#they’re ghost hunting and being silly and that’s the real fun

[cryptids-do-autism]

Just gonna drop the line up of references I’ve made myself for phasmophobia doodling purposes here and leave all my rambles in the tags

[starryoak]

I know some people don’t like the idea that the Pokédex is right and Pokemon like Yamask and Phantump were once human, and headcanon Ghost Pokemon as not as connected to the afterlife as the Pokédex implies, and explain it away as folk stories, but I’m the opposite, I love it. Beyond pokemon like Spiritomb just now straight up being canonically confirmed to be made of human souls merged into a singular being, I really think it just… adds something interesting to the Pokemon universe. Hell, we know ghost humans exist, too, there are several that have appeared in the games, from the Old Chateau, to that ghost girl in that one building in Kalos. Ghosts just… super exist in the Pokémon world, and that makes me wonder; how does this affect the Pokémon world’s culture, that the afterlife is a known entity, the same as the world’s gods being physically present greatly changing religion?  Do they still have ghost hunting shows in the Pokémon world? Are there Buzzfeed Unsolved types running around investigating haunting still? I mean, just because the ghosts are real doesn’t mean that the underlying silly premise wouldn’t be fun to watch. Watching people get spooked is fun!

It’s just that ghost hunting would be a legitimate job in their world, a service like an exterminator is in ours. Exorcisms would just be another version of taking a vacuum to a wasp nest and sucking out all the wasps. It’s spookier, but it needs to be done. Or if they’re people ghosts, seances.

And, of course, just because Yamasks are born from eggs doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be reincarnated souls of people, y’know? It’s just how reincarnation works. Anyway, I just think that the idea of the afterlife as a tangible thing in the Pokémon world offers so many interesting plot threads to consider.

[eddiediazes]

temptation tuesday

okay i’m trying my hand at this this week for the first time! since i didn’t get in on the fun last week bc i was klmasdf Suffering. so i got tagged by @diazass for temptation tuesday, so here are some wips i have that i’m considering getting back into and/or possibly writing for the big bang?? in part i may be using this to decide what i’m writing for the big bang if any of y’all like any of these.

1. 118 ghost hunters au - i’ve shared from this verse a couple of times but it’s actually a wacky little thing i’ve dreamed up where the 118 (minus eddie bc he just moved to la) are LA’s only official team of ghost hunters, and they’re state/city funded just like other emergency workers but for ghosts. so ghosts are kind of a known entity but not everyone believes in them - but the supernatural is real, eddie’s house is actually haunted, and buck has a messed up trauma backstory relating to his own personal supernatural experience :) also. ghosts so i get to indulge my own interest in Spooky

2. action star buck / fight coordinator eddie - i have also posted excerpts from this like a thousand years ago now but. basically buck is an actor and the star of a popular action franchise (something like a blend between mission impossible and john wick) and he keeps insisting on doing his own stunts, and bobby and chim, who work with him, are genuinely concerned about him and think he isn’t coming at it from a healthy place. enter eddie, a mostly retired stunt coordinator who now runs a gym with lena bosko, who gets Pulled Back In For One Last Job by chim, because bobby thinks he could help out with buck. cue resentment and distance slowly building into friendship and then they fall in love :) also you know. movie sets and fight scenes and dangerous stunts and buck having Issues with thinking he’s expendable.

3. buck is a mind reader - i still don’t have much of this, but i like what i wrote - so it’s that fic based on the concept that buck actually can read minds like we all joked about but. i ended up going with him always having been able to instead of getting it from the lightning - with the one hitch that he cannot read eddie’s mind, kind of like how edward can’t read bella’s mind in twilight???? i’m a cornball i know i get it

4. hunter eddie au - this is also more vague and could maybe be combined with the above idea depending on how i handled it all but basically one night i spent like kasmdlf an hour or something spiraling in kaitlin @iinryer‘s dms over the concept of eddie being raised as a hunter (yes like supernatural style) and like. feeling very trapped by the system of violence and like the only thing he’s good for is hunting but then he meets buck who is some kind of supernatural creature and eddie doesn’t realize at first and he’s doing a lot of hard work on his own to rise above the way he was raised and the kind of things his dad said about “monsters” and then eventually he finds out about buck and - well. you know. you get it

5. eddie goes back to el paso - this fic has no real plot but it is like. my baby my cinnamon apple. originally i started it after 5b after hero complex and i was like. what if eddie stayed in el paso for a while to fix things with his family and then he invited buck to join him. and then instead it eventually became actually what if frank encouraged eddie to go back to el paso to really fully confront things instead of just taking a quick visit and he suggested eddie also take like. a safe person for himself and eddie was like well obviously that would be buck so then they go to el paso together and eddie walks buck through like. all his childhood memories and all the places he grew up and like. idk that’s the whole fic. but i think about her a lot sdkalfm

SORRY I’VE NEVER SHUT UP ONE DAY IN MY LIFE this is so many words about my silly little ideas. i’ll tag @spaceprincessem @comaboybuck @buckactuallys @iinryer @gayeddieagenda @fallingthorns @colonoscopys and anybody else who sees this and wants to do it please feel free to say i tagged you!

thank you to anyone who reads klmasdf any of this. please do tell me if they sound interesting. thanks bye <3

[cheese-anon-real]

New Year's Cheese

2023 has been one wild ride of a year for me Writer content in the latter half of this, below the cut!! do be warned! So. In 2023 I went from Cheese the Anon Asker to Cheese-Anon-Real. I’ve formed what I like to consider my little family, with the Sparda Boys and my fellow anons! Gods below I am so grateful for all of you, you made the last like, 3-4 months of the year so much better. Got sent to Space Jail twice, broke out twice with help Found Kaz again!!! Already touched on the family, but just Met Dante, Nero, and Vergil, absolutely love them to bits(Please be alive over there, Vergil, and not split in 2. Urizen’s cool and all but good god I wanted to shadow your devil hunting so bad when I got free) and Griffon I miss you come back you dumbass ball of feathers where’d you GO- Azuree may not be an anon but gods below, do I love them!! They’re such a sweetie like wth Joker, Fresa, Queen and her daughter Kaylee, and Candy have won my hearts, as my funny little family. You’re all being adopted by me now, face your future hell with me. UwU or smth idfk Am I an UwU-ass bitch or an OwO-ass bitch? Partner says it depends lolol. On what? Who knows. I love them so much too, they’re my world. I’ve had a lot of fun meeting you all, and I hope to hell and back that we keep up these silly little interactions over the next year. I know it hasn’t been perfect, but here’s to a good ‘24 for us all! Thank you for literally existing. I hope the other anons join the official family soon. Happy New Year, @pizzalover8969, @thebestsonofsparda, @thebluerose, @the-thunder-chicken, @azureedoodles, @anonjoker, @bizcochodefresa, @anonymousqueenofrandom, @princessanonofrandom, @therealcandyanon, and finally, @reece-piece-puff

sorry if the @'s is a bad move or I like, piss some of you off with it ;;

Love, Cheese(Roseanna)

P.S. I promise I'll get on writing my lore soon, I just haven't had much time :')

Reminder; Writer Content is Below The Cut. Beware!!!

2023 was even wilder for me than it was for Cheese lmfao.

I finally got into DMC this year, after being drawn in by Gura and the OST in summer of ‘21. On a family vacation, at that! Finally played 5, beat it, beat it again as Vergil. Played 3, beat it with some help from my partner. Started a Vergil run of 3, and started 1, never finished either, because life kinda got crazy Started playing C.O.D??? Somehow?? Never thought I’d play a C.O.D. game but here I am and I like the campaign for the MW2 remake, I suck ass at it but that’s a me problem lmao Got into therapy, finally, actually working on my problems now and really happy about it Went through several Vtuber avatar designs, finally settled on one I like and I’m almost done with it!!! Just gotta struggle through the hair, hand toggles, and the face! Wow!! Went through endless self-discovery, thought I might be trans(I am in fact not trans, I am Fluid! As far as I know. Still working on that. And other things, but one step at a time!! FINALLY reunited with my two best friends. In person. In another state. One of em, I've known since we were 11 and they moved away when we were 13. I had never hung out with them outside of school, and they introduced me to my other best friend, who came up to my state to meet me in late spring of ‘21, hadn’t seen them since. That friend actually paid for the trip themself, because I went through a god-awful breakdown for a solid 2 weeks and tried to. Isolate myself from everyone I love. But thankfully they talked me out of it and got me back into the group, got me going again when I was at probably my second lowest point since I was a preteen. Got oddly close with another friend while I was there, met the majority of my friend group, and now that friend I got close with is EASILY my third best friend! Not third-best, they are also a best friend and I love them so much?? We hyperfixate on like, all the same things. Dragged them into loving Ghost(band) and they’re dragging me into Scott Pilgrim! Woohoo, here we go! Left my friend group like a month ago because one of them is uh. Not. the best? But only sometimes. They don’t have bad intentions and they’re not outright toxic I don’t think, but I uh. Got kinda sick of their sense of humor. Not always funny, kinda mean to a certain other member. Not always though. But like we can work on it when I go back its fiiiiiiine! Learned communication to a degree, holy shit I hate talking about my problems, oh my god please I don’t need help I’m just a burden anyway(I’m working on it, don’t come at me with support I’ll get there with my family and friends eventually. Not attention-seeking here, I’m building my support group as I go.) Had 13 house emergencies!!!! Will list them! Woo! 1 - water heater leak 2 - gas leak 3 - roof leak again(we had a roof leak in ‘22) 4 - house flood 2 electric boogaloo(house flooded like a week after my partner moved in, in ‘22, before I arrived) 5 - flood 3 6 - roof leak 3 7 - roof leak 4 8 - heater died 9 - bathroom door handle fell off the door for literally no reason 10 - house flood 4 11 - roof leak 5 12 - house flood 5 House Flood 5 caused us to get renovations in the organized housing, and after that, they just straight up moved us to a new house. We had 8 fffffffucking days to get the hell out of our house and into the new one. Like, they actually put the time constraint on us. So funny of them! AND THEN THE NEW ONE DIDN’T HAVE SHUT-OFF VALVES FOR EITHER OF THE HOSE SPIGOTS AND WE HAD TO GET THAT HANDLED BUT THEY DIDN’T HANDLE IT. HELP. BROTHER WE ARE TRYING TO FOLLOW THE RULES. WHY ARE YOU FORBIDDING US. so. 13 - no shut off-valves(technically an ‘emergency’ bc the pipes could freeze and then burst) Got summoned for Jury Duty in my parents’ state! IN THE TIME WHERE WE WEREN’T CERTAIN WHEN THE CONTRACTORS WERE COMING. OR IF WE WOULD BE IN THE SAME HOUSE NEXT WEEK. JESUS CHRIST. But, did also get to go on another family vacation. We got to watch the Perseids! I saw a possum there. Literally loved that so much.

Also got SUUUUPER into Ghost(band) in the last like 3 weeks and I'm head over heels for 99% of their songs that I've listened to?? Hell yeah.

It’s been an intense year of ups and downs, but I’m really determined to turn my life around for the better, now. I’m gonna put my all into actually improving my health, both physical and mental/emotional. I didn’t want that to be like, a new year resolution, it just kinda lined up with the new year.

[offantasiesandreams]

I absolutely love how you write the Batter trio, can we get more lighthearted stuff from them? Perhaps them being transported to the reader/players world? Doesn’t have to be fully lighthearted but yknow

Thank you, that's a very high compliment! I never would have thought I'd ever write for all three of them, but here we are! And of course you can, I love me some lighthearted stuff, it's always fun!

Batter Trio Transported to Reader’s World

At first the three of them will be rather confused. But could you blame them? They were in an unfamiliar environment yet again, this time with no pointers where to go. No rainbow bridge to lead them anywhere, only the outskirts of a city or town with a few people staring at them. Once they have awoken, most people will become skittish and scatter, but you stayed to see what would happen, unafraid of the tall white, four eyed man, the ghost and the crocodile.

While it was odd to you to be talking to some beings that clearly were not of this world, you soon enough learned that they seemed to be less dangerous than they looked, for the most part, just wanting to find their way back home instead. Feeling bad for them, you decided to take them with you, letting them stay at your place until they could either return to their world or find a place to call their own.

What you didn’t know was that it would turn out to be complete and utter chaos. Batter was easy enough to disguise as a human, but the same could not be said for Ghost and Bad. Though, you’d be lying if you said that you couldn’t make some good and real cryptid sighting videos with the two of them. Batter too, if you tried hard enough. Bad would absolutely be down for it, only for the video to be ruined by Ghost asking what the fuck you were doing up at ass o’ clock in the night.

The bathroom will be occupied a lot. Not all the time, but only when you, or someone else, needs to use it. Naturally, this goes for daytime, but also during the night. Of course, the three of them have rather different ways of handling that, but they’ll be nicer if it was you who occupied it. Ghost will simply beat Bad up while Batter will just resign himself to his fate. Of course, yelling is involved.

If you’re lucky, though, then the police won’t show up at your house ever again. What are they gonna do about three ghost hunting saviours? They’re gonna get scared themself and just leave you alone. And if they don’t, they’ll get an earful from Ghost until they do. Though, do keep an eye on Bad before he eats too many people. Take him hunting instead, that way he won’t get in as much trouble.

Given all the ruckus the other two make, you might sometimes forget Batter is even there, too busy shaking your head at the other two, but he’s very pleasant to have around. Albeit very awkward. He tries to talk to you, to show his gratitude that you’re letting him stay over, he just doesn’t know how. But he’ll be the one to do most of the chores, but not cooking. Don’t let him into the kitchen, ever.

You’re gonna be eating, or at least cooking, a lot of meat based dishes. Batter barely knows anything else, Bad, if he could, would be a complete carnivore, and Ghost just eats anything. You could try cooking together, but it’ll just end up in a lot of yelling and Batter being rather depressed because he messed up the steak.

Speaking of depression, having those silly guys around will do wonders for you, though. Even if they’re not actively doing anything with you, they’re fun. They’ll make you laugh with their antics and cheer you up at least a little bit. And if you need it, they can try to take care of the chores, stay with you and make sure you eat or just keep you company in general. Eventually, you’re gonna be part of their funny trio and they would go to the ends of the world for you.

[liminalhollow]

Ghost hunting was fun for them.

Back in college, they were ridiculed. "Ectology" was a childish, make-believe term. Something to be laughed at. Not to them. Even if other scientists stubbornly kept their minds closed, they would persevere. They were pioneers, explorers of the unknown. Their sense of wonder and curiosity was alive and well. If anything, being outcasts only gave them a stronger sense of purpose.

The day they got the portal working, their dreams became a reality. Ghosts were real. They had real proof. Real specimens. Right in front of their eyes, just waiting to be studied. They'd made a scientific breakthrough for the history books. Decades of hard work finally paid off. All those insults and slander finally proven wrong.

They gladly threw themselves further into their work. They spent days down in their lab, creating, designing, tinkering. Adapting to this new, fascinating, ghost-filled world. They made weapons. Methods of containment. Ghost trackers. Shields. Anything anyone would ever need to deal with any kind of ghost.

They went out and searched. Real ghost hunting. Armed with equipment made by none other than themselves. It was empowering, being on the frontlines, willingly seeking out danger while others ran in fear. And when they fought, they weren't scared, just exhilarated. It was an adventure. They were monster hunters. They were the ones who bravely rushed into battle and triumphed over evil. They felt like heroes.

And they were the best at what they did. The world's leading ghost experts. Builders of the world’s first ghost portal. It was their biggest source of pride. They were right all along. All that time being made fun of, and now they were so successful that they didn't have to answer to anyone. 

(Certainly not any naive, unscientific people who tried to tell them they were wrong about their field of study. Or how to do their job.)

Jack and Maddie Fenton loved their work. They loved their at-home lab and their hand-sewn jumpsuits and their self-designed Fentonworks logo. They loved feeling like they were living their childhood fantasies. They loved climbing into their car at night, armed with their newest ecto-guns, following a blip on their ghost radar, just the two of them. Every day was exciting. Every day they discovered something new. It was beautiful.

Ghost hunting wasn't just something they did, it was who they were.

.

.

.

And then one day, Danny reveals the truth.

Their entire world is crushed.

The science they were so proud of and confident in, became flimsy, fabricated theories. Silly, embarrassing fairy tales. Just like everyone always told them they were.

The inventions they lovingly crafted with their own hands, like a blacksmith crafting the sword that will slay the dragon, became cold and heartless instruments of violence. Often with their own son's terrified face at the other end of the barrel.

Their best invention, their pride and joy, their ghost portal, became the empty, dangerous killing machine responsible for the death of their child.

They didn't even notice he was dead.

They didn't notice a lot of things about him.

He knew more about ghosts than them, for one. Much more. He spat out facts about the mysterious, unseen ghost dimension as casually as he talked about his day at school. It made them feel ashamed to have ever claimed to be experts.

He was braver than them, for another. He was so brave it made their stomachs turn. He understood danger and pain and fear like they never have. And he never told a soul.

And maybe worst of all, he was kinder than them. He didn't chase ghosts just to chase ghosts. He wasn't looking for specimens or information. He didn't throw himself into battle for the glory of it. He simply did it because he cared about other people.

This whole ghost thing... It was no longer about them.

With one undeniable fact, they're slapped in the face with the brutal reality that they're not the heroes of this story.

Danny's reveal forces them to see the consequences of their actions.

Suddenly, this is bigger than them. Suddenly, they have to be careful. Suddenly, there's real burdens to carry and real dangers to face.

Suddenly, there's a messy, bloody first-aid kit hidden under their son's bed. There's nasty scars littering his body. There's a calculated fear in his eyes, that they now understand the source of.

Suddenly, there's responsibility involved.

And suddenly, it's not fun anymore.

[pomegranate]

Hello friend! So you've convinced me to watch Buzzfeed Unsolved but there is SO MUCH of it. Do you have any recommendations of where to start? I'd like to try out some ghosty ones, but I don't really know which they are. Plus, I'm a totally scaredy cat. Help?!

Oh this is so exciting!!! I'm thrilled to be able to recommend some eps, it's such a fun series and even if you're easily scared, it's pretty lighthearted and goofy, which prevents it from being as scary as it otherwise might. The sheer volume of content is definitely overwhelming but I've consulted with people who know more than me & they've agreed that these are some great places to start: Supernatural - 3 Horrifying Cases of Ghosts and Demons The very first time Ryan and Shane go ghosthunting together and it contains some iconic moments, an absolute must-watch. (warning about spiders in the 2nd case - it doesn't last very long but timestamps for those moments are 24:00 to 24:50, 25:25 to 25:32, and 25:50 to 25:56.) - The Haunted Halls of Waverly Hills Hospital If you're a believer in the paranormal (aka. Boogara), this episode has some intriguing moments that you could consider evidence of something otherworldly - but if you're a skeptic (aka. Shaniac), it's still worth watching for the totally creepy atmosphere of this place. Also, it's fun to see Ryan freaked out! - The Harrowing Hunt For Bigfoot Who doesn't love Bigfoot content? The boys try to track down the mysterious beast, which Shane actually believes in (Ryan is less convinced), so that's a fun twist on the normal skeptic vs. believer dynamic. - The Search for the Mysterious Mothman Another fun search for a famous cryptid, featuring the statue of Mothman where they gave him the juiciest ass. - The Ghosts and Demons of Bobby Mackey's If you've ever wondered where "Hey there demons, it's me, ya boi" comes from, this is the episode - and this is the moment if you just want to watch that. - London's Haunted Viaduct Tavern This one, as well as the two episodes after it, are from their visit to the U.K.! So you might enjoy seeing them be silly about non-American historical stuff. - The Demonic Bellaire House While I'm not sure what's actually up with this house (is it a demon? is it just bullshit?), there's a moment from this episode that is actually what finally convinced me to give Buzzfeed Unsolved a real try after I saw it in a video clip on Twitter. It's the spirit box "evidence" and it's terrific stuff. A GOOD EP. - The Unbelievable Horrors of the Old City Jail This is the most recent episode of Supernatural they've done since the pandemic put season 7 on hold* and it's probably one of my all-time favourites. They're incredibly goofy in it and Ryan genuinely becomes a bit unhinged because of how terrified he is. Also, some intriguing evidence! - The Murders That Haunted The Lizzie Borden House This one is arguably a bit of True Crime mixed in with Supernatural, so that's a plus, but it's also fun to see two grown men chanting a creepy children's rhyme to each other in a dark room. True Crime (I know you specifically said some ghosty ones but these are fun too) - The Strange Disappearance of D.B. Cooper This is a classic ep and is especially fun to rewatch given the recent Loki stuff with him as D.B. Cooper. It's very early in the series' run but they already have some great banter going on. - The Terrifying Axeman of New Orleans Despite some pretty gruesome content, this episode is a lot of fun and includes them wandering around in a remote location, which is always exciting for a True Crime ep! - The Eerie Case Of The Watcher I have to include this because it's the case they named their company after and it's an incredibly silly & fun episode (also no one was physically maimed in this case, so that's nice!). If you like these episodes, there are a ton of others I left off in the interest of keeping this relatively short, so please let me know if you want more recs! There are also various playlists you can use to go through the episodes, depending on whether or not you want to watch more True Crime with the Supernatural, and if you want to watch the Postmortems (where they answer viewers' questions after each episode and discuss other possible theories, and Shane eventually begins something called the Hot Daga which you may love or truly hate, depending on your tolerance for silliness and cartoon food stuffs).

*season 7 will be the last season of Unsolved Supernatural and Ryan has recently teased that he's really excited about some of the locations they'll be visiting, so of course I'm hyped - they're going to film this sometime over the next few months and it'll come out in the fall

[kanyniablue]

hws characters & belief in the supernatual

we’re not done yet w/ the headcanons

this is about interpreting the individual characters, not a statement on whether any real-life beliefs are true or not.

a.merica:  extremely superstitious but doesn’t believe he is.  every plane he’s ever flown, ship he’s ever sailed, and gun he’s ever carried has good luck charms.  his bomber jacket has lucky patches.  he wouldn’t let a rocket launch without first making sure the commander has lost a poker game.  and of course, no matter how secular he claims to be, he’s got religious--mostly protestant christian--imagery out the ass.  he’s got lucky rocks, lucky shoelaces, lucky underwear, lucky breakfast foods.  he particularly likes reverse-lucky things, saying black cats or the number 13 are actually good luck for him.  these are all “for fun”...except he would never go without them.  he half-believes in ghosts--moreso when he’s just watched a horror movie or it’s the middle of the night--but he’ll go on a ghost hunt at any time for any reason, just because it’s fun to believe (no i don’t believe he has a phobia of ghosts.  i think most of the things that cause him to feel real fear are too intense to be “fun,” so he likes horror movies and roller coasters and everything that can give him a thrill with no pressure).  he loves cryptids and gravity hills and the bermuda triangle, more for what they represent than what they actually are--finding bigfoot would just mean discovering a new species, which is great and all, but thinking bigfoot might be out there somewhere means you can go bigfoot-hunting or think you saw one in the background of a blurry photo.  his roommate is a literal space alien, but like, bro what if that was a ufo just now???

e.ngland:  he’s a sailor, of course he’s superstitious.  add into that how he can apparently see and talk to spirits, practices magic, and has sites like stonehenge across his land, he’s just going to outright tell you he’s not going to whistle on a boat and that he wants you to refer to macbeth as “the scottish play.”  he only gets upset about it, much like everything else he gets upset about, if you laugh at him.  the bigger question is, does he believe in the rest of the world’s superstitions or are they “silly legends and old wives’ tales” while his are real, and the answer i think is an “everyone else’s is fake until something happens right in front of me.”

f.rance:  he loves things like love locks on bridges (until they cause the fence to collapse) or visions from saints (esp jeanne d’arc), but he doesn’t necessarily believe they’re real.  more that it’s very romantic to think they’re real, and if something as strange as a Nation can exist, who’s to say other mystical things can’t exist too?

c.anada:  he has some old beliefs about where you don’t want to fuck around and find out--if you want a successful hunt you don’t insult the prey, if you don’t want to freeze to death you don’t talk back to general winter--but for the most part he doesn’t have that sort of belief system.  he’s a lot more about what’s directly in front of you and what it means in literal terms.

c.hina:  his grocery list always includes snacks for wandering spirits.  if he hears a strange noise in the house he talks to it like it’s a person, just in case it is.  he consults fortune tellers before buying a new cellphone.  his house is carefully organized for most harmonious energy flow right down to the color of paint on the walls.  yao lives by the rituals he’s made for himself, some of which are so ancient or personal to him that even the humans who study ancient chinese culture & mythology have never heard of them.  it’s not myth for him any more than tying your shoelaces to make sure you don’t trip is a myth--you do it because you know how these things work; you’d be foolish not to.

r.ussia:  he’d tell you no and furthermore any sort of supernatural belief is stupid, but don’t leave him alone in the middle of the woods where there might be...something.  this is mostly from after his revolution--in earlier days he’d have anything from good-luck hunting gear to lucky gambling dice.  he still has a lingering belief that talking about wolves makes them more likely to show up.  he couldn’t say why, except that it’s such an old fear even modernization couldn’t get rid of it.  he’d also never disrespect general winter, which is a theme with northern Nations.  (he’s also got his lucky rocket launch ritual, as mentioned in that ripley’s article i linked before...😒...)  much like alfred, he’s less scared/interested in a physical, literal being than he is in the concept--more afraid of being afraid than of dealing with an actual monster.

j.apan:  you’d be surprised; as someone who loves ritual and whose mythology is known the world over, kiku tends to disregard supernatural belief.  he’ll join in the activities surrounding holidays and ceremonies, but that’s more for the joy of participating than because he thinks it will actually change anything.  in his past he fully believed in all the things that caused those rituals to come into existence in the first place, but nowadays he considers them more “cute” or “fun” or “cultural” than “necessary.”  if one of the others comes over to his house looking for yōkai or something he’ll join in, but mostly in a mildly amused way.  not that he’d say that out loud, obviously; that’d just be impolite.  he is however sometimes outright rude to yao about his devotion to rituals, claiming he’s living in the past or holding up their business.  they’ve known each other long enough they don’t sugarcoat how they talk to each other.

north & south i.taly:  these two are super superstitious.  feli consults his horoscope for daily business and has good luck charms for everything from the weather to love to money to traffic.  he’s a gambler and a fisherman, he’s not taking chances.  lovi is a weird mix of catholicism-to-the-point-of-paganism and ancient roman rituals--not that he’s sacrificing animals to the gods, but it wouldn’t be unusual to see a miraculous medal and a roman god’s icon both hanging from his keychain.  they frequently swear by a broad selection of saints, they always eat lentils on new year’s, they’ve got a million idioms and hand gestures they themselves only half-remember the origins of.  they also get into arguments as to which of them is interpreting such-and-such sign or saint the ‘correct’ way.  feli also starts brushing off on kiku & ludwig when he hangs out with them; he’s just so into it they subconsciously start doing the same things he does.

g.ermany:  extremely no-nonsense, practical, matter-of-fact...except for how he’ll talk to his computer as if he can convince it to work better.  oh, and don’t take candy from strangers living in gingerbread houses or offering to take you to your grandmother’s house.  and much like alfred & ivan, he’s not scared of ghosts or monsters until he hears a bump in the night.

p.russia:  in his early years when he was devoutly religious, he was constantly praying, lighting candles, following his book of hours...usually after “smiting” a bunch of “heathens,” but like, it’s moral when he does it...but as time went on he became more interested in what could be scientifically proven.  even still early european science was a mix of magic, religious belief, and nature, and he basically did the same things as before except now he claimed it was all an experiment instead of all for the Glory Now And Forever Amen.  i firmly believe he lost his faith in any sort of religion by the end of WWI and nowadays he’d laugh off most of his past beliefs as ridiculous superstition.  since he ‘died’/got laid off from being a Nation he’s more interested on where the line between Nation and normal human exists, and where that goes past nature and into the supernatural--things he never really thought about when he could rely on his super-healing to keep himself alive and could feel his citizens’ emotions if they were strong enough.  those diaries he keeps have a lot of notes and observations along those lines nowadays.

[siimjaeyun]

Chapter 6: The Tale of Hong Chanmi 

Synopsis: A new girl arrives at Seoul High, and manages to crush your dreams of ever attending Prom with Heeseung. New emotions come afloat, ones that no one is ready to deal with, or well up to when you find yourself with new evidence on the disappearance of the kids from twenty five years ago. 

Series Masterlist 

------ 

“Mom! Cut it out!” The teen boy in his baby blue suit attempted to shove off his mom who insisted on taking more pictures of him before Prom. 

She took one last snapshot before waving him off as he got into the slick black limousine; his date waiting patiently for him inside. 

“I’m so glad you accepted to be my date tonight Johnny.” She scooted closer to him, placing both her head and left hand on his upper chest. 

“Aha, yeah.” Being new to a source of affection threw him off, causing him to chuckle awkwardly. 

“You know this isn’t my first prom...but I think you might be the one Johnny…” A long pause followed afterwards before the guy saw himself swooning over the girl’s flirting attempts. 

She inched closer, pulling offer her rubber mask and demonstrating her green wrinkled skin and purple hair. 

He was gone. 

------ 

“Woah, check out the prom posters.” All of you had arrived safely in one piece to school; Sunoo pointed to the light pink posters on the tan walls. 

“Are you planning to go?” Heeseung turned to ask you, and maybe just maybe, he thought of asking you. 

“Yeah, but I was hoping someone would ask…” 

“Well, good luck with that.” Your chances had gone back to zero. 

Meantime, Jake stood quietly in the background; the last amount of courage leaving his body as he openly observed you attempting to get Heeseung to go with you. 

“Ah, man. Stupid locker.” A voice muttered in the distance, and it caught the attention of Heeseung as he saw a new student struggle with opening their locker. 

“Here, these things tend to get stuck easily.” In a quick manner, he managed to loosen the lock and it came open. 

“Thank you! I’m Chanmi by the way.” She extended her hand to the young boy, who gladly received it. 

“I’m Heeseung!” The rest of you stood waiting in the back, clearly witnessing how the girl was shameless making attempts with him. You clearly didn’t know how to react. Your crush was flirting with another girl, who if you were to be honest, was clearly attractive. 

“Maybe we should get you out of here before you do something stupid.” Crossing your arms, you let Sunghoon drag you away from the scene with Sunoo, Jungwon, and Jake following behind. In the meantime, Jay was in the principal’s office welcoming another new student. 

------ 

“Hey guys.” Jay walked into the auditorium, taking a seat with a young boy in blonde hair trailing behind. 

“This is Niki, they asked me to take him under my wing while he gets used to it.” Sunoo and Jungwon enthusiastically welcomed him, and had practically called dibs on him the moment he took a seat next to him. 

“Where’s Heeseung? I don’t think the trip from English is this long.” You glanced around the room until you saw him coming into the room with new girl Chanmi next to him. An audible crack heard once you heard yourself enter a stage of a heart break. 

“Would now be a good time to get over him?” You asked Sunghoon who was seated next to you, seeing how tears began forming in your eyes. 

“Hey guys, this is Chanmi! I’ve been showing her around.” 

“He’s like my knight in shining armor.” Everyone slowly gagged, of course except Heeseung who was as dense as that one cake that Jungwon tried to bake last week. 

“Everyone, we have a special announcement, we ask people to not go to this week’s prom with ghost girls given the disappearance. That’s all.” Chief Kim left the stage leaving all you free to take off. 

“Need a ride Chanmi?” You didn’t stay back to hear the rest of the conversation; the least thing you wanted to see was your first love falling for someone else. 

“Hey, Jungwon and Sunoo have that cooking class afterschool. How about the rest of us go off to look for more information about those missing kids?” 

“What would I do without you Park Sunghoon?” The four of you took off from the auditorium, stopping for some coffee before returning back to the school later that night. 

------ 

“So let me get this straight, you guys solve mysteries?” Niki had chosen to tag along, curious at the troubles that your group seemed to get yourself into. 

“Pretty much. Trust me, I’m new to this too,” Jay stopped before realizing he wasn’t sure why they were there in the first place, “What is this story about the missing kids anyway?” 

“A couple weeks ago we started getting messages from a so-called JK. While we were researching for Que Horrifico, he sent over a newspaper article of some missing teens who disappeared twenty five years ago. They’re the same ones from y/n’s locket she found in a cave. He said it would lead us to a real mystery.” 

“Here. You and Jake go that way, we’ll head this way.” Sunghoon led the newcomers down to a collection of old books, while you and Jake handled the maps and articles. 

When your collection came to form, an odd thing occurred. All of the data relating to missing kids was gone. Circles and squares were cut out, meaning that someone had gone through it and erased all the data possible from the books and newspapers. 

“Who doesn’t want them found?” Your locket came open and shut when one of the large bookcases came down crashing on the floor. 

In the distance, a shadow quickly moved, and while Jay attempted to chase it down, more and more cases came falling down; whoever it was, they were trying to injure you. 

“Who’s there?” The shadow crept inside the girl’s locker room, leaving you the only one able to track it down. However, the room was empty.  You took a good look in the mirror before a frizzled beast startled you. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Chanmi was positioned behind you, giving you a welcoming smile. 

“No, I thought I saw something, sorry. What are you doing here so late anyway?” 

“The plumbing isn’t at the house yet so I came to freshen up. Well, I’m going to go change. See you tomorrow.” she responded. Your eyes wandered as Chanmi left to the sink, and you turned backwards one more time before seeing the guys waiting outside. 

“Hide over here.” All four of you squatted on the floor, watching the girl’s locker room door. Moments later, Chanmi walked out, almost as if checking if the coast was clear. She opened her locker and in her grasp was a silver key, shining in all glory. 

Her steps carried her to the basement door; her body vanished moments later. 

“Come on, let’s go before someone else tries to kill us.” 

------ 

“I’m telling you, something is up with Chanmi.” 

“Come on, haven’t we all snuck in the basement late at night?” Heeseung tried his best to defend the poor girl who had just arrived, but clearly wasn’t very supported given the perplexed looks on everyone’s faces. 

“I mean we don’t know much about her, could be possible. Haha take that Sunoo!” Niki exclaimed once he saw the pinball enter the target. 

“But-she looks so nice. Her eyes twinkle and her hair smells like peaches.” 

“Heeseung, do you like her?” You asked, not even semi-prepared for the answer. 

“Well if you look at the time, I have to go!” Heeseung caught hold of the keys on the table and fled immediately. 

“Hey you know that chic stealing guys at proms, she’s been doing it for years.” RM caught hold of your attention and used his head to nod at the screen. Endless pictures of boys who have gone missing in the past years, 

“We can’t stand here and do nothing. Let’s go.” You dragged Jay by the arm outside and into his car who somehow managed to fit the other five people into the back seats. 

------- 

“How exactly did you get Chanmi’s address?” 

“I have my ways Yang Jungwon. I have my ways.” Jay, who was in charge of driving the bunch, came to a stop with the GPS claiming he had arrived; he did not however expect to stop at a cemetery. 

“Are you sure that this is the right place?” Niki cautiously, closed the door and found himself slightly terrified at the arrival of a real adventure. 

“I guess we have to split. Sunghoon can go with Jay and Niki, and Jake and I will go with Sunoo and Jungwon.” 

The two groups separated at the first path; moss covered tombstones plagued the hills of grass; it was a cemetery after all. 

Most of the journey was quiet for both groups, but the occasional conversation did surge. For example, both Sunghoon and Jay began to learn more about Niki’s interest in dance, and his past life in Japan. 

The stroll was peaceful-like and the moon in the sky glistened and illuminated them from above. Too entertained by the silly jokes made by their friends, they failed to recognize the shadow that had begun to follow them. Before they knew it, a wrinkled woman jumped from behind a tombstone scaring the trio of friends. 

“Run!” Out of realizing that the two people with him were newbies, he took over getting them to safety while the witch-like creature kept chasing them. 

You on the other hand were having fun; telling Jake all the stupid things you and your friends have done was a great way to keep you from the whole Heeseung situation. Suddenly, Niki by mistake tackled all of you to the floor. When your eyes met the gaze of the creature, you snapped out of it and began sprinting once more. 

A small building-like place awaited you at the top of the next whole; your tired legs barely managing to get you to safety. 

“Quick!” Once Jay accomplished getting into the building, Jake and Sunghoon were able to close the door and waited for the continuous pounding to stop. 

“T-that was close.” Everyone struggled to catch their breaths; given that you were being hunted for a couple miles on end. 

“Huh. Take a look at this. Carswell.” Puzzled, all of you managed to take the top off the bin. 

“Isn’t this Mr.Carswell, the creeper? I thought he was in prison.” Jungwon pulled out a creeper rubber mask, a transfer slip, and finally an old backpack. 

“This transfer slip is from Seoul High.” Sunghoon held it in his fingers, and dropped it when the pounding emerged again. The door opened, and Heeseung was waiting while waving his camera phone in his left hand. 

“Jungwon let me know you guys were here.” You ran to give him a hug, comforted by the idea that he had yet to be abducted. 

“W-we think Chanmi is the monster. She’s planning to steal you!” Heeseung simply grabbed you by the shoulders and looked straight into your eyes. 

“Look, I know this must be about Chanmi asking me to prom. I promise that this won’t change our friendship.” Bitter reality had arrived on a silver platter. Three of your friends looked at the floor; everyone knew you were head over heels for the boy in front of you since middle school. 

“Let’s go home, thanks Heeseung.” Jake bravely stood and wrapped his arm around to comfort you. 

------ 

It was prom night at last. The dream night that most young girls dreamed for had arrived at once; it was a true miracle. Well, it was a dream night for -most- girls. 

“Come on, everyone is waiting for you.” Jay waited by the door frame, noticing the portrait from middle school between your hands. It rang in his head. You liked Heeseung, and he was taking some other girl to your senior year prom. 

“Everyone is downstairs. Let’s go.” Well, mostly everyone anyway. 

Sunghoon was seated with Jake in their navy suits; Sunoo and Jungwon in a burgundy color, and finally Niki and Jay in tan like color. On the other hand, you decided a lilac color was the best way to get you out of the slump you had entered since last night. 

“Now I get why they say girls take so long.” You slapped Sunghoon in the back of the head and headed off to the dance. 

------ 

In the meantime, Heeseung was still trapped in his room upstairs.

Standing in front of the mirror, he debated with himself over the color of his tie; which one would match best with the lilac corsage? A cruel reality settled inside him; lilacs were your favorite flower and he didn’t know why his mind was no longer excited for night. I mean, he had a pretty date. 

The phone that buzzed in his hands snapped him out of his thoughts. He attended it, seeing your latest Instagram post of you at the dance. The lilac-colored dress catching his eyes; how ironic. He swiped through, the last one stopping him in his tracks. Jake close to you, staring into your eyes while your lips curved into a smile. Ironic indeed. 

He wasn’t used to complex emotions, much less the odd sensation that began to creep into his system. Was he really going to spend his senior prom without his friends?  Emphasis on the friends. 

In a haste, he made the decision to call it quits on the date; he canceled the date and went alone. 

------ 

“Yo, Heeseung!” Jay flapped his arms when the tall boy walked in through the doors, without a date surprisingly. 

“Where’s your date Hee?” You asked with a punch cup in your hand. 

“It felt weird to come without you guys.” Internally, Heeseung hoped you wouldn’t pester him with any more emotions; he was thrilled when all eight of you made your way to the dance floor. 

Niki and Jay burst out into a full dance battle and it left the party to cheer loudly through the pounding music that played for the dancers. The atmosphere was dazzling, and everybody was having fun. 

The chaotic environment began settling down and so the slow song appeared; every confused lover’s worst nightmare. 

The younger trio which included Niki, Jungwon, and Sunoo stood in a circle, swaying their hands left and right to the rhythm of the song. It left the rest of you to stand by and observe in the comfort of your own group. Was now a good opportunity for the two love confused boys to gain courage? 

Heeseung was still conflicted by these new emotions; in his mind you were his friend. So why did you not appear to be his just friend tonight? 

“Want to dance?” 

Jake took hold of your hands when you gave him the go; Heeseung retreated back the original two steps he mustered the confidence to take. 

A soft melody engulfed your ears as you stared into Jake’s eyes. Had he always been like this? Your bodies moved in synchronization with the beat; you found yourself getting lost into what seemed like a friendly intention. 

Sunghoon and Jay both were attentive to what was occurring; a mix-up of feelings had occurred before their very noses. Who liked who was unclear? 

“Rough times buddy.” Sunghoon patted his back and Jay, trying to alleviate some of the tension noticeable in Heeseung’s figure, mimicked the younger trio’s swaying dance. 

Everything was well, or well until a loud cackling was heard through the speaker system. 

“I hope you saved a dance for me, Heeseung!” All of the students fled from the gym; who would want to be part of a monster show down anyway. 

The eight of you that remained ran as well, trying to find a way to avoid the witch from the cemetery. 

“Isn’t that Chanmi’s locker?” You rapidly opened the locker, taking possession of the silver key you witnessed the other day. 

“Follow me.” Inserting the key into the hole, the doorknob twisted letting you hide inside the basement. 

The basement had a light fire in the background, but it managed to brighten up the room. 

“Uhh..” Niki gave out an awkward stutter before showing you an old creeper mask and Chanmi’s school clothes. 

“Niki found his first clue, I’m so proud.” Sunoo wiped a fake tear from his eyes, and in the meantime Heeseung ran out of the basement; he was going to build himself a trap. 

------- 

The crinkled witch re-appeared in the gym, pausing at seeing Heeseung stand in the center with arms extended forward. She leaped towards him, but when she did, the disco ball came down onto her, capturing her hands in a set of plastic zip ties. 

“Heeseung, didn’t you hear me? I told you to not to go with a ghost girl to prom!” Mayor Lee stepped into the room with Chief Kim, amused at the scene in front of them. 

“She’s no ghost girl dad, she’s Hong Chanmi.” 

“More like Chanmi Carlswell.” Jungwon responded. 

“As in Mr.Carswell, the creeper?” Chief Kim asked with a hand on his chin. 

“That’s right! When you guys imprisoned him the past summer, I vowed to take revenge. I used the old creeper costume to construct my own and mimic the story of the ghost girl. I kidnapped Johnny and kept him in the cemetery building to keep people off. My plan was to then take out your oldest member, Heeseung. And it would have worked, if it wasn’t for you meddling...school..mates of mine.” 

------ 

All of you stared as you saw the reflection of Chanmi through the police car window; it faded moments after when the car left. 

“Hey they forgot her backpack!” Jake picked up the bag and my mistake dropped the book inside onto the floor. 

“This is an old Seoul High yearbook.” Sunghoon dusted off the front cover, and turned to the book marked page. 

 “It’s them, the kids who disappeared.” Eight boxes on the top displayed with a group photograph on the bottom confirmed that it was the same story sent by JK. 

“Check out the caption...Kim Daniel, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Kim Namjoon, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, Park Yena, and Jeon Jungkook...Seoul High’s mystery solvers club, Mystery Co.” 

“I like that name, mystery co.” Sunoo gazed at the page a little longer. 

“Those kids are just like us.” 

“The thing is, why did they disappear?” Had this been the mystery you were warned of before? 

------ 

Chanmi waited patiently on the mattress, swinging her legs back and forth until the gates of her cell opened. 

“Took you long enough.” 

“Is it taken care of?” A broad shouldered man now was in her sight, hands in his pockets.

“They bought the story. Will be a while before they realize Mr. Carswell never had a daughter.” 

“And the yearbook?” 

“In the backpack like you mentioned. I still don’t get why you didn’t just give it to them directly.” 

The man escorted her into the limo, and looked at her directly. 

“JK hired you to do this job, you don’t need to know everything. Let’s just say he needs them to start looking for the real mystery underneath Seoul City. One that drove away eight teens into their disappearance. It is time. ” 

------ 

Next- Chapter 7: Medieval times  

Taglist:

@softkons @nikisboxysmile

Side Note: Yay, Niki is finally introduced :) Send an ask to the added to the tag list! <3 

[tricketyboo2020]

Spooky Season approaches!

We hope that all you big spooky fans are having a good summer, and that you're as excited to get spooky as we at Trickety-Boo are! October is fast approaching, and the time has come to put out the prompts for our Trick-or-Treat!

What’s the Trick-or-Treat again?

The Trick-or-Treat is us knocking at your door and asking for all your sweetest and spookiest seasonally-appropriate Good Omens works! We’re sharing the prompt list now for you to get inspired by (below the “read more” for your scrolling convenience). You can use these prompts to create your lovely fic or art OR you can come up with your own! Either way, submit the final product to us starting at the beginning of October and we’ll share them with the world!

A complete list of the prompts, including who to tag if you fill them and desired spookiness ratings, can also be found on this google doc. We were unable to include these in the list below because Tumblr.

You can find more details on the Trick-or-Treat page on our blog! Please see the About and FAQ pages for more information on this event as a whole, including a guide on how to appropriately tag your works. 

Prompts:

CONTENT WARNINGS for murder (incl. serial killers), supernatural horror

SFW Prompts

A day in the life of Eric the Disposable Demon

Adam accidentally makes everyone’s costumes real. Angel, demon and antichrist scramble to fix everything.

Aziraphale tries candy making and gets creative with it.

Bones

Chattering Nuns Convent Haunted House

Clue Not-AU. Post Canon (slight preference for show, but book is great too), Airaphale and Crowley are invited to a murder mystery weekend at an old manor with secret passages. It’s supposed to be fun & games, but then people start actually dying. Bonus points for as many actual Clue things (weapons, rooms, characters) as you can incorporate.

creaky hallway

discovering the existence of emoji spells

Dog’s Halloween Costume

Due to a curse leveled at him during the 14th century, every Halloween Crowley is stuck as a snake for 24 hours. Aziraphale has no idea, and Crowley would like to keep it that way…but the universe has other plans.

Making or putting up Halloween decorations together

rude notes

Scary demon/angel summoning. Aziraphale or Crowley get summoned by people who want to hurt/kill them. The other rescues. Hurt/Comfort ensues.

Scooby Doo AU

Scooby Doo Crossover! I’d love to see Aziraphale and Crowley end up in the Scooby Doo world somehow and have to work with Mystery Inc. (The other way could also work, I suppose, but I like this one a bit better.) No Scrappy Doo, please.

Silly Demon/Angel summoning. Aziraphale or Crowley gets summoned to a Halloween party. The people who summoned him didn’t expect it to work. The other comes & “rescues” the summoned one and they may or may not stay for the party.

The Dalby Spook, also known as Gef the Talking Mongoose, was an animal apparition on the Isle of Man in the 1930s. Someone gets sent to deal with this really very harmless mongoose demon who’s just living with this family

the devil’s mahjong game

The Them’s Halloween party/night trick-or-treating

the widow’s long walk

Witchery lessons with Anathema

Zombies in Soho

Any Rating Prompts

A crossover with the horror game Bendy and the Ink Machine

A Wild Hunt has been called and Crowley just KNOWS Aziraphale will inevitably get tangled up in it. Now he has to save his angelic counterpart from the fae’s court, no matter how much of a liking they’ve taken to his angel.

After Adam’s reset of world some unreal things Adam thought were true now ARE. including some urban legends. Some of them very dangerous ones that need to be dealt with by A & C. And this is how they end up parked in the Bentley on lovers lane trying to find a guy with a hook hand. Wait, this legend requires them to make out! …. Oh well, yes, definitely have to kiss to lure that monster out. That’s why they’re kissing. Definitely. Unless…

Aziraphale falls in love with a storybook monster.

Aziraphale is a skeptic in all things supernatural. His (demon) boyfriend Crowley prefers it that way. If only the meddling witch would stop trying to expose him and the rest of the supernatural forces.

Aziraphale is possessed by an evil spirit and Crowley must save him.

Aziraphale is the (surprisingly friendly) Victorian ghost haunting Crowley’s new mansion

Carving jack-o-lanterns

Creepypasta format story (like a found footage or witness statement kind of thing)

Cursed

Demonic attempt to travel via the internet goes horribly wrong and get stuck in a streaming horror movie. Can’t get out til the end… If they make it to the end without being discorporated. Could go either very funny or really terrifying for demon not familiar with humanity

Eyes in the dark

Falling to the influence of dangerous/beastly instincts.

Ghost AU

Halloween is the one day the points of good or bad don’t matter, so it’s Heaven and Hell’s day off

Heaven/Hell have a hostile masquerade party. Oh, no, our outfits match too much. We’re definitely, absolutely enemies!

Killing time

Murder at the Dowling Estate

Nun/Vampire or a lost villager in a forest meets a myth creature

Samhain celebration

Scary movie marathon

True form is scary (either angelic or demonic)

Trying to learn the Time Warp choreography from the Rocky Horror Picture Show

NSFW Prompts

“Oh no, due to mysterious and unforseen circumstances I’m lost in the woods in this fancy outfit, and the only place nearby is the castle that everyone says is inhabited by a Very Sexy Vamipre, whatever shall I do??”

Aziraphale is Death and Crowley is the serial killer who keeps murdering to catch a glimpse of the ethereal being he fell in love with.

Sexy costumes (or “sexy” costumes)

Serial Killers AU: Aziraphale is a novice who’s just drawn his first blood. Crowley catches him in the act and aims to teach him to not get so sloppy.

[writings-of-a-hufflepuff]

You Haunt Me

Fandom: Star Wars

Collection/Series: N/A

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Reader (No Pronouns etc. Used, GN)

Writer: @writings-of-a-hufflepuff​ aka @hufflepuffing-all-day-long​

Rating: G 

Warnings: N/A

Summary: Anon requested: I was thinking from your promp list #3 with Poe Dameron. Maybe some moder AU where he is going ghost hunting with his significant other? You could use number 34, 39 and 12 and it could really work. It could end with something funny/cute.

Poe takes you ghost hunting as a date idea. You are suffice to say not impressed.

Notes: Modern AU, was a prompt became a whole one-shot

Archiveofourown

Comment and Feedback Form

Taglist Form

Ghost hunting. A ridiculous notion, a terrible idea, reckless, potentially dangerous, maybe even a useless endeavour. Why you could be killed by a demon or alternatively, if ghosts didn’t exist, simply fall through the crumbling ceiling of an abandoned house and break your neck, leg, or other body parts. Why you had let Poe drag you into ghost hunting with him as a fun date idea you’re not sure, the appeal had worn off the moment you’d stepped into his truck. 

Bee was panting happily in the back seat, the little Corgi had been brought along and Poe had the audacity to dress him in a tiny little ghostbusters costume. While he was adorable and you couldn’t resist stretching back to regularly scratch under his jaw, his favourite spot, the fact that Poe had done that when you were already worried about this adventure twinged your nerves. You were, safe to say, decidedly unhappy with this date already and you hadn’t even stepped foot inside the haunted building.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.” You mumble as he pulls up in front of the old Snoke house. Long abandoned, and covered in a million no trespassing signs, the old house was the source of 90% of your town’s ghost stories. It was the house teenagers dared each other to go in alone, the house apparently, your boyfriend decided would make the ideal date spot. 

The building was looming over the two of you. The car lights glinted off of shattered windows and metal railings, the paint on the siding was peeling off, cracked in massive chunks. It was nighttime, but the house still managed to create large shadows from the moonlight, street lamps and car lights. There was a sense of being watched, perhaps that was your own imagination, your own mind playing tricks on you or perhaps old Snoke had never left his house. You shiver. 

“C’mon, sweetheart, baby, love of my life, it’ll be fun!” He’s pouting at you with those unfairly plush lips, brows furrowed in an imitation of a sad look. It didn’t help your resolve that he looked decidedly adorable on this particular night, you were sure he’d spent extra time making sure those curls of his fell just right across his eyes. He’d chosen to layer up in cosy sweaters and he had just a hint of scruff across his cheeks. Poe always looked good, handsome as he was, but it was unfair that he knew to use it against you. 

“Potentially being possessed isn’t my idea of fun, Poe!” You frown at him, crossing your arms over your chest, knowing that the truth is that you’re really scared to go in. You're scared of the possibility of ghosts, of dark corridors. You’re scared of getting separated or one of you getting hurt or getting in trouble with the police if they notice you in a house that’s covered in no trespassing signs. You’re not as brave as you often pretend and in truth this isn’t your idea of fun, but you also know that Poe wants to do this and that you would do almost anything if Poe asked. If Poe wasn’t such a sweetheart that would probably be a dangerous prospect. 

“Hey, nothing is going to happen to you. I’ve got you, boo.” It would be sweet, the soft little kiss to your cheek, his reassuring rubbing of fingers to your shoulder, if the little grin on his face didn’t say that he knew what a ghost related joke he just made. If he quite clearly wasn’t enjoying this much too much. 

“Never call me boo again, Dameron.” You shrug off his fingers and grab the torch from your lap. Giving him your back as you jump out of his truck. 

It is terribly cold outside and you can already feel the shivers coursing through you before you’ve even truly begun your adventure, you bounce a little on the balls of your feet, hands rubbing at your arms as you wait for Poe. You find yourself jumping and twitching at every shadow in your peripheral vision. 

He doesn’t take too long to follow you, camera, torch and Bee in tow. The little corgi follows at your heels with happy panting and he oddly enough makes you feel better despite his small size. Perhaps if there was something wrong he’d be able to sense it, if he’s so happy then surely you should be too. 

“Babe, don’t be mad! Or your angry face will haunt me.” 

“Seriously, Poe?” You stop and turn, arms folded tight across your chest, brows pulled close together. The puns are getting old and they’re certainly not helping your mood. He’s grinning at you, closing the gap to pull your hands free and hold them in his own. Thumbs brushing across the back of your hands as he gets further into your personal space, nose brushing against your own. 

“Hey, you do haunt me though...in a good way.” There’s quiet silence that falls over the two of you, just the sound of Bee’s pants, the rattle of a fence in the wind, the rustle of leaves on the trees. But it’s a heavy sort of silence in which you are reminded that you love him and why you love him, because he’s a dork, a bit of an idiot, but he’s sweet, funny and caring. Because he never fails to make you feel loved. Because even when you want to be mad at him, he makes it incredibly hard. 

“Honey...I just...i’m scared.” It takes a lot to admit, but you know that Poe can tell anyway, that admitting it is the first step to him being able to reassure you and provide you with more support. The truth is that you’re scared of the unknown, scared of finding out that it’s all real or any number of possibilities. There are so many things that could go wrong and it terrifies you, you know that Poe wants a fun night, that to him this is a harmless little adventure, but it doesn’t feel like that to you.

“Hey, hey...sweetheart, sweetie, love of my life, nothing is going to happen and if it does i’m right here, okay?” Poe tugs on your hands pulling you into an embrace, his arms wrap tight around your back, hands rubbing soothing circles over the expanse of it. He tucks your head under his chin, pressing a quick kiss to your temple and then the crown of your head. You let your forehead fall, pressed into his shoulder, breathing in the familiar smell of his cologne and laundry detergent. It is a few moments of calm, a reassuring warmth against you, a pair of soothing and familiar arms. 

“I know...I just, don’t leave me alone?” You mumble it into his jacket, a little worried that you sound terribly whiny when it’s date night. You're determined that the next date night will be your idea and not his.

“Look at me,” You pull away just enough to look him in the eye, deep brown crinkling at the corner as he gives you a reassuring smile, “I won’t leave your side. I’ll be your own personal ghost.”  

“Poee…” You can’t help but groan a little bit at the joke, once again being reminded that he can’t seem to stay away from ghost related humour as of late. It shouldn’t be funny, but there’s a part of you that has to admit you quite enjoy his stupid jokes. They’re dopey and endearing. 

“I can’t help it! Don’t give me that look, you know you think they’re funny secretly.” 

“...maybe a little.” You admit, tugging on his hand and beginning to move towards the house. As much as you dislike the whole idea, the sooner you explore and investigate, the sooner you could be done with it. Or at least, that’s what you were telling yourself. 

You interlock your fingers, a tight grasp on him that he doesn’t comment on, just squeezes back reassuring you that he’s there, that he’s not going anywhere. The front steps creak as you carefully make your way up them, there’s more give than you would like in the old wood and you can feel your whole body tense as if waiting for the fall, the moment you fall through and break a leg or a wrist. It never comes. 

“Poe!” Your panicked voice comes from Poe briefly letting go of your hand to help Bee up the stairs, the deep steps a little too much for the little corgi to handle.

“Hey, it’s okay, i’m here,” He’s quick to shush you, reassuring you as he locks your hands back together that he’s not leaving you alone. The little corgi is quick to follow on your heels as Poe takes the lead walking confidently across the deck, pushing open the creaky front door that’s barely holding on to it’s rusted hinges. It groans at the movement. 

“Oh, crap,” it comes from Poe as the door decides that was the final straw, the rusting hinges cracking and collapsing under the strain as the door tumbles to the ground. Dust rises into the air and the two of you cough at the sudden intrusion. Even Bee is sneezing and coughing in his own little way, big sneezes causing his whole body to jump. “I didn’t do anything!”

“Uh huh, tell the cops that. Better yet tell the ghosts that you didn’t mean to break their front door down.” You shake your head as the two of you step over the door and into the entryway of the house. 

“Uh, sorry? I didn’t mean to break your door?” There’s a loud bang as you watch an old, disused broom fall to the floor in front of you, repeated and aggressive knocking sounds out around you. You find yourself clinging as close to Poe as you can, but he’s no different, just as wrapped around you as he can. 

It’s when Bee starts barking that Poe decides, “There’s some evil in this house…” It’s one of those lines that should be corny, cheesy, silly...but when you can feel your skin crawling with goosebumps and shivers running down your spine, there’s something about it. A new edge to it that changes it from silly to spinchilling. 

“Don’t say that! Why do you always say things like that?” You thought back to all the horror movies Poe and you had watched together, demons, ghosts and ghouls, how badly this could all go. Despite that Poe continues to drag you deeper into the large house, following twists and turns. 

“Why are we going deeper? Poe!” He pulls you further in still, just turning back with a smile and a quick, ‘it’ll be fun!’, that doesn’t convince you at all. Not when every so often a bump can be heard, an item falling from a height, the shattering of glass. 

You’re too scared to ask questions, to even note the way you’re going, which turns you’ve taken. Poe meanwhile can’t seem to stop talking as he drags you deeper and deeper into the large house. 

“Knock once for yes, twice for no, is Old Snoke still here? Snokey boy?” A  loud single knock sounds out around you as you start up a random staircase, you check that Bee is still following as you press closer to Poe’s back letting out a displeased groan at his paranormal interactions. 

Poe continues to ask questions of ‘Old Snoke’, things you really don’t want the answer to, such as did he really murder all those people in his basement and are the bodies still in the walls. You try to block out the knocking, not wanting answers, not even sure if the knocks are coincidence or something sentient, something dead responding to you. You hope it’s just the former, the idea of an old creepy serial killer still ‘living’ in his house long after death is less than appealing. 

“Baby, can we leave now?” You whimper it out after Bee starts barking again, as window panes rattle in their casement and floorboards creak. 

“Seriously, Poe, can we leave?!” Your breathing is erratic at the feeling of a touch to the back of your neck as you jump into him and away from the sensation, the feeling. When you look at his face, your boyfriend looks equally as freaked out, pupils blown wide, breathing heavy, knuckles white where his grip on the torch is so tight. 

“Yeah, yeah, of course, sweetheart.” You wrap tight around him as he begins to lead the way out, following him through twisting hallways and cracked doorways. You have no idea what part of the expansive manor house you’re in, no idea where you’ve ended up, but Poe seems so confident in his strides that you’re sure he knows too.

Until you go in a circle, until he begins to move at a panicked pace as the knocking increases in frequency and Bee is nipping at your heels trying to keep up, barking loudly at something you can’t see. 

“Poe…?” He stops short suddenly, breathing heavy as he twists his head this way and that as if trying to catch a glimpse of something, as if searching for something. “Baby?”

“I...okay, don’t kill me, but we may be...a little... uh, lost?” He has his hands up, placating, as if worried you might tackle him or something for getting you lost. In all honesty, you’re upset and you’re angry. At the situation mostly, not so much at him. You don’t want to be here, you want to be in your warm house, curled under a blanket watching a movie with him, not in a creepy old house.  You can’t pretend you’re not upset.

“Lost? Lost! I thought you knew where we were going?!”  

“It’s a big house, I just, I was so excited to explore I didn’t even think about it!” You pause before responding, a silence falling over the two of you, except it’s not entirely silent. The knocking is still happening in patterns, and the house creaks around you an ambient noise that hasn’t stopped since the moment you stepped inside. 

You cross your arms over your chest and turn your back to him, just for a moment, just to collect your cool and calm the frustration and fear that are welling in your chest. You turn back around and say to him, “I’m not speaking to you until we find our way out.” 

You’re determined not to speak out of frustration at Poe and in truth the best way to avoid that is to avoid speaking at all. Still you step closer to him again at a loud knock behind you, bumping into his chest. 

“You’re not speaking to me?” A dark eyebrow raises, sceptical, and in true Poe Dameron fashion he manages to get a rise out of you without evening trying. You find yourself responding before you can even think. 

“Yeah!”

“Ah ha! You just spoke to me!” 

“Poe! Now is not the time! I don’t want to be here! I’m scared!” You tug on his arm, although it’s nice to see the fear leave his face for a moment, nice to see his teasing back, you are also very scared and very much not in the mood right now. You are lost inside a creepy, haunted house, a house that has a long and dark history, and this was not , not a good date. Poe was very lucky you loved him. 

“...okay, okay, sorry,” He takes a moment to think, spinning around in a circle looking at the various doorways and corridors that he could take you down. Bee spins in a similar circle at your feet copying the actions of his owner, “I think, I think we need to go this way.” He points down a long corridor you haven’t been down yet, it’s long and dark and more than a little intimidating, even more so with the ominous knocks that travel down it in echoing booms. 

“Are you sure?” 

“As sure as I can be…” In all honesty Poe feels pretty bad for dragging you to a creepy haunted house, getting you lost and making you so uncomfortable. He’s determined to get you out and get you somewhere warm and cosy, and never take you ghost hunting again. 

“Next time, I'm picking our date activity, sir!”

“Fair, babe, fair.” 

The house is a continued maze of twists and turns, creepy knocking and horrible noises. There are points at which you are sure you hear groans and whispers, but the two of you persist ever onwards. There is no comparable feeling of relief to the one you have when you see that open front doorway, the rush of adrenaline and you, Poe and Bee rush your way out of the house and don’t stop until you are inside Poe’s truck.

The two of you are panting as you strap yourselves in, seatbelts pulled across yourselves, before Poe peels out of the driveway and down the street towards home. “I hope you know we’re never doing that again.” 

“Bee, had fun though.” 

“At least one of us did.” You look back at the little corgi who is panting happily in the backseat again, not faced by the evening's events and content with his lot in life. You can’t help but laugh now that the fear is gone, the ‘danger’ over. You can’t help but laugh as you lean against the window. Poe joins you as he drives, curls bouncing as his head shakes. 

“Who thinks ghost hunting is romantic, Poe?”

“I don’t know, okay? I just, I thought it would be fun!”

                                                              -----

Taglist @charradelange @belfry-bat @gabile18 @beccaboo929  

[albatris]

Wait that sounds cool tell me more about Bright and Burning Things? (If you want to ofc you definitely don't have to)

:D!!! of course, I can tell you some stuff!!! thank you for the question, I'm happy you think it sounds cool!!

this is not really a super sensical explanation, this is some rambles, as usual

so, this is a short standalone project of mine, it's uhhhh........ hm. something something fantasy comedy something. it's meant to be a bit of a light-hearted adventure, but as it is with most of my more silly stories, it takes a sharp detour into some "oof" territory c':

bits of the premise sound kind of Heavy but silliness and heaviness go hand-in-hand quite nicely I think

the central character is a ghost kid! this kid’s name is Max! the story kicks off right after they die and they’re being ushered onto the bus that will take them to the afterlife. as they are being ushered onto said bus, they’re like “holy fuck wait no” because they have unfinished business in the living world. they got straight-up murdered!  their life got cut short! they don’t have any closure! they don’t even know who killed them!! so they make a run for it and go ghost

and like, oh, this happens sometimes. the dead are sometimes quite affronted by the fact that they’re dead and kick up a bit of a fuss when it comes to Moving On. the thing is, souls aren’t really built for Being Ghosts and can’t really survive long out in the living world, so there’s a bit of a time limit on Max’s quest to figure out who killed them and solve the mystery of their own death, since if they stay too long in the living world as a disembodied soul they’ll start to unravel

related, and perhaps more pressingly, is that there’s various agents of the afterlife who are attempting to find them and bring them back and Make Them Move On. these forces take on a bit of an antagonistic role in the story, but they’re not really any malevolent force that wants to hurt Max, they’re just the folks who go after stray and panicked souls and try to bring them to the afterlife before they fade away and disappear completely

Max’s got shit to do, though, like I said

so the story follows Max over the course of one night as they piece together the story of their death and fill in the gaps in their memory, while also attempting to stave off their unravelling for as long as they can

Max becomes acquainted with various other supernatural beings who are on their own time-sensitive quests on the same night, n they form some sort of kinship over this fact and band together to help each other out on their missions

firstly there’s Daisy, stir-crazy thousand-year-old heir to the vampire throne, due to be crowned the next day, who suddenly had an existential crisis and was like “actually vampire society is dull as hell I wanna LIVE”

so she goes out into the human world and robs a pizza store and starts several fights and is like “hell YEAH this slaps” and basically decides she’s just gonna kick up some real chaos since this is her last night of freedom, basically, n she’s gotta make it count

she’s very smart! she knows next to nothing about human society and how to be a normal person though, and if you leave her unsupervised she will attempt to eat marbles

also the structure of vampire society is very convoluted and confusing and full of complete nonsense. it makes no sense to anyone but the vampires themselves, and even then the rest of the supernatural world is half convinced the vamps are just playing the long game with an extremely elaborate prank. their royalty live in an abandoned petrol station? they wear those little paper crowns from hungry jacks/burger king. they take themselves very seriously

also this is the story in which I was really drunk when I was planning it n just slammed some vodka and was like “VAMPIRES COME FROM SPACE NOW” and then sober logan just had to deal with that

ANYWAY

next there’s Hope and Deckchairs, a socially anxious uni student and a socially anxious demon respectively, and the deal with these two is uhhhhh

well, Hope was trying to be a Cool Kid and tagged along with some Cool Kids who wanted to do a demonic summoning ‘cause Hell Yeah That’s Edgy And Cool

and Deckchairs (not named Deckchairs at the time, this is a name that’s adopted during the story) was doing their very overdue demon taxes and stressing over demon finances, n then got yoinked out of the underworld because of the aforementioned summoning

(I think this is generally viewed among demons as a mild inconvenience, sometimes you get Yoinked when you’re right in the middle of something and you just have to be like “ugh fine I’ll just kick up a bit of a ruckus then come back”)

however, when the summoning actually works, the Cool Kids freak out and scatter and in the chaos Hope gets her head bonked on the side of a dresser and fuckin starts bleeding out, and Deckchairs is like “oh fuck I did not sign on for this” ‘cause they’re........ yeah, look, they’re gentle and anxious and not a very good demon, maybe. n so Deckchairs possesses the body of Hope to keep her alive

so now these two are co-piloting a body, and have to figure out a way they can split and return to their lives without Hope dying. however, they’re also being hunted down by

the Cool Kids, who are now all keyed up and paranoid and convinced they’re the heroes of a horror movie n they have to kill the demonic entity they brought into the world

the underworld, who.......... now, I haven’t figured out whether they’re pissed ‘cause they think Deckchairs is committing tax evasion by body-hopping into the human world, or they’re pissed just ‘cause Deckchairs has work to do and they don’t consider one human life to be worth all the hold up

so that’s not great for either of them, but like, yeah, if they can figure out a way to split and be done with it, it’s problem solved for both of them. yeehaw. too bad they’re both nearly too anxious to speak to each other

and that’s................................. all that

facts?

there’s a plot twist at the end that I am SUPER psyched about! and it has taken literally all of my willpower not to spoil it completely

I feel like it’s an easy one to guess, but it’s perfect for the story and the themes and it’s one I’m hella excited about

and this is..................... this is I think the only story of mine where I would say it doesn’t necessarily have a happy ending? like. it certainly doesn’t end in TRAGEDY, but this is definitely a bittersweet ending, it’s got some real sad undertones

it’s the best possible ending for the characters, but like, hey, my protagonist is already dead, y’know?

anyway if you read this far I hope some of this was fun for you :’))

thanks for coming to my ted talk I hope you have a nice day :D

[nockfellblues]

Okay. We all know the SF fandom loves the idea of Buzzfeed Unsolved gang. How do you think their adventures go? (Larry and Sal being Ryan and Ash being Shane. Please add in Todd cause people don't add Todd into this ;-;)

Ah this is my fave AU! I think it’s just adorable ;; no real organization to this one, outlay just ideas and rambling I’m sorry ;;

Their adventures are always a wild ride. Sal is definitely trying his best to do legit ghost hunting- him and Todd have the tech side down to a science and they’re both pros when it comes to using stuff like EVP recorders, Spirit Boxes, different camera types etc... Larry on the other hand is just 100% jokes the whole time. Poor Sal is doing his best to ask pertinent questions like who they are and why they’re there while Larry is asking what the ghosts favorite pizza toppings are and weather they prefer boxers or briefs.

Ash got roped into the whole thing because she’s just a ride or die friend(and it sounded kinda fun). She takes everything they witness with a mountain of salt and has an explanation for literally everything they see or hear. EVP saying something? Nah, man, that was the wind. Larry, you absolutely were just breathing too close to the mic! Absolutely has the most guys when it comes to demon hunts and will definitely tell the demon to fight her or fuck off(cue Sally laughing his ass off while Larry loses his shit- “Jesus, Ash, you’re gonna get us killed!”).

Todd is the man behind all the tech and has made a great deal of their equipment himself. He also does most of the footage review because no one else has the attention span to watch 18 hours of cam footage. He loves being paired with Ash when they’re hunting since her dry disbelief is a great way to debunk on the spot(and also she’s just super chill and good to bounce ideas around with).

Sal absolutely cannot keep a straight face when Larry starts flipping out over eerie noises so hints they’re paired on are always hilarious. He actively pranks Larry with silly things like bunmping into things in the dark, making weird noises when he’s not paying attention etc... and poor Larry is just spending the whole thing trying to keep his cool- “Man, this isn’t so bad. I mean, what’s the ghost gonna do? Haunt me?” [distant bang] “I take it back! This is awful I’m going the fuck home guys-“

[aboutcaseyaffleck]

Actor Casey Affleck Reflects On The Past And 'The World To Come'

The last time I saw Casey Affleck was after an 8:30 a.m. Sundance Film Festival screening of “Manchester by the Sea,” which left my colleagues and I so emotionally drained we were pretty much useless for the rest of the day. Affleck finds this very funny. “Oh man, that’s awesome,” he laughs. “That was a tough screening. At Sundance I’m usually just going to sleep at 8 a.m.” We’re talking on the phone a few days after the festival’s virtual premiere of his latest movie, “The World to Come,” which made its Sundance debut last month under very different circumstances. “It’s so strange doing these things sitting in front of your computer,” he sighs.

Directed by Mona Fastvold, “The World to Come” is a powerful period piece about a forbidden love affair between pioneer women played by Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby, set in upstate New York during the early months of 1856. Affleck produced the picture, in which he plays a supporting role as Waterston’s uncomprehending husband, and he did his best to soldier through a crowded Zoom Q&A after the Sundance screening, with results pleasant enough, but nonetheless missing that in-person festival magic. “I used to love going to film festivals and talking to journalists and seeing all the movies and talking to other filmmakers,” he laments. “Sitting here alone in a little office in my house is such a drag. But it was nice to know that the movie was getting seen, at least.”

While big brother Ben plays Batman in studio pictures, Casey has exhibited a restless independent streak ever since he was a student at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. (Our ninth-grade classes competed against each other in the Mass. High School Drama Guild Competition. His won, perhaps unsurprisingly.) A longtime friend of the Brattle Theatre and former creative advisor for the Independent Film Festival Boston, the younger Affleck has always seemed more at home in indies. Not a lot of actors would follow an Oscar-winning role in “Manchester by the Sea” with a microbudget art film like “A Ghost Story.” But then his internalized, minimalist acting style is often at odds with the concerns of contemporary blockbusters. There’s a weird dissonance watching something like Disney’s hokey Chatham sea adventure “The Finest Hours,” with Affleck going full Montgomery Clift while surrounded by CGI silliness.

“The World to Come” is the most ambitious project yet from Affleck’s Sea Change Media, which partnered with Pamela Koffler and Christine Vachon’s legendary NYC indie institution Killer Films for the arduous production that began with a conversation between Affleck and novelist Ron Hansen nearly a decade ago. “When I did ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ I got to know Ron Hansen, just because I loved the book so much. Ron has a very unique talent for writing 19th century language. He’s just from another era. I asked him if he had something he wanted to work on together, and I thought he would send me one of his things. Instead, he sent me this story by Jim Shepard. It was beautiful. I said, why don’t you and Jim write the script? And they took about six years, but it came together beautifully. Good things come to those who wait, I guess.”

The film eventually shot in Romania with a break built into the schedule to accommodate the changing seasons that are so crucial to the movie’s rugged, outdoor textures. “We were way out in Transylvania, out in the mountains,” Affleck explains. “We were just in some valley and they built a couple of farmhouses. I like being far away in a new place. It makes you feel outside of your life. And I love working in weather. There are so many aspects of moviemaking that are artificial, but when there’s extreme weather, it’s real. I did this Disney movie about a boat rescue, and it was, like, December in friggin’ Quincy and they were just soaking us with water every single take. There’s not a lot that you have to quote-unquote act. You’re just standing there, teeth-chattering, shivering, just being.” This reminds me of the scene in “Manchester” when he and Lucas Hedges have an argument walking in the blistering cold and can’t remember where they parked. “I forgot about that one,” he laughs.

I’d never say so on the phone, but I consider Affleck’s performance as Lee Chandler in “Manchester by the Sea” among the finest I’ve seen in my 22 years of reviewing films, worthy of discussion alongside Brando’s Terry Malloy in “On the Waterfront” in its aching, inchoate longing. Lee holds his grief somewhere very private and dear, as if to begin to forgive himself would be an act of betrayal. The movie nails a gruff, emotional constipation popular among men of a certain stripe, especially in New England. (My mother offered my favorite review of the film: “Why don’t they just talk to each other? Jesus, this is like watching you and your father.”) Words don’t come easily to most of Affleck’s movie characters, but he chafes at the description of them as inarticulate. “It’s funny, I find the characters in ‘Manchester’ to be sometimes very articulate,” he argues. “There’s misunderstandings, but they end up communicating what’s inside.”

“The World to Come” is rife with such mixed signals and miscommunications, about which co-star Katherine Waterston raved during the Zoom Q&A after the Sundance screening. “It was so much fun to play the scenes with Casey,” she said. “A lot of these scenes are written as dances, where somebody tries to reach out and engage and they’re misunderstood. Inarticulacy is a very interesting thing to see in film. The failed attempts. Failed communications. It’s actually fun to play those things. You don’t know what the other person’s going to throw at you. It keeps it really alive on set. Mona and I felt if we had the money we could have kept shooting this thing for months, because the scenes were so much fun to explore.”

Affleck agrees. “When Katherine’s character writes in her journal or she starts talking to Vanessa, they have this beautiful, expressive way of speaking to each other,” he enthuses, whereas his character “says what he’s gotta say in as few words as possible. He’s very brusque and curt, which I enjoyed. The way that he talks is the communication equivalent when he gives her a birthday gift of sardines and a tin of raisins.”

Indeed, her increasingly florid diary entries — originally intended as a ledger to keep track of the farm’s monthly expenses — become the heartbeat of the film, providing an emotional release otherwise suppressed by the rigid formality of the era and the ugly drudgery of day-to-day farm life. “The World to Come” is ultimately a movie about the need to share our stories, and how through telling them we make sense of ourselves. As producer Koffler explains in the press notes, “Part of the film’s vision is to dramatize a very basic human impulse: to create, to connect, to say ‘I was here, and I mattered.’”

This has become a recurring theme in Affleck’s recent work. In 2019, he wrote, directed and starred in “Light of My Life,” a little-seen but strikingly tense post-apocalyptic road movie about a father and daughter hiding out in the wilderness after a pandemic has wiped out most of the women in the world. The film begins with Affleck telling the little girl a bedtime story that runs almost 13 minutes and sneakily sets up the movie’s major themes. Then in last month’s well-acted but regrettably soggy “Our Friend,” he starred as real-life journalist Matthew Teague, whose soul-baring Esquire story about his wife’s struggle with cancer became a national phenomenon.

“Matt Teague wrote that article and then wanted it made into a movie as his way of processing everything that had happened,” the actor elaborates. “You transform pain into other things as you go through life. That was all him working through it. I like stories about storytellers and I like stories within stories. Obviously, I wrote and directed a movie that starts with a 12-minute bedtime story. I love that. I know that other people don’t love it as much as I do, so I have to be careful about it.”

That kind of love led to last summer’s “Stories From Tomorrow,” a project initiated during lockdown by Affleck and his schoolteacher mom Christine, encouraging children to send in poems and short stories to be read on social media by celebrities like Matt Damon and Jon Hamm, as well as his “The World to Come” co-stars Waterston and Kirby. “That was something I started out at the very beginning of the quarantine as a small project to encourage kids to write creatively, because I know it can be a great way of processing anxiety and working through feelings that you aren’t really talking about or aren’t aware that you’re having. It wasn’t something I thought would go on forever; once the kids are back in school that ought to be where they should be doing all that kind of work. But while they were sitting at home, I thought it would be a good way to get their attention off the awful news and into something more imaginative. And I also got a chance to read all these super-cool stories! Really creative stuff that kids sent from all around the world.”

Finally, as a Boston publication it would be dereliction of duty not to mention the hysterical Dunkin Donuts commercial parody from when Affleck hosted “Saturday Night Live” in 2016, so dead-on in its depiction of a local 'regulah customah' that on one of my critics’ poll ballots that year I tried to nominate the sketch for Best Documentary. Alas, the performer shoots down a pet theory I’ve been hanging onto ever since, that the dirtbag Boston guy in the Bruins hat is secretly a grown-up version of Affleck’s scene stealing, bug-swallowing Morgan from “Good Will Hunting.”

“I hadn’t thought about that, dude. That’s really funny. It never crossed my mind." He pauses before confiding, "I wasn’t that great on SNL… I just wasn’t all that funny on the skits, because it’s live and you’re reading the cue cards and it was my first time. But when we went to make that little pre-recorded short film of the Dunkin’ Donuts ad, I really felt like that was my wheelhouse there. I could’ve played that character in a movie. I could have gone to work and played him every single day, and I would have had a blast. That was really fun to do. I would love to do another one of those. That would be funny to see that character again.”

I bet that guy’s got some stories.

“The World To Come” is now in theaters and will be available via video on demand Tuesday, March 2.

[source]

[spacalicious]

coffee-chaos I feel you so much about the fear of the darkness. It's cool you could overcome it, are there any practices you're comfortable to share about the case? I'm like still sleeping with the lights on hehe and it's weird... Also your Halloween plans sound amazing ✨

I’ll be completely honest with you, I still get a random bout of anxiety that hits me when I’m in a pitch black room. It doesn’t last, not these days, but I’m still caught off guard once in a while. I tend to leave the light over the stove on at all times and both my husband’s and my computer are set up in our bed which give off little hints of light when we shut the monitors off for bed. (And I have a RGB mouse that spills light across part of the bedroom wall my computer sits against.) Growing up I was pretty much ridiculed for being afraid of the dark because ‘monsters aren’t real’, ‘there’s nothing there’, ‘stop being so dramatic and go to bed’. But there were monsters, just not the inhuman kind. Even then no one had much sympathy for my terror so I had to figure out ways to cope so I could not only get some rest but work through my trauma without relying on other people for help. How I did that was...basically immersing myself into the wonderfully gory world of horror.

I’ll admit that at first I did it simply because horror movies weren’t real but they depicted things that were very much real: murder, mutilation, experimentation, hallucinations, creepers, etc etc. It gave me an outlet for my terror and let me experience unease and a watcher’s anxiety in a safe environment. Of course I didn’t actually know that’s what I was experiencing because I was very much a child, not even in double digits yet, but it gave me a sense of comfort to know that though it was kinda gruesome it was fake, that these atrocities were meant to be spectacular, and often over the top, but were ultimately grown ups playing pretend and that we (the audience) were meant to get spooped or grossed out or both but it was for fun. Now, I was still scared of the dark. I still had to have a nightlight or flashlight near my bed, and I would get really, really shaky if my bedroom door was left open. (I didn’t acquire a lock on my bedroom door until I was twelve.) But I started to identify that the things I was scared of lurking in the dark wasn’t ghosts or ghouls or demonic entities because even if they were out there they had to play by certain rules (or so I was being convinced by bullshit sermons and overly religious relatives that sipped to heavily from Jesus camp koolaid). And those rules were meant to protect us, right? So I wanted to learn more about them.

Little Spacecat dove headfirst into the occult and learned all about the nasties that were supposedly out there and had a light bulb moment: every evil in the world can be fought against and LOSE. 

I started making comfort items like beaded bracelets that supposedly protected me from possession/bad energies, collected crystals and odd rocks/stones that I would feed positive energy into to protect me and my room/home from bad things. I even had stuffed animals that I imbued with fierce personalities and imagined protectiveness radiating from them - I’d leave one on ‘guard duty’ by the door and had the rest on my bed or watching over me from a shelf or from my dresser.

These little things I did started to help me understand that the dark wasn’t really the problem for me because the things inside the darkness were only there because I put them there, and since I put them there then the things I was doing to protect myself were working. I kept them up and though I don’t really leave stuffed animals around the room to be my nighttime protectors I still collect them here and there, still give them names and personalities. I even still wear the bracelets I made and make new ones on occasion (and necklaces because I’m really into having rings and stuff dangling down low enough I can fiddle with them while I’m doing stuff, and I really like chewing on the chains). They remind me that even if it’s all bunk I still managed to make things to protect myself and that they worked.

However, it was a long road to travel to get to the point where the dark and the things lurking in the dark don’t bother me much anymore. The twenty years wasn’t an exaggeration. And I know that no matter that my fear isn’t crippling anymore that it’s still there. I still occasionally need a nightlight or a timed light - I used my monitor’s power timer sometimes to gradually let me get used to the idea my room’s going to be dark to settle my mind - but the dark doesn’t hold as much power over me anymore.

It also helps that my husband is a big ol’ scaredycat city boy and I was put into a position of power as a protector from all things horror and spoopy when he got frightened by my horror movies or yt ‘real ghost stories/creature hunts’ spirals. It pretty much reinforced what my childhood protection charms and imaginary bodyguards started: that I was stronger than my fears.

The fear and anxiety are still there, I don’t ever think they’re going to be completely erased, but I’m stronger than them now. I worked very hard to be and I’m glad it’s paid off but I know that when I’m not, when I get anxious and shake, I’ve got my beads, crystals (which, admittedly I don’t have a lot of anymore), my weird little rocks, my flashlight and candles, and my husband to remind me that I’ve got tools to combat them.

Let me just say this, though: Everyone copes differently and sometimes the only way to cope is to just embrace not being able to “overcome/get over” what some people might consider an irrational/childish fear. It’s not irrational or childish, it just is.

So if sleeping with a nightlight helps you don’t give them up. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says or does, it’s about your comfort and peace of mind. So keep those nightlights. Decorate your room in fairy lights. Hell, go out and get some camping lights and space them throughout your house if want. Those are your protection charms, your nighttime guardians. Those are your weapons against whatever is in the darkness that you’re worried about. It’s not silly or clingy or childish: it’s protection. There’s nothing silly about protection and there’s absolutely nothing childish about wanting to feel safe.

❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🖤🤍

[obscuniverse]

Obscu listens to: The Magnus Archives - Episode 1 ‘Angler Fish’

@derinthescarletpescatarian​ has been ranting at me about this series for what feels like a million years so here I am. Also apparently I’m the world’s biggest stereotype. Let’s roll, shall we?

Oooh, I do like spooky violin. Can’t have a horror anything without spooky violin.

Okay can we pause and talk about the symbolism of having ‘Angler Fish’ be your first episode title? Fun Fact! As you may recall, the angler fish is what happens when you ask any child to draw any animal that they imagine has teeth, and the teeth come out all different sizes and directions but they’re definitely spikes, and then they get so caught up with the teeth that they rush the rest of the body so it looks like a particularly carnivorous poop? That’s the one. The part that’s particularly relevant is the the bit where they’re a bunch of glowing knobheads; that is, they have a fleshy forehead appendage where the end is colonised by bioluminescent bacteria, which they use as a lure for smaller, less coprotype prey. So we’ve got some strong lure imagery, and it’s the first episode, so on one hand this is literally the lure that the series is using to draw us, the readers, into consuming (or, if you know @derinthescarletpescatarian​, being consumed by) the series. Of course, it’s almost certainly referring to the content of the episode as well so I anticipate a protagonist (and possibly diverse other victims) to be _lured _into something bad for them.

Secondary Fun Fact! Anglerfish mating involve the male biting into the belly of the (several times larger in size) female and hanging on until their skin and blood vessels literally fuse together, with the anglerfish male being fed directly by nutrients from the blood of the female through their shared circulatory system. Will our protagonist bite off more than they can chew and become hopelessly, permanently enmeshed in something larger and more dangerous than they, so interwoven with it that they are unable to extricate themselves from it but also being given by it the means to survive? Will we the listeners? I guess we’ll just have to hit play because I’m only 36 seconds in. I do like the narrator’s voice though.

More spooky violin, can’t go wrong with that. Ooooh a crescendo. Hot fucking damn. Oh snap there was some sad tunelessness there!

Ohshit it’s a recorded diary! Every horror game I’ve ever played has prepared me for this moment.

Nothing spooky happens at a research institute named for strength or might in both Latin and Norse. Certainly not one that deals in esoterica. Okay, let’s see what Johnathan Sims (Simms?) gets up to at Swole Hogwarts.

What’s that? The previous Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher Archivist is dead and you’ve been hired by Spooky French Dumbledore who is almost certainly a monster because of course he is to replace them? This will end only well and definitely not with a spiral into a mental breakdown culminating in some Here’s Johnny! shenanigans.

“There are very few genuine cases” and now that you’ve jinxed yourself every single genuine case in the world is going to be crawling out of the walls to say hello. You’d think after 4 years you would’ve learned not to say such things. It’s like watching D-Class personnel at the SCP foundation.

“When an investigation has gone as far as it can it goes to the archives” (emphasis mine). So you’re gonna be digging into a 200 years’ of spoopy cold cases that are gonna get real hot real quick. I’m down. 

Ahahahaha. Oh academia. Even in Swole Hogwarts you can’t get away from theorists vs practicalists.

86-91-G/H is definitely going to come up again. I can vividly picture the wild strewn-about room of someone driven mad by the haunting nature of their job. Or of my own office because of who I am as a person. I wonder which file ate Gertrude. I also wonder if the lack of use of modern electronics is a safety measure that Old Mate Johnny has unknowingly violated.

“I have secured the services of two redshirts, and you can tell because they’re unnamed researchers” “I don’t expect Martin to secretly be the highly skilled wizard/creature manipulating events form their apparent background doddering disguised as a silly fool in keeping with long fairy-tale tradition contribute anything except delays” Martin is definitely Snape. OOOooooOOOooooOOH, attempting to digitise T̵̨̛͚͉̫̩̰͍̓̽̽̍̓͑̓̾͌͗̂̈́̉ḫ̸͈̪̉̆̓̀͌̓͒̈̋̐͝ĕ̵͉̻̻ ̷̜͙̤͎͈̝̮̘̄̅̓̆̿̕͝R̴̪͑̍̒̍̾̅̐́͘͠͠ę̸̞̪͕̠͍͉̝̀̈́́͌̽ͅc̴̟̱͈̦̎̅̋̏͆̌̇͘͠͠o̶͚̞͕̲͒̋r̷̲̟̭͚̠̾͑́͋̓̈́̎͒̾̚d̴̩͓́͑̀͊̂̿͛i̴̗͈̣̟̻̯̼̘̞͕̋͜ͅņ̶̡͍͚͙̩͇̟̝̩̬͍͖̳̓g̷̯̬̙̱͚̏͂̔͐̉̇̾̋̓̎̈́͘s̷̢̫̗͙̱̻̳̞̩̐͛͂̍̑̐̊̚ have been met with significant spooky magical fuckery distortion. Fancy that.

The redshirts are named Tim and Sasha, and they will be doing some supplementary investigation suicidal monster hunting to fill in Blanks That No Man Was Meant To Fill. Maybe they’ll survive now that they have names, but they really should’ve saved the name for when one of them is mortally injured and the audience has to care enough about them for them to survive so you can reveal that they are in fact a person.

“I apologise to my eventual replacement after I am horribly eaten by/transformed into whatever is in 86-91-G/H any future researcher.”

Johnathan Sims is Niles Crane from Frasier and I will accept no word to the contrary.

Ah yes, the most esoteric and terrifying of eldritch phenomena; someone trying to bum a ciggy off you when you’re 80% scotch and 60% regret.

Ah, so “can I have a cigarette” with a human form ‘asking’ is the glowy knob on this ghost’s forehead. Completely without intonation because it’s just playing back a noise that attracts hammered people at night rather than understanding words that attract hammered people at night. Pretty sure I’ve seen this in an anime.

Apparently totally sloshed British students make better horror/urban fantasy protagonists than most movies would credit.

I take it back.

At least the spooky poopfish got some dinner.

I wonder if the missing student’s name also been John is a bit of tongue in cheek.

Oooh he’s created a “this is all bullshit” category into which he clearly intends to consign most of these. STOP PLAYING CHICKEN WITH THE UNFATHOMABLE HORRORS OF THE VOID BETWEEN THE STARS. Or, y’know, keep at it. This will not be hilarious and/or traumatic at all.

“Check out this photo of a spooky ghost if you run it through a sixth sense filter” That’s right Johnny, get beckoned.

I’m actually not 100% on this format but I’ll give it a few more tries.