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maverick-werewolf · 3 years

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Werewolf Worldbuilding Sheet

Instead of a werewolf fact this week, have something I’ve been working on for a little while now. I was sent an ask about a good werewolf worldbuilding sheet. Me being me, willing to settle for no one else’s werewolf things, I thought - hey, why not make my own? I love worldbuilding werewolves and I’ve tried to make sure to think of literally everything to do with mine, so I thought I’d put together a relatively simple werewolf worldbuilding sheet! (and maybe a vampire one in the future!)

I will first extrapolate on each section of the sheet and provide some thoughts/examples (and relevant werewolf facts to turn to for ideas!)...

What is lycanthropy and where did it come from? This is always something to consider. Note, of course, that where it came from may be a mystery, and that’s fine too. You don’t have to always do the “it came from a demon or a witch” thing like literally everyone else in the universe. Folklore provides us with some interesting material to help think on this - here are some helpful werewolf facts: What IS a werewolf? --- Curse, not Disease --- On Werewolf Biology --- When Werewolves Went Feral Part 1 --- and Part 2

How does one become a werewolf? Pretty simple question, but always complicated to answer! Well, potentially. How does someone become a werewolf in your story? Definitely a helpful werewolf fact for ideas - but also refer to several from the first question: Becoming a werewolf

Are there different terms for werewolves? Something else to think about! Are your werewolves even called “werewolves?” They don’t have to be, of course, but you know, it’d be cooler if they were. And most monsters, especially in older times, didn’t have just one name - not to mention other languages in your universe that would have their own terms for a werewolf. Useful werewolf fact: Etymology

Are there different kinds of werewolves or similar shapeshifters? This is kind of a weird one, I know, but hey, it’s something to think about. I for one don’t go into the “werewolves are just one kind of shapeshifter that happen to all be pretty much exactly like werewolves but different animals” (looking at you, D&D and WoD), but lots of people do, so that’s up to you! Helpful/potentially relevant werewolf facts: What is and isn’t a werewolf --- Where were the werewolf hybrids --- On shaping other shapeshifters --- Berserkers --- Vrykolakas --- Loup garous and rougarous --- Magic skins

What do the werewolves look like? A big one to decide! I’ll try not to influence you, but, you know, werewolves are called werewolves, just try to remember that. Useful werewolf facts: Physical Appearance --- Werewolves have tails --- Wolves are big, werewolves are bigger --- Hands and claws --- Fur colors --- Eye colors --- How to identify a werewolf --- Werewolves walking upright

Do werewolves have packs? Werewolf packs saturate our current generation of pop culture, but they are indeed very popular. Consider, however, that werewolves’ characterization is severely degraded if they are basically unable to exist without a pack and/or devote themselves entirely to seeking a pack instead of being a person at all; not that werewolf packs are bad, but something to consider. Useful werewolf facts: Is alpha, beta, omega really a thing? --- Communities and families --- Inheritance/offspring

What are a werewolf's powers and abilities? There might be more than you think! Have fun with it! Just remember, werewolves should totally be OP. Like, way OP. No, I’m not kidding. They’re awesome. We love werewolves on this blog, remember? Useful werewolf facts: Powers and abilities --- Eye/vision powers --- Spirit projection --- Werewolves can outrun you --- Werewolves can swim --- Werewolves can climb trees --- Gluttony/swallowing things whole

Do they have any weaknesses, and why? Another big question! Do your werewolves have weaknesses? Or do they not? If so, of course - what are they? Useful werewolf facts: How to kill a werewolf (weaknesses) --- Silver --- Belladonna and wolfsbane --- Werewolf and monster hunters

What triggers a werewolf transformation? The BIG one! Well, one of the big ones. Super, super important. Is it more than one thing? What are they? Details! Useful werewolf facts: Transformation triggers --- Transformation sequence --- On werewolf biology (again) --- Full moon --- The Arcadians

What triggers a werewolf to return to human form again? What it says on the tin. This can vary a lot! It’ll definitely be influenced by the first question, but it’s something to maybe think about separately.

Can a werewolf be “cured”? This can depend, of course, on what exactly your werewolves are/how they work, but it’s always useful to know the answer as to whether or not there’s any hope of someone being totally human again. Plese see previous questions for other useful facts, like if your lycanthropy is a curse in the first place! Useful werewolf facts: How to cure lycanthropy

Can the werewolves control themselves, or ever learn how to do so? Are your werewolves even uncontrollable in the first place? Is there any hope for a sad werewolf to ever gain control, if so? Useful werewolf facts: When Werewolves Went Feral Part 1 --- and Part 2 --- Personality changes

How do werewolves act in their werewolf form and why? Are your werewolves full of rage? Are the hungry? Do they eat people? Why? Would they hunt specifically people, or what? Useful werewolf facts: When Werewolves Went Feral Part 1 --- and Part 2 (yes, again) --- Werewolves vs Evil --- Personality changes (again) --- Werewolves don’t bark --- Werewolf diet --- Werewolves vs vampires (my most controversial post lol) --- Werewolves as noble knights --- The trial of Peter Stubbe -- Werewolf Intelligence (and speech)

Are werewolves immortal, or anything approaching it? How about that immortality? Useful werewolf facts: Immortality and aging --- Powers and abilities (again)

How are werewolves treated/seen by others? Are they outcasts? Kill on sight? Hunted from the very moment someone finds out what they are? Do they have to hide the fact that they are a werewolf? How does it work? Useful werewolf facts: Hiding being a werewolf

Do werewolves remember anything about their transformations? What it says on the tin! Do they, or do they not? Is it hazy? Do they have no memory of it at all and might not even realize they are a werewolf? Or do they remember everything? Useful werewolf facts: Memory

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Please note of course that my werewolf facts are here to give you ideas, not be instructions. Werewolves of your creation are of your creation, and thus you should create them the way you want and like them! I don’t want to dictate to anyone the way werewolves “should” be, although I absolutely have my personal preferences. The werewolf facts are meant to give you ideas and, hopefully, be a good jumping off point.

Folklore isn’t always the coolest portrayal of werewolves - it’s just better, IMO, to use folklore as a basis or at least as an idea basin instead of ignoring it entirely. The folklore for werewolves is awesome, just like all folklore. But pop culture has given us some cool things, too.

And remember, if you have any other questions or want to throw ideas at me or ask me my thoughts on anything, I am more than happy to talk werewolf ideas with you! Please, share your werewolves with me! I promise they don’t have to be ultra-folkloric for me to love them (mine actually aren’t, in many respects), since I’m a big fan of several very Hollywood things as well. I’m also always here to give writing advice.

Enjoy!

More on werewolf tropes

Reframing “werewolf angst” into “werewolf anxiety” (very important!)

On pop culture werewolf designs and Underworld’s influence

Werewolves are not British

The Beast of Gevaudan and what isn’t a werewolf legend

Wargs/worgs

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BLANK VERSION OF THE SHEET:

What is lycanthropy and where did it come from?

How does one become a werewolf?

Are there different terms for werewolves?

Are there different kinds of werewolves or similar shapeshifters?

What do the werewolves look like?

Do werewolves have packs?

What are a werewolf's powers and abilities?

Do they have any weaknesses, and why?

What triggers a werewolf transformation?

What triggers a werewolf to return to human form again?

Can a werewolf be “cured”?

Can the werewolves control themselves, or ever learn how to do so?

How do werewolves act in their werewolf form and why?

Are werewolves immortal, or anything approaching it?

How are werewolves treated/seen by others?

Do werewolves remember anything about their transformations?

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And of course, don’t forget to check the werewolf fact masterlist for even more info on folkloric werewolves (and my sundry opinions on pop culture werewolves)!

Be sure to give me a follow for lots more werewolf facts, vampire facts, answering all your asks, and a whole lot more folklore and writing, as well as writing advice!

(If you like my werewolf blog, be sure to check out my other stuff! And please consider supporting me on Patreon - every little bit helps keep this blog running!

Patreon --- Wulfgard --- Werewolf Fact Masterlist --- Twitter)

#writing advice #worldbuilding #werewolf #werewolves #lycanthropy #lycanthropes #fantasy #urban fantasy #supernatural #paranormal #werewolf wednesday #werewolfwednesday #worldbuilding tools #worldbuilding sheet

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carriagelamp · 3 years

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April l was apparently the month for me to revisit some children’s authors who are steeped in controversy at the moment. So here’s my hot (well, lukewarm) takes on issues that absolutely do not need a single other person talking about them. Also some actual good books that I read this month!

Badger in the Basement

The Animal Ark books are a childhood classic — though I recently found out that apparently there’s a difference between American and British publications, and the American versions didn’t include a lot of actual COOL animals which is… bizarre. As a Canadian stuck in the middle of this, this nonsense drives me nuts. This one was about the main character, the daughter of pair of vets, trying to protect a local badger sett from men wanting to participate in badger digging and baiting. These books are always feel-good, and it was a nice single-day-read while I waited for a library book to come in.

Chi’s Sweet Home

The cutest manga series about the misadventures of a little kitten, Chi, who has been adopted by a loving family. I’ve never bothered to read them in order, but apparently this time I stumbled across the last in the series -- whoops! Still, stood on it’s own pretty easily, and it was a fun read! Things get tense when the family realize that they may have found Chi’s original home… and may have to give up Chi forever.

Earth Before Us: Dinosaur Empire!

This was an odd graphic novel, I feel like I’m not sure who the target audience was exactly. It was a nonfiction comic done in a Magic School Bus style, with the purpose of teaching current, up-to-date facts about the animals that lived in the Mesozoic Era. If you’re into dinosaurs, you’ll probably enjoy this! The art is absolutely adorable, I love the dinosaur illustrations, and I learnt some really neat facts. That being said, the pages are really dense, and there’s a lot of info crammed in… some of it will probably go way over a child’s head without specific additional teaching or a very strong personal interest. But that being said, a dinosaur obsessed kid is still probably going to really dig this… as would a dinosaur obsessed adult. It wasn’t my cup of tea exactly but I’m sure it is someone’s.

assorted Dr Seuss Books

I love these types of controversies because it means getting to listen to every moron who has never had an opinion on Dr Seuss ever start generating a mile of them out of the aether. So many people are so mad about the six books that are getting retired and I bet most of them haven’t even read them. These are not the friggin Cat In The Hat or The Lorax or even the likes of Yertle The Turtle. I was raised by a grade one teacher, was a voracious reader who loved Dr Seuss, and wrote my university thesis on children’s literature, and I still only knew two of the six books on that list. So by all means, if you want to write an essay explaining why those specific books are worth clinging to, feel free, but if you haven’t even heard of them maybe it’s not a big deal. *grumble*

Anyway, my grousing aside, it gave me the urge to reread a bunch of Seuss books, including the two retiring books I personally knew: McElligot’s Pool and To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street. I do still enjoy both, especially McElligot’s Pool which always sparked my imagination, but it’s obvious why they’re being retired and I personally think it’s the right choice. There’s so much good kidlit out there, we can survive without these.

Goodbye, My Rose Garden

A f/f romance manga, fairly standard fair though cute if you’re looking for some historical angst, pretty dresses, and mutual pining. A young Japanese woman moves to England in the hopes of meeting a writer (Mr Frank) who she has long admired. Along the way she is employed by an enigmatic woman with plenty of money, rumours, and melancholy following her. I’ll be honest, uncut romance isn’t really my genre, but I’ll probably still try to the second book to see if the story picks up.

From The Holocaust to Hogan’s Heroes: The Autobiography of Robert Clary

It’s no secret that I’ve been on a Hogan’s Heroes kick. This is the autobiography of Roberty Clary, who plays my favourite character in the show, Louis Lebeau. And holy shit what a life this man has had. He was a Jew growing up in France before the start of the war, and who was one of many children taken away from his family and sent off to the concentration camps in Germany. This was an amazing, intense, inspiring, and heartbreaking read… it has Clary’s voice all over it, and it tells everything from the charming childhood he had, to the horrors of the concentration camps, the brutality of survival, and then about his exciting journey into the entertainment industry afterwards. It’s an experience, would recommend if you’re a fan of the show.

The Ickabog

The second controversial author I read this month. Originally I was going to give Rowling’s new book a miss, given everything that’s been going on over the past few years, but in the end my curiosity got the better of me. Politics aside, it was a fun read! Not groundbreaking, but enjoyable enough and written in an interesting style. It didn’t read the same as a lot of modern kidlit, it felt more like a cross between a classic fairytale and a Dahl book. Perhaps a bit like Despereaux. It tells the tale of how an idyllic country gradually falls into ruin through the ignorance, inaction, and greed, and how a supposedly fictional monster hides the very real, human monsters at the heart of the country. It was cute and pleasant and I’m glad I decided to get it from the library, though for anyone who is choosing not to engage for political reasons: you aren’t missing anything major.

Franklin In The Dark

A Canadian classic. I don’t think there’s a single person my age who hasn’t read or been read a pile of these books, and the nostalgia is so comforting. I found this on Youtube and listened to someone read it to me, and honestly 10/10 would recommend for a calm evening.

The big reason I decided to seek this one out though, was because I finally got to the M*A*S*H episode that inspired this entire series! In the episode C*A*V*E, in which Hawkeye is freaking out over his claustrophia while the camp is forced to take shelter in a nearby cave during some intense shelling, he mentions that if he had been born a turtle he would have been afraid of his own shell, and that the other turtles would make fun of him cause he’d be forced to walk around in his underwear. And so this first story about a young turtle who’s afraid to sleep in his own shell and drags it around behind him. So if you were ever curious, Franklin the Turtle is in fact named after Dr Benjamin Franklin Pierce. (this is also why the French version is named Benjamin!)

Wolves of the Beyond: Lone Wolf

I loved the Guardians of Ga’Hoole books as a kid but I never read the Wolves of the Beyond series. This first book was an interesting read, Lasky does a great job creating worlds and societies for the animals that inhabit them. Lone Wolf is about a deformed wolf cub who was abandoned in the wilderness to die. And he would have, if a desperate mother bear, who had recently had her only cub killed, hadn’t stumbled across him and saved him, vowing to raise him as her own...

Petals

A “silent” graphic novel. It has beautiful artwork and is told entirely through pictures, no text at all. It’s loves and heart-wrenching, though it left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied… I felt like there should have been more. Still, a neat story.

The Southern Book Club‘s Guide To Slaying Vampires

What a banger of a novel!! I can’t recommend this one enough. It’s about a group of suburban mothers in the ‘80s who form a book club out of a shared need for community and a love of grisly true crime novels. But when a strange drifter appears in town and starts setting down roots… and when children begin disappearing… these women need to band together to confront the horrors that have invaded their neighbourhood, and face down not only a terrifying monster among them but the patriarchal system that allows it to flourish. To quote the preface:

“Because vampires are the original serial killers, stripped of everything that makes us human — they have no friends, no family, no roots, no children. All they have is hunger. They eat and eat but they’re never full. With this book, I wanted to pit a man freed from all responsibilities but his appetites against women whose lives are shaped by their endless responsibilities. I wanted to pit Dracula against my mom. As you’ll see, it’s not a fair fight.“

The Weirn Books: Be Wary of the Silent Woods

I love Chmakova’s graphic novels, though I’ve only ever read her slice-of-life middle grade series before. This one is pure fantasy and very fun. It’s about two cousin “weirns” — witches with demon familiars — who attend the local night school. Things get strange though when an ominous figure appears outside the old, abandoned school house deep in the Silent Woods, and begins tempting children down its path…

I’m very much looking forward to word of a second book and was honestly kind of surprised that I haven’t heard more about this book given how popular her other series is. This has all the same charm and quirks but for those of us who prefer stories based in fantasy rather than reality.

And A Bonus...

For some masochistic reason I got a Garfield book out of the library. Jeez, if I didn’t love these as a kid, I found them absolutely laugh out loud hilarious, and now I just don’t see it anymore. But here I will share the one strip in the book that actually made me laugh

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semper-legens · 3 years

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48. Leif and Thorn: Sword Lilies, by Erin Ptah

Owned: Yes Page count: 174 My summary: Thorn’s relationship with Leif is causing a lot of complications in his life. Leif’s status as an indentured servant means he has to rent his boyfriend from the embassy for dates, and around every corner is a culture clash that seeks to drive a wedge between them. Also, magic, musicals, memes, and moons! My rating: 5/5 My commentary:

Volume two of Leif and Thorn, and it’s still one of my favourite webcomics, and I still love it. This collection houses arcs from The Calling to Only 900s Kids Will Get This, the bulk of it spanning the Summerfest story arc. Here’s my elevator pitch - it’s good fantasy, it has excellent LGBT+ representation, the story explores cultural differences and systems of oppression and power structures while still maintaining a lighter tone and comedic structure. Also there’s magical girls. Who doesn’t love a good magical girl?

Let’s check in with the boys. The Summerfest arc contains one of the saddest moments in the entire arc, as Leif talks to Thorn about what him being owned by the embassy actually means in terms of their relationship, and Thorn starts trying to find out how they can circumvent the shitty situation Leif is in. Again, I love Leif’s slow realisation of himself as a person with agency. You get the sense that he hasn’t had a lot of love in his life - he implies he was taken away from his parents at a reasonably young age, like still in school, and has spent all of his adult life as an indentured servant without much agency. It’s not a situation where being with Thorn ‘fixes’ him or anything, more that he is just finally in a relationship (and it didn’t need to be a romantic one) where he is seen as a person with agency, and through Thorn’s gentle care is starting to unlearn some of the abusive thought patterns that his country has instilled in him.

Thorn, meanwhile, is mostly trying to deal with all of the above, as well as realising just how much their countries differ. We get to see a lot of his inner thoughts and it’s interesting to me how, even though he’s obviously emotionally affected by everything that’s going on, he’s still planning and thinking rationally and trying to come up with solutions that cause the least possible harm for everyone. He’s just a nice guy, is the thing, but in a very engaging and sympathetic way that helps carry the narrative.

Ah, what else can I say about the worldbuilding here. It’s all so great! This volume in particular contains a lot of extras at the back about heartsword types and the countries of this world, which I very much appreciated. (I’d pull a backsword, I think.) One detail I appreciate is that, when there are worldbuilding elements that are also pop-culture shoutouts (like the in-universe version of Eurovision or ‘taking an arrow to the knee’ as slang) they’re always built into the world and given depth and meaning, not just leaving them as blatant shoutouts. It’s a neat detail that shows the care it took to craft this world.

For all I’ve talked about the more dramatic and serious parts of this series, there’s a lot of levity here. One of the smaller arcs at the back of this volume involves vampires reminiscing on the equivalent of 90s snap bracelets - there’s Leif being bad at spicy foods in the Summerfest arc, or Thorn and his knights bickering over who gets tickets to a blockbuster musical. There’s a lot of light and life, and it really helps both to create an engaging and still-mostly-comedic tone, while in turn enhancing the darker aspects of the world when they happen by contrast. It’s a delicate balance and I think Ptah does a very good job with it.

That’s all for this one - next up, back into YA, for a bit of historical fiction.

#Leif and Thorn #Erin Ptah #bookblr #book blogging #book blogger #5

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tortured-swiftie · 4 years

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@revouries sorry it took so long but here is my full list of song recs! Ps - it is loooooong

So I’m still very surprised anyone is even interested in this but its a really cool thing to share! This playlist has taken me close to a decade to create and I’ve been asked to share it with you all! Fair warning - heavy spoilers, and a lot is based on ship angst, don’t come for me. Also I have only read TDA twice and its been maybe a year since I did so I don’t remember everything perfectly. I had a lot more time with TMI because I read them for years and years. TID & TLH don’t really have soundtracks for me, because of the time period these modern songs really feel wrong when I read those series.

TMI :

Battle in Hotel Dumort in CoB -

- I’m So Sorry - Imagine Dragons

The pace of this song, the sinister notes, the danger it invokes just brings this scene alive. But also, this is the first time Clary feels like a Shadowhunter. She fights and its not terrible. She feels powerful instead of like a liability. Shes able to hold her own while talking to a clan of vampires. Its badass and fits the song.

Seelie Court kiss scene in CoA -

- The Violet Hour - The Civil Wars

Its such a beautifully haunting song, its sweet on the one hand but something wrong lies underneath it. It is so so perfect, because Clace is getting what they’ve wanted, but by hurting those around them. They get to give in for once, without the guilt attached, they have someone to blame for all this. But it ends on this very uneasy note, because it isnt right. So much of it is not right and Clace are not satisfied because it wasn’t a real kiss or real declaration of love

Jace and Clary after the meeting with the Seelie Queen in the Institute in CoA -

- Black Flies - Ben Howard

This is a very Jace song for me. Its quiet, peaceful, but the words are hurtful and honest. “No man is an island” fits him so perfectly at this time in his life where he feels abandoned by Valentine, abandoned by Mayrse, abandoned by literally everyone so he wants to make it worse by committing to Clary. She is so unsure of him because of the repercussions it would cause and he wants her in this moment because of the repercussions. He wants to isolate himself so he cant be hurt by those he loves.

Jace meets Valentine on the boat CoA -

- Silence Worth Breaking - Brooke Annibale

This is where Valentine really shows off how manipulative he is, and as a reader you start to believe how easy it would be to get around to his way of thinking. imo this is the best villain CC has written, because you find yourself agreeing with him sometimes and he makes it difficult to argue from a different perspective. The first time I read this scene I was convinced he was going to go with Valentine. The song is foreboding, it is anxious, and makes you think something bad is around the corner, which at this point in the book you feel like something bad is bound to happen

Simon is about to die on the back of Luke’s truck end of CoA-

- Wait - M83

This just perfectly conveys the grief and fear and guilt Clary feels when she thinks Simon is about to die. She brought him into this life, he turned into a vampire because of her, he was tortured by Valentine because of her and just as they saved him he is going to die. Its the loss of innocence and childhood for Clary. Simon is the last piece of it stripped away from her. First her mum, then her belief system in her whole world, then Luke, and now Simon. She is stripped all the way down to the bone of her identity and this scene is quick, but intense for this reason for me.

Clary and Jace meet up for lunch at the end of CoA -

- Distance - Christina Perri

This is such a sad song, and the sweetness of Christina Perri’s voice pairs beautifully in this scene with a feeling of a bittersweet kind of resigned acceptance. Clary had wanted so bad for Jace to let her go, she had convinced herself that her feelings weren’t that strong. And now here she is accepting her true feelings and ready to kind of wrap Jace around herself like a security blanket and he tells her exactly what she wanted to hear earlier. Except now she has to be a big girl and face her life without anyone holding her hand. She has to grow up and thats what makes this scene so sad, this is Clary realising its time to grow up.

Clary and Jace find Ithuriel in CoG -

- Goodbye Godric - Nathan Barr

This song was always ethereal and otherworldly, the notes are awe inspiring and convey this grief that is so abstract and not individualistic, it is beyond the human experience. Clary and Jace’s complete altruism and empathy in this scene matches with the grieving tones, how helpless they feel at this beautiful creatures pain, and how much they want to do something but they don’t know what. Then Ithuriel shows them visions and its even worse than they imagined. The misery that exists in these walls caused by Valentine, the waste of energy and life and soul is amplified by the music. The music soars as Ithuriel is set free, and the manor home crumbles.

Clary and Jace make out session outside the newly ruined Wayland Manor CoG -

- Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics

This wild abandon kissing perfectly matches the mood and pace of this song. Its all over the place, its messy, its confusing. Its giving into pure passion. Its abandoning any pretences they have built up and watching reality crash back down on them.

Isabelle wants Simon to distract her after Max dies in CoG -

- Not Everything Was Better In The Past - Fink

This is such a tenderly played song, and is easy on the ears, but there is a rawness there. Isabelle is completely stripped away, raw grief and anger and guilt eating away at her. When she lets Simon in she is ferocious and wants to show him her toughness. But Simon sees through it all to a scared young girl who is lost in this sea of grief. Its a sweet Sizzy moment

Jace telling Clary he loves her for the first time in CoG -

- Leave a Light On (ACOUSTIC) - Tom Walker

Jace shouldering the responsibility of finding Valentine by himself, essentially sacrificing himself to the cause, hes grief stricken, and yet feels barred from that grief. I know we experienced this scene from Clary’s POV but this song works so well from his POV. He wants to tell the girl he loves how he feels, he wants one night with her to feel normal and feel loved, and to pretend just for a little while that there is nothing wrong with that. This very stripped version of the song is much much much more raw, and that’s what Jace feels like in this scene, all the walls are down and he wants to show his real face to this one girl

Clary showing off her rune skills in the council chamber in CoG -

- I Found - Amber Run

This was the first scene I imagined from a filmmaking perspective, how to best present this scene. I imagined this entire scene from Jocelyn’s POV, frame by frame, as she walks into the council room very quietly and watches her baby walk up and address everyone in desperation, voice shaking but standing her ground. Grown, bigoted, adults judging her and are fearful but she is still showing them what she’s worth. I imagined Jocelyn’s entire world view shifting because she is in awe of this powerful girl Clary has become. She watches her daughter no longer as a little girl but as a formidable Shadowhunter that could handle the cards she had been dealt in life. Just a very transformative moment and pivotal in how we see Clary in the TSC universe

Lilith takes over Jace’s mind and disappears with Sebastian at the end of CoFA-

- I’ll Keep Coming - Low Roar

This song starts out so uneasy, it cant settle down, and that’s exactly how I feel when Jace sends Clary downstairs. I want to scream at her to stay, but knowing Lilith would always take over no matter what. Its a very dark moment, because no one wants to lose control of themselves and it must have been pretty scary at first. Its an anxious scene, paired with an anxious song

Magnus takes happy memories away in CoLS -

- Howl - Jake Houlsby

Magnus is looking very sad when he does this, especially what he says to Simon. Its such a knowing look, Magnus is no stranger to this kind of sorrow, but still to be witness to it over and over must take its toll. It just makes me think of the endless road stretching out ahead of him and how lonely and terrifying that must feel for him. Just a beautiful song to go with a sad moment in this scene

Clary at the Faerie club with Jace and Sebastian CoLS -

- Faded - Alan Walker

- Darkside - Alan Walker

At this point in the story you feel a lot like Clary is getting too comfortable and is maybe losing sight of the mission she’s on. These two songs are very club sounding to me, and tonally fits the mood of the chapter. Clary is quite literally lost in that moment with the Faerie drugs and the dancing and the atmosphere

Clary dancing with Sebastian CoLS -

- Daddy Issues - The Neighbourhood

First of all lyrically….it cannot get more perfect. “Go ahead and cry little girl nobody does it like you do, I know that you got daddy issues. And if you were my little girl, Id do whatever I could do…” it just conveys the creepiness of Sebastians interactions with Clary and how weird she felt when he was dancing with her and how wrong it felt. This is a very short moment in this chapter but it really creeped me out. And this song conveys perfectly this feeling of haziness of the Faerie drugs and this uneasiness that surrounds Sebastian

Simon drinks from Isabelle CoLS -

- Harvest Love - Tash Sultana

This is a pretty soulful, sensual song. And when Simon drinks from Isabelle and he describes the euphoria that comes with that, the description of how his nerves react to the fresh blood just remind me of the part in this song where the drums and music soars the highest (start around 3:32, and it reaches its peak around 4:48) its honestly one of the sexiest scenes CC has written, even including all the Jemma scenes

Magnus and Alec break up in CoLS -

- Evergreen - Ben Howard

First time reading this I was so so angry at Alec, and felt the sorrow and anger coming off Magnus. This song is very dark, and very sinister. Magnus completely misunderstood what Alec was trying to do, and applied the most sinister meaning to his actions. It is their perfect breakup song imo full of angst

Clary traps the Heavenly Fire into her sword in CoHF -

- Outro - M83

This is another scene I imagined cinematically. The first half of the song is where Clary slowly makes her way over to Jace and she suddenly has faith in herself that she can do this. Then we watch her take Jace’s hands as the radioactive wind sounds start and the flames are swirling around them but not touching them. Cut to Magnus and Luke seeing the colour on the horizon, and the flash that shows its over. Cut back to Clary drawing the Heavenly Fire into the sword as the music swells around her. The words are so so powerful, and they always felt very ethereal to me “I’m the King of my own land” This is Clary fully embracing her power and fully utilising it. Its no longer something separate from her, but she IS her power.

Clary killing Sebastian, pretty much a lot of the scenes before the time jump CoHF-

- Saturn (both acoustic and original version) - Sleeping At Last

This song is definitely an end of film/book / end of heroes journey material. Simon sacrificing himself so they can get back, Clary killing Sebastian and forgiving him, Clary scattering the ashes of Sebastian and finally grieving the past years trauma (all of the TMI journey), the Faeries being condemned by the Clave and Helen getting exiled. Its beautiful, its sad, its momentous, its not a regular song.

Alec finds Magnus in Edom in CoHF -

- I Of The Storm - Of Monsters and Men

The steady drum beat adds a sense of steadiness and calmness in this song. Its not a joyful getting back together but they’re both glad the other is alive and are both forgiving each other. For me, this is when I truly started shipping Malec. The growth, the strength of character begins from this moment. This is when they become a couple I love because this is when they commit to each other flaws and all

Isabelle introduces herself to Simon at the end of CoHF -

- Golden Dandelions - Barns Courtney

Isabelle has always felt like a full punch character, no half measures and all that. The feeling Simon describes when he first spots this beautiful girl walking directly up to him is how this song starts, for me at least. The drums, the barely contained excitement, the curiosity, and faint recognition. This song is a full punch song right from the get go and it felt like such a remarkable Isabelle moment

After Jocelyn & Luke’s wedding in COHF -

- From Gold - Novo Amor

It is such a bittersweet, and peaceful song. There are so many endings in this scene, and so many new beginnings. They are all grieving, one way or another, and are all allowing themselves to evolve. Their journey is over, and at the end of this book I had this sense of saying goodbye to these characters (retiring them so to speak) because I wasn’t sure how much they would be involved with the future of the TSC world. Im glad they are still a big part of it, but they will never be the main focus again.

TDA:

Julian and Emma dance in LM -

- Give Me Love - Ed Sheeran

The sexual tension, and the dread they both feel because of their feelings just makes this scene so dramatic to me, and this song softens it a little. Especially if you are re-reading the series you feel this tenderness because they so badly wanted to avoid falling in love

Mark and Kieran in the Hunt -

- Dance Me To The End of Love - The Civil Wars

This is a pretty offbeat quirky song, a little sad, a little wistful, a little mournful, sensual, but tones of wildly abandoning all you know and giving into baser desires. Whenever Mark thinks of his time with Kieran in the Hunt, his memories sound like this song. They experienced very high highs, and very low lows. They were degraded, the lowest you could possibly feel as a living creature. Yet they were riding into the night, sleeping under the stars in places only known to Faeries. There was no one watching them, and no one to stop them from being together. There is tenderness in their relationship, but also knowledge that they are only together because they have no one else. Its happiness without truly feeling like you have a choice about it. You have to be happy together because you cant find this happiness elsewhere. They are forced into being in love a little bit, because the alternative is so much worse. This is one of the reasons why I couldn’t ship them at first, because they hadnt really chosen each other. Only when they were presented with other options and they till chose each other did I start seeing their potential.

Julian and Emma on the beach LM -

- Next To You - Of Rust & Bone

This scene completely took me by surprise, and is very unlike CC because love scenes normally take place quite late into any series she has. This one was filled with anxiety, and tension because the characters quite literally fell into their feelings. There was no forethought, no sense of taking stock of what they were doing. And they ended up feeling such different things about it afterwards. So for me this songs darker moods perfectly pairs with this scene

Kieran and Mark argue/break up LM & LoS -

- Fade Away - Tom Walker

This song has such raw power, such dark emotion and anger and a sense of betrayal that it perfectly captures their emotionally charged scenes. Mark can never be the same Mark that belonged to Kieran when he had no one, because now he has his family. And Kieran is still the same man who has no one but Mark. I hated him the first time I read LM and most of LoS but their chemistry is hard to resist. Especially as they evolve as characters as well as a couple. They are wild and unmoored sometimes and there’s something exciting about characters you just cant pin down.

Emma & Jules’ strained relationship LM & LoS -

- 9 Crimes - Damian Rice

When Emma is “with” Mark there is this strange chemistry between her and Julian. Both have hurt each other at different times, but this was really like a stalemate. Neither could really move on, and both were angry at eachother. As more and more people found out/realised about the feelings they had were more than parabatai this tension grew. Because they’re not just falling in love, they are also actively choosing to hurt one another. They are certainly not an example of a healthy relationship but I felt in some way they were the realest. Because sometimes relationships hurt and sometimes you do things you have to do even if that isnt what’s best for your relationship. This song perfectly captures this push and pull they have, and how falling in love wasn’t blissful happiness for them. It was pain and secrets and hurting.

Annabel rising, killing Malcolm LoS -

- As It Was - Hozier

Since we’re watching this scene from above, a very unnatural and cinematic perspective, the scene feels unreal. Like it was a dream and didn’t happen. I felt genuine fear and uneasiness when Annabel is slowly brought back to life, skin growing over old bones. This song has notes that aren’t usually arranged together, instruments that are usually a bigger part of a quartet, and somehow that arrangement feels just a little wrong. It feels different, sinister, and uneasy. It feels like its missing several instruments, or some notes have been played incorrectly. Hozier’s voice is his best in this song, very strained, but so controlled, bringing forth very intense emotions

Christina and Mark at the revel LoS (I couldn’t remember if this was in LoS or QOAAD) -

- Now You’re Gone - Tom Walker & Zara Larsson

Christina really let herself go during this scene, and we see a completely different side to her. She is adventurous, risky, and she would make anyone say “fuck it lets do this” I always liked Christina but I always felt she was very predictable until this point. We see how intensely she is interested in Faeries, and how personally invested she is in their culture. She allows herself to be swept up, and embraces it rather than fears it. She honestly seems fearless here, and is the definition of temptation. She is quite literally tempting Mark, and its sexy a f

Jules & Emma burn down the church LoS -

- Esmeralda - Ben Howard

This was the first time their relationship excited me, because during this scene I fully expected they would go into full thirst mode but they didn’t. They were still very sensual and sexual and intense, but in a very very different way. There is something attractive about someone who’s willing to burn the world down, who has a little bit of an anarchist side. Its human nature to feel some attraction to these traits, and this scene definitely stirred feelings in me

Emma fights Fal LoS -

- Put It On Me - Matt Maeson

This song both tonally and in its pacing elevates this scene to new levels. Its not a typical battle song, it has a steady pace. But Emma’s description of how the battle is stripped down because of the rain, how she prefers this kind of fight where its her, her weapon and the elements. Its pure, and we get to see Emma in full fighter mode. She is an extension of Cortana, and they belong together. This is without a doubt my favourite fight scene to date. It just brings alive the visuals in such a dynamic way. Very storyboard-able.

Julian holding Livvy as she dies LoS -

- Losing Your Memory - Ryan Star

This song is harrowing, and its just pure pain, raw grief balled into one intense song. The lyrics just pull you into Julian’s mental state “wake up, its time, little girl, wake up” just kills me. As the music intensifies and the singer is practically screaming the lyrics it just feels like that’s what it must have been like inside of Julian’s mind. He wasn’t screaming out loud but his mind must have been very loud

Julian and Emma shower together QOAAD -

- Promise - Ben Howard

Julian dry heaving because he doesnt know how to cry. Fucking heartbreaking in a very quiet way. After the noise of loss, the quiet moments where you have to face grief is devastating. Emma being an anchor, holding him in place and trying to keep the world away from him so he doesnt hurt anymore is just harrowing. They’re just kids but the grief they feel is so adult. And when you lose someone like that, and someone is there for you that solidifies so much in that relationship. They become a part of something you can never let go of. Even if that relationship doesnt last, they will always be apart of that memory. And Emma sticking by him, despite the danger and promises they have made themselves is proof that she is the one for him

Kieran and Christina dance QOAAD -

- Senorita - Shawn Mendes & Camilla Cabello

This song is sensual, its sexual, its got hooks that quite literally sound like orgasms its such a playful song. When I read this scene this song popped in my head right away. When Christina is dancing with Mark its the same kind of feeling I got from her at the revel, except this time there is no supernatural influence, its just her and her feelings. It was a sexy scene, and when Kieran walks in we all expected something very different. What followed is what elevates this scene, Christina has no clue how to react to Kieran, and yet she is mesmerised by him. She dances with him in a way we would never have imagined her doing this in LM. It shows evolution of character, for all three of them. And the fact that Mark is watching, and he’s not angry just makes this scene even sexier. You can practically feel the sexual tension in the air coming off the pages of the book.

Malec wedding QOAAD -

- That Girl Is You - Dave Matthews Band

This song brings me so much peace, the kind of peace that comes with knowing someone for years, and relying on them, knowing they are a permanent fixture in your life. Its exciting, but in a quiet way. Its a very atypical wedding song, because of the unusual style of singing. But I think it represents Malec really well at this point in their journey, they have gotten over many obstacles, often themselves, in this relationship. Their entire world is changing, and they are taking massive steps and making some pretty big sacrifices as people for this cause. Being Consul isnt going to be a smooth life for Alec with Magnus as a husband and a warlock for a child. But this is what he wants, and this is what he wants Shadowhunters to reflect and be going forward. This song is a very peaceful time in the entirety of TSC, and gave me a similar feeling to the end of TMI

#tsc #song recs #tmi #the mortal instruments #tda #the dark artifices #cc #cassie clare #cassandra clare #the shadowhunter chronicles

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albatris · 4 years

Text

GUESS WHAT TIME IT IS

IT’S RAPIDFIRE UNDERTOW CHARACTER RUNDOWN TIME YEEHAW LET’S GO

YOU CAN READ IT IF YOU LIKE

the setting: who the fuck knows

the time period: who the FUCK knows

the premise: amnesiac youth acquires a magically-enhanced sentient truck that runs on stories. because of reasons, she then embarks on a weird cross-country roadtrip, meeting equally weird people and investigating strange phenomena and curious magical goings-on. there is a ragtag gang of misfits and some world-saving involved also. and some dogs. yep

important caveat: this entire story is just my self-indulgent daydream universe. literally the entire thing? just for funsies. it’s my catch-all for ideas that don’t fit elsewhere. it’s my ridiculous worldbuilding melting-pot! it’s an excuse to string whatever wholesome and angsty moments I like together with whatever weird shit I think would be fun

the only motive behind anything I do in Undertow is “why the fuck not?” and that’s totally valid imo

and here we go. long post ahoy

the bastards:

ASTER (they/she): Conveniently amnesiac protagonist! Aroace and genderqueer! Woke up one day on the side of the road with the keys to a weird truck that runs on stories instead of fuel, and now uses delivery driving work as an excuse to careen all about the country collecting friends and solving magical mysteries. Vaguely clairvoyant and can ~speak~ with the energy-flow of the universe. Dresses like they’ve fallen straight out of a cyberpunk anime. Chatty, over-excited, impulsive. Extremely full of love.

important tunes: “overture” by sleeping at last, “timebomb” by walk the moon (weird choice for an aroace character but bear with me)

KIT (he/him): Not the first random Aster gets into shenanigans with but the first who tags along for further shenanigans and also becomes a protagonist. Pan. Wouldn’t know what a gender was if it punched him in the face. Highly skilled necromancer who straight-up doesn’t believe in magic, currently trying to fulfil the dying wish of his late wife (to reanimate a t-rex). Awkward and standoffish and lonely, tries to pretend he’s cool but just really really isn’t. Would rather set his entire self on fire than admit he considers Aster his best friend. Schizotypal synesthete whose fashion sense can be described as “how many clothes can I layer on top of each other before I physically cannot move?”

important tunes: “body” by mother mother, “hunting season” by fences, “necromancin dancin” by bear ghost

MEG (she/her): Mad scientist mechanic who does tonnes of magical illegal shit to cars for funsies. An expert on bizarre vehicles! This is the person you talk to if you, idk, happen across a strange truck with sentience that eats stories. She hates people and lives completely isolated in the middle of fuck-off nowhere with sixteen dogs. Completely unhinged. Thinks clothes are for losers so wears as few of them as possible and I want NO ONE making this a weird sexual thing. She’s just a feral bastard maniac. She’s living my weird feral bastard in the woods dreams. She has no interest in labelling her sexuality or gender, but both can be accurately summed up with “how dare you fucking look at me”

important tunes: “the machine” by lemon demon, “a mask of my own face” by lemon demon............ there’s just....... lemon demon songs here ok........ I haven’t yet found the songs with the Peak Meg Energies

NOLAN (he/him): Bastard. Chaotic bastard. Is of some relation to Kit, possibly an older brother, possibly just some dude who decided Kit looked like a fun person to annoy for all eternity. Speaks entirely in riddles and cryptic poems, loves needless melodrama. Dresses like he’s going to the beach even when he isn’t. He has zero motives beyond fun and chaos and boredom, which sometimes leads to him working with the protagonists and sometimes leads to him actively sabotaging them. Role in the story ranges from “genuinely terrifying villain” to “weird almost-friend who hangs around with the heroes even though no one invited him and is just a general endearing nuisance”. Literally cannot die, because he has some seriously impressive and terrifying subconscious reality-bending powers and it does not occur to him that he can die. So he doesn’t. Unrelated, he’s the only Undertow character besides Beth who canonically dies.

important tunes: “complicated creation” by cloud cult, “when he died” by lemon demon (peak Nolan chaotic energies)

BAKER (he/him): Meg’s apprentice? Meg’s assistant? Doesn’t really know that much about cars and I think he landed in the role because he misread the job advertisement, but he tries to be helpful anyway. Very small lesbian. Possibly some form of vampire except in reverse? Listen. I don’t know that much about Baker but one key fact is that he’s solar-powered and sometimes he’ll just lie down on the floor unconscious mid-task and you have to haul him over your shoulder and lob him into the sunlight and wait for his energy to recharge. Easily flustered, hardworking, pleasant enough but not super great at Peopling. Also gets possessed at one stage but he gets better so it’s nbd

important tunes: “pink smoke” by the scary jokes, “featherstone” by the paper kites

???????? (??/??): The main villain. The big bad. I have no idea if this is a thing that has a physical form or if it’s just an abstract floaty intangible concept. This is the thing that briefly possesses Baker. This is also the thing that one-shot kills Nolan. Possibly it’s some kind of river-surface reflection monster that steals your face and becomes a fucked up version of you except it accidentally reflected some kind of ancient god and now the whole world is screwed. Possibly it’s the gradual marching of the universe towards death except that marching gained sentience and is incredibly frightened. Who the FUCK knows. Not me.

important tunes: “dead moon” by brick + mortar, “ruler of everything” by tally hall

other bastards who exist. vaguely. probably:

CARDS (xe/xem): Gentle, patient, good at growing herbs and reading tarot cards. Xe’s married to Meg. Literally no one knows this because they hardly ever interact and they don’t live together and when they do interact people are generally like “huh, Meg doesn’t seem to despise Cards quite as much as she despises everyone else” but like. They’re happily married. Also xe’s called Cards because xir last name is “Cardone”. This is a fact that I stole from someone I’ve met in real life, because no one is safe from my terrible thieving writer hands

BETH (she/her): Kit’s late wife. She’s a ghost. She has lots of opinions about things. She’s not here in the story because of any necromancy or raising the dead on Kit’s part. She refuses to die out of pure spite. She’s got shit to do. She likes heavy metal and writing romance novels. These are currently the only facts I know about her. Thank you

FERRIS (she/her): Her last name is Wheel. She is a character I created specifically because I realised that Ferris Wheel is a name that you could actually for real name someone. I can’t decide if it’s funnier if this character’s name is Ferris Wheel in a world where ferris wheels exist but she herself has never been exposed to the concept of one so she doesn’t understand why all the other characters are like “??????” when they first meet her, or if this character’s name is Ferris Wheel in a world that is essentially just Earth But Magic, save for the fact that the exact, specific concept of a ferris wheel was never invented. Also she’s a businesswoman.......... also she can levitate...... also she’s a lesbian

ok that’s it bye thanks love you

#this is not all the characters by any means but this is like #the main ragtag gang of misfits who somehow end up teaming up to stop the destruction of the world or whatever #for one reason or another #with the exception of the main villain of course LMAO #anyway this is just like......#the most inconvenient way i could ever relay any amount of information #while i was typing this i was like #''this would all be so much easier to parse if it was in comic sans powerpoint format''#and now that all this information is here like......... this is the info that would go in the powerpoint anyway #but the FACT of the matter IS that i'm lazy #and i only have good drawings done of aster kit and meg #anyway #ta-da #undertow #there's a lot going on in this post I'm sorry idk if any of this is like.................#interesting? to anyone who's not me?? but i thought it would b fun anyway #this is another one where u can play the fun game of ''can u spot the shameless self-projection?''#river monster is actually the envisioned villain i had for Ruby Pace Floats Down The River but who fuckin knows if #THAT'S a wip that's ever going to be acknowledged by me #river monster is not shameless self projection #it's important to me that you know i am not a river monster #thank you #the only important fact in this entire post is that Baker is small enough to be picked up and carried with ease

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cornerverse-fma · 5 years

Text

Monster AU:

Since it’s Halloween, let’s post this son of a bitch that I’ve been holding onto for months!

So, basically, it’s ‘AU where most characters are some sort of Magic Creature’. Because fuck it, you know? The story itself is kinda canon-parallel, but I haven’t thought out everything.

Anyway, first I’m starting off with tidbits on various creatures and stuff instead of straight into the story!

Ed and Al, and Hohenheim – Dragon

Technically Ed and Al are half-Dragon/half-Human, but due to Human Adaptability, Monster/Human Hybrids come out full monster(Monster/Monster Hybrids are rare, but would have abilities from both).

Ed and Al are also bumped up in age, being 18-ish. (so are the rest of the teens but whatever)

First up is the Monster Lore:

Dragon Magic is remains dormant until Awakened(because would you trust the unbridled chaos of a toddler with the ability to set stuff on fire?). It’s designed to be Awakened by another Dragon(usually a parent/guardian) after hitting puberty-age. Ed manages to find a loophole in this.

Dragons have three forms. Full Dragon, Human Disguise, and ‘Midform’(Human with Draconic features like wings, horns, claws, tail, and some scale freckles). Most Dragons feel most comfortable in Midform. While the Midform is still Human-sized, the Full Dragon form gets bigger with age! Ed and Al are young so they’re about the size of a small horse, but Hohenheim is 450-ish and enormous.

While they have the standard Dragon abilities of flight and fire, they also have general spellcasting abilities. Speaking of, another Dragon Ability is to either resist/deflect Magic, or enhance it, depending on if they want it used on them or not. It can even work subconsciously. For example, Ed and Al trust Winry, so her using Magic on them will always work, but they will resist spells from random people. This is another thing that gets stronger with age, as Ed and Al only have high resistance, but it’s difficult to find a spell powerful enough to get through Hohenheim.

Dragon Hoards are also a thing, but not in the usual gold/jewels way. Think of the Unusual Dragon Hoards art. A Dragon picks an item and creates a collection. When the instinct first kicks in, the Dragon will gather up as many items as they can find and just pile it up somewhere and not let anyone in. It calms down after a day or two. Ed’s hoard is actually friends because he’s a dork like that, but it gets difficult when he suddenly has five people in a cuddle pile and gets Very Upset when they try to get up.

Dragon Magic is Unique in it’s Source. Most Magic has an external Source(Fey have Nature, Witches have Spells, Vampires use others’ blood, etc.) A Dragon’s source is their own Life Energy. Using Magic will use up their Life Energy, but it replenishes itself with time, rest, and food. Despite being tied to their Life Energy, it’s very difficult to die from overusing Magic, as the Dragon will likely pass out from exhaustion before it gets unstable.

Very long-lived, but not Immortal. They age at the same rate as Humans until their twenties, and then aging slows dramatically. For example, Hohenheim is 450-ish, but is equal to a 30-ish year old Human.

Also! Colors! The colors of a Dragon’s scales are not genetic. It’s determined by the emotions they feel when their powers are Awakened. Ed is red, a color of passion and love, Al is green for a sense of belonging, and Hohenheim is white for freedom. (Accent colors like on horns and claws and such are still their usual gold)

On to character-specific tidbits:

Ed and Al

A lot of their story mirrors Canon, in that Hohenheim left for reasons unknown, and Trisha ends up dying. They do kinda get on a ‘maybe we can cook up some necromancy?’ idea, but that’s shut down real quick.

Ed still loses his leg somehow, because that’s constant in all my Aus.

Instead of focusing on fixing their shit, the boys are instead trying to figure out what the hell they are. Because, like, no one really knew that Hohenheim was a Dragon. They knew he was more than just a Witch, but they didn’t know what he was. He did tell Trisha, but neither of them told the boys. And since Dragon Magic remains dormant until Awakened, they’ve experienced minimal side effects. None of which are common Monster traits.

So they’re studying different Monsters in a hope to figure out what they are. The plan if they run across Hohenheim is to ask what they are and also punch him(Ed says punch first then ask, Al says ask and maybe punch.)

This does lead them to working for Mustang.

Hohenheim

His story also probably mirrors Canon. I’m not entirely sure what all goes down or how Father functions in this AU(I think I’m doing the ‘evil twin’ thing again, in which case I’m making him a black dragon for contrast!).

Him leaving is definitely still connected to this, though when he’s not actively working on that he uses the whole ‘Dragons can negate most Magic and are rare enough that people don’t have special defenses for them’ thing to help people out. Especially Monsters that get kidnapped for various reasons.

Hohenheim is also less depressed in this AU! Like, obvs he still has some issues. But being 450 years old is a lot more common so he doesn’t have that Angst™ hanging over him. Nor does he have the Angst™ of said Immortality being gained through a bunch of murder, since it’s just his natural lifespan. So we get to see more of his not-depressed side.

Winry – Witch

Monster Lore is short this time. Witches in this Universe are highly debated about whether they are Monsters or not, as they are basically just ‘Humans with the ability to use Magic’. Different people have different opinions on it.

Winry(and her family) consider themselves more on the Monster side, doing doctor stuff for all sorts of creatures.

Of course Automail is still a thing, and of course the Rockbell family is well known for it. Specifically, they make Automail that also hooks into a Monster’s Magic, and will function as they do. For example, Ed’s still missing a leg in this AU. So when he switches between Human, Dragon, and Midform, he needs his leg to change too.

Ling, Greed, and Lust – Vampires.

So, a few character tidbits before the Monster Lore:

Ling:

Despite being a Vampire, he’s still the same age as Ed. He was only Turned a couple years ago. Reasons for that are… not fun. It involves an abusive ex, becoming friends with Greed and Lust to get out of that, and ends in a ‘only way to save his life is to make him a vampire’ situation.

Before that he was just a Witch. Kinda neutral on the ‘are Witches ‘Monster’ or ‘Human’?’ debate, but Monster-friendly.

Greed and Lust

Much like my Groupchat AU, the Sins Crew and Father are mostly not related except for these two, and the Sins did work for Father for a while but they’ve all kinda fucked off. (The Sins crew do mostly stay in contact though).

Used to be Human(maybe Witches?). They were from a noble family about 200 years ago. Greed was Turned thanks to political drama, and was kicked out of the family. Lust willingly went with him.

While they’re around 200, due to Vampires being a bit frozen in time, they’re only a little older than Ed and Ling.

They operate this Universe’s version of the Devil’s Nest, which is a Montser-friendly bar.

Some Vampire Lore applies, some doesn’t.

They don’t have to be ‘invited in’(But they typically stick to societal rules of ‘don’t break in like a jackass’)

Sunlight and Garlic sort of bother them, but not like in some lore. They’re designed to be nocturnal, so being out in the sun is like ‘wtf???’ to their senses. Same with Garlic, which can easily overload their sense of smell(but so can any strong smell)

They can be burned by silver

The no reflection/can’t be photographed thing is sort of true. Old mirrors and cameras used silver. Nowadays mirrors use cheap metals and photo/video is digital, so they show up.

Religious symbols are tricky. It depends on how much the Vampire and the person warding them off believe in said religion.

Vampires have an ‘Enthrall Enchantment’, but it’s not, like, straight up hypnotism. It just kinda makes the person they’re biting feel a bit good and fuzzy and not really in pain. It also helps heal the bite afterward. I’ll discuss this more later.

Vampires need blood, but it doesn’t have to be Human blood. It’s just safest because Monster Blood can have various side effects.

Werewolf blood causes an effect similar to alcohol.

Fae blood causes a different prank each time(minor stuff, like turning your hair purple for a week)

Blood from Monsters related to Religions(like Angels or Demons) are actually poisonous.

Dragon blood causes a large power boost.

This is the Loophole Ed found for Awakening Dragon Magic.

The blood they drink has to be relatively fresh. ‘Straight from the tap’ is best, a vial of blood is good for a few hours

There is the question of ‘do Vampires need blood to live?’.

Technically? They get very weak if they don’t, especially in the Magic Department. But they usually die from said weakness than outright ‘not getting blood’.

Vampires are Immortal as long as they continue to drink blood. even to the point of self-healing if they have enough.

Technically, a Vampire doesn’t need to eat or sleep if they have a decent blood source. However, it is better for them if they do as they can last longer between ‘drinks’.

Much like the other side effects I listed before, different blood lasts longer. Dragon blood would last longer than Human blood, for example.

Mustang – Faerie (Fire-based)

An odd choice for him, but I’m running with it!

Time for Monster Lore:

All Fae love legal loopholes and the bullshit technicalities.

Usually Faeries are somewhat allergic to metal(especially iron). Occasionally there are ones that have no issue it, but it’s super rare.

A Faerie’s Magic Source is some form of nature. Fire-based ones have the ability to sort of create their own source(they can magically light fire to become their source). Think how stuff works in ATLA. Water users need a body of liquid, earth users need earth, but fire users can kinda make it themselves in decent conditions.

They’re still effected by other Elements though. Mustang’s whole ‘useless in the rain’ thing is still a problem. Even more than Canon. Like, he won’t die if put in water(the man has to shower sometimes), but it does make him very low-energy and overall weaker. He does not like swimming.

Also! Faerie Wings!! Gotta have those! The colors resemble a Faerie’s respective Source Element, but aren’t made out of it, so no literal fire wings. They do glow a lot when using powerful Magic. They can also be ‘put away’ to pass as Human(or just for convenience of not knocking shit over in narrow hallways).

Character tidbits

One of the few Fae that don’t have an issue with metals.

Between that, and the fact that the wings are usually ‘put away’, most people assume he’s just a Witch. He doesn’t correct them as it does make him more liked.

He subconsciously feels a connection to Ed and Al due to his Fire Magic nature picking up on their Dragon Fire. It’s one of the reasons why he tolerates their shenanigans(the other reason being that after about ten minutes getting to know them he was like ‘okay you’re my kids now’)

mini things on other characters that I don’t have story for yet:

The rest of the Sins Crew:

Envy is a shapeshifter(of course).

Pride is some sort of shadow monster(again, of course.)

Sloth is one of those Dream Eater Spirit things? You know what I’m talking about. He spends most of his time asleep in the Dream Realm.

Idk about Gluttony or Wrath yet.

Mustang’s Team!

Idk what everyone is yet, but they’re all Monsters of some sort.

Hawkeye is absolutely something with wings tho because HAWKeye!

Not sure what Mei is. Maybe just a Witch, but maybe something more? (obvs on her mom’s side though).

I also want to put Lan Fan in, but I’m not sure where or what she’d be? I think what happens here is that she was friends with Ling, but then his whole ‘bad relationship and becoming a Vampire’ thing happens. She feels guilty for not protecting him from that, and they end up going separate ways for a while, but they’d end up reconnecting at some point.

Story Plot Points!

The whole thing kinda kicks off because Ed and Ling are dating. Yes. Really.

Like, they get to that point in the relationship where Ling invites Ed over and is like “Okay, so I’m not actually Human?”. Because that’s a talk people have to have at somepoint

Ed’s like “cool me neither?”. He further explains the whole thing of how he knows he’s a Monster of some sort but doesn’t know which kind.

He then proceeds to ask a fuckton of questions about Vampires because he hasn’t studied one in-person before, and he noticed Ling goes against the typical rules(can’t go in sunlight, must be invited in, etc.)

As they’re talking on this, Ling mentions that different Monster blood has different effects.

Ed’s thought process is that he could use this to narrow down the search for what kind of monster he is by seeing the effect his blood has on Ling.

Ling’s… hesitant for several reasons.

But Ed insists and makes it very clear that he’s okay with it.

This is where the loopholes kick in!

As Vampire Magic uses the blood they drink, it also counts as the Magic of that creature. So Ling using Ed’s blood qualifies as Dragon Magic, and since the Enthrallment is in effect, that kickstarts Ed’s Magic.

This causes a panic as Ling’s Magic is suddenly a hell of a lot stronger and the Enthrallment is a lot more intense.

There’s also panic because once they stop that part, Ed’s just like ‘Holy FUCK I feel GREAT!’, but Ling knows he shouldn’t feel that good right now and he’s overheating. He’s like ‘Okay, that good feeling is probably you hallucinating or something so let’s go into the bathroom in case you throw up?’

And then Ed just kinda bursts into flames? Luckily they were already in the bathroom so Ling just kinda douses him in the shower.

Next day they head back to Ed’s place (He and Al live with Winry in this AU?). And they explain what happened. They agree that they have a decent lead here, but they need someone more knowledgeable. And, well, Ling knows some people.

Ling takes them down to the Devils’ Nest. As mentioned, Greed and Lust run the place.

They talk to Greed mostly. After explaining everything, he tells Ed to try something. Said thing ends with the boy breathing fire.

Greed’s just like ‘congrats kid you’re a fucking Dragon!’.

Greed and Lust share various tidbits about what they know about Dragons, but admit that there’s probably a lot of stuff they’re forgetting or just straight up don’t know.

They explain the whole ‘dormant Magic only activated by Dragon Magic’, and the probable loophole.

They also explain that once Ed finishes the ‘Awakening’, he’ll be able to ‘Awaken’ Al’s Magic easily. (Though Greed does offer to recreate the loophole(Al is very flustered but currently declines))

Speaking of, they do warn Ed that there’s a bit more to go through. Mostly that he’ll have three forms, but the first time he transforms will be involuntary and painful. Best way to deal with it is ‘when you feel your back start to itch like crazy, take some strong pain meds and lay on your stomach’.

By the time they get back home, Ed’s starting to feel that. So he decides to just go to bed early, and everyone else just kinda tries to sleep too. (like, he says he’s fine and they don’t hear him screaming so he’s probably good?). Ling also stays, but since Ed wants his space for this he stays on the couch.

Next morning, Ed comes down and everyone is fuckin floored. They’re staring but he doesn’t notice at first because he’s very hungry and raiding the fridge for everything.

Basically, since his Magic was supposed to be awakened years ago, his body kinda stopped growing, resulting in him looking a bit ‘stuck at 15’. Now the Magic is making up for lost time, so it’s a somewhat literal ‘puberty hit him like a truck’ situation. (Ling and Winry are both like hearteyesmotherfucker!

Like, you know that picture comparing Ed in the early episodes of fma:b to the later episodes and being all ‘look how much he grew!’? That, but overnight. Ya boi got kinda tall. He’s still shorter than Ling but he’s taller than Winry. (With the potential to grow taller now!)

One of the reasons for the height is that he’s in his midform, aka: Human with Draconic features. This includes his legs being digitigrade, so it’s kinda like he’s constantly standing on his toes. (His Human form is technically shorter because of this).

They also focus on the Dragon-y features more. Like the wings, and the horns, and the tail!! His eyes are the slit-pupil thing, and while his teeth have always been kinda sharp he now has full on fangs. Then they also notice his arms transitioning from skin to scale, starting at the elbow until his hands are claws. (his regular leg also does this from the knee down). His ears are also pointed and scale covered, and he has a few scale freckles on his cheeks.

They have about five minutes of normal before something goes weird. Because suddenly Ed is being ridiculously clingy but is seemingly unaware of how weird that is and cannot seem to explain why.

They’re like ‘why are you hugging me?’ and he’s like ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’. And like, if they try to step away for a minute he gets very Upset™

Somehow they manage to make it back to the Devils’ Nest to ask Greed. The group finds a seat on a couch and at this point Ed’s in full cuddle mode, just hugging the three of them and laying across them and he’s kinda like a cat on catnip.

When Greed gets within five feet, Ed suddenly shoots up and stares at him. He freezes, waiting for Ed to make a move. When Ed nods, he takes a step closer. When he takes a second step, Ed pounces forward and drags him into the cuddle pile.

Greed is mildly confused, but explains to the others that this is just the ‘hoarding instinct’ kicking in, and he’ll be back to normal soon enough.

Since he’s not allowed to leave(Ed is stronger than he looks and also even if Greed could leave Ed’s fucking face is too much), he kinda tells Lust to take over running the bar for the day.

The whole ‘get within five feet and Ed shoots up’ thing happens with her, but Greed calms Ed down by saying ‘it’s okay she’s a friend’.

Of course, when she goes to leave, she finds that while she was out of range of Ed leaning over to grab her, she didn’t notice the tail around her leg.

She gets dragged in, and while Greed tells someone else to take over(from a distance), he also suggests they take this party upstairs.

Al says a thing about ‘can you stop flirting for five seconds?’. Greed responds with a ‘while I would love to invite you to my bed for other reasons, now is not the time’.

Al gets oddly flustered by this

They’re trying to figure out what the connection is between all of them that makes them part of Ed’s Hoard. Lust asks more directly ‘why the fuck did you drag me into this??’. And Ed just points to Greed and says ‘He said you are a friend.’. as if it makes complete sense.

Turns out that Ed’s hoard is friendship. And combined with the fact that(despite his grumpiness) he gets easily attached, it took little for Greed and Lust to be considered friends.

Everyone does have the freedom to leave, and sometimes they do because they need to get up and stretch or use the bathroom or grab a snack. But whenever they do Ed just sits up and stares at the door until they come back.

By the next morning, Ed’s kind of back to normal. Like, he still has the instinct in there and all, but everyone can do their own thing and Ed’s a lot more calm. He’s also very embarrassed about the whole thing.

Of course, Ed and Al remember they were supposed to drop by Mustang’s office a few days ago. Mostly because they get a call like ‘are y’all okay?’.

Ed shifts into the Human Disguise form to head down there, but everyone still notices something is up because he’s suddenly the same height as Hawkeye.

They’re all like ‘okay kid. Drop whatever tall spell you found this time’. Ed just grins maniacally and says ‘it’s no spell! I look like this now!’. Al confirms it, but is realizing how obnoxious Ed’s going to be about the height.

They explain that they figured out what the hell they are, and Ed shows off both the full Dragon form and the Midform.

Obvs the team asks how they figured it out, and Ed explains that Dragon Magic is dormant until another Dragon Awakens it, but they found a loophole.

‘Wait, a loophole? What loophole?’, “Uh… a Vampire using my blood?’, ‘Did you get attacked by a Vampire?!’, ‘No, it’s a friend and I asked him to because different monster blood has different effects’, ‘and you were okay with a guy just getting all up in your personal space and biting your neck like that?’, “Well, he’s the kind of friend where I’d be okay with him‘getting all up in my personal space and biting my neck’ anyway.’. ‘Oh.’

Yeah. They didn’t know Ed was dating anyone, much less a guy. So that’s a conversation.

When asked why it’s just Ed who went through the whole thing while Al’s still ‘normal’, they say that they’re mostly waiting to see what all happens to Ed and how to deal with it.

Although, Ed does point out that if they don’t do it soon it’ll probably happen accidentally since it’s basically a ‘next time he uses Magic on Al situation’.

Then Ed’s like ‘Or, you know, you could always ask Greed to ‘recreate the loophole!’. Al gets very flustered again and is just like ‘willyoushutthefuckuppleaseohmyfuckinggod’

Overall, they’d like some report on what else they find out.

Next plot goes on to ‘testing out powers’. Specifically. The boys want to test out the ‘resist and enhance’ aspect.

They bring in Ling and Greed for this, killing two birds with one stone and also studying the Vampire’s Enthrallment at the same time.

Of the various things they’re testing:

Resisting the spell

‘enhancing’ the spell

differences between the resist/enhance skill of an Awakened Dragon vs. not Awakened

if the Enthrallment Enchantment is different between Vampires(and between who it’s being used on)

Ed and Al also already came up with a ‘payment method’, since they’ll be asking Greed and Ling to use up a bunch of Magical Energy to do this. Said payment is, of course, blood. Ed will ‘pay’ for Ling, while Greed and Al get to ‘recreate the loophole’.

We’re going to jump right into my Al/Greed Rarepair because fuck it it’s my fanfic and I pick the ships!

So their banter has been going back and forth for a bit. Like, at first it was just Greed flirting and Al getting flustered, but once Al gets into the rhythm he can kinda flirt back but neither really realized it was more than banter until now

Al realizes it because of what they figure out about the Enthrallment. Because it effected them differently and the emotions it brought forth wasn't anything unfamiliar. Like, Al found Ling’s Enthrallment to be comfortable, because he’s a friend. But Greed’s made him fluttery and giddy and all that. Meanwhile, Ed felt the opposite.

So when they are alone and he has Greed biting his neck, Al ends up going in for a kiss.

And while the feeling is returned, it leaves Greed somewhat flustered and confused. He manages to distract Al with the ‘you’re probably gonna catch fire in a minute so maybe deal with that first’ thing.

Next time they really see each other is after Al’s turn with the ‘puberty hit him like a truck’ situation, but Greed’s kind of… he’s still a little hesitant and confused about things so he’s giving Al space, but Al doesn’t know that so it’s like ‘is he avoiding me?? Why??’.

Al even wonders if it has something to do with his Midform, and tends to stay in Human Disguise more often around Greed.

Next time they’re alone for a bit they end up talking that out though. And also making out I guess.

Okay! So! A Lot of other plot stuffhappens.

Like, probably things like meeting other characters and also the rest of the Sins Crew, finding out about various fuckery going on. I mean, I did say that while the Sins Crew all kinda left, Father himself is still an Asshole™ and doing some major villain stuff.

So they find out all that and a bunch of other things too. I haven’t thought all that out yet.

Out of the stuff that I have planned out though, the next thing to happen is Ed getting a little kidnapped. Idk exactly ‘why’, other than ‘some assholes are grabbing random monsters’, but who knows what they’re doing with them it’s not important.

Anyway, Ed’s already on his way to break out, when he happens to run into Hohenheim.

Oh boy is that a trip. I mean, first off we have them just being ‘why the fuck are you here? Why am I here? Why are you here?!’ and just generally being that pointing spiderman meme. After the initial shock, Ed’s kinda ready to punch, but then Hohenheim just says things that Ed didn’t expect.

Like, Ed expected Hohenheim to just be some asshole who never cared. But he’s immediately concerned about Ed and seems to, you know, care about him.

The thing that really hits him though is when he says something along the lines of ‘Let’s get you out of here and back home. Your mother’s probably worried about you!’.

He realizes ‘oh god he has no clue’. And then he realizes ‘oh god I’m going to have to tell him’.

And like, I’m not gonna get too into that Angst Fest™, but there is kind of a minor breakdown because how else do you react to that news?

But that whole thing is enough to make Ed stop and think things through and overall give Hohenheim chance.

They then end up going on their own adventures while Ed tries to get back home.

And of course various strange bonding experiences happen along the way

A lot of that bonding is learning about Dragon Tricks. Especially flying because while Ed kinda figured out a little bit he hasn’t had anyone with wings(or at least the same kind of wings) to really teach him.

During one flight Ed suddenly catches a familiar scent

obvs everyone is looking for Ed, and he manages to find Ling, Greed and Lust

Ed does a literal flying tackle at Ling and knocks him over. There’s a minor fight because Ling doesn’t realize he’s not being attacked but you know.

After hugging the fuck out of Ling, Ed tells Greed and Lust to get down there too. Greed’s like ‘hell no I’m not getting on the ground to hug you!’ but he forgets about the tail. Lust gives in.

They ask what the fuck happened and Ed’s like ‘where do I even begin??’

At some point Hohenheim had popped up and is like ‘maybe start with introductions?”

then you get the comedic thing of the Vampires looking up, and then continuing to look up, and then being terrified of the giant fucking dragon.

Ed’s just all causal like ‘so, uh, I found my dad?’.

Walking into the nearest town is fun

Ed’s kinda clinging to Ling because goddamn it he was lonely!

At some point Ling kinda starts to stumble a little and Ed’s concerned. Greed says ‘he’s fine he’s just and idiot’.

Basically Ling hasn’t had any blood since the last time he drank from Ed. Which was a while ago at this point, so he’s kinda getting a little weak. Not dangerously but imagine the feeling of pulling an all nighter without caffeine.

Ed offers, but Ling brushes it off by saying if he took a drink now, then Ed would be the one weak and stumbling so it doesn’t make a difference, it can wait until they get a place to stay for the night.

Not putting up with that shit, Ed transforms into Full Dragon and offers a ride. Ling’s a little bit like ‘really??’

Greed’s kinda jokingly like ‘why don’t I get offered a ride?’. Ed says ‘well, when we get back home you can ask Al.” Greed opens his mouth to make a joke, looks over to Hohenheim, and decides he really should shut up.

Lust is kinda like ‘hey. Why are we walking into town when we have a large Dragon that can carry all of us?’

Hohenheim’s answer is ‘First of all, I am not a taxi service. Furthermore, if people saw a large Dragon land in the middle of town, they would freak the fuck out.

Ling falls asleep on the way back.

They manage to get a hotel room in the next town they come across. Ed and Ling get their own room, of course.

They go to do the whole ‘blood drinking’ thing, but Ling’s still very hesitant.

Ed has noticed this a lot and at first he figured it was the typical ‘I’m new to being a Vampire and hesitant to do something so weird/taboo/etc.’ thing, but now he’s getting the feeling its something else and ends up asking about it.

So, big trigger warning for that whole ‘abusive relationship’ thing I mentioned way back in the beginning. But, like, that’s kind of what’s up. Like, his Ex used to use the effect of the Enchantment to be manipulative. And Ling’s kind of afraid of accidentally doing that to Ed.

Ed just points out that 1. he knows when Ling is using the enchantment and knows how to separate his feelings from it, 2. the enchantment itself doesn’t make him feel all love-y (he brings up the whole ‘testing it with Greed’ thing as proof, since it didn’t spark any romance with Greed.), and 3. Ed is a Dragon. His own Magic can cancel out the Enchantment if he chooses to do so.

The whole thing does get Ling to relax about it. It’ll still take a while for him to get comfortable using it on Ed, but now Ed knows to not try doing anything romantic while under the Enchantment.

Okay! On with that! The group eventually gets back to home base and they meet up with Al and Winry and whoever else is a friend at this point.

Ed fucking tackle hugs them, of course.

After that Al and Winry notice Hohenheim and they can’t even figure out how to process that they just gesture like ‘what the fuck?’

Ed explains what happened and they’re kind of like ‘you know what fine.

Time for more family bonding with Hohenheim talking to Al for a while.

Time for another Rarepair because this is my fic and I choose the ships!

So, like, Mustang meeting Hohenheim.

Mustang’s just like, staring for a bit. And it’s not helped by the fact that Hohenheim has no sense of personal space when he’s investigating other creatures(because he’s a nerd and that’s what he likes to do).

Mustang is flustered to the point that Ed and Al actually notice and are like ‘bruh what is up with you?”

Obviously he lies as tries to say it’s a reaction to a large source of fire magic. Ed and Al are like ‘really? Because you never do that around us.’

Someone (Probably Hughes) eventually calls him out says ‘magic reaction my ass you think the guy’s pretty!’

Ed and Al are confused by this revelation but are kinda chill with it? Mostly they don’t know how to feel so they’re just going to be chill out of confusion.

That’s all I got on the plot so far because fuck it.

#Monster!AU #EdLing #Also some #AlGreed #And a little bit of #Roho #at the end there #happy halloween motherfuckers

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camryndaytona · 4 years

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Cassandra Clare

Cassandra Clare is one of the most popular and successful young adult authors of today, however, a huge percentage of her fans have no idea of her past where she was know more for her bullying than her writing. I started this as a post on my “You Should Know” instagram, but eventually it got way too big and I had to create a post for it as well.

Terms to Know

Big Name Fan

Or “BNF” is an old term mostly used during the early 2000s, before ff.net or AO3.

They were the biggest names in fandom, producing the most popular art or fanfics.

Getting on the wrong side of a BNF could lock you out from the entire fandom, as you would be blocked from any forum they (or they friends) moderated.

The Inner Circle

In the early 2000s the Harry Potter fandom was essentially ruled by the Inner Circle.

Although most of the Inner Circle changed constantly due to fandom drama and scandals, one member stayed for almost it’s entire duration: Cassie Claire

ff.net

Fanfiction.net

One of the early and most popular sites for hosting fanfiction.

The Draco Trilogy

Draco Dormiens

Author’s Summary: When an accident in Potions class turns Harry into Draco and Draco into Harry, each is trapped playing the part of the other. Romance, mistaken identities, Really Cunning Plans, evil bake sales, a love triangle, and snogs galore.

Draco Sinister

Author’s Summary: When Hermione is kidnapped, Harry and Draco must team up to rescue her from a thousand-year-old evil that threatens the entire wizarding world. Cursed demon swords, love potions, time travel, dementors, flying dragons, Draco wears leather, and everybody dies at least once. Except when they don’t.

It is notable for being the source of the Draco in Leather Pants trope as well as the catalyst for the Cassandra Claire plagiarism wank.

Draco Veritas

Author’s Summary: The sequel to Draco Sinister, featuring winter at Hogwarts, snogging, Quidditch, mysterious things and Rhysenn Malfoy.

Why was the Trilogy so popular?

As most people in fandom probably know, there’s usually two subsets of shippers: gay and straight (please note that, back in the early 2000s, there was still a lot of homophobia, and the heterosexual ships were undeniably more popular for that reason).

Since The Draco Trilogy had both Draco/Hermione and a lot of Harry/Draco subtext, fans of both ships flocked to the fic.

The Plagiarism

Although she’d done it all along, it wasn’t until the second fanfic, Draco Sinister, that fans began to catch on. What was “it?”

Cassie including a lot of quotations from other work. And I mean a LOT. She lifted entire conversations and paragraphs from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Black Adder, Red Dwarf, and Terry Pratchett. At first she didn’t even mention this “inspiration,” so everyone assumed that this wit was all hers.

Once she was called out, she put a standard disclaimer at the top of her work, which was worded to imply that she might have borrowed a few, small quotes here and there, not that she was taking paragraphs and scenes. When she was called out for her continued plagiarism she switched to claiming that she “forgot” what her sources were.

Finally a former fan called Avocado got tired of it and reported her to ff.net. Within a day her works were taken down.

Predictably the fandom melted down over this and accusations began to fly. Cassie used her status as a BNF to ban anyone mildly critical of her from any message board or mailing list. A friend of Cassie’s claimed to be a real life lawyer and harrassed young fans with seemingly legal threats. There are even threats of people calling the police in an early form of “swatting.” Cassie tried to get a “hater” kicked out of university for “hacking” her and a REAL lawyer had to be involved before Cassie admitting to making it all up.

After all that began to die down, as she was working on the third installment of the trilogy, Cassie began accusing her friend and fellow BNF, Aja, of plagiarizing her. When that failed to incite the anger she wanted against Aja, Cassie began to claim that Aja was posting leaked spoilers for the Draco Trilogy. This infighting between the two lead to the collapse of The Inner Circle.

Laptop Gate

Although the third part of the Trilogy wasn’t as popular as the first two, due to the plagiarism scandal, it still racked up a ton of views when she began posting it. So when there was a potential threat to the continuation of the saga, readers were horrified.

This potential threat was a break in and the loss of Cassie’s computer.

Almost immediately after the robbery was announced Cassie’s lawyer friend (who was also her roommate) popped up again. This time, they were raising money to replace the laptops of Cassie and her roommates that had been stolen in the break in. Any extra money from the fundraiser would go to some vaguely mentioned charity.

Divisive comments poured in.

Some people expressed frustration that more “meaningful” fundraisers (like someone who had lost everything in a fire) didn’t get anywhere near as much attention and support.

Fans were even less happy when no proof was provided of either the break in or the charitable donation of excess funds (which was reported to be over $10,000).

When called out they changed the subject and posted links to another fan that was also fundraising (although they never posted any charity before or after, even when asked to do so the lawyer friend claimed to be “too busy” to share a link).

Published Works

After enjoying her celebrity as the Queen of Fanfiction, it’s no surprise that Cassie decided to venture into actual, original published works.

Except they weren’t that original, because it’s Cassie and she really, really seems to like “borrowing” from herself and others.

Let’s start with some name changes

Cassie

Cassandra Claire (with an i) is her fanfiction name

Cassandra Clare (without an i) is her published name

You may be surprised by how well this name change suited her. For a long time, before exposes began to be posted, you could google her published name without finding out about her history in fandom. Additionally, some of her victims from her fanfic days read her published books without realizing who the author actually was (until they started to recognize the quotes and paragraphs that she’d lifted straight from her fanfiction)

Her Writing

“Mortal Instruments” is Cassie’s Ginny/Ron incest romance fanfiction.

“The Mortal Instruments” is Cassie’s published work, about two fake siblings who fall in love with each other.

Similarities to Harry Potter

Now I haven’t read Mortal Instruments or The Mortal Instruments so I’ll let someone who has read them both do some explaining:

When I opened the book, I knew that Clary was Ginny. Alec was Harry. Isabelle was Clare’s version of Blaise (who back then was not officially male or female, and could therefore be interpreted by fandom either way). Valentine was a strange mixture of Lucius and Voldemort. And Jace, of course, was undeniably Draco.

Jace is so Draco, in fact, that it’s impossible to see him as his own character. The way Clare characterizes Jace is the exact same way she characterized her Draco. They share lines (the ones she didn’t steal from Buffy, of course), they share nervous tics, they share appearances, and they even share memories. The second I read the scene in which Jace tells Clary the story about the boy and the falcon, I felt an unpleasant jolt of recognition: that story is one Draco tells in one of the Draco Trilogy installments. I couldn’t remember which one. I couldn’t even remember who Draco told it to (Harry? Ginny? Hermione?). But I knew it was if not word for word taken from her fanfiction, it was very, very close.

Yikes. That’s a lot of similarities.

The same person I quoted about went on to say that the fanfiction was still much better than her published work, and that she’d rather re-read the fanfic than the non-fanfic.

Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dark Hunters

Almost immediately after The Mortal Instruments (the non-fanfic one) became popular, Sherrilyn Kenyon slapped it with a lawsuit for copying her urban fantasy series, Dark Hunters.

Kenyon fans attacked Claire fans, Cassie’s history was brought to light, and Cassie got to pull out her favorite argument “you hate me because I’m Jewish.” Which is interesting, because I’ve been working on this for two weeks, and I only just learned that she’s Jewish when I read about her accusing others of anti-Semitism.

Now as Cassie apologists will tell you, Kenyon did ultimately lose that suit, but it’s really, really starting to get repetitive over here.

I’ll borrow a quote from Ryan Givens, “If you meet an asshole in the morning, you met an asshole. If you meet assholes all day, you’re the asshole.” Or in this case, maybe you’re the plagiarist.

Common Questions

Has Cassie apologized for this?

She did occasionally

Has Cassie changed?

My opinion is no. She’s not.

Let’s see, as the “Queen of YA Literature” she has:

used Copy Right strikes to prevent people from calling out problematic passages in her books

sent her fans after critics

posted a hilariously ironic blog about cyber bullying

attacked her OWN FANS because they didn’t like the ending of a book

currently complains about people posting her real name (which is Judith Rumelt, in case you wanted to know) despite her own history of publishing people’s actual phone numbers online

Calls critics anti-Semetic while having this quote in her book

Claims that she was threatened when someone called her friend an “ignorant duck”

Loves Token Minorities

Wrote a questionable almost rape

My Thoughts

I don’t like Cassie.

I really don’t.

And look, I’m not saying that Cassie is a narcissist, but here’s a fun little saying called The Narcissist’s Prayer:

That didn’t happen. And if it did, it wasn’t that bad. And if it was, that’s not a big deal. And if it is, that’s not my fault. And if it was, I didn’t mean it. And if I did… You deserved it.

Does any of that sound familiar, because it should. It’s basically Cassie’s text book responce of “avoid admitting fault until there’s too much proof, say I didn’t do it on purpose, blame someone else, claim to be the victim, find another person to accuse of drama.”

Now I’m going to again quote from ProblematicYA because I absolutely love their writing. In this quote, they’re talking about how all of Cassie’s books, even those set in different times or cities, follow the same pattern. Non-Shadowhunter meets Shadowhunter (who is basically Draco).

So what’s really my problem? My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is a marginally talented writer who has one story and one cast of characters up her sleeve, and yet somehow she’s sold millions and millions of books based on this. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series was partially copied from her fanfiction trilogy, which copied a plethora of other authors, not even including J.K. Rowling, who provided her with the characters, premise, and setting for her beloved trilogy. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is in the authorly equivalent of a time loop, and has come full circle. My problem is the fact that Cassandra Clare is, in essence, writing fanfiction of her own work, and it is getting published and she is getting paid bank for it, when other far more original and talented authors are getting absolutely nothing for their hard work. I may despise Stephenie Meyer and the world she’s created, but at least Twilight and its accompanying works are her own original product; at least she deserves to reap the benefits of the crazy fandom she’s inspired.

Look. I don’t believe in dredging up ancient history just to hurt people. Shit we did when we were teens shouldn’t be held against us as adults. People grow and change a lot from what they were as teens.

But bitch, you actually have to GROW AND CHANGE. And Cassie hasn’t.

Also, try actually apologizing for what you’ve done instead of silencing critics.

Sources and More Information

As always, I love, love, love fanlore and I linked to many of their articles throughout this post.

A user on the HobbyDrama subreddit made a great write up called The Cassandra Cla(i)re Saga.

ProblematicYA wrote several amazing articles on the subject:

Why I Have A Problem With Cassandra Clare and Why You Should Too

anti-bullying ya queen cassandra clare is a massive bully. water also wet.

They also have an entire tag dedicated to Cassie

Alli6 wrote Things you should Know

Cassandra Clare, Rape Culture, and the Oft-Forgotten Metaphor by The Book Lantern.

SnarkTheater also has pages of things tagged as Cassie Claire, including chapter by chapter break downs of the books.

source http://camryndaytona.com/2020/06/cassandra-clare?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=cassandra-clare

#my blog

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simonsaidthat · 4 years

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“It Gets Better Later...” JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 2 (also... Part 2)

Splitting up my written thoughts on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure into Parts, I’ve finished reading the manga and I’m listing each part from “least looking forward to sitting through the Anime version of to most excited for”. Which doubles as a “Worst to Best” list.

I’ve already listed Part 1: Phantom Blood as the worst entry (it’s not... that bad?) but we’re moving up to the next part that’s not AS bad as Part 1.

Part 2: Battle Tendency

(I have seen the opening, and the opening rocks).

As stated previously, I think the worst Part of Phantom Blood is Will A. Zeppeli, Hamon/Ripple, and basically the entire second half of Part 1. The strongest element of Phantom Blood was Dio trying steal the Joestar inheritance in the first half. The second half is about Johnathan learning random magic bullshit that wasn’t in the first half to find and defeat Dio who was now off-screen.

Part 2 is at least all in on the magic bullshit, so it can instead focus on applying it to its ridiculously escalating series of battles.

And I didn’t really go into greater detail about this, but Johnathan Joestar wasn’t particularly interesting either. He was just kind of a boring ‘good boy’ and any extended screen time made sitting through Part 1 harder and harder.

Joseph Joestar on the other hand was anything but boring. The strongest elements of Battle Tendency were the heroes Joseph, Caeser Zeppeli, and Lisa Lisa. Their dynamic is so good, that I’m frankly disappointed in every other JoJo Part that doesn’t have as strong a group pairing as these three.

After reading 8 different JoJo’s, Joseph might be my favorite Joestar protagonist.

...but Part 2 is still my second least favorite JoJo part.

Look, I’m reading JoJo because everyone keeps recommending the series (and the series they’re most fond of appear to be post Hamon/Ripple stuff), so Part 2 can’t help but be a roadblock in that way, but I attest that it’s not the lack of Stands that makes Part 2 a hard sit through. After all, the inclusion of Hamon/Ripple is what ruined Part 1 for me, and simply removing it would have made Phantom Blood easily in my top 3.

It’s not the Hamon/Ripple that makes Battle Tendency worse, nor is it the lack of Stands. Instead I’d say it’s because in execution, Part 2 is the total opposite of Part 1.

Part 1 had a great antagonist but a boring protagonist; Part 2 has amazing heroes, and boring villains (and one, sympathetic, cybernetic nazi to sour things further).

And I don’t like the Pillar Men.

Hirohiko Araki’s artwork is still a little rough during the early JoJo’s, that I wasn’t sure how large the Pillar Men were. I thought that maybe they were literal giants (which would have been interesting) but it may have just been a perspective thing...

Anyway, the first thing they do is walk through people and cause them to melt through contact. They seemed kind of boringly invincible beings which, to be fair, does lead to the one thing I like about the Pillar Men, is how susceptible they are to Joseph’s bluffs. This helps to elevate how unpredictable Joseph is (hence being my favorite Joestar) but it really hurts my impression of the Pillar Men in the process.

Other JoJo villains share a certain amount of “hubris” as a defining weakness for them, but the Pillar Men in particular come off as being incredibly short-sighted/dumb. They easily have the capacity to kill the heroes by contact and choose instead to give them a months time to “get stronger”.

Seriously? These are the LAST of the Hamon/Ripple Fighters, trained in the art of your only weakness (aside from sunlight which is only a mild inconvenience to them), and your willing to let them go because an idiot blow-hard “lesser being” claims that he can get stronger than you IF YOU LET HIM!!!

...this is probably why other JoJo villains either actively run away from the heroes or only get involved when there’s absolutely no other option and it’s the final battle.

I don’t know, maybe the anime adaption of Part 2 does the Pillar Men more justice (or maybe it’s been long enough for me to get a new perspective on them) but it’s agonizing knowing in advance that these “Super Vampires” are just one arc/part/block in the way of having Stand villains.

Granted, not all Stand Villains are created equal, and even though I’d be more excited to see the Anime Adaption of the next entry on the list... even the Pillar Men might be better than “that guy”.

Part Six: Stone Ocean

(Here comes the first curve ball)

Let me say this about reading through Hirohiko Araki’s writing: every JoJo parts individual arcs, encounters, “battles”, however you’d describe magic people showing off their weirdo powers to defeat the heroes and the strange stipulations on overcoming those said weird powers;

Everything escalates to higher, grander, tenser encounters, that every Part becomes more lethal than the previous entry. Sure you can probably point to one particular Stand from parts 3-5 and say “nothing beats this”, and I would counter with “Rainbow Snails” and those in the know will hopefully know what I’m talking about.

(That or every subsequent JoJo part finds new ways to trigger some new phobia I didn’t know I had.)

Basically if you think that I would suggest that Stone Ocean, which currently does not have an anime, starring the first female JoJo, is somehow not worth making an anime adaption of, than you’d be wrong. I’d love to find out what the soundtrack of Stone Ocean is gonna sound like for one thing, and Stone Ocean has my absolute favorite supporting character!

...but this one was a disappointment.

There was a point while reading JoJo where I had basically given up on remembering any character names (probably started with Part 3), and instead focused on the general flow of the story beats; “what’s the objective right now, who’s in the way, and who has which stand in the party.” This does occasionally mean I glaze over the details of the Stand fights (which are the highlights), and by the end of reading each Part, I can only really remember what happened in the Story.

And the Story of Part 6 is not as good as its own Stand Battles. (Minor Spoilers from here on out!)

I remember being psyched for Part 6. Female JoJo (who was also Jotaro’s kid), Shawshank Redemption/Green Mile/Prison setting, Dio’s possible return, and some kind of “Universe Ending Climax” that I heard might put all other JoJo endings to shame. But, as it turns out, some of those very elements that I was initially excited for were either absent or turned out to be a detriment to Jolyne Kujo’s story.

(Turns out setting your location in a boxed prison in Florida Marshland is only fun at first. Which is probably why the set is abandoned for the last third of Stone Ocean.)

While reading Part 4, I remember thinking with Jotaro’s inclusion that “I hope Jotaro doesn’t steal the spotlight away from Josuke”. By the time I reached Part 6, I realized that it wasn’t strictly Jotaro that was a problem, but rather the reverence for Part 3′s Jotaro Kujo and DIO.

The STORY of Part 6 seems to be a love letter to Part 3, which actively ruins Part 6.

What was the point of introducing DIO’s additional offspring? As far as I can tell they add nothing to the main villains schemes, nor do they seem to behave in any meaningful way like DIO. Giving them the Joestar Birthmark is only there to convey to the audience that they’re a big deal, and they’re barely in it. And they’re only revealed/show up during the last quarter of the story!

They’re the “Knights of Ren” of the Joestar Universe. Their name/origin makes them sound like a big deal, and they’re not.

If I had to guess, I would suggest that the only reason we’re introduced to “DIO’s kids” is because we needed a group of bad guys with Stands to fight the heroes, but we did not want to explain/worry over how this group of bad guys got Stands in the first place.

The worry over minutia of canon was a poison slowly killing JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure; starting with Part 4′s “we need another JoJo, let’s say Joseph cheated on his wife to have an illegitimate son so we don’t skip forward too far into the future”, and “how did the cast of Part 3 get Stands? Let’s say a Magic Arrow did it, now there’s a Magic Arrow that gives people Stands in Part 4”, the virus of continuity returns in Part 5 and finally takes roost in Part 6.

All because we might’ve taken Part 3 a little too seriously.

Again, DIO’s kids are barely a plot device of Part 6, but I think it’s perfectly emblematic of the problems with Part 6.

Strangely when it came to characters that I liked/disliked, I was able to divide my feelings by gender lines: I really like the Female main cast of characters and I didn’t care about any of the Male main cast of characters. The closest Male character that I liked was “Weather Report” when he was just a stoic support guy, but then he gets his memory back, briefly gets a worse personality, and is thrown aside shortly after.

And then you’ve got the main villain, Enrico Pucci.

One of the joys of reading through each Part was figuring out limitations of each stand user, and the eventual identity/stand of the final boss that must somehow be a greater threat than everything else that came before. If we know the identity of the Villain (Part 3) there’s a dramatic build up to the reveal of their Stand. If we know about their Stand first (Part 5) then we can slowly unravel the identity/appearance of the Villain.

Or you can do what Stone Ocean does and give us both close to the start of the series.

And visually speaking, hinging the plot of Stone Ocean on collecting Memory CD-Rom’s and sending them to the right people is just not exciting. And using this power to steal Jotaro’s Stand Power (this is early enough in the series to be an inciting incident and only a minor spoiler) and NOT USE IT or give it to a henchmen is a wasted opportunity!

I honestly think we missed out on an opportunity to switch Stands among the Party, but I guess that sequence would’ve been too similar to one that played out in another Part.

I hope an anime adaption “changes the CD-ROMS” to be more alien-like. They can still be round-disks/CD-like/vinyl disks, but, I don’t know, have screaming faces of the damned fade in and out of the reflections (faces do occasionally show up, but their usually static portraits to convey to the audience whom the CD belongs to). Make them more horrific/alien to look at.

Voice acting and music may help change things; for a North American Dub I hope Pucci gets the same voice actor as Netflix Castlevania’s Isaac, Adetokumboh M'Cormack. It’s... a very similar role, which would be fun, but I think his voice would provide a lot more charisma for Pucci.

youtube

(Apparently Pucci in Part 6 isn’t black, he’s just ambigiously brown and born into a pale white family. I had forgotten about his family, but I’d still like the Castlevania Actor to play him for the previously stated charisma and the casting gag of a loyal servant mourning the loss of his vampire lord).

The soundtrack to this arc has got to be tight if it hopes to elevate itself from the impression I got through reading it.

Also maybe have a filler arc for more Foo Fighters (F.F.) content. (She’s likely the “Tsuyu Asui” of the JoJo Universe, and if she’s not now, she will be once she’s in an anime).

#jojo's bizarre adventure #battle tendency #stone ocean #Joseph Joestar #Jolyne Kujo #enrico pucci

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faemytho · 5 years

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Wh,, what’s the vmv server,

the vmv server is the discord server i run to talk about my au? mv?

whatever it is, its where i talk about vmv, or Vampire-MythoVerse, which is a mythology based multiversal/universal au for the undertale multiverse fandom!

If you’re new to this AU, or know nothing about this AU, I recommend checking the FAQ, which can be found here! (this should be mobile friendly! let me know if it isnt!) ((NOTE: the faq is currently going under some construction - information may be outdated or no longer correct!))

vmv is kinda hard to explain, but ill try!

➤ What is VMV?

Vampire-MythoVerse is an original project, which adapts the characters from the UTMV (Undertale Multiverse), and is originally based off of blogthegreatrouge’s vampire-verse! It's an original work with around half the characters adapted from the Undertale Multiverse.

It's set in three different "Planes of Existence", but most of the characters live on the one based on Earth - Terra. The other two planes, Angaea and Cirxia, are based on the idea of "christian heaven", where the angels live, and "christian hell", where the demons live, with variations. VMV is set in the year "10,042" (written in their world as (10.42)), but their universe isn't like ours, concerning the ideas of futuristic technology.

Basically, everything you know about our world? Throw it away.

➤ What’s the story?

As of right now, VMV has no main story! It functions more like a vast setting with set characters, where each character functions as the main character of their own story. The idea is that everyone in this world has a story, something to tell, a life they've lived.

Everyone has something in their backstory - in their lives. There’s a lot to discover about everyone.

➤ What’s the connection to the Undertale Multiverse?

Many of the characters from UTMV have been adapted and given VMV counterparts. Many of them reside on Terra, living as both magical and non-magical folk, but some live in Angaea and Cirxia as angels or demons.

These UTMV VMV counterparts have been given new names and designs to fit into the world of VMV, while still being based completely on their UTMV counterparts. This is mostly to pay homage to Rouge's original vampireverse idea!

For example, Error Sans in this AU is a vampire lord named Fallacy, who resides in the Ebsh Forest on Terra, and Ink Sans is one of the mortal nobles on Terra - a marquis named Encre in the kingdom of Eb. I’ve decided which species many of the characters will be already, but feel free to ask about them if you’d like to know!

-~-~-~-

Here's another post you can try if you're not quite sure how the world of VMV works, and if you're not sure how it's tied to the Undertale Multiverse!

-~-~-~-

Vampire-MythoVerse came from my desire to have a more supernatural-esque, mythological based AU for a lot of the characters that the UTMV community has created! Since there are so many wonderful creations from so many talented people, this AU has grown to be massive, each character taking a unique role and being the protagonists of their own stories, as stated above.

But since this AU has grown so large, so have my ideas for it. There are many variants of characters from the UTMV that you might recognize, such as Error Sans, Ink, Fresh, Geno, Reaper, and many, many others - but there are also original characters created by me who have been added to this world; to give it a more enticing and realistic feel in character variation!

Not only do versions of the OG UTMV outcodes, DS UTMV characters, and various AU characters exist in VMV, but so do my own creations and OCs. There are also several different species and creatures that I have taken liberties with; I’ve added some abilities, I’ve changed some abilities, I’ve built entire species up for this AU itself and I’m proud of what I’ve done, and can’t wait to share it with all of you!

And don’t worry! The AU variants will have plenty of screentime! But many of the OC characters have interesting backstories, personalities, and such too! They all live in the same world with each other, after all.

-~-~-~-

links to the character list and species list are in progress at the moment, but i promise everything is slowly, but steadily being compiled over at the blog @vampire-mythoverse! go give it a look through!

and if you're interested in the discord server, here's a perma-invite!

#vampire-mythoverse #vmv #utmv #undertale multiverse #vmv talk #ask #anonymous #fae rambles

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carneaderunt · 5 years

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𝙿𝙸𝙴𝙲𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝙰 𝙿𝚄𝚉𝚉𝙻𝙴. how two wrongs make a right.

𝚊𝚔𝚊. how the two fragmented & distorted versions of qetsiyah’s immortality spell can combine to make someone a true immortal.

first up on my meta rewrites , i’d like to address probably my favorite headcanon i’ve ever come up with over the past five years of writing kennedy. it all starts with a simple question ——— 𝚆𝙷𝙰𝚃 𝚆𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙷𝙰𝙿𝙿𝙴𝙽 𝙸𝙵 𝙺𝙴𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙳𝚈 𝙳𝙸𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷 𝚅𝙰𝙼𝙿𝙸𝚁𝙴 𝙱𝙻𝙾𝙾𝙳 𝙸𝙽 𝙷𝙴𝚁 𝚂𝚈𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙼 ?

so i first posed this question in october of 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟻 , sometime around the beginning of season seven of 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜. i discussed my theory on what would happen & asked for any alternative ideas from my followers at the time. it’s an interesting theory to look back on because i had been toying with the concept in my head for several months prior to making the post ( i think since about may of that year ) , & little did i know at the time that later on in season seven , kennedy would be dealing with this exact scenario. originally , i had no set plans on when & truly 𝚒𝚏 i would put kennedy through such an ordeal , but the opportunity arouse in 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 & about a month later & with some helpful plotting with my dear friend @crazyimpulsive , it was decided that kennedy did in fact die with vampire blood in her system at the end of the episode.

so before i delve into how kennedy dies in 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 , let’s first look at why i’m posing this question in the first place.

for all of its flaws , the mythology of the vampire diaries is vast & very interesting. like most twenty-somethings i know , i went through a vampires / werewolves / witches / & other supernatural entities phase that sprung from the popularity of those characters & tropes in the media at the time. i’m not saying i ever grew out of it because , well , i’m still here aren’t i ? but i was a little less interested in high school when i first started watching 𝚝𝚟𝚍 in vampires than i was in middle school , & so when i got to silas & amara , a lovely couple of immortals in ancient greece , well , i found them a lot more interesting than i thought i would ( 𝚔𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚋𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚟𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚒𝚕𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚝 𝚊 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚍 ). what was more interesting than the characters themselves was the powerful immortality spell qetsiyah had developed , which had been the originator for vampirism spell that runs through the blood of most of our favorite characters.

a spell that , if kennedy died with vampire blood in her system , would also now be running through her veins too.

okay , cool , awesome , problem solved. kennedy’s a vampire , right ? no ? okay , well why wouldn’t she be ?

first , let’s recall how the vampirism spell was created. esther modified qetsiyah’s original spell. ayana , the bennett witch who was friends with esther & mikael , refused to perform the spell believing it a crime against nature. if i remember correctly , it’s unclear whether esther had come across the spell or if ayana had informed her of the spell before warning her against it. but what is clear is the spell is 𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚍 from qetsiyah’s immortality spell. it’s basically a knock off , generic version , was probably poorly translated from the original greek , some of the ingredients had to be changed , etc , so instead of creating immortal beings like silas & amara & starting a new line of doppelgängers in their wake , it made the mikaelsons vampires. & every person from then on who died with vampire blood in their system would go into transition , which upon the consumption of human blood would transform them into vampires.

so 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 + 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 = 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗. 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 + 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 = 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎. simple enough. but what happens when you add another spell into the mix ? a spell that would halt the process of becoming a vampire.

does 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚍 + 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 + 𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 = 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 ?

let me explain why i don’t think it would. first , because the reincarnation spell used on this blog is part of my own personal mythology i wanted to add into the 𝚝𝚟𝚍 universe , it needs it’s own breakdown. the gist of the spell works like this , because kennedy has the spell on her soul , when her body dies , her soul moves onto her next life & body , which appears identical to her last ( this is mostly for convenience sake sake & also because some myths of reincarnation do include the person looking the same. as for the scientific details , i suppose somewhere along the line kennedy , evelyn , & eliza can trace their lineage back to the petrovs but i have not expanded on how yet ). i’ve never discussed the specifics of what happens to her soul between her last life until her next , but my current theory ( which i hope to expand on later , i need to rewatch the stuff involving alaric & matt & the gilbert ring ) is that her soul lingers on the other side during this time with all the other deceased supernatural creatures ( this of course begs a separate question about what would happen post-season six if kennedy had died 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 vampire blood in her system since the other side is 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚍𝚕𝚢 destroyed ). during this time , she has access to her memories still ( & perhaps even her former ones , you’ll have to give me a pass on the details bc all my hcs regarding reincarnation + the other side have been lost on skype ) , & when it’s time for a new incarnation to begin , her soul is pulled into her new body & her memories are gone again , with hints of it sometime lingering around.

this particular form of a reincarnation spell can trace its first use , of course , to the 1400s when irina , a bennett witch descended from the same line as qetsiyah & ayana , created it. like most bennett witches we know , she got tangled up with the petrov lineage ——— but instead of befriending amara’s doppelgänger , she was friends with anastasia petrova , kennedy’s first incarnation. the two were best friends & told each other everything. as we know , ana was pretty much a two-faced bitch to most of the people she knew. but never to irina. irina was the only person ana was whole-heartedly genuine with. she never lied to her. she never betrayed her. she told the girl everything there was to know about her ——— her fears , her loves , her regrets. irina was her confidant. irina helped her learn more about magic after katherine stopped sneaking around & learning traveller spells behind their father back. while katherine had begun seeking out attention from pretty men , anastasia had continued seeking out more knowledge on witchcraft , & irina was always there with a helping hand , trying to guide her to use it properly & respectfully. because of their deep friendship & all the honesty ana put into it , irina was faced with a terrible choice. when the bennett witch had a terrible premonition about anastasia’s violent death , she decided she had to do something to stop it. she searched & searched for a way to prevent ana from dying but every trail turned up dry. eventually , irina came across a family heirloom , an ancient translation of an immortality spell , different from the vampire spell , more permanent. like with the vampirism spell , some of the ingredients had been changed & some of the words had been translated wrong. reading over the spell , the witch was aware of what it would do ——— it would not make anastasia immortal per say , but instead it would allow her the chance to live again & perhaps make make amends to all the girl had wronged in her current life. the bennett witch brewed the spell with one special addition & slipped it into ana’s drink one night. two weeks later , the entire petrov family had been slaughtered , & there were no signs the spell had worked. anastasia’s soul didn’t pop up again until the 1800s in a small town in virginia , a town where a few years later , another bennett witch would be make an appearance. the small addition irina had made to the spell ? an insurance policy that would link ana’s soul to the bennett line , so when the time came to break the spell & restore balance to nature , a bennett witch would be able to remove it. however , because of how much time had elapsed between irina & emily’s interactions with ana’s incarnations , none of the bennett witches ana’s soul met had any idea how the spell came to be or how to break it. little is known in-universe on how ana was able to reincarnate other than there was a spell & a bennett witch performed it & then linked it to the bennett bloodline. it is only after kennedy’s death that katherine offers up what she has learned of the spell having researched it throughout the years since meeting eliza gilbert.

in summary , just like the vampirism spell , the reincarnation spell on kennedy’s soul is also derivived from qetsiyah’s immortality spell. so what would happen if someone were to die with both of these fragmented & distorted versions of the spell were to co-occur ? would one win over the other ? would neither work at all ? they’re 𝚝𝚎𝚌𝚑𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 the same spell , resulting in an imperfect form of immortality , both with the ability to still die ( vampirism with a stake , reincarnation via a human death ). so what if instead of the two spell competing with another , they instead completed each other & fused into one spell ? my solution to this problem is that the spells fit together like pieces of a puzzle , combining to fix what had been distorted & fragmented until they form the complete & proper immortality spell the qetsiyah created all those years ago.

so if the 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 = 𝚊 + 𝚋 , the 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 = 𝚊 , & the 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚊 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 = 𝚋 , then 𝚟𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 + 𝚛𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕 = 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚕𝚕. meaning our previously forever reincarnating witch would no longer be a witch & she wouldn’t transition into a vampire either , but instead would become a proper psychic immortal. it would be just like she took the elixir silas & amara took.

which is really the gist of it. i was gonna talk about how kennedy dies in 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚒𝚜 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚙𝚎𝚘𝚙𝚕𝚎 but this post is long enough & i have a drabble on it already that i just need to spruce up before publishing again , so i might do that later this week instead. there is the caveat that because kennedy’s lived four different lives & the whole other side memory wipe thing i mentioned earlier , that when kennedy wakes up after dying , she doesn’t have any of her memories & there’s a whole process of having to trigger each incarnation’s set of memories in the order of who lived first to who lived last , so we take a brief pause on the other nonsense occurring in season seven get to see ana , eliza , & evelyn for a bit before finally reuniting with our lovely kennedy , except she gets to keep all of those memories from her past lives this time as well.

#☾ ┆ ᴘɪᴇᴄᴇs ᴏғ ᴍʏ ᴍɪɴᴅ sᴄᴀᴛᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ ᴀʟʟ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ. ⁽ headcanon ⁾

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haveamagicalday · 5 years

Text

My 2018 Reads

Let me start by saying that I have read almost 100 books this year (some short stories but I like to count those too) I’m going to make a separate list for my top ten but here are the other ones!

4 Stars

Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

This is the third book in the Three Dark Crowns series. It’s a dark tale about three sisters who have to compete against each other for the crown. There are a lot of characters to follow which means they aren’t always that well developed but the story is so so enthralling.

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

Loosely based on real events, the novel follows Monica whose older sister was one of five cheerleaders to die under mystery circumstances. Five years after the deaths, Monica discovers something that could help her solve what really happened. This was a gripping read with some great twists

Beneath the Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer

This book flew under the radar this year which is a shame because it was a great read. Talia gets banished to a dreary island where she stumbles upon ancient legends that may be more real than she realizes. I will admit, the first third of this book was a little wack. It was like a different book but it got much better once she got to the island.

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

A melancholy tale of a trio of ghosts that lure young boys to their deaths each summer. Our main character is a life long resident of the town who is just trying to make it through the summer. I’ll admit, it got a little messy in the end but for a debut novel, I thought it was very engaging.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I’m late on this one, I know. Rachel commutes to work everyday. Then one day she sees something she wasn’t supposed too that leads her down a dark spiral to find out what really happened. Definitely a turn pager that has more than one mystery to solve.

The Woman in the Window by AJ Finn

This year’s breakout mystery/suspense novel. Anna is confined to her house, spending her days in a group chat or playing online chest. When a seemingly perfect family moves in across from her, she becomes entangled in a mystery when she sees something she shouldn’t one night. An unreliable narrator will keep you guessing what’s real and what’s not.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

If you love the movie, you will love the book. An adorable, sweet read!

3.5 Stars

Scream All Night by Derek Milman

Dario grew up on the set of various B-horror movies. That’s because his family owns the studio that makes them. Dario has tried to distance himself from his family but is forced to return when his brother invites him to a very special event involving their father. Darkly funny and unique, this was a twisted take on a young man coming to terms with his past.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

Vampires are on the rise and to accommodate them all, the US government creates quarantined cities known as Coldtowns. Vampires must live in Coldtowns but for humans, it’s optional. But once you are in, it’s nearly impossible to get out. Holly Black creates an imaginative take on vampires. The book starts off a little slow but really picks up when our main character arrives at Coldtown. My only complaint is that this wasn’t a series. There was so much packed into this book that could have easily been expanded upon over the course of a few books.

Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney

Amber is in a coma. She can’t move or remember anything but she’s pretty sure her husband has something to do with her current state. The book alternates between past and present as Amber struggles to remember what happened to her. I found some of the twists convoluted and kooky but they were definitely original. Trigger Warning: there is a very graphic rape scene

3 Stars

Final Girls by Riley Sager

Quincy is one of 3 media named Final Girls; the last ones standing during a horror movie like massacre that killed their friends. Now Quincy is all grown up but still trying to forget what happened the night her friends were murdered when one of the other Final Girls shows up at her doorstep, forcing her to revisit her past.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

A Snow White retelling with a unique twist! Mina, the future queen, has a heart made of glass, crafted by her magician father. Lynet, our Snow White, is the spitting image of her dead mother. Then one day Lynet discovers that the king had hired Mina’s father to craft Lynet out of snow in her mother’s image after she died. Alternating between Mina’s past and Lynet’s present, this is a sweet and simple fairytale retelling!

Hex Hall series by Rachel Hawkins

Sophie is a teenaged witch with wayward powers. She gets sent to Hex Hall, a magical reform school, to learn how to better control her powers. This book was a fun read. I think I would have liked it more if I were still a teenager. The stakes never really seemed all that high but it was fairly entertaining.

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning.

The Little Mermaid from the point of view of the sea witch. Well, sort of. Evie is a witch, best friends with a prince, whose other best friend, Anna drowned when they were children. Now, a girl who bears a striking resemblance to Anna, appears on the beach one day and she is determined to make the prince fall in love with her. Honestly, I was far more interested in Annemette than Evie. I think this would have been a really interesting story from her point of view instead.

To Kill and Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Another Little Mermaid retelling but this time, the mermaid is a siren whose mission is to steal the prince’s heart. Literally. The first chapter of this book made it seem like this would be much darker than it ended up being. The romance was a little weak but still, this was an interesting take on the tale and an enjoyable read.

The Enchanted Sonata by Heather Dixon Wallwork

A Nutcracker retelling. In this version, Clara is a musician who receives a mysterious nutcracker on Christmas. She ends up whisked away to a magical world where all the children have been turned into toys and it seems that her, and her music, is the only thing that can turn them back. The Nutcracker is very dear to me, so I was overly critical of this book. It didn’t bear too much resemblance to the ballet or original fairy tale and it read more middle grade than YA. Still it was a cute read.

And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness

I absolutely loved A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness so I was excited for this. It was very different than what I was expecting. Simply put, this is Moby Dick told from the perspectives of whales. It was bizarre and I don’t really think I understood it fully but I’ve also never read Moby Dick before. The pictures were beautiful though and it is a very quick read.

Imposters by Scott Westerfeld

A new series that takes place in the Uglies universe. Frey and Rafi are twins but people only know Rafi. Frey has been raised to fight and be Rafi’s body double. I really enjoyed this book because of it’s connection to Uglies. Had I not read Uglies as a teen, I’m not sure this book would have held up on its own.

Lucy in the Sky

From the same author that did Go Ask Alice, this book is presented as a diary of a young girl that spirals out of control due to drug use. Objectively, this book isn't that great. The writing is poor, the story is unrealistic and it almost seems to glorify drugs rather than turn you off to them. BUT, it's enticing just like the other books in this series. It pulls you in and you want to keep reading. I read it in one sitting.

From Twinkle, with Love by Sandhya Menon

Twinkle is an aspiring film director. With the help of a geeky classmate, Twinkle embarks on making her first film for a local film festival. Along the way, Twinkle learns about friendship, family and love. A delightful fluffy read for fans of romantic comedies.

What Should be Wild by Julia Fine

This is a hard book to describe. Our main character is a girl who has been kept hidden from society due to a rare gift (or curse perhaps). Anything she touches dies, and anything that’s already dead comes back to life due to her touch as well. The story was bizarre and not entirely satisfying but it certainly was intriguing. I think it boils down to a matter of taste and I’m sure others could find much more merit in it than I did!

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch

After the death of her mother, Lina is spending the summer in Italy with a father she never knew. While there, she is given her mother’s old journal which sends her down a journey to her mother’s past. With her mother’s guidance Lina discovers the magic that Italy has to offer. A cute and heartfelt read with some classic teen romance.

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Mila’s best friend is dead and she wants to know who is responsible. So why not ask her? With an old grimoire, Mila finds a sleep to bring her best friend back and accidentally brings back two other murdered girls as well. With the spell’s limited time Mila and her undead girl gang try to solve the mysterious behind their deaths. Quirky, fun but also enthralling, this is a very original book.

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moira Fowley-Doyle

Best friends Olive and Rose begin to lose things. First it’s only small things but soon bigger things are going lost. Everything changes for the two when they meet 3 strangers in the woods and a mysterious spell book. At times, this was a very confusing read. I’m still not sure I fully understood it but the story was engaging and fairy tale like. A lovely read.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

A modern fairy tale like read. What starts off as a whimsical turns drastically dark as the story progresses. Our main character, Jeremy is somewhat of an outcast but attracts the attention of an outgoing and outspoken local girl. The most interesting aspect of this book is that Jeremy is able to speak to ghosts and the ghost of Jacob Grimm (who wrote all those fairy tales) has been his friend for years. Entirely random but a fantastic addition.

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

Another YA thriller from Thomas. This was her first novel and I think it shows. It’s weaker than the other books she has written but still good. However, the last 3rd felt like a completely different book which was a bit jarring. If you like murder mystery/unsolved crimes, you’ll like this but definitely check out her other books too!

How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather

Our main character is a descendant of Cotton Mather, the man who sentenced women to their deaths during the Salem Witch Trails. Samantha moves to Salem with her stepmother and finds that she is not welcomed by her fellow classmates, descendants of the witches. And it turns out there might actually be some magic in Salem after all. This was silly fun. I was expecting something more like Chilling Adventures of Sabrina but that’s not the tone of this book at all. The love triangle was a little annoying and there was a reveal that was bizarre but overall it was an entertaining book.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

I absolutely loved the Cinder series and Heartless but I wasn’t feeling this one so much. There’s nothing really wrong with it, the characters are well developed and the writing is good, however I just couldn’t gather any enthusiasm for it. I will say that the writing was rather slow and I felt that the book could have been a lot shorter than it was but if you like superheroes and villains, you should like this.

2.5 Stars

Ever by Gail Carson Levine

This is a retelling of the Biblical tale about Jephthah but had more of a Greek mythology feel with a cast of many gods and goddesses. It was a weird mixture of mythology and focused on a very weak romance. I think this book was aimed more for middle grade and might be more enjoyable for them.

Midnight Sun by Trish Cook

Yes, I read the novelization of the Bella Thorne movie that came out earlier this year. Yes, it was poorly written, the plot was laughable, and the romance cheesy. But, it was a quick read that kept my interest.

2 Stars

My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows and Brodi Ashman

I received this in my owlcrate and I’m still wondering why. The book is a retelling of Jane Eyre combined with ghostbusters because in this version, Jane can talk to ghosts. There’s also a secret ghost hunting society that wants recruit her but she’d rather be a nanny for Mr. Rochester. I really didn’t like this. The attempt at humor throughout was almost painful, the characters were dumb and I don’t understand why this book exists in the first place. I think it would have been better if it was just about Victorian era ghost hunters and not incorporate Jane Eyre in any way. This is part of a series in which the authors rewrite (very quirkily!) famous stories starring a character named Jane. From the reviews I read, their first book, My Lady Jane, was much better but I don’t even want to attempt to read it after this one.

September Girls by Bennett Madison

This is one of those books that I kept reading because of how bad it was. Sam is spending the summer in a small beach town that is overfilled with The Girls. That’s what Sam calls them because they are all blonde and beautiful. Turns out they are some sort of mermaid? It’s never really explained and they are all cursed and need to have sex with a virgin man in order to be free. Enter our sexist virgin, Sam. The women are written terribly, referred to as sluts and shanks and their asses and breasts are always mentioned. I have no idea how this book got published. But damn, was it fun to laugh at. Number of breast/chest/boob mentions: 27

Poetry (Both 5 Stars)

The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace

This book felt very personal to me (like I was reading the author’s inner thoughts) and I couldn’t always relate to some of the poems. I felt that the sequel dealt more with women’s issues on a whole and has something all women could relate too. Her poems are breathtaking though and so powerful.

The Witch Doesn’t Burn in This One by Amanda Lovelace

I picked this up out of curiosity and ended up reading it in one sitting. It is absolutely stunning. I think every woman should read this. Hell, I think every man should read this too. I can’t wait for the third one!

Short stories

The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo (5 Stars)

Holy smokes, this was breathtaking! A collection of six short stories based on fairy tales/mythology. The stories are so utterly original though. Clever, satisfying with feminist themes. This is a must read for fairy tale lovers!

Amazon’s Dark Corners Collection by Various Authors

I happened to see this advertised on Goodreads and got it for free on Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader. This collection is 7 short stories of the horror variety. It’s hard to rate these since they are all written by different authors. I didn’t find any of these stories all that scary though. More so just sad. Interesting, but not all that gripping. My favorite stories were Miao Dao by Joyce Carol Oates and Sleep Tight Motel by Lisa Unger but I wouldn’t really recommend the others. Trigger Warning: The Remedy deals with depression and suicide and has a rather offensive/problematic ending.

Snow, Glass, Apples by Neil Gaiman (4 Stars)

This is a very dark retelling of Snow White from the queen’s point of view. Snow White is not the darling princess she is often portrayed as. This short story is very adult but not overly graphic. You can read it for free at the link I provided.

Matchless by Gregory Maguire (3 Stars)

A quick reimagining of The Little Match Girl. The main character isn’t the match girl but a young boy whose life intertwines with the match girl’s. This short story didn’t add anything new to the story since it’s focuses on an original character. The match girl is just briefly there. My feelings for this were mutual.

Re-reads

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares (5/4 Stars)

One of my favorite summer rereads!

Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot (5 stars)

Just as delightful and funny as the first time I read the series as a young teen

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen (5 Stars

I’ve gotten into the habit of rereading this book every summer. It’s a book that can be read in one sitting and is so heartfelt.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (5 Stars)

This is my all time favorite Sarah Dessen novel. I highly recommend all of her novels.

The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (4 Stars)

This takes place in the same world as the Cruel Prince. Some of the characters even appear in the latter novel. This is a standalone that reads like a modern fairy tale.

#kendare blake #this was fun #two dark reigns #the cheerleaders #kara thomas #beneath the haunting sea #the witch doesn't burn in this one #the princess saves herself in this one #the wicked deep #the girl on the train #the woman in the window #to all the boys i've loved before #the jungle book #litature #ya literature #non disney #my post

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sineala · 6 years

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Hi! I really like your post about diffrences between 616 Stony and MCU version. Could you do something similar about Ultimates? What similarities and diffrences they have with other versions?

I’ve posted Ults meta before, I’m pretty sure, but here I go again!

Okay, so the first thing about Ultimates that you should know is that we’re not working with anywhere near the same amount of canon that 616 got. This should be pretty obvious when you consider the fact that the Ultimates universe was only around for a bit more than a decade.

And when you narrow it down to Ultimates Steve and Tony, the amount of canon gets even smaller. If you’re reading 616 comics for Steve and Tony, you can basically be assured that they will be appearing in multiple ongoing comics – their own book, and whatever the team book is of the team they’re on, because they’re probably both on a team, and if you’re REALLY lucky they’re on the same team at the same time. (Fun fact: the last panel that Steve and Tony both appeared in where neither of them were evil or dead was a Gwenpool Holiday Special from 2015. Why, yes, I have been waiting TWO AND A HALF YEARS to see them meet again.)

But my point was, the situation in Ultimates is not like that. Neither Steve nor Tony have ongoing solo titles in Ults; Steve has one miniseries and Tony has three, two of which were later retconned. When you see them at all it’s because they’re appearing together in the main Ultimates series. This does mean that, proportionally speaking, they probably interact with each other more on-panel (in terms of how much of their interaction is with each other) than Steve and Tony do in 616, but it also means that overall there is much less interaction, because there is so much less canon. My folder of Ultimates comics (the main Ultimates series and a few relevant miniseries and Death of Spider-Man and so on) contains about 250 comics, total, and not all of those have both of them in them. You could read that in maybe two weeks. I’m pretty sure I DID read that in maybe two weeks. (By contrast, in 616, Steve and Tony have appeared together in at least 1700 issues since 1964; thanks to Mucca and Vel for the stats.)

If you talk about Ults, the first thing that’s probably going to come up is the grimdarkness. The Ultimate universe is not a nice place. It was originally created to be a more “realistic” version of 616. So if you’re familiar with the basic character archetypes and arcs of 616, expect to see them exploited for maximum angst potential. It’s very much in dialogue with 616 – sometimes literally, what with the crossovers. One of the times when Ults meets 616, Ults Vision observes that “Their finest, bravest warriors are our damaged, conflicted soldiers,” which as a statement of character is basically what you’re in for for Ults. Like, 616 Steve is a man out of time, and Ults Steve breaks down crying at his family’s graves because he’s so alone. 616 Hank hits Jan, and Ults Hank beats her half to death in a sequence that is graphically drawn out over about half an issue. 616 Tony struggles with drinking, and Ults Tony raises a glass to everything and anything. They’re not as resilient as their 616 counterparts, and they experience more actual trauma rather than just bouncing back. There is character death, and it is permanent. The threat levels are generally lower – they are basically fighting baseline humans and homegrown terrorists a lot of the time – and when higher-powered threats come for them, well, that’s when you get plots like “Galactus eats New Jersey.” I am pretty sure that in 616 they would never have let Galactus get that far.

Having said that, I want to say that Ults is also INCREDIBLY WACKY. Ults 1-3 and Ultimatum are basically incredibly gritty and humorless, but from then on, things start getting weird. I feel like at that point they gave up on the idea of realism and then asked themselves, “Okay, but what if we made Captain America a vampire?” or “what if we made Captain America the president?” and they just… went with that. The grittiness is still there – I mean, Reed basically vivisects Tony twice, for example – but the plots are just off the wall in the best way. It’s… really weird. I mean, you have to get through reading comics where people get their heads bitten off and eaten, but… yeah.

Also, if you’re a 616 fan, there are some crossovers! The Galactus who eats New Jersey is actually from 616. The entire universe ends in an incursion with 616, and they all hang out with each other on Battleworld. Also, Spider-Men is a pretty great miniseries where 616 Peter Parker finds himself in Ults, meeting Miles Morales and everyone else.

If you’re an MCU fan and you’ve heard of Ults, one thing you have probably heard is that the MCU took a lot of inspiration from Ults. Which is true! You’ve got a setup where SHIELD is initially involved in the Ultimates, you’ve got Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, you’ve got the Triskelion, you’ve got Clint’s family, you’ve got Bucky as Steve’s childhood BFF, you’ve got Bruce being more important to the Ultimates than he ever really was to the early Avengers in 616. So you might think that if you don’t know comics and want to start, Ults is a good place to start, and I want to stress that this is probably a bad idea. Because they are all assholes and if you start here you will not want to read another comic, so please read some 616 first. But, even though they are all complete assholes, we love them anyway.

With that said, let’s talk about Ultimate Steve Rogers, an asshole so gigantic that you don’t even need to wonder what the A on his head stands for!

Ults Steve is a much more generally angry guy than 616 Steve – who tends to store up his anger and save it for the really important things in life, like bashing Tony’s face in – and I often think that a lot of that comes from having had more of a chip on his shoulder, pre-Rebirth. We don’t really see much of pre-serum Steve in 616, save for occasional flashback panels, and canon is vague about what is wrong with him. Ults canon is also similarly vague, but we see Ults Steve with an actual, visible disability. He has a limp severe enough where he walks with a cane. We see him pleading with the recruiting sergeant to give him a chance because he doesn’t want to stay at home and do factory work with “the dames” (yeah, yeah, more on Steve’s misogyny later). The Rebirth people recruiting him specifically mention the limp when they mention how they’ve had their eye on him. You figure that’s gotta have an effect on how the world treated him before the serum.

Also, Ults Rebirth is different than 616 Rebirth; it was a six-month period of surgeries and injections before the final treatment. Some of which were canonically steroid injections, so, uh, one theory of mine is that maybe Ults Steve has additional medical reasons for being a Giant Ball of Rage.

One of the consistent character elements for early-canon Steve in so many of his continuities is that whole Man Out Of Time thing he has going, and early Ults hits that hard, and in an entirely different way from other continuities, so as to fuck Steve up more. Ults Steve, you see, had a plan for his life after the war. He had a fiancee, Gail Richards, whom he loved very much. They were going to get married. He knew which house they were going to buy. Unlike some of the other Steves who don’t really seem to have a firm plan for when the fighting is done (looking at you, 616), Ults Steve knows. He’s going to come home.

But, of course, he doesn’t get to. He falls off a rocket while trying to defuse it and wakes up sixty years in the future and everybody else went on without him. Bucky, his best friend, married his fiancee! They’ve got grandchildren! They bought the house he wanted! (Like it wasn’t enough pain.) And, unlike other Steves, he wasn’t an orphan before the war – his parents were both alive, and he had a younger brother, Douglas – but when he wakes up, his family is all dead, and all he’s got are Bucky and Gail, who are both very old, and Bucky is dying of lung cancer. (Bucky doesn’t actually die in Ults canon, as far as I can determine; technically, I think he outlasts Steve.)

So, anyway, Steve is a wreck, and he gets to the future and he just cries and tells Fury they should have left him in the ice. Because he didn’t want this. He didn’t want to be here. And I mean, really, I can’t blame him. (Ults Steve is better with expressing feelings than a lot of other Steves, it’s just that all his feelings are TERRIBLE. He cries a lot.)

Unlike 616, Ults Steve does not seem to be quite the same kind of terrible boyfriend, setting aside that panel where he leaps off a balcony to stop talking with Jan. He seems to have been genuinely in love with Gail, and while his relationship with Jan didn’t go well, Jan was also basically cheating on him with Hank, so there’s that. To the best of my knowledge, we never see him date anyone after Jan. To be fair, if it turned out that the one time I slept with my fiancee in the 1940s had turned out to have resulted in her getting pregnant and then giving birth to the Red Skull, I would not want to have sex with another human being again.

And, of course, there is Ults Steve’s most salient feature: the fact that he’s an asshole. While, yes, everyone in Ults is an asshole, I tend to think it stands out more when it’s Captain America being an asshole. In a lot of ways he’s a lot like the guy you’d think a guy with the name Captain America would be like. Aside from the A on his head not standing for France, he… well, he insults people a lot, and often his insults are pretty misogynistic and/or aimed squarely at the masculinity of his fellow men – he calls them ladies, and girls, and sissies. He does not specifically use homophobic insults as far as I know (canonically, that’s actually Ults Tony with the homophobic jokes), but fandom tends to assume he’s the kind of guy who would, because honestly it’s the sort of insult you would expect.

(There’s a scene in one of the tie-in novels where Tony intimates that Steve is a fascist and Steve just straight-up punches him in the face. Don’t call him a Nazi. Just don’t.)

Having said that, he’s still Steve Rogers, and – like every other Steve – he still wants to do good and save the world. He still cares about people. He just doesn’t know how to express that he cares except by being an asshole, because feelings are hard. And – this is what took me a while to get about Ults Steve – the more he cares, the more of an asshole he is. I didn’t get this until reading Death of Spider-Man, when Peter takes unnecessary risks and Steve just lays into him about it, which makes Peter upset enough that he feels he has to prove himself, which in turn leads to Peter taking a bullet for Steve and dying. This hits Steve hard enough that he ends up taking a leave of absence from the team and going on a road trip. He really does care.

Tony, on the other hand… well, where do I even start? The first time we see him, he’s climbing out of the suit after zipping around Manhattan (he doesn’t have a secret identity) and waving at women, asking Jarvis for a drink, and Jarvis suggests certain assumptions about men who are trying too hard to be visibly all over women, and, uh. Yeah, that’s Ults Tony. Imagine genius billionaire playboy philanthropist MCU Tony and turn him up to eleven. That’s Ults Tony.

He is flamboyant in his dress, speech, and mannerisms. I mean, okay, at one point he describes himself as prettier than Beyonce. He does canonically call people “darling” a lot although I believe that we only see him do this to women; fandom has extended this to men because who are we to let this opportunity slip through our fingers? He’s, well, an eccentric billionaire supergenius, and it shows.

He’s also a drunk. But unlike 616 Tony, he’s a functional alcoholic. When 616 Tony starts drinking, he can’t stop, and his life goes to hell. Ults Tony just… goes through his entire life with a martini in one hand. He gives interviews while drunk. He even pilots the suit while drunk. Please note that the last time 616 Tony tried this, he nearly killed a bunch of civilians, and the guy he was fighting had to stop the fight to save them for him because that’s how fucked up Tony was. But Ults Tony just drinks, and he drinks, and nothing bad ever happens, and he never stops. Unlike 616 Tony, he drinks his way through Steve’s funeral. (Okay, he stops during Ultimate End, but that’s because 616 Tony asks him to and they have to work together.)

And he has brain cancer. Well, he starts out with brain cancer, anyway, and he has brain cancer at several points in the series, most notably at one point manifesting as a child named Anthony who talks to him. (I did say Ults was weird.) In 616, the trauma that makes Tony be a superhero is heart trauma, while he was captured by people who wanted him to make weapons, and then he builds the armor and uses it to get out of captivity. Ults Tony was never captured, and his company may or may not make weapons, I’m not sure. (They definitely make consumer goods and Tony can definitely design and build weapons as a personal skill; I just don’t remember if he’s also a defense contractor.) Tony’s story in Ults is that he gets an inoperable brain tumor, he hasn’t got a long time to live, and what he wants to do with the rest of his life is be a superhero. So he does. (Ironically, he ends up being, I think, the only surviving member of the original Ultimates.)

Much like 616 Tony, he has terrible taste in romantic partners, in that basically everyone he dates tries to murder him. Natasha. Justine Hammer. Probably more people I am not thinking of. I think the only person he sleeps with who doesn’t try to kill him is Carol Danvers (note: she’s not a superhero in Ults), and they’re not terribly fond of each other. (Most of Tony’s stalwart friends in 616 don’t really show up much in Ults. Jarvis dies pretty early on. Pepper shows up but not much. I honestly can’t remember if Happy is in Ults. Rhodey is in Ults but IIRC he works for SHIELD and has no particular relationship with Tony.)

He also has a terrible family! I am not sure how much of his childhood from Ultimate Iron Man is canon anymore, but I am pretty sure Howard was terrible, and then there’s Greg. In a plot development predating 616 Tony getting a surprise brother, Ults Tony has an evil twin. Yep. He really is evil, and the storyline with him in it is a lot of fun, and also terrible for Tony, and from what we see of Greg I am pretty sure Tony’s childhood was a living hell.

And don’t worry, Tony still hates himself! If you read Ultimate Armor Wars you can watch Tony sit at a bar with a box containing his decapitated head from elsewhere in the multiverse that he’s just had to use to murder his grandfather (look, I SAID Ults was weird) and drink and cry a lot.

(My absolute favorite Ults Tony moment – other than Head In A Box — is in the Chitauri fight at the end of Ults 1 where Tony gets downed and is lying there, having vomited in his helmet, saying desperately how he can’t do this, how he’s not as smart as they think he is, how nobody’s as smart as they think he is – and then he gets back up and gets into the sky again, because if he doesn’t fight, no one else has a chance.)

As for the Steve/Tony dynamic… well, they’re not 616. It’s clear that they’re good friends, and that they care about each other, and if you go read the Slashy Moments List you’ll see that they have a lot of nice moments with each other over the course of the series. But if you’re looking for that lifelong devotion and intensity of 616, well, you kind of have to do more of the heavy lifting as a fanfic writer to get there. You can, however, get a nice dynamic going with them where you just let Tony be his flamboyant self and keep bouncing off of Captain Grumpy Cat, and it can be a lot of fun to write… but, basically, it’s on you. Not entirely on you, but way more than in 616 where you can just grab a comic and find Tony musing about Steve’s azure eyes and handsome face.

I will say that one thing that they have going for them is that they have always had each other’s backs. Whereas 616 and even MCU have gone for Civil War, and so on, Ults never did. They’ve never betrayed each other. They’ve never even significantly hurt each other. It’s refreshing. And, okay, there was a civil war – an actual civil war, where Reed Richards bombed DC and half the US seceded and Texas had nukes – but Steve was president of the US, and Tony was working with him, and they were on the same side.

Also, you should probably know that Steve dies. While no one really makes it out alive on account of the incursions (though I think the universe is back now, Steve may or may not be alive; it’s confusing because it was in different issues by different writers), Steve dies slightly before the incursions start, fighting Galactus. Tony gives his eulogy. At that point you’ll have read all the Ults you need to read anyway; the main team disbands after that, because in the end, I guess Tony really can’t do this without Steve.

So that’s Ults! They’re my favorite assholes!

#Anonymous #replies

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thechroniclesofdaraliss · 7 years

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100 Mutants & Masterminds Session Ideas

One of my favorite RPGs is the tabletop game Mutants and Masterminds. This clever take on the classic medium of heroism serves as one of the most diverse scenarios for both DMs and PCs. However, with so much freedom, it can be sometimes overwhelming to find a scenario that will catch the attention of both parties. Based on my own experience, it’s best to contain the game to one-shot campaigns, but you also need to take the time to shake it up if you’re playing it in the long term. So without further do, here’s a list of session ideas that I’ve either field tested, or always wanted to try out. Enjoy!

1) A gang of villains steals NPCs close to the heroes to bait them into a trap 2) There are children going missing all across the city and nothing ties them together, save for the fact that they’re all mutants 3) A villainous Speedster is stealing advanced technology 4) A smuggling ring has been revealed, and it turns out that the contraband is a cover for something far worse 5) A meteor is hurtling toward Earth, and it doubles as a mobile nesting ground for invading aliens 6) A host of horrible monsters have been plaguing the city, but all of them turn out to be child experiments to create Mutant war machines, and they are simply desperate to find their way home, and are coping with the predatorial instincts that have been unlocked from their genetic code being tampered with 7) A villain has figured out a way to transfer his consciousness into the internet, and this could spell disaster for the entire city, maybe even the entire world 8) The local jail has been taken over and forced ordinary criminals and mutant villains into fighting in gladiatorial combat 9) A criminal enterprise has let its services become available to the common man for a reasonable fee. Secretly, the criminals have dirt on all who buy up on their services 10) A group of C-list villains joins forces to commit a crime that will make all A-list schemes pale in comparison 11) A microscopic species mingles with a viral disease, and is on the verge of becoming airborne and unstoppable 12) The archenemies of the heroes trade opponents to exploit weaknesses and win the fight once and for all 13) The forces of nature have been harnessed in an object or person in order to avenge the lives lost to pollution or a human-caused disaster 14) All of the inhabitants of a village/town/city begin killing one another, claiming that their loved ones have turned into monsters 15) A series of monsters, villains, and disasters appear randomly across the city. But when they’re revealed to be illusions, the heroes must investigate how the damage was done 16) A band of mercenaries are taking the fight to criminals, and it’s up to the heroes to decide what to do with them. Aid them in their blood-soaked path to a safer neighborhood, or bringing the mercenaries to justice. 17) Criminals have stolen advanced weapons and are using them to commit crimes 18) A series of demons are collecting contracts in your city 19) A race of leviathans break the seawall and invade the land to consume humans 20) A demented sorcerer has called on spirits from beyond to kill the heroes at the cost of his own soul 21) A young vampire has expanded his vampirism to the criminal underworld and the police. He has designs to live his eternal life in luxury and decadence, and take down anyone who stands in his way 22) An astral presence is possessing victims and driving them insane, and leaving them with violent psychic powers before leaving them 23) A cyber terrorist sends messages to the heroes, and threatens to take innocent lives for every riddle/mystery/problem they can’t solve in time. 24) The powers of young Mutants go into overdrive. Earth Elementals cause Earthquakes when walking, Mimics permanently steal the life forces of everything they touch, and psychics read minds of everyone in range all at once 25) All of the legal authorities in your jurisdiction (cops, lawyers, judges) have fallen unconscious, and their heartbeats get fainter every hour. Find out the cause before their hearts are silenced forever 26) One of your villains has declared that he/she has turned over a new leaf. Are they being genuine, or is it a scam? 27) An “Ultimate Mimic” sets out to collect the heroes’ powers. But along the way, it encounters something else, the capacity for human emotions. Both prove to be overwhelming 28) A time-traveler meets your heroes in the present day with some of the most devious criminal of all time (Jack the Ripper, Al Capone, Unabomber, etc.) 29) After averting a natural disaster, the heroes accidentally unleash an ancient being that has designs on ruling the world 30) A botched attempt at an eternal youth ritual turns the heroes or villains into children. In it, there’s a change to either rehabilitate them or to help them regain their original age 31) Alternate versions of the heroes claim that they are the true versions (robots who think they’re you, clones how need help understanding who they are, or runaway shape shifting aliens desperate to escape intergalactic authorities). 32) An old man is taking in the homeless and giving them superpowers in exchange for services. Yet his incredible gifts come at a terrible price 33) Dozens of death row inmates that have never met are claiming that they were framed by the exact same man 34) The apprentice of a hero (or villain) has received the last will of their mentor after they have died. It pleads that they kill their most hated enemy 35) Those with superpowers begin losing their abilities while normal humans gain superpowers 36) An alien war has reached Earth, and humanity is merely seen as collateral damage 37) A new designer drug turns addicts into zombies with repeated exposure 38) A Master of Disguise steals nanobots to kidnap his rivals. He then copes their biological signature before killing them. The nanobots then mimic the appearance of their victims perfectly, down to the last cell 39) The heroes are shrunk to miniscule size in a bizarre deathtrap. A rat mazes becomes a hunting ground with the heroes as prey. A cup of water becomes a boundless sea with little chance of escape. Or electrons become like wrecking balls and the world you knew before has vanished completely 40) A twisted business tycoon is capturing aliens that land on Earth and is keeping them in tanks, prodding at their bodies to discover treatments for deadly diseases 41) A hero (or villain) has been diagnosed with a deadly disease. All they want is to commit the ultimate act of heroism/villainy before they go out 42) A new procedure is unveiled that can turn even the most violent criminals into law-abiding citizens. While it proves effective, a group of villains want to use the procedure to turn innocent people into their minions who have no regard for morality 43) A monster of pure energy is created, and it has the ability to grow larger with the more power it consumes. If left unchecked, it will engulf the entire earth, perhaps even the universe 44) A top-secret military vessel has been stolen. If it is not soon recovered, the end result could be a modern pirate crew that can’t be stopped 45) A new island has popped upon the map. A massive glacier located on the equator. You are tasked with finding out how it got there 46) An ancient African spirit escapes his tribal burial casket and has designs of killing the most powerful warriors on Earth 47) A cult has kidnapped a child from one of the most powerful arcane bloodlines on Earth. However, the victim ahs no idea that they are the product of such a respected or powerful family 48) A drug ring has claimed a chemist who has discovered a formula that will make a hardcore drug for half the production cost, but with twice the potency. Will you save the chemist, or bring her to justice for illegal activity? 49) After collecting the artifacts of a great historical figure (Napoleon, Montezuma, etc.) an archeologist concludes that the subject may have had meta-human abilities. They may even still be among us! 50) A supposed alien spacecraft turns out to be a human-crafted Trojan Horse to steal scientific knowledge from a rival nation 51) The hero of an old war (WWI, WWII, Vietnam) is hiding in one of the wildest and least known portions of the world. It’s revealed that exile in luxury was his reward/punishment for his actions in his service to his country. Now he wants to fight another war…a war on mutants! 52) A false mage is using his supposed power as a cover up for an illegal arms race, but no one can catch him or debunk him on his false magic. The people who want to catch him are also superstitious, and it’s your job to bring him to justice when no one else can or will. 53) A once-respected scientist is breeding animals with immense strength, speed, or some other form of meta-human power. All for the sake of hunting humans for sport 54) An old woman has struck fear into the hearts of a village or town by threatening to kill them with an otherworldly creature that has a childlike affection for her 55) An entire forest has had its trees converted into incubation chambers. People are hidden inside, but for what purpose? Assimilating plant cells into animals? Nature consuming industry? Or perhaps a new stage in evolution? 56) A pack of werewolves are killing livestock across the countryside. Is it an attempt to satisfy their appetites without killing humans, or are they feeding the pups so they can hunt humans? Either way, the angry mobs are impatient for answers, and you must discover the truth 57) Arcane murders have been committed across the city. However, each victim has hidden out in a place they shouldn’t have been, there’s no sign of forced entry, and they are found in impossible circumstances (they burn without any sign of fire, gravity ceases to work in the room, or there are no shadows present at the murder site). 58) An alien race is discovered by a small band of heroes, and it turns out they have been on Earth longer than humans. Do they harbor ill-intent? Have they been hiding out of fear? What is their overarching goal? 59) A missile silo network has been discovered in a swamp. Is it the product of arms dealers, a fallen Cold War regime, or a secret government project? 60) NASA’s latest anti-gravity technology is being stolen for criminal purposes 61) A poacher has been travelling around the world collecting Mutants of all kinds for trophies. You happen upon his facility and discover that he’s also been keeping them in captivity like a zoo. Yet some of them seem incapable of assimilating into the regular world. Some may not even want to 62) An ancient fighting tournament has called all the world’s greatest warriors into mortal combat. Many of them are meta-humans, but there can only be one winner. 63) A new meta-human training program has started. If you’re new to this, you’re one of the recruits. If you’re an established hero, you’re a proctor. Those who pass the program get their “hero license” 64) A meta-human military program is revealed that turned the tide of the last war. The project was top secret, and now the lives of each member are in jeopardy when their secret identities are revealed to the world 65) A prominent hero has fallen unconscious. After a preliminary investigation, it’s revealed tha their mind was sent to the Astral Plain. It’s up to you to get them back 66) A young woman has been subjected to years of systematic experimentation to unlock her superpowers. However, the end result is transferring her horrific scars and injuries via touch. She’s been freed for the first time in decades, and she’s got a lot of hate to go around 67) It turns out that time machines aren’t needed to travel through the time stream. There are “Temporal Circles” that allow you to travel into the past and future. They have claimed hundreds of lives and are responsible for hundreds of missing persons. But the source is unknown, so it’s up to you to find out how it’s done 68) A powerful psychic has captured the heroes in a dream world where he is supreme ruler 69) A living brain in a jar has designs at attaining a human body. Preferably, it’s one that has superpowers and has physical strength to match its mental strength 70) A cursed suit of armor grants incredible strength to whomever wears it. However, it also develops an obsession in the user to kill 71) An archenemy approaches the heroes with the proposition of joining forces to take down a greater evil 72) A hero has been sent back in time as penance for a horrible act he’s committed, yet he has trouble remembering why. The danger becomes more intense as time police arrive to ensure that he doesn’t disrupt the time stream 73) “Mutant Factories” have popped up across the city/state/country and they take in the most destitute people in an attempt to have guinea pigs for creating their own personal mutant armies. 74) Unusual clues are left behind at crime scenes, and it seems as though someone wants to be found. Is it a kidnapping victim leaving a trial, a villain laying breadcrumbs for a trap, or an extra dimensional entity trying to contact you? 75) A series of strange sensations overcome random civilians (a cold wind, a burning sensation, the feeling that they’re being crushed). Something must connect them together. But what? 76) A hero has been called into court for a crime they didn’t commit. The penalty is severe (life in jail, stripped of their powers, death, etc.) and they are unable to prove their innocence. Prove it for them before time runs out 77) A natural disaster (earthquake, hurricane, fire) threatens to demolish an entire city, yet its source is not natural 78) Satellites have been hacked and are being used to disrupt/hack into military technology. It’ sup to you to take the culprit down before countless lives are lost 79) Local criminals have taken to the streets with advanced exoskeleton armor that can withstand shots from a tank 80) An eccentric Gadgeteer poses you a challenge at the local sports arena. You two are to engage in battle to see who is worthy of being called a hero 81) An organization of Mystics is using their combined power to block out the sun with a solar eclipse. This way, the creatures that come out at night will never have to hide again and heroes everywhere will be at their mercy 82) Dopplegangers of the heroes are reeking havoc in the streets, and blackening their names 83) A group of demigods destroy monuments of the mortal world, claiming that they are now the rightful rulers of humanity 84) The local villain prison has had all of its inmates escape 85) Sky Pirates have stopped over a major city and are embarking on skyward swashbuckling venture, stealing bank vaults, ATMs, jewels, and everything else of value 86) A villain gathers the most powerful minds on the planet and plans to extract their intelligence so he becomes unstoppable 87) A string of crimes mirror a crime spree that occurred fifty years ago. Any police officers alive that investigated the original disasters are soon ending up dead or missing 88) People are rapidly starting to experience devolution and turning into primates with immense strength and a hive mind. Discover the source of this mutation before it becomes too powerful to stop 89) A series of scrolls have been exhibited at a museum. But when they are stolen, the heroes must find them before its too late. When deciphered, these scrolls unlock the most ancient secrets of marital arts, granting their user incredible powers such as enhanced strength, element control, and invincibility 90) The heroes are transported to a labyrinth that holds their worst fears 91) A medical facility is unearthed that subjects its patients to numerous diseases in order to create cures for the rest of the world. But will you let hundreds suffer endlessly for the benefit of millions, or free them? 92) A master thief has discovered a method of controlling animals to steal valuables from wealthy homes 93) A villain captures one of his nemeses in an attempt to form a malevolent partnership, seducing him to the side of villainy 94) A cold cannon is fired into the atmosphere to cause a second ice age 95) The Rogues Gallery of a city have established a competition to see who can take down their mutual foe first. They are not to aid one another, and the winner gets to unveil the secret identity of the hero. 96) The villain sets up a trap to unmask the heroes on live TV 97) A freak accident renders a villain without powers for a time, but then gives them new abilities 98) Animals have been infused with mutated DNA. Some of the creatures become monsters, and some become human 99) A sinister robot faces off against the heroes, claiming that it knows all of their moves and strategies before they even do 100) An EMP goes off in the center of a city and shuts down all technology within. This leaves ample opportunity for looters and pillagers

#superheroes #mutants and masterminds #rpg #session ideas #campaign ideas #rpg world #story inspiration #tabletop rpgs

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letscuttothefeeling · 4 years

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season three episode four

Since it’s the fourth episode, I’d like to commend Siesta Key for making reality TV history by breaking down the fourth wall in quite literally every episode of this season. *Golf clap!* Also, if you pride yourself in having graduated from the University of Tampa, don’t read this. You’ve been warned, so let’s cut to the feeling!

As much as I love Juliette, I have to say that Boring Robby: The Liar, is seriously bringing her down. I’m yawning watching Juliette “debate” whether or not she should go to Greece with Robby or stay in the Key to work retail for her fake job! First of all, spoiler alert! She chose Greece. Social media told me in May. Second of all, MTV, retire this storyline! Anyone else feel like this is eerily reminiscent of the whole LC choosing love in LA instead of Teen Vogue in Paris fiasco? Except in this version, Juliette is working retail at an unopened boutique in Florida, and no one’s exactly trying to sweep in and steal her job. Well, maybe a 16-year-old at the local high school. The only truly interesting part about this storyline is when Juliette’s boss calls her out for punching Chloe. I’d fully panic if my boss called me out for punching someone, even if she was my fake boss.

While Juliette is neglecting her “career,” Chloe and Alex are just starting theirs under the watchful eye of none other than Gary Kompothecras. Now if you don’t know Dr. Gary, you’re missing out. Often referred to as “1-800-ASK-GARY” down in Sarasota, this personal injury lawyer happens to be the mastermind behind this incredible show. Well, mastermind is a bit of an overstatement, but he is an executive producer. And on camera. And Alex’s Dad. And singlehandedly footed the bill for the entire pilot. Gary is a total asshole and also my hero. Anyways, he’s just acquired the Crescent Club, which Gary claims is “famous,” but really it’s just a random dive bar. That’s right, for the small price of three million dollars, the Crescent Club is now a part of the Kompothecras estate and apparently going to be run by Alex and Chloe. Since Gary prides himself on being a successful businessman, it’s quite shocking that he’s entrusting his brain-dead son and his son’s horrible frenemy to run a bar together, but hey, who am I to question the doctor?

The only business Brandon and Amanda are up to is the MONKEY kind! These two are seriously hitting it off - but their exes are starting to interfere. BG just revealed to Amanda that Madisson was talking shit, so she wastes zero-time confronting Madisson. The conversation starts out awkwardly as Madisson implies that while Amanda is a fun friend and probably fun to have sex with, she is by no means wifey material. It was honestly great watching Madisson trip over her words and then start to cry about being long distance with her Dad boyfriend when she couldn’t quite recover from the insult. Eventually, she apologized though, probably because she didn’t want Amanda to punch her in the face, so now the problem isn’t Brandon’s ex – it’s Amanda’s.

Finally, a classiqué boat day! It’s been a while since the gang has gathered to day drink on Alex’s boat, and I’m so excited to watch their day crash and burn. Tension is immediately in the air as Kelsey learns Cara will be attending (without Victoria, ugh) and when Amanda learns that her ex of three years, JJ, will also be there. Yikes! Amanda is SO SHOCKED and thrown off because she “hasn’t seen him in a while.” To Amanda, “a while” must mean less than seven days, because I’m pretty sure, no wait, I’m absolutely positive he was at Brandon’s party earlier in the week. Another classic MTV storyline error. And the producers want us to believe that the show isn’t scripted…right. I do give them props for doing literally everything in their power to make us believe it’s all real, hence the “breaking of the fourth wall” in EVERY EPISODE. Overkill? Maybe. But very fun? Yes!

I know I’ve shown this screenshot already but one more time for the people in the back

After JJ shows up on his tricked out orange boat that screams “my dick is HUGE”, he introduces himself to Brandon as if he wasn’t just attending his small birthday party earlier in the week. Oh, MTV. Amanda begins blowing off BG because he doesn’t have tribal tattoos, own a boat, or know how to wakeboard. Seriously Brandon, not knowing how to wakeboard after growing up on the Key? What are you, stupid? As Amanda flirts with her long lost ex whom she hasn’t seen in years, Alex and Cara are striking up a flirtation. Chloe uncomfortably spies on them – not only because she’s shaking with jealousy, but also because she told Alex a secret about Cara earlier in the episode. Even though Cara insists that she’s never cheated on G Baby, Chloe seems confident that she fooled around with her ex in New Jersey. I guess Chloe’s just got to count on Alex keeping his mouth shut. If only this were last season.

Alex doesn’t keep his mouth shut, and literal chaos ensues. After being accused of cheating, Cara, a self-proclaimed serial cheater, is so taken aback that she has a complete meltdown on camera. Cut to – five glorious minutes of Cara screaming about how no one finished high school and everyone is poor. I love how that’s Cara’s go-to insult. First of all, it’s inaccurate, because every main cast member on the show has, in fact, finished high school. Second of all, Cara, where on earth did you get the idea that you’re so educated? You went to the University of Tampa for God’s sake. Not exactly Harvard, sweetie! You claim to be rich, but you’re clearly not rich enough to buy your way into, Harvard, for example, which seems to be all the rage these days. Next time you try to flex on how rich and intelligent you are, try being richer and more intelligent. Cara’s freakoutté is so severe that GASP – the PRODUCERS intervene!

We have now had the pleasure of meeting two additional producers (who aren’t Ish or Gary) on screen, all to convince the viewers that this show isn’t scripted. Pro tip - just stop with the blatant editing errors, social media spoilers, and reused storylines. After Cara is forcibly removed, the rest of the cast is in utter disbelief, and we’re left wondering: Will Cara return to the Key? This is like that time in the Twilight Saga: New Moon when Bella had just woken up after returning from Italy and sleeping for fourteen hours straight. Once she had established that she wasn’t having a schizophrenic vision - Edward had really returned to Forks - she begins agonizing over the potential return of the Volturi. Will they come back for her before she turns into a vampire, or won’t they!? Just as Bella had to wait for Stephanie Meyer to create two more magnificent novels to learn her fate, we will have to wait until next Tuesday to learn about Cara’s. End scene.

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puttingfingerstokeys · 4 years

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What’s in a Name?

Nanowrimo day 21 Featuring Sam Porter Bridges Dystopian future where Kojima’s stuck his dick in everything (I’m into it) Death Stranding, existential terror, solitude, first-person Finished and unedited

There are vast gaps of uninhabited wilderness, verdant, rock-strewn hillsides and towering crags with not a single, living soul for miles and miles. The only creatures which seem interested in making their homes here are oceanic-looking grubs, floating around shards of rock formations that resemble ancient reefs. They haven’t got a care in the world. Must be nice.

The sky maintains a constant mask of gray-white torpor with intermittent breaks of rain. The rumble of thunder always precedes an inverse rainbow and with that rainbow and the black rain that has come to be known as timefall, are the BTs. Are they the spirits of the departed, as a few, fringe cults have claimed since the event now known as the Death Stranding, or are they something else, something directly from The Beach? The answer to that is still in the wind, but there are people across the UCA, connected or otherwise, trying to figure it out. Good luck to ‘em, I say.

What I know about it is… not much. Everyone has a Beach inside them, I guess, a smaller version of the one that sounds like it’s capitalized. When a human being dies, they might retreat to this beach, the spiritual part of them anyway, and there, they’ll rest. Or that was how it used to go… probably.

The first voidout after the Stranding was a jarring occurrence for all of humanity. I honestly can’t remember it and couldn’t if pressed. Maybe I just don’t want to. Maybe my Beach is protecting me. I think of it like a subconscious safe zone where my brain can hide when it’s overtaxed. But I’m different than other people, since I’ve actually seen The Beach… or a Beach. I’m not sure.

What I am is a repatriate, that is, someone who can pull themselves back from the dead, or from the Seam, which I guess is a place between this world and the next, like a womb. I’m not a fetus, though. I’m not one of the BB units, fetuses for whom I’ve always felt more than a little sympathy. They’re equipment, I’m told, but I just can’t see how a human life is equivalent to something that should be used then discarded.

But I’m off-track. I… don’t get to chat much, to unload like this very often. Don’t worry, though, it’s not like people don’t care how I’m doing. It’s in their best interest to give a shit how I’m doing. I deliver their shit, after all. Porters are the lifeblood of what’s left of “America”, after all.

Oh, shit, I’m getting ahead of myself… or behind myself. So, the little floaty guys that hang out near the fucked up reef rocks are called cryptobiotes. You can eat them. They don’t taste like much and they don’t wriggle, which is important because if they did, I swear I’d puke ‘em up every time. I think the name means “hidden life” or something. I don’t… know if everyone can see them. I can, obviously, which is how I know the taste.

There are a few people left in the world who have a certain degree of sensitivity to BTs, their traces, their presence… their footprints. Every time I see one, even in the distance, it’s like I can feel a hand wrapping around my leg, my arm, my neck. It’s… not a good time and I’ve got the scars to prove it. BTs are totally invisible to most of humanity, whatever’s left of it, but there are a few of us out there who suffer from a condition called DOOMS. That’s what gives us our ability to sense and, in some cases, see them.

I can’t see BTs. I’m sort of glad. Unless they get a handle on me, I only see phantoms and those awful hand-footprints they leave. Nothing compares to the gut-clenching terror of a BT catching your scent, or presence, or whatever it is they sense. They can’t see, I don’t think. They just… feel. You can hold your breath and move right on by them, but the moment you gasp, they’re on you and then it’s game over.

BTs are a nightmare for people without DOOMS, an invisible threat that only a BB unit can sense. Running into BTs in the field poses an extra threat to people who cannot see them and are not repatriates, too. See, contact between a BT and a human being is like… vinegar and baking soda. It’s explosive. I don’t really understand chirality, except that it’s a word which comes from ancient Greek and means “hands” or something.

So the chirality between a living human or even semi-living cells like those of a corpse, causes a violent reaction like pre-Stranding nuclear fission… and post-Stranding, honestly. Even now, when humanity is on the brink, there are still some psychos out there who have attacked peaceful human cities with old world nukes. What kind of point can someone make with that kind of violence? But a voidout is so much worse than a nuke.

Repatriates make smaller voidouts, because our energy goes elsewhere, like to The Beach or our Beach. I’m not clear on it, but I’ve read enough. Plenty of people want me to read what they have on events and the new laws of physics, post-Stranding. My position as both a DOOMS sufferer and a repatriate make me uniquely qualified to help expand this research. It’s my reticence to being… handled… that slows it.

Anyway, back to BTs. So, the name “BT” comes from a phrase coined by what remains of the scientific community referring to these creatures (or whatever they are) as “beached things”, implying that they’re stuck between this world and the next. They are “beached”, that is, they are caught here, manifesting in the rain and thunder (which curiously never has what old world files call “lightning” to produce it?), attacking anything remotely living whenever it strays too close.

Even now, I sort of wonder if that’s what happened to most of the wildlife. The only animals left that I’ve ever seen are the cryptobiotes and fish. BTs don’t seem to be able to affect things which are under or suspended over water. They’re sort of like old world vampires, needing certain conditions to proceed. In this case, water repels them… or it has, so far. I’m not holding my breath.

BTs’ attraction to living matter has necessitated the presence of an entire occupation known as corpse disposal. It’s a noble profession, if you ask me. They’re putting their lives on the line every single time they get a call, running a tightly-wrapped body to the nearest incinerator. Fire seems to be the only way to put a human body outside the reach of a BT.

The problem is, when a corpse is burnt, chiralium is still produced and I think it seeds the clouds, making them ripe for rain and where there’s rain, there’re BTs, plain and simple. Incinerator workers are another class of people I don’t envy. I mean, yeah, I’m a porter, but I’m out there, free to move about, hide, and I’ve got DOOMS and all that shit on my side. These people work in the thick of a fog of chiralium. I never hang around incinerators for long.

So I just realized I used the word “chiralium” and kind of expected people to get it. Maybe for clarity I should just take a stab. Chiralium is a new state of… being, or matter. Yeah, it’s like the old world theories of dark matter. Scientists have guessed that it’s been there, floating around the universe since the beginning, but undetectable until the Death Stranding. Unlike dark matter, chiralium is actually measurable, not theoretical.

Chiralium is also extremely dangerous to non-DOOMS people, kind of like radiation, but for the emotions. It’s actually been known to degrade the mental state of a person such that they take their own lives just to escape it. People who suffer from DOOMS don’t even feel it. I’ve experienced weightlessness in the presence of a sizable crop of chiral crystals, and even giddiness, the literal opposite of depression, but never the deep sadness I see in the faces of people who have bene overexposed.

Sometimes, that kind of exposure can be cured by administration of smart drugs like oxytocin. See, anymore, most human brains have been rendered nearly incapable of creating their own and so we, as a species, have learned to manufacture it. That kind of thing sounds like a quick fix recipe for disaster to me, but that’s above my pay grade. If it stops people triggering voidouts, I can’t knock it.

Let’s see… Beaches, DOOMS, chiralium, the Stranding… I guess the last subject is America itself.

The country, or what’s left of it, is divided into cities, scattered across the map and terrified of what’s between. Seeing what’s actually out here in these vast, largely-unoccupied wildernesses, I can understand that fear. If I didn’t want to be alone so desperately, I might do the same, hide in a shelter, cover my head, that kind of thing. But I do, so I can’t.

The life of a porter has seen me traveling all over, delivering packages people can no longer send due to a lack of connection to the chiral network, the dream of an idealistic woman named Bridgette Strand, last president of the United States (now Cities) of America. Maybe I can deliver enough crap to people to keep them supplied for a good long while, but I’m just one person. Maybe it’s time to step up and do something bigger. I was part of Bridges I, the initial effort to travel coast-to-coast and reconnect the country, but… not anymore.

I want to be that again. I’m terrified of taking another name. Sam Porter has suited me for so long, I’d nearly forgotten I was once a Strand. I don’t know if I want to be a Bridges, but I think I need to be… I think she needs me to be.

#CC #CW #sam porter bridges #Death stranding

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