#very eerie and cosmic. I love her.

[stil-lindigo]

the witch of the west

[writing-for-life]

The Mother Wound…

…or what if one of your major arcana was possibly created in the image of the parent who emotionally abandoned you over and over

We recently discussed episode 8 (Playing House) and Dream’s relationship with Gault. And I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I was to see that someone else had the thought that there’s an eerie resemblance between Gault and Mother Night. So far, I always thought I’m the only one who might have had the fleeting thought that Dream has created Gault in the image of his mother (but that’s possibly because not everyone has read the comics).

And if I think about it a bit deeper, all sorts of feelings come up…

Mother Night in Overture, design by JH Williams III

There is a shared motif here—Night promises Morpheus a dreamworld in her realm. It’s the ultimate escape, the ultimate laying down of his responsibilities and letting it all end…

Gault builds Jed a dreamworld he can also escape to—from the pain of his abuse and loneliness. The only difference is that Gault is benevolent. Night—not so much, but as a cosmic force, she isn’t truly malevolent either. She just is. As a mother, she is an emotionally distant, manipulative and cold catastrophe though, and we have reason to believe she was always like this, and that her emotional unavailability hurt several of her children. Dream and Delirium most from what we can gather, but it’s probably not unreasonable to say they all suffered in one way or another—what does it say about you if you didn’t even know, or at least didn’t care, that one of your children died and grieves for her lost brother to top it all off, or that you have no clue that said brother walked out on his duties? The only one who always seems to get off lightly is Destiny (also with Father Time btw):

That mother wound is deep, people. There’s also a father wound—on top of emotional unavailability and manipulation, it’s one of constantly being told that nothing you do will ever be good enough, that you’re useless. But maybe that’s for another time. And said mother wound could also explain why Morpheus initially reacts so badly on Gault “overstepping”. Because funnily enough, he starts out quite calm and only gets truly angry when Gault says that none of the dream folk came back because they loved him, but only because they’re afraid of him.

And I believe that’s the sentence that truly set him off—not that Gault left or wanted to be something other than she is (even if that’s at the very core of his own conflict and will certainly sting):

It’s the deep rejection he has felt throughout his existence, and possibly even sought out and replicated subconsciously [all his relationships replay a pattern of rejection or being the rejected over and over], because that’s what people with attachment issues do 😩. The same rejection and coldness he took on himself, began to wear like a shield, showed towards others—because if you reject someone first, they can’t hurt you, right?

But it still hurts…

So you proceed to inflict the exact pain on others that has been inflicted upon you, and you send them to the darkness and abandonment just like you have been sent to the darkness and abandoned (and he doesn’t just do it to Gault—he has done it to his own son, just like his mother and father did it to him several times over)…

But what if the seed of who Gault wanted to be and was (someone who is caring and nurturing) had already been subconsciously planted by her creator, without him being aware he was doing it? Was she not always who she was, and wouldn’t she always be that way? Maybe that’s the most interesting question…

Maybe some truths are buried so deep inside of us that they just need the right environment to come to the surface. But they are always there, and they just need space, and sometimes pain, to lead to transformation. And then I start to think of another repeating motif, and I guess we all know what that one is…

[valinbean]

Chapter one : Ford the love of Bill!

Ford/ Gn!reader

1.4k words

my first fic in forever! please leave your thoughts on the first chapter!

Chapter 2: Bad Moon Rising

Chapter 3: Falling for the Mystery

Gravity Falls is still reeling from the aftermath of Weirdmageddon. Strange occurrences are on the rise. As a skilled botanist with deep roots in the town, you've noticed peculiar changes in the local flora. Anomalies in plant growth, unusual behavior in wildlife - it's as if the very fabric of the forest is unraveling. Your cousin, Wendy, encourages you to seek help from the enigmatic Stanford Pines, who seems to have a deeper understanding of the town's supernatural underbelly. Together, you discover that remnants of Bill Cipher's magic are still lingering, corrupting the natural world. To save Gravity Falls, you must delve into the heart of the woods, confront the remnants of this cosmic evil, and find a way to banish it for good

Journal entry #1 

‘It's been a month since the world ended, or so they say. Gravity Falls is a ghost town of denial. The carnival music still echoes in my ears, a haunting melody of what was and what could be.

My notes are filled with the grotesque. Animals, once familiar, are morphing into something else. I found a squirrel yesterday with a human hand growing from its back, its tiny fingers clawing at the air. A squirrel.

The forest, once a sanctuary, is now a horror show. The ground itself is alive, or something like it. I stepped into a patch of earth a few days ago, and a grotesque, pulsating eye met my gaze. I've never felt so utterly alone.’

Y/n closed their journal with a snap, the pen clicking against the leather cover. Their eyes, heavy with exhaustion, scanned the cluttered desk. Stacks of books, their pages filled with cryptic notes and strange diagrams, seemed to mock their fruitless efforts. A glance at the clock confirmed Y/n's worst fears: three in the afternoon. Half a day wasted, and they was no closer to understanding the bizarre transformations plaguing the town.

A frustrated sigh escaped their lips as they began the arduous task of tidying up. Books were piled haphazardly into a satchel, papers were stuffed into random pockets, and their worn journal was tucked safely away. With a final glance around the room, they muttered, “Pitter patter, let's get at ‘er,” and headed for the door.

The librarian, an elderly woman with kind eyes, offered a sympathetic smile as Y/n passed her desk. As they stepped out into the crisp autumn air, Y/n couldn’t shake the feeling they was being watched. A shiver ran down their spine, but Y/n dismissed it as a trick of the mind. After all, stranger things had happened in Gravity Falls.

The forest canopy filtered the afternoon sun into dappled patches, casting eerie shadows on the forest floor. An unnatural quiet hung in the air, a stark contrast to the usual symphony of woodland creatures. Y/n pressed on, their boots crunching through fallen leaves as they made their way to a small clearing, a place they’d often visited for solace.

A chill crept up Y/n's spine as they surveyed the area. Something was off. The vibrant green of the undergrowth seemed duller, and the familiar scent of pine was replaced by a faint, metallic tang. As Y/n bent to examine a peculiar, vine-like growth, a cold sensation touched their ankle.

Heart pounding, Y/n looked down. A human arm, pale and lifeless, was emerging from the earth, its fingers twitching. Before they could react, another arm sprouted forth, its grip tightening around Y/n's leg. A scream tore from their throat as they stumbled backward, their breath coming in ragged gasps.

Desperate, they fumbled for their satchel, Y/n's fingers trembling. A heavy book, filled with botanical diagrams, came loose. With a cry of defiance, Y/n swung it at the grasping hands. They recoiled, but only for a moment. More arms erupted from the ground, a grotesque, writhing mass.

Terror propelled Y/n's forward. They had to escape. Their eyes scanned the forest, searching for a way out. And then Y/n saw their cousin, Wendy, emerging from the Mystery Shack. Hope ignited within Y/n.

"Wendy! Wendy!" Y/n cried, their voice hoarse with fear. "You won't believe what I just saw!" Y/n gasped for breath, their mind racing. "Hands, from the ground! They were trying to grab me!"

Wendy's eyes widened in alarm as she took in Y/n's panicked state. Her casual demeanor vanished, replaced by a protective instinct. "What the hell are you talking about?" she demanded, her voice sharp.

Y/n gestured wildly at the forest, their breath still coming in ragged gasps. "There...there are hands! Coming out of the ground!"

Wendy's skepticism was quickly replaced by a look of grim determination. She grabbed Y/n's arm and pulled them back a few steps. "Let's see what's going on," she said, her voice low.

As they approached the edge of the clearing, a chorus of low, guttural sounds echoed through the trees. The ground seemed to ripple, and dozens of eyes began to open, their irises glowing an eerie green. A moment later, hands erupted from the earth, their fingers clawing at the air.

Terror seized Y/n as they realized the full extent of the horror. It was as if the forest itself was rising up against them. Y/n clung to Wendy, their body trembling uncontrollably.

"We need to get out of here," Wendy said, her voice steady despite the fear in her eyes. "Now."

The girls sprinted through the trees, their hearts pounding in their chests like frantic drum beats. Behind them, the forest seemed to writhe with an unnatural energy, a cacophony of low, guttural moans and muffled thuds echoing through the undergrowth. Panic surged through Y/n as they stumbled over a gnarled root, their ankle twisting painfully. Y/n cried out, but Wendy's determined voice spurred them onward. "Keep going!"

As they burst from the concealing embrace of the trees, they collided with Stan, his figure outlined against the porch of the Mystery Shack. Shock was etched on his face, his mouth agape in disbelief. Before he could utter a word, the unsettling sounds from the forest reached his ears.

The trio turned as one, their gazes drawn to the unnatural disturbance. The forest, once a comforting green expanse, had transformed into something sinister. The cacophony abruptly ceased, replaced by an eerie silence that hung heavy in the air. It was as if the forest was holding its breath, anticipating its next move.

Stan's face paled as he took in the scene. His eyes darted between the silent woods and the terrified cousins. "We need to get inside," he said, his voice barely a whisper, the words seeming to echo in the tense silence.

Without hesitation, he grabbed Y/n and Wendy by their arms and hauled them into the safety of the Mystery Shack. The heavy wooden door slammed shut, cutting them off from the ominous quiet of the forest. As they huddled together, their breaths coming in ragged gasps, the realization of their predicament sank in.

"What is that thing?" Y/n managed to whisper, their voice trembling. Fear, like a cold tendril, wrapped around them, threatening to consume Y/n.

Just as the last echo of the door closing faded, a creaking sound emerged from the depths of the house. A figure emerged from the shadows. His piercing eyes, held a lifetime of secrets and a spark of intelligence that belied his age.

Ford's emergence from the shadows was a jolt to the system. Lean and imposing despite his age, he cut a striking figure in the dim light of the Mystery Shack. Stan, who had grown accustomed to the quiet solitude of the shack, and his brothers dramatic entrances, looked surprised but not entirely shocked.

"Ford," Stan breathed, his voice a mixture of annoyance and relief.

The old man nodded, his gaze fixed on the door as if he could see through it. "Something is very wrong out there," he said, his voice raspy but firm. His voice carried an undertone of authority, a hint of a life spent commanding respect.

A flicker of a knowing smile played on his lips, a hint of a hidden amusement that was both intriguing and unsettling. It was as if he was privy to a secret, a dangerous game he was only now beginning to play.

His gaze fell on Y/n, and for a moment, their eyes locked. There was a spark, a recognition, a silent acknowledgment of something beyond the immediate situation. Then, he looked away, his expression once more impassive.

"We need to focus," he said, his voice cutting through the tension. "Whatever is out there, it's a threat. We need to understand it, and we need to stop it."

Stan nodded, a silent understanding passing between the two brothers. They'd been living together in the shack since the twins had left, a strange and often tense cohabitation. But in this moment, faced with an unknown horror, their shared history and knowledge became an invaluable asset.

Y/n couldn't help but steal a glance at Ford. Something about him, his quiet authority, his air of mystery, was undeniably captivating. It was a strange time to be noticing such things, but there was an undeniable pull towards the enigmatic old man.

Ford's gaze turned back to the door, his eyes filled with a determination that contradicted his age. "We have work to do," he said, his voice low and steady. "And it starts now."

Tag list! @shadowdreamer22

[deconstructthesoup]

I really enjoy how the title songs of the Hatchetfield musicals capture the essence of the show pretty well.

Like---

"The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals" is the opening number, an apt choice for a show that's a twisted parody of musicals in general. It's fun, it's got a jazzy, old-fashioned vibe to it... and it's sinister. The choreography is all jerky and wrong, the lyrics at first give off the impression that this is a story about a guy learning to love musicals but slowly devolves into tearing into him for not obeying and should we kill him? It's a bop and a good time and it's scary. It's a nice little notice that while there's gonna be jazz hands and kicklines, there's also gonna be murder. And it gives off 1960's vibes, which is fitting, seeing as TGWDLM seems heavily inspired by retro, Twilight-Zone horror sci-fi.

"Black Friday" is in the middle of the second act, which is a pretty damn good choice for a musical that's about how capitalism and consumerism is capable of bringing us to our destruction. It's slow, it's somber, and it shows our main character's life flashing before her eyes as she expresses her anger at the world and asks why the hell she was dealt this hand. It reminds us that even though there are definitely moments in this musical that are a touch absurd, it is a story that is deeply tragic, deeply horrifying, and deeply unfair at its heart. And out of the three title songs of the three musicals, it's the one that feels the most modern in its infliction, because Black Friday---while calling on some good old-fashioned horror tropes such as cosmic horror and creepy dolls---is a very modern horror tale. (Also, interestingly enough, it's the only title song that isn't a villain song!)

Finally, we have "Nerdy Prudes Must Die." The song that ends the first act, which is a perfect choice for a show that starts with the aftermath of said song, and a perfect example of the moment where all horror stories get serious. It starts out fast, heavy, and urgent, a bombastic villain song where the antagonist has fully embraced their final form and is furiously lashing out at his first victim... and then it slows down into an eerie call-and-response that starts out gentle, then surges in power again. This song, even more than "Literal Monster," is a perfect encapsulation of this show's theme---how you can never truly stop a bully, not unless they want to, and they rarely ever want to. And, of course, as this show is a wonderful homage to the classic 80's teen slasher films, the entire song has 80's vibes running through it.

So, uh... yeah. If we ever get that Miss Hollaway musical, I can't wait to see how amazing the title song will be.

[bardic-tales]

Tumblr Games: Nine Lines.

Thank you so much for the tag, @seastarblue

Rules: Share Nine lines and tag nine people

I'm going to leave this as an open tag. It's the holidays, so I don't really want to tag anyone. ☺️

I wanted to share some lines from some writing I have been working on. Since I was a little girl, I always loved Godzilla. I remember going to our video rental place and renting out all the Godzillas and having a marathon with popcorn, etc. So, Godzilla, specifically the monster!verse, has inspired this one. And Bia always has to try to protect her honey. 😂

Content Warning: Violence, gore, body horror, cosmic horror, imagery of predatory behavior, and disturbing descriptions of power and control. Readers sensitive to intense and graphic depictions of strength, trauma, and unsettling supernatural forces may find certain sections disturbing.

[. . .]

But then, in a flash of impossible speed, a movement appeared at the edge of Cloud's vision. Long, coiling tendrils lashed through the air with the speed of a cosmic predator, slamming into Bahamut Zero’s muzzle, clamping down with inhuman force. There was no warning, no sound to signal her arrival—only the harsh, sickening crack of her tendrils wrapping around the dragon’s metal jaws, forcing them shut in an instant. The Tera Flare never had a chance to fire.

From the depths of the darkening sky, Bianca emerged. Her presence was felt in the very bones of the earth. It was a crushing weight that seemed to bend the air itself: a cosmic horror. Bianca loomed above the battlefield, her wings unfurling with a rippling wave of darkness. The faintest glint of purple light flickered in her eerie, pupil-less eyes. Her body, draped in smoky black feathers that bled indigo miasma, exuded an ancient, terrifying power. A long, serpentine tail lashed through the air, and her sharp, beak-like nose twisted in a silent, grotesque snarl.

Tagging friends / mutuals though for Bia content:

@asirensrage @themaradwrites @littleshopofchaos @serenofroses @megandaisy9

@watermeezer @prehistoric-creatures @creativechaosqueen

@chickensarentcheap @arrthurpendragon

[adarkrainbow]

Spooky season fairytales (4)

This series of posts is supposed to be about movies and a few television series, but given it is about dark, spooky, creepy or eerie fairytale-inspired works, I am bound to explore some non-movie pieces. More specifically three works.

The Book of Lost Things

I talked previously about my great love for this 2006 book. John Connolly had already proven his talent at making teenage fantasy mixed with dark comedy (not to say burlesque horror) with his series of "Samuel Johnson" series, but with this book he also left his mark within the world of fairytales. Dark fairytales.

There is still a bit of humor and comedy in this book - but not much. One chapter maybe. The rest is dark, creepy, sad, disturbing... but also very touching, very poetic and very beautiful. "The Book of Lost Things" tells the story of David, a young boy living a hard life in 1930s England. He had to live with the long sickness and death of his mother, he cannot stand his stepmother and her new baby, his father is away from home due to his work involving him with the nascent World War II, the threat of said war forces the family to move to a remote countryside house with a tragic past... And David thinks he is going insane because strange things are happening. He can hear books talk for example, and a strange shadowy "crooked man" keeps appearing at the corner of his eye...

The culmination of these supernatural events results in David entering the world of fairytales, a gigantic forest filled with knights and princesses and talking animals and dwarfs and witches... Except that it is a world where fairytales went wrong. Very wrong. It is a dreadful and horrifying world where all the grimmness and terror of the original tales are played at full force, and David only has one hope to return home: find the good king's magical "Book of Lost Things"...

This book deals with a lot of serious topics - which is what makes it at the same time hard and beautiful of a read. It is a book that doesn't just twist fairytales for the sake of it (though there is a perverse game about reinterpreting the folktales in the most shocking ways). But it does so to help us, and David, explore themes such as grief, disease, war, the loss of the people you love, the desire to return to a nostalgic past... It is a great book.

(And how come I just learn TODAY upon writing these lines that Connolly just RELEASED A SEQUEL! 13 YEARS AFTER THE ORIGINAL! I'm going to buy this for Halloween)

Dimension 20: Neverafter

"Dimension 20" is a web-series by the team of CollegeHumor. In the same way as "Critical Role", "Dimension 20" is a D&D role-playing show, with each season following a campaign where the members of CollegeHumor, using their talent as stand-up and improv comedians, make their reole-playing adventure as entertaining and engaging as possible for the viewer.

Each season has a different theme, setting and universe, and the season known as "Neverafter" is, as you can guess, the "dark fairytale" season. Neverafter takes place in the world of fairytales and nursery rhymes - but things are starting to... be wrong. Happy endings go missing. Gruesome deaths spoil the magical happiness. The peace of the kingdoms is troubled by monsters popping out left and right. Armies are rising up. A storm is coming. The Time of Shadows falls on what was supposed to be a "happy ever after", and in this upcoming chaos, a group of travelers gather together to try to survive... Before discovering a cabal of manipulative fairies, tyrannical lords, creepy princesses, ancient witches and other abstract monsters trying to deal with world-threatening troubles, plunging a simple dark fantasy tale into a cosmic horror epic...

In 20 episodes, the campaign depicts the adventures of six characters. Princess Rosamund du Prix - the Sleeping Beauty princess, who had to free herself from her thorns when her prince failed to come, and is now searching for him. Ylfa Snorgelsson, Little Red Riding Hood, whose fairytale went off to a very traumatic end and left some of the wolf inside of her... Prince Gerard of Greenleigh, the prince from the "Frog Prince", who is now returning to being a frog as the love of his wife wanes... Puss in Boots, forced to return at being a scheming and scamming scoundrel after his kingdom and master were destroyed by giants... Timothy "Mother" Goose, an old man who inherited a magical book after the death of his son Jack and is haunted by a terrifying black gander... And Pinocchio, the magical puppet-boy, now a warlock who uses as a staff his own broken nose and whose patron is a disembodied and mysterious "mother" figure...

Little Nightmares

Ah, Little Nightmares... Who hasn't heard of this groundbreaking video game that marked 2017 with its unique, eerie story?

A little girl in a yellow raincoat wakes up in the dark and humid depths of some sort of industrial area, near the corpse of a hanged man... She wanders with a little light throughout pipes and cells, infested with deadly vermin, filled with the remnants of the presence of other children, overseen by mechanical eyes turning flesh into stone... And soon she discovers herself inside a nightmarish, impossible structure inhabited by child-killing giants, deformed monsters that are out to get her.

Little Nightmares is primarily an attempt at capturing and translating into a video game primal childhood fears and the type of nightmares a little kid can have. It is about a small, helpless child, confronting monsters that are grotesque caricatures of adulthood, in a world too big for her and designed to destroy her... But Little Nightmares also take a strong inspiration from traditional fairytales, making the video game a dark fairytale epic. I don't think it will be a spoiler by now due to the game's huge success but...

... A little girl exploring a dark and haunted supernatural world. A blind giant looking around for his victim using his other senses. A pair of monstrous cooks killing and preparing children for the gargantuan and repulsive feast of obese clients. An intense focus on food and hunger and cannibalism. Helpful little gnomes straight out of a children's fairy book. A beautiful but evil sorceress with a special relationship towards mirror, antagonizing the female protagonist while having some maternal untertones towards her... What if the evil queen of Snow-White was the head of a restaurant for ogres? And no need to add that the games has strong Del Toro tones evoking his fairy-related movies (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy II), while also disturbingly twisting the Ghibli movie style, making this the horror version of "Spirited Away".

The game received an acclaimed sequel, but I couldn't see very obvious fairytale tones in this one, much more focused on a dystopian feeling and ambiance.

[see-arcane]

Ok here goes

The Red Book 📕

Unknown and Terrible 🌑⚰️

Long Night Drive 🚙 (if I ever travel again to the USA I am doing so again why are night roadtrips so eerie there what happened)

The Harker Records 🖤 🖋️

Death's Dogs 🐕☠️

The M.A.D Gods 😤

Bloody Anniversary 💒

Lady Luna Blue 🔵

The Red Book 📕: A collection of some more explicitly saucy supernatural works. I tend to kind of tiptoe around any direct sexual/erotic aspects in things I write, so this would be more like a writing exercise than anything else, just to see how I can rework (disdainful literati voice) ~smut~ into something meatier ha ha than just a one-and-done indulgence shot. I don't see this one being put together anytime soon, as, again, I'm still prone to side-stepping outright raunchiness versus innuendo. But we'll see what happens.

Unknown and Terrible 🌑⚰️: Short version? Jonathan Harker winds up as the new Dracula following a very bloody climax in Transylvania. He uses Scholomance magic to pull Francis' reincarnation bullshit out through his nose, brings Mina back as a new soul, and tries to get her back. It is very much about me being a petty prick and proving Jonathan and Mina = The Better Romance and the Better Tragic Vampire Lovers. Choke on it, Francis.

Long Night Drive 🚙: This one fittingly only seems to haunt me when I'm driving after dark on empty roads. The premise being a sort of liminal What If? What if someone started a long drive at night and neither the road or the night ever ended? What if the last wrong turn turned them off of Earth's road map and onto Someplace Else's? Ideally this would only hit the driver on a night of Importance. One of those 'things are crossing over' nights--and they crossed over in the wrong direction. Uh oh.

The Harker Records 🖤 🖋️: Oh, but this one gives me brain itches. It's hazy at the edges, but it'd be a sort of fusion between anthology and purposeful/linked Big Narrative. Basically, the Harkers and their friends start becoming unofficial monster hunters/recorders/aides. I always love when paranormal stories have it work out so that if you're stamped once by the uncanny, the uncanny continues to gravitate toward you. I'd like to see them interact with myriad eerie happenings across public domain horrors together. Peak couple's activity <3

Death's Dogs 🐕☠️: An examination of how Death has an abundance of dogs with various tasks bred into them. And how Dracula maybe crossed the paths of more than one spectral hound during his English holiday.

The M.A.D Gods 😤: Augh, it's gathered so much dust, BUT I STILL LOVE IT AND MY WEIRD NUCLEAR NEON YELLOW PANTHEON SO MUCH. The gist is that 1) The Universe was made by one entity basically ejecting the bulk of Its body mass away so Matter could happen and flourish 2) That shit's tiring 3) The Atomic God (named because It is responsible for every atom in the universe) closes Earth around it like shell/blanket for an eons-long nap 4) It creates two guard-gods, Maker and Breaker, to keep any cosmic horror jerks out of the neighborhood--It ditched them to make the known universe so It could have some peace, finally. 5) Hijinks ensue as Maker and Breaker dutifully chokeslam any Lovecraftian interlopers out of the galaxy and spend their free time watching humanity fuck shit up

Bloody Anniversary 💒: An unexpected meetup of various couples in various states of actually being in love, each celebrating their anniversary. One of these couples is older than they seem. And maybe not celebrating the anniversary anyone would expect.

Lady Luna Blue 🔵: Started out as alternative what-if for who the Pretty Girl in Piccadilly might be. She could still go that route, but I think my imagination has long since run off with her into more original territory. Lady Luna Blue is her professional name; at least as Victorian era mediums and mystics go. In-between card readings and seances, she catches the attention of something with much more supernatural weight than she's prepared for. And it happily takes advantage when she invites any 'wandering spirits' in.

[laughingpinecone]

Yuletide 2024 letter

AO3: laughingpineapple

(treats welcome, AO3 settings a-ok in that respect)

Hello and thank you for writing for me! I hope you’ll have a great time playing with one of these wonderful canons!

I love a wide variety of fics - from strict gen to explicit, any tense, any format, big yes to all kinds of weird experiments up to and including external povs, found documents, interactive fiction etc. In general, I love canon expansion (showing new places/events/stuff in the setting or exploring those that are barely mentioned, just outside the borders), character work of all stripes (expanding on little quirks, putting characters in situations that complement/challenge certain personality traits of theirs, just… observing these weirdos as they live their lives, for better and for worse), magical realism and adjacent approaches. I eat up emotional moments with a spoon when a fic is character-centric (pining! danger! catharsis! hurt/comfort! the nitty-gritty of attraction!) and also love abstract stuff that at most touches shrimp emotions from afar: fake academia, a wider focus, inhuman povs, anything goes.

For both romance and friendships, I love it when it’s clear (not necessarily to the characters themselves, but to the narrative) what it is that they like about each other, how they get along, if and how they trust each other. The specificity of each dynamic! I also love it when the characters are very into something that makes sense for them, be it a hobby or a kink or whatever, even if it’s something I may not personally care for.

DNW: non-canonical rape, non-canonical children, focus on children, pregnancies, unrequested ships (background established canon couples are okay, mentions of parents and paired-up OC randos are okay!), canon retellings

In strict alphabetical order and with the usual disclaimer that shorter prompts don’t mean I want it any less, and that recycled prompts don't mean that I didn't print out and adore last years' gifts, just that my tastes are still the same as last year (there's also a few new prompts among the copypasted bricks!):

GHOST TRICK (Cabanela, Jowd)

All good for me: Jowd/Cabanela, Alma/Jowd/Cabanela, Alma/Jowd&Cabanela, any take that doesn't downplay/erase Alma (anything set during the game timeline or in alternate scenarios where they don't reset, for example!), or one-sided on Cabs' end while Jowd cares for him in a different way, or a Very (Very) Intense Friendship. Shippy or not, for me the draw is that these two are an unstoppable/immovable pair of burning determination and cosmic pessimism, big on loyalty (or at least big on being on the receiving end of it in Jowd's case) and being two difficult individuals who can and do get on people's nerves in record time but just fit with each other so easily… and ace the broccoli test like nbd. when they want to. which they might not. In Sissel's own words, whatever these two have got going on, warm or cold, it's "immeasurably deep" and I love to see that OTT dynamic play out in any way. If you want to include Alma, I'd be delighted, what's your take on her, there are so many great possibilities - could she be as cheerfully nihilistic as her husband, when push comes to shove? How would a 'boyfriend clothes' scenario work with the two or the three of them? Is there a supernatural/ghostly situation Jowd and Cabanela (and Alma? or Lynne? Sissel?) walk into that sees them well on top of their game thanks to their experience with the friendly ghost cat in the house? Or something eerie that's out of their wheelhouse even with Sissel's ghost tricks? What about a beach day but also a hiking trip, snowed in, anything? Dancing? Does Cabanela fail to remain spotless in any sense, ranging from oily bike repairs to more serious symbolic scenarios? Undercover shenanigans for either or both of them? Cabs and Alma bonding while Jowd is away? No-reset scenarios where Jowd, Sissel and the girls come back alive from the submarine (or never reach it, or whatever) but can't change the timeline, and a Cabanela who got shot and exploded has to maybe go live with Jowd and Kamila for a long while? Any kind of AU - different job, classic fantasy, classic sci-fi?

Ship-wise, Jowd falling in love fascinates me. Cabanela feels like he's been down bad for an impossible target for some time (one impossible target or two, conveniently married to each other) but for Jowd it all comes at such an awkward moment. He was ready to die and hurt them all posthumously (with the music box twist) to make it easier for them to leave him behind, and now what's this? He may not even have considered being into men before, what's that like, when does he realize that that's what's happening? Then it turns out his old friend laid down his life for him??? wild. and then he's ten years younger again, with a loving family and a Sparklesue of a friend-colleague-rival, and all these memories…

Fandom-specific DNWs: Cabanela-Yomiel reconciliations, everyone having memories of the old timeline

I SAW THREE CITIES - KAY SAGE (PAINTING)

As weird painting requests often go, I would like to read something that feels like this, and Kay Sage's oeuvre in general. The more surrealist the better. I am intrigued by the conversation between the title and the painting proper, and I'm open to any take on it: is there an unseen narrator who saw three cities in their travels, and the present image is either one of them or a homecoming, or across time and this is where we're at now? Or is the veiled structure/figure the pov? Is it possible to understand what's under the veil? Can you hear the wind blowing across the still landscape? And how can this get any stranger? Feel free to bring in elements from other paintings of hers, if that's where your idea leads you!

PÜHA JA ÕUDNE LÕHN | SACRED AND TERRIBLE AIR (Ignus Nilsen)

So there's this man of extremes (even for Elysium standards) who lived and fought for the burning belief in a better world, who left his homeland with a double middle finger and somehow, in a foreign land, grew devoted to a good man and his ideals and theory, their theory, and then lost him and their hope at once, and still tried to keep going, to begin anew, and failed there too, and even after his death in exile his beliefs did not waver. Always a live wire. He loved the world, every atom of it. A man whose devotion was so intense that it had to be erased from history, giving birth to a different legend instead. As a friend once put it, the spectre of communism is real and he's a bitter old queen.

I ship him and Mazov very much (dialectically, ideologically, handholdingly, through the ages and in the eternity of the pale, everything he says about the man sounds like the yearning of a sad old lover), and Mazov himself I love in every aspect. If you go down this path, I'm good with period-typical internalized homophobia being a thing in the fic. INTENSE HANDHOLDING ACTION very welcome. Also in-universe Mazov/Nilsen academic discussion, earnest sculptors, zines etc. But also: Ion Rodionov thirdwheeling into their life like a stray cat and supporting their idea even knowing that it would fail is amazing. The fact that Nilsen indulged his whims in their exile (the orchestra, really?) and presumably got his apocalyptic moniker from him (we know that it's because he warned people of the apocalypse) paints an interesting friendship to me, especially in the raw times after Mazov's death. The Zigi&Nilsen camping trip is a tragic delight and I'll always want more of that, and of Zigi himself, and of what Nilsen saw in him, and the other way round. The tragedy of that final mutual understanding of defeat - what led up to it, what companionship did they find in each other, hard as it was at times? Or what about the time Zigi spent with the Lund sisters while Nilsen went ballistic over teen girl mags, 'cause that sure was something canon felt the need to inform us of. As last year's gift showed, Khan could make for a very interesting pov, with his special interest in disappearances and Ignus being an disappearance himself as per Lilienne. Khan is also something of a dialectical materialist himself, unless he's a poser who's only wearing the glasses for clout. Would he get a grumpy ghost visit too? Dobreva and Abadanaiz don't deserve the party misogynist, but here they are and here he is. How did they handle him? I think their stated dynamic of burning star and satellite is also probably true for Mazov and Nilsen to some degree - any fun parallels? Voronikin can also be an interesting foil, as the resident Dude Who'd Chuck Himself Into The Pale (and come back mostly in one piece). What were Ignus' thoughts about the pale by the time the SRV was up and running? Rodionov was looking for the Trench, what did he think of all that? And rounding up the tagset once again IT'S AMBROSIUS WITH A STEEL CHAIR. I am incredibly fascinated both by Nilsen's (and Zigi's!) opinions on the ruling Innocence, and by the possibility that bb Ambrosius may have met all the future heads of the Revolution when he was being tutored by Ion, and/or that the failure of the Revolution may have been a turning point in his beliefs. Outside the tagset, anything with Sport is bound to be terribadamazing bc Sport, and Ukhotomsky was around as another of Mazov's close friends but it feels to me like he was the exact opposite of Ignus so that could make for interesting scenarios.

Some prompts: does his consciousness in the pale (subjectively either before or after his adventure with Zigi) meet some interesting people à la Nadia n Frantiček the Brave - "5 historical figures he met who are not Mazov + 1 long-awaited reunion" sort of thing? Some examples of Teachers Being Like That feat. him and Rodionov? Sitcom-tier shenanigans with the upper echelons of the revolution + that kid with the rancid vibes that Ion brought in? In case Nilsen's canon lil treatise on "early homebrewing" referred to tabletop homebrewing, what did their gaming look like - was it an early form of roleplaying proper or, like, reconceptualizing chess or Monopoly? What about any of his exiles, given how he was first thrown out of Katla, then Graad, then they tried to kill him in Samara too and he spent his last days in exile and according to a throwaway line he counts as one of Elysium's great disappearances (does Khan have some fun intel on all that, or maybe Ulv)? Did the various pale crossings mess him up? What about the crossing of the lungs of Graad, toward the interisolary pale, with the blood of thousands of prisoners still fresh behind them? Or how'd he take his hut era, when did those feral months in the polar wilderness happen in his timeline, what kind of weirdness can we expect above Elysium's polar circle, did he have Mazov to return to in Graad and just how emotional can we make this reunion? Any scenario like "idk, Kras Mazov was like 70% of my impulse control"? What was it like, gaining consciousness in the near pale and becoming more than Zigi's dialectic frenemy (or was there always a true spark of him in there)? Did they feel uniquely cut off from the pale that surrounded them? Did they ever talk about Ambrosius? Did he ever pull off some other godly rhetoric stunt like reverting the pale through stubbornness and conviction alone? Some identity musings based on all three heads of the revolution going under new names, and considering them nom de guerre? Something about Ignus' troubled relationship with his homeland - as it goes, he fought hard to deny the Vaasan allegations and Vaasa fought harder to deny the him allegations? What about his blacksmithing skills (and what makes one an apocalyptic blacksmith, specifically - how do these two things go together)? Or any of his numerous Opinions which he penned on so many topics? Or just slap him (in person or cytoplasmically, 's not like death or censorship could stop him) in a Situation that has some weird worldbuilding in it? He's so extra at all times! He's fun to put in Situations. Genuinely any Nilsen/&Mazov or Nilsen & anyone else in the tagset would fill me with glee.

NUCLEAR EDIT AFTER THE LATEST ROUND OF "MARTIN LUIGA SAYS THINGS ON TWITTER":

...make of this what you will. Add the most heartbreaking yearning to their pale trekking days. Make it work somehow, ass or no ass. I think there's something of Mazov in Zigi (by way of there being a lot of Mazov in Harry, and a lot of Harry in Zigi). Let them be guarded and harsh and ironic about this, or not. I don't even KNOW, I didn't have this on my bingo card.

Fandom-specific DNWs: "magpies" and the idea that the pale is generated from novelties. that reddit theory about Målin being pregnant with Zigi's child. I'm open to a variety of options for the sisters' disappearance but should it come up I would prefer if it were their own decision to vanish, a decision dictated by some kind of (non-bourgeois) ideology, and for Zigi to be loyal to all four of them. I would also prefer Nilsen's big hangup about his fellow communists to follow the translation which sees them as "prey" rather than "beasts". And please, do not excuse his grandiose shittiness. The old coot's misogyny is what it is and ditto the war crimes, etc.

PYRE (Volfred Sandalwood)

I’m so charmed by this smug revolutionary tree it’s not even funny. Make up any situation in which he can do his thing and I’ll be happy - be sort of full of himself but also sort of rightfully so, pragmatic to a fault except when he’s overwhelmed by grief, bearing the burden of taking care of the practical side of an impossible shared vision (and seeing it fail before it started and eventually picking up the pieces and starting again), long-winded and very much in love with his voice (also rightfully so) and also that’s what history professors are like, extremely charismatic, a mind reader with a higher calling which is always a dangerous combo when it comes to maybe going a step too far. I love this story set at the end of a cycle and I’m enamoured with characters who have enough historical awareness to acknowledge it and see that it’s up to them to bring about a new era. Canon’s bittersweet idealism is catnip to me.

I love him with Tariq who seems to be as charmed by him as I am (the shy, vague title of Volfred’s theme combined with its James Bond vibes are a killer combo. Tariq please) and with Oralech who’s maybe the only guy who can go “Volfred no” when needed. I love his friendship with his oldest friend Bertrude with all the camaraderie it entails, and with all the Nightwings, really. Volfred & Hedwyn! & Rukey! & Pamitha! & ae!!! There may be complicated feelings there that I'd be very interested in seeing explored, but when it comes to the Nightwings, I'd rather see a reconciliation, a positive resolution, or at least a narrative that understands both sides.

I would also be interested in seeing him face people from the other triumvirates in more or less friendly situations - generally sticking close to canon for the level of danger they might pose. Volfred & Dalbert bonding and fanboying the Scribes on one end; Udmildhe maybe being a real actual threat on the other end, with Extreme Sap Drama Volfred VS Manley somewhere in the middle - Volfred haaates having to deal with Manley and what is fanfiction for if not bothering our faves? Or Volf VS Brighton for that matter, with more intense levels of annoyance and pomp and juicy ideological clashes. In these cases I wouldn’t be interested in a reconciliation, and I don’t sympathize with Manley nor Brighton but I do find them very funny and good characters in their own right and I’m just here with popcorn for the catfight. How’d it go if he had to spend some time with Ignarius? Or Celeste? And of course when it comes to the True Nightwings, things get loaded - Volfred/Oralech-wise, does Volfred get a treacherous "oh no he's super hot now" moment sneaking in between the piles of complicated feelings and hurt and confusion?

As general Volf prompts: revolutionary bonding, be it with Oralech (early on or after everything), or awakening Some Things in Tariq, or Bertie or anyone else who'll share that vision. SMUG revolutionary bonding, him being the way he is? What was he like before his exile, what did his underground political engagement look like? Downside ending being a strange kind of freedom for someone who's been driven all his life. Opinions on the Scribes! Overly detailed, strong Opinionssss on tiny details like you'd expect from your average academic, and whom is he talking to? Someone who agrees? Someone who knows more than him (Tariq, ae…)? Someone who hates those guys' guts (Sandra, Oralech…)? He’s a natural schemer, does he naturally assume that everyone else is also scheming 24/7? Does anyone (my bet’s on Pam) find out that he literally graded the Nightwings’ usefulness to the Plan? Is he a chain smoker or is it a one pipe a day kind of deal?

I don’t have specific headcanons about Sap biology; if you do, please tell me all about them. With or without Oralech’s or Tariq's involvement (whose biology is probably also delightfully weird). Capital-letter-Reading can also be involved! What’s it like to mind-meld with the actual moon, or to get permission from the guy who spent like six years hating your guts?

Long shot: Elysium AU? get some star-and-antlers on this guy one way or another?

Fandom-specific DNWs: Oralech dead, Volfred and Oralech split end (I’m good with either topside or downside ending, as long as they're on the same side), Ignarius/Jodariel, Tariq/Celeste, ae/Almer (I know, I know, luck in canon ships, that's me 😅 love Hedwyn/Fikani tho!). The Reader being a central character in the fic.

SEA OF STARS (Garl, Resh'an)

It's like this game grabbed the two character types that have been catnip to me since time immemorial and put them both in the party at once. Here's the guy so chill and loving that you can't believe he's for real! Here's the blue-orange-morality immortal symbolically hidden by layers of fabric! And then Garl dies in a way that is played up to its rightful max, his absence is felt so keenly, and then he even gets to come back with a satisfying sleight of hand! And everyone celebrates him! And the artbook says his elemental meddling made him multiclass as Ovate, which is a verrrry intriguing statement all things considered. And on Resh'an's side of things, he's so caught up in distant flickers of hope, calculations, regrets across so many worlds... and then he gets to hang out with mortals, to exist in the moment, to make friends for a short while, before the weight of his past mistakes (and the complicated push and pull of his Basic Ex(tm)) drags him away again.

I'd like to see anything that plays up the potential odd lopsided friendship dynamic between these most rooted and least rooted characters. Garl who knows that a good soup and a hug will drag two fledgling gods back to earth for a day, and who may grow into something weirder himself, a link to the forgotten past of this world and perhaps a new future... and on the other hand Resh'an who's barely really there at any given moment, who's got the weight of worlds and timelines on his shoulders, and who's properly touching grass for the first time in so, so long. Missing moment is good. Postcanon is good. Anywhere in either world, the Archives, or make up someplace weird. Touching upon the fact that Garl's whole death and resurrection was all on Resh'an, and very blue-orange morality of him, can also be interesting.

I'm very keen on Valere and Zale quietly shedding their mortality as the plot goes on in an understated ascension... ...except for Garl. They're still Valere and Zale when they are with him. I'm also familiar with The Shopkeeper Stand-Up Special Messenger.

STALKER (1979) (worldbuilding)

I'm open to seeing things through the pov of the titular stalker, his daughter, Porcupine, an OC stalker and/or OC client(s) thereof, or even something more abstract. Anything in the tone of the movie will make me happy. A little expansion in any direction. The Professor-Writer dichotomy in the movie is great but the symbolic potential of the Room is so huge, so overflowing, that I think one could come up with more scenarios that resonate well with it. How does anyone relate to that? Likewise, that thin surreal line, so thin that at time it feels like it's nothing at all, surely has room for more routes, more strange happenings, or just the shadow of them.

Side note, I have not yet read Roadside picnic nor is it likely that I'll manage to read it before Yuletide this year, so any deep cut refs will sadly go unnoticed by me. But you're of course welcome to add them as long as they're not overt spoilers!

[khapaleaf]

I do enjoy a good [glare silently] kind of character. 

The basics

Name: Melissa Newman // No longer remembered Birthdate: March 8, 1971 // ??? Birthplace: St. Georges, somewhere in the United States // Somewhere in the depths of space unknown to humankind Occupation: Bakery assistant (dough maker in more ways than one, bakery clerk, delivery person, pastry cook and more) // Indescribable Love (?) interest: Jonny

Background

Manifesting into existence beyond the confines of the solar system known to the human species, and having seen entire galaxies change and evolve, the ancient cosmic entity whose name is now lost to the ages has hardly lost any interest in engaging in the ever-repeating pattern of hunting and feasting on other dimensional beings even after aeons of doing so. Over the course of its immeasurably long existence it visited many universes which could only be accessed by transcending matter, time and space, and grew fond of a great many hidden galaxies. It would have continued its journey to further solidify its own position as the ultimate and most voracious predator if it were not for a serious miscalculation that nearly cost it its very existence. In a panicked and injured state, it jumped dimensions hoping to regain the necessary energy to restore itself and become whole again.

The being’s arrival on Earth was marked by another disaster – the flesh bag whose body it attempted to use as a temporary means of settlement was unable to handle the overwhelming nature of the cosmic entity, and perished on the spot. Salvation was not impossible however, as it was able to use its remaining strength to make another jump into a much smaller casket. What it was did not matter, but fortunately for the cosmic being, the tiny body showed no sign of resistance.

Its first few years on Earth were decidedly turbulent, in no small part due to the casket’s physical limitations. Grief-stricken by the loss of its essence and identity, and enraged by the circumstances it had found itself in, it proved itself to be a right handful under the guise of Melissa Newman. To an outside observer, the casket was a quiet but easily agitated child, one that watched her surrounding world warily and threw violent tantrums – sometimes when people prodded too intensely, other times just to see their reaction. All the while, the entity inhabiting the developing human casket preferred to watch, listen, and to take the time to truly see and understand the world, and how to navigate it.

Personality

“Your sister is gone. It’s always been me in here”.

To the uninitiated observer, Melissa is a quiet and guarded woman whose usual repertoire typically ranges from rigid to apathetic to courteous but detached when interacting with others. She is described by many as being closed-off both on an emotional and physical level, and indeed does not like, and shies away from, any unnecessary contact. While reticent, Melissa has a heavy presence and can easily come off as severe owing to her eerie and intense nature. She is often perceived as intimidating (and even actively works towards being seen as such), which can render interaction with others difficult without either causing an unpleasant misunderstanding or a feeling that the other is being pulverised on the spot.

Despite not being particularly adept at communication, she possesses a gift of keen observation, and is usually able to pick up on the underlying mood in a room or sense the emotions of another person. After years of practice, she finds it nearly effortless to work out what kind of emotional response is needed depending on the context and situation – sometimes these responses are genuine and unbidden, other times they are based on unwritten rules of how one should feel and behave. But dealing with her own emotions is trickier. She is easily flustered and overwhelmed when confronted by her own emotions and usually tries to deal with them by either rejecting them completely, or pushing them away to deal with at a later date. Also, she is hilariously bad at “being normal” about romance-related things, but she is trying her best. 

Melissa is patiently and constantly surveying her surroundings, and is quick to size up a situation and its potential dangers. On the whole, she is very sceptical of seemingly well-meaning people and peaceful circumstances, and generally does not take anything at face value. However, when her anxiety kicks in, Melissa is prone to acting impulsively, which, more often than not, leads to unfavourable outcomes. Still, she is quite tenacious and stubborn, and refuses to give up and admit defeat even in the bleakest of circumstances. It would be a mistake to believe that she is a fearless individual, however.

For the majority of her time on Earth, she rarely finds causes that she can identify with, or that prompt her empathy outside of her immediate goal of gathering enough energy. If asked, she would likely reply that the food was the one thing that had kept her sane throughout the years. But the truth of the matter is that she is genuinely curious about other people’s stories – at first because she wants to alleviate the boredom of being stuck on Earth, but after a while because she wants to find something to relate to and to understand how others function. This curiosity also played a big part in making her see the possibilities that her new life may bring instead of regretting the choices that brought her there.

Likes: the sky at night, solitude, following a daily routine, comfortable socks, food with lots of spices for extra flavour, the aroma of freshly baked goods, obscure films (listening to Jonny talk about obscure films, more like) Dislikes: dwelling on unpleasant memories, feeling exposed, narrow or tight spaces, talkative customers, “bodily functions”, hospitals, unsolicited opinions

Miscellaneous

She pays little attention to the casket’s gender beyond seeing it as a marker or an anchor similar to her human name – it is something that grounds her in her current reality, but in truth human language is not an adequate tool to express the nuance and extent of her experience. Yet since she does not have strong opinions about it either way, it is very much a “I am a woman sure, but whatever” kind of feeling.

She is generally neutral about sex as a concept, but is completely disinterested in trying it out for herself. There are no conditions that would change her stance on this because she perceives this lack of interest to be an important part of her very being, and going against it for the sake of following some sort of script deemed socially acceptable by humans would be akin to betraying herself.

She does not like looking or shopping for new items of clothing, and has a tendency to wear clothes long after others would discard them. Specifically, she does not like how new clothes feel too restrictive, and is irritated by tags, thick seams, and itchy synthetic materials.

While she finds the buzzed feeling from drinking alcohol to be enjoyable, she lacks the capacity to tell how much alcohol is enough to achieve that state without overindulging. As a result of having had made a fool of herself on several occasions, she typically avoids drinking altogether, unless she finds herself in an environment she can fully control (which usually translates to sipping on an alcoholic beverage in the comfort of her room).

Even though she is able to experience a wide range of emotions, she rarely uses any kind of inflection to express them and speaks in a monotone voice (sounds similar to R. Dorothy Wayneright in the English dub).

Stats! 

[krankittoeleven]

a little bit ago @vault-heck tagged me for WIP Wednesday. Yes, I know it's Monday. Look, WIP Wednesday is, like a state of mind, ok? xD

I'd love to share something from Water of Life but I am currently in a war with CH 13 and I don't want to share anything I haven't already shared. So instead I will share this chunk from the unplanned sequel to my Trigun 1998 Vashwood fix-it fic But Like a Refugee. I'd love to link it BUT A03 is down again so I can't lol

Anyway, here is the (still rough state) opening for the sequel, which takes place 10 years after the previous fic (yes this could, in a roundabout way, spoil something for Trigun 1998):

Wolfwood’s eye’s flutter open, refusing to focus right away, at least not until the memory of drifting, floating feathers clear completely from his head. Something had woken him from his dream, but he’s not sure what. Maybe it had been nothing but the usual things that go bump in the night, the things that posed no threat, but still woke him sometimes. Like Vash breathing too loudly, or moving to quickly. Even after so many years, it still happened—

A soft knock on the door in the dead silence of the night sets Wolfwood’s heart fluttering, he had not been expecting it, and it did have an eerie quality to it; a barely heard noise, but it wouldn’t surprise him if that was what woke him. In sleep he was even more vigilant than in waking. Behind him, Vash mutters something mostly unintelligible. He too was a vigilant sleeper.

“I’ll take care of it, go back to sleep,” he says to Vash, and then to the door: “Who is it?”

“Woof woof, I need water,” a tiny voice says through the door. It does sound a little hoarse and dry.

Wolfwood smiles, “Just a second honey, let me get dressed.”

Immediately he had known who the voice belonged to: Danny who was always quick to point out her name was spelled with a Y and not an I. Danny, who was sometimes fussy and sometimes not. Danny who called him Woof Woof because she misheard his name on introduction. Almost all of the kids had a different nickname for him, he thought it was sweet, but he also thought it was some sort of cosmic retribution for the years of nicknames that he had pummeled Vash with. For every Needle Noggin, Spikie, Tongari, Blondie, Pinhead, Pincushion et cetera there was now a Woof Woof, Woofy, Nico, Nicky, Wolf, Woody, Smoky and others. In a small bid to win back a portion of his sanity, he had recently started calling Vash Angel and rarely anything else, while Vash always called him Nick. Through some sort of unspoken agreement the kids seemed to understand that those names were between them and them alone.

Rolling out of bed, Wolfwood finds his discarded clothes from earlier and slips back into them. He’s waking up more now, but he’s still not very graceful on his feet. On the bed, Vash rolls over to face him.

“Did we forget to fill the jugs?” Vash asks, mumbling in a way only Wolfwood could decipher after years of interpreting Vash’s sleep talk.

“Maybe, but I don’t think so,” Wolfwood replies. “You know how she is. She’s funny about the water sometimes.”

“I am not!” Danny says through the door, just loud enough to be heard.

They both laugh as Wolfwood stuffs his smokes and lighter into his pants pocket, then steps over to Vash’s side of the bed and leans down to kiss him on the temple, then his cheek and finally the corner of his mouth. “Go back to sleep,” he says. Vash hmmms and gently swipes a thumb along Wolfwood’s jawline before his hand drops down to the mattress. Behind him he can hear the faintest sounds of lips smacking, as if a small child is projecting how thirsty they are.

Wolfwood rolls his eyes. “I’m comin’ girl, I’m comin’.”

As often is the case when he steps from their humble little box they call a home and into the courtyard that separates it from the orphanage, Wolfwood is softly punched in the gut by a mix of emotions. Even after ten years of living there, it is hard for him to believe that this is his life now, that this was what everything had led up to. That this is what he very nearly missed out on.

Beside him, Danny takes his hand, as if she were afraid to cross back the way she had come on her own. She almost startles a jump out of him. He had, to his chagrin, almost forgotten why he was standing there in the first place. Sometimes these little moments he had were just too powerful.

Together they cross the courtyard, mostly in silence, but Wolfwood is curious about the water.

“Now, be honest,” he starts, trying to sound as genuinely not-judgy as he can. “Are the jugs really empty or did you just want fresh water?”

Danny remains silent for a few more steps and then says: “It’s colder from the tap.”

Well, at least they hadn’t neglected to leave the kids water for the night, he thinks as they walk passed the Punisher, now decommissioned and standing in the courtyard like a guardian instead of a weapon.

"Alright, let's get you some water."

Thanks for reading :D Not 100% sure when this will be done, but it's a cloud to float on for a bit.

[shallowseeker]

Eerie coincidences leading up to season 8's Goodbye Stranger

I swore I'd never talk about this episode, but it features a jealous guy named Spencer (he who "dispenses"), a "Jimmy," and a girl named after the "forgiveness" character in The Merchant of Venice and is reminiscent of Porsche/"fancy car."

But I will say that this is so very, very, incredibly, jaw-droppingly Chuck-coded:

SPENCER: Of course you don't. Neither of you ever considered my feelings. JAMES: Portia? This is about her? SPENCER: Can you imagine the insult when she chose you? I wanted her as my soul mate the moment I saw her. When she picked you...I endured it. But when you two went all Bella and Edward, broke the code, put your passions before the community rules, well, the arrogance, the entitlement was too much. Your total ruination seemed appropriate.

This is the infamous, cruel, disrespectful 8x15 Man's Best Friend with Benefits. (Skip it, it's not worth the egregious racism). Nevertheless, there is a remarkably consistent throughline running through many of these throwaway episodes, coming just before 8x17 Goodbye Stranger.

James "Jimmy" is a man being forced to "act out" murders, just as Cas is acting out and committing murders for Heaven. Like Cas, he's pushing his (would-be) lover away. He shouts her to "GO," Just as Cas shouted Dean to "GO" in Purgatory.

When I think about the ruination of the Nephilim-coded things being destroyed in seasons 8 and 15, all I can see is Chuck sundering Earth from Heaven.

///

And here, in 8x16 Remember the Titans, we have a Zeus behaving remarkably similar to how The Empty does in 14x08 Byzantium. Zeus cursed Prometheus to die over and over, and his seven-year-old son is now awakening to the same fate.

ZEUS: Tell me, has Prometheus experienced the child's death yet? [HAYLEY gives a nod.] How did he take it? Did he hurt? [HAYLEY nods again.] Good. [ZEUS points his fingers at SHANE/PROMETHEUS who falls to his knees attempting to breathe.] 8x16: Remember the Titans

...

COSMIC ENTITY: Stop interrupting! Start paying attention. I'm taking him. And where I'm taking you is worse than Hell… because at least Hell is something. Ohh. Ohh, God, they look scared. Does that hurt you? Good… because I want it to. [Cas deploys his angel blade to attack, but the Entity flings him across the room] 14x08: Byzantium

///

In season 7, Cas refers to his own resurrection as, "I don't die - I'm brought back again. I see now. It's a punishment resurrection. It's worse every time." 7x23: Survival of the Fittest

///

The Prometheus himself is dressed a little bit as season 1 Sam, as a boy hated by God, but narratively, he's Cas.

SAM: Of course not. You were afraid big daddy would find out that you fell for the person he hates most in this world.

Makes you wonder if Cas's instincts are right? Perhaps, Chuck actually hates Cas. Perhaps, it really is a sadistic punishment resurrection, and he actually lives and breathes to see Cas and Dean separated.

...

And again here, Zeus's rage has so much in common what what the Empty will be like:

ZEUS: You like being an immortal, don't you? [He's kneeling in front of OLIVER again.] Oh, sure, you die every day, but nothing can keep you dead. [ZEUS looks over at SHANE who is lying on the ground.] It's almost like taking a little nap. All of your cares and worries disappear for a little while. Well, it's sleepy time, my dear boy. [His tone is like a loving grandfather, he stands, both hands crackling with lightning.] I never get tired of watching you die. [ZEUS, holding SHANE up, says it right into his ear.] Your boy is going on the mountain. 

...

[The entity kicks CASTIEL.] COSMIC ENTITY: Just let’s lay down. Let’s just try and sleep. Hmm? Think about it. Infinite peace, yes? No regrets. No pain. Kiddo, save yourself.

///

I think Chuck is absolutely seething over Cas and Dean being in love in season 8.

Cas did not steal fire, but he did rip up the pages at the end of season 4. In season 10, his grace is reintroduced in a library, amongst fluttering pages, as a story-destroyer.

The theme of the angel-human hybrid family is ever-present in season 8, and the total ruination of the hybrid angel-human family is ongoing in season 15.

At the end, only Sam's family remains. The "pure," "good," "Noah-like" one. Heaven and Earth are split once more.

[girlcalledwhatsername]

It was only a few days ago that I brought you my bullets really sunk in, especially the title of that album. The entire album, they talk about everything from fantastical vampires or zombies to a workplace romance and drug abuse, they seem to be scattered songs but it's all about the same thing which is being loved despite everything you are. In Demolition Lovers he says 'all we are is bullets i mean this'. He's bringing her all of him which is ugly and seemingly impossible to bear and in his mind irredeemable and in return she is bringing him her love.

And then I could articulate more clearly the differences in how dark subject matters are treated in Bullets, Revenge, and Black Parade. In Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, all the songs have this playfulness to them, they seem hauntingly cheerful and flirty, with an uncanny quality to them. And it's so in contrast with Demolition Lovers itself, which is completely raw and angsty and tragic. And then that further contrasts with The Black Parade, which is dark in this very personal way that makes cosmic grief seem intimate and contained within yourself such that it's impossible to escape from. It's a dark abyss to fall into, nothing about it is humorous or even with a touch of irony in it. Revenge is like an amusement park ride into insanity, and Black Parade is the somehow worse-off reality. The Patient does make the narrative dodgy because he's unreliable as a narrator but if anything that makes the record all the more eerie.

[hircinesanters]

Falas stuff:

As I play more of him and also replay more of the dragonborn DLC I have some more personality and stuff for him tehe

- wears a mask when in combat so Mara “cant see him enact such violence.” He almost has 2 very different personalities, after a fight he is the gentle and humble priest of Mara preaching love and compassion. But once entering a bandit fort or cave he has no mercy, even if he does bless the poor soul he brutally murdered afterwards. The contrast is quite eerie.

- sees his dragon blood as a sort of burden he must now take on. The Greybeards warned him that he is a son of Akatosh and that sometimes the wills of Aedra conflict. But Falas assured them that he is devoted to Mara first, and that his faith will not sway from her.

- when he goes to Solstiem and finds the stones and the temple being built. He has many nightmares/dreams where Miraak calls him by name. These dreams unfortunately can get a bit raunchy as the extreme repression of both his sexuality and his dragon blood roams free in his unconscious. It doesn’t help that he and Miraak are also cosmic soulmates.

- these dreams freaked him out so much that he actually chickened out of Solstiem and ran back to Skyrim and back to the temple of Mara for some kind of guidance or protection, Mara basically shrugs her shoulders and says “pray about it.” Of course this doesn’t help much as the dreams and visions persist as Miraak beckons him back to him, as well as stealing his dragon souls. But he defeats Alduin during this time.

- when he comes back to Solstiem he has mentally prepared himself as much as he can, confident that he will kill Miraak. But once he actually meets him in the summit of Apocrypha, he ends up saving him- going against Mara’s wishes as well as literally his entire team.

- very bad with directions, has gotten lost countless times in caves, the wilds, and even cities. Lydia leads the team in Dwemer ruins since he simply cannot be trusted.

- even if he is a priest, he has a want for adventure. Almost a naive one. This can sometimes lead to trouble of course, and he is not at all arrogant about it. But if he stays in one place too long he will become restless. He’s read too many books about adventure and he wants to go out and explore. This also comes from him being almost cloistered in the temple of Mara for a decade to redeem himself of his Deadric affiliations. So he’s happy to be outside.

- throws all his money away to those who “need it more.” Always has barely enough to get by or buy food or supplies.

[natalieironside]

The Prince of Venom announcement post (very cool and exciting)

Happy Preptober, everybody!  As I usually do, I’ve made a big change of plans at the very last minute without consulting anyone, and I’m gonna make The Prince of Venom my NaNoWriMo project.  (Don’t worry; this means the Voidsong sequels are gonna be the next serials once I’m done w/ this)

We’re returning to the setting of my much-loved In the Court of the Nameless Queen stories and hanging out with some old favorite characters like Freydis Gothi, Kristina the Apostate, and Olga Snake-Eye, and, of course, our glorious Queen, for a story that’s much, much, much lighter on the sexual content and heavier on the fantasy and adventure.  No swash will remain unbuckled.

We return to the Queendom of Corynnod, a realm of mystery and sorcery where nothing is as it seems, ruled over by the beautiful, terrible, and enigmatic Nameless Queen, where there are just so many spiders and everything’s got kind of a spidery motif going on. 

We meet Young Thorkil Eiturbur, a boy caught between two worlds. The unlikely child of two mothers, one with a deeply troubled past and the other not quite human, he feels out of place, too monstrous for the humans but too human for the monsters. His sense of being out-of-place is further underlined as he finds himself going through the wrong puberty. Seeking community, Thorkil enlists on a merchant ship with a somewhat piratical captain and crew, and finds himself embroiled in a war that he'd hoped was long over, this time with cosmic implications. It’s got everything.  Queer and trans characters, pirate adventures, evil wizards, religious fanatics, swordfights, Catholics [derogatory], and spiders.  It’s a swashbuckling tale of magic, adventure, community, self-discovery, and, most importantly of all, spiders.

***

There came a hissing, chittering sound from somewhere unseen in the darkness.  He rolled his eyes and grumbled, “I told you, I had to say goodbye to Khalid.  It took a while.  Now come on; I want to be in sight of the taiga by morning.  Mom’s expecting us.”

With higher-pitched, more agreeable chittering and the tattoo of chitin tapping against flagstones, a shape emerged from the shadows behind the bower.  It had the look of a black widow spider overgrown to monstrous size, like an ox or a destrier, each of its eight unblinking eyes about the size of Thorkil’s fist, with two cruel and gruesome fangs like sickle-blades at the front of its head.  At the sight of the creature, Toki grinned and came running over, throwing his arms around it as best he could and planting a kiss atop its head.  

The creature hissed, and Toki nodded and replied, “It went really well, actually.  He’s so sweet.  Gods, now I’m going to miss him all the more. . . . Eh? . . . I’m sorry, but I had to take the time.  I wanted to make sure the deed was done right. . . . Yes, I know it’s cold.  It’ll get warmer the farther southwest we get. . . . I love you, too, Sesheth.  Now, let’s get going.  Mom’s waiting for us.”

The warbeast crouched lower to the flagstones.  Toki checked that his sword and his things were secure and swung a leg across Sesheth’s cephalothorax, sitting astride her and leaning back against her great, bloated abdomen.  To the steady rhythm of more infernal tapping, she skittered up to the gate where a pair of the Queen’s blackguards waved them through, wishing prince and princess safe travels.

The moon and stars bathed the tundra in eerie silvery blue, and from atop the plateau, Toki could just barely make out a thin line of evergreens on the southern horizon.  He laughed aloud at the crisp, fresh air filling his lungs and the bitter cold biting his cheeks as they set forth.  Below them, he spied a band of reindeer-herders moving south, like him choosing to brave the bitter arctic night to make up travel time across the prairies.  With a grin, he tapped the spider’s carapace and asked, “Sesheth, do you see those reindeer-herders down there?”

The spider hissed in the affirmative.

“Why don’t you show them how fast a warbeast can run?”

***

U can follow my blog here on Tumblr dot com and check out the links in the pinned post if u want to follow along

[pigstepping]

I have amassed another collection of Techno-centric fic recs! All complete, 1k+ words, <5k hits, you know the drill. I'll give you rating, warnings, character groups, and word count, and then I'll release you to go make the author's day with some kudos and comments!

As always, check the work tags before reading! And without further ado:

cold hand in mine by Cardinalnorth

T || No Warnings Apply || Emduo || 15k

Phil nearly dies, or so Techno thinks until Phil shares the truth about his immortality. I love this fic because it has the adrenaline, the big life-changing reveal... but then it has another 8k words showing how they begin to navigate their new normal, which is so rare to see. Featuring touch-starved Techno, stunning prose, and a very nuanced take on trust.

to the ends of the earth by h_mellohi

No Rating || No Warnings Apply || Emduo || 4.5k

Techno seeks to be the first recorded adventurer to reach the Farlands, but he makes an unexpected discovery when he gets there. Sort of meditative, lonely vibes, especially in the beginning when Techno is very blasé about the risk he’s taking, and the second half turns into some neat worldbuilding and some very soft relationship dynamics.

Scattering sparks of thought energy by spicysnakebite

T || No Warnings Apply || Reaper Trio || 1.5k

Techno meets Kristin for the first time when she possesses Phil’s body on her "vacation". The slow build-up to Techno’s realization that this isn’t Phil is simultaneously heart-warming and eerie, which is exactly how I think Kristin should be portrayed <3. Plus, it has a nice little emerald duo reunion at the end. Warm and spooky and good. 

there is also opportunity by Sexytrash

T || No Warnings Apply || Non-trad SBI || 6.5k

After years as the main attraction in an alien fighting arena, Techno is rescued by three strangers who actually make the effort to communicate with him. Space Orcs trope my beloved. This portrayal of Techno strikes a good balance between humor, competence, and trauma, plus some emotional vulnerability at the end. First work in a great series.

28 Days of Delirium by AuricAxis

G || No Warnings Apply || Emduo || 16k

When Techno gets lost in the End, he stumbles across Phil who has been lost there for much longer. Together, they try to figure out an escape. Cosmic horror vibes– something is subtly Off about Phil, and Techno has quite an encounter in a later scene– but this fic also has some really great hurt/comfort and friendship building. Also Ian Bealio is there LOL

That's all for now! Happy reading <3

(Previous batch here)

[thatnerdgirl7]

Thomas Wake 😋😊💙

First impression

A short, gruff, lighthouse keeper with potentially dark secrets. A slightly scary old man with a wonderful accent.

Impression now

I would marry him. This man needs a wife. He needs to stop obsessing over a light which may or may not hold some supernatural, cosmic power and may also be getting him off.

Favorite moment

There are so many, like his ridiculously cruel sense of humour and drunken dancing but I'd have to say it's a tie between slow dancing while singing a folk song with Winslow and the Neptunian curse he gives to him for not liking his cooking.

Idea for a story

Winslow and Wake take in a mostly mute, scared, sweet, feral, woman from the seashore and Winslow becomes infatuated believing her to be the mermaid of his dreams but to his horror she and Wake start to fall in love with each other. It would be full of tenderferal, gentleferal pining, angst and sweet romantic moments in an otherwise dismal story.

Unpopular opinion

He's a softie deep down when he wants to be. Apprentices like Winslow feel his wrath for their percieved insubordination but a frightened civillian, especially female might get more warmth. Or if we take the movies gay subtext into account, maybe he's very attracted to Winslow and tries to deny it, even though he seemed quite up for kissing him.

Favorite relationship

The antagonistic relationship he has with Winslow will always be fun to watch and write about because he can be so coarse and brutal with his insults to the point where it's entertaining. I am also quite fond of the relationship I have crafted for him between him and my OC because it's as wholesome an an AU based on an eerie pyschological, kind of sexually charged thriller can be.

Favorite headcanon

He's fond of animals. Shaggy dogs, ship cats, seabirds. Even the odd sea beast. He finds them good company and speaks softly to them when no one is looking.