#until last night when i actually refined it LMAO

[xulips]

nightmare

aftermath as an apology

[fadingplaidlibrary]

hellooooo!!! I’m the thirsty Harvey anon now ig lol. but now that I know you’re chill with these types of asks— would or wouldn’t Harvey be down for getting pegged??? istg, every time Harvey says something sweet to me in the actual game while I’m playing, I mentally go ‘ohhhhh, the strap is coming out tonight’ lmao. (he’d be very pathetic in a very cute and endearing way about it, I think.)

helloooo!!! so happy to have you aboard, beloved anon <33 here are my thoughts bc you are SO valid and i agree!!!

nsfw SMUT SMUT SMUT below the cut, minors dni. sdv!harvey x cisfem farmer who uses she/her pronouns. word count: 981. uhh mentions of anal fingering (m receiving), anal sex (m receiving), lube, strap-ons, foreplay, and aftercare. enjoy ;)

love, lube, lessons learned 🍑

harvey is a doctor, and a damn good one. he’s a man of science, a pillar of service to his community, and i like to think he got all As in his anatomy and physiology units back in the day. outside of his career, he’s also a grown man with refined tastes

all of these factors combined have me convinced that our beloved doctor does in fact enjoy getting pegged

after all, what better way to relinquish some control for a little bit, to relax and receive instead of giving all the time, and to experience the bodily wonder that is the prostate orgasm, than to lay back and let his sweet farmer peg him?

he does extensive research on the topic beforehand, even before his relationship with her. i like to think he has a fair amount of sexual experience under his belt (pun intended) by the time the farmer arrives in pelican town

i also like to think that he enjoys a nice massage, and that either giving or receiving a massage is his preferred style of foreplay

so imagine, if you will, that the good doctor and the farmer have been together for some time. they’re blissfully happy, absolutely glowing like all lovers do, and pleasantly compatible in bed

after dinner one night, the farmer asks him what his thoughts are on pegging. harvey freezes in the middle of washing up a mug and the tips of his ears blush pink, but he manages to compose himself. yes, he’s tried pegging. enjoyed it, even

maybe even wants to do it again

the farmer is thrilled

they shop around online until they find some equipment that matches their preferences. the farmer gets a harness made of very nice leather, maybe something custom-made in her favorite colors

harvey chooses just one plain blue silicone strap at first, but at the farmer’s insistence picks out a few more (the good doctor isn’t used to splashing cash on himself but he has a very generous lover)

while they wait for their packages to arrive, they experiment. they practice. they… well.

the farmer soon learns that harvey gets very blissed out very easily, with just one finger

he starts stuttering at two fingers

whining at three

they don’t use any more than three fingers, but that’s more than enough. harvey learns that he prefers to lay on his stomach with one leg bent, making a mess on the crisp white sheets and blushing furiously into the crook of his arm

it’s the farmer’s idea to place a pillow under harvey’s hips while he’s in this position (the man is canonically like 6’2”/187cm so leverage is certainly a factor)

it’s also the farmer’s idea to tuck a vibrator into the pillowcase on the side facing the bed

harvey doesn’t last very long with a vibrator buzzing underneath him, a plush pillow (in a satin pillowcase, no less) to grind against, and three fingers inside him — but he does beg for seconds about half an hour later

when the packages finally do arrive, the two take their time with their new toys. the first time harvey sees the farmer lock in the harness, he moans out loud without even meaning to

they line up the straps in size order, from one that’s about the width of one of the farmer’s fingers to one that’s nearly the same girth and length as the doctor himself. harvey picks the second-to-last one

a back massage is the first item on the menu, so harvey is floating before his sweetheart even bends him over

face down, ass up, pillows under his tummy for support. no vibrator this time, just lube, patience, and plenty of sweet encouragement from his very eager lover

it’s a good thing that the farmhouse is out of earshot of the town, because the good doctor gets very vocal once his girl slides the strap all the way in

she lets him catch his breath, keeps her hands on his hips for stability. he’s sweating already, aching for it, he wants more he wants it now he needs it please—

so she starts slow. just sliding out… then back in, gentle as she can, while her love keeps a white-knuckle grip on the sheets. she has to remind him to breathe more than once

the dimples in his lower back, just above the curve of his ass, make the perfect landing zone for her thumbs once he’s ready for her to pick up the pace

once she finds her rhythm, harvey is too far gone to do much besides moan and sweat and swear. but he doesn’t have to do much, does he? his girl takes such good care of him, even pressing her hand down against his sweat-soaked back to correct his arch when he needs it. she asks him to keep his ass nice and high, and her voice alone sends goosebumps dancing across his spine. harvey obeys

he starts babbling when he’s getting close, eyes squeezed shut as he snaps his hips back to match the farmer’s steady pace. his curls are matted to his skin with sweat, and he looks ethereal with that blush coloring his cheeks. and she’s so pleased with him, so pleased and so proud and so so fucking wet, and just— oh—

her praise is the last thing he hears before they tip over the edge together

harvey catches his breath for a moment, feels his girl lean over and kiss his temple before she slowly pulls out of him with a satisfied sigh. the aftercare is gentle, with more sweet kisses and sweeter praise, plenty of water and juice, and a fortifying snack before they shower together

later that night they cuddle up together, clean skin against clean sheets and all their equipment neatly tucked away. the good doctor sleeps better than he has in years

[itsnotmourn]

CONCEPTS AND RAMBLINGS | "animal" cult pmv extras

thank you everyone for liking my pmv (and on yt and twitter) !! i got more attention than i thought it would and that means the world to me! <33

here’s some of my concept art + rambles for it!

the first thing i made up, the character designs!

i didn’t think to refine them because they were good enough to use LMAO... so i scribbled colours down, threw a filter and called it a night

i wanted a sharp change from the verses and chorus (since the song goes from calm to... louder) so i made it greyscale (with a red filter) that changed to brighter colours!

also changed the text font/colour for ignacio hmm. the font was hard to read, in my opinion.

ignacio's design

ignacio loses his bandage colours because that was too many colours for my liking… i completely forgot his hair highlights tho

ah and he doesn’t get a mouth until the fire scene too…

it was only meant to be done for a few frames but i thought it be cooler if it was consistent.

the missing mouth represents his repressed feelings/silence, or something like that.

skidad's design

i got a few questions on whether skidad was a goat. despite looks, skidad’s design is actually based on the herbiadean/jacob sheep! four horns!

i have drawn skidad as a jacob sheep before as well!

look at them ominous friends.

the resemblance to goats is something i considered as well (links with cult/sacrifice) so i think of it as a fun bonus

i gave him wolf teeth because the whole “wolf in sheep’s clothing” but also because i like it when prey animals are given predator features

i left the body as "human" because i only wanted the face to be censored… i considered clawed/darkened hands too but nah

skidad was originally going to be lined like ignacio, but i liked the lineless look for him so voila! makes it feel like he’s “not bound by anything”... actually, this is the same reasoning for the match to be “out” of the border, even though it’s ignacio’s hand

storyboards

i rarely storyboard (most are locked in my mind) but i figured it'd be fun to try!

halfway, i got bored of drawing digitally so i moved onto my notebook. i think it was a good decision; since i drew with my ink pen, it forced me to move on with my mistakes instead of clicking "clear canvas" lol

i had a pretty solid idea of what i wanted after weeks of listening to the song over and over again. the only thing that really changed was the mirror, which was replaced with a shadowy ignacio

the coloured thumbnails i actually did first, just to figure out out what i’m doing for the chorus part… limited palette my beloved

i didn't know where to put the text so i was scribbling everywhere lol

ratio changes

in the chorus, the ratio of ignacio and skidad’s frames changes! it’s more obvious if i combined them together, like this

less for ignacio, more for skidad

did you notice that the fire in this shot look like the cult ?!!! why did i do that, you ask? well:

the fire is the same “red”as the robe

too lazy to draw fire without abusing motion blur

mmm symbolism idk. it's somewhere there

it wasn’t in my plans but i’m happy i made the choice in the last minute. this was the last thing i needed to finish before syncing it up with the music

also this… i just wanted to point it out… make sure everyone knows... did you notice this? did you? did you did you? well now you do!!!

that's it !!! that's your trip into my mind!! okay byeeeee !!

[ofmermaidstories]

Mermie…the leaks… the only way I’ve been dealing with it is just thinking “oh hot robot arm Katsuki :)”and then my humor side was like “oh ghost Katsuki then” but then I just want to scream and shake my fist at the clouds *over exaggerates Texan accent* we’re really in it now brother and I’m here for all your thoughts 🥹😭

Also your new tarot deck tell me all about it!! How’s the energy feel and what excites you the most about it!!

I wish you a beautiful rest of your day and I’m so thankful I get to yell about anime boys and gush about spooky things with you 💕💝🌸🌻

i screamed at my bestie last night until she FINALLY answered me, and it went like:

(spoilers and leaks discussion under the cut but im also tagging tf out of this post so you’ve been warned!!!!!)

look, robot arms are sexy as fuck right? but im devastated bc i just KNOW this GREMLIN of a child will pick like a, fucking bazooka for an accessory HELDFPOGJLDKFGJK.

(anyways, beyond the actual leaks themselves—because we all know Hori won’t murder his cash cow lmaoooo, although, honestly, if i were Hori, I would, just like… out of sheer spite but ANYWAYS—i really like what we’ve seen of the anniversary colour spread???? everyone looks so cute!! and then, of course, there’s our lad Bakugou. 😔 Hori draws him so fat-faced, it delights me.

artistic rendition so i don’t spoil anything more than necessary for those who haven’t seen it. i really like how much Hori’s art style has refined over these last eight years!!! which is like, inevitable i guess, when you draw every day for those eights years…. it’s just really neat to witness!!!!)

i dunno… stuff like this is fun because it’s not high stakes (i….. i think) but also it ruins my fanfics even more than canon already does, so im mad LMAO. i need to finish the Deku fic ASAP because if Hori does something even worse i just know it’s going to make writing the last part of that fic incredibly, incredibly hard LOL sdlfjsdlkfjds.

i love my new tarot cards!!! i like to collect tarot cards in general for the art of them, and i saw these being unboxed on tiktok!!! they’re the le tarot de l’étoile cachée, and they’re very beautiful! fun!!! there’s things like bitcoins and mobile phones and dildos in them LOL. so a very grown-up deck. the cardstock is nice—i like having something to do with my hands so i’ve been sitting here shuffling them when im at my desk, though they’re a bit awkward. they’re big!!! and my hands aren’t particularly small, but im still having trouble. but i really like them!!!

i hope your evening is going well, Keds. 🥺 i’ll be here and ready to scream on Sunday when we get the translations. 😔🔫 one of the genuinely distressing parts of what’s dropped so far is the idea of Aizawa like, begging one of the other adults presents to save Bakugou. 😭 Oh my God, the idea hurts so much LMAO. i know here in our niche of the fandom we’re writing about Bakugou and his little friends as adults, but in canon they’re still kids, and they’re all in so much danger and like, imagine being their teacher???? and having to watch that???? watch this little shit you’ve grown fond of and believe in grow into himself just to literally throw himself into harm’s way—ugh. I’m an Aizawa stan, I love him, I’m pivoting from Bakugou fics this is an Aizawa ONLY blog from now on!!!!

[rebeccccccaaa]

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞

____________________________

𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: A true enemies to lovers ;)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: smut 18+, angry makeout turned soft, gross fluff, bit of angst? 

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: angst? (i still don’t really know what classifies as angst), confused feelings, age gap (reader of age), hate sex 18+, angry makeout turned soft, smut 18+, vulgar language, brutal insults, it’s just all mean

𝐀/𝐧: i literally cannot help falling in love it’s literally a problem. like words of affrimation is my one of my love languages. i’ll try not to include the next angst/smut lmao

_____________________________

(𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 | 𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞)

“Wow,” Steve sighed.

Bucky had told him everything; not detailed but what he should know. 

“Is it love?”

“I don’t fucking know, man. And it’s pissing me off,” Bucky sighed dramatically, making Steve chuckle.

“That’s crazy, man. Weird to think about; like you and her…” Steve gestured his hands together then cringed.

“Can you not?” Bucky laughed.

“I don’t know what to tell her. I don’t want to fight anymore but she doesn’t know that and I can’t just say, ‘Hey, when we slept together I realized I don’t fight you anymore because I think like you?’ She’ll kill me!”

“Who’ll kill you,” Nat said, returning with Tony, Clint, and Sam from the Hydra base.

“Nobody,” Bucky mumbled. 

“Ok,” Nat continued walking to the medbay where you, Banner, and Cho were while Sam stayed with the boys.

“How is she doing?” Tony asked.

“Not good,” Banner said, biting his nails.

“What?” Nat gasped.

“She was in an extreme critical condition and no one was here to give her blood. Cho doesn’t share blood type, I’m radioactive, you guys were gone, and Steve and Buck have the serum,” Banner said. 

Tony and Nat looked at each like they had something to say.

“What?” Banner asked.

“You’ll never guess what we recovered at the base,” Tony said, opening a slot in his suit.

He pulled out a tube similar to the shape of a pen that contained familiar blue liquid inside. Banner’s head shot up again looking back and forth between Nat and Tony. 

“Will it work?”

“This could save her life,” Bruce whispered.

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ ᴍᴏɴᴛʜs ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ

You grabbed our basket of laundry and walked back to your room. You turned the TV on and folded your clothes. You were still recovering from the last mission you went on with Bucky; you haven’t  really spoken to him since. You two haven’t even fought since the day you came back. 

Banner and Cho had injected the infamous super soldier serum Hydra refined. Apparently the entire charade of a fundraiser was to present a new type of serum to a shitty ‘board of directors’ a part of Hydra. 

And now you were the only human being on earth to have it in your system.

Tony and Bruce were constantly running tests and safety precautions on you for the past three months and you were feeling fine. Better than before; maybe a little taller. 

The effects heightened senses similar to Peter’s radioactivity, enhanced strength like the boys, and intelligence; by that you were able to retain more information and perceive complex data.

This was on top of what powers you already possessed. So now you were basically Tony, Peter, Wanda, and Steve wrapped up in a beautifully dainty bow. 

Natasha has been re-training you alongside Steve, and you were slowly becoming stronger than them surprisingly. Wanda was still way more powerful than you though.

You finished a session with them and they advised you to rest but with the serum you practically didn’t need recovery time; maybe just a hot shower. 

So here you are folding your clothes filling the time.

A light soft knock on your door disrupted you. You walked and opened the door finding none other than Bucky; truthfully the last person you expect.

“Can I come in?” he asked you.

“Uh sure. I’m folding laundry,” you said, stepping to the side to let him in.

“That’s alright.”

“What’s up?” you continued folding your clothes after turning the TV off.

“How are you doing?”

“Alright. Kinda feel better than before,” you smiled softly.

“That’s great.”

There was silence that coated you two. You were getting slightly annoyed as to what was going on with him. He’s been weird since the night you two hate fucked. And you weren’t having his shit anymore.

“What’s wrong with you?” you asked bluntly.

“What do you mean?” 

“Why have you been acting this way? Why aren’t we fighting?”

“I thought you didn’t like fighting.”

“I don’t which is why I’ve always hated you and vice versa,” you started to raise your voice in frustration.

“Maybe I don’t want to hate you anymore.”

“Why? Buck, we don’t fucking like each other! Sometimes people don’t get along and that’s us!”

“Fuck, Y/n. You’re so fucking stubborn. Don’t you realize how exhausting it is. We’re always yelling and fighting and throwing shit at each other. It doesn’t have to be like that anymore. These past three months we haven’t fought-”

“We haven’t talked in three months!” you yelled. He grabbed the back of your neck and pulled you flushed against him.

“Godammit, woman.” 

“Fuck you,” you said.

Bucky kissed you and you tried to push him away only making him grab you wrists and push against the wall. You furrowed your brows kissing him back however. He was so addicting and you hated it. The kiss slowly turned soft and sensual; your tongues swirling around each other. 

He pulled away and found you had your eyes still closed. He went in for another kiss but you turned your head away; him not knowing that you didn’t want to give in again. You could hear and feel his heartbeat beating incredibly fast; as was yours.

“Can we start over?” he whispered against your ear, his forehead resting against your head. 

You didn’t respond so he got off you and walked out of your room closing the door behind him. You wished then you would’ve said something. You breathe out not realizing you were holding your breath. 

You went to finish folding your laundry but another knock echoed in the loud silence. And you knew exactly who it was.

You opened the door meeting your eyes with his. 

“Hi, I’m Bucky,” he smiled.

“What are you doing?” you tried not to smile.

“I heard you were moving in today and thought it would be neighborly to drop by and say hi.”

“I’m not playing this charade with you,” you cracked a smile as he stepped closer to you.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he whispered before grabbing your face and kissing you devotedly. 

You laughed in the kiss and Bucky kicked the door closed with his foot. You wrapped your arms around his neck basking in the kiss. He pushed your basket of clothes to the floor, neither of you really caring too much if it landed alright. 

You’ll make him redo it if not.

His hands brushed against your hot skin under your shirt after he laid you gently on your back. Not long after he whined, a way of begging you to take your shirt off. He tugged at it and you sat up finally letting him take it off. 

His hands cupped your breasts while trailing kisses down your jaw and neck. He moved down your body and down the bed, standing up to strip himself of clothes. He did the same to you after he was bare. He settled between you and just watched your face. 

“You’re so beautiful,” he tucked a strand of hair behind  your ear.

“God, our fights killed me every fucking day. You’re so sexy when you’re mad,” he joked.

“Shut up,” you laughed turning your head away.

“Are you sure about this?” he asked seriously and gently.

“Yeah, I don’t want to fight anymore either,” you cupped his face. 

“Ok,” he kissed you. He gently flipped you onto your stomach.

“Bedside?” he asked referring to condoms.

You nodded biting your lip, bringing your knees under your hips pushing your ass up for him. 

Bucky wrapped his dick and pumped it a few times, rubbing your back softly with his other hand. He looked at your glistening pussy smiling knowing how wet you’d gotten because of him. He lined himself with your entrance and pushed himself in. 

He stopped when he felt your body ever so slightly tensed up. You breathed heavily but urged him to continue. He moved in and out of you moaning. His hands rubbed up and down your back and your body trembled under him. 

He leaned down and pressed kisses on your back slowing down a bit. You wiggled your hips wanting more and Bucky moved his hand up the front of your body. He pulled you up so you were pressed against his chest kissing your shoulder. 

He moved widely fast in and out of you chasing his high. You were shaking against him, feeling your oragsm approaching insanely quick. You threw your head back onto Bucky’s shoulder. One of his hands played with your breast while the other reached down and rubbed your clit. 

When he did, your body jerked and you moaned louder making Bucky smile. He moved faster and seconds later you both tumbled over the edge. Bucky moaned your name and bit you shoulder trying to suffice his moan. You didn’t give a shit though.

Your eyes rolled back and your hand wrapped around to grab Bucky’s face while the other around his hip, pulling and scratching him pleasurably. You moan, not you practically scream at how intense your oragsm hit you. 

He fell forward softly trying not to crush you  and kissed along your shoulder blades. You panted heavily under him, desperate to catch your breath. You laughed a bit after making him laugh too.

“That was … holy shit, wow,” you gasped.

“Good,” he smiled at you.

“What on earth do we say to others?” you rolled under him so you laid on your back.

“Eh, let ‘em figure it out,” he buried his face in your neck making you laugh. 

You two went another round or two... or seven, until you guys finally rested and slept for the night. Suspiciously no one came looking for either of you.

The next morning you woke up in Bucky’s arms feeling strikingly sore. You never got sore. But considering you and Bucky are both enhanced and went on for hours last night, it doesn’t actually surprise you too much that that’s what it took to get you sore for the first since you've been enhanced with the serum.

You rolled over seeing Bucky still asleep. You were so confused. 

Bucky stirred before opening his eyes meeting yours and smiled pulling you close again. He closed his eyes again and traced little patterns in your skin. 

“What going on in that pretty head of yours, baby girl,” he asked.

“We hate each other,” you whispered.

“We don’t have to,” He opened his eyes again.

“This is a very slippery slope we’re approaching.”

“I know, but I want it. Do you?”

“Yeah,” tears formed in your eyes.

“What if this doesn’t work out though? We’ll hate each other even more,” you said, your voice breaking.

“I don’t know, I don’t think I could ever hate you again. I don’t think I ever really did. Disliked, yeah. But not hate.”

“I’m sorry i treated you like dog shit,” you sniffled making Bucky laughed.

“I’m sorry too.”

“Bucky?”

“Y/n?”

“I hate you,” a tear fell slowly down your cheek. 

“I hate you too," he chuckled, kissing your temple before closing his eyes again.

TAGLIST FOR SERIES:

@hoeforcuteguyswithcharmingsmiles  @sweetlikesugar9 @thefifthweasley @thefallenbibliophilequote​ @perfectlymaximumphilosopher @kenopsiababe @montypythonsholysnail @smoochesfroggos @emmabarnes @furiouscopshepherduniversity  @ddowii  @mrsdancing

[liyuesbian]

✧ pygmalion!au [ningguang]

notes: btw idk how commissions from museums work i just made the process up LMAO and this one's kinda angsty? i mean, it is the pygmalion greek myth so iykyk. also, i describe this figurine of ningguang here but w/o the colour... i've linked it in case any1 needs the reference. (btw, this is not set in ancient greece specifically)

only yesterday had you been commissioned by an art gallery in the capital to create a piece for their up-and-coming collection titled desire, love and identity. yet here you are, slaving away to make the perfect image you had in your head come into fruition. your vision is exquisite once sketched on paper—you can't find any faults in it so you take the risk.

as soon as your chisel meets the marble, a feeling so invigorating dominates your body. no further references are necessary as you place your trust entirely on your hands, coarse from the labour. you find such mindless toil addicting and you work day and night, only stopping for a half-baked meal and the odd collapse into bed.

for months, love streams out of the tips of your fingers and through your sculpting tools to arrive at the stone figure. you sincerely hope the intimate emotion has been reached.

when you finish, you wipe the bead of sweat running down your forehead, rest the other palm on your hip and take slow steps backwards all while maintaining eye contact with the statue. a wave of sweet relief hits you and you fall to the floor, uncontrollably sobbing into tired hands that still grip the hammer and chisel.

it's beautiful.

you stagger, struggling to get up with your bruised knees while clumsily wiping the tears off your stained cheeks. setting the instruments aside, you lift your head to admire your handiwork up close. a woman made of stone sits elegantly atop an oriental chair, crossing her smooth, white legs over each other. her left elbow is propped on the arm of the chair while on the other side, a long smoking pipe is balanced between gloved fingers. around her lies an assortment of objects: a vase containing scrolls, a floor lamp, and a charmingly decorated folding screen.

you see, you had already thought it all out. you'd imagined ningguang's preferences for a life of luxury, her affinity for constructing and sprucing up interiors. she would be a master of the trades and a woman who likes to keep an air of mystery around her. and like how you increasingly project her to be more of a person than she ever will be, there is a creeping concern in the corner of your mind that you will lose your rationality just as quickly.

the sculpture's body is clad in a qipao with a slit that reveals alabaster skin below the waist. the dress—embellished with patterns and neat linings—hugs her figure and shows off a lean build. the extensive train and sleeves of the fabric are shaped curvaceously to mirror the flow of a waterfall. and her face. the section you strived so hard to refine. she stares at you with an imperious expression and a hint of a smirk. her gaze, so piercing, makes you avert your eyes in shyness but you find yourself gravitating back to her profile.

you muster up the courage to draw closer to your creation and unconsciously stroke her cheek with your thumb, captivated. if she were an empress, you'd be a common peasant—undeserving of setting your sights on such a goddess. you can feel your soul being sucked into eyes devoid of emotion—of anything, actually. after all, the woman sitting before you is not a person but an inanimate object.

the weeks following the completion of ningguang—which is the name you've picked up the habit of calling her—are spent in said lady's company. every minute of every day, you surround yourself with her presence as if she is your closest friend. you eat with her, tell her your troubles, even going so far as to decorate her with various types of jewellery and bringing her gifts you think she'd like.

"thank you," you whisper. "for always listening to me." in truth, you're always so immersed in your work that you forgot what conversations could feel like. though, you fear your art would never be on par with something so transcendent ever again.

you become curious, wondering what she would be like if the nymph in front of you were not just a figment of your imagination.

you perch yourself on top of ningguang's stone-cold lap and trace the contours of her visage. you inspect each crease on her lips and the minuscule crinkles in her eyes, applauding yourself for the well-crafted details. you don't know what possesses you but you close your eyes and press your lips against hers, hoping that once you open them, a living being would erupt from underneath the marble. but, of course, as soon as the light hits your retinas, ningguang is as unmoving as ever.

realising what you've just done, you drop off of her thighs and laugh anxiously. however, you could've sworn that you had felt warmth in the lips of your beloved muse.

"i've finally gone mad!" you cry aloud.

hell, you say to yourself, is it even possible to fall in love with such an... an artefact? you dismiss your glaringly obvious infatuation.

"nonsense," you mutter under your breath, sensing your heart breaking slightly. how can something so painfully humanlike also not be human at the same time? you must've caused a tremendous atrocity in your past life to have made the gods harbour a grudge against you. of all things, you'd never have guessed that a lifeless piece of art would be the object of your desire.

you can't bear to look at the handcrafted lady any longer and with an anguished face, cover her with a large cotton cloth. the plan was to wait until you could hand the statue over to the curators and try to ignore its existence until then.

for a few days, you act according to the plan, going about your daily routine but eventually, your stoic demeanour crumbles. you lock yourself in your room refusing to eat or believe that your affection would never be returned.

during the hours of sunlight, you weep under your sheets, drowning in self-inflicted sorrow. and at night, you do the same, lamenting over the loss of what could've been your true love. she would've been so perfect in your eyes, your other half, and the only one who could calm this growing turmoil!

the reality pains you. hence, you do the only thing you can do: you pray. you pray to the gods for a miracle, that the light of your life would stride into your room and pull you from the depths of despair... but she never does.

your last day "cohabitating" with the sculpture has arrived and for the first time in—what felt like—an eternity, you open the doors to your workshop. taking a deep breath, you unveil the stationary maiden.

it's still as beautiful as you remember.

you give it a sad smile, wanting to get its departure over and done with. you manoeuvre about the room to prepare the things for the movers who're due to come in a couple of hours. while you go down your little list of errands to be done, you cough and bat away the smoke—wait, the smoke? frantic, you spin around, eyes darting everywhere in search of its origin until they land on the smoking pipe you so intricately moulded for the commissioned piece.

it's strange, you don't recall colouring the statue. and how on earth is smoke coming out of the pipe? suspicious, you approach the motionless entity and almost stumble when you spot its chest rising.

oh lord! — i really must be descending into madness! you clutch your head, clawing at your hair in hysteria.

"stop, please don't hurt yourself." the sound of a low, worried voice penetrates your ears. you shut your eyes tight.

"no, the gods have cursed me! i mustn't listen to your poisonous words!" you exclaim. your state of agitation is alleviated when the woman caresses your tensed arm.

"what has happened to you? i haven't seen you lately either." the tone is more soft and more tender than you had imagined. you release your grip.

"is it really you, ningguang?" your voice cracks at the end, and the woman you sought after witnesses your features twist into an expression of longing and hope.

"yes, my darling. i dare not go anywhere else."

helplessly, you rush to cup her face to check for heat, for the blood traversing under her skin—anything that would prove that your sweetheart is truly alive and breathing. and when you do get the confirmation, you beam, trying to withhold tears born from elation.

you bend down to kiss ningguang, who is still seated on the chair, once, twice, and three times to rid your scepticism. oh, deities! she's real.

"i love you," you declare.

"i know." you watch as the same creases you'd etched on the corners of her eyes spread into a loving half-moon shape and you kiss her again.

you reach a conclusion: you couldn't give away your lover—let alone a live person—to be displayed as part of a museum exhibition so when the workers arrive, you hide your muse away in another room. you apologise profusely and spin a lie, rambling on about how you had nothing to relinquish for the piece you had prepared had been oh-so-viciously stolen by a mob of trespassers!

the movers share with you their sympathies and ask what the work of art looks like and maybe they could sort something out with the authorities. nodding, you recount—so ardently—the details of your divine maiden. you feel heat rush to your face, chuckling when you realise that you'd run your mouth for too long.

in response to this, the two labourers exchange dubious looks as they peer at the static sculpture standing in the middle of the studio—its appearance unmistakably matching your elaborate description.

[botanyshitposts]

whats up lads i stayed up until 4am last night reading about aloe vera processing here are some of the highlights: 

-widespread aloe vera fraud tarnishing the good name of the aloe vera industry 

-nobody knows the exact details of what makes aloe vera do the healing thing so regulating quality control was just straight up impossible until an international aloe vera counsel was formed to decide what Good Aloe Vera was 

-the national aloe vera counsel still not knowing what makes aloe vera do the healing thing, setting them out on a quest to find, approximately, a scientific way to say ‘you need to preserve SOMETHING from the original leaf my god you people are ANIMALS’

-the ‘gel’ part of aloe vera gel being a disputed term in the aloe vera industry, eventually they settle on what gel is and what “”””””gel”””””” is

-the mysterious bacteria that lives inside the aloe vera leaf rind thats adapted very specifically to eat sugars provided by the plant and live in it’s very specific low PH environment, is suspected to be a unique new species but exactly what it is is unknown outside of a general taxonomic family, only shows up in very small colonies in very specific petri dish media, authors of book im reading conclude section by saying ‘yea man u gotta watch for that......its really hard to get rid of its just.....too goddamn good at aloe vera....’ 

-there are two ways of removing the gel from the insides of the harvested whole leaves, which then can be refined into a better product. one is having people on an assembly line neatly hand-cut away the outer leaf, leaving floppy translucent ‘fillets’ (actually what theyre called) of the inner part of the leaf with the gel; the other is putting the full ass leaf through a grinder into a substance consistently referred to in one source as ‘guacamole’ 

-guess what its been 20 years and science is still not quite sure exactly what makes aloe vera do the healing thing, aloe vera counsel is pretty sure a few very specific sugars and ions have a lot to do with it, general advice is that more of these are better and ‘you need to preserve SOMETHING from the original leaf oh my god you people are ANIMALS’

-freeze dried aloe vera. very high end. especially if its made from fillets instead of guacamole

-aloe vera counsel advises industry that they should stop labelling concentrated aloe vera with ‘100X’ ‘20X’ ‘5X’ and instead just put how fucking concentrated it is like is done in the food and pharmaceutical industries bc apparently in the aloe vera industry ‘X’ refers to ‘0.5 g/dl aloe vera solids’ so when people buying aloe vera in bulk for shit purchase ‘100X’ aloe vera thinking that it means ‘100% aloe vera’ it actually means ‘only half of this is actually aloe vera solids lmao’ 

-aloe vera counsel warns industry for the thousandth time that the world will never take them seriously at this rate

-apparently aloe vera leaf gel oxidizes at a very fast rate in it’s crude form and will turn like....red and black and shit if you dont process it right and the more oxidized it becomes the less biologically active it is so its work fast or eat ass

-the shit they sell in stores is only the second end product out of three stages of the process. aloe vera’s final form is purchased for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals and looks like a fine brown/black powder

-of course there was also widespread fraud in aloe vera’s final form a decade back that necessitated Actual Court Cases, aloe vera counsel is sincerely, actually trying their best here

[thekidultlife]

IT'S OUR 2ND ANNIVERSARY! 🎉🥳🥂

@Authors' Note: This is Leanne and Hyeri's story. Please bear with us as we try to reminisce over the past years and celebrate where we are now as writers, as friends, and most especially, as individuals who have grown a lot and changed a lot through the years.

Warnings: Contains a semi-reveal of what we actually look like in real life lol so if you’re interested, keep reading down lol.

We started this blog in 2017. We deactivated in 2018, just weeks before what was supposed to be our first anniversary. We stayed silent throughout the rest of 2018 and 2019, but we picked up where we left off this 2020. Despite the messy history of this blog, though, and the changes in our lives, we are extremely happy that we did come back. And the reason why we came back? Well, it’s pretty simple. 

The same love for SEVENTEEN, which made us start this blog, brought us back again.

We’re not lying when we tell you that this blog was what made us closer and what our friendship grow deeper. 

Back then, we were just classmates who found common interests in each other (history, writing novels, analyzing politics, and being one of the ‘Big 3′ in our class lol) but didn’t know how to bond over these interests. But when we both started sharing a room in a dormitory close to our university in 2017, things changed. And things changed because we both found SEVENTEEN. 

LEANNE: I wasn’t really a K-pop fan during that time. But I remember sitting beside Hyeri at our study area, watching her as she watched DWC and thinking to myself, “Maybe this could be it. Maybe this could be the ‘thing’ that we could bond over and could make our friendship grow. And so I leaned over and asked, “Oooh, which group is that?” What followed then was a night where I became a convert, and SVT became a part of me forever. 

After that night, we found ourselves always talking about them because they became the thread that made us close. And while bonding over SVT, we started to become more open about our lives and about ourselves in terms of personalities. We didn’t know why but we just clicked. Before we started becoming really close, we had different sets of friends. But then, we just knew that our friendship was different because we truly understand each other. 

HYERI: I wasn't a Kpop stan before either. Like if my high school me knew I'd become like this, she'll cringe in embarrassment. But it happened. A friend recommended me to watch React to the K because I'm a huge classical music nut, and I discovered Seventeen there. I seriously can't remember that exact moment when Leanne asked, but I do remember that one time when I showed her the dance practice for Aju Nice. It was one of the first things I showed to her, and then without knowing, we've already watched a lot of Seventeen videos. 

Whenever I look back at that time, I just remember how happy we were even though it wasn't really a good moment in our lives. There were a lot of stress and problems, and everything just seemed to spiral down from there. But I just feel a warm feeling in my chest whenever July and August comes, I smell the rain, and remember how many nights we spent binging on Seventeen, talking inside the nearby 7/11 until 1am, knowing that classes were cancelled the next day because of the weather. It was truly a magical moment for me because I never had a friend like Leanne, like sometimes we just have the same thought patterns, and we bonded over Seventeen so much. We would just talk endlessly about them, brainstorming ideas for fics and so on to the point that we only stopped because the 5AM alarm went off lmao Those times were just absolutely incredible.

LEANNE: We also have kind of the same goal back then: to have a platform where we could practice writing. Hyeri suggested that we try creating a blog for fanfiction. I agreed because I truly wanted to try and I was so obsessed with Choi Seungcheol back then. So we planned our first fics, who posts first, and we created it. Just like that. On August 12, 2017, we made our first post.

Our first name was “diabolically-diamondiferous”. We wanted something different (and we now admit that we did go overboard with the bing different thing lol) and so we agreed that this would be our URL. We chose it because of the concept that there is a duality in this blog that readers should look forward to, a dynamic that they would only see here, I guess? That was the goal. That was how it all started. 

HYERI: I was a Wonwoo stan back then. I had already written Love is A Fallacy and a bit of 30 Nights before we even created the blog, and I wanted an avenue where I can post it. I admit I myself can't think of a better url than "diabolically-diamondiferous", so I just went with it. 

Honestly, the blog has helped me a lot with writing. I used to write anime fanfictions and original stories, and I've already established my style back then. This blog has really helped me a lot with refining my writing style and experimenting with new ideas and ways to tell a story, as well as being able to write quickly. I do think I've improved with my dialogues and the way I pace my stories, and make them feel organic. And with that, I've never realized I've already written a lot, until I arranged the masterlist recently.

What began with a few stories turned into hundreds as we started pouring our hearts into this blog. And we would be lying if we told you that it was pressure-free. 

LEANNE: During this time, my responsibilities at uni, family and other personal matters made me unable to focus on the blog a lot. I really feel sorry for Hyeri during this time because she was the one who was more consistent with posting her stories. I joke every now and then these days whenever she couldn’t write that it’s okay, you once had too much weight and now I’ll carry my share and more, too, if it gets hard for you. Even though I was busy with other things, however, Hyeri really pulled through and made this blog come alive. And as a friend, she really helped me get through my darkest moments. This blog, too, became my crutch. Whenever my heart got broken, I would write here. I would try to find my voice (and at that time, I couldn’t find myself, either. Just ask Hyeri why, lol.) in writing. I was experimenting what voice I had while writing and what genre fits me. 

HYERI: Following Leanne's, I guess after our trip to Korea, things became way harder. I had a lot of low points back then as well: losing my scholarship and just so much responsibility in life and at school. I did carry much of the weight of the blog after that semester, and I'm surprised how I managed to do that. I kept on badgering Leanne to finish some requests, but she really had a lot going on as well. Not to mention our plans to join an exchange program to Korea which was another hell we signed up for. It was extra difficult because our department doesn't want us to leave, thinking we're just running away from the strict (and often unfair) professors (ironic when our major is International Relations).Seventeen and this blog was the only way we could bond together and have fun and just forget about everything. I could remember sending each other fake messages from Seventeen just to cheer the other up when things get depressing, or imagining what it would feel like to be an idol and whatnot. It sounds silly now, but that was the only way we could cope with how intense and exhausting our lives were. It was the only thing that kept the constant dread in our nerves from taking over.

What began as an experimental way to boost creativity became something like a career, and steering our motivation, was of course, the boys. Our boys. The amazing people that we write about and that we imagine about. They made us happy during the times when there was nothing to be happy about. They made us take risks that brought out the braveness we didn’t know we had in us, and they made us feel hopeful about the future. 

However, we hit a hurdle we couldn’t bring ourselves back from hurdle after hurdle during our second semester as juniors in college.  

LEANNE: Second semester of junior year in college was really hard for me. The bottom line of it all was the manipulative relationship that I was in with my s/o back then, but a lot of things piled up as well: school responsibilities (I was handling three classes at one point as a professor’s assistant and then ran for a student government position I didn’t really want but felt obliged to). All the while this was happening, I was really feeling myself slip away. I was suffering from depression but I had a lot of things going on around me that I could not just drop because people were depending on me. The only way I thought I would be able to not give up is by going somewhere else to finish my studies. Yes, the environment got that toxic. I really needed to get away. Around this time, I wasn’t active on the blog anymore. Right after elections, I lost my motivation to do anything. I would sometimes pitch in to help Hyeri with some requests, but it took way more effort than I thought it would. 

Hyeri and I decided that we needed to take the risk of applying for the South Korean exchange program, which was one of the best that our uni had to offer. We figured that since our grades were okay, it would be easy. Boy were we wrong.

HYERI: The Coldest Human, The Warmest Robot was the last fic I've posted in the blog before the hiatus. I couldn't do it anymore. There were so many problems and issues with the exchange program that I could no longer handle the blog alone. Leanne had withdrawn too, considering how she has her own things to face as well. It was a really difficult time. After being rejected a visa, I just can't think of writing, or even Seventeen anymore. Just their presence seemed to only remind me that I had been rejected after months and months of preparation. Their songs only reminded me of our disappointments. It was awful and I knew I can't face them at that time. I found myself in Taiwan. Alone. Leanne had stayed and it was depressing. I had to move on despite that, but it felt like an empty success.

We planned to become a part of an exchange program in South Korea, but it didn’t pull through at the last minute. We had staked all our bets, and we lost motivation in a lot of things. One of those things was this blog. We just knew that we had to let it go during 2018, because it was impossible to maintain it when you don’t feel inspired about life anymore. 

HYERI: The Coldest Human, The Warmest Robot was the last fic I've posted in the blog before the hiatus. I couldn't do it anymore. There were so many problems and issues with the exchange program that I could no longer handle the blog alone. Leanne had withdrawn too, considering how she has her own things to face as well. It was a really difficult time. After being rejected a visa, I just can't think of writing, or even Seventeen anymore. Just their presence seemed to only remind me that I had been rejected after months and months of preparation. Their songs only reminded me of our disappointments. It was awful and I knew I can't face them at that time. I found myself in Taiwan. Alone. Leanne had stayed and it was depressing. I had to move on despite that, but it felt like an empty success. Right after going back home for winter vacation, I remember I was angry crying because I knew Leanne can't do anything because of her circumstances, even if she wanted to go to Taiwan so much.

LEANNE: I was miserable during first semester as a senior because everything did not go as planned. I was really losing the resolve to keep going on because nothing had gone the way I had planned it to be. I think the only silver lining during 2018 was that my parents and friends finally stepped in to protect me from the person who had been harming me emotionally and therefore affecting my self-esteem and resolve. We also went to Macau, where I really healed a lot as well while teaching music with close friends from church. But beyond that, I could see no other way to get through the last semester except to follow Hyeri and go to Taiwan. It wasn’t just her friendship that I was missing; it was also about that goal I had in my mind: to find peace and quiet away from everything that had hurt me and drained me.

We didn’t have any high hopes about what lay ahead, but the biggest plot twist came.

LEANNE: By some miracle, I managed to convince my parents that I was well enough to go to Taiwan and that I would be safer there. It all happened so fast. February I was still crying, standing at the train tracks, telling our other friend that I wanted to just end it. But then March came and my visa got approved on a Friday. Three days later, just packing whatever I had with me in my apartment, I left for Taiwan.

It was a miracle Hyeri and I still talk about a lot. We started to heal from everything that we had gone through. We started to re-explore our friendship and in the end, after so much drama and after so much challenges, we finally concluded that this friendship of ours was really something that we wanted to keep forever. We grew a lot through the years.

HYERI: Who would've thought that with a lot of begging and pleading and praying, Leanne was finally able to go to Taiwan. I was so happy. It was one of the happiest memories of my life so far. Being in Taiwan, away from the world, from the responsibilities back at home, it was such a liberating time.It was also the exact period which we started to heal from past disappointments. Seventeen no longer gave me the pain I used to feel, and to this day, You Made My Day---the album which was released before everything happened, and reminded me a lot of what had transpired---is one of my favourite Seventeen albums.

But here we are now, in 2020. It was really because of Hit the Road that we decided to come back. We agreed to start writing again come June 2020. We started doing what we loved again. 

HYERI: We had fully healed from everything and we're fully ready to come back to writing about our precious boys! I am so happy to be able to finally celebrate the actual anniversary for this blog!

LEANNE: And now, here we are, celebrating our anniversary! The first one we really had! This is all impromptu editing but we really wanted to make it special. 

Highlights Throughout the Years:

💎 Love is A Fallacy (Lawyer!Wonwoo)

The first ever fic I've written for SVT. I remember I wrote this while I was at the dorm on my bed, it was a miraculously stress-free night. The song I kept on playing was "20" and I could imagine it being the OST if this was a kdrama 😂 This was at a time when Wonwoo was still my bias.

💎Adagio Cantabile (College Student!Jihoon)

A fic I first wrote after Jihoon became my bias. I could still remember, I was so inspired by a fic titled Customer Satisfaction, that I wrote this one. Plus I'm really into Classical Music, that I could just write one whole fic about it. I'm still amazed how we were able to write fanfiction even though we were swamped with school work, and I mean, SWAMPED, like a lot of exams, graded recitation, things to memorize, super long essays, but we still managed to write. 😂

💎Saffron (Victorian AU DK)

This was written shortly after Leanne and I went back from Korea. I was so blissfully happy back then. I think I've spent a night or two writing this. This was heavily inspired by the game "Chocolatier" which I was playing days before I've started writing 😂 I really love writing for DK, he's such a positively innocent character who was so endearing.

💎The Coldest Human; Warmest Robot (Android!Jihoon)

This was probably the last one shot I've posted before the hiatus in 2018. I remember finishing it in my hometown when we went there for summer vacation. It was a really bad time ngl I lost my scholarship and was supposed to go to an exchange program to South Korea with Leanne. Back I didn't know if I could support that dream financially.

💎The Most Convenient Escape (Soulmate!Jihoon)

This was the first fic I've written after the hiatus. Truthfully, over 2018-2019, I lost my love for SVT. It was painful to be reminded of the fact that we weren't able to go to Korea, so I avoided them while I was in Taiwan. But I came back around this year and started to write this one. It's heavily inspired by the book "Voices of the Past" which is a compilation of American newspaper articles over the years, and anime reviews which talked about Deconstructing a genre (i.e., Madoka Magica and Evangelion). Right now I really do want to finish this series.

Highlights Throughout the Years

💎The Return of Superman Series

My first work, TROS Seungcheol, was the first fic in the entire blog that I was truly proud of. All my other works were too rushed, too experimental for my own taste even, and just doesn’t look like what I, Leanne, if you personally know me, would write about. I strongly believe that there is a unique voice in each story, a voice that belongs only to its writer, and back then, I was still trying to find that voice. The Return of Superman was my breakthrough in writing. I suddenly found an AU that I truly loved to write about, and, most importantly, my voice in writing.

💎After-Party, Only Us, and Afterglow | Yoon Jeonghan

This is the spin-off series that came from Yoon Jeonghan’s The Return of Superman. I started to become more comfortable in my style of writing as I wrote these. You will notice a change of style after the first part, “After-Party”. My writing style has matured, and I really congratulate myself a lot for that. It took me years and tons of experiences to get that flavor I had always wanted in my works! Haha. 

💎The And Series

This is another one of those imagines that really brought out the hopeless romantic inside me, and for that, I am proud of it. It’s still mostly in the works, but I  am really happy about how it’s turning out.

💎Through the Seasons Series

Ah, this is my pet project. All my heart is poured into this one. This is the first series that I truly explored the beauty of love in realistic settings. My writing process here is done by looking at real couples LOL and also tapping into beautiful memories of mine about love and about life and all the drama that comes along. I’m really glad that a lot of our new readers liked the first one that came out!

Our story-time ends here. 

All in all, we just want to say thank you. Thank you for everything. For being with us through this crazy ride of a blog, truly, sincerely, thank you. From our followers since the beginning, to the new ones that we are finding joy in communicating with now, thank you. From the bottom of our hearts!

LET’S MAKE MORE MEMORIES TOGETHER!

- Leanne and Hyeri. 

[hayleysstark]

Hi, Sugar Plum Queenie here with more fake fic titles! Loved the concepts you came up with for my last batch, they all sounded very interesting! ("Warmth", and "Heartbeat" especially would have MURDERED ME and I would have thanked you lol) New titles: "Thicker than Water", "Missing Pieces" "Stars" and "Keepaway"

send me a made-up fic title and i’ll tell you what i would write to go with it {{y’all, please don’t send in any more!! i’ll answer the ones left in my inbox and call it a day.}}

ahh, my Queen!!!! you grace me with your presence 😔🙏💖 and I’m glad you liked the ideas!! i don’t generally put a fic concept out there until i have the opportunity to really think on it, and refine it a few hundred times, so this is a real neat change of pace for me tbh!!

all right, all right, Thicker than Water honestly makes me think of a (very) loose retelling of Anastasia (1997) except with Merlin. hear me out, okay, this might be a bit of a reach, but it just popped into my head and i’m gonna test it out.

Let’s say, it’s S1 timeline, but Uther is already dead, and Arthur, at twenty-one, has already ascended the throne. But Uther left a pretty big mess for his son to clean up when he died - when he started the Purge, Nimeuh started a magical resistance movement.

Uther added some serious fuel to the fire when he publicly executed the most prominent member of the movement, the dragonlord Balinor. He claimed he had already put Balinor’s young son, a child born with legendary power, to death, but there was just such little fanfare, and he never presented a body, and the magical resistance holds out hope that, even if the beloved Balinor is dead, his heir might have made it out alive.

 Now there’s an all-out war between sorcerers and--erm, not-sorcerers, i guess, and Camelot can’t keep up the war forever. Resources and funds are at an all-time low, the royal treasury is exhausted, and the Camelot knights suffer dozens of casualties by the day. 

Arthur comes up with a plan to stop the war - to present Balinor’s long-lost heir, and turn him over to the magical resistance, if only the war is ended, and peace returns to the kingdom. Except. Balinor’s long-lost heir is, well, lost. But, hey, a lookalike with a little bit of magic is good enough, right? And there’s a gangly kid called Merlin who certainly looks a hell of a lot like Balinor... 

And as for Missing Pieces, i actually already wrote a fic with this exact title a few months back - just for practice, though, i never bothered to polish it up and post it, but it was basically a quick look at how,,,,, sad Merlin is in S5, how much his destiny weighs on him, and how much Camelot has taken from him, all through Gaius’ eyes. let me see if i can find it, hang on, i know there was a whole-ass paragraph that tied into the “missing pieces” theme and i’m in the mood to share it oH HERE IT IS, HERE WE GO:

How much more, Gaius has to wonder, is destiny going to demand of Merlin? How much light will be left in his smile, in his eyes? How many more pieces of him are going to go missing? How much more of Merlin is going to disappear? 

How much more of Merlin is he going to get to keep? How much more of Merlin is he going to have to lose?

there!!! very obviously a practice fic lmao but it was a lot of fun and it helped me establish Gaius’ character and his relationship with Merlin when i hadn’t touched on it previously except in Quiet.

And Stars--ahh, okay, so I know all of the other fics on this list are for Merlin, yes, I know, but this title just straight-up begs for a Treasure Planet fic tbh. maybe just a quick little then-and-now piece, where we see, at some point on the Legacy, Silver shows Jim a few constellations he’s never gotten to see before - he never left Montressor at all before the voyage, so the only night sky he’s ever seen is Montressor’s - and, a few years later, long after Jim’s gone back home, he has to wonder if he and Silver will ever be under the same stars again. 

Keepaway, honestly, sounds like the absolutely perfect name for a really quick humor piece where every scene is set in a different kingdom with Arthur, Merlin, and the knights always on some quest or another. every time, they find a tavern/shop/marketplace Gwaine is absolutely, unforgivably banned from. every goddamn time.

Thanks so much for the ask, Queenie!! 💖

[gloriouscrowncreator]

QUARTET NIGHT LIVE 2018 FLY TO THE FUTURE DAY 1 REPORT + DAY 2 HIGHLIGHTS

NOTE: this was NOT written by me, I DID NOT attend QN Live 2018 (as much as I wanted to). Someone on Weibo attended and I’m translating their posts. This is Day 1′s report. I also embedded links of Twitter fanart for some parts whenever I could.

Warning: long post

Double warning: Original Poster (OP) of the posts is a Tattsun fan, so this is a heavily Tattsun-biased post.

Triple warning: be prepared to have your heart slayed by QN seiyuu

Feel free to reblog with comment/write in tags/slide into my DMs if there are any parts you think can be refined for accuracy!

Everything under the cut!

Setlist (this is from Day 2 I believe but I don’t think the setlist changed)

Legend:

(?) indicates that I’m not sure about the translation

(T/N:) are my personal thoughts.

I skipped over translating the parts where OP was basically waxing lyrical over the seiyuu, sorry.

The talk corner was split between Morishow-Maeno pair and Tattsun-Shoutan pair.

Morishow and Maeno talk

Maeno: “usually we can’t have a 4-person rehearsal, we’re always missing someone”

Morishow: “that guy with the colour red was the earliest to begin rehearsal” (T/N: according to fans, Tattsun began rehearsing in September)

Maeno said he was really surprised to hear how early Tattsun began rehearsing

Shoutan-Tattsun talk (same link as above)

Tattsun: “I often end up practicing with Shouta, and he looks more and more like a girl to me - his feminine power is too damn high xD”

Shoutan did a dance move of putting his hand on his waist (apparently in a feminine way?). Tattsun tried to learn it live, totally failed and was like “how did this guy do it orz”

Shoutan smiled shyly (?)

Shoutan: “Tatsu-nii always says ‘let’s stop practicing here’ but always says ‘let’s do it once more’ and ends up practicing for a long time”

Tattsun: “it was no fun practicing songs on my own, so Shouta came over and said ‘why don’t we do QN songs’. Shouta often comes up with ideas like this, and is always supporting the 3 of us like this”

Tattsun is very grateful to Shoutan for showing him how fun it is to sing with others (T/N: is this real-life Ranmaru?!), although he sings a lot on his own, he’s really happy to sing with Shoutan.

At first Tattsun wanted to let Shoutan lead the song and he would support him, but it turned out Shoutan had the same idea lol. The two of them do their best in supporting each other~

The two of them end off with bowing towards the audience and whispering “thank you very much”

OP noted that the atmosphere was like a newly-married couple roflmao

Talk ends, Haruhana performance

They sat and sang with gentle swaying, but their singing was no less powerful.

When they sang “Ah…夜風がロンリネス締め付けて” they stared at each other soulfully. At the refrain, they stared at each other as they sang “声へと･･･歌へと”, and then suddenly the music stopped, the penlights were turned off. The two of them stopped singing, looked at each other and the whole hall was silent for a few moments. Then the two of them took a deep breath together and sang “Ah…夜風がロンリネス締め付けて”.

Be Proud

Tattsun’s first solo. As usual he carried (?) the whole performance by himself.

He walked from the doors that open at the middle of the stage (T/N: sorry, I don’t know what that’s called) and slowly walked towards the middle of the stage to sing. They sprayed dry ice too.

When he sang the second part, Tattsun went up the stairs, knelt down and used all his strength to sing “最愛なんて言葉だけでは･･･ 尽きる日まで”. The LED screen was showing red mist and stars, all the penlights turned red, and the onstage dry ice was colored red by the stage lights too.

OP noted that the sound quality this time round was better, probably because it was indoors (6th Stage was outdoors).

The last line Tattsun dragged the last note for a really long time, before pumping his fist with his mic up. The whole hall erupted into applause.

Not Bad

Ranmaru’s 2nd solo. the stage had pyro effects and backup dancers. Tattsun was singing, dancing and manipulating the pyrotechnic effects - when he raised his left hand, the left side of the stage spewed fire, and the same for his right hand and the right side of the stage.

The dancers were originally standing in a line, before quickly splitting into two, and Tattsun walked like a boss from between them towards the centre of the stage. The dance at the centre was really hype, with the fire - “(the atmosphere) was super high” accordingly to OP.

Non-Fiction (same link as above)

OP thinks that the best choreographed performance of the live was actually Non-Fiction though. 

Tattsun was sitting on the sofa like a boss, while Maeno sat on the other side elegantly, with a noble air. Apparently the two of them sang with angry expressions throughout the song LMAO (T/N: something like this, 2nd pic), and on the second half of the song they went to the stage centre. 

They were surrounded by black-clad dancers who danced smoothly, while the two of them had rougher (?) movements. The changes in the dance followed the changes in the song, and the beat was good. OP thought it was a high-quality performance.

Synchronism (lmao, the only non-Ranmaru song the OP wrote about)

According to OP Shoutan was super adorable hahahah

When he sang Synchronism, Shoutan had a hoodie lined with purple fur, complete with animal ears. (Here’s another visual.) He winked as he sang, blew kisses towards the audience (T/N: did Reiji teach you this lol), put the hoodie up and used his hands to make the ears move, with his eyes wide open and looking pitiful… (T/N: this boy is out to kill orz)

OP says they want to raise a Shoutan LOL

Final Thoughts

Tattsun:

“I’m the voice of Kurosaki Ranmaru, Suzuki Tatsuhisa. That guy (Ran) at first didn’t care about band and idol, and I wanted to tell him to focus on being an idol and leave the band part to me (the audience laughed at this point). Since he chose to be an idol, I was thinking if it was possible to do more, to do better. Previously I felt that no matter how much I practiced it wasn’t good enough, I kept feeling that today was a really scary day. Before you guys (the audience) sat here, we were practicing on this stage, and I was thinking ‘how can I do this better for everyone’. Even until now, I still feel uneasy. I want to take this chance to express my feelings and thoughts to the audience and live-viewing audience.”

“When I like a work, I like every aspect of it! I like every character, every cast member, and every staff. Every one of them deserves respect, including the staff who have been supporting us all along, the fans who couldn’t make it today, everyone at live-viewing, and of course all of you seated here right now. I’m really happy to be able to stand here as Ranmaru. Thank you everyone!”

Maeno:

“I am in charge of Camus’ voice, Maeno Tomoaki. Usually at live stages like this, I try to speak as Camus, but today I would like to speak a few words as myself, please forgive me. I entered this franchise with no experience at all (T/N: I believe he’s referring to his lack of singing career compared to the other three), really none at all. But after meeting these 3, I think that I’ve been slowly changing. It’s really a great thing to have met them. Hopefully, there are more chances in the future for me to continue playing Camus, and I won’t stop chasing after Camus’ shadow. Whether it’s Starish, Heavens or Quartet Night, I hope everyone can continue to support them.”

Morishow:

Morishow mentioned at the end of the concert that having met and performed with Starish and Heavens at Utapri 6th Stage, he got the strong impression that Quartet Night too needs to keep changing and revolutionising, so he wanted to let everyone witness a different, new side to Quartet Night today.

He also said that it’s thanks to everyone’s support that Quartet Night was able to continue from 2013 to last year’s solo live, and to today, and that he’s grateful to everyone’s support.

At the centre of the stage, Morishow said there was no need to use mics, and the 4 of them raised their hands towards everyone and shouted “thank you”.

OP tagged this part with “leader of Quartet Night” lol (T/N: it’s true!)

Final moment: After thanking everyone, they went back to the centre of the stage, discussed a little and shouted together “Utapri, arigatou”.

2nd Day

I’m not going to bother writing this because there are people on Twitter who’ve already discussed this in English, so read them here.

Raine’s thread

(Will update this if more people write reports)

Highlights and stuff:

Oh god so many things happened where do I begin (note: the following are all link dumps bc I’m not gonna take credit for someone else’s translations and art so open them and read)

Shoutan broke his nail

Maeno imitated Ranmaru’s growls lmao

Q: What is one thing you like most about your character? Shoutan: His voice.

Maeno had long hair and had a snowflake pin in his hair. Another visual. A 3rd visual because what do you mean I’m spamming fanart

Tattsun said during live that Shoutan stayed over at his house and wore his shirt, kind of like the boyfriend shirt concept

Tattsun also said he specifically picked out the shirt for Shoutan

Shoutan later tweeted that Tattsun was lying orzzzzz, he didn’t stay over at Tattsun’s house

Tattsun later blogged “Shouta, itadaita” (Shouta, itadakimashita)?!

Tattsun yelling at Shoutan for adjusting his belt on stage (this boy orz)

Tattsun and Maeno have a “hi/bye” relationship IRL lol

Morishow did Reiji’s Force Live kick!

Maeno as usual was all decked out in gear

To no one’s surprise, Shoutan cried on day 2. Tattsun comforted him.

Directly from the horse’s mouth (aka seiyuu own content):

The 4 of them went out for drinks after Day 1 and took this photo. (T/N: this is such a Reiji-style photo LOL. Apparently fans think so too!)

Gold long coats outfits

Shoutan and Tattsun pics (where Shoutan said he didn’t stay over at Tattsun’s house)

Group pic

Maeno’s blog post

Tattsun’s blog post

Shoutan’s selfie with Tattsun (yes, he posted this separately from the other 2′s selfies...)

Shoutan’s selfies with Morishow and Maeno

My thoughts:

Don’t blame me for making Tattsun and Shoutan sound shippy, they did this to themselves xD

I’m not sure if the seiyuu got to pick the songs they wanted to perform this time round, like Starish did, but I wouldn’t be surprised. I heard that Shoutan likes performing Synchronism anyway lol

FKING TATTSUN AND SHOUTAN YOU JERKS STOP DOING THIS TO US ORZ

Morishow did the Reiji kick ;-----; thank you Morishow

I bet Maeno looked beautiful ;-----; please BD release soon I need

Thank you Maeno for basically being Camus’ biggest fan ;-----; honestly I love it whenever he’s all decked out in Camus gear bc that’s just so amazing of him

[swampgallows]

blizzcon recap, basically a big stream of consciousness text dump while i still remember things and i will make a refined post later i think

Thursday morning I went to bed around 3am, woke up at 630am, and then again at 730am to board my 840am train bound for anaheim. I had originally intended to drive myself to the con but decided against it, as I didn’t want to pay $60 for parking nor endure the stress of driving on the freeway solo for the first time. 

I took a lyft to my hotel and met up with sun​ (who gave me kandi!!!) and their husband aaron, then we went to claim our badges and make some store purchases.

after feverishly texting reglei we caught sight of each other in line, got tired of waiting, then made our way to disneyland. there we met up with zach and kept missing fitze by mere moments; finally caught fitze & friends at the river belle terrace (a place i have never been in before because despite my many years of being a passholder, there was never a reason or time for a sit-down restaurant experience at disney, so when i opened the door i IMMEDIATELY closed it thinking i was intruding on a private dinner event LMAO). we knocked out everything on the western side of the park (including a fry-filled splash mountain) and got some good pics. the ride on indy was one of the best i’ve had in years: no stalling, great speed, and tons of jerks that nearly threw me out of the jeep hell yeah. perce made it to disneyland in the evening and we got to enjoy space mountain, star tours, a second round of pirates, a VERY invigorated spin on the teacups, then left at closing. zach generously dropped us all off at our individual hotels before heading out himself.

around 2am i woke up convulsing with an anxiety attack and took half a med. i was scared i had woken up sun and aaron but they were coincidentally also awake. after some talking and goofing off with them we made the very informed decision to postmates some del taco to the hotel at 3am. my god was it worth it. i had selected the “fries and secret sauce” option, unaware that these ingredients were not sides, but components to be added to the inside of the burrito. wasn’t bad!

7am wake up for day 1 of the con. met for “breakfast” with perce and reg at the hilton starbucks, which said that they accepted rewards but then didn’t :| i sincerely dont even remember what we did first as everything in the con was so purely awesome and overwhelming. The opening ceremony brought tears to my eyes, of course, as it displayed “WELCOME HOME” on every stage. We mostly just traveled around the con, taking pics, learning the layout, and mentally digesting everything. We attended the VA panel in the early afternoon which was a GREAT decision (no spoilers if you haven’t watched the virtual ticket stream yet!!!) and then made our way to the main stage, where we parked for a good 5-6 hours for the WoW and HotS “What’s next?” panels, then the following WC3 reforged insight panel and, finally, the entire community night. i really want to make sure i grab clips of some of darin de paul’s mcing that night because the man was sawing at my heartstrings like a viola bow. i got very close to crying many times. have no fear put on another amazing performance—this time a wow track called “war mode”—and won the talent contest! we had the privilege of running into them after the performance to congratulate and get some pics w them. i also met up with hinz who i haven’t seen in forever and we got to talk about his brewing and the con! had blaze pizza for dinner then passed out.

breakfast at coco’s for day 2 of the con, this time with sun and aaron in tow. all i needed was hot cocoa and a slice of dark chocolate chip cheese pie. it was...so goddamn good. we started off the con with the warcraft sounds panel featuring the zone of drustvar and concluded with some great performances by david arkenstone and the tavern band. they performed the zandalari zocalo music and bloodsail, an old favorite! we puttered around the darkmoon faire until the build-a-panel featuring zone design in warcraft but couldn’t hear anything due to the acoustics of the stage, so i left to pick up my blink purchases with fitze. there i met a girl wearing kandi and traded with her; she gave me a rubber bracelet from a podcast she’d attended called ‘pwncast’ that reads ‘we bow to no one’ which is VERY garrosh. other than that we had a grand old time of waiting in a line we didnt have to wait in and then made our way back for the warcraft Q&A. the second i saw metzen i immediately screamed with awe and terror and then sobbed into my lap. perce and reg comforted me, and the rest of the panel was fairly uneventful. I think i was the one human being who shouted ‘woo!’ at the scott johnson’s mention of his interviews with metzen, lol. we were waiting for meggo to have a chance to ask her question but she didn’t get the opportunity :(

after the q&a we went over to the unofficial tumblr meetup organized by questifer which was a huge privilege and a lot of fun, and we even made some new friends. i spilled my spaghetti about garrosh to actual blizzard quest developers and im very embarrassed that i did. lmao. i really liked the casual atmosphere of just chilling on the floor though. fitze had to leave halfway through :( but the quest discussion went on for almost 2 full hours. it was really a humbling opportunity.

by that time, the closing ceremonies were underway. reg and i missed out on the hots finals so we just bummed around the overwatch arena for a bit just to see the thing and catch a few minutes of kristian nairn’s set. again, cool stuff, but nothing i can go nuts to lmao. it’s questing music to me. on our way out of the hots stage i ran into a dude wearing KIKWEARS and gave him kandi!! it was awesome lmao. we spent some ducats at the darkmoon faire, but the real prize was won as we were walking out and scored the literal actual absolute last three available boxes of lucio-ohs!!! mine had a hole punched in it so we ate a bit of it before returning to blaze pizza for dinner again. the cereal tastes like lucky charms to me! it’s very sweet, but good!

sunday morning perce, reg, and i secured a breakfast at dennys. when i went up to pay the check i saw the cashier was wearing a piece of kandi and i had the perfect piece for her, the “short stack” piece with the pancake eraser. she traded me the one piece she was wearing (!) which said ‘insomniac’ (obv haha). i made that kandi a while ago and it feels like it was fate for this moment to arrive. reg and perce and i all parted ways back to our individual hotels. i was just chilling in the lobby when i saw a woman wearing kandi, so i went over and introduced myself. she traded me a piece that said mermaid on it, due to my “mermaid hair” :> we started talking about phat pants and she said her daughters now wear the pairs she used to wear! and the kandi she chose was the “a book for ants” with the miniature bible on it, as she found it appropriate for her halloween “christian protest” where she blasted tchami and malla and had a totem that encouraged ‘sinners’ to dance with her, lol.

i excused myself for the restroom and she invited me to “come back and hang out!” so i did!! and when i returned the group was playing a fun card game called chameleon. and have no fear was playing with them!! daniella, one of the performers from the talent contest (they sang the song about vanilla wow), had also joined us. so i got to play the game with a few members of the group and made some new friends, leigh (who gave me kandi) and jaime/ace, who i talked to about old school raving and kandi for a bit. there was a point where everyone but ace went up to the room for their luggage so it was just the two of us sitting there talking, and a pair of guys came up to us holding some merch. “Do you guys want these? we bought too many loot crates.” i was stunned!! they handed me a shadow plush and a clip-on ganymede to ace.

when they all returned, they were trying to plan what to do next, and i told them i had to grab a lyft and start heading to the train station. leigh offered me a ride there!!! i really felt PLUR for the first time in ages, lmao. we all hugged each other and said our goodbyes.

arriving at the train station, i ran into other blizzcon people and we talked about wow the ENTIRE ride home. for the first leg of the journey it was a super full train and we all had to stand but it was okay. we were all enthusiastically talking about wow with zero awkward pauses or any points of contention. it was so amazing just thriving on each other’s hype. at one point another person on the train said “do you guys play this game or MAKE this game?” because we were talking about it in such detail LOL. we all traded battletags before i had to go. it felt really amazing to be able to just literally talk to strangers about something i love and have such an amazing conversation like that. it felt so awesome to just be connecting to people so deeply all the time. 

im going to try to preserve the memory of being able to connect to people like that, as i came home and felt isolated and disconnected from everything again. i want to keep riding the coattails of this positivity as long as i can so i’m not going to go into the details of that. a lot of us really felt we could come out of our shells; i kept stressing how “safe” blizzcon was; with all of the focus i’ve been making in therapy on vulnerability, connection, isolation, and the need to feel worthy of being loved, i want to keep these memories at the forefront while i try to forge a better future for myself.

i really hope i can go again next year!

[vera-invenire]

VnC Liveblog - Chapter 14

Previously: Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13

Those are, uh, some interesting eyes you got there, Murr. I know you’re a cat, but please don’t murder anyone, kay? Please, Murr.

We start with a recap of our latest mystery -- in one week three vampires have mysteriously disappeared and the suspected kidnappers are the Church’s anti-vampire unit, the chasseurs. (should that be capped? eh, I’ll leave it for now.)

I see Vanitas still hasn’t bounced back from whatever blow he was dealt when he recognized that button. Only now he looks...sad, too?

Mentioning the Vampire of the Blue Moon in a general way makes him almost defiantly manic and driven; mentioning his quest for revenge makes him look not only lost but like he lost something, like it’s still an open wound. Mentioning the chasseurs gets you a face similar to the lost look, but he’s maybe not quite as dazed? I think it’s the difference between still being gutted and raw and being resigned to the wound, maybe? Speculating off of two textless panels is so fun and productive, guys.

Anyway, the catacombs! The catacombs of Paris are famous, y’all. LOTS of skulls, so of course it’s perfect for VnC.

Memoire 14 Catacombs

Where the Dead Sleep

Well, I hope they’re not playing poker.

(I bet you ten bucks Noé got distracted looking at the streetcar and didn’t realize it was leaving. The things Vanitas has to put up with, honestly. Aw, and Murr caught the eye of a fancy lady! That’s the real love story, right there.)

So the catacombs are a vast ossuary built inside an old system of quarries, we’re told. Twenty meters underground and roughly two hundred kilometers in length, it is said to house the earthly remains of approx. six million people.

So many skulls, guys. (Vanitas picked a good name)

Riche: oh god oh god, i just touched him, i just touched the hot guy, what do i do, he l p

Murr, why you giving her the stink-eye, she’s nice.

Look at this smooth, mofo. He caught the girl AND the candle. Thank god he’s oblivious or else nothing would be able to stop him.

(the real plot twist of VnC: Noé knows EXACTLY what he’s doing when he gives people That Look. He just acts oblivious to stave off the incipient fanclubs. *le gasp*)

Guys, I think the dhams are my favorites. And Dante’s angling for the de Sades, eh?

Noé’s not interested in the comedy routine, though -- something else is distracting him.

I’m glad Noé’s noticed something is off about Vanitas. He’s been avoiding the ‘camera’ for a bit now, which isn’t like him. It’s almost as if he’s withdrawing to the background, an intriguing facet of Vanitas’ personality that we haven’t seen before. But Noé notices he’s gone and won’t let him slip away so easily.

(though now that I think about it, the retreat to quietness isn’t completely new -- it’s what he does when he goes up on the rooftops, after all. we just haven’t seen him get this introspective around others before.)

Hmm, vampires in the tunnels of Paris, fighting the chasseurs...this is reminding me of World War Z, ie. it sounds freaking terrifying, yikes. (er, the book, not movie version. don’t think that made it into the movie.)

“There could even be another war.”

And vampires going feral and attacking humans sounds like just the thing that could provoke another human-vampire war, don’t it. This could turn into one of our big stakes in the series. And with the introduction of Jeanne, who fought in the last war; the chasseurs, who also fought in the last war; Ruthven, who brokered the end of the war...well. It’s not hard to imagine that the board is being set up again.

(it occurs to me that if there’s a faction of vampires that actually WANTS war, a simple way of bringing it about would be to accuse the humans of causing the spread of Charlatan and the curse)

(...they...could blame a human...a particular human in possession of a Book that is made to alter vampires’ true names...)

(oh, crap)

(o_o)

Hey, Vanitas is laughing! First time that’s happened since last chapter when he left Orlok’s office. Good job, Dante.

Noé’s still watching, though.

Vanitas looks run-down. He’ll laugh at Dante getting busted by the guards, but his mood is still extremely -- flat? tired? -- right now.

I love how Johann has no compunctions at all to cozying up to Noé. He’s like, hot guy? Don’t mind if I do.

We already know Noé is a little oblivious when it comes to people, so I think it says a lot that he’s already so attuned to Vanitas.

He knew right away that Vanitas’ reaction on the chandelier was weird (and seems to have hit the bullseye as to why) and he knows when Vanitas’ actions are a veneer over something else. He’s already started differentiating between what’s real and what’s a front when it comes to Vanitas, even if he can’t always understand what he sees (see: their dance). And they’ve known each other for what, a few weeks?

Poor Vanitas. Noé was already disinclined to go along with the most egregious examples of Vanitas’ bullshit -- now that Noé’s Vanitas Radar is getting more refined, soon Vanitas won’t be able to get away with anything. For a loner like him, that might be hard to adjust to.

(Noé looks so comfy, I wish I could sleep like that. Vanitas, don’t you think you’d be more comfortable sleeping inside with Noé, he could use you like a pillow)

This button is a Symbol, and I think it used to be an important one.

Though -- is he looking at the back of it? Are we gonna get an FMA-style message on it?

And hey, speaking of FMA, check out that pocket-watch --

Vanitas waits on the roof until -- what is that, 3am? -- then gets up with a slightly alarming look of grim determination, dark bags under his eyes. (he didn’t sleep at all)

Someone’s trying to sneak out in the dead of night. What are you planning?

!!!!!!!!

:D :D :D

omg. I’m cackling. Look at Noé standing there. Fully dressed! Leaning on the wall with one hand in his pocket! Casually reading! Ahhh, this is the best. Reminder that Noé can be hellishly smooth when he feels like it and it’s awesome.

Not only did he outmaneuver Vanitas, but he scheduled his nap perfectly because he knew Vanitas and knew his next likely course of action, even though (because) Vanitas hardly said anything during the day. This pleases me so much, you have no idea.

(and not only is the nap thing galling on principle, but now Noé is well-rested while Vanitas is walking around with visible bags under his eyes. It’s beautiful.)

*epic flaily hands*

guys, guys, it’s a reversal of chapter 2! look, look!

This chapter is gold.

I LOVE parallels, especially when the shoe ends up on the other foot. Even Vanitas’ coat looks deflated this time around, ha.

I think my bottom lip is wobbling. Boys.

The best part -- the best part -- is we already know Noé likes Vanitas’ cranky face. He must be enjoying this as much as I am, lmao.

Also, please note that Vanitas can’t seem to say ‘no’ to Noé, to the point where it’s kind of turning into a pattern. A delightful pattern.

(Thanks to Assassin’s Creed: Unity, I, too, know where this side entrance to Notre Dame is located. Thanks, Assassin’s Creed.)

Hm, hold up.

Lock-picking seems like a very Vanitas-ish skill, so I’m not questioning that. (I do question what his upbringing was like, but that’s another conversation). No, the thing is, didn’t he use the Book to pick a lock in Orlok’s office before?

Yup. There are the formula marks. So why didn’t he use the Book this time?

...wait a minute. wait a goddamn minute.

holy shit. vanitas didn’t have the Book when they went to orlok’s office. that was the whole POINT of going to orlok, HE had the Book, so --

Vanitas can alter formulas without the Book?

UM.

Nothing like a little B&E (plus assault) to get one’s spirits back up.

Vanitas finds a hidden switch behind the candelabra that opens a secret passage. (this may also have been in Assassin’s Creed.)

“These aren’t like the place we visited this afternoon. There are entrances to the underground labyrinth all over Paris. ...but the catacombs we’re headed for are made so that only those in the know can reach them.”

...uh-huh. So how do YOU know about them? And if you knew, why’d you just follow the dhams to the tourist spot? Were you that thrown by that button?

The chasseurs live down here? Uh.

What’s that saying about those who hunt monsters...?

...

...Vanitas was a freaking chasseur, wasn’t he.

But he left them? Or they left him? How does the Vampire of the Blue Moon fit into that?

It would also mean that he lied to Noé in the beginning when Noé asked if he was a chasseur or a bourreau, but. That wouldn’t be much of a surprise. And not technically a lie if he wasn’t one anymore?

Sheltered he may be, but our boy Noé ain’t no dummy.

they’re his former comrades

*raises eyebrow* Chasseurs but not chasseurs? Renegade chasseurs, maybe?

And he knows exactly how they fight because of course he does.

This explains so much. The abilities of the vampires are on a whole ‘nother level, literally superhuman, so it’s easy to overlook sometimes that Vanitas is a really good fighter for a human.

Particularly against vampires.

He’s been doing this vampire-doctor thing for a little while now, right? Meaning, he’s been hunting down transformed and blood-mad vampires and fighting them with only one reluctant, mercenary dhampir as back-up. Sure, he latched onto Noé as a ‘shield’ immediately (probably because he had a few too many close calls and, unlike with Dante, he doesn’t have to pay for Noé), but he was still fighting -- and surviving -- the monsters long before Noé got on the scene.

So were could he have possibly gotten these vampire hunting skills? *insert thinking emoji*

(I don’t know how the Vampire of the Blue Moon fits into all this, but taken with the chasseurs, I can’t help but find Vanitas’ current vocation dryly amusing. Both these entities from his past who HATE VAMPIRES have done Vanitas wrong, so what’s he gonna do?

He’s gonna turn around and save the goddamn vampires out of spite. (...and probably for some other reason we don’t know about yet, because Vanitas, but you get the idea))

Oh look! More skeletons. (momento mori, yus)

Oh shit. It’s that guy from the end of chapter 13.

...oh god, this is a trophy room, isn’t it.

The boys are like “oh, f---!”

This guy’s design is weirdly -- cherubic?, and it’s freaking me out.

Hm. So lower-ranking (-powered?) vampires revert to a more human physiology after death? Why?

And damn, these skulls are in seriously bad shape. Must have been a hell of a fight to take each of them out. Shows the power of the chasseurs, for certain.

Is this guy taunting them?

Noé just seems shocked (as he should), but Vanitas almost looks struck dumb, like he doesn’t know what to do with Disturbingly Cheerful guy.

Hmm, a couple things.

I thought this guy’s name was Roland?? @vnckocurzyca, I think you said his name was Roland? It’s got all the marks of a translation error (swapped Ls and Rs), I just want to know the right name to call this guy, lol. (and if YP screwed up the translation so I can rag on them a bit)

Another thing that might only be amusing to me -- Vanitas has been carrying a sling on his back that I’ve been assuming carries the Book, his knives, etc. But when he stands next to Cheerful Guy who has his own his massive sling (that looks an awful like some sort of improbable weapon of the Kingdom Hearts variety), Vanitas looks like nothing so much as a Boy Scout standing next to an Eagle Scout and it’s kinda hilarious.

Just think about it. In another lifetime, this guy could have been Vanitas’ senpai.

Cheerful Guy is important, I see.

So, he got his high position sometime after Vanitas was no longer associated with the chasseurs? And he wasn’t even posted in the area until recently. Gives me reason to think he wasn’t involved in whatever happened to break Vanitas away from them.

Though it occurs to me the chasseurs might not recognize him anyway, depending on how long ago the association was (couldn’t have been that long, Vanitas is only 18 according to the omake) and when exactly he took on the name ‘Vanitas’. They might have known him under another name, maybe his REAL name, and isn’t THAT thought interesting.

“I’m Vincent and he’s Gilbert.”

“I’m Vincent and he’s Gilbert.”

“~I’M VINCENT AND HE’S  G I L B E R T.~”

ahhhhh, I love easter eggs.

(I prefer to read Vanitas’ bowing and babbling here as his version of a customer service voice. you know, that really fake, ‘sincerely apologetic’ one everyone who has ever worked in retail had to master.)

(is that not the face of every retail worker in the world, I mean, come on)

Vanitas has NO IDEA how to deal with this man, it’s amazing. But it looks like they haven’t been made (yet), so that’s good.

That armor on Mr Paladin’s arms is very reminiscent of Jeanne’s leg armor, no?

*tilts head* Is this a typical shounen-ish ‘he’s strong’ assessment, or can Noé analyze him on a different level because of his vampire eyes?

Either way, it says this guy is more dangerous than he seems. Guess you don’t rise to the rank of paladin by sitting on your butt.

(and what exactly is that weapon on his back???)

...y’all. I play a lot of video games. Suddenly walking into a large room with strategically placed cover spots is A VERY BAD SIGN.

I HOPE YOU SAVED BEFORE THIS CHECKPOINT, GUYS.

Ohhh, shit. There it is. Mr Paladin was playing them the entire time and they fell for it like a pair of shmucks.

Specifically, VANITAS fell for it. Dude, the sneaky tricks are supposed to be your area of expertise. Either this guy is better than you or you are seriously off your game. (possibly both)

(...random, but Mr Paladin is reminding me a bit of Might Guy. probably the gushing emotion and positivity.)

A flash bomb? And Vanitas knows exactly what it is, knows it’s meant to hurt Noé specifically. It also means that Mr Paladin knows Noé is a vampire, probably knew it when he was gushing about all those be-fanged skull trophies. Man, you can never trust the goofy ones.

When you think about it, a flash bomb would be the perfect weapon to use against vampires in an enclosed space like underground tunnels.

I’m paying attention to how MochiJun is depicting the affects of the flash on Noé ‘cause we still know precious little about how vampires eyes, and vampires in general, work.

So, we’ve got a shattering, as if the flash caused the world to break apart for Noé, and then a disorienting swirl where his vision is completely obscured. His eyes really are his weak point.

...ohhoho, wait. Wait, wait, wait, I just remembered something.

Vanitas used the flash bomb trick on Jeanne, way back in chapter 3 --

The canister looks about the same, too. I guess now we know why Vanitas keeps one of those in his pack.

It didn’t work as well on Jeanne, but, well, it’s Jeanne.

Mr Paladin is not only dangerous, but also creepy. And kind of dehumanizing, too, which I suppose is to be expected from this group. Not like Veronica de Sade is much better.

Alright, so. Does this mean Noé can usually see the two ‘worlds’ separately? And this is a thing all vampires can do because of their eyes, while some powerful vampires are then able to rewrite the formulas they see on a large scale? Though since Paracelsus was able to trigger Babel, that means having the innate ability to see formulas isn’t a requirement for rewriting them. And, you know, the existence of the Book.

...why would the Vampire of the Blue Moon, who could presumably also see and change formulas as other vampires do, need to write a Book that allows people to do the same thing? What the hell is in that Book, anyway? Does it just deal with True Names?

Give me answers, MochiJun! *shakes tiny fist*

oh geez, the disorientation was so bad it made Noé physically sick.

And Mr Paladin, the doll look is not an improvement, fyi.

So, if Vanitas can rewrite formulas without the Book, is that power also in his eyes, even though he doesn’t have the weird pupil-thing going on like the vampires, or does he work magic the way Paracelsus (presumably) did? Did the flash bang affect him, too? He’s not in the same kind of distress as Noé, but he had an instant’s more warning and DID cover his eyes. Hmm.

I do appreciate Vanitas’ panic over Noé’s plight, though! That’s always heartening to see.

That’s the frown of Bracing Yourself To Do Your Job. Because that’s what killing vampires is to this guy, his job. And he’s not nearly as gullible or naive as he looks.

Uh-oh.

Do we have a super-soldier serum on our hands here? That would explain how the chasseurs are able to take on vampires one-on-one.

Never trust the goofballs.

(i don’t think this fight is going to go well for our heroes, guys.)

Next up, CHAPTER 15!

[alien-bodies]

Oversharing Time!!!

(i just made that title up that’s not the official title I’m just Like That)

Ok so @frogyell​ tagged my main account (I am BLEST) but that’s for Refined Star Trek Content and this one’s for excellent moodboard content and garbage so here’s the garbage!!! I’m putting it under a cut bc it manipulates your brain to want to read through 85 fuckin facts about me more wow I love science

rules: answer these 85 statements about yourself, then tag 20 people.

1. last drink: Water! off to a great start

2. last phone call: my local Hot Topic. I feel like I should also mention I work there. But if you don’t know that and steal my phone you’ll see I have a contact named Hot Topic

3. last text message: Google sent me a verification code, but the last one I sent was to my brother it says “k”

4. last song you listened to: It’s called The Horror Of Your Love by Ludo, if I had to delete all but one song on my 121-song Best Enemies playlist I’d keep this one it’s Peak and kinda has vore but it’s metaphorical. metavoreical, if you will

5. time you cried: during my latest EMDR sesh! I was in Wales and everything it was a Lot I got ice cream after

6. dated someone twice? Big No

7. kissed someone and regretted it? Not really?

8. been cheated on? my ex had 16 anime dating sims downloaded at one point while we were dating does that count

9. lost someone special? yea

10. been depressed? hella

11. gotten drunk and thrown up? I’ve been drunk 1 time and it was when I was playing English handbells at my dad’s church’s wassail night but I did not throw up no

fave colors

12. Black

13. Lavendar

14. Light blue

in the last year have you…

15. made new friends? Hell Yell!!

16. fallen out of love? k i n d a ? ?

17. laughed until you cried? oh absolutely

18. found out someone was talking about you? OH BOY YUP YUP

19. met someone who changed you? yes! she managed to physically alter my hippocampus without touching it how fuckign whack is that

20. found out who your friends are? It’s always the same miraculous group chat

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list? sure have

general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl? I keep it nice and refined so all of them. My old account is another story

23. do you have any pets? one beautiful and talented cat named Moriarty. A good description is she’s got puppy software on cat hardware.

24. do you want to change your name? listen I’ve been through 4.5 of these fuckers, I like Nate, I’m Quite Finished

25. what did you do for your last birthday? invited 2 pals over, I remember one of them suddenly whipped out I Am The Doctor and the Dr Who theme on the piano out of fuckin nowhere and I was like “Daniel what the hell you’re so talented” and then I hardcore dissociated the rest of the day

26. what time did you wake up today? 10:00

27. what were you doing at midnight last night? chatting w @houseofoakdown​ and also editing my monstrosity of a fanfiction

28. what is something you cant wait for? Going back to school! then I can graduate in my pajamas and eat creamed corn in celebration

30. what are you listening to right now? the same goddamn playlist, this one’s called Battle Cry by The Family Crest, i cri erytiem

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom? probably???

32. something thats getting on your nerves? my brother vaping in the bathroom with the fan on at 12:30am

33. most visited website: tungle dot hell

34. hair color: I started out blonde af now I’m less blonde but still blonde.

35. long or short hair: short

36. do you have a crush on someone: :[] yes

37. what do you like about yourself: i’m hella smart, my moodboards are bangin, my writing is cool af, I’m well-hydrated at all times

38. want any piercings? Big No

39. blood type: A+!!!!! thats me!!!!!

40. nicknames: my brother calls me a goon sometimes

41. relationship status: im married to my laptop

42. zodiac: I was born on the last day of Taurus so I’m a definite Taurus/Gemini power combo

43. pronouns: they/them, tho in some places I use he/him bc The Dysphoria got hog wild enough I decided to pretend to be a trans guy so ppl would take me seriously, but I’m moving more towards they/them everywhere now. 

44. fave tv shows: Dr Fuck, Sherlock (I’m armed with a pitchfork and an arsenal of beefed up tv & film knowledge come on fight me), DOWNTON ABBEY

45. tattoos: in August I will get a bee on my right arm and probably a Secret Word in Gallifreyan on my left it’ll say fuck

46. right or left handed: one time I was bored in grade 10 and tried to make myself ambidextrous but that was a hassle so I’m firmly right handed. Except in archery.

47. ever had surgery: got all 4 wisom teeth out not long ago! I still need to squirt water in my gum holes so I get all the mushy food out :{

48. piercings: I used to have my ears pierced but they’re grown tf over now!

49. sport: first of all what the hell is this question looking for second of all I have a red belt (which is 2 below black belt) in Taekwondo. I really need to do that again hhhhhh

50. vacation: i went to England and France in the summer with my family as a “””grad trip”””, it was lots of fun but my collection of sensory issues extended to chomping and I dissociated so intensely in The Louvre my mom told me to go back outside so I wrote fanfiction while listening to 21 Pilots and chatting w my imaginary friends and it took me like 18 hours to process I’d seen The Mona Lisa with mine own 2 eyes. Also the plane was delayed twice bc we used Air Canada for some godforsaken reason and I had 0 hours of sleep when I went to the Sherlock Holmes museum and I started talkin to this bust of Sherlock Holmes and then I hadn’t eaten enough and we were walking to this bookstore and I said “I need food!” and my dad said “We’ll get it AFTER” then I shouted “I’M GONNA DIE” so I got a BLT from Tesco. 

51. trainers: h

more general

52. eating: the last thing I ate was chocolate chips straight out of the bag

53. drinking: I got another cup of water

54. im about to watch: my entire fanfiction to take 3000 notes on consistency. and by watch I mean read

55. waiting for: my brother (not vaping) to get out of the bathroom so I can PEE

56. want: Orphan Black to be on Netflix so I can actually binge watch it then call my grandma about it

57. get married: idk I didn’t think I was a get married person but since realizing I’m a lesbian it seems like a good idea!

58. career: nurse and a writer. I might just move to London and work double time to write enough scripts I have some street cred then pitch a TV adaptation of Faction Paradox to the BBC and win

which is better

59. hugs or kisses: hugs bc it means my friends are in my vicinity not Toronto

60. lips or eyes: uh. eyes???????????

61. shorter or taller: i’m 5′3″ and I would love a tol partner

62. older or younger: i don’t think I care

63. nice arms or stomach: what fresh hell does this mean. I’d like a nice stomach free of gastrointestinal issues and acid reflux. not that I have either of those but just in case

64. hookup or relationship: I have 300 many self-esteem issues so imma say relationship

65. troublemaker or hesitant: AU where I don’t have anxiety and I’m a trouble maker

have you ever

66. kissed a stranger: noop

67. drank hard liquor: I PUT RUM IN THE WASSAIL HELL YEAH also once someone bought me a shot at a queer dance thing bc it was payday and my friend told me to gulp the WHOLE SHOT and then the lemonade so I don’t barf and I was like “brah this is too high-stakes” so I poured the vodka in the lemonade and took sips and everyone stared at me

68. lost glasses: in grade 6 and then my mom threatened to make me wear one of those granny glasses chains so I never lost them again

69. turned someone down: ya this kid Cyrus used to chase me around in grade 5 and I’d run away always he was weird af one time he made out with a folder right in front of me in the middle of class

70. sex on first date: probs not at this point but I’m not opposed to the general idea when I’m less w h a c k e d  u p

71. broken someones heart: Not that I know of?

72. had your heart broken: c o n s i s t e n t l y in the most fricked up ways god

73. been arrested: no but once I booed at the police bc the local nazis (yeah) were gonna have a rally so we had a counter-rally and I dropped in but there were no nazis except one old dude in a MAGA hat showed up 2 hours late lmao

74. cried when someone died: oui

75. fallen for a friend: Big Lesbian Mood

do you believe in

76. yourself: YA BB

77. miracles: not as such

78. love at first sight: nah

79. santa claus: I wasn’t allowed to believe in Santa as a child bc he was “too much like God” sad

80. kiss on a first date: ye!

81. angels: big no

other

82. best friend’s name: I don’t exactly have a proper best friend but I’m goin with Liam

83. eye colour: blue/grey

84. fave movie: either The Force Awakens (bc I love bb8 and I’m gay 4 Rey) or Interstellar shut up

85. fave actor: uh idk let’s go with my brother

WOW THAT WAS LONG JEE🅱️US. I’m tagging @houseofoakdown @spoonietimelordy @gemvictorfromtheponyverse @spockswhales @raesand and that exhausts the ppl I know but you’re all worth quadruple in my heart 💖

[primeacumen]

✩ For Anar

Send ‘✩’ for the following:

Cut because this is a massive wall of text.

Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice? Vivian, definitely. She’s an emotional and tempestuous creature by nature. Most of the time she tries to avoid being ‘too’ emotional as she views it as a weakness. However, her anger and impulsivity frequently get the best of her when she isn’t getting her way.Who threatens to leave but never actually does? I’m not sure. Probably a mixture of the two. Depends on how bad it is. Who actually keeps their word and leaves? Vivian because she’s overdramatic as hell and hates not getting her way. Not saying she’d go far, but she definitely probably makes herself scarce to casually meditate and talk with the ghost in her head or the Force.Who trashes the house? Vivian. See above explanations. xD Unless Vivian did something really terrible. Like if she died I imagine Anar might casually lose his shit and destroy everything.Do either of them get physical? I think the only way of that either of them ever would if is it was a massive betrayal and involved murder attempts on the other. Even then I think there would be some form of hesitation due to how strong their bond is between them.How often do they argue/disagree? Probably a decent amount. Vivian is definitely more light-sided or neutral than Anar is. Vivian sometimes values “helping” people and being kind to them over being pragmatic and Anar prefers to be pragmatic (and is likely more loyal to the Empire). Vivian prefers to force people to owe her or be ‘surprised’ by how ‘different’ of a Sith she is. While really it’s just manipulation and the two butt heads over this as her way usually isn’t pragmatic at all and ultimately isn’t better for the Empire, but for herself.Who is the first to apologize? Vivian, probably, because she just wants to get the argument over with. Unless it’s something she feels strongly over. Then Anar might have to, otherwise, he’ll be waiting for ever xD

Sex:

Who is on top? AnarWho is on the bottom? VivWho has the strangest desires? I think they’re pretty even on this level.Any kinks? A decent amount! The use of Force powers, Vivian has a kink for belonging to Anar even though she’ll probably never admit it to anyone but him, biting, scratchingWho’s dominant in bed? Anar, Viv can be dominant, she just hates it and prefers him to be in control. It feels more ‘at home’ to her…if that makes sense.Is head ever in the equation? Always, they both love giving and receiving.If so, who is better at performing it? Both. Viv is paranoid and insecure about not being ‘good enough’ for him so she’s probably refined her technique (for him) to perfection. Anar likely has more experience.Ever had sex in public? Probably, Viv can’t keep her hands to herself and Anar has no shame.Who moans the most? Viv, she’s loud in bed always.Who leaves the most marks? Mixture. Viv enjoys being marked by him to show off who she ~belongs to. Viv just likes to casually mark Anar in the same way and enjoys biting and scratching during sex.Who screams the loudest? Probably Viv, see above lmaoWho is the more experienced of the two? Anar, definitely. Viv’s had a ~thing for him since she was very young so didn’t really care to involve herself with anyone else until she started training on Korriban. Once she became an apprentice she threw herself into her work and ~becoming powerful. So no one else or sex really mattered. There were one or two flings, but she didn’t find them satisfying thus didn’t bother repeating.Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’? Fuck probably, as it’s what she prefers. Though when she’s feeling particularly amorous, making love is definitely on the table. (…Probably literally knowing these two.)Rough or soft? Both? Both is good.How long do they usually last? Awhile, probably. They’re both in pique physical condition and force users. (Not to mention Viv’s libido never seems to end…)Is protection used? On Viv’s end at least it is. She has no intentions of becoming a mother anytime soon and isn’t sure she’d ever be qualified. Nor does she really know what Anar wants and figures he’ll probably want a ~true sith lady eventually.Does it ever get boring? Probably not.Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? Imperial Fleet Elevator? That’s the first thing that popped into my head so we’re running with that.

Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children? Vivian’s not, but she figures Anar will probably want to continue his line sometime. She also figures she probably should continue the Kallig line, but the idea weirds her out.If so, how many children do your muses want/have? Two, boy and a girl. Not sure with Anar.Who is the favorite parent? Probably Anar because Viv has exactly 0 chill anyways…and can you imagine a Sith mama bear? Yikes. That’s Viv in a nutshell.Who is the authoritative parent? Both, just in different ways.Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school? I don’t think either of them would tbqh. Mostly because it’s important and Korriban. I can’t imagine them having a child who isn’t force sensitive. That bloodline would be wayyyy too strong.Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around? Both likely.Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children? Both of them.Who goes to parent teacher interviews? Vivian and the possibility of her shocking the hell out of them is significant.Who changes the diapers? The slaves/nannies because let’s face it, Anar would totally have them help and Viv ain’t going near that.Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby? ^ See above. Otherwise I imagine they’d probably switch off.Who spends the most time with the children? Depends on the time period. On one hand, Viv likes to run off looking for ancient relics. On the other, if they’re ruling Zakuul they’d both have more time.Who packs their lunch boxes? Servants.Who gives their children ‘the talk’? Anar, because Viv would probably overshare. Or a private tutor.Who cleans up after the kids? ServantsWho worries the most? Since it’s their offspring, I imagine they’d both worry pretty equally, though perhaps over different things.Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from? Vivian probably.

Affection:

Who likes to cuddle? Both.Who is the little spoon? VivWho gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places? Unsure! Viv probably?Who struggles to keep their hands to themself?  Viv, though Anar is a close runner-up.How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable? Viv is going to cling to him like a sloth, so hopefully a long ass time. xDWho gives the most kisses? Anar, probably. Viv is more touchy feely, but not necessarily with kisses.What is their favourite non-sexual activity? Drinking tea together and just talking. Otherwise, I imagine they just like to go on quiet walks together on Clamus.Where is their favourite place to cuddle? On their ships or in their homes. Someplace a bit more private.Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? Viv!How often do they get time to themselves? Probably a good amount. Since they have a strong force bond they don’t really have to physically be around one another to feel the other which makes being apart much easier than normal. They both prefer to physically be around the other, but both get ample alone time.

Sleeping:

Who snores? If anyone does, it’s Anar. Though I imagine it’s more talking in his sleep kind of thing.If both do, who snores the loudest? ^Do they share a bed or sleep separately? Depends on where they are/when. Viv strongly prefers to share though.If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart? Cozy up.Who talks in their sleep? Anar mostly. Viv sometimes does as well, though swears up and down she doesn’t.What do they wear to bed? Anar wears nothing. Viv usually will just put on whatever’s comfortable, much to Anar’s horror and as a result he usually buys her more fashionable things or comfy lingerie.Are either of your muses insomniacs? I don’t think Anar is, but Vivian has issues sometimes because of the ghost in her head and because of a lot of the things that happened in her life. I imagine Anar has bad nights as well and Vivian usually stays up with him and supports him as best as she can.Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside? NopeDo they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side? Intertwined.Who wakes up with bed hair? Viv! She has so much of it.Who wakes up first? Viv, she’s a morning person usually.Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other? Probably depends on the day and if either are feeling particularly romantic.What is their favourite sleeping position? Viv likes to sleep on her side or against Anar’s chest. Anar sleeps on his back or curls around Viv. (Big Sith, Little Sith)Who hogs the sheets? Anar, because Viv is stealing his body heat by pressing her freezing body against him and she won’t move.Do they set an alarm each night? Probably? They have droids for that though.Can a television be found in their bedroom? Most likely.Who has nightmares? Both of them do with regular frequency.Who has ridiculous dreams? Viv as she also sees stuff from her ghost’s past.Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? AnarWho makes the bed? Servants/droids, otherwise it doesn’t get done.What time is bed time? Whenever they feel like.Any routines/rituals before bed? Sex probably. Massages are also appreciated.Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up? Anar definitely. xD

Work:

Who is the busiest? Leaning towards Viv, but pretty equal.Who rakes in the highest income? Viv when she was a Darth.Are any of your muses unemployed? Nope, sorta?Who takes the most sick days? Neither?Who is more likely to turn up late to work? NeitherWho sucks up to their boss? VivianWhat are their jobs? Emperor’s wrath and Darth of Ancient Knowledge. Moreso now things are changing and Viv has no idea what she’s doing other than helping Anar take over Zakuul.Who stresses the most? VivDo your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations? Viv has a love/hate with hers and I’m not sure how Anar feels.Are your muses financially stable? Probably!

Home:

Who does the washing? Droids/Servants.Who takes out the trash?  Droids/Servants. Who does the ironing?  Droids/Servants. Who does the cooking? They alternate since they both have different dishes they like.Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying? VivWho is messier? Viv, her ship would be cluttered without her droid.Who leaves the toilet roll empty? AnarWho leaves their dirty clothes on the floor? Viv, Anar has more appreciation towards his clothingWho forgets to flush the toilet? Neither Who is the prankster around the house? NeitherWho loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere? NeitherWho mows the lawn?  Droids/Servants. Who answers the telephone? NOT SUREWho does the vacuuming?  Droids/Servants. Who does the groceries?  Droids/Servants or VivWho takes the longest to shower? Both take terribly long showersWho spends the most time in the bathroom? Anar

Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem? NopeHow many cars do they own? 2-3ish ships?Do they own their home or do they rent? Uh..not sure ‘cause Star Wars.Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside? Viv prefers coastline and Anar prefers the countryside, so who knows who wins there. Probably one of each. I think Anar’s home on Clamus is in the forest/countryside though. (I think.)Do they live in the city or in the country? ^ Unless we’re counting strongholds too.Do they enjoy their surroundings? YesWhat’s their song? Bloodsport - Raleigh Ritchie (at least that’s my favorite on the playlist I’m slowly building for them)What do they do when they’re away from each other? I’m not sure about Anar, but Viv usually frequently reaches out through their bond to make sure he’s alright and vice versa. Otherwise, she usually sends him sassy holocomm messages about the cool relics she finds, ancient sith texts, or the idiots she has to work with. Also anytime she sees something he’d like she buys it for him.Where did they first meet? Clamus, his house.How did they first meet?  Viv was a slave to his household and she was born into that life. They’re roughly around the same age so they met fairly early on even though they didn’t grow close until later on. Who spends the most money when out shopping? Anar, definitely.Who’s more likely to flash their assets? Anar xDWho finds it amusing when the other trips over? I’m not sure!Any mental issues? Both of them seem to have some degree of PTSD due to dealing with the war, betrayels, and people trying to kill them.Who’s terrified of bugs? Neither.Who kills the spiders around the house? Anar probably.Their favorite place? Clamus! Vivian also has soft spots for Voss and Korriban though.Who pays the bills? AnarDo they have any fears for their future? I think they both have different fears. I’m not entirely sure what Anar’s are, but Vivian is afraid of dying alone, having Anar and the other people closest to her betray her, and not being remembered for her massive contributions to the Empire as well as how powerful she is.Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner? Both!Who uses up all of the hot water? Both xDWho’s the tallest? AnarWho’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other? Both, but I’m going to lean with Viv.Who wanders around in their underwear? Viv because Anar wanders around naked.Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio? Viv, sometimes to be annoying.What do they tease each other about? How short Viv is, their individual aliases, their companions, Viv’s terrible accent when speaking High Sith, Anar’s jewelry, etc.Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times? ANAR. Vivian is 100% the type who puts comfort before fashion as well as utility. She’ll throw on whatever armor is the best and not worry how it looks. The only reason she has any fashion sense at all is because of Anar.Do they have mutual friends? Yep! I think so! Their companions and some other sith probably.Who crushed first?  Vivian. She’s had a thing for him since she was a little girl/teenager.Any alcohol or substance related problems? Nope!Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am? Anar, or neither.Who swears the most? Viv (I think!)

[resbang-bookclub]

AMA Transcript: Now the light falls

This week, @lunar--resonance​ stopped by to talk about their Resbang, Now the light falls! Here’s some of what went down!:

Q: What inspired this fic?

Lunar: makapedia sent me a prompt for Ghost AU back in 2015 and I wrote this: http://lunar--resonance.tumblr.com/post/119962051400/41-for-soma-o. I had so much fun with the prompt that I started a notes file on it and it got so long that I was like, yeah I have to split this up into different fics. I knew from the beginning it was gonna be a trilogy, and I have basically all of the plot points planned out for each fic which is why there are some things that go unexplained in Now the night falls. Some of what I wrote for the original prompt differs from the actual fic but that was where it all got started. :D The plot went through many drafts and revisions ahah. What I envisioned when I wrote the prompt is v different from the fic. I had a draft running before Resbang started and then I hit a rut so I had to take it to pieces and regroup halfway through so that was fun.

Q: I want to know if Soul actually made Hiro's pudding explode cause he was jelly or if it was just Hiro being Hiro.

Lunar: Soul got jelly, but he didn't mean to make the pudding explode lmao.

Q: I'm super hype that this AU will have more stuff! I was like "they didn't answer a bunch of questions, this universe is super huge and well developed." "IMMA ASK ABOUT A SEQUEL!"

Lunar: YES I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THE WORLDBUILDING AND YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF THAT IN THE SEQUEL. Esp with Ghostbusters squad. I'm so excited for them to play a bigger role in the sequel.

Q: What was your favorite part to write?

Lunar: I really liked writing when Maka and Soul are out on the roof because that's one of the first times they truly connect. And I was really looking forward to writing the possession scenes lmao, like I had that planned way back in the earliest drafts. I had to do it. And it's also going to be a big plot point in the sequels. ;D

Q: The roof scene made my heart burst.

Lunar: The roof scene was one of the most emotional scenes I wrote and at first it was originally slanted that Maka was the only one going through anxiety stuff but after one of the revisions, I made it so Soul was also going through stuff (for secret plot reasons) so it was interesting to write two characters who are both very not okay support each other.

Q: What have you learned from participating in Resbang for three... years? FOUR?

Lunar: I participated in Resbang when it first started which was in 2013 I think?? So four years. WOW THAT'S A LONG TIME. I would definitely say that my writing process has been developed and refined so much, I basically had just begun to write when Resbang #1 rolled around so basically my process was just WRITE. Now I actually list and plan everything out in plot instead of being like, oh I didn't know the story was going this way. Which happens sometimes still lol, just not as much.

Q: What was your process like?

Lunar: For writing I like to go through things chronologically because my brain allows no other alternative so generally I make an outline of the main points I want for each scene. Generally snippets of what I'm envisioning come alive during that part so I also jot those down and by the end my doc is a trainwreck so I re-organize and that really helps me cement the timeline for the scene/chapter. Then I start writing and if I hit a rut then usually what I do is force myself to write in bullet points of what I want to go down but just....can't find the words. Because I know if I stop writing I'm just going to be staring at a blank page for two hours lol. OH AND MUSIC. That is super essential for me getting into the headspace of a character. I can't write without it.

Q: Do you have playlists you'd like to share? Or general artists you listened to a lot?

Lunar: I didn't make playlists because I would have procrastinated with that instead of writing but I basically listened to these songs on repeat while I wrote: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwx6BNwXBaA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VBc7VIibRA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so8V5dAli-Q http://listenonrepeat.com/?v=7FDAkpQSJVA#Fountain_soundtrack_-_Death_is_the_road_to_awe. With the exception of Control all of them are instrumental, which helps bc sometimes lyrics can get distracting.

Q: Is the pudding exploding an HP reference?

Lunar: YEAH THE PUDDING WAS AN HP REFERENCE LMAO.

Q: That bullet point thing is neat! Do you find it helps you to get out of your rut when you're having a hard time with a scene?

Lunar: The bullet points help SO MUCH. From past experience I know if I run into a block its going to take me forever to get out of it, so forcing myself to write and flesh out the scene def gets my inspiration going again. Breaking out of blocks is such a difficult struggle x.x It wasn't until my last Resbang fic that I figured out the bullet point method was the way to go lol.

Q: Did you have to do any extra research for this fic, and if so, what kinds of things did you look into?

Lunar: Working out the different levels of ghosts and how they evolve into each other took some research, I only hinted at it somewhat in the story but ghosts and the poltergeists are related as well as other ghosts that we haven't seen yet ahah. Also names of places like Orcus Hollow. I put some research into that bc symbolism and future plot points. Supernatural stuff was the main thing tho.

Q: Did anything inspire that sort of in between world with all the spiderwebs?

Lunar: Mmm so the in-between world is the new witches' realm; it's kinda like its own dimension overlaid on ours. So Arachne's part of the realm is overlaid on Orcus Hollow which was why there were all the spiderwebs and spider beasts and is also why Soul and Maka ended up in the same place in that dimension.

Q: That's v neat - looking forward to seeing it play out in later parts of the series. ;)

Lunar: Me too. ;v; There was so much that I put into developing this universe but there's only a fraction revealed bc the story is only from Maka's POV (with the interlude being the exception) but in the sequel I know for sure I'm going to be switching between Soul and Maka pretty evenly and adding in some other characters' POVS as well. So that will be fun ahah. I've been working on the sequel and there is gonna be angst. The obvious conflict is that Maka is alive and Soul is not but there is other pain that I kinda hinted on in the story that will be a much bigger part of the two sequels, especially this upcoming one. I have like, one happy ending and several sad ones ahahahah.

Q: What was the most rewarding aspect of this Resbang for you?

Lunar: Ahhhhhh there were so great things but I really enjoyed bouncing ideas with my artists, they helped keep my inspiration up. Also after being haunted (haha) by this idea for so long I was excited/nervous to see what people would think and if it lived up to expectations or not.

Q: I'm still waiting for ghost fam to make a reappearance. Q: Same. What happened to ghost fam? Except jk we will probably find out in the sequels, I hope.

Lunar: I LOVED GHOST FAM. I GOT INVESTED LOL. That was one part I meant to not go in much detail in but I realized it was needed to explain Maka's issues with ghosts later on. AND YEAH YOU WILL FIND OUT IN THE SEQUEL. ;D

Q: Are we gonna get to see more of Soul learning about modern things? Cause that was one of my favorite little details of the fic.

Lunar: That was a fave detail of mine too ahah. I have sections that I wasn't able to fit in the story of Soul experiencing riding in a car and going to the mall for the first time. I'm debating whether to see if I can work it into a prompt for SoMa week?? Or just finish and publish them lmao. It will get published one way or the other lol.

Q: Whats your [worldbuilding] process? Have you developed and tricks or hacks?

Lunar: Generally I start out with: what is necessary for the plot, especially from a reader's perspective? In answering that question, it's very easy to expand on that and develop from there. Like, for example I knew that Soul was going to be a unique kind of ghost so I figured out what kind of ghost he was, then built on that to make the other levels of ghosts you see in the story and in the sequels.

Q: Where did [that] idea come from?

Lunar: I was rewatching the episode of Maka and Soul facing off free while they were fighting and the part where Maka is like, is Soul trying to eat my soul, made me think about the process of becoming a kishin in canon. And I was inspired and borrowed from that in making the different levels of ghosts in Ghost AU.

Q: How'd it spiral into a trilogy? Was that always the plan?

Lunar: The plan was always a trilogy from the get-go; when I was initially planning out everything, I knew that all of the plot points weren't going to fit into one fic, but luckily there were two breaks within the plot points that made it easy to section it into a trilogy.

---

Big thanks to Lunar for stopping by!!! Stay tuned for more transcripts!

[defunctblogtobedeleted]

2/20/17, 7:00pm - just pt 2 of the same shit

So I got to see William this weekend, it was fucking sweet. He was randomly in town visiting a friend at duke and I got to go bar hopping in durham with them which I’d never been before. Got pretty schwasty, ended up at Shooters, I tried to get in a cage but there was too long a line, stood on this bar and danced with some girls who I convinced I was 21 and still going to UNC (they were too and were so excited after I said that), rocked out to Cascada which started playing for some reason lmao, and almost got in a fight with this asian dude who got uppity as I tried to get by him, he started pushing at me and I kept asking him if he wanted to fight because I have no regard for my own well being. Ended up at Waffle House for a while, ate myself sober and made it back to Tiffany’s to crash. Was a wonderful night. Dunno how I lasted that long, I had woken up at 5PM, did an extra shift at work friday night and a tournament saturday lol I should probably have died of exhaustion at some point.

Saw Darlin and Pa on Sunday. They took me out to eat for my birthday and we caught up for a while. Ate at The Pit and walked around Raleigh for a long time, tried some chocolate at the place across the street for the first time, went back to my place and walked around the lake and ofc she took some pictures of me everywhere. hahaha so here’s the thing. Every time she took a picture of me in town I realized later that I looked fat as fuck because I slump out my belly. When we were walking around the lake she was determined to take an actually good picture of me and kept telling me to repose and look certain ways so I didn’t squint so much and try to smile in a way that looked better and to straighten my back and suck in my belly so that I didn’t look fat because I’m not. Kinda embarrassed me that my posture was so fucking bad, so I want to make it part of my self-improvement thing to have much better posture in the future. Yesterday instead of hanging with Tiffany I spent like a couple hours outside on the deck working on sitting up straight while I played some melee with myself. Working on a new hand grip too to be more consistent with some techniques that I’ve been working on. I think posture is something that I’ve been totally lacking refinement on and I’m glad Darlin made fun of me for a bit so that I’d start thinking about it more. It’s pretty damn important lol.

Also I haven’t been good about exercising, but I did this morning. Gonna try to get it into my morning routine.  Gonna read scott pilgrim again, maybe I can start reading books again too, or something.

Oh and I won an amateur bracket at the tournament on saturday because I got knocked out earlier than expected lol. Found out that at least everyone is 100% confident in me to win against anyone below a certain point. That’s kinda nice. I dubbed myself King of the Losers after winning that bracket, but idgaf game’s just fun and I got a tiny bit of money lol.

Oh yeah money’s still not good. I can’t donate plasma until hopefully next month when I get another test that shows I’m non-reactive. When the results finally came in to my doctors he showed me how none of the specific std screenings came back positive, so it was definitely a false positive test, but that it must’ve gotten a reaction because I had a cold or something. Which I do. These sniffles have lasted forever lol. Weight’s looking p good I guess. Today is the first time I weighed in at work sub-150 (149.8 lol) but that’s with full clothes on so that’s good! Making progress. Gotta keep dieting well and exercising harder, but I feel pretty great about myself in general. Still need to figure out something to do with my hair eventually but I’m just gonna let it keep growing out lol.