#Does it count as voodoo of sort

[ruuofphobric]

I'm sad today, so I draw Phobos happy

[jaystrun]

Meet the Firelights! (Cyberpunk AU) | pt. 1: Jorren and Eve

The core members of the Firelights of the Cyberpunk AU are mostly the same as my Firelights from What Was Left Behind.

For this post I'll focus on just two: Jorren and Eve! For those unaware, I have a deep-seated love for Eve and I've done so much over time to give her a characterization.

SO I took that and ran with it and she's now one of his best friends.

Jorren

Jorren is my own personal OC, pulled from my epic fantasy novel I've been working on for a few years. He's always so very fun for me to talk about: I love love LOVE him.

In Cyberpunk AU, Jorren grew up around the same place Ekko and Powder did. His parents were part of the Hounds (Vander's gang) and he was friendly with Ekko and the others.

when Ekko is with the Voodoo Boys, he meets Scar and they strike up a friendship. They both look to escape the VDBs and when they realize the gang trafficks people, they make their escape with a young man around Ekko's age they busted out of a trafficking ring: Jorren.

Ekko and Scar busted everyone out, gave them a place to stay while they did their best to help everyone. Some of them eventually became Firelights, or at the very least became friendly with the new "gang" (more like a Nomad clan stuck in Zaun). Jorren is among the first to make his intentions to stay with Ekko and Scar official, and becomes one of the first Firelights.

Jorren lost his eye to an infection he picked up in a shipping container as more people got shoved inside. His arm was lost saving Eve's life. The colorful plating comes from Eve's input: "You can't go around with such a boring bit of chrome, Jorey."

Among the Firelights, Jorren is something of a mediator. To really boil him down to a simple idea, he's a good listener. He likes to listen to people talk, likes to understand people. And beyond that, he's one of the bike mechanics, working alongside Ekko. He isn't a Ripperdoc like Ekko, though he does find cybernetics fascinating and likes learning how they work.

He's also a very willing canvas for Eve to practice her tattoo concepts and skills on; usually through henna in her concepting stage or with markers. Similarly, he likes engraving, and each Firelight gets intricate patterns on their "chrome" (cybernetics), usually hexametric patterns like honeycomb among other things.

His understanding dies a little bit when it comes to Pilties. Jorren HATES Pilties and everything they've forced Zaun to become.

"We killin' 'em for freedom 'cause they tortured us for boredom And even if some good ones die fuck it the Lord'll sort em." -Lyrics from "Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck)" by Run the Jewels

Lyrics that I think fits Jorren very well. Though I feel it's important to state, his love of Zaun is stronger than his hatred of Piltover.

His weapon of choice is a modified pneumatic sledgehammer.

He pairs his hammer with a shield that folds out from his arm, made of the same reactive armor as a MILITECH Basilisk

He'll never admit to it because he doesn't want her to worry about it, but Jorren came up with the design after the explosion incident with Jinx. If anything like that EVER happens again, he can shield people from the blast much more effectively. It folds out in an instant, linked up to his nervous system like his eye and the rest of the arm.

Helps for Shay's explosives testing as well.

Eve

For some reason my heart usually goes to side characters who only exist to die for story reasons. And I wanted to make her death meaningful beyond that, and given how Ekko reacted they HAD to be friends, or friendly, or something. He clearly cared about her.

That's in WWLB, though, my "Timebomb deleted scenes" fic on AO3.

In Cyberpunk AU, she survives thanks to Jorren leaping into action. The gunshot meant for Eve in Cyberpunk AU is instead a whole-ass explosion. Jorren rushes to block the blast but Eve counters to shield HIM instead---she's ready to die for the Firelights' cause, but she's not ready to lose him, one of her best friends.

Eve's back takes a ton of the blast, her legs especially and it's burning metal from the roof that really almost spells her doom. But Jorren lifts it off for her to crawl out, and that's how he loses the arm.

Zeke and Shay arrive to get them out while Scar gets Ekko who is rooted in shock.

It's during the recovery process that Jorren and Eve get closer, he gets acclimated to his arm and helps her with the intensive physical therapy. Her stretches are fucking painful but they're nowhere near as bad when it's his hands holding her in the poses.

He's also first to suggest she "Eve-ify" her new chrome, and to vent her emotions through art.

In the Firelights dynamic, Eve is the main tattoo artist and one of the TRUE artists in the group. Everyone's ink comes from either her or Shay, and the Firelights logo is also Eve's design.

Eve's honestly a bit like Jinx, to me: chaotic, spur-of-the-moment artists that do their best with sudden bursts of creative mood and energy.

She grew up in the same apartment building as Shay in Zaun, just outside of the Lanes (Dogtown).

[scratchandplaster]

Ben, do you know what hypnotism is? 😈

[Masterlist] | Ask game

Let's say it takes place after this, and Sam is still weirded out.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

"That's when you believe you're sick all the time, right?" 

Sam managed to catch him alone again, a more than tricky endeavor when one's world is limited to a few acres of grass. Only the stupid act of slicing their entire calf open on a rusty nail got them out of work early today.

"No, not even close. And don't argue about semantics: I don't care what he calls it, I care about what exactly he did!"

"I don't know what you're trying to get at." Ben led them towards the water to find shelter from the sun. Under the broad willow's treetop, he stopped, Sam still limping behind him.

"The thing! The thing Shepard did at dinner."

Ben glanced back: "The thing? You really have a way with words."

It was hard to keep balance, especially with the thickly wrapped leg staying suspended in the air, as Sam slid down to sit their back pressed against the tree trunk. The sad attempt at a lunge was interrupted by Ben's well-meaning hand, but quickly slapped away.

"One second you are up and talking to me, and in the next it was like a switch was flipped off. And don't you tell me that wasn't fucking weird."

The last thing they needed was an army of mindless farmers at Shepard's beck and call. Sam considered themself immune, naturally, having studied all the tactics used for recruitment. Still, the unsettling air didn't fade.

"Oh, come on. I was just doing breathwork," Ben deflected. He was rarely getting tired of explaining, though Sam really gave their best to change this fact.

"Don't 'oh, come on' me, you have to be a bit more specific today."

"Huh? I told you about the morning yoga. It's just like that, but for your mind."

"Cool. Great." Sam was jittery, now that running far away from this circus wasn't even an option anymore,  "So he walks around and does that to all of you?"

As horrifying as it seemed, they just struck gold. Literal brainwashing -imagining the view count, the sponsors mauling each other to shreds for the ad space, made them bite down on their lip in a confusing mix of wild excitement and fear.

Ben, as usual, tried to calm their tirade down. Sam's tendency to exaggerate the little details about his life started to become a near daily nuisance.

"Everything you say sounds so dramatic, of course he doesn't. There is nothing he can do without you engaging in it. Or do you see Birdie threatening us to do the Crescent Moon at gunpoint?"

"Whatever," they spit, "even if you're doing it voluntarily…why?"

"It helps me calm down." Ben shrugged and tapped a finger against his temple: "When I have trouble focusing, for example, it sorts out all the thoughts tumbling around up here."

Adderall manages that too. Though Shepard can't grow that shit on a field, can he?

They watched him subconsciously rubbing the thick sleeves of his sweater over his forearms. Despite the sunny conditions, he refused to wear a tee. 

"I know that it looks funny from the outside, but it's like…when someone reads you a bedtime story. Also helps against pain."

Pain was a thing Sam already had enough of, even without Shepard's help. Their calf itched under the gauze.

"So lets say that you're hurt: he tells you that you're not and that's it?"

Ben nodded affirmatively: "Pretty much."

"Be for real-"

"Oh, dear," he kneeled next to Sam, allowing their leg to rest comfortably on his own, "Look, don't tell him I told an outsider private info, but William and Shawn's aunt sometimes ask when the cravings start again, it distracts from the itch. Dad provides an important offer for many here. You don't need to understand, only to accept it."

Cravings? Local man cures binge-eating?! Nothing to snack on around here except dried dates and royal jelly, I would go crazy too.

"I mean, you're on edge all the time. Wouldn't hurt you to give it a try!"

If Shepard Cohen ever dared to test his voodoo shtick on them, Sam swore that his own murder would be the topic of their next episode.

・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・

[practically-an-x-man]

👻💢🍧🍁🌏📣 💗 for Nikoletta and Katherine? (Sorry it's a lot lol)

Ooooh thank you!! And don't apologize for it being a lot, I love a chance for a good OC ramble :D

OC Emoji Asks

👻 GHOST - do they believe in ghosts? what are their "ghostly experiences", if any?

Nikoletta: No. She's so deep in "haunted history" from her voodoo scam in New Orleans, she's fully convinced it's all a load of shit. Once or twice, she's had an experience that's rattled her a little more, but she'd never admit that.

Katherine: Yes. At this point, she's had so much exposure to magic and gods and other supernatural events, it would be almost stupid to try and claim ghosts couldn't exist when so much else clearly does.

💢 ANGER - what are some habits they have that will take some getting used to?

Nikoletta: She subconsciously tries to control the conversations she's a part of. It's mainly a survival reflex, but she'll duck around questions she doesn't want to answer and try to flip the focus back to the other person instead. It makes extended conversations a little difficult with her, at least at first.

Katherine: She takes on way more projects than she can actually balance, then gets frazzled and scatter-brained about finishing them. If she's bouncing off the walls with some unexplained anxiety, it probably means she's stressing herself over finishing something and can't handle anything else right now - even just suggesting going out for a walk is another thing to think about, so it's best just to let her take the lead for a while.

🍧 SHAVED ICE - do they still have any objects from their childhood? what significance does it have to them? what would their reaction be if they lost it?

Nikoletta: No. She had hardly anything growing up, which already makes it more difficult to hold onto things for sentiment, and on top of that her personal belongings were lost/stolen while she was captive in STAR Labs and she had to start completely fresh once she escaped.

Katherine: Oh, of course! She's got her old comic book collection, a lot of childhood drawings, some stuffed animals... she probably wouldn't be too upset about losing one of those things, shit happens and objects do wear out over time, but it would crush her to lose it all.

🍁 MAPLE LEAF - what is their favourite season? why?

Nikoletta: Early fall. College football and milder weather brings in a lot of tourists, so it's usually her most lucrative few weeks out on the street (it's about the only time of year where she can count on 3 meals a day and a decent roof over her head). And in Belle Reve, the seasons don't matter much since she's effectively always inside

Katherine: Summer. It reminds her of home, and she can't stand how cold New York gets in the winter anyway (especially compared to Memphis)

🌏 EARTH - will they give up the world for someone they love? is this decision easy for them?

Nikoletta: I think she wouldn't realize how attached she is to the person she loves to even make this decision. She's so used to being alone that she's more than a little rusty with having someone to care about like that, so she's more likely just to freeze up entirely.

Katherine: She would, and not even in a romantic-love context. She'd do anything for her friends or family... and actually gets awfully close to this sort of decision in the climax of Who Waits Forever Anyway?. She doesn't give up the world, but she does come awfully close to giving up her life for the people she loves.

📣 MEGAPHONE - how loud are they? what do they speak like? got a voice claim?

Nikoletta: Not very loud. She speaks clearly, but she only speaks when she needs to (in her mind, superfluous chatter makes her seem less powerful or respectable, it breaks the illusion of her being "above" the others). She has a clear New Orleans accent (not Cajun, but Deep South) since she spent her whole life there, and her voice claim is tied to her face claim: Teyonah Parris.

Katherine: A little louder than average, mainly because she gets very exuberant when she's excited. She also has a Southern accent, though hers is a slightly milder Tennessean drawl as opposed to Nikoletta's Deep South. I don't have a particular voice claim for her right now.

💗 GROWING HEART - if they have a crush, is it noticable? what changes when they're in love?

Nikoletta: As I said before, she doesn't really process how much someone means to her since she's spent so much time on her own and putting a mask up over her emotions like she does. Still, though, I think it's obvious to others - when the antisocial ice-queen that is Nikoletta suddenly starts lingering near another random, equally-antisocial prisoner, even performing such bizarre acts as smiling and holding hands, you know something's up.

Katherine: Oh, it's so damn obvious. She's the queen of pining. She doesn't do flings since she's ace, so a genuine crush is a very deep, emotional thing for her. It's very obvious: she's all smiley, she keeps talking about them, her art ends up being a lot more romantic for a while since she's always thinking about them. When she's genuinely in love, she's settled a bit from that whole butterflies-crush stage, though she still talks about her S/O a lot

[dingodad]

my beautiful little mutual spencer asked a really interesting question which is that IF the subjugglators are responsible for the nightmares that trolls have, are the trolls going to still have nightmares with the subjugglators gone, and are they still going to need sopor slime to deal with those nightmares. so i checked my little sources. and this is the closest thing to an explanation andrew gives on formspring:

For the subjugglators in their small numbers to keep such a large population under their control, it would be very useful to have the ability to psychically amplify fears through dreams. They may have directed their chucklevoodoos on every susceptible mind in the population. Each lowblood may have a little highblood voodoo doll lurking in their subconscious, making them too terrified to organize any sort of rebellion.

we might guess from this that trolls' nightmares stem from a chucklevoodoo doll, which makes sense bc it's also where john and dave's nightmares et al. come from. so the next question might be whether we presume a clown's chucklevoodoo doll sticks around if that clown dies. and since gamzee never REALLY dies, i guess there's no way we can answer that for certain. but im going to go with yes, it sticks around? for a couple reasons.

chiefly that because of the whole dream self thing, there's not really any clear difference between a 'dream object' and a 'real object'... like, dream selves can dissolve into smoke, but generally speaking if you grab something from someones dream room and take it out of the dream room, it still exists as a regular object. an obvious example of this is lil cal; if gamzee got sucked into lil cal at the end of the comic, would that count as gamzee still "being around" to maintain lil cal's existence? it's interesting to think about it... but it's also implied to some degree that gamzee didn't even "create" lil cal, he just used his powers to pull him out of the void... so is that true for all chucklevoodoo dolls? kind of besides the point but still worth thinking about

there's also a question of practicality. like, if subjugglators are constantly controlling the fears of the population at all times, and a subjugglator dies, does another clown have to take over that guy's job and re-curse a bunch of kids... it would be stupid. but. pretty funny to think about. like having to cover your friend's shift at the nightmare factory. funny.

so im going to say the answer is that if you already had a nightmare doll when troll society blew up then you would keep it. and you might need therapy or maybe the good version of an evil clown to get rid of it. but if you were born after the collapse of alternia youre probably fine.

2 more questions though. what about ghosts. ghosts dont really have dream rooms cus they kind of ARE dream people? and we also dont know if they sleep at all. BUT we DO know kurloz could still fuck with meulin's brain while they were both dead. so do the ghosts on earth c for example still have evil fleas.

second question. more of a thought. in his formspring answer hussie also suggests gamzee could have been fucking with everyone on the meteor with his powers, i.e. messing with vriska's luck or terezi's investigative abilities. this has to make you wonder whether gamzee is messing with the voodoo dolls they presumably already have in their minds, or if he is like, adding them? like does your dream self bed just become one of those huge plushy walls over time as you get more and more traumatised

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Chucky

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Look, I could sit here and try to come up with some smart, witty lead up to who we’re talking about today, but really, why bother?

Now before you grab your pitchforks, I mean that in an affectionate way. Chucky, real name Charles Lee Ray, is one of horror’s most prevalent icons, and this is despite the fact that he gets so little respect compared to other slasher icons of his time. I guess when you’re shorter than a six year old boy, you’re gonna end up standing in the shadows of the taller killers like Freddy, Jason, Meyers, and Pinhead. But, quite frankly, Chucky deserves respect.

Motivation/Goals: Chucky really wants his body back, because I imagine being a serial killer is pretty difficult when you’re a killer doll… Except, no, it’s really not, this dude amasses gigantic body counts all while gaslighting everyone around him by pretending to be a harmless toy, why the hell does he want to go back to being a greasy human serial killer? Well, the answer to that is simple: His girlfriend is Jennifer Tilly. If your girlfriend was Jennifer Tilly, and you were stuck in a plastic body that wasn’t anatomically correct, you’d probably go on a homicidal rampage and use Hollywood voodoo to get yourself a penis too.

Performance: Brad Dourif has been playing Chucky since the first film (except for that one time he was played by Mark Hamill, but that doesn’t count), and really there is just no one better suited. He makes Chucky sound like a really nasty, sleazy bastard, which is all the more jarring coming from the ‘cute’ Good Guy doll that it becomes equal parts creepy and hilarious.

Final Fate: The fun thing about Chucky is that despite him dying over and over and over and over again, he just always comes back! This is par for the course for slasher villains, but with Chucky he never really seems to suffer any hugely notable setbacks. Even more impressive, in Cult he actually manages a big win by possessing the body of protagonist Nica. After all these decades, Chucky finally has a human body again! Hooray!

Best Scene: Chucky’s absurdly Rasputinian deaths in the first two films are amazing for just how much abuse the guy takes before finally going down. Really, both climaxes are fantastic. Also of note is the big reveal of Chucky’s true nature in the original Child’s Play.

Best Quote: As much as I really want to put Chucky with his Jersey accent saying “GENDA FLOOID” while talking about Glen in the 2021 series, I don’t think any quote in his arsenal can quite top the majesty that is the legendary quote from the original Child’s Play:

Final Thoughts & Score: Chucky is honestly one of the most endearing slasher villains out there.

Like, the concept of some killer Cabbage Patch knockoff with the soul of a serial killer grafted inside it with voodoo magic is inherently goofy, and yet he manages to make it work and be genuinely unnerving and terrifying when he wants, especially in the first two films. At the same time, Chucky also manages to slide into comedy with a bit more ease than some of his contemporaries, although he also did not handle it quite as well. Still, the fact is that Chucky works just as well in an absolutely goofy setting like that of Bride or Seed as he does a serious setting, and when they manage to blend things together like in Cult and Curse? Boy does it ever work.

It’s also interesting to note that Chucky seems to actually learn and grow as a character. Slashers like Freddy, Jason, and Meyers do not ever really mature as characters, and that’s fine; we want to see them as unstoppable killing machines. But Chucky manages to sort of grow as a character across the films, and I think it helps make him more well-rounded. For instance, he spends a lot of Bride abusing Tiffany, t the point he kills her and traps her in a doll, and he really screws up their relationship in Seed. But by the time of Curse and Cult, it’s clear he’s stabilized their relationship and that he does genuinely love and value her. Then there’s his relationship with Glen; in Seed, Chucky was totally against their identity, but come the 2021 TV series and he seems genuinely accepting of his “GENDA FLOOID” kid. Like yes, he’s still a psychotic murder doll, but it’s pretty neat to see he’s not static and that he can change while still maintaining his edge.

Chucky is a fun antagonist who I feel never really gets the respect he truly deserves. Like, yes, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t recognize him, but you really don’t hear him brought up with the same reverence as, say, Jason Voorhees or Ghostface or Pinhead. This is in spite of Chucky managing to do what very few villains can: Go from an utterly irredeemable hate sink to a laughably evil villain you can love to hate and still be entertaining all the way. For that, I think he deserves a 9/10.

Before we go, let’s briefly touch on Chucky’s partner in crime and love interest, Tiffany Valentine.

Portrayed by Jennifer Tilly, she is the exact spice this series needed after the first three films. It’s honestly to the point where it’s extremely weird to go back and watch earlier movies and see that she isn’t there. What makes her really fun is how she actually seems to have morals and boundaries, while Chucky does not. For instance, she completely and totally accepts Glen’s genderfluidity while Chucky is just violently homophobic. That’s not to say she’s a nice person, because she’s definitely as insane and murderous as Chucky himself, but she has a little bit going for her… but she loses a lot of sympathy in Curse and Cult where she indulges in some truly heinous acts.

Also, it’s really funny that she canonically is Jennifer Tilly now. It’s a long story, don’t ask. I don’t want to talk about Seed more than I have to. Tiffany manages to score a 9/10 as well, because really, do you expect me to award the slasher movie equivalent of Harley Quinn being played by Jennifer Tilly anything less?

[q-gorgeous]

What Do You Mean That’s Not a Ghost?

fanfiction

ao3

word count: 1232

How does being constantly exposed to high amounts of ectoplasm affect the citizens of Amity Park? Prompt by @robotbeowulf

hidey hey

“I’m telling you Parker, this is gonna make our career! You’ve heard of all of the ghost sightings in Amity Park! Imagine how many ghosts we’ll be able to collect here!”

Two men were walking down the street together, both wearing trench coats. The first man was looking at Parker with a big smile on his face.

“I hope you’re right, Don.” Parker said, fiddling with a device in his hands. “Otherwise we came all the way here for nothing. What if all that talk about ghosts is just one giant tourist trap? We’d be out a lot of money.”

“Nah, nah, you’ll see. It’ll be great! Now turn that thing on already! I wanna see where our first ghost is.”

Parker turned on the machine and it started a slow and steady beep. They followed the dot on the screen towards the park. That makes sense. The ghosts here seem to terrorize the people who live here all the time so the park would be-

The tracker started to beep rapidly as they walked up to a picnic bench where a teen sat with headphones on, doing her homework. 

Parker looked at the tracker and back up at the girl. “What is this? That doesn’t look like a ghost. What’s wrong with this thing?”

Don nudged Parker with his elbow. “Some of these ghosts can be sneaky. Did you ever hear about that one therapist lady? Couldn’t even tell. I bet it’s the same with this one.”

He slowly walked up behind the girl, inching up behind her. Once he got close enough, he grabbed onto her arm. The girls fist came flying towards him though and he was not prepared. He fell to the ground when her fist connected with his face and tried covering his eyes when she pulled some pepper spray from her backpack. 

“Fuck off, you creep!”

Parker sighed, holding his head in his hand, as he watched Don get sprayed. The girl gathered up her stuff and stormed past him, knocking her shoulder into him as she went. 

Walking up to Don, Parker looked down as his friend squirmed and whined on the ground. 

“See, I told you-”

Suddenly the tracker started beeping rapidly again and two ghosts quickly flew over them, causing the wind to pick up. Once they left, the tree next to the picnic table stopped shaking. 

“Huh.” Parker said, staring at where they disappeared to. “I guess there are actually ghosts here.”

“Help..” Don croaked. 

QQQQQ

They sat outside a corner store on a bus stop bench. Don had a gallon of milk in his hand and milk soaking his hair and jacket. His eyes were puffy and red and people walking by shot them strange looks.

Parker waved at a particularly scary old lady who was giving Don the stink eye. 

“Okay.” He said, turning to Don. “So we know that the tracker works since those two ghosts flew over us before. But why did it pick up on that girl?”

Sulking, Don responded. “Maybe she’s a witch instead. Maybe they do some voodoo magic with ectoplasm.”

Parker scoffed. “What are you crazy? Witches aren’t real. But how are we supposed to know if someone’s a ghost or not?”

“Keep grabbing them until we can’t take any more pepper spray?”

“Maybe we gotta do more observations first.” Parker continued, ignoring Don. “We could go scope around town and see how many incorrect readings we get.” As they walked around town, they got person after person that were incorrectly labeled as a ghost by their machine. They’d walk up to someone, study them, and ask if they were a ghost. The looks they got were anywhere between confused to disgusted. Some were even grossed out and refused to talk to them at all because of the rotten milk still covering Don. 

“How can none of these people be ghosts?!” Parker threw his arms up in the air when they came to a stop at an intersection. “Why are they all setting off the tracker if they’re not ghosts? It doesn’t make sense!”

The light turned green and they started heading across the street.

“Maybe the entire town is full of dead people and no one knows.”

Parker shot Don an unimpressed look. “No. There has to be some sort of explanation.” 

They walked by an ice cream shop where a teenager with black hair was walking out with a cone. The tracker started beeping rapidly at him and Parker smacked it.

“See! This one doesn’t even say this kid is a level one! It’s trying to tell me this scrawny teenager is a level eight ectoplasmic entity!”

“Hey! Who are you calling scrawny?” The kid licked his ice cream cone as he glared at them. 

“Hey, kid, you wouldn’t happen to be a ghost would you?” Don called.

The teenager's eyes widened a bit and he took a bite of ice cream and swallowed it before answering. “No, I’m not a ghost, that’d be crazy, haha.”

Parker growled. “We’ve walked by so many people today and our tracker picked up on all of them! Not a single one was a ghost except for those two that flew over the park today! This thing is just a hunk of garbage!”

“Wait, it’s reading humans as ghosts?” The kid looked perplexed. 

“Yeah. We’ve been asking person after person if they were a ghost or not because they were all showing up on the radar.” Don said. 

“I wonder why-” He snapped his fingers. “Oh! I remember my mom saying something about this! They had to adjust all their instruments because they said everyone in town is starting to pick up their own residual ecto-signatures. Especially the teenagers because-”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Parker said, arms in a pause motion. “Residual ecto-signatures?”

“Yeah.” He took another lick of his ice cream. “Having a fully functional, always open portal to the ghost zone letting all the ghosts loose into town was probably bound to have some effects eventually.”

“You.” Don paused. “You said especially the teenagers. Why is that?”

“Well.” The kid said. “Ghost attacks happen most frequently at the high school which leads to higher rates of ectoplasmic entities there along with more chances the kids are gonna get caught up in something. That could be possession, getting hit by an ectoblast, getting ghost powers-”

“Ghost powers?!” Parker shouted. “How did they get ghost powers?”

“Ghost mosquito bites.” He shrugged. 

“Well why is yours so high? All the other people have been level ones, but you’re a level eight.”

He shrugged again. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’ve grown up with scientists and inventors for parents and they occasionally misplaced their ectoplasm inside the fridge.”

Don stared at him. “What? Who are your parents?”

“Jack and Madeline Fenton, resident ghost hunters and experts.”

They stared at the boy with slack jaws. “Your parents are the Fentons?”

“Yes?”

“I should’ve known that if something this crazy was going on that they were bound to be near.” Parker sighed and hung his head. “Come on Don. I don’t think this is quite the place we were looking for.” They started walking away, heads hanging down.

“Bye?” The boy called to them in a confused tone of voice. 

The two men walked away into the distance, the sound of beeping filling the air as people milled about around them. 

[semper-legens]

129. Dark and Shallow Lies, by Ginny Myers Sain

Owned?: No, library Page count: 416 My summary: Grey is returning to the only place she’s ever truly called home - her small town in Louisiana, La Cachette. But now, it’s all wrong. Her best friend is missing and her other friends might have been involved. She can’t trust anyone...for good reason. Everyone has secrets, after all. And some secrets are deadly. My rating: 3/5 My commentary:

Sometimes, you read a book that you should like. All of the right components are there. But something about it just doesn’t click. This is a story about magic and mysteries, about murder past and present, about trust and friendship in a Louisiana bayou. All very good ingredients, and yet, I wasn’t too keen. I think there was just too much going on in this book, too many different components and different ideas to keep track of.

Our main character is Grey, but she’s got a bevy of friends to keep track of. In total, there’s twelve of them in her little posse, although two are dead, one is missing, and two more don’t show up until later. Still, counting Grey, that’s seven characters to initially keep track of, alongside Grey’s grandmother and these characters’ parents and siblings...it’s a lot! And I couldn’t always distinguish them from each other, or remember what their Deals were when they showed up. I ended up referring to them mentally by archetype, like Brooding Love Interest or Mysterious Cryptic One. Which isn’t a great look. I also felt like the relationships could use more organic setting up, there was a lot of telling us what each character’s deal was and not enough showing it through actions.

The magic in this book was pretty cool though. La Cachette is a town of psychics, and everyone has their own power - bilocation, hearing the dead, weather control, premonitions, et cetera. I really appreciate how the magic is treated in a very nonchalant manner despite the reasonably mundane setting. It’s like, yeah, we’re magic, duh. I also liked that the cast was varied and the magic was specific to the cultures that make up Louisiana - one character was descended from enslaved people, some were Cajun, that sort of thing. Voodoo also gets a brief look-in, as does tarot, though neither are the focus.

As to the mystery of the missing girl itself? It was a competent enough mystery, I suppose. I didn’t really connect with a lot of it, largely because of the aforementioned problem telling all the characters apart, and I though the characters who were meant to be shady were a bit too obviously so. Still, I have to say, I didn’t see the actual conclusion coming, so kudos there!

Next up, a woman travels in time to meet her ancestors.

[damistrolls]

🗡️ for nobody? :pwead: i was in class when u did these so if its 2 late nbd. but like... im curious.....

NOBODY TIIIIME!! and dw, i can do one more!! 

Raw power - ★★★☆☆ Stronger than he looks. He’s slowed down a bit over time, but never underestimate a purple. While his voodoos are useless in a fight, he’s not the sort of troll you should underestimate

Formal Training - ★☆☆☆☆ Learned some basics in his youth, but otherwise doesn’t have much experience

Combat experience - ★☆☆☆☆ Has gotten into a handful of fights, but does his best to avoid them

Willingness to kill - ★★★☆☆ Has no strong feelings against killing other trolls. It’s Alternia

Previous victims - ★☆☆☆☆ He had killed a couple trolls to feed his lusus, but after realizing it didn’t mind eating decaying flesh, he stopped and became a scavenger instead, so his kill count remains surprisingly low, even after this long

Danger Meme

[amagicdoctor]

In this series we take a look at the romantic relationships Dr. Strange has had in the past. These will be all NON-CANON relationships. I’ll be providing an in-depth analysis of both characters, but mostly an emphasis on where it left Dr. Strange in the end.

This week we’ll be looking at the kind of life Dr. Voodoo and Dr. Strange had together.

✨

Sections will be broken up into headers to help with the reading process.

Current word count: ~1,800

[Further reading: We briefly got to talk about their relationship in this post here where I described Dr. Voodoo’s impact on Dr. Strange’s gender experience]

✨

Timeline

I think it’s important to establish a timeline now for when certain relationships/meetings took place on this blog.

According to this blog’s canon, this relationship would have taken place during Stephen’s time with Clea. So Clea would be Dr. Strange’s current apprentice, they would also be pretty romantically involved but not in a place where they would have referred to each other as marriage partners (yet).

Before they met

Doctor Voodoo was a Haitin immigrant and a New Orleans resident. After taking the mantle of houngan (a voodoo priest who practices with white magic) from his deceased brother Daniel, he set up shop in America. He also happens to share his body with his brother’s spirit. Jericho Drumm was super new to serving as a superhero in America, but he was making his way up there as he helped the people in his neighborhood. Jericho came a long way from growing up in a magical environment he didn’t believe in, but now, voodoo was his saving grace.

Doctor Strange has adjusted to his life as a sorcerer. He has Clea as his current lover and apprentice and they are getting along just fine together.

How they met

After the events of Doctor Strange (1974) #48, where Jericho and Stephen had their first team-up, Stephen wanted to learn more about voodooism. Fortunately, Jericho left his contact information before he left.

After receiving Stephen’s aid from before, Jericho too wanted to learn more about the magic they use in America. He had grown up in a primarily voodoo-centric magic community, and now that he is a full-time professional, it would be smart to learn about the kinds of magic his colleagues are using. Also, Stephen seemed pretty good at what he does, perhaps he could serve as some sort of teacher as well. And that’s exactly what Stephen did when he came knocking on Jericho’s door.

They traded all sorts of information with each other. Stephen would learn a little about voodoo, Jericho would learn a little about the mystic arts, and so on. They even had several team-up events later on. Working together allowed them to have a stronger sense of respect for the other. Jericho also had the pleasure to work alongside Stephen’s wife, Clea (once they got married), and some Avengers like the Scarlet Witch.

Eventually, Clea left Stephen to go and fight her uncle in the Dark Dimension. When she defeated him and became ruler, Clea left Stephen behind on Earth. There were a lot of issues going on in their relationship that made Clea want to end their partnership for good. Some of those issues weren’t made clear to Jericho, but the important thing for him to know later on was that Stephen was finally single.

Leading up to Stephen’s separation from Clea, Stephen and Clea were thinking about adding a third partner to their relationship, and unbeknownst to Clea, that person was going to be Jericho! Stephen had really begun to appreciate how far Jericho had grown as a sorcerer. He was also intelligent, and a good person to work with overall. It also helped that Jericho was extremely attractive. Unfortunately, Stephen didn’t get to clue either Jericho or Clea in on his feelings. When Clea left, Stephen was alone. For a long time Stephen went without pursuing any further romantic interests. He also threw himself into his work, but in a way where he would also ignore his other students like the Scarlet Witch.

So it begins

Jericho grew worried for his friend after discovering, from the grapevine, that Clea left Stephen. He reached out, as a friend, to see if Stephen was doing alright, and of course Stephen lied.

Eventually, Stephen went back to going outside and openly working with other heroes. His heart was open and he was longing for romantic companionship. When Jericho asked the sorcerer to come on a mission with him, he obliged. Seeing Jericho in the flesh, after all this time, brought a new sense of passion back to Stephen. All during their mission, Stephen openly flirted with Jericho, throwing hints at him and surprisingly, Jericho was fine with all this. They went on a couple more meetings acting like this until Jericho made the first move and finally asked Stephen out on an actual date. Of course Stephen said yes. Stephen and Jericho began to openly date, with much support from Stephen’s family. Everyone was happy to see Stephen get out of the house and be happy.

With them officially dating, Stephen and Jericho instantly fell in love. Though Stephen never told him about the plans he wanted to make between him and Clea. Since Clea was out of the picture, none of that mattered anymore.

Issues with Gender Identity/Sexuality

Stephen was one of the first men Jericho fell in love with. Jericho had never been openly gay before, but falling in love with Stephen gave him a new identity. He took pride in that label and wanted Stephen to do the same. While Stephen no longer wanted to medically transition to become a woman, he was still exploring other forms of gender expression, sometimes even leaning toward femininity.

Though they both belonged to the transgender community, Stephen’s ideal gender identity did not align with Jericho’s tastes. At first, Jericho was purley attracted to the ‘ideal masculinity’ Stephen produced when they first met. While Jericho respected women, and knew they could also be strong, maleness to him also demanded strength, bravery and power, which Stephen executed greatly. Jericho’s ideas were also internalized into him too. Jericho’s transition story takes him back all the way to when he was a child.

Back in Haiti, Jericho was the female twin to his brother’s male twin. He and his brother grew up in a predominantly male community and so they had a lot of male friends growing up. Jericho was inspired by all the men in his life and wanted to be like them. He saw their sense of strength and masculinity and internalized that into his own sense of what a man really is. Eventually those feelings made him discover that he was meant to be a man, and transitioned during his time in America. I’d like to think he took a gap year before enrolling in school to get that done. He would have wanted to start as a fresh face before entering society as a man.

When Stephen first grew comfortable enough with Jericho to share that he was thinking about his new gender identity, Jericho did not like it. He was of course, always supportive and loving to Stephen, and he did not outright tell Stephen to not go ahead and continue discovering himself. In fact, he kept these feelings to himself, and never did tell Stephen how he really felt. He only sightly suggested that Stephen “love himself for who he already was” which was ironic considering the kinds of changes transgender men like Jericho have to go through.

Daniel saw that his brother was having a hard time dealing with his partner. So it was he who persuaded his brother to love Stephen despite Stephen’s journey into gender-fluidness and femininity. Daniel has a great respect for voodooism and voodoo has lots of ties to LGBT identities because of their deities. He had to remind Jericho of this fact. After listening to what his brother had to say, Jericho did have a new found respect for Stephen.

After having a change of heart, Jericho took Stephen in one day and told him that he was a transgender man. One that had undergone full reassignment surgery years ago before he came to America. Admitting this truth made them closer. Stephen was proud to be in a relationship with another transgender man (the other being Quentin Beck). Knowing this about Jericho, Stephen would use his partner’s experience to learn more about transitioning and gender identity/expression.

Also, since he gained Jericho’s newfound support, he also asked Jericho to refer to him as a woman and use she/her pronouns. A process Stephen asked Tony Stark to go through when they were dating.

Taking a Break

Despite the initial happiness this couple had in their first few months, there were still some issues. And these were issues outside of the previous gender related ones. Stephen has a lot of issues regarding his mental condition as well. Depression, among other things. These can be handled with medicine and spiritual practices, but they don’t always work.

As his partner, Jericho couldn’t ignore it, as I’m sure Clea couldn’t either. Everyone handles their partner’s mental illnesses differently, and as a former psychologist, Jericho really thought he could hold on for much longer. But he couldn't. Stephen just seemed to get worse and worse after Clea’s departure. It was as if she took a part of him that she never returned. Even though Jericho was able to bring a newfound love to Stephen’s life, it didn’t seem like it was helping. And love was supposed to be the most powerful form of magic and medicine!

As Stephen’s condition grew worse, the two slowly started to drift apart. Stephen’s way of dealing with his issues is putting himself into more work, and that’s really why they started to see less of each other.

One day, Stephen reminded himself he had a partner and reached out to Jericho one last time. He wanted to make one more push to make this work, so on their last date, he asked Jericho if they wanted to make things “official.” This suggestion offended Jericho because he thought Stephen would talk about something more pressing, like ignoring him for weeks, but that wasn’t the case. Jericho immediately refused the offer, which directly struck Stephen’s heart. Right then and there Jericho suggested they take a break from one another.

No other feelings were expressed beyond that. Stephen grew numb from the state of shock and both said their goodbyes after that.

Where are they now?

Jericho and Stephen have still not reconciled their past feelings. They still love each other very much, in fact, since working together in Strange Academy, Jericho’s love has rebloomed! But he’s still forcing himself to not get too heavily involved with Stephen until Stephen heals from the hurt he’s caused himself. Jericho pretty much refuses to be in a relationship with someone that doesn’t even love himself, which at one point, Stephen admitted to, which angered Jericho.

Stephen never stopped loving Jericho either. Jericho is an amazing sorcerer, and he was even recognized by Clea too. Since the events of Damnation, there was going to be no hope between Stephen and Clea. So that’s why Stephen’s been spending more and more time at Strange Academy with Jericho. As an old love, Stephen still yearns for Jericho’s attention. As you may have seen from older posts, they’re comfortable enough with each other to be intimate in public. They can kiss and flirt, but it won’t ever go beyond that. Jericho also kept a vow of abstinence with Stephen, even when they were officially dating. Maybe one day, in the future, if they ever get married, things could change. And hopefully by then, Stephen will love himself and love life and be prepared to have that kind of relationship.

As usual if there is anything that was unclear in this analysis that you would like me to expand upon I can edit this post or I can create a separate one if you send in an ask. Asks of course, are recommended for this type of thing. My DMs are also open for further questions.

[dmsden]

Genre Switching - Tips for changing the genre of a module

Hullo, Gentle Readers. Kind of a fun question to ponder, because this week's anonymously submitted Question from a Denizen is about genre switching. Our Anonymous friend asks, "How would you go about reflavoring an entire module to fit a different aesthetic/genre? I’m going through process of turning CoS [Curse of Strahd] into Southern Gothic/Western inspired setting and would love some tips."

I love this idea, and, as shown above, vampires work very well in this sort of genre. So how do we do this?

To start, I'm going to say that this is going to take some work. D&D is specifically a fantasy RPG, and it doesn't try to emulate other genres particularly. It does include a few tidbits here and there, however, that we can find useful.

To switch the genre of a pre-written adventure, the biggest thing you want to do is sit down and take some notes about what makes that genre feel the way it does to you. Let's say you were going to go with a western aesthetic. What makes a western a western? You might think of things like horses, gunfights, tumbleweeds, sheriffs, land disputes, wide-open plains. For southern gothic, you might list things like decay, family secrets, swamps, collapsing mansions, and the like.

Once you have your elements, you can start going through the module and altering things to make them fit in more with what you have in mind. For example, in Curse of Strahd, there are the Vistani. They are there because, when one returns to the source material of Dracula and other stories and movies in that vein (pun intended), one often finds Romani fortunetellers and the like. They are not, however, the sorts of folks you might find in a southern gothic climate. So instead, you might look at making your Vistani equivalent a group of practitioners of Louisiana Voodoo. Maybe instead of Madame Eva, you have Auntie Eva, who can read your fortune in her tea leaves.

Gunslingers and guns are a little trickier but not by much. You can use the gun rules from the Dungeon Master's Guide, and a fighter using the Archery fighting style, or, if you want to get really fancy, the Gunslinger subclass that Matt Mercer developed.

Maybe instead of Castle Ravenloft, you can have Chateau DeCorbeau, a decaying old manse in a forbidding swamp. Rats, bats, wolves, zombies, and vampires all work well in the theme already, so not a lot of work to do there. I would, however, take the time to go through the different names and reskin them to something more appropriate. Strahd von Zarovich is very much a classic Transylvanian Count sort of a name. Maybe he becomes Guillaume DeCorbeau, the undead master of the Chateau and the area all around it, which will also need a new name, as Barovia doesn't scream Southern Gothic. Maybe borrowing a name from DC Comics, you could give it a name like Belle Reve (Beautiful Dream) which utterly doesn't fit the land any more.

Go through the major locations and NPCs and rename them, and see if there are any plot elements that might be better served by changing. Poe did some magnificent work in Southern Gothic, and adding some plot elements a la The Fall of the House of Usher or the Mask of the Red Death could really spice things up.

Although there's work to do, I think this could be a really winning idea. It could be an extremely memorable adventure for your party. If you don't mind doing some work, back in 2nd edition, there was an expansion to the Ravenloft campaign setting idea called Masque of the Red Death. This included rules for making D&D more of a gothic horror game set long after the times of knights in armor and swords. I'm sure it's on the DM's Guild in PDF format, and you might find good rules to adapt into 5e.

I hope this helps, Anonymous. Good fortune guide you!

[leggomylino]

In Which Hyunjin Sends You Dragon Fruit...

Genre: crack Member: Hwang Hyunjin Au: dragon fruit saga (checkout SKZ M.List for more info) Word Count: 950 Warning(s): none! Requested by: @cotccotc Tag List: @skzwriternet @hanniiesuckle17 @hanstagrams @hyunsunq @smolboiseavey @jisungsjheekies @moonlit-han @stay-nctzen @stayndays @cotccotc @skzctnightnight @multi-stan-present @freckledberries @peachyhan @hoes4hoseok @sarangsungs @changbinniee | Let me know if you’d like to be added! Comment, ask, or dm me! <3

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

x x x

“Don’t you want to become one with the fruit? It’s important for our relationship.”

It was another one of those days, where a brightly colored fruit that oddly glowed came between you and your boyfriend’s time together. Sighing at another picnic failed, you sat up straight from an attempt at cloud gazing. 

“No, Hyunjin, I really don’t. Why does me eating this fruit mean so much to you?”

He had a strange look on his face that didn’t add up. “It’s...just important.”

“Why?”

“Why?”

“Yes, Hyunjin, why?”

He paused, for an awfully long time.

“...Because it’s important for our--”

“Urgh!”

You rolled onto your sandaled feet and began packing the lunch you’d spent many sweat-filled hours making in that stifling kitchen of yours with the broken AC. You’d liked Hyunjin for a long time, ever since you could remember, but then suddenly one day, he came back from a trip to a small country farm outside of town never the same. He’d suddenly become obsessed with this strange “dragon fruit,” and after trying to recruit his family and friends on the stuff, a few months later he turned his sights on you. It wasn’t that the fruit looked bad or smelt weird...it was just...the vibe you got, the way it looked good, too good, glowing almost, and the strong spicy smell that couldn’t be natural from a fruit deeming to be sweet.

When Hyunjin asked you to take a bite, you felt like Snow White being lured by the Wicked Queen. It sent every hair on the back of your neck standing straight and tall, and a cliché shiver ran down your spine alerting all your sensing to be on...well, high alert. It was simply bad news. But you didn’t really know how to tell Hyunjin that. He always got this crazed look in his eye, like the Terminator ready to zap you to pieces with his laser eyes if you so much as spoke one bad word against it.

So instead, you simply told him you didn’t want to and begged to differ that it was such a big deal. It was the closest you could come to challenging him without offending the fruit itself and risking a tantrum; and so far, it’d bought you a little time.

After pulling the rug out from under him (literally), Hyunjin summersaulted to green pastures and watched you leave with panicked eyes before scouring the grass for his lost Jewel of the Nile. With a sarcastic huff and a roll of your eyes, you shook your head all the way home.

“Seriously, what’s with him?” you grumbled, trudging your picnic gear and leftovers into the house. “All he cares about it that dumb, stupid fruit. It’s like he’s been possessed! I don’t see what the big--”

“Y/n.”

The door behind you slammed shut. You gasped, seeing Hyunjin standing there, in your house, in your entryway, just a few inches in front of you, looking like he’d been there a while.

But that was impossible. Sure, you’d given him a key to your place. But there was no way he could have gotten there before you.

Unless…

He was some sort of wizard. “I got something for you. Tomorrow is your birthday, right?”

“Hyunjin…” You took a sharp breath, attempting to calm your senses. You looked him dead in the eyes. “Hyunjin, what are you doing here? How did you get here before me?”

“......” His eyes darted to the side, side-stepping the question. “Why don’t we open your gift and then head back to the park? I wasn’t finished eating, and it’s a really lovely day--”

“HYUNJIN!!!”

You smacked him. What else could you do?

“Hyunjin, it’s not my birthday, and I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me what’s gotten into you.”

“......”

Those Terminator eyes were back. You gulped, hoping you didn’t just commit yourself to death...but, then…

Hyunjin started crying. 

“H-Hyunjin…?”

“I-I just…” He sobbed, holding a small gift box between you two. “I know I’ve been acting kinda strange to you lately...but I just wanted us to be a power couple…”

“A…” You frowned. “A what?”

And just like that, he was back to being the Terminator. Except, maybe a bit more eager and a bit less scary. “Open your gift. I’ve been trying to tell you, Y/n, it’s the greatest thing in the entire world! ...N-Next to our love, of course.”

“......” Sighing, groaning, you ripped the box from his hands, shooing him towards a couch in the living room. Sitting a cushion away from him, you began unwrapping the glittering gift box hesitantly, carefully, before a powerful shine overtook all the wrapping paper.

...It was the same dumb piece of fruit Hyun had been holding onto like a security blanket all week.

“Hyunjin, I told you, I don’t want--”

“Eat it, Y/n.”

“Wh-What?”

His voice became demanding, powerful. His eyes glazed over, and for a second he appeared to be at the head of some sort of mafia syndicate. “Take a bite. Just one. That’s all you need…”

Yikes. Back to Wicked Step-Queen. What should you do? What was the right answer?

Well, you lifted the glowing dragon fruit from the box, staring at it pretty hard…

And chucked it at his face. “Forget it, Hyunjin! I’m not eating your stupid voodoo fruit!!!”

Then you ran back to your room, sobbing. It wouldn’t be until later on around the holidays Hyunjin would send you a “suspicious fruit cake” and dare you to take a bite, and you, presumably a bit tipsy on eggnog, would actually commit to eating half the dish, but that’s a story for another time.

ღ Stray Kids M.List | M.List ღ

[thestarsoutofyourwindow]

 11th Doctor x Reader - “If you don’t hold me now I think might just fall apart.”

Authors note: I tried my best to keep this in character- so if this is lacking in a story, that’s because I was a little hesitant to write a climax just in case I got it a little off. The gif isn’t mine, obviously. Crickets, this took a long time, so you BeTTeR aPPreCiaTe It. Just kidding, but I hope you enjoy it, even a little bit!

Now, it’s five am so I better go write some fifth Doctor now :)))

Feel free to tell me if i could improve anything or what you liked or whatever!

Word count: 1,719

Includes: Slight (?) angst, mentioning of being left by the Doctor (just prep yourself)

Requested by: @yourneighbourhoodclown, it won't let me tag them for some reason, so we will have to pretend.

“Where's your adventurous spirit!?" The Doctor giggles, pulling a lever on the TARDIS console, the entire ship convulsing as she dematerializes. His attention wavered between looking at you and the TARDIS.

"Urgh, god knows with all the-" Another lurch cut you off. "Focus on driving before you get us killed."

"Make me," He shouted over to you, running his fingers through his hair, with a smile that could only be described as a shit-eating grin.

Your stomach and eyes rolled in synchronization as the TARDIS jerked about, "I won't get half the chance. You'd think you'd get used to being thrown around in this- BOX- Urg. It doesn't help you're not a very good driver."

"Oi! I am too!" The Doctors scowled for a few moments, but you were to distracted with how your stomach swirled. Yet again the moment was interrupted by you being thrown into the railing.

"Of course you are, dear." You taunted him.

"Oh, this is gonna be a rough one-!" The Doctor cackled, smiling up at TARDIS console.

"Just like you to show your 'adventurous spirit'." You mocked, rolling your eyes and jabbing your elbow into his side. He glanced at you and furrowed his eyebrows; just as the rain started to pour down on you two. You had found yourselves in a seemingly endless forest, engulfed in an unsettling atmosphere. You just so happened to materialize in a clearing with a convenient dirt pathway littered with branches and bushes, which appeared to lead to some curiosity-sparking warm lights, bare pinpricks in the distance.

You knew the Doctor would want to investigate. You weren't particularly bothered, as long as you had the Doctor by your side.

"Oi you," The Doctor grinned at that, glancing at you then back out to the vast forest, then turned to look at you. "Umbrella?" You asked. He smirked and he pulled one of those large umbrellas, that people have to carry around like a staff or walking stick, yes one of those, out of his pocket. He played with the umbrella-like a sword, thrusting the umbrella and mocking a few blocks. You put your hand on his shoulder and he paused, looking over at you.

"Right, yes-" The Doctor opened the umbrella, which was a lot bigger than most umbrellas, swinging it up and resting it on his shoulder. He held his arm out for you, inviting you under the umbrella with a wink. You stepped under the umbrella, and he draped his arm over your shoulders as the both of you started the brisk walk towards the alluring lights.

Upon reaching the Cabin, which was more like a small mansion -still massive for the one person who lived there yet almost exclusively in the library, you met an old woman with a quaint affinity with voodoo and witchcraft (not the horrible sort though, she seemed quite friendly, if a little odd).

"You know, it doesn't help that every wall here is painted with get out." The Doctor stated, gesturing to the wall with a slight nod.

"I'm sorry?" The old, witch-like woman asks. The Doctor gestured to the wall, his face squished up, his eyes searching yours for confirmation.

"You don't see that?" He tensed, pulling out the sonic from his jacket and scanning the wall, and then you and the woman. He checked it and you could almost pin the moment his jaw went slack.

"Y-you have been marked-" The old witch sputtered. Your blood ran cold when you heard that. The Doctor, who was standing just next to you, brushed his fingers against yours, seemingly in search of contact- comfort. You curl your fingers around his, not taking your eyes off the woman.

"What do you mean marked?" You ask, after a few too many moments of silence. The woman seemed to snap out of a trance and

turns around, rushing back to her library nook.

"He- he is doomed. The Beast himself has left his mark."

"You keep saying that, but what does that mean, ma'am?" You only asked out of concern. You gave the Doctors hand a squish of comfort. It wasn't uncommon for the Doctor to hold hands with you, so you didn't consider that to be particularly weird

"Your husband here-" The lady starts, shakily flipping through the book she had picked up.

"Oh no, we're not even-" You shake your head.

"He spoke of, writing- on the walls. That's always the first step. He will be contaminated by the beast- you and me, we're in danger."

"Of course it had to be me..." the Doctor mutters, staring into nowhere. You could nearly see his fear, the smallest hint of anticipation in his eyes. This will be... something.

"What's going to happen to me?" He asked.

"It will take your mind, turn it against you, and twist you to madness. You will then kill us." The woman shook her head, looking out of the window with a solemn pout. "It has happened before and it will happen again. If you will excuse me, I need to protect the rest of this planet." She scurried off, a little satchel being yanked off a counter, knocking a few candles and unburnt sage sticks and other oddities, some less recognizable.

"Wait, no don't-" The Doctor called after her, but she had already left. "Urgh."

As soon as she had left, you briskly walked over to where she was stood, investigating the book she was flipping through so religiously, all the while handing in hand with the Doctor. You moved your hand from his so you could flip the pages of the book, but his hand only grabbed at your sleeve.

"Basically, uh..." You mutter, whilst consulting the page of the apparently gospel book, "Give me a heads up if start to feel any murderous tendencies." You chuckled flatly.

Let's say, the two of you weren't particularly keen on remembering what happened. Or talking about it. But you could tell something was weighing down on him. You could also bet on your life what it might be.

The two of you were standing in the medbay, just a few hours after you had found your ways back to the TARDIS. Your  "escape" wasn't something you were proud of. Both of you had tried, and succeeded in a way, to forget about it as best you could. The unforgettable part was, of course, the fact that, after being hooked up to a machine that literally connected you to satan themself. The Doctor said that "that was a very silly idea and to never do that again, also you might have slowed your ageing by like, 10000% but that's here or there you were literally connected to satan are you good". Well maybe not that exactly but that's the general point.

That was almost too convenient, you thought to yourself. Almost like you were in a romantic fanfiction or something stupid like that. There's nobody better to look after an old time lord like a human that might never age or die if you were careful enough.

The two of you are still in the medbay, and you were just putting a plaster/band-aid on the side of The Doctors' chin when he broke the silence with a classic:

"I- I could've killed you." The doctor states, staring into nothing. "Me! The Doctor... You're my best friend and I could've-"

"Hey. Shhh." You whisper, caressing his cheek with your hand, placing your other hand on his shoulder. "It's alright. I'm alright, and most importantly, you're okay too."

The Doctor's eyes tear up. You tilt his head up and look him in the eye. Oh god, how those big sad eyes make your heart wrench. Despite that, you gave your best reassuring smile. "I'm here. I'm okay. I'm not going anywhere."

A raspy sob forces its way out of his throat and his entire body leans into yours. "Hold me." He whimpered into your shoulder. "if you don't hold me now," the doctor sniffles and takes a deep breath, "I think I might just fall apart."

You do just that.

You hold him close, and you don't let go. You have to lean forward a little because the Doctor is sat on a bed, but you don't mind that, you're more focused on rubbing circles on his back and running your fingers through his hair. He tugs you towards him- and you're stood very awkwardly, but you still hug him back; you feel the hot tears practically burning into your shirt.

"It's alright, isn't it?" You ask. The Doctor nods his head frantically in response. "Exactly. It's a-okay. Bad times happen and it's hard to forgive yourself, but always try to remember that I'm here, Doctor. If you can't forgive yourself, I'll forgive you. As much as you might hate it, you're stuck with me now, Doctor." You finish playfully, ruffling his hair again, and going back to curling it around your fingers.

He mumbles something to you through tears, but you don’t quite believe what you heard.

“I love you.” The Doctor sniffles again. “I’m so sorry, but I love you. I know you won’t- you couldn’t ever love me back, not in this way but- I can’t lose you.” He sobs again, his grip tightening on you.

“I love you too.”

Well. For the rest of your years, no matter how many that is, the two of you, no matter what happens, no matter how many people leave, there would always be a constant for the two of you in each other's arms.

In any other circumstance, you’d be thrilled. But right now, you’re terrified. You didn’t want to lose him either, but you knew it wouldn’t be above him to leave you being on earth, in order to ‘protect’ you. Which you and I know, it bloody well wouldn’t. But what you heard next settled your nerves, yet upset you.

“Please... please don’t leave me. Please, please, please, please, please...” The Doctor keeps repeating that, over and over like a broken record.

“I won’t I promise, on anything and everything. Like I said, you’re stuck with me and I love you so, and now I know you love me too I’m not exactly about to bugger off now am I?”

He really thought you’d leave him.

You wouldn't concider it. Not even for a second.

[grimoire-of-seven]

I have a crush on you

PROMPT :: “I have a crush on you..”

Rating: SFW

Words: 350-450 per character

Characters: Demon brothers + MC/Gender-Neutral Reader

Note: Thank you for the request! Although you didn’t specify which character, I took it upon myself to write for all of the demon brothers! It’s a little long so please continue reading under the cut!

LUCIFER

You stood your ground before him, eyes determined to express all these pent up emotions into words. When you arrived at the student council office, Lucifer was busy with several of the student council papers but insisted that he is listening to you.

“Lucifer,” You called out to the black-haired demon infront of you, hands clutching your Devildom Law book for courage, “I have a crush on you.”

“Hmm, yes,” He nodded his head almost automatically, his focus towards the papers unwavering, “You can put your term paper draft on my desk. I shall attend to that shortly after I finish this–”

“I said, ‘I have a crush on you’, Lucifer.” You repeated with a louder and much more resolute voice.

With that, his hands stopped mid-way through putting down one of the stacks. He directed his attention towards you, there was no semblance of an expression in his visage aside from its usual stoicism.

After that one second of shock, Lucifer then smiled at you with… was that pity or sadness in his– “…take that away.”

You gasped his statement, appalled that he dares to tell you how to deal with your feelings. You finally gathered the courage to tell him and he’s telling you to ‘take it away’?!

Within an instant, you made your way to his table and slammed your hand at his desk, “Now, listen here, you little shi–”

Wha-?!

He pulled your necktie with enough force that had you reeling towards him, the tips of your noses barely missing a millimeter.

“I’m just teasing.” He chuckled in delight, those piercing dark eyes staring at yours with such intensity that made your knees weak like jelly. “Time and time again, you amaze me with your honesty.”

Goosebumps trailed your arms as Lucifer’s hand caressed your cheek delicately. If he comes any closer, you’re most certain that he’ll hear the embarrassingly fast beating of your heart. “I like that.”

 MAMMON

“Plus four!” Mammon exclaimed in glee, slamming the card in the low coffee table. Before reaching to the deck for four more cards, the white-haired demon stopped you in your tracks and placed yet another identical card, “Another plus four! I change the cards to blue!”

“You can’t stack plus four cards! UNO tweeted that before–”

“We’re using local rules here, dummy, get with the program!” He smugly replied, smirking at you as you reach for eight cards. “Taste my reverse card!”

“Yikes,” You sighed at his beaming energy of mischief, placing a blue card down, “You sure play dirty…”

“I get to ask ya one truth or a dare if I win!” Mammon nodded eagerly at your words as if it’s a compliment to him. He removed another blue card from his deck and exclaimed, “UNO!”

“Greedy… you’re too greedy for victory.” You changed the colour of the cards to yellow in high hopes that his last card isn’t the same.

Please don’t be yellow–

“Got’cha!” Damn.

“Truth or dare?” He asked excitedly with the energy of a toddler on a sugar-high.

He would definitely ask something very private and embarrassing if you chose truth, given that he’s animatedly eager to get you to lose this round. With that in mind, you chose the lesser evil, “Dare.”

“I dare you to tell the truth!”

This stupid idiot… You sighed and nodded, “Fine. But give me the cards, I’ll shuffle it this time.”

“Who are you interested among the seven of us brothers?”

Ah, so that’s what this is. You chuckled, his earlier demeanor making much more sense with his ‘dare’. “No wonder you’re pumped up when I said we should higher the stakes.”

“Ya didn’t wanna bet money!”

“It’s an UNO game, man.”

“So, who is it?” He asked, leaning back to his sofa with crossed-arms as he waited for you to hand him his set of cards, “Maybe if you slide in some cash, I can help you get–”

“He’s quite cute.” You began, taking a card as a starter and waiting for Mammon to put down his first.

“Oh? So that counts out Asmo since he’d beautiful!”

“He makes me laugh a lot.” You smiled, “Reverse card, reverse card, plus four, change colour to yellow.”

“GAH! I don’t have any yellow!!!” Mammon twisted from his seat at the realization of his misfortune, seeing that you only have three cards remaining in your hand. “That can’t be Levi or Lucifer or Satan! Those guys would choke if they’re asked to share a joke. So, it’s either Beel or Belphie, huh!”

You shook your head at his words, placing down another card, “I have a crush on you, Mammon.”

“Wh–” He looked up at you with wide-eyes, “No! Q-Quit playin’ dirty! I ain’t fallin’ for that.”

“Reverse card, UNO,” You stared back at him, eyes never leaving his as you placed your last cards, “I win.”

LEVIATHAN

What does Ruri-chan have that you don’t?

Dejectedly wiping the said figurine with a damp towel, you asked that question to yourself.

You were summoned at Levi’s room earlier that day for some ‘important friend training’ to be facilitated by the purple-haired demon himself… only to find out that he’s cleaning his figures and needed a few more hands on deck.

Why does he like Ruri-chan so much? She’s a fictional character, for god’s sake!

“Hey, Levi,” You started, looking up from your task, “If I say I have a crush on you, what would you do?”

The man in question stared at you for a moment before erupting into a boisterous laughter. “LMFAO,” he spelled in glee, hands waving off your statement as if it’s a mere jest, “That’s the funniest joke I have ever heard from you in a long while lolol.”

“Take this seriously, Levi!” You wrung the damp towel in annoyance and weaponized it against your companion, hitting him by the leg with enough force to have him yelp in pain.

“OW, TF you doing? That hurts!” He rubbed his leg in attempt to stave off the stinging feeling, only to realize your reaction to his answer, “Wait, that wasn’t a joke?”

“Do I look like-?!”

“WTF!? That’s a horrible decision!” Levi exclaimed in disbelief, his eyes scanning your expression for some sort of… mischief in your eyes or a slightly wolfish grin.

But all he saw was that you were genuinely serious - about him and your feelings for him.  

“Why?” He breathed out the question, his head thinking of the times when you must’ve raised his intimacy close enough for you to drop that confession bomb on him, “Compared to Lucifer and Asmo, I’m not even the most handsome or popular character in this–”

“We’re not in a game.”

Levi went silent at your words.

Have you done it? Is this finally friendship over?

Panic began rising up your chest as he sat still, unmoving from his position. Before you can speak, he looked at you with a hopeful spark in his expression, “Then… does that mean I can like the main character, too?”

SATAN

Satan had offered to walk home with you together after hearing that Solomon is graciously tutoring you for certain RAD subjects – those that doesn’t exist in the human world. The blonde demon insisted that he doesn’t mind waiting for you given that there are still some things he has to do for the student council.

‘It sounds like an after-school date’, Solomon grinned at you before leaving. You swear, he’s got some sort of voodoo magic radar for your emotions.

Removing the thought of Solomon’s jests before you blush too hard, you thought of confessing to Satan before a certain someone runs his mouth about it. Should you…?

Yeah, it’s better to hear it from you than someone else – namely Solomon.

“Hey, Satan, I have a crush on you.” You told him, as casually as you can without breaking voice.

He stopped in his tracks, looking at you with disbelief. Satan opened his mouth to speak but stopped, taking a moment to think about his words, then simply asked, “Why…?”

Eh? “W-What do you mean ‘why’?”

You couldn’t really answer that. You’ve asked yourself a hundred times why you fell for a demon, the actual personification of Wrath itself, yet you can’t seem to find an answer for yourself. At least, you had no answers aside from… “I just really like you, Satan.”

He continued walking, you can feel the gears of his head turning as he oversees the situation in its logical perspective, “I’m a demon and you’re a human, need I remind you?”

That felt a pang on your chest, hearing him say it even though you are well aware of the fact.

Taking a deep breath to muster up the courage, you asked him for his final verdict, “So, you’re saying you don’t like me back?”

“Yes–!” He answered automatically, but then almost immediately denied, “Well, no.”

Huh. That’s quite confusing.

“I like you, too,” Satan smiled at you for a moment, “But things will be complicated if we think about this logically.”

Scratching the back of your head at his words, you couldn’t help yourself in saying, “When did love become a logical thing, though?”

He blushed at your words, hastening his walking speed to stop you from further seeing his reddened face, “S-Stop being too c-cute! I’m not lending you any more romance novels if you keep being so adorable!”

ASMODEUS

Asmodeus held your hand as if it was the most fragile thing in the world. With great precision, he coated your nails with an even layer of nail polish to match his wonderfully manicured ones.

People adore Asmodeus’ natural charm. What can you say? He’s absolutely flawless and drop-dead gorgeous.

Just thinking about the way his eyes sparkle at the news of Jeffrey Star’s new palette collection. The way he speaks excitedly whenever Prada presents their new line of designer bags. Hell, even talking about hand cream is a treat in itself whenever Asmodeus does it.

Look at you, absolutely whipped for this man and his undeniable charm.

He insists that you’re immune to his beauty yet you’re still attracted to him. It’s unfair to be this handsomely beautiful.

“Asmo, I think I have a crush on you.” You spouted out randomly, feeling his soft warm hands against yours.

“Of course, you do~” He replies as a matter-of-factly, “Everyone lusts over my magnificent–”

“I’m serious, Asmo.” You cut him off from his usual sugar-sweet line, “I like you.”

“Alright, humour me, love,” He put aside the nail polish and intertwined his hands in yours, his face closing towards yours dangerously, “If I accept your confession and we become a couple, what would you like to do with me…?”

With heated cheeks, you opened your mouth to speak but he sensually placed an index finger by your lips, he whispered with that hedonistic tone of his, “In private, that is…”

In private?! Gosh, he’s asking for a lot!

Suddenly feeling parched, you gulp at the thought of what you wanted out of him if he ever accepts you as a partner. Eyes flitting anywhere except towards his, you tried your best to hold your trembling body before him - backing down now might show your lack of conviction towards him, after all.

You mumbled softly, hoping that he can hear you through your closeness, “…ds with you.”

“Tsk tsk,” The peach-haired demon grinned as he clicked his tongue, “I can’t hear you with such a silent voice. You can do better than that~”

“M-Maybe hold h-hands with you… or c-cuddle if y-you want.” You repeated a bit more audibly, your blush deepening by the second, “I-It’d be fun to go o-on a café w-with just the two of us, too.”

“KYAAA~! That’s so wholesome and adorable!!!” Asmodeus squealed in delight at your answer, throwing himself at you in a tight embrace, “Alright, I’ll be your boyfriend and we’ll do all those together~! This is so exciting!”

“No!!! Asmo, my nails!”

BEELZEBUB

From whatever ‘reliable’ and expensive source you’ve heard [definitely not Mammon], Beel apparently loves a certain sandwich menu from Hell’s Kitchen. Unfamiliar with Devildom’s cuisine and Hell’s Kitchen’s menu, you were faced with a dilemma.

The question would be… which one of the three sandwiches in the menu he likes most?

This frustrating situation made you want to curse Mammon for scamming your 100Grimm with this useless piece of information. Sighing at the thought of having to buy all three just for good measure, you saw the Avatar of Gluttony himself walking pass the restaurant.

“Beel!” You exclaimed to get his attention, waving at the tall ginger-haired demon as he looked towards your general direction, “I have a question for you!”

He greeted you with that heart-melting smile of his, eager to answer any inquiries from you. You whisked him away from the street and into the shop, asking, “Which of the sandwiches in the menu do you like most?”

“What for?”

“Just answer the question, please~”

“The one with the tartare and cheese…” He replied, eyes dreamy at the menu board, most possibly captivated by the memory of having such a treat. Beel snapped from his reverie, explaining to you why it’s his most favoured, “It’s like your human food ‘cheeseburger’!”

You nodded and ordered the exact sandwich for him, much to his surprise.

It’s like a date! You inwardly screamed, mentally giving yourself a high-five for taking advantage of this sweet opportunity.

“Let’s split up the sandwich, as thank you for buying me food…”

How sweet! The thought made you want to curl up in the floor and cry in happiness, but resisted, “Come on, let me treat you once in a while!”

You both took a seat on the less conspicuous booths of the store. As Beel ate with glee, you chatted him up, content at the moment both of you were sharing.

“Why’d you *munch* even buy me food?”

“I like you!” You answered without a sliver of a doubt, carried too much at the connection you were sharing at the time. Blinking once… twice, you realized what you’ve done.

Well, fu–

“This food sure is great,” Beel avoided looking at you and continued eating, his face noticeably red from his blushing cheeks.

Groaning in defeat, you buried your face in your hands. It’d be rude to suddenly take back what you’ve said. Stupid me, stupid, stupid–

“I thought I’m hearing things because I’m still hungry.” The ginger-haired demon explained, his hands taking yours and peeling them off from your heated face, “You’re like this sandwich, you know that?”

“W-What…?”

“It’s my favourite, just as you’re my favourite person to be with!”

BELPHEGOR

You stared at Belphegor’s sleeping face, so peaceful and at ease.

It’s hard to think of him as a demon when he’s especially languid like this.

He had invited you to watch a movie that Levi suggested, only to doze off within fifteen minutes of the production, his head perfectly placed by your lap. Deciding that the Avatar of Sloth would rather sleep than watch, you let him sleep to his heart’s content.

The moment the movie ended, you didn’t notice that your lap had fallen asleep with him. Great.

You poked his cheek, seeing if he’ll wake up. “Belphie~” You cooed, “Belphie, wake up… My thighs has fallen asleep with you~”

“Fiv.. m’nutes…” He stirred, making himself much more comfortable on your lap and on the sofa.

“What am I gonna do with you?” You sighed in affection, smiling at his sleeping visage. Similar to Belphegor, you also made yourself comfortable on the sofa despite the stinging feeling by your thighs, “Alright, five more minutes, but only because I like you.”

To your surprise, Belphie spoke again, “Say that again.”

“I said you can have five more minutes, Belphie.”

“No, the second part…”

He heard that?!

You gulped, eyes avoiding his as you slowly repeated, “B-B… Because I like you.”

The raven-haired demon closed his eyes once, turning away from you, “I must be dreaming.” And within seconds, he has fallen asleep again just like that.

“No, Belphie, don’t sleep!” You stood up at his reaction to such an important confession, only to remember that he was formerly sleeping on your lap.

WHOOPS.

“Ow,” He rubbed his head after being unceremoniously thrown out of the sofa, sitting up groggily from all of the commotion, “Okay, so it’s not a dream.”

You sat beside him on the floor and rubbed his head as well, apologizing for it, “Why would think that, though?”

He looked away with a blush, “Because it’s too good to be true…”

[passionate-reply]

What would Great Albums be, if not for defenses of albums lots of people hate? SPK’s Machine Age Voodoo is, of course, one of those albums, being the attempt of a noisy, drony early industrial group to make synthy disco magic. Did they succeed? Well, maybe not--but at least it’s interesting. Find out more by watching the video, or checking out the transcript under the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! This time, I will be once again be coming to the defence of an album that’s been very divisive: Machine Age Voodoo by SPK, first released in 1984. Earlier in the 1980s, SPK had distinguished themselves as one of the most prominent figures of the nascent “noise music” movement, alongside acts like NON and Throbbing Gristle. Just two years before Machine Age Voodoo, they released their arguable magnum opus: Leichenschrei, an album that eschewed a traditional tracklisting, featured the mutilated visage of a victim of napalm burns on its cover, and sounded something like this:

Music: “Seite ((Klono))” / “Napalm (Terminal Patient)”

With their follow-up to Leichenschrei, SPK would take their sound in a very different direction. They abandoned the harsh, buzzing textures and nauseous, whirring drones of their earlier work, and set out in a remarkably more pop direction. While Machine Age Voodoo features verses and choruses, brighter synth textures, and winsome slap basslines, it still maintains a certain “industrial” identity, tying it into the same overarching web of related styles that SPK’s earlier work fell under. This album reminds me a bit of Depeche Mode’s mid-80s output, such as Some Great Reward, in its incorporation of both synth-pop structures as well as some accents of mechanistic clangs and bangs. Depeche Mode and SPK were, of course, passing by one another after coming from opposite directions on this spectrum, but the end results remain comparable.

Music: “Junk Funk” / “Machine Age Voodoo”

Listening to the album’s stomping opener, titled “Junk Funk” on most releases but made into the title track for the US market, I’m struck by just how upbeat of a track it is. Where many industrial acts are keen to portray modern labour as a punishing, soul-sucking, miserable endeavour, “Junk Funk” seems to make it into something of a party. Given that even Depeche Mode were penning tracks like “Everything Counts” with a dour outlook on capitalism, the seemingly playful aura surrounding this single really sets it apart--though not necessarily in a good way. As I mentioned earlier, *Machine Age Voodoo* has consistently been panned by fans of the group’s more aggressive earlier work, and I think the album’s affinities with light-hearted, and perhaps even silly, post-disco pop make it all the more easy to write off as ridiculous and asinine. But much like simply being in a style you don’t care for isn’t a reason to lambaste a work of art, simply being lighter in tone is no reason to reject something. Not all great art needs to be stone-serious, after all! While Machine Age Voodoo may not be a continuation of the classic SPK sound, I think it’s an album that has plenty of appeal for fans of lighter synth-pop, and one that I wish had managed to achieve a bit more renown among those who might be a bit more receptive to its style.

Naturally, the title of the album and the themes of its sometime title track invite us to consider the role that appropriation of “primitive” themes has to play. Ever since industrialization and colonialism began to create large separations between the lifestyles of “the West and the rest,” Western artists from Picasso to Gauguin have found themselves fascinated by so-called “primitive” ways of life, found among communities of colour whom they believed to live closer to the natural or archaic state of humankind, uncorrupted by capitalism. But followers of the religion sometimes known as “Voodoo” are living in the modern world as much as anyone else is, and the use of their faith as a symbol of barbarism or the unrestrained id here is presumptuous at best, and bigoted at worst--particularly given the reference to “funk,” a music style that, like Voodoo, is strongly associated with Black culture. The love for things “primitive” has served an important cultural role in the West, offering an apparent alternative to the crushing death spiral of capitalism, and serving as an outlet for questioning the assumed status quo and the truth of human nature--but at the same time, I think we can fairly criticize it for offering a stereotyped and tokenized view of cultures outside of the West. Machine Age Voodoo offers another, very different, perspective on the Other on its second track, “With Love From China.”

Music: “With Love From China”

Compared to “Junk Funk,” “With Love From China” is distinguished as one of the album’s more plaintive and less dancefloor-oriented tracks, and, in contrast to “Junk Funk”’s joyful embrace of “high technology hoodoo,” “With Love From China” portrays the titular Communist power as something quite sinister. While a simple read of the lyrics suggests that it may be a triumphant hymn to the state, the track’s plodding, dirgelike melody makes it hang like an ominous cloud instead. Arguably the most successful state to be built upon Marxist ideals, China is a prominent feature of lots of early 80s synth-pop, where it and other Communist states saw varying portrayals as anywhere from dystopian to utopian. Like the appropriation of “voodoo” earlier, the dread romanticism applied to China by SPK on this track says more about them than it does about China itself. I think both tracks, taken together, paint a picture of a sort of “anywhere but here” ideology, defined less by any strong feelings for these particular cultures, and more by a desire for an escape to the exotic, and an abandonment of all that is sick about the West. Overall, though, “With Love From China” isn’t necessarily a fair representation of the average track on Machine Age Voodoo, as the album consists mostly of higher-energy tracks, like “Metal Dance.”

Music: “Metal Dance”

Perhaps the track most clearly aimed at nightclub rotation, “Metal Dance” feels like a logical choice for the album’s first single. Less of a pop tune and more of a floorfiller, “Metal Dance” still hums with industrial touches, propelled by clunking metallic percussion and chant-like shouts that prefigure the synthesis of machine music and club fare that EBM acts like Nitzer Ebb would achieve later in the 1980s. With its succinct title and a compelling hook that implores us to “synthesize our dreams away,” “Metal Dance” almost feels like a love letter to the sheer concept of electronic music for dancing to--a consummate paean to the discotheque, even if it comes from what may seem like an unlikely, and perhaps dishonest, source. A similar embrace of dance music qua dance music is found on “High Tension.”

Music: “High Tension”

If “Metal Dance” sounds like a preview of later industrial dance genres like EBM, then “High Tension” feels like a throwback to the first attempts to “synthesize” an electronic disco, with its dense, complex production style, prominent bass, and lyrics that promote “danc[ing] ‘til you drop” as a response to “bad times.” Despite its compelling use of a well-textured vocoder, “High Tension” veers away from the worship of the machine that was central to “Metal Dance,” and its straightforward celebration of dancing itself makes it feel like the most likely genuine crossover hit on the album--not that it really had any. It’s also worth noting that the track’s bridge contains an early reference to “hip-hop,” back when artists like Man Parrish were freely using the term to describe club-friendly electro that didn’t necessarily include rapping. Times have changed, of course, but I think “High Tension” fits right in with other works in that style--even if, again, it comes from a group that nobody would have expected to make music like this!

On the cover of Machine Age Voodoo, we see a fantasy cityscape, defined by a massive tower crowned with the band’s name accompanied by a Communist-inspired red star. It’s as firmly removed from the vile and shocking imagery of Leichenschrei as the music contained within. But, just as the music has retained some degree of industrial sentiments, the cover is not without its own sense of subversion--it is, after all, apparently enshrining the ostensibly dangerous, foreign ideology of Communism!

It’s tempting to compare this image to the futuristic imagery of Fritz Lang’s classic silent film, Metropolis, particularly given that there’s also a track on the album that shares that title. But I think that the visual style employed here, with its blocky, cubistic rendering of form and lively use of diagonals to enrich its composition, is perhaps more reminiscent of the work of the Russian avant-garde of the 1910s. Even before the Russian Revolution, pioneering abstract artists, like the “Rayonist” Natalia Goncharova, were looking towards the exciting potential of the future, and making art that celebrated the beauty of machines in motion. The early abstraction of painters like Goncharova would go on to influence the abstract art associated with the early days of the Soviet Union, which makes it a particularly fitting affinity given the themes of Machine Age Voodoo.

After Machine Age Voodoo, SPK never returned to making more melodic music--perhaps unsurprisingly, given the album’s simultaneous failure to achieve crossover success, or retain the interest of their existing fanbase. They returned in 1986 with Zamia Lehmanni: Songs of Byzantine Flowers, an album of dark ambient music that avoided slavishly copying earlier works like Leichenschrei, while still feeling like a worthy continuation of the spirit in which they had begun their career.

Music: “Invocation to Secular Heresies”

My favourite track on Machine Age Voodoo is “Seduction,” which is easy to overlook as it actually only appeared on the US release of the album. “Seduction” is striking for its blatant, wantonly sexual lyricism, which, when combined with SPK vocalist Sinan Leong’s competently sultry vocal style, recalls the best work of the experimental disco outfit Gina X Performance. And much like Gina X Performance, there’s a bit of subversively queer gender-bending to be had here, as a male backing vocalist repeats Leong’s line, “you call yourself a man?” I think that may be unintentional, a sort of happy accident, but I love it nonetheless. That’s all I have for today--thanks for listening!

Music: “Seduction”

[semper-legens]

114. Grave Matter, by Juno Dawson

Owned?: No, library Page count: 140 My summary: Eliza Grey is dead. She died in a car accident at the age of seventeen. It was cruel, sad, and ultimately pointless. But her friend Samuel refuses to accept it. He’s bringing Eliza back. No matter what it takes. My rating: 4/5 My commentary:

More Juno Dawson, and a short one today - this appears to have been written as part of a project to get people, in this case teens, into reading. Which is fair, but it doesn’t give me a lot to talk about. Ultimately, this is a nice little ghost story, doesn’t overstay its welcome, gets in and out and does the job. I didn’t find it particularly scary in and of itself, but I think it’s more meant to be spooky than scary, if that makes sense to you.

(Also, if you noticed the fact that I’ve missed an entry, that’s because the book I read between this and the last was about my town, and I can’t really talk about it without revealing where I’m from, which I don’t wanna do.)

The story itself is a story common to a lot of ghostly narratives - someone has died, and their loved one/s want to bring them back. In this particular version, Samuel does a ritual given to him by a voodoo priest to rewrite the world so his friend Eliza survived the crash - but this has consequences. Now, the idea of using voodoo as something of an evil presence is a problematic trope in media, and I can’t say that all of the use of voodoo in this book isn’t in that group. It’s mitigated by Samuel’s aunt, herself a voodoo practitioner who is portrayed as the sort of ‘good witch’ to the antagonistic ‘bad witch’ who gives Samuel the ritual. Still has its own problems, but not as bad as it could be.

Other than that, though, the story is compelling and worth the short amount of time that it takes to read. Also, this book has these wonderfully moody black and white illustrations, which add an extra spook factor. I can see gothy teens who aren’t into reading liking this a lot, it’s pretty neat!

Next up, back into history and over to Europe, as a young boy grows up in occupied Vienna.