get used to the loneliness, but you did. You explored camp, found places you hadn’t seen before. A cute clearing near a stream on the east side of the forest, or a Satyr sanctuary on the far end of the beach. You read more books, you trained a little harder, you perfected six new hairstyles on your little sister Elena and Annabeth from the Athena Cabin.

And yet, you were still pissed off.

“Why?”

Luke Castellan was a name everyone knew in this little corner of Long Island. One of the oldest campers, head counsellor of the rowdiest cabin, token tour guide for the new kids. Oh, and the best swordsman camp had seen in, like, three centuries. He was cute, that much you’d heard all around your cabin. But you’d never really held a solid conversation with him until you became a year-rounder. The fewer people around, the more you run into him.

You’d been practising a few neat tricks with a dagger when he spotted you. Said he was there to train himself for once and that you wouldn’t even notice he was there. You did, though. Especially when he took his shirt off twenty minutes in.

You shared a water break, he asked you why you’d transferred to being a year rounder, and you indulge him in the story. He was super nice about it too, which made you angry. Was Luke the only nice guy on the planet?

“But at least you’re happier now, right?” He’d said. You weren’t, you told him that much. He gave you this knowing look you’d never seen on him before, and asked Why?

You shrugged, “I don’t know. I love it here, I do. But I shouldn’t have to uproot my entire life and bring it here just to get some semblance of peace. I shouldn’t have to give up my education, my friends, my dad, just so I don’t have to get harassed every day. It’s not even like my mom gave me anything to help combat it, either. She just made me beautiful and told me to deal with the consequences! I mean,” You let out a weak chuckle, holding up the dagger you’d been toying with, “This was a birthday present from a friend in Cabin Six. Not even my mother, who is a warrior herself, could bother sending me a weapon. They really don’t give two shits about us, do they?”

He’d parted his lips, eyes shining with something, and looked at you through his bottom lashes, “No. They don’t.”

You and Luke grew closer after that. A lot closer. By the time summer rolled around and the rest of the campers returned, you were inseparable. Many rumours spread but you two ignored them in favour of sneaking into that clearing you’d found and talking in whispers about your hatred for the gods. Who cared if they could hear you? Let them.

It was Luke who had come up with the idea to steal the bolt. A quick job, in and out, and maybe then they’d listen to what you’d have to say. But they didn’t — they did exactly what they always did and risked the lives of two young demigods and a satyr just because they couldn’t be bothered doing it themselves. Selfish — that’s what they were. They didn’t care about anyone —

“ — but themselves!” You glared at Thalia, who stood before you atop Mount Tamalpais with her spear in your direction. “I mean, look at your dad. He didn’t care enough to stop the monsters from killing you, oh, but it’s okay because he turned you into a damn tree!”

“This isn’t the way!” Annabeth yelled from afar. Her hair was twisted in a style you’d taught her how to do that first year as a year-rounder. It broke your heart that she couldn’t see how right you and Luke were.

“Curse them, Thalia.” You said plainly, holding up your dagger. Half mortal metal, half celestial bronze. A gift from Luke. “Curse your father and his children. His brothers. Curse them all like they deserve to be cursed! They deserve to be toppled.”

You tilted your head, looking at them all. Luke and your army were heading steadily up the mountain. If you could convince them now, there wouldn’t need to be a battle.

“Where are they now, huh?” You raised both your arms, “You’re fighting for your life against a titan on a mountain and the only god who came to help out was Artemis? And that’s just because she was here already.” You scoffed out a laugh, “You should thank us, really, for taking her. Had we not, you’d be dead already.”

Annabeth watched. You were unrecognisable in that moment — your face streaked with dirt and blood, curled into a dark sneer that any of your siblings would berate you for because of the wrinkles you’d get. You didn’t seem to care all that much, though. Not when Thalia was lunging for you and attempting to pull you out of the rage you were in. Not when her spear and shield were no match for your measly dagger and you went toppling down the mountain.

The next time any of them saw you was in Manhattan — after believing you to be dead for a year and a half, it came as a shock when you emerged from the crowd of monsters. Your hair was hacked short, and one of your legs had been replaced with a bronze prosthetic. You fought with a ruthlessness none of them had seen in you before, whether it be because you were on the losing side or because Luke had given his body to the Lord of Time before you had the chance to tell him you loved him. You were still angry, and even if you hated Kronos, you didn’t hate him nearly as much as you hated the gods.

When Luke died, you were kneeled beside him. Your face was dirty, your hair was knotty, and there was a dent in your bronze leg. He lifted a hand to your face, “I’m sorry to have to say this, but…you’re sorta beautiful.”

“Sorta?”

He grinned, and then he died, and you were filled with such unbridled rage that you pushed yourself down to the ground of Manhattan and tore through Kronos’ army with fire in your eyes, not stopping until Apollo got rid of your sight and forced you to calm down. You didn’t know if you’d ever be calm, since the only person who ever understood you just died in your arms, but you dropped your dagger and stomped your way back up to Olympus like a bratty child anyway.

Zeus didn’t punish you for what you did, but he did say he’d be keeping a firm eye on you. You joined the hunters, much to your mothers disdain, and didn’t ever allow yourself to look back.

#@lia’s works #luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #percy jackson #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians

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zepuckinghockey · 4 months ago

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NHL Wedding Season 2024

We're back again for another summer of NHL weddings! If you'd like to see last year's, check out this post.

If you see something wrong or someone missing, let me know! I'll continue to update this list until September when the weddings fizzle out. I appreciate the replies, reblogs, and asks with corrections and additions ❤️

6/7/24: Adam Larsson: (private wedding, no idea)

6/19/24: Jake Evans: Brendan Gallagher, Joel Edmundson, Tyler Toffoli, Nick Suzuki, Joel Armia

6/22/24: Max Jones: Trevor Zegras, Jacob Bryson

6/26/24: Adam Fox: (looked to be just family)

Josh Anderson: Nick Suzuki, Max Domi, Nick Foligno, Seth Jones, Cam Atkinson, Scott Hartnell

6/29/24: Ryan Pulock: Matt Martin, Noah Dobson, Casey Cizikas, Oliver Wahlstrom, Adam Pelech, JG Pageau, Josh Bailey, Mat Barzal, Anthony Beauvillier, Cal Clutterbuck, Bo Horvat, Simon Holmstrom, Pierre Engvall, Mikey Reilly

Jake Oettinger: Mason Marchment, Tyler Seguin, Ty Dellandrea, Wyatt Johnston

7/3/24: Mason Marchment: Jake Oettinger, Tyler Seguin, Ty Dellandrea, Brandon Montour, Mike Carcone, Owen Tippett, Sam Reinhart

7/6/24: Nic Hague: Cody Glass, Owen Tippett, Zach Whitecloud, Alec Martinez, Shea Theodore, William Karlsson, Keegan Kolesar, Nic Roy

Brendan Gallagher: Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, Carey Price, Jeff Petry, Chris Wideman, Tanner Pearson, Nate Thompson, Philip Danault, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evans, Sam Montembeault

7/7/24: Adam Fox 2.0: Ryan Reaves, Kevin Rooney, Will Cuylle, Vincent Trocheck, Jacob Trouba, Barclay Goodrow, Alexis Lafreniere, Blake Wheeler, Jimmy Vesey, Jonathan Quick, Ryan Lindgren, Braden Schneider, Sammy Blais, Ryan Donato, John Marino

7/10/24: Elias Lindstrom: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/11/24: Jared McCann: Jordan Eberle, Yanni Gourde, Vince Dunn, Jamie Oleksiak, Jaden Schwartz, Matty Beniers, Will Borgen, Kailer Yamamoto, Justin Schultz, Andre Burakovsky, Ryan Donato, Darnell Nurse, Brandon Tanev

7/13/24: Jack Campbell: Tyler Toffoli, Jake Muzzin, Kyle Clifford, Evander Kane

Alex Carrier: Frederick Gaudreau, Mathieu Joseph, Jimmy Oligny

Pierre Engvall: Simon Holmstrom, Owen Wahlstrom

Andrew Mangiapane: Johnny Gaudreau, Rasmus Andersson, Mikael Backlund, Noah Hanifin, Erik Gudbranson, Mack Weegar, Troy Stecher, Jonathan Huberdeau

Kyle Connor: Zach Werenski, Evgeny Svechnikov, Connor Hellebuyck, Tony Calderone

Eetu Luostarinen: Niko Mikkola, Lundell Anton, Aleksander Barkov

Tyler Madden: Alec Turcotte, Akil Thomas

Zack MacEwen: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/18/24: William Carrier: Mathieu Joseph

7/19/24: Kaapo Kahkonen: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/20/24: Jamie Benn: Tyler Seguin, Joe Pavelski, Jordie Benn, Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Joel Kiviranta, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lundell, Ben Bishop, Luke Glendenning, Ty Dellandrea, John Klingberg

Alex Killorn: Yanni Gourde, Pat Maroon, Brandon Hagel, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Zach Bogosian, Anthony Cirelli, Luke Schenn, Ryan McDonagh, Tyler Johnson, Blaine Gabbert, Cam Brate, Andrei Vasilevskiy

Thomas Chabot: Josh Norris, Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Mathieu Joseph

Sebastian Aho: Teuvo Teräväinen, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Seth Jarvis, Antti Raanta, Nino Niederreiter, Jesper Fast, Jani Hakanpaa

7/22/24: Michael Bunting: Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Jake Muzzin, Morgan Reilly, Fred Anderson, Wayne Simmons, Alex Kerfoot, TJ Brodie, Kyle Clifford

7/26/24: Jake Lucchini: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

7/27/24: Connor McDavid: Leon Draisaitl, Darnell Nurse, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Cody Ceci, Evan Bouchard, Vinny Desharnais, Brett KUlak, Connor Brown, Ryan Mcleod, Derek Ryan, Stuart Skinner, Philip Broberg, Warren Foegele, Devin Shore, Kyle Turris, Luke Gazdic, Zack Kassian, Patrick Maroon, Sam Gagner

Carter Verhaeghe: Matthew Tkachuk, Aaron Ekblad, Evan Rodrigues, Stolarz, Ryan Lomberg, Nick Cousins

8/3/24: Travis Sanheim: Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Shayne Gostisbehere, Joel Farabee, Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster, James Van Riemsdyk

Connor Ingram: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

Cody Glass: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

8/4/24: David Pastrnak: Taylor Hall, Tukka Rask, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara, Charlie Coyle, Hampus Lindholm, Jeremy Swayman, Linus Ullmark, Torey Krug, David Krecji

8/9/24: Alex Tuch: Shea Theodore, Zemgus Girgensons, Tage Thompson

8/10/24: Tyler Johnson: Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat, Mathieu Joseph, Ryan McDonagh, Alex Killorn, Pat Maroon, Reese Johnson, Adam Gaudette

8/17/24: Cale Makar: Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Erik Johnson, Bo Byram, Darren Helm, Andrew Cogliano, Josh Manson, Kurtis Macdermid

Zachary Sanford: (haven't seen any NHL guests)

Mike Amadio: Zach Whitecloud, Ben Hutton, Brett Howden, Nic Hague, Nic Roy

Andrew Copp: JT Compher, Tyson Jost

Ryan Johansen: Colton Sissons, Luke Kunin, Roman Josi, Matt Duchene, Dante Fabbro, Cam Atkinson, Ross Colton, Miles Wood

8/23/24:

Roope Hintz: Tyler Seguin, Esa Lundell, Patrik Laine,

#nhl #adam fox #ryan pulock #jack campbell #jared mccann #andrew mangiapane #jake oettinger #wedding #cale makar #connor mcdavid #matthew tkachuk

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jilyandbambi · 1 year ago

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#premise up for adoption bc Im too busy to do anything more with this #in my head: they go back and live at jackie's house #it's bigger + Jackie's family has the $$ to keep reporters off their property so the girls are safer there #when it’s discovered that jeff is the father. jeff--who was raised right--starts going to school part time #while working full time at the furniture store #soon becoming assistant manager #jackie's parents BEG her to go to rutgers. not to give up her future for a baby that's not even hers #that belongs to the bf and bff who BETRAYED her no less #(jackie stops talking to them for a month. not for bringing up the cheating thing)#(for daring to say that LD isnt hers' too) #jackie does eventually go to Rutgers though #but not bc her mom promises to stop giving shauna a hard time #she decides to go when Shauna finally tells her about applying to Brown and getting her acceptance letter days before they left #they never would've been roommates at Rutgers. she isn't leaving Shauna behind. she never has #shauna makes a joke about having a hot meal ready every day when jackie comes home #jeff saves up enough money for a dowm payment for a nice house with a lawn and a yard #for him shauna&jackie and the baby--BECAUSE HE WAS RAISED RIGHT #he and jackie build a backyard playset for Luke (Dylan's his middle name now. It's also Jeffs mothers maiden name it all worked out) #yes sometimes they have threesomes #no Randy. Jeff's NOT going to talk about it w you #(he was raised right!!!!!) #a few years down the line Shauna gets pregnant again #all 3 sets of parents' heads tilt to the side #but they keep it amongs themselves so they can keep seeing Luke and baby Callie

so a Yellowjackets AU where mari says something to get herself kicked out of the cabin, and she dies of exposure and gets eaten at the bachanalian banquet instead of Jackie, who LIVES, who's there at Shauna's side when she goes into labor, stroking her hair and letting Shauna squeeze her hand hard enough to sprain her fingers, who keeps Shauna calm enough she has a (comparatively!!!!!!) easier delivery, who is the reason the(ir) baby lives.

who finally, after months of feeling adrift and useless because she’s not a hunter or a butcher or a prophet or a captain (anymore) finds her purpose in the wilderness. who painstaking sews patchwork baby onesies and cloth diapers from the girls' spare clothes (Offerings, not donations). who makes a baby sling from animal pelts and backpack straps. who makes a rattle from sticks and pinecones and some light blue pebbles Jackie found by the lake one day and saved. who makes sure the cabin stays warm and clean for Luke Dylan (from 90210--they couldn't decide whether to go with the actor or the character).

who builds them another shelter from blankets and animal hides after the cabin burns down. who keeps shauna and their baby warm through that first terrible winter and the one that followed.

and one day in 1998, Canadian forest rangers happen upon that American high school soccer team that went missing 2 years back. they find a group of starving teens and a baby, a little over a year old, two of the girls wrapped around him--and each other

and when the rescue team tries to separate them the one with tangled, golden brown hair bears her teeth and Growls

#some more things:#misty sends a birthday card every year on Luke's birthday #lotte sends really expensive gifts from FAO Schwartz #and whenever Luke hits a growth spurt they get a package of designer brand kids' clothes and a gift card from TJ Maxx #HOW does lotte know Luke's outgrown all his shirts and went up 2 shoes sizes?? jeff asks every time #she's Lottie. Shuana&Jackie answer #every year on the day Luke was born--#Not his Birthday. the day he was born #the specialists at the hospital had to estimate bc Shauna wouldn't let ANYONE near her journals #only the actual date is a secret between Them and the wilderness--#anyway: every year on the day Luke was born everyone (who can)#gathers at Lotte's secluded wilderness retreat #where they have a bonfire and remember (but don't speak about what)#Shauna&Jackie pass out Luke (and Callie)'s school pictures. pictures from Halloween. Christmas. Mother's Day. the school play #and science fair #the others bring gifts (offerings) for the baby who took his first steps on the cold damp floor of the wilderness #Jeff takes the kids to Six Flags while this is happening #sobriety sticks for Nat and Travis after the 3rd try (5th for Nat)#they get an apartment in the city and watch the kids twice a month to give Jeff and Shauna&Jackie a night off #Luke gets OBSESSED with Legos when he's about 9 (Javi was too)#around the time Shauna gets pregnant with Callie #Travis and Nat help him put them together once his parents get too busy with the baby #NO ONE has the gall to ask Shauna how she feels about this pregnancy compared to her first #Jackie however quips that her hand is grateful for the epidural this time around #in another life: the trauma of labor. of holding her her son in her arms #FEELING him nurse. hearing his cries of life #only to walk on her friends eating him #only to wake up to an even worse truth #ruined motherhood for shauna before callie even came into the world #in this life: shauna's firstborn is the wilderness's benediction

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pinball-glizzy · 1 year ago

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The Prince of Egypt the Musical (2023) as Onion Headlines (Part One)

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timuschaos · 1 year ago

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+ faceclaim directory

Abigail Cowen avatars

Adèle Exarchopoulos avatars

Alba Flores avatars ; icons

Álvaro Morte avatars

Andy Blossom avatars

Anna Sawai avatars

Ayumi Roux avatars

Ben Whishaw avatars ; avatars ; avatars ; avatars ; avatars ; avatars ; avatars ; avatars

Bright Vachirawit avatars

Christopher Briney avatars ; icons

Cillian Murphy avatars ; icons

Dichen Lachman avatars

Emily Blunt avatars

Emma D'Arcy avatars

Eva Green avatars

Freddy Carter avatars

Gauge Burek avatars ; icons

Gillian Anderson avatars

Hunter Schafer avatars

Iffat Marashi avatars

Imaan Hammam avatars

Jimmi Simpson avatars

Joshua Dun avatars

John Cameron Mitchell avatars

Kathryn Newton avatars

Kim Jennie avatars

Lily-Rose Depp avatars

Liv Tyler avatars

Lucas Jade Zumann avatars ; icons

Meta Gewald avatars ; icons

Milly Alcock avatars

Nicola Coughlan avatars

Oliver Stark avatars

Swann Arlaud avatars ; avatars ; avatars

Viggo Mortensen avatars

Yuka Mannami avatars

+ codes

Signatures #1 ; #2

+ icons

Castle #1

Stars #1

+ to do

& (suggestions are open)

Agyness Deyn

Alin Szewczyk

Alycia Debnam Carey

Amita Suman

Anar Khalilov (Анар Халилов)

Andrew Lincoln

Andy Biersack

Anya Taylor Joy

Arsema Thomas

Assad Zaman

Bae Doona

Benedetta Porcaroli

Brianne Howey

Brigette Lundy-Paine

Camila Mendes

Chappell Roan

Ella Purnell

Emma Mackey

Emma Myers

Evgeny Schwartz

David Harbour

Flavie Delangle

François Civil

Gwendoline Christie

Harry Collett

Helena Bonham Carter

Ian McKellen

Joe Keery

Katy O'Brian

Keira Knightley

Kristen Stewart

Lauren de Graaf

Lizeth Selene

Luca Hollestelle

Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen

Luke Hemmings

Madelaine Petsch

Mads Mikkelsen

Margaret Qualley

Marilyn Lima

Mason Alexander Park

Matthew Grey Gubler

Matt Smith

Maya Hawke

Michael Sheen

Natalie Dormer

Natalia Dyer

Natasha O'Keeffe

Ncuti Gatwa

Noah Saavedra

Noen Eubanks

Norman Reedus

Oli Sykes

Olivia Osby

Otto Seppalainen

Pedro Pascal

Penn Badgley

Rahul Kohli

Raymond Ablack

Robin Migné

Ruby Cruz

Sadie Sink

Sandra Oh

Sarah Snook

Simone Ashley

Sophie Thatcher

Sophie Turner

Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga)

Tamino Amir

Tati Gabrielle

Tia Jonsson

Tilda Swinton

Timothée Chalamet

Tom Hiddleston

Tuppence Middleton

Victoria Pedretti

Zendaya Coleman

Zoë Kravitz

#pinned post #fc directory #faceclaim rpg

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bracketsoffear · 3 months ago

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Dark Leitner Reading List

The full list of submissions for the Dark Leitner bracket. Bold titles are ones which were accepted to appear in the bracket. Synopses and propaganda can be found below the cut. Be warned, however, that these may contain spoilers!

Andersen, Hans Christian: The Shadow Asimov, Isaac: Nightfall

Barker, Clive: Abarat Barnes, S.A.: Dead Silence Baxendale, Trevor: Fear of the Dark Brennan, Joseph Payne: Slime Brontë, Charlotte: Jane Eyre

Chukovsky, Korney: Stolen Sun Cortázar, Julio: Casa tomada (House taken over) Coville, Bruce: The Shadow Wood

Dean, Benjamin Appleby: Lamplight Dukaj, Jacek: Ice

Enríquez, Mariana: Nuestra parte de noche (Our share of the night) Enríquez, Mariana: Bajo el agua negra (Under dark waters)

Halpern, Jake & Peter Kujawinski: Nightfall Hesse, Hermann: Demian Hodgson, William Hope: The Night Land

King, Stephen: IT King, Stephen: The Mist Kirby, Todd: No Power Kristoff, Jay: Empire of the Vampire

Leroux, Gaston: The Phantom of the Opera Lord Byron: Darkness Lovecraft, H.P.: The Haunter of the Dark

Milton, John: Paradise Lost

Poe, Edgar Allan: The Pit and the Pendulum Pronzini, Bill: Peekaboo

Robertson, M.P.: The Moon in Swampland

Schwartz, Alvin, ill. Stephen Gammell: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark Sheckley, Robert: Ghost V Smith, Clark Ashton: The Double Shadow Snicket, Lemony: The Dark Snicket, Lemony: The Ersatz Elevator Stine, R.L.: Revenge of the Shadow People Stover, Matt: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

Tolkien, J. R. R.: Shadow-Bride

Weir, Andy: Project Hail Mary Wilson, F. Paul: Nightworld

Andersen, Hans Christian: The Shadow

The story follows a Learned Man on a voyage south from northern Europe. One evening as he sits by a fire, he amusedly observes his shadow dancing and imitating his movements in the light of the flames, and thinks that it would be funny if it was a creature with a will of its own. The next morning, he awakes and finds to his surprise that his shadow has disappeared overnight. But as a new shadow slowly grows back from the tip of his toes, the Learned Man does not give the incident another thought, and soon thereafter goes home to northern Europe. One evening several years later, however, he hears a knock on his door. It is his shadow, the one he lost years before during his journey, now standing upon his doorstep, almost completely human in appearance. Intrigued, the Learned Man invites the Shadow inside, where the two sit down and talk about the Shadow's experiences during its travels and how it came to take the form of a human.

During the conversation, the subject turns to the Learned Man's rather unsuccessful writing career. The Learned Man values the good, the true, and the beautiful in the world, and writes about it often, but his writing seems to garner little to no interest with the public. The Shadow declares that the Learned Man is too much of an idealist, and his view of the world is flawed. The Shadow claims that he, unlike his master, understands the world, that he has seen it as truly is, and knows how evil some men really can be. They soon part ways once again.

The Shadow goes on to make itself quite wealthy, even as the Learned Man barely manages to survive. He eventually grows very ill, and so the Shadow proposes they travel to a health resort. The Shadow will fund the trip, on the condition that the Learned Man pretend to be its shadow instead of the other way around. Absurd as the suggestion sounds, the Learned Man ultimately agrees and they undertake the trip, with the Shadow as his master.

On the trip, the Shadow meets and woos a Princess. When the pair are about to be married, the Shadow asks the Learned Man to remain as its shadow permanently, in exchange for a good life with them. The Learned Man refuses and threatens to reveal the truth to the Princess. Thus, the Shadow has him arrested and ultimately executed, and goes on to live a happy life with the Princess.

Asimov, Isaac: Nightfall

"Nightfall" is a 1941 science fiction short story by the American writer Isaac Asimov about the coming of darkness to the people of a planet ordinarily illuminated by sunlight at all times.

link

Barker, Clive: Abarat

"Candy lives in Chickentown USA: the most boring place in the world, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future may hold. She is soon to find out: swept out of our world by a giant wave, she finds herself in another place entirely... The Abarat: a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day, from the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, where dragons roam, to the dark terrors of the island of Midnight, ruled by Christopher Carrion. (...)"

Half of the islands in Abarat are night islands and most of the main bad guys work for forces of darkness trying to bring eternal monstrous darkness to all islands.

Spoilers: Can't speak of it in detail cuz I have not read that part yet, but the bad guys apparently succeeded in bringing forces of darkness to the islands.

Barnes, S.A.: Dead Silence

A GHOST SHIP. A SALVAGE CREW. UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS.

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find at the other end of the signal is a shock: the Aurora, a famous luxury space-liner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick trip through the Aurora reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Words scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold onto her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora, before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

Baxendale, Trevor: Fear of the Dark

Synopsis: "On the very edge of the galaxy lies Akoshemon: a putrefied world of legendary evil.

In the year 2382 archaeologists land on Akoshemon's only moon, searching for evidence of the planet's infamous past. But when the Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa are drawn into the lunar caverns they find more than a team of academics — and help uncover much more than ancient history.

Something is lying in wait, deep inside the labyrinth of caves: something that remembers the spiral of war, pestilence and deprivation that ruined Akoshemon. Something that rejoiced in every kind of horror and destruction.

An age-old terror is about to be reborn. But what is the hideous secret of the Bloodhunter? And why does Nyssa feel that her thoughts are no longer her own? Forced to confront his own worst fears, even the Doctor will be pushed to breaking point — and beyond."

Why it's Dark: The Doctor does battle with the literal embodiment of darkness and evil, as unseen monsters in the dark pick off crewmembers one by one. Even by the standards of this series, this book is incredibly grim.

Brennan, Joseph Payne: Slime

Originally published in the March 1953 issue of Weird Tales. The title creature is a black, amorphous blob from the bottom of the sea. In fact, it's so black that it's all but invisible at night; witnesses to its attacks pretty much see their friends and loved ones "taken by the darkness", as though the dark itself were alive and hungry.

Brontë, Charlotte: Jane Eyre

As you read, the shadows get deeper and darker, and you start hearing noises from overhead. It sounds like it's coming from the attic? Do you have an attic? Why would anyone be up there if you did? No, you can't look! It's my attic! Anyway, secrets and shadows and the unknown.

Chukovsky, Korney: Stolen Sun

A Russian children's poem that narrates how the crocodile consumed the Sun and how the bear gave him a proper pummeling and forced him to release the star back into the sky. No, it doesn't make sense in context either, but it does take on the motifs of Slavic myths about a dragon stealing the Sun and imprisoning it for thirty-three years, cueing global night and cold.

Cortázar, Julio: Casa tomada (House taken over)

It tells the story of a brother and sister living together in their ancestral home which is being "taken over" by unknown entities. The mystery that revolves around what those entities are is largely left up to interpretation, allowing the genre of the story to vary from fantasy to psychological fiction to magic realism to political fiction, among others.

Coville, Bruce: The Shadow Wood

The hero faces down and defeats an army of living shadows with a magic candle... until his own shadow rises up and blows it out.

Dean, Benjamin Appleby: Lamplight

Standard sort of evil shadow monsters made interesting by the fact that the only way to stay safe from them is to be in pitch blackness -- no light, no shadows.

Dukaj, Jacek: Ice

The story of the book takes place in an alternate universe where the First World War never occurred and Poland is still under Russian rule. Following the Tunguska event, the Ice, a mysterious form of matter, has covered parts of Siberia in the Russian Empire and started expanding outwards, reaching Warsaw. The appearance of Ice results in extreme decrease of temperature, putting the whole continent under constant winter, and is accompanied by Lute, angels of Frost, a strange form of being which seems to be a native inhabitant of Ice. Ice freezes history and philosophy, preserving the old political regime, affecting human psychology and changing the laws of logic from many-valued logic of "Summer" to two-valued logic of "Winter" with no intermediate steps between true and false. It can also be used to create candles that cast shadows instead of light. This isn't normal darkness, but rather a sort of "anti-light", which can make people and objects in its radius cast "anti-shadows" made up of non-darkened areas, and seems to have an odd effect on the minds of people who spend a lot of time exposed to it.

Enríquez, Mariana: Our Share of Night

This is like a chronicle of some alternate universe People’s Church of the Divine Host. It centres on a cult devoted to a menacing entity that possesses appropriate hosts, manifesting in rituals that summon a devouring darkness that leaves devotees scarred and maimed. There’s also an abandoned house that may exist in many places at once and is brimming with unnatural darkness that acts as a conduit to either the entity itself or its native realm. Beyond the more straightforward darkness, the book’s themes related to obscured knowledge—the central relationship is between one of the darknesses’s hosts and his son, anticipated to inherit his father’s abilities. We see again and again how Juan works to hide his son’s abilities from the cult and also hide knowledge of the cult and the world that he inhabits from his son, even to the point of hurting him very badly with zero explanation in an attempt to keep him safe when he’s gone.

Enríquez, Mariana: Nuestra parte de noche (Our share of the night)

A woman’s mysterious death puts her husband and son on a collision course with her demonic family.

A young father and son set out on a road trip, devastated by the death of the wife and mother they both loved. United in grief, the pair travel to her ancestral home, where they must confront the terrifying legacy she has bequeathed: a family called the Order that commits unspeakable acts in search of immortality.

For Gaspar, the son, this maniacal cult is his destiny. As the Order tries to pull him into their evil, he and his father take flight, attempting to outrun a powerful clan that will do anything to ensure its own survival. But how far will Gaspar’s father go to protect his child? And can anyone escape their fate?

Enríquez, Mariana: Bajo el agua negra (Under dark waters)

In this short story, a detective called Marina goes to a town to investigate some strange murders. There, she finds a cult that adores something that lives under the black water of the polluted lake.

Halpern, Jake & Peter Kujawinski: Nightfall

On Marin’s island, sunrise doesn’t come every twenty-four hours—it comes every twenty-eight years. Now the sun is just a sliver of light on the horizon. The weather is turning cold and the shadows are growing long.

Because sunset triggers the tide to roll out hundreds of miles, the islanders are frantically preparing to sail south, where they will wait out the long Night.

Marin and her twin brother, Kana, help their anxious parents ready the house for departure. Locks must be taken off doors. Furniture must be arranged. Tables must be set. The rituals are puzzling—bizarre, even—but none of the adults in town will discuss why it has to be done this way.

Just as the ships are about to sail, a teenage boy goes missing—the twins’ friend Line. Marin and Kana are the only ones who know the truth about where Line’s gone, and the only way to rescue him is by doing it themselves.

But Night is falling. Their island is changing. And it may already be too late.

Hesse, Hermann: Demian

Religious imagery, seen very often w/ the Dark (i.e. Hither Green Chapel, Montauk's cult that I forgot the name of, etc), especially blasphemy (seen most clearly in Manuela Dominguez's statement). Max Demian of Demian fame would be an avatar of the dark I think. There *is* a hint of the End in there but not enough to qualify it

Hodgson, William Hope: The Night Land

The Sun has gone out and the Earth is lit only by the glow of residual vulcanism. The last few millions of the human race are gathered together in the Last Redoubt, a gigantic metal pyramid, nearly eight miles high, which is under siege from unknown forces and Powers outside in the dark. These are held back by a shield known as the "air clog", powered from a subterranean energy source called the "Earth Current". For thousands of years vast living shapes known as the Watchers have waited in the darkness near the pyramid. It is thought that they are waiting for the inevitable time when the Circle's power finally weakens and dies. Other living things have been seen in the darkness, some of unknown origins, and others that may once have been human.

King, Stephen: IT

Pennywise is the boogeyman, the monster under the bed, the shapeless fear in the dark.

King, Stephen: The Mist

In the wake of a summer storm, terror descends...David Drayton, his son Billy, and their neighbor Brent Norton join dozens of others and head to the local grocery store to replenish supplies following a freak storm. Once there, they become trapped by a strange mist that has enveloped the town. As the confinement takes its toll on their nerves, a religious zealot, Mrs. Carmody, begins to play on their fears to convince them that this is God’s vengeance for their sins. She insists a sacrifice must be made and two groups—those for and those against—are aligned. Clearly, staying in the store may prove fatal, and the Draytons, along with store employee Ollie Weeks, Amanda Dumfries, Irene Reppler, and Dan Miller, attempt to make their escape. But what’s out there may be worse than what they left behind.

This exhilarating novella explores the horror in both the enemy you know—and the one you can only imagine.

Kirby, Todd: No Power

A blackout. A bloodthirsty beast. The Bronx. This is not how Tom pictured his 17th birthday... His plan was far more bleak. When Manhattanite Tom Walton wakes up from a suicide attempt, he finds himself in a Bronx hospital being attacked by an ancient, savage creature that thrives in the darkness of a summer blackout. Tom, the son of a rich and racist New York politician, teams up with his fellow patients — a diverse group of Bronx natives — in an attempt to fight back. As Tom falls helplessly in love with Kiki, a badass teenage patient, he gains a deeper understanding of the source of his pain and reconsiders his stance on life. But when Tom’s true identity is revealed to the crew, he must work to unify the group and escape the hospital… or be eaten alive.

Kristoff, Jay: Empire of the Vampire

Daysdeath is the term used to describe the sudden shroud of ash and smoke which rose into the sky twenty-seven years prior to the beginning of the story. The exact cause remains unknown, though most people suspect a falling star which crashed into the earth with enough force to send tons of debris into the lower atmosphere, blanketing the skies and preventing more than a smidgen of sunlight from passing through the shroud. The shroud has not abated in strength over the following decades, and the results have been devastating - repeated crop failure and abysmal harvests, the withering of forests and other natural greenery and the resulting food and material shortages, but perhaps worst of all, the undead no longer being constrained be the daily need to hide from the sun, their numbers quickly multiplying as the lesser vampires were no longer destroyed by the sunlight. The ancien vampires soon realized the opportunity this afforded, and not only have they embarked on a campaign of global conquest, they actively work to eliminate any chances of mankind dispelling the shroud through artificial means.

Leroux, Gaston: The Phantom of the Opera

Everything revolves around the hidden and unseen opera ghost -- the lights are harsh and the dark is a refuge for him, one that he tries to tempt Christine into.

Lord Byron: Darkness

Written in the 'Year without a Summer' of 1816, Byron was inspired by the ashen darkness to compose this poem about the end of the world, and the gloom that would accompany it.

Lovecraft, H.P.: The Haunter of the Dark

The main character, Blake, inadvertently summons an eldritch being into his local church. The being can only go abroad in darkness, and is hence constrained to the tower at night by the presence of the lights of the city. However, when the city's electrical power is weakened during a thunderstorm, the local people are terrified by the sounds coming from the church and call on their Catholic priests to lead prayers against the demon. Blake, aware of what he has let loose, also prays for the power to remain on. However, an outage occurs and the being flies towards Blake's quarters. He is subsequently found dead, staring out of his window at the church with a look of horror on his face.

Milton, John: Paradise Lost

The primary imagery for Satan and other demons is unadulterated darkness. "No light, but rather darkness visible."

Poe, Edgar Allan: The Pit and the Pendulum

The protagonist describes the horror and uncertainty he feels in stumbling through his darkened enclosure, only able to feel around for the instruments of his destruction.

Pronzini, Bill: Peekaboo

From TV Tropes: The only character in the story is a career criminal pretending to be a reclusive writer hiding out in a rented house a good distance away from the closest town. One night he thinks he hears an intruder in the house and decides to investigate while armed. While he's searching his suddenly creepy hideout, he can't help but reminisce on the games of Peekaboo he used to play when he was a kid, as well as the old rumors of occult worship and paranormal activities surrounding the house. He's a nervous wreck by the end of the story, and when he finally reaches the basement after finding nothing in the rest of the house he giggles in relief. There's nothing there after all, it's just him, all alone, hiding under the stairs.

"Peekaboo," a voice behind him said.

Robertson, M.P.: The Moon in Swampland

Hidden in the dark, marshy bogs of Swampland, the wicked and mischievous bogles hide from the Moon, and lie in wait for travellers. Anyone who wanders too close to the edge will feel clammy fingers dragging them beneath the murky water. When the Moon saves a young boy called Thomas, she gets captured by the bogles, and Thomas must set out to save her. Can he end the bogles' reign of terror?

Schwartz, Alvin, ill. Stephen Gammell: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a collection of short stories, written for children. The stories themselves are pretty standard stories that are just spooky enough for kids, but the illustrations are what most people remember. Each story is accompanied by a picture that are still unnerving to look at as adults, let alone as kids. Growing up with this book, it felt like a test of bravery just to turn the page. It reminds me a lot of the Season 4 TMA episode, in Callum Brodie's domain - an avatar of The Dark planting images of monsters in kids' heads and letting their imaginations do the rest of the work in scaring them.

Sheckley, Robert: Ghost V

The protagonists visit a planet with an atmosphere full of a drug bringing out hallucinations of their childhood bogeymen, potentially lethal as if you think you're dead, you are. They take out a couple of monsters with a magic word and a water pistol, but the last bogeyman is absolutely invincible. It's also capable of getting past any lock and door.

(Spoilers) They do manage to beat it with a security blanket. But hey, Leitners do tend to twist their tales -- it could just as easily finish off with 'the blanket never did anything'.

Smith, Clark Ashton: The Double Shadow

The titular shadow arrives after a master wizard attempts an ancient and unknown summoning spell. It does nothing except approach the casters one by one, very slowly, ignoring every method they use to flee or fight it, until it touches and merges with their own shadow, forcing them into a hideous transformation.

Snicket, Lemony: The Dark

The Dark is about a young lad named Lazslo, who is terrified of the dark. He avoids “the dark” as it mainly hangs out in the basement. Then, one night “the dark” is in his room as his nightlight bulb loses its spark. Lazslo, the young lad, must come face-to-face with his fears of “the dark”.

Snicket, Lemony: The Ersatz Elevator

I actually don't think the whole book is cursed, I'm thinking specifically of those pages that are fully blacked out when they're in the elevator shaft

Stine, R.L.: Revenge of the Shadow People

Afraid of your own shadow? Vinny Salvo is. Lately weird things have been happening to his shadow. It's grown horns. And claws. And big sharp teeth! Now it's coming after him! Vinny needs someplace to hide -- and quick. But where can you hide from your own shadow?

Stover, Matt: Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor

The villain, Lord Shadowspawn, is a Force-user who has a different view of the Force than that of Jedi or Sith; he believes that the Force is the Dark, which is basically destruction and entropy; he induces visions of the Dark — of being alive in the eons after all the stars burn out — to cause despair that he can then use. On a metaphorical mind-battly level, his ultimate technique is to become a black hole, which makes sense in story.

Tolkien, J. R. R.: Shadow-Bride

This macabre poem is about a man with no shadow who sits like a statue until a woman passes by. Then he wraps her shadow around them both and forces her to dance with him forever, casting a single shadow...

Weir, Andy: Project Hail Mary

The book is about alien microbes extinguishing the sun by siphoning off its light energy to fuel their own metabolism. The book follows the amnesiac protagonist, sent far off into the depths of space to the origin of said microbes to save the world before everything gets too dark and too cold. Basically, the sun is dying.

Wilson, F. Paul: Nightworld

At the start of Nightworld the sun rises five minutes too late. Repairman Jack can't understand why the scientists are so disturbed by this, but when portals to Another Dimension open all over the world, spewing a horde of Eldritch Abominations every night, the fact that every day the sun inexplicably rises later and sets earlier than the last becomes a reason for serious panic.

#leitner tournament #reading list #dark poll

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