#like That’s How Hamlet Works . which is just so fun to me

[papenathys]

Top Books of 2025 (Jan-June)

Thank you @fluoresensitives for tagging me. I am the same, I usually do half and half wrap ups, instead of per quarter, simply because it gives me enough time to accumulate a good number of reads. Giving a short summary for each so people can look them up:

Some Desperate Glory (adult, sci-fi): a child soldier raised on an imperial military space station unlearns some hardcore fascist propaganda when she rescues an unlikely war prisoner from her unit. really well written military deradicalization arc for mc, and overall a solid sci-fi space odyssey novel.

The Calcutta Chromosome (adult, thriller, speculative fiction?): a magnus archives-esque story about computers, scientology cults, time travelling ancient gods and lots of mosquitoes. take three benadryls and walk the streets of north and central kolkata during the monsoon and you'll see this novel unfold vividly.

DD's umbrella (adult, litfic): two novellas about two queer couples in Seoul, Korea, navigating adulthood, economic crisis, personal losses and the nationwide grief following the 2014 sewol ferry tragedy. just beautifully written and endlessly heartbreaking, but ends with hope.

The Fall That Saved Us (adult, paranormal romance): a woman who fled her abusive, religious family of demon hunters and now lives a secluded life in the Midwest, realises one night that she is being haunted by a succubus. it's slow paced, sapphic, sensual, deals with religious and familial trauma and is genuinely poetic and lovely.

Mrs S. (adult, litfic): a young butch matron at a secluded girls' boarding school in England falls for the headmaster's wife. BANGING beautifully written, feverish and horny with lesbian desire, plus captures the nuances of life in a convent school that I really liked.

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness (adult, manga): recounts the author's journey with coming to terms with her lesbian identity, figuring out her adult life choices, and how alienating it is for queer working class adults in Japan. Really heartbreaking but also weirdly comforting if you are queer and live in Asia and feel like this.

Salt Slow (adult, magical realism): short story collection about bodily transformations, femininity, and all things grotesque, macabre and haunting. I want to be wrapped up in Julia Armfield's prose and put to bed, except it will probably be slimy and smelling of fish scales and salt water and I'll have nightmares.

When We Lost Our Heads (adult, historical): retells the lives of Marie Antoinette and Marquis de Sade by reimagining them as spoilt teenage girls growing up in 1800s Montreal during the American Industrial Revolution. I reviewed this for the Lesbrary, which you can read, but anyway, banging exploration of queer desire, sexuality, class privilege, identity politics, unions and labor movements + what a fun retelling concept!

Small Things Like These (historical, litfic): in 1980s Ireland, a coal merchant discovers the horrifying truths behind the convent operating in his sleepy little hamlet. probably the best book on this list: short, powerful, and somber story about the Irish Magdalene laundries, asking the reader what we owe to each other, but also to ourselves.

Tagging @ripley-stark @somerabbitholes @cuntylittlesalmon @ghostpoetics whoever else wants to.

[apricotopera]

i really like how much of bbs + it’s tragedy functions on how little each character knows about the other arcs and my favorite little example of this is the in universe disagreement on who actually killed eraqus. if you ask terra it was xehanort. if you ask xehanort he’ll say it was him but terra helped. yen sid decides to cause problems by telling aqua ‘it was xehanort…..and terra’ even though later in 3 he walks that back and says just xehanort. aqua hears what yen sid says as terra did it. poor ven is so miserable at that point he has no idea even though the reason terra did it at all is to protect him. if you ask ME. it was terra ❤️

[gayershakespeare]

Some fun things from RSC's 2025 Hamlet

It's set on a boat, and the stage tilts to mimic a boat, including the ending when the ship sinks and the stage tilts way up so actors slide off stage 'into the sea'. We'll come back to this later

Everyone else in the play talks like they're in a play. Hamlet talks like a person. To be more exact, a person who has a lot of feelings and is tripping over his own words to get them out. When the actor playing Hamlet first started talking, I genuinely thought he was corpsing for a few seconds

When he and Horatio first hug, it first feels like a typical friend hug, but then it lasts just a little longer, and Horatio moves one hand from Hamlet's back to cradle his head

There are people dancing during the first couple of scene transitions (until the boat is in trouble and they run around with life jackets on), and in one instance, Horatio dances with another man

Now would be a good time to mention that this whole production takes place over ONE EVENING. It's set at Claudius' coronation/wedding to Gertrude, and the time of night flashes up before each scene. The play starts around 9PM and ends at 1AM.

Now, this, of course, begs several questions like: How were Rosencrantz and Guildenstern summoned so fast? How did Laertes get back so fast? And the answer seems to be: Don't worry about it :) We're working off OFMD boat logic here

Speaking of Rosie and Gil: They're American, and I kind of love that for them. I love it when productions 'other' them in some way, to make them feel out of place. TBH, there were times it felt like THIS was the 'Hamlet' that 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead' takes place in. Which leads me to

The players. The head player is the same actor who plays the ghost of Hamlet's father, and this is acknowledged in play! When Hamlet sees him for the first time, he screams! Then desperately tries to cover for himself

Hamlet barks at people. Literally barks and growls like a dog. Love that for him

He also walks around barefoot for most of the play

They moved 'To Be or Not To Be' to the end of Act One, which cuts off right before Hamlet goes to (not) murder Claudius.

There's a lot more to say, but this is already a really long post, so I'll end with: As the ship is sinking, and the stage is titled way upright, and everyone except Hamlet, Horatio, and the body of Claudius have fallen into the sea, Horatio clings to Hamlet with his arms around him, and Hamlet pries himself from Horatio's hold, stands up and walks down the ship towards the sea

[katiekatdragon27]

Hey. Hey, guys. You'll never guess what I've been drawing.

Glisten: ...??

Glisten and his lame ass boyfriends!!!!!! Cheers to art dumps <3

[CW: SUGGESTIVE JOKE] More doodles below cut:

So! I know most of you come for the shinyshrimp stuff (WHICH WE WILL GET TO) but let me yap about Glisten and Razzle for a bit.

I LOVE YOU GLITTERMASK THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU GLITTERMASK-

Glisten and Razzle got together like 3 months after Glisten and Boxten broke up. Razzle never really looked to Glisten that much outside of acquaintances (cuz he was kinda sorta lowkey jealous of Glisten's charisma and stage-presence). In fact, they were much more focused on Vee and maybe possibly had a crush on her, which is really funny in hindsight with Dazzle lol. However, after learning that Vee was a lesbian/being very rudely rejected by her, Razzle found comfort in Glisten and fell head-over-heels almost immediately.

The only problem is, Razzle has -10000 aura. His ass cannot be flirty or cool-charismatic at all.

Glisten: What do you do when you aren't distracting? Razzle: (Glisten likes mysterious people) I sell drugs!! Glisten: ... Excuse me? Razzle: (But Glisten also likes kind people) But ONLY to kids in need! Dazzle: (STOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOPSTOP-) *defeated whimper*

Razzle thinks he's that guy (they're not, they're pathetic honestly lol)

Also like, Razzle is suuuper dense when it comes to everyone except Dazzle. They struggle with self-reflection and other-people reflection, so he is completely convinced he is doing all the right things, when in actuality, they are very very very cringe.

Razzle: No see Dazzie, this is why they call me Rizzle. Dazzle: (No one has EVER called you that.)

Denseness is one hell of a drug, aye, fellas?

Dazzle is being pulled through the wringer trying to preserve whatever was left of her (and Razzle's) pride. It's not working. Girl is fighting for their life every time she is dragged over by Razzle in order to say a horrible pick-up line to Glisten.

(This is all pre-relationship btw. After they get together it becomes an inside joke and Glisten retorts with his own awful (although not nearly as bad) pick-up lines)

Now the moment you've been waiting forrrr 🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁

✨ Shinyshrimp ✨

I love them chat, I love them sm. They have so much drama and love and interesting things going on, they're so cool and fun n stuff and AUGHHHHH💥💥💥

Shrimpo being that one guy who craves affection but would literally bite anyone who gives it to him is so real to me. Homie wants a hug but ends up suplexing whoever hugged him outta reflex. Glisten, on the other hand, is one of the most affectionate people ever. He's not affectionate to everyone, but when you catch his interest (both platonic and romantic), he is very verbally and physically affectionate. He'll buy you things, he'll give you hugs, he'll let you invade his personal space, all stuff he would never let normies do.

Shrimpo loves this, however, homie has no idea how to deal with any kind of affection in a positive way. Cat-coded ahh guy. Glisten does find this amusing tho, so he's more inclined to be affectionate with Shrimpo to help him "get over it" in a way.

This is just for shits and giggles. I feel like everyone should draw this meme with their ships. It's a canon event at this point.

What can I say? He was hungry.

Can't forget my fankids. I love my fankids. I miss my fankids. I need to draw my fankids more istg I need to revamp their ask blog soon (especially with some new editions coming soon).

Also Hamlet looks smaller because most of his internal structure is made of ribbon and stuffing, so he shrinks into a ball when happy. He also loafs like a cat, what a guy.

Also also also what the skibidi sigma happened to my prep-jock ship?? Why is it backwards???

I drew these because I had a vision of the little doodle below and only thought it would work if they were swaped... sooooo... here we are.

Scapmi is a preppy goth-ish shrimp with an eye for fashion and artistry. With a smart mouth and a massive ego, he often comes off as an annoyance to others. He loves to be front and center in everything but often has to fight with his internalized idea that everything is a competition that he needs to win no matter what. It causes him a lot of stress and self-doubt, but he'd never let anyone see his weaknesses.

Gash is a shrap-toned violent mirror who speaks more with his fists than his voice. He hates everything that is not himself (and sweets) and makes sure people know that. He used to be a perfectionist, but after an accident permanently cracked his face, he dropped his "perfect" persona in favor of a messy, more hateful one. He wants connection but doesn't know how to express his needs in an understandable way, and that frustrates him immensely.

As you can see, match made in heaven.

Gash: DUDE, WHAT THE F*CK!? Scampi: There's a smudge on you- Gash: I DON'T CARE! LET GO!! Scampi: Not 'til I'm done. (Your natural blush is gorgeous; shame it's on you tho)

So yeah, swap shinyshrimp lore drop yippee.

Have a good one chat, til I reappear again✌️✌️

[thechildofshadows]

PARTNERS IN WINE

Avery Grambs x Jameson Hawthorne - 2.1k

masterlist

Hello and a Happy St. Patrick's Day to all who celebrate! Here's the promised 'Jameson takes care of drunk!Avery' fic, @saythewordheiress. You did not ask me to write it, but I have done so anyway! (because I like doing fun things, especially if it means skiving off schoolwork!) Let me know if you guys want a part two, because I think I set it up pretty well to write a chapter for Grayson and Lyra. This is different from what I usually write, so the quality might be worse. This fic, as I said earlier, is one where Jameson takes care of a drunk Avery. She's drunk for about half the fic and hungover for the other half, so if you don't like reading about people being drunk, or people throwing up ... wrong place, I will see you next week! It is also partially a chat-fic ... you'll see what I mean, because it alternates between actual storytelling and texting. It sounds bad rn, just read it. If you hate the texting, there is actual writing, and if you hate the writing, there is texting. Have fun!

CONVERSATION: KEVIN, JOE, NICK AND THE BONUS JONAS

NASH: Alright you’re going to love this

JAMESON: am i

NASH: Maybe not

NASH: so you know how the girls had a night here

JAMESON: yes

JAMESON: get to the point nash

NASH: there was some rum involved

GRAYSON: Is anyone dead, bleeding, or currently in the hospital?

NASH: no

GRAYSON: Then what’s the problem?

JAMESON: you text like a karen

XANDER: Nash hesitates to tell you, so I shall!

XANDER: They got really drunk.

NASH: …

NASH: Y’all have been quiet for a while

NASH: I’m not afraid of a fight

NASH: I have Oren

GRAYSON: Oren won’t help.

JAMESON: they’re not hurt, jfc calm down loverboy

JAMESON: how much is really drunk?

NASH: like a lot.

NASH: Avery and Max kept drinking after Libby stopped

NASH: they’ve gone through a lot of bottles.

XANDER: Avery recited Shakespeare off the top of her head

JAMESON: do you know which one

XANDER: A Midsummer’s Night Dream

XANDER: The queen’s monologue

JAMESON: omg she was learning it last week for that lit course

NASH: Gotta say

NASH: if this whole inheritance thing stops working out

NASH: she has a future in theater.

GRAYSON: From one solo?

NASH: hey she and Lyra got a pretty good recital of Hamlet in

NASH: they sound better than you do when you’re sober

JAMESON: i think gray might cry lmfao

GRAYSON: I’m not.

Jameson’s favorite thing (person) in the world was Avery Kylie Grambs.

That being said, he had no idea how to handle the woman while she was drunk. And in denial.

“Look, I’ve walked in a straight line, and … and I got back home fine. I’m not thaaaaat drunk.”

Jameson looked at Avery, who has tucked herself into his side. “Oren drove you here, and that line was definitely not straight.”

“It was …” she mumbled. She tried to take a few steps by herself, and fell over against Jameson, who wrapped an arm around her torso to steady her.

“Jesus Christ, how much did you drink?” Avery had a pretty high tolerance for alcohol, and her liver probably died three times over for her to be this drunk.

“I’m not Jesus, I’m Saint Avery, remember?” Her voice slurred as they reached the stairs. Avery tried moving, but she tripped on the first stair and nearly brought Jameson down with her.

Okay, that plan is out the window. Jameson hooked an arm around her legs, and lifted her in a bridal carry, walking away from the stairs.

“Where’re we going?” her words were basically mush at this point, but Jameson was able to make them out.

“Your room is pretty high up, Heiress, and we are taking the shorter route.” He stopped at a random point in a hallway, and tapped it three times. The wall slid away, and revealed an elevator.

Jameson put Avery down, and half-pushed her into the elevator. He clicked the button for her floor, and kept her within his arms as the elevator. It was a pretty short ride, but the sudden stop (which was pretty smooth) caused Avery to lose what little balance she had, and nearly fall over.

Jameson saved her from an encounter with the floor. Again.

She was still putting her full weight on him, so he picked her up again.

As they were walking to her room, she started giggling.

“What’s so funny?”

“You!”

Jameson had no idea what she was talking about. “What?”

Avery giggled again. “Like that. You’re funny. And pretty. Like really pretty.”

Jameson nudged at the side of her head with his nose. “Just pretty?”

“Yeah. Really pretty.” She rested her head against his chest.

“I thought you’d say I’m sexy.”

“That too.”

As soon as she reached her bed, she fell asleep. She was already in pjs, and it didn’t seem worth waking her up again to get fully ready for bed.

Jameson, who had been in bed fiddling with a puzzle Xander gave him, had already been in ‘sleep mode’ for the past hour. After making sure Avery was underneath a blanket and wasn’t about to fall off the bed, throw up, choke on said throw up or all three, he got in beside her, and was surprised that Avery promptly attached herself to his side.

“You’re not really asleep, are you, Heiress?” He asked with a smirk.

She pulled him closer. “I … love you.”

Jameson gave an amused smile and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “I love you too.”

She didn’t respond, and Jameson figured she was truly asleep.

“Good night, Avery.”

Avery woke up the next morning- and ran straight to the bathroom.

Jameson was sitting on the counter next to the sink, as if he had been waiting there, but she barely acknowledged him as she bent over the toilet. He held her hair back as she threw up, and rubbed circles in her back. His touch was gentle, and Avery would've appreciated it more if she hadn't been spilling the contents of her stomach into the toilet.

“Good morning, Heiress.” he said with a smirk once she was done.

She shot him a glare, but quickly looked away as her head began pounding. “Don’t even try.”

“I didn’t say anything.” He joined her on the floor, placing a kiss on her temple, and offered her a bottle of water.

She began to drink it, and felt her headache ease somewhat. She leaned into Jameson and closed her eyes, taking a minute to relax and allow herself to slow down. With the nausea out of the way, she felt closer to sleep than ever.

She checked the clock on the wall. 9:45.

It was still too early for her.

"Woah." Jameson tapped her hand. "You're not sleeping until you've had something to eat."

"What?"

Jameson shrugged. "You're probably going to throw up again when you wake up, you might as well have something to throw up instead of pure stomach acid. You're lucky you ate before drinking last night, otherwise you would be in significantly worse shape."

She opened her mouth to respond, but she felt her stomach turn, and quickly dove for the toilet. Jameson held her hair back as she threw up bile, and kept dry heaving. She almost collapsed against the toilet and felt Jameson tie her hair and walk out of the bathroom. Avery wondered if she was in such bad shape that he couldn’t even be around her.

Avery tried to move, but her vision went temporarily black as she got up, and she wobbled for a second before catching the countertop. "Ow."

“How much did you end up drinking last night?” Jameson re-entered the bathroom and helped her sit on the countertop, giving her a bottle.

That’s why he left.

Avery noticed it was Gatorade rather than water and raised an eyebrow.

“You need the extra hydration, don’t look at me like that.”

Avery would’ve rolled her eyes. She instead decided to open the Gatorade bottle, but lacked the energy to actually open it.

“And she said she didn’t drink at all last night.” Jameson gave her a smirk -oh god, how could he be hot and helpful and unhelpful so early in the morning?- and helped her tip the bottle into her mouth.

She finally found the strength to talk. “Did I really say that last night?”

“Among other things.” He stood between her legs, and gently took the bottle from her, capping it as he moved it to the side.

Avery poked his chest. “What else did I do?”

Jameson gave her a crooked grin. “Finish the food.”

Food?

He produced a packet of crackers out of nowhere, and Avery groaned. “They’re disgusting.”

“They’re what you’re least likely to throw up.”

Avery frowned, and Jameson tore open the packet. “Take it from a Hawthorne man; we know the best ways to get drunk, and the best ways get over a hangover.”

He fed her a cracker, which was bland and flavorless, but the thought of any other food made her want to throw up.

Avery got halfway through the packet before she felt drowsy again. She didn’t realize it until she felt a series of gentle taps on her hand.

“Just one more, Heiress.” Avery was leaning almost entirely on Jameson, her head in the crook of his neck.

Avery tried to respond, but she was almost fully asleep, and Jameson took it as an answer. “Alright, you’re too sleepy for this, let’s get you to bed.”

He lifted her off the countertop almost effortlessly, and gently placed her on her bed, placing a kiss on her forehead. He might’ve said something, but sleep washed over Avery, and anything he said was long gone.

DIRECT MESSAGES TO: GRAYSON HAWTHORNE

JAMESON: how drunk did the girls get

JAMESON: even i never got hungover this bad jfc

GRAYSON: I couldn’t tell you.

GRAYSON: She’s stubborn as ever.

GRAYSON: She won’t even eat food.

GRAYSON: She also says that she’s not drunk.

JAMESON: she’s not tho????

JAMESON: she’s hungover??

JAMESON: don’t tell me you’ve been telling ur girl shes drunk.

GRAYSON: Don’t tell Xander.

GRAYSON: Or Avery.

JAMESON: lmfao i just got avery back into bed

JAMESON: try harder

GRAYSON: She just ran to the bathroom.

JAMESON: have fun

She ended up waking up about two hours later with a blinding headache-

“-And that’s what the painkillers are for.” Jameson sat on the edge of the bed and handed her two pills and a glass of water. She quickly gulped down the pills and all of the water, and she felt relief wash over her about five minutes later.

“Jesus Christ.” She moved closer to Jameson and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“How are we feeling, Heiress?” She looked up at him and he flashed her a smile.

“A lot better now. How are you so patient?”

His eyebrows rose. “I’m not.”

“You knew exactly what to do.”

“That comes from a combination of regularly having gotten hangovers, and being a Hawthorne.” He gestured wildly with his arms. “Efficiency is key.”

She bit back a laugh as Jameson talked about his ‘process’ and how many tries it took him to perfect the hangover routine.

“-so you got the better end of the deal, you hopefully will never have to experience a true, raw hangover.”

“Thank you.” Jameson looked down at her and she shrugged. “You didn’t have to help. It was pretty gross.”

“Anytime, Heiress. And I’ve seen gross. I lived with Grayson.”

Avery swallowed. “We woke you up last night as well, and I didn’t plan on getting drunk at all. You were completely unprepared.”

Jameson’s eyebrows flew into his hair. “If you ever meet an unprepared Hawthorne, please disinherit them.”

When Avery didn’t laugh, he sighed. “It’s okay, Heiress. We all drink a little too much sometimes, and no one goes out planning to get wasted. We have a whole shelf in the pantry with ‘hangover-safe food.’ It’s not a burden to help you, and it’s never a bad thing to spend more time with you.”

Avery opened her mouth to argue back and Jameson clapped a hand over her mouth. “I will always be there for you, whether you like it or not. It’s not a bad thing.”

She felt her breath catch in her throat, and she paused for a minute before she spoke. “Alright.”

He flashed her a smirk. “It is also fun not being the one drunk for once.”

She rolled her eyes and Jameson wrapped an arm around her. “Brilliant. Now do you want to see whether Lyra finally stopped arguing with Grayson?”

“Oh, she never does.”

“Today might be different.”

“How so?”

“She’s hungover for one thing …”

GRAYSON: Where did they get the alcohol again?

JAMESON: avery’s asking if Lyra’s okay.

GRAYSON: She’s sleeping.

JAMESON: gray it’s like 1pm

JAMESON: why did it take you so long to get her to rest.

GRAYSON: Apparently, Lyra has a severe distaste for all things involving alcohol.

GRAYSON: How did Avery get her drunk?

JAMESON: she says Max did it.

GRAYSON: I shouldn’t have expected anything less.

GRAYSON: I thought I was done with hangovers when you stopped drinking.

JAMESON: and then you decided to fall in love

JAMESON: this is not my fault

GRAYSON: she’s waking up.

GRAYSON: Maybe I’ll finally sleep.

JAMESON: that’s what you get for not sleeping when people do

GRAYSON: I’m not going to grace that with a response.

GRAYSON: Goodbye, Jamie.

JAMESON: you’re not going off to war jfc dont sound so dramatic

JAMESON: well, you kinda are

GRAYSON: … I’ll pass on the sentiment to Lyra

JAMESON: he didn’t mean that -Avery

JAMESON: I did

JAMESON: see you later.

fin.

ENDING NOTES This fic was kind of a rollercoaster, and it was harder for me to write ... for some reason. I specialize in angst. Thanks for reading - please like, reblog and leave feedback in the notes. Or just throw blackberries at me. Anything works. It's St. Patricks Day, and I literally live in Walmart Ireland, and I ... made this fic blue. (yaaay) This looks shit in light mode, im sorry. The taglist has a grand total of one person (thank you, Jude) and is looking for more people, so if you want to be added, lmk. (I joined the writing side during TIG's lowest point, but we are going to deal with it by throwing more fics into the pit.)

Taglist: @inmyheaddd

[yanderes-galore]

A romantic concept *or* alphabet for Lady Maria (Bloodborne), please?

🕊️ anon

Yandere! Lady Maria Concept

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Guilt, Jealousy, Overprotective/Possessive behavior, Violence, Blood, Lucid yandere, Worsening mental health, Suicide/Double suicide (It's Bloodborne and part of her fate....), Consumption of blood, Forced relationship implied.

Lady Maria, like the other characters I write from series like Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Elden Ring... is a little difficult to put a personality and plot together for.

The most I could put together is she's stoic and has a very tranquil and calming voice.

Her personality definitely clashes with what she did to end up in the Hunter's Nightmare though.

Which I suppose I could use to my advantage of making her yandere....

In terms of the plot in this request, what I thought about is you being a Hunter who worked with her.

So, essentially, you were a Hunter student who trained beside her.

I choose this because it would give her time to be obsessed with you.

There's even more moral conflict, too.

As you know, Maria's mental health doesn't really tank until after the Fishing Hamlet.

So if she was yandere towards her fellow Hunter before and even after it... She'd worry about what she's thinking.

Essentially... I think Maria would be a slow descent into madness yandere.

She already kind of is descending into madness in canon... would it be that difficult to imagine?

SO, if the trigger warnings weren't enough, let me tell you this is going to get dark with her.

You and Maria were students of Gehrman, The First Hunter.

I feel this alone causes strange dynamics due to how Gehrman is obsessed with Maria.

So imagine the weird dynamic of Gehrman obsessing over Maria... and Maria only seeming to be fond of you.

You, on the other hand, are too focused on studying to be a Hunter.

You are no doubt close to Maria due to your constant training and research into the blood your world is surrounded with.

Yet it's not like you know everything about your peer.

For example, you have no clue Maria is a Vileblood due to her heritage of being related to Annalise.

She hides such a part of her, not even indulging in blood magic.

A HC I want to add to this concept is Vilebloods might be a bit possessive in nature?

This is all for fun anyways and I thought it would be a way to make Maria less... tame as a yandere.

Maria is a very controlled person, but you can't always hide your true nature, right?

There's some odd behavior you no doubt notice due to that.

For example, Maria is more protective of you than she should be, even before the Fishing Hamlet incident.

Perhaps even she can sense Gehrman not particularly enjoying you as his student due to a conflict in personal goals.

Maybe the delusional man feels you'll steal Maria from him, even though she's attracted to you out of her own free will.

Maria finds herself fond of you since you never seem to judge... The only thing you judge is her combat ability.

Such a thing is important for a Hunter, after all.

You both seem to learn from one another, training as comrades.

In return for respecting her, she no doubt stands up for you when Gehrman gets too harsh.

Another odd quirk you may notice is how often Maria ends up calling you 'My Hunter'.

It's definitely a term of endearment, one you try to see as friendly.

But the way she says it...

It really makes you wonder if she's intending to mean it as something more?

Maria is originally just a skilled Hunter looking out for you on the job, learning and training beside you....

Her love for you is there, but subtle enough to brush off.

Fast forward to the Fishing Hamlet Incident with Kos... Maria had left to explore the death of The Great One there.

Originally you were to come with, yet maybe you were called elsewhere to attend to another Scourge problem.

You expected Maria to come back afterwards the same as she always was...

Instead you see her come back to meet with you covered in blood...

Her gaze vacant, even as it snaps onto you.

Part of you wonders if you should've come with her, but she never speaks of what happens.

Instead she pulls you close, breath hitching as she shakes.

Or... maybe instead you had joined her in this new hunt.

Which leads to you being ordered to commit atrocities for the Church.

By the end of it, you aren't the same, just like Maria.

But it seems even you take it better than her... You didn't like doing it... yet you didn't entirely blame yourself.

Maria, on the other hand, was shaking as she was covered in blood.

She comments that you're both sinners now... before pulling you close to her to sob.

Regardless, Maria's mental health tanks around this time.

She keeps muttering to you about sins... even tossing her weapon away.

Eventually we all know what happens in lore, right?

Maria soon ends up taking her life due to the guilt of the acts she committed.

Although, what if she has an obsession over you?

What will she do then?

It's... what you expect, unfortunately.

Maria at first tries to be stable, relying on you heavily.

You're what keeps her together, her fragile mental state showing you her true feelings for you more and more.

She feels she doesn't deserve you... That she doesn't deserve to be happy after all the blood on her hands.

But she can't help clinging to you, feeling you hold her.

Maria knows you probably deserve someone else's love...

Yet, perhaps due to her Vileblood nature, she refuses to allow you to go anywhere else but by her side.

After all, as a Hunter, you're a sinner just like her.

You've been noticing Maria's mental fall.

You rarely leave her side, even more concerned when she tosses her main weapon away.

You're trusting when Maria asks you to join her in the Astral Clocktower eventually.

She can not handle her own guilt anymore.

But she also can't handle the thought of another taking her place in your life.

Her Vileblood tendencies refuse to allow you to be without her.

So... she makes this meeting in the Clocktower her last hurrah.

You meet her in the beautiful Clocktower, her looking out at the view in front of her.

This is where Maria makes herself clear....

She comes up to you, eyes dark for a moment before she clings to you.

This is the moment she chooses to confess to you.

She whispers about everything....

At first it's innocent, she admits she's loved you since you were both students.

Although, the sweet confession turns rotten once her true tendencies come through.

She admits she's never enjoyed sharing you with others....

She admits that she's always wanted to keep you for herself, as wrong as that is.

Although... It doesn't matter how wrong her feelings are in the end, does it?

She's committed worse atrocities at this point.

You understand, don't you?

She's obsessed with you... You're what keeps her going....

However, she's aware that this is all wrong.

Which is why... She needs to take you with her.

She needs to keep you all to herself, all hers, forever....

Before you can comment, Maria kisses you deeply.

You find yourself returning the kiss... the gesture pleasant on the tongue...

Until you both sense that putrid taste of blood.

You pull away with a cough, your own blood coming from your mouth and throat

Maria simply licks the taste of you of herself before shoving the blade deeper.

You barely register the fact Maria has slit your throat.

You can't make a noise, choking on your own crimson fluid.

Maria gives a sympathetic look, savoring the taste of the blood you've given her...

Yet it isn't long before she follows your lead, vowing to be with you even in death.

Depending on your choices, maybe she will.

If you committed the same sins as her, you two will be together in the Hunter's Nightmare, forced to reside in the Astral Clocktower together forever.

Then you'll be all hers.

However, if you died here but did not defile Kos... Maria may not have you in the Nightmare.

A devastating fate as she's forced to realize she'll never see you again....

Or, another option... Maybe you never visited the Clocktower.

Maybe you were too busy removing the Scourge to visit her in her last moments.

Then... You may even regret not seeing her in her final moments.

You don't think you'll see her again... Until you commit a sin that forces you to be placed in the Hunter's Nightmare after death.

Something calls you to the Clocktower then... and you follow in confusion.

Only to meet Maria there... your fellow Hunter eager to confess.

Then, regardless of if you accept or not, you'll be together... forevermore.

Each fate isn't a happy ending in the slightest.

You'll both die either way... and there's a good chance Maria will be waiting there for you...

Then she can finally love you... you and her together... bathed in sin as she forces you into her embrace...

Her beloved Hunter... right where they belong.

[daemon-in-my-head]

PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT BLOODBORNE AU

I knew this would catch one I mean of course I'd gladly talk about the fun AU shenanigans.

I haven't poured as much thought into it yet as I did with the Hellsing AU but I have been pondering where or who would resemble my beloveds closely (and which fits they'd absolutely slay) and so far I've got the following trains of thought (it escalated apologies)

Gortash; kinda split here. On one hand if I talked about an orphan who was recruited into a grand scheme and conducts horrible human experiments under the guise of progress of the human race you couldn't differentiate if I'm talking about a choir member or Gortash, on the other hand he's just giving me massive Laurence vibes. Learning from the previous generation and setting out to do better only to fucking fumble it? Subconsciously (allegedly) fucking over his friend and partner and dooming him to something worse than death? All of that under the misguided belief of progress and stemming from the geniune wish to help out humanity in a very twisted way? Yeah well that's Gortash too. That's very much him. Especially the strong connection to the first Hunters and Gehrman........ On the other hand there's also Micolash but I'm feeling the vibes less with him or the school in general cuz they're rly just scrupulous nerds who fuck around for the fun of it, they don't have that "doing it for the greater good" vibe yk?

Fine; unfortunately (or fortunately?) the same issue that I have with Gortash applies to him too except he'd definitely belong to the non church hunters. Ignoring the fact that Gehrman's lament, for lack of proper title, was a major source of inspiration for that guy, unwillingly getting locked in a horrible situation and lacking all autonomy is just his thing AND the connection with Laurence and Flora? Then again, hunting with purpose and loosing all his reason but still being painfully aware of his familial bonds even in that state aka Father Gascoigne is also very him. Especially the blindfold and recoiling when you play the melody to him.... I mean he sort of shares the same fate as him too so hah. And both have insane fits. How am I meant to make decisions when I have such great choices?

Nil; okay well she's actually easy for once, not only cuz I still have a crush on Lady Maria but a remorseful hunter who actually tries to do good AND presumably the offspring of vilebloods aka very not human creatures who just so happen to have a matriarchy? Seeing the faults in one's way and trying to do better, throwing away bloodstained weaponry as they realise? Yeah that's Nil and I'll take any excuse to stare at Maria's armor for hours on end.

Ketheric; another hard one tbh. He's very Father Gascoigne but also very not him? Like Gascoigne is (presumably) a legitimately nice family guy and Ketheric is decidedly not. On the other hand this "doing what must be done" kinda vibe does apply... Also non of the main factions do apply to him. On second thought though I can see him being associated with the fishing hamlet? Like clinging despreatly to Kos while cursing everyone else for the misfortune they had to experience. Being nothing more than collateral damage on some other maniacs hunt for insight and progress... That does kinda fit I think?

Orin; Fake Iosekfa. Positively delusional but actually getting results done after everyone else fumbled it AND getting fucked over by that random guy who just couldn't stop themselves from barging in and getting involved? The whole impersonation thing? "Artful" human experiments? Yeah I do see her pulling a Josekfa. Also her being vaguely associated with the church but taking their research and running with it is quite similar to her being a Bhaalist but instead of doing it like Durge she returned to the roots of the faith and takes no nonsense from nobody already works well but considering in this case it would be Gort and not Durge associated with the Church this gives the whole thing another level of spice and her dynamic with Gort, who's very similar to her, is notoriously not explored enough so that's an added bonus. Then again unorthodox ways and a lot of resentment is also very vileblood/queen Annalise as is the very "looks human but is absolutely not". And being stuck in a position of presumed power while actually having none whatsoever is also very Orin... Plus I do like her fit.

Yeah so overall still needs a lot of pondering and the only vague sketch I have is Nil my beloved cuz everyone else is just, not there yet.

[letsgetrowdy43]

Honey’s Tattoo Tour—

Au Masterlist!!

I was thinking a little bit about Honey, and I was like imagine how sick it would be if she just had all these cute tattoos littered all over her skin!!

So here’s a little tattoo tour for her!!

For the most part, her tattoos all have important meanings to her, it started as just a little fun and cute thing, but the more she worked with artists in the Vancouver area the more she realized the sort of art behind it!!

A little added piece of information is that Quinn normally has a strong dislike for tattoos, but the look of Honey with tattoos has his knees weak! They are all just so pretty, and a little sexy, that he has no choice but to love them, plus some of them hold such importance in their relationship and he just adores them!

Her first ever tattoo was the lyric “Honey, there is no right way” from Hozier's song ‘Someone New’ that she got in her senior year of high school on the inside of her right arm just a few days before she graduated. The song is a reflection on the complexity of love and the human desire for connection, which at the time was something Honey was just out of reach of. It highlights the need to find a love that brings meaning to one's life and at this specific time in her life, she deeply resonated with wanting to find that one.

She didn't get her second tattoo until her final year of university, during a break with Quinn. The tattoo is a black and white depiction of Sir John Millais' "Ophelia." Being the angst teenager she was, she felt a deep connection with the character Ophelia from William Shakespeare's play "Hamlet". Ophelia's emotional vulnerability and her descent into madness felt very personal to Honey when she was at the ripe age of 16 (dramatic as shit... but she is so me), the character embodies the fear of losing oneself in the face of overwhelming emotions such as love and anger all the while dealing with external pressures. It was definitely an ode to her younger self but also resonated with the 20-year-old version of herself who was trying to navigate the break with the love of her life. aren't we all just a deeply disturbed teenage girl at heart :)  

Her third tattoo happened a few weeks into the summer of 2021, just after her University graduation. She had just gotten back together with Quinn and moved her entire life to Canada to be with him, and now she was beginning to build her media marketing portfolio by taking some shots for a tattoo and piercing shop in downtown Vancouver. The artist she had been doing shoots with and helping to manage their websites offered to do a tattoo for her at a discounted price if she ever wanted. She ended up getting leaves on her hip bones, it was her first really impulsive tattoo and one of the most painful, but she was obsessed with the outcome. They don't hold any significant meaning to her, but they really boosted her confidence and Quinn was absolutely obsessed with them when she surprised him with them, so she really loves them.

Her fourth tattoo was the big piece on her back, she reached out to an artist who specializes in floral and colour tattoos and commissioned a piece that was in homage to paintings her mother made when she was a child. Her mother used to paint these intricate floral pieces to hang up around the house, and eventually, every extended family member in her family had a signature piece in their home. Honey was gifted the one that hung in her grandmother's lake house just after she passed, and she hung it up in hers and Quinn's room at the Michigan Lake house. She got it tattooed on her back a year later (around Warren's first birthday) so she could always have a piece of her grandma and her mother at her at all times!

Her fifth tattoo was one she got during All-Star week a few years after both Hayden and Warren were born. It was the first time they were kid-free in a long while, and while he and the other all-stars were doing media for Bauer and other league activities, the girls went out for the day. One of the other wives suggested getting tattoos. Initially, she got a simple "43" on her sternum, following the trend of other wives and girlfriends getting their partner's numbers. However, she ended up really liking the artist's line work and asked if she could get a full piece done before flying back to Vancouver. The artist had availability the next day and managed to fit Honey into her schedule before the skills competition. She ended up getting a lunar moth just beneath the "43," starting on her sternum and dipping down to span her abdomen. The tattoo was an homage to their first summer as a married couple, a summer where everywhere they seemed to go lunar moths followed them. Quinn finds it incredibly sexy, thinking it makes her boobs look even more perfect (which he didn't know was humanly possible), and he couldn't stop kissing it once it healed.

Her final tattoo was one she got when Maeve was around 3, Hayden was 8, and Warren was 10. It was a collaborative piece by all her kids: Maeve drew the basic shapes of the flowers, Hayden added the details, and Warren contributed the fine lines. This tattoo is a little piece of her babies and their childhood, etched onto her forever. It's probably her favourite piece because it means the most to her.

-

-

[the-wine-dark-sea]

I got to meet Marc Okrand last weekend.

I went to a convention here in Germany, and he did a talk there about how he came to develop the Klingon language, what some of the challenges were, sharing fun anecdotes etc. It was really interesting.

Afterwards I actually managed to work up the nerve to talk to him for a moment. Towards the end of the talk, he had shared the story behind the Klingon translation of "to be or not to be" in Star Trek VI. Now, before the film ever went into production, he had already decided that there is no word for "to be" in Klingon, and put that in the Klingon dictionary, so he had to work around that somehow. Apparently, at first he went with the Klingon word for "to live", but Christopher Plummer, who had to perform the line, wasn't happy with how it sounded - he thought it was too weak. So instead, Okrand suggested taH, which up to that moment had just been a suffix that indicates a continuing action. So the Klingon version of that line basically says "to continue or not to continue". Afterwards I went up to him and told him how much I like that, because I think it captures the essence of Hamlet's soliloquy wonderfully. So yeah, I ended up briefly discussing the Klingon translation of a Shakespeare quote with Marc Okrand. It was the nerdiest thing that's ever happened to me and it was AWSOME.

[rita-repulsa-ke]

the talk

Agatha and Rio talk about their relationship on a road in the past. Brief mention of animal death (a mule). For this fic, I am going with a headcanon I just made up, that Rio isn’t allowed to kill anything directly, thus Agatha.

“What are we calling this?” Rio asked her as they walked along a dirt path too pitiful to be described as a road, toward a collection of shacks too unimportant be worth describing at all.

“It’s a village. Too small to be a town.” Agatha answered. “Maybe a hamlet?” She was hot, tired, hungry and otherwise inclined to be grouchy, the days of travel starting to wear on her, not helped by Rio having made her kill their pack mule on the third day.

“It was his time,” she’d said and then had gotten as close to genuinely angry as Agatha had ever seen her when pressed on the subject, which had been enough to make even Agatha decide to change topics. She’d also refused to let Agatha reanimate it or use the fresh corpse for any of the several excellent uses she could have put it to, insisted they bury it. Agatha had caught her sitting at the grave, conversing casually with thin air.

So overall, another mundane day in her life of traveling with Death, but now they had to cart all of her books and supplies around by hand. It had not put her in a better mood, though at least Rio had agreed to help.

“No,” Rio said, coming to a sudden halt. “I mean, what are we calling the two of us.”

“Two of us works for me.” She didn’t really want to have the relationship talk. She couldn’t think of why they would. They were—whatever they were was fine. Boundaries were things drawn by other people, made for Agatha to cross.

There was silence behind her, but it was a portentous, dangerous silence, she could picture the way Rio was toying with her knife with enough clarity that she started the casting for a ward spell under her breath. Maybe one with a little extra pizazz, for the fun of it.

“If I left—“ Rio said.

“You will,” she said, and then wished she hadn’t, not because it was untrue, but because said aloud, it did sound ever-so-slightly pitiful. It was just, everyone did. She’d gotten used to it. She even liked it, some variety in the faces around her, no time for any one person’s company to grow stale.

Rio was suddenly behind her, almost on top of her, so fast Agatha had to acknowledge she never would have gotten her spell off before a knife had sunk into her ribs.

She’d work on that.

No knife, though, not this time. Arms came around her midsection, a body of wiry muscle conformed to her back. It surprised her every time to feel Rio’s heart beating against her. Not an unpleasant surprise, she simply never expected her to have one.

“In the middle of this terrible excuse for a road, where anyone could see? Scandalous,” Agatha said, gone too still, unsure of why she was being hugged from behind like a child’s beloved doll. It made her heart beat faster, for many, many reasons.

“…scared,” Rio mumbled against her shoulder.

“What?”

“You’re scared,” Rio lifted her head, spoke against her ear. “Of commitment. Of being left alone. Of being abandoned, unwanted, discarded, shunned—“

Around the eighth synonym, Agatha decided that was enough. It took work to trigger the ward spell so close to her skin, with Rio glued to her like that. It was an elegant, impressive use of the craft, all so she could cackle like a mad woman when the force of the spell sent Rio flying. The other woman hit the ground in a crouch and skidded to stop her own momentum in a way that suggested physics had only a loose hold on her.

“Oops,” Agatha said, still laughing.

“I won’t,” the other woman said, rising to standing, unruffled. “I won’t leave.”

“Is that a threat or—I mean, I’m just not sure how to take that.” Did she sound nonchalant? She must.

“Take it however you like. You generally do,” Rio said, head tilted, hip cocked, smiling unpleasantly.

Whatever else they were, Agatha needed her. There were things she could not do, plans she could not enact, without Rio by her side.

Time to make peace, then. “I don’t like naming things. Names have power.”

Rio doubled over with laughter. “You are,” she singsonged, sashaying toward Agatha, playing with her knife like a promise. “Such a coward.”

In Agatha’s Sight, she was a blaze of power, a radiant column of glorious green flame, breathtaking, deadly, world-ending, an apocalypse given form and purpose.

“Come here,” Agatha said, opening her arms to invite Death in. There was an easy way to solve this little snag and then they could be on their way once more.

Succubus, Rio had called her once and she’d only partially meant it as a compliment.

“There’s smoke,” Rio said.

The non sequitur took her a moment to comprehend, then she whirled to look at the horizon, at the column of smoke above the hamlet or whatever they were calling it, it didn’t really matter. Soon it wouldn’t need a name.

She muttered a word so foul the grass near the edge of the path withered and died. “Go,” she snapped, summoning her magic. “You’re faster.” Death arrives where and when it must, Rio had told her once, as though Agatha didn’t know the exact spell the other woman used to travel beneath the earth.

Still, she did it better and faster than anyone Agatha had ever seen, without ritual or even a spoken word. She’d spent months trying to understand how, before giving up on the whole thing in frustration.

“Say the magic word,” Rio crooned.

Agatha turned toward her smiling, spread hands crackling with power. “Bodies. As many as you like. Save the witch on that stake and I will create a killing ground just for you.”

“Romantic,” Rio said, as the dry dirt of the path sucked her into the earth.

Agatha pursed her lips as she took to the air. “Yeah,” she agreed. “It kind of is.”

From here, go read scars. It’s very romantic, albeit written before the finale.

[pain-in-the-riri]

Fanfiction Author Interview Game

Thank you for the tag @moonheavens!

More questions under the cut hehehe

How many works do you have on AO3?

10 public ones and 3 hidden ones 🤫

What's your total AO3 word count?

173,835

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

It's Automatic - Our Flag Means Death Gentlebeard oneshot that started as a twitter fic where Ed is a construction worker that catcalls Stede on his way to work hehehe it's really cute imo and a really fast read since it's just a handful of tweets!

Boned, Rolled and Tied - Another OFMD fic! Gentlebeard, a collab with @beabonnet and a Gentlebeard retelling of I Married an Axe Murderer, sooo fun to write lmaooo still a wip

Hell Will Wait - Wolfstar fic where Sirius gets out of Azkaban about 5 years and some change after being arrested, 37k get-together fic where Sirius and Remus have to work through all of their conflicting feelings but in the end are always there for each other 🥺 my boys i really love this one

Same Old Fire - Another Wolfstar get-together oneshot that takes place during the first war, when Sirius tracks Remus down at his parent's house after he disappears for several months for a mission directly after swerving on him smh....another fave hehehe. Also my first fic to be podficced!!!

Forget That Guy - Oneshot written for a Conan Gray marauders fic fest (although I loved it so much that I have at least one follow-up planned, maybe two). Sirius gets cheated on at a club and takes it out sexy-style on the hot sad bartender that coincidentally also just got broken up with LOL

Do you respond to comments?

Yes, I do my best! Sometimes I miss one or two in my notifs but when I notice I forgot to respond I'll respond hehe

What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

Probably Forget That Guy >:)

Although a couple of my OFMD fics have ambiguous endings but I haven't published the ends of those ones yet LOL

What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

Most of them have pretty happy endings! But probably Hell Will Wait hehehe

Do you write crossovers?

I never have

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

If I have, it hasn't gotten back to me hahaha. One person wrote that my fic was "meh" in the bookmarks though, fuck that person 🖕you can think it's meh if you want but fic is like when someone brings a cake to a party, you don't tell your friend their homemade cake is meh, you politely avoid eating it if you don't like it and go eat the cookies someone else brought lmfao

Do you write smut?

yes, most of my fics have smut in them LOL

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I hope not 😩

Have you ever had a fic translated?

nah

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yeah, Boned, Rolled and Tied!

What's your all-time favorite ship?

Wolfstar :)))))

also...hamlet and horatio, guildenstern and rozencrantz even though they're the same person, vash and wolfwood 😩, xena and gabrielle!!!!!!!! Gideon and Harrowhark!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Harrow and Ianthe!!!!!!!!!! (toxic lesbians come to me)

What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

Prob that OFMD fic I mentioned earlier, the first one I wrote for the fandom. Not sure if I'll ever go back to it

What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm really good at dialogue! And I hope I'm good at characterization hahaha

What are your writing weaknesses?

Endings 😩 which is why I started plotting out endings first!

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I love it! I haven't done it before but it's really fun, especially when I feel extra smart for being able to read it hahaha

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

Vash/Wolfwood!!!!!! Vashwood, one of my first OTPs!!!!!!!! Also Vash/Wolfwood/Meryl/Milly, just that entire fuckin polycule hahahaha I love them soooooo fucking much

What's your favorite fic you've written?

I will always love Hell Will Wait that thing flowed out of me like water in the span of one week. 37k words in one week!!!!! I have never been able to match the pace hahahaha Also huge fan of my most recent oneshot, Carrot or Stick, where Sirius and Remus argue themselves into the sack and then continue arguing in the sack. The arguments are not mean-spirited, and I love writing them bickering!

Tagging: @futurequibblerjournalist @swifty-fox @chlobliviate @quillkiller

[aaronstveit]

i would loooove to hear more of your director's commentary about deep end! <3 not sure how much you can say without spoiling but did you make a lot of changes from the original draft? and are there any scene that didn't make it into the final fic? thank youuu <3

omg hi anon this question made my entire day <3333 gonna answer beneath a read more as always because when talking about deep end i am this trc meme

okay so firstly! i wrote deep end 3 times. the original draft had a final wordcount of 126,978 words. the middle draft had a final wordcount of 175,065 words. the final draft's wordcount is not finalized yet because i am still editing & still adding one scene to the epilogue, but obviously we've already surpassed the first draft's wordcount, so that's fun.

as you can see, about 50k words were added in the middle draft! there are a lot of reasons for this. chapters 8 & 9, as well as about half of chapter 10, did not exist in the original draft. i added them during rewriting because i felt we hadn't spent enough time with enjolras & cosette.

combeferre and éponine were almost nonexistent in the original draft. not just as a couple, but individually as well. every single grantaire & éponine scene was added in the middle draft, and most of enjolras & combeferre's scenes as well.

i actually didn't cut any full scenes out! there were quite a few though where i started writing a scene, realized it was wrong, and erased what i had written and started over. for instance, this bit in chapter 18:

in the original draft, i tried writing enjolras turning to grantaire at this point and saying, "I think I'm in love with you," before cosette answered the door. obviously, i ended up deciding against this, mostly because i decided the kiss scene would pack more of a punch if enjolras realizes he's in love with grantaire right when he's in the middle of their argument.

i also deleted soooooooooo many arguments. this is probably surprising considering how often they argue in this fic, but at least once a chapter i really had to stop myself and say, okay no this is getting unhealthy. i enjoy writing arguments too much apparently - which is good for writing exr, but only to a certain extent.

originally, grantaire was not going to have a sister. it genuinely did not even occur to me until chapter 11 (which was chapter 8 at the time), but once it did occur to me, i couldn't not do it. his grief plotline became way too dear to me way too quickly.

the biggest changes i made during writing all had to do with reordering events!! originally, karaoke happened somewhere around chapter 8. i ended up moving it wayyyyyyyyy back because i felt like their flirting was out of place so early in the story.

i also moved enjolras' arguments with cosette and grantaire to an earlier point than i originally intended. at first, i thought they were going to happen around the second-to-last chapter, but i moved them forward a lot earlier because i thought more work needed to be done with enjolras.

the chapter that underwent the most changes from the middle draft to the finished draft is chapter 24. obviously i can't say just yet what those changes are, but i'm really really happy with how that chapter turned out and i hope you all will be as well <3

several of my personal favorite scenes in this fic are actually cannibalized from something i tried writing and gave up on a few months ago. marius getting mugged in chapter 4, the hamlet conversation in chapter 7, and enjolras tending to grantaire's broken nose in chapter 14 were all taken from the same abandoned wip.

as for some more random tidbits that i find fun:

a fun fact for everyone is that cosette did not pull the phrase "who has a flag where he should have a heart" out of thin air! she takes this from courfeyrac in chapter 13:

which is why courfeyrac winces when enjolras says it in chapter 19:

also in chapter 19, enjolras means to say that Train to Busan is his favorite horror movie ending. i didn't just choose that because i love that movie (although i really really do) but because. well. i'm not going to spoil the ending for you if you haven't seen it, but... it was very deliberate is all i'm saying.

i really cannot overstate how much of this fic only exists because of cossette notebookmusical. for starters, i only even attempted writing it because she said "jamie if you don't write this." she also got to spend months listening to me bitch about it and receiving so many horrible snippets from the original draft so coco, if you're reading this, thank you from the very bottom of my heart 🫶🏻

more specifically, the entire beginning sequence of chapter 17 with grantaire staying the night at enjolras' apartment was inspired by cossette! i was asking her for situations to put the blond man in and one of her ideas was that he loses his keys. so everyone say thank you cossette!

also the bit in chapter 19 where enjolras thinks about combeferre a psychology minor is the worst thing to ever happen to you was added after i said something to cossette and she said something along the lines of, "would you like to elaborate on that?"

the ending bit of chapter 23 is also inspired by and written for cossette. you'll see what i mean in a few weeks.

there are a lot more bits and pieces inspired by things that cossette has said and done, or added just to make her laugh, but if i listed all of them i would be here forever. just know that this entire fic is cocoservice and it is only because of cossette that it exists at all <333333

there is also a collection of scenes i'm considering writing as "bonus content" for when the fic is fully posted - mostly scenes that already exist, but from another point of view, and a few that are only mentioned in passing.

okay i'm cutting myself off now because this is a lot of yapping even for me but you may always ask more if you're so inclined <3333 thank you sm for asking i had so much fun answering this! i really can't tell you how much it means to me not only that you're not only reading but also enjoying it so much that you're asking about it like... this is literally a fic writer's DREAM. thank you so so so much <3333

[hey-hamlet]

wha!!! hope everyone is safe, including your mutual. Also, good on you for taking a break!! I have missed you but I'm glad you're being healthy and studying<33

actually i didn't tell that mutual story because i forgot to, but i will because it's kind of hilarious. i wont @ them just bc i've been rather loosey goosey with my personal information here and don't want to dox them by proxy (not that i think i would, but anyway! most of this story is actually just my complaining about the field trip but anyway. hang in there.

so! i have to take this one first year course because i only just picked my minor. people playing along at home will know im a second year who already has a degree, so this first year course is kind of killing me because its just the same content i've been taught before. nothing wrong with the course itself, im just not the target audience here.

there was a compulsory field trip which no one was enthused about, especially given it was 125 dollars and our course coordinator was kind of bitchy about it like "just don't buy bubble tea for a month and you'll be able to afford it" which. still mad about but not relevant here. we arrive and its pissing down rain. like, we are swimming in it. this rain continues the whole time.

and then as we eat lunch, the power cuts out. this is an over night trip. the power does not come back on until the next day at about noon, so we all have to hang out in the dark and take freezing cold showers - the showers were also full of weird bugs and smelt terrible. we are also in a 10 people per room situation on terrible terrible beds, and they make us wake up at 6am which is extra lame.

ANYWAY, through out all of this, we had 2 major activities, done in groups of about 8 with one tutor to each group. our tutor is basically group adult (this is a first year course and most of the people in it are like 18) and the person who knows what is going on. my tutor, who i get randomly assigned, is a delight. very funny, nice to work with, explains things enough to make sense but not enough that i get impatient, 10/10 great at their job. as a group, we all chat to eachother and the tutor.

i, as a person who has default scripts for small talk(ish) talk i run through, only have so many fun anecdotes i can tell about my life. it turns out that this is a problem.

at the end of the trip, we are sat in a room waiting for the bus, just vibing. not relevant to the story but like 3 people stacked it falling down the hill just getting to the room bc of how steep and muddy it was, i felt terrible for them, but it was also kind of funny. my tutor turns to me.

"so. do you like, have a tumblr? because i think you do."

i turn, torn between called out and impressed at the accuracy of this burn. "yeah i do - why?"

"i. think we're mutals." i blink. i do not know how to process this. they lean over.

"hey-hamlet, right?"

my soul leaves my body, then i have a moment where i am violently grateful the stuff i post here isn't *that* weird. like its weird. but. it could be so much worse.

[nihilnovisubsole]

phew! finally a weekend where i can set aside enough time to type up The Promised Endwalker Stream-of-Consciousness Post. i finished the base story... a month ago? but work has been busy, and i think tumblr benefits from me being quiet sometimes. anyway, what a ride. when you've been building up to the end of your arc for a decade, you want to hit it like an earthquake, and that's exactly what they did.

i think people love endwalker because it fires on all cylinders. it returns - in both story and vision - to the eorzea we love, and the dev team gets to show off everything they've learned. the dungeons and boss fights are dynamic and imaginative and colorful and bring the game's epic sense of scope to bear. the story callbacks are juicy. the music is orchestral again. we're back home, and we're saving the galaxy. what's better than this?

i love that we go to garlemald. i don't - i mean, you know, i don't like garlemald. i shouldn't have to qualify that. but it's hugely narratively satisfying to see the face of the enemy we've been fighting since the first few hours of ARR. you don't think about them when you're beating them up in castrum centri or ala mhigo. they're star wars bad guys. then you meet them on their own turf. you observe firsthand how they starve and cannibalize their own people to feed their obsession with state power and military strength. the wintry environment makes it seem all the more barren and desperate. my favorite part by far. i wish we'd spent more time there.

actually, on that note:

there is an argument that endwalker should've been two expacs. i've heard similar about stormblood - ala mhigo should've been the whole thing, and doma should've been either patch content or an expac of its own. the prevailing theory is that, after ARR, the devs are afraid of letting arcs run long. i can't speak to that, but i wouldn't have minded, that's for sure!

i won't pretend not to be biased. i've noted in many xiv posts that it hurries through its political plots to get to the magic stuff. i felt more conscious of it in heavensward and especially in stormblood. i made peace with it in endwalker. with dessert this good, who am i to complain? i can do small character drama on my own time. for now, the game wants royce to be a big damn shonen hero, and that can be fun, too.

speaking of characters, urianger and estinien have grown on me. this is the arc where, for me at least, the scions have congealed. they're all good, but with any large cast and custom player character, you tend to form the meatiest bonds with a few specific ones. i think royce appreciates urianger's cooler, more mature head. they're both so formal. he realizes she's someone he can confide in. i think she sees estinien as a gifted, but hotheaded whelp, which i find very funny. patience, child. stop sulking. do your breathing drills.

i love thancred's MGS sequence and in from the cold too. they're stressful, but i love that the team tried, you know what i mean? the fact that you can fight enemies in a pinch makes those duties way more bearable than some other games that experiment with stealth.

in from the cold as a whole, honestly. If You Know, You Know

all right, i can't avoid referencing spoilers anymore, sorry. there's a sense of classical tragedy to the whole elpis sequence. it's like watching macbeth or hamlet. you know how it's going to end, and you know you're powerless to stop it, but if they'd just made that different choice! but we had to leave eden. the warrior of light had to end up where they are to finish what elpis started. i don't do fate/destiny plots, but this? i'll take it.

i also knew what would happen going into ultima thule and still came away from it moved. it's strong writing. that's all there is to it. sure, the visuals are haunting, but the dialogue has to sell a gauntlet of difficult character moments, and it pulls it off. on the design side, there's some interesting intentional friction that forces you to linger in the zone and sit with its sense of despair. that part where you have to search the empty park for signs of life? oof

with the majority of the MSQ under my belt, i started sniffing around for what else there is to do ingame. i tried ninja. did terribly. i tried sage. did terribly too, but at least that gave me access to the healer role quests, which, ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). the nier raids are gorgeous. i even did the controversial werlyt quests, and terncliff is so cute. i kind of wish we could have another story there!

what's next? i dunno! right now i'm burning through the hildibrand quests before i continue on with endwalker's patch story. the field operation stuff seems interesting to do after the MSQ, in a "hey, you saved the world, but we have more missions for you" way. i've also contracted Triple Triad Collector Disease, so that'll keep me busy for a long time.

all right. one last thing. Real Gamer Moments: i was in a mount-farming party recently, and i said that i sort of collected mounts, but only used the ishgardian chocobo. it's a roleplay thing - it's the chocobo royce took when she ran away from ishgard. one of the party members said "haurchefant would be proud of you." AUGH

[firstpersonnarrator]

I was actually able to see him in both Withnail and Reunion. Funnily enough, I preferred the latter, even though he has much more to do in the first one.

He was expectedly insane as Withnail, strutting around the stage with like this slightly backward bend at all times, like he was a Regency portrait come to life. He even did some stage sword fighting which had me concerned because he did it right handed and I have a feeling he can be a bit clumsy, but no eyes were taken out on the day I saw it (which was their last day of performances and also the day of the Birmingham Pride Parade, somewhat fitting for the slightly queer undertones of the story). It was a fun and funny play, definitely a bit dated, with an ending that has Rob do a very emotional Hamlet monologue. Because it was the matinee performance I had time to wait at the stage door afterward and met some of the cast which was great. (Rob was still somewhat in character, which was hilarious given Withnail's stilted accent, but I digress.) This couple I met said they'd been waiting at the stage door before the performance and Rob showed up basically running for the door shouting apologies at them because he was late for his call time and couldn't stop for a chat. 😂 He did remember the couple and apologised again, it was all very sweet. (I think he had been busy packing up because he went back to Ireland immediately after Withnail to start rehearsals for Reunion.)

Anyway, I couldn't go to Galway but managed to catch Reunion in October in Dublin. That play is a very different beast - a whole bunch of actors where Withnail has just three principals, and the setting is just one room in a house on an island. The set was amazing, the cast superb, and the story took you all over the place emotionally. Despite being an ensemble cast, Rob still got his time to shine as the mother's favourite of her three children, although most of the humour in this one comes from a different character. Contrary to his usual characters, Rob gave a very grounded performance in this one, which was a nice change of pace. He had a very emotionally charged scene with the actress playing his girlfriend since there is no world in which Rob doesn't get to show of his acting range, even with limited stage presence. The play definitely sticks with you.

(I also saw Rob in Endgame a few years ago. He did some great physical work in that one, poor guy was sweating buckets by the end of it.)

I cannot express how jealous I am. Words fail me.

Except these: I cannot believe you got to see all three plays. That’s just- I can’t even. I mean, what??? [More babbling ensues ajfhfhjfjfhshajs]

Thank you so much for this. I feel like I got to live through you a bit. To hear your take on the differences in roles and his portrayal of them really put me there.

I got to see Endgame streaming (twice bc I’m an idiot and thought they’d be two different performances, but I don’t regret seeing the same performance twice at all. Like not even a little.)

What an amazing performance by Rob and Frankie Boyle. When you say it was a physical role for Rob, there can be no exaggeration. That was insane. And imagining what it would be like to never sit down or lay down. Man, that just made everything seem that much more bleak. I loved the play’s darkness and inevitable ending, but with humor that engenders sympathy somehow, even for Frankie Boyle’s character. I’d never seen Beckett before, and now I would run to see anything by him I could find.

I’m glad Rob got to stretch his wings with Reunion. I believe he is a truly fine actor, and to get to see that in person must have made the heart race a bit. Meanwhile, I have loved Withnail and I, the film, since I was a kid. I literally rejoiced when I found out they were staging it, first of all, and then freaked out about Rob being the one to originate the role. I screamed. Like, out loud irl.

Thanks for sharing. Appreciate you and this so much.

[lukethompsondaily]

He is best known for Netflix hit Bridgerton, but Luke Thompson’s theatre pedigree encompasses Shakespeare, Greek tragedy and Ivo van Hove’s marathon A Little Life. He talks to Fergus Morgan about his passion for the stage and his worries for its future

Luke Thompson might have shot to stardom thanks to his role as Benedict in Netflix’s smash-hit series Bridgerton, but the 35-year-old actor is most at home on stage.

“I spectate on myself,” Thompson says. “I always have done. It’s been a bit painful in my life. And the only place on earth it doesn’t happen is on stage when someone else is spectating instead and so I don’t have to worry. You’re watching me so I don’t have to watch myself. I feel free. Those are the best moments of my life.”

Fortunately, Thompson has not been short of stage work. Born in Southampton in 1988, he grew up just outside Paris, returning to the UK to study English and drama at the University of Bristol, before training at RADA. He landed his first job almost immediately after graduating in 2013: playing Lysander in Dominic Dromgoole’s staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.

Since then, alongside screen roles in BBC One’s In the Club and Bridgerton, Thompson has starred in Julius Caesar at the Globe, Oresteia and Hamlet – opposite Andrew Scott – at London’s Almeida, and King Lear and A Little Life in the West End. Both he and co-star James Norton were nominated for Olivier awards for their performances in Ivo van Hove’s acclaimed adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s hard-hitting novel.

“A Little Life was such an intense experience,” Thompson says. “Intense in a good way, I mean. The material was very bleak, but acting is always pleasurable because you are indulging in a fantasy, even if it’s a dark one, and that is inherently fun.”

Thompson also thinks that theatre has lost some of its belief in itself. “Theatre is supposed to be provocative. I’m not on social media, but I think it can be very aggressive and vicious, and I think theatres cave to that a bit. Deep down, theatre is the opposite of social media. It is about people being in a room, exchanging opinions and emotions. I worry that social media is spoiling that a bit, which is a shame.”

What production made you fall in love with theatre?

I remember standing in the Yard at Shakespeare’s Globe in 2009 and watching Thea Sharrock’s production of As You Like It, and thinking: ‘Oh, wow, this is really funny and it actually works. When done simply and confidently, Shakespeare still speaks to us today.’ For my first job to be at the Globe a few years later was magical.

What are you finding inspiring at the moment?

I love watching Ivo [van Hove]’s company do stuff. There is something so wild about the acting in his shows. We get very bogged down with facts in this country, but Ivo understands the dream logic of plays. Some of the most moving things I’ve seen don’t completely make sense. I find that inspiring.

What do you wish you could change about the performing arts industry?

I wish theatre had more confidence. Right now, it feels unsure about how useful it is and about how taboo, complex and provocative it should be. I feel as though theatre has lost confidence in its societal function.

What is the worst thing that has happened to you on stage?

There was a scene in A Little Life in which James ran around naked for a bit, then I would bring him clothes. During one show, I couldn’t find his underpants, so I just brought him his trousers and he put them on. But I forgot that people pulled his trousers off again later and they were expecting him to be wearing underpants. James knew it was coming and I knew it was coming and we couldn’t look at each other for the rest of the play. I hope he doesn’t mind me telling that story. It was so funny.

What is the best thing that has happened to you on stage?

There are so many. That sounds naff but I don’t care. I love the challenge of going on stage night after night and trying to make something feel alive in front of an audience.

What role do you really want to play?

I would work with Ivo again at the drop of a hat. And there are loads and loads of roles I would love to play. I did a reading of a rewriting of The Seagull the other day. The role of Konstantin is really beautiful. I’d love to play that. I’d love to play Iago one day, too. Of course, I’d love to play Hamlet but it’s boring to say that.

What projects are you involved in at the moment?

I’m playing Berowne in Emily Burns’ production of Love’s Labour’s Lost with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has set it on a Polynesian island owned by these big tech billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk, of which I am one. It’s a really smart concept that unlocks a lot of very interesting stuff in the play. Season three of Bridgerton is coming out in May and June, too. And we will be filming season four soon after that. There’s a lot still to come.

Source: The Stage