#How to Write Introduction

[forgettable-au]

FORGETTABLE-AU (Page 36-39)

* To note. Her hands are scaly. * And...unexpectedly wet?

[BEGINNING] [PREVIOUS] [CONTINUE]

[pmd-explorersofspace]

Chester and Ray

[starryeyed-seer]

me: I'm not a bat

Mr pages: (stuffing novels under its robe): I must abscond

[s0fter-sin]

one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules

the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)

almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)

they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning

(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)

even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)

so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim

it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character

the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring

we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)

it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other

sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother

[rema-rin]

Y'all know what, I've been progressively amassing a collection of art, doodles and shitposts all surrounding one of our ongoing Dungeons and Dragons campaigns // aka I've had character brainrot for a while// and I think Tumblr might actually be a good site to try and start figuring out how to even just,, start, posting about it in a semi-cohesive manner - it'll be quite self-indulgent. So. I'll be tagging content and art related to this campaign as "CA Campaign" since the server dedicated to it is named "Capitalist Apocalypse"

[airenyah]

Episode 6: FadelStyle vs. Beginnings and Endings

In the past one and a half-ish weeks we've discussed at length just how good the last scene at the diner is and how Style drawing tears on Fadel at the rock concert was foreshadowing to Fadel ending the episode crying real tears. What I haven't seen discussed yet, however, is how that ending scene is actually a counterpart to Fadel and Style's conversation after the rock concert. And I think that makes the scene in the diner even more poignant. And it also makes the scene at the rock pub even more painful as well. Because they are basically the same scenes, just flipped. And I desperately need to talk about it or else I'll explode.

Part 1: "Tonight I am very happy"

In this scene Style knows something that Fadel doesn't: This will most likely be their last chance to be happy together like this. Tomorrow Fadel will go on his mission where the police will be waiting and then Fadel will be taken away from him.

But Style already loves Fadel, he is already worried about him and he really does not want to lose him. So he keeps trying to subtly talk Fadel into staying home from the mission and spilling the beans about the mission so he can explicitly ask Fadel not to go. But Fadel keeps his mouth shut. And as happy as Style is together with Fadel this evening, he is also very upset. He doesn't want the night to end, but there's no way around it. For Style this is a goodbye.

And for Fadel? Fadel went from I'll tell her this will be your last job to Ruerat is the last jerk we have to kill. After that, we can live however we want. Even in this episode, right before he goes to the concert with Style, Fadel tells Bison "Once we're done with Ruerat, I'll talk to Mother again", when Bison says it's time for them to quit. Fadel is on the same page as Bison now. Ruerat is their last victim and after that Fadel wants out. For Fadel, this is the last night where he's still stuck in his hitman life, but once he is done with his mission the weight will be off his shoulders and he can finally truly be with Style. For Fadel this is the opposite of a goodbye.

In the words of my mother: For Style, when the night is over life will end. For Fadel, when the night is over life will begin. Style is ending something and Fadel wants to begin something.

And another thing my mom pointed out is how they're standing in front of a pink sky:

And at what time of the day is the sky pink? Either at dawn or at dusk. The beginning of the day or the end of the day. And for Fadel this scene is only the beginning of the day while for Style this scene is the end of the day.

Part 2: "I think I already love you"

In this scene Fadel knows something that Style doesn't: Style has played him, has made him lower his protective walls, has made him fall for him only to turn around and betray him.

Style told Fadel he hoped that Fadel wouldn't get any more scars and yet here Style is, stabbing Fadel right in the heart and jeopardizing his life. Here Style is, bursting Fadel's bubble that he's finally started daring to dream about, a dream of a future where he wasn't lonely, a future where he was happy and himself with someone, Style, by his side. But Style is a danger to him. Style can't stay. As happy as Fadel has been together with Style, he needs to let go of him. For Fadel this is a goodbye.

And for Style? He has just spent a full week worrying sick about Fadel after his mission went wrong and went completely MIA. Style has likely (definitely) spent a week checking the restaurant every single day for any sign of Fadel's return, not giving up hope of seeing him again. And then Fadel is back. Style is overjoyed. The heavy metal concert wasn't their last day together, Fadel is pulling through on his promise to have many more nights like that with each other. The concert may have been the end of the day, but now against all odds a new day has come. For Style this is the opposite of a goodbye.

And so we're left with the exact opposite situation from what we had at the concert: Fadel is ending something and Style wants to begin something.

Conclusion

These two scenes go together, they're flipped parallels of each other.

At the concert, Style is internally saying goodbye to Fadel because he thinks their relationship will be over when Fadel gets arrested at the mission and the police take him away. At the diner, Fadel is internally saying goodbye to Style because he thinks their relationship is over now that he "knows" that none of it was real on Style's part since in reality he was working with said police.

At the concert Fadel is truly happy, because once his mission is over he'll talk to mother and when he's managed to convince her that him and Bison will be out, then Fadel can go and start a new life, a new future with Style. At the diner, Style is overjoyed because he thought he was about to lose Fadel, but Fadel has come back and now Style gets a second chance at a future with Fadel.

At the concert, Fadel is happy and he can tell something is kinda off about Style ("What's wrong? You act like we're not going to see each other again."), but he has absolutely no idea that Style is in the process of bidding him farewell. At the diner, Style is happy and he can tell something is kinda off about Fadel ("You were just calling me out for being affectionate. Now you wanna be romantic?"), but he has absolutely no idea that Fadel is in the process of bidding him farewell.

It's brilliant writing, really. And both scenes were flawlessly performed by both boys.

[cybermcdel]

♡ my empire for a glossed-up kiss ♡

💥. . . FARRAH / S!HER / BLACK && PUERTO RICAN

🎸; y2k princess. brat energy. vanilla-scented menace. me & my iced coffee against the world. chronically online & always right. ✧ closet full of juicy couture & pink velour.

💋; pop culture obsessed. bimbo but make it strategic. myspace revivalist. angel energy w/ a devilish streak. lauryn hill raised me, kimora lee inspired me. diet cherry pepsi girl foreva. . !

💌 RECENT WORKS! / ( supermodel, r.c ) ( streets, r.c )

🛍️ MASTERLIST COMING SOON ML! / (….)

[casketour]

i know laundromats aren't a strictly american thing but they're definitely my favorite part of living here

[mausinly]

Grrr cowboy!velikan thoughts, au belongs to @ghouljams, also big thanks to @reyesbignaturals for enabling me hehehe

I don't think he's exactly retired yet, more like laying low with a lot of other guys from Shadow Company. Maybe they did something just a little (not little) risky (they almost blew up all of Washington) and need to stay off the radar for a while. Since Lerch is canonically from Texas, I think it may have been his idea. He's got some of the shadows working as temporary hands while others are holed up on various plots of land in plain sight.

While Graves is busy riding bulls and being a usual showboat, I think Velikan is more dedicated to the laying low part of laying low. He's living on a small ranch, nothing more than maybe 5 acres. He's got a few horses and livestock, mainly chickens and goats because he wants things he can wrangle easily.

It takes some adjustment for him, the slow and somewhat repetitive life in a small town like this. He's so used to constantly being on the move, constantly being on guard. He didn't become the warden by half-assing his job.

But it's so quiet. He always drags himself down to the bars and rodeo arenas with the rest of the shadows, just for the white noise (and to bet on how quickly his CEO gets bucked). They must look like some kind of old western gang, all wearing black hats and bandanas over their mouths. At least there's still that familiarity. He hates to admit it, but he cares about these kids more than he wants to.

It's nice for a while, a little too nice. Laying low seems to drag out longer and longer, and he finds himself calling his little farm "home" more often than not. He starts to understand the suspicious amount of retired military here, this weirdass town has a way of luring you in and wiggling its way into your heart.

Apparently, a lot of the other shadows seem to agree because, one by one, they all begin to settle down with oddly charming and beautiful women. They start making jokes that there must be something in the water when Graves starts chasing around a pretty bronc rider.

He didn't take it all too seriously until he walked by a little stand in the market, selling jars of honey with you sitting comfortably behind the display. There's a frayed little straw hat sitting comfortably on your head and he can't help but wonder how it would look replaced by his own.

Hell, maybe there is something in the water...

[myers-meadow]

Sascha (oc) introduction

Name: Sascha Stanimirova

Pronouns: he/him

Sexuality: bisexual

Job: assassin, and has a successful OnlyFans & social media presence on the side. This man keeps busy.

Likes: the colour black, sex, gloomy weather, orgasms, pasta, showing a lil tummy, the woman he's obsessed with (she can do NO wrong in his eyes), red wine, porn, teddy bears, inflicting pain on others, knife play, city trips, being a slut, Wassily Kandinsky.

Dislikes: when his girl (its not his girl) has a new bf, grocery shopping by himself, short vibrator battery life, long flights, summer, politics, high fashion, cocaine, loud dogs, being touched or hugged, fruit flavoured sparkly water.

Backstory: An assassin first and foremost. Sascha's main targets are political ones, or rich ones. He is good, he is quiet and he enjoys what he does. He loves manipulating his appearance and personality to fit in with ease in any environment. Outside of his job, he hates pretending, so he is very unapologetically himself, whether that is crude, rash, or polite and friendly, he doesn't care.

His parents come from very different backgrounds; his mother is a visual artist (collage, painting, occassional art installations), and she met his father through travelling and seeking a model. His father was an assassin as well, Sascha learned from him. Thanks to his mother's education, he mixes well in higher society. She also instilled a passion for art in him.

His OnlyFans career started as a dare, and he has the audacity to do absolutely anything - so he did it. It caught on quick; he used his friend groups to promote himself, and moved to other social media platforms as a means of promotion later on. There's little this man won't do, and he is absolutely not anonymous online. Everyone attributes his weird lifestyle and high income to his porn career, so it provided him with a perfect alibi for his eccentricities.

Warning: His story features heavy themes of co-dependency, rape/non-con, coercion, blackmail, toxic relationships, honestly this man is a walking content warning tbh.

I'm very open to questions and comments regarding him! Pls be nice, this is my first time posting any writing, esp original work, in what may as well be years. It's a vulnerable thing, esp him/this story. Feels good to be back! And I haven't forgotten Mischa, don't worry hahaha :)).

Bonus moodboard summarising a few vibes and inspirations:

[the middle one is a shot from a movie, rest is Trent Reznor, Peter Steele & young Johnny Depp] [first moodboard credits; some I made into pngs myself, bleedingthroughteeth, s4dpngs, free-png, violetbudd]

[you-are-my-neverland]

“You know, everyone else thinks you’ve lost your mind because of grief, But I know you better than that, and I know that whatever’s going on with you is more than whatever happened to your dad. The person in front of me, that’s not you. And I don’t know where the fuck she is, but I hope the real Naying Yue wakes up soon.”

NAYING YUE'S life has been on a downward spiral ever since her father disappeared three years ago. Expelled from university and alone after violently stabbing her friend in the eye, she believes her twenty first birthday is as good as any day to die, only for her suicide to be interrupted by an attack by monstrous beings. Saved by strangers who call themselves Outsiders, she is told her life as she knows it is a lie: Her father did not save her life as a child, but instead kidnapped her from the powerful Yue family. Thrown headfirst into the dangerous World of Outsiders, where humans endowed with a magical current are hunted ruthlessly by the eldritch beings known as the seraph and the power plays between factions shed just as much blood, Naying finds herself pulled by opposite powers and desires. Forced to play in games she does not fully understand and plagued by unexplained blackouts and boughts of violence, Naying must fight herself and the world to stay alive. But all she really wants is to find her father.

GODHOOD is the conceptual title for a prospective trilogy that follows Naying Yue as she reclaims her destiny. Set in a universe where magic runs parallel to the ordinary world in the form of a current. Those that possess the current are called Outsiders, endowed with extraordinary abilities and able to perceive the truth of the world, responsible for maintaining equilibrium. As Naying embraces the changes within herself, a young monk searches for an answer that has haunted him his whole life, and a skater must confront a part of herself she has tried to turn away from. A boy sits catatonic in a wheelchair in the garden, and a pair of twins are forced to chose between the past and the future. Their stories intertwine with one another's while overlapping with that of various other characters across the Godhood Universe.

Status. Drafting book one

Genre. Urban fantasy with wuxia and mythic elements

Themes & Tropes. destiny, the problem of free will, humanity, the trolley problem, the abuse and cycle of power (how we play into and uphold the systems that hurt and oppress us), individual identity & internal conflict, ambition & power, who we choose as a family, parent/child relationships (specifically father/daughter), balance

Tag: wip: godhood

More information available on the ppt intro of this wip!! I'm always open to asks about specific characters and worldbuilding, though I don't know when I'll be making an actual post about it. I mostly post small snippets here and there :)

Taglist (currently tagging those who expressed interest before, please reach out to be added or removed)

@lena-rambles @ink-flavored @vacantgodling @dirtcatty

Extra excerpt beneath cut!

“You don’t believe I’m her, do you?” she asked softly. “Naying Yue. The dead one.” “Dead, or missing?” Lien murmured in response. “Or found?” He stepped down into her space, so they were toe to toe, too crushingly close to stand on her own. She fought against stepping back, holding herself taut to prevent her body from swaying backwards without her control.  “Your bet,” she said, staring up at him. His eyes were dark. She could see a sliver of the moon in them at this distance. The last, and only, guy she had been this physically close to was Frey. “I bet you’re going to ruin something,” Lien said in a low voice. “Real or not.” Naying swallowed, then let herself smile. “How much are you willing to bet on that?” “Why?” Lien asked, boredom sweeping over his features. He took a step back. “Planning on providing a payout?” “I doubt it would be that hard,” Naying replied, following his step. “I don’t play nice.” Lien shook his head with a rueful grin. “I can see that much.” He paused. “So what’s your bet, then?” “My bet?” Naying echoed curiously. “Real, or fake?”  “Well,” Naying said. “It’s probably the same as yours, isn’t it? I’m a fake who is pretending to be the real thing, or I’m the real deal still putting on a facade. Either way, I’m going to fuck things up, aren’t I?” “There’s no odds if they’re in both of our favor,” Lien replied.

[13eyond13]

love how every major character tends to instantly humiliate Light whenever they're first introduced. Ryuk makes him scream and land on his ass and then scoffs at him for thinking he's the chosen one, L puts him on blast on live TV in front of millions of viewers for thinking he's divine, and soon enough Misa will be nearly doxing him on TV in front of everybody and then stalking him home... if you want to make Light take you seriously then you have got to humble and maybe also publicly humiliate his arrogant ass, for real

[ruvviks]

– Beginnings.

Characters >> Lily Castellanos, Nathan Dixon (oc), Sebastian Castellanos Total >> 3.5k words Warnings >> Alcohol mention Context >> The first chapter of my own TEW3, taking place some months after the conclusion of the in-game events of TEW2! You can read more about it all here!

It snowed in Krimson City.

The sky had been the same dull gray color since sunrise, snowflakes slowly cascading down and covering the street in a thick blanket of snow. A heavy fog held the city tightly in its grasp– an eerie atmosphere hanging in the thin afternoon air and low-hanging clouds swallowing entire buildings whole– and with only limited visibility on the road, traffic was forced to crawl by in slow motion.

While not an unseen phenomenon, it was far from a common sight for early January, only days after Nathan’s birthday. He had spent that day snowed in in his little apartment, had celebrated it alone; not as if it mattered much, he doubted Kid even knew and besides his ex-colleague from MOBIUS he severely lacked other friends to hang out with those days.

He stood motionless at the fence of the small playground located in Krimson City’s public park, gloved hands stuffed deep in the pockets of his long, black coat with the collar popped up to shield the lower half of his face from the occasional sharp gust of wind. He had not moved in a while, shoulders and tousled black hair covered in a thin layer of fine white powder, frost nipping away at the tip of his nose as his eyes followed a group of kids excitedly running around.

It did not take a genius to notice Lily was significantly older than the others there, but none of the kids seemed to mind. It came as no surprise to Nathan to see her there– she had not once lost her playfulness even after everything MOBIUS had put her through, and without a proper outlet for it in all her years trapped in the shadow organization it only made sense for her to want to have a chance at spending the remainder of her childhood like she had always been supposed to.

He watched in silence as she scooped up some snow in her pink and orange mittens, wincing when one of the other kids threw a snowball directly at her face; she was smiling, though, and quickly pressed the snow together to then hurl it back, the surprisingly well-aimed attempt hitting someone else on the back of their coat.

‘You’re startin’ to freak out the other parents, standing there like that.’

The corners of Nathan’s mouth lightly curled up upon hearing the familiar, low voice, not needing to turn his head to know who joined him on the other side of the fence.

‘Was starting to wonder how long it’d take for you to notice me,’ he said, his own voice a little rougher than usual on account of the cold, and his severe lack of proper rest in the past few weeks. ‘Was gonna give you another five minutes before I’d walk over to introduce myself. You’re getting slow.’

‘I’m getting comfortable,’ Sebastian Castellanos corrected him with a scoff, returning Lily’s little wave as she ran by the both of them– Nathan merely greeted her with a single nod of his head– before quickly shoving his hand back in the pocket of his green jacket.

‘No need to keep my eyes up anymore, Nate. Threat’s gone, MOBIUS’ gone. Life’s improving day by day.’

‘Good.’

Nathan wished he shared Sebastian’s sentiment.

If anything, life had turned rather sour for him after they had successfully gotten rid of a large chunk of MOBIUS several months ago. He had never expected to walk away from it alive to begin with– and now, without the steady income the organization had provided him with for years, he found himself struggling to get by.

He glanced to his right, gaze briefly meeting that of the ex-detective before he quickly averted his eyes and let them wander back to the playground, trailing over the various snow-covered playground sets.

Sebastian looked good, healthy– much better than the state he’d been in when Nathan had last seen him all those months ago. Part of him regretted not reaching out sooner, the sudden reconnection now an obvious sign that something was wrong; though the wiser part of him knew that had he stuck around the Castellanos family they would not have been able to move on and heal, which was the last thing he would have wanted to be responsible for.

‘What about you?’ Sebastian quietly asked, as if he’d been able to sense Nathan’s melancholy. ‘You look like you haven’t slept in days.’

Nathan scoffed, slightly tilting his head to look at his feet and he absently kicked some snow off his boots. ‘That obvious? Sure feels like it.’

He had teamed up with Juli Kidman to deal with the remainder of MOBIUS, after the Union incident. Of course the destruction of the STEM environment hadn’t led to the fall of the whole organization– it would’ve been stupid of them to link all of their employees directly to the mainframe of a single STEM device, despite the Superiors’ obvious lack of knowledge concerning the technology– and while MOBIUS had suffered massive losses, it would only be a matter of time before they would regroup.

But he was not there to talk to Sebastian about how their hunt was going.

Something else had come up.

Nathan’s silence did not go unnoticed and Sebastian turned toward him, leaning sideways against the fence with a concerned look in his eyes. He did not need to say anything– and neither did Nathan, as he slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets and removed one of his black, leather gloves.

The pale top of his left hand had a burned appearance, as if fire had scorched away skin and flesh– the wound only partially healed leaving it broken and torn clinging closely to his veins and bones. Though despite how recent he had received the scar, its appearance instead implied years long possession, and despite its severity it did not hurt at all.

He could tell by the look on Sebastian’s face the scar reminded him of someone.

‘Now, I know what you’re gonna say–’ Nathan started, but Sebastian cut him off.

‘I can’t do this, Nathan. I have a daughter–’

‘–I know.’

His voice came out a lot sharper than he had meant for.

‘I’m not asking anything of you,’ he said, his heartbeat pounding in the back of his throat.

‘Not this time.’

It had started as police radio chatter.

Late in the afternoon, Nathan had already been getting ready to go home. Kid had picked up a mention of Beacon– its doors long closed for the public yet the building remained in the heart of Krimson City, left to rot and wither away– supposed ghostly activity reported within its decaying walls, and she had wanted to investigate.

Nathan sharply exhaled and put his glove back on, exposed fingers growing numb in the freezing winter air. He leaned forward with his arms on the fence, to move a little closer to Sebastian; as if he was afraid someone would overhear them, as if they could make sense out of any of it to begin with.

‘He’s back, Sebastian,’ he defeatedly stated, and the other man lowered his gaze. ‘I saw him. He did this to me.’

‘Impossible.’

‘Wish it was.’

Despite hearing many tales, and having worked on his project for years as developer within the MOBIUS branch he had been part of, Nathan had never seen or met Ruvik face to face. The brilliant mind behind the STEM technology had always remained in the shadows; up until his death, after which his brain had become the core of MOBIUS’ very first STEM device.

Naturally so, when Nathan had run into the man while wandering the abandoned hallways of Beacon, his first assumption had been that he was asleep– followed by a brief moment of panic in which he had believed he was dead, or somehow back in STEM.

But Ruvik had touched him– had forcefully grabbed his hand to make him drop his gun and had left a burn similar to his own scars– and had then vanished the second Kidman had yelled out Nathan’s name, the old and presumed broken STEM device in the room next door whirring and humming as if it had never been deactivated in the first place.

‘I’m here to warn you,’ Nathan softly continued, eyes fixed on a random spot in the bright snow covering the playground and thumb absently running over the gloved back of his scarred hand.

‘We don’t know yet what exactly he’s here for, what exactly he’s tryin’ to do. Investigating as we speak, but– shit’s looking serious. Somehow reverse engineered the STEM signal to reach outward, expand into reality. Push itself out rather than draw people in.’

‘Meaning?’

‘Similar to the wireless connection that pulled you into STEM the first time round, but– without being pulled in.’ Nathan had to bite his tongue to stop himself from getting too technical. ‘An– An active environment in our world, if you follow, rather than on the device’s mainframe. Signal seems to be inactive still, but we’re gettin’ the readings. No idea how he’s planning to activate it yet.’

They had moved the device to their own headquarters, on the outskirts of town. Had needed to connect it to the second prototype– the device that had supported the Union environment, which they had taken from MOBIUS’ headquarters after wiping out its agents– in order to gain access to the mainframe, get any data extracted from it in the first place.

Their initial hope had been that it was nothing more than echoes– malfunctions in the STEM device caused by neglect promptly activating the wireless signal allowing shades from within to wander the Beacon hallways– anything but Ruvik’s actual return, however that was even possible–

‘Daddy!’

Nathan blinked, drawn out of his thoughts by Lily’s voice. He watched her run over to the two of them– the front of her coat, face, and hair completely covered in snow and a bright smile on her face as she attempted to wipe some of it from her forehead, but if anything her mittens just further spread it out.

‘I’m getting cold,’ she said, squinting when Sebastian reached out to help her with the snow. ‘Can we go back home soon?’

‘Of course honey,’ he replied, barely able to mask the exhaustion in his voice now that Nathan had explained the situation to him– and for a brief moment it was as if they were back in Union, radioing back to Kidman from the momentary safety of one of their established safehouses. ‘Don’t want you catching a cold.’

Lily looked up at Nathan and smiled at him– but she was a smart kid, and he watched her expression change as she looked back up at her father, head slightly tilting before she shook it to get some strands of her ink black hair out of her face, the single white strand in her bangs– matching Nathan’s own– a grim and constant reminder of her mother’s fate.

‘Is everything alright?’ she asked, and Nathan couldn’t help but wonder if she still associated him with MOBIUS, if she still associated him with the tests and experiments they put her through and if she still associated him with the STEM device, meeting one another within in some facility in the Marrow where he was forced to watch over her like a vulture at all times, all to keep the system stable.

‘Nothing to worry about,’ he simply answered her, unsure if she would fall for his lie, but knowing it would give her infinitely more comfort than the truth ever could. ‘Just came to say hi.’

The breeze picked up, howling loudly in Nathan’s ears as if the whole city softly cried for him; the cold boring its way through his clothes and eating away at his skin, exposed or not, freezing him all the way down to the bone. He lowered his head– a futile attempt at shielding his face from the biting wind and snow, individual snowflakes cutting like knives across his forehead and cheekbones.

He watched Lily smile at both him and Sebastian again before running off to get back to the snowball fight for just a bit longer, diving behind the slide to get cover. His gaze was pulled back toward Sebastian– but said man appeared deep in thought, eyes pointedly fixed on something in the distance, head anywhere but in the present.

‘I gotta go back in,’ Nathan quietly continued; an unnecessary statement, the gravity of the situation like static in the air between the two of them, though to put it into words was to accept the harsh reality of it all– acknowledgement of what had to happen, what was going to happen, something he had not been able to do before.

‘It’s nothing like Union,’ Sebastian bluntly replied with a shake of his head, turning his back to the playground and resting heavily with his elbows on the fence. ‘He’s nothing like Stefano– nothing like Theodore. He doesn’t need a weapon or a core to draw his powers from, you get too close and it’s over. You understand?’

Nathan didn’t know what else to say.

He had never thought he’d have to go back into STEM after Union. He’d be alone this time round– no Sebastian by his side, no Kidman to radio back to. They had reconnected some old friends– Joseph, Yukiko, Esmeralda– but had no idea whether or not their consciousnesses would still be somewhere within STEM, and for all Nathan knew he would be diving into a world entirely of Ruvik’s creation, with the same horrifying creatures haunting it as last time, if not worse.

Of course he was terrified. All it took was one encounter with Anima and he would never see the light of day ever again.

‘You should go,’ Nathan said, pushing himself up from the fence and stuffing his hands back in the pockets of his coat, ‘get out of town while you still can. Grab a bag or two, grab Lily, take her on a– on a road trip up north or something, while we figure this out. Just in case he–’

He couldn’t finish his sentence. The thought of Ruvik succeeding and trapping the world in a constant state of STEM was something he would rather not think about.

‘–you know.’

An uncomfortable silence followed. And rightfully so– what else was there to say? The whole situation was ridiculous to begin with, and for Nathan to show up only now instead of at any other point in time, months of radio silence after nearly dying together in a simulation of reality lingering between real life and a dream–

He carefully watched as Sebastian shifted his weight from one foot to the other, able to study his face for longer now that the other man refused to make eye contact with him. He truly did look a lot better; Nathan could only assume the man had stopped drinking, and had been getting a much better night’s sleep.

Though despite the improvement in his appearance there was still that lingering sense of dread, the dark shadow that had washed over his face the second he had laid eyes on Nathan’s scarring and had realized what he had come to him for.

Nathan couldn’t blame him. But he’d had to let Sebastian know.

He licked his lips and nodded to no one in particular, ending the conversation himself by taking a small step back and turning back around to return to his car, drive home, drink himself blind and pass out to hopefully get some sleep in before he would have to dive back into his worst nightmare–

‘Hey.’

Sebastian’s hand on his upper arm was unexpected and Nathan hated how he could not stop himself from flinching, a reflex more than anything else, and he hated how it made Sebastian pull his hand away as if he’d touched fire, the tips of his fingers on Nathan’s body despite the layers he wore the first physical contact he had experienced in months.

‘Who is “we”?’ Sebastian quietly asked, briefly glancing behind him to see if Lily was still far enough away. A surprising question; though not out of character for the ex-detective, his curiosity piqued just enough for him to try and get a little more information out of Nathan before they would say goodbye and possibly never see each other again.

‘Me,’ Nathan plainly answered, ‘Juli. Used to be just us two but we gathered a team of old STEM developers to help us with this. They got moved on to other projects while we were working on Union– they removed their chips, came back for us.’

‘So all MOBIUS.’

Not even a question, simply a statement.

Nathan bit the inside of his cheek. ‘Ex MOBIUS.’

The atmosphere changed, a sharp tension bouncing between the two of them as Nathan straightened his back and lightly tilted up his chin. He couldn’t exactly place the look on the other man’s face, though by then knew him well enough to know his hesitation wasn’t caused by uncertainty, but moreso distrust.

‘Thought the program was meant to kill them all,’ Sebastian said, a somewhat hostile undertone in his voice that had not been there before.

‘Just our branch.’ Nathan paused, watching as Sebastian slowly nodded and mouthed a soundless “right”– not entirely sure what his reaction was supposed to mean, but he decided not to ask. ‘Already told you it runs a lot deeper than you thought.’

Myra's sacrifice had put an end to the Administrator's reign of terror– had destroyed his legacy, and all research and findings on the STEM system as designed by Ruvik and improved by MOBIUS. Whichever branches remained did not nearly have enough resources or knowledge to pull off something even remotely similar; and whatever scraps of code they could have gotten their hands on before Kidman and Nathan had wiped their systems clean would prove insufficient to provide them with a stable environment.

And even if they would make it that far– provided they’d be able to recreate the STEM device from written instructions alone, Ruvik's original blueprints lost to time and MOBIUS' own burned to a crisp in the aftermath of the Union incident's conclusion– the mental erosion Union's residents had suffered from and the Anima manifestations that had happened as a result had never been resolved, leaving any future STEM residents with the all but comforting promise of a similar fate.

'I'm diving in tomorrow,' Nathan said, knowing there was nothing else left to say. The breeze in the park was picking up again, sweeping snowflakes that were starting to feel more like hail than anything else into Nathan’s face with a lot more force than before, melting on collision and dripping into the collar of his shirt. 'First thing in the morning. Can’t waste any more time. In case you wanna come say goodbye–'

He reached into the pocket of his pants, then held out a note to Sebastian; handwritten, containing an address located on an abandoned warehouse site, not too far from Nathan's own home.

'–our headquarters.' He waited for Sebastian to take the note from him. 'No pressure, of course.'

No pressure.

The note was almost a blatant sign that Nathan wanted him to be there. He could not ask it of him directly– but gave him the option anyway, leaving the decision up to Sebastian instead.

But deep down Nathan knew that Sebastian knew that he really did not want to go back in alone– and if it had been up to him they had recruited Sebastian a week ago already, when things had first started to go wrong.

‘Do you have backup?’ Sebastian softly asked, as if he could look directly into Nathan’s head– asking the one question he had hoped for, with an answer to it that could easily enough change Sebastian’s mind about letting Nathan walk away if only he would play his cards right–

But despite how often he had practiced the entire conversation alone in his car, despite going over all the different things he could say at least a million times, just to get Sebastian to feel sorry for him– as selfish as it fucking was– Nathan found himself unable to speak.

He simply shook his head instead.

The other children and their parents were leaving, now. It was getting late, and colder, and Lily slowly wandered back to Sebastian to start dragging him back to the car if he were to take any longer than he already had.

Nathan looked up at the sky, eyes fluttering shut as he allowed more snow to drift down onto his ice cold skin, and he breathed in and out deeply before turning back to Sebastian.

‘They’re expecting more snowfall tonight,’ he said, locking eyes for only a split second and shooting a smile in his direction, as he began walking backwards into the direction of his car. ‘Don’t wait up. And– Drive safe, okay?’

Sebastian did not answer him.

It snowed in Krimson City, accompanied by a deafening silence weighing it down and choking it out, as if the whole city was expectantly holding its breath.

Nathan left.

taglist (opt in/out)

@nistarot, @deadrlngers, @euryalex, @ordinarymaine, @mojaves;

@shellibisshe, @dickytwister, @mnwlk, @rindemption, @ncytiri;

@calenhads, @noirapocalypto, @florbelles, @radioactiveshitstorm, @strafethesesinners;

@fashionablyfyrdraaca, @radioactive-synth, @katsigian, @estevnys, @devilbrakers;

@aezyrraesh, @carlosoliveiraa, @adelaidedrubman, @fromgotham, @wardenevka

[freddyloyd]

hmm

[anotheroceanid]

I personally like to think that demigods have a special spot in their hearts for the Mamma Mia movie

[inkwell-and-dagger]

Fawn's OC Masterlist: How To Kill An Immortal

I'm doing this because I ran out of elements on carrd

hi, Fawn here! this little post is for introducing every character from my first ever whump series, How To Kill An Immortal (full masterlist here)! you can read it here on tumblr, or from my ao3 account! it is currently an ongoing series :3

—> —> —> —> —> —>

Rayan Hyacinth

Rayan felt like a ghost. An unwilling spectator, an invisible onlooker in the background; confined to a cold, empty existence with freedom right at his fingertips, yet nowhere near at the same time."

— Chapter 4, Pick Your Poison

Rayan is the protagonist and whumpee of How To Kill An Immortal.

An Immortal man plagued by the defect in his birth-given gift, an imperfection that renders the ability useless in a part of his body, Rayan is trapped under the cruel control of complete strangers. And, unfortunately, his captors refuse to keep up with his defiant streak.

—> —> —>

Foster Canavan

Foster sucked in a breath, hasting up the stairs once more to fetch the keys to the basement. They did so begrudgingly, a knot forming in their stomach. After all, they'd just been outed as a kidnapper to their best friend.

— Chapter 4, Pick Your Poison

Foster is the first antagonist and whumper of How To Kill An Immortal.

With a past shrouded in secrecy, Foster's irrational fear and hatred of anything beyond their comprehension leads to them having an Immortal stranger under their floorboards. Their captive, however, is starting to be a challenge.

—> —> —>

Esrana Vranova Ivanovna

Esrana walked inside first, undoing the rope on one of his wrists to inspect his palm. Her thumb ran across the symbol etched into his skin while Foster turned on the light. "You've definitely got an Immortal. One born with it, as well. Though, I did expect someone taller. Stronger."

— Chapter 5, Beacon of Knowledge

Esrana is the second antagonist and whumper of How To Kill An Immortal.

With a seemingly vast knowledge of Immortals and their history, Esrana is requested to assist Foster with their 'problem'. However, everything changes when their Immortal is different to the others she's studied.

—> —> —>

Madir Ahearn

as of when I'm making this (pre-chapter 6) Madir is yet to be introduced :3

Madir is the third antagonist and whumper of How To Kill An Immortal.

Esrana's closest confidant and the brawns to her brains, Madir is graciously given a new housemate when it proves too difficult to keep with its previous captors. And it just so happens his axe is clean and waiting to be used.

—> —> —>

Ivy Xiomara

With a smile, Ivy leaned back in her chair, pushing an adjacent stool out from the table with her foot: a silent invitation for them to sit with her. It was strange, her ordering Foster around in their own house, but it was simply what they had been doing for years prior.

— Chapter 4, Pick Your Poison

Ivy is a side-character and an indirect whumper in How To Kill An Immortal.

As Foster's childhood friend, bearing the sunshine they can't afford to hold, Ivy finds herself torn between her morals and her friendship with Foster once finding out their daunting secret.

—> —> —>

Evelyn Larkins

as of when I'm making this (pre-chapter 6) Evelyn is yet to be introduced :3

Evelyn is a minor character and brief caretaker in How To Kill An Immortal.

Whisking a stranger in need off the streets without a second thought, Evelyn provides a momentary refuge Rayan vitally needs before returning him home once more.

—> —> —>

Vivana Osoro-Hyacinth

“You really need to relax, sweet’art,” Vivana sighed, walking up behind the other and placing her hands atop Madeline's shoulders..... “I'm sure he's fine. He's with his friends, and I bet with the worst hangover of his life. He's okay.”

— Chapter 3, Playing Dead

Vivana is a side-character and a secondary caretaker in How To Kill An Immortal.

Madeline's rock and her beloved wife, the sun to her moon, Vivana takes no second thought in helping to care for Rayan. However, her thin reassurances can only work for so long.

—> —> —>

Madeline Osoro-Hyacinth

Madeline just grumbled, though the tenseness of her shoulders dwindled under her beloved’s hands... Madeline just grumbled, though the tenseness of her shoulders dwindled under her beloved’s hands. — Chapter 3, Playing Dead

Madeline is a side-character and main caretaker in How To Kill An Immortal.

With a heart of gold but hands cold as steel, the most important thing to Madeline is family. So when her dear younger brother is kidnapped by strangers wishing him dead, Madeline does all she can to exact revenge on his behalf.

—> —> —> —> —> —>

all moodboards were made by me on canva, and all pictures came from pinterest and are not mine!!

HTKAI Taglist: @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @whumpy-wyrms @creppersfunpalooza @toyybox @vidawhump