For all you shatter is our seeming, And in breaking we are free

I am in bits. I'm in pieces. Shit.

I saw a random fanvid during the week, and on the strength of it I decided to watch through a Chinese historical drama, set in 4th century Southern Liang, called Lang Ya Bang/Nirvana in Fire. 54 episodes, 36 hours worth of show, and I've watched it all at once over the past ... I don't know, five or six days?

I am in pieces.

I just finished the last episode a few minutes ago. This is the first C-drama I've ever really watched, and I think I must have gotten a good one. That was probably one of the most emotionally intense rides I've ever gotten out of a show. Ever. At all. Some of that is probably a result of watching it all at once, some of it is probably because I'm a little emotional at the minute now anyway, but mostly ... mostly I think it was just fucking good. This last episode, the finale, about snapped me in half. I am in bits. I just am.

I'm trying not to spoil anything here. This is not a show that should be spoiled. I'm trying to keep this vague, but a couple of details may slip in. Just ... I'm not thinking entirely sensibly at the minute.

*tilts head* This is going from a comment I saw somewhere, which has a point, I think.

I'm trying to think of supernatural or horror shows that kept up a sustained creepy/eerie/tense vibe throughout. Not blood, gore, or action. Just slow, seeping horror (maybe interspersed with the others).

Of the ones I've seen, I'm actually coming up with very few:

There's the cancelled show Miracles, which had a very low key, pragmatic horror seeping through it (amid sorta more cheerful episodes).

There's Carnivale, which I only saw part of, but appeared to be superbly creepy even while we're heading for apocalypse (could have been the Dust Bowl, Depression vibe had a strong hand in that, too).

There's two anime series, Mushishi and Mononoke, both of which feature a mysterious protagonist drifting through the world dealing with supernatural beings (and both of which I adore). Of those, I think Mononoke gets the edge on creepiness, despite it being far more actiony, while Mushishi was more drifting and calm. That could just be because the Zashiki-warashi arc of Mononoke sorta horrified me, though. *smiles faintly*

There's also the anime series Ghost Hunt, which could be a bit hit and miss, but the "Doll House" and "Forbidden Pastime" arcs were pretty creepy, "Silent Christmas" was kinda heartbreaking, and "The Bloodstained Labyrinth" was freaking scary.

Arguably, there's also the first two seasons of Supernatural, back when the YED was a distant, terrifying figure, and most of the villains were ghosts and other single monsters. There were some fabulous creepy episodes back before the overarching plot took real hold (and some after, too, but they sort of weren't the point anymore then).

*muses* I also remember Kingdom Hospital being quite creepy, but it's been a while since I've seen it, so I'm not sure anymore.

On the sci-fi end, both The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits tended towards creepy and slow-building suspense a surprising amount of the time. Then again, they were anthology shows, and could afford to.

ETA: My Dad wishes to remind me that, if we're mentioning really, really creepy sci-fi, I've been remiss in not mentioning Sapphire & Steel. He is, of course, entirely correct (Assignments 1-4 in particular).

Speaking of anthology shows, on the more kiddy end, there was the surprisingly good Are You Afraid Of The Dark?, which I did, in fact, watch when I was a kid, and remember having the pants scared off me a number of times (then again, I was a jumpy kid).

There's also the (not anthology) show Millennium, which I've seen a few episodes of, but I'm not sure if it's meant to be supernatural or just straight up crime yet. Mind you, it's pretty creepy either way.

And ... after that, I'm sort of coming up blank. I mean, I can think of any number of movies or books that creeped me the hell out, but suspense and atmosphere are easier to maintain over the course of single stories. A series has to hold it longer, and I don't think it works, a lot of the time. Could be wrong, though.

Can anyone else think of others? I'm not looking for action or angst. I'm looking for creepy, or eerie on the calmer end, and holding it relatively successfully. (Bascially, think ghost story more than vampire slayer).

And yes, I am looking for recs. *grins faintly*

Meme result, for sablin27, who wanted something from Carogne. This sort of turned into ... a kind of smushing of both her prompts, in a weird way. From this meme.

Title: Old Games
Rating: R
Universe: Carogne
Continuity: set two weeks after Ghosts
Characters: Sebastien, Stefan, mention of the General and Jan
Summary: The past crawling forward. What does the General's son want?
Wordcount: 2386
Warnings: Dark, very dark things. Past torture, among others
Claimer: Mine

It was meant to be part of a chapter, but it's 3400 words standing alone, so I figured best leave it as an interlude instead -_-; This conversation has been in the works roughly since Operation Apocalypse, and it just ... seemed to fit here? Dean/Cas have been owed an interlude for a while.

Title:  Conversation
Rating:  PG-13
Fandoms:  Supernatural, Good Omens
Continuity:  Set immediately following Trust
Characters/Pairings:  Dean and Castiel, primarily, mention of everyone else. Dean/Cas.
Summary:  Two weeks is a long time to be afraid, and Cas just lost all patience
Wordcount:  3403
Warnings/Spoilers:  References back to 4x16 in partic. Dean is ... not a healthy bunny, this one.
Disclaimer:  Still no, unfortunately

Look, before anyone asks, I don't even know, alright? I have no idea where this one came from, or why it chose now. *shrugs sheepishly* Also? I seriously want to adopt Jormungandr. I really, really do.

Title: Win, Lose, or Draw
Rating: PG-13
Fandoms: Supernatural, Norse Myth
Continuity: Set a couple of hours after the end of Running Games
Characters/Pairings: Gabriel, Jormungandr, Loki, Castiel, Fenrir. Gabriel/Loki
Summary: Okay, so the game didn't quite go exactly as planned ... Gabriel has a number of panic-attacks, and Castiel meets another of Loki's sons
Wordcount: 4111
Warnings/Spoilers: Post 5x22 again. Also, I feel I should warn for something regarding Gabriel and Jor, and the tongue, but ... I'm afraid I don't quite know how. *sheepish*
Disclaimer: So very much not mine

Part of the Grace Trilogy. A heavily edited and reworked version of a scene that was cut from Bond. Namely, the actual bonding scene -_-;

Title:  Healing
Rating:  PG-13
Fandom:  Supernatural
Continuity:  Set in the middle of Bond
Characters/Pairings:  Gabriel, Castiel, Dean, Sam. Shades of OT4, possibly, in whatever combination you want, but gen
Summary:  The forging of the bond
Wordcount:  2119 (which would have bumped Bond up to somewhere around 6500, had it been left in -_-;
Warnings: Bonding. Possibly mild hystrionics.
Disclaimer: Not mine

Because Odin had to find out some time. Can't hide from the All-father, particularly if you're going around freeing his enemies. He takes a dim view of that. This was going to be one of the prompt-ficlets, but those have a 1000 word upper limit, and this went just under double that, so ... Here we are. *shrugs*

Title:  Foreboding
Rating:  PG-13
Fandoms:  Supernatural, Norse Myth
Continuity:  Follows just after these ficlets, still well before Weregild
Characters/Pairings:  Gabriel/Loki, Odin, Huginn and Muninn. Mention of Hel, Fenrir and Sleipnir.
Summary:  Setting yourself against Odin All-father is at best a dangerous propostion, at worst a very, very bad mistake. Then again, neither Gabriel nor Loki are exactly harmless themselves.
Wordcount:  1995
Disclaimer:  Not mine
Warnings: Norse myths had a tendency to be ... gloomy. Um. Following that trend here, a little.

Alright. So I borrowed a prompt list, because it caught my eye. I'm still up in the air about actually taking on the challenge, because I'm so bad at those things it's not even funny, but I did the first five drabbles off the list anyway. Just to see. Slightly out of order, too.

Um. Tell me if you think I should sign up for the full challenge, and try the full thirty?

Title(s): Tell, Inhale, Lurk, Scrub, Regret
Ratings: Nothing above PG-13, I think. 'Scrub' might be a little risque
Fandoms: Supernatural/Norse Myth
Continuity: In my head, these are more or less prequels to Weregild and Running Games
Characters/Pairings: Gabriel, Loki, Hel, Fenris, Jormungandr. Gabriel/Loki
Summary: Gabriel from immediately on leaving Heaven through the early years as a Trickster and part of Loki's family
Wordcount: 1073 for the five
Disclaimer: Not mine



　

　

　

　

I believe I promised a Gabriel/Sam interlude something like eight chapters ago? They wouldn't fit until now, for some reason. But here we are.

Title:  Gabriel
Rating:  PG-13
Fandoms:  Good Omens, Supernatural
Continuity:  Set just after The Second Plan
Characters/Pairings:  Gabriel, Sam, mention of everyone else. Gabriel/Sam
Summary:  A long overdue talk, an archangel's faith, and wings
Wordcount:  3160
Warnings/Spoilers:  Mention of nasty things during the First War, and Gabriel's wings. Heavy references to SPN ep 'Mystery Spot' (3x16? I think?)
Disclaimer:  Not mine

Some light, soft angst, I think

Title:  Interludes
Rating:  PG-13
Fandoms:  Good Omens
Continuity:  Follows on from Home
Characters/Pairings:  Bobby, Castiel, Crowley, Aziraphale, Gabriel. Sam and Dean too, but they're taking their turn to be unconscious this chapter. Aziraphale/Crowley, Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel, mentions Bobby/Karen (his wife) and Crowley/female!serpent
Summary:  The angels (and demon) get themselves sorted out while the boys rest and Bobby looks on in bemusement
Wordcount:  4950
Warnings/Notes:  Crowley did more things in the Garden than tempt humans with apples, I warn you. Also, I tried to reconciles GO recorporations and SPN possessions, possibly badly. Just so you know
Disclaimer:  None of it is mine