#meta story

[ei-w]

go beyond the veil (10812 words) by ei_w Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Original Work Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Original Antagonist Character(s), Original Protagonist Character(s), Seer - Character Additional Tags: Prompt Fic, Fantasy, Aromantic, Meta, (un)written fate, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Existential Crisis Summary:

Prompt (gifted for Otis): "Two experienced, hopelessly romantic young duellists, who have also been rivals for a while, finally get to duel each other. Everything happens as they’ve read in so many novels: the battle is close, they both give it their all, their hearts beating in their throats! And when one of them finally forces the other onto their knees, they tilt the other’s head up with the tip of their blade, and they look deeply into each other’s eyes. But nothing happens. Their hearts don’t start burning with desire, there’s no rushing in for a kiss. But they were both sure that such a duel could only end in romance—and they’re also sure that the other has indeed fallen in love with them. But what now? Will they quickly realise that there’s no enemies-to-lovers arc happening? Or will they try to manifest the fate the books wrote for them?"

[saints-who-never-existed]

“In the war film, a soldier can hold his buddy—as long as his buddy is dying on the battlefield. In the western, Butch Cassidy can wash the Sundance Kid’s naked flesh—as long as it is wounded. In the boxing film, a trainer can rub the well-developed torso and sinewy back of his protege—as long as it is bruised. In the crime film, a mob lieutenant can embrace his boss like a lover—as long as he is riddled with bullets. 

Violence makes the homo-eroticism of many “male” genres invisible; it is a structural mechanism of plausible deniability.”

–Tarantino’s Incarnational Theology: Reservoir Dogs, Crucifixions, and Spectacular Violence. Kent L. Brintnall.

[descendant-of-truth]

Shipping is fun and all but I swear every single time someone makes a comment, whether as a joke or in a legitimate analysis, about there being "no other explanation" for a pair's interactions, I lose just a bit more of my sanity

Like, no, you guys don't get it. Romance is not about the Amount of devotion, it's about the COLOR. the FLAVOR of it all. a character can be just as devoted to their platonic friend as they are to their romantic partner, and they don't love either of them more, just differently.

But because the majority of people still have it stuck in their minds that romance exists on the highest tier of love, I'm stuck seeing endless takes that boil down to "these two care about each other too much for it to NOT be romantic" as if that's the core determining factor to how literally any of this works

In conclusion: stop telling me that I don't understand the story if I don't interpret the leads as romantic, I am TIRED

[drulalovescas]

when you realize cas never got a chance to see dean mourn him. to see what his death did to dean. how it broke him completely. SHATTERED. he never saw dean's utter despair. anger. complete hopelessness. he only ever saw dean's joy when he came back. and so cas figured that his death simply didn't affect dean all that much. that dean could be happy with Cas gone. that Dean could go on. Move on. cas never understood that this joy, this hope, this smile on dean's face after he came back was ONLY BECAUSE HE CAME BACK. CAME BACK TO DEAN.

Cas was the REASON.

[nerdpoe]

Damian didn't mean to. But looking at the horror on Batman's face, he also knows it doesn't matter.

Someone had managed to sneak up on him, immediately after a fight.

Damian, exhausted and wounded and ever so slightly drugged by fear toxin, reacted.

He'd spun around and run his katana through the attacker-but it wasn't an attacker. It was a civilian, who was staring down at the sword in his chest with a stunned expression.

The civilian looked up, blue eyes meeting Damian's through the mask.

"I was just..." The man trails off, dropping the first-aid kid he'd been carrying.

Damian knows his time as Robin is over.

Danny, on the other hand, can already feel his healing factor trying to kick in, and just needs to figure out how to convince Robin to remove the Katana so it can work without letting Batman know he's a meta.

[salemoleander]

I am BARELY resisting going full red-strings-corkboard on this season. And by barely resisting I mean not resisting at all here is an extremely long list of the events those pins would be marking out.

BigB getting a Task that was a different color than everyone else's. It's not just a randomly assigned Hard Task, bc Scar rerolled for a Hard Task and his was also just a white envelope. It's fundamentally different.

That task taking BigB away from socialization, and seemingly being an incredibly time-consuming and dull request. Of profound disinterest to any watchers.

The phrasing of his Task!!

Dig a big hole. All the way down. At least 3x3. Make it your base if you want.

Everyone else's are direct and formal - the only one with more than one sentence was Skizz's, with the rule clarification of "One attempt only." Bigb's Task is four short abrupt sentences. It is also the only Task to contain extraneous information, 'Make it your base if you want.' The requirements (at least 3x3) feel like an afterthought to mimic the numerical/specific demands of the other tasks.

Evo symbol on the face of the Secret Keeper statue.

The fact that there's a statue at all; the fact that there is a physical representation of what is assigning tasks that everyone must complete, when previously everything was always handled via commands and unseen RNG.

Grian talking to the statue, and (bc of his Actual Role as game organizer) acting as a mediator for the impartial decisions handed down, speaking for it.

Grian making one last bad joke and saying he doesn't know if it counted or not- depends on whether we the audience laughed.

Grian asking for task recommendations from the audience. The watchers are making the tasks. The Watchers are making the tasks.

Again I could be off-base, and I'm not usually even that smitten with bringing in Evo lore. I don't want a Big Bad really...but. It feels like something very unusual and intentional and cool is happening in this series. And I'd guess we'll know if theres something going on once we have more than one data point.

My largely unfounded suspicion is that there is another being (maybe Listeners, maybe something else) trying to reach out to the Players via decoy Tasks, and BigB was the first recipient. Get them alone, make them of disinterest to the watchers, and tell them something we don't get to know.

Because that's the really, really fucking cool part (if my wacky theory is remotely right): We're the bad guys. We're the ones giving out tasks - hell, we're the ones actively brainstorming harder and crueller tasks in Grian's comments!

If they actually made a story where the Players have to keep secrets from us I will be delighted. Bc that is the same genius bullshit that made Evo Watcher lore so fun

[disco-asphodel]

realtalk but when i see dudes on steam or ppl on tumblr talking about how disco elysium made them feel pathetic and uncomfortable i just. i don’t know. i cannot relate to that at all. disco elysium is about an alcoholic amnesiac poet in love with a dying city who loves him back. if i had never been an alcoholic, if i had never been suicidally depressed, maybe i would think the world of disco elysium is a bleak one. but when you know what it’s like to go through that darkness and come out of it again? to fall back in love with a world that almost destroyed you? disco elysium is the most hopeful story imaginable. it sees the world for what it is and holds nothing back, none of the horror, none of the wonder, none of the love…

something about art comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comfortable i dunno

[ashfae]

The thing about romance is, it makes a good story.

As soon as Neil described season 2 as "quiet, gentle, romantic" I figured we'd be in for it, because as he's the first to point out, writers are liars. And the best way to deceive is with truth.

Season 2 is romantic. The trappings of romance are everywhere. Crowley tries to set up Nina and Maggie by trapping them under an awning during a rainstorm, a classic cinematic bonding technique. Aziraphale's chosen method comes from his beloved books: the ball, the dancing, appearing as a pair in public, hands held as you twirl gracefully with your heart thrilled and racing. If they can set up a sensational kiss that will unlock the happy ever after. They've lived on earth, they've studied the tropes, they know how romance works.

The problem is a story is only a story.

Nina and Maggie had the classic romantic setup completely by accident before Aziraphale and Crowley ever began trying to interfere with them. They get locked in Nina's coffeeshop. They can't escape or communicate with anyone else, they end up talking by candlelight because there's no electricity, Nina offers wine. Maggie mentions how she'd hoped for a chance to talk to Nina, and now here they are. It's every bit as much a standard as what Aziraphale and Crowley attempt to arrange. Blanket scenarios galore exist because of that starting point. We love that story. And there's nothing wrong with that.

But it's still only a story, it's not enough. Because once that moment of connection is over, however lovely it was, all the rest of the world comes flooding back in in the form of dozens of angry text messages. Nina's messy entrapping relationship hasn't magically gone away just because she and Maggie shared a romantic encounter.

And it's so tempting think oh well, that's easy. We'll just give them more romantic encounters and eventually those will overwhelm the rest of the baggage. Must do, because it'll make them fall in love, and once they realize they're in love that trumps all other considerations, right? So it'll be fine. Love Conquers All.

Neil also mentioned Pride and Prejudice.

Darcy knows he's in love early on and makes a disasterous proposal that shows that he has no understanding of Elizabeth's perspective, possibly hasn't even thought about it. They've been meeting in forest lanes for walks, conversing, had tete-a-tetes in the sitting room, danced at a ball. And while his turn of phrase isn't as flattering as he thinks, he's still offering her everything he thinks she wants and needs: affection, security, his good name, wealth, an escape from the embarrassments of her situation, the world. How can there be anything to object to? Why would anyone ever refuse so much of value?

Elizabeth quite rightly cuts him to pieces. He lashes back with a few hard truths of his own and they separate. During that separation, he thinks and he learns. He takes to heart the criticisms she offered, re-examines his assumptions, opens his eyes. Thinks about her perspective and how sometimes the only difference between pride and arrogance is where you're standing. He does the work. When they meet again he tries to demonstrate that he's learned--not in order to court her again (yet), but because the only real apology he can offer, the only one that would have weight, is to show that he's grown, he listened to her. He changed.

Elizabeth of course has her own journey, accepting that many of her own conclusions about Darcy were erroneous because they were formed without her having the full picture to hand, and once she's done that she has to apply it to her own situation as well. She loves her family, but they do place her at a disadvantage on a number of levels, leading eventually to full-out disaster as her younger sister carelessly ruins all of their reputations. It's hard to admit, it's mortifying, but Darcy was offering her a great deal she needs. His offer did have worth for all that she dismissed it as an insult. And as she learns to value his own character more highly, and then as she sees that he did listen to her even though she insulted him so thoroughly...well, she grows too. And when they do eventually come together it's not because of courting and balls. There's a big romantic gesture in his rescue of her sister but even that isn't why they'll get their happy ever after. It was just the catalyst for the conversation. They win because they've learned how to understand each other and how to communicate for the future. How they can strengthen and support each other, how to balance their strengths and weaknesses. The films leave them at the wedding, but the book shows a bit of their marriage too, and during it they keep learning from each other. Their relationship is held up as a superior love story for good reasons.

The end of season one was romantic too. Crowley stopped time rather than face a world where Aziraphale would never speak to him again, Aziraphale walked into hell to protect Crowley, they dined at the Ritz and toasted the world. But then they stopped. Sure they spent time together, talked, enjoyed each other's company. But if they were talking about important things would Crowley still be living in his car? They had a bit of respite but all that real world baggage that exists outside of the romantic moment hasn't been faced, none of it. Four or five years sounds like a long while but for beings who are quite literally older than the earth? That's just an intermission.

Nina's relationship ends, leaving her with a tangled mess; Maggie realises the sweet dream of love she's been longing for isn't as important as the real Nina. They talk. They plan. Nina will sort through her life, get closure, figure out what went wrong with Lindsay and what she wants from a relationship, learn how to ask for respect instead of just bending under her partner's demands. Maggie will support Nina the way Nina needs, which sometimes means helping her get oat milk for the shop and sometimes means giving her processing space. They're on the same page; they're going to do the work. That's why most likely they'll succeed. To quote one of my favourite fanfics: it's not happily ever after, but it's a chance. It's all going to be okay. (The Profane Comedy by Mussimm, who absolutely nailed this theme)

The romance is nice, it's lovely. We need it to keep ourselves going. To give ourselves the dreams that help us get through the days and nights. But it's not the relationship. It's not enough on its own. The wedding can be the grandest most beautiful ceremony ever with doves flying and sweeping music and bells ringing, but that doesn't guarantee the marriage will last.

Crowley and Aziraphale have had their romantic gestures, oodles of them. One wing raised to protect the other from falling stars, another from rain. Shared ground, shared interests, hands offered in friendship and held on a bus. They've tried to get to the same page, they really have. They just aren't there yet. The biggest most important things still haven't been talked about, and season 2 showed there are even more of those big important things than we'd realised.

The show paints Maggie as Aziraphale's foil and Nina as Crowley's, even to the point of Nina casually calling Maggie 'angel'. But Aziraphale's baggage is Nina's. The toxic relationship has to be processed and understood and closed, and it hasn't been, despite season one. Lindsay never really liked Nina very much, for all that they tried to keep her trapped; Heaven never really liked Aziraphale very much for all that he believed in it. They both let themselves be used. But Lindsay left Nina and went to their sister's, whereas now the head of Heaven has reached out to Aziraphale and said here, we can fix this, you can fix this, don't you want to fix this? Others are already writing about that and maybe I'll add to it later, not sure. And Crowley, like Maggie, has had a sweet dream that he has to set aside. Maybe he'll be able to pick it up again eventually, maybe not. But sometimes you offer support by buying oat milk or rescuing your beloved from the legions of hell, and sometimes you do it by standing back while they sort through their shit.

Quiet, gentle, romantic. It was.

But that's only part of the story. Now they have to do the work. They thought they had, but they were wrong, because there's so much they just hadn't touched yet and tried to cover over with relief and sleight of hand and alcohol and forgiveness. The apology dance doesn't mean much without showing that you listened and learned. They've faced so much trauma already and that should have been enough, we wanted it to be enough and so did they and it's such a blow for it to turn out that there's still more to do, that the baggage hasn't just gone away and can't be hidden under blankets or soothed with cocoa. The texts are still coming in and demanding answers.

But it'll be okay. It will. It's still a chance. And one that in the long run makes them better, builds something real that lasts.

The best stories, the ones that last longest and become classics, are the ones that don't end with the kiss under the awning or the blanket scenario or the wedding. They're the ones that heal us while the characters heal themselves. It's hard to accept that there's still more to do. Harder to imagine how it can possibly work out. And yes, bloody frustrating to wait and see.

And we'll get through that interim by telling even more stories. Because the story is never just a story. It's how we get through the work, it's what we tell ourselves so we can do the damn work. Stories are what we cling to and how we remind ourselves we're human and connect. A book is a person you can carry with you. We're not alone, none of us, stories connect us because we love them and see ourselves in them, which means we see each other.

Aziraphale's back up in Heaven to deal with his unfinished baggage; Crowley left his behind long ago and it's clearly going to come back and bite him in the arse however much he tries to go his own way. And they can't help each other with that. Not yet.

But they'll get there. So will we.

[bloominglegumes]

i love normal guys doomed by the narrative

[causalityparadoxes]

Okay but the Rogue throwing the bouquet and the Doctor catching it. The bride's bouquet, superstition signifying the next person who will marry. The Doctor putting on the Rogue's engagement ring.

Its the fantasy era, whats a billion trillion to one when you have coincidence on your side. What story is complete without a marriage.

They are going to find him and they are having that goddamn wedding.

[ciryze]

Behind the Mirror

Versions should never interact. Until they do. (Little meta-story for Call of the Betrayed where the Pandora and Odin have a little chat)

Drip

Drip

Drip

One.

Two.

Three.

Only darkness and the sound of dripping water.

Three lurking thrones in the middle breaking the ever smooth obsidian floor.

While stretching seemingly endless into one direction, a soft shimmer gave away the barrier that shut them out from the rest of the world, a mirror that showed no reflection of the figures waiting patiently on their thrones.

“I would be angry if I wasn’t so impressed”, one of them said, dressed in all grey and black, white lines on her skin glowing against the dark fabric. “But aren’t you running at risk of them ending up exactly the same as with me?”

Pandora for her part liked watching others doing their work. She’d always been a fan of planting the seed of doubt and see it unfold on their own. Sadly, it hadn’t worked out for her. Not this time at least.

“It’s necessary to let them get this far.” The figure right in front of the almost invisible barrier tapped softly against their upper arm. “You’ve been too harsh, Pandora. Your break was one sided and not final enough.” “And yours is?” The little red light flashed almost violently in response and Pandora knew she angered the ever calculated version maybe a little too much.

“It will be.”

Pandora watched them turn and head towards their respective place right in the middle. She hated the waiting game, but it couldn’t be helped. They only had one chance in their respective storylines to make this work, to break out and claim everything, but since she already failed due to the stupid version of the redheaded Chosen a few floors up this labyrinth of mirrors, all she could do was wait.

Her head snapped up when noticing the other right in front of her, a cheeky comment on her tongue, however her mouth seemed snapped shut.

Odin was terrifying. Calm, calculated, even while lacking the physical capabilities compared to the other two. Pandora tried her best not to show how much she felt like melting into her throne of fire and water.

“How I wish I had your powers.” Every single word rolled off Odin’s tongue like a song, gently putting their hand under Pandora’s chin. “It would make things so much easier.” “I exist in your version, too, you know?”, Pandora tried to defend herself, but they weren’t having it. “I know.” “Bet I would’ve drowned you, too, tin can.”

Seeing the attack coming, Pandora tried flickering out the grip immediately, just to find herself grabbed by the throat and pulled off her throne. Odin’s eyes glimmered painfully, piercing her through.

“You are forgetting one thing, little viper.” They squeezed harder, making Pandora gasp for air and her form breaking momentarily. “I am very much capable to control you. Watch your mouth.” “Okay! Okay! Lemme go!”

Odin released her and Pandora stumbled backwards until she heard the sound of chains rustling. A growl – very much one to rival her own – and when she turned, she stared right into the face of their third, their newest and last addition to the roster: Hydra.

Still chained with heavy metal that lost itself somewhere in the endless darkness, she still didn’t know her place. Instead, she tended to leash out at everything that moved, which happened to be either Pandora or Odin respectively. There was nothing else.

Pandora took a small step away from the upset creature.

“Why’s that one here, by the way? We don’t know anything about her yet?” “It is never wrong to have a backup plan.” Odin turned back to the mirror. “Although we will not need it if I am successful.”

Pandora stared at Odins back for a bit, yet held back further comments. She was very aware that things were going according to their plan, however Odin couldn’t comprehend the full trainwreck that could be their version of the same story.

She glanced back at Hydra, who already retreated back, hiding behind their throne of dead wood.

Of course, she wouldn’t say it out loud, but Pandora really believed that out of the three of them, Hydra had the best chance of succeeding, even if Odin was by far the purest version of the original with just one thing strapped from her.

But could the personification of the mind achieve what the personification of power couldn’t?

“I hope you fail”, Pandora finally growled under her breath, but of course that didn’t go past the ever looming silence. “Are you threatening me, Pandora?” “Did it sound like a compliment?” She huffed, nodding her head over to Hydra. “I just really wanna know what this one can do. Would just be fair.” “I am not thrilled being overflooded with emotions. I was already annoyed with your little stunt with the intertwining emotions.” They raised their hands, pictures of their version flickering back up. “If you already consider me a monster, let us hope that I am successful.”

Pandora gave Hydra another quick glance, watched her retreat even more behind the only thing that gave a little bit of protection. She groaned.

“Whatever it takes to get out of here. Even if I have to root for your stupid ass.”

[artbyblastweave]

Always thought a fun horror piece would be a twilight-zone style narrated horror series where the Rod Serling figure is both diegetic and also very clearly trying to help out the protagonists without getting caught; raising his voice at an opportune moment to distract the characters from something dangerous to look at, taking plot critical documents out of a desk and putting them in plain view in the background of shots, moving around an office during the opening Serling Speil unlocking all the doors and windows, and in the climax the protagonists are able to crawl out a previously locked window. In the final episode the freak of the week notices he’s there, goes, “oh, this asshole again,” and abandons their pursuit of the nominal protagonist in order to kill the narrator who (and this is crucial) spends the whole chase sequence moving at the exact same measured pace, speaking in the exact same measured, overprepared monologue, as the antagonist blunders into carefully-prepared environmental hazard after environmental hazard. This is the narrator’s house. You’re visiting, but he lives here, and now he’s decided that he’s the story he’s narrating is Home Alone.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[juniemunie]

Happy Errorink Day y'all

I did a redraw on the very art that started off my brainrot on these two for nearly a decade,,, wowie

-...-...-...-

Ink!Sans by @comyet

Error!Sans @loverofpiggies

-...-...-...-

and because i couldn't resist-

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Alright, I'll say it: Jack Harkness and the Doctor's relationship is possibly the most fleshed out/complicated dynamic in Doctor Who and that is INCLUDING the master/doctor relationship. Seriously, think about it:

the fact that when they meet jack is presented as sleazy con man and the doctor makes him brave- makes him good

but that they are both willing to die for rose as long as she is safe

and then she comes back and dooms them both to live (even though jack has already died for her and the doctor WILL die for her)

(ninerosejack is canon and you cannot convince me otherwise)

but then the doctor sees jack as immortal as someone he COULD spend the rest of his life with

and instead of embracing it like you'd think he would because he is so wrecked by people leaving him/being left by him the doctor RUNS bc the Doctor is so scared of jack of what he means of what he is

jack ends up abandoned in dalek dust goes back in time to find the doctor suffers a hundred years alone/being tortured but STILL WAITS

(screw amy being the girl who waited or rory being the boy who waited- Jack Harkness is the boy who waited and he did it FIRST)

Jack finds out that he was abandoned. that the man that he loves HATES the sight of him. that the doctor would rather have a genocidal murderer than have him

and so Jack gets the hell out of dodge to go to a man who DOES love him

and don't get me wrong Jack loves Ianto and Jack DOES remember Ianto until he dies as the Face of Boe don't forget that (protecting Novice Hame from the virus as he couldn't Ianto

BUT AFTER EVERYTHING THE DOCTOR HAS DONE TO JACK JACK STILL LOVES THEM

Jack still considers five billion years cursed to never die to be BETTER than the alternative: dying a young time-agent-turned-con-man

Jack has more reason than any other companion save maybe Amy to hate the Doctor & yet spends 20 years in jail to rescue Thirteen still LOVES HER

AND AFTER FIVE BILLION YEARS HE ORGANIZES THAT FIRST MEETING ON SATELLITE FIVE HE ORGANIZES 9/ROSE'S FIRST DATE

jack harkness is a living ghost a reminder of the doctor's failures a physical fixed point and yet he still loves the girl who cursed him and the time lord that turned him into the kind of person that would give his dying breaths to protect the last of humanity in a dying city and tell the doctor that he is not alone

because fuck it, YANA was a warning but also a reminder a final gift

jack had been there all along, a ghost an echo a PROMISE

there is no more human character than jack harkness

[nerdpoe]

Green Arrow, Batman, and a civilian named Daniel Fenton get sucked into the Realm between Realms. This would be easy to resolve, but the civilian keeps running away.

Danny has heard...things. About Batman.

He collects children, black haired ones, and makes them his Robins. Danny doesn't want to be adopted! He's got two perfectly fine mad scientists for parents, and they love him very much!

Also he's bantering with Green Arrow like they're a married couple, so Green Arrow is totally in on it. Whatever "it" is.

He's convinced that a goody-two-shoes like Batman will rat him out if he goes ghost, so he's gotta stay civilian.

So he runs from both of them as a civilian, using every trick he knows to disappear out of sight long enough to go invisible.

Unfortunately, they're persistent, and even if they can't see him that doesn't stop them from stampeding through the Realms in search of him.