#Mythos Snapshots

[mythosblogging]

The warrior Oisín was beloved of the immortal Niamh who took him to her home of eternal youth, Tír na nÓg. They lived their happily for hundreds of years before Oisín grew homesick and wished to visit his old lands.

Niamh agreed and gave him a white horse to carry him, but warned Oisín to never touch the ground. Though Oisín agreed he sadly fell from his horse, his missing years instantly catching up to him as he transformed into an elderly man.

More Myths 

#Mythos #Mythology #Myths and Legends #Irish Myths #Irish Legends #Niamph #Oisin #Immortality #Tír na nÓg #Mythos Snapshots

[spacer-case]

...and when the last blood-beast comes to rest unto the Earth, what next will arrive to inherit it?

i drew this sci fi piece for my portfolio, but it also turned loosely into a marcoace au because my brain got zoomies

short version: guy on a joyride (coughs ace) accidentally travels to another world filled with mythological-ish creatures, but they're actually all robots mimicking life with no real sentience of their own - except one lone, lonely consciousness (coughs marco) whose mind was digitally preserved before the rest of organic life got wiped out, and has been waiting a long time for a friend

long nerdy version under the cut:

ace's world is a fun and scrappy sci fi future world, with stuff like his hovercraft that syncs to his body's movements too

he was out riding with deuce and got too caught up in the thrill of flying that he went way out of safe bounds (not pictured: deuce panicking) and got swallowed by a giant sky beast

somehow (i haven't thought that hard about it) he appears in marco's world after this - when i first had this idea i was just thinking of a literal reference to the philosophical concept of animals as other worlds/animal alterity, a la Barbara Noske), plus i like the idea of gateways being where you least expect them

anyway yeah he gets isekai'd

enter: marco's world!! this is a land where organic life once thrived, including sentient beings (i haven't decided if they were also humans), but all organic life has long since died out and given way to a new, constructed "ecology"

it's full of seemingly mythological-ish creatures (phoenix, dragon, etc. but all are also warped from what we would imagine)!! but SIKE they are actually robots; cybernetic constructs!!! each one goes through the motions of life for many years until they steadily break down. their parts get recycled and they are remade to spawn from egg-like structures (like the one in the bottom left corner of the drawing)

and who is remaking them? MARCO! aka the last, lone remaining consciousness from the sentient race that died out. his mind was preserved digitally, but by the time he awoke he only remembers snapshots of his original life. he continuously cares for and builds all the robots, and uploads himself into different bodies whenever he wants, but no matter what he tries he can't recreate anything truly alive with its own free will

so he's lonely and sad

basically the whole thing was an exploration of the concept of a man-made mythos! and the boundaries of what defines life, will, sentience, etc. etc.

but when he meets ace - a real, living breathing organic human - it will change his life! because............because...i haven't thought that far

many questions remain...is ace's world a past version of marco's? will he find a way to restore organic life to marco's world? should he even do that? will he find a way back home? will they kiss? ? will marco get a human body?? will i ever make something bigger from this or even turn it back into ocs instead of op characters??? will they wear wigs???? when will they wear wigs????????? who knows!

but for now it is what it is hehe

i doubt anyone read all that, but if you did, thank you for your time....here i reward you with a secret:

below is an early sketch of this illustration, and underneath that, the composition originally came from A FAILED DRAWING OF MARCO!!!

the brainrot goes deep :')

#illustration #original art #kinda #its so far removed i think i can call it that #one piece #marco the phoenix #marcoace #one piece au #fushichou marco #my art #marco one piece #ace #portgas d ace #op ace #op marco #procreate #digital art #digital painting #digital illustration #sci fi art #science fiction #science fiction art #marace #drawing #artists on tumblr #artsg #artwork

[iwtvdramacd18]

This is part 1 of a series of fic recommendations for @iwtvfanevents Meal to Remember event! [part 2] [more still planned]

-Rumplesktilsin by @weather-mood

A weaving of fairytale trappings within the Dubai Penthouse, taking walls that we've seen Louis stride through with familiarity and grace and turn them alien and seductive. I love the structure of the fic, the set up of 3 trials establishes a rhythm only to ramp it up at the end. Special shout out to real Rashid and his suffering bearing witness to it all. Trying to stay as vague with details as possible because every new task really works best when not knowing beforehand.

For further reading I recommend Part of Your World, a loustat AU that also incorporates mythos and fairy tale set ups, and the Needle and Thread series for more Armand as well as Nicki.

-Alluviim by @knifeeater

One of my favorite incorporations of Louis and Armand communicating through the Mind Gift, using both prose and literal structure of words on the page to give a sense of merging and lurching thought patterns. The use of imagery casts the bodies of Louis and Armand into the inhuman, calling up topographies and minerals and weaving blood and warmth throughout.

For further reading I recommend Vanishing Point, another Loumand piece taking full advantage of Armand's motor cycle and Louis as his pretty passenger.

-Little Kidnaps in the Dark by @gayvampiredivorce

Literally a burgeoning novel not only giving a compelling view of a Devil's Minion through the lens of the show, it also emulates the feeling of recalling events oneself through the non-chronological nature of chapters. We jump from decades in the past to events after season 1, given snapshots of the relationship between Daniel Louis and Armand. All three of them feel so present and important and affected by different times in their lives and together. Daniel’s pov used to great lengths, taking in all the confusion frustration and fear and beauty in navigating being a human involved with two vampires. 

Since LKITD has many chapters my "further reading" is just gonna be chapters I love especially: 31 and 58.

#a meal to remember #iwtvfanevents #others fic #iwtv fanfiction #iwtv fic

[ghostlazrin]

Hi everyone. Outdated pfp, but I'm Lazrin. Some of y'all may know me on Discord as Grayson. I'm a current owner of the Er'roth Mythos as an unfiction setting and community, as well as a founding owner of Fogverse, a much smaller but very similar community. I love all of my ongoing projects, but right now I wanna take a minute to hype up the cherished project that I've been working on the longest, kolbymysteriothegamer.

I first made the channel in 2014 as a genuine gaming channel, but my ADHD made me change my mind once I realized I had no way to actually record video games at that point in time. Conveniently, that was one year into me having discovered Marble Hornets. So what did I go and do? If you guessed "took your new channel that you already made and turned it into an ARG," you're exactly right!

It started out as Slenderverse content from the 2014 run all the way until I took an indefinite hiatus in 2017 as I contemplated what I wanted to do with it. In 2020, I made a decision that I would end up regretting where I deleted the entire channel. The only bits that remain of the original run are what few videos I held onto in my Google Photos, and one snapshot of the YouTube page from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine.

After coming to realize I still wanted to do something with it, I rebooted it a few months into my reentry of the unfiction scene. Then about a year into the reboot's run, I retroactively decided that kolbymysteriothegamer would now be Er'roth content in both the original and current incarnations. I've met some of my best friends through working on it and it would mean a lot if y'all could help share it around and spread the word! It's not always scary, sometimes it's a little boring, and yadda yadda yadda, but I appreciate and respect the people who help me with it so much that I wanna show as many others as possible how great they are at what they do. Check it out, if you don't mind, thanks!

~💀🖤

#unfiction #arg #kolbymysteriothegamer #er'roth mythos #fogverse #donnie maddens diaries #the horrors of seventh heaven #art

[kill-worthy]

Art, Death, and Sex

St. Francis of Assisi in His Tomb, painted by Francisco de Zurbarán, is a striking dominant piece that stands at six feet of dark Baroque intensity. Yet, there is something different about the imagery that has always scraped the back of my mind.

It is a little-known fact that St. Francis of Assisi died fairly young, at 44 years of age. He had been battling an illness and was known to place a human skull on his breakfast table to contemplate his impending doom. It was a representation of his old friend, Death, that he even wrote about in The Canticle of Brother Sun and Sister Moon.

What was the symbolism there? For that matter, what was Zurbarán's message? Why did the interest in Zurbarán's work fade in time? Why did skulls appear in his other work? Was this also a form of self portrait? I don't know if I will ever have an answer. What I do know is that between the 1950's and 1960's Zurbarán was what "all the cool people" were talking about.

Here, for example, is a clipping from 1965 talking about how this painting was inspiring fashion in Spain.

A more potent example of how influential Zurbarán was can be seen in Salvador Dali's 1956 painting called the Skull of Zurbaran.

In this painting, I can see the conversation Dali is having. There was a lot he struggled with in regards to tradition, death, and religion. Much like his views of the constraints of time, which are represented with his famous melting clocks, here I see "the few" constructing an effigy to something beyond their ability. Was that how he saw Zurbarán, an artist beyond his own ability?

Unfortunately, Dali was even more twisted in his head than even his paintings let on. He, for instance, was obsessed with necrophilia, preferred to masturbate in front of a mirror, and was terrified of female genitalia.

I imagine Dali studying art history and being perfectly fine with Heads Severed by Theodore Gericault. Then flipping a page to be met with L'Origine du Monde and scream in terror. His mustache would shoot out like a cartoon in his iconic style, and he would swear epitaphs in Spanish. The topic of the famed Magic Realist Georgia O’Keefe would come up at a party, and I could see him having a “melt down” over her famously vulvic flowers.

Because that is what she is remembered for, not her unique cityscapes or her abstracted-form studies; her vulvic flowers.

Art history is weird like that, a collection of taboos following the mythos of the artist around like a three-legged dog. Zurbarán is all but forgotten, Dali is not remembered for his psychosis, and Georgia is remembered for vulvas. She is not remembered for paintings like Head with Broken Pot, a piece of work that is as nuanced as both Zurbarán's and Dali's work that hearkens to the fragility of mankind and to human life.

I guess the moral of this story, if there even is one, is that artists view the cycles of life in abstract ways trying to make sense of what, "it all means". Paint becomes a snapshot of those moments, mixing in pigments of consciousness and primal urges even when they don't belong. We the viewers become a part of that in our remembrance of those moments.

Something about that process seems like a death, living, and resurrection to me. But perhaps, I've been looking at art too long.

#killworthy #killworthywords #fun history #weird history #eccentric history #art history #skulls #macabre #dali #o'keefe #Salvador Dali #Francisco de Zurbarán #Zurbarán #georgia o’keefe #art

[ao3feed-izuku-midoriya]

Talk to Your Lock (Because Communication is Key)

Talk to your lock (because communication is key) by kalishino

When asked about his quirk, Izuku answers with a self-deprecating laugh. Oh, I can keep a specific door locked, he says, as short and flippant as he can make it. He would love to expand on it, really; he has subjected both Inko and Cthulhu to hours and hours of talking about his quirk. He has to keep it vague, though, because it's safer if no one knows he's got a cosmic entity pretty much on speed dial.

Words: 15371, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen

Characters: Midoriya Izuku, Cthulhu, Midoriya Inko, Yagi Toshinori | All Might, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Cthulhu, Midoriya Inko & Midoriya Izuku, Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead & Midoriya Izuku, Midoriya Izuku & Yagi Toshinori | All Might

Additional Tags: Cthulhu mythos trampled over for my pleasure, Good Parent Midoriya Inko, Pre-Dadzawa, Izuku's foray into not technically vigilantism, one man's prank is another man's trauma, I love All Might but he's done some irresponsible things, and responsible adults call him out on it, Cthulhu bullies All Might, Aizawa Shouta Is So Done, fic told in snapshots, Midoriya Izuku Has a Quirk, Canon-typical bullying, Crack Treated Seriously, POV Multiple

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39247815

#AO3 Feed #FanFiction #AO3 Izuku #♦ #Izuku Midoriya #Cthulhu #Inko Midoriya #Aizawa Shouta #R:T #A:Kalishino #Quirk AU #Dadzawa

[gswmyunghwa]

with @gswyu​

though myunghwa didn’t really think of her current profession as her long term career, she was known to have fun with what she had. though far from her only source of income ( most came from her parents’ coffers ), it was certainly her source of entertainment. a way to capture her life into discrete memories. take a snapshot of time and preserve a version of her that would never fade or change. legs crossed, she sat before her computer screen with the raw footage of her latest project before her. never in a thousand years would myunghwa have imagined herself pursuing a story like this. yet here she was, replaying a day’s worth of interviews and random scavenging, sifting through for the best content to edit together of their adventures. she found herself rather excited, a first for one of these vlogs. 

“is that what you’re going to wear?” her personal intro filmed while walking to his place, myunghwa had texted the podcaster instructions seconds prior to arriving at his apartment. the intention—film him opening the door, giving a warm and seemingly unscripted greeting, and then introduce him and let him explain the mythos of the island ( because between the two of them, he was probably better researched ). for this story, he had to embody the intellectual who paradoxically also believed in the supernatural. was he was told that in advance, such that he could prepare? no. myunghwa had decided that this was the creative vision for their joint venture on the fly that very morning. one could wonder whether or not this truly was a partnership. to which she would respond, stick to ones strengths. he handled the work, she handled the framing.

“this is not going to work, yu,” she criticized ever so delicately. under other circumstances, she’d take no issue with his fashion choices. today however, it was just not giving the image she envisioned for him. “firstly, i would like you to know i am not at all a judgmental person. you know me, right?” they had met a grand total of one time, during which she had practically forced him to do this project with her. “which is why, when i invite myself into other people’s homes,” she continued, brushing past him without permission, “i do so in only the direst of circumstances and with the purest of intentions. cross my heart, hope to die.” scanning his living space for nothing more than his clothes, she needed to put together something more appropriate. while their mission today was not necessarily to be fashionable, it was no crime to look the part. maybe if they were dressed well, they would attract the ghosts, spirits, demons, gods or whatever they were hunting for easier.

it was this thought that prompted her to flip the camera back on, making sure to keep it closer to her own face so as not to capture too much of his apartment. she wasn’t trying to broadcast his entire life without permission. after all, she crossed her heart and hoped to die! “okay, show me some options. we want to dazzle the ghosts today. but also, we want to be reverent.” the last bit said with only a touch of irreverence. “they should feel enamored but respected.” and what was her role in today’s production? well, no ghost hunting story was complete without the sassy skeptic with an impeccable taste ( for the finer things in life )...the latter was more a bonus in this case. 

#( interactions: chen yu ) #( interactions: chen yu 001 ) #( opposite: chen yu ) #//ahh i'm so sorry this took forever #the italicized part is the present her and i'll throw that in whenever we wanna jump scenes

[biglisbonnews]

Grandma Moses Homestead in Eagle Bridge, New York Norman Rockwell, Grant Wood, Edward Hopper—American artists who captured pockets of American life in their work. For Rockwell, it was heartwarming snapshots of human-to-human moments in small towns. For Wood, looks into the lives of those in the Midwest. For Hopper, the loneliness of urban and suburban life. Yet the perspective of Anna Mary Robertson Moses in her unique artwork has charmed and captivated Americans for generations.   The name Anna Mary Robertson Moses might not immediately ring any bells, because she was known professionally as "Grandma Moses." Born in Greenwich, New York, in 1860, she exhibited an interest in art from a young age. At the age of 12, Moses (then Robertson) started working as a housekeeper for a wealthy family who lived nearby. Her employers recognized her interest in art and provided the young girl with art supplies. In 1887, she married Thomas Moses and the happy couple moved from New York to Shenandoah Valley, where they lived for nearly 20 years. In 1905, they moved back to New York to the hamlet of Eagle Bridge, where they dubbed their new residence "Mount Nebo." At Mount Nebo, Grandma Moses spent her time farming and painting. She wasn't terribly concerned with her work being popular or even selling, she simply painted for the sake of painting. In 1938, New York City art collector Louis Caldor happened to pass through the area and saw Moses's art at a drugstore. He was captivated by the work and tracked down the artist—now 78 years old—and bought several of her pieces. When Caldor brought them back to the city to exhibit, many people laughed him off or were turned off by the artist's age. But throught sheer perseverance and a belief in her talent, Caldor made Grandma Moses a household name. She would sometimes visit the city, often dressed in conservative outfits giving speeches about making jams and preserving fruits as if at a county fair, and become something of a sensation in the art scene of 1940s New York City. Grandma Moses's amazing ability to capture sweet scenes of country life made her arguably the most famous folk artist in American history. By the time she died in 1961 at the age of 101, her name, face, and art were known across the nation. In many ways, Grandma Moses was one of the most popular artists of her generation, and the way she managed her image and the mythos surrounding her are clear precursors to celebrity artists like Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Even today, Grandma Moses' art adorns postage stamps and pillowcases, and is reproduced for families to bring into their own homes. And Mount Nebo itself still stands The farm, which is still owned by the Moses family, is now an art gallery. It turns out that artistic talent runs in the family, and Grandma Moses' great-great-great grandson Will Moses now not only owns Mount Nebo but sells his own beautiful folk art from it.   Besides Will Moses' gallery in the former homestead, the shadow of Grandma Moses looms large in Hoosick: She was buried in the town, murals of her art cover nearby buildings, and the cozy, rolling hills of upstate New York will make you feel like you've dropped right into one of her paintings. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/grandma-moses-homestead

#museums #art gallery #americana #homes #artists #Atlas Obscura

[carewyncromwell]

“For one so small, you seem so strong... My arms will hold you, Keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can't be broken... I will be here -- don't you cry...” ~“You’ll Be In My Heart (Radio Version)” by Phil Collins

x~x~x~x

Okay, after that last piece I did with Jacob Cromwell, I figured he deserved some happiness -- so here’s a snapshot of Jacob and Carewyn from a happier time...namely, at 16 and 7 years old respectively, before Jacob got fully ensnared in R’s web. This would’ve been the same year that -- as referenced in the game Hogwarts Mystery -- R targeted Carewyn and Rakepick ended up protecting her...and for those of you who have read the still unfinished good!Rakepick AU, I think you can totally see why Rakepick ended up protecting this sweet little child who loves her brother so much and is so, so happy to have him home. 

Jacob and Carewyn Cromwell were always very close, from the moment Carewyn first appeared in Jacob’s life. Not only did their father Evan Bach kind of emotionally unplug completely from Carewyn’s life, so someone needed to fill that void, but both Jacob and Carewyn were born with very strong Legilimency potential, which made them both kind of subconsciously latch onto each other’s minds and never really let go again. Carewyn in particular, being such an empath with her abilities, made it so that she could very easily read and was very easily influenced by her brother’s feelings, and with Jacob being able to consistently predict other people’s behavior, including his sister, it made him a surprisingly good caretaker, predicting her desires even before she could properly articulate them. Because he could predict whenever baby Carewyn was about to start crying, or when she wanted to get to the other side of the room, or if she needed help reaching something, he could bridge the gap and help her with whatever she needed before anyone else. And Carewyn in return fed off of Jacob’s enthusiasm and reciprocated his encouragement and unconditional love ten-fold, knowing in the back of her own mind and heart just how much her big brother needed it. This makes it so that they really were each the best confidante they’d ever had, which -- partnered with Jacob’s intense protectiveness of his little sister -- makes it very obvious why Jacob was so terrified of R hurting her and ultimately why Carewyn’s whole world and life fell apart when her brother vanished. There’s a reason why in two incredibly angsty AU scenarios I wrote where Jacob loses Carewyn or Carewyn loses Jacob, the remaining Cromwell sibling completely falls apart -- Jacob and Carewyn truly do understand each other in a way no one else could, and that bond is only strengthened after Carewyn rescues Jacob from the Portrait Vault and they both have to fight and live together more as equals after their age gap has shrunk from nine years down to two. 

Jacob’s shirt is based off this design -- those of you who can pick out the reference might understand the choice, given Jacob’s adoration for the King Arthur mythos and overall nerdiness. Meanwhile Carewyn’s dress is loosely based off of the one Anne Boleyn wears in Six the Musical, solely because I took a liking to it a long while back and so I’ve consistently draw little!Carewyn in it since the very beginning. (I headcanon it being one of only three second-hand dresses she owns and has to wear multiple times in a week.) 

Hope you all have a lovely day! As always, please consider liking/reblogging/commenting, as well as checking out 

#hphm #hogwarts mystery #jacob #jacob cromwell #carewyn cromwell #my art #evan bach #seriously though look at precious bean carey-bear #as if rakepick could've been expected to hurt this darling bb #I could actually see ben making black knight references too after he both toughens up and then chills TF out in year 6 #like when he's training with the circle of khanna he gets his face cut open and carey goes into fussy mama bear mode #and ben just goes 'just a flesh wound' #and carewyn's trying hard not to giggle bc damn it ben that's funny #also I had such feels listening to this song again while drawing/editing this :') #art

[feather-dancer]

Tales of Arcadia Fanfic Recommendations - Part 6

I do admittedly have things left to read in my tabs I’d normally prefer to clear out before posting one of these but when you sail past the 30 mark I think it’s about time to get it out my drafts, yeah? Most importantly means this will be out before Rise of the Titans comes and emotionally destroys us all.

Needless to say soon as this is posted I give it 24 hours before 7 starts, we’ve got some amazing writers in this fandom and there’s a couple I juuust want one more chapter before I feel I can recommend it. Hope you find something you enjoy :)

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

If at all interested in my own writing you can find it here!

General Trollhunters

Romeo, Question Mark - Jim is figuring himself out and has a question for Toby though nervous of how he might react. Honestly the support Aromantic’s need when they’re either questioning or coming out, Toby is a gem.

By The Book - After his dad left changing his world Jim had moments in his life where he needed to wrangle things in a way he could understand them with some moral support along the way that wasn’t there to do it for him, just give a light nudge the right direction. Comes with light Jilaire fluff.

That I Could Fear a Door - Jim was pulled from the Darklands whole but you cannot escape the trauma of your experiences quite so easily. It will take a little time, a lot of patience and perhaps the right ear to listen but with it can come hope.

Lest Back the Awful Door Should Spring - Sequel to the above, Jim’s capture to be sentenced by the tribunal echoes his experiences in the Darklands a little too closely sending all his careful progress hurtling back in one fell swoop. Is it any wonder he chose a false freedom that Unkar offered?

Façade - The confirmation that Mr. Strickler is not the man you thought he was probably was not going to be an easy one, Jim’s thoughts sit ill after that dinner.

Fashion - All changelings take root somewhere in a human life before their changeling one succeeds it and Nomura is no different. She felt love she could not understand and the ache of loss will follow for as she meanders through this world by the Whisper Man’s orders and her own volition of needing to belong somewhere. She will try her hand with the humans and the trolls, paint the road with blood as much as indulging herself with the arts and even risking her heart until everything leads her to Arcadia’s doorstep.

In Deep Trouble - What happened in the Deep during Season 2?

Aftermath - Just after the finale of Season 2 the Market trolls are forced to run leaving their homes behind and follow the Trollhunter they had dismissed so many times into the great unknown before them.

Don’t think - Jim weighs up his options and attempts to settle his thoughts before making the final decision whether or not to go through with using Merlin’s potion.

Nocturne for a Trollhunter - Jim learns a new hobby that gives him another way to relax that doesn’t involve cooking, one that follows him beyond Arcadia.

The Asteroid - A rare 3Below fic for my lists if centered on a certain hedge witch and Wizard. The end of the world is coming but not by Morgana’s hand and Merlin certainly never warned Douxie about it so if this truly is the end then it’s the best time to bring your loved ones close so you won’t be going out alone. Yes it’s Zouxie.

A bright future so it seemed (but that light grew a little less bright) - Claire’s parents (Or more specifically Ophelia) set her on the perfectionist’s path early, even a little slip can feel like the end of the world

Rest, Master Jim - You might be able to escape the Darklands but you cannot escape the consequences of being trapped there for so long as easily.

General Wizards

Not Found - So why did neither Douxie or Archie find the two remaining changelings in Arcadia or bring back the sole Akiridion when Merlin asked?

Place of Power - A lovely bit of shameless Zouxie fluff in that brief period the gang was at Hex Tech before the plot came to get them.

Bitter Water - Only two of the old team remain in Arcadia and those were Jim and Krel, the rest having left to pursue educational pursuits and in one particular case kept away for Nari’s safety. For the Akiridion he is still here with reminders of his heritage and what it took to have this life on earth chasing him all the way. It’s always good to have friends with a listening ear and hot chocolate.

Together, Dearest - The very act of resting is a potential invitation for nightmares and Nari is no different but when once more in the waking world you will find you’re not alone, there are hugs available.

The Night Belongs To Us - Lovingly described Skraelroc fluff during their long hunt for Merlin and the strangeness that can be observed on clearer nights.

Nineteen Plus Nine Hundred, Give Or Take - 900 years is a long time by anyone’s standards but perhaps during that Douxie can figure out how to truly live.

Twelfth Century Wizard, Twenty-First Century Witch - The follow up to the above, when you’ve lived a long and interesting life things can still pop up in odd ways... Even if you haven’t quite mastered the sacred art of texting yet.

ERAS TÚ (It was you). | Tales of Arcadia One-Shot - Would you want to live forever if it meant leaving everyone behind? Jilaire.

the only way for us to go - From his rescue from the streets of Camelot to the eventual guardian of this realm, Douxie has come a very, very long way. Through the frustrations of trying to learn magic, the belittling of others, the faith of Morgana and the power of music his experiences throughout 900 years truly make him what he is.

lay down your head - Even the mightiest can be plagued with the not so humble migraine. Skraelroc fluff.

Stricklake

Merry Christmas, Doctor Lake - Some Christmas gifts are worth going all out for and getting your friends and family to help out to make it extra special.

Grocery Run - After the incident where Merlin dismissed Strickler for being a changeling it is time for an excuse to get out the house for a bit and have a frank discussion about their relationship, the future beyond the incoming battle and lingering insecurities of two worlds colliding.

Alternate Universe

Fashionista, How Do You Look? - An AU that very much takes the term very literally here where everyone is human, Skrael, Bellroc and Nari are fashion designers plus many other ToA characters we know and love are either in the industry in some way themselves or on the fringes because of their jobs/who they know. Sometimes you work with catty bitches and want to kick back and watch the fireworks you know? Contains friends to almost to enemies to friends to maybe we’ll get our shit together this time but the odds aren’t great Skraelroc. There’s also a Zouxie oneshot in this collection that was a gift for meee because of the corner I dug in the AU.

Atlas, Fallen - When a star falls from the sky it is a punishment so when Atlas suddenly finds himself amongst the humans he had observed from above for countless ages in a flesh body like theirs he fears his Mother is punishing him and unable understand what he did wrong. While trying to find his way back home he gets a crash course in what it’s like to be human making friends along the way. Slow burn Jilaire.

she once was a true love of mine - I put this under the AU section even though it wavers between that and not, a mixture of classical Arthurian mythos and the glimpses of the Camelot in Tales of Arcadia where one kingdom collapses from war another strengthens by taking their princess as queen. While Arthur might have turned her head once it is the sibling that seems to be catching Gwen’s eye of late as much as her thoughts. Morgwen but in the department of pining.

Pulled From The Ocean - AU doesn’t quite fit this one but it feels a bit more fitting than general. A little oneshot snapshot of Jim living with deafness and the contrast of one world that falls easily into supporting that whereas the other tries their best but it makes the slip ups sting even more.

you are a stranger here, why have you come? - Fate is a funny old thing, something happens a little bit differently such as a father not leaving alone and everything can change so drastically. Nari’s fondness for children strikes again and this time it involves a 5-year old Jim Lake Jr. ending in the Order’s care and their foray into found family. Somehow Jim is even more of a disaster and as likely surmised from the fact I write this trope myself I am very weak for it.

go into your local forest and you will find a friend and a boy - Toby was unlucky in the friend department and by the time he is ten he still feels miserable and lonely having to endure Steve’s increasing bullying all the while. This is of course until he finds a blue half-troll hiding out the daylight hours munching cans in the local woods...

#trollhunters #3below #Wizards #ToAWizards #Tales of Arcadia

[mythosblogging]

In one Egyptian tale Anubis returned home to find his wife beaten and bloodied. His wife tells him that Anubis' own brother Bata had attempted to seduce her and beat her when she refused. Angered, Anubis set out after his brother. Bata fled.

Chased by his brother, Bata managed to convince Anubis of the truth - it had been Anubis' wife who had attempted to seduce Bata, and concocted this story when he refused. Anubis returned home and kills his wife - giving her body to the dogs.

More Myths 

#Mythos #Mythology #Myths and Legends #Egyptian Mythology #Anubis #Egyptian Gods #Bata #Mythos Snapshots

[incarnateirony]

Pre-Rewatch Notes

So since I’m going to be doing a mix of in-timeline and full retrospective text value of the canon, one of the things I’d like to actually get out of the way is the Key Concepts of the eras, most explicitly Kripke and Dabb as the start and end.

The Key concepts are the single most important framework in media studies. They have evolved as a means of understanding a text by using a critical framework, rather than just making unconnected and meaningless observations. Throughout the course, you will need to refer to the Key Concepts and use the terms you learn when analysing media texts. One way to remember the Key Concepts is to use the mnemonic "RAILING". Representations, Audiences, Institutions, (Media) Language, Ideology, Narrative, Genre.

(also sometimes called MIGRAIN if using Media Language to clarify rather than spoken language)

With this as my note in front of the cut, I’m going to drop the rest behind one while I try to sort out the RAILING of the show before I even try to start establishing long term collective rewatch arguments on the canon. I do also invite some discussion on these, as in, if you feel my markers are off, or if I’m missing anything that I could probably negotiate the text.

Pulling, for my sanity, from here [x]

SO FIRST TO DEFINE:

Media Language This is how media producers communicate their ideas to the audience. Below are some examples to think about when considering media language:

Images used

Words used

Use of colour

Signs and signifiers

Connotative meaning

Use of sound

Iconography

Camera angles and picture composition

Institutions The companies who produce the media. Fox, Disney, CNN, the BBC, Warner Brothers etc will have a set of Institutional Values; beliefs on aspects of life e.g. their political stance or moral beliefs etc. Also, whether they have to make large profits for a board of directors. These institutional values will guide what their media products include. You should consider who made a particular media product and what impact this has on that product.

Genre The style of the media form.

A film could be Horror or Action.

A book could be Fantasy or Thriller.

A computer game could be RPG or Sports Simulation.

A website could be News or Social Networking.

Representation How media producers show a thing, person or group of people.

May be positive or negative.

Why have they chosen to show them in this way?

Think about the 5 w’s: who, what, where, when and why?

Audience

The people who buy and consume media.

Who are they?

What do they want from the media product?

How does the media product fulfill these wants?

Use theories such as Uses and Gratification theory.

Ideology Ties in with Institution.

What values and beliefs underpin the product?

How does this fit with the values of society?

Narrative How is the text structured?

Use Todorov’s Theory of Narrative Structure.

Use Propp’s Character Theory.

Use Strauss’ Theory of Binary Opposition

I’m going to use VERY shorthand notes on these moving forward.

So here’s what I see off the cuff:

KRIPKE ERA

Media Language Faded film stock to denote horror; darkness; emphasis on SFX like footsteps. Grim cinematic. Eventual christian imagery overlapping urban myth icons. Faded color palettes. Fairly classic color use (pink or white for femininity or purity, etc). Nostalgic classic rock/music. Nostalgia, general. Muscle cars. "Classic american masculinity." Hopelessness seeking hope.

Institutions WB, CW, and the timeline of 2005-2009. Kripke, Singer. Manners. McGee. Sgriccia.

Genre Horror, survival, drama

Representation Americana, working class america, "american masculinity", fraternity; Sam and Dean vs the world with occasional help from other friends or family in the life. Metanarrative hostility to issues like queerness reflective of both time and institution at the time.

Audience Originally targeted at young/teen men (to “not be like other girl shows on the network”), became split demographic. Split conservative and liberal demographic. Discussion on how these are handled will come up over the study.

Ideology Fraternal bonds. Arguably, family. Hero's sacrifice for the greater good.

Narrative Campbell, Hero's Journey; Rule of Cool; Christendom; Man vs Divine

GAMBLE

Media Language Film stock, brightness, saturation at fairly standard media level -- sometimes unstable. Standard cinematics. Residual christian imagery overlapping lovecraft. Decline in classic music from Kripke. Unclear or unreliable interpersonal messaging. Arguably southern gothic. Hopelessness.

Institutions WB, CW, and the timeline of 2010-2011. Gamble, Singer. McGee. Sgriccia. Norman Bee. Edlund.

Genre Teen Drama, Adventure

Representation Established characters Sam and Dean. Fraternity. Sam and Dean vs the world.

Audience Originally targeted at young women, became split demographic. Split conservative and liberal demographic. Discussion on how these are handled will come up over the study.

Ideology Brothers quarreling; fight monsters; I don't know. Did she know? "Everything is tragic but have some dick jokes"

Narrative Lovecraft. Does anyone know. "I need to make more episodes"

CARVER

Media Language Brightened film stock with increased saturation establishes fantasy setting. Smash cut interruptions to former grim cinematics offset more hopeful visuals. Fairly media standard lighting and color use in related fantasy cinema. Found family. Hope against hopeless odds.

Institutions WB, CW, and the timeline of 2012-2014 (arguably 2015). Carver, Singer. Glass. Sgriccia.

Genre Fantasy, Adventure, drama

Representation Widened character base. Widened hero's journey arcs (castiel). Masculinity messaging of the past has not vanished, but has dampened and become less hostile to the LGBTQ and woman audience. Regular Cast widened (Crowley, Castiel)

Audience Split gender demographic. Split conservative and liberal demographic. Split age demographic from targeting vs duration. Increasingly digital demographic and marketing; begins increasing queer, poc and other audience. International boom (Netflix deal, digital 2012+). Discussion on how these are handled will come up over the study.

Ideology Found Family, Hope against odds. Free Will highlighted.  Destructive or harmful relationships. Humanity. The human journey.

Narrative Self-established TV episodical, largely internal lore, residual christianized mythos or christendom. Castiel acquires first proper hero’s journey personal arc/lens. Multiple relationships vs world, man vs world

DABB

Media Language Carries from carver; largely identical but more close-up shots and interaction shots for drama focus. Internal color pallate unique to its own while still interacting with Carver standard media pallate.

Institutions WB, CW, and the timeline of 2015-2020. Dabb, Singer. Sgriccia. Buckner, Leming. S15: Berens. CW has begun rebranding into a “queer friendly” platform with unreliable results.

Genre High-fantasy, drama, arguably soap.

Representation Carries heavily from Carver, plus. Expansion of queer creatives adds queer voice to the text. Queer text manifests over time into show's canon text. Lack of metanarrative hostility has become space for queer text. Attempted routine inclusion of women, queer characters. While not a queer piece, establishes queer narrative with roots as far back as Kripke. While still maintaining strong leads, Regular Cast and other leading cast has expanded (Crowley, Castiel, Jack, other major recognizeable faces: Rowena, Wayward). It flirts with ensemble presentation without ever landing on it wholly.

Audience Split gender demographic skewing towards women. Split conservative and liberal demographic skewing towards liberal. Multiple generations of demographic from longevity. Primarily digital demographic and marketing (top 99.9% digital but a bottom live ratings performer on live TV outside of the CW); primarily queer, poc and other audience. International boom. Discussion on how these are handled will come up over the study.

Ideology Found family. hope against odds/defining the odds. Free Will vs authoritative power. Psychological rebuilding*. The family journey. The family unit. Non-nuclear families. (finale not withstanding)

Narrative Self-established TV episodical, largely internal lore, subverting christendom and authority with alchemy or gnosticism. Optimism vs Nihilism. Contrasting ending (see: Nihilism) Campbell. Other characters, like Jack, begin claiming narrative presence like Carver era Castiel, whereas Castiel maintains or expands on his. Man vs Divine vs Man IS Divine

These will be used to address the text during the large scale rewatch.

Each era has its own parameters to best address its showrunners’ visions in. Each era will receive snapshots unto itself, or snapshots also only in regards to how it adapts to the previous text. On the other hand, as half the goal is also a full retrospective to address the complete body of the text since the show stands as a complete body of word and I shouldn’t change my tools over and over again throughout for the complete-text study the same way I will by showrunner era.

I’m going to make a PITCH on the most likely way to give this a strong reading through to prepare what targets to keep an eye on as they evolve. This may change along the way if at any point I realize the first-glance overview was wrong, but

OVERVIEW MIGRAIN

Media Language The growth from hopeless dark into vivid potential; the lost heroes still oblivious to the world, their vision distant and dark to begin. Contrast faded dark to vivid and bright as much over timeline as Carver did between shots. Consider addressing the increased interpersonal camera work that blooms in later seasons for commentary in regards to the increased interpersonal complexity and growth of the cast.

Institutions WB, CW, and the timeline of 2005-2009 as the holdover of some audience being maintained with inevitable pressures from the outside world of 2020 forcing change.

Genre Survival, drama, fantasy

Representation Americana, fraternity, family; Split Hero's Journey Narratives. Late-end queer story affirmation demands a look at the body of the text for its queer journey throughout, though the work itself should not be expected to perform as an LGBT genre work but rather a Survival-Drama-Fantasy work with queer characters. Loved ones versus external forces.

Audience Too shifting to consider in the target read anymore.

Ideology Expanding knowledge. Growing expansion of the world first to find, then surpass and subvert God--or at least their intention. The growth out of expectations of work or behavior into passions and dreams. Finding and pursuing hope. Fraternal bonds. Family, Found Family. Queerness. Hero's sacrifice for the greater good, but to find and define what that greater good is, one must know the self through the family. Free Will vs authoritative power. Psychological rebuilding*. The family journey. The family unit. Non-nuclear families.

Narrative Campbell, Hero's Journey; Occasional intertext (On the Road, Vonnegut, Lovecraft). Varied mythos, best collected and then addressed and subverted through gnostic thoughtform per the ending.

Comments, critiques, criticisms, ideas to add, things I may be missing? 

#polol #the great rewatch project #RAILING #MIGRAIN #meta

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Yamata-No-Orochi (Part 2) Princess Tutu

Princess Tutu is a must watch if you haven’t seen it. It’s a bit after the MCs time though so she wouldn’t have been able to see it.

The throbbing bass from the speakers sync with the flashing lights of the dance club at Takamagahara. The crowd is thriving today. You can see glimpses of the masses of people in the pulsing of light. They appear like brief colorful snapshots on the floor below your center platform table.

The Romanceable MC contest continued despite the tragic death of Chance. The official narrative was that Chance died bravely defending you from street hooligans, which is horribly ironic, because that was something that you specifically told him not to do. Now Club Takamagahara was holding another Princess Night with the theme of Knights in Shining Armor. Men walked around like living walls of muscle wearing silver helmets, silver studded leather straps and bronze colored leather subligacula.

It was the exact opposite of what Chance’s life was. He was no knight. He would have been the first to admit that. He was on the underbelly of the world as a gang member, the lowest of his kind as an unstable hybrid and even then he lowered himself further, running sex dungeons for money to maintain the balance between his humanity and his raging dragonblood. And he still smiled and he still dreamed of a Hokkaido winter wedding.

Your chest constricts involuntarily.

“Are you going to be alright? You don’t have to be here.” A voice murmurs in your ear. Diamond is the only contender next to you. As a cowboy style performer, he has no need to dress up like a knight. Cowboys, like handsome knights, are just another font of masculine charm and marital fidelity. They work hard out on the lonely trails, wrangling sheep and cattle but they are true and come home to you, their sweet prairie wife. As sheriffs, they run out the outlaws in the town. “

You look up at him, his eyes are a welcome distraction. “You don’t have to be here either.”

He huffs. “Well, you can’t hurt too bad, if you come up with a sweet comeback like that.”

“Why are you here? Armani and Calypso have backed out.” Rumor had gone around that Chance's killing was related to an out of control fan who had fallen in love with you and had used his yakuza ties to put out a hit job and kidnap you. The other suitors didn’t mind losing a little dignity if it meant living another day.

“I used to work at Bliss Hall, also known as the Paradisio. I knew shady stuff went down. And when the gang war came there, I looked down the barrel of five guns while they interrogated me and patted me down. They determined I wasn't involved and let me go. So… if I was going to die of gang violence I probably would have already.”

“So why are you here?” You reach for the glass of champagne in front of you. Even though you were underage, you were already accustomed to the taste of drink and the smell of tobacco. Your high level of dragonblood didn’t let you get drunk easily as the men found out on your first day as the Main Character on this show. Chu Zihang checked the records on that night, and you had drunk two full bottles of vodka before you even felt the slightest bit tipsy.

He reached for his own glass. “I'm still a competitor. And I'm curious how Chance won three star-hearts in a single night. Is giving up your life the way to your heart? It’s a high price to pay and a lonely existence for you.”

Your mind flashes back to Renata and Chance. “I can see why you're second in the ranking. You dress much flashier than Kazama. But you’re no less of a sharpshooter.”

He presses his hand to his chest and bows.

“I don't need riches or beauty. So if you offer me those things, I'm not attracted. When I first came to Japan,  I didn't care about anything.  I felt my life was over. I was just trying to wait until the end and I wanted my life to end. But every time I reached for the end, there was a man who kept telling me no. I should not try to end my life and, even if it looked like my life was over, I shouldn't just take that conclusion at face value. His final lesson was I shouldn't just accept the inevitable death of others. It took a few times to accept those three lessons, but it was what I needed.”

“What happened to that guy? He sounds like a real keeper.”

You huff. “He was very happily engaged when we met.”

Chances eyebrows lifted. “I bet.”

“But I never forgot what he taught me. Chance helped me to speak those words from my own heart and my own experience. It's one thing to learn a lesson. When you teach that lesson to others, then you know it's part of your life. To see him listen to me and put what I learned into action because he loved me? How could my heart not overflow? Chance didn’t just accept his fate. He didn't just give up his life for me. He fought for us to be together. He… he wanted to live. I needed that in a person.” You run your hands over the empty glass in your hands imagining his smooth childlike face, so peaceful in the rain. “How many people are there out there who can look fate in the eye and say… ‘How about no?’”

Diamond reaches over with a champagne bottle and refills. “Oh You need someone who can rewrite the script! Like in Princess Tutu.”

You blink. “I’m sorry, did you just say ‘Princess Tutu’?”

“Oh come on, don't tell me you've never heard of Princess Tutu. It's just the best anime ever!”

You’re speechless. It was like this suave handsome Ikemen had suddenly turned into Lu Mingfei. “No, please fill me in.”

“Okay, hear me out. Once there was a writer named Drosselmeyer, who had the power to make his stories come to life. He especially loved to write stories with tragic endings! But he died before he could finish his final tale, called The Prince and the Raven, leaving the two title characters locked in an eternal battle.”

“After many years, the Raven managed to break free into the real world, and the Prince pursued him. To seal away the Raven's evil, the Prince shattered his own heart with his sword, causing him to lose all his memories and emotions. Without his emotions, he is reborn as Mytho.”

“Drosselmeyer, now a ghost, decides the story must have an ending. He finds it in the form of a little duck, who has fallen in love with Mytho. He gives her a magic pendant that can transform her, first into an ordinary human girl, then into the graceful ballerina Princess Tutu, another character in the story. As Tutu, it's Duck's job to find all the scattered shards of Mytho's heart and return them to him.”

“What's more, Duck learns that part of Princess Tutu's story is that she can never confess her love to Mytho, or else she'll turn into a speck of light and vanish. However, it becomes clear that Mytho wants his heart restored, so despite interference, she persists. She finds a friend in Fakir, a man who is the son of Drosselmeyer who also has the ability to bring his stories to life.”

“After most of Mytho's heart is returned to him, the seal trapping the Raven begins to break. Finally able to feel love again, Mytho realizes he loves Rue, another character – not Duck. Duck also discovers her pendant is the final shard, meaning she must give up her life as a human to return it. She eventually finds the courage to do so, and becomes a humble duck again.”

“Mytho and the Raven battle once more. When the fight turns bleak, Mytho considers shattering his heart to seal the monster away again. Duck begins dancing to show him he must not give up. As she does, this guy named Fakir writes a story about how she never stops, no matter how many times the Raven's minions attack her. They make that story a reality! This gives Mytho hope, which gives Mytho the strength he needs to rescue Rue and defeat the Raven. Mytho asks Rue to be his princess and they return to his kingdom inside the story. Duck and Fakir continue their relationship, even though she's stuck in her duck form. With nothing left to do, Drosselmeyer departs in search of another story.”

“The point is, you're Duck and you need someone like Fakir who can defeat Drosselmeyer by rewriting the script!”

When thinking about a ghost behind the scenes writing a script, it was clear who the Drosselmeyer in your life was. Z had rescued you and taught you to fight so your life could continue even though you didn’t really understand why. You were just like a duck receiving the pendant. But Z also had plans for you. He'd also forbidden you from confessing her love to Ruri Kazama before you even had feelings for him, only for you to meet him and suddenly he’s a potential contender for your heart with a clear connection with your past?

Z had a script.  And falling in love with Ruri Kazama didn't fit. Why was your love interest so important? Who are you supposed to fall in love with? Caesar asked that in a roundabout way. Why did the person you fell in love with matter to him, if he wasn't your boyfriend?

Chance said that Izanami loved Izanagi on a whim, as a hobby, while she used him to help her live forever.  She loved him and turned him into a monster. She needed him, and consumed him.

Z appeared and kissed you after you entered the MC contest. “I want to get to you before those idiots.” He’d said.

He entered the competition only after you nearly gave a star heart to Ruri Kazama. “I know how the story ends.” He’d said. 

Pursuing Ruri Kazama or anyone else would defeat his script! Whatever script Z wrote required that you love no one but him. 

Your hands tighten on the wine glass and Diamond massages your back. It's not that you had no feelings for Z at all, but Z was acting like Izanami, hiding his true intentions while making overtures of affection.  There's only one way to be sure you weren't going to end up a duck or a monster at the end. Force a confession out of Z!

You look up at Diamond. “Thank you.” Your eyes are sparking with something like anger. You felt fierce and wild inside realizing that you’d been led along by this stranger, assuming that ‘keeping you alive’ was good enough of a good ending to your story. But Izanagi was ‘kept’ alive… as a sacrifice to the White King. Until you understood Z’s intention, there was no telling where he was leading you.

You stand up and lightly tap your glass. The host of the Takamagahara lowered the music and all faces turned to your center platform. “I would like to thank you for coming out tonight. I’ll let you get back to your dancing in a moment, but first I would like to award 3 star hearts to Diamond, for opening my eyes to the truth tonight.”

You spoke looking down on your audience like royalty. Standing in your sparkling silver cheongsam, you looked like royalty. Diamond’s eyes opened wide and he hastily swallowed his Champagne before he could choke on it. He had been kicking himself for speaking so foolishly to this woman. She’d fallen into a deep silence and he figured he’d just killed all his chances of a win. But she liked it!

“And I would like to announce the winner of the MC Romance contest. He knows who he is. He has a deep connection to my past, and I would like to explore that connection further. If you’re listening.”

You raise your eyes to the cameras that broadcast your face to hundreds of screens around Takamagahara. Spectators pushed each other to get a good view and the loud hall descended into a deep silence.

You didn’t remember the tune, but you would always remember the words and you speak them, closing your eyes and placing your hands on your heart. “All happiness may be a fleeting blossom in the shadow of the moon, but I am in that shadow waiting for you in a field of those flowers. Won’t you join me? Together we will dance in the depths of Yomi!”

The hairs rise on the necks of every patron of the Takamagahara. Eyebrows knitted in confusion, hushed puzzled whispers were uttered involuntarily. Your words sounded nothing like a love confession, more like a forbidden incantation written in secret by a practitioner of black magic!

The flashing lights suddenly go dark, every large display screen clicks off in a successive wave. You turn around in horror as those screens replace your face with the words “GAME OVER” in bright burning red text!

The words were on every screen in the room. Your eyes scan the room and immediately spot Caesar moving towards you on the left. You quickly descend from the platform and hurry to him. He covers you, sweeping over you with one arm. “Get downstairs. Now!” 

His eyes meet with someone else's, likely Chu Zihang’s. “Don’t take the elevators, he can probably control those. We’ll take the stairwell.” He said.

You enter the beige corridor of the stairwell. It’s also pitch black. Not even the emergency lights are on. The basement is only one flight down and you can see to the bottom. A lone shadowy figure staring up at you with furious red gold eyes. You leap back and try to pull Caesar out, back to the crowd. “No! Caesar! Run!”

Caesar’s eyes blaze gold and he levels the Desert Eagles in the direction where you’re fearfully looking, but then he lowers them. He didn't hear anything, or see anything.

“Don’t! Don’t hurt him!” You beg.

“Z’s here?”

You gasp. “Yes. He’s mad.”

“Then we can talk?”

Your eyes swivel to and fro from Caesar’s eyes to Z’s eyes which apparently only you can see. Caesar still held his Desert Eagles but there was no fear there. “Yes.”

“Alright… Z. You’re running Takamagahara. The MC love contest was your idea right? What are your plans for MC?” Caesar asks. “I get the feeling you don’t have her best interests at heart.”

Z chuckles from the bottom of the well. “This conversation will have to wait. I’m a bit busy with another client.”

You’re shaking so much you hold on to Caesar’s arm to just keep yourself upright. “He’s gone.”

“What did he say?”

“He said he’s busy with another client.”

The door opens, scaring you both. Chu blinks at both of you in the dark stairwell but then he looks at Caesar and holds his questions. “We’ve got a problem. The Uesugi girl and Lu Mingfei have run into trouble. The whole area around the Robuchon restaurant is blocked off and it’s complete chaos. We’ve got to find Lu Mingfei and make sure he’s alright.”

Caesar gathers his arm around you and together you leave the stairwell. “MC, come with us. I don't want you and that Uesugi girl to meet, but until I figure out what Z is… I don’t think you should be alone.”

#Dragon Raja

[slendermanlore]

Happy 10 year anniversary to Just Another Fool! (July 29, 2009)

Ten years ago today, Just Another Fool became the first ever “Slenderblog”. It’s a cycle of madness and death that starts with shell-shocked soldier Matthew Selby and passes via Matt’s notebook to his friend, decoy protagonist Logan Renault, ending with new protagonist Joshua Allon’s demise investigating the maddened Logan’s disappearance. Most enjoy this blog, but tend not to mention it among the Slenderverse “greats”. Perhaps due to the brevity, “Ted the Caver” ending, and other writing foibles... but I say it’s because we’ve forgotten the ARG element whose dread solipsism creeps along the fourth wall.

You can’t tell from the posts alone, but players received not only Matt’s notebook with Logan’s additions but also Logan’s notebook (pictured and mentioned only briefly in text) and torn pages dubbing each one of “nine truly conscious beings”. It took discovering a phone number and solving riddles to get there. The author explained that the nine beings -AKA nine worlds, in the blog’s Norse mythology allusions- are the Slender Man, Logan, Joshua, four players, a child born to replace Matt, and you (yes, you). The Slender Man (and nothing else) will kill the other eight. Since “one of the great mysteries of life is that you actually have no way to prove that everyone else is as conscious as you”, and another is that you never know when you’ll die, Just Another Fool’s unique lore on the Slender Man’s cycle creates a thought experiment just as “brilliant and wondrous, yet ultimately short” as the beings’ lives... and the main storyline.

This blog perfectly snapshots the transition between Original Mythos and full-fledged ARGs. Its infectious images of bodies burning in a tree, the Slender Man with unusual features (hat, wings), allusions to Norse mythology (and House of Leaves), and numerology (including 11/11, presciently) raise the Original Mythos’ atmosphere and simplicity to its full ARG potential. It even integrates the good-faith creativity of specific players in ways that today’s high-scale ARGs cannot. (Contrast player Dav Flamerock’s subdued mentions of studying at Miskatonic University with the gamejacker he reminds that “Innsmouth was effectively destroyed in police action over sixty years ago”.) This blog emblematizes a time where we weren’t afraid to experiment with the Slender Man Mythos -a necessary measure if we’re to be afraid of it today.

Just Another Fool deserves to be remembered. After all... you might just be next.

#slenderverse decennial #Just Another Fool #slenderverse

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

Snapshot Reviews: June

Hey friends, it’s back to my snapshot reviews again for some of the books I read in June. Life has been very busy lately, with a vacation last week, two job interviews this week, and my wedding coming up soon! So I’m super behind on my reviews, alas. Here we go:

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

I really enjoyed Norse Mythology (despite the fact that it took me like six months to read this haha, I’m so bad at listening to audiobooks). Gaiman does a great job of adapting what we have of the Norse mythos into a narrative and keeping the gods fairly consistent in terms of characterization, which is difficult to do given that we have so little information about some of them. Also, he does such a great job reading all of his audiobooks. Most of what we hadn’t listened to and finally finished was the end of Loki, which was much more intense than I was expecting, and then Ragnarok, which was more hopeful that I was expecting. I'm not sure how much of the end Gaiman added, but I enjoyed it.

My Rating: 5/5

Much Ado About You by Eloisa James

I enjoyed this, but since I was expecting much more Much Ado About Nothing mixed in to the book, I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped. It was very cute though.

My Rating: 4/5

~~~

A Labyrinth of Scions and Sorcery

Although I enjoyed this one, I didn't like it as much as An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors. It launched you into things pretty fast at the beginning, and since I didn't remember the previous one very much it was hard to get into it. Once I was finally hooked, it was interesting, but it didn't feel as well put together as the previous one. It was a little disappointing.

My Rating: 3.5/5

~~~

The Rook

The Rook was recommended to me by a friend a couple of times, and it turned out well! I thought that it had a really fascinating premise, and I honestly really enjoyed the letters from previous Myfanwy. Most of the time I think that constant letters from a past self would get really annoying, but I thought that these were integrated well with the story and had a pretty distinct voice compared to the current Myfanwy, which I enjoyed. Overall, it was fun.

My Rating: 4/5

~~~

Blackout by Connie Willis

Blackout is a complicated time travel novel, with all the POV characters being time-traveling history students studying WWII England. It jumps back and forth in time, but it’s fun to put together the puzzle of when these things are happening for each of the characters, along with when they’re happening based on a reference point in the future. The end of the book does not resolve it though, so be prepared to read the second half of the story!

My Rating: 4.5/5

#book review #norse mythology #blackout #the rook #much ado about you #a labyrinth of scions and sorcery #snapshot reviews

[itsicantbelievethis666]

A Cunning Woman and a Demon - Chapter 4

1519 words  This was a difficult chapter to write as a) I was...distracted by recent events and b) the words were not coming as freely as I would have liked. Exposition can be useful in some contexts but, with a reasonably well-established mythos, it wasn’t really necessary. Warnings: depictions of nudity with some elements of dub-con and BDSM, but within the context of someone finishing a task that was begun. 

Once again, thanks to the following as well as anyone I may have missed (please raise your hands and let me know.) @new-zealand-chic​ @deepdisireslonging @trent7thirsting​ @xprincessofthefallenangels @demonkingsangel @writtingrose @sjwrites22 @writinglionqueen @superrezzy00 @kallirevenne @neversatisfiedgirlfics @neversatisfiedgirl @sjwrites22 @theworldofotps @tacoshuimagines @writing-reigns @baratomaya @devittsslut @the-carter-mob-don @evilangel84 @demonqueen29 @blissedoutbalor @thebalorwithin

Chapter 4 – The Shadow

The air rushes subtly over me as I float in darkness and silence. I’m partially bent, as though I was back in Bray’s prison. That pain is absent, however, and I feel no force in the bending. I’m swaying to and fro with the breeze until, suddenly, all stops. I fall, but slowly, onto something soft; I straighten as I land. There’s a pressure on my forehead for a moment, then another, briefer and smaller, before I am still once again.

Before my eyes, a jumble of snapshots and cut-scenes appears – photos of me as a child, with the family I knew before I came to this place; fractured memories of being punished for real or perceived sins, tinged with shame and a sense of unfairness. A long sequence followed of quieter torments, of existential terrors sharpened by near-constant rejection. I remember trying to decide if I could sit out the threat or whether I’d be better off racing the rest of the world into the grave. The memory shifts to how I would cope; by giving myself over to being as “good” as I could be - excelling at school, throwing myself headlong into sports and clubs and hobbies and just trying to keep my head down – and to solitude.

The jumble returns, and sounds join in: muffled, hushed. I try to add a couple pennies’ worth to the mix but I can’t form actual words. Why is it getting so cold all of a sudden? There’s a flurry of movement around me, then pressure under me as I begin again to float, again with the bending. I’m aching all over and I don’t know why. I try to protest, but the words won’t come. The jumble suddenly stops.

Before my eyes is the clearing - but empty, utterly devoid of the life I made here. It’s nighttime. The stars are pinpricks in the black sky. A soft glow comes from the brook and brightens further upstream to the base of the smaller waterfall that feeds the one pouring off the plateau. In an earlier time, I would wash here in warmer weather, the coolness bracing me as the dawn broke and the ritual had not yet become a chore, then a terror, as Wyatt seeped slowly into this world. The water now feels like ice, but it’s been so long since I’ve felt so free.

The robe and dress come away far too easily and I step into the flow with neither shame nor fear – only sadness as the remnants of Wyatt’s curse of imprisonment make themselves known. As the water drenches me, I run my hands over the scar tissue. Under my hands, it feels like thick, wrinkled leather. The sensation is one way – neither my breasts nor my loins can receive the signals my touch or the water is sending them.

The soap and cloth can do nothing to loosen the casing; the scrub brush is as wont to take my own flesh away with the scarring – if there’s anything left under it. I start to cry as I chant the incantation over and over again, desperate to be free of it and to free myself. I would rather go without being healed than to throw myself at anyone’s feet – even Finn’s - and to beg for it. Nonetheless, to be healed would be ideal.

At once, however, something else is touching me under the waterfall; several, maybe even a dozen small, unseen “hands” have taken up the task of washing me clean; two larger ones have wrapped around my wrists while the others begin gently massaging me from head to toe with soap lather. The two “hands” washing my hair are careful to avoid tangling the locks or tugging my scalp. The sensation is deeply pleasant in a way I have trouble recalling. Perhaps it was before I came to this place that I last felt this cared for. The tears come again, bittersweet with memory and longing.

The “hands” then lift me off my feet and carry me from the waterfall. My eyes grow heavy and the chill returns. Distant voices waft to my ears, some more pleading, others more demanding. One breaks through closer than the others – deeper and rougher, a growl of menace behind it, but strangely familiar. Some jostling follows, but I’m too tired and weak to protest it. I feel a sudden, sharp pain in one of my fingertips, then a pressure on it, as if blood was being drawn from it.

At long last, I am standing in the middle of a nearby clearing, grass under my feet. Someone has dressed me in a long, white, loose-fitting gown, bare-shouldered, covered in soft bobbin lace. Three pairs of ribbons keep the gown closed in the front.

In front of me is a large slab of stone, surrounded by moss and lichens as though it had sat there for millennia. Seated on it is…a shadow, in human form. The light seems to sink into it: the stone, the trees and even the night sky glow in contrast around it. I can feel my heart pounding and the chill setting deeper in – in the silence a voice peals with desperation in my head – “We’re losing her! I have no choice!” My breath catches, growing shorter.

“Greetings, good lady Abigail,” says the shadow. The voice is low, multitonal, and accented. “Sublime.”

“Who are you?” I ask, but the words come out shakily, with a rasp. Something is wrong with me, but I dare not ask this thing for help.

“You know who I am. Do you know him, in whom I dwell?” it answers, then stands up. He – there can be no doubt that the form is masculine – steps slowly towards me. As he approaches, I can make out angles and curves sharpening into focus, until I recognize his form as Finn’s. At once, ribbons of white and red appear and effect a willowy dance over the form. The ribbons and their shadows extend past his hands to the forest floor, and drape over his shoulders from the crown upon his head. His eyes spark to life in the same memorable blue.

“He and I were thrown together when each of us was captured,” I said. “He freed me from enough of my bonds so that we could escape together. That’s all I know….” My head is beginning to spin and what light I can see is fading.

“He’s not freed you enough. Dere’s more, but dat poor lad is strugglin’ wit’ getting’ ya stable and ye’re slippin’ away from him. You’ll need to drink dis.” He turns briefly to the slab, then picks up and proffers me a simple goblet. The liquid inside is red – wine, I conclude.

I bring up one hand to take the cup, but my knees give out and the darkness looms even larger. The shadow catches me as I buckle, lowering me slowly to the grass with one arm holding my head up. He holds the goblet in the other hand and brings it to my lips. Multiple voices whisper from the shadow’s mouth, pleading,n“Please, my love, drink dis….swallow, swallow….”

The liquid flows slowly into my mouth; the wine is sweet, but has a note of iron throughout. I can no longer see and the voices are fading; I gulp, if only to keep the wine from drowning me. The flow continues and I gulp again, and again, until the goblet is drained and the last drops have crossed my tongue. I once again float, this time in the shadow’s arms, until I lie supine on the slab.

The darkness slows its encroach to a crawl, then stops and begins to recede. My breathing slows and grows steady. The shadow stands over me, expectantly; the ribbons of his crown dangling over his shoulders.

“Thank you,” I say, barely above a whisper. “Whatever that was, I’m feeling better.”  

“Ye were dyin’,” he replies, a tremor of concern in his voice. “Poor Finn was gettin’ frantic lookin’ for how to break yer fever. I may have…added a recipe to your little grimoire to help ‘im along.”

“What do you mean?” I look up at him, brow furrowed.

“More will be revealed,” he says. “But not tonight. Tonight, you are to be healed.” With that, the shadow’s ribbons wrap around my wrists and ankles and press them against the cold stone as his hands carefully unknot the ties on my gown, then gently pull it open to expose my ruined and barren flesh.

Instinctively, I close my eyes and turn my head away from the shadow. Through the air a pair of voices chant the now-familiar incantation, as a pair of warm hands wander slowly over my breasts, my abdomen, my hips, my buttocks and, finally, my vulva and the casings fall away. Tears of gratitude streak my temples as a hint of the old sensations returns. I open my eyes to Finn tearfully whispering, “I’m sorry,” as he pulls the bed covers back over me and settles into a chair next to the bed.  

#finn bálor #sister abigail #demon king #bray wyatt