#and so I can get my sources masterpost out there so people can like. see I'm trying my best not to just talk out of my ass

[anipgarden]

What Kind of Plants to Add

This is my sixth post in a series I’ll be making on how to increase biodiversity on a budget! I’m not an expert–just an enthusiast–but I hope something you find here helps! 

I’d love to be able to give a quick and easy list of things to add, but frankly I can’t do that. I can strongly encourage you, however, to look at these categories of plants and do further research to discover what’s native to your area, so you can plant things that’ll have the most impact in your particular area.

With that being said, I will mention a few plants as examples. This is in no way, shape, or form me telling you that you have to or even should buy these specific plants. Not every plant works well in every place in every garden, not to even mention across countries. Above all, if you’re wondering what plants you should be adding, I can wholeheartedly say plants that are native to your area--or at least nonnative non-invasive.

Flowers

Flowers are some of the most common ways people work to increase biodiversity in their gardens, and who can blame them? Seeing pops of color out your window, and directly seeing the impact via butterflies and bees visiting the garden? It’s a win-win for us and the wildlife!

Flowers--especially native wildflowers--are a quick, easy, and cheap way to increase wildlife traffic in your garden. Perennial gardens are more likely to get you the most bang for your buck, as they’ll come back year after year if you treat them well. But don’t dismiss annuals--if you get ones that easily reseed, they’ll eagerly return on their own! If you can, do your best to ensure that the flowers you plant all have different blooming periods--that way, your garden can support wildlife throughout the year instead of for just one brief season. 

Flowers are environmental super boosters. Their nectar and pollen can feed insects and birds, their stems and leaves can provide nesting materials for all sorts of creatures, and their seeds are a popular food source among birds at all times of the year.

Climbing Plants

Climbing plants can be fantastic options for maximizing your impact. If you have limited ground space, growing up can provide interest as well as additional habitat for all kinds of creatures.

Training plants up a trellis, fence, or bare wall offers food, shelter, and habitat. Trumpet vines, passionflowers, honeysuckles, and more will provide sweet nectar for pollinators as well as nesting and hiding spaces for other wildlife like birds, bugs, and lizards. Do note that in some cases, climbing plants can actually affect the structural integrity of walls and roofs if allowed to climb too much and too far along a house, so be careful. 

Bushes/Shrubs

Bushes provide shelter for creatures, which then provides hunting grounds for other animals. Their fallen leaves and petals can be food and shelter for detritivores, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals--and they also provide good cover for moving around the garden, for creatures who like to stay hidden. They can be a bit more pricey to obtain--unless you get cuttings or seeds and are willing to wait--but they’ll definitely be worth it, and they’re typically low-maintenance once they’re established.

Bonus points if you get a flowering and fruiting bush, like bottlebrush, serviceberry, lilac, or others. This’ll make your bushes not only a place of shelter, but a food source as well--and depending on the kind you pick, may be food for you too! Making a garden border with a series of bushes can be a great option to providing lots of habitat, if you can manage it.

Shrubs with pithy or hollow stems are excellent options for supporting solitary bees. Some examples you could look into are elderberry, raspberry, blackberry, or sumac.

Trees

Trees have a high up-front cost and take awhile to grow, but once they’re settled in place they provide crucial habitat to all kinds of creatures! Insects will be attracted to flowers they may provide, or to nest in the wood. Others may eat the leaves as food, or use them as nesting materials. Birds will perch and nest in trees, and feed off the fruits and seeds and insects that also use the tree. Squirrels also use trees as nesting places, piling up dead leaves into huge clusters to raise their young in, and will absolutely feast on any nuts the tree may provide. Mice, badgers, and more will feast on fallen fruits or seeds, and bats roost in the trunks when given the chance. Detritivores eat fallen leaves and decomposing fruits, providing further food for hunting creatures. Trees can also be good for us--they help block out noise and air pollution, and are the poster child for taking CO2 and making it breathable oxygen. Not to mention they can provide plenty of food for us, too. Nesting grounds, hunting grounds, shelter from weather, and more--trees are, in my opinion, likely to be the best way to boost biodiversity long-term. If you can get your hands on a sapling for cheap and can care for it for awhile, I’d definitely give it a shot! Make sure the tree won’t get too big for where you’re growing it, though--you’ve definitely gotta plan for the long-term before you plant any. 

Some trees can be grown in containers. Though they won’t become gigantic branching behemoths, they’ll still do their part to support all the life that depends on them. Growing a tree from seed may take awhile, but could be an easy option to getting one if you have the patience--the trees are more than happy to help you, as they drop tons of seeds and fruit in fall for you to gather. 

Groundcover

Bare soil is the enemy of microbial life in the soil, and while small pockets of bare soil can be great nesting places for bees and other insects, having swaths of empty soil should be avoided. Groundcover plants grow low to the ground in a sprawling habit, and will often spread quite easily on their own. This is a great way to provide shelter, keep soil temperatures cool, block out weeds, and give your soil life a chance to thrive.

Sometimes, ground covers don’t even have to be planted in the ground. Shallow-rooted plants like succulents, ferns, and alyssum can be planted into cracks in stone walls, and moss can be planted by making moss graffiti and painting it onto a surface. As with climbing plants, do make sure that you don’t cause extra damage to important walls and housing foundations.

Host Plants

Host plants get their own section, because plants of all kinds can be host plants for different creatures! It’s common to think only flowers can be host plants in the beginning, but in reality, many bushes and trees are host plants to dozens of species of butterflies and moths. Honestly, I feel that factor's not talked about enough. Look up what insects live in your area and what kind of host plants they need, and plant some if you can! Bonus points if you can plant a variety of them--I know that there’s hundreds of kinds of milkweed, each one flowering and leafing up around different times of the year. Planting several varieties of milkweed, then, would provide monarchs with food through several seasons, allowing many more of them to grow up in your garden!

Nectar Plants

Plants that provide nectar to insects is a great foundation to increasing biodiversity! This is, of course, many native wildflowers (and even nonnative wildflowers, though be sure they aren’t invasives who’ll do more harm than good), but many native bushes, vines, and trees will also provide nectar to hungry pollinators! 

Keystone Species

To be frank, some plants can have a bigger impact than others in a landscape. By all means, every bit helps, but if you want to boost biodiversity quickly there are a few plants that can essentially serve as the backbone of local ecosystems that you can grow in anything from a balcony pot to a small patch of your backyard. These plants can be different depending on where you are, so do your research to find out what would be best to grow in your area. If you can’t get them all? That’s alright! But even hitting just a few of these target species really can do a lot.

That’s the end of this post! My next post is gonna be about things to keep in mind/continue to do once you get plants in the ground! Until then, I hope this advice was helpful! Feel free to reply with any questions, your success stories, or anything you think I may have forgotten to add in!

[writingwithcolor]

Sri Lankan Fairies and Senegalese Goddesses: Mixing Mythology as a Mixed Creator

[Note: this archive ask was submitted before the Masterpost rules took effect in 2023. The ask has been abridged for clarity.]

@reydjarinkenobi asked:

Hi, I’m half Sri Lankan/half white Australian, second gen immigrant though my mum moved when she was a kid. My main character for my story is a mixed demigod/fae. [...] Her bio mum is essentially a Scottish/Sri Lankan fairy and her other bio mum (goddess) is a goddess of my own creation, Nettamaar, who’s name is derived from [...] Wolof words [...]. The community of mages that she presided over is from the South Eastern region of Senegal [...] In the beginning years of European imperialism, the goddess basically protected them through magic and by blessing a set of triplets effectively cutting them off from the outside world for a few centuries [...] I was unable to find a goddess that fit the story I wanted to tell [...] and also couldn’t find much information on the internet for local gods, which is why I have created my own. I know that the gods in Hinduism do sort of fit into [the story] but my Sri Lankan side is Christian and I don’t feel comfortable representing the Hindu gods in the way that I will be this goddess [...]. I wanted to know if any aspect of the community’s history is problematic as well as if I should continue looking further to try and find an African deity that matched my narrative needs? I was also worried that having a mixed main character who’s specifically half black would present problems as I can’t truly understand the black experience. I plan on getting mixed and black sensitivity readers once I finish my drafts [...] I do take jabs at white supremacy and imperialism and I I am planning to reflect my feelings of growing up not immersed in your own culture and feeling overwhelmed with what you don’t know when you get older [...]. I’m sorry for the long ask but I don’t really have anyone to talk to about writing and I’m quite worried about my story coming across as insensitive or problematic because of cultural history that I am not educated enough in.

Reconciliation Requires Research

First off: how close is this world’s history to our own, omitting the magic? If you’re aiming for it to be essentially parallel, I would keep in mind that Senegal was affected by the spread of Islam before the Europeans arrived, and most people there are Muslim, albeit with Wolof and other influences. 

About your Scottish/Sri Lankan fairy character: I’ll point you to this previous post on Magical humanoid worldbuilding, Desi fairies as well as this previous post on Characterization for South Asian-coded characters for some of our commentary on South Asian ‘fae’. Since she is also Scottish, the concept can tie back to the Celtic ideas of the fae.

However, reconciliation of both sides of her background can be tricky. Do you plan on including specific Sri Lankan mythos into her heritage? I would tread carefully with it, if you plan to do so. Not every polytheistic culture will have similar analogues that you can pull from.

To put it plainly, if you’re worried about not knowing enough of the cultural histories, seek out people who have those backgrounds and talk to them about it. Do your research thoroughly: find resources that come from those cultures and read carefully about the mythos that you plan to incorporate. Look for specificity when you reach out to sensitivity readers and try to find sources that go beyond a surface-level analysis of the cultures you’re looking to portray. 

~ Abhaya

I see you are drawing on Gaelic lore for your storytelling. Abhaya has given you good links to discussions we’ve had at WWC and the potential blindspots in assuming, relative to monotheistic religions like Christianity, that all polytheistic and pluralistic lore is similar to Gaelic folklore. Fae are one kind of folklore. There are many others. Consider:

Is it compatible? Are Fae compatible with the Senegalese folklore you are utilizing? 

Is it specific? What ethnic/religious groups in Senegal are you drawing from? 

Is it suitable? Are there more appropriate cultures for the type of lore you wish to create?

Remember, Senegalese is a national designation, not an ethnic one, and certainly not a designation that will inform you with respect to religious traditions. But more importantly:

...Research Requires Reconciliation

My question is why choose Senegal when your own heritage offers so much room for exploration? This isn’t to say I believe a half Sri-Lankan person shouldn’t utilize Senegalese folklore in their coding or vice-versa, but, to put it bluntly, you don’t seem very comfortable with your heritage. Religions can change, but not everything cultural changes when this happens. I think your relationship with your mother’s side’s culture offers valuable insight to how to tackle the above, and I’ll explain why.  

I myself am biracial and bicultural, and I had to know a lot about my own background before I was confident using other cultures in my writing. I had to understand my own identity—what elements from my background I wished to prioritize and what I wished to jettison. Only then was I able to think about how my work would resonate with a person from the relevant background, what to be mindful of, and where my blindspots would interfere. 

I echo Abhaya’s recommendation for much, much more research, but also include my own personal recommendation for greater self-exploration. I strongly believe the better one knows oneself, the better they can create. It is presumptuous for me to assume, but your ask’s phrasing, the outlined plot and its themes all convey a lack of confidence in your mixed identity that may interfere with confidence when researching and world-building. I’m not saying give up on this story, but if anxiety on respectful representation is a large barrier for you at the moment, this story may be a good candidate for a personal project to keep to yourself until you feel more ready.

(See similar asker concerns here: Running Commentary: What is “ok to do” in Mixed-Culture Supernatural Fiction, here: Representing Biracial Black South American Experiences and here: Am I fetishizing my Japanese character?)

- Marika.

Start More Freely with Easy Mode

Question: Why not make a complete high-fantasy universe, with no need of establishing clear real-world parallels in the text? It gives you plenty of leg room to incorporate pluralistic, multicultural mythos + folklore into the same story without excessive sweating about historically accurate worldbuilding.

It's not a *foolproof* method; even subtly coded multicultural fantasy societies like Avatar or the Grishaverse exhibit certain harmful tropes. I also don't know if you are aiming for low vs high fantasy, or the degree of your reliance on real world culture / religion / identity cues.

But don't you think it's far easier for this fantasy project to not have the additional burden of historical accuracy in the worldbuilding? Not only because I agree with Mod Marika that perhaps you seem hesitant about the identity aspect, but because your WIP idea can include themes of othering and cultural belonging (and yes, even jabs at supremacist institutions) in an original fantasy universe too. I don't think I would mind if I saw a couple of cultural markers of a Mughal Era India-inspired society without getting a full rundown of their agricultural practices, social conventions and tax systems, lol.

Mod Abhaya has provided a few good resources about what *not* to do when drawing heavily from cultural coding. With that at hand, I don't think your project should be a problem if you simply make it an alternate universe like Etheria (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), Inys (The Priory of the Orange Tree) or Earthsea (the Earthsea series, Ursula K. Le Guin). Mind you, we can trace the analogues to each universe, but there is a lot of freedom to maneuver as you wish when incorporating identities in original fantasy. And of course, multiple sensitivity readers are a must! Wishing you the best for the project.

- Mod Mimi

[esoteric-chaos]

Ferns - The Mundane and Magical 101

Working with my local land more has taught me to source local plants and connect with them. By properly taking care of it and working the land. That also means connecting with local plant spirits.

The Fern is one of those species of plants. This wonderful herb is abundant, protective and hold much wisdom for they are very old. With some dating back to 360 million years (or so they say). It is known some species can live up to a hundred years.

They are full of wisdom, you might just learn something from them if you actively work with them as a spirit.

Scientific Name:

Family: Pteridophyte

Parts used: For species of Fern it varies

Planet: Mercury

Element: Air

CAUTIONS: ALWAYS check with your local herbalist and doctor before consuming any medicinal medicine as they will be able to direct you on proper dosages. Some medications can also interact and so can some conditions with certain herbs.

IMPORTANT: Some Ferns are harmful (like the Pteridium genus aka Bracken Fern) to the airways and can let off spores that can harm or cause death in immunocompromised people. Always be wary of Fern species around pets as well. Source and research responsibly.

Uses in Herbalism and Healing:

Certain Fern species are used to treat different ailments. Ex. Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) used for arthritis while Maidenhair Speenwort (Asplenium tricomanes) is used for coughs.

Always check which fern species is used as some can counteract and aren't always used for the same ailment.

On a fun note, Fiddlehead Ferns are used from a culinary standpoint and are quite delicious when prepared correctly.

Uses in Magic:

When placed in the home, it is said to hold protective properties, and when planted at the doorstep.

Dried Fern, when burned, carries exorcism properties.

Some folklore speaks that when Fern is burned outside, it causes rainfall.

When carried or worn, Fern has the power to guide to treasure.

Some Celtic and Irish legends speak of Ferns being used in from healing to magic.

A Slavic folk tale speaks of a flower on a fern that blooms for a very short time on the eve of the summer solstice. It is said it brings fortune to the person who finds it. In some tales, it allows humans to understand animals talking. It is guarded by malevolent entities. Though the one who succeeds in gathering it can receive earthly riches, that attainment has always brought unlucky energy to the poor soul, so some leave it alone.

Recipes:

A very yummy recipe using Fiddlehead ferns. Check it out!

Sources and extra reading material:

Please remember while I provide sources, some content is my own UPG from working for years intuitively with this herbal ally. What you do not see from my sources assume it is my UPG and take what information you will. Always cross-reference and research yourself. All medical knowledge will be sourced.

Medical Links:

Cao, H., Chai, T., Wang, X., B. Morais-Braga, M. F., Yang, H., Wong, C., Wang, R., Yao, H., Cao, J., Cornara, L., Burlando, B., Wang, Y., Xiao, J., & M. Coutinho, H. D. (2017). Phytochemicals from fern species: Potential for medicine applications. Phytochemistry Reviews, 16(3), 379-440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11101-016-9488-7

Spiritual:

Books:

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham

Links:

Want to check out my other posts? Here’s the Masterpost

[khaire-traveler]

Hey! I’ve been following for a while and I have a small question. I’m worried that I’m headblind/can’t feel or hear deities at all. When I work with reading flames or spinning coins, something feels off or wrong. And I’m too scared to use a pendulum because a friend of mine had a trickster on them last year. Is this something that I can fix or I have to work around? Do you have any tips to work past this or any communication methods? Thx for reading!

Hey, Nonny! Apologies for the late answer; I've been crazy busy lately.

So, I have a few things I can recommend as well as some things I hope you find reassuring.

Firstly, I'd like to say that I don't believe in trickster spirits - at least, not in the way that has been popularized. Are there spirits out there who are maybe not so good to be around? Yes, absolutely. But if you're reaching out to a specific deity, is someone else entirely going to answer? In my opinion, no. When you specifically call on a deity, I personally believe that only that deity is going to answer. If you're nervous about who will be on the other end of your prayer, I suggest using a broad epithet of the deity to get their attention. I have a pretty detailed post on my views that I'll link here and save you my long ass thought process. In general, though, deities are the protection from evil, not the cause of it, and that holds true when it comes to supposed trickster spirits.

Secondly, I do believe that deity communication is a skill that can be practiced and learned, but sometimes it's much more difficult for some than others. For some people, they struggle to do it at all, and that's not a bad thing. I feel there is a misconception going around that in order to have an actual relationship with your deities, you need to be able to communicate through divination or have to sense their presence. However, this is untrue. You can still have strong deity relationships through prayer and other simple means of communication. Deities will still listen to you, and you'll often find that they'll still answer, even if it's not in ways that are often discussed online. Deities communicate through a variety of means - dreams, physical signs and omens, divination, even encounters with strangers - and to enforce a limited view on their communication abilities is something I'm strongly against, yet it is often the only thing that's popularized. Online, you often hear stories of people speaking directly to deities and being able to physically see them. You even hear stories of perfect and flawless communication through divination. The things is, we often don't see the rigorous practice and build up that it took for someone to get there. In my experience, even just by speaking to other practitioners, these communication skills seldom come naturally.

Thirdly, I do have sources that you can look into that explore different methods of deity communication as well honing your ability to use those methods. This post discusses how to differentiate between your inner voice and that of a deity. This post talks about identifying signs from deities. There are other ways to identify signs not mentioned in this post, but this is a great place to start. This post mentions some ways deities can try to contact you, just in general. This post is about narrowing down which deities are trying to contact you. While not directly related to your situation, it could still be helpful. This post is specifically geared towards to the headblind. It gives some great tips on figuring out what deities are trying to communicate. I highly suggest you take a look at my Deities & Entities section in my pinned post for more. Finally, here is a masterpost I made of various divination methods - all great ways to communicate with deities.

I will say that it takes a lot of practice, especially if you're coming from a place where you've never felt or experienced anything relating to deities, but in my opinion, it's not impossible most of the time. Even if you ARE fully head blind, that's not a bad thing. Like I said earlier, it doesn't prevent you from having meaningful relationships with deities. The best thing you can do for yourself is to stop comparing yourself to other worshippers and their experiences. At the end of the day, everyone's practice will differ vastly from each other, and even when you have things in common, you will still find that you do some things way differently from the other practitioner. Even the way that deities present themselves to people varies. For example, I often see Apollon as having long, wavy hair that's golden blond. However, I've met another person who sees him as having shoulder length hair that's more of a strawberry blond. I even know someone who only sees the gods in the forms of animals, viewing Apollon as a swan, crow, or crane. Deity experiences are almost never exactly the same. How you do things will always differ, and there's nothing wrong with that. There's nothing wrong with the way you practice, and you're not doing anything wrong by struggling to communicate. It's ok, and you are perfectly fine the way you are. 🫂

I hope you found my answer helpful. I know it was pretty wordy, but I hope you don't mind that too much. I wish you the best on your journey, Nonny, and I truly hope you can feel secure and happy in your practice. I believe in you, and I'm proud of you for the progress you've already made. Take care. 🧡

[littleguymart]

about this blog!

welcome to @littleguymart! This is a blog of cute little guys sourced from eBay listings. I also run @littlefleamart and @littlethingsmart.

You can reblog as much as you like, and go as far back in the archives as you like. Feel free to infodump or share stories about your little guys in the tags. I also take requests, but as inspiration. This blog is for people to enjoy!

Check out people's fanart here and feel free to tag me in it!

If you're looking for help finding a specific guy, see my masterpost of search tips here.

I choose listings based on the vibe of the picture, not the price, so it’s often worth it to search for similar items and see if there’s something at a lower price if you’re looking to buy a friend. I also tag cheaper friends.

Please note that I am a part of eBay's affiliate program, which means if you click a link to eBay from this blog and make a purchase, I might get paid.

This is why my posts are tagged 'paid link'. Rates are about 1-3% of the items list price. If I do get paid, that money comes from eBay, not out of the seller's pocket.

eBay does not choose any of the listings I post and I'm not their employee. I started doing this because I enjoyed eBay-blogging for years, and this way I get some money out of it. If you want to avoid affiliate tracking, you can clear your browser's cookies, try a privacy extension, or wait 24 hours to make a purchase.

If you do happen to get a buddy, regardless of if you used the affiliate link or not, tell me and it’ll go in the adopted tag! i love it when people find a friend that makes them feel nice and especially when they show me.

As always, please don’t buy stuff on eBay if you can’t afford it or it stresses you out. Little guys are very cute, but they can look after themselves. If following is too much of a temptation, it’s okay to unfollow.

[fuckyeah-beringandwellsfics]

Hi! I'm not new to Myka and Helena, I remembered them from the 2010s and now watched the show just for them, but I am new to Myka and Helena fanfiction.

Do you know any more fics like this https://archiveofourown.org/works/957200?view_adult=true or vaguely like this?

Is there a big masterlist of good Myka and Helena fics? I've been reading through their tag on AO3, but there are 1600+ fics 😯 so it'll take me a while to read them. I'd like to read some good ones.

Hi and thank you for asking, anon! That fic is great, isn't it! (clickable version of the written-out link anon sent: Resigned to These Histories (We Exist) by journaliar/@snake-juice)

Anon, as far as I am aware, there is no *one* big masterlist.

Several people in this fandom have made their own rec lists over time, of course, from the very beginning. (The older they are, unfortunately, the higher the chance that some links might not work anymore, but you can still try them out!) I have a "fic rec" tag on my main blog (linked in case you want to know the source; that tag contains other fics too, not just Bering and Wells, but all of them femslash), and here are some Bering and Wells specific lists that I've found going through it:

styrofoamtokyo's list, from 2014

tracybering's list of Tracy Bering friendly fics and art, also from 2014

lonely-night's lists from 2017 and 2018

wibblywobblyida's list from 2021

There's also the Ballet AU, a collaboration with multiple fics and pieces of art, from several of this fandom's best authors and artists; highly recommended, masterpost here.

I'm sure there are more fic rec lists slumbering on people's blogs! So here's my call to anyone who sees this post: please link yours!

I myself am trying to assemble recs on an individual basis. Almost a year ago, I tried to make a list of what has been already recommended through this post, but now that is way out of date, of course.

Beyond these lists, the usual tips for AO3 and Tumblr apply (under a readmore for length):

when you found a fic you liked, click on the author's name and see what else they've written for the ship/fandom, see if you like those too

check if that author's bookmarks are public; those are fics that they liked, and maybe you'll like them too

and then with those fics, you can go to *those* authors' profiles and see what else *they* have written - and so on.

Don't forget to bookmark and/or download these fics so that you can find them again. You need to have a user profile yourself to bookmark fics (and that's not the only advantage; I highly recommend it - and remember, you can set your bookmarks to private if you want).

also, please please consider leaving kudos and comments on fics that you've liked - a lot of authors are still active in the fandom/for the ship, and kudos and comments always help us *stay* active, because they tell us that people still enjoy what we create. Even if the specific fic in question is from the early days of the fandom, kudos and comments are always welcome.

same goes for reblogs on Tumblr, be it the above lists, individual fic rec posts, or posts from the authors themselves with or about their stories.

some authors with a Tumblr blog also have a dedicated "my fics" tag or link on those blogs. Always worth clicking through from an individual Tumblr post to the author's blog, and seeing if something like that is on it - and if the author is still actively writing, consider giving them a follow (and reblogging their fic posts; I've heard from so many authors that their fic posts barely get any reblogs at all to spread the word)

I hope that all or at least some of these tips are helpful to you, Anon - there is a lot of great stuff out there, and you're right, it can be a bit daunting to figure out where to start. And hey, it's always okay to click back out of a fic you find you don't like. No harm no foul, even if the fic came recommended; everyone's taste is different! There is no "required reading" that you *have* to have done to be a fan. You already are, no matter how many fics you've read!

[railingsofsorrow]

Hope you're having an awesome day/night

I was wondering if I could request a BAU Team x Male reader who is a serial killer but in prison

The team pull him out to help on a complicated case unfortunately knowing reader can help its just if he will.

Reader is smart and cunning, he wants his freedom back if given the chance any chance he'll take it. (He reminds people of a wolf not so much a human)

Maybe a lil enemies to lovers with Derek

If you can maybe could you add this prompt for reader

It was unending horror after unending horror and at this point the terror in my blood had run dry and given way to apathy and exhaustion.

Skeletons In The Closet

A/N: this was so fun to write. I've done lots of research on psychopathy and the sources will be at the end of the one shot but remember I'm not a professional in the field! I tried my best. I hope I granted you wishes, sorry for taking so long! 

summary: a copycat killer is out in the city and the BAU needs your help to uncover the case. you just have one condition: to see derek morgan.  pairing: slight derek morgan x male!reader  w.c: 5.3K warnings/content: probably wrong portrayal of police procedures; case-related violence; graphic description of dead bodies; different povs; reader has heavy mood swings and has a cruel interpretation of things; manipulation; descriptions of child abuse; a portrayal of psychopathy; derek is Frustrated (with reason); discussion about the paradox of being saved; there is no comfort, no matter how much you search, but there's humor; italics are flashbacks; this is not a romantic fic; (let me know if I've forgotten something).

navi 

masterpost 

requested by @xweirdo101x 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

❝ The mind is its own place,

and in itself

can make a heaven of hell,

a hell of heaven. ❞

[john milton - paradise lost]

“No.”  

It's the first thing Derek says when the room becomes silent. He's been a member of this team for years and they know each other's quirks and twitches like no outsider can. They can basically read each other's minds; in a very amateur way of saying things. Which is why he knows when Hotch's brows furrow in thought that your name will be the next thing leaving his boss's mouth.  

He wanted to avoid that from happening. “Absolutely not.” Derek shook his head in disbelief. “Hotch, you know this won't work.” 

“If he's willing to cooperate, it might.”  Blake quipped, not understanding Derek's sudden defensiveness. It wouldn't be the first time the team is dealing with serial killers to resolve a case.  

“That's the thing; he won't cooperate,” Derek stated, straightening his posture as tension weighed on his shoulders. “He will talk at first, give his insight pretending he wants nothing in return. Then, he will leave us hanging and confuse us until we give him what he wants. This is how he works.” 

“He's the only one who has the M.O. similar to Kyle Weathers,” JJ remarked, giving Derek a sympathetic look because she knew the topic made him touchy. It made everyone on the team extra cautious, in all honesty.  

Y/N Y/L/N was one of the hardest Unsubs they had to capture. The investigation lasted three weeks. There were a number of suspects until the team acquired a successful profile. It had been one of the victims, that had been attacked in the same spot as the bodies had been found, who almost sidetracked all of the clues they gathered up if Reid hadn't of caught on the lie.  

Y/N was cunning from the start. He inserted himself in the investigation, providing every bit of evidence he could muster. Such a helpful witness, really. This is what they had thought.

“I just want the bastard to be caught. That was the worst night of my life. I've never felt so scared, Agent Morgan.” 

“I get it, kid.” Derek let out a sigh, leaning back on the chair. He pitied the boy sitting in front of him in the investigation room. You had bruises all over his arms, a busted lip, a purple eye along with a small cut above his left brow. He believed he also saw him limping when he arrived at the station for the second time that week.  

Derek wanted to throw the asshole who did that in jail, as well as the rest of the team. But it had been a week and they had gotten nothing. The leads were scarce and the only two victims that survived the attacks couldn't be much help. Lyra Michaels, the first survivor, was in the hospital, breathing through mechanical ventilation. Y/N Y/L/N, the second one, fortunately, were in a better condition than Lyra and he was currently helping out as much as he could by repeating what happened the night he was attacked by the Unsub.  

You and Lyra had no connections whatsoever. You didn't frequent the same college nor did you have common friends, or shared the same GPS route on a daily basis.  

Spencer was having trouble narrowing down the areas for the geographic profile. This is why they needed you again to provide more information. 

“He hit me in the head with a bat. I passed out. When I woke up he was about to—to—” 

“Deep breaths, Y/N.”  

“He was wearing a red shirt.” Emily tilted her head beside Derek. They exchanged a look. His first statement claimed it was a yellow shirt. “And, and a black hat... I can see the scar on his jaw...” He jolted up, chest going up and down with heavy breaths. “I'm sorry, I couldn't— He was getting too close.” 

“Hey, kid.” Derek squeezed his arm in a comforting manner. “It's okay. You did more than enough. That was very helpful.” 

“Derek.” Emily watched you leave the room through the blinds. “He's lying.”  

Derek remained quiet, he knew she was right. 

The supposed memories you had of the night you was attacked were all lies. You weren't the second victim. You had never been attacked. When they figured that out, two more bodies were found and you vanished. A week later, you surrendered.  

You had lied. You had been lying to them ever since the first moment you were interrogated in the hospital room. As a victim.  

Y/N Y/L/N was a twenty-eight-year-old sadistic psychopath classified as a serial killer according to the number of victims he's made and the patterns in his M.O. He approached his victims and befriended them for a period of two weeks prior to the murder, keeping them for two nights and torturing them by cutting off their tongues and stabbing their left thigh — that last one was intrinsically connected to the scar he acquired on his left thigh as a kid, inflicted by his own mother the same way he did with his victims.  

Spencer Reid was sent to Sussex I State Prison at eight o'clock in the morning. A manila folder in one hand and his satchel in the other. As a security guard accompanied him on their way to the visitation room, he repeated his only goal today: get you to talk. Then, he would try to convince you to help. Which, honestly? It's a shot in the dark. He visualized this going two ways and none of them worked in his favor. He profiled you once and according to his studies, despite the good behavior in prison, you hadn't changed.  

Psychopathy is not a mental illness that can be treated with psychiatric medication and therapy. It is a personality disorder, there is no cure for it. 

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SUSSEX I STATE PRISON – 8:05 A.M. 

One thing you knew well was how to mask your true emotions. You're not sure if your mother taught you, but at some point in your messed up life, you learned it. Maybe from watching her. Maybe when you understood that swallowing up your cries was better than letting it all out because her punishments wouldn't be as harsh as they usually were. 

As you entered the room, your attention fell on a figure you hadn't see since you got locked up in here. Well, he was one of the people responsible for putting you in this place. This was not gift giving situation. You knew the reason and it made something in your chest leap. They needed you. 

Your gaze danced around Spencer before you sat down in front of him.  

“I know you.” You stated the obvious, leaning back on the chair.  

Spencer introduced himself even if it was pointless. He was trying to insert himself in your narrative, but he'd lost that game since the first match. 

“I'm Doctor Spencer Reid from the Behavior Analysis Unit.” Spencer straightened his posture, lips pressing together in a tight-lipped smile.  

You offered him a smug grin, slouching. The chains collided with the table and Spencer almost flinched at the bothersome noise.  

“I know you,” You repeated. “That wasn't a question, Doctor. I don't forget a pretty face.” 

Spencer cleared his throat, opening the manila folder to expose the crime scenes. Oh, straight to business. “I have a few photos to show you. May I?” He received silence in response and as he looked up. Your expression was blank, a faint line in your mouth. You studied him carefully. 

“A couple hundred PhD's and a few BA's, right?” Spencer blinked confused at your affirmation. “You're very smart or something, aren't you, Doctor?” 

You don't let Spencer answer. 

“You know, you gave me Hufflepuff vibes the first time I saw you. But now I definitely think you're a Ravenclaw.” You pointed at him, eyes narrowing as if you were searching for something specific. “Yeah, definitely a Ravenclaw.” 

“Aren't those two of the houses from that famous book franchise?” Spencer's brows furrowed in thought. Your brows arched in amusement. “Harry Potter, is it?” 

“Bingo.” You gave him a grin, clearly pleased. “Congratulations, Doc. You've earned one point for guessing a pop culture question right.” 

“Why do you think I'm in Ravenclaw?” Spencer had no idea what that even meant, did he? You bit your lower lip to avoid laughing. 

“Because you're a know-it-all.” You deadpanned as if it was obvious, head lolling to the side. You're getting bored. “You know what isn't very Ravenclaw of you?” You asked, giving him a sideways glance. 

Spencer raised an eyebrow, feigning interest. “What?” 

“Coming here and making me purposely leave my UNO match.” It was a mumble, an edge of annoyance. He was making you bored. Doctor Reid was boring, actually. He wasn't the one in the BAU that spiked your interest. “No, that was idiotic of your part, Doctor Reid.” 

Spencer placed two crime scene photos in front of him.“They were found yesterday. Killed two weeks ago. Buried in the same disposal site. Do you recognize this?” Okay, he was losing his patience as well. Good.  

“Dr. Reid,” You drawled, gazing falling in the photos for the first time that morning. Hm. That's... oddly familiar— No. No, you are not engaging. He does not deserve a second of your attention. Who did the FBI think they were? People only had power over you once in your life, in the past. Not anymore and never again. “I know about the recent murders and I know why you're here. I, however, am not speaking to you about them. You've successfully wasted your time.” You said short, calling up the guard. 

“They have your M.O., are you really going to let someone else take credit for your work?” He tried foolishly. All that academic knowledge and so so stupid. 

You let out a sigh, rolling your eyes. Lucky for him, you have watched CSI: Miami so you knew that M.O stands for Modus Operandi. Did you really need to spell it out what was it that you wanted for him? “Agent Morgan.” You turn back to look at him, a pointed gaze. “He's the only one I'll speak to. Goodbye.” 

You wondered if you had that much effect on Derek Morgan for another fed to be sent in here instead of him. 

Finally, back to your UNO game. 

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SUSSEX I STATE PRISON - 3 P.M 

The crisp breeze of November curled around the back of his neck along with the descending temperature of this time of the month.  

Derek was frozen in front of the Sussex State Prison's entrance. Quite literally, actually, if he didn't have his thick jacket on he would probably be frozen by now. The autumn weather prepared the city for winter, the cold air already taking over, the sky cloudy. Derek didn't enjoy winter that much, he wasn't fond of the cold. Penelope, on the other hand, loved the winter. She told him once that she would live inside a snow globe if she had the chance because then she would have an excuse to always dress up and decorate everything with Christmas lights.  

She wanted to come with him today. Derek said no. He had to do this by himself. He watched her hesitate to agree with him but there wasn't any other alternative. If they wanted to get a new lead, they had to play your game. By your rules.  

He hated every part of it, but that was the job, what could he do about it? 

“He's a sadistic psychopath,” Spencer told him before he got into the car. For some reason, he had followed him out to the parking lot. “He will try and devalue speaking about the case to enhance his grandiosity—” 

Derek furrowed his brows, “Reid. I read the files. I've interviewed him before.” I've been through this before, you think I can't do my job? He was honestly frustrated. The kid had been prowling him like a hawk the entire morning. 

Spencer sighed, resigned. “Y/N is cunning. He'll use the fact that you trusted him to his benefit. He'll use it against you. Just- just remember that, yeah?” 

Derek knew it from the start. The main reason for him to be resistant to bringing you to the case was that it would all come back. The victims. The chase. The failure. He failed to save those people. If he had caught on to the odd behavior from the first moment, people would still be alive; Lyra Michaels included.  

“Am I hallucinating or is that Derek Morgan in this very room?” 

Now, he had to look at the reminder and convince it to help his team. He signaled that it was okay for the officer to leave. You moved slowly from the door, analyzing him with mirth. That joy seeping from your eyes was what made him cautious.  

“He's also got an unhealthy obsession with you.” Spencer folded his arms as Derek shut the car door. “So be careful.” 

“Not my first rodeo, pretty boy.” Derek sent him a wink. But thanks for caring. “If you got any change in the geographic profile or something, call me.” 

“Will do.” 

“It's been what, four, five years?”  

If there's something you loathed, that was the silence. The feeling you have when someone is not paying attention to you.  

Derek used that to his advantage.  

“Four bodies were found in Widewater State Park.” Derek unceremoniously placed the images of the bodies in front of him. “It started with one week apart from the first and two bodies, but it escalated to three days. The dump site and the torture seem familiar to you?” 

You gave him a flat look but looked downward nevertheless.  

The first image displayed a caucasian man with his mouth ajar and dried blood around his lips. He had small cuts and bruises all over his body, but what really grasped your attention was the cut in his left thigh; a vertical slash, precise. He couldn't deny the keen resemblance.  

A cheap copy. 

“I don't know.” You settled for, fingertips grazing the photos with curiosity. Did the person admire what you did? Did they admire you?  

The scoff you heard made you look up. “So you're wasting my time.” Derek spat, leaning forward with his elbows on the table. “Were those the five minutes of attention you wanted?”  

You spared him a look of bewilderment. You didn't know if he was playing a part or genuinely pissed off. Your bet was on a bit of both. 

“Agent Morgan, I have no idea what you're talking about.” 

Derek let out a hum as he started to gather the pictures. You straightened up in your seat. Fuck. “What are you doing?” You questioned, voice on edge in alarm. Derek merely shrugged and you grab one of the pictures haphazardly. He raises one of his brows in a silent question. “Did he drown them?” You choose to stare at the image instead of the satisfaction in Derek's face.  

“What do you think?”  

You breathed out in relief when he sat down again. This is more of a bodily response. You have attention, you have eyes on you and you have who you want giving you their precious time.  

It was part of your work, bringing them to the park, pulling their heads under water and holding it until you felt them stop fighting, stop breathing. The power you had over them at that moment was exhilarating. And a bit funny given that they never.stopped.fighting. Not until their bodies did it for them. 

Your eyes narrowed at the rope marks around their necks. That wasn't right. But the cut on the thigh was on the exact same spot you used to do. Staring at the blue lifeless eyes of the man caused annoyance to travel up your features. 

"He's not doing it right." You spat, sliding the image in his direction with disdain.  

"You think so?"  

"I never tied a rope around their neck, I used my bare hands. I did it all myself, I felt life leave their bodies knowing that I was responsible for it and I felt good." You marveled, slamming your hand against the table. Derek wasn't phased. "That was my work. My work was flawless. He's an amateur." 

"Okay." 

"Okay what?" You gritted.  

"I get it, kid. Your ego is bruised. I understand why. This guy is an amateur. That's why we're trying to find him." 

Your shoulders relaxed as you leaned back. The anger seemed to dissipate as it had come, suddenly. Your face became emotionless. That triggered a memory in Derek's brain. 

“Never understood why you kept on calling me kid..." You commented, head tilting to the side. "We're almost the same age, six years of different or so, right? You're not the only one who does that either. It's funny, isn't it? No matter how many people I've killed, If I look young, they'll see me as a boy.” The corners of your lips raised slightly.  

Derek placed another picture in front of you. This one wasn't from a crime scene. "Do you know this guy?" You took your time analyzing him. Not the picture, not the unknown man. Him.  

Derek Morgan had ghosts as well as you did. You concluded that as soon as he walked into the hospital room. Great physique, a strong voice and a kind persona. But his eyes carried that fog beneath the light and the will to help people.

He also wore a mask to display to society. You did the same up to your twenty years of age. After your mother died, it became easier to let go of things. To accept your true reality. You weren't like most people, you had a distinct way of thinking. They never understood you. That never bothered you that much. When it did, you got rid of them. Why should you deal with stupid problems if you could nip it in the bud? 

Your childhood hadn't been perfect. It was the worst part of your life, truth be told. Your mother being responsible for half the pain you endured while the other half remained with the bullies in your classroom. Yes, kids were cruel. But living with your birth giver was unending horror after unending horror and at some point, the terror in your blood had run dry and given way to apathy and exhaustion. You were simply sick of it. Of her. 

Back then, you used to wonder if something was wrong with you. But after having a taste of blood in your hands, you acknowledged that something was wrong with them. And you couldn't have that. You didn't want to.  

Thanks to your mother, you figured out the easiest way to deal with people. So you passed it on. Your legacy. You called it your own work of art.  

And now someone attempted to make a poor copy of your work. 

"That's Kyle." You say, looking away from the photo. "Kyle Weathers." 

"And you know him." That hadn't been a question so he already knew about Kyle and the relevance he had in your life. Well, you could confirm you had more relevance in his life than he ever had in yours. He was a bit obsessed with you for a while. You didn't stay in his life long enough to feed into that sick reality of his.  

“I knew him.” You corrected him. “We went to the same community college. And no, he wasn't my boyfriend or anything like that.” 

“Was he your accomplice?” 

Your lips draw into a flat line. “I just told you he was nothing. Less alone my partner in crime.” You said with humor. “He wouldn't pull it off.” 

“But you had some sort of connection?” 

Your brows knit together slowly as you add one plus one. “You don't want me to keep repeating myself, Derek. Does he have anything to do with this? That would explain this shit show.” You mention the photos with disgust and wait patiently for him to clarify his claims.  

“Why do you think that?” 

“You're becoming annoying like that Doctor.” 

Derek couldn't help the chuckle. Satisfaction spreads through your chest and you decided he deserved more than you were letting on. You were almost getting where you wanted, after all. 

“Kyle had some sort of a... fixation with me.”  

“How so?” 

“We were enrolled in the same classes. Visited the same bars and such. But until the third year of college, he started to act out.” You paused. “He was interested in being more than friends. I never saw him that way. He kept on bothering me for a few months, sending me gifts, even showing up to my mother's funeral.” You snickered. “Kyle was... something. A little sick in the head, if you ask me.” 

And you're not? — Derek thought to himself, analyzing the story. Kyle Weathers was their first option in the suspect list as of now. And according to your newest information, he also matched the profile. That would explain why both M.O.'s were so similar. Kyle was trying to relive the narrative of a relationship he created in his head. That still didn't explain the victimology or the entire reasoning for the murders.  

“I'll have to take a closer look to be sure,” you interrupted his train of thought. Derek noticed you were slightly closer, elbows leaning on the table as your eyes traveled through his face.  

He figured you'd ask something like that at some point. This is what he warned Hotch about. The cooperation only lasted until a particular stage, then you'd want more.  

“You'll have to take a closer look at the crime scenes?” Derek said, narrowing his eyes at him. “Is that what you're saying?” 

“It's been a few years, Agent Morgan. It's not easy to trigger those memories.” 

“You're only trying to relive the murders.” 

You shrugged, unaffected by that affirmation. Honestly? You just wanted to breathe some fresh air away from this prison. “Maybe. But who would be better than me to help you on this?” You raised an eyebrow. “Because that's what you need, isn't it? My help?” 

Say it. 

Derek's jaw clenched. He wanted to bang your head on the table, you could see by the conflict in his gaze.  

Say it.  

“What's it gonna be, Agent Morgan?” 

“If you so much as slip once,” Derek apprised. “I'll sent you right to death row. Is that clear?” 

You pressed your lips together, staring at him with a glint in your eyes. “Yes. Pretty clear.” You paused, tongue poking your cheek in smugness. “So, you need me, right. You need my help?” 

Derek shut the Manila folder after placing the photos in it. He stood up, stepping towards the door, but before he could call for the security guard, your voice rang through the room. A mellowed sound mixed with salient confidence.  

“If you don't admit it, I'll make sure the BAU never hears from me again and Kyle will be gone long before you think of him.” He froze at the door, inhaling sharply as to avoid snapping and screwing up his team's plan. 

Say it. 

“Yes, we need your help, Y/N.” 

There. You smirked. That's what you wanted. 

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WIDEWATER STATE PARK — 10 A.M. 

Dry leaves snapped under your feet as you walked further into the park. Last time you saw the sun, the trees carried a yellowish color; it was the start of the autumn season. Now, the air was chilly, it tickled the tip of your nose and caused you to sniffle pathetically. You had always been sensitive to the cold. 

You missed your freedom. Not being pushed around by pricks that thought they have power over you and schedules to follow or else you'll be thrown in solitary confinement. You missed the gashes in your feet every time you'd walk aimlessly through the woods. Barefoot. 

The truth was that you didn't actually need to be transported to the latest crime scene to recall valuable information on Kyle Weathers. The BAU knew that was an excuse as well, they had to. But they chose to work by your rules for a brief period of time, your guess was that they were running on short notice. 

"He liked to tie people up." You blurted out, eyes fixated on the marks around the man's neck. He used rope. "He used to boost his abilities in bed as if I gave a shit about it. And he mentioned about tying people up. How he enjoyed feeling in control." 

"BDSM involves power exchange, as in someone is dominant and the other person is submissive. Kink and fetishes play a big role in this world as well, although they are two different things. Handcuffing, for example, falls under the kink classification, which means that some people may be aroused when they get tied up."  

Your attention was anchored on the youngest in the team for a hot minute. "You may just not be as annoying as I thought you were, Doctor Reid." His forehead wrinkled as if he was trying to figure out whether that was a good thing or not.  

"It doesn't make sense how he knew so much about your process of doing things, does it?" You recognized Agent Prentiss when they last conducted a cognitive interview with you. "It's almost the same M.O." 

"Except that it isn't." You said with an eye roll. You were getting annoyed of this non-sense comparison. Kyle didn't have your thought-out scheme. Kyle wasn't you. That was why he failed. That was why he would get caught and it would be your pleasure to be of help with that. "I never used ropes in the neck, just in the feet and hands to make my life easier. You know, sometimes they would never stop moving. For some reason, they didn't accept their fate until I brought them here." You looked around, forcing the setting into your brain to poke back the last memories you had here. That last screams. The last begging for help.  

"Where is he, Y/N." You had seen him before, but you didn't remember his name, just the stern frown he had permanently etched on his face. He, too, was losing his patience with you. You chuckled, shaking your head. 

"Is something funny?" The blonde one spoke with you for the first time since they had arrived at the park. You barely spared her a look before you glanced up at Derek. He had been watching your every step as if you would disappear from thin air and they would have to chase you down. Again. Oh, those were fun times. You wondered where they would put you this time if you did that again. 

"He's bad at this." You said. "It's like he's asking to be caught."  

"He was interested in you, that's what you said, right?" Another brunette referred to you. She reminded you of your mother, except for the kind eyes. Your mother didn't have those. She didn't have kind in anything. "Is there a place you would visit together? A secret spot? Just for the two of you." You studied the woman for a while, quietly. She was the only one who remained calm until now. The color of her hair and the shape of her face made you feel... confused. As much as she looked like your mother, their stances were distinct. The woman in front of you didn't stand with her nose up as if she was above everyone else, no. She looked at you as if she were interested in what you had to say. As if she cared. 

You looked down at the body, choosing to focus on the lacerations on the dead man's legs. "His first murder was by my side." A needle could drop on the grass and it would echo through the silence that formed. "That night, I taught him everything he needed to know to do... this." You glanced down at the body. There was no reasonable motive for you to be confessing deliberately to them like this, but you did it, anyway. You told them about Kyle's first body, which was not included in his current body count. You told them about how he knew who you were and what you did and still became obsessed with an idea of you he constructed in his head. A fantasy.

In short, you gave the FBI the intent, the ability and the opportunity so they could finally find Kyle Weathers.

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SUSSEX I STATE PRISON - 5 P.M 

You didn't lie. There wasn't an appeal to do it. Boredom curled up on your shoulders and not even the bloodied images or the fact that you were out of that cubicle you had to live in for the rest of your life made you the least excited.  

“You're still trying to help me.” You muttered to Derek as you arrived back in Sussex. There were some pigeons fighting for a dead squirrel near the entrance.  

Derek danced in his own silence as you were guided back to your cell.  

Maybe that's why Derek Morgan intrigued you. Despite the anger and disappointment, he looked at you as a person. Deep down, he saw you as someone he could have saved from the torment of human life. Except that you became your own torment and you ate it as a snack on a daily basis. It was bitter, but when did you ever enjoy sweet things?  

You couldn't be saved.  

“There's no fixing me, Agent Morgan.” You told him as you stopped in the corridor that lead to your home sweet home. “I don't have anything broken. This is who I am. If I came to terms with it, you can too.”  

He didn't say anything. You didn't wait for an answer. But you felt his eyes following you as you were escorted away.  

Somehow, his silence said everything. He knew that he, too, couldn't be saved. Could anyone ever escape their own sorrows? Our ghosts were always there, in the corner, whispering and conspiring against the darkness, tampering with our minds. We ended up limping, as if a leg was missing because we couldn't interpret what the world told us and what the voices — the ghosts' voices — claimed as truth.  

Your mother might have been right; an apple doesn't fall far from the tree, after all. 

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sources: [1] [2] [3] [4]

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A/N: life has been hectic lately and I'm struggling with my mental health as usual. so this is going to be my last request for a while. I have to focus on other things but I'll still be around, just gotta take a break from requests <3

[thewhumpcaretaker]

Seven Songs of Suffering: Control

I'm bigger than my body / I'm colder than this home / I'm meaner than my demons / I'm bigger than these bones And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me" / I can't help this awful energy / Goddamn right, you should be scared of me / Who is in control? - Halsey

Event Masterpost | Image Source

Summary: Karl Heisenberg struggles to remember who he truly is while transforming. I'm placing this somewhere in his past, before Ethan comes to the village. Maybe when he's in his early 20s. It's one of many fights he had with Mother Miranda.

CW: hurt/no-comfort, sensations of being beaten up in a mutated metal body, emotional repression, identity confusion, parent-child abuse kind of? (she's not really his mother but pretends to be so I'm tagging it)

It’s not that it hurts to transform. This is the way that his twisted body functions – it’s supposed to happen. It’s more complicated than pain. It’s that unsettling feeling, of the Cadau joining him with something that is not himself. Something enormous and abyssal that wants to swallow his mind and consume his body. The megamycete. It’s unsettling because he wants it, he craves it, he can’t stop. It corrupts even his desires until he can’t tell who he is.

It’s physical too. Something cold and unfeeling becoming a part of himself. The icy metal, a mere conductor coursing with dark energy. He can feel every scrap of aluminum, their internal filaments tingling like nerves. He’s bigger than his body. But never big enough. He needs more. More! He’s not safe yet. He’s not free yet. She still has him.

“Calm yourself, Heisenberg. You’re having a tantrum.”

“No! NO!!!! I will never let go of my hatred!!!” His voice vibrates through copper pipes pressed against his throat and steel shavings dancing like fireflies in the air, coming out magnified and strangled at the same time. This indignation is who he is, this is his last tie to his true self. He won’t accept the invasion that grips his every cell. NEVER. He will HATE.

Or is…or is that the Cadou? Is it his desire to lay down and be loved that is actually him? To please someone? A flash of a near-eradicated memory, hugging his mother’s calf as a toddler. His mother, his real mother, not Mother Miranda. The longing to please, to make her happy… Which part of him is real? Who is he?

NO! Miranda wants him to remember that!! Miranda wants him to fawn over her like that!!! He thrashes towards her, bringing down enormous metal fists – too late. She’s already gone again.

“I don’t appreciate been struck at by my son, Heisenberg. It seems you need a reminder that I am in charge of this household.”

Black wings, a storm of roots and talons. Dark branches engulf him, a briar twice the size of his own massive form. He can’t even see what’s happening.

She slams him into the ground and he shatters. The body mass of ten whole people is twisted and melted and pulverized and he can’t even feel it through the rage. He’s screaming so much. He’s screaming so he won’t cry. He’s strong. He’s brave. He’s better than her. Hold onto that. No pain. No wanting to be held. No longing for acceptance.

He’s laying on his back, the shell around him utterly broken and Miranda pouring rain over his fragile human form. But he still doesn’t let himself cry. Little does Miranda know how she’s courting her own downfall. He’ll get stronger. Even his real mother was useless. She was too weak to protect him. No one will ever protect him so he will have to protect himself. He doesn’t want a family, no. He doesn’t want to be there for anyone ever again.

Because no one has ever been there for him.

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Ancient Greek and Roman music Masterpost

As our national epic, the Odyssey, did I'll start from the middle. Please listen to the sound of medieval Greek music and then come back. It's an exercise, I command you!

Middle Ages Greek music is speculated to be "slowed down ancient Greek music"! 😁 So, take notes on that!

Christodoulos Halaris - Anthology of Byzantine Secular Music

(Christodoulos Halaris was a prominent Greek composer, researcher, and musicologist. He focused on secular Byzantine and traditional music, incorporating his extensive research into a solid and singular musical language.)

After your warm-up (and perhaps some confusion) let's get into what you came here to see.

What Ancient Greek and Roman Music Sounded Like - A Beginner's Introduction

Α fantastic introduction by a composer, musician, and researcher who calls himself:

OKAY, OKAY, HE IS FARYA FARAJI, YOU GOT ME.

So, this is going to be another excellent video where he spits facts. He gives a great impression of how ancient Greek and Roman music sounded like.

And no, they didn't sound like the watered-down (north)-eurocentric "ancient Greek music" on youtube videos you find. (who's surprised at this point, after all this Northwestern appropriation) Unless they are made by Farya Faraji because… the man knows his shit (and our shit 😂)

By the way, I called it "watered down", not because I believe western music is lame, but because the performers apply western rules to ancient Greek music, stripping it of all the Heterophonic complexity.

In the video above, you'll learn how the lyre should actually be played!!! And what instruments have been in continuous use in Greece for more than 2.000 years! And see all the ways our ancient and traditional music is more complex than Western music - such as Western music can be more complex than ours in other ways! (as also stated in the video)

And before you ask: Why does ancient Greek and Byzantine/traditional Greek music sound Oriental? Well, that's just your ear and biases and Hollywood stereotypes, my dear friend. See, these sounds are not (just) Oriental! They are originally Greek, too!

Many tunes and the way of singing the West associates today with the Middle East came from the Greek world (where these tunes are still in use, mind you) or other Mediterranean countries. That's not to say that Middle Eastern nations didn't have these scales and twirls for a long time - because they did. That's their ancient music, too.

Please see the video below to make more sense of my ramblings:

The Greco-Roman Influence on Middle-Eastern Music

All of Farya's videos have their sources in the description so make sure to check them out!

Now you can better enjoy the Epitaph of Sekeilos you heard in the first Middle Ages video! You can also listen to another great version by Farya, where he uses the above ancient Greek principles he mentioned in his video. That's why his version actually feels fun to listen to, thank god! (Of course Chalaris also orchestrates the Epitaoh in an excellent way)

Personal commentary: I am happy to share Farya's work online because he put into words why reconstructions of ancient Greek music online don't sound Greek at all. Greeks have a hard time relating to it because... that's not our folk music. They sound boring like Chopin playing piano when he was 3 years old. (But by now you know why! 😉)

Of course, ancient and traditional Greek music are not identical and no one expects them to be. But given our history, our music history, and cultural evolution, we know the sounds of our music - as all people can identify the music of their land and area. I am glad my gut feeling was right and the music wasn't actually that simple. With the complexity of our ancient chants and the plethora of instruments we had in antiquity, there was no excuse for our ancient melodies to be that simple.

[imaginary-regret-608]

MASSIVE SWILTAETT (DELTATWIST) UPDATE.

I realized that I haven't made a single SwilTaett update here since I revealed it now being owned by me, and I hope that this post can be a good source of understanding (as well as also acting as a 'SwilTaett Masterpost')!

First, the Cast Designs for SwilTaett's very own Three Heroes! There are two sets of designs made so far (with the second image being what's currently canon), and here's what they look like:

In regards to Amstda (the ghost thing from that's kinda like Mad Dummy), they're situation and plans are being entirely reconsidered by Me and the COB MOB (yes that is our actual team name). Instead of just being a reskin Ralsei Replacement, Amstda will now be introduced in ACT 3, potentially related to a certain yearning for the mines! Also, Jack's design in the Heavens has an Overworld Sprite and it looks like this:

It's the boy! The naive, yet kindhearted sidekick himself, ready to turn into whatever is needed to get the job done!

Next up is the Secret Bosses! ACT 1's Secret Boss can currently be shown right now, and that's Doenor! The once cheerful and happy party planner, turned into a cold and distant prisoner...

(She's also SwilTaett's Jevil Replacement!)

And just because you can see her doesn't mean she can see you! Because her head [...]s encased [...]n , wh[...]ch although [...]t may just look l[...]ke a snowglobe accessory to the untra[...]ned outs[...]der look[...]ng [...]n, [...]s actually [...]ts own m[...]n[...]ature m[...]rror maze on the [...]ns[...]de...

(despite it also acting as a demonstration of Doenor's Typing Quirk, i did not realize how many 'i's were in my description!)

Speaking of Secret Bosses, ACT 2's Secret Boss is @nekowomancer12666 Grimpula, the two-halved StoriSOUL between a has-been catgirl influencer and sports-loving serpent! Who may also have a shared stomach, but even they're not sure!

(Grimpula is also SwilTaett's Spamton Replacement, whose glowing eyes are hidden behind her stylish shades!)

-----------------------------------------------

SWILTAETT QUESTION THINGY!! (with all questions by me)

Q: "* What are the roles?"

A: "* Kris - Unchanged, Jack(Lancer) - Susie, Amstda - Ralsei(??? Kinda???), Susie - Berdly, Prynce(King) - Noelle, Doenor(Noelle) - Jevil, Souvenerd(Berdly) - Seam Ripper(Seam) - King, Crewelle/IGNEO MALICE(Jevil) - Rouxls Kaard, Excell V. IyAy(Rouxls Kaard) - Q5U4EX7YY2E9N, Helpress(Spamton) - Tasque Manager,

(there ARE more, but we're choosing not to reveal them yet!)"

Q: "* Who else is working on this AU?"

A: "* As I already mentioned the COB MOB as a Team Name, I can confirm that other people are integral to help bring this project to life! Those helping specifically are @nintenguy203 (sorry about the ping!), as our Co-Owner, Temmie Replacement and Composer of the SwilTaett SoundTrack! @terrasaviorx as the one response for Kris' Bow, as well as accidentally causing me to redesign Kris and Jack (as I was also being given a trial in order to join the SoulBlast Team at the time which made me 'Take creative liberties please'), which changed how I presented SwilTaett entirely! And Pal On Blast as a Concept Artist and... himself?"

Q: "* What happens past ACT 2?"

A: "* After ACT 2, SwilTaett will be taking a more creatively-free and original approach from ACTS 3-7, with some inspiration taken from My Takes on Deltarune Chapter 3 and Deltarune Chapter 4! From what's been shown and decided, I hope that Stumpy and Fawnne in ACT 3 are a good representation of what Original Cast Members are to come!"

Q: What are the names of ACTs 1-7?

A: PROLOGUE, Overrrouxled, Buds and Buddies, Call of the Darkness, , , and EPILOGUE!

Q: "* What are the 'Light World' and 'Dark World' Name Replacements?"

A: "* The Light World is now the 'Heavens' (even if the Heavenbound (Lightners) don't call it that), and the Dark Worlds are now the 'Storisets' (and the Darkners are now StoriSOULs)!"

Q: "* How is Jack a human AND a monster?"

A: "* SwilTaett revisits one of Toby Fox's scrapped Deltarune ideas, that being that the Main Cast only becomes monsters when they enter the Storisets!"

Q: "* ...but if that's true, then why does Kris still look mostly human?"

A: "* Shh! Not yet!"

Q: "Well if we can't ask THAT, then what does SwilTaett even, y'know... have?"

A: "Jack's 'Susie' Replacement was composed by @nintenguy203 and has since been uploaded to the Official SwilTaett Soundcloud Account!"

Q: What do you allow in terms of fanart?

A: ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. But to give a more serious answer, every piece of SwilTaett Fanart is welcomed and appreciated, no matter the content or quality (as I'm always curious to see how others view this AU)!

Q: "What do all of the characters think of eachother?"

A: "We can't answer that for EVERY Cast Member, but here's what the Relationship Dynamics between the Heavenbound and the Main StoriSOULs for ACT 1 could look like!"

Q: "* Does Jack bounce?"

A: "He VERY much does, and it tends to come in handy! Combat, breaking down factory doors, D.I.Y flails, you name it!"

-----------------------------------------------

LOCATION CONCEPT ART

Creampie Caverns (ACT 1):

Trendsetter Studios (ACT 2, Three Images):

The PRISM (ACT 7):

-----------------------------------------------

FANART FEATURE

SwilTaett - Snowy's Take by SnowyBoi64

Predesign Jack by Pal On Blast

'SwilTaett is peak I think' Grimpula Fanart by @firestar8903

Fawnne and Grimpula Fanart by @mrchaosman

Unfortunately, because of Tumblr's image limit, I'm not able to show any Fanart that was made after these. However, I will be presenting them in a separate post with the LINK being attached here!

LINK: (To Be Added)

-----------------------------------------------

THE LEGEND

Long ago, those of the HEAVENS and the NIGHTIVES lived in balance...

Suddenly, the world became overrun, with no semblance of what once was.

If this disorder goes on, TIME itself will come to a standstill...

However, it is said that two SOULBOUND heroes, brought together, are destined to save the world.

Accompanied by a knowledgeable sidekick, these heroes will restore our HOPES and DREAMS once more.

But while on their conquest, the HEAVENBOUND shall face against the power of the [_____ ___]

Creator of our homes, our knowledge, and harbinger of our DEMISE.

...But fate may still have its own plans in the story of the SWIL TAETT.

-----------------------------------------------

Discord LINK: https://discord.gg/V4hvjuqpb5

Soundcloud LINK: https://soundcloud.com/swiltaett

[one-squash-one-end]

once again rambling about Adam Parrish

Hi! This still belongs to my big Raven Cycle analysis, click here for the masterpost.

For most of the characters I obviously read a lot into subtext and speculate about how they're absolutely not straight, but lucky for us, we do get canon queer characters!

So let this be me talking about Adam as bi representation and also throwing in (other people's) gender headcanons. As always, please tell me your thoughts in the notes <3

c) Adam Parrish

Sadly, I cannot speculate too much about Adam’s sexuality, as he is canonically the mean, witchy (and bitchy) bisexual.

There isn’t much I can say, really. Throughout the book series he displays interest in both Blue and Ronan. And also Greenmantle, but I would like all of us to ignore that because I want to believe Adam has good taste. Blue and Ronan as his love interests are essentially seen as equal. While I would say he had already had some repressed attraction for Ronan (see: him calling the swearing melodic, black-painted poetry- you normally wouldn’t feel like that for someone who just called you a motherfucker) in book one while dating Blue. Yet it becomes very much clear that he did have romantic feelings for Blue. Yes, the two of them were doomed from the start (but still pretty cute I’d say! Until things went to shit, that is), however, Blue is not treated by the narrative as some mistake before Adam figures out he’s actually gay (looking at you judgingly here, Rainbow Rowell). Neither was Ronan a quick, silly thing to see how it would feel to kiss the same gender. That is, like, very much very obvious, through the last five books. They are boyfriends, your honor.

At this point I would also like to give a shout-out to Adam Parrish and the Crying Club (which would make for a fire band name, just saying). This little group of queer people Adam collects at uni (in Call Down The Hawk) has my whole heart and I so wish we would have seen more of them, I am forever mourning their potential of silly, reoccurring side characters. What I’m trying to say though is this: The fact that Adam builds a group of queer people around himself (another one apart from the Gangsey) proves his sexuality even more, because we all know queer people flock towards each other.

Either way, canon bisexual, we love that. Moving on.

Honorary mention to the transmasc Adam headcanon that Tumblr user @barbaricpoetic compiles especially well in a post. I personally do not follow that headcanon, like of course I do not think Blue is supposed to be written as genderfluid in the books, but somehow I believe even less in trans Adam, but either way I do agree there is a lot of strong source material to support that headcanon. Check out the original post for a lot more detail, I don’t want to plagiarize all of that here either way, but here’s two especially solid hints: First of all, he does everything to appear more masculine, like working in typically male-dominated fields and dressing accordingly to that, while orientating his behavior on Ronan and Gansey, who, ironically, do not try as hard as him. Secondly, there’s physical descriptions, Adam being a lot more “elegant” and delicate than the other (Raven) boys Blue knows, with unusual features, and “blue eyes pretty enough for a girl”. Yeah, might be a coincidence, might be solid, queer truth.

This would all make so much sense, even within the books and all, there is just one, considerably big thing, that would not add up with this in canon. Adam’s rural-conservative shitbag of a father would never use the correct name and pronouns for his ftm child.

Either way, there might still be something fun going on with his gender that defies the binaries. Why do I think so? Well, Gansey says a very interesting thing. “Henry was a boy. Adam was a─ Gansey didn’t know.” I wish he would have told us what makes them different. What is it that Adam was? A man? A demiboy? A nonbinary person? A dinosaur in disguise? Please do enlighten us, Gansey. I’m assuming it’s got something to do with Adam being more mature than Henry (he definitely is), but like with Blue and the 300 Fox Way Women, it might be a gender thing, at least you can very easily lay it out to be that way.

To conclude as I will conclude every character part, I think Adam might possibly wear a crop top (might take him a while to accept masculinity is everything you want it to be and not just a certain aesthetic standard though), but absolutely not regularly and not around strangers or his parents.

[goron-king-darunia]

DotNW Draw-a-thon Days 25-31

It's been a wild ride! But I think I made it out more or less unscathed!

I'll do a masterpost tomorrow along with some final thoughts. But for now, enjoy some content for the best boys. I can't get my Richter's quite right, which was what I was afraid of. But they're not bad and I will see if I can fix them into something I like better in more polished revisions. In the meantime, enjoy. DotNW deserves more love than it got. It's definitely not Triple A GOTY never seen before material. But it's way better than people give it credit for and if it wasn't stuck in the shadow of the original Symphonia, I think people would have enjoyed it more.

I started replaying it to try to get better reference shots and the only complaint that I have so far is "why is this game so laggy and grindy? Just let me befriend all the monsters and let me level faster!" Which is less of a "this game is bad" issue and more "I'm an experienced player that can't access my old save files because of personal technical problems so I'm impatient." And I'm pretty sure the lag is mostly "This game was made to run on the Wii, why are you running it on the Wii U?" But it's also just me being impatient probably. "What do you mean I have to wait 3 seconds for a fight to load?"

But for real. I'm actually giddy about some of the worldbuilding they put in that I never noticed before, little details. I think my only main complaint that isn't an impatience thing is how some of the skits are locked behind events with random components, i.e. trying to fail several pacts in a row which is at least partially determined by the luck stat which you can only reset by sleeping at an inn and you cannot otherwise control. Yeah, anyway, less yammering, more doodling.

I think I will eventually get around to doing all the monsters. But I might take a break for a while.

Shout out to @catcantnavigate for keeping up! I loved seeing all your work throughout this event! And shout out to @aerypear for hosting/coordinating. I hope to see more DotNW stuff trickle out! Game is not a masterclass of innovation or storytelling but it is SERIOUSLY underrated and one of my favorite games of all time and definitely the source of my top favorite characters for real.

[brisquad-unit-4402]

hello i’ve got some thoughts and updates for this blog.

i’ve been on a bit of burnout for a while, including life outside of writing. naturally the termination has sped up that burnout. i’m exhausted and struggling to be graceful about it, but that’s to be expected. i’m not one to sit on my feelings even though i’ve lacked the energy to write. which really bites because that’s my number-one passion really.

however i’ve taken some time to relax by diverting my attention away from social media and niji streams. i’ve relearned an old hobby and splurged a little too much on a new one, and i kind of can’t believe how much i missed drawing on real paper with a real pen and pencil. and thank god the love and deepspace sponsorship wrapped up before the termination, because that game has me in not just a chokehold but like one of those umbilical cords from astral projection. the silver cord? that

i’ve been watching other vtubers lately as well. i’ve always considered adding holostars en to my list but hesitated because everything else on my blog was niji-related.

consider this confirmation that i will be adding holostars’ tempus hq, vanguard and armis, and first stage productions’ avallum to my list of characters i will write for. i admit i’m not as familiar with armis, but i’ll be paying closer attention in the near future as i branch out from strictly watching niji only.

(might also be adding idol corp’s e-sekai? maybe? i watch them once every few months and i haven’t seen pochi or yuko stream since they debuted 💀 no clue on their gen 2 either)

i’ll be overhauling my masterpost for organization soon. so apologies for the horrors about to come… to be clear i will not delete any of my writing so don’t worry!

i’m unsure how much niji i’ll write in the future. give me some time to think as the situation hopefully cools down. i appreciate your patience.

and who knows maybe i’ll write for non-vtuber fandoms too

i think it’s about time i clean my inbox out soon too. i‘ll answer what asks i can and delete the remaining ones. i’ve had a few requests sitting in my inbox for nearly a year now and i’ve recently realized how stressed i was over them and learned about some boundaries i didn’t know i had beforehand, among other things, so so it’s about time i face them head-on. i apologize if i never got to your request! please don’t take it personally if i don’t answer your request. but above all else thank you for being patient, understanding, and kind enough to send in a request. even though i tend to bite off more than i can chew i always get so happy whenever i see a notif in my inbox and i appreciate your time for a little unit 4402.

even though i’m not watching niji streams atm i’m hesitant to stop writing for them because, like, i keep thinking of this clip of doppio saying he feels like he’s allowed to buy healthy/organic food because of fan support and donations, and among other reasons... it’s very easy to make conclusions on people you only know through a screen and i just can’t bring myself to cut them out so abruptly, even if i’m a fan creator on a site none of them use.

idk when i’ll post next and it feels nice to say that. i usually try to post once every 2 weeks, but considering how i’m trying not to think about niji right now and am instead embracing other parts of my life, i dunno. it’s nice. this blog is a major source of joy for me and it feels like i’m preserving what makes it so special for me instead of turning it into a chore. hopefully with time and rest i’ll have a clearer idea of where to go from here.

that’s pretty much everything on my mind, i think? thank you for bearing with me and my yapping. i hope to return soon and that the next time you see me, my blog will be cleaner, more expansive, and with a fresh mindset. take care of yourselves and don’t get immersed in toxicity. don’t forget to do what you love 💛

[esoteric-chaos]

About the Witch and Extra Links

Hello! My name is Juniper or you can call me June or Juni. I’ve been an eclectic chaos practitioner for over a decade now. 

Still learning new things every day and always reviewing the basics. I’ve spent most of my time lurking on witchblr but I decided that I’d like to start making original content.

This blog is also a dedication to Mother Hekate. It's in her domain to teach the magical side of things such as witchcraft, magic and sorcery.

A bit about me and what I dabble with!

Divination

Planetary magic

Energy work

Aspiring Herbalist

Chaos Magic

I have a new interest in Pop Culture Witchcraft. Legend of Zelda and Skyrim mainly

Getting back to my ancestry roots with Slavic Folk magic. Be patient I am learning slowly but my practice itself isn’t folk based

I kinda dabble in everything but these are my main interests. Very eclectic within my practice.

The kind of content you’ll expect here

Beginner and “Intermediate/Advanced” witchcraft content

Herbalism

Deity work

Energy work

Low energy/disability-friendly practice content (I have Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia so it’s a must)

Boosted posts

Some LGBTQ+ themes (I'm very gay and love my partner)

Ask box is always open. Please keep it respectful as the block button and I are friendly for my own peace

Are you looking for all of my posts on one page? Check out the Masterpost

This is a safe space for LGBTQ+. Yes, that means Aces too.

Who is not welcome here?

Transphobes, Terfs, fascists, right-winged ideologies and anyone else bigoted in the sphere. I also do not support Starseeds, New Aged appropriative movements, Atlantis or really any sort of spiritual conspiracy theories due to their background.

Do you like my posts and my sense of chaotic humour? Look no further. I'll be starting a YouTube channel! My blog for such is @evergreensorcery to ask any questions. This channel is a devoted offering to Mother Hekate and Lord Thoth to spread knowledge of magic and the occult.

The launch date is 7/7/24, I hope to see you there!

I can't wait to share my knowledge with you and connect with many lovely people. I hope you stick around for the journey. and please be patient with me as I figure out sound and editing. 💚

Witchcraft Discord Server

Want to join a great server community?

The Cobalt Athenaeum is a massive occult library on Discord! We have many branches of our libraries. As this is a library server, we absolutely do have lots of material that we have not written (and some of which we don’t agree with). We do our best to cite every source that we pull quotes or information from, but if you recognize writing that is not credited, please bring it to our attention and we will rectify the situation either by adding credit or removing the work. If you also notice something incorrect within the server please tell us! We will change and source accordingly as some information can slip through the cracks at times.

This server may be for you if

"You are a spiritual and/or magical practitioner, identify as a witch, are interested in our server topics and with engaging with a community of like-minded individuals, are curious if this is the right path for you, or just to learn more about other cultures and beliefs. You are respectful and eager to learn, are comfortable acknowledging the fields in which you are uneducated and are willing to pursue rectifying that (or at least not speaking with authority on topics you are unfamiliar with), and are willing to comply with all of the rules and procedures of the Cobalt Athenaeum server network". - High Curator Ash

See this post for more details

Post Updated 7/29/24

[daitranscripts]

Before the Dawn Pt. 3

Sahrnia Quarry

Before the Dawn Masterpost First: Source of the Red Templars Previous: Lyrium Smugglers

If the PC goes to the mines before the quest: PC: Red templars. What are they guarding here?

PC: Cullen would be interested to know about this place.

—

The PC goes to Sahrnia Quarry after talking to Cullen.

PC: Cullen said this mine is the main red lyrium supply for Samson’s army.

Party comments:

Cole: There are templars ahead. Red inside.

Iron Bull: I’d expect guards. Big ones.

Cassandra: No doubt it will be well-protected.

Varric: I’ll watch for company.

Sera: So there will be guards and yelling. Wad up.

Blackwall: Swords at the ready.

Solas: Expect guards, then.

The party comes across some of the red lyrium growing near one of the carts of villagers.

PC: There’s a corpse in this lyrium!

Party comments:

Vivienne: So that’s how the red templars created it so quickly. Blood, to speed the growth.

Dorian: So that’s how Samson grows it. That’s why there’s no end to it.

Solas: Interesting. The red templars sped its creating by “growing” it from the dead.

Blackwall: Maker’s balls. Is that how they’re getting the red lyrium? Growing it off people?

Sera: Ugh! It’s growing out off him!

Varric: It looks like it just burst out of him. Or… her. It’s hard to tell.

Cassandra: They grow it. From the bodies of the living and the dead.

PC: Cullen will want to know about this.

The PC finds some letters in the mines.

To confirm: yes, I've heard the reports. The Inquisition is on the rise, but they'll be a toothless hound once our Master deals with them. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ We stand between the enemy and Corypheus. He gave us what the Chantry never would: a second chance. I don't want to see a single man let him down. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Sow the lyrium. Let it follow where we walk, take root where we settle. Never forget that your footsteps - yours - mark Corypheus's path to victory.

PC: I’ve found a letter. From Samson himself.

To Paxley, ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ I've seen the transformations. It's a horror to watch your soldiers' faces change, to realize they might not remember you day-to-day; it's a sword in the guts. But the ones who make it through are near invincible. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Feed elfroot to the soldiers hurting, as much as they want. Beyond that, it's just waiting until they stop feeling pain. Remind them they spread the lyrium. It grows at our touch; with the "materials" I've sent, they'll grow enough for a dozen armies. It's proof we're on the right path, that any suffering is worthwhile. Remind them. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Samson

PC: A note from Samson, about spreading red lyrium.

To Besen, ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Maddox needs twice the usual red lyrium to modify my armor properly; taking over as the Vessel means it has to be perfect. Have the amount ready in three days, and you and your squad will get a chance to serve as Corypheus's honor guard. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ My own proving goes on. When I first donned the armor, I thought I was drowning in fire. Without Corypheus to stop me, I'd have torn my own skin off. Now the armor's settled, I can march for days without rest, break a man like kindling. I'm finally fit to be the Vessel. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Maddox may come to you to work on my armor's modifications. If he gives you instructions about the lyrium, follow them to the letter. Treat Maddox like you'd treat me. ㅤㅤ ㅤ ㅤ Samson

PC: Cullen would be interested to hear about this.

The PC clears out the mines of the red templars.

PC: We should inform Cullen that we’ve taken care of Samson’s red lyrium hoard.

Party comments:

Cassandra: He will be pleased.

Dorian: Our dear commander might crack a smile for once.

Sera: Should cheer him up. Shift that stick in his arse. Vivienne: Thank you for the delightful image.

Iron Bull: Wish we could be there when Samson hears about it.

They return to Cullen’s office.

Cullen: I’ve been reading the letters found in the quarry. Samson is making red lyrium from people?

PC: Not anymore. Not in that mine.

Cullen: I knew Samson had fallen, but this? It’s monstrous. We have to put an end to him. Look at these orders from the encampment. That armour must give Samson extraordinary power. We may not be able to stop him.

Dialogue options:

General: All the more reason to try. [1]

General: Then we break the armor first. [2]

General: Everything has a weakness. [3]

1 - General: All the more reason to try. PC: Samson’s a menace. If we can’t defeat him, no one stands a chance. Cullen: Then we must destroy the armor.

2 - General: Then we break the armor first. PC: Take away his armor and the lyrium, and Samson’s just another man.

3 - General: Everything has a weakness. PC: That’s what he wants us to think. But no one’s invulnerable. Cullen: Then we must destroy the armor.

4 - Scene continues.

Cullen: I couldn’t say how. Templars are trained not to destroy expensive magical equipment.

Cullen (Dagna recruited): Perhaps Dagna has some ideas? She crafts the impossible every day. Cullen (Dagna not recruited): We need an expert in enchantments. Perhaps they could find a way to ruin Samson’s armor. [You must recruit Dagna to continue the quest.]

Next: For Testing!

[hisui555]

Hazbin Hotel Thoughts : Foils 7

Masterpost here

The lovely @phoenixlionme messaged yours truly again with a request, and so I shall deliver for the next two foils. Credits to them, because I hadn't really thought about it, so, here's to you my friend ! Just so you know, I might be paraphrasing or outright quoting you, because what you said was really spot-on and I couldn't have said it better.

So the request was about Vaggie VS Alastor - and it's quite the interesting dynamic indeed, can't believe I missed it. Might turn into a triangle of Foils with Lucifer added into the fray, given how all three revolve around Charlie (with her as the focus point).

Vaggie was here from the beginning of the Hotel project - or at least, when it started to consolidate into actually something. Charlie was already out and helping during (or directly after) Exterminations (seen when the two first met three years ago), but it's likely that Vaggie played a huge hand in actually helping her make it take off : pitching, brainstorming, securing funds (not that Charlie doesn't have any), keeping her focused and on-task ("Life isn't a musical, hun"), basically being grouding and seeing the practical side of things. There's a reason why she's the manager, or else Charlie would be still stuck on "dolphin hugs and rainbow sparkles".

Alastor on his side has the power and notoriety to make it happen : he brings in staff, arranges furniture, and his well-established reputation as the Radio Demon does the work for him. Alastor has the connections both Charlie and Vaggie don't naturally have : Vaggie keeps a low profile (and given she's a Fallen angel only knowing Charlie, justified) and Charlie is alienated from her own people despite her wishes to connect - both as a Princess and daughter of Lucifer, and due to her personality, being to sweet and naive to be taken seriously. What everyone remembers is that she's the delusional "brat" of Lucifer, that's it : Vox only speaks of her in those terms, Val can't even remember her name outside of that it sounds "mannish", Alastor literally pictures her as "Lucifer's delusional daughter" in his 'ad' for the Hotel, Katie Killjoy in the pilot presents her as "Princess Charlotte". Nobody sees her as herself and cares about her own project... except both Vaggie, her girlfriend, and Alastor, who addresses Charlie directly and acknowledges her dreams - for his own twisted source of fun.

Joining on what Phoenixlionme said, both are supportive of Charlie... for widely different reasons : Vaggie is genuine and really wants her girlfriend to succeed, even if it won't hold her back from critisizing and pointing out the flaws, but it's constructive. Alastor is selfish and wants entertainment, being fairly dismissive of Charlie's struggles (see Ep 7) and only supports her only as long as he can push his agenda, and use her : her position as Princess of Hell, and "like her daddy she's madly powerful", is what makes it worthwhile to him, but he still acknowledges her person and dreams, "one of a kind, a charming demon belle", even if he admits getting a bit attached to the group. Alastor and Vaggie are both protectors of the Hotel, that sometimes get annoyed with the residents : Vaggie is more comical because she's the only sane one next to Husk having to deal with Angel, Pentious, Niffty, and Alastor's antics when he's in the mood to screw everyone over, while Alastor is more terrifying because he has way less morals than her (or especially skewed ones) and is willing to let most of the antics slide (in fact, some he relishes in, like Niffty's) but can still get annoyed at Angel's promiscuity towards him, and is straight-up threatening Husk the moment Husk pushes too far. Also, Vaggie sincerely cares, while Alastor doesn't. However, they both take the role seriously : Vaggie points her spear at whoever she thinks is a threat (like Pentious and Alastor - not wrong on that last one) while Alastor reminds everyone why he's here and cuts off his friendship with Mimzy the moment the Hotel is threatened.

Phoenixlionme also rightfully points out that both have a mysterious past : Alastor is a big question mark in Hell, Vaggie's is revealed in Ep 6 - up to that, she was only "Charlie's girlfriend" and the "Hotel manager". However, both go in opposite ways about it : Vaggie is very content with her past staying a secret, which brings up trouble later between her and Charlie, and she's genuinely ashamed. Alastor on the other hand relishes in the attention he gets for his secrets, that he also keeps close to his chest, and basks in the spotlight - he needs it on him, contrary to Vaggie, and visibly gets pissy when he doesn't get it. It shows how they both go at things : Vaggie is ultimately a team-player, while Alastor wants to be the MVP. And even if Vaggie is now outed as a Fallen angel, her true origins are still up in the air : there's a higher chance she might have been human (Salvadoran, being Hispanic) but nothing is confirmed. Alastor has a human background (of Creole heritage, died in the 30s, was a radio host and serial killer) but fuck if anyone currently knows what his deal is. They also have self-esteem issues : Alastor has too much to cover hidden insecurities, Vaggie is noted by Husk to hate herself. Alastor is a proud killer of many while Vaggie did it out of (misguided) duty and ashamed of her high body coutn as a past Exorcist, but is still willing to "make the mistakes" (Whatever It Takes) for Charlie and her group, fighting for her loved ones. Alastor is the one to bail to save his own tail (though he did put up a good fight and still threw his weight in), because that is not where it ends for him. It should be noted that both aren't afraid to punch above their weight class, however.

Ironically, this makes them both the "angel" and "devil" on Charlie's shoulders, as Phoenixlionme rightfully pointed out - which also allows me to tack on with Lucifer, who's, ironically, also the "angel" on Charlie's shoulder : Alastor drives her to take decisions that are detrimental to herself (making a deal for information in Ep 7) while both Vaggie and Lucifer are genuinely standing by Charlie's side to support her entirely and have no further agenda. They were left behind by Heaven and have all reasons to think it wouldn't work - Lucifer actually comes around on that - yet are her most active and vocal supporters, while Alastor can't be bothered by her tears and emotional distress. The opening scene of Ep 7 is also notable to analyse : Vaggie gives Charlie space (maybe Charlie asked her to and Vaggie respected her demand) while Alastor immediately jumps on the occasion to prey on her insecurities and catch her in a vulnerable moment to wring a deal out of her. She even tells him that she has no time for his "sick idea of a joke", but he keeps pushing to hook her on the deal.

Vaggie (and later Lucifer too) drive Charlie to be the best version of herself, and step in to either pick her back up ("Come on, little lady, why the frown ?") or fight at her side, more or less literally (Vaggie manning the trust exercise to try to help, and feeling bad when she thinks it doesn't work) while Alastor only steps in when he has his role to uphold and generally doing his own thing, taking the helm to steer into his own purposes and getting Charlie under his power ("She's filled with potential that I could guide"), sticking with her to be on the winning side. Hell's Greatest Dad shows that Lucifer threatens this particular position, so he'll manipulate Charlie back under his thumb, appealing to her insecurities, while Lucifer feels replaced and tries to help his daughter out of love, a desire to protect her from harm (to the point of "rigging the game because he's the ref") and a will to fix his family. This is well-shown when Alastor immediately reacts sourly to Lucifer, and Lucifer is dismissive of him, but embraces Vaggie on the spot (even if he gets her name wrong) and fully accepts her from the get-go.

Another point I agree with Phoenixlionme is that Vaggie and Alastor both hide their emotions : Vaggie needs to be drunk to drop her guard, and rarely emotes more dynamically than her usual sullen frown or tiny smiles, while Alastor constantly plasters on his hundred-watt grin as a tool to show power. They do have a wide range of emotions, but both present them very subtly - you'll have to look for the minute changes in their face to tell. They're both more stoic than the others (Alastor keeps the same smile on, Vaggie is hardened by her life) and keep a cool head in harsh situations, becoming the leader in a fight (Charlie follows Vaggie with her shield, while, though Pentious is the one playing general, Alastor also is one of the main players and provides the shield and fight against Adam). They don't cry (well, aren't seen crying yet), and only show their true feelings of vulnerability in alone moments (Alastor breaking down mentally, Vaggie being hurt when Charlie gives her the cold shoulder), although Vaggie is healthier in dealing with them because she still talks to Charlie about it once she passes the hurdle, and is honest about hers.

One is driving Charlie away from people and is only helping on the surface for his selfish purposes, the other actually helps her connect and make her dreams come true the way Charlie wants it.

And here you have it ! Again, all thanks to @phoenixlionme, also credits to them, because some of what I wrote are their own musings and words. Next Foils in the series also stems from their request, with very interesting points, so, as one Radio Demon would say, stay tuned !

Again, Masterpost here.