#Her and Scribe can have an interesting dynamic

[aha-chuu]

Alhaitham and Kaveh's dynamic is interesting, because I've seen a lot of people say either "oh my god Kaveh is so mean" or "oh my god Alhaitham treats Kaveh terribly". But, quite importantly imo, in this quest Paimon remarks that she "doesn't know which one of them is more problematic".

I think when considering their relationship you need to look at intention. Do Hoyo want to villainise one of their popular husnandoes as a toxic asshole? No. Even the "villain" playable characters like Childe and Wanderer are nice/funny on occasion. Kaveh and Alhaitham's interactions are intended to be humorous, to make you gasp and say "oh wow I can't believe he just said that!".

Like, during the most recent story quest, for example. Kaveh accusing Alhaitham of having no empathy when he's clearly pretty emotionally stunted and decently moral is mean. But saying "At least I'd be a fungus with empathy!" Undercuts that - it's clear neither Alhaitham nor the player are suppose to take those words seriously.

Alhaitham dismissing Kaveh's field of work with "you work yourself to death just for a smile" is so belittling, but it's a retort to Kaveh saying his scribe job is at "rock bottom" in the Akademiya. Alhaitham isn't lashing out or trying to demean Kaveh in front of others (this interaction happens after the player has "left"); he's just continuing their verbal sparring match. I think people take this jab so seriously because it can be seen as a jab at a lot of people working out of passion, but in the context of the dialogue we're not supposed to regard it so deeply.

It's also fairly clear that nobody in game takes them seriously either. Tighnari says Kaveh is "as pent up as an anemo slime" in his Alhaitham voiceline - another funny quip - and Collei details how hard it was to suppress her laughter when Kaveh was talking about Alhaitham. Nobody thinks they're genuinely bad for one another, or that getting them separated is all that crucial.

Even the interactions in this story quest are just so silly and domestic: Kaveh can't get the painting straight, Alhaitham buys ugly furniture, they're arguing about rent and drink tabs, Kaveh is doing an unfair amount of housework and Alhaitham fucks off without entertaining his own guests. it's funny, or at least it is clearly intended to be.

I've heard that in the other dubs the VAs tones are different and it makes the lightheartedness clearer. Personally I've thought since their first interaction in the AQ that Alhaitham is having fun during their quarrels, and Kaveh is just melodramatic enough to act traumatised even if he isn't truly offended.

Then when it comes to whether their dynamic is supposed to be read platonically or romantically... Well Hoyo won't do anything canon, but it's hard to argue that there is no intentionality in how their relationship is portrayed. What other character(s) has an idle animation directly referencing their relationship with another character? How many other voicelines explicitly reference two characters as a pair? Nahida's Kaveh voiceline, Collei's, Tighnari's - I'm sure there are more. "Roommates" "senior & junior" "academic rivals" -> certainly there's a case to be made that they're just very close, but Kaveh and Alhaitham getting fifteen minutes of epilogue interaction in two different quests (where none of the content is related to either quest) says something. Fanservice, quite possibly.

Also Kaveh's line "We used to be friends, but not anymore"; I've seen plenty of people interpret this as "oh we're not friends, we're dating*". I think this is fun in fanon, but on a canon level it's basically a promise by Hoyo to fix (or explain) their current dynamic. Hoyo, for all their many faults, are detail orientated enough to follow up on such a line. Perhaps it will just be in Kaveh's voicelines/character stories, but I anticipate a future event or Kaveh hangout in relation to their bond. Nothing explicit, but more exploration. It's fairly clear Alhaitham and Kaveh are popular enough characters to warrant it.

All this to say: I have lots of thoughts. I have seen people call them toxic and (while idm the drama of that in fanon shipping) that isn't really the intended case in canon. Or, at the very least, the intention is not to to take their squabbling so seriously.

#genshin impact #alhaitham #al haitham #kaveh #kavetham #alhaitham story quest #also pls don't somehow take this as ship bashing for other pairings #this is NOT: oh my ship is canon everyone else stfu #i just wanted to discuss how interesting Hoyo's approach to their dynamic has been #and how polarising the fandom's reaction has been #it's not supposed to be taken seriously #i think kaveh is leaked for 3.6 #which should be new desert area #i would not be surprised if we have a desert quest with him #considering how he has had a significant amount of screentime already #in comparison to Faruzan and Layla and even Candace #we don't know what his rarity is yet #but he's had a lot of build up #when most characters not directly involved in archon quests #only debut in their release patches #with rumours of them beforehand #think ayato think itto think eula #i wonder what Hoyo will do with Kaveh #and haitham might end up as the Sumeru Albedo #considering he's already a front runner for most dialogue out of the Sumeru characters #maybe he'll get an event before Fontaine

[crossdressingdeath]

Confidential: Dictated to Scribe Yanthus by General Ketheric Young Gortash's plan to enslave an illithid elder brain and make it our marionette under control of the Crown of Karsus has proceeded almost without flaw, barring the slight delay while our Bhaalist allies sorted out their leadership conflict. The weak point must surely be the sharing of the Netherstones - it was necessary to ensure my engagement and that of the murder cult, but eventually it's certain to fracture our fragile alliance. Clearly, all three Netherstones must be controlled by a single leader - me, by preference - but not until after all the stakeholders have made their essential contribution. Gortash fears that, energised by the dark energies of the Crown, the brain we now call the Absolute will eventually metamorphose into something new and more difficult to control. If he's right, the need to invest the power of the Netherstones in a single wielder is urgent. Even more so in that Enver Gortash, at least, must be thinking the same way.

Huh. I can see why Ketheric was hiding this, it's got some interesting bits of information in it. So the Absolute is an illithid elder brain and not a god; good to know. Very curious as to how they're controlling it; yeah, the Crown of Karsus, but I have no idea what that is. And what are the Netherstones? If they were given to Ketheric and the Bhaalists clearly Gortash had them to begin with and shared them out, but if they were that important why share them at all? How important are Ketheric and the Bhaalists' contributions to whatever the actual plan is that Gortash would give them things so valuable that the struggle to gain control of them is likely to fracture the alliance? And speaking of fracturing alliances: it seems pretty obvious that the leadership conflict among the the Bhaalists was what led to Durge ending up on the nautiloid (side note, it'll be interesting to see if the leadership conflict is still mentioned in a Tav or origin run where Durge doesn't appear; if it does that would imply that if you're not playing as them Durge dies either as a direct result of the conflict or on the nautiloid), but what exactly was that conflict? Was Durge heading up the group and got mutinied against, were they trying to take control from whoever had it? Do Bhaalists just fight each other sometimes? What was going on?

And this is an interesting insight into the Absolute's Chosen. Actually, let's go back to the vision of them from the bridge leading to the goblin camp back in act 1.

Narrator: *Then, there are three figures before you. An armoured male elf, exuding power and command. A handsome younger man with a quick, easy smile. And a pale young woman with even paler eyes...* Disembodied Voice: These are my Chosen. They speak for me.

My initial assumption was that the Chosen were all high-ranking servants of the Absolute, but... apparently not! Apparently they're in charge of the Absolute and not vice-versa! The armoured male elf who exudes power and command is obviously Ketheric, the handsome younger man must be Gortash (and with how many people ship him and Durge him being described as "handsome" is kind of funny), and the pale young woman is presumably the current head of the Bhaalist faction, or at least the part of it involved in this (I think I've seen people call her Orin...?). So rather than the Absolute showing off her powerful servants who we'll have to defeat to get to her, this is a brief glimpse of the main strength behind our foes. Well, I do love a good triumvirate. I assume act 3 is going to revolve around dissolving what's left of this triumvirate after dealing with Ketheric.

Also, given the dynamic implied by Durge/Gortash being such a popular ship I really am very curious if it's going to turn out that originally Durge was the third member of this group before getting supplanted by Orin. If so it raises questions about why Gortash and Ketheric were so quick to throw Durge onto the nautiloid, especially since from what people have said Gortash at least legitimately liked Durge...

#bg3 #bg3 durge #bg3 spoilers

[notoriousbeb]

Sept. 29

Sept. 26

Sept. 25

Sept. 22

Sept. 20

Sept. 18

Sept. 13

Sept. 11

What Harry wants in a partner in general:

- He looks for someone who has something to offer or bring to the relarionship

- When he has a partner in mind, he likes to have something to offer to them and he expects the same in return (this can also indicate a partnership)

- He wants someone who is very joyful and positive (the reader thinking Jupiter and Sagittarius energy)

- He also likes someone who makes him feel young at heart

- He’s very open minded and wants someone who can see things from multiple perspectives

- He wants someone who is going to stir up something big in his life

What’s coming for Harry:

- The ending of a tough situation

- He wants to move out of energy of feeling tied down to something and feeling insecure and wants to have something really stable

- He wants to put and end to torturous endings of the past

- He’s manifesting something really big and is looking at longevity (a serious relationship)

- He’s inspired to act and looking for someone that sparks something in him

- He’s not interested in going back

What does Taylor Russell want?

- Something flirty and moving toward inspired action

- Someone balanced and fair—an equal partner

- Someone like Harry: young and open to fun and excitement but also kind

- Someone she can be at peace with and have light banter; not be unsure and indecisive

- A hard worker driven to get what they want and focused on leading

- Someone mysterious

The dynamic between them:

- Moving into an offer and moving out of something that’s not emotionally fulfilling

- They’re trying to protect each other and keep this going but there’s some tiredness

- They had a hard time in the beginning; they were focusing on not thinking too much about what they are to each other (they were worrying about this a lot)

- They’ve decided to not make this more than what this is and to just focus on the present

- They haven’t made a real clear-cut decision

- Both of them were moving out of unfulfilling times and wanted to find something together

- Right now, they’re not solidified completely; they’re being very careful to just focus on the present moment

- She’s in control in some ways, although they do share their feelings and communicate

- This relationship will teach them a big lesson

Their past experiences in love:

- They had hard times with imbalance in other relationships, likely between career and love

- They may have had a hard time communicating

- They went through and held onto a lot of pain, but now they’re protecting their energy

- Harry is focusing on keeping his peace and on what’s really foundational to him

Their current experience:

- They’re standing their ground together and are very protective of each other

- This is a connection that they’re willing to battle over

- They want to see how this goes

- The relationship is founded on their shared difficulties

- They’ll learn some big lessons together

- They’re really happy and harmonious and working together really well, and moving forward

Their future experience:

- A lot of insight and growth, especially for Harry

- They’ll also have fun

- Past love that’s still lingering will have to be ended mentally

- There will be some secrets they’ll reveal to each other, which they haven’t yet, because they’re afraid it’s going to affect the relationship

- Harry doesn’t want to be tied down right now; he feels like it steals his joy

- Harry still has a lot to think about when it comes to relationships

- He’s thinking long and hard about whether he would ever be in a place to be married, but it’s no something he’d be comfortable with right now

What is Taylor healing:

- She needs to be slow and steady and just let things happen

- She was confused about where they stand and having trouble just being in the moment (she gets in her head a lot)

- She’s figuring herself out and dealing with a family history of people controlling her decisions

- Reader doesn’t feel like this will be a relationship that turns into marriage

- This pairing is all about learning lessons

- Nothing is set in stone—this doesn’t feel long term

Harry’s healing message:

- He needs to relax and rest and enjoy where he’s at

- He’s trying to trust his truth and inner guidance and accept and go with the flow

- He forgiving past relationships and hurts; he’s very aware of his past

- He’s learning how to break past patterns

- He’s learning to look at things beyond black and white and with more nuance

Their current trajectory:

- Not a forever/long-term relationship

- Because if it they’ll grow in strength and determination about what they individually want

- Their ending will bring them both to something better

- They’ll still be friends long term

- As far as having kids, reader first says no and then yes (so, unsure)

#tarot card reading #harry styles tarot #September 2023

[sheirukitriesfandom]

Ok, the answer to the previous ask got me curious -- what is Al's relationship/dynamic with his companions? (can be all or just his main party/whoever you feel like)

Thanks for asking 😃 I started writing this last night but was so tired I didn't finish...

Verse — At first Al viewed Verse as a necessary evil, someone useful but so far beneath him that anything he said to her was an insult wrapped in politeness. Over the course of the civil war Al comes to appreciate her company. He still thinks she's a vulgar, foul-mouthed brute, but he likes her sense of humour, her efficiency and her ruthlessness. He does often butt heads with her over her criticisms of the Disfavoured, though.

Barik — Politically, Barik and Al mostly see eye to eye. However, since Barik's presence is… unpleasant to say the least, Alendron prefers to keep his distance. He does, however, admire Barik's dedication and eventually even goes behind Tunon's back to free Barik from his rusty prison — as a "Thank You" for his loyalty. Still, their relationship is entirely professional.

Fun fact: Barik and Alendron accidentally discover what a Faraday cage is…

Lantry — Lantry becomes essential to Alendron’s party because he's literate. At first Alendron didn't trust him and kept him on a short leash, including a metaphorical shock collar. Over time Al grows very fond of his personal reading grandpa. Alendron has trouble restraining his curious side and loves listening to stories from the Burning Library's glory days or what life was like before the conquest, Tiers culture (slowly develops respect for the Tiersmen). Post-game Lantry becomes a vital part of the stabilisation process of the Tiers by serving as Alendron’s personal scribe and history consultant.

Kills-in-Shadow — Al would probably like her if he ever gave her a chance but as it stands she's little more than a tool to him. He tolerates her and allows her to indulge her violent tendencies but that's the extent of his generosity. Al is 100% willing to use the "metaphorical shock collar" on her.

Eb — Alendron likes Eb. Her intelligence and wit, her humour, her magic (in which he's extremely interested), etc. But good god did they clash at first. Alendron’s views on the Tiers and their people were… well, like Barik's or those of any other Disfavoured. It's through Eb and Lantry (but especially Eb) that Al eventually begins to see the Tiersmen as humans, even if they're "primitive". Post-game, Al often asks Eb for advice on matters of Tiers culture (first thing he learns is that there's no unified culture to the Tiers, which he knew in theory but to him it was all just southern nitpicking).

Sirin — NO. Sirin creeps Al tf out and if he hadn't thought leaving such a powerful actor unchecked was worse, he wouldn't even have recruited her. Al doesn't like to have his senses messed with as it makes him feel weak and helpless, so Sirin trying to manipulate him on their first meeting was already a bad start. Ironically, if he ever talked to her enough to find out about her past, Al would probably have been sympathetic towards her.

Alendron’s standard party is a fully ranged one consisting of him, Verse, Eb and Lantry. This is because Al's spells don't distinguish between friend and foe. A badly timed maneuver by Barik and an equally badly timed chain lightning spell led to the aforementioned discovery of the Faraday cage… 

#Tyranny game #fatebinder alendron #my ocs #I ought to write Pre-game Al just for contrast alone

[anxietymuffin]

Peanuts reaction to the companions

Preston Garvey

- He’s nice! One of the few people who are actually kind to him without the familiar grimace at the sight of his face or general demeanour

- Peanut knew his tall stature made him nervous when they first met so whenever he’s around him he tries to crouch and be as small as possible.

- holds a general respect for him and the work he does for the commonwealth even if he doesn’t entirely understand why.

Cait

- she scares him

- 5’4 scrappy red head with a chihuhua’s bark and shephards bite, she looked at him in a mean way once and he cried.

- Has not gone anywhere near her since and would like to keep it that way.

Piper

- Thinks she’s the coolest, she’s his third best friend ever.

- she gives him fancy lad cakes occasionally whenever she gets her hands on them and that’s enough for him to absolutely adore her.

- Their initial meeting was abrupt and a little rude when the reporter burst into the Valentine Detective agency with a new missing persons case and theory. Since they were trying to keep a second synths presence on the down low.

- admires her spunk and loves to read her papers from archives. He tries to give her critique but it mostly rounds to him suggesting she tried her hand at fiction writing.

Danse

- the first meeting was less than favourable, Peanut had been interacting with a scribe that walked into his theatre. The BOS soldier barged in and started shooting up the place on a supposed rescue mission of the scribe even though she begged for Danse to not shoot

- With Lasers flying astray everywhere Peanut had to make his “daring escape” but he still received major damage

- He met him again in sanctuary hills and almost went kill mode had people not held him back

- Hates him with a burning passion, thinks brotherhood has no place in the commonwealth

- His feelings don’t change about him much post blind betrayal, their first interaction left a permanent mark in how he perceives the man.

Nick Valentine

- His BESTEST friend!

- They have a more Mentor/Apprentice dynamic. Nick helped Peanut come to terms with being a synth, he understood the dilemma of feeling human but knowing you’re a machine.

- He likes to sit in Nicks office on the floor and help with cases where he can, the whole atmosphere keeps him relatively calm.

- Nick also helped him learn how to properly interact with people and not go into a violent melt down when overwhelmed, the detectives general presence helps keep him grounded.

- all in all thinks he’s wonderful and would both kill and die for him.

Hancock

- finds him an interesting character

- doesn’t like good neighbour or chems, but he likes listening to Hancock. Especially his “of the people for the people” advocacy.

- they have a mutual respect of the arts, particularly theatre.

Deacon

- Who???

- literally does not know who you’re talking about

- they’ve met multiple times but pip could never point him out in a crowd, between the face changing and the different outfits

- feels neutral about him??

Maccready

- one person he takes pride in making nervous

- Maccready got lippy with him once for nudging him with his elbow and Peanut decided from that day forward he would make it his life goal to scare the shit out of the merc any given chance

Curie

- Loves her a lot!

- especially loves how she addresses him “Monsieur Philippe” (phé-lip)

- she’s so kind and gentle to him, especially post emergent behaviour. He gets a little shy around her because she’s so extroverted and it’s cute

- She’s always got this determined and hopeful outlook on life that he really admires, despite her always speaking technicalities he loves to listen to her thoughts

- “A cap for your thoughts?”

Strong

- he makes Peanut nervous, mutants as a given aren’t to be trifled with but this one is civil.. he can’t wrap his head around it

- They talk about Shakespeare sometimes

- otherwise pip avoids him when possible

X6-88

- Scared shitless

- he was in sanctuary for like 5 minutes with Matt (sosu) and Peanut was shaking for the next hour

Porter Gage (would not meet)

Ada (would not meet)

Old Longfellow (would not meet)

#fallout 4 #fallout oc #preston garvey #fo4 cait #piper wright #Paladin Danse #fo4 Danse #nick valentine #john hancock #fo4 hancock #fo4 deacon #robert joseph maccready #fo4 curie #oc interation

[blazlngblade]

Octopath:CotC is almost here!

It's not playable yet, but getting that big downloading step out of the way is handy to get started right away later! I drew this to celebrate the release! I had to draw the Bargello Family! Happy Travels to New Players!

I got some questions for you! Feel free to answer!

- What story are you planning to choose first? (Wealth, Power, Fame) - What 5-Star are you interesting as your Chosen One? (Millard, Sofia, Theo, Fiore, Lynette, Gilderoy, Viola, Scarecrow) Do you plan to keep them as the role throughout or do you have a 4-Star character you'd rather have as your Chosen One? - Do you have some characters you want to get on your team? Will it halt you from playing the stories, or are you okay with being open to the units available? - Any future new Travelers you want? Are you going to save for them? Look to my video for reference if you need it!

You can make a really unique team, so get creative! Create the perfect dynamic you can! It's more fun to enjoy the journey with characters you like! Remember! You can play the first 4 stories with 4-Stars, so don't feel pressured to have the 5-Stars yet. Enjoy the game while it's still easy for 3-Stars and 4-Stars!

Now I really want to talk about my team dynamics to show that you can have a lot of fun making your team! Here's my team!

The dynamics of my team are: - Iris and Wingate are a couple, they support each other with their troubles and met in Theatropolis during his Traveler Story. - Wingate and Brigitte are brother and sister (not canon, simply a headcanon), while Gilderoy treats them as his kids, but he's not exactly suited as a father figure, he still tries to be the "fun dad". - Lyummis and Gilderoy act a bit like a "old married couple" sometimes, she doesn't approve of a lot he does though since he is very childish for his age. She often cleans up his messes. - Levan and Brigitte are best friends, they also have a bit of a crush on each other, but none dare say so. (They will later! For now, let kids be kids!) - Iris helps Brigitte be a bit more confident with herself. Lyummis also treats Levan as the little brother she never had. She feels protective over him. Both kids appreciate the support from someone older. - Narr and Durand are friends. Though they are friends, Durand doesn't like Narr's attitude much, especially when he is drunk (Narr's an angry drunk while Durand is a happy one). Note: They belong more to the "Barrad's Group" my brother and I have put together! It consists of Barrad, Durand, Dorothea, Narr, Cecily, Ned, Eltrics, and Leon. Here's a picture of a few of the playable ones + Ned!

This group consists of lots of merchants or other business people, as well as lots of people that long for freedom or adventure! They are a lot of seafarers too, so maybe one day they can all take a trip together! Barrad and Dorothea are a couple. Leon and Eltrics are good friends, he's one of the few people that can make her smile). As for the dynamic with Narr and Cecily... Cecily mentions a "her scribe" in Olberic's chapter 2, I like to think Narr got a job working with her as he's a skilled contract maker. Brigitte and Levan also have a group of friends! I call it the "Kid Group" for lack of a better name. It features Brigitte, Levan, Molrusso, Lolo & Rulu, Dorrie, Harry, Titi, Largo, and Zegna! The theme these kids have is special talents or social awkwardness (which is not a bad thing!!). They all support each other like a group of friends should. Titi's a lot more confident than the rest of them, so she wants to help them all be comfortable with themselves and putting themselves out there! She also loves to dance with Harry! While Levan and Dorrie are book nerds. Zegna and Molrusso join them too! Lolo keeps to himself (he's the protector of the mountains, he's cautious around people) and Rulu mostly, but he joins in conversations sometimes as well. Largo also gets along with the ones that like books as an inventor he's always looking for new ideas for projects!

Like, you can have so much fun constructing a perfect team! So have fun with CotC and enjoy the game for whatever reason! I want to see your teams and their dynamics one day!

#Octopath Traveler #Octopath CotC #Rosa Talks #Rosa's Art #Rosa's Team

[star-scripts]

Hoping to finally write again, so hello there! 💖

Made this post at 2am initially, in hopes that I'll be more inclined to write something sooner if I have this out there, even if no one responds.

About me:

My name: On this account feel free to call me Star/Scribe/Oh Most Sparse Writer When Are You Gonna Actually Post™. Friends coming over might call me by my other blog too so if you see that feel free to check that side of my work too.

Age: I'm an adult, early 20s is all you're getting for numbers though. 🤣 That does mean I may delve into 18+ works, but I'll sort out if I'll make another blog or cap the age on this one when we get there.

Pronouns: I go by she/her preferably? Not super opposed to anything else though I think?

Background: Lifelong art student, went for creative writing in a specialized HS, and now attending an Art College with dreams of becoming a concept artist in the future.

How I got into Writing: Parents let me watch LoTR as soon as I was old enough and they regret it everyday/j (it's the reason I got obsessed with fantasy, mythology, etc.)

Other obsessions: Also obsessed with Star Wars, so uh... Expect a bit of a range and a bit of whiplash every few months when my interests change. 😅 (Particularly Clone Troopers, Mandalorians, and the SWTOR era).

Additional little Fun Fact™: I've never broken a bone!

Everything else is under a read-more for ease and length! Please enjoy reading if you're interested!!

Edit: Here's the link to my current Progress List!

Current genres I write in:

Fantasy (from general, to niches like urban fantasy and Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy)

Sci-Fi

LOTS of romance, I'm a starved lil hopeless romantic so forewarning.

Probably some Historical Fiction in there eventually?

Current fandoms I write for:

The Hobbit/LoTR/The Silmarillion

Star Wars (SWTOR/Prequels/TCW/Mando/BoBF)

Dragon Age (All games)

Might write for Elder Scrolls? But likely more to fill the void for Mer-centric fics than any of the usual figures?

Hopefully I'll get to Mass Effect again, so I can write for that too!

Tropes I love/Trope Warning:

Modern [Person] In [World]

Love this trope and always have, the culture clash plus the tragedy of knowing the future of each person you come to love? The danger of knowing all their secrets? How does the protag fix the story with this? What do the Powers That Be do in order to damper this?

The REVERSAL of "Modern [Person] In [World]"!

Literally so good and there is NOTHING out there. Gotta come up with a tag for it so people might use it some day. Similar reasons, the culture clashes and the Tragedy Of Knowing ™, but put on its head as the character(s) try and navigate a world so foreign to them, but so mundane to us?

Opposites Attract

This may be more of a warning, but I'm also a fan of this particular trope. So, as a short woman, this tends to lead to a lot of tol/smol dynamics with men leaning on the taller side of it? Unlikeky to change outside of specific requests and also because so many characters I love are like... Literally nearing 7ft. so no one is ever much taller. 🤣

Inhuman/Human Couples

I love this stuff a bunch, but also loath how modern media continues to put feminine people as the "ethereal beauty" in these sorts of couples. Is it truly too much to want a very handsome elf/fae/alien man to find a human such as myself to be attractive? Gonna probably write a bunch for this because I can't throttle the modern movie/TV industry.

Liminal Spaces

I grew up moving a LOT, so I grew very well aquatinted with the Target Parking At 2am feel, and the Driving Through Corn Through The Night vibe. Hopefully I'll be able to bring that original writing back to get to work with this again! In fact, there's a short story of mine I did for HS that I'd love to fix up to put here that deals with this.

"Slightly To The Left"

Similar to Liminal Spaces, though this trope more applies to objects, animals, and people. Waking up to your phone on your nightstand, but it's the wrong shade, and the ringtone sounds fuzzy. You want to believe that the person you met at the edge of your camp site is normal, human—but their eyes dont shine, their smiles never show teeth, and why does their voice sound like two at once?

Other tropes, and other info, to be added eventually as I realize or run into them!

#writing #writblr #new writers on tumblr #new blog #its 3am now #fanfic #fan fiction #original writing #original character #fan character #fanworks #original works #new writing project #new writing blog #star wars #lotr #dragon age #character centric #but also some x readers or blank protags eventually??

[thetiniestkris]

A Fourth Wing DNF Review

⭐️

Only made it to page 63 and had to DNF. I picked up this book with genuine expectation to enjoy it; the concept itself sounded really interesting. I love a good dysfunctional family dynamic as the basis of character development. I love dragons. I love an enemies to lovers. I especially love Epic Fantasy.

Sadly I think this book, in the 63 pages I read, failed on all of those (except maybe the dragons. I only read so far to see them char a couple students.)

On the dysfunctional family dynamic: I expected more. I expected threats. I expected actual stakes and consequences. All I took from Violet's interactions with her mom were that her mom is a bit cold and bossy and Violet is a pushover.

"If I become a scribe she'll just drag me back into the riders!" That's it? That's the whole reason you're okay with facing an incredibly high death rate? I expected years of emotional abuse, a past failure, a burning need to prove yourself, and all I got was "mom told me to". It's incredibly weak motivation.

On dragons: even though the book takes the trouble to spell out why the dragons work with the humans, it was a forgettable, contrived reason. "They need humans because then they can amplify their power". Okay? But they still have power on their own? It begs why and how the first human/dragon pairing even happened, when there is no obvious benefit for the dragons until after the bonding has happened. Maybe the human/dragon relationship is expounded on later, but I doubt it.

On enemies to lovers: it was really anticlimactic to have her sister warn her to stay away from a rebellion leader's child because he will kill her on sight, only to immediately have her meet him and have him not even try to kill her. Also why even allow rebels kids into the most exclusive military academy? Also why is he even given authority within that academy? Again, nonsensical. It would have made much more sense within the story to have him be the child of one of her mothers political opponents.

On being an epic fantasy: I guess it technically passes this bar, but to be honest it feels like the book was conceptualized as a love triangle fanfiction first, story with a plot and setting second. Absolutely no hate to fanfiction. I've looked at other reviews that said this would have been better in a modern setting and I completely agree. The quasi medieval setting felt rote and dispassionate.

Other notes: lazy dialogue. Lazy writing in places; some scenes feel cut short just to jump to the next one with the hot guy. F- on the exposition. Exposition stole the show for all the wrong reasons. I mean absolutely destroyed any tension in the scene it was shoved into, which should have been a pivotal scene. I'm genuinely amazed an editor left that in all the way to the final print.

I'm exhausted by books like this. I want to enjoy fantasy, and I want to have epic fantasy with modern views on sexuality, and epic fantasy with young women leads, but I'm exhausted by every female lead being a blend of "bland self insert character" and "girl boss chosen one 💅". Give me character development! Give me struggle! Give me subversion and flaws!

#dont read my review please im just writing it for my own sake

[jinglr]

Okay this idea has plagued me for around 10 minutes, but Sumeru story Switcheru.

Character -> au role they assume

Nahida -> Scaramouche.

Scaramouche -> Nahida.

Idk how that would work, I have a few (albeit bad) ideas.

Spoilers below for Sumeru archon quest below! You have been warned!

1: Rukkhadevata, taking the purest leaf, decided not to recreate herself from an earlier time in the Samsara, but instead chose to create a new “Tree guardian” if you will. She creates Kunikuzushi, and when she dies, the people lock Scara away.

His first betrayal was his creator abandoning him. His second being when his Mother’s followers locking him away. And the third, I’d say, would be when they turn him into a false gos, except in this version, it would be like Osial where the sages try and control a god.

There could be two different versions to this though, one where he’s just a puppet to the sages, or when he grows bitter, and controls himself.

With Nahida, I’d say Ei wanted a puppet that would rule with kindness, like Makoto, and so she created a child puppet. Nahida would see the dreams of the people, and would experience their feelings. Ei, realizing she made her puppet too human, would send her away to live her own life. Nahida would take it gracefully, leaving Inazuma to find herself as well as understand the dreams of humans.

Nahida would end up in Sumeru and would join the Traveler & CO’s fight to save Scara from the sages, and end his tyrannical rule. Nahida would get to him through his dreams and (insert interesting plot I’ve run out of cool stuff) encourage him to rebel/stop being evil.

In game, I consider their dynamic to be like, cold with a sweet spot for his Aunty, but in the switcheroo au, I think I’d be a cold faced ruler with a little kitten to keep him in check.

2: Rukkhadevata created Nahida and she gets locked up, except she can’t travel in dreams so she just sits for 500 years, growing bitter. She trades her gnosis to Dottore in order for him to turn her into a “real god.” When she rises to power, she wants to spread infinite knowledge (including the corrupted knowledge) because she’s crazy and bitter 🤪 People are subjected to strict education, plant life is wild and over growing, and everything kinda sucks.

Scara would have been created by Ei, but would see the dreams of the people and weep. Ei would let him go. He’s a young puppet at the time, so the land of Sumeru, with “infinite knowledge” would fascinate him, and he would travel there, only to find out it’s actually horrible. Scara joins Traveler & CO to save Nahida. Turns out, Nahida was holding on to Rukkhadevata’s continuousness and it was infecting her with forbidden knowledge, so they like, pressure her into deleting her so she can feel better.

Scaramouche is the curious, naive one and Nahida is the distant, cold, but slowly warming up one.

That’s all I’ve got plot wise, onto the fun swaps!

Dehya -> Candace

Dehya, the strong flame mane, is famous for protecting her village, and is like the older sister to the children there.

Candace -> Dehya

Candace would be a mercenary, but more of a hired body guard. With her shield, she would be able to protect her boss. Or send opponents flying.

Nilou -> Kaveh

Nilou is just a young, sweet girl wanting to fulfill her dreams of being an architect. She’s very artistic, and brings new, unfamiliar ideas for her time. The Akedemiya has tried to shut down her art, but she’s like no :3

Kaveh -> Tighnari

Kaveh, being empathetic and absolutely distraught after his fathers death, decides to learn biology and medicine to be able to care for sick individuals. However, he’s in debt trying to run his hospital… and Mehrak would be his assistant.

Tighnari -> Alhaitham

Tighnari, doing exceeding well in his studies, gets offered role of the scribe. He accepts. Tighnari is well versed in many topics, and enjoys chatting with his peers.

Faruzan -> No swap, just rework.

Faruzan, after escaping her puzzle, helps Tighnari and researchers learn about the past/read old documents. In this au, Faruzan would have had to be in the puzzle for a little longer. Idk maybe I’ll give her some Khaenr’iah lore. She is the assistant to Tighnari.

Alhaitham -> Cyno

Alhaitham is the cold, honest leader of the Mahematra. I mean… he’s buff for a reason right? He doesn’t enjoy TCG or dad jokes, but he reads in his free time.

Collei -> Nilou

Collei is just a sick girl who loves theater. She still has Eleazar, but is making the most of her life. She figured she’ll die before she graduates from the Akedemiya, so, “screw that I’ll go into the arts!” She once performed in Mondstat, so that’s how she would be close with Amber, and possibly Barbara too.

Cyno -> Dori

Cyno just has a lot of money and drabbles in the black market.

Dori -> Doesn’t really have a swap.

But I’d put with her Kaveh. After her sisters death, she’d go learn Medicine as his apprentice.

Annndddd I think that’s it!!!! Let me know if I had made any swap errors!

#Sumeru Switcheru #genshin impact #Sumeru au #RAAAAA

[lucetestellae-a]

✿ (Scribe or Zaire)

For Scribe

send me a  ✿  and i’ll fill out the template below. bold for things i could definitely see or want, italics for things i could see or am unsure of and striked out for things i don’t want or cannot see.

FRIENDSHIP.     childhood friends  /  work buddies or coworkers  /  family friends  /  friends with benefits  /  smoking buddies  /  adventure buddies  /  fake friends  /  recently friends  /  party buddies  /  friendship of need  /  dying friendship  /  circumstantial friendship  /  partners in crime  /  old friendship  /  [ your muse ] is the good influence  /  [ your muse ] is the bad influence  /  [ my muse ] is the good influence  /  [ my muse ] is the bad influence  /  opposites attract  /  ride or die  /  frenemies  /  roommates or flatmates  /  penpals  /  exes to friends  /  enemies to friends  /  other .

ROMANCE.     childhood sweethearts  /  [ your muse is mines ] childhood crush  /  [ my muse is yours ] childhood crush  /  exes  /  exes to lovers  /  forbidden lovers  /  highschool sweethearts  /  secret relationship  /  opposites attract  /  long distance  /  unrequited [ from your muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from my muses side ]  /  unrequited [ from both sides ]  /  skinny love  /  friends to lovers  /  enemies to lovers  /  spurious relationship  /  power couple  /  newly entered  /  soulmates [ metaphorical ]  /  soulmates  [ literal ]  /  awkward  /  turning toxic  /  toxic love  /  cheating [ on your muse ]  /  cheating [ with your muse ]  /  other .

FAMILIAL.     siblings [ half ]  /  siblings [ step ]  /  [ my muse ] is an older sibling figure to your younger sibling figure  /  [ my muse ] is a younger sibling figure to your older sibling figure muse  /  [ my muse ] is a parental figure to yours  /  [ my muse ] is a child figure to your muse  /  guardian figure  /  legal guardian  /  adoptive child  /  foster child  /  [ your muse ] is taken under mines wing  /  [ my muse ] is taken under yours wing  /  other .

ANTAGONISTIC.     dangerous to each other  /  dangerous to others  /  unpredictable  /  rivals  /  petty  /  developing into sexual or romantic tension  /  based off family matters  /  based of off circumstance  /  based of professional matters  /  based off misunderstanding or lies  /  conflict of ideology  /  betrayal  /  hero - villain dynamic  /  enemies  /  fight club  /  friends turned enemies  /  lovers turned enemies  /  exes turned enemies  /  other .

#Midnight isn't ideally someone you can say is on a moral scale #Her and Scribe can have an interesting dynamic #dimensionaljumper

[alixofagnia]

OpheThorn III: Back to Rambling

The Memory of Babel…Wow.

If nothing else, this book GOES. We’re dropped onto Babel just as lost, bewildered, and determined as Ophelia to get to the bottom of this ark. Boy, was it worth the wait! Babel is exquisitely written and, incredible as it sounds, even more treacherous than the Pole. The backbone Ophelia shows in this book is awesome! I love that she’s taken the measure of her worth—all the things she’s been through and survived in the previous novels—and come out resilient As Fuck. This book is definitely a penultimate novel. Dazzling as it is, much of it feels like groundwork being laid for the finale.

OpheThorn is less nuanced and ambiguous in Babel. While I feel there’s less to analyze, I do really love this pairing and I like writing about their dynamic. So, I’m just going to put my thoughts down and see what comes up!

[There will be spoilers]

[All fanart images credited to @patricialyfoung​]

Intro

One of the things that drew me into The Mirror Visitor series is the relationship between Ophelia and Thorn. Theirs is not a traditional love story at all; in fact, it avoids clichés and instead plays about with two romantic tropes: enemies to lovers and marriage of convenience. The series spins these tropes anew by offering subtle signs of attraction (discussed here) and giving both characters antisocial tendencies, as well as—in Thorn’s case—possible ASD traits (discussed here).

When we left these two in Clairdelune, Thorn had just put his feelings on the table. Before she could give her response, however, they were separated under upsetting, even traumatic circumstances. Years later, we meet Ophelia again…

Ophelia

…and, oh dear, she is in a sorry state indeed. We find her disastrously operating a waffle stand during a kooky Animist festival for, of all things, clocks. Just what the girl pining for Thorn needs, right? All is not well with Ophelia. As Aunt Rosaline points out,

“No, you’re not fine. You don’t go out anymore, you eat any old thing, you sleep at any old time. You haven’t even been back to the museum.” [19]

Although her mother, sister, and to an extent Aunt Rosaline all believe Ophelia is wasting away, shutting herself in her room, she’s actually been quite busy. She’s been studying and developing working hypotheses about God and the Other: where they are, there she’ll find Thorn. She’s convinced of it. Working from obscure clues dropped in Clairdelune, Ophelia settles on Babel as the ark most likely to yield some answers, and when the chance to travel there appears, she wastes no time at all.

She. Is. Going.

Thorn

In Babel, Thorn has made a name for himself as Sir Henry, rising to become a Lord of LUX, the gatekeepers of Babel who serve a similar function to that of the Doyennes on Anima. He is commanding, magnetic, and aloof as ever. It is unsurprising to find that he has been playing close to the fire again. But the stress and tension of his investigative life on Babel is certainly heightened in a way that it wasn’t at the Pole. 

We also learn that his nickname in Babel is the Automaton due to his unceasing energy. Thorn, thus, has dealt with the separation by predictably burying himself in work.

The Reunion

To Ophelia’s disappointment, the reunion with Thorn does not go quite as she had envisioned, and that’s because she hadn’t really envisioned past the goal of finding him [203]. Ophelia is very much a character who takes things one at a time as she’s confronted by them. When Thorn seems less than pleased to see her, she must consider all these Troublesome Feelings and why his underwhelming reaction upsets her.

The thing is Ophelia is waiting for Thorn to take the lead. But he already did, and she didn’t follow—at least, not in a way that he could understand. As previously discussed, Thorn does not function well with non-verbal cues. He needs to be explicitly told how someone else feels, or how he is making someone else feel, in order to know when to adjust his behavior. That can be quite flustering, especially for someone like Ophelia who struggles to vocalize her feelings exactly as they are.

“Is that it?” Ophelia murmured. “You have nothing more to say to me?”

 “I have, actually,” Thorn muttered, not stopping all his connecting. […] “And you?” he finally asked, in turn. “You have nothing more to say to me?” [263]

She doesn’t. Thorn coldly dismisses her and continues to keep her at arm’s length, especially when he gives her a second chance to confess her feelings and she still refuses to take it. 

Ophelia has social anxiety. She’s not exactly shy, she just gets tongue-tied and befuddled sometimes. It’s part of her make-up, but it doesn’t just happen around Thorn—there are plenty of instances where she has trouble expressing herself to those she cares about, such as Ambrose and Blaise in this novel, or Fox in Clairdelune. She even struggles to express basic gratitude toward Aunt Rosaline in Promise. Unlike them, Thorn challenges her to uncomfortable levels. Her feelings for him are complex and utterly foreign; she has no idea what to do about them. 

Unfortunately, Thorn is fresh out of fucks to give over her see-saw act. He’s well-past this stage of confusion and cowardice she’s experiencing because he’s been in love with Ophelia since Promise (“I’m starting to get used to you”) and dealt with the ramifications of that in Clairdelune (“I don’t give a damn whether people find me suspect, as long as I am not so in your eyes.”). 

Thorn does nothing half-heartedly. In no uncertain terms, he left her with the bluntest of blunt confessions (“By the way, I love you.”), which was a milestone in his emotional growth. It is clear that he does not love frivolously or casually in the way of his foil, Archibald, so for him, nothing has changed in three years. Likely, he thinks this should be obvious to Ophelia, and it probably should be at this point. He’s done all he can, after all, what more can she want? From his perspective, it’s Ophelia’s turn to make a move, not his.

Ophelia, though, functions differently. She has always needed verbal reinforcement and reassurance. That need has been heightened by their long separation. Essentially, they’re out of touch with one another and, in Ophelia’s case, she’s completely out of touch with herself, which is why when prompted by Thorn she doesn’t provide an answer, even though there could be only one reason for her going to Babel. Things finally come to a head when Thorn loses all patience and replaces her as his assistant. Ophelia is pissed.

“You weren’t available. Waiting for you would have slowed me down in my research.”

“Slowed you down? For your information, I was also doing research of my own. It might interest you to learn…”

“Of your own, that’s precisely the problem,” he interrupted her. “I advised you never to leave your division, and you were supposed to warn me if you discovered anything new. Nothing has changed, you still always make your decisions alone.”

“I wanted to help you,” Ophelia hissed, through gritted teeth.

“I don’t want any of your finer feelings. I need efficiency. If you don’t mind, I now have a flight to take.”

Ophelia’s blood ignited in her every vein. “You’re an egoist.” She had wanted to anger Thorn, and she knew, by the way he had frozen on the spot, that she had succeeded. All the shadows of the night suddenly seemed to  have been drawn to the center of his face. He threw Ophelia a look so hard, she reeled from its impact.

“I am demanding, a killjoy, obsessive, antisocial, and crippled,” he intoned, in a forbidding voice. “You can put all the defects in the world on me, but I will not permit you to call me an egoist. If you prefer to do things your way, go ahead, but don’t waste my time anymore. Our collaboration is over.” [305]

OMG, this is harsh. But it’s the kick in the ass Ophelia needs. Since taking up a secret identity as Eulalia and aspiring to become a Forerunner (essentially a scholar and a scribe), she’s already been confronted by the fact that she’s not as good a researcher as she’s prided herself on. Now, she’s being confronted by the suggestion that she’s not a very good partner, either. It leaves her feeling “drier than dust.” [321]

I think it’s interesting how Thorn’s dialogue here has a double meaning. He’s talking about their partnership as an investigative team, of course. But it just as easily applies to their personal relationship. He can’t keep waiting around for Ophelia to make up her mind. He’s got a God to hunt down, an Other to face. Having to wonder about where he stands with Ophelia is getting to be too much. By once again haranguing off on her own, Ophelia has made it plain to him that she prefers to do things without him. In his eyes, she’s pushing him away.

Eventually, she is able to see this perspective and she is ashamed to realize how badly she’s held Thorn to a double standard. He gave of himself through words and gestures as far as he was able, while she gave him nothing in return. Finally, FINALLY, Ophelia fully expresses her love for Thorn and, as he once did, asks him to forgive her shortcomings. It’s a very sweet scene, I must say.  

Now, to go back for a moment, what’s really gutting about Ophelia calling Thorn an egoist is this:

“God said he would keep his eyes on you,” he muttered, in a choked voice. “Right in front of me. I make a lamentable husband, but I permit no one, particularly him, to persecute my wife. It’s impossible for me to tear you away from God, but I can tear him away from you. If a book exists that contains God’s secret, and allows his invulnerability to be punctured, I will find it.” [392]

For context, Ophelia had admonished Thorn for his dogged pursuit of this quest, expressing outrage that he should be doing this for a world that’s done nothing for him. At one time, yes, Thorn may have been acting in the interest of the world. Then, he met Ophelia (who is too curious for her own good) and he met God. God threatened her, and Thorn is not a man who could allow such a thing to go unpunished, no matter the consequence. Ever since they met—through every consideration, every move in this impossible investigation and despite each rejection from her—he’s been acting out of love for Ophelia. 

As Thorn said, he is not an egoist.

The Blind Spot

After their “egoist” argument, Ophelia feels instant regret and tries to stop Thorn from walking away. She doesn’t succeed, however, because she is struck by his claws. At first, she believes he may have done this on purpose, the thought of which really scares her because it indicates that Thorn is absolutely done with her.

Later, after she finally makes her confession, we all learn that, in fact, Thorn has lost a bit of control over his family power. He has no idea that he used his claws on Ophelia. I’m a little bit unsure what caused this vulnerability—I don’t really follow the given reason, so I’m wondering if Thorn doesn’t quite know himself why this has come to be.

My theory is more euphemistic. Ophelia had reached out to touch his turned back and the gesture badly startled him. He overreacts then overcorrects, and they both take a memorable tumble. Thorn explains:

“Never again accost me from behind my back or from any of my blind spots. Don’t do any movement that I can’t see coming in advance, or then warn me out loud.” [389]

He further explains that he can retain control as long as his claws don’t perceive her as a threat and asks her not to be absent-minded with him. I think it’s entirely plausible that his control over his Dragon power has weakened due to his deep emotion regarding Ophelia. I also feel that this speaks closely to their recent conflict as well as Thorn’s coding as autistic. It’s like Thorn is saying, “No more hide and seek. No more games. Tell me straight, or not at all.”

Ophelia knows how deep his passions run. She once held his dice and thought she might die under the weight and intensity of his emotions. Perhaps it is her Animism that has wrought this change in him. Perhaps it is simply her existence. Either way, she can no longer afford to be careless when it comes to Thorn’s feelings. In the final chapter, Ophelia and Thorn have a true heart to heart, reaffirming their partnership. But Thorn has something to add.

“No half-measures,” he interrupted her. “I’m not and do not wish to be your friend.” [445]

What he leaves unspoken is that he wants to be her husband, in every version of the role: Partner. Protector. Lover. Now that Ophelia has given him an answer, Thorn is comfortable leading them forward and it is the role of lover that he specifically has in mind. Considering this is probably the first time he’s ever propositioned a woman for sex, he is understandably quite awkward. Ophelia quickly realizes that she’s added to his inner turmoil by repressing her own sexuality around him and inadvertently making him feel less than attractive. She also understands that she, too, wants to be his wife in every version of that role: Partner. Protector. Lover. What follows is a really beautiful expression of honest acceptance and true value.

Desire

My dudes, our girl is constantly at risk of exploding (or maybe imploding?) with desire in this book. It’s consuming her, emptying her, and driving every atom of her being. Look at this!

Ophelia had received no news from Thorn after his escape. Not a single telegram, not a single letter. She could keep telling herself that he couldn’t run the risk of making contact, that he was a man wanted by the law, perhaps by God himself, but it was eating her up inside. [22]

Whenever she crossed a man who was a bit taller than average, she couldn’t stop herself from looking back as she passed, with a frantic pounding in her chest. [83]

Ophelia would have recognized his voice out of a thousand. The resonance of a double bass, solemn and sullen, that echoed through her inner emptiness, shook her to the core, welled up to her throat, choked her. [240]

She waited until her heartbeat, taxed by the run, had returned to normal. But it didn’t happen. Her entire flesh seemed to be pulsating to a single chaotic rhythm. This evening, she would see Thorn again. [249]

She wanted to be with Thorn right there, right now. She’d wanted that every second of every minute of every hour, for almost three years. [249]

Although she knew the temperature of this place was strictly maintained at minus eight degrees, Ophelia felt as if it were fifteen degrees warmer. Never in her life had she cared about appearances, and yet she ran a nervous hand through her hair to tidy it up. [253]

She suddenly realized that there wasn’t much she would have refused him, had he but asked. [278]

Instead, he disinfected his hands for a second time, as if they really were repulsive. They weren’t in Ophelia’s eyes. From a distance, she took in the network of veins under the skin, the long, curved fingers, the bone that          rose up on each wrist, and suddenly, she felt something like pain in the pit of her stomach. She hadn’t the slightest idea what was happening to her, but looking at those hands made her want to scream. [283]

She felt it again, even more violently, this urgent call from deep inside her. [446]

Ophelia is so horny and I’m so here for it!

Closing Thoughts

Do I think Ophelia’s internal conflict over Thorn is drawn out? Yes. 

Do I think it’s contrived? No.

I think it falls in line with Ophelia’s characterization and I think Thorn’s frosty reaction to her presence in Babel falls in line with his characterization. These characters aren’t perfect: Ophelia is quirky and endearing, but that doesn’t make her immune to cowardice; Thorn is highly skilled and competent but is deficient socially and sometimes emotionally. I can’t emphasize enough how well Christelle Dabos knows her characters and allows them to be who they are rather than force them to make weird changes to fill plot holes.  

We can’t forget, either, the fact that they have been completely cut off from one another for years. Yes, we might think in that time Ophelia could have done more to sort out her feelings. But as we’ve seen, she just doesn’t focus on more than what she can handle at a time. She always thinks in terms of breaking a problem down into steps. The first step was following up on those clues from Claridelune. The second step was finding Thorn. The last step was dealing with herself. 

Their relationship here, which has progressed in a way that felt natural and believable, is the most straightforward it has ever been. That made writing about them this time around kind of hard, actually, because it’s all plainly there in the text. For me, I think the notable takeaway is being able to mark just how far these two characters have come in their individual and mutual journeys. Now and together, they can tackle the gargantuan, perilous task ahead. It might all end on a bittersweet note. But for this couple…that seems about right, and I can’t wait to read the conclusion.

Thank you so much for reading these long posts and leaving such kind feedback! I’m glad that you, too, enjoy Ophelia, Thorn, and this magical series. 

#ophethorn #the mirror visitor #La Passe-Miroir #the memory of babel #la memoire de babel #christelle dabos #long book report #slow burn romance

[alliluyevas]

@oysterish-sympathies this is a great question! The answer is complicated and depends partially on the time period and the individual family.

I’m putting this under a cut because it’s insanely long lol

Just some context introduction before I get into the actual doctrine on the subject: when Joseph Smith (and a select few other high ranking members of the Mormon Church) began the practice of Mormon polygamy in Nauvoo, Illinois, they did so in secret and this practice was not widely known in the broader church. Doctrine & Covenants 132 was the revelation regarding polygamy that Joseph Smith claimed to have received during this time period (in 1843), but again it wasn’t publicized until after his murder in 1844.

Some background on the composition of Joseph Smith’s revelations including D&C 132: these revelations were dictated by Smith, who seems to have been overall much more comfortable with oral as opposed to written communication, to a scribe (in the case of 132, it was his brother Hyrum). The revelations are spoken in the narrative voice of God, and the Mormon church party line is that God was speaking through Smith in his role as prophet.

The part of D&C 132 that is relevant to your question is towards the end where God/Joseph Smith addresses Emma Smith (his first/legal wife) by name and, through her, other first wives. After explicitly threatening Emma with eternal damnation if she doesn’t comply with polygamy a few times, the revelation introduces something called the Law of Sarah. Initially, this states that the husband must have the first wife’s consent to marry the second (or, presumably, further wives), much like the Biblical Sarah gave Abraham her consent to take Hagar as a second wife. However, then two paragraphs later the revelation completely backtracks on this presumably because while dictating this Smith realized he had accidentally implied Emma would have real veto power and he needed to give himself a loophole.Then, we get the Law of Sarah restated as only applying to first wives who accept that polygamy is God’s law, and that wives who deny this have no say and are the “transgressor” against God’s laws and their husband can override their wishes and marry whomever he wants. So basically if the first wife accepts the basic tenant of polygamy, she has say in who the plural wives might be, but she doesn’t get to have a say in whether there will be plural wives at all.

(Note: on the reality tv show Sister Wives, which portrays a modern Mormon polygamist family, they seem to have interpreted this theological doctrine to apply not just to the consent of the first wife but of all existing wives in the selection of subsequent wives, because when Kody wants to take Robyn as his fourth wife, they definitely portray this as something that he needs the collective approval of wives #1-3 for, removing the at-least-theoretically-privileged position of the first wife implied in the Law of Sarah. However, from my memory of my years-ago watch of Sister Wives, at least two of the three existing wives’s approval seems to be very unenthusiastic and conflicted. So like, in general whether you interpret this doctrine as applying to the first wife or to all existing wives, there’s a loophole written quite explicitly into the idea of the Law of Sarah and in general it is definitely a situation of de facto male authority)

Okay, let’s step away from the doctrine and into the actual practice of polygamy. Back in early days, as you’ll remember, polygamy is not yet publicly part of Mormon religious practice and Joseph Smith is a stealth polygamist. During this time period, he’s living with Emma and their young children in what externally appears to be a typical monogamous household, while secretly having a variety of plural wives who did not live with him. There is no shared household and, as far as we can tell, he did not father children with any of the plural wives. So there’s definitely a pretty strong delineation between Emma’s situation and the situation of the plural wives. However, I don’t think we can necessarily view this as deference to the first wife: while Emma’s situation and that of the plural wives were obviously very different, none of the women involved in this seem to have been exactly thrilled with the situation to say the least and there was clearly a lot of religious coercion (carrot and stick of salvation and damnation, promised by their prophet/husband) being used to get them to comply and go against what they had been taught their whole lives was the natural order of marriage. (There are also obviously some extremely troubling implications here regarding sexual consent, especially for the plural wives). Again, I think we’re very much looking at a situation where patriarchal and religious authority are being dual wielded by the men against the women in their own interest.

In later years, once the Mormon Church colonizes Utah and Brigham Young institutes polygamy as the official and open doctrine of Mormonism, the situation looks very different because nothing is secret anymore, polygamy is status quo, mixed households are the norm, and especially in later generations you’re looking at women who have been raised to believe that this way of life is both normal and the will of God. So you’re not going to see as much pushback from either first wives or potential plural wives as you did in Joseph Smith’s period, because they’re not being completely blindsided by something that goes against their sense of morality and social norms. I don’t think that necessarily means that later polygamy was any better for women, it’s just that they were less likely to express open dissent and that the exercise of religious coercion came more in terms of lifelong indoctrination than a sudden onslaught meant to convert them to this new system of marriage. I also want to point out that I’m not saying that every 19th century Mormon polygamist was abusive or coercive towards his wives or that every plural wife was clearly desperately unhappy. I just think that those are the roots of the doctrine and that it’s a system rooted in an absolutist sense of male authority with a high potential for mistreatment.

Once polygamy has been established as the norm, I wanted to get more into your question of hierarchy among wives in terms of how polygamy was practiced. One point I’d like to make: the majority of Mormon polygamists had only two wives. Church doctrine taught that you needed to embrace polygamy in order to be exalted in heaven, but for logistical and financial reasons, having more than two wives was out of reach for most men (they also may have viewed it as emotionally overly complicated, I’m sure). It’s really only the upper echelons of church leadership that you’re seeing with wife numbers in the double digits. So obviously the dynamics in a household that has Husband, Wife #1, and Wife #2 is going to be very different than a household with Brigham Young and thirty different women living under one roof, both in terms of how the wives interact with their husband and, perhaps more crucially for your question, how they interact with each other.

Typically, you might often see the first wife taking on a head-of-household role among the women, because she was the most established and also almost certainly the oldest. (While, again, really striking and disturbing age gaps were more common with church leadership, the first wife was more likely to be close in age to the husband, who would then continue to marry young women as he himself aged). The stereotype was that the first wife ran the household but the second wife was the husband’s favorite because she was younger and prettier, and I’m sure that was the case in a lot of families. (That also seems like it would breed extreme resentment on both parts, potentially). However, particularly as the number of wives goes up, you can also see other practical matters have effect in terms of who did what and who had what authority--a wife with ten kids, a wife with four kids, and a childless wife would have different positions and duties in the household. A wife who was viewed as intelligent or better educated might end up serving as schoolteacher for the family’s collective children.

In Brigham Young’s household, one of his wives, Zina Huntington Young, was seen as a figure of authority and admiration among the other women because she was very intelligent and had strong leadership skills, even though she wasn’t the oldest or had the most children or anything. Sometimes in bigger polygamist families the man almost becomes less important in determining who stands where, because there are so many women they kind of have their own community standards. Brigham Young didn’t decide his other wives would see Zina as a leader, they did. There are definitely situations where the husband’s actions directly affect relationships and power balance between wives, though. In 1863, 61-year-old Brigham Young married 24-year-old Amelia Folsom who was apparently extremely pretty and became the recipient of a lot of favoritism and special treatment from her husband, which seems to have pissed off the other wives to some degree because they felt Amelia’s presence and Brigham’s treatment of her was upending their normal household structure and elevating her above the others. So sexual favoritism on the part of the husband could also have an impact on wife power structure. (Interestingly, this seemed to sometimes brook more resentment than wives taking on more status within the family because they were older/more experienced or because they had a special skill, at least in Amelia’s case).

This is a long ass post, but I hope you/other people find it informative!

#not me writing a post about mormon polygamy that explicitly references joseph smith brigham young and KODY FROM SISTERWIVES #mormonposting tag #yes im making a tag...

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

how would you do a percy jackson adaptaion?

okay, so I know this is a controversial opinion right off the bat: I really don’t think it should be an animated series.

A large part of the appeal of the series is that it’s a fantasy series set very very firmly in reality. Literally, apart from the camps, you could go to every location hit in the books. Riordan mentions specific streets, buildings and landmarks, and that was cool when I first read them. I remember being a kid and waiting for him to set a scene in a place near where I lived! I remember trips to New York and being able to envision an epic war happening in the streets. So I think any adaption needs to be live action just to keep that same feeling alive, while I’m not knocking on animation, I just feel like taking the story out of real life would make it loose a little of the charm. Like, the scene where Manhattan is completely frozen in time? It would be haunting to see that in real life, but I feel like it would be less impactful if it didn’t…you know…look real? The series should be done in a way that makes you truly feel like you could just turn a corner and walk straight into a snake woman going about her day. 

Now: another large part of the appeal of the series is how funny it is, but a lot of that…is Percy’s inner monologue. He doesn’t actually voice most of it, there was even a book where Annabeth described him as being quiet. So, I think the best way to work around this: make it Interview With A Demigod. 

Imagine it’s got an interview with a vampire-esque setup- and this even works because within the riordanverse, the books canonically exist because Percy sat down with a ‘camp scribe’ and had his quests recorded. So, like, this isn’t even entirely out of left field. But just imagine, a college-aged, maybe a little older Percy, I can see it so clearly in my head, he’s wearing a sweatshirt that at first glance looks like it says NYU but a trained eye will see it actually says NRU for a camp jupiter easter egg, he’s sitting in some dinky little diner (maybe it can even be a monster donut or something with a clever greek myth related name) with a guy who’s recording the conversation on some old-ass tape recorder that keeps acting up but they can’t record on a phone because of the whole technology thing. Every now and then it’ll cut back to them to get some great Percy thoughts out there. They open with older Percy saying the ‘look, I didn’t wanna be a halfblood’ and then explaining where he was when the whole mess started. Once he get’s to “was I a troubled kid?” the screen fades from older Percy to 12 year old Percy getting in a fight with Nancy and her gang, and the voice over says the ‘Yeah, you could say that’ part as we see him get threatened by the principal to behave on the field trip. Boom, we’ve got an opening. Lowkey….I’m seeing Jordan Fisher as older Percy, but I’m not 100% married to the idea. 

And before anyone tries to argue that showing an older Percy would spoil he’s not gonna die in last olympian- like, reading the books, we all knew he wasn’t going to die. It was a first person narrative and he was consistently speaking in past tense lmao like we Knew he was gonna make it. We still enjoyed the series. It won’t ruin anything.

I want part of the score of the adaptation to be instrumental versions of songs from the musical, I think that could be a sweet nod to that team. 

They really need to nail camp halfblood. I know that goes without saying, but in order to keep the pacing of the story decent we can’t spend as much time falling in love with it like we got to with the book. The book is like, 24 chapters and the quest starts at chapter 12- for a movie or tv show, that’s just gonna feel like it’s dragging. So, the insanity of the camp needs to smack you in the face right away, and then it needs to endear itself to the viewers quickly after that. Don’t try to ease the viewers (or Percy) into the mythology is real thing, rip it off like a bandaid. He’s on his way to meet Chiron and Mr. D for the first time and even if he’s not comprehending what he’s seeing, there’s nature spirits and harpies all around going about their day. Hestia waves at him and then disappears into the flames. Hecate kids can be seen casting a spell on the porch of the Hermes cabin. The Stolls are seen pranking some Aphrodite kids. He sees someone surely die on the climbing wall but then you hear a faint ‘I’m okay!’. The Apollo kids put a rhyming curse on another cabin. Pure chaos all before he gets the ‘so, gods are real’ speech. And then after that…show how warm Luke is to him at the cabin and at dinner. Show the kids all goofing off at the campfire and really make it clear that they’re children. Show the strawberry fields rolling in the wind and Percy sitting on the beach. The whole couple weeks where he’s searching for powers and learning greek and latin with Annabeth can be a montage. Make it clear how hurt and scared he is when he finds out he needs to leave.

It needs to really get you feeling how Percy’s feeling, every laugh, every tear, every moment of fear or confusion needs to shine clear through. Like…think of Spider-Man Homecoming, the Washington monument scene. All things considered, it’s not the most high-stakes scene we’ve ever seen in that franchise, and when it cuts to the kids in the elevator, they’re worried but not quite freaking out, but that scene feels very high stress to watch because the movie is good at getting the viewers to feel what Peter feels. A Percy Jackson adaptation needs a touch like that, because Percy’s a very emotional kid and that’s what a lot of the scenes hinge on.

Lowkey- I’d love it if the casts of both the previous movies and the musical had cameos or bit parts (the movie cast did Nothing Wrong, it was the rest of that team). It’d be hilarious to see, like, Jake Abel as the owner of the poodle, or Logan Lerman as Older Percy and the reporter’s waiter that keeps trying to get in on the conversation, or Brandon T. Jackson as a satyr who’s still stuck grooving out in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. Kristen Stokes as a nature spirit, Chris as one of the ghosts stuck in the waiting room of DOA Records, just like any of those casts having small parts would be fun and sweet. 

There should be a lot of easter eggs for the bigger riordanverse. Promotions in the background for the new Tristan McLean movie. Gabe’s got a true crime documentary about the missing Grace children playing during his poker game. Mr. D is reading a paper about Rachel Dare’s father’s newest project. At some point while they’re still in New York they pass the Kane family’s mansion or whatever it was called. Annabeth keeps a picture of little her and Magnus on her nightstand. The barest of hints about the Triumvirate. Seeing kids in camp jupiter gear in some background shots, just out of notice of our main characters but implying the camps are going through similar problems (BITCH….if we got a titan’s curse adaptation…and we had a shot of Thalia in the foreground….but in the background we saw a blond boy in purple with a golden sword….well I would simply loose my Goddamn mind).

And show us how easily the mist lets things blend in, too- like, everyone thinks ‘Monster Donuts’ is just a normal chain, it’s just on an average street block, but if Percy looks through the window he can see who’s behind the counter. Show someone swindling some guys in a park and you have to look twice to realize he’s a gegeines. Like…how people are still trying to find all the background ghosts in haunting of hill house. I would LOVE to see a bunch of background monsters and mythical beings just going about their day as much as the mortals are while the gang’s questing. 

The effects need to be fun. The whole story needs to be fun, but one weird thing about the past movies are that like…in their attempt to make it gritty, none of the fantastical things happening on screen actually felt that exciting. We need bright colors and interesting choices, consistently cool action shots, a liveliness that makes you feel like you’re in the center of the action. I have absolutely no doubt Disney easily has enough funds to pull off great effects.

The characters need to be….in character lmao. Annabeth needs to be cocky and bratty with the skill set to justify it. Percy needs to be a sweetheart who pretends to be hardened because that’s what people assume he’s like. Grover needs to have dry humor and a Too Old For This Shit attitude whenever percabeth start bickering. Luke needs to be nice and friendly but in a specific way that you can look back after the betrayal and see he was trying to groom everyone. Sally needs to be loving, protective and strong. Chiron needs to feel defeated and determined at the same time. Mr. D needs to….be Stanley Tucci lmao

Also, I’d love if the adaptation could expand more on things that got brushed along in the books- Percy and Beckendorf’s friendship, Silena and Clarisse’s dynamic, make Nico’s crush on Percy a little more obvious, give Rachel some more development. One thing that haunts me about the books is Sally never found out that Gabe hit Percy. Absolutely they don’t need to make the abuse explicit, but I also personally feel like a lot of Percy’s mindsets throughout the series are somewhat a result of Gabe, and I’d like if that got, you know, acknowledged. Maybe in the scene where he figures out Gabe abuses Sally he could say ‘does he hit you too?’ or something to that effect. They could also go more into detail about Annabeth’s family, give Zoe some more depth….like the possibilities I’m screaming.

Okay this is already long and I’m getting tired but I can so clearly see a great adaptation in my mind….Disney please come through….It’s what we deserve…. 

#percy jackson #disney #rick riordan #pjo #hoo #toa #asks #molly mumbles

[tloujm]

Part XII: Jackson Manor

Author’s Notes: Here’s my attempt at horror that I promised! Its roughly a week until Halloween, so just in time I guess! MY GOD, DOES TIME FLY. It was just the beginning of October a minute ago, wasn’t it? It’s a long one, just under 9k words, so grab a snack. It features some continuity on the main plot, but really its a stand alone chapter. Because there are multiple other characters mentioned, there is less focus on you and Joel as a couple, but there’s definitely some fluff and angst (grumpy Joel) hidden in there. I know I’m no James Wan or Stephen King, but bear with me. I only did it as a seasonal thing. The next chapter will go back to focusing on you and Joel’s relationship. 

Genre: Cheesy Horror

Summary: Maria puts together a specially curated group for the next patrol outing that includes you and Joel. The group of five are sent on a mysterious treasure hunt of sorts. The “treasure” is inside of a creepy, abandoned house that plays tricks on the group, fueling into the already existing tensions. 

Ship: Joel x Reader

Joel watched on with tired eyes as you sat with the newcomer at the daycare. You got up early so you could talk to her. So far, the girl remained silent, but her body language was responsive. Joel just stood there, unsure of when a good time to interrupt and steal you away would be. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait too long as you finally caught his gaze. After a moment, you excused yourself and walked over to him standing in the doorway. 

“Maria has us scheduled to patrol today.” He said.

“Us? Together? Well, that’s a treat. You usually do the tougher routes. Am I going on one of those with you, or are you doing an easy one with me?”

He shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not quite sure. Maria didn’t say much after she told me to come fetch you.”

“Maybe they think I’m ready for something more challenging.”

“I think so, but what’s strange is that she’s got us goin’ out with a couple other people who I don’t think are.” Joel said, scratching his beard.

“Who’s all going?” You asked.

“Tim, Rhonda and uh, Jesse.” He replied. He was less than enthused with the last name that exited his mouth. While he was civil with Jesse, he still couldn’t help but feel like he had a thing for you, whether you acknowledged it or not.

“Jesse’s a veteran, but Tim?” You made a face. “And Rhonda?” You made a slightly more exaggerated face. “Did Maria say why she chose all of us to go together?”

“Didn’t get the chance to ask. We’re meant to meet her at the stables. That’s where she’s debriefing us.”

*****

“Thank you all for meeting me for this patrol on such short notice. I know this is everyone’s day off.” Maria began. You and the others were seated on bales of hay as she paced in front of the stable doors. “I hand picked each of you to work together and complete the task at hand. I drew up copies of a special map that came into my possession a little while ago.” She handed them out. “Outside the city of Jackson, there is a little village...smaller than that really, that is not located on any published map. I want you guys to check it out and report back on it. Note everything. More specifically, I want this team to sweep through a large house over that way. You’ll know it when you see it. According to the original map, ‘the exterior is dark, almost black, three stories high and overshadowed by a massive pine tree’. I was tipped off that the house was used as a supply cache for the Jackson Frontier Faction, a recently extinct group of survivors. Bring back anything you can. Leave what you can’t and we’ll come back for it. Update the map if need be during your journey. Any questions?”

“How long do you think this mission will take?” Jesse asked.

“I don’t want you to spend too much time out there, but I estimate no more than three days. That’s including the time to get there and back on the horses. If you are not back by then, I will send a search and rescue team.” Maria responded confidently.

“No offense, but why did you pick us? We’ve never worked together as a group before.” Joel spoke up.

“True, I do not have the advantage of seeing your group dynamic, but there is method behind my way of thinking. Each of you have a specific skill set that I believe would simultaneously compliment each other as well as make the group superior to our previous patrols. Joel, you are an excellent shot and an exceptional tracker. Jesse, as well as your combat skills, you have a great sense of direction, even in the most foreign of environments, and you think outside the box. (Y/N), I know you have trained under both Joel and Tommy and I have seen your melee combat in person. I trust that you are ready for a more difficult route such as this. I also appreciate your level headedness. Keeping calm during dangerous situations can be the difference between life and death. Now as for Tim and Rhonda. I know the two of you have never been on patrol before, so I especially thank you for agreeing to this. I wish I could have introduced you to this job with a more novice route. Tim is our medic in training and has been Dr. Carson’s right hand and apprentice for over a year now. He will be there to aid in any medical relief.” She turns her attention to Tim. “If you ever need any assistance, (Y/N) is trained in first aid.” He looks at you for a long moment. You return the gaze, realizing that you’d never formally met him before. “Rhonda, you are great at your job taking inventory at the pantry. Now, you are the group’s official scribe and your job is to take inventory of the things collected. I’ve also seen how good you draw. I would like you to note the environment and work with Jesse in drawing up a new map. Also, I want you to record things of interest through writing and drawing.” Maria gives her a journal. “I would have had you all wait until the first sign of spring, but we are in desperate need of certain supplies. To be honest, this is an experiment, having all of you in a group together, but I still have high expectations. Please, do not disappoint me. We are all counting on you. Have a safe trip.” Maria left to tend to some business at the main gate.

“I think we should go over this map she gave us so we can all be on the same page.” Jesse suggested.

Joel grunted in agreement. “Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.” You began to push the bales to form a circle. The others followed suit and Jesse placed his map in the middle. Before you could take a seat, you felt a tap on your shoulder.

“Hi, I’m Tim.” He began to laugh nervously. “I’m sure you know that because of Maria, but I wanted to introduce myself. I didn’t want my asking you to apply pressure on somebody’s wound be the first time I talk to you.”

“Nice to meet you, Tim. (Y/N).” You shook his hand.

“I’ve heard a lot about you actually.” He responded.

“Oh?” You questioned genuinely.

“Yeah. Everyone knows about that bloater you and Joel ran into. And I was there helping Dr. Carson handle the bodies when the two of you found Sid and Adam. I just want to let you know, I think you’re very brave.”

A grin slowly grew on your face. “Thank you. I’m sure you are too, having to deal with blood and whatever gory things you see in the infirmary.”

He brushed past the compliment. “No more gory than what you guys see on patrol when you run into clickers and bloaters. The way the Cordycep fungus disfigures the body is something from a nightmare.” You nodded in agreement. Joel watched on from his seat as the two of you conversated. Eventually, he cleared his throat, causing you to turn and see that everyone else was seated and ready to go over the map. Tim’s cheeks turned red as he gave you a small smile before sitting.

“Nice of you to join us.” Joel whispered after you sat next to him. You nudged him in the shoulder and focused on Jesse’s words. 

After agreeing on a specific route in accordance to the weather conditions, the group picked up their respective horses and headed to the main gate. Maria and Bill from weaponry passed out a plethora of guns and knives. Joel and Jesse led the way out into the open with a couple clicks of their tongues. Everybody's horses galloped behind. It was cold and the snow was fairly high, but light enough to dredge through. 

Tim gently kicked his horse in the rear to gallop faster and catch up with you. “So how do you think Maria found out about this place?”

“I don’t know. Must have been one of the merchants who passed through a few weeks ago. If this place was discovered by someone inside Jackson, all of the patrol groups would have known by now. For Maria to be the only one who knew and had a map?”

“Do you think it actually exists?” He asked.

“The house?”

“The whole village.” He confirmed. “Maybe a merchant made up the location with the hopes of convincing someone of a known cache supply, like a treasure map, and had the intentions of charging a high price for it.”

“Maria is smart. She wouldn’t have let anyone get over on her, especially a merchant.” You defended her. 

“I’m sure you’re right. What do you think is going to be in there?” Tim asked casually. 

You shrugged. “Food. Hopefully not molded or eaten through by rats. Medical supplies. Seeds for the spring. Could be anything.”

“So long as it’s worth it.”

“She wouldn’t have sent us if it wasn’t.” Things fell silent between the two of you. You thought about riding off to the front next to Joel, but figured it was rude to just leave him.

“You and Joel,” He began before clearing his throat. “You guys patrol a lot together?”

“We used to. Not so much anymore. Matter of fact, this is the first time we’ve been assigned to the same group in about a year.”

“Why is that?” Tim questioned.

“It was this whole thing.” You explained it away, not wanting to get into detail. He kept looking at you as if he was waiting for you to expand on the response. “We just got busy doing different things. I help out at the daycare too, you know.”

“Yeah? I know Wendy. She brings the kids by the infirmary from time to time for check ups. I traded for a pack of stickers a while back. I give them out to help put a smile on the kids’ faces when they come in. You know, a lot of them get nervous around doctors. My stickers don’t stand a chance against Joel's wooden toys though.”

“You know about those?”

“Of course. They come in holding the little horses or race cars kind of like a blankie. So...speaking of Joel, you two are together, right?”

“Yes, we are.”

He nodded. “He’s more than lucky, I’d say.” He waited until you turned and held his gaze before bidding you a goodbye. He slowed down his horse to ride alongside Rhonda. After a moment, you rode up next to Joel. You offered him a small smile, to which he returned the same.

“What did he want?” Joel nodded his head back in Tim’s direction.

“He was talking about Maria and this mission. He seems skeptical about the whole thing.”

“I don’t blame him, but I trust Maria. What else did he say?” Joel inquired.

“We were just getting to know each other. Small talk really.” You responded. You seldom saw Joel jealous, but you didn’t want him to get into a funky mood when there was a mysterious task at hand to focus on.

“The winds picking up, you feel that?” Jesse chimed. The two of you nodded.

“Yeah. I hope we find this place soon.” You shouted over the howling winds.

“According to the map, there's still a ways to go. Let’s just hope the weather doesn’t get any worse than this.”

Unfortunately for the group, not only did the winds pick up, but it got cloudier, blocking the sun’s warmth. It was hard to tell whether it was snowing or if the wind was just blowing around what had already fallen. Either way, the visibility got progressively lower by the second. At one point, you had become separated from Joel. The only people you could see were Tim and Rhonda. Joel was alone; nothing but white around him. He shouted your name over and over, but the frigid air entering his lungs began to hurt. His horse started to slow down as it became harder for her to gallop through it. Joel had been separated from the group for so long that he thought he was going crazy when he heard crunching in the snow from behind. He heard his name, but it wasn’t from your voice. Jesse came up from behind him. Despite the cold air whipping his face, he seemed happy to see Joel.

“Where are we?” Joel shouted.

“I don’t know, but we have to find somewhere soon. These horses won’t make it.” Jesse replied.

“Did you see (Y/N)?” Joel asked.

“I don’t know where anybody is.” Jesse pulled his hood back over his head. “The storm’s getting worse. Should we turn back?”

“No!” He shouted over the winds. “We came as a group, we leave as a group.”

“What if they already turned back? They’re probably assuming that we’re going to too.” Jesse pleaded.

“I’m not leaving without (Y/N).” Joel retorted. “We just need to find cover to wait out the storm and go on from there.” Jesse quietly followed his lead. There seemed to be no shelter in sight. If there were, they were masked by the white wall of snow directly in front of them. Joel was contemplating pulling out his map and risking it against the wind to estimate how far they rode from their last known point. Just as he began to pull it out,  a big dark building came into view.

“That must be it!” Jesse exclaimed.

“This way!” Joel noticed a large opening on the side of the house. As he galloped closer, he realized it was the opened door of an attached shed. The men ducked their heads as the horses walked them inside.

“Joel!” You exclaimed, voice laced in relief. He immediately looked your way and his heart skipped a beat. He was so worried. You approached his horse and waited for him to dismount before you attacked him with a tight hug. “You’re so cold.” All you wanted to do was strip him down and warm him up.

“Well, it is cold outside.” He responded sarcastically. You lightly slapped him on the arm before moving onto Jesse. You gave him a quick hug and helped tie down both of the horses.

“We’re glad you’re back.” Rhonda announced as she entered the shed. Tim followed close behind her.

“Good. The gang’s all here.” Jesse said.

“We wouldn’t have been if we hadn’t convinced (Y/N) to stay.” Tim began. “She insisted on going back out for you guys when we saw that you weren’t here. We told her that it was too dangerous, but she insisted. Practically had to hold her back.” He chuckled.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t.” Joel said flatly to Tim.

Breaking up the tension, Jesse spoke up. “Did you guys clear the house?”

“Only the first floor. There’s two more floors, not including the basement.” Rhonda responded.

“Alright, Jesse, Rhonda and Tim. Y’all sweep the top floors for Clickers. Me and (Y/N) will board up them windows over there.” Joel points to the wind entering through the broken glass. Jesse nodded and pulled out his gun. The others did the same.

“Y’all know how to use those things?” Jesse questioned them. Joel didn’t see or hear their answer as he was focused on you.

“Are you okay?” You asked him.

“I’m fine, darlin’. What about you?” He asked with a soft tone.

“I’m good now.” You smiled. He tilted your chin up with his still gloved hand and kissed you. He let his forehead rest on yours for a moment before straightening back up.

“Alright, let’s find some wood or somethin’.” Joel’s body was weary, but he didn’t want to rest until the house was secured. You couldn’t find any tools to board the windows up with, so the two of you settled on barricading them with large furniture. It wasn’t until you were done, did you realize how big the house was. 

“This isn’t just some house, it’s like a manor.” You commented. “Almost reminds me of that hotel.” The last part you said almost in a whisper.

“This ain’t gonna be like the hotel.” Joel tried to comfort you.

“How do you know?” You furrowed your brows.

“Well, how about this, I’ll make you breakfast in bed the morning after we get back if there are zero bloaters in this house...I’m sorry, manor.”

“Well aren’t you naughty, implying that I’ll stay the night when we get back.” You teased, changing the mood of the conversation.

“I’m implying that you’ll consider moving back in.” He gazed at you, all playfulness left behind.

“If you still agree to make me that breakfast in bed, I will.” You replied coyly.

“It’s settled then.” Joel smirked. 

The two lovebirds had just begun to feel each other up when the rest of the group came back downstairs. They would have been caught if it weren’t for Jesse’s heavy footsteps. He gave the all clear but claimed he saw something of interest upstairs and wanted Joel’s opinion. Rhonda, wanting to take note of whatever it was, tagged along with them as they went up to the third floor. With just you and Tim left alone, the two of you agreed to scavenge the second floor.

“Oh wow, look at this!” You walked up to a bookcase in one of the bedrooms. It was tightly stocked with classical literature with matching book spines. 

“Lord of the Flies, The Secret Garden, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy…”  Tim followed your voice into the room and read some of the titles from over your shoulder. “Quite the eclectic collection.”

“Oh look! One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” You pointed out.

“Ah, Nurse Ratched. She creeped me out. Almost didn’t finish it because of her.”

“You read it?” You asked.

“Don’t sound so surprised.” He chuckled. “I’m a well read man. It's funny, I’ve read more after the outbreak than before.”

Turning back to the bookshelf, you crouched down and ran your finger across the spines. “Look how dusty these are. They look like they haven’t been touched in years. That Jackson Frontier Faction, or whatever Maria said they were called, probably never even touched these.” You continued to read the titles before eventually picking up a book that peaked your interest. “Charlotte Bronte.” You breathed out her name as you flipped the cold, leather book in your hands. “Jane Eyre is one of my favorites. I never wanted to like all that mushy, gushy romantic stuff, but in the end, it appealed to me. You know, sometimes I think of Joel as kind of like my Mr. Rochester because he can be so grumpy at times. Don’t tell him I said that, though.” You chuckled as you turned to face Tim, but he was no longer there. 

The large bedroom was empty and you began to notice just how eerily still the air was. You calling out to him was the only sound. You waited for an answer to no prevail. Turning back to the bookshelf, you placed Jane Eyre back in its slot. With a light, barely there click, the door behind you closed. Slowly, you turned to face it. A sense of dread washed down your body as you got up and walked to the door. Your eyes cautiously bounced around as you did, looking for anything abnormal. It was wide open when the two of you walked into the room. Your hand reached out for the door knob and, barely touching it, the round thing of metal fell onto the floor and rolled around your feet. 

“Hey.” You exclaimed as you banged on the door. “Tim, the doorknob broke off. Let me out.” Your brain allowed you to think that it was all just a prank masterminded by Tim. “You got me, but it’s not funny anymore.” You began to bang louder. You heard the echoes of your fist against the wooden door, but again, he did not respond. “Tim?” You banged harder. “Help!”

“(Y/N), step away from the door.” You heard Joel’s voice on the other side. He gave you a few seconds before kicking the door in. It only took him one try before the door swung in and you were revealed to him. He pulled you into a tight hug. “You alright?” He kissed the top of your head. “How did you get locked in?”

“I’m ok---” 

As soon as he heard that you were fine, he began to bombard you with questions. “You sure? Weren’t you with Tim? Where is he?”

“Yeah, Tim was there for a moment. Look, it was probably just a draft that closed the door on me.” You wanted to believe that. 

“That still don’t change that he should’ve been with you.” Joel sternly said. Jesse watched and waited in the hallway until Joel took your hand and led you out the room. “Tim!” He called out as he sped down the stairs.

“Hey, we’ve been waiting on you guys.” Tim casually stated.

“Well, guess who’s been waitin’ on you.” Joel retorted. He glanced at you before glaring back at him.

“Wait, I don’t get it.” Tim said, confused.

“(Y/N) was locked in a room upstairs. A room both of you were meant to be in.” Joel’s voice became more aggressive.

“I don’t know how she got locked in. I didn’t do it, I swear, if that’s what you’re saying. I left it open when I walked out.” He shifted his gaze to you. “I thought you were right behind me, (Y/N). I heard Rhonda call out from downstairs and---”

“Yeah that’s true,” Rhonda began as she leaned back on an end table. “I went downstairs to look for my pencil sharpener because my tip broke and I called you guys down to keep me company. I don’t know if it’s just me, but this place kinda creeps me out. I didn’t want to be down here by myself and I know Joel and Jesse were busy upstairs so...”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). I swear I thought you heard her too and were following me.”

“She was up there for God knows how long. You didn’t notice when you got downstairs that she wasn’t behind you? Did you even tell her that you were leaving the room?” Joel questioned him.

“Well, I mean no,” Tim began to stammer. “But that was because I thought she heard her too! I didn’t notice that she wasn’t behind me until about a minute after I got downstairs. She was having a good time looking at those books in the room, I figured maybe she ignored Rhonda and kept looking or maybe went upstairs with you guys. Look, she’s an adult! I assumed she made the decision herself not to come down. It’s not like she’s some lost child that I have to look out for!”

“She may not be a child, but we look out for each other beyond them gates. You may not be used to how patrollin’ works, but they put us in groups for a reason. Anythin’ can happen out here!” Joel explained.

“Ok, let's take a breather.” Jesse spoke up to relieve the tension. “(Y/N) is fine and that’s all that matters.” Jesse was not immune from Joel’s heated glares either. 

“You didn’t hear me calling for you?” You asked Tim in a low tone.

“No.” He simply said in an apologetic tone. You didn’t know what else to say. It was probably really all just a harmless mistake. You concluded that you didn’t hear Rhonda over your own voice when you were rambling on about Jane Eyre.

“Let’s just make sure we communicate better next time, huh?” Jesse suggested, focusing in on Tim.

A sudden, blood curdling shriek cut through the air. It belonged to Rhonda. She flailed about the living room, shaking tiny black dots off of her hand. It was hard to see as she moved quickly, but the black dots were crawling up her arm. Jesse stepped in and began swatting her with a blanket off of the couch. Her feet hopped up and down from the floor like a choreographed dance. Even after Jesse asked her to stand still to inspect her, she kept moving. Joel stepped in to gently hold her still. She whined in protest, claiming that they were still crawling on her. Tim took the time to thoroughly look over her body for anything that moved. He even raked his fingers through her hair. Jesse walked over to the end table that she was leaning against and investigated.

“There’s a sac of spider eggs directly behind one of the table’s legs. You probably broke them when you leaned against it, releasing all those baby spiders.” Jesse explained calmly.

“They could have crawled anywhere! Why did they have to go for my hand?” Rhonda asked rhetorically.

Still Jesse answered. “Maybe they were crawling toward the scent of their mother.”

“Are you saying they thought I was their mother?”

“I’m saying that the mother must still be around here close by.”

“God! I hate spiders!” Rhonda exclaimed. “I told you this house gives me the creeps. I can’t be the only one who thinks this.”

“Spiders are everywhere, Rhonda. I didn’t see any bites, so you should be alright.” Tim chimed in. 

“What were you guys checking out on the third floor?” You asked Jesse and Joel as a way to change the subject. 

“It ended up bein’ nothing.” Joel said curtly. He saw your dissatisfaction with his answer and sighed. “It turned out to be a couple of dead rats. They were frozen.”

“We haven’t gone down to the basement yet. I think we should make sure it’s clear before we start really scavenging.” Jesse made notice of the oversight. “It’s really cold in here. Can’t we make a fire first?” Tim spoke up.

“I’ll stay and make one here.” Jesse volunteered. “Tim, since you want one so bad, you can stay back and help me with it.” He turned to Joel. “Y’all can go ahead. Let us know if you run into trouble.” Joel nodded and led you and Rhonda down the basement stairs. The temperature dropped almost immediately after making it to the sub level. 

The three of you pulled your respective weapons out and cautiously walked across the cold cement floor. The large basement was divided by metal shelving units. There was no space left on any of them. It seemed like whoever owned the house before the outbreak was a hoarder. The snow blocked out any light from peering through the narrow windows. The only thing guiding the three of you were your flashlights. 

“What’s that?” Rhonda spoke up. It fell silent, but everyone heard it. It was a drawn out creaking followed by a deep rumble that sounded as if it moved across the whole basement.”

“It’s just the house settling.” Joel simply said.

“That’s what they all say. Feeling a draft when there’s no wind. Hearing doors slam in the next room. Oh, but it’s just the house settling.” Rhonda responded.

“Well, did you hear a door slam or feel a draft?” Joel inquired, almost wishing he hadn’t.

“No, but now that you mention it, it’s colder down here than upstairs. This is probably one big cold spot.”

“It’s always colder in basements.” You tried to reason.

The creaking sound occurred again. “Look,” Joel flashed his light up toward the ceiling and moved it along the direction of the pipes. “Whatever water is left in the pipes from when they were last used is freezing which means it’s expanding. As the ice grows, it’s pushing against the walls of the metal pipes.”

Rhonda looked up at the frost covering the illuminated pipes. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Come look at this.” You beckoned them over. You had found a table covered in a sheet and after whispering some encouraging words to yourself, you pulled it off.

“What is it?” Joel asked.

“It’s an orrery.” You breathed out. Despite your amazement, he was no closer to knowing what it was. As a matter of fact he was more confused. Rhonda took out her notebook and began to draw it.

“Its a mechanical model of the solar system.” You explained. To Joel, it just looked like different sized spheres positioned in a circle.

“They don’t look like planets to me.” He said.

“This isn’t the most extravagant one I’ve ever seen, but it’s something.” You walked around the table, studying the spheres. “See, right here, this one is the sun,” You pointed. “Which makes this one Earth.”

“Really makes you feel small, don’t it.” Joel chimed. 

“I know we won’t be able to take this now, but this would be great for school. The kids would love this. Teach them about how space works.” You said.

Joel studied it a little bit longer before moving on to see what were on the shelves. As soon as Rhonda was done drawing, she did the same. You threw the sheet back over the model before continuing on as well. Most of the items were either junk or rotted with mold. On one of the lower shelves, you found a small hand mirror. The base was ornate in design, but the glass itself was dull and cracked. You held it up to your face, angling it in your hands. Something moved in the corner near the crack. You didn’t pay the occurrence much mind until it happened again. You saw something in your peripheral vision that couldn’t be explained away by the house settling. Turning around, you inspected the area of interest in the dark. Everything was still. Whatever it was that moved, maybe it knew that you were watching it, so it stopped. You stood still, hoping to blend into the darkness as well. Maybe you could catch it moving before your very eyes if you just waited long enough. Your heart thumped in your chest as you began to fiddle with the switch on your flashlight. Quickly, you illuminated the space in front of you only to reveal nothing but boxes stacked up against the wall and another item covered in a sheet. Carefully, you approached the cloaked object and ripped the fabric off. You jumped out of your skin at the sight before you. 

A shaky breath escaped your lips as you turned around. “You scared the shit outta me!” You told Joel. He was standing behind you when you pulled the sheet off of a standing mirror. Your light reflecting off the glass masked some of his features and for a moment, you didn’t know exactly who was standing behind you.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, darlin’.” He said. This time it was your turn to glare at him. You knew it wasn’t his fault, but your heart was still beating out your chest. “I just came up to check on you. I saw you wandering around in the dark.”

“I’m fine. I just...I thought I----” You stammered through your explanation before being cut off by a loud thump. It went eerily silent. “Rhonda?” 

“Rhonda.” Joel called out as well. There was no response. The two of you searched up and down the makeshift aisles that the shelving units created. You called out for her again. 

“She has to still be down here.” You mentioned.

“Think she pulled a Tim?” Joel suggested.

“No, she wouldn’t do that. God, how is this basement so huge?” He led you to a tunnel-like portion of the room. “Rhonda!” Your light shone on her unmoving form on the ground. You and Joel kneeled beside her. Upon closer inspection, you found blood slowly dripping out from the back of her head. The back of her hair was matted in a mixture of gravelly dirt and the dark red liquid. Joel got back up and flashed his light around the narrow space to see what could have happened.

“Looks like she hit her head on this.” Joel commented. You followed the direction of his light and saw a stack of cement blocks against the wall. The top block had fresh blood painted on the side of it.

“Go get Tim. He needs to help her!” You were scared for her. The blood wasn’t coming out at an excessive rate, but there was still a lot more than you wanted to see on the ground underneath her head. 

Joel began to leave in a hurry, but stopped in his tracks. “Be careful, (Y/N). This is what she must have slipped on.” He said as he shone his light on a patch of black ice on the ground. He moved the light higher and inspected the pipes directly above his head. A frozen over droplet formed around a tiny crack in the cylindrical piece of metal. 

You were scared as you sat alone with her in the basement. Her lips were turning blue and you couldn’t tell if it was because she was dying or because it was really cold down there. You wanted to believe the latter. Either way, she needed to be moved. After what felt like five long minutes, Tim came rushing into the narrow section where you waited. You screamed for him to be careful around the ice. He hopped over the patch and knelt down by Rhonda’s side to assess her head injury. He managed to wake her back up, though she was slipping in and out of consciousness. Tim gently picked her up and walked her upstairs to where the fire was going. Jesse laid a blanket down on the floor in preparation for her. 

There, in the middle of the living room floor, Tim treated Rhonda. He diagnosed her as having obtained a severe concussion. He elevated her bandaged head and gave her a pain killer to swallow. He practically swaddled her in the extra blankets to discourage sudden movement. 

“I’m going to help her eat so her medicine can digest properly. After that, I’m going to ask her a set of basic questions just to see where her brain and motor functions are. Nothing major; her brain definitely needs some time to heal. Despite falling unconscious, the blunt force trauma doesn’t seem to have caused any swelling or permanent brain damage, but like I said, I still have to evaluate her and see where she’s at.” Tim explained. The four of you were huddled together on the other side of the living room to make sure she was out of ear shot.

“If you’re gonna look after her, I reckon the rest of us should finish scavenging. The faster we do this, the faster we can get back home where she can better rest.” Joel stated.

“Given the storm ends soon.” Jesse spoke up.

While the three went up the stairs, Tim went over to his backpack to review his medical supplies. As he rummaged, a drawn out creak sounded from the kitchen. He glanced in the direction of the room despite not being able to see inside. A few moments of silence was followed by a loud bang. Tim glanced back toward the kitchen again. This time, he moved closer to the fire, giving him a better view into the room. His heartbeat quickened as he peaked around the corner. From his angle, nothing suspicious could be seen. He exchanged a worried glance with Rhonda before looking at the staircase. He wanted to see if anybody upstairs had heard. If not coming down to investigate, he figured they would at least shout out to them and ask if they were ok, but there was nothing. 

“I’m going to go see what that was.” Tim said to Rhonda.

“Please don’t.” She replied weakly.

“It’ll be fine, I promise.” 

“No, no, no.” She profusely shook her head. Tim read her face, he knew that she was sincerely frightened, but if there was an impending danger, he needed to know where it was. I would only be gone for a moment, he told her in his head. He pulled his gaze from her and turned the corner. The kitchen appeared completely normal. He was confused. The sound was so close; it had to have come from the kitchen. As a precaution, Tim went into the laundry room located right off the kitchen. 

“(Y/N)? Come here. Wait with me.” Rhonda spoke up, barely above a whisper. She didn’t hear you come down the stairs, but you were in the living room nonetheless. It was good timing as she was too scared to be by herself. “Please?” You hadn’t so much as looked in Rhonda’s direction. You just walked from one end of the room and down the hallway, disappearing from her view. “(Y/N)?”

Rhonda waited for you to come back down the hall. This time you’d be facing her and surely she’d be able to get your attention. Despite calling out again, you never did. Left to her own devices, Rhonda began to think about what you wore when the group left Jackson. She couldn’t completely remember, but the more she thought on it, the more she realized what you wore just a moment ago was different from what you wore earlier today. She never did get a good look at that woman’s face, but she thought it was you by the color of your hair and the height. She wanted it to be you. A wave of shivers ran down her spine as the realization sat in. 

You, Jesse and Joel split up the rooms upstairs to cover more ground, but decided to stay on the same floor to avoid a repeat of what happened earlier. As soon as you were done searching your room, you moved on to the next only to find Jesse. He called you over from the doorway but shushed you as you walked in. You noticed that it was a grand bedroom, similar to the one you were locked in on the second floor. You walked past the four post bed and stood next to him. His ear was to the wall.

“Tell me if it’s coming from here.” Jesse whispered. You heard a faint scratching sound, but it could have been from anything inside the old house. Standing next to him, you mirrored his position and let your ear rest against the cold wall. The scratching sound became more clear as it mingled with a slow, yet distinct clicking sound. The two of you stared at each other. You silently expressed to him that you did in fact hear what he was hearing. You read the question in his eyes, unsure of how to answer: what was behind these walls? This was the last room in the hallway, so there wasn’t much space for anything else. You began to walk backwards with your ear sliding against the wall to follow the sound. Jesse followed your footsteps. When you stopped, there was no more than a half foot distance between you two.

“It’s right here. Right on the other side.” You whispered. Jessed nodded. Subconsciously, you held your breath and stayed like that for a few moments. Suddenly, you jumped at a new sound echoing through the room. It was Joel clearing his throat as he glared between you and Jesse from the doorway.

“What’s this?” Joel asked in a less than impressed tone. His arms were crossed as he walked in further. You hadn’t realized how the proximity in which you stood to Jesse looked from another view point. You knew Joel wasn’t the happiest camper around Jesse, but you also knew that you hadn’t done anything wrong. Quietly, you placed a finger to your lips and pleaded for his silence with your eyes. As he walked closer, you could tell by the curiosity in his face that he heard it too. He made a move to stand in between the two of you, prompting the other man to walk away from the wall. “It’s probably termites or rats. This house is old and falling apart. There’s no tellin’ how many little openings there are.”

“With all due respect, I don’t think it’s rats this time.” Jesse disagreed. “I think we should investigate.”

“What good would that do? There’s nothing beyond these walls! You’ve seen it; there's nothing but the outside. If it ain’t rats, then what is it? We ain’t here to play ghost hunter, alright? We’re meant to be lookin’ for them supplies.” Joel argued. His attention was geared at Jesse, but when there was no rebuttal, he turned to look at you only to find a hint of disappointment in your face.

“Who knows how long we’re gonna be stuck in this house. We may as well while we’re here.” You said. Much to Joel’s dislike, you sided with Jesse. With an exasperated sigh, he agreed under the condition that it wouldn’t take long.

The three of you walked around the room, looking for clues such as holes in the walls for rodents to scurry through. It didn’t take long for you to find a draft coming from behind the armoire. It was as if the large piece of furniture was blocking an opening. The two men moved it out the way to find that it was blocking a crawl space. With the opening exposed, the scratching and clicking became clearer. The three of you were hesitant, knowing that whatever it was making that sound, it was through that small, dark space. You glanced between the two men before volunteering to go in first. You were the smallest, you argued, and could best fit through. Crouching down, you saw that the large hole in the wall was like a tunnel to something deeper in the house but that it also passed the interior of the wall. You let out a deep breath and began to crawl with a knife in your right hand.

With your body only 3/4ths of the way in, you came face to face with the origin of those sounds. You removed your flashlight from your waist and shined it on the clicker. It was so disfigured that you concluded that it had turned many years ago. Remaining completely still, you watched as it slowly clawed at the wall. The scene before you was so abnormal. Never had you seen a clicker move so slow. You eyed the way it was positioned between the walls. It could have found its way out easily if it wanted to. Living for years after the outbreak, you observed how the fungal parasite used its host cleverly to spread its disease. It had probably been there for so long, blocked by the armoire, that its blood lust fell dormant. You continued to watch as its mouth slowly opened to release a few clicking sounds before closing again. You were afraid that as soon as any sudden movements were made, a switch would flip in whatever was left of the  clicker’s brain and it would begin attacking you. While silently weighing your choices, Joel and Jesse noticed that you hadn’t moved for minutes and asked if you were ok at the same time. He gave the younger man a glare before refocusing on your well being. Your eyes immediately went back to the clicker to see if it was disturbed by the sudden sound. Normally, all it took was the tiniest sound of a human voice to activate their savage nature. You watched and waited, but nothing different happened. You let out a deep breath and told the guys you were ok. Despite the thing being closer than you would have liked, it was an easy kill. You told them what had happened before carrying on through the crawl space. The tunnel spilled out into a secret room. It was as big as a walk-in pantry closet or a janitor room. Before you stood up, you shouted behind you for them to follow. It was a tight squeeze, but they did it.

The group had already scavenged valuable odds and ends throughout the house, but this was the jackpot. The walls were lined with nonperishable foods and cases of bottled water stacked up as tall as Joel. Jesse broke the lock on a heavy duty trunk to find it full of weapons and ammunition. There was another trunk with other survival tools like batteries, matches and medical supplies raided from a hospital. The three of you donned huge smiles at the amount of supplies that was discovered. With Rhonda injured, you pulled out your own notebook and marked everything that was inside the room while the other two filled their bags up to the brim to take what they could.

Downstairs in the laundry room, Tim found nothing out of the ordinary. It made no sense to him. Was it all a prank; something the rest of the group was doing to initiate him into the patrol job? Or was it all in his head? He knew it wasn’t that; he wasn’t crazy. Just as he turned to walk back into the kitchen, he heard the loud bang again. It came from the same place he investigated just moments ago.

“Rhonda, did you hear…” He shouted out as he walked into the kitchen. He stopped mid sentence when he saw the disarray before him. All the drawers were pulled out and all the cabinet doors were opened. His body froze in fear. The only thing that moved were his eyes as he watched a mouse scurry between the cupboards. For no good reason at all, he was overcome with a feeling to not look behind him as if there was something there waiting to reveal itself in the laundry room.

“Tim!” Joel shouted from the living room. He was still scared, but hearing his voice snapped him out of that debilitating fear. Quickly, he made his way out the kitchen. Without warning Joel pushed him against the living room wall and held his arm against Tim’s throat to keep him in place. “Where the hell were you?” Joel asked aggressively. “We come down here to find Rhonda crying and bleeding through her bandages.” Tim’s eyes, bulged out, danced across the room before landing on the wounded woman. You were holding her in your arms.

“C’mon. Ease up. He gets it.” Jesse gently rested his hand on Joel’s shoulder.

“No, I don’t think he does.” He replied over his shoulder before looking back at Tim. “When you said you were gonna look after her, I figured you meant it. I thought we’d been over this, Tim.” He glared daggers into the medic’s eyes, but he was only met back with fear. Assuming that he was the cause, Joel finally let go. Tim scurried to another corner of the living room to gather himself. 

“I saw her...it...whatever that thing was!” Rhonda spoke up raspily. “I called out to her, thinking it was you. I thought you’d left me, but then she came back. Not once did she look at me, but she paced the living room and each time she walked back, she got closer to me. I told her to stay away, but she didn’t listen; she kept coming closer. I tried to crawl away, but I got dizzy and my vision got blurry.” She began to weep again. “So I closed my eyes and counted to ten, like my Nana taught me when I was little. Then I heard you guys come down the stairs. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was you. The real you. She was gone. 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Rhonda.” Tim hoarsely apologized. “I...I was gone because there was this sound. A huge bang. You guys didn’t hear that?” Joel only offered a blank glare while you and Jesse shook your heads. “It had come from the kitchen. It was only right there, so I figured it was close enough for me to see what it was. Just in and out.”

“Well, it wasn’t in and out was it?” Joel questioned.

“That’s the thing. When I went into the kitchen, I couldn’t find anything out of place; nothing to have made such a noise.”

“I told you not to go in there.” Rhonda said in a low tone.

“I saw that there was another room right off of the kitchen. I decided to investigate that while I was in there. I meant to be quick.” Tim explained, meeting no one’s eyes in particular. “I...I...I swear to you, my back was to the kitchen, and when I turned back around, the whole thing was a mess.” You continued to hold Rhonda as she shivered while Jesse and Joel rounded the corner into the kitchen. Things were a mess, yes, but in the way a house this dilapidated would be.

“I don’t get it.” Jesse whispered to Joel.

“I know you couldn’t have expected this place to be immaculate.” Joel said to Tim. The medic followed them into the kitchen and looked around with his mouth agape.

“It wasn’t like this. The...the cabinet doors were open! All of them! And the drawers. All pulled out! I mean what could have done that all at once in the matter of seconds?”

“Your mind maybe.” Jesse answered. 

Tim shook his head. “I saw it with my own eyes.” He whispered. 

“Whatever it was, it’s gone now.” Joel concluded.

“Yeah, I vote we call it a night and settle around the fire. Tomorrow morning, we will collect as much as we can upstairs and prepare to leave.” Jesse suggested.

“Right, we meant to tell you guys, we found the cache!” You began excitedly. “You should have seen it. It wasn’t as extravagant as when the kids found the pirate ship in The Goonies, but it was just as special. Everything in there is everything we need.”

Rhonda’s weeping quieted down into whimpers as she was comforted by the idea that they would get to leave soon. Tim acknowledged your words with only a nod. His mind was still on the house and all the tricks it's played since the group arrived. Was the woman that Rhonda spoke about all in her head. He was quick to think so on account of her head injury. For her it was easy to explain away, but what about himself? He wasn’t a doctor of psychology, but he was familiar with the idea. He felt fine and had no idea how he could have made something up that played with more than one of his senses. 

Tim volunteered to take the first shift of keeping watch, determined to catch whatever was messing with him. His plan was to wake the others up as soon as something happened so they could see what he had saw. The exhaustion he felt, however, played against him and he dozed off. When he came to, the living room was shrouded in darkness. The makeshift pit in the middle of the living room floor was nothing but ash. His mind raced as his thoughts went back to that elusive woman Rhonda was haunted by. He was so engulfed with fear that he couldn’t tell if what he was hearing was the whistling wind seeping through the cracks of the barricaded windows or the whispers of a woman. He looked at all the sleeping forms and wanted so badly to wake someone up to keep watch with him, but selflessly chose against it. Sitting there, his eyes flickered to every corner of the room, waiting for something to happen. He waited for so long that he forgot to wake Jesse up for his shift to keep watch. It wasn’t until the little rays of sunshine poked through did Tim realize how long he’d stayed awake for. There was something about the light that comforted him. He mustered enough courage to get up and stretch his legs before waking up the rest of the group. 

Joel peaked behind one of the barricades and saw that the blizzard had finally passed. Despite that, there was a significant amount of snow left on the ground. The group wasted no time in doing as they agreed last night. The bad feeling that each of them got coupled with Rhonda’s injury, quickened their pace. After packing what they could carry, the group grabbed their horses and made a slow trek through the snow back to Jackson, leaving the dark manor in their wake. 

#TLOU #TLOU 2 #TLOU II #The Last of Us #The Last of Us 2 #the last of us joel #the last of us fanfic #tlou fanfiction #tlou joel #tlou fanfic #joelxreader #joelxyou #joel miller #tlou joel miller #fandom #fanfic #naughty dog #halloween #happy halloween #video games

[atlantis-scribe]

Under the cut are the Stargate things I did this year. Yay me!

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[ FANFIC ]

sliding doors (1/1) [ posted 12 January 2020 ]

For every person, there comes a moment, seemingly unimportant and inconsequential, that can forever change the rest of their lives.

For John Sheppard, this moment has always been just waiting for him. The question is whether or not he takes it, and how long he has until it finally gives up on him.

This one was inspired by the JJ x Reid plot twist in Criminal Minds (CM). I grew up watching CM, so it made perfect sense in my head to mix the shows together. It also seemed fitting, since post-series McShep looks to be heading towards a similar storyline with what happened to JJ and Reid. Sometimes, two people just aren’t going to end up together, feelings and regrets and longing notwithstanding :(

edge of a precipice (1/1) [ posted 5 June 2020 ]

There’s a reason why John never crosses the line.

I just really had to practice writing Pining!John (and John voice). That’s it; no other excuse. I also wanted to see if I can write a first kiss between them that makes sense in my head, one that can happen organically. It ended up a little too melancholic for my taste, but I’m glad I got to put it down.

archimedes in love (1/1) [ posted 20 June 2020 ]

John is trying to make things easier for the both of them.

Rodney, it turns out, has never really learned to do anything the easy way.

This was really difficult to write, not only because doing Rodney POV requires so much brainpower and vocabulary (as opposed to John voice, which is an exercise in casual and practiced emotional restraint) but also because I wanted angst, but not too much, you know? (This was also when I noticed I tended to daydream about post-canon scenarios. Seriously, show. You ended way too soon.) I’m pretty happy with the result, though, even if it wasn’t exactly how I pictured it would be when I started it.

off the record (1/1) [ posted 17 July 2020 ]

“I’m drunk,” Rodney declares, knowing that resistance is futile with Tower 5-C already listing ten degrees to the right.

“Yeah?” There’s a serious note to Sheppard’s voice, prompting Rodney to turn and face him. Blinking slowly, he finds the other man’s gaze fixed on something just above Rodney’s left ear. When Sheppard speaks again, the sound comes out almost ominous. “Good.”

(Or: Rodney and John share a bottle of Athosian ruus wine, and talk about things they won’t remember in the morning.)

My favorite one-shot title! Also inspired by that sweet-but-gutting scene from Crash Landing On You, where the leads had a drinking session and allowed themselves to be honest under the guise of not being able to remember anything the next day. What can I say, I love angst. Nothing new.

maybe next time (1/1) [ posted 28 July 2020 ]

Unbeknownst to the two of them, there had been five times when Rodney and John almost met.

I surprised myself with how quickly I wrote this. One sitting, about two hours tops. This was a fun little exercise for me, with the canon details I had to incorporate to make it realistic. Also pretty proud of the title ;)

in retrospect (1/1) [ posted 28 November 2020 ]

Tony Stark owes someone an apology, but finding the guts to say sorry is proving to be the least of his problems.

Always wanted to do my own MCU fusion after reading Siria’s The Things We Did and Didn't Do. (Read it if you guys haven’t yet!) It’s going to be a series, with heavy emphasis on Rodney & Tony’s dynamic. So excited for the other installments and really bummed that I’m not as prolific a writer as some of y’all are. Alas, we work with what we have.

Stargate Oblivion (5/?) [ 10 April 2020 - present ]

Fifteen years after John Sheppard left Atlantis for good, the Stargate Program is finally ready to go public.

In the ensuing chaos, sixteen-year-old Paula Jane McKay is thrown in the middle of sinister plots, complicated loyalties, and old secrets that will force her to choose between her beloved city and the planet she has spent her whole life yearning for.

Ah, the fic that continues to eat my brain. I will finish this if it’s the last thing I do, I swear. It’s sort of a way for me to play with time jump, original characters, the restrictive nature of canon compliance, and what happens to soulmates after being apart for so long (to name a few elements). It’s basically a love story 20 years in the making that I only hope doesn’t take me just as long to write lol

SIX SENTENCE SUNDAYS

This was exciting for the first few weeks, until I caught myself being anxious over what to write next and it sucked the fun out of the whole exercise. It did help me practice writing short pieces, and rest assured I’ll post another one if something shiny comes up.

MCSHEP AUs

Crash Landing On You

My Love From The Star

Also known as, ‘How to Hack Kit’s Brain’. This really helped me deal with the countless plot bunnies that keep popping up in my brain. I have a lot of these on queue, each one meant to satisfy my curiosity without committing to writing a full-length fic. Unless specified otherwise, these little ficlets aren’t going to be complete stories. I’m giving everyone carte blanche to pick up whatever you find interesting and to write your own version/continuation. Just drop me a link to your story so I can gush about it :)

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[ REC LISTS ]

Kit's 2020 McShep Fic Rec List [ AO3 | Tumblr ]

Halloween 2020 Rec List [ Link ]

So happy a lot of people loved the fic recs. Join (or rejoin, for OG McShep fans) me in my downward spiral, folks. I have no plans whatsoever to look for the end of the tunnel  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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[ STARGATE SIDEBLOG ]

atlantis-scribe

Of course, my favorite accomplishment of the year: this little sideblog. The pandemic has been rough for everyone (unless you’re Jeff or Elon, and if you are, can you pls fund the Stargate reboot?), so I’m really just happy to spread good vibes all around. This has been my most active participation in any fandom, so I may be a little awkward when it comes to interacting with other people. Forgive me if I violate some well-established rules; I’m trying to educate myself along the way. I really am just perfectly happy to provide whatever content I can, and people’s comments/tags/messages are simply icing on the cake.

Whatever reason you guys may have, I’m delighted to have you over. Grab a seat; let’s talk about stars and gates ;)

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#kit things

[charliechick117]

Apparently there’s this AO3 tag game going around and I thought “Hey! I wanna do it!” so here I am.  I stole it from @smuttysmuttysmut so thanks!  I’ve been in fandom well before Ao3 so this will be super interesting.

How many works do you have on Ao3?

45!

What’s your total Ao3 word count?

444,138 (but going up!)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Coffee Shops and Lawsuits

According to You

The Sight of a Scribe

It’s an Old Song

A Week of Dwalin/Ori

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

It depends honestly.  I try to respond to comments that make me happy or need like, a follow up, I guess?  For a while I didn’t reply to anyone and then I tried to reply to everyone and now I’m kind of in the middle.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Um... I don’t really write angsty endings?  I guess in “It’s and Old Song” there’s a sadness to the ending where Crowley and Aziraphale don’t remember their old lives together, but they start a new life and I really feel like that was a better story - to choose each other again even if you don’t remember.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

Definitely “According to You”!  It’s the happiest ending because there was so much angst to get there.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what’s the craziest one you’ve ever written?

I don’t publish crossovers but when I was in college, like eight or so years ago, I wrote the biggest crossover in history based on an OC who was able to travel through every single piece of media I ever consumed.  I’m talking Merlin, Doctor Who, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, Torchwood, Good Omens, etc.

It ended up being almost 400 pages long and I still think about adding this OC into everything I write.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I don’t think it was hate so much as misunderstanding.  This was an old fic on FFN and I was young and made a choice in characters that didn’t sit well with a reader.  I don’t think they hated the fic so much as they hated that choice.  And, to be fair, it was a cop-out choice so I can’t even be mad about it.

Do you write smut?  If so, what kind?

Nope.  I write some more... suggestive things (but I’m an adult so there) but it’s never full on smut.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I did have someone do a podfic of one of my fics!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Kinda, sorta, not really?  My sister was writing this AH pirate fic and I helped her write some of the scenes, but it was her fic.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

This question is unfair.  I’ve been around the fandom block for over a decade - how can I pick ONE favorite ship?  But, I guess, for the sake of this, if we wanna talk favorite ship to write about?  Probably Dwalin/Ori.  They’re the two I wrote the most fics for and their dynamic is endlessly entertaining for me.  It’s been, what, almost ten years since The Hobbit came out and I still wanna write fics about them?  So I guess that counts.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Oh, I have so many.  The one that I think fills me with the most regret is “Everything Is Permitted” which is an Assassin’s Creed AU fic for The Hobbit.  It’s so self-indulgent and I loved the story and the world I ended up building for it.  I really enjoyed adding different AC elements to the world of the Hobbit and I so want to finish telling that story - but I don’t think I ever will.

I also have this Good Omens fic that I’ve been trying to finish - I have the last two chapters but not the three before it so it’s been hanging there, unfinished, for months.  Again, the regret of not having it finished it is what really haunts me because it’s got SUCH a good ending once I get there.

What are your writing strengths?

I’m pretty good at characterization.  Before I even think about writing a fic, I spend so much time consuming media and taking notes about the characters.  I try to find their strengths and weaknesses, what drives them, what they love or hate, who they care for and why they care.  I studied psychology in college and nothing brings me more joy than to nail down characterization.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I am SO BAD at describing things.  I’ve never been good at describing locations or places or clothes or like... even my characters?  Like if someone asked me to describe what my OCs look like, all I can say is what kind of people they are.  Sooo yeah, definitely my weakest point.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I think unless you’re fluent in the other language, just stay away from it.  My parents both speak Korean and English and there are nuances in both languages, idioms and the like, that are difficult to translate if you don’t speak the language semi-fluently.  A direct translation is impossible so, unless you know the language, it’s not worth the risk.

The funny thing is that this also applies to sign language.  It’s so easy to just assign sentences to sign language and mark it as sign instead of spoken.  But sign language is also impossible to directly translate.  It’s something I didn’t realize until my sister took ASL in college.  And sure, I get that it’s hard to have a deaf character sign and stuff, but I think it’s important to know that sign language is also a foreign language.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Can I date myself with this?  I wrote Red vs Blue fic on Deviant Art.  How’s that for old?

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Probably “According to You”.  It was one of the first fics I wrote where I had a clear vision of what I wanted to execute and it actually went to plan?  I feel so proud of how the whole story turned out, how the pacing went and the dramatic ending.  It’s one that I’ve been seriously considering editing and publishing because I’m just that proud of it.