#but it's one of the stories where crowley saves herself in the end

[crown-ov-horns]

Reasons why I motivate myself to work on my Good Omens fanfictions:

So I can take a certain hyper popular ship everyone loves, but I despise, and tear it apart, smash it with a hammer, and set it on fire for my own entertainment. 😊 It's not like someone will do it for me.

I would say because Lady!Crowley deserves more love, but horrific things happen to her, so, I'd be a hypocrite (spoiler alert, she's fine in the end).

Anathema and Newt's family keep a raccoon named Shovels, that they dye black, and pretend is a cat.

I have four ideas put down, so far. One's an actual detective story. Two of them are crossovers with... Legion, of all things (one came to me in a dream). All involve my Antichrist OC, who wasn't supposed to have anything to do with the GO universe, until I had that damn dream.

Another motivatior - so I can work with Maxine (the Antichrist OC) more. After a long consideration, I decided to pair her up with War (in non-crossovers, in those she's with Michael), which is problematic because they're cousins (War's mother is Satan's sister)... You know, whatever. Nobody from Earth knows. It isn't anything uncommon for royalty, either. 🤣 Besides, they're both women (offspring from donors, so no biological threats), and they didn't grow up together. I just... I adore my Antichrists. They're everything to me. Max, forgive me for getting you involved in this madness of an universe, the fanfiction gods compelled me.

Honestly, my other OCs, too. Max's best friend, Cthylla (daughter of Dagon, and... You can guess. He has a habit of oversleeping), her cat Squid, Madonna Maria (a literal jackal with vile temper and a fondness for whiskey, Maxine's biological mother;), Titan the Hellhound, Agnes Device-Pulsifer, Francisco Rossi (the Second Beast, who loathes Aziraphale even more than I do, for absollutely no reason)...

Off with Pollution, Pestilence is being reinstated to his rightful place.

I'm eager to work with canon characters like War, Michael (Legion and GO version), and Hastur - all of who, I adore

I am kind of a hater in this fandom. In the end, I've realized, fanfiction must be written for oneself, not the fandom. I will not apologize for doing what I want, with characters (and their genders) in a fic. Nor for heavily focusing on my OCs (even making them the main focus - it's something that I love doing).

The only thing I do feel some guilt for? I remember Neil Gaiman saying he likes stories where women saves themselves, which I completely agree with, yet Lady Crowley gets saved by others, most of the times... I guess, she's just in situations nobody could save themselves from. Now, her healing is another can of worms maybe that could be counted as her saving herself).

Oh... I hope no one who reads this took it as me attacking them, or mocking them, for liking what I don't. I kind of sounded like someone's evil grandma, threatening to throw their favorite toys in the trash can. 🤣 I'm just writing down my thoughts in an edgy manner. Think of this as a literal angsty, but hopeful diary page.

When I said I'm a "hater", I meant I personally have a very odd, unconventional relationship with Good Omens and it's characters. It's a... "I don't like how you're portraying biblical mythology, but I will always love you". I love Neil Gaiman. I don't know anyone im the fandom anymore, but I all the hearts to them, too. I'm just the designated class contrarian. My stories, like all fanfiction, are seperate universes from canon (and I mean no disrespect to it; the fanfiction wouldn't be here if canon wasn't).

Why do I keep hurting Crowley? I don't know, my relationship with the character is very complicated also. I find him annoying, but I named my stuffed snake after him. 🐍

Why did I write this down and post it? Because I've noticed I'm more likely to get something done after I get on a barrel, and anounce I will. These stories are so fun to write... Fine, that was kind of a lie. I'm picking at Ch. 1 of the dream storyline, and it makes me want to cry.

P.S. - I didn't see season 2, and I have no intention to (though my mom is badgering me to watch it; she's also scolding me for hurting Crowley).

#diary pages #story ideas #good omens #legion #good omens fanfiction #good omens fandom #maxine frost #female!crowley #lady crowley #war #archangel michael #hastur #i don't hate the ahip because it's popular i hate it becauss...I hate it. it being popular just causes the christmas music effect #self motivation #seriously no hate to anyone I'm just making myself entertainment in my own egdy way #it all started from a dream and I took that as a sign #but I'm hesistant to work on it because it's so heavy #it deals with dv implied sa and other topics that affect me very badly #but it's one of the stories where crowley saves herself in the end #aziraphale i don't portray in a good light because I don't like him (i couldn't tell you why) #gabriel though he is fucking DESPICABLE (he's the one who hurts Crowley btw) #archangel michael x the antichrist #crowley ends up with hastur most of the time... he never intends on falling for her but ends up at the wrong place at the wrong time #i'm giving satan a different faceclaim than benedic cu-... I'll refrain from attempting to spell it #in the crossovers adam doesn't exists in the non-crossovers he and maxine are biologically half-siblings #he doesn't partake in divine nonsense anymore because he's disowned by Satan but he and Maxine have a relationship - he makes an appearannce #max doesn't want the apocalypse either but goes about it differently - i guess playing the family mediator made her a perfct diplomat #maxine x michael #maxine x war #max is a rrising star politician and cthylla revoliutionized hell with demomic magic run technology

[anime-aus]

More Twisted Wonderland Events I Think Should Happen:

Part 1

Photo Album Event: The first years find a photo album that shows the third years' first year (technically Leona’s second year). The first years ask their third years about it. We get to see what happened in the past as they’re telling the story. I think it would lead to a lot of interesting interactions and I really want to know what everyone looked like and how they acted during their first year.

Haunted Mansion Event: This would definitely be a Halloween event based off of the rides or movies. Multiple characters come across a haunted mansion and get trapped inside. They definitely meet a few odd ghosts (and a few terrifying ones). They soon realize that they have to escape the mansion before they become trapped inside for all eternity!

Pirate Event: This would have to be Peter Pan themed or Pirates of the Caribbean themed. A bunch of students get a chance to sail around the island. One of the students among them is Kalim. Unfortunately for him Kalim gets kidnapped (again), but this time it’s by pirates. The rest of the students go on a mission to save him and Kalim gets a side story where he interacts with the pirates/tries to escape himself. I love pirates, so I think this would be a really fun even to play.

Cowboy Country Event: Realistically, this would probably based off of Toy Story because of Woody, however I would love for an event like this to be based off of Home on the Range! (Please tell me some of you remember that movie.) A bunch of characters go to a town out in Cowboy Country. One of them has to be Epel because he is very much a country boy. The NRC students learn different things, including how to ride horses. Turns out some of the cattle have gone missing and after some talk with the sheriff (and talk of a promising reward) the characters are out to catch the crook.

Dorm Swap: Crowley begins to notice that there have been a handful of student fights recently. In hopes of bringing the student body closer together he creates a Dorm Swap Program. For a temporary amount of time a random group of students is chosen to swap dorms. Some characters adapt to their situation easier than others. At the end everyone learns something about how the other dorms run.

Muppets Event: I just got this idea while watching Muppet’s Family Christmas. I just think a Muppet’s event would be cool. If we can somehow get Stitch and Tsums in Twisted Wonderland we can absolutely get Muppets. I just know Miss Piggy would love Pomefiore.

Cinderella Event: This one is pretty self indulgent, but I just had to share it. There is a party event where Yuu isn't invited due to some unavoidable reason. A fairy godmother finds a teenager who is upset because they can't go to a party. That's just begging for a fairy godmother to do something! With or without Yuu's permission, this fairy takes it upon herself to get Yuu all dressed up sends them to the party. The fairy also uses a spell that would make Yuu unrecognizable so they don't get in trouble for being there. Yuu has a lot of fun, but the next day they come to find that everyone is trying to unmask the identity of this mysterious party crasher. Yuu has to keep it a secret to avoid getting into trouble, but some of these people are making it so difficult.

#anime au #anime #manga au #manga #disney twst #twisted wonderland event #twisted wonderland headcanons #twst #twisted wonderland #disney #disney twisted wonderland #Disney twst

[sonkitty]

Crowley S2 Hair Post #22

(For reference: The Sideburns Scheme)

Crowley, Good Omens 2, Episode 1, The Clue, so were the goats

...

Hairstyle Notes

The red hair is not as fluffy and a little longer compared to the earlier minisode portion that started off the episode.

This style is what most closely resembles a "human" reading with short sideburns from the season 2 present day. Crowley is with two humans and no supernatural beings. The humans assume he is human during the scene.

Even though it's the accessory on the head, even the headband itself changed with its appearance in the back. While that looks to be a continuity issue, it's good to keep in mind that Crowley can control his own appearance so is likely mixing this headband appearance with the reading from the space.

...

Earthly Objects

(For reference: Earthly Objects)

Job sits on the ground against some rocks. Sitis touches her own clothing.

Crowley likely receives credit for a miracle touch on a human when he says, "You tell me," and hisses at Sitis. This action looks like compelling someone for an answer though that answer is something Sitis herself decides. The name, "Bildad the Shuhite" is then said.

That name is his alias for these two. It's a human name from the Book of Job itself, and it's going to be reused later when he has this same hairstyle. While these circumstances are understandable in the context they happen, it's also a clue about the potential rule that Crowley isn't allowed to say his own name for any time period during the entirety of Good Omens 2.

Crowley has several questions when first talking to Job. Job says Sitis' name. They both say "God," in a way that I think qualifies as a name.

It's hard to really see much in the way of pockets. Everyone's separated and contained in their own cuts for most of the scene.

While Job and Sitis occasionally make pockets, those pockets are small and hard to notice to begin with. Their thumb joints do suspiciously align with edges of their clothing at times even though the Tied Hands aren't around.

Crowley's headband is like his substitute Belt Head at least. Sitis also wears something over her head.

Crowley still has the threads on his robe making pockets over his chest for where his Tied Hands would be.

When Crowley turns to show his back to the camera, then shows his front again, he does receive some extra lighting over the part of his chest exposed, before his beard covers it. He receives lighting generally in that area sometimes, and it's where the upper portion of his Tied Hands would be in the present day.

There's one cut with Job on the ground and Crowley standing, so a pocket generally exists between them though it doesn't seem to do anything special. There's another cut with Sitis pocketed between Job still sitting and Crowley still standing. Again, it doesn't seem to do anything special either.

For my tangential reading in my desperate attempt to improve my play, I finished The Sandman Volume 3. I'm still re-reading the Good Omens book.

...

Story Commentary

From the last scene, the story greatly implied that this part of the minisode is from Crowley's point of view. Aziraphale isn't around, and Crowley himself received stronger focus from the camera work.

When Crowley is talking to Job, the lighting on him is darker and favors his left.

When Sitis arrives, the lighting shifts. It then favors Crowley's right. With more light on him, his hair looks more red. After that, the hair generally stays as more red and favoring his right, regardless of the camera angle.

In trying to study the space and understand what's happening with the hair, the camera work ensures it is known that the space still has a roof—or at least roof edges—of a human-built structure, even if it is damaged and with an open threshold. Light pours in, presumably from that damage.

Crowley is not giving off the impression of someone secretly trying to save goats and children here. Without knowing how the minisode ends, the goats seem "destroyed", and now he's after the children.

Things don't look good. Well, things don't look good for people like Job, Sitis, and Aziraphale. Hell would be rather pleased.

Crowley expects Job to be furious with God and says so.

But Job isn't furious with God. He's furious with himself.

Then comes the main hint of Crowley's sympathy from the questions, "Yourself? Why, what have you done?" Then he looked like he wanted to say something more to Job's answer, but they were interrupted with Sitis' arrival.

We'll get a glimpse of Crowley's real scheme for this minisode in the next scene.

...

That's it for this post. Sometimes I edit my posts, FYI.

...

Before the next post in this series, I am going to take some time to review things for The Pocket Trick that I'm hopefully starting to piece together and may update the main Sideburns Scheme post as well.

...

Main post:

The Sideburns Scheme

#crowley #good omens 2 #good omens #good omens s2 #david tennant #good omens season 2 #good omens meta #good omens analysis #good omens crowley #crowley good omens #crowley s2 hair project

[fellthemarvelous]

Let's talk about Maggie and Aziraphale

Once again, I am just screenshotting my tweets and posting them here because I have more to say and Twitter's platform doesn't let me talk long enough uninterrupted.

Make way for more unhinged meta!

I cannot get this idea out of my head, and before you tell me that I'm crazy, just listen. Okay?

I think Aziraphale looks at Edinburgh as his Greatest Failure™️ because humanity and Crowley both paid the price for Aziraphale's mistake. It was a night that shook Aziraphale's confidence in himself, and it was a clear turning point for his understanding of shades of grey. He learned a valuable lesson at a horrific cost.

There is no possible way he has forgiven himself for Edinburgh.

When you are supposed to be the epitome of good, every single failure that carries any sort of weight sticks with you for the rest of your life because of the overwhelming guilt that comes with it. As someone who struggles with Catholic guilt...

Trust me. I know what I'm talking about.

Why does Maggie have a connection to a pub called the Resurrectionist, located in Edinburgh not far from the Gabriel statue in the cemetery where Wee Morag died and Crowley was sucked down into Hell? The Resurrectionist representing both Jesus Christ and Mr. Dalrymple.

Why does Aziraphale insist on taking the Bentley to Edinburgh with him?

He's scared to go back, and he's not risking Crowley's life again by bringing him along, but he takes the Bentley because it's an extension of Crowley, it makes him feel safe, and neither Heaven or Hell care for material objects and won't end up separating them again. It's a lifeline to Crowley while he's doing something without him and ensuring that Crowley won't be able to jump in and save him at the last minute if things go wrong.

He's scared to go back but he was getting extra copies of Every Day from one particular location nowhere near his bookshop before he even heard Jim singing it in the bookshop. And all of this ended up bringing him back to the statue of Gabriel where it all went wrong the first time Aziraphale and Crowley went to that cemetery together.

But I think the connection to Maggie is Elspeth. I keep going back and forth between her and Wee Morag, but Elspeth currently makes the most sense to me. I briefly wrote about the idea of lost souls and second chances here, but I'm still on the fence about it.

We don't know what Elspeth did with Aziraphale's money, but we know it was enough to turn her life around. We don't know who Maggie's great-great-grandmother is, but she has been keeping a little corner of the bookshop to "sell records" for Mr. Fell since the 1920s.

But if you look at the record art for Maggie's bookshop, some of them include all their tracks on the cover and they are telling actual stories. I've talked about Maggie's record shop before on this post. I'm still not sure what I believe, but the idea of it being Aziraphale's personal records keeps sticking with me. He's been around for a long time and there is a lot to keep up with.

Why is it so important to him that Maggie gets to dance with Nina? He told Nina he threw the ball so she would see that Maggie is in love with her, the same way he was going to use it to tell Crowley he loved him, but he was so delighted to see Maggie and Nina dance together.

And Aziraphale's love for Maggie isn't one-sided because she stays behind to help him even though she's up against something more powerful than herself. She refuses to leave him alone. She might be annoyed that he was interfering in her love life, but he's always been good to her and is probably the closest thing to family she has (we only ever see Crowley, Aziraphale and Nina talk to her).

She said she "had" brothers. Past tense. She stands up to Shax because she's no longer scared of...something. Nina tells Shax that Maggie is the bravest person she knows. Maggie comes up with the idea to spray the demons with the fire extinguishers. It might have been silly but it proves that humans are ready to fight back using whatever tools we have at our disposal.

Why didn't we know of her existence in season 1? We saw Maggie's chattering nun die onscreen. Was she one of Adam's additions to Aziraphale's bookshop? Where did she come from? Does Adam remember her face from when he was an infant? Sister Mary Loquacious (formerly) told Aziraphale and Crowley that the nuns had been very good at keeping records, but they all burned in the fire.

But Adam got a very good look at the faces of Sister Mary Loquacious and Sister Theresa Garrulous. He was an infant but he was still the son of Satan.

So is Maggie an Adam creation? Is she somehow related to Elspeth's existence? Why is she so important to Aziraphale?

#good omens #good omens meta #crowley #aziraphale #maggie and nina #elspeth and wee morag #chattering nuns

[been-taking-muay-thai-classes]

They Danced

The Prefect had managed to take a few things with her on her way back to Twisted Wonderland. Among them was a reccording of Hadestown, her favorite musical (dhe won't say that technically it was illegal though, its not her fault there isn't a professionally recorded version).

Naturally, she wanted to share it with her friends, particularly those she knew to be more artistically inclined such as Vil or Rook. Unfortunately, she got rejected by almost everybody. Of the 14 she invited, only 1 showed, the rest too busy with their responsabilities or punishments (Deuce once again pays for Ace's shenanigans).

Now, under normal circumstances she'd be sad about this, but seeing how her crush was the one to accept she had to believe this was some sort of sign. Plus the housewardens were rather busy lately, what with Crowley dumping his duties on them upon realizing she would be away for a few days (she did feel a little bad about this but then again, with all her unpaid therapy this is a way to repay her no?).

Now she stands in the kitchen, staring at the snacks she managed to save from Grim's unstoppable appetite. 2 bags of chips, some candy and soda. Not a great selection but it would do for just the two of them. Just in case, she also prepared a sauce to go with the chips and cleaned the living room in preparation of his arrival.

Grim was currently serving detention with Ace and Deuce, unsurprisingly, which meant she had the dorm all to herself. This night couldn't be more perfect.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang. The Prefect ran to the door and composed herself in front of it to try and look cool before opening it. There stood Jamil holding a bag, presumably with food. 'Hi! Come in, everything's set up'

Jamil smiled at her and offered the bag 'I brought some masghati since you seemed interested last time I mentioned them' she grabbed the bag and peeked inside to see the sweets nicely decorated with dried fruits. They would go best with some tea so she went to put the kettle on while Jamil arranged the plates (at this point she no longer tries to stop him, he seems to like helping around when its of his own free will).

With the tea ready, both sat comfortably on the couch. The Prefect was about to press play when Jamil asked her 'Where are the others?' her heart beat faster at the reminder that it'd be just the two of them. She hoped he couldn't hear, what with him being seated at the other end of the couch.

'Riddle, Azul, Vil and Malleus are busy doing Crowley's job' Jamil snorted and muttered a small 'Nothing new there' she smiled with him. 'Rook is on a trip with his family, and Jack and Epel went with him to "unlock his story", Cater, Lilia and Kalim had a...club thing? Idia is Idia and Ace and Deuce have detention with Trein' she finished recounting them all and tried to gauge Jamil's reaction through a side glance. He seemed to relax more upon hearing there'd be no more guests. She dard hope this meant he liked her or at least trusted her enough to let his guard down a little bit.

'And Grim?' his arm now rested on the back of the couch and she wanted desperately to be closer so she could put her head on it 'Guess' her smirk was all the hint he needed to know he was with the other troublemakers.

'Well, their loss. Its just us then' on the surface the statement wasn't special, but the way he said it with that hint of sultriness, the way his eyes ever so slightly traveled down her body and back up as if to confirm she had dressed this nicely for him and him alone. The way his posture shifted just the tiniest bit closer, more arrogant, inviting her in. Okay maybe she should just press play and stop imagining things before she combusted from the embarrasment. Jamil smirked at her flustered face, pleased with himself.

The theater lit up, showing Hermes walking on stage. Soon the rest of the characters were positioned for the first song and they began introducing everybody. So far Jamil seemed entertained, enjoying the pace and beat of the song, tapping his fingers on the armrest to the tune of the song.

Soon the wedding song came up and the Prefect couldn't stop herself from singing along. Jamil hid his surprise at hearing her sing for the first time since meeting her pretty well but the yearning in his eyes was another story. Just then, the Prefect turned to him giggling and forced him to grab at his hoodie to hide before she could see his fluster. That only made her giggle louder and tease him lightly. So much for looking cool.

By the time Persephone was singing about how unnaturally hot Hadestown was, Jamil was fully invested...and also twice as glad that nobody else could see him like that, how embarrasing.

Once the story reached the middle, the Prefect paused it to stand up and stretch, hearing a satisfying pop from her back. 'Aren't we watching the rest?' Jamil stood despite his question and helped the Prefect grab the plates and cups and take them to the kitchen.

'There's quite a bit left, so we're taking a pause to stretch our legs and drink water' just as she said that, she filled a cup with water and offered it to him. Jamil took it and drank while formulating a question in his mind.

The Prefect beat him to it though 'Are you liking it so far?' the gleam in her eyes told him it was important that he answer correctly, no...honestly. He thought for a second before replying 'At first Orpheus didn't seem like a likeable character to me, and I think you know why' she nodded 'but- I guess I can respect how devoted he is to his dream and Eurydice. The music is good, I knew that from the first song and everybody sings really well, I don't know yet if I love it, I need to know how it ends first, but so far I'm enjoying it' he allowed himself to be honest, it was just the two of them, and it payed off. Her smile, once nervous but excited, grew into a bright light that tugged at his heart and made him feel alive. Damn his heart, filling his mind with poetry like he was Hunt.

They finished their drinks, washed everything and went back to the couch. It wasn't lost on the Prefect how this time Jamil sat closer.

During the second act, Jamil started to change his opinion on a few things, or at least that's what she thought by the quiet muttering of her guest. She wanted to ask him about it but then she caught a few words like 'That's how the world is' 'Still won't give up? Huh' 'Wait they actually care?!' and at this point she had a good idea of what was going on in his head. She felt that perhaps she could inquire about his opinion of Hades but stilled her tongue.

The moment was upon them: the song Orpheus had been working on from the very beginning. She tapped Jamil on the knee (when did he get so close?) excitedly and whisper-yelled 'This is it! This is the greatest song in the history of musical theater!' Jamil simply smirked, melting at the look of joy this scene brought her. He payed close attention to it, to her.

Orpheus, battered and bruised, stood in the center of the stage with his guitar/lyre and a microphone. He began to sing and Hades mocked him at first but soon shut up upon hearing his melody. Jamil noticed the Prefect muttering the lyrics and wondered just how many times she must have watched this play. But he also thought she was right, the song was beautiful, he couldn't assure it was the best in musical theater given how little he knew on the subject (particularly from her world) but he could believe it and that was enough. The song came to a pause as Hades sang, and Jamil felt compelled to sing along. Dry, shy, almost as if he were remembering a foggy memory but vulnerable like he hadn't been in a long time.

The Prefect looked at him with surprise, her heart skipped a beat at seeing her crush relating to the play and she couldn't hold back from smiling the same way Persephone smiled on the screen. Warm and hopeful.

'I've always loved their dance, it seems so tender and intimate yet elegant and powerful, you can feel the love and history they have' her hand grazed his by accident and Jamil glued his eyes to the screen in a bid to avoid becoming flustered again. But while she was swooning at the dance, he chanced a look at her and saw just how enamoured she looked. Dancing? He could do that, he was a very good dancer, he loved dancing and she clearly wanted to try this. Maybe they could dance later. His heart swelled with hope at the thought.

By the time Orpheus was walking back home, Jamil had all but forgotten the lyrics from the beginning. He was so invested in the story he didn't see the ending coming. A man, walking alone, doubting himself, a woman, walking behind him, reassuring him of her love but he couldn't hear.

A gasp echoed in the room.

Jamil felt something wet on his cheek. The Prefect was wiping some tears from her face and the only sound was of soft sobbing. His or her he wasn't sure.

'Why?' the Prefect didn't answer, she merely pointed at Hermes on the screen.

Processing his emotions, Jamil listened to the last songs. To Hermes retelling the story in honor of his friend, to Persephone raising her cup for those who remain, to everybody singing for Orpheus and to the troupe beginning their tale again as the curtain fell. He was a mess. Never one to cry over fictional works, Jamil was a bit embarrassed to be in this state in front of his crush, but there was little he could do to stop. He had relaxed and opened up more as the play progressed and now it was all he could do to reel those feelings back in. The Prefect however grabbed his chin and made him look at her, gently caressing his cheek. 'Why do you like this so much? It's rather sad for someone like you' Jamil refused to meet her eyes as he asked the question he wanted to from an hour ago in the least shaky voice he could muster. Internally he winced, it came out worse than he planned but she didn't seem to mind.

'I love it because its a tragedy. You know from the start how it ends: Orpheus fails, he looks back and Eurydice remains dead. Still we can't help but hope. Hope that maybe this time it'll be different, this time Orpheus will trust and they both will go home' Jamil had trouble wrapping his head around that idea and she could tell so she changed her words 'Orpheus's fate has been sealed from the beginning, there is nothing he can do. But still we hope it can change: the actors change, the band changes, even the theater they perform at changes so why not the ending? Its admittedly very meta but isn't it worth it? To hope for that happinnes?' that he could understand. Jamil himself had once overblotted from his despair of the life that was chosen for him. But ever since the Prefect had crashed into this world, she had showed them, showed him that hope wasn't such an idiotic thing. Looking at her, he hoped to see her smile more, to hear her laugh for him, to share his dreams and future with her.

He stood up offering her his right hand. The Prefect was confused until he explained 'You said you always loved the dance from the play...so dance with me' despite his muttering she could hear clearly what he said, and also see the blush overtaking his face. With her heart beating wildly she took his hand and stood at arms lenght from him.

In the quiet evening in Ramshackle the only sound that could be heard was two pairs of feet moving along to an imaginary rythm, perfectly in synch.

Jamil pulled her in, pushed her away, twirled her once and twice before coming back together to a slow sway. There, so close to each other their breaths intermingled, Jamil finally met her eyes and what he saw there surely reflected what she saw in his. Love and adoration so pure it filled him with certainty. They leaned in.

The kiss was gentle, as if scared to hurt the other. Jamil's right hand rose to cup her cheek while her hands grabbed his jacket and pulled him impossibly closer. Soon one kiss turned two turned three turned dozens. Only when they ran out of breath did they part, and Jamil took this moment to rest his forehead against hers, staring into her eyes with all the untold things his heart longed to share.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to come up with the perfect way to ask what he wanted to ask but once again, she beat him to it 'Do you want to be my boyfriend?'. Hadn't they been so close he wouldn't have heard it.

For the first time in a very long time, Jamil allowed himself to feel fully, his heart bursting with love, happinnes and hope. He sang a soft 'laa la la la la la laaa' as an aswer before kissing her once again and she simply giggled. Something beautiful had bloomed that evening in Ramshackle and Jamil would do everything in his power to nurture it like she had nurtured the hope in his heart.

----------------------------------------------------

So this scenario had been in my head since I first saw Hadestown (if you haven't watched it you really should, it's beautiful. Youtube has a few reccordings) but then I heard how good Jamil sings and thought oh no he has to be Orpheus and then @merotwst answered and ask (hi btw it was me) saying how perfect he'd be for Hades and I just- yes. A million times yes. So I came back to this idea and decided to write it before it takes over the part of my brain I use for work and chores.

I hope you like it and sorry about the pronouns but I tend to get confused when writting in english so using a female mc seemed easiest. If I ever write something more I'll try to use neutral pronouns.

#twisted wonderland #jamil viper #twst mc #jamil x reader #hadestown #I wrote this in a rush lol #no beta we die like the prefect's wallet #hedgehog originals

[marrondrawsalot]

I forgot my entire idea and then it hit me.

- this story has a gore but no blood

- headmistress Rosehearts au

- Felicity realized she shouldn’t have been too nosy and now have to deal with the tiny bird girl who told her she knows too much

- don’t ask why I’m not asleep. I brainstorm. Shush

- ps this will be a case close

- this is one of the few endings in my takes. This is “The Nosy Rose is Plucked”

- headmaster Sato Suzuki

——————————————————————————

Felicity huffed as she had redecorated the office to her liking. It was months after she got Crowley booted off the education committee, things have been going her way. She did had to tolerate his daughter being here, given the girl is the only female in the school. She wonder why Crowley would leave his innocent doll like girl staying at a school of boys. And wonder if the girl education was all fabricated too.

The red hair woman had stayed in a few months, and ruled like a tyrant. She made sure every student have been studying till they drop, have the perfect meal plan she picked out, and monitored everything. Things was going her way. But she felt too curious. If she knew Dire was hiding dirt from the public. What else is hidden. She began to tear the school until she finds every missing details. But not more trace. She was about to give up. Yet something tells her the office felt. Haunted. The paintings have no words to say. But their gaze have been staring at something. The bookcase. As the woman noticed the gaze perspective. She moved the case to see it have been covering a safe. Felicity made haste to unlock the safe herself.

///

Darling was with her friends, whispering and mumbles as her days gone from bitter to worse. Being ridiculed and berated by Felicity was harsh. But suddenly. She stopped talking and began to walk away. “Darling?” As Yuu. “Where are you going- Darling!” And the girl had no response and vanished into the dark

///

Felicity was trying combination after combination. Until, she finally got it. March 14th. What an odd number. As she open the door, she almost screamed. Falling to the ground as she silently cover her mouth in horror to what she saw.

(Warning. This is the gore part. You have been warned.)

Sitting in the safe.

As a large jar of a man head. The expression kept a look of despair and death. As the head had been preserved so pristine. It looked so fresh. The woman noticed the male hair was a bright golden blonde, and eyes as like gold as well. Now it made sense why the room felt haunted. Just as she was about to cal the authorities. She yelped at the corner of her eyes. Standing there was the former headmage daughter.

“M-Miss Crowley! W-why are you here?” She asked, as Darling enter the room. She locked the doors behind her. “I just felt something and I guess my hunch is right.” She said. As Felicity immediately started to press the numbers, she felt threaten. After all, it was the girl father she booted out. But she screamed when a pen flew and pierced the phone machine down. Destroying the only thing that could’ve saved the woman. “You’re sooooo nosy, Mrs Rosehearts.” The girl said, as she walked her way to the woman in a very slow manner. Almost like a doll walking her way. The woman fell to the ground, trembling as she shakes in fear.

“Have you heard of a case about a cultist thirty years ago? Mages of Light leader?” The doll like girl said. As the woman nodded. She had heard of the case. The victim was a cultist leader, of the deranged cult of Mages of Light. Where they fight the purest of light magic good. And any of dark magic evil spirited. A blasted lie and tale. However, six months happened and the man was missing. But his body was found in Shaftlands. Hanging from a street lamp….. without his head. The small girl stopped in front of the woman, “that man…. He is the reason I’m still here young at 17 again….. he stole my life. The man I once loved years ago, my friends, my classmates…..” she spoke. Then it blared into a shriek. “HE STOLE MY LIFE!!!” She shouted. Making Felicity panic. “…… and so…. My father hunted him down….. and took his head.” She said. As Darling glared down at the woman. “And now you know….. I’m so sorry…. But I can’t have you going around….” As Darling grabbed the woman hair, the woman was screeching and wailing for someone to help her. While the girl walked to a hidden mirror in the office, she stood the woman tall and made her look at it. “Do you see yourself?”

The woman, sobbing uncontrollably as she nodded. “…… goodbye Mrs. Rosehearts.” Darling replied. Shoving the woman into the mirror. Revealing it like an empty room. A prison. And there was no way out.

- few months -

The school had been reinstated with a new headmage after Mrs. Rosehearts had “vanished” without a trace. And the new headmage was a kind man named Sato Suzuki. He had help NRC flourish back to their kinder spirits, rehired professor Crewel, and returned everything to its true glory. And made the school better. He did felt his office feel haunted. But for some reason. His gut told him to never explore.

Unbeknownst to him, the former headmistress was screaming and wailing in the hidden mirror of the office. As he pass by it, the woman can only sob and beg to be noticed and heard from. After all….

No one shouldve digged too deep

Dire had visited his daughter on campus as a parent, but he looked at Darling. As the two family connect eyes. Dire could only smile and pat his little girl head. “You did good, my little doll.” As Darling smiled “it was the right thing to do, father!” She spoke happily. Dire knew exactly what happened to the former headmistress. And all he could do. Was laugh at the result. “The nosy rose got plucked!” He chuckled. As the two raven fae Beastmen laugh away, while no one knows why. But never question it.

@adrianasunderworld @mangacupcake @writing-heiress @the-weirdos-mind @skboba-stars @nproduction626 @rose-tea-and-strawberries @anxious-twisted-vampire

MARRON WRITES HORROR SHIT LETS GO FEAR ME

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland oc #marron ocs #twst oc #twst #darling crowley #dire crowley #Marron writes #headmistress rosehearts au #headmaster Suzuki au

[eisforeidolon]

They like to use S13 as an example, and just ignore that Dean was pissed especially about losing his mom again, and then he had the son of the Devil, who he believes manipulated Cass and got him killed. Hell he was even angry about Crowley dying and asked Chuck to bring him back. And then a few eps later he fails to keep a kid from getting killed by a ghost. So, he was just being put through the ringer emotionally, but they think it was just Cass dying and not everything piling up on him.

And yeah, when Cass comes back he gets pulled out of his funk, because if Cass is alive again, then there actually might be hope that they could save Mary. And Dean went so far as to pull a gun on a teenage girl to save his mom, like he's never done that for Cass. He usually just accepts Cass is dead and moves on, and then is surprised when he pops back up alive.

******************************

Yep, exactly. They have this entirely bizarre meta theory that season 13 is Dean's ~*Widower Arc*~, i.e. the actual main story of that season is Dean being upset primarily over Cas. Which once again proves they either aren't actually watching the show, or if they are, their media comprehension is abominably bad.

Amara literally tells Dean she's giving him back 'what he needs most' because that's what he gave her right before returning Mary at the end of season 11. His mother. Whose absence Dean's entire life has been based around to a pretty fair extent. Who, as season 13 starts? He has just spent a season desperately trying to connect to while she distances herself, and just as she has agreed to try? BAM. She's tossed into an alternate apocalyptically hostile universe with one of their worst enemies. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him!

Dean is convinced things with Jack will go bad, because they always do. Dean is convinced Mary is dead, because he can't let himself hope. Except while he's trying to cope with that and the associated feelings? He's living with Sam who seems to be getting more and more attached to Jack every day and seems determined to believe that not only can Jack be good? They can use him to save Mary. Along with living with Jack himself, who is kid-like, but has an insane amount of power that even if he doesn't cause destruction with on purpose he may still do it all the same. Like Asmodeus almost gets him to do in approximately five minutes. That's insanely stressful to be living with, constantly waiting for it to go wrong, constantly in conflict with Sam, constantly trying not to hope. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him!

Dean does plead for Chuck to return Castiel ... in the same breath as he asks for Mary and even Crowley back because he's just that sick of all their family, friends, and allies dying. Where this happens in the context of Jack being an unknown quantity on the loose who may endanger the world's ability to be "fine" with only Sam & Dean to fix it. When he doesn't get a response? He doesn't try to come up with any alternate plans, entities to plead to, or anything - they just burn the body and move on. Which not only is a marked contrast to how he reacts to Sam's deaths and being so upset he waves a gun at a teenager over Mary (FU Berens)? It's also an interesting comparison to season 15, where he doesn't even bother to mention Castiel again after he dies - when they're no longer in a situation where they potentially need the extra firepower for a possible world-ending situation. Hell, it's an interesting comparison to later that very season when he asks Billie to release all the ghosts in that house in exchange for information and tries to ask if Mary is alive - but doesn't ask about Castiel in any capacity. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him!

With those boys dying after they were already on the case, he tells Sam he just needs a win, implying even a case-level win would do. So, yeah, when Castiel comes back, it finally starts to feel like not everything is an ongoing disaster! Except trying to paint it as something other than a sign of hope that allows him to move forward and allow that Jack might not go bad and Mary might be alive and rescue-able? Kind of ignores that Castiel takes off pretty soon thereafter to go look for Jack and Dean is not only fine with that, mostly just annoyed with his lack of progress? He doesn't even notice that the "Cass" he's talking to on the phone for weeks is Asmodeus. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him!

Finally, let's take it to the abstract level of storytelling mechanics. An arc actually has a resolution. The arc of season 13 effectively concludes with retrieving Mary and Jack from apocalypse world as it sets off the cliffhanger into season 14, the conflict with Michael arising out of Dean making a deal with him to save Sam (and Jack) from Lucifer. Castiel is little more than background noise to all of that. ... but it's totes all about how Dean lurves Castiel and can't live without him! Somehow.

#askboxery #anonymous #long post #bad meta #spn season 13 #destiew

[definitelynotdennisreynolds]

Good Omens Season 2 Spoilers Below:

Seeing how people react to Aziraphale, I think it’s very important to see all the factors.

Aziraphale didn’t choose Heaven above Crowley or AngelCrowley above their Crowley, they are an Earth protector but they still have a lot of hope in Heaven or even God herself, I don’t think they sees a difference between the Crowleys they know, but if both of them are in the same side its easy being together and more if that side it’s the “good one”.

Being able to cure family and religious trauma is difficult, Aziraphale was finally recognized by their “family” after years of being the good kid, and they tried (in their own way in the end) to do what they were made for, to protect the Earth, the humans, the lives God made. And okay, maybe MAYBE the coffee has something to do with Aziraphale's strange smile in the end but I don’t think that it’s out of character what happened. They really think that they alone can change the mind of an entire institution even when, since the beginning it only purpose was to have a war and win it, and I don’t think Heaven are going to really give them the power of an archangel in the decision, maybe have the face of someone who loves humanity or/and rebel in the front of the “second coming” will have something to do.

Aziraphale is a character full of hope, even in the ones who don't deserve it, in the same time, the loves to forgive, and I don’t think that forgiving the ones who wronged them is difficult. They saw a way of saving the world and they WANTED AND NEED Crowley by their side, they didn’t think about the chance of Crowley saying no when they accepted Metatron's offer.

Neil put a scene moments before where Aziraphale is giving up some of his books (even if it was an encyclopedia) to keep someone safe, Aziraphale says “Nothing lasts forever” meaning giving up his books and lovely life for safety WITH Crowley, he loves all that but he loves more life, including Crowleys

I truly love season 2 deeply even if I cried for 2 hours straight on the floor, because I know that I am able to feel all those emotions because I just see a good story being beautifully told with amazing scenes, talented actors, a genius writer, etc. I was able to see how much this story is loved and how much Neil loves Terry and his work, if you don’t like the end its OKAY because it is NOT the end, it is just a part so they can be happy together in a HEALTHY way and I just talk a little bit about Aziraphale point.

Watch the show and help them to have a beautiful picnic in Alfa Centauri in the future

#good Omens #good omens 2 spoilers #Aziraphale #Crowley

[ace-bookdragon]

ace-bookdragon fanfic masterpost

figured that doing one of these may be helpful (at least for me, because i keep changing my tagging system), so here we are! i'll add more of my short tumblr pieces as i come across them. all ao3 fics have been set so that only registered users can read them.

fandoms: ranger's apprentice and the locked tomb

* denotes a romantic pairing. newest to oldest

ranger's apprentice

a release or respite from the heat and the hurt

The story of how Halt nearly loses his horse. Written for the Autistic!Halt fic fest for the prompt “Abelard helping Halt with sensory issues”.

the woman in the fire *

Months after Alyss's death, Will stands on a hill and watches the sunset.

the girl across the water

Halt is surveying the sea, looking westward not just to see the setting sun. His homeland is in that direction, though to call it homeland is perhaps a wrong bit of wording. Birthland would be better. The place where he was raised. The end of the world is in that direction, and, more importantly, his little sister. The sunset is beautiful, and beautiful things remind him of her.

rainsong (imagery study)

Halt and Abelard ride home. It's a rainy evening.

spring rain

Alyss Mainwaring and Jenny Dalby, Redmont's resident old lady duo, spend some time together.

all the lonely people

Will wakes up one night from a nightmare about what happened in Skandia.

espresso and a storm

Will, Ebony, and Halt get stuck inside a coffee shop during a storm.

a father found and lost

Gilan arrives at Redmont with some devastating news. Written for the prompt "you're truly alone and goddammit it hurts to imagine".

if you died i'd never forgive myself *

Horace and Will separate while trying to capture the Scotti general MacHaddish. When Horace saves Will's life, the unexpected happens.

snapshots *

Halt and Crowley go through some old pictures of them together.

flowers for crowley

Halt visits Crowley's grave after he dies.

and i'm all out of breath

When Halt and Crowley go to take care of some bandits, something happens and Halt must face his past.

i still hear you in the breeze

Halt returns to Clonmel for the first time since he fled, only to find that someone he loved is gone.

let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide *

Asexual!Crowley comes out to Halt, his partner. They both struggle to figure out how to make their relationship work despite this.

a RA christmas

The Ward is celebrating Christmas, and it's in free verse.

5 times crowley and halt saw the seasons change and one time they didn't

Seasonal Cralt, follows the 5x1 format. Will probably never be completed.

tumblr short fics (in the order i find them because they are untagged and buried deeply in the chaos that is this blog):

gravesite

the light was taken *

planting seeds in a garden i never get to see

happy mother's day, from alyss

the locked tomb

celestial body

Aboard the Mithraeum, Harrow starts looking at the stars and mapping constellations.

when you fall asleep

Every now and then, Harrowhark dreams of a young woman with red hair and golden eyes. She's oddly familiar, and Harrow feels like she knows her. She never remembers the dreams, but always wakes up to blood coming out of her ears and nose. or: Gideon is getting pissed about Harrow's lobotomy and wants her to know what happened, and she may just haunt her dreams about it.

We Are The Crossroads*

When Covid-19 forces the world to shut down, Harrowhark Nonagesimus is left to spend quarantine alone in her apartment. As loneliness drives her to seek out companionship through her university’s Discord server, she finds herself reconnecting with her old friend Gideon, who she hasn’t heard from in nearly a year after a fight that has left them both deeply hurt. In progress.

Magpie

Camilla talks to Palmedes, reflecting on their relationship. Set during Nona the Ninth, and contains spoilers for it.

arcane: league of legends (cartoon 2021)

light and air find some new deepness there

What do you do when you have spent your whole life doing things, creating, and then come to what feels like a dead stop? What do you do when all your options in one direction are gone, dried up like water beneath a blazing summer sun?

You turn and go in another direction. If one way isn’t working, another surely will.

A little character study of Heimerdinger's visit to the Undercity. Who knows who he'll meet?

#my writing #fanfic masterpost #ranger's apprentice #tlt #arcane league of legends

[creepy-crowleys]

((To expand a bit on Crowley’s answer:

Crowley’s past experience with Anima: A Dream to Kill Arc, Picks up at the end of The Sound of Children, through I Walk Into Empty, and culminates with the end of the overarching mission What Was Missed. Expanded on with some of the Buzzing’s and John’s lore for the Manufactory. Mind the missions for blood, gore, torture, dismemberment, and child death, among other things.

In Summary: For my purposes and interpretation, Anima is Gaia’s successor, the Buzzing’s infant queen. Given that Gaia seems to have failed to produce a successful heir up to this point and may be on her last attempt, the Buzzing are a little more invested in Anima’s survival than they might ordinarily be. Crowley being the closest available Bee, she took the brunt of their agitation and they ended up driving her further than she was physically capable of. No one’s fault, really, but between the three(ish) of them, they created an ugly feedback loop that put Crowley out of commission for an extended period.

Crowley is still uncomfortable around Anima to some degree. She likes kids in general! She’s naturally protective! But she’s also aware of the Buzzing asserting some pressure there, and it scares her. They’ve apologized and assured her they’ll be more careful, but it’s still an incredibly uncomfortable feeling knowing just how much control they have over her from within.

Crowley’s past experience with John: All throughout the Black Signal Arc in Tokyo, which is also the name of his lore entries. Escalates substantially in Nightmare in the Dream Palace, where he scares her so badly.

In Summary: John was a follower of the Morninglight, a cult that, in its deeper levels, reveres the cosmic horror entities that are partially responsible for Crowley’s world existing. John in particular was groomed to deliver a bomb to the cult’s co-founder as part of a power play that failed so spectacularly that John managed to reduce himself to cosmic smear on reality. He exists in a state somewhat similar to his gods and the Buzzing, but is unable to physically manifest himself - a voice with no mouth.

Crowley came across him while investigating the bombing.

In the Dream Palace, a love hotel, there’s a room that allows its visitors to view the memories of previous occupants, and Crowley made use of it to learn John’s story. Unfortunately for her, he noticed the intrusion and, due to his new nature, was able to retaliate. It was an incredibly violating experience, having her memories dug through and tampered with, and feeling every second of him slithering around in her head. She ultimately killed herself in a last-ditch effort to get away from him.

John and Crowley have interacted, for better or worse, several more times since - and as badly as some of those encounters have gone, she still can’t get that one out of her head. Of everything she’s faced, John is one of the one’s she’s most terrified of.

Crowley’s past experience with Kingsmouth: Dawning of an Endless Night Arc. They were Crowley’s first assignment, and some of the first people she’d interacted with so heavily since breaking away from her aunt. She’s known these people for nearly four years now and loves them all dearly for it. They’ve all known about the death sentence hanging over their heads this entire time, but the thought of potentially executing it in trying to save them was still horrible.

Also she was attacked monster dogs in the process and that didn’t go over well at all.))

#.FROM THE HANDLER #.long post

[seawater-aurelia-writing]

The Break

Pairing(s): Fem!MC/Yuu/Reader x TBD

Summary: MC finally shuts down from all of her acts of helping with overblots and the countless favors/demands that are asked of her. When the Prefect of Ramshackle is the one who needs help, who steps forward?

WARNINGS

I am not the best at labeling warnings or triggers but I can say that this story is laden with neglect, self-neglect, anxiety, possible depression and attempts to justify the above. There could be more labels that I can add but i’m unsure how to word them - so please exercise caution.

Quick Note: The reader in this story is largely based upon Cinderella, for multiple reasons (#1 being that I want to and #2 being that I absolutely love Cinderella and think she’s amazingヾ(•ω•`)o ) . If that type of character behavior annoys or offends you, I recommend skipping this!

She should have seen it coming; The break. Her break.

Her sight blurred with tears, which spilled over her eyes  quickly as she laid upon the floor of the library – cold and alone. In front of her, just out of reach, laid her phone amidst the plentiful books which laid strewn chatoticly across the floor from her harsh tumble. Her phone vibrated constantly cause M/C o flinch as she imagined the messages that must be flying across her notifications; Her friends and upperclassmen asking for favors and why she hadn’t completed what they asked.

‘I need to… get up.’ She thought to herself, willing herself to move her arms but her body was more akin to cold, ancient steel, a machine that had been abandoned and forgotten throughout time; It felt nothing like how she was a month ago, a week ago, a few hours ago. ‘ I have.. so much left to do.’

As she tried to find the will to stand – M/C thought of how she ended up in this position; body battered and bruised after falling from the top of the ladder in the deserted corner of the library.

 She could barely life her feet as she made her way down the path, back towards Ramshackle Dorm. In her arms, Grim lay curled into her chest as he slept peacefully in her arms.

‘We both had a long day.’ MC mused to herself, gently pressing his closer as the cold, wintry wind blew harder. She recounted their day slowly, going over each task they had accomplished.

Crowley wished for them to wake up earlier to remove unwanted, viney weeds from around the campus gates, Sam’s Store, and the fencing around the Flying Course field in exchange he’d give them some aid to finally repair their roof. Unable to refuse such an offer, M/C awoke at 3 am to be able to accomplish all of the weeding.

However, Grim had not woken to any of her calls or he just ignored her, leaving M/C to venture into the darkened morning on her own to do the weeding.

After 2 hours, when she was finally able to head back to Ramshackle to freshen up before breakfast, she was stopped by Vil. The Pomefiore Dorm Head all but demanded her attention for an hour  in the afternoon, her lunch period specifically, to fetch him some arctic sea water from Azul.

Vil was supposedly unable to pick up the water himself as he had an impromptu photoshoot and Azul would only meet during lunchtime.

Despite the tone he used, M/C could sense that Vil was more antsy about missing his photoshoot -made more evident by the slight twitch at the mention of potentially missing the event. She agreed with a bright smile; choosing to ignore Vil’s comment about grass sticking to her and her ‘odor’ when she turned to leave.

Finally, she made it to Ramshackle and  rid herself of the stray remnants of debris before she freshened up. Grim, who finally awoke, all but rushed her from the home before she could rest – determined to beat Ace and Deuce to breakfast.

But as luck would have it, M/C could not make it to the Dining Hall before she was stopped by a rather, frazzled Ruggie, who all but shoved a bag of food onto her. He left rushed orders to take it to Leona as he was asked to help restock the lounge before classes. He ran off before she could refuse.

Grim happily skipped to the dining room, telling her not to waste time since he wasn’t going to save her any of the food. However, before she could rush off – Grim yelled back at her to pick up some tuna for him at Sam’s since she was going out of the main building anyway.

She only nodded, ignoring the hollowed feeling in her stomach and the way it rumbled in protest.

M/C remembers being stopped before she could reach Leona, the botanical garden just in sight. That view had been blocked by the ever-looming, Leech Twins. Floyd grinned down at her and plucked the sandwich from her hands.

“Ah! Koechi-chan is so sweet!~ She brought food for us, Jade” Floyd cheered, ignoring her protests and pleas for him to give her the food back.

“Indeed she did, Floyd.” Jade chuckled, doing nothing to stop his twin, who began to eat the food in front of M/C. “And by the way, Prefect. Vil told us that you would be the one picking up his items later today.”

“Y-yes that’s right. At lunch time.” She clarified, her voice softer as she deflated. In retrospect, she still didn’t know what she could have said to Floyd to make him stop. So many girls on Magicam were adamant about how they maintain dominance over their own friends to avoid being stepped on but they always sounded cruel; Giving instructions to ‘clapback’, to insult them,  to physically hurt them or poke at their insecurities to make them listen. She didn’t want to snap at the twins, not only would it not do her any good but angering them isn’t what she wanted.

“Azul needs to push that time to this evening, at dinner. Vil suddenly requested twice the amount and thus more payment is required.” M/C remembered the chill that ran down her spine as the Twins seemed to loom over her even more.

“P-Payment? But I don’t-“

“Rook is handling the payment but,in the even he doesn’t, please he prepared to pay any outstanding fees.”

The Twins ignored her pleas for clarification, with Floyd only turning around to demand that she be present for his basketball practice later today.

M/C recounted how, after that, her day became a blur with random intervals of clarity when another request or demand was made of her.

Ace and Deuce asking her to handle their chores in Heartslabyul of feeding the Hedgehogs and Flamingos while they went to mandatory study hall with Professor Trein.

Trey caught her and asked for her to pick up some cream from Sam’s shop for him. She also picked up the tuna that Grim had asked for and the only thing she could afford to eat to replace the breakfast that she missed – a discounted egg salad sandwich.

A sandwich she could only eat half of, as the other half was given to Silver, who had missed breakfast looking for Malleus. He had not asked anything of her, she remembered, but the way he looked at her was odd to say the least. He was adament on her sitting down and finishing her half of a sandwich before leaving  but the appearance of Ortho, who asked for her to run an errand for Idia, pulled her away.

Her classes came and went, leaving her feeling isolated as usual. Professor Crewel, never one to shy away from a ‘training’ opportunity, chided her for using an incorrect about of Phoeniz wings in her potion. He only became agitated when she proceeded to answer his questions about the potion, a simple draught, completely wrong. Grim was of no help as even he didn’t know the answers, nor did Ace or Deuce by what they had said but Ace and Grim took great joy in laughing at her misery.

Normally, it wouldn’t have affect her but today, it hurt.

But she smiled anyway.

Lunch time came and, again, she was stopped before she entered the dining hall. Sebek  demanded her help in finding Malleus, who was not present at lunch. Again, Grim deserted her as Sebek grabbed her and dragged her along beside him and Silver to find Malleus.

Again, Silver regarded her in an odd way but he said nothing out of the ordinary towards her.

They never did find Malleus and Sebek took too yelling at her for being unable to be of any use in finding him.

“..Sorry, Sebek. I’ll try harder next time.” Was all she could say, while Silver chided him on being too harsh.

As they made it back to the main building, it was time for classes; She had missed lunch as well.

 ‘Perhaps that’s why I was so dizzy.’ She thought to herself, managing to prop herself onto her elbows. The floor beneath her moved and rippled, similar to the waves in the great oceans back in her homeworld. ‘Correction, why I AM so dizzy…’

Her mind again wandered back to her day after lunch time; Where her day only worsened.

Without any proper food in her, there was no way that she could stay awake with Professor Trein’s class. Lucius quickly spotted her and alerted Trein, before Deuce could fully wake her up.

“Do you believe yourself too smart to pay attention within my class, Miss M/C.” He sneered, a glare firmly on his face as he gazed down at her.

“N-No, sir. I’m sorry, Professor! It wasn’t-“

“Silence.” His voice was firm as harsh, caushing her to flinch and shrink in her seat. “There will be no talking back to me of any kind. I had high expectations of you, Miss M/C and yet you have a complete lack of manners. As punishment, you will write me a paper explaining the important of Magical History, no less than 10 pages. If it is not on my desk first thing in the morning, then expect a harsher punishment. Do you understand?”

“Y-Yes, sir.” She mumbled, her head bowed in submission. M/C could remined the feeling of the heat behind her eyes; How hard it was to hold back tears in that moment.

She hadn’t expected kindness from Professor Trein but it seemed no one was recognizing that she was doing the absolute best that she could do with the circumstances that she was in.

She was blunt and sarcastic at times, yes, but she can’t think of anyone who can hold their tongue constantly. Yet when she seemed to speak, unless it was humorous in nature or her agreeing with those around her- she went unheard. But if she pressed and asked for help, who would drop their things to come to her aid?

Those thoughts plagued her for the rest of the day;

Even as Floyd threatened and scolded her for missing basketball practice, where she was supposed to stock the ice water and the cool towels for him,  even though Epel asked her to pick up some old weights from Ruggie.

Even when Ruggie scolded her for not delivering Leona’s sandwich, calling her a thief for eating the sandwich when she reassured him that she didn’t and that Floyd had taken it.

Even when Ace and Deuce whined and complained about letting them down for not feeding the animals properly, when she couldn’t do it properly as they never explained all of the rules to her.

Even when Azul asked, demanded, that she find a specific book for him within the dark recesses of the library before closing as Vil’s additional fee– the thoughts never left her.

In truth, she was merely an anomaly in this world; An irregularity that didn’t belong, didn’t have a place within this magic, twisted world that she found herself in. She was without even the most basic magic to help her through her day to day life as the other had. M/C didn’t know even the most basic of terms within classes that would help her – shown by her struggling grades and performance.

She wouldn’t last outside of NRC, even Crowley had alluded to that. She had no birth certificate, no I.D. on her person, and no family of which to speak of.

Who would risk their own education and future to help someone who wouldn’t be able to do anything on their own anyway?

Even Grim, the other half to her ‘whole student’ was beginning to separate from her as his magic was matured and refined.

But that was why she smiled, was it? She smiled because she liked being needed, feeling as if she had a place in a world where she had none. Even if it ended with her being overworked, sleep-deprived and feeling so hollow – she was needed. A little suffering was nothing.

If her friends would excel in the world around her, wouldn’t that be worth it all? They shouldn’t have to suffer and fail in their classes just because a useless anomaly couldn’t handle the most basic of things.

‘It’s fine.’ She thought to herself, finally pushing herself to her knees. She winced, her movements letting her know just how bad her fall had truly been; Her chest hurt and ached with every beat of her heart, her right leg, the one which hit the ground first, was pulsing and red hot and all over – it felt as if fire ants were stinging her.

“It’s..fine.” She mumbled to herself, reaching with shaking hands to begin the task of stacking the books that she knocked over.

“No, it is not.” Came a hardened voice from behind her.

M/C tensed, her eyes widening as she registered the voice as Professor Trein. As she straightened her back quickly, aiming to turn to look at her professor, the room began to spin once more. Sound all around her became muffled as it felt as though her entire was was submerged underwater.

 “ -s M/C. Are your manners that abhorrent that you cannot even turn to face when when I speak to y-.” Professor Trien fumed but his voice faded away despite how hard she attempted to focus on it.

“P-Professor…” She whimpered, curling into herself to try to stop the sensations around her; But they never ceased, even as she felt something wet run down her face - a pain beginning to bloom upon her head as she focused on the wet feeling.

And it all went dark.

#twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #Female Reader #Female Ramshackle Prefect #Female Yuu #twst vil #Mozus Trein #Divus Crewel #Dire Crowley #Sam #Coach Vargas #Riddle Rosehearts #Leona Kingscholar #Azul Ashengrotto #Kalim Al Asim #Vil Schoenheit #Idia Shroud #Malleus Draconia #Trey Clover #Ruggie Bucchi #Jade Leech #Jamil Viper #Rook Hunt #Ortho Shroud #Lilia Vanrouge #Cater Diamond #Ace Trappola #Deuce Spade #Jack Howl #Floyd Leech

[norahastuff]

penny for your thoughts on salmondean codependency ?

Sure. Fair warning it’s long (was longer but I stopped myself.)

I think it’s complicated in a show that’s had so many different showrunners because they’ve all handled Sam and Dean’s relationship very differently. In Kripke’s era (s1-5) there was a romanticization of the bond. Sure there was a lot of in-depth exploration of how they wound up at the place they were at, spoiler alert: it was all because of John and his obsessive crusade to find the demon that killed his wife. That’s all he cared about and as a result, Sam and Dean had to be everything to each other. But Kripke had no intention of dismantling that at any point because he was (and always had been) writing a tragedy. Gamble continued that too. There was no room for anyone else in their lives and it would always just be the two of them against the world. So Cas had to go. Bobby had to go.

(Actually, it's funny because Gamble didn't intend this at the time, her plan was to kill Cas off, but by Edlund creating the masterpiece that is The Man Who Would Be King, he not only saved Cas from being seen as a villain, but he also deepened Dean and Cas' relationship in such a profound way and inextricably linked the two of them emotionally. And since Cas was eventually brought back, that laid the foundation for a lot of what their relationship would become.)

Up until this point, there hadn’t really been any significant dismantling of perhaps the more unhealthy parts of Sam and Dean’s relationship. Enter Carver. He stripped things down and started to explore what drove these characters. What they wanted and why they couldn’t have it. It starts with Dean being mad at Sam for not looking for him in purgatory, which sets up the whole speech in the s8 finale of Sam’s guilt about letting Dean down, but the thing is, Dean was never honest with Sam about his year away either. He never told Sam he could have gotten out much sooner if he hadn’t stayed to find Cas. I mean Dean had assumed Sam was up there alone doing God knows what to try to bring him back, and yet still he stayed in Purgatory because things were clear there. He needed Cas. Anyway, I just find that interesting, but Cas isn’t a victim of Sam and Dean’s relationship in s8.

Who gets the honour of being cast aside? That would be Benny and Amelia, two characters they introduced in s8 specifically to highlight that Sam and Dean’s relationship doesn’t allow for anyone else to be a significant part of their life. I mean that’s nothing new, we’ve watched that happen many times before. Lisa even said as much to Dean. The thing is this time? It’s framed as a truly sad thing. That moment at the end of 8x10 when Dean has just ended things with Benny and Sam leaves Amelia, and they’re sitting alone drinking beer and watching tv is such a hollow empty moment. This is not what they want. But it’s the way things have to be.

I’m actually fascinated by Sam and Dean’s conversation in the church in the s8 finale. Not so much Dean’s assertion that there is no one else he would put before Sam, but more so what provokes it, which is Sam saying “who are you going to turn to instead of me. Another angel? Another vampire?” See the thing is Dean saying he would always put Sam first is not news. We know this and it’s not really an unhealthy statement in itself either. A lot of people would put their sibling above anything else, not less a sibling who you raised and is the most important person to you. But in this context? After what Sam said? It just highlights how unhealthy they are if Sam believes that Dean having other people in his life means he doesn’t love him enough. That he’s a disappointment to him. That’s so profoundly fucked up.

(Note, Dean tells Sam that he killed Benny for him but he doesn’t say anything about Cas. I think like I said before, this is because Cas and Dean’s relationship has largely existed out of the Sam and Dean stuff up to this point - Sam and Cas don’t even really have much of a relationship yet besides both of their connections to Dean.)

And then from here, things start getting steadily worse. But we also keep being shown how bad they are. Dean lying to Sam, taking away his free will by letting Gadreel possess him. Dean sending Cas away, Kevin dying. It’s all awful. The whole “there ain’t no me if there ain’t no you line” from 9x01 isn’t really said by Dean, it’s Gadreel, but that is how Dean feels. He does think that’s all he’s good for. And over the season we’re shown how much of himself and what he truly wants he’s had to give up because of his ingrained “Save Sammy” and “Sammy comes first” mentality. It’s always been this way for him. In 9x07 we see that he had found a happy home, a good father figure, and his first love, a first love might I add that he had to leave behind with no real explanation because Sam needed him, and Sam comes first.

I mean just one episode earlier we had him rushing out the door elated about seeing Cas and spending time with him, only for their time together to come to sad and melancholic end when Dean once again leaves Cas behind without any real explanation, because despite what he wants Sammy comes first. What he wants doesn’t matter.

See I think after the Gadreel stuff comes out is where the narrative starts to get a little wonky for me. You can clearly see that this was intended to be a shorter story that they ended up stretching out to a much longer one because of renewals. There’s also the fact that this is a formula show so they can’t necessarily be separated for longer than an episode or two. S10 is a rough one to get through at times, I think the themes still mostly hold up but it’s a rough one to get through.

S10 highlights all the connections that Dean has, Cas, Charlie, Crowley even, but Sam doesn’t really have those bonds in the same way.  For Sam it’s just Dean, so he goes down a reckless destructive “do anything to save Dean!” path and so many innocents pay the price, and ultimately with the release of The Darkness, the whole world.

They skirted right up to the edge of exploring just how toxic and dangerous their relationship had become in the season 10 finale.

DEAN: I let Rudy die. How was that not evil? I know what I am, Sam. But who were you when you drove that man to sell his soul... Or when you bullied Charlie into getting herself killed? And to what end? A..a good end? A just end? To remove the Mark no matter what the consequences? Sam, how is that not evil? I have this thing on my arm, and you're willing to let the Darkness into the world.

I can’t say evil is the right word, they were never evil, but they were wilfully blind to everything and everyone else when it came to saving each other. S10 tested my love for the show because after watching it, because there was certainly a feeling that the two of them had become the villains of this story. And don’t get me wrong, I didn’t have a problem with that, it’s just after 2 seasons of this I can’t say I had a lot of faith that this was going to be properly addressed or if we were going to keep going in circles around it. Keep being shown, it’s bad and then nothing much being done to fix it. Your mileage may vary on how it was handled, but I think s11 did a relatively ok job considering it wasn’t the end of the story, and the show needed to keep going.

See from Dean’s side a lot of the codependency rests on 1. His father’s orders to always save Sammy 2. His low self-esteem where he sees himself as nothing but a blunt instrument. 3. His guilt at not being able to perfectly fulfil every familial role in Sam’s life 4. His belief that no one could choose to love him but family has to love you. 5. The unhealthy example of what it should look like to love someone that he got from John. You give up everything but them.

For Sam (and honestly it’s not as clear for me as Dean’s side is so feel free to correct me/disagree on this) 1. Everytime he’s tried to leave and create his own life it’s never ended well. 2. His guilt over wanting freedom and a normal life when he was younger (I’m referring specifically to Stanford era here) 3. His guilt over everything Dean has given up for him. 4. John. 5. Jess.

Ultimately it all comes down to isolation. They both had to be everything to each other, and the deeper they got into this fight, the more people that they lost, the tighter they clung to this notion of family and brothers. I think s11 (and 11x23 in particular) was an important turning point, both for Sam and Dean’s relationship, as well as for them as individuals. Because they weren’t alone there anymore. Cas was there. Sam let Dean walk to his death. Of course, it would devastate him, but he knew it was what had to be done. And he didn’t walk out of that bar and go back to the bunker alone. He had Cas, he had someone who cared about him and wanted to help him and talk to him. Sure Dean asked Cas to take care of Sam for him (you know after Cas offered to walk to his death with him) but Sam let him. He let him be there for him. We didn’t get to see much before the BMOL showed up and blasted Cas away, but still, we saw enough.

I think that’s a significant difference to note why their relationship was different in the Dabb era. It wasn’t just them anymore. Cas was an important member of their family and given a level of importance he’d never been given before and couldn’t have been when the story they were telling was of the dangers of their codependency. Mary was back. Eventually, Jack would become a part of their unit too. Just the two of them wasn’t enough for them anymore. This is made abundantly clear with all of Dean’s desperate attempts to get Cas to stay in s12, followed by his inability to keep going when they lose Cas and Mary in s13. Similarly, Sam really struggles when they lose Jack and fail to get Mary back later in the season.

Another big moment is Dean letting Sam go alone to lead the hunters against the BMOL in 12x22 while he stays back to try and reach Mary. Like he tells Mary, he’s had to be a brother, a father and a mother to Sam and he never stopped seeing him as his kid, but in that moment he makes a choice. He lets Sam take charge and he shows that he trusts him and believes in him. He knows he can handle it.

Sometimes it’s not even a character growth thing. Sometimes having other people there stops you from making destructive choices even though that’s still your first instinct. I’m thinking specifically of 13x21 after Sam was killed. Dean would have run headlong into that nest of vampires and got himself torn apart, but Cas was there to stop him. He was able to make him see reason.

Basically, I think that for a long time, they thought the only relationship they could have was each other, which then became a self-fulfilling prophecy because their desperate attempts to keep each other around led to them losing the people around them. They eventually started to learn that that wasn’t true, they could have more, they were allowed to want more, and that it wasn’t an either-or situation. Dean didn’t have to choose between Sam and Cas. They didn’t have to choose between each other or Jack. The same goes for Mary. Different relationships can coexist without threatening each other, and not say that their relationship in s12-15 was all smooth sailing, but it was certainly so very different from everything that came before.

(There’s maybe a point to be made about how they didn’t have anyone or anything in the finale and how that relates to the story we got, but honestly I have no idea what the intention was with any of the choices made in that episode so I’ll leave it at that for now.)

#asks #winchester brothers #my spn thoughts #long post for ts #Anonymous #spn meta

[phynali]

another post about the secret good supernatural that lives in my brain

where’s that interview or convention quote from mark sheppard about how he wishes Rowena had been Crowley’s ex-wife instead of mother?

i absolutely love Rowena and Ruth O’Connell did an incredible and fantastic job with bringing her to life, but i do feel like that’s the world’s most Valid critique. 

and i kind of get that the show’s later seasons really like to dabble in the parenthood narratives, with Rowena, with Mary, with the Jack storyline, with Lebanon. what does it mean to be a mother/father/parent, and how do we do the best by our kids? what happens when we fuck up? what happens when we’re selfish? how do experience being a person and a parent when those are in conflict?

but i don’t see how making rowena into crowley’s mother really added to any of those conversations, tbh. 

if anything, them as exes would give a lot more weight to her, y’know, killing her (other) son at the end of s10. obviously she’s got this “i hate that i can’t hate you i hate that i love you” maternal thing with crowley but what if she was killing her son and crowley was thinking about the kid crowley had all those years ago who also gets resurrected when rowena is around and who crowley has to let go of, right? i mean what if that was both their kid? what if they had to mutually watch him die? what if that’s why they hated each other in the first place? what if crowley made that stupid childish deal he did just to punish himself for rowena leaving him after their son died and he blamed himself and meanwhile rowena went and got herself invested in witchcraft in a vain and failed attempt to bring their kid back and everything about them went to shit - 

god, i want this so badly now?

and i see why they might not have wanted to reduce all their stories to siblings or lovers, why other dynamics keep things fresh, but i think exes who still get along but also can’t stand one another but also love one another but are never, ever getting back together and that’s for the best but also if you lay a finger on him i’ll kill you only i get to kill him - 

well i just think that’s a bit more interesting than what we got? especially with lucifer thrown in the mix and the obvious infidelity feelings. right now lucifer and rowena reads as abusive romance but they didn’t lean into any paternal dynamic between lucifer and crowley, like it’s just pure debasement on an equal level, and they obviously just did not know or were too afraid to tap the very disturbing familial parallels they could have setup there so why even paint themselves into that corner? 

why not setup lucifer and crowley as romantic rivals, neither of whom actually want rowena or a relationship but both of whom play tug-of-war with the loyalty and allegiance of women because they’re awful people (devils, literally) and why not have rowena’s narrative involve rejecting all of that bullshit and overcoming the inherent misogyny. not to say there’s not some of that in her maternal storyline as well but it’s - empty? in comparison (by which i mean delivery). and much better explored with mary in s12.

and the samwena vibes would be so fascinating!! if rowena was crowley’s ex the show might have actually dug into crowley and sam’s super interesting and massively under-explored dynamic because the weird jealousy and territorialness would be so goddamn fun!! 

“no i don’t want to be with her but no she is not allowed to flirt with you what the hell do you mean you’re the one destined to kill her oh fucking no you aren’t that is my job she broke my heart and i am the king of hell, not you mr boy-fucking-king-who-abdicated so you will pry the right to kill her from my cold dead demon hands i will save her life just so you don’t get to kill her you bastard - “

come on! 

right now samwena and crowley was super under-explored as it is, and at minimum we 150% deserved crowley being cheeky with sam for having chemistry with his mother and sam being a little flustered/unsure how to respond while inevitably sassing crowley back. please. it would be so weird. you cannot convince me that the crowley we know and love wouldn’t have deliberately flirted with mary just to see sam’s eye twitch and for dean to break a tooth by tensing his jaw too hard. i mean it wouldn’t work because mary hates demons almost as much as sam but it would be in character and it would delight me, personally.

anyway i also saw someone else comment that when rowena was introduced the witchcraft in the show went from super fucking dark (how it was introduced to the show in kripke era, then left mostly untouched in s6-9) to pretty purple sparkles and tbh that’s so true and also dull? like rowena was legit introduced in the process of reading a book and drinking tea (or wine?) while two guys bled out slowly on her ceiling held up by her dark af magic and by the end she’s just ...  doing spells that sam and dean have no moral compunctions about using? dabb do you know what horror is as a genre why did you change the genre of this show in its final 3 seasons? why did we not get to retain the dark and demonic aspects of witchcraft? 

i am so disappointed at how they watered down so many different things with rowena and final note she absolutely should have fucked sam literally any other character behind the bookstacks except gabriel omg.

#rowena mcleod #rowena #spn #spn crit #i guess #supernatural #rowena my beloved #ngl i *do* like the very deliberate mom-milf energy ruth brought to rowena #but i don't see why would wouldn't be able to keep that energy #supernatural critical #canon critical #but also like #secret good supernatural #that lives in my brain #and on hbo in my brain #like they do this slight hint at oedipal complex stuff but they are way too afraid to go near it #meanwhile in s4 dean literally called his mother hot and his mother literally kissed her own father to seal a demon deal #the narrative cowardice of the later seasons is honestly the worst part about them #like yes there is inconsistent storytelling and the themes don't come through and there's maybe a lack of leadership/vision #but more than anything the show lost its fucking *teeth* #i get you love these characters and that makes your writing for them all a bit softer #but get yourself someone on the team who forces you to bring in an edge and push the stories a bit #phyn rambles in the tags #phyn rambles

[quillyfied]

Acknowledging that Good Omens was written by an atheist man and a Jewish man and hung on a culturally Christian framework, and that I’m coming to it as a strugglingly religious but very spiritual Christian woman, there is a…thought…brewing, about the idea of scripture and the book The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch and the concept of a character living their entire life dedicated to the study and interpretation and even practice that the book encapsulates and represents, and the final message when more of that brand of book becomes available being “this character should be free to make her own choices in life based on her own judgement and takes back her own agency by burning the new book of prophecies”.

[[MORE]]

Because…as far as we know, Agnes Nutter wasn’t a pendulum-and-auras kind of witch. She was a woman with singular gift at looking through a cosmic peephole and writing down what glimpses she saw, and by the time we get to Anathema, witchcraft meant something completely else, and Anathema (so far) doesn’t HAVE that particular gift. She doesn’t need it—she has the family Bible, which guides and directs her, and the traditions and practices that her family picked up along the way are, from what we can see as the audience, not referred to at all in the book but integral to Anathema’s family life (as evidenced in the show by Anathema’s mother asking if she’d used her pendulum yet and Anathema groaning and saying she wasn’t a kid, of course she had). Agnes never says Anathema saves the world—Anathema’s family assumes it, in the generations of Devices that came later and added their two cents and their interpretations to the bare text of Agnes’ predictions. Anathema DOES help save the world, in several indirect ways, but none of them were prophesied about specifically, they were choices Anathema herself made. She chose to share the New Aquarian magazines and be kind and encouraging to Adam, she chose to goad Newt into using his catastrophic luck with electronics to disable nuclear Armageddon, she chose to let herself be driven home by a couple of weirdos in a vintage car and thus accidentally left her book behind to fall into the clutches of an angel who would just happen to be able to work it all out and get himself and his demonic counterpart to the airfield. All Agnes helped her do was get into position to where Armageddon truly was, and put her in a position to influence both the Antichrist and the Techless Wonder.

Speaking of Newton, his role both in Armageddon and in Anathema’s life as the one who against all outward appearances actually asks the questions and doubts the Device family Bible is also interesting, because his disbelief in the accuracy of a long-dead witch’s predictions and his incredulity at Anathema being completely guided by them is the perfect “skeptic vs believer” dynamic around which a lot of the underlying tension of Good Omens hinges, both between characters and within singular characters themselves. It’s the delicious dichotomy of Crowley the skeptic and Aziraphale the believer, and also Crowley as both skeptic and believer and Aziraphale as both skeptic and believer. It’s the line that Adam Young walks, whether to believe in a better future or to destroy everything now in skeptical fury, or whether to be skeptical of his own role and reject it versus believing the voices in his head and giving in. Belief and skepticism go hand in hand, inseparable, in Good Omens, in many different ways and permutations. What I find interesting is how this balance manifests and grows in Anathema, where she begins never doubting Agnes to ending up burning her second book of prophecies. About the beauty of taking Word of God as Anathema knew it and deciding she was better off NOT putting that expectation on herself again, on future generations of Devices.

Good Omens is very anti-establishment in general, which is fantastic, please do question everything, but what it has done for me in examining my real-world faith and beliefs and questions is perhaps best left to another post, because my conclusion for myself is slightly different than the conclusion that is drawn in the story and I don’t need to air that kind of tension here. I just find it interesting how in the context of the story, even a book of completely true prophecies becomes something of a bludgeon and a burden that Anathema struggles under until given the push and pressure to question it herself, and once finding understanding, she outgrows it—the physical text, and the weight of the expectations that comes with it.

#good omens #the point is that scripture is what you make it I suppose #and that it’s still a damn good refreshing twist that the most ‘religious’ character is a WITCH #religious meaning following a set path as established by a book and the interpretations thereof #idk just a weird late night thought

[juicingbeetles]

The Ranger's Apprentice Holiday Special: Chapter Three!!! O, Holy Night, Gilan's for Jenny Pining (Halt's probably pining for Pauline too)

Everyone in Castle Redmont, from the visiting monarch to the orphans from the Ward, settled down in the great hall. At the far end of the room, a stage had been erected, festooned liberally with garlands. A hush fell over the crowd as George shuffled out onto the stage, tripping over a painted sheep.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” he said, staring over the crowd apprehensively. “It is my honor to present this year’s Nativity Play, performed by upstanding young members of the community.”

“This should be fun,” said King Duncan from where he was sitting on the dais of honor with Baron Arald, Lady Sandra, Cassandra, Pauline, and Sir Rodney.

“I’m sure,” Arald said. “Have some cookies?”

“Where’s Halt and Crowley?” Pauline asked, looking around with an odd expression on her face.

“I’m not sure,” Arald replied.

“Be quiet, everyone,” Cassandra whispered. “The show is starting.”

George retreated, relieved that his part was done but very, very, nervous. Jenny walked out from the wings, wearing one of Alyss’s white Courier dresses and a blue shawl.

“Isn’t she adorable?” Sandra whispered.

“HAIL MARY!” Gilan leaped out onto the stage, brandishing his sword, wearing a nightshirt and a pair of enormous wings. The entire crowd jumped in their seats.

Jenny screamed, “Oh, what is this? A beautiful angel, visiting me?”

“Be not afraid,” Gilan said, smiling down at her beatifically and preening his wings slightly. “The Lord is with you. He has chosen you to bear His Son.”

“But how can this be?” Jenny asked, brushing her shawl out of her face. “I am a virgin.”

“Don’t worry,” Gilan said. There was a pause. Gilan glanced at Jenny nervously. “I forgot my line,” he whispered.

“You silly boy,” Jenny giggled, then composed herself. “I am the Lord’s servant.”

The scene ended. “Mary made the incredible desserts,” Arald said. “I mean, Jenny did.”

“She’s better at baking than acting,” Cassandra said.

“Quiet,” Duncan said, enjoying a ginger snap.

Will, swathed in Arald’s hunting cloak - “I wondered where that got to,” Arald mused - lay on the ground, snoring as convincingly as he could. Gilan leaped onto the stage, trying to flutter his wings.

“Joseph,” he said, “Don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife even though she’s pregnant. She is carrying the Lord’s child. You will call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

Will sat up. “Wow, I dreamed about an angel,” he said, rubbing his eyes.

“Don’t ad lib like that,” George moaned from offstage.

The scene changed again. Will hoisted Jenny up onto Tug who was wearing large ears meant to make him look more donkey-like. He led them across the stage. “To Bethlehem,” he said.

“Hold your applause until the end,” Tug said, looking very smug to Will.

“Show off,” he muttered.

“I think Will’s talking to his horse again,” said Cassandra.

Gilan stepped onto the stage as the couple settled themselves at the manger. “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and laid him in a manger, for there was no room for them at the inn.”

“That’s the most disgraceful part of the story,” Sandra told her husband disapprovingly. “Arald, never turn away a pregnant woman.”

“You know I wouldn’t, my love!” Arald said, alarmed.

Alyss and Horace entered, wearing Gilan and Will’s ranger cloaks and sheepskins, holding sticks. They sat down with several flat, wooden sheep.

Gilan reappeared, waving his sword wildly. Alyss gasped, her hand to her mouth. Horace screamed, causing Sir Rodney to put his fingers in his ears.

“The boy’s got pipes,” he said, checking to make sure his ears weren’t bleeding.

“Be not afraid,” Gilan boomed, looming over the two shepherds like a tall, white-clothed bird of doom. “For behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people, for unto you is born this day, in the City of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign unto you…” he paused, drawing a blank. He glanced over to Jenny. “You will find…a very pretty girl…with a baby…in a manger. Yeah. Now go!”

At this, he waved his sword dangerously close to Horace’s nose, who screamed again. Gilan roared with what could be called a singing voice: “Glooooooooooooooooooooria, in excelsis Deo!!!! then pirouetted off the stage, tripping over his robe.

“Why did I cast him?” George cried, from the wings where he had been watching in horror. “Why?”

Alyss leaped up. “Let us go to Bethlehem, and find the child the angel has told us about!” she said, tugging at Horace’s hand.

“She’s so talented,” Pauline said, smiling proudly.

“Let’s go!” said Horace, waving his hands in what he thought must be a theatrical gesture. The two of them hurried over to where Will and Jenny were sitting with one of the Ward girl’s dolls, wrapped up. They bowed reverently.

“Is it over?” Duncan asked, then realized that the company was singing, Will whipping out his mandola and strumming a tune. Gilan reappeared on the stage to loom over the manger, his sword raised rather menacingly, Arald thought.

“Silent night, holy, night,” he warbled.

“All is calm, all is bright,” Alyss sang, gazing in wonder upon the scene.

“Round yon virgin, mother and child,” Jenny trilled, cradling the baby Jesus with maternal affection.

“Holy infant, so tender and mild,” Horace sang, in a surprisingly pleasing tenor.

“Sleep in heavenly peace,” Will chimed in, strumming his mandola with rather more gusto than was necessary for Silent Night.

“Sleep in heavenly peace,” boomed Gilan, drowning everyone out.

Everyone bowed. Arald and Sandra leaped to their feet, clapping profusely. “Bravo, Bravo!” Arald shouted.

“What a charming production,” Pauline said, standing as well.

“Horace and Will did amazing!” Cassandra said. “Especially Horace.”

“What a talented horse!” Duncan said enthusiastically. He played the role of a donkey flawlessly.”

The king himself acknowledges my talent, Tug told Will. I expect many apples of appreciation.

“You’ll get your apples,” Will said, pulling off his horse’s ears.

“Good show, everyone,” George said weakly, stumbling off and downing a cup of hot chocolate from the snack table.

Gilan took Jenny’s hand. “You were radiant!” he said. Jenny beamed.

Will looked around. “Where’s Halt?” he asked anxiously. He had hoped that his mentor would be there, but maybe he had stayed away like he had all week.

“I suppose he didn’t come,” Pauline said, from where she was standing with Alyss. “He doesn’t like Christmas much since…” she sounded distant.

“Clear the way, clear the way, Rangers coming through,” called Crowley, moving through the crowd, Halt behind him.

“You did come!” Will said gleefully. “Did you like the show?”

“It certainly…was a show,” Halt said, looking like he was restraining many, many words.

“Performance of the century!” Crowley enthused, slapping Gilan on the back. “I didn’t know you boys were performers.”

“Well, George needed somebody,” Will said bashfully.

“You were amazing, Horace,” Cassandra told the tall knight. He shrugged, noticing that the princess’ eyes were glowing in a way he had never seen them before. “I could never be on stage like that.”

“If I’m being honest,” Horace said, relaxing now that everything was over, “I didn’t like doing it much. It was a bit intimidating.”

“I completely understand,” she said, smiling. “But considering that, it was great that you stepped in to help!”

Horace felt warm and contented inside, like he had just eaten a wonderful meal.

#And that's chapter 4!!! #maybe a few more chapters for that sweet #sweet christmas magic #this fic is awash with ships huh #ah well #ranger's apprentice #rangers apprentice #rangers holiday special

[itmighthavebeenintentional]

We've Got Tonight - Ch 4

Summary: “It’s not your job to do this, Andy. You make people happy. I was in the diner all of ten minutes, and you knew exactly how to get me to smile. You do normal, real things like garden and sing karaoke. Saving the world is my job, Sam’s job. Sometimes it’s even Cas’s job, but it’s not yours.”

Inspired by Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight”

Warnings: Major Character Death, More Major Character Deaths (sort of?), higher than show level violence, blood, light smutting, language, demons, apocalypse, inferred suicide, cult activity.

18+ ONLY, MINORS DO NOT PROCEED

Author’s Note: This story is set hazily around season 8. Just squint a little, and it’ll settle in somewhere. I wrote this story after certain big revelations in the show, but before other big ones; you’ll most likely be able to tell which. I play with time a bit in the story itself, so if things seem out of order, they are. Hopefully, by the end, all the pieces will fit together.

What the hell, let’s give it a shot.

EXTRA WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS THE SOURCE OF MOST OF THE WARNINGS FOR THE STORY. Please don't kill me. THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER, I PROMISE. It's not over yet. I can't promise you won't hate me when it's over, but I will not leave you here. There's more.

Image and major edits by the incomparable @there-must-be-a-lock . Heavy editing and cheering by @thoughtslikeaminefield . Thank you both so much.

In case you missed it: Chapter 3 ItMightHaveBeenintentional’s Masterlist

...

We’ve Got Tonight

Ch 4

Pre-dawn is too damn cold, she decides. She has to visually check that her fingers are actually doing up the buttons to her ragged denim jacket. She lost sensation in her hands a while back, and it’s the only way to make sure they’re actually doing their job. Her jacket is utterly unsuitable for the current temperature, but she doesn’t expect to need it for much longer.

Just before sunrise, Crowley told her.

The sky is already lightening on the horizon, the medium gray more obvious than she would have thought against the stark black, but, then, she’s never had much occasion to be out quite this late before. She’s usually done at the diner by six, singing at the club by ten, and in bed by two at the latest. She hopes Crowley is punctual. She can’t decide if the waiting or the cold is worse.

Except that, yes, she really can. The waiting is definitely worse.

The sound of shifting gravel pulls her out of her thoughts, and she turns to find the King of Hell himself smiling beatifically at her. She shivers, not bothering to search out the source of her discomfort, as she is rather spoiled for choice at the moment. She’s out in the freezing dark, about to hand over her life and soul to a demon because deranged cultists got it into their heads that they should use her blood to start an apocalypse (and who knew there was more than one of those outside of Sunnydale, seriously).

Shivering is probably the most rational reaction she’s had in a while.

“Hello, darling. Pleasant evening with the boys?”

He’s got more sass in one off-the cuff remark than she has in her entire history, and for a moment she can only marvel at the affected innocence in his expression. It's almost convincing. She opts to remain silent rather than take his bait. He smirks, the expression natural and only a touch derisive.

“No surprises, then? No sidekicks to save you at the last minute from the bad, bad demon?”

“I thought the torture didn’t start until after you kill me,” she sighs, hugging her arms tighter around herself, a futile attempt to ward off the chill. Maybe she’s got a little spark in her, after all. He laughs, a friendly, personable chuckle that would set anyone else at ease, reassure them of his honorable, benign intentions.

“Come on, Crowley, what's the hold up? I was here on time. Can we just get this over with already? I could have gotten one more round in with Dean if we were just going to stand around, shootin’ the breeze.”

Even watching for it, she can only just see the tick in Crowley's jaw, the slightest tension that betrays...something. She doesn't know what or why, but Crowley has more than a little unhealthy obsession with the elder Winchester brother, and she is pleased she managed to crack his veneer even for the briefest moment.

At least I don't have to worry about Dean, Andy thinks, relief creeping into the sea of dread that is her stomach. Her deal with Crowley was not only about stopping the apocalypse but also keeping Sam and Dean and even Castiel safe.

“Once you're gone, I won’t harm a hair on their precious heads, nor any other part of them,” he swore to her a mere eighteen hours earlier.

“I’m hurt you don't find my company more pleasant, love,” he murmurs, taking a couple of steps closer. He slides his hands in his coat pockets, the very picture of nonchalance. “I do try my best to be cordial, even congenial, after all. But since you’re so very uncomfortable, I suppose you won't object, then, that I took the liberty of inviting a few friends whose company you seem to prefer. What a lovely party we’ll have when they get here.”

As if he’s summoned them, a pair of lights appear in the distance, growing larger with every passing moment. Headlights, she realizes; a second later, she hears the distinctive roaring of a very particular car engine, and before she can turn back to Crowley, the Impala leaps out of the darkness, skidding across the hard-packed dirt road, coming to a halt bare inches from the demon’s impeccably shined shoes.

Andy stumbles back, choking in the cloud of dust the car kicks up, only to hit something solid. Impossibly strong fingers dig into her chin, lifting her face out and away as cold, thin metal is pressed to the side of her neck, and only now does she freeze.

“Let her go, Crowley,” Dean growls, his gun drawn and aimed even before he exits the car. “This isn't her fight, and you know it!” On the other side, Sam and Castiel climb out, Sam drawing his gun and moving to flank the demon.

“I do heartily protest, sir,” Crowley says, his tone mild and conversational. The blade digs in ever so slightly under her ear, and a thin trickle of warmth slides down her skin to soak into her collar. Dean doesn't flinch, but his eyes narrow, and he readjusts his aim.

“Not only is the lady at the epicenter of this fight, she's gone and made herself the brightest star in the show. Ask her yourself, if you don’t believe me.”

“How-” she manages through fear-numbed vocal cords. Dean should be unconscious, snoring blissfully away in his bed where she left him. She made sure to leave no sort of trail they could follow, and she checked that they were all asleep or otherwise occupied before she took off.

“I wasn’t asleep, Andy,” Dean replies, leveling his gun at Crowley. “And I’ve been tracking since I was seven. Gimme some credit.”

“I wouldn't do that, if I were you, Moose.” Crowley’s words freeze Sam in his tracks, and the blade on Andy’s neck digs in a little deeper. The flow of warmth down her neck widens just a touch. The sheer smugness in Crowley’s tone sets her teeth on edge, breaking through her stupor, and she grabs the hand with the knife, pulling at it with all her might. She, of course, doesn’t make a dent in the demonic strength, but she’s got to try something.

If you asked her later, Andy would swear to you that the searing pain that drags along her neck parallel to her jaw line right then is pure Hellfire. Deep down in the darkest recesses of her mind where all the worst truths lurk, she knows she’s feeling the bite from Crowley’s knife, but in that instant all she is aware of is the agony of the wound, of Dean’s enraged roar, and the juxtaposition of Crowley’s gentle touch pressing her own fingers to something hot and slippery under her jaw.

“Hold pressure there, sweetheart, or you’ll bleed out too soon. Wouldn’t want you to miss the finale.”

Her knees buckle, and she drops, but somehow she stays upright long enough to see Crowley’s demons approach out of the darkness. She tries to warn the boys, but time moves with a dreamlike lethargy that betrays every one of her good intentions, and, anyway, her voice doesn’t seem to be working at the moment. The roar of gunfire all around her sounds faint in comparison to the rushing in her ears, and she is powerless to stop Crowley’s plans from reaching fruition.

“You...said...you wouldn’t...”

“Well, pet, you aren’t dead yet, are you? I’ve got, what, at least another three minutes before you snuff it, by my count. Plenty of time to conclude my business with the Winchesters and their featherbrained friend before you expire.”

Though he was right behind her only a moment ago, Crowley appears abruptly next to Castiel, who at the moment is distracted by two lesser demons both wielding machetes. She realizes as she watches Cas easily fend them off that they, just like Andy, are only a distraction, only bait to tempt the bigger players to overextend themselves.

Too late, she sees the perfection of Crowley’s plan. In all the confusion, she loses track of Sam, and she wrenches her eyes away from Dean’s staggering form only to watch as the angel blade in Crowley’s hand bursts through Castiel’s chest. Then her gentle, confused friend is gone in a flash. The demons vanish, and she can’t find Sam or Dean, can’t reach them, can’t make her voice work to call out.

The quiet is wrong, so out of place after the violent cacophony. The roaring is gone, the gunfire silenced, and all that’s left is a terrible wheezing, gurgling sound that takes her too long to recognize as her own labored breathing.

“Crow...ley…”

“I’m here, darling. What do you need?”

“Lying...bastard…”

“Now, now, sweetheart, are those really what you want your last words to be?” He lifts her easily from the ground, carrying her the few yards to where Dean lies sprawled in the dusty gravel. His shirt is stained black in the retreating darkness, and Andy can only be thankful that she won’t make it to sunrise to see what exact shade of red is spreading over him. Dean’s far hand scrabbles on the ground, stopping its frantic search only when it finds his brother’s.

Sam’s still form doesn’t return his brother’s grip.

“After all, I’ve done you a favor; I didn’t have to give you the opportunity to say good-bye. I can’t promise you adjoining cells, but I’m sure your torture will coincide with his occasionally,” Crowley continues conversationally, “so, really, the two of you should be thanking me that you’ll at least get occasional visiting privileges. It pays to be on good terms with the king, after all. And, who knows? After a couple hundred years of good behavior, I might even be persuaded to-”

“Why?” It’s all she can manage as he lays her on the ground. Dean reaches for her with his free hand, and she is just able to find his fingers. Their eyes meet, but her vision is blurring as breathing gets tougher, and she can’t see what he’s mouthing to her. Even his eyes, such a luminescent green only hours ago, are fading into the remaining dark of the night.

“The Winchesters, dear, it’s always been about the Winchesters. Oh, the fanatics and their doomsday ritual were real enough, as was your blood. I just simply took advantage of the situation, as any intelligent monarch would do. Settled things with the apocalypse groupies, rid myself of some major pains in my rear, and now I get you, to boot! I do love when a plan comes together.”

Dean’s fingers tighten in hers, and she tries to grip his back, but the harder she holds on, the less she can feel him.

She’s not really feeling much of anything but cold now.

“Shut...up...already.”

“Always ungrateful in the end, even after everything I do for them,” Crowley grumbles from above her. But then he does shut up, and she finally feels something besides the cold.

Relief. ...

Chapter 5

#spn fanfiction #spn fanfic #spn fic #spn #supernatural #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural fic #supernatural fanfic #dean winchester #sam winchester #original character #original female character #we've got tonight #more major character death (sorta) #major character deather #castiel #crowley #higher than show level violence #blood #inferred suicide #cult activity #apocalypse #demons #language #don't kill me #this one is tough #i swear this isn't the end #i don't like me right now either #they all deserve better #i'm just not the person to give it to them