#A Visit from the Murderess

[isfjmel-phleg]

Elystan lay on the sofa in his sitting room. His hair was still damp from the bath his mother had insisted on, and over fresh, ill-fitting pajamas he wore a purple dressing gown (she had claimed he didn’t own the black one he had demanded).

Elystan isn't insisting on a black dressing gown because he's finally entered his goth phase or something; it's because he considers himself in mourning for his father, who was executed several months before this story. The social customs of this day required one to wear mourning for a year after the death of a parent, 8-10 months in black and 2-4 months in half-mourning. This didn't always apply to children, but the nearly thirteen-year-old Elystan probably doesn't see himself as much of a child anymore.

Nothing happened to that black dressing gown. It was probably hanging up in his wardrobe alongside all the rest. But Bethira isn't about to let him wear it, because she knows what statement he's trying to make, and she can't encourage that. Due to the nature of Talfrin's death, it wasn't considered appropriate at court for his family to dress in mourning, even though normally it would have been expected for Bethira as his widow in particular, and also for Delclis as his stepson.

Elystan's been wearing mostly pajamas for the past several months and hasn't been anywhere much, but when the Prime Minister sent for him back in January, Elystan did make a point of showing up in deep mourning, and that probably did not make Sir Jowan any more kindly-disposed toward him.

The purple dressing gown is a compromise. Elystan is not allowed to acknowledge the extent of his grief because of the ignominious nature of his father's death, but instead Bethira offers him something in a color associated with half-mourning, when clothing transitioned away from black toward grays and purples. Somber enough to fit what he's feeling but not flagrantly dark enough to be socially inappropriate (even though he's in the privacy of his own home now).

Elystan has lost the person he loved most, but he's not being allowed to engage in the usual rituals of his culture that would be intended to help him deal with that loss. Even talking about his father seems to be taboo now--in the entire conversation between him and his mother in "A Visit from the Murderess" they do not directly mention Talfrin even once, even though he's the reason for all this tension. Instead, he's being expected to just carry on like Talfrin never existed, like he never mattered, like the whole world would have been better off without him. If that's the case, Elystan as his offspring is by implication a waste of space also.

And sure, Talfrin was not a good person. He hurt his entire family deeply. But Elystan's affection for his father is very real, even if it was complicated by treatment that Elystan still doesn't realize was horrible, and his grief is real too. And at the moment it has nowhere to go.

[ghostybat00]

🔪LOOKS FROM A FAR PART 2🔪

Tw:Marturbation, sick jealous, nikto's mental health, violence, non con, theft of underwear,Nikto practicing self harm .

Reader gender neutral.

Pink:your dialogue.

Blue:dialogue of nikto.

Orange:secondary character dialogue.

🔪:1 Week ago. You didn't know if you were being paranoid, you felt eyes on you, at rest, when you talked to someone, when you worked, you always felt like your entire being was being watched, it gave you chills, a feeling of being watched all the time made you sick.What made you most anxious was that it didn't matter where you were, whether you were in the infirmary doing paperwork or helping soldiers,the strange soldier, Nikto, that creep soldier you had attended to a week before was somehow going to be there. Oh discreetly peeked out of the door frame in the infirmary, or in the break that by "coincidence" was always at the same time as you in the place where you always go to rest.

You were looking at the computer looking at some paperwork, your leg moving up and down anxiously, while also biting the cap of a pen. Strangely, everything was very lonely, the weather here was also very cold, therefore the cold breeze did not help you calm down, trying to think of anything other than the same fucking feeling of being watched you've been feeling since you arrived at this new base.Your "tranquility" in quotes was interrupted by 2 soldiers, one was very injured, a bullet wound while the other helped him lean on him. You quickly grabbed the wounded soldier by his shoulders and laid him on the infirmary bed, grabbing the medical supplies to treat the wound you asked quickly. "What happened to him?" "He was wounded in battle." The soldier simply responded somewhat agitatedly.

3 hours passed, the soldier who brought the wounded soldier to the infirmary left, the soldier who was shot was now still being treated by you, disinfectant, trying to find the bullet, disinfectant again, was a process that was necessary to help him.After half an hour,the sound of the door to the infirmary listening from the other side, you were somewhat agitated rushing to treat the soldier and you didn't know if he was a colonel, so you just shouted "It's open!". The soldier was more and less than Nikto. Seemed to have a wound on the same arm you healed them last week.Strangely he looked calm and not in pain, in his calm but thick voice he says. "We need help again, we're hurt."

You said agitatedly, taking a quick look at his arm. "I'm treating the first one for a gunshot wound, could you please sit and wait?" You said, trying to sound as kind and patient as possible, you saw Nikto give the bandaged boy a murderess look. He goes and sits down, but you feel his gaze on you again.

Since that day Nikto always goes to your infirmary, when he wasn't on missions or torturing who knows who on the battlefield, he was hurting himself to go to the infirmary and visit his favorite doctor, Although of course you didn't know that, but you weren't stupid, you knew that it wans't a coincidence that him always went to your infirmary for the same wound from the same combat knife,But every time you wanted to bring up the subject, every time you discussed it, he avoided the topic and only told you that he gets hurt a lot with knifes in battles. Obviously this is very suspicious considering that firearms are used in confrontations, and Nikto is one of the most violent and strong soldiers, so you doubt that they are made by someone outside. One day, quite intrigued and somewhat scared by his behavior, you look for him in files and ask superiors,you manage to have personal information, although they only limited themselves to telling you that He is an insane soldier, tortured by enemies caused "a screw to come loose" and horribly disfigured, this also bringing what is most characteristic of him is speaking in the third person due to his trauma, a soldier who uses extremely deadly and painful techniques, being known for torturing others and being savage.

This obviously gave you chills and a bad feeling about him so you tried to avoid it, but he always gave those short but disturbing words that came out of his mouth with that Russian accent. "Why do you look so nervous, pretty doctor?" "We could easily tie you up and take you away, isn't that funny?" "We like it when you touch us with your hand on the wound." ""If anyone bothers you, tell me and I'll cut their throat." "Today your hair smells different, what shampoo did you change?"

🔪

He always sneaked into your room at night, no matter if you were gone or asleep, one of the things he loves is your scent, he steals your underwear and he brings it to his nose, exhaling the aroma as his hand goes up and down on his needy cock, while he sits in the bed where you pretty body lays and sits, or just sneaking in when you were asleep, kneeling down and staring at your face without blinking.

🔪

You didn't even feel safe in your room, not even the foundation or anything, you noticed that your underwear had a strange white substance, but you just thought it was detergent, fooling yourself.Deep down you knew someone was watching you harassing and evading your stuff, but you don't know who, you're so stressed out being a doctor that you just You want to think that you don't have to worry. The superiors have noticed the change in Nikto...

•Thursday, September 29, 2023•

You were working in the infirmary, one of the superiors knocked on the door. "It's Open", you said in you tired voice", but quickly sitting up straight when you saw that it was your superior.

"we need to talk about a certain soldier, Nikto."

[gardenoblues]

tagged by @iamfandomcrazy hii i love all ur fics >< Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Then tag as many people as you have WIPs. WARNING: THERE MIGHT BE SMUTT YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO CAST YOUR EYES ON. --- just know that most of these are intrusive thoughts or the product of my spiraled madness, and short ideas. i won't be putting unfinished but posted fics since that would take too long. here it goes

*Visions; - a wyler fic where wednesday was freshly expelled from her former high school and started to have small and useless visions (its safe to assume its about Tyler, she mostly sees snippets of events)

Wulfric Thursday - a fic about wyler's son, he's the first child (that i most prob post on ao3 once Hyde The Past is done since the two are connected, i think i actually need someone with me to think of ideas and be crazy together its a little too much to take, a wide universe. There are 3 current chapters.)

Valentina Francoise - a fic about wyler's daughter, the younger sister (wont say much but she's the best and worst combination of her parents. there's only one chapter and its mostly notes.)

Girl Next Door - this fic was either tyler would be the new kid who moved into town or it was Wednesday. it was hard to decide but i think i settled with Wednesday. I don't know if this would come to life though, wish me luck. there are no chapters. yet.)

wyler tyler has a twin gemini - yep. the title speaks for itself lol. ( i wanted to do something like migi and dali or ayesha's secret, if you know the anime or manga, well you know *wink *wink)

wyler - sunflower - a fic where Tyler dies or it has an alternative story where he faked his death and goes to live in the Addams manor. God i was such in an angsty mood i wanted someone to die with me, and of course its my favorite white boy to write about)

Tyler Galpin - just a compilation of songs i was thinking of editing Tyler in.

Wyler PROMPT - just an unfinished prompt from a dc prompt where Tyler is Fran's and Vincent's son.

Wyler spies AU - again the title speaks for itself lol.

WYLER ITS OK NOT TO BE OK - if you know the kdrama then nice, but if you don't its basically Tyler would be a psych ward nurse or something like that and Wednesday is a children's book writer that sometimes visit hospitals to read her book.

HYDE THE PAST TYLER BOOTCAMP - my heart cries fir this fic. title speaks for itself. suppose to be a filler chapter.

WYLER DRABBLE - alice in the wonderland fic. its just an idea wont prob make the cut.

Wyler hays - just wyler smutt ><

Longing For draft - just a short fic where Tyler followed Wednesday to her house.

Wednesday Addams as Song Lyrics - songs id edit her with. --- These are just what's saved in my laptop. here's what's in my phone. i don't mind if you don't read this one lol.

wyler (1) - wednesday pospartum with her son.

Liar, liar - Tyler teasing Wednesday.

wyler (2) - Wednesday spit on Tyler's face and he uses it as lube.

wyler gender swap - there's one chapter.

its not always rainbows and butterflies - a short fic where Tyler attends nevermore and learning how to control the Hyde but in Wednesday's pov.

This is shit - wednesday denying her feelings for Tyler.

wyler (3) - Tyler has full control of his Hyde and pretends to be nice but Wednesday sees through him.

wyler (4) - (just wrote this 2am earlier lol) wednesday goes to yoga and mourns Kitty's death, has a mental breakdown while Tyler consoles her. SORRY THAT WAS LONGER THAN I THOUGHT. tagging @writerrose1998 @broken-everlark @nonamemanga @cosmic-lullaby @callmetippytumbles @tastethesetears @lovepoison9 @nouklea @diamantdog @lady-murderess @therulerofallpotatos

[jor-elsemissary]

Don’t get me wrong, Lionel would still have been a manipulative control-freak toward Lex if he had known the truth about Julian’s death from day one. The difference would be that Lionel would still have loved his son and not seen him as a little monster like he ended up doing. But Lex would still have come to hate Lionel in the end and Lionel would have still died betrayed.

There is a reason he was scripted to say that there was a darkness in Lex and it goes back to the truth he was led to believe. He says that because he believes Lex is a killer. Now whether his manipulations and lessons is to try and curb that instinct or not is debatable, but he still was, regardless of whether he knew or not, trying to raise a successor that would not burn down his empire like so many other successors have done to other empires (I believe Lex still ended up burning it down anyway).

Lex lied because he believed Lionel would hurt Lillian. Lionel became cold to Lex because of that lie. When confronted with the truth years later, you can see the change in emotions running through Lionel. Denial. Anger. Grief. Relief. You can see he was genuinely relieved that Lex had not killed Julian and upset over the fact that Lex was right about what he would have done had he known. He clearly still loved Lillian despite his failing marriage, so being faced with the truth that his wife murdered their youngest had to have hurt.

Still didn’t stop the two from going at each others throats later on though.

Luthors can’t handle truths and emotions very well.

But yeah. Lionel would have treated Lex differently if he had known it was Lillian. Not better. Just differently. Maybe more trusting. After all if Lex outed his mother whom he had loved, Lionel would see it as loyalty to him and perhaps trusted Lex more.

But Lex would not love him anymore if Lionel did something to Lillian. I don’t think Lionel would have murdered her. Having a 6 month old baby suddenly die and then the mother disappear soon after too? That would bring too much attention and heat that Lionel wouldn’t have wanted.

No, I think Lionel would have had her committed to a sanitarium and forget about her for long periods. Lillian was already depressed and refused to acknowledge her son, Lionel could easily say she had a breakdown that inadvertently caused Julian’s death. A small scandal he could milk and gain from if he played the sympathy card right.

Lex would have ended up hating Lionel sooner. Especially if he’s denied visitation rights, which Lionel would no doubt do. He’s not going to have a murderess anywhere near his remaining son or continue to influence him.

These two would have had their falling out long before season 2. Lex probably would have let him die in the tornado. And Lionel would have died betrayed by a hateful son he had trusted.

So Lex lying delayed the inevitable outcome. Sure the truth might have made his childhood a little less harrowing, but he’d still end up killing his father. Cause Lionel would still be a manipulative control freak. Also you don’t mess with a son’s mother.

Truth or lie, the difference wouldn’t be significant enough to make the Luthors into a less dysfunctional family.

[rwac96]

Type: Prompt

AU: Horror AU: Werewolf/Slasher AU + Fusion AU: Super AU: Vigilante AU + Law and Crime AU: Assassin AU

Fandom: RWBY

Summary: The latest report of Ebony Knight the Half-Moon Killer of Vale spread across Beacon Academy. A cunning but excessively deranged serial killer who has killed dozens of victims in brutal and violent fashion. Nobody doesn’t know who was the killer and the reason behind his murderous crusade in Vale…nobody but the wholesome goofball dork Jaune Arc.

Theme: Jaune is a ruthless vigilante, Werewolf Bloodlust, Master Assassin, Jaune is a darker but noble character

The Vale Police Department had taped off the area, preventing any unauthorized personnel from entering the crime scene. In the alley between the Dust Shop and the jewelry store, a local human man; middle-aged, was murdered. There were many suspects, some say it was a hit by the White Fang, others say it was the work of the wanted criminal Roman Torchwick. Examining the corpse had confused detectives, while a visiting Huntsman, Qrow Branwen, had some ideas of who was responsible.

"This wasn't done by any of the White Fang," the seasoned Scythe-Wielder said, taking a quick sip of his whiskey. "they would've painted this place with their insignia. And this wasn't done by any of Torchwick's goons," Qrow picks up a vial of Dust, which would've likely been stolen.

"Then, you're saying," one of the detectives, a woman, gulped in dread at the third possible suspect. "i-it was done by...him?!"

"The Half Moon Killer," Qrow said, covering the victim's lifeless form with a grey sheet. "Brutal, grisly as any Grimm Attack, and the Vic," he pulls out his Scroll, "seemed to have been involved in some pretty nasty stuff."

"This is insane!" The lead investigator shouts, "This...This monster has been going around, killing people left and right! The only things we hafta go on are the gruesome leftovers and the vics were bastards! That pretty much labels any rogue Huntsman or Huntress!"

Qrow shakes his head, the mention of such people made him think of his twin sister, Raven. "Nah," the scruffy Huntsman dismissed, "even they have their own code, varyin' from person to person. Nah, we're likely dealin' with a lone wolf, someone who seems themselves as judge, jury, and worryingly, executioner."

~

Later that night, a grey-haired woman huffs, as she walked away from an apartment complex. She wiped the blood from her cheek, having settled some personal matters; murdering a former lover she thought committed infidelity. She didn't bother to hear his pleas of innocence, and she disregarded the fact that the 'skank' he was talking with...was his own mother! No, in her mind, retribution was in order...like always.

Delilah Deianira thought she had found the one, but it seemed fate has dealt her an unkind hand. The first was her former husband Sam, who proved to be a bit of an imbecile. Now, she had murdered her late boyfriend, Herc. Delilah huffed, as she looked at the time on her Scroll, knowing that she need to make herself scarce. The grey-haired murderess takes a right turn towards an alley, hastening her pace.

Then, she suddenly cried out in pain as her throat was slit; crimson liquid pouring non-stop from the wound. She looks down with widened eyes, horrified by how quick that was. Then, her attention turns to what appears to be a golden-furred, man-sized creature. Ocean Blue eyes gaze at Delilah with hatred, as if she was found guilty by some self-made judge.

"Murderer," Jaune Arc, The Ebony Knight, coined the Half Moon Killer by The Press said to the woman, and proceeds to pounce on his latest victim. Delilah let out a gurgled scream, as she was torn apart by the werewolf.

[elizabethbennetz]

An analysis of Esra’s costume design in Midnight at the Pera Palace (contains spoilers) - PART 3/3

In case you've no idea what this is about, here is a link for part 1 and here is a link for part 2. I recommend you check those first. If you already have, here's the final part:

When she visits Halit at the hospital, Esra’s outfit seems sad and grey. Everything (including the gloves) is pale, like Halit’s skin. The outfit nearly gets mixed with the hospital walls and we barely notice the purple/pinkish elements in it at first. It is only when she accidentally travels to 1917 that those elements become more evident. Suddenly, this is the most romantic costume Esra wears in the entire series. She meets a younger, more innocent, more hopeful and less troubled Halit and they both walk around town under this pastel pink light that makes her outfit come alive. Even she looks younger and oblivious to the dangers of the war they'll both face 2 years later. It is as if time has stopped for a while, and though she is worried about the hurt double agent in the future, she can just get to know young dreamer Halit for now and have a fun innocent adventure with him.

While watching Halit come back from the hospital with Sonya, Esra is now wearing a black coat over a light pink blouse and a black skirt. She’s back in 1919 and back in reality. Her feelings for Halit are still there, but she must repress them. Halit needs to be with Sonya, not her, otherwise her friend, Ahmet, can’t exist.

She is also wearing that same outfit when Halit confronts her and tells her that he remembers the night they spent together in 1917. She’s wearing light make up and her hair is tied up very simply. She barely dresses like Peride now. This is Esra’s true heart, though she’s trying her best to cover it up.

The next day, when Halit gives Esra the ring she asked for, she has red gloves on — and he is wearing a red tie —, but she’s still trying her best to hide her feelings. The gloves have a darker shade of red this time, they’re not bright like the pair she used before learning that Halit was Ahmet’s father. To paraphrase Taylor Swift, her hands are now so scarlet they’re actually maroon. This is war. It’s an apocalyptic scenario. There are more important things than love right now. Her feelings for Halit are stronger than ever, but she just can’t let him know that. She even covers her red hair with a black hat and goes as far as to tell Halit she does not love him back.

After turning him away, Esra takes the hat off, revealing her red hair once again. She also covers her mouth with her red gloves as she cries desperately.

She later grabs a red wine bottle (I assume) and takes the gloves off as she attempts to drink her feelings away.

Meanwhile, Halit does the same at the Garden Bar, but he keeps his red tie on. Esra just said she doesn’t love him back, but that didn’t change his feelings for her. He is still drinking off a cantel when he gets arrested and he’s still wearing the red tie in jail as George threatens him and makes him fear for Esra’s safety.

After getting attacked by Sonya, Esra leaves her black coat open, and we get a better view of her delicate pink blouse. She’s learning that Sonya might not be the best pair for Halit and, not long after that, Ahmet tells her that Sonya is actually Peride’s murderess.

It is only after she hears that Halit has been arrested and decides to visit him in jail that she buttons up the coat, trying once again to hide her feelings from him. But we can still get a glimpse of some pink shades “leaking through” in her costume. The concern in her voice is genuine and she can’t help but kiss him briefly before assuring him that she will get him out of there soon enough. At this point, there’s just no point in hiding it. It doesn’t matter how hard she tries, the glow in her eyes everytime they meet his is evident — even for him. — She still tries, though, for Ahmet.

Once she’s out of Halit’s sight, Esra puts on the dark red gloves, but gets them off right before she meets Halit again to get him out of jail. She hasn’t worn them in front of him since the moment she told him she didn’t love him back, but she often wears it when he’s not around.

After saving Mustafa Kemal — and the future of Turkey — Esra admits to Halit that she loves him, but tells him she can’t stay and they will not meet again. They kiss and then she runs off. As soon as she is out of his sight again, she has the dark red gloves back on. Maybe as a reminder of what she is letting go of.

Lastly, she gets drinks with Ahmet by the bar before returning to the future. The look on her face is much different than the one she had the last time they did that. This is the first time in a while she’s not wearing red gloves (while Halit isn’t around). Ahmet is trying to help her move on, talking to her about the future and telling her that it’ll be easier once they get there. She wants to believe that he is right. The black coat, much different from the light purpleish coat she had at the beginning, is still covering up her pink blouse. There’s no point in hiding her feelings from Ahmet, so I think now the coat serves more as a reminder of the “grief” she must be going through. She’s literally about to leave the life she wanted in the past, the life she can never have.

If you made it this far, then you're probably as obssessed with this show as I am, so you should also check the video thread I made of Esra and Halit's story as if it were told by Taylor Swift here.

Thanks!

[nightmaretist]

PARTIES: Kaden @chasseurdeloup & Inge @nightmaretist LOCATION: Kaden's head TIMING: When Kaden was afflicted by the mimes CONTENT WARNINGS: This nightmare contains dipping bread in blood (and eating it), murder and grief. SUMMARY: Inge visits one of Kaden's recurring nightmares of Damien's murder, only to find everything is in greyscale. Weird! She decides to run with it and both parties have a nice meal.

There was something very wrong about this scene. It wasn’t the contents of the scene itself, those were interesting — a woman holding a knife against the throat of a struggling man, who sometimes seemed more wolf than man, and her sleeper being panicked by the scene. It lacked color, this scene: and not in the sense that Inge thought there needed to be a change of decor, but in the sense that everything seemed black and white.

Did this man dream of his memories the way shitty TV shows depicted flashbacks, with a filter over them? Was this even a memory, or just a very gauche nightmare? Either way, the woman was too stunned to nightmare. Inge watched as the knife slit over the wolf/human neck, producing a healthy and thick flow of blood.

There was something to be said about messing around with the color of blood, making it something oily and tar-like, or even dark and rotting-green. But this was all wrong: this blood ought to be red. Inge let shadows fall over the scene, as if all the light sources were out and took the couch, the man watching, the murderess and the victim to somewhere else. Everything and everyone stood in the same positions as they had before, but now they were in an abandoned, dried out field that stretched out forever. No dice. Even in a scenario of her own creation, there was no color. 

—

The doorway felt wider and narrower than he remembered all at the same time. The space between was black, a void of nothingness. It didn’t matter, his focus was only on one thing, the scene set in front of him. The same one that was set over and over again. Keira with a knife to Damien’s throat, but this time, he was transforming into the wolf. His fingernails were claws, his teeth fangs, and his eyes a glowing yellow. There was blood spilling everywhere, but Kaden couldn’t tell if it was from the gash to his throat or from the bite to her arm. It was all a mess, a tangle of violence and gore. 

Only, it was all in black and white. Everything. The horror remained the same. Kaden couldn’t reach them, no matter how far he ran, he couldn’t get any closer, couldn’t stop it.

The world went dark. “No.” Where did they go? He had to find them, he had to stop it. He scrambled, trying to feel around in the dark, but there was nothing. He couldn’t even find the ground, though he was standing on something. 

The light returned and he was surrounded by grass, gray and lifeless. The couch and the scene was still there, still out of reach. The meadow they stood in wasn’t peaceful, it was stagnant, like standing water, everything still and decaying. He looked around for any sign of life. All he found was a figure. One he didn’t recognize. His brow furrowed. “Hello?” he called out.

—

There was something very wrong with this man, this night or herself. Ingeborg didn’t want to believe there was something amiss with herself, but the sheer concept of it was enough to make her distracted. Why wasn’t the blood red? What was the point of a memory of a gruesome murder if there wasn’t that horror-ish stream of blood, thick like tar but as red as poppies?

Her sleeper, a man with a thick beard and pleasant features, scrambled in his search. Inge watched the blood flow from the throat, increased the flow and tried her mightiest to make it red. To fill the gray field, gray sky, gray scene with nothing but red until it coverited everything and raised like water. Sticking to their ankles. They could drown in it, but only if it turned red.

And then he was talking to her, her presence known – which wasn’t how it was supposed to be! – and Inge opened her mouth. Her attention was no longer on the couch-scene, but herself — and as she spoke it wasn’t with a human mouth, but a bird’s beak. Sharp, black and crow-like. Why would she be herself, especially here? “His blood’s all wrong,” she cawed, screeched, bellowed, “Where’s the color? Why’s his blood all wrong?” 

—

This was wrong somehow. He couldn’t put his finger on it. Kaden knew this scene, he knew the fear, the liminal space, even the lack of color reflected what he was used to seeing by now. But there was an unsettling presence, more than usual. The blood kept flowing and flowing, the screams continued, the growling and snarling, too. Still, the color all around them remained gray and drab. He couldn’t tell if that made the scene worse or not. 

He turned back to the woman who was now part crow and he stumbled back, slipping and falling into the river of blood. His sister’s blood. His friend’s blood. Maybe even his father’s. He could feel it rising steadily and he could feel his limbs pulled under when he attempted to stand again. The blood was going to drown him, he was sure of it. Even if it wasn’t red, he could smell the iron. “Wh—what?” He asked as she squawked at him. “Why is it wrong?” He looked around at the scene. “I— I don’t know. The color, uh…” He tried to remember, tried to piece things together. “The mushrooms. It’s the mushrooms.” It was then that he realized the whole time, his lips hadn’t been moving and all of his words had been echoing in his mind to hers. Putain de merde. 

—

He wasn’t speaking but he was, his lips sealed together but his voice loud and clear in her head and all around him. Was he colorblind? That was certainly an option and it would be intriguing to know that colorblind people dreamed without color too. Some neuroscientist would probably be jumping at that knowledge, but Inge didn’t care. It was wrong. Besides, he mentioned shrooms. “Wait, you’re tripping right now?”

The bird cackled, laughing in its animalistic form because Inge was laughing. Of course she ended up in the dream of someone who just took shrooms. Maybe she’d even stay a bit, see what his own subconscious would throw at her. But the scene remained relatively tame, the field still dead and gray. That was until a creature slithered towards her, a literally snake in the grass. Interesting. What was more interesting was that it wasn’t a snake, it was a baguette. And it wasn’t just a baguette in gray tones, but it was striped. She laughed again, bending down. None of this was real. The bird-woman picked up the snake around its neck, wiggling it in the sky. “Who’s this?”

—

“Tripping?” Kaden’s confusion was overshadowed by the fear of it all. “No, not those sorts of mushrooms. These were… They were striped. Like maybe a–” Even though he wasn’t speaking aloud, the presence of something slithering stole his words away. Like a drain had been opened up below him, the black and white blood seeped away into the ground, leaving the ranger covered in gray goo and lying in the grass. The scent hit him before he saw it. The scent of freshly baked bread.

The baguette slithered towards him and was just about to strike when the strange bird or woman or whoever, he couldn’t tell, swooped in and grabbed it. “Good question.” As he said that, he could smell a whole bakery in the distance. “Baguettes. Evil baguettes. I don’t fucking understand but we have to–” Kaden pushed himself up and started to run away, as fast as he could through the sea of never ending grey grass. It was like he was running in place no matter how fast he moved his legs. Knife. He just need a knife. And with a flash of white, lightning struck and Kaden was face to face with Damien’s dead body, slumped on the floor. The knife covered in his blood was there next to him in the grass. The ranger only needed to reach out and grab it, but instead he collapsed under the weight of the grief he was carrying with him. 

— 

So there was no color and no sound coming from his mouth, but there was smell. Even Inge wasn’t completely immune to the smell of freshly baked bread, and through her bird’s beak she sniffed the snake/baguette in her claw. Part of her considered taking a bite, letting herself have her fun with this ridiculously wrong dream, but she thought better of it as she felt herself grow more satiated with actual nutrients. The sleeper was scared. He was running. She smiled. 

She ripped the snake in two and it broke like a baguette would, revealing airy bread inside. With bird-like speed she fluttered over to the dead body and the knife. A lot of people in this town have murdered loved ones, Inge thought. She joined the scene of mourning and extended a bird’s claw to the other, in which she held half of the baguette/snake. “Here,” she said, dipping the other half of the bread into the dead man’s blood as if it was some kind of sauce. Tar-like, black sauce, because there was still no color. It might as well be a chocolate sauce. “EAT.” A demand, now, ripping off part of the dipped-bread-snake with her beak and gesturing at the other to do the same. 

— 

Kaden jumped when a bird’s talon reached out to him. Looking up, he saw the bird lady was there in front of him, standing over Damien’s dead body and holding the pieces of the snake baguette. She sopped the bread in his friend’s blood and even though it was all black and white and everything looked and felt wrong, Kaden could feel his stomach churn. And she commanded him to eat as she did the same. 

The ranger was about to push himself off the ground, to run away again, but when he looked down, his hands were holding two pieces of the strange bread. Blood was seeping out from the baguette and his hands were covered in it before long. He tried to drop them, to shake them away, but the bread stayed put. The blood didn’t stop flowing, either, dripping down and coating his wrists and his arms. “EAT,” he heard echoing in his head. “N-no,” he tried to say, but his hands moved closer to his face, as if they were under someone else’s control. “No,” he tried again but it wasn’t doing anything to change the fact that the blood soaked bread was only getting closer to his mouth. 

This couldn’t be real. Even in this town, this couldn’t be real. Putain, he hoped this wasn’t real. 

—

He was terrified, she could feel it. She could feel it feeding her as she munched on the dream bread, as she watched him be moved by some kind of invisible force to eat the bread. Inge could fathom, somewhere, that this was a horrifying thing to make someone do — but that was the point, wasn’t it? To inspire terror. To push people’s imaginations further than their own mortal subconsciousness could. 

Maybe she should be affected, though, by his pleas. But she wasn’t forcing his hand, that was all him — or at least some fucked up part of him. “Bon appetit,” she said, using a clawed hand to tap the bread from its bottom, so it was forced against his lips. Inge waited until his mouth made proper contact with it all and then she decided it was enough.

He was getting distracted. They always got distracted when it became a little too scary or confrontational for them, and that was often a sure sign that they’d wake up. Inge had no interest in seeing her sleepers frozen in fear, so she returned to where he was resting and then fled, into the astral, wondering when she’d revisit this strange man.

—

As the taloned fingers pushed the bread towards his mouth, it all became too much. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real. This was a dream. The bird lady faded away and the rest of the world crumbled around him. Everything went black just as Kaden’s eyes opened and he sprung up off the air mattress. 

Putain de merde. Another fucking nightmare. At least he didn’t scream when he woke up this time. Granted, he couldn’t even whisper at the moment thanks to the damn mushrooms. The whole thing was weirder than normal, though. Who the hell was that bird woman, anyway? He was pretty sure it wasn’t anyone he knew. Maybe it was someone he saw in the shelter the other day. Kaden ran his palm down his face, rubbing his eyes and accepting the fact that he likely wasn’t getting any more sleep tonight. 

The wind whistled through the window that had been left cracked to let in the night air. It was almost too cold now so Kaden turned and reached over to shut it, not noticing the break in the salt line sprinkled along the window sill. Even if he had, the only salt on his mind at the moment was the salt he planned on putting on his eggs. If he couldn’t sleep, he was declaring it time for breakfast. If nothing else, he needed a way to wipe the memory of iron soaked bread lingering on the tip of his tongue. 

[ask-the-reaper-conspiracy]

Messina: Mael your brother Lysander has decided to ‘visit’ us. Remove him from the vicinity at once before I push him off of our balcony.

"Come now, Messina, it wouldn't do for me to have a murderess for a wife. What else is our manservant for?" "I would ask why he didn't send word of this visit, but the answer is obvious, isn't it?" "I shall speak with him. But, send for a constable." (If it's money he wants, he will be sorely disappointed.)

—————–

Check this page for credits

[soartfullydone]

You and big fat papa Argenti, then. Delethil and Cobalt. And I want to hear about the new pirate ot3 you've joined unwillingly, if possible

grumble grumble grumble

(I've been batting around creating a more Sharte-sounding name, so let's test run an idea.)

Bastion is the one that introduces Arsynic to William Argenti, Sr. The meeting was more happenstance than planned, a touchpoint about any potentially interesting rumors in Durlyne. It wasn't supposed to mean anything or become anything. Bastion wanted to get this Sharte-disguised-as-a-Jet away from intent scrutiny as quickly as possible.

But Arsynic likes the look of this distinguished lord, with his brown skin, long silver hair, and striking blue eyes. She likes how he holds himself with a cane, refusing to bow even with age and gravity itself exerting their forces onto him. Most of all, she likes how rich he looks, like he's a man who still has plenty to lose.

Since Bastion prefers to travel via Offsetting, he leaves Syn behind more often than not, and it's not like she's going to stay put. After probing Bastion for information and poking around, Syn finds the Argenti manor. She scopes it out, learns the routine of the staff, notes Argenti’s comings and goings, notices the unhappy blond soldier who visits every now and then. She sees the gentleman Argenti’s wife entertains in his absence.

So she thinks she’s armed with plenty of blackmail by the time she steals inside. Bastion believes she’s been chasing down leads on Beadman’s shipment of first silver the pair of them lost, and sure, she’ll get to that. But this country moves so slow compared to Sharteshane. What’s a little detour?

It’s likely only her pymary knowledge and new face that saves her. Argenti, Sr. is a career soldier and politician. He knows the limitations posed by his aging body and doesn’t hesitate to take her down. He won’t be blackmailed (and nothing she has on him is unknown to him or a threat).

As an assassin, Syn is competent in Sharteshane but abysmal compared to those trained in Alderode. Her pymaric signature isn’t even masked, as it’s a process she hasn’t been able to afford. Argenti knew she wasn’t a Jet when they met, but whether she was a Gold or something else, he wasn’t certain until he heard her speak.

Which means she’s utterly expendable. The only protection she had was being at Bastion’s side. Without it, she spills why Bastion is traveling with a Sharte to begin with, and Argenti sees opportunity.

He wants a reason to remain politically relevant in Alderode. He wants to rage at how much is left for him to accomplish and how little time he has left. Bastion would no doubt use Beadman’s silver for frivolous ends, but Argenti could use it to topple his enemies, to be the savior the Ssaelit need.

Argenti blackmails Syn. Every lead she has on the silver in exchange for her life. Misleading Bastion on any new findings in exchange for not torturing her in the town square. He could call the Lions down on her at any time. He could make it impossible for her to survive in Alderode, which was already a tall order. There’s no choice but to accept.

But Argenti doesn’t miss the way Syn looks at him. The appreciative interest, which only grows sharper as he bests her. It disgusts him, at first. Shartes are filthy creatures, and women who can lethally cast and stab others are worse than shameful. But Syn looks fetching as a Jet. She is young and supple and near hanging on his every word with fascinated intent. Argenti craves regard, craves relevance, craves the due respect he deserves. So what if his wife defiles their marriage and spreads her legs for a parade of men? He takes a Sharte murderess to his bed even once, and it proves what he’s known all along, that his whore wife is worth less than salt air and sea brine.

After all, there’s nothing more alluring than the forbidden.

———

Delethil and Cobalt, oh boy.

Two men approaching their immortal lives very differently. Aside from the use of tools and thralls, Cobalt works alone, without camaraderie or confidant. He's seeking to end the world and enjoy himself thoroughly along the way.

Delethil, meanwhile, forges relationships with enough of his fellow wood elves that last decades, commiserating often with them over a bottle of ale. He has to, to get this revolution to truly work. Even if his men only know him on the surface level, he's learned much of their private lives. He knows what drives them and what will motivate them to act when the time comes. Throughout it all, he still has Eravin.

Cobalt has seen would-be revolutionaries before. He's seen idealists before. He's seen endless self-serving politicians. But it's kind of funny, to see all of those traits tangled up inside a fellow smirking, conniving immortal. He knows the bargain the Minister of Engineering extended to the moon elves (after all, it was his idea) and is delighted when Delethil secures the weapons for his side instead. Cobalt wanted to distract Aeranth with oppression, with keeping a tight grip on itself. Now, he gets a potential civil war and an untested new government? My, my, you shouldn't have~

The vampire lord was already going to interfere. Delethil's takeover shouldn't be too easy (and it won't matter in the end, anyway). But Cobalt is impressed, learning Delethil manipulated a member of his favorite adventuring party to see it done. The rose-haired elf can't quite disguise the turmoil of her thoughts, how much Delethil's lies have shaken her faith in him and broken her heart, how worried she is for her home. Cobalt still sends Zaresh to assassinate the remaining Circle members, but he starts making thralls of Del's people, too. A web of betrayal to make Delethil increasingly paranoid and unable to trust those he thought he could.

Of course, Cobalt appears in Lunhaven to congratulate Delethil for his success. He's a man who enjoys seeing what his investment has secured, after all, and he respects the appetites of a hungry man. Del wasn't born yesterday, however; he knows a snake when he sees one and Cobalt doesn't do much to hide what he is. Fortunately, Cobalt makes the right play to put a chink in Del's armor. He mentions how Riven took the truth behind the trade for Aya's Touch.

And Del's expression turns starved. Because he knows from her letter how she reacted and has heard nothing since. She hasn't come home. She's seemed to have forgotten him entirely. And it pisses him off. He's plagued with thoughts about Riven and Eravin conspiring against him. He wants to see her. He wants all of this to work the way it was supposed to.

So, wondering if he can drive Del mad with it, Cobalt offers a temporary panacea: all the memories and insights he has on that cheeky rosé elf. All Delethil has to do to see what Cobalt has is to let Cobalt drink from him.

And let me tell you, that's the only way outside of a fight that a lvl 6 Delethil willingly allows a ??? lvl vampire lord to bite him.

Also something something Circle members start being murdered something something one of Del's own tries to assassinate him something something Del pushes Eravin away despite how worried the latter is because Del's suspicion is growing worse by the day something something Cobalt offering the only reprieve Del wants with visions of Riven that are increasingly fabricated

———

Unless I can come up with some plausible AU that is pre-Treasure Island, then we're assuming that all that happened, plus Mel being delivered back to her father, plus the wedding that Silver crashed, stealing the bride-to-be.

For a time, Mel is content sailing with Silver aboard his ship. Silver doesn't give her the position of first mate, and she doesn't ask for it. She learns the difference between manning a ship like a navy sailor and manning it as a pirate, much of it a difference of social etiquette.

But eventually, despite all she learns about sailing and herself at his side, despite their mutual attraction, it's not enough. Mel's ambition is to be her own captain, commanding her own crew, sailing where she wishes at the whim of no one else. One day, they dock at the Republic of Pirates, and she never comes back.

Silver waits, but only as a courtesy before setting sail without her. It cuts, but he knows her restless heart, knows she won't truly be satisfied until she tests her ambitions, and even then, satisfaction will be fleeting. In that way, they are far too similar.

It's in her absence that Silver meets Izzy, that he actively seduces him away from Blackbeard to serve as his first mate. It's a hard-won fight because Izzy is so singularly loyal. Silver basks in the victory, as confident in it as he is that Izzy's newfound loyalty in him is genuine. Amazing, what genuine praise can do for a man. A shame it hadn't been enough to keep Mel; together, the three of them could've been unstoppable.

Izzy, of course, isn't blind to the ambition in Silver. He knows he sails with a shark out of water. But Silver leads his crew with the confidence, discipline, and sense of adventure that had slowly leeched away from Blackbeard's ship. Silver is a man to follow, with a vision that instills belief in the crew and a genuine love for pirating. If he should sell any of them out, well, Izzy can deal with that, so long as he remains invaluable to the wily cook.

So Izzy understandably hates it when Silver commands their ship to interfere with a British man-of-war attacking another pirate vessel, but he follows orders. He doesn't question Silver in front of the crew when they fish a raging, spitting, injured hellcat out of the water, not when they need to make their own escape.

But he does ask, later and point-blank, what they're doing with a navy brat on board the ship if not to ransom her. Is consternated when Silver only laughs and admits he's tried that already and paid for it. Is confused when the woman hops to the schedule of the ship like she's familiar with it and is every inch the biting bastard when she ignores his orders as first mate and only seems to answer to Silver.

Mel, much the same way, is wondering who the hell Izzy is and what he's doing here. How is a man so short getting by with so much authority?

It becomes a game of competency. Who can anticipate Silver's, I mean, the ship's needs the most? Who can complete their tasks better and quicker than the other? Who can garner the most favor with the crew? Who does Silver appreciate more?

Meanwhile, Silver attempts to woo Mel back permanently. She's just lost her ship and her crew. She has nothing left but disgrace. And maybe it's partly a trap. Maybe he's bitter and jealous that she found something seemingly better than what he had offered her and wants to demonstrate how wrong she was. If he found what could tempt Izzy Hands to his side, he could do the same here.

Izzy could bite through a plank when Silver tempts her with co-captainship. This little strumpet isn't his captain, and doesn't get to strut around pretending anymore than she already does. And sure, Mel considers it, but she wisely asks, "And if we should give contradicting orders? Won't the ones Mr. Hand's and the crew follow prove who the real captain is?"

As amused as Silver is by the whole thing, there's clear distrust and tension between Mel and Izzy for a long time. Neither of them appreciates Silver's "bonding" methods with the pair of them. They both dislike yet begrudgingly respect how competent the other is, but Mel often feels disadvantaged compared to Izzy's experience. It's both grating and alluring how commanding he is, so of course, she tests his patience whenever she can. Meanwhile, Izzy is aware that he is a surly ball of piss shaped like a man and Mel might as well be a bloody siren, the way Silver fawns over her. What are they?

It's Silver who learns that Mel's father is the one who obliterated her ship and her crew. Her father, who Mel managed to get right where she wanted yet couldn't find the will to kill him, despite her hatred, despite her anger. All she had was a moment, and she lost it to hesitation, a weakness her father didn't have when he stabbed her. All she can take solace in is what he lost due to Silver's attack. She tells him she hopes he left a mark on her father the way Blackbeard once did, the scar still so prominent it had almost been a deathblow. She hopes she runs into Blackbeard again, to thank him, to perhaps learn something from another pirate legend she admires.

Silver casually asks Izzy later about Blackbeard's encounter with a certain English admiral. "Where the fook did ya hear that?" Izzy says. "Ed was doin' fuck-all belowdeck. That was me."

[papermoonloveslucy]

THE GREAT OUTDOORS!

Part 1 ~ The Ricardos & Mertzes Commune with Nature

“I Love Lucy” generally took place indoors - at their East 68th Street apartment or Ricky’s nightclub. As residents of New York City, they had little opportunity to commune with nature - but there were exceptions. In nearly all cases, these outdoorsy moments were staged indoors - in a Hollywood studio.  

“The Marriage License” (1952) ~ To correct an error on their original marriage license, Lucy and Ricky travel to Greenwhich, Connecticut to renew their vows. While there, Lucy makes Ricky renact his proposal at the tree bench where it first happened.  

LUCY: “Gee. I don’t remember this seat being so small, do you? I guess the tree grew in a little from each side.”  RICKY: “Let’s face it, we’ve grown out a little from each side!” 

This brush with nature came during the 26th episode filmed and is the very first time Lucy and Ricky have been seen outdoors.  The Desilu set designers finally had a chance to use foliage! 

“Lucy’s Last Birthday” (1953) ~ Depressed that no one has remembered her birthday, Lucy wanders the city at night, eventually arriving at Central Park - Manhattan’s equivalent of The Great Outdoors. 

While sitting alone, the Friends of the Friendless come marching through the trees, stopping to console her. Not used to negotiating the outdoors, FOF extra Barbara Pepper (the only Friendless female) loses her hat on a low-hanging branch! 

“The Camping Trip” (1953) ~ Lucy wants to do everything Ricky does - including going on a camping trip to go fishing and duck hunting. 

This is by far the most exensive use of greenery in the series. Assessing Lucy’s camping attire, Ethel is typically blunt.

LUCY: “Well, do I look like I stepped out of ‘Field & Stream’?” ETHEL: “You look more like you fell in.”

Although the campsite is located in the woods near a stream, the exact location is never stated. It is must be within driving distance, so likely upstate New York.  

“The Fox Hunt” (1956) ~  At an English country manor Lucy goes on a fox hunt, despite never having ridden a horse.

Lucy really gets back to nature by becoming ensared in a bush. Unbeknownst to her, the fox does too! 

“Lucy in the Swiss Alps” (1956) ~  After a mistake in booking during their trek through Europe, the Ricardos and Mertzes go mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps. 

This establishing shot tells the audience the enivronment that the gang will be dealing with: snow-capped mountains. 

The “I Love Lucy” set designers were charged with creating a realistic mountain top, then making it snow!  

The Great Outdoors weren’t always green!  This sequence was later integrated into the promotion of Paramount+ streaming service, showing various CBS / Paramount characters scaling ‘Mount Paramount’. 

“Lucy’s Bicycle Trip” (1956) ~ When leaving Italy for France, Lucy has her heart set on biking along the coast and across the border - until she can’t find her passport!

In the middle of nowhere, she tries everything she can think of to get past the border officials. Before the border, the gang gets in touch with nature by sleeping in a barn!  

“Off to Florida” (1956) ~ When Lucy misplaces their train tickets to Miami Beach, she and Ethel must share a car ride to Florida with Edna Grundy (Elsa Lanchester), a woman they suspect might be a hatchet murderess.

Mrs. Grundy insists on driving the backroads from New York City to Florida. Instead of stopping at a roadside cafe, Mrs. Grundy has packed watercress sandwiches, which Lucy calls ‘buttered grass’.  

Instead of stopping at a hotel, they simply pull off the road and try to sleep in the car. The ominpresent chirp of crickets keeps them awake. 

LUCY: “Who can sleep with all that noise? Sounds like feeding time in a pet shop.” 

“Deep Sea Fishing” & “Desert Island” (1956) ~ While visiting Miami Beach, Lucy and Ethel make a bet with Ricky and Fred that they can catch the bigger fish. Not all nature is green or white - sometimes it is blue, too!  The scenes on the ocean were filmed in a water tank in Hollywood, while actor doubles were also filmed off the coast of Miami. The two films were then edited together.

When their boat runs out of gas, the gang is stranded on a lush (what they believe to be) deserted island. The island seen in the second unit footage (above) is not nearly as large or verdant as the one built in the studio. 

RICKY: “Hey!  They have caca-nuts here!” LUCY: “Caca-nuts? (she looks around) Oh, yeah. A lot of caca-nuts.”

Palm trees and whie sands are usually an idyllic way to commune with nature - except when a giant native (Claude Akins) shows up!  

“Lucy Raises Tulips” (1957) ~ In Connecticut, Lucy turns gardener. When she takes charge of the rider mower, the landscape changes for the worse -  including the garden! For city folks, nothing says Back to Nature more than gardening. 

“Lucy Hunts Uranium” (1958) ~ The third of the hour-long episodes later called “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” takes the gang to Las Vegas, where they hunt for uranium with Fred MacMurray. As with previous episodes, this was a combination of studio shooting and second unit location footage.

Location filming took place in California’s Mojave Desert. This is the first time Lucy and Desi have gone on location as the Ricardos.

During the exterior prospecting scene, the actors actually ‘fall asleep’ on a Hollywood sound stage and ‘wake up’ on location in the desert!  Movie magic!

Although the actors went on location, the car chase sequences were filmed using stunt doubles intercut with studio-filmed process shots. 

“Lucy Goes To Sun Valley” (1958) ~ The gang travels to Sun Valley, Idaho, where they meet Fernando Lamas. 

Sun Valley is a resort city where tourists can enjoy ice skating, golfing, hiking, trail riding, cycling, tennis and (of course) skiing on Bald (“Mount Baldy”) Mountain and Dollar Mountain. It was a favorite vacation spot for the Arnaz family. They spent part of their 1952 summer hiatus from “I Love Lucy” at the resort and later returned in 1959, after Lucy and Desi had separated, staying at Ann Sothern’s home.

As usual, the episode was a combination of studio shooting and location footage of the actors at the resort. This episode, however, featured far more location footage than any previous episode. 

Lucille Ball was called upon to really get back to nature by skiing, skating, and even frolicking in the snow with animals!  

“Lucy Makes Room for Danny” (1958) ~ Danny Williams (Danny Thomas) and his family sublet the Ricardo home during the winter.  Building snowmen and throwing snoballs were part of the show’s plot. Unlike their visit to Sun Valley, this snow was a studio creation. The episode was a clever way to tell viewers that “Make Room for Daddy” (aka “The Danny Thomas Show”) would be taking over “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” time slot!  

“Lucy Goes To Alaska” (1959) ~ The gang travel to the nation’s newest state to buy some discount land - but end up out in the cold - literally!  Red Skelton guest stars. 

Although the action is set in and around Nome, the second unit footage was filmed in Lake Arrowhead, California, about 100 miles from Hollywood. 

The exteriors were done with doubles and none of the regular cast left the newly-purchased Desilu (formerly RKO) Studios.

“Lucy’s Summer Vacation” (1959) ~ Lucy and Ricky go on vacation to Vermont and end up sharing their cabin with Howard Duff and Ida Lupino.

In the story, Lucy and Ricky have been invited to spend a week at a cabin on (fictional) Lake Wotchasokapoo, Vermont. 

The show took the Ricardos out of their Connecticut home, but the scenes were not filmed on location in Vermont, but inside Desilu Studios. There is one brief establishing shot of a lake.

[tgaisobelfieldsend]

PENNY DREADFULS

THE ACCIDENTAL MURDERESS - MISSUS MOONEY

"Miss Hermione Tandy was the youngest daughter of a fortuitous gentleman known as Mr. Hollingsworth Tandy, residing near the area of Hyde Park in London. The father, in his concern for the welfare of his youngest child, had endeavoured to exert a great deal of paternal authority by removing her acquaintance – an artful miscreant for whom she had developed an unhealthy attachment. In furtherance of this act, he took it upon himself to visit the docks and speak with said miscreant, whereupon he discovered the man was married and in a rage attacked him, pushing him into the river. Expecting him to be shaken up (and hence warned), he turned his back and walked away – though there were many repeated cries for help.

In the darkness of midnight, Miss Tandy left her home, seemingly undetected, to meet her lover. This evening she was followed by her father, who concealed himself by the docks and waited. She too waited for some time, but her lover did not show himself. Reaching out from the shadows, her father grabbed her by the arm, frightening the girl. In the dark she could not make out the figure, thinking only of harm to her person and grabbed a large hook, which lay upon a nearby crate. Swinging the hook with much fortitude, she struck the figure again and again until it fell to the ground into a dark puddle. Shouting histrionically, she loudly exclaimed that someone had attempted to defile her (lest there be a dockworker or officer in the area). Led on by giddy and headstrong passion, she returned home." - The-Accidental-Murderess-EMooney.pdf (halfpennydreadfuls.com)

THE CURSE OF PERSEPHONE TEMPLAR - PATRICIA MISKIMINS

A tale of tradition and rituals where Persephone is unknowingly chosen to become the next lady in a long cycle once she comes of age, chained to a mysterious being disguised as a normal man. Family responsibility and trauma seems to be a key focus of this tale.

GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER - MARY-ANNE VERKUYL

A grim trail revolving around tragedy, death and unexpected outcomes. Heavily focused on the art of death.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Surprise self-rec time! Pick 3 of your favorite things you’ve written and share them here, then put this in the inbox (anonymously or not) of your fellow writers to spread the positivity and help celebrate already written fics 💞

Thank you!

It was hard to narrow these down. Some of the stories that have been more successful (like the annotated letters or the Amarantha and Antavia story) are definitely among my favorites, but for variety I'll highlight some others that are important to me. They were all written under a lot of stress and it's an achievement that they exist at all.

A Visit from the Murderess: Elystan at a dark point getting an intervention from his mother. Maybe the angstiest thing I've ever written? He's the worst, as always, but having a genuinely rough time and handling it very badly, and it was interesting to explore this particular side of him, and kind of cathartic to write.

A Building Project: In a completely different vein! I wanted to depict a time in Delclis and Elystan's relationship that things were actually pleasant and brotherly between them, to add some sting to where they currently are. This is as fluffy as my writing gets.

A Christmas Chapter (Tamett’s, Josiah’s, and Elystan’s POV): I did not set out to write three versions of the same story from different POVs, but this snowballed. It's not perfect, and there's a lot of it, but I think the POVs all turned out pretty distinct, and getting to explore the school setting and some relationships that will be important when/if I ever get to Book 3 was amusing.

[tgadanparish1]

the accidental murderess

Miss Hermione Tandy was the youngest daughter of a fortuitous gentleman known as Mr. Hollingsworth Tandy, residing near the area of Hyde Park in London. The father, in his concern for the welfare of his youngest child, had endeavoured to exert a great deal of paternal authority by removing her acquaintance – an artful miscreant for whom she had developed an unhealthy attachment. In furtherance of this act, he took it upon himself to visit the docks and speak with said miscreant, where upon he discovered the man was married and in a rage attacked him, pushing him into the river.

the accidental murderess is about a woman who grew an unhealthy attachment to man who we find out was already married to another woman and in a fit of rage she pushed him in the river.

"In the darkness of midnight, Miss Tandy left her home, seemingly undetected, to meet her lover. This evening she was followed by her father, who concealed himself by the docks and waited. She too waited for some time, but her lover did not show himself. Reaching out from the shadows, her father grabbed her by the arm, frightening the girl. In the dark she could not make out the figure, thinking only of harm to her person and grabbed a large hook, which lay upon a nearby crate. Swinging the hook with much fortitude, she struck the figure again and again until it fell to the ground into a dark puddle".

the book shows how the girl never intends to kill directly as seen in this part her father grabbed her by the arm while being concealed by darkness making it hard for her to tell who it was so she grabbed a nearby weapon to defend herself from the supposed attacker and killed her father by accident.

[hetaoren]

HC: Madam Lan

To say that Lan Qiren's relationship with Lan-furen is complicated is an understatement. He was only 18 when his brother returned to Cloud Recesses with her and his life forever changed.

At first, all Qiren felt towards Lan-furen was anger. She had killed their teacher (the teacher was technically his brother's but due to their closeness, he had ended up teaching Qiren as well) and made Qingheng-jun betray him the sect. Since his brother had never acted like this before, it had to be her doing, Qiren could not think of any other reason. So he resented her. Young, angry and hurt with way too much responsibility on his slender shoulders, he took all that out on her. Or at least most of it, he was furious at his brother too, but he was certain she had enchanted him or something like that. Having never experienced romantic love himself, never even seen it before, he was unaware of what love can do to a man and therefore blamed the young woman his brother had fallen for, not even thinking about that she rejected his love.

Though, he does his duty to her and visits briefly once a week to take note of anything she might require. The visits are frosty and Qiren is unaware how much his hurt is visible in his eyes. He's also unaware about the fascination written on his face as he gets to watch her pregnancy progress, having never seen that before. Obviously, he has seen a pregnant woman before, but not followed the development of it. It looks uncomfortable and although he's fascinated by the change, it also scares him for reasons he does not know (to be honest, he's a teenage boy, so it would be odd if pregnancy didn't scare him a little). The first sign of a crack in his frostiness towards her is when he, at the end of her first pregnancy, asks if she's in pain and if he can bring something to help her. In his eyes, she looks pale and drawn, for some reason, he doesn't like that.

Then his nephew is born, little Lan Huan, and his heart is finally mostly thawed, washed away by life and an instinct to care and protect he didn't know he had as he holds the little bundle in his arms. It is some time after this that his anger about the situation starts swaying to his brother only, feeling more... mixed feelings for Lan-furen. He's never been told what happened that night, his brother doesn't speak about it and all he knows is that she killed their teacher. Qiren decides it is time to ask her about it, and he does, finding out that it was in self-defence. He hums, stroking his chin and leaves, but during his next visit he nods and says that he believes her and for all his faults, dishonesty is not one of them. After this, his relationship with his brother worsened even more, not that it had been good since his seclusion, but his relationship with Lan-furen brightens a little. He's by no means warm or soft with her, but the only one getting that side from him is little A-Huan, but he is polite in a genuine way, not the dutiful polite way and he stays a little longer during his visits than he did before. They talk and when she asks, he tells her about the outside world. She's one of few, basically the only one, pointing out when the dark circles under his eyes get too pronounced, even though it earns her a small tongue-lashing from a tired acting sect leader. He was considerably more hot-headed, and rule-abiding, as young. It's not just Wangji that later reminds him of himself, but also Jingyi. Had he not been raised so controlled, Qiren might've ended up more like the outspoken Junior.

When it comes to the visits of Lan-furen's children, the Elders don't want her to see them, don't want the Sect's future to be corrupted by a murderess, but Lan Qiren speaks up, telling them that that would be punishing the children and they have done nothing wrong. It takes some debating, but in the end, he wins them the right to visit their mother once a month. The only one who knows he gave them the opportunity to see her at all, is Lan-furen, because he apologises that he couldn't do more. He might still be angry at her, he can't remove those feelings fully, but he also feels sorry for her, she did not deserve this severe punishment. She deserved a proper hearing, but it seems that not even his brother believed his wife and for ignoring the Lan rules of proper hearing and judgement, he will never forgive him.

Life goes on like this, he brings the children to her once a month, they visit her while he visits his brother (they usually fight, well, in the Lan way, so very quietly). He visits her once a week, they talk and have tea. Then, one day, he finds her dead: suicide. His hands tremble as he lets go of her wrist, his voice quivering slightly as he mumbles "it is forbidden to kill within Cloud Recesses". Before he leaves the Jingshi, he makes sure his eyes are not moist, that his expression is neutral. No one needed to know how much it upset him finding Lan-furen dead. Especially not his nephews.

[dwellordream]

Standalone Book Recommendations

the following books do not have *direct* sequels and are not part of long-standing series. ie. they can be read on their own without having to commit to reading multiple sequels or prequels.

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. In 1860s London, orphan Sue Trinder, daughter of a murderess, is raised by the tough but kindly Mrs. Sucksby and her adoptive family of thieves. When a con man known as the Gentleman offers Sue the chance of a lifetime to change her fortune forever, she takes it, even if it means posing as a lady’s maid and tricking an innocent young heiress, Maud, into a life of imprisonment in an asylum. However, Maud, her eccentric bibliophile uncle, and their lonely estate of Briar are not quite what they seem, and Sue quickly finds herself in over her head, battling between her pragmatism and her growing feelings for her target. 

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates. Dreamy and romantic young Norma Jeane Baker dreams of true love and a life on the silver screen, much like her erratic mother Gladys. After Gladys is institutionalized in a psychiatric hospital, Norma Jeane is shuffled from orphanage to foster home and quickly taught that life is not a fairy tale, and even beautiful and kind princesses rarely get their just rewards. After marrying at age 16 to avoid returning to the orphanage, Norma Jeane begins work as a model while her husband serves overseas in World War II, and resolves to make a star of herself. The path she takes will catapult her from one doomed romance to another, nearly crush her soul, and make her a worldwide sensation- not as herself, but as bottle blonde flirt Marilyn Monroe.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Clever young socialite Noemi wants nothing more than to pursue a university education and break a few hearts while she’s at it. When her father asks her to pay a visit to her cousin, who has married into a reclusive family of Englishmen and begun to send mysterious, alarming letters begging for help, Noemi reluctantly agrees. At High Place she finds that her cousin’s in-laws are more than just high-class snobs; their very house itself seems to be imparting sinister messages in her dreams, and her cousin is unrecognizable. Determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, Noemi resolves to discover the secrets of High Place, but learns that High Place is just as interested in dissecting her as she is it. 

On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong. Raised by his scarred and often violent mother and his mentally ill grandmother, Little Dog begins to recount his childhood in Connecticut and unpack the trauma inflicted on his family by the war in Vietnam and their subsequent flight to America. As he ages into a young man, Little Dog begins a romance with his best friend Trevor, and begins to understand the snare of addiction, sexuality, and masculinity that has both of them in its grips. 

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson. A surreal tale of magical realism in 17th century London, Sexing the Cherry contains many stories within the frame story, which is that of a massive woman accompanied by dogs, and her adoptive son Jordan, taken from the river as an infant. Dog Woman and Jordan journey through many fairy tales, including that of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, who wish to rewrite their myth.

The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer. Faced with the prospect of a loveless marriage, Sir Richard Wyndham goes out for one last night of drunken revelry. Along the way he meets Penelope Creed, who is also fleeing an arranged match of her own. The two conspire to get Penelope back to her countryside village, where she plans to elope with her childhood sweetheart. Penelope poses as Richard’s young cousin, but their plot is complicated by thieves, murder, and an overturned stagecoach. 

Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve. Gwyna is nothing and no one- a serf, a slave, an orphan. By sheer chance she is brought into the service of the bard Myrddin, who travels alongside the young warlord  Arthur, who hopes to unite Britain under his reign. From Myrddin, Gwyn learns they can be whatever they choose to be- even if that means shedding identities the way a snake sheds its skin. Along the way, he forges his own destiny- as a wizard’s apprentice, a page boy, a queen’s handmaiden, and finally, the one who will make Arthur the man into Arthur the legend. 

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Richard Mayhew is new to London, but already worn out by his shallow life in finance. One fateful night, he breaks dinner plans to come to the aid of an injured homeless girl. For this act of kindness, he is consigned to Neverwhere, an alternate reality where dangers lurk down every darkened alley, and myths and goddesses walk the streets of a city trapped in every time and place at once. Richard must decide whether he wishes to return to his normal existence, or make an uncertain home for himself among the exiles and misfits of Neverwhere- if he can survive that long. 

[lady-murderess]

𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙜...

hello, hello!

Bit of a small intro but you all can call me Ash. I don't have a life.

My blog's a shitshow, welcome :)

side blogs: @guardingthegalaxy

I try not to involve myself with fandoms, but I do like a bit of DC, Marvel and Doctor Who, and when it comes to Wednesday? Oh, don't get me started... I also do a bit of cosplaying (as some of you have probably seen from when I posted my Rick cosplay.) So, yeah. It's a bit of all sorts on here, really.

Characters I'd die for:

Rick Flag Jr.

Takeshi Kovacs

Ed Baldwin

Erik Heller

Stephen Holder

Gamora and the rest of the MCU Guardians

The 10th Doctor

Soldier Boy

Queen Maeve

Wednesday Addams

Tyler Galpin

mike schmidt

Ships I will die for:

Moonflag

Kortega

Starmora

wyler (weyler)

schmelly

I make my own content but I just forget to watermark pretty much almost all of it, so any post of mine that has the tag Lady Murderess means it's all my content. But you know, if you're gonna use my stuff, please do credit me.

I do use discord quite a lot, so if any mutuals want my tag, feel free to ask.

Other than making GIFs, I do plan on doing a bit of writing. I have had a few ideas for some stories that I've been meaning to get around to for an age now, so maybe I'll make a start on them at some point and just post them.

Because I'm real big on music, I put together some playlists for the characters I like. Each song on each playlist are mainly what I see the characters listening to, and some songs I just add because they just remind me of that character. Some of the character playlists I have to say I'm pretty proud of.

Here's the link for the playlists

Other than that, thank you for visiting my account!