Welcome to my thoughts

Melanie - Hey, was the Black Death caused by a Corruption Avatar, d’you think ?

Jon, not looking up from his book - We didn’t do everything, Mel. Sometimes shit just happens

Melanie, rolling her eyes - It’s a yes-or-no question. Not much of an Eye Avatar if you can’t answer that, are you ?

Jon - I am not going to dignify that with a response

Melanie - Anyways, I was just asking because I think the whole situation was really quite well-done

Tim - How morbid

Melanie, a little bit indignant - Oi, Slaughter Avatar, remember ? Anyways, so did they create the Black Death or no ?

Tim, squinting at her - Why are you asking me that ? D’you think I’m a Corruption Avatar or something ?

Melanie, deadpan - Yes

Tim, rolling his eyes - Fuck off

Jon, still not looking up from his book - Will you two pipe down over there ? I just got to a good part !!

Tim - He dies at the end

Jon, finally looking up to glare at him - I know, Timothy. I’m the fucking Eye Avatar, of course I know. But it’s not about the twist. It’s about the plot setups and executions, not -

Tim - The author’s a homophobe

Jon, throwing his book aside - Fuck you

Melanie - Will someone please answer my question ?

Tim - Oh, for the love of - fine !! (pulls out phone) Lemme just phone her real quick. I’m sure she’ll be glad to have her business interrupted by your inane questions !!

Jon- Who’s “her” ?

Melanie - What business ? Worm breeding ?

Jon - Wait, worm-breeding ? Tell me it isn’t-

Melanie, nodding soberly - Prentiss

Jon, indignant - Tim, do you have the fucking zombie on speed-dial ?

Tim, rolling her eyes -She’s a useful associate, alright ?

Jon - She’s a corpse !!

Desolation Avatar Tim headcanon -

After his brother died at the hands of the Circus, Tim was, naturally, hurt. One might even say, desolate. Predictably, said pain and emotional injury attracted the attention of none other than the Cult of the Lightless Flame, and Tim, desperate for anything that could let him revenge himself upon his brother’s killers, willingly accepted their influence, becoming an Avatar of the Desolation

But the Desolation has never been a benign force, even to its own followers. It’s a Fear, and it’s hungry. So it fed. Not just on the people Tim hurt, but on Tim’s own hurt. It gorged itself on the memories of his suffering, until one day, it just burned them clean away

Now, Tim can’t remember why he came to the Cult. He can’t remember why he hates the Circus. He can’t even remember what his brother looked like, sounded like. Hell, he can’t even remember that he had a brother

But he remembers the pain. He still mourns for a man he has no recollection of, he just doesn’t know why. He hurts and hurts, but without knowing why he’s hurting, he never heals. The pain never numbs

He is, now and forever, desolate

Sometimes I’ll just be having a bad day and then I remember that Mo Dao Zu Shi and The Magnus Archives, and all of a sudden, my day doesn’t seem so bad anymore

The Flesh is just constantly wobbling between trans and transphobic, huh

The Joel Gray Emcee and the newest Eddie Redmayne Emcee are just Stranger Avatars who manifested in Germany one day, feeding not only off the general fear of their uncanny, clownlike appearance, but also the rising fear of outsiders and aliens as the Nazis start building their strength

Love following the TMP tag as someone who hasn’t yet gotten around to watching it because WHAT THE HOLY FUCK is going on here

Michael Distortion has yaoi hands, which means that somewhere out in the world, there's a tiny femboy Avatar who was destined to pair up with him and now never will.

Maybe he's a Lonely Avatar.

So, I was thinking - it seems unfair that I just keep all info on my projects to myself up until release day, right ?

But also I can’t exactly start posting about all of them. That would be chaos

So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m gonna make a poll - where y’all can vote on which project I talk about first, or most

If there are any specific topics from my projects you would like to see info on, my inbox is open - plus, you can comment it below this post

And for those who don’t know, these are my projects -

1) Crimson Redux - a fully original story about a world where supernatural forces, dictated by the influences of three godlike (and mostly unknown) entities - Alexithymia, Dysthymia and Dysphoria. Follow James Barker, the son of a serial killer, as he tries his best to navigate his way through this world, dealing with love, loss and action as he does

2) Lion’s Mane (WIP title) - This is just a retelling of the story of Alexander the Great and his lover Hephaestion

3) Take My Heart - A modern AU, and supremely angsty Patrochilles fanfic where Achilles is the heir to a massive corporation dissatisfied with his life, and Patroclus is the indie musical artist whose videos he comes across one day

This is actually an excerpt from it

4) Tearing Tides - The story of an immortal, an ancient child of Scythia, blessed with immortality by the Gods, following him through the years as he meets with ancient historical figures and fellow demigods alike, until he makes his way to modern day. Technically a PJO fanfic

5) Avatar Crew - An AU of The Magnus Archives where Slaughter Avatar Melanie King, Spiral Avatar Michael Distortion, Desolation Avatar Tim Stoker, Eye Avatar Jonathan Sims, and Web Avatar Annabelle Cane all get together to form the one big Avatar family, each member helping the others to feed, with occasional intercessions from a similarly symbiotic Hunt Avatar Daisy Tonner and Flesh Avatar Jared Hopworth.

At least, right up until Jon has a change of heart and leaves the Crew for less bloodstained pastures, rooming with Lonely Avatar Martin Blackwood

6) Sunlit Prince (WIP title) - A VERY barebones project, but basically a retelling of the Iliad and the stories preceding it from the perspective of Hector of Troy

7) Vine-wrapped Gold (WIP title) - equally barebones project, but basically a retelling of the Epic of Gilgamesh

8) Silver-sheen Traitor (WIP title) - perhaps the most barebones out of them all, but a slightly modernized (and very gay) retelling of the Bible from Judas’ perspective

Now, I can’t in good faith offer to post about the last three projects (mostly because I’m still trying to figure out what to do with them, and if I should even try) so please don’t comment about them

ARCHIVIST

Statement of… no one ? Well, that’s rather interesting

MARTIN

What ? How’s that possible ?

ARCHIVIST

Says here these were found in books found abandoned in the woods. Now, doesn’t that sound familiar…

MARTIN

You think they might be Leitners ?

ARCHIVIST

Possible. Anyways, onwards. Statement of unidentified young woman, estimated to be a teenager based on her writing patterns, regarding incidents that took place in the town of Kurouzu, Japan. Or… does that say Uzumaki ?

MARTIN

Spiral ? You think…

ARCHIVIST

Even if it is, we have to record it, right ? Might as well get started. Here goes. Statement of unidentified young woman, estimated to be a teenager based on her writing patterns, regarding incidents that took place in the town of Kurouzu, Japan. Original statement given June 10th, 1999. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.

ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)

This is Kurozu-cho, where I grew up. I would like to share with you, the strange events that took place here…

————————————————————————

And in the sky, towering over us, was a vast… spiral.

ARCHIVIST

Statement ends

Well, that was… deeply upsetting. From the sounds of it, quite possibly every single Entity, save perhaps a few, decided to gang up on this one town. That’s… distressing

MARTIN

What on Earth did Japan ever do to the Entities ?

ARCHIVIST

The lighthouse was clearly the work of The Desolation, and the whole… spiral thing (shudders) was doubtless The… well, Spiral’s work, but…

MARTIN

But ?

ARCHIVIST

How do you classify vampire babies ?

MARTIN

I was under the impression that they were vampire fetuses, actually

ARCHIVIST

Yes, Martin, I’m sure that makes all the difference in the world. Now, how on Earth do I classify vampire fetuses ?

MARTIN

I rather think it… defies classification by its nature, doesn’t it ? It’s definitely Spiral-aligned, after all. Isn’t that the Spiral’s whole… well, thing ?

ARCHIVIST

I suppose so (grumbles) The next time I see Michael, I am punching him in the face…

MARTIN

Maybe it’s just a misidentified Leitner and none of it ever happened ? (shrug) Who knows ?

ARCHIVIST

God I hope so

ARCHIVIST

“Statement of Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven… Way (muttered “God, these newfangled names), regarding her encounter with… sorry does that say Vampire ?

…well, I suppose we do have statements from vampire hunters on reco- what do you mean his name’s Vampire? What kind of -

Nope. Not going to question it

Anyways, Statement of Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way, regarding her encounter with Vampire. Original statement given August 18th, 2024. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London.

EBONY (in a distorted voice, clearly hiding a laugh):

Hi my name is Ebony Dark’ness Dementia Raven Way and I have long ebony black hair (that’s how I got my name) with purple streaks and red tips that reaches my mid-back and icy blue eyes like limpid tears and a lot of people tell me I look like Amy Lee (AN: if u don’t know who she is get da hell out of here!). I’m not related to Gerard Way but I wish I was because he’s a major fucking hottie. I’m a vampire but my teeth are straight and white. I have pale white-

ARCHIVIST:

Your hair isn’t black, though?

EBONY

OMG, you’re like, such a nerd. Who cares ?

ARCHIVIST

We do, we’re a goddamn arc- did you just pronounce Oh My God as O-M-G ? What’s wrong with -

EBONY (rolling eyes)

I’m also a witch, and I go to a magic school called Hogwarts in England where I’m in the seventh year -

ARCHIVIST

…Michael, you motherfucker

EBONY/MICHAEL (cackling)

Archivist, you have to admit, the expression on your face alone made that worth it

ARCHIVIST

Do you enjoy making my life difficult?

MICHAEL (grinning)

Oh, immensely

ARCHIVIST

Figured

Thinking about how no one really knows what happened between Jon and Martin in the end, as they stood in the Panopticon

Think about how no one was there to bear witness to their (potential) final moments alive, how very few people remember them (guessing, haven’t watched Protocol yet)

How their final moments were spent free of the Eye, not just the Fear Entity, but also from any eyes save theirs, including ours

Thinking about how, after everything he went through, Jon did indeed become “another goddamn mystery”

And how, after saying “I may not entirely trust my assistants but I won’t lose them”, he ended up doing both, trusting them… and losing them

The Stranger -

When you were a child, you were fond of dolls. You loved playing with them. Now, the thought makes you roll your eyes. You insist that’s not you anymore, that you’re mature now, grown up and elegant

But it was you, once upon a time. You stare in the mirror and you can’t recognise the face that stares back. It’s too lanky, too pale, too sad. The smile wrinkles have all but faded, leaving behind a mask sullen and sulky.

Your skin feels unnatural on your flesh, and you can’t quite remember it ever feeling good. You smile all wrong now, but you don’t know what right even is anymore

You take personality quizzes to find out who you are, but you can’t quite seem to understand ? INFP one tells you and another INTJ. A fourth calls you a Slytherin and a fifth tells you that your spirit animal is a rabbit

You’re scared, but you don’t know of what. You feel like crying, but you don’t know why. You’re not you, anymore, and you’re not quite sure what you’ve become

One day, you come to your mother, and beg her to tell you who- what - you are

She smiled genially, and says “That’s just what it means to grow up”

The Stranger -

You know your mother doesn’t smile like that. Her face has never been so waxen. Her eyes are glassy and empty. Her skin fits loosely on her face, like a mask of human skin draped over the featureless head of a shapeless mannequin

You know her voice doesn’t quite sound like that, but you can’t remember what it DOES sound like. It sounds the way metal tastes, rust stabbing into your tongue, bitter and unnatural and oh-so-strange

Your father seems distant, ever since your mother returned from her walk in the jungle. He looks at her with a strange fear, like he’s looking at a stranger that’s broken into his home

She doesn’t sleep. Before she changed, you had spent nearly every night in her bed, too afraid to sleep alone. This time, when you went to visit her, you found her lying in bed, back rigid and straight, eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling, that waxy, mannequin smile still affixed to her face

You sleep alone now. It’s still scary, but it’s better than that

She smiles too much now. She hums, too, strange, calliope-like tunes that swoops and rises with a pulsing, off-tune beat, resonating off your very ribs

There’s a family in your driveway. They have a child with them. It looks like you. It isn’t you. Your father is there, but he’s also standing beside you, eyes wide with terror.

The only one missing is your mother

There’s music in the forest. There’s songs and circuses and clowns

You don’t remember who you are, anymore. You don’t remember if you even are anything, anymore. Your face is not your own. Your skin is not your own.

And you can’t stop smiling

Part 1 of my “Art Inspired By The Entities” series, and we have the End, ft : my shitty art skills