#Never going home

[atwastage]

Hello! Do you have any directors commentary for "Crowned with Sight"?

I'm so glad you asked!

I'm still very happy with this fic-- it actually came from a direct conversation I had with Xander (Fink's player) concerning the relationship between Fink and the Narrator. He was the one who came up with the idea of Them kissing Fink's forehead and giving him a third eye through that as a part of how the exchange of humanity for power works in the game; and I ended up taking that image and running to it. A good chunk of this fic was written long-hand in my notebook while I was on vacation, leaning against Xander while he was busy playing a ttrpg one-shot with some other people. Thanks Xander, you make a good pillow and I think your characters are Very Neat.

I'm very lucky he was as down with the idea of the weird toxic eldritch relationship thing as I was. I just think it's very fascinating. How does something with no concept of love, love? How does it learn to care? What is it like to be the subject of those terrible affections?

Hence being pinned-- in the sights of a gun, to a board, by circumstance. The Narrator only takes what they are offered, yes-- but how could Fink or any of the other soldiers say no? They can't, not if they want to survive.

I also was pretty particular about when Fink swapped from It to They in terms of referring to the Narrator. When he accepts them and their deals-- when he says he will give them anything they want in return for his survival.

I return to quite a few of these themes and situations in "Scars of Experience" (which is actually canon to Bones in the Dust). Narrator communicating through dreams (and responding directly to thoughts in conversation), loneliness, 'unconditional' love, narrative (hah) ways that the mechanical ideas of the game manifest (re-rolling things so attacks succeed or fail, etc) ((Double aside, I'm actually super-proud of Scars of Experience and wish it wasn't spoilery for recent episodes so more people would read it aaa I am dying))

Fun fact, when I originally published this fic I didn't tag it as / right away because I was a coward and worried people would think it particularly odd? I've (obviously) since rectified this.

"You should know, Private Fink, that I take because it is my nature. Because it is the only thing I can do." Their breath hitched. "I take because I am cold, and I am empty."

^ A raw fucking line that I'm still super happy with. Another reason I wrote this, was so I could use that line that I spit out off the cuff.

The "It was familiar" paragraph towards the end is another that still sticks in my brain. Exploring how people exist in war (and how it changes them so they feel they cannot exist without it) is something also profoundly fascinating to me. Look at Kit, look at the other NGH fics I've written. Even Korellian in Fallen Empires kind of leans into this-- how can you exist in the after when your entire life is violence? How can you live with what you've had to do to survive? How can normal life ever compare?

[my-chaos-radio]

Release: May 21, 2021

Lyrics:

Music (we can do it)

We're only human (I can feel it)

Music (got me heated)

Yeah, let's repeat it (can you feel it?)

If you wanna ride, come ride with me

Take me by the hand, feel the chemistry

Losing track of time in the ecstasy

It's getting out of hand, it's just you and me

And we are never going home, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Let's go dancin' 'til the morning, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

And we are never going home, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Let's go dancin' 'til the morning

Music (we can do it)

We're only human (I can feel it)

Music (got me heated)

Yeah, let's repeat it (can you feel it?)

If you wanna fly, come fly with me

We'll go anywhere that you wanna be

If you're feeling down, here's the remedy

Losing track of time, it's just you and me

And we are never going home, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Let's go dancin' 'til the morning, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

And we are never going home, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Let's go dancin' 'til the morning

Music

And we can do this

Music (never going, never going, never going, never going)

We're only human (never going, never going, never going, never going)

We can do it

I can feel it

We can do it

I can feel it

And we are never going home, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Let's go dancin' 'til the morning, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

And we are never going home, oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Let's go dancin' 'til the morning

Songwriter:

Oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Oh-whoa, oh-whoa

Amanda Lucille Warner / Andrea Tirone / Martin Solveig / Peter Wade Keusch / Valentin Brunel

SongFacts:

👉📖

Homepage:

Kungs

[opalescent-apples]

Just finished catching up on the latest episode of Never Going Home: Bones in the dust (critical failsafe)...

So many brainworms...there is an OC forming in my brain...

I just wanna know what exactly is the deal with the narrator now. They make a very creepy but oddly sympathetic villain.

I would not last a day in that podcast. I would attempt to befriend the death omen birdies and I would start an anthropological journal about every cult.

I would talk to the narrator and accidentally give away my capacity to enjoy sugar in exchange for a commemorative T-shirt.

The others would have to shoot me before I let a worm eat my brain because the little guy was hungry.

[joanofarc]

never going home, cfcf (2023).

[zeitghostart]

Portrait of a friend’s character for the Never Going Home RPG that I picked up at GenCon. His name is Alassane Dijre and he’s one of the Tirailleurs Sénégalais

[meatyitallian]

I’m obsessing over

[theshadowrealmitself]

I like to think that Vulcans who come to understand that Humans just can’t try to process emotions the same way as them, it’s just healthiest to let it out in harmless ways, decide that venting and stuff should be taken just as seriously as Vulcan’s meditation time, and will encourage the Humans around them to complain about what’s upsetting them

People who are used to aloof Vulcans who avoid Humans at all cost running into one comforting a Human

“-and then they said my cheesecake was subpar, and they didn’t even bring a dish!!!”

“The purpose of this event was that every participant brings a food item of sorts, correct?”

“Yeah!!”

“And they did not follow this rule while insulting dishes that were brought?”

“Mostly just my dish but yeah >:(“

“How illogical”

“That’s what I’m saying!!!”

[ionomycin]

[malinaa]

if i think about the hunger games in peeta's perspective i WILL start sobbing

[fishandshesmygills]

everything is about reaching the ending except for the ending which is about wanting to go back to the start

[ravenplaylist]

August 23, 2023 - Birthday by Hazel English

[hometoursandotherstuff]

When you thought you found a big brick castle house for cheap, but it turns out to be so much more. This 1895 home in Bedford, Pennsylvania has 5bds, 1.5ba (it says that, but there're actually toilets galore & potential bedrooms) for just $274,900 and a sale is pending.

Living room has a corner fireplace, and an unfortunate suspended ceiling & neon lighting that should come down.

Lovely room with a corner fireplace and a big window seat.

Kitchen's so weird they only show a corner of it.

What in the world happened in the pantry?

There must've been offices in here.

Tiny room, but the floor is new.

Going up to look at the bedrooms and bath.

Not bad.

One of the bedrooms. Wonder what's under the indoor/outdoor carpet and new drop ceilings.

Looks like this basement room is being redone.

Large laundry room.

Well, look here, a rather large jail, too? This home just keeps on giving.

This is nice.

Are those clothes on the shelf?

I said there were toilets galore.

Looks like someone dismantled some of the cells.

Some cells have cool original artwork.

I'm going to say that this is a crematory oven. In the door.

And, out the chute?

There's mad parking back here. If someone has the money to fix it up, it could be incredible.

[bacchuschucklefuck]

soon it'll be dawn again

transcript under the cut ⏬

page 01

Fig: no way? - you're still up?

Riz: Wh– yes?

Riz: Why'd I not be.

page 02

Fig: I me~~ean - that took.

Fig: whole day.

Riz: Yeah?

Fig: 'm beat.

Riz: you should sleep.

page 03

Fig: nah. my guy's still up

Fig: I wanna hang out.

page 04

Riz: That's really nice.

Fig: Hah! - Nobody ever expects an Archdevil rockstar to be nice.

Riz: … yeah. - 's just budget work tho. (the stuff I'm working on) - I've heard it's boring.

page 05

Fig: yeah, but you do it…

Riz: It keeps things going, right? - Nothing happens if nobody sits down and - does the thing.

Fig: That's right… - though. Yeah.

page 06

Fig: sometimes it's someone else who - doesn't want the same thing to happen.

Riz: … - mm.

page 07

Riz (off screen): …It took me a long time to get that not everyone likes doing what I do. - 's probably because you guys are so nice– - or. - kind.

Riz (off screen): to anyone too, not just. - the people you /love/.

page 08

Riz: that's not how it is elsewhere. - The world's– not. hostile. - but 's not like it's kind.

Riz: So I'm doing as much as I can now… 

page 09

Fig: Hey.

Riz: ?

Fig: Go dig some dirt with me.

page 10

Riz: [blank speech bubble] - oh you meant like - actual dirt. (not incriminating information)

Fig: o yea.

Fig: there's clay in the backyard soil. - sometimes when I'm sun deficient or something I go touch dirt for a bit.

page 11

Fig: here u go

page 12

Riz: uh

Fig: now we make a thing! - 'm pretty good at freehanding a bowl.

Fig: I'll show u

page 13

Fig: just– yep, flatten that out as evenly as u can, then–! - actually ur nails'd be so good at cutting out the strip. [larger than usual space] wait. - wait. wait u can carve patterns with them! we HAVE to try

Riz: uh - What. do I carve?

Fig: anything!!!

page 14

Fig: and– yep just seal the inside uh. seam?

Fig: yep that works - okay time's up! all contestant hands up

Riz: [blank speech bubble] - okay - wh. what's next?

Fig: haha - watch this.

(sound effect text): FWOO—MP

page 15

Riz: WH– DON'T JUST DO THAT???

Fig: Now it's fired!

Riz: THAT WAS NOT SAFE

Fig: (actually it's just dry. if u add water rn it'll dissolve)

Fig: ok catch!

Riz: [blank speech bubble] - careful!!

Fig: dw no need haha

page 16

Riz (thought bubble): oh - it's warm…

Fig: now I want you to throw this.

page 17

Fig: u gotta do it - c'mon

page 18

Riz: wh– - It's like 3AM right now

Fig: oh it's not /fired/ fired it's not gonna make a loud noise

Riz: And then just? leave a pile out here?

Fig: pour water over it & it'll be gone I told u

Riz: but

page 19

Fig (off screen): RIz.

page 20

Fig: I've done all this before.

Fig: Can you trust that at least?

page 21

Riz: no, I– - I do. - I trust you.

page 23

Riz: okay what happens now

(sound effect text): glob

page 24

Fig: we do it again!

page 25

Riz: wh. [larger than usual space] What do you mean. (this clay's too wet also)

Fig: see! you're already learning

Fig: [blank speech bubble] - there are flows that are futile to fight. - The world changes.

Fig: Things change.

page 26

Fig: I've learned my lessons with "forevers". - But - as an artist

Fig: I can give you one thing: - You can always do it again.

page 27

Fig: most of everything depends on the rest of the world, - but this. - making new. - that's yours as long as you want it.

page 28

Fig: So?

page 29

Riz: Yeah. - Yeah! - let's make another one.

[karda]

the innate horror of google earth

[saintaviator]

something something gman tommy something something gordon in stasis. you know how it is.

[autisticrosewilson]

While we're on the topic of De-aging AU's I wanna talk about Jason and Damian if Jason was 14 again real quick.

Do you guys think that Damian looks at this version of Jason, so different from the version he knows, nothing like the person he was told Jason was, and feels uncomfortably seen?

Damian was always told that Jason died because he was reckless, because he disobeyed orders, he was fired as Robin and he got himself killed. A cautionary tale, not a threat to his position. He dismisses Jason because Bruce does, because Dick does, because sometimes even Babs and Alfred do.

That's not the kid that he's looking at now. This Jason is happy, and smart, and full of love that has not yet soured into grief. He hangs on Bruce's every word, trains until his hands bleed and his body gives out to perfect the moves Bruce teaches him. He looks at Bruce with stars in his eyes and he calls him dad.

And Damian can't help but think, that this is the perfect Robin. The perfect son. And if Jason - sweet, loving, strong, Jason - can be fired, can die and have his room locked away and his pictures torn down, can have his last memory as Robin be as A Good Soldier, how could the rest of them ever compete? What could Damian do to stand a chance?

Jason will never grow out of the shadow of Robin, like the rest of them did. As long as Bruce, and Dick, and Babs, and Alfred look at him and see a dead kid who came back wrong, he will never get to be anything else. He will not get to be looked at through who he is now without the shadow of a dead boy looming over him.

And the worst part? Jason is exactly the same person he was back then. Bitter, sure, angry, justifiably, but he is still the boy with too much love in his heart and righteous fury festering in his gut. He is exactly the same boy who threw himself in front of an explosion to save his mother.

(The lines between the mother that betrayed him and the father that disgraced him are so very blurred. Fire or blade or crowbars or fists it does not matter. It ends the same way it always does because Jason Todd always dies, in every universe, in every timeline, Jason dies and crawls out only to be killed again and again and again.)