#roman as total imagination

[nonbinaryroyalty43]

Losleep, Au where roman is all en-compassing and remus is Logan's brother who represents Procrastination

....I'm actually writing for once. What a surprise.

Characters: Logan Sanders, Remy Sanders, C!Thomas (mentioned). Remus Sanders (mentioned), Roman Sanders (mentioned), Virgil Sanders (mentioned).

Pairing: Losleep

Warnings: Bad self care habits, procrastination

Summary: Logan and Remus are at war in Thomas' mind, leading Logan to stress quite a bit. Remy just wants his boyfriend to sleep.

*******

I stared at the paper in front of me, barely able to read my writing through my blurry vision. Everyone else was asleep, including Sleep himself. I glanced over at my bed. Remy was curled up under the covers, his breathing deep and even. I smiled to myself before returning to my work.

The last few days had been difficult for everyone. Remus pushed Thomas to be even more lazy than usual. As a result, Thomas was very behind in his posting schedule and I have to work overtime in order to get things back on track.

The others really didn't help much, either. Roman only wanted Thomas to stay on track as long as Thomas was doing something creative. Virgil went from being anxious about procrastinating to being anxious about screwing something up. As such, I didn't have much help.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision, rubbing at my eyes. I returned my focus to my work. Time passed very quickly and before long I heard the sounds of the other Sides getting up and moving in the hallway. I yawned and stretched, glancing over at Remy. To my surprise, his eyes were open and he was looking over at me.

"Good morning," I said. "You're up early."

"So are you." Remy sat up, running a hand through his hair. "What time did you come to bed last night? I didn't feel you get into bed."

I averted my eyes briefly. "I went to sleep not long after you did. I woke at the same time I usually do." My lie wasn't well thought out so I wasn't surprised when Remy gave me a disapproving look.

"I love you, hun, but I wish you wouldn't lie to me. I can feel when people are asleep, even when I'm also sleeping. I didn't feel you at all last night. Were you still working on that new schedule?"

I sighed. "Yes. Thomas has so much responsibility now, to his fans and to his friends. He's so far behind on everything he's promised. I know his friends and fans are understanding, but at some point they have to reach their limit."

"That's a possibility. However, you really aren't accomplishing much. Remus has managed to get Thomas off track and maintain a decent sleep schedule. If you aren't at your best, you won't be able to overcome his influence on Thomas." Remy stood, walking over to me and offering me his hand. "You should sleep. A few more hours isn't going to do much difference in the long run."

Remy made several good points, but part of me didn't want to stop my work. I knew Remy wouldn't give up, though, so I said, "Alright. But just for a few hours. No one else seems to want Thomas to stay on track. I have to keep Thomas focused."

He nodded. "Okay. Sleep first." He tugged on my hand and I stood. Remy snapped his fingers. My clothes changed in something more comfortable for sleep. He led me over to the bed, laying down with me.

I felt my eyes getting heavier, unsure whether that was due to my own tiredness or Remy's influence. Remy hummed quietly, running a hand through my hair. "Do you want some help sleeping?"

I nodded with no hesitation. Sleeping with Remy's help always made me feel more rested than usual. Remy's hand stilled in my hair and I felt his power sweep through me. Warmth spread through me and, just like that, my eyes closed and I feel asleep.

[dirtyoldmanhole]

this possession strip has everything i love.... naked dadbod gunter in bed with corrin... corrin butt... claw gauntlet mindbreak blowjob complete with hentai expressions .... feral grandpa gonzo violence... angst.... villain speeches....

[vvegart]

I'm gonna be sooo real one of the things that worries me the most about the waiter story leaking is the way that the memory of the last time that sophie and iverson were probably truly happy with their father is gonna be tainted forever. people have said that kendall will probably not face the legal consequences of his acts, since he has the power and resources to bury the thing like logan always did, but no amount of money can save him from the disgust and fear that this will provide on his kids and rava, shiv and roman couldn't care less, but they will, and that will be kendall's cross to bear.

[myplasticadversary]

Alright so I think I've basically settled on: Taissa is Shiv, Nat is Kendall, Shauna is Roman and Misty is Tom. I'm still stuck on Van and Lottie though 🤔

[toocabaret]

i want to read a fic where gerri is directly to blame for america’s descent into fascism and i also don’t want to analyse that desire at all. i would like the vileness and the pain only. pls.

[celibibratty]

Ngl, would be kinda cool to imagine an idea of lis2 sifu AU(but this game(lis2) is so suck that It won't let It work😒specially on aspect of the villans idk who can be💦),(sigh), okay, lets think, the main characters I not even need to say who will be, do I?, this yang, his our main characters big brother...sooo It all points to sean(but its kinda weird taking in consideration we also have a "sean" in the game, tho sean doesn't look like neither of them, tho "I tired of this shit"(this a dialogue of this sean(sifu)) is a very sean(lis2 sean) thing to say😒, and the older version of this yang doesn't combine with the older version of sean(that could be him from bb I guess?), It doesn't need to be coherent to the original characters, lets pretend sean being this yang so It makes more sense with Daniel, the vengeance, like, Daniel would be avenging who? Because in the logic of the game, the main characters are avenging their father's death, so Daniel would be avenging...Esteban?😒(spongebob hawaiian cocktail playing in background), sorry!! I just don't like esteban(I respect him as sean and daniel's father, but I don't care about him), I mean this one kind makes sense, the problem is that I DON'T LIKE ESTEBAN💦(and the visual gets me too, our main characters father is an old man, I mean esteban is an old man too, but our main characters father looks like a grandpa and Esteban looks like "a daddy😩👌"or dilf(I don't like much this word), tho playing the opening again ngl I found the old man kinda good looking, he's an old man of respect, I prefer the old man than Esteban😒), this fajar, this one is easy, for me super combine to be the gangster/short dude that got fucked up both in bb and lw(cuz I feel this dude have a tension with daniel, the same way our main characters have a tension with this fajar because he is the one that killed them, so they have this fear, but also this hate/rage towards him), actually all the three First bosses could be portrayed by the gang members If you want, the short dude would be this fajar, the big bald dude this sean and the girl could be this kuroki, this one makes sense cuz those are characters I could Cleary see daniel messing with, its just funny cuz they are very random, okay, but if you want some important characters, this fajar for me super combines this dude, this sean unfortunaly idk, this kuroki if you want It could be lyla😒(the problem is that daniel likes this bitch and y'know... our main characters kill them!, so daniel would never😩👌, although daniel in the beggining also liked cassidy and then he almost killed her, so I kinda don't doubt It🙄, one of the things that make lyla combine with this kuroki for me, its that both of them combine with the word "bitch", I feeling kinda bad to associate this kuroki with this word 😅but it kinda combines with her, but ofc way more to lyla, ugh, I don't like this girl), the old lady I mean this jinfeng, tsc, its very obvious who combine to be, lisbeth!, even the way our main characters kill this jinfeng is exactly alike the way Daniel kills lisbeth and I never notice that, I mean I founded similar when I saw it, but its more similar than I thought(i always thought that our main characters killed this jinfeng by hanging her, but playing again and again now I see that they actually break/crack her neck, thats what kills her, which exactly what daniel's do when he kills lisbeth, and both deaths/scenes are kinda creppy, our main characters is a cool creppy, daniel's to me its a bad creppy(I have a trauma with this scene/episode 4 in general💦), but I will accept for the sake of coherence😓(jokes asides, what makes lyla have something in common with this kuroki is that both have some sadness/mental problem(like depression!? idk what this kuroki have, but she has/had something and lisbeth and this jinfeng are both very gredy old ladies)

[heauxvibez]

Dipsea

warning: smut (18+)

The cool, freshly laundered sheets clung to your skin as you slipped into bed after a much-needed, steamy shower. The day's stress seemed to evaporate with the rising steam, but now it was truly time to unwind and let go of all the tension that had built up over a long, demanding day. You reached for your earphones, knowing that the only thing more rewarding than this moment of solitude would be indulging in some erotic audio. Like a private hotline tailored just for you, it allowed you to surrender to the sultry, seductive voices of your favorite narrators. They whispered pure, unfiltered filth into your ears, drawing you deeper into a world of pleasure without the need for any awkward human interaction—just you, the intimate soundscape, and the fantasies unfolding in your mind.

Your panties were already pooled around your ankles, your right hand delicately nestled between your thighs, teasing and circling your sensitive pearl as you prepared yourself for an evening of pure release. In your left hand, your phone displayed the app you had come to depend on for these moments. With each swipe, the screen revealed a lineup of male voice actors, their deep tones and sultry narrations making your toes curl. Some of the voices even belonged to celebrities, their allure amplified by the forbidden thrill of hearing them narrate explicit fantasies.

One in particular, Sarunas from Insecure, had become a favorite—his smooth, husky voice bringing his character, Malcolm, the app's most beloved character to life. His words were like honey, you lost count of how many times his verbal seduction had left you trembling with need. His low, rumbling tones reached directly into your mind, conjuring vivid images of the scenarios he described. It felt as though he was speaking just to you, his tongue effortlessly fucking your ear with each erotic monologue, leaving you and countless other fans in a state of delicious delirium.

"Oh my God..." you whispered, halting your endless scrolling as something new caught your eye. The app had just unveiled a new character, and you couldn't believe what you were seeing. This was going to be the app's biggest money grab yet, and you knew it.

Introducing Joe, voiced by Roman Reigns.

"No the FUCK they didn’t..." you gasped, your jaw practically hitting the floor. Was this a dream come true? The mere idea of having Roman Reigns' voice—deep, commanding, and intoxicating—whispering in your ear was almost too much to comprehend. He wasn’t your man, but in this moment, with your AirPods snug in your ears, it was close enough to feel real.

Your fingers trembled slightly as you clicked on the tab, and a thrill ran through you as you were taken to a selection of audio stories. There were ten in total, but only one was unlocked—the rest dangled out of reach, locked behind a paywall. The silhouette of Joe’s character dominated the top of the page, a shadowy figure that perfectly outlined the familiar, muscular physique you admired. His broad shoulders, sculpted arms, and chiseled abs were rendered in perfect detail, making your mouth water.

You were tempted, so tempted to splurge and unlock the rest, but you needed to be smart. What if the voice you imagined didn’t live up to the fantasy? The economy was too tight for reckless spending, even for someone like Joe. You needed to know if he could deliver—if his voice would be as commanding and seductive as you hoped. After all, you wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive first, right? Right. You’d sample the free audio, and if it sent shivers down your spine, you’d gladly pay for the rest. But if not... well, better to be cautious than disappointed.

You clicked on the only unlocked audio titled "Watch Part 1 " and quickly scanned the description.

What happens when Joe doesn't want to touch, but simply wants to watch. Click here to find out...

Your heart raced as you took a deep breath, anxiety curled in your belly. With excitement and curiosity, you pressed the small play button, and the screen transformed into a familiar sound display, reminiscent of Spotify or Apple Music. In the center was a cartooned image of Joe, his piercing eyes and chiseled features staring back at you, commanding your attention. Below, the familiar controls—rewind, skip, play, and fast forward—were neatly lined up, ready for you to take control, though you had a feeling Joe would be the one in control tonight.

As the audio began, the first sound that filled your ears was the gentle rustling of sheets, intimate and close, as if he was right there with you. The realism sent a shiver down your spine, making it easy to imagine those same sheets you were currently nestled in being part of the scene. Your eyes fluttered shut, the world around you fading as you became fully immersed in the experience. The gentle movements of your fingers on your clit stilled as you surrendered to the moment, deciding that tonight, you would let Joe guide you. His voice began to weave its magic, and you knew you were in for a night of pure pleasure, letting him tell you exactly what to do.

He took a deep breath through his nose, the sound so close and intimate that you instinctively mirrored the action, inhaling deeply yourself. The connection was immediate, and before you could process it, his voice smooth as silk—filled your ears, weaving its spell around you, nearly hypnotizing you in ways you hadn’t thought possible.

"Mmm, glad you could make it. How was your day baby? Exhausting and stressful? Well, I'm here to relieve all that stress for you tonight. Lay back, relax, and allow me to talk you through it."

"Keep those legs open, baby... yeah, just like that. Daddy's going to sit right across from the bed and watch you make yourself cum."

His words were a dark temptation, drawing you deeper into his world. The sheer power in his voice was pulling you under.

"No. I don’t want to touch, I just want to watch."

"I wanna watch you slide those fingers up and down that sweet slit of yours, the same way my tongue does when it slowly glides up and down that clit, chasing after every drop of nectar that might escape and fall onto the sheets,"

"I can almost taste you on my tongue right now, just thinking about it. I could take a sip of you, but I won’t. I'm just here to watch."

Slowly, you slid your finger down as he described, but his voice quickly stopped you in your tracks.

"Not yet, baby. Daddy will tell you when... I promise we'll get there. But first, let me get comfortable."

The sounds of his feet shuffling against the wooden floor reached your ears. You could hear the subtle shift of his clothing as he moved, the soft rustle of fabric making the scene all the more vivid in your mind. The leather of the chair squeaked slightly as he settled in, the noise unmistakable. You could easily imagine him leaning back, relaxed yet in control, one arm draped over the armrest while his right hand lazily stroked through his beard. You were certain of it—he was playing with his beard, the subtle rasp of his fingers combing through the coarse hairs confirming your suspicion. The imagery, paired with his voice, was almost too much to bear.

"I'm drinking every inch of you in right now, that soft melanin skin and the curves of your body are being softly traced by my eyes. Yeah. you are one hell of a sight to see."

"Slip your palms over your breasts, feel those nipples get hard over your fingertips. Yeah, sweetheart. Fuck, just like that. How does that feel? Just like when I caress you, huh? My calloused hands, roaming over those sensitive buds of yours. Remember when I made you cum just from sucking on them? When I had your hands pinned above your head, listening to you whimper, whine and beg me to stop while I sucked and slurped on them? Mmm, I always enjoy how weak you can get for me."

He moaned softly into your ears as you obediently followed his instructions. For a fleeting moment, you considered reaching for your phone to pause the audio, to gather your scattered thoughts and remind yourself that this was just a recording. But the question lingered in your mind—who was this man talking to? How had this app managed to not only secure such an iconic voice but also craft such a sensual, sex-filled script that he delivered with such raw, intimate power?

It was as if he had been in your bedroom for years, learning every secret, every desire, and now he was laying them bare with every word. The way he spoke made it impossible to believe this was just a performance. He was so convincing, so achingly real, that for a moment, you almost believed this was a private call—a direct line from him to you. The fantasy he spun was so vivid, so personal, that it fed into your most delusional thoughts. The line between fantasy and reality blurred, and you found yourself willingly surrendering to the illusion, allowing yourself to believe that he was speaking to you and only you as if he knew exactly what you needed to hear.

"Now trail your hands real slowly from your breast down your belly slowly and draw light circles with your fingers. The same way I do when I want to watch you suffer. There you go baby girl. I know, I know. It's driving you insane to tease yourself so slowly. But I promise, listening to me..you'll cum harder than you ever have,"

"Now go ahead and play with that pussy for me, but take your time. I don't want our fun to end so soon."

Just as you were about to dive deeper into the fantasy, the sound abruptly paused, pulling you out of the seductive trance you had been sinking into. Your eyes snapped open and you quickly turned your head to the side, your gaze darting toward your phone, where the screen glowed faintly in the dim light. A small notification had popped up, breaking the seamless flow of the experience. The sight of it snapped you back to reality,

End of Watch Part 1

Would you like to subscribe to our app to listen to "Watch Part 2"?

-------------------------

Lolololol sorry ya'll, I like to be a tease too! If ya'll like the little audiobook oneshot idea, the next one I can make longer :) Bye!

Tags: @harmshake @southerngirl41 @sortudademais @empressdede @alichesmi

@msbigredmachine @theninthwonder @blacst4r @wrestlingprincess80 @headoftheetable

@trashbin-nie @tshepisho @saintmagx

[yelloowcars]

My roman empire is the fact that, from what we could see on the pilot, Lottie and Nat had a good relationship, like, I can tell they were good friends, or at least can see they stood up for eachother or agreed on most things.

I can totally imagine Lottie standing up for Nat everytime she heard something remotely close to what Tai insinuated she should be doing when she said "Don't you have a bong to hit or a dick to suck?". And then Lottie grabbing her arm about to call her out on it, but Shauna got ahead saying "Don't talk to her that way".

Then watching the slow freefall, when Lottie started to "act weird" because of the things she felt, heard, of saw in her visions. Still, at the beginning, they showed Nat still caring, talking to her or trying to sooth her in some way.

Afterwards, we know what happens and they grow apart, Nat constantly pushing Lottie aside on every attempt she had of caring for her (in Lottie's way of caring in the wilderness), but somehow on the bathtub scene it felt like they were finally getting along again, or at least standing on good terms. A silent white flag.

And Lottie cared about Nat, she never stopped caring about her, not when they were young, and definitely not when they were adults.

The adult version of them just makes me wonder how they handled things after the cabin burned down. Did the fact that Nat became the new antler queen change things on their relationship?

Why did Nat say "Friends? Is that what we are?"

Did something bad happen then? Or they grew closer and then after they were rescued and Lottie letf to the mental facility on Switzerland, something else got in between?

Like, it's clear she had to go through all of that alone. At least some of them kept in distant touch. But Lottie? As far as they knew, she was still on Switzerland completely out of her mind.

I don't know, it just makes me wonder so many things.

Also the fact that both of them as adults saw eachother's youngerselves in their most vulnerable moments, speaks to me. Like, why them exactly? They had to share something special for that to actually happen, right?

Just me rambling here, though.

[taegimood]

ummm woah what’s that! points in the opposite direction as i scramble behind my open for business sign as if i didn’t disappear without a trace for months and have totally been here the whole time oh guess it was nothing anyway hi guys

i wouldn’t be me without eternal soobin brainrot so naturally i’ve emerged to throw this old now-finished draft at you for my first post back 🫡

so the best friends to fwb to lovers pipeline is my mf roman empire i’m so serious. like bestfriend!soobin always sitting next to you with his hand casually resting on your leg at all times, not even in a suggestive way, he just gravitates towards touching you 🥺 his safe place !! imagining his huge self slumped practically in half to rest his head on your shoulder, or him just mindlessly playing with your little fingers in his big hands glitches as he sits observing the room w that soft pout and big boba eyes combo yeah you know the one- clutches chest

so then later turned fwb!soobin who’s so used to showering w his friends iykyk lmao that now that he’s fucking you, in his mind you’ve crossed over that threshold of friendship where he expects to be able to join you for your showers even when it’s nothing sexual.. is genuinely confused if you tell him no 😭

“soobin i just need some me-time”

“….you can’t have your me-time with me?” *displeased pout*

like a needy puppy fr

but like you guys having such an interesting dynamic cuz you’re just still straight-up best friends (who are actually in love with each other but neither of you realize that even tho everyone else does cue yeonjun rolling his eyes into the camera like the office) so even tho the boys are all waiting for you both to wake up from your one joint braincell’s loop of stupidity and realize the truth, (beomgyu’s words), no one actually suspects that you’re out here skipping steps and FUCKING each other, because you guys just act so normal and chill together otherwise — the same way you’ve always been.

until later when the feelings start coming to the surface and you suddenly don’t know how to act around each other but that’s a whole other can of worms 🫡

so, when you’ve joined them for a short weekend schedule in japan, no one questions it when soobin meanders over to your hotel room after everyone is all settled in and getting ready for bed. eh, he’s just gonna go veg out there for a bit cuz he’s bored while she rambles about random stuff. classic soobin and y/n. they are wrong

you had just settled into bed when soobin slips into your room with the spare key card you had tucked into his pocket earlier, and you’re shuffling around and getting comfy when you hear the door open and close. you two hadn’t made a plan to mess around tonight, but you aren’t surprised, as it isn’t unusual for soobin to still seek you out for cuddles while he talks about his day.

you don’t even have to say anything as he slides into bed behind you, instantly wrapping an arm around your waist and nuzzling his face into the nape of your neck with a sigh.

“needed a break from beomgyu’s pororo impressions,” he mumbles, and you snort at the thought. “how does he still have so much energy right now…?” you murmur back, sleep lacing the edges of your voice.

“i still think i’m right about him being an animatronic bot who reaches peak terror at night.”

the two of you giggle at soobin’s joke before falling into a comfortable silence, broken intermittently by comments about your day, about their schedule tomorrow, about the anime-themed shopping center you guys plan to sneak off to with kai afterwards.

with another sigh from soobin, this one more of contentment than exhaustion, he’s soon nestling further into you, your eyes slipping shut in sleepy bliss at the warmth of his body pressed to yours.

that is, until you begin to feel small kisses being placed softly along your shoulder.

“soobin,” you warn half-heartedly.

“‘m not doing anything,” he complains back quietly in an equally half-hearted mumble, as he continues clearly doing something.

you’re so tired, but you can’t deny the tingles that run through your body whenever soobin touches you, and tonight is no exception as you wordlessly turn your head to look over your shoulder at him, his features coming into focus in the near-darkness of the room as he pauses to gaze at you in turn.

his blonde hair all tousled from the pillows, the sharp line of his jaw, his soft shining eyes — and his lips that you can never seem to resist for very long.

case in point. it’s only a few passing moments before those lips are on yours in a deep kiss, languid and slow, his hand gently holding your chin that’s still angled back towards him, your own hand reaching behind to caress the back of his neck — and then he’s shifting backwards to turn you over fully, your back now against the sheets as he positions himself half over you, his tongue moving lazily with yours, warm and wet and tasting of him as he comfortably rests his weight on you.

you make out like that for a while, his wandering right hand leisurely squeezing and kneading your tits beneath your shirt, his lips occasionally finding themselves trailing down your neck, but always coming back up to find yours.

i can picture how needy he’d start to get, subtle at first in the way he’d shift his hips, in the way his breath would quicken — and then it would be obvious from the moans that escape him as his kisses grow heavier, more insistent.

“need you..” he’d groan breathlessly through his kisses, attempting to shove his sweatpants down with his free hand as his lips stay latched onto yours, too desperate and impatient to sit up properly and use both hands.

“someone might come looking for you,” but you’re tugging his pants and boxers down his hips for him anyway and his lips are on your neck as he pushes your panties aside.

“let them look.”

soobin wasting no time rocking into you with deep, needy strokes, his face buried in your neck while your arms wrap around his shoulders, clutching onto him as his hips press you further into the mattress the more desperate he gets.

his hands are all over you, squeezing and caressing anywhere they can touch, and closer just isn’t enough as he holds you against him with breathy moans and grinding hips until you’re both cumming, his stuttered groan the giveaway before his final thrust is filling you up and your own climax washes over you like a wave. you can feel each other’s hearts beating as he stays there rested on top of your chest.

your best friend eventually lifting himself to hover over you in the dark, his warm breath fanning over your lips as you push the damp hair from his forehead, hand sliding down to caress his cheek, his jaw, thumb ghosting across his parted lips as he twitches inside of you — you bite back a smile.

this time, when he kisses you.. you don’t know it yet, but this time, it’s different.

soobin isn’t exactly sure why he can feel heat rising to his cheeks or a little somersault in his chest, but he’s glad that it’s too dark for you to notice the redness in his face when he asks,

“can i stay here tonight?”

[sandersontheside]

AU concept: Remus King is a best-selling but reclusive horror novelist. His twin brother Roman is a struggling actor. When Remus' publisher pressures him to make public appearances to promote his newest book, despite his insistence that he wants to stay out of the public eye, they hatch a scheme. Roman will pose as his brother for all book signings, public speaking appearances, and various other events, and will be paid Remus' fee for those appearances, plus a little extra. Roman doesn't particularly want to pretend to be his brother, but he hasn't had a real acting job in months and a man's gotta eat. Besides, he's known Remus their entire lives, he could play the part in his sleep. What could possibly go wrong? 

(Spoiler alert: a lot.)

Virgil Rayne is Remus King's biggest fan, who comes to a signing, over the moon to finally meet the man behind his favorite stories. Only to have a panic attack in line and be forced to leave before he can meet his hero. Or so he thinks. Because while hiding in the bathroom trying to calm down, who should walk in but the author himself, who proceeds to be surprisingly good at talking Virgil down. Once Virgil calms down, it feels kind of awkward to ask for an autograph, but thankfully Remus offers before he can ask. 

Remus even scribbles his number in the book next to his very poetic message to Virgil.

It takes Virgil a few days to get over his anxiety and text, but he ultimately does because how could he pass up the opportunity to be friends with his favorite author?? So they start texting. A lot. And who knew Remus loved Disney movies? Or did theatre in high school? Or sings Taylor Swift in the shower? Or makes silly puns that Virgil can't help but laugh at? Or has a soft, dreamy, romantic side? Remus King is nothing like Virgil imagined he would be, but it doesn’t matter because before he knows it, Virgil has fallen hard. And sometimes it kinda seems like the feeling is mutual? Remus is certainly flirty, but it's hard to tell if that actually means anything.

And, oh God, Roman is so, so, so fucked. Because Virgil has pretty purple hair and dark mysterious eyes and a cute laugh, and short circuited his brain so much when they first met that he didn’t even think before writing his number down. Roman is now totally head over heels for Virgil Rayne.

Virgil, who thinks he’s his brother.  

(Remus is laughing his ass off at this whole sorry situation)

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay so I saw this post about dark percy (really him reaching his Limit and fighting full strength with everything he had) and I was imagining the potential fallout of that. Pretty bad, as you can guess.

The thing is a lot of percys strongest moments happen out of view of the olympians, especially in hoo. The hurricane atop the glacier in alaska, the poison scene in tartarus, bending the depression river and the one in the palace of nyx.

Stuff like the St Helens eruption got him washed up on an inescapable island literally removed from reality until calypso gave him the OK, the achillies curse he got tricked into losing by hera. Smaller moments, the minotaur, fighting ares, the stolen pirate ship, walking on water vs hyperion, freshwater sources, him knowing both Latin and Greek, they're more easily brushed off or at least mostly due to cunning, sword skills and sheer luck and grit.

But basically the olympians don't actually know the full extent of percys strength and divine power. They have hints - percy standing on the throne, winning against ares, his many victories - but what they aren't willing to brush aside in the heat of (an important) battle there have been pretty strong consequences for.

Heck, just look at Frank, he's no prodigy with weapons, he's polite and respectful, but his distant relation to two olympians letting him inherit shapeshifting earned him direct divine meddling and his life force tied to a hunk of half toasted firewood. Man is a honey bear with lactose intolerance and he was punished with a mythical death curse for being too strong.

If Percy's true strength came out, he would risk losing everything. His freedom, most certainly. If he wasn't straight up executed he might wind up in a Greek myth style imprisonment, the way of atlas, prometheus, calypso, or something like the myriad of ways Greek heroes met their end. Good scenario he survives a dozen curses and gets on with life with a dozen new disabilities, best case scenario he's stripped of every inch of divine power and dropped back to the mortal world, not even clear sighted. Total separation from the Greeks and Romans. Oh, annabeth would marry him either way, and his friends would hardly abandon him despite the gods wishes, but they'd hardly be able to see him, and no long range contact without the ability to IM him or vice versa.

All of that to say Percy is hiding his true strength from the gods themselves - maybe not consciously, and it's not even power he particularly wants - but if they ever find out?

It's game over.

But why is he so strong? I don't know. What I do know is that the half bloods of the books are so much stronger than the ones of myth. Used to be that divine blood would get you divine favour and a great fate whether you liked it or not. Maybe some cunning and bow skills. A spot of spell casting if you were really lucky. Achillies got his curse after he was born, Perseus had a dozen magic artifacts, orpheus had something going on but hercules is to my knowledge an outlier. Now? Everyone in camp has some special power. Flight, fire, necromancy, hypnotism, dream walking etc. However it's happening, half bloods are slowly but surely getting a lot, lot stronger every century that passes. Meta? I mean I guess. But.

What no one has done before is something that their godly parent couldn't.

Except.

Except Percy.

Except Percy, in tartarus, at his mental, emotional and physical limit, controlling poison with his mind, overpowering the goddess of poison in her home, making misery choke on misery. Feeling something in his chest crack. Doing something poseidon could not, and doing it better than the person who could.

Down there, hidden away from the gods, he evolved. For that brief moment, he did something, was something new.

And that was how the gods overthrew the titans.

And that's why they must never find out.

[spocks-kaathyra]

thoughts about the Cardassian writing system

I've thinking about the Cardassian script as shown on screen and in beta canon and such and like. Is it just me or would it be very difficult to write by hand?? Like.

I traced some of this image for a recent drawing I did and like. The varying line thicknesses?? The little rectangular holes?? It's not at all intuitive to write by hand. Even if you imagine, like, a different writing implement—I suppose a chisel-tip pen would work better—it still seems like it wasn't meant to be handwritten. Which has a few possible explanations.

Like, maybe it's just a fancy font for computers, and handwritten text looks a little different. Times New Roman isn't very easily written by hand either, right? Maybe the line thickness differences are just decorative, and it's totally possible to convey the same orthographic information with the two line thicknesses of a chisel-tip pen, or with no variation in line thickness at all.

A more interesting explanation, though, and the one I thought of first, is that this writing system was never designed to be handwritten. This is a writing system developed in Cardassia's digital age. Maybe the original Cardassian script didn’t digitize well, so they invented a new one specifically for digital use? Like, when they invented coding, they realized that their writing system didn’t work very well for that purpose. I know next to nothing about coding, but I cannot imagine doing it using Chinese characters. So maybe they came up with a new writing system that worked well for that purpose, and when computer use became widespread, they stuck with it. 

Or maybe the script was invented for political reasons! Maybe Cardassia was already fairly technologically advanced when the Cardassian Union was formed, and, to reinforce a cohesive national identity, they developed a new standardized national writing system. Like, y'know, the First Emperor of Qin standardizing hanzi when he unified China, or that Korean king inventing hangul. Except that at this point in Cardassian history, all official records were digital and typing was a lot more common than handwriting, so the new script was designed to be typed and not written. Of course, this reform would be slower to reach the more rural parts of Cardassia, and even in a technologically advanced society, there are people who don't have access to that technology. But I imagine the government would be big on infrastructure and education, and would make sure all good Cardassian citizens become literate. And old regional scripts would stop being taught in schools and be phased out of digital use and all the kids would grow up learning the digital script.

Which is good for the totalitarian government! Imagine you can only write digitally. On computers. That the government can monitor. If you, like, write a physical letter and send it to someone, then it's possible for the contents to stay totally private. But if you send an email, it can be very easily intercepted. Especially if the government is controlling which computers can be manufactured and sold, and what software is in widespread use, etc. 

AND. Historical documents are now only readable for scholars. Remember that Korean king that invented hangul? Before him, Korea used to use Chinese characters too. And don't get me wrong, hangul is a genius writing system! It fits the Korean language so much better than Chinese characters did! It increased literacy at incredible rates! But by switching writing systems, they broke that historical link. The average literate Chinese person can read texts that are thousands of years old. The average literate Korean person can't. They'd have to specifically study that field, learn a whole new writing system. So with the new generation of Cardassian youths unable to read historical texts, it's much easier for the government to revise history. The primary source documents are in a script that most people can't read. You just trust the translation they teach you in school. In ASIT it's literally a crucial plot point that the Cardassian government revised history! Wouldn't it make it soooo much easier for them if only very few people can actually read the historical accounts of what happened.

I guess I am thinking of this like Chinese characters. Like, all the different Chinese "dialects" being written with hanzi, even though otherwise they could barely be considered the same language. And even non-Sinitic languages that historically adopted hanzi, like Japanese and Korean and Vietnamese. Which worked because hanzi is a logography—it encodes meaning, not sound, so the same word in different languages can be written the same. It didn’t work well! Nowadays, Japanese has made significant modifications and Korean has invented a new writing system entirely and Vietnamese has adapted a different foreign writing system, because while hanzi could write their languages, it didn’t do a very good job at it. But the Cardassian government probably cares more about assimilation and national unity than making things easier for speakers of minority languages. So, Cardassia used to have different cultures with different languages, like the Hebitians, and maybe instead of the Union forcing everyone to start speaking the same language, they just made everyone use the same writing system. Though that does seem less likely than them enforcing a standard language like the Federation does. Maybe they enforce a standard language, and invent the new writing system to increase literacy for people who are newly learning it.

And I can imagine it being a kind of purely digital language for some people? Like if you’re living on a colonized planet lightyears away from Cardassia Prime and you never have to speak Cardassian, but your computer’s interface is in Cardassian and if you go online then everyone there uses Cardassian. Like people irl who participate in the anglophone internet but don’t really use English in person because they don’t live in an anglophone country. Except if English were a logographic writing system that you could use to write your own language. And you can’t handwrite it, if for whatever reason you wanted to. Almost a similar idea to a liturgical language? Like, it’s only used in specific contexts and not really in daily life. In daily life you’d still speak your own language, and maybe even handwrite it when needed. I think old writing systems would survive even closer to the imperial core (does it make sense to call it that?), though the government would discourage it. I imagine there’d be a revival movement after the Fire, not only because of the cultural shift away from the old totalitarian Cardassia, but because people realize the importance of having a written communication system that doesn’t rely on everyone having a padd and electricity and wifi.

[witchhazelevesque]

We actually have no confirmation whether the characters are living their first lives. Like. Percy saw the Isles of the Blessed in the very first book and thought “that’s where I want to end up”. But what if when he dies eventually expecting to go through judgement and hopefully get Elysium (he obviously will but he’s prob not gonna let his guard down about it til he’s there and maybe even after) only then he’s ushered past it and onto the Isles.

Can you imagine how he’d react?

But that also opens up some sad possibilities because honestly what are the odds that every single one of them are on the same stage in this possible cycle? And this goes back to some theories I had about how the three different lives thing works. And in the Last Olympian Percy insists that all the demigods and hunters that died in the war get granted Elysium and Hades agrees. He might have said something about paperwork or something for the on going joke about the Underworld as a business, but there was something to that? Either way, Percy wouldn’t know for sure when he made that requirement.

And it’s an interesting element that the books never really get into. Maybe because the characters are so young they just automatically assume it’s their first life. Also tragically they probably haven’t thought they would live long this life so they can’t imagine having done it successfully before. At least for the Greeks, the Romans are a whole other thing in that regard.

And since their souls are literally preordained to do certain things in the prophecies, I wonder if how new a soul is might relate. Not like dictating it but just if there’s any patterns or correlation. I think Leo and Hazel I’m most curious about. I guess the narrative has sort of implicitly set the reader up to operate with the mindset that this is the first lives for them, like again, Percy’s comment about the Isles. Silena’s last words were about seeing Charles, and the logical conclusion is that yeah they’re going to be in the same place, but there’s a layer to that that wasn’t addressed. And there’s the fact that both PJO and HoO start with the main characters (except Jason) being fully introduced to the mythical world, essentially casting them as beginners.

But by the nature of the world we’re being introduced to, it’s ancient, and looking at it that way it could totally seem like it’s plausible or probable that some of the characters have lived lives before.

Circling back to how that affects them in the afterlife though, it wouldn’t be clear to them automatically after their first and second lives. Are they told during judgment? Are they told in Elysium? Do they just innately know if they have the opportunity to be reborn?

For example, maybe this was Jason’s third life and he finds himself on the Isles and has to wait to see if his friends come there immediately when they die. Can those on the Isles go to Elysium? Are they confined there or is just that the residents of Elysium can’t go in? Time probably works weird in the Underworld, I think that might have been established. It might not be super painful if it turns out that Piper and Leo and Frank and Percy and Nico and everyone else aren’t bound for the Isles yet. He’d be at peace and have eternity to wait for them.

But on their end? Probably it depends on if the people on the Isles could visit. And again with those possibilities about their three identities and lifetimes worth of memories, it depends on who they are now. Are Piper and Leo going to find a Jason that is their Jason but also someone(s) else? That winner of the poll linked above and the possibility I agree with myself is that they get all their memories and decide what to do and who they are now. What would it be like if it was their first life and eventually they get reborn and then come back to Elysium as someone new, without those memories of their old friends? But again they have eternity so while it’s painful, it’s not permanently tragic.

Someone suggested they split into three different people and that is a really cool concept. It also adds an element of what the gods can do, splitting their essence and being multiple places at once. Not exactly like it since they’d be different people with different memories even if the core of them is the same technically. But just like demigods can’t understand what that’s like for the gods, those who haven’t lived three times can’t understand what it is to have three lives in your consciousness. And all of their minds are probably more elastic and more ‘godlike’ for lack of a better term after death since they aren’t confined to a mortal body. But it still not the same for those on the Isles and those in the outer sections of Elysium. I doubt it would stop people from being close, but it is a marked difference they’ll need to learn to navigate. It’s also really sweet because this means they get to have more of their loved ones to learn about.

[anthurak]

Takeaways from the Volume 9 Epilogue:

--

One thing I really like about Oscar’s ‘If there was anything I wish I could borrow from you…’ monologue is that it laid out/confirmed something I’ve always felt was a major aspect of Oscar’s dynamic with Ruby that I nonetheless feel a lot of the fandom has missed: That Oscar very much sees Ruby as a mentor and an example to follow, and how their dynamic is specifically a foil to what we saw between Ruby and Ozpin. That Ruby acts as a mentor and example to Oscar in the same way Ozpin was to Ruby, and that Ruby is a far BETTER mentor and example to Oscar than Ozpin ever was to her. Which, as an aside, is a dynamic I can’t help but feel a lot of people have been misinterpreting as ‘ship-teasing’ and is one of the main reasons I’ve simply never been able to see Oscar as any kind of viable love-interest to Ruby. Frankly the dynamic of ‘Ruby is the mentor and example to Oscar that Ozpin couldn’t be for her’ is simply so much more INTERESTING than any kind of romance could ever hope to be.

--

Even in animatic form, Winter basically going overdrive on the maiden powers was a sight to behold. And her own monologue had all the self-deprecation we were expecting. Our girl is clearly holding on by a thread and it’s going to be REAL interesting seeing how she reacts and adjusts to her sister not actually being dead. As in, I can imagine a situation where Winter tries to throw herself into a heroic sacrifice with the belief that Weiss would make a better Maiden than her.

Also, Winter’s monologue giving major focus to how Penny is super-super-dead-dead-and-definitely-not-coming-back-for-really-realsies, as she is talking to the sister who she ALSO believes is DEFINITELY also dead? Specifically with the words that Penny is gone, when Penny’s last words to her were that she’d be ‘part of you’?

Yeah, there is no way in hell we’ve seen the last of Penny XD

--

The CROWN. Like it was only a few shots, but as someone who read the CFVY Books (which you totally should if you haven’t, they’re great), holy shit I was NOT expecting them to pop up here.

I mean, in hindsight it makes perfect sense that they’d be involved in Volume 10. They’re basically Vacuo’s equivalent to Vale’s criminal element and the White Fang splinter faction as Salem’s co-opted insurgency group, with Jax and Gillian joining Roman, Adam and Jacques as the latest of Salem’s unwitting patsies. It’s definitely going to be real interesting seeing the crew deal with them. Like it’s really fun to imagine Team RWBY in particular being kind of exasperated at seeing Jax’s probably doing a whole ‘With Salem’s help I shall be King!’ shtick after everything they’ve seen with Roman, Adam and Jacques.

Oh and if you don’t know, Jax has a mind-control semblance, so him trying to use that on Yang could actually lead to a sneaky callback to the Justice League crossover, ie; Yang doing a ‘Yeah, I’m not doing THAT shit again.’ XD

--

Qrow’s whole vibe through this is fascinating. Like his section may have been the one we already saw, but after seeing the abject depression and growing despair of all the other characters, Qrow actually being OPTIMISTIC hit so much harder.

--

Raven showing up at the end is… interesting.

I’ll admit that ever since we saw that specific clip a few months back, I’ve been rather conflicts about Raven showing up to deliver RWBY+J to Vacuo, particularly after Ruby’s tree vision. Like for one it felt a bit random and unnecessary. The tree already deposited the Ever After team outside of Vacuo so they didn’t exactly need help getting there. Not to mention that it kind of clotheslines the story-thread set up by Ruby’s vision; that she now has a reason to track Raven down to get the ANSWERS to what happened to Summer. Finally, it’s just kind of… random? Like where did Raven even come from to get the team?

But now having seen the clip with its intended context, I’m definitely more on board with it. Particularly hearing from Kerry and Eddy that the original ending for the penultimate episode had RWBY+J going through the portal to arrive at their memorial stone, and met by a ‘Mysterious Figure’, ie; Raven. Here it feels like were getting more set up to get answers later as to what Raven was doing at the memorial.

And really, now that I’ve thought about it more, this method kind of puts the thread of Ruby going to Raven for answers even MORE into focus. Like the story reintroduces Raven in the present right after Ruby got a vision basically saying ‘hey, Raven is important’. And now going into Volume 10, we’re pretty much perfectly positioned for Ruby to pull Raven aside for those all-important ‘Why were you fucking my mom? What happened to my mom?’ questions.

--

Finally… yeah that ending hit me a LOT harder than I was expecting. Like that ending was HOPE in its purest form and it was honestly beautiful to see. Particularly right now with the future of the show seeming so uncertain. I’ve personally been optimistic about RWBY’s future (in a manner not unlike Qrow’s vibes I suppose lol), but damn the hopefulness of that ending hit especially hard, and was something I’ll admit I needed. And I imagine the rest of us could use as well.

We'll be getting Volume 10. And 11, and 12, and however many more it takes to finish this story. At this point, I have no doubt of that.

[avelera]

Let's Play: What's Wrong with this Sculpture?

Following in the theme of sharing astonishing moments of ancient sculpture pedantry here on Tumblr, based on my brief undergraduate stint as a T.A of ancient art history, I thought I'd share one of my other proudest moments of being an absolutely insufferable know-it-all about ancient sculptures.

In the process, I hope I can also share some of the sort of largely useless (from a practical perspective) information that Tumblr tends to glory in, so buckle up buttercups.

This question was posed to me on a walking tour of the Capitoline Museum in my ancient art history class while I was living abroad. Our professor, a delightfully curmudgeonly Belgian, stopped in front and asked us to figure out why this sculpture is just plain wrong.

I intend to walk you through the process of how I got the right answer and, after gaining my teacher's rare approval, glowed with enough serotonin to power a small nuclear reactor.

So, let's return to the original question: what is wrong with this sculpture?

Because if you are truly eagle-eyed you should be able to spot what very famous sculpture this actually is, before an overly imaginative Frenchman brought it back wrong.

Hint #1: It was incorrectly restored.

Look closely at the the difference of the patina, or color of the stone. It's a bit hard to tell in this photo, but the head was added later. It's a paler white than the core of the torso, which is what we have of the original sculpture.

Hint #2: It was incorrectly restored in the 18th century by a Frenchman (Pierre-Étienne Monnot) who made some, shall we say, creative interpretations of what's going on here.

You can tell it's by an 18th c. Frenchman because the facial features are so delicate. Ancient statues tend to have less narrow and delicate chins and noses. In general, that is a dead giveaway when something is 18th century French vs. Ancient Greek or Roman.

Here's a good example. The first sculpture is 18th c. French, the second is the famous Venus de Milo. Note her blockier chin and less delicate features. So in the future, you can tell these sort of later additions to Greek or Roman sculptures if they added a new head because 17-19th century sculptors in Europe had tools (like finer drill tips) and tastes (beauty standards that favored more delicate men and women) that led to a pronounced difference in the faces.

Hint #3: Check out the anatomy of his lower shoulder. That's another addition, that arm should not be coming straight out of a torso where the muscle, if you look closely, is turned inward.

Seriously, that looks painful.

Hint #4: The sword he's holding up is just total nonsense for the Roman era. I mean, the restoration makes no secret of the fact that this sword is a later addition, but it's also just an absolute nonsense sword with its silly little curved cross guard. This Frenchman literally just made it up.

Here's an ancient sculpture with a sword in it that actually looks right:

From the Ludovisi Gaul, a famous Hellenistic Baroque work of Greek sculpture. Note the much blockier sword though I will admit, it could be a later addition, I don't know for 100% certain, but I'm pretty sure it's the original. Regardless, it fits the sculpture much better and let me add that sword I'm criticizing is completely made up for the sculpture we're talking about and is not there in the original sculpture that was incorrectly restored.

Ok, so those are all the hints.

Look closely at the body of the first sculpture. Cut away the arms that are not connected to the body correctly, the sword that shouldn't be there, the face that was far too delicate. When you separate those later additions out, can you tell me what sculpture that actually is?

Because here is the reveal!

The Discus Thrower, aka, the Discobolus by Myron.

The French restorationist got carried away by his own imagination, saw a twisted torso and thought it could only possibly be a warrior in the midst of twisting around to fend off a blow, not an athlete in the midst of a demonstration of skill. It's a martial, fanciful read that completely misinterpreted the subject.

This is why most restoration today employs a much lighter touch, rather than trying to reattach pieces incorrectly, they tend to just outline where the missing pieces are with a light sketch of an educated guess of what might have actually been there. Faulty restorations like the Capitoline Discobolus is one reason for this modern stylistic principle when it comes to restoration work.

When my professor asked us to identify the correct original sculpture that day on the museum tour, it was the sword that pinged me as wrong first, but zeroing in on the core of the sculpture, the torso, is what revealed the true statue underneath.

This notoriously difficult to please professor was very proud when I blurted out, "It's the Discus Thrower!" and the high-octane serotonin I got from his approval probably could have propelled me into the sun that day, and brought to you Yet Another Moment of Ancient Sculpture Pedantry.

[skydaemon]

so lyctors are infertile yes? at least mercy appears to be, and it's strongly implied that the reason is her lyctorhood. all necromancers are known to struggle w fertility (see: harrow's parents) which iirc is bc of their link to death, so i'm guessing actually having an ever-dying/ever-living soul combo meal is not to the benefit of conception.

the reason this matters to me is that anastasia (who, as a post by @ferretsarefurryappendagedsnakes brought up, is NOT listed as a saint to serve the king undying in the htn opening) did have children. she's harrow's direct ancestor, hence alecto king-konging her at the end of nona. she is the only lyctor we know of to have living descendants. now the details on exactly what the lyctoral timeline was post-resurrection are murky, but i do imagine it taking less than their natural lifespans for all the lyctors to ascend and anastasia to fail. that means anastasia's line has been around for 10,000 years, give or take - ~400 generations. For context, the Western Roman Empire fell 60-70 generations ago. For her to still have living descendants (especially with the known fertility rate of necromancers and the fact that necromancy appears to be inherited, at least in part) is absurd. it's ridiculous to think harrow's the only descendant - i mean, even being mega-conservative about birth rates, there could be dozens, if not hundreds. some of the babies from the genocide might well have been the blood of anastasia.

it must be fucking insane for the lyctors to see harrow, to have lived with her for months. she's supposedly the spit of anastasia. 10,000 years, 400 generations, and she's right there.

basically i'm desperate for someone (ideally alecto, bc it's totally in character for her) to have a QoTD Great Family moment and realise exactly how long 10,000 years is for people and how many of anastasia's descendants are alive. maybe some of them even escaped the nine houses? idk, it just makes me emotional and i want it to make THEM emotional