#no wonder david wants her dead lmao

[theshslpumpkinghost]

So uh- a random thing I noticed-

If Eden is the Ch2 culprit, then both killers so far have been associated with Teruko-

And uh- both victims so far (Xander + Arei) have been associated with David in some way-

No idea what this means for the story but I thought it was a fun observation!

[halfpricedpages]

intro post (finally)

ive debated making an intro post because first off ive been on tumblr for two years and I never got around to it and secondly I am really really horrible at talking about myself because what is to much info and what it to little info and the cycle continues but im giving it a shot because I feel like my mutuals have no idea who I am lmao

HAI my name is Charlie im 15 (18+ I dont mind if you follow me but please dont dm me thank you :]) I use jasper as an online name kind of (at this point its just reserved for my best friend ace but I dont mind if other people call me jasper since I still love the name)

my pronouns are he/him but im also perfectly comfortable with common neopronouns (it/its xey/xem) if you wanna get funky with it.

im a self diagnosed autistic and ARFID (if you dont know what that is its an eating disorder where certain factors make you avoidant and restrictive of the food you eat and it has nothing to do with physical appearance. for me its linked to my autistic sensory issues(ALSO OCD NOW?!!? WHAT THE FUCK?!!?)) I have depression and anxiety and the only reason I mention this is because I relate my mental health to my fav characters in tv shows and books and stuff so if you see me posting about them like everything is connected lol

(my a03 is ghostwithfeet if you want to see me be silly and project my weird life onto fictional characters (I am the most inconsistent updater in the world please expect nothing from me if you even ask about a project it will scare me and like I turtle I will crawl into my shell never to see the light of day again))

my interests really vary about current hyperfixations but heres the master list

current hyperfixs

stranger things specifically Byler but mostly mike wheeler (this has turned into a special interest(I DO NOT support Noah schnapp or another of the other cast members who are in support of the inhumane actions the Israel government are doing. I am pro saving innocent civilians. I know that this can be controversial to be such a big fan of this show and honestly I have a lot of complex feelings on the matter but im autistic as previously mentioned and its my special interest and It won't leave my brain even if im not directly interacting with the media so im gonna yap about it on my blog thank you.))

also just Finn wolf hard for some reason (check out his band the Aubreys its awesome. also check out a recent movie he was in called when you finished Saving the world. it means a lot to me)

donna tarts the goldfinch book

old special interests/hyperfixs

the percy Jackson universe specifically nico di Angelo

the IT universe specifically reddie and Beverly marsh but more leaning towards richie tozier (see what I mean with the Finn wolf hard thing)

dead boy detectives !!

doctor who (I haven't even finished David tenants doctor yet so please no spoilers)

Alice oseman content (never read loveless or iwbft but ive read all of her other stuff)

paper girls graphic novel

other interests

the good place tv show

Kathleen Glasgows book girl in pieces

the walking dead comics including the clementine spin off graphic novels

um yeah thats all I can think of for now

my fav musicians/bands

florence and the machine

indigo de Souza

Kevin Atwater

searows

the Aubreys

sadurn

the cranberries

soccer mommy

runo plum

nep

lala lala

the smiths

hospital bracelet

Chappell roan

AURORA

Madilyn Mei!

Elliot smith

(my music taste is all over the place and is also very seasonal and I have a bunch of underground artists I dont listen to but I am here to give good recs I promise my playlists are fire)

we've gotten to the part of the intro post where im wondering if this is way to much information so sorry if I overshared idk but hope we can be silly mutuals or friends if you want (never be scared to shoot the friendship shot I would love to yap with y'all)

also since this is taking over my other pinned post I just want to put this as an honorary spot and let everyone know that my old pinned post was a quote from radio silence and that Aled last is me and I am him and the February Friday plot line is actually me and it makes me sick how much I resonate with that book

[cbsghostsmetasandtrevor]

CBS Ghost Pilot -Sophie & Trevor

Here's the first of my Metas for CBS Ghosts. I've made some updates to it. OG Post on Jmaganbo92.

In the first scene, most of the ghosts have taken light of Sophie’s death.  They’ve been dead for ages and are happy that she’s at least comfortable (although many of them express sadness - anger in Thor’s case - that she got ‘sucked off’ when they haven’t).  But you know who doesn’t react that way?  Trevor.

He looks and behaves quite solemnly.  Why?  Because he’s the Baby Ghost - not only is this probably the FIRST time that he’s seen anyone die.  

There’s also a good chance that he's met Sophie in life - David Woodstone (one of his bros) is her son and given that he mentions ‘hitting the country estate’ and the group familiar with ‘Woodstone’s secret Drug Drawer’, there’s a good chance they go there for special parties and a good chance Trevor met her.  

Imagine what he’s feeling right now.  This woman, who’s been dying all alone, the woman who was his friend’s mother, is dying and it’s the first person since his OWN death to die.  We see a glimpse of his not quite used to be a ghost as everyone else is later on, but I wanted to bring attention to this first moment.  

Trevor’s sitting beside her, note he’s the only one sitting.  He speaks quietly, respectfully and he looks quite saddened.  The only other ghosts that show similar behavior are Hetty (because it’s her relative), but she’s easily distracted.  And Sass, who shushes everyone when it’s about to happen.  

It's interesting that the other ghosts focus on their own deaths, although making it about them, rather than Sophie.

I wonder if other deaths in the house of Hetty's relatives had Alberta wanting to sing for them, and that's why Hetty seems a bit sour at the idea that Alberta's singing is making it about her.

I do love the groups' faces and that Hetty gets to introduce herself first.

Flower's intro is hilarious when you consider the faces of Isaac and Sass behind her. Plus, making a joke about her death like the others dislike, but she's a younger ghost, so it makes sense.

LMAO - Thor! He's like "Name - Cod". The looks on their faces are just like Seriously, man?

Isaac's like "Gotta get this back on track".

Isaac doesn't introduce himself, interesting. But he does begin his "we are ghosts" speech, which I'm pretty sure he invented because he was disappointed with Thor and Sass' intros to him.

It's interesting that they all have different reactions. Isaac's disappointed, Pete's happy for her, Hetty's looks happy and sad, Thor's upset because he wants to be sucked off, Crash is like "what a drag", Alberta questions what's going to happen to their home, which prompts Hetty's worries... I like how Irishmen are on par with Murderers and Perverts. LMAO Hetty!

They abandoned her body pretty quick. Just like "Meh". Also, interesting, how long were they standing there?

Pete's already talking about the possibilities for the next owner, but back to Trevor.

He’s the last to leave interestingly enough.  I don’t know - I just wonder what he was thinking.  How he was feeling.  Feels different for him & perhaps Hetty.  

Perhaps this should’ve been my first point regarding my HMoney scenes - the connection with Sophie’s death COULD be why she’s holding onto him later on.

I also wonder if the reason we see him telling a party story in the next scene is because Pete's like 'we need to cheer him up, so it's his turn'. Trevor's very much a 'avoid sad things' person, so I could see this being his idea to try and get passed the sadness.

ANYWAY, feel free to chat. I'm reposting rather than reblogging because it wasn't showing up in the tag and I feel like there's no use if things don't work as intended.

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

DBD rewatch notes!

episode 1

Why was Charles making that face before offering Crystal to stay at the office?

Why are they not supposed to interact with the living? clearly Emma has no such qualms.

Crystal speaks up to make sure Edwin hears when she says thank you for taking her in

Why is David a surprising name for a demon? Why IS David called David, if it isn't a demon name?

HOW did I watch the show this many times without noticing the septum ring??

"The living are messy. If she had died last night, I'd have no issue with her being here." OKAY EDWIN. I guess this and the 'no living people' rule must have to do with the Infamous Puppy Debacle of '94. In this case, Edwin is not insulting Crystal specifically, but is being very literal that he would not be worried about taking care of a dead person.

I love how they NAME everything from cases to moves to incidents.

Charles teases Edwin for being jealous, but does he actually think that? Edwin is just overly cautious, and yeah that's causing an issue at the moment, but does he have, like, a record of being jealous of girls Charles likes?

Charles immediately tries to seperate Edwin and Crystal to stop them arguing, and Crystal is like "wait what??" like she's SO surprised. Also kinda love the not-subtle dig at Edwin's behavior. That does not go without retaliation ie: you weren't here when the mail came

WAIT they're going on a walk and taking, like Edwin and Monty. that's cute.

Did Crystal actually thin Edwin was in hero for being evil? I feel like that is surprising to hear regardless. Is it common for Charles to explain to people that his bf was only sent to hell on a technicality??

I think Crystal must have learned about hell from David, because if the ghosts she has met haven't moved on yet they have no way of knowing about hell.

The focus on people staring at Crystal is kinda weird. Does she even realize yet?

What did she used to feel like when people got mad at her for being mean?

What does Charles think about the way Crystal talks about her anger? He says it's cool that she is still alive, but does he admire her honesty too?

The up-and-down when she asks if that line used to work. He didn't even tell her what decade he died. Read him.

Aww she wanted to get Edwin some coffee to cheer him up. She even says hi to him as soon as she's inside. Crystal cares whether Edwin likes her or not. At the very least, she is trying to be nice to him.

How DOES the ghost post work? also the sheer incredulity of Crystal's voice lmao. Why exactly does the mail carrier sneak up on them? is he also dead?

Why does he care who the client is? they already know what the mystery is.

'keep your voice down!' bestie you already flirted at her, she knows.

'it's happening too quickly' Edwin doesn't wanna screw up his routine

good on Crystal for getting straight to business. Becky's ALIVE, boys!

Why do they think Death will come back to the office?

more people stare at Crystal. Dies she really not notice before the malt shop?

I can't help being reminded of that textpost about putting Crystal in the bag and going through a mirror.

Edwin thinks he is so clever with the agency name joke. He is so proud of that one. same thing with his journal of opinions joke. he's having so much fun rn.

I love that every time there's a Jenny scene the soundtrack changes to goth or rock music.

Why is the red LED neat diagram briefly orange and why is Edwin so fascinated by it?

She's scary for all of two seconds before becoming awkward and weird and mean. Jenny, ladies and etc!

Edwin is so menacing here FOR WHAT

Crystal gets the room as is, then never decorates it during the following weeks.

Can those ghosts teleport?? I noticed the dragons so it too, is it a shirt distance thing?? wtf?

pictures of guys, huh Charles? Is there anything else notable about the pictures?

Edwin jesus fuck lay off her. He is looking for just ANY excuse to talk shit.

Charles trying to help out Crystal is nice. I wonder why she doesn't like reading minds though? During the course of the series, she totally volunteers to read minds and it's a go-to solution for her. What happened to put her off it that she doesn't remember anymore?

What'd he do to get burned by the iron?

I guess after knowing ghosts for however long, none of them must have told Crystal about iron.

how does that alarm system via possession even work??

After that silence I kinda thought Edwin went to hell for possession when I first watched LMAO

Esther must have put the shoes in the woods as a distraction. I wonder if the boys would have ever found out if it weren't for Crystal.

they know cats talk and have human personalities and yet Charles sees one and is instantly like "aw fuck off man :((" bro chill

Why is the cat voice so. echoey?

what would happen if somebody tried to sit on the stools that the boys are already on?

Do we ever see anything like this door entrance in a mindscape scene after this? Does she ever walk around while in a trance again?

holy crap Edwin

I guess she takes a while to figure out it's her own brain. mecore.

of course there's an argument now. how could there not be?

then they never follow up on the "our demon" line

poor old Edwin has Charles taking such good care of him that he isn't used to the guy trying to take care of TWO peoples' feelings. Man I know that they don't talk about feelings in your time but at some point you've got to learn that everything you're saying is a fear reaction and not a moral stance.

I love the high contrast in this scene!

Simon's lil smile and Edwin walking away looks SO different with Context.

why tf is the sacrifice named "Mary Ann" and WHAT is Simon's brother into?

"don't do that!" and a breath of relief followed immediately by a jumpscare is SO GOOD. like I get scared by jumpscares but I love when they do it like this.

"It's not that bad" *hoovers the boy* *sells him to a demon*

THE TRANSITION. WITH THE SCREAMING

Why is the same cat here? is he following Edwin? W H Y

you're such a whore 🙄 (cat voice)

What if I offered you a sardine out of my gloves hand and bound you in a magical leash and you were a cat🥺 (and we were both boys)

The cat's mannerisms are pretty convincing IMO. my cat does the same ear thing when she wants me to leave her alone. And the tense shoulder/neck scrunch combo just adds to the effect.

I wish Edwin got to use more magic in the show.

not the apathetic eyebrow raise

me when I dump blood

I love this scene. Jenny is so awkward but also she remembers what Crystal says here. She remembers hearing about Crystal's ex like three times ever and ends up going after that boy with a cleaver. but it all starts with Jenny not knowing if she's allowed to show that she cares.

oh and her shield of cynicism

and the way she asks for more information!!

Charles with the questions! detective-ass.

it's interesting that Jenny and Charles both try to help Crystal while looking through a lens colored by trauma (specifically parental flavored) but Charles is so gentle while Jenny is abrasive.

Crystal! With the self-awareness!!

if you what? finish the sentence, Crystal.

Also she says "didn't you see that" like those pink lights were not symbolic they were real in-universe. Crystal and Niko were still acting hella gay tho. ofc, Crystal was under a spell and Niko is just Like That.

FAIR QUESTION

he doesn't answer whether or not it's weird. He also doesn't wait for an answer of if she'll tell Edwin. He trusts her.

Aww poor kidddsss

Edwin walks in and out of rooms like God sent him

Crystal with the self-awareness once agaiiiin 😎

TRANSITIONS

if she was in that relationship since three months ago and we don't know how long she was possessed for before Emma figured out how to find the boys, she may have already been missing for weeks at this point.

The way she is dressed and the way she's acting is risky different from the memories she gets from the marbles. Is this a real memory? Why would she dress like that, or hang out with those people?

Is the possession paralelled to any of this scary movies that was playing in the theater they go to? bc it looks really familiar.

Edwin is really focusing on the wrong details here, man. Also comparing a scared person to their abuser is not fuckin cool.

YAY! FEELINGS TALK!

I love the sound of his voice in this scene.

I mean I thought it was already clear that neither of them wanted David involved but if Edwin needs clarification that's fine ig

the description of Esther is line a spoken word poem

you know he doesn't get out much when he doesn't know about the internet

Jenny is iconic

absolutely ZERO emotional response to "Like kind of a sexy witch who smokes alot but in a cool way" like maybe they didn't hear Charles. maybe their minds were blocking it out because what the fuck /j

and her coat gets caught in the door and she can't drive. Perfect.

The fuckin twirl. Thank you costumes for cutting the vent stitch because the swooshy coat adds to the effect 🙏

Esther leaves the stove on when she's out of the house? does she want her bird to DIE!? It must be an accident because Edwin has to take it off :o either that, or she wasn't planning on leaving for too long, or knew there'd be someone to take care of it 👀

Also Edwin is EXACT in his reading if the floor plan. Like that is SPECIFIC

is that a sink cabinet? no basin??

an empty cabinet like that is sus anyways. who has that little stuff??

Edwin volunteers and Charles knows he's scared but makes sure he does it anyways. I wonder if there are any more examples of this behavior.

Monocrome; floor littered in bones and shoes. Edwin is 'weighed down'

it's not a void, there's a floor.

Wait Has Esther been planting shoes for the cops to find, then re-stealing them for her snake's nest??

Also how often does she kidnap forms because I feel like she'd either have to run out or get caught at some point.

"bag of tricks" they name EVERYTHING

technically they didn't break in

what did she THINK they wanted?

COLLECTOR

I've already said this but Esther loves things she *consumes*, so her love of birds is kinda bad news for Monty. He's just there to use in her plans.

Also the first time I watched this I thought Esther was trying to kiss Crystal. like that shot is. weird.

Why does Charles want the bird to be his friend and why is he not concerned about its living conditions

rope+ magic weight= OW

technically, since everyone else is only going off of Edwin's (and later Cat King's) word, they might think the snake is huge but realistic. do they know it's like fifty feet??

interesting that they show it takes multiple puffs of smoke to paralyze someone but later when she gets power from that rando ghost she does a whole ranged spell with the pipe because she is more powerful.

that is some weird and impractical snake jewelry on her hand.

MUSIC

appearance ONE of the BAT! he DOES NOT get to use it!

Edwin looks to be MORE bothered by the iron burn than Charles now that nobody is looking.

Do people normally get incapacitated when Crystal does her trick?? or is that special for this time?

I wonder what Crystal thinks watching this possession, since she just got possessed recently.

bag of worms?? not a thing

MONTY im tryna threaten some kids🥺

MUSIC

I guess the woods thing was believable bc she's a girl scout.

Also now that Becky's mind is wiped, she can't see the boys even though she has been close to the supernatural. I guess it would have worked on Jenny too if she chose that.

is now a good time to mention: I LOVE Crystal's weird-ass jacket. and she's wearing overalls again today, like in episode (six? I think?)

so now are they on David's case? I guess not lmao

The Night Nurse's hair is so funny to me. She is the only person who would ever think to wear victory rolls with a microfringe.

why are those photos so low-quality and why is the Afterlife Lost and Found a liminal '50s office building full of women?

[nesisamess]

i am GUESSING that one of the points of the drdt mv was to overload us with so much information that it is hard to pick out what is important and what is inconsequential… that being said, here are a few things i noticed/am hypothesizing (also this will contain spoilers for the mv AND for chapter 2, plus fair warning that most of this may be nonsensical if you haven’t watched the video <3)

first off: the wingding translations at 0:36

so i translated it and… it’s just a rickroll. that’s it. huge L moment for me when i realized

next: the girl at 1:05

her hair is too different to be Mai and she doesn’t look like any of the female students, so I ruled that out. My first thought was that she was David’s sister, Diana, but i’m a little unsure of this theory because I’m not even sure Diana is real (this relates to note #11, since the amount of spaces match up with Diana’s name, but i’m not sure since i couldn’t find the 11 in the mv itself)

the crossword puzzle at 1:22 aka #1 in the description notes.

(note: sorry for my very crappy drawing lmao)

you can see that if you adhere to the note in the description and use their proper first names, it fills in perfectly. However, instead of having David’s name anywhere in the crossword, instead we have Mai. The description says to “exclude our protagonist” (in this case that would be David) so this makes sense.

I honestly know next to nothing about Mai (i’m unsure if information about her is out there and if so where to find it), so the importance of her being included might be lost on me.

Also: Each of the characters has a roman numeral attached to them so this might relate the roman numerals that pop up throughout the video? Idk, just something to think about.

at 2:02 it shows the same sort of voting thing that we saw at the end of chapter 2, however this time all 16 votes are voted towards one person. we know this couldn’t be possible for any future case as too many people are dead, so I wonder if this is just representative and doesn’t actually reference any real game event? this also relates to #12 in the description. it was at this point when i realized they were out of order, since I saw 15 and 17 beforehand

at 2:23 Xander shows up, along with the lyrics “if something is important, then it’ll break and disappear” which makes me heavily question how David actually feels about him. Beforehand, I figured that David was lying about looking up to Xander and was just saying that as a part of his whole fake persona, but I’m starting to question if he was telling the truth even maybe a little bit. this could be talking about something else, though, like Xander’s importance to figuring out the mastermind or something like that.

at 2:40 it shows this string of letters and numbers along with ‘correct’ at the top and ‘incorrect’ at the bottom. the note it relates to, 13, has a character that also means correct/positive

Throughout, there are many references to literature and the such, but one of the few that I recognized which was mentioned a few times: No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai (Speaking of, it’s an intensely interesting novel and I highly recommend checking it out and also researching some of the history behind the author)

Now, in the novel, the main character seems handsome and charismatic to others, but both he and the narrator of the beginning and end book describe him as inhuman, troubled, and disturbed. He is able to keep a facade when underneath, he feels intensely alienated from society and others. It does, honestly, remind me of David in some ways—people want to follow him because of his charisma, but in reality he is not who they think he is. I should probably leave this part short, since I could most likely write a whole thesis about No Longer Human, but there are a ton of parallels between Ōba Yōzō and David if you want to do more research into No Longer Human.

A few miscellaneous thoughts:

I have absolutely no clue what the various items at 2:56 relate to. My first idea was that certain items related to certain characters (Ex: the broken clock is eden’s, the hair clips, megaphone, and fan letters are David’s, and the portraits for the corresponding people) but I also think these items could all just relate to David in some way (If so, I find the materials for a noose and the serpent incredibly interesting)

It’s weird that Hu was included in the credits along with the other characters we might expect. I didn’t think David held much stock in their ‘friendship’ at all, but maybe it was more important than I originally thought?

I decided to not try and dissect the lyrics as I believe that would be better done by someone who has a better understanding of Japanese than I do

In total, I could find the pieces that relate to 1, 2, 7, 9, 12, and 15-21. I considered that the roman numerals could be the numbers in the description also, especially since note 10 mentions roman numerals, but I doubt it since there are numbers which double up as both normal and as roman numerals.

and last but not least, the morse code at the very end. It translates to:

“You still believed in me despite everything I’ve done. But that’s just fantasy, isn’t it? I simply chose to believe that you did. After all, I’m incapable of being someone without you.”

this took an hour to translate only for me to scroll down the comment section and see someone already had translated it :,)

ANYways this is really really interesting, even though it is very ambiguous. Is the speaker David? If so, who is he speaking to? If it is David, this leads me to believe that his “breakdown” might also be an act, and he might still truly care what other people think of him. It also brings up a lot of questions, like who is he speaking to??? fr i want to know. I just know this boy has Trauma and I want to Know It.

if you saw anything I missed or I made a mistake somewhere please tell me!! I wrote this from 1 to 4 am because Hyperfocus and i watched the video probably 5x over on .25 speed (not including repeating certain sections). I know there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t include, I probably didn’t because I wasn’t sure of the importance or I didn’t want to make this too long (failed on that goal but oh well), but if you have another perspective please share!

[peachsequence]

Dead By Daylight Drabble Character focus: Jake Word count: 900 Synopsis: Jake Park makes himself a tent. Content: no ships, sfw, indulgent headcanons, poorly written Manchester slang lmao

The others were unsure about Jake’s plan, at least at first. They watched, whispering to themselves, while he scavenged for metal scraps, tarps, and sturdy sticks. Anything that could help with making a covered structure. 

Some felt that a tent meant admitting this was their home now. Others were scared it somehow broke the rules of the place. 

Maybe they were right, but Jake didn’t care anymore. He wanted privacy. It had been fine when there were just a few people but now there were well over a dozen flowing in and out from trials. He couldn’t go anywhere without tripping on someone sleeping by the fire or hearing David King’s rancorous laughter over his own stupid jokes.

After dozens of trials and free time exploring, he gathered an impressive pile of junk. Most of it came from the meat packing plant, much to the chagrin of the young woman that guarded the place. She’d nearly killed him several times for stealing from the supplies she used to adjust her traps. The tool sheds of Haddonfield had plenty of tarps. Michael hadn’t seemed to care even when Jake stole the sheets off the beds in the neighborhood. 

What resulted in his work was an angular tent of blue and yellow tarps sewn together, held up by a string tied several feet off the ground to two trees. The ends were staked apart with nails and metal pieces, spread far enough that Jake could lie down any direction with plenty of room. He could even stand up without hitting his head. 

Sure, the ends were still open so anyone could see inside if they really wanted to, but he had plans to alter the design to fix that problem. That, however, could come later. First he wanted to enjoy the effort he went through. 

He slipped into his new hiding spot, tucked away a few yards from the campfire. The light slipped through the openings at each end, reflecting the color of the yellow and blue walls of the tent. He lay on a few layers of sheets, just enough to keep from feeling the uneven ground jab too hard into his back. 

A smug grin tugged at the corner of his lips. This is perfect.

---

It took three trials before someone broke the threshold of his new home. Jake was tying knots on a piece of rope he’d found when David King barged in without so much as knocking. 

“Park, make me a tent,” he said, ignoring the way Jake glared up at him. He dumped a stack of folded red fabric with gold thread embellishing the fraying hems. The smell of chemicals permeated from them.

“Did you tear down the tents in the circus for this?” Jake asked, noting the blood stains on the coarse surface.

“Yeah. Got a nasty scar for the trouble,” King said, grinning wide at the admission. “Oh, since I know you’ll throw a strop without pay, I brought you a toolkit. Weird one, too. Look at it!” David shoved the toolbox in Jake’s hands like a child wanting to show off a new toy. 

While he remained stone faced, Jake was intrigued by it. Rather than the plain white toolboxes he normally found, this one was bright red with gold clasps and handle. Opening it up, he found it packed full with firecrackers and sparklers that once might have made him think of New Year’s festivals. Now it just made him wonder if he could hurt a killer with them. 

Rather than ask where it came from – something that David would probably love to brag about – Jake simply closed it and set it aside. 

“Fine,” Jake relented. “Just don’t expect anything special.” 

From there, it became a downward spiral. He’d barely gotten started on David’s tent before the next person asked. Some were fine with anything Jake gave them, others wanted room to fit their partners too. Then new people arrived at the campfire and assumed getting a space was part of the norm. He made a rule after that: supply your own materials or pay out the ass for the trouble I’m going through. 

Jake hadn’t realized just how much work he’d gotten done until he took a step back to admire a pale blue canopy he’d made for Kate. Seven tents were nestled in between trees and around the campfire, their colors adding the atmosphere of life to their hellish purgatory. Claudette’s small pink and green tent was surrounded by her garden. The white one Dwight shared had a clothes line which Ace hogged to store all his ridiculous outfits on. Meg and Nea were at that moment attempting to make stands outside each home for some lanterns they’d found. 

A warm feeling settled in his chest, one that made him nervous to think about too hard. He hated to admit that he enjoyed the strange little community they’d all cobbled together. As standoffish as he acted, he liked these people. Even David King. Eventually that would get him hurt, he’d experienced that pain before, but for a moment he let himself enjoy it. 

He made his way back to his own tent, ready to rest after finally finishing the last bit of work he’d been commissioned, and settled into his makeshift bed. Jake’s head hadn’t even touched the pillow before a man tugged open one of the flaps and peered in. 

His beige trench coat popped against his dark amber skin, which was tinged pink in the cheeks as he sheepishly tried to find the right words to say. “Sorry to bother you but I was told to ask you about a tent?” the man asked with an accent Jake couldn’t place.

Jake sighed, rubbing his fingers against his temple. So much for my genius plan to be alone.  

[thatpunkmaximoff]

[Book One of Four]

Story: 4 out of 5 Smut: 4 out of 5

Wow. Really, just wow.

Kage really went and fell for his mark, huh? Turned the vanilla, never gonna find love again woman into a woman who craved every dark tendency he showed her.

I loved the suspense and mystery of it all. And let’s not forget the humor. Gotta love Sloane and her worry for her best friend’s love life.

This book really kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering and waiting for the other shoe to drop. And boy did it drop. It kind of broke my heart a little too. I loved that Natalie got her answers and came to terms with her love for Kage. I really hope these two pop up in the other books. I need to know how Natalie takes to ruling by Kage’s side.

Now enjoy my rambling thoughts…

* That breakup 😂 How’s the dude gonna be pissed when he’s the one breaking up with her? Insecure much? 😂

* I want the hot pirate with big dick energy. Sounds hot lmao

* “Sorry, Princess. If you’re looking for a knight in shining armor, you’re looking in the wrong fucking place.” — well, now I’m interested.

* Kage doesn’t like to break beautiful things? Wtf was he sent to do to Natalie?!

* Scary Kage just saw Natalie in her wedding dress and said it doesn’t suit her 🤦🏻‍♀️ That she’s beautiful but it has nothing to do with the dress. My fucking heart can’t handle this man rn.

* “I need to kiss you.” // “No.” // “Then come sit on my lap and let me finger fuck you while I feed you dinner.” — HOLY SHIT 🥵😂

* Sheriff Douche wants a second chance and was manhandling Natalie? Oh hell no. Thank god for Kage.

* Holy shit. He was sent to kill her?!

* Natalie has some amazing self control. How did she not fuck him on that table?!?!

* Jesus… this man is intense.

* Holy hell this man can kiss lol. How is she not taking him to bed asap?!

* “I’ll have to make you fall in love with me before I tell you all my darkest secrets.” // “Oh yeah? Why’s that?” // “So you won’t leave me… even though you’ll want to.” — fuckkkkk.

* Second in command to the Russian mafia. Surprisingly, I’m not turned off lmao. He said he was not a good man 🤷🏻‍♀️

* Her orgasmic bliss would be ruined by gunfire. What a bunch of cock blocks.

* After everything she had him take her to bed. So much for going on two dates before giving it up 😂

* Jesus. He fucked the shit out of her. And she still doesn’t know he was sent to kill her. The angst is gonna be angsting. And if her missing fiancé pops up, I’m gonna be pissed.

* And now Kage has found the sex toy drawer. I can’t 😂

* I love that Natalie is going through a rebirth and it’s dark… 😏

* Holy shit… so the fiancé was killed? At least that’s how Kage made it seem. I hope so.

* “My life doesn’t belong to me, do you understand? I made a vow. I took an oath and sealed it with blood. The Bratva is my family. The Brotherhood is my life. And there’s no way out of it. Blood in, no out. Not ever. Not even for love.” — and now my heart is broken.

* Oh shit. His boss is in charge of who he married and it’ll never be Natalie because he was supposed to kill her 😬 This whole relationship is a clusterfuck.

* Yikes. Someone’s stalking Natalie and she thinks it’s her ex… but girl! You’re dating a Russian mobster. It’s definitely one of his enemies.

* I FUCKING CALLED IT! And now Kage’s boss knows Kage disobeyed him, and he put a hit out on both Natalie and Kage, and FUCKKKKK!

* Oh goddammit. The dead fiancé isn’t as dead as we all thought and his name isn’t even David! Wtf.

* Holy fuck. She went after the missing fiancé..? Kage is gonna go ballistic because she left him and isn’t answering his calls or texts.

* They made up. Oh thank god.

* Kage is the boss man now. Hot damn.

* She wants his babies and he wants her to marry him. Oh my god!!!!

* Lmfao. Of course Sloane would be kidnapped. She’s gonna fall for her kidnapper, isn’t she? 😂

[fox-from-fairytale]

Me with this season

So, it wasn't bad, but for now it's definitely my least favourite.

The opening scene was amazing, probably the best one of the series, buuuut... there were many other scenes where I felt bored, like when Javier and David were playing baseball or something like that. That was so boring I almost fucked up a few times without answering in time because I kept getting distracted.

Talking about answers and choices in general, they were too easy this season for the most part. If Clementine tells me what she thinks, I automatically do what she says without thinking too much about it (if she tells me to jump, I'll ask her how high). She's obviously not like other characters, and there were times where there wasn't someone else to balance her with opposite opinions. BUT, there are aspects of the gameplay I prefer, like the fact that Conrad can die at every episode but if you play your cards right (which I didn't lol) he stays alive till the end. I hate when all characters dies, it gives me the impression that everything I did was pointless. And with this being said, Kate was still the only one I was able to keep alive lmao

When it comes to the story, I wonder why couldn't we have just followed Clem's? I know that The Walking Dead isn't supposed to be just on one specific character, but after the first two seasons it's her the one I want to play as. Our focus has always been on Clementine from the first season, even if then we played as Lee, and I don't really care about sticking with someone else all of a sudden. Playing as Javier ruined the immersion for me. As Clementine the story could have been about how she loses AJ to the New Frontier and how she takes him back, maybe starting the first episode from when she finds Ava and closing it with the whole thing about the medicine and how she gets kicked out from there. The memories would have been in the game to create a better backstory for her time with Kenny/Jane/when she was alone or at Wellington.

Wellington not being this safe harbour everyone talked about, honestly, makes sense to me. It was just rumours, rumours created by hope I guess, but most of the times rumours are misleading and don't end up being completely true. But I hate what they did to both Jane and Kenny. As much as I hate her, I hate Jane's death even more. She is a survivor and always did anything to keep herself safe, and I found so... stupid, even insulting, her killing herself because she found out she was pregnant. And god, how much I hate the comments I've found about this whole thing. Make her trying anything to lose the baby instead of her just hanging herself. God, I hated it so much. Meanwhile for Kenny I don't even have words. It checks out with him sacrificing himself to protect AJ and Clem, but not everything happening because of a seatbelt. The memory in the third episode, though, was chef's kiss.

The real main character of this season, Javier, and his family aren't bad, but I didn't like them/cared enough to follow them the entire time, and I would have preferred them as secondary characters instead. But yes, I did like Javier, Tripp, Ava, and Kate really grew on me. I loved how Kate, the one who wanted to get away from Richmond as soon as she could, remained there to save it because it was "her fault". I loved that for her, and of course I followed her plan. Meanwhile I didn't like Gabe so much. I really tried to like him, but I just couldn't care. His death was fucking awful though and I'm sad I got the ending where he can't be saved. About David: glad he's dead I guess. I hated him every second, even if I tried to be "a good brother".

[typewriter83]

To answer something you wondered when I wrote about chapter 10: yes, I'm the same anon that gives this long ass analysis each chapter.

Some weeks ago I was thinking about your story and I thought "hm, ellie never mentioned riley dying in this universe. Marlene also didn't had any part on this story." But I just forgot about that thought eventually and life passed.

But then you come here and DROP THIS BOMB AND LEAVES? Mama Bear you are.... Oh my god. Okay, I'm skipping to much. Let's go back to the start.

So, I can't stand jackson's council on this story wtf. I mean, in real life is kind of expected that a rapist can get away with the things he did because, well, the world is a bureaucracy that turn simple things into difficult things when it isn't that difficult. But jackson??? The world literally ended, dude. How come they can still look at a rapist and think of some reason he shouldn't be out of the town (not to say dead). I mean, who will stop them? God. Also I feel kind of mad at maria a bit. I mean, I know she feels bad about ellie's situation and that it made her realize she's blind sometimes, but she really chose this moment to back off from the council?? I mean, she could've still be one on the council that could be the voice of the victims (ellie and dina) against david, It's the least she could have done for Ellie after all. She wanted to be bossy and say her unwanted opinions all the time, and now that we want her to do it... Anyways.

So, it's really what you promissed right mama? The 🌶️🌶️🌶️. Girl... Look, reading that whole scene was a mist of ☹️ and 🤭 at the start, david really did some damage to ellie emotionally. But then that freaky ass spicy scene showed up and wuaaaaa *twerking aggressively*. What the fuckkkk. Look, when you made a point of specifying the level of peppers for this chapter, my mind thought of a million things that would have happened in this chapter (when I realized she was on the counter I really thought he was going to kneel and e@t her out. I'm still waiting for that btw), but gurl I would never guess they were going to do that. At one point I remembered Regina's line in meam girls "I was half virgin when I met him" and now I feel like I know what regina was talking about now lmao. Ellie is 98% virgin now. (And I have to tell you ma'm, reading a 🌶️ scene of the forbidden ship with some Rock song playing is another experience. I bet he would've made her 0% virgin if there was some Rock Or Metal playing on that bathroom, he wouldn't have held back).

Joel mentioned Tommy and him are back on talking, bit that hey haven't gone to an understanding. Can you elaborate that? I really wanna know what is stopping them, specially from tommy's part.

He called her pretty gurl in front of Maria and tommy😭 gonna cry. Urgh.

Also, I love how ellie didn't even asked him properly, just gave him an idea but he was already like "yes, anywhere you want". He was so willing to leave. He didn't even think twice (which is good, if you think about some angle. Now they can make any noise as loud as they want without neighbors 🤭 okay I'm gonna stop now). She could ask anything at this point and he would make it come true. He could drop anything for her and you're talented in expressing that in your writing. It makes me wish I was pretty so someone could fall in love with me like this, as intensely and unconditionally as the way you describe joel's love in your stories.

I wonder what marlene and riley's comenack will do. I mean, I'm almost sure there's gonna be some tension in the air when they all reunite because like, she and riley had a thing (innocent and not official, but still a thing), and even a possible beef between riley x joel x ellie, maybe riley would also think he's a dirty old man with no morals and ellie throwing in Riley's face that she left ellie in the past. Marlene, though, is the deal I can't decipher. Why is she going to ellie? I mean, it's gonna take some good affort to convince me she's after ellie for pure emotional reasons. Does she knows ellie can be immune somehow, is that why she's going after ellie? You don't need to answer tho, I just wanted to say everything that comes to my head. All I know is that they all are gonna see how the world is small after this reunion. I mean, What would lead Joel to think that the woman who was his brother's boss for a while is Ellie's mother's best friend? (That even makes me wonder of a "what if" in my mind. how things could have been if any of the millers had contacted ellie earlier through maria in an alternative version of this story. That probably never happened but I really like thinking about past and future and all of that. Blame all the time travel movies I watched lol).

Anways, that was a good chapter, made me real happy to read (I was needing it today, really). Idk if I'm forgetting to mention anything but If I remember something, I will come back. Bye!!

Hello sweet cub - it’s been a week and a half over here, and it was a holiday week! This school year is already kicking our rear ends and September just started.

Learning to Walk and Joellie discussion under cut

Let’s start with David and Jackson - this is not over. 100% this is not over - David is a plot device, and keeping him alive serves a purpose. Trust and believe, I had his 💀 written - WRITTEN - and decided to keep his sick ass around for another day (another chapter, another story - remember I vaguely mention a trilogy?). Maria needs to check herself - because if she doesn’t, she’s going to wonder how she lost her husband, because Tommy is waking up (growing up?) and he’s gonna play a role in where we’re going too. I said earlier that Maria won’t make a 180, but she does need to rethink what it means to be living at the end of the world - old world laws don’t work anymore, and neither does Joel’s idea of justice (it does, lol but it doesn’t).

Mama cannot promise to not bitch about writing spicy scenes, lol - they’re hard for me to write, that probably won’t change. However, the more I write, it does happen faster, which is progress for me. And… well, we’re about to send Joel and Ellie off on their on for awhile and… you never know what might happen when they’re secluded up in the mountains with no electricity and only each other for company - winter is coming, cubs. 🌶️🌶️ and our “almost virgin” will get her moment - I promise, I’ve already plotted it out - and Joel teaching her some other 🌶️🌶️ stuff, too - just saying.

Tommy and Joel have a tumultuous relationship at best; and Tommy wants that relationship but he doesn’t know what that would look like. Joel has kept to himself a lot, and promised Tommy he would make an effort after Austin was born, but now that he’s clearly chosen Ellie, where does that leave Tommy? Resolutions and a glimpse of what their future will looking like are coming - think boys sitting around a campfire, I have an idea.

Joel choosing Ellie without even thinking - go listen to Post Malone’s “Hide My Gun” - it could go either way with Joel or Ellie asking the other to not ask questions, just hide my gun, but in this case it’s Ellie asking him “would you pack and never-coming-back-again bag?” And the answer is - “when are we leaving?” Not why, not how, just when. Honestly, I think if Joel could, he would find somewhere else for them - he would put her in a truck and drive her off into the sunset. Also, sweet cub, being pretty has nothing to do with loving someone unconditionally 🩷 Joel was shot by this girl, and he still loves her and has made it clear that regardless of their relationship status, he will drop everything and run with her.

I was very vague about Riley - I think she was mentioned two, maybe three, times in the whole story. But Ellie does tell Joel that she cared about her, and then Riley left - hence Ellie’s abandonment issues, right? Riley’s return to Ellie’s life will cause problems (Marlene too, but for other reasons) - a sense of “I’m back, let’s pick up where we left off” which is the kind of vibes Riley gives off - IMO - especially in the show. There’s going to be some canon parallels with both Marlene and Riley, and I don’t want to give anything away - but there’s going to be an adventure coming for this universe. But in essence, Marlene is pissed at Riley for “not securing Ellie” - because everyone in Marlene’s circle is always passed off, including her best friend’s daughter - Marlene expected Riley to close the deal on Ellie, because she didn’t bother to raise her, but she knows Ellie is smart and talented and would have a place in the Fireflies revolution. That’s pretty vague and doesn’t give much away - and I’ve been asked about Ellie’s immunity in this universe before and I won’t give that away either - gonna have to stay tuned for Part 2

Thanks for always coming back!

🫶🏻

[notallwonder]

Alright kiddos, let's see... Criminal Minds 16x08 "Forget Me Knots".

Spoilers and "thoughts" under the cut:

Okay, so the previouslies are JJ and Will heavy...ruh roh. We gonna find out Will's been lying about his health still?

LOL I'm still so excited. It's so funny that I'm still emotionally jazzed up by this silly show.

Hahahaaha Penelope "that's not how this works" finally

I guess it would be uniquely easy to kidnap real estate agents.

ZOMG THE KIDS ARE BACK. Henry you are SO FREAKIN TALL

I'm still laughing to myself about the...section of artful shag carpet?...hanging above the Jareau-Lamontagne fireplace.

Will I wish you had better taste in ties

aw no, Henry overhearing adult things. Hope you're ok bud.

it's so nice when a serial killer can share photos of his children to make himself seem disarming and safe.

there's that $400 of duct tape being put to good use!

oh no - is she supposed to be a surrogate for his wife? *grimace!*

yeah lady I also would be like WTF save you're fucking marriage? WTF???

EMILY VOICEOVER...hello hottie (voice)...

GOD. how are you so beautiful? every time. Every Time!!!

Aw, isn't it nice, law enforcement agencies working together to circumvent...rules and stuff

hot.

PG I really like this lil' jacket number

And Luke, welcome to the brown suede jacket club.

Oh HO. So Now we are calling PG out!! They know she is Getting Some. lol ok

Oh, Henry buddy. Budding investigator apparently (knows how to Google). He's sweet. Where....where where is this going? Is Will still going to die? This honestly feels more like...normal family stuff frankly. Maybe I am searching too hard for *meaning*. But usually...look, it's a TV show. It's usually going somewhere.

this poor woman is doin' her best, but she's gonna die.

damn, that's cold. she's tanking her marriage (ish) to make it through.

Luke and Tara partnered up! yay!

Tara, when is your turn in brown suede?

why would Indio police immediately contact FBI? Just on the 'strength' of the 2nd street connection? shenanigans. but ok.

"JJ and I will run interference with the AG" sounds....slightly promising. can't wait for no onscreen follow up on this idea!

awww. Sicarius is Murder Santa!

I should also learn how to stay off camera. But for fun and profit (not murder).

"Copy you"??? what.

murder elf picking up the package...

poor lady, she just wanted to sell some houses.

Extreme Home Makeover Ty Guy??!! Selling me gambling apps??

jeez. that's a huge fucking list of missed calls bud.

An ENTIRE SCENE with Emily and JJ in the same room all by themselves. what a gift. yes they are doing crime solving. of course they are!!! i love them.

yes they both look super fabulous, because of course they do!!!

just to reiterate for no one, i do not watch this show for the crime or the crime solving. nor the naturalistic dialogue lmao.

murder elf dead. lady hang on!!

Ramona I'm so proud of you. First, extremely fast resuscitation, A +. Second, you're alive babe! But you really should get your husband to change his hair/beard situation.

Yes, bazillion sounds about right. I do kind of miss CM depicting agents actually doing any kind of tedious investigative work.

EMILY. You are so gorgeous. Dear AJ Cook, thank you for this shot that is just Emily at her desk. I am not mad about it.

Yeah, so Henry. JJ is this going in the "I have to leave the FBI" column? Is that where this is going?

Henry you are my most favorite now of all. They are terrible liars. And this is a sweet through-line from the ol' "monsters" thing at Halloween five million years ago.

Oh! a real live timeline clue. "It's been 10 days since you walked out of this house."

uh oh crazy eyes time. he is gonna kill his wife. oh no. I really thought for a second the doorbell was going to be another murder elf. David Rossi!!!

I wonder if this will 'end' with Elias turning himself in to the FBI to try to salvage the remainder of his life. Hm.

Okay. As far as episodes go, this one again felt like filler - like connective tissue leading up to something(s) bigger. Ultimately not particularly interesting in its own right. But, bright spots? Not so little Henry Lamontagne. A nice bit of Tara & Luke camaraderie. Emily Prentiss looking fine as hell, as per usual. And some more Elias Voit time, if that's what you're into (I'm not, but it's not horrible).

Really missing...Rebecca, right about now. So Tara stopped freaking out about her phone and then.....nothing? Gimme a little something here, CM. An indication of some kind. Emily running into Rebecca in the hallway (oh wait, Rebecca got pulled back to DC, no longer at Quantico). Anyway, want more of that. I'm not mad there was no overt follow up on the Garcia/Tyler sitch. It's coming, I'm sure.

[edenfenixblogs]

Hello my friend!

First off: to my followers—this person is wonderful and kindhearted and what we have here is a misunderstanding. Please allow me the chance to address this with kindness, even though I know this is triggering for most of us. I know what is in her heart, and I know she doesn’t want us all dead.

To you, my lovely friend, @youdontknowwhotfiamm

I think this is a wonderful example of two things that we have talked about privately already. But I’m so happy to have a chance to address a practical example.

1. I want to assure you that I understand the point of this image. And I know that Jewish symbols are not the only ones represented here. There is also a Palestinian flag and the color scheme of flags where the nation has strong ties to Islamism. In that way, the image isn’t solely focused on Jews, and I understand this.

I understand that this is an attempt to reject extremism on both sides, and that is a message that (at its core), I enthusiastically support!

The reasons that most Jews who agree with that message won’t reblog the image are probably not what you are expecting or what you intended or interpreted.

2. So remember when I mentioned in our private convo how Yisrael is the word for the place as well as the people and the culture? The Magen David/Jewish Star/Star of David (this thing ✡️) is the visual representation of that concept. So even though it is a symbol that is on the Israeli flag, it is there because it is a symbol that means Jewish People. Any Jew seeing this will immediately assume you’re calling for the death of all of us. It wouldn’t even occur to us to think of any other interpretation, because that is what the Jewish Star represents to us.

I do fully understand that the symbol comes with a lot of baggage for some non-Jews and for that I can only apologize. Because the Star does represent all of us. Even the ones whose behavior I condemn with my whole heart. But the Star doesn’t distinguish between Jews who have done harm or Jews who have done nothing wrong. As for the Jews who have helped make the symbol something to be feared in your community, that’s awful. And while I cannot undo the pain that made them feel that way, it is up to me and my community to be shining examples of why the Star is something that represents pride and joy and identity to all of us. But I apologize, because any Jew who truly believes in peace and equality will not reblog that image to do anything but criticize it for how it offends and harms us. I hope you understand. But I am happy to address this more if you have questions.

3. I think most Jews who want peace will reject the idea of “death to oppressors” as a concept. Not because we love oppression or oppressors. We don’t. But Jewish opinions on death are very complex. If I had to summarize in a short sentence or two I would say that we feel that death is always a tragedy, and we should always choose life over death whenever we can.

Especially in terms of this conflict, this is a chance we all have to reject more death—of any of us. And so the Jewish thing for me to do is to reject that call for death and call for life instead.

We understand that sometimes death is necessary. But it is never celebrated. Any Jew gleefully cheering for this image is a Jew who has rejected the idea of life being so precious that we would never cheer for its loss. And that is someone who likely is not as truly invested in real peace or someone who does not feel strongly connected to one of our most important core values—therefore they can’t represent us.

I think it may help you to understand this more if you know that concept of tikkun olam, which is central to the Jewish faith. I discuss it here:

As a Jewish person, I can never bring myself to call for death to anyone. I can accept death as sometimes unfortunately necessary. But not something I want to have to resort to—ever.

I can’t say death to oppressors and be consistent with my own values.

But what I can say is this: Healing for oppressors! Justice for the oppressed! May love conquer hate and understanding grow in the place where fear and hate used to live! My new laws and connections replace oppression and pain and death!

I hope that all makes sense. The goal remains the same. We just need to find a pathway to peace that doesn’t rely on either your people or my own abandoning our core beliefs. Again, if you have any problems with this or questions, please ask. Thank you again so very much for your kind and open heart and for being willing to listen. I know how much work you’re putting in to understanding us. I see you, and I value you, and I care.

Death to Oppressors

As I've started to get more involved in regards to the fight for the people of Gaza and Palestine (mostly in the form of donations and esims), I've always wondered how I can contribute with my art skills, especially since I actually have some Palestinian ancestry myself (from my mother's side since she's half Middle Eastern).

So, after much thinking and a little handiwork, I made this.

As you can see, the drawing's center has a crescent and star in the colours of the Palestinian flag, including the little triangle on the right of the flag. You'll also notice that the star is, in fact, the Star of David, the symbol of the Jewish religion. Both the crescent and the star represent the uniting of Muslims and (anti-zionist) Jews as they fight to stop the hypocrisies, horrors, and atrocities inflicted upon Palestine by the political, economic, and social elites of the Israeli regime and beyond.

(I didn't make the Star of David blue because that would represent the Israeli regime and, subsequently, Zionism.)

And if you're curious about the writing on the top and the bottom, they both translate as "DEATH TO OPPRESSORS" in Hebrew and Arabic. (If you're wondering what font I used for the texts, I actually drew up the writing myself.)

So that's my first drawing related to the Palestinian cause, and it will not be the last.

From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.

P.S. Sorry about my weird writing style. I'm also autistic, so forgive me if I miscommunicate anything or phrase anything oddly.

[cosette141]

Dreamshade (OUAT fanfic) | Additional Ending

Fandom: Once Upon A Time

Author: cosette141

Words: 3k (this chapter) | 16k total

Summary: (s3A, "Good Form" canon divergence) Instead of David getting hit with the poisoned arrow, it's Hook. Now it's up to David to get Hook to Dead Man's Peak before Dreamshade takes Hook's life, and maybe learn, perhaps too late, that Hook is far more than just a pirate. h/c Captain Charming

AO3 (additional ending link) | AO3 (Dreamshade story link from beginning)

Additional Ending: The Cure to Dreamshade (is You) (under the cut!)

a/n: Lol so I had thought this story was over, but I was asked by many people to continue this story so that Hook got safely back to Storybrooke. So, I spent the past 3 hours writing this, which is way less time than I usually spend agonizing over a chapter, so if it's just ehh, that's why lol. But either way, here's your closure xD

The idea for how Hook is saved came from @undercaffinatednightmare and @jonesfandomfanatic, I hope I did it justice!

Okay, NOW here is the last chapter and epilogue of Dreamshade lmao.

~cosette141

They'd saved Henry.

The bloody heroes had defeated Pan, and saved Henry.

It was something Hook still couldn't quite fathom; he had yet to see any of them fail, and had grown to wonder if they ever could.

However, as the lot of them had returned to the ship, all smiles and relief, reunited with the lad, Hook had paused at the foot of the gangplank, unable to convince himself to board.

Because it seemed that he may have just found the one thing these heroes will fail to do.

And that, was to save him.

Ever since the Neverland water had cured him, since his and David's journey to Dead Man's Peak, things had been drastically different among them.

Firstly, and most notably, between himself and David.

Not only had David stopped fighting him on which paths to take and which areas to avoid, David had quite literally shifted leadership directly and solely to Hook.

And though Hook was used to being a leader, being the Captain of his crew, he was respected out of his men's fear.

It's been a very, very long time since he'd led any people by their choice of him.

The last time he'd felt that way, was when Liam was still alive, and for a short time after his death.

He and David were now past having an understanding with each other; they did feel like mates.

It had taken a week after Dead Man's Peak to save Henry, and more than one of those nights, David and Hook had shared a shift watching over the others, and slowly, mostly to pass the time, had started to talk.

The fact that David had willingly wanted to know more about him, not just to keep him awake for fear of him dying like he had that night, was still something that touched and stunned Hook all the same.

The change hadn't stopped with David, however.

The change between himself and Emma was something else entirely.

The bitter edge to Emma had very much eroded.

But Hook knew it wasn't her demeanor that had softened; it was the walls tumbling down one by one.

Ever since their kiss all those nights ago, she'd always seemed to gravitate closer to him. So far, that kiss had been a one-time thing, but mostly due to her fear for her boy taking precedence. And Hook had quite the feeling that, if they were to find a way to save him, they'd certainly have a second time. He and Emma had fought together with every other danger they'd faced, just like they had fought the giant on the Beanstalk, and just like how her parents fought. In sync, in a way of protecting the other.

The nights that Hook's and David's shifts didn't align, his and Emma's did.

And, slowly, she and he began to talk.

Gods, he never once would have believed that he could be more excited about the fact that a woman was talking and opening up to him more than he would be to wake up next to her.

However, that was an excitement all on its own, but now, standing here on the edge of his worst nightmare and his brightest dream…

He knew, with a coldness in his chest, that it would never happen.

Swallowing hard, something terribly painful in Hook's chest as he listened to the joy on deck, of Emma, her boy, and the Lost Boys they were also bringing back to Storybrooke.

Hook shut his eyes, remembering saving Henry.

Hook never would have thought that he'd be relieved to see the Crocodile.

Pan had been moments from taking Henry's heart, Hook and Emma immobilized by the demon's magic, when the Crocodile had reappeared for the first time since he'd left their group when they'd arrived in Neverland.

With some long-winded speech about destroying Pan to save Baelfire's son, as his way of making up for past mistakes, Rumplestiltskin had used one of Pan's own weapons against him:

Dreamshade.

Right through his chest.

Pan had fallen, releasing himself and Emma. Emma had run to her boy, the Crocodile to replace the boy's heart, and Hook found himself watching Pan seconds from death.

"At least I know," gasped Pan, "that you aren't far behind."

Hook's eyes narrowed.

"I know you were poisoned, too," drawled Pan through a tight grimace. "You know as well as I do.. th-that you won't leave here alive." Something dark and inhuman in his eyes, he hissed with his last breath, "There is no cure to Dreamshade. Not for you."

Pan's body shuddered, then disintegrated into black ash that wisped into nothing in the air.

"Hook…"

Hook blinked, finding David on the gangplank, worried eyes on him.

Like he was realizing exactly what Hook had realized.

He wasn't going to live.

Hook smiled, but there was no warmth, no joy. "You saved your grandson. We succeeded."

David didn't smile. "No, we haven't succeeded. Not yet."

"Mate," breathed Hook, that pain in his chest burning so similarly to Dreamshade. "Thank you for… trying, but…" His voice trailed off, his chest hurting worse.

David's expression was tortured.

Footsteps jogged down the gangplank suddenly, revealing Emma. "What are you guys waiting for?" she asked, that smile still on her face. Relief. Happiness. So free.

It only made Hook's chest hurt worse.

She stopped beside him, so close to him, and it made Hook's eyes burn because why did he have to win her heart right before Dreamshade took his?

Emma seemed to sense the tension. Looking between them, her smile faltering, she said, "What?"

David looked at Hook, and Hook shut his eyes.

He hadn't wanted to tell her.

He hadn't bloody wanted to tell her.

Their silence stretched too long, and Emma crossed her arms. "Okay, you two have been… I don't know. There's something you're not telling me and I want to know what it is."

Hook's tortured gaze found Emma's hard one. As much as he didn't want her to know, he didn't want to lie to her.

He couldn't lie to her.

So, he took a heavy breath, and forced the words out to say, "I'm… I was… poisoned." He swallowed hard as Emma's eyes widened. "With… Dreamshade," he whispered.

"Wh—what? When?" she exclaimed, suddenly grabbing at his jacket, as if trying to find the injury, and Hook only felt more pain at how easily she has come to touch him.

Gently, he took her hand from his vest into his own to stop her. "I'm in no immediate danger," he said haltingly.

Emma's eyes snapped to his.

He was stunned to find the amount of panic in them.

"What are you talking about, Hook?" she demanded breathlessly.

Sighing wearily, Hook relented, "Our second night here, I… I was nicked by a Lost Boy's arrow." Emma's eyes widened even more. "I was… fading," he said, unevenly.

Emma's mind seemed to click the pieces together in seconds. "Those… those days you were drunk?"

"Not drunk, love," he whispered hollowly, eyes burning.

"But…" Her eyes found his again. He felt her free hand grab his jacket unconsciously. "But you look fine," she whispered.

"Aye…" Looking at David, who's expression was even more tortured, he looked back at Emma. "Your father… learned of my situation."

"Hook said there was this water that could save him," said David, "so… so that's where we went that night."

Emma's eyes slowly dragged from her father to Hook. Her hand released Hook's jacket in a way that felt like a physical blow. "You lied to me?"

Hook's eyes burned.

"Emma—" began David.

Hook couldn't speak.

"How could you have kept that to yourself?" exclaimed Emma. "You're telling me you were dying and you weren't even going to tell us?"

She said us, but Hook heard me.

"Emma, love, I—" began Hook, eyes burning hotter.

"He did it for you, Emma!"

Emma and Hook both looked at David.

"What?" breathed Emma.

"He did it for you," said David, with a little panicked heat in his voice. "Look, Hook didn't want you to know, but—"

"Mate—" began Hook warningly, but David didn't stop.

"—the arrow that hit Hook was the one that almost hit you." finished David.

Emma froze.

Slowly, she looked at Hook.

"What?" she asked in a tiny voice.

Feeling unbearable emotional pain, Hook said reluctantly, "I wasn't fast enough."

Emma stumbled back a step. "Wait," she breathed. "So," she said hollowly, "you almost died… saving me?"

When Hook couldn't speak, David said, "Yes."

Emma looked at Hook, like the gesture was something she couldn't understand.

It reminded him of how he'd felt when David had saved him.

Seeming to shake herself out of the shock, Emma said, "B-But you're healed now." It was phrased like a very shaky fact.

Which was exactly what it was.

Taking a heavy breath, Hook said, "Not… entirely. The water David used to heal me only works in Neverland."

His unsaid words were painfully loud.

Emma's brows kneaded together in a way that looked lost. "So… if you leave…"

His voice no more than a whisper, Hook confirmed, "I'll die."

The three of them stood in the quietest silence Hook has ever heard.

"What's the hold up?"

Regina's annoyed voice cut through that silence, making the three of them flinch.

But soon, Regina and Snow were approaching.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Snow.

When Emma and Hook were quiet, David said, "Long story short, Hook was poisoned with Dreamshade and healed with water that only heals him in Neverland."

At Regina's surprise and Snow's gasp, David looked at Hook. Determination in his eyes, he said, "I promised we would save you, Hook, and that's what we're going to do." As if just thinking it— "That's it! Where's Gold?"

"Listening to the pirate's sob story."

Everyone snapped around to see the Crocodile leaning boredly against the side of the ship on deck.

David strode up to him, protective anger narrowing his eyes. "There's got to be something we can do to save him."

"As enticing as it would be to save the pirate's pathetic life," drawled the Crocodile, "ever since he poisoned me with Dreamshade, I've done my share of research on the subject."

"And?" demanded David.

"And," he said, eyes narrowing, "there might be a way to save him."

"What is it?" breathed Emma, in a voice Hook had only heard her use when they'd been looking for Henry.

Rolling his eyes, the Crocodile said, "There's a… potion I could concoct that would cure him. But it is back in my shop."

David's head snapped up. "What if we took some of that healing water with us? It could keep him alive until you make the potion?"

"I believe so," mused the Crocodile. "You're lucky, pirate, that I am in a giving mood."

Hook couldn't manage to glare.

There was a chance.

There was a chance.

"Good," said David, a relieved smile at his lips. Smiling at Hook, he said, "Got time for one more trip to Dead Guy Mountain?"

Hook smiled.

-.-.-.

The journey to and from Dead Man's Peak—including Emma this time—took far less time than it had a week ago.

But soon, they were all aboard the Jolly Roger, using Tink's pixie dust to fly back home.

The Neverland Water was now in Hook's flask, close enough to him he could feel its power radiating from it.

He was standing beside Emma and David at the helm as they crossed realms, Storybrooke's shore in the distance.

And it felt so, eerily similar, to when he'd once stood here with Liam.

When he had lost Liam.

Hook felt Emma's fingers in his, which hadn't left the entire night.

He felt David's concerned gaze on him.

Hook released Emma's hand only to take the wheel as the ship slowly descended from the sky to the water.

Everyone on deck stumbled with the landing, and Hook felt Emma's hand grab his forearm.

And Hook felt a paralyzing fear, his head snapping up.

They weren't in Neverland anymore.

Flashes of Liam dying rose sharply.

"Hook?"

Emma and David had spoken his name at once.

Hook swallowed as the ship settled.

Just as his nerves did.

He gave them a shaky smile. "I'm all right."

"You sure?" asked Emma.

"Aye," he said, smiling more at her concern. "Dreamshade took my brother the moment we landed in foreign waters." He breathed in, shutting his eyes with relief, feeling the water working to protect him. "I'm all right," he repeated, looking at her.

David clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Good. Let's make sure you stay that way."

-.-.-.-.

Once they'd docked and everyone dispersed into the cheering Storybrooke crowd, Emma had left Henry with Regina and she and David had practically dragged Hook to the Crocodile's shop, for the demon had disappeared quickly after returning home.

Kicking open the door, David called, "Gold! Is it ready?"

The Crocodile was standing behind the counter of his shop, hands clasped, smiling at them.

David's brows kneaded. "Where's the potion? Aren't you making it?"

The Crocodile smiled more. But it was sinister. "There is no potion to cure Dreamshade."

The three of them froze.

"But you said—" began David.

"I lied." said the Crocodile with another grin.

Hook felt every hope disappear in an instant.

"Gold—" said Emma in a shaky voice that she intended to be strong.

"Why the hell would you lie?" demanded David.

"The question," he said, eyes narrowing, "is more, why would I save him?" The evil in his smile growing, he said, "He took my wife and hurt my Belle. It was simply a serendipitous situation. I can kill him without lifting a finger." He grinned again. "But I can speed it up."

He flicked his wrist, and suddenly—

—Hook's flask appeared in the Crocodile's hand.

The effect was instant.

Hook gasped at the pain in his side, the shock of it buckling his legs.

"Hook!"

He felt Emma catch him before he hit the ground, slowly helping him to the ground.

"Hook," whispered Emma, a tear slipping down her cheek. "Killian," she whispered.

Knees hit the ground on Hook's other side—David. "Hook!"

But Hook's panic suddenly paused.

Because although his side hurt, it didn't burn.

With shaking fingers, he yanked up his shirt.

And there, was the slice from the arrow.

However…

It wasn't black.

"It's not there," breathed David. "The Dreamshade. It's gone!"

"Impossible," whispered Hook, his heart still slamming in his chest.

But there was nothing more than a cut.

No burn.

No Dreamshade.

"No!"

And suddenly the Crocodile was glaring at them, furious.

"There should be no way for you to have survived that," he growled. "The only cure to Dreamshade is trading lives with the candle or True Love! None of which you have!"

The Crocodile stalked toward him, hand lifted as if in attack, but Emma stood quickly, with fury of her own, and her hands suddenly glowed white, and a blast shot from her fingers, crashing the Crocodile into the counter, leaving him unmoving in the broken glass and debris.

"That's my girl," said David with a grin.

Emma stared at her hands, like she hadn't meant to do that.

But also, wasn't too upset about it.

Hook sat up, and Emma knelt next to him. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," he said. "Yet I haven't the faintest idea why."

"Gold…" said David. "What he just said…" He looked between Hook and Emma.

And again.

And smiled.

And suddenly, Hook understood.

"The only thing able to cure Dreamshade is trading lives with the candle or True Love!"

Hook's eyes snapped to Emma's.

"You kissed me," he breathed.

"What?" she said, brows shooting up.

"Emma, after I was healed by the water that night… you kissed me."

That tingle at his lips when she'd kissed him.

That feeling that had felt more euphoric than the water.

It wasn't just chemistry.

It was True Love's Kiss.

"Wait," said Emma suddenly. "You… you mean..?"

"Aye," he said with a grin.

And not a moment later, she was kissing him again.

His eyes shut, that euphoria sent through him once again.

But they pulled away quickly, for David was right beside them, and Hook saw Emma smile.

The three of them stood, giving one more look to the unconscious Crocodile before walking outside.

Emma pulled him into her arms. "Don't scare me like that," she whispered.

David clapped a hand on Hook's shoulder, giving him a little squeeze. "Glad you're okay.

"Mate," said Hook. "David." He smiled. "Thank you. For… everything."

Emma smiled at them. "I still can't believe you saved Hook," she said to her father. "You kinda seemed like the last person to do that when we got to Neverland."

David looked at Hook, letting out a breath, a hint of a smile at his lips. "He saved you. The least I could do was save him."

But he and Hook both knew, that his reasons for saving Hook had only piled up the longer their journey had gone.

"Well, you've developed quite the bromance," joked Emma, tightening her arms around Hook with a grin.

"Bromance?" echoed Hook confusedly.

"I'll explain it to you later," said David with a grin. "I'll go tell Snow everything's all good. Meet us at Granny's later, we'll celebrate many things," he said with another smile.

Emma and he smiled as he left, and she pressed her forehead to Hook's. "You saved me," she whispered.

But he smiled, his hand holding her face gently, like he knew he would for the rest of his days, and he whispered, "And you saved me."

His True Love.

And from the look in her eyes now, she was just as happy about that news as he was.

A trip back to Neverland, that had seemed like a nightmare, had now given him a brother, some sort of a "bromance", and Emma.

It had given him something even more than that.

Something he thought he'd never have again.

Something that made his eyes burn with a good kind of hurt.

It had given him a family.

And it had brought him home.

-.-.-.

the actual end. lol.

tag list: @kmomof4 @justanother-unluckysoul @klynn-stormz @stahlop @ilovemesomekillianjones @hookmecaptain @tiganasummertree @jadehowlettthewolf @jonesfandomfanatic @anmylica @pirateprincessofpizza @stahlop @snowbellewells @eddisfargo @motherkatereloyshipper @killian-whump @deckerstarblanche @cocohook38 @spartanguard

[cbsghostsmetasandtrevor]

CBS Ghosts - Hello! - Sam & the Doctor

Warning spoilers may appear.

Okay.  How is it possible that Sam walked into her doctor’s office - the doctor that she SHOULD HAVE ALREADY MET - and just talk it all out and not notice that it’s NOT HER DOCTOR.

Or Maybe she was expecting to meet a new doctor? Is it possible that she didn't even know the doctor's name? Is she that stressed?

This is so interesting!  So this Ghost Doctor - first off, died at a Hospital, but more importantly, he has COME ACROSS someone ELSE that has seen ghosts before!  

He tells Sam what he thinks is the reason that Sam can see Ghosts is because she was so close to death that she is connected to death.  

It’s very interesting - knowing that children can sometimes see ghosts, I wonder if it’s possible that if a child sees ghosts and then gets an injury like Sam’s that they’ll be able to knock ability loose and see ghosts?

Not that it matters - I do like the reasoning, BUT in that case (spoilers here: Someone ELSE that literally became a ghost and then became alive again, SHOULD ALSO see ghosts, then).  ALSO, in the pilot BEFORE she passes out, she can see them.  She sees Pete and Trevor looking all worried.  So, at that point, she ‘hadn’t died for three minutes’, so....

Anyway, very interesting that he’s seen it before.  I wish Sam came across others with the ability. This would be a very interesting storyline. One of the guests at the B&B can see ghosts and there's this like game going on of Sam and the guest pretending not to see them and then figuring it out.

Did he even give her a name?  Also, I love how causal he is about this - like “Oh yeah, it’s been about 85 years” as if to make it so that she FINALLY realizes that she’s talking to a ghost.  

I really think that's what he was doing (true or not fact), this was the easiest way to keep her calm and have her realize what she was doing - IE, talking to a ghost.

Side Note - I LOVE that he’s so CHILL about talking to a living about her sudden issues with ghosts that he doesn't appear to have said ‘hey, you’re talking to me therefore, you see ghosts’.  

In fact, I wonder where he would’ve gone from here if the living doctor hadn’t interrupted?

LMAO - “Oh, I suppose you want to see your living doctor now - there she is, I’ll hand you off to her.”

Also, the living doctor walking in and being like ‘so what’s the problem’ and the LOOK on Sam’s face is like FUCK.  

One thing I absolutely love is that if we go with AT LEAST 85+50 years, he probably grew up in Hetty’s time, but unlike Hetty, he doesn’t seem to have ANY issues with a woman as A) a doctor and B) as a job that isn’t ‘raising the children’.  This means, that despite being dead for a very long time, he’s progressed in a way that our ghosts in the mansion HAVEN’T.  

Is it because he’s in a hospital with the changes in technology and medicine?  Is it because he’s witnessed men and women accepting the changes to equals?  Is it because of the access to the livings that he’s had where the others haven’t?  

This may seem trivial, but I think it’s important because we see the same things with our ghosts - having Sam and Jay around introduced them to life in a way that they hadn’t been introduced to it in a long time.  At least by the time that Pete died, it was ‘the old lady that lived alone’ and even though Trevor and his bros came around sometimes - David calls it ‘the country estate’ and doesn’t think anyone’s been there to ‘get into Woodstone’s secret Drug Drawer’ and we know by Hetty’s very strict attitudes as well as Thor’s unchangingness and the way most of them are stuck in their times that life hasn’t been around them. 

We don’t know how long, but it seems that sometime between 1928 (the party Alberta died at) and 1985 (when Pete died) that activity there died.  At which point, there was no room to grow.  

I’ll bring it up later - with regards to certain other ghosts, but I just thought it was SO interesting that he’s so ... progressive compared to our ghosts.  

ANYWAY, I really like him and I wish we got a name or something.  

Side note - totally love that he was so convincing that Sam immediately is like “you know what - he knows his stuff, ghosts exist”.  

Thanks for reading :)

Feel free to chat :)

[imagine-you]

wip tag game

Rules: post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it!

tagged by the wonderful @seancekitsch and @magic-multicolored-miracle 💖💖

laf5 (living as foes 5)

2. billy headcanon request

3. barry&baby driver (I don't even know how this one started, but it's there lmao it's a crossover of the show barry and the movie baby driver...)

4. dawn of a new day (daybreak au, eli/reader)

5. good 4 u (st au, billy/reader)

6. here where i feel safe (kate bishop/reader)

7. lits1 (lost in the shadows, a lost boys au, david/reader)

8. look my way (sequel to love's strange) (billy/reader)

9. tatbilbau (to all the boys i've loved before au, a stranger things au) (it's going to somehow involve steve/reader, jonathan/reader, eddie/reader, billy/reader, and maaaybe robin/reader to round out the letters?? idk about the endgame)

10. this cruel wanting (this was somehow going to end up billy/reader/steve...but I didn't have much of a plan yet)

11. voice of rage and ruin (army of the dead au with lily/reader, because I'm in love with her)

12. wonderstruck (yelena/reader)

and of course, my other ongoing fics, which includes reach out and touch faith, waiting for the sun to go down, when skies go dark, and make all your demons be gone.

tagging: @thatpunkmaximoff @berkmansimagines @thran-duils @residentdormouse and any of my other writer friends who want to play, my mind totally blanked, so I'm sorry if I missed you 💖

[hurglewurm]

C- Can I read the coraline essay 😳?

ok but it’s Long so i’m putting most of it under a cut

lmao ahem. 

Promises of the Womb

Neil Gaiman’s Coraline presents a horror that takes the form of what is often the most comforting: a mother, and a home. The novel’s protagonist, the eponymous Coraline, is nearing the cusp of adolescence, and therefore slowly exiting the dependence that children have on their parents. As she struggles with the new distance between her and her parents, she also faces the Other Mother and the Other World, which invite her to re-enter her childhood state of dependence on her mother (only now her Other Mother)—to accept and become part of the space that the Other Mother has created, and thereby be reintegrated into the metaphorical womb. Because Coraline is of a liminal age, neither a helpless child nor yet an adolescent, reintegration into the metaphorical womb is both revolting and somehow appealing; revolting in how it would disintegrate Coraline’s identity and selfhood, and yet appealing in its promise of never again facing the stress of growing more independent and separate from her mother. 

The novel opens with Coraline in her original world, where she, as a child, feels silenced by adults, who do not make efforts to recognize her identity. This is especially seen in the mispronunciation of her name, which David Rudd identifies as a factor of Coraline’s “frustration of feeling neglected” by the adults around her (Rudd 164). Coraline often ineffectually protests: “It’s Coraline. Not Caroline. Coraline [….] I asked you not to call me Caroline. It’s Coraline” (Gaiman 2), only for her neighbours to continue calling her “Caroline”. Chloé Germaine Buckley argues further that the collective inability of her neighbours to say her name correctly signals that “ ‘Coraline,’ the ‘child,’ is a particularly tricky, unstable construct” (Buckley 71), and that she exists to them as “a figure who always emanates from and belongs to the adult imagination” (71), meaning they assume to know how she feels and what her name is based on their own expectations as adults speaking to a child. Coraline’s struggle being tied to her age is made explicit in her conversation with the police officer over the phone, and she “trie[s] extra hard to sound like an adult might sound, to make him take her seriously” (Gaiman 52); Coraline is aware of her age and how it makes people perceive her, and this frustrates her all the more, as she cannot do anything about it. 

In the Other World, however, this struggle is conspicuously absent, as Other Mr. Bobo and Other Misses Spink and Forcible speak Coraline’s name correctly before she even gives it to them; Other Mr. Bobo says, “Hello Coraline” when he sees her (30), and Miss Spink invites her on stage and says, “Now, Coraline, […] what’s your name?” (40). Furthermore, the Other World paints itself as appealing to Coraline by how much attention she gets from the adults there, particularly the Other Mother; despite Coraline’s wanting not to be treated as a child by the police officer, the Other World functions to soothe and contest the “fear that the increasing independence her real parents demand of her amounts to rejection and abandonment” (Gooding 396), as Richard Gooding puts it. While the real world simultaneously dismisses her for her youth and demands independence of her for her being suitably old enough to warrant it, the Other World provides an alternative: Coraline is invited to embrace her youth, to reside in a child’s bedroom with walls painted “in an off-putting shade of green and a peculiar shade of pink” (Gaiman 28), to play with “[a] whole toy box filled with wonderful toys” (28), and to wear “dressing-up clothes” and costumes that “she would love to have hanging in her own wardrobe at home” (67). In short, Coraline is invited to integrate into the space the Other Mother has created for her, free of the pressures of growing up, and to become her daughter: to take her place permanently in the Other Mother’s womb. 

Viewing the Other World as womb-like in more than a strictly metaphorical sense requires a certain putting aside of the novel’s descriptive language taken from Coraline’s perspective, which largely describes the Other characters as bug-like as they start to devolve: Miss Spink and Miss Forcible’s bodies are mashed together inside of a sac like a “spider’s egg case” (99), “stuck to the back wall like a slug” (98); the Other Father is “pale and swollen like a grub with thin, sticklike arms and feet” (108); Mr. Bobo is likened to an “enormous dead insect” (116); and the Other Mother is described as distinctly spider-like, with skin “the colour of a spider’s belly” (126), a predator to all the others. Rudd plays on the spider imagery in his article, describing Coraline as being in danger of becoming “trapped in the ‘other mother’s’ web, and ultimately absorbed” (Rudd 160). However, the bug-like descriptors are relegated to similes, meant to evoke emotions in the reader but not necessarily a strict likeness to bugs—in fact, the Other Mother’s eating of bugs (crunching) is not at all reminiscent of how a spider would trap its prey and liquefy it before consumption, and Buckley presents the Other Mother as having rather “predatory bird-like characteristics” (Buckley 66). 

It is in looking at the Other characters in the novel that the fetal elements become more apparent, painting the space where they reside as a womb. Gooding quotes Karen Coats in describing “the degenerate forms of Miss Spink and Miss Forcible” which now “resemble fetuses, suggesting an ‘infantile state of undifferentiation’ ” (Gooding 399), as they have “melted and melded together into one ghastly thing” (Gaiman 100). The Other Father, grublike though he may seem, is certainly no bug: his body is malleable like “pale clay” (109), and his most frightening aspect seems to be his mouth, which “open[s] in the mouthless face, strands of pale stuff sticking to the lips” (108), recalling a notion of Kristevian abject. Julia Kristeva defines the abject as “what disturbs identity, system, order. What does not respect borders, positions, rules” (Kristeva 4): the Other Father’s transgressive mouth, creating an opening in his body where there was none, is an example of this. The unidentified “strands of pale stuff sticking to the lips” further the feeling of abjection, as this substance is never properly identified—it could be parts of his amorphous clay-like flesh, or, if we explore the womb-like space and the process of reproduction, it could be breastmilk or semen. 

The Other World evokes abjection, as it does not respect the boundaries between bodies, as seen with Misses Forcible and Spink, with Mr. Bobo when his body becomes rats, and with the Other Father, whose skin is “tacky, like warm bread dough” (Gaiman 109), much unlike a body’s boundary is expected to be. This abject feeling is aggravated by likening the Other World to a womb, as it disturbs Coraline’s identity both as a growing child (and not a fetus) and as having come from another’s womb. However, the Other World does seem to have some kind of order to it, following Gooding’s observation of the real world of the novel (which the Other World mirrors) as rather concerned with “things being under other things” (Gooding 393). If one views the Other World as a body, then the old man upstairs is the eyes, being made up of rats, which the Other Mother “uses […] as her eyes and hands” (Gaiman 73); beneath that live Misses Spink and Forcible and the Other Mother, residing in the womb-space—Spink and Forcible especially, existing in their fetus-like state in a sac of “sticky, clinging whiteness” (100), once again evoking the abject through suspicious possibly-bodily substances; and beneath that in the cellar resides the Other Father, the only male figure in the Other World (aside from Mr. Bobo, who is made of rats, and the cat), taking the place of the genitals, as the hidden secret below. 

Furthering the notion of abjection and fluid boundaries, the idea of integration is at the core of the Other Mother’s desire for Coraline, as the cat explains: “ ‘She wants something to love, I think,’ said the cat. ‘Something that isn’t her. She might want something to eat as well. It’s hard to tell with creatures like that’ ” (Gaiman 63). For the Other Mother, to love and to consume are synonymous, as ultimately she would break down the boundaries between her body and Coraline’s and absorb her. It is impossible to say whether the Other Mother has a true stomach or a true womb, but I would argue that they would function in the same way: to hold something other than herself within her own body, and to integrate it until there is nothing remaining of its original selfhood. The result of such a process is seen in the ghost children trapped in the mirror, who warn Coraline: “She [the Other Mother] kept us, and she fed on us, until now we’ve nothing left of ourselves, only snakeskins and spider husks” (83). The ghosts are “faraway and lost” (81), unable to remember their names or even what gender they were in life, and Gooding asserts that the novel hinges on Coraline not becoming one of the ghosts by resisting integration with the Other Mother—on a more psychoanalytic level, on her “capacity to surmount an infantile desire for permanent (re)union with the mother” and resist the “regressive desire to disintegrate her subjectivity” (Gooding 397, Buckley 74). Coraline’s ultimate choice to resist integration and maintain her selfhood and identity is integral to her escape, as only she can save herself from the Other Mother: as Rudd puts it, “in order for a person to take up their place in the world, distinct from the mother figure who once provided all and everything, the maternal must be set apart” (Rudd 166).

In the end, completing the likeness to a body and a womb, Coraline’s escape from the Other World requires traversing the passage between the two worlds, which is “described […] in terms of a birth canal” (166): the wall is “warm and yielding” when Coraline touches it (Gaiman 133), and moments later is “hot and wet, as if she had put her hand in somebody’s mouth” (133). By escaping the womb through the birth canal, Coraline essentially performs her own birth, the ultimate and inevitable separation from one’s mother. Back in the real world, Coraline must still rid herself of the Other Mother’s disembodied hand, and she does so by enacting a performance, “reverting to a younger self, to one that still plays with dolls [….] affect[ing] an innocence she no longer possesses” (Rudd 167), playing at the youth that the Other World invited her to retain forever. Coraline then buries the hand in a hole; according to Freudian theory, the fear/desire of being buried alive evokes the memory of being in the womb (Gooding 403)—just as the Other Mother buried and re-buried her own mother (Gaiman 91), Coraline traps her Other Mother “down into the darkness of the well” (157), in an inescapable womb. 

Coraline explores the horror of growing older and more independent from one’s parents, and frames this horror as the threat of losing one’s subjectivity by being reintegrated into the womb. The Other World presents itself as a space where Coraline can release her anxieties of being neglected by the adults around her by accepting her place in the womb, where she never has to grow up or be separate from her mother again—and yet, as a womb, the Other World is also where unfinished, fetal creatures reside, evoking feelings of abjection in both the reader and Coraline as her identity and selfhood are threatened, and she ultimately defeats the Other Mother by performing the very youth and innocence she no longer has and trapping the hand in another womb.

Works Cited

Buckley, Chloé Germaine. “Psychoanalysis, ‘Gothic’ Children’s Literature, and the Canonization of Coraline.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 1, John Hopkins University Press, 2015, pp. 58-79.

Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. Harper Collins, 2008.

Gooding, Richard. “ ‘Something Very Old and Very Slow’: Coraline, Uncanniness, and Narrative Form.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, vol. 33, no. 4, John Hopkins University Press, 2008, pp. 390-407.

Kristeva, Julia. “Approaching Abjection.” Powers of Horror, translated by Leon S. Roudiez, Columbia University Press, 1982, pp. 1-27.

Rudd, David. “An Eye for an I: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline and Questions of Identity.” Children’s Literature in Education, vol. 39, no. 3, Springer, 2008, pp. 159-168.

[dragynkeep]

I saw that you did top 5 best female & male characters in rwby and why, so i was wondering could you do the same but for 5 rwby worst female & male characters you dislike and why.

luke did this ask before along with the best one so i’mma steal this for me.

worst female characters.

robyn hill  —  hands down one of the most annoying additions to the show. she is meant to be robin hood yet fails in the character’s motivations & ideals in every instance, her outfit / general design are clunky & poorly thought out, her personality has the exact desirability of hot garbage juice & she herself is just as appealing. the only slightly fun thing about robyn is her voice actress, the amazing christina vee & the potential she could’ve had that i really enjoy seeing be brought out in fanfics instead. in canon? robyn can go rot.

blake belladonna  —  our resident all lives matter queen who was meant to be a champion for all minorities watching the show, a bisexual icon & a shining example of an abuse survivor ... only to fail on all three. blake’s influence on the racism storyline only makes her come off as a privileged brat who would lecture those who are just trying to survive & blame them for the actions of a terrorist organization she was part of, & it was dropped as soon as her abusive ex was killed. her actions as an abuse survive are nonsensical at times. & blake wasn’t even confirmed to be bisexual representation until eight years into the show & she / her female love interest still aren’t canonically together while the cishet writers hide behind a slow burn excuse that was never applied to their m / f couples.

ruby rose  —  it sounds nonsensical to say this about our main character & i wouldn’t have put her on this before v7 & 8, but her favouritism by the narrative in those two volumes to the point the story would break it’s back to justify her drove me crazy. i was watching this character who we were meant to root for make mistake after mistake after mistake & hide behind her age & inexperience like a coward; like she hadn’t shoved her way into this war & rejected everyone around her who had experience & wanted to help because they didn’t want to do it her way. ruby behaved like a petulant child & i have no doubt that this isn’t going to change.

cinder fall  —  listen she was always a middling type of character for me, i didn’t hate her but i didn’t love her either. cinder was just cinder, a kind of flat antagonist who didn’t go anywhere; until they tried to make her go somewhere & in doing so had her repeat the same character arc like three times. her “backstory” that was just cinderella lazily copy & pasted eight years after people had been asking for it was the final nail in the coffin for me. they waited too long & got too lazy.

nora valkyrie  —  again, not really a character i thought i would’ve put on here after i really started to like her in volume 4 when she & ren finally began to get character development. they were kind of in the background which annoyed me but they weren’t being obnoxious so it was fine. i want to go back to v4 - 6 so bad lmao; nora in these two volumes has been horrendous. not only did she ignore all of ren’s boundaries when he was trying to ask for space, she thought the appropriate action to him asking for that space & struggling to vocalize it was to kiss him without consent. and then, she co opts his entire arc anyways for v8 & now it’s nora who wants the space & ren is being unreasonable, ren is forcing her boundaries, ren is in the wrong. fuck her stupid ass one liner backstory too. nora dropped so far on my shitlist because of her actions the last two volumes smh.

worst male characters.

qrow branwen  —  again much like ruby & nora; i never thought i’d put qrow on here but his behaviour in these last volume especially has just dropped my fondness for him all the way to the grave lmao. he acts so much like ruby, a petulant child who was told no & lost his favourite toy, while acting like he didn’t specifically break that toy. he went from someone who was level headed, if an absolute asshole to a whiny manchild who spent the entire volume crying in a jail cell about how he was gonna kill his dead boyfriend’s boss because he doesn’t wanna admit he got him killed. & then he forgot about that in the last five minutes to cry about his potentially dead nieces, which only left me thinking, where was your concern about them the rest of this volume qrow? so yeah. on the shitty character list you go buddy.

ghira belladonna  —  i would change my mind & make this dumbass number one but he’s always annoyed me so i’m more settled with that emotion whereas qrow is a new development. but ghira is literally worse than annoying, he’s a useless character who takes up space & actively worsens the plot & the character  —  mainly blake  —  that he’s connected to. everything from his useless pacificism to the fact he’s a privileged faunus living in a mansion while his people are in huts to the fact that he’s now retaken the helm at the head of the white fang like?? what about his mentality has changed & how will that prevent another terroristic faction raising up in result of his negligence towards their people in favour of his own comfort driven pacifism?

hazel rainart  —  sir, your motivation is hokey & your hair is dumb & your braid ribs are giving me nightmares. originally i didn’t have as much of an issue with hazel infantilizing his grown twin sister because i thought we were at least going to get some rebuttal to this man using her death to metaphorically & then physically beat on ozpin. but no, he was validated & then had the gall to use her name in order to guilt trip ozpin in the “ no more gretchens ” line  —  like he hadn’t created dozens of gretchens in mistral with tyrian? sir you are a mass murderer  —  & then went out like an ass in one of the laziest redemption arcs i’ve ever seen. bravo, you suck.

adam taurus  —  he’s really not the highest on this list because i recognize that this is more because of milk & kornflake’s white comfort bleeding into their writing of a marginalized man & less of actually him as a character. adam is a bastard but he’s so much of a hate sink that i can’t take him seriously or hate him because of these traits; if mkek told me he killed puppies as a hobby, i wouldn’t hate adam for that, i’d hate them for continually making him edgier & edgier while ignoring their own racism around his writing.

scarlet david  —  this one’s a little bit of a joke one but also, i just hate this catty fay gay. get back in the closet sir because your face annoys me & your attitude stinks. i’m renting the down with cis bus just to run him over. ♥