#post demise rituals

[gowtham-gowtham]

A Complete Guide to Online Cremation Booking Services

In today’s digital age, technology has transformed the way we approach almost every aspect of life. From shopping for groceries to booking a vacation, the convenience of online services is undeniable. This revolution has extended to the funeral industry as well, with platforms like ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com offering online cremation booking services. These services provide a seamless and dignified way to make end-of-life arrangements, ensuring peace of mind during emotionally challenging times.

What is Online Cremation Booking?

Online cremation booking is a service that allows individuals and families to schedule cremation services via a website or platform. Instead of visiting physical locations or making numerous phone calls, users can now manage arrangements from the comfort of their homes. Platforms like ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com offer user-friendly interfaces that guide you through the process step by step.

Benefits of Online Cremation Booking Services

Convenience With online booking, you can make arrangements anytime and from anywhere. This flexibility is especially valuable for families living far from the cremation site or those juggling multiple responsibilities.

Transparency Many online platforms, including ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com, provide clear information about services, pricing, and options. This transparency helps families make informed decisions without any hidden costs.

Time-Saving Traditional cremation arrangements can involve several in-person visits and lengthy discussions. Online services streamline the process, saving time and effort.

Customizable Options Online platforms often allow families to choose specific services, such as adding rituals or selecting urns. This ensures that the arrangements align with cultural and personal preferences.

Dignity and Privacy Making arrangements online ensures privacy, allowing families to handle sensitive matters discreetly and respectfully.

How to Book Cremation Services Online

Here is a step-by-step guide to booking cremation services through ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com:

Visit the Website Start by navigating to ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com. The homepage provides an overview of available services.

Explore Service Options Browse through the list of cremation packages, additional rituals, and other offerings. Each service includes detailed descriptions to help you understand what is included.

Fill Out the Booking Form Once you’ve selected a package, complete the online form with the required details, such as the deceased’s name, date, and location preferences.

Choose Additional Services You can customize the arrangements by selecting additional services like transportation, floral tributes, or religious rituals.

Review and Confirm Double-check all the information before proceeding to payment. Most platforms provide a secure payment gateway for transactions.

Receive Confirmation After completing the booking, you’ll receive a confirmation email or message with all the details. The team at ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com will then coordinate the arrangements as per your request.

Why Choose ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com for Online Cremation Booking?

ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com is a trusted name in the funeral services industry, known for its compassionate approach and efficient services. Here are some reasons why families prefer this platform:

Experienced Team: The platform is supported by professionals who understand the cultural and emotional nuances of end-of-life arrangements.

Comprehensive Services: From basic cremation to elaborate rituals, they offer a wide range of options to suit different needs.

24/7 Support: Their customer support team is available around the clock to address any questions or concerns.

Affordable Pricing: Transparent pricing ensures that families receive high-quality services without financial strain.

Tips for Using Online Cremation Booking Services

Plan Ahead: Whenever possible, explore service options in advance to avoid last-minute stress.

Check Reviews: Look for testimonials and reviews to gauge the reliability of the platform.

Communicate Clearly: Provide accurate details during the booking process to ensure seamless arrangements.

Seek Assistance: If you’re unsure about any aspect, don’t hesitate to contact the support team for guidance.

Conclusion

Online cremation booking services, such as those offered by ivormadomsanthoshswamy.com, provide a modern, efficient, and compassionate solution for end-of-life arrangements. By leveraging technology, these platforms ease the burden on grieving families, allowing them to focus on honoring their loved ones’ memories. Whether you’re planning in advance or need immediate assistance, these services ensure that the process is handled with care and dignity.

[a-dose-of-memphis]

navialess behavior.

[spnbabe67]

I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight

Kinktober Day 29: Cockwarming

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Fem Original Character

Warnings: Smut, PiV, Feels

Summary: Post-hunt cuddles turn into something more

Word Count: 1486

Authors Note: Title based on the song (I Just) Died In Your Arms by Cutting Crew

I've alluded to this 'ritual' before in a couple of my Dean x Tori fics. I've always wondered how, exactly, the aftermath of a hunt would go. A lot of adrenaline and endorphins are probably running through the body after literally fighting for your life against horrific creatures. It's a fictional scenario, but I wanted to try my hand at writing what it would be like (with a smutty twist because it is kinktober after all)

Tag List: @zepskies @king-of-milf-lovers @nightxcreature

One of Tori’s favorite places to be is in Dean’s arms. Wrapped up in them she felt safe, a feeling that was fleeting when you live a life of constant danger running from things most people only thought existed in their darkest nightmares. She’d lacked a home for years, and it had taken a long time to get to this point, to where Dean, and by extension Sam and the Bunker, had become that home for her. That her room she shared with Dean was hers and that there was no check out time she had to adhere to, no key to return at the end of the stay. Permanency, it was a weird thing, but one she didn’t often take for granted. 

Even when the hunts went so smoothly, all three of them moving in sync, the after was a tender moment, the adrenaline dropping off sharply from their systems. After the showers, after the change of clothes, Tori always gravitated to Dean, both of them tangled up in a Gordian knot of limbs in their bed. 

Tonight was no different. Tori and Dean both had trudged to the showers immediately after arriving back at the Bunker. All three of them were covered head to toe in blood, dirt, sweat and Tori didn’t even want to think about what else coated her skin. The eldritch horror they’d managed to gank had spewed some death spray upon its demise, and she’d been right in its path of destruction. No matter how hard she scrubbed, she couldn’t seem to get the putrid smell out of her nose, convinced some of its guts must be shoved up there. 

Tori had heard Dean’s shower go off long before hers, knowing her lover would just meet her back in their room. She toweled off dry, doing her best to wring out most of the moisture from her mane before tossing the towel in the hamper, wrapping a fuzzy robe around her body for the walk from the bathroom. Dean was sitting propped up against the headboard when Tori finally shuffled back into the room.

“I feel so much better it’s not even funny.” Tori sighed, hanging her robe on the back of the closed bedroom door. 

“I bet.” Dean cracked his eyes open, watching her toy with her hair, a nervous tic he’d picked up on.

Tori tugged on a dark strand she’d coiled around her index finger before letting it go. She needed a trim, the fraying ends falling just above her hips.

“That stuff smelled so awful. I felt bad for you and Sam havin’ to ride back with me.” Tori chuckled.

But the momentary jest faded and she took a deep breath, feeling the rush of the hunt, the adrenaline that had been coursing through her quickly evaporating, leaving her feeling almost empty. 

Dean, ever the observant one, opened his arms as she turned back around to face him. “Hey, c’mere.” His voice was warm and placating, an invitation as much as it was an attempt at reassurance.

She quickly plaited her hair, securing it with an elastic before walking over to Dean’s side of the bed. His warm hands fell to her hips as she straddled his waist, their bodies pressed together as much as physically possible. Tori buried her face in his neck as Dean wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her close, breathing her in. The ritual of it, this getting so close but feeling so far, wasn’t new. It was a way of collectively dealing with the loss of adrenaline, working through the near-death experiences, remembering that despite the spattered blood and gore behind their eyes when they fell asleep that the other was still here. 

Tori giggled into Dean’s neck as she felt something poke against her inner thigh. Dean’s hands grasped her hips in a mock scolding way.

“You’re sitting naked on my lap, what else do you expect, Tor?” Dean stammered, smoothing his palms up and down the tops of her thighs.

“It’s fine, Babe.” Tori couldn’t help but smile at the blush painting his neck and face a pretty shade of pink. 

“Tor, where-” Dean started as Tori lifted herself up, but quickly shut up as she reached behind her, grasping his length, holding it steady as she sheathed him inside her. “Fuuuck.”

“There,” Tori breathed, wrapping her arms back around his waist, resting her head back on his shoulder. “That’s better.”

In its own way this served its own role in the ritual. Neither one of them could ever get close enough to truly fill that dip in adrenaline and cortisol, and it wasn’t the first time this need for closeness ended with Dean inside her. It was about as close as they could get without physically crawling under the others' skin to find a place to call home, even when that was all Tori’s body was screaming at her to do. 

Dean’s hands explored her body in smooth, sweeping lines. Up her thighs from her knees, across her hips, up her back and down again. They sat like that for longer than Tori cared to keep track, letting their bodies reregulate to the rhythm of the other; their breaths were nearly in sync, his heartbeat thudding under her ear. Slowly Tori could that jittery and on-edge feeling subside, her body exiting fight or flight mode, leaving exhaustion in its wake

Tori could feel her eyelids start to grow heavy, but the not-so-small fact that Dean’s cock was nestled inside her kept the sleepy feeling just far enough away. She knew the same subtle restless feeling was tugging at Dean by the way he kept shifting under her. Granted, Dean wasn’t exactly good at sitting still, the untreated ADHD prohibited her lover from sitting for long periods of time without something to keep that racing mind occupied. Maybe his legs were starting to go numb, her own had fallen asleep long before. 

She gave an experimental roll of her hips, the movement subtle and testing, unable to conjure up enough energy to truly move atop him. Still, her movement had Dean’s wandering hands still on her waist, fingers curling into her skin as he let out a surprised sound from the back of his throat. Dean caught on quick enough as Tori ground against him, simply shifting her hips back and forth enough to create friction against her clit, sliding just enough on his cock to have both of their breathing start to go ragged. Tori dragged her lips up the side of his neck and along his jaw, stubble scraping against them, until she found his mouth. 

The kiss was just as lazy as their hips, Dean’s tongue sweeping into her mouth with languid strokes in the same breath as his hand coming up to cup her face. He always touched her with such conviction. He cherished her in a way that made Tori feel so damn special, so complete. He was never greedy, taking only as much as she gave him with not so much as a whisper of discontent. Even now, when both of them were bone tired, he let her set the pace. Tori was half convinced he’d kneel before her and worship at her feet if she asked, not that she ever would, nor would she want him too; they’d both been on their knees for too long and for the wrong reasons, never again, not even for her, would Tori want him needlessly down on his knees again.

Slowly, that pit in her belly grew, her movements becoming incrementally more animated as she felt the sensations building. Her hand came up to cup his face, her other resting on his chest, palm pressed skin to skin over his heart as she rolled her hips against his. Tori panted into Dean’s mouth feeling that tug grow tighter and tighter. His hand on her hip gave her an encouraging squeeze, the reassurance pushing her over the edge. Dean tugged her close, supplementing her climax by tilting his hips up into her, chasing his own high which came not long after. 

Dean carefully maneuvered them back down the bed, sliding himself out of her. His arms wrapped around her middle kept her lounged on top of him, continuing the lazy lines up and down her back. 

“I love it when we do this.” Tori muttered into his chest.

“Have sex.” Dean joked, earning him a swat to his arm.

“No, jackass.” Tori crinkled her nose at him. “You know what I mean.”

“I do.” Dean chuckled, the deep sound resounding through her body. 

Tori smiled softly at him, leaning up to peck a kiss to his lips. “I love you.”

Dean’s hand slid up her back, cupping the nape of her neck. “I know.”

“My God you’re a dork.”

“You love it.” Dean grinned at Tori.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Tori.”

[violetscanfly]

I doodled a bunch of a little mermaid au stuff last night with no intention to post it but now I'm posting it anyway and making it your problem

This is not even all of it, gonna post the rest later

Gonna ramble about this under the cut cause even tho it started as I wanna draw wwx as merfolk it somehow developed somewhat of a plot??

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

So the beginning is pretty self explanatory but some background stuff would be the Jiang and Wen are merfolk but the Wen were discovered by humans and hunted down to just the remnants that wwx protects in canon, and the Jiang (and presumably other underwater clans I haven't thought about) also shun the Wen remnants and blame them for being discovered. Wwx disagreed with the others about the Wen being responsible of their own demise and left the Jiang to live with them. They aren't in danger anymore though, otherwise wwx wouldn't just fuck off to the surface even if he would come back.

The Lan, Jin and Nie clans are human and the characters hold similar social statuses as in canon. (Also I was just drawing with no idea about the world and just wanting to forward the story and the clothes definitely reflect that being western but the hairstyles being from canon and the Lans still having their ribbons and such.)

Wwx meets and saves lwj similar to the mousehouse version, but him turning human doesn't involve a third party or a time limit because his goal isn't to be human full time. He does a ritual that turns him human but it requires a sacrifice in exchange and he gives his voice. He can turn back at will but if he does he'll have to do the ritual all over again to change into a human again. His voice also returns when he's in his original form.

Wwx has seen lwj before saving him and has a little crush and after saving him he finds lwj's ribbon floating around in the ocean and not knowing the importance of it takes it as a lil memento of him. (Hence lwj in the sketches not having it.)

Also the merfolk are a lot more fishy than the average fairytale mermaids, with having gills, webbed hands etc, and due to gills wwx can't stay above the surface for long unless he's neck deep in water, same with speaking, he can speak above the surface for a bit until he runs out of air.

So after lwj finds human!wwx on the beach thinking he's been washed up from a shipwreck he brings wwx home and they find ways to communicate, he teaches wwx to write and they both learn sign language together and go on cute dates and have a good time and fall in love. Lxc is happy for his little brother but also worried because their uncle had been planning on an engagement for lwj and mm and is not happy about wwx suddenly popping up.

That's about it around these drawings, there'll be more to come later. This turned out way longer than I thought but if you read the whole thing I hope you had fun.

[ashbeneviento]

Donna Beneviento slight AU Fic idea that I had but have no spoons to fully write about myself but still wanted to share-

Throughout the game, there’s hints that point to Donna’s family taking root just outside the village long before Mother Miranda arrived. Her collection of books and the way her home is set up reminds me of Secret Societies or cults, along with the symbolism of hanging corn/animal mounts along the wall. So who’s to say the Beneviento’s weren’t some powerful cult Miranda took inspiration from AND also sought them as a threat? Or waited until the family birthed daughters instead of sons to fufill her plans?

After the events of her sister and parent’s untimely demise (or was it?) Donna, being raised by her family’s cult or secret society (prehaps even a coven, based on her Sun and Moon symbolism) hatched a plan. In the game, Donna’s spare bedroom upstairs showcases a book titled: The Decline And Fall Of The Demon King. This can be based off the real book, “The Downfall Of The Demon King” where the synopsis is: "In the beginning, four beings ruled the world. They call themselves Entities. These creatures use their immense power to protect mortals from beasts and nature itself. And in return, the mortals built cities and shrines around them. For centuries, the world was at peace, until the fifth Entity was born. They called him the Demon King. It is said that his power was so dark and fearsome he could end the world. Terrified of the Demon's King strength, the four Entities combined their power and imprisoned him for all eternity. With the Demon King defeated, everyone lived happily ever after. At least that's how it was supposed to go…”

Maybe the Beneviento clan always birthed two sons, the women always being married in. This would prevent the events of the “Fifth Entity” from occurring, and the four “Entities” happened to be relative to the original “kings” we see in the game. (Images found at the bottom of this post)

The original four families being Berengario, Lord Cesare, Guglielmo, and Uncle Nichola. Canon states this: “Donna Beneviento was born into the gentry of House Beneviento sometime during the 20th century, a family with ancestral links to Berengario, a man rumored in folklore to have been an ancient mutant who settled the region with three other houses from which the Dimitrescu, Moreau and Heisenberg families are descended.”

Because Miranda knew this, she hatched a plan to destroy the other three houses by eliminating the families, leaving one relative unaware of their family lore as a means to keep them loyal to HER and leaving the Beneviento’s for last, as they were beings who may have inherited mutations from Berengario. That’s why when Donna and Claudia were born, daughters instead of sons..the events of the fifth entity (Mother Miranda) set in, and she was the last to be adopted into her cult.

But Donna is obviously very intelligent, still aware of the “prophecy” because her family wasn’t destroyed until she was older (Miranda couldn’t use Claudia like originally planned because the cadou killed her). And by secretly letting the other Lords aware of said prophecy using her powers, they all hatched a plan to fake being loyal to Miranda and their deaths by Ethan. This is why the megamycete didn’t fully use Rose as a vessel because it couldn’t produce enough energy for Miranda’s ritual, and she was ultimately defeated. Donna, now even more powerful than before by “stealing” Miranda’s gift of the cadou was able to turn their deaths into an illusion.

I’d also like to think Angie uses part Donna’s cadou, part soul to be animated- and the other dolls are created using only the souls of her relatives which is why they don’t speak. They were already dead, meanwhile Donna was not, yet it caused her to die somewhat to be able to pull a ritual of “possession” for Angie. This is why her eyes are pale and grey, a mimicry of what happens to the eyes after death.

Her facade of being a reclusive and shy woman leads Miranda to believe the Duke would never do business or interact with her, and is the only Lord where he does not show up to in the game. The Duke may be an old friend to the Beneviento’s and helps the “four entities” to defeat Miranda, given his interests in obtaining such rare items such as their crystal corpses. He would have all the items needed to help transport them to a different place undetected. (Again, the crystal corpses are just hallucinations caused by Donna and they aren’t actually dead)

Some other ideas I had for this AU was that instead of feeding on blood, fish, or nothing at all.. Donna fed on souls. This would match her constant dark, macrbe energy perfectly. She’s close to the dead, her family is an ancient cult/coven..it all makes sense 🤷🏻‍♀️

Sure, there’s tea cups set about her house in game and even a kitchen.. and maybe she enjoys human food to an extent but her energy comes from souls. The way she gets this is by trapping poor unsuspecting villagers who disrespect her/are bad people into other dolls, transferring their “lives” into puppets to do her bidding while also feeding from them which is why she makes so many of them.

Anyways that’s my idea rambles, feel free to share your thoughts and if you happen to use this in a fic please tag me because I’m desperate to read it 🥲 I just have no clue how to flesh it out but really needed to get it out of my system lol

(Pics from “The Four Entities and Original kings” section of this post)

[utilitycaster]

I’ve been thinking about Laudna, and the ways she’s not very well fleshed out, and Ashton being vocally anti god and nobody in the party being very pro god. I think it’s weird that Laudna is not more pro god, at least pro the dawnfather or everlight? Like she grew up in Whitestone, a very sacred and pretty religious city. And then 30 years later she was brought back to life explicitly by the skill of a highly trained and powerful cleric. Do you think this is just a case of Marisha not thinking about it that way, or has she made Laudna more neutral on purpose? I just think it’s (in addition to weird) a missed opportunity

so here's something I actually believe strongly: I don't think it's important for Bells Hells to have an explicitly pro-god person. They did, with FCG, and they do again with Braius, for what it's worth, but like...Percy is from Whitestone and his attitude towards the gods is largely "I'm not particularly interested in them nor respectful towards them, and I'm going to go do my own thing." The vibe of Whitestone has been very much one of cultural Dawnfather worship, but not everyone will necessarily develop deep faith as a result.

Similarly, much as I just pointed out that Ashton misplaces a lot of blame of the actions of mortals onto the gods because they're around to be mad at and his parents are dead, I don't think it's unrealistic for Laudna to think of her resurrection as the work of Pike, not of the Everlight (and, to be totally fair, it is at least in part, because resurrection from clerics post-Divergence only comes from the gods working through mortals). We've had a lot of resurrections before, and none of the rest of Vox Machina became worshipers of the Everlight. Vex was technically brought back by a cleric of Vesh, though Vax's offer to the Raven Queen was instrumental in the success of the ritual, and she worships neither.

My issue with the anti-god position is that for everyone in Bells Hells except Dorian, it boils down to petulantly throwing a genocidal tantrum because someone else got a present and you didn't. Like, just because someone never gave you anything doesn't mean you should actively pursue their demise.

Now: do I think more should have been done with Laudna? of course. From what I understand (and I plan on purchasing the ebook and reading it this weekend) WDB is an inopportune marriage of Khaw's overcooked dark 'n' edgy fanfic prose with Laudna running around aimlessly for 30 years, occasionally abducting children and then wondering why people are mad about that, so like, clearly, there was considerable room for improvement. However, I'd have addressed this by like, making her a wizard, or having literally anything interesting happen in her backstory after she died, or not bringing Delilah into it and instead having a cooler patron whom she actually wanted to work with. And with regards to her position on the gods, honestly I feel the problem is that no one really came in with a character with a realized position on the gods, and then found themselves in the You Need To Have An Extremely Considered Positions On The Gods Campaign and they sort of scrambled or went with a ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. That's not specific to Laudna at all, so I wouldn't put any more blame on her than any other cast member, and again it goes back to "hey Matt, if you want to tell this story with any serious heft and meaning to it, you need to give your players more of a heads-up than 'pulpier.'"

[grecowitch]

Summer Solstice Deities and Festivities

Summer Solstice/Καλοκαίρι/Θέρος/ Litha Blessings to my Northern Hemisphere friends! 🌞

Today also happens to be Arrephoria (Ἀρρηφόρια), a festival in honour of Athena. More on that later in the post!

Some info about the summer-related deities in the graphic:

☀️Auxo (Αὔξω) is one of the Horae (Ὧραι), and the goddess and personification of summer. She is also a protectoress of vegetation, growth, and fertility.

☀️Theros (Θέρος) is another personification of summer and is usually depicted as a winged boy holding an ear of grain in one hand and a sickle in the other. Theros is the word for summer in Ancient Greek.

☀️Athena (Ἀθηνᾶ) is the Olympian goddess of wisdom and warfare. Her main festival is the Panathenaia, which was celebrated during Hekatombaion in midsummer. The solstice also starts off with Arrephoria. Sinoika is yet another celebration during the summertime that honours her.

☀️Apollo (Ἀπόλλων) is the Olympian god of sunlight, healing, music, and poetry.

☀️Helios ( Ἥλιος) is the Titan god and personification of the sun. He is also the god of eyesight and oaths.

What I Did Today

I decorated my altar for the solstice and featured summer deities on the center of it.

I ate a (mostly) Mediterranean meal outside in the sunshine: kalamata olive spread, anaheim peppers, & extra virgin olive oil on gluten-free toast, gigantes beans with feta, and Persian cucumbers sprinkled with Greek oregano and paprika. 😋

I also did a lot of research to put together this post. That honestly took up most of my day. 😆

And now onward to Arrephoria!

Arrephoria (Ἀρρηφόρια) stems from the words "ἀρρητον" (mystery) and "φέρω" (I carry/bring). It is a midsummer fertility festival that honours Athena and takes place on the first day of the Estival Solstice.

In Ancient Athens, two young girls from aristocratic families were elected to reside as arrephoroi (άρρήφοροι: virgin acolytes of Athena Polias) at the Arrephorion on the Acropolis for a year at a time. Their main responsibilities included maintaining Athena's sacred olive tree and with the aid of other women, weaving Athena's new peplos.

On the evening of Arrephoria, the girls donned in white clothing placed what Athena's priestess gave them (a mystery item in closed chests) atop their heads. Then, they both carried the chests down (without looking at the items) to the temenos (τέμενος: holy grove) of Aphrodite via a concealed stairway inside the north wall and proceeded to carry something else (possibly dew from the spring) back up to the Acropolis.

With Hekatombaion (the 1st is the Athenian New Year) around the corner, Arrephoria also served as a "tying up" of the old year, ensuring nothing was carried over into the new one.

What you can do for Arrephoria:

📑finish any unfinished projects

👕declutter (i.e. donate clothing you no longer need)

🧹if you didn't clean your altar(s) for Kallynteria, now is the time to do it

💧pour a libation of dew or water for Athena

🍱have a hearty feast and offer some to Athena

*Kallynteria and Plynteria were two rituals that prepared for Arrhephoria.

The myth the ritual itself is based on:

Kekrops (Κέκροψ), the first mythical king of Athens, had three daughters named Aglauros (Ἄγλαυρος), Erse (Ἕρση), and Pandrosos (Πάνδροσος) - each name referring to dew. One night, Athena gave them a closed basket. While she forbade them to open it, Aglauros' and Herse's curiosity got the better of them, so they took a peek, only to see a baby (Ericthonios, Hephaestus' mysterious son).

Seeing as they broke her trust, Athena punished them by making snakes appear out of the basket, merely to scare them. Startled, the two girls jumped off the Acropolis and met their untimely demise.

Pandrosos didn't partake and was spared. Eventually, a shrine was errected in her name (located next to the sacred olive tree). Therefore, on Arrephoria, Pandrosos (in addition to Athena) were commemorated, and the two arrephoroi fulfilled the unfinished duty of the other two.

Sources: "Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion" by Matthew Dillon, Hellenion.com: Arrephoria, Archaeology.org: Acropolis Arrephorion Restoration

[justawanderer]

Malec fic ideas that will never be written (from me) but should be remembered for posterity and are up for adoption:

If anything here inspires you, please tag me!

1) The life debt

-a warlock is cursed to slowly decay into nothingness but cannot actually die until all of their life debts are repaid owes Magnus a life debt.

-they do not live in NY and their mental faculties are failing so they nab Alec off the street as he is on his way to the Hunter’s Moon immediately following Valentines demise (so yeah they are broken up)

-the warlock forces some type of spell/potion/ritual on Alec that will turn him immortal-and also possibly a Downworlder-but slowly

-Alec is restrained and in and out of consciousness and has empathy for the warlock but also tries to continuously barter for release (would have lots of angst here “Magnus wouldn’t want this” “we’re not together” “let me try to help you instead”)

-the Scooby gang would be frantically unable to get to Alec because he’s being held on tiny island in the middle of nowhere

-they get to him post transition after either Ithuriel/raziel/lucifer/angel intervenes and finds him and helps get him back

-when they get to island the warlock dies in Magnus’ arms deliriously saying “you’re welcome”

-Alec has to be slowly rehabbed/the world has to figure out what to do with him (but gently as he was a victim)

-Malec emotional reunion

2) What Happens in Vegas

(This is Malec NOT Malace)

-Magnus and Jace wake up in Las Vegas after a night out to find themselves married (they were strangers before)

-They have to drag themselves back to NY where their lawyer friends (Alec and Ragnor) agree to handle the divorce but not after being insufferable about their friends faux pas

-due to circumstances the two friend groups keep getting thrown together

-Malec ends up together

-Jace is a wild card but would prefer Jimon in some fashion and a very sassy Ragnor

3) Naval Officer Alec

(Y’all are stupid not making him a Naval Officer-not enlisted but an actual officer as that is what he is)

-Alec gets ROTC scholarship to university not wanting to use parents money and has to serve 4 years after

-he serves his navy tenure and after 4years and a deployment has a house and is going to Law School

-Magnus at close school (or same school) for different PHD degree but bartends on weekends for cash and something to do

-Malec banter and flirting and grad school life(but like their in mid to late 20’s

-bonus if in SoCal

[nyxx-nth]

Been working on my personal canon and taking some lovecraftian influence because I love me some cosmic horror and eldritch beings!

Here's a little hodgepodge of my current thoughts:

There are five "layers" to reality: physical realm, dream realm, universes, the gate, and the void.

The physical realm is where the earth is - where most of the characters live, and most story takes place.

The dream realm contains beings that either wish to ascend to the void, descend to the physical realm, or interact with the physical realm/other realms/universes. (There are also ones with no care either way)

The universes layer is pretty self-explanatory. It's basically just other universes with their own physical and dream realms.

The gate is what separates the above from the void. The gate itself is one of the elder gods.

The void contains the elder gods that have surpassed any need for the other realms, and very few have any desires for them either. They are beyond human comprehension and limits.

The elder gods are able to be contacted only using something that is connected to them, and only the one it is connected to can be contacted with it. They are "sympathetic" to those who contact them with plea for something and often will answer. However, as they are so far removed from human morality and "sympathy", these answers are never what is desired.

Though this is all present in the entirety of my canon, it doesn't get very explored in depth anywhere except for Gregory's lore and Timothy's lore. It does come up more in PIE than anywhere else outside of those two, but it's not nearly as delved into.

Timothy contacted an elder god in pursuit of more knowledge in attempt to find a way to achieve their greatness/power while remaining in the physical realm and got more than he bargained for. The elder gods contain knowledge too much and too incomprehensible for the human mind to possibly contain and decipher, and so he went mad from it. His desire to find a way to utilize the power of the elder gods for humanity in the physical realm morphed into an obsession with the idea of ascension that eventually led to his demise.

Gregory learned about the "layers" of reality and the universe, the existence of the elder gods and other cosmic beings, and much more from his father. Like Timothy, Gregory has traveled to other physical and dream realms (and even slain beings of the dream realms). He has furthered his father's research, but unlike him, he refuses to make contact with an elder god in plea himself. He tempers his thirst for knowledge with the belief that there are some things we are simply not meant to know.

In acknowledgment of Gregory "consuming" his father's ritual attempt to ascend (there is too much there to explain in this already long post I fear LMAO), the elder god that gifted Timothy with knowledge gifts Gregory with the means to utilize a fraction of the power of the elder gods. In doing so, Gregory has "opened his eyes" and now can perceive more than the average human, as well as withstand more of the incomprehensible.

The reason Gregory doesn't receive more than he bargained for like Timothy did is because he didn't plea to the elder gods and receive a direct gift like Timothy, but rather was presented with the means to achieve that fraction of greatness himself by one of them. I hope that makes sense. I hope ANY of this post makes sense, actually LMAO. It's all pretty convoluted and vague, I fear 😓

Beings from the dream realm can descend to the physical realm and anchor themselves there utilizing blood from that physical realm (often from the source of copious human sacrifice). If they are "killed" in the physical realm, they don't really die, but rather ascend back to the dream realm and will require more blood to return.

The Housekeeper is a child of an elder god who is trapped within his own personal dream realm. He wishes to free himself from his realm and travel freely between all universes, acting as he pleases. I'm still undecided on why he was sealed within his realm and exactly who or what sealed him there.

Stardust Sprinkleshine is a being from a dream realm who uses his cult to descend to the physical realm so he can interact with and utilize it for his own gain.

Both Housekeeper and Stardust Sprinkleshine have more cosmic forms but take on forms that are easier for humans and such to handle.

I'm thinking the BYW timeline and the Jennies and some other dimensions and stuff are probably located within the "layer" of other universes.

PIE and some others had some knowledge of the existence of other, as they called them, "dimensions" but PIE did not understand the full reality until Ghost and Gregory reunited and Gregory taught them about some of it.

I'm not completely 1000000% set in stone on all of this, but it's definitely looking pretty concrete right now. Maybe I'll talk about it again if I have more developments lol

[copiousloverofcopia]

Hey there Ghesties!!!

Here is something a bit unexpected that literally just came pouring out of me after talking with my ghestie, @cardinal-copia-popia, and here it is for you all to enjoy as well...

ITS ALL ANGST in this one ghesties, no smut this time!

Commissions are OPEN, please see pinned post for Carrd info!

All Just For Show

Papa Emeritus IV has reached the final show of the ReImperatour and you know what's coming next...

Also available HERE on AO3!

Read below the cut!

The roar of the crowd was overwhelming as you stood quietly to the left of the stage. Your lips still warm from the touch of Papa’s kiss. Tears, pricking relentlessly at your eyes, as your chest tightened up against your breath. Everyone knew it was coming, and while you couldn't change it—it did not make it easier for you. 

“Did you really think we would leave you without a goodnight kiss?" Copia asked the crowd, ready to serenade them with his father’s song. You blinked and a single tear fell from the beads collecting on your lashes. Swallowing back the pain as you watched him, ever so magnificent on the stage. A presence that rivaled his brothers, and a voice that was nothing short of lustrous perfection. He was not only the people’s Papa, becoming so beloved among the fans, he was your Papa. 

As the song continued your heart began to race within your chest. Pounding behind your breast with the powerful thrust of an engine. The sweat collecting in the small of your back as you waited for the moment the music would begin to fade. The inevitable, drawing closer with each strum of the guitar and note sung. 

Then it happened—the moment came when Dew and Phantom’s guitars began to wane. Swiss dropping to the floor of the stage above them. Thrashing around and ripping at his helmet. Snarling at the crowd before turning his sights to Copia. 

The delicious ghoul reached into his vest and pulled from it a dagger. The blade, catching the lights from the rafters as he crept across the stage. The whole ritual audience, catching on as they stopped to watch in both horror and awe. Their screams and cheering, filling your ears like the screeching of banshees. The sound, causing your tears to spill faster now than you could ever hope to stop.

In one swift motion, Swiss pounced on Copia. Drawing back the dagger and driving it into him. Over and over in front of the crowd. The thick, rich spattering of blood covering the stage in a red glow. Your heart was broken, the scene shattering to all who also stood in the crowd—both of you powerless to change it. You clutched tight to the pillar beside you, hoping it would give you the strength to endure, but you were already crumbling inside.

It was no secret that your Papa’s demise was coming. The Ministry determined that Copia’s reign would end as all others before him, but now seeing it played out before you, was more than you could bear. Dropping to your knees, face buried in your hands, just as the crew pulled Copia’s body off to the side. A new song beginning to play as Bishop Mary Goore was led out onto the stage. Taking up the mic and bringing forth the new era of Ghost to the masses. Your stomach, turning as the crowd began howling and cheering once more. 

You began to tremble–your whole body shaking at what you had witnessed. The ache inside your chest, unlike anything you had ever felt before. The composure you held for yourself, now completely lost as you continued to sob. The tears falling to the ground—their sound cloaked by the music continuing to play. 

“Amore?” came a voice from behind you. A man standing in the darkness, revealed only for a moment by the quick passing of the spotlight.

“Cope?” you asked, watching as he ducked down beside you. Wiping his face of the smear of paints and sweat with a towel.

“Amore, what is wrong?” Copia asked you as he pulled you against his chest. Your breathing, slowing as you listened to the sound of his strong, still beating, heart.

“Oh Cope it was awful.” you cried against him, covering yourself in the faux blood that had been saturating his chest. Copia squeezed you tight, bringing his lips to the crown of your head. Kissing you and breathing in the scent of your hair.

“It was hard for me too, but we always knew this day would come…though I think Swiss may have enjoyed it too much.” he nervously chuckled, reminding you of things you already knew.

“I know but…”

“But what amore?” he asked, titling your chin up to face him. Staring into your eyes as if he could see the pain, you still felt deep down inside. 

“I never want to watch you die again!” you cried, Copia giving you a soft smile. Kissing you passionately as you melted into him. The warmth of his skin reminding you he was real. Alive and well, as he held you in his arms. The blubbering mess that you were, proving to him just how much he meant to you. When he released his lips from yours, he took in a deep breath before he continued to speak.  

“I know…I know…but it is time for the next guy and this is how it's done you know? They expect a performance…and amore…you know that after it’s all said and done, this was all just for show.” 

[legobiwan]

A few more random Stan and Ford thoughts that build off of previous posts I've made in the last few days. It's fun speculating and delving into the sub-subtext of their actions and relationship. (And then it's time to WRITE).

"Thank You"

So I mentioned the tags of this post that I feel Stan's preoccupation with getting his brother to say "thank you" goes far beyond just acknowledging the thirty-year sacrifice Stan made to bring Ford back. As mentioned, Stan has a tendency to imagine himself in heroic circumstances, in situations where he is thanked by grateful family and community members, where he is acknowledged and through those two words, is told that he has value and is loved (even if his imagined methods of getting those two words out of people feels somewhat transactional - unsurprising given the way Filbrick treated him in his youth).

Anyway, Stan holds up the entire zodiac just to hear Ford say the words "thank you," even if they were forced. We know Stan is feeling once again that Ford will be vaunted as the hero and Stan pushed aside as a nobody should the zodiac succeed (despite the blame for Weirdmageddon falling partially on Ford to begin with).

But I think there's another layer here.

Stan's not 100% convinced the zodiac is going to work. He knows his brother is a genius but Ford's track record with these things isn't exactly pristine, even if his persona would present as otherwise. If we take the idea that "thank you" is really a way of saying "I love and value you," in Stan's mind, and if we assume Stan halfway believes they're all about to die, the zodiac notwithstanding...

It may be that - subconsciously or not - that Stan is holding up the ritual to hear his brother say "thank you" (translation: "I love you") for the first (and what may be the last) time in forty years. And yes, maybe it's about Ford getting all the credit and being the hero, but Stan just might want to hear his brother utter those words of affection - however forced - just once before they all horribly at the hands of a a three-sided, polygonal demon. In essence, Stan's dying wish is to hear his brother say "I love you." (And this makes the scene post-memory gun all the more painful, Ford gathering his brother in his arms, calling him a hero in the way Stan would have always wanted to hear, that coded language for "I love you" that a memory-wiped Stan would have no way of understanding).

Breaking the Portal

In another post the other day, I talked about the audacity of Ford worrying that Stan may break the Portal if he comes to Gravity Falls, the very thing that Ford should have done from the outset after learning of Bill's true nature.

It's interesting that in the same paragraph, Ford writes in the "Bros Code" he and Stan had devised during their childhood, wondering if he has been too harsh all these years.

We know Ford is basically incapable of destroying his own research, despite the fact it could spell the demise of his entire dimension. Hell, the entire time we know Ford through the show and the books, he never once plays a part in destroying his own work. (Stan ends up rendering the Portal unusable when he brings Ford back and Ford chucks his journals into the Bottomless Pit post-series, meaning they'll disappear (he thinks) in his realm but they'll still exist).

Again, speculating on subconscious motivations here (paging Dr. Freud), but you have to wonder if part of the reason Ford wants Stan to come to Gravity Falls (aside from the fact he sorely needs another person he can trust) is that he almost hopes Stan will be the bumbling fool Ford's made him out to be and do something that may partially or fully sabotage the Portal. He obviously has conflicting emotions when it comes to his brother, but Stan would also be the perfect scapegoat if he did accidentally do something to interfere with the Portal. For Ford, it's a win-win, in that he would not have to force himself to take action against his life's work (and therefore render himself utterly useless after how many years of research) and he would have an excuse to keep his grudge going against his brother, to keep up that facade of anger and dismissiveness that allows Ford to categorize Stan as "lesser," as the source of Ford's problems and an incurable fuck-up who only gets in Ford's way. (All this while having his brother physically present, a comfort I have no doubt Ford is desperate for at this point).

This is not Ford's primary or secondary (or tertiary, even) motivation in calling Stan to Oregon, nor is it the major reason Ford refuses to destroy the Portal and his Journals. The whole thing is a Hail Mary pass, to be certain, as Ford had no way of knowing his brother would receive the postcard and show up on his front doorstep. (And what was Ford's backup plan at this point? What if Stan hadn't come? Or he was delayed? We know Ford's not operating on all cylinders at this juncture, but holy hell, dude, just shut down the damn Portal.)

This all being said, it wouldn't shock me if somewhere in the dark recesses of Ford's mind, he's working out this rationalization, which is something we know Ford is very, very good at. ("For science!" he'll claim, as if those words were an incantation that absolve the actor of any negative responsibility, like desecrating a corpse for a brain, yeesh, Ford).

Anyway, food for thought (and writing).

[foundationsofdecay]

Thinking again about this post that @a-s-levynn made a while back, as well as @moonchild-in-blue's and @tonguetyd's comments there, about Vessel and the mask's own identity and the idea of the person Vessel used to be before meeting Sleep, this nebulous Him that we hear in intermissions during rituals, was "cocooned" inside a body that was no longer his and is experiencing this all as a spectator, and that Vessel kills the current version of himself that he's become, a spiritual suicide of sorts. How that was done so that He, without the influence of the mask and by extension Sleep, can move forward and start anew even after being irrevocably changed by what He's seen, and Vessel finally obtaining that "redemption, eternal ascension, setting [him] free" that was described in "Ascensionism".

I'm especially thinking about the funeral pyres reflected in Sleep's eyes. This could imply the fates of past vessels of Sleep, or it could imply that Vessel is dead in all ways but physical, or perhaps it could be a promise of Vessel's demise, burned alive and left to turn to ash - or are "those eyes like fire" and the raging flames within doing much, much more than that?

To add a very belated addition to the discussion, I want to bring up something regarding the lyric "I'm a winged insect, you're a funeral pyre." In fact, it is going to be the focus of this entire post. In continuing with this idea of the death and rebirth/resurfacing and possibly rebuilding of the self, and identity fractures that I described in great detail in this post on DYWTYLM, it's important here that I start off stating that there's two underlying assumptions that I'm making, which first is that He and Vessel are both the insect at first, their own selves tangled as noted by Levynn but capable of separation under the right circumstance, like a fantastical version of plurality where they can separate physically while still being connected as parts of a whole. My second assumption is that Vessel meets his death voluntarily, and Sleep is involved, regardless of whether or not Sleep is actually the one to do the job.

I'm using these as bases because in my interpretation of this theory, Vessel has to die, and that even though the two of them connected in mind and soul and often body, He is ultimately able to survive and live on, which requires physical distinction. This separation is in accordance with descriptions in the same song we've been discussing of Vessel fighting back against Sleep. Vessel, who used to fight Sleep's enemies "to let them know that they contend with [him]", now turns the blade against Sleep, his new enemy that he faces for Him. Perhaps this is a show of both his anger and his newfound devotion, a final attempt to damage Sleep to whatever extent he can while he has the chance, not with any hope of surviving but to give Him the best chance to carry on, since Vessel knows firsthand how much Sleep struggles in a weak enough state.

Describing Him and Vessel as a winged insect is a very interesting choice, which is what I ultimately want to focus on here and dissect. What kind of insect would that be, I wonder? I don't recall if there is official artwork depicting that, but without anything official as reference there's a near-infinite number of possibilities to choose from - flies, mosquitos, cicadas, bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, beetles, the list is endless - all with their own symbolic interpretations and impacts on this original theory and extrapolations. I would need an entire separate post to go over all of that, though - imagine examining just the different eyes that vary from species to species! - so I'll just go into one possibility and leave the rest as an open question.

One major question I have about this winged insect, and about Sleep, is this: Does Sleep still have eyes looking in other directions like we had seen several times in previous songs, or is Sleep's attention all on Vessel now, "[taking] aim at him for once" like he used to ask for?

See, there's an inherent contradiction here, going back to the labeling of a pyre. Sure, it's said to be for a funeral, but it's never explicitly stated who it's intended for. Not only that, but we also questioned at the end of the first paragraph if there is something else to be said about the fire and its behavior, what all Sleep is doing with it and plans to do with it. That's the thing about fire - perhaps it's been created and cultivated for a specific purpose, as part of a funeral in this case, but when you take a look at how Sleep has historically behaved, and the kind of language we see used to describe this behavior and motivation, there's other themes that comes up that give Sleep's fire another layer of meaning.

For fire doesn't just burn, it consumes. It has an endless hunger, latching onto anything it can grab hold of that can fuel its existence, taking and taking until there is nothing left. There's a sort of joy in that, a celebration, bursts of light and sound coinciding with the addition of more fuel, greater the more powerful that intake is over time and growing wide and tall in the most ideal circumstances. When the fire is weak, a breeze could snuff it out, but even a pinch of smoldering ash can manage to survive and grow into something that can lay waste to forests and home and towns, nearly apocalyptic when watching it as it razes thousands of square miles and jumps across roads and rivers. It, too, can rush and flood you, and swallow you whole.

Before Vessel, He discovered Sleep in a state like that smoldering ember. Yet, with the fuel of His initial deal and Vessel's inception and overtaking of Him, with every ritual bringing worship in greater numbers and greater fervor enabling rapid growth, this is what Sleep has turned into. This is what Vessel must face, not just a powerful God but one that he fed and nurtured into this state. The fire in those eyes is extreme, but it's also not eternal. It can still be deprived of that which feeds it, and if that were to happen, even be extinguished. There's hope in that.

Throughout the story, we see Vessel always coming back to Sleep, despite the flames that threaten to lick at his skin and singe and burn. Instinctively, perhaps even compulsively, he returns to this source of light and love and fear and wonder, the flame that grows each time he's fed by Vessel's worship. Examining one of the possible winged insects, his behavior is like that of a moth, drawn to the aura and essence of this God that desires him and hurts him in unequal measure.

Recall how one of our basic assumptions is that separation between the two is possible, despite how entwined they've been from the start even as they've been drifting apart. This coexistence and indeed codependency with Him is all Vessel knows, it's quite literally his entire life next to Sleep. If you consider the admission that "it's been two days since the mainframe went down and [he's] still messed up" as a reflection of the breaking down of the connection between Vessel and Him, which we've been seeing accelerate over time in songs like DYWTYLM, with this "life like wires," severing those wires is all it would take, messy and painful as it would be.

No longer would we have "the mouth of the wolf, the eyes of the lamb," but that'd turn out to be the key to Vessel's victory, even as it sealed his fate. It's clear that Vessel would eventually get too close and be brought down by those eyes, but this time it was deliberate in a way that is fueled by something completely different than any self-destructive behavior he exhibited in the past, and it paid off. That lamb survived, by no means unscathed but still not lost.

The one thing that remained the same, persisting throughout their parallel existence that transcends life and death itself, is memory. The autumn leaves, the rain, the night. The lights of his eyes, his grin. This grief that accompanies it will never go away, will never grow any smaller, but He can break though the walls that are closing in on Him, keep running forward, become something new. Most importantly, He has to do it for Himself. He'll be alone, but the memory will always be there, knowing Vessel is just an inch apart from Him, on his own continuum.

[chriscdcase95]

So I discovered “Tamara”, and have some thoughts...

So, I recently caught wind of this 2005 film, Tamara, which has been a bit of attention. Apparently this movie’s been getting some traction, but not a lot of love on here.

There’s very few posts on here about this movie, and as of this post, only two AO3 works based off it.

I don't see how this apparently went under the radar for so long, as it has the makings of similar cult classics such as Ginger Snaps, The Craft, Jennifer's Body and All Cheerleaders Die. So after checking it out, I figured I would give my thoughts, and spread the word.

Tamara Riley is a shy high school student, who lives with an abusive father, has a crush on her hot teacher, Bill Natolly, and looks for escapism through witchcraft. 

Tamara is also a target of bullying, especially when she writes an article exposing her school's jocks for using steroids. Besides Natolly, only one other person seems to treat Tamara with any decency, and that would be Chloe, a new student who tries to befriend Tamara, but never gets the chance. 

For the first third of the movie, this is the story of a girl, who cried a river and drowned the whole world. She looks so sad in photographs but...It gets worse from there.

For the first third, Tamara is a pretty sympathetic, likable, but flawed protagonist. As a villain, she is Jennifer Check lite (despite predating Jennifer by four years). Jenna Dewan really sells both sides of Tamara, with her performance as both being what carries this movie. 

Tamara has a crush on her teacher, despite him being married and trying to conceive a child with his wife. Tamara even attempts a love spell to bind their fates together.  

What's this ? A Villain Protagonist in a horror movie is problematic ? Stop the presses! 

Tamara's initial flaws are believable and part of what makes her sympathetic; she wasn't malicious, and it's pretty clear before her transformation, she's socially naïve and gullible. This leads to Tamara's demise. She's lured into a ‘date’, with who she thinks is Natolloy, only to be lured into a prank orchestrated by Shawn. 

Shawn is the movie’s secondary antagonist, and resident Hate Sink; a jock who was ousted from his team when he was exposed for taking performance enhancers, and refused to take a drug test. 

So Shawn get's his friends, and three newcomers to lure Tamara to a party, tricking her into stripping on camera, in a prank which I'm pretty sure qualifies as sexual assault (not helping is that Shawn is later revealed to be a serial rapist). 

When Tamara is accidentally killed in the ensuing struggle, Shawn threatens the rest of the party into secrecy while disposing of Tamara's body...and now they gotta pay with it for their lives. 

See, Tamara's ritual could only be completed when she spills her blood, but she ultimately backs out on it; but when she's killed, her blood spills completing the ritual without her knowledge and consent. From there, Tamara rises as a confident, sultry and vengeful revenant, out to take what she thinks is hers. 

What keeps Tamara tragic is, this movie is clear that what she's doing isn't really her her. Tamara's villainous personality is the result of magic she took in from her ritual, making her a near 180 of her mortal self. 

Towards the end, she has this “What have I done/become ?” moment where she realizes she's become a monster, only to snap back because the spell is just stronger than her. 

As a villain, I think Tamara was at her best when seeking revenge; she takes no one's bullshit, unapologetically vengeful, wicked, and has a sense of poetic justice.

Most of her villainy is brainwashing and enslaving others, tormenting her victims with hallucinations, and through some ironic  punishment. Tamara only directly kills two people, both of them being gnarly; she tells her abusive alcoholic dad to finish his bottle, and the guy is forced to eat it. 

The revenant revenge plot was where the movie was at its best, IMO. I honestly wish they kept it as a revenge story for the third act. Preferably with Shawn as the de-facto antagonist.

If one thing holds Tamara back, I think it's her obsession with Mr. Natolly; and the movie is pretty weak in the last third, focusing on a rescue mission for Natolly and his wife. You can make the argument Tamara is magically bound to her crush - her spell was to bind their fates together. But I still think it takes away from Tamara's agency. 

Tamara’s not like Jennifer Check, Ginger Fitzgerald or Nancy Downs - whose transformations highlight toxic qualities that are already there - it’s literally “Dark Magic rewrites her whole personality”.

As for the other characters, a few others stand out.

Mr. Bill Natolly and his wife Alison are pretty likable, and are the more sympathetic characters. They both mean well, and are genuinely excited about starting a family. 

Bill genuinely wanted to help Tamara, and she misreads his singles and tries to kiss him. Bill is understanding of Tamara and tries to explain things to her, before she walks out in embarrassment. 

Bill, through no fault of his own, is roped into this drama; he was bound to Tamara's "spell", and it was only cast when Tamara was murdered. Now that his life is bound to Revenant!Tamara, and the only way Tamara and her spell can be broken is if Bill makes a sacrifice of his own.

There's also the film's ostensible protagonist, Chloe Bowman.

A new girl who stands up for Tamara, Chloe soon becomes a witness/unwitting participant to the prank, and Tamara’s subsequent murder. In fact, Chloe's attempts to help Tamara gets her mistaken for a perpetrator and is what escalates the fight. As a result, Chloe feels guilt for Tamara's death. 

Not helping is that Shawn intimidates the party, including Chloe's supposed boyfriend, into covering up the incident. Chloe’s is kind of a hit and miss. As a protagonist, she's pretty bland and is mostly just along for the ride. 

On the other hand, the pieces are there to make her a great character, and to have a dynamic with Tamara. It's just they aren't really utilized. In the original script, it would be revealed that Chloe is a closeted lesbian, and implicitly in love with Tamara. In the final film, Chloe is also the one who breaks through to Tamara. 

Near the end Tamara looks into Chloe's mind, learning that she genuinely cared for and tried to help her. It's this that allowed the real Tamara to resurface and break down over what she's done and become.

Like holy shit, that sounds like the climax for a tragic love story, doesn’t it ?

Unfortunately, outside of that, the movie doesn't do much with these two; they don't really bond before Tamara's death; no significant interactions following her resurrection, until the climax. 

Chloe feels like she's supposed to be the Needy Lesnicki or Sarah Bailey of this story. But unlike Jennifer's Body or The Craft, we don't get that same “Sapphic Enemies/Broken Friendship” that we get with Jennifer x Needy, or Sarah x Nancy.  

It feels like a case of They Wasted of a Perfectly Good Plot/Character.

Would I recommend this movie ? Sure, but it's really nothing spectacular. I think All Cheerleaders Die or Jennifer's Body are closer to what Tamara was trying to be or could have been, but it's not completely unsalvageable. 

And for what it's missing, that's what AO3 is for, amiright ?

[renaissancebadboy]

i realized i never posted my new scrungly pc after felicia's v thematic demise sdhjgfdshjgf

meet corvus! they love occult bullshit & are super obsessed with druidry. they will ask abt ur rituals and also break into ur house. they cannot do any magic, they just think it is Neat

[granulesofsand]

🗝️🏷️ RAMCOA, boundary violations, oversharing *sips tea*

On the note of rituals, two things; I was trying to melt chocolate with a candle and forgot how much wax was in it— too much— and accidentally set it on fire because I put it too close to the flame. It smells like burnt sugar and I had to blow it out because it wouldn’t die out itself.

And: the internal churches have settled into bickering about who gets which godday. One of the demons is struggling with boundaries (he knows what he did) and will be getting a taste of his own medicine.

Bitchboy over here is still sitting pretty following dome rules, which means someone is using the language modulator and sounds about as fluent as the 7 year old rat kid. Voice is just as high and staggered, must be a downgrade from the gravely demonic spoken below the caverns.

I’m aware that programmed responses are deeply held, but his disposition makes it all that much worse. We have internal resources that are helping, but apparently the murder cycle of Tetanus Brad is more important than regular attendance. Poor guy has death loops anyway, he doesn’t need a creative demise.

Different alter, going through drafts. I’m pretty sure they have some kind of situationship going on, already did when this was written.

I like posts like this, has newspaper gossip vibes. I’m also not supposed to let them through, privacy and all that, but it’s funny af and not many of us read back anyway.

[murfpersonalblog]

Cannibalism in The Vampire Chronicles

The goat that is @downstairsbar dropped this post about the culture shock Louis & Claudia face in Eastern Europee during their futile search for community, and mentioned something SO important about cannibalism.

I almost responded to this bit in a reblog, but didn't wanna derail her post by going off on a long AF tangent, so I'm posting it here.

Cannibalism is a powerful theme that runs throughout TVC. It's the reason vampires even exist in AR's universe, technically. (And it's no coincidence that the tv show Hannibal was inspired by TVC (X X).)

In QotD, AR (aka OG Louis) included a poem by her husband Stan Rice (aka OG Lestat), "Cannibal" Some Lamb in Part 3 of the book, where the vampire Maharet told her life's story, The Story of the Twins. This part's integral to vampiric cosmogony, cuz it also explains:

how the beef b/t Akasha & the Twins (Maharet & Mekare) started

how it led to Akasha being killed by the Twins in QotD

how Mekare became the new QotD

and ultimately how Lestat got the Sacred Core from Mekare

While cannibalism has a very spiritual/sacred quality to it at the start of TVC, by the end of the series, the vampires have turned cannibalism into a degenerate, bastardized act that horrifies & saddens Prince Lestat; and this largely affects how he chooses to rule the Vampire Court & change his Savage Garden for the better(?).

Here's what Maharet said about cannibalism (it's gonna get HELLA gory, so I'm putting all this info under the cut--you've been warned):

The Twins, Cannibalism, & Akasha (QotD)

Basically, Maharet explained that in her village 6000 years ago (when she was still human), her people cooked & ate the corpses of their dead loved ones to absorb the residual essence/spirit/power/vitality, which was primarily rooted in the brain. The heart & eyes were also very sacred, but the brain was THE organ that needed to be eaten raw, above all the other organs & flesh.

I talked about this similarity before here, but if you've ever seen/read Attack on Titan, it's the exact same premise that created the 9 Titan Shifters from the spinal fluid/brain stem of the Founding Titan, Ymir.

When Maharet's people were conquered by the Egyptians, Maharet & her twin sister Mekare were spotted about to eat their dead mother. Cuz Mekare was the oldest, she had their mom's brain, and Maharet got the heart & eyes. Queen Akasha was disgusted, knocked the mom's organs into the dirt (this is referenced like a dozen times in QotD), and imprisoned the Twins back in Egypt.

There's this whole pseudo-"history" hella racist Old Testament crap AR uses, claiming that Egyptian mummification started cuz while Pharaoh Enkil's people ate the brains of their enemies & they LIKED the taste of flesh; the Twins' people (Canaanites) were so much better cuz they were peaceful loving folk & only ate the dead for ritual not for pleasure; and Akasha didn't believe in cannibalism of any kind; and didn't believe power came from corpses, that should be buried, not eaten. (Basically saying that the Mesopotamians created Egyptian mummification/burials so that Africans could finally become civilized--AR's so frikkin racist istfg).

The Twins & their mom had been powerful witches who summoned/controlled spirits (like the Mayfair Witches), and Akasha coveted their powers, but didn't wanna be a cannibal to get them.

But through sheer karmic irony, the spirit Amel who loved the Twins followed them to Egypt, jumped Enkil & Akasha, drank their blood & entered/possessed(?) Akasha's body/brain, accidentally creating the first vampire & becoming the Sacred Core that empowered them all.

Akasha's Demise, Mekare, and Brains 🧠 (QotD)

I'm not gonna get into all the effed up stuff Akasha did to the Twins, and how they became vamps, but suffice to say they hated Akasha's guts. Mekare went on a manhunt for Akasha for 6000 years but couldn't find her (Marius was hiding Those Who Must Be Kept all the way up until Lestat accidentally woke Akasha up with his rock music in the 1980s). Once awakened, Akasha called a summit of all the most important vampires, and Mekare arrived & ripped her head clean off, it was epic--but also SUPER dangerous, cuz if Akasha died the Sacred Core (the spirit Amel) died--and ALL vampires with her.

So once again, Mekare & Maharet needed to decide how to divide the remains of the(ir) Mother--Akasha, mother of all vampires; the cycle coming back around.

Mekare ate both Akasha's brains & heart (at the time the vamps weren't 100% sure which organ was really the one Amel was living in); and became the new QotD, holding the Sacred Core.

So while the movie QotD's version of Maharet was...alright, it didn't even scratch the surface of who Maharet REALLY was in the books (I'm not even gonna get into the eyeball motif with Maharet & Lestat). And it's a crime against nature that Mekare wasn't included, cuz she's the Twin who actually took Akasha TF out.

It also made no sense for film!QotD to remove the cannibalism, when they had a whole effing scene of Akasha eating some dude's heart.

Like--so long as it's the Evil Black Woman being a cannibal it's alright to show it cuz she's a vampire/monster; but god forbid we show the Good White Woman eating the brains of someone who's already dead. 🙄 It's HORROR ffs. Eating brains are integral to the CANONICAL lore of AR's vamps--it's all over the place.

The vampiric taste for brains & the importance of drinking blood from the brain reoccurs when Akasha's Fledgling Khayman (Mekare's Maker) was later murdered by Rhoshamandes; and interestingly enough, also in a different scene with Akasha's biological son Seth, (Dr. Fareed's Maker).

Dr. Fareed & the aliens/Replimoids are also the ones who perform brain surgery to safely extract the Sacred Core without killing all vampires, so hopefully Dr Fareed comes back on the show, cuz he's very important.

Lestat, Mekare & The Sacred Core (Prince Lestat)

With Mekare as the new QotD, Amel started waking up, unsatisfied with his new host (Mekare had been suffering from unhealed brain damage for 6000+ years & was VERY mentally ill, so her atrophied brain wasn't a good home for Amel).

As the Sacred Core, Amel has the power to telepathically control all vamps; so he possessed one of the oldest vamps Rhoshamandes to kill the Twins. Maharet was murdered, but Mekare got away.

Heartbroken over losing her sister, Mekare ran to Lestat, begging him to kill her & take the Sacred Core, so she could be with Maharet again. Amel had been telepathically begging/annoying Les to do this anyway, cuz Les had fed on Akasha's superblood A LOT while they were lovers, so Les maybe(?) could've handled the Twins (NGL I doubt it, LOL, Mekare's about that action💀).

Lestat finally agreed to help, and sucked Mekare's brain right out of her eye socket, no joke.

And that's how Lestat became the Prince of all Vampires, holding the Sacred Core (Amel). (I hope we get this whole scene on AMC, it's so sad--RIP Mekare.) 🧠👑🩸

Chateau-Era Cannibalism (Blood Communion)

I already talked a bit about this already in my post about the dark side of the Chateau Era, and the problems Lestat faced cuz of Rhoshamandes staying a menace for the whole Prince Lestat trilogy.

Les had been PISSED during his final battle vs Rhosh, thinking Rhosh had murdered "those who mattered most" (Gabrielle, Louis & Marius). So just like the ancients practiced, Lestat ate the brain of his enemy (Pharaoh Enkil style) after brutalizing Rhosh's corpse. And Lestat brought the body back to the Court and encouraged them to chop up Rhosh's corpse with his axe & suck it dry of every bit of vitality left--drinking "dead blood," but powerful blood.

After this, the Court started using cannibalism as corporeal punishment against vampires who broke their #1 Rule: Don't Kill Your Own Kind. But although they considered it the Lawful Good thing to do, the Court lacked proper leadership as Lestat struggled to really assert his authority (mostly relying on the Court's Prime Minister Marius & the Elders to make the tough decisions). So when Marius was kidnapped by Rhosh, rather than treating executions as a solemn lesson in a civil court/jury; the Vampiric Court had degenerated into mob mentality, ravenous & angry & vindictive as they pressured/forced Lestat to sentence Rhosh's Coven to death. Ballroom music played & they danced even as they chopped up vampires and ate them like a FEAST/BANQUET.

Lestat hated it, but because Gabrielle & Louis & Marius were still missing, Les was too depressed & angry to tell the Court to stop.

But once Marius & the others were rescued, Lestat finally put an end to the public spectacle of feasting on vampires (and humans).

Last bit(e), I promise

So yeah.

This is how the vampires quite literally cannibalized each other. Like, there IS deeper meaning behind the transfer of spiritual vitality residing in the brain--but it's all wrapped up in blood drinking directly from the brain for nourishment/sustenance/power; versus the gluttonous horror of feasting on people for feasting's sake & the sensory pleasure vampires get from killing & eating people.

Louis & Claudia seeing the brutal way the superstitious poor in Eastern Europe hunted their own people for fear that they were vampires (for good reason, since the brainless revenants weren't "properly" made/taught vampires & were effing nuts)--on top of the sadistic way more cultured/civilized Theatre of Vampires mocked/bastardized high society in Paris--were radical extremes that were deliberately unsettling.

It was FAR from how Lestat ran his "coven"/family as their Maker back in NOLA--the Old World was just as vicious as Les warned them it would be, if not worse, cuz Louis (& Claudia) had no freaking clue just how far it went back with Akasha & the Twins until Lestat published TVL, and then they all met face to face in QotD.