#c: woodsman

[mjjune]

Guess who got commissions!!!!!!!

MASSIVE thanks to the artists @littlestpersimmon and @akiwitch (respectively) for making these beautiful pieces of art!! You definitely need to check them out.

For those who don't know, this is The Woodsman and Red from my Little Red Riding Hood retelling!! click for the official wip page <3

[fatecolossal]

TWIN PEAKS (2017) || Part 18 x Part 8. "This would look nice on your wall." Post on this painting above the bed in P18's motel, & how it evokes specific desert imagery from P8…

While the P18 desert painting features v. similar imagery to that of P8, it's not identical, & imagery of an empty desert is arguably generic enough to make any similarities incidental & not worth further comment. So why consider them linked? Well, b/c of further similarities...

Most overtly, the P18 motel sequence features the same song by The Platters, "My Prayer," that is also prominently featured in the 1956 segment of P8...

It's worth noting that the P8 desert scene that features similar desert imagery to the P18 painting is the same one where the Woodsmen materialize out of thin air. Is there, then, some suggestion of a kind of symbolic link being drawn between Cooper in P18 and the Woodsmen?

Notably, Cooper's line here—"turn off the light"—plays with the same "light" concept featured in the primary Woodsman's main line of dialogue (outside of his "poem"), "got a light?"

The connection between Coop & Diane in P18 itself arguably evokes the scenes between the Girl & Boy in P8's 1956 segment. To start, they both meet outside among trees & are framed similarly at times (as here, w the female character viewed over the male character's right shoulder)

In both, the male character asks the female character for a kiss, and again, they're framed similarly. (They arguably also share this with P1's Sam & Tracey sequence—another segment of the show w/ an apparent specific link to the show's mysterious "Judy" figure/concept, fwiw...)

After Coop & Diane sleep together, he wakes sleeping on his left side, framed similarly to the sleeping Girl from P8. Both sleeps are transformative—he wakes in a new space, by "Judy's" diner, & is called a new name, while she is violated by a creature seemingly birthed by Judy.

The remainder of P18 also shares significant elements with P8, exploring similar or the same abstractions & metaphors...

Ofc, the $1m question is what these overlapping concepts & imagery amount to; what, if anything, they might most fruitfully be said to symbolize, & how they fit together. As this all ties in to similar overarching questions about the entire TP saga, it's beyond the scope of this post, alas...

[thenightling]

Over The Garden wall = People aren’t as bad as you think

Earlier today I stumbled upon a Youtube video analyzing the animated mini-series Over the Garden Wall.  For those unfamiliar with it, Ove the Garden Wall is an animated TV mini-series from 2014 that told the story of two boys, Greg and Wirt, lost in a mysterious forest called “The Unknown.”  The story that plays out is very Wizard of Oz-esque and nearly all the visuals are based on vintage, turn of the century, New England postcards- particularly postcards from the late nineteenth century to 1930s for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and even Christmas, though mostly depicting autumn.  The characters and visuals from these vintage postcards adds to the surrealness of the setting.             Now this particular Youtuber happened to be a very Christian individual who seemed pretty certain that the black cat (Enoch) that we first see in the Pottsfield story was actually God.  And though I understood why this Youtuber believed this I did not agree with this particular stance.

Yes, the people of Pottsfield are dead and happily enjoying their afterlife much like the dead in Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride but I do not think Enoch is meant to be God.  Again, I understand how he came to that conclusion but not everyone is C. S. Lewis.  

One thing the Youtuber pointed out that I DO agree with, however, is the stance that Over the Garden Wall teaches us that people aren’t as bad as we’ve been made to think, that things aren’t always what they seem and aren’t always as dark or as sinister as they seem and I was a little surprised at myself that I hadn’t quite realized this was a recurring theme throughout the mini-series.  But as soon as he said it I knew it was true.      I hadn’t even consciously made this realization before but yes, this is one of the many reasons I love that mini-series. It’s so anti-cynical and wholesome. 

Pretty much everyone and everything that Greg and Wirt encounter and Wirt thinks is a threat turns out to be benign, or out-right good, kind, and helpful.  The only characters that actually turn out to be evil and dangerous are Adelaide of The Pasture and The Beast.  

First Greg and Wirt come across the suspicious woodsman and he’s just a sad old man being manipulated by The Beast.  Even the creature that attacks them is just a semi-possessed dog (Beatrice’s dog).  And the dog is harmless and no longer possessed by the end of the tale.

When the boys come to Pottsfield, first Wirt thinks the towns people are going to severely punish them for what they did. Instead they get a very minor punishment.  Also when Wirt thinks Greg and Beatrice have abandoned him, they were still there helping him get free.  And in the end the residents of Pottsfield were not a threat at all (despite the reveal that they were all skeletons wearing Pumpkin and straw bodies). Even at the tail end of the Pottsfield adventure, when the boys are invited to stay there’s no pressure or threat to it. The Pottsfield residents are genuinely decent (though dead) people.

Soon the boys find the old-fashioned schoolhouse with anthropometric animal students playing out a Shirley Temple-esque movie scenario.  It, at first, looks like the school teacher’s father is a classic style bad guy of the story.  Also the teacher’s lover has run off on her and abandoned her.  By the end of this story you find out her lover was just stuck in a gorilla costume that he had been wearing to earn money to marry her and her father had actually been afraid they’d have to close down the school. The school is saved by a charity concert and the teacher and her lover live happily ever after.

In the next chapter of Over the Garden Wall, the boys get to The Dark Lantern Inn.  And at first it looks like the people in the inn might be a threat.  Nope. The innkeeper is a Betty Boop-esque character and all her patrons seem to be self-aware storybook characters who expect everyone to be playing a particular (though easily explained) character role.  And they are eager to help you find your role in your story.    

 Then the boys meet the wealthy (and very eccentric) Quincy Endicott (who may or may not be a ghost as you see his tombstone later in the “Real world”).  Endicott thinks his mansion is haunted.  Fred the Horse (yes, a talking horse) is very suspicious and briefly gets Wirt to believe that Endicott might be a murderer who killed the lady of the house and will murder them.  No, he’s just a lonely old man who ends up falling in love with his business competitor (they both run tea companies and their mansions are accidentally connected).

Then we come to Adelaide of The Pasture who actually is evil.  When we, the viewers, meet Adelaide, it appears to us that she’s deceiving poor Beatrice. Not only does she want the boys as her slaves but also we get the chilling thought (as most modern viewers may) that she’s lying about the magical scissors that would turn Beatrice and her family human again (they were cursed to be bluebirds).  The easy assumption is that Adelaide was cruelly lying and that cutting off Beatrice’s wings (and her family’s wings) won’t turn them human.  It will just leave them mutilated birds who cannot fly.  But even the sinister Adelaide is not as bad as we are lead to think.  Yes, she’s a villain.  Yes, she wants the boys as her slaves.  But even her darkness is limited.

After Adelaide is defeated Wirt takes the magical scissors and later gives them to Beatrice.  He only withheld them from her for so long because he was angry at her near betrayal.  And if we trust the epilogue in the last episode of Over the Garden wall, the scissors actually worked and Beatrice and her family are human again.

 Now we meet Lorna and Auntie Whispers.  At first it looks like the very weird looking  Auntie Whispers is a Baba Yaga-style witch who has been eating people and using Lorna for slave labor.  She even reveals that the evil Adelaide is her sister. The fact that Aunt Whispers is voiced by Tim Curry, who usually plays villains, also aids in the illusion.    Again we are misdirected.  Auntie Whispers is just trying to reign in the demon that is inside Lorna. She has been controlling it with the aid of a magical Bell. At first she looks like a cannibalistic witch or even crazed religious fanatic who has convinced Lorna that she’s evil, or somehow both.  No, she was just trying to protect Lorna from herself and others and to keep Lorna from killing other people.  She just didn’t consider that perhaps the magical bell to compel the demon might also be be used to banish the demon but Wirt figured it out. 

It’s also revealed that Auntie Whispers is really just lonely and wanted Lorna to stay as her live-in companion and ultimately that’s the quiet life Lorna chooses. 

When the Woodsman finally finds out where the Adlewood trees really come from he turns against The Beast to help our protagonists.

Even Jason Funderberker, who Wirt kept building up as an attractive jock that he was jealous of, and insecure against as a rival, was revealed to be nothing more than an awkward nerd and not at all the way Wirt described or saw him.

Over the Garden Wall pretty much shows you that Greg’s innocent and trusting mindset is the better view to have.  It’s the opposite of most stories that tell you to be suspicious and to embrace cynicism.  And pretty much every time Wirt assumed the worst about someone (except in regard to Adelaide and The Beast) he was wrong. 

  Over the Garden Wall teaches you that often people are not as bad as you think.  Things aren’t always as they seem.  And though there are terrible people out there like Adelaide and The Beast, usually people aren’t as bad as you think they are.

I think this precious lesson has been lost for a long time.  People aren’t as bad as you think once you really get to know them.  No wonder I think of Over the Garden wall as comforting and chicken soup for the soul. 

[dreadfutures]

Would you ever write a fairytale AU? If so, which would you do (and for which fandom)? c:

I love, but am very picky about, fairytale aus. I tend to be more attracted to fairytales about responsibility and personal heroism than ones about marriages and seeing someone truly, etc.

I really love @rosella-writes "Green Knight AU" of Virelan Lavellan red is the colour of lust (but green is what lust leaves behind), for example.

One genuine fairy tale I have had knocking around are Mighty Mikko: The Story of a Poor Woodsman and a Grateful Fox. The story has a personal interpretation that means a lot to me, about giving until you have nothing left, for the sake of someone else's happiness, about "you can't pour from an empty cup." In my version, the fox gives its own pelt to Mikko's new wife, and Mikko never realized that that's where his dear friend the fox disappeared to. The fox would be the main character, of course. This one feels like it would be a Zelda fic--thinking of both OOT Link, and TP Link, and how they sacrifice everything for Zelda and get nothing in return in the end but grief.

And it's not a traditional fairy tale but it's written as one (in verse): The 13 Clocks by James Thurber would make a really fun one to adapt. The 13 Clocks is one of my favorite stories in the world, period. I don't know what fandom it would be for -- at the moment I don't have any damsels I want to lock away in a tower.

[adarkrainbow]

The Grimm fairytales: Little Red Riding Hood

After making a whole post about Perrault’s Little Red Riding Hood, I had to make one about the version of the Brothers Grimm!: 

What is quite fascinating is that everybody thinks they know Little Red Riding Hood story - the German one, and they basically sum it up as “Like Perrault’s, but a woodsman comes and save the day in the end”. However things are a.... bit more complicated than that. 

So, the German Little Red Riding Hood, by the Brothers Grimm, is usually translated in English as “Little Red Cap”, Rotkäppchen . Again, the “riding hood” is not seen, just like in the French version, this seems to be a purely English expression. To do this recap I will mostly focus on the differences between the Grimm version and Perrault’s.

The beginning is quite similar, describing the little girl as a child beloved by everyone but especially by her grandmother, who gives her a “little cap of red velvet”, that the girl loves so much she doesn’t wear anything else, hence her name Little Red-Cap. [Interestingly we have here an actual transliteration of the “chaperon rouge” of the original French tale, as an ornamental red velvet headwear, though the ribbon turns into a cap]. The way the mother sends her child into the forest is however VERY different. In Perrault’s tale, the mother says that she heard the grandmother was ill and thus sends her child with some a small cake and a pot of butter to check on her - but that’s it. In the Grimm fairytale, the mother KNOWS the grandmother is ill and sends her child with a small cake and a bottle of wine (maybe a remnant of the oral versions of France?) to make her better. Not only that but, unlike in Perrault’s version, the mother of the Grimm versions gives her daughter precise instructions and advice before she sets alone for the woods - “set out before it gets hot”, “walk nicely and quietly and do not run off the path”, “don’t forget to say Good-morning”, “don’t peep into every corner”, etc... So the motif of Perrault’s original tale (a mother spoiling her child and not giving her the right advice and information about life) is removed and changed to a “breaking of the rules” story. Because this is the mother’s order to “not run off the path” that is broken by Little Red-Cap per the wolf’s temptation. And so, from a Petit Chaperon Rouge victim of her mother and grandmother’s mistakes, we have now a Little Red-Cap somehow “punished” for breaking the “rules”. 

Similarly, when the wolf appears in front of the little girl, in Perrault’s tale the little girl was said to ignore “that it was dangerous to listen to wolves” - while here the text rather claims that the little girl ignored that it was a “wicked creature”, and thus was not afraid of him. The situation of the grandmother’s house is also changed in the Grimm stories - in Perrault’s version the grandmother lived at the edge of a village, on the other side of the wood ; in the Grimm’s, she lives deep into the woods, “under the three large oak-trees”, right below the nut-trees.What is also quite fascinating is that the wolf seems to want to eat the grandmother first - since it is what motivates him to ask where the grandmother lives... But he then notices how of a “nice plump mouthful” the little girl is, and thus decides to eat her alongside the grandmother. (This is the reverse of the Perrault story, where the wolf wants primarily to eat the girl, and only gulps the grandmother as a collateral damage, so to speak). Instead of a sort of race between two paths, and the wolf encouraging the little girl to take the longest path, the wolf of the Grimm rather encourages the girl to stay off the path by pointing out the pretty flowers, the singing birds and the merry woods. Ultimately Little Red-Cap decides to run off the path into the woods to pick flowers, to make a “fresh nosegay” for her grandmother. 

The wolf runs to the grandmother’s house, and the iconic French sentence “Tire la chevillette et la bobinette cherra” is turned into a mere “Lift the latch”. Another massive difference occurs when it comes to the arrival of the girl. In Perrault’s story, the wolf thinks of locking back the door behind him, and the girl is surprised by the deep voice that welcomes her but places it on account of her grandmother’s cold. Here, the wolf forgets to close the door, which the girl notices, and while the “deep voice” element is removed, the girl expressedly says that she feels uneasy walking into the house, unlike what she feels when she usually goes to her grandmother’s. The wolf is in bed, the cap of the grandmother “pulled down over her face”.  The dialogue with the grandma-wolf is also changed, into the iconic exchange known by everyone today. Or almost...

“Oh grandmother, what big ears you have!” “The better to hear you with, my child.”

“But grandmother, what big eyes you have!” “The better to see you with my dear.”

“But grandmother, what large hands you have!” “The better to hug you with.”

“Oh! But grandmother, what a terrible big mouth you have!” “The better to eat you with!”

It is quite interesting to see that the dialogue between the wolf and Little Red Riding Hood people know about is usually a mix of the Grimm’s and the Perrault’s dialogues. 

At this point we reach the most famous addition of the Brothers Grimm, who continue the tale beyond Perrault’s original ending. The wolf falls asleep in the bed, snoring loudly. A huntsman passing nearby hears the very loud snores coming out of the house, and thinking it is “the old woman” he decides to check f she needs anything - but is amazed to find the wolf on the bed. Interestingly, the hunter exclaims that he has been looking for the wretched creature for quite some times, indicating that the huntsman was literaly hunting the wolf... Another interesting detail: most people recall the savior of the protagonists as being a woodsman with an axe, but here it is a huntsman with a rifle, who is about to shoot at the wolf before he realizes that maybe the wolf devoured the old woman of the house. So he takes a pair fo scissors, and cuts open the belly of the sleeping wolf (yes, this wolf has a DEEP sleep). When he cuts, he notices the “shining red cap”, which encourages him to dig deeper until he delivers the girl, and then the grandma (another interesting detail - how the Grimm versions uses the red cap as an actual story tool, rather than it just being an ornamental wordplay like in Perrault’s). Another thing people often get wrong with the story: they remember that the one who puts stones in the belly of the wolf is the woodsman/huntsman. Nope... it is Little Red Cap herself with picks up the rocks and places them in the belly, so that when the wolf awakes and tries to run away, he falls down dead.  

Everybody is happy. The hunter takes the skin of the wolf and returns home wth it. The grandmother eats the cake and drinks the wine and heals thanks to it. And Red Cap promises herself “As long as I live, I will never by myself leave the path, to run into the wood, when my mother has forbidden me to do so.” Again, here the shift of the moral is clear - the Perrault concept of a girl dying/endangered because she was badly raised becomes “a girl is taught a lesson for dissobeying to her parents”. 

But what is even more fascinating is that the tale of the Brothers Grimm doesn’t stop here - there is another part of the story that has dropped from people’s memory. It is added that another day, as Red-Cap was again bringing cakes to her grandmother, another wolf came to speak to her and tried to convince her to stray off the path. But Red-Cap, having learned her lesson, refused to do so, and upon arriving at her grandmother’s house told her about meeting the wolf. She adds that he had such a wicked look in his eyes, she was quite certain if they hadn’t been on a “public road” he would have eaten her (this is a leftover of the Perrault’s version, where the wolf doesn’t eat the girl in the woods because he fears the wood-cutters). The grandmother than shuts the door so the wolf may not enter, and they do good because the wolf arrives and tries to pass off as Red-Cap to have the door opened. Since the two girls do not answer or react to the wolf’s knocking, the beast decides to jump on the roof and wait until the evening falls - so that when Little Red-Cap leaves the house, he might devour her in the darkness. The grandmother, however, quickly guesses what the wolf is doing and prepares a plan...

In front of her house is a great stone trough. She tells her grandchild to take the water in which she boiled some sausages yesterday, and to fill with it the trough. When the wolf smells the scent of sausages, he sniffs and peeps down, stretching himself by the side of the roof - until he loses his footing, falls into the trough, and drowns in the water (when comparing this to the French oral variant where the washerwomen drown the wolf in the water, it seems fairytale wolves do not know how to swim). 

The story ends on a sentence that is... quite bizarre. “But Red-Cap went joyously home, and never did anything to harm any one”. Wait, what? Why would Red-Cap harm people? Well... to be fair the story showed her having an un-childlike behavior, as she came up with the stone in the belly idea, and participated in the drowning of a wolf - so maybe the narration tries to reassure us that all the massacres are done, and the murders are not needed anymore, and the little girl won’t grow up to become a serial-killer? 

While this is the full story as recorded by the Grimms, as present in many English translations of their märchen collection, and unchanged from the first edition (while I do not like Jack Zipes’ treatment of Perrault, his work on the first edition of the Brothers Grimm’s fairytales is a precious treasure), I heard that in ulterior publications - the 1857 edition of the book for example - they had shortened and simplified the story (for example removing the second wolf’s part), to reach the version most widespread and known today. I am not sure of this, but I’ll leave it here, and if someone can compare the various editions of the Grimms, don’t hesitate to correct me!

I already talked heavily of the shift in “morality” the Grimms created, by turning the “example tale” of Perrault where the girl’s fate is the one of a tragic victim, into a “teaching tale” where the girl’s fate is a lesson to better behave. 

The reason there are two wolves in this tale is because the brothers Grimm ended up being told two different versions by two members of a same family, Jeanette Hassenpflug and Marie Hassenpflug. They ultimately decided to make Jeanette’s version the main story, and Marie’s an addendum at the end. But what is extremely relevant here is that the two women were part of a family of French descent, and thus a lot of the stories they brought to the Grimm were actually French-flavored (I’ll get more about this when I’ll talk about the Grimms in general). Most obviously, it is quite clear that the story of “Little Red-Cap” is actually a slightly modified version of Perrault’s fairytale. Except for the happy ending with the huntsman - but Michèle Simonsen studied the evolution of the story, and she has concluded that this “hunter-ending” was actually the invention of miss Hassenpflug. Simonsen actually believes that miss Hassenpflug found this ending from a theater play that was very popular in Germany at the time, and that was a modified version of the famous “The wolf and the seven goats/kids” story. This is notably why the Grimms themselves, and many other people afterward, drew parallels and relationships between the AT 333 (Little Red Riding Hood) and the AT 123 (The wolf and the seven goats). 

The transition from France to Germany of the “little red cap” seems to have been easy due to a particular custom typical of the Hesse region, where the Grimms collected most of their tales: in this region, the traditional outfit for women included a little velvet cap. And said cap changed color depending on the age and condition of the person wearing it: when a woman was married, she wore a green cap, when she was a widow the cap was black, and when the woman was a child or a young girl, a maiden... Then she wore a red cap. 

Speaking of red, I want to evoke here the topic of “why is the cap red?”. Many, many interpretations have gone by. The “naturalist” or “weather” theory so prevalent in many fairytales is that the cap is red to symbolize that the little girl is a solar symbol, a diurnal character that has to be rescued from the wolf with a belly “so dark” (it is the main complaint of the girl upon leaving it, the darkness inside, while it is the shining red of her cap that allows the hunter to save her) he seems to be an embodiment of night - so the story is read as a remnant of the ancestral myths of “the ravishing of the sun/the return of the sun” ; or in a variation as another story of “the spring/summer female deity that has to be returned from the world/monster of winter”. It is a very common interpretation... but a false one given we know that the “red cap” seems to have appeared with Perrault. Other people, picking up on the sexual subtext (or sexual text for oral variations) of the story, proposed that “red” was chosen by Perrault due to it being a color of sexuality and romance. Which is also a very common intepretation (many people see the “red” as a menstrual blood symbolism)... but just as anachronic, because the idea of red being a color of sexuality is younger than Perrault’s tale - Michel Pastoureau, the French experts on colors nowadays (he published several studies on the colors, their use, history and symbolism), proved that the color of sexuality, at the time of Perrault’s, was actually green and not red. So where does this red comes from?

A concept we find in both the Grimm’s versions and the oldest written version of the tale (which I talked about in my previous post) are those of protection, religious protection - as red was for a time a very common color for baptism outfits, and the red cap “protects” the girl in those tales (the red dress protects the girl from the cubs, the red cap allows the hunter to get her out of the belly). This is doubled by the Hessian tradition of colored caps I talked about previously, which highlights the red as a color of youth, innocence and virginity. But this all can’t possibly work for Perrault, since in his tale the “chaperon” precisely fails to protect or shield the girl in any way (see the wordplay on chaperon/chaperone I talked about in my Perrault post). So... a mystery? Not quite. There is actually a solution that has been brought forward by my research director quite recently - as she proposed a “proverbial reading” of the fairytales of Perrault, and by doing so found out the very possible reason Perrault chose the color red. But I’ll reveal that in a later post, when I’ll talk of her work.

A last note about the Grimm version: the addition of the huntsman introduced another main actor in the story, or more precisely another male character in the story, a benevolent masculine force counterring the negative masculinity of the wolf. Even more - we can easily read his character as a paternal figure, since he is the only other human character in this group of exclusively female ones. The idea of him being a paternal figure is heavily tied to the saving of the little girl and the grandmother, which many have noted to appear as a scene of “birth” or “rebirth”. Either a grotesque parody of natural birth, either a more allegorical, if not religious, scene of resurrection, of being reborn as a better person - it depends on what you prefer. But the imagery is quite clear: a little girl that is removed from a dark belly and brought into the light, a belly that is cut open with scissors by a paternal figure... After the death of a girl that disobeyed, we find the return to life of a girl who learned her lesson... 

[troublemakingrebel]

Fanfic Tag Game

Ayyy, @krankittoeleven, thanks for tagging! Love these little lists!

1. How many fics do you have on AO3?

34! (I used to write in two languages, but for this game i count only the English ones)

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

295,814... (~1.5 times more words than "Fellowship of the Ring" by JRR Tolkien *sweating*)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Totally obsessed with Assassin's Creed (Valhalla in particular), but also have some WIPs for Cyberpunk 2077.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Right Behind You (Witcher 3), a piece about epic friendship & love between Geralt of Rivia and the absolute husband material Emiel Regis

10 years apart, no more (AC Valhalla), a fix-it for the fLicKEriNg flame nonsense (if you know you know...)

Shall We? (AC Syndicate), another fix-it that makes Maxwell Roth survive the fire as there's no fire at all

The Truth (The Wolf Among Us), about shaky relationship between the Big Bad Wolf and the Woodsman (i'm so surprised it made it to the top-5!!)

In the Belly of the Beast (AC Valhalla), about Ivarr Ragnarsson eating the forbidden Saxon fruit while no one is watching hehe

5. Do you respond to comments?

Of course! Can't leave them hanging there in silence!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Usually, I don't do sad endings, but the most bitter-sweet one is Pebble (Dragon Age: Inquisition) about a kossith who cuts his massive horns off to look more like a human so he could follow his lover to the city where kossith race isn't welcome :c Although I don't think his lover would let him go there anyway......

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Haha every other one :D But Sun, Rum and Gunpowder (AC Black Flag) has the happiest and the most carefree vibes whatsoever!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not on the fics, but the ships! I just delete those because why is it an author's problem suddenly that some people don't know how filters work??

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh, I sure do ;> It's not extremely explicit (no holes in sight, but dicks and balls can be spotted) and is mostly focused on emotions and dialogues.

10. Do you write crossovers?

Nope, but I write AUs sometimes to spice things up! Modern days AUs are the bane of my existence, and still... somehow... I keep making them...

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, but I noticed my lines and phrases in the stories of fellow writers. I appreciate it!!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah!! Out of all possible fics, it was The Remnants of a Ruined Past, a Mad Max (the game!) story translated into Polish. Love it lots!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic?

Never as i am incapable to work in groups haha. I did some challenges though, such as picking a theme and writing something small with a fren to compare the results later. It's very fun and helps to keep your brain gears spinning!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Like, the one and only ship that I could bring along if I was stuck on a desert island? Or the one I don't even write for anymore but carry in my heart daily? The former would be Hawke x Varric (Dragon Age 2) because they're a comfort ship with many possibilities for plots. The latter is Ezio x Leonardo (AC II + Brotherhood + Revelations) and Arthur x Eames (Inception) because they started it all hehe.

15. What’s a fic you’d like to finish but don’t think you ever will?

It's a compilation of drabbles written for a very niche CGI Resident Evil movie (Damnation) & very rare pair that i was planning to continue for as long as the planet keeps spinning, but got overwhelmed with the amount of ideas I had in mind :c

16. What are your writing strengths?

Humor and dialogues!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything el– 🥲 Deep character studies, believable politics and fights.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?

A big yes from me, it ads depth and character when used correctly. Also, it's very interesting to keep an evening reading about the language you're planning to use, even it's for a few simple words.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

It was an attempt to mimic Marie Corelli and write a ficlet for her novel "The Sorrows of Satan". And then Assassin's Creed took my soul and I've never seen it since! Kinda ironic, huh...

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I'm gonna cheat bc I'm quite proud about Beautiful Decline, a series of four fics written for Assassin's Creed Valhalla. It's an enormous project that was never meant to break out from its confinements and produce three more stories lmao.

Tagging @firefly-partyn and @krankittoeleven if you wanna join!

[ike-mcswains-mortician]

hello hello fellow lovely and talented artist that I happened to be mutuals with, can I learn more about your ocs? /nf they look so skrunkly and precious snndndndndndnrkelsofk /pos

HI HELLO!!! first off let me say that you’re so sweet wtf?? thank youuu gah i love my sillies and im honestly honored people want to hear abt them c:

second, sorry this took so long to answer hehe i wanted to post ref sheets for my characters and i realized i. dont have them. SO i had to doodle em up hehe

OKAYYYY first on the docket is wynn!

she’s my cleric in @locke-n-k3y’s campaign and she is pathetic <3. she has never stepped on a crunchy leaf and she just wants to Go Home. i can’t say much more cause of plot spoilers (glares at my other moots in the campaign /lh) but mayhap i will flood ur dms!

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next is my character from my first ever campaign and her armpiece boyfriend! hehe

so fun fact they both hold titles: queen and bishop respectively, because the campaign took place in a demon’s chess game!! it was super fun hehe and max was originally an npc from leonora’s backstory BUT my dm brought him into the campaign proper and then i stole his character sheet so he’s MINE NOW.

leonora is actually the niece of the BBEG and her father was the patron of our party’s warlock! so some fun family dynamics there. max is rumored to be an insane necrophile because leonora is legally dead! fun!! and there’s a whole lot of backstory stuff i bombarded @thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls with hehe so they’re linked here, here, and here.

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next are some characters i love dearly but haven’t posted about much! starting with lorelei

…whose character playlist is 80% carrie underwood. if that gives you any indication of her vibes hehe. rambunctious child to a pious, uptight family, lorelei is off to discover herself and prove herself out of SPITE!! she’s a college of chance bard to be specific and she’s kind of just here for a good time not for a long time. also i accidentally made it canon that she has in fact fucked a dragon.

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and finishing off the roster of characters i’ve finished refs for: casimir (and his daughter veda!!)

so casimir is a necromancer whose wife left him after he was Consumed By The Horrors!! but his daughter stuck around and accidentally saw some stuff she wasn’t supposed to see, so his mentor had her killed as a way to teach casimir his place so to speak. he intended to give up his studies but then her ghost started appearing to him, and now it’s almost like she never left! also he is very much drowned cat in the dumpster energy as well. i love him dearly.

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i have some more characters but i didn’t get a chance to draw refs for them but i’ll sum them up briefly!!

j. “backfire” hicks is a pact of the trigger warlock who is quite literally just jimmy from the young riders but with magic guns instead of real ones lol. slightly altered backstory but not by much

and i have another warlock named derowyn, whose info is here! loosely based on the woodsman from over the garden wall, but a satyr whose brothers soul is in the lantern and if she tries to back out of the deal THEY becomes a tree hehe

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AAAH THAT WAS SO LONG SORRYYYYYY but i love getting able to talk about my sillies :D thank you for letting me infodump hehe

[finnickfan8]

Johanna Mason NSFW Alphabet

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Johanna definitely takes turns with you when cleaning up. She’ll drink water with you and take turns freshening up in the bathroom before she pulls you in to her muscular chest.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

Her favorite body part of you sexually is definitely your ass. She’s a woman of taste and she likes to bend you over so she can watch your ass jiggle as she slams her strap in to you. Non sexually, probably your eyes because she can always see your true mood through them.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Both of you are afab so there’s no “cum” but she loves to make you squirt when eating you out.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

She doesn’t have any “secrets” per say because y’all are pretty open about sex. She will, however, never admit how much she actually enjoys when she (rarely) lets you dom and/or top her.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

Johanna has had a few girlfriends in the past but other than that she’s never done anything besides attempting to mess with Finnick but it got awkward. You’d never know that she wasn’t experienced with the amount of quaking orgasms she’s given you.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

With strap: Reverse cowgirl, she likes the way your ass bounces on her and the angle in which she can watch you work yourself to cumming. Johanna loves to watch creases form in your body while you move.

Without: She just likes to have you spread out on her lap with your back against her muscular chest. She then can have access to your full body while also restraining your mobility. She loves the intimacy and the closeness without having to give up control.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

If the two of you have drunk sex or anniversary sex that’s not kinky there’s definitely some goofy moments. Other than that angry/jealous sex will be pretty serious and kinky except for when she laughs out of jealousy.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Johanna is trimmed, but not hairless because being a baby dolphin freaks her out. On you, she doesn’t care if you shave or trim or just let it grow. She’s a woodsman, if she’ll explore the forest, she’ll explore the jungle.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

Although sex may be kinky or goofy but it’s always romantic. Johanna does little things to make sure that the intimacy is always prominent to you even if it’s in aftercare.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

She owns a vibrator that matches yours, but she never really uses it. The only time she’ll use it is if you want to watch her use it or if one of you are away for a while. If you’re away for a week or so, she’ll turn on your interviews from the games in order to get the job done.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

F.R.E.A.K. that’s all I can say. Johanna will do just about anything that won’t hurt you too bad. She’s really in to calling you names and teasing you though. She’s good a bondage, spanking, spitting, you name it. She’ll try it all and probably like it.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Johanna gets rather rough so she prefers the bedroom or living room so you don’t have bruises on your back/hips. She will do it just about anywhere though if you make her jealous.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Jealousy. She’s very protective and you’re hot so she thinks that everyone wants you and she’ll remind you of why you chose her. Other than that, if you wear a dress she just goes feral. She doesn’t know why, but if you wear one, you’re getting bent over first.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

She won’t severely hurt you or do anything with bodily fluids that aren’t cum, blood, or spit. She also with women isn’t really in to pet play. If you really wanted she’d do it, other than that the only time she’d do it is if she decided to become a dominatrix and someone paid her.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

She’s a giver through and through. She won’t usually let you give her head, but if she does she is still in control. She usually sits on your face to help remind you of that. Johanna would give you head nonstop if you let her, that girl is a munch.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Fast or slow, she’s rough. If you happen to do it on tile, your back is out. Thank goodness Johanna is good with wood and tools because she’s broken your bed a few times and left some holes in your wall.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

She’s okay with them when they need to happen. If it makes sense, she’ll do a quick little session to get your behavior in line.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

She’ll try anything anywhere. She does not care if you’re in a bathroom or even in President Snow’s house, she’ll do it. She had to stop from doing stuff with you during the quarter quell and Peeta being there is what stopped her.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

She more wears you out via multiple orgasms so she lasts a while. But if she is the one being pleasured, it better be towards the end because she’s only got 1-2 in her.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

As mentioned, she has a vibrator that she only uses if you want to watch her use it or if it’s a punishment for you. She has a few straps of different lengths and colors that she uses on you. She also has paddles, rope, and vibrators for you.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Unfair has gotta be her middle name, because she’ll tease you till no end. Sometimes she’ll tease you so much, that she gets tired and you don’t come that night (part of her kink play). She’s usually pretty forgiving after a bit of begging though.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

She grunts and stuff but most of the noise she makes during sex is her talking you through it. She praises, degrades, and instructs you throughout the whole thing.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

Johanna’s strap is black and opaque. Johanna is a simple girl and she likes to keep it that way.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

She has a few different straps, 5.2 inches, 6.3 inches, 7 inches, and 8.1 inches.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

With you around, it’s all she thinks about. Everything you do is a turn on, make dinner, clean, fold clothes, sleep. She can’t explain it, but you’re her vice and she’s not letting go.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

She waits for you to fall asleep on her before drifting off to slumber. She also makes sure that her axe is on her bedside table so she’ll be ready to protect you.

[feralwaff1e]

Y'all, I worked on some old ass redraws of The Woodsman and Chaos/K.O.

First off we have K.O./Chaos. Xir are Life and everything in it, and Xir forced Xirself into Mabel. I based this form off of a fix named Rainbows by @seiya234!!! Something y'all need to check out. I didn't change much about Xir Design tbh.

The only thing I changed about Xir is the C section 'scar' on Xir abdomen! While Xir isn't technically the triplets parent, Xir was woth Mabel through the whole thing. K.O. is proud of the triplets and what they become. So I figured K.O would like to have that 'scar' as a reminder of Xir's Not!children. Not only that but K.O's body(not hair) is a combo of Mabel's Shooting star sweater.

Next up we have The Woodsman. I didn't change much, except for an artistic interpretation of him. His 'antlers' to be exact. Instead of actual, antlers I made them Birch branches!! Just because he's very Earth Themes and becomes the Ygdrissl(sorry for the mispel) tree later!! He belongs to @seiya234 as well btw!!

If y'all wanna see more of these charaters check out the @transcendence-au !!! I've been following that blog for years, and if never ceases to amaze!!

[the-patchwork-girl-of-oz]

I saw someone complain about the wicked cast being too old to play teenagers, which I don’t really mind because

A. Their ages change throughout the story

B. They are university students and the musical keeps their ages vague, plus you can tell they changed some of them from the book

C. The original cast was also in their 30s

But it kinda made me think of The Woodsman, another (super underrated) Oz stage prequel about the tin man’s backstory, where baby Nick Chopper is just played by adult Nick Chopper, in the exact same costume, just on his knees.

[mjjune]

Find Lines Tag Game

thanks so much to @jezifster for this game!! i love this concept

rules: find a line in your wip (dialogue or not) that fits the parameters given by the person who tagged you. then change one of the parameters and tag people.

tagging: @isabellebissonrouthier @duskforged @bebewrites and anyone who wants to!

your lines: all of them are the same except #1 changes to "About Moonlight/Sunlight"

see mine below! all of these are from twtr <3

1. About Light

When he lifts his head from his hands, opens his eyes, he feels more grounded. Sunlight trickles in through the curtains, so there is little point in going back to sleep. There is something he must do, before the bell rings for morning prayer.

2. Is Said In Anger

They yank your head up and tear the blindfold so you can see their horrible masks—royal armor, sleek black but shining, with abyssal crescents for eyes. “What were you doing with the princess in Darscafor?” Princess? Your mind races, that red hair flashing behind your eyes. “What did you do to her?” “I saved her.”

3. Mentions Texture

He nods, and she steps forward to press into him, despite the roughness of his armor. Though her touch is light, light enough that he can barely feel it through the metal, he does feel the softness of her hair against his chin. “I’m sorry.” “It was not your fault.” His heart pounds in his chest, aching. “I would do it again.”

4. Shows Tension

The creature looks over its shoulder, and even from the distance, he feels its eyes daring into him. At first, normal eyes, but they flash sliver, as quick as a blink. But it does nothing. It doesn’t shift or approach or vanish into fog. Staring down its hunter, his poised arrow means nothing to it. Eyes bleed silver, this time holding. It is not The Wolf.

Mentions Heart/Heartbeats

The guards who let him in do not follow. They merely shut the door behind him, trapping him with them. Stepping up to the table, he kneels to bow low, heart pounding. He has passed all her tests and done everything she required to be free. He should have known it would never happen.

TAGLIST: (message or comment below to be +/-) @aether-wasteland-s @annetilney @artbyeloquent @bebewrites @cljordan-imperium @dogmomwrites @dustylovelyrun @elijahrichardwrites @eventideintrigue @faithfire @flowerprose @forthesanityofstorytellers @ghafasinej @helioscenic @isabellebissonrouthier @jamieanovels @lexiklecksi @little-mouse-gardens @marrowwife @mr-writes @macabremoons @perasperaadastrawriting @phantomnations @tate-lin @thyroidhormones @verba-writing @vsnotresponding @wildswrites

[ariesgamesandminis]

Iron Wind Metals restocks are in for BattleTech Miniatures!

10-051 The Bounty Hunter “Companion” Mechs 20-278 Heavy Hover APC (Standard) (2) 20-310 Forestry / Forestry MOD Variants 20-372 Hornet HNT-151 20-436 Construction Mech / MOD w/ Variant Arm 20-451 Copper SecurityMech CBK-6 20-461 Eyleuka EYL-45A 20-493 Bear Cub 20-5033 Woodsman Prime 20-5130 Kheper KHP-7R 20-5134 Juliano JLN-5A 20-5192 War Crow Prime 20-5200 Carrion Crow Prime 20-5215 Mastodon Prime 20-631 Marksman Self Propelled Artillery (2) 20-634 Epona Pursuit Tank Prime (2) 20-686 Mackie MSK-6S 20-725 Cavalry Attack Helicopter 20-745 Skulker Wheeled Scout Vehicle (2) 20-786 Hachiman Fire Support (Standard) (2) 20-995 Legacy LGC-01 20-9122 Battleforce Hex Base 99-201 Large Flat Top Hex Base #1 99-202 Large Flat Top Hex Base #2 99-203 Extra Large Flat Top Hex Base BT-134 Gray Death Legion Battle Armor BT-160 Elemental Battle Armor Point BT-189 Kobold Battle Armor BT-198 Tengu Battle Armor BT-202 Rogue Bear Heavy Battle Armor BT-211 Malak Dominus BT-226 Fast Recon BT-238 VTOL Infantry BT-244 Heavy Infantry - Standing BT-245 Heavy Infantry - Firing BT-303 Vulture Mk III Prime BT-304 Arion (Standard) BattleMech or Vehicle Mode BT-364 Gabriel Hovercraft BT-370 Kurita Infantry (3) BT-371 Davion Infantry (3) BT-372 Savannah Master Hovercraft BT-382 Kanazuchi Battle Armor BT-384 Achileus Battle Armor (3) BT-387 Gnome Battle Armor (3) BT-388 Salamander Battle Armor (3) BT-427 Balac Strike VTOL (Standard) & (LRM) BT-436 Buraq (Standard) Battle Armor BT-469 Sojourner B BT-470 Sojourner C FT-005 Monitor Naval Vessel OP-031 Gladiator D Left Arm OP-061 Man O War A Pod

[anamelessfool]

You've mentioned your love for androids many a time and I wanted to pop in ask if you have any favourites?I'm also a little curious what is about androids that you personally find so interesting? 👉👈

Ahhh yes I love Androids! They have a certain nobility to them. My top fave "android/droid adjacent" loves as a kid were The Tin Woodsman (so handsome, so loving and kind! And such a sad story! I loved him in the book, and in the live action film he had the sweetest, tenderest voice) and C-3PO (smart and friendly and will always help you)

They have a selflessness to them, a steadfast bond to their cause that goes beyond their physical body. They'll break themselves gladly to do what needs to be done or to protect someone. There's an amusing and dramatic non-attachment to their physical self. They often are curious about emotions and dwell on them. Some of them wonder if they themselves have feelings, but isn't that wonder a feeling itself?

I notice my Ghost Ghoul lore is very akin to androids rather than demons, but it's been fun to play with that.

My other favorite androids: (There are so many but aggg I must narrow them all down!!)

Tima (Tezuka's Metropolis directed by Rintaro omfg see this film if you can)

Melfina from Outlaw Star was like my first anime blorbo ever (and Gene Starwind of course) She is gentle and sweet but her mind is powerful.

I truly love Alita in the manga Battle Angel Alita, and her fatherly bond with the scientist who rescues her who isn't as wholesome as she believes (don't see the movie, please) I love how androids physically break themselves or arrive broken and their friends repair them and make them whole again 🥺

Ok now we are arriving in the "I am Very Attracted To These Androids" Circle of Hell

David from the Alien Franchise (LOVED David in the fake commerical for him, hated the film tbh- so disappointed!) Michael Fassbender as an android- hottttt ugggghhh

Bjork and Chris Cunningham's "All is Full of Love" uhhhh need I say more?

Honorable Mentions:

Terminator 2 was a formative film for me, I loved it as a kid and still love it. Love the protective platonic bonds in that film

Westworld is incredible I have yet to see the second season but this post is inspiring me.

Thanks for the ask now I need a cold shower after the David gif

[darkvioletcloud]

Same anon from @/yandere--stuck and I was curious, what does influences a character's moonscorched form?

Ok so funny you should ask because I’m planning a video where I analyze each Moonscorched form.

The game states that the Moonscorched forms are the character’s “true” forms, but I think the definition of true used here is like a character’s self-perception. What’s true to them and how they see themselves, rather than an objective truth. In my script so far, I’ve been describing it as the inward perception turned outward.

Olivia, for example, becomes this rigid and entirely mechanical thing, saying she’s always been this way. To me, that’s a reflection of how it feels like she’s always had her condition, despite it only manifesting when she was 15. It’s been with her so long that it may as well be forever. She can’t remember a time before her condition. She’s rigid, restricted, and her chair is part of her in the worst ways. She sees herself as just her condition and just all the ways she’s restricted.

There also seems to be outside influences on a form, notably how Chaugnar’s trunk seems to be a foreign object if you analyze it. The implication is that it’s something akin to the woodsman’s appendage, seeing as they have a similar shape and Tunnel 7, where Abella transforms, is nearby the woodsman’s house.

Don’t take my word as fact, though! It’s all speculation! c:

[hakodate-division]

Happy Pride Month!

Decided to do orientations for the Hakodate team! Hope you enjoy them!

K o t a n A n c h i k a r

Demiromantic/Demisexual

Growing up in a closed-knit tribe, Kotan isn't really familiar with the concepts of love and attraction. Most of his tribespeople either are already married, are with someone, or are fine being single. Even with people outside of his tribe, Kotan has found it hard to be attracted to them, both romantically and sexually. At first, he thought that he simply wasn't interested in such things. However, his grandmother believes that it could be that he hasn't found someone to really connect with.

Kotan doesn't know if this is actually true or not, but due to his work as chieftain and spokesperson, it's obvious he doesn't really have time to establish any sort of connections with people. Maybe someday...

T e d B r i d g e s

Grayromantic/Graysexual

As you all know, Ted isn't exactly an open or expressionable person. After the unfortunate death of his wife, he's pretty much put his romantic feelings behind him, as well as his sexual feelings. These days, the only thing on his mind is taking care of his son and living in peace. That's not to say he doesn't experience these sort of feelings, but they are far and few between.

The only person who has come close to getting him to open up with be his new roommate and tenant, Kokomi, who rents a room in his chalet. A part of him is worried that she may be replacing his deceased wife, while another part of him wonders what would happen if he did pursue these feelings...

K o k o m i M o r o z o v

Grayromantic/Bisexual

As a former Olympic snowboarder and skier, Kokomi, unfortunately, didn't have much time to explore her feelings, both romantic and sexual, when she was young. Much of her time spent training under her father prevented her from forming any sort of unique friendships. She's always known that she was bisexual, as she finds both males and females attractive.

On the case of her romantic relationships, however, she is confused. She's never really experienced anyone she would like to be with romantically. ...That is, until she encountered a certain woodsman who saved her one day, and allowed her to rent a room in his chalet. She doesn't know if she truly has feelings for Ted, but she wouldn't say 'no' if asked if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him...

[basickabyl]

The Wolf Among Us is an episodic graphic neo-noir mystery-drama adventure game developed by Telltale studios and serving as a prequel to Bill Willingham's comics. In this series we take on the role of the Big Bad Wolf, now known as Bigby Wolf, as he gets caught up in a murder investigation and tries to thwart the plans of a criminal cabal.

Our first episode see Bigby answering a call from Mr. Toad to handle an inebriated Woodsman causing a ruckus in his apartment.

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