#werewolf by night fan edit

[charon-cries]

we're lucky Lestat de Lioncourt doesn't have tumblr, the drama he'd get into on here would be wild

#is this anything #he'd probably get cancelled instantly #also side note for future reference #i'm making this post before season 3 #so if anything in this is incompatible with amc canon #that's because i'm working off of seasons 1 + 2 and the books #okay ty have a nice day

32 notes

🎧 audiofilled Follow

ANOTHER of my mutuals went missing after buying a backstage pass to a vampire lestat concert. she didn't post pictures, nothing, and she's been radio silent since her last post (which was about how she was about to go backstage...) and i really think we should be taking this more seriously. so.

reasons why i think "lestat de lioncourt" may be running a cult or something:

Keep reading

🐺 the-vampire-lestat

Absolutely ridiculous. I am very open about what I am, you do not need to resort to senseless conspiracy theories to figure out where your little friend went.

🎧 audiofilled Follow

are you incapable of dropping the vampire bit for ONE moment? people are going MISSING and you're still doing your corny roleplay bit?

#discourse #TVL disappearances #callout

362 notes

📚 daniel-molloy

It's day number seventy-three of surviving this God forsaken website solely to keep tabs on Lestat's social media presence, and I'm still trying to decipher the lingo you people use here. What the Hell does, "I'm bald," even mean?

#the vampire lestat

137 notes

🪽 arun-rising

Did anyone else notice Lestat only posts during the night, in whichever timezone he's in while on tour? True commitment to the bit. Or the bite, I suppose.

🩸 carmillized

weren't you posting about how much you despise his music just yesterday???

🪽 arun-rising

I don't know what you're talking about. I never did that.

🩸 carmillized

You are correct. I believe you without question. I do not even know why I said that in the first place. I do not recall you posting about Lestat de Lioncourt before this.

#sorry OP i was out of line #now that i'm thinking about it though #this post is making me wonder if lestat could be a real vampire #i hadn't seriously considered it until this very moment #something came over me... #wonder why

40 notes

🐺 the-vampire-lestat

New song.

Listen, if you dare.

📷 disintegrated-wonder

Lestat, I thought we were over this...?

#louis talks

893 notes

🧷 baby-jenks

Wouldn't it be wild if we all just spontaneously combusted? Haha. Glad that will never happen

#fang gang #vampblr #random thought #it's unlikely

4 notes

👴🏻 marius-official Follow

How does this website work...?

🦇 fang-fan

delete your blog

#rank vibes on this man

1,425 notes

🐾 interview-wolf-the-werewolf Follow

Sponsored with Blaze 🔥

Check out my new book. It's a biography, about me, written by an award-winning journalist, chronicling my life as a werewolf. It's 100% factual and real, a real breath of fresh air in a world filled with fiction attempting to pass itself off as reality.

#iwtw #my posts #my book #me #werewolf #wolf #awoo #please i need to feed my litter of twelve #this book is all i have

5,762 notes

🩸 carmillized

hey all! i know that my mutual, audiofilled, is a little bit divisive in the music fandom rn, but i'm getting a little worried. i haven't heard from him since he made that post speculating about where TVL fans have been disappearing to. please send me an ask or a dm if you've heard from him!

#talk tag #getting a little worried #he's probably okay though

47 notes

🐺 the-vampire-lestat

Just had a lovely dinner. It's nice when your food is in tune with you, yes? Makes the blood sit well in the veins.

🦇 fang-fan

ur so funny

#edit: sorry for posting while audiofilled is missing #i didn't hear about it until just now

1,409 notes

🩸 carmillized

okay i just can't get over how he talks about himself. i don't know if it's just him being "in character" or if this is just how the guy acts irl, but he's so self-aggrandizing that i've been questioning it

no nuance/bald/other, you have to decide on the spot right now what you believe

📚 daniel-molloy

He's lying.

👩‍💻 talamascized-witch

I don't believe him for a second.

#archive #poll #lestat de lioncourt

[bcbloodmass2024]

ATTENTION BLIND CHANNEL FANS

Our beloved boys from Oulu has gone on hiatus, but that doesn’t mean the writers and artists of the fandom have to! Our love for Joel, Joonas, Niko, Olli, Aleksi, and Tommi is eternal - and so is my hatred of Christmas. 😤 And so I’m happy to announce that

BC BLOOD MASS WILL RETURN IN DECEMBER 2024! 🐺🐺🐺🐺

If you’re not familiar with our annual event: basically, it came to my attention that there’s actually a lot of people in the fandom like me, who don’t celebrate Christmas. Either because they practice a different religion, or because they have trauma surrounding the holiday. I realized, I wasn’t the only person dreading the usual influx of Christmas themed fanfic and fanart coming in December.

And so I created an anti-Christmas event. In 2022, you guys created some spooky vampire AUs. In 2023, we celebrated an unholy night of demon AUs. And this year, I put it to a public vote, and the results are in.

Our 2024 theme is WEREWOLF AU!!! 🐺🐺🐺

All works MUST be submitted to the official AO3 collection by December 24th, 2024.

The collection will be revealed on December 25th, 2024!

All pairings are welcome, including both M/M and reader-inserts!

While this event is primarily for fanfic writers, fan artists and edit-makers are also invited and encouraged to participate!

NSFW content is allowed!

All fics created for this event must be Werewolf AUs. Other supernatural creatures (such as vampires) can play a role in your story, but a least ONE main character MUST be a werewolf.

Including characters from other bands (Lost Society, RBFH, etc) is allowed but at least one main character MUST be member of Blind Channel!

Christmas, or any celebrations thereof, MUST NOT play a major role in your creation for this event.

Please tag your creation with #bcbloodmass2024 if you participate!

Let’s have a howling good time! 🐺

[thebibliosphere]

.

.

Hi to the some 500+ followers I gained in the last 24 hours. If you don't know me, I'm the editor behind Crucifix Nail Nipples (NSFW) and various other Tumblr heritage shit posts.

If you're a fan of paranormal romance, I also have a bestselling bisexual, polyamorous romance series, Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites ('Phangs' for short), featuring a neurodivergent, mad scientist dandy vampire, a deaf, disabled werewolf with a heart of gold, and a third secret option who officially becomes their additional love interest in the next book.

The series comes in two editions, The Flirting with Fangs edition (high heat) and the Fluff and Fangs edition (medium heat), for those who prefer less or more spice in their romance.

Buy the (high heat) Flirting With Fangs Edition Here.

Buy the (medium heat) Fluff and Fangs Edition Here.

Why did I write two editions, and what's the exact difference? Glad you asked!

Set in a pseudo-regency meets fake-Victorian Gaslamp Fantasy world, complete with gothic castles, enchanted forests, and just a smidge of industrial coal dust, Phangs has been described as "like reading the queer, goth love child of Terry Pratchett meets Jane Austen." Just, y'know, in case any of that sounds interesting to you.

Anyway. I've peddled my weres enough for one night. Welcome. I hope you like it here. I'm going back to staring at the ever-mounting number of checkmarks taking over my URL.

[velvetjune]

Alan Wake Night Springs DLC spoilers and thoughts:

This is very vague, but this really was the most Remedy thing to ever exist. My brain exploded at some point from Everything. Good game—you can tell those developers had the time of their life making all this. looking forward to the Lake House as something more serious and similar to the main game/tone.

Episode one with Rose was the best! Stunning from the start until the end and had the funniest moments in any Remedy game. [Rose voice] “𝖎 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖕𝖗𝖔𝖙𝖊𝖈𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚”

That fanart was SO good and could’ve been drawn by any irl Alan Wake fan. I can’t even say another or act like it’s embarrassing because I also think Alan is hot. So. Same Rose.

Bad boy Scratch being a werewolf.. Cat boy Alan (and the fucking Nightmare on Elm Street crop top fanart of him) being comically weak and in distress.. Rose dipping him at the end was unbelievably hilarious. Reject alpha male Scratch and embrace wet cat Alan. Every few minutes I had to remind myself that Alan technically wrote this,, his mind,, his perception of himself is incredible

That episode also was fun all around to play. Endless ammo and fun effects with the automatic shotgun. Rose slowly getting covered in blood. She’s already one of my favorite characters after this—she’s cringey in the best (and scarily realistic) ways. I support her

Episode 2: wish this one was longer because I missed Jesse and her awkward and aggressive conversations with others. I thought Dylan would pop up at some point, but of course Alan wrote himself into this twist ending. Couldn’t stop laughing with that. It felt just like the Night Springs eps of Alan Wake 1 lol.

I had the most trouble with some of the sections of this game, but it was fun, mostly just felt like a fool for not initially understanding it. The secret agency and clear references to the Board and FBC were everything. It was just Control: Coffee edition.

Episode 3: Death Rally Tom !! I was beyond happy seeing this. Always nice to see more Zane.

I’m not very familiar with Quantum Break outside of the general story and beginning, so the last episode was So Much. Initial thought: Please no Jesse and Tim in Control 2. It’s almost certainly supposed to be because of Quantum Break, but that version of her waiting for Tim came out of nowhere for me lol (also 😔 because I either want her to be with Emily or not get with someone at all—Control Jesse is so far from Beth Quantum Break/Lisa imo). The “but maybe…” multiverse romance was. whatever. cheesy but in a more negative way.

Another thing that makes me somewhat relieved this is the whacky DLC is that it does address a lot of the vague unanswered questions of the game in the typical sci-fi way (and probably a big win for theorists), and I want to keep that away from most of the main games. I like not knowing things lmao. It’s not a huge deal and I love all the crossovers/realities, but I want future AW (if 3 happens) and Control games to still largely focus on the mysterious horror without anything too definitive or distracting. I’m mostly okay with it here because this is Also an episode written by Alan and hosted by Door, so it’s not reliable—even if I’m sure this is what Remedy envisions when writing these games.

^ something something “In a horror story the victim keeps asking why, but there can be no explanation and there shouldn't be one. The unanswered mystery is what stays with us the longest and is what we'll remember in the end.”

However looooved how the third episode changed the style of the game repeatedly. The very last scene where the words form the writers room and Alan before it abruptly ends was great and the standout of the ep.

I’m not going to try to unpack all this, but it’s interesting how Alan and Door present themselves as being these largely antagonistic forces in this DLC. They’re an underrated duo (the two Masters of Many Worlds). Everything felt like it was Alan purposefully trying to imprint on these realities and influence things in his writing, making certain things parallel his life and circumstances. Reminded me of him attempting to get the irl Koskela brothers to kill each other to get out of the Dark Place. Hard to tell what’s really the truth.

I like Door too much to be scared of him. The jump scares were nicely paced throughout and the echoes of Tim/Shawn/Jack fighting him were interesting.

The tribute for James McCaffrey at the end was emotional and lovely.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 9

Today's (7/25/2024) Episode: Raging Success

In the aftermath of her second surgery Noemi was once again forced to delay her plans to start her job with Rainy Day’s tech division.

She did her best to be OK with the circumstances, enjoying time with her family and supporting Luigi’s career, which was taking off like a rocket.

During their time in university Luigi had come to terms with Beau being the better gamer, and that continued with their transition to the pro league.

However, Luigi’s good looks and cheerful nature quickly made him a fan favorite.

Where Beau, and many of their other teammates, often struggled during post game interviews and promotional events Luigi was on fire, the enthusiasm that others sometimes found annoying in one-on-one conversation making him shine with the fans and in front of the camera.

Luigi’s mastery of programming also gave him the opportunity to win major brownie points with his boss.

While many of his fellow gamers were decent at the skill almost none had already maxed it the way he had. When he volunteered to take on the task of sprucing up the team's outdated website, management was skeptical but agreed to let him give it a try.

Luigi completed the project in record time, and even managed to charm an up-and-coming werewolf actress from Hunter’s collective into posing for fresh new banner images, both solo and with him and the rest of the team. His superiors were “over the moon” impressed with their go-getter.

His work on the website and continued success in tournaments quickly earned Luigi his next promotion.

To celebrate the couple once again left Skye with the grandparents and tried for another date night. Their evening at the movies was lots of fun for them and, thankfully, ended under the sheets instead of at the hospital!

In no time Luigi’s popularity at work was leading to endorsement deals! When a request came in to help promote one of his dad’s favorite local cooking channels Luigi eagerly agreed to the contract. There was a performance bonus attached if the campaign did well enough, and he had a plan.

His real-life live-in chef was a celebrity, and an old hand at keeping things fun and light. The father/son duo had an absolute blast with their “family night dinner and drinks” collab. Luigi’s new high-end drone, Yoshi, floated around the kitchen catching footage of banter and bottles flying wildly.

So much time staring at himself in the mirror preparing for the shoot, and on the video afterwards, had the unintended consequence of making Luigi even more self absorbed than before, skyrocketing the pride he’d always felt in his natural good looks to a whole new level.

While editing and adding transitions prior to uploading the footage Luigi realized that he was really enjoying himself. Media production was yet another way to have fun in front of the computer.

He couldn’t wait for another endorsement opportunity to roll in!

It wasn’t long before father and son were celebrating the sensational success of their episode of “TV Dinner”.

Peachy’s participation in the project brought in a much broader fanbase than Luigi could have managed on his own, and their comfortable father/son dynamic and skill in the kitchen were a huge hit with both cooking and mixology enthusiasts.

Luigi’s star was shining bright, and he couldn’t be happier. He’d never set out to be famous, but it felt right. He’d always wanted to impress his watcher and their friends and show the world just how successful he could be. Now no one could possibly deny that he was a “big deal”.

Nothing, he felt, could stop him now!

Rather than cram that huge media station into Luigi’s house I tried out the Elgato Streaming Set mod by Ravasheen.

Its not perfect (not all functionality seems to be available) but it works for most things and I really liked having Luigi do Media Production on his laptop.

View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[aspenonpawzzz]

AU lore dump!

In this AU, grim walkers are kinda like a Alterhuman/wolfwalker/werewolf mix. After Hollow Mind ,Hunter runs off into the woods,(goes on all fours!) (edit: he trips like the idiot he is, and shifts then.) and shifts into his wolf form, (which I have dubbed Phantom, hence the name of the AU) and instead of going to hexside, he finds a cave  where he hides out for a while (4/5 weeks), stealing food and blankets, and transforming the cave into his den

While this is happening luz is freaking out,due to no one having glimpsed hunter in weeks.And on top of that, there is a strange wolf( in this AU, Wild Canines are from the demon realm,so not that weird) haunting (see what I did there?) the streets, stealing food and other things. She things it looks familiar,but she cannot place her finger on in. Phantom becomes a celebrity, and befriends luz (I sort of call Phantom and Hunter to separate entities, even tho they’re the same person, System style) then Hunter builds up confidence to reappear, and starts making small appearances, like a ghost (Hahah. maybe one of them should be a bus disappearance thingy) and luz is less scared that he got caught. Finally, hunter appears on the owl houses door step, and gets melded with the owl fam. The time frame for this part of it is 1-2 months. To make it less suspicious that right when he vanished that phantom appeared, and vice versa, he sneaks out at night and makes appearances, and sometimes during the day. He lies that he “is just a fan” of phantom (kinda selfish bro)( to be extra sneaky, he draws phantom [he’s good at drawing] and fakes being a bad lier.) and keeps tabs on his image. Luz starts to get suspicious(“he says he is a fan of phantom, and phantom is a friendly boy, but Hunter never is to bet found when phantom is around and vice versa. Also, phantom appeared right after he went missing, and Hunter never talks about were he was/is during is absence. Also. Fangs, he is crepuscular, he is very defensive of his stuff/friends,his eyes glow, he has strange abilities , he is mostly carnivorous, his hair grows fast, also, they two look smiliar.they have to be the same person!”) and tries to prove her suspicions. This doesn’t go well.

Orrrrrrrr they (hexsquad- hunter) get kidnapped and Hunter saves them using his wolfie powers, but then has to explain why he has them. Only Luz knows till human realm. They are stuck there for a year.

Canon deviations

day of bs is in 10-11 months 

Hexsquad is in HR for a year 

Labyrinth runners is changed and later 

Hunter has enhanced abilities after the first shift 

Edge of the world is FAR later than canon

Wild Canines(coyotes, wolves, foxes,hyenas,exc) are from the BI

My HC of him being coy-wolf coping link is changed (wolf therian, both psychologically and spiritually)

Hunter lives with the owl fam after the first part.

Luz is otter-link

Amity is cat-hearted

Lumity is a4a (alterhuman 4 alterhuman)

Belos  is not actively after the owl fam. Also he does not quite learn Hunter has unlocked his wolf form until abt a month or two before the day of unity 

Luz still knows that hunter is a grimwalker, but doesn’t know what it is, and there isn’t anything really on them.(she also forgets Abt it cause she’s bad at remembering stuff){as we see in canon}

Hunter goes to hexside, but besides the EEs, no one knows that he was the gg. (IT RHYMES)(He takes the potion track[most fanfics],Beast-keeping[wolfyness] and bard[vocal mess of wolves]bump allows him to use flapjack as an aid.)

   Notes

Hunters style is alterhuman grunge .

Flapjack knew most of the previous Golden Guards. HE DOES NOT CUT HIS HAIR IT LOOKS DUMB. Luz and the hex squad are suffering from adrien agrest syndrome( means they are oblivious) hunter uses he/it/they pronouns.( “hunter here with he/it pronouns and a wish to he/it [hit] Belos”) when hunter has been in his witch form for too long,his chest starts to ache/hurt, and he can be annoyed easier. he has three different forms, witch( canon, but with fluffy hair that looks like a mix of his hair and the hair eda had when she first meet king, sharper and longer teeth, what could be classified as claws, a stronger that the “normal” of smell; sight; bite force, can jump higher, is supernaturally fast and agile ,at least by non-magically enhanced standards, especially high stamina and a alter human grudge style), semi witch ( wolf form teeth, kinda claws, harpy eda hair, wolf form ears and tail, extra sharp smell; eye-site; strong bite force and can jump really freaking high, and is fast,agile, and durable ) and wolf (literally a wolf hunter with enhanced wolf abilities) Hunter has more self-esteem than canon.He’s still kinda a bad boy.

Extra

possible AU Of this AU where Hunter unlocked his wolf form at about 4-5 ish. Belos has used in as an Attack/guard dog. hunters wolf form has a cream collar with a gold emperors coven sigil as the tag, gold cuff thingys on his paws, sharpening his claws. Belos  told him it was a curse, and gives him a tonic to “keep the wolf under control” (this is obviously a lie, this is a domestication potion which is used in feral animals, basically making hunter way more submissive, laid back[when applicable, it sometimes makes him far more aggressive] and more dog like than canon)two variations are possible : Luz knows, changing the plot drastically, and Luz is oblivious, having little to no effect on plot.

great huh!?

[meister-de-cachinnation]

-= MONSTER PROM FAN SONG =-

DISCLAIMER: The music and vocals for this video were generated by AI. I do put a significant amount of effort into the videos, mixing and tweaking in post-processing audio software once the tracks are generated, but I recognize that many people will still not like it. I make these videos purely for fun and a love of the fandom, and don't claim to be an artist of any sort. If you don't enjoy them, that is okay. But if you do, thanks for bopping along!

*FINAL REUPLOAD! I promise. The last upload had loads of equalization / volume / clipping issues because, surprise, I don't know what I'm doing. BUT! I learned a lot, and now this version is much more consistent and sounds a lot better. THANKS FOR ENJOYING!

==== LYRICS ====

Yo, yo, yo, listen up, gather 'round,

It's Monster Prom, it's going down!

From Spooky High to the spooky camp too,

Where hearts beat fast and dreams come true.

Amira's fiery, yeah she's got that spark,

Brian's chillin' like a zombie hiding in the dark,

Oz may be yellow, but his nerve never flinches,

Vicky's fun and dorky, she's a tapestry of stitches,

Damien's a demon, from the 8th circle of hell,

Liam sips on only ethically sourced blood cocktails.

Miranda's a royal with a murderous twist,

Polly parties hard, she just can't resist.

Monster Prom, it's a crazy time,

Stats and secrets, we gotta decide,

Will we find love or be rejected fools?

Either way, we're gonna break all the rules!

Scott's a werewolf, dumb but true,

Vera's a boss, she'll run over you,

Calculester's a robot, with a gold heart,

Zoe's old as time but making a fresh start

Witches Joy, Faith, and Hope cast their spells,

Juan's selling potions, you can never tell,

In the auditorium, we're puttin' on a show,

In the library, we're makin' that cash flow

Monster Prom, it's a hell of a ride,

In the cafeteria, where fates collide,

With every choice, our story moves,

We'll find romance, or just improve!

Smarts, boldness, and creativity,

Charm, fun, and money, it's all you need,

From class to the gym, we're making moves,

In the bathrooms causing hijinks, getting smoove

So leave a good review, spread the word around,

Beautiful Glitch got us all spellbound,

Monster Prom, it's a night to remember,

With monsters in love, from Spring to December.

Monster Prom, it's the ultimate test,

Will we get a date, or leave depressed?

But in the end, we'll stand tall and loud,

At Monster Prom, where all love's allowed.

We've only got 3 weeks to make our night,

To seize every moment, and hold each other tight.

Who knew so many monsters could touch our hearts,

But we were young and unafraid, and ready to start!

So leave a good review, spread the word around,

Beautiful Glitch got us all spellbound,

Monster Prom, it's a night to remember,

With monsters in love, we're gonna break all the rules!

Monster Prom, it's the ultimate test,

Will we get a date, or leave depressed?

But in the end, we'll stand tall and loud,

At Monster Prom, where all love's allowed!

==== CREDITS ====

Music & Vocals: Suno AI

Lyrics: AI Generated (then heavily modified)

Audio Visualizer: Tuneform

Lyrics Subtitle Sync: YouTube AutoSync

Audio + Video Editing Software: Vegas Pro 19

20+ Hours of Editing: Me

[emotionaldashtoons]

If there was a Inside Out 3, what would it be like?

(Poster Edit by Me/App on Android: PixelLab)

Like we already got how Sadness and Joy were lost in the first movie, than Anxiety taking control in the second film, I think I the third should be about Riley is ready to go to college next Thursday, and then, nine new emotions appear to take over Riley's mind, the names would be Love, Courage, Surprise, Pride, Trust, Suspicion, Frustration, Shaudenfreude, and the dark emotion himself, Spite. The nine emotions cannot handle it when Riley develops a new crush onto the new boy and that's where things get serious when Spite takes the eight new emotions in his control and uses Love to make Riley's crush into love madness.

As Spite gets rid of our nine heroic emotions out of their jobs, it's up to Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Anger, Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment to save Headquarters and go through place to place in Riley's new developed mind, which is practically now a Mindtopia. And it means it'll be a lot more tricky.

Returning Voice Cast

Amy Poehler as Joy, Lewis Black as Anger, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Bill Hader as Fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust (YES YES YES! I'M BRINGING THEM BACK! RISE OF THE O.G.!), Maya Hawke as Anxiety, Ayo Edebiri as Envy, Adele Exarchopoulos as Ennui, Paul Walter Hauser as Embarrassment, Kensington Tallman as Riley Andersen, Diane Lane as Mom, Kyle MacLachlan as Dad, and Lilimar as Val Ortiz.

WHO WOULD CO-STAR IN INSIDE OUT 3?

Sophia Bush (Incredbles 2, Van Wilder) as Love, James Marsden (the X-Men, and Sonic The Hedgehog films) as Courage, Charlie Day, (The Super Mario Bros Movie, The LEGO Movie) as Surprise, Kristen Wiig (the Despicable Me and How To Train Your Dragon films, Bridesmaids) as Pride, Natasha Lyonne (Uncut Gems, DC League of Super Pets) as Frustration, Diego Luna (Andor, The Book of Life) as Trust, Aubrey Plaza (Scott Pilgrim VS The World, The To Do List) as Suspicion, Flula Borg (DCU's The Suicide Squad, Ralph Breaks The Internet) as Shaudenfreude, Nathan Fillion (DCU's Superman, Cars 3, Monsters University) as Spite,

Xolo Maridúena (DCU's Blue Beetle, Cobra Kai) as the new boy Riley has a crush on, Cameron Rivera, Dan Fogler (the Fantastic Beasts films, Fanboys) as Mind Councilman Mr. Chairman, J.K. Simmons (Spider-Man, Klaus) as The Mind Warden, Nicole Scherzinger (Moana, Men In Black 3) as Spite's Big Fan, Grey Griffin (Onward, Tuff Puppy) as Miss Leah, Edie McClurg (A Bug's Life, Planes Trains And Automobiles) as (the new voice of) Nostalgia, Yong Yea (Inside Out 2) as Lance Slashblade, Ron Funches (Trolls, Hoops, Noelle) as Bloofy, James Austin Johnson (Saturday Night Live) as Pouchy, Steve Purcell (Brave, Toy Story: That Time Forgot) as Deep Dark Secret, Jeff Pidgeon (Toy Story) as The Mind Receptionist, Eli Fucile (the Incredbles films) as Awe,

Paula Pell (Sisters, The Cat In The Hat) as Mom's Anger, Conrad Vernon (the Shrek, and Madagascar films) as the Mind Constructor, Flea (Toy Story 4, The Big Lebowski) as Mind Cop Jake, Sam Richardson (Werewolf Within, Ruby Gillman, Veep) as Mind Cop Sam, Frank Oz and Dave Goelz (The Muppets, Sesame Street) as Mind Cop Dave and Mind Cop Frank, John Ratzenberger (Toy Story, Cars, The Incredibles, Up, Coco) as Fritz, Paula Poundstone (Inside Out) as Forgetter Paula, Bobby Moynihan (IF, Hoppers, We Bare Bears) as Forgetter Bobby, and Angela Kinsey (The Office, Furry Vengence) as The College Advisor.

Crew

Directed by Kelsey Mann

Co-Directed by Bob Peterson

Screenplay by Josh Cooley, Meg LeFauve, and Andrew Stanton

Produced by Galyn Susman, p.g.a., & Jonas Rivera, p.g.a.

Executive Producers Pete Docter, Mark Nielsen, and Ross Stevenson

Story by Josh Cooley & Meg LeFauve

Music by Mick Giacchino

Director of Photography by Kim White and Patrick Lin

Edited by Catherine Apple

Production Designer Jason Deamer

Animation Supervisors Jerome Ranft and Conrad Vernon

Visual Effects Supervisor David Ryu

Casting by Natalie Lyon & Kevin Reher

\🟡🟡🟣🟡🟢🟡🟡🔴🟣🔵🟡🟡🟡/

What do you think about it?

It seems that I have creative ideas for it. And it also seems that director Kelsey Mann and Amy Poehler really want a third Inside Out, you guys can look up the new articles if you want. I'll see you soon.

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Collections to watch out for!

EXCITING TIME TO BE ALIVE!

Good fall to all you comic collectors out there!

Next week: 10/25/23, don't forget to stop into your local comic shop for a few thrilling special sets! THREE OF THEM to be exact!

First! For all you Must have Moon Knight fans, we have a wonderful collection of art and special covers by The OG himself: BILL SIENKIEWICZ!!

Bill Sienkiewicz is renowned for his work on some of Marvel's most iconic comics of the 1980s: Moon Knight, The New Mutants, Elektra: Assassin, and more. This collection is filled with some of his finest covers, pin-ups, and pages. Included in this Artisan Edition is the oversized first issue of Elektra: Assassin, written by Frank Miller, as well as many gorgeous pages from that acclaimed series. All have been meticulously scanned from the original art and reproduced to the exacting Artist's Edition standards. While appearing to be in black and white, these images have been scanned in color, allowing the reader to view them as closely as possible to the original art. Ink gradients, blue pencil, corrections, and more are all clearly visible, all the wonderful subtle nuances that make original art so special and unique.

This will run you roughly $39.99 (though some online comic shops have it on sale for less.

Diamond code:JUL231276 ISBN:9781684059683

What could be better than this?

How about the MCU Official

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT ART BOOK! I am so excited for this one you guys.

On a dark and somber night, a secret group of monster hunters emerges from the shadows and gathers at the foreboding Bloodstone Temple following the death of their leader. In a strange and macabre memorial to their leader's life, the attendees are thrust into a mysterious and deadly competition for a powerful relic - a hunt that will ultimately bring them face-to-face with a dangerous monster.

Continuing their popular ART OF series of tie-in books, Marvel Studios presents another blockbuster achievement! Featuring exclusive concept artwork and in-depth interviews with the creative team, this deluxe volume provides insider details about the making of the highly anticipated special.

This bad boy will set you back $60. But again, you can find it online for a little cheaper at some retailers. (especially if you pre-order before it drops)

Diamond code:MAR230961 ISBN:9781302953362

LAST but not least!

For those that have been trying to assemble all of the old Moon Knight collections, we have

MOON KNIGHT EPIC COLLECTION VOL 7 DEATH WATCH TP!!

We're heading into the 90s with a collection or appearances in other works and continuation of Moench in the main line. We've got Doctor Doom, Infinity Wars tie over, The return of Bushman, and more!

Collecting MARC SPECTOR: MOON KNIGHT #39-51, MOON KNIGHT: DIVIDED WE FALL, MOON KNIGHT SPECIAL #1, WEB OF SPIDER-MAN (1985) #93-94 and material from MARVEL COMICS PRESENTS (1988) #152-154.

This little collection will cost you $44.99 (but I'm getting it for $38 online through pre-order)

Diamond code:JUL230851 ISBN:9781302953805

Now I hear you all screaming "What about the Moon Knight show art book?!" That is still currently scheduled for release on 11/22/23. But it has been pushed back twice already so I'm not going to scream about it till it's in my cart with an official pre-order ability and the money has left my wallet. (Moon Knight you keep my wallet barren and sad).

[disastrouscanasta]

Day 10 of random 80s cult horror edits!

Previous days: The Thing (1982), An American Werewolf in London (1981), Prom Night (1980), The Terminator (1984), The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Night of the Comet (1984), The Fan (1981), Sleepaway Camp (1983)

[silverjetsystm]

What's up, gamers. Every so often, I get asked for MK comic recommendations. I'll include links to a couple of really good reading guides from the subreddit (that I had Zero hand in making) and toss my two cents below. Not that it'll buy you anything.

TL;DR: See reddit below, be sure to check out the Excel master list of appearances. Most of the quality runs has been printed in omnibus, Epic Collection, trade paperback, Marvel app. You know.

If those links don't work, go to the r/MoonKnight subreddit and check out the Reading Suggestions and Collected Editions in the menu.

Below the cut, I give a sort of non-spoiler walkthrough and talk about what's in print .

Cory's Reading List [Edited 15 October 2024]

I read everything on the below list. I have my opinions. If I tell you not to read something, it's because I don't like it. But I'm also some Jewish singlet/non DID/OSDD guy on the internet.

Here are some articles written by a system who is a fan of the Moon Knight System.

Okay, finally, the list

Werewolf by Night (1975) #32-33. First appearance of Moon Knight and Frenchie.

Marvel Spotlight (1971) #28-29. First appearance of Steven, Jake, Marlene, Gena, Gena's sons, and Crawley.

Hulk Magazine #13-15, #17-18, #20-21 (they're the backup stories, so if you're 'online' search and read by Hulk, scroll halfway through the issue)

Marvel Preview (1975) #21. Marc solves the murder of a former colleague.

Moon Knight (1980) #1-38. First solo written mostly by Moench and drawn by Sienkiewicz. "But Cory, why are we reading all these old comics?" Because while different words are used now, the writers of the first run do really well at making Marc, Steven, and Jake a system. Iconic rogues are introduced. Marc's first backstory in #37 and #38 is the perfect backstory, imo.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu (1985) is not the best but #6 is great. So, read #1 so you know what the plot is and #6. This is when Priests of Khonshu and other things are introduced.

West Coast Avengers (1985-1994) goes here. The first time Khonshu is more than just some weird statue. Also includes Tigra and Marc kissing. MK is in issues #21-41, which is collected in 3 different Epic Collections and at least one is out of print because someone in Marvel hates me specifically /jk. The Epic Collections are titled: Lost in Space-Time, Tales To Astonish (out of print), and Vision Quest.

Marvel Fanfare (1987) #30. "Real to Reel" is one of my favorite issues of all time. Gorgeous art. Marlene and Steven/Marc have clumsy but meaningful discussions around mental health and identities. Man versus nature. Yes, one of the bigger "the editor forgot Steven doesn't go by 'Steve'" moments.

Marc Spector: Moon Knight (1989-1994) is 60 issues and it gets borderline unreadable about halfway through. Steven and Jake are occasionally referred to but not present. :< That being said, the first half has some great stuff. The Trial of Marc Spector (#15-18) and Scarlet Redemption (#26-31) arcs are the standouts. So honestly, read a few stories from it, get tired, and know he dies for the third time at the end. Then read

Resurrection War (1998) and High Strangers (1999) - two separate mini-series by Moench because they killed his boy. Treats the back half of MS:MK as potentially a dream. The brief return of Steven and Jake.

MK (2006) is 30 grimdark issues. The first 13 issues are usually all I 'enjoy.' Marc gets injured, kills Bushman in an extremely violent way, and has substance use issues. He also lashes out/pushes away his original cast. The run is ableist.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2009-2010): The most Marc acting Jake Lockley in existence, coming back from a stint in Mexico at the end of MK 2006. Some retcons. It's. Fine.

Secret Avengers (2010) #19 is one of the only issues with decent MK. First sighting of Mr. Knight. Too bad it's by Ellis. The rest of Secret Avengers is ableist or he's not really there.

Shadowland: MK is a 3 issue event tie-in. Does some retcons I like but also our favorite can't stay dead brother is back. Content warning for miscarriage.

MK (2011) by Bendis. Don't read it. Steven and Jake are replaced by Cap, Wolverine, and Spider-Man. Marc's in LA. Why isn't addressed.

MK (2014): Marc's back from LA. Introducing Mr. Knight. The best issues are the one shot type stories. #5 "Scarlet" is also one of my favorite issues of the character featuring Mr. Knight versus an abandoned building full of goons to rescue one kidnapped girl. The connected plot isn't the best. Content warning for ableism and medical abuse. But. Do you like black and white suit? Marc punching ghosts? Bird skull Khonshu? Tell Shalvey thanks. This run is mostly out of print on account that the first writer, Ellis, sexually coerced people.

MK (2016): Lemire and Smallwood. The dream team. If you can only get one run in print, this is the one I recommend. It works best as a standalone story; the plot does some glossing and retcons around the System's backstory and there's plenty of room for different interpretations of what 'really' is happening. This is also the run Leyna from the article series above reviews.

MK (2017): The Bemis run. Websites attach it to the Lemire run. It's not. Stop reading 2016 when issue #188 appears. It's incredibly antisemitic and ableist.

Avengers (2018) #31-38. Written by Aaron. Age of Khonshu only is relevant for what Marc does now and his mental state. It's. Fine?

MK (2021) wrapped at 30 issues in December 2023.❤️ MacKay gets it right the vast majority of the time. The art (inks by Cappuccio and colors by Rosenberg) are some of my favorite work alongside Sienkiewicz, Smallwood, and Shalvey. Like Lemire, MacKay ties in classic points with new directions. The new dream team.

Vengeance of the Moon Knight (2024) continued MK 2021 with the same creative team from January-September 2024. 9 issues.

Blood Hunt (2024) was the summer event written by MacKay. 5 main issues with tie-ins to Vengeance 2024. It's sort of important to read the main event issues but Vengeance does expand the Mission parts. I'm biased but this is also one of my favorite comic events (and I hate comic events).

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu (2024) The current main book continuing MK 2021/Vengeance 2024 with the same creative team. #0 was released July 2024 as a strikefile narrated by Khonshu on each of the key players and onboarding new readers into what's coming next. October 2024-???

Print Options:

Omnibus is a heavy, oversized, hardback and contains a lot more issues. They also can have some weird 'new car' printing smell and paper texture. Epic Collections are standard sized, softback that has more issues than a Trade Paper Back (TPB). Make sure you read the back of the volumes so you don't buy repeats. Unless you're into that. Weigh pros and cons. What do you value/can afford? And the physical weight of the omnibus.

As of Autumn 2024, there are currently 6 omnibuses.

MK OMNIBUS: Volume 1 (1975-1980) - MK's first appearance, the backups from Hulk magazine, half of the 1980 run.

MK OMNIBUS: Volume 2 (1980-1985) - other half of 1980 run plus MK: Fist of Khonshu (1985).

MS: MK OMNIBUS Volume 1 (1989-1994) - #1-34 (out of the 60 issues), some Spidey, some Castle.

MS: MK OMNIBUS Volume 2 (1989-1994) - #35-60 and both of Moench's mini-series (Resurrection Wars and High Strangers) and 3 issues of Black Panther. Do I recommend this omnibus? Not really. After the first story in this omni (and even it is stretching it), it really does fall off that cliff. I got it because I wanted it on my shelf. Moench and Black Panther stuff helps soften the sting.

MK by Huston, Benson, & Hurwitz OMNIBUS (2006-2010) - all 30 issues of 2006's run and Vengeance of MK 2009, and Shadowland.

MacKay's 2021-2023 run was published as an omnibus in October 2024 without Vengeance 2024.

There are currently 7 Epic Collections for the pre-2006 stuff. Everything after 2006 and Vengeance 2009 is far more accessible in trades or single volume collections for certain runs.

MK Epic Collection Volume 1: Bad Moon Rising - early adventures pre-1980 and the first 4 issues of 1980.

MK: Countdown to Dark: the Hulk backups and Marvel Preview #21.

MK Epic Collection Volume 2: Shadows of the Moon - MK (1980) #5-23

MK Epic Collection Volume 3: Final Rest - MK (1980) #24-38

MK Epic Collection Volume 4: Butcher's Moon - tie-ins, solo issues, and MS: MK (1989) #1-7.

MK Epic Collection Volume 5: The Trial of Marc Spector - MS: MK #8-25 and that Punisher annual.

MK Epic Collection Volume 6: Not published yet. Probably #26-38.

MK Epic Collection Volume 7: Death Watch. Collects MS: MK #39-51, Divided we fall, and some other tie-ins. Yes, we do jump ahead from #25 to #39.

MK Epic Collection Volume 8: Not published yet. Probably will finish out MS: MK, have both of Moench's 90s minis, and maybe Black Panther.

If Marvel continues doing what they're doing with Moon Knight like other properties, after Epic Collection Volume 8 is published, Marvel will print equivalent "Modern Era" volumes for 21st century stuff.

Bemis and Bendis have softcover collections. 2014 has a softcover collection in the UK but not in the US for reasons.

For Lemire's run, there is a one volume softcover collection called Moon Knight by Lemire & Smallwood: The Complete Collection. This is the one you want.

MacKay's MK has 5 TPBs and so far one TPB for issues #1-5 of Vengeance 2024. Honestly, get the omni if you can.

Happy reading!!

[macgyvertape]

Vampire Movie Reviews & Recs

I started “Dracula movie month” in October 2022, but it’s still going after I’ve expanded to watching any vampire movies someone recommends me, since I wanted to watch good vampire movies and not burn out on bad Dracula movies. It was inspired by a cinephile friend of mine who for a Dracula movie night showed Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary, a very artsy and critically acclaimed Dracula film. She then made me a letterbox list and my passion project has gone from there.

Movies are arranged in a loose descending order of how much I liked them, Dracula movies I’ve included ones I don’t like/recommend but general vampire movies are only ones I recommend.

Dracula Movies

Dracula Pages from a Virgin’s Diary: it's a silent dance film and I really enjoyed it despite not having seen a ballet film before. It doesn’t differ too much from the book, it emphasizes xenophobic reactions towards Dracula, but the format of the movie makes the story feel completely new and different. 

Shadow of the Vampire: 10/10 I really enjoy metafiction movies, and where the humans are as monstrous as the actual monster. The bit where the vampire talks about how lonely he is and how sad Dracula from the novels would be, is a stand out great scene. 

Dracula (1992):  (8/10) big spectacle with the all star cast, costuming, and makeup. I enjoyed how it mostly followed the book UNTIL they added “Mina is Dracula’s reincarnated wife” which I thought was a worse change to make it romantic vs the horror of it in the books. Was not expecting the explicit werewolf fuck scene, congrats to monsterfuckers, and it made the other topless scenes feel par for the course. 

Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979): a remake of the 1922 movie with color and audio, and wow that ups the creep factor. It fleshes out more scenes from the original movie but is otherwise it's a very faithful remake. 

The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) - (7/10) really Dracula in name only, interesting cross between Hammer Horror Dracula movie and a 70s kung-fu martial arts movie. The action scenes are fun and it features Chinese hopping vampires who aren’t usually shown in Western movies. It was delayed for release in the US then went through a hack job edit and was released as “The 7 Brothers Meet Dracula” and it's astounding how much worse the editing is. 

Nosferatu (1922): I’m not used to silent movies, but I found it interesting to watch it after Shadow of the Vampire, which is a fictionalized account of the urban legend that the actor who played Count Orlock was actually a vampire.  It's the first vampire movie made so it was hugely influential on the genre and it's credited with starting the idea sunlight kills vampires. 

Blade 3: the only Blade movie with Dracula; Dominic Purcell is hot and Ryan Renolds is funny comic relief, but I fully acknowledge as a Blade movie this is a mediocre sequel

Van Hellsing (2004): Dracula is in this one but it's really a 2000s Hugh Jackman pulpy action flick, overall fun campy action movie with a lot of classic horror monsters. The ending is thematically fitting but I don’t enjoy it. 

Dracula 2000: Hellsing keeps Dracual alive for his blood, then he is unknowingly freed in the year 2000. The movie is very dated in a lot of ways, to the point of being a bit of a time capsule. Some of the action scenes were creative, and they tried to make Dracula hot and sexy but I wasn’t impressed. 

Lair of the White Worm: (5/10) Wow I’m so used to older Peter Capaldi that it took me a minute to recognize him. A loose retelling of the Bram Stoker’s other book that has basically the same plot as Dracula, with B-movie horror snake monsters and fan service topless scenes

Brides of Dracula (1960): 4/10 a Hammer Horror movie but Dracula isn’t actually in this at all. I found it overall pretty boring and cliche; woman in new place trusts the wrong guy, and it turns out he’s a vampire who wants to prey on the innocent.

Dracula (2006): 2/10  it looked and felt like a low budget direct to dvd movie, where Lucy marries Athur who is an asshole and brings Dracula to England thinking he can be controlled. There's a really bad sex scene with way too much finger in mouth kink.

Dracula Untold: 0/10 Somehow they made "dude driven to questionable measures to protect his family" into a snooze fest that isn’t even a fun period piece and Dracula was written as justified the entire time so he’d stay “sexy vampire man”. 

Dracula 3000: -1/10 interesting premise of Dracula and crew trapped on spaceship Demeter ruined by how the black characters are extremely racist stereotypes and an awful script. 

Non Dracula vampire media I enjoy:

Only Lovers Left Alive: 10/10 really great directing and sound, it's as much about being tired with life, deeply in love with someone, drugs, and a shitty sister in law showing up as it is being an immortal vampire; it’s a very enjoyable character study movie

Blade 1: the blood sprinkler opening is iconic its so great in setting the tone and is a visual spectacle, it's a fun action movie. Technically one of the first marvel superhero movies, but better than most with witty quips that don’t kill the tone. Some unintentionally very funny moments of poorly aged CGI

WWDITS Show: really enjoy this series for the comedy and the characters, part way through season 2 it really started to find its footing separate from the movie. 

Interview With the Vampire show: both a remake and re-contextualization of the movie, it’s really well produced period drama that is the most explicit version of the Louis/Lestat relationship

Underworld 2003: fits in with early 2000s everyone looks good in leather and trench-coats. Not the best film making but lots of credit for me being able to see what’s going on during night scenes. This is absolutely one of those “didn’t make enough at box office but sold well enough on dvd for sequel” films that don't get made now. (fair amount of recognizable actors including young Wentworth Miller)

WWDITS - iconic vampire slice of life comedy, a breath of fresh air in the 2010s vampire movie genre. 

Interview with the Vampire Movie: I can see how it became a cult classic, and it's a good high budget 90s vampire movie. I enjoyed watching it after I watched the show, they both feel very different despite covering the same book

Near Dark (1987) - Its as much a 1980s western as it is vampire movie, the basic plot of a guy who is attracted to a girl falls in with a “bad crowd” and the love of his family has to rescue him but with vampires. Rare example of a Confederate Vampire who the narrative positions as a horrible person. Think it's funny the guy was literally asking to be turned into a vampire when he did the asshole move of "have to kiss me before I'll drive you home". 

Underwood Evolution 2006: recommend stopping here with the series. The plot isn’t as coherent as the first movie, but its still fun action-horror and the main antagonist has a really cool transformed vampire form. Amazing how many gunfights there are in this series but the bullets do almost nothing. 

Blade 2: by Del Toro, so cool monsters but the plot is not as good as Blade 1. Norman Reedus is in this and I didn’t recognize younger 90s him at all. 

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: the tone clashes as it bounces around between ridiculous action of “what if the leaders of the Confederacy were all vampires that President Abraham Lincoln fought” and trying for serious emotional character moments. It gets a place on the rec list because as a Southerner: fuck the Confederacy

[pod-together]

Pod-Together Day 9 Reveals 2023

In the Shadows of Kings (I dream of a crown) [text, audio] (One Piece (Anime & Manga))

written by stereden, performed by Aibhilin

Summary: Buggy knows, from the very moment he meets them, that Gol D Roger will be the King of the Pirates one day, that he will reach that island at the end of the world no matter how much the world tries to stop him.

Buggy knows, from the very moment he meets them, that the King has already chosen his Heir, that Shanks with his Will and his smiles already wears his crown.

(A straw-hat doesn’t look like a crown, and yet.)

Buggy knows, from the very moment he meets them, that he will follow this King to Hell and back. Knows, from the very moment he meets them, that he will follow this Heir even further.

Five werewolf attributes and one werewolf survival strategy that Gerard and Pete discovered through empirical research on Warped Tour (Bandom, My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy)

written by Trojie, performed by dapatty

Summary: a.k.a "maybe the real lycanthropy was the friends we made along the way"

Your emotions are mine (Teen Wolf (TV))

written by HadrianPeverellBlack, performed by Rambling_Company

Summary: Soulmates can feel each other emotions.

Death with Dignity [text, audio] (Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Voyager)

written by Thebiwife, performed by SweetPollyOliver

Summary: Having lost her father at a young age, Deanna Troi struggles to make sense of many things; her feelings, her abilities (or lack thereof), and how to cope with that void in her life.

Our Energy Signature Means Skullduggery (Our Flag Means Death (TV))

written by secretsofluftnarp, edited by pandamug and tipsy

Summary: UFO enthusiast and Star Trek fan Stede Bonnet unintentionally travels into the future, and ends up aboard the space pirate vessel Kuinian's Revenge.

Just Zelda, Just Link (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom)

written by Zartophski, performed by horchata

Summary: Before the Upheaval, Zelda hides a small gift for Link and never tells him where to look.

After the Upheaval, Link finds it anyway.

question and answer (その着せ替え人形は恋をする | Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru | My Dress-Up Darling (Anime))

created by alstroemeria_thoughts and asthewavesdo

Summary: Gojou makes it onto reddit, and uses it to ask questions for Marin.

rational and level-headed (Dimension 20 (Web Series))

written by travvymybeloved, performed by Poluche

Summary: Cody was well-known for his normal and grounded reactions to things. He told himself that frequently. He was good at handling things with grace and poise and wasn’t notorious at all for blowing his shit at the slightest provocation. That was why he was handling being faced with the realization of a lifetime in a rational and level-headed manner.

“You’re sitting in your bathtub and eating an ice cream sandwich because you’re sad but don’t have a tub of ice cream?”

“I mean, yeah.”

Playing for Keeps (Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types)

written by LenaLawlipop, performed by Chantress

Summary: "Wait, you know her?" Eskel asked, finally. The woman in question walked up to the door to see what the commotion was about. Geralt couldn't help but grin at the shock on her face, and he tried to hide it behind his hand, but the moment she caught sight of him as well, she burst into delighted giggles and he couldn't hold back a snort himself. Eskel whirled around to look at him. "Wait, you know her too?"

"I was about to tell you when you made a detour for this street, but then we heard Lambert, and..." He shrugged, unable to contain his amusement. "I believe we might know the same person in this town."

"Wait, you two know her?!" Lambert cried. "What are you even doing here?!"

In which three Wolves share an unexpected Midsummer celebration with a young woman of their mutual acquaintance.

something new (Welcome to Night Vale)

written by Koschei_B, performed by roseszain

Summary: Fun with holidays and a few moments of contentment

Stones of the Body: Reunion (rose quartz) (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

created by BardicRaven and RisalSoran

[adarkrainbow]

Fables: The Ultimate Catalogue! (A)

Here it is! A complete list of all the fairytale, nursery rhyme, mythical and literary references in Fables, both the main comic book series and its various spin-offs! This “catalogue” was created by me looking throughout the series and collected editions, adding to my personal knowledge quick Internet researches, and completing it all with the Fables Encyclopedia (which despite its official status has several things wrong in it). I didn’t get absolutely everything - some references I did not get, but I will keep a separate post for them. Enjoy!

SPOILERS AHEAD, SPOILERS AHEAD!

This post will cover the issues of Fables, the main series, 1 to 59 (from “Legends in Exile” to “Burning Questions”) + A Wolf in the Fold story + The Last Castle one-shot + 1001 Nights of Snowfall 

Note that I might have missed a few references, which I have placed in my series of posts “Searching for the reference” - if I ever find additional things, I will update this post.

The main characters

# Snow-White: The princess from “Little Snow-White” by the brothers Grimm, but also the sister of Rose-Red, from “Snow-White and Rose-Red” by the same brothers. She is the “civilized child”, “good sister”, “refined princess”, “order” to Rose-Red’s “wild child”, “disobedient sister”, “crude peasant”, “chaos”. 

# Rose-Red: The character from the brothers Grimm fairytale “Snow-White and Rose-Red”. She is Snow-White’s counterpart in many way. She is the peasant girl to her sister’s princess, she is the wild child to her sister’s obedient/civilized child, she is the ruler of the Farm and its animalistic realms where Snow-White governs Fabletown and the human Fables. 

# Bigby Wolf: The Big Bad Wolf. An “archetypal” character representing the “Western myth of the wolf as a voracious killer, man-eating, cunning, terrifying beast” - even tough real-life wolves are actually shy and do not attack men in normal circumstances He was the wolf from “Little Red Riding Hood” and from “The Three Little Pigs”. His original fairytale incarnation, as the giant, all-devouring wolf-son of the North Wind, was revealed by Willingham to have been inspired by the Fenris Wolf of Norse mythology (Willingham wanted his depictions of fairytales to have roots in ancient myths, the same way the “oldest Sleeping Beauty is Brunhilde’s circle of fire”. His human persona in today’s Fabletown is inspired by a bunch of detective and spy characters - most notably by the detectives of the “film noir” genre, though he has a disheveled Columbo-like appearance, coupled with a gruffness and inherent violence typical of a “wolf” like character: he has been described by people as “Dirty Harry meets Wolverine meets Humphrey Bogart’s detective roles”. His position as the love interest to the main female protagonist/Snow White-related woman is also clearly inspired by the character of “Wolf”, from “The 10th Kingdom”.

During his adventures in World War II he happened to become Fables’ equivalent of “The Wolf-Man” from the Universal Horror movies (he even lived through “Frankenstein meets the Wolf-Man” as he had to fight the creature of Frankenstein - Willingham confessed being a big fan of the Universal classics). In fact, we know he was the main source of the werewolf myth in our world (or maybe the reverse, it is unclear with Fables), since he is a shapeshifter able to turn into a giant wolf, a human being, or an in-between, he can only be killed by silver, and he had a friendship and alliance with Count Dracula (see below). We also learn from his backstory in “1001 Nights of Snowfall” that he used to be a twisted version of the “ugly little duckling” of his family, the runt of the litter mocked by his brothers, then turned into the biggest, baddest, most powerful of magical wolves.

# Boy Blue: Snow-White’s assistant comes from the nursery rhyme “Little Boy Blue”. On a play of him being tied to the color blue and playing the trumpet, he is also a talented musician of blues music. Also an expert in jazz, his favorite song is “Blue Skies”, and he apparently will always refuse to play “Tijuana Taxi”. When describing his tragic love story with Little Red Riding Hood, he calls it a parody of an “insipid O. Henry tale”. His adventures in the Homelands, with a mask on his face, the Witching Cloak and the Vorpal Blade, turned him into a legendary figure mixing various influences - his mask, cape and sword evokes the character of Zorro, he calls himself at one point the “Blue Avenger” (which seems to be a comic book nod, as Boy Blue is seen to be a big fan of comics), and he is called by many the “Black Knight” which, on top of being a reference to the archetype of the “Black Knight/Dark Knight” in typical Arthurian tales, might be a reference to Batman aka the “Dark Knight”, another dark super-hero with a half-mask and cloak that fights in the shadows of the night. Rose Red later describes this new persona of his as “the swashbuckler supreme”, “better than Errol Flynn” (the actor who played the most famous cinematic version of Robin Hood). 

# Jack: Of his full title “Jack of all Tales” (a pun on “Jack of all trades”). Jack is ALL the Jack of fairytales, or almost all of them. He starts out as the Jack from the English Jack tales (Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack the Giant Killer, Jack o’ Lantern) but he is also promptly revealed to be the Jack from nursery rhymes (Jack be nimble, Little Jack Horner, Jack and Jill). He is also the “Appalachian Jack”, or the “Mountain Jack of American folklore” - the Jack of those folktales carried from Europe over to the Appalachian mountains (the issue “Bag O’Bones” is a retelling of the Appalachian story “Soldier Jack” or “The Man who Caught Death in a Bag”). AND he is tied to the “Jacks” of card-games, aka the four Knaves, that he can summon in his hand during any card game (he even sings the gambling song “Jack O’Diamonds”). The Fables Encyclopedia notes that the oldest Jack tale would be “Jack and his Stepdame”, and mentions how Jack is the English version of the stock-character of fairytale known as Ivan un Russia, Hans in Germany and Juan in Spanish-speaking American countries. Willingham also mentions in the Encyclopedia that “Jack who jumped over a candlestick” is another one of the nursery rhymes part of the character. 

Jack is one of the tricksters of the Fables world - though he represents the “dark gray” kind of trickster. He is a chronical liar and thief, always acting out of selfishness and base desires (greed and lust), constantly throwing himself into “get-rich-quick” plans and not truly caring about anyone else but himself. This anti-hero is also constantly stuck into a cycle of failures and successes: while by essence he has luck on his side, as he is the very embodiment of the “designated hero” or the “non-heroic protagonist”, chance alway provides him the opportunities to fulfill his dreams and to escape his ordeals, his character however also means that every time he puts together a succesful scam or gets where he wants, he will lose everything and be forced to begin everything from scratch again. The Fables Encyclopedia does point out that this isn’t part of the traditional Jack character, who is usually an “unlikely hero”, the simpleton or the weakest of three brothers, who, with courage and resourcefulness (and luck) overcomes obstacles. But Willingham explained he wanted a “trickster without the charm, a bad boy who never learns despite his frequent comeuppance”. The only Jacks that aren’t him are Jack Sprat (from the nursery rhyme) and Jack Ketch (the executioner).

# The Black Forest Witch, or Frau Totenkinder: She is introduced as the witch from “Hansel and Gretel”, who survived being burned in her own oven, but she is revealed by “The March of the Wooden Soldiers” to have been in truth much more than that. She is an “archetypal” character who was the anonymous, unnamed or barely-mentioned witch of numerous other fairytales - and she even was involved in several stories where she did not appear as a character, since her desire was to keep herself hidden from the world. Her two titles are mere aliases: “The Black Forest Witch” refers to the deep, dark forest she lived in, the Black Forest of actual Germany, and the type of cake “Black Forest” all at once. Frau Totenkinder is a German name meaning “Miss Child-Killer”, formed of “Toten”, to kill, and “kinder”, “children”. In general, I also suspect she was influenced by the character of the Witch from “Into the Woods” (notably for reasons we will see in later parts of the series). 

We get her full backstory in “The Witch’s Tale” (1001 Nights of Snowfall) and we learn she has been  the witch from Rapunzel (though this version of Rapunzel is quite different from the one we know) and the witch who cursed the Frog Prince and the Beast into their monstrous shapes (it was a hobby of her to turn handsome, rich noblemen into various animals under the pretense of “helping” them finding their “true love”). She also participated in the creation of famous stories/characters, though she never appeared in them: she blessed Lancelot of the Lake with the ability to win any combat as long as he remained pure of heart, she created the Three Billy Goats Gruff to get rid of a bridge infested by trolls, and she gave the Pied Piper his enchanted flute to lure the children of Hamelin away as a personal revenge on the town.  She played the role of an haruspex in a city similar in design to Ancient Rome (before, she was a shaman for a Prehistoric tribe), though the prophecy she delivers through her gore-reading are biblical in nature (Joseph’s famous “seven years of plenty, seven years of famine”). And finally we learned that she caused one of the “good daughter rewarded, bad daughter punished” type of fairytale, in the likes of “Diamonds and Toads” or “Frau Holle” - except her “punishment” was killing the vain, mean sisters, cooking them into pies and feeding them to their mother. 

# Beauty and the Beast: A couple from the fairytale of the same name, first written by madame de Villeneuve, but rewritten and made famous by madame Leprince de Beaumont.

# Prince Charming: THE Prince Charming of various fairytales. He isn’t all the princes of fairytales, but he was (in chronological order), the prince-husband of Snow-White, who after his divorce with her became the prince-husband of Briar Rose, and after his divorce with her became the prince-husband of Cinderella. His womanizing ways lead him to be compared to the famous Casanova (though his modern behavior evokes mostly a nicer Don Giovani). I suspect he was inspired by the characters of the prince brothers from “Into the Woods”. He also technically makes an homage to the character of Harold Hill from “The Music Man”, as he uses some sentences from his song “Ya got trouble” during his campaign for mayor of Fabletown. 

Fabletown citizens and buildings

# King Cole: The mayor of Fabletown is Old King Cole, from the nursery rhyme of the same name.

# Bluebeard: From Charles Perrault’s “Bluebeard” fairytale. 

# Trusty John: He is Faithful John, from the same name fairytale of the brothers Grimm.

# Ambrose/Flycatcher is the Frog King, from the brothers Grimm fairytale of the same name. He usually sings various folk-songs and nursery rhymes tied to his frog state, such as “Frog Went A-Courting” and “The old lady who swallowed a fly”. Due to him being not pretty-looking, not very bright or intelligent, and usually dismissed and pushed into lower positions, he is also explicitely referred to in the story as “the village’s idiot” of Fabletown. The reason Willingham chose “Ambrose” as his name is revealed in the Fables Encyclopedia to be: Willingham simply likes the name Ambrose ever since he discovered that Merlin the wizard was sometimes called “Merlin Ambrosius”. (In fact, Willingham, by choosing this name, indirectly predicted Flycatcher’s future Arthurian character-arc). 

# Grimble, the troll security guard, is one of the several bridge trolls of “The Three Billy Goats Gruff”. I say several because, when Buckingham drew the “Animal Farm” arc, he kept putting in the background an orange-fur covered creature with a green hat - the Encyclopedia reveals that it was Buckingham’s reusing another of his designs of the “Bridge Troll”, taken from the “Merv Pumpkinhead” comic series, a spin-off of Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman” that was the first collaboration of Willingham and Buckingham (Merv Pumpkinhead, Agent of D.R.E.A.M.). (Similarly, in Frau Totenkinder’s backstory she explains that when a bridge troll is killed, another soon takes his place, as they are an entire species). The Encyclopedia also reveals that Willingham originally envisioned Grimble as a big burly security guard, but Lan Medina (one of the artists working on Fables) rather drew him as a “Wally Cox, Barney Fife sort of fellow”, and Willingham adored the dichotomy of the glamour and true character. 

# Bufkin is one of the winged monkeys from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, by L. Frank Baum.

# Cinderella is from Charles Perrault’s “Cinderella” (and not the Grimm version since her slippers are here of glass, not gold).It is in fact the name of her shoe-shop: The Glass Slipper.

# Pinocchio is from “The Adventures of Pinocchio” by Carlo Collodi. 

# Fabletown itself (and the Fables as a whole) are named after the genre known as “fable”. The Woodland Luxury Apartment, Fabletown’s unofficial town hall, refers in name the typical fairytale forest, and in role the main castle at the center of every fairytale kingdom. In its gardens we find statues of Alice with her kitten and white rabbit (from “Alice in Wonderland” AND “Alice Through the Looking-Glass”) and a statue of Humpty Dumpty (from the nursery rhyme of the same name, plus Alice in Wonderland). (My notes mention a statue of Dorothy and Toto from The Wizard of Oz, but I am not certain of it?)

# The streets of Fabletown are named after various authors. Bullfinch Street is named after Thomas Bullfinch who wrote the famous “Bullfinch’s Mythology”. Kipling Street is named after Rudyard Kipling who created classics such as “The Jungle Book” or the “Just so Stories”. Perrault Street is named after Charles Perrault, who wrote the famous “Mother Goose’s fairy tales”. Andersen Street is named after the fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen. 

# The “I Am The Eggman” diner, on top of being a pun due to being owned by Vulco, one of the crow-brothers, is a reference to the lyrics of the song “I am the Walrus” (itself a reference to “Alice through the Looking-Glass”). The Edward Bear’s Candies shop is a reference to the teddy bear that inspired the creation of Winnie-the-Pooh. The Branstock Tavern is a reference to the Barnstokkr tree appearing in the Völsung saga. 

# While not part of Fabletown, Gottfried’s Steak House seems to be a reference to Gottfried von Strauss, a poet famous for his work on “Tristan and Yseult”. The waitress there, Molly Greenbaum, serves as a reference to the folk song “Molly Malone”, that Prince Charming actually sings as he leaves her (I also mistook her for a nod the nursery rhyme “Miss Molly had a dolly”). 

# The Knights of Malta Hospital is a reference to the real-life Knights of Malta/Knights Hospitaller. Working in it, we find Doctor Swineheart (from the Grimms’ “The Three Army Surgeons”) and Nurse Sprat (actually Miss Sprat from the nursery rhyme “Jack Sprat”). Jack Sprat himself lives with his wife in Fabletown.

# The Forsworn Knight, the undead hanging knight haunting his rusty armor, has his identity secret up to this point - but the “Fables Encyclopedia” explained that his title was a reference to how the knights of the Arthurian mythos are only known by their nicknames: The Knight with Two Swords, the Dolorous Knight, the Green Knight, the Savage Knight... 

# Briar Rose is the character from the brothers Grimm’s version of the “Sleeping Beauty” story (though the fact she was blessed by fairies as a baby comes from Perrault’s “Sleeping Beauty”). 

# Bluebeard (and then Charming’s) goblin butler, Hobbes, has been identified by several as a nod to Thomas Hobbes. However I think it might rather simply be a reference to the “hobgoblins”.

# The Lewis Antiques shop seems to be a reference to C.S. Lewis, the inventor of Narnia (given it is “antiques”, an old wardrobe comes to mind), though it could be also a nod to Lewis Carroll. Nod’s Books has been identified as a reference to “The Book of Nods” by Jim Carroll. The Chateau d’If Fencing Academy is a reference to the real-life castle made mythical by Dumas’ “The Count of Monte-Cristo”: in fact Edmond Dantès himself runs the Academy. The Web ‘n Muffet Market is a reference to the nursery rhyme “Little Muss Muffet” (she lives now as Mrs. Web, having married the spider Mr. Web). The Yellow Brick Roadhouse is a reference to the Yellow Brick Road of Oz. 

# There are two shops seen in the comics but who’s true owners are only revealed later. One is “Ford Laundry” which is a laundromat runned by the Scottish bean nighe, Mrs. Ford (because she is “The Washer-Woman at the Ford”). The second is the Grand Green Florist shop, revealed in “A Wolf Among Us” to be the shop of Auntie Greenleaf, from Schlosser’s “Spooky New-York” anthology. 

# The 13th floor witches include (beyond Frau Totenkinder), the “Fairy Witch” or “Great Fairy Witch” (actually the witch from Andersen’s “Thumbelina”) and Mr. Grandours, the sorcerer-king from “The Wizard King” (Willingham took the translated version from Andrew Lang’s Yellow Fairy Book, though the fairytale origin is actually the knight of Mailly “Le Roi Magicien”, in his “Illustres fées” - the Illustrious Fairies of Le Chevalier de Mailly). When evoking Mr. Grandours in the Encyclopedia (which falsely refers to The Wizard King as having been invented by Lang), Willingham also said when designing his character he thought of all the various magical bears in fairy tales, good or wicked - and his human form is meant to evoke a “Leonid Brezhnev-kind of character”. 

# Thrushbeard is from “King Thrushbeard”, a fairytale of the brothers Grimm. Mark Buckingham designed him after comic book creator Alan Moore.

# Kay is a character from Andersen’s “The Snow Queen”. 

# The boy who cries wolf is from the Aesop fable of the same name (and lives on the seventh floor of the Woodland Luxury).

# Ichabod Crane is a character from Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”. Willingham insists in the Fables Encyclopedia that he wanted to depict Crane as he perceived him when reading the original story, aka as “kind of an ass, of the prickly, pompously self-impressed sort”. 

# The Stone Soup restaurant is a reference to the very widespread and famous folktale “The Stone Soup”. The Andersen butcher shop is another nod to Hans Christian Andersen (here mixed with the word “Delicatessen”). The reparation team/company in charge of remaking Fabletown after the March of the Wooden Soldiers is called “N Rhyme” - aka Nursery Rhyme. 

# Gudrun is the goose that lays golden eggs - made famous by the “Jack and the beanstalk” fairytale, but finding her roots in one of Aesop’s fables “The goose that laid golden eggs”. As for her name, it is the one of the wife of the Germanic mythical hero Sigurd/Siegfried. 

# Barbara Allen, one of the victims of the rogue zephyr, is from the folk-song of the same name, “Bonny Barbara Allen”. 

# Mowgli is the main character of Kipling’ “The Jungle Book” (he is also explicitely compared in-universe to “Tarzan” (from “Tarzan of the Apes”), though Willingham in the Encyclopedia explains he prefers Mowgli over the other because he was “Tarzan before Tarzan”. 

# Rapunzel is the character from the brothers Grimm story of the same name. 

# Fair Katrinelje, Vulco’s part-time girlfriend, is from the brothers Grimm fairytale “Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie”.

The Farm residents and buildings

# The Farm plays various roles. In design it is described by Rose-Red as “Old Macdonald meets Walt Disney meets Munchkinland” - Old Macdonald had a farm being a traditional children song (later quoted to describe the Farm), the Disney reference being related to Disney Land the amusement park (the architecture of some buildings has been noted to be similar to the Neuschwanstein castle, which inspired Sleeping Beauty’s castle for Disney) , and Munchkinland being a reference to the colorful landscape of the MGM movie “The Wizard of Oz”. In terms of role it also fulfills the idea of the “farm” where pets are supposedly sent when they die and parents want to hide it to their children. In its first appearance, the “Animal Farm” arc, it plays the role of the titular “Animal Farm” from George Orwell’s book of the same name, and Goldilocks purposefully makes a gory reference to William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”, comparing the Farm to the island of the story.

# Colin, Posey and Dun are the three pigs from “The Three Little Pigs” (Posey and Dun coupling as the pigs from Orwell’s “Animal Farm”). They are later replaced by three giant brothers turned into pigs, Johnny, Donny and Lonny. The giant brothers notably recite the iconic lines “Fee fi fo fum [...] I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!”, coming from “Jack and the Beanstalk”.

# The Farm hosts the Rhinoceros from “How the Rhinoceros got his skin” (Kipling’s “Just So Stories”), the Three Billy Goats Gruff (from the Norwegian fairytale of the same name), Henny Penny (from “Chicken Little/Henny Penny”), the Owl and the Pussycat (from the poem of the same name), the Hare and the Tortoise (from the Aesop fable of the same name), several flying monkeys (from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”), a red-cap (from English-Scottish folklore), and Puss in Boots (from Perrault’s fairytale of the same name).

# The buildings of the Farm include a pumpkin-house similar to the one of Jack Pumpkinhead in the “Oz” books ; mushroom-houses taken straight out of the “Smurfs” comic books and cartoons; the shoe-house of the “Old Woman who lived in a Shoe”, as well as Baba-Yaga’s chicken-legged house.

# Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Papa Bear, Mama Bear and Boo Bear) are from the fairytale of the same name.

# Weyland Smith, the original caretaker of the Farm before Rose-Red, is a character from Germanic legends, Anglo-Saxon folklore and Nordic sagas, present “from the Poetic Edda to Beowulf” to take back the words of the Encyclopedia.

# The B’rer Fables are animal fables taken out of Afro-American folktales (most famous through the “Uncle Remus” books): we have B’rer Rabbit, B’rer Bear, B’rer Gator. In “Sons of the Empire” we also find out B’rer Wolf is here. 

# The “Jungle Fables” or “Kipling Fables” are characters of Kipling’s The Jungle Book: Shere Kan the tiger, Bagherra the panther, Kaa the python, and Old King Louie (the latter was a mistake of Willingham who forgot King Louie was a character invented by Disney and not from the original story). We later learn Baloo the bear is also at the Farm. 

# The Farm hosts several characters briefly caricatured in the background to avoid the copyright of Disney, such as Winnie the Pooh and Piglet, or Bambi.

# All the birds of the nursery rhyme “The Death and Burial of Cock Robin” are present in the Farm - since the events of the nursery rhyme are enacted in “Animal Farm”. Cock Robin itself is actually a Fabletown bird - and the Fables Encyclopedia notes that he is actually the protagonist of a whole cycle of nursery rhymes, including “Cock Robin got up Early”. 

# The Farm hosts various characters from “Le Roman de Renart”, “The History of Reynart”, the Reynart stories of medieval France. Reynard the Fox and Noble the Lion are the most noticeable one, but we also see Brun the Bear in the Farm (identified by Buckingham’s sketch-notes). Ysengrim the wolf also appears in “Sons of the Empire”.  Reynard the fox is here notably much more pleasant and amiable than his medieval counterpart - in “Fables Encyclopedia”, Willingham explained that the first trickster of his childhoo was Bugs Bunny, a “monster of chaos”, and that for Reynard he wanted to create a “slyer, wiser and more subtle” form of trickster. 

# The Farm has numerous nursery rhymes characters. From “Hickory Dickory Dock” we have the mouse that ran down the clock. From “Hey Diddle Diddle” we have the cow who jumped over the moon, the dish and the spoon (plus in King Cole’s “Fair Share” backstory we learn there’s also the Little Dog who Laughed). We also have the Three Blind Mice (from the nursery rhyme of the same name). As well as “Mr. Sunflower”, from a nursery rhyme by R. André. 

# Three characters from “The Wind in the Willows” are here: Mr. Toad, Mr. Mole and Mr. Badger.

# Numerous small-sized humanoids live in the Farm: Tomb Thumb (an archetypal character of English fairytales), Thumbelina (from the fairytale of Andersen of the same name) and a community of Lilliputians (from Swift’s “The Travels of Gulliver”). The Lilliputians have created a “mounted police” riding “field mice” (which I believe to be some of the field mice from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”). In the Fables Encyclopedia, it is noted that the idea of the Mounted Police of Lilliputians, of tiny sergents riding on mice to do cop duty, actually comes from the song “And the Mouse Police never sleeps” from Jethro Thull’s “Heavy Horses” (even though the original song referred to a cat). 

# Several characters of the Alice books can be found here, most notably living playing cards, the Cheshire Cat (from “Alice in Wonderland”) and the Walrus (from “Alice Through the Looking-Glass”). 

# When the rebels have to be executed, the one called for the job is Jack Ketch, a historical figure turned “archetype/stereotype/common nickname” for executioners in England. He is also revealed to have been the executioner of Prince Charming’s realm, and the Fables Encyclopedia has Willingham explaining that, for him, Jack Ketch isn’t actually a citizen of Fabletown but rather the name given to whoever takes the role of the executioner of the Fables community - it is a job, a position. 

# John Barleycorn is from the folk-song of the same name.

# Mary and her little lamb are from the nursery rhyme “Mary had a little lamb”, while Miss Mousey and her frogs are from the folk-song “Frog Went-A Courting”.

# Peter Cottontail is present at the farm - “Cottontail” being the alternate name of the famous character known as “Peter Rabbit”. And while Peter Rabbit is most famous by Beatrix Potter’s writings, the character’s alias of “Peter Cottontail” comes from the novels of Thornton Burgess, such as “Old Mother West Wind” or “The Adventures of Peter Cottontail”.

# There are lot of little detail-characters that are here merely to evoke common sayings or beliefs. For example we see at one point a snail with a roof and chimney on its shell, evoking how it is said that snails carry their house on their back ; and at another point we see the duo of a snail with an umbrella and a ladybug, which is a reference to how the two animals are used to predict the weather to come (rainy weather for the snail, sunny weather for the ladybug).

The Adversary and his forces 

# The Adversary/The Emperor was designed to evoke the archetypal “evil overlord/dark lord” of epic/high fantasy. To be more precise, he draws a lot of inspiration from Sauron/Morgoth of “The Lord of the Rings”. A tall, dark, gigantic creature of darkness clad in a terrifying armor, whose plan is to conquer by blood and slaughter the entirety of the universe, whose armies are made of all sorts of awful monters (mostly goblins, with some trolls, giants and dragons thrown in the mix), and who enslaves evil sorcerers as top-agents... The reference is pretty obvious.

# The Adversary is also meant to have a devilish symbolism. The monsters creating his armies are noted to have been summoned from hellish dimensions or to be demonic in nature. He is served by sorcerers and witches. His name, the Adversary, can be translated as “Satan” (the Accuser, the Enemy). And in flashbacks he is depicted as a satyr-like entity, with one theory calling him a divine being cast out from heaven - a fallen god, or maybe fallen “angelic” entity.

# The last attack/invasion of the Adversary onto the European Fable-realms, the events of “The Last Castle”, are noted to coincide with the Napoleonian Wars over Europe - meaning the Adversary is also a fairytale version of Napoleon somehow. Though the way the Empire rules its conquered countries through the “illusion of freedom” and “puppet-kings”, the way they exist through a vast bureaucratic system confiscating all magical artefacts and enslaving or killing sorcers, their method of invading/annexing countries to their rule, imposing a strict list of permitted holidays and sending spies in the countries resisting them... It is all meant to evoke the Soviet Union and its Eastern Block during the Cold War. 

# The wooden soldiers sent by the Adversary to Fabletown are meant to evoke the “Men in black” from American urban legends/alien tales/ufology. The idea of an army of wooden soldiers created by an humble person that rose up to the rank of great evil is also an accidental parallel with “Urfin Jus and his Wooden Soldiers”, the second book of the “Tales of the Magic Land” series by Alexander Volkov (a Russian rip-off of the Oz books). 

# Baba-Yaga, the witch from Slavic folklore and Russian fairytales, is one of the top-agents and “right hands” of the Emperor. She oversees for him the land of the Rus (the Fable equivalent of Russia), and she has alongside her three magical knights - taken from the fairytale “Vasilisa the Beautiful”: Bright-Day the white horseman, rider of the dawn ; Radiant-Sun the red horseman, knight of midday, and Dark-Night the black horseman, rider under the stars. Willinghma noted that if he played into the most horrifying and frightening aspects of Baba Yaga, it was because she was his personal bogeyman and “nightmare monster” as a child. One of the rulers of the Rus lands, while under the Adversary’s control, is Ivan Tsarevich, a recurring character of Russian folktales. 

# The leader of the Adversary’s forces against Colonel Bearskin and the Last Keep at the End of the Known World is the Count Aucassin de Beaucaire, from the French medieval story “Aucassin et Nicolette”. 

# Chernomor, used to serve under Aucassin de Beaucaire (or alongside him) and became the governor of the “world of Kardan”, one of the frontier-worlds of the Empire. If you go to the Wikipedia article, Chernomor is listed as coming from the poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila” which is partially true - but the Fables Encyclopedia reveals that this version of Chernomor actually comes from the poem/fairytale “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” by Pushkine - in fact, it is this poem that Chernomor reads to himself during his first appearance. 

# In quite a twist from his Sauron-like appearance, the heart of the Empire isn’t some Mordor land. In fact, as it turns out the Empire is a vast thriving bureaucratic empire meant to evoke the Roman Empire (or Byzantine Empire, due to the very bureaucratic nature of the management of the empire). The land at the heart of the Empire shares the same name as the Capital City of the Emperor (or Imperial City): Calabri Anagni. This name is made up of “Calabri”, the name of the region of Italy forming the “point of the boot”, and “Anagni”, an ancient town of central Italy. It is indeed the Homeland equivalent of Italy, and in fact the Imperial City was drawn based on the sketches and illustrations of Ancient Rome by Piranesi. Plus, the situation of the Fables living in an “exile” and a “diaspora” because of the Adversary’s conquering Empire is meant to evoke the destruction wrecked by the Roman Empire against the Jews - more specifically the Jewish-Roman Wars. 

# Willingham takes some time to explore the life and day-to-day activities of the lower-ranked goblins and soldiers of the Empire, humanizing them in their usual duties (such as tax collecting). I first I thought it was just a reference to a similar thing Tolkien did with his orcs (see “The Return of the King”) but then it clicked when I realized the “day-to-day story from the point of view of lower-ranked members of the evil empire” +  the evil empire recruiting and enslaving sorcerers and wizards as its “new nobility” + Willingham’s love for military stories and dark, gory battles...  There is definitively here an influence of Glen Cook’s The Black Company. It would make the Adversary influenced by another famous duo of “evil overlords” of fantasy: The Lady and the Dominator.

# Buckingham explained that Ogren and Throk, the goblin duo of issue 36, were inspired by the numerous British humor comics he grew up with as a child.

# The Snow Queen from Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale of the same name is another one of the “great ladies” and right hands of the Emperor, just like Baba Yaga. In this version of the tale however she seems to be heavily tied to the evil mirror of the tale - she has a mirror above her throne, Buckingham revealed that the fragments of the shattered mirror are ornating her queenly outfit, and it is because of her that Kay ended up with a shard of the mirror in his eyes. Willingham sneaked a “Song of Ice and Fire” reference in the comic as, when she arrives in the Imperial City, the guards keep shouting “Winter is coming!”. Her name, “Lumi”, is the Finnish word for snow. And in the Fables Encyclopedia, Willingham revealed that the reason she became such an evil character in “Fables” is because through her he wanted to evoke a famous fictional character he could not have the rights to: The White Witch of C. S. Lewis’ Narnia. 

# The true identity of the Adversary (the Sauron/Morgoth-like Emperor being merely a “puppet”) is revealed to be none other than Gepetto, from “The Adventures of Pinocchio” who, after being enroled in a “benevolent conspiracy” against the megalomania and stupidity of local lords, slowly climbed up the ranks and became corrupted into the machiavelic, bloodthirsty tyrant he is today. In the Encyclopedia, Willingham notably said he wanted to get as far away from the Disney’s version of Gepetto as possible, and return to the character as described by Collodi, as a “cantankerous old grump”. The situation of Gepetto, a little old man behind a fake, artificial all-powerful imperial figure, is also very reminiscent of Oscar Diggs/The Wizard of Oz’s situation from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” by L. Frank Baum. 

# Gepetto takes his powers from the Blue Fairy that he kidnapped and locked away - the Blue Fairy is Willingham’s strange mixture of the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair, from Collodi’s original tale, the Blue Fairy (Disney’s version of the previous) and the “original” folklore of fairies, aka the “fair folk” of the British Isles: Willingham insists on the fickle, capricious, strange and alien behavior and mindset of the Fairy. 

# The other two main agents of the Emperor, beyond Baba-Yaga and the Snow Queen, are the Nome King (a recurring antagonist from L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, now governor of Oz for the Emperor) and Hansel - the boy from “Hansel and Gretel”, who grew up into a witch-hunter and Great Inquisitor. He isn’t just designed after the Puritan witch-hunters of the “witch trials” of America: he actually was a key part of those trials. During his brief time in the Mundane World he participated in almost all of the witch-hunts throughout Europe and America. He did not start them, but he followed the witch madness everywhere it went, and took a key part in the trials and executions of the so-called witches. He is said to have been in France, Germany and Switzerland, with the Würzburg witch trials and the Salem witch trials being explicitely cited (in the latter case he was the one who encouraged the execution of Susannah Martn). Trieste is also said to have been one of the places Hansel dwelled (though I never heard of witch trials in Trieste? But there were so many I can’t possibly know them all...).

# The Snow Queen’s plan to invade Fabletown, relying on four steps being “Pestilence - Fire - Winter - Famine” is of course very reminiscent of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Christian lore - Pestilence/Conquest, War, Famine and Death. The Snow Queen’s plan for an “eternal winter” are explicitely compared to “Fimbul” - aka the Norse winter predicted for Ragnarök. Among the creatures that serves her and that she plans to send in the world, she mentions the “ice giants”, which is actually a term designated a category of creatures in Norse mythology (the rest are however non-specific entities, not exact reference - frostlings, boreal spirits, fire imps...). The sorcer used to illustrate the “Pestilence” part of the plan, Tom Harrow, was actually designed after Neil Gaiman - it was Mark Buckingham’s gift to Gaiman, who had been the best man at his wedding. Finally, of the two fictional diseases the Snow Queen mentions (the Skold brownpox and the Red City Plague), the later seems to be a reference to the “red plague” from “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe.

# A last note, taken from the “Fables Encyclopedia”: the armor of Lieutenant Oakheart, a random character among the wooden soldiers of the Empire (seen in issue 52), was actually inspired by the cover of the album “Want One” by Rufus Wainwright. 

Magical artefacts:

# The Seven-League Boots, from Charles Perrault’s Little Thumbling, are kept by Fabletown.

# The Vorpal Blade from Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” poem (and “Alice Through the Looking Glass”) is in possession of Fabletown (and becomes Boy Blue’s weapon later).

# The magic beans, from Jack and the Beanstalk. Jack keeps trying to scam people by pretending he still has them, when in truth he lost them a long time ago. It is revealed in “Happily Ever After” that in truth Fabletown got hold of the last magic beans, which form the only way to reach the Cloud Kingdoms where the giants live. 

# Bluebeard keeps a hook in his office - it seems to be the hook of “Captain Hook”, from J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. 

# Snow-White’s office contains a sword in the stone (from the Arthurian myth), various Arabian oil lamps (a reference to “Aladdin”), as well as several Greco-Roman statues (a copy of the Venus de Milo, statues of Mars and Neptune...). 

# The Fairy Witch’s magical barley seeds from which little women are grown are from Andersen’s fairytale “Thumbelina”. 

# Bluebeard might have owned “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” - because there is the painted portrait of a man we keep seeing in his castle, that is not him, so... 

# The magic mirror of the evil queen from “Snow-White” is kept in Snow-White’s office, as well as the torn of head of the Frankenstein Creature (nicknamed “Frankie”). 

The Last Castle one-shot

# The titular “Last Castle”, of its full name the “Last Keep at the End of the Known Worlds”, is actually the castle from the Norwegian fairytale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon”, located by those directions, and beyond the “House of the Four Winds”.

# Little Red Riding Hood is from the fairytale of the same name (the brothers Grimm version, since in her story the wolf was defeated by a woodsman).

# Robin Loxley, or Robin Hood, is from British folklore and English literature. We also see two of his Merry Men: Friar Tuck and Small John. 

# Colonel Bearskin is a higher-ranked version of the titular character from the brothers Grimm fairytale “Bearskin”.

# We have two characters from Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene”: Lady Britomart, the “warrior damsel”, and the Red-Cross Knight (Saint George by another name). 

# The twelve crow-brothers are from the Grimm fairytale “The Twelve Brothers”.

# Old Pellinore is a king from the Arthurian legends.

# Tam Lin, the “lover of the fairy queen”, is a character of English folklore and folk-songs (the “Ballad of Tam Lin” is his most famous depictions).

# Herman von Starkenfaust is a character from Washington Irving’s “The Spectre Bridegroom”.

# The Little Tailor that “got seven at one stroke” is from the brothers Grimm’s “The Valiant Little Tailor”.

# The Kings of Madagao and Bornegascar are the rival kings from the piece of Ambrose Bierce “Two Kings”, from his “Fantastic Fables”.

# Beaucaire and Bearskin fought many battles against each other, two of which I got the reference of: the battle of Boxen is an homage to the fictional world created by C. S. Lewis as a child, while the battle of “Oakcourt” is a reference to the legend of wise, fair and just kings holding their courts under an oak. When Blue Boy confronts Chernomor in the beginning of the “Homelands” arc, he also mentions the “battle of Vesteri”, which is apparently the battle told in the poem “Tsar Saltan”, the one where Chernomor appeared with thirty-three warriors (though the events described in the poem are apparently a false retelling of the actual events, which were the invasion of the Adversary’s army, and unlike what the poem claims Chernomor lost the battle). 

# Possibles references I am not certain of: Among the refugees at the Last Keep, there is a white-bearded wizard with a pointy hat all dressed in grey, that I think might be an homage to Tolkien’s Gandalf. There is also a solidly built young man with a goat near him that I believe to be “Blockhead Hans” from the brothers Grimm fairytales. 

The Homelands:

# The Tin Woodman, Jack Pumpkinhead, The Scarecrow and a Munchkin, all from the Oz books of L. Frank Baum, are seen fleeing the invasion of the Adversary in the “Legends in Exile” flashbacks.

# The flashbacks of “Legends in Exile” also reveal Don Quixote and Pancho (from the novel “Don Quixote”), and a queen on a sleigh pulled by swans - which I believe to be a reference to Andersen’s “The Wild Swans “fairytale.

# The two first conquests of the Adversary (after his “native land”) were “The Emerald Land” (The Land of Oz, invented by L. Frank Baum) and “The Kingdom of the Great Lion” (Narnia, created by C.S. Lewis). We even see an unnamed version of Aslan, killed by the forces of the Adversary. 

# The world of the Rus is the Homeland equivalent of Russia, the land where Slavic folktales dwell. It is drawn in the style of Ivan Bilbin (a famous illustrators for fairytales such as “Vasilisa the Beautiful” or “Prince Ivan, the Fire-Bird and the Grey Wolf”). When Boy Blues travels through the Rus lands, he comes upon the “Mice Burying the Cat”, a recurring motif and scene in Russian lubok and folktales. 

# In the arc “Arabian Nights (and Days)”, the realm of Karse is name-dropped as one of the lands conquered by the Adversary. Some people think it might be a reference to the kingdom of Karse, from Mercedes Lackey’s books “The Heralds of Valdemar”. 

# The Cloud Kingdoms, located in the sky, populated by giants and only reachable through magic beanstalks, is a reference to “Jack and the Beanstalk”. Cinderella calls it mockingly “Cloud Cuckoo Land” - an insult to the absurdity of the kingdom itself, but a subtle literary nod to Aristophanes’ famous play “The Birds”, where Cloud Cuckoo Land is an utopian city in the city. The giant squirrel friend of Cinderella in this realm, Radiskop, is revealed in the Fables Encyclopedia to be Willingham’s version of Ratatosk, the squirrel of the Word-Tree from Norse mythology (the poem “The Saying of Grimnir” is evoked by the Encyclopedia). Cinderella also plays on the expression “castles in the sky” when describing the Cloud Kingdoms - an idiom meaning an unrealistic plan or impossible dream. 

# In “The Sons of the Empire”, we follow the side-quest of a group of Fables stealing food from the imperial table: these three Fables are the Gingerbread Man (from “The Gingerbread Man” fairytale), and Mr. Porky Pine with Chicken Ripple (characters actually coming from Neil Diamond’s song “Porkupine Pie”, from the Moods album). 

The Great Powers:

# The devil himself appears in “Bag O’Bones” in a “Southern USA folktale” incarnation, as an old, disheveled black man waiting in the bayou to play card games with souls as the final bet - he is called here “Slick Nick”, or “Mr. Nick”, but due to his old-looking appearance, he quickly is called “Old Nick”, a very traditional nickname of the devil in the English language.

# Death, aka the Grim Reaper, appears in “Bag O’bones”.

# The North Wind, father of Bigby, is of course the very embodiment of the North Wind. Personified winds pop up from time to time in fairytales, and the North Wind most notably appears in “East of the Sun and West of the Moon” (a fairytale already referenced by Willingham previously). But “Mr. North”’s depicton as an old man ruling over snow and coldness is also clearly meant to enter into the archetype of “Father Winter/Old Father Winter” or “Father Frost/Grandfather Frost”. Buckingham noted that while he originally drew him inspired by Peter Wyngarde playing Jason King (see the television series Department S/Jason King), he then decided to prefer the way the character was originally drawn by Mark Wheatley in “1001 Nights of Snowfall”, as more “Norse god-looking”.

The servants and affiliated creatures of the North Wind are called after different types of winds: Mistral is a violent wind of southern France, Squall is a sudden or violent gust of wind, Whiff is a puff of air, and the Zephyrs are light breezes.

# The d’jinns are here a very dark reinterpretaton of the djinn of Arabian folklore and fairytale, reinvented as amoral creatures of pure magic that have to be bound for the sake of the entire world. These d’jinns were purposefully designed as dark parodies of the Genie from Disney’s Aladdin: like him they have blue-skin, black hair, and a “tail of smoke” for legs. As per the common legend most carried on by “1001 Nights”, the d’jinns were trapped in magical bottles by “Sulymon the Wise”, aka King Solomon. However, unlike the tradition presented by the “Arabian Nights”, in the Fables world King Solomon co-worked with Daedalus (a genius-inventor of Greek mythology, reinterpreted as the “greatest sorcerer-scientist” of Sulymon’s time) to create the magical bottles. And, Sulymon had to trick the d’jinns into getting inside the bottle, by using the same ruse displayed in the fairytale “The Fisherman and the Jinni”.

# Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus, of the American Christmas lore, exist in the Fables world, and while it is strongly hinted in the main series, the Encyclopedia confirms they are “god-like” entities in the Fables verse, close to the other Great Powers.

The 1001 Nights of Snowfall one-shot

# “Be careful what you wish for” seems to have been loosely inspired by “The Little Mermaid”, or rather forming an ironic inversion of it (especially of the more modern retellings like Disney’s), since it is about a girl wishing to explore the world, and asking a witch to turn her into a mermaid to discover the sea. The Fables Encyclopedia mentions that the girl’s name, Mersley Dotes, is only similar to the song “Mairzy Doats” by pure coincidence.

# The seven dwarfs of the Grimm “Little Snow-White” are present in “The Fencing Lesson”, and their entire system of “being an underground realm digging constantly for ore and gems” is inspired by a very traditional depiction of dwarfs ranging from Norse mythology to Tolkien - the way John Bolton draws them as ugly; misshapen, bald beings with bulbous heads or strangely-proportioned limbs reminds me of the art of Brian Froud.

# In the “Diaspora” story, Snow-White says she bought a magical stone that makes soup - it is another reference to the folktale “Stone Soup”. 

# The “Christmas Pies” storyline takes place in the world from which Reynard hails from - a medieval-time valley filled with speaking animals (the setting of the Roman de Renart). I will not name all the characters we see here, but if you know your Roman de Renart, you will recognize several such as Brichemer the deer, Noble the lion, Fière his wife, Grimbert the badger, Couar the hare, etc etc... The legend of “the miracle of the Christmas pies” seems to have been invented by Willingham here - but not out of scratch. If you know your Christmas lore, you know that miracles happening during the “nights of Christmas” are very common, that pies are tied to Christmas in the English tradition, and that magical food or miracle-food in Christmas is also a staple of folklore. An interesting note is that you can see the version of Christmas celebrated in Reynard’s homeworld is not the one celebrated in our world, because they have “Seven Nights of Christmas” - whereas we have the “Twelve Nights”. Filling the pies with stones so that, after eating it, the animals will be too heavy to move is also a recurring motif in folktales and fairytales involving capturing or killing devouring monster or gluttonous animals (most famous of which being the Big Bad Wolf stories). 

#  Colonel Thunderfoot and the talking rabbits of the “Thrumbly Warrens”, in “A Mother’s Love”, have been revealed by Willingham to have been inspired by the rabbit-society of “Watership Down”. 

The Arabian Fables:

# The Arabian Fables are clearly all coming from the most famous collection of Arabian fairytales, “One Thousand and One Nights” - they notably have a very common use of flying carpets, items mostly found in this book (and the Arabian legends of king Solomon). They also have manticores - creatures of Greek folklore, but believed to have lived in Persia (another manticore, giant-sized this one, appears in the non-referential world of Skold in “Homelands”). 

# In “1001 Nights of Snowfall”, the frame-story is literaly the frame-story of “One Thousand and One Nights”, but with Snow-White taking Scheherazade’s place as the one trying to survive Sultan Shahryar. 

# The delegation arriving in Fabletown in “Arabian Nights (and Days)” is centered around Sinbad - the famous Sinbad the sailor whose stories are told in “1001 Nights”. He has two companions which I have yet to identify as references or pure invention - but one, Yusuf, is very clearly the embodiment of the archetype of the “evil vizir” of Arabian tales coupled with the “wicked, scheming sorcerer”. People online have identified him as a possible take on Disney’s character of Jafar from their version of Aladdin, but Buckingham revealed that his design of Yusuf was actually inspired by Doctor Who’s The Master, as played by Robert Delgado. 

# Aladdin and Ali Baba, two heroes of the most famous Arabian fairytales, are said to live in the Homeland version of Baghdad, where Sinbad also dwells.

# One of the co-conspirators and allies of Yusuf is Sid Nouman - aka, Sidi Nu’uman from “The Caliph’s Night Adventures” (sub-section “The History of Sidi Nu’uman”). The identity/appearance the d’jinn takes to reach out to him is the one of “The Fair Persian” - one of the two main characters of the 1001 Nights tale “Noureddin and the Fair Persian”. 

Other things:

# In “Legends in Exile”, Rose-Red forces Bluebeard to keep their engagement secret for a year. This evokes a common trope in fairytales where a character is asked to keep a secret, or a vow of silence, for a given period of time - or where a character has to hide their marriage for a given number of years. 

# “A Wolf in the Fold” reveals that, when Bigby first arrived in the human world, he stayed in the 17th century Carpathians, and became friend with a certain “undead count” - yes, Count Dracula, from Bram Stoker’s novel.

# Before Willingham decided to have the European Fables be Christian in religion, he seems to have considered a more fantasy-like religion for them, as the chapel seen in the Knights of Malta Hospital in “Animal Farm” doesn’t have any religious imagery. Instead, its stained glass depicts fabulous beasts: a dragon, a unicorn, an hydra and a phoenix.

# The desk of Grimble has two books inside of it which are references. One is titled “Shreck!”, a nod to the Shrek movies, while the other is literaly titled “Troll Bridge by Neil Gaiman”, a reference to Gaiman’s reinterpretation of “The Three Billy Goats Gruff” fairytale.

# During Bag O’Bones, Jack (as a Confederate soldier just out of the Civil War) sings the minstrel song “Gwine Run All Night”, aka “De Camptown Races”. 

# At one point, the trio formed by Flycatcher, Boy Blue and Pinocchio go buy a series of Fabletown-produced comics, which are all parodies of actual super-hero titles. The Uncanny Oz Men are “The Uncanny X-Men” for example, the Fairytale Four are the “Fantastic Four”, the Tin Man is “Iron Man”, and the Stalk Thing is the “Swamp Thing”. “Red Hood - Little Riding Returns” might be a reference to “The Dark Knight Returns”, while the Un-Mundy... Maybe it is “Superman”? 

# When John Barleycorn explores one of the Emperor’s towers, where stolen magical items are kept, we can see the head of Baphomet sculpted on a disc. During the same quest, the other Lilliputians left behind believe that John must be with “some elf-king’s daughter” by now: this is a reference to Lord Dunsany’s “The Elf-King’s Daughter”. Finally, as John Barleycorn goes searching for the old cottage of the Fairy Witch, he orders his mount to go “Straight ‘til morning” - a sentence lifted from “Peter Pan”. 

# Kevin Thorn is compared by his colleagues to agent Mulder, from the show “X-Files”, due to being the only Mundane immune to the Fables “do not notice us” spells.

# During the “War Stories”, the project of the Nazi scientists couple two references: on one side it is named Volsüng (after a character of Norse mythology, tied to the Volsunga Saga), on the other the topic of mass-producing artificial soldiers raises the fear of it being too similar to the golem of Jewish folktales.

# In-universe, Jack took an opportunity out of the great hype surrounding fantasy movies caused by the (then still new) release of the “Lord of the Rings” movie trilogy - in turn, he himself plans to do a “better” version of them, centered around his own tales. 

# The Witching Cloak does not come from a precise story, but gathers various elements and powers usually attributed to magical cloaks and capes. For example, its powers of invisibility are similar to the Germanic tarnkappe of Siegfried, while its teleportation powers can remind of the flying cloak of feathers of Freyja in Norse mythology, and its invulnerability can evoke Herakles’ famous Nemean Lion pelt. In a similar way, the Witching Well (which is the Fabletown equivalent of a cemetery AND afterlife) is not coming from a precise story, but is born of a general rule and belief in the world of fairytales and folktales that wells are gateways to the otherworld and the dwelling of supernatural beings - as well as closely associated to death and the afterlife. One famous fairytale that has a well perceived by theoricians as a gateway to the afterlife is the brothers Grimm “Frau Holle”. 

# Willingham loves to play around with the topic of numbers in fairytales. For example, Bigby was one of seven brothers, tried to kill his father seven times, and himself has seven children. Meanwhile, when Cinderella has to fulfill a mission in the Cloud Kingdoms, everybody involved in it forces her to wait three days for her services - much to her annoyance as she wonders exactly WHY everybody asks for three days. 

# In “The Sons of the Empire”, an annoyed Prince Charming calls ironically the Beast “Gunga Din”, after the character from Rudyard Kiplng’s poem (later adapted into a movie).

# In “Jiminy Christmas”/“Father and Son”, the children of Bigby mention numerous fictional equivalents of cartoons and toys - but one in particular was talked about in “Fables Encyclopedia”, “Ranger Danger”, aka “Ranger Mike Danger”, that Willingham explained to have been the Fables equivalent of real-world G.I. Joe or Action Man. 

# As a last note: the original plans of Willingham for the Adversary’s identity and origin story was to have him be Peter Pan. This is why the descriptions of the Adversary in “Legends in Exile” are so strange in retrospective: he is described as “wood sprite” that became something much more bigger or dangerous, or a fallen god cast away from divine realms, while being depicted in the flashback as a satyr-like being - it all points out to Pan of Greek mythology. Couple this with the fact the Adversary was said to come from “beyond the shores of Never”, aka Never Land, and you understand it is Peter Pan. Willingham’s plan was to have an evil, corrupted, demented version of Peter Pan that wanted to expand his Neverland/playing ground to all the worlds nearby, hence the creation of the Empire. The same way Peter Pan would have been the “big bad”, Captain Hook was also supposed to appear as a heroic figure fighting the Adversary - he notably would have had a plotline about saving the Lost Boys, who as it turns out are an army of children Peter Pan stolen away from the worlds he visited and conquered. However Willingham discovered that the characters were not in the public domain at the time, still under copyright, and so he had to change his plans - limiting himself to having them depicted in battle in the front page of “1001 Nights of Snowfall”. 

[kelmcdonald]

One Year I’ll Have Things Together Enough To Do An X-Mas Sale, This Is Not That Year

Real quick Dec 4th (day I’m sending this out) is the last day for international folks to get something from my store in time for Christmas. For folks in the US that date is Dec 13th. But I’m still reworking my store. Right now all the shipping prices aren’t correct. Right now everything is a flat rate that is the average, so I’m under charging on some products and over charging on others. My pal Kevin who made the site is helping me figure out a plugin that will charge by weight instead. Hopefully, that will be finished up by the end of the year.

This month I’m busy doing inventory to be ready for next year. So between that and the holidays, not much public stuff going on. I’m still doing movie night in my fan discord on the full moon. So if you wanna join me and some other folks for Werewolf Santa on Dec 26th at Noon PST pop in here. 

I answered some more fan questions but other wise things have been quiet. 

As long as it’s not a spoiler I’ll answer. So post any questions you got here

I’m still working on Blue Moon’s script. I’m still kinda frustrated that I’m not done yet. But after looking over everything I did this year, I realized I’ve edited A LOT of books for Seven Seas this year. Here’s a picture of all of them.

That’s too many books! Fortunately, I only have two scripts to edit for Seven Seas in December.  So this month I got my to do list:

Get pages for The City Between ahead enough to update over the holidays without interruption. 

write Blue Moon

draw the last two settings for my werewolf videogame

Write two crowdfund video scripts of Iron Circus

That last two shouldn’t take too long. 

Also, before the Writer’s strike I was writing about stuff I recently watched or read. I need to get back to doing that. I might change how I do it though. Whenever I did my end of the month round up, I always had more to say about the stuff I watched or read at the end of the month since they were fresher in my memory. So I might post smaller reviews/thoughts on my site’s blog and then just collect them here at the end of the month. 

I’ll have a bigger post next month after I decide on stuff. Thanks for your support everyone. 

[liamdunbarappreciation]

Welcome to Liam Dunbar Appreciation Week!

This is a Teen Wolf fandom event running January 9-15, 2023! Fan works of all kinds, including fics, gifs, playlists, art, edits etc. are welcome!

To participate, create and post Liam-centric content and use the tag #LiamDunbarWeek2023 and/or tag us @liamdunbarappreciation. We’ve included some suggested prompts below, but feel free to share whatever Liam-centric content you are inspired to make for this event. Written works may be added to the event's AO3 collection. We look forward to celebrating our favorite beta werewolf with you!

Written Prompts Day I: The Sun, the Moon, the Truth - The struggle to stay in control is a cornerstone of Liam’s character throughout the series. This prompt wants you to delve into Liam’s rage, emotional state, and the implications of his diagnosis. Day II: I’m Just That Good - Star lacrosse player, history aficionado, video game enthusiast. What else do you think Liam is just that good at? What hobbies didn’t we get to see? Day III: I Fell in a Hole - An iconic line that illustrates Liam’s whimsical side, this prompt is meant to celebrate the brighter parts of Liam’s character! What other shenanigans do you think he got up to? Day IV: I Can Be the Alpha…? - Liam shows great promise in his development as a werewolf, friend and leader. Use this prompt to explore his personal identity: who he is, and who he wants to become. Day V: Alternative Universe - Spy AU, Dance AU, Street Racing AU, Historical AU — go wild and write about any alternative universe you can think of for Liam Dunbar. Today’s prompt is all about the what-ifs for Liam! Day VI: I’m His Flight Attendant - When it comes to his relationships with all characters, whether platonic, romantic or general in nature, there’s so much to explore! Canon and non-canon ships are all welcome! Day VII: What? I like History… - At the end of the series we see Liam retreat into the night with the rest of the pack. Today is all about what Liam’s life post-canon might look like — that could mean a day after the finale or even 15 years ahead.

Alternates I: Hands - Fists, claws, holding a guy’s hand: a prompt for one of Liam’s motifs. II: Pre-series - Prep-school, family life, growing up: explore Liam’s life before the events of the show. III: Foils and Mirrors - Foil to some, mirror to others: dive into how Liam’s character contrasts or parallels others in Teen Wolf — whether friends, enemies or even people he never got a chance to meet.

Visual Prompts Day I: Emotions Day II: Relationships Day III: Colors Day IV: Poetry/Lyrics Day V: Dealer’s Choice Day VI: Fight Day VII: Fav Lines

For more details on prompts click here, and check out the event's submission guidelines here.

@teenwolffandomevents