#cosmic love plus some horror | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ghostsandmermaids · 1 month

Text

Fandom Manifesto: Hello From The Hallowoods

(Originally written for the Fandomanifesto community on Pillowfort.)

Here's a (mostly spoiler-free) fandom manifesto for my favorite podcast, Hello From The Hallowoods. (Please try to keep the comments on this post spoiler-free as well.)

What is a fandom manifesto?

Inspired by ship manifestos, a fandom manifesto is an essay meant to introduce people to a fandom and promote it by explaining its appeal. It's a really fun tradition that I would love to keep going.

What is Hello From The Hallowoods?

Darker than your dreams, and farther North than you remember, there is a forest where life and death meet…

Hello From The Hallowoods is a queer horror podcast written and produced by William A. Wellman (they/them). This is the official description (taken from Spotify):

Come walk between the black pines! In this award-winning queer fiction podcast, a cosmic narrator follows the increasingly connected residents of the forest at the end of the world. It's a bittersweet story that explores queer identity, horror genre tropes, and finding hope in humanity's last moments.

It's set in a forest in northern Canada (the Hallowoods) in a post-apocalyptic world plagued by the black rains. The story follows the inhabitants of the Hallowoods—only some of whom are alive and human—as their lives become increasingly interconnected.

The podcast is narrated by Nikignik (he/they), also known as One Hundred Eyes in the Dark, an eldritch god who speaks directly to the listener via their nightmares. He begins to tell these stories because he's grieving his partner, another god called Marolmar (he/him), and humans were the last thing Marolmar created. Over time, Nikignik changes from a more passive narrator to an active character in the story.

There are a lot of characters, including but not limited to:

a nonbinary Frankenstein's creature piercing together their identity

a trans ghost dealing with his occultist father

an invisible man finding love at first sight

a genderfluid storm witch trying to prove themself

a retired rockstar and her punk butch lesbian daughter

a floral-suit-wearing demon on a celestial audit of earth

a starwolf on a mission to kill said demon

a killer robot skull and his pet dead seagull

an unkindness of ravens (yes, they are one character)

… and many, many more.

How scary is it?

It's a horror podcast, so there are some scary moments, but for me, the story feels very comforting and bittersweet as it explores horror tropes in a really unique way. According to the website:

It's been described as a show that helps you sleep easier, rather than one that keeps you up at night.

The story also explores themes like religious trauma, isolation, death, grief, and queerphobia, so please check the content warnings at the end of each episode description or at the start of each episode transcript. Transcripts are available on the website.

Why should I listen to it?

If the description above didn't convince you, here are some more reasons why you should listen to Hello From The Hallowoods.

There is so much content! I often complain about books being almost always standalones or duologies lately and TV seasons only being 8-10 episodes. If I really like something, I want to spend as much time with it as possible!

With HFTH, I don't have that problem because there is so much to listen to! There are currently (almost) 150 episodes available (plus a few live shows and bonus episodes), and new episodes come out every Wednesday. There are also weekly 100-word bonus stories on Patreon, and a tie-in novel called One Hundred Eyes In The Dark is currently in the works, so if you're looking for a story you can get really invested in (or if you're angry that all your favorite shows have been canceled), HFTH is perfect for you!

There are so many queer characters, disabled characters, and characters of color! If you're looking for a really diverse show, you will love HFTH. (I cried when I heard a character describe herself as aromantic.) But even aside from the diversity, the characters are just amazing. I mean, "What if Frankenstein's creature got love and support and was an absolute cinnamon roll?" is the perfect character concept. The villains are also really compelling and well-written.

It's a great introduction to podcasts, especially for book lovers, because it often feels like a very immersive audiobook! The voice acting and music are incredible, and even though there are a lot of characters, you can tell them apart very easily by their voices. If you like fantasy and horror books, this could be your introduction to the world of audio dramas.

That being said, if you have listened to other horror podcasts before, you will still love this one! It sometimes reminds me of Welcome To Night Vale, but the setting and characters are very unique, and the writing is so, so beautiful.

It's also a great introduction to horror! I used to avoid horror media because I get scared very easily, but horror podcasts (and especially Hello From The Hallowoods) made me discover how much I actually enjoy horror. HFTH explores horror tropes in such a kind, unique, and hopeful way, and as sappy as that sounds, listening to it makes the horrors of everyday life a little easier to deal with.

If you like Malevolent (another really great horror podcast), Harlan Guthrie has a guest role in HFTH! You might also recognize Mx. Wellman's voice from other podcasts like WOE.BEGONE, The Silt Verses or Old Gods of Appalachia.

The fandom is amazing! Everyone is so kind and talented, and we always have a lot of fun theorizing about what will happen next. There's even a fan-run Discord server!

We also have a fan wiki, and in addition to the official information, we also have a "fun gender" for each character. Here are some of my favorites:

Tumblr Sexyman (Official)

Eye-Affiliated Podcast Host

Deer that will fuck you up

Whatever the hell was going on with the guy from Shape Of Water

Nightmare Personality

Hot Topic Goth

Dilf Automobile

How do I listen to it?

You can listen to Hello From The Hallowoods on the podcatcher of your choice. Here are some suggestions from the Hallowoods website:

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

Podbean

YouTube

Google Podcasts

It's not an anthology, so please listen to it from the beginning to see how the different characters and plot threads come together.

The show is entirely ad-free and sponsor-free, so if you like it and want to financially support it, please consider joining the show’s Patreon.

And that's it! There are many things I didn't include for spoiler reasons, but this should give you a basic idea of what HFTH is about and why I love it so much.

I hope I convinced you to listen to Hello From The Hallowoods, and maybe you will love it as much as I do!

#hello from the hallowoods #hfth #fandom manifesto #podcast recs #podcast recommendations #horror podcasts #long post

76 notes · View notes

hyperfixated-homo · 9 months

Text

ROTTMNT HORROR AU MASTERPOST

In this universe, there's a more concrete reason behind Master Splinter not wanting to continue his clan. As a Hamato, you are obligated to go through a trial period once you reach ten years old: a trial which is meant to test your strength and teach you how to face your fears.

Only over time, it's evolved from that. Or maybe devolved. Because now, centuries after Hamato Karai first created these trials, they are no longer a challenge. Rather, they are a prison. One which our beloved turtles have to fight their way through.

They escape, sure. But what happened to them? And how will they recover?

---

Basically I put the boys in Situations. Each of them are dumped in a universe where they have to experience life in a certain horror genre: Raph is in paranormal horror, Donnie is in cosmic horror, Leo is in Psychological horror, and Mikey is in slasher horror.

Content Belowwww

TWS FOR DISTURBING CONTENT. ANYTHING THAT I MAKE IN THIS AU MAY HAVE THEMES OF: Blood, gore, death, violence, abuse, self harm, panic attacks, mental health issues (PTSD, OCD, anxiety issues, etc), memory loss, hallucinations, and practically anything else you can think of that can be used in a horror story. MOST OF THE AU WILL CONTAIN THIS SORT OF CONTENT. Be aware and stay safe <3

Main Content

It's not real (Leo animatic)

Art

Mikey reference sheet

PARANOIA (Leo art)

Donnie comic (Not to be continued)

s0ftiethew1tch 2k art!!

Donnie reference sheet (out of date)

Doodles + Leo design concepts

Leo in a hallway

Disaster twins doodle (plus some information abt Donnie)

Watching a movie

Raph expression practice

Mikey expression practice

Leo expression practice

Donnie expression practice

It's a glitchy chair (Silly Don + Raph animatic)

Risetober Day 4 - Amulet (Donnie)

Risetober Day 9 - Cat (Mikey and Donnie)

Risetober Day 11 - Jumpscare (Donnie screaming gif)

Writing

Like Clockwork (Donnie oneshot)

Infodumping

Why I chose paranormal horror for Raph

Why I chose cosmic horror for Donnie (plus an explanation of what cosmic horror IS)

Why I chose psychological horror for Leo

More info about the au

CJ and Mind melding

Medic, tech and projection

Setting and species

Headcanons!

Why I chose slasher horror for Mikey (plus an explanation of what slasher horror is)

Donnie headcanons!

Will Donnie remember?

Why is Leo banned from cooking? (+ doodle)

Mikey and Leo headcanons!

Leo ramble

Ask game Qs #1

Ask game Qs #2

FANART BY LOVELY LOVELY PEOPLE!!!!

Asther's slasher mikey drawing!!

#rottmnt horror au #masterpost #rottmnt #leonardo #donatello #michaelangelo #rapheal #psych!leo #cosmic!donnie #slasher!mikey #paranormal!raph

169 notes · View notes

crookedkryptonitebeliever · 4 months

Note

Okay no joke if I was Yves I’d be mad as hell too, like you chose this sloppy, forgetful man over HIM??? the same man that literally has your genetic sequence down to the allele by heart?? Knows all of your genetic information so well that it would put 23 and me to shame!! Not only that but like I think there was an ask about how an anon believes that Monty would’ve honestly attached himself to anyone who was just there at the right time meanwhile Yves’ love for his darling is entirely unique and under any circumstances he never feel this way for anyone else. Like UGH with Yves it’s literally all or nothing, if it’s no you, he doesn’t want it. But with Montgomery, if another person showed up he would’ve been acting the same with that person and not you!! Like his love isn’t “unique” I guess in a way.

Ooo I’d be so upset too. I wonder like has he ever at least THOUGHT about trying to do some technological fuckery to end the relationship between his darling and Montgomery? Like perhaps, doctor some text messages, do voice impersonations or create a voice impersonator so that he could make it seem like Monty was cheating on his darling, causing her to run into his arms. It would b EUREKA 💡 as f because he wouldn’t have to kill Monty bc he actually didn’t do it, and she’s no long with him. But RATS he probably wouldn’t want to bring that sort of pain onto his darling especially with the harsh feeling of betrayal, that can mentally scar someone for years, a feeling that Yves probably is quite familiar with :(.

Buttt at the same time we do have instances (such as if the reader was really old or suffering from terminal health issues) where he would lean more towards being selfish as long as you stay with him, so in certain circumstances he is selfish enough to let you go through pain as long as you’re with him. But dang now that I’m typing this, I’m like that’s probably not that good of a comparison, one’s a relationship and the other is your life.

Also he probably wouldn’t want to take away any of his darlings happiness either, but dang like what if it was something more subliminal maybe like you unconsciously hearing subliminal messages telling you to leave Monty and that all you need is Yves because he’s the only one that can make you truly happy Mann I don’t know 😔.

But at the same time I’m ngl!! I can kinda see why some of y’all like Monty. I think it was Chapter 39?? When he busted through the door of the house and essentially mollywhopped everyone. I was like wait,,, why is he kinda,,, I guess like some of the guilt of not being there for the reader coupled with what he heard was just enough to make him snap and go into a rage. And some people are probably more comfortable around someone who’s like Monty as compared to Yves.

But also like really quick! Does Monty have the same level of unconditional love as Yves? Like I think I remember reading somewhere that you could essentially try anything you want and Yves will NOT leave you, like he has permanently cemented himself to your side literally FOREVER like it’s almost cosmic in a way. I wonder if Monty has that same level of patience but in his own way.

Zhats enough of my unintelligible ramblings and questions, your last post really did it 4 me ooo I wanted to bite my phone!! Love your work!!!!!

the other ask in question

Holy fuckin shit anon thank u so much for ur thoughts i would love to hear moar feel free to ramble more in my asks!!1 these are the types of stuff that also keeps me going with my writing

also i got like newest installation where yves interacts with yan older bro

naw YVes wouldnt like paint monty as a cheater because the pain fuckin HURTS man, he would rather be cucked like indefinitely than let you go through the horrors of recovering from such betrayal, plus there is a chance that you get so hurt that you didn't want to be in a relationship anymore or even ASSOCIATED with men anymore, so Yves just shot himself in the foot

He's only selfish when it comes to keeping you with him, so too bad if you are facing horrors of the mind, you are getting revived

Yves is defnitely using the subliminal messages to his advantage. you would probably be all like "ewww" to Monty after the first few days, weeks if you're particularly into sad, dirty men. but true love can really work past that and there really isn't much he could do without devastating you

Oh yeah Monty's love is fr unconditional, if you are abusive to him, he will take it. Altho he would cry in secret, praying to god that you will one day change your ways and stop abusing him, he will never leave even if everyone around him tells him to. He would stay until he's dead or police actually caught you beating him into a pulp, but even then, he would say it was his fault for provoking you -- he would try everything in his power to get you out of trouble.

He isn't like YVes in a sense that he tries to change you, he will just beg pathetically and get fucked over and over without learning his lesson.

If you're dead, he's dead. Simple as. Nothing will get in the way of Monty's quest to be by your side as soon as possible.

thanx 4 reading my stuff anon ur analysis really made my day i love reading yalls thoughts

#yandere #yandere concept #oc yves #yandere x you #yandere oc x reader #male yandere oc x reader #tw yandere #yandere male #yandere oc #yandere x reader #oc montgomery

18 notes · View notes

guiltyofbitchcraft · 8 months

Text

Finally read the first issue of the new Flash run and I'm honestly really intrigued about the direction it's going! Do I have a lot of questions? Yes. Is it perfect? No, I do have a few critiques. However, I am really interested in talking about what's going on with Linda cuz I'm actually a big fan of what Spurrier appears to be doing.

First of all, I am not really worried about Linda and Wally divorcing. I think they'll be fine cuz it would be a really stupid move on DC's part to break them up after all the hassle it took to get them back together. To me, the Grodd line about a breakup felt like a red herring. I actually think this has the potential to lead to some really beautiful moments for their marriage and the sense of overwhelm and isolation they're both feeling parallels well with the cosmic horror plot that's going on.

But it honestly the setup for everything Linda is going through makes so much sense. Not only did she just have her third child (and remember that right after he was born Wade was kidnapped and Linda was caught in an explosion, it was not a fun day), but she already has some previous trauma and worries surrounding pregnancy so her having postpartum depression makes absolute sense, although even without those factors it would arguably make sense regardless because it's a super common thing! But she also lost her powers. Linda is the only nonpowered person in her family and while I think she was fine with that, the pregnancy allowed her a glimpse of everything she was missing, it allowed her to connect to her husband and kids in a way she hadn't been able to before and that's gone now. She is absolutely allowed to mourn that, especially since from her POV(and I do love that we're getting so much of her POV), her family doesn't seem capable of slowing down around her.

The scene with her sitting on the couch was beautiful and tragic and I truly felt Linda's loneliness and overwhelm. I feel her frustration with her husband who doesn't seem to understand what she needs. And I honestly get it from Wally's perspective too like I don't think he's necessarily the bad guy in this situation!! The dude has been regularly phasing out of reality into truly horrific realms for the past month, I don't blame him for being super distracted. Plus I do think he is trying he's just missing the cues. He knows Linda is dealing with a lot, that's why he's taking on so much himself to try and give her space. But she doesn't necessarily need space I don't think, that space he's giving her is just making her feel further isolated from her family even though that is absolutely not his intention. He's also completely overwhelming himself to the point that he's missing very basic things like the fact that she can't have caffeine while breastfeeding.

To me, this is the start of a story about a family who loves each other so very much that they're trying to protect each other from their problems and in doing so causing a gap between them. Which is very realistic to me like that happens. And I don't think this story will end in tragedy for them, I think this is very clearly setting up that the way they're continuing cannot last and it will blow up and force them to connect again. I hope I'm right and if I am I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of this story unfold.

#linda park #wally west #the flash #flashfam #si spurrier

31 notes · View notes

via-the-ghoul · 7 months

Text

A Hanging Dying dream forever repeating

AKA: the Via-Verse’s version of Alagadda’s origin.

After working off and on on this for months and debating whether or not I should post it, it’s finally, finally here! This takes some elements from other tales, but I made it my own lol.

Anyways, TW: mind-altering, body horror, death by childbirth, heavy usage of blood, emotional child abuse, plague (which has descriptions of killing people), religious themes, child abandonment, mild gore, medical themes, suicide by hanging, slit throats, and someone snaps their own neck at one point, a knife’s briefly mentioned, cosmic horror, chains, brief mentions of drinking, someone plays with another person’s trauma in an attempt to manipulate them.

Sorry about the long list of TWs, but it’s just text, no pictures.

Anyways, here we go! (The document this is saved on is 12 pages long what is wrong with me lol)

Have you ever heard of Alagadda? Probably not, most haven’t these days. It was a kingdom long ago, before it became something else at the cost of memory. Do you wish to know what happened? …Good.

It all started as most stories do: before anything noteworthily weird happened. There was a king, there was a queen, she was pregnant, they loved each other very much, and the kingdom loved them. Nothing that made it seem too different from most kingdoms.

Except, of course, for one thing. The king had a certain secret, one that would hand the ink and pen to the hands of fate for Alagadda.

He had a love for forbidden magics. His nights spent at the Wanderer’s Library, writing the names of Gods and various sights across the sea of universes. Eventually, the Way he used just closed up, but that didn’t matter. He already had what he needed to grant his greatest wish.

Dyo’s surroundings felt like a dream to him. A faint memory of a dream from centuries back, that was what this was. He knew he wasn’t in Alagadda anymore, and he felt off. Was this fear, or bewilderment? And what were these colors? And why wasn’t this entirely unfamiliar?

He could hear birds chirping somewhere on his left. Why was the sound’s location so clear? And what kind of birds were these, with a song so beautiful and clear, something he could sing along to if he possessed vocal chords?

What was this strange, new, beautiful world? The sky above him, it was blue? Was that the word for it? Why did he know the word?

Gosh, if only he still had his body. Then he could investigate this strange new world he was thrown into. See the birds. Maybe sing.

The king wished that him, his queen, and his future child would live forever. The kingdom loved them, and he loved his queen, so there was no problem he could think of. Plus he had a common trait to most mortals: thantophobia. He was a strange man driven by fear. Not very strange, actually, when comparing him to others.

He whispered into the abyss, and three brothers answered. The youngest draped in darkness, his pale face standing out with a sliver grin. The middle a strange mismash of armor and arms, dust and clutter. The eldest of pale colors, faced in pure shadows and towering over the night sky. Three ways to die. A deal was made, a game of cards for immortality.

He fought for this immortality, he really did. He was able to top the two younger. But the eldest defeated him, far, far too easily, crushing the built up hope. And then they returned to the shadows without a word, leaving him alone.

The queen gave birth three days later. The child survived, but she faded away. The child didn’t cry, covered in their mother’s blood. The king didn’t understand why, and did not hold the child. So they remained, wrapped in dark clothes by the midwife, for someone else to take care of.

Time seemed to return to a familiar melding for Dyo. He couldn’t tell how many hours it took before the sun began to set. He knew that soon, a familiar night would appear. He felt strangely sad, he rather liked this new day. But he couldn’t really hear the birds anymore, and he was rather tired of being stuck in one place. Perhaps something familiar would help this horrid wait for some poor soul to come across him.

However, a new sound came from his right. Faint, but approaching. He had heard variations of this sound back home, and it sometimes appeared in this new daytime, but never was the crushing of leaves back home, and never was it approaching him here.

Footsteps. The stepper was probably wearing boots, from the sound of it. He honestly couldn’t wait, he really wanted to move around this new world. See the birds. He wondered what new colors they would be.

The footsteps got closer and closer, until finally a shadow covered Dyo. He could feel himself smiling. He never smiled back home. He could get used to this new world. He felt a gloved hand grab him, and hold it up to the mysterious face of the new being. The face…

It was probably the most horrific face Dyo had ever seen.

The plague came after that. Sores spotted the people of the kingdom, blood and bile coming from screeching mouths. The screams of the people echoing in the streets for years. The inescapable smell of death. But the king never heard them, never smelled rot or tasted bile.

The king had hidden deep in his castle, sobbing, mourning his queen, and only his queen for all those years. Unaware of the state of his people. He had put the lords in charge of it all, the kingdom and his child. His child…

His child grew strange. They were quiet, and rarely smiled, but weren't mean. They did try to help the people, as much as a child could. Sometimes, when there was no hope that someone would survive, they would sit by their side until they fell, no matter how the doctors warned against it. Strangely, the child never grew ill themself. Despite most people accepting the child, there were… rumors about the kid. Whispers of being the devil’s child and witchcraft, which the child somewhat heard. They didn’t believe it, but… it explained why their father never played with them like other fathers did.

10 years after it all, the king finally listened, having returned from his sorrows. He heard the screams. He saw the blood, and he saw the corpses. But he didn’t blame himself, no.

He blamed the child. He accused them of not being his child, of having been a spirit possessing them sent by the brothers to torment him, bringing the plague with them wherever they went. A monster that must have killed the real child.

The child didn’t understand. They had never met their father before this, but they heard they weren’t supposed to do this. They were supposed to love their children. That was what they saw with the fathers in the street. Was this why he never showed himself? Were they really a monster? A fake? Were those whispers right?

The king ordered the child to be locked away in their room, and never let out. Proclaimed them to be a contamination spreading monster. Some believed and some didn’t, but the ones that didn’t didn’t do anything to stop it.

Perhaps they were supposed to be locked away, perhaps there was something wrong with them. That was what they wondered, anyway. Their father hid away from them for so long, after all. Perhaps this was the reason. Perhaps they were born of dust and shadows, their mother unable to bear the beast she created. Perhaps everyone was right, perhaps they doomed the townsfolk they loved by existing.

The child began to cry.

There was something completely off about the figure’s face. It had the same mask-face as the people back home, but there was something off about its construction. The mask felt too organic, the yellow eyes uncovered, sunken deep in its head. Too expressive, too wrong, that was the eyes. It’s eyes, something changed in Dyo upon seeing the creature’s eyes.

Memories began to appear in his head, of long before, of a state of wakefulness, of trees and blue birds, and colors! So many forgotten colors, bright orange paints like the sky when the sun rose, the green grass and trees he could get lost in, a blue sky, a blue sky! And purple, purple was his closest friend’s favorite.

His childhood friend. The king’s child. By the stars, the king had a child! Why couldn’t he remember more about this lost child?! What happened to them?

Dyo didn’t see the strangely beautiful abomination for long, as it wordlessly put it in a dark brown bag. Brown, he could remember the color of tree trunks and dying leaves and the child’s eyes. The child…

Though now he was in darkness, he could tell the entity would let him out sooner or later, it had too. Perhaps there were more wonderful joys he had forgotten that the entity would show him. Though, why weren’t all these joys back home? Why were they hidden away? And what happened to his friend…

The king tried again the next morning. He knew he may not be able to resurrect his wife, or his child, but he was willing to try to give himself immortality again. Not with the brothers, of course. He simply called into the void, hoping someone, anyone would answer.

Something did come out, draped in dark robes and with a hidden face behind bandages, if it even had a face. They called themself an ambassador of a faceless being. They promised the king much more than immortality. They said they could make the king a God. A God… a God could bring back his wife and child. A God would never die. He could have it all, as long as he did what the thing said. The king smiled for the first time in ten years.

Meanwhile, our child looked out their window. A small wave to a boy their age they got along with, but the boy didn’t see. Perhaps the boy would forget about them. And they’d be up here forever. If they weren't such a clever child, perhaps they would try to jump out the open window. Alas, the child didn’t wish to die. Maybe not wanting to sacrifice themselves for the kingdom was part of being a monster. Not wanting to kill the twisted, sick devil that cursed the town-

It was at that time a crow landed at the window. The child liked crows, even though their father didn’t, as they were always nearby when they went to visit their mother’s grave, back before the tower. It was strangely comforting to them. So the child then took a piece of lavender from their shelf. It died when they plucked it, and it was rotting, being here for years, but the child didn’t care. They placed the lavender in front of the crow, and it picked it up. It almost seemed to smile before flying off. The child felt better. Maybe they were not a monster. Crows seemed more trustworthy than the king anyway.

Time was melding again in the bag. Or perhaps it was Dyo not liking the dark. It felt like he was floating in the darkest void, where no one could hear him scream, even if he had the vocal cords necessary. Gosh, perhaps the entity would give Dyo a body so he could actually talk!

A sudden blast of light and another gloved hand later, he was out of the bag. Apparently the entity lived in some sort of cave. He could make out some sort of cloth in the background. He didn’t know why, but Dyo figured it was called a blanket. People… slept on blankets. They never slept back in Allagadda.

He saw a table with another cloth on it, this one not a blanket for sleep. It was soaked in red blood. Medical cloth. This was a doctor of some sort. The entity placed him on said table, laying on the cave’s wall. The blood was dry, but the blanket was somewhat wet. Attempts of cleaning blood that never really worked. The doctor stared at him, before staying one sentence, in a dark, echoey voice.

“I know you are alive.”

Three years passed, and the kingdom grew strange. The king started to paint over anything that wasn’t black, white, yellow, or red. His favorite colors. More people started to wear masks, masquerade masks, forever. No one seemed to question any of this, and just went along.

The child meanwhile, disappeared. They had attempted escape twice before, and the lack of fighting back once they were caught again made them think escape wouldn’t be much of an issue. As the plague had been fading out, the king simply assumed they returned to the darkness they came from. This is not what happened, they merely escaped, without anyone noticing this time. Though some suspicion was casted on the new young court jester, theories they let out the kid, nothing ever came of it.

The child had grabbed a mask and ran off with it. No one was to see their face, no one was to know who they were. They cut their hair and changed their name. They ran to the town doctor, and claimed to be an orphan child seeking apprenticeship. The doctor took pity on the kid, and took them in. No one realized who they really were. No one claimed them a child of the devil, or a witch.

Dyo wished he could respond to this, he really could. He really wished that he and the entity could have spoken this whole time, about the sky, and the birds, and all these questions that were in his metaphorical brain. But he had no host, and he couldn’t look into this thing’s mind. Maybe he was still getting used to this dimension? He simply frowned. The entity tilted his head a bit.

“Huh, I thought you could still speak in this state. I must have overestimated you, my apologies. Hold on.” The entity picked him up again, and flipped Dyo around. Now they could only see the cave wall. The entity better have a good explanation for this when he actually gets a body.

He could still hear, however. He could hear the bag opening, tools being taken out, as well as something soft. Sewing, wet tearing sounds, soft fleshy noises? How did he not feel any of those in the bag!? And why did the entity think he wouldn’t want to see this over a boring old cave wall?

After what seemed like hours, he was flipped back around to see the entity’s crude creation. Flesh draped over bones, a tear in the “face” to simulate a mouth, bulging eyes and no hair. A small mannikin of flesh.

“I could have done better, but you will just destroy it anyway. No use wasting more spare parts than necessary.” The entity sighed before placing Dyo over its face.

Finally, he was getting pretty bored.

The years went on. No one mentioned the king’s child anymore. It was getting harder to see any colors that weren’t the king’s favorite, even in the yellowing sky.

The people began to change as well. They seemed to be losing themselves, more and more thinking merely of parties and wine. It didn’t affect everyone, but most that weren’t inflicted ran to other kingdoms. Eventually, the only people not affected were the town doctor, and our child. Our child…

Our child wasn’t much of a child anymore, and despite having hid it so well, they never forgot their past. They could still be found laying the last bits of rotting lavender at the Queen’s grave. Sometimes, they’d talk to the crows, simple little greetings, but still.

You see, that one crow in the old prison, it would come back. The child would talk to it eventually, when they ran out of lavender. They were friends. Once, the crow even gave a piece of rotting lavender to the child. They never forgot that. They even took it with them when they escaped, though they had now lost that decaying flower. The child spoke better with crows than people since then.

Though one day, 20 years after the day the king first invoked the three brothers, it was time for the final step of the thing’s plan. No one could have guessed. No one but the king knew the thing. And the king was too entranced to question its word. No one could have guessed what it wanted.

“Thank you, you do not know how frustrating it is to need to talk but have no mouth! I am sincerely grateful-”

“Why are you here?”

“...Huh?”

“Why are you here and not… there?” The entity’s voice was cold and stern. Clearly not a fan of Alagadda.

“Oh, right, I was so ungratefully thrown out of my home for daring to be worried about my king, daring to question the ambassador, daring to care about my people!” Dyo was still, admitting, getting used to puppeting a body in this world, and this body didn’t have all the necessary parts to move, but he tried dramatically throwing his hand to his face and his other hand where his heart would be. The intent could probably be read however, judging by the entity’s reaction.

“Sounds about right. There is no care in that kingdom, no sense. The moment someone begins to fall out of line…”

“Not a fan huh?”

“Of course not! That kingdom is an artery in the body of the pestilence. It is filled with animal instincts, only chaos, consuming, destruction with no rhyme or reason, and that ambassador would not have it any other way.”

“...Have you been there before?” A potential way back. As much as he liked this new world, he did want to go back. He couldn’t get revenge without going back. The entity hesitated before giving their answer.

“Yes. I am waiting until I have made enough progress on my cure to retur-”

“How did you get there? Have some unfinished business I need to, well, finish.” The entity froze. Something about that question thawed away all that cold from the entity. In there, somewhere, was something afraid to lose him.

“You… Want to go back there? What could there be to justify entering that place again, when you have just begun to find yourself again?”

Dyo tilted the fleshy thing’s head, and paused.

They found the king in the middle of his court, hanging by a rope. But no one seemed to care. They simply threw him in the grave, not bothering to remove the rope or even bury him. He just laid there, as crows feasted on the body. Even the town doctor, so far unaffected by anything, found herself uncaring to the king. Her apprentice never really cared for the king at all anyway.

That night, however, they still couldn’t sleep. They still wondered what could have happened to prompt this, so they looked out the window. What if the king really did love them, and this was their fault? No, that couldn’t be the case. Perhaps they’d see a crow outside, something to ground them in reality.

However, they didn’t see that. Instead, they saw… something slowly moving, for walking or even stepping didn’t feel right, through the street, rope around their neck. They couldn’t make out a single other feature, but enough was enough, and they could read context clues, they were not sticking around any longer. The town was going mad, and the apprentice and the doctor could not do anything about it. They had to leave, they had to. They panicked, putting on their mask, before they ran downstairs in an attempt to get their superior out with them…

The doctor was dead. Simply lying there, throat slit. Knife next to her. Blood was everywhere around her. Far too much blood for this type of wound.

The apprentice was horrified, and ran outside. It didn’t matter how, they had to get out of here as quickly as possible, and never look back. They’d mourn later.

But as they ran, they heard something behind them. Something was chasing them, but that wasn’t what they heard. It must have been floating, as they could also hear faint sounds of wind. No, the apprentice heard the thing talk. The voice sounded like a wind chime, neutral and sing-song. The apprentice didn’t want to listen to what it was saying. It clearly had bad intentions.

“THIS IS MY KINGDOM NOW. ACCEPT YOUR DESTINY AND TURN AROUND.”

The apprentice just kept running, and running, and not turning back. This wasn’t a home anymore. They didn’t know anything about the thing, but they knew the thing didn’t have good intentions. They knew their kingdom wouldn’t be a good place to be. Especially with the blood they felt on the ground.

And they did it. They ran all the way out. Perhaps they were tired, perhaps they thought they were safe, but they looked back. They’d never been anywhere else before.

A chain wrapped around their torso. Knocking them down, pulling them back into the kingdom, back with that… thing.

“YOU FOOLISH, FOOLISH CREATURE. YOUR DYING BLOOD WILL FLOW TO THE HIDDEN ONE, AND YOU SOUL WILL ROT IN YOUR COT FOREVERMORE. NO ONE WILL REMEMBER YOU. IT IS YOUR PURPOSE.”

The apprentice was terrified, they really were, but they didn’t show it. They knew damn well that no matter where this was going, they would die. But they knew the thing wanted them to bleed as they died. So maybe, if they died bloodlessly, they’d be safe from the… thing. They didn’t know, but they didn’t want this thing to have their soul. If they were right, perhaps they’d be somewhere safe, far away from this thing. Perhaps their mom would be there. Their knowledge of anatomy left them with one real option now, even if they were scared to die. It was on their own terms, at least.

Before the apprentice could fully be dragged back into the town, they wrapped their shaking hands around their own neck, and turned it as hard as they could.

“...what do you mean by finding myself? I’ve always known myself!” Dyo smiled, trying to ignore how much he only remembered after waking up here. That didn’t mean he wasn’t the same old Dyo. The entity’s head tilted.

“Alagadda used to not be a dream-state pocket world. It was a kingdom here once, until the Ambassador appeared. He changed people into caricatures of themselves obsessed with the king. Take yourself, for instance.” Dyo wasn’t smiling anymore. He could remember it now, figments of what Alagadda was. Blue sky. Their friend, the king’s child, a child around his age at the time, who he was close with, but disappeared one day, and then everything was foggy.

“When I knew you, you loved theater so much. You were so happy, I remember your smile so well, even after all this time. You wanted to be an actor. You became the court jester instead, suddenly obsessed with the king. It took a toll on you. You were miserable the last time I saw you, and when we met again today, I assumed you were warped so much that you were just… gone.”

Dyo remembered a lot more as they said this. The theater. There was a theater, where no actors killed themselves at the end. Where dying in the play didn’t mean anything for you. He had wanted to be there, with the actors themselves. They seemed to be having so much fun, and he’d practice his silly little improvised monologues to his friend. His friend, his only friend at the time…

They still couldn’t remember who this entity was. Strange. Maybe if he played his cards right, he could get the entity to jog his memory…

“I missed you. I mourned you. I, I should stop. This is a lot to take in-”

“No, please continue. Who, who was I, to you?”

It didn’t matter, it didn’t matter, it didn’t have to matter! The king doubted this kid even existed, they didn’t have to be in the kingdom. It wouldn’t affect the plan at all. They were entirely optional, and had willingly thrown away a chance at eternity. Strange. They did not accept the purpose of being locked away forever. So they left the child to rot away, feasted on by bugs and crows.

The king was hanging at their throne again, twitching, faint breaths, but no words. The three lords and the court jester each also hanged in a different corner of the court, each noose done too tight, blood dripping from their necks. The Ambassador held up a golden cup, and blood, all of the blood throughout the entire kingdom, flowed into it. The Ambassador went to the twitching, shaking king, who began to slowly reach for the figure.

“WITH THESE, THEIR BLOOD, IT IS THE HANGED KING’S.”

They held up the cup for the king, who held it himself. He held the cup behind his veil, to his small, rotting lips. He began to sip from the cup.

And then he dropped it.

“...We were close, very close.” The entity said. Dyo simply waited for them to continue, but they didn’t.

“...And…”

“My apologies. I tend not to dwell on the past, considering how warped the kingdom has become, so I tend not to talk about it. No one has heard of the kingdom anyway.”

“Heh. Strange that I can’t remember you though. Can you turn into a bird or something?” the entity let out the smallest of laughs.

“No, no, I just was successful in leaving my old life behind.”

In all fairness, Dyo wasn’t entirely honest anymore. His disappeared friend and this mysterious person claiming to have been his friend… it couldn’t entirely be a coincidence. But something felt… off. Something else happened. This wasn’t just an Alagaddan who left, something changed about them. Sure, there was no influence from the Ambassador, but there was something else Dyo couldn’t put a metaphorical finger on. Maybe if they played their cards right, he could get the figure to reveal it. Reveal if they could be friends again.

“Well then, what’s your new life like? This boring old cave doesn’t really jog the imagination, you know?” Maybe they’d give away a God or two with the details.

“I seek to cure the pestilence.”

“For anyone in particular?”

“Humanity.”

“...Why, though?”

“I believe that curing such a horrible ailment is simply the right thing to do, and it is why I am still here.”

Ok this wasn’t going anywhere. Why they are still here, though…

“What do you mean, why you’re still here? What happened to you?”

The hanged king was dead, the hanged king was alive. The kingdom was dead, the kingdom was alive. No one was truly dead, and the only one truly alive was the Ambassador, the real one in control. Everything was on repeat. Everyone would go through the motions of partying, drinking, forever and ever. The kingdom didn’t exist and it did exist. It was somewhere else. No one back on Earth remembered it.

Everyone would go through their motions, like a play, of sorts. Everyone had their roles to play. The lords walked with the people, and the king wrigged and withered chained on his throne, but the Ambassador was the one in charge. It was like a dream for them. Everyone only remembered what they wanted them to remember, and that didn’t include that child.

That child… the Ambassador barely thought about them. They were dead. They were dead, and they’d never know what the kingdom became. That was that.

The Ambassador was intelligent. They knew everything that had gone done in the walls of the kingdom, the many that entered, the few who’d left. They had trapped another goddess, one of the moon, in a cycle of trying to destroy the king, being attacked and almost killed by them, before returning to the sky to rest, before coming down again once per year. They even had found a use for the prison meant to contain that child, keeping the bird who’d betrayed the queen in there before repeating the cycle. They knew a lot.

But they were not entirely correct about that child.

“Whatever do you mean by that, Dyo?”

“It sounds like something should’ve killed you, but didn’t. Whatever happened-”

“Enough about me. I am afraid I have come across much more selfish than I truly am, I do not wish to dwell any more on me, let alone my past.”

“No, no. Tell me what happened. Now.” Dyo was getting impatient. This being clearly was hiding something. Dyo didn’t like when things were hidden. He needed to know it all.

“No.”

“I don’t think you know what’s really happened to me, do you? I… I am royalty these days! You better explain exactly who you are now!” Dyo forced the body up, and stared down the being. They didn’t look like much, muscle-wise.

“No.”

“You have no one, do you? That’s why you’re all alone here. No one would miss you if I were to-”

The entity ripped the mask right off the body, cutting Dyo off.

“I really let myself hope…” it said. Its eyes were filled with fire. But now, Dyo felt a bit more… comfortable here. He could speak in the entity’s mind.

“How rude. I bet if your father cared about you he’d be very disappointed.”

Dyo couldn’t really see where the entity was taking him, but that remark seemed to make them go faster. Seemed to, as they were rather slow either way.

“Why are you gripping me so hard? I thought we were friends!”

“We were, yes. You have made it clear that we are not now.” They did loosen up a bit though. Nice to know Dyo had found a way under their skin.

“Didn’t you miss me?”

“Yes, and I still do. Here we are.”

They were back in that field. A couple of dark birds flew off as they arrived. Maybe they were the same ones from before, maybe not.

The entity left him on the ground, face down, before beginning to leave. Dyo could not believe this rudeness!

“Hey, don’t leave me like this! At least let me see the stars!”

The entity didn’t respond.

It all started unlike how most stories do, with a young human snapping their own neck in a final act of defiance towards a God. Said God had then returned to their kingdom, but the human had woken up somewhere else.

Said somewhere wasn’t too different from the place they left, but there were more trees, and there was no kingdom. Or was there? It was very dark, the person couldn’t tell. Was this what death was like? They slowly got up, putting a hand on a tree. No reason to stay here all alone, when they could explore this strange world. …Until he heard a coo behind him.

Turning around, they saw someone. A crow. The person let out a small smile.

“Hello,” Said the human. After everything that happened that night, it was nice to see something, anything familiar. They sat down in front of the crow.

And then it wasn’t a crow. It was a being wearing shadows like a robe over their pale body. Its gray eyes stared into the person, into all they ever were. Horrible and beautiful.

“Oh.” The human did not react with fear, or even shock. Strangely, the figure still brought them comfort. Perhaps the being had been there their whole life, under the appearance of the crow. Perhaps it was some sort of guardian angel. Or perhaps it was one strange coincidence. It didn’t matter anymore.

“GREETINGS.” A voice akin to if whispers in the darkness spoke loudly instead came from the thing.

The two simply sat there for a bit. Until they began to talk again. About the kingdom, and about the thing that warped it in its own image. About the thing that drove it. About the curse that was still in the human’s blood, even if they escaped the kingdom. Even if their mind was clean. This burning red malice, it still lingered in the kingdom. In humanity. And whether they liked it or not, the human was a part of this now.

A deal was struck there. The king was never correct about their child’s identity, they were never some spreader of disease sent by the brothers to torment the king. They were merely a child who wanted to help the people of Alagadda. But they were not a mere child anymore, and the people of Alagadda could not be helped anymore either. They were consumed by a plague of madness, one the human could never hope to stop with what they currently knew.

So, the human would perfect a cure to the madness of spilt blood, eradicate it, and then they would return to the darkness they were in now. Or die trying. This was to be the human’s purpose, to cleanse the red-stained madness, one they took without hesitation. Only once it was gone, or if the physical burden on their rotten form grew too much, should they return here. To be a savior, to free the people of Alagadda, and help this… thing, that the king was wrong to use as an insult, who was better family than the king. This was something that the human accepted.

…Oh, who am I kidding?

They were not human anymore.

Come on, where was it? They knew it was somewhere in this journal- aw, there it was, right at the beginning. A simple list of names. Not every name, just the ones they could remember. A collection of them, lined up neatly. So many still unaccounted for.

The people of Alagadda. All gone from life and from memory. They couldn’t hope to remember every single name, but they put the ones they could here, as a memorial. It was necessary, since they were the only one who could mourn Alagadda.

They had hesitated at first, reading his name again, but it was needed at this point. His name was one of the first ones written, as the memories of him were some of the fresher, even now. They were close once, very close. But he changed. Sure, the kingdom changed everyone, but once away from the kingdom, he was still much more cruel. They did not wish for any part of this man to be remembered anymore, but they couldn’t just erase it. They couldn’t erase that boy who saw he was having a bad day and created poetry on the spot just to make them feel better, playing in the flowers, laughing together…

The doctor crossed out Dyo’s name. Never again, not even in death. Never ever, ever again. That boy was gone.

…Though, they figured the old them was gone too. They were not a quiet child worried about a father who never looked at him with love. They couldn’t care less about the king anymore. They were helping people now. They were untraceable to the kingdom now, no one needed to know, no one, no one.

No matter. It still hurt, just how much the two had grown apart. Perhaps it was meant to be, the two being driven apart. Maybe they should’ve stopped being sentimental and smashed the damned mask to smithereens.

This was why they didn’t sleep that night. What if Dyo came back? What if somehow, he saw the light? Or what if he came back to attack them again, and they had another chance to crush him?

But all throughout the night, Dyo did not return. It was quiet. Under different circumstances, they believed it would have been calming. But they couldn’t relax, Dyo could show up again, or someone sick could show up at their door needing help.

But as the sun rose, no one showed up. A part of them was sad Dyo didn’t show up again, but they buried that part of themselves. Their time as a child, as an allagadan, ended centuries ago. They were a professional, a doctor, they couldn’t keep thinking about the past, there were people they needed to save.

#via #via rambles #scp #scp foundation #scp fandom #scp alagadda #scp 2264 #the hanged king #the ambassador #scp three brothers death #the three brothers #scp three brothers #scp 035 #scp 049

20 notes · View notes

courtofmatchups · 3 months

Note

hello, i’d like to request an obey me matchup if thats okay <3

my name is bee, i’m an infp, aries, lesbian (okay with fictional men tho 🤭) and use she/they pronouns

personality: i’m very introverted, shy, and soft spoken, but with people i’m very comfortable with i tend to be a bit silly and say whatever i’m thinking. i’ve been told i’m quick with witty responses. i rarely get angry and try my best to be patient and understanding with the people around me, looking for the good in everyone i meet. due to my adhd i tend to space out a lot and forget what i’m saying easily, but i’d like to think all of that daydreaming has turned me into a creative person. art and drawing has been a huge passion of mine for as long as i can remember, and i specialize in pen and ink drawings. i’m currently working as a barista, but i plan to go back to school in the future to study art. i mainly express my love through gift giving and acts of service, and i prefer to receive words of affirmation and physical touch.

hobbies/interests: drawing, napping, gaming, horror (books, movies, games), lovecraftian/cosmic horror, bloodborne, souls series, elder scrolls, dark fantasy, history, historical dramas, metal music, annoying the shit out of people by telling them bloodborne lore

some of my favorite things: sunflowers, soft things, plushies, pens, naps on rainy days, soft lighting, electric wizard, garfield, sleeping in, cats, frogs, opossums, strawberry lemonade, doom metal, pompompurin

dislikes: loud noises, bright lights, and strong smells (they trigger my migraines), crowds, tomatoes, hot weather, spiders, opening shifts, acrylic paint, neon colors

appearance/aesthetic: 5’6, a little curvy, soft features, blue eyes, short and shaggy burgundy (dyed) hair, septum piercing, faint freckles. i usually wear grunge fairycore outfits, long skirts, lots of rings, crystal necklaces, and a little bit of makeup. at work my style leans more towards dark academia if i’m not feeling lazy in the morning. i mainly wear my doc martens everywhere as well. (easier to deal with if i accidentally spill at work.)

a few characters i relate to: sawako (kimi ni todoke) nell (haunting of hill house) kisa (fruits basket) asa (chainsaw man) lady maria (bloodborne)

i apologize if this is unorganized. have a lovely day! <3

It seems to me you've captured the heart of...

The Avatar of Lust

Asmodeus!

"What a cutie!" - Asmodeus

Asmo loves seeing your silly side and he will never tire of seeing you go from shy and soft spoken to outgoing. And your quick witted responses are good enough to give Satan and Belphie a run for their money. Like you, Asmo likes to find the beauty in everyone and everything, and there is just so much to admire about you. Your creativity is one of them. He appreciates that you like him for him.

If there is ever a time your mind wanders, he'll be there to get your mind back on track. ADHD can be a struggle to live with, especially since the world seems to be against you, but Asmo's here to support you, and cheer you on. He enjoys your artwork, and he appreciates the work you put into your work as a barista, and will support you all the way: before art school, during art school, and after art school.

Asmo's heard plenty of Levi's infodumping on his interests, so he's quite used to this kind of thing, and with you, he'd look forward to it. And seeing that you're into horror, he'd find an excuse to cling to you when something scary pops up.

A lot of your interests lines up with his, so that's also a plus. He'd love to take you shopping for clothes and accessories. And don't worry if you get overwhelmed by the environment, he'll get you out of there.

Overall, a happy relationship

#court of matchups #obey me matchups #obey me shall we date #obey me #matchups #obey me nightbringer #obey me asmodeus

10 notes · View notes

the-lady-hestia · 6 months

Text

Alright spoilers for the final Dr Who special

HERES MY THOUGHTS ON THE GIGGLE AND FINAL RANKINGS FOR ALL THE 60TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS!!

Bi-generation

Oh boy

I spent a while trying to write this, but every time I came to a complaint, I realized that the story kind of set it up in a way. All that to say, this review was originally going to be a lot harsher, but I found some justifications for the things I had complaints about.

In general, I like the episode. It’s a goofy romp where Neil Patrick Harris is a cosmic-scale nut job while David Tennant looks on in horror. It’s fun. It is not, however, a good ending to a series of specials let alone ANNIVERSARY specials. It doesn’t feel like an ending. The ending doesn’t feel emotionally resolved (that’s the thesis statement right there)

Throughout the episode, the doctor is constantly reminded that he has always had to move on. He always has to leave his friends. Between meeting the classic companion Mel, to the Toymaker giving him basically a slideshow of all the people who have died because of him and his actions.

And so the story compliments this with an ending where the doctor doesn’t have to leave. The pattern breaks. The doctor stays.

Aaaaaand he also doesn’t. At the same time.

I feel like the same effect could have been reached without splitting the doctor in half. Now there’s two doctors. How the hell are you gonna manage that? The Timeless Child shit is definitely cannon so now there’s two cosmic super beings AND two Tardis’s (Tardices? Whatever the plural of Tardis is) in existence.

I was emotionally prepared to say goodbye to David Tennant as the doctor but now the story feels unresolved. Instead of the heartwarming ending they were going for, it feels like this was just concentrated fan-service intended to lead into a spinoff series and encourage fanfiction writers to fill in the gaps (I will say, the Doctor calling Rose his niece was very sweet. He does finally get a family and that is undeniably nice)

SO! Corrections:

I think the same emotional effect (if not more of an emotional effect) could have been achieved if 14 didn’t actually die in that confrontation. Maybe the resolution of his story is that The Doctor decided that, for a while, he does stick around. Maybe we get a montage of domestic Doctor. He still gets his family and he still gets to resolve all his emotional baggage, just without the Bi-generation nonsense. When Ncuti takes over we get a Doctor that is ready to start traveling again (remember, 15 isn’t going to have this emotional catharsis. He left without confronting his baggage. He’s still fucked up, but I don’t feel like the writers are gonna acknowledge that) And then, after some time has passed, maybe the David Tennant body “wears a bit thin” and he regenerates the normal way (that’s how Hartnell regenerated, I feel like it would be fitting with this whole “new era of Doctor Who” shit they’ve got going on plus the Toymaker is a villain from Hartnells run, the themes are themeing)

Other than that, pretty fun episode. Kate Stewart slays. Shirley continues to be a bad bitch keeping the doctor on his toes. The tease for the Master at the end was fun, always a blast to see that lunatic. Overall, I give The Giggle a 6.5/10. Passable episode with a truly nonsense ending (and not the fun kind of nonsense)

Final ratings for all the specials:

The Star Beast: 8/10

Wild Blue Yonder: 9.5/10 (this might be one of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who ever)

The Giggle: 6.5/10

I do still love RTD. The man wrote some of my favorite stories in all of fiction. I’m very optimistic about this coming season of the show. I think Ncuti Gatwa has charisma coming out his ears so he’ll be fantastic. My pie in the sky dream is that it’s so good that it makes me forget about all this weird shit and hanging plot threads. Here’s hoping!

#doctor who #dr who #doctor who spoilers #DW spoilers #dr who spoilers #David Tennant #Donna noble #ncuti gatwa #DW #catherine tate #the giggle

14 notes · View notes

grayintogreen · 7 months

Text

So with all this TNEOL criticism coming back around and some absolutely heinously Bad Faith takes that the only people who took issue with it are people mad about hcs, I'm going to take some time out of my writing to propose how simple the Actual Plot would be to fix and why hiring someone who has only watched half of the series they're writing for and never even seen the character they're supposed to be writing, forcing them to watch everything at 1.5x speed and turning enjoying a canon into a necessary research assignment (and it SHOWS) is a bad idea.

While I do have ideas on how to improve the plot that range from having Aldreda and Brevyn combined into one person (giving Lucien dead little sister angst and a "no good deed goes unpunished" angle to his arc) to Brevyn being a rival/idol that he kills at some point (and not a love interest) to hammer home Lucien's "kill your idol" mindset, I'm going to be kind and just script doctor the plot as written, fixing the glaring continuity errors and Lucien's lack of agency in his own story.

THE FORMAT. Presumably the story as pitched was "Lucien backstory leading into his version of canon events," which... fine. I think some of the fault lies on that pitch, because it's way too much to shove into a 300-page book, but maybe only Sarah J Maas can drop six hundred pages and it hit the bestseller list on impact. Whatever. There's a simple solution to this that also fixes the extremely egregious error of omitting the VERY PLOT IMPORTANT EVENT of Lucien having spent considerable time in the Astral Sea.

Start with the shattering. Have Lucien's backstory come out in alternating chapters of significant events in his life as a framing device as he pieces himself together in Cognouza. This highlights the author's strength and what she was clearly hired for and enjoyed writing- the eldritch horror- while still showing us how Lucien came to be here. You can introduce the Somnovem and play with the cosmic horror elements and weird formatting stuff that people actually came here to see, because, let's be real, no one who is reading this is not a fan of the show and if you want to be weird, why not start weird? This also fixes another glaring issue I had which was the Somnovem and Lucien bickering throughout the back half. They believed Lucien was loyal the whole time and the only reason the bickering was added was to give some excuse for why he betrayed them- an excuse that wasn't necessary because CANON ALREADY GAVE ONE. You just SKIPPED IT. The juxtaposition of Lucien discovering the Somnovem in flashbacks vs him growing to resent them as we rapidly ascend into present day would be insane, plus it provides a parallel to Molly. Both start out empty at the beginning of the two year gap, but Lucien is desperate to regain his memories and sense of self.

THE BACKSTORY. I think if you have to keep the very Caleb-expy and borderline Widomauk-pandering backstory with the burning of the cart with Mom, Dad, and Sock Brother in it, you need to change one thing to make it make sense- that the parents and Elric weren't tieflings. That's it. It makes Elric being the favorite make sense, it establishes the Tavelles frequently have been making dodgy deals with hellish entities (Azraharai is supposed to be a night hag presumably but she's, uh, hot, which is weird for a hag) and that Lucien and Aldreda are proof of that transgression and therefore their mistreatment has some background to it.

Lucien's decision to join the Orders needs to have been HIS decision. My suggestion is have him refuse to leave Brevyn alone until she brings him and Cree with her, establishing two things; that Lucien wants to be like Brevyn and that Brevyn has a soft spot for Lucien's tenacity and refusal to back down which will give SOME credence to why they're so In Love later.

The Azrahari debacle needs to have been framed as Lucien deciding to go kill her while NOT on contract and the conflict is Lucien begging Cree to help him go off book and murder someone they weren't hired to because WHY are the Claret Orders sleeping on this woman? I also think removing the contracts entirely and focusing on the Orders being religious and hypervigilant would go a long way to avoid the Witcher allegations, while also pointing out a hypocrisy- they're focused primarily on the Marrow Valley and not the Quannah Breach, and the whole reason Lucien joined was also partially so he could hunt down Azrahari. This shows that Lucien has no respect for Authority and also starts proving that he can convince people to break off and do things on their own. Having this be the mission that all the Tombtakers (save Brevyn- I'll get there) go on together (maybe Cree insists they get more help) that establishes their bond would make the fight more dynamic and remove the weird "lol vengeance is hollow" feelings from a situation that really didn't need that message, while also tying two plots together.

From here, we can establish that Lucien going off-book and doing his own thing is something he does frequently. Having the Tombtakers all go to the mission in Rexxentrum together is another way to give us a fun Tombtakers group scene, because what the book needed was more establishment of their bond to run parallel to the Nein and make everything that happens later more poignant. From here, everything with Vess and Aldreda can continue as planned, but THEN Brevyn shows up to bring them back to the Orders. Lucien, since he had planned to run off and leave the Tombtakers high and dry anyway with Aldreda (this establishes how quickly he discards his friends), is fully committed to just leaving the Orders and the Tombtakers agree. Brevyn decides she wants to follow. THIS is what sparks their romance- maybe Brevyn has always been attracted to him and he's always idolized her and this leads to some emotional reveals. I think, ultimately, the romance has to be shown to be extremely unhealthy with Lucien seeing Brevyn as someone so glorious (repeating the motif of her being "the favorite" that the book didn't do anything with) that if she chooses him, then he must be special and Brevyn... just liking him. I think Brevyn could stand to be less girlbossy, because Lucien is supposed to be the girlboss of this novel. An OC in this situation does not need to overshadow the actual protagonist which was my main problem with her. I didn't pay $20 for Ensign Oakbender to be The Best At Life and the Reason Lucien Does Everything Right Down To Wearing Open Shirts and Liking Butterflies.

So from here, we can establish the Tombtakers getting a reputation worthy enough that Vess would want to hire them for mercenary work. The Tombtakers are RARELY EVER shown to be fucking competent at any point in the book (seriously how are the tribes holding down a group of blood mages- that should have been the moment Lucien terrified the entire town into respecting him), which is ridiculous because they are in canon, barring Lucien's failed survival checks, which were as much a fault of the group as a whole. It's just funny to blame him.

I think the best way to deal with the Brevyn Death Scene is for Lucien to find the book, read a little of it in private, have his first dream of the Somnovem and excitedly run to tell his gf who is just "um that's sketch" and you can do this one of two ways: the first being that she just thinks that's sketch (and even if you can't call it that, you CAN have her use Grim Psychometry on it because someone should have) and the second being the more pragmatic approach which is that if Lucien takes something that DeRogna has explicitly said she wants (all magical items), he's putting the group at risk of not being paid. Lucien reacting badly to Brevyn not yes manning him (and possibly abandoning him the way Aldreda did- REMEMBER HE HATES BEING ABANDONED) gives credence to his tight response to Caduceus's plea for perspective. It also makes him worry that because she's Perfect Brevyn, she'll turn the other Tombtakers against him. This results in a conflict and you can go two ways with this too- either Lucien kills her on accident and lies about it or their fight starts the clusterfuck that leads to her getting mashed to paste. (I like the latter because if Lucien chooses to save the book and leaves Brevyn to die, it parallels what happens with Cree.) Either way, Brevyn's death is ruled as an accident and Vess and the Tombtakers part on sour, but not as ridiculous as they do in the book, terms. Lucien reads the book. Insanity ensues.

THE SECOND ACT. So as stated in my first point, the first act would end with Lucien being brought back as he remembers the most recent events of his life and having made the decision to subjugate the Somnovem. This part of the story is generally considered to be better than the first half so mainly what needs to be fixed are the glaring contradictions to canon events, the Tombtakers' incomptence, the Somnovem's presence, and the way Brevyn hangs over the narrative- using her more as a symbol for how much Lucien sacrifices to get what he wants would be best. Personally, I think Head!Molly needs to bring up Aldreda as his "humanizing" factor with Brevyn being solely used as a reminder of what is going to happen to all of his friends. This allows Aldreda to still haunt the narrative since she was FORGOTTEN ABOUT.

As for Molly... Look, I have a mixed bag of emotions on some of Head!Molly's shit and I'm not going to deconstruct that here. I do think his arguments need to be less "why don't you like my friends they could be your friends" though, especially since if you're going to do a Tombtakers story, you need to commit to the fact that the Nein were absolutely shitty to them for no reason from THEIR PERSPECTIVE. If you can't commit to the villain-centered morality in regards to the heroes' actions in a narrative about villains, you don't need to be writing this story. Molly's arguments look stupid when viewed from Lucien's side of things and yet he's framed as being perfectly reasonable.

Beyond that, I think not declawing the Tombtakers and allowing them to be considerably competent threats instead of half-starved, freezing idiots and focusing more on Lucien's Eldritch Madness, as opposed to just general madness would go a long way.

And there you have it! The most generous, kind script doctor for the book I can give. That is all it would have taken to make a book that was very different from what I expected, but wouldn't have utterly pissed me off and, in fact, would have been looked back on fondly as a flawed but otherwise fun story.

#obviously she also needed a sensitivity reader for race/poverty issues since those are two things that are intrinsic to lucien's character #and should be considered in writing him #but that goes into 'this needed to be written by someone who watched Lucien's scenes more than once and cared about his character' territor #cr discourse #i'm not maintagging this #this is literally just a ventpost #i am very frustrated by the mentality that criticism is ALWAYS coming from a place of disappointment #that things aren't what you imagined #if canon was exactly what i imagined i would think somebody was cribbing my fanfics #that said it is a very prevalent mentality these days and that is very annoying and i hate it too #but not everyone mad at something is mad for that reason #sometimes it was actually very very badly handled

14 notes · View notes

mudstoneabyss · 10 months

Note

can you make a list of your top indie horror game recs ::3

yeah! so these wont be in order of what i like the most, they're just going to be here in whatever order I think of them. i'm also trying to go with what I think are more lesser-known ones, and if one is more popular it'll because I think it's one people write off that are actually good. as i'm writing this i'm going back up to say the descriptions for these will become less detailed because i got tired and cant keep repeating the art!! the atmosphere!!

Scarlet Hollow: A heavily choice-based horror mystery visual novel about going back to Scarlet Hollow- a small town in south historically ran by your family- for the funeral of your late aunt. its episodic and there are currently only 4 of the 7 episodes out. even with just them it is my favorite game. I love the writing and the art and the whole atmosphere of the game AND the soundtrack brought Brandon Boone (the composer) into my top 5 artists in my spotify wrapped last year

Slay the Princess: Another choice-based horror visual novel (and dating sim!) by the creators of Scarlet Hollow where you are tasked with, well, slaying the princess to prevent the destruction of the entire world. It's only a demo right now-releasing q3 of this year- but I'm excited for the whole game! my selling point for it with my followers is that the narrator (and some other characters) are voiced by Jonny Sims and hey podcast fans you like him check out this game

Endacopia: A click and point horror game inspired by Humongous Entertainment games such as Pajama Sam. Currently also a demo and set to release in October of 2024, I can not emphasize enough how excited I am for it. The game's style is so fun and there's lots of little details and the music??? There's two musical numbers in the demo alone. Some of the style and writing also reminds me of Undertale and even Homestuck somewhat (I say as someone who hasn't read homestuck)

FAITH: The Unholy Trinity: This is an 8-bit style horror game inspired by the 1980s Satanic Scare coming in 3 chapters with multiple endings, a very good example of games not needing high-end realistic graphics to be scary

Doki Doki Literature Club: Glances at my icon. who could've seen this one coming. I feel like most people know about ddlc by now, even if they don't know anything past "horror anime dating sim". It starts off for a long while a seemingly normal, if bland, visual novel dating sim until-seemingly suddenly- twisting into psychological horror. There's, however, a lot of foreshadowing once you see the beginning again after knowing what will happen. Honestly I think this games brilliant and its such a shame it somehow got lumped in with "cringe" mascot horror (its not even a mascot horror game?). For me a lot of the horror comes from the amount of scares left up to a random percentage- and how subtle a lot of them are. You can replay it and have a fairly different experience than you did the first time- and be scared by completely new things. There's also this existential and cosmic horror element that is less one you experience while playing it, i think, and more thinking about it afterwards. This isn't even touching on a lot of the secrets and easter eggs. a few years after the original game came out, Doki Doki Literature Club Plus was released, and it leaves the og game experience essentially untouched while adding a new vn experience the length of the og game (thats seemingly horror-less) as well as some more lore to the world, not of the game, but around the game, and builds more on the existential/cosmic horror. Needless to say from the length of this, I adore this game. also take the content warnings seriously, in the (free) og the game opens with warnings and a link to a page with specific tws, and in ddlc+ you are given the options to see those warnings listed before starting the game, as well as the ability to turn on tw pop-ups before game events

Home Safety Hotline: Also currently a demo, a horror game where you work for a home safety hotline, answering calls to help people deal with pests and other household problems. as the game progresses you get some more... off-putting calls and access to more unusual problems. I love games that put you into the role of someone who works a mundane job dealing with horrifying shit (similar reasoning to why I like the I'm On Observation Duty games, which I think are more popular rn than I want to put on this list)

NiGHT SIGNAL: By the same creator of Home Safety Hotline, this one's a short one about getting a new tv set and finding some strange channels during the night, inspired by The Twilight Zone and a 1995 game, The Dark Eye. A lot of the art in the game is done with clay which creates this really nice uncanny look and atmosphere- details about which you can see in an artbook you unlock after playing the game, which is REALLY cool I adore seeing the creativity behind and what goes into games like these.

and there's a bunch more I like, these are just the ones off the top of my head and I also dont feel like typing a bunch more dfnafnsk I'll also say if yall haves one you really like that I havent mentioned feel free to send an ask talking about them

#ask #anonymous #I'll ramble off a few more um #WATER WOMB WORLD is really good but I think a lot off ppl know Yames's games. Darkness Under My Bed I haven't played myself or seen too #too much of but I loved what I saw. Cooking Companions I played the demo and enjoyed but I havent played the full game though I plan on #doing so. Future Racer 2000. Cave Crawler. The Missing Parts of Maria Gwozdek. Out of Hands I've also only seen part of but I think slays #long post #I also have a BUNCH of itch horror game pages bookmarked to play

19 notes · View notes

somanyfuckedupiftruebooks · 1 year

Text

Mag 55

RIP queen

Man, he's still really terrified of Jane, isn't he.

Oh he's so relieved! Finally, confirmation that Jane Prentiss is dead from someone other than Elias (a known liar for fun and profit) or Martin (a known liar for love and friendship). Plus, it turns out that jar of ashes Martin gave to Jon when he was an out of control wreck actually was Prentiss's remains and not just a placebo! Which is both incredibly romantic and maybe also evidence that Martin has some kind of compulsion powers (either Web or Beholding) because he was able to convince a complete stranger to jeopardise their job by giving him a jar of hazardous medical waste under the table.

Check out Jordan, putting together clues and making an attempt to alert the appropriate people to a threat he thinks he's discovered. He should win some kind of citizenship award.

And if we're giving out citizenship awards for alerting people to suspicious monster activity, I would also like to nominate Laura Star for trying to do something about the evil ant hive in her neighbourhood.

This is now the second time we've had a statement from someone who survived an encounter with the Corruption because their job necessitates wearing gloves.

Okay, this can fuck right off. That's too many ants!! I can see why Jordan Kennedy ended up getting tortured in a hellscape that was nothing but this infinitely.

I'm covinced that the only reason John Amherst didn't snap his neck on sight is because none of the ants actually died.

Haha hells yes, great instincts my dude. Put off dealing with cosmic horrors for as long as possible!

So if being a massive know-it-all and insufferably nosy are commons traits of Eye avatars, maybe a common trait of Corruption avatars is being incredibly overdramatic. Plying his vile trade, the Archivist's crimson fate; these guys love to make ominous declarations.

#a mag a day #reeah reacts to tma #the corruption #john amherst #jordan kennedy #mag 55

117 notes · View notes

wanderingnork · 7 months

Text

wanderingnork's Top Ten Horror Movies

At the time of this posting, I've seen 197 horror movies (that I can remember), ranging from The Haunted Hotel in 1907 to Five Nights at Freddy's in 2023. I've watched horror movies filmed on every continent except Antarctica, and I've seen a couple horror movies that were at least set there. Out of all of those, I'm finally choosing my ten favorite movies. Subjective, of course; you might think differently.

It's a tough list to make. I could list SO MANY movies as favorites for many reasons. For effects, for monsters, for acting, for music! In the end, though, I decided to go with the movies that I remember best, moved me most deeply, or call me back again and again. So, in ascending order: here's the list.

10. Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum A brilliant piece of found footage that has me climbing up the walls every time. The use of various camera angles allows us to get up close and personal with terror in a very intimate way. At one point, we the viewers are literally face to face with a monster as if we're the one holding the camera. With some big twists, it's fun to follow. And, while it's heavy on the jumpscares, the timing of them and the relentlessness of the escalation makes them incredibly effective. When I'm really in the mood for a SCARE, this is the one I go to.

9. It Follows One of the prettiest horror movies I've ever seen, It Follows creates a liminal and uncertain atmosphere like nothing else. What season is it? What year is it? How old are the protagonists? We just don't know. It's not the most original plot, but it's so breathtakingly lovely that doesn't matter. The colors are vibrant, the textures are wide and varied, the props are unique and beautiful. Composition of shots is incredible, I swear every other frame could be a poster or framed image on its own. It also encourages personal interpretation. What's the monster? The looming specter of adulthood? An STD? Childhood trauma revisited? It's up to the viewer to decide. I love that.

8. Carnival of Souls This one's beautiful in a different way. In black and white, it incorporates unexpected landscapes and angles to create a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere throughout. The background music is limited if there at all, and often is only the echoing music of an organ. This one's pretty liminal too, and with good reason. I also love it for a meta reason: one of its scenes was a direct inspiration of Night of the Living Dead, so Carnival of Souls has an impact that resonates all the way to the present day. We can still see it in our modern zombie movies. And that's just such a fitting legacy for this movie.

7. The Bay My favorite piece of found footage, The Bay effectively splices together DOZENS of sources of found footage to create its narrative. Security cameras. Home videos. Investigators' records. Recordings of video conferences and calls. Police dashcam videos. News broadcasts. We see the unfolding ecological disaster through so many points of view that we can get a comprehensive view of how it's affecting individual children all the way to a national crisis. Plus, it contains one of the most disturbing scenes I've ever seen: a running still shot through a police dashcam, where enhanced audio gives us a horrifying window into what's happening inside a house.

6. The Void Top-tier cosmic horror. What are the weird pyramids? What's the motive? What in the fresh fuck is through the portal? Why is everything so OOZY? Some reviewers say that the movie is nonsensical--well, welcome to good cosmic horror. We're given a glimpse into a vast, hostile, incomprehensible universe which snaps shut at the end...and we're left to wonder. Most of the monster effects are practical, and they're done so beautifully and fluidly. Utterly gorgeous. Between axe-dragging cultists, zombies, howling mutant beasts, and giant space pyramids, it's a wonderfully wild ride.

5. Nightbreed A movie lower on the "scary" side of things, this movie holds a special place in my heart. It's a tale of embracing your own monstrousness and finding a home where you belong, no matter how strange you are. Full of gorgeously monstrous characters, who embrace their desires no matter how taboo, it's easy to believe why someone struggling with their identity would want to join the hidden society of the Nightbreed. "Everything's true. God's an astronaut. Oz is over the rainbow. And Midian is where the monsters live."

4. Martyrs (2008) A TRULY unexpected addition to this list, Martyrs is often classed as torture porn. The director, and I, disagree. I read it more as an exploration of the power of women in horror, the scream queen or final girl who suffers to grant the audience catharsis. It's certainly a challenging watch, because the violence is unflinchingly shown on screen in all its details. But I came out of the movie feeling cleaned out and oddly healed. The protagonist, the martyr, shouldered my burden of hurt and fear...and I got to be free of it thanks to her.

3. Alien Aside from having one of the greatest of horror creatures and greatest of final girls, Alien is just a goddamn good movie. The tension is so well-handled. The grandiose scenes of a ship in space, the explosions, the vast alien planet, those are a glorious backdrop for the intimate horror happening within the ship. I can never look away, from the beautiful and strangely sensual awakening sequence to the peaceful hypersleep at the end. I find myself shrieking at the characters to LOOK UP, to get OUT of the vents, to HURRY with shutting down the self-destruct, and on the edge of my seat the whole time. No matter how many times I watch this movie, I always flinch at the chestburster scene. And every time I see Alien, I feel like I'm seeing it again for the first time.

2. The Thing As close to perfect a horror movie as is possible, I think. The Thing itself is slimy, toothy, tentacle-y perfection. The bleak, alien landscape of Antarctica, with its stark beauty, creates such a sense of inescapable tension that there's never relief once things begin. From the pounding heartbeat of the opening soundtrack as the dog flees over the snowfields to the final scene as the camp burns to frozen ashes in the finale, it's relentless. The lighting is gorgeous (as we expect from a John Carpenter movie). It keeps you guessing all the way through, suspecting anyone and everyone of being The Thing in disguise. One of my impossible bucket list items is to view this at McMurdo Station after the last flight has left for the winter.

1.The Ritual Truly my comfort horror movie. With a beautiful, beautiful creature who uses a combination of CGI and practical effects to perfection, this is a story of human determination overcoming even the worst suffering. The claustrophobic yet beautiful wilderness, the monster who is herself an integral piece of the landscape, and the soundtrack work together to create an immersive atmosphere. I could go on and on about how this movie handles grief, guilt, ecology, relationships between men, the weight of history, the power of the human spirit--but instead I'll just recommend you watch the movie and interpret it for yourself. I certainly will be.

(If you've enjoyed this rec list, check out my other horror movie recs here.)

#nork rants #the horror tag #horror #horror recs #halloween

12 notes · View notes