#werewolf by night fan edit
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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
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đ§ 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
đș 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.
đ§ 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
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đ 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
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đȘœ 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.
đ©ž carmillized
weren't you posting about how much you despise his music just yesterday???
đȘœ arun-rising
I don't know what you're talking about. I never did that.
đ©ž 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
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đș the-vampire-lestat
New song.
youtube
Listen, if you dare.
đ· disintegrated-wonder
Lestat, I thought we were over this...?
#louis talks
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𧷠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
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đŽđ» marius-official Follow
How does this website work...?
đŠ fang-fan
delete your blog
#rank vibes on this man
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đŸ interview-wolf-the-werewolf Follow
Sponsored with Blaze đ„
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
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đ©ž 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
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đș 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.
đŠ 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
đ©ž 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
đ daniel-molloy
He's lying.
đ©âđ» talamascized-witch
I don't believe him for a second.
#archive #poll #lestat de lioncourt
#is this anything#vampblr#iwtv#iwtv amc#amc iwtv#interview with the vampire#the vampire chronicles#lestat de lioncourt#the vampire lestat#dashboard simulator
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ATTENTION BLIND CHANNEL FANS
Our beloved boys from Oulu has gone on hiatus, but that doesnât 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. đ€ And so Iâm happy to announce that
BC BLOOD MASS WILL RETURN IN DECEMBER 2024! đșđșđșđș
If youâre not familiar with our annual event: basically, it came to my attention that thereâs actually a lot of people in the fandom like me, who donât celebrate Christmas. Either because they practice a different religion, or because they have trauma surrounding the holiday. I realized, I wasnât 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!!! đșđșđș
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!
Letâs have a howling good time! đș
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.
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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.
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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 gameâyou 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] âđ đđđđ đđđđđđđ đđđâ
That fanart was SO good and couldâve been drawn by any irl Alan Wake fan. I canât even say another or act like itâs 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. Sheâs already one of my favorite characters after thisâsheâs 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. Couldnât 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.
Iâm 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. Itâs 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 đ because I either want her to be with Emily or not get with someone at allâControl Jesse is so far from Beth Quantum Break/Lisa imo). The âbut maybeâŠâ 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. Itâs 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. Iâm mostly okay with it here because this is Also an episode written by Alan and hosted by Door, so itâs not reliableâeven if Iâm sure this is what Remedy envisions when writing these games.
^ something something âIn 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.â
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.
Iâm not going to try to unpack all this, but itâs interesting how Alan and Door present themselves as being these largely antagonistic forces in this DLC. Theyâre 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 whatâs 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.
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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 Dayâs tech division.
She did her best to be OK with the circumstances, enjoying time with her family and supporting Luigiâs 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, Luigiâs 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.
Luigiâs 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 Hunterâs collective into posing for fresh new banner images, both solo and with him and the rest of the team. His superiors were âover the moonâ 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 Luigiâs popularity at work was leading to endorsement deals! When a request came in to help promote one of his dadâs 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 âfamily night dinner and drinksâ collab. Luigiâs 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 heâd 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 couldnât wait for another endorsement opportunity to roll in!
It wasnât long before father and son were celebrating the sensational success of their episode of âTV Dinnerâ.
Peachyâs 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.
Luigiâs star was shining bright, and he couldnât be happier. Heâd never set out to be famous, but it felt right. Heâd 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 âbig dealâ.
Nothing, he felt, could stop him now!
Rather than cram that huge media station into Luigiâs 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
#sims 4#sims 4 challenge#sims 4 legacy#sims4#sims 4 nsb#sims 4 not so berry#sims4nsbstraud#sims 4 let's play#sims 4 lets play#sims 4 gameplay
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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 theyâre 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 âis just a fanâ of phantom (kinda selfish bro)( to be extra sneaky, he draws phantom [heâs good at drawing] and fakes being a bad lier.) and keeps tabs on his image. Luz starts to get suspicious(âhe 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!â) and tries to prove her suspicions. This doesnât 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 monthsÂ
Hexsquad is in HR for a yearÂ
Labyrinth runners is changed and laterÂ
Hunter has enhanced abilities after the first shiftÂ
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 unityÂ
Luz still knows that hunter is a grimwalker, but doesnât know what it is, and there isnât anything really on them.(she also forgets Abt it cause sheâs 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.( âhunter here with he/it pronouns and a wish to he/it [hit] Belosâ) 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 ânormalâ 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.Heâs 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 âkeep the wolf under controlâ (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!?
#toh#therian#the owl house#hunter toh#toh hunter#therian community#alterhuman#Toh au#the owl house au#PoBb au#aspen squeals#aspen barks#phantom posting
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youtube
-= 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
#monster prom#monster camp#monster roadtrip#fan song#beautiful glitch#amira rashid#brian yu#oz#vicky schmidt#damien lavey#liam de lioncourt#miranda vanderbilt#polly geist#scott howl#vera oberlin#calculester#zoe monster prom#Youtube
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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. Weâve 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 Liamâs character throughout the series. This prompt wants you to delve into Liamâs rage, emotional state, and the implications of his diagnosis.
Day II: Iâm Just That Good - Star lacrosse player, history aficionado, video game enthusiast. What else do you think Liam is just that good at? What hobbies didnât we get to see?
Day III: I Fell in a Hole - An iconic line that illustrates Liamâs whimsical side, this prompt is meant to celebrate the brighter parts of Liamâs 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 â go wild and write about any alternative universe you can think of for Liam Dunbar. Todayâs prompt is all about the what-ifs for Liam!
Day VI: Iâm His Flight Attendant - When it comes to his relationships with all characters, whether platonic, romantic or general in nature, thereâs 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 Liamâs life post-canon might look like â that could mean a day after the finale or even 15 years ahead.
Alternates
I: Hands - Fists, claws, holding a guyâs hand: a prompt for one of Liamâs motifs.
II: Pre-series - Prep-school, family life, growing up: explore Liamâs life before the events of the show.
III: Foils and Mirrors - Foil to some, mirror to others: dive into how Liamâs character contrasts or parallels others in Teen Wolf â 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: Dealerâs Choice
Day VI: Fight
Day VII: Fav Lines
For more details on prompts click here, and check out the event's submission guidelines here.
#liam dunbar#teen wolf#dylan sprayberry#teen wolf event#thiam#layden#miam#briam#liolan#sciam#LiamDunbarAppreciation#LiamDunbarWeek2023
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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).
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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)
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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.â€ïž 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!!
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Vampire Movie Reviews & Recs
I started âDracula movie monthâ in October 2022, but itâs still going after Iâve 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 Iâve included ones I donât like/recommend but general vampire movies are only ones I recommend.
Dracula Movies
Dracula Pages from a Virginâs Diary: it's a silent dance film and I really enjoyed it despite not having seen a ballet film before. It doesnât 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.Â
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.Â
Dracula (1992):Â (8/10) big spectacle with the all star cast, costuming, and makeup. I enjoyed how it mostly followed the book UNTIL they added âMina is Draculaâs reincarnated wifeâ 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.Â
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.Â
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 arenât usually shown in Western movies. It was delayed for release in the US then went through a hack job edit and was released as âThe 7 Brothers Meet Draculaâ and it's astounding how much worse the editing is.Â
Nosferatu (1922): Iâm 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.Â
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 donât enjoy it.Â
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 wasnât impressed.Â
Lair of the White Worm: (5/10) Wow Iâm so used to older Peter Capaldi that it took me a minute to recognize him. A loose retelling of the Bram Stokerâs 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 isnât 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 heâs a vampire who wants to prey on the innocent.
Dracula (2006): 2/10Â 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 isnât even a fun period piece and Dracula was written as justified the entire time so heâd stay âsexy vampire manâ.Â
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.Â
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; itâs 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 donât 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.Â
Interview With the Vampire show: both a remake and re-contextualization of the movie, itâs 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 whatâs going on during night scenes. This is absolutely one of those âdidnât make enough at box office but sold well enough on dvd for sequelâ 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.Â
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 âbad crowdâ 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".Â
Underwood Evolution 2006: recommend stopping here with the series. The plot isnât 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.Â
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 didnât recognize younger 90s him at all.Â
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter: the tone clashes as it bounces around between ridiculous action of âwhat if the leaders of the Confederacy were all vampires that President Abraham Lincoln foughtâ and trying for serious emotional character moments. It gets a place on the rec list because as a Southerner: fuck the Confederacy
#mac watches movies#vampire movies#movies#I still have a bunch of movies left to watch#so there will be followup posts
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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 doesnât 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 (ăăźçăæżăäșșćœąăŻæăăă | 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 wasnât 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.
âYouâre sitting in your bathtub and eating an ice cream sandwich because youâre sad but donât have a tub of ice cream?â
âI mean, yeah.â
Playing for Keeps (WiedĆșmin | 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
#podfic#fanfic#one piece#bandom#my chemical romance#fall out boy#teen wolf#star trek the next generation#star trek voyager#star trek#our flag means death#legend of zelda breath of the wild#legend of zelda tears of the kingdom#my dress up darling#sono bisque doll wa koi wo suru#dimension 20#the witcher#welcome to night vale intro segments#star trek deep space nine
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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 âcatalogueâ 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 didnât 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 âLegends in Exileâ to âBurning Questionsâ) + A Wolf in the Fold story + The Last Castle one-shot + 1001 Nights of SnowfallÂ
Note that I might have missed a few references, which I have placed in my series of posts âSearching for the referenceâ - if I ever find additional things, I will update this post.
The main characters
# Snow-White: The princess from âLittle Snow-Whiteâ by the brothers Grimm, but also the sister of Rose-Red, from âSnow-White and Rose-Redâ by the same brothers. She is the âcivilized childâ, âgood sisterâ, ârefined princessâ, âorderâ to Rose-Redâs âwild childâ, âdisobedient sisterâ, âcrude peasantâ, âchaosâ.Â
# Rose-Red: The character from the brothers Grimm fairytale âSnow-White and Rose-Redâ. She is Snow-Whiteâs counterpart in many way. She is the peasant girl to her sisterâs princess, she is the wild child to her sisterâs obedient/civilized child, she is the ruler of the Farm and its animalistic realms where Snow-White governs Fabletown and the human Fables.Â
# Bigby Wolf: The Big Bad Wolf. An âarchetypalâ character representing the âWestern myth of the wolf as a voracious killer, man-eating, cunning, terrifying beastâ - even tough real-life wolves are actually shy and do not attack men in normal circumstances He was the wolf from âLittle Red Riding Hoodâ and from âThe Three Little Pigsâ. 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 âoldest Sleeping Beauty is Brunhildeâs circle of fireâ. His human persona in todayâs Fabletown is inspired by a bunch of detective and spy characters - most notably by the detectives of the âfilm noirâ genre, though he has a disheveled Columbo-like appearance, coupled with a gruffness and inherent violence typical of a âwolfâ like character: he has been described by people as âDirty Harry meets Wolverine meets Humphrey Bogartâs detective rolesâ. His position as the love interest to the main female protagonist/Snow White-related woman is also clearly inspired by the character of âWolfâ, from âThe 10th Kingdomâ.
During his adventures in World War II he happened to become Fablesâ equivalent of âThe Wolf-Manâ from the Universal Horror movies (he even lived through âFrankenstein meets the Wolf-Manâ 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 â1001 Nights of Snowfallâ that he used to be a twisted version of the âugly little ducklingâ 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-Whiteâs assistant comes from the nursery rhyme âLittle Boy Blueâ. 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 âBlue Skiesâ, and he apparently will always refuse to play âTijuana Taxiâ. When describing his tragic love story with Little Red Riding Hood, he calls it a parody of an âinsipid O. Henry taleâ. 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 âBlue Avengerâ (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 âBlack Knightâ which, on top of being a reference to the archetype of the âBlack Knight/Dark Knightâ in typical Arthurian tales, might be a reference to Batman aka the âDark Knightâ, 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 âthe swashbuckler supremeâ, âbetter than Errol Flynnâ (the actor who played the most famous cinematic version of Robin Hood).Â
# Jack: Of his full title âJack of all Talesâ (a pun on âJack of all tradesâ). 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 oâ 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 âAppalachian Jackâ, or the âMountain Jack of American folkloreâ - the Jack of those folktales carried from Europe over to the Appalachian mountains (the issue âBag OâBonesâ is a retelling of the Appalachian story âSoldier Jackâ or âThe Man who Caught Death in a Bagâ). AND he is tied to the âJacksâ of card-games, aka the four Knaves, that he can summon in his hand during any card game (he even sings the gambling song âJack OâDiamondsâ). The Fables Encyclopedia notes that the oldest Jack tale would be âJack and his Stepdameâ, 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 âJack who jumped over a candlestickâ is another one of the nursery rhymes part of the character.Â
Jack is one of the tricksters of the Fables world - though he represents the âdark grayâ 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 âget-rich-quickâ 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 âdesignated heroâ or the ânon-heroic protagonistâ, 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 isnât part of the traditional Jack character, who is usually an âunlikely heroâ, the simpleton or the weakest of three brothers, who, with courage and resourcefulness (and luck) overcomes obstacles. But Willingham explained he wanted a âtrickster without the charm, a bad boy who never learns despite his frequent comeuppanceâ. The only Jacks that arenât 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 âHansel and Gretelâ, who survived being burned in her own oven, but she is revealed by âThe March of the Wooden Soldiersâ to have been in truth much more than that. She is an âarchetypalâ 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: âThe Black Forest Witchâ refers to the deep, dark forest she lived in, the Black Forest of actual Germany, and the type of cake âBlack Forestâ all at once. Frau Totenkinder is a German name meaning âMiss Child-Killerâ, formed of âTotenâ, to kill, and âkinderâ, âchildrenâ. In general, I also suspect she was influenced by the character of the Witch from âInto the Woodsâ (notably for reasons we will see in later parts of the series).Â
We get her full backstory in âThe Witchâs Taleâ (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 âhelpingâ them finding their âtrue loveâ). 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 (Josephâs famous âseven years of plenty, seven years of famineâ). And finally we learned that she caused one of the âgood daughter rewarded, bad daughter punishedâ type of fairytale, in the likes of âDiamonds and Toadsâ or âFrau Holleâ - except her âpunishmentâ was killing the vain, mean sisters, cooking them into pies and feeding them to their mother.Â
# 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 isnât 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 âInto the Woodsâ. He also technically makes an homage to the character of Harold Hill from âThe Music Manâ, as he uses some sentences from his song âYa got troubleâ during his campaign for mayor of Fabletown.Â
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 Perraultâs âBluebeardâ fairytale.Â
# 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 âFrog Went A-Courtingâ and âThe old lady who swallowed a flyâ. 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 âthe villageâs idiotâ of Fabletown. The reason Willingham chose âAmbroseâ 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 âMerlin Ambrosiusâ. (In fact, Willingham, by choosing this name, indirectly predicted Flycatcherâs future Arthurian character-arc).Â
# Grimble, the troll security guard, is one of the several bridge trolls of âThe Three Billy Goats Gruffâ. I say several because, when Buckingham drew the âAnimal Farmâ arc, he kept putting in the background an orange-fur covered creature with a green hat - the Encyclopedia reveals that it was Buckinghamâs reusing another of his designs of the âBridge Trollâ, taken from the âMerv Pumpkinheadâ comic series, a spin-off of Neil Gaimanâs âThe Sandmanâ that was the first collaboration of Willingham and Buckingham (Merv Pumpkinhead, Agent of D.R.E.A.M.). (Similarly, in Frau Totenkinderâs 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 âWally Cox, Barney Fife sort of fellowâ, and Willingham adored the dichotomy of the glamour and true character.Â
# Bufkin is one of the winged monkeys from âThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozâ, by L. Frank Baum.
# Cinderella is from Charles Perraultâs âCinderellaâ (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 âThe Adventures of Pinocchioâ by Carlo Collodi.Â
# Fabletown itself (and the Fables as a whole) are named after the genre known as âfableâ. The Woodland Luxury Apartment, Fabletownâs 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 âAlice in Wonderlandâ AND âAlice Through the Looking-Glassâ) 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 âBullfinchâs Mythologyâ. Kipling Street is named after Rudyard Kipling who created classics such as âThe Jungle Bookâ or the âJust so Storiesâ. Perrault Street is named after Charles Perrault, who wrote the famous âMother Gooseâs fairy talesâ. Andersen Street is named after the fairytale author Hans Christian Andersen.Â
# The âI Am The Eggmanâ 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 âI am the Walrusâ (itself a reference to âAlice through the Looking-Glassâ). The Edward Bearâs 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.Â
# While not part of Fabletown, Gottfriedâs Steak House seems to be a reference to Gottfried von Strauss, a poet famous for his work on âTristan and Yseultâ. The waitress there, Molly Greenbaum, serves as a reference to the folk song âMolly Maloneâ, that Prince Charming actually sings as he leaves her (I also mistook her for a nod the nursery rhyme âMiss Molly had a dollyâ).Â
# 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 Grimmsâ âThe Three Army Surgeonsâ) and Nurse Sprat (actually Miss Sprat from the nursery rhyme âJack Spratâ). 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 âFables Encyclopediaâ 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...Â
# Briar Rose is the character from the brothers Grimmâs version of the âSleeping Beautyâ story (though the fact she was blessed by fairies as a baby comes from Perraultâs âSleeping Beautyâ).Â
# Bluebeard (and then Charmingâs) 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 âhobgoblinsâ.
# The Lewis Antiques shop seems to be a reference to C.S. Lewis, the inventor of Narnia (given it is âantiquesâ, an old wardrobe comes to mind), though it could be also a nod to Lewis Carroll. Nodâs Books has been identified as a reference to âThe Book of Nodsâ by Jim Carroll. The Chateau dâIf Fencing Academy is a reference to the real-life castle made mythical by Dumasâ âThe Count of Monte-Cristoâ: in fact Edmond DantĂšs himself runs the Academy. The Web ân Muffet Market is a reference to the nursery rhyme âLittle Muss Muffetâ (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.Â
# There are two shops seen in the comics but whoâs true owners are only revealed later. One is âFord Laundryâ which is a laundromat runned by the Scottish bean nighe, Mrs. Ford (because she is âThe Washer-Woman at the Fordâ). The second is the Grand Green Florist shop, revealed in âA Wolf Among Usâ to be the shop of Auntie Greenleaf, from Schlosserâs âSpooky New-Yorkâ anthology.Â
# The 13th floor witches include (beyond Frau Totenkinder), the âFairy Witchâ or âGreat Fairy Witchâ (actually the witch from Andersenâs âThumbelinaâ) and Mr. Grandours, the sorcerer-king from âThe Wizard Kingâ (Willingham took the translated version from Andrew Langâs Yellow Fairy Book, though the fairytale origin is actually the knight of Mailly âLe Roi Magicienâ, in his âIllustres fĂ©esâ - 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 âLeonid Brezhnev-kind of characterâ.Â
# Thrushbeard is from âKing Thrushbeardâ, a fairytale of the brothers Grimm. Mark Buckingham designed him after comic book creator Alan Moore.
# Kay is a character from Andersenâs âThe Snow Queenâ.Â
# 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 Irvingâs âThe Legend of Sleepy Hollowâ. Willingham insists in the Fables Encyclopedia that he wanted to depict Crane as he perceived him when reading the original story, aka as âkind of an ass, of the prickly, pompously self-impressed sortâ.Â
# The Stone Soup restaurant is a reference to the very widespread and famous folktale âThe Stone Soupâ. The Andersen butcher shop is another nod to Hans Christian Andersen (here mixed with the word âDelicatessenâ). The reparation team/company in charge of remaking Fabletown after the March of the Wooden Soldiers is called âN Rhymeâ - aka Nursery Rhyme.Â
# Gudrun is the goose that lays golden eggs - made famous by the âJack and the beanstalkâ fairytale, but finding her roots in one of Aesopâs fables âThe goose that laid golden eggsâ. As for her name, it is the one of the wife of the Germanic mythical hero Sigurd/Siegfried.Â
# Barbara Allen, one of the victims of the rogue zephyr, is from the folk-song of the same name, âBonny Barbara Allenâ.Â
# Mowgli is the main character of Kiplingâ âThe Jungle Bookâ (he is also explicitely compared in-universe to âTarzanâ (from âTarzan of the Apesâ), though Willingham in the Encyclopedia explains he prefers Mowgli over the other because he was âTarzan before Tarzanâ.Â
# Rapunzel is the character from the brothers Grimm story of the same name.Â
# Fair Katrinelje, Vulcoâs part-time girlfriend, is from the brothers Grimm fairytale âFair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrieâ.
The Farm residents and buildings
# The Farm plays various roles. In design it is described by Rose-Red as âOld Macdonald meets Walt Disney meets Munchkinlandâ - 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 Beautyâs castle for Disney) , and Munchkinland being a reference to the colorful landscape of the MGM movie âThe Wizard of Ozâ. In terms of role it also fulfills the idea of the âfarmâ where pets are supposedly sent when they die and parents want to hide it to their children. In its first appearance, the âAnimal Farmâ arc, it plays the role of the titular âAnimal Farmâ from George Orwellâs book of the same name, and Goldilocks purposefully makes a gory reference to William Goldingâs âLord of the Fliesâ, comparing the Farm to the island of the story.
# Colin, Posey and Dun are the three pigs from âThe Three Little Pigsâ (Posey and Dun coupling as the pigs from Orwellâs âAnimal Farmâ). They are later replaced by three giant brothers turned into pigs, Johnny, Donny and Lonny. The giant brothers notably recite the iconic lines âFee fi fo fum [...] Iâll grind his bones to make my bread!â, coming from âJack and the Beanstalkâ.
# The Farm hosts the Rhinoceros from âHow the Rhinoceros got his skinâ (Kiplingâs âJust So Storiesâ), the Three Billy Goats Gruff (from the Norwegian fairytale of the same name), Henny Penny (from âChicken Little/Henny Pennyâ), 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 âThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozâ), a red-cap (from English-Scottish folklore), and Puss in Boots (from Perraultâs fairytale of the same name).
# The buildings of the Farm include a pumpkin-house similar to the one of Jack Pumpkinhead in the âOzâ books ; mushroom-houses taken straight out of the âSmurfsâ comic books and cartoons; the shoe-house of the âOld Woman who lived in a Shoeâ, as well as Baba-Yagaâs 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 âfrom the Poetic Edda to Beowulfâ to take back the words of the Encyclopedia.
# The Bârer Fables are animal fables taken out of Afro-American folktales (most famous through the âUncle Remusâ books): we have Bârer Rabbit, Bârer Bear, Bârer Gator. In âSons of the Empireâ we also find out Bârer Wolf is here.Â
# The âJungle Fablesâ or âKipling Fablesâ are characters of Kiplingâs 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.Â
# 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 âThe Death and Burial of Cock Robinâ are present in the Farm - since the events of the nursery rhyme are enacted in âAnimal Farmâ. 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 âCock Robin got up Earlyâ.Â
# The Farm hosts various characters from âLe Roman de Renartâ, âThe History of Reynartâ, 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 Buckinghamâs sketch-notes). Ysengrim the wolf also appears in âSons of the Empireâ. Reynard the fox is here notably much more pleasant and amiable than his medieval counterpart - in âFables Encyclopediaâ, Willingham explained that the first trickster of his childhoo was Bugs Bunny, a âmonster of chaosâ, and that for Reynard he wanted to create a âslyer, wiser and more subtleâ form of trickster.Â
# The Farm has numerous nursery rhymes characters. From âHickory Dickory Dockâ we have the mouse that ran down the clock. From âHey Diddle Diddleâ we have the cow who jumped over the moon, the dish and the spoon (plus in King Coleâs âFair Shareâ backstory we learn thereâs also the Little Dog who Laughed). We also have the Three Blind Mice (from the nursery rhyme of the same name). As well as âMr. Sunflowerâ, from a nursery rhyme by R. AndrĂ©.Â
# Three characters from âThe Wind in the Willowsâ 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 Swiftâs âThe Travels of Gulliverâ). The Lilliputians have created a âmounted policeâ riding âfield miceâ (which I believe to be some of the field mice from âThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozâ). 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 âAnd the Mouse Police never sleepsâ from Jethro Thullâs âHeavy Horsesâ (even though the original song referred to a cat).Â
# Several characters of the Alice books can be found here, most notably living playing cards, the Cheshire Cat (from âAlice in Wonderlandâ) and the Walrus (from âAlice Through the Looking-Glassâ).Â
# When the rebels have to be executed, the one called for the job is Jack Ketch, a historical figure turned âarchetype/stereotype/common nicknameâ for executioners in England. He is also revealed to have been the executioner of Prince Charmingâs realm, and the Fables Encyclopedia has Willingham explaining that, for him, Jack Ketch isnât 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.Â
# John Barleycorn is from the folk-song of the same name.
# Mary and her little lamb are from the nursery rhyme âMary had a little lambâ, while Miss Mousey and her frogs are from the folk-song âFrog Went-A Courtingâ.
# Peter Cottontail is present at the farm - âCottontailâ being the alternate name of the famous character known as âPeter Rabbitâ. And while Peter Rabbit is most famous by Beatrix Potterâs writings, the characterâs alias of âPeter Cottontailâ comes from the novels of Thornton Burgess, such as âOld Mother West Windâ or âThe Adventures of Peter Cottontailâ.
# 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 forcesÂ
# The Adversary/The Emperor was designed to evoke the archetypal âevil overlord/dark lordâ of epic/high fantasy. To be more precise, he draws a lot of inspiration from Sauron/Morgoth of âThe Lord of the Ringsâ. 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 âSatanâ (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 âangelicâ entity.
# The last attack/invasion of the Adversary onto the European Fable-realms, the events of âThe Last Castleâ, 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 âillusion of freedomâ and âpuppet-kingsâ, 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.Â
# The wooden soldiers sent by the Adversary to Fabletown are meant to evoke the âMen in blackâ 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 âUrfin Jus and his Wooden Soldiersâ, the second book of the âTales of the Magic Landâ series by Alexander Volkov (a Russian rip-off of the Oz books).Â
# Baba-Yaga, the witch from Slavic folklore and Russian fairytales, is one of the top-agents and âright handsâ 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 âVasilisa the Beautifulâ: 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 ânightmare monsterâ as a child. One of the rulers of the Rus lands, while under the Adversaryâs control, is Ivan Tsarevich, a recurring character of Russian folktales.Â
# The leader of the Adversaryâs 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 âAucassin et Nicoletteâ.Â
# Chernomor, used to serve under Aucassin de Beaucaire (or alongside him) and became the governor of the âworld of Kardanâ, one of the frontier-worlds of the Empire. If you go to the Wikipedia article, Chernomor is listed as coming from the poem âRuslan and Lyudmilaâ which is partially true - but the Fables Encyclopedia reveals that this version of Chernomor actually comes from the poem/fairytale âThe Tale of Tsar Saltanâ by Pushkine - in fact, it is this poem that Chernomor reads to himself during his first appearance.Â
# In quite a twist from his Sauron-like appearance, the heart of the Empire isnât 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 âCalabriâ, the name of the region of Italy forming the âpoint of the bootâ, and âAnagniâ, 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 âexileâ and a âdiasporaâ because of the Adversaryâs conquering Empire is meant to evoke the destruction wrecked by the Roman Empire against the Jews - more specifically the Jewish-Roman Wars.Â
# 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 âThe Return of the Kingâ) but then it clicked when I realized the âday-to-day story from the point of view of lower-ranked members of the evil empireâ + the evil empire recruiting and enslaving sorcerers and wizards as its ânew nobilityâ + Willinghamâs love for military stories and dark, gory battles... There is definitively here an influence of Glen Cookâs The Black Company. It would make the Adversary influenced by another famous duo of âevil overlordsâ 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 Andersenâs fairytale of the same name is another one of the âgreat ladiesâ 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 âSong of Ice and Fireâ reference in the comic as, when she arrives in the Imperial City, the guards keep shouting âWinter is coming!â. Her name, âLumiâ, is the Finnish word for snow. And in the Fables Encyclopedia, Willingham revealed that the reason she became such an evil character in âFablesâ 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. Lewisâ Narnia.Â
# The true identity of the Adversary (the Sauron/Morgoth-like Emperor being merely a âpuppetâ) is revealed to be none other than Gepetto, from âThe Adventures of Pinocchioâ who, after being enroled in a âbenevolent conspiracyâ 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 Disneyâs version of Gepetto as possible, and return to the character as described by Collodi, as a âcantankerous old grumpâ. 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 Ozâs situation from âThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozâ by L. Frank Baum.Â
# Gepetto takes his powers from the Blue Fairy that he kidnapped and locked away - the Blue Fairy is Willinghamâs strange mixture of the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair, from Collodiâs original tale, the Blue Fairy (Disneyâs version of the previous) and the âoriginalâ folklore of fairies, aka the âfair folkâ of the British Isles: Willingham insists on the fickle, capricious, strange and alien behavior and mindset of the Fairy.Â
# 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 Baumâs Oz books, now governor of Oz for the Emperor) and Hansel - the boy from âHansel and Gretelâ, who grew up into a witch-hunter and Great Inquisitor. He isnât just designed after the Puritan witch-hunters of the âwitch trialsâ 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 WĂŒrzburg 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 canât possibly know them all...).
# The Snow Queenâs plan to invade Fabletown, relying on four steps being âPestilence - Fire - Winter - Famineâ is of course very reminiscent of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Christian lore - Pestilence/Conquest, War, Famine and Death. The Snow Queenâs plan for an âeternal winterâ are explicitely compared to âFimbulâ - 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 âice giantsâ, 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 âPestilenceâ part of the plan, Tom Harrow, was actually designed after Neil Gaiman - it was Mark Buckinghamâs 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 âred plagueâ from âThe Masque of the Red Deathâ by Edgar Allan Poe.
# A last note, taken from the âFables Encyclopediaâ: 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 âWant Oneâ by Rufus Wainwright.Â
Magical artefacts:
# The Seven-League Boots, from Charles Perraultâs Little Thumbling, are kept by Fabletown.
# The Vorpal Blade from Lewis Carrollâs âJabberwockyâ poem (and âAlice Through the Looking Glassâ) is in possession of Fabletown (and becomes Boy Blueâs 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 âHappily Ever Afterâ 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.Â
# Bluebeard keeps a hook in his office - it seems to be the hook of âCaptain Hookâ, from J.M. Barrieâs Peter Pan.Â
# Snow-Whiteâs office contains a sword in the stone (from the Arthurian myth), various Arabian oil lamps (a reference to âAladdinâ), as well as several Greco-Roman statues (a copy of the Venus de Milo, statues of Mars and Neptune...).Â
# The Fairy Witchâs magical barley seeds from which little women are grown are from Andersenâs fairytale âThumbelinaâ.Â
# Bluebeard might have owned âThe Portrait of Dorian Grayâ - because there is the painted portrait of a man we keep seeing in his castle, that is not him, so...Â
# The magic mirror of the evil queen from âSnow-Whiteâ is kept in Snow-Whiteâs office, as well as the torn of head of the Frankenstein Creature (nicknamed âFrankieâ).Â
The Last Castle one-shot
# The titular âLast Castleâ, of its full name the âLast Keep at the End of the Known Worldsâ, is actually the castle from the Norwegian fairytale âEast of the Sun and West of the Moonâ, located by those directions, and beyond the âHouse of the Four Windsâ.
# 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.Â
# Colonel Bearskin is a higher-ranked version of the titular character from the brothers Grimm fairytale âBearskinâ.
# We have two characters from Edmund Spenserâs âThe Faerie Queeneâ: Lady Britomart, the âwarrior damselâ, and the Red-Cross Knight (Saint George by another name).Â
# The twelve crow-brothers are from the Grimm fairytale âThe Twelve Brothersâ.
# Old Pellinore is a king from the Arthurian legends.
# Tam Lin, the âlover of the fairy queenâ, is a character of English folklore and folk-songs (the âBallad of Tam Linâ is his most famous depictions).
# Herman von Starkenfaust is a character from Washington Irvingâs âThe Spectre Bridegroomâ.
# The Little Tailor that âgot seven at one strokeâ is from the brothers Grimmâs âThe Valiant Little Tailorâ.
# The Kings of Madagao and Bornegascar are the rival kings from the piece of Ambrose Bierce âTwo Kingsâ, from his âFantastic Fablesâ.
# 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 âOakcourtâ 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 âHomelandsâ arc, he also mentions the âbattle of Vesteriâ, which is apparently the battle told in the poem âTsar Saltanâ, 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 Adversaryâs army, and unlike what the poem claims Chernomor lost the battle).Â
# 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 Tolkienâs Gandalf. There is also a solidly built young man with a goat near him that I believe to be âBlockhead Hansâ from the brothers Grimm fairytales.Â
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 âLegends in Exileâ flashbacks.
# The flashbacks of âLegends in Exileâ also reveal Don Quixote and Pancho (from the novel âDon Quixoteâ), and a queen on a sleigh pulled by swans - which I believe to be a reference to Andersenâs âThe Wild Swans âfairytale.
# The two first conquests of the Adversary (after his ânative landâ) were âThe Emerald Landâ (The Land of Oz, invented by L. Frank Baum) and âThe Kingdom of the Great Lionâ (Narnia, created by C.S. Lewis). We even see an unnamed version of Aslan, killed by the forces of the Adversary.Â
# 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 âVasilisa the Beautifulâ or âPrince Ivan, the Fire-Bird and the Grey Wolfâ). When Boy Blues travels through the Rus lands, he comes upon the âMice Burying the Catâ, a recurring motif and scene in Russian lubok and folktales.Â
# In the arc âArabian Nights (and Days)â, 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 Lackeyâs books âThe Heralds of Valdemarâ.Â
# The Cloud Kingdoms, located in the sky, populated by giants and only reachable through magic beanstalks, is a reference to âJack and the Beanstalkâ. Cinderella calls it mockingly âCloud Cuckoo Landâ - an insult to the absurdity of the kingdom itself, but a subtle literary nod to Aristophanesâ famous play âThe Birdsâ, 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 Willinghamâs version of Ratatosk, the squirrel of the Word-Tree from Norse mythology (the poem âThe Saying of Grimnirâ is evoked by the Encyclopedia). Cinderella also plays on the expression âcastles in the skyâ when describing the Cloud Kingdoms - an idiom meaning an unrealistic plan or impossible dream.Â
# In âThe Sons of the Empireâ, we follow the side-quest of a group of Fables stealing food from the imperial table: these three Fables are the Gingerbread Man (from âThe Gingerbread Manâ fairytale), and Mr. Porky Pine with Chicken Ripple (characters actually coming from Neil Diamondâs song âPorkupine Pieâ, from the Moods album).Â
The Great Powers:
# The devil himself appears in âBag OâBonesâ in a âSouthern USA folktaleâ 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 âSlick Nickâ, or âMr. Nickâ, but due to his old-looking appearance, he quickly is called âOld Nickâ, a very traditional nickname of the devil in the English language.
# Death, aka the Grim Reaper, appears in âBag Oâbonesâ.
# 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 âEast of the Sun and West of the Moonâ (a fairytale already referenced by Willingham previously). But âMr. Northââs depicton as an old man ruling over snow and coldness is also clearly meant to enter into the archetype of âFather Winter/Old Father Winterâ or âFather Frost/Grandfather Frostâ. 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 â1001 Nights of Snowfallâ, as more âNorse god-lookingâ.
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 dâjinns 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 dâjinns were purposefully designed as dark parodies of the Genie from Disneyâs Aladdin: like him they have blue-skin, black hair, and a âtail of smokeâ for legs. As per the common legend most carried on by â1001 Nightsâ, the dâjinns were trapped in magical bottles by âSulymon the Wiseâ, aka King Solomon. However, unlike the tradition presented by the âArabian Nightsâ, in the Fables world King Solomon co-worked with Daedalus (a genius-inventor of Greek mythology, reinterpreted as the âgreatest sorcerer-scientistâ of Sulymonâs time) to create the magical bottles. And, Sulymon had to trick the dâjinns into getting inside the bottle, by using the same ruse displayed in the fairytale âThe Fisherman and the Jinniâ.
# 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 âgod-likeâ entities in the Fables verse, close to the other Great Powers.
The 1001 Nights of Snowfall one-shot
# âBe careful what you wish forâ seems to have been loosely inspired by âThe Little Mermaidâ, or rather forming an ironic inversion of it (especially of the more modern retellings like Disneyâs), 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 girlâs name, Mersley Dotes, is only similar to the song âMairzy Doatsâ by pure coincidence.
# The seven dwarfs of the Grimm âLittle Snow-Whiteâ are present in âThe Fencing Lessonâ, and their entire system of âbeing an underground realm digging constantly for ore and gemsâ 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 âDiasporaâ story, Snow-White says she bought a magical stone that makes soup - it is another reference to the folktale âStone Soupâ.Â
# The âChristmas Piesâ 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, FiĂšre his wife, Grimbert the badger, Couar the hare, etc etc... The legend of âthe miracle of the Christmas piesâ 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 ânights of Christmasâ 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 Reynardâs homeworld is not the one celebrated in our world, because they have âSeven Nights of Christmasâ - whereas we have the âTwelve Nightsâ. 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).Â
# Colonel Thunderfoot and the talking rabbits of the âThrumbly Warrensâ, in âA Motherâs Loveâ, have been revealed by Willingham to have been inspired by the rabbit-society of âWatership Downâ.Â
The Arabian Fables:
# The Arabian Fables are clearly all coming from the most famous collection of Arabian fairytales, âOne Thousand and One Nightsâ - 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 âHomelandsâ).Â
# In â1001 Nights of Snowfallâ, the frame-story is literaly the frame-story of âOne Thousand and One Nightsâ, but with Snow-White taking Scheherazadeâs place as the one trying to survive Sultan Shahryar.Â
# The delegation arriving in Fabletown in âArabian Nights (and Days)â is centered around Sinbad - the famous Sinbad the sailor whose stories are told in â1001 Nightsâ. 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 âevil vizirâ of Arabian tales coupled with the âwicked, scheming sorcererâ. People online have identified him as a possible take on Disneyâs character of Jafar from their version of Aladdin, but Buckingham revealed that his design of Yusuf was actually inspired by Doctor Whoâs The Master, as played by Robert Delgado.Â
# 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 Nuâuman from âThe Caliphâs Night Adventuresâ (sub-section âThe History of Sidi Nuâumanâ). The identity/appearance the dâjinn takes to reach out to him is the one of âThe Fair Persianâ - one of the two main characters of the 1001 Nights tale âNoureddin and the Fair Persianâ.Â
Other things:
# In âLegends in Exileâ, 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.Â
# âA Wolf in the Foldâ reveals that, when Bigby first arrived in the human world, he stayed in the 17th century Carpathians, and became friend with a certain âundead countâ - yes, Count Dracula, from Bram Stokerâs 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 âAnimal Farmâ doesnât 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 âShreck!â, a nod to the Shrek movies, while the other is literaly titled âTroll Bridge by Neil Gaimanâ, a reference to Gaimanâs reinterpretation of âThe Three Billy Goats Gruffâ fairytale.
# During Bag OâBones, Jack (as a Confederate soldier just out of the Civil War) sings the minstrel song âGwine Run All Nightâ, aka âDe Camptown Racesâ.Â
# 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 âThe Uncanny X-Menâ for example, the Fairytale Four are the âFantastic Fourâ, the Tin Man is âIron Manâ, and the Stalk Thing is the âSwamp Thingâ. âRed Hood - Little Riding Returnsâ might be a reference to âThe Dark Knight Returnsâ, while the Un-Mundy... Maybe it is âSupermanâ?Â
# When John Barleycorn explores one of the Emperorâs 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 âsome elf-kingâs daughterâ by now: this is a reference to Lord Dunsanyâs âThe Elf-Kingâs Daughterâ. Finally, as John Barleycorn goes searching for the old cottage of the Fairy Witch, he orders his mount to goÂ ïżœïżœïżœStraight âtil morningâ - a sentence lifted from âPeter Panâ.Â
# Kevin Thorn is compared by his colleagues to agent Mulder, from the show âX-Filesâ, due to being the only Mundane immune to the Fables âdo not notice usâ spells.
# During the âWar Storiesâ, the project of the Nazi scientists couple two references: on one side it is named VolsĂŒng (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 âLord of the Ringsâ movie trilogy - in turn, he himself plans to do a âbetterâ version of them, centered around his own tales.Â
# 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 Heraklesâ 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 âFrau Holleâ.Â
# 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.Â
# In âThe Sons of the Empireâ, an annoyed Prince Charming calls ironically the Beast âGunga Dinâ, after the character from Rudyard Kiplngâs poem (later adapted into a movie).
# In âJiminy Christmasâ/âFather and Sonâ, the children of Bigby mention numerous fictional equivalents of cartoons and toys - but one in particular was talked about in âFables Encyclopediaâ, âRanger Dangerâ, aka âRanger Mike Dangerâ, that Willingham explained to have been the Fables equivalent of real-world G.I. Joe or Action Man.Â
# As a last note: the original plans of Willingham for the Adversaryâs identity and origin story was to have him be Peter Pan. This is why the descriptions of the Adversary in âLegends in Exileâ are so strange in retrospective: he is described as âwood spriteâ 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 âbeyond the shores of Neverâ, aka Never Land, and you understand it is Peter Pan. Willinghamâs 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 âbig badâ, 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 â1001 Nights of Snowfallâ.Â
#fables#fables comic#fairytale comics#bill willingham#mark buckingham#fairy tales#fairytales#nursery rhymes#grimm fairytales#andersen fairytales#perrault fairytales#norwegian fairytales#french fairytales#literature#fantasy#poetry#One Thousand and One Nights#russian fairytales#russian folktales#folktales#fairytale archetypes#fairy tale archetypes#references#the fables catalogue#neil gaiman
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One Year Iâll Have Things Together Enough To Do An X-Mas Sale, This Is Not That Year
Real quick Dec 4th (day Iâm 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 Iâm still reworking my store. Right now all the shipping prices arenât correct. Right now everything is a flat rate that is the average, so Iâm 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 Iâm busy doing inventory to be ready for next year. So between that and the holidays, not much public stuff going on. Iâm 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.Â
I answered some more fan questions but other wise things have been quiet.Â
As long as itâs not a spoiler Iâll answer. So post any questions you got here
Iâm still working on Blue Moonâs script. Iâm still kinda frustrated that Iâm not done yet. But after looking over everything I did this year, I realized Iâve edited A LOT of books for Seven Seas this year. Hereâs a picture of all of them.
Thatâs 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.Â
write Blue Moon
draw the last two settings for my werewolf videogame
Write two crowdfund video scripts of Iron Circus
That last two shouldnât take too long.Â
Also, before the Writerâs 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 siteâs blog and then just collect them here at the end of the month.Â
Iâll have a bigger post next month after I decide on stuff. Thanks for your support everyone.Â
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We return to fledgling vampire Ethan & Alpha werewolf Bash, who started the series! But fans of the starring MCs of books 2 & 3, not to worry, the whole cast gets their moments to shine.
Newborn vampire Ethan Lambert and Alpha werewolf Bashir Bain may have been an unlikely domestic couple ever since one of Bashâs prophecies brought them together, but destiny isnât done with them yet.
With shifter culture shaken by the sudden surge of unknown vampires in their midst and attempted takeovers by werewolf purists, neighboring packs are already on edge. When ancient vampire Alexa steps out of the shadows to make her return to the top of the food chainâstarting in Bashâs territory of Centrus Cityâthe paranormal world teeters on the brink.
If they have any hope of stopping Alexa, theyâll have to do it before the last full moon of the year, and theyâll have to work carefully, because Alexaâs reach is long, and itâs impossible to know who to trust. To save their world and their relationship, Bash will have to find a way to show Ethan how he feels that leaves no room for doubt. Can they solve the riddles of their hearts and the ties that bind them before this latest prophecy spells their doom?
Preorder Here:
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