#tales from the desert

[misskittywrites]

Beht, Goddess of Hate, Crusher of Gladiators

Dream staggers upwards, reaching toward the sky. He collapses to his knees on the crest of the dune and screams until his throat bleeds. He gathers the blood in his mouth, rolls it around, and spits it out onto the sand before him.

“I hate you,” He tells the desert. He tastes iron, strong and heavy on his tongue. He remembers the half-melted dep returned to him after Bad’s body was burned between Hellion's and Fours'. “Sands rise and choke me, sky fall and crush me, I swear by the name Clay Taken, I HATE YOU!”

Hate, the word whips from the wind. Hate. Weighted, forceful and hard.

“Kill me then,” Dream opens his arms. He doesn’t bother to wipe the blood that trickles down his chin when he bares his teeth. “Kill me and let me rest with my father and brothers, forever burning in your holy fires.”

A woman is kneeling beside him. She is the Beht. Her robes are made of brown dried blood, cracking at the folds when she moves. Her skin is the colour of sand and her matted hair, falling out of its intricate braiding, sticks to her neck and face with a sheen of sweat. Every individual part of her is beautiful. Put together, she is grotesque.

She shifts like the dunes and is standing before him, arm outstretched. Her hands are strong, work-thick, and calloused. The desert’s eyes are the colour of the sky; one gleaming with the heat of the noon whiteout, the other a darkness so deep it seems to suck him in. Half her stone face is illuminated by her whitesun eye, her broken nose casting the other half in shadow.

“You say you hate me,” She says. Her whispering voice sounds like the swish of a blade and the splatter of fresh blood. Through her cracked lips Dream can see iron-gray teeth. “Let me tell you about hate. Let me tell you how it poisons. Let me tell you how it rots.”

There is a band of discoloured skin around her throat and her wrists. They are pale, like the first peak of dawn over the horizon. Dream takes her hand.

@cocomere, I had to run with that little poem about hate

[misskittywrites]

OH, I am printing this art and putting it on my wall !!!

If you're into hurt no comfort, fucked up time loops, and incredible worldbuilding, then my god you should check out @misskittywrites's fanfic Tales from the Desert. A fantasy AU fic.

It hit my perfect sweet spot of Dream being a favorite of the gods, and the horrors that that entails.

But read the tags, not every story is for everyone.

[thecatfarm]

It felt 

as if you were able to - just, move

the storm

into any direction you wanted,

by avoiding coming too close to me, 

or too far away

like there was an infinite amount of poetically perfect moments that you could fold into reality, and at any moment, you could lean into me, and kiss me and allow the storm to wash over me, petrichor at my fingertips, and dust on my tongue, 

but then,

that would make it 

real

in a way echoes of metaphorical storms are not supposed to be

[radicalreliablerandomness]

Podcast Rec Masterpost

I've been asked a couple times for podcast recommendations so I thought I'd post a compilation of some shows and a bit of info about them. Most shows I talk about are tagged below (I ran out of tags) so you can look through fan content as well if you're not one to care about spoilers. My asks are still open for personalized recs if you send me some others that you've listened to just because I love you, yes that's right! You. The person reading this right now!

Here goes!

Dungeons And Daddies *not a BDSM podcast

This show is a dnd actual play podcast. The first season is about four dads from our world lost in the Forgotten Realms in search of their lost sons. It’s a comedy but as with all comedies, you will cry by the end of it. It's super easy to get into with great chemistry between all the cast players and the dm, no prior knowledge of dnd is necessary. They do invoke slight horror sometimes so do keep an eye out for content warnings. Season 1 has 68.5 episodes along with bonus content and a mini campaign in between seasons 1 and 2. Season 2 is currently ongoing. Transcripts available.

The Bright Sessions

This is a science fiction podcast. The premise is a collection of clinical recordings of superpowered people's therapy sessions. The plot gets more interesting and convoluted as you get further in. Incredible voice acting filled with emotion. Does have some heavier discussions so be on the lookout for content warnings. It has 7 seasons (the last two are technically not part of the first five seasons' plot) and is completed. Transcripts available.

Hello From the Hallowoods

A post-apocalyptic fiction podcast. A beautifully written and preformed podcast that explores identity, religion, and other themes in vignettes throughout this haunted world narrated by an omniscient being. Some heavier topics are included so check the content warning before each episode. Seasons 1 and 2 are completed and season 3 will be done soon. Transcripts available.

The Magnus Archives

A horror fiction podcast. A well written chronological story told through anthology which seem to be tape recordings from a paranormal investigation institute. Incredible writing and actors that really bring it to life. This is horror so make sure to check the content warnings. The show is completed at 5 seasons. Transcripts available.

Neighbourly

Another horror fiction podcast! An interesting look into all the houses on Little Street and their peculiarities. Some more peculiar than others. The podcast is absolutely delightful with a horribly fun narrator. I would suggest checking the content warnings as some episodes are more intense than others. The show has 2 completed seasons. Transcripts available.

The Fall of the House of Sunshine

A musical mystery fiction podcast. The first season is about an investigation on the murder of a beloved host of a children's tooth-themed show. That's all I can say without spoilers. There are 3 incredible seasons along with short stories in between each season. Transcripts available until halfway through season 2.

Welcome to Nightvale

Possibly the most well known science fiction podcast, it really speaks for itself but I'll do my spiel anyways. Recorded as snippets of a daily radio broadcast, the show details the weird goings on in this strange desert town of Nightvale. Narrated almost completely by the radio host's smooth voice. It's ongoing and is currently sitting at 233 episodes. Transcripts available.

The Two Princes

A fictional queer romance podcast. It takes place in that special part of fiction that always starts with "once upon a time," it feels like a story book almost. The show is based around two boys meeting in the woods. Spoiler alert: they fall in love. It's just a cute feel good show. The podcast is complete at 3 seasons. Spotify auto-generated transcripts available.

What's the Frequency?

A self described psychedelic noir podcast. It's an absolute blast even if it is a bit hard to follow. Takes place in the 1940s in LA when all radio broadcasts were turned to static. You kind of just have to go with it until you get to the end. Completed at 12 episodes. Transcripts available.

Story Break

A writer's room podcast. The basic concept behind Story Break is 3 Hollywood writers in a room together take a prompt and try to make a story for it in an hour. There are many laughs in this podcast and just all around good humor and vibes. The show is complete at 169 episodes plus two full movie scripts. No transcript.

Who Killed Avril Lavigne

A science fiction podcast. It's about a time traveling pop punk loser and that's all you need to know. It's a podmusical so you'll be getting great nostalgic pop punk type songs along with crying from laughing so hard. Completed at 8 episodes. No transcript.

The Behemoth

A fiction podcast. Based around an unexplainable creature emerging from the ocean and how the world, and one girl in particular, deal with this phenomenon. It is pretty short with the longest episode being about 12 minutes. Completed at 20 episodes. No transcript.

Rude Tales of Magic

A dnd actual play podcast. It is mainly focused on the actual roleplay and story telling as opposed to the actual play. A handful of college students from Polaris University fuck the world up by completing a hazing ritual which in this case is a supposedly demon summoning. Obviously now they need to fix the world. Currently 64 episodes and ongoing. No transcript.

Midnight Burger

A very well written fiction podcast. It’s about a time/space traveling diner where the employees try to help solve a problem every place they land. Think Doctor Who adjacent vibes but with more drama. There is an overarching plot that comes together so look out for that. It has incredible characters that are really nicely fleshed out. You’ll somehow like and hate all of them as much as possible in the best way. Currently has 29 episodes of the main feed and a 9 episode mini-series. Transcript available.

Monstrous Agonies

A fiction podcast. It’s an radio advice segment on a station for “liminal Britain” aka the monstrous world to put it plainly. It’s really chill and comforting. There’s very good advice there and the intermittent ad reads will have you giggling to yourself. Episodes are on the shorter side, averaging about 15 minutes each. It does have some heavier discussions so make sure to check the content warnings. The show is completed at 111 episodes through 3 seasons. Transcripts available.

Desert Skies

A fiction podcast. The voice acting in this one is incredible, it’s the same person the whole time. The show as a whole is also just super well done. The premise is that when you die you show up on a highway and get to this astral pit stop. I’m not going to spoil it anymore you just have to experience it. There is an additional show, Desert Skies FM that's a buddy to this one. I recommend listening to both. Season 1 was completed at 12 episodes. Transcripts available.

Wooden Overcoats

A sitcom dramedy podcast. The show is about two siblings that run a funeral home on an island. It used to be the only one, it isn’t anymore. It has a wacky cast of characters and even wackier plot points. The dialogue can be a little hard to get used to at the beginning but once you get into it it flows easily. The show is completed at 4 seasons. Transcripts available.

Greater Boston

An audio drama podcast. It's set in Boston if you couldn't tell from the title and starts with the death of a man on a rollercoaster. It blends real life with some subtle (and at times not-so-subtle) fantasy elements. It's currently at 4 completed seasons. Transcript available.

Gay Future

A science fiction podcast. In a world where everyone is gay in the future we focus on this one straight kid. Following his journey to destroy the government who are making everyone gay. This is a satire by the way. 1 season completed at 6 episodes. No transcripts.

Death by Dying

A dark comedy podcast. The show follows an obituary writer while he does things that are totally under the jurisdiction of his job. A well written and preformed show. There are a lot of laughs and obviously some heartbreaks as well. Currently 1 completed season with season 2 sitting at 2 episodes for a bit now. Transcript available.

Not Another D&D Podcast

An actual play dnd podcast. This one's more mainstream than my other podcasts so I don't talk about it as much but that doesn't mean it's not incredible. The first campaign is about 3 adventurers off to save the world. Obviously. It can be a bit slow in the beginning but anything past the second half of the first season is incredible. There's humor, drama, love, and much more. The DM is also just incredible. 1 completed season, a couple mini campaigns, and the second season is currently at 43 episodes. No transcripts.

Forgive Me!

A fiction podcast. It starts based around vignettes of confessionals in this small town taken by a new father in the local church. An overarching plot is present but it's generally a feel good, sweet and simple show. They have 2 complete seasons with season 3 currently at 9 episodes. Transcripts available.

Real Housewives of D&D

An actual play dnd podcast. This show is based around the concept of a "Real Housewives..." type show but you don't need to know anything about those to listen to this. It's about 4 reality TV stars thrown into a magical fantasy world with no knowledge of how to get home. There's drama, excitement, danger, and lots more. The first season was just completed at 16 episodes. Transcripts available.

The Silt Verses

A horror fiction podcast. Two people who worship a banned god travel together up a river in a pilgrimage. There is incredible worldbuilding in this show along with acting and sound design. This is horror and a very good one at that so make sure you check content warnings. Season 1 and 2 are completed and season 3 is at 2 episodes so far. Transcripts available.

The Land Whale Murders

A comedy fiction podcast. It takes place in the year 1899 and is about a pair of friends? maybe not, that metaphorically explore the world they're living in. It is a commentary on the world we live in and the problems in it through a hilarious and wacky cast. There are currently 17 episodes between both seasons 1 and 2. Transcripts available.

Elaine's Cooking for the Soul

A post-apocalyptic cooking podcast. The show is about a dentist who makes her way through the fallout of an apocalypse while also making a cooking podcast. It does have depictions of violence, war, and dentistry so check out the content warnings. There are 2 completed seasons. No transcripts.

Fawx and Stallion

A mystery podcast. If you hate Sherlock Holmes you'll love this podcast. Also if you love Sherlock Holmes you'll love this podcast. It's based around the detectives who live across the street from Holmes at 224B Baker street. It's pretty goofy. Season 1 is completed. Transcripts available.

The Amelia Project

A fiction podcast. Follow the shenanigans of this death-faking organization as they take in new clients and hear their stories. It does develop an actual overarching plot later on but every second is fun. Seasons 1-4 have been completed and season 5 is in progress. Transcripts available.

A Voice From Darkness

A horror podcast. It's centered around a radio show hosted by Dr. Malcolm Ryder, Parapsychologist. He helps people who call into his show with supernatural problems, gives PSAs and warnings about strange happenings, and more. Season 1 is completed and season 2 is at 9 episodes. Transcripts available.

Station Arcadia

A dystopian fiction podcast. Formatted through a radio show, it tells the story of a world that's slowly dying. There are vignettes of different characters through different areas of the world. Season 1 is completed at 25 episodes. Transcripts available.

Margaret's Garden

A science fiction podcast. It has two plots running at the same time which keeps you on your toes but makes for an intriguing story line. In one plot line, two agents are sent to investigate the strange happenings of a weird little long abandoned town. Simultaneously, we hear from the past of that town as it catches up to the agents. Completed at 10 episodes. Transcripts available.

Camp Here & There

A horror comedy podcast. It's recorded as a set of daily announcements over a loudspeaker at a totally normal summer camp. The announcements are made by the camp nurse and he's also totally normal. I promise. Make sure to check in with the content warnings as some topics are a little mature or graphic. There are currently 34 episodes. Transcripts available.

Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye

A companion horror podcast. This is actually a bit meta because it is the result of a youtube series. This show is the one the podcast hosts in the series release, it's definitely worth both the watch and the listen though. It's got werewolves and drama. Completed at 10 episodes of video and 10 of the podcast. No transcripts.

I am in Eskew

A horror podcast. It's about a man who's trapped in a city where the buildings always change and the rain never stops. There's a weird monotonous creeping horror in this show that just draws you in. Check for content warnings definitely. Completed at 30 episodes. Transcripts available.

Traveling Light

A comfy cozy fiction podcast. It follows The Traveller on their exploration through space, visiting alien planets and collecting stories to send back to their community. For supporters of the show, it almost functions as a choose-your-own-adventure with choices to vote on and listener submissions. It's made by the same people as Monstrous Agonies so if you enjoyed that, you'd enjoy this and vice versa. There are currently 16 episodes. Transcripts available.

Not yet described but still recommended:

Eeler’s Choice

The Secret of St Kilda

The Endless Ocean

The Department of Variance of Somewhere, Ohio

The Sword & The Stoner

World Gone Wrong: a fictional chat show about friendship at the end of the world

Travelling Light

Waterlogged

Brimstone Valley Mall

[linka-from-captain-planet]

Better times with Briala and Celene

[tales-from-hometown]

[rawliverandgoronspice]

I don't get why people hate the timeline so much, its not like you can't pretty much completely ignore it when you play the games. The only time it even approaches mattering to the story is when there is an explicit sequel like botw and totk or zelda and zelda 2

Hey sorry your ask got lost in the sauce of my broken tumblr, but: yeah!

I mean, I get why in some sense. It's been a heated point of debate and I think some people understandably resent the space it has taken not only in fandom discourse, but in how people began to understand the game and its narrative aesthetic choices. There is such a thing as over-rationalizing everything to hard logic, and sometimes it's just not the fandom for that --especially when you begin to forget it's all just fan theory and start to forget what the games are supposed to be like and evoke beyond just strict facts displayed in a linear way.

What I think bugs me with TotK in particular is that it both evokes and relies on continuity and the idea of a timeline, of archeology, of history itself, while being so loose and vacant with it that it both is doing Timeline Shit while also completely failing to understand why some parts of the fandom were invested in Timeline Shit to begin with.

But that's just my two cents of course!

[skyfullofpods]

Happy audio fiction Sunday! Here are some of my thoughts about the fiction podcasts I've been listening to over the past week - including the return of both Modes of Thought in Anterran Literature and Elaine's Cooking For The Soul, the season finale of @innbetween, and an incredible @thesiltverses episode!

[bekaterrier]

Happy Audio Drama Sunday! I started a new series and caught up on some new episodes that released this week.

@tellnotalespod S2 E16 - Love is Stored in the Carpet Burn: I didn't cry (maybe because I was driving and had to keep it together) but I definitely got emotional listening to Leo, Riley and Julia talk to Noah. They have their people back! I'm glad they're finally going to do something that makes Frank uncomfortable too. Hopefully they get the answers they need...

@desertskiespodcast Desert Skies FM - Someone Crashes the Show: I love Nonny so much, she is a gem. And her segment on this edition of Desert Skies FM was beautiful. "Something inside of me tells me it's best just to start out loving people, the moment you meet them."

@storiesfromylelmore Episode 201 - The Garden Club: They're back!! I'm so excited that season 2 has started, and this was a great episode to welcome us back. I love the worldbuilding so learning more about the little spirits and the traditions to help them was so much fun. I felt like I was Rion and Elas, with so many questions to begin with and just in awe of the whole process. It was also great seeing more of Keryth's moms and how they interact with the kids and other witches. I love that Keryth and Rion fighting is just them saying each other's names back and forth with different inflections. True friendship right there.

Case Study IREC-A59 Episode 1 - Too Close for Comfort Encounters - Part 2: The crew of the IREC-A59 seem very competent. I'm curious how they're going to proceed in dealing with this human they have on board. The distorted effects when the human is talking are a neat approach, giving us some insight but still not letting us know too much more than the crew themselves (who can't understand the human at all).

@hinaypod Episode 44 - Tula (Poem): Add this one to the (not insignificant) pile of truly creepy Hi Nay episodes. I loved hearing one of DJ's personal stories, and getting more info on what might have happened to the Sauvard family. That reveal at the end though...ahhhhhhhh I'm still not over it!!

@midnightburgr Chapter 37 - The Paradise: MB always has so many things going on and I love it. The Paradise, the Leifs, the wedding, Ava, the wolves, DAVID... incredible.

The Dead Letter Office of @somewhereohio - DLO 1-13: Another podcast created and performed by just one person. I am always in awe. These letters are so good at being normal on the surface, but being a little off, a little wrong... with things getting more and more wrong with every letter. And poor Conway is all caught up in it! I'm curious to see what Wren ends up doing.

[grasstimes]

Small sketchbook comic about the heat

[the-kiarah-organisation]

Aether: Oh yeah, I heard we had new GEN [Genshin] introjects. It's good to have you on board kid.

Kinich: I'm.. 22? I'm not a kid.

Aether: Yeah and I'm 19, I stand by what I said.

[misskittywrites]

Re:tales from the desert is there a world where dteam reveal any of their secrets

The thing is, most of their secrets aren't intended to be secrets.

That gladiators are slaves is common knowledge in Hypixel so the Dteam think everyone in the Antarctic knows that they're slaves and behave accordingly. (The Hybrids know no such thing and think that the iron slave bands are religious symbols and so don't ask out of respect to the "humans")

Their only real secret is that Bad/Halo is their father, and they think keeping that a secret is a mercy.

One of two things would need to happen for them to share their secrets: either they would have to be so earth-shatteringly pissed off that they want to hurt the hybrids badly, or they somehow find out that Phil/Techno are clueless as to their status as slaves and need to clarify their position.

So yes, there's a universe where they reveal their secrets. But it's not a happy one.

[hyydraworks]

Ratuary Day 27: Tire

Snakes have the ability to live anywhere, almost entirely undisturbed by most denizens of the Wastes.  Old tires are a beloved item, always heated to perfection in the Wasteland sunlight.

[donutholepunch]

[dedicatedfollower467]

One of my best friends in the entire world wrote a comic book about his character from the 1-20 DnD campaign I ran. He JUST started a short-term Crowdfundr campaign to publish it. If you have the cash to drop, you absolutely should, because this is a fantastic story and Ben is an incredible cartoonist.

[mafaldaknows]

Nice DUNE buggy, Tyler! 😏😉🙃🤘💪

Instagram: ramseyart

✨🏜✨

Kismet in the desert 😜