#dmtt

Thanks for asking :)

Hazelnut praline: share an out-of-context line from your wip!

From Dead Men Tell Tales:

Tagged by @thegoldenseries and @vellichor-virgo - thank you! The tag game uses this picrew to create your WIP’s MC at the beginning and end of the story :)

This is Osira at the beginning, and during a certain ~transformation~ phase in the story where she temporarily becomes a priestess for ✨reasons✨, as she wont’ve changed in appearance much between beginning and end besides being worse for wear.

1. After All (The Dead) — Black Sabbath

the fundamental principles / say nothing of forever / but those are voices that i hear / or i’m just not so clever

This is Osira all over — acknowledging the contrast between her faith in physics to explain the world, and the voices of the dead that have haunted her forever. Being introduced to another world validates her in the sense that she knows it’s not her own insanity, but also confounds her scientific worldview, leading her to doubt what she knows.

2. Otherside — Red Hot Chili Peppers

i thought it up & brought up the past / once you know you can never go back / i gotta take it on the other side

Again, these lyrics reflect Osira; once she’s found out about her roots and the reason for the voices, she can never un-know it, and has to face it on the literal other side of the rift.

3. Life Must Go On — Alter Bridge

the darkest of days / we must endure and keep strong / just look to the morning / the promise awaits

This time it’s Amina I find in the lyrics, reflecting the dark place she was in when she first came through the rift, but also the candle of hope lit by meeting Alexis and her help to build a life in England.

4. Brain Damage/Eclipse — Pink Floyd

and if your head explodes with dark forebodings too / [...] there’s someone in my head but it’s not me

The whispers in Osira’s mind are the dark forebodings here, and again the reference to someone else in her mind is quite literal.

5. Trust — Tremonti

so put your trust in me / so i can show you how / to leave your past behind / so i can make you mine

Osira and Yuka bond when they meet, Osira’s group having broken Leanna and Yuka out of the Eyes’ captivity, so these words describe how they are learning to trust one another and bond over both having an ability from the rift, whilst not letting their pasts overwhelm them.

6. Brand New Start — Alter Bridge

this is the life we must choose / we will make a brand new start / from the pieces torn apart

This again is reminiscent of Amina and Alexis when Amina first comes through the rift; she has had everything she knows ripped out from underneath her, and must build a new life, but Alexis is a beacon in that darkness.

7. Crows On A Wire — Alter Bridge

you’ve got a secret deep inside / nothing’s sacred or divine / [...] they’re just waiting to consume & devour / the glory & power

The Eyes of Time and cult lead by Kirun are both trying to get powers from the rift, using a façade of divinity to hide their harmful intentions. Osira and the others’ abilities become a dangerous secret, as expressed in these lines.

8. Faithless — Rush

a guiding star beats a spirit in the sky / and all the preaching voices / empty vessels of dreams so loud

Lastly, we circle back to Osira’s atheism and scientific worldview; she has never looked to a higher power for guidance, but something resonates with her upon seeing the devotion of the Lathaysans to the Seen, despite knowing that their god is nothing more than a cover story for the Eyes of Time.

this wip playlist isn’t too long yet, so i thought i’d summarise the significance of the songs in it! yes i did this instead of actually plotting or writing shhh

Some snippets from the scene I just wrote! I’ve got rid of the names bc spoilers (you could probably work out who it is if you wanted to but it doesn’t really matter).

𝐃𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐒 — 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎, 𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐏 𝟐

Lekan Onisawa — cult defector stuck in AU

Lekan was part of the cult when they found a rift, and stumbled through it. Now trying to find his way in the alternate universe, and live with a new power, all whilst knowing he is being hunted by his ex-cult comrades, he meets Osira’s group and joins them in investigating the rift and trying to stop the cult.

Rowan Aynaka — Lathaysan infiltrator to cult

Rowan stumbled through a second rift several years ago - straight into the arms of Kirun’s cult. He managed to persuade them that he is one of them, wanting to investigate the alternate universe, but in fact wants their knowledge about the rift and to get back to Lathaysa. He is another piece of the strange puzzle, for going through the rift didn’t change him.

Leanna Birchstone — survivor of experiments

Leanna is one of few survivors from the test subjects misleadingly recruited by the Eyes of Time, told they were fulfilling a duty to their god, the Seen, but in fact subjected to the energy of the rift in order to investigate its influence and the abilities granted. She is scarred and toughened by the experience, but soft at heart and protective of her daughter. Liberated by Osira's group, she joins them to get her own answers – and seek revenge.

Yuka Birchstone — Leanna’s daughter

Yuka has never known a life outside of being a test subject for the Eyes of Time. Born weeks after Leanna arrived to find the summons was far from what she'd expected, all she knows is experiments, exposures, tortures, tests. The rift gave her the ability to gauge emotion, and though it is impossible to read the Eyes, she feels her mother's anguish as strongly as her own. When they are liberated, she bonds with Osira due to shared experience of powers, but struggles to find her own identity and purpose in the world that has opened up to her – besides justice.

*insert B99 meme* I’ve had these characters for a day and if anything happens to them I will kill everyone yes it’s ironic that I’m the one giving them the trauma