#though madeleine is obviously the best

[crudetautology]

The order of songs worst to best of Taskmaster NZ season 1:

12. Lee's bleeped out song to the sexy tree or "----------" 11. Lee playing whatever that was on the tuba 10. Brynley humming a tune before turning herself into Gollum 9. Brynley playing We Are The Champions on the tuba 8. "cause she's a bad bitch, nananana" 7. "friends are like flowers in the garden of love" 6. *Flat voice* "Bangladesh" 5. "please don't talk about the wars or the child soldiers" 4. China We Are Great 3. "It's the musical episode, where we sing instead of talking" 2. "China, chiiiina, ChiiiiiaAaaaAaaaAnaaaa!" or Fuck the Western World We're China 1. "-a song about Libya!" *bangs guitar on table*

[rendnotmyheart]

Soulmate aus are so interesting in an iwtv context. Like for humans it's easy, right? They get their soulmate mark, they find their soulmate, or maybe they don't, and they live their life. For vampires though? Do vampiric soulmates even exist? How could they when the soulmate marks are relics of their human life? When the other person who has the mark will be dead before their life as a vampire has even begun? Or were they always fated to become a vampire? Did the universe take that into account? Will they have to wait some hundreds of years for their soulmate to be born? Their soulmate could be anywhere, any time. Hell, their soulmate could be the person they just drained. Who knows. Even if they were somehow able to find them, what are the chances they'd stay together for eternity? It is eternity after all. Not even the universe or fate can guarantee that.

[fuzziiwuzzii]

Important question, you have been known to draw porn in the past(an essential part of the fandom ecosystem, thank you for your service) have you ever considered claudeline lesbian sex? Obviously there is the complexity of Claudia’s physical age to mental age difference, but both the actors are very much adults and do read as such on screen, so I wanted to know your thoughts as an extremely talented vampire yuri artist

Thank you so much for your kind words!!! ^^ And for asking a question I have been thinking about for awhile…

Though I'm sure Claudeleine have ~plenty~ of sex, I'm definitely not comfortable explicitly drawing Claudia's "flat-chested hairless-crotched 14-year-old baby doll body". I've considered drawing heavily suggestive art and/or sexual acts that don't expose Claudia's undeniably young teenage features (Delainey Hayles is a grown woman, but the character she plays is meant to be physically immature), or drawing Claudia with a body matching her age (even though that undermines a huge part of her character, but we can afford to have some fun with fantasy ;P). I'm obviously more than okay with everything Madeleine >:3

I don't want to sexualize a 14-year-old body; anyone who doesn't know these characters can misunderstand what I'm representing, and I know people's sensibilities vary widely when it comes to this stuff. I want to keep my nsfw art fun and sexy, so I'd like to hear what others feel about this!!! What compromise sounds best? Should I just stick with the usual cock fest? ((WHY MUST THE ONLY SAPPHIC COUPLE HAVE THIS DILEMMA))

[bunniehunn]

uhhh I felt bad for neglecting my second favorite twst child, soooo, here’s Cerise!

This is for like that singular Cerise fan somewhere out there. If that’s you, hi!! Don’t get your hopes up :,(.

Name: Cerise Osier.

Species: Beastman (lop bunny).

Dominant hand: Right.

Height: 157.4cm / 5’2

1st year / freshman.

Best subject: PE.

Hobbies: Flower arrangement.

Pet peeves/dislikes: ROOK. Loud people, other beastmen.

Favorite food: Madeleines.

Least favorite food: Any type of raw meat.

Talent: Jumping.

Nicknames: From Floyd; Sea Bunny-Chan. Rook; Mademoiselle petit lapin.

She’s twisted from Little Red Riding Hood. She’s sort of like Epel in which she’s very hot-headed, but she doesn’t have anyone to hold her back like Epel does, so she’s just got a constant resting “I will rip your throat out” face and a surprisingly intimidating aura for a 5’2 prey beastman.

She’s slightly hard of hearing due to her ears (I did some research on lop bunnies *cough* a single google search *cough*) so she’s constantly on alert. Her nasty attitude is less just her personality and more a defense mechanism due to her stature and the way she grew up being treated. She will NOT hesitate to throw down, though. She’s pretty much on fight/flight mode 24/7 but the switch is stuck on fight. When she’s not pissed off shes pretty cold and neutral, and it’s hard to get past her walls. Once you do, though, you’ve got one hell of a loyal friend. She’s in the basketball club despite her… reservations about a certain eel.

I’m debating between Epel and Jack to ship her with. With Epel, it’s an enemies/rivals to lovers situation. When they first meet, Epel definitely makes a small misogynistic comment about her being weak because she’s a girl (probably due to a fight/duel that might happen). She bites back immediately, they get into an argument, they thrown down, either it’s a draw or Epel gets his ass kicked. Either way, he goes home embarrassed (and gets scolded by Vil). Definitely a big growth period from there to when they actually date, but it’s sort of this mutual understanding thing and Cerise definitely helps grind some feminism into that little country boy brain of his.

With Jack, it’s mostly about him being the only one she feels like she can trust after being sorted into Savanaclaw. She obviously thinks Ruggie is a mischievous little shit, and she hates Leona while he’s more-so indifferent about her (which eventually turns into an annoyed little sister and annoying older brother type relationship). Despite both Jack and Cerise having outwardly cold, rough-and-tumble demeanors, they get along pretty well.

Despite all I’m telling you, she isn’t a hardcore one of the boys type girl. She loves skirts, flowers, cute animals, pink, and all that jazz. And she isn’t ashamed of it and doesn’t even try to hide it. If anyone wants to make a rude comment about it not fitting her harsh personality, they can take it up personally with her fist.

★彡

I tried to draw her digitally but hated how it looked sooo yall can just have this sketch 🥲 anyway, if yall really like her maybe ill make more abt her.

[markantonys]

Ok I just need to come here and say: got costumes were not that great. They were showing off with the embroidery, but it was made purposefully “rustic” which contributed to it looking unprofessional, and made Cersei look like an idiot. The embroidery was very detailed, true, but you couldn’t see it while watching, it just looked like a blob usually.

The colours were dull, and most of the costumes were not well thought through. And also I don’t really think they fit that well? what looked great on Lena, looked very questionable on Sophie, which was not supposed to be happening. I’m not even going to discuss the jewelry.

Wot costumes are much better, are clearly comfortable for actors to be in (remembering Sophie again and how awkward she moves in the dresses sometimes, and like compared to the way Madeleine and Zoe look and move, even though they have spent most of the second season in uncomfortable clothes), show status clearly without the insane classism of got “you are either wealthy and beautiful or literally live in a pigsty” and are weather appropriate. And they embody the “early 90s late 80s fantasy looks” much better than got. So in my book wot is definitely much better.

Sorry I’m the costume rant anon. Wanted to add that a lot of costumes in got and wot have a similar silhouette and the difference in quality is like. Obvious. I know it’s subjective but like. I think we have been gaslit that got costumes are THAT good

iiiinteresting! i only know GOT costumes from seeing them around social media, so i can't weigh in here since i haven't seen them in context while actually watching an episode, so it is interesting to get a perspective from someone who's watched both shows! (and who knows stuff about costumes and how to judge quality - i don't at all haha i just go "oh that looks pretty, i like it!")

but i definitely agree that WOT costumes look generally pretty comfortable in the sense that i buy real people would actually wear these clothes day-to-day (i mean, except for statement pieces like lanfear's TAR dominatrix outfit or siuan's ceremonial attire). one that jumps to mind right away is one of alanna's s2 outfits - super pretty, but also looks quite cozy for just a normal day at the tower teaching novices!

and that's a really great point about how status comes across in WOT costumes. here, we can obviously tell that moiraine is upper class and egwene is a humble villager, but egwene's outfit is still pretty and well-made and colorful and clean, just simpler fabric & style than moiraine's (and she gets to wear jewelry too despite being a humble villager, just simpler jewelry than moiraine. and her skirt is a cute plaid pattern and she has a nice dash of simple, handmade-looking embroidery on her top - perhaps she added that embroidery herself to jazz up her Best Feastday Shirt!)

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 - Three spicy/spoilery reviews

The reviewers are just saying whatever they want, I guess! O_O

Here's my favorite bits from TheWrap, ComicBook, and IGN.

I've decided to mix and match them, comparing what they each say about similar themes/topics/reveals.

ELEVATING THE SOURCE MATERIAL

TELL IT! It's about adding DEPTH, y'all, not just a 1:1 page-to-screen.

Intellectual horror, instead of psychological horror--fascinating.

An "even more authentic adaptation" -- WE BEEN KNEW!!! I roll my eyes at book stans who hate on the show, acting like the movie was more accurate just cuz it was set during slavery times with white actors. 🙄 Like PLEASE, there's so much missing from the movie, or glossed over, or straight up changed, that the show-antis just demonstrate how shallow they are when their every attack hinges on the timeline/race/age changes. Cry harder.

MORE elevated than Season 1--you love to see it.

Yaaas, bring on the petty melodramatic mess, and fierce performances! 👏

CLAUDIA & MADELEINE

Because Bailey used profanity to convey her agony being a woman trapped in an adolescent's body in S1 too, I'm assuming Delainey will just cuss more? But cussing is all over the show, so I don't get it.

Everyone keeps raving about Roxane as Madeleine, but they've been SO CLOSE-LIPPED about her scenes, and it's KILLING me. 😭

"Deeply willful around Louis"--yeah, we saw a glimpse of that in the trailer; it's what he deserves. Give 'em hell, Claudia!

And yeah, she's PISSED that they cast her as Baby LouLou--imagine, being infantalized, and given the name of the father you've already gone through so much to emancipate yourself from as a "Brother" instead of "Daddy Lou." 😒 Eff Louis--where's Claudia's scythe at!?

LOUIS / LOUMAND

"Nonsense--" TheWrap isn't holding back a single punch huh?

"dating show contestants feigning authenticity to clumsily present themselves in the best light--" oof. 💀

Holy god; "begging the question...if Louis has just traded one abuser for another" GO AWF! 🚩🚩🚩

DANIEL / DEVIL'S MINION

Wow, so this must refer to Episode 5 from the episode titles list released recently. "Genuine horror".... 😈

RIP. 💀 Youngmaniel might see some action, but Oldmaniel's "utterly allergic and adversarial;" OOF. 💀💀

ARMAND

They keep saying petty. 😅 These messy queens are a trip!

"Far more powerful" -- I am SEATED~! I wanna see THE coven master!

Yaaas, come through Children of Satan/Darkness acolyte! 😈

"Scarred and transformed by the same man" -- they sound like war veterans. U_U

LESTAT / LOUSTAT

"the show's primary villain--" say it louder. Book stans need to stop projecting post-IWTV Lestat the hero/protagonist/MC into the narrative that LOUIS is telling, as a guy struggling to get over his ex.

"There to berate him for his poor choices--" this tracks with the trailer released today, too, where the producers said Dream-Stat would "pass judgement" on Louis' pisspoor actions.

PRODUCTION (Sets, Costumes, etc)

Yes, IWTV S1 was absolutely gorgeous; their attention to detail was immaculate. And so far it looks like S2 is gonna be just as nice. I REALLY like what I've seen of the Threatre's aesthetic.

THEATRE DES VAMPIRES & SANTIAGO

I freaking love this. XD

Agreeing with him about WHAT though? 🤨 That Louis & Claudia are hiding things? Or that they deserve to die because of it? (Especially since Lestat is OBVIOUSLY not actually dead, so what "crime/rules" are they actually breaking, Lord Kangaroo Court?)

TALAMASCA & CRITIQUES

Thank you lord god kamisama flying spaghetti monster he's a Talamascan, not another secret vampire.

But now I'm nervous, thanks to the ComicBook review:

Uh oh. The Talamasca feels forced & out of place. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

The AVENGERS INITIATIVE. 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

But they say it feels like "Daniel's being recruited--" YES PLEASE. 🙏 If Daniel's not gonna be a vampire, at least let him be a Talamascan. Ain't no way he can return to the mundane world after all this.

My BIGGEST complaint about IWTV as a franchise is its tenuous connection to the Immortals Universe. AMC is dropping the ball hard on creating an ARCU--Anne Rice's Cinematic Universe. There are SO MANY immortals & supernaturals we should've BEEN seen in S1, walking the streets of NOLA. I will say this every time: Oncle Vervain Mayfair should've been brought in from the OG pilot script. We should've seen Louis go to him for gris-gris before the poker game, and introduce Lestat to Vervain as a practitioner of what Louis thought was "European voodoo." Also: we should've seen Lasher. There should've been a scene where the Mayfairs told the vampires to GTFO their territory, and keep their hunting grounds on the other side of town. Like, the Mayfair Witches show sucks like you wouldn't believe, it's so stupid (looks gorgeous though), but the WORLDBUILDING is ripe for the taking! And AMC did squat with it!

Like, tbh, I don't see the point of a whole Talamasca show, and if it's handled by Esta & the gang from MW, then I don't wanna see it--I WILL, ofc, but I won't WANT to. Especially since we haven't seen any ghosts. ISTG, PLEASE have Merrick Mayfair in Ep7 or Ep8--not only will that bridge IWTV with MW, but it can perfectly lead to Blackwood Farm., while keeping the threads between vampires, ghosts, AND the Taltos (if they're determined to do a Lestat/Rowan crossover from Blood Canticle 🤢🤮).

I was wondering why so many reviews were giving it 4/5 or 9/10, like wtf are y'all being so stingy for!? But if this is the problem, then I'm not surprised, I've been complaining about it the whole time.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Do you think Louis will be more upset at Armand for using his mind gift to make Louis turn Madeleine? I read that part on here somewhere and considering Louis saying that was the last of his humanity leaving when he turned her, I figured he would be more upset lol I think Louis just told Armand not to do it again. 🤣 Or does Louis just not care because he’s in love. I’m really interested in that part .

Sooo, the part you're referring to is this one, right (a discussion between Armand and Louis, prior to the trial):

“ ‘But if it’s any consolation to you...surely you realize I had a hand in it.’ “ ‘That I did it to be free of Claudia, to be free to come to you... yes, I realize that. But the ultimate responsibility lies with me!’ I said. “ ‘No. I mean, directly. I made you do it! I was near you the night you did it. I exerted my strongest power to persuade you to do it. Didn’t you know this? “ ‘No!’ “I bowed my head. “ ‘I would have made this woman a vampire,’ he said softly. ‘But I thought it best you have a hand in it. Otherwise you would not give Claudia up. You must know you wanted it....’ “ ‘I loathe what I did!’ I said. “ ‘Then loathe me, not yourself.’ “ ‘No. You don’t understand. You nearly destroyed the thing you value in me when this happened! I resisted you with all my power when I didn’t even know it was your force which was working on me. Something nearly died in me! Passion nearly died in me! I was all but destroyed when Madeleine was created!’ “ ‘But that thing is no longer dead, that passion, that humanity, whatever you wish to name it. If it were not alive there wouldn’t be tears in your eyes now. There wouldn’t be rage in your voice,’ he said. “For the moment, I couldn’t answer. I only nodded. Then I struggled to speak again. ‘You must never force me to do something against my will! You must never exert such power...’ I stammered. “ ‘No,’ he said at once. ‘I must not. My power stops somewhere inside you, at some threshold. There I am powerless. However... this creation of Madeleine is done. You are free.’

I think this Louis will be more upset, yes.

However, I think the scene in the show will mirror the quoted discussion... in the break-up scene. Because Louis refuses to leave Claudia, despite Madeleine's turning. (We'll see, but I think that's this scene:)

I'm... just not sure whether it will include this admission of forcing Louis.

Because, Armand still does this in Dubai. He says: "I protect Louis from himself, always have." So maybe that admission will be something that will happen later. And the vow not to force him again never happened.

Though, tbh, it happens again in the book as well, he spell-binds Louis to leave the theater after the trial

And Armand’s eye said, Sleep.

and there is this comment from Louis later on that when Armand finally tells him that Lestat isn't dead after all that the veil that is between him and the world is suddenly thinner:

But when I heard this now from Armand it was as if the veil that protected me were thin and transparent, and though it still hung between me and the world of feeling, I perceived through it Lestat, and that I wanted to see him again. And with that spurring me on, we returned to New Orleans

So Armand obviously doesn't quite ... honor that promise as he should.

Personally I think that Armand likely kept Louis from bigger emotional outbursts. At the very least.

In the show the apology in episode 2 comes to mind, for the tear. Louis "resting" in-between. Armand coming and calming down Louis. Armand always watching.

So yes, when that falls away? When Louis will not buy into it all anymore?

I think he will be very upset. (What did Jacob say in the recent interview? Dubai would be explosive?)

Of course it will depend heavily on whether he suspected before and what the interview is actually for. Is it because he needs some kind of trump card to force Armand's hand? Or his own? Of course Daniel would be perfect for that, and of course using Daniel's relationship to Armand is a double-edged sword as well, given their history.

IF Armand did promise Louis not to force him again... then this Louis will definitely be beyond pissed when he can break free.

And, depending on what he will find when he does break free - that might be devastating for him. And then... things will likely unfold.

Given what is to come this will only be one aspect of the whole mess though and so... We'll see :). I do think the show has already hinted at all this, and I also think Jacob has done so in the last interview.

And wrt to him being in love... I do not doubt that Louis will fall for Armand, maybe even head-over-heels for a while. But that will shift, through all that happens. And a lot of things will weigh much heavier than that infatuation. The time after the trial is wrought with pain, and Louis trying to numb himself. And we have literally only had a glimpse... it will be very interesting to see what has to happen for this Louis to stay with the one who kills his daughter.

I think Jacob spilled the beans already a bit when he mentioned that Louis would choose that relationship "again" - that happens in the books as well, that Louis does go back to Armand at some point, and I do think that this is what we see in Dubai.

So no, I do not think Louis doesn't care because he's in love.

I think there's a lot more to it and I don' think they'll shy away from it^^.

[heartshapedbubble]

Alright aaa for the event I got two characters! ^^

Mike with a s/o that will almost cry or will cry at any human decency or comfort towards them like their feelings cannot handle anyone being nice to them

And Helena with a s/o that likes to bake a lot in their free time? They like to give her sweets as appreciation :)

ofc dear!! here you go🫶

(also please this is a reminder that i have one more spot remaining for the birthday reqs so pls for the love of god someone take it </3 )

mike morton with an emotional s/o hcs🃏

he's not worried or confused, he just finds it... funny? not in a mean way though 😞

"what's with the tears, darling? is everything alright? no need to cry during a moment like this!" he'll chuckle as he wipes your tears with his thumbs

he might occassionaly poke at you because of it (endearingly, obviously), but will go and hold you tight in a matter of seconds if you get upset

as much as he loves poking at it he always goes easy on you with pranks and is much, much more gentle with you than with anyone else

adores movie nights and any other type of quality time with you, lying on your chest and often reaching for your hands, rubbing circles onto your palms and trailing his fingers across yours

he knows that you're not actually sad when you cry during a happy moment, but he can't help himself, alright? in a second you're going to be in his arms, gently rocking back and forth as he comforts you with jokes - laughter is the best medicine, isn't it?

helena adams with a s/o that likes to bake hcs👁

not gonna lie, before you told her about your little hobby she found it out herself before... quite quickly, too

helena adores sweets more than anything in the world (well, maybe not more than poetry) and she quickly started noticing the warm, sugary aromas of vanilla, rum and lemon coming from the kitchen when you were in it

although not wanting to dabble into whatever your doing, she often wondered about what you were baking, and who exactly was the lucky recipient of your delicacies...

...turns out one of your lucky recipients would be her! when you come to her door, a small box of freshly baked madeleine cookies under your arm, she doesn't know what to do with her hands - she's so so thankful for it, blushing as she nervously takes the box from you

she wishes she could make them with you too :( although baking gets difficult when you're blind, she'd appreciate your assistance to death if you offered to aid her as she's baking with you

you've inspired her in a poetic way - helena might not be the best at baking, but she's amazing at connecting strings of words that are light and soft like a souffle, glazing carefully over each one of her poems and rhymes with the most charming epithets and metaphors, leaving the tooth-achingly sweet verses written right beside her favourite recipe of yours💞

[impishtubist]

I see you have also been watching IWTV and I present to you an AU that I definitely do not have time to write but someone should, so maybe you or one of your chaos followers will take me up on it 😂

Kingsley as Daniel Malloy, interviewing the disaster relationships between: Sirius (Louis), James (Lestat), and Remus (Armand), with Harry as, obviously, Claudia (little rage monster (affectionate))

I also considered Harry as Daniel but then I don't know who to cast in as the third in the nightmare trio without making it too weird. Really though this is just an excuse for them to be toxically in love with each other to everyone else's detriment and never die

I genuinely don't know what to say to this, so congrats, you've stumped me 😂 I don't know what to say to this because I'm the only IWTV person in the world who can confidently say that I don't like any of them except for Daniel. Okay, Claudia and Madeleine are fine as well, but the rest of them are GARBAGE. I love watching their toxic disaster unfold on my tv, don't get me wrong! But I hate them all! Daniel Molloy has never done anything wrong in his life, though. I thirst after that 71-year-old man.

Okay okay okay okay I can do this, I can wrap my head around this.

First of all, yes, this is probably the best casting I could come up with as well. Cedric has to be Madeleine, obviously, and then he and Harry get to be in love together and also die tragically together. And, yes, the Sirius & Harry relationship can parallel the Louis & Claudia relationship. Armand as Remus is great lol because at first it's like awww! Sirius and Remus are so cute and in love! But then Kingsley is like "I'm gonna orchestrate the most complex divorce in the history of mankind" and he DOES. Sirius and James have a tearful reunion while that hurricane rages around them. Remus turns Kingsley into a vampire out of spite and then becomes a rock star (????) but also Kingsley is blowing out his back every night, so it's okay.

Alright I think I've talked myself into this, good job. Now we just need someone else on the chaos squad to write it.

[fool-counter]

Jess Landons: Around 19 years old, Jess is the most unique member of JGT. She is JGT's problem child, meaning that she doesn't always conform to every single rule set up. Jess has high resistance to KeeLee's reality-bending effects, which obviously upsets KeeLee. KeeLee finds Jess as a challenge, so that's why she never gives up on her. She is kept under a very close watch by KeeLee. Jess is a victim of sex trafficking and child abuse, which has been hinted at in her featured works.

KeeLee: The creator of JGT, an abusive control freak reality bender with a thing for pink, PoI-4319, KeeLee is all of these things. KeeLee wants everything to be exactly as she wants, and will make sure it goes that way. It seems easy to look at her and go "Have her show transphobia there that's her character." Keep in mind that not only is KeeLee transphobic, but she is so many other shades of horrible. Explore one you haven't seen done yet.

One thing to remember is that KeeLee is smart. She's not easily fooled or easily tracked down. She gets what she wants. Most of the time.

If you ask me, KeeLee is not a physical person, but a digital entity. However, this is up to interpretation. First and foremost, KeeLee is a mysterious person who pretends to be a close friend of anyone who talks to her. She wants you to think you're best friends who know everything about each other. When in reality, no one has scratched the surface of KeeLee.

Ella: Ella is Landon's older sister. She owns a bakery and is a very ditzy traditional housewife. She is also KeeLee's right-hand woman. Ella was a good sister to Landon before JGT brainwashed her. It's up to you if she is beyond saving or not.

Landon/Cora: Landon is Ella's younger brother. He is around age 14 and is a trans man who has been brainwashed into believing he is a girl by JGT. Despite the influence of JGT, if put in the right situation, Landon is capable of temporarily remembering his true identity.

PINK FLY/Theresa: Theresa Petrucci is a chemist who does graphic design work for JGT. Prior to falling into JGT's orbit, she had been an organizer of a TERF art collective; sometime in 2009, however, Theresa met KeeLee. Though she's generally pleasant to talk to, she can be remarkably cruel, even for a member of JGT. Has a naturally high psychic resistance threshold, due to a traumatic brain injury sustained in high school. Rarely on the website.

It's important to note that Theresa is not brainwashed; everything she does for Just Girly Things, she does of her own free will.

Madeleine von Schaeffer: A wealthy ex-aristocrat who provided much of the initial funding for Just Girly Things. Though she doesn't engage with the magazine or site, she's kept close correspondence with KeeLee since at least 2005. Proper, polite, and always smiling; most don't register why her skin doesn't seem to crease correctly, and fewer still recognize the callous manipulator beneath that porcelain smile.

Jess Landons: Around 19 years old, Jess is the most unique member of JGT. She is JGT's problem child, meaning that she doesn't always conform to every single rule set up. Jess has high resistance to KeeLee's reality-bending effects, which obviously upsets KeeLee. KeeLee finds Jess as a challenge, so that's why she never gives up on her. She is kept under a very close watch by KeeLee. Jess is a victim of sex trafficking and child abuse, which has been hinted at in her featured works.

KeeLee: The creator of JGT, an abusive control freak reality bender with a thing for pink, PoI-4319, KeeLee is all of these things. KeeLee wants everything to be exactly as she wants, and will make sure it goes that way. It seems easy to look at her and go "Have her show transphobia there that's her character." Keep in mind that not only is KeeLee transphobic, but she is so many other shades of horrible. Explore one you haven't seen done yet.

One thing to remember is that KeeLee is smart. She's not easily fooled or easily tracked down. She gets what she wants. Most of the time.

If you ask me, KeeLee is not a physical person, but a digital entity. However, this is up to interpretation. First and foremost, KeeLee is a mysterious person who pretends to be a close friend of anyone who talks to her. She wants you to think you're best friends who know everything about each other. When in reality, no one has scratched the surface of KeeLee.

Ella: Ella is Landon's older sister. She owns a bakery and is a very ditzy traditional housewife. She is also KeeLee's right-hand woman. Ella was a good sister to Landon before JGT brainwashed her. It's up to you if she is beyond saving or not.

Landon/Cora: Landon is Ella's younger brother. He is around age 14 and is a trans man who has been brainwashed into believing he is a girl by JGT. Despite the influence of JGT, if put in the right situation, Landon is capable of temporarily remembering his true identity.

PINK FLY/Theresa: Theresa Petrucci is a chemist who does graphic design work for JGT. Prior to falling into JGT's orbit, she had been an organizer of a TERF art collective; sometime in 2009, however, Theresa met KeeLee. Though she's generally pleasant to talk to, she can be remarkably cruel, even for a member of JGT. Has a naturally high psychic resistance threshold, due to a traumatic brain injury sustained in high school. Rarely on the website.

It's important to note that Theresa is not brainwashed; everything she does for Just Girly Things, she does of her own free will.

Madeleine von Schaeffer: A wealthy ex-aristocrat who provided much of the initial funding for Just Girly Things. Though she doesn't engage with the magazine or site, she's kept close correspondence with KeeLee since at least 2005. Proper, polite, and always smiling; most don't register why her skin doesn't seem to crease correctly, and fewer still recognize the callous manipulator beneath that porcelain smile.

fool count: 24

the last one gave me the impression these were simply stories about evil women, but now it turns out that at least one of those women is some sort of malignant reality-bending entity. how unexpected!

[fanciestghost]

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TW: Manipulation, Major violence, Implied cannibalism, Major gore, Kidnapping, Blood, Vomiting, Needles, Slight mentions of snakes, etc. Please read with caution.

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– PART ONE: ARCHIVED –

Adam would envision this candyland type place in his dreams and would have them

quite frequently. On top of this he would crave sweets, specifically apple pie. He would tell

Jonah about this but would only joke around with Adam about it. One night, the craving got

so bad that Adam asked Jonah to come with him to the store and he obliged. Now they are at

the store, Adam goes and gets an apple pie which would be the last one that was there on

display. They go home and Adam is obviously eager to actually eat it already cuz he's been

craving it for so long, only to be disappointed to find out it didn't taste as good as it looked. In fact, it made him feel very sick.

He dizzily walked over to his room, every step making him feel more woozy, but he made it to

his door. When he opened it, he noticed a light shining through the crack of the door. Of

course he really didn't think too much of it and thought he was seeing things due to how ill he

was feeling, but when he walked in his room, it wasn't his room. It was the exact place he was

dreaming about for days. The skies were bright pink, grass was a very saturated green, and

there was a yellow wafer path ahead of him that led somewhere. The sign "Welcome to

Madeleine County" was on the horizon. As Adam walked forward he noticed he wasn't even

wearing his hoodie anymore but a bright pink suit, and he had an apple accessory on his

head. He didn't like where all of this was going and turned back expecting to see his bedroom

door, only to find out it was missing.

Adam heard humming coming from behind him to see someone who looked exactly like

Jonah, but wearing a yellow coat and lemon accessories carrying a basket full of candied

apples. Jonah didn't recognize Adam, so he thought he was a complete stranger. He says

hello and basically welcomes Adam to the place. Adam is confused on how Jonah doesn't

recognize him at all, which would cause Adam to mention that this Jonah is different from the

one he knows back at home. Moving on, Jonah would soon introduce Adam to the others

Cesar and Mark. They all lived in a huge mansion made of candy.

Now you're probably like, omg everything is so cute and sweet. Yeah for now. Adam would

notice how whenever he asked if there was a way back to where he came from, he would

often be silenced or ignored. Another thing that Adam would have to deal with is go through

these activities Cesar would make them do, like have tea parties, picnics, etc. Basically stuff

to keep Adam busy and occupied to avoid asking them further questions. All these activities

would drain Adam's energy, and on top of everything being so sugary and sweet- he would often feel dizzy. Another thing to mention. Adam is never allowed to leave the mansion without anyone accompanying him. One night, Adam wanted to step outside to just have a walk and Mark would come with him. They would have small talk about the place and everything and Adam's life back in his universe. 

Then Mark would tell Adam to be careful with what he says or does and to not let the cheery bright colors of everything blind him. Before Adam would ask what he meant, Mark would stop walking and stay silent then ask Adam to check if "he" was watching.  Adam would turn back to the mansion and see the silhouette of Cesar by the window, with the curtains slightly peeking out. Mark suggests that it's best to go back inside as it was getting late. That night, Adam couldn't sleep well, he would wonder what Mark had meant. He heard his door open to see it was Jonah. He had a small box in his hand and claimed it was a gift for being so friendly. Adam would open it up and see it was yet another apple themed accessory (an earring even though his ears weren't even pierced). 

That's when Adam noticed Jonah had a sad expression on his face. He would ask what is wrong and Jonah told him that Mark told him everything about missing the "other Jonah". He would then plead Adam to not even think about leaving the place as Adam means so much to him and that he often felt lonely until he came. Adam really didn't feel good about how he worded it so he claimed he'd think about it as he was tired.

I forgot to say that Adam was stuck there for about 3-4 days. This next part is about his third

day there. Adam woke up late and Cesar wasn't really happy about it. He would scold him

about it and then mention the talk he had with Mark. Basically, Cesar would say really harsh

things to Adam and mention that this is his new home whether he liked it or not. Adam would

notice that the colors of everything looked dull, the wallpaper started to peel off the walls, the

floors were worn down and cracked, and the strawberries on Cesar's hat were getting darker

and going bad. Cesar would then force Adam to be around Jonah more often as he banned

Adam from talking to Mark. So Adam and Jonah had an activity to do with each other and it

was to catch candy fish from the pond near the mansion. Jonah was happy he was able to

spend time with Adam, but he was also happy cuz that was the moment Adam was going to

reveal to him if he was staying or not. Adam said no lol, and Jonah got pissed and passive

aggressive with Adam for the rest of the activity.

Now it's dinner time :) and they are eating the fish they caught. It was very awkwardly quiet

and Adam couldn't take it anymore. He started to rant about everything and how he knows

something is going on, pointing out that everyone and everything looks like it's rotting. Cesar

would of course say that Adam is stupid and that everything is fine. It would go quiet again

until Mark stood up from his chair, he went over to Adam and grabbed him by the shoulders,

screaming at him desperately to leave before it's too late. Cesar would pull Mark back, claim

that he is "feeling ill" and take him away, leaving the dining room.

Now Adam and Jonah were alone together again. Adam asks Jonah if him not wanting to

stay has to do with anything and Jonah tells him to shut up and eat his fish. Adam looks down

to his plate, it wasn't a candy fish anymore, but a raw rotting fish. Knocking was heard at the

door and Jonah went up to get it. This gave Adam a chance to find out what was truly happening. He first went down the hallway he saw Cesar go to with Mark. On the floor, there

was a trail of blueberry jam that would slowly turn from blue to red. He followed the trail as it

led to a large room. There stood Cesar standing in front of Mark's body on the floor. His cane

was covered in blood.

Adam decided it was best to go back as if he stayed any longer, he'd have the same fate. As

he walked back to the dining room, he peeked to see who was at the door and saw it was two

police officers (Thatcher and Ruth) asking about a missing person.

Adam sat back down, he felt tired and frustrated at his place as he really needed to leave. He

didn't know why they wanted him to stay so badly, but he would do anything to find out one

way or another. That night, Adam would stay up late to prepare himself to actually strike. He

turned his hood Cesar gave him into a bag to hold items. What items? Weapons. He silently

went back to the kitchen to steal whatever he could find to defend himself, sharp forks, knives,

and a blow torch. He went down the same hallway as earlier and noticed his surroundings.

There were a lot of portraits of an angel, the same one to be exact, and obviously candy

themed like everyone else. He felt odd looking at them cuz it felt like they were watching him.

Moving on, Adam would reach the end of the hallway, there was a door. It was left slightly

opened and he peeked inside. It was stairs that led to a basement.

He went down, making sure he had something in hand to defend himself, and saw Mark's

body on a large plate in the middle of the whole basement. He was missing an eye and

covered in blood. Adam went over to him and asked what the hell was happening. Mark told

him everything, from how this was only a place to lure in people with sad lives into their land

for their flesh. Mark also points out the reason why everything is decaying is because they are

hungry and irritated how Adam never seemed to give in. Adam asks what he has to do to

escape. Mark tells him that he needs a key and that Jonah has it. His last words were "Leave

before sunrise or else you're officially trapped forever. Don't make the same mistake as me."

Then Adam looks up to the wall to see it covered in missing people posters, and right in the

Middle of it was Mark’s. So Adam had to act quick as he didn't have that much time left. He ran up the stairs and down the hallway. He heard a loud scraping on the floor and saw Cesar. He looked taller and thinner than usual. His fingers were slimy as they dripped with some kind of black jelly. He held a large fork that was already pointed directly at Adam. He charged only to miss Adam cuz he dodged it. This caused the fork to get stuck in the wall which gave Adam an opportunity to attack Cesar with what he had. He heated up forks with the blow torch and stabbed Cesar with them. This caused Cesar to completely forget about trying to retrieve the fork back as he screamed at Adam for how much of an idiot he was. Adam would pull the fork out of the wall and stab Cesar right through the chest with it. His body began to melt into that same black jelly. Adam tried not to get nauseous about it and continued to search for Jonah in the mansion. He went upstairs where the bedrooms were and went to each room. It was obvious who's was who's as they were themed with that type of desert they were. Adam walked into the lemon themed one. He demanded Jonah to come out as he wasn't anywhere in sight. Adam walked in the room and the door slammed shut. Jonah appeared behind Adam, grabbing into his shoulder. He pretty much tells Adam that he knows why he's here and what he wants, but decides to guilt trip and gaslight him anyway about it lol. Adam didn't listen to whatever Jonah had to say so Jonah stood in front of him. He was just like Cesar, tall and deathly thinner than usual, his fingers were long talons. He unhinged his jaw in front of Adam and reached into it pulling out a key. He held it in front of Adam's face, luring him to grab it. Adam didn't budge and this would frustrate Jonah. He pulled out a large knife and pointed it at Adam saying he would kill him right there if he didn't grab it.

Adam stepped back, not knowing what to do, he reached into the bag with one hand but used

the other to grab the key. The "key" would melt into the black jelly all over Adam's hand as

Jonah lifted him up, but then Adam pulled out the blow torch with his other hand and put flame

straight to Jonah's face. He screamed in pain and would drop Adam, which gave Adam time

to see if there was anything else to defend himself from Jonah. He saw a candy axe and

grabbed it. He ran at Jonah with it and sliced him in half in one swing. Adam tried to not let

this get to him as it is literally Jonah. his best friend. that he had to kill. He had to remind

himself that this Jonah isn't the real one, no matter how much they look like each other. Jonah

layed on the floor in half, he was still moving and looked at Adam. He would tell him that he

would regret all of this and that he missed so many opportunities to get whatever he ever

wanted there. He would mention true happiness, no stress, all the money he ever wanted,

then he would mention his mother.

Adam stood in shock, he felt his heart racing when Jonah brought it up. Jonah noticed this

and would continue making it worse about how his mother was here all along and how she

missed him so much Adam couldn't take it any longer and used the axe to slice Jonah's head. His body melted the same way Cesar's did, and in the middle of it was the actual key. Adam grabbed it and didn't bother to try and waste time to think what the fuck just happened. As he made it to the front door, the two police officers were already there. Adam then pleads and begs for them to help him get out of there. Thatcher notices that Adam looks exactly like the person in the missing poster and takes him back to the police station. Adam would then tell them everything that happened and that he needs to leave as soon as possible. Another man comes into the office and interrupts, telling Thatcher that he's having the "door problem" again. Adam would ask who he was and what he was talking about. The man introduces him as Dave and tells Adam that random doors would appear at his office and never knows what

to do with it. Ruth suggests that that's probably Adam's way out since he was given a key.

That's when Adam went with Dave to see what it was and saw the door looks exactly like his

bedroom door. There was a small lock on it, and Adam used the key to unlock it. The door

opened, it was the same bright light from when Adam got there. He turned to Dave and

thanked him before walking into the light.opened, it was the same bright light from when Adam got there. He turned to Dave and thanked him before walking into the light. Adam woke up in bed, he looked over to the side and saw Jonah. Jonah let out a sigh of relief as he thought Adam died of food poisoning from the apple pie he ate. Adam then sat up and told him everything that happened to him, and that it felt so real and he was so happy to be back home. Jonah would laugh at this, thinking that Adam was being silly and say "it was just a bad dream". Adam would deny it and explain how he has never been more terrified in his life. Jonah grabbed Adam's shoulder, smiling at him. "Well, aren't you happy you're at least Home, just like you wanted..". Adam would look over to his shoulder and see it was the same consistency as the black jelly.

– END OF PART ONE: ARCHIVED –

-

– PART TWO: ARCHIVED –

Adam went through the door and back home with Jonah. Or did he. The second he noticed "Jonah's" hand melt similar to the way lemon Jonah did, he panicked. Adam would push Jonah away from him, only for the walls around Adam's room to crumble into pieces like cookies. The debris would come down, causing Adam to close his eyes shut. They remained shut for a few minutes as he tried desperately to remain calm. What if he was still dreaming, a sick and twisted dream that he continues to find himself in. 

His eyes opened, he was sitting on a chair near a fireplace made out of sugar cubes. The logs were made out of chocolate, so there was no fire going. It was dark in the room, only a singular lamp was lighting the place. It took awhile for Adam to fully realize he was in restraints made out of yellow taffy. He struggled then heard someone walk in the room. It was Jonah, in a completely new outfit compared to his old one. He wore a top hat, his coat collar was sharper, and he wore a black dress shirt with a yellow tie. He had a long gummy snake hanging over his shoulder, only making him appear more threatening.

 He would greet Adam before standing right in front of him. Adam would demand Jonah to release him and to cut it out, but Jonah only laughed. He said that no matter how hard Adam tries, there's no escape. It would go back and forth and they would have a little argument about it- which would cause Jonah to snap and yell at Adam to shut up. The room would grow quiet until Jonah breaks the silence by saying he'll only release Adam if he agrees to play a few games with him. They both agreed to play hide and seek first. Jonah released Adam, covered his eyes, and began to count. Adam didn't waste any time trying to get out of that room. As he ran down the hallway, he saw how all of the windows were boarded shut with graham crackers. The doors of the main entrance and back entrance to the garden would also be boarded off as well. He ran up the stairs to go back to his room to see anything that was worth keeping in hand. Nothing. He went to the room next door which would be Mark's, but it was locked shut. Next room was Nothing. It was terribly cold there. Adam scanned the room to look for anything, clues, weapons, anything. No use. There wasn't even enough time to look deeper anyway. He went to the next room, which was Jonah's. His stomach dropped as he saw the mess it was in. On the bed, there was Adam's hood he was gifted, along with a missing poster of Adam. Adam would start to feel uneasy, he heard Jonah count louder. He grabbed his hood back and ran back out. He needed a good place to hide. Then he remembered the basement. He went downstairs, through the main hall, and to the hallway that was tucked away within the mansion. The same portraits of that angel were there, eyes still following Adam as he walked down the hallway. He stopped at the basement door, took a deep breath and went in. The first thing he noticed was the awful smell. It smelt of mold and something rotting. He tried his best to ignore it, but the more we walked down those stairs, the stronger the stench got. Then he remembered. Mark was the last person in here. Adam placed a hand over his mouth and looked over to see if Mark's body was still there. There was something for sure. but it wasn't Mark's body. It was someone else's. Adam couldn't see very well with how dark the basement was, but he saw it as he stepped closer. It was Cesar's body, headless, nothing else but his upper torso was left with his rib cage exposed. He looked as though he'd been chewed up as some residue remained on the rib cage. Adam gagged in his mouth, the sight, the smell, it was all too much to handle. 

There was no chance going back out as he heard Jonah say "Ready or not!!! Here I come!!". It was too late. Adam hid in the corner behind a few crates that were there. His heart raced as he hoped Jonah wouldn't find him. He didn't tell Adam what would happen if he did.

Adam has never been terrified like this before in a while. He wouldn't even know how he would live the rest of his life remembering this experience. He held his breath as he heard the door of the basement being opened. It was Jonah. Who else would it be? He hummed as he slowly stepped down the stairs. He would talk to himself demanding Adam to come out because he "wasn't playing fair". Jonah would walk to Cesar's corpse and stand in front of it. He let out a laugh, but the laugh was so demented and twisted. His head turned to the corner Adam was hiding in. He grinned, the most twisted type of grin imaginable, it looked inhuman.

Tears formed in the corners of Adam's eyes, he felt so terrified at this version of Jonah. He just wanted to go home back to how things were. Now he had to be stuck here. with this version of his best friend. He would do anything to see the normal Jonah again.

 Adam snapped out of his thoughts as he saw Jonah approach slowly to the corner, humming the same tune. Adam sat in the corner watching Jonah push away the crates covering him, one by one. When Adam was revealed, Jonah smiled, not as terrifying as the smile from earlier. but there was still dread behind it. There was no use of Adam trying to get away as he was sitting on the floor while Jonah was standing up, towering over him. Adam felt this wave of numbness rush through his body, was he finally giving up? 

Jonah helped Adam get up from the floor, he told him to cheer up and that it was okay to lose the game. Adam shook his head, his anger was finally coming back. He made Jonah back up by pushing him away. He started to yell at him about how he didn't want to stay any longer and that he demands answers. Jonah would laugh about this, call Adam stupid for still thinking there's a way out. They would argue back and forth about it, until Jonah started to have a breakdown in front of Adam. He would scream and yell at Adam to shut up, then sob loudly after. Adam would get lightheaded from this, he couldn't take it anymore. He doesn't know what type of mental torture Jonah was doing to him, but it was working. He ended up passing out once more.

.

.

 The air felt cold, Adam opened his eyes to see he was in a room of darkness. There was nothing in sight. He looked down to his hands and was able to see them. As he looked up, he saw someone off in the distance. It was. the real Jonah? Adam squinted his eyes as he saw Jonah approach him. He saw Adam and ran towards him, with a huge smile on his face. "I was looking all over for you!" he said "I thought you died!" He would give a hug to Adam when he reached him. Adam didn't know what to feel. A part of him wants to believe this is the real Jonah, and that everything is over, but no, Adam can see through his tricks. "Jonah" backs up, still holding Adam by the arms, he asks what's wrong. Adam tells him that he knows it's lemon Jonah and that he could cut it out already. Jonah's face began to twist and distort right in front of Adam, his grip became harder. Adam ended up being pushed to the ground. Lemon Jonah was in front of Adam, his grip became harder. Adam ended up being pushed to the ground. Lemon Jonah was back to his normal outfit, he scoffed saying he really thought Adam would be weak enough to give in to that hallucination. He opened a door behind him, as he did, he said "You'll remain here until you LEARN to love being here. You will also learn to accept I'm your only friend and forever will be!" He closed the door shut, leaving Adam in darkness again. He sat there for a good 10 minutes trying to think what he would do. He felt hopeless. He looked down to the hood he was given the first day he came here. It felt like there was something in it. Adam looked in the hood and saw a small creature in there. It wore a strawberry hood, and it was sleeping. 

Adam gave it a little poke, waking it up. It made a ">:O" expression and ran off. He sat confused at what the thing was, but it was so dark in the room he didn't bother to chase after it. He remained on the floor sitting, and the creature would take notice. It slowly walked back to Adam and tried to cheer him up. Adam shook his head, he talked about how there's no use anymore and that he was stuck here for good. As he looked away, he swore he saw something glow in the corner of his eye. He looked back down to see the creature glow, like a glow stick! He picked it up and decided to look around the room he was in now that he had a light source. He was in Mark's room. He could tell due to the amount of blueberry themed decor. On the side he was looking at, he saw how everything looked normal, till he took a turn where the bed was at and saw it. The walls were covered with etches, hundreds, thousands of them all over. Adam saw a few papers under the bed and decided to take a look at them. They were all about Mark's experience being in Madeleine county. He's been there for 17 whole years. Adam felt his stomach drop realizing he might have the same fate as Mark if he doesn't figure out something. He looked through more of the papers, many mentioning the key he needed, something about never leaving assigned desserts unfinished, and "the savior". It was all too much for Adam to decypher, even though it was a lot of information, it was all incoherent gibberish. Has Mark gone mad? 

Adam could only imagine, being stuck in a candy coated hell hole for 17 years can make anyone go crazy. He began to think to himself, about the key specifically. He remembered he got it from Jonah and used it, but it vanished after that. He thought harder, of how Jonah presented the key to Adam. Holding it in his hand, and when he tried to grab it.it turned into that black jelly. Has Adam been tricked all along and used the wrong key? He screamed, slammed his fists on the ground. He would've been home by now if he was more careful. He fell right back into Jonah's trap. Adam looked over to the papers again, back to the part about the key. It says that Mark would look through it and his surroundings wouldn't be colorful anymore, instead it would all look rotting. The paper also mentioned: "Cesar walked in the room and I Looked through the key. The strawberry on his hat was the only thing that remained bright and colorful, while he looked horrifying. His skin was gray, eyes blank.soulless, half of his face was decaying with his jaw exposed. He looked like a fucking zombie. He asked me what I was doing, and I said nothing." This only intrigued Adam to look at the other few papers that were left. It was about Cesar creating a new person. When Adam read Mark's description of them, his eyes widened. He described Jonah. 

Adam stood up, he used the strawtruder to look around the room more. The real key still has to be out there somewhere. If Mark saw the key in Cesar's room, it had to be left there somehow. But how the hell would Adam get out of this one? The door was missing, and Jonah hasn't come back at all. Adam realized what this meant, so he rolled his eyes. He banged on the wall where the door is supposed to be and "begged '' Jonah to come back and that he "misses him". He heard footsteps coming, Jonah was skeptical of Adam acting the way he was. Adam convinced Jonah that he was "telling the truth" and that he really misses him and wants to play more games. He heard Jonah go "hmm" before finally opening the door. Jonah rested his hand on his hip and looked Adam up and down.

 "Why are you so skeptical? You can't believe that I've learned my lesson and wanna hang with my bestest bro in the world?" 

Adam cringed internally saying that, but it seemed to please Jonah enough. He let out a giggle before pulling Adam by the arm. So now the two were back in the room with the fireplace, Adam sat down on the chair drinking tea. He has a plan in mind, but he doesn't know how it's going to work. He literally has no one else around to distract Jonah from him. Sure he has strawtruder, but he's a little guy and who knows if Jonah would squish him out of anger. Jonah would basically take this opportunity to talk to Adam about new rules that were being enforced in Madeleine county and the mansion. Adam wouldn't pay attention too much as he was trying to focus on his plans, until Jonah mentioned one thing about how both of them need to be together 24/7, including sleeping in the same room together. Adam tells Jonah that he needs his privacy and that being around Jonah is already suffocating as it is. Jonah lets out a huff, he ends up agreeing with Adam, he would only get his privacy, just as long as he stays. 

The room would go quiet, the only sound being Adam sipping on his tea. Jonah would examine Adam, looking specifically at his ears. His eyes lit up as he remembered something. He asked Adam about the gift he gave him, the earring. Adam gulped down his tea and glanced over to Jonah. He nodded. Jonah clapped his hands together and said that he should try and pierce Adam's ear today so he could be able to wear the earring. As Adam placed his cup down, he said he doesn't even remember where he put the gift. Then something came up. He asked Jonah if he could go back upstairs and go look for it. Jonah thought about it, he didn't want Adam out of his sight, but he trusted him enough to go off just a little while to look for the earring. He let Adam go. 

Adam would hurry up the stairs, this gave him the perfect opportunity to look through Cesar's room and find the key. He felt squirming in his pocket and completely forgot strawtruder was in there, he placed the little guy on his shoulder as they went into Cesar's room. The room was very organized. His bed was nicely done, desk clean and presented with neatly stacked papers in the middle. Then there was this large wardrobe. Adam stood in front of it and gave a peek. All perfectly organized and color coordinated, it was aesthetically pleasing. Expect for one dark red shirt placed in the middle of two pink shirts. Adam tugged on the hanger and the wardrobe began to shake. It shifted to the side revealing a hidden hallway. Adam looked back to make sure Jonah wasn't looking, then he stepped in, the wardrobe closing back behind him. 

The hallway had a much sinister vibe compared to Cesar's bright pink organized room. It was dull, cold, and eerie. There was a door in the end of the hallway that Adam approached. A sign that read "caution" was on the door. He opened it anyway, and what was behind the door seemed to be a large lab. It was dim and dark, the only thing lighting up the place were a few fluorescent lights that buzzed. Adam looked to his left and saw another desk. It was more of a mess, papers littered everywhere, and old cups of coffee were left there. Something caught his eye, something shining. It was the key! Adam quickly walked over to it and grabbed it. He took a good look at it, he noticed how the handle of the key was shaped like an apple. He did what he read from Mark's papers, looking through the key. He did, but nothing looked different. Maybe he was looking through it in the wrong way. It didn't matter, he placed it in his pocket and continued to look around. The whole place was full of all sorts of weird gadgets he couldn't even name. There was another door in the corner of the lab, but it said "KEEP OUT".

"As if I'm gonna listen." 

Adam pushed the door open, his eyes widened as he saw what was behind there. There were four large glass jars, but three of them had something inside. Something he would've never imagined to see. The three jars had exact replicas of Jonah, all three wearing their own different types of outfits. Each had a paper attached to the glass. Orange? Grapefruit? Lime? Adam backed up, he wanted to test something out again. He slowly pulled out the key from his pocket and brought it to his eye. The three seemingly colorful dressed Jonah's became horrid decaying corpses floating in a jar through the key. Their intestines were exposed and some were floating around in the air too. Adam's heart began to race. his hand shook as he was unable to look away. He was tired of being exposed to such imagery, he looked away and put away the key back in his pocket. He sat down on the floor, head in his hands as he began to cry. Never did he wish to see his closest friend in that condition, ever. It was heart wrenching and terrifying.He regained himself as he stood back up. He can't be fooled. Those Jonah's are just as fake as the one tormenting him now. He must move on. 

He stood in front of the empty jar labeled "lemon". He looked at his reflection in the glass. He was so tired. As he let in a deep breath and sigh, he walked back out. There was another door on the opposite end of the lab, but it looks like a code was needed to enter. He didn't bother as his main focus is to leave. 

The wardrobe opened back to Cesar's room as Adam walked up, he really hoped Jonah didn't notice he was missing for a while. As Adam walked out of Cesar's room, he was quickly grabbed by the neck and pinned against the wall. Jonah looked extremely pissed. He began to yell at Adam about how he ruined his trust for him. Adam tried to cover up by saying he looked in his own room and couldn't find the earring, so he went to the next room. Jonah grinned, he slowly began to laugh. He picked up his free hand, revealing the earring. 

"Then what's THIS? I know your room like the back of my hand. I know everything you have placed in there."

 Adam struggled, he just wanted to be let go, but he felt Jonah's grip on his neck tighten, slowly making him lose air. He started to choke, his head getting more and more lightheaded as he slowly started to pass out once again. He woke up back at the chair, with the same restraints as earlier. He looked around the room and didn't see Jonah in sight, only for him to startle the crap out of Adam by poking out behind the chair. Jonah stood in front of Adam, hands behind his back, almost like he was hiding something. Jonah asks Adam how much he saw, from the basement to Cesar's room. Adam tells Jonah that he wants to know why he did that to Cesar. Jonah chuckled, finally revealing what he had behind his back, he held up the decapitated head of Cesar by the hair. Jonah explains he only did it because Cesar was planning to use Adam, to duplicate him for endless supplies of meat for Madeleine county. Jonah expressed how he didn't like the idea of Adam being replicated, he only wanted the real one to himself and only to himself, but Cesar would never listen. All he cared about was surviving, and Cesar already tried replicating a real human before and it was successful. Adam asked why Jonah was so upset over the idea of being replicated, which would cause Jonah to look visibly upset. 

Jonah explains it's because he feared being replaced himself, he saw all the other Jonah's that were made in the lab. He had overheard Cesar talking to Mark days ago about how Cesar was planning to make another Jonah because he (lemon) wasn't good enough and he made multiple mistakes that would become issues in the future. Jonah then starts to break down in front of Adam saying things about how he's the perfect Jonah and no other would be the perfect friend. Adam just looked, he was getting uncomfortable witnessing it. Jonah stopped, his eyes looking straight into Adam's.

 "..So you're just not going to comfort me?? You're not going to say I AM the perfect Jonah? I thought you said you learned your lesson.." 

Adam shook his head in confusement, he didn't know he was supposed to say anything. Jonah discarded the head he was holding, he walked back to Adam, hands in his coat pocket. Jonah asked Adam to tilt his head to the side, pulling out a sharp needle from his pocket. Adam's chest began to pound, he knew where this was going. He looked at Jonah with wide eyes, screamed and begged him to not even dare to try doing what he was going to do, Jonah only grinned. He forcefully tilted Adam's head, bringing the dirty needle close to his ear lobe. Adam thrashed around in the chair, yelling at him to stop. The needle pierced through the ear, causing Adam to scream out in pain. Blood started to spill out of his ear lobe the deeper the needle went. Jonah pulled out the needle only to poke the earring through the bleeding wound. There were tears running down Adam's face, the pain was unbearable, he looked up to Jonah, who licked off the blood from his "gloved" hand. Adam choked out a sob, he couldn't take it any longer. He just wanted to leave, he wanted to go home. 

.

.

Bythorne county. It was 4 hours after midnight. His hands dug into the bag of chips, he's been staying up for hours. He chuckled to himself watching tv, it showed nothing but static but it was entertaining Anyway. 

"They reeaaaally didn't have to outlaw these hehe..”

He took another puff of his blunt, looking over to the bag of chips to see it was empty. A sigh escaped his mouth, he needed some munchies. He looked over to the slice of pie that was left on the coffee table by Adam. He only took one bite, shrugged and put it back down. He groaned as he started to feel ill, then it hit him. Something felt off, something was missing. His head turned to Adam's bedroom door. He's been in the room for hours. Usually Adam is the type to wake up in the middle of the night to take a piss or whatever, so he found it unusual he didn't see him.

He stood up and walked over to the bedroom door, giving it a knock.

"Yo Adam, you good in there? I know you went to bed and all..but I dunno something doesn't feel ri-"

He opened the door to reveal the same pink skied candied place Adam was greeted with. He only assumed he was just high and walked in. He saw his outfit change before his eyes, his dessert theme was an edible brownie. He chuckled to himself only thinking this was a really weird trip and began to walk down the wafer path.

.

.

It's been a day, last night was tough as only Jonah would mentally torment Adam after the piercing. He stayed layed down on his bed, this is how things were going to be from now on and he would have to get used to it. If he was going to have to stay in Madeleine county for 17 years..or more like Mark then so be it. He gave up. Strawtruder peeked up from the pile of pillows that were on the opposite end of the pie dish shaped bed, he scurried over to Adam and stood on his head.

"There's no use, little guy. I think it's over for me.”

Adam looked over to his nightstand, he left the key there. Something about it just seemed to. call out to him. He sat up and reached over to look at it closely. He remembered what Mark's papers had said. something about Cesar's strawberry on his hat glowing. He needed to know what it meant. He got up from the bed and put the key in his pocket. Strawtruder tilted its little head, wondering where Adam was going. Adam said he was going to walk around the mansion for a bit. As he stepped out of his room, he noticed how Jonah was nowhere in sight. He let out a small sigh of relief and continued to walk down the hall to down the stairs. He stopped and looked at the main entrance of the mansion, it was still boarded off. Adam wondered, he never seemed to try and eat his way out of things. Everything in the mansion looks edible, but based on what the key shows, things are actually rotten. It made him wonder what else would appear rotten. He wondered if it would work with Jonah, but he wouldn't dare show he had the actual key in his possession. He walked over to the kitchen and saw him. Jonah looked. taller than usual. He didn't know if it was the outfit that was making him appear that tall or he actually grew. He turned and smiled at Adam, saying that he came just in time for breakfast. Adam declined but Jonah walked over to him, practically towering over him. He did grow..

He pointed to the table with a long sharp finger, almost demanding Adam to take a seat. Adam insisted, walking over to the table and taking a seat. There were..eggs and bacon? They looked realistic unlike the fake gummy food they would usually eat. He grabbed his fork, about to cut the egg and that's when it was revealed it was nothing but cake. Oh, great. Adam sighed and took a few bites, he saw in the middle of the table there was a pie with a missing slice. He asks Jonah about it, questioning how long it has been there. Jonah explains that it was a pie Cesar made the day before Adam came. Adam kept that in mind.Jonah then told Adam that they were both going on a picnic since he didn't want to be stuck in the house

all day. Great, there goes one of Adam's plans.

After breakfast was over, Adam went back to his room to change out of his pajamas. His wardrobe was full of the same pink suit and striped tie combination. There was literally nothing else. Once he got ready, he put on his hood and snuck strawtruder in there.

They both stood in front of the back entrance door. Jonah looked over to Adam and asked for his arm. Adam rolled his eyes and held his arm out. They locked arms together and walked out of the entrance.

.

.

The picnic was.alright. Sure, the place was bright as always and made Adam want to throw up, but Jonah seemed to be more tame than usual. Something is up. Was he only acting like this because he knows there's no way Adam can escape anymore? He finally got his way. He won the game. He held his umbrella to Adam, giving him some shade. Adam looked off to the grassy fields, there were many colorful trees, giant cupcakes all over the place, and. some homeless looking guy rolling around in the grass..

Wait. What?

He squinted his eyes but could only see the guy was wearing a brown coat. Was this another person? No it can't be. After what happened with the officers, Adam couldn't seem to trust anyone else that lived in Madeleine. However..

He asks Jonah if he could "look around" and take a walk. Jonah allows him, but he kept his eye on Adam the whole time. Adam saw the mysterious person roll behind one of the cupcakes. Perfect. He took a peek and saw the person giggling to himself. He smelt strongly of..weed. Oh. Wait a minute. Adam asks who the person is and he sits up, making Adam let out a sigh.

“..another one?"

Another. Jonah? How many were there? Adam couldn't take it any longer. He grabbed him by the collar of his sweater and demanded an explanation.

"Holy fuck!! Chillax Adam!! What the hell are you wearing! You look like some kind of strawberry shortcake character.”

He bursted out into laughter. Adam thought to himself for a second. That's strange for an edible to be inhabitant of such an "innocent" looking place. What if. Just maybe. This is the real Jonah. No. Adam shook his head and let him go. He was tired of being tricked. Jonah stood up and asked where Adam was going.

"Nice try, but your stupid little hallucinations aren't working on me anymore, Lem."

Jonah tilted his head and asked who's that. Adam didn't give an answer, he remained frustrated and confused. It bothered him, even though it felt like he was talking to the real Jonah, he wasn't sure if it was. He doesn't know if anything could be one of (lemon) Jonah's tricks. Maybe that's what the key was for, to tell what is really real. Adam pulled out the key and held it to his eye. The seemingly colorful fields turned gray, so did the sky, however, Jonah remained in color! It was. actually him, just in a stupid edible brownie themed hat and clothing. Adam lowered the key down, as small tears formed in the corner of his

eyes. He pulled Jonah in for a hug, he went on about how much he missed him and that he wants to leave so badly. Jonah, being high, only hazily laughed and held on to Adam. For once Adam felt safe again, until a dark pit formed in his stomach, remembering (lemon) Jonah was still out there waiting for him back in the picnic. Adam told Jonah to stay still and to wait for him, he also said to go to follow the wafer path to the mansion.

Jonah nodded, but then asked why he needed to go. Adam only looked down, it was a lot to explain and he didn't have any time, he only told Jonah that he needed help. He walked back to the picnic and saw (lemon) Jonah sitting, he had what seems to be bunnies made out of marshmallows on his lap. When he saw Adam approach, he smiled and waved. Adam sat down and pretended to make it seem like nothing happened. He started to tell Jonah he was feeling ill and wanted to go back into the mansion. Jonah squinted his eyes in suspicion, he would ask what Adam was doing behind the cupcake for a while. Shit. Adam had to come up with the most bullshit excuse to why he was, he also feared (lemon) Jonah would end up finding Jonah there and possibly hurt him. Adam told him that he felt like he needed to throw up, so he hid behind there just in case he had to, but didn't. Jonah's expression relaxed, but he still didn't seem pleased to have to end their picnic over Adam feeling sick.

The two ended back into the mansion so Adam could rest. He would look out the window of his room (which was locked up and had bars on it) as he saw the pink sky turn to black. It was already night, he only hoped Jonah would find some way to help him. He looked back to the key, then back outside. He had seen Mark's papers, looked through Cesar's lab, but none answered his question on how he needed to leave. Maybe there wasn't a way at all. He thought of it deeper, from Cesar being chewed up, killing him completely, from how Mark's body went completely missing when it was last seen in the basement. Did Mark even die? Adam got up from his bed as his thoughts began to race. He remembered Mark's paper talking about fruits glowing through the key, something about not to leave assigned desserts unfinished. The apple pie in the kitchen with a missing slice. A slice. The last thing he ate before he came here was a slice of apple pie. He paused. He needs to get rid of the rest of the pie to free him from this connection. Him taking a bite of the slice of apple pie was like him signing a contract to stay in this everlasting nightmare. He still has time to cancel this deal he never agreed with.

 His eyes are wide open. 

.

.

Adam had to act quick, he felt like anything bad could happen in any moment. First, he needs to find the bodies of Mark and Cesar. He has a feeling glowing fruits are important and need to be kept. He threw his pink suit to the side, rolled up his sleeves and tied his hood to his waist. He looked in his room to see if the axe he used was still around. It was tucked behind his bed. As he ran out of his room, he tried his best to try and be quiet and quick. He had to go back to the basement where Cesar's body was. He ran down the hallway, opened the basement door and ran down the stairs. He pulled the strawtruder for light as the basement was still dark. He saw the body more clearly now, it was mostly bones. He looked through the

key, the strawberry on his suit didn't glow. He needed his hat, he looked over to the rest of the basement and saw it on the floor. He looked through the key one more time and saw one of the strawberries glow. He reached out for it, it felt warm in his hand.

"Thank you.."

Did it just speak to him? Adam tilted his head and the strawberry began to speak again. It sounded exactly like Cesar. He told Adam that he needs to find Mark's blueberry as well, he also apologized for all of the trouble Adam put up with. He talked to Adam about how Madeleine only existed to protect him from the dangers of the real world. He was tired of waking up everyday from the nightmares he would have. He would grow paranoid because of them, also the existence of alternates didn't help either. He thought Madeline was good until one night, an unknown force took over his body completely, killing him shortly after. Even though most of his mind was corrupted, he still had some control due to his soul still being

present. His top priority was to keep Mark safe, but he was forced to watch Mark go through so much pain as the unknown force would torment him. The force craved meat, it was blood thirsty, and most of the time it would want to go after Mark. But Cesar remained strong, he would try his hardest to hold it back for so long until that day when Cesar hit Mark with his cane until he bled out. Cesar got weak from controlling the force as it would only grow stronger throughout the years. Cesar told Adam that he swore he didn't do anything else to Mark after that and the last thing he remembered was the fight between him and Adam. 

Things were only starting to make a few sense to Adam, all he knew now is that Mark is still around, dead or alive. What Adam found weird is how Cesar wasn't in charge of Mark being put in the basement.. with his eye missing. It only meant one thing. 

Adam placed the strawberry in his bag and continued to move on. He made it to the kitchen; he still had to get rid of the pie that was left on the table. It was missing. He felt like he wanted to scream but he needed to move on, there wasn't enough time. He noticed there was a walk-in freezer in the kitchen, the door looks to be slightly open. He walked over to it and went inside cautiously, he made sure he used his axe as a way to prevent the freezer door from closing shut. Adam's stomach dropped as he found Mark. His whole body was frozen but he held out his hand shut. Adam pulled out the key and looked through to find where the blueberry was at. It wasn't on his hat, then he looked over to his closed hand and saw the blueberry through it. Now how the fuck is he going to get it. Adam grabbed the hand and it managed to snap off his wrist. Adam got disgusted, throwing the frozen hand on the floor, causing it to shatter, revealing the blueberry. As he grabbed it, it spoke to him as well. It was Mark. Just like Cesar, he thanked Adam for saving his soul. He only told Adam that he's getting really close to freedom. Adam mentioned to Mark that the pie he needed to get rid of was missing. Mark said not to worry about that too much as just as long their souls pass over, Madeleine won't be a thing anymore. Adam placed the blueberry in his hood and moved on from there. He noticed Jonah hadn't been present at all.. it was almost suspicious. Adam cautiously walked, he then heard laughter coming from a room. He followed where it came from and entered the room where the fireplace was. Adam's eyes widened as he saw the real Jonah tied down to the chair with his mouth covered too. (Lemon) Jonah held a knife over Jonah's neck, looking straight at Adam.

(Lemon) Jonah explains how he knew Adam was up to no good and was still trying to deny the fact he was staying in Madeleine forever. He ranted about how selfish Adam was, claiming that Adam never really appreciated what he did for him. He walked over to Adam, knife still in hand, he continued to talk about how he was disappointed Adam broke his trust. He noticed how Adam was clenching on to his axe, he laughed at that, saying no matter how hard Adam tries, he could slice and cut him however, but he will always come back, they will always meet again. He smiled. Adam's hands began to shake, he didn't know what to do. He looked over to Jonah who had a scared look on his face. It took him a while to find out what to say, he took a deep breath. Something echoed in the back of his head, about ever leaving desserts unfinished. He remembered about Cesar's corpse, he was completely dead..because he was eaten. Adam had cracked the code.

Adam looked into (lemon) Jonah's eye before yelling and slicing him in half like he did before. (Lemon) Jonah only laughed and called Adam stupid for thinking that would do anything. That's when Adam began to chop his torso into smaller pieces. He would grab a handful and shove it in his mouth. (Lemon) Jonah's eyes would grow larger as he realized what Adam was doing. He yelled at him to stop, but Adam didn't. He continued chopping, shoving more and more pieces into his mouth. It tasted sour, but he had to do this. Only the top half of Jonah remained as he struggled to get the rest of the black jelly to reform himself. He was panicking, melting in the process of it. He started to scream and yell at Adam, guilt tripping him. Adam once again swung his axe at him, finally shutting him up for good. Adam got down to his knees and ate the remaining black jelly. He felt nauseated, but he tried not to let it get to him. He looked over to Jonah who was still on the chair, his eyes obviously giving a "WHAT THE FUCK?" look. Adam went over and freed Jonah from the taffy restraints. They both looked at each other awkwardly and agreed they would never talk about this experience ever again.

Not shortly after, Jonah would talk about how "badass" Adam looked swinging the axe and "killing the bastard". Adam only chuckled, he was glad he had his old friend with him at last. Now the last thing to do is figure out how to get out. Adam saw the pie with the missing slice was placed down on the coffee table in the middle of the room. He grabbed it and threw it into the fireplace. How was their fire in Madeline? Not sure, seems the place is decaying enough it breaks its own laws of everything only being candy. It didn't matter to Adam anyway, he needed to help Mark and Cesar pass over.

 The two would walk out of the mansion, both catching up on what happened in the last 4 days.. but to Jonah, it was only 4 hours. Adam also introduced Jonah to strawtruder and he loved the little guy. They stopped in their tracks as they saw a grape and cherry in the middle of the wafer path. Adam picked them

up and looked at it through the key. It didn't glow.but it wasn't rotten either. It was just a regular cherry and grape. As he looked back up, he was greeted with darkness. No..not again. Don't say. that this was all just another hallucination.

No.

A bright light approached Adam, it introduced himself as "his savior" and congratulated him for finally succeeding. Adam was confused, he didn't know what this meant. The savior grew brighter, so bright Adam had to close his eyes. Once he opened them, a tall angel decorated with frosting and berries stood before him. He lifted up his hand and Adam's outfit would change into a tailcoat and top hat. The angel said Adam will be the new ruler of Madeleine. Adam shook his head, he didn't want this. He explained to the angel that he wishes to go home. The angel nodded, but he brought up that he noticed he had some souls on him. Adam said yes, but something about this angel didn't feel right. He doesn't trust him with the souls of Mark and Cesar. Either way, Adam promised he'd be the one to cross them over. He then

looked at the cherry and grape he found. What if he just.gave these instead. He handed the grape and cherry to the angel, and he gave the most innocent smile ever. This smile would soon melt into a stretched out one.

"You'll regret making this decision, Adam. For you will be a fool for the rest of your life. Wake up."

He was back at the wafer path, gasping for air. Jonah stood up and told Adam that he was standing there for a good 10 minutes. Adam shook his head, saying that they need to leave now. The door appeared again at the end of the wafer path. Adam and Jonah walked over to the door, and this time Adam had the right key to escape. Adam unlocked the door, pushing the door open to reveal the same bright light. The two walk into the light together. Madeleine county slowly starts to decay, falling apart into nothingness. It's all over now. Mark and Cesar are at peace now. They are both safe, just like Adam and Jonah.

.

.

Adam woke up on the floor, his eyelids feeling too heavy to open. What the hell was that? He saw Jonah on the floor as well, and he started to laugh.

"We did it Adam heheheeh"

"We? You dickwad, I was the one who killed that freak and spent a whole day trying to find out how to escape! You came last minute!!"

Jonah laughed. Adam was glad to have his old life back. This is all he ever wanted. It would be a day later after all of that, the two would sometimes crack jokes about it once in a while, but they both agreed it's best to forget about it. It's not like it'll be a problem for them anymore.

.

.

His eyes began to water as he felt a burning sensation in his throat. He hunched over to the sink, feeling like he needed to throw up. He gagged and coughed, little by little, drops of a black substance came out. His heart dropped, he looked up to the mirror as the black substance dripped out of his mouth.

“I don't feel like myself anymore.”

– END OF PART TWO: ARCHIVED –

-

– ENDING ONE: ARCHIVED –

His eyes burned as he felt his throat getting the burning sensation of needing to throw up. He

hurried into the bathroom, hunched over to the sink. It started to spill out of his mouth. A sickly

gross gooey substance that was pitch black.

He started to catch his breath as it stopped, only for it to continue. It filled up to the brim of the

entire sink. Disgusting. He looked up to the mirror and saw it dripping down his eyes and

mouth. This must be the after effects of being in Madeleine for so long…right? He hoped so,

as he really wished it wasn't anything more serious. He couldn't shake off the feeling of

something he felt. The sense of dread. He shook his head, he was back home and that's all

that matters. He looked back down at the sink and grimaced. He really needed to get a bucket

to put that goo in. He was afraid it would clog the pipes, and hell would their landlord be

pissed over that.

He walked out of the restroom to see his friend sleeping on the couch. He couldn't help but to

smile as he really missed him after being trapped in that hell hole for days. He's never been

happier to be living in a gloomy apartment. He walked over to the kitchen to see if there was

any bowl or container store that substance for now, but he only seemed to find one glass jar.

That would work for now. He walked back to the bathroom and started to scoop it out of the

sink into the jar. Once he got all of that done, he sealed it up. It surprisingly didn't leave a

mess as the sink looked spotless. He planned to take the jar and throw it out, but it was

already so late. He needed some rest, especially after all that happened. He left the jar on the

coffee table and walked back to his bedroom.

Adam opened his eyes while stretching out, it was a new day. He got up and walked back to

the living room to see Jonah surprisingly up early. He sat..so still, it was almost concerning.

Adam looked over to him and Jonah quickly turned his head over to look at him back.

"Good morning”

Jonah smiled, but not in a way he would usually do. It unsettled Adam a bit, then he looked

down to the coffee table and noticed the jar was missing.

"H-Hey..Jonah? Uh..where's the jar? I left one here last night and.."

"Oh heh, yeah I thought it was trash so I threw it out! What was it anyway?" Jonah chuckled.

Adam let out a sigh, maybe he was just being paranoid. Jonah seems to be acting fine, there's nothing wrong with him.

"Oh sweet. I was gonna throw it out myself but thanks man.”

Jonah stood up, walking over to Adam with a smile still on his face. He placed his hands on

his shoulder, his grip holding tight.

"No. Thank you, Adam. Thank you for bringing me here. Now we can be friends forever."

Jonah grinned as some of the substance spilt out of the corner of his mouth. He let out a

laugh as Adam tried to be let go from the grip but failed to. Tears formed in the corners of his

eyes.

He was a fool.

– END OF ENDING ONE: ARCHIVED –

-

– ENDING TWO: ARCHIVED –

As Adam put the strawberry in his hood, he turned over to stare at the large wall covered in

missing posters. The one in the middle was Mark's, but there were others surrounding them.

Adam's eyes looked closer, examining each of the posters. His eyes landed on one on the far

right of the wall. He had never seen this woman before..but her name…

..Lynn Murray

His heart dropped as he stood in front of the poster, tears forming as his sight began to blur.

Could this be? The person he was looking for all along ended up in this candy hellhole he so

happened to be trapped in. His lip quivered as his hand reached out to the poster, taking it off

from the wall.

He needs to get out of here, and there's no more time to waste. Adam would soon go back up to the kitchen and end up finding Mark's soul there. On the way out of the kitchen, he bumped into someone. That same homeless guy- no wait, it's Jonah.

"Dude!!! Where the hell have you been? Haha, this place is huuuuge. I was looking all over for you!"

Adam shook his head and told Jonah there's no time to waste and that he needs to help him get Mark and Cesar's soul to the other side. Jonah nodded and told him where he got in the

mansion. The two would cautiously roam, making sure Lem was nowhere in sight. Adam told

Jonah that he couldn't shake off the feeling of something feeling off, and that he was missing

something. Jonah then brought up to Adam about how he found a grape and cherry on his way

into the mansion. Adam looked at the fruits through the key and they didn't glow. but they weren't rotten either. They were just a grape and cherry. He still held onto them in his pocket as he felt like he would need them just in case. The mansion was way too quiet as they both made their way to the kitchen. Adam told Jonah to keep an eye out for anyone coming by as he went to look for Mark's soul.

Jonah nodded, "Alright but be careful."

Adam would then find Mark's soul in the walk-in freezer. As he walked back out he saw Jonah

holding a cleaver in his hand

"Why do you need that for?"

"Listen, I'm already highly suspicious of how quiet this place actually is. Also, didn't you tell me something about this "Lem" dude? What if he attacked me while you were in there getting the soul?"

"Right right, well there's no time to waste so we must get going..”

As they both walked, Adam felt like he needed to go back to the lab. Jonah asked why, only for Adam to not even know himself. He felt like there was a lot left unanswered there and that he needed to look back. Jonah rolled his eyes, not liking the idea of them splitting up again as it could put both of them in danger. Adam promised Jonah that he wouldn't be alone for long and handed Strawtruder to him to keep him company. Adam was off alone again as he hurriedly went up the stairs to Cesar's room. He noticed the entrance behind the wardrobe was already open. Did he do that?

.

.

Banging on the glass wouldn't work, as he'd been stuck in this large glass tank for a few days.

He didn't have to worry about drowning in the sickly sweet pink syrup that filled the tank. He

swam up to the top of the tank where the lid was, wondering if there was a way to unscrew it

from the inside.

It didn't take him a while to finally figure something out. His intelligence was a gift, yet a curse as it was the thing that made him be sealed away from the outside world in the first place. Sure, he would've tried to escape sooner, but he'd heard commotion coming from outside the lab walls that made him stay still. It's been quiet now, so might as well try to escape now. As he used his strength to kick the lid open, he could only think of the many things he wanted to do once he got out. He wants his revenge for being put away like if he was some sort of threat to his creator. All he wanted was to be free from being just a creation. He wanted to be his own person with his own life, but no. He was forced to doing stupid tasks all dealing with being a "friend" and other pointless manipulation tactics. 

He threw the lid to the ground as he jumped out of the tank, dripping from the pink substance.

As he looked around the room, he saw a pinboard of papers and pictures. He took a closer look, only to see they were all pictures of this guy. a guy that looks exactly like him. He read the paper and saw the name "Jonah Marshall" on it along with other information like his date of birth, where he lives, his age, his height. Then there was a paragraph analyzing his behaviors, mannerisms, his interests.

"What the hell?"

He stepped backwards and bumped into a desk that had a file placed in the middle of it. Nothing else. It had the word "Lime" on it, with a huge X across it. Is that his name? Lime? He opened the file up to see all the analysis that has been done on him. He flipped to the last page talking about how he needed to be put away and that a new version of him would be made. A new one..

He'd been replaced.

He threw the file back down to the desk, frustrated at the information he had read. He wasn't

good enough? No, he met every criteria, but he was too smart for his own good? It's not his

fault! He was created this way! He turned back to the page to see what he was replaced with. A prototype named "Lemon”..

Lemon. What makes him so special? He needs to know where this Lemon would be and what

makes him so great. When he does find out where he is, he'll make him pay for having to be

trapped away in this room for days.

.

.

Adam walked down the hall and looked around the room. Nothing has changed. His eyes

looked over to the locked door. There has to be something inside there. He looked at the

buttons on the lock.they were numbers. He could sorta make up what the code could be as

some of the numbers were faded..

1234..

4321..

2143..

This could take a while. He tried again once more.

3124

The door opened as he saw someone already behind there. Another one?

Lime blinked as his hand remained on the handle of the door. He examined Adam with a

skeptical face.

"You're not Lemon..are you?"

"Fuck no!"

"I knew that! I was just making sure. I'm pretty sure all of us prototypes can all shapeshift.'

Lime noticed Adam's hand on the buttons still. He smirked in a cocky manner.

"Oh yeah, don't worry, I think I was the one who actually got the door to open. Y'see, I've been

trapped in that room for days, and I managed to figure out how to unlock the door from the inside.

Adam blinked in confusion and shook his head, not even wanting to bother. He said that he'll be going until Lime grabbed Adam by the wrist.

"Uh..? What do you want?"

"Based on what I have read, I was designed to be your friend. Boring, yes, but I want to make

sure I am the best at doing it. Unlike anyone else because no one holds as much knowledge as me.”

Great. Another obsessed perfectionist. Adam rolled his eyes and faced Lime.

"Well guess what, no thanks! I'm tired of you fake Jonah's and your weird obsessions over

wanting to be friends with me! Lem already has me fucking losing my mind because of it!"

Lime blinked, "Lem? As in Lemon? So you're telling me he's around? Where exactly..”

"I don't know! How about you go and look for yourself, genius."

Lime scoffed, "Whatever, I honestly don't have time to deal with people like you.”

And like that, he walked away from Adam and out of the lab, leaving Adam back all alone. He sighed to himself as things were starting to get more and more confusing to him. He wanted to know what this whole place meant, but it was all so hard to decipher. Was it even worth it in the end? What matters most is to leave this place for good. He would rather be doing alternate investigations than this. This whole place feels like an entirely new paranormal experience. It's otherworldly, and he wouldn't wish anyone to be trapped in here. He needed to get out of the lab as he didn't want Jonah to be left alone for too long. Who knows what Lime would think if he ever saw him.

.

.

Jonah held Strawtruder in his hands and walked through the mansion. He heard footsteps

coming down the stairs and assumed it would be Adam. When he saw who it actually was, he

stepped away slowly. Lime scrunched his nose at Jonah in disgust.

"Oh this cannot be the right guy! This can't be! You're not Lemon are you?"

"Dude! Can you keep it down?"Jonah whispered.

Lime rolled his eyes and went on a rant about how he shouldn't bother to try and listen to Jonah because he was "stupid". Jonah obviously got upset and argued back to Lime, telling him to shut up. Their commotion would cause Lem to find both of them, and he was enraged

Adam would come back downstairs and find Jonah nowhere in sight. Shit. He heard yelling coming from the other side of the mansion. He ran quickly to the room it came from, and saw

not one..not two..but three Jonah's fighting each other. It was a fucking mess. He stood by the

doorway as the three didn't bother to stop to look at Adam, they just continued. Adam would

hear the conversation between Lime and Lemon, both of them arguing over how one is more

superior to the other in their own way. Then there was Jonah, trying his best to defend from

either one of them that tried to strike at him. Adam saw the look on Lem's face, and he looked

like he was about to snap. He snapped his fingers, causing his snake around his shoulders to

go towards Jonah, restraining him. Lime got back up, only for Lem to grab him by the neck,

holding him in the air. Adam didn't like where this was going so he hid behind the wall, only

hearing Lem talking to Lime about how no one is getting in the way anymore. As he heard that he heard the sounds of bones being crunched, followed with the sound of Lime screaming in agonizing pain. Adam took a peek and saw Lime's head on the floor. Jonah was forced to sit there in horror as he watched Lem tear Lime's body apart and devour whatever he could. Lem wiped his mouth with his hand, only smearing the black jelly on his face further. He turned over to Jonah, grinning at him, saying that he was next. This would soon cause Adam to step out behind the wall and walk in the room with his axe in hand. He yelled at Lem to stop what he was doing.

His heart raced as he looked into the beady eyes of Lem. He gripped onto the handle of his axe,

but didn't dare to move. His eyes glanced over to Jonah who gave an expression of pure fear,

not knowing where this would go. Lem would only look down at Adam and laugh, saying that the

axe isn't going to stop him and that nothing will. He was in full control of Madeleine, and that

everything will go according to his plan.

Adam closed his eyes and sighed, dropping down the axe. He had a thought in mind, but he

needs to see if it would work if he did this. Lem's expression twisted into a grin as he chuckled.

"Looks like you're finally getting it, huh? Did it take this whole time for you to finally understand?"

He walked over to Adam, looming over him.

"I guess I won once again, I told you I'm good with games, but don't worry, there's still plenty

more to come and I'm sure you'll win.”

Adam shook his head, "This isn't about me anymore or you or this stupid candy hell hole!! I want you to take the real Jonah back home!"

Lem laughed, "For what? I honestly think he'll make a really good snack." He turned to face

Jonah.

Adam groaned and he tried to think of something. He stood there for about a minute thinking

and he finally got it. It was the only way Jonah could go back home safely.

"If you take him home I'Il stay with you..”

Lem turned back to look at Adam, shocked to hear the deal he offered. He tapped his chin and hummed in thought before pulling out his hand for Adam to shake.

"A deal's a deal..”

Adam shook his hand, he winced at how cold it was against his own. Lem then smiled and

hummed as he released Jonah out of his restraints. Jonah looked to Adam in stress, shaking his head.

"Adam, you don't have to do this! Please..”

His head remained low, he was tired of trying to fight back. Adam slowly approached Jonah with the strawberry and blueberry in his hand. He placed them into Jonah's hands.

"Please take them back with you. It's the least you can do right now."

Jonah looked into Adam's eyes before pulling him into a hug. Adam patted his back before Lem pulled Jonah away forcefully. 

"Alright alright enough of that, you're out!"

Lem snapped his fingers, causing a door to appear in the room out of thin air. He could've done that this whole time? "I guess when you're in control of Madeleine..you're in control of

everything." He said, as he opened the door and forced Jonah out, shutting it closed once he did.

The door faded away, Lem chuckled to himself before turning to face Adam. He grinned and

looked down at Adam, telling him that it's just them two forever and ever. Adam couldn't help but to smile, knowing what is going to happen next.

"Yeah…I don't think so.

The walls around them began to decay, but flew away like dust. Lem looked down around and

shook his head, screaming "no" in fear. He desperately clinged on to Adam yelling at him

asking him what he has done and that he's an idiot for this.

"This whole place was designed for Cesar. I helped him pass his soul to the afterlife by giving

his and Mark's soul to Jonah. Without his soul trapped here, this place shouldn't exist..and neither should you.'

Lem screamed as he began to slowly fade away into dust, he desperately clung on to Adam

until there was nothing left of him. Nothing else was left. It was all empty. If Adam's thought was correct, if Madeleine didn't exist anymore, then he should be back home in no time! He noticed he was still in his clothes…not in his usual hoodie. Shit.

There was a bright light ahead of him, it slowly approached Adam then stopped in front of him

"Congratulations! You weren't an idiot this time around."

Adam tilted his head in confusion.

"Since you have proven to me you're smart, what if I gift you something in return, Adam"

Adam didn't like how this strange entity was speaking to him. He mentioned the only gift he'd be accepting if he went back home. The entity laughed, but then told Adam that it wasn't possible for him to go home, but he could always make a home. It continued by saying that there's no other choice and that Adam will forever be left in emptiness if he doesn't give in. Adam sighed as there was literally no other way out of this.

He agreed, and in order for this new home to come..he had to take a bite of an apple pie slice.

He saw it float in front of him, everything Cesar had told him flashed through his head. Was it

worth even fighting anymore? He took a bite but didn't dare to swallow it. He knew what was

inside. The same force that took over Cesar. He stared down at the glowing entity as it shined

brighter, he refused to swallow. It slowly faded away as he saw his clothes change before his

eyes, a pink suit with a top hat. He was now in control. The walls of the mansion began to

reform again as if nothing happened. His heart dropped wondering if Lem would come back, but nothing happened.

He was alone in the mansion.

He walked over to the fireplace and spat out the piece of pie he took a bite out of. The mansion was quiet once again, as there was no one else but him inside. Until. He heard little footsteps come behind him. It was Strawtruder, looking up at Adam with big eyes. He picked it up and placed them on his shoulder. He walked out of the fireplace room with his hands in his pocket. He noticed he felt something in there, only to pull it out and see it was the grape and cherry from earlier.

He looked at both of them, then up to the empty room around him. He hates being alone. He's

been alone for most of his life. If he was in control of Madeleine, wouldn't that mean he could

create anything and everything? He held so much power than he thought, and it all can

start.. with the grape and cherry.

.

.

🍇🍒"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Adam! Happy birthday

to you!"

🍒 "Now blow out the candles and make a wish!"

🍎 "A wish? What's there to wish for? I got all I need here."

🍒 "Well there has to be something you truly wish for in your life.

🍎 “You're right, I wish one of my friends was still around..”

 🍇 "You did the right thing, Adam. You kept him safe.

🍎 "Yeah, I really hope he's doing okay."

🍇 "That reminds me, I saw this real lemon outside in the morning. Wanna see it?'

🍒 “Oh Mark, I'm pretty sure that's just a candy lemon."

🍎 “Yeah.. you can toss that out into the fireplace later. It's nothing to worry about.”

🍇  "If you say so."

🍒 "Say, when was the last time you lit it up?"

🍎 “I.. don't remember. In fact, I can't remember anything that happened to me months ago

except my friend."

🍇 “This is why me and Cesar are here to help. Anyways! Blow the candle out so we can dig into that cake!"

And thus the three sat down at the table. Adam looked out the window at the skies of

Madeleine, how the color was a soft lavender with fluffy cotton candy clouds. He took in a deep breath and blew out the candles that were placed on his cake.

Later that night, Mark cleaned the room where the fireplace was. He took out the lemon he saw outside from his pocket and threw it in there.

"Nothing to worry about” he said as he sighed calmly, walking out of the room

The lemon sat still in the fireplace, so perfectly still. Slowly, something that was dark and gooey, something that was in the fireplace for a while began to stick around it.

Is all nothing to worry about.

-

– END OF ARCHIVE. THANK YOU FOR READING. –

[night-unfurls-its-splendour]

Susan Kay's 'Phantom' Read: Part VII (Raoul)

Well here we are. I've finally reached the conclusion of this hateful, hateful journey. I've now officially read Phantom, and I feel the worse for it.

But I suppose this ending is the best I could possibly have hoped for, since Kay was so fucking determined to kill Erik EVEN THOUGH she was in no way beholden to the canon.

I'm just going to re-cap because I honestly don't have the energy to feel much about this anymore. (Do beware, though things get really fucked up here and I'm very blunt about it, so enter at your own peril)

I'll say, I don't like the narrative framing in this section. I think it would have been far more effective if Kay hadn't put it UP TOP Raoul and Christine's son Charles is actually Erik and Christine's son Charles. In a perhaps divine twist of irony, Raoul named the kid, completely unaware that he'd accidentally named the boy after his paternal grandfather. Very cute Susan.

Anyway Raoul recalls the conclusion of Erik's and Christine's story as he returns to the Palais Garnier to attend the Opera with 'his' son. Of course they take Box 5.

We discover that true to canon Erik releases Raoul and Nadir from the torture chamber (though the passage of time here more closely resembles that of the Lon Chaney film than the book). Moved by Christine's kiss Erik sends them on their way etc etc we know the story.

Except that he first grills Raoul on whether he'll be able to provide for Christine, saying:

"Now don't be stiff-necked and proud, boy! You're only twenty, you've not entered your majority yet, and I would prefer to give you whatever you need rather than see my child marry a pauperized aristocrat!"

So let's re-cap:

Christine looks exactly like Erik mother

Erik desires Christine with a barely controllable lust

Erik also refers to Christine as his child

................................

This is a level of incestuous pretzel logic that I think even V.C. Andrews would look askance at.

Well Madeleine, I guess you were right all along huh?

Now of course in Leroux's final lair, Erik does take Christine's hand and place it in Raoul's. Symbolically he gives her away in an act of selflessness. The fatherly undertones are there.

But Kay decided to take the subtext and actually make it conscious in Erik's mind. What puts this beyond the pale is

1) HE WANTED TO FUCK CHRISTINE BECAUSE SHE LOOKED LIKE HIS MOMMY

2) what happens next

Because rather than giving Christine his ring and asking her to return with it to bury him after he's died, Erik asks Christine to return with an invitation to her wedding to Raoul for him to keep, apologising that he won't be at the service to give her away (every day we stray a little further from His glory...).

When Christine makes it clear that she intends to keep this promise, Raoul says that if she goes back to see Erik, there won't be a wedding.

Christine goes back. And Christine marries Erik, who is so close to death that he's bed-bound. (After ransacking his lair, of course.) But apparently not so near death that he can't get it up for Christine before he drops off the twig.

Nadir, by the way, put him in Christine's room, which is furnished with Madeleine's bed. So he's presumably still in that bed when he and Christine consummated their marriage (and that definitely happened). Again. IS THE BED CARVED LIKE A SWAN????

We're then treated to Raoul giving us all the boring details about how Christine was never really the same again, but they were still pretty happy all the same, how hard her pregnancy was, how the baby had to be delivered by C-section but both Christine and the kid survived, though Christine couldn't have any more kids and how Raoul raised a child that was obviously not his, but doesn't regret it and loves the boy. Charles grows up to be an absolutely spanking gorgeous musical prodigy and Christine dies of cancer when he's sixteen, finally to reunite with her true love in the afterlife while Charles carries the legacy of Erik's genius through Raoul's family name, never knowing who his true father was.

Now, in the immortal words of Waddsworth, from Clue:

We're going to stack the bodies in the cellar, leave quietly one at a time, and pretend that none of this has ever happened.

Masterpost

[airasora]

I don’t know if you’ve ever answered this but do you think Quasimodo should have similar colouring to Esmeralda? If the woman carrying him in the beginning was his mother should he not look more like her because she had dark skin or is his skin and hair colour linked to him being an outcast as well.

I dunno just been thinking about it since I saw your Madeleine edit

There's been a discussion regarding this ever since the movie came out.

Some people theorize that Quasimodo wasn't the biological child of the woman at the beginning of the movie because he indeed LOOKS white. An old stereotype of the Romani people is that they stole children, but this is obviously an extremely racist prejudice and I sincerely doubt that that's what they intended when they made the movie.

You could maybe argue that the reason Quasimodo's skin is so light could be due to whatever condition he has. We know he has kyohosis due to the hunch on his back, but it's not like the movie ever gives him a diagnosis so we don't know for sure what the situation is exactly.

Personally, I follow what is told in the stage musical.

In the stage musical, Quasimodo's mother is the Romani woman named Florika and his father is Jehan Frollo, Claude Frollo's brother, making Quasimodo Frollo's nephew. This is the "explanation" I personally like the best: that Quasimodo's father was white and his skin is therefore white-passing.

So no, I don't necessarily think he should look any different than he already does - I do wish the animated movie included the part about Jehan though both as an explanation to how Quasimodo looks, but also because Jehan's part of the story develops Frollo's character more and makes him more sympathetic.

[murfpersonalblog]

Murf's AMA: Taltos

@adamnablelittledevil you sent me such an incredibly lovely & thorough ask that I wanted to address every single point you made. So I'm breaking your PM up into separate AMA-style posts. Thank you SO much!

"Also, what do you think of the Taltos species as a whole? Because the descriptions of the difficult and nearly lethal pregnancies, the "babies who walk" (that's how it was translated in Brazil), them having some kind of conscience and knowledge about themselves and their world since the beginning, their milk, their naivety etc... I'm usually really into creative and out-of-the-box stuff.... But the whole thing with Taltos, I couldn't really imagine and didn't make as much sense to me as the rest. I don't know if I need more information or if the concept itself didn't work for me. I just couldn't wrap my head around it.

VALID! 😂🤣 Taltos are arguably one of THE weirdest of all the beings in AR's Immortal Universe. And that's what makes them so interesting, IMO. As a whole, I loooove how AR interwove the Taltos into her Mayfair cosmogony, and I wish we'd gotten more Taltos POVs as main characters (Morrigan is one of my favorite AR females. And Ashlar is Best Boi!). AR just lost the plot with the Taltos, and gave up entirely after Blood Canticle (which, following that thread, was clearly for the best). It's a real shame. Lasher's our first and WORST introduction to AR's Taltos. He's a TERRIBLE representative for them, cuz as a whole Taltos are genuinely good people.

"I'm usually really into creative and out-of-the-box stuff, it's one of the reasons I enjoyed Blackwood Farm even though it was her weirdest book so far, I love Tolkien, Orwell, I once read a book that had an explosion and everyone ended up losing a limb and/or fusing with whatever or even whoever was the closest to them... Kids with their toys, children with their mothers, losing hands etc. And that book is one of my favorites."

And that's the very crux of it! If vampires are the embodiment of Thirst/Hunger, and ghosts are disembodied Unfinished Business, the Taltos are the embodiment of Childlike Innocence/Goodness. (And if there's ONE thing AR loves, it's child-centric motifs, and the power of maternal/parental bonds. Just like book!Madeleine, the Taltos Saint Ashlar is a dollmaker; he loves toys & kids. He just wants to find someone genetically compatible with him (a Taltos or a Mayfair--or both), so the Taltos don't die off as a species. Lasher just went about it THE worst way imaginable.

AR's Taltos easily represent ANY marginalized & disenfranchised race of people (the "noble savages" of racist white colonialist rhetoric). Which is IRONIC (and lowkey grating) how heavy-handed AR was with her explicitly racially coded white = good motif for the Taltos. She dabbles in eugenics & whitewashing too much, LBH. AR's Taltos value anything with a closer proximity to whiteness: they don't touch or eat or like anything that's not white (cuz white is the color of Mother's Milk). They're addicted to breastmilk, obsessed with dairy products, and are pescatarians who only eat things that are white (or pastel) in color. They're nymphomaniacs, and their reproductive process/gestation period is lightning fast; breeding like rabbits.

Although they're not human or part of our species (Homo Sapiens Sapiens), they're obviously still in the genus Homo, cuz Taltos can breed with humans. And we were their downfall. As the Taltos interacted & bred with humans (not always willingly), they lost their innocence, their society degenerated, and more Taltos gained greater capacities for meanness, selfishness, cruelty, etc--Lasher, the Dwarves, etc. Racist anti-miscegnation rhetoric aside, the Taltos are a tragic lesson about the prejudices of humanity, persecuting & demonizing people for no good reason--just cuz they were born different. Cuz of the way they look, and the culture they live in.

Fun fact: Taltos are from IRL folklore--Hungarian instead of Pictish (that's artistic license for you, lol). In Hungary, the táltos are like shamans, priests, prophets, and magicians.

There are a lot of disputed notions about táltos, including popular stories about magical drums and songs táltos use in musical divination.

Pócs, Éva. "The Hungarian táltos and the shamanism of pagan Hungarians. Questions and hypotheses." Acta Ethnographica Hungarica 63, no. 1 (2018): 149-196.

AR's Taltos were obviously inspired by these beliefs, as an important weakness of Lasher's is rhymes/songs/music. On the old Mayfair plantation Riverbend, the African slaves constantly played drums to keep Lasher away from them, cuz they knew Lasher was hypnotized by music, dancing helplessly. That's why Stella Mayfair was always throwing parties, and Uncle Julien turned his Victrola gramphone into a voodoo doll, cuz everyone knew songs & poetry could stop Lasher dead in his tracks. (Which is why it makes ZERO EFFING SENSE that AMC had Lasher seducing Rowan in the middle of a parade with all that music playing. Music puts HIM under spells, NOT the other way around!)

ANYWAY, I digress. (That effing show gets on my nerves.)

Babies/Faeries/Giants

Hungarians believed that people were born táltos; most easily recognized at birth, with certain birthmarks or uncommon/special features--esp. teeth & extra digits (making people think táltos were born talking & walking)--the same signs also associated with werewolves & other shapeshifters in Balkan culture.

Pócs, Éva. "The Hungarian táltos and the shamanism of pagan Hungarians. Questions and hypotheses." Acta Ethnographica Hungarica 63, no. 1 (2018): 149-196.

Which is likely why AR merged Hungarian lore with Celtic lore, since the Celts say the same thing about changelings born of the fae/elves/giants. Along with the Walking Baby premise, AR also makes her Taltos extremely tall; well over 7 feet--gigantic.

And ofc the most famous place in Celtic folklore connected with the Picts and fae/giants is Stonehenge--which is where AR's Taltos lived & danced.

"Monsters" & Birth Defects & Religion

The whole Walking Babies/"babies who walk" motif is directly tied to what makes a supernatural/preternatural "monster" in gothic horror; especially when you are BORN/created a certain way, that society then persecutes you for & discriminates you against. The word "monster" is from monstrum in Latin.

"Monsters/prodigies" were omens, signs of bad (or good) luck. In Greco-Roman antiquity, fantastical beasts were usually agents of chaos (Gaia's giants); signs of the gods' anger & punishments & challenges for humans to defeat to cleanse themselves & the land (all of Echidna's kids by Typhon); and ofc rape/bestiality (the Minotaur, Pegasus, Centaurs, etc). A lot of these monsters were half-human, with some sort of signature defect (the Sphinx, Minotaur, Centaurs, Pan, etc) that made people afraid of them--Pan's own mother ran screaming when she saw that he was born half-goat. And ofc there's poor Hephaestus, yeeted off of Mount Olympus just for being born ugly/lame/cripple/etc. And that attitude bled right into the Roman Catholic Church.

In Roman Catholicism during the Byzantine period, Middle Ages, all the way down to the Early Modern period, monsters/prodigies and other abnormal births were signs of God's anger/will.

Bitbol-Hespériès, Annie. "Monsters, Nature and Generation from the Renaissance to the Age of Reason: The Emergence of Medical Thought." The Problem of Animal Generation in Early Modern Philosophy (2006).

During the Enlightenment Period & Industrial Revolution, mankind came up with increasingly extreme ways of playing God; man vs nature, science vs religion. Gothic literature peaked, and flipped this on its head with Frankenstein's Monster, a giant nameless thing born/created unnaturally, who was persecuted with literal torches & pitchforks, hated for just being what he was. He was a man, but society made him a monster cuz of the way they treated him.

So you can see where AR was blending Gothic horror; with THE iconic Monster, Frankenstein's Monster, and various European folklore. While IRL táltos were revered by Hungarian pagans, they were demonized by the Christian Church. Same with the Celtic pagans--esp. the Picts, whose culture was wiped out by the Catholics. Likewise, AR's Taltos were also persecuted as ungoldly freaks of nature & monsters, and she includes A LOT of references to the IRL waves of missionaries and Saints who came to Pictland and converted the locals--AR's Taltos.

Paradise Lost

I have to wonder how early AR started conceptualizing the PL Trilogy's Realms of Atlantis; cuz with the TVC vampires/aliens we have Amel and the paradisical city of Atlantis being destroyed by a meteor and sinking into the sea; and with the Mayfairs we have Pictland destroyed by a volcanic eruption and sinking into the sea.

TL;DR: YMMV, but IMO the Taltos are cool

But the whole thing with Taltos, I couldn't really imagine and didn't make as much sense to me as the rest. I don't know if I need more information or if the concept itself didn't work for me. I just couldn't wrap my head around it. But the way you talked about the book made me optimistic and I have changed my opinion for the better with some of her stuff (I admit I was a bit suspicious of my girl Maharet at first 😔). Hopefully things will get more convincing when I finish the MF books. 🙌

Hopefully this long AF post helps contextualize/explain things without spoiling the entire end of the series, LOL.

Technically there's 6 MF books: 3 main books (The Witching Hour, Lasher, Taltos); and 3 TVC crossovers (Merrick, Blackwood Farm, Blood Canticle). Blood Canticle is THE final book; it takes place after Taltos. I guess the reading order is TWH, LSR, MRK, BwF, TLTS, BC? Basically, if you know what happens in BC, you know what happens to the Taltos and all the characters involved.

I personally think BC is TRASH. Incredibly anticlimactic, and rather sad, considering who ends up living & dying; and how there's all these characters that AR just drops off the face of the planet when she ends the Mayfair series to do the PL Trilogy instead. I don't like that book at all, and I try to pretend it never existed and that the series just ended with Taltos. 😔

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Building cute mechanical robots to bring a smile to someone's face

I can’t remember the last time we had a crafting event related to mechanical stuff, specifically robots. Daisy Jane and I were just visiting to catch a performance at the opera house when Connie managed to snag some tickets for us. It was done by a local theater troupe, which was why that was possible, though just barely.

Seems like they weren’t exaggerating about how just putting Madeleine’s name on something will make crowds instantly flock to it. In other words, if it was a larger scale sort of thing, like the more renowned and well known theater troupes, they would be sold out in an instant, so getting tickets would be near impossible, especially if you’re not from these parts.

The show is called A Butterfly’s Rose, a loose adaptation of a mystery romance novel. According to Aurelie, who has tried to read the book several times, the story has a good premise, but the writing makes it difficult to follow. She said the best way to describe the author’s writing style is superfluous, which she finds a shame as it could’ve been good. A lot of people felt the same, and so it’s been adapted to theater multiple times in hopes of making a coherent story.

Prior to Madeleine and the Allaire theater troupe’s version, the last adaptation was done about 50 years ago. What makes this current adaptation different is how much it strays from the source material - in a good way. Basically, Madeleine took a lot of creative liberties and managed to condense the story by only focusing on one aspect and expanding on that.

What’s interesting is that the characters she chose to zero in on were Bea and Florentin as their parts are often left out of most adaptations. From my understanding, they’re more like supporting characters, but they kinda set the stage for everything else that’s going on, so they are important. Madeleine says she gets why they’re cut, and that’s why she wanted the spotlight on them because, like many aspects of the book, there was potential, but it all got lost in the chaos.

Since I know absolutely nothing about the source material, I find the play a good standalone kind of thing. I mean, I’ve been told that it’s a very loose adaptation, so the source material isn’t essential to know. Rather than going for a faithful adaptation, which sounds impossible and probably wouldn’t translate well to theater anyway, they went for the inspiration route, which they pulled off well.

I found the drama and musical numbers engaging, and based on the standing ovations, so did the audience. Pai did say that getting Madeleine involved is sure to elevate things, not because she’s practically a celebrity, but because she knows what she’s doing when it comes to the arts. The others note that she’s a lot happier working behind the scenes, especially now that she’s free to do whatever she wants without being burdened by her past.

While the show was the main reason why we’re up here, we also wanted to come to chill and hang out, as well as explore more of Marippe. Now that the cleanup is done and reconstruction is almost finished, things have been pretty much back to normal. Aurelie’s hometown, Marillon, was hit pretty hard, so they still have a bit of work left there, though it’s nothing they can’t handle, she says.

Compared to the last time I visited, the difference is like night and day. Sure, it’s a busy city, but things were a lot quieter back then, mainly because a lot of places were closed. It was also cold and rainy because it was winter, so obviously there wasn’t gonna be a lot of people outside. Plus, there was the fact that I didn’t really spend a lot of time at the city as we were underwater exploring some ruins.

We didn’t really have anything planned after the show, so we tagged along with Connie and Pai. Well, mainly Pai because Connie had some important matters to attend to outside of the city. It ended up working out well because Layla, Melody, and Bennett are visiting too because they were dispatched on missions here.

Then we tagged along with Topaz as he was commissioned by someone to make toy robots for a pediatric oncology ward. I remember Beryl saying that Topaz often works with mechanics and occasionally takes commissions for custom stuff.

Apparently, he often gets mistaken for an engineer from the research institute, and when they find out he isn’t, they often ask why. Truth is, Topaz doesn’t really have an answer other than he’s not the studious type, so he just says he doesn’t have time, which isn’t completely far from the truth. After all, he’s said that mechanics is more of a hobby for him and he wants to keep it that way.

Since this is a special commission, Topaz is looking for help, so this is where we come in. He wants to make it special for the kids, so he’s going above and beyond not just to make toys, but companions for these kids. Like, for example, one kid wants a koi fish that sings their favorite song, while another wants a penguin that can act like a pet - unique stuff like that. Obviously, Topaz wouldn’t have given the kids the options to personalize like that if he couldn’t do it, so I guess that says a lot about his abilities.

Along with me, Daisy Jane, Pai, Layla, Bennett, and Melody helping out, Topaz also found another helper, a visitor from abroad who’s in a bit of a bind. While the rest of us handle tasks like gathering materials and some basic crafting, Topaz and Misha did the more technical stuff. I’d say it’s not that much different than gyroid events, maybe just a bot more intensive, which I found refreshing.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Bennett and Melody, so it’s nice to catch up with them. Bennett’s visited Marippe a few times and actually met the toymakers Topaz occasionally works with. Apparently, one of them was so inspired by him that he made a limited edition board game based on his adventures in Marippe. However, the gameplay was said to be a bit confusing and it didn’t really sell. Still, it made for a nice collector’s item if you’re into that sort of thing. Now I’m kinda intrigued.

Melody’s been busy doing doubles for Connie by going on various missions abroad, research on the side, as well as training Aurelie and Coralie, another new member of Connie’s ever growing adventure party. She’s one of the few members who’s on call, meaning that anyone in the group can call her over and she’ll be there, even if it’s overseas.

Even though she’s part of the same guild as Bennett, her job’s more of an office type thing where she doesn’t have to come in often, leaving her with a lot of free time on her hands while still being paid really well. Some have actually accused her of being paid to do nothing because of her hotshot adventurer parents, which is obviously not true. In a way, they did kind of hand that job to her, but they wouldn’t have recommended her to reconnaissance if they didn’t think she was up to it, nor would she have decided to stick with it.

With the process of getting clearance to travel to Sazona about to begin, Melody’s prepared to begin gathering information to prepare for what’s ahead. She did a thorough job with Adrikha and Marippe, and so by now she’s got a routine down. It’s a lot of work and someone has to do it, so why not her? She finds the work engaging, not to mention that she’s one of the first to travel to a new place. Sounds like a good deal to me!

Along with just wanting to travel and adventure more, another reason why Melody’s doing doubles is because she just got her own place, which happens to be in the same building as Meggie’s. She still has a lot to do, and part of it has to do with her not being home a lot, but since moving is expensive, especially when you’re starting from nothing, she just wants to be safe in terms of finances. Thankfully, the rent is low, which is why Meggie’s able to stay there.

Living on your own for the first is exciting and scary, so I wish her the best.

Speaking of new living situations, Layla’s on the search for a new place too. She went from living in the dorms to a campus apartment because it was cheaper. However, she’s not too satisfied with the housing arrangement as she’s living with four other people. Her roommates aren’t bad, but she’s more of an introvert, so having to share a space with them has made her feel kind of cramped.

What prompted Layla to move was that a couple weeks ago, one of her roommates got doxxed. Basically, a neighbor of the roommate plagiarized one of her short stories by tweaking some things and submitting it to a magazine for publication. The roommate considered suing, but then decided to talk things out with the neighbor, who was uncooperative and basically dared her to sue.

Roommate decided not to press the issue further as she saw it was pointless. Then for whatever reason, the neighbor decided to dox her and now he’s in a lot of trouble obviously. After all, he didn’t put her at risk, her housemates are also affected by it. Damn, fuck that guy.

Campus security has been helpful in terms of keeping everyone safe as well as trying to help those who want to move. Since Layla’s a student, her options are kind of limited at the moment, but she’s on the waitlist for a single dorm. She literally got an email this morning that there will be an opening soon as someone’s moving out, so that’s good news. That means when she gets back in a couple days, she’ll have a dorm ready to be moved in. That’s a relief!

Topaz’s assistant, Misha, is from overseas, though his mother was from Marippe and was actually a research engineer from the institute. He had hoped to follow in her footsteps, but realized early on that he wanted to branch off. As for what exactly that is, he’s still trying to figure that out. In short, he’s made some bad investments for some sort of project and is trying to dig himself out of that hole without having his family involved. Apparently, the last time that happened, his mother had to intervene, which I can imagine was embarrassing, and his reputation took a hit because of that.

It’s a good thing he ran into Topaz, who was looking for an assistant with specific skills. Pai says it’s not uncommon for her and Connie to run into people like Misha who are stuck in bind and need help. While getting paid is a factor, Misha also hopes this experience will help him bring some insights he can use to hopefully salvage the project. As for what it is, he says it’s hard to explain in layman’s terms because it’s super technical, but to put simply, he might have been too overambitious.

The reason why the painter, Desiree, commissioned Topaz is because of her son, who passed away a couple months ago from cancer. She had talked about her son as if he was still alive and really wanted to make something special for him. We later found out that her son basically grew up in the pediatric oncology ward and was said to be inquisitive and artistic. All he wanted was to be healthy enough to run around and play like other kids his age. Such a simple thing to ask for, and yet it was basically a fantasy for him.

About a year ago, his cancer became terminal. which made him depressed and withdrawn. Desiree tried her best to lift his spirits up, even giving him the possibility that despite his grim prognosis, maybe a miracle can still happen. In the end, however, that was not meant to be.

How sad it is to watch your child slowly wither and die in front of you? It’s not fair for a kid whose life is just beginning to just be taken away like that. No wonder she chose to live in a fantasy world where her son’s still hanging on for a miracle. I remember hearing something about how some people would rather believe a beautiful lie rather than confront the ugly truth, and honestly, who can blame her?

I think talking with the kids at the cancer ward was an eye opening experience for us, one that Desiree really needed. A handful of these kids are sadly terminal and they have their ways of coping with their futures, which is basically making the most of whatever time they have left. It can’t be easy, especially for those who have been sick for most of their lives, to live with the fact that your life is ending before it can begin.

So, along with making toys for the kids, we were helping Desiree deal with her grief. Misha seemed to be right when he realized that she was dealing with a lot of regrets, which isn’t uncommon. He was close to his mother, who died unexpectedly not too long ago, and that was what prompted this project, which was based on her research. In a way, he wanted to sort of cement her legacy, though he doesn’t think he’s doing a very good job of it considering the predicaments he’s in. Sounds like he was close to his mother and understands what Desiree’s going through, so it makes sense that he was able to reach out to the grieving mother.

After learning the full story, Topaz and Misha decided to go all out to create something special for Desiree. She had requested a heron and gave them her son’s illustrations as reference, which look like they came out of a fairy tale. According to one of the nurses who took care of him, he wanted to be a painter like his mother. Since he was often in bed, he would make up fairy tale stories with his paintings. Unfortunately, as his illness progressed, holding a paintbrush became difficult for him, and when he could no longer do that, it seemed like he lost the will to fight.

The heron took Desiree by surprise, especially since Topaz did a really good job of turning a painting into a physical object, like it was taken right out of the paper. He also gave the heron a voice, using various quotes from the story. Maybe for a moment she thought that her son really was right there with her, and because she could feel his presence, she could finally say goodbye to him. A bittersweet ending all around.

Of course, the kids enjoyed their companions, and now Topaz has more requests from other floors. Since he has the time, he’s gonna work something out. Misha’s not planning to go home anytime soon because of his predicament, so he’s happy to help out too. He said that he mainly tagged along in hopes of finding a distraction, but instead, seeing Desiree’s ordeal made him confront some things he’s been trying run away from, like his own grief. Despite the challenges he’s dealing with now, Misha’s determined to honor his mother’s memory like the heron and Desiree’s son. I wish him luck.

No matter how long or short your life is, it’s bound to leave an effect on someone. Regardless of what you might think, your absence will be felt. I know it’s hard to believe, but as I got older and experience more of the world, I realize how true it is. As insignificant as you think you are, as long as you exist, you’re still leaving footprints regardless of how much or little of an impact you think you have. And I think that’s what makes being alive worth it.

Now that I think about it, these robots aren’t simply just companions for these kids who are fighting tough battles with uncertain futures, but they’re something for them to leave behind, a reminder to the world and to their families that they once existed, that they will never really be gone. A lot of the more complex requests came from those who know their time is limited, so they want to offer a parting gift to those closest to them. I can imagine how special these companions will be long after they’re gone.

[indelicateink]

regarding women characters, i kinda feel like they're doing their best given they're working with a book. (given Anne Rice wrote this book and the character Claudia after the death of her young daughter, ofc the writers were never going to change the plot to have Claudia [and Madeleine] live.) In S1 I loved Bricktop, Lily, Grace, and Florence. (I felt Lily's death was unnecessary--I feel you on that one--but it was of a piece with the villainy with which they portrayed S1 Lestat.) The TdV had good rep, but every coven member had to die (lol, except apparently deus ex machina The Vampire Sam. honestly? yeah, let a woman live: would've been nice if it had been the vampire samantha. oh well).

so I do feel like they're aiming for female rep--those fleshed-out (and some created) characters were thanks to the writers, not the source material. (They even changed the character from Antoine to Antoinette, though of course--still a grim ending, lol.) But IWTV as an arc did require a lot of deaths. I felt a bit bad that the optics were TERRIBLE at a glance, but their hands in that regard are tied by very purposeful source material.

I feel like the writers are chomping at the bit for TVL/S3, where we'll get (among others) Gabrielle and Akasha, the heavy-hitters. There are certainly more (and ones who live long lives), but those two are certain.

re: point 2. lol! this and other obviously reactive things like that (I think calling armand "gremlin" was one of them? iirc??)--yeah, I had some side-eye. it broke the fourth wall a little. but! me, I think they relish being reactive to fans, though? and when I thought about it, I had mad respect they course-corrected re: the gloves. (but then it turned out they shouldn't have done that for photos, can't win for losing.) i think i'm still trying to adjust to the idea of a showrunner/writer's room that actually gaf about the fans and their thoughts. amazing. gives me vertigo after a life of being treated like shit, lol.

Rolin Jones said in an interview the seeming mistake about Louis-Lestat's telepathy there was intentional, so they could call back to it in the finale when Daniel is chipping away at Louis's story; RJ said he knew it made them look like "lousy writers" (or words like that, but I think that's it) and get flak for it, but they had to tough it out until it could pay off.

(it's great, all of us talking about this stuff; people are going to add on things I didn't know--I love it and hoard it lol)

I love IWTV and I prefer S2 to S1, but I gotta ask how people feel about the following things bc they're playing on my mind atm and I'm curious

How do we feel about the fact that literally every somewhat plot relevant female character we've followed or met this season all died fairly brutal deaths? Emilia, Daciana, the theatre covern members, and of course Claudia and Madeleine

How do we feel about the way they walked back some of the stuff from S1 that probably caught fans attention during airing? Namely, Daniel suddenly now knowing that wearing gloves when handling historical papers isn't good practice, or them retroactively fixing the plot hole heretofore unmentioned of Lestat speaking to Louis telepathically after Louis' turning?