#Because...well...Faerie is very Goth

[tetsunabouquet]

Heir To The Lands Chapter 26

Sick of This Masterpost

Catarina's words that had confirmed Luke's earlier report and bore the proof the Blackthorn's supsicions had been correct were still fuzzy in Alec's ears. Like he was hearing them far away, not quite reaching him. Alec was too shocked to properly respond. Whilst he knew the Seelie Queen was not to be trusted, he did not think of her as being so foolish she'd toy with the newly established peace between the Shadowhunters and faeries. Unless the Seelie Queen had another batch of plans involving her son. A gamble so strong she didn't think she'd lose. Damn it, he should have killed her instead of Meliorn all those years back then! Just how many times would this woman betray everyone and be blinded by her hunger for power? He should have known better then to expect her to play nice now. Now the Rosales boy was captured and that was all his fault. It was him who sent Jaime on a mission to learn more about the protective magic of the Eternidad by tracking down the faerie smith who made it. The thought of having blood on his hands through his shortcomings as a leader hadn't occured to him until that very moment. Alec felt sick.

Dru had found the Koln Institute with ease. Tomas had already explained the Koln Institute was actually located underground, similar to the Silent City. It was one of the oldest Institutes in north-west Europe, having been built at a time where people were still clueless and figuring out locations for the Institutes. The, as English speakers would call it, Cathedral of Cologne was getting built around this point in time and with the blessing of the church the Shadowhunters had built the Institute beneath the large Cathedral. It hadn't been hard to find, considering it was just about two minutes walking distance from the Hauptbahnhoff. There was a large crowd of mundanes, tourists, who were taking pictures of the large goth-styled building. Dru honestly wished she had brought her phone with her, because it definitely did deserve to have its picture taken. With her glamor rune, she snuck into the Cathedral with ease. She looked around, knowing there was a heavily glamored trap door somewhere. Dru would have missed it if she wasn't carefully looking, the small crack in the walls and the tiny rune etched into the stone next to it. She quickly drew an opening rune against the wall, and it slowly cracked open like a hidden doorway from an Indiana Jones movie. Dru bit her lip before she disappeared inside of the tunnel, all the whilst thinking to herself that she was getting rather tired of all these secret tunnels.

The Seelie Queen huffed in irritation as she was brought to her son's little palace. Janus was impatient, and she didn't liked the way he ordered her around. He was her son's guard and she should very well teach him his place but she had far bigger things on her mind. Her alliance with the Princes was crumbling at her feet, the fact the Rosales boy had been taken and their plans would be exposed too early was calling for revisions of the plan. As she entered the palace, she could see her son waiting for her, with a packed bag. "What is the meaning of this?" She asked her son. "We should leave mother. At this rate, the Princes will turn on us, and I fear they won't spare you." Ash's voice was pleading, but his mother's blue eyes were growing more cold, more icy. "This is my Court, you are too young to take over and command me. I do as I see fit." The Queen's voice rang loudly. "I do not take orders from you and I can salvage this situation. And you," her voice cut through the air as she swung her head in Janus' direction, "You have gotten way too comfortable. I am not Sebastian, you are no brother of mine. You guard over my boy and do as I say and what I'm saying right now is that you should better hurry up and make use of the Chen girl." Ash's lips trembled as Janus nodded with a grave face. The Seelie Queen turnt around and left them both.

#twp #the wicked powers #tsc #the shadowhunter chronicles #shadowhunters #shadowhunter chronicles #ash morgenstern #janus herondale #dru blackthorn #alec lightwood #the seelie queen

[prince-of-khrysalis]

Hi I would like to hear abt ur ocs 👀

cracks knuckles, TYSM FOR ENABLING ME! I have a whole lotta ocs so I think for this ask I'll just pick a few so I don't write a whole novel at once! A few pirates of mine! If anyone wants a wizard post of the same nature... (;

Let's start with my love my light my darling, Desiderius Calamitas! My resident musketeer. This guy.

Desi is, in a sense, my 'main' pirate! This is The Pirate! Born and raised in Monquista, he had it pretty rough being a non-native and dealing with Monquista's... shall we say exclusionary tendencies. Being a gorgon and growing up to feel ashamed of it and hide this at ALL times, along with being treated like some dangerous feral beast, Desi left the instant he could. Which was when he turned 18 and hijacked a pirate ship, effectively coercing the crew into handing over power as a trade-off for saving them from a close call with the Armada. He's a megalomaniac, it's true. With a love for all things bright and sparkly and pink and oh, he just wants to be a pirate yk?? He takes over as Captain to a reluctant crew and ends up slowly becoming a very infamous and wanted figure. Because he's a menace to society<3! A smart chessmaster, but naive and vain and the holder of a megalomaniac complex. Lovely little man. He wants to take over Monquista someday, but for now? He will happily settle for having the highest bounty possible by the Armada (and trying to figure out how guns work haha help he's never done this before).

MOVING ON! To one of his crewmates! Marion Merripen! (Desi's boyfriend cough cough) Who is the crew "witchdoctor", though in reality? He's a necromancer with a hatred of his own magic and is far more inclined to act as the crew's medic. Having been raised for a time by a Marleybonian doctor, he has medical knowledge and is in charge of keeping everyone else in one piece... mostly. Though he's been a pirate for longer, he doesn't seem all that interested in fame or fortune. Rather it's just... what he knows, after being picked up as a younger teen for the crew to get him away from Marleybone. Why away from Marleybone, besides it being hell on earth? Marion is a fae! Specifically, the son of a faerie and a merrow, a hybrid who can't help but stand out and... does not bode well with worlds like MB who can't hide their judgements. So he became a pirate instead. It was a nice outlet for his INTENSE repressed anger! He's a very grumpy fella, but he has plenty of reason to be, even if he's a touch too rough and mean at times. So a vulgar and fairly mean goth who's also in charge of patching ya up after ya get stabbed on the job for the millionth time, good luck!! And how about the starter antagonist, General Achille, (Desi's other boyfriend cough cough) someone who Desi and co. assume is a member of Kane's court. A 7ft tall battle angel General, who, after one too many disturbances, is tasked with finding and capturing Desi and his crew. Or killin him. Whichever comes first, the Armada isn't picky. Achille opts for the second option more often than not. There's a few issues though. Issue number one is that Desi is IMMEDIATELY taken by the sight of him, falling head over heels for the person trying to murder him weekly and finding him to just be the most radiant man to ever walk the Spiral. Achille has no fucking clue what any of that means, but over time Desi's weird reactions and constant flirting strike up a bit of, gasp, fondness?? Perhaps? And he starts to look forward to their encounters a bit, perhaps. Maybe. The other issue is that Achille is... not a clockwork, not that this is common knowledge. The crew doesn't have time to think about this while he's trying to slice them in half. But raised under the 'care' of the Armada since he was terribly young (after he lost his mother, three guesses as to how), he was taken in as a pet project. His sun magic being seen as a potential weapon to be wielded. Essentially brainwashing him for his entire life to be the perfect solider and question no orders, to not think for himself. But no one knows this. Not even Achille, having fallen so deep into the trance that he truly sees himself as a machine and needs to work to regain his humanity. Woo! After all, those clockwork wings attached to his back sure speak another story, huh?

#I WROTE SO MUCH AND I WANNA KEEP GOING NYALL ENABLE ME FURTHER!! #Literally just wrote about the boyfriends lmfao I love my little awful men #So to summarize #Desi is mad with power Marion drinks all his problems away and Achille takes years to realize he's even a living person #Love these guys #pirate101 #my ocs #p101

[ecoamerica]

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#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[theforumcat]

TToTT I feel like a geriatric when I try to interact with the Sims. I am having a fun time, but it’s all way too enmeshed with old Sims generations (yes, two has plenty of ride or dies, but one… uhh, kiiiiinda doesn’t) to be easy to chat about in the S4 community.

How’m I gonna reasonably show off the re-interpretation I made of a Sims 1 NPC? I put layers into my remake of that scantily dressed vampire. I pulled her traits from game mechanics! How can I explain the lore I’ve built her? Folks might appreciate my Tragic Clown, but nobody’s going to like sexy, hip young Mister Smith or the little kid who lives in that plane with the plane guy in Strangerville. No one will enjoy how I’ve roughly mapped some TS4 worlds out to just be parts of the TS1 neighbourhoods, or the lore improvements I want to make to the archaeology. Surely Tartosa has a proper Aarbyvillian history? Anyone wanna see my reinterpretation of Don Lothario? He’s a shitty teen living in his mom’s basement. She’s renting an illegal apartment also down there out to a strapping deadbeat who looks an aaaaaaaaawful lot like young Donny. She and her dead hubs are both also Makin’ Magic npcs. I made one of the magic realm sages a cross between Gwyneth Paltrow and Faerie Queen Mara. Mara’s ashes are in her quarters, unclear if related or murdered or both. There are a bunch of Sims 2 premades up there, too. Anyone free to giggle at the Goths’ skeleton butlers and maids, Hector, Harold, Helen, and Helga Boehn? They don’t talk about their sister Hilda - she’s a bit of a black sheep. I replaced all the maids and nannies in my game with ones from past games! That was dumb and took for-fucking-ever! Wanna see the characters I took from Midnight Hollow? Most of them are dead now. Why’s Ophelia Villa named Ophelia Villa? Well it’s haunted by three nearly identical unnamed ghosts called the Ophelias. There are a bunch more very similar women - alive, though - on a farm out in Henford. That’s kinda weird! I brought Lolita Goth back and gave her some background. It isn’t happy. I spent an entire week making pedigreed Siamese cats. They all died and got culled and now I have to re-make them because someone (me) forgot to change their flags. I played with fancier breeding trends over history, too, which was a Project. Moonwood Mill has many werewolves in it, but ALSO many regular wolves now! I incorporated the lore across relevant packs all over the place. Newcrest is a clannish, isolationist community with communal childrearing and a personal religion, wanna see? The religion situation in my save is diverse and complex and has extremely little to do with IRL religions!

I just want someone to shout about these things at

#sims #The Sims #Sims 2 #Sims 3 #TS1 #TS2 #TS3

[farcillesbian]

4, 25 (+ music recs if u wanna!), and 28 for the ask game!

4. mythical creature you think/believe is real?

low-key believe faeries could be real tbh on like a minute scale. I've always liked to think of "small magic" being real, explaining away little things that don't quite make sense? also I like to think that mermaids and other mythical sea creatures could exist in the unexplored depths of the ocean... not quite in the way we depict them tho because of the extreme environment

25. would you say you have good taste in music?

yes I have the best and coolest taste in music (jokes) but well I do think I have a pretty interesting varied taste in music that I'm proud of! getting lost in interesting songs and singing along to my favourite songs are some of my favourite ways to stim lol. I'm a big fan of complex guitar melodies and synth sounds & some recommendations I have are:

the entire peripheral vision album by turnover (indie rock/dream pop with pop punk roots?)

pile! no pile! pile! by brave little abacus (midwest emo genre with sorta screamy vocals)

a girl is a knife by boxcutter (always gotta shout out boxxy, the first time I listened to their album sorta blew my mind. great lil emo band with a super fantastic guitarist. I'm a boxhead. vocals are screamy)

all these things by benton falls (more midwest emo but less harsh vocals)

trust me by sincere engineer (I love her she's so good. this is my favourite of her stuff but it's all great. she's like emo pop punk esque singer songwriter)

speeding up the octaves by hawthorne heights (classic emo rock. I love the entire silence in black and white album it's hard to pick just one song but. if u enjoy this I'd recommend checking out the whole album)

untitled #6 by girlfriends (just. so much fun. very math rocky sound. I love this song & this whole album is also great)

and now for some goth rock:

mondlicht by xmal deutschland

Судно (Борис Рижий) by molchat doma

wax and wane by cocteau twins

I coldly stare out by pink turns blue

dot in the sky by drab majesty

fantasmas by twin tribes

esfumados sueños by euroshima

silaluk by shadow age

28. last meal on earth?

THIS IS HARD. something with fun textures... like risotto. with a side of raw beef dish (carpaccio or tartare). and a beef kafta wrap from the Syrian restaurant near me...

#petchyposting #food ment #tunez #answered #i gave so many music recs omg i got excited.... #tried to go with some possibly lesser known ones #ask games

[treasuredsouls]

aesthetics for each character ( because why not ) :

      EMMA  ―  90s techno fashion. bold music with female singers. bright colors. clubbing. the lights of the city call you home. a beer after a hard day. long nights in the studio. feelings things out loud. making a mess because it’s fun. chunky headphones with tangled wires. dancing while you walk. ‘ kill ’em with kindness. ’ loving the eclectic and unpredictable scenes on late - night public transportation.

      MADE  ―  neat, clean spaces with a lot of fresh air. potted plants on every flat surface. simple patterns and solid, natural colors. the satisfaction when a photo crops perfectly on Instagram. recycled fabrics. asking deep questions on forums online to see what people say. crisp text on bright pages. therapy in creating art. fragrant foods with a lot of spice. it’s hard to be vulnerable. 

      NIRAN  ―  ‘ the universe doesn’t care ; we do. ’ a simple gold chain for a necklace. the leader of the lost boys. jumping out the window. brand name sneakers. refusing to close the top button of a shirt. laws are guidelines. cheap cologne. blowing rings after hitting your vape. fast food. running through the city streets. the adrenaline rush of escaping an authority figure that’s after you. 

      HIKARI  ―  being soft is not a weakness. a poet’s muse. the power associated with the sound of high heels. pinks. florals. hanging a shining sword on a wall and wondering what it would look like after battle. keep your friends close and your enemies closer. faerie lights. porcelain painted with flowers. sugar, spice, and everything nice. they underestimate you at their own peril.

      KAZUYA  ―  the smell after a strong rainstorm. comforting darkness. embracing the supernatural. old books. found footage horror. industrial goth fashion. black eyeliner. screaming when the thunder claps so no one hears you. having a very small group of friends. walking beside flowing water. the peace of being alone. strings of paper ghosts.

      TIANYU  ―  smelling like smoke. the purr of a well - tuned motor. kissing your mother’s cheek before you leave for the day. the gleam of polished jade. hands covered in band - aids and grease. laying in the grass. pleasure in the simple things in life. bright shades of red. patches on an old denim jacket. rusted metal. appreciating what you have. taking care of a family shop. the local handyman. 

#niran akiyama. ✘ notes #emma akiyama. ✘ notes #made akiyama. ✘ notes #hikari dojima. ✘ notes #kazuya dojima. ✘ notes #ooc. ✘ all notes

[many-but-one]

Welcome to Many but One

"We are many, you are but one!" -Ermac, Mortal Kombat

If you ever want to talk or ask questions, feel free to! We love making system friends. Bodily adult, however, so keep that in mind. We also use part-speak! And prefer to call alters parts, but we do switch up when semantics calls for it. We are also shooting for functional multiplicity but are open to final fusion if that occurs.

The Basics:

-Mid 20s

-White, American

-They/them or he/him pronouns collectively

-Very often go by "Many" in online spaces, it's a shortening of our system name, Many but One. If you see mutuals call us that, that's why😂

-HC-DID. Polyfrag, alter number unknown, but likely very high, well over 3k alters, mostly fragmented and nameless parts.

-blanket TW for RAMCOA related abuse.

-Not professionally dx'd, however we are seeing a verified DID specialist who is one of the best in her field in our state and would not benefit from obtaining a formal dx. It would just be for validation and we already know our experiences. We've been medically recognized by this DID specialist since March of 2021, and have been seeing her since December of 2019.

-Typically syscourse unaligned, leaning anti-endo. I have a post linked lower in this pinned that explains my views in more detail. However, I try to stay the fuck out of syscourse because that is such a minefield these days. I'll just stick with my educational posts, silly memes, and vent art lol.

-some popular tags of ours include: #manybutone, #advice, #my poetry

Meet some folks!

This used to be the section for the "mains" however, the mains in our system change very rapidly--such is the way in a polyfrag system whose trauma centers around specific times of the year. Some folks are more functional in some times of the year while others are more functional at other times of the year. So, we've decided to just list very basic info about several of us that you may see sign off.

Dorian/Dori 🌹|| he/she/they || Ageless || Current main host, Caretaker, Inner deprogrammer || Elf || Partners with Aridam and Vardan in-sys, fusion of Jules + Foster, the old host and sexual protector

Dire 🪶 || he/him || Ageless || Fronting Gatekeeper || Human/Raven hybrid. Considers himself an introject of Odin's ravens Huginn and Muninn || Dating Solstice I think? lol. || Split off of Aridam back in May of 2023.

Vasile/Vas⛓|| he/him || Appears about 30-40 in the IW, but it's debatable if he actually acts like a 30-40 year old, lmfao. || Tertiary Gatekeeper, social/worker part, host team || Demon alter who used to dress as a priest. || Partners with Vivek in-sys || Has an alters in alters subsys called the Chained subsys. Common folks you’ll see from there are [King] Samael, Velvet, and Hades.

Vivek/Vivi 👑🪷 || he/him || Age slides from 17-25ish || Sexual protector || Because of the recent fusion with Bast, Vivian went from a faerie to a Fae-Vampire hybrid thing. He has very Astarion vibes, lol. || Partners with Vasile in-sys || Part of the Faerie Court subsystem, some parts you may see from there are Sev, Varda, and Datura.

Aridam/Ari 🪢 || he/him || Ageless || Primary Gatekeeper of All system areas || Considered the "God" of our system, can look like a human, an Eldritch God thing, and a large Fenrir-sized black wolf || Partners with Dorian. Fusion of James + Death. Part of the Lone Wolves subsystem, might see Kal, Azriel, Elliot, or Eryx occasionally.

Fenrir 🐺 || he/him || Undefined Age || Host team. Persecutor-Protector || Can look like a large black wolf, a large black werewolf, and a goth teenager. Idk why. || Introject of G’Mork from The Neverending Story || Part of a subsys, only Dag and Dmitri will front most likely.

Valentine/Val 🫀|| he/him || mid-20s || Secondary Gatekeeper of Above Ground and Primary Protector || Demon || Has a subsystem called the Loveless Pain subsystem, common folks you'll see from there are Valac, Asmodeus/Asmo, and Eros.

Deimos/Dei 🐅 || he/him || One of our earliest EPs that we can understand, age unknown but he can slide between any age from 3 to our body age of 25. || Persecutor, used to be our fronting gatekeeper, recently demoted due to splits making him unstable. || Nonhuman but nobody knows what. Often identifies with tigers and shadowy figures. || Has a subsystem called the Masked Tiger subsystem. Folks you may see from there are Midnight, Terror, and Tiger Mask. || Partners with an alter named Uriel in our system.

Solstice/Sol 🌒 || fae/faer or they/them || 23-25ish || Backup Host, recent fusion of several parts. Extremely sweet and VERY chill. Good emotional neutralizer. || Elvish but also faerie-like but also has demon horns. They're literally a fusion of past host fragments that splintered off during stress, so they are almost a "Frankenstein" of past host alters like Jules, Vivian, Vasile, and even ones from as far back as high school and middle school. It is really bizarre, we have no idea why our brain did this. || may have gone dormant again.

Harley 😎 || he/him || Mentally about age 13-15 || Emotional Neutralizer, the OG emotional neutralizer, has been around for ages. || A literal orange cat. has that same male orange cat energy. Super silly and sweet and loves to make memes.

Kaine 🌑 || he/him || Ageless || Persecutor-Protector, views himself as an "Avenger" || fallen angel || very flawed moral code but we don’t hold that against him. Can be a bit assholeish but once you get past all of that he can be extremely loyal and kind.

Vardan 🦌 || he/him || Ageless but appears as a mid-late 40ish year old man || Reformed IP, Primary Gatekeeper of The In-Between, Co-Primary of entire system || Seraphim angel disguised as a priest, though he's slowly shedding the priest part of his imagery thanks to therapy. || Partners with Dorian in-sys || Part of a subsystem called the White Stag subsystem. Might see posts from Judge, Silas, or Leslie.

Jade 🐉 || She/her || About age 19-23 but her age is confusing and hard to pin down || Reformed IP, Primary Gatekeeper of the Underground || Scary but badass, we love Jade and all the hard work she’s done. || Demon/Succubus || Part of an alter in alters subsys called the Jaded Dragons subsystem, might see Elektra or Medusa around. Elektra is also in a different subsystem (she can move between the two) called the Scorpion Keys subsystem.

Some other notable names that you may see thrown around but I don't want to make this list too much longer:

Alice - she/her - protector, Aeron - she/her - former host, Anna - she/her - idk what she is (gatekeeper?), Charlie - he/him - emotional neutralizer, Saint - he/it - tertiary gatekeeper and emotional neutralizer, Eivor - she/her - caretaker and protector, King - he/they - gatekeeper of an Underground area, Lucy - she/her - Secondary in the Underground, Luzia - she/her - caretaker that loves to clean and cook, Stefano - he/they - high level IP, Poppy - she/her - caretaker, Sarah - she/her - inner caretaker and deprogrammer, Klaus - he/him - former IP + abuser introject

Names you may see on this blog of parts who have fused:

Jules - former host, the one that discovered the system and made this blog. Fused with Foster to make Dorian, Foster - former sexual protector, Fused with Jules to make Dorian, James - former primary gatekeeper, fused with Death to make Aridam, Death - former persecutor alter, fused with James to make Aridam, Brett - former caretaker, fused with Satan to make Cinna, Satan/Ess - former "guard", fused with Brett to make Cinna, Vivian - former main host/persecutor alter, fused with Bast to make Vivek. Bast was never really mentioned here, but he was a temporary split off of Vivian that ended up re-fusing to him, but he'd been out and elaborated long enough that it changed Vivian slightly and Vivian felt the name Vivian didn't fit him anymore.

This is not an exhaustive list of all parts. Not all parts wish to be known, and most will never be on the blog anyway.

Some notes about our verbiage and how we speak of our inner world (IW):

Above Ground: this is what we consider the main system, has several subsystems and even subsystems-in-subsystems.

Underground: a side system that holds most of our programmed parts. Has layers and many subsystems. Won't go any further than that.

The In-Between: a side system or possibly extra closed off subststem we know almost nothing about other than it exists and there's basically a 24/7 war going on there.

I have three things on my DNI:

-Tumblr anons who want me to dx them or validate their experiences. Here’s why. I am fine with DMs, but if you send an anon asking these things I will delete, period. -People who tag my trauma as special interest or think RAMCOA abuse is "cool and interesting." Here's why.

-People who make callout posts or blocklists. No offense, I don't want to be caught up in that drama. That shit makes me nervous as hell, so if you like doing that please just stay the hell away from me.

Some posts I've made that I think are good for newcomers to take a look at first.

To learn about the System Support Server, click here. Note: The System Support Server is no longer open to new members. Sorry!

Some basic info about our diagnosis journey and about DID: link

What fusion feels like from the perspective of two former hosts who fused: link

Our stance on syscourse: (hint, we’re unaligned) - often lean anti-endo, but open to other types of plurality. More interested in allowing for traumagenic systems to have their own spaces to heal from trauma. Essentially, people need to just mind their own damn business.

My journey of learning about parts (from the beginning of this blog to December 2022): link (BTW this shit is heavy and really shows the ugly sides of DID. It shows the steady decline in thinking you "only" have 15 parts to realizing you were part of severe cult abuse with well over 1k+ parts). This is very out of date, and will be updated shortly.

Our other blogs:

@bone-marreaux -- our main, usually run by Dori or Aridam

@anger-is-slowly-sipping-poison -- kind of a group blog for several persecutors to reblog angry shit and trauma related shit.

We have a several other sideblogs that won't be shared here, if you find them in the wild and recognize them to be ours, mind ya business😂

Red Cloud Divider Credit by @rpinkling (highly recommend looking into them, their dividers are very cool!)

#manybutone

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

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[thenightling]

I love Gaslight fantasy

I love Gaslight fantasy.  Gaslight fantasy is also known as Gaslamp fantasy.  And before I go any further, no I am not “Confusing” the terms.   Gaslighting as a term comes from a 1940s film called “Gaslight” where a man tricks a woman into doubting her perceptions of reality.   The concept of “gaslighting” as a verb to mean this didn’t exist until that film.   The title of the film was named for the object, “gaslights” which were common in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

This has nothing to do with “gaslighting.”   I should not have had to explain this but... Tumblr...  

There is a new genre of fantasy / Gothic horror fiction called Gaslight fantasy.   This genre can be compared to High Fantasy, Gothic Horror, and Steampunk in many aspects and yet it is wholly it’s own entity.   

Gaslight Fantasy is a genre where a fantasy world resembles our world’s Victorian era but the supernatural such as monsters and magick are known to be real.  It bears a lot of elements of Gothic Horror and many examples of Gaslight Fantasy also fit the genre of Gothic Horror but unlike the term “Gothic Fantasy” which feels like an attempt to circumvent acknowledging that Gothic Horror is a form of Horror, Gaslight Fantasy can exist in tandem with Gothic Horror as descriptors for the same property.  As a result it is a new sub-genre I welcome as opposed to “Gothic Fantasy” which feels like a term invented by those embarrassed of liking horror.  

Example: Barnes and Noble slapping “Gothic Fantasy” across the cover of their leather bound versions of The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, and H. P. Lovecraft, as well as Dracula, and Frankenstein.  Those are all Gothic Horror and the use of “Gothic Fantasy” feels like a term for those ashamed of the horror aspect or don’t realize horror can be more than just gore and jump scares. 

Further note: Frankenstein is often considered the first science fiction novel but Victor found the secret of life while reading the works of Agrippa and Paracelsus, a self-proclaimed alchemist and sorcerer.  Also Victor was studying metaphysics, not biology.  The Frankenstein monster is often considered (in fantasy-loving circles) to be a “Flesh golem with a soul.”  Psuedo-intellectualists seem to chafe at the idea that Frankenstein is a horror story and prefer to call it science fiction because there is still this incorrect ant antiquated notion that horror is low brow and cannot contain romanticism or emotional, spiritual, and moral explorations. 

Even The Shape of Water, which can easily be mistaken as a remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon and Revenge of The Creature (But with a happy ending for The Creature) is often called “Supernatural romance” instead of Horror even though there are scary moments, atmosphere, violence, death, supernatural elements, and other things usually associated with the horror genre. 

The same thing happened with Silence of the Lambs, which was branded “Thriller” when it got its Oscar nomination.   It seems the Oscar nomination might be why The Shape of Water isn’t classified as horror either.

Director Guillermo del Toro (though a clear lover of Gothic Horror) seems reluctant to classify his own films as Gothic Horror even though Crimson Peak is clearly paying homage to Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath and Hammer Horror films.       

It’s the cultural resentment of Gothic Horror that makes me dislike the term “Gothic Fantasy” but I am willing to embrace the new idea of Gaslight Fantasy that can exist within Gothic Horror or side by side with it, in the same story. 

Though it’s still a relatively new genre I do love the refreshingly new concept of Gaslight Fantasy as a reimagined Victorian era that isn’t just full of zeppelins, steam engines and gears (like the typical superficial Steampunk tropes) but also supernatural creatures and or magick being common place.   Not to mention so many fantasy stories are set in a pseudo-Middle ages Europe-esque land like in Game of Thrones and The Witcher, that it’s clever and different that the fantasy world doesn’t look like the late dark ages but instead the late nineteenth century, just to give it a different aesthetic and atmosphere while retaining a sense of wonder and historical nostalgia, though blatantly and deliberately inaccurate.    

  Examples of Gaslight Fantasy include: Amazon Prime’s Carnival Row - Set in a nineteenth century style city where humans, faeries, werewolves, Franeknstein-style monsters, trolls, fauns, and centaurs co-exist.   This is probably the first true, mainstream, gaslight fantasy and the best example of the genre.  It deals with Jack the Ripper style murders in a slum inhabited by magical creatures.  It’s a lot like Penny Dreadful but Penny Dreadful pretends to be set in our world where most people do not know the supernatural exists whereas Carnival Row is not quite our world and people know about most of the supernatural creatures who reside there.  

Dolls of New Albion - Dolls of New Albion is described as a steampunk musical, is set in a world where human souls can be summoned from Elysium (Greek Heaven) and inserted into semi-mechanical dolls.  The fact that the afterlife is treated as a common knowledge fact in a world that just resembles ours in the Victorian era, and human souls can be inserted into doll-like bodies indicates to me that this actually drifts into Gaslight fantasy.     

The movie Van Helsing- Though this film is what I would call Goth Action (Gothic Horror merged with action) the film Van Helsing is very much what I would consider Gaslight fantasy. Set in what looks like our world’s Victorian era and even using real-world place names there are distinct differences, such as The Vatican behaving as a secret monster hunting organization instead of just the Capital of the Catholic Church.  Similar can be said about the setting of Castlevania that is distinctly another world even though it resembles ours and has our European place names though that one is set in the fifteenth century.

Howl’s moving Castle - Though bearing Steampunk elements, the common knowledge of magick, in a setting that is not quite our world, and reminiscent of the Victorian era of our world, or even the Edwardian era, makes Howl’s Moving Castle very much a Gaslight fantasy.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - Though easily considered Steampunk or Gothic Horror, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen bears some fantasy elements mixed with the horror and the resemblance to our world is dubious at best. 

Stardust - The film and novel by Neil Gaiman deal with a wall that separates the human world from the realm of Faerie and a young man’s journey where he meets a fallen star in humanoid form, and his own long lost mother.  In this world the barrier between the human world and the realm of magick is a known and tangible fact.

Discworld - The Discworld books by Terry Pratchett are set in a fantasy world known as.. the Disworld, supported by four elephants riding on the back of a giant turtle, the Discworld pays homage to and parodies fantasy tropes in a pseudo-Victorian / Edwardian setting.  The setting includes witches, wizards, Death incarnate, ghosts, golems, faeries, and so on.

His Dark Materials - His Dark Materials (i.e. The Golden Compass) is set in a fantasy version of the Edwardian and provides a stark commentary about religion and society.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - A very odd British mini-series and novel about two competing men who work with magick in what looks like late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century England but it’s really its own fantasy setting.  The subplot deals with a dark faery known as The Gentleman and his schemes.

A study in Emerald - Another one by Neil Gaiman, this is an alternate universe version of Sherlock Holmes’ story A Study in Scarlet, but a version of late Victorian England where Lovecraftian Old Ones have taken over and nothing is quite what it seems.  Anno Dracula - Anno Dracula is an alternate universe version of Victorian England set after the events of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker but if Dracula had won and married Queen Victoria.

Beauty and the Beast - The 1740 novel by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve. Though nearly a century before the Victorian era this does fit much of the criteria of the Gaslight Fantasy.  There’s political intrigue with faeries, and unlike the Disney film, the novel is not set in France. It’s a fictional land that just resembles eighteenth century France.  And there are other fictional kingdoms such as “The Summer Isle.”  

Pinocchio -  The original novel by Carlo Collodi was set in a surreal, fictionalized version of early 1880s Europe and featured anthropomorphic animals, faeries, self-aware tree bark, and heavy handed human to animal transformations to represent the metaphor of becoming a jackass.   

Ravenloft - The Gothic Horror portion of Dungeons and dragons.  Where Dungeons and dragons already featured elves, dwarves, and wizards Ravenloft contains vampires, Flesh Golems (Frankenstein-style monsters) and werewolves.

Castlevania - Not so much the Netflix Castlevania series... yet but parts of the Castlevania video games franchise count as Gaslight fantasy.  Castlevania begins in a fantastical version of fifteenth century Wallachia (Romania) where vampires, demons and various other monsters are known to be real.   Later installments in the game are set in that world’s version of the nineteenth century.  Though place names match our own it is very clearly not our world as teleporting castles, vampire warlords, and entire towns being wiped out by vampire armies never made it into our own history books.   There are also some steampunk-esque historical inaccuracies in technology and science.  Castlevania is most assuredly a horror themed franchise but it also fits the criteria of Gaslight fantasy.

#Carnival Row #Gaslight Fantasy #Gothic Horror #Gothic Fantasy #Steampunk #Scifi #Fantasy #Faeries #Fae

[mercutiotakethewheel]

Halp! I read Crooked Kingdom and Spinning Silver in the same week. Is there any point in reading any other book ever again?!?!?!?!?!?!!!?!!! (Genuinely open to recommendations.) I am bereft at having finished them, and wondering how soon is too soon to reread Spinning Silver...

lmao god that’s a mood. I mean those are very much my two of my favorites, but of course I have recommendations.

Spinning Silver has a “mirror” novel called Uprooted that explores Naomi Novik’s polish roots and fairytale; it’s a twist on the classic girl gets sacrificed to be locked in a tower by a “dragon” but with wizards and a sick wood.

As for the grishaverse, I don’t know if you’ve already read the grisha trilogy or the Nikolai duology, but I certainly recommend King of Scars at the very least. Nina’s in it and Nikolai and Zoya are two of the best grisha trilogy characters (along with Genya, Tolya, and Tamar who are all also here). I haven’t about to read Rule of Wolves but I haven’t yet. Now the grisha trilogy is disappointing in general, but especially in comparison to Crooked Kingdom, Bardugo’s best novel, in my opinion. However, it’s also not quite as bad as everyone says. The worldbuilding established here is pretty cool, the politics in seige and storm are really fun, and there are really cool characters in it, even if the main protagonist… well. Alina’s not actually a boring or awful of a protagonist, or at least she has the opportunity not to be. She’s incredibly selfish to the point of moral ambiguity, and she’s terribly funny and combative. However, and this is my main issue with these books, she is very much punished by the narrative anytime she seeks agency or power or really does anything interesting, which leaves us with our magical girl chosen one just sort of passively shoved around the board.

Bardugo also wrote Ninth house, which I highly recommend. It’s an adult novel, so the violence -and there is a lot of it- tends to be described and gory and there’s a lot of talk about drug abuse so keep that in mind (plus the main character being abused and her best friend being killed/raped/drugged) so keep that in mind. The main protagonist is really interesting, and features Bardugo’s usual moral greyness. She’s angry, she can see ghosts, she’s traumatised, she has a terrible secret, and she does all of her fighting for abused women. The book has a lot of commentary on classism and elitism, as one should expect from a book about an impoverished women attending an ivy league with dangerous, poorly run, magical societies in it. The worldbuilding is a treat, but expect a lot of ghosts and a lot of rituals.

If you’re looking for more fantasy novels with fairytale vibes/retellings and strong female characters, that’s one of my favorite genres, so I have a few. I’m terribly fond of A Creature of Moonlight, which features a moving wood, a dragon’s daughter, royal court politics, and an uberindependent protagonist. The Cruel Prince is the only faerie book that counts along with the rest of Holly Black’s works, and if you’re looking for more enemies to lovers, you are in luck. The main reasons to read this book, though, is the political intrigue and the murder happy main character. The Once and Future Witches is a take on the suffragette period and witch fairytales. It’s not necessarily my favourite nor do I think it has the makings to be anyone’s favorite, really, but I do recommend it if only for the fairytale retellings and historical elements. Howl’s Moving Castle is an absolute delight, with lots of fun, bickering, main characters, and a very fairytale take on the magic system. I need to read Deathless so bad, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet. I hear only great things about the retelling of the Russian fairytale, though, so I’ll go ahead and recommend it.

Revenge stories are also a favourite of mine, so if you want more of those, my main recommendations are The Count of Monte Cristo and Vicious. The Count of Monte Cristo features our antihero being wrongfully imprisoned due to the machinations of three people. After escaping and getting rich beyond his wildest imagination, Edmound seeks to utterly ruin all three of them, destroying a lot of innocent lives in the process, rethinking the ethics of his revenge plan a lot, and a lot of claiming he’s sold his soul to become Providence. The main drawback is that the novel deals handedly in Orientalism( though I have a lot to say about why discussion of Orientalism is important to understanding Edmound’s character and why he is percieved the way he is by the other characters) and that it features an enslaved woman falling in love with her captor, who is also our protagonist. So yeah, grain of salt. It was written in 1844. Vicious tells us the backstory and the mainstory side by side throughout the novel, featuring two ex-best friends who experimented with killing themselves in order to gain superhero powers. When one of them lands the other one in prison and devotes his time to killing other ExtraOrdinaries, what our superheroes/more-like-supervillains-usually are called, because he likes to play god, our protagonist, the imprisoned friend, escapes for a revenge quest. Along the way he forms an incredibly clunky, adorable found family. I love this novel so much.

If you’re looking for more historical fantasy, I have some recommendations here as well. Diviners is an occult murder mystery set in the 1920s, that really really spends time putting you in the 1920s. It features a fun ensemble cast that grows with each installation, though the main main character of the first book does take a while to grow on you and there’s a boring ass love triangle. Read it for the 1920s and the ensemble cast that really takes off in the second book. The Poppy War is based on the Second Sino-Japanese War with a very enthralling magic system, and a main character who takes moral greyness to whole new heights. It has a laundry list of trigger warnings you need to read before you pick up the book, but the two most important things to understand before getting into it is that there’s a section based on the Rape of Nanjing, which does not pull its punches and the first book ends with our protagonist committing magical genocide on an entire country. In general, this book absolutely refuses to pull its punches and that’s my number one reason for recommending it. London Calling is an exploration of fatherhood with themes on family and catholicism that features time traveling to the London blitz. It’s barely fantasy, and it’s again not a favorite nor will it become yours, but it’s very moving.

Also, this is more of a general recommendation, but I highly recommend Gideon the Ninth. “Necromancer Lesbians explore a haunted gothic castle in space.” What more do you need to hear? Our main character is a snarky butch swordswoman in the first book and the second book is her goth depressed over-achiever enemy turned sort of girlfriend turned mind pal. The fun villain behavior is off the chart, the worldbuilding is immaculate (there’s an in-universe essay in the back that finishes with someone’s snarky graffiti), and it’s funny as hell. The book is about necromancers so the gory descriptions of dead bodies is very much not for the faint of heart. Keep that in mind.

[princess-of-the-corner]

Okay, so I know that if I want to keep making headcanon/reboot plot line ideas, I need to rewatch Winx Club to properly get more ideas and remember old plot lines and stuff.

HOWEVER!

I want to elaborate on that one idea I said earlier about the divide between Faeries, Witches, and everyone else.

The idea is that there’s two categories, and then Faerie/Witch is a sub-category.

All people in the Magic Realms are able to use Magic. However, a small population of the people are more Magical than others.

Everyone can use basic spells. Like the kind of things we see the characters use when not transformed.

Very few people can actually get those Magic Transformations and access high-level spells. These are the Faeries and Witches.

Now, I mentioned the gender thing before. But yes, these abilities are not limited to gender. Men can be Faeries or Witches, and their transformations are just as glittery/goth. But it doesn’t hurt their masculinity at all. You can have a male Faerie in the glitteriest most sparkletastic outfit, and others still see him to be just as manly as a burly lumberjack.

Onto the difference between Faeries and Witches:

Faeries use Light Magic, Witches use Dark Magic. Both are acceptable forms of Magic, and also respected. Dark is not Evil, Light is not Good. They’re all people with varied personalities and likes. You could have a Faerie that likes creepy things or a Witch that loves the color pink. Though stereotype mentalities do pop up. 

I can’t remember if Witches had transformations like the Faeries did, but fuck you I’m making it a thing.

Faerie/Witch friendships and even romances are common. The rivalry between the schools is more your standard school rivalry. While the Witches sabotage the Faeries’ school dance, the Faeries would do the same to one of their events(glitter bomb motherfuckers).

There might be some higher tensions recently due to the thing that happened with Domino, making people wary of Witches, but there have been evil Faeries before. 

That said, people can choose to be a Faerie or a Witch. Anyone who has the ability to transform can use either Light or Dark Magic, and has the choice to pick. There are some bonus things that factor into it, like someone has an easier time with one branch or the other, and of course family expectations are always a thing!

Because of this, you can have Magic Users who ‘Multiclass’, using both Light and Dark Magic. They typically have a preference, but they can dabble in the other side. 

Although, it’s very rare for them to get too far into the ‘other side’. A Faerie who reached Enchantix would rarely train in Dark Magic enough to reach the Witch Equivalent, and same with a full Witch attempting to reach Enchantix. Someone who is determined could do both, and even the ‘further’ transformations if they tried, but you’d have to be fuckin nuts. 

I already thought of two characters to have plotlines using both Light/Dark Magic: Mirta and Stella.

With Mirta, she became a Witch at first for various reasons. Possibly some family pressure, but also because her childhood bff Lucy was intent on being a Witch. However, she later discovers that she works better with Light Magic, and transfers to the Faerie School. She still uses her Witch powers sometimes, but does eventually earn her Enchantix.

For Stella, I remember one of my biggest nitpicks of the show was that despite being “Faerie of the Sun and Moon”, she only has Sun themes in her Magic. I decided that while she prefers the Sun stuff with Light Magic and is a Faerie, her Moon powers are Dark Magic, making her a Witch as well. She’s Faerie of the Sun and Witch of the Moon. 

#Winx Club #Winx Club Reboot Project

[mythopoeticreality]

well, I... John Uskglass?!!??!?

Well, if you insist….xD

How I feel about this character

I mean….*sweeping gesture towards blog* I suppose you could say have something of an appreciation for him?

xD Nah, But seriously, from the very moment he appeared on that snowy Yorkshire moor in front of Childermass, I’ve loved this guy. Forget the scene, he stole the whole book! I love the mystery that surrounds him, how much of an enigma he is; I love that he is this incredible force of nature, this legend, this being that seems so Fae at times and so inscrutable. I love how absolutely extra he is? This inclination for melodrama developed over years of growing up in Faerie: Why just walk into a room when you can materialize out of a chaos of ravens? Why simply refuse to learn to read when you can create your own writing system, one that more easily aligns to your own way of thinking?  Why take your vengeance for your parents deaths out on the one guy who did it, when you can conquer half an island? The man has two modes: “Cool Arrogance” and “Sinking Coastal Yorkshire Villages Into The Sea” and I kinda love it? (though, just to make things clear, I don’t actually approve of the drowning of Coastal Yorkshire Villages, no matter what allies they’ve made in their quest not to pay their taxes. In case it needs to be said)

Most of all, I love how incredibly human The Raven King can be as well. There’s compassion – offhanded, a second thought, of course, yet still there–  in the way he heals Childermass before he vanishes again. There’s humor in his parting words to Childermass, “You are wrong, he is not dead” – a dry, ironical sort of understatement, that the man can’t even hear, you can nearly picture the smirk curling at his lips as he says it! And there’s care in all that he does. He set in motion a plan three centuries in the making, manipulating who knows how many events, all for the sake of England, for his Kingdom, to bring magic back. John Uskglass is a teacher, he gave magic to England and it spread through his own students. John Uskglass is an explorer, building the King’s roads and traveling to countless realms in search of more Knowledge, more Magic.  Yes, of course all of these traits are twisted and filtered through a more Fairy lens, why wouldn’t they be? He was raised by these beings! He’s not fully human – but he’s not entirely Fae either. He’s this strange mixture of both that neither can really understand. It’s isolating, it’s lonely, and it’s fascinating. I just…love the Raven King when he’s shown as a person?

And I just…love how he’s presented in the book? We don’t see him until that scene at the end, but by that point in the book, you’ve heard so many legends and stories and Historical anecdotes about him that you just…feel his presence over the whole story? By that point, you know about his conquest of Northern England, and of his youthful Arrogance, refusing even to learn how to read, because what could he possibly gain from doing so? You’ve heard about how he gradually became less arrogant, less like a Fairy and More like a Man after ruling his Kingdom for so long and how he did eventually learn to read – how he decided that engaging with the thoughts of others was worthwhile after all! You hear about his Strange Fae nature in the Raven King Ballad, how he’ll spirit away unsuspecting people to his realm in Fairy. You’ve read about his cruelty: the incident with Henry Barbatus, the Yorkshire Village he sank into the sea. You’ve heard rumor of his multiple returns to England: Riding off of a Fairy Road and blessing the family of the Farmer at the end of it who gave him food and a horse; Guiding back home the daughter of a Newcastle Glovemaker who had wandered her way into Faerie; As an omen of ill fortune for a group of shipwrecked basque sailors. You even know the names of those close to him: Thomas of Dundale, William of Lanchester, Catherine of Winchester.

But in the end, how much do you really know at all? Do you know if any of these tales are true? If they are then they only open more questions. What are the other sides of these tales? Who were those others with the King when he departed from the Fairy Road, the one who vanished along with it with the morning mist, who the Raven King so blithly told the Farmer not to worry about? How did the Glovemaker’s daughter find her way inside the Raven King’s house? Did she just stumble upon it or did he bring her there? And why?

It’s fantastic.  You get all of these glimpses of the character, and you can’t help but build an image from them in your mind. But it’s never a complete image.  Never full, you can never really understand the Raven King any more than any of the characters in the book can.

(So um yeah…apparently I have *alot* of feelings about the Raven King. xD) 

All the people I ship romantically with this character

 Alright so my main ship for this guy is actually John Uskglass/England, take that in whichever way your imagination is inclined, because yes I probably mean it that way. Honestly, when you see how Happy all of Nature is when it thinks Stephen is the Raven King and that John Uskglass is returned? It’s just really cute?! How can you not?!

On a more Human level, as I’ve said before, I do actually picture John Uskglass as being pansexual, and as per his fairy upbringing, rather more casual about his sexual relationships. That said….I actually have very few ships…with like…named characters, for Uskers? Maybe it’s because I do see his affairs as so casual most of the time, or maybe it’s just because he’s so isolated a character. I dunno. Black Joan is the one character  that’s a definate yes. If she’s anything like her son, she’d be shrewd and cynical and the sort of person who can hold her own against the Raven King. I have to admit I definitely love that sort of fairy-tale like trope of this Great and Powerful King, and this relatively ordinary thief falling for one another as well. So yeah, definately here for Black Joan/John Uskglass. Otherwise? Hrmm… I need more Raven King Ships. Any one got any suggestions?

I will say that when John does fall in love, he falls hard. He doesn’t like it. It’s such a soft, vulnerable feeling, and placing your heart into someone else’s hands, to be broken at any moment? It’s foolish, so far as he’s concerned. He is a King in Faerie, after all, he cannot afford to be vulnerable. So he tries to deny any feelings he may develop for a person, even to himself. If you do get him to the point of  admitting it though, I will say he can be absolutely doting. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Okay, so I’ve talked about this before, but I do headcanon Thomas of Dundale and John Uskglass as having grown up in the brugh together, pretty much. Thomas –like the naturally born extrovert that he is ;) –  kind of attached himself to John and over the years became something like an older brother to him? I can’t help but picture him as being very protective of the young Raven King, and, having been taken at an age where he could remember things, where he had developed a more human sense of right and wrong, Thomas helped provide something of a balancing point against the Fairies as John was growing up. Thomas encouraged those more human aspects of John’s character, and he was there to talk to about these aspects of himself, these more human instincts, that John might not have understood so well growing up surrounded by Fairies – empathy, compassion, caring. And that bridge that Thomas provided was so important later in John’s life, after he returned to England. It wasn’t merely language that Thomas was translating, but culture, an entire way of thinking that John didn’t fully understand yet. I mean?! Their relationship is just so important to me and how can I not love them?!

And yet, on the other hand…There’s also William of Lanchester? I mean, he’s specifically marked out as The Raven King’s Favorite and Most Trusted servant, and I can’t help but picture this guy as the most Eternally Tired man in all of Northern England. xD  William is the sensible,trustworthy, reliable one and that’s such a beautiful contrast to John Uskglass? Part of me loves the idea that a big part of why John trusts William so much is because William will say ‘No’ to him. He won’t flatter or stay quiet if he feels he needs to speak against John (see: Henry Barbatus). Does that mean John will always listen? That he’ll always appreciate William’s input? No, of course not (also see: Henry Barbatus) But he will get the truth, and that is important too.

And again, on the third hand, I really do love the whole relationship between Catherine of Winchester and John Uskglass as well. I love the idea of the Raven King as a teacher, and Catherine herself is just really awesome? And the idea of even John Uskglass being impressed at her dedication to magic, of how much he finds himself valuing her as a pupil, and growing to care about her over the coarse of their relationship, just…as a person? I feel like John Uskglass does most easily connect to other people through magic and through teaching, and I like to think that Catherine was one of his favorites…

Ughh. I can’t choose. Let’s go with all four of them hanging out in 13th century Newcastle. Yes? Yes. Good! 8D 

My unpopular opinion about this character

I’m not sure. I don’t…think I have any unpopular opinions? What are the popular ones? Are we all in agreement that the Raven King is a Melodramatic Goth Nerd and That is Why We Love him?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I want just…more in general? I mean, like more, like a whole series of historical novels focusing on the intrigues and plots surrounding the Raven King’s court. I want to see him interacting with all of these historical personages, reacting to like historical events happening, how magic and his presence changes that past? It would be *amazing* and I want it so badly!

…so  I’m prolly gonna have to write it myself xD

#Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell #JSMN #John Uskglass #jordenspuls #welp this ended up longer than I thought #any excuse to ramble about the Raven King ;D #seriously talk to me about this nerd

[eviesmyspiritanimal]

Sweet Revenge

Summary: Uma has thought of a rather interesting idea to prank Mal on April Fool’s Day, aiming to get the faerie back for all of the times that she’s tricked the gang. So Uma enlists Jane’s and Evie’s help to pull it off. The prank doesn’t quite turn out the way Uma hoped. A hint of Bal and lots of friendship feels all around. Thank you to @thatblueprincess for the suggestion. :) I know it’s a little different than your original suggestion, but I hope it’s still good.

  “Blue! Just the person I wanted to see!” Uma announced, strolling into the room as she looked at the bluenette sitting in her room at Mal’s castle. Uma had already checked Evie’s starter castle, and when she found nothing there, she knew she had only one other shot that was actually in her compendium of knowledge surrounding the location of Evie.

  Evie looked at Uma with a big and beautiful smile, putting down her fabric in order to give Uma her full and undivided attention.

  “Hi, Uma. What do you need?” Evie asked sweetly, fully willing to help with anything that Uma might need from her. After all, she had become quite fond of the pirate. Her affections toward Uma were nowhere close to what she felt for Mal, but they had managed to bond despite their obvious differences.

  Uma started to speak, but shut her mouth quickly, looking around skeptically as if she expected someone to jump out of the closet or roll out from underneath the bed. She looked at Evie with an eyebrow raised.

  “Is Mal here with you?”

  “No. She’s with Audrey learning about proper manners and conduct expected of the queen. Audrey offered to help her since she’s been so stressed lately. I was going to go up and help out when I’m through with this dress,” Evie explained, proudly holding up the green dress for Uma to see. Uma’s eyes widened a bit, impressed with the fact that Evie wasn’t practically attached to Mal. Uma offered a slight thumbs-up to Evie, realizing that the bluenette was eagerly awaiting approval of her work.

  “Good job. Okay, so I’ve got something to talk to you about. It’s a proposition, actually,” Uma expressed, and Evie furrowed her brow a bit but looked at Uma curiously, interested in what Uma had to say.

  “Go for it,” Evie replied easily.

  Uma started into the room and she suddenly paused before stepping back to the door. She then dragged in a very freaked out Jane by the back of the collar of her shirt. Evie eyed Jane in surprise, and Jane just offered Evie a small wave before Uma dragged her over to Evie’s bed so they could sit down and talk to Evie.

  Jane looked like she’d rather be anywhere else right now, and Uma was just holding onto her firmly. Evie couldn’t help but wonder why Jane was there, but she was sure Uma was going to explain. So, Evie just watched Uma attentively, waiting for the pirate to start talking.

  “You know how Mal always without fail pranks us on April Fool’s Day?” Uma started.

  “Yes, I most certainly do,” Evie replied quickly and easily with a bit of fond exasperation in her tone, remembering Mal’s many pranks on her that Evie had never managed to get retaliation for. She also remembered a few times that Mal had asked for her help in pranking Uma. However, Evie wasn’t planning on bringing that part up.

  “Okay, good. So, here’s the plan. I think that you and I should prank her before she manages to hit us with one of her infamous ones later today,” Uma told Evie with a wicked smile, and Evie furrowed her brow, considering the idea.

  “Oh, goodness, I’ve told you, I don’t want any part of this!” Jane cried, and Uma just held onto the girl tightly, keeping her from running off.

  Evie did want retribution for all of Mal’s many pranks that she had played on Evie. And Evie knew that no matter what she did, Mal would hit her with one of those especially brutal ones. Like the one where she replaced all of the insides of Evie’s Oreos with Crest toothpaste. Or when she had placed airhorns in all sorts of spaces that Evie was sure to accidentally find when it was too late. Or the time that Mal had replaced all of Evie’s perfectly normal ink for her calligraphy with invisible ink.

  But Evie still didn’t know about retaliation. Revenge wasn’t a game that Evie was particularly good at playing, despite how much she would like to do it.

  “I don’t know, Uma. Are you sure?” Evie asked somewhat skeptically, and Jane nodded in agreement with Evie, hoping that the bluenette wouldn’t agree and that it would soil Uma’s plans.

  Uma just rolled her eyes in response, but managed to muster some patience for the bluenette, knowing that Evie was undyingly loyal to Mal and it was likely that dedication talking when Evie asked that question.

  “Look, Evie, Mal’s done all sorts of things to you, right?” Uma checked, and Evie nodded simply.

  “Yes, she has.”

  “Good. Now, how does that make you feel?”

  “Well, I don’t like it, that’s for sure,” Evie expressed honestly, and Uma grinned, pointing at Evie.

  “Alright! Now, Imma need you to take that energy and turn it into the vicious desire for sweet, sweet revenge and serve it up cold to ol’ Dragon Breath,” Uma told Evie, and the bluenette sighed slightly, considering it carefully.

  Ultimately, Evie really couldn’t see any negatives in getting Mal back for all of the times that the faerie had so relentlessly pranked Evie. So, Evie shrugged a bit before offering Uma a smile, shooting an apologetic glance to Jane.

  “Okay, I’m game. What do you have in mind?” Evie questioned, and Uma smiled wickedly as she eyed the bluenette. Jane looked completely and utterly terrified as she looked between the two VKs.

  “Perfect. Well, for you, we’ll need your darkest clothes and makeup available. For me, we’ll need something adorable. And for Jane… I’m thinking spikes,” Uma told Evie, and the bluenette’s eyes widened, unsure of what exactly she had just agreed to.

  Either way, it was bound to be interesting…

     ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

       “Okay, so do you two got yourselves all ready?” Uma questioned, uncomfortably tugging a bit at the frills of the--- dare she say it--- cute dress hanging around her knees.

  Uma was currently dressed up in the most adorable and girly outfit imaginable. It was a frilly teal colored dress that had a sweetheart neckline and a gorgeous gold necklace with a small, flat shell pendant on it.

  Uma couldn’t help but think that Evie must have made this with Uma in mind. Especially considering Evie’s exact knowledge of where it was located and how similar the dress was in color and theme to what Uma usually wore.

  In concern to Uma’s makeup, she had soft shades of teal accenting her facial features, and her hair was fixed in a manner that was most definitely not like her usual edgy braids and Isle chic.

  In fact, right at this moment, Uma looked like an actual Auradon girl, which absolutely disgusted her to no end. But she guessed some sacrifices had to be made in the name of the greater good. Or the greater bad as the case may be.

  Evie finally emerged from the large closet, and Uma was surprised to see before her what appeared to be a true goth. Evie’s lipstick was black, her eyeshadow was black, and all of the rest of her makeup was black-themed. Her hair was hanging about her face in a sort of dark shroud that surrounded her and further accentuated the blackness covering her face.

  She was wearing black ripped jeans and a dark grey t-shirt with a black jean jacket on with silvery studs. She had black combat boots with a few of those same studs covering them as well.

  Evie truly looked the part, and she was even currently lacking a smile.

  “Wow, you look amazing,” Uma complimented, nodding to Evie appreciatively as she reveled in the fact that her plan was all coming together.

  However, Evie’s entire look was immediately ruined when she offered Uma an enormous grin and puffed up in that usual pleased with herself manner in response to the pirate’s praise.

  “Really? Thank you! I was a little worried that I didn’t do that well, but it is such a relief to know that I actually succeeded,” Evie gushed, proud of her abilities and happy with Uma’s complimenting of her outfit.

  Uma simply rolled her eyes, and she stepped around Evie, knocking on the closet door.

  “Jane? Get out here,” Uma called.

  “No! I’m not coming out! I can’t wear this, Uma! Why do you even want me to wear it?! You still haven’t told us why you want us to dress up like this,” Jane exclaimed, her voice conveying her skepticism and concern.

  “Yeah, Uma. Why are we wearing these outfits?” Evie questioned, her usual bubbly personality shining through as she eyed Uma sweetly. Uma narrowed her eyes at Evie, unimpressed with the bluenette’s happy attitude.

  “Okay, first, lose the grin,” Uma told Evie, and Evie’s smile quickly faded away in favor of a confused expression.

  “Why?”

  “Well, the reason I’ve had us all dress like this is because we’re pranking Mal.”

  “Yeah, but how?” Jane questioned from inside Evie’s closet. Uma grinned at Evie as she glanced at the door.

  “Well, our clothes that we’re wearing reflect the personalities that we’re going to have all day,” Uma pointed out, and Evie looked down at her own dress worriedly.

  “But I’m dressed like a goth…”

  “Yes, because you’re going to be apathetic and not care about anything or anyone,” Uma told Evie, and Evie suddenly looked quite upset indeed.

  “How am I going to do that?!” Evie demanded, greatly worried over this. “I can’t not care! It’s in my very nature to care!”

  “You can not care. It’s not like you’re seriously not feeling anything toward others. You’re just not showing those feelings on your face. It’s just acting, Evie,” Uma explained carefully, and Evie nodded slowly, deciding that she could at least try to do what Uma was trying to tell her to.

  “And if I know anything about you, it’s that you are really dramatic and good at acting,” Uma told her, and Evie started to get an enormous smile on her face, but Uma waved a finger at her in a scolding gesture. Evie quickly lost the grin and kept a neutral look on her face, despite the fact that she still had the slightest bit of happiness in her eyes.

  “Okay, so Evie’s apathetic, but what am I?” Jane asked somewhat fearfully from behind the door, and Uma just grinned widely.

  “You’re going to be mean,” Uma told her shortly, and the pirate immediately heard the gasp from the poor, shy girl.

  “Uma, I can’t do that! I know I can’t do that!”

  “Oh, come on. Just harness the attitude that you had toward Mal after the Family Day disaster,” Uma nonchalantly pointed out, and Evie stared at Uma as if she had lost her mind. Uma just shrugged simply in reply.

  “Who told you about that?” Jane questioned, sounding very much ashamed of herself, and Uma just shook her head.

  “Nobody told me. I just read it in Mal’s diary,” Uma explained, and Evie glared at Uma with some betrayal.

  “You read M’s diary?!” Evie demanded, disbelieving that the pirate actually would do that to Mal. Uma grinned at Evie, winking at her deviously.

  “You wouldn’t believe how easy it is to find people’s diaries. They just don’t hide them like they used to,” Uma told the bluenette and Evie just eyed her with intense disapproval, very unhappy with the fact that Uma had violated Mal’s privacy in such a manner.

  “Oh, don’t act all high and mighty. You’ve surely read her diary before.”

  “No, because she tells me everything she’s feeling,” Evie expressed to Uma, crossing her arms over her chest, and Uma just snorted.

  “Well, did you know that she was planning to replace all of the Oreos in your possession with York peppermint patties as soon as she got the chance today?” Uma questioned.

  “Oh, my gosh, seriously?!” Evie demanded, and Uma just nodded easily. Evie was properly surprised about this for a moment before she suddenly narrowed her eyes at Uma.

  “Did you read her diary today?”

  “No, she just plans ahead for April Fool’s. She’s got a whole friggin’ checklist of ideas in her diary,” Uma explained to Evie. Evie’s eyes widened a bit as she took in that piece of information. Uma shook her head before turning her attentions to the girl behind the door.

  “Get out of there, Jane!” Uma called, knocking on the door somewhat firmly.

  “No, wait! You haven’t said what you’re doing!” Jane pointed out, hoping to do anything she could to distract the pirate from her task of getting Jane out of the small room.

  “I’m going to be like Evie but times one thousand,” Uma explained shortly, and Evie tilted her head a bit.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Evie questioned curiously, honestly not sure if she liked that statement.

  “It means that I’m about to go all Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood on you people,” Uma explained shortly, and Evie suddenly looked very disturbed by that statement.

  Uma watched the door for a bit longer before finally opening up the closet door and barging in. She grabbed Jane, pulling her outside, and sat the girl down on the bed.

  To Uma’s mild surprise, Jane hadn’t changed her clothes from her usual plain blues. But Uma supposed it really didn’t shock her. Besides, perhaps the same clothes would benefit the entire shock factor of Jane’s sudden personality change.

  “Oh, no! I guess I’m not wearing my clothes. I guess you guys will just have to go on without me,” Jane told Uma, and Uma just raised an eyebrow, knowing that Jane was just trying to get out of helping them prank Mal and by extension, Audrey. Audrey wasn’t really necessary, but she was certainly a bonus that served to make Uma really want to go and start pulling this prank as soon as possible.

  “Don’t worry. Your usual clothes will add to the whole surprise of your meanness,” Uma waved her off, and Jane just shook her head.

  “I don’t think I can do this. I can’t!” Jane exclaimed worriedly, and Evie eyed Jane sympathetically, wishing that Uma would let the poor girl off the hook since she was so worried about it.

  “C’mon, Jane. I need you. Don’t fail me now,” Uma pleaded with the daughter of the Fairy Godmother. Jane just winced, gazing at the other two girls worriedly. Jane finally sighed deeply and shook her head, giving in to Uma’s begging expression.

  “Fine,” Jane murmured, and Uma patted her on the shoulder affectionately.

  “Excellent!”

  “But how do I be mean?” Jane questioned, and Uma furrowed her brow, pursing her lips as she tried to think of how to answer that question.

  “Be the opposite of yourself!” Evie pointed out cheerfully before quickly losing her smile and trying to look uncaring. Uma just nodded slowly, agreeing with Evie but also attempting to find a better way to answer that question.

  “Well, think of how you feel when you… When you don’t get enough sleep!” Uma started, gesturing toward Jane with a smile. Jane just shook her head a bit.

  “Well, I don’t know… I guess I feel kind of grumpy.”

  “Great! Do just like I told Evie! Grab that feeling and run with it,” Uma instructed, and Jane nodded slightly, planning to take Uma’s advice to heart. Uma nodded resolutely, and she started toward the door, Evie and Jane moving to follow her.

  “Now, let’s go find our lucky victims--- I mean, contestants,” Uma spoke, and Evie just offered Uma a huge smile before forcing it to fade away. Jane tried her best to put her meanest look on her face.

  Uma managed to muster a big grin so that she would look her part as well, and they were off.

     ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

      “Queendom is all about appearances, Mal. You must look the part to be the part,” Audrey explained, and Mal almost rolled her eyes, but fortunately kept her sarcasm under control. After all, Audrey was just trying to help her per Mal’s request.

  It had been ages since they had started this mess and Mal was fully ready to throw in the towel and go running to Evie so they could do one of their usual hangouts. She was so looking forward to snuggling under a warm blanket and cuddling close to Evie while they shared Oreos, Mal scraping the cream off of her own to give Evie double cream since Mal liked the cookie better than the cream part. Mal was so ready to relax.

  Audrey had been nonstop critiquing every small move that Mal made, and Mal was about to pull her hair out from pure desperation. She knew Audrey meant well and was not trying to aggravate her, but the princess was not teaching something that Mal was well-versed in.

  “Straighten your back!” Audrey suddenly chastised, and Mal obeyed quickly. Audrey narrowed her eyes, tilting her head slightly as she examined the faerie.

  “A little less straight. Make it look comfortable,” Audrey pointed out, and Mal slumped somewhat.

  “No, a little more straight,” Audrey told her, and Mal complied. “No, a little less straight… More, less… right there! Now freeze!”

  Mal was almost contorted as she tried to obey Audrey’s command of perfect posture.

  “Remember, always keep your back straight. It communicates elegance and competence as Queen,” Audrey explained, Mal’s back painfully poised as she attempted desperately to keep herself upright.

  “Now, offer greetings and introduce yourself,” Audrey gestured carefully, stopping in front of Mal as she looked down at the girl sitting there in the chair.

  Mal cleared her throat a bit before speaking up, already terribly frustrated with this entire ordeal.

  “Hello, I’m Mal---”

  “No, a proper introduction. ‘Hello’ is not working. Try ‘greetings’ or ‘good whatever-time-of-day-it-is,’” Audrey instructed, and Mal barely resisted a groan before starting again.

  “Greetings, I’m Mal---”

  “Use your title!” Audrey interrupted swiftly. Mal growled under her breath but tried again, considerably less enthusiasm in her voice at this point.

  “Greetings, I’m Queen Mal of Aura---”

  “With more confidence! Be sure of your title. Embrace and grab your title tightly in her hands,” Audrey explained, and Mal was ready to grab Audrey’s neck tightly in her hands, but the faerie attempted to keep her patience.

  “Greetings, I’m Queen Mal of Auradon---”

  “You sound like Maleficent. I’m not looking for too much power in your voice. I want confidence, but subtly so that it’s not intimidating,” Audrey told Mal, and Mal narrowed her eyes at Audrey irritably, almost having her fill of the pink princess’s instruction despite the fact that Mal had explicitly asked for it.

  “Greetings, I’m Queen ---”

  “And smile, okay? Convey friendliness and approachability,” Audrey interrupted once again, and Mal offered her a grin that looked more like baring her teeth. Audrey just shook her head, rolling her eyes at Mal.

  “A pretty smile.”

  “This is pretty!” Mal told her through gritted teeth, and Audrey raised an eyebrow.

  “More like pretty scary,” Audrey quipped, and Mal set her jaw, having her fill of this nonsense.

  However, before she could voice any of her feelings, she heard the door open and a familiar pattern of footsteps enter the room. Mal immediately knew it was Evie, and she smiled in pure relief, starting to turn around to address her best friend.

  “Oh, Evie, thank goodness you’re,” Mal immediately trailed off as she gaped at the girl standing there that looked like anyone but Evie. Upon a closer examination, it was Evie, but she was terribly shocked to see that the bluenette was currently wearing her true shade of navy-blue hair color and her face was covered with blackness in various places.

  “What’s up with the outfit?” Mal asked, the question just falling from her brain and out of her mouth in a tumbling question as she gaped at Evie in pure surprise. Evie just gazed upon Mal absently for a moment before tossing her hair.

  “Thought I’d try out a new style. Something that would bring out my feelings of perpetual bleh,” Evie told Mal simply, and Mal just stared at the other girl.

  Mal couldn’t help but feel that something was terribly wrong with Evie. She would never normally act this way. Something was odd but familiar about the look in the bluenette’s eyes, but Mal couldn’t put her finger on it. Therefore, Mal decided to compliment Evie and see how she reacted.

  “Well, it’s very original. I love the design on the jacket and the boots,” Mal praised as she knew Evie so loved for her to do. A miniscule smile passed Evie’s features, but she quickly forced it away as soon as it had appeared. Mal furrowed her brow a bit, wondering what was going on with her best friend.

  “Have you lost your mind?! That outfit looks like it was puked out of a biker hangout!” Audrey cried, and Mal barely took her eyes off of Evie to glance in the pink princess’s direction.

  “Hey, hey, hey!” Uma’s voice suddenly sounded off from behind Evie, and Evie stepped to the side to reveal the most frightening thing that Mal had ever seen in her entire life. Uma was dressed in the most Auradon-like clothes that Mal had ever witnessed and scariest of all, the pirate had a grin on her face that expanded from ear to ear and only communicated sweetness and loveliness.

  “Mal! My best friend! Give me a hug, give me a hug! I haven’t seen you all day,” Uma cheerfully spoke, hurrying over to Mal and grabbing her in a tight hug. Mal froze, stiffening a bit in pure shock at the contact.

  Uma was most certainly never one to hug Mal unless the faerie was in deep emotional pain. The most contact her and Uma shared was through hand-holding, and that was only very occasional. So Mal was very reasonably terrified at this new development.

  Uma let go of Mal swiftly, and then she looked at Audrey with a big smile.

  “And, Auds! Come here, bring it in!” Uma cried, heading over to Audrey, and the girl jumped backwards, avoiding Uma’s embrace in terror.

  “Stop, stop, stop!!! What have you done with Uma, you body-snatcher?!”

  “Oh, come on, Audrey. It’s a gorgeous day. All sunny and shiny! It just really lifts the soul, you know?” Uma expressed in pure happiness.

  Mal looked over at the door once more and was terribly surprised to see that Jane was standing in the doorway. Mal sighed, knowing Jane would be perfectly normal.

  “Hello to everyone but you!” Jane announced suddenly, looking in Audrey’s direction, and everyone turned to look at Jane. Audrey’s eyes widened and she worriedly eyed the daughter of the Fairy Godmother.

  “Jane? Are you okay?”

  “Don’t talk to me! I said hello to everyone but you!” Jane cried, sounding almost like a nutcase about to take the plunge. Mal tilted her head slightly, narrowing her eyes somewhat suspiciously as she started to realize that something wasn’t quite right about this situation.

  “Oh, well, what are you doing here, Jane?!” Uma suddenly exclaimed cheerfully, hurrying across the room to hug Jane.

  “Just thought I’d stop by a-and insult you!” Jane proclaimed, and Mal watched as Uma’s eyes flashed in some odd emotion before returning to that peppy way.

  “Well, I thought you were on your way to the store,” Uma sweetly pointed out, and Jane gaped at Uma for a moment before eagerly nodding.

  “Yeah, yeah! Well, uh, smell you people later!” Jane told them before hurrying out the door and leaving.

  Mal glanced at Audrey to see if the princess detected anything odd about this situation. Oddly enough, Audrey didn’t look skeptical at all and appeared instead horrified by Jane’s sudden attitude, Evie’s choice of clothing, and Uma’s way too sweet cheerfulness.

  “Bye!” Uma called behind the other girl. Mal shook her head, knowing something wasn’t right.

  “Evie, come here and sit down,” Mal gently commanded, knowing Evie would never deny a chance to snuggle close. Evie looked at Mal longingly for a moment before suddenly losing her emotion and sitting down on the far end of the couch, keeping that same frustratingly neutral expression on her face.

  “Whatever you say. Really doesn’t matter to me,” Evie spoke, lacking absolutely any emotion whatsoever.

  Mal immediately knew that there was either some sort of prank being pulled on her or there was something seriously wrong with Evie in concern to her feelings toward Mal. And if Uma’s overly sweet disposition that was completely out of character was anything to go by, Mal was willing to bet a prank.

  But why would they be trying to prank her?

  Mal considered this question carefully, trying to figure out exactly why Evie and Uma were doing this. But then it occurred to her that it was April Fool’s Day today. Mal had been so busy with Audrey and everything else that morning that she had forgotten all about her favorite holiday.

  However, it seemed that Uma and Evie hadn’t, and they were actually trying to pull one on her. Mal raised an eyebrow as she gazed at the pirate and the bluenette. Uma was just beaming and happily chattering to Audrey while Evie was currently trying not to look in Mal’s direction as she narrowed her eyes in an unimpressed expression.

  Mal allowed the slightest hints of a smirk onto her face, and her eyes gained that familiar mischievous glint in them.

  It was on.

    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

       “Oh, Audrey, you are looking so absolutely gorgeous today! I love how you’ve fixed your hair and got it to do that poof thing that it’s so good at,” Uma gushed, personally feeling as if she might barf at the very thought of all of this gushy mushy stuff that she was having to overflow her speech with.

  She was just thankful that she had sent Jane on her way. She had to give the poor girl a way out after such a horrible attempt at meanness. Of course, Uma figured it made sense that Jane had done so badly, but she still had hoped that the girl would do better than that.

  Uma reached out to, ugh, touch Audrey’s hair, and Audrey jumped backward out of the pirate’s range. Uma then just cheerfully turned to Mal to see if she could further unnerve the faerie. Mal was looking up at her strangely, so Uma offered the girl a huge grin.

  “But don’t worry, Mal, I think you’re beautiful, too.”

  Mal’s face suddenly illuminated in a smile that Uma had never seen directed toward her, and she was honestly quite afraid of what she was currently witnessing before her very eyes. It was one of those grins that she only ever reserved for Evie and sometimes Ben depending on what mood she was in.

  “Thank you, Uma. Come here and sit with me,” Mal invited, patting the seat on the other side of her. Uma sat down and she couldn’t help but realize how close that she was squished to Mal. Mal leaned near the pirate and placed her head on Uma’s shoulder.

  Uma tried desperately not to widen her eyes, definitely uncertain whether she was actually comfortable with this new position and sweetness directed toward her.

  Evie, however, was absolutely certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that she did not like how Mal had suddenly decided to get all snuggly with Uma. Evie narrowed her eyes unashamedly as she glared at the both of them. Uma looked at Evie over Mal’s head, a sort of “help me” look on her face.

  For her part, Audrey was completely and utterly terrified of Mal’s sudden physical affection for Uma, Uma’s insane cheeriness, and Evie’s weirdness. Audrey backed away from the three girls, grabbing her purse from behind her where it was resting on the kitchen table.

  “Okay, I honestly don’t know what’s going on with you people, but I’m not hanging around for it. I’ve got things to do,” Audrey proclaimed, passing around the back of the couch. Uma, trying to get away from Mal’s sudden weirdness, reached back, aiming to grab Audrey’s arm in order to get some enjoyment out of this situation as a result of aggravating the pink princess.

  Audrey quickly jumped to the side, dodging Uma’s outstretched hand.

  “Nope! I’m leaving!”

  “I don’t care,” Evie stated aloud, forcing herself to speak up despite her teeth were somewhat gritted together in response to how comfortable Mal seemed there beside Uma.

  “Bye!” Audrey called before shutting the door swiftly behind her.

  “You know, Uma, I’m so glad that you finally came around and dropped that nasty attitude,” Mal spoke, and Uma forced a smile onto her face as she tried to resist the urge to gag at all of the excessive adoration in Mal’s eyes.

  Uma nodded in fake happiness, and Evie just narrowed her eyes a little more, not taking her gaze off of Uma and Mal sitting there so happily together.

  “Nasty attitudes, good attitudes, who cares? Emotions are unnecessary,” Evie expressed as she glared at the two other girls almost ferociously. Mal barely offered her a glance before looking back at Uma with a huge smile and bright eyes.

  “Hey, Uma? Why don’t we watch a movie? You know, since Evie’s acting so weird. Hey, I’ve even got a super fluffy blanket that I know you’ll love, and maybe we could paint each other’s nails, too!” Mal exclaimed excitedly, and Uma resisted the urge to growl, instead agreeing with Mal wholeheartedly.

  Evie’s eyes widened a bit as she stared at Mal in surprise. That was her and Mal’s activity that they always did exclusively together.

  “Sure! Whatever my best friend in the whole entire history of the world wants to do!” Uma told her, laying it on thick in hopes of making Mal uncomfortable like she had in the first place. However, Mal just looked even more pleased with her enthusiasm.

  And Evie looked even more ticked off.

  Mal got up, squeezing Uma’s arm before hurrying to go get the blanket in the other room.

  Evie stared at Uma silently as she seethed, setting her jaw in irritation. Uma happened to look in Evie’s direction, and she raised an eyebrow.

  “Whatchu looking at me for? I don’t know what’s going on with her!” Uma spoke, her voice hushed as she talked to the bluenette. Evie just crossed her arms before her in irritation.

  “Yeah, but you don’t have to get so snuggly with her. That’s my place,” Evie quietly and somewhat jealously told Uma, and the pirate rolled her eyes.

  “Believe me, I don’t want your place! I’m trying to make her uncomfortable!” Uma whispered to the other girl. Evie just hmphed, furrowing her brow as she considered this carefully.

  Mal suddenly came back, pulling in that especially wooly blanket that held in so much body heat. Evie would recognize it anywhere. It was her most favorite blanket that always made her feel so sleepy and safe as she cuddled near Mal happily. She couldn’t believe that Mal was actually allowing Uma of all people to use Evie and Mal’s blanket.

  “Here, what would you like to watch?” Mal questioned as she threw the blanket over Uma, Evie lounged on the other side of the couch and just out of the coverage of the fabric. Evie eyed the fluffiness of the blanket longingly.

  “Whatever you want to watch, Mal. You know best,” Uma replied with a sweet smile, really dreading what Mal was going to come up with but still trying to creep out the faerie with her sudden friendliness.

  “You’re so sweet! I was thinking we could watch Titanic,” Mal told the pirate, and Uma’s eyes widened incrementally, but she quickly pushed away any signs of surprise in favor of a more neutral and perhaps even pleased expression.

  “Sounds good to me!” Uma forced tons of fake enthusiasm in her voice. Mal nodded happily and went into the kitchen.

  It was then that Evie growled under her breath and made Uma aware of precisely how angry she was with this whole arrangement. Evie was completely and utterly frustrated with the fact that Mal had now chosen to watch Evie’s favorite movie with Uma.

  Uma looked at Evie helplessly when Mal suddenly came in with some sort of snack. However, it wasn’t just any ordinary snack.

  It was a bag of double-stuffed Oreos.

  Evie could practically hear her heart shattering into one million pieces as she watched Mal, her best friend in the entire world sit down with Uma underneath Evie’s favorite blanket to watch Evie’s favorite movie with Evie’s favorite snack. Evie gaped at the two, suddenly feeling her throat tighten up a bit.

  “Hey, I brought Oreos! And I got a knife so I could scrape my cream off on yours so you can have quadruple cream,” Mal sweetly explained, and Evie felt the beginnings of tears in her eyes as she watched Uma sit there in her spot. That was Mal and Evie’s thing to do. They shared cream together since Mal knew Evie so loved the sweet cream in the centers of the Oreos.

  Uma, however, was completely grossed out. She did not want Mal’s cream for two reasons. Number one was that Uma didn’t want Mal’s cookie’s germs on her cookie. Number two, Uma didn’t even like the cream part of the cookie. Like Mal, the pirate enjoyed the chocolate cookie part more than the cream.

  However, she tried her best to look enthralled despite the fact that she already felt like quitting this entire endeavor.

  “Aww, you’re so sweet!”

  “Well, I thought it’d be a perfect thing for us to do, and it could be our thing,” Mal told her with an overly enthusiastic smile. Uma almost made a noise aloud but managed to control her momentary panic at the insinuation that they could be doing more of this in the future.

  Evie’s eyes widened in surprise from out of Mal’s range of sight, and she tried to hold back the helpless whimper that was threatening to escape her.

  Mal then turned on the movie on some streaming device that she had, and she snuggled closer to Uma, drawing her legs up underneath the covers. Uma resisted the stiffening that was her body’s first reaction, and she relaxed, despite the fact that she really didn’t know how to handle being that close to Mal.

  Evie just unashamedly stared at the both of them.

  “Well, I just don’t really care about movies. I’m leaving,” Evie declared boldly, deciding she’d see how Mal would react to her departure. Mal turned and offered her barely a single glance as she gestured in the vague direction of the door.

  “Go for it. Whatever you want to do,” Mal dismissed her before grabbing onto Uma’s arm and cuddling against her.

  Evie just gaped at her best friend, completely and utterly shocked at the fact that Mal didn’t seem to care whether Evie left or not. Just for that reason alone, Evie decided that she couldn’t leave. Not until she had completely supervised what time that Uma and Mal were spending together.

  “Leaving is overrated, though. I’ll probably just stay here and contemplate the pointlessness of life,” Evie haughtily announced and Mal never even acted as if she heard her.

  Admittedly, Evie was growing very, very worried about this situation.

  Mal opened up the container of double-stuffed Oreos and Evie looked on hungrily, wishing that Mal would offer her some as well.

  Mal took one out and, very heartbreakingly for Evie, scraped the cream off of her own cookie to put extra onto Uma’s. Uma swallowed hard before forcing a smile onto her face as she took it gracefully. She then proceeded to shove it in her mouth swiftly and attempted to quickly send it down her throat so she wouldn’t have to taste the additional cream.

  Evie just sat there staring at them longingly, and as if Mal had felt her intent gaze, the faerie turned to look at Evie. The bluenette avoided looking quite so interested, but in her eyes, she unknowingly conveyed a great hope for Mal’s attention.

  “Oh, Evie, you’re probably hungry, too. I got some licorice in the snack cabinet in the kitchen,” Mal informed her easily before returning to watching the movie. Evie gazed at Mal in pure, unadulterated horror, trying to figure out what possessed Mal to offer her licorice. After all, Mal knew she hated licorice with a passion.

  However, licorice was one of Uma’s favorite candies. Currently, Uma was staring at Evie from behind Mal’s shoulder with a glare, shaking her head as she silently commanded Evie not to touch her licorice.

  Evie just looked at Uma for a moment, raking her gaze over Mal and Uma sitting there so closely. Evie then offered Uma a positively wicked smile as she stood up from the couch and turned to leave for the kitchen.

  Evie took the licorice from the cabinet, inwardly gagging at how disgusting it looked, and she stepped out of the kitchen with a victorious smile. Uma was just turned slightly, glaring silently at Evie. Evie just narrowed her eyes as she watched Uma who was currently in her spot with Mal. Evie honestly didn’t care if Uma was acting or not. All Evie knew was that Uma was getting much cuddlier with Mal than Evie ever recalled consenting for her to.

  Uma slightly shook her head before having to quickly turn to Mal and take an Oreo from her as if nothing was wrong. Uma chewed quickly and swallowed the cookie before she could really consider anything about it. The pirate then immediately resumed in threatening Evie with her eyes.

  Evie just stared Uma in the eyes with a cold glare as she put a large amount of licorice in her mouth. Evie then chomped it hard and deliberately as she watched Uma’s reaction.

  Uma frowned at her and furrowed her brow, pulling her arm a bit from around Mal in order to point at the bluenette.

  In simple response, Evie just somewhat grossly and childishly showed Uma her licorice-covered teeth. Uma rolled her eyes in response, forcing herself to return to watching the movie as Mal started scraping more Oreos for the pirate.

  The action was a bit out of character for Evie, but right now she was feeling exceedingly angry with this entire situation. Therefore, she was willing to do whatever she could to get revenge on Uma. After all, the pirate started the entire prank and had roped Evie into it without Evie even knowing the details up front.

  Evie then stalked back into the kitchen and put what was left in the licorice bag back inside the cabinet.

  When she came back into the living room, she snarled underneath her breath as she realized that Mal had sunk even more against Uma’s side. Evie strolled in and plopped back down on the couch in her previous spot, seething at how Uma was stealing her best friend from her right before her very eyes. After all, Mal didn’t know they were pranking her, so everything Mal was doing was completely of her own accord and because of her own feelings.

  Suddenly, before Mal could hand Uma another extra cream Oreo, Ben walked into the room happily.

  “Hey, honey,” he greeted, but suddenly froze as he took in the scene occurring on the couch. Ben looked between Mal, Uma, and Evie quietly and in pure and utter horror. Evie just glanced up at him for a moment before returning her attentions to her best friend and that girl. Mal looked up at him for a moment, waving to him and then looking back at the movie that she was engrossed in.

  Ben stood there quietly for a moment, looking between them all as he tried to figure out exactly what he thought was going on with the girls. Evie looked like she was ready to kill Uma or cry hysterically--- Ben honestly wasn’t sure which one--- and Uma looked way too sugary sweet to be herself. And strangest of all, Mal was snuggled up to Uma watching a movie instead of with Evie as she always did.

  Ben swallowed, looking at Evie once again as he took in all of the dark makeup and the insane outfit she was wearing. It was attractive on her, but it was not at all the way she was supposed to look. He then looked at Uma. Once again, it was pretty, but definitely not right.

  Ben finally decided to open his mouth to find out officially what was going on.

  “So… What are you girls up to?” Ben finally questioned, and Mal looked at him happily.

  “Oh, not much. Me and Uma are watching a movie, and I guess Evie is, too. I dunno,” Mal flippantly explained, looking at him with an easy smile. Ben glanced at Evie, seeing that the girl looked even more upset after Mal’s words.

  “Is, um… Everything okay?” Ben asked, trying to understand this strange behavior, and Mal just nodded.

  “Yeah. Everything’s wonderful! I’m getting some quality time with my best friend,” Mal explained to him, and Uma offered an encouraging thumbs-up in reply, her face looking falsely cheery.

  Ben stared at the three for a bit longer before starting to back up and leave.

  “Well, okay. I gotta go. Y’know, king stuff to do,” Ben laughed somewhat nervously.

  “Hey, you could stay. There’s room on the couch,” Mal told him, and he shook his head with an anxious smile.

  “No, no, king stuff can never wait! You know how it is. I love you, bye!” Ben expressed before hurrying out of the room and shutting the door swiftly behind him.

  “Love you, too! Bye!” Mal called after him before snuggling more against Uma, her body sinking against the other girl’s.

  Uma raised an eyebrow, considering Ben’s supposed king stuff, but ultimately decided to let it go as she tried to muster excitement when Mal handed her yet another of those disgusting cookies.

  The pirate mustered a smile as she took it from Mal and ate it quickly, resting the urge to shudder at the ridiculous amount of sugary sweet cream in it.

  “Oh, Uma, let’s do your nails!” Mal suddenly announced, and Uma nodded eagerly, knowing that Mal would have to get up and away from her to get the polish. Uma was getting terribly uncomfortable underneath this blanket, and she felt like she was positively burning up.

  Mal turned to look at Evie, and, in spite of herself, the bluenette allowed a bit of hopefulness in her expression. Maybe Mal would finally pay attention to her and care about her.

  “Hey, pass me the nail polishes from over there,” Mal told her, and Evie’s face fell a bit, her throat constricting on her stubbornly as she tried her best to avoid the tears that were threatening to overtake her.

  “Whatever,” Evie replied somewhat shakily, reaching over and taking the nail polishes out of the end table where Evie always made sure there was some so that her and Mal would have it when they needed it. Evie handed it to Mal, and Mal took it from her easily, turning to face Uma.

  Uma’s upper lip threatened to roll up in disgust as she stared at the faerie sitting there on the couch and shaking up the nail polish containers. Mal then looked at her with a big smile.

  “Alrighty, we’ll start with your feet,” Mal volunteered, and Uma was immediately disgusted at the idea of Mal’s hands on her feet. Despite all of Uma’s teasing about getting people to massage her feet and treat her like a queen, she honestly didn’t want anyone to touch her feet.

  However, Uma finally and very hesitantly took off her shoes and brought them up onto the couch.

  Evie immediately wrinkled her nose, strongly resisting her initial urge to puke. She placed a hand over her nose and mouth, trying to keep the smell out and the contents of her stomach in. Uma’s feet smelled absolutely horrible, and Evie couldn’t understand why Mal would ever offer to do her feet for her.

  Besides, Mal never offered to do feet first. Mal had an enormous disgust for feet, quite possibly more than anyone else that Evie knew. This was exceedingly confusing for the bluenette. Of course, after she considered it for a few moments, Evie decided that Mal must have for some reason been able to put aside her disgust of feet for Uma’s sake, which was particularly heartbreaking for Evie since it obviously meant that Mal didn’t care about Evie as much.

  However, Uma was currently going through troubles that were just as bad as Evie’s or worse.

  Uma watched as Mal actually put her hands on the pirate captain’s feet, and Uma almost shuddered in response, repulsed by the action.

  However, throughout it all, Mal was simply full of smiles, and at this rate, Uma was sure that she was ready to tuck tail, run, and forget all of her silly ideas about pranking the faerie.

  Mal looked between the two nail polishes that Evie had handed to her, and Uma subtly assessed them as well, trying to figure out which form of torture that Mal was going to slather on her first.

  Very unfortunately, one of them was a plain teal blue and the other one was a bright, sparkly, hot pink. Uma immediately knew which one she would rather, but quite honestly, she didn’t want either of the two on her feet. She didn’t want Mal putting stuff that didn’t belong on her toenails.

  Mal furrowed her brow, trying to figure out which of the two polishes she would like to use on Uma.

  “Huh… Which would you prefer, Uma? Pink sparkly or plain teal?” Mal questioned finally, gazing at Uma in the manner that she would normally eye Evie. Uma raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to speak.

  “Well, I think the tea---”

  “I totally don’t care about nail polish,” Evie piped up suddenly, “but if it were me, I’d go with the sparkly pink since it expresses so much… ugh… happiness.”

  Uma glared at Evie unashamedly, losing all of her desire to keep up her act in the midst of Mal about to cover her toes in pink, sparkly mess. Evie just stared at Uma in return, and the pirate could easily see that Evie was in fact quite hurt by this entire situation with Mal.

  The pirate swallowed hard, watching carefully as Mal’s polish applier drew ever closer to her bare toes. Uma watched for a few moments more, the sparkly nail polish about to touch her. But before Mal could do it, Uma jumped out of the way, moving her feet swiftly.

  Uma couldn’t keep it up.

  All of this mushy gushiness, snuggly and girly activities, and having to be so darned happy about everything was more than Uma could handle.

  Uma shot up from her position on the couch, standing up quickly as she stared at a very shocked Mal and Evie. Uma shook her head, furrowing her brow.

  “Naw! Naw, I ain’t doin’ this no more! I’ve had all I can stand!” Uma announced, and Mal tilted her head slightly in concern as she looked at Uma sweetly in that way that was driving Uma positively insane.

  “What is it, Uma? We can do the blue nail polish if you want.”

  “NO! No nail polish!”

  “Well, Uma, you’re starting to sound like your old negative self,” Mal pointed out, and Uma shook her head swiftly, an almost crazed look about her.

  “Heck, yeah, I am! Guess what, Mal?! This was one big fake thing! Me and Evie were pranking you!” Uma announced, pointing at Mal insistently, and Mal suddenly looked very surprised as she looked at Uma worriedly.

  “Evie’s not a goth, and I’m sure as heck not a sugar sweet cinnamon roll! So, take that! We beat you at your own game!” Uma proclaimed, laughing victoriously as she glared at Mal.

  “Huh… I thought you were finally enjoying getting all close and comfy with your best friend,” Mal acknowledged, and Evie growled ever so slightly under her breath, crossing her arms in front of her. Uma just waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

  “Aw, forget that bull. I’m getting me a shower. Man, I’ve gotten so cozy with you that I’m stinking like you now!” Uma spoke, starting out the door with her shoes in her hand as she left.

  “APRIL FOOL’S!!! WE BEAT YOU!!!” Uma yelled before slamming the door behind her and exiting with a flourish.

  Evie and Mal just watched the door for a few moments, and before anything else could occur, Ma jumped up from the couch and almost ran for the bathroom. Evie furrowed her brow as she listened to the bathroom sink run in what was presumably Mal washing her hands.

  Not too long after, Mal came back to the couch, plopping down in the same place that she had been. Mal closed her eyes tightly, keeping them shut as she relaxed there for a moment. Evie just watched her quietly, wondering what was going through the faerie’s mind.

  “Evie, come here,” Mal finally murmured, and Evie complied quickly and easily, almost with a whine as she moved in swiftly, squishing her body against Mal’s side comfortably. Mal’s face lit up in a grin in response to Evie’s closeness, and Mal turned her face to nuzzle the side of Evie’s head.

  Evie hummed in appreciation, cuddling nearer to Mal as she thoroughly enjoyed the attention that she was supposed to receive as number one best friend, and Mal wrapped an arm around the bluenette lovingly. In reply, Evie allowed all of her weight to lean into Mal heavily.

  Evie wasn’t sure what had prompted the faerie to all of a sudden start giving her attention and snuggles, but she was more than willing to take full advantage of it. Even if Mal had been treating Uma so sweetly and had seemed perfectly ready to replace Evie with Uma.

  They sat there comfortably for a moment, Evie curled as closely as she could get to Mal, until Mal finally spoke up.

  “Do you have any idea how much it killed me to do that to you?” Mal spoke quietly, and Evie looked up at Mal from her somewhat hunched position next to the faerie.

  “No… You were doing that on purpose?!” Evie exclaimed in shock, and Mal nodded with a slight chuckle.

  “Yeah. I knew you two were trying to prank me. Besides, I’d never ever seriously treat you that way. I love you,” Mal expressed to Evie heartfeltly, and Evie felt her heart quickly and magically mending as a giant smile bloomed across her face.

  “I love you, too,” Evie replied, caressing each word with a gentle softness and meaning that conveyed just how much she valued her sister.

  “How did you know, though?” Evie finally questioned after a few moments, and Mal grinned wickedly.

  “Well, something about the fact that you never don’t care, and Uma never does care,” Mal somewhat jokingly explained, and Evie chuckled under her breath, shaking her head as she looked at her best friend adoringly.

  “Did you have any idea that I was pranking you two?” Mal asked, and Evie shook her head.

  “No, not a single clue,” Evie replied simply, and Mal suddenly looked particularly stricken as she gazed at Evie.

  “So it must’ve been really hard for you when---”

  “Yeah. It was,” Evie trailed off, and Mal shook her head, bringing up her other arm as she pulled Evie near in a hug position that was rather unusual for them both. Evie was currently squished in Mal’s embrace, her head tucked underneath Mal’s chin tightly, which was a position that Mal always took in their hugs due to her shorter height. However, this time, Mal felt that Evie needed to feel all squeezed, safe, and secure.

  Definitely, Evie wasn’t complaining in the least.

  They sat there together for a little while longer, Evie toying with Mal’s fingers as she examined the deep purple nail polish that was starting to chip, and Mal absently looking at some scene of Titanic that was currently playing on the television.

  After only a moment, however, Mal laughed a bit, and Evie looked up at her questioningly. Mal just gazed at Evie with an expression of pure mischief.

  “What?” Evie asked.

  “Well… I think I need to pay Uma a visit…”

   ………………………………………………………………………………………………………

       Uma had just gotten out of the shower when she heard a knock on the door. Uma rolled her eyes, not knowing who that could be, but most assuredly unimpressed at the fact that someone was on her doorstep.

  Uma was definitely not in the mood for visitors. At all.

  But when the knocks persisted, she growled under her breath and strode out of the bathroom clad only in a towel. She stomped over to the door and pulled it open.

  To her surprise and mild horror, there was Mal standing there in the castle hallway.

  However, unlike that sickeningly sweet expression that she had earlier, she was now smirking and looking at Uma with a positively evil glint in her eye. Uma narrowed her eyes, and before the pirate could say anything, Mal spoke.

  “April Fool’s… I got you.”

#bal #evie #mal #uma #jane #descendants #D2 #D3 #descendants 2 #descendants 3 #descendants uma #descendants evie #descendants mal #descendants jane #evie queen #evie grimhilde #mal bertha #ben #descendants humor #april fool's day #april fool's #april fools #humor #lol #haha #cute #funny #family #platonic #fanfiction

[goblin-wlw]

Types Of Girls: Goblin Hoard Edition Pt. 1

Gems - Looks gud in everything, makeup is perfect, laugh sounds like colored glass, will talk 4 hours about her passions, soft hands, shiny and colorful painted nails, isn’t afraid 2 fight u 2 the death, looks gud and kicks ur bum at the same time, makes a perfect wife

Knives - Dark jackets, leans against brick walls, deep eyes, can be soft when u get 2 kno her, likes loud music, will fight u, smirk will melt ur soul like chocolate, getting her 2 laugh makes u feel like a goddess, will go feral when she sees dog, makes a perfect wife

Crystals - Doesn’t wear makeup, has lots of raw crystals in room, health conscious, drinks lots of water, will worry about ur chakras, knows in her bones when u are sad, magic probably, has shiny rock hoard of her own, likes instrumental music, will remind u 2 breathe, makes a perfect wife

Smooth Rocks - Barefoot, impulsively squishes moss, wears shorts with pockets and puts rocks in them, will stop midsentence 2 look at bird, gets mud on clothes, walks in streams, luvs worms and snails, will catch and kiss frogs just because, dirt under fingernails, never lost, makes a perfect wife

Buttons - Smol, wears lots of DIY jewelry, handmakes presents 4 friends every holiday and sometimes just because, takes thrift store clothes and gives them personality, does hair different every day, very cute, uber huggable, will squeal when u pick them up, makes a perfect wife

Shells - Flip flops, tank tops, has sand all over room, has jar of cool rocks and shells and sea glass, always a little sunburned, smells like ocean, plays in tide pools, puts starfish back in water, goes 2 the aquarium when it’s cold outside, likes ice cream, worried about the sea turtles, makes a perfect wife

Beads - Has lots of jars with color-coded things in them, p much lives at craft store, probably a cat person, has an Etsy, wears hairclips she made herself, colored streaks in hair, messy room but clean workspace, starts lots of projects that she doesn’t always finish, makes a perfect wife

Dice - Always has notebook or sketchbook, lives in fantasy world, has more dice than she knows what 2 do with, quiet but if u ask questions about her stories she will talk 4 the rest of forever, doesn’t want 2 bug people, very creative, sees the world different, makes a perfect wife

Costume Jewelry - Outgoing, probably in drama, lots of friends and luvs them all, will remember ur birthday but forget the homework, listens exclusively 2 musical numbers, beautiful voice, will always compliment ur outfit, makes u feel gud about ur self, bright smile, makes a perfect wife

Flowers - So soft, wears flowers in hair, will cuddle anytime, makes a perfect little spoon, soft kisses, happy laughs, listens 2 cute music, will shock u when she swears 4 the first time, emotional and not afraid 2 express her feelings, feels like she’s made of watercolors, makes a perfect wife

Broken Glass - Messiest room ever, knows where everything is no matter what, always a little late, takes lots of pictures of everything, always has backpack, hoards everything she finds on ground, KonMari method is not helpful because everything sparks joy, might forget ur name but means well, makes a perfect wife

Plastic Animals - Still rocks light up Sketchers, cartoon t-shirts, has Pokemon cards, likes dinosaurs, still has LPS toys and remembers all their names, lots of stuffed animals, is a gud babysitter but probably also needs babysitter, still luvs Scholastic book fairs, has lots of badly painted plastic animals and dinos, makes a perfect wife

Bones - Dark makeup, goth, wears dark clothes, not afraid 2 swear, listens 2 rock n roll, rocks a choker, sees the world 4 it’s imperfect reality, nihilist, but probably a surprisingly optimistic nihilist, is actually very sweet and kind, has sharp edges and that’s ok, makes a perfect wife

Keys - Wears flannel over t-shirts, denim shorts, always on a roadtrip, wants 2 run in 2 the woods and become a cryptid, knows all cryptids by heart, swears she’s seen bigfoot, willing 2 believe in the impossible, probably an alien or a faerie and that is very neat of them, makes a perfect wife

Coins - Surprise!!! Coins is all other girls!!1 Because there r 2 many 2 list and they’re all wonderful!!! Different and unique no matter where u go!!! See 1 on the street and get very excited!!! Always a happy thing 2 find!!! Makes a perfect wife!!!! I luv u all!!!

#tag urself #and ur dream girl #just for fun #wlw #lesbians #wlw/nblw only please #goblin #goblincore #i luv u all sm

[theonyxpath]

The M20 Technocracy Reloaded (hence this blog’s title) Kickstarter has kept going strong, and we’re now over 400% funded! We’re all very thrilled by the many sections of the Companion PDF that have been added via Stretch Goals thanks to all of our amazing backers.

So, thanks to all of you who’ve already backed – and everyone else, please come check out the KS if you can and help us add even more! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/m20-technocracy-reloaded

Our team continue to be interviewed about M20 Technocracy Reloaded, and there are several awesome actual play broadcasts that you can check out below in the Onyx Path Media section!

If you have questions about M20 Technocracy Reloaded that aren’t answered by any of these venues, we’d love to help you out and answer them on our AMA on Reddit tomorrow, Tuesday the 12th, starting at 12 noon Eastern US time. https://www.reddit.com/r/OnyxPathRPG

Our crew will be popping in and out during the course of the AMA, and while our focus is M20 Technocracy Reloaded, please feel free to ask about anything on your mind!

Dark Eras 2 art by Brian LeBlanc

What We’re Doin’ During These Times

Which brings up the first part of our blog title today. Special Thanks to GuidoG who posted that one several weeks ago in our blog comments. Told ya I’d use it eventually! So we have that AMA mentioned above, but we’re still following up on the ideas I posted about these last few weeks.

Following up, when Dark Eras 2 goes on sale in PDF and PoD versions this Wednesday on DTRPG, we’ll also be offering individual chapter PDFs as well, for folks that didn’t pledge and might need a less expensive way to get gaming materials for the specific game lines they’re interested in.

All of the historical chapters are fantastic, and if you can get the whole book, it is well worth it – but these times, they have been really rough for a lot of our community, so we hope these discrete chapters help.

Our second set of Developer Town Halls went well last week, with lots of talk about development processes and the care and feeding of their writing teams. We unfortunately did hear of a few of our creators needing to be tested, but also a few creators who had Covid and got through it, thankfully.

In last week’s blog I asked for questions for the devs, and while I didn’t use all of them, and several folks included Onyx Pathcast related questions – which was interesting and cool – so I combined those, the Devs all seemed to enjoy answering. We actually had several more in-depth conversations based on their answers to the questions, which added a lot to our getting to know one another. So thanks for those questions, is what I’m saying!

Here’s our Dev responses to a bunch of the questions I received for them:

(Disclaimer: I was writing down the responses really fast, so if I missed anyone’s response to a question, my apologies – it wasn’t you or your answer, just my limited steno skills).

Question: What game line are you truly passionate about?

Eddy Webb: Pugmire, duh.

Matthew Dawkins: Wraith the Oblivion– capital P for Passion.

Travis Legge: Love the Scarred Lands.

Chris Allen: Werewolf: the Forsaken!

Vera Vertanian: TC: Aeon, because I’m such a giant dweeb.

Dixie Cochran: Realms of Pugmire the Masquerade the Lost Essence. (They Came From Beyond the Grave!)

Neall Raemonn Price: EXALTED!

Meghan Fitzgerald: Mage: the Awakening. But Deviant came out of nowhere and I really love it.

John Snead: Mage: the Ascension (for the arguing).

Danielle Lauzon: I’m a huge fan of everything I work on while I’m working on it. My first love/assignment was Mage: the Awakening.

Lauren Roy: Me too, I get so excited as I get to work on each line. But the game of my heart is Mage: the Ascension.

Monica Speca: Exalted, and right now Essence.

Lunars art by Joe Ng

Question: Do you feel good with the word count you handle at the moment?

Eddie Webb: Define good, I’m not freaking out.

Travis Legge: Thrilled and overjoyed.

Matthew Dawkins: That is definitely a question.

Dixie Cochran: Always dread until actually working on it.

Danielle Lauzon: I’m good with 10k, that feels easy. Any more at one time seems sooo huge!

Monica Speca: Shorter word counts work great for me. Especially fiction.

Meghan Fitzgerald: Depends on system or setting.

Neall Raemonn Price: Every time I get comfortable with my amount of work, something pops up outside my control, like Covid.

Question: Are there any groups that we could set up for slack outside of work that would help you?

Matthew Dawkins: Long form TV review and discussion slack.

Dixie Cochran: Animal Crossing, other fandom sites are too negative.

Eddie Webb: Sherlock Holmes, but not really into discussion groups.

Danielle Lauzon: Shitposting.

Neall Raemonn Price: Sopranos.

Meghan Fitzgerald: TV, all TV.

Question: Whats your party trick?

Dixie Cochran: Vanishing out of goth clubs.

Matthew Dawkins: Beating people at Mario Cart.

John Snead: Carry and open up a laptop to demonstrate memes – a memetic enforcer.

Danielle Lauzon: Go to parties at houses, and take over the grill and kitchen. “Because she knows things”.

Monica Speca: I bring the games – boardgames, card games, age and number of players appropriate, all ready for the party.

Lunars cover design

Question: Would you like to be an inerviewee for the terribly awesome trio on the Onyx Pathcast? and if so, what question would you want them to ask you?

Chris Allen: Would you like a drink?

Travis Legge: Tell me about Dead Man’s Rust?

Danielle Lauzon: I just like to taaalk. Any question.

Meghan Fitzgerald: Not so much a question, but it’d be great if there could be a group roundtable.

Monica Speca: Will always talk about game design nonsense.

Eric Zawadzki: Would love to get on there to talk about the Deviant Companions.

Neall Raemonn Price: With others, then Essence. The State of Scion, and tease upcoming projects.

Dark Eras 2 art by Alex Sheikman

Finally, we talked about the Gehenna Gaming virtual convention a few weeks ago, and there have been a few more of those popping up including a virtual convention Eddy is going to be presenting at this coming weekend. So let me ask you folks:

If we had an Onyx Path oriented virtual convention – and I’m just asking to see if there’s interest, I’m not announcing anything – what sort of events would you like to have happen during it? Would you enjoy seeing our creators play our games? Would you want to sign up to play with us? How about virtual panels and Q&A sessions? Or do you have an idea for something else?

Give me a yell, put your thoughts in the blog comments – we’d love to hear from you. And again, we don’t have plans for a virtual convention as yet, but if we were planning on maybe making plans, it’d help to know if you folks were interested in attending and virtual engaging with our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

Blurbs!

Kickstarter!

The M20 Technocracy Reloaded Kickstarter funded in 43 minutes and at almost halfway through has passed 1680 backer operatives, is over 400% funded, and has achieved Stretch Goals consisting of a Storytellers Screen unlock, an unlock of more original Mage PDFs, Backers’ Exclusive T-Shirt, Wallpaper, and building the Technocracy Reloaded Player’s Companion PDF: sections on Constructs and Symposiums (and then expanded by a later SG), Digital Web 3.0, Technomancers’ Toybox 20 and the Q-Division bonus section, Unlikely Allies (also expanded by another SG), and the expanded Digital Web 3.0.2. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/m20-technocracy-reloaded

Highlights of M20 Technocracy Reloaded include:

An Operative’s Handbook that provides a detailed overview of life in the Technocratic Union, describing the organization of the Union, the Conventions, and the roles that sympathizers, extraordinary citizens, and Enlightened Operatives play in the overall structure of the Technocracy.

An examination of Technocratic initiatives on a global scale.

Devices, procedures, and hypertech used by the Technocratic Union that explores the Enlightened Science, allowing operatives to apply similar effects in the field, if they have sufficient understanding of the principles that allow these gadgets to function.

A comprehensive list of citizens, cyborgs, operatives, progenitor creations, and allies to use as NPCs.

Storyteller support that explores story seeds and metaplot to shape a chronicle for their needs.

Onyx Path Media!

This week features a return to the Terrific Trio’s actual play of Scion!

As always, this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast will be on Podbean or your favorite podcast venue! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

The Technocratic Union continues its live broadcast Tuesday, May 12th at 9 PM EDT on the Onyx Path Publishing Twitch Channel. twitch.tv/theonyxpath

You are under instructions to not miss it.

Plus, Red Moon Roleplaying have just started their actual play of Technocracy Reloaded right here: https://youtu.be/RtdW0znt7GU Please give them your support!

Come tune in to our Twitch channel for an overloaded schedule not limited to Vampire: The Masquerade- Blood on the Tamesis, Vampire: The Masquerade – Chicago by Night Noir, Pugmire – Paws & Claws, Changeling: The Lost – Littlebrook Reunion, Changeling: The Dreaming – The Last Faerie Tale, Mage: The Awakening – Occultists Anonymous, Scarred Lands – Purge of the Serpentholds, and Dark Eras Werewolf: The Forsaken! 

You can subscribe to our channel over on twitch.tv/theonyxpath to catch up with any episodes you missed!

Come take a look at our YouTube channel, youtube.com/user/theonyxpath, where you can find a whole load of videos of actual plays, dissections of our games, and more, including:

Vampire: The Masquerade: Blood City – Chicago by Night: https://youtu.be/LXWGtVy2jbE

Mage: The Ascension – Technocracy Reloaded: https://youtu.be/hHG5fBCFlTE

Trinity Continuum – Special Series run by Danielle Lauzon: https://youtu.be/K1xCbfpmKlc

More Vampire: The Masquerade: Blood City – Chicago by Night: https://youtu.be/-zVEOQJK9zc

Chronicles of Darkness: Seattle by Streetlight: https://youtu.be/gMMFhoDncNs

Eddy’s Workshop: Proofing Layout: https://youtu.be/VhkEbMbQ3cA

Do subscribe to our channel and click the bell icon if you want to be notified whenever new news videos and uploads come online!

Matthew Dawkins appeared on the excellent 307 RPG Podcast, where he was interviewed about everything from They Came from Beneath the Sea! and They Came from Beyond the Grave! to upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade books! Give them a listen here: https://307rpg.com/?p=265

Further to that interview, the 307 RPG Podcast released an episode all to do with the Archetypes in They Came from Beneath the Sea!: https://307rpg.com/?p=282

The Story Told Podcast continue their excellent journey into Demon: The Descent right here: http://thestorytold.libsyn.com/the-aggregate-choir-file-2

A Bunch of Gamers have been running a fantastic Pugmire adventure! You can check it out here: https://youtu.be/b57kVpzV2q4 and here’s a synopsis: Retrievers in the Plastic Quarter, explosions all around, and the cats of Korat demanding answers. Our heroes are locked in a deadly battle as their long time foe make their move to wrestle control of the city from King Pug. Will they be able to stop Terry or will the city of Pugmire fall into darkness?

Occultists Anonymous are here with a new special Mage: The Awakening series:

RV Mage 05: We Have a Side? Drifter meets with the Hierarch, Bless Your Heart, to get to the heart of the Consilium’s politics. Vicar and Amanita settle around a Locus to meet with werewolves, then finally, the mages join forces… https://youtu.be/w-FKL4Fnimo

RV Mage 06: Inversion Fleeing into the Shadow, away from raging werewolves, Amanita, Drifter, and Vicar confront opposing mages, Seers of the Orphean Ministry. Of course, werewolves are very good at traversing through the Gauntlet into the Shadow as well… https://youtu.be/P6Ko6_tCFDU

Please check these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games! We’d love to feature you!

Electronic Gaming!

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is awesome! (Seriously, you need to roll 100 dice for Exalted? This app has you covered.)

On Amazon and Barnes & Noble!

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue from which you bought it. Reviews really, really help us get folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these latest fiction books:

Our Sales Partners!

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire and Monarchies of Mau out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost Second Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Scion 2e books and other products are available now at Studio2: https://studio2publishing.com/blogs/new-releases/scion-second-edition-book-one-origin-now-available-at-your-local-retailer-or-online

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e at the same link! And now Scion Origin and Scion Hero and Trinity Continuum Core and Trinity Continuum: Aeon are available to order!

As always, you can find Onyx Path’s titles at DriveThruRPG.com!

On Sale This Week!

This week, the PDF and PoD versions of Chronicles of Darkness: Dark Eras 2 emerge from the haunted past on DriveThruRPG on Wednesday!

Dark Eras 2 explores 13 new eras scattered throughout the history of the Chronicles of Darkness. Each chapter features two to three game lines which include Vampire: The Requiem, Mage: The Awakening, Hunter: The Vigil, Changeling: The Lost, and more!

The rules in this book are compatible with second edition Chronicles of Darkness. Each terrifying time period and location is examined through the supernatural creatures that dwell there.

Unlock the past. Find out what hides in the shadows. 

Inside, you’ll find: 

Historically inspired settings and story hooks 

Character-creation tips and gameplay advice 

New Tilts, Conditions, and era-appropriate rules 

Conventions!

As mentioned above, our own Fast Eddy Webb will be appearing on 2 or 3 panels for the Flights of Foundry online convention this weekend! Check it out here: https://flightsoffoundry2020.sched.com/mysessions

Though dates are subject to change due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, here’s our current list of upcoming conventions:

UKGames Expo: https://www.ukgamesexpo.co.uk/

GenCon: https://www.gencon.com/

Tabletop Scotland: https://tabletopscotland.co.uk/

Gamehole Con: https://www.gameholecon.com/

PAX Unplugged: https://unplugged.paxsite.com/

And now, the new project status updates!

Development Status from Eddy Webb! (Projects in bold have changed status since last week.):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep.)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Under Alien Suns (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Adversaries of the Righteous (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Clades Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

The Devoted Companion (Deviant: The Renegades)

Saints and Monsters (Scion 2nd Edition)

M20 Rich Bastard’s Guide To Magick (Mage: The Ascension 20th Anniversary)

Wild Hunt (Scion 2nd Edition)

Dead Man’s Rust (Scarred Lands)

V5 The Faithful Undead (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

V5 Trails of Ash and Bone (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

V5 Forbidden Religions (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Anima

Redlines

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Hundred Devil’s Night Parade (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Adventure! core (Trinity Continuum: Adventure!)

Contagion Chronicle Ready-Made Characters (Chronicles of Darkness)

Novas Worldwide (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Exalted Essence Edition (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mission Statements (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Second Draft

Many-Faced Strangers – Lunars Companion (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Assassins (Trinity Continuum Core)

Dearly Bleak – Novella (Deviant: The Renegades)

Development

TC: Aberrant Reference Screen (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Contagion Chronicle: Global Outbreaks (Chronicles of Darkness)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (They Came From!)

Crucible of Legends (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exigents (Exalted 3rd Edition)

N!ternational Wrestling Entertainment (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Manuscript Approval

Post-Approval Development

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Editing

Terra Firma (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Lunars Novella (Rosenberg) (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Player’s Guide to the Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Contagion Chronicle Jumpstart (Chronicles of Darkness)

TC: Aberrant Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

LARP Rules (Scion 2nd Edition)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

The Book of Lasting Death (Mummy: The Curse 2e)

Post-Editing Development

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

W20 Shattered Dreams Gift Cards (Werewolf: The Apocalypse 20th)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Hunter: The Vigil 2e core (Hunter: The Vigil 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

Titanomachy (Scion 2nd Edition)

Pirates of Pugmire KS-Added Adventure (Realms of Pugmire)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Magic Item Decks (Scarred Lands)

Yugman’s Guide Support Decks (Scarred Lands)

Indexing

Art Direction from Mike Chaney!

In Art Direction

Scion Titanomachy

Tales of Aquatic Terror

WoD Ghost Hunters – KS final art coming in. Gaydos should be done shortly.

Aberrant – Contacting and contracting. Signing off on sketches.

Pugmire Adventure – All sketches in.

Hunter: The Vigil 2e

Mummy 2

Deviant – Dividing up among current artists.

Legendlore – Kickstarter on hiatus/doing art buy breakdown.

Technocracy Reloaded (KS) – Happening.

Cults of the Blood God – Rolling along.

Scion: Dragon – Working on chapter art breakdowns.

Masks of the Mythos – Working on chapter art breakdowns.

They Came From Beyond the Grave! (KS) – Getting fulls for KS.

In Layout

Yugman’s Guide to Ghelspad

Vigil Watch

TC Aeon Terra Firma – Over to Josh.

V5 Let the Streets Run Red – Prepping for layout.

Buried Bones: Creating in the Realms of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Proofing

Trinity Aeon Jumpstart 

Pirates of Pugmire – Waiting for backer errata.

TCFBTS Heroic Land Dwellers – Waiting for backer errata.

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate – Backer PDF out to KS backers Tuesday.

Scion Companion – Just waiting for two tweaked pieces.

Contagion Chronicle

Cavaliers of Mars: City of the Towered Tombs

Duke Rollo Book – Waiting for backer errata.

At Press

Night Horrors : Nameless and Accursed – PoD proof on the way.

Dark Eras 2 – PDF and PoD versions on sale on DTRPG this Weds!

TCFBTS Screen and Booklet

They Came from Beneath the Sea!

C:tL 2e Oak, Ash, & Thorn – PoD proof OK, on sale soon.

Today’s Reason to Celebrate!

Today in 1997, Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of their rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.

Not saying that was the beginning of the end for humanity, that the Technocracy won, or that this connects in any way with Trinity Continuum: Anima. Just interesting, that’s all…

#Onyx Path Publishing

[thenightling]

Films and shows to get you ready for Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman

Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is getting adapted into a series by Netflix.   Though this is a DC comics property, The Sandman is NOT like Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman.  The Sandman is a gorgeous and surreal fantasy that only partially takes place in the human world.  A big part of it takes place in the fantasy realm known as The Dreaming. 

There is very little combat action though there is horror.   To give you an idea of what you are in for (Or if you are a Sandman fan already and want something to hold you off) here are twenty-five films and shows that share some of the traits (or atmosphere) you might find in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.

25.   The Raven (1963 film).  This might seem like an oddball one to list since it’s a Gothic Horror fantasy comedy from the 1960s but it gets referenced in The Sandman by Matthew imitating Peter Lorre and later Matthew compared Cain to Vincent Price.  I think it’s safe to say Matthew was a Price (or Roger Coman) fan.  

24.   Death.   Death is a short animated film from DC and was featured as bonus content for the Blu Ray of the animated movie Wonder Woman: Bloodlines. 

Though she looks younger (appearing about nineteen-years-old) Death is the older sister of Morpheus AKA Dream of The Endless, the main protagonist of The Sandman.  She was first introduced in The Sandman issue 8, The Sound of Her Wings.

23.   Stardust.

Stardust is a fantasy film based on the novel (and graphic novel) by Neil Gaiman.  Though there are liberties taken, this should give you some idea of what his fantasy writing is like.

 22.    Beetlejuice the animated series. 

If you want an idea of what The Dreaming (realm of Dreams) is like then I urge you to check out the surreal Neither (that’s not a typo) World from the Beetlejuice animated series.  The monsters that inhabit this realm are the stuff of fantasy and nightmares.  Some are living puns.  And they are ruled over by a broody Goth who makes it rain when he’s depressed and feeling melodramatic, much like a certain Dream Lord from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman...

21.  Bonus listing:   The Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.  

One major antagonist of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman is a nightmare entity known as The Corinthian who escapes into the waking world and becomes a serial killer.  Had Sandman been adapted in the mid-90s I think many would have loved a crossover with Freddy Krueger.  

20.   Return to Oz.

If by some weird chance you have never seen The Wizard of Oz or any faithful (read: Not 2010) version of Alice in Wonderland I would recommend those first.  But under the assumption you may have already seen those I would suggest watching Return to Oz.   Return to Oz features an adorable Jack-o-lantern headed character called Jack Pumpkinhead.   Jack Pumpkinhead was the loose inspiration for the grounds keeper dream entity character of Mervyn Pumpkinhead in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.  

19. Tales from the Crypt (TV series).

Issue 2 of The Sandman is called Imperfect Hosts because all of the characters introduced in that issue are former horror host characters from horror anthology comics.  Cain and Abel were DC’s answer to The Crypt keeper and The Vault Keeper.  For a good idea of who Cain actually is (assuming he’s in the show along with his House of Mystery) I strongly recommend checking out the TV show Tales from the Crypt.  

18.   Tales from the Cryptkeeper (animated series)

In the mid-1990s there was an animated series adaptation of Tales from the Crypt called Tales from the Cryptkeeper.  Season 2 featured the three original EC comics horror hosts of the Cryptkeeper, Vault Keeper, and the Old Witch.  These storytellers might give you an idea of who (or what) some of Morpheus’ Nightmare minion are in The Sandman.

 17.    Hocus Pcous.  

I chose to put this one here because the three witches of Hocus Pocus very much remind me of the Hecatae version of The Three-in-one from The Sandman Issue 2.   There’s also a powerful Grimoire that is a plot catalyst. 

16.   The 10th Kingdom.

The 10th Kingdom was a fantasy mini-series that aired on NBC in 2000.   It dealt with a twenty-seven-year-old young woman who discovers that her estranged mother is the evil queen in a faery tale world.   It is very much a story about stories (much like parts of The Sandman) and shows you the original dark and unvarnished versions of some classic faery tales as well as how those characters (and their descendants) carry on centuries later.

15.   Once Upon a Time (TV series.  Particularly seasons 1 through 3.)  

Much like with 10th Kingdom we have here a story about stories and those characters from classic stories trying to live in the human world with varying degrees of success.  You see how important their stories are and how carefully and intricately each tale was interwoven with each other.  (...Until around season 4 that is...)

Also it begins with a very powerful creature imprisoned and later undergoing an extremely long redemption arc and a sense of guilt tied to the death of his own son.

14.  Constantine:  City of Demons.

John Constantine appears in one issue of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.   Issue 3.   Constantine: City of Demons gives a good crash course on who Constantine is and where he comes from.  John Constantine’s ancestor, Johanna Constantine is a recurring character in The Sandman.

13.  Justice League: Dark animated movie.   

Justice League:  Dark is the first animated movie to feature The House of Mystery.  The House of Mystery is a building whose roots are in The Dreaming in The Sandman.

12.   Constantine (2014 series).  

 In 2014 Constantine got his own live action series but it only lasted for one season. 

11.  Locke and Key.

Only recently did I learn Locke and Key will be doing an official crossover with The Sandman Universe.

 10.    Lucifer TV series.  

The TV show Lucifer is an oddball thing since it was based on a comic that is actually a spin-off of The Sandman.  The storyline that introduces us to Mazikeen, where Lucifer quits ruling Hell, opens Lux, and takes up playing Piano all come from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.

When Fox got the rights to Lucifer no one thought The Sandman was going to be getting an adaptation, at least not in the near future.  As a result several conversations and key pieces of dialogue that originally passed between Morpheus and Lucifer in The Sandman comics now went to Lucifer and his therapist, Linda, and his angel-brother, Amenadiel. 

Bonus: If at all possible check out the Crisis on infinite Earths event from the CW as the real Crisis on Infinite Earths (original comic event) eventually gave way to things like The Sandman.

9.   The Witches (1990) and Coraline (2009)   I couldn’t decide which one to put here so I put them both.

  The Witches is a children’s horror film based on the book by Roald Dahl. I suggest this here for its darker themes and you get a group of dangerous, child-killing witches attending a meeting at a hotel, much like The Corinthian’s Serial Killer convention in The Sandman.

Coraline is a stop motion fantasy / horror story for children and can give you some idea of what certain aspects of The Sandman are like, as it is by the same author.

8.    Pan’s Labyrinth.  

The Sandman is very much part fantasy and part Gothic horror and no director alive quite fits that criteria now better than Guillermo del Toro and possibly Tim Burton.   Pan’s Labyrinth has the surreal beauty and darkness you are likely to see in The Sandman.

7.   Doom Patrol.

Doom Patrol was the first DC show that made me have faith that yes, they CAN adapt Sandman respectfully and unafraid of the strangeness it might entail.  Doom Patrol seemed unafraid to tackle the strange, quirkiness of it’s own content.  From a talking roach, to gender-queer sentient street named Danny, Doom Patrol was not afraid to be strange.  

6.   Swam Thing (2019 TV series from DC Universe Streaming Service).

I mostly suggest this for one character in particular. Matthew Cable.  After Matthew died in The Sandman comics he chose to spend his afterlife as Morpheus’ raven.

Besides featuring a character from The Sandman Swamp Thing gives a very good Gothic atmosphere and supernatural content, giving you an idea of the sort of horror DC can do.  

6.  Justice League Action:   Trick or Threat.   And Justice League action: Supernatural adventures in Babysitting.

The episode of Justice League Action called Trick or Threat features Cain, a nightmare character from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, as well as The House of Mystery.   This was Cain’s first appearance in media.  The version of Cain in the TV show Lucifer is nothing like his comic book counterpart.  This cartoon is the first and only faithful adaptation of the character from the comics.

The episode of Justice League Action called Supernatural Adventures in Babysitting features the Magdalene Grimoire. This is the grimoire used to summon Morpheus in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.  It also features John Constantine.

    5.   She-Creature:  The Mermaid Chronicles (2001 film)

This is an odd from about some humans have a captured mermaid.  The majority of the film is about her escape and revenge on her captors.  You will see something similar to that with Morpheus in the very first episode of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman.    

4.  The Company of Wolves. 

The Company of Wolves is a story about stories.  In the ontemporary world a pubescent girl sleeps during her first period. She dreams that she is Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother tells her horrific stories about werewolves.  The wolves become metaphors For puberty, masculinity, and waking sexuality.  Toward the end Rosealeen (the protagonist) becomes one of the wolves.   You get random stark reminders that this entire film is set in a dream world, and yet it’s still strangely easy to forget.

 3.   The Nightmare before Christmas.

The Nightmare before Christmas is a fantasy musical about the king of Halloween.  Though he’s adored by his subjects he longs for more.  The surreal landscape and strange creatures can be reminiscent of The Sandman.

2.   Labyrinth.

One of the earliest efforts to talk me into reading The Sandman entailed someone telling me that Morpheus was “Like a Goth Jareth.”   This effort (at the time) failed to entice me though I do love Labyrinth.   

1.   Over The Garden Wall. 

I only saw Over the Garden Wall for the first time about a year and a half ago and loved it very much.   This is a strange animated mini-series about two brothers lost in a forest called “The Unknown.”   The setting has been debated among fans as to if it’s purgatory (a place between life and death), a dream realm, or something else entirely.  I choose to believe that though it may be a place between life and Death that it’s also a part of The Dreaming, especially with so many surreal and Gothic visuals, and characters and creatures directly out of vintage seasonal cards.

#The Sandman #Neil Gaiman's The Sandman

[precontis-blog]

-----   THE   LEGEND   OF   SLEEPY   HOLLOW   ;

          This is going to be a huge information dump based on how I’ll be portraying the character, etc. Please take the time to read this, as it will explain a lot about how he’s modernized, and how I intend to play him. Below, you’ll see a bit into the legend, what he is, and how he carries himself. I also will be including how his powers work, and how he himself differs from the legend   ( as legends are not always accurate ).

-----   LORE   :   THE   HEADLESS   HORSEMAN   ;

          The headless horseman is known as a man on horseback who is missing his head. He either carries it under his arm, upon his horse, or he is missing it altogether. If he is missing it, it’s known that he’s searching for it. It is believed that he was a man killed during the Battle of White Plains in 1776, decapitated by an American cannonball. The shattered remains of his head are known to be left on the battlefield while his comrades carried his body away. Eventually he was buried in the cemetery of the Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow, from which each Halloween night he rises as a malevolent ghost, furiously seeking his lost head.

-----   LORE   :   WHAT   IS   A   DULLAHAN   ?   ;

          They are headless unseelie faeries, known to carry their heads with them, either on the saddle-brow of his horse or raised in his hand. A hideous grin splits the face from ear to ear, and the eyes dart about. The entire head glows with a phosphorescence so that the creature may use it as a lantern guide through darkened groves and laneways. When a dullahan stops, a mortal dies by call of name. They are possessed of supernatural sight, holding his severed head aloft to see vast distances across the country. He can spy the house of a dying person, no matter where it lies. Those who watch from their windows are punished with blindness, either by a splash of blood thrown upon their faces, or by use of his whip. He is usually mounted on a black steed, and uses a human spine as a whip. He also has a black coach, drawn by six black horses, and it travels so fast that the friction created by its movement sets fire to plantlife.

          All gates fly open to let him through, no matter how tightly locked. The coach has additional candles in skulls to light the way, its wheel spokes are made from thigh bones, and the covering of the wagon is made of human skin. It tends to speak as little as possible, and stops before the door of a house to shout the name of the person about to die. He may also stop at the very spot a person will die. Unlike a banshee, the dullahan does not pursue specific families and its call is a summoning of the soul of a dying person rather than a death warning. There is no real way to defend against the dullahan because it is Death’s herald. However, an item made of gold may frighten him away, for dullahans appear to have an irrational fear of this metal. Even a small amount of gold will suffice.

-----   WHAT   HE   FOLLOWS   ;

          Despite being the headless horseman, it’s very clear that Eadric himself hardly follows folklore. He may be a headless man on horseback, but it’s clear that he still has his head and it isn’t exactly a lantern. In fact, he appears completely human when not being, well, the headless horseman. What is true happens to be his manner and year of death, as he did in fact die in 1776 from a cannonball that decapitated him. Just as Eadric’s current head isn’t exactly his own, it’s a replica that was created by Death when he chose Eadric to be one of his heralds.

          Eadric was born in North Tarrytown   ( which would later be called Sleepy Hollow )   and was buried in the Old Dutch Church. If someone were to search his gravesite and dig up his coffin, they would find a corpse dressed in his old military uniform taking place of his body. He does not only rise on Halloween night, and he can in fact call upon his powers at any point, day or night.

          In fact, aside from being considered an unseelie faerie, he’s also technically a ghost as well as undead. Here’s how I break these down:                     ---   He, himself, is undead. He is a reanimated corpse, except his body is untouched by the stages of decay. Eadric’s organs and all continue to function normally to give off the appeal that he is still a living, breathing, human being despite being semi-immortal.                     ---   He is a ghost in the way that his horses are ghosts, and they are individual extensions of his own person. He is known to be seen with one horse, or he will ride a carriage drawn by six. Regardless, these horses are ghosts and are often seen as wispy shadows.                     ---   He is a faerie by way of his powers and how they work. Conjuring ghost horses and a ghost carriage, utilizing reality warping magic to do so, while also managing to remove his own head at any point in time. He betrays the laws of life in favor of being Death’s herald.

          Despite his horses and carriage all being ghostly in manner, physical lifeforms are capable of touching them. These objects are as cold as a winter night, but they can still be used for transportation. The coach is, of course, follows lore where it is all black and it is decorated with skulls that have lit candles in them. The wheel spokes are made of thigh bones, and the wagon’s cover is made of dried human skin. Surprisingly enough, it does not smell all things considered. From the cover hangs several lanterns as additional light.

          He still does possess supernatural sight, and his eyes do glow a shimmering blue when using it. When he calls upon the soul of a dying person, he is meant to draw the soul into one of the lanterns he carries   ( either one of four on the coach, or one that hangs from the horse’s saddle ),   but he is also known for consuming them. Contrary to lore, Eadric is not a man afraid of speaking his mind, and in fact he quite enjoys talking. Most other dullahan tend to be silent during their work, but he has no issues regardless.

          So when does he not have control over his powers? On the night of a full moon. It will force him to be the horseman for the night come dusk, and there is always a soul for him to reap. In order for him to fully take a soul, he must call upon his power. Otherwise he cannot completely call someone to death, though he may still taste their soul as a human if he so wishes.

          Upon his neck is a scar that runs clean around, obviously the supernatural seam that keeps his head attached, and the seam that magically comes apart when he is to remove his head. He can undo this seam at will, appearing completely and utterly human while just... waving his head around.

-----   WEAKNESS   :   GOLD   &   DEATH   ?   ;

          You heard it here: Eadric is in fact weak to gold. But he isn’t afraid of it. In fact, he finds gold pretty and a nice decoration, whether it be on a person or object. However, gold in and of itself works similarly to kryptonite on Superman, except it has to make direct contact with his body. Not necessarily skin, so long as it touches him at all it will do. The gold, as a strange purifying element, will nullify his powers and prohibit him from calling upon his horses or any supernatural abilities he may have. This includes his super sight, and it strips him of his semi-immortality.

          This is the best time to kill him, as any mortal wound that’s considered fatal will do, but be warned that if the gold object is not left on his person, he will be resurrected come the next night. There are three ways to kill a dullahan, and two of which are definitely permanent while the gold method is partially temporary.                     1)   Keep the gold object on his person, or find a way to sneak gold inside him. Have him swallow it, inject it, etc. If this gold leaves him at any point, he will come back the next night.                     2)   A sickle dipped in lamb’s blood, cut cleanly through the seam that keeps his head attached.                     3)   Death’s touch / Death’s weapon in general.

-----   THE   MODERNIZATION   &   HIS   GOALS   CURRENTLY   ;

          When I say that he’s modernized, I mean it in the fact that he isn’t stuck in 1776. He dresses   ( more or less )   normally, with the exception of his more Victorian goth fashion, but he sums that up to his interest in history and horseback riding. At least that’s what he’ll tell anyone who asks, assuming they’re liked enough to get a kind answer. Eadric knows what the internet is, he has a phone, he’s seen cars, etcetera.

          Eadric has been out of his coffin since 1996, when North Tarrytown was changed to Sleepy Hollow. Since then, he has watched the world change and grow, and he has been a part of it in secrecy. Most people don’t know that he’s the headless horseman, just as people often assume he merely shares the name of the man who supposedly died and was decapitated in 1776.

          As for his goals, well, he’s sort of been straying from the path of what he’s meant to be doing. Calling forth souls of the dying was his initial goal, but Eadric is bored of the humdrum afterlife he lives, as he was never the man to follow rules. In secrecy he explores just how much he can put a soul through before it breaks, just as he’s more fascinated with getting himself into dangerous situations, or allowing people to figure out just who or what he is. Eadric is in fact amused by the terror he creates by simply riding through a town, and each year he crafts himself a new whip by tearing out the spine of several victims by his own hands.

#「 META 」ʷᵒʳᵈˡᵉˢˢ ᵖʳᵃʸᵉʳˢ ᵒᶠ ᵃ ᵇᵘʳᶰᶤᶰᵍ ʰᵉᵃᵛᵉᶰ #long post / #ask to tag /

[kdazrael]

“Hey K, what would Chise and Elias’ kids be like?” Well I’m glad you asked, entirely fictional interlocutor, because here are my thoughts:

Kid 1: a boy. Elias is extremely worried the whole time Chise is pregnant because can a tiny human contain the eldritch weirdness of his DNA? Turns out yes. The kid looks pretty normal, in fact SUSPICIOUSLY SO. [Creepy old person from Rosemary’s Baby voice]: He has his father’s eyes! and also some little bony caps on his scalp that later grow into horns (of a smaller variety than Elias’), but otherwise can pass for human. In personality, however, he is very fae - blue and orange morality, sociopath-levels of superficial charm, extremely puckish and devious. Also has the classic fae bone structure that looks arresting and beautiful from one angle and cruel and inhuman from another. He is basically a menace and must be encouraged to spend as much time as possible in faerie where there’s less chance of him causing chaos and disaster wherever he goes. ‘Ha ha ha, time to visit Uncle Oberon. Off you go while we wipe the memories of every human in a ten mile radius.’

Kid 2: a girl. Very much a chimera of both her parents - has Chise’s red hair, Elias’ bony exoskeleton face, though flattened and more humanoid. Eventually grows to be seven feet tall. Reserved and very conscious of her otherness; inevitably becomes a goth teen who writes very tortured poetry. Likes to go and stay with Lindel, which she is allowed to do on the understanding that if Lindel ever pulls any of that ‘hey don’t talk about yourself it makes the humans feel awkward’ shit she can murder him and Chise will help hide the body. Actually pretty good at skiing.

#tamb #the ancient magus bride #chise hatori #elias ainsworth #lindel #headcanons no-one asked for #can you tell i'm avoiding work today?