#i'm just excited that it's halloween

[captainkirkk]

🦇🎃 WEEKLY FIC ROUND-UP 🎃🦇

All the fics I’ve read and really enjoyed in the past week-ish. Reminder: This list features any and all ratings and themes. Please look at tags and warnings on ao3 before reading.

Merlin

The Hunt for Red Emrys by darkbluedark

King Arthur sets out to keep his promise to the spirit of the Druid boy by repealing his father's ban on magic. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, for reasons including but not limited to the following:

(1) He can't change the law until he understands magic better, but no sorcerer is willing to explain magic to him until he changes the law;

(2) The sorcerers all have some strange obsession with Merlin, which is awakening all sorts of feelings in Arthur that he really doesn't fancy examining too closely;

(3) He is starting to feel like the butt of some Druid-population-wide inside joke involving the mysterious phenomenon called Emrys; and

(4) Oh yeah, Morgana is still trying to kill him.

Thus he embarks on a journey of discovery, diplomacy, accountability, and self-improvement, and maybe even falls in love along the way.

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-Kun

Kalego-sensei is...dead? by IcyPheonix

The Misfits come to school one day to discover that they have, a substitute teacher. They decide that this can only mean one thing; Kalego-sensei, has died.

He hasn't but that's not gonna stop them from pretending he has of course.

SVSSS

The Moon's Beloved Shadow by mofumofu

Shen Qingqiu is a man who hides his twin brother from the world with the ferocity of a phoenix-eyed mother crane.

Shen Yuan is a helpless transmigrator who wishes Airplane-bro had given even a single bit of backstory for this side character he's inhabiting!

Luo Binghe isn't doomed to face the Endless Abyss, but he is forced to confront something infinitely more frustrating: an overly protective brother.

Natsume Yuujinchou

What Colors Do You See In This Monochrome World by mermorgie.

Natori's voice brought him back to the present. "You alright there, Natsume?" The look the exorcist was giving him was warm and a tad concerned. Natsume gave him a small, but earnest smile. "I'm fine, Natori-san. Just a bit nervous." This was the truth. He had no idea why the head of the Matoba Clan invited him this time, but he was sure that the man was up to no good.

Or: Natsume gets invited to an exorcist meeting. He is not too happy about it, but at least the view is great.

Harry Potter

Three's Family by darkbluedark

It’s May 1979 and the Order has just apprehended a pair of mysterious wizards who look remarkably like a Potter and a Malfoy. Naturally, James Potter and Sirius Black are called in to identify the strangely familiar strangers and determine their backgrounds and loyalties.

(This would be a lot easier if their captives weren’t convinced everyone they talk to is dead. It would also be easier if they didn’t spend half their bloody time bickering.)

-

“Just ask them questions only they would know the answer to,” Malfoy suggests.

“There’s not a single thing that I know about either of them from the first war that any old Death Eater couldn’t find out.”

“How is that possible?” Malfoy huffs. “He’s your father!”

“Am I or am I not famously an orphan?” Potter snarls.

Once More Unto The Boggart by darkbluedark

Professor Lupin let out his breath very slowly. “So this is why you think you’ve been struggling to make progress with the Patronus charm? Because a part of you wants to let the dementor close, in a way, in order to hear your parents?”

Harry nodded again, though more guiltily this time. “I want to let the boggart out, just once, and, er, not cast the charm."

Those Who Have Seen by darkbluedark

Only those who have seen death can see thestrals.

It turns out, thestrals look different for those who have seen Death.

[gauntletqueen]

I just wanted to show this funny man running in circles, but then

[unheardopinions]

oka okay so. im going as orpheus for halloween so i thought yk why not lets listen through the cast recording tonight and. i reached his kiss, the riot and yk i've always been a big fan of it. underrated imo but i love the delivery of it, whenever i hear it recorded or live the hades always does great. buT i esp love the cast recording bc of this one specific moment at the end where hades takes this one, ragged breath in between the last lines (and doubt comes / doubt comes in) like YES an incredibly vulnerable moment from this literal brick wall of a character i love to see it you love to see it.

BUT. ON THIS LISTEN THROUGH. i can't believe it took me this fucking long to realize BUT I REALIZED

that sigh isn't from the burden of making such a hard decision or pain from having to give into the pleas of his wife or whatever. he's hesitant and pained and dare i say nervous BECAUSE HE FUCKING RELATES TO ORPHEUS. he sees himself in orpheus, he sees his younger self, what he used to be, in orpheus, and that's why he's scared. because he knows what young love is like. he knows very well what it feels like. but he also knows what young love eventually turns into.

so much of the song is not just about orpheus, but about hades's life as well anD I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST NOTICED SO I AM GOING SO INSANE OVER THE LYRICS NOW

but let there be some term to be agreed upon = love must have its barriers, its roadblocks. something must get in the way of true love. demeter HATED persephone's and hades's relationship. they were forced to live under the condition of only being able to see each other for half of the year

she's out of sight, he's out of his mind = once again being forced to see each other for only half of the year. when persephone is out of sight, hades goes mad, wondering if she'll return the following year, turning hadestown into a maze of factories just to give himself something to do, something to prove to persephone that he is worth keeping around

nothing makes a man so bold as a woman's smile = (in common versions of the myth) hades kidnaps persephone bc of how beatiful she is so. bit of a bold move i'd say

but all alone his blood runs thin = when blood runs thin you get cold easily, so you always look for warmth and try to stay as warm as possible. *gestures wildly at above statement of hades going mad and churning out factories, factories and plants that make hadestown 'way too hot', something abt being so freezing cold that no matter how much you turn up the heat, no matter how much you sweat and grind and work and work, there is chill in your bones*

AND DOUBT COMES. DOUBT COMES IN. = how would hades know that? is he talking about the natural flaws of man, of how humans always work? maybe, but if anything he's FUCKING PROJECTING. HE KNOWS FROM EXPERIENCE.

hades knows what it's like to be in orpheus's position. he knows exactly what it's fucking like to be so in love but forced to be separate. he knows the doubt that comes in on a stupidly personal level. hell, they directly consulted with him on what to do on this issue. he knows that no matter how much love you have for a person, not being able to see them, hear them, feel them, can fuck you up. that is how the world is. but maybe not always. maybe, maybe it will turn out this time. because something about orpheus. about seeing the reflection of hades's past, of the man hades once was. something about orpheus gave hades the ability to see how the world could be. in spite of the way that it is.

GOOD NIGHT BROTHERS. GOOD FUCKING NIGHT.

[hersweetrevenge]

Hi there! <3 I re-watched Halloween Ends yesterday because I was upset and I needed Corey to save me, lmfao, and I wanted to ask you something that I've been wondering about. So, I have no way of getting the novelisation of the movie anytime soon, and you're kinda my only frame of reference for it; so I hope you don't mind me asking you this. When Corey is on his revenge killing spree, he kills those bullies at the mechanic shop. And Ronald is there. And then Ronald comes out to help the kids because of Terry. And only because of that. So, that makes me wonder... Did Corey plan on killing Ronald after he was done with the kids? Is that something that was elaborated on in the novel? Because I keep wondering about that, since Corey pretty much killed everyone that ever wronged him during that night, and Ronald was right there; but Corey didn't kill him (or didn't get the chance to, at least). Terry shot him by accident. But Corey killed his mom, of course. So, it'd make sense if he had at least planned on going after Ronald as well; even though he never actively wronged Corey (only passively, if we look at the way he just sat and watched while Joan abused Corey right in front of him, for example). But more so for completion's sake, y'know? They were on generally good terms, after all. I mean, in your latest post about the novel, you quoted that Ronald is "the loveliest thing" in Corey's life, according to Rohan. So, that makes me wonder all the more. OH, and... I fought with myself to include this point, but anyway- Corey takes the mask off when Ronald comes to help the kids, so that Ronald can see his face and know it's him. And it clearly disarms Ronald immediately and is the reason why Terry accidentally shot him instead of Corey, because he shielded him instinctively. Thus, I keep wondering if Corey meant for that to happen or if he took the mask off in order to assure Ronald that he wasn't actually in danger... It's such a seemingly insignificant thing that I'm thinking about far too much, but it's been bothering me that I don't know, and I was curious if the novel said anything about that at all, or if they just brushed over it there, as well. If they did, I'll just make up my own mind, of course, hdsfdjkfsk Anyway, I'm very sorry for rambling on about this, gosh! I love your blog(s) and everything you have to say about Corey and Rohan, you're awesome!!! Thank you for your detailed posts all the time, they keep me going! Take care! <3

ahhh hi !! thank you so much for sending this ask !! i love talking about this sort of thing more than anything lol and i’m sorry this took a little longer than i expected to reply, i was double checking like every ronald scene in the novel and cross-referencing that with behind-the-scenes details from making of, and re-watching the movie (i didn’t have to do that last one but like you, i needed emotional support from corey too 💗)

WARNING for discussions about (canon-typical) violence, murder, child abuse, abusive households, mentions of suicide and self-harm, and spoilers for the novelisation.

TL;DR – the novelisation does not elaborate on corey's intentions in any huge amount of detail, but it does provide some insight into a few different possibilities for ronald and corey’s relationship and what that would mean for corey's intentions.

general relationship

the novelisation actually gives some really specific details about the cunningham-prevo backstory, but also leaves a lot of aspects vague too.

joan married ronald when corey was 15, and she made it clear to ronald that he would "remain firmly on the sidelines when it came to corey's upbringing" which ronald "gladly" agreed to. so from the very beginning, ronald accepts he isn't going to be an active parent to corey, which maybe means he didn't believe he would do a good job anyway, or maybe he agreed it wasn't his place to parent corey in the same way joan does.

also, corey was already a teenager, he didn't need parenting in the same way a younger child would, which is partly why i think joan waited until corey was older to get remarried, because although being a single parent is difficult, she wouldn't want someone else in the picture as a father-figure for corey.

i don't personally see corey and ronald having a super close relationship, but there are multiple instances that show they are at least comfortable and familiar with each other (in line with what rohan said).

corey had a job before working for ronald, so we know ronald didn't have to give him a job. i hc that corey really wanted to do something stimulating instead of call centre work, and ronald agreed despite joan's grievances over it.

ronald doesn't seem too angry at him for being late, even though it is a regular occurrence (third time in a month).would he be so lenient on anyone who wasn't his stepson?

the gifting of the motorbike is a huge moment of course. that's a big gesture which, in the novelisation, also comes with some stilted bonding when ronald reminiscences that he used to "get laid [...], if you can believe it".

they have their united front moment over dinner when joan is trying to work a reaction out of them and neither gives her what she wants.

a smaller but still significant gesture is that corey uses dumbbells and a pull-up bar in his room to workout, which ronald bought him for christmas. very much feels like an attempt to help corey rebuild his self-confidence.

honestly though, rohan's comment about ronald being the "loveliest" thing in corey's life is probably right, especially as corey's life has been incredibly insular. as the town pariah with an abusive mom, his stepdad being cool about him being late for work is probably one of the best parts of his day.

but then on the other hand, there are moments which do not characterise their relationship very well, including multiple instances of ronald "ignoring" joan's abusive behaviour and not intervening.

to reiterate a previous point: ronald very willingly obliges joan's wishes of not "interfering" with corey's upbringing. her unfounded criticism and distrust of doctors, the school system and anyone other than her taking care of corey should have been a huge red flag (if, of course, any of that behaviour could have been inferred prior to their marriage).

ronald's passivity at being side-lined by his wife, allowing her to continue an unhealthy and unbounded relationship with corey.

when joan is berating corey for "sneaking around" and seeing allyson (the slap/kiss scene), she questions ronald as to whether he knew about the motorcycle, to which ronald stays completely out of it and doesn't answer her, despite her being furious with corey.

however it is a really difficult family dynamic to navigate, with so much nuance. i'm reluctant to say if ronald is a "good" or "bad" stepdad, or whether their father-son relationship is "good" or "bad", simply because their circumstances are so trying and complex. yes, joan has abused corey for a long time, but that abuse also extends to ronald in many ways too, resulting in him allowing (or enabling) joan's abusive behaviour in a flawed attempt to maintain the (toxic) status quo of the household.

did corey intend to kill ronald?

like i mentioned, there isn't any elaboration about corey's intentions in the novel, either through narration or extra dialogue. the scene happens almost exactly as it does in the film, with a few alterations and added background details. it's the surrounding details and plot differences that change my opinion.

i think movie!corey would have killed ronald if he had to. he knew ronald would be at home or at the yard, both of which were places he intended to go (to kill momma and the bullies). i'm not sure he had the same desire to kill ronald as he does the others, especially if he sees ronald in a good light, but to tie up loose ends he might do what is "necessary". i do find it very interesting that he lets ronald see his face though, and i can't decide if that is as a reassurance (he wouldn't kill ronald and ronald should know that) or because it just didn't matter (he's going to kill ronald so even if he sees corey's face, he won't be a liability to worry about).

however, i don't think novel!corey intended to kill ronald. in the novel, despite all of the extensive set-up of joan being abusive and corey's repressed desires to hurt her (and arguably ronald), there's no suggestion that corey planned to go back home as part of his spree and kill joan. if he wasn't going to kill joan after everything she did, i really don't think he'd have plans to kill ronald.

that's not to say there aren't implication in the novel that corey would hurt ronald too. there's a scene after the slap/kiss where corey can hear joan and ronald arguing about him, and once they've gone to bed corey gets a knife and stands outside their room, but ultimately doesn't go in. it isn't specified whether he wants to hurts just joan, or ronald as well.

michael's mask

ahh so when i was re-reading the scrapyard massacre in the novel to try and answer whether corey letting ronald see that it is him was a way of corey saying "you don't have to be scared of me" or even "you should be scared of me", i've come to a different conclusion about the mask.

“Who did this to you?” [Ronald] asked. “Him,” Margo said, pointing across the street. Ronald turned to find Corey twenty feet away on the other side of the fence, pulling Michael’s mask over his head. "Corey?" he muttered in disbelief.

the way the novel reads, i think that when corey puts the mask on in front of ronald, it's the first time he puts the mask on at all. if that is the case, it adds a whole other level to the transition between corey's kills as himself (or as the scarecrow) and his kills "as michael".

earlier, billy's sees "corey's shape wearing his prevo jumpsuit". it's fair enough that billy would assume it's corey without seeing his face, because they know that corey is there, but there's no mention of the mask either.

then, the way it describes ronald seeing corey put on the mask doesn't really indicate that corey was making sure ronald saw it was him. he's already "pulling on the mask" by the time ronald looks over at him; he wasn't waiting for ronald to look he was already doing it.

alternatively, the movie shows corey very deliberately stood there, waiting for ronald to see him and recognise him before he puts the mask on. i'm leaning towards it not being a gesture of reassurance but more of a last show of humanity to someone corey cares about -- "it's me, and i appreciate that you always treated me well, but this is the monster they've made me into".

in both versions, ronald jumps up to stop terry shooting corey. whether he was intending to shield corey or was just getting up to try and talk terry down, i think it says a lot about ronald as a character. he has been very passive this whole time, especially in scenes that take place at home, but in this moment he takes an authorative position to try and diffuse the situation. there's a scared kid with a gun, and his own stepson who he's starting to think might have done something awful, but this doesn't have to continue -- they can talk about it and calm down and whatever it is that has happened can be worked out.

[r0tt1ngr4bb1t]

This Month 'bout to be lit I just know it

[sleepyorchidmonster]

*Twst boys posing for the new halloween event*

Grim: Why are you guys acting like Riddle when he went insane?

Everyone: ?!

Ace: Oh yeaah, I forgot Overblot Riddle was acting like a puppet, controlled by blot strings...

Yuu: It was really freaky...

Everyone who wasn't in Heartslabyul during that day: Thanks for the nightmare fuel.

Riddle is sneezing back in NRC.

[doodle-girl]

HI I AM GOING INSANE GOING INSANE GOING INSANE I AM SO FUCKING EXCITED I FORGOT TO MENTION BUT HOURURHHHGHRHGHGHHGHGHGH SHIIIIIIIIITTTT I AM FERAL

ALSO I ONLY NOTICED THIS DETAIL BECAUSE SOMEONE IN THE COMMENTS POINTED OUT BUT HELLO???? WHO IS THAT????

[tj-crochets]

Hey y'all! I've got like two and a half things to make before I tackle Halloween crafting, but I have no idea what to make. I'll make a poll, but to make the poll, I need options. What Halloween themed things would you like to see in plushie form?

[uglynicc]

It was my birthday and it's wild how delightfully stupid and silly I still am with 40 round the corner, be as cringe and free as you want, you're not too old

[lastoneout]

Warning, Certified Internet Boomer Moment Imminent!

anyway bruh y'all have no idea how bad the baby fever is kicking my ass rn....

[acegodzilla]

I don't usually post about my sticker collection on here but like....just LOOK at all the stickers I found on my last couple of trips to the goodwill outlet

That's not even all of them!! I have duplicates of some and I didn't include any of the incomplete sheets or the alphabet stickers I found

Not to mention the pile of creative memories stickers I haven't sorted through...

[justablah56]

making one of those big ol mushroom hats rn and you guys ...... I am so excited ......... this is gonna be so cool .........

[ghosty-schnibibit]

in honor of the halloween season, enjoy this rendering of me looking for one for one of the dogs in the main bedroom of the house i'm currently petsitting for and finding the masked dummy their eight y/o put on the nightstand that absolutely scared the shit out of me

[raiiny-bay]

i've decided i'm gonna get a portable cd player

[wwolflesbian]

the new episode (and first episode of the series by all technicalities) that I've been teasing for a while is going out tomorrow and y'all this might be the most excited I've been about any project I've ever worked on.

[britishchick09]

a little sneaky peek at the rewrite book... ;)

(see the full reveal on wednesday, november 1st!)