#you wanted eldritch mind fuckery right?

[turojo]

« ' .. I can't stand this anymore. Even when you're not in my thoughts you're still there looking over my shoulder or at the corner of my eyesight-- '

« ' What do you want and what can I do to make you go away? Have you not taken enough from me? '

@dreamdisk

[kit-williams]

Barn Anon. In my defence, it's not yet Feb. I promise I have a happier one after this one. Wanted to explore the Warp fuckery or rather those that are "immune" to it. :)

You wanted to scream, want to grab your aunt and yell at her that she's crazy. That... thing that she's brought to the family reunion... It doesn't belong here! It's not even human, nor is it a pet like a dog or a cat. Why is everyone so calm? why is everyone smiling? Don't they see how it's armed to the teeth? Don't they see that chainsaw sword thing that it carries around with it? Doesn't anyone notice how it's sharp edges have some dried bloodstains?

You politely excuse yourself and rush out of the house to stand at the back porch. Deep breaths. In. Out. You look out at the single tree that grows at the back, the stars that dot the sky. You manage to come back down from the emotions that threatened to overwhelm you. Laughter creeps out from the house, you see that…thing acting all shy and bashful and you feel like throwing up. Does no one else see that thing for the danger it is? The majority of the world seems to be the same regardless of location or culture. You've seen the pictures and videos of people around the globe with their Space Marines and how everyone else would comment how they wish they had a Space Marine of their own. Just last week your friend was excitedly showing you a video of a guy and his Space Marine summitting some mountain together, with the guy excitedly hugging his Space Marine.

The only comfort you have is that you aren't alone. There's others that see the true danger of these Space Marines. It's a small minority and there are few spaces online that you can talk about it. This small community has a theory that Space Marines must have some form of mind control or that they plan to overthrow humanity. It didn't matter to you if you agreed to those theories, you're just relieved to find others that understand. You know you can't tell your parents, oh god no. They'll think you're crazy or worse, some sort of conspiracy theorist or extremist. You're not crazy! I-It's them that's insane, they're the ones that need help.

You open the chatroom start typing away, venting to like-minded sane individuals. You know you're right. Your family is in danger, they just can't see it yet but you can save them. They'll thank you in the end. You'll find a way to get rid of that Space Marine, somehow.

Thank you for feeding into my weird idea about how it is just a bit of warp fuckery cuz lets be honest no one would just do what the husbandry tag does unless it's some sort of warp fuckery.

Besides I'm always a lover of the Eldritch (Also you cannot tell me as a Catholic that biblically accurate angels aren't some sort of eldritch abominations straight out of Lovecraft just with more fire and feathers motif vs oceanic) and to imply something is just wrong under the surface is my jam

How can people not see that these things aren't normal?!

You do your research finding old and you mean old newspapers from the 20's and there is nothing about Astartes at all. Up until the 40's where suddenly there are pictures of them... some of them being seen in old war videos.

Some theorize that that Nazi Occultism brought them here but they are all beyond our petty conflicts as seen with the futile attempt there was to bring them into the Korean war. They only cared about their "companions". There use to be so much more uproar in papers about them but once the baby boomers were born that's suddenly when everyone was okay with them. Only the people in the Silent Generation and the GI generation were complaining about the Astartes and then suddenly their children or grandchildren were okay with them.

You continue to read as the generations went on... Gen X and Millennials saw the least amount of pushback... Millennials it was considered weird to have the opinion you have now. You run your fingers through your hair looking at the newspaper articles as you now realize that Gen z and Gen Alpha will only grow up with "positive" connotations.

Gone were the idea that only Loyalist astartes were safe to own and then it moved to include renegades and unaligned. You shudder at the thought of your cousin with a Khornite living with them. They're going to die you've tried to warn them but you worry their Astarte might know what's up... they are so much smarter. You pale seeing an old guide about a Blood Angel going into a rage... you shutter at the article.

Your parents are talking about getting one but you managed to convince them that they can get one once you move out. You read the chat and how someone's posted about how a kid was recently abducted by one... or another about how some Gen Alpha kids can even speak their language... and then the theory about bonding that seems to come up when the kids explain their space marine... oh great a wild idea that you get chosen and have no choice in the matter.

You look behind you as you make your way home late trying to desperately avoid the dark alleyways and crossing the road when you see people walking with their Astartes. You've already found out nice communities that don't allow Astartes to live there so you can get away from the madness.

[saanphoenix]

“Why do so many old-school FFVII fans think that Cloud took Zack’s memories?”

Alright, so first things first. We gotta start from the beginning. We gotta start with Jenova.

Jenova is the name given to the alien entity known as the Calamity. “Heaven’s dark harbinger.” This being, assumed to be female because of the body she was in at the Crater, was basically godlike in her natural abilities. Historically, she was able to shapeshift. She was telepathic. She had a nigh indomitable will. And she used her abilities to infect the race of human(oid)s that happened upon her crash site--the Cetra.

Now, Ifalna, within the English translation of the OG, states that Jenova turned the Cetra into monsters, nearly wiping them all out, and that the wee few that remained basically had to be sacrificed to seal Jenova away before she could do anymore damage to all life on the planet. The notes Sephiroth finds within the Shinra Mansion seem to corroborate this version of events, as he tells Zack that the Cetra chose to fight the Calamity while the other humans “hid”, thus being spared Jenova’s shenanigans, allowing them to become the dominant race on the planet, but ultimately being cowards unworthy to be the shepherds of any star, to quote Emet-Selch from FFXIV. Stay with me now.

We also know that the notes Sephiroth reads within the Shinra Mansion do not, in any way, call Jenova the Calamity. They still refer to her as a Cetra. Meaning that those notes are outdated, before the discovery of a living Cetra, a Cetra who is 2000 years removed from her own people’s history. Right? So.

(’Ah, but what about Genesis point-blank telling Sephiroth the truth? He knew what was up!’ Yes, because Hollander and Hojo found out from Gast’s recordings, and Ifalna herself, what Jenova actually was, and then Hollander told Genesis, who then said some stupid ass shit to trigger Sephiroth into looking into the wrong information, and now Nibelheim is not Nibelheim anymore and Cloud is missing one more family member than he was when he joined Shinra. Also, fuck Genesis. Anyway.)

HOJO, yeah? Hojo, in two separate novels written by Nojima himself, states to Aerith and Tseng separately that Jenova 1) will inevitably infect all life on the planet with her “cells” because of the very nature of the Lifestream and 2) turned the Cetra against each other via subtle manipulation and illusions of their loved ones, dead or alive, conceived from their own memories. She didn’t show up looking like the Eldritch horror with the eyeball nipple, she showed up looking like a run-of-the-mill Cetra. And she would further disguise herself as people a Cetra knew in order to gain their trust. And then, after she had gained that trust, she would say shit like, “Hey. Your friend over there hates you,” or, “Hey. Your friend over there wants to kill you.” And thus the Cetra, at the very least morally but probably also physically, became monsters and tore themselves apart.

You ever wonder why everything the Cetra had was booby-trapped and hidden behind riddles and self-sacrificial bullshit like their Temple? My guess is because Jenova made it so they couldn’t trust anyone, even themselves.

“Why did I read all that? What does that have to do with Cloud voring Zack’s memories?”

Because we gotta understand the mechanics of this bitch first so that we know what to look out for.

Now, we have an alien in stasis--presumed dead but definitely not--and a buncha scientists who really want a coveted spot sucking President Shinra’s dick as head of the Science Dept. who all think that taking the genetic material of a Cetra and splicing it into a modern-day human’s DNA will give them a Geiger counter to the Promised Land. Which they want to use as fuel because only some of them really understand what mako is and the others are just fucking stupid. Anyway, my guess is that they archeology their way to Jenova’s still-kinda-alive corpse and do some DNA testing and go, “Ah! We’ve found a Cetra. It has to be one! She’s by the crater, after all, and that’s where some of them were nuked by a Meteor! :) We’re geniuses!” And Jenova, in the Lifestream, went, “GOTCHA, BITCH!”

And through the power of dino DNA, out pops a lot of nonviable lifeforms, some monsters, and, eventually, a relatively normal kid with a flare for the dramatic who will become wholly obsessed with apples and very boring literature that he will insist on repeating every five goddamn seconds. As he was no Geiger counter to the Promised Land, out pops another relatively normal kid who will grow up to have dreams, and honor, and steal food from his neighbors because he was so damn honorable that he just could not ask for a handout.

With Hollander and Gillian’s experiments not producing anything of note other than children that need love and support, Hojo and Lucrecia decide to take a slightly different sample of Jenova’s cells and just start sticking them everywhere. They’re in Lucrecia. They’re in Lucrecia’s fetus. And...something strange starts to happen.

Lucrecia starts to feel the effects of Jenova. Lucrecia’s mind and body start to kind of deteriorate. Not the way that Genesis’ and Angeal’s do later on, but she is plagued by shit like severe depression and fatigue. She falls out on the floor multiple times. Her bodyguard is a little late on pulling the trigger of the gun aimed at her husband and, instead of doing anything productive about her husband proving he’s an amoral murderous fuckhead, she just decides to play doll with her kinda undead bodyguard, get even sicker, and then, finally, pops out a very strange looking baby. In fact, he looks a little alien.

“No, seriously, what does this have to do with anything?”

Genetics. How Jenova cells work. Whatever clump of cells they injected into Lucrecia, clearly different from those used in Project G, seemed to focus more on the mental fuckery aspect of Jenova than the physical, shapeshifting aspect of Jenova. I would also argue that one of the reasons Lucrecia was so adversely affected by the cells and Gillian was not is their mental well-being. Gillian, even when we meet her, seems very upbeat and doing pretty okay despite her husband having died from exhaustion a coupla years back. Lucrecia was depressed and very subservient even before she married Hojo. Losing her mentor--Vincent’s father--probably exacerbated that. And, later in Advent Children, that sort of mentality--hopelessness and despair--is what Sephiroth’s Geostigma feeds off of. That and thoughts of death/dying. But that is more speculation than anything.

So, Sephiroth’s cells are different from Genesis’ and Angeal’s, and they were all three bred differently, but they’re all kinda chimeras of Jenova’s. And once Genesis learns about his origins, it’s like the lightbulb goes off. This guy’s creating clones by infecting his 2nd and 3rd Class SOLDIERs with his own cells. And when he does that, their physical appearance becomes his own. As does their will. Whatever Genesis wants, the clones also want. And then he just grows a wing for shits and giggles. Once he tells his BFF Angeal the sitch, behold! He’s got monster clones--maybe because he realizes how fucked up overwriting a human being with yourself is--and wings, too. ...Why?

The power to do all of this shit was always there. It was genetically always there. They just had to be made aware of it, to have the puzzle piece put into place. When Sephiroth dies, that puzzle piece is put into place. And then he starts fuckin’ with shit. And turns into monstrous angels. And then dies again. And then comes back and finally grows himself his own wing. He did it, fellas. He’s a big boy now.

But we’re not here to talk about Sephiroth--ignore how much I talked about Sephiroth and his mommies previously--we’re here to talk about ZACK and CLOUD.

“What’s up with Zack and Cloud?”

First, what we must realize is that even though Hojo says that both Zack and Cloud are failed clones because they 1) didn’t take on any physical characteristics of Sephiroth, 2) didn’t seem controlled by Jenova (or Sephiroth) and, 3) didn’t exhibit the other signs of a Reunion impulse like the other clones in Nibelheim that does not mean that Sephiroth’s cells, Jenova’s cells, are not working on them.

As we’ve observed in other 1sts, abilities do not always manifest immediately or even noticeably. Clearly, Sephiroth’s physical appearance is a bit of a hint, but Genesis and Angeal look pretty damn normal and, if it weren’t for their mako injections, they probably wouldn’t be showing that much of an increase in physical capabilities. Theoretically. Maybe 10-year-old Angeal had biceps the size of a man’s head. I mean. Pff.

Zack’s tolerance to Jenova was strong due to his previous exposure in the SOLDIER program. Cloud’s mind broke pretty early on. Neither of these results matter to the fact that they both now have Sephiroth’s cells within them--just as Genesis’ and Angeal’s clones had theirs--and that their very wills are now going to be affected by Sephiroth’s. But they are also going to be a little bit like him in terms of power.

Zack’s hair, when ingested by a Genesis clone, a clone of a Type-G SOLDIER, transforms that clone into a monster. Zack doesn’t even have to do anything. The Jenova/Sephiroth cells within his body can just Do That, cause that change in another life form, of their own accord. I’m honestly shocked that, whenever they gave Zack these S-cells, HE didn’t turn into a monster. But that’s neither here nor there. I wanna talk about Cloud.

Cloud has mako poisoning, which the Remake describes as his spirit/soul being stuck between his body and the Lifestream. Weird. Anyway, he’s not fully aware of his surroundings at all times, and he clearly can’t control his body that much. He somehow has the ability to kinda get his feet shuffling, and I’m going to go on a limb and say he can chew whatever food Zack gives him, but most of the time, he’s a puppet with cut strings.

But he is also still recovering from a mind break caused by Jenova cells. The same cells that are just chilling in his body, like they are in Zack’s. And all the months Zack is dragging his ass across a continent, an ocean, and another continent, they and Cloud are listening to whatever the fuck Zack is saying. Cloud is also constantly in physical contact with Zack.

In The Kids Are Alright: A Turks Side Story, Kadaj has the power to not only read surface thoughts and memories just by being near someone, but he can also read deeper ones by making physical contact with someone. Because Jenova. And Sephiroth, whose cells Cloud and Zack have, in the OG demonstrates that he, too, can glean thoughts and memories from others. Because Jenova.

If this power is a genetic trait, as it is with Genesis and Angeal, then, sitting pretty underneath their skin, Zack and Cloud have this ability. Dormant. Snoozing. Kinda like the 1st Class Trio’s wings.

But Zack has a high tolerance and a high ignorance to Jenova and just what he might be capable of. Cloud’s mind is floating in and out at best. He’s not in control of himself. And when you have a situation like that, it is very, very easy to come to the conclusion that Cloud’s Jenova cells are passively absorbing the memories of Zack’s time in Nibelheim. That they are knitting these memories together with what little remain in Cloud’s head. That when Tifa comes across Cloud at the train station and calls him by name and remembers who he is that Cloud’s Jenova cells latch onto those memories in Tifa--as Sephiroth tells them they did--and they knit those memories with Zack’s and Cloud’s and the end result is the man we get at the beginning of the OG.

Because Cloud has visual memory of shit he never saw. It’s not just a visual medium telling a visual story. You wanna know how I know that for a fact? Because, in the Remake, Cloud remembers Sephiroth walking up to Jenova’s tank in the reactor from Sephiroth’s perspective. He is looking through Sephiroth’s eyes, through his memory, up at “Mother.” In that moment in the Remake, Cloud is Sephiroth. He’s not Cloud anymore.

Cloud sees Sephiroth delivering the speech of being an Ancient. Cloud wasn’t there. Cloud didn’t see that. Zack did. That is Zack’s memory.

The man writing the Remake is the same man who’s been at the head of MOST FFVII writing. He was on the OG, he wrote Advent Children, he wrote the novels, he wrote Crisis Core, he’s writing the Remake. He knows what these cells can do because he’s crafted this world-building for decades.

Cloud didn’t take all of Zack’s memories. He didn’t need to. Kadaj, in the novel, doesn’t glean everything from someone right off the bat. Because he doesn’t need to. Only when he needs to learn something else does he go digging. The same is probably true for what Cloud’s cells most likely did to be able to know what he knows. Hell! Kadaj gets punched in the novel and he ACCIDENTALLY picks up the emotions and memories of the guy who punched him. He didn’t want ‘em but he got ‘em!”

There is evidence within the OG, and even more within the Compilation, that lend weight to the theory that Cloud unintentionally read Zack’s mind when it came to the events of Nibelheim.

For years, people have wondered, “How the hell does Cloud know that if he wasn’t there?” For years, people have wondered, “How can he use the Buster Sword if he was just a little grunt that used a gun all the time?” The logical answer is, “Because of his Jenova cells. They can just do that shit.”

[ladyhallen]

nebula-n

Either somewhere that is completely normal, like a tea-shop or something that is completely wild, but the two of them treat like normal - like an underground fighting ring, which is just another tuesday for both of them

The case was this: there was a group of people doing a lot of kidnapping. No one knows the criteria but one, that they took strong people.

Harry didn’t like kidnappers or people who forced others in general. It just didn’t sit well with her.

Still, the Kingsley’s plan of, “Be bait,” was actually working. Walking home slowly and taking a lot of back alleys, reading a book and being the picture perfect person of oblivious.

She wasn’t surprised when they took her, but did they have to hit her so hard?

Sitting up, she winced when the ache on her stomach pitched into a throb. Fuck, but that hurt.

Looking around, she noted that it was an actual arena. Gladiator style, with cages upon cages of people and bloodstains on the floor.

People had died here, she realized with no small amount of anger. People had bled here a lot. The floor was a mess of stained blood and everywhere there was the scent of iron, of people still bleeding.

Her cage was shared with a group of other people. Most of them were angry, savagely pacing and occasionally rattling the bars. One man stood out of the entire group.

One, for how calm he was. And two, for how clean he was.

A lot of them had dirt or blood on their person somewhere, but this person…was spotless. He didn’t even have wrinkles on his clothes. He sat with that preternatural stillness of a snake, of a person who was ready to move at any given moment.

Others might have mistaken that posture for relaxation, but Harry had seen Aurors with less polished stances. She knew coiled readiness when she saw it.

Taking her courage and her curiosity at hand, she approached him.

“Excuse me,” she said politely. “Pardon me, but do you know what’s going on?”

He opened his eyes and looked it at her. It was almost like a trick of the light, but his dark eyes flashed red for a second.

“When the sponsors are ready,” he explained in a deep and calm voice. “They’re going to open the cages, and we’re going to fight to death. Whoever impresses the sponsors leaves here alive.”

Fuck.

It was worse than she thought.

Death matches. Underground fighting rings with only one person walking away.

Fuck it, it was actually an underground brawling ring, because she had no illusions that it would be a neat and tidy one on one match.

“Has anyone ever tried to leave?” she asked him, voice just as low and quiet. It wouldn’t do for anyone to hear.

He cocked his head at her. “No. There is something preventing people from leaving. Some sort of net. They can’t attack the sponsors.”

Attack was a very broad term. So many loopholes…

And something was niggling her mind about this person. There was calm and then there was calm. He was too freaking relaxed at the thought of a fight to the death.

Either he was insanely good, or he was planning something.

She tilted her head and considered him thoughtfully. Or maybe both.

“I want in whatever you’ve got,” she decided. “I have to get back to work on Monday. I can’t take too much time in this little holiday.”

He fully opened his eyes and looked at her. It felt like he was looking into her soul.

After a moment, he smiled.

.

.

Fon had gotten caught intentionally and he would bet that the very strong woman with incredible Cloud Flames was the same.

She was angry, focused and very smart. She’d taken one look at him and known he wasn’t there by accident.

He liked her. She reminded him of his old master.

When the cage doors opened, Fon darted out quickly and wasn’t surprised that she kept up with him. Even when he ran up the wall with carefully applied Storm Flames and jumped in to the sponsor balcony, she was right beside him.

The sponsors, the disgusting and vile men who ordered these matches, didn’t even blink. They weren’t afraid.

But honestly, the word attack was ridiculously broad. There were so many ways you could interpret it.

He broke the fancy chairs they were sitting on and then they started to be afraid. One woman started to tremble.

The Cloud caught on, which he knew she would. She darted forward and broke the wristband. It was the only thing identifying a person as a sponsor and it was practically unbreakable. She broke it.

Fon stared for a second, enthralled. What lovely application of Flames. Sure, he could have done it, but Storm Flames were uncontrolled disintegration. He could have accidentally disintegrated the sponsor’s hand just as well as the wristband if he moved that quickly.

“You can’t do this!” the man who had been a sponsor blubbered.

“Sure can,” the Cloud nodded. She tripped him over his ass and tossed him over her shoulder, over the balcony and down to the brawling mass of people. All of whom were no longer brawling, very much aware that something was happening.

Fon settled in front of the door, blocking it and smiling meanly.

Yes, the Cloud was scary but she was a woman. Most of them ran towards her.

The enterprising few who ran towards him were dealt with. He just had to think about targeting the wristbands and not attacking them. Because if he did, he would end up pulling his punches involuntarily.

Eugh, Mist fuckery.

He would have to ask Viper if he had any residues on him later, he didn’t want to think about that sort of order interfering with his jobs.

Fon finished, looked at the Cloud woman having so much fun tossing sponsors over her shoulder after breaking the wristbands.

He felt himself melt a little. She was so bloodthirsty, it was adorable.

When the last sponsor was done being tossed over, she went to him, flushed and smiling with glee. He resisted the urge to stroke her bloodied cheek. It would be inappropriate, he didn’t introduce himself yet.

Oh, but he wanted.

“Ah, I love doing vengeance,” she hissed, looking a bit disheveled. She fixed her hair into a braid and threw it back. “So, where’s the way out?”

He chuckled under his breath. She was so cute. He was willing to bet she was looking for the people who kidnapped her.

“Yes, I memorized the layout,” he said, appreciating the eldritch purple light in her eyes.

.

.

After everything and they were standing under the stars again, the man who’d introduced himself as Fon looked to her and said, “Monday is still four days. Want to come with me for a bit?”

The thing was, Harry shouldn’t. He was a stranger and a dangerous one.

Except, the entire time she was with him, Harry had also never felt happier, or more alive.

Sure, she loved her job and her life, but it had gotten to the point that after the Death Eater’s were hunted down and put away, it had gotten boring.

This man, she thought. He would never be boring.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“It’ll be fun,” he coaxed.

With a smile, Harry nodded and took his hand.

.

.

Harry is a bloodthirsty Cloud Lady here and Fon adores her.

[subtlereferencetomyinterests]

Something to Uplift Us

Ao3,  MasterPost

Relationships:  Romantic DLAMPR (Roman-centric, kinda Remus-centric), platonic Creativitwins!!!

Do I like this??? Meh. Is it something that I wrote? Yes. I will heal myself from SVS-R with Fluff.

Warnings: Remus Typical Nonsense, swearing, mentions of being in Quarantine, all sympathetic sides, non-sexual Pole Dancing

Word Count: 2,667 

Roman was the essence of romance and it showed. For his entire existence, he'd been well acquainted with the hypothetical. If he were his own person, if he had a prince of his own, if he had the chance at a romantic relationship, he knew what he would do. Roman knew relationships, he always had, and it had tortured him to know that he'd never have one.

Which was why it frustrated him to no end that he hadn’t been the one to ask out his fellow sides. He’d honestly never thought that it would be an option. When he first developed his feelings for the others- Virgil, Patton, Logan, Janus, in that order- he had felt nothing more than excitement. He was giddy, he was light-headed, just to know that he could feel that way. He would spend hours daydreaming, just musing over the way they made his heart stop, but he never hoped for anything to come of it. He wasn’t sad, or mournful, or pining per se- just so caught up in the joy of feelings that he forgot that he could do something with them. 

So he thought about it a lot, suffice to say. And all he had now was time to think; it was nearly month three of quarantine. Roman had wrung his brain out like a sponge for anything new to think about- The Imagination was practically turning gray! He tried to tend to it, truly he did, but it was getting harder every day. Creativity's fellow sides had all busied themselves taking up new hobbies- Virgil was teaching Patton to draw, Janus had learnt embroidery, Logan took up knitting, Remus made trash sculptures… They all seemed to be having their own little renaissance (complete with plague), and what was Roman doing? Wasting valuable free time!

  In a fit of desperation, the artistic trait dived under his large canopy bed, rummaging around until his hand caught on the lip of a cardboard box. With no small amount of effort, he pulled the enormous container out from under his bed so that it could be properly examined. There, piled high in the box, were dozens of notebooks and sketchbooks- all of which filled to the brim with writing, drawings, and poetry. Having no clue what he was specifically looking for, Roman upended the box and watched the contents crash to the floor. Something in here would surely spark his mind! Perhaps some old work would catch his eye and inspire some redraws!

The side hadn't needed to search for long. Right at the top of the pile- bright pink, its cover dotted with puffy heart stickers- sat a large, spiral-bound sketchbook. You could almost see the light bulb pop up over Roman’s head as he squealed and snatched up the sketchbook. Flopping down onto his bed, he flipped it open in one hand and placed the other against his chest. 

“Ooh, some of my best,” he cooed to no one in particular, gaze turned to the dozens of love poems surrounded by little doodles of hearts that filled the pages. This was the journal he’d confided in before the sides had all officially begun their relationship, filled with flowery prose about anything from Janus’ scales to Patton’s smile; from Logan’s laugh to Virgil’s freckles (a rare sight, usually hidden by make-up). Roman was so lost in nostalgia that when the ideas hit him, he nearly fell out of bed in excitement at his own thoughts.

Of course! He could take all of these old writings and compose them together, into one eloquent amalgam that would illustrate perfectly all those things that he’d been unable to articulate in the beginning! And it seemed only fitting that such a soliloquy be delivered in The Imagination- in the most gorgeous scenario he could fabricate! Somewhere open to a starry sky, for his left-brained loves- but it had to have ornate architecture, of course, and it had to be cozy. Oh, it was all coming together now.

Roman leapt out of bed, posing with his hand above his head and sinking deeper into The Mindscape extravagantly. He didn’t waste time looking around at the depressing half-formed scenery, sweeping his arms up and erasing the entirety of his half of The Imagination. Time to get to work.

Remus was stretched across the Commons couch, his head in Janus’ lap and feet in Logan’s. The TV hummed with whatever show they’d thrown on as background noise, and a few feet away at the counter, Patton and Virgil were hovering over some sort of scrapbook.  Nobody had the energy for conversation; nobody had the energy for anything. 

It was magnificently boring. The Duke already filled up an entire sketchbook, written half a dozen shamelessly smutty self-insert fanfictions, constructed and subsequently destroyed eldritch beings in his room, and bothered his boyfriends. So, all that was left to do was doze.

It didn’t help Remus’ tired state that Janus was running his fingers through his hair. The monotonous waking world was finally slipping away. Maybe there was something buried in his dreams that could hold his attention.

But just before sleep took hold, a white-hot energy ran through the trait’s body, jolting him so suddenly that he tumbled off of the couch and onto the floor. His arms and legs were all pins-and-needles as he looked up at his very concerned partners.

“There’s fuckery afoot!” Remus announced, wide-eyed. He pulled himself up and grinned, “You guys stay here!” 

Without so much as a good-bye, Remus threw himself into the ground, saving himself the time of sinking out properly. After a moment’s silence, Janus resumed working on his embroidery. 

“Should we go see what that was about?” Patton asked tentatively. 

“Meh,” the three other sides responded in unison. After a moment, Janus added, “It is Remus, after all.”

Roman’s structure was coming together beautifully! Wide marble columns rose up and held aloft the glimmering silver ceiling, the middle of which was a sky-light open to thousands of stars and a brilliant full moon. Surrounding the opening was a spiral of stone roof- through the gaps of which even more astronomically accurate stars shone!

The inside of the building consisted of an immense mahogany stage, currently cloaked by thick velvet curtains and overlooking plenty of seats. Rather than traditional theater rows, Roman had arranged the seating like lovely cafe tables, all of which were given generous space from each other (Except for two at the very front, of course). Lanterns hung from the walls, casting the space in warm lighting. Creativity currently stood at the very back, thinking that it could use just a little more of something. With a smirk, the side snapped his fingers and the wall of the room was pushed backwards several yards. With a few more flicks of the wrist and dividing columns, a little lobby was formed. 

He’d given the theater room maroon carpeting and rich gray walls, but the new back section needed brighter lighting and a more cream-canary color scheme. Now he could just finish the decor!

Or he would have, if not for the fact that at that moment someone crashed into his ribs with all the grace of a flaming motorbike. 

“BRO!!!”

“ACK-!” was all Roman managed, as all the wind was knocked out of him. He glared up at his brother, who was sitting on his chest. 

“I knew you were up to something! You wiped half of the whole fucking Imagination! What is this!?” 

Roman wheezed, pushed Remus off of his chest, and finally pulled himself off the ground to catch his breath. His brother was spinning around the room already, eyes sparkling as he took in the building.

“I had to blank it, I needed my full focus,” Roman explained, back to work and filling the back wall with tall bookshelves, “and it’s a surprise, so don’t tell the others.”

“Oh, I won’t. Provided you let me in on whatever this is,” Remus had an ear-to-ear grin, bouncing on the balls of his feet. After a moment’s consideration, Roman hummed.

“I’m doing something nice for our boyfriends. I think we all could use a little pick-me-up, so do not ruin this!”

“I wanna do something nice for them! Lemme help!” 

“You don’t even know what it’s for! Plus, it’s personal!”

“I already asked what it was for, Stupid.”

Roman huffed.

“I wrote them something. Hence the stage.”

“So, what, you’re gonna bring them all into your fancy library-opera for your poetry orgy and I sit in a corner somewhere and be quiet?”

“Ideally.”

“Not a chance, Whore!” Remus swung himself up onto the concession stand that Roman had just created, tearing into a box of candy (food made in The Imagination always tasted weirder than food or ingredients they conjured elsewhere in the Mindscape, but he didn’t particularly mind). 

“Fine. What do you want to do?” Roman challenged, hands on his hips.

“I. Want. To. Help.”

Roman raised his eyebrows doubtfully. Grumbling, his twin started gesturing around the room as he spoke.

“The stars are too bright, they take the focus away from the stage instead of accenting it. The color of the curtains are too similar to the carpet. You’ve got Corinthian shit in there and bookstore lobby vibes in here, which is garbage and inconsistent.”

Roman blinked, his eyes following along with Remus’ criticism. 

“Hm. You have a point.”

“I’m Creativity too, you know. I have some taste.” The Duke said, gnawing on the cardboard box that had contained Imagination Candy moments before. 

“You’re wearing crocs and jorts, simultaneously.”

Remus waved his hand dismissively, hopping off the counter and rushing across the room.

“Whatever. Come on, I’ve got an idea how I can accompany your performance, too.”

“Oh, goody.”

Hours had past and little had changed in the Mindscape living room- Virgil and Patton had finished up their scrapbooking and were curled up together in an armchair, so Logan was sitting at the counter space previously occupied by the two and clacking away on his laptop, and Janus hadn’t moved. The muddled energy of the room had remained pervasive.

That was, until the door to the imagination slammed open, the doorknob cracking against the wall. Four heads shot up to see Remus and Roman, standing side-by-side (quite looking the part of identical twins, matching smiles and all). 

“Oh god,” Janus groaned instinctively, carefully setting his embroidery on a side table, “What did you two do?”

“Yeah, I don’t trust that look,” Virgil said.

The twins scoffed in mock-offense, continuing their odd coordination.

“We try to do something nice,” exclaimed Remus.

“And not so much as a ‘thank you,’” added Roman solemnly. Eyes were rolled, but Patton perked up considerably (just as planned). 

“Ooo, what are you talking about?” 

“It’s a surprise!” Said The Duke, bouncing up and down. Creativity Prime gave a sweeping motion to indicate the still-open door to the Imagination, which had been steadily seeping into the common room with a bright new energy that it had been lacking for days. 

“Follow us,” he instructed, disappearing through the door once more with Remus at his back. Patton bounced after them immediately, grinning. 

The three left-brained sides exchanged glances, shrugged, and followed suit. 

The twins were backstage in an instant, trusting their partners to figure out where their seats were on their own. Roman began pacing around as soon as they finished warming up. 

“Are you sure you can do this? I’m still not sure if your performance is well-suited to acoustic guitar-”

He was cut off by Remus groaning exaggeratedly.

“I can work with anything, bitch.” 

“Right, right,” There was a beat. “You’re sure you’re ready?”

“I’ve been ready. What’s going on with you?”

Rather than responding, Roman did another lap around the stage. 

“C’mon! Stop pacing before I take a bonesaw to your legs!”

“Okay! Alright! I’m ready!”

Before Remus could come up with any more gruesome threats, Roman snapped his fingers and the curtains began to rise. He took his place half-sitting on a stool up front, a guitar in his arms. Behind him, Remus stood between two sturdy metal poles that rose from the stage and into the ceiling. You can already see where this is going.

When the stage was fully revealed, the lights above the audience dimmed. Figuring that the show would be rather awkward if said audience consisted of four people, the Creativities had The Imagination render dozens of prop-people. They moved and acted like a crowd of humans, but each individual was too vague to focus on for long. Thus it was made very clear where their fellow sides were, sitting right up front with a wide array of expressions from amazed to amused to bewildered.

Roman took a moment to steel himself and then began playing. Originally, he’d planned on spoken-word for his loves, but traditionally there is music involved in pole-dancing, so he’d made a few adjustments in order for Remus to be able to contribute. 

Roman started singing, melting as the gazes of the real audience members turned awestruck (and also very flushed, likely from whatever surprisingly impressive poses his brother was pulling behind him). He liked to think that he poured his heart out into every performance, but for this one it felt quite literal. 

Roman’s voice picked up gradually, and he could vaguely hear metal clanging behind him. It went on like that for a good few minutes- because if there was one thing the Twins weren’t, it was brief- before the show finally concluded. Roman stalled for a moment as both the imaginary and real components of the audience applauded uproariously. Remus swung down from the pole and hopped over to him.

“We bow now, Dumbass,” he hissed, noticeably out of breath.

“Oh- right.”

They took hands and took a couple bows as the clapping died down, standing back up with wide grins and red faces. 

As soon as the auditorium was relatively silent, Patton rushed the stage. He outstretched his arms and hopped up and down excitedly.

“Lemme up!” 

Roman grabbed his hands and pulled him on stage while Remus was still attempting to catch his breath. Morality leaned down to give The Prince a brief kiss, and then bounced over to the much more exhausted half of the act to give him the same treatment. He was grinning so wide that it looked painful, his face a bright pink. The Duke wore a matching expression, but the smile was much more unnatural in that preferred way of his.

“So you liked it?”

Rather than verbally responding, Patton grabbed the hands of both Creativities and made a cheerful ribbiting sound.

“It was wonderful,” Logan supplied, climbing the stairs on the side of the stage to meet them, Virgil and Janus right behind him. He was much less outwardly enthusiastic as the other spectacled side, but no less appreciative.

“Yeah, did you guys put all this together today?” Virgil asked, throwing an arm around Roman’s shoulders. 

“What else did we have to do?” Remus answered with a shrug. 

“Good point.”

Janus cleared his throat lightly, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. His eyes were noticeably rimmed with redness, a small smile on his face as he outstretched all of his arms.

“Here, all of you, now.”

Patton cooed.

“Group hug!” 

Fitting six people into one hug may seem awkward, but it always seemed to work out for the sides. At least, Roman thought so. Virgil would fake exasperation at the affection, but they could all tell he loved it. Logan would try to maintain his dignity and fail miserably. Patton was a ball of warmth and energy that seeped into the rest of them. Janus was by far the best at giving hugs, though it could be considered cheating to have extra limbs.

At that moment it hit Roman that, perhaps he hadn’t started this relationship, but he was still a part of it. And that was all he could ever want.

These    Performances    inspired Remus’. They are oddly calming to watch, and super impressive!

@shrimp-crockpot

[novastarlyght]

More things I loved about Ralph Breaks the Internet

-Sonic continuing to be The Exposition Guy™

-Felix calling Calhoun “Tammy” and how they’re just the most adorable and perfect couple ever

-”Look, I know you’ve been married six years and you wanna spice things up a little but adopting 15 children is the wrong kind of spice!” 

-The Sugar Rush racers being acknowledged as terrible brats even 6 years after their memories have been restored, meaning that was always a part of their personalities/programming regardless of King Candy’s meddling

-HOW ALL THE INTERNET AND WEBSITE BASED JOKES ARE ACTUALLY EXTREMELY CLEVER AND FUNNY

-KnowsMore making me feel guilty I never thank Google when I search for something

-Also KnowsMore in general? Seriously what a cutie?? Sweet grouchy purple boy who deserves love.... (though I wish Vanellope had said he sounded familiar or something... bit of a missed opportunity)

-Spamley, basically an anthropomorphic pop-up ad, being portrayed sort of sympathetically. He’s obviously involved with some shady stuff, but at the same time it’s made clear he isn’t really a bad person.

-I have had Gord for 5 minutes but if anything happened to him I would kill everyone in this room and then myself. Smol and pure noodle arm baby, I will protect him, I want to see him grow up healthy, I will tell my friends and neighbors about him

-Just how dang positive and chill Shank and her crew are despite being from a game that’s basically a combination of GTA and Saints Row if it was programmed by Nyarlathotep (and what’s funny is they remind me of a couple of my OCs that were inspired by the first WIR who also happen to be a street racing gang), and just like all the games made up for the original I would totally play the hell out of Slaughter Race if it were a real game

-YESSS, MY QUEEN, MY PERFECT BEAUTIFUL WIFE PLEASE LET ME MARRY YOU AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR AMAZING OUTFITS❤️ I wouldn’t mind a three-way with your assistant in the bowtie in suspenders either

-The fact every single viral video that Ralph makes absolutely would become a meme and you fucking know it, like I’m legit a little bit terrified at how well the filmmakers understand the internet

-The entire Oh My Disney sequence, from the baby Groot AMA to the Stan Lee cameo (*clutches heart*) to Vanellope and the princesses. The 1960s Batman style scene transition to them all wearing casual clothes MURDERED ME. Also the fact they made Merida’s dialogue even MORE unintelligible than what’s in the trailer.

-How the movie actually says word-for-word “First rule of the internet: Don’t read the comments.”

-Double Dan’s voice??? Because “Slimy British gangster” was the absolute last thing I expected the Globgogabgalab’s evil twin to sound like. Thanks, Alfred Molina?????

-The part where Ralph is looking for something amidst a bunch of rubble and ruin and it takes a moment before you realize this is the remains of now defunct websites, including a destroyed sign for Geocities.

MORE SPOILERY THINGS AHEAD UNDER THE READ MORE

-That this movie really has no villain and ESPECIALLY no “twist villain” except for the characters’ own personal issues and insecurities. While there are extrapersonal stakes initially with the need to get the wheel for Sugar Rush or it gets unplugged, that’s basically resolved by the final act and traded in for a conflict caused by Ralph’s own need to grow as a person and let Vanellope pursue a new direction in her life without fear of losing her.

-VANELLOPE’S ENTIRE MUSICAL NUMBER WHICH I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE WAS REAL, RIGHT DOWN TO ALAN MENKEN COMPOSING THE SONG. Disney hasn’t parodied themselves that hard since Enchanted

-NIGHT OF THE LIVING RALPHS?? FOLLOWED BY GIANT RALPH??? MADE OUT OF THOUSANDS OF SMALLER RALPHS?!?!?! WHICH THEN CLIMBS THE GOOGLE BUILDING LIKE IT’S FUCKING KING KONG HOLY MOTHER OF PONG WHAT A CLIMAX!!!!!!

-the goddamn 4th dimensional meta fuckery of the mid-credits scene like. were they originally gonna cut the scene but then decided to keep it in by reincorporating it like that? or was it planned like from the very beginning??? I NEED TO UNDERSTAND SO I CAN GET ON THE UNNERVINGLY ELDRITCH LEVEL OF THESE FILMMAKERS

-the post-credits scene. just. the fucking post-credits scene. FROZEN 2 PREVIEW!?!? JK YOU GOT RALPHROLLED BITCH!!!!! ps I actually really want a full version of john c. reilly singing never gonna give you up

[terramythos]

Now that I am finally through the 12 book odyssey that was catching up/rereading the October Daye series here's a post of my general thoughts. (ADVANCED spoilers. Like I don’t hold anything back, lol). 

A. Just for fun, my favorite books tended to be the ones where shit (especially Lore Shit) went down in a Really Big Way. My top 5 for that...  

1. The Winter Long (#8). I don’t think you can beat this one in sheer fuckery. Two MAJOR twists that basically change everything up to this point in the series, and they’re both dropped pretty casually. One, Simon Torquill is maybe not as evil as previously thought? and is also Toby’s step-dad? Whoops? And number two-- fucking EVENING, the fucking throwaway character killed in book one-- isn’t even dead AND she’s a fucking Firstborn and also a total piece of shit. God. It was a ride re-reading book one because there are so many hints (my favorite line: “no one knew her true face” YEAH OCTOBER, YOU SURE AREN’T WRONG). I pointed it out but even the Shakespeare quotes of books 1 and 8 foreshadow this shit. That in particular was 999-level fuckery. 

2. The Brightest Fell (#11). I was not expecting this book to gut punch me so hard. Like, everything goes to shit, obviously, and the consequences of that stretch well into the next book. But then to give Simon a genuine redemption arc, to invest in that so emotionally, and somehow find a way to end it in a WORSE way than him just dying? That stuck with me. I was so fucking upset I just couldn’t do anything of value for like a day. So that’s how you know it’s good I guess! :D 

3. An Artificial Night (#3). God what do you even say about this one. It’s where shit really starts getting real for the whole series. It’s creepy and more fantastical than the first few books and you learn more about The Firstborn and what they’re capable of. There’s a lot that’s just viscerally traumatic too. Literal children being twisted into horrific monsters. And if I’m right, I think the whole series is going to loop back to this one in a big way. There are so many... mentions and (dare I say) hints dropping even now about Blind Michael.  

4. One Salt Sea (#5). I mean, a lot of stuff happens in this one that ultimately ties into book 12, but a really major character gets killed off, Rayseline is taken out of commission, the Undersea gets introduced, and you learn what the hell is up with the Selkies. I really truly believe the epilogue chapter of this one is some of the best writing in the series, it’s so well put together and has such great beats. Idk like it was a tossup between this one and Ashes of Honor (#7), but while the latter had some of my favorite bits I think this one had a lot more. 

5. Night and Silence (#12). Maybe it’s cause it’s the most recent one and the most fresh in my mind, but DAMN. Kinda like The Winter Long this one had two big twists, and while they weren’t as major they really defined the book. The whole Janet thing I really and truly did not see coming and has some BIG implications for everything we know. Amandine’s a changeling! What the fuck! Gillian being very decisively rewritten into the series (and turned into a Selkie) was ALSO not something I saw coming in any way, shape, or form. This one really fired me up wondering where things are going next. 

B. I mentioned it but GOD the Simon thing made me so viscerally upset! I don’t think I’ve run into a series that approached a redemption arc that way. You take a character who’s pretty much evil, then start making it way more gray. Was he a bad guy? Yeah... but he had a reasonable motive. Is he still a bad guy? Yeah kinda, but he seems to genuinely want to change, and actually assists the heroes without ulterior motive. OK, so then he comes  back a few books later as the deuteragonist and gets a whole lot of character development, and he starts to improve. You even get a concrete indicator that the horrible shit that corrupted him is going away. And then, when he ultimately reaches his goals? He’s forced to give it all away, to turn back into the monster he’d been, in order to do the right thing. Fucking unreal. I’m fully aware this is to make the whole “finding Oberon” stakes more personal but it hurt, man! 

C. My vampire crack theory is pretty much dead, so rest in peace, that.

D. OK so what is with the month names? Seriously. You can explain it away a little bit with the whole “fae like to honor people but don’t like to reuse names” shit but there’s absolutely no way it’s that simple. They’re all female characters who are related, however slightly, to the Torquills. I made that observation pre-book 8, but dismissed it because Toby wasn’t technically related to them. ONLY AS OF BOOK 8 SHE IS, SO CHECKMATE. THERE’S SOMETHING HAPPENING, DAMN IT. Anyway I like making lists, so... 

1. January -- January O’Leary, She’s September’s daughter, and she gets killed off in book 2. This might be enough for me to dismiss the month name thing except the epilogue of 11 brings her Back to Fucking Life, so honestly all bets are off imo, she was absolutely brought back for a reason. 

2. February -- no one.. yet. 

3. March -- no one.. yet. 

4. April -- April O’Leary, January’s adopted daughter. She’s a cyber-Dryad and we see her perspective briefly when January gets resurrected. I’m not sure what else to say about her in relation to this? 

5. May -- May Daye, October’s blood clone (basically). I mean, her whole existence is pretty weird. You could make the argument her name is just a coincidence (she was once a night haunt named Mai), but there’s absolutely no way I’m buying that. 

6. June -- no one.. yet. 

7. July -- Gillian Marks-Daye. October’s daughter. I mean. I was going to say “no one”, but she just got decisively re-written into the series. “Gillian” is the feminine form of “Julius”. I’m pretty sure she’s supposed to be the dark-horse contender for this slot. No way that’s a coincidence. 

8. August -- August...Torquill? She’s Simon’s biological daughter and Toby’s half-sister, so.... She was ALSO introduced pretty late, unlike most of these entries, so I am still convinced this is A Thing. 

9. September -- September Torquill. She’s Simon and Sylvester’s sister. Also like, decisively dead I think. She hasn’t shown up in the main series (only mentioned), but I think she shows up more in the short stories? I don’t know enough about her to say much. 

10. October -- October “Toby” Daye. Like. That’s the name of the series. She’s the main protagonist, dawg. She’s Simon’s step-daughter. What more do you want from me. 

11. November -- no one.. yet. 

12. December -- no one.. yet. 

E. So where is the series going? Obviously next book is about The Luidaeg finally calling in the Selkies’ blood debt or whatever, which we knew was coming for a long time. But #12 just made that way more personal with the whole Gillian thing. I have no idea what’s going to happen with that. Beyond that? There are some loose ends here and there, but the big thing is Oberon coming back. That’s pretty much a given. If I’m right, I think the consequences of Book 3 are going to start showing soon, but idk if it will be in relation to that or not. I’m sure she can come up with way more to put into the series (maybe a book around Toby and Tybalt getting married? SOMETHING THAT EXPLAINS THE MONTH NAMES???), but that’s all that’s really evident to me. 

F. So, the characters. They’re probably my favorite bit of the series. The Luidaeg and Tybalt are undoubtedly my faves, but I’ve really enjoyed seeing how Toby, Quentin, and May have grown over the course of the series. I know I mentioned this previously, but I really like how the series’ initial allies end up... not being allies, so much-- whether by getting killed off or severely disappointing Toby. Sylvester, Evening, Luna, Lily, and Connor all pretty much disappear or greatly alter their role in the story. 

Yet the main cast, the “found family” the series focuses on? Pretty much none of them started out even liking each other that much. Quentin is a snotty noble kid, Tybalt is straight up an antagonist who HATES Toby, The Luidaeg is just plain terrifying, and May is some bizarre doppleganger that (seems to) randomly show up. Yet over time they’ve forged into such a strong and really likeable crew. Idk, it really gives me the feeling that it’s not just FOUND family, but EARNED family, and I really like that. 

G. While we’re discussing characters, I want to talk about The Luidaeg in particular. 

I think she’s probably one of my favorite characters of all time. That’s a high bar but she is just so damn INTERESTING. Morally gray for sure, but not in a traditional way. 

Like, she clearly has her own agenda. She’s probably the oldest character in the series, and she’s fucking terrifying. People use her name to warn their kids at night. We see samples of her powers and the things she knows, and she’s basically a walking eldritch horror. A great deal of the series is her calling in and collecting debts from the main characters so she can use them for one purpose or another. She’s the fucking sea witch. Right? 

Except... the series humanizes her so much. She is clearly kind and compassionate and does her best to hide it. While she initially intimidates the main characters, Toby gradually realizes she’s lonely and seems to enjoy their company. Every single bit of her backstory you get adds more context to her behavior. She’s protective of children because hers were slaughtered like animals. She speaks in riddles because there are so many things she’s forbidden to say. She asks for terrible prices because she HAS to help anyone who will ask her to, and there are certain things she doesn’t want to do (and often, it’s because said things would harm others). This is also why she’s so standoffish and avoidant of others-- because they take advantage of her. Despite all the horrible shit that’s happened to her, she still does her best to be kind and do the right thing. And her ultimate goal, I feel, must be a good one. That’s the only thing that makes sense to me. 

There’s more. A lot of what she does is clearly calculated to achieve a particular result. She mostly shows kindness to certain members of the main cast (Toby and Quentin in particular) and very few others. It’s always interesting to see how she interacts with other characters, because it closely mirrors her initial behavior. Yet even then you see little things, like how she took in Poppy as an apprentice. One of the few times you get her perspective, it’s when she realizes Amandine is abusing and literally killing child!October, and you see how horrified she is, enough that she steps in and puts a stop to it. Does she have a use for Toby down the line? Yeah, obviously, but it doesn’t mean she didn’t do the right thing for the right reasons. I suppose it’s possible she’s just manipulating everyone, but the stories like that and her blood memories make me feel otherwise. Also, the amount of human profanity she uses is pretty funny, since so few characters use it. 

Honestly this may seem like an odd comparison but she reminds me of Akane from Zero Escape. She’s playing the long con, and a lot of what she does seems strange and mysterious until you get more context. And she clearly has some ultimate goal she’s working toward (probably something to do with finding Oberon), but we won’t really know what that means until it happens. It’s probably going to be an emotional rollercoaster. 

There’s more to her than that, but I find it hard to articulate. I just really like her! Pretty much every scene she shows up in is interesting, because she has intriguing lore, dialogue, or insights. She’s almost certainly a big focus in the next book and I don’t know if that means I’ll love her or hate her at the end, lol. 

H. Much shorter note, but Toby/Tybalt? How DARE you make me care about a M/F ship THIS MUCH. They’re just so good. The ultimate slow burn Enemies to Grudging Allies to Friends to Lovers. It’s such a ride and a treat to read. Their early interactions are fucking hilarious on a reread. And I find myself caring so much about what happens to them. 

I. I think this is my last point, but I REALLY appreciated the LGBT rep in the series. There’s obvious stuff like “all the fae are bi unless stated otherwise”, but there’s a really good amount of overt rep. May’s a lesbian, Madden’s gay, Quentin’s bi, and no one bats an eye. It’s AWESOME. Also, making Walther (a certified badass and cool character) a trans man was just wonderful. The fact that he goes on right after the reveal to do one of the biggest Lore things (curing motherfucking elf-shot) is the best. I really like Walther and we need more characters like him. 

I’m probably missing SOMETHING, but idk. These were my main thoughts on the series as a whole. I’m interested to see where things go. 

[wahbegan]

Okay Non-Spoiler Review

So I am gonna put this under a cut because it might get a bit long but yeah i’ll keep it spoiler-free and if you’ve been following my liveblogging of it i am gonna just re-iterate bits of old text posts during this so ye

So The Haunting of Hill House was fucking amazing. Let’s get this out of the way first though: If you come in looking for an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel or the ‘63 film, you’re going to be disappointed. Or the ‘99 film, but if you want an adaptation of that, you’re a monster and may God have mercy on your soul.

Characters share names, very famous scenes are referenced, the opening line of the book is quoted almost verbatim and re-visited at the end with a twist like the film (although not the same twist but i shan’t spoil), and it involves psychic characters in a haunted house. That’s about it, though.

This story focuses on the Crain family, who were the spooky background story family in the OG, and completely changes their mythos as well. So the characters are all related, they live there as kids and don’t actually go back as adults until just about the end, and it’s dealing with their grief and trauma and dysfunction that drives them, not any kind of experiment in the supernatural.

No, what this show has much more in common with is Oculus. I know I’ve said this repeatedly but I can’t stress it enough. The Haunting of Hill House literally has more in common with Oculus than it does with the novel it takes inspiration from. Similar cinematography, similar style ghosts, same flipping between past and present, similar eldritch abomination disguised as inanimate thing villain fucking with perceptions of time and reality...The Haunting of Hill House really is more a re-imagining of Oculus than a re-imagining of The Haunting of Hill House.

Now that’s all just to address people’s expectations, though. Once again, if I had expected a re-imagining of Oculus, I wouldn’t have said no, because Oculus was the big dog’s biscuit. For those not in the know, it’s about a brother and sister whose parents went crazy when they were kids, their dad killed their mom, and then the little brother had to kill the dad in self-defense. He’s spent years in a mental hospital and chalked everything up to mental illness and an evil father, while his older sister is convinced the mirror they had just purchased was evil and drove their parents to do what they did. Zombie ghosts with glowing white eyes and mind-fuckery ensue. If you’re reading this after starting or even finishing THOHH, you may perhaps notice that sounds awfully familiar. 

Oculus was actually an expansion of/improvement on a short film Mike Flanagan made, which you can find on youtube. I’d argue THOHH is an analogous expansion of/improvement on Oculus.

The thing with Oculus is it had problems. Because of the power of the mirror, basically from the moment they enter their old house until the end of the movie, the thing’s illusions are so strong that there is no way of knowing what’s really happening. Audiences complained that it’s hard to get invested in a plot when you’re not sure how much of the plot is actually happening or when it’s happening, in the past or present. Flashbacks and the present narrative blended together in very artistic and jarring ways, but some people found it too jarring, hard to keep track of, nonsensical. Additionally, things were a bit rushed, and there wasn’t enough room for Flanagan to really let some of his more complex concepts for the plot and the scares breathe. 

Thankfully, in THOHH, Flanagan seems to have really actually taken those critiques to heart. There are characters largely unaffected by what’s going on, and the sequence of events never truly gets cluster-fucked. It’s a much more coherent narrative. In Oculus, a big complaint was things were too muddled to tell if the rug was actually being pulled out from under you and where the rug was to begin with and whether there was a rug in the first place. There is no fucking question in Hill House. 

Additionally, the 10-episode set-up means that he can go absolutely wild with everything he wants to do, and it fucking shows.

In Oculus, one of the most disturbing scares was a brief flicker on the TV. A split instant that showed the adult sister, mouth open and dripping blood, dead and vacant stare in her eyes, for less than a second. On the TV the younger brother was watching as a child in the past. It was truly unnerving. Something similar happens when they pass the cameras at one point that they’re using to record the mirror, just showing creepy pictures of her face. But those are the only two really good easter egg background scares that could fit in that movie. There was much more right up in your face.

Not so in Hill House. Hidden ghosts and unsettling details are EVERYWHERE. Not even just the now-famous easter egg ghosts. There are also obvious ghosts in the background that seem like jump scares waiting to happen....that don’t. There are small details that change, people walking past in the background of a hallway silently, statues that turn their heads to face a character without anyone noticing it in-show. The tension is masterfully built. There are scenes that you don’t even fucking realize are scary until you see something later that completely re-contextualizes it.

It also expands on the driving concept behind Oculus, family trauma and the repeating cycle of mental illness, which wasn’t as well explored there as Flanagan clearly wanted to. But here? In all its 10 episode glory, with each child’s trauma and resulting psychological issues getting full spotlight for an hour? 

It hits you hard. Flanagan’s concepts are fully realized. You get to intimately see what their childhoods have done to these characters, how history repeats itself (sometimes literally), how the ghosts-if you’ll pardon the pun-of the past drag the living of the present down. Not only that, he expands the themes he worked with in Oculus to include some downright Pet Sematary-style shit about loss, grief, and what meaning can be gleaned from death. It’s oppressively heavy, and the scares and the sadness interweave in beautiful ways. The end of one episode, which sees a maimed, anguished, silently screaming ghost standing by her own corpse, completely invisible to the assembled mourners, is both an absolutely haunting visual and an existential punch to the gut. A lot of the show is like that.

Of course this wouldn’t work if you weren’t invested in the people, but they managed to hit another home run on the characterization front. Every single character of any importance in this show is sympathetic to some degree, and even if you don’t like them, you understand why they are the way that they are. The actors are mainly relative unknowns, but i’ll be god damned if they don’t breathe life into these people. There’s also Carla Gugino who....you know. Is Carla fucking Gugino.

You can tell love and care has been put into this show. Small details almost always become important, I’m sure if I went back through with a fine-toothed comb for a second viewing, I would find a downright Edgar Wright level of foreshadowing in the earlier episodes. 

There were some questions I think I still have, maybe they’d be cleared up with a second viewing, and I do want to watch this show again. I had some issues with the ending which I won’t get into here, and the show absolutely isn’t above a jump scare or six. They’re never cheap though, either coming at the end of a truly tense scene or so insanely unconventional and out-of-left-field (Anyone who’s seen Episode 8 knows what i’m talking about) that it’s noteworthy in and of itself.

Overall, it plays out like a very intense and emotionally effective family drama about trauma, grief, sickness, death, dysfunction, and love with heavy horror elements. You’ll go half an episode without any horror sometimes, making it all the more jarring when it does rear its zombified, dead-white eyed head again. This isn’t to say that the tone isn’t cohesive, like i said before, it absolutely makes it mesh together. 

And yes, I did say love up there. I want to pause for a moment to tell you that all hope is not lost in this show. There are genuine moments of humor, heartwarming, and love. Yes, most of them are at best bittersweet and at worst setting you up for a cold, black sucker-punch to the heart, but it’s not all darkness and fear and death. This show has heart.

I honestly can’t say enough good things about The Haunting of Hill House. The family dynamic was realistic as hell, the characters were complex, the scares and tension were masterfully executed, the themes were intelligent, the cinematography beautiful, I cannot recommend this show enough to anyone with even a passing interest in horror.

[totallyrealhoroscopesdaily]

1/10/2018 Horoscope

Aries: You aren’t angry. You aren’t really sure why, you kind of wish you still were. It was easier than whatever you’re feeling now. But each time you try to resummon that burning fire, it’s doused before it can light by the same thing that made you crack your phone screen. You aren’t really sure what you’re feeling, but it’s cold and choking. 

Taurus: The flamingos from the zoo have formed a biker gang, complete with black leather jackets. You actually had nothing to do with that, for real this time, and you’re kind of loving it. They apparently watched an old movie and decided that was the life they wanted and also that they were going to try to ride to Kentucky. It’s actually making you giggle as you wave goodbye with an overzealous otter and an emotional hippo.

Gemini: The owl is off taking care of all your kingly duties for you. You and Frederick are on the couch, waving to the traffic that has to go around you. You’re surprised they haven’t moved this couch yet. The weasel comes walking up to you, somehow not getting hit by any cars, and there’s a minute of an awkward stare off. You shrug Frederick to the side, then gesture the weasel up. More company is always welcome on the traffic couch. The weasel takes your invitation.

Cancer: Ridali crashed at your place. He was oddly hesitant to do so, like he thought you wouldn’t let him, but you’ve let him stay over before, so why...? Anyway, you wake up to the expected smell of cooking food. It’s scrambled eggs and Ridali has put catsup on his. You do the same, it’s very good. Ridali announces that you need to go grocery shopping. You ask when you two are going to do so, and he freezes. You tell him that he’s the only one who really cooks in this kitchen, so he’d know what to get and you really, really don’t. He bounces back and enthusiastically starts planning your Shopping Adventure™. Its a bit more in-sync with the Ridali you know.

Leo: Fira is back, but instead of shouting your usual trash talk across the square, you walk straight up to her and warn her that your neighbors are planning something, and they won’t tell you what it is, but it’s probably something devious. Fira is very obviously amused, but she doesn’t know Mrs. and Mrs. Nice like you do. She thanks you for the warning anyway, even if it feels a bit mocking. She’s still not at 100%, so you try to stick close by for the day. Neither of you will say it, but she’s grateful and you’re relieved.

Virgo: You try to be more open this time around. It shows. You still don’t say much, but you do manage to actually tell her a part of the problem, your complete lack of energy. She’s very happy that you brought your box. She gives you some papers to put in it. You set up another appointment with her, it’s for the 17th. She gives you some homework, she wants you to think about why you have no energy, is there a reason? If you’re comfortable with it, she’d like you to write it down, in a journal or on a spare sheet of paper. You’re still very uncomfortable and it shows.

Libra: The tiny Belief Shaper is dropped off today. You make eye contact with Lambab and have an idea of what the unidentifiable being was suggesting. One way to find out.

Scorpio: It wasn’t that exciting, but it does make for a nice story. Enough of that, though, you should eat, it’s past time for dinner. You need to eat, humans need to eat daily to stay healthy. 

Sagittarius: You wake up and the first thing you see is the giant eye staring straight at you. You flail, shriek, and fall out of bed. The eye blinks. You pause, look around. You’re in your bedroom. You’re in your bedroom? Why are you in your bedroom? You were just having tea with a probably-eldritch old woman in a probably-eldritch location, how in the fuck...? Okay, wait a second, did the eye fucking blink? The eye can’t blink! Why did it blink, how did it blink?! You don’t trust this one bit, there is some sort of fuckery going on. You try to slowly edge to and out the door, but when you try to turn the handle, it won’t budge. You tear your eyes away from the eye and focus on the handle, because what. You try again. No dice. So that’s how it is? Another try, another failure. That’s how it is. You slump against the door. Yeah, pretty sure this is some sort of eldritch location, that’s basically confirmed. The eye stares.

Capricorn: You think this could work? It’s got a pretty good chance, at least. You get very close to wanting to be able to read the script concerning Aiden. You think you have to ask him before you can go any further. You haven’t been genuinely nervous in years, you didn’t miss the feeling.

Aquarius: You are wearing one hell of an outfit. Your favorite sweater, the redder than red one that doesn’t quite fit right, your favorite pants, the eye-wateringly orange ones with the multi-purple polka dots, with your hat and mittens, which somehow match your pants, and all topped off with your overly long, grass green scarf. It’s warm and you like it. Suzy about swallows her tongue when she sees you, shoulders shaking. She disappears into the back for a while, and you continue with your exercise routine on your own. She comes back, having found her composure somewhere in the back, when you’re finishing up, big smile on her face. She asks what you’re wearing, voice lilting in an odd way. You think she was laughing at you, but you’re not sure. You tell her what you’re wearing. The sweater that was given out of worry and was how you met Linda, the pants you bought out of spite when you were overwhelmed with choices, the mittens and the hat that Linda made with you in mind and managed to do the impossible with and match your pants, and the scarf you made with your own two hand that you were obnoxiously proud of and how new pride is. You talk for a long time, it’s probably the most you’ve ever said to her, but these are important to you. You somehow even work your way around to mentioning the piece of candy, the first gift you can remember being given. As you speak, the spark of amusement in her eyes softens into something else. Care? Affection? You think there’s at least a little bit of worry, or something sad in there, but you’re too out of practice reading others that you can’t be sure. You finally trail off and she says they mean a lot to you. It’s not a question, but you nod. 

Pisces: You smash the vial, why would you do that? It was harmless, it was helpful. Child, you should have kept it. It was getting hard to resist taking it and you don’t trust yourself or your contradictory stars. Your stars wouldn’t be contradictory if you’d listen. It was a responsible foolish choice, you did good. It was hurting you more than it was helping you. You should trust your stars. You sweep up the shattered glass, taking care not to cut yourself. You’ll try your best to sleep tonight. 

[kittymaverick]

It’s that time of the year again! A Mystery Case Files: The Black Veil commentary

Spoilers as usual under the cut. Also, this is mostly from memory, so there might be some errors in time order.

1. That opening is epic. Definitely the most epic I’ve seen of Eipex’s MCF so far. (And this is coming from someone who is ultra critical of Eipex. How far they’ve come.) 2. REPORTER PEOPLE ARE RUNNING FROM TOWN. WHY ARE YOU RUNNING IN. THIS IS HOW WE GET PROBLEMS. 3. Queen: ...the ”unbelievable” is what you deal with. MD: I’d rather not, but it’s not like I have a choice. 4. Mysterious figure running off, fine. Car crashes into another car. Medieval town wholesomely preserved... yeah, this is totally going to be fine. 5. Reporter: Help me Detective! MD: You totally put yourself in this situation, so no. Me: Uh.... MD: Okay, fine! 6. Alison: Hi detective! Remember me from Dire Grove? MD: ...YOU... Alison: It’s like you’re my guardian angel-- MD: I’D RATHER NOT BE. ALSO, DID YOU LEARN NOTHING FROM BEING IN DIRE GROVE ABOUT RUNNING STRAIGHT INTO-- Alison: *Smiling happily* MD: Hrgh, you know what never mind. 7. Yeah, go talk to the guy at the big house with lots of money. Like that’s totally going to turn out fine. 8. Richard: Someone’s breaking into my house! MD: You know, for a moment there, I was actually afraid for you. Just...for a split moment. 9. Huh, big house, pretty normal for once actually-- *GIANT STATUE OF WOMAN* *THREE SHRINES TO DEATH* Okay, I said that too soon. 10. Richard: Hi there! I’m scottish! And welcoming! MD: ...Okay, I think this guy can be trusted, for once. Me: Um... Richard: Snooping around? That’s fine! Why don’t you seat down for a drink with me? MD: Yeah, he’s a fine person. Me: Hey, MD-- Richard: So Henry’s being a little arsehole, so can you tell him to stop it? Also, can you go activate that totally not evil and eldritch device in the center of town for me? MD: Sure! ME: SERIOUSLY?! 11. Henry can’t speak. Me: ....Did they ran out of budget for a child voice actor? 12. MD: Alright, let’s activate this device-- SHITSHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT! Me: WHAT DID I TELL YOU? WHAT DID I SAY???!!! Alison: I’m not feeling too well... Me: SEE WHAT I MEAN??!! MD: Note taken: Just because he’s Scottish doesn’t mean he is trustworthy. 13. Alison: Hey! You’re okay! It must be the feather that protected you. MD: Yes, hold onto the totally mysterious magical item that I have no idea what it does. This is totally going to be fine. Me: Seriously, MD, not from a chicken, peacock, or duck? MD: Hey, I had to make some educated guesses. 14. Alison: Okay I’m off to investigate! MD and Me: WAIT NO ALISON THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT RESULTED IN DIRE GROVE-- Tip: “Alison’s still a bit sensitive about Dire Grove. Be cautious not to bring the subject up.” MD and ME: SHUT UP. 15. Richard: *Villainous slow clap* MD: Please don’t. Richard: Death is an old friend of yours! It’s like we’re kindred. MD: (It’s Alister or Charles, definitely.)...Did he happen to mention how many times I killed him? 16. MD: Oh, great, another immortal on our hands. I seem to be very good at killing those, so you won’t be immortal SOON. 17. Guard: Stop! MD: Okay. Guard: You won’t go any further. MD: I didn’t intend to-- HOLY SHIT HE’S SHOOTING AT ME FOR REAL! 18. Richard: Hey detective. Wanna see something awesome? MD: Not really. Richard: Look what happens when I kill someone! A pretty lady shows up! MD: ...................Which part of NOT REALLY did you not hear? 19. Alison: Great! We found evidence! Richard: You’ve also set off my trap! MD: SHIT. Alison: Oh no, how do I avoid-- *swivels through hidden door* MD: ARE YOU FOR REAL AND DID YOU JUST....urgh. 19.5. Me: WHY IS THIS DOOR NOT OPENING. IS THIS A BUG??? MD: You forgot to power it. Me: ...Oh. MD: ...It was kind of obvious-- Me: I blame bad game design! 20. Richard: AHAHAHA! I have a captive now! You can’t leave! MD: You...Ass. Richard: Well, I’ll save you the trouble of looking for notes and tell you how I got here. MD: Thank you, but you’re still an ass. Richard: So why don’t you enjoy what I’ve prepared for you? MD: YOU...YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LAST GUYS THAT PREPARED STUFF FOR ME? 21. MD: Oh thank gods he’s obsessed with Ankou instead of me this time. Me: Well....... MD: Just let me have that thought for once, okay? 22. Me: Aw...Henry’s just like any little kid. Being mischievous, climbing trees. MD: *Knocks tree down* Me: HOLY SHIT! HENRY! MD: OOPS...HE’s okay! He also totally won’t step into the minefield. *Henry steps into a tube instead* Me and MD: OH COME ON. Richard: *Laughs* 23. MD: Okay, so the more that someone’s soul weighs, the only she gets to stay. And weight is increased by one’s virtue. Me: ...This is fucked up. On the other hand, at least you’re not the prisoner. MD: This is still as fucked up as all the guys before. Me: So you’ve gone from saving ghosts, to saving people, to saving gods now? I’d say that’s an improvement. MD: ...Shut up. Also, this guy has shitty record tastes. 24. Alison: Thank you! Now you’re Henry’s guardian angel too. MD: I won’t need to be anyone’s angel IF YOU’D ALL JUST STAY OUT OF TROUBLE 25. MD: Shiiiiiiit that’s an underground complex alright. Me: Jealous? MD: I’ve had my fill of underground complexes as offerings. No thank you. Richard: Technically, this is also a gift for you though. MD: Oh DAMN YOU. 26. Richard: Alright! Here’s a man who may or may not be guilty. Will you sentence him for his crimes or will you forgive him? MD: ...WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU EVEN THE DALIMARS DIDN’T REACH THIS LEVEL OF FUCKERY. Alister: What?! Charles: Excuse me?! Victor: Father will be displeased! MD: NOT an invitation. 27. MD: ALRIGHT RICHARD ENOUGH OF THIS-- where is he? Richard: Hi. *brandish knife* MD: Shit. Me: Alright! Get ready for final combat-- *Richard OUT RIGHT STABS MD IN THE HEART* MD: CRAP! ME: AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! 28. Me: HE STABBED YOU. ACTUALLY STABBED YOU. TO KILL. MD: Yeah, can we-- Me: HE ACTUALLY WENT FOR IT. MD: Hey-- Me: AND YOU’RE DYING FOR REAL THIS TIME. HOLY SHIT WHAT DO I-- MD: WALK ME TOWARDS THE FUCKING LIGHT WILL YOU YOU NITWIT. 29. Me: Oh look, it’s Dire Grove. MD: Nope. Me: Now it’s Ravenhearst. MD: NOPE. Me: Hi madame fate! MD: NOPE NOPE. Me: Hm...this looks like the chamber where Charles was gonna-- MD: AAAAAAAHHHHHHH *runs* Me: ...You know, you’re not so much walking towards the light as so much as running from the dark... 30. MD: Oh hi Ankou. Gonna send me to death? Me: Um.... MD: ...Oh thanks! A feather. Guess I’m going to live. AND TEAR THIS FUCKING THING DOWN. Richard: NO! YOU WERE ONLY MEANT TO BE A KEY! MD: WHY DON’T YOU ASK THE DALIMAR TWINS HOW THAT WENT LAST TIME! Me: Answer, not well. :D MD: The explosion is always so satisfying. Me: Um...should we...get out? MD: Oh yeah-- AAAAAHHHHHH. 31. Henry: ...I want to be like you when you grow up. MD: Trust me, you really don’t-- Wait DID YOU JUST SPOKE??? 32. MD: Alison’s back to normal, Dread whatever the town name actually is has been saved. I’m alive despite being stabbed in the heart. The embodiment of Death has been saved. Eh. Pretty good and done for once. Me: ...You realize you might be immortal now, right? MD: Yeah, but what’s the worst that can come from that? Charles: :D MD: OH NO WAIT FUCK YOU-- Conclusion: As much as the basic plot line is like a lighter version of Escape from Ravenhearst, I did enjoy it. It’s not like Broken Hours where the story was very distant from the MD’s past. This story DID indeed use the MD’s past experience a valid plot point. Except for WHY Richard knows so much about the MD. That just...honestly wasn’t explained clearly, even in the extra gameplay. I think the extra game actually made it more confusing? Now it seems that was part of the intention, but I’m not certain that it contributed to the game as a result. That said, congrats on reaching the 15th game in the MCF series! The MD has come so far. ;u; MD: Can I have a proper vacation now? For once?