#// it is currently a storm here-- so i was easily inspired.

[adiluv-moved]

❥ 𝐒𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇𝐄 + 𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐋 𝐇𝐂𝐒. ˚⊹꒷

🎤୧・꒰word count꒱ 1154.

💿୧・꒰warnings꒱ yandere character ꒰implied stalking, obsessive/possessive behavior꒱, idol/modern au, reader is not traveler, reader is from sumeru, intentional lowercase, not edited.

🎧୧・꒰adi moment꒱ inspired by this ask! i'm literally such a big fan of yandere idol scara there is so much untapped potential here that i think we need to start looking at!! hope you enjoy!! ໒꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀི১

as a disclaimer, i don't support yandere behavior in real life! please don’t interpret this post as justification for any of scaramouche's actions.

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who's the sixth of the twelve harbingers, a snezhnayan-based idol group that's recently gone viral and taken teyvat by storm. with members hailing from all seven nations, you'd instantaneously deem the inazuman native your favorite—something about his more blunt and bratty personality catching your attention. with plenty of releases and tons of merch drops, you'd find most of your income going to posters, albums, photocards, and apparel—an easily noticeable focus on scaramouche themed items taking hold early within your collection.

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who meets you while lost in sumeru city, having decided to take a vacation after the success of his latest tour within liyue. delays with transportation had caused him to show up late for his hotel reservation, leaving him stranded in the foreign city without anywhere to stay... which is precisely where you come in. even with the large amount of mora you'd dedicated towards supporting the group, concerts were far out of your budget—tickets being sold out mere minutes after dropping. so when you'd met your bias sitting on a staircase with a suitcase beside him, you'd been quick to offer him shelter within your apartment, leading the man back to your place and opting to sleep on the couch and give him your bed.

꒰💀꒱・it's this trusting nature of yours that initially causes him to consider you the biggest idiot in teyvat, with scaramouche contenting himself to make good use of the amenities you've oh so graciously provided. he's given free access to all of your belongings for hours on end whenever you go to work—given more than enough freedom as you slave over your stove to cook dinner once you finally return. really, you're lucky he's the real deal, he thinks, because it would be stupidly easy for him to just rob you one day and run off. ꒰not like anybody would believe he robbed you, either.꒱ ...but he has no need for your pitiful belongings, and he'd feel like a real asshole to do such a thing, so he leaves them be.

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who, despite his first impressions, finds himself growing fonder and fonder of you as time goes on. you're an utter klutz, lacking common sense and self-preservation skills—however. you're caring. kind. you take him sightseeing on your days off and offer to pay for the things he buys, even though he currently has more mora than you'd ever obtain within your lifetime. while a superfan with his merch lining the walls, you see past the persona he wears on stage—see the real him and make an effort to know him. you treat him like an equal, unlike everybody he'd encountered after becoming an idol.

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who begins missing you after returning to snezhnaya, borderline regretful that he hadn't entertained his idle thoughts and taken something from your apartment as a reminder of your hospitality. he's never felt this way about a fan ꒰let alone anybody else within his life꒱ this way before—wanting nothing more than to cast away his duties and seek you out once again. the first night back in his home is spent as an all-nighter, detective-esq determination while he searches instagram for your profile and nearly jumps out of his bed once he finally locates it. of course, you accept his request, and he takes great joy in scrolling through your posts and unashamedly liking all of them. not like you'd even mind, anyway. your followers list is, in the same manner, put up for examination—though he doesn't exactly want to tell you about that.

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who stalks your spotify almost every day, listening to all of your playlists and taking notes on the various musicians that pop up. immature as it is, it's difficult to stop the searing jealousy that threatens to pop up whenever other idol groups pop up a little too often for his tastes, a sour taste left in his mouth as he attempts to convince himself that the harbingers ꒰him, specifically꒱ are still your favorites. although he publicly claims that he has no need for rivalries with other groups, there's just something inherently satisfying about seeing one of his tracks beating those of the other groups on your playlist, silent hopes that you'd also prefer it over theirs. 

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who begins sending you gifts once his obsession really takes hold. whether it be money, merch, or the random items on your avidyazon wish list, expect to see a lot of packages arriving at your doorstep—all with notes from scaramouche commenting on whatever's inside the box. receiving tickets to any and all harbinger concerts also becomes a common occurrence, transportation to the other nations paid in full. while touring in inazuma, he does the honors of sending you a kimono alongside front-row tickets, practically ordering you to wear it and saying he's excited to see just how amazing you'll look in it. you're so preoccupied by the gesture that you don't even think to ask when he got your measurements. 

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who takes you backstage after each and every one of his performances, having his bodyguard escort you to his personal dressing room. although he asks you to tell him about any significant events within your life, he almost never seems to be shocked by any of them—instead giving you an almost knowing look... as though he already had the information. not to mention that anybody bothering you almost always stops after mentioning your discomfort to him. a part of you wonders whether he does anything to interfere, but it seems near impossible considering his busy schedule and the fact that he's miles away from you in another nation. must just be a crazy coincidence, right..?

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who demands your attention at every moment within these meetings, growing insanely agitated if you so much as attempt to talk about the other harbingers—especially il dottore. attempts to figure out why he hates the senior member so much are outright ignored, scaramouche instead opting to quickly silence you by either pinching your lips together or boldly kissing you ꒰if he's feeling particularly jealous, that is꒱. "you shouldn't even think about other men in my presence," he'll say, "let alone dottore." and because you don't want to upset your idol, you simply nod your head and change the subject.

꒰💀꒱・yandere idol scaramouche who would've asked you to be his partner by now, if not for the many scandals that would erupt from such a request. he's aware that some of his fans obsess over him in the same way he does you, and he'd hate to place you into any dangerous situations because of his greed. don't get him wrong, though. you still aren't allowed to date anybody else, a fact that he'll remind you off right before he sends you on your way. things may not be official, sure—but you still belong to him.

i have a taglist, which you can sign up for here!

[undiscovered-horizon]

Hello! I was wondering if I could request a little something about the Doctor. I was thinking something along the lines of the Doctors first kiss with the reader, their first ‘I love you’s, first hugs and maybe like first time opening up to each other to have that bond? Obviously not in that order lol just regular fluff and happiness with the Doctor! Thanks!

🫀REQUESTS ARE OPEN🫀 || Doctor Who-inspired playlist

"Milestones" - The Doctor x Reader

A/N: written with 11 in mind bc he's my favourite but honestly picture whoever you want

WORDCOUNT: ~ 1.5k

First hug

"Hey, you doing alright?" you asked quietly. Honestly, you knew the question was more than ridiculous - it was just an inelegant, slightly awkward icebreaker after what you've been through. Although it hasn't been long, barely a few hours, you've quickly learned that he was a prodigy at putting on a brave face. Someone so adamant about making sure everyone lives couldn't just brush off the abrupt end of innocent life. It simply didn't make sense.

"Yeah, sure, I'm doing fine," he answered in a reassuring and lighthearted tone. "Are you okay?"

Despite his best efforts at appearing completely unmoved, you could easily tell he was being dishonest - there was that haunted look in his eyes as if the moment he remembers he was an intelligent entity cursed with compassion and melancholy his tears would melt away his corporeal form. It was like capturing a storm in a plastic bag.

His eyes met yours in a questioning manner: he really was more interested in your well-being rather than the albatross hanging from his neck. It was a strange moment to choose selflessness. After a moment of silence, his stare went back to the console and the buttons he was pushing. You continued to watch him, thinking about the hypothetical sorrow gnawing at his thoughts. Maybe you didn't know him for long, it was difficult to claim you'd known him at all but he definitely didn't seem like someone heartless; the Doctor was many things but cold-hearted was not one of them.

The Doctor looked at you again but for a significantly shorter period as if he could tell by your expression that you weren't buying his facade. Consciously or not, his expression fell, revealing the somberness he tried to hide away.

"Come here."

Pulling him by his arm, you engulfed the Doctor in an embrace. Immediately, he tightly held you close to him, his hands fisting the material of your sweatshirt. It was a strange thing that people let go when they're holding on to someone.

"It's not easy, so don't pretend like it is," you quietly said against his shoulder. The tweed jacket was slightly coarse against your skin, pleasantly keeping you aware of the present moment. "You might not be human but you sure are humane. I know that."

He didn't answer but truthfully, he didn't have to - you knew exactly what was going on when his arms shifted around you, still holding you as close as one holds a fleeting dream of a love long gone.

Opening up

The Doctor was fixing something under the main console. Cables dangled around him, sparks of electricity revealed that the current was still on and any unwise move could have catastrophic consequences. He, however, seemed to be unfazed. It was an impression of him you were still getting used to - a man both hot and cold, simultaneously emotional and rid of all passions.

"Do you ever get scared?"

Momentarily, the Doctor stopped whatever it was he was doing. He looked at you with a grimace of confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know, running around dangerous places, getting stuck at the end of the world in hopeless situations. Do you ever get scared?"

"Sometimes, yeah. Why do you ask?"

"It's just..." For a moment you considered dropping the subject. Would your worries be a little too human, a little too mundane, for him to understand? "I know I get scared, don't even need aliens for that to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I love travelling with you but so many times I find myself in situations where I don't know what to do, I just want to close my eyes and wish the danger away. If you too get scared then maybe I'm not as wimpy as I thought I was."

"Wimpy?" he asked. You gently nodded your head. "Wimpy?" he repeated louder and with more confusion resounding in his voice. You furrowed your eyebrows not understanding what he was getting at. "You're not wimpy, why would you think that?"

"Because I get scared?"

Something about your statement must have struck a significant string in his heart as the Doctor got out from under the console and stood up. His eyebrows were furrowed and you knew that he was adamant to get to the bottom of whatever snake what biting at your heels.

"Scared is good. Scared means you care. You have something to lose. It's very human of you actually."

"When you're scared you never... look scared, at least I can't tell. You just do what you have to do and save the day as if it was just a walk in the park. How do you do that?"

"Because I have something to lose," he answered with a shrug before examining something on the top part of the console. The clicking of buttons echoed throughout the room.

"Which is?"

For a moment he didn't answer and just tapped away on the various controls and keyboards only he could understand. Slowly, his actions came to a halt. The Doctor turned his head to look at you, brave enough only to say one word before going back to fixing some failure in the machinery:

"You." He had that melancholic look in his eyes that he so often wore when he revealed some of his hearts' content. The Doctor's answer surprised you. It seemed so... simple. Mundane to the point of being strange.

Maybe you too had a good reason to both be scared and brave.

First kiss

"You're not actually considering going down there," you said as you looked down the maintenance shaft. It was so dark one could only wonder how far the bottom was. A low groan echoed throughout that seemingly endless metal pit.

"We're kind of out of options. Come on, it's an adventure! I'll be fine."

You weren't sure if his lighthearted mood was a sign of confidence or stupidity - a certain lack of realization of his chances of survival.

"Looks more lik a one way ticket to me."

"Nonsense," he dismissed your worries. "It's just a dead-end road. Have to make a U-turn at the end and you're on your way home. Easy-peasy!"

It was quite clear he wasn't going to negotiate his own plan filled with insanity and a ridiculous amount of sheer luck.

"Just..." you began but promptly stopped, momentarily overwhelmed by the very real possibility of him not coming back. And what were you to do then? A deep sigh left your lips before you finished your thought. "Just come back to me."

Without thinking much, realizing that this could very well be the last time you see that madman, you grabbed his clothes and pulled him in. His lips crashed against yours and the joy this passion brought was very much like fireworks: intense and burning but over a little too soon for the desperate heart to satisfy its yearning. You feel the same longing in his own movements, although it's significantly more reserved as if he was holding back, not yet ready to let the addictive feeling consume him.

"Well, now I have to," he murmured under his breath.

First "I love you"

"Alright, so what do you need?" you asked in a hurried tone. You were running out of time and the alarm siren did not make it any easier to focus on the task at hand. In fact, the longer you were inside the engineering deck, among red emergency lights and deafening sirens, the more you began to panic. The water flooding the ship made you aware of your own mortality with each wave brushing against your legs.

"I'd need another one of those gem things, the internal structure of the crystal makes it an excellent electricity conductor."

"Like... graphite?"

"Yes! Like graphite!"

Suddenly, you became aware of the rumbled sudoku notebook in the back pocket of your jeans. You shoved it in there along with a pencil when the Doctor flew right by you yelling at you to start running. It was fascinating what kind of pastimes travelling with the Doctor made you pick up.

"You're not going to believe this," you told him between chuckles. As if you were pulling a rabbit out of a magician's hat, you showed the pencil to the Doctor.

His face immediately lit up. He grabbed your face before kissing your forehead. "I love you!" the Doctor exclaimed excitedly.

Then he snatched the pencil from your hand and turned around to run in the direction of the engines. The Doctor ran maybe a few meters before making a sudden turn - for some reason, he had to return to you. There was something strange about how he looked at you as if he saw something more than you; like he had life-changing knowledge he never dared to share with you.

"I mean it," he said in a serious tone while vaguely pointing his finger at you.

Before you could answer him or even ask for clarification, he was already back on track with his near-miraculous plan of saving the day.

"Right back at you, you crazy old man," you said under your breath.

[rollinouttahere-writes]

One Piece Space AU

In this AU, the Grand Line is now the Grand Line Galaxy. A particularly diverse and dangerous galaxy that draws in all kinds of adventurers. There are also tons of valuable resources here that catch the attention of the Enforcers. Enforcers are this AU’s version of marines. They claim to exist to maintain peace and order.

The Grand Line Galaxy is known for having streams flowing through it that can be used for traveling. These streams are made up of a clear liquid that resembles water but has a far lower freezing temperature and is also extremely toxic to anything that didn’t evolve to inhabit it.

There are two types of spaceships here. One is the more typical version that we see in sci-fi movies, the other is the kind of boat inspired spaceships like in the Treasure Planet movie.

The boat spaceships are considered ideal in the Grand Line because they can be used to sail on the stream, thus only needing fuel when they leave the stream to dock at a station or planet. This is not only much faster than the average spaceship, but is much more fuel efficient since it can just ride the current. The current is extremely fast, you do not want to fall off.

There are no devil fruits in this AU, just weird alien powers.

Fishman are pretty similar to how they usually are in this AU. They evolved in the Grand Line Stream so they can enter it freely. Biggest differences are that they’re larger and have more alien features.

Humans do exist in the space AU, but aren’t very common to see. Aliens have been snatching up humans for experiments/labor/pleasure for a long time, so it’s not unheard of to see them about. Some humans have been able to escape what they were sold into and have established human colonies.

The calm belt is made up of vapor from the streams and consists of dense storm-like clouds that cover the entire galaxy. Absolutely no technology functions while in the calm belt, only entirely hand operated mechanisms will be able to work. There are many large deep space creatures occupying the calm belt that will rip apart anything/anyone that is unfortunate enough to drift into it. The only “safe” entrance to the Grand Line Galaxy is where the streams first begin. If you’re in a regular spaceship, it’s pretty easy to slip in through the opening. If you’re in the boat spaceship and have to enter the stream, it’s much more tedious. Due to how fast the current is, one wrong move while entering it can easily slip over the ship and tear it to shreds.

The Straw Hats

Unfortunately as a writer, I cannot name things for the life of me. None of the alien species here are going to be named, but feel free to assign names to them if you feel like it. I am also going to be including Brook and Jinbei here even though I haven’t gotten to them yet. My interpretation are based entirely off spoilers I’ve seen and cold reading, I will probably come back later to tweak these after I get to them.

EDIT: Big thank you to @emtynessinmyworld for coming up with all the names for the alien species!

Both the Going Merry and the Thousand Sunny are the Treasure Planet style ships.

Luffy - Anaxdunamis

His species is known for its above average durability and strength. They can shrug off devastating blows like it's nothing and bounce back from it due their bodies being somewhat stretchy. If you pressed down on their skin, it would be tough, but have a little bit of give to it (like squeezing an eraser). Skin colors vary from orange, to pink, to red depending on the individual. Hair is very coarse and dark, it feels like a scrub brush. Their eyes are very dark, the pupils and irises are both pitch black and indistinguishable from each other (eyes do have whites). Carnivorous and have sharp teeth. Has four fingers on each hand. Relatively similar to humans in appearance in terms of anatomy. This species is considered ideal for being an Enforcer. 

Luffy himself has a light pink skin color (looks like a bad sunburn). Despite being carnivorous, he eats all kinds of food regardless. Luffy’s abilities far surpass the average member of his species. His body has more give and can stretch far beyond what it should be able to do. Possible hybrid but no one has been able to confirm it or come up with what the other species would be.

Zoro - Dynamikopis

A very bulky bipedal mammalian species with quills all over their bodies and slight snouts. Densest on the back, but are present along the arms too. No hair, just quills pointed back on head. Skin is tan (like pre time skip Zoro). Omnivorous, mostly eats meat but can also eat other things. His species hibernates for a few months out of the year due to their home planet having extremely harsh winters. Has three fingers on each hand with claws. Eyes have vertical pupils and are various shades of green or brown (like alligator eyes).

Zoro’s quills are a deep forest green color, and his eyes are a light brown. While Zoro doesn’t do the whole hibernation thing done on his home planet, he naps a lot to make up for it. His body is designed to store fat so he’s prone to having a bit of a dad bod. 

Nami

Human. 

Nami was abducted along with many other humans as an infant. The ship she was on was intercepted by pirates. The battle was brutal and ended with both ships being destroyed. A passing Enforcer ship came by, and when Bellemere (also human) found only two intact stasis pods left with Nami and Nojiko in them, she took off with them back to her home colony because she knew other Enforcers might try and sell them off.

Usopp - Savrasynkalypsis

Reptilian based species. Have a horn right above the nose, males typically have longer horns for display purposes. No hair, just some crests that point downwards around the head. Experts in camouflage, skin can change color to blend in with anything. The base skin color varies a lot depending on the environment the individual grew up in. Like most lizards, they have tails that can be dropped, but they do grow back. Primarily insectivores but occasionally eat plant based foods. Eyes are like that of a gecko including not having eyelids. Hands and feet have five digits on each and resemble chameleon feet.

Usopp’s horn is considered excessively long even by his species’ standards. Always wears a rag on his head and goggles to help protect his eyes. Despite his species not having finger pads to help climb smooth surfaces, he could climb a greased pole if he was scared enough. Drops his tail a lot, it’s usually a nub.

Sanji - Taornis

An avian inspired species. Not completely covered in feathers, flesh is exposed on the hands and feet. There are display feathers at the base of the neck that flare up for mating purposes (like peacocks). Tons of variety in colors for each individual, no two look identical to each other. They can fly but only for short distances. No hair, but there are longer feathers on their head that resemble hair. Feet are flat, not like birds of prey or anything. Omnivores, are capable of eating all types of food. They eat food raw. Have beaks. 

Sanji’s feathers are primarily blue with yellow and black highlights, beak is black. The display feathers on his neck have pink heart shapes on them. They flare up a lot. The longer feathers on his head are yellow and go down to his chin. These feathers typically stick up so this looks strange to others. Preens a lot, both with himself and any woman that will let him. His love for cooking is considered extremely odd by the rest of his species since they only eat raw food.

Chopper - Proteustarando

His species is known for consisting of the best shapeshifters in the universe. Their base forms resemble species of the cervidae family. The planet they’re from is bitterly cold, so they have thick, shaggy fur. Fur can be white, cream, light brown, or dark brown. All members have antlers regardless of gender. The antlers are very ornate and curly. Herbivores, but can eat other foods when they’re shapeshifting. 

Chopper is an outcast because while he can shapeshift to an extent, the transformations all still strongly resemble his base form. Fur is light brown with a cream colored tuft around his throat. The antlers are still pretty short due to how young he is.

Robin - Makrovotiarachne

A species once known for their immaculate record keeping that is extremely long lived. Members of this species have six arms and four eyes. The eyes are on the face where you would expect them to be, with one pair directly under the other. Their “hair” consists of very fine tendrils that resemble jellyfish tentacles. They assist with storing memory and controlling their multitude of limbs. If you were to run your hand through the “hair” it would feel like running your hand over a TV that was just turned off. Skin is various shades of blue and purple. Five fingers on each hand. The species is officially labeled as extinct after Enforcers annihilated them hundreds of years ago.

Robin is the last of her kind. There was a small colony hiding on an inhospitable planet, but after Enforcers caught wind of them being there, they were all killed with the exception of Robin who managed to slip away via evacuation pod as a child. All she wants is to find the old records and spread their knowledge to out whatever it is that the Enforcers wanted to hide. Her skin is a light purple (lilac) and has blue eyes. Her tendrils are a dark midnight blue.

Franky

A cyborg, originally human.

He remembers very little about Earth due to being abducted at a young age (5), but does have some memories of it. Definitely romanticizes it a little. His stasis pod was dropped accidentally and eventually drifted and crashed on Water 7. After the train incident, his body needed to be entirely replaced with robotic parts, nothing but his brain still remains from the original body. His appearance is much more visibly robotic compared to his One Piece design, but is still very similar in terms of anatomy.

Brook

Human infected with a parasite.

Brook was a member of a fairly well established human colony made up of people who were able to escape whatever they escaped from. He was already an adult when he was abducted and worked as a music teacher. Before he could be sold off, a group of human vigilantes took over the ship and freed everyone on board. Brook would ultimately go on to join this crew of vigilantes. During a patrol, they were sucked into a black hole and left in a destitute corner of the Grand Line Galaxy. The ship was unable to work after the black hole encounter, so all the members began dying off as resources got lower. Brook happened to be the last one still alive when a parasite slipped on board and found him. The parasite infects its host by latching onto the soul and feeding off it. It won’t affect your behavior or memories, only forces you to stay alive. Once you’re infected, you become virtually immortal. Brook wanted to join his crewmates, so he tried to starve it out, not knowing that it fed off his soul and not his body. Since the parasite only needs the soul to thrive, it is willing to let the body rot away if the host doesn’t maintain it. Over time, Brook became nothing but bones, but there are some dark tendrils from the parasite visible along his body. Still has his hair somehow.

Jinbei

Still a fishman, not much really changed. He’s a bit bigger and has eight eyes instead of two.

This AU is going to be a lengthy multichapter series because I’ve put too much thought into this for it to only be a oneshot.

[mephalis]

Lungs pushing up daisies - Alt ending

so this is an alternative ending, of what if everything that could go bad, went bad? this is for one comment that asked about it, so here you go! and also fueled by the fact that Argenti did not come home so, yeah :D im debating if i should post another work into the series with just this but i deemed it too short...let me know though if i should? as i am not sure and i thought here would work better LOL! special thanks to Grrrrain who helped me get the flow as well as inspired by some of their own sad hanahaki fic elements! a big inspiration!! click more to enjoy the ending! it follows up from the same fic but the last segment is...different! :D

[3:58]boothill:

What the heck was the name of that drink you got me?? Can’t fudgin’ find it anywhere here, got a mad itchin and i need to scratch it. you son of a nice lady, just had to get me a delicious one. Can’t believe I even forgot to go back and get that last forkin’ drop back at the hotel, what a waste.

Voice text converted into text

[3:59]boothill:

Also what kind of wine do ya like? I reckon it might be one of these red ones, but the guy is offerin’ me white champagne and what not…real fancy soundin stuff, they might be right up your alley.

Voice text converted into text

[4:24]boothill:

Too late rosey, i got you this red fudgin’ bottle instead of all the others! Darn son of a gun was trying to make me buy the lot of em, he kept on talkin’ and talkin’. Luckily i got somethin’ that always shut em up real quick. 

Voice text converted into text [4:25]boothill:

For the record, i did forkin’ pay for it. Got kicked out tho just because they get spooked by a gun so easily. Fudgin’ wussies.

Voice text converted into text [7:32]boothill:

You out in the wild or something? First time I got connection and you don’t! Oh yeah right, hope you got some wine glass or what not, don’t ya have to drink them out of these fudgin’ cups? Forgot ‘bout those.

Voice text converted into text [2:05]boothill:

Think ’m bout to see another knight of beauty, found myself at this lil ol’ station and people here are talking and ravin’ about this knight. Doesn’t sound too shabby, they’re sayin a bunch of stuff about bugs and what not…[intangible]-huh? Wait a forkin’ second…–red hair? [intangible] wait, oh shoot, ha! it is you! I can see your ship from here! Fudge, I had to park my forkin’ motor all the way on the opposite side–would you look at that! Wait, if you’re here then why haven't ya answered any of my texts? 

Voice text converted into text [2:12]missed a call from boothill.

----

Boothill tsk’d as the phone call ended with a message about some darn fucking voice message mail box, wherein he would have thought the knight might have been busy or far away from cell service to receive his call, Boothill wouldn’t have bat an eye. 

But Argenti’s ship stood right in front of Boothill, and he heard plenty of the folks on the station talking up a storm of how thankful they are for the current residing knight of beauty inside the ship.

“Ey! Rosey!” Boothill banged on the ship’s door, not too rough as he knew how Argenti cared about the exterior of his ship. Despite being a battle knight, Argenti went through many efforts to maintain the ship’s sleek look. 

There was no answer. 

Boothill was patient, he knew to wait for the right shot, to jump on his hunt. But his patience was a fickle friend, present only when he wanted it to be.

(not after he had heard of the knight getting possibly injured, not when Argenti, the man who’d speak up a storm, brimming with words, was this quiet. It had set his nerves on edge.) 

Boothill, maybe overreacting, kicked at the door in frustration. A futile gesture against the unease festering in his gut.  

But the door opened far too easily with a beep, enough for Boothill to realize it hadn’t been locked at all.

Realization struck him with grim certainty; if Argenti had been truly absent from his ship, he wouldn’t have left it wide open, right?

He frowned, and stepped in. 

There was a silent lull inside, Save for the soft hum of machinery and the distant thrum of the engine in the distant background. Only the sounds of his steps, heavy boots clanging on the metal floor echoed. Boothill had the half mind to close the door behind him properly, before frantically walking around with a search for a pretty red rose.

“Argenti? Ya here?” he called out, quicking his pace. Boothill could already hear the scolding of his Pa for his hasty intrustion in his head.

The sight of the lounge brought back the memory of his stay, and how he woke up from such deep slumber to find himself nearly drooling on Argenti’s pillows. 

But Argenti wasn’t there, so Boothill did not give it another thought as he turned. 

He blinked at where Argenti’s personal garden of roses sat, surprised to find a new addition added to the side, and stood beside it, the small figure of a wooden carved horse that he had made. It sat right next to the pot, somehow like it belonged there, like it was associated with the daisies next to it. 

The daisies, shockful arrays of white and yellow, sparkling somehow just like the roses. Not in the same way, but they had some sort of glow to them that Boothill found himself drawn to.

His hand hovered over them, and at once, he could recall how they felt once long before. 

It evoked a memory, soft and easy to tear off, the bundle of rough blanket of wool had many of the petals stuck to it as he once carried a baby–his baby–out of the bed of daisies one sweltereing summer day.

Boothill remembered Argenti once asking him about daisies.

The knight was already a strange fellow, doing whatever he got in his mind when it was aligned with beauty and all that jazz, but it was even a little strange to Boothill. Oddly specific, Where did the fascination of the daisies come from?

Boothill turned once more, not sparing the daisies a second glance. 

There was only one flower he was interested in. 

"Rosey?" Boothill called out again, stepping into the dimly lit shadows of Argenti's bunk. The room was cloaked in darkness, illuminated only by the soft, shifting  hues of the ship. 

However, light sparked on at his mere presence, automated.

Revealing Argenti's blanketed figure, slumped over the bed in an unnatural curve. 

His red hair sprawled from out of the cover like a wave of crimson river, his form held profound stillness that overturned the concern in Boothill’s heart into chilling dread. 

(was he even breathing?)  

"Argenti!" Boothill rushed forward, and at once he was hit immediately with the sharp smell of metal tang in the air that could not be hidden by the flora that always acquainted Argenti's.

blood.

He yanked the blanket off of Argenti, and reached to turn his body to face him all together in one motion. His mind raced with the urgency to assess the damage, aid whatever he could to slow down the bleeding of what might be wounds of the battle he was just in, and to call for help from the outside if they were grave enough to make the ever so preserved knight fall. But when he saw Argenti’s face, all action came to a screeching halt.

It was not an open wound, as Boothill had feared.

Boothill wished it was, as he stared at yellow daisies poking out of Argenti’s bloodied mouth. 

“..Argenti?” his breath hitched as he called out again with a tremor in his voice, pulling the knight into his arms and watched in horror as Argenti’s head drooped, falling down heavily like a ragdoll.

“Hey,” Boothill said with crackling static, desperation creeping in, haunting realization, “wake up, this ain’t funny.” 

Boothill reached to hold his face properly, cupping his pale cheek and ignoring the petal that cascaded its way down. He saw the pot of daisies by the roses, this was just a joke, a cruel joke from Argenti. 

A cruel joke from the world.

The pallor of a skin, like a forgotten rose, Argenti’s complexion was ashen. Dried blood stained his lips and trailed down his chin, the front of his shirt, and daisies spilled over his mouth with the tremble of Boothill’s arms holding him, scattering between them and forgotten. 

Boothill grit his teeth hard enough he could hear the metal, but everything was muted, numb to him as he curled over Argenti’s cold body. Boothill's fingers twitched in a pathetic attempt to hold Argenti gently, afraid to inflict more pain. The abscense of warmth was palpable, even without his senses. 

“Please,” Boothill begged, to Argenti, to anyone. Pressing his ear against Argenti’s chest, despite clearly knowing and his breath caught on his throat with a cry he wasn’t able to shed. 

It’s wrong.

“I love you.”

Argenti had confessed more than once, apparent with what he felt but Boothill ran away from it, from confronting it again, from ever mentioning it. He knew Argenti never moved on, it was obvious with the way the knight looked at him, held on to him, spoke to him, smiled at him that made that undeniable.

Boothill let it all unfold, endured the weight of Argenti’s affection with his own hidden beneath lies and pretend, thinking that this much was fine, as long as Argenti would be fine.

The corpse in arms beg to differ. 

He should have ran away, he should have cut all contact, but like a fucking selfish weak idiot he was he stayed enough for Argenti to die.

If anyone should have died by this cursed thing, it should have been him. 

“I warned you,” Boothill spat, hugging him closer, burying his face into the crook of his shoulder. He couldn’t even pretend when now he felt the cold of his corpse with the skin of his cheek pressed against Argenti’s neck. “Why, why did you keep…” 

Loving me?

Boothill clenched his jaw, burnt with despair, “Ya shouldn’t have it! I still, i still–it ain’t possible so how!?”

His questions and anguished cries were met with silence. 

Boothill had it first, he had been the one to first fall. He still loved Argenti despite it all, but he rejected him. All because he thought it was for the best.

He was the reason Argenti was now dead. 

The devastating cost of his silence, of his lie, now laid bare in front of him. 

The dull green eyes of Argenti’s corpse were devoid of his sparkle. The daisies covered with blood, the motionless sick stillness, a grotesque evidence that his life withered away long gone.

“I’m sorry,” Boothill choked on regret and sorrow, “im sorry, i’m sorry–”

He could only cradle Argenti’s corpse close to him, whispering his love into the void. 

“I love you, i still love you.” 

But his words fell on deaf ears, swallowed by the silence of loss.

[fereldanwench]

Questions for Writers

I was tagged by @corpocyborg! Thank you, bb!! ♡

Last book I read: I still haven't finished There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job Kikuko Tsumura I started back in January, lmao. Not for any reason other than I just haven't been in the right headspace to sit down and read for the past few months--What I have read of it is great, so hopefully, I can make the time to pick it up again.

Greatest literary inspirations: I like the female protags in Karin Slaughter novels, and I love Tanya Huff's Torin Kerr from her Confederation series--I'm sure they've inspired me on some level. Oh, and Phedre from Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel books, too, although it's been ages since I read those. But I think most of my inspiration actually comes from other forms of media. I love the action babes of the late 90s/early 00s: Lara Croft is the number one inspo here, and pretty much all of Michael Turner's comic girls but especially Sara from Witchblade. And I think Better Call Saul is easily one of the best-written shows ever made--That's one I always go back to when I feel like I need to refill the inspo well.

Things in my current fandoms I want to read but I don't want to write: I have a confession: I usually only read a ton of fic when I first get into a fandom and I can't get enough and I just want to soak it all up, but after a certain point, I just don't have a lot of headspace for other people's stories. 😬 I feel bad about it sometimes, and it's not like I never read anything after that point, but 90% of the time, what I wanna write is what I wanna read. It's kind of a closed loop, I guess.

Things in my current fandoms I want to write but I think nobody would be interested in them but me: Well, I'm not at all deterred by being the only person interested in something I write, haha. One of my favorite one-shots I've ever written is between my Cousland and Hawke meeting briefly at Ostagar, and it's probably my least popular fic on AO3 by a big margin. But I do like deep-diving into my own OCs, and it generally is harder to get an audience for fic that doesn't have canon characters. Ain't gonna stop me, though!

You can recognize my writing by: Lots of pining and banter; obvious thesaurus abuse

My most controversial take (current fandom): Yeah, no, not gonna be sharing my actual most controversial takes, lmao.

But I do also love the Devil ending! I don't think there's one objectively "best" ending--What's good for one V isn't necessarily good for another--But for my Valerie, it suited her story the best. I love the poetry of her going back to Arasaka after getting fired by them, I love storming Arasaka Tower with Goro, I love the conflict with Johnny, I love making Goro confront how fucked up the Arasakas are, I love the possibilities of Mikoshi--The only way it would have been better for me is if this nixed idea had actually been put into action.

And I wish we could roleplay a V that is actually more "pro"-corpo in the game, especially if we had the corpo lifepath. Sticking it to the man is sexy and all, but I just love delving into characters that align themselves with shitty institutions and exploring different motivations (I personally like cynical pragmatism/self-preservation and delusional idealism) that lead a person there.

Top three favorite tropes: 1) Rivals to friends to lovers 2) Mutual pining 3) Forced proximity

What’s your current writing mood (10 – super motivated and churning out words like crazy, 0 – in a complete rut): Like, 0.5, lmao. I've been rereading and organizing my WIPS, so there's some effort being put in there, but I'm very much in one of my "ummmm, how do I even write fiction?" phases.

Share a random frustration: I have ZERO discipline when it comes to writing. I need to be in a fully feral, totally isolated from distractions place or I just can't get shit done. When I'm in the zone, I'm in the fuckin' zone, but I get like 3 months of that every 5 years, lmao.

Tagging (with no pressure, as always) @ur-friendly-nbhd-cardassian, @dread-red-queen, @vorchagirl, and @aceghosts <333

[neonscandal]

Hi ....Do you mind if I ask your top 5 (or top 10) favorite moments from any anime (can be series or movies)? Sorry if you have already answered this ask before.....

This is an incredible ask which inherently will come with some serious spoilers! This was also really tricky trying to determine what makes something my favorite - was it the funniest? The craziest? The biggest plot twist? I used the benchmark of what moments do I wish I could watch for the very first time, all over again. I broke the difference with eight, hope you don't mind!

⚠️ Spoiler Warning covers the following series (specific benchmarks will be given) for Sk8 the Infinity, Attack on Titan, My Hero Academia, Yuri on Ice, Trigun, Fushiigi Yuugi.

SK8 the Infinity S1 E6, allusion to S1 E10

Starting off light! One would assume that one of the most iconic scenes in Sk8 is the slap heard round the world but I found that more heartbreaking than anything. My favorite moment of Sk8 is easily Miya cockblocking Joe on the beach because what a flex, first of all. Secondly, the build up and subsequent (unknowing) teamwork of our favorite motley crew of skaters? 😘👌🏾 Chef's Kiss and *peak* comedy.

Attack on Titan S3 E16

I could talk at length about the exquisite exposition of Attack on Titan and how each rewatch sprouts new easter eggs of foreshadowing as the world unfurls for the viewer. But the truth is, out of the entire series, the moment that I would want to rewatch for the first time is Erwin's rallying speech in Shinganshina. In addition to inspiring goosebumps and anxiety when I hear it, it is a perfect storm of emotions as concurrent events unfolding are all coming to a head. It's a wretched life and a hopeless situation made worse by the all-or-nothing corner they've been backed into. The standoff is more poignant as it's a reckoning of Erwin's own past of valiantly using others as cannon fodder if only as a means to a strategic end. A man we now know to be possessed by the obsession of proving his father right, presses forward ceaselessly while never seeing a future beyond that and we're never given the time to fully digest that. "A Perfect Game", indeed. The speech manages to be heart wrenching every time. Including when the dub pops up in my music library.

Yuri on Ice S1 E10

Hot Take: Every sports anime is a BL. You cannot convince me otherwise. BUT THIS WORK OF ART!? Literally the exception that proves the rule. Episode 7 was GOOD. Like, "ohmygod-ohmygod-ohmygod, IT'S HAPPENING!" good. Episode 10 was a cultural reset ✨ and what I wouldn't give to see it for the first time all over again. From the viewer's perspective, Viktor picked up his life with one foot in a relationship when he decided to coach Yuuri. It was alluded to, hinted at, his susceptibility of Yuuri's affection should it ever be thrown his way but in an almost detached, puckish manner. A manner that frazzled Yuuri so he could never take it seriously. So what a comedy of errors to know, after finally finding a working rhythm and even exchanging rings, that Yuuri was the one who made the first move!? OMG. Iconic plot twist, truly. The bonus evidence of his champagne fueled revelry is one of my all time favorite bonus sequences.

My Hero Academia S3 E18, S6 E9 and Heroes Rising (Indirect Manga Spoiler Ch 337)

Maybe a bit biased since I'm most plugged into this series at the moment (I like GIFs and only get 9 a post), but here's a treasure trove of moments! I've recently gotten my niece and nephew into MHA and rewatched everything from S1 to the current season and all movies while seeing how they digest everything. I tried to tweet about it because it's truly novel seeing things for the first time through their eyes but didn't really keep up with it. Since I'm reading the manga (and need to pick back up on posting about it), I have a renewed perspective on certain moments so see below:

Iida rallying Aoyama from the figurative edge during the provisional exam and how it inspired Aoyama to sacrifice himself so someone he perceives as noble can be slingshot across the finish line. Humorous of course since we know Iida was like a hair away from murder a season or so ago. When this last ditch effort unites the rest of Class 1A and serves as an impetus for them all to pass together? BRUH. With what we've seen of Aoyama and what we later learn, rewatching this scene actually made me a bit more emotional as it added a layer to his duress that we don't comprehend just yet.

Bakugo's hero moment which mirrored Midoriya's own hero origin story. Don't get me wrong, Bakugo is no stranger to sacrificing himself. He and Midoriya make it a habit of saving one another. But this specific moment marks itself indelibly as deliberate insight into Bakugo's character growth because we hear his thoughts in that moment which seems to mirror Midoriya's. TBH, the episode was good but reading that for the first time? Phenomenal. It felt more impactful somehow.

The final fight scene against Nine with everyone coordinating to use their quirks to the best of their abilities while knowing they were outclassed. Bakugo and Midoriya seamlessly working together and then the (non-canonical IG) transfer of OFA with Deku risking quirklessness again and Bakugo warning him against it. *Cue Sarah McLachlan-esque soundtrack.*

Trigun (OG Run) S1 E 23

I slipped down the Adult Swim to Toonami pipeline of anime so Trigun was one of the first anime I fell in love with and kicked off an enduring adoration for characters voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch. Wolfwood's showdown with Evergreen and the subsequent scene at the church as he makes his peace before dying forever altered my brain chemistry. On the one hand, I loved Wolfwood's character as he played off of Vash so well, comedically. At odds but similarly aligned in the greater good though the means to the end weren't always in sync. I could appreciate the dissonance of his character, holy man who kills; unsavory priest, etc. So I would have been sad to see him go either way, but the life he imagined for himself as he was dying? Knife in the heart. Knowing that ultimately, legendary gunslinger Vash the Stampede made such a visceral impression on this ne'er do well priest, moreso than the God he served and that that was his undoing? Twist that knife, baby. That last bit I can appreciate much better as an adult where, as a kid, I could understand how moved I was without realizing the complexity of it. Truly devastating.

Fushigi Yugi S1 E33

I'm realizing that a lot of my favorite characters tend to be really irreverent and rough around the edges. These very same characters tend to have compelling depth beyond their surface level brashness and character growth that stays with me. Such is the case with the graceful and beautiful Nuriko of the Suzaku warriors. As a kid and also for a series of that period, I could understand that Nuriko had a rich complexity and appreciate the relief that they were accepted wholeheartedly by Miaka and the warriors. The character was so deeply steeped in grief that it defined them and muddled their identity over the course of their life. Upon finding a new mission, they were able to come into themselves but only by slowly letting that grief go. So it is ironic that this person, shortly after finding peace in who they were, was marked for a death that would critically galvanize Miaka and the rest of the warriors to carry on and see the mission through to the very end. This episode became a core memory and I distinctly remember bawling.

[sprite-real]

Been thinking about this for a good while, but I was thinking of writing out my own horror + romance kind of thing at some point but I don’t got any programming skills or any of that jazz, so I’ll just have to stick with writing 💔

Basically, I have some characters, Lucas Buford being the main love interest. More about him:

He is a half-vampire, his father left before he was born and his mother raised him all on her own. Due to the time period they lived in she was berated by the people around her and Lucas couldn’t make any friends so it left them both in isolation, but for Lucas at the time, it was okay because all he needed was his mother. Then her unfortunate passing came and Lucas would become a hermit, he was depressed and lonely, and it stuck that way for a century, until current date, he had met a trans man called Eli.

After Eli ended up storming out of his home due to a family issues, he soon came across Lucas who was having a depressive episode, disassociated at the time as he was sitting on a cut-down tree in the middle of the woods. Eli plopped down next to him, greeted him with a simple, “Hey, you down too?” And after days of Eli coming to pester and talk to him, the two eventually bonded and became friends.

Lucas ended up growing very attached and Eli got his new best buddy. Lucas got to learn what was happening with the modern world, educated on just about everything, and soon came to realize he was bi. Soon Eli moved out of his parents house and became roommates with his older brother after they patched things up, and Lucas was dragged into living with them too since Lucas’s old childhood home was deemed unlivable by Eli. And after that Lucas started attending college with Eli, and due to him being pretty fuckin’ smart and being able to pick up things easily, he ended up being Eli’s tutor.

And that’s the story so far, as how he met the MC (or you in this case) would probably be through college. But I’ll work on it more, but I did have a plot in mind initially that I’ll also post (warning it’s older writing and I’m just copying and pasting from a discord chat.):

So, I’ve had this idea now… I kinda really wanna do make my own Yandere man game at some point, getting hella inspired, so here’s something.

You were packing to leave your old dad’s house, (you can choose whether you’re adopted or not) and he comes in and says, “You don’t really have to go, you could always stay with your old man!”

After a heart-felt goodbye you leave to enter a new city, you’ve got roommates. You already got a job, you’re going to college, etc. and well, even after everything seems ‘perfect’, it’s really not. Somebody’s become obsessed, and they’re watching your every move. You are not alone.

Fate is uncertain.

Now more about the dad, so he is your very supportive father that has raised you since you were a wee lad, he has been a good influence. So, cool and laidback, takes you out fishing, endorses your hobbies, when you get too stressed he’ll do what he can to help, a very accepting father, overall just a good father figure, made to be a likable dad. He’s also pretty tech savvy.

Alright thats it for now! Please do not steal my characters, my work or repost on other sites! Thank you.

For now here are some drawings I did, I’ll work more on other characters such as Eli’s older brother. Last two are the father character. If you’ve got any questions I will answer.

[merp-blerp]

A Hasty, Overblown Lyrical Analysis of Hozier’s “Francesca” Beacause I’m Currently Obsessed With It

Just like my song analysis of Hozier’s “Arsonist’s Lullabye”, this is just my personal interpretation. You are fully allowed to have your own. And I acknowledge that I could be “wrong,” in the sense that Hozier could have a totally different aim with this song than what I mention here, and that is beyond fine. Let’s all just be respectful.

Note: I will be referring to the voice of this song as “the singer”, not Hozier. Much like how when you talk about a poem you refer to “the speaker”, not the author of the poem. I don’t want to pry into Hozier’s personally feelings when I obviously don’t know him, so whatever I say about “the singer” it’s only referring to the person reflected in the song, not Hozier himself. We genuinely respect the artist we like in this house.

I’ll do my best, but I certainly don’t consider myself particularly amazing at lyrical analysis, I just like to try for fun.

Let’s begin!

“Do you think I'd give up // That this might've shook the love from me // Or that I was on the brink? // How could you think, darling, I'd scare so easily? // Now that it's done // There's not one thing that I would change // My life was a storm, since I was born // How could I fear any hurricane?”

It seems like the singer has been through a very turbulent experience with the person they are talking to, presumably a lover. We’ll assume it’s a romantic lover for the remainder of this analysis, but it’s worth noting that it could be any kind of loved one. This lover seemed to assume that in the aftermath of this experience that the singer was going to leave them after such a crushing blow to their lives. The speaker is shocked or down right offended by their lover thinking these things. They reveal that they were not thinking such things. They don’t regret the relationship and they aren't leaving them. The singer’s life has been turbulent since they were young. Maybe they were born into a hard life or something along those lines. Therefore whatever trouble was thrown at the singer and their lover means nothing in comparison to their entire life. Likely just another thing to add to the list.

I’ll skip the pre-chorus, chorus, and post-chorus for now and move on to the second verse.

“For all that was said // Of where we'd end up at the end of it…”

It seems like the singer and his lover were talked about negatively by others. Critics of the couple seemed to warn that they’d end up in a negative spot, physically or emotionally, by the end of the their relationship, or the end of their lives, due to the consequences of the relationship.

This song seems to be very inspired by the real life Francesca da Polenta and Paolo Malatesta, as well as their fictional punishment in Inferno, or the more famously titled Dante’s inferno, section of the epic poem Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. In real life, Francesca cheated on her husband, Giovanni Malatesta, with his brother, Paolo. Giovanni, enraged, murdered Paolo and Francesca. In Dante’s Inferno, Paolo and Francesca are punished for their infidelity by being sent to the second circle of Hell when they died, where they are internally swept by violent winds, or an internal hurricane, mirroring how they were swept away by their feelings for each other. With this context, the remainder of this analysis will use this story as the lose context of what happened to the singer and his lover. Let’s say they were sent to hell for “lust”.

“When the heart would cease // Ours never knew peace // What good would it be on the far side of things?”

The lovers both have turbulent backstories throughout their lives. Maybe a life full of sin prior to their final sin of loving each other that ended their lives. They never knew peace. I believe the singer asks themselves what good would not loving their lover during their lives have done if they probably were going to end up in hell anyway (Oddly enough this question was the hardest part of the song to interpret for me). What good would it be in the long run, or far side of things, if we were going to hell anyway?

“It was too soon // When that part of you was ripped away // A grip taking hold // Like a cancer that grows // Each piece of your body that it takes.”

In the context of Francesca and Paolo in history, they were murdered, therefore, taken too soon. Maybe this is what the singer is referring to, if you go with the interpretation that the singer is supposed to literally be Paolo, talking to Francesca (or Francesca talking to Paolo—l’ve seen that interpretation). Outside of that exact context, the singer might be talking about his lover’s past. What ever happened to the lover, it killed a part of them, sooner than it should've died. Maybe this missing part of the lover affected their relationship with the singer. I take it as mental illness taking away some part of their lover and if affecting they're relationship, but it could be anything. This could be the alternative negative to their relationship, or punishment, that they were warned of, other than Hell.

Now, let’s look at the pre-chorus, chorus, and post-chorus.

“If someone asked me at the end // I'll tell them put me back in it // Dar-Darling, I would do it again, ah, ah // If I could hold you for a minute // Dar-Darling, I'd go through it again, ah, ah // I would still be surprised I could find you, darling // In any life // If I could hold you for a minute // Dar-Darling, I would do it again, ah, ah.”

“Though I know my heart would break // I'll tell them put me back in it…”

The most beautiful aspect of this song: the singer revels that he would never change a thing about what happened to them, even if the two are receiving punishment for their love. Even though this punishment, or the consequences leading up to the punishment, breaks their heart or kills them, they would make the same “mistake” if they were given a second chance to fix it to where they aren’t being punished. They’d still sin and find their lover in any second chance of life and be just as in love, then suffer in the name of it. Ah! Francesca and Paolo were in Hell, but they were in it together. They aren’t apart in Dante’s Inferno, they get to be swept in the wind while holding onto each other. This might be defeating the point of Hell, but I think they probably make the most of their situation down there, since they’re still together and in love.

Now the outro (Note: I’ve been seeing some slightly different lyrics for the outro on different sites and Hozier’s very ethereal annunciation, while beautiful, doesn’t really help in that department. Forgive me if these lyrics are wrong and if it affects the analysis).

“I would not change it each time (I would not change it each time) // Heaven is not fit to house a love (Heaven is not fit to house a love) // Like you and I (like you and I).”

Again, the singer would not change the way things happened with their lover, despite the penalty they face for it. The singer decides that Heaven can’t house their love anyway. Maybe this is because it’s too big of a love that even Heaven, a place that is supposed to house an unimaginable amount of people, can't make room for it. Or their love is too complex to perfectly fit into the typical box of “pure” or “good”, aka Heaven.

This is admittedly a bit of a detour, but I wanted to add a possible extra literary reference this song might take from. I’m probably so off, but I couldn’t help myself after it came to me.

The pre-chorus, chorus, post-chorus, and outro specifically remind me of Adam and Eve from Paradise Lost by John Milton. In that story, Adam and Eve live in the paradise that is the garden of Eden. They live in unfiltered joy and in pure love (they’re actually surprisingly so cute during this period when you read the epic poem). Adam regularly dubs her the “Holy Mother” and other titles like that. Then Satan, disguised as a snake, convinces Eve to eat the fruit of knowledge. As Eve eats she loses her purity, now knowing and wondering things that she wasn’t built to for. Things such as death and how it’s in her now, or if she’ll know what God knows, or if the fruit kills her will God make Adam a new Eve. Eve, loving Adam so greatly, decides she can’t stand Adam having another Eve, now able to have the flaw of jealousy, so she offers Adam, who had been making a flower crown for her, some of the fruit. Adam, knowing that Eve has condemned herself and that he can’t love a new Eve, decides to go down with the woman he loves and eats the fruit, unbeknownst to him that she is no longer the exact woman he fell for. She now has impurities. They both become jaded versions of themselves and they’re original love is gone. Adam and Eve get punished by having no choice but to die eventually and toil through the pains of life. Both Adam and Eve, for the first time ever, since they just introduced the concept into the world, want death, and Eve begs for his forgiveness, as long as he doesn’t leave her. They decide to live in faith that things will improve and ask the angels forgiveness. They gain that forgiveness, but must leave Eden. Adam and Eve also now somewhat fear the angels that they once considered friends and know they will never seem them the same way again, now being corrupt. Eve takes the revelation hard, but, even after all they’ve been through and are now going to go through, Adam remarks that Eve is still the “Holy Mother” to him, sin and all, and that he still loves her, even if it’s different now. After Adam is told about how sin will be forgiven after Christ (he’s not told as directly as that, but you know), Adam and Eve decide to make the best of their lives, hopeful, and leave Eden.

The outro especially remains me of this story. Both are about loving someone in spite of the pain it caused. My gay, Christian, hopeless-romantic ass loves that shit. I do think the main inspiration to this song was Francesca da Polenta, Paolo Malatesta, and Dante’s Inferno, but I couldn’t help but also think of that version of Adam and Eve too, and just thought I’d throw it in here as a slight bonus analysis (I totally recommend Milton’s Paradise Lost and it’s sequel Paradise Regained, whether or not you're Christian. They’re such cool retellings of the story of the first sin and the temptation of Christ. Paradise Lost is so much more interesting beyond the common—in my opinion, wrong—rhetoric that it’s about “Ooh—Is Satan actually the good guy??? Is he in the right???” No. His a master manipulator and you fell for it. Adam and Eve are the real show in my eyes. They are so fascinating). Adam and Eve don’t fit the song perfectly or anything, but I… just wanted an excuse to talk about them…

I’ve seen some interpretations of this song as sexy or about lust, I guess since Francesca and Paolo were in Hell for lust. I‘m not saying that’s an incorrect interpretation at all, as you can interpret things however you want. But I can’t seem to see it that way. It feels more about romantic, “real” love to me, not just lust, if there’s any lust at all. Sex doesn’t even seem to be referenced in this song from what I can tell. Maybe they mean it’s a sexy song? Like the song is so good it’s sexy, but not really about sex? I don’t know. I can be kinda “sex-blind” sometimes, as I call it, and sexual references can go over my head, so maybe that’s why I can’t see it. Hozier has plenty of songs that are about sex or sexually charged (i.e. Talk, It Will Come Back, Moment’s Silence, probably etc.) but I don't personally think this is one of them.

I hoped you enjoyed and got something out of my dribble that I wrote instead of sleeping. 💚

[merinsedai]

Happy November!

Actually, I don’t really like November, usually. So many dark and gloomy days where I live; and so long until the weather will improve!

October roundup:

An up and down month. Started off with covid, so felt dreadful and just lived in my bedroom for the best part of a week whilst husbae did the full time job and all the parenting/meals etc etc. what a star he is.

Missed the wedding I was meant to attend as though I’d recovered enough to go, Mr 4 was ill and so I had to stay and look after him. Too late to cancel my hotel booking as well. Right bugger. In 2023, I have had three arrangements to meet actual friends in the flesh and I’ve managed 1 of those. The universe is set on me not having even a modicum of a social life.

I had to cancel my work that I’d booked, then there was no more work until the 30th. Some of that was half term, the rest… well there probably would have been work to pick up if I’d asked but I didn’t so… not a great month in the earnings department. Currently three days into a three week booking and that’s going ok.

Managed the birthday and the party without incident. Thank God for soft play and paying other people to basically do the whole thing for you. Don’t think I could’ve coped with running an old fashioned party at my house. All those 4/5 year olds… no thanks.

Made it to the caravan in Wales for the half term holiday. Mostly fine, as fine as holidays with small Chn can get. Miss 7 developed an appalling cold which she has subsequently passed to me. It is currently sitting in my chest and making me sound like a 40 a day smoker. Nice.

All that nice self care stuff I set up in September (the make up and body care stuff) was derailed when covid hit and hasn’t really picked up again. Turns out losing habits is far easier than maintaining. A bit of mascara here and there to stop me looking truly horrendous but not much else. Must get back to it. Still closing my rings, probably should up the goal to make it more challenging.

Actually managed to complete my October challenge- the sandtober daily drawing prompts. It was good. I did almost all of them the night they were ‘due’ c10pm, since inspiration never struck until then. It seems I still require the impetus of a deadline to actually get my arse in gear and do something. Did I improve over the month? Mm perhaps. I was exceptionally rusty, the only things I’d drawn in the past decade or so were shit renditions of Peppa Pig or the Octonauts for the toddlers. Toddlers are easily pleased, luckily. Also learned (no… confirmed. I already knew it) that I lack any creativity, because if there isn’t something to copy then I can’t do it. If there *is* something to copy, I can produce vague facsimiles (as long as no one is looking for shading or whatever) with varying degrees of success.

For November’s “thing”, I’ve signed to to a writing challenge. I don’t know why really, see above about the lack of creativity I possess. I just… came out a heart scan at the hospital and thought ‘fuck it’ and signed up. I’m even less practised in writing than I am in drawing (though I read voraciously and everyone knows that’s ‘so helpful for building vocabulary etc’ 😅) but… we shall see how it progresses.

OH and storm Babet blew down a massive bough from one of the old ash trees in my garden. It’s currently sitting and destroying the lawn, just waiting for the tree surgeons to come and take care of it and check that the rest of the tree is still ok.

This is a fooking big branch. We have a decent sized garden and it’s taking up most of it. The satellite branches we’ve removed already are six ft long. And they’re like twigs compared to the main thing.

[scorchedhearth]

14, 18, 33, 65 for the fic writer asks!!! <3 <3

<333

14 how do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

i do need to get in the right mood, i can write action and character study scene more easily, but if it's a scene loaded emotion-wise i need to get a good feel for it. not necessarily feeling what the character feel, but i need to feel calm in order to properly focus and get the emotions i want across well. i dont usually draw from personal experience, more so the physical reaction i have or have seen others have. it's a surprise to no one that i mostly use the body, body language and interaction between bodies in my stories so that's usually what i focus on. i dont do well with dragging along monologue or description, i mostly use body reactions and physical feelings to add to the emotions of the scene. i dont believe u have to know the scene personally to be able to write it, and in general i avoid publishing work with scenes or situations that feel too close to things i've lived myself, it doesn't feel right, that's not why i write

18 Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

usually after, very rarely during. titling my piece is a harrowing process that i loathe because to me titles are important so i need to find the right one to show off the general atmosphere of the fic, so it's usually rough. i sit down and stare at my doc and try dozen and dozen of titles, but sometimes inspiration strike while writing. i used to favor very long titles but now they annoy me lol i like to keep them under three words, i find it more impactful that way, and i try to go with something related to the theme, maybe a play on word, or a reference to an important element

33 Do you want to be published some day?

not for my fics, they are purely for fandom spaces, but i do think of being published one day. it's not gonna happen anytime soon, as of now i cannot let anyone see my original work, it feels too intimate, much less try and get it published and read by the masses, but i think i'd like that eventually, when (if) im ready to

65 Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

there's this one scene in a wip i haven't talked about here that i cannot wait to be able to write. it's at the end of a long and heavy build-up, and if i pull this off and do it right, it's gonna be the perfect encapsulation of the calm after the storm. i really want to capture this feeling of utter hollowness after a very rough fight where things get silent all of sudden and ur sitting in it wondering where do u go from here. i wanna see the pressure grow and grow for pages and mount to a catastrophic end except it's no tragic end, just a mundane one. things are horrifying and destructive and u wreak havoc and then u stand in the debris and have to make the choice to walk away from it

fic writer asks

[winxngasks]

As mentioned briefly here, another project I had in mind for Winx Club was redesigning/reworking my Main Universe next-gen kiddos! I haven't touched these guys in a suuuper long time, mostly because I've been focusing on the AU next-gen universe but also I haven't had as much inspiration or motivation to work with my main next-gen, if that makes sense? But, that is something I want to change as I will be working on them in-between the redesign posts for the canon characters.

So first up, we have Bloom and Andy's kids! I shared a little bit of my ideas for Jasmine in the post linked above, but here are some more notes for all three of the siblings!

================================================

- Jasmine: 15 years old, daughter and middle child of Bloom and Andy. Citizen of Gardenia, Earth, and Fairy of Storms. Short height, soft and round body type that is slightly chubby, messy, shoulder-length dark brown hair, cyan blue eyes, fair skin, mole on the right side of her chin under her mouth. Very humble and level-headed, as her and her siblings grew up in a simpler life on Earth than a royal one or one in the Magical Dimension. She does however, have quite the feisty and fiery temper when she gets upset or experiences the slightest inconveniences sometimes. Pretty experimental and adventorous, she is not afraid to try new things out or explore new places, even if it can get her in trouble sometimes. As such, she is often the one that gets her other group members roped into all sorts of fairy missions, good or bad.

- Aidan: 17 years old, son and oldest child of Bloom and Andy. Citizen of Gardenia, Earth, and Wizard of the Dragon Flame. Tallish height, lanky build that is slightly muscular from physical training, short, messy/spiky medium-red hair, light yellowish-green eyes, fair skin. A natural prodigy at his magic, he is currently already in his last year at Wolfsbane Prep but cannot wait to graduate and start living his own life. Rather serious, hot-headed, and easily frustrated at times, he is protective of his loved ones as he does not want to see them get hurt from his power. He does have some anxiety and insecurities when it comes to his Dragon Flame magic as he does not want to abuse it or lose control, so he only uses it in class or when absolutely necessary. Although he is a wizard he is honestly only attending school for it out of social pressure, as he would rather work on his song lyrics and work on getting his small band to become more successful.

- Mckenna "Kenna": 9 years old, daughter and youngest child of Bloom and Andy. Citizen of Gardenia, Earth, with no signs of possible magic at the moment. Short height, skinny build, slightly past chin-length, straight, medium-brown hair that curls slightly at the ends, brown eyes, fair skin. A timid and shy girl, she seems like the complete opposite of her mother and older siblings. Yet despite this, she still tries to be kind and friendly to all those she meets, and tries to keep her cool around those who upset her. Seems a bit closer to her father as she is musically gifted like him, though she prefers to explore music more through dancing and acting. Her closest friend is Prince Leo of Solaria, who helps her with her confidence and to come out of her shell and try new things.

[sebthedreamsmith]

On Animism

In my meditations I’ve come to find myself in a weird place with Animism. I think everything has a Spiritual Essence as complex as the paradoxes and multitudes as any human. But I do not think that means it has *personhood* in the easily understood human way.

I’ve started to realize that my own thoughts on what constitutes a Soul is very similar to what constitutes Souls in a Norse Heathen sense, but also somewhat distinct in my own metaphysics. But the key take away is a Soul is a multiplicity of things, and not every Thing may have all components of that a Human has, and a Human may lack portions that others have. In much the same way things can have ir lack organs I suppose. Not having a brain doesn’t meant you’re not a living identity, but it would make it silly to treat the brainless-thing as if it can become jealous of you

Here are the Parts of a Soul as I currently understand them

The Master: The part that ministers to the rest of the soul, whose job is to govern the parts as some cohesive “Self”. If you’re reading this, this is the part you most associate with “you”. It’s the part that can say “actually I won’t have that second cookie” or the part that can say “if I want to be a better artist I better make good practice choices”. The master is the keystone of Agency

The Servitor: The part that governs all those mental and spiritual processes that one cannot directly govern. Much like a pet it can be unruly, well tamed, abused, or loved. It’s the spark of inspiration, the fire of passion, the beast that lashes out in anger at those who hurt you. The part of yourself that cares for you when you cannot and the part who you must learn to cooperate with if you want to be happy, let alone do magic

The Vessel: Also part of the soul, basically just your body. Your physicality in the world including your Embedded and Enacted nature with your environment. Look up Enactivism as a psychological concept for more

And basically! Not every Spirit will have a Vessel, and not every Vessel has a Master, and not every Master has a Servitor. And so on and so forth

A Music Box might have a spiritual identity to it, but it’s likely that it’s not filled with human needs and actually would like to just be well maintained and used and enjoyed as it spins and dances on a brass spring. A tree wants to just thrive and grow. A spoon wants to be used for its purpose of providing sustenance. And so on and so forth according to a things capacity for Agency, it’s Inner Workings, and it’s Physicality

Animals of course would have pretty complex souls much more similar to a Humans, but you needn’t worry that say, those old tennis shoes are having the 5 stages of grief because they are worn out.

Death is probably only a meaningful concept to living things whose Physicality means they want to survive, so there’s NO impetus to hoard things to “save” them

Living things can have a variety of needs and wants and fears, so there’s no need to assume the Spirits of any inanimate thing would have the same concerns and fears as something with a fleshy or woody body. The empathy and respect you give them would need to be suited to their own Nature and capacity for an Inner Life and Agency of their own. Storms can be very full of chaos and choices! But it probably does not seek to survive or propagate itself how a Human or Cat or Tree might, you know?

Many Animistic Spirits may even be closer to what some Practitioners call “Energy”. The flow of Essence Plankton through the world of tiny half-formed flickering identities that we wouldn’t have any qualms really about utilizing any more than a filter feeder should be considered with taking the abundant plankton from the water through its cilia. Nor does it mean that’s any less powerful of magic than working with more Complex Spirits, Blue Whales sustain themselves on Krill so a witch who only wants to work with Energy Flow is still valid and potent you know?

That’s the summary of my thoughts for now and it may evolve with time. What do you think?

[curious-glitch]

Neuroscience seems to be in the eye of the storm when it comes to the most exciting developments in technology today:

- AI: Our understanding of the brain will continue to inform AI development - neural networks alone inspired the entire AI revolution we know today. At the same time, AI will also deepen our understanding of the brain on multiple levels. On one level, it could help us create more accurate simulations or even digital twins which allow us to run experiments which mirror the physical world. On another level, humans have birthed artificial thinking systems with LLMs and we are just trying to grok how a simple autocomplete mechanism can give rise to the advanced comprehension and understanding that AI currently has. Is human thinking perhaps as simple as autocomplete on steroids? Could scaling these systems eventually lead to the emergence of consciousness? All these are exciting thoughts to ponder.

- Neural interfaces/neuroprosthetics: The involvement of neuroscience here also goes both ways - how could neuroprosthetics augment human capabilities and enhance cognition? And how could we use our brain signals to control interfaces in a more natural manner? This is a nascent area which relates back to AI as well - could AI-connected neuroprosthetics be an exoskeleton that multiplies the capabilities of the human mind?

- VR/AR: This is also a double-edged sword, in the sense that it could induce 'psychosis' of sorts, wrapping us up in a virtual environment that could hijack our senses, perception, and attention. We have just begun to scratch the surface on the applications of VR/AR for mental health such as anxiety disorders, but we have to be wary that it could just as easily cause a slew of new mental health issues. I go back to this quote by Edward Wilson: "The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions and godlike technology." Technological change moves at a much faster pace than our biological evolution - so how do we ensure that we could cope and thrive?

[theeverlastingshade]

Heaven Is a Junkyard- Youth Lagoon

I always find it incredibly satisfying when I hear great art that feels unabashedly out of step with the zeitgeist. Whether it's something aggressive like the artsy dance punk of Model/Actriz and Mandy, Indiana or something melodic and mercurial, like the warped pop tinkering of Water From Your Eyes or feeble little horse, it's hard to deny the innate pleasure that I experience when hearing something so completely realized that also feels so unabashedly out of lockstep with pop culture writ large even if they signal trends within various niche cultures. Enter Trevor Powers (who began his career making records under the moniker Youth Lagoon, retired the moniker and made a records under his birth name in the late 10s, and then returned to YL earlier this year), who was starting to have a real moment within the realm of bedroom pop in the early 10s (which was always a niche blog concern despite indie music having a brief brush with the mainstream just before that) who returned with Heaven Is a Junkyard, his 4th YL LP, to an indie landscape far removed from the one he entered in his halcyon days. While there's a lot to appreciate about the records he recorded as Trevor Powers, his best work has always been released under YL. And although HIaJ is decidedly out of step with current indie trends (and mainstream music sensibilities to a far larger degree), it's an inspired return to form that's easily among the strongest records that I've heard this year so far.

HIaJ retains many of the hallmarks that Powers has employed throughout his entire career; wispy vocals, unfussy arrangements employed with ingenuity, insular production, etc, but the most notable shift here is the return to that undeniable command of melody that Powers has demonstrated in spades since his terrific 2011 debut, The Year of Hibernation, but which has remained somewhat dormant on the albums under his own name. Songs like "Rabbit", "Prizefighter", "The Sling", "Mercury", and “Little Devil from the Country” are practically spilling over with some of his strongest melodies to date, and thankfully they're within the context of sharp pop songs that allow these melodies to breathe without overtly allowing on his melodic intuition alone. Powers has always had a soft, singular voice that could occasionally get lost in the wondrous soundscapes of past compositions, and while he dramatically altered his approach his vocals spill forth with a heightened anthemic edge that provides well-earned gravitas to the lush music throughout. Well-crafted hooks like "What makes me lose my head/Love and memory/Why toss and turn in bed/Love and memory" ("The Sling"), "This is how we score/With our face to the floor/Ain't no magic door/Just a window where the storm took me" ("Rabbit"), "I don't remember how it happened/Blood filled up the clawfoot bath/I will fear no frontier" ("Idaho Alien") retain Powers' fixation on nostalgia and memories displayed in his earliest work retrofitted through an older vantage. His perspective has shifted, but he hasn't lost sight of his roots.

The music throughout HIaJ is still insular and understated, but, like all of his records, brimming with rich texture at every turn. Clocking in at 10 songs in 34 HIaJ flows with immaculate precision, no wasted movements, and an exquisite attention to detail. These songs are predominantly piano ballads rounded out with synths, drum machines, bass, and some occasional guitar, but the parameters never feel constricting; they actually serve to accentuate his compositional brilliance. While it's easy to miss the reverb-saturated low-end heavy psychedelia of his past work, these arrangements are just as enjoyable to get lost in. Check the rickety percussion and loping bassline on mid-album heat check "Deep Red Sea" or the way that closer "Helicopter Toy" flips from dense chamber pop to a distortion-heavy dirge and back without missing a step. For the most part, the singles on HIaJ are the highlights, but everything here has something satisfying to offer. Even the sub 3 minute instrumental breather, "Lux Radio Theatre", unfolds like a necessary segway from "The Sling" the record's emotional apex, to "Deep Red Sea". While these songs may initially scan as straightforward chamber pop with their immediate pleasures laid bare, they each reward close listening several times over. On HIaJ, Powers sounds emboldened and creatively rejuvenated, resulting in some of the strongest music that he's ever recorded.

Essentials: "Rabbit", "Prizefighter", "The Sling"

[strezzlecki]

fic song tag game !!!!!!

ty to @achilleslikespeas for the tag i love this shit !!

rules: share 3 to 5 songs that have inspired a current wip.

(im not on speaking terms with my wips so i will do this for my last completed fic, The Beautiful Lady (Without Mercy) , a little lesbian wolfstar oneshot)))

this is embarassing but two songs that inspired the concept & setting are:

Broken Cash Machine- Modern Baseball

THESE LYRICS Sweeping floors and folding napkins, praying something cool might happen. The sun explodes, we die, the world ends.

Hotel California- Eagles

Basically the whole vibe of this song but specifically these lyrics: I was thinking to myself, this could Heaven or this could be Hell. &&& Mirrors on the ceiling, Pink champagne on ice. And she said, "we are all just prisoners here of our own device."

Then the general vibe :

Francesca- Hozier

idk if I need to say it but How could you think, darling, I'd scare so easily? Now that it's done, There's not one thing that I would change, My life was a storm, since I was born. How could I fear any hurricane? &&& When the heart would cease, ours never knew peace. What good would it be on the far side of things?

The Curse of the Blackened Eye- Orville Peck

I've been hiding out, running from the curse of the blackened eye Uh-uh Darling, I can feel it coming every time I sat around last year Wishing so many times that I would die

Love Will Tear Us Apart- Joy Division

There's a taste in my mouth as desperation takes hold. Just that something so good, just can't function no more.

idk who to tag so ill leave it open for anyone else who wants to do it !!

[morzinevillage]

Avoriaz Webcam

Capture Your Most Memorable Moments With Morzine Webcam

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From breathtaking skylines in the background to illuminating snow trails — be sure of a visual treat no matter when you decide to take a peek. Plus, you can even track how much sunshine grace each day with the 24/7 streaming feature offered by Avoriaz webcam!

Whether you're a local or planning your next holiday destination, here are several impressive benefits of using a Morzine webcam:

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With a Morzine webcam, you can monitor both short-term and long-term weather forecasts, so you'll know exactly what to expect when you arrive! 

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From nearby restaurants, shopping centers, and cultural attractions – see it all with a Morzine webcam before deciding where to go first!  

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