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otherworldly-whump · 1 year

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Returning Home

Whumpee finally escapes. Or were they let go? They honestly aren't sure which. All they know is that they finally got everything they wanted, they're free. But something is wrong. It turns out whumper might have been right. The world is just a bit too big for them. It's scary, dangerous... overwhelming. Whumper was right when they warned them outside was actually less safe. Less comfortable. Less kind. Suddenly whumpee isn't sure they want to be free. Maybe whumper is keeping them safe after-all. Before they know it they find themselves back where they'd just escaped, on their knees in front of whumper. Words pour out of their mouth, begging and sharing and emotional dumping, and just pleading, pleading whumper to take them back in, where it's calm and quiet and there's simple rules, with simple results. They'll do anything. They're so so so sorry they left. They're sorry they didn't listen It had just gotten too much, it hurt too much, and they just wanted to stop hurting. They didn't mean to leave, they didn't mean to put themself in danger. They just couldn't handle all the feelings anymore. Please all they're asking for is a little more kindness and they'll stay forever. They'll do anything, anything, whumper wants.

Whumper watches them, cold, expressionless, for almost half an hour. They listen to whumpee plead and sob and cry until their throat is sore and their mouth is dry. And then slowly, they nod. "Welcome home whumpee dear. Of course we can be more gentle, if you finally understand your place. I only ever was correcting you to keep you safe like I told you. If you're finally willing to learn better, it's wonderful to have you home."

That night, for the first time in a long time, whumpee didn't sleep on a floor. They fell asleep on whumper's bed, curled up to their chest, shivering as their touch starved body and affection starved brain curls up tight and close. Not caring that this is the monster that had been torturing them for months. This was their proper owner now afterall. They hadn't been lying. They had been keeping whumpee safe. And the arms around them felt too good. A soft bed. An arm tucked around protectively. A belly full of Chinese takeout. Whumpee doesn't know if they escaped, or were let go. All they know is they're home finally now. They drift to sleep in Whumper's arms. Safe.

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julijbee · 2 months

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girlbossing too close to the sun.

#art #ive literally just been treating this game as a library simuator #i walk from bookseller to bookseller opening up all of their books #vivecs sermons are either a highlight or the point at which i stop reading #ive been trying to convince the ordinators that imitation is the highest form of flattery but it hasnt been working #let me wear your helmets please theyre so funny..#posting morrowind in 2024 isnt a cry for help but youre not wrong to be concerned.#morrowind #almalexia #vivec #im going to explain the chitin armor give me a moment #so the bonewalker nerevar on the shrines is adorable and it was only after drawing it however many times that i realized #it looked relatively close to a modified chitin armor #and so i modified chitin armor a few times and this was probably the cutest result #i also know i drew almalexia relatively pristine and untouched by years and vivec not so much but my thought process was #vivecs role as if not a favorite then the most accessible divine or the most “hands on” in a manner of speaking #acting in ways visible to the general population or actions explicitly brought to their attention #like not that almalexia isnt doing anything she is #but the dissemination of information regarding that is very different etc etc etc #anyways to a certain extent a god is the face on a shrine or in art or upon a statue or carving #but vivecs presence is interwoven with the geography of vvardenfell especially and his actions and writings with pubished materials #and the arts and culture and customs etc etc etc #so to me the face of a god you know and feel a commonality with or a god that walks alongside you is a face you would recognize #and vivec is already otherworldly looking enough #the simple mark of the years on his skin in some way grounding him in reality felt more right #that and i think the ways in which he and almalexia care about outward appearance are slightly different- they prioritize different things #and the ways they present outward power and their embodiment of their respective attributes share some similarities as they both have that #important preoccupation with physical power and physical strength to a certain degree #oh my god nobody read this i am yapping so bad.#tes

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opens-up-4-nobody · 1 year

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Once I was scrolling thru naruto fics and saw the tag "buisnessman!Kakashi" and all I could think about was Kakashi being a child businessman, owning all the konoha adults at doing business while wearing an oversized suit and tie. That idea is so fucking funny to me.

#obito: that kakashi! hes always showing me up by getting better deals than me >:-(#also just the idea of lil child Kakashi showing up at a business meeting and sealing the deal with an outline written in adorablly childish #handwriting. written in crayon lol #call this the naruto businessman au #every ninja is a business person and it exactly parallels canon. that is my dream #sealed inside naruto is the partial spirit of the ultimate buisnessman but its too powerful and everyones afraid #fucking hashirama's face on the wall as the company founder lmao rip madara: fuck this company ur brother embarrassed my brother so bad #at deal making that he died. im gonna tear it all down. face me hashirama! deal for deal. ill become the ultimate businessman ill control #the world and put an end to all this business!#oh got its so weird like the founders waterpark au that i also keep deep in my heart #anyway this is weird wtf am i doing. procrastinating and its like almost 11 i should keep writing or go to sleep lol #but wait: 10 years ago the spirit of a ferral businessman was unleashed upon this building. there was no stopping him. his charisma was #unmatched. his expense reports! his terrible otherworldly expense reports! he was too efficient! he fired half the staff! the spirit of #that buisnessman is sealed inside of u naruto. thats why theyre so afraid of u. and then cut to naruto in an oversized buisness suit #looking shocked. aw iruka as a daycare working. cute #anyway this is fucking dystopian lol #unrelated #naruto ramblings

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bitethedustfools · 2 months

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TWST Story Idea (10)

Twisted Wonderland is a very unique world. Their world has magic, and they have different species living together, ranging from mages, beastmen, fae, merfolk, and so on.

Yuu's world had something like those, but obviously, that was just in a story, a fiction, a drawing on walls and pots. Something that almost all people heard of but did not believe in their existence. Which is understandable because Yuu's world is just humans and animals, and that's it. There are no werewolves, no vampires or mermaids, not even a dragon, and so on.

Yuu had been the type of person who always has been interested in these kinds of things: mythology, folklore, and cryptozoology, and maybe a little bit of history. That's what Yuu loves in the whole world.

They know many things and the history of how it came to be. You can ask Yuu if they know about skinwalker, and they'll put up a presentation that they prepared for years, which somehow leads to other cryptids. The Beast of Gévaudan? Yuu's got a conspiracy board with a bunch of pictures of animals to prove this beast is actually so and so and where it ran off to. They are also very knowledgeable about Greek mythology, followed by Norse, Aztec, and so on.

So imagine Yuu got transported to Twisted Wonderland and got the shock of their life when they saw a beastman. Yuu expected to see a furry animal standing on two feet, the face a mix with man and animal followed by animalistic growls and piercing eyes. Not… not a goddamn handsome man with a pair of ears and tails!

Sure, they had seen this type before, but that's on some people's fantasy that they have written and drawn! Yuu is absolutely stupefied when they're face to face.

Every time Yuu met a new species, Yuu didn't fail to feel disappointed in what they saw. The dragon by the name of Malleus got a human form that he likes to use, and that has the most ridiculously handsome face Yuu has ever seen. Where is the fire-breathing dragon? Where is the gold they hoard? The wings? Yuu is not satisfied with this.

Yuu met Hades next, who was hailed as one of the prominent seven figures seen as a hero or something, which just conflicted with what Yuu knows about the Hades of their world.

Yuu took a look at the multiple figures next to him like the Fairest Queen, the Queen of Hearts, Maleficent, and Ursula, and was astounded to see that they also were hailed as heroes. Their story is so much nicer than the original story Yuu read that at least, 2 out of 4 stated above died horribly if Yuu is not mistaken.

The dwarves are just toddlers that can speak perfectly, the eels from the Little Mermaid are humanified, what was supposed to be a werewolf is not a werewolf at all. The ghosts are all the same as though they are copy and pasted many times, some had different clothes. Yuu saw Grim, and they're not sure what he is, but he's cute, so that's alright.

Halloween comes, and Yuu is ready to be the most terrifying monster of them all, and they did, but that's because the rest dressed prettily and not terrifyingly like Yuu expected!

Where's the horror? Where are the screams of terror and the nightmare fuel appearance?? Yuu wanted to see someone getting traumatized, and all they got is sparkles and annoyance. Those magicam monsters must be stupid and blind to be scared of such pretty faces.

The only highlight of the Halloween was the Spectral realm like yes! The gloomy atmosphere is here! The graves! The very gothic architecture is everywhere! It was what Yuu imagined where the wandering and unrest souls will go.

It got crashed by a disco ball, though.

In short, Yuu didn't like it.

This world is sh*tty and against everything Yuu believed in. It's like meeting an idol you like so much and find that they are not the same as your expectation or something.

Dissatisfied, Yuu complained to themself, unaware that NRC heard it. "This is not what I imagined them to be. What a let down…"

Seeing that NRC are full of prideful kids, naturally, they get offended being told by a magicless human that Twisted Wonderland filled with wonder doesn't excite Yuu in any slightest.

Now this. This made Yuu perked up, but at the same time, Yuu is also offended that the others think their world is nothing special.

Yuu made up their mind to take it as a challenge. Yuu won't lose to these rip-offs of their world. They're gonna prove their world is superior, and that's Yuu's pride as a human being from that world.

Twisted Wonderland might have 7-8 prominent figures, but Yuu's world has more, although they may not exist today. Yuu is gonna show them how there's charm in being a mystery and history.

Yuu proceeded to drop snippets of a bunch of mythology, folklore, and cryptozoology randomly in the different places.

Yuu would go camping with the friends and said in his world there used to be a Wendigo roaming around in the woods. They would describe vividly about its appearance and how it eats flesh and the origin of how it came to be, taking sadistic delight when said friends looked at each other shakingly.

Yuu would mention out of nowhere about how beautiful people would have been sacrificed to the gods to a rather vain person and said it's lucky they are not in Yuu's world.

They even talked about Salem witch trials down to the details when a group of their friends has a fight or something. Magic doesn't involve in that, of course, but they looked terrified that even humans would accuse and execute their own kin. A very dark history indeed.

The mer eel would have threatened Yuu about squeezing and biting and so on, and Yu would drop a myth in their world about eating mermaid would bring immortality and maybe that's why they don't exist anymore.

They even mentioned casually that the faes would replace human kids with theirs and also kidnapped humans as pets. They can also be invisible to the eyes so no one would know or even find them.

The others are terrified to hear what story sprouted out of Yuu.

#twst #twst wonderland #twisted wonderland #disney twst #twst yuu #writing prompt #Malleus: we would never kidnap kids #Yuu*looks at Silver: No but...#sometimes you gotta put the boys in their place #and how you gonna do that?#you dominate them by telling all the tales your world have to offer #they gonna call Yuu weak???#yea check out the world where Yuu lived #all these gods and otherworldly beings and the humans triumphed #they get to tell the tales

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happyk44 · 1 year

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Zeus being like "we need to kill our living children because prophecy" and Hades is just "fuck you" and defies Nico and Bianca instead. Bianca is seething when she sees little Percy, Annabeth, and Grover sneak into the Underworld. She's spent way too much time with Zagreus.

But Nico is curious. He thinks the little heroes are cute. Watches them succeed to get around Cerberus. Watches one of them suddenly flying towards the pit. The other two are panicking.

Poor kids, he thinks, and he touches down in front of them. Catches the satyr with one hand. He yanks away, determined to get to the pit but Nico is an unmoving as a dead man. Just stuck to the ground and peeling off his wild shoes with ease. The satyr is lowered gently to the ground. Nico melts the shoes into shadows.

"You look hungry," he says.

They all stare at him. Then scamper into a little clustered triad. The girl nudges the boy and he huffs before clearing his throat.

"Um, Lord Hades-"

Nico's lip twitches. "I am not my father, little demigod. Do you wish to speak with him?" The boy's soul is untamed waves and a hurricane. "Ah. My cousin." He pauses. Gives it a think. "Perseus, right?"

The kid goes a little pink around his cheeks. Flushes down to throat and up through his ears. "Uh, yeah. Um. It's Percy." He blinks. Clears his throat. "Percy Jackson."

Nico thinks about it. "I think I'll just say Perseus, if you don't mind. I quite like it as a name. Strong. Heroic."

"Yeah, sure," Percy says quickly. His soul is a sea of panic. Tinged red around its edges. Tastes syrupy sweet at the back of Nico's throat. "You- I-"

The girl saves him. "We would like to seek an audience with Lord Hades. If we can." After a beat, she tacks on a tinny, "Please."

"Annabeth Chase," Nico says. She stiffens, eyes going big. "Athena's child." He glances over to the satyr. "Grover Underwood. Cute name. Fits you." Grover stammers before thanking him quietly. "My sister is with my father now. I'll see if I can steer her away. She's not always the best company to have when speaking with Papa. Especially with what is going on now."

The kids twitch and he stifles the urge to giggle.

The ground melts beneath them. They gasp aloud as earth turns to obsidian tile. His room is clean and tidy. Filled to the brim with silly junk throughout history. Trinkets and toys he's picked up from his travels too.

"You can wait here," he says. And he disappears without another word.

It takes longer than it should, to steer Bianca out of the way. Hades is no help. Bemused all the while. Nico tries to get him to take a nicer stance, but he's stubborn. Normally so is Nico, but he can't imagine the trio in his bedroom are taking his absence easily, so he caves and let's his father being as intimidating as he wants.

Personally, Nico can't see it. His father is his father. Whether he's twenty-feet tall with black eyes and a crown of nightmares, or six foot six with warm hands and smiles.

"Be nice, Papa," he says as he guides the children into the throne room.

Hades grunts and glares down at his nephew. Nico sighs and stands in the back. They are children. Perhaps if they were older he'd care less. But he remembers what it is to be twelve years old and staring at a god that wished you were dead an unbreathing.

It is haunting and hurting.

They speak and it's confusing. The children are lost with every word his father speaks. His father is getting more and more annoyed with every word they speak.

No one is lying, but no one has the reality of the situation at hand. Nico strides forwards, out of the shadows. Hades's eyes are angry, but he quiets. He does not like to shout in front of Nico. Not when the anger rockets back at Nico's soul like a mirror and leaves him winded. The trio goes silent.

He slides his hands through the flimsy material of the backpack. Electricity crackles at his skin. He flinches and steps back.

Percy is confused. His soul is a crashing thing, drowning his mind in panic untold. Annabeth is horrified. Her soul is sputtering. There is no logic to this. No facts to back up what she has discovered. She is unsure, for the first time in her life. Grover is on the verge of fainting.

"He didn't know," Nico says. "None of them did."

Hades scoffs, but let's Nico flip through the pages of their souls like a history book. Ares and the backpack. But that is not possible. He cannot touch his father's bolt, or Hades's helm. Not without permission and certainly not with his own bare hands. Further back, there is a face. Scarred and angry. He is giving Percy the shoes.

Grover takes them when his back is turned.

Smart creature, Nico thinks.

He lets goes and the trio breathes.

"There is a boy," he says. "I'll need to look at him, but I feel he has orchestrated this mess."

Hades's lips curl. He is unhappy. He wanted to blast his nephew to pieces and lock the others up for their troubles in bringing him along.

"You have got to stop talking to Bianca," Nico huffs. "Give me a day. I will head to camp-"

"No," Hades says.

Everything topples downhill. The Furies descend. Skeletons take charge. Shadows whip and hiss like volatile snakes.

Nico blinks and they are gone. Sunny grass, untouched by darkness. There's the crashing of the waves behind him. The kids are gasping. Nico steadies their ever-changing souls, collisions of nauseous colours.

"My mom," Percy gasps. His voice is on the edge of tears.

Nico stares at him. Then presses a cold hand to his shoulder. "She will be fine. My father knows what it is to have a mother lost to their child. She is a guest, although unwilling. No harm shall come to her."

"How-" Annabeth presses small hands to her face. "The bolt- how-"

"Luke Castellan," Nico says. "Is he a kind boy?"

Annabeth twitches, stares up at him, frustrated, confused. Grover answers in her stead. "He's a good person."

"Hmm." Nico turns to see his cousin waiting for them on the sand. "Even good people can be turned to do terrible things. Many people do terrible things in the name of good."

Percys soul gardens when he catches sight of their shared cousin. Ares's demeanour does nothing for Nico. But it fills the crevices of Percy's misery with boiling rage. Nico squeezes along his shoulder. Mats his soul with a softening quell.

"Breathe," he says. Ares approaches. Too calm. Too steady. The people around him scatter with every step. "Ares, you are an idiot." Dreams are awash in his soul. He is faintly pressed behind a matte wall. He laughs, carefree, amused. But behind that wall, his truer self is screaming. "I much prefer it when my sisters bully you. Rather than whoever is doing so now. Did you not notice the memories in your head turned awry?"

He scoffs. They banter. Nico lets Percy, angry and distressed at being played with, take the fight. He remembers the ways he wished his father would let him knock their family down a peg. When his siblings were blasted apart miles away in another state. His mother electrocuted and turned to ash in front of his very eyes.

As Ares lay panting on the sand, Nico takes a hold of his soul and clears the wall away.

"Next time stay vigilant. What would your mother think of you working with her father in this way?" He flicks the other god's forehead and watches him rocket down into the earth. The kids stare at him. Awed. Confused. Percy is wet and breathing hard, pink around his ears.

"You should return the bolt," Nico says. The wind sweeps. "In the meantime, this prophecy has waited far too long to pass." He sighs. "It should've been me. Or my sister. Someone long before your time, Perseus."

Nico pats his head and he squeaks. It's adorable.

"I will assist where I can," he says. He presses a token into Percy's hand. The other two jolt as similiar beads tuck into the flat of their palms. "Just give me a call."

The earth gives out beneath their feet and they disappear into sand and darkness. Nico runs his wrists over one another and glances up to the mortals pooling around the beach. Police officers looking mystified at the sudden absence of the two players in their so-called gun fight.

He will string a tale into their cores, a belief so certain no one can dash it away. And then he will retire to his father's side just as he did when he was ten years old, the stains of his mother's death lingering on his skin.

Certainly the three of them will make use of his tokens in due time. He will wait for them to do so.

And then he will help.

#nico di angelo #percy has a crush on nico in this au #he still also thinks that hades is powerful and hot shit but he's mostly interested in nico #who chooses to look around 15 or 16 #my writing #my fanfic #happy talks pjo #also nico doesnt talk like this normally! but he tries to imitate the way everyone rlse speaks in an otherworldly older than the trees way #so when the kids do call out for assistance hes just like oh my god i cant do this anymore fuck it #he also WILL use 40s slang and think nothing of it

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thegirlsarethriving · 2 months

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just finished undertale. ok i see the vision. i now understand yall's Sans-to-Benrey obsession pipeline. and the Papyrus-to-Tommy Coolatta pipeline

#undertale #hlvrai #hlvrai2 #benrey #tommy coolatta #papyrus #benry #hlvrai benry #sans undertale #sans #undertale sans #undertale spoilers #i loved Papyrus so much and the whole time i was playing i was like hmm he reminds me of someone...? TOMMY. HE REMINDS ME. OF TOMMY.#i played pacifist but i saw how if u kill every1 n spare Papyrus Sans tells him every1 else is on a vacation bc truth would be too hard #file under: lies Gordon would tell Tommy if anything happened to Sunkist or his dad Gman #we wanna protect Tommy but on the other hand. the horrors r everywhere & Tommy go ham with a gun (he's terrified & acting on pure instinct)#(even tho Tommy has definitely faced his share of horrors in contrast to how Papyrus's loved ones try to shelter him from bloodshed)#i wanna write a paper psychoanalyzing Sans and Benrey in comparison to each other SOOOOO badly #it's been a hot minute since i last watched hlvrai (have seen it at least 4 times but not recently. did watch bbvrai live tho!)#im so extremely tired rn so i can't form proper thoughts :( but like:#they both have unfathomable otherworldly power and knowledge of their respective universes #but u wouldn't know it bc they're presented as just some chill guy who likes to make jokes and Vibe man #sike! they're a being of elderitch levels of power #they both act in accordance to game code but Sans can control parts of it (can see the timeline) while Benrey is much more subject to it #in some ways they are the antithesis of each other's motives but also contain the same vibes (all-powerful guy laidback n funny final boss)#Sans is judgment but doesn't interfere with the timeline. Benrey takes action that's “i knew this was gonna happen”#Benrey is fought as the final villain whereas Sans is arguably the final hero fight #anyways THEIR VIBES ARE BOTH SO !!!!!!!!!!!!!#idk if they'd be besties or mortal enemies #they can bond over being “unserious” (but they both take their true jobs very seriously. security guard and judgment bringer respectively)

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rocksanddeadflowers · 9 months

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Kvasir messes me up so so so fucking much you guys. Like I understand the vikings had a different approach to death and yada yada so forth whatever arguments you wanna make they're reasonable but still it. I just.

You mean this beloved man, known for his wisdom and poem and song, and who went around helping people with his wisdom and poem and song and was dearly beloved by the gods just. You guys he was straight up murdered and his blood stolen for magic fucking mead. There's no revenge for his murder or anything it's just that Odin saved his mead.

"Folk declares that every skald (poet) has a drop of Kvasir's blood in him. ... because a world without it's poets would be too dreadful a place to image."

Messed up or not, he lives on in poets, storytellers, and songwriters alike- all those with the understanding of the power of word, the wisdom to yield it.

In The Bifrost Incident it's still the same. His blood pumping and fueling the machine, running through arcane glyphs. He's always just been used for his blood, and even more irony drawn from it likely being Odin gaining the most use from his blood.

And yet, no matter how miniscule it may seem, Kvasir still lives on in his universe there too, in poets and songwriters and storytellers- somehow, The Mechanisms carry a piece of him in their travels ever since his death and Yddrasil's fall, just as you and I may have his blood in our veins.

#RAAAAAAA KVASIR!!!!!!! HE WAS THE FIRST POET I'M PUNCHING AIR!!!!!!#as someone who feels drawn to the power of word (i like writing heehoo) he messes me UP #also to clarify my books say that Odin wanted a draught of the mead bc the mead gives the drinker the powers of kvair #and Odin didn't need kavsir's wisdom odin already got that from the well he wanted kavsir's tongue #his ability and fluidity of speech #honestly the Myths really jump around from “Odin is a mystical all knowing otherworldly wise being to be respected”#to “heehoo big smart eye patch man”#which is what happens when you choose to study a religion long since mixed up by cultural changes and views #aka ppl making shit up for personal biases or compromises #the mechanisms #the bifrost incident #the mechanisms tbi

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dirtyoldmanhole · 6 months

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closeup of a gunter/corrin piece i'll never finish ~ tweaking corrin's design a bit, just a touch more otherworldly.

#kinda want to get a vampire hunter d look for corrin. otherworldly gothic u kno?#i love his knuckles ... they're so much like mine.#i have so much old half done art of them bc i've been focused on writing the fic and i want to draw new ones SO BAD. cue chucking these out #gunter fire emblem #own art

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magnusbae · 5 days

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like not to be petty or anything but is it me or the new chaos design is extra underwhelming in comparison to the previous one...?

they used to hold whole ass earth between their fingers and now they're what... wearing romance novella modern suit....

#this is about the first bad thing i am writing about the game so far but this is so underwhelming and so not otherworldly #met them twice now and this is like really not working for me....#i get that this is a new skin or else or else or some sort of twist or who's to know #but either way this design if it's really chaos just doesnt do it for me....#the ponytail is cool sure but the rest is just too.... normal prince come to ball....#Hades #Hades Game #Hades 2 #buns.hades #Hades 2 Spoilers #Chaos #Hades Chaos

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wyvernquill · 1 year

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I am NOT writing a Dreamling Anastasia AU

...but. If I were...

(Edit: I am, find the masterpost here!)

It would not, actually, be a full human AU. The Endless are still Endless, but humanity has risen up against them, to terrible results. Their “domains” are still somewhat intact, so humanity can mostly go on as normal, but the personifications have been torn from them, weakened, have barely any control over them anymore. Their realms have crumbled, their tools are damaged, and they’re in exile...

And Death has offered immortality to whosoever will return her lost brother, Dream of the Endless, to her.

Enter Hob Gadling, vagabond, mercenary, and not very fond of dying as a concept; and Gilbert, a dream who survived the destruction of the Dreaming, and has lived among the humans ever since.

Dream of the Endless has been captured, turned human, and killed. They all know it, everyone does - it would be a pretty story if someone recovered him, a pretty story indeed, finally bringing peace and comfort to his family and the remainder of his subjects, but it won’t ever come true...

...unless someone were to make it true. Of course. Out of pure charitable sentiment, and not for the immortality reward at all.

All Hob and Gil would need is a lookalike they can pass off as “Dream of the Endless forcefully turned human” - and the amnesiac ravenkeeper “Murphy”, misanthropic and eccentric to the utmost, might be just what they’re looking for.

(But the traitor at Dream’s court has not yet given up on destroying him utterly, and is following after them with a razor-sharp knife and three mouths hungry for “Murphy”’s blood...)

---

(A scene I typed out just for funsies, from later in the plot, under the cut - also, tagging @10moonymhrivertam who I believe was interested in this!)

[Context for the scene:

Murphy-pretending-to-be-Dream has already presented himself to Unity, Desire’s Queen Consort, mentioning that he vaguely recalls being saved from captivity by a young guard shattering his glass cage with a sledgehammer. Soon after, he finds out that Hob had ulterior, selfish motives for this plot, and does not take it at all well.]

When Murphy is finally called to stand before the siblings to prove his identity, only Gilbert is accompanying him inside... and he's glad for that. Betrayal rankles in him, the first buds of love trampled brutally underfoot by the man's selfish human cruelty - a lie and a con for immortality! What a low cur! Murphy despises him, and if he does not see him again until 100 years' hence, it will still be too soon.

The Endless siblings await him in a room that seems perfectly cosy, but also painfully small. Beings such as them are made for grand halls, and to see five of them crammed together on a couch and some chairs seems... wrong, almost.

Destiny sits in an armchair hood drawn low, arms curled around the charred and torn remnants of what was once a book. Death sits on the couch, radiating a solemn sort of warmth, while Despair is huddled up next to her, eyes wide and uncertain, with her twin's hand resting protectively on her shoulder from where they are perched on the armrest, the other holding Unity's, who is seated in the second armchair.

("And Despair... oi, Murphy, are you listening?" says Hob's voice in his head, warm with fondness and a broad grin. "Despair was killed but reborn in a new aspect during the uprising. She'll still have all her old memories, though, so remain on your guard even around her."

Oh, those endless lessons. He will never forget a word of them.)

The youngest, Deligh- Delirium is seated on the floor, humming to herself and drawing swirling, colourful patterns onto the carpet. She hasn't as much as looked up at him.

Gilbert steps forward.

"Your Highnesses," he murmurs, politely removing his hat and squishing it in anxious hands. "May I present: Dream of the Endless."

They ask him questions all over again, particularly Death and Desire - hers gentle and probing, theirs sharp and cutting - and Murphy answers as best he can, trying to ignore the longing in those eyes. The hope.

They want, so badly, for him to be something he is not. It is heartbreaking.

And then, finally, Death says "one last test, if you please," and Desire adds, spitefully, "this is the one they all fail," their twin nodding jerkily.

Death calls for Lucienne - ("Lucienne has always been your most faithful servant," Gilbert explains, "a librarian like no other, wise and ever loyal. She remained in the Dreaming, praying for your return, until it crumbled under her very feet...") - and Lucienne strides in.

She freezes, when she locks eyes with Murphy, and there it is again. The flash of hope, quickly tempered, but forever burning.

"The final test." Death instructs her, and with a bow Lucienne sweeps out again, only to return mere moments later with...

...with a raven perched on her arm, white-breasted and fine-boned, dark and keen eyes observing Murphy curiously.

"Jessamy!" He blurts out, and Death nods.

"Jessamy." She confirms, as Lucienne transfers the raven to her. "My brother's trusted companion. Touch her, now, give her a pat - and if she accepts you as her master, we'll know you're really him."

(Gilbert feels the tranquil summer day he has in place of a heart sink. This is what it all hinges on, then?

This is something they had no way of preparing Murphy for. No way to influence it. Jessamy will know him for a fraud, that much he is quite certain of, and their game is up, now. Their game is up.)

Murphy rises up, and goes to kneel at Death's feet, on eye level with the raven - and one has to hand it to him, he looks at her so softly, so adoringly, as if she really were part of his mind and soul and heart, the way Matthew is for Murphy, in truth.

He reaches out one trembling hand, all eyes in the room on him.

(Jessamy twitches her wings, gaze fixed on his hand.)

And then he drops it again.

"Jessamy the Raven died as she attempted to rescue me from imprisonment," he says, and his voice echoes, deep and dark as midnight. "Lady Death, you hold an illusion on your arm."

Silence in the room. Nobody dares to as much as breathe.

And then Not-Jessamy squawks, bright and approving - and bursts into hundreds of Delirium's incandescent butterflies, dispersing in the air.

They're all staring at him as Murphy gathers his robes up and returns to his seat.

Death stands. If her gaze was glowing with hope before, it is now like a firebrand on his skin.

"Despair? Bring his tools," she says, too soft to be an order, but with steel underneath it.

Despair scrambles up, and returns in moments with the strange helmet that is the symbol of the Dreamlord's power, and his ruby - cracked, but not broken.

(Gilbert, staring at Murphy as if in a trance, produces the sand pouch, and adds it to Despair's arms. Some thought flickers through his mind that those tools would, all taken together, kill a mere human - but that is not what Murphy is, after all, is he.)

Desire takes the ruby, and drapes the chain over Murphy's neck - and he sees it in their golden eyes, feels it in the tremble of their caress against his neck, that they have never desired anything more than their brother back.

Death takes the sand pouch, and presses it into Murphy's hand, closing his fingers around it with such gentleness - she had thought her beloved brother dead for so many years, dead and gone, and there is relief in every fibre of her being.

And then Destiny sets the scraps of his books aside, and takes the helmet in his hands, bidding Murphy to incline his head so that it might be fitted onto him, and he might recover all his past, present, and future.

Murphy takes a deep breath.

Closes his eyes.

And bows his head.

The helmet slides over his skull as if it was made for him...

And it was.

Something changes in the air.

A shifting, like air flowing in to fill up a vacuum.

And something about the-man-who-used-to-name-himself-Murphy changes.

The chapped and broken skin on his hands smooths to the point where his fingertips would not even leave prints; the fabric of his robe sparkles with stars, and floats like mist at nighttime about his form; and when he raises his behelmed head, his spine seems to crack and lengthen, taller now than he was before, too tall and thin to be human.

(Matthew squawks outside the window - and with one beat of his wings he is inside the room, settling on a narrow shoulder.)

Hands that have folded lovingly around so many newly-created dreams and nightmares come up, to lift the helmet off again...

And where Murphy's eyes were a watery blue, Dream of the Endless's eyes are midnight-black, with only a single star each glowing in their depths.

He blinks.

Looks down at his helmet, then up, at the roomful of Endless - his family - all staring at him in something between disbelief and incandescent joy.

"...siblings," Dream breathes, his chest warm and full as it never was when he was human except perhaps when Hob Gadling smiled at him, surrounded now by all of them...

And "BrOTheR!" Delirium squeals in rainbow tones, jumping up from the floor to throw herself into his arms, where she is immediately held.

"Brother," echoes Death, hand over her mouth, tears in her eyes - and then she, too, is folding him in an embrace, and Desire, and Despair, joining... even Destiny rests one wizened hand on Dream's head, tender and brotherly.

Lucienne is crying into a handkerchief from joy, and Gilbert keeps whispering "oh my. oh, goodness. oh my."...

And Dream holds his siblings close to him, home at last.

"Robert! Robert!" Gilbert is gasping, having hurried as quickly as he could. "Robert, you will not believe-"

Hob drops his nearly-done cigarette on the ground, grinds it out with his boot.

"And?" He smiles, though it hardly reaches his eyes. "Did they buy it?"

"He's real! Oh, goodness gracious me!" Gilbert rests one hand on his chest, as if to clutch at pearls there. "He is- Robert, he is the true Dream of the Endless! He, he knew that- and when they gave him the tools-"

"Ah!" Now Hob actually laughs. He fiddles for another cigarette, offers the package to Gilbert, who declines with nothing more but a distracted wave. "That. Yes. I knew that."

"You KNEW!?" Gilbert flusters.

"Since the talk with Unity." Hob's lighter takes a few tries to work. Ghastly thing. "It was me, you know."

"I don't follow." Gil blinks.

"It was good work for hired muscle, guarding some prison in a cellar - and they did say that greater rewards were in store. Riches. Fame." Hob grimaces. The cigarette smoke tastes like ash in his mouth, but he takes a drag anyway. "...immortal life. Thought it would be the best work available to me - and it was. But I couldn't stand it, watching him in there."

Hob blows the smoke up into the air, and thinks of a pale, inhuman face behind a glass pane - and then that same face haggard but human, blue eyes twinkling at him with challenge and fondness both.

"I was the guard who took the sledgehammer to Dream's prison. Woke up a few hours later with a splitting headache, and soon enough they were saying they'd killed him when he tried to escape. Quit, ran, and never looked back."

"By Jove!" Gilbert gasps. "Robert! You've saved him twice over, first in the cellar of the Magus - and now! Returning him to his family! Bless you, lad, bless you!"

Hob lets Gilbert grab his hand and shake it enthusiastically, though he can hardly muster up anything more than a weak smile.

"You should- oh, you should come inside! You must tell this story, see Lord Morpheus returned to full form, the siblings shall wish to thank you-" Gilbert babbles joyfully. "And your reward! Of course! Twice earned, my young friend! Twice earned!"

"Hmm. I don't... think I should." Hob carefully ducks out from the arm Gilbert has thrown over his shoulder. "Leave them to their joyful reunion, eh? Give them a little time to breathe before I remind them of... business."

"Ah, but-" Gilbert tries to protest, but Hob is already starting down the street. He should quit smoking - he already nearly has. Only does it when he's stressed, or heartbroken... or both.

He will not bother Dream of the Endless, the man who once was Murphy, with his presence now.

#WyWrites #dreamling #the sandman #anastasia dreamling au #no no no i will not write more of it no #but i'm proud of these snippets and the concept #so out into the world they go #also i really enjoy the thought of grumpy and unpleasant ravenkeeper murphy #slowly softening as hob keeps chatting amicably with him #and slowly learning how to act like otherworldly nobility (with some things coming so easily to him as if he'd always known them)#might write a feeeew more scenes of this au?#but i doubt it'll ever be a full fic #feel free to send me asks or some such about it though!#or about anything else really

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otherworldly-whump · 10 months

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Whumpee being forced by whumper to hit after hit on a THC vape all night before their allowed any food for the evening. Just watched amused by whumper as they get more and more out of it. By the time whumpe us handed food, its much less likely they'll refuse to eat, and their so out of it that its easy for whumper to push them around or force them to cuddle.

#whump #whumpee #whumper #whumpblr #casual whumper #affectionate whumper #my post: unity #otherworldly writes #new writer here #dont have a tag yet #but im connected to writer green #and ill be handling one of ranger greens whumpers

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aperiodofhistory · 5 hours

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Far over the misty mountains cold

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ventiswampwater · 2 years

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pumpkin guts

rating: teen and up

word count: 1.9k

sinclair’s x reader (all of them!! to varying degrees!! bo’s the only established coupling, but u can read anything u want into everything else!! go wild!!)

Pumpkin carving with the Sinclair’s. Fucked-up fluff.

tag list/cw’s: female reader, second person, domestic fluff, but it's tinged with a lil bit of creepiness bc of COURSE it IS, so warning for: stockholm syndrome and a little bit of: canon-typical violence, but don't worry it's still tooth-rotting fluff, you're literally carving pumpkins w/actual murderers!! you have reached the point of no return, good 4 u bestie, soft!sinclair's are still the worst sinclairs and I am giving them all a smooch

do u wanna carve pumpkins with a bunch of hillbilly losers?? click here

#love how my first HOW fic was dirty nasty filth about beer bottles #and this one is about domestic pumpkin carving!! I am categorically unhinged!!#the duality of woman!#it's funnier if u picture it in the same series as the first fic tbh #funnier? sadder? idk both bestie!!!#also! damon herriman is 5' 7'' which means that we're basically the same height and I refuse to write him as taller than me!!!#we're eye level bby!!!!#when I say something otherworldly possesses my body when I write for these dumbasses........girl #house of wax #lester sinclair #lester sinclair x reader #bo sinclair #bo sinclair x reader #vincent sinclair #vincent sinclair x reader #sinclair brothers #slashers x reader #my fics

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field-s-of-flowers · 1 year

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The inclusion of Hermes as a father figure rather than a narrator in Hadestown is the single best thing Anaïs Mitchell could possibly have done for the framing of her story in this essay I will-

#Soph’s posts #Hadestown #because!!! Because when Hermes is involved in the story it completely reshapes the way it’s being told!!!#He’s a character AND a narrator. The story is being told by somebody inside it #Because it’s not just a story even to those that know it’s a story. It’s both a life lived and a tale told.#The narrator is the thing that connects us to any story because without one we wouldn’t HAVE a story #And having a narrator who is also a character and is AWARE of that dual role integrates the audience brilliantly #As opposed to off-broadway when Hermes is inherently separate from the narrative or characters #He’s telling the story without being any kind of invested in it or doing anything to change it #Damon and Nabiyah’s Hadestown IS like a myth because it’s a story being presented by Hermes the showman #But Reeve and Eva’s Hadestown is closer to the audience because of Hermes’s closeness with Orpheus #And Orpheus is changed by Hermes’s new roles as well!!!#When he has a father figure to prompt him and help him he develops this otherworldly innocence #Which fits him much better than the separation between his magic and his personality #With Hermes pushing the story Orpheus goes from ignoring the world to not knowing it’s there #Like in come home with me where “don’t come on too strong” makes “come home with me” way sweeter #Damon’s Orpheus and his narrative would be way closer to Reeve’s if he had Andre’s Hermes #Damn I really did write an essay huh

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brotherdusk · 16 days

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sat down to write my [REDACTED] [🚬] foundation fic and ended up spending half an hour hammering out whatever the calendar equivalent of a conlang is. progress is progress right

#I don't even like conlangs. my brain hates hypotheticals and hypothetical language constructions are of 0 use or interest to me #but I didn't want to slap the earth's gregorian calendar onto trantor and follow it up with a feeble 'era imperial 12055'#I don't even know if I'll use this. it's just set dressing for the main focus of the story but I kind of enjoy the texture it adds #simple things should feel a little otherworldly and strange because the setting *is* otherworldly and strange #txt #my writing

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astral-express-family · 1 month

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A Potion and a Sparkling Ring

Aslia x Hina | romantic fluff

a proposal fic? whaaaat???? okay but seriously i've started calling Hina my wife and then the potions event happened so uh. here we are i guess

"Oho, so you're the ones behind the potion shop I've heard so much about! When it comes to fulfilling requests, I heard the customer's wish is practically your command."

At the sound of her girlfriend's voice, Aslia looks up from the book she's reading. Sure enough, Hina is standing there, her eyes twinkling and tail wagging. The rabbit lady blushes, and buries her face in her book to the sound of Lisa's teasing giggle. As Paimon and Lumine greet the general and her companion, Aslia's mind drifts. A bag hangs off the back of rose chair, and this is the perfect situation for ro to make use of it.

A brief tug on rose arm makes rose look up. Lisa is tugging gently on her arm, a silent encouragement to go greet the guests. Kirara, who Aslia is only vaguely acquainted with, is rocking back and forth idly. Lisa greets the guests in her usual playful tone, while Aslia stares at Hina with a wistful smile as ro shoulders rose bag. Then ro basically sprints the short distance between the potions stand and the cauldron where the others stand, exclaiming, "Puppy!"

Hina barely has enough time to turn around before she receives an armful of her girlfriend, but her tail is wagging more than before. Aslia presses kisses all over Hina's face as the general giggles and manages to say, "Hey, Bunny!"

"Oh, this cutie seems to like you," Lisa teases. Aslia pulls away from Hina, rolling rose eyes playfully. Crossing her arms and turning to Lisa she grumbles, "Lisa!"

Lisa puts her hands up in surrender with a little giggle. She keeps talking, but Aslia stops paying attention. Ro is more concerned with rummaging around in rose bag, pausing when ro finally finds the item ro's looking for.

A small box.

She'd had this for months, waiting for the perfect opportunity to give it to its intended recipient.

And now here's the recipient, standing right in front of her, unaware of what Aslia holds in her hands.

"Hey, Shining Star, are you gonna help out?" Lumine asks, causing Aslia to jump and nearly drop the box. She approaches the cauldron, asking, "So, Lulu, what're we making?"

Lumine explains the potion the three of them will be making for Hina and Kirara. One to keep them, and the soldiers of Watatsumi, in peak condition. Aslia nods in understanding as she prepares herself for her role in making the potion. She leans over Lumine's shoulder, pointing out places to put ingredients to make the most efficient potion.

When it's done, Lumine pours it into a heart-shaped bottle, picked out by a blushing Aslia. Then Paimon attaches a decoration to the bottle, whilst Lumine sidles over to Aslia.

"So... Hina," Lumine giggles, "and that little box I saw?" Aslia lets out a squeak of embarrassment, rose face burning. Ro knows that Lumine has figured out what's in the box, so ro just nods a little. Lumine grins wide and chirps, "About time!"

"About time for what?" Paimon asks, poking their head over Lumine's shoulder as they pass the finished potion to it. Lumine takes the potion and whispers, "Aslia's hoping to get engaged."

"Again?" Paimon asks, louder than strictly necessary, prompting Hina and Kirara to glance over for just a moment before resuming their conversation. Aslia pulls out the box again, looking at it with a faraway stare. Paimon looks at rose, then over to where Hina and Kirara are speaking. Then back to Aslia, then Hina, then Aslia one more time. Recognition dawns on their face, and then a smile.

"Good luck!" Paimon chirps, patting Aslia on the back. Meanwhile, Lumine holds out her hand with a knowing smirk. Aslia tilts her head in confusion, before Lumine gestures to the ring.

"Put the ring around the potion neck. Hina sees the ring. You propose," she starts, before Paimon finishes, "Bam! There you go!"

The plan makes Aslia blush, but ro nods in agreement. Lumine holds out the bottle, and Aslia carefully works the ring over the neck. It's big enough - or the bottle neck is small enough, Aslia's not sure - that the ring slides down easily.

Then Lumine approaches Hina and Kirara, distracting them from their conversation. Paimon encourages them to try the potion, with Hina praising it with her usual genuine smile. Kirara tests it as well, also having nothing but compliments.

"Hey, what's this?" Kirara examines the bottle carefully upon spotting the ring. Then her eyebrows raise in realization, and she giggles with a playful, "General, I believe this is for you!"

"H-huh...?" Hina stammers, taking the bottle and staring at the ring. Aslia clears rose throat. Ro's down on one knee, rose hands out as if gesturing to the ring on the bottle. Ro just hopes ro looks more confident than ro feels.

"Hina... will you marry me?"

Hina blushes, her entire face burning red. Aslia can see her tail wagging as she stares at Aslia for a long moment before announcing her answer of, "Of course!"

Lumine, Paimon, and Kirara burst into cheers as Aslia leaps up, and then Hina pulls her into a kiss.

This, of course, is the exact moment that Lisa approaches. She compliments them, her usually playful tone entirely genuine. Aslia thanks her as ro removes the ring from the bottle and places it on Hina's finger. It's a black band, with an amber-colored gemstone in the middle. She'd had to pay Wagner a fair bit of Mora to get him to make it, but it was worth every single one.

"Well, I guess our afternoon tea is more of an engagement party now, huh cuties?" Lisa asks playfully. Aslia and Hina both blush, though Aslia is also rolling her eyes playfully.

"Now I'm really glad we decided to make that delay," Hina giggles to her new fiancée.

"So am I," Aslia replies with a fond smile, "So am I."

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