#yorick's show and tell

[yooitsyorick]

Jacks

[arthur-lesters-liver]

WHO WAS GONNA TELL ME THAT YORICK IS THE NAME OF HAMLET'S SKULL???

I was so confuse about that name and today i found out about this. WHAT THE FUCK. And you know what's insane? JOHN picked that name, WHY IS THIS SOMEHOW IMPORTANT SHOULD I GO INSANE AND READ HAMLET? Has Arthur been reading Shakespeare to John? Also this shows how important art and poetry were for shaping John's new personality.

I'm insane was anybofy gonna tell me that the fucking skull is a Shakespeare reference?

[theofficialpresidentofmars]

did I ever tell you guys about how I would adapt (the tragedy of) Hamlet (prince of Denmark) if ever given the chance. because I have so many thoughts and I’m adding onto them all the time so here’s a post with all my ideas compiled.

- firstly, it would be an animated mini-series of five episodes, each one corresponding to an Act. I think Animation is a highly under-utilised and underappreciated medium that would suit this particular story well in terms of what it could achieve visually and also these are just a bunch of words to say I’m heavily biased towards animation and just love it so much.

- there are so many fun little character design tidbits i would implement. including but not limited to: Horatio being the shortest, Claudius/Hamlet Sr identical twins (and Claudius having a Scar reminiscent scar on his face for the drama… and also the eventual Act 5 Scene 2 parallels when Laertes wounds Hamlet with the rapier in an incidentally similar way), Laertes having a silly curly moustache, Horatio and Ophelia resembling the other, Hamlet looking tired, pale and ghostly at all times, character’s hair being used as a way to show passing of time (Hamlet having hair on the long side of short in Act 1, growing but in a little ponytail over Act 2, medium-length and unkempt in Acts 3 & 4, and cut shortly and neatly in Act 5. also Ophelia’s hair growing noticeably as well and being often neatly braided with little flowers in Acts 1-2, loosely braided without flowers in Act 3, but being down and wild in Act 4 etc), and so on so forth.

- I would shamelessly be including flashbacks to pre-tragedy memories of the castle/inhabitants. Baby R&G&H running through the castle halls and playing hide and seek. Hamlet actually, god forbid, practicing fencing. The Players entertaining at the castle in Hamlet’s youth. Ophelia and Hamlet sneaking out into the garden beneath the willows by the pond, Hamlet braiding flowers into her hair while they sit together. Yorick entertaining baby Hamlet. All coloured with the softest, goldenest glows that nostalgia can manage to contrast the desaturated depressive hues of the current day. I think a lot of the tragedy of *Hamlet* specifically lies in comparing what was to what ended up being, and since the play starts after Hamlet’s entered his mourning period, it’s hard to fully comprehend the true nature of such a fall.

- Each Act having a lovely stylised title card in its introduction with themes and motifs that are specifically prevalent throughout. Act 3 would have curtains, for example, given the play staging and Polonius’ later poor choice of hiding place. Act 5 introduces the classic skull we all know and love.

- Very purposeful dramatic lighting and colour throughout. Daylight lighting and then the switch to a lot of Hamlet’s soliloquies seeming to appear under more ‘spotlight’ lighting. Early evening during the play, sunset during the scene where Claudius prays (golden light tricking through beautiful stained-glass windows), nightfall when Hamlet yells at Gertrude. Lighting also being used to dramatise entrances perhaps, such as Claudius’s prayer being interrupted by the shift to ‘spotlight’ lighting before we even see Hamlet at the door.

- Same goes with music and motifs, interwoven character leitmotifs and themes that shift keys and qualities and work together to make larger pieces and show up to herald the arrival of a character, or turn sour to match their emotions.

- the visual humour of the play being upped, as well as the wordy humour being emphasised, in order to really contrast the shift in tone throughout the halves of the play. I’ve always been a tragicomedy truther when it comes to Hamlet, I think if done well it could be a really neat way to get the audience to invest more in the characters while also really highlighting how quickly everything goes south.

Probably add more on as I go

[simonnebethel]

Writeblr Introduction

Just learned what a writeblr intro is so I'm gonna make one before I go to bed lol

I've already done something like this a few days ago but that was when I had no clue what I was doing lmao, so might as well make a more in depth one

About me:

20, she/her, bi

American

I write mostly fantasy and urban fantasy, and honestly i dont think i've ever written a story that was non-fantasy lol

Started writing when I was 10, but it was mostly Warrior Cats fanfiction on Wattpad lol. I went through a writing slump for most of highschool but last year I decided to get back into it since I'm not doing anything else lol

I like to read fantasy and classic lit, also anything with vampires. I also have a soft spot for slowburn romances where the main characters dont kiss until, like, the 4th book heehee

In love with anything gothic, vampire, and wlw 👩‍❤‍💋‍👩

I think one of my more niche interests is any early 2000s fantasy/sci-fi movie with a nu-metal/rock/alternative soundtrack like Queen of the Damned and The Crow. They are just...*chefs kiss*

My current stories:

A Chant for Blood (Formerly known as Account of Calamity)

Account of Calamity is a gothic victorian fantasy about a Grand Marshal, Karliah Helisende, and a blood-drinking fiend, Yorick Gwynplaine, who work together to investigate the mysterious portals that spawn dangerous creatures into the city of Isarnan, all the while Karliah is being haunted by the mysterious ancient temple that watches over her every move.

I'm currently working on the second draft, and I may start looking for beta readers once I'm finished, although I know I'm not far from finished with this novel. I also plan to make it a 4 or 5 book series, and slowly add a slowburn romance.

12/30/24 - Second draft has been finished!!

Looking for beta readers! Look here!

Our Demonic Hearts - The Craven Pact Series #1

Our Demonic Hearts is a urban fantasy about a cambion woman, Ana Kravens, haunted by her past. Taking place in a small Mississippi town, a man she went through a traumatic incident with, Beau Motloe, shows up on her doorstep one day with a deal; help him find his missing mother, and he'll give back the memories she lost during the traumatic incident. Her father, a demonic creature of unknown origin, wants nothing more than the Motloes dead, claiming that they were the very reason his daughter was almost killed 6 years ago. Ana goes against her father's wishes and accepts Beau's deal, suspecting that her father isn't telling the whole truth about that fatal night.

It is completed and available on Wattpad and Royal Road!! It was just a small project I had done for Nanowrimo, and has been edited at least once before being published. However, I plan to make it a trilogy and maybe have some spin-offs. This story is fairly new, but most of the characters are at least 5 years old and I love them very much <3

What I plan for 2024:

Finish the second draft of A Chant for Blood and look for beta readers(In the beta reader phase!) ✅

Start the second novel of The Craven Pact Series(Outline complete)

Write a short story/novella or two taking place within the A Chant for Blood universe. My brain is currently exploding with ideas rn ✅

Write a short story about Ana Kraven's mom and how she met Marchosias, Ana's father.

Plan something for Nano?? Idk where I'll be in November lol (Finish a project I started in february, which is To Hear a Lovebird!)

I'm interested in following other writers and reading everybody's stories! I would also be interested in a beta read/beta swap ^^

Other sites I'm on:

Wattpad: LillithOfBees

Royal Road: SimonneBethel

18+ Writing discord!!!

[romsabombs]

it's that time of the month again guys!

Malevolent part 47 The Hand live notes!!!

AMAZON AD👹 ANOTHER AD ANOTHER AD ANOTHER AD CAN WE JUST START THE EPISODE

FINALLY!!! um whats happening

are their asses still wandering aimlessly

six hours bruh 💀

a cage :/???

a what

a crime! no doubt!🤓

HAHA HE HAS THE PLAGUE i said yesterday That man probably has every disease by now

hes gonna die so bad guys hes a sick victorian child

ohhh john please carry me to the garden so i may see- um Hear the flowers one last time🤒

his sickness😟 i cant believe our actions have consequences

theyre ganging up on yorick😭

HAHA hes fine Physically me asf

"indescribable horrors" that doesnt stop john from describing every horror in immense detail

"we both have" im sorry john did you get stabbed like eight times🙄 this aint about you

💀he folded💀

HAHA so he wasnt lying damn😭 I KNEW IT blud was so ready to kill more children

john defending his comfort character

😟Sold Your Soul😟

"i offered myself to it" gayass

this speech goes so hard actually

NEW MUSIC NEW MUSIC

omg it sounds more hopeful now :((

aw he thanked arthur :)

god damn it yorick🙄

WHAT does the corpse have the hand

i mean they did pinky promise

HIS EYE 😦😦

loose enough to pry with ur fingers😨

yorick is building frankensteins monster i fear

MALEVOLENCE MENTIONED NO WAY NO WAYYYYYY NORWAY IS THIS WHY THE SHOW IS NAMED THIS

can yorick lie is that a thing😟😟😟

come on arthur you were a boyscout u can climb this easily

"the pole is wood" just like mine haha🙏🙏🙏🙏

theyre gonna start a forest fire😶

just throw something at it guys idk

omg a pin‼️ throw something at it!!

"excellent hypothesis my king🤓" "JOHN👹" "right!!🤓"

THEYRE GONNA THROW A ROCK YEAAAAA💥💥💥💥

hows he gonna throw when hes blind

why is he so good at throwing wtf

i guess we cant stay here throwing rocks for the entire episode

ALEXANDER :333

EUHGHH😟😟😟😟😟

DONT THROW ROCKS AT BIRDS THATS HOW THE HORRORS HAPPEN

maybe alexander isnt evil n hes just trying to protect us idk🤕

"i was never much for athletics" we can tell

theres gotta be a theme this season and its gotta be Children or Childhood or something

"if they could see me now" mmmm

WHAT IS THAAATT HUHHH

😨😨😨😨

WHAT IS THATTTTTTT WHAGAAT

maybe its just a freaky bird

hes so good at falling down holes

WHAT HAHA WE CANT RN😭😭

😦ERM? YORICK???????

KELLIN MENTIONED big day for gay people 🙏🙏

so was yorick always evil orrrr coz he said My King instead of john and yorick has called him john before

guys i think alexander might be the Not Evil one here

hand of malevolence would go so hard as like a window decoration

ur telling me john knew what a Hand of Malevolence was and didnt link it to the dark world

NOOO DUMBASS

ummm 😟 whats all this then

YORICK :3333 HIIII :3

what 😀

"john" :3

HAHA what is going on bruh

OMG WHAGT 😃😃😃 thats banger

"thank you i think"

:(( aw alexander IS evil :((((((

she? 🤕

OHHH IS IT LILITH IS IT LILITH PLS LILITH PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

lilith and kayne are having a custody battle over them funny as hell

OHHH she was in the portal

TEEHEE WE'RE HER FAVORITE :33

dont confront her i feel

but theyre BOTH terrible at lying🤕

they're cooked i fear

hes DYING😟😟😟😟😟😟

An Owl Being Strange

flies are insects darling

they finally appreciate yorick :)

john we dont have time for this omg

HAHA silly asf

they have a safeword now

harlan's really making us work for it like im gonna forget this if they dont point it out

the candle has been running out for hours fr

nooo :( r we approaching the ending

how do we still have like 15 minutes left

HAHA this is so funny theyre roleplaying

theyre yes-and'ing like theatre kids

i mean i bet she noticed yall were gone for a solid 15 minutes

so is the king in yellow just not a threat anymore like did we defeat him i forgot

are we in an alternate universe then

i know far too much!🤓☝️

arthur caught the decima virus i fear

STOP COUGHING im so worried

arthur needs his vaccines fr

is he gonna faint

"and if i am sick-" "you are😐"

OH the ring

hes really gonna go over there and spread his plague around 🙄

i feel like arthur wont even make it to the castle🤒

he coughs like a dad

"lean on me" maybe if you had a physical form😐

oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck

we just have to wing it i guess

its WHAT😨

what is going on man 😟

UM😦🤕

WHAAT THATS IT? wtf

[socialshakespeare]

With you guys doing Hamlet as your play your reading this month, it aligns with my performance of Hamlet (and so sadly couldn’t read in) but I thought I’d share some tidbits from this performance: 

- there are two Hamlets as Hamlet speaks so much, they do share To Be or Not To Be and it’s glorious - Both Hamlets are played by queer women. As a result, Hamlet is by no means straight. It’s been agreed in the cast that Hamlet has slept with Laertes, Horatio, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern. - The ghost speaks through the tannoy system - Claudius and Gertrude first entrance is to Donna Summer’s Hot Stuff. They have a choreographed dance number too. - We only have one prop knife. It is known as “the communal dagger” since it’s used by Both Hamlets, Laertes, and Guildenstern. Not all at once thankfully. - Speaking of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, they’re both being played as frat bros. Claudius can’t tell them apart. - The dumb show is done with masks and a paper crown made out of the script. - Instead of The Mousetrap, Hamlet recites a poem (one the actor wrote herself) with heavy bass playing while Horatio stares down Claudius menacingly. - Hamlet also gets a sick recorder solo. Or at least it would be sick, but she can’t play the recorder. - During one scene, Hamlet gets tied up and dragged onstage by Guildenstern. She also runs off and Guildenstern has to make chase - The gravedigger is Icelandic and they sing the songs in Icelandic. - Yorick’s skull does not exist. Hamlet mimes holding one. - Ophelia also doesn’t have a grave. But Laertes and Hamlet fight in top of her regardless. - Hamlet and Laertes don’t fence. They play the Wii instead. We still have Hamlet’s line of “Since he went into France I have been in continual practice.” So it just sounds like he’s been playing games while he’s been mad. - The communal dagger makes its return. However the idea was floated around that instead it would be a poisoned Wii remote. - And finally and most importantly: Hamlet dies in Horatio’s arms. When she does, Horatio collapses on her dead body out of pure grief. 

It’s been overall a fun performance to be a part of and I thought you’d enjoy these little notes.

- from Emi

[fandomregression]

hello i am Tired and in a malevolent hole i cannot get out of. take some headcanons

Regressor John Doe Headcanons!

so obviously since john is a piece of the king in yellow, he doesn't exactly have the memories of a childhood or anything to regress to, but for some reason he feels this pull toward smaller things often

john notices very often that he gets very emotional, and he can't help but think in very black-and-white patterns. this thing is good, but this thing is bad. this thing is pretty, but this thing is ugly. he pouts and throws tantrums when these lines of thinking are questioned, and arthur *notices*

arthur doesn't know what's going on with john, but he notices that sometimes he will act so very similarly to faroe. it's kind of jarring, really, but at least he knows how handle it. he doesn't mention it to john, but he starts taking small actions to make john feel more comfortable when he acts like a child

(i am not separating them this is still passenger princess john shhh Do Not Separate)

when they pass by a shop one day, john is describing the scene and helping arthur not trip and die when he sees into a shop something that catches his eye

"a small toy shop is on your left. a woman and a young child walk out of the shop with the child carrying a small toy fire truck. the mother smiles at him, and she waves at us..." "john? is something wrong?" "what? no, uh...inside the window there are some toys on display. cars, toy soldiers, and...soft toys..."

without listening to john's protests, arthur marches inside and fumbles his way to the stuffies since john refuses to help him get there. eventually he gets john to admit there's one that caught his eye, and there *is* another one in the stuffie shelves. arthur ends up smuggly buying a little stuffed lamb with a little blue ribbon around its neck

for a week or two that lamb just sits in the bottom of their bag. john refuses to explain why he liked it or anything, until he does end up feeling...small

they sit in a rented room somewhere with a few minutes to relax and breathe, and john feels his world crumple around him. he doesn't exactly tell arthur how upset he feels, but he asks to see his lamb

since john can't exactly play with toys or anything, he just holds his lamb in his hand. arthur leans back and lets john explore his toy, and he helps him with it. john talks about how soft it feels and describes how pretty it is to arthur, but arthur starts to notice john's words become much simpler, and he giggles a lot more

arthur doesn't know exactly why john acts like this sometimes, but he doesn't mind being there to take care of him. he gets some crayons and a notebook just for john to color and draw in, he hums a lot of lullabies, and yes he takes john to see a movie or two

john really, really likes his notebook and crayons. he doodles a lot, and he describes it all to arthur (although arthur doesn't see how much john's puppies, kitties, or flowers look just like blobs)

john insists that arthur help him show noel his drawings, and even though noel does not know what most of them are, he's still nice about it lol he thinks it's cute

john and noel also have a little system of...not sign language as in asl or something, but. john sign language! it's obviously one-handed, but it gives john ability of his own to communicate. arthur still does a lot of translating or speaking on behalf of john, but at least they have some way to talk

john comes up with signs to let noel know he feels small and wants to play tic-tac-toe or hangman though

john also names his stuffed lamb buttercup i think

a lot of the things arthur does to give john more happy, childish experiences are things like picking dandelions and showing him how they stain hands, jumping in puddles to make john laugh, dancing in the rain just to feel the water on their skin, and petting every single alley cat that they can get to come up to them

john really likes petting the alley cats

why not also have yorick here. lol why not. yorick has no idea why john acts so silly but he also isn't one to fight it. he does get jealous of buttercup though like why does john like this toy so much she can't even talk. at least yorick can talk!

i don't think yorick can/would regress but i DO think he's petty enough to at least pretend he's small so arthur gives him attention

john gets so mad

arthur is so tired

[brienneoftarth1989]

hi, how are you? can i request a fluff with a little hint of hurt/comfort brienne x reader? The reader is like training for a war or smth (maybe for the war in the long night episode) and the reader fainted while training. Brienne sees the reader full of cuts and she takes care of her (reader). If you can't write it, it's fine! And no pressure, take your time! 😚✨️

(sorry about my sh***y grammar btw 😅)

- 🦢

Thanks for the request. Hope this is ok!

The Long Night

Brienne of Tarth x fem reader

Summary: read request

Warnings: fighting

Requests open

———————————

The White Walkers are fast approaching. You have been at Winterfell for the last couple of months after travelling down from the wall. You were the only female at the wall so you were glad you were now surrounded by some other women. There was one woman who could fight better than most men here. Her name is Brienne and you were making it your mission to get as good as her in the time you had.

You have been training every day since you arrived and you still seemed to be struggling. Even the weakest of men seem to be defeating you. You stood no chance against the White Walkers when they eventually arrive. There was also no saying when they would turn up. They could show up tomorrow or they could show up in the next couple of months.

That's why you needed to make sure your training was the best it could be because who knew when the war would start. Your day started like most others waking up in a freezing cold room. The only downside to fires is that if you don’t keep feeding them they eventually die out.

Reluctantly you pulled yourself out of your bed and plodded over to the fireplace placing some more wood and restarting the fire. At least if you started a fire now your room would be warmer when you returned to it later. You got dressed into some more suitable clothing. A basic long sleeve top and trousers were fine in your room but out there in the cold you would likely get frostbite.

Once you were dressed in a couple layers of trousers and tops plus your winter coat you were ready to venture outside so you could head to the great hall to have breakfast. Breakfast was the same everyday. A chunk of bread and a mug of watered down wine. It wasn’t exactly filling but it was better than nothing.

You sat by yourself quite happy munching on your bread and drinking your wine just watching everything that was going on around you. Then you heard a chair next to you move. You looked up to see it was one of your only friends Yorick. “Hey Yorick, how are you this morning?” you asked him as he sat down with his bread and wine.

“I’m doing good. Looking forward to training later?” he asked you. “Absolutely not. I just can’t seem to get the hang of it. I’ve been training for months and I just don’t seem to be getting much better. I can tell you I’m going to be one of the first to die” you laughed to yourself but deep down you were petrified. “Oh don’t be so hard on yourself y/n. We have time to get your training up to speed. Come on, the sooner we finish eating the sooner we can start training again” Yorick said to you.

“Thanks Yorick you always know how to make me feel better” you smiled at him as you finished eating your food. Once you had finished eating you made your way back to your room so you could get changed into your armour so you could safely train. The room was much warmer when you arrived which made your whole body relax.

Once you were changed into something more suitable you headed outside where everyone was currently waiting for training to begin. You sighed to yourself because deep down you knew how today would end up, being humiliated by everyone else.

When you did finally make it down with everyone else you just stood with Yorick waiting for the better trained men to come down and teach you the basics. “I really don’t know why you bother showing up y/n, you never seem to pick anything up from training” one of the men said while laughing at you.

“Well at least she is trying,” Yorick said, piping up coming to your defence. “Yeah but we all know that she won’t last five minutes on that battlefield, the White Walkers are coming and we need good men and women to fight in this army. If she doesn’t buck her ideas up she may as well not fight” another man laughed.

Yorick was about to say something but you grabbed his hand and pulled him away. “Hey, what's up?” he asked. “They’re right, if I don’t get better at this training then there is a high chance I’m going to die when this war officially begins.” you sighed “Come on let's start training” you said, picking up a wooden sword and carrying it over to where everyone was practising.

You are Yorick trained for a couple of hours before having a rest to have something to eat. Lunch was rabbit pottage mixed with vegetables. This you could eat every day. It was nice and filled you up. After having something to eat you, Yorick and the rest of the men and women who had been training went back outside to continue.

However when you went out you noticed a tall armoured woman standing on one of the balconies. Oh please don’t say she is going to be in charge of training this afternoon. Don’t get me wrong you like Brienne but you always managed to make yourself look like a fool in front of her and she knows it too.

“Y/n a moment of your time” Brienne called down to you. Sighing you made your way up to Brienne to listen to what she had to say. “I’m going to be observing you in training today. If I don’t see any kind of improvement we are going to have to remove you from training and assign you some place else. You have a place in this war, fighting it upfront just may not be it” she said with a gentle look on her face.

“I won’t disappoint you Brienne” you said to her making eye contact the whole time. “I hope you’re not wrong. Now off you go” she said as you then turned on your feet making your way back down to where everyone was training. Knowing that Brienne was watching makes you really put in more effort not to mess up.

All was going smoothly until they asked you to switch sparring partners. You got partnered with one of the men that was making fun of you earlier. This was just typical but you sucked it up and got on with it. You were both fighting and for once you managed to disarm your sparring partner. You smiled to yourself before looking up to Brienne who was now smiling back at you.

However with your back turned you didn’t see how annoyed your sparring partner was and he managed to grab hold of a sword that would actually do some damage to you but you didn’t notice. You started sparing again but Brienne noticed something different about your partner's sword. Just as she was about to call everyone to a halt the worst happened.

“You don’t belong here” your partner yelled before taking his sword and running the blade along your face. You don’t remember much from then on. Everything became a blur really quickly. You could feel the blood running down your face, before seeing Brienne running towards you. You felt your body become off balance and before your body even hit the floor everything had gone black.

When you finally awoke all you could feel was pain. Your hand immediately went to your face hoping it was all a dream however when you felt the gash and immediate pain following you realised this was no dream. You naturally let out a groan due to the pain and that’s when you heard someone move in the corner.

You watched as the person stood tall and you immediately knew it was Brienne. “What happened?” you groaned. “The man you were training for whatever reason decided to attack you. I thought his sword looked different but just as I was about to call everyone to a stop it was too late” she sighed looking at the nasty gash you now had over your face.

“Is it bad?” you asked Brienne sitting up slightly in your bed. “Yes y/n it is. When you passed out I took you straight to your room. I stopped the bleeding, cleaned out your wound, stitched it up and covered it the best I could to stop it from getting infected. I’ve given you milk of the poppy as well to help with the pain so if you feel sleepy that's why” she said to you standing up to leave.

“I also noticed you have quite a lot of small cuts on your body from training. I would really like you to take care of yourself. Those other cuts may be small but they too can lead to infection. Now I’m going to let you rest. I will see you tomorrow” she said but just as she was about to open the door to leave you grabbed her attention.

“Wait! I don’t want to be alone, Brienne. Can you please stay with me tonight? I’m scared that guy is going to come back and finish me off” you said, starting to sob quietly. “Oh y/n, I wouldn’t normally but considering your hurt I will tonight. As for that so-called man he is being punished for what he did to you. We need all the men and women we need right now so fuck knows why he was trying to kill you” she sighed getting fustrated.

You watched as Brienne took off her armour making herself more comfortable but still kept, oathkeeper nearby just in case anything were to happen. “I’m going to train you” Brienne blurted out. You looked up shocked.

“Really! You’re going to train me?” you asked, getting all excited. “Yes but once you have healed enough. We are limited on time but we will train one on one every morning and evening and I expect you to attend mandatory training as well” Brienne said sitting on the bed next to you.

You couldn’t help but smile “Thank you Brienne” you said as you finally felt the effects of the medication that Brienne had given you. Once Brienne knew you were asleep she tucked you in making sure you were comfortable.

But she didn’t leave. She stayed the whole night making sure the fire had wood on it and that you and your wounds were ok. She truly did care for you.

[lostonehero]

Alright you guys voted

Malevolent x Mechanisms

It was oddly quiet on the Aurora as they set off on their next adventure. After what was supposed to be their deaths and they came back, they decided to take a more active role in their stories. A few ten or so thousands of years ago, they picked up two more member and an obnoxious note from the good doctor stating she was still kicking. Jonny was pissed about that more so than his supposed final death.

Overall, again, it was quite a peaceful day on the Aurora. Their current mission, go back to Noel and Oscar's time on earth to find a way to the dreamlands. Time travel was easy it was just getting there that took effort. What nobody expected was the man to suddenly appear on the ship.

Arthur stumbled forward to the hard metal floor of the Aurora. "John, where are we?"

"It's a white hallway, but I have never seen anything like this. It's eeriely clean, and the lights are so bright." John pauses. "Yorick, do you know where we are?"

"Nerophropte has sent us in a random direction in space, but it appears I do not know where we are." Yorick clicks his jaw.

Arthur grabs the knife in his bag. "Ok prepare for anything."

"Right, the elephant." John pauses. "It's a straight hallway it seems to be split at the end. There is also what seem to be doors that look like the ones we saw on that boat, but cleaner and smooth. There seem to be names on each door."

Arthur pauses. "What are the names?"

"The two we are in between are labeled Gunpowder Tim and Jonny D'ville. Wait!" John holds Arthur's hand. "A door has opened before us, it slide to the side, and a man has stepped out. His skin seems to be made of metal like a machine."

"Metal...?" Arthur pauses as the so-called metal man spots him. He steps back, weighing his options.

"How did you get here?" Soft metal creaks are heard as the metal man walked closer. "You look awful." His voice was kind.

"The metal man is in front of us. He holds a look of confusion on his features. He seems to be studying us."

Arthur swallows. "W- I seem to be lost, could you tell me where I am?"

"King, ask him if he knows of Nerophropte!" Yorick interrupts.

"Is that a talking skull?" The soft sound of metal creaking is heard as John explains the man has crouched to look at Yorick. "Well, you're on our starship, Aurora. We are on a course for earth, and you shouldn't have just appeared on here."

Arthur decided that in a split second, he should pretend to know what that means. "Right, well, that skull is Yorick, and we'll just leave and get out of your way."

"...leave?" The man now sounded confused. "Right... um, my name is Drumbot Brian. You can just call me Brian, and I'll show you around you don't want to accidently end up in Raphaella lab."

"Arthur Lester, I'm Arthur."

"He seemed to raise a brow when you said your name. He now looks like he had a moment of recognition."

Brian hums softly. "Follow me, please."

"Ah, right, of course." Arthur swallows and follows the metal man with John's help.

........

"Arthur, there is a shorter man who approached us. His ears seem to fan out like a cow's, but they don't fold over. He has short horns on his forehead and a long tail coming behind him. His teeth are bare and sharp. He has goggles around his neck and way too many belts on." John pauses. "It appears he looks confused.

"Drumbot, what the fuck?" The man spoke voice deeper than either would expect.

"Jonny, he just appeared on the ship." Brian pointed to them. "His name is Arthur Lester."

Jonny thinned his lips into a frown and raised his brow. "You sure that's his name?"

"I can hear both of you." Arthur sighs. "Yes, that is my name."

"Arthur! Jonny has grabbed my hand, and his pupils seem to widen like a cat. He is looking at our wooden pinky." John sounded unsure.

"Finally, something interesting." Jonny grabs John's hand. "I know where one of the two newbies are."

Brian sighs. "Try not to kill him."

Arthur's eyes widen. "Kill me?" He works with John to pull away, but the man is much stronger than either realized.

"Ah, don't be scared. I ain't gonna hurt ya." Jonny laughs, pulling them along the white hallways.

John does his best to describe as they suddenly stop. "It seems we have made it into a room full of weapons. There is a man with long dark brown hair that curls, and he is wearing goggles working on a gun. There is a second man... wait! Arthur, that looks like Oscar! He seems to be sharpening a knife."

"Oscar?" Arthur mumbles.

"Oi! You fuckers we got a stowaway." Jonny loudly exclaims.

The man looks up from his gun. "He looks like shit. Also, how did Nastya not find him?"

"Drumbot said he just appeared." Jonny had a smirk to his tone.

"Just appeared?" The man pulls down his goggles to reveal mechanical eyes. "Bullshit."

"Oscar has jumped down from the counter and has approached up. He's very close to us and seems to be studying us like he doesn't recognize us." John pauses. "He seems to have recognized us."

"Yeah, that's Arthur. He looks worse than when we last parted, but that was ages ago. His eyes give him away." Oscar steps back, crossing his arms. "How did you end up here? Did the good doctor touch him?"

"Fuck. Didn't even check." Jonny huffs. "Not important, but that's him."

"Yeah, it's him." Oscar turns away. "You should probably find Noel. He spent more time with him than I did. Also, I'm not mad about the arm anymore." He hops back up on the counter. "Glad to see you're not dead."

"W-what happened to you?" Arthur swallows, staring at the man he once knew. "Your letter..."

"My..... ah." Oscar's lips thin, and he frowns. "It's been a long time, Arthur. You should find Noel. Things have changed. Time marches on, and honestly, I've nearly forgotten you."

"Oscar, I don't understand what you mean. Where are we? What happened?" Arthur sounded desperate.

Jonny gave a look to Tim, and he pulled out harmonica. "Well, what do you say? Shall we tell him?"

Tim pulls out a guitar case. "Up to you Oscar."

"I suppose it's been a while." Oscar hops down again. "Aurora, would you be a dear and get me my piano?"

"Arthur, a thin piano seems to come out of the wall."

"Thin...?" Arthur jumps back at the sound of piano keys being rapidly played.

Oscar clears his throat. "Well, might as well begin..."

(Now, in the style of Will Wood, Oscar begins. Again, I'm not good at songwriting or poetry, so meh)

"My tale as all sad tales begin in an orphanage. Frail and small being told to keep my head down only had a small friend to keep close. The good father, the oh so perfect priest, didn't like my small friend, and so he decided to have his way with the boy."

"My a rage grew inside, and I nearly took that priests life. I wish I had. Hands barely stained. I drenched them in holy water and became a priest. First case first mistake was old an old woman and her husband. Creatures from beyond and a death that was not my fault on my hands. Drowned the desires with liquor and kept moving forward. Until the old woman saight my help once more, now her sister was about to suffer the same fate."

"Then the man with golden eyes came down to offer me salvation. Salvation, a purpose, something to replace my desires with. Never looked right at you he lied about his name and talked to himself. I wonder if he ever responded. I was a fool to follow nothing but a sheep to slaughter. Tugged along by desires and the hope of forgiveness from a god who did not care."

"It was an abandoned home which I found myself in. Creatures that did not belong to the world burrowed under my skin. The golden eyed savior took my arm saved my life, I suppose, but was it really worth it? Abandoned, I lay in the hospital when a good doctor sweeper me away for emergency surgery. My life as a mortal ended as fresh as a newborn lamb. I tried oh I did try so hard to return."

"Funny how life works a man came to the parish, nothing to note but the six piece he held up. Never felt the bullet as it ripped through. I lay on the ground, welcoming death. Then, as I realized I woke up and shouted off the devil and resurrection, echo in the hallowed halls as I sat up. Wish I could remember that madman face alas it's lost to time. The blood that soaked my clothes told me it wasn't a dream."

"Now, does god truly matter when death is no longer an option? What is eternity to someone who believed in an end that was no longer able to be gotten to? Even small mercies as the detective found me at the end of a bottle of bloody fists and in the hole. Sanity isn't something you would wish upon anyone, I suppose, but it came to me as the detective pulled me from my stupor. To the poor detective, I was beyond saving."

"No matter what he tried, he was unaware of his own changes, and death mocks us both. Then, from the sky, like bloody angels came, the others. Now, to know better, they were devils as I was. To the future or the past didn't really matter much in the face of eternity. As I said in the beginning, this is a sad tale, and as every sad tale, the ending is unhappy, but in this case, it will remain forever unending, ain't that a shame you'll never know a true end in the face of eternity."

"Faith won't save you, gods are a lie, and to eternity, what's the point of suffering so might as well have fun."

Oscar laughs as the song comes to an end. "It's been a few. I don't know. I stopped keeping track. Honestly, I am no way the same man you once knew... wait, I have to ask. Is there another guy in there?" He turns to face Arthur. "Noel mentioned something eons ago."

"John?" Arthur pauses.

"Another fucking John?" Jonny huffs.

Tim snickers. "Awwww, getting pissy?"

"Fuck you solider boy." Jonny rolls his eyes.

Oscar sighs, putting the piano back into the wall. He gets up and walks by Arthur. "Come on, follow me. Their arguments never end without bloodshed. You don't want to get in the crossfire."

"What the fuck? Serious what the fuck is this place? Did Kayne send us here on purpose?" Arthur, let's Oscar pull him along as gunfire starts.

"Nerophropte did not send us here on purpose. He merely sent us to a place where you can breathe." Yorick clicks out. "Oscar is the same man you met before, my lord."

"Can't say a talking skull is the weirdest thing I've seen." Oscar hums. "Anyway, I think Noel is with Ashes they're planning on staying on earth for a bit if the dreamland plan falls through. Noel's planning on going back as a detective until he gets bored. Ashes is planning on being his sidekick of sorts."

"So, is this some sort of game to you guys?" Arthur is shaking. "What how long has it even been that you're treating lives like some sort of game?"

"Oscar has stopped walking. He is looking back to us. His face has fallen to a frown. He is messing with his mechanical hand."

"Arthur, it's been nearly a million years. I'm surprised I still can remember you. We've been traveling the stars watching empires rise and fall people come and go. I've thrown myself into a star to try to die for some peace it didn't work. As I said, I've got eternity, and it's not as if I can just go back to how I was." Oscar sighs. "Look, we'll drop you back on earth if that's what you want, but you'll have to understand we aren't the same."

"A million years?" Arthur has his mouth open as he tries to process that time.

Yorick clicks his mouth open. "My king wishes to know if you've become gods."

Oscar laughs. "Gods? Fuck no. We're just immortal space pirates. We can't do anything spectacular." He motions for Arthur to follow. "Come on, I think they're in the commons."

......

Noel hasn't changed from John's description save for the metal in his neck and a sparkling trench coat. Arthur stands close to Oscar before clearing his throat. "Noel?"

"Yes?" Noel looks up, tilting his hat back.

Oscar sighs. "Arthur Lester." He shoves Arthur forward. "Have fun. I'm going to make everyone lunch because how else are we going to gather them."

"Hello, New Friend! I Am The Toy Solider." TS smiles and waves.

"The creature seems to be made out of wood and has a uniform on." John pauses. "There is also a woman here, dark skin half spiked up hair smoking a cigar and has her feet kicked up watching us."

Noel dusts himself off. "You're alive? How are you even here?""

"Kayne and um, I shouldn't." Arthur blinks.

"Is John still in there?" Noel pauses watching Arthur's left hand wave. "Huh, alright, so what's with the skull?"

"I am Yorick!"

"Ah, it talks." Noel raised a brow. "Alright, anyway, welcome to the Starship Aurora."

"You from the same place Gunpower is from?" A female voice rings out. "You've got similar accents."

"Well, he's also human, but we did meet in America." Noel pauses. "Arthur, what's wrong?"

Arthur is shaking. "This shouldn't be like this. This has to be another trick. Kayne lied to us."

"Arthur, I know this is a lot." Noel puts his hand down.

"No! This is impossible! We can't be in space, and you guys can't be real." Arthur starts to cry. "Kayne made a deal with us he promised."

Noel gets up and approaches Arthur cautiously. "Hey, it's alright.. Arthur, you got to breathe."

Arthur crumples to the ground as a woman with long hair and a smile on her lips holds out a syringe.

"Fucking Ralpheala he's not a toy." Noel pinches his brow.

......

Arthur groans as he wakes up. "W-what happened?"

"He's awake! Good, what am I holding."

"I... what?" Arthur's eyes don't focus.

"Arthur, I can't see." John sounded scared.

"I can't see." Arthur swallows and a different voice rings out.

"Don't sever their connection Arthur's blind without John." That was Noel's voice.

Several clicks and levers are heard, and then John gasps. "We appear to be in a sterile room on a table of sorts. We are strapped down by metal restraints."

"Seriously, just let him go." Noel seemed annoyed. "Just because we changed doesn't mean he has to."

"Who else can I experiment on with a fragment of a god in them.... don't say Lyf, they are banned after that incident with Marius.... don't you ever tell him I said that or your the next one on my table."

"Your secret is safe with me, and I mean I get it, but like, can you at least make sure he's healthy first." Noel frowns.

"I put him in clean clothes and cleaned that skull of his."

"I am shining!" Yorick clicks from a different part of the room.

"However, you're right. I'm surprised he has survived anything like this. He is mortal, after all. How about this? I take you and have some fun, and Arthur here can join the others for dinner."

"You always drive a hard bargain doll, but if I must." Noel removes his hat and the metal straps release, and he helps Arthur off the table."Just keep going straight, kid. Mess hall is right down the way." He pushes Arthur out, and the door shuts behind him.

Arthur stumbles forward. "I uh, what happened?"

"That woman's name is Raphaella, she is a science officer on this ship. She scares me. She located me seporate from you and talked about how I am inside of you, and I have roots, but I do not know what that means." John huffs. "I would really like to leave this place."

"You and me both." Arthur sighs. "Come on, let's head to this mess hall."

"Maybe we can talk to Oscar again."

"You want to talk to him?"

"He has changed, and I don't understand why it interests me."

"Ok, one step at a time."

......

"Fuck me how the fuck did you get out of Ralph's lab?" Jonny shoves a plate of food at Arthur which John holds.

"Noel was with him, you know that freaky shit they have going on." Tim rolls his eyes. "Dude, you look even worse in fresh clothes."

"Did Someone Starve You Chap?" TS had that same smile, but the tone sounded concerned.

Marius frowns. "TS don't ask that."

"It is right, though, I don't think I've seen a belt tied that tight." Nastya hums.

"Probably shouldn't ask those questions." Oscar mumbles.

Ashes sigh and push Arthur to sit at the table and make him take a bite before he can speak. "He's like a scared animal."

"I'll give him a proper exam later." Marius sighs. "He's pale for a human, right?"

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not a medical professional." Tim scoffs.

"You are human, though." Jonny says through bites.

"So is Oscar, but you don't see us judging you on paleness asshole." Tim huffs.

"Try to drag me into another argument, and I'm taking you both to my room." Oscar's tone didn't leave room for argument.

"Yeah, not when there's a stranger." Jonny sighs. "But later, offers open?"

"Perhaps." Oscar chuckles.

"Aurora appreciates that you know her blind spots." Nastya hums. "However, we will need you for ship maintenance in a fortnight."

Oscar hums softly. "Yeah, alright, that's not an issue."

"Why are you out here, Nastya? Are you curious about the stowaway?" Jonny has a smug smile.

"No." Nastya huffs.

Soft metal creaks, and Brian sits next to Arthur. "Don't mind them. Mealtime is one of the rare times most of us are in the same area of the ship. Even if I can't eat, neither can TS. Marius is the ship's doctor, so he can look you over later. Don't mind the human comment he's jesting. Tim is paler than you."

Arthur seems to relax slightly but than someone sits on his other side.

"You have books in your bag. I went through them and copied them to my system." Ivy places the bag filled with Arthur's things in his lap.

"Uh copied?" Arthur blinks before taking another bite.

"Yes, you come from a very historical time. I scanned your books to my system." Ivy is quiet and mumbles a thank you when is handed a plate of food.

Brian hums softly. "Eat your fill. We always have more to spare." The reasons why are left unsaid.

Arthur nods. "It's very good."

"It was Ashes' turn to cook today." Brian sighs. "I offered, but it's not my day till next week."

Arthur pauses for a moment. "You guys really want to find the dreamlands? It's a horrible place."

"We're immortal, and it's been peaceful for too long if you ask Jonny. I have my own opinions, but even I am getting bored." Brian sighs.

........

"The man with mechanical eyes is next to us. His name is Tim, and the rest have cleared out of the kitchen, cleaning the plates and garbage."

"I remember his name, John." Arrhur sighs.

"You really have another guy in there." Tim hums and leans back. "Must be something." He pauses and crosses his arms and sighs. "Are you really blind?"

Arthur furrows his brows, not expecting the question. "Yes, John took my eyes. He describes the world around me."

"Sometimes I wish I was blind, just for a moment." Tim sighs. "Mechanical eyes see more than you can imagine. It's overwhelming at the best of times, probably why I see yellow around you."

"That's John." Arthur frowns. "This doctor, did you ask to be like this?"

Tim snorts. "Fuck no." He sighs. "I lost the man I loved in a war that doesn't even matter. I blew up the moon, and my eyes burned out of my skull. The doctor found me drifting in the escape pod, and I wasn't even aware of anything till I woke up in pain. All of us have a story, and none of them are happy. We had the promise of a final death, but it was a lie. The doctor made sure to put a message in Oscar's arm to tell us that. We ain't ever going to die or grow old, but at least we've got each other."

Arthur sighs. "That sounds horrid."

"It's our reality. So now, the actual question, kid, you really met gods?" Tim looks a bit amused.

"Yes." Arthur tilts his head. "I wouldn't suggest going against them."

"Well, I'm not going to take that suggestion." Tim leans back. "Our first mistake with the bifrost was to not get more involved. We aren't going to make the same mistake. I want to fight a god it's not like it will kill me."

"You'll go mad. These outer realm beings, these gods, are beyond comprehension." Arthur holds his left hand.

"Already went mad and circled back to sanity all of us had. Comes with the territory." Tim chuckles. "Keep that good heart of yours, don't let it be taken." He gets up. "Worst part is we all can actually remember what we were before this, side effect the good doctor put in. Don't believe our lies that we don't remember. Anyway, I'm done being cryptic. I'm going to the armory." He waves and walks away.

Arthur pauses. "W-wait what do you mean?"

"He is ignoring you." John sighs.

"I figured as much." Arthur sighs.

.......

It's been a week, at least, that's what the clock is telling Arthur. He has gotten accustomed to the chaos that this ship Aurora brings. Oscar still has the habits and quirks he can remember, and so does Noel. But they are still different. He sighs and gets up. His room was temporary, as he was told, but it was still nicer than anything he had in ages. Yorick has taken to spending time in the lab with Raphealla, they get along like a house on fire.

Arthur turns his head to the sound of his door opening.

"It's Jonny. He has stepped into our room, and the door shut behind him." John pauses. "He seems melancholy."

"You're mortal." Jonny's accent sounded southern, which Arthur didn't dwell on.

"As I've been saying." Arthur raised a brow, feeling his bed shift as Jonny sits next to him.

Jonny is quiet for a moment. "I remember how to be mortal, ever since DTTM. My life before has been etched into my mind. Before this metal heart, before the doctor before my first death." He sighs. "I wasn't always like this. None of us were. Of I tell you things, I don't have to worry about it lingering because you're a mortal."

"So you're going to talk to me because I'll eventually die?" Arthur hissed as Jonny punched his shoulder.

"No. You're missing the fucking point." Jonny huffs. "I'm telling you because you're not immortal, not forced to watch the universe grow old while you remain unchanging."

Arthur pauses but nods.

"The doctors name was Carmillia. I was the first mechanism, I'm the oldest. I followed her blindly at first. But I don't think I was the first." Jonny crosses his arms. "My ma went to settle a debt with her curtsy of my father. She never came back." He sighs. "The others know I'm first they know I'm the oldest. Tim's actually the youngest, Lyf doesn't count. I came from a lonely astroid. It was mostly desert, but it was home."

"You killed your father. I already knew this. You already told me." Arthur frowns.

"He wasn't a good man. My mom was the one who taught me to shoot, to hunt to feed myself, and to stay alive. Father drained our money on gambling and drinking. I still have my mother's gun she gave it to me before she went to face off with the good doctor. It doesn't work anymore, and I don't want Tim to upgrade it, but..."

"You want me to look at it? Why?" Arthur sounded curious.

"It might be similar to your time periods weapons Noel mentioned something off hand after spotting it in my room." Jonny huffs and shoves a box at Arthur. "I ain't asking Charlie."

Arthur held the box in his hand it was metal, but he could feel the weight behind it. "Ok, I'll do my best. I only request to cut the shooting when I'm around."

Jonny hops off the bed. "Yeah, yeah, you baby, I'll let the others know." The door opens and shuts as he leaves.

"Why does he trust you?"

"He doesn't, John." Arrhur sighs but smiles. "He respects me that's a big difference."

.......

Raphealla cornered Arthur next. "Arthur."

Arthur nearly throws the box in his hands. The gun was actually quite easy to fix once the rust was cleaned out, and he was going to return it to Jonny. "Y-yes?"

"Can I fix your eyes? Or I could give you a second pair so you both can use them. What about a second mouth?" Raphaella sounded way too excited. "Or I could try to separate you two. I'm sure I can scrape together enough biomass to make a functioning body for John."

"I do not trust her, Arthur."

"Neither do I." Arthur frowns. "Look, we have to get this to Jonny. So if you'll excuse us."

"Wait just for a moment. I saw roots, and I just need to see that again."

"Roots?" John was confused.

"Roots, you mean from my pinky?" Arthur pauses.

"Well, there's those roots, but I'm talking like golden roots. I only severed one, and that locked John from your eyes."

"I really don't trust her." John tightened his grip on the metal box.

Raphealla huffs when Jonny passes her and screeches to a halt.

"Did you..." Jonny takes the box and opens it, pulling out the gun with a name crudely carved into the handle. He messes it, and it clicks softly. "You fixed it. You actually fixed it."

"Jonny?" Raphaella sounded concerned. "You're crying."

"I..." Jonny sniffs and holds the gun close. "Thank you." He runs off to the barracks.

Raphealla blinks. "What did you do?"

"It's nothing much." Arthur shrugs, and he uses this to escape the pressures of Raphaella experiments.

......

It's been a month now. Arthur must admit he will miss these guys when they land on earth. In the meantime, he thinks he's coming down with a fever.

"Arthur, we have to get out of bed. We will miss breakfast. You look healthy." John sounded concerned.

"Mmh, don't feel well." Arthur groans. "Missing a meal is fine." He pulls the blanket tighter around him.

"Arthur!" John huffs and reaches out for the messaging device they gave them. Noel taught him Morse code.

Arthur huffs. "John, let me rest."

John starts to tap out a message. "Arthur has not left his bed he will miss breakfast."

John pauses. "Arthur? Arthur!"

Arthur's soft snores were a response that was interrupted by Marius and Raphaella crashing into his room. Tim, Noel, and Oscar were behind them.

"It's probably just a fever." Noel raised his brow. "Humans tend to get sick."

"I will check the roots!" Raphealla was way too happy to take this excuse to pick up Arthur and run to her lab.

Marius wasn't far behind.

Tim rubs his temples. "We have five more months of this."

"Shame really, I'll miss him." Oscar frowns. "But it would be cruel to keep them here."

"To be fair, he would be safer here than on earth." Noel makes a vague motion with his hands.

Tim hums. "Yeah, that's right. World War two is right around the corner, ain't it? That could be a distraction. For us, not him."

"Fuck yeah I would love to kill nazis." Noel chuckles. "Bet I can get more than you."

"Fucking you're on!" Tim laughs.

"Ooo, we can do a betting pool and for specific weapon types." Oscar smiles.

The three humans nod and shake on it.

"Jonny's going to be pissed we thought of this first." Tim snickers.

"Sucks to be him." Noel smirks.

........

"Hmmmm, I was right." Raphaella smirks. "The roots have gotten deeper."

Arthur was delirious, so he didn't really understand.

John tapped on the metal table. "I don't have any other control nor things are different."

"Fascinating." Raphaella huffs. "Can't ask Arthur he's got a pretty bad fever."

"That's why I put cooling pads on him." Marius pulls up his monocular. "Granted, it's just a virus, so it has to run its course. Well, that's how I observe humans to be."

"I need him lucid." Raphaella scowls. "Can't we just cure him?"

"Last time you tried, you created a super virus that kept killing us for months." Marius crossed his arms. "Remember he's mortal."

"Shit." Raphaella groans. "Where's Noel? I'll experiment on him."

John starts to tap again. "You won't kill him."

"Trying not to." Marius hums.

........

"Old Chap I Found This Coin In Front Of Your Door." TS smiled as in their fashion holding up a coin.

"That's Kayne's coin!" John shouted, and Arthur groans, just getting over his cold.

"What do you mean Kayne's coin?" Arthur rubbed his eyes he just got out of bed because TS knocked on their door.

"Shall We Flip For It?" TS already tossed the coin in the air.

Arthur's eyes widen. "Wait, wait, wait!" He flinches as the coin lands. He waits for a moment. "Oh thank fuck."

"Oh thank fuck for what?" A voice came from behind.

"Hello, New Friend!" TS waves eagerly.

"It seems you've ended somewhere new. Did not know I sent you here, Artie." Manic laughter filled the halls. "My my I wonder where you-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP JONNY ITS TOO EARLY FOR MANIA." A female voice shouts down the hall.

"FUCK YOU ASHES I AIN'T DONE SHIT." Jonny shouts back.

"STOP FUCKING SHOUTING." A different male voice rang out.

"THIS IS VERY FUN!" TS shouted along.

A door adjacent from Arthur's opened. Noel stepped out he was in just boxers rubbing his eyes. "Why the fuck is everyone shouting?"

Kayne stops. "Oh, I didn't know we would have an audience. Let me just...." Several wet explosions are heard till it's quiet. "Anyway, as I was saying, how did you end up here? Where's your little Vanguard?"

"What Is A Vanguard?" TS smiles, looking up at the floating man.

Kayne snaps, and nothing happens. "What are you?"

"I Am The Toy Solider. Are We Playing A Game?" TS smiles as they always do at Kayne.

"To be perfectly honest, I do not know what kind of creature the Toy Solider is." John adds.

"We aren't playing." Arthur sighs. "What do you want, Kayne?"

"Aww, aren't you happy to see me? Well, not see, Jonny boy does that for you." Kayne laughs again.

"What do you want? We already found the black stone. You didn't even hold up your end of the deal!" Arthur scoffs.

"Well, I did, but you aren't there, I think Daniel has custody. You know it was adorable seeing you two reconnect." Kayne clicks his tongue. "Well, I need another favor, just a tiny one, and you'll have your daughter back all safe and sound."

"No." Arthur crossed his arms.

"No? Now Arthur, I wasn't giving you a choice. I was just being polite. Aren't you curious why I didn't give John his own body?" Kayne smirks as Arthur steps back. "Isn't that a conundrum?"

"Arthur, don't listen to him he's just - "John is cut off by shouting.

"WHAT THE FUCK RAPHAELLA KEEP YOUR SONIC FUCKING DEVICES OFF."

"FUCK YOU I DIDN'T DO SHIT."

"WHOEVER FUCKING DID IT IS DOING LAUNDRY ASSHAT."

"THIS IS WHY WE HAVE NO FUCKING WEAPONS IN THE BARRACKS YOU CUNTS."

Kayne pauses. "They're supposed to be dead."

"Doesn't stick." Noel groans, wiping the blood from his chest. "You're welcome to try again. Death would be a blessing."

"Who's the white hair floating guy?" Oscar says as his door opens and he's pulling off a blood-soaked shirt.

"Um..." Kayne looks back to Arthur.

"Is this the asshole that ruined my fucking room?" Jonny is stomping towards Kayne. "You couldn't even wait till we were in a fucking area easier to clean. Like fuck we all agreed no violence in the barracks unless it's consensual."

"Seriously, I wasn't actually having a nightmare." Tim flips Kayne off from his open door.

"Guys, you really shouldn't..." Arthur trails off.

"Or what the weird floating freaks gonna kill us? Torture us? I've been there done that." Jonny waves his hand. "Oh wait Oh no mister freak don't kill us it's not as if we've lived fir eons and can't fucking die. Like, do you hear yourself?"

"Immortals? How amusing many claims that, but there's always a limit." Kayne smirks, booping Jonny's nose.

"Please find it because we've tried everything. Who the fuck is this guy?" Jonny throws his hands up. "You know what? I don't actually care. Fucking TS collect the laundry."

"Of Course!" TS walls off and begins to collect all the ruined fabric.

"Oh, truly immortal? What makes you think you're so special?" Kayne moves so close to Jonny. "You aren't human either. I don't tend to stray from earth. Humans are so much fun to play with."

"I know, right!" Raphaella gives a thumbs up.

"Techincally, there's only three humans on the crew, Arthur is a guest." Brian chimes in. "Raphealla just likes the sample size."

Arthur pinches his brow. "That's Kayne, the god I was talking about."

"Yeah and?" Marius joins in. "We've already gone after a god."

"Fuck the train!" Tim shouts from his room.

"Y something or other, I really don't care." Jonny scoffs. "Unless your going to give us another Lyf I mean for fucks sake. Annoying bastard."

Kayne sighs. "Look, Artie, your new friends are nice, but I don't care. Don't you want to go back to earth?"

"We're already heading to earth." Brian sighs.

"Speaking of earth, didn't you already try killing your ancestors?" Marius walks over to Tim.

"Fucking don't remind me. Didn't even fucking work just gave me darker hair because the universe corrects itself. That doesn't meanni want another fucking lesson Jonny." Tim huffs.

"You've tried killing your ancestors?" Kayne appears in front of Tim.

"Not tried. I did." Tim's mechanical eyes stare through Kayne. "You're like a skin suit fucking weird man."

"Don't you like it? I made it myself." Kayne giggles.

"Maybe if I keep staring, my eyes will malfunction. Isn't that how you freaky gods work anyhow?" Tim sounded bored now. "Eh fuck it I'll be in the kitchen." He walks away.

"Excuse me." Kayne snaps, causing all mechanisms to fall into a pile right by Arthur. "I don't care what you are, but since you're being a bother, how about a little trip." He snaps again. "Have fun with yellow." And they all vanish. "Now Arthur back to our little conversation.... why are you laughing?"

John is snickering. "They've been asking to go to the dreamlands since we got here!"

Arthur waves his hand calming down. "Ok, I'm ok." He starts to laugh again. "The King is going to be pissed."

"I know!" John laughs along.

Kayne rubs his face. "Fuck this, John is using your soul to fix himself to become a god himself. Will you survive who fucking knows just get me some books from the King's library and I'll separate you." He snaps and Arthur vanishes. "Fucking ruined my entire thing assholes."

.......

[you-are-constance]

Day 3 of Ship-Mas: Hamlet/Horatio/Ophelia from Hamlet

well, i’m no longer just doing ships from musicals, as you can tell. i finished reading hamlet a couple weeks ago and went INSANE. these 3 all deserved better.

i did in fact have to make it angsty. let’s just go over details of this one.

ophelia is holding some of her flowers (i was gonna be cool and have a specific flower but i cant think of one) and has tear tracks on her cheeks

hamlet is holding yorick’s skull, and has massive eyebags (of course he does)

horatio is holding letters from hamlet, as well as the letter he was given that shows claudius’s guilt over ordering hamlet’s death in england. he has a bloody handprint on his cheek, left from went hamlet was dying. (is it realistic? not really, but it is angsty sooooo)

anyway. i am soooo normal over them

[socialhumanhealing]

Tragedy: Scripted and Staged

Hamlet Act 5, Scene 1 "Alas, Poor Yorick!"

The 5th Act, 1st scene in Hamlet is, “Alas, poor Yorick!”  The version I watched was from 1996. I struggled to have my own interpretation of the writings until I watched it. The language spoken is Early Modern English, which is formal, and somewhat difficult for me to comprehend. Having the scene played out helped me up understand what Shakespeare is conveying. Watching it revealed my own interpretation over reading it, which didn’t help much. The characters were brought to life well in the 1996 version. I loved how I could feel their feelings and the acting was believable.

 The stage for this scene is a graveyard. It was dark and misty, which gave me the feeling it was damp. The gravedigger is digging a grave, and Hamlet is speaking with him while he does it. Hamlet asks him how long a man can lie in the earth before he rots. When the gravedigger answers and explains that it matters if they were rotten before they passed away, the gravedigger grabs a skull, brushes the dirt from it and begins using it as an example. Hamlet asks whose skull it is. The gravedigger wants him to guess but he has no idea. He then tells him it is the skull of the King’s Jester, Yorick. Hamlet is a Prince, and his father was the King. The King’s Jester was his friend, whom he loved and played with his entire childhood. Hamlet takes the skull from the gravedigger and holds it, as he is clearly a bit shaken. He says, “Alas, poor Yorick!” Clearly sad, he reminisces about how much they played and the fun they had. It was nostalgic and affectionate. He even recalled giving him a lot of kisses, playing and riding on his back many times. Hamlet thinks about all the jokes and fun Yorick had and now he is just a smiling skull with dirt on it, leaving the viewer to feel life is so brief and fleeting.

Hamlet was soft-spoken, kind and loving in this scene, but realistic too. I felt the actor portrayed this well as I was drawn to him while watching. I wanted to connect to him more than just this scene. After watching a few other scenes, I chose this one for that reason. I could see his heart shine through the love he showed towards Yorick. His feelings had great depth. I feel this story was beautiful.

[yooitsyorick]

Little guy

[neonjess]

Let me tell you a little about how they met. I mentioned that Zilla was just a spoiled rich young man. He used to persue the love of woman until Yorick arrived with the intention of asking his sister's hand in marriage. He came from a lower house and didn't stand a chance, but that's not the point. Yorick organized a little meeting by a spring, and Zilla was there having fun with the ladies when Yorick approach him bringing a cluster of grapes. He offered them to Zilla insinuating himself between Zilla and the woman. Since then, it has been always like that. There was always someone else between them. But then Zilla was in Viena ready to marry the Princess when Yorick showed up telling him he didn't want his sister, but Zilla himself. They also went to a little war against vampires, but that's for another time. And if you're wondering about Kathrin, the bride, it wasn't uncommon for women to have women lovers as well as for men to have male lovers.

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale S7 E 11 (Chapter 128) Halloween 2

Jughead has found some sort of closure with the death of Rayberry though no answers yet about his potential murder, so he’s back to narrating.  Except - you know how Veronica said that his storytelling had troubling sexual politics (i.e. misogynistic)? Well, he disappointed me by casually using the very unexamined & cliche misogynist phrase “crazy cat lady” about that woman who wanted to know if there was some milk she could borrow.

He is not showing his usual acumen at sussing out the weird.  Because her obsession with filching milk from the associates of a known suicide is very intriguing.  Some questions, such as:  Is  this area some place that is impossible to get milk delivery? Has she ever seen the milkman or is this a place the milk man never came and suddenly showed up for Rayberry?  Is this residence in a food desert where getting basics like milk is difficult? Jughead is usually sympathetic to the underprivileged and yet- 1950s Jughead casual misogyny!  #disappoint.

Anyway, after failing to follow up on that potential lead, he nevertheless goes charging over to Sheriff Keller’s house to bother him in the middle of a not great work month  to tell him he’s doing his job badly.  Unsurprisingly, Keller’s reaction is not amused.  Jughead thinks that the milkman is important - “a killer milkman at large”  he says, even though he doesn’t like saying it. He literally cringes at himself (decade upon decades ahead of his time) in having to say the words A, Killer, Milkman, At, Large.  His hands are up in a very defensive, hands-up pose,  begging Please don’t kick me out and Please don’t think i’m crazy.   Keller is being very courteous.  He says it’s already established that Rayberry suicided - which Jughead vehemently disagrees with. 

It’s very hard to get law enforcement to redo homework they’ve already turned in.  Keller is not at all an exception to this rule. He wants Jughead to produce someone who actually SAW a milkman, before he opens Rayberry’s case again. He tells Jughead to stop being annoying, trying to give him work and such, then segues immediately into exposition for this episode:  Halloween is “not for teenagers looking to make trouble,” so he wants Jughead, a known trouble maker in Keller’s eyes because of his obsession with making Keller do proper policework, to remember “our ban.”

He has Jughead all wrong, does Keller, and always has across all universes.  Like, the narrative shows that Jughead liked, at minimum, and probably adored (for unspecified reasons) Jason Blossom but Keller accused Jughead of somehow obtaining a gun, shooting Jason at point blank range in the forehead and then transporting his body all the way to the river to dump it there.  Jughead for the past several episodes has been entirely isolated from anyone who does anything social in Riverdale right now (Archie, Reggie, Betty, Veronica), is trying to nurture a romantic friendship with Tabitha Tate, and is also revealed to be someone who has milk as part of his nutritionally complete breakfast - he’s as buttoned up and wholesome in his daily habits as anyone can be, in short - but Keller feels compelled to tell him to not get into trouble on Halloween.

We’re at the very fancily done traincar (Seriously, is that ceiling really like that or is that clever trompe l’oeil hollywood magic via Veronica??), where Jughead, who still manages to sleep with his felt crown without crushing it, contemplates a very full bottle of milk like it’s the skull of Yorick before smelling it then pouring it down the drain.

Many questions again - Does Jughead’s *train car* get milk delivery service?  Also he has a drain? It connects to a sewage system somehow?  (I also wonder this all the time about the OG Universe Dilton’s Bunker which has a flush toilet.)   In any case, he just pours what he thinks might be poisoned straight into the sewage system. 

While Drac’s Back (the song) is playing, Veronica is having breakfast at the Babylonium, which has on its marquee “Science Fiction Double Feature.”  I have long black hair and bangs.  Why can’t my hair look like that? How does she do that?   She’s excited because she’s going to wear a whole dominatrix witch outfit to school.  

Veronica’s outfit is EYE POPPING.  Super high heels, large-gauge fishnet stockings, a boudoir chiffon skirt over a gem encrusted bodysuit, bare shoulders and arms, studded collar, an excellent broom prop  and a fantastic witch hat.  Her lipstick is black even.  Everyone is completely agog, then it turns a bit mocking. As she walks down the hall, Veronica realizes these people don’t do Halloween costumes at school.  At all. 

When she enters the student lounge, her appearance is greeted with a record scratch sound.  Betty can’t stop smiling about how hot Veronica looks to her (“You look- [grin grin grin] everything PLUS.”) Everyone’s reactions are so funny.  Dilton is startled but can’t not stare at Veronica’s ass as she walks past him to talk to the people who count.  Betty as I’ve said is very happy.  Veronica glows so hot Reggie can’t actually keep looking directly at her.  Archie is googly eyed with happiness.  Why Betty and Archie look at each other to confirm that Veronica is indeed looking very fetching is the question that should launch much speculation about their respective sexualities. 

In any case, Archie, then Cheryl, then Toni provide some context rules:  Riverdale is uncomfortable about Halloween unlike Greendale which actively celebrates it, to such an extent that teenagers have to observe a sundown curfew.  When Archie explains finally that a bunch of teenagers died in a tragic car accident on Halloween a few years back, Clay also looks intrigued.   Veronica is bereft about not being able to do anything much on Halloween. Also nobody is allowed to say “hell” - Archie says “raising Heck” and Kevin says “raising Cain.”    Reggie won’t even miss it - he’s never celebrated Halloween. 

Veronica gives a little speech about all the ways Halloween can be liberating - for sexual exploration as well as to “honor the dead.”    When Veronica says “back in Los Angeles” and describes what sounds like a normal Hollywood party, Cheryl has a really bad reaction.  Why is Cheryl so enraged every time Veronica talks about Los Angeles?   In any case, Veronica says the Lodges had “a family altar” where they lit candles for the dead.  Im’ curious about the insane amount of Halloween related decorations that are up in this room anyway  - no fewer than five carved Jack O Lanterns, a witch decal, more pumpkins, a couple skulls and ghosts and bats.  

Veronica announces that nothing shall hold her down. She also uses the word “gatekeepers” and I don’t know if that means anything.  Just in time to her saying, “Just when you think this town couldn’t get any kookier” in comes Jughead.   Who immediately starts freaking out about milk.  He starts screaming to NOT DRINK FRESH MILK ANYMORE.  He slaps Dilton’s milk carton right out of his hand.  He advises everyone to Drink Powdered Milk.   Veronica is so tired of his silliness.  I wonder if she’s going to do anything about it, because she is the only who is shown having a reaction. 

We cut to Ethel, on the phone next to a very overbearing Mother Mary statuary AND a crucifix on the wall, telling Jughead she’s OK.  Ethel says she misses Jughead (aww) and she misses school but this all just sails right over his head because he is still in his manic episode about the milkman.  He tells Ethel, incarcerated in an insane asylum for claiming a milkman killed her parents, that he doesn’t want to upset her further but then directly proceeds to tell her his theory that his favorite author (which she knows! Because they’re actually really friends!) was murdered by “a” milkman at the very least.   Then she has a great insight- that it would be useful to talk to whoever wrote the originating Killer Milkman comic.  Just as Jughead is about to exult about this idea, Ethel hurriedly says that she has to go because the nun is giving her the evil eye, ending with a meaningful “hopefully I will see you soon.”  Jughead wonders what she meant.

At the shop class facilities at school, Archie has successfully involved himself in Betty and Reggie’s twosome project to make Bella a usable car.   Reggie and Archie are wearing matchy-matchy his-and-his T shirts smudged just the right amount with gunk (Reggie in white, Archie in green).  The two of them flexing their muscles side by side doing car fiddly things makes Betty, who is dressed like Rosie the Riveter but with a pink paisley bandana that leaves most of her hair free, falls immediately into an erotic fugue.  Her fantasies are really very specific - a threesome when the two others have eyes - and lips - only for her.   Archie wants to give Reggie a “real Halloween” because all he’s ever done is cowtipping.  

Betty defines a real Halloween as 1. trick or treating, 2.  visiting a graveyard and 3. necking in a haunted house.  Archie is familiar with 1 and 2 but she just made up No. 3, I think, because his eyes are bugging out of his head.  He looks over at Reggie to see if he’s into it.  Reggie is all about it.  

Meanwhile, Veronica is flipping through the scrapbook of the Babylonium’s events of the past.  There was in 1942 a Halloween Ghost Show at this theater, where a Phantom Polka Dancer would “appear in person” for “one night only.”    The phantom polka dancer looks a lot like that possessed girl from The Exorcist.   Veronica wants to recreate this ‘Halloween Ghost Show’ but before she can complete her smirk of satisfaction she hears thudding from what should be the empty projection room. 

Very bravely, she goes to investigate.  In it she discovers the gays necking.   Clay pretends he left keys in the room.  Veronica wants to do a 1920s glam themed ghost show for a Halloween night indoor event for the teenyboppers - staying with the letter of the law in order to flout its spirit.   She’s so ambitious - it’s gonna be “monsters, movies, burlesque” ending with a “raising of the dead at midnight.” 

Is Jughead even going to school anymore or does he just pop in and out of the publishing house at lunch time?  In any case, his editor in chief keeps zero track of who has written what, so he doesn’t know who wrote the Milkman comics.  But he does invite Jughead to the staff party for grown ups. 

I guess Betty has completely subdued the school principal as well as his child psychologist boyfriend because the sheer amount of school real estate that Veronica’s promotional activities for her business is allowed to take up in its halls is astonishing.  For a town that supposedly has a lot of trauma about four teenagers that died on Halloween, the booth she’s erected is enormous and spectacular.   Clay and Kevin shout things like “There will be mayhem” but there isn’t a single disapproving  adult in sight.   Veronica is brazen. She promises that the four dead Riverdale students will “return from the dead before your very eyes.”

Later, Toni approaches Cheryl to show us that she’s back to her old bullshit. Here she is, drawing Cheryl ‘out’ again, to participate in a gay-backup-dancers-only floor show  choreographed by Veronica.  Cheryl isn’t so sure about any of this, and in any case, she has Vixen duties.  After giving Cheryl (and only Cheryl) an inexplicably hard time about race dynamics, now Toni brings up the need for LGBTQ solidarity in order to force Cheryl into doing something that Cheryl isn’t sure about, that will also cause her to renege on an obligation she feels is a “tradition.”  “People like us” is what Toni says.  She is so manipulative. 

At the end of basketball practice, Uncle Fucking Frank wants to make sure that none of his boys is gonna “go out wilding.”   The locker room is also festooned with Halloween paraphernalia.  Who put it up and why?  

Julian starts to immediately make trouble.   He has a little towel draped around  his lower half, and I wonder if he’s in the same erotic fugue about Reggie and Archie, because he unnecessarily spread his legs to put one foot up on the bench to show both of them his junk as he invites the two to go ‘wilding’ with him.  Reggie says no.  Julian starts bark-hooting to get the other boys riled up after announcing that the ‘wilding’ is going to begin in the school parking lot after sundown on Halloween.  Archie disapproves, turning  his back on everyone to open his locker.

WE HAVE A VERY COOL LOCKER TO LOCKER TRANSITION as Archie closes his locker which then turns into Veronica’s locker door in the girls’ locker room, which she opens.  She and Betty are talking about Reggie’s virginity (about Halloween) and how unbelievable that is.  Veronica knows that Betty has the hots for someone, so she asks about it.  Betty confesses that she has the hots for both Reggie and Archie.  She advises Betty to use Halloween night to figure out which one makes her clit tingle more (“figure out which way your love compass is truly pointing”).  Veronica’s skin in this game is that she wants to be told all about it the next day. 

At the Blossom mansion,  Penelope is drinking some red liquor. Her hair is amazingly ridiculous and it looks like a bitch to maintain it so it looks that exact degree of wrong and unflattering. Omg she’s so hot. Anyway.  She thinks that Cheryl is less likely to gayly molest the other cheerleaders if they “decamp” the sleepover to “the grand hall.”   Julian apparently is fully aware of what is being discussed, enough to object to his mother putting images of his sister engaging in “hanky panky” into the dinner conversation. 

Adult supervision finally catches up with Veronica just as she’s putting the final touches on the decorations for her Halloween show.  Alice Cooper appears, bristling with insecurity about the new competition in the Halloween entertainment of Riverdale of which she’s had a monopoly so far (“It’s not going to affect our ratings.”)  Hence the whole Halloween taboo is partially revealed to be not so much about lowering teen mortality nor in honor of the dead.  It’s about ratings & eyeballs on advertisers.   Alice says that she will “allow” the event to proceed, but tells Veronica that she has been “put on notice.”  About what?  That Alice disapproves of Veronica?

After stocking up on Powdered Milk, Jughead hears someone walk directly up to his (very insecure) residence.  He’s immediately terrified. He hides after grabbing some sort of hammer or poker or something.  

It’s Ethel!  She’s all smudged with dirt, wearing a very disheveled inmate uniform.  

Jughead wants to know how she escaped from the asylum.  She says that she’d heard about the escape tunnels, so she spent all her time looking for them.  Having located them, it was her truncated call with Jughead that “gave me the push I needed to make a break for it.”  Because she is alone that absolutely nobody ever calls her (not Betty, not Alice, not Dilton, not Ben) that she clung on to the one slight indication she was entirely forgotten!   The two of them exchange a tender look.  I like them together.    Ethel says her keepers were cruel and abusive, so she just needs to make it a “couple months” until she’s 18.   Jughead wants to invite her to stay with him, but it’s not safe.  He offers Rayberry’s apartment, because Rayberry had the very useful foresight to pay rent through to the end of the year.  

Jughead is just the nicest.  He is concerned that she might be too afraid to stay in a dead man’s apartment, but Ethel is stalwart. He also invites her to a party her first night sprung from jail.

In the bathroom at school, Midge seeks permission to not have to go to the slumber party from Cheryl.  Cheryl responds at first with the party line - the slumber party is “a Vixen tradition” and “the center must hold.” Midge folds immediately. 

Cheryl is, I will note again, incredibly powerful in this timeline.  Archie really, really didn’t know what he was talking about when he said people don’t listen to Cheryl.  He’s simply protected from her wrath by dint of having the ginger gene. 

But then, Cheryl realizes she wants to go to the Veronica-led event, so she comes up with the idea to let Evelyn (“that witchy witch”) to host the slumber party instead, so she and Midge can go to the Babylonium instead.  The two girls (the gay one and the pregnant one) sweetly affirm to each other how discreet each of them are, and promise to reveal a big secret on Halloween night. 

So even though he allowed (or was powerless against) Veronica to do whatever she wanted in terms of her commercial activities, Featherhead and his boyfriend still have hard-ons for giving Jughead Jones a rough time.   Jughead is subjected to questioning by the pair as well as Keller and Sister Woodhouse about the missing Ethel Muggs.   Being a smart boy, Jughead has learned all the right lessons from Rayberry about how to deal with these people’s pressure tactics.   He responds with sarcastic amazement that they’ve essentially ‘lost’ Ethel - that is, he avoids lying but simply neglecting to answer an unstated question.  Then when Keller threatens him with another home invasion, Jughead directly asks him not to ‘trash’ the place with a smile, which he wipes from his face immediately to demonstrate his disdain.  As he takes his leave, a very Halloween ghost cackles for him as part of the soundtrack transition to the next scene. 

At home, Archie and Reggie are putting themselves into the costumes created by Mary Andrews (who can’t stand to be seen now that there are THREE men in the house.)  Reggie and Archie discuss Betty.   The boys boast to each other about “getting vibes” from Betty.  Archie suddenly wonders if Betty might want to “make it” with one of them this night.  Made entirely of cheekbones, pouty lips and pecs, this causes Reggie to very homosexually get super close to Archie to say that it wouldn’t surprise him if Betty had such horny plans, since “she ain’t blind.”  

It’s very ambiguous actually if he means only himself, or Archie, or both of them.  In the mirror, he’s looking at himself frontwise, but he’s also looking at Archie’s sculpted arms and chest and the rest of him in the all american white T and jeans.   Archie either genuinely doesn’t (he is just not smart in this universe) or pretends to think that Reggie meant only himself.  So they stand shoulder to shoulder in the mirror, because that’s a very heterosexual thing to do, while Archie says that “she might wanna get with me, Reg.”   Having been thus rejected,  Reggie walks away from him.  Unholstering his big gun, Reggie suggests that if either of them get the feeling that Betty has chosen either one of them, the unchosen will “vamoose.”   Archie agrees, which leads to the two of them pointing their guns at each other. Twice. 

Ethel and Jughead arrive at the Halloween party.  I wish I knew what they were dressed as.   Jughead is wearing a huge stovepipe hat. Ethel is in the mask that Jughead promised her.  The extraordinarily elaborate costumes that all these comic book industry people are wearing would put a lot of cons to shame.  Bernie screams for Jughead, launching himself into an embrace.   Jughead looks extremely happy to be embracing Bernie.  Bernie says “It’s gonna be a crazy night” so Jughead and Ethel enter the fray.

While her parents are hamming it up on tv, Betty’s three suitors (Reggie, Archie and for some reason Dilton) are waiting for her to appear at their home.   When Archie and Reggie (meanly) imply that Dilton is there as a form of hero worship for the two of them in his role as “the water boy,” Dilton stands up for himself to let them know that Betty invited him in particular to be here. 

When she appears, Betty’s cleavage looks absolutely amazing.  It brings Reggie and Archie  to their feet.   Dilton is so agog that he doesn’t know what she’s supposed to be.  Betty has really thought of everything about this entrance, from the costume to the perfect thing to say.  She’s Goldilocks because “she couldn’t decide on a bed so she tried all three.   Dilton has a really huge pumpkin head as his costume. 

Reggie is having the best time trick or treating. He cocks out a hip and deploys his dimples to maximum effect.   Of course, the good times can’t last.  The four of them witness Julian and others bashing pumpkin decorations with baseball bats as they drive by, hollering.  Of course, the cops are nowhere to be seen when it’s Julian Blossom flouting the rules and causing actual property damage.  Dilton wisely decides he’s had enough, and goes home. 

At Veronica’s event at the Babylonium, things look very “Cabaret” to me, which is 1930s not 20s, but it doesn’t matter.  People look very sexy here.   The costumes for this are eye popping as well - one girl has a whole 3 foot tall headdress and everything.   As soon as Cheryl and Midge enter, Toni is all over Cheryl.   

I was so happy they didn’t make me listen to Fangs singing at his big gig, but Riverdale betrays me by forcing me to listen to him at this party. 

At the Pep Comics party, workaholic artists gonna art, apparently because sketching is going on - with Ethel participating!  Jughead interviews a series of very interestingly wonky-looking people.   One guy in a silk top hat who says he doesn’t know who wrote the Milkman story but is seething with jealousy over it.  Jonah, in smudgy eyeliner, doesn’t think it was that great.  Then Jughead talks to the devil, who tells him that it was “Ted Sullivan, a journeyman writer.”  (Ted Sullivan is on the writing staff at Riverdale, and wrote among others, the “Killing Mr. Honey” episode.)  After saying his name four times, Riverdale drops the bomb that this Ted is dead, died the same way as Rayberry, because he didn’t think he could live up to the masterpiece that was the Milkman Comic.  Then the devil launches into a speech about “the enemy is here, at home” and “we’re the enemies.”  Jughead is very startled.

After lighting a truly huge number of candles at the graveyard, Reggie and Bettie are howling at the sky.   Reggie says he knows a lot about wolves because he’s a fellow alpha who grew up with them.  His way of showing off is so cute and so dumb.   “Is that what you think you are? An alpha?” Betty asks in a butter soft voice.

I know they’ll deny it, but Riverdale writing team has read at least some of those werewolf-Serpent fanfics, because this set up - howling together ‘as a joke’ in a graveyard on Halloween then having Reggie and Betty talk  like this is almost a fricking prompt for some Retty/Beggie werewolf AUs to be drafted.

What could be a very interesting alpha-omega discussion between this pair is interrupted by Julian and a couple Bulldogs still whooping it up as they cruise around town being a nuisance.   Seeing Julian breaks the mood between Reggie and Betty, causing her to go seek Archie out.

Of course, Archie is sadly contemplating his father’s gravestone.  Betty starts to apologize immediately.  Even though he clearly isn’t, Archie reassures her that he’s fine and that it’s ok and it’s fine.  Then he demonstrates how haunted he is by this father’s absence -he immediately launches into a memory.  The two used to do a lot of trick or treating together as kids, even doing Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher.   Then I realize that I fell for it - THIS WAS ALL A PLOY.   Archie’s plan was to tug at her heartstrings so he could bring up that he was the OG hotstuff.  Well dang, Archie!

Reggie tries to interrupt but his face already admits defeat.  He asks to be taken to the haunted house.  The three of them go to the murder house.  Betty is not at all spooked, so she wanders further into the house to look for “eleven up.”    

Reggie is really the most honorable, because he takes this time to discreetly tell Archie that he’s going to vamoose as he originally proposed.  Archie is nice too, telling him he doesn’t have to do that, but Reggie is a man’s man (and a genuine ladies’ man) because cock blocking out of spite is just not something he’s willing to do no matter how enticing the girl.   Betty comes back with orange sodas.  Archie grants Reggie a good enough exit, by telling Betty that Reggie was tired.  Betty, despite her earlier threesome fantasy, doesn’t much care which of the pair she gets.  She smiles at Archie.

Veronica so loves giving speeches and hosting events. She looks so happy in her black lipstick, standing in front of four coffins. I still can’t believe that this event is going to go forward in this way.  This is so callous it’s kind of funny.  Anyway, Veronica is going on about the midnight feature, dropping the fact that Boris Karloff is her godfather.  

The music number is from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Which is very timeline busting. So are we doing like a backwards-reverse Back to the Future thing where instead of a fictional white guy taking credit for a real-life black musical invention from his past ( Rock ‘n’ Roll) we have a fictional Latina woman taking credit for a real-life musical written by a white man in her future?   The twisty turny of all this is also breaking my brain because the singing in the actual movie of the real musical (Rocky Horror Picture Show) was very very imperfect except for Tim Curry and Meatloaf, and intentionally so.  The singing in the musical numbers of Riverdale also have this same trait - it’s intentionally imperfect except when Josie and Kevin were singing.  The overall technical quality of the singing is better than in that musical film (Susan Sarandon can barely sing, which places the Cheryl, Betty, Veronica and Archie actors in a higher competence category).  But for some reason (oh fine, because I love Rocky Horror Picture Show) this marmoreal smoothness of the singing by everyone involved is very very horrifying to me.  I’m getting literal shivers of distress.  There’s just too much camp happening.   When it meets the airbrushed camp of Riverdale, the rough-around-the-edges camp of Rocky Horror evaporates, leaving only raunchiness.  Riverdale has highly sexual teens, and always has, but at the same time it gets very coy with how it describes sex, sexuality and sexual activity, so I was a bit startled at Clay belting out “orgasmic rush of lust” like that.

Kevin calling for “mommy” when we’ve never seen her but has caused him to be, well, how he is by calling him fat one time because he actually was and he never got over it, is a lot.  But then they pan away as he sings “what’s this? Let’s see” as he starts to look at his own crotch I REALLY WANT TO KNOW what the choreo was implied to be. Did he look into the contents of his own crotch  pouch? Why is the audience reacting like that??

Cheryl then comes out with the most on the nose bit.  She scream-sings:  I feel released/ Bad times deceased - and so on. Cheryl has ballet training, and again the technical competence which doesn’t at all cover up the extremely clunky nature of the steps she’s being made to do is horrifying.   At the end of her number, she pulls Toni close to kiss her in front of everybody. 

We cut to Veronica doing Frank’n’Furter which is a bit like Nicole Kidman being made to sing Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend.  There are certain songs that can never be sung by anyone other than that one singer, and “Don’t Dream It” is really one of those songs.   The topsy turvy un-doing and re-doing continues, because for a woman (and a very cis, very pretty one at that) wanting to be “dressed just the same” as Fay Wray has zero subversive energy compared to Tim Curry as the transsexual alien doing it, so there’s a neutralizing of the power of that song. In order to make up for it, they put Veronica in a Marlene Dietrich tuxedo-for-girls from Morocco (where Dietrich sings a floor show and then kisses a girl on the mouth in front of everyone to general delight and applause).   It’s not fair to pit Veronica’s Riverdalian version of this song (and the screechy belting they make her do given the key choices) against the true blue one by Tim Curry, but it must be said:  There’s nothing sensual about the way Veronica is saying things like “give yourself over to absolute pleasure.” Everything she’s doing  - the volume of the singing, the thinness of the voice, the effortful meaninglessness of the choreography - is the opposite of giving yourself over to anything. 

Into all this, Alice, looking like a bomb has hit her, enters the theater. She reacts with horror. I don’t know if the horror is supposed to be about the nature of the song she’s hearing or it’s from being turned on by Clay dancing gayly in just his shorts.   Kevin articulates her shellshocked reaction with yet more exactly on the nose misappropriation of the lyrics (“It’s beyond me/ Help me Mommy”). 

All the extra give the hardworking main cast of Riverdale a standing ovation.

Elsewhere, Reggie is walking home all lonesome along  the deserted road when very ominously, Julian and two others in death masks stop beside him.   Julian says that Reggie should “join the fun unless you’ve got something better to do” because he is “going across the bridge to Greendale to raise some hell.”

OOOH HE SAID THE FORBIDDEN H- WORD!!  Was - was the strange word choices in Raising Cain and Wilding and all that leading up to this moment? 

Reggie isn’t going to make it with Betty today, so he hops into the car of destruction.  

At the haunted house, Archie finally makes a move to Betty, telling her he wants to kiss her.  She says she feels exactly the same way.  Unfortunately, they are cockblocked by a milkman who peers in on them.   Betty is smart - she isn’t afraid of no ghosts, but a real-life white guy being creepy is very good reason to run the heck away. 

After the event, Clay and Kevin are cleaning up like the good theater people they are.  Veronica wants to do a weekly midnight event at the theater that is “Fun and Campy.”  We are being extraordinarily on the nose today.  Anyway, the gays are worried about Veronica’s homelessness after parental abandonment, leading to her having to live in the movie theater.  Veronica lies about all of it (“everything’s peachy”) because she can’t stand sympathy or pity from others. 

At the Diner, Midge and Fangs have told Cheryl and Toni their big secret (her “honeybun” in the oven).  Midge then remarks on the fact that Cheryl and Toni have effectively come out to all the teenagers who were there at the Babylonium.  Toni is so glad that they’ve all put away their masks.  

I don’t know how loud they were speaking or if Evelyn just has superhuman hearing capacity, but she is there at the diner (somehow? why? how? isn’t she supposed to be hosting the sleepover? Is she there to pick up a midnight snack??)

Archie and Betty are safely back at home.   They tell each other that they had the “best” time ever.  Now, they are cockblocked by Alice, who takes out her distress at finding Clay very hot by yelling at her daughter in front of the whole neighborhood.  

With a quiet moment to herself, Veronica lights a votive candle to… Rudolph Valentino. Why is he on the altar with her grandmother?  Where’s Boris Karloff??  There’s a Jughead amount of candles lit in her small living area she’s made in the movie theater.  Veronica sleeps with a photo of herself with her parents.  Oh the poor baby. She’s very upset.

Jughead has walked Ethel to Rayberry’s apartment. Jughead is not wearing any sort of headgear - no crown, no jokey hat.  I - I feel like he’s en déshabillé.  Unable to resist the hair,

Ethel invites him in, using a tone of voice that sets all my shipping urges tingling.  Except -oh poor Ethel.  This is the universe - THIS IS IT! - the one where she could totally have a thing with Jughead, but there’s Tabitha!  Tabitha the Real is out there saving all of the multiverse and Tabitha of this world is out there on the bus tour against racism.  No dice.  Jughead says he’s tired and that he needs to feed the dog.  Sigh.   Ethel totally reacts like this is a rejection of her invitation to an assignation, but she’s nice about it.  But come on Jughead, live a little!  (Sorry, Tabitha, but Ethel was here - in my heart - first.)

As soon as Ethel enters the Rayberry apartment, dun dun dun, that weird guy in the milkman outfit is totally in there waiting for her.

Jughead is walking out when he gets accosted by that very plot-important lady obsessed with forcing her neighbors to make a milk donation to her cat.  She says, “Oh I thought you were the milkman” because she heard the bottles again.  There’s both a Dutch Angle AND dolly zoom happening as Jughead puts it all together, before rushing back to the Rayberry former residence shouting for Ethel. 

Jughead breaks down the door!  He falls faceforward into the apartment, only to make direct eye contact with the corpse on the floor.  “Jeepers” he says and - seriously, truly, this was wonderful line delivery.  I mean it. 

Ethel is having HER MOMENT.  She’s so super tall to begin with, so she looks totally magnificent, holding a bloody knife, standing victorious over the dead milkman, as she passionately tells Jughead, “I told everyone it was a milkman!”  Jughead looks so scared.

Archie is woken up in the middle of the night by Uncle Frank, who seems very upset.  He says a carful of Bulldogs went over the bridge into the River.  Archie stares upset at Reggie’s very empty bed. 

If they made Reggie die in the racist’s car I will be pitching a FIT.

[simonnebethel]

A Chant for Blood Ch. 17 Excerpt

My fingers traced the walls of the alley and I cringed as my gloved fingers came back grimy. The cloudy sky just barely illuminated our way through the dank alleyways. I walked behind Yorick, my doubt in his reliability to take us to our destination growing as the suns started setting. It was just yesterday when Kesane told me about the ongoing case, and I wanted to get my mind off of the fact that somebody could so easily accuse me of being the organ-stealer. I was eager to help Drusilla in her task, and Yorick seemed all too eager to show me where his portal had dropped him. We were a couple of blocks away from The Day-Lily, and I found myself wondering how Camille happened to find Yorick bleeding out in a dark street.

“How do you know we’re not lost?” I asked.

He turned his head slightly, noting the skepticism in my voice. “Camille took me here when I asked—well, more like drew on a paper. I was confident that the portal would still be here.”

We turned a corner and walked a ways before Yorick stopped. He turned to his right and point down a dark, cramped alley. “Here. This is where it dropped me.”

I could barely see into the dark alley, and I squinted my eyes to see. I wrinkled my nose when something foul invaded my senses, smelling of metallic rot and grime. All that I could see were a few trash cans and soiled boxes, along with dark stains on the ground. I took a handkerchief out of my pocket and held it up to my nose when the horrible smell persisted. “What in the Oriflamme is that smell?”

“That, my dear Grand Marshal, would be the rotting scent of my blood. It starts as soon as it leaves my body, and smells even worse after a few days. Very hard to wash it out. I’ve had to throw many good pieces of clothing away because of it.” Yorick replied, looking anxiously at the sky. I following his gaze, and saw the dark clouds hanging over us. I looked back down and studied the thin overcoat he had on. It won’t do him any good in this rain. Did Camille not think to give him something else?

I decided to ignore his anxious skyward glances for now and knelt down in front of the brick wall to my right. “Yorick. The lantern.”

Yorick walked over to me and turned on the lantern in his hand. The wall illuminated in front of me, and I could clearly see scorch marks decorating the brick surface. It was in the shape of an oval, about as tall as I was. I pulled out a piece of chalk and started drawing a sigil.

“Is that magic?”

“Yes.” I replied curtly, the chalk in my hand halting as I tried to remember the intricate swirls and circles that would require me to activate the sigil I wanted. I planned to do a spell that would tell me if any spellcraft was done recently in the area. I wanted to see if the portals held any magic that could be traced to a source.

“I didn’t know you could do magic. I thought Camille said Makoth can’t do the same magic as everybody else. Are you an exception?”

“Yorick. Still your tongue.” I murmured. The cold that was brought in from the impending rain seemed to have made Yorick more talkative, a revelation I was not excited about.

I put the piece of chalk back in my pocket and placed my palms on either side of the sigil, wincing at the feeling of unknown sticky substances clinging to my fingers. I breathed in slowly and cleared my mind, focusing on the sigil before me. I let the words of the spell flow from my mouth, barely a whisper but still audible. The sigil glowed white as a feeling came over me. I had done this sigil many times during training, but I could not discern what kind of magic was left in the alley. I pushed further with my mind, trying to absorb the feeling into me. It felt unknown, but…familiar.

Something tickled my neck, and I immediately opened my eyes and stood. I whipped around to where Yorick was standing, my heart pounding in my chest. I hadn't noticed the lantern light had moved away from me, and Yorick was back to looking at the sky. It was sprinkling now, and I watched as a drop fell on his cheek and cascaded down his face. He paid no mind, and continued to watch the falling rain.

I wiped away the sigil with my gloved hand and walked over to Yorick. He didn’t turn to me when I stood beside him.

“You act as if you’ve never seen rain before.” I said, bluntly.

He glanced at me and smiled. “No, I haven’t actually. You don’t get much rain in a desert world.” He tucked his hands into his arms and shivered. “If only I was more used to the cold, it would be more enjoyable.”

[clownoncall]

↳ "The Tragedy of Batman, Prince of Denmark,"  - an unpublished comic for DC Comics' alternate reality Elseworlds imprint, that turns Hamlet into Bruce and placed him smack dab in the midst of William Shakespeare's famous tragedy. In this version, the Joker-Jester is a benevolent agent, guiding Hamlet to his ultimate destiny.

❝ Hamlet dissatisfied with the world in general, and has the rich kid's luxury to be so. The darkness and strangeness of his vision keeps drawing him away from the tawdry lights of court, into his mind. He swears to avenge his father's death. However, Hamlet's flaw is that he lives in a world of the mind. Actual action means commitment, a choice, and he prefers the endless ambivalence of thought.

Hamlet stalks the dark halls of the castle, making fantastic, blood-thirsty plans for revenge (in his mind). But when he finds himself near his mother's apartments, he is balked by his love for her. He runs into Yorick, the Jester (visually, a mediæval Joker, with the distinctive Joker face; but as a character, something very different). The Jester, more clever and quick than Hamlet, worms the story out of him, and then advises him that if he wants to watch without being seen to be watching, he should emulate a jester - be a fool, and so be ignored. This is something Hamlet can do: avoid real action by letting his fertile mind run riot, while telling himself that he is acting. The Jester thus becomes his spiritual advisor, easing on the way he really wants to go.

Word of Hamlet's weirdness gets to the King, he asks to check on Hamlet's state of mind. This is what Hamlet has been waiting for: action involving the mind. So he plays the madman very convincingly. He manages to take a few sharp swipes at the King and Queen without, he thinks, incurring any risk. But as his mother, the Queen can see through Hamlet pretty well - better than her new husband, who was merely an uncle.

Alone in a deserted turret of the castle, Hamlet calls himself a coward and berates himself. The Jester comes and talks with him, advising him to take his adoption of a false persona a step farther. If he, Hamlet, can't make himself act, why not "become" a man dedicated to action? "They'll still know who I am," complains Hamlet. Then why not wear a mask? Something designed to show those who encounter you that you're no one to be trifled with? Something to strike fear in their hearts! At that moment, a bat flies through the turret window. And so is born…the idea for the Bat-man.

But Hamlet still doesn't do anything. "To be the Bat, or not to be…"

The King has had his men keep an eye on Hamlet, and they report that the Jester has been seen whispering in his ear. The Jester is seized and taken to the torture chamber in the castle's depths. The King grills him mercilessly, but through all the excruciating and increasing agony, Yorick refuses to divulge what he and the prince discussed - and so the Jester is murdered. Because he was a friend of Hamlet's, his body is dropped into quicklime to quickly burn away the flesh, before being disposed of by night in an unmarked grave.

Hamlet soon learns of the Jester's fate; it's a small world inside the castle. And finally - finally - he decides to become the Batman. He goes to the battlements and kneels where he met the ghost. "I swear by the spirit of my father to avenge his death by spending the rest of my life warring upon his murderers!"

It is a liberating thing for him, as the Jester prophesied. He enjoys creating the mask and the cape. He enjoys running free over the moonlit rooftops of the castle grounds, convinced his ghostly father is watching him. He revels in the superstitious fear he inspires in the night watch who see him. ❞

The panel isn`t related to The Batman/Hamlet crossover, image source Batman #682